THE EARLY EMPIRE: THE WORLD UNDER ROMAN RULE, 31 B.C.-l80 A.D. [1]
66. AUGUSTUS, 31 B.C.-l4 A.D.
[Illustration: AUGUSTUS (Vatican Museum, Rome)]
THE EARLY EMPIRE, 31 B.C.-180 A.D.
The period of two hundred and eleven years, between the accession of
Augustus and the death of Marcus Aurelius, is known as the Early Empire.
As we shall now learn, it was a time of settled government and of internal
tranquillity. Except for a brief period of anarchy at the close of the
reign of Nero, it was also a time of regular succession to the throne.
Nearly all the emperors were vigorous and capable rulers. The peace and
prosperity which they gave to the Roman world amply justify--if
justification be needed--the change from republic to empire.
THE NEW RULER
Few persons have set their stamp more indelibly on the pages of history
than Octavian, whom we may now call by his more familiar name _Augustus_
("Majestic"). Augustus was no military genius to dazzle the world with his
achievements. He was a cool and passionless statesman who took advantage
of a memorable opportunity to remake the Roman state, and who succeeded in
the attempt. Absolute power, which destroys weaker men, with Augustus
brought out the nobler elements of character. From the successful leader
of a party he became the wise and impartial ruler of an empire.
THE NEW GOVERNMENT
Augustus had almost unlimited power. His position was that of a king, as
supreme as Julius Caesar had ever been. Better, however, than Julius
Caesar, Augustus realized that an undisguised autocracy would only
alienate public opinion and invite fresh plots and rebellions, Augustus
intended to be the real master, but he would also be careful to conceal
his authority under republican forms. The emperor was neither king,
dictator, nor triumvir. He called himself a republican magistrate--
_Princeps_ [2]--the "First Citizen" of the state.
POWERS ENJOYED BY AUGUSTUS
Augustus gave up the externals, only to keep the essentials, of royalty.
He held the proconsular authority, which extended over the frontier
provinces and their legions. He held the tribunician authority, which made
his person sacred. As perpetual tribune he could preside over the popular
assemblies, manage the Senate and change its membership at pleasure, and
veto the acts of almost any magistrate. In the provinces and at home in
the capital city the emperor was supreme.
THE EMPIRE UNDER AUGUSTUS
Augustus ruled a vast realm. In it all the dreams of world dominion which
Alexander had cherished were more than realized. The empire included
nearly the entire circle of the Mediterranean lands. On the west and south
it found natural barriers in the Atlantic Ocean and the African desert. On
the east the Euphrates River had formed, since the defeat of Crassus, [3]
the dividing line between Rome and Parthia. The northern frontier, beyond
which lay the Germanic barbarians, required, however, additional conquests
for its protection.
[Illustration: Map, THE EXPANSION OF ROMAN DOMINIONS 31 B.C.-180 A.D.]
THE DANUBE BOUNDARY
The Danube River made an admirable boundary for much of the Roman
territory between the Black Sea and the Rhine. Augustus annexed the
district south of the lower course of this river and formed it into the
province of Moesia (modern Serbia and Bulgaria). The line of the upper
Danube was later secured by the creation of three new provinces on the
northern slopes of the Alps. [4] Henceforth the Balkan peninsula and Italy
on the northeast, where the Alpine passes are low and comparatively easy,
were shielded from attack.
THE RHINE BOUNDARY
After the conquests of Julius Caesar in Gaul the Rhine had become the
frontier between that country and Germany. Augustus repeatedly sent the
legions into western Germany on punitive expeditions to strike terror into
its warlike tribes and to inspire respect for Roman power. It is doubtful,
however, whether he ever intended to conquer Germany and to convert it
into another province. His failure to do so meant that the Germans were
not to be Romanized as were their neighbors, the Celts of Gaul. The Rhine
continued to be the dividing-line between Roman civilization and Germanic
barbarism.
THE AUGUSTAN AGE
The clash of arms on the distant frontiers scarcely disturbed the serenity
of the Roman world. Within the boundaries of the empire the Augustan Age
was an age of peace and prosperity. The emperor, with unwearied devotion,
turned to the task of ruling wisely and well his vast dominions. He
followed the example of Julius Caesar in his insistence on just government
of the provincials. [5] In Italy he put down brigandage, repaired the
public highways, and planted many colonies in unsettled districts. In Rome
he established a regular police service, organized the supply of grain and
water, and continued, on a larger scale than ever, the public games. So
many were his buildings in the capital city that he could boast he had
"found Rome of brick and left it of marble." [6] Augustus was also very
successful as a religious reformer. He restored numerous temples that had
fallen into decay, revived the ancient sacrifices, and celebrated with
pomp and majesty the festivals that had been neglected. These reforms gave
new vigor to the Roman state religion.
[Illustration: MONUMENTUM ANCYRANUM
An inscription on the walls of a ruined temple at Ancyra (modern Angora)
in Asia Minor. It is a copy of the record descriptive of the reign of
Augustus which that emperor in his will decreed to be inscribed on bronze
tablets and placed before his mausoleum at Rome.]
DEIFICATION OF AUGUSTUS
Even during the lifetime of Augustus worship had been offered to him by
the provincials. After his death the Senate gave him divine honors and
enrolled his name among the gods. Temples rose in every province to the
deified Augustus, and altars smoked with sacrifices to him. Emperor
worship spread rapidly over the ancient world and helped to unite all
classes in allegiance to the new government. It provided a universal
religion for a universal empire. Yet just at the time when this new cult
was taking root, and in the midst of the happy reign of Augustus, there
was born in Bethlehem of Judea the Christ whose religion was to overcome
the worship of the emperors and with it all other faiths of pagan
antiquity. [7]
67. THE SUCCESSORS OF AUGUSTUS, 14-96 A.D.
JULIAN AND CLAUDIAN CAESARS, 14-68 A.D.
For more than half a century following the death of Augustus his place was
filled by emperors who, either by descent or adoption, claimed kinship
with himself and the mighty Julius. They are known as the Julian and
Claudian Caesars. [8] Though none of these four princes had the political
ability of Augustus, two of them (Tiberius and Claudius) were excellent
rulers, who ably maintained the standards set by that great emperor. The
other two (Caligula and Nero) were vicious tyrants, the recital of whose
follies and crimes occupies much space in the works of ancient historians.
Their doings and misdoings fortunately exerted little influence outside
the circle of the imperial court and the capital city. Rome itself might
be disturbed by conspiracy and bloodshed, but Italy and the provinces kept
their prosperity.
CONQUEST OF BRITAIN BEGUN, 43 A.D.
The reign of Claudius was marked by the beginning of the extension of the
empire over Britain. For nearly a hundred years after Caesar's expeditions
no further attempt had been made to annex that island. But its nearness to
Gaul, already thoroughly Romanized, brought the country within the sphere
of Roman influence. The thorough conquest of Britain proved to be no easy
task. It was not until the close of the first century that the island, as
far north as the Scottish Highlands, was brought under Roman sway. The
province of Britannia remained a part of the empire for more than three
hundred years.
BURNING OF ROME, 64 A.D.
During Nero's reign half of Rome was laid in ashes by a great fire, which
raged for a week. But a new Rome speedily arose. It was a much finer city
than the old, with wide, straight streets instead of narrow alleys, and
with houses of good stone in place of wooden hovels. Except for the loss
of the temples and public buildings, the fire was a blessing in disguise.
FLAVIAN CAESARS, 69-96 A.D.
After the death of Nero the dynasty that traced its descent from Julius
and Augustus became extinct. There was no one who could legally claim the
vacant throne. The Senate, which in theory had the appointment of a
successor, was too weak to exercise its powers. The imperial guard and the
legions on the frontiers placed their own candidates in the field. The
Roman world fell into anarchy, and Italy became once more the seat of
civil war. The throne was finally seized by the able general, Flavius
Vespasianus, supported by the armies of the East. He and his two sons,
Titus and Domitian, are called the Flavian Caesars.
[Illustration: POMPEII]
CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM, 70 A.D.
During the reign of Vespasian a revolt of the Jews was crushed, and
Jerusalem was captured by Titus, Vespasian's son. It is said, doubtless
with exaggeration, that one million Jews perished in the siege, the most
awful that history records. The Holy City, together with the Temple, was
destroyed, and a Roman camp was pitched upon the spot. We may still see in
Rome the splendid arch that commemorates this tragic event. [9]
[Illustration: PLAN OF JERUSALEM AND ITS ENVIRONS.]
[Illustration: A RELIEF ON THE ARCH OF TITUS
The relief shows Roman soldiers bearing the spoils of the Temple at
Jerusalem. Among these are two trumpets, the table of the shewbread, and
the seven-branched golden candlestick.]
ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS, 79 A.D.
The reign of Titus is chiefly memorable for the destruction of Pompeii and
Herculaneum, two cites on the bay of Naples. After long inactivity the
volcano of Vesuvius suddenly belched forth torrents of liquid lava and
mud, followed by a rain of ashes. Pompeii was covered to a depth of about
fifteen feet by the falling cinders. Herculaneum was overwhelmed in a sea
of sulphurous mud and lava to a depth of eighty feet in many places. The
cities were completely entombed, and in time even their location was
forgotten. Modern excavations have disclosed a large part of Pompeii, with
its streets, shops, baths, temples, and theaters. The visitor there gains
a vivid impression of Roman life during the first century of our era. [10]
68. THE "GOOD EMPERORS," 96-180 A.D.
THE ANTONINE CAESARS
The five rulers--Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus
Aurelius--whose reigns cover the greater part of the second century, are
sometimes called the Antonine Caesars, because two of them bore the name
Antoninus. They are better known as the "Good Emperors," a title which
well describes them. Under their just and beneficent government the empire
reached its greatest prosperity.
[Illustration: NERVA (Vatican Museum, Rome)
A remarkably fine example of Roman portrait statuary.]
TRAJAN THE CONQUEROR
The emperor Trajan rivaled Julius Caesar in military ability and enlarged
the Roman world to the widest limits it was ever to attain. His first
conquests were in Europe and resulted in the annexation of Dacia, an
extensive territory north of the Danube. Thousands of colonists settled in
Dacia and spread everywhere the language and arts of Rome. Its modern name
(Rumania) bears witness to Rome's abiding influence there. Trajan's
campaigns in Asia had less importance, though in appearance they were more
splendid. He drove the Parthians from Armenia and conquered the Tigris-
Euphrates valley. To hold in subjection such distant regions only
increased the difficulty of guarding the frontiers. Trajan's successor,
Hadrian, at once abandoned them.
[Illustration: COLUMN OF TRAJAN
A bronze statue of Trajan formerly occupying the top of the monument has
been replaced by a figure of St Peter. The column is decorated with a
continuous spiral relief representing scenes from the Dacian War. About
twenty five hundred separate designs are included in this remarkable
collection.]
HADRIAN THE ADMINISTRATOR
Hadrian distinguished himself as an administrator. He may be compared with
Augustus in his love of peace and in his care for the interests of the
provincials. Hadrian made two long journeys throughout the Roman world. On
the frontiers he built fortresses and walls, in the provinces he raised
baths, aqueducts, theaters, and temples. Scarcely a city throughout the
empire lacked some monument to his generosity. Hadrian left behind him the
memory of a prince whose life was devoted to the public welfare--the first
servant of the state.
[Illustration: WALL OF HADRIAN IN BRITAIN
The wall extended between the Tyne and the Solway a distance of seventy
miles. It was built of concrete faced with square blocks. The height is
nearly twenty feet, the thickness about eight feet. Along the wall were
numerous towers and gates and a little to the north of it stretched an
earthen rampart protected by a deep ditch. A broad road, lined with
seventeen military camps, ran between the two fortifications.]
MARCUS AURELIUS, THE PHILOSOPHER ON THE THRONE
The last of the "Good Emperors," Marcus Aurelius, was a thinker and a
student, but he enjoyed little opportunity for meditation. His reign was
filled with an almost uninterrupted series of campaigns against the
Parthians on the Euphrates and the Germans on the Danube and the Rhine.
These wars revealed the weakness of the frontiers and rapidly growing
strength of the barbarians. After the death of Marcus Aurelius the empire
entered on its downward course. But before passing to this period of our
study, we may take a survey of the world under Roman rule, during the two
centuries between Augustus and Marcus Aurelius.
[Illustration: MARCUS AURELIUS IN HIS TRIUMPHAL CAR (Palace of the
Conservatori, Rome)
A panel from an arch erected by the emperor.]
69. THE PROVINCES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
THE STANDING ARMY
The Roman Empire, at its widest extent in the second century, included
forty-three provinces. They were protected against Germans, Parthians and
other foes by twenty-five legions, numbering with the auxiliary forces,
about three hundred thousand men. This standing army was one of Rome's
most important agencies for the spread of her civilization over barbarian
lands. Its membership was drawn largely from the border provinces, often
from the very countries where the soldiers' camps were fixed. Though the
army became less and less Roman in blood, it always kept in character and
spirit the best traditions of Rome. The long intervals of peace were not
passed by the soldiers in idleness. They built the great highways that
penetrated every region of the empire, spanned the streams with bridges,
raised dikes and aqueducts, and taught the border races the arts of
civilization. It was due, finally, to the labors of the legionaries, that
the most exposed parts of the frontiers were provided with an extensive
system of walls and ramparts.
[Illustration: THE PANTHEON
The original building was the work of Agrippa, a minister of Augustus. The
temple was reconstructed by Hadrian who left the Greek portico unchanged
but added the rotunda and the dome. This great dome, the largest in the
world, is made of solid concrete. During the Middle Ages, the Pantheon was
converted into a church. It is now the burial place of the kings of
Italy.]
THE ROMAN ROADS
The Roman system of roads received its great extension during the imperial
age. The principal trunk lines began at the gates of Rome and radiated
thence to every province. Along these highways sped the couriers of the
Caesars, carrying dispatches and making, by means of relays of horses, as
much as one hundred and fifty miles a day. The roads resounded to the
tramp of the legionaries passing to their stations on the distant
frontier. Travelers by foot, horseback, or litter journeyed on them from
land to land, employing maps which described routes and distances. Traders
used them for the transport of merchandise. Roman roads, in short, were
the railways of antiquity. [11]
[Illustration: THE TOMB OF HADRIAN
The building was formerly topped by another of smaller size which bore a
statue of the emperor. In medieval times this stately tomb was converted
into a castle. It is now used as a museum. The bridge across the Tiber was
built by Hadrian.]
[Illustration: Map, ROMAN BRITAIN SHOWING CHIEF ROMAN ROADS]
THE PAX ROMANA
In her roads and fortifications, in the living rampart of her legions,
Rome long found security. Except for the districts conquered by Trajan but
abandoned by Hadrian, [12] the empire during this period did not lose a
province. For more than two hundred years, throughout an area as large as
the United States, the civilized world rested under what an ancient writer
calls "the immense majesty of the Roman peace." [13]
EXTENSION OF ROMAN CITIZENSHIP
The grant of Roman citizenship to all Italians after the Social War [14]
only increased for a time the contrast between Italy and the provinces.
But even before the fall of the republic Caesar's legislation had begun
the work of uniting the Roman and the provincial. [15] More and more the
emperors followed in his footsteps. The extension of Roman citizenship was
a gradual process covering two centuries. It was left for the emperor
Caracalla, early in the third century, to take the final step. In 212 A.D.
he issued an edict which bestowed citizenship on all freeborn inhabitants
of the empire. This famous edict completed the work, begun so many
centuries before, of Romanizing the ancient world.
PRIVILEGES OF ROMAN CITIZENS
The grant of citizenship, though it increased the burden of taxation,
brought no slight advantage to those who possessed it. A Roman citizen
could not be maltreated with impunity or punished without a legal trial
before Roman courts. If accused in a capital case, he could always protect
himself against an unjust decision by an "appeal to Caesar", that is, to
the emperor at Rome. St. Paul did this on one occasion when on trial for
his life. [16] Wherever he lived, a Roman citizen enjoyed, both for his
person and his property, the protection of Roman law.
70. THE ROMAN LAW AND THE LATIN LANGUAGE
IMPROVEMENT OF ROMAN LAW
The Romans were the most legal-minded people of antiquity. It was their
mission to give laws to the world. Almost at the beginning of the republic
they framed the code of the Twelve Tables, [17] which long remained the
basis of their jurisprudence. This code, however, was so harsh, technical,
and brief that it could not meet the needs of a progressive state. The
Romans gradually improved their legal system, especially after they began
to rule over conquered nations. The disputes which arose between citizens
and subjects were decided by the praetors or provincial governors in
accordance with what seemed to them to be principles of justice and
equity. These principles gradually found a place in Roman law, together
with many rules and observances of foreign peoples. Roman law in this way
tended to take over and absorb all that was best in ancient jurisprudence.
CHARACTER OF ROMAN LAW
Thus, as the extension of the citizenship carried the principles and
practice of Roman law to every quarter of the empire, the spirit of that
law underwent an entire change. It became exact, impartial, liberal,
humane. It limited the use of torture to force confession from persons
accused of crime. It protected the child against a father's tyranny. It
provided that a master who killed a slave should be punished as a
murderer, and even taught that all men are originally free by the law of
nature and therefore that slavery is contrary to natural right. Justice it
defined as "the steady and abiding purpose to give every man that which is
his own." [18] Roman law, which began as the rude code of a primitive
people, ended as the most refined and admirable system of jurisprudence
ever framed by man. This law, as we shall see later, has passed from
ancient Rome to modern Europe. [19]
LATIN IN ITALY
The conquest by Latin of the languages of the world is almost as
interesting and important a story as the conquest by Rome of the nations
of the world. At the beginning of Latin in Roman history Latin was the
speech of only the Italy people of Latium. Beyond the limits of Latium
Latin came into contact with the many different languages spoken in early
Italy. Some of them, such as Greek and Etruscan, soon disappeared from
Italy after Roman expansion, but those used by native Italian peoples
showed more power of resistance. It was not until the last century B.C.
that Latin was thoroughly established in the central and southern parts of
the peninsula. After the Social War the Italian peoples became citizens of
Rome, and with Roman citizenship went the use of the Latin tongue.
LATIN IN THE WESTERN PROVINCES
The Romans carried their language to the barbarian peoples of the West, as
they had carried it to Italy. Their missionaries were colonists,
merchants, soldiers, and public officials. The Latin spoken by them was
eagerly taken up by the rude, unlettered natives, who tried to make
themselves as Roman as possible in dress, customs, and speech. This
provincial Latin was not simply the language of the upper classes; the
common people themselves used it freely, as we know from thousands of
inscriptions found in western and central Europe. In the countries which
now make up Spain, France, Switzerland, southern Austria, England, and
North Africa, the old national tongues were abandoned for the Latin of
Rome.
ROMANCE LANGUAGES
The decline of the Roman Empire did not bring about the downfall of the
Latin language in the West. It became the basis of the so-called Romance
languages--French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Rumanian--which arose
in the Middle Ages out of the spoken Latin of the common people. Even our
English language, which comes to us from the speech of the Germanic
invaders of Britain, contains so many words of Latin origin that we can
scarcely utter a sentence without using some of them. The rule of Rome has
passed away; the language of Rome still remains to enrich the intellectual
life of mankind.
71. THE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
PREVALENCE OF CITY LIFE
The world under Roman rule was a world of cities. Some had earlier been
native settlements, such as those in Gaul before the Roman conquest.
Others were the splendid Hellenistic cities in the East. [20] Many more
were of Roman origin, arising from the colonies and fortified camps in
which citizens and soldiers had settled. [21] Where Rome did not find
cities, she created them.
SOME IMPORTANT CITIES
Not only were the cities numerous, but many of them, even when judged by
modern standards, reached great size. Rome was the largest, her population
being estimated at from one to two millions. Alexandria came next with
more than half a million people. Syracuse was the third metropolis of the
empire. Italy contained such important towns as Verona, Milan, and
Ravenna. In Gaul were Marseilles, Nîmes, Bordeaux, Lyons--all cities with
a continuous existence to the present day. In Britain York and London were
seats of commerce, Chester and Lincoln were military colonies, and Bath
was celebrated then, as now, for its medicinal waters. Carthage and
Corinth had risen in new splendor from their ashes. Athens was still the
home of Greek art and Greek culture. Asia included such ancient and
important centers as Pergamum, Smyrna, Ephesus, Rhodes, and Antioch. The
student who reads in his New Testament the _Acts of the Apostles_ will get
a vivid impression of some of these great capitals.
[Illustration: ROMAN BATHS, AT BATH, ENGLAND
Bath, the ancient Aquae Sulis, was famous in Roman times for its hot
springs. Here are very interesting remains, including a large pool,
eighty-three by forty feet in size, and lined at the bottom with the
Roman lead, besides smaller bathing chambers and portions of the ancient
pipes and conduits. The building and statues are modern restorations.]
APPEARANCE OF THE CITIES
Every municipality was a Rome in miniature. It had its forum and senate-
house, its temples, theaters, and baths, its circus for racing, and its
amphitheater for gladiatorial combats. Most of the municipalities enjoyed
an abundant supply of water, and some had good sewer systems. The larger
towns had well-paved, though narrow, streets. Pompeii, a small place of
scarcely thirty thousand inhabitants, still exists to give us an idea of
the appearance of one of these ancient cities. And what we find at Pompeii
was repeated on a more splendid scale in hundreds of places from the
Danube to the Nile, from Britain to Arabia.
CITY GOVERNMENT
The municipalities of Roman origin copied the government of Rome itself.
[22] Each city had a council, or senate, and a popular assembly which
chose the magistrates. These officials were generally rich men; they
received no salary, and in fact had to pay a large sum on entering office.
Local politics excited the keenest interest. Many of the inscriptions
found on the walls of Pompeii are election placards recommending
particular candidates for office. Women sometimes took part in political
contests. Distributions of grain, oil, and money were made to needy
citizens, in imitation of the bad Roman practice. There were public
banquets, imposing festivals, wild-beast hunts, and bloody contests of
gladiators, like those at Rome.
SURVIVAL OF THE ROMAN MUNICIPAL SYSTEM
The busy, throbbing life in these countless centers of the Roman world has
long since been stilled. The cities themselves, in many instances, have
utterly disappeared. Yet the forms of municipal government, together with
the Roman idea of a free, self-governing city, never wholly died out. Some
of the most important cities which flourished in southern and western
Europe during the later Middle Ages preserved clear traces of their
ancient Roman origin.
72. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE FIRST AND SECOND CENTURIES
PROMOTION OF COMMERCE
The first two centuries of our era formed the golden age of Roman
commerce. The emperors fostered it in many ways. Augustus and his
successors kept the Mediterranean free from pirates, built lighthouses and
improved harbors, policed the highways, and made travel by land both
speedy and safe. An imperial currency [23] replaced the various national
coinages with their limited circulation. The vexatious import and export
duties, levied by different countries and cities on foreign produce, were
swept away. Free trade flourished between the cities and provinces of the
Roman world.
PRINCIPAL TRADE ROUTES
Roman commerce followed, in general, the routes which Phoenicians had
discovered centuries before. After the annexation of Gaul the rivers of
that country became channels of trade between western Europe and Italy.
The conquest of the districts north and south of the Danube opened up an
important route between central Europe and the Mediterranean. Imports from
the far eastern countries came by caravan through Asia to ports on the
Black Sea. The water routes led by way of the Persian Gulf to the great
Syrian cities of Antioch and Palmyra and, by way of the Red Sea, to
Alexandria on the Nile. From these thriving commercial centers products
were shipped to every region of the empire. [24]
[Illustration: A ROMAN FREIGHT SHIP
The ship lies beside the wharf at Ostia. In the after-part of the vessel
is a cabin with two windows. Notice the figure of Victory on the top of
the single mast and the decoration of the mainsail with the wolf and
twins. The ship is steered by a pair of huge paddles.]
LOCAL TRADING AT ROME
The importation and disposal of foreign goods at Rome furnished employment
for many thousands of traders. There were great wholesale merchants whose
warehouses stored grain and all kinds of merchandise. There were also many
retail shopkeepers. They might be sometimes the slaves or freedmen of a
wealthy noble who preferred to keep in the background. Sometimes they were
men of free birth. The feeling that petty trade was unworthy of a citizen,
though strong in republican days, tended to disappear under the empire.
FREE LABORERS AT ROME
The slaves at Rome, like those at Athens, [25] carried on many industrial
tasks. We must not imagine, however, that all the manual labor of the city
was performed by bondmen. The number of slaves even tended to decline,
when there were no more border wars to yield captives for the slave
markets. The growing custom of emancipation worked in the same direction.
We find in this period a large body of free laborers, not only in the
capital city, but in all parts of the empire.
THE GUILDS
The workmen engaged in a particular calling frequently formed clubs, or
guilds. [26] There were guilds of weavers, shoe-makers, jewelers,
painters, musicians, and even of gladiators. These associations were not
organized for the purpose of securing higher wages and shorter hours by
strikes or threat of strikes. They seem to have existed chiefly for social
and religious purposes. Each guild had its clubhouse for official meetings
and banquets. Each guild had its special deity, such as Vesta, the fire
goddess, for bakers, and Bacchus, the wine god, for innkeepers. Every year
the guildsmen held a festival, in honor of their patron, and marched
through the streets with banners and the emblems of their trade. Nearly
all the guilds had as one main object the provision of a proper funeral
and tomb for deceased members. The humble laborer found some consolation
in the thought that he belonged to a club of friends and fellow workers,
who after death would give him decent burial and keep his memory green.
LIFE OF THE WORKING CLASSES
Free workingmen throughout the Roman world appear to have led reasonably
happy lives. They were not driven or enslaved by their employers or forced
to labor for long hours in grimy, unwholesome factories. Slums existed,
but no sweatshops. If wages were low, so also was the cost of living.
Wine, oil, and wheat flour were cheap. The mild climate made heavy
clothing unnecessary and permitted an outdoor life. The public baths--
great clubhouses--stood open to every one who could pay a trifling fee.
[27] Numerous holidays, celebrated with games and shows, brightened
existence. On the whole we may conclude that working people at Rome and in
the provinces enjoyed greater comfort during this period than had ever
been their lot in previous ages.
[Illustration: A ROMAN VILLA
Wall painting, Pompeii.]
GREAT FORTUNES
It was an age of millionaires. There had been rich men, such as Crassus,
[28] during the last century of the republic; their numbers increased and
their fortunes rose during the first century of the empire. The
philosopher Seneca, a tutor of Nero, is said to have made twelve million
dollars within four years by the emperor's favor. Narcissus, the secretary
of Claudius, made sixteen million dollars--the largest Roman fortune on
record. This sum must be multiplied four or five times to find its modern
equivalent, since in antiquity interest rates were higher and the
purchasing power of money was greater than to-day. Such private fortunes
are surpassed only by those of the present age.
LUXURY AND EXTRAVAGANCE
The heaping-up of riches in the hands of a few brought its natural
consequence in luxury and extravagance. The palaces of the wealthy, with
their gardens, baths, picture galleries, and other features, were costly
to build and costly to keep up. The money not lavished by a noble on his
town house could be easily sunk on his villas in the country. All Italy,
from the bay of Naples, to the foot of the Alps, was dotted with elegant
residences, having flower gardens, game preserves, fishponds, and
artificial lakes. Much senseless waste occurred at banquets and
entertainments. Vast sums were spent on vessels of gold and silver,
jewelry, clothing, and house furnishings. Even funerals and tombs required
heavy outlays. A capitalist of imperial Rome could get rid of a fortune in
selfish indulgences almost as readily as any modern millionaire not
blessed with a refined taste or with public spirit.
SOME SOCIAL EVILS
Some of the customs of the time appear especially shocking. The brutal
gladiatorial games [29] were a passion with every one, from the emperor to
his lowest subject. Infanticide was a general practice. Marriage grew to
be a mere civil contract, easily made and easily broken. Common as divorce
had become, the married state was regarded as undesirable. Augustus vainly
made laws to encourage matrimony and discourage celibacy. Suicide,
especially among the upper classes, was astonishingly frequent. No one
questioned another's right to leave this life at pleasure. The decline of
the earlier paganism left many men without a deep religious faith to
combat the growing doubt and worldliness of the age.
BRIGHTER ASPECTS OF ROMAN SOCIETY
Yet this dark picture needs correction at many points. It may be
questioned whether the vice, luxury, and wickedness of ancient Rome,
Antioch, or Alexandria much exceeded what our great modern capitals can
show, During this period, moreover, many remarkable improvements took
place in social life and manners. There was an increasing kindliness and
charity. The weak and the infirm were better treated. The education of the
poor was encouraged by the founding of free schools. Wealthy citizens of
the various towns lavished their fortunes on such public works as baths,
aqueducts, and temples, for the benefit of all classes. Even the slaves
were much better treated. Imperial laws aimed to check the abuses of
cruelty, overwork, and neglect, and philosophers recommended to masters
the exercise of gentleness and mercy toward slaves. In fact, the first and
second centuries of our era were marked by a great growth of the
humanitarian spirit.
73. THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD
THE NEW COSMOPOLITANISM
Just as the conquests of Alexander, by uniting the Orient to Greece,
produced a Graeco-Oriental civilization, so now the expansion of Rome over
the Mediterranean formed another world-wide culture, in which both Greek
and Roman elements met and mingled. A new sense of cosmopolitanism arose
in place of the old civic or national patriotism. Roman elements met and
mingled. A new sense of cosmopolitanism arose in place of the old civic or
national patriotism.
[Illustration: A ROMAN TEMPLE
The best preserved of Roman temples. Located at Nîmes in southern France,
where it is known as La Maison Carrée ("the square house"). The structure
is now used as a museum of antiquities.]
UNIFYING AND CIVILIZING FORCES
This cosmopolitan feeling was the outcome of those unifying and
civilizing forces which the imperial system set at work. The extension of
Roman citizenship broke down the old distinction between the citizens and
the subjects of Rome. The development of Roman law carried its principles
of justice and equity to the remotest regions. The spread of the Latin
language provided the western half of the empire with a speech as
universal there as Greek was in the East. Trade and travel united the
provinces with one another and with Rome. The worship of the Caesars
dimmed the luster of all local worships and kept constantly before men's
minds the idea of Rome and of her mighty emperors. Last, but not least
important, was the fusion of alien peoples through intermarriage with
Roman soldiers and colonists. "How many settlements," exclaims the
philosopher Seneca, "have been planted in every province! Wherever the
Roman conquers, there he dwells." [30]
[Illustration: THE AMPHITHEATER AT ARLES
The amphitheater at Arles in southern France was used during the Middle
Ages as a fortress then as a prison and finally became the resort of
criminals and paupers. The illustration shows it before the removal of the
buildings about 1830 A.D. Bullfights still continue in the arena, where,
in Roman times, animal baitings and gladiatorial games took place.]
MONUMENTS OF ROMAN RULE
The best evidence of Rome's imperial rule is found in the monuments she
raised in every quarter of the ancient world. Some of the grandest ruins
of antiquity are not in the capital city itself, or even in Italy, but in
Spain, France, England, Greece, Switzerland, Asia Minor, Syria, and North
Africa. Among these are Hadrian's Wall in Britain, the splendid aqueduct
known as the Pont du Gard near Nîmes in southern France, the beautiful
temple called La Maison Carrée in the same city, the Olympieum at Athens,
and the temple of the Sun at Baalbec in Syria Thus the lonely hilltops,
the desolate desert sands, the mountain fastnesses of three continents
bear witness even now to the widespreading sway of Rome.
[Illustration: A MEGALITH AT BAALBEC
A block of stone 68 feet long 10 feet high and weighing about 1500 tons.
It is still attached to its bed in the quarry not far from the ruins of
Baalbec in Syria. The temples of Baalbec seen in the distance were built
by the Romans in the third century A.D. The majestic temple of the Sun
contains three megaliths almost as huge as the one represented in the
illustration. They are the largest blocks known to have been used in any
structure. For a long time they were supposed to be relics of giant
builders.]
ROMANIZATION OF EAST AND WEST
The civilized world took on the stamp and impress of Rome. The East,
indeed, remained Greek in language and feeling, but even there Roman law
and government prevailed, Roman roads traced their unerring course, and
Roman architects erected majestic monuments. The West became completely
Roman. North Africa, Spain, Gaul, distant Dacia, and Britain were the
seats of populous cities, where the Latin language was spoken and Roman
customs were followed. From them came the emperors. They furnished some of
the most eminent men of letters. Their schools of grammar and rhetoric
attracted students from Rome itself. Thus unconsciously, but none the less
surely, local habits and manners, national religions and tongues,
provincial institutions and ways of thinking disappeared from the ancient
world.
STUDIES
1. On an outline map indicate the additions to Roman territory: during the
reign of Augustus, 31 B.C.-14 A.D.; during the period 14-180 A.D.
2. On an outline map indicate ten important cities of the Roman Empire.
3. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 79 A.D.; 180 A.D.;
and 14 A.D.
4. Whom do you consider the greater man, Julius Caesar or Augustus? Give
reasons for your answer.
5. Compare the Augustan Age at Rome with the Age of Pericles at Athens.
6. What is the _Monumentum Ancyranum_ and its historic importance
(illustration Monumentum Ancyranum, section 66. Augustus, 31 B.C.-l4 A.D.,
topic The Augustan Age)?
7. How did the worship of the Caesars connect itself with ancestor
worship?
8. In the reign of what Roman emperor was Jesus born? In whose reign was
he crucified?
9. How did the "year of anarchy" after Nero's death exhibit a weakness in
the imperial system?
10. How many provinces existed under Trajan?
11. What modern countries are included within the limits of the Roman
Empire in the age of Trajan?
12. Compare the extent of the Roman Empire under Trajan with (a) the
empire of Alexander; and (b) the empire of Darius.
13. Give the Roman names of Spain, Italy, Gaul, Germany, Britain,
Scotland, and Ireland.
14. Contrast the Roman armies under the empire with the standing armies of
modern Europe.
15. Trace on the map, page 205, the Roman roads in Britain.
16. "To the Roman city the empire was political death; to the provinces it
was the beginning of new life." Comment on this statement.
17. Why should Rome have made a greater success of her imperial policy
than either Athens or Sparta?
18. Compare Roman liberality in extending the franchise with the similar
policy displayed by the United States.
19. Compare the freedom of trade between the provinces of the Roman Empire
with that between the states of the American Union.
20. On the map, page 48, trace the trade routes during imperial times.
21. Compare as civilizing forces the Roman and the Persian empires.
22. What was the _Pax Romana_? What is the _Pax Britannica_?
23. Compare the Romanization of the ancient world with that process of
Americanization which is going on in the United States to-day.
24. Explain this statement: "The Roman Empire is the lake in which all the
streams of ancient history lose themselves and which all the streams of
modern history flow out of."
25. "Republican Rome had little to do, either by precept or example, with
the modern life of Europe, Imperial Rome everything." Can you justify this
statement?
FOOTNOTES
[1] Webster, _Readings in Ancient History_, chapter xix, "The Makers of
Imperial Rome: Character Sketches by Suetonius"; chapter xx, "Nero, a
Roman Emperor."
[2] Hence our word "prince".
[3] See page 184.
[4] The provinces of Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia. See the map facing
page 184.
[5] See page 187.
[6] For a description of ancient Rome see pages 292-296.
[7] Jesus was born probably in 4 B.C., the last year of the reign of
Herod, whom the triumvirs, Antony and Octavian, had placed on the throne
of Judea in 37 B.C.
[8] A Roman emperor was generally called "Caesar" by the provincials. See,
for example, _Matthew_, xxii, 17-21, or _Acts_, xxv, 10-12. This title
survives in the German _Kaiser_ and perhaps in the Russian _Tsar_ or
_Czar_.
[9] In 131 A.D., during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, the Jews once
more broke out in revolt. Jerusalem, which had risen from its ruins, was
again destroyed by the Romans, and the plow was passed over the
foundations of the Temple. From Roman times to the present the Jews have
been a people without a country.
[10] See Bulwer-Lytton's novel, _The Last Days of Pompeii_.
[11] See the map on page 205 for the system of Roman roads in Britain.
[12] See page 200.
[13] Pliny, _Natural History_, xxvii, 1.
[14] See page 179.
[15] See page 187.
[16] See _Acts_, XXV, 9-12.
[17] See page 151.
[18] _Institutes_, bk. i, tit. i.
[19] See page 331.
[20] See page 127.
[21] Several English cities, such as Lancaster, Leicester, Manchester, and
Chester, betray in their names their origin in the Roman castra, or camp.
[22] See page 149.
[23] For illustrations of Roman coins see the plate facing page 134.
[24] See the map on page 48.
[25] See page 107.
[26] Latin _collegia_, whence our "college."
[27] See pages 263 and 285.
[28] See page 183.
[29] See page 267.
[30] Seneca, _Minor Dialogues_, XI, 7.