The causes of this
change are worth knowing. Formerly the great families, great in nobility
or abounding in riches, were carried away with a passion for magnificence:
for even then it was allowed to court the good graces of the Roman People,
with the favour of kings, and confederate nations; and to be courted by
them: so that each was distinguished by the lustre of popularity and
dependances, in proportion to his affluence, the splendour of his house,
and the figure he made. But after Imperial fury had long raged in the
slaughter of the Grandees, and the greatness of reputation was become the
sure mark of destruction; the rest grew wiser: besides, new men frequently
chosen Senators from the municipal towns, from the colonies, and even from
the provinces, brought into the Senate their own domestic parsimony; and
though, by fortune or industry, many of them grew wealthy as they grew
old, yet their former frugal spirit continued. But above all, Vespasian
proved the promoter of thrifty living, being himself the pattern of
ancient economy in his person and table: hence the compliance of the
public with the manners of the Prince, and an emulation to practise them;
an incitement more prevalent than the terrors of laws and all their
penalties.
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