首页 >出版文学> History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empir>第12章
  [Footnote71:ItisparticularlyremarkedofAthensbyDicaearchus,deStatuGraeciae,p。8,interGeographosMinores,edit。Hudson。]
  [Footnote72:DonatusdeRomaVetere,l。iii。c。4,5,6。
  NardiniRomaAntica,l。iii。11,12,13,andaMs。descriptionofancientRome,byBernardusOricellarius,orRucellai,ofwhichI
  obtainedacopyfromthelibraryoftheCanonRicardiatFlorence。TwocelebratedpicturesofTimanthesandofProtogenesarementionedbyPliny,asintheTempleofPeace;andtheLaocoonwasfoundinthebathsofTitus。]
  [Footnote*:TheEmperorVespasian,whohadcausedtheTempleofPeacetobebuilt,transportedtoitthegreatestpartofthepictures,statues,andotherworksofartwhichhadescapedtheciviltumults。ItwastherethateverydaytheartistsandthelearnedofRomeassembled;anditisonthesiteofthistemplethatamultitudeofantiqueshavebeendugup。SeenotesofReimaronDionCassius,lxvi。c。15,p。1083。—W。]
  [Footnote73:Montfauconl'AntiquiteExpliquee,tom。iv。p。2,l。
  i。c。9。FabrettihascomposedaverylearnedtreatiseontheaqueductsofRome。]
  Wehavecomputedtheinhabitants,andcontemplatedthepublicworks,oftheRomanempire。Theobservationofthenumberandgreatnessofitscitieswillservetoconfirmtheformer,andtomultiplythelatter。Itmaynotbeunpleasingtocollectafewscatteredinstancesrelativetothatsubjectwithoutforgetting,however,thatfromthevanityofnationsandthepovertyoflanguage,thevagueappellationofcityhasbeenindifferentlybestowedonRomeanduponLaurentum。
  I。AncientItalyissaidtohavecontainedelevenhundredandninety—sevencities;andforwhatsoeveraeraofantiquitytheexpressionmightbeintended,^74thereisnotanyreasontobelievethecountrylesspopulousintheageoftheAntonines,thaninthatofRomulus。ThepettystatesofLatiumwerecontainedwithinthemetropolisoftheempire,bywhosesuperiorinfluencetheyhadbeenattracted。ThosepartsofItalywhichhavesolonglanguishedunderthelazytyrannyofpriestsandviceroys,hadbeenafflictedonlybythemoretolerablecalamitiesofwar;andthefirstsymptomsofdecaywhichtheyexperienced,wereamplycompensatedbytherapidimprovementsoftheCisalpineGaul。ThesplendorofVeronamaybetracedinitsremains:yetVeronawaslesscelebratedthanAquileiaorPadua,MilanorRavenna。II。ThespiritofimprovementhadpassedtheAlps,andbeenfelteveninthewoodsofBritain,whichweregraduallyclearedawaytoopenafreespaceforconvenientandeleganthabitations。Yorkwastheseatofgovernment;Londonwasalreadyenrichedbycommerce;andBathwascelebratedforthesalutaryeffectsofitsmedicinalwaters。Gaulcouldboastofhertwelvehundredcities;^75andthough,inthenorthernparts,manyofthem,withoutexceptingParisitself,werelittlemorethantherudeandimperfecttownshipsofarisingpeople,thesouthernprovincesimitatedthewealthandeleganceofItaly。^76
  ManywerethecitiesofGaul,Marseilles,Arles,Nismes,Narbonne,Thoulouse,Bourdeaux,Autun,Vienna,Lyons,Langres,andTreves,whoseancientconditionmightsustainanequal,andperhapsadvantageouscomparisonwiththeirpresentstate。WithregardtoSpain,thatcountryflourishedasaprovince,andhasdeclinedasakingdom。Exhaustedbytheabuseofherstrength,byAmerica,andbysuperstition,herpridemightpossiblybeconfounded,ifwerequiredsuchalistofthreehundredandsixtycities,asPlinyhasexhibitedunderthereignofVespasian。^77
  III。ThreehundredAfricancitieshadonceacknowledgedtheauthorityofCarthage,^78norisitlikelythattheirnumbersdiminishedundertheadministrationoftheemperors:Carthageitselfrosewithnewsplendorfromitsashes;andthatcapital,aswellasCapuaandCorinth,soonrecoveredalltheadvantageswhichcanbeseparatedfromindependentsovereignty。IV。TheprovincesoftheEastpresentthecontrastofRomanmagnificencewithTurkishbarbarism。Theruinsofantiquityscatteredoveruncultivatedfields,andascribed,byignorancetothepowerofmagic,scarcelyaffordasheltertotheoppressedpeasantorwanderingArab。UnderthereignoftheCaesars,theproperAsiaalonecontainedfivehundredpopulouscities,^79enrichedwithallthegiftsofnature,andadornedwithalltherefinementsofart。ElevencitiesofAsiahadoncedisputedthehonorofdedicatingatempleofTiberius,andtheirrespectivemeritswereexaminedbythesenate。^80Fourofthemwereimmediatelyrejectedasunequaltotheburden;andamongthesewasLaodicea,whosesplendorisstilldisplayedinitsruins。^81Laodiceacollectedaveryconsiderablerevenuefromitsflocksofsheep,celebratedforthefinenessoftheirwool,andhadreceived,alittlebeforethecontest,alegacyofabovefourhundredthousandpoundsbythetestamentofagenerouscitizen。^82IfsuchwasthepovertyofLaodicea,whatmusthavebeenthewealthofthosecities,whoseclaimappearedpreferable,andparticularlyofPergamus,ofSmyrna,andofEphesus,whosolongdisputedwitheachotherthetitularprimacyofAsia?^83ThecapitalsofSyriaandEgyptheldastillsuperiorrankintheempire;AntiochandAlexandrialookeddownwithdisdainonacrowdofdependentcities,^84andyielded,withreluctance,tothemajestyofRomeitself。
  [Footnote74:Aelian。Hist。Var。lib。ix。c。16。HelivedinthetimeofAlexanderSeverus。SeeFabricius,Biblioth。Graeca,l。
  iv。c。21。]
  [Footnote*:ThismayinsomedegreeaccountforthedifficultystartedbyLivy,astotheincrediblynumerousarmiesraisedbythesmallstatesaroundRomewhere,inhistime,ascantystockoffreesoldiersamongalargerpopulationofRomanslavesbrokethesolitude。VixseminarioexiguomilitumrelictoservitiaRomanaabsolitudinevindicant,Liv。vi。vii。CompareAppianBelCiv。i。7。—M。subst。forG。]
  [Footnote75:Joseph。deBell。Jud。ii。16。Thenumber,however,ismentioned,andshouldbereceivedwithadegreeoflatitude。
  Note:WithoutdoubtnoreliancecanbeplacedonthispassageofJosephus。ThehistorianmakesAgrippagiveadvicetotheJews,astothepoweroftheRomans;andthespeechisfullofdeclamationwhichcanfurnishnoconclusionstohistory。
  WhileenumeratingthenationssubjecttotheRomans,hespeaksoftheGaulsassubmittingto1200soldiers,whichisfalse,astherewereeightlegionsinGaul,Tac。iv。5,whiletherearenearlytwelvehundredcities。—G。JosephusinfraplacestheseeightlegionsontheRhine,asTacitusdoes。—M。]
  [Footnote76:Plin。Hist。Natur。iii。5。]
  [Footnote77:Plin。Hist。Natur。iii。3,4,iv。35。Thelistseemsauthenticandaccurate;thedivisionoftheprovinces,andthedifferentconditionofthecities,areminutelydistinguished。]
  [Footnote78:Strabon。Geograph。l。xvii。p。1189。]
  [Footnote79:Joseph。deBell。Jud。ii。16。Philostrat。inVit。
  Sophist。l。ii。p。548,edit。Olear。]
  [Footnote80:Tacit。Annal。iv。55。Ihavetakensomepainsinconsultingandcomparingmoderntravellers,withregardtothefateofthoseelevencitiesofAsia。Sevenoreightaretotallydestroyed:Hypaepe,Tralles,Laodicea,Hium,Halicarnassus,Miletus,Ephesus,andwemayaddSardes。Oftheremainingthree,Pergamusisastragglingvillageoftwoorthreethousandinhabitants;Magnesia,underthenameofGuzelhissar,atownofsomeconsequence;andSmyrna,agreatcity,peopledbyahundredthousandsouls。ButevenatSmyrna,whiletheFrankshavemaintainedacommerce,theTurkshaveruinedthearts。]
  [Footnote81:SeeaveryexactandpleasingdescriptionoftheruinsofLaodicea,inChandler'sTravelsthroughAsiaMinor,p。
  225,&c。]
  [Footnote82:Strabo,l。xii。p。866。HehadstudiedatTralles。]
  [Footnote83:SeeaDissertationofM。deBoze,Mem。del'Academie,tom。xviii。Aristidespronouncedanoration,whichisstillextant,torecommendconcordtotherivalcities。]
  [Footnote84:TheinhabitantsofEgypt,exclusiveofAlexandria,amountedtosevenmillionsandahalf,Joseph。deBell。Jud。
  ii。16。UnderthemilitarygovernmentoftheMamelukes,Syriawassupposedtocontainsixtythousandvillages,HistoiredeTimurBec,l。v。c。20。]
  ChapterII:TheInternalProsperityInTheAgeOfTheAntonines。
  PartIV。
  Allthesecitieswereconnectedwitheachother,andwiththecapital,bythepublichighways,which,issuingfromtheForumofRome,traversedItaly,pervadedtheprovinces,andwereterminatedonlybythefrontiersoftheempire。IfwecarefullytracethedistancefromthewallofAntoninustoRome,andfromthencetoJerusalem,itwillbefoundthatthegreatchainofcommunication,fromthenorth—westtothesouth—eastpointoftheempire,wasdrawnouttothelengthiffourthousandandeightyRomanmiles。^85Thepublicroadswereaccuratelydividedbymile—stones,andraninadirectlinefromonecitytoanother,withverylittlerespectfortheobstacleseitherofnatureorprivateproperty。Mountainswereperforated,andboldarchesthrownoverthebroadestandmostrapidstreams。^86Themiddlepartoftheroadwasraisedintoaterracewhichcommandedtheadjacentcountry,consistedofseveralstrataofsand,gravel,andcement,andwaspavedwithlargestones,or,insomeplacesnearthecapital,withgranite。^87SuchwasthesolidconstructionoftheRomanhighways,whosefirmnesshasnotentirelyyieldedtotheeffortoffifteencenturies。Theyunitedthesubjectsofthemostdistantprovincesbyaneasyandfamiliarintercourse;outtheirprimaryobjecthadbeentofacilitatethemarchesofthelegions;norwasanycountryconsideredascompletelysubdued,tillithadbeenrendered,inallitsparts,pervioustothearmsandauthorityoftheconqueror。Theadvantageofreceivingtheearliestintelligence,andofconveyingtheirorderswithcelerity,inducedtheemperorstoestablish,throughouttheirextensivedominions,theregularinstitutionofposts。^88Houseswereeverywhereerectedatthedistanceonlyoffiveorsixmiles;eachofthemwasconstantlyprovidedwithfortyhorses,andbythehelpoftheserelays,itwaseasytotravelahundredmilesinadayalongtheRomanroads。^89TheuseofpostswasallowedtothosewhoclaimeditbyanImperialmandate;butthoughoriginallyintendedforthepublicservice,itwassometimesindulgedtothebusinessorconveniencyofprivatecitizens。^90NorwasthecommunicationoftheRomanempirelessfreeandopenbyseathanitwasbyland。
  TheprovincessurroundedandenclosedtheMediterranean:andItaly,intheshapeofanimmensepromontory,advancedintothemidstofthatgreatlake。ThecoastsofItalyare,ingeneral,destituteofsafeharbors;buthumanindustryhadcorrectedthedeficienciesofnature;andtheartificialportofOstia,inparticular,situateatthemouthoftheTyber,andformedbytheemperorClaudius,wasausefulmonumentofRomangreatness。^91
  Fromthisport,whichwasonlysixteenmilesfromthecapital,afavorablebreezefrequentlycarriedvesselsinsevendaystothecolumnsofHercules,andinnineorten,toAlexandriainEgypt。
  ^92
  [SeeRemainsOfClaudianAquaduct]
  [Footnote85:ThefollowingItinerarymayservetoconveysomeideaofthedirectionoftheroad,andofthedistancebetweentheprincipaltowns。I。FromthewallofAntoninustoYork,222
  Romanmiles。II。London,227。III。RhutupiaeorSandwich,67。
  IV。ThenavigationtoBoulogne,45。V。Rheims,174。VI。
  Lyons,330。VII。Milan,324。VIII。Rome,426。IX。
  Brundusium,360。X。ThenavigationtoDyrrachium,40。XI。
  Byzantium,711。XII。Ancyra,283。XIII。Tarsus,301。XIV。
  Antioch,141。XV。Tyre,252。XVI。Jerusalem,168。Inall4080
  Roman,or3740Englishmiles。SeetheItinerariespublishedbyWesseling,hisannotations;GaleandStukeleyforBritain,andM。
  d'AnvilleforGaulandItaly。]
  [Footnote86:Montfaucon,l'AntiquiteExpliquee,tom。4,p。2,l。i。c。5,hasdescribedthebridgesofNarni,Alcantara,Nismes,&c。]
  [Footnote87:Bergier,HistoiredesgrandsCheminsdel'EmpireRomain,l。ii。c。l。l—28。]
  [Footnote88:ProcopiusinHist。Arcana,c。30。Bergier,Hist。
  desgrandsChemins,l。iv。CodexTheodosian。l。viii。tit。v。
  vol。ii。p。506—563withGodefroy'slearnedcommentary。]
  [Footnote89:InthetimeofTheodosius,Caesarius,amagistrateofhighrank,wentpostfromAntiochtoConstantinople。Hebeganhisjourneyatnight,wasinCappadocia165milesfromAntioch
  theensuingevening,andarrivedatConstantinoplethesixthdayaboutnoon。Thewholedistancewas725Roman,or665Englishmiles。SeeLibanius,Orat。xxii。,andtheItineria,p。572—
  581。
  Note:AcourierismentionedinWalpole'sTravels,ii。335,whowastotravelfromAleppotoConstantinople,morethan700
  miles,ineightdays,anunusuallyshortjourney。—M。]
  [Footnote*:PostsfortheconveyanceofintelligencewereestablishedbyAugustus。Suet。Aug。49。Thecourierstravelledwithamazingspeed。BlaironRomanSlavery,note,p。261。Itisprobablethattheposts,fromthetimeofAugustus,wereconfinedtothepublicservice,andsuppliedbyimpressmentNerva,asitappearsfromacoinofhisreign,madeanimportantchange;"heestablishedpostsuponallthepublicroadsofItaly,andmadetheservicechargeableuponhisownexchequer。**Hadrian,perceivingtheadvantageofthisimprovement,extendedittoalltheprovincesoftheempire。"CardwellonCoins,p。220。—M。]
  [Footnote90:Pliny,thoughafavoriteandaminister,madeanapologyforgrantingpost—horsestohiswifeonthemosturgentbusiness。Epist。x。121,122。]
  [Footnote91:Bergier,Hist。desgrandsChemins,l。iv。c。49。]
  [Footnote92:Plin。Hist。Natur。xix。i。[InProoem。]
  Note:PlinysaysPuteoli,whichseemstohavebeentheusuallandingplacefromtheEast。SeethevoyagesofSt。Paul,Actsxxviii。13,andofJosephus,Vita,c。3—M。]
  Whateverevilseitherreasonordeclamationhaveimputedtoextensiveempire,thepowerofRomewasattendedwithsomebeneficialconsequencestomankind;andthesamefreedomofintercoursewhichextendedthevices,diffusedlikewisetheimprovements,ofsociallife。Inthemoreremoteagesofantiquity,theworldwasunequallydivided。TheEastwasintheimmemorialpossessionofartsandluxury;whilsttheWestwasinhabitedbyrudeandwarlikebarbarians,whoeitherdisdainedagriculture,ortowhomitwastotallyunknown。Undertheprotectionofanestablishedgovernment,theproductionsofhappierclimates,andtheindustryofmorecivilizednations,weregraduallyintroducedintothewesterncountriesofEurope;
  andthenativeswereencouraged,byanopenandprofitablecommerce,tomultiplytheformer,aswellastoimprovethelatter。Itwouldbealmostimpossibletoenumerateallthearticles,eitheroftheanimalorthevegetablereign,whichweresuccessivelyimportedintoEuropefromAsiaandEgypt:^93butitwillnotbeunworthyofthedignity,andmuchlessoftheutility,ofanhistoricalwork,slightlytotouchonafewoftheprincipalheads。1。Almostalltheflowers,theherbs,andthefruits,thatgrowinourEuropeangardens,areofforeignextraction,which,inmanycases,isbetrayedevenbytheirnames:theapplewasanativeofItaly,andwhentheRomanshadtastedthericherflavoroftheapricot,thepeach,thepomegranate,thecitron,andtheorange,theycontentedthemselveswithapplyingtoallthesenewfruitsthecommondenominationofapple,discriminatingthemfromeachotherbytheadditionalepithetoftheircountry。2。InthetimeofHomer,thevinegrewwildintheislandofSicily,andmostprobablyintheadjacentcontinent;butitwasnotimprovedbytheskill,nordiditaffordaliquorgratefultothetaste,ofthesavageinhabitants。^94Athousandyearsafterwards,Italycouldboast,thatofthefourscoremostgenerousandcelebratedwines,morethantwothirdswereproducedfromhersoil。^95TheblessingwassooncommunicatedtotheNarbonneseprovinceofGaul;butsointensewasthecoldtothenorthoftheCevennes,that,inthetimeofStrabo,itwasthoughtimpossibletoripenthegrapesinthosepartsofGaul。^96Thisdifficulty,however,wasgraduallyvanquished;andthereissomereasontobelieve,thatthevineyardsofBurgundyareasoldastheageoftheAntonines。^97
  3。Theolive,inthewesternworld,followedtheprogressofpeace,ofwhichitwasconsideredasthesymbol。TwocenturiesafterthefoundationofRome,bothItalyandAfricawerestrangerstothatusefulplant:itwasnaturalizedinthosecountries;andatlengthcarriedintotheheartofSpainandGaul。Thetimiderrorsoftheancients,thatitrequiredacertaindegreeofheat,andcouldonlyflourishintheneighborhoodofthesea,wereinsensiblyexplodedbyindustryandexperience。^984。ThecultivationofflaxwastransportedfromEgypttoGaul,andenrichedthewholecountry,howeveritmightimpoverishtheparticularlandsonwhichitwassown。^995。TheuseofartificialgrassesbecamefamiliartothefarmersbothofItalyandtheprovinces,particularlytheLucerne,whichderiveditsnameandoriginfromMedia。^100Theassuredsupplyofwholesomeandplentifulfoodforthecattleduringwinter,multipliedthenumberofthedocksandherds,whichintheirturncontributedtothefertilityofthesoil。Toalltheseimprovementsmaybeaddedanassiduousattentiontominesandfisheries,which,byemployingamultitudeoflaborioushands,servetoincreasethepleasuresoftherichandthesubsistenceofthepoor。TheeleganttreatiseofColumelladescribestheadvancedstateoftheSpanishhusbandryunderthereignofTiberius;anditmaybeobserved,thatthosefamines,whichsofrequentlyafflictedtheinfantrepublic,wereseldomorneverexperiencedbytheextensiveempireofRome。Theaccidentalscarcity,inanysingleprovince,wasimmediatelyrelievedbytheplentyofitsmorefortunateneighbors。
  [Footnote93:ItisnotimprobablethattheGreeksandPhoeniciansintroducedsomenewartsandproductionsintotheneighborhoodofMarseillesandGades。]
  [Footnote94:SeeHomer,Odyss。l。ix。v。358。]
  [Footnote95:Plin。Hist。Natur。l。xiv。]
  [Footnote96:Strab。Geograph。l。iv。p。269。TheintensecoldofaGallicwinterwasalmostproverbialamongtheancients。
  Note:Straboonlysaysthatthegrapedoesnotripen。
  AttemptshadbeenmadeinthetimeofAugustustonaturalizethevineinthenorthofGaul;butthecoldwastoogreat。Diod。
  Sic。edit。Rhodom。p。304。—W。Diodoruslib。v。26givesacuriouspictureoftheItaliantradersbartering,withthesavagesofGaul,acaskofwineforaslave。—M。
  ItappearsfromthenewlydiscoveredtreatiseofCicerodeRepublica,thattherewasalawoftherepublicprohibitingthecultureofthevineandolivebeyondtheAlps,inordertokeepupthevalueofthoseinItaly。Nosjustissimihomines,quitransalpinasgentesoleametvitemsererenonsinimus,quoplurissintnostraolivetanostraequevineae。Lib。iii。9。TherestrictivelawofDomitianwasveiledunderthedecentpretextofencouragingthecultivationofgrain。Suet。Dom。vii。ItwasrepealedbyProbusVopisStrobus,18。—M。]
  [Footnote97:Inthebeginningofthefourthcentury,theoratorEumeniusPanegyr。Veter。viii。6,edit。Delphin。speaksofthevinesintheterritoryofAutun,whichweredecayedthroughage,andthefirstplantationofwhichwastotallyunknown。ThePagusArebrignusissupposedbyM。d'AnvilletobethedistrictofBeaune,celebrated,evenatpresentforoneofthefirstgrowthsofBurgundy。