down upon the tens of thousands of people who were crowded in the seats
of the Colosaeum, ornamented with all the spoils that the wealth of a
world can give; I saw in the arena below animals of the most
extraordinary kind, and which have rarely been seen living in modern
Europe--the giraffe, the zebra, the rhinoceros, and the ostrich from the
deserts of Africa beyond the Niger, the hippopotamus from the Upper Nile,
and the royal tiger and the gnu from the banks of the Ganges. Looking
over Rome, which, in its majesty of palaces and temples, and in its
colossal aqueducts bringing water even from the snows of the distant
Apennines, seemed more like the creation of a supernatural power than the
work of human hands; looking over Rome to the distant landscape, I saw
the whole face, as it were, of the ancient world adorned with miniature
images of this splendid metropolis. Where the Roman conquered, there he
civilised; where he carried his arms, there he fixed likewise his
household gods; and from the deserts of Arabia to the mountains of
Caledonia there appeared but one people, having the same arts, language,
and letters--all of Grecian origin. I looked again, and saw an entire
change in the brilliant aspect of this Roman world--the people of
conquerors and heroes was no longer visible; the cities were filled with
an idle and luxurious population; those farms which had been cultivated
by warriors, who left the plough to take the command of armies, were now
in the hands of slaves; and the militia of freemen were supplanted by
bands of mercenaries, who sold the empire to the highest bidder. I saw
immense masses of warriors collecting in the north and east, carrying
with them no other proofs of cultivation but their horses and steel arms;
I saw these savages everywhere attacking this mighty empire, plundering
cities, destroying the monuments of arts and literature, and, like wild
beasts devouring a noble animal, tearing into pieces and destroying the
Roman power. Ruin, desolation, and darkness were before me, and I closed
my eyes to avoid the melancholy scene. "See," said the Genius, "the