“In quei buon tempi, ne i primi principii del Mondo, dicon li Poeti
che gli uomini e le Bestie facevano tutti una medesima vita. . . . E
che sia il vero ch’ eglino s’ impastassino del feroce, como loro, e
s’ incorporassino, leggete di Romolo e Remulo i quali si pascevon di
latte di lupa. Ecco già che divennero in opera lupi ingordissimi, e
voraci.”—_La Zucca del Doni Fiorentino_, 1607.
There was of old a King who had a beautiful wife, and also two children,
twins, who were exactly alike. This King was named Romo and his wife
Roma, and the children were called Romolo and Remolo.
Now, it came to pass that the Queen and her twins, both as yet sucklings
(_ancora poppanti_), were besieged in a castle when the King was far
away. The enemy had sworn to kill the whole royal family and to
extirpate the kingly race.
Now, when the Queen was in sore distress, seeing death close upon her,
there came to her a wizard, who said:
“There is only one way by which you can save your life and that of your
babes. I can change you all three into _lupi manari_, or were-wolves,
and thus in the form of wolves you may escape.”
Then the Queen had the power to become a she-wolf or a human being at her
will, and it was the same with the children. So they fled away, and
lived in the woods for seven years; and the boys grew up like young
giants, as strong as six common children. And the Queen became more
beautiful than ever, for she lived under a spell.
One day the King was hunting in the forest, when he found himself alone,
and surrounded by such a flock of raging wolves that his life was in
great danger, when all at once there came a very beautiful woman, who
seemed to have great power over the beasts, as if she were their queen,
for they obeyed her and retreated. Then the King recognised in her his
lost wife. So they returned with the twins to their castle, but the King
did not know that his wife and children were themselves were-wolves.
One day the same enemy who had sought to kill the Queen seven years
before, of which the King knew nothing, came to the castle pretending to
be a friend, and was kindly treated. But when the Queen and her two sons
beheld him, they flew at him as if they were mad, and tore him to pieces
before all the Court, and began to devour him like raging wolves. Yet
still the King did not know the whole truth.
Then a brother of the King who was thus slain gathered an army and
besieged Romo, who found himself in great danger. One evening he said:
“There is danger within the walls,
The sound of enemies without,
The sun set in blood,
To-morrow it may rise to death.
Would that I had more warriors to fight!
Two hundred fierce and bold;
Two hundred would save us all,
Three hundred would give us full victory.”
The Queen said nothing, but that night she stole secretly out of the
castle with her sons, and when alone they began to howl, and soon all the
were-wolves in the country assembled. So the Queen returned with three
hundred men, so fierce and wild that they looked like devils.
They were strange in every way, and talked or howled among themselves in
a horrible language, which, however, the Queen and her sons seemed to
understand. And in the first battle Romo gained a great victory. And it
was observed that the three hundred men ate the dead. However, the King
was well pleased to conquer.
When Romolo and Remolo were grown up to be men they learned that in a
land not far away were two Princesses named Sabina and Sabinella, who
were the two most beautiful, and also the strongest, maidens in the
world. And it was also made known that he who would win either must come
and conquer her in fight and carry her away by main strength.
So Romolo and Remolo went to their city, and on an appointed day the two
Princesses appeared in the public place, ready for the combat. But
Romolo advanced with his brother riding on his shoulders, pick-back,
_sulle spalle_, as boys do, and, catching up Sabina with one hand and
Sabinella with the other, he ran away like the wind—so rapidly that he
soon distanced all pursuers. And when Romolo was tired, Remolo took his
place, carrying the sisters and bearing his brother. And Romolo made a
song on it:
“Up and down the mountain,
Over the fields and through the rivulets,
Over gray rocks and green grass,
I saw a strange beast run;
It had three bodies and three heads,
Six arms and six legs,
Yet did it never run on more than two.
Read the riddle rightly, if you can.”
The two brothers wished to build a new and great city of their own. They
went to a certain goddess, who told them:
“The city which ye hope to build will be
The greatest ever seen in Italy;
Above all others it will tower sublime,
And rule the world in a far future time;
But know that at the first, ere it can rise,
It calls for blood and human sacrifice.
I know not where the choice or fate doth lie,
But of ye two the one must surely die.”
Now, men were greatly wanting for this city, because in those days there
were but few in the land. Then the brothers assembled many wolves,
bears, foxes, and all wild beasts, and by their power changed them into
men. And they did it thus: A sorcerer took an ox and enchanted it, and
slew it, and sang over it a magic song, and left it in an enchanted
place. Then the wolves and other wild beasts came by night to the great
stone of the sacrifice, by a running stream. A god beheld it. They ate
the meat—they became men. These were the first Romans.
Last of all came a serpent with a gold crown—the Queen of the Serpents.
She ate of the meat and became the most beautiful woman in the world.
She was a great magician. Thus she became the goddess of the city, and
dwelt in the tower of the temple. And her name was Venus. She was like
a star.
Then Romolo and Remolo wished to know which of them was to die to save
the city. And both desired it. Then they resolved to take an immense
stone and cast it one at the other. So Remolo picked it up and cast it
at his brother, and all who beheld it thought he must be slain. But
Romolo caught it in his hands and threw it back; yet Remolo caught it
easily. But in that instant his foot slipped, and he fell backward over
the Tarpeian Rock, and so he perished. This is an old story.
And thus it was that Rome was built.
[Now, it was in this city, or near by, that in after-time Virgil was
born, who in his day did such wonders. But the first wonder of all was
the manner of his birth. For Virgil was the glory of Rome, and the
greatest poet and sorcerer ever known therein.]
* * * * *
It did not occur to me to include this tale among the Virgilian legends,
but finding that the compiler of “Virgilius the Sorcerer” (1893) has
begun with a legend of Romulus and Remus, I have done the same, having
one by me. As the giant said to the storytelling ram, “There is nothing
like beginning at the commencement.”