Early Rome

The Roman Empire in the early ages of our era embraced all the countries round the Mediterranean Sea, together with vast tracts north of the Alps, stretching in one direction as far as the Danube, and even beyond that river in its lower course, and in another as far as the Atlantic Ocean, St. George’s Channel, the Solway Frith, and the North Sea. In this great empire was gathered up the sum total that remained of the religions, laws, customs, languages, letters, arts, and sciences of all the nations of antiquity which had successively held sway or predominance. It was the appointed task of the Romans to collect the product of all this mass of varied national labour as a common treasure of mankind, and to deliver it over to the ages which were to follow...