Clemency was not a Roman characteristic. It was
therefore noted with some surprise that Caesar interceded to mitigate the
severity of the punishment. The poor wretches were strangled before they
were stretched on their crosses, and were spared the prolongation of their
torture. The pirate business being disposed of, he resumed his journey to
Rhodes, and there he continued for two years practising gesture and
expression under the tuition of the great master.
[Sidenote: B.C. 78-72]
During this time the government of Rome was making progress in again
demonstrating its unfitness for the duties which were laid upon it, and
sowing the seeds which in a few years were to ripen into a harvest so
remarkable. Two alternatives only lay before the Roman dominion--either
disruption or the abolition of the constitution. If the aristocracy could
not govern, still less could the mob govern. The Latin race was scattered
over the basin of the Mediterranean, no longer bound by any special ties
to Rome or Italy, each man of it individually vigorous and energetic, and
bent before all things on making his own fortune. If no tolerable
administration was provided from home, their obvious course could only be
to identify themselves with local interests and nationalities and make
themselves severally independent, as Sertorius was doing in Spain.
Pages:
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151