On the other hand, the Germans had certain attractive qualities not always found even among civilized peoples. They were hospitable to the stranger, they respected their sworn word, they loved liberty and hated restraint. Their chiefs, we are told, ruled rather by persuasion than by authority. Above all, the Germans had a pure family life. "Almost alone among barbarians," writes Tacitus, "they are content with one wife. No one in Germany laughs at vice, nor is it the fashion to corrupt and be corrupted. Good habits are here more effectual than good laws elsewhere." [2] The Germans, then, were strong and brave, hardy, chaste, and free. PROGRESS OF THE GERMANS The Germans, during the three centuries between the time of Tacitus and the beginning of the invasions, had advanced somewhat in civilization. They were learning to live in towns instead of in rude villages, to read and write, to make better weapons and clothes, to use money, and to enjoy many Roman luxuries, such as wine, spices, and ornaments. They were likewise uniting in great confederations of tribes, ruled by kings who were able to lead them in migrations to other lands. [Illustration: RUNIC ALPHABET The word "rune" comes from a Gothic word meaning a secret thing, a mystery. To the primitive Germans it seemed a mysterious thing that letters could be used to express thought. The art of writing with an alphabet appears to have been introduced into Germanic Europe during the first centuries of our era. Most Runic inscriptions have been found in Denmark and the Scandinavian peninsula.] REASONS FOR THE GERMANIC MIGRATIONS During this same period, also, the Germans increased rapidly in numbers. Consequently it was a difficult matter for them to live by hunting and fishing, or by such rude agriculture as their country allowed. They could find additional land only in the fertile and well cultivated territories of the Romans. It was this hunger for land, together with the love of fighting and the desire for booty and adventure, which led to their migrations. GROWING WEAKNESS OF ROME The German inroads were neither sudden, nor unexpected, nor new. Since the days of Marius and of Julius Caesar not a century had passed without witnessing some dangerous movement of the northern barbarians. Until the close of the fourth century Rome had always held their swarming hordes at bay. Nor were the invasions which at length destroyed the empire much more formidable than those which had been repulsed many times before. Rome fell because she could no longer resist with her earlier power. If the barbarians were not growing stronger, the Romans themselves were steadily growing weaker. The form of the empire was still the same, but it had lost its vigor and its vitality. [3] 83. BREAKING OF THE DANUBE BARRIER THE GOTHS