CHAPTER XXIX. THE CASTLE
The period of highest glory for the ancient capital of the worldvanished with the Republic and the majestic simplicity of the republicansystem; for after the battle of Zama, in which Hannibal was defeatedby Scipio, the Romans had no longer any powerful enemies. It thereforebecame easy to conquer other nations, and, enriched by the spoils of theconquered, the Romans gave themselves up to internal contentions, andto every kind of luxury. In this way they were dragged down to thelast stage of degradation, and became the slaves of those whom they hadenslaved. And right well it befitted them that God should pay themin the same coin which they counted out. The last generation of theRepublic, however, had truly a sunset grandeur about it, and splendidnames. Before passing away it presented to history some men at whom onecan not but marvel Sartorius, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, were menof such stature that one alone would suffice to illustrate the valorof a warlike nation. If perfection in a military ruler were possible,Caesar, with his superb qualities as a general, needed only to possessthe abnegation of Sulla to have been a perfect type of the class. Lesssanguinary than the Proscriber he possessed more ambition, and desiredto decorate his forehead with a crown, for which he fell a victim,stabbed to the heart by the daggers of the Roman republicans. Sullawas also a great general, and a reformer; he struggled hard to wean theRomans from their vices, and even resorted to terrible means, slayingat one time eight thousand persons with this view. Subsequently, weariedwith the ineffectual struggle against the tide of the time, heassembled the people in the Forum, and, after reproaching them for theirincorrigible vices, declared, that as his power as Dictator had failedto regenerate them, he would no longer retain that dignity, but beforehe laid it aside he challenged the city to require from him an accountof his actions. Silence ensued, no man demanding redress, though therewere many present whose relatives and friends he had sacrificed. With anaustere mien he then descended from the tribunal, and mingled with thecrowd as a simple citizen.
The Empire rose on the ruins of the Republic. And here it may beremarked that no Republic can exist unless its citizens are virtuous.This form of government demands moral education and elevation. It wasthe vice and degradation to which the Romans had sunk that inauguratedthe Empire.
Among the emperors there were some less deplorable than others--such asTrajan, Antonine, and Marcus Aurelius. The greater part, however, weremonsters, who, not satisfied with the enormous wealth they possessed,and with their lofty position, set themselves to plunder the substanceof others. They sought every pretext for robbing the wealthy citizens.Many of those, therefore, possessing wealth, retired from Rome--manysought refuge in foreign lands, others in far distant parts of thecountry, where they were safe from molestation. Among the latter, adescendant of Lucullus, in the reign of Nero, built the original wallsof the antique castle where we left Clelia and her companions.
Peradventure, some of the enormous oaks by which it was surrounded hadsprung in but few removes from the acorns of the trees which shaded thecourtier of Nero. However this may be, the architecture of the castleis certainly wonderful, and wonderfully preserved. The outbuildings arecovered with ivy, which age has rendered of extraordinary growth.The interior had been completely modernized by mediaeval owners, andalthough not adorned with all the luxuries of the nineteenth century,it contains several dry-roofed and spacious apartments. Uninhabitedfor some time, die castle had been almost buried out of sight by thesurrounding trees, which circumstance made it all the more suitable forOrazio and his proscribed comrades. Built in dark and troublous times,this castle, like all those of the same kind, possesses immense dungeonsand subterranean passages spreading over a large space in the bowels ofthe earth. Superstition also guarded the lonely tower. Travellers makinginquiries about the neighborhood of the shepherds who tend their flocksin the forest openings, had heard, and duly related, that somewhere inthis district was an ancient castle haunted by phantoms; that no oneever dared to enter it, and that those unhappy beings who summoned upcourage to approach its gateway were never seen again. Moreover, wasthere not a story told that the beautiful daughter of the wealthy PrinceT------, when staying with her family at Porto d'Anzo for the benefit ofsea-bathing, had one day wandered with her maids into the woods, wherethe affrighted and helpless women saw their mistress carried up into theair by spirits, and although every nook of the forest was searched bythe command of her distressed father, no traces of the young princesswere ever afterwards discovered.
To this haunt of marvels Orazio then conducted our travellers, as wehave before described.