Page:Popular Works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1889) Vol 2.djvu/221

 instrument for that purpose. These Romans had no thought of diffusing Culture by means of the subjugation of other nations:—mindful of their own obscure beginning, they were scarcely conscious of their real superiority in the art of government, which indeed was of slow and gradual development; nay, with simple and true-hearted candour they styled themselves Barbarians, and were ever ready to adopt, so far as their own circumstances admitted, the arts and manners of foreign nations with whom they became acquainted. At first the pressure of the neighbouring Italian States and nations, and then the fear of the advancing power of the Carthaginians, had made them able warriors; while by their internal quarrels they had acquired in great perfection, even at an earlier period, that policy which enabled them to direct and order their military power. After victory had freed them from uneasiness on account of foreign enemies, their own leaders began to seek war for its own sake. In order that they might be enabled to distinguish themselves, and rise above the crowd; to replenish their treasuries exhausted by feasts given to the toiling people; to withdraw the attention of the Citizens from the constant internal machinations of the Aristocracy, by directing it towards foreign affairs, triumphal processions, and captive monarchs, war soon came to be prosecuted without intermission and as a matter of necessity; for only by external war could internal peace be secured. After the conquest of the realms of Ancient Culture by the Romans,—new conquests among the Barbarians being far more difficult to accomplish,—there remained no other means of preservation for the State than the subjugation of both the contending parties to the dominion of a single power. It could be no difficult task for the Romans to subdue the enfeebled nations of the former Macedonian monarchy who were united by no permanent tie to their Rulers; and Ancient Greece, no less enfeebled,