In the old days, before Rome entered on a career of
foreign conquest, her citizens were famous among men for their love of country,
their simple lives, and their conservative, old-fashioned ways. They worked
hard on their little farms, fought bravely in the legions, and kept up with
careful piety all the ceremonies of their religion. But now the Roman republic
was an imperial power with all the privileges of universal rule. Her foreign
wars proved to be immensely profitable. At the end of a successful campaign the
soldiers received large gifts from their general, besides the booty taken from
the enemy. The Roman state itself profited from the sale of enslaved prisoners
and their property. Large sums of money were sometimes seized and taken to
Rome. When once peace had been made, the Roman governors and tax collectors
followed in the wake of the armies and squeezed the provincials at every turn.
The Romans, indeed, seem to have conquered the world less for glory than for
profit.
GROWTH OF LUXURY
So much wealth poured into Rome from every side that there
could scarcely fail to be a sudden growth of luxurious tastes. Rich nobles
quickly developed a relish for all sorts of reckless display. They built fine
houses adorned with statues, costly paintings, and furnishings. They surrounded
themselves with troops of slaves. Instead of plain linen clothes they and their
wives wore garments of silk and gold. At their banquets they spread embroidered
carpets, purple coverings, and dishes of gilt plate. Pomp and splendor replaced
the rude simplicity of an earlier age.
