to advance the prosperity of the country;
the cities were declining, and many of them almost abandoned. The north
of Italy, however, still retained a portion of its former prosperity;
its great droves of swine supplied the people of Rome with a large part
of their food; vineyards also abounded there, and the wine-vats of upper
Italy were said to be often larger than houses. Coarse woolen cloths
were manufactured in Liguria, and a finer wool was produced near Mutina.
But Italy, once so fertile, could no longer produce its own corn, for
which it depended chiefly upon Sicily, Africa, and Egypt.

The island of Sicily, too, had suffered greatly during the civil wars.
Its cities were fallen into ruin, and the woods and mountains were
filled with fugitive slaves, who, when captured, were taken to Rome and
exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheatres. A Roman colony was planted
by Augustus in the almost deserted city of Syracuse.

The condition of the extensive province of Gaul was more promising, its
savage tribes having begun to adopt the arts of civilization. The Gauls
purchased from southern traders such articles as they were unable to
produce at home, and supplied Italy, in return, with coarse wool and
cargoes of bacon. Several Roman colonies established in Gaul enjoyed
various political privileges, but the people in general were oppressed
with taxes and burdened with debts. The religion of the Druids was
discouraged by laws which forbade human sacrifices, and, indeed, all
rites opposed to the Roman faith. In Southern Gaul the city of Massilia
(Marseilles) had imparted civilization to the neighboring tribes: they
learned to use the Greek characters in writing, while many of the Gallic
cities invited Greek teachers to open schools in their midst.

Spain, rich in gold and silver, in fine wool, and a prolific soil,
traded largely with Rome. The valley of the Baetis, or Guadalquiver, was
renowned for its uncommon fertility. Many of the Spaniards had already
adopted the language and manners of their conquerors. Spain was divided
into three provinces, Baetica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarraconensis.
Gades, or Cadiz, was one of the richest cities of the empire, and,
according to Dion Cassius, had received the privilege of Roman
citizenship from Julius Caesar, whom its people had aided against
Pompey's officers. The tribes in the northwest of Spain, however, were
savage and unquiet, and their language, the Basque, which still exist