Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1871-1872, 1871-09-11
Ehs HxsavatiOns at Pompe;i,

The following scholarly translation was
handed to US b. a professional gentleman ;
one Of our Rock Island citizens:
Until a late dAie Pompeii was considered
by many to meRn "the city OF Ponpey.'
According 10 the latest Investigations The
name 10 derived from the ancient SsriAn
word "PompeeAh, which signifies s'ths or;.
fee OF = stove" Others bring The name n
connection with "POmpeyon," which would
he synonymous With Depository or '.Sgore-
house If We have to consider Pompeii
according to the unanimous Judgment OF the
best Aroa3oioglsis and historians, q mer-
camille city OF GreoiAn origin, the name
would be readily explained 10 this manner
The Greeks had built store rooms there foI
depositlng their goods, and the village, orig.
inally thus dsnominAEed, had retained ths
name after growing TO be q city.
The town was suoosSsively in the hands OF
the OsciAns, ths Tyrrheuians, the Saminiies.
add became Q RomAu colony under SFIlA /;
nevertheless the majority of the people re-
manned OsoIAn. and the leading dialect was
the OsciAu; with the Latin aad Greek Ian
gauges
Cicero wrote bis four books 200 the du-
ties in q suburb Of Pompeii. Seneca span;
the springtime Of his life there, and there
Phpdrus hid himself from the prosecutions
Of Tlberius and SejSnus.
With all their pesceHols occupations the
POnpeiRns apPesr to have besn q pugns-
cionS tribe, IS TAcitus tells as of a great
fight which occurred on the occasion of a
great glAdiAtorial exhibition, or prize fight.
in the AmphitheAier, between the PonpeiAps
arl Naparpapu 80 a..u -
whole town, sod 10 which bo.h parties los,
many dead and wounded. In consequences
Of this row, and as punishment therefor, the
POM eisns we're not permitted to lave pub
lie entertainments or plays for ten years,
and bad to pa! Up With the gibes of the in
hAbitAnts Of Nocerrs, which were unspar-
inEIy vented il inscriptions on the walls.
It's veil known that the eruptions of We
suvius did not commence only in 10, A. D.;
already in the year SO Pompeii was roughly
handled by an earthquake, during the con
iinuADoe Of which Nero was in the theatre
At Naples, aud stGid until his ~favorite AIR was
6niShed. The Pompeiaus we're possessed of
lsss courage than their half crazy en- peror
They made tracks at the FIRST shock, and did
not return until not the least disturbance
could be fell.
The catastrophe Of the 23d day of Noven.
Der ~, is we'll known, and not only described
by historians bot frequently made q subiec,
Of by painters ~ well az poets. Which Of
our fair readers has not, for instance, read
BalWeI's Last days Of Pompeii," which,
with al Its wants and weaknesses of inven.
tive skill, presents IN attractive picture of
Grace Roman life.
With regard 70 H~eroulAneum, even the
name disapPeAred from the face of the
globe after tbs eruption of 4s2.
This 10 readily explained. The layer OF
ashes covering Pompeii is only from three
TO four metres in depsh, while Heroulapeum
is covered BY a layer Of t~suty-oue to thir.
%ty-four metres.
The city OF Hercules was a colony of the
~Pelasgaus, and was suodgsd at az e.,Iv
CATE BY the Oaoians, who we're In their tprn
s4hJuRAted by the E!ruscsns and SAmpi,s.
on''! ~ a lSter period the city fell into the
hAnu. OF the Romans, and was accounted
one OF TIE most hourishinR of charming
CampAniA. The name OF bs, Old no,s
"HetuA, is still retained in the viIsgs
"Resina.' '"Sse
The Pompeians and HerouIsno.r. u.
we're inLi tiooded Romans. The population
Fompe.i was chiefly OsciGn. LAusrlv
90 descriptions have been found, uDdoubt-
~ made by q child, showing the OscIan,
GTsek and Latin alphabet together.
While Pompei was more OF q mercantile |
CITY, hsreslGnsum was . pleasure resort,
and more ireqaentsd by the Roman "hGute
polee" than the former
noo : tnA1 fompeii did contain hard.
" lo,VVO iunNpl'~nts 1t is astonishing that
HoouI oov eSo,o'ons should have been found |
mAEiog inc ,Oee on life = little more than
. per cent. mS1u cause Of The great loss Of
human ite ~~s IOroed or voluntary Seclu-
sion from me s'rests. Prisoners and sick
persons could not leave their place of con.
nnemenh o'hSrs remained because thew be-
lieved themselves safe under their roof. md
lacked the courage 70 expose tAemssIva. e.
the rain Of Etoues and ashes out,id"
moment expecting the eruption 20 osoJ
The fact that but few skeleton, ~ ~ss
have been found is readily explained ~ ~
fact thai they we're used for more axnsd;.
tious fight. If no skeletons of cats ar,
found it is . proof positive of the wise in
stinct Of these animals, feeling the dauRe
IN good time to save themselves. Man
people we're suffocatsdby the mephitic case
pouring from the ground, others we're starv
ed to death in their dwellings,, because thei
provisions could not have held out long, an
only served 10 lengthen their misery
Compared TO these such may be called for
inmate rs we're either killed in the street b
FALLING stones or suffoosted BY the ashe