Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/495

 CnAP. IL THE ROMAN CONQUEST. 189 this manner spread Rome everywhere; for ther col- onists, while forming distinct cities, in a political point of view, preserved a religious community with the me- tropolis; and this was enough to compel the colonies to subordinate their policy to that of Rome, to obey her, and to aid her in all her wars. One of the remarkable peculiarities, of the policy of Rome was, that she attracted to her all the worships of the neighboring cities. She obtained possession of a Juno from Veii, a Jupiter from Prajneste, a Minerva from Falerii, a Juno from Lanuvium, a Venus from the Samnites, and many others that we do not know.' "For it was the custom of the Romans," says one of the ancients,* "to take home the religions of the con- quered cities ; sometimes they distributed them among tie gentes, and sometimes they gave them a place in their national religion." Montesquieu praises the Ro- mans for a refinement of skilful policy in not having im]30sed their gods upon the conquered nations. But that would have been contrary to tlieir ideas, and to those of all the ancients. Rome conquered the gods of the vanquished, and did not give them hers. She kept her protectors for herself, and even labored to in- crease the number. She tried to possess more worships and more tutelary gods than any other city. As, moreover, these worships and gods were, for the most part, taken from the conquered, Rome was placed by them in religious communion with all the surround- ing nations. The ties of a common origin, the possession of the connubium^ that of the presidency of the ferice LatinoB^ that of the vanquished gods, the right, which » Livy, V. 21, 22; VI. 29. Ovid, Fasii, III. 837, 843 Plu- tarch, Paralltl of Greek and Roman Ilist, 75. • Cincius, cited by Arnobius, Adv. Gentes, III. 38.