S. Russell Forbes

“ The excavations of the last few years have thrown an entirely new flood of light upon the existing remains and Roman history, and have proved beyond doubt that there is a great deal more truth in the early history of Rome than has generally been supposed. It has been our privilege to watch the excavations year after year, and elucidate the remains found; and our labours have been rewarded with some not unimportant discoveries. We state nothing without citing classic authority to bear us witness, and the authority so cited agrees in a marvellous way with the ruins discovered. ”

“ The contemplation of the city, however, produces the effect of a vast and solid reading of history. Each of the great representations of the city, always and differently mistress of the world, seems to have chosen its respective quarter—the Rome of the kings and emperors is spread out on the Palatine, Esquiline, and Quirinal; republican Rome occupies the Capitol and Aventine; whilst Christian Rome, isolated and solitary, reigns on the Cœlian and Vatican eminences. ”

“ No mere guide-book chatter, no parrot-like repetition of an oft-told and wearisome story, but an intelligent conveying of historical facts, evincing a genuine love for research, a profound admiration for the work of the ancient days when Rome ruled the world, and a deep regard for those trophies which the hand of time and the vandalism of man have left to teach us the history of the past."—Tourist Chronicle. ”

“ The modern town, of 7000 inhabitants, has few attractions except its charming situation and past recollections. It bore the name of Tibur in antiquity, and during the Augustan age the Roman nobles founded splendid villas there, among which were those of Augustus himself, Mæcenas, and the Emperor Hadrian. The beauties of Tivoli and the surrounding country were recorded in undying verse by Horace, whose Sabine farm was not far distant, and who seems to have delighted to dwell in retirement in the neighbourhood rather than in noisy, bustling Rome. ”

“ The narrower front looked down from a terrace of considerable elevation upon the Forum, and was connected with it by means of a double flight of stairs, the remains of which were discovered during excavations made some time ago. These pillars, as well as the fragments of the architrave and cornice supported by them, are among the most beautiful architectural remains of ancient Rome. The ornaments of the capitals and of the entablature are as rich and splendid as they are pure and simple. ”

“ In the centre of the area formed by this immense colonnade, an Egyptian obelisk, of one solid piece of granite, ascends to the height of 130 feet; two perpetual fountains, one on each side, play in the air, and fall in sheets round the basins of porphyry that receive them. Raised on three successive flights of marble steps, extending 379 feet in length, and towering to the elevation of 148, you see the majestic front of the basilica itself. This front is supported by a single row of Corinthian pillars and pilasters, and adorned with an attic, a balustrade, and thirteen colossal statues. ”

“ The third line:—'The mighty Apollo, the all-brilliant son of the Sun, whom the Sun chose above all others, and to whom the valiant Mars gave gifts. Thou whose good fortune abideth for ever; thou whom Ammon loves; thou who hast filled the temple of the Phœnix with good things; thou to whom the gods have given long life. Apollo, the mighty son of Heron; Ramestes, the king of the world, who has defended Egypt, having subdued the foreign enemy; whom the Sun loves ”

“ Modern Rome stands thirty feet above the level of Ancient Rome, and is a strange mixture of narrow streets, open squares, churches, fountains, ruins, new palaces, and dirt. Built during the seventeenth century, the city is situated in a valley which formed part of the ancient city, and lies to the north of it, being divided from it by the Capitoline Hill, and offering to the visitor attractions which no other city can boast. ”

“ We, the savages of those days, have ever since been growing in strength and wisdom, laying the foundations of future empires, overturning others, but not with the idea of "universal conquest," but simply for a "balance of power." Ancient Rome, by the help of invaders, flood, fire, the Popes, and its inhabitants, was reduced to ruins, which have been in considerable part preserved by an immense accumulation of soil, which, again, caused them to be forgotten till recent explorations once more brought them to light. ”

“ One reverend father has his mouth wide open, as if he had died in the midst of a howl of terror and remorse, which perhaps is even now screeching through eternity. As a general thing, however, these frocked and hooded skeletons seem to take a more cheerful view of their position, and try with ghastly smiles to turn it into a jest. There is no disagreeable scent, such as might be expected from the decay of so many holy persons, in whatever odour of sanctity they may have taken their departure. ”

“ The tomb contained originally two chambers, but the flooring of the upper one has been destroyed—thus making one—the vault of which was decorated with stucco ornaments. In construction it is like the painted tombs on the Via Latina, the bricks being carefully baked and laid with very little mortar between them, not unlike the entrance to some of the warehouses at Ostia, and of the same date—time of Hadrian; for being a tomb, and not cased with marble, it shows more careful construction than the ordinary brickwork of the time of that emperor. ”

“ Rome commences at a point—Piazza del Popolo—and spreads out southwards like a fan, the western extremity being occupied by the Vatican, and the eastern by the Lateran; both these head-quarters of the Papacy are isolated from the rest of the city. Modern Rome occupies the valley of the Campus Martius, which was outside ancient Rome, and the hills that abut it. Rome is divided into two unequal parts by the river Tiber, which enters the line of the walls, with the Popolo on its left. For a short distance it flows southwards; then it makes a great bend to the west ”

“ The ascent from the Arch of Severus to the Square of the Capitol was anciently the Pass of the Two Groves. At the top of the pass was the Gate of Janus, the gate of the citadel, betrayed by Tarpeia. The ascent from the Forum, on our right, was the Clivus Capitolinus, a continuation of the Via Sacra. It is only at its termination that the present road is on the site of the ancient slope, where some of the pavement may still be seen. The gate which here gave access to the arx was called the Gate of Saturn. ”

“ Justice is a beautiful figure, but the tin drapery put on to cover its nakedness by Bernini destroys its beauty. It is necessary to re-paint the tin every now and then. There is a deal of this mock modesty in S. Peter's.
Turning into the south aisle, on our right, is the tomb of Alexander VIII. The bronze statue is by Arrigo, and the figures of Religion and Prudence by Rossi. The relief represents the Pope canonizing five saints. Opposite is the mosaic of S. Peter at the Gate of the Temple. ”

“ The germ of the old Roman race which civilized the world is still alive, and is quickly rising to a new life—lifting itself, after twenty centuries of burial, from the tomb of ignorance and oppression. Here is the centre of art and of the world's past recollections; here is spoken in its purity the most beautiful of languages; here are a fine climate and a fine country; and here are being strengthened the power and the splendour of united Italy.
THE WALLS OF ROME. FIRST WALL—ROMA QUADRATA.
The city of Romulus, upon the Palatine Hill, was called from its shape Roma Quadrata. ”

“ Now, an obelisk is a rough stone, rising to a great height, shaped like a pillar in the stadium; and it tapers upwards in imitation of a sunbeam, keeping its quadrilateral shape, till it rises almost to a point, being made smooth by the hand of a sculptor. ”

“ For the temple that was built in the time of our fathers, upon the same foundations with the first, which was consumed by fire, is found to differ from the ancient temple in nothing but in magnificence and the richness of the materials, having three rows of columns in the south front, and two on each side. The body is divided into three temples, parallel to one another, the partition walls forming their common sides. The middle temple is dedicated to Jupiter; and on one side stands that of Juno, and on the other that of Minerva. And all three have but one pediment and one roof. ”

“ The façade of the basilica, the upper part of which has lately been uncovered, is toward the Tiber; it consists of a beautiful mosaic which has taken thirteen years to complete, and is the finest production of the Vatican manufactory. The whole is surmounted by a cross, under which are the words Spes Unica; below it is our Lord enthroned, with SS. Peter and Paul on either side below the steps of his throne. A scene symbolic of the New Testament is below. A rock occupies the centre, from which flow the four rivers of the Apocalypse; on the summit is the Lamb supporting the cross. ”

“ Hercules, after he had gone through Liguria and Tuscany, encamped on the banks of the Tiber, where Rome now stands, built many ages after by Romulus, the son of Mars. The natural inhabitants at that time inhabited a little town upon a hill, now called Mount Palatine. Here Potitius and Pinarius, the most eminent persons of quality among them, entertained Hercules. There are now at Rome ancient monuments of these men; for the most noble family, called the Pinarii, remains still among the Romans, and is accounted the most ancient at this day. ”

“ The clatter of hoofs in winter begins at 4 p.m., and in summer at 7 P.M. On Sundays a large crowd is collected within its limits from all quarters of the city, composed of all classes, from the minente and Albanian nurses bearing babies, to the duchesses gliding along in landaus. On those days it becomes the paradise of children, who flock thither with their guardians, and enjoy a rare frolic in gathering wild flowers, rolling on the grass, and breathing a far fresher air than the city affords. In the centre of the villa is the Museum. ”

“ Forbes has been a close student of Roman history, and for a period of some sixteen years has been familiar with all the excavations and the developments they have made. To be in his company and to hear his explanations is therefore to reap many advantages which even the best informed student of written history could not gain if left to himself."—Boston Journal.
"Mr. Russell Forbes is endowed with a thorough classical education and great ability of research, and it is most delightful to be privileged to hear his learned lectures, and while here to be conducted by him."—Cleveland Herald. ”

“ On some of the skulls there are inscriptions, purporting that such a monk, who formerly made use of that particular head-piece, died on such a day and year; but vastly the greater number are piled up undistinguishably into the architectural design like the many deaths that make up the one glory of a victory. In the side walls of the vaults are niches where skeleton monks sit or stand, clad in the brown habits that they wore in life, and labelled with their names and the dates of their decease. ”

“ When the Alban Hills were active volcanoes, the ashes and scoriæ thrown up fell into the sea, now the Campagna. The pressure of water on it formed it into stone: where there has been a great pressure, it is very hard; where little pressure, it is softer; and where there was no pressure, it still remains a sort of sand—this mixed with live lime is the celebrated Roman cement. The softer tufa was used by the Greek colonists, and the hard stone by the kings of Rome. Some tufa from the neighbourhood of Gabii is dark gray, the other is brown and reddish. Peperino is also volcanic. ”

“ This splendid ruin usually bears the name of the Temple of Peace, erected by Vespasian in this neighbourhood and partly on this site, and which was destroyed by fire as early as the time of Commodus, A.D. 191. Herodianus, who saw the fire, says: "By the slight earthquake and the thunderbolt which followed it, the whole of the sacred enclosure was consumed." Claudius Galenus, the celebrated physician, says that the whole edifice was consumed, as also most of his writings, which were in his shop in the Via Sacra.
This is one of the most imposing ruins in Rome ”

“ Thence passing into the Piazza del Gesù, we can visit the
CHURCH OF THE JESUITS (Il Gesu) ,
one of the finest in Rome. Its interior is rich in stuccoes, paintings, and sculptures. The frescoes of the tribune, the dome, and the roof are by Baciccio. The Chapel of S. Ignatius is very fine; the columns and ball over the altar are composed of lapis-lazuli. Beneath the altar, in an urn of gilt bronze, is the body of the saint. The small circular chapel close by is rich in paintings and stained-glass windows. ”

“ Amongst so many valuable and beautiful works of art it is almost impossible to say what the casual observer should more particularly notice. A day may be well and profitably spent amongst this admirable collection. The lover of art will gain every information from Visconti's excellent catalogue, whilst ordinary visitors can stroll through and consult it for those objects which strike them most. Venuses, the Muses, gods and goddesses, heroes and tales of mythology, the emperors and their wives,—all are amply illustrated here. ”

“ Forbes, who gives the reader the benefit of his thorough knowledge and familiarity with the subjects on which he writes. A stranger visiting Rome, who desires to see, if not all, at least as many wonderful sights as his time will permit, cannot do better than peruse Mr. Forbes's book, which will enable him to see much more in a less time and with greater benefit to himself than if he trusted to the guidance of some of the numerous cicerones with which the Eternal City is infested."—Travel. ”

“ The principal entrance towards the Tiber is still unfinished. Before the Reformation it was under the protection of the kings of England. It is the finest of Roman churches, and the visitor cannot fail to be charmed with its beauty; it is one vast hall of marble, with eighty Corinthian pillars forming the nave, reflected in the marble pavement. The grand triumphal arch which separates the nave from the transept is a relic of the old basilica; and the mosaic, Christ blessing in the Greek manner, with the twenty-four elders, is of the fifth century, given by Placidia, sister of Honorius, in 440. ”

“ Clear of the houses is an interesting ruin miscalled the Temple of Venus Erycina.
This ruin is octagonal in form, with a domed roof. The interior is divided into halls, and a vestibule leads into the central hall. The walls have recesses for sculpture. The building was probably a nymphæum.
Besides the palace, baths, and gardens, there was a portico, called Milliarensis, from its thousand columns, in which the Emperor Aurelian used to take exercise on horseback. The buildings were fired by the soldiers of Alaric, who entered the city at the Salarian gate. ”

“ In short, the Forum is dressed up in quite a new attire, and many old visitors would scarcely recognize it in its modern garb. Crowds of spectators lean against the barriers every day, anxiously reviewing the carting of the earth, and awaiting for artistic valuables to "turn up." ”