Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/76

52 his magnificence. The works of Trajan bear the stamp of his genius. The pubhc monuments with which Hadrian adorned every province of the empire, were executed, not only by his orders, but under his immediate inspection. He was himself an artist ; and he loved the arts, as they conduced to the glory of the monarch. They were encouraged by the Antonines, as they contributed to the happiness of the people. But if the emperors were the first, they were not the only architects of their dominions. Their example was universally imitated by their principal subjects, who were not afraid of declaring to the world, that they had spirit to conceive, and wealth to accomplish the noblest undertakings. Scarcely had the proud structure of the Coliseum been dedicated at Rome, before edifices of a smaller scale indeed, but of the same design and materials, were erected for the use, and at the expense of the cities of Capua and Verona. The inscription of the stupendous bridge of Alcantara, attests that it was thrown over the Tagus by the contribution of a few Lusitanian communities. When Pliny was intrusted with the government of Bithynia and Pontus, provinces by no means the richest or most considerable of the empire, he found the cities within his jurisdiction striving with each other in every useful and ornamental work, that might deserve the curiosity of strangers, or the gratitude of their citizens. It was the duty of the proconsul to supply their deficiencies, to direct their taste, and sometimes to moderate their emulation. The opulent senators of Rome and the provinces esteemed it an honour, and almost an obligation, to adorn the splendour of their age and country ; and the influence of fashion very frequently supphed the want of taste or generosity. Among a crowd of