communication. Even Rome swarmed with learned Greeks, who employed their
native tongue when giving instruction in the higher branches of
education. Greece itself, however, was considered the head-quarters of
intellectual cultivation, and the wealthier Romans were wont to send
their sons to its celebrated seats of learning, to improve their
acquaintance with philosophy and literature.

The Roman Empire in the time of Augustus presents to the eye of
contemplation a most interesting spectacle, whether we survey its
territorial magnitude, its political power, or its intellectual
activity. But when we look more minutely at its condition, we may
discover many other strongly marked and less inviting features. That
stern patriotism, which imparted so much dignity to the old Roman
character, had now disappeared, and its place was occupied by ambition
or covetousness. Venality reigned throughout every department of the
public administration. Those domestic virtues, which are at once the
ornaments and the strength of the community, were comparatively rare;
and the prevalence of luxury and licentiousness proclaimed the unsafe
state of the social fabric. There was a growing disposition to evade the
responsibilities of marriage, and a large portion of the citizens of
Rome deliberately preferred the system of concubinage to the state of
wedlock. The civil wars, which had created such confusion and involved
such bloodshed, had passed away; but the peace which followed was,
rather the quietude of exhaustion, than the repose of contentment.

The state of the Roman Empire about the time of the birth of Christ
abundantly proves that there is no necessary connexion between
intellectual refinement and social regeneration. The cultivation of the
arts and sciences in the reign of Augustus may have been beneficial to a
few, by diverting them from the pursuit of vulgar pleasures, and opening