"Along the sacred way Hither the triumph came, and, winding round With acclamation, and the martial clang Of instruments, and cars laden with spoil, Stopped at the sacred stair that then appeared, Then thro' the darkness broke, ample, star-bright, As tho' it led to heaven. 'Twas night; but now A thousand torches, turning night to day, Blazed, and the victor, springing from his seat, Went up, and, kneeling as in fervent prayer, Entered the Capitol. But what are they Who at the foot withdraw, a mournful train In fetters? And who, yet incredulous, Now gazing wildly round, now on his sons, On those so young, well pleased with all they see, Staggers along, the last? They are the fallen, Those who were spared to grace the chariot-wheels; And there they parted, where the road divides, The victor and the vanquished--there withdrew; He to the festal board, and they to die. "Well might the great, the mighty of the world, They who were wont to fare deliciously And war but for a kingdom more or less, Shrink back, nor from their thrones endure to look, To think that way! Well might they in their pomp Humble themselves, and kneel and supplicate To be delivered from a dream like this!" _Rogers' Italy._ CHAPTER IV. THE FORUMS AND THE COLISEUM. Forum of Trajan--(Sta. Maria di Loreto)--Temple of Mars Ultor--Forum of Augustus--Forum of Nerva--Forum of Julius Cæsar--(Academy of St. Luke)--Forum Romanum--Tribune--Comitium --Vulcanal--Temple of Concord--Temple of Vespasian--Temple of Saturn--Arch of Septimius Severus--Temple of Castor and Pollux--Pillar of Phocas--Temple of Antoninus and Faustina--Basilica of Constantine--(Sta. Martina--S. Adriano--Sta. Maria--Liberatrice, SS. Cosmo and Damian--Sta. Francesca Romana)--Temple of Venus and Rome--Arch of Titus--(Sta. Maria Pallara--S. Buonaventura)--Meta Sudans--Arch of Constantine--Coliseum. Following the Corso to its end at the Ripresa dei Barberi, and turning to the left, we find ourselves at once amid the remains of the _Forum of Trajan_, erected by the architect Apollodorus for the Emperor Trajan on his return from the wars of the Danube. This forum now presents the appearance of a ravine between the Capitoline and Quirinal, but is an artificial hollow, excavated to facilitate the circulation of life within the city. An inscription over the door of the column, which overtops the other ruins, shows that it was raised in order to mark the depth of earth which was removed to construct the forum. The earth was formerly as high as the top of the column, which reaches, 100 Roman feet, to the level of the Palatine Hill. The forum was sometimes called the "Ulpian," from one of the names of the emperor.