04-15-2006, 02:56 AM
When Abraham Lincoln was reelected to a second term as President of the United States, he received a very special and unique gift... a Latin engraving that linked his own role in history to that of Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome (the second-to-last-pre-Republic ruler).
The inscription was written on a section of an ancient wall connected with the remote ruler. It is translated: “To Abraham Lincoln, President for the second time of the American Republic, citizens of Rome present this stone from the wall of Servius Tullius by which the memory of each of those brave advocates of liberty may be joined together, in the year 1865."
Servius Tullius was responsible for transferring power from the aristocratic Senate to the people. When Servius allowed the people to vote for king they overwhelmingly (to no one’s surprise) voted for him. It is said that he even freed slaves... a direct parallel to Lincoln who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in the western hemisphere.
Servius Tullius led military campaigns against Veii and the Etruscans. He also expanded the city to include three additional hills. Despite his accomplishments, the favor he bestowed on the plebs undermined his relationship with the patricians. Eventually he was murdered (shades of Lincoln’s fate soon after receipt of the Roman tribute).
![[Image: servius_tullius.jpg]](http://www.scriptoriumnovum.com/g/servius_tullius.jpg)
Although it was not intended for his tomb, today this tribute does grace the front of Lincoln’s resting place. I took this photograph of this piece of history when my wife and I visited Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield, Illinois earlier this week.
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The inscription was written on a section of an ancient wall connected with the remote ruler. It is translated: “To Abraham Lincoln, President for the second time of the American Republic, citizens of Rome present this stone from the wall of Servius Tullius by which the memory of each of those brave advocates of liberty may be joined together, in the year 1865."
Servius Tullius was responsible for transferring power from the aristocratic Senate to the people. When Servius allowed the people to vote for king they overwhelmingly (to no one’s surprise) voted for him. It is said that he even freed slaves... a direct parallel to Lincoln who had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in the western hemisphere.
Servius Tullius led military campaigns against Veii and the Etruscans. He also expanded the city to include three additional hills. Despite his accomplishments, the favor he bestowed on the plebs undermined his relationship with the patricians. Eventually he was murdered (shades of Lincoln’s fate soon after receipt of the Roman tribute).
Although it was not intended for his tomb, today this tribute does grace the front of Lincoln’s resting place. I took this photograph of this piece of history when my wife and I visited Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield, Illinois earlier this week.
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