[SunkenCiv]

The similar vices (such as men sodomizing boys, favoring oligarchy masquerading as democracy, etc) is what I was talking about. Military and patriotic virtues may have been here and there, as they were in early America, but mostly Rome was an expanding, colonizing, imperial power from the time its monarchy was overthrown.

[ZULU]

"The similar vices (such as men sodomizing boys, favoring oligarchy masquerading as democracy, etc) is what I was talking about. "

Interesting statement - it almost applies to current day America it would seem (Foley, Franks, special interest groups and their impact on our republic).

"Military and patriotic virtues may have been here and there, as they were in early America, but mostly Rome was an expanding, colonizing, imperial power from the time its monarchy was overthrown."

To a degree, but the early and middle Republic was far more "moral" than Imperial Rome, or even modern day America in many respects. As late as the Augustan period, Augustus was concerned with public "morality" and although their version of it differed from ours, in some respects his efforts were aimed at problems similar to those we are facing - such as low national birthrates, decline of family values, widespread immoral behavior.

And although Rome was an expanding power, "colonization" consisted in large degree in making subject populations into Romans than exploiting them as a subject race.

I think the similarities between the situation in Ancient Rome and in America are striking in many respects. They failed to address their problems, and collapsed as a consequence. Our failure to address very similar problems may result in a like result today.

[ZULU]

I like your home page. I will visit it often.