HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY. 39 



length met at Actium in Acarnania. Antony's force was superior to that 

 of Octavianus. A naval battle began, and for a long time the issue appeared 

 doubtful. At length Cleopatra, withdrawing with her fleet, was followed 

 by Antonius, who meanly preferred flight to an honorable death. The fleet 

 surrendered the same day, and the land forces seven days afterwards. 



Antonius, forsaken by his troops as well as by Cleopatra, perished by the 

 sword ; and Cleopatra, too proud to grace the triumph of Octavianus, 

 caused her own death by the bite of a viper. Egypt was now reduced to a 

 Eoman province, 30 B.C. The battle of Actium decided the fate of Rome; 

 the republic was at an end, and Octavianus returned to Rome as sole 

 governor, with unlimited power. 



4. Rome under the Emperors. 



At the time of Octavianus Augustus, the Roman dominions had reached 

 an unprecedented extent. After having vanquished all his opponents, 

 Octavianus, now more commonly known by the name of Augustus, 

 displayed great aftiibility, moderation, and clemency, and sought to conceal 

 the appearance of his unlimited power. He preserved the external form of 

 a republican constitution, yet, at the same time, concentrated all the 

 principal dignities and oftices in his own person. In this way he became 

 in fact emperor (Caesar), without assuming the title, w^hich was first done 

 by his successor. He called around him prudent, active, and intelligent 

 counsellors, among whom we may mention Agrippa, Cilnius, Maecenas, and 

 Valerius Messala ; and by their aid sought to restore repose and order, 

 introduce wholesome regulations, and arrest the course of prodigality and 

 corruption. Avoiding aH new wars, he aimed only at securing the 

 provinces. Thus he entirely subdued Egypt, 30 B.C. ; Maesia, 2Y B.C. ; 

 Rhaetia, IN'oricum, Yindelicia, and Pannonia, 15 B.C. ; and Spain, 25 B.C. 

 His efforts with the Arabians, however, failed, and the attempt against 

 the Germans beyond the Rhine succeeded no better. Germany then 

 extended from the Rhine to the Vistula, and from the Danube to the North 

 Sea and the Baltic. Its natives were as wild as their own forests, and by 

 their rough exercises and simple fare they acquired a physical vigor which 

 astonished the inhabitants of other countries. Hunting and war constituted 

 their highest pleasures, and when they had peace at home they immediately 

 fell with savage ferocity upon the Roman provinces, and thus became 

 dangerous neighbors to the Romans. 



To chastise this predatory race, Augustus despatched his step-son, 

 Drusus, with a vast army against them. He conquered the country of the 

 Cherusci, from the l^orth Sea to the Visurgis (Weser) 11 B.C. But the 

 Germans soon recovered all they had lost, and compelled Drusus to retreat. 

 He next proceeded from Moguntia towards the Elbe, and fought with the 

 Catti, but a fall from a horse ended his life, 9 B.C. His brother Tiberius, 

 and other commanders, continued his undertaking, and for a while hoped, 

 by erecting strong castles and introducing the Roman language and 



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