Story of the Greek and the Roman People
- Автор: Tappan Eva March
- Год: 1910
- Язык: английский
- Год: Heritage History
- Жанр: История
Электронная книга - «Story of the Greek and the Roman People». Краткое содержание книги:
Story of the Greek People
Story of the Roman People
The Romans were growing more powerful every day. They were making new conquests, but they did not forget to keep close watch of the old ones. About the time when Corinth began to be rebellious, Masinissa, king of Numidia, attacked Carthage, and Carthage appealed to Rome for help. The Romans sent envoys, but Masinissa was an ally of Rome, and they decided everything in his favor. One of these envoys was Marcus Porcius Cato. He was a brilliant commander and he had first been made consul, then censor. He was much troubled because so many of the Romans were giving up the plain, simple ways of their fathers and were beginning to like luxury and to avoid work. Cato cultivated his land with his own hands; he never wore costly garments; and even when he was consul, he drank the same wine as his slaves. He declared once that he could not live with a man whose palate was more sensitive than his heart. When he became censor, the people who liked luxury trembled; and they soon found that they had good reason, for Cato had a list made of the carriages, jewelry, rich clothing, and expensive furniture of each household and its real cost. Then he counted the value as ten times as much and taxed it heavily on that valuation.
This was the man who was sent to Carthage. His eyes were wide open to see all that there was to be seen; and when he returned to Rome, he reported to the senate, "Carthage is not so humble as you imagine. It is a wealthy city; it is well supplied with arms and stores and whatever is needed in warfare, and it is full of men able to bear arms. They are not a weaker, but a more skillful enemy to us than they were." Then he let fall from the folds of his toga some figs that he had brought from Africa, and cried, "Remember that the country in which these grew is only three days' sail from Rome." After this, whenever he made a speech in the senate, no matter what the subject was, he always ended by saying, "And my opinion is that Carthage must be destroyed." Another senator, who did not agree with Cato, always ended his speeches in mimicry of him with, "And my opinion is that Carthage must be left standing."
It was not long before the Romans sided with the censor. Naturally, when Masinissa attacked the Carthaginians a second time, they did not call upon Rome, who had failed to defend them and had stood by their enemy, but did their best to defend themselves. They did not succeed, and now they were terrified at the thought of how Rome might punish them for breaking the treaty. They sent envoys to Rome to try to excuse themselves and make their peace with her. Rome demanded three hundred boys of the chief families as hostages. These were sent. Then Rome said, "Give up all your arms." Two hundred thousand suits of armor and great quantities of weapons were surrendered. "Tear down your city and make a new settlement ten miles from the ocean," was Rome's next command.
CARTHAGINIAN WOMEN PREPARING FOR THE ROMANS.
The Carthaginian envoys begged for mercy, but Rome rarely showed mercy. The Carthaginians in despair determined to fight to the death. They worked night and day to make shields and weapons and engines of war; and even the women worked with them at the fortifications, and cut off their long hair to make bowstrings. When the Romans came to carry out their cruel decree, they found it no easy thing to do. For nearly three years their siege of the city went on. Then Publius Scipio Amilianus was put in command. He made a line of fortifications across the isthmus which connects the site of Carthage with the mainland, and thus shut off the land supplies from the city. He built a wall across the mouth of the harbor, but the Carthaginians dug a canal and brought out their galleys. He built another wall, he stormed the town and scaled the walls; and even then the starving people resisted so desperately that the Romans had to fight on roofs, on planks and beams, even in rooms. Not until the city was fully in the hands of the Romans, would the fifty thousand Carthaginians surrender who remained alive. These were sold as slaves. The Romans took for the state the immense quantity of gold and silver that remained even then. The soldiers seized whatever they chose of all that was left. Then the town was burned, its site was ploughed up, and it was solemnly declared that a curse would rest upon him who tried to rebuild the city. So it was that Carthage was destroyed, and its territories became a Roman province under the name of Africa with Utica as the chief city.
A SLAVE (IN THE LATERAN MUSEUM AT ROME)
Scipio had a splendid triumph on his return to Rome. Some years later he was sent to Spain, for Numantia had revolted against the Roman sway. For nine years the city withstood a siege, then famine set in and it was obliged to surrender. This city, too, was torn down.
Carthage fell in 146 B. C., and Numantia thirteen years later. The Mediterranean Sea had now become a "Roman lake," for the Romans ruled all the countries around it. These countries made up "the world," as has been said before; therefore the old prophecy had come to pass: Rome had become the capital of the world.
Summary
The vast empire of Alexander was divided among his generals, but finally broke up into three kingdoms, Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor, and Macedonia and Greece.
Philip's attack upon some Greek cities caused the First Macedonian War in 214 B. C. The attempt of Philip and Antiochus of Syria to divide Egypt caused the Second Macedonian War. Flamininus routed Philip at Cynoscephalae, in 197 B. C., and announced his victory at the games.
Antiochus set out to free Greece from the Romans, but was driven across the Hellespont. He was routed at Magnesia in 190 B. C. At the demand of the Romans that Antiochus should give up Hannibal, the latter poisoned himself to avoid falling into their hands.
The Romans overcame Perseus at Pydna. They then controlled Macedonia, Greece, and Asia Minor. These countries were divided into small kingdoms.
Corinth resisted Rome by making war upon Sparta, and was destroyed by the Romans, in 146 B. C.
The Romans favored Masinissa rather than Carthage. Cato became a most severe censor. He declared continually that Carthage must be destroyed. Carthage defended herself against Masinissa, and in the attempt to ward off her overthrow at the hands of the Romans, entered upon the Third Punic War in 149 B. C. Carthage was destroyed (146 B. C.).
Numantia revolted and was forced to surrender to the Romans. Rome became the capital of the world.
Suggestions for Written Work
Two Romans discuss the plans of Philip and Antiochus.
A boy describes the announcement at the games of the victory of Cynoscephalae.
Why should Cato tax luxuries?
The Gracchi; the Rise of Marius
No nation is the same at the end of a war as at its beginning. The Romans had been carrying on warfare for a long period, and they were quite different people from the Romans of earlier times. They now tried to imitate the, ways of the East, and especially of Greece. It had become the fashion to look down upon everything Roman and to think everything Grecian far superior. The Latin language now seemed to the Romans common and unpolished. They learned Greek and sent their sons to Greece for the last years of their education. They scorned the old simple ways and delighted in the Eastern fashions of living in luxury and spending a great deal of money for amusements.