From oncampus.richmond.edu

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has written an article for Newsweek titled, “Building Back:  How Investment In Infrastructure Will Boost the Economy.” In it, he makes the following quote about Rome:

America has failed to invest in its infrastructure for the past 50 years, and the bill is coming due. The situation is reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire, which grew strong because of its advanced aqueduct system, but which fell into decline when that feat of engineering tumbled into disrepair. We’re in danger of repeating that history, but it’s not too late to fix the problem if we take decisive action now.

At first, I smirked to myself when I heard this comment on the radio. I thought that the governor was blowing smoke, trying to sound knowledgable by making a cliched comparison between the United States and the Roman Empire. Then, however, I found an article that says that the aqueducts’ exposure to enemy attacks did in fact contribute to the empire’s defeat at the hands of invading barbarians. Rome’s first aqueduct was built underground, but when the city grew more confident, it began building others above ground. Later, when the barbarian tribes began invading the empire, the aqueducts were an easy and strategic target, making defense more difficult.

Of course, all of that is still a far cry from suggesting that the disrepair of the aqueducts was the cause of Rome’s fall, but at least Schwarzenegger wasn’t totally off.

The second article I linked to above, titled “Four Things the Roman Aqueducts Can Teach Us About Securing the Power Grid,” is a great example for Latin students of how the Roman Empire still holds sway over current affairs. It compares Rome’s aqueduct system and our own electric power grid, observing that the structure of the aqueducts contributed to Rome’s vulnerability just as our own electrical system makes us vulnerable.