Read "The Greatest Story in the World, Period 1" by Horace G. Hutchinson online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
As we have seen, there was a moment in the Second Punic War, just / after the Battle of Canne, when it seems marvellous that Rome escaped / destruction. What is almost more marvellous still is that it was / just during the same time that she was fighting so hard, and in the / end so victoriously, against the Carthaginians that she was able to / fight and to extend her power towards the East, over Macedon, Greece, / Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. It is an extent of conquest which must / seem most marvellous of all when we consider how quickly it was all / done. It is only a few pages back that we have seen her coming into / the great story at all, as an actor of any importance, and now she / begins to take such a masterful part in it that all the rest become / of little account when compared with her.
How did that happen? We may be very sure that it could never have / happened unless those Romans had been very uncommon people, unless / they had possessed great courage and determination, and unless they / had devised a very excellent form of government, both for themselves / and also for the nations over whom their armies and their fleet got / the mastery. The fighting forces had to be of splendid qualities in / order to win that mastery, but the government had to be wonderfully / wise in order to keep it.