1.“Rome was not built in a day；”so impatient young folks are sometimes told by their older friends，to remind them that great things are never done with out much time and labour.The proverb points us back to the time when Rome was the city，the capital of the whole known world.
2.The little Roman boys were told far more about the building of their city than any English boy is taught about the building of London.The story of the foundingof Rome is told in the Latinpoems and historieswhich you may read some day ；and a very interesting story it is，though we cannot be at all sure that it is true.
3.About three thousand years ago，so the story runs，the famous city of Troy，on the coast of Asia Minor，wastaken by the Greeksafter a siege of ten years.Someof the inhabitants escaped，and，after many wanderings，they landed on the coast of Italy.There they settled，and built the city of Alba Longa，the “Long White Town.”
4.Long afterwards Alba Longa was ruled over by ausurper，who wished to put to death two little boyswho had a better right to the throne than he.The twin babies were supposed to have been drowned in theriver Tiber；but they were really cast ashore，still alive，at the spot where Rome now stands.There，we are told，they were nursed by a she-wolf，until they were found and taken care of by a shepherd and his wife.
5.One of these boys was Romulus，the founder of Rome.The city was said to have been founded 754years before the birth of Christ；and until the Romans became Christians，they counted their years from the founding of their city，just as we now do from the birth of Christ.
6.For over two centuries Rome was governed bykings；then a republicwas set up，which lasted forfive centuries；finally an empirewas established.Afterfive centuries more the Roman Empire was divided into separate parts，which have become the various countries of southern and central Europe.
7.The time of the republic was the time of the wonderful growth of the Roman power.It was the time of the great heroes of Rome-men who lived in a simple way，and were ready to give up all they had，evenlife itself，for the sake of their country.They were likethe Spartansin their plain living，their courage in war，and their sense of duty.
“For Romans in Rome’s quarrels Spared neither lands nor gold，Nor son nor wife，nor limb nor life，In the brave days of old.”
8.The first consul or president of the Roman republic was called Brutus，a man famed for his stern virtue.Histwo sons were found guilty of treasonto the state，and although the punishment might have been exile，he ordered them to be put to death，so firm was he in his purpose that love for his sons should not hinder his duty as a ruler.
9.Another of those heroes was called Cincinnatus.He also was consul，but after his time of office was over，he retired to his little farm of four acres，and lived there as a farmer or crofter，as we might now call him.Not long afterwards，when war broke out，and the Roman army was being hemmed in by the enemy，thesenatorscame to ask Cincinnatus for aid.
10.They found him at work on his little patch of ground，assisted by his wife.When his visitorsapproached，he put on his outer robe and went to meet them.They begged him to come to the help of his country，and offered him the post of dictator or absolute ruler，while the danger lasted；and the noble peasant-farmer accepted the task.
11.He went to Rome，ordered all business to cease，and commanded every man who was of military age to meet in the Plain of Mars before sunset，bringing food for five days，and twelve strong stakes.With this new army Cincinnatus reached the enemy‘s camp before midnight，and quickly surrounded it with a ditch and a strong fence of pointed stakes.In the morning the enemy found themselves in a trap，and at once surrendered.
12.Having thus speedily delivered his countr y，Cincinnatus gave up his dictatorship，and retired once more to the quiet，humble life of a peasant on his little farm.It was men of such a type who made Rome great，and spread her power over the shores of theMediterranean，and northwards beyond the Danube ，the Rhine，and the English Channel.
13.In her later histor y the great men of Rome were famed for their wealth and luxury.The city wasenriched by splendid buildings triumphal.
14.With all its wealth，there was in the city a large class of men who were generally idle and often starving.Most of the trades were carried on by slaves，and labour was regarded as unfit for a free man.Large quantities of corn were frequently given to the poor，sometimes to avoid a famine，and some times to buy their votes in an election.Most of the freemen of the lower classes weredependent on the rich for their living，and became the.
“of some well-to-do “patron .”
law and order disappeared.The army became master of the state，and the favourite general of the day was made emperor.For its own proper work，however，the army was becoming of little use.Its ranks were not filled by Romans；the soldiers were drawn from all parts of the empire，and fought only for pay.It thus formed a poor protection against the fierce warriors of the north，who invaded the empire and plundered its capital.