The Romans could not remain masters of the country so long without leaving many traces of their occupa- tion : the Latin language became known, the imperial weights and measures as well as modes of reckoning time were adopted, many Latinisms passed into common use (occasionally met with in the New Test.), and judi- cial proceedings were conducted in that language. Yet Latin literature never exercised the same influence on the Jewish mind which the Greek philosophy did, of
ROMAN EMPIRE
92 ROMAN EMPIRE, THE HOLY
which we have the most remarkable example in the Jewish school of Alexandria. Indeed, the Romans care- fully abstained from forcing their own language upon the inhabitants of the countries they conquered, though the strictness with which every official act, even to the farthest limits of the empire, was carried out in the Ro- man language was never relaxed, but the edicts were generally translated into Greek (Josephus, Afif. xiv, 10, 2). The better -educated Romans undoubtedly spoke Greek. The inscription on the cross was written in Hebrew, Roman, and Greek (Luke xxiii, 38 ; John xix, 20 ) ; the Hebrew for the common people, ihe Latin, the official language, and the Greek, that usually spoken (Alftird, ad loc). All the official inscriptions put up by the Romans were called tiluli (comp. Suetonius, hi Ca- lk/. 34 ; In Bom. 10) ; and John {loc. cit.) uses the same expression (typa^/f titXoi').
The freedom of religious worship enjoj'ed by the na- tions subject to Rome was remarkably great, though foreign religions were not allowed to be introduced among the Romans (Livy xxxix, 16) ; and it is recorded by Dion Cassius (lii, 36 ) that Ma'cenas advised Augus- tus not to permit such innovations, as they would only tend to destroy the monarchy. This rule was strictly maintained by all his successors. Judaism was an ex- ception, thougli, as we have seen, the Jews were some- times expelled from Rome.
Vn. The condition of the Roman emjnre at the time when Chi-istianity appeared has often been dwelt upon, as affording obvious illustrations of Paul's expression that the " fulness of time had come" (Gal. iv, 4). The general peace within the limits of the empire, the for- mation of military roads, the suppression of piracy, the march of the legions, the voyages of the corn-tleets, the general increase of traffic, the spread of the Latin lan- guage in the West as Greek had already spread in the East, the external unity of the empire, offered facilities hitherto unknown for the spread of a world-wide relig- ion. The tendency, too, of a despotism like that of the Roman empire to reduce all its subjects to a dead level was a powerful instrument in breaking down the pride of privileged races and national religions, and familiar- izing men with the truth that "God hath made of one blood all nations on the face of the eartli" (Acts xvii, 24, 26). But still more striking than this outward preparation for the diffusion of the Gospel was the ap- pearance of a deep and wide-spread corruption which seemed to defy any human remedy. It would be easj' to accumulate proofs of the moral and political degra- dation of the Romans under the empire. It is needless to do more than allude to the corruption, the cruelty, the sensuality, the monstrous and unnatural wickedness of the period as revealed in the heathen historians and satirists. '-Viewed as a national or political history," says the great historian of Rome, "the history of the Roman empire is sad and discouraging in the last de- gree. We see that things had come to a point at which no earthly power could afford any help; we now have the development of dead powers instead of that of a vi- tal energy" (Niebuhr, Led. v, l'J4). Notwithstanding the outward appearance of peace, unity, and reviving prosperity, the general condition of the people must have been one of great misery. To say nothing of the fact that probat)ly one half of the jjopulation consisted of slaves, the great ino()uality of wealth at a time when a whole province could be owned bj^ six landowners, the absence of any miildle class, the utter want of any institutions for alleviating distress, such as are found in all Christian countries, the inhuman tone of feeling and practice generallj' prevailing, forbid us to think favora- bly of the ha])[)iness of the world in the famous Augus- tan age. We must remember that "there were no pub- lic hospitals, no institutions for the relief of the infirm and poor, no societies for tlie improvement of the con- dition of mankind from motives of cliarity. Nothing was d<ine to promote the instructidu of the lower classes, nothing to mitigate the miseries of domestic slavery.
Charity and general philanthropy were so little regarded as duties that it requires a very extensive acquaintance with the literature of the times to find anj' allusion to them" (Arnokl, Later Roman Commonwealth, ii, 398). If we add to this that there was probably not a single religion, except the Jewish, which was felt by the more enlightened part of its professors to be real, we may form some notion of the world which Christianity had to reform and purify.
Notwithstanding the attempts of Augustus to stop all tendencies to corruption by punishing immorality, it was chiefly immorality that undermined the empire. With a high civilization, a flourishing commerce, and general outward refinement was associated a terrible depravity of morals. Yet the prosperous state of the empire was confessed by the provinces as well as the Romans. " They acknowledged that the true principles of social life, laws, agriculture, and science, which had been first invented by the wisdom of Athens, were now firmly established by the power of Rome, under whose auspicious influence the fiercest barbarians were united bj' an equal government and common language" (Gib- bon, ch. ii). The cruelties and exactions of the provin- cial magistrates were suppressed by Augustus and Ti- berius (Tacitus, ^w«. iv, 6). Roads were constructed and commerce increased, but all of no avail. Society would not be ret"ormed, and Paul draws a striking pict- ure of the corruption of the age (Rom. i, 14-23). But the spirit of Christianity was floating in the atmosphere, and " the wisdom of providence was preparing a knowl- edge which struck root as deeply as the literature of the Augustan age had been scattered superficially"' (Ar- nold, loc. cit.}.