70
THE DECLINE AND FALL
CHAP.
II.
Homan
monu-
ments.
Many ofthem erect-ed at pri-vate ex-pence.
legions were destined to serve against the publicenemy, and the civil magistrate seldom requiredthe aid of a military force/ In this state of ge-neral security, the leisure as well as opulence,both of the prince and people, were devoted toimprove and to adorn the Roman empire.
Among the innumerable monuments of archi-tecture constructed by the Romans, how manyhave escaped the notice of history, how few haveresisted the ravages of time and barbarism!And yet even the majestic ruins that are stillscattered over Italy and the provinces, wouldbe sufficient to prove, that those countries wereonce the seat of a polite and powerful empire.Their greatness alone, or their beauty, mightdeserve our attention; but they are renderedmore interesting, by two important circum-stances, which connect the agreeable history ofthe arts with the more useful history of humanmanners. Many of those Avorks were erectedat private expence, and almost all Avere intend-ed for public benefit.
It is natural to suppose, that the greatest num-ber, as well as the most considerable of the Ro-man edifices, were raised by the emperors, whopossessed so unbounded a command both of menand money. Augustus was accustomed to boastthat he had found his capital of brick, and thathe had left it of marble 5 The strict economy