Rome began as a thousand American cities have done, by being a convenient place for barter and horse-trading. It lay in the heart of the plains of central Italy The Tiber provided direct access to the sea. The land-road from north to south found here a convenient ford which could be used all the year around. And seven little hills along the banks of the river offered the inhabitants a safe shelter against their enemies who lived in the mountains and those who lived beyond the horizon of the nearby sea.
罗马的起源就像1000座美国城市的起源，其发迹首先是由于地处要津，交 通便利，四乡八野的人们纷纷来此交 易货物、买卖马匹。罗马位于意大利中部平原的中心，台伯河为它提供了直接的出海口。一条贯通半岛南北的大道经过这里，一年四季都能使用，劳顿的旅人正好于此驻足稍憩。沿台伯河岸有7座小山，可为居民们用作抵御外敌的避难所。这些凶险的敌人有些来自周围的山地，有些来自地平线外的滨海地区。
The mountaineers were called the Sabines. They were a rough crowd with an unholy desire for easy plunder. But they were very backward. They used stone axes and wooden shields and were no match for the Romans with their steel swords. The sea-people on the other hand were dangerous foes. They were called the Etruscans and they were (and still are) one of the great mysteries of history. Nobody knew (or knows) whence they came; who they were; what had driven them away from their original homes. We have found the remains of their cities and their cemeteries and their waterworks all along the Italian coast. We are familiar with their inscriptions. But as no one has ever been able to decipher the Etruscan alphabet, these written messages are, so far, merely annoying and not at all useful.
住在山地的敌人叫作萨宾人，他们行为粗野，心怀恶意，总希望通过劫掠来维持生活。不过他们很落后，所使用的武器仍然是石斧和木制盾牌，难以匹敌罗马人手中的钢剑。比较而言，滨海地区的人们才是真正危险的敌人。他们被称为伊特拉斯坎人，其来历至今依旧是历史学上的一个不解之谜，无人知晓他们何时定居于意大利西部滨海地区，属于哪个种族，以及是什么原因迫使他们离开了原来的家园？我们发现了他们城市的遗迹，他们的坟墓遗迹在意大利海岸上他们的水上建筑。他们留下的碑文随处可见，可由于无人通晓伊特拉斯坎文字，这些书写信息至今不过是些令人大伤脑筋的神秘图形。
