Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/291

 Germany and Italy 255 great circle, so that none dared to go beyond the walls. Fire and sword caused great famine in Rome, and the hearts of the people quailed within them because their strength was brought to naught. There was but one voice among them from the least to the greatest. Forced by dire need, they took Benedict the pope and gave him into the hands of the emperor, and said to one another : " It is better for one alone to die for all, that we may save all other lives from destruction by hunger." The emperor sent the pontiff into exile in Saxony, and Leo returned to the most sacred seat, amid the praises of the Roman people. . . . Woe unto thee, Rome, oppressed and trodden under foot by so many nations! Thou art taken captive by the Saxon king, thy people are put to the sword, thy strength is brought to naught. Thy gold and thy silver are carried away in their purses. The mother thou wast a daughter thou hast be- come. What thou hadst, thou hast lost. Thou art despoiled of thy former strength. . . . Formerly, glorying in thy power, thou hast triumphed over nations, hast cast the world into the dust, hast strangled the kings of the earth. Thou hast grasped the scepter and wielded great power. Now art thou plundered and utterly despoiled by the Saxon king. As some wise men say, and as it will be found written in thy histories, thou didst once fight with foreign nations and conquer them from north to south. Now the people of Gaul have encamped in the midst of thee. Thou wast too beautiful. III. LlUTPRAND AND HIS " BOOK OF RETRIBUTION " The most entertaining and at the same time one of Liutprand's the most instructive historians of the tenth century is ThistOT. Liutprand, an Italian contemporary of Otto the Great, icai writer. He spent his early years at Pavia, the capital of the kingdom of Italy, and was closely associated with both King Hugo (mentioned above) and with his successor,