Forum. The third rostra, of later imperial times, were close to the arch of Septimius Severus.

In the upper corner of the Forum is a row of recessed chambers standing behind a portico, which has been called the area of the Dii Consentes. An inscription discovered on the architrave of the portico tells us that Vettius Prætextatus, prefect of the city in A.D. 367, restored the statues of the Dii Consentes. The portico and chambers, as Mr. Burn writes, cannot have been a temple, but were plainly clerks' offices, similar to those in the Schola Xantha below; and we must suppose that the statues of the twelve gods were placed in the portico, one opposite to each office.

We now come to the latest monuments of imperial times in the Forum-the seven brick pedestals in front of the Basilica Julia, and the column of Phocas. The brick pedestals are supposed to belong to the time of Constantine, and from their massive construction are conjectured to have served as bases of dedicatory pillars.

The so-called column of Phocas is fluted, and of the Corinthian order, 46 feet high. It stands on a pyramidal base of twelve steps. The inscription tells us a statue was placed on the top of this pillar by Smaragdus, Exarch of Italy. The name of the emperor in whose honour the statue was erected has been erased, but as Smaragdus was Exarch of Italy in the reign of Phocas, A.D. 602-609, it must have been to him the statue was erected. This column was evidently raised at an earlier period, as the inscription mentions only the placing of a gilt

statue on its summit. Trebellius Pollio 'mentions the erection of a column in the Forum in honour of Claudius Gothicus; perhaps it was on this pillar the statue of Phocas was placed.

The inscription on the base of this column shows the state of degradation Rome had reached in the seventh century, when so fulsome a tribute could be paid to so execrable a tyrant. At the foot of this column we conclude our description of the Forum. The glories of the monuments of the times of Augustus, Hadrian and Trajan had all passed away. A wretched column erected in memory of a cruel and illiterate tyrant marking the utter decay of the Roman people is the latest monument we have before us. As Gregorovius says, 'The Nemesis of history has preserved it as a last monument of the degradation of the Romans.'

It is with a feeling of sorrow and melancholy that we bring to a close our survey of the monuments of the Roman Forum, which evince in their successive periods the grandeur, the greatness, the decline and fall of the Roman people. We have reached the end of the tale of the glory, the power, and the magnificence of Rome; its sun had set, its glory had departed, the darkening shadows of decay swept over

all.

HERE we stand at the arch of Titus, on the Summa Via Sacra, that is, on the highest part of the Via Sacra. Near this was the Porta Mugionis, one of the gates of the earthen rampart raised by Romulus around his city on the Palatine. Here two roads diverged, the Nova Via and the Via Sacra. The Nova Via ran from this point along the north-east slope of the Palatine, then, turning the north corner, continued along the north-west slope of the hill till it reached the Velabrum. There are three important notices in ancient writers which indicate the direction of the Nova Via. The first in Livy, where he says Tanaquil addressed the people from the upper part of the palace of Tarquin (which was on the Palatine) through the windows facing the Nova Via. A second also in Livy, where he says a voice was heard in the Nova Via, above the temple of Vesta. A third in which Varro tells us that steps led down from the Porta Romanula to the Nova Via. We have thus three points which mark out the line of the Nova Via along the north-east slope of the Palatine and at the north corner of the hill.

The Via Sacra began at the Sacellum Streniæ, which was on the part of the Esquiline nearest to the Colosseum; on reaching the Summa Via Sacra, where we now stand, it turned a little to the right, descending the Clivus Sacer; at the foot of the slope it passed under the arch of Fabius, by the side of the Regia; thence it ran in a straight line, passing by the Basilica Æmilia, the arch of Janus, the Curia Hostilia, till it reached the foot of the Capitoline Hill, where, turning to the left, it ascended the Clivus Capitolinus, and reached its termination at the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.

The Via Sacra, as Ovid tells us, took its name from the sacred rites which were performed on it. Along this road passed the processions of priests with the sacred animals to be sacrificed at the altar of Jupiter Capitolinus. From the earliest period of the history of Rome there was a grand procession of the Augurs on New Year's Day along the Via Sacra, carrying consecrated boughs (verbena) to the Regia. This ancient custom was continued in the time of the Empire, as recorded by Tacitus in his annals. Along this road also passed the triumphal processions of the victorious Roman generals. The procession entered Rome by the Porta Triumphalis, passed through the Circus Maximus, then, turning to the left, proceeded along the road at the foot of the south-east slope of the Palatine, when it joined the Via Sacra, and again turned to the left and ascended the Velia; on reaching the Summa Via Sacra it descended the Clivus Sacer, and then passed along the rest of the Via Sacra till it reached its destination at the temple of

Jupiter Capitolinus, where the victorious general lay before the god the spoils of his conquests.

Along this road passed the great conquerors, Paulus Æmilius, Pompey, Cæsar, who displayed in lengthened procession the spoils and trophies obtained in their conquests.

Over this pavement passed all the highest officials of the day-the emperor, the consul, the prætor, the man of business, and the pleasure-seeker. Here we may imagine Augustus walking from his house on the Palatine to the Senate, or Cicero on his way to deliver one of his glowing orations, or Horace lounging along meditating, as he tells us, on some trifles.

Before following the line of the Via Sacra, let us pause for a moment and consider the view which presented itself to anyone approaching the Summa Via Sacra, when the Capitol, with all its glories, suddenly arose before them. On one summit of the hill was seen the vast and magnificent temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, with its roof of gilt tiles, supported by lofty pillars, with most graceful capitals; its pediment and acroterium adorned with statues standing out against the sky. On the other summit stood the citadel, crowned by the magnificent temple of Juno Moneta. Beneath lay the Forum, surrounded by the most splendid buildings; on the left were the Basilica Julia and the temple of Castor, and on the right the Curia Julia, the temple of Janus, the Basilica Æmilia, the temple of Antoninus, the arch of Fabius, while in the foreground stood the temple of Vesta, the Regia, and the temple of Jupiter Stator.