DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18096#0375
enjoying the full benefits of civilised life. Carthage, the metro-
polis of the East; Caesarea, the enlightened capital of the West;
Hadrumetum, the flourishing city of the Byzacene ; Saldae, the
beautiful city on the hills ; and Leptis, on the shores of the Great
Syrtes, took high rank among the commercial ports on the
borders of the Mediterranean. And in the interior, Cirta, the
capital of old Numidia ; Sitifis, the seat of commerce at the
crossing of the great Roman highways ; Lambaesis, with its vast
military population, presenting scenes of activity in times of
peace or frontier disturbances ; Thamugas, the city of delight,
where Roman citizens loved to congregate and to make their
last resting-place when life's work was over ; Calama, Uthina,
Thugga, Sufes, and Sufetula—each and all compared favourably
with similar cities and towns in Italy, Spain, and Gaul, and
have left equally enduring marks of a long career of wealth
and prosperity.
If we turn to inscriptions relating to municipal life, we find
that obedience to ruling authority and loyalty to the Emperor are
seldom wanting. The discipline which was maintained in Rome
till the fall of the Western Empire was equally potent in the
provinces. We find the same degrees of magistracy, the same
laws so adjusted as not to press too heavily on the old-world
traditions of native races, the same gods and ranks of priesthood,
and the same public-minded spirit which prompted Roman
citizens in all parts of the Empire to ennoble the country of
their adoption by works of munificence or general utility. And
memorials of men and women in every walk of life are with us
also, bearing unmistakable testimony to the existence of
contented and well-ordered communities. The expressions may
often seem to us exaggerated in these prosaic times, but any one
who is accustomed to read the well-known lettering will not
fail to note that the ties of family and friendship were rarely
forgotten, and that the employment of superlative expressions
of endearment and regret was but the utterance of the heart in
the hour of grief or bereavement.
In this closing stage of our inquiry it may be desirable to
ascertain, on the basis of monumental remains and inscriptions,
whether the achievements of Roman citizens in these African
provinces, either in literature or art in their various branches,
may be classed as of African growth, and how far the sub-
polis of the East; Caesarea, the enlightened capital of the West;
Hadrumetum, the flourishing city of the Byzacene ; Saldae, the
beautiful city on the hills ; and Leptis, on the shores of the Great
Syrtes, took high rank among the commercial ports on the
borders of the Mediterranean. And in the interior, Cirta, the
capital of old Numidia ; Sitifis, the seat of commerce at the
crossing of the great Roman highways ; Lambaesis, with its vast
military population, presenting scenes of activity in times of
peace or frontier disturbances ; Thamugas, the city of delight,
where Roman citizens loved to congregate and to make their
last resting-place when life's work was over ; Calama, Uthina,
Thugga, Sufes, and Sufetula—each and all compared favourably
with similar cities and towns in Italy, Spain, and Gaul, and
have left equally enduring marks of a long career of wealth
and prosperity.
If we turn to inscriptions relating to municipal life, we find
that obedience to ruling authority and loyalty to the Emperor are
seldom wanting. The discipline which was maintained in Rome
till the fall of the Western Empire was equally potent in the
provinces. We find the same degrees of magistracy, the same
laws so adjusted as not to press too heavily on the old-world
traditions of native races, the same gods and ranks of priesthood,
and the same public-minded spirit which prompted Roman
citizens in all parts of the Empire to ennoble the country of
their adoption by works of munificence or general utility. And
memorials of men and women in every walk of life are with us
also, bearing unmistakable testimony to the existence of
contented and well-ordered communities. The expressions may
often seem to us exaggerated in these prosaic times, but any one
who is accustomed to read the well-known lettering will not
fail to note that the ties of family and friendship were rarely
forgotten, and that the employment of superlative expressions
of endearment and regret was but the utterance of the heart in
the hour of grief or bereavement.
In this closing stage of our inquiry it may be desirable to
ascertain, on the basis of monumental remains and inscriptions,
whether the achievements of Roman citizens in these African
provinces, either in literature or art in their various branches,
may be classed as of African growth, and how far the sub-