Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/64

 28 Readings in European History IV. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE LOT OF THOSE WITHIN THE EMPIRE AND THOSE WHO LIVED AMONG BARBARIANS It was inevitable that thoughtful observers should be struck with the contrast between the habits and govern- ment of the Romans and the customs of the various barbarian peoples. Tacitus, the first to describe the manners and institutions of the Germans with care, is frequently tempted to compare them with those of the Empire, often to the obvious disadvantage of the latter. 1 We have two other notable comparisons of a much later date : the first by a fervid Christian, the other by a judi- cious writer, who was probably a pagan. Salvian, a Christian priest, writing about 440, under- took in his book Of God's Government to show that the misfortunes of the time were only the divinely inflicted punishments which the people of the Empire had brought upon themselves by their wickedness and corruption. He contends that the Romans, who had once been vir- tuous and heroic, had lapsed into a degradation which rendered them, in spite of their civilization and advan- tages, far inferior to the untutored but sturdy barbarians. In what respects can our customs be preferred to those of the Goths and Vandals, or even compared with them ? And first, to speak of affection and mutual charity (which, our Lord teaches, is the chief virtue, saying, " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another "), almost all barbarians, at least those who are of one race and kin, love each other, while the Romans per- secute each other. For what citizen does not envy his fellow- citizen ? What citizen shows to his neighbor full charity ? 1 The very important little work of Tacitus on Germany, the Ger- mania, has been published in Translations and Reprints, Vol. VI, No. 3.