HISTORY OF ROME. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTIO N. GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF ITALY. Italia, oh, Italia! thou who hast The fatal gift of beauty, which became A funeral dower of present woes and past, On thy sweet brow is sorrow plough'd by shame, BYRON. 1. Phy'sical, adj. established by nature. 14. Intersec'ts, v. passes through the 2. Designa'tions, s. names. 8. To'ga, s. a gown, the national dress 17. of the Romans. 11. Subjugation, s. conquest. midst. I'solated, part. alone, separate. 19. Divina'tion, s. the art of predicting the future by signs supposed to be sent by the gods. 1. THE outline of Italy presents a geographical unity and completeness which naturally would lead us to believe that, it was regarded as a whole, and named as a single country, This opinion would, however, be from the earliest ages. erroneous; while the country was possessed by various independent tribes, of varied origin and different customs, the districts inhabited by each were reckoned separate states, and it was not until these several nations had fallen. under the power of one predominant people that the physical unity which the peninsula possesses was expressed by a single name. Italy was the name originally given to a |