WIVES.
B.C. 751
The rape of the Sabines.--Narrative of it.--The population of Rome
chiefly men.--Necessity of providing wives for them.--Romulus sends
embassadors to the surrounding states.--Insulting replies.--Anger of
the Romans.--Great discovery made by Romulus.--His plan.--Plans for
the festival.--Races, games, and shows.--A great concourse assembles
at the fair.--The spectacles continue several weeks.--The last day of
the fair.--Signal to be made by Romulus.--Excitement of the
Romans.--Final preparations.--The moment arrives.--The maidens
seized.--The men fly.--The Romans secure the captive maidens.--An
incident.--A captive "for Thalassius."--The phrase "for Thalassius"
becomes a proverb.--Resentment of the fathers and brothers of the
maidens.--The captives called together in the morning.--Address made
to them by Romulus.--Acquiescence of the captives.--Cures.--The Sabines
demand the restoration of the captives.--Romulus refuses to restore
them.--Ceremony in commemoration of these events.
Every reader who has made even the smallest beginning in the study of
ancient history, must be acquainted, in general, with the mode which
Romulus adopted to provide the people of his city with wives, by the
transaction which is commonly called in history the rape of the
Sabines. The deed itself, as it actually occurred, may perhaps have
been one of great rudeness, violence, and cruelty. If so, the
historians who described it contrived to soften the character of it,
and to divest it in a great measure of the repulsive features which
might have been supposed to characterize such a transaction, for,
according to the narrative which they give us, the whole proceeding
was conducted in such a manner as to evince not only great ingenuity
and sagacity on the part of Romulus and his government, but also great
moderation and humanity. The circumstances, as the historians relate
them, were these:
As might naturally be supposed from the manner in which the company
which formed the population of Rome had been collected, it consisted
at first almost wholly of men. The laws and regulations referred to in
the last chapter, in respect to the family relation, were those framed
after the organization of the community had become somewhat advanced,
since at the outset there could be very few families, inasmuch as the
company which first met together to build the city, consisted simply
of an army of young men. It is true that among those who joined them
at first there were some men of middle life and some families,--still,
as is always the case with new cities and countries suddenly and
rapidly settled, the population consisted almost entirely of men.
It was necessary that the men should have wives. There were several
reasons for this. First, it was necessary for the comfort and
happiness of the people themselves. A community of mere men is gloomy
and desolate. Secondly, for the continuance and perpetuity of the
state it was necessary that there should be wives and children, so
that when one generation should have passed away there might be
another to succeed it. And, thirdly, for the preservation of order and
law. Men unmarried are, in the mass, proverbially ungovernable.
Nothing is so effectual in keeping a citizen away from scenes of
tumult and riot as a wife and children at home. The fearful violence
of the riots and insurrections of which the city of Paris has so often
been the scene, is explained, in a great degree, by the circumstance
that so immense a proportion of the population are unmarried. They
have no homes, and no defenseless wives and children to fear for, and
so they fear nothing, but give themselves up, in times of public
excitement, to the wildest impulses of passion. Romulus seems to have
understood this, and his first care was to provide the way by which as
many as possible of his people should be married.
The first measure which he adopted, was to send embassadors around to
the neighboring states, soliciting alliances with them, and
stipulations allowing of intermarriages between his people and theirs.
The proposal seemed not unreasonable, and it was made in an unassuming
and respectful manner. In the message which Romulus commissioned the
embassadors to deliver, he admitted that his colony was yet small,
and by no means equal in influence and power to the kingdoms whose
alliance he desired; but he reminded those whom he addressed that
great results came sometimes in the end from very inconsiderable
beginnings, and that their enterprise thus far, though yet in its
infancy, had been greatly prospered, and was plainly an object of
divine favor, and that the time might not be far distant when the new
state would be able fully to reciprocate such favors as it might now
receive.
The neighboring kings to whom these embassages were sent rejected the
proposals with derision. They did not even give _serious_ answers,
obviously considering the new city as a mere temporary gathering and
encampment of adventurers and outlaws, which would be as transient as
it was rude and irregular. They looked to see it break up as suddenly
and tumultuously as it had been formed. They accordingly sent back
word to Romulus that he must resort to the same plan to get women for
his city that he had adopted to procure recruits of men. He must open
an _asylum_ for them. The low and the dissolute would come flocking
to him then, they said, from all parts, and vagabond women would make
just the kind of wives for vagabond men.
Of course, the young men of the city were aroused to an extreme pitch
of indignation at receiving this response. They were clamorous for
war. They wished Romulus to lead them out against some of these cities
at once, and allow them at the same time to revenge the insults which
they had received, and to provide themselves with wives by violence,
since they could not obtain them by solicitation. But Romulus
restrained their ardor, saying that they must do nothing rashly, and
promising to devise a better way than theirs to attain the end.
The plan which he devised was to invite the people of the surrounding
states and cities both men and women, to come to Rome, with a view of
seizing some favorable occasion for capturing the women while they
were there, and driving the men away. The difficulty in the way of the
execution of this plan was obviously to induce the people to come, and
especially to bring the young women with them. The native timidity of
the maidens, joined to the contemptuous feelings which their fathers
and brothers cherished, in regard to every thing pertaining to the new
city, would very naturally keep them away, unless something could be
devised which would exert a very strong attraction.
Romulus waited a little time, in order that any slight excitement
which had been produced by his embassy should have had time to
subside, and then he made, or pretended to make, a great discovery in
a field not far from his town. This discovery was the finding of an
ancient altar of Neptune, under ground. The altar was brought to view
by some workmen who were making excavations at the place. How it came
to be under ground, and who had built it, no one knew. The rumor of
this great discovery was spread immediately in every direction.
Romulus attached great importance to the event. The altar had
undoubtedly been built, he thought, by the ancient inhabitants of the
country, and the finding it was a very momentous occurrence. It was
proper that the occasion should be solemnized by suitable religious
observances.
Accordingly, arrangements were made for a grand celebration. In
addition to the religious rites, Romulus proposed that a great fair
should be held on a plain near the city at the same time. Booths were
erected, and the merchants of all the neighboring cities were invited
to come, bringing with them such articles as they had for sale, and
those who wished to buy were to come with their money. In a word,
arrangements were made for a great and splendid festival.
There were to be games too, races, and wrestlings, and other athletic
sports, such as were in vogue in those times. The celebration was to
continue for many days, and the games and sports were to come at the
end. Romulus sent messengers to all the surrounding country to
proclaim the programme of these entertainments, and to invite every
body to come; and he adroitly arranged the details in such a manner
that the chief attractions for grave, sober-minded and substantial men
should be on the earlier days of the show, and that the latter days
should be devoted to lighter amusements, such as would possess a charm
for the young, the light-hearted and the happy. It was among this last
class that he naturally expected to find the maidens whom his men
would choose in looking for wives.
When the time arrived the spectacles commenced. There was a great
concourse at the outset, but the people who first came, were, as
Romulus supposed would be the case, chiefly men. They came in
companies, as if for mutual support and protection, and they exhibited
in a greater or less degree an air of suspicion, watchfulness and
mistrust. They were, however, received with great cordiality and
kindness. They were conducted about the town, and were astonished to
find how considerable a town it was. The streets, the houses, the
walls, the temples, simple in construction as they were, far surpassed
the expectations they had formed. The visitors were treated with great
hospitality, and entertained in a manner which, considering the
circumstances of the case, was quite sumptuous. The women and children
too, who came on these first days, received from all the Romans very
special attention and regard.
As the celebrations went on from day to day, a considerable change
took place in the character and appearance of the company. The men
ceased to be suspicious and watchful. Some went home, and carried such
reports of the new city, and of the kindness, and hospitality, and
gentle behavior of the inhabitants, that new visitors came continually
to see for themselves. Every day the proportion of stern and
suspicious men diminished, and that of gay and happy-looking youths
and maidens increased.
In the mean time, the men of the city were under strict injunctions
from Romulus to treat their guests in the most respectful manner,
leaving them entirely at liberty to go and come as they pleased,
except so far as they could detain them by treating them with kindness
and attention, and devising new sports and amusements for them from
day to day. Things continued in this state for two or three weeks,
during all which time the new city was a general place of resort for
the people of all the surrounding country. Of course a great many
agreeable acquaintances would naturally be formed between the young
men of the city and their visitors, as accidental circumstances, or
individual choice and preference brought them together; and thus,
without any directions on the subject from Romulus, each man would
very naturally occupy himself, in anticipation of the general seizure
which he knew was coming, in making his selection beforehand, of the
maiden whom he intended, when the time for the seizure came, to make
his own; and the maiden herself would probably be less terrified, and
make less resistance to the attempt to capture her, than if it were by
a perfect stranger that she was to be seized.
All this Romulus seems very adroitly to have arranged. The time for
the final execution of the scheme was to be the last day of the
celebration. The best spectacle and show of all was to take place on
that day. The Romans were directed to come armed to this show, but to
keep their arms carefully concealed beneath their garments. They were
to do nothing till Romulus gave the signal. He was himself to be
seated upon a sort of throne, in a conspicuous place, where all could
see him, presiding, as it were, over the assembly, while the spectacle
went on; and finally, when he judged that the proper moment had
arrived, he was to give the signal by taking off a certain loose
article of dress which he wore--a sort of cloak or mantle--and folding
it up, and then immediately unfolding it again. This mantle was a sort
of badge of royalty and was gayly adorned with purple stripes upon a
white ground. It was well adapted, therefore, to the purpose of being
used as a signal, inasmuch as any motions that were made with it could
be very easily seen.
Every thing being thus arranged, the assembly was convened, and the
games and spectacles went on. The Romans were full of excitement and
trepidation, each one having taken his place as near as possible to
the maiden whom he was intending to seize, and occupying himself with
keeping his eye upon her as closely as he could, without seeming to do
so, and at the same time watching the royal mantle, and every movement
made by the wearer of it, that he might catch the signal the instant
that it should be made. All this time the men among the guests at the
entertainment were off their guard, and wholly at their ease--having
no suspicion whatever of the mine that was ready to be sprung beneath
them. The wives, mothers, and children, too, were all safe, as well as
unsuspicious of danger; for Romulus had given special charge that no
married woman should be molested. The men had had ample time and
opportunity in the many days of active social intercourse which they
had enjoyed with their guests, to know who were free, and they were
forbidden in any instance to take a wife away from her husband.
At length the moment arrived for giving the signal. Romulus took off
his mantle, folded it, and then unfolded it again. The Romans
immediately drew their swords, and rushed forward, each to secure his
own prize. A scene of the greatest excitement and confusion ensued.
The whole company of visitors perceived of course that some great act
of treachery was perpetrated upon them, but they were wholly in the
dark in respect to the nature and design of it. They were chiefly
unarmed, and wholly unprepared for so sudden an attack, and they fled
in all directions in dismay, protecting themselves and their wives and
children as well as they could, as they retired, and aiming only to
withdraw as large a number as possible from the scene of violence and
confusion that prevailed. The Romans were careful not to do them any
injury, but, on the contrary, to allow them to withdraw, and to take
away all the mothers and children without any molestation. In fact, it
was the very object and design of the onset which they made upon the
company, not only to seize upon the maidens, but to drive all the rest
of their visitors away. The men, therefore, in the excitement and
terror of the moment, fled in all directions, taking with them those
whom they could most readily secure, who were, of course, those whom
the Romans left to them; while the Romans themselves withdrew with
their prizes, and secured them within the walls of the city.
In reading this extraordinary story, we naturally feel a strong
disposition to inquire what part the damsels themselves took, when
they found themselves thus suddenly seized and carried away, by these
daring and athletic assailants. Did they resist and struggle to get
free, or did they yield themselves without much opposition to their
fate? That they did not resist effectually is plain, for the Roman
young men succeeded in carrying them away, and securing them. It may
be that they attempted to resist, but found their strength overpowered
by the desperate and reckless violence of their captors. And yet, it
can not be denied that woman is endued with the power of making by
various means a very formidable opposition to any attempt to abduct
her by any single man, when she is thoroughly in earnest about it. How
it was in fact in this case we have no direct information, and we have
consequently no means of forming any opinion in respect to the light
in which this rough and lawless mode of wooing was regarded by the
objects of it, except from the events which subsequently occurred.
One incident took place while the Romans were seizing and carrying
away their prizes, which was afterward long remembered, as it became
the foundation of a custom which continued for many centuries to form
a part of the marriage ceremony at Rome. It seems that some young
men--very young, and of a humble class--had seized a peculiarly
beautiful girl--one of some note and consideration, too, among her
countrywomen--and were carrying her away, like the rest. Some other
young Romans of the patrician order seeing this, and thinking that so
beautiful a maiden ought not to fall to the share of such plebeians,
immediately set out in full pursuit to rescue her. The plebeians
hurried along to escape from them, calling out at the same time,
"_Thalassio! Thalassio!_" which means "For Thalassius, For
Thalassius." They meant by this to convey the idea that the prize
which they had in possession was intended not for any one of their own
number, but for Thalassius. Now Thalassius was a young noble
universally known and very highly esteemed by all his countrymen, and
when the rescuing party were thus led to suppose that the beautiful
lady was intended for him, they acquiesced immediately, and desisted
from their attempt to recapture her, and thus by the aid of their
stratagem the plebeians carried off their prize in safety. When this
circumstance came afterward to be known, the ingenuity of the young
plebeians, and the success of their manoeuver, excited very general
applause, and the exclamation, _Thalassio_, passed into a sort of
proverb, and was subsequently adopted as an exclamation of assent and
congratulation, to be used by the spectators at a marriage ceremony.
Romulus had issued most express and positive orders that the young
captives should be treated after their seizure in the kindest and most
respectful manner, and should be subject to no violence, and no
ill-treatment of any kind, other than that necessary for conveying
them to the places of security previously designated. They suffered
undoubtedly a greater or less degree of distress and terror,--but
finding that they were treated, after their seizure, with respectful
consideration, and that they were left unmolested by their captors,
they gradually recovered their composure during the night, and in the
morning were quite self-possessed and calm. Their fathers and brothers
in the mean time had gone home to their respective cities, taking with
them the women and children that they had saved, and burning with
indignation and rage against the perpetrators of such an act of
treachery as had been practiced upon them. They were of course in a
state of great uncertainty and suspense in respect to the fate which
awaited the captives, and were soon eagerly engaged in forming and
discussing all possible plans for rescuing and recovering them. Thus
the night was passed in agitation and excitement, both within and
without the city,--the excitement of terror and distress, great
perhaps, though subsiding on the part of the captives, and of
resentment and rage which grew deeper and more extended every hour, on
the part of their countrymen.
When the morning came, Romulus ordered the captive maidens to be all
brought together before him in order that he might make as it were an
apology to them for the violence to which they had been subjected, and
explain to them the circumstances which had impelled the Romans to
resort to it.
"You ought not," said he, "to look upon it as an indignity that you
have been thus seized, for the object of the Romans in seizing you was
not to dishonor you, or to do you any injury, but only to secure you
for their wives in honorable marriage; and far from being displeased
with the extraordinariness of the measures which they have adopted to
secure you, you ought to take pride in them, as evincing the ardor and
strength of the affection with which you have inspired your lovers. I
will assure you that when you have become their wives you shall be
treated with all the respect and tenderness that you have been
accustomed to experience under your fathers' roofs. The brief coercion
which we have employed for the purpose of securing you in the first
instance,--a coercion which we were compelled to resort to by the
necessity of the case,--is the only rudeness to which you will ever
be exposed. Forgive us then for this one liberty which we have taken,
and consider that the fault, whatever fault in it there may be, is not
ours, but that of your fathers and brothers who rejected our offers
for voluntary and peaceful alliances, and thus compelled us to resort
to this stratagem or else to lose you altogether. Your destiny if you
unite with us will be great and glorious. We have not taken you
captive to make you prisoners or slaves, or to degrade you in any way
from your former position; but to exalt you to positions of high
consideration in a new and rising colony;--a colony which is surely
destined to become great and powerful, and of which we mean you to be
the chief glory and charm."
The young and handsome Romans stood by while Romulus made this speech,
their countenances animated with excitement and pleasure. The maidens
themselves seemed much inclined to yield to their fate. Their
resentment gradually subsided. It has been, in fact, in all ages,
characteristic of women to be easily led to excuse and forgive any
wrong on the part of another which is prompted by love for herself:
and these injured maidens seemed gradually to come to the conclusion,
that considering all the circumstances of the case their abductors
were not so much in fault after all. In a short time an excellent
understanding was established, and they were all married. There were,
it is said, about five or six hundred of them, and it proved that most
of them were from the nation of the Sabines, a nation which inhabited
a territory north of the colony of the Romans. The capital of the
Sabines was a city called Cures. Cures was about twenty miles from
Rome.[E]
[Footnote E: See map of Latium, page 134.]
The Sabines, in deliberating on the course which they should pursue in
the emergency, found themselves in a situation of great perplexity. In
the first place the impulse which urged them to immediate acts of
retaliation and hostility was restrained by the fact that so many of
their beloved daughters were wholly in the power of their enemies, and
they could not tell what cruel fate might await the captives if they
were themselves to resort to any measures that would exasperate or
provoke the captors. Then again their own territory was very much
exposed and they were by no means certain, in case a war should be
commenced between them and the Romans, how it would end. Their own
population was much divided, being scattered over the territory, or
settled in various cities and towns which were but slightly fortified,
and consequently were much exposed to assault in case the Romans were
to make an incursion into their country. In view of all these
considerations the Sabines concluded that it would be best for them on
the whole, to try the influence of gentle measures, before resorting
to open war.
They therefore sent an embassy to Romulus, to remonstrate in strong
terms against the wrong which the Romans had done them by their
treacherous violence, and to demand that the young women should be
restored. "If you will restore them to us now," said they, "we will
overlook the affront which you have put upon us, and make peace with
you; and we will enter into an alliance with you so that hereafter
your people and ours may be at liberty to intermarry in a fair and
honorable way, but we can not submit to have our daughters taken away
from us by treachery and force."
Reasonable as this proposition seems, Romulus did not think it best
to accede to it. It was, in fact, too late, for such deeds once done
can hardly be undone. Romulus replied, that the women, being now the
wives of the Romans, could not be surrendered. The violence, he said,
of which the Sabines complained was unavoidable. No other possible way
had been open to them for gaining the end. He was willing, he added,
to enter into a treaty of peace and alliance with the Sabines, but
they must acknowledge, as a preliminary to such a treaty, the validity
of the marriages, which, as they had already been consummated, could
not now be annulled.
The Sabines, on their part, could not accede to these proposals.
Being, however, still reluctant to commence hostilities, they
continued the negotiations--though while engaged in them they seemed
to anticipate an unfavorable issue, for they were occupied all the
time in organizing troops, strengthening the defenses of their
villages and towns, and making other vigorous preparations for war.
The Romans, in the mean time, seemed to find the young wives which
they had procured by these transactions a great acquisition to their
colony. It proved, too, that they not only prized the acquisition,
but they exulted so much in the ingenuity and success of the stratagem
by which their object had been effected, that a sort of symbolical
violence in taking the bride became afterward a part of the marriage
ceremony in all subsequent weddings. For always, in future years, when
the new-married wife was brought home to her husband's house, it was
the custom for him to take her up in his arms at the door, and carry
her over the threshold as if by force, thus commemorating by this
ceremony the coercion which had signalized the original marriages of
his ancestors, the founders of Rome.