A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

332 Italy and her People
he decreed that new buildings should not be carried so
high as formerly, and that those erected along the public
streets should not exceed seventy feet in height. These
improvements must have ceased, had it not been for the
facilities afforded by the quarries, the forests, and the ease
of transportation.
Greatness. Rome is now mistress of every accessible country;
Dionysiusi.3.
every sea owns her power.
She is the first and only state
recorded in history which ever made the East and West the
boundaries of her empire. And her dominion has not been
of short duration, but more lasting than that of any other
commonwealth or kingdom. For after the city had been
founded, she conquered many warlike nations, her neighbors,
and still advanced, overcoming all opposition. . . .
By the conquest of all Italy, she was emboldened to proceed
even to universal empire; and having driven the
Carthaginians from off the sea,
whose maritime strength
was superior to all others, she subdued Macedon, the most
powerful nation by land till that time; and as no enemy
was left either among the Greeks or the barbarians, she is
mistress of the whole world. . . . There is no nation that
claims a share in her universal power, or refuses obedience
to it. But I need say no more to prove that I have not
made choice of a petty subject, or proposed to relate trivial
or obscure actions, but have undertaken the history of
the most illustrious state and of the most brilliant achievements
that can possibly be treated.
STUDIES
1. Describe the products of the Po Valley. What was its value to
Rome?
2. Who were the Etruscans? Give an account of their civilization.