17 
two is an accidental one. The British colony of Glanoventa, after 
flourishing for three centuries, sank at last beneath the onslaught 
of the Picts sixty years before the Franks had crossed the Rhine; 
more hardy or more fortunate, the Parisian colony survived centuries 
of conquest and contest and grew to be the capital of the French 
nation. But the purpose, if not the name, of the two sites was 
similar. The same martial exercises, the same games and combats 
took place on this level field outside the walls of Glanoventa as 
were held in the Campus Martius of Paris, and of every colony in 
the Roman world. 
You must ali have heard of the love which the Romans had for 
the sports of the circus, and how the passion increased with the 
declining years of the Empire until the degenerate children of the 
Republic bartered even their liberties for Bread and Games. 
Panem et Circenses; Food and Fun! Any tyrant or usurper could 
secure popular support, and allay the deepest discontent if he 
would but satisfy this incessant cry. Huge amphitheatres were 
erected, of which the Coliseum is only the most famous, where 
month by month the people crowded to witness their favourite 
sports, or feast their eyes on the savage contests of the gladiators. 
The passion spreading throughout the provinces left its traces on 
the very confines of the Empire. Wherever a Roman soldier or 
citizen settled he took with him this taste for the excitement of the 
ting. No important city in Italy or Gaul was without its circus ; 
and when all else is gone, their gigantic ruins still witness to the 
wealth and labour that were lavished on these buildings, In their 
own humble way, the cities of distant Britain imitated the glories 
of the capital. Rude but spacious amphitheatres may be found 
amongst the ruins of our old British towns; and on the bare hill 
sides above the Tyne, near the stations of the Roman Wall, the 
trained eye of the antiquarian can still trace the outline of circus 
or theatre where the legionaries beguiled the weariness of peace 
and trained themselves for actual war. Of course the theatre or 
Campus Martius of a small frontier station was often fashioned 
in the most primitive way. The nearest level sward was chosen 
for the purpose, or the circus was cut out of the side of a hill 
2 
