The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-02
REV. Mr.. sTRoNG's LETTER.
. DESCRIPTION OF THE PALACES
OF THE CAESARS.

che Modest House in Which Au-
austus DvveIt, and the Home the
People Built for Him-Caliguln's
1IoOdthirsty Musings-The Ruins
nm PaIatine Hill and. the Stories
Connected with Them-The Tomb
NJ All the ScipiOs-The Location of
the Homes of the Patricians in the
nays of the RepubIfc-The EN-
rerors who Built the PaIaces-Thc
KiIIed-other Matters of General
Interest.
Rome. Jan. al have just spent
dav on the Palatine Hill, with that
most accomplished of Roman archaeol-
ogists. Prof Reynard member of the
Archaeological Institute of Great
britain. Under his accomplished touch
the palace of the Caesars sprang into
life again from these dead ruins. 1
have walked through the modest house
where Augustus dwelt until the Sem
ate and people of Rome insisted on
building him a palace more betting
his imperial dignity. Have put my feet
upon the stone where st. Paul stood-a
round circle of marble, where all the
accused stood who, from any province
of the empire, had appealed to Caesar
as he faced Nero and his assessors,
sitting behind the still visible marble
rail. Have sat down in the triclinium
where the half-mad Caligula Toasted
Il; WI no
broke into loud laugh, and upon be-
ing asked by them the reason of his
merriment, replied, "He was thinking
how by one word he could cause their
heads to roll upon the noo-;" or, upon
another day, when feasting with his
wife, Caesonia, he thus soliloQu2ed to
the fair lady: Fair as is this neck,
how easily | could sever it," Passing
from this monster, and the bridge that
he threw over from the Palatine Hill
TO the Capitoline that he might more
easily pass over and hold converse with
his friend, Jupiter, in his temple at
the Capitol, l have walked through
Domitians palace, where ne amused
himself catching flies, and seen the
marble floor which the coward had
made so polished that no one could
steal upon him from behind. Have
Septimus Severus, where in the quar-
tiers of his Pretorian guards st. Paul
was kept chained to a Roman soldier
and where he drew his accurate picture
of the different parts of the Christianl
armor. Have even read the Christian
inscriptions on the wall drawn by some
soldier attempting to make a parody
of fellow soldier who was a Chris
tan. Have wandered amid The ruins
of the houses of Clodius, lover Of Gaze
sar's wife, whose name was not above
suspicion of Catalina, the arch enemy
of the republic, and Of Cicero, who
overthrow him; all these had their
homes on the Palatine.
But let us back and take our sub
ject more in detail. OF the seven hills
Of ancient Rome, the Palatine was the
original and giver of all her greatness,
during kingdom, republic, empire.
It takes its name-Palatine-r
whence is derived Palazzo, Italian.
and Palace, English. the name we give
to the residence of royal families.
Though they became the rulers of the
world. it was but a band of shepherds
which ROmulus and Remus led from
the Alban hills, with its constant vol
canoes, to the Palatino-less than a
CuCuIIIIeTeIlCR.
and bull yoked together-the heller ON
the inner and the bull on the outer
side, to signify fertility within the
state and strength without-they plow-
ed the sacred outlines of the nascent
city. Wherever they lifted the plow
LATIN, portare) they made porta,
gate. The foundations of that early
wall and those gates to the city have
been laid bare to-day, and we see the
hiORkG CT md or hn
palaces; nay, we even enter into the
quarries near at hand and see where
me stone was quarried. 1t is almost
Miraculous, it certainly is providential
mat psychologists can place every ruin
easily to its proper date, because the
Kihgs built with tufa stone, the repub-
ne with peperino, and the empire with
ravertine. Thus we can pick out from
tAe mass OF ruins the rude circular
nut where Romulus and Remus lived
with their shepherd foster ia ther
"hen driven out from Alba Tonga,
ana before they Games to make this hill
home.
These foundations of walls and
gates and hut in tufa or volcanic rock
are about all of the remains of the king
ly days of ancient Rome. AS the city
grew, and occupied the other hills, per-
maps the later kings did, with Tar
quinius Superbus, have their homes
elsewhere; but the Palatine was the
patrician hill always, the plebeians
dwelling under its shadow or crossed
10 the adjacent hill of Aventine. Its
summit held the earliest of Romes
temples. In early days when the
shepherd people were nearest to the
SOL they built the Temple of Cybele.
Od Mother Earth she was, the Mother
oI all the gods. Unearthed to-day it,
stands, and Cybele's statue, found on
Tne spot, stili holds sway, as it did 500
D. e. in tie grove that crowns the
summit. Before going on, / would like
70 remark In passing that cyclopean
p!ocks and architecture, like those at
@Ecenae and Torigns, are found I'M
uer the earliest foundations of Rome,
showing undoubtedly the presence
mere before Rom1lus of an earlier
Peiasgic rare.
The kingdom came to an end by the
toul deed done upon the fair Lucretia
ny E2rqunius the Proud, while hus-
oand and father were away in the
%4rs with the neighboring enemies of
lne Eternal City. Bleeding from her
81 inillctfd wound. the body was ex-
1Hioited next day, down at the foot OF
ne Palathe in the Forum, and with
ur younger Brutus' noble eloquence
ne Kings we're forever driven out and
.SoHe became republic. Then were
me heroic days of Rome when ito be a
aeohan was to be equal to god" I
oahnot tell the story of its noble men
aiiu deeds. since our theme is only
WIN the 1alatine Hill, 1 can only
say that tie ruins of tba ,-ar,,h1ioa,