their share in the Feriae Latinae. In ancient times they were allied
with Rome on equal terms, and shared with her and Latium all that they
conquered in war. Afterwards this alliance was broken up, as I shall
show in the second volume of my History,[34] because being weak and
powerless, they could no longer claim their former rights. After the
Gallic calamity, when Rome had fallen, they made themselves independent,
and thirty years later the ancient treaty was renewed, and remained in
force for fifty years, to the great advantage of the Hernicans. They were
a small people, which did not extend, while Rome enlarged her dominion
immensely. Hence the Romans demanded that the relation which had hitherto
subsisted between them should be discontinued. In consequence of this, a
war arose between them and the Hernicans, in which the latter had reason
bitterly to repent their presumption.
THE VOLSCIANS AND AEQUIANS.
Both these Ausonian nations lived within the boundaries of Latium in
its wider sense. The Volscians were subdivided into smaller parts, the
Antiatan, Ecetranian, and other Volscians without any definite name. All
the coast towns, as far as the upper Liris, were Volscian, as e.g. Anxur
or Terracina, Privernum, Sora, Arpinum, Fabrataria, Fregellae, etc. The
Aequians, on the other hand, dwelt on the one side as far as Praeneste,
and on the other as far as lake Fucinus in the north. The Aequians and
Volscians are almost always mentioned together, just as Romans and
Latins, whence it is probable that isopolity existed between the two
nations. Every man belonging to one nation might take up his abode among
the other with which it was in isopolity: he there enjoyed higher rights
than an alien; he was not, indeed, a full citizen, but a free member of
the community; he was what was termed in the middle ages a pale-burgher.
This is a relation which, on the whole, is seldom rightly understood by
German jurists, and even by K. F. Eichhorn, who, in other respects, is
a man of the greatest merit in matters of German law. Such an isopolity
must have existed between the Aequians and Volscians; but besides this,
they must have had another political connection, for a large party of the
Aequians very frequently made common cause with a numerous body of the
Volscians.
It is an important point to decide, as to whether the Volscians always
inhabited the towns on the coast from Antium as far as Terracina,
which are called Volscian, or whether they took possession of them as
conquerors. At first I shared in the general error, thinking that they
had always been Volscian; afterwards, I began to doubt—the first step
towards truth—and to consider the possibility of its being otherwise;
and now I am convinced that the country was originally inhabited by
Tyrrhenians, that it was afterwards conquered by the Volscians, and that
this event did not occur till after the banishment of the kings. All the
places on the coast from Terracina to Antium, as well as Velitrae in the
interior, were once Pelasgian, and may be justly called Latin, this being
the ancient and common name. Receive this result of my inquiries with
confidence; there is no danger of your being mistaken. In like manner,
the Aequians extended their dominion in the direction of the Latins and
Hernicans at the expense of both.
All the Volscians did not form one common state: the people of Arpinum,
Sora, Anxur, Formiae, and Fundi may, at the time of their first conquest,
have mutually assisted one another; but when their possessions were
secured, when Antium and Ecetrae had become Volscian, the towns situated
farther behind probably did not exert themselves for the other Volscian
places.
In regard to the Aequians, it would almost seem, as if they had formed
one compact state, although each of the several towns could, by itself,
do little or nothing; scarcely one of them is deserving of notice. If
we possessed the ancient commentaries on the Aeneid, we should know a
great deal more about the ethnography and chorography of those parts.
Virgil speaks of Nersae as one of the principal towns of the Aequians:
_et te montosae misere in proelia Nersae_;[35] editors have unwarrantably
changed this into _Nursae_, and referred it to Nursia, which is an
Umbrian town in the Apennines beyond the Sabines, to which the Aequians
never penetrated. People will not own, that there are things of which
they know nothing. The books of Servius unfortunately have come down to
us only in a wretched abridgment: if we examine the first two books,
of which we have the original, we cannot but feel respect for Servius
as a great grammarian. In like manner, the name of mount Vesulus—in
the illustration of the boar inhabiting the marshes of the valley of
Laurentum and the heights of Vesulus—has been senselessly referred to a
hill near the sources of the Padus.[36] The hill must have been in the
neighbourhood of Laurentum, in a district which Virgil knew very well,
and which must afterwards have lost its name. I can well imagine what
kind of a place Vesulus may have been, but it was most assuredly not a
glacier of the Alps. This is one specimen of the perverse manner in which
Virgil has been commented upon; an able commentary on the Aeneid, not
too diffuse, has yet to be written; in regard to the Eclogues and the
Georgics, Voss has done everything that can be desired.
The Aequians extended as far as lake Fucinus. When in the middle of
the fifth century the Romans subdued them, they destroyed nearly fifty
of their places, and forced the franchise upon them. Afterwards they
obtained favourable terms and fair treatment, but the first shock of the
war was terrible.
In the second and third books of Livy, the Volscians and Aequians
generally come in contact with each other on mount _Algidus_. There are
different opinions as to what mountain is meant by this name; scholars
commonly rely on a passage in the Itineraries, where a place _Algidus_ or
_Algidum_ is mentioned. The district is now never visited, because it is
the haunt of fearful robbers; however, after I had left Italy, a friend
of mine visited and described the localities. Between the countries of
the Latins and Hernicans, there was a high and cold table land, _locus
algidus_, not hills in the proper sense, but a rugged district covered
with wood (_ilex_). At present there remain but slight traces of that
forest, which is a little to the north of Velitrae. As the Aequians and
Volscians were contiguous there, they separated the Hernicans from the
Romans and Latins, and thus were pernicious to the latter. According to
these statements, you will have no difficulty in finding the situation of
mount Algidus in your maps.
ANTIUM was a Volscian place; I do not mean to say that the whole
population consisted of Volscians, but it had received a Volscian colony,
which gave the prevailing name; as Virgil says, _Tusco de sanguine
vires_, so we may say of Antium, _Volsco de sanguine vires_. In ancient
times, Antium was an important maritime and commercial place, but
also the haunt of pirates; afterwards it became a _colonia maritima_,
that is, its inhabitants were bound to serve in maritime war, and on
extraordinary emergencies; they had the Roman franchise, but not the
right of voting. The place was greatly favoured, and in the course of
time became the emporium of the whole Latin country; its harbour was much
better than that of any of the other towns on the same coast, such as
Laurentum and Lavinium, which had only road-steads. At a later time, it
was artificially improved, a circumstance which had become necessary, for
the mud of the Tiber, which was carried along the coast, filled up the
harbour. Afterwards Antium was one of those places, in which the wealthy
Roman nobles were fond of taking up their summer residence, especially
during the first century after Christ. Nero changed it into a military
colony, but of an irregular kind.
TERRACINA or ANXUR, was a large and ancient Tyrrhenian city; Anxur is
acknowledged to be its Volscian name. Its double name alone leads to the
supposition that the place had a mixed population.
ECETRAE, one of the central points of the Volscian population, must be
looked for in the interior of the country, above the Pontine marshes, and
not far from Ferentinum. It afterwards entirely disappears like so many
other places in that district. I cannot explain this otherwise, than by
supposing that the Romans have drawn a veil over the Samnite wars. The
time when so many places were destroyed there, must have been that when
the Samnites penetrated into the heart of Latium.
The Volscians, like the Aequians, belonged the Ausonian race, of which
I have spoken in the general survey of the Italian nations. If you
compare the names, you will find that the Opicans and Apulians were one
and the same people, and that the names of the ancient Italian nations
have undergone various changes without a difference in meaning. Thus
the _Aequi_ are also called _Aequani_, _Aequuli_, and _Aequiculi_, all
of which are one and the same name, just as _Graeci_ and _Graeculi_,
and _Hispani_ and _Hispalli_, which were originally used without any
difference of meaning. The Aequians and Volscians, as I said before,
belonged to this Oscan or Ausonian race, to which Latin writers also give
the name _Aurunci_, while the Greeks call them _Ausones_. The same name
often has a general signification, and sometimes again it is applied
only to a special part, just as _Thessalians_ sometimes signifies the
inhabitants of the country of Thessaly, and sometimes the population
of Cyzicus, Ravenna, and Agylla, without there being any necessity of
thinking of colonisation. In the same manner, Auruncans or Opicans
are both the name of the whole race, and at the same time the name of
separate portions. This changeableness in the use of names renders the
survey of the history of ancient nations difficult, as the ancients
themselves never express an opinion on this twofold meaning, and as those
whose works are extant, are often themselves in error about it.
The Volscians, thus regarded as a portion of the Ausonians or Auruncans,
extended from the Apennines in the neighbourhood of Arpinum along the
Liris, south of the Hernicans as far as the coast of Antium. But there
can be no doubt that they dwelt farther east, and the migration of the
Cascans and Priscans was certainly owing to a commotion among that race.
The Aeneid contains many traces of the original population of Latium, as
for example, when the poet says, _Memini Auruncos ita ferre senes_.[37]
I have already spoken of the Volscians on the coast, of Antium,
Terracina, and of the Ecetrani, whose name is often mentioned in history,
but whose town is not spoken of anywhere; from one passage of Livy[38]
alone, it may be inferred that it was situated near Ferentinum: it is
possible that it may have been taken from the Hernicans by the Volscians.
The population of such towns must never be conceived to have been
totally changed. The Gauls, and similar uncivilised nations, sometimes
did extirpate the ancient population; but people like the Romans and
Volscians only settled as colonists among a conquered population, taking
a part of its territory for themselves, either for the purpose of
cultivating it themselves or of changing the former owners into coloni.
Such also was the case with the population of Antium, as I have already
mentioned. In the second volume of my Roman History, I shall explain,
what in Livy’s history is quite inconceivable, namely, how it happens
that Antium appears as a thoroughly Volscian town, which can be accounted
for only by the idea we form of the power of the Volscian colonists.
Livy is not the only cause of the confusion, but the annalists of the
seventh century also have their share in it. If we had but Fabius, we
might safely say, that we required no further deductions to discover
the ancient relation, which in his work was undoubtedly quite clear and
obvious.
FUNDI and FORMIAE likewise belong to those Volscian towns established on
ancient Tyrrhenian foundations; but ARPINUM, the birth-place of Marius
and Cicero, is the most immortal among the Volscian towns. The present
circumference of the walls shows that it was a large and strong place.
This town, impelled by necessity, remained faithful to the Romans when
they were hard pressed by the Samnites.
FREGELLAE is found in our maps in the vicinity of Arpinum, and not far
from the Liris. It is remarkable in history, and its first occurrence
in Livy throws considerable light upon the course of events. It was
a Volscian town, and was destroyed by the Samnites; the Romans then,
contrary to the ordinary Italian law of nations, sent a colony into
it. The Samnites, who were allied with the Romans, denied their right
to establish a colony there. This was one of the chief causes of the
second Samnite war. The Samnites, however, were wrong in claiming it,
for Fregellae was the key to the Via Latina, and hence the security of
the Roman frontier demanded that the place should be in the hands of
the Romans: to the Samnites it was a point of attack, to the Romans it
was a means of defence; unless, therefore, the Samnites intended to
make war upon the Romans, they were wrong in opposing its occupation
by the Romans. Such circumstances must be taken into consideration, in
deciding upon the justice or injustice of a question. It is difficult
to comprehend how that town rose to such extraordinary power. Pyrrhus
conquered it, and it suffered greatly; but from the last book of Livy
we see that thousands of Sabellian families, Samnites, Pelignians, and
others had settled there. This circumstance, however, was followed by
consequences unfortunate for Fregellae. The numerical increase made
the town proud, and during the disputes between the Latin colonies and
Rome, it claimed to be at their head. Encouraged by the measures of the
Gracchi, it obstinately demanded the franchise long before the Italicans
came forward. On the whole, ancient history presents many parallels to
modern history, sometimes they occur on a larger scale in antiquity and
sometimes in modern times. The relation here alluded to is that of the
Irish in their connection with England. When Ireland, in 1782, demanded
its independence, the Anglicans in their claims against England, went
far beyond the Roman Catholics and the other dissenters, and they alone
gained advantages. A small parallel in comparison with the great one in
antiquity occurs at Geneva, in the relation between the _bourgeoisie_
of the suburb St. Gervais to the _citoyens_ of the old town, where the
_natifs_ had all the real power, while the _habitans_ possessed only
very little. Fregellae, then, stood at the head of the Latin colonies,
and looked with pride upon its power; its inhabitants believed that Rome
would not allow matters to come to extremes, and if they should come to
that, they counting the population of the Latin colonies found that they
were stronger than Rome by many hundred thousands: they thought that
they might oppose the Romans, degraded by freedmen and poverty, with an
able force of free country people. But the result was quite different.
Rome acted with cunning: the Italian allies had not yet made up their
minds, and did not yet take part in the interests of the Latins, thinking
that the Latin colonies would take care of themselves alone, and that,
if it should come to a war, they would become reconciled with Rome, and
leave the Italian allies to settle their affairs as best they could.
Even the other colonies showed no common interest, perhaps because they
were jealous of Fregellae, or they hesitated because they were so much
scattered among the Umbrians, Etruscans, etc., and for that reason were
wanting in courage. Fregellae thus stood alone: it was conquered and
destroyed by L. Opimius, and never restored. Fabrataria, another colony,
was established in its vicinity.
The Latin colonies, _Interamnium_, _Sora_, and _Casinum_, formed a
complete chain of fortresses in the same district. It was partly before
the outbreak of the second Samnite war, and partly during its progress,
that the Romans were anxiously bent upon establishing fortified places;
and these measures made them as secure as France was by its frontier
fortresses. Their frontier was thus very effectually protected against
the Samnites, for all those fortresses were planned with great sagacity.
The Samnites, who, besides their unsatisfactory constitution, had no
fortresses, were thus weak, and the Roman army could enter Samnium
without meeting with any obstacle. They were not inferior to the Romans
in bravery, but were nevertheless conquered by them, because they were
not agreed as to the manner in which the war should be carried on. It is
pitiable to see how the excellent people year after year became more
unhappy, because they could not raise themselves above their traditionary
prejudices, though their salvation depended upon it.
CAMPANIA.
This name has likewise different meanings. In the Roman sense, it is the
country of the Campanians, as Samnium is the country of the Samnites; but
the Campanians (on coins they are called _Capani_) are the inhabitants
of Capa or Capua. In this sense Campania is a country of small extent,
comprising Capua and the neighbouring places, Atella, Acerrae, Saticula,
Calatia, Abella, Casilinum, Vulturnum, and Linternum. All these places
were situated on the south of the Vulturnus, with the exception of
Saticula; the _ager Falernus_, between the Vulturnus and Liris, however,
likewise belonged to Campania. The Greeks, on the other hand, applied the
name Campanians to all the nations of southern Italy belonging to the
Oscan race, and this accounts for the fact that the name Campania was
also used in a wider sense. This, however, occurs only in later times;
and the extent of country which is marked Campania in all our maps, even
in those of D’Anville, was not generally so designated until the time of
Augustus. The name then embraced the whole country between the Vulturnus,
the Liris, and the heights of the Apennines about Arpinum and Aquinum, so
as to include Cales and Teanum,—in one word, all the Oscan tribes north
of the Vulturnus as far as the frontier of the Volscians. I think I have
already observed, in the account of the division of Italy into regions,
that the expression _Campania Romae_ was used as early as the fourth
or fifth century of our era; it is found in the abridgment of Servius,
which, however, was made in the seventh century. The name Champagne has
quite a different origin, probably from _campus_, a plain, whence _Campi
Catalaunici_, which also comprise the foreign immigrants such as the
Goths and others.
You must bear in mind this difference of meaning, in order that in
reading the ancients, e.g., Livy, you may not fall into the mistake of
believing that Campania is the name for the country which is so marked in
our maps.
Advancing from the Liris, we come upon Ausonian tribes and CALES, which,
according to Livy, was an Auruncian town. It was conquered by the Romans
in the interval between the great Latin and the second Samnite war, and
received a Roman colony.
TEANUM was a town of the Sidicines, likewise an Ausonian people. That
northern district between the Vulturnus and the Liris, which did not
extend as far as the mountains, is one of the most delightful and fertile
countries; it is not, indeed, as productive as southern Campania, the
_agri lugubres Campaniae_, the πεδία Φλεγραῖα, the coast country from
Terracina to Gaeta and Formiae, where a man has the feeling as if he were
in a paradise full of the most indescribable beauties—I was there in the
month of March, when spring was already displaying all its loveliness;
the summer, too, is not so scorching as in the neighbourhood of Rome, for
the country is well watered, and that even in the middle of summer;—but
the neighbourhood of Teanum is a most delightful hilly country, with a
beauty and richness of trees which form a great contrast with those of
Latium. This was the country of the Falernian and Classic wines. Teanum,
according to Strabo, was a large town; but the present ruins do not show
many traces of that greatness, though the silver coins which are found
there show that Strabo is correct.
The LIRIS deserves the name of _taciturnus amnis_; it has no strong
current, except in winter, when the heights are covered with snow. The
VULTURNUS is quite different; descending from the neighbouring hills it
has a strong current; but it is not a beautiful river, being extremely
muddy. It is, however, a pleasure to see the active flow of its waters.
On its banks was situated
CASILINUM, on the site of the modern Capua, which is celebrated for
the extraordinary defence of the Praenestine cohort against Hannibal:
the perseverance of a besieged town is always interesting, and excites
veneration. The garrison murdered the Campanian inhabitants, that the
provisions might last so much longer. Hannibal took the place, and after
that time it is not often mentioned again. The situation on the Via Appia
somewhat raised its importance in the time of the emperors; its means of
subsistence, as was the case with all places on high roads, were derived
from commerce.
If we compare the present condition of Italy with what it was in ancient
times, say under Nero or at the time of Pliny, there can be no doubt that
Rome itself is only a shadow of what it then was; I have calculated that
its population then amounted to from 600,000 to 700,000 souls. But the
territory around Rome was in those days far more desolate than it is now:
it is at present more thickly peopled, better cultivated, and happier.
Under the later emperors the country may have somewhat recovered; in
the fourth century, previously to the plague under Gallienus, it may
have had a larger population, and so also in the time of Theodosius.
But I entirely agree with Hume, against Wallace, that the population of
Italy in antiquity was far less numerous than at present, except in Rome
itself. Naples was then only a country town, of about 20,000 or 30,000
inhabitants, while at present it has 400,000. But notwithstanding all
this, Italy possessed incomparably more wealth than at present, so that
a small town was of much greater importance than one at present with a
far larger population; a third-rate town, for example, was illustrious
for its works of art to a much greater extent than any modern town of any
country.