The Old Roman World
The Old Roman World
The Grandeur and Failure of its Civilization
Book Excerpt
extend the limits of
the empire. The passion for war is succeeded by a passion for government
and laws. Labor and toil give place to leisure and enjoyment. Great
works of art appear, and these become historical,--the Pantheon, the
Forum Augusti, the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Column of Trajan, the Baths
of Caracalla, the Aqua Claudia, the golden house of Nero, the Mausoleum
of Hadrian, the Temple of Venus and Rome, the Arch of Septimus Severus.
The city is changed from brick to marble, and palaces and theatres and
temples become colossal. Painting and sculpture ornament every part of
the city. There are more marble busts than living men. Life becomes more
complicated and factitious. Enormous fortunes are accumulated. A liberal
patronage is extended to artists. Literature declines, but great
masterpieces of genius are still produced. Medicine, law, and science
flourish. A beautiful suburban life is seen on all the hills, while
gardens and villas are the object of perpetual panegyric. From all
corners of the ear
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