Technological Innovations. As in the imposition of political order, the Roman genius was especially evident in engineering and technological innovations. Under their rule the life spans of peoples within the Empire increased, and their health improved as well. In part these changes were because of good nutrition, but perhaps to a greater degree they were attributable to improvements in hygiene and, above all, clean water supplies.

Attitudes Toward Engineering. To a degree the Romans adopted the Greeks' attitude toward work. Simply stated, a virtuous person, one with intelligence, does not work with his hands. Indeed, success is indicated by the absence of work. Plutarch (died circa 120 C.E.) summed up the aristocratic attitude toward work when he connected Plato's notion of the aspiring soul longing for abstract truth to Archimedes' aversion to being associated with engineering. Plato reviled the engineer who...