in
the state, indicated how greatly the Romans had declined from their
primitive faith.

But the most conspicuous of the ancient remains in this quarter, and
the first to attract the notice of every visitor, is the Ionic portico
of eight columns, called at first the Temple of Jupiter, and then of
Vespasian, but now definitely determined to be the Temple of Saturn,
for it is closely connected with the AErarium, and the AErarium is said
by several ancient authors to have led into the podium of the temple
by a doorway in its wall still visible. This temple is supposed to be
of very early origin, and to have marked the site of an ancient Sabine
altar to the oldest of the gods of Italy long before the arrival of
the Romans. It was nearly entire so late as the fifteenth century;
but its cella was ruthlessly destroyed shortly afterwards, and its
marble ornaments used for making lime. The present group of pillars
was so clumsily restored by the French at the beginning of this
century that they are seen to differ from each other in diameter, and
the frieze is composed of fragments that do not harmonise.

But the most remarkable monument of antiquity in this part is the
marble triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus, which stands in front of
the ruins of the Temple of Concord. It invaded the site of the
republican Graecostasis, where foreign ambassadors waited for an
audience of the senate, and occupied part of the area of the Comitium,
whose original character was thereby destroyed; for it was erected at
a time when men ceased to care for the venerable associations
connected with the early history of their city. One gazes upon this
monument of Roman power and pride with deep respect, for it has stood
nearly seventeen centuries; and though rusty and sorely battered, and
its sculptures much mutilated, it is still one of the most solid and
perfect relics of imperial times. It was raised to commemorate the
wars of Septimius Severus in Parthia and Arabia; and represents among
its carvings the goddess Rome receiving the homage of the Eastern
nations. It exhibits on its panels many scenes connected with his
campaigns, the memory of which no humane man would have liked to
perpetuate. On the upper part of the Arch is a large inscription in
honour of the emperor and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta. The name
of Geta, however, was afterwards erased by his brother when he had
murdered him, and other words substituted. Marks of the erasure may