e of his mother-city--and the stern, practical Roman, realistic in
his every pore, eager for conquest, and whose one dominant idea was to
bring under his sway all the nations who were brought into contact
with him, and to make his city--as had been foretold--the capital of
the whole world. With this idea always before him, it is no wonder
that such a typical Roman as M. Porcius Cato should look with disdain
upon the fine arts in all their forms, and should regard a love for
the beautiful, whether in literature or art, as synonymous with
effeminacy. Mummius, also, who destroyed Corinth, is said to have been
so little aware of the value of the artistic treasures which he
carried away, as to stipulate with the carriers who undertook to
transport them to Rome, that if any of the works of art were lost they
should be replaced by others of equal value.

When the most prominent statesmen displayed such indifference, it is
not surprising that for nearly 500 years no single trace of any
architectural building of any merit at all in Rome can now be
discovered, and that history is silent as to the existence of any
monuments worthy of being mentioned. Works of public utility of a
very extensive nature were indeed carried out during this period;
such, for example, as the Appian Way from Rome to Capua, which was the
first paved road in Rome, and was constructed by the Censor Appius
Claudius in B.C. 309. This was 14 ft. wide and 3 ft. thick, in three
layers: 1st, of rough stones grouted together; 2nd, of gravel; and
3rd, of squared stones of various dimensions. The same Censor also
brought water from Praeneste to Rome by a subterranean channel 11 miles
long. Several bridges were also erected, and Cato the Censor is said
to have built a basilica.

Until about 150 B.C. all the buildings of Rome were constructed either
of brick or the local stone; and though we hear nothing of
architecture as a fine art, we cannot hesitate to admit that during
this period the Romans carried the art of construction, and especially
that of employing materials of small dimensions and readily
obtainable, in buildings of great size, to a remarkable pitch of
perfection. It was not till after the fall of Carthage and the
destruction of Corinth, when Greece became a Roman province under the
name of Achaia--both which events occurred in the year 146 B.C.--that
Rome became desirous of emulating, to a certain extent, the older
civilisation which she had destroyed