ledge, of a modern historian, require a
more sober and accurate language. He may impress a juster image of the
greatness of Rome, by observing that the empire was above two thousand
miles in breadth, from the wall of Antoninus and the northern limits
of Dacia, to Mount Atlas and the tropic of Cancer; that it extended
in length more than three thousand miles from the Western Ocean to the
Euphrates; that it was situated in the finest part of the Temperate
Zone, between the twenty-fourth and fifty-sixth degrees of northern
latitude; and that it was supposed to contain above sixteen hundred
thousand square miles, for the most part of fertile and well-cultivated
land. [89]

[Footnote 88: Bergier, Hist. des Grands Chemins, l. iii. c. 1,
2, 3, 4, a very useful collection.]

[Footnote 89: See Templeman's Survey of the Globe; but I distrust both
the Doctor's learning and his maps.]

Chapter II: The Internal Prosperity In The Age Of The Antonines.--Part I.

Of The Union And Internal Prosperity Of The Roman Empire, In
The Age Of The Antonines.

It is not alone by the rapidity, or extent of conquest, that we should
estimate the greatness of Rome. The sovereign of the Russian deserts
commands a larger portion of the globe. In the seventh summer after his
passage of the Hellespont, Alexander erected the Macedonian trophies
on the banks of the Hyphasis. [1] Within less than a century, the
irresistible Zingis, and the Mogul princes of his race, spread their
cruel devastations and transient empire from the Sea of China, to the
confines of Egypt and Germany. [2] But the firm edifice of Roman power
was raised and preserved by the wisdom of ages. The obedient provinces
of Trajan and the Antonines were united by laws, and adorned by arts.
They might occasionally suffer from the partial abuse of delegated
authority; but the general principle of government was wise, simple,
and beneficent. They enjoyed the religion of their ancestors, whilst in
civil honors and advantages they were exalted, by just degrees, to an
equality with their conquerors.

[Footnote 1: They were erected about the midway between Lahor and Delhi.
The conquests of Alexander in Hindostan were confined to the Punjab, a
country watered by the five great streams of the Indus. * Note: The
Hyphasis is one of the five rivers which join the Indus or the Sind,
after having traversed the province of the Pendj-ab--a name which in
Persian, signifies five rivers.