Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/68

 32 THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE was greatly reduced; and on the other hand, youth was protected by the law from losses and injuries sustained through its natural heedlessness and inexperience. The Romans, however, seem to have had no qualms about sub- jecting convicted criminals to cruel punishments, and tor- ture was not unknown in extracting evidence, especially from slaves. Next to their reputation as lawgivers the Romans are most justly famed as builders. Wherever they ruled we still R. find to-day massive remains of their activity in of Roman this respect. They seem to have delighted to show the majesty of their power and their faith in its permanence by extremely solid structures of the most durable materials, built with a proud disregard of expense and of nature. They were not as artistic as the Greeks, but were abler builders and engineers. Their roads, though only a dozen feet or so in width, had deep foundations and cov- ered thousands of miles. They went straight on regardless of hill and valley without swerving to right or left, and were so carefully and solidly constructed that they continued to serve commerce in the Middle Ages and can still be traced in many places to-day. Their magnificent triumphal arches, though covered with sculpture and inscription, were large enough to serve as medieval fortresses. Their vast public baths, which also served as social clubs and lecture halls, and their spacious basilicas, a sort of combination of a modern court-house and stock exchange, showed structural skill in their vast vaults of masonry and decorative genius in column and mosaic. The aqueducts which brought the water for city use were huge stone channels often borne on successions of arches varying in height according to the lay of the land ; and they spanned rivers by bridges made of a similar succession of round stone arches supported on great piers. Apparently every town of size had its arena or amphitheater, a great oval surrounded by tiers of stone seats supported beneath and behind by successive arches through which tunneled a perfect labyrinth of exits and Entrances, while the external circumference consisted of two