Above: A Roman water pump.
Coming up: Rob Natelson speaks on “Ancient Rome and the Constitution” – Grand Lake Constitution Week, Grand Lake, Colorado – 5 pm, Monday, September 15.
by Rob Natelson
In 1998 my wife and I visited England. I had not been there for 25 years. (England was a lot more prosperous than it had been in 1973—largely the effect of Margaret Thatcher’s free market reforms.) We visited the British Museum.
In the section devoted to Ancient Rome, the Museum had a section designated “Water.” On display was a Roman double-action water pump. It is pictured above.
I’d been studying ancient Rome since I was a boy. Of course that is not as easy to do in America as in Europe, where Roman relics are everywhere. Still, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of Roman civilization.
But the water pump caught me up short. I was mesmerized. It was so thoroughly modern. It looked like something made in the 18oos rather than in the 200s. I was then that I first appreciated the comment made, I believe by Edward Gibbon, that the Romans had attained a level of civilization not matched until the 18th century.
That’s not entirely true, of course. Some aspects of European life rose beyond Roman standards earlier than that. Eyeglasses, for example: The Romans did not have them, but they were invented around 1290. On the other hand, there were aspects of Roman civilization, such as public health facilities (clean water, waste disposal), not matched in Europe and America until the 19th century. And in many parts of the world, not matched even today.
No wonder Ancient Rome continues to fascinate us. As it fascinated America’s Founders.
