The progress-advertiser. (Lexington, Miss.) 1902-1903, 1903-12-31
VOLUME LXVI.
HOW AND WHY
The Romans Became Masters Of the
World.

When one thinks of the immense
historical significance of the word
a Rome, when one reflects upon the
1ordly city that cpwned the Seven
Hills, and upon the imperial facts and
forces OF which that city was the CEN
ter-the emperors ald their splendor,
the senate and its dignity, the forum
and its eloquence, the legions and their
yictories-and when, finally, we be-
hold the mighty establishment tremb-
ling and falling, we are naturally
moved to ask, first; What led to the
upbuilding Of the great domain? and,
second: What led to its fall?
Why was 1t, then, that the Romans
were able to build up that marvellous
empire of theirs?
In the first place, the early agrarian
laws were such as to foster and main
tain the most perfect love of country
The lands of tne republic were divided
among the citizens in equal shares.
All had land, and each one had the
same amount. The inevitable result
OF this was double Incentive to pa
triotism. All had an interest in the
republic, and all had the same in
terest.
Owning their country, the Roman
people were only too willing and glad
to fight for the advancement of it's
power and glory.
Then, again, all through the lolg
period of laying the foundations OF
their splendid dominion, the Romans
were an exceptionally temperate and
moral people. Morally clean and ply
sically robust, they were able to en-
dure any amount of hardship--loss of
rest, cold, heat, hunger, thirst-aly-
thing and everything that came along
The man who transformed the little
camp on the Palestine into the capital
of the world was every inch man
Behold him-the Soldier of the Le-
gion! The contracted brow declares
that storms of battle have beat upon
it often. The glare of that overshad-
owed eye throws contempt on death.
The inflated nostril breathes a steady
rage. The fixed lips deny mercy. The
rigid arms and the knit joints have
forced path to victory through
bristling ramparts and triple lines OF
shields and swords. There is gen.
eral hardness of texture that seems
the outward expression of an irol
strength of soul.
A natural born soldier, you say--a
conquerer by the very caste of his
physique!
And the splendid physical fitness
was reinforced by the finest disci
pline. .
The ancient Roman believed in law,
and, what was better still, he believed
in obeyi1g the law.
The celebrated legion, the wonder
full organization that broke to pieces
the mighty Macedonian phalanx with
which Alexander the Great had
marched from victory to victory, was
as perfect in its movements as any
machine. Each man In that marvel
Gus organization had his place, which
place he kept, no matter what came.
l1subordinallon was unknown. The
obedience was perfect.
Hence it was that the legion march
ed to victory with the orderiness and
precision of planet rolling along its
orbit!
But discipline is impossible without
certain amount of character behind
it. You cannot discipline a pack of
constitutional weaklilgs and towards.
Behind the discipline that endures
there must be plenty of true soul
courage.
This the Roman soldier had in abun-
dance. He was a machine, it Is true,
but he was machine with soul that
was ablaze with enthusiasm. He had
great faith in himself. He firmly felt
that he could whip any man on earth.
Fate might fling at him her blackest
frown, but he still believed that Rome,
with her Romans behind her, was in
vincible.
Many readers of this article will re-
call in this connection the sublimest
page in all history.
Over and over again we have read |
the story of Hannibal-how he el-
tered Italy, from the north, and, in
battle after battle, beat down the ar
mics of Rome. That supreme military
genius-the greatest that the world |
has ever seen--seemed to be in fair
way to wipe the republic from the map
of the world.
That he would do SO seemed almost !
certain after the dread day OF Cannae
the most crushing defeat in history.
Eighty thousand Romans-the flower
of the youth and manhood OF the re-
public-alnihilated at one fell swoop,
and the awful Carthagenian at the
very gates of the city!
II was the darkest day that Rome |
ever saw. But under the black cloud |
they looked into one another's eyes
and said: mil desperandum"-there |
is no cause for despair!
With a sort Of ironic magnanimity |
Hannibal offered to treat with them,
but the senate voted to entertain no |
proposition from an enemy so long as |
that enemy stood on Roman soil!
Then, bracipg themselves, they went
out after the terrible invader; fought |
him for thirteen years on his own soil; |
pushed him into the sea, followed him |
across the sea, ald in his own land, at |
Zama, annihilated him!
Such was the spirit that animated
the Romans, and such was the spirit |
that made them uncomfortable.
But we must not forget the main
fact of ALL The three centuries from |
the secession Of the plebs to the close
of the second punic war was virtu-
Gus period. There was no divorce in
Rome through all that time. The
home life of the people was clean and
pure. Men and women respected the
moral law and respected 1t because
they venerated It,
Throughout this long period the
life of the Roman people was one OF
frugality and simplicity.
Ruanus was degraded from the con-
sulship for possessing ten pounds of
silver plate when the law allowed him
no more than eight ounces. Atilius
received the consular dignity behind
the plow Regulus, though twice con- !
sul Dossessed no more than one lit |