forgotten their origin, for they still call themselves Romans (Roumani
[Ro͞o-mä'ni]), and talk a language greatly resembling the Latin,
which was the tongue spoken by the Romans of old. With the exception
of this country, which is now Roumania, the part of Europe north and
east of the Danube and Rhine was practically free from the Romans. In
this territory, roving bands wandered around, driving their cattle
with them and clearing the woods of game.

[Illustration: The Forum (public square) of Rome as it was 1600 years
ago.]

In some ways, the Romans were a highly civilized people. They had
schools where their children were taught to read and write, to speak
Greek, and to work problems in geometry. They had magnificent public
buildings, fine temples and palaces. They built excellent paved roads
all over the southern part of Europe, and had wonderful systems of
aqueducts which supplied their cities with pure water from springs and
lakes miles away. Their dress was made of fine cloth. They knew how to
make paper, glass, and steel.

On the other hand, they were a cruel and bloodthirsty people. Their
favorite amusement was to go to shows where gladiators fought, either
with each other or with wild beasts. These gladiators were generally
men from tribes which had fought against Rome. They had been captured
and brought to that city, where they were trained to use certain
weapons. Then on holidays, with all the people of Rome packed into big
amphitheaters, these unfortunate captives were forced to fight with
each other until one man of each pair was killed. It occasionally
happened that one gladiator might be wounded, and lie helpless on the
sand, The spectators would then shout to the victorious fighter to