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Identifier: briefhistoryofna01fish (find matches)
Title: A brief history of the nations and of their progress in civilization
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Fisher, George Park, 1827-1909
Subjects: World history
Publisher: New York, Cincinnati (etc.) American book company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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there was persecution of Christians. Especially thechurches of Lyons and Vienne have left a record of their suf-ferings. The virtuous emperors, who were strenuous in theirexertions to maintain the old laws and customs, were apt to bemore severe in their treatment of Christians, whom they igno-rantly regarded as a mischievous sect, than were those emperorswho were men of looser principles. State of Morals. — The Koman Empire in the declining days ofheathenism presented the spectacle of a flourishing civilizationin contrast with extreme moral degeneracy. There was greatoutward prosperity and elegance. On every hand there wererich and populous cities, stately buildings and beautiful worksof art. Institutions of edu.cation abounded; trade throve andthe Eoman language and the Eoman law spread rapidly overthe subject countries. Within there was a growing sensualityand disregard of the sanctity of marriage, and an insatiablegreed for wealth and the pleasures of sense. One of the most ROME
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FLAVIANS AND ANTONINES 189 corrupting features was slavery. The theatrical performancescame to be obscene and demoralizing. In the bloody combatsof the gladiatorial games, men, and animals, wild and tame,were slain. So great was the appetite for sports that thenumber of seats for spectators in the circus was constantlyincreased, until, in the fourth century, it came to be not lessthan 400,000. Literature. — In literature the condition of Roman life re-sulted in the development of satire. Of the caustic, satiricalpoets, Persius (34-62) is obscure and of a moderate degree ofmerit. Juvenal (about 42-120), on the contrary, is spirited andfull of force. Martial (43-101) wrote numerous short poemsof a pithy and pointed character. Lucian (120-200) wrote Dialogues, in Greek. The popular teachers were the rheto-ricians, of whom the most famous is Quintilian (about 40-118).The great historian Tacitus (54-117) and the elder and theyounger Pliny were among the famous literary men of the time.Am

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