[1-1] Clusium was a powerful town in Etruria.
[1-2] According to the religion of the Etruscans there were nine great
gods. An oath by them was considered the most binding oath that a man
could take.
[2-3] This line shows us that the writing of the Etruscans was done
backwards, as we should consider it; that is, they wrote from right to
left instead of from left to right.
[3-4] Nurscia was a city of the Sabines.
[3-5] _Tale_ here means _number_.
[3-6] Sutrium was an Etruscan town twenty-nine miles from Rome.
[3-7] The Latins were an Italian race who, even before the dawn of
history, dwelt on the plains south of the Tiber. Rome was supposed to be
a colony of Alba Longa, the chief Latin city, but the Latin peoples were
in the fourth century brought into complete subjection to Rome.
[3-8] _Champaign_, or _campagna_, means any open, level tract of
country. The name is specifically applied to the extensive plains about
Rome.
[4-9] A part of the Capitoline, one of the seven hills on which Rome is
built, was called the Tarpeian Rock, after Tarpeia, daughter of an early
governor of the citadel on the Capitoline. According to the popular
legend, when the Sabines came against Rome, Tarpeia promised to open the
gate of the fortress to them if they would give her what they wore on
their left arms. It was their jewelry which she coveted, but she was
punished for her greed and treachery, for when the soldiers had entered
the fortress they hurled their shields upon her, crushing her to death.
[5-10] _Fathers of the City_ was the name given to the members of the
Roman Senate.
[5-11] Ostia was the port of Rome, situated at the mouth of the Tiber.
[5-12] Janiculum is a hill on the west bank of the Tiber at Rome. It was
strongly fortified, and commanded the approach to Rome.
[5-13] _Iwis_ is an obsolete word meaning _truly_.
[5-14] When the kings were banished from Rome the people vowed that
never again should one man hold the supreme power. Two chief rulers were
therefore chosen, and were given the name of _consuls_.
[7-15] Sextus was the son of the last king of Rome. It was a shameful
deed of his which finally roused the people against the Tarquin family.
[8-16] In the temple of the goddess Vesta a sacred flame was kept
burning constantly, and it was thought that the consequences to the city
would be most dire if the fire were allowed to go out. The Vestal
virgins, priestesses who tended the flame, were held in the highest
honor.
[10-17] The Roman people were divided into two classes, the patricians,
to whom belonged all the privileges of citizenship, and the plebeians,
who were not allowed to hold office or even to own property. Macaulay
gives the English name _Commons_ to the plebeians.
[11-18] A discussion as to who these chiefs were, or as to where the
places mentioned were located, would be profitless. The notes attempt to
give only such information as will aid in understanding the story.
[12-19] _Campania_ is another name for the campagna.
[12-20] _Hinds_ here means _peasants_.
[14-21] Romulus, the founder of Rome, and Remus, his brother, were,
according to the legend, rescued and brought up by a she-wolf, after
they had been cast into the Tiber to die.
[18-22] The Palatine is one of the seven hills of Rome.
[18-23] The Romans personified the Tiber River, and even offered prayers
to it.
[20-24] The Comitium was the old Roman polling-place, a square situated
between the Forum and the Senate House.
[20-25] The Volscians were among the most determined of the Italian
enemies of Rome.
[20-26] Juno was the goddess who was thought of as presiding over
marriage and the birth of children.
[22-27] You can tell from these last three stanzas, that Macaulay is
writing his poem, not as an Englishman of the nineteenth century, but as
if he were a Roman in the days when Rome, though powerful, had not yet
become the luxurious city which it afterward was. That is, he thought of
himself as writing in the days of the Republic, not in the days of the
Empire.