pedestal of Pompey's statue. The marble countenance of the statue seemed to look down upon him, and Pompey was avenged.

7. The conspirators dipped their weapons in the blood that flowed upon the pavement. Brutus raised his dagger aloft, and called to Cic'-e-ro, the illustrious orator and patriot. "Rejoice, father of our country!" he exclaimed, pointing to the prostrate form of Cæsar, "for Rome is free!"

8. But, alas! when the souls of a whole people are enslaved, it is not the death of any single man that can set them free. And thus, as my readers will perceive, the mighty victim died in vain.

CHAPTER LXXVII.-EUROPE-CONTINUED.
Consequences of Caesar's Death.

1. THE death of Cæsar took place forty-three years before the Christian era. The affairs of Rome were thrown into great confusion by it. Cæsar's friends found no great difficulty in persuading the people that he had been unjustly murdered.

Their names were Mark
The latter was Cæsar's

2. Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators were compelled to flee from the city. Three men then usurped the government, and were called triumvirs, or a triumvirate. An'-to-ny, Lep'-i dus, and Oc-ta'-vi-us. nephew, and had been his adopted son. 3. The triumvirate resolved to secure murdering all who were opposed to them. hundred senators and more than two thousand knights, and offered rewards for killing them. They exulted when the heads of their victims were laid at their feet.

themselves in power by They made a list of three

4. One of these wicked triumvirs presented the head of his own brother to his colleagues. Another brought his uncle's head. No friend, nor relative, nor patriot was spared if he was suspected of being opposed to the triumvirate.

5. In the mean time, Brutus and Cassius were in Greece. They had collected an army of a hundred thousand men; Mark Antony and Octavius marched against them: and a battle was fought at Philippi. Brutus and Cassius being defeated, they both committed suicide.

7. What did Brutus and the conspirators now do? 8. Why did Cæsar die in vain? CHAP. LXXVII.-1. When did Cæsar's death take place? What of Rome? The friends of Cæsar? 2. Who were obliged to fly from the city? Who now governed Rome? Who was Octavius? 3. What did the triumvirate do?

4. What acts of cru

elty did they perform? 5. Where now were Brutus and Cassius? Who opposed Where was the battle fought? Fate of Brutus and Cassius?

them?

THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

151

6. The triumvirate had now got all the power into their own hands. But they soon quarreled among themselves. Lepidus was turned out of office, and banished. Mark Antony and Octavius then made war upon each other, like Marius and Sylla, and like Pompey and Cæsar.

7. The good fortune of Octavius gave him the victory, and Antony killed himself with his own sword, as I have related in the history of Egypt. Octavius had no longer any rivals, and was now sole master of Rome and its dominions. He was afraid to assume the title of king, but called himself emperor, and Au-gus'-tus Cæsar.

8. In addition to several other titles, the senate gave him that of Pater Patriæ, or Father of his Country. This was merely a piece of flattery. Yet there were now so few good men in Rome, that, perhaps, Octavius made a better use of his power than any other would have done.

9. His reign from this time was peaceful and quiet, and offers few events that need to be recorded in this brief history. Nearly the whole world was under his sway, and, therefore, he had no occasion to increase his dominions by going to war. The greatest glory of his times consists in the works of poets and other men of genius.

10. Octavius, or, as he is always called, Augustus Cæsar, reigned forty-one years, and died at the age of seventy-six, in the year 14 after the birth of Christ. You will observe that it was during his reign that Christ appeared in Palestine.

CHAPTER LXXVIII.-EUROPE-CONTINUED. About the great Power and Extent of the Roman Empire in the Time of Augustus.

1. As Rome was now at its greatest height of wealth and splendor, I shall try to give you some idea of the extent and power of this vast empire, and then, having told you a little more of its history, I shall say something about the manners and customs of the ancient Roman people.

2. In the time of Augustus, the Roman empire embraced all the

6. What of the triumvirate? 7. Which of the triumvirs triumphed? What became of Antony? What did Octavius call himself? 8. What other name did the senate give him? 9. Describe the reign of Augustus. 10. How long did he reign? When did he die?

THE TIMES OF AUGUSTUS.

153

nations of Europe, except a few northern tribes, who maintained their independence. It included England, France, Spain, Germany, all the states of Italy, Greece, the country now occupied by Turkey in Europe, beside many other nations.

3. In Asia, it embraced all the kingdoms from Asia Minor on the west, to India on the east. Of course, it included Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Persia, Parthia, and many other countries.

4. It included the whole northern portion of Africa, from Mau-rita'-ni-a, now Morocco, on the west, to Ethiopia on the east. This was the whole of Africa then known; the interior being only inhabited by scattered bands of negroes.

5. It seems wonderful that one country could govern so many nations. This was done, however, by placing Roman governors over these various kingdoms; the governors being sustained by a multitude of Roman soldiers.

6. During this period, the people of Rome had great skill in architecture, sculpture, painting, and many other arts. These arts were extended to all parts of the empire.

7. Thus a multitude of cities in various parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, were filled with costly temples and palaces of marble, with beautiful statues and valuable paintings. The splendor and magnificence of many of these cities, at this period, was, indeed, wonderful.

8. Nor was this all; the Romans built many public works of great utility; they constructed roads paved with stone; they built durable bridges, and made aqueducts for supplying the cities with water. So numerous and so permanent were these vast works, that the remains of them are still to be found in most of those countries over which the Roman dominion was then established, though they were executed nearly two thousand years ago.

9. But of all the cities in the world, Rome was itself the most wonderful. In the time of Augustus, it was fifty miles in circuit, and contained four millions of inhabitants.

10. Like all ancient cities, it was surrounded by high, strong walls of stone; for in those warlike times, as I have before said, walls were a necessary protection against the attacks of an enemy. The walls of Rome were entered by thirty-seven gates.

CHAP. LXXVIII.-2. What of Rome during the reign of Augustus? What did it include in Europe? 3. In Asia? 4. In Africa? What parts of Africa were then known? Tell the direction of each of the countries named from Rome. (See map, p. 152.) 5. How did Rome govern all these nations? 6. What of the people of Rome? 7. With what were many cities filled? 8. What of public works? What of aqueducts? 9. Describe the city of Rome.

11. The interior of this wonderful city surpassed all description. The various generals who had conquered other countries, had robbed them of their choicest treasures, and these had been brought to Rome to decorate and enrich the capital.

12. There were beautiful statues from Greece, obelisks and columns from Egypt, and a great variety of curious and costly manufactures from Asia. Gold, silver, and precious stones had been gathered from every part of the earth.

13. The city was embellished with temples, many of them of marble, and beautifully sculptured; there were also theaters, amphitheaters, porticos, public baths, triumphal arches, and aqueducts.

14. In short, the city of Rome was enriched with the spoils of the whole world, and had that air of pomp and magnificence which suited the capital of the greatest empire the world ever saw.

CHAPTER LXXIX.-EUROPE-CONTINUED. The Means by which Rome acquired its Power.

1. I TRUST you have now some faint idea of the extent, wealth, and power of the Roman empire. We cannot look back upon it but with feelings of admiration; yet when we consider the means which had been employed to establish this dominion, and reflect that the whole fabric was, ere long, laid in ruins, we feel that it rested on a false foundation, and that its destruction was alike a just and an inevitable retribution.

2. In the first place, the means used to aggrandize Rome were those of conquest. The Roman generals went abroad to subdue other countries, for no other purpose than to acquire fame and spoils for themselves, and power for Rome.

3. They slaughtered the inhabitants without mercy; they robbed them without scruple, and they subjected them to the Roman yoke without the slightest regard to the rights of mankind.

4. Such were the means by which the fabric of Roman power was erected. And what must have been the condition of mankind during the seven hundred years that Rome was carrying on its wars for no other purpose than to enslave the world?

11. How was the capital decorated? 13. What of temples? Other buildings? 14. What of the city?

CHAP. LXXIX.-1. What must we feel upon reading the history of Rome? 2. By what means did Rome rise to such a high pitch of renown? What of the Roman generals? 4. How many years was Rome at war with other nations?