Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-05
The Story of Civilization

permit myself to be sad" 1nsenSlbly
The primitive Christian SCorn of human
existence had crept into his veins; ne
called life "a point between two infinl-
ties" and saw it as something too small
TO warrant merry wisdom.
II was his final misfortune that he
who abhorred war and every maniter OF
killing, was compelled to spend the
greater part of his reign leading the
Roman armies in an effort to repel the
German barbarans who were Swarmlne
over the Danube into the empire, carry
ine ravage and ruin into the villages OF
the north He accomplished his pur-
pose and won honorable victories: but
in the midst of his tasks and his tri-
umph an Illness contracted in the UNI
wonted hardShips of the camp laid him
, low. and he died on the banks of the
/ Danube in the year $50 AID, conscious
! that the empire which he had ruled sc
/ Justly might at any moment be brought
! to an end by the multiplying hordcS OF
+ barbarians who hemmed II in.
! Why Rome Fell
Who would have thought that SO
great an empire. ruled for century by
the wiseSt and bravest men. was al
ready. at the height of its grandeur
sick with the seeds of decadcnce? Who
could have forcseen that within num-
cred years of Aurelius' death Rome,
which had now won the respect and
habitual obedience of all civilized Eu-
rope would become the playboy Of the
Western World. Shorn of its inde-
pendence and pride and cast about
from army 10 army as the helpless
3rze Of barbarians daring 10 be en-
perorsa
! Let lis pass quickly over the bloody
succession that followed the philoSo-
pher-king on the throne-over his
brilliantly insane son CommoduS, who
killed hundreds and frightened thou
sands OF capable men to make himself,
as he thought. secure, only 10 be muir
6crcd by his own domeStiCS: over Per-
tinaX. who was SO just and able ruler
that he was soon aSsaSSinated by the
Praetorlan Guards. over the sale OF the
empire 10 DiGius Julianus by these un-
mastered troops: over the civil wars
that at last placed Septimius Severus
upon the throne: over the tyranny of
Caracalla. the usurpation of Macrinus
and the elegant insanity Of Helioga-
balus; over Alexander Severus. Maxi
min MaXimian MaXimus. Balbinus,
Philip, Decius. Gallus, Emilianus, Va
lerian. Gallienus Claudius, Aurelian.
Diocletian. Galerius. Constantine. Max
entius and the strategic campaigns by
which. in the fourth century. Constan-
tine made himself emperor and for a
time restored order and liberty 10
Rome. These two terrible centuries are
the nadir Of Europe's recorded past
Reading of them one almost .acknow!-
edges Gibbons definition of history as
little more than the register Of the
crimes, follies and misfortunes of man.
kind"
What were the causes of this deca-
dence? Were the encompaSsing bar
barians reproducing their like with the
fertility of paupers who have nothing
10 lose. the essential and primary fac
tor in the fall of Rome? But they had
been there for many centuries. Doubt
less the Romans. had they retained
their vigor and their bravery, would
have held them of. as Caesar planned,
until they could be gradually absorbed
into the civilization OF the empire But
how had the Romans lost their vlgor
and their bravery? What were the
causes of that internal decay which ex-
pressed itself externally in unresisted
invasion and surrendered liberty? Be
hold" says Petrarch in the fourteenth
century. the relics Of Rome. the image
Of her pristine greatness! Neither time
nor the barbarian can boast the merit
Of this stupendous destruction. II was
perpetrated by her own citizens. by the
most iuustrious Of her sons, and your
ancestors The writes TO Roman have
done with the battering-ram what the
Punic hero could not accomplish with
the sword" II was Rome that de-
had destroyed Greece
A superficial sign of the decadence
was the growth Of luxury Tiberius
complained that the once frugal ma
irons of the capital now adorned them
selves with silks costing their weight IN
gold and that in the purchase Of female
ornaments the wealth of Italy was pass
ing into alien and hostile hands. Wom-
en- who once had gloried in raising fine
/ families busted themselves now with po-
/ htical and amorous intrigue. Marriage
came later. and divorce sooner. and
I children seldom or not at all.
| This reduction OF the birth rate IN
I Italy, and above all in Rome, became a
/ vital factor In the gradual replacement
Of Roman with immigrant barbarian
/ stock. Once the prOletariat OF the cities
( had been named because OF It's fecund-
/ ity. but nov that IL had no votes 10 sell
under the empire and industry failed
10 balance with exported products the
| import Of food and luXuries, birth con-
troll passed down from the respectable
idlers Of the aristocracy 10 the inhabit-
ants Of the street. The emperors Sd v
the trend o. decay and struggled 10 ar
I rest IL. Augustus offered 900 Sesteces
E hFt In "a 20
and Constantine arranged 70 feed and
educate with state funds all children
whose parents we're too poor 10 provide
for them. But these eXpedients failed
/ 81 effect. ana year by year the popula-
/ ton of the empire was recruited by
allen immigrants who had not yet
learned the arts Of abortion and infanti-
! eide. Slowly the reluctance Of Romans
( u marry the offspring OF immigrants
Lroke down. and though this minglinp
% diverse stocks vas destined 10 re-
/ inyigorate the people Of Italy after
! many generations. the immediate effect
was cisintegration OF character and
! unity IN the race
But deeper down even than this eth.
mic transformation was the disorder
u the economic life. The replacement
0f peasant pyoprietors by slaves. the
exhaustion 81 the soil by careless tiilagf
ana the drying up Of the slave suppl,
with the end % Roman conquest and
expansion ruined the agricultural baSi,
u the Roman state. IL Was IN Yair
that Augustus sent out cOloni 10 rcsils-
cltste abandoned farms and develop VII.
gin soil, IN vain that serya spent 60
900 900 Scstsces IN buying bark the lat!.
tQnols. Or large estates and divided
them among an improvlsed peasantry
II TN jaff The Romans had =
100 long the variety and stimulation ol
Corn Too no~Jy