f one particular event, in which we recognize a piece of
contemporaneous history, though we meet with nothing historical either
before or after.

The history which then follows is like a picture viewed from the wrong
side, like phantasmata; the names of the kings are perfectly fictitious;
no man can tell how long the Roman kings reigned, as we do not know how
many there were, since it is only for the sake of the number that seven
were supposed to have ruled, seven being a number which appears in many
relations, especially in important astronomical ones. Hence the
chronological statements are utterly worthless. We must conceive as a
succession of centuries the period from the origin of Rome down to the
times wherein were constructed the enormous works, such as the great
drains, the wall of Servius, and others, which were actually executed
under the kings and rival the great architectural works of the
Egyptians. Romulus and Numa must be entirely set aside; but a long
period follows, in which the nations gradually unite and develop
themselves until the kingly government disappears and makes way for
republican institutions.

But it is nevertheless necessary to relate the history, such as it has
been handed down, because much depends upon it. There was not the
slightest connection between Rome and Alba, nor is it even mentioned by
the historians, though they suppose that Rome received its first
inhabitants from Alba; but in the reign of Tullus Hostilius the two
cities on a sudden appear as enemies: each of the two nations seeks war,
and tries to allure fortune by representing itself as the injured party,
each wishing to declare war. Both sent ambassadors to demand reparation
for robberies which had been committed. The form of procedure was this:
the ambassadors, that is the Fetiales, related the grievances of their
city to every person they met, they then proclaimed them in the
market-place of the other city, and if, after the expiration of thrice
ten days no reparation was made, they said, "We have done enough and now
return," whereupon the elders at home held counsel as to how they should
obtain redress. In this formula accordingly the _res_, that is, the
surrender of the guilty and the restoration of the stolen property, must
have been demanded. Now it is related that the two nations sent such
ambassadors quite simultaneously, but that Tullus Hostilius retained the
Alban ambassadors, until he was certain that the Romans