_lu'cumo_, chosen for life; he possessed regal power, and is
frequently called a king by the Roman historians. In enterprises
undertaken by the whole body, the supreme command was committed to one
of the twelve _lucumones_, and he received a lictor from each city.
But from the time that Roman history begins to assume a regular form,
the Tuscan cities stand isolated, uniting only transiently and
casually; we do not, however, find any traces of intestine wars
between the several states.

18. The Etrurian form of government was aristocratical, and the
condition of the people appears to have been miserable in the extreme;
they were treated as slaves destitute of political rights, and
compelled to labour solely for the benefit of their taskmasters. A
revolution at a late period took place at Volsin'ii, and the exclusive
privileges of the nobility abolished after a fierce and bloody
struggle; it is remarkable that this town, in which the people had
obtained their rights, alone made an obstinate resistance to the
Romans.

19. The progress of the Tuscans in the fine arts is attested by the
monuments that still remain; but of their literature we know
nothing; their language is unknown, and their books have perished. In
the first ages of the Roman republic, the children of the nobility
were sent to Etru'ria for education, especially in divination and the
art of soothsaying, in which the Tuscans were supposed to excel. The
form of the Roman constitution, the religious ceremonies, and the
ensigns of civil government, were borrowed from the Etrurians.

20. La'tium originally extended along the coast from the Tiber to the
promontory of Circe'ii; hence that district was called, old La'tium;