FREGELLAE is found in our maps in the vicinity of Arpinum, and not far from the Liris. It is remarkable in history, and its first occurrence in Livy throws considerable light upon the course of events. It was a Volscian town, and was destroyed by the Samnites; the Romans then, contrary to the ordinary Italian law of nations, sent a colony into it. The Samnites, who were allied with the Romans, denied their right to establish a colony there. This was one of the chief causes of the second Samnite war. The Samnites, however, were wrong in claiming it, for Fregellae was the key to the Via Latina, and hence the security of the Roman frontier demanded that the place should be in the hands of the Romans: to the Samnites it was a point of attack, to the Romans it was a means of defence; unless, therefore, the Samnites intended to make war upon the Romans, they were wrong in opposing its occupation by the Romans. Such circumstances must be taken into consideration, in deciding upon the justice or injustice of a question. It is difficult to comprehend how that town rose to such extraordinary power. Pyrrhus conquered it, and it suffered greatly; but from the last book of Livy we see that thousands of Sabellian families, Samnites, Pelignians, and others had settled there. This circumstance, however, was followed by consequences unfortunate for Fregellae. The numerical increase made the town proud, and during the disputes between the Latin colonies and Rome, it claimed to be at their head. Encouraged by the measures of the Gracchi, it obstinately demanded the franchise long before the Italicans came forward. On the whole, ancient history presents many parallels to modern history, sometimes they occur on a larger scale in antiquity and sometimes in modern times. The relation here alluded to is that of the Irish in their connection with England. When Ireland, in 1782, demanded its independence, the Anglicans in their claims against England, went far beyond the Roman Catholics and the other dissenters, and they alone gained advantages. A small parallel in comparison with the great one in antiquity occurs at Geneva, in the relation between the _bourgeoisie_ of the suburb St. Gervais to the _citoyens_ of the old town, where the _natifs_ had all the real power, while the _habitans_ possessed only very little. Fregellae, then, stood at the head of the Latin colonies, and looked with pride upon its power; its inhabitants believed that Rome would not allow matters to come to extremes, and if they should come to that, they counting the population of the Latin colonies found that they were stronger than Rome by many hundred thousands: they thought that they might oppose the Romans, degraded by freedmen and poverty, with an able force of free country people. But the result was quite different. Rome acted with cunning: the Italian allies had not yet made up their minds, and did not yet take part in the interests of the Latins, thinking