THE GENERAL DIRECTION OP PROGRESS 185 



true, the individual possessed great powers, but he 

 lost them after a little when the empire began to 

 expand under Alexander. The Eomans too were a 

 republican people, but throughout their long history 

 they dealt only with conquered cities and conquered 

 armies, while the interests of the conquered people 

 were hardly considered. The ruling powers in early 

 nations did not recognize that the individual man had 

 any special rights. It was only the mass that 

 appealed to them, while the benefit of the compo- 

 nents was a factor that rarely entered into considera- 

 tion in the settlement of international difficulties. 

 Among all earlier nations the individual was conse- 

 quently always crushed under the weight of organiza- 

 tion. With Rome the greater the glory and the higher 

 the rise of imperial power, the more completely was 

 the individual swamped, until, in the height of the 

 Roman empire, the citizen was practically crushed 

 out of existence, was of no more significance than the 

 ant in its colony. It was the citizen who made early 

 Rome. Pyrrhus recognized that he was defeated in 

 his attack upon Rome not by the Roman generals but 

 by the Roman farmers. To the greatness of the indi- 

 vidual did Rome owe its pristine vigor ; but with the 

 empire all was changed. The glory of the central 

 organizations, the development of the money power 

 crushed the ambitions of the people. The individual 

 became lost in the greatness of the empire, and the 

 downfall of Rome was inevitable. For man as man, 

 the Roman empire had no interest. The worker 

 became too poor to live; the nonworker alone, with 

 his wealth, had ease, and both ceased to multiply. As 

 the value of the individual disappeared the empire 

 crumbled to pieces. 



