Venus brings Aeneas his new armour: he gazes at the shield whereon were wrought scenes of the story of Rome to be.
646 Porsenna.
‘Lars Porsena of Clusium
By the nine gods he swore
That the great house of Tarquin
Should suffer wrong no more.’—Macaulay.
648 in ferrum ruebant = were flinging themselves on the sword. C.
651 Cloelia, a Roman hostage, who escaped by swimming the Tiber.
[B.] Pons sublicius iter paene hostibus dedit, ni unus vir fuisset, Horatius Cocles. . . . Qui positus forte in statione pontis, cum captum repentino impetu Ianiculum atque inde citatos decurrere hostes vidisset, 10 trepidamque turbam suorum arma ordinesque relinquere, reprehensans singulos, obsistens obtestansque deum et hominum fidem testabatur nequiquam deserto praesidio eos fugere; si transitum pontem a tergo reliquissent, iam plus hostium in Palatio 15 Capitolioque quam in Ianiculo fore. Itaque monere, praedicere, ut pontem ferro, igni, quacunque vi possint, interrumpant; se impetum hostium, quantum corpore uno posset obsisti, excepturum. Vadit inde in primum aditum pontis, insignisque inter 20 conspecta cedentium pugnae terga, obversis cominus ad ineundum proelium armis, ipso miraculo audaciae obstupefecit hostes.
Livy, ii. 10.