CHAPTER XI 

 THE EXAMPLE OF ROME 



IN almost every phase of man's life today we see that the air 

 which he breathes and in which he moves is one of the chief 

 factors. Whether we turn to Civil Service Examinations, 

 the use of liquor, business fluctuations, immigration, or crops, 

 climatic conditions are in one way or another a variable factor 

 upon which variations in the others depend. In almost every 

 phase of man's earlier evolution the same appears to have been 

 true, no matter whether we turn to the emergence of life from the 

 water, to the change from the cold-blooded to the warm-blooded 

 condition, to the evolution of mind, or to the mutations which 

 gave rise to new forms of life. Between the geological past and 

 the present lies the historic past. Does it, too, show this same 

 dependence upon climatic variations? 



For several reasons Rome will be the best text for this historical 

 discussion. In the first place, we have heard a thousand times 

 that as a guide to modem conduct the example of Rome is perhaps 

 the most significant in all history. In the next place, in previous 

 writings upon Rome, I have emphasized the economic effects of 

 the climatic changes which she has suffered. Here I wish also to 

 emphasize the new point of view which comes to light with our 

 study of health. Finally, we have already discussed mediaeval 

 Italy, and have seen how in North Italy at least there was appar- 

 ently a remarkable response to the climatic crisis of the fourteenth 

 century. 



What do we know as to the climate of Rome for the past two 

 thousand years or more.^^ This is not the place to discuss the 



