THE HISTORY

OF THE

ROMAN REPUBLIC

ABRIDGED FROM THE HISTORY BY

PROFESSOR MOMMSEN

BY

C. BRYANS

ASSISTANT-MASTER IN DULWICH COLLEGE

AND

F. J. R. HENDY

ASSISTANT-MASTER IN FETTES COLLEGE

London

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

All rights reserved

PREFACE

PROBABLY few whose duty it is to teach Roman history in schools will deny that some such work as the present has too long been needed. It is for men thus engaged to judge whether this book meets their need. It would be alike impertinent and superfluous to dilate on the merits of Professor Mommsen's history: those merits have won recognition from all qualified judges, and have long established his position as the

prince of Roman historians. Unfortunately the size of his history is beyond the compass of ordinary schoolboys; nay, possibly, others besides schoolboys have shrunk from attempting so formidable a task. Our abridgment of his history must of necessity give but a feeble and inadequate idea of the original; but something will have been accomplished if we have given some conception, however faint, of that original, and have induced fresh inquirers to read for themselves those pages so bright with wisdom and imagination. There has been no attempt to hold the balance between Professor Mommsen and his rival Ihne, nor to answer the criticisms of Professor Freeman. Such efforts, even if we had the ability to make them, would be manifestly out of place in such a work as this. Occasionally, indeed, conflicting views have been indicated in a note; and the authorities have been studied, but our text contains the views of Professor Mommsen. Whatever merits may belong to this work should be ascribed to another; we must be held responsible for its defects. Our object has been to present the salient points clearly, and as far as possible, to escape dulness, the Nemesis of the abridger. Consequently we have tried to avoid writing down to a boy's level, a process invariably resented by the boy himself. Inverted commas indicate that the passage is directly taken from the original. The requirements of space have necessitated the omission of a special chapter on Literature, Art, Religion, Economy, etc.; nor have we thought it wise to insert a few maps or illustrations of coins, works of art, etc. An atlas is really indispensable, and one is, we believe, shortly to be published specially designed to illustrate this period. We have to express our great indebtedness to Professor Dickson for allowing us to make free use of his translation, the merits of which it would be difficult to overpraise. Our gratitude is also due to Mr. Fowler, of Lincoln College, Oxford, and to Mr. Matheson, of New College, Oxford. The former kindly revised the proof sheets of the chapter on Authorities, and gave valuable suggestions. The latter was good enough to revise all the proof sheets of the history, in the preparation of which we often found much assistance from his very useful "Outline of Roman History." We have also to thank Mr. H. E. Goldschmidt, of Fettes College, Edinburgh, for a careful revision of a large portion of the proofs.

While our history was in the press the third volume of Professor Mommsen's "Römisches Staatsrecht" appeared. Where possible, we have added references to it in our lists of authorities.

CONTENTS

BOOK FIRST-The Period Anterior to the Abolition of the Monarchy, Ch. I.-V.; BOOK SECOND-From the Abolition of the Monarchy in Rome to the Union of Italy, Ch. VI.-XI.; BOOK THIRD-From the Union of Italy to the Subjugation of Carthage and the Greek States, Ch. XII.-XVIII.; BOOK FOURTH-The Revolution, Ch. XIX.-XXVII. BOOK FIFTH-The Establishment of the Military Monarchy, Ch. XXVIII.-XXXVIII.

of the river Enipeus, which intersects the plain stretching southward from Larissa. Pompeius pitched his camp on the right bank, along the slope of Cynoscephalae. His entire army was assembled, and he had now eleven legions numbering 47,000 men and 7000 horse, while Caesar was still expecting two legions from Aetolia and Thessaly, and two which were arriving by way of Illyria from Italy; his eight legions did not number more than twenty-two thousand men and his cavalry but one thousand troopers. All military reasons urged Pompeius to fight soon, and the impatience of the emigrants had doubtless more weight than these reasons. The senators considered their triumph secure. Already there was strife about filling up Caesar's pontificate, and houses were hired in the Forum for the next elections. Great indignation was excited when Pompeius hesitated to cross the rivulet which separated the camps. He was only delaying the battle, they alleged, in order to perpetuate his part of Agamemnon and to rule the longer over so many noble lords. The general yielded, and prepared to attack. The battle-field was almost the same on which, a hundred and fifty years ago, the Romans had laid the foundation of their Eastern dominion. The right of the Pompeians rested on the Enipeus, Caesar's left upon the broken ground in front of the river. The other wings were both out in the plain, and each was covered by cavalry and light troops. The plan of Pompeius was to scatter with his cavalry the weak band of horsemen opposite to him, and then to take Caesar's right wing in the rear. But Caesar, foreseeing the rout of his cavalry, had stationed behind his right flank about two thousand of his best legionaries. As the enemy's cavalry galloped round the line, driving Caesar's horsemen before them, they were met and thrown into confusion by this unexpected infantry attack, and galloped from the field of battle.* This unexpected repulse of the cavalry raised the courage of the

*It was in this attack that the well-known direction of Caesar to his troops to strike at the faces of the enemy's horsemen was given. The infantry, acting in an irregular way against cavalry, were not to throw their pila, but to use them as spears, and, to be more effective, were to thrust at the faces of the troopers. It was probably the rough wit of the camp which suggested the idea that the Pompeiar cavalry filed for fear of scars on their faces.

A History of Greece

TO THE DEATH OF

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

BY

J. B. BURY, M.A.

HON. LITT.D. DURHAM; HON. LL.D. EDINBURGH; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ST. PETERSBURG; FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE; AND REGIUS PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE

UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN

WITH MAPS AND PLANS

London

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

All rights reserved

IN determining the form and character of this book, I have been prompted by two convictions. One is that while, in writing a history based on the original authorities and from one's own personal point of view, it is natural and certainly easier to allow it to range into several volumes, its compression into a single volume often produces a more useful book. In the case of a new history of Greece, it seemed worth while to undertake the more laborious task. The other opinion which I venture to hold is this. So far as history is concerned, those books which are capable of enlisting the interest of mature readers seem to me to be best also for informing younger students. Therefore, while my aim is to help education, this book has in view a wider circle than those merely who are going through a course of school or university discipline.

It was a necessary consequence of the limitations of space which I imposed upon myself, that literature and art, philosophy and religion, should be touched upon only when they directly illustrate, or come into some specially intimate connexion with, the political history. It will be found that I have sometimes interpreted this rule liberally; but it is a rule which could be the more readily adopted as so many excellent works dealing with art, literature, and philosophy are now easily accessible. The interspersion, in a short political history, of a few unconnected chapters dealing, as they must deal, inadequately with art and literature seems useless and inartistic.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTORY.-Greece and the Aegean.

CHAPTER 1. The Beginnings of Greece and the Heroic Age; 2. The Expansion of Greece; 3. Growth of Sparta; 4. The Union of Attica and the Foundation of the Athenian Democracy; 5. Growth of Athens; 6. The Advance of Persia to the Aegean; 7. The Perils of Greece. The Persian and Punic Invasions; 8. The Foundation of the Athenian Empire; 9. The Athenian Empire under the Guidance of Pericles; 10. The War of Athens with the Peloponnesians (431-421 B.C.); 11. The Decline and Downfall of the Athenian Empire; 12. The Spartan Supremacy and the Persian War; 13. The Revival of Athens and her Second League; 14. The Hegemony of Thebes; 15. The Syracusan Empire and the Struggle with Carthage; 16. Rise of Macedonia; 17. The Conquest of Persia; 18. The Conquest of the Far East. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE; NOTES AND REFERENCES; INDEX.