Romans denoted exaggeration; they were spectacular builders and pre-eminently men of war. They had a clear idea of discipline and a keen-sighted, steady common sense. They were actually knows as rude and wild, primarily because of how much Romans loved the gladiators. The gladiators were male slaves, prisoners of war, and sometimes Christians. That was Rome's dearest delight and the only contribution she made to the world of sports.
Rome's monumental achievement was law; the great Law of Nations, which sustained with equal justice the rights of freeborn men everywhere. It was Rome who spread everywhere the great idea that a man must be assumed to be innocent until he was proved guilty; who pronounced it the height of injustice to carry any law out logically without regard to the practical good or ill which resulted. Rome was always growing richer and stronger and prouder. Romans always thought that as bigger as something could get, the better and more admirable it got. Romans became great builders and absolutely incredible thinkers. .
As a result of cruelty and endless wars, Roman literature came to its full stature of growth, and the greatest writers of the period turned away from reality to the world of romance and wonderful imagination. Roman literature, during the golden age, is not classic, but romantic.
