History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 1 - Chapter II Part 4

In which the vast and well-constructed Roman roads and seas foster an unparalleled network of communication and commerce, connecting distant provinces and allowing the flow of foreign luxuries, artistic refinement, and agricultural innovation throughout the empire. Yet, beneath this spectacle of peace and prosperity, a quiet decline pervades as the vigour of independence and genius wanes, leaving a populace increasingly seduced by luxury and intellectual imitation, and bereft of the public spirit that once animated their forebears.