The Roman Empire

William Smith, Eugene Lawrence

Summary

The history of Rome is that of a city which originally had only a few miles of territory, and gradually extended its dominions at first over Italy and then over the civilized world. The city lay in the central part of the peninsula, on the left bank of the Tiber, and about fifteen miles from its mouth. Its situation was upon the borders of three of the most powerful races in Italy, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. Though originally a Latin town, it received at an early period a considerable Sabine population, which left a permanent impression upon the sacred rites and religious institutions of the people. The Etruscans exercised less influence upon Rome, though it appears nearly certain that a part of its population was of Etruscan origin, and that the two Tarquins represent the establishment of an Etruscan dynasty at Rome. The population of the city may therefore be regarded as one of mixed origin, consisting of the three elements of Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans, but the last in much smaller proportion than the other two. That the Latin element predominated over the Sabine is also evident from the fact that the language of the Romans was a Latin and not a Sabellian dialect.
The early history of Rome is given in an unbroken narrative by the Roman writers, and was received by the Romans themselves as a faithful record of facts. But it can no longer be regarded in that light. Not only is it full of marvelous tales and poetical embellishments, of contradictions and impossibilities, but it wants the very foundation upon which all history must be based. The reader, therefore, must not receive the history of the first four centuries of the city as a statement of undoubted facts, though it has unquestionably preserved many circumstances which did actually occur. It is not until we come to the war with Pyrrhus that we can place full reliance upon the narrative as a trustworthy statement of facts. With this caution we now proceed to relate the celebrated legends of the foundation and early history of Rome.

Available since: 08/15/2016.

Other books that might interest you

The Life-Changing Magic of...

Marie Kondo

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? 
Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo's clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). 
With detailed guidance for determining which items in your house "spark joy" (and which don't), this international bestseller featuring Tokyo's newest lifestyle phenomenon will help you clear your clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home—and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

Show book

Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs

Patrick McManus

America’s most hilarious sportsman returns with this collection of insights about youth, the great outdoors, and the philosophy of fileting fish. When best-selling author Patrick McManus looks at a subject, you’re sure to come away with an outrageously new perspective.  In “Muldoon in Love” McManus examines how third-grade crushes can have a disastrous effect on show-and-tell. In “The Big Fix” he explores the insidious relationship between women and flat tires. In “What’s in a Name, Moonbeam?” he welcomes into the world a new grandchi ... er ... a new small relative.  Norman Dietz’s droll narration of these and two dozen more adventures by the author of How I Got This Way  and The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw  will have listeners—and maybe even a wolf or two—howling.

Show book

Dishing the Dirt - The Hidden...

Nick Duerden

'A jaw-dropping investigation' – THE BOOKSELLER'Succeeds brilliantly in dismantling casual assumptions about the drudgery of cleaning' – THE GUARDIAN'A great book, well researched, funny and poignant. I loved it.' – KIT DE WAALDishing the Dirt tells the jaw-dropping stories of London's house cleaners for the first time.Journalist Nick Duerden spoke to a vast array of domestic helps for this insightful, surprising and gripping non-fiction book.We hear from immigrants who clean suburban family homes to butlers who manage the homes of the super wealthy, and from joyful cleaners and entrepreneurs to escaped victims of human trafficking.Then there are women who dust nude and male cleaners who have to fight off wandering hands. And the crime scene cleaners.With the revelation of Maid by Stephanie Land and the cleaning tips of Mrs Hinch's Hinch Yourself Happy, Dishing the Dirt will turn all of your assumptions about cleaners upside down.About the AuthorNick Duerden is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in The Guardian, the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph, the i paper, and GQ. His books include Exit Stage Left, Get Well Soon: Adventures in Alternative Healthcare, A Life Less Lonely, and The Smallest Things. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters.ExtractPrologue. Clocking OnIt was as if she were invisible, like she wasn't even there. Or, perhaps more accurately, like she didn't really count, not in any tangible sense, this mostly silent domestic cleaner with the broken English whose back was perpetually stooped over the vacuum cleaner, the dustpan and brush, the damp mop; someone who likely knew her way around the utility room better than the homeowners themselves.Today, the wife was away on business, as she frequently was, but the husband wasn't here alone. The marital bed was not empty.'A different woman,' she says. 'Younger.'And he didn't hide this from you, wasn't embarrassed, ashamed of parading his affair so brazenly under your nose?She shakes her head, and smiles tightly. 'No,' she says. 'No.'She was seemingly in his confidence, then, but not through any prior agreement, a finger to the side of the nose, and nor was he paying her for her silence, her implicit complicity. 'I don't think he even considered me,' she says. 'Or my reaction.' She was merely part of the furniture, a once-weekly presence in the house who mutely got on with her work as she always did, over three floors, three bedrooms and two bathrooms: the vacuuming, the polishing, the dusting......In the 1980s, both husbands and wives were now required to go out to work, to pursue careers. This left little time for domestic upkeep... There was no shortage of willing char ladies. In the 21st Century, we are willing to delegate more, specifically to pay others to do the work we'd rather not do ourselves, even if we cannot really afford it. A wave of cheap immigrant labour entered the UK between 2000 and 2020, especially from the new EU member states in eastern Europe. Better to pay a Magda from Poland, say, £30 a week to run the Hoover around the house for a few hours than to save the money for a rainy day....Those that clean for Londoners are a silent army. They bring order to our lives, they put out the bins, and relieve us of at least some of the myriad pressures of modern life. They are privy to our indiscretions, our peculiarities, our curious habits. They put up with us, which isn't always easy because some of us are complicated souls.But who are the members of these well-drilled regiments? What are their stories? Buy the book and start listening

Show book

Country French Florals & Interiors

Charles Faudree

In this third book, Charles Faudree shares some of his most recent  signature Country French interiors and introduces floral artist Toni  Garner, his personal florist, to create what he deems the ultimate  accessory for every room in a home-fresh flower arrangements. Offering a  rich visual text of interior design ideas he shows that using flowers  in creative combinations and unique containers will set your rooms apart  from and above all others. From table toppers to show stoppers, these  ebullient artists offer a cornucopia of fresh floral and interior design  tips and suggestions.

Show book

Japan Is Very Wonderful - The...

Pearl Howie

Japan was the beginning of something extraordinary.  Much of who I was on that trip has disappeared.  Relationships, business, home, beliefs have all gone or changed radically.  But Japan was not my trip, this was the escape of a lifetime for a client.I discovered that amazing things don’t just happen when you follow your dreams, they also happen when you help others follow theirs.My guidebooks have always been “an escape in a box” a tour you can follow and do yourself – this one is eight nights in some of the most beautiful places (and hotels) in the world.  (It also helps if you eat fish and aren’t scared to get naked in front of others.)

Show book

The London Scene - Six Essays on...

Virginia Woolf

Take a stroll through London with Virginia Woolf as your guide in this beautifully illustrated book.

Virginia Woolf relished any opportunity for a stroll around London. She found great pleasure in observing the city and its people - noticing the subtle details that others often miss. In this collection of stunning essays, Woolf gives us an intimate tour of her beloved hometown. We venture through unfamiliar pockets of London and revisit its most famous landmarks; we smell the salty air of the East End docks and hear the echoing sounds inside the Houses of Parliament; Woolf transports us to the bustle of Oxford Street and the more peaceful moments on Hampstead Heath.

Originally published bi-monthly in 1931 by
Good Housekeeping, the essays in
The London Scene exhibit Virginia Woolf at the height of her literary powers and present an unparalleled and meditative portrait of an extraordinary metropolis - capturing the London of the 1930s and also the eternal city we recognise today.

'While it might not list the hottest restaurants and the newest boutique hotels,
The London Scene gives us an amalgam of intelligence and beauty that few, if any, guidebooks provide.' -
Francine Prose
'1930s London comes alive in these six evocative essays . . . a discerning, affectionate tour of her beloved city.' -
Washington Post

Show book