ROMAN BREVITY 
 
 
   Roman Brevity. Coesar imitated la- 
 conic brevity when he announced to 
 Amintius his victory at Zela, in Asia 
 Minor, over Pharna'c~s, son of Mithri- 
 dates; Veni, vidi, vici. 
 P(ins. I will imitate the honorable Roman 
 in brevity.-Shakespeare, 2 Henry IV. act ii. sc. 
 2 (1598). 
   Sir Charles Napier is credited with a 
far more laconic despatch, on making him- 
self master of Scinde, in 1843. Taking 
possession of Hyderabad, and outflanking 
Shere Mohammed by a series of most 
brilliant manoeuvres, he is said to have 
written home this punning despatch: 
Peccvi (" I have sinned" [Scinde]). 
 
  Roman Father (The), Horatius, father 
of the Horatii and of Horatia. The story 
of the tragedy is the well-known Roman 
legend about the Horatii and Curiatii. 
Horatius rejoices that his three sons have 
been selected to represent Rome, and sinks 
the affection of the father in love for his 
country.   Horatia is the betrothed of 
Caius Curiatius, but is also beloved by 
Valerius, and when the Curiatii are se- 
lected to oppose her three brothers, she 
sends Valerius to him with a scarf, to 
induce him to forego the fight. Caius 
declines, and is slain. Horatia is dis- 
tracted; they take from her every instru- 
ment of death, and therefore she resolves 
to provoke her surviving brother, Publius, 
to kill her. Meeting him in his triumph, 
she rebukes him for murdering her lover, 
scoffs at his "patriotism," and Publius 
kills her. Horatius now resigns Publius 
to execution for murder, but the king and 
Roman people rescue him.-W. White- 
head (1741). 
  *** Corneille has a drama on the same 
subject, called Les Horaces (1639). 
 
  Roman des Romans (Le), a series of 
 
 
prose romances connected with Am'adis, 
of Gaul. So called by Gilbert Saunier. 
 
   Romans (Last ofthe), Rienzi, the tribune 
 (1310-1354). 
   Charles James Fox (1749-1806). 
   Horace Walpole, Ultimus Bomanorum 
 (1717-1797). 
   Caius Cassius was so called by Brutus. 
   The last of all the Romans, fare thee well 
   It is impossible that ever Rome 
   Should breed thy fellow. 
Shakespeare, Julius CGsar, act v. se. 3. (1607). 
 
  Romans (Most Learned of the), Marcus 
Terentius Varro (B.C. 116-28). 
 
  Romance of the Rose, a poetical al- 
legory, begun by Guillaume di Lorris in 
the latter part of the thirteenth century, 
and continued by Jean de Meung in the 
former half of the fourteenth century. 
The poet dreams that Dame Idleness con- 
ducts him to the palace of Pleasure, where 
he meets Love, whose attendant maidens 
are Sweet-looks, Courtesy, Youth, Joy, and 
Competence, by whom he is conducted to 
a bed of roses. He singles out one, when 
an arrow from Love's bow stretches him 
fainting on the ground, and he is carried 
off. When he comes to himself, he re- 
solves, if possible, to find his rose, and 
Welcome promises to aid him; Shyness, 
Fear, and Slander obstruct him; and Rea- 
son advises him to give up the quest. 
Pity and Kindness show him the object of 
his search; but Jealousy seizes Welcome, 
and locks her in Fear Castle. Here the 
original poem  ends. The sequel, some- 
what longer than the twenty-four books of 
Homer's Iliad, takes up the tale from this 
point. 
 
  Roma'no, the old monk who took pity 
on Roderick in his flight (viii.), and went 
 
 
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ROMANO