“The Germanic invasions destroyed neither the Mediterranean unity of the ancient world, nor what may be regarded as the truly essential features of the Roman culture.”— Henri Pirenne
“Aspicite, o cives, senis Enni imaginis formam. Hic vestrum panxit maxima facta patrum.”— Quintus Ennius
“The court of Rome is like the sea, into which all rivers run, and it is never filled.”— Walter Map
“From every point of view, the Roman Empire was essentially Mediterranean. All its activities were concentrated on the shores of this sea.”— Henri Pirenne
“Of all things that are in the world, the most admirable is the structure of the Roman constitution.”— Polybius
“The main problem of the Roman Empire may be summed up in the words: the absorption of the proletariat.”— Michael Rostovtzeff
“The crisis of the third century was not a crisis of this or that branch of the life of the state: it was a general crisis.”— Michael Rostovtzeff
“What happened was a slow and gradual change, a shifting of the centre of gravity in the life of the Empire.”— Michael Rostovtzeff