Our argument then has led us to this. Roman sculpture, far from being a decadent anticlimax to Greek sculpture, is actuated by entirely new ideals—ideals which arise out of the Roman nature. It is, therefore, in the truest sense a national art. It embodies a temperament bearing no possible relation to that of the Greek. For that very reason the characteristics of Roman sculpture are most strongly accentuated at times when the ideals embodied are most potent. The Roman imperial spirit reached its climax in the age of Trajan (96 A.D. to 117 A.D.). The statue of Nerva dates from the early years of Trajan’s reign, that is a little before 96 A.D., when Nerva, who had raised his vigorous lieutenant to imperial rank, died. For close upon a century the tendency towards terse realism of the Roman method of portraiture had been growing. When we picture a characteristically Roman figure during the height of the imperialistic wave we can readily see why. [Illustration: NERVA (DETAIL) Vatican, Rome] What was the position at the time of Trajan himself? After securing his frontiers in Northern Europe, Trajan passed eastward. He crossed the Tigris and made a determined attempt to gain the control of the overland trade with India. At the time of his death, the Roman empire included Europe south of the Rhine and the Danube; in Asia it stretched to the Euphrates. What sort of men would be required to administer such an Empire? Can we not picture them from our own experience of Empire-building? Imagine for a moment that Trajan had established a permanent occupation of the Punjab. It might well have been. As it was, he died after receiving a check at the hands of the Parthians. What would Roman rule in India have entailed? While the weaker states would have been absorbed, many of the stronger ones would have entered the Empire as subject kingdoms. The allies of Rome would, doubtless, have been rewarded with grants of territory at the expense of the harder fighters. In other words, the problem of government would have needed an infinity of administrative tact, for all sorts and conditions of subject states would have had to be appeased or held in subjection. The Roman governor of the Punjab would have been in the first place a soldier. But he would only have been guided in his general conduct by a rough _lex provinciæ_, so that in practice he would have had to combine with his military duties those of our Lord Chief Justice. It was not an age of cablegrams. The decision upon a host of matters would necessarily have been in his hands. So with his subordinates. They, too, would have had to solve the nicest problems of practical administration every day—success being their only justification.