Among peoples ready to admit everything, different religions, instead of going to pieces, fused into a common religion. This religion, at once Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Asiatic, dominated the world at the second century of our era; and so the Christians called it the religion of the nations; down to the fourth century they gave the pagans the name of "gentiles" (men of the nations); at the same time the common law was called the Law of Nations. FOOTNOTES: [145] Inscriptions have been found where the name of Domitian has thus been cut away. [146] Suetonius ("Lives of the Twelve Cæsars," Nero, ch. lvii.) relates, that the king of the Parthians, when he sent ambassadors to the Senate to renew his alliance with the Roman people, earnestly requested that due honor should be paid to the memory of Nero. The historian continues, "When, twenty years afterwards, at which time I was a young man, some person of obscure birth gave himself out for Nero, that name secured him so favorable a reception from the Parthians that he was very zealously supported, and it was with much difficulty that they were persuaded to give him up."--ED. [147] Italy was not included among the provinces. [148] A few provinces, the less important, remained to the Senate, but the emperor was almost always master in these as well. [149] The jurisconsult Gaius says, "On provincial soil we can have possession only; the emperor owns the property." [150] "Great personages," says Epictetus, "cannot root themselves like plants; they must be much on the move in obedience to the commands of the emperor." [151] A client's task was a hard one; the poet Martial, who had served thus, groans about it. He had to rise before day, put on his toga which was an inconvenient and cumbersome garment, and wait a long time in the ante-room. [152] Cæsar gave also a combat between two troops, each composed of 500 archers, 300 knights (30 knights according to Suetonius; Julius, ch. 39), and 20 elephants. [153] In an official discourse an orator thanks the emperor Constantine who had given to the amphitheatre an entire army of barbarian captives, "to bring about the destruction of these men for the amusement of the people. What triumph," he cried, "could have been more glorious?" [154] St. Augustine in his "Confessions" describes the irresistible attraction of these sanguinary spectacles. [155] A Phrygian relates in an inscription that he had made seventy-two voyages from Asia to Italy. [156] There were some sceptical writers, like Lucian, but they were isolated. CHAPTER XXV THE ARTS AND SCIENCES IN ROME LETTERS