From Etruscans and Romans to Modern Times - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 51

— Vegetius
No sooner said than done.
— Quintus Ennius
It is a rough road that leads to greatness.
— Seneca
“All roads lead to Rome” was one of the empire's mottos. Rome's fighting forces, its le-
gions, could march quickly along more than 50,000 miles of roads to the ends of the em-
pire. They enforced Roman law, demanded civic order, and built smaller versions of mighty
Rome. The genius of the Romans, their habits of the heart, was fourfold. They were bril-
liant military organizers and tacticians. They were also skillful governors and administrat-
ors. They created a social system based on clans and family that was cohesive and that
engendered a fierce pride in all that Rome accomplished and stood for. And they were bril-
liant engineers who used concrete and brick to build beautiful and durable buildings.
The Romans contributed to building construction in three ways. They adopted and ad-
apted the work of the Greeks, embellishing their city and empire with temples and other
public buildings. They applied the technique of the arch in a wide range of structures. Fin-
ally, they used the four centuries of their empire in the west for vast programs of public
works, with which the modern traditions of civil and military engineering might be said to
begin. [45]
These habits of the heart created a republic that governed through consultative assem-
blies. The republic lasted half a millennium, from 500 BCE to 31 CE. And when the repub-
lic proved incapable of handling the wealth, the problems of empire, and the restlessness
of Roman mobs, the republic gave way to ruthless emperors who gave the empire peace
and public order and secured the loyalty of those who lived far from Rome, through an
elaborate system of gifts and punishment. Local rulers were left in place, answerable to
Rome's mandate to maintain order and contribute money or food to Rome. Roman soldiers
were rewarded with land in the areas where they served. Marrying into the local popula-
tion, their offspring were expected to be faithful to Rome and its habits of the heart. From
their soldier-fathers, sons accepted the principal virtues of Roman civic life. And no matter
how far distant, rebels and resisters were mercilessly annihilated.
“What sort of thing is Roman Law?” asked Cicero, an important public orator and
writer. In principle, it could not be “bent by influence, or broken by power, or spoiled by
money.” [46] But principle and practice were often far apart. Emperors could be paranoid
and evil, like Nero and Caligula. They could be bent by fawning, scheming courtiers. Very
few were models of intellect and compassion, such as Marcus Aurelius who was not only
an emperor, but also a philosopher and writer. And some ruled Rome and the larger em-