THE CENTURY OF THE ANTONINES. Marcus Aurelius--Conquests of the
Antonines.

IMPERIAL INSTITUTIONS. Extent of the empire in the second century--
Permanent army--Deputies and agents of the emperor--Municipal
life--Imperial regime.

SOCIAL LIFE UNDER THE EMPIRE. The continued decadence at Rome--The
shows--Theatre--Circus--Amphitheatre--Gladiators--The Roman
peace--Fusion of the peoples--Superstitions.

CHAPTER XXV

ARTS AND SCIENCES IN ROME. Letters--Imitation of the Greeks--The
Augustan Age--Orators and rhetoricians--Importance of the Latin
literature and language--Arts--Sculpture and painting--
Architecture--Characteristics of Roman architecture--Rome and its
monuments.

ROMAN LAW. The Twelve Tables--Symbolic process--Formalism--
Jurisprudence--The praetor's edict--Civil law and the law of
nations--Written reason.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Origin of Christianity--Christ--Charity--
Equality--Poverty and humility--The kingdom of God.

FIRST CENTURIES OF THE CHURCH. Disciples and apostles--The church--
Sacred books--Persecutions--Martyrs--Catacombs.

THE MONKS OF THE THIRD CENTURY. Solitaries--Asceticism--Cenobites.

CHAPTER XXVII

THE LATER EMPIRE. The revolutions of the third century--Military
anarchy--Worship of Mithra--Taurobolia--Confusion of religions.

REGIME OF THE LATER EMPIRE. Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine--
Constantinople--The palace--The officials--Society of the later
empire.

CHURCH AND STATE. Triumph of Christianity--Organization of the
church--Councils--Heretics--Paganism--Theodosius.

CHAPTER I

THE ORIGINS OF CIVILIZATION

PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY

=Prehistoric Remains.=--One often finds buried in the earth, weapons,
implements, human skeletons, debris of every kind left by men of whom
we have no direct knowledge. These are dug up by the thousand in all
the provinces of France, in Switzerland, in England, in all Europe;
they are found even in Asia and Africa. It is probable that they exist
in all parts of the world.

These remains are called prehistoric because they are more ancient
than written history. For about fifty years men have been engaged in
recovering and studying them. Today most museums have a hall, or at
least, some cases filled with these relics. A museum at
Saint-German-en-Laye, near Paris, is entirely given up to prehistoric
remains. In Denmark is a collection