Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-22
SEARCH FOR FACT.
Some Ancient Legends Of Roman His
tory-The Tomb of Romulus.

some Ancient Legends OF aollan Ills
tory-The Tomb of Romulus.
From the Independent.
"Of such labor was 1t to found the Roman
namer'
Half a century ago we used to read in
college the early chapters of Livy as gospel
truth. Niebuhr had. 1t Is true, laid rude
hands on that imposing structure called
early Roman history, and Momusen was
hacking away at its corners. But 1t was
reserved for the present generation to tear
down the whole building.
Prof Pals has sfted the origins of Rome
without fear or pity; but IN so doing he
has incurred the odium archaeologicum
among his countrymen. who could not bear
to see the Roman kings transformed into
Etruscans, brave Horatius" Coolies etymol-
ogized into a one-eyed Cyelops and even
Coriolanus treated as mythical When ne
went so far as TO declare that the lapis
niger and the tomb OF Romulus recently
excayated In the Forum We're not earlier
than $50 B. c., instead OF belonging to the
sixth or even the seventh century b. e, ne
crossed swords not only with Boni, the
great excavation. but with italian price
AS a result he has lost the dictatorship
of the Naples Museum. Those pieces OF
Pentelic marble and gallo antico mixed
with chips of the lapis niger around the
tomb of Romuus' were TO him such
strong evidence that he said, II will speak
out, for dare not lie.
His bold criticism of sources also re-
veals the legendary character OF what has
so long been presented to us as the history
of the first four centuries of Rome. But
Italians are not yet ready to believe that
the authentic history of Rome begins just
before the Punic wars He who maintains
this is on the road TO martyrdom. There
is of course, no good reason why the small
beginnings OF Rome should be denied from
national pride or that the vain ana In
- fanla ylln
deavor to keep the vanities of nations"
should be so persistent. Rome's glory Is
not to be dimmed by the fact that IL start
ed as weak and struggling band In the
midst of stronger and more developed peo-
pies, like the Etruscans.
One contention of Prof. Pals is obviously
just, viz. that prior to the third century.
b. c. Rome had no ancient and authentic
annals. and that the beginnings OF literary
Roman history were written by Scllian
Greeks and modelled on the history of
Greece. The slaughter OF the Fabii was
made to accord with the battle OF Their
mopylae in date and In the number OF the
slain. and this is only one OF many similar
cases.
We shall probably never know how much
the Romans owed TO the Etruscans. whose
language Is enigma. A large slab COW
cred with Etruscan characters found at
Capua was declared on no evidence at all
to be spurious. and was sold to repre-
sentative of the Berlin Museum for 200
francsi Some day It may be deciphered.
Even now 1t is a token that Etruscan pow
er once extended as far south as Campania.
Etruria was strong In the sixth ana sew
enth centuries B. c. That 1t early adopted
Greek culture Is shown not merely by the
story of Demaratos, the Corinthian potter.
but by the solid facts OF innumerable Greek
vases and by the Greek reliefs on the
bronze chariot lately brought from that
region to the Metropolitan Museum Ham
mered on the north by Gauls and on the
south by Syracuse. Etrslria fell; and Rome
rose grew and prospered.
The book has faults. The style is not
smooth. The lack of an index can only be
excused by the consideration that such an
index would have added materially to the
bulk of the book. Names OF persons and
places are legion The Illustrations, about
sixty In number. are good, even admirable.
burt they ought TO be numbered Tor refer
ence In the text The maps are poor.