ROMAN CEMENT 99 ROMANTICISM the neglect or misuse of grammatical forms, and the use of "low" and unu- sual words and idioms. As distinguished from the old lingua Latina, the language of the Church, the school, and the law, this newly formed language of ordinary intercourse, in its various dialects, was known from about the 8th century as the lingua Romana; and from this name, through the adverb Romanice, came the term romance, applied both to the lan- guage and to the popular poetry written in it, more especially to the dialect and poems of the troubadours. The Ro- mance languages recognized by Diez are six — Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Pro- vencal, French, and Rumanian. Ascoli and newer investigators treat the Ro- ma nsch of the Grisons as a seventh sister-tongue; and each of these have more or less numerous dialects. The original Latin spoken in the sev- eral provinces of the Roman empire must have had very different degrees of pu- rity, and the corruption in one region must have differed from those in an- other according to the nature of the superseded tongues. To these differ- ences in the fundamental Latin must be added those of the superadded German element, consisting chiefly in the variety of dialects spoken by the invading na- tions and the different proportions of the conquering population to the con- quered. French, as was to be expected, is richer in German words than any other member of the family, having 450 not found in the others. Italian is next to French in this respect, but on the whole is nearest to the mother Latin. Spanish and Portuguese have consider- able Arabic elements; and Rumanian was much modified by Slavic. The Ro- mance tongues further differ from the common parent in other details. The six great Romance tongues and their literatures are treated in the articles on Italy, Spain, Portugal, Provencal, France, and Rumania, to which may be added the Romansch. ROMAN CEMENT, a dark-colored hy- draulic cement, which hardens very quickly and is very durable. The true Roman cement is a compound of pozzuo- lana and lime ground to an impalpable powder and mixed with water when used. Other cements bearing the same name are made of different ingredients. ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE, a general term applied to the styles of architecture which prevailed from the 5th to the 12th centuries. Of these there are two divisions: (1) The debased Ro- man, prevalent from the 5th to the 11th centuries, and including the Byzantine modifications of the Romans, and (2) the late or Gothic Romanesque of the 11th and 12th centuries, comprising the later Byzantine, the Lombard, and the Rhen- ish, Saxon, and Norman styles. The former is a pretty close imitation of the Roman, with modifications in the appli- cation and distribution of the peculiar features; the latter is Gothic in spirit, having a predominance of vertical lines, and various other new features. ROMAN ROADS, certain ancient roads in Great Britain which the Romans left behind them. They were uniformly raised above the surface of the neigh- boring land and ran in a straight line from station to station. The four great Roman roads were Watling street, the Fossway, Icknield street, and Ermine street. Watling street probably ran from London to Wroxeter. The Fosse ran from Seaton in Devonshire to Lin- coln. The Icknield Way ran from Ic- lingham, near Bury St. Edmunds, to Cirencester and Gloucester. The Ermine street ran through the Fenland from London to Lincoln. Besides these four great lines, which were long of great importance for traffic, there were many others. ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE, one of the books of the New Testament, written by the Apostle Paul, and addressed to the Christian Church at Rome. It is the 5th in order of time, though placed first among the epistles, either from the predominance of Rome, or because it is the longest and most comprehensive of the apostle's epistles. It is generally agreed to have been written about A. D. 58. That it is the genuine and authentic production is supported by the strongest evidence. It was written from Corinth, and sent to Rome by one Phoebe, a serv- ant or deaconess of the Church at Cor- inth. The occasion of it was, doubtless, the disputes that began to prevail among the Christians at Rome. The Church there was composed of both converted Jews and Gentiles. The Jews wished to impose on their Gentile fellow-worship- ers many of the Mosaic rites and cere- monies. The Gentiles, on the other hand, despised the prejudices of the Jews; hence trouble arose. ROMANSCH, ROMANSH, or ROU- MANSCH, a dialect spoken in the Gri- sons of Switzerland. It is based on or corrupted from the Latin. ROMANTICISM, a movement in feel- ing and thought that has transformed the literature and art of most nations, has been defined by Theodore Watts as "the renascence of the spirit of wonder in poetry and art." It was a revolt
