What do you think about Romans verses Greeks?

So I was reading in my American Heritage book. It was talking about empires, and how they always fail in the end.
It said the Roman empire: "it's government became too centralized, too powerful, and too distant from the citizens that it simply overwhelmed them."
The romans always brag about their conquests and power, but really it was the cause of their downfall. So which is better, more power? I don't think so.