DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18096#0380
304
Roman Africa
appearance of the walled city of Carthage of Roman times,
although there is abundant evidence to prove that, at the close
of the second century, Carthage was second only to Rome and
Alexandria in its external display of wealth and magnificence.
Fortunately we can speak with absolute certainty of the condi-
tion and grandeur of many of the chief towns already mentioned
in these pages, and can compare their public edifices and adorn-
ments with those of other countries peopled by Romans. But
originality is wanting. Graeco Roman art, rooted in the golden
days of the Republic and in full flower in the active reign of
Augustus, became the servant of the Roman in every country of
his adoption. North Africa presented no exception to this order
of things. Moulded to his own ends and infused with the
dominating spirit which characterised his race, the arts of Rome
were transplanted to the most distant provinces of the Empire,
bearing the same impress of change, progress, and decline as in
the metropolis itself. In every branch of art, whether in sculp-
ture, painting as displayed in the decorative forms of mosaic, or
in architectural design, the same monumental remains await our
coming, the basilica, the amphitheatre, the triumphal arch ; the
aqueduct and the fountain ; the bridge, the temple, and the tomb.
They stand before us as examples of dignity of conception,
unerringness of line, justness of proportion, fitness of purpose,
and soundness cf construction. Purity of style is too often
wanting. But as memorials of a great people they bear the
impress of that strength of character and unswerving purpose
which made the Roman name so conspicuous among nations
of earlier as well as later times. It may be said of the
triumphal arch, the glory of the Empire, symbol of power and
progress, that it is a mere monument of the past, for triumphing
Caesar with his spoil-laden legions needs it no longer ; of the
great TJierm<z, which in the later Empire became part of the
national life, the club and the cafe for all classes of citizens, that
their value departed with the people who originated them ; of
the aqueduct, that its stately aspect has for ever given place to
more prosaic forms. The Basilica has been superseded by the
Mart, the Exchange, the Court of Justice. Even the colonnade
and the portico, which the Roman made his own, and which
are still amongst the beautiful of architectural forms, have had
their day, though, let us hope, to return again in the cycle of
Roman Africa
appearance of the walled city of Carthage of Roman times,
although there is abundant evidence to prove that, at the close
of the second century, Carthage was second only to Rome and
Alexandria in its external display of wealth and magnificence.
Fortunately we can speak with absolute certainty of the condi-
tion and grandeur of many of the chief towns already mentioned
in these pages, and can compare their public edifices and adorn-
ments with those of other countries peopled by Romans. But
originality is wanting. Graeco Roman art, rooted in the golden
days of the Republic and in full flower in the active reign of
Augustus, became the servant of the Roman in every country of
his adoption. North Africa presented no exception to this order
of things. Moulded to his own ends and infused with the
dominating spirit which characterised his race, the arts of Rome
were transplanted to the most distant provinces of the Empire,
bearing the same impress of change, progress, and decline as in
the metropolis itself. In every branch of art, whether in sculp-
ture, painting as displayed in the decorative forms of mosaic, or
in architectural design, the same monumental remains await our
coming, the basilica, the amphitheatre, the triumphal arch ; the
aqueduct and the fountain ; the bridge, the temple, and the tomb.
They stand before us as examples of dignity of conception,
unerringness of line, justness of proportion, fitness of purpose,
and soundness cf construction. Purity of style is too often
wanting. But as memorials of a great people they bear the
impress of that strength of character and unswerving purpose
which made the Roman name so conspicuous among nations
of earlier as well as later times. It may be said of the
triumphal arch, the glory of the Empire, symbol of power and
progress, that it is a mere monument of the past, for triumphing
Caesar with his spoil-laden legions needs it no longer ; of the
great TJierm<z, which in the later Empire became part of the
national life, the club and the cafe for all classes of citizens, that
their value departed with the people who originated them ; of
the aqueduct, that its stately aspect has for ever given place to
more prosaic forms. The Basilica has been superseded by the
Mart, the Exchange, the Court of Justice. Even the colonnade
and the portico, which the Roman made his own, and which
are still amongst the beautiful of architectural forms, have had
their day, though, let us hope, to return again in the cycle of