--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> Actually it is a surprise. Rome started out no less agricultural
> than its neighbors. Why should Cincinatus use words from non-Roman
> dialects to refers to the inventory of his farm?
Perhaps it's too glib an interpretation of Roman legend, but weren't
the original Romans a mixed bunch of troublemakers no-one would let
his daughter marry?
More seriously, I've heard that Rome was close to the cleavage line
between Faliscan and Latin. There were also Etruscan elements - the
gens Claudia is reported to have been Etruscan, never mind the
Tarquins. I'm not sure where the half-Tarquin Brutus's father is
supposed to have come from.
Richard.