crash. As it was falling Horatius plunged into the Tiber, and praying to the gods for help, he swam to the other side in safety. The Romans received him with shouts of joy, and even the Etruscans could not help raising a cheer in admiration of his bravery.
The three Romans were well rewarded. A fine statue of Horatius was built in one of the squares of the city. On the base of the statue was placed a brass tablet, with an account of the heroic deed engraved on it. The Senate also gave Horatius as much land as he could plow around in a day.
Mucius the Left-Handed
But Porsena still remained with his army on the other side of the river. He thought that by preventing food from being sent into the city he could force the inhabitants to surrender. So he got ships and stationed them on the Tiber to drive away or seize any vessels that should attempt to come to Rome with food.
Now there was in Rome at this time a very brave young man named Caius Mucius, and he thought of a plan to save the city. His plan was to march boldly into the enemy’s camp and kill King Porsena. So he concealed a sword under his tunic and went across the river to the Etruscan camp. Then he made his way to the place where the king was sitting.
It happened that it was pay day in the army and the soldiers were getting their money. A secretary, who sat beside the king and was dressed very much like him, was talking to the men and giving them orders. Mucius mistook the secretary for Porsena and rushed forward and stabbed him to death. Instantly the daring Roman was seized by the guards. He heard the soldiers crying out that the secretary was killed. Then he knew what a mistake he had made.
Porsena was greatly enraged at seeing his secretary killed, and in a loud and angry voice he commanded Mucius to tell who he was and why he had committed such a deed. Without showing any sign of fear the bold Mucius answered:
“I am a Roman citizen. I came here to kill you, because you are an enemy of my country. I have failed, but there are others to come after me who will not fail. Your life will be constantly in danger, and you will be killed when you least expect it.”
On hearing these words Porsena jumped from his seat in a great fury and threatened to burn Mucius to death if he did not at once tell all about the others who were coming to kill him. But Mucius was not frightened, and to show how little he cared about the king’s threat he thrust his right hand into the flame of a fire which had been lighted close by and held it there without flinching. At the same time he cried out to the king:
“Behold how little we Romans care for pain when it is to defend our country.”
Porsena was astonished at this sight, and he so much admired the courage and patriotism of the Roman that he ordered the guards to set him free. Then Mucius said to the king:
“In return for your kindness I now tell you of my own free will what I would not tell you when you threatened me with punishment. Know then that three hundred Roman youths have bound themselves by oath to kill you, each to make the attempt in his turn. The lot fell first on me. I have failed, but the attempt will be made again and again until some one succeeds.”
King Porsena was so terrified on hearing this that he resolved to make peace at once with Rome. So he immediately sent messengers to the Senate, and terms of peace were quickly agreed upon.
The Senate rewarded Mucius by giving him a tract of land on the banks of the Tiber. This land was afterwards called the Mucian Meadows. Mucius himself got the name of Scævola, a Latin word which means left-handed. He had lost the use of his right hand by burning it in the fire.
Coriolanus
I
One of the great men of Rome not long after the banishment of the Tarquins was Caius Marcius. He was a member of a noble family, and from his youth he had been noted for his bravery.
In his time there was a war between the Romans and the Volscians, a people of a district in Latium. The Romans made an attack on Corioli, the capital city of the Volscians, but were defeated and driven back. Caius Marcius reproached the Roman soldiers for running from the enemy. His words made them ashamed and they turned again to the fight. With Caius at their head they sent the Volscians flying back into the city. Caius followed the enemy to the gates, which were partly open. When he saw this he shouted to the Romans:
“The gates are open for us; let us not be afraid to enter!”
Caius himself sprang in and kept the gates open for the Romans. After a short fight the city was taken.
Then everybody said that it was Caius who had taken Corioli, and that he should be called after the name of the city he had won. So ever afterward he was known as Coriolanus.
II
But though Coriolanus was a brave soldier and always ready to fight for Rome, he had some qualities that were not so good. He had great contempt for the common people, and he took part with those who tried to oppress them.
Only a little while before the taking of Corioli, there was a serious trouble between the people and the patricians. A great many of the people earned their living by farming. But when there was a war the strong men had to become soldiers, and as Rome was almost constantly at war the men were nearly always away from their farms. Very often, therefore, they had to borrow money to support their families while they themselves were away fighting, for at this time Roman soldiers got no regular pay.
Now it was the rich patricians who loaned the money, and if it was not paid back at the time agreed upon they could put the people who owed it in jail, or they could sell their wives and children as slaves.
In this way the plebeians often suffered much hardship. At last a great number of them resolved to leave Rome and make a settlement for themselves somewhere else in Italy. The patricians did not like this very much, for if the common people went away there would be a scarcity of soldiers for the army. So the Senate, after thinking the matter over, proposed that the plebeians should elect officers of their own, to be called tribunes, who should have power to veto laws they did not like, that is, prevent them from being passed. The word veto, which is Latin for I forbid, is used in the same way in our own country. The President of the United States and the governors of some states have, within certain limits, power to prevent the passing of laws they do not approve. This is called the veto power.
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