eece, in the age of Augustus, seems to have been a scene of
desolation. It was divided into two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia,
both belonging to the jurisdiction of the Senate and the people. Greece
had suffered greatly during the civil wars, and had never recovered its
ancient prosperity. The peninsula was partly depopulated. Laconia had
long lost its importance, and Messenia and Arcadia were almost
deserted. Corinth and Patrae, however, were flourishing Roman colonies;
Thebes was a mere village; Athens still retained its literary renown,
and was always a favorite resort for cultivated Romans; but its harbor
was deserted, its walls thrown down, and the energy of its people
forever gone.

Macedonia had suffered equally with Greece, and no trace remained of its
former power. Thus we find that the civilized world, at the accession of
Augustus, was every where marked by desolation and decay.

The Roman empire, at this period, was bounded on the north by the
Euxine, the Danube, the Rhine, and the British Channel; westward it
reached to the Atlantic; on the south it was confined by the deserts of
Africa, and on the east by Assyria and Mesopotamia. The Mediterranean
Sea was wholly within the empire, and afforded an easy mode of
communication with the different provinces.

The government which Augustus now established was designed to preserve
the memory of the republic, while the real power remained with the
emperor alone. The people were deprived of all their former importance;
the Comitia were only suffered to pass upon laws proposed by the Senate,
which was now wholly under the control of the emperor. Consuls and other
magistrates were still chosen annually, and Augustus, in the earlier
years of his reign, was accustomed to solicit votes for his favorite
candidates, who, however, were always elected; later he contented
himself with furnishing them with a written recommendation. The Senate
met twice in every month, instead of three times, as was the former
custom, except during September and October, when no meetings were held.
The provinces were governed by proconsuls, several of whom were
appointed by the Senate and the people; but all of them were carefully
observed by the emperor. Rome itself was governed by a prefect, whose
duty it was to preserve the public peace.

In this manner Augustus, by the aid of his proconsuls, held a despotic
rule over all his dominions. He controlled the Senate, too, through his
authori