the Italian coast. No extremes of either heat or cold are experienced in
this happy spot. In winter, airs, which in other places equally far to the
north would come bearing with them an icy coldness, are here tempered by
the vast deserts of sand which stretch away in every direction, and which
it is said never wholly lose the heat treasured up during the fierce reign
of the summer sun. And in summer, the winds which as they pass over the
deserts are indeed like the breath of a furnace, long before they reach
the city change to a cool and refreshing breeze by traversing as they do
the vast tracts of cultivated ground, which, as I have already told you,
surround the capital to a very great extent on every side. Palmyra is the
very heaven of the body. Every sense is fed to the full with that which it
chiefly covets.

But when I add to this, that its unrivalled position, in respect to a
great inland traffic, has poured into the lap of its inhabitants a sudden
and boundless flood of wealth, making every merchant a prince, you will
truly suppose, that however heartily I extol it for its outward beauties,
and all the appliances of luxury, I do not conceive it very favorable in
its influences upon the character of its population. Palmyrenes, charming
as they are, are not Romans. They are enervated by riches, and the
luxurious sensual indulgences which they bring along by necessity in their
train--all their evil power being here increased by the voluptuous
softness of the climate. I do not say that all are so. All Rome cannot
furnish a woman more truly Roman than Fausta, nor a man more worthy that
name than Gracchus. It is of the younger portion of the inhabitants I now
speak. These are without exception effeminate. They love their country,
and their great queen, but they are not a defence upon which in time of
need to rely. Neither do I deny them courage. They want something more
vital still--bodily strength and martial training. Were it not for this, I
should almost fear for the issue of any encounter between Rome and