[Illustration: A ROMAN TEMPLE The best preserved
of Roman temples. Located at Nimes in southern
France, where it is known as La Maison Carree ("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 Nimes
in southern France, the beautiful temple called La
Maison Carree 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.]
