DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5625#0382
346 Stirvey of the Ancient World
from the works of earlier astronomers.. In it he unfortunately
adopted the conclusion that the sun revolved around the earth
as a center. His book became a standard work, and hence this
mistaken view of the solar system, called the Ptolemaic system,
was everywhere accepted by the later world. It was not until
four hundred years ago that the real truth, already long before
discovered by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Sarnos
(§ 472), was rediscovered by the Polish astronomer Copernicus.
697. Cosmo- Educated Greeks at Rome, instead of being slaves or teacheis
of Rome 6 in private households as formerly, were now holding important
positions in the government or as teachers and professors pa'^
by the government. The city was no longer Roman or Italian,
it had become Mediterranean, and many worthy families from
the provinces, settling in Rome, had greatly bettered the deca-
dent society of the city. Men of all the world elbowed each
other and talked business in the banks and countinghouses of
the magnificent new forums; they filled the public offices and
administrative departments of the government, and discussed
the hand-copied daily paper published by the State; they sat
in the libraries and lecture halls of the Roman university and
they crowded the lounging places of the public baths and the
vast amphitheater. We call such all-inclusive, widely representa-
tive life " cosmopolitan " — a word of Greek origin meaning
" world-cityish."
698. incom- This inflow of all the world at Rome was evident in the
luxuries luxuries now enjoyed by the rich. Roman ladies were
decked
with diamonds, pearls, and rubies from India, and they robed
themselves in shining silks from China. The tables of the rich
were bright with peaches, which they called " Persian apples,"
and with apricots, both now appearing for the first time in the
Roman wo.rld. Roman cooks learned to prepare rice, formerly
an oriental delicacy prescribed for the sick. Horace had
1 Knowledge of the spherical form of the earth as shown by Ptolemy and
earlier Greek astronomers was never lost. It reached the travelers and navigators
of later Europe, and finally led Columbus to undertake the voyage to India and
the East westward— the voyage which resulted in the discovery of America.
from the works of earlier astronomers.. In it he unfortunately
adopted the conclusion that the sun revolved around the earth
as a center. His book became a standard work, and hence this
mistaken view of the solar system, called the Ptolemaic system,
was everywhere accepted by the later world. It was not until
four hundred years ago that the real truth, already long before
discovered by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Sarnos
(§ 472), was rediscovered by the Polish astronomer Copernicus.
697. Cosmo- Educated Greeks at Rome, instead of being slaves or teacheis
of Rome 6 in private households as formerly, were now holding important
positions in the government or as teachers and professors pa'^
by the government. The city was no longer Roman or Italian,
it had become Mediterranean, and many worthy families from
the provinces, settling in Rome, had greatly bettered the deca-
dent society of the city. Men of all the world elbowed each
other and talked business in the banks and countinghouses of
the magnificent new forums; they filled the public offices and
administrative departments of the government, and discussed
the hand-copied daily paper published by the State; they sat
in the libraries and lecture halls of the Roman university and
they crowded the lounging places of the public baths and the
vast amphitheater. We call such all-inclusive, widely representa-
tive life " cosmopolitan " — a word of Greek origin meaning
" world-cityish."
698. incom- This inflow of all the world at Rome was evident in the
luxuries luxuries now enjoyed by the rich. Roman ladies were
decked
with diamonds, pearls, and rubies from India, and they robed
themselves in shining silks from China. The tables of the rich
were bright with peaches, which they called " Persian apples,"
and with apricots, both now appearing for the first time in the
Roman wo.rld. Roman cooks learned to prepare rice, formerly
an oriental delicacy prescribed for the sick. Horace had
1 Knowledge of the spherical form of the earth as shown by Ptolemy and
earlier Greek astronomers was never lost. It reached the travelers and navigators
of later Europe, and finally led Columbus to undertake the voyage to India and
the East westward— the voyage which resulted in the discovery of America.