The Kingdom . ROME. The Kingdom. 221 
violence of popular suffrage and secured it from the despotism 
of the higher classes. 
Now the mode of taxation adopted by Servius would have 
been, had the returns of property been made every year, no 
other than an income tax, of all other methods the most 
discouraging to industry and speculation. The wise king 
accordingly demanded the returns only every five years; 
and although this period was somewhat too short, it was 
yet sufficiently long not to restrain individuals from making 
the usual endeavours at bettering their condition. As the 
census and returns were usually closed by the lustrum, or 
expiatory sacrifices, the Romans henceforth began to com¬ 
pute time by lustrums, each lustrum containing the space of 
five years. Some writers are of opinion, that Servius, coined 
the first money that had ever appeared at Rome, during the 
first lustrum ; and add, that the circumstances of the sacri¬ 
fices probably led him to stamp the figures of the animals 
there slain on the pieces of brass. 
The government of the city being thus established in so 
regular a manner, Servius, touched with compassion for 
those whom the misfortunes of an unsuccessful war had re¬ 
duced to slavery, thought that such of them as had by 
long and faithful services deserved and obtained their free¬ 
dom, were much more worthy of being made Roman 
citizens, than untractable vagabonds from foreign countries, 
who were admitted without distinction. He therefore gave 
the freedmen their choice, either to return to their own 
country, or continue at Rome. Those who chose to con¬ 
tinue there, he divided into four tribes, and settled them 
within the city ; and though they were distinguished from 
the plebeians by their old name of liberti, or freedmen, yet 
they enjoyed all the privileges of free citizens. The senate 
took offence at the regard which the king showed to such 
mean people, who had but lately shaken off their fetters; 
but Servius by his judicious discourses, entirely appeased 
the fathers, who passed his institution into a law, which sub¬ 
sisted ever after. 
The wise king, having thus established order among the 
people, undertook at last to reform the royal power itself. 
His predecessors had reserved to themselves the cognizance 
of all causes both public and private; but Servius, finding 
the duties of his office too much for one man to discharge 
well, committed the cognizance of ordinary suits to the. 
senate, and reserved that only of state crimes to himself. 
All things being now regulated at home, both in the 
city and country, Servius turned his thoughts abroad, 
and formed a scheme for attaching the Sabines and La¬ 
tins to the Romans, by such social ties, as should be 
strengthened by religion. He summoned the Latin and 
Sabine cities to send their deputies to Rome, to consult 
about an affair of great importance. When they were 
come, he proposed to them the building of a temple in 
honour of Diana, where the Latins and Sabines should 
meet once a year, and join with the Romans in offering 
sacrifices to that goddess: that this festival should be fol¬ 
lowed by a' council, in which all disputes between the 
cities should be amicably determined; that there proper 
measures should be taken to pursue their common interest; 
and, lastly, in order to draw the common people thi¬ 
ther, a fair should be kept, at which every one might 
furnish himself with what he wanted. The king’s de- 
sfgn met with no opposition : the deputies only added to 
it, that the temple should be an inviolable asylum for 
the united nations; and that all the cities should contri¬ 
bute towards the expense of building it. It being left 
to the king to choose a proper place for it, he pitched 
upon the Aventine hill, where the temple was built, 
and assemblies annually held in it. The laws which 
were to be observed in these general meetings, were en¬ 
graved on a pillar of brass, and were to be seen in 
Augustus’s time, in the Latin tongue, but in Greek 
characters. 
But Servius now grew old, and his ambitious son in law, 
Tarquinius, aspired to the throne. The pains the king had 
Vol. XXII. No. 1496. 
taken to depress the powers of the patricians, and to raise 
the plebes to the natural and proper rank of freemen, were 
not forgotten by the former, and but feebly remembered 
by the latter. Tarquinius found in an awed but impatient 
aristocracy, numerous instruments for the enslaving of 
his country. He objected to Servius, and his usurpation 
of the throne; to which the latter replied by asserting that 
he was duly elected by the people, and that the first 
Tarquin, in whose right Tarquinius claimed the throne 
as heritor, was himself an usurper. The people again 
decided in favour of Servius; but after a time Tarquinius 
took forcible possession of the throne, and caused his 
father in law to be assassinated. It is said that this usur¬ 
pation was produced by the exhortations of Tullia, the 
daughter of Servius, who had married Tarquin: that this 
atrocious woman counselled her father’s death, and even 
drove her chariot over his corpse. 
It is hoped for the credit of human nature, that these 
atrocities had no other foundation than the vindictive ex¬ 
aggerations of an enslaved people. 
The new king proved a most despotic and cruel tyrant; 
receiving, in the very beginning of his reign, the surname of 
proud, on account of his capricious humour and haughty 
behaviour. All controversies whatever were decided by him¬ 
self and his friends; and he banished, fined, and even 
executed, whom he pleased. The census and lustrum, the 
division of citizens into classes and centuries, were abolished; 
and all kinds of assemblies, even those for amusement and 
recreation, were prohibited, both in town and country. The 
most virtuous of the senators went into voluntary banish¬ 
ment; while many of those who remained, were cut off on 
various pretences, that the king might enjoy their estates. 
Tarquin could not but be sensible of the extreme danger 
in which he stood by losing the affections of his people in 
such a manner. He therefore provided a sufficient number 
of soldiers, by way of guard, to prevent attempts upon his 
person ; and married his daughter to Octavius Mamilius, one 
of the most considerable chiefs among the Latins, in order 
to strengthen himself by foreign alliance, in case of a revolt 
among his subjects. Mamilius accordingly procured many 
friends to his father-in-law, but he had like to have lost them 
again by his haughty behaviour. He had appointed to meet 
the Latins in a national council at Ferentinum. The Latins 
accordingly met; but after waiting for several hours, Tar¬ 
quin did not appear. On this, one Turnus Herdonius, an 
enterprising and eloquent man, made a speech, in which he 
inveighed against the imperious behaviour of Tarquin, set 
forth the contempt which he had put upon the Latins, and 
concluded with desiring the council to break up and return 
home without taking any further notice of him. Mamilius, 
however, prevailed upon them to return the day following; 
when Tarquin made his appearance, and told the assembly 
that his design in calling them together was to claim his 
right of commanding the Latin armies, which he said was 
derived from his grandfather, but which he desired to be con¬ 
firmed to him by them. These words were scarce out of his 
mouth, when Herdonius, rising up, entered into a detail of 
Tarquin’s tyranny and arbitrary behaviour at Rome, which, 
he said, the Latins would soon feel in an equal degree, if 
they complied with Tarquin’s demand. To this speech the 
king made no reply at that time, but promised to answer him 
next day. In the mean time, however, he bribed the 
domestics of Herdonius to admit among his baggage a lame 
quantity of arms: and then, telling the Latins that Her- 
donius’s opposition proceeded only from Tarquin’s having 
refused him his daughter in marriage, accused him of having 
laid a plot to cut off all the deputies there present, and to 
usurp a jurisdiction over the Latin cities; as a proof of 
which he appealed to the arms hid among the baggage of 
Herdonius. The accused, conscious of his innocence, de¬ 
sired that his baggage might be searched; which being 
accordingly done, and the arms found, he was hurried away 
without being allowed to make any defence, and thrown 
into a bason at the head of the spring of Ferentinum, where 
3 L a hurdle 
