erected 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.

8. 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. Like all ancient cities, it was surrounded by high, strong walls of stone; for in these 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 gates.

9. 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. 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. Nor was this all; the city was embellished with temples, many of them of marble, and beautifully sculptured; there were also theatres, amphitheatres, porticoes, public baths, triumphal arches, and aqueducts.

10. 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 that the world ever saw.

QUESTIONS. 2. What of the Roman empire during the reign of Augustus? What did it include in Europe?-3. În Asia ?4. In Africa? What parts of Africa were then known? Tell the direction of each of the countries named from Rome.- -5. How

did Rome govern all these nations ?- -6. With what were many cities filled ?- -7. What of public works?- -8. Of aqueducts? Describe the city of Rome.- -9. How was the capital decorated? What of temples? Other buildings ?10. Of the city?

CHAPTER LXXVIII.

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. These are such as at first to fill the mind with feelings of admiration : yet when we look at the means which had been employed to establish this dominion, when we consider the condition of mankind during the period of its greatness, and remember how soon this vast dominion crumbled into atoms, we cannot but view the matter in a very different light.

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. They slaughtered the inhabitants without mercy; they plundered them without scruple, and subjected them to the Roman yoke without the slightest regard to the rights of mankind. Such were the means by which the mighty fabric of Roman power was erected. 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?

3. It is true that a few men, generals, senators, consuls, and governors, lived in splendour, and enjoyed wealth and fame; the Roman soldiers, too, led lives of adventure, gratifying to bold and restless spirits. But how much suffering, sorrow, and despair, must there have been among the millions of wounded men; among the millions who were bereaved of their friends; among the millions who were stripped of their fortunes; among the millions who were reduced to slavery!

4. The simple truth is, that the policy of Rome was wholly selfish. The Roman rulers, like the Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, and other ancient nations, had some

abstract notions of virtue, and occasionally performed noble and generous actions. Yet, like all these nations, they were destitute of true morality; that morality which our Lord has taught in a single sentence: "Do to another as you would have another do to you." Like the other ancient nations, Rome was destitute of that true religion, which teaches mankind that all power founded on injustice must perish.

5. Splendid as the Roman empire was, it was destitute of real glory. Its splendour was acquired by robbery, and its fame, though it might dazzle a heathen, will be regarded as a false renown by the Christian. We may remark, that no heathen nation or country has ever existed, where the people generally were lovers of justice, truth, and charity. It is only in Christian countries, where the laws of truth and morality are established on the basis of the Bible, that true virtue may be found.

6. Such as it was, the power of Rome was destined to speedy decay. For some time after Augustus, the empire maintained its power, and the magnificence of Rome continued. The luxury of the wealthy citizens even increased, and refinement in many respects was carried to a higher pitch than ever. But the whole fabric was based upon a false foundation; and in a few centuries imperial Rome itself was taken and plundered by some of those tribes of barbarians whom the Romans had so long insulted and oppressed.

QUESTIONS. 1. How 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? How many years was Rome at war with other nations?- -3. What classes may have been benefited by these wars? Who suffered from them? -4. What of Rome and her citizens? Were the people either truly moral or religious?5. What of the splendour of Rome? What may be said of heathen nations? Christian nations?- -6. State of Rome after the death of Augustus? The final fate of Rome ?

1. THE Roman empire had now reached the height of its power and splendour; and its decline had already commenced, because the people and their rulers were alike corrupt. It was like a great tree with wide-spreading branches, but rotten at its trunk.

2. In the course of about three hundred and fifty years after the death of Augustus Cæsar, there were thirty-six emperors of Rome; but I can mention only a few of them. They lived in great luxury and splendour, but they were generally such wicked persons that it would have been better for the world if they had never lived.

3. The next emperor to Augustus Cæsar was Tiberius; he was a frightful-looking object, being bald and covered with sores, and his disposition was even more hideous than his aspect. This gloomy tyrant suspected everybody of