IN 509 B.C. smething happened in Rme. There were tw classesf peple in Rme， just as there were in Athens： the wealthy peple wh were called patricians， and the pr peple wh were called plebeians. We use the same wrds nw and call peple wh are rich and aristcratic patricians， and the peple wh are pr and uneducated plebeians. The patricians were allwed t vte， but the plebeians were nt allwed t vte.
At last， hwever， the plebeians had been given the right t vte. But in B.C. Rme had a king named Tarquin. He didn"t think the plebeians shuld be allwed t vte， and s he said they shuld nt. The plebeians wuld nt stand this， and therefre they gt tgether and drve Tarquinutf the city， as theAthenians had drivenut their king. This was in 509 B.C.， and Tarquin was the last king Rme ever had.
After King Tarquin had been drivenut， the Rmans started what is called a republic， smething likeurwn cuntry， but they were afraid t havenlyne man as president fr fear he might make himself king， and they had had enughf kings.
S the Rmans elected tw men each year t be rulersver them， and these tw men they called cnsuls. Each cnsul had a bdyguardf twelve men. These men were given the name lictrs， and each lictr carried an ax tied up in a bundlef sticks. This bundlef sticks with the ax-head stickingut in the middler at the end was knwn as fasces and signified that the cnsuls had pwer t punish by whipping with the sticksr by chppingffne"s head with the ax. Sme mdern cins and pstage stamps have fasces picturedn them.
Perhaps yu have seen fasces used asrnamentsrdecratin arund mnumentsr public buildings.
Lictr carrying fasces
（扛着"法西斯"的扈从）
nef the first tw cnsuls was named Brutus the Elder， and he had tw sns. The king， Tarquin， wh hadbeen drivenutf the city， pltted t get back t Rme and becme kingnce mre. He was able t persuade sme Rmans t help him. Amng thse whm he persuaded were， strange t say， the tw snsf Brutus-the new cnsulf Rme.
Brutus fundut this plt and learned that hiswn children had helped Tarquin. Then Brutus had his sns tried. They were fund guilty， and in spitef the fact that they were hiswn children， he had the lictrs put bthf them t death as well as thether traitrs t Rme.
Tarquin did nt succeed in getting back the rulef Rme in this way. The next year he tried again. This time he gt tgether an armyf his neighbrs， the Etruscans， and with this army he attacked Rme.
Nw， there was a wden bridge acrss the Tiber River， which separated the Etruscans frm the cityf Rme. Inrder t keep the Etruscans frm crssing int the city， a Rman named Hratius， wh had already lstne eye in fighting fr Rme， gaverders t have this bridge brken dwn.
While the bridge was being chpped dwn， Hratius， with twf his friends， stdn the far sidef the bridge and fught back the whle Etruscan army. When the bridge was cracking under the blwsf the Rman sldiers， Hratiusrdered his tw friends t run quickly t thether side befre the bridge fell.
Then Hratius， all by himself， kept the enemy back until at last the bridge crashed int the river. Hratius then jumped int the water with all his armrn and swam tward the Rman shre. Thugh arrws the Etruscans sht were falling all arund him， and thugh his armr weighed him dwn， he reached thether side safely. Even the Etruscans were thrilled at his bravery， and， enemies thugh they were， they cheered him ludly.
There is a very famus pem called Hratius at the Bridge， which describes this brave deed.
A few years after Hratius， there lived anther Rman named Cincinnatus. He wasnly a simple farmer with a little farmn the bankf the Tiber， but he was very wise and gd， and the peplef Rme hnred and trusted him.
ne day when an enemy was abut t attack the city-fr in thse days there always seemed t be enemies everywhere ready t attack Rmen any excuse-the peple had t have a leader and a general. They thughtf Cincinnatus and went and asked him t be dictatr.
Nw， a dictatr was the name they gave t a man wh in a casef sudden danger was called upn t cmmand the army and in fact all the peple during the timef the danger. Cincinnatus left his plw， went with the peple t the city， gt tgether an army， wentut and defeated the enemy， and returned t Rme， all in twenty-fur hurs！
110 美国学生世界历史 · A Child"s Histryf the wrldThe peple were s much pleased with the quick and decisive way in which Cincinnatus had saved Rme that they wanted him t keep rightn being their general in timef peace. Even thugh they hated kings s much， they wuld have made him king if he wuld have accepted.
But Cincinnatus did nt want any such thing. His duty dne， he wanted t return t his wife and humble hme and his little farm. In spitef what many wuld have thught a wnderful chance， he did g back t his plw， chsing t be just a simple farmer insteadf being king.
The cityf Cincinnati inhi is named after a sciety which was funded inhnrf thisld Rman， wh lived nearly five hundred years befre Christ.
【中文阅读】
公元前 509 年，罗马发生了一件大事。和雅典一样，罗马社会也分为两大阶级： 富人和穷人，分别叫做贵族和平民。今天我们还在用这两个词，把那些富有而有气 派的人叫"贵族"，而把没钱又没受过教育的人叫"平民"。在古罗马，只有贵族才 有选举权，而平民是没有选举权的。
后来，平民也享有选举权了，但在公元前的罗马，一位名叫塔克文的国王认为 平民们不该享有选举权，于是，他就下令剥夺了平民的选举权。平民们无法忍受这 一点，因此，他们联合起来将塔克文赶出了罗马城，就像雅典人赶走他们的国王一 样。这件事发生在公元前 509 年，塔克文也就是罗马的最后一位国王。
塔克文国王被赶走后，罗马人开创了现在所谓的共和政体，有点像现在的美国，但是他们担心，只让一个人做总统的话，他可能会自立为王，而他们已经受够国 王了。
因此，罗马人每年选举两个人做他们的统治者，他们把这两个人称为"执政 官"。每个执政官各有一支十二人组成的卫队，卫队成员叫"扈从"，每个扈从都扛 着一束木棍。这束木棍的中间或是一端有一把斧头，这束插着斧头的木棍叫"法西 斯"，表示执政官有权用棍子抽打或用斧头砍掉人头来实施惩罚。有些现代的硬币和 邮票上有法西斯的图案。
可能你们在一些纪念碑或公共建筑物上看到过作点缀或装饰用的法西斯图案。 第一任的两个执政官之一叫老布鲁图，他有两个儿子。被赶出罗马城的国王塔克文密谋回到罗马，再登上王位。他说服了一些罗马人给他提供帮助，奇怪的是， 这些人中就有罗马新执政官布鲁图的两个儿子。
布鲁图发现了这个阴谋，也知道了自己的两个儿子帮助了塔克文。后来，他把 两个儿子送上了法庭。他们被判有罪，尽管他们是自己的亲生骨肉，他还是让扈从 们把他俩和其他叛乱者一起处死了。
塔克文以这种方式夺回罗马王位的计划没有成功。第二年，他又卷土重来。这次，他从邻国伊特鲁里亚人那儿召集了一支军队，然后，率领这支军队前来攻打 罗马。
当时，台伯河上有座木桥，将伊特鲁里亚人隔在罗马城外。为了阻止伊特鲁里 亚人过桥入侵罗马城，一个名叫贺雷修斯的罗马人下令把这座桥拆掉，贺雷修斯之 前在保卫罗马的战斗中失去了一只眼睛。
这座桥被砍倒的时候，贺雷修斯和他的两个伙伴还站在桥的尽头抵抗着整个伊 特鲁里亚人的军队。听到桥在罗马士兵的砍击下发出断裂的声音，贺雷修斯命令他 的两个伙伴在桥塌之前尽快跑回罗马那边去。
此时，只有贺雷修斯一人在抵挡敌人，直到最后这座桥倒塌在河里。穿着全副 盔甲的贺雷修斯随后跳进了河里，奋力游向对岸的罗马城。尽管伊特鲁里亚人射出 的乱箭纷纷落在他身边，尽管身上笨重的盔甲带着他向下沉，他还是平安到达了对 岸。甚至连伊特鲁里亚人也被他的勇敢震撼了，尽管他们是罗马人的敌人，他们还 是情不自禁为他高声欢呼。
有一首非常有名的诗叫《桥上的贺雷修斯》，描述的就是他的英勇壮举。 贺雷修斯死后没几年，又出现了一个名叫辛辛纳图斯的罗马人，他只是个在台伯河边拥有一小片土地的简朴的农民，但是他非常睿智仁厚，所以，罗马人对他既 尊敬又信任。
有一天，有支军队将要攻打罗马--因为在那个时代，似乎总有敌人准备以各 种借口攻打罗马--罗马人此时必须有一位领袖和将军。他们想到了辛辛纳图斯， 请他出任"独裁官"。
当时，所谓的独裁官是大家在紧急关头推举出来统率军队的人，其实也是在危 难之时领导全民的人。辛辛纳图斯扔下了手中的犁，和大家一起来到罗马城，召集 了一支军队，出城迎击并打败了敌人，然后回到罗马。所有这一切从开始到结束不 超过二十四小时！
人们为辛辛纳图斯如此迅速而果断地拯救了罗马城而欢呼雀跃，所以，希望他 在和平时期就这么继续做他们的将军。尽管他们对国王痛恨无比，但是如果辛辛纳 图斯愿意接受的话，他们也情意奉他为国王。
但是，辛辛纳图斯可不想要这些头衔。尽了自己的责任，他就想回到妻子身边， 回到自己那简陋的家和他那一小块田里去。尽管众人都认为这是个千载难逢的好机 会，但是，他依然解甲归田，选择做一个普通农夫，而不是当国王。
美国俄亥俄州的辛辛那提市，是以一个社团的名字而命名的，这个社团就是为 了纪念这位生活在公元前 500 年左右的古罗马人而创建的。