still more exciting to behold, for these appealed more directly to the imagination, and excited those passions which urged the Romans to a career of conquest from generation to generation.  No military review of modern times equalled those gorgeous triumphs, even as no scenic performance compares with the gladiatorial shows; the sun has never shone upon any human assemblage so magnificent and so grand, so imposing and yet so guilty.  Not only were displayed the spoils of conquered kingdoms, and the triumphal cars of generals, but the whole military strength of the capital; an army of one hundred thousand men, flushed with victory, followed the gorgeous procession of nobles and princes.  The triumph of Aurelian, on his return from the East, gives us some idea of the grandeur of that ovation to conquerors.  “The pomp was opened by twenty elephants, four royal tigers, and two hundred of the most curious animals from every climate, north, south, east, and west.  These were followed by sixteen hundred gladiators, devoted to the cruel amusement of the amphitheatre.  Then were displayed the arms and ensigns of conquered nations, the plate and wardrobe of the Syrian queen.  Then ambassadors from all parts of the earth, all remarkable in their rich dresses, with their crowns and offerings.  Then the captives taken in the various wars,—­Goths, Vandals, Samaritans, Alemanni, Franks, Gauls, Syrians, and Egyptians, each marked by their national costume.  Then the Queen of the East, the beautiful Zenobia, confined by fetters of gold, and fainting under the weight of jewels, preceding the beautiful chariot in which she had hoped to enter the gates of Rome.  Then the chariot of the Persian king.  Then the triumphal car of Aurelian himself, drawn by elephants.  Finally the most illustrious of the Senate and the army closed the solemn procession, amid the acclamations of the people, and the sound of musical instruments.  It took from dawn of day until the ninth hour for the procession to pass to the capitol; and the festival was protracted by theatrical representations, the games of the circus, the hunting of wild beasts, combats of gladiators, and naval engagements.”

Such were the material wonders of the ancient civilizations, culminating in their latest and greatest representative, and displayed in its proud capital,—­nearly all of which became later the spoil of barbarians, who ruthlessly marched over the classic world, having no regard for its choicest treasures.  Those old glories are now indeed succeeded by a prouder civilization,—­the work of nobler races after sixteen hundred years of new experiments.  But why such an eclipse of the glory of man?  The reason is apparent if we survey the internal state of the ancient empires, especially of society as it existed under the Roman emperors.

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AUTHORITIES.