 | "Milan," "Rome," and "Constantinople"; excerpts from Appleton's European Guide Book for English-Speaking Travellers, Part II |  |
Rome
[from the section on Rome] We have now reached the COLISEUM or the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was commence by Vespasian, on his return from his war against the Jews, continued, and dedicated by his eldest son Titus, A.D. 80, and completed by his youngest son, Domitian, who succeeded Titus. . . .
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall;
And when Rome falls, the world."
It is, by common consent, the grandest ruin of old Rome. The cause of its dilapidation cannot be better described than in the same writer's words: —
Collecting the chief trophies of her line,
Would build up all her triumphs in one dome...."
The arena, or space where the shows were exhibited, derived its name from the sand with which, on account of the number of wild beasts slain there, it was found necessary to strew it. Hence the word was afterwards used, not unfrequently, to denote the amphitheatre itself, and a gladiator was sometimes called arenarius. The arena was surrounded by a wall (still nearly entire) carried to a height sufficient to prevent the wild beasts from leaping over it. . . .
Every nation has its vices, and cruelty seems to have been the vice of Rome. It is said, indeed, that the truly brave are never cruel; but to that assertion the Flavian amphitheatre gives the lie. "Here sat the conquerors of the world coolly to enjoy the tortures and the death of men who had never offended them;" of men —
In combat with each other, and required
To fall with grace, with dignity, — to sink
While life is gushing, and the plaudits ring
Faint and yet fainter on their falling ear,
As models for the sculptor." — R OGERS.
"Two aqueducts were scarcely sufficient to wash off the human blood which a few hours' sport shed in this Imperial shambles. Twice in one day came the senators and matrons of Rome to the butchery; a virgin always gave the signal for slaughter."
| "Milan," "Rome," and "Constantinople"; excerpts from Appleton's European Guide Book for English-Speaking Travellers, Part II | |