might be profited by a study of this figure of Health. Trajan's Forum is
an interesting little place, but it is a small show compared with the
Roman Forum, which is much more extensive, and whose ruins are more
varied. The latter contains the temples of Vespasian, of Concordia, of
Castor and Pollux, and others. It also contains the famous Arch of
Titus, the Basilica of Constantine, the remains of great palaces, and
other ruins. "Originally the Forum was a low valley among the hills, a
convenient place for the people to meet and barter." The Palatine Hill
was fortified by the first Romans, and the Sabines lived on other hills.
These two races finally united, and the valley between the hills became
the site of numerous temples and government buildings. Kings erected
their palaces in the Forum, and it became the center of Roman life. But
when Constantine built his capital at Constantinople, the greatness of
the city declined, and it was sacked and plundered by enemies from the
north. The Forum became a dumping ground for all kinds of rubbish until
it was almost hidden from view, and it was called by a name signifying
cow pasture. It has been partly excavated within the last century, and
the ruined temples and palaces have been brought to light, making it
once more a place of absorbing interest. I wandered around and over and
under and through these ruins for a considerable length of time, and
wrote in my note book: "There is more here than I can comprehend."

I was in a garden on top of one part of the ruins where flowers and
trees were growing, and then I went down through the mass of ruins by a
flight of seventy-five stairs, which, the attendant said, was built by
Caligula. I was then probably not more than half way to the bottom of
this hill of ruins, which is honeycombed with corridors, stairways, and
rooms of various sizes. The following scrap of history concerning
Caligula will probably be interesting: "At first he was lavishly
generous and merciful, but he soon became mad, and his cruelty knew no