under heaven."
With these words they persuaded King Porsenna, who judging it well for
the Etrurians that there should be a king at Rome, and that king an
Etrurian by birth, gathered together a great army and came up against
Rome. But when men heard of his coming, so mighty a city was Clusium in
those days, and so great the fame of King Porsenna, there was such fear
as had never been before. Nevertheless they were steadfastly purposed to
hold out. And first all that were in the country fled into the city,
and round about the city they set guards to keep it, part thereof being
defended by walls, and part, for so it seemed, being made safe by the
river. But here a great peril had well nigh overtaken the city; for
there was a wooden bridge on the river by which the enemy had crossed
but for the courage of a certain Horatius Cocles. The matter fell out in
this wise.

There was a certain hill which men called Janiculum on the side of the
river, and this hill King Porsenna took by a sudden attack. Which when
Horatius saw (for he chanced to have been set to guard the bridge, and
saw also how the enemy were running at full speed to the place, and how
the Romans were fleeing in confusion and threw away their arms as they
ran), he cried with a loud voice, "Men of Rome, it is to no purpose that
ye thus leave your post and flee, for if ye leave this bridge behind you
for men to pass over, ye shall soon find that ye have more enemies in
your city than in Janiculum. Do ye therefore break it down with axe and
fire as best ye can. In the meanwhile I, so far as one man may do, will
stay the enemy." And as he spake he ran forward to the further end
of the bridge and made ready to keep the way against the enemy.
Nevertheless there stood two with him, Lartius and Herminius by name,
men of noble birth both of them and of great renown in arms. So these
three for a while stayed the first onset of the enemy; and the men of
Rome meanwhile brake down the bridge. And when there was but a small
part remaining, and they that brake it down called to the three that
they should come back, Horatius bade Lartius and Herminius return, but
he himself remained on the further side, turning his eyes full of wrath
in threatening fashion on the princes of the Etrurians, and crying,
"Dare ye now to fight with me? or why are ye thus come at the bidding
of your master, King Porsenna, to rob others of the freedom that ye care
not to have for yourselves?" For a whi