罗马帝国是如何在制度上推行廉政呢？《罗马帝国消亡史》（THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE )第十七章是这样记载的（注意：这部历史巨著写于1782年左右，相当于清乾隆47年）：
“the strictest regulations were established, to exclude any person, without the special dispensation of the emperor, from the government of the province where he was born; and to prohibit the governor or his son from contracting marriage with a native, or an inhabitant; or from purchasing slaves, lands, or houses, within the extent of his jurisdiction.”
简单地说，罗马帝国有两条规定：（1）严格禁止任何人在其出生地省份的政府当官；（2）政府的官员及其儿子不得与其管辖范围内的人结婚，也不得在其管辖范围内购置奴隶、土地以及住房。《罗马帝国消亡史》的作者Edward Gibbon特别批注到：“ The same regulation is observed in China, with equal strictness, and with equal effect.” 就是说，同样的规则在中华帝国同样被严格执行，而且效果也相同。
什么效果呢？腐败现象仍然普遍存在。“the emperor Constantine, after a reign of twenty-five years, still deplores the venal and oppressive administration of justice, and expresses the warmest indignation that the audience of the judge, his despatch of business, his seasonable delays, and his final sentence, were publicly sold, either by himself or by the officers of his court. The continuance, and perhaps the impunity, of these crimes, is attested by the repetition of impotent laws and ineffectual menaces.” 康士坦丁皇帝在统治了25年之后，依然在哀叹贪赃枉法行为屡禁不止。类似的，如果看中国古代的朝代，即使有最严苛的法律，也还是有不怕死的贪官。
好文！财产申报制度很重要！记得以前他们公开过一次财产。