DOI Kapitel:
Chap. V: Magnificence of Ancient Rome - its Cloacæ - Aqueducts - Viæ - Forums - Temples - Thermæ - Theatres - Instances of private Magnificence - Greatness, the Characteristic of Roman Taste at all times
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62268#0177
Ch. V. THROUGH ITALY. 167
or at the utmost, a few edifices. Thus London
«lories in St. Paul's, St. Martin in the Fields,
o 7 7
times, is genuine grammatical Latin, and in purity and per-
spicuity superior to that of some authors who flourished in-
the preceding age ; such as Cassiodorus and Ammianus Mar-
cellinus. It is indeed related to his honor, that he endea-
vored to support upon all occasions the language, the man-
ners, and the dress of the Romans, in opposition to the re-
mains of Gothic corruption, and to the uncouth jargon and
savage demeanor of the Longobardi. About his person and
in his court he employed none but native Italians free from
every Gothic mixture in blood, or dialect, and by his attach-
ment to his country, his active benevolence, and his mild but
steady patriotism, he has deserved the honorable appellation
of the Last of the Romans.
After his death, the barbaric inundation spread without
obstacle, and swept away almost every remnant of civiliza-
tion ; the language hitherto spoken, at Rome at least with
grammatical accuracy, was rapidly mutilated and disfigured;
the number of inhabitants continued to decrease, and the
few' surviving Romans, though still free and still spectators
of the most stupendous monuments of ancient grandeur, be-
gan to lose sight of the glories of their country, and to for-
get that their ancestors had once been masters of the uni-
verse.
This Pope is abused by Gibbon, because he reprimanded
a bishop for teaching (not for studying as the historian
chooses to word it) the Latin poets, and opening a grammar
school in bis palace. Yet it will surely be admitted that a
bishop may justly be expected to devote his time to duties
or at the utmost, a few edifices. Thus London
«lories in St. Paul's, St. Martin in the Fields,
o 7 7
times, is genuine grammatical Latin, and in purity and per-
spicuity superior to that of some authors who flourished in-
the preceding age ; such as Cassiodorus and Ammianus Mar-
cellinus. It is indeed related to his honor, that he endea-
vored to support upon all occasions the language, the man-
ners, and the dress of the Romans, in opposition to the re-
mains of Gothic corruption, and to the uncouth jargon and
savage demeanor of the Longobardi. About his person and
in his court he employed none but native Italians free from
every Gothic mixture in blood, or dialect, and by his attach-
ment to his country, his active benevolence, and his mild but
steady patriotism, he has deserved the honorable appellation
of the Last of the Romans.
After his death, the barbaric inundation spread without
obstacle, and swept away almost every remnant of civiliza-
tion ; the language hitherto spoken, at Rome at least with
grammatical accuracy, was rapidly mutilated and disfigured;
the number of inhabitants continued to decrease, and the
few' surviving Romans, though still free and still spectators
of the most stupendous monuments of ancient grandeur, be-
gan to lose sight of the glories of their country, and to for-
get that their ancestors had once been masters of the uni-
verse.
This Pope is abused by Gibbon, because he reprimanded
a bishop for teaching (not for studying as the historian
chooses to word it) the Latin poets, and opening a grammar
school in bis palace. Yet it will surely be admitted that a
bishop may justly be expected to devote his time to duties