The great creations of Greece and J udea will not have had the conquest of the world all to themselves. The world, before it was ready to accept Hellenism and Christianity, had to be prepared and made smooth, so to speak, for centuries beforehand. A great human izing force had to be created — a force powerful enough to beat down the obstacles which local patriotism offered to the idealistic propaganda of Greece and Judea. Rome fulfilled this extraordinary function.