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diff --git a/6672-h/6672-h.htm b/6672-h/6672-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..babb251 --- /dev/null +++ b/6672-h/6672-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6921 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The CÆsars., by Thomas de Quincey + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + .side { float: right; font-size: 75%; width: 25%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; margin-left: 0.8em; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Caesars, by Thomas de Quincey + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Caesars + +Author: Thomas de Quincey + + +Release Date: October, 2004 [EBook #6672] +This file was first posted on January 12, 2003 +Last Updated: June 12, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CAESARS *** + + + + +Text file produced by Anne Soulard, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE CÆSARS. + </h1> + <h2> + By Thomas De Quincey + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE CÆSARS.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CÆSARS. + </h2> + <p> + The condition of the Roman Emperors has never yet been fully appreciated; + nor has it been sufficiently perceived in what respects it was absolutely + unique. There was but one Rome: no other city, as we are satisfied by the + collation of many facts, either of ancient or modern times, has ever + rivalled this astonishing metropolis in the grandeur of magnitude; and not + many—if we except the cities of Greece, none at all—in the + grandeur of architectural display. Speaking even of London, we ought in + all reason to say—the <i>Nation of London,</i> and not the City of + London; but of Rome in her palmy days, nothing less could be said in the + naked severity of logic. A million and a half of souls—that + population, apart from any other distinctions, is <i>per se</i> for London + a justifying ground for such a classification; <i>à fortiori</i>, then, + will it belong to a city which counted from one horn to the other of its + mighty suburbs not less than four millions of inhabitants [Footnote: + Concerning this question—once so fervidly debated, yet so + unprofitably for the final adjudication, and in some respects, we may add, + so erroneously—on a future occasion.] at the very least, as we + resolutely maintain after reviewing all that has been written on that much + vexed theme, and very probably half as many more. Republican Rome had her + <i>prerogative</i> tribe; the earth has its <i>prerogative</i> city; and + that city was Rome. + </p> + <p> + As was the city, such was its prince—mysterious, solitary, unique. + Each was to the other an adequate counterpart, each reciprocally that + perfect mirror which reflected, as it were <i>in alia materia,</i> those + incommunicable attributes of grandeur, that under the same shape and + denomination never upon this earth were destined to be revived. Rome has + not been repeated; neither has Cæsar. <i>Ubi Cæsar, ibi Roma</i>—was + a maxim of Roman jurisprudence. And the same maxim may be translated into + a wider meaning; in which it becomes true also for our historical + experience. Cæsar and Rome have flourished and expired together. The + illimitable attributes of the Roman prince, boundless and comprehensive as + the universal air,—like that also bright and apprehensible to the + most vagrant eye, yet in parts (and those not far removed) unfathomable as + outer darkness, (for no chamber in a dungeon could shroud in more + impenetrable concealment a deed of murder than the upper chambers of the + air,)—these attributes, so impressive to the imagination, and which + all the subtlety of the Roman [Footnote: Or even of modern wit; witness + the vain attempt of so many eminent sort, and illustrious <i>Antecessors</i>, + to explain in self-consistency the differing functions of the Roman Cæsar, + and in what sense he was <i>legibus solutus</i>. The origin of this + difficulty we shall soon understand.] wit could as little fathom as the + fleets of Cæsar could traverse the Polar basin, or unlock the gates of the + Pacific, are best symbolized, and find their most appropriate exponent, in + the illimitable city itself—that Rome, whose centre, the Capitol, + was immovable as Teneriffe or Atlas, but whose circumference was shadowy, + uncertain, restless, and advancing as the frontiers of her all-conquering + empire. It is false to say, that with Cæsar came the destruction of Roman + greatness. Peace, hollow rhetoricians! Until Cæsar came, Rome was a minor; + by him, she attained her majority, and fulfilled her destiny. Caius + Julius, you say, deflowered the virgin purity of her civil liberties. + Doubtless, then, Rome had risen immaculate from the arms of Sylla and of + Marius. But, if it were Caius Julius who deflowered Rome, if under him she + forfeited her dowery of civic purity, if to him she first unloosed her + maiden zone, then be it affirmed boldly—that she reserved her + greatest favors for the noblest of her wooers, and we may plead the + justification of Falconbridge for his mother's trangression with the + lion-hearted king—such a sin was self-ennobled. Did Julius deflower + Rome? Then, by that consummation, he caused her to fulfill the functions + of her nature; he compelled her to exchange the imperfect and inchoate + condition of a mere <i>fæmina</i> for the perfections of a <i>mulier</i>. + And, metaphor apart, we maintain that Rome lost no liberties by the mighty + Julius. That which in tendency, and by the spirit of her institutions—that + which, by her very corruptions and abuses co-operating with her laws, Rome + promised and involved in the germ—even that, and nothing less or + different, did Rome unfold and accomplish under this Julian violence. The + rape [if such it were] of Cæsar, her final Romulus, completed for Rome + that which the rape under Romulus, her earliest Cæsar, had prosperously + begun. And thus by one godlike man was a nation-city matured; and from the + everlasting and nameless [Footnote: "<i>Nameless city</i>."—The true + name of Rome it was a point of religion to conceal; and, in fact, it was + never revealed.] city was a man produced—capable of taming her + indomitable nature, and of forcing her to immolate her wild virginity to + the state best fitted for the destined "Mother of empires." Peace, then, + rhetoricians, false threnodists of false liberty! hollow chanters over the + ashes of a hollow republic! Without Cæsar, we affirm a thousand times that + there would have been no perfect Rome; and, but for Rome, there could have + been no such man as Cæsar. + </p> + <p> + Both then were immortal; each worthy of each. And the <i>Cui viget nihil + simile aut secundum</i> of the poet, was as true of one as of the other. + For, if by comparison with Rome other cities were but villages, with even + more propriety it may be asserted, that after the Roman Cæsars all modern + kings, kesars, or emperors, are mere phantoms of royalty. The Cæsar of + Western Rome—he only of all earthly potentates, past or to come, + could be said to reign as a <i>monarch</i>, that is, as a solitary king. + He was not the greatest of princes, simply because there was no other but + himself. There were doubtless a few outlying rulers, of unknown names and + titles upon the margins of his empire, there were tributary lieutenants + and barbarous <i>reguli</i>, the obscure vassals of his sceptre, whose + homage was offered on the lowest step of his throne, and scarcely known to + him but as objects of disdain. But these feudatories could no more break + the unity of his empire, which embraced the whole <i>oichomeni</i>;—the + total habitable world as then known to geography, or recognised by the + muse of History—than at this day the British empire on the sea can + be brought into question or made conditional, because some chief of Owyhee + or Tongataboo should proclaim a momentary independence of the British + trident, or should even offer a transient outrage to her sovereign flag. + Such a <i>tempestas in matulâ</i> might raise a brief uproar in his little + native archipelago, but too feeble to reach the shores of Europe by an + echo—or to ascend by so much as an infantine <i>susurrus</i> to the + ears of the British Neptune. Parthia, it is true, might pretend to the + dignity of an empire. But her sovereigns, though sitting in the seat of + the great king, (<i>o basileus</i>,) were no longer the rulers of a vast + and polished nation. They were regarded as barbarians—potent only by + their standing army, not upon the larger basis of civic strength; and, + even under this limitation, they were supposed to owe more to the + circumstances of their position—their climate, their remoteness, and + their inaccessibility except through arid and sultry deserts—than to + intrinsic resources, such as could be permanently relied on in a serious + trial of strength between the two powers. The kings of Parthia, therefore, + were far enough from being regarded in the light of antagonist forces to + the majesty of Rome. And, these withdrawn from the comparison, who else + was there—what prince, what king, what potentate of any + denomination, to break the universal calm, that through centuries + continued to lave, as with the quiet undulations of summer lakes, the + sacred footsteps of the Cæsarean throne? The Byzantine court, which, + merely as the inheritor of some fragments from that august throne, was + drunk with excess of pride, surrounded itself with elaborate expressions + of a grandeur beyond what mortal eyes were supposed able to sustain. + </p> + <p> + These fastidious, and sometimes fantastic ceremonies, originally devised + as the very extremities of anti-barbarism, were often themselves but too + nearly allied in spirit to the barbaresque in taste. In reality, some + parts of the Byzantine court ritual were arranged in the same spirit as + that of China or the Birman empire; or fashioned by anticipation, as one + might think, on the practice of that Oriental Cham, who daily proclaims by + sound of trumpet to the kings in the four corners of the earth—that + they, having dutifully awaited the close of <i>his</i> dinner, may now + with his royal license go to their own. + </p> + <p> + From such vestiges of <i>derivative</i> grandeur, propagated to ages so + remote from itself, and sustained by manners so different from the spirit + of her own,—we may faintly measure the strength of the original + impulse given to the feelings of men by the <i>sacred</i> majesty of the + Roman throne. How potent must that splendor have been, whose mere + reflection shot rays upon a distant crown, under another heaven, and + across the wilderness of fourteen centuries! Splendor, thus transmitted, + thus sustained, and thus imperishable, argues a transcendent in the basis + of radical power. Broad and deep must those foundations have been laid, + which could support an "arch of empire" rising to that giddy altitude—an + altitude which sufficed to bring it within the ken of posterity to the + sixtieth generation. + </p> + <p> + Power is measured by resistance. Upon such a scale, if it were applied + with skill, the <i>relations</i> of greatness in Rome to the greatest of + all that has gone before her, and has yet come after her, would first be + adequately revealed. The youngest reader will know that the grandest forms + in which the <i>collective</i> might of the human race has manifested + itself, are the four monarchies. Four times have the distributive forces + of nations gathered themselves, under the strong compression of the sword, + into mighty aggregates—denominated <i>Universal Empires</i>, or + Monarchies. These are noticed in the Holy Scriptures; and it is upon <i>their</i> + warrant that men have supposed no fifth monarchy or universal empire + possible in an earthly sense; but that, whenever such an empire arises, it + will have Christ for its head; in other words, that no fifth <i>monarchia</i> + can take place until Christianity shall have swallowed up all other forms + of religion, and shall have gathered the whole family of man into one fold + under one all-conquering Shepherd. Hence [Footnote: This we mention, + because a great error has been sometimes committed in exposing <i>their</i> + error, that consisted, not in supposing that for a fifth time men were to + be gathered under one sceptre, and that sceptre wielded by Jesus Christ, + but in supposing that this great era had then arrived, or that with no + deeper moral revolution men could be fitted for that yoke.] the fanatics + of 1650, who proclaimed Jesus for their king, and who did sincerely + anticipate his near advent in great power, and under some personal + manifestation, were usually styled <i>Fifth-Monarchists</i>. + </p> + <p> + However, waiving the question (interesting enough in itself)—Whether + upon earthly principles a fifth universal empire could by possibility + arise in the present condition of knowledge for man individually, and of + organization for man in general—this question waived, and confining + ourselves to the comparison of those four monarchies which actually have + existed,—of the Assyrian or earliest, we may remark, that it found + men in no state of cohesion. This cause, which came in aid of its first + foundation, would probably continue; and would diminish the <i>intensity</i> + of the power in the same proportion as it promoted its <i>extension</i>. + This monarchy would be absolute only by the personal presence of the + monarch; elsewhere, from mere defect of organization, it would and must + betray the total imperfections of an elementary state, and of a first + experiment. More by the weakness inherent in such a constitution, than by + its own strength, did the Persian spear prevail against the Assyrian. Two + centuries revolved, seven or eight generations, when Alexander found + himself in the same position as Cyrus for building a third monarchy, and + aided by the selfsame vices of luxurious effeminacy in his enemy, + confronted with the self-same virtues of enterprise and hardihood in his + compatriot soldiers. The native Persians, in the earliest and very limited + import of that name, were a poor and hardy race of mountaineers. So were + the men of Macedon; and neither one tribe nor the other found any adequate + resistance in the luxurious occupants of Babylonia. We may add, with + respect to these two earliest monarchies, that the Assyrian was undefined + with regard to space, and the Persian fugitive with regard to time. But + for the third—the Grecian or Macedonian—we know that the arts + of civility, and of civil organization, had made great progress before the + Roman strength was measured against it. In Macedon, in Achaia, in Syria, + in Asia Minor, in Egypt,—every where the members of this empire had + begun to knit; the cohesion was far closer, the development of their + resources more complete; the resistance therefore by many hundred degrees + more formidable: consequently, by the fairest inference, the power in that + proportion greater which laid the foundations of this last great monarchy. + It is probable, indeed, both <i>à priori</i>, and upon the evidence of + various facts which have survived, that each of the four great empires + successively triumphed over an antagonist, barbarous in comparison of + itself, and each <i>by</i> and through that very superiority in the arts + and policy of civilization. + </p> + <p> + Rome, therefore, which came last in the succession, and swallowed up the + three great powers that had <i>seriatim</i> cast the human race into one + mould, and had brought them under the unity of a single will, entered by + inheritance upon all that its predecessors in that career had + appropriated, but in a condition of far ampler development. Estimated + merely by longitude and latitude, the territory of the Roman empire was + the finest by much that has ever fallen under a single sceptre. Amongst + modern empires, doubtless, the Spanish of the sixteenth century, and the + British of the present, cannot but be admired as prodigious growths out of + so small a stem. In that view they will be endless monuments in + attestation of the marvels which are lodged in civilization. But + considered in and for itself, and with no reference to the proportion of + the creating forces, each of these empires has the great defect of being + disjointed, and even insusceptible of perfect union. It is in fact no <i>vinculum</i> + of social organization which held them together, but the ideal <i>vinculum</i> + of a common fealty, and of submission to the same sceptre. This is not + like the tie of manners, operative even where it is not perceived, but + like the distinctions of geography—existing to-day, forgotten + to-morrow—and abolished by a stroke of the pen, or a trick of + diplomacy. Russia, again, a mighty empire, as respects the simple grandeur + of magnitude, builds her power upon sterility. She has it in her power to + seduce an invading foe into vast circles of starvation, of which the radii + measure a thousand leagues. Frost and snow are confederates of her + strength. She is strong by her very weakness. But Rome laid a belt about + the Mediterranean of a thousand miles in breadth; and within that zone she + comprehended not only all the great cities of the ancient world, but so + perfectly did she lay the garden of the world in every climate, and for + every mode of natural wealth, within her own ring-fence, that since that + era no land, no part and parcel of the Roman empire, has ever risen into + strength and opulence, except where unusual artificial industry has + availed to counteract the tendencies of nature. So entirely had Rome + engrossed whatsoever was rich by the mere bounty of native endowment. + </p> + <p> + Vast, therefore, unexampled, immeasurable, was the basis of natural power + upon which the Roman throne reposed. The military force which put Rome in + possession of this inordinate power, was certainly in some respects + artificial; but the power itself was natural, and not subject to the ebbs + and flows which attend the commercial empires of our days, (for all are in + part commercial.) The depression, the reverses, of Rome, were confined to + one shape—famine; a terrific shape, doubtless, but one which levies + its penalty of suffering, not by elaborate processes that do not exhaust + their total cycle in less than long periods of years. Fortunately for + those who survive, no arrears of misery are allowed by this scourge of + ancient days; [Footnote: "<i>Of ancient days</i>."—For it is + remarkable, and it serves to mark an indubitable progress of mankind, + that, before the Christian era, famines were of frequent occurrence in + countries the most civilized; afterwards they became rare, and latterly + have entirely altered their character into occasional dearths.] the total + penalty is paid down at once. As respected the hand of man, Rome slept for + ages in absolute security. She could suffer only by the wrath of + Providence; and, so long as she continued to be Rome, for many a + generation she only of all the monarchies has feared no mortal hand + [Footnote: Unless that hand were her own armed against herself; upon which + topic there is a burst of noble eloquence in one of the ancient + Panegyrici, when haranguing the Emperor Theodosius: "Thou, Rome! that, + having once suffered by the madness of Cinna, and of the cruel Marius + raging from banishment, and of Sylla, that won his wreath of prosperity + from thy disasters, and of Cæsar, compassionate to the dead, didst shudder + at every blast of the trumpet filled by the breath of civil commotion,—thou, + that, besides the wreck of thy soldiery perishing on either side, didst + bewail, amongst thy spectacles of domestic woe, the luminaries of thy + senate extinguished, the heads of thy consuls fixed upon a halberd, + weeping for ages over thy self-slaughtered Catos, thy headless Ciceros (<i>truncosque + Cicerones</i>), and unburied Pompeys;—to whom the party madness of + thy own children had wrought in every age heavier woe than the + Carthaginian thundering at thy gates, or the Gaul admitted within thy + walls; on whom OEmathia, more fatal than the day of Allia,—Collina, + more dismal than Cannæ,—had inflicted such deep memorials of wounds, + that, from bitter experience of thy own valor, no enemy was to thee so + formidable as thyself;—thou, Rome! didst now for the first time + behold a civil war issuing in a hallowed prosperity, a soldiery appeased, + recovered Italy, and for thyself liberty established. Now first in thy + long annals thou didst rest from a civil war in such a peace, that + righteously, and with maternal tenderness, thou mightst claim for it the + honors of a civic triumph."] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + —"God and his Son except, + Created thing nought valued she nor shunned." +</pre> + <p> + That the possessor and wielder of such enormous power—power alike + admirable for its extent, for its intensity, and for its consecration from + all counterforces which could restrain it, or endanger it—should be + regarded as sharing in the attributes of supernatural beings, is no more + than might naturally be expected. All other known power in human hands has + either been extensive, but wanting in intensity—or intense, but + wanting in extent—or, thirdly, liable to permanent control and + hazard from some antagonist power commensurate with itself. But the Roman + power, in its centuries of grandeur, involved every mode of strength, with + absolute immunity from all kinds and degrees of weakness. It ought not, + therefore, to surprise us that the emperor, as the depositary of this + charmed power, should have been looked upon as a <i>sacred</i> person, and + the imperial family considered a "<i>divina</i> domus." It is an error to + regard this as excess of adulation, or as built <i>originally</i> upon + hypocrisy. Undoubtedly the expressions of this feeling are sometimes gross + and overcharged, as we find them in the very greatest of the Roman poets: + for example, it shocks us to find a fine writer in anticipating the future + canonization of his patron, and his instalment amongst the heavenly hosts, + begging him to keep his distance warily from this or that constellation, + and to be cautious of throwing his weight into either hemisphere, until + the scale of proportions were accurately adjusted. These doubtless are + passages degrading alike to the poet and his subject. But why? Not because + they ascribe to the emperor a sanctity which he had not in the minds of + men universally, or which even to the writer's feeling was exaggerated, + but because it was expressed coarsely, and as a <i>physical</i> power: + now, every thing physical is measurable by weight, motion, and resistance; + and is therefore definite. But the very essence of whatsoever is + supernatural lies in the indefinite. That power, therefore, with which the + minds of men invested the emperor, was vulgarized by this coarse + translation into the region of physics. Else it is evident, that any power + which, by standing above all human control, occupies the next relation to + superhuman modes of authority, must be invested by all minds alike with + some dim and undefined relation to the sanctities of the next world. Thus, + for instance, the Pope, as the father of Catholic Christendom, could not + <i>but</i> be viewed with awe by any Christian of deep feeling, as + standing in some relation to the true and unseen Father of the spiritual + body. Nay, considering that even false religions, as those of Pagan + mythology, have probably never been utterly stripped of all vestige of + truth, but that every such mode of error has perhaps been designed as a + process, and adapted by Providence to the case of those who were capable + of admitting no more perfect shape of truth; even the heads of such + superstitions (the Dalai Lama, for instance) may not unreasonably be + presumed as within the cognizance and special protection of Heaven. Much + more may this be supposed of him to whose care was confided the weightier + part of the human race; who had it in his power to promote or to suspend + the progress of human improvement; and of whom, and the motions of whose + will, the very prophets of Judea took cognizance. No nation, and no king, + was utterly divorced from the councils of God. Palestine, as a central + chamber of God's administration, stood in some relation to all. It has + been remarked, as a mysterious and significant fact, that the founders of + the great empires all had some connection, more or less, with the temple + of Jerusalem. Melancthon even observes it in his Sketch of Universal + History, as worthy of notice—that Pompey died, as it were, within + sight of that very temple which he had polluted. Let us not suppose that + Paganism, or Pagan nations, were therefore excluded from the concern and + tender interest of Heaven. They also had their place allowed. And we may + be sure that, amongst them, the Roman emperor, as the great accountant for + the happiness of more men, and men more cultivated, than ever before were + intrusted to the motions of a single will, had a special, singular, and + mysterious relation to the secret counsels of Heaven. + </p> + <p> + Even we, therefore, may lawfully attribute some sanctity to the Roman + emperor. That the Romans did so with absolute sincerity is certain. The + altars of the emperor had a twofold consecration; to violate them, was the + double crime of treason and heresy, In his appearances of state and + ceremony, the fire, the sacred fire <i>epompeue</i> was carried in + ceremonial solemnity before him; and every other circumstance of divine + worship attended the emperor in his lifetime. [Footnote: The fact is, that + the emperor was more of a sacred and divine creature in his lifetime than + after his death. His consecrated character as a living ruler was a truth; + his canonization, a fiction of tenderness to his memory.] + </p> + <p> + To this view of the imperial character and relations must be added one + single circumstance, which in some measure altered the whole for the + individual who happened to fill the office. The emperor <i>de facto</i> + might be viewed under two aspects: there was the man, and there was the + office. In his office he was immortal and sacred: but as a question might + still be raised, by means of a mercenary army, as to the claims of the + particular individual who at any time filled the office, the very sanctity + and privilege of the character with which he was clothed might actually be + turned against himself; and here it is, at this point, that the character + of Roman emperor became truly and mysteriously awful. Gibbon has taken + notice of the extraordinary situation of a subject in the Roman empire who + should attempt to fly from the wrath of the crown. Such was the ubiquity + of the emperor that this was absolutely hopeless. Except amongst pathless + deserts or barbarous nomads, it was impossible to find even a transient + sanctuary from the imperial pursuit. If he went down to the sea, there he + met the emperor: if he took the wings of the morning, and fled to the + uttermost parts of the earth, there also was the emperor or his + lieutenants. But the same omnipresence of imperial anger and retribution + which withered the hopes of the poor humble prisoner, met and confounded + the emperor himself, when hurled from his giddy elevation by some + fortunate rival. All the kingdoms of the earth, to one in that situation, + became but so many wards of the same infinite prison. Flight, if it were + even successful for the moment, did but a little retard his inevitable + doom. And so evident was this, that hardly in one instance did the fallen + prince <i>attempt</i> to fly; but passively met the death which was + inevitable, in the very spot where ruin had overtaken him. Neither was it + possible even for a merciful conqueror to show mercy; for, in the presence + of an army so mercenary and factious, his own safety was but too deeply + involved in the extermination of rival pretenders to the crown. + </p> + <p> + Such, amidst the sacred security and inviolability of the office, was the + hazardous tenure of the individual. Nor did his dangers always arise from + persons in the rank of competitors and rivals. Sometimes it menaced him in + quarters which his eye had never penetrated, and from enemies too obscure + to have reached his ear. By way of illustration we will cite a case from + the life of the Emperor Commodus, which is wild enough to have furnished + the plot of a romance—though as well authenticated as any other + passage in that reign. The story is narrated by Herodian, and the + circumstances are these: A slave of noble qualities, and of magnificent + person, having liberated himself from the degradations of bondage, + determined to avenge his own wrongs by inflicting continual terror upon + the town and neighborhood which had witnessed his humiliation. For this + purpose he resorted to the woody recesses of the province, (somewhere in + the modern Transylvania,) and, attracting to his wild encampment as many + fugitives as he could, by degrees he succeeded in forming and training a + very formidable troop of freebooters. Partly from the energy of his own + nature, and partly from the neglect and remissness of the provincial + magistrates, the robber captain rose from less to more, until he had + formed a little army, equal to the task of assaulting fortified cities. In + this stage of his adventures, he encountered and defeated several of the + imperial officers commanding large detachments of troops; and at length + grew of consequence sufficient to draw upon himself the emperor's eye, and + the honor of his personal displeasure. In high wrath and disdain at the + insults offered to his eagles by this fugitive slave, Commodus fulminated + against him such an edict as left him no hope of much longer escaping with + impunity. + </p> + <p> + Public vengeance was now awakened; the imperial troops were marching from + every quarter upon the same centre; and the slave became sensible that in + a very short space of time he must be surrounded and destroyed. In this + desperate situation he took a desperate resolution: he assembled his + troops, laid before them his plan, concerted the various steps for + carrying it into effect, and then dismissed them as independent wanderers. + So ends the first chapter of the tale. + </p> + <p> + The next opens in the passes of the Alps, whither by various routes, of + seven or eight hundred miles in extent, these men had threaded their way + in manifold disguises through the very midst of the emperor's camps. + According to this man's gigantic enterprise, in which the means were as + audacious as the purpose, the conspirators were to rendezvous, and first + to recognise each other at the gates of Rome. From the Danube to the Tiber + did this band of robbers severally pursue their perilous routes through + all the difficulties of the road and the jealousies of the military + stations, sustained by the mere thirst of vengeance—vengeance + against that mighty foe whom they knew only by his proclamations against + themselves. Every thing continued to prosper; the conspirators met under + the walls of Rome; the final details were arranged; and those also would + have prospered but for a trifling accident. The season was one of general + carnival at Rome; and, by the help of those disguises which the license of + this festal time allowed, the murderers were to have penetrated as maskers + to the emperor's retirement, when a casual word or two awoke the + suspicions of a sentinel. One of the conspirators was arrested; under the + terror and uncertainty of the moment, he made much ampler discoveries than + were expected of him; the other accomplices were secured: and Commodus was + delivered from the uplifted daggers of those who had sought him by months + of patient wanderings, pursued through all the depths of the Illyrian + forests, and the difficulties of the Alpine passes. It is not easy to find + words commensurate to the energetic hardihood of a slave—who, by way + of answer and reprisal to an edict which consigned him to persecution and + death, determines to cross Europe in quest of its author, though no less a + person than the master of the world—to seek him out in the inner + recesses of his capital city and his private palace—and there to + lodge a dagger in his heart, as the adequate reply to the imperial + sentence of proscription against himself. + </p> + <p> + Such, amidst his superhuman grandeur and consecrated powers of the Roman + emperor's office, were the extraordinary perils which menaced the + individual, and the peculiar frailties of his condition. Nor is it + possible that these circumstances of violent opposition can be better + illustrated than in this tale of Herodian. Whilst the emperor's mighty + arms were stretched out to arrest some potentate in the heart of Asia, a + poor slave is silently and stealthily creeping round the base of the Alps, + with the purpose of winning his way as a murderer to the imperial + bedchamber; Cæsar is watching some mighty rebel of the Orient, at a + distance of two thousand leagues, and he overlooks the dagger which is at + his own heart. In short, all the heights and the depths which belong to + man as aspirers, all the contrasts of glory and meanness, the extremities + of what is his highest and lowest in human possibility,—all met in + the situation of the Roman Cæsars, and have combined to make them the most + interesting studies which history has furnished. + </p> + <p> + This, as a general proposition, will be readily admitted. But meantime, it + is remarkable that no field has been less trodden than the private + memorials of those very Cæsars; whilst at the same time it is equally + remarkable, in concurrence with that subject for wonder, that precisely + with the first of the Cæsars commences the first page of what in modern + times we understand by anecdotes. Suetonius is the earliest writer in that + department of biography; so far as we know, he may be held first to have + devised it as a mode of history. The six writers, whose sketches are + collected under the general title of the <i>Augustan History</i>, followed + in the same track. Though full of entertainment, and of the most curious + researches, they are all of them entirely unknown, except to a few + elaborate scholars. We purpose to collect from these obscure, but most + interesting memorialists, a few sketches and biographical portraits of + these great princes, whose public life is sometimes known, but very rarely + any part of their private and personal history. We must of course commence + with the mighty founder of the Cæsars. In his case we cannot expect so + much of absolute novelty as in that of those who succeed. But if, in this + first instance, we are forced to touch a little upon old things, we shall + confine ourselves as much as possible to those which are susceptible of + new aspects. For the whole gallery of those who follow, we can undertake + that the memorials which we shall bring forward, may be looked upon as + belonging pretty much to what has hitherto been a sealed book. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> + <p> + The character of the first Cæsar has perhaps never been worse appreciated + than by him who in one sense described it best—that is, with most + force and eloquence wherever he really <i>did</i> comprehend it. This was + Lucan, who has nowhere exhibited more brilliant rhetoric, nor wandered + more from the truth, than in the contrasted portraits of Cæsar and Pompey. + The famous line, "<i>Nil actum reputans si quid superesset agendum</i>," + is a fine feature of the real character, finely expressed. But if it had + been Lucan's purpose (as possibly, with a view to Pompey's benefit, in + some respects it was) utterly and extravagantly to falsify the character + of the great Dictator, by no single trait could he more effectually have + fulfilled that purpose, nor in fewer words, than by this expressive + passage, "<i>Gaudensque viam fecisse ruina</i>." Such a trait would be + almost extravagant applied even to Marius, who (though in many respects a + perfect model of Roman grandeur, massy, columnar, imperturbable, and more + perhaps than any one man recorded in history capable of justifying the + bold illustration of that character in Horace, "<i>Si fractus illabatur + orbis, impavidum ferient ruinæ</i>") had, however, a ferocity in his + character, and a touch of the devil in him, very rarely united with the + same tranquil intrepidity. But for Cæsar, the all-accomplished statesman, + the splendid orator, the man of elegant habits and polished taste, the + patron of the fine arts in a degree transcending all example of his own or + the previous age, and as a man of general literature so much beyond his + contemporaries, except Cicero, that he looked down even upon the brilliant + Sylla as an illiterate person,—to class such a man with the race of + furious destroyers exulting in the desolations they spread, is to err not + by an individual trait, but by the whole genus. The Attilas and the + Tamerlanes, who rejoice in avowing themselves the scourges of God, and the + special instruments of his wrath, have no one feature of affinity to the + polished and humane Cæsar, and would as little have comprehended his + character, as he could have respected theirs. Even Cato, the unworthy hero + of Lucan, might have suggested to him a little more truth in this + instance, by a celebrated remark which he made on the characteristic + distinction of Cæsar, in comparison with other revolutionary disturbers; + for, whereas others had attempted the overthrow of the state in a + continued paroxysm of fury, and in a state of mind resembling the lunacy + of intoxication, that Cæsar, on the contrary, among that whole class of + civil disturbers, was the only one who had come to the task in a temper of + sobriety and moderation, (<i>unum accessisse sobrium ad rempublicam + delendam</i>.) + </p> + <p> + In reality, Lucan did not think as he wrote. He had a purpose to serve; + and in an age when to act like a freeman was no longer possible, he + determined at least to write in that character. It is probable, also, that + he wrote with a vindictive or a malicious feeling towards Nero; and, as + the single means he had for gratifying <i>that</i>, resolved upon + sacrificing the grandeur of Cæsar's character wherever it should be found + possible. Meantime, in spite of himself, Lucan for ever betrays his + lurking consciousness of the truth. Nor are there any testimonies to + Cæsar's vast superiority more memorably pointed, than those which are + indirectly and involuntarily extorted from this Catonic poet, by the + course of his narration. Never, for example, was there within the same + compass of words, a more emphatic expression of Cæsar's essential and + inseparable grandeur of thought, which could not be disguised or be laid + aside for an instant, than is found in the three casual words—<i>Indocilis + privata loqui</i>. The very mould, it seems, by Lucan's confession, of his + trivial conversation was regal; nor could he, even to serve a purpose, + abjure it for so much as a casual purpose. The acts of Cæsar speak also + the same language; and as these are less susceptible of a false coloring + than the features of a general character, we find this poet of liberty, in + the midst of one continuous effort to distort the truth, and to dress up + two scenical heroes, forced by the mere necessities of history into a + reluctant homage to Cæsar's supremacy of moral grandeur. + </p> + <p> + Of so great a man it must be interesting to know all the well attested + opinions which bear upon topics of universal interest to human nature; as + indeed no others stood much chance of preservation, unless it were from as + minute and curious a collector of <i>anecdotage</i> as Suetonius. And, + first, it would be gratifying to know the opinion of Cæsar, if he had any + peculiar to himself, on the great theme of Religion. It has been held, + indeed, that the constitution of his mind, and the general cast of his + character, indisposed him to religious thoughts. Nay, it has been common + to class him amongst deliberate atheists; and some well known anecdotes + are current in books, which illustrate his contempt for the vulgar class + of auguries. In this, however, he went no farther than Cicero, and other + great contemporaries, who assuredly were no atheists. One mark perhaps of + the wide interval which, in Cæsar's age, had begun to separate the Roman + nobility from the hungry and venal populace who were daily put up to sale, + and bought by the highest bidder, manifested itself in the increasing + disdain for the tastes and ruling sympathies of the lowest vulgar. No mob + could be more abjectly servile than was that of Rome to the superstition + of portents, prodigies, and omens. Thus far, in common with his order, and + in this sense, Julius Cæsar was naturally a despiser of superstition. Mere + strength of understanding would, perhaps, have made him so in any age, and + apart from the circumstances of his personal history. This natural + tendency in him would doubtless receive a further bias in the same + direction from the office of Pontifex Maximus, which he held at an early + stage of his public career. This office, by letting him too much behind + the curtain, and exposing too entirely the base machinery of ropes and + pulleys, which sustained the miserable jugglery played off upon the + popular credulity, impressed him perhaps even unduly with contempt for + those who could be its dupes. And we may add—that Cæsar was + constitutionally, as well as by accident of position, too much a man of + the world, had too powerful a leaning to the virtues of active life, was + governed by too partial a sympathy with the whole class of <i>active</i> + forces in human nature, as contradistinguished from those which tend to + contemplative purposes, under any circumstances, to have become a profound + believer, or a steadfast reposer of his fears and anxieties, in religious + influences. A man of the world is but another designation for a man + indisposed to religious awe or contemplative enthusiasm. Still it is a + doctrine which we cherish—that grandeur of mind in any one + department whatsoever, supposing only that it exists in excess, disposes a + man to some degree of sympathy with all other grandeur, however alien in + its quality or different in its form. And upon this ground we presume the + great Dictator to have had an interest in religious themes by mere + compulsion of his own extraordinary elevation of mind, after making the + fullest allowance for the special quality of that mind, which did + certainly, to the whole extent of its characteristics, tend entirely to + estrange him from such themes. We find, accordingly, that though sincerely + a despiser of superstition, and with a frankness which must sometimes have + been hazardous in that age, Cæsar was himself also superstitious. No man + could have been otherwise who lived and conversed with that generation and + people. But if superstitious, he was so after a mode of his own. In his + very infirmities Cæsar manifested his greatness: his very littlenesses + were noble. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Nec licuit populis parvum te, Nile, videre." +</pre> + <p> + That he placed some confidence in dreams, for instance, is certain: + because, had he slighted them unreservedly, he would not have dwelt upon + them afterwards, or have troubled himself to recall their circumstances. + Here we trace his human weakness. Yet again we are reminded that it was + the weakness of Cæsar; for the dreams were noble in their imagery, and + Cæsarean (so to speak) in their tone of moral feeling. Thus, for example, + the night before he was assassinated, he dreamt at intervals that he was + soaring above the clouds on wings, and that he placed his hand within the + right hand of Jove. It would seem that perhaps some obscure and + half-formed image floated in his mind, of the eagle, as the king of birds; + secondly, as the tutelary emblem under which his conquering legions had so + often obeyed his voice; and, thirdly, as the bird of Jove. To this triple + relation of the bird his dream covertly appears to point. And a singular + coincidence appears between this dream and a little anecdote brought down + to us, as having actually occurred in Rome about twenty-four hours before + his death. A little bird, which by some is represented as a very small + kind of sparrow, but which, both to the Greeks and the Romans, was known + by a name implying a regal station (probably from the ambitious courage + which at times prompted it to attack the eagle), was observed to direct + its flight towards the senate-house, consecrated by Pompey, whilst a crowd + of other birds were seen to hang upon its flight in close pursuit. What + might be the object of the chase, whether the little king himself, or a + sprig of laurel which he bore in his mouth, could not be determined. The + whole train, pursuers and pursued, continued their flight towards Pompey's + hall. Flight and pursuit were there alike arrested; the little king was + overtaken by his enemies, who fell upon him as so many conspirators, and + tore him limb from limb. + </p> + <p> + If this anecdote were reported to Cæsar, which is not at all improbable, + considering the earnestness with which his friends labored to dissuade him + from his purpose of meeting the senate on the approaching Ides of March, + it is very little to be doubted that it had a considerable effect upon his + feelings, and that, in fact, his own dream grew out of the impression + which it had made. This way of linking the two anecdotes, as cause and + effect, would also bring a third anecdote under the same <i>nexus</i>. We + are told that Calpurnia, the last wife of Cæsar, dreamed on the same + night, and to the same ominous result. The circumstances of <i>her</i> + dream are less striking, because less figurative; but on that account its + import was less open to doubt: she dreamed, in fact, that after the roof + of their mansion had fallen in, her husband was stabbed in her bosom. + Laying all these omens together, Cæsar would have been more or less than + human had he continued utterly undepressed by them. And if so much + superstition as even this implies, must be taken to argue some little + weakness, on the other hand let it not be forgotten, that this very + weakness does but the more illustrate the unusual force of mind, and the + heroic will, which obstinately laid aside these concurring prefigurations + of impending destruction; concurring, we say, amongst themselves—and + concurring also with a prophecy of older date, which was totally + independent of them all. + </p> + <p> + There is another and somewhat sublime story of the same class, which + belongs to the most interesting moment of Cæsar's life; and those who are + disposed to explain all such tales upon physiological principles, will + find an easy solution of this, in particular, in the exhaustion of body, + and the intense anxiety which must have debilitated even Cæsar under the + whole circumstances of the case. On the ever memorable night when he had + resolved to take the first step (and in such a case the first step, as + regarded the power of retreating, was also the final step) which placed + him in arms against the state, it happened that his headquarters were at + some distance from the little river Rubicon, which formed the boundary of + his province. With his usual caution, that no news of his motions might + run before himself, on this night Cæsar gave an entertainment to his + friends, in the midst of which he slipped away unobserved, and with a + small retinue proceeded through the woods to the point of the river at + which he designed to cross. The night [Footnote: It is an interesting + circumstance in the habits of the ancient Romans, that their journeys were + pursued very much in the night-time, and by torchlight. Cicero, in one of + his letters, speaks of passing through the towns of Italy by night, as a + serviceable scheme for some political purpose, either of avoiding too much + to publish his motions, or of evading the necessity (else perhaps not + avoidable), of drawing out the party sentiments of the magistrates in the + circumstances of honor or neglect with which they might choose to receive + him. His words, however, imply that the practice was by no means an + uncommon one. And, indeed, from some passages in writers of the Augustan + era, it would seem that this custom was not confined to people of + distinction, but was familiar to a class of travellers so low in rank as + to be capable of abusing their opportunities of concealment for the + infliction of wanton injury upon the woods and fences which bounded the + margin, of the high-road. Under the cloud of night and solitude, the + mischief-loving traveller was often in the habit of applying his torch to + the withered boughs of woods, or to artificial hedges; and extensive + ravages by fire, such as now happen, not unfrequently in the American + woods, (but generally from carelessness in scattering the glowing embers + of a fire, or even the ashes of a pipe,) were then occasionally the result + of mere wantonness of mischief. Ovid accordingly notices, as one amongst + the familiar images of daybreak, the half-burnt torch of the traveller; + and, apparently, from the position which it holds in his description, + where it is ranked with the most familiar of all circumstances in all + countries,—that of the rural laborer going out to his morning tasks,—it + must have been common indeed: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Semiustamque facem vigilatâ nocte viator + Ponet; et ad solitum rusticus ibit opus." +</pre> + <p> + This occurs in the <i>Fasti</i>;—elsewhere he notices it for its + danger: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Ut facibus sepes ardent, cum forte viator + Vel nimis admovit, vel jam sub luce reliquit." +</pre> + <p> + He, however, we see, good-naturedly ascribes the danger to mere + carelessness, in bringing the torch too near to the hedge, or tossing it + away at daybreak. But Varro, a more matter-of-fact observer, does not + disguise the plain truth, that these disasters were often the product of + pure malicious frolic. For instance, in recommending a certain kind of + quickset fence, he insists upon it, as one of its advantages, that it will + not readily ignite under the torch of the mischievous wayfarer: "Naturale + sepimentum," says he, "quod obseri solet virgultis aut spinis, <i>prætereuntis + lascivi non metuet facem.</i>" It is not easy to see the origin or + advantage of this practice of nocturnal travelling (which must have + considerably increased the hazards of a journey), excepting only in the + heats of summer. It is probable, however, that men of high rank and public + station may have introduced the practice by way of releasing corporate + bodies in large towns from the burdensome ceremonies of public receptions; + thus making a compromise between their own dignity and the convenience of + the provincial public. Once introduced, and the arrangements upon the road + for meeting the wants of travellers once adapted to such a practice, it + would easily become universal. It is, however, very possible that mere + horror of the heats of day-time may have been the original ground for it. + The ancients appear to have shrunk from no hardship so trying and + insufferable as that of heat. And in relation to that subject, it is + interesting to observe the way in which the ordinary use of language has + accommodated itself to that feeling. Our northern way of expressing + effeminacy is derived chiefly from the hardships of cold. He that shrinks + from the trials and rough experience of real life in any department, is + described by the contemptuous prefix of <i>chimney-corner</i>, as if + shrinking from the cold which he would meet on coming out into the open + air amongst his fellow-men. Thus, a <i>chimney-corner</i> politician, for + a mere speculator or unpractical dreamer. But the very same indolent habit + of aerial speculation, which courts no test of real life and practice, is + described by the ancients under the term <i>umbraticus</i>, or seeking the + cool shade, and shrinking from the heat. Thus, an <i>umbraticus doctor</i> + is one who has no practical solidity in his teaching. The fatigue and + hardship of real life, in short, is represented by the ancients under the + uniform image of heat, and by the moderns under that of cold.] was stormy, + and by the violence of the wind all the torches of his escort were blown + out, so that the whole party lost their road, having probably at first + intentionally deviated from the main route, and wandered about through the + whole night, until the early dawn enabled them to recover their true + course. The light was still gray and uncertain, as Cæsar and his retinue + rode down upon the banks of the fatal river—to cross which with arms + in his hands, since the further bank lay within the territory of the + Republic, <i>ipso facto</i> proclaimed any Roman a rebel and a traitor. No + man, the firmest or the most obtuse, could be otherwise than deeply + agitated, when looking down upon this little brook—so insignificant + in itself, but invested by law with a sanctity so awful, and so dire a + consecration. The whole course of future history, and the fate of every + nation, would necessarily be determined by the irretrievable act of the + next half hour. + </p> + <p> + In these moments, and with this spectacle before him, and contemplating + these immeasurable consequences consciously for the last time that could + allow him a retreat,—impressed also by the solemnity and deep + tranquillity of the silent dawn, whilst the exhaustion of his night + wanderings predisposed him to nervous irritation,—Cæsar, we may be + sure, was profoundly agitated. The whole elements of the scene were almost + scenically disposed; the law of antagonism having perhaps never been + employed with so much effect: the little quiet brook presenting a direct, + antithesis to its grand political character; and the innocent dawn, with + its pure, untroubled repose, contrasting potently, to a man of any + intellectual sensibility, with the long chaos of bloodshed, darkness, and + anarchy, which was to take its rise from the apparently trifling acts of + this one morning. So prepared, we need not much wonder at what followed. + Cæsar was yet lingering on the hither bank, when suddenly, at a point not + far distant from himself, an apparition was descried in a sitting posture, + and holding in its hand what seemed a flute. This phantom was of unusual + size, and of beauty more than human, so far as its lineaments could be + traced in the early dawn. What is singular, however, in the story, on any + hypothesis which would explain it out of Cæsar's individual condition, is, + that others saw it as well as he; both pastoral laborers, (who were + present, probably, in the character of guides,) and some of the sentinels + stationed at the passage of the river. These men fancied even that a + strain of music issued from this aerial flute. And some, both of the + shepherds and the Roman soldiers, who were bolder than the rest, advanced + towards the figure. Amongst this party, it happened that there were a few + Roman trumpeters. From one of these, the phantom, rising as they advanced + nearer, suddenly caught a trumpet, and blowing through it a blast of + superhuman strength, plunged into the Rubicon, passed to the other bank, + and disappeared in the dusky twilight of the dawn. Upon which Cæsar + exclaimed:—"It is finished—the die is cast—let us follow + whither the guiding portents from Heaven, and the malice of our enemy, + alike summon us to go." So saying, he crossed the river with impetuosity; + and, in a sudden rapture of passionate and vindictive ambition, placed + himself and his retinue upon the Italian soil; and, as if by inspiration + from Heaven, in one moment involved himself and his followers in treason, + raised the standard of revolt, put his foot upon the neck of the + invincible republic which had humbled all the kings of the earth, and + founded an empire which was to last for a thousand and half a thousand + years. In what manner this spectral appearance was managed—whether + Cæsar were its author, or its dupe—will remain unknown for ever. But + undoubtedly this was the first time that the advanced guard of a + victorious army was headed by an apparition; and we may conjecture that it + will be the last. [Footnote: According to Suetonius, the circumstances of + this memorable night were as follows:—As soon as the decisive + intelligence was received, that the intrigues of his enemies had prevailed + at Rome, and that the interposition of the popular magistrates (the + tribunes) was set aside, Cæsar sent forward the troops, who were then at + his head-quarters, but in as private a manner as possible. He himself, by + way of masque, (<i>per dissimulationem</i>,) attended a public spectacle, + gave an audience to an architect who wished to lay before him a plan for a + school of gladiators which Cæsar designed to build, and finally presented + himself at a banquet, which was very numerously attended. From this, about + sunset, he set forward in a carriage, drawn by mules, and with a small + escort (<i>modico comitatu</i>.) Losing his road, which was the most + private he could find (<i>occultissimum</i>), he quitted his carriage and + proceeded on foot. At dawn he met with a guide; after which followed the + above incidents.] + </p> + <p> + In the mingled yarn of human life, tragedy is never far asunder from + farce; and it is amusing to retrace in immediate succession to this + incident of epic dignity, which has its only parallel by the way in the + case of Vasco de Gama, (according to the narrative of Camoens,) when met + and confronted by a sea phantom, whilst attempting to double the Cape of + Storms, (Cape of Good Hope,) a ludicrous passage, in which one felicitous + blunder did Cæsar a better service than all the truths which Greece and + Rome could have furnished. In our own experience, we once witnessed a + blunder about as gross. The present Chancellor, in his first + electioneering contest with the Lowthers, upon some occasion where he was + recriminating upon the other party, and complaining that stratagems, which + <i>they</i> might practise with impunity, were denied to him and his, + happened to point the moral of his complaint, by alleging the old adage, + that one man might steal a horse with more hope of indulgence than another + could look over the hedge. Whereupon, by benefit of the universal + mishearing in the outermost ring of the audience, it became generally + reported that Lord Lowther had once been engaged in an affair of horse + stealing; and that he, Henry Brougham, could (had he pleased) have lodged + an information against him, seeing that he was then looking over the + hedge. And this charge naturally won the more credit, because it was + notorious and past denying that his lordship was a capital horseman, fond + of horses, and much connected with the turf. To this hour, therefore, + amongst some worthy shepherds and others, it is a received article of + their creed, and (as they justly observe in northern pronunciation,) a <i>sham</i>ful + thing to be told, that Lord Lowther was once a horse stealer, and that he + escaped <i>lagging</i> by reason of Harry Brougham's pity for his tender + years and hopeful looks. Not less was the blunder which, on the banks of + the Rubicon, befriended Cæsar. Immediately after crossing, he harangued + the troops whom he had sent forward, and others who there met him from the + neighboring garrison of Ariminium. The tribunes of the people, those great + officers of the democracy, corresponding by some of their functions to our + House of Commons, men personally, and by their position in the state, + entirely in his interest, and who, for his sake, had fled from home, there + and then he produced to the soldiery; thus identified his cause, and that + of the soldiers, with the cause of the people of Rome and of Roman + liberty; and perhaps with needless rhetoric attempted to conciliate those + who were by a thousand ties and by claims innumerable, his own already; + for never yet has it been found, that with the soldier, who, from youth + upwards, passes his life in camps, could the duties or the interests of + citizens survive those stronger and more personal relations connecting him + with his military superior. In the course of this harangue, Cæsar often + raised his left hand with Demosthenic action, and once or twice he drew + off the ring, which every Roman gentleman—simply <i>as</i> such—wore + as the inseparable adjunct and symbol of his rank. By this action he + wished to give emphasis to the accompanying words, in which he protested, + that, sooner than fail in satisfying and doing justice to any the least of + those who heard him and followed his fortunes, he would be content to part + with his own birthright, and to forego his dearest claims. This was what + he really said; but the outermost circle of his auditors, who rather saw + his gestures than distinctly heard his words, carried off the notion, + (which they were careful every where to disperse amongst the legions + afterwards associated with them in the same camps,) that Cæsar had vowed + never to lay down his arms until he had obtained for every man, the very + meanest of those who heard him, the rank, privileges and appointments of a + Roman knight. Here was a piece of sovereign good luck. Had he really made + such a promise, Cæsar might have found that he had laid himself under very + embarrassing obligations; but, as the case stood, he had, through all his + following campaigns, the total benefit of such a promise, and yet could + always absolve himself from the penalties of responsibility which it + imposed, by appealing to the evidence of those who happened to stand in + the first ranks of his audience. The blunder was gross and palpable; and + yet, with the unreflecting and dull-witted soldier, it did him service + greater than all the subtilties of all the schools could have + accomplished, and a service which subsisted to the end of the war. + </p> + <p> + Great as Cæsar was by the benefit of his original nature, there can—be + no doubt that he, like others, owed something to circumstances; and + perhaps, amongst these which were most favorable to the premature + development of great self-dependence, we must reckon the early death of + his father. It is, or it is not, according to the nature of men, an + advantage to be orphaned at an early age. Perhaps utter orphanage is + rarely or never such: but to lose a father betimes profits a strong mind + greatly. To Cæsar it was a prodigious benefit that he lost his father when + not much more than fifteen. Perhaps it was an advantage also to his father + that he died thus early. Had he stayed a year longer, he would have seen + himself despised, baffled, and made ridiculous. For where, let us ask, in + any age, was the father capable of adequately sustaining that relation to + the unique Caius Julius—to him, in the appropriate language of + Shakspeare, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The foremost man of all this world?" +</pre> + <p> + And, in this fine and Cæsarean line, "this world" is to be understood not + of the order of co-existences merely, but also of the order of + successions; he was the foremost man not only of his contemporaries, but + also of men generally—of all that ever should come after him, or + should sit on thrones under the denominations of Czars, Kesars, or Cæsars + of the Bosphorus and the Danube; of all in every age that should inherit + his supremacy of mind, or should subject to themselves the generations of + ordinary men by qualities analogous to his. Of this infinite superiority + some part must be ascribed to his early emancipation from paternal + control. There are very many cases in which, simply from considerations of + sex, a female cannot stand forward as the head of a family, or as its + suitable representative. If they are even ladies paramount, and in + situations of command, they are also women. The staff of authority does + not annihilate their sex; and scruples of female delicacy interfere for + ever to unnerve and emasculate in their hands the sceptre however + otherwise potent. Hence we see, in noble families, the merest boys put + forward to represent the family dignity, as fitter supporters of that + burden than their mature mothers. And of Cæsar's mother, though little is + recorded, and that little incidentally, this much at least, we learn—that, + if she looked down upon him with maternal pride and delight, she looked up + to him with female ambition as the re-edifier of her husband's honors, + with reverence as to a column of the Roman grandeur, and with fear and + feminine anxieties as to one whose aspiring spirit carried him but too + prematurely into the fields of adventurous honor. One slight and + evanescent sketch of the relations which subsisted between Cæsar and his + mother, caught from the wrecks of time, is preserved both by Plutarch and + Suetonius. We see in the early dawn the young patrician standing upon the + steps of his paternal portico, his mother with her arms wreathed about his + neck, looking up to his noble countenance, sometimes drawing auguries of + hope from features so fitted for command, sometimes boding an early blight + to promises so prematurely magnificent. That she had something of her + son's aspiring character, or that he presumed so much in a mother of his, + we learn from the few words which survive of their conversation. He + addressed to her no language that could tranquillize her fears. On the + contrary, to any but a Roman mother his valedictory words, taken in + connection with the known determination of his character, were of a nature + to consummate her depression, as they tended to confirm the very worst of + her fears. He was then going to stand his chance in a popular election for + an office of dignity, and to launch himself upon the storms of the Campus + Martius. At that period, besides other and more ordinary dangers, the + bands of gladiators, kept in the pay of the more ambitious amongst the + Roman nobles, gave a popular tone of ferocity and of personal risk to the + course of such contests; and either to forestall the victory of an + antagonist, or to avenge their own defeat, it was not at all impossible + that a body of incensed competitors might intercept his final triumph by + assassination. For this danger, however, he had no leisure in his thoughts + of consolation; the sole danger which <i>he</i> contemplated, or supposed + his mother to contemplate, was the danger of defeat, and for that he + reserved his consolations. He bade her fear nothing; for that without + doubt he would return with victory, and with the ensigns of the dignity he + sought, or would return a corpse. + </p> + <p> + Early indeed did Cæsar's trials commence; and it is probable, that, had + not the death of his father, by throwing him prematurely upon his own + resources, prematurely developed the masculine features of his character, + forcing him whilst yet a boy under the discipline of civil conflict and + the yoke of practical life, even <i>his</i> energies would have been + insufficient to sustain them. His age is not exactly ascertained, but it + is past a doubt that he had not reached his twentieth year when he had the + hardihood to engage in a struggle with Sylla, then Dictator, and + exercising the immoderate powers of that office with the license and the + severity which history has made so memorable. He had neither any distinct + grounds of hope, nor any eminent example at that time, to countenance him + in this struggle—which yet he pushed on in the most uncompromising + style, and to the utmost verge of defiance. The subject of the contrast + gives it a further interest. It was the youthful wife of the youthful + Cæsar who stood under the shadow of the great Dictator's displeasure; not + personally, but politically, on account of her connections: and her it + was, Cornelia, the daughter of a man who had been four times consul, that + Cæsar was required to divorce: but he spurned the haughty mandate, and + carried his determination to a triumphant issue, notwithstanding his life + was at stake, and at one time saved only by shifting his place of + concealment every night; and this young lady it was who afterwards became + the mother of his only daughter. Both mother and daughter, it is + remarkable, perished prematurely, and at critical periods of Cæsar's life; + for it is probable enough that these irreparable wounds to Cæsar's + domestic affections threw him with more exclusiveness of devotion upon the + fascinations of glory and ambition than might have happened under a + happier condition of his private life. That Cæsar should have escaped + destruction in this unequal contest with an enemy then wielding the whole + thunders of the state, is somewhat surprising; and historians have sought + their solution of the mystery in the powerful intercessions of the vestal + virgins, and several others of high rank amongst the connections of his + great house. These may have done something; but it is due to Sylla, who + had a sympathy with every thing truly noble, to suppose him struck with + powerful admiration for the audacity of the young patrician, standing out + in such severe solitude among so many examples of timid concession; and + that to this magnanimous feeling in the Dictator, much of his indulgence + was due. In fact, according to some accounts, it was not Sylla, but the + creatures of Sylla (<i>adjutores</i>), who pursued Cæsar. We know, at all + events, that Sylla formed a right estimate of Cæsar's character, and that, + from the complexion of his conduct in this one instance, he drew his + famous prophecy of his future destiny; bidding his friends beware of that + slipshod boy, "for that in him lay couchant many a Marius." A grander + testimony to the awe which Cæsar inspired, or from one who knew better the + qualities of that man by whom he measured him, cannot be imagined. + </p> + <p> + It is not our intention, or consistent with our plan, to pursue this great + man through the whole circumstances of his romantic career; though it is + certain that many parts of his life require investigation much keener than + has ever been applied to them, and that many might easily be placed in a + new light. Indeed, the whole of this most momentous section of ancient + history ought to be recomposed with the critical scepticism of a Niebuhr, + and the same comprehensive collation of authorities. In reality it is the + hinge upon which turned the future destiny of the whole earth, and having + therefore a common relation to all modern nations whatsoever, should + naturally have been cultivated with the zeal which belongs to a personal + concern. In general, the anecdotes which express most vividly the splendid + character of the first Cæsar, are those which illustrate his defiance of + danger in extremity,—the prodigious energy and rapidity of his + decisions and motions in the field; the skill with which he penetrated the + designs of his enemies, and the exemplary speed with which he provided a + remedy for disasters; the extraordinary presence of mind which he showed + in turning adverse omens to his own advantage, as when, upon stumbling in + coming on shore, (which was esteemed a capital omen of evil,) he + transfigured as it were in one instant its whole meaning by exclaiming, + "Thus do I take possession of thee, oh Africa!" in that way giving to an + accident the semblance of a symbolic purpose; the grandeur of fortitude + with which he faced the whole extent of a calamity when palliation could + do no good, "non negando, minuendove, sed insuper amplificando, <i>ementiendoque</i>;" + as when, upon finding his soldiery alarmed at the approach of Juba, with + forces really great, but exaggerated by their terrors, he addressed them + in a military harangue to the following effect: "Know that within a few + days the king will come up with us, bringing with him sixty thousand + legionaries, thirty thousand cavalry, one hundred thousand light troops, + besides three hundred elephants. Such being the case, let me hear no more + of conjectures and opinions, for you have now my warrant for the fact, + whose information is past doubting. Therefore, be satisfied; otherwise, I + will put every man of you on board some crazy old fleet, and whistle you + down the tide—no matter under what winds, no matter towards what + shore." Finally, we might seek for the <i>characteristic</i> anecdotes of + Cæsar in his unexampled liberalities and contempt of money. [Footnote: + Middleton's Life of Cicero, which still continues to be the most readable + digest of these affairs, is feeble and contradictory. He discovers that + Cæsar was no general! And the single merit which his work was supposed to + possess, viz. the better and more critical arrangement of Cicero's + Letters, in respect to their chronology, has of late years been detected + as a robbery from the celebrated Bellenden, of James the First's time.] + </p> + <p> + Upon this last topic it is the just remark of Casaubon, that some + instances of Cæsar's munificence have been thought apocryphal, or to rest + upon false readings, simply from ignorance of the heroic scale upon which + the Roman splendors of that age proceeded. A forum which Cæsar built out + of the products of his last campaign, by way of a present to the Roman + people, cost him—for the ground merely on which it stood—nearly + eight hundred thousand pounds. To the <i>citizens</i> of Rome (perhaps + 300,000 persons) he presented, in one <i>congiary</i>, about two guineas + and a half a head. To his army, in one <i>donation</i>, upon the + termination of the civil war, he gave a sum which allowed about two + hundred pounds a man to the infantry, and four hundred to the cavalry. It + is true that the legionary troops were then much reduced by the sword of + the enemy, and by the tremendous hardships of their last campaigns. In + this, however, he did perhaps no more than repay a debt. For it is an + instance of military attachment, beyond all that Wallenstein or any + commander, the most beloved amongst his troops, has ever experienced, + that, on the breaking out of the civil war, not only did the centurions of + every legion severally maintain a horse soldier, but even the privates + volunteered to serve without pay—and (what might seem impossible) + without their daily rations. This was accomplished by subscriptions + amongst themselves, the more opulent undertaking for the maintenance of + the needy. Their disinterested love for Cæsar appeared in another and more + difficult illustration: it was a traditionary anecdote in Rome, that the + majority of those amongst Cæsar's troops, who had the misfortune to fall + into the enemy's hands, refused to accept their lives under the condition + of serving against <i>him</i>. + </p> + <p> + In connection with this subject of his extraordinary munificence, there is + one aspect of Cæsar's life which has suffered much from the + misrepresentations of historians, and that is—the vast pecuniary + embarrassments under which he labored, until the profits of war had turned + the scale even more prodigiously in his favor. At one time of his life, + when appointed to a foreign office, so numerous and so clamorous were his + creditors, that he could not have left Rome on his public duties, had not + Crassus come forward with assistance in money, or by promises, to the + amount of nearly two hundred thousand pounds. And at another, he was + accustomed to amuse himself with computing how much money it would require + to make him worth exactly nothing (<i>i. e.</i> simply to clear him of + debts); this, by one account, amounted to upwards of two millions + sterling. Now the error of historians has been—to represent these + debts as the original ground of his ambition and his revolutionary + projects, as though the desperate condition of his private affairs had + suggested a civil war to his calculations as the best or only mode of + redressing it. But, on the contrary, his debts were the product of his + ambition, and contracted from first to last in the service of his + political intrigues, for raising and maintaining a powerful body of + partisans, both in Rome and elsewhere. Whosoever indeed will take the + trouble to investigate the progress of Cæsar's ambition, from such + materials as even yet remain, may satisfy himself that the scheme of + revolutionizing the Republic, and placing himself at its head, was no + growth of accident or circumstances; above all, that it did not arise upon + any so petty and indirect an occasion as that of his debts; but that his + debts were in their very first origin purely ministerial to his ambition; + and that his revolutionary plans were at all periods of his life a direct + and foremost object. In this there was in reality no want of patriotism; + it had become evident to every body that Rome, under its present + constitution, must fall; and the sole question was—by whom? Even + Pompey, not by nature of an aspiring turn, and prompted to his ambitious + course undoubtedly by circumstances and the friends who besieged him, was + in the habit of saying, "Sylla potuit, ego non potero?" And the fact was, + that if, from the death of Sylla, Rome recovered some transient show of + constitutional integrity, that happened not by any lingering virtue that + remained in her republican forms, but entirely through the equilibrium and + mechanical counterpoise of rival factions. + </p> + <p> + In a case, therefore, where no benefit of choice was allowed to Rome as to + the thing, but only as to the person—where a revolution was certain, + and the point left open to doubt simply by whom that revolution should be + accomplished—Cæsar had (to say the least) the same right to enter + the arena in the character of candidate as could belong to any one of his + rivals. And that he <i>did</i> enter that arena constructively, and by + secret design, from his very earliest manhood, may be gathered from this—that + he suffered no openings towards a revolution, provided they had any hope + in them, to escape his participation. It is familiarly known that he was + engaged pretty deeply in the conspiracy of Catiline, [Footnote: Suetonius, + speaking of this conspiracy, says, that Cæsar was <i>nominatos inter + socios Catilinæ</i>, which has been erroneously understood to mean that he + was <i>talked of</i> as an accomplice; but in fact, as Casaubon first + pointed out, <i>nominatus</i> is a technical term of the Roman + jurisprudence, and means that he was formally denounced.] and that he + incurred considerable risk on that occasion; but it is less known, and has + indeed escaped the notice of historians generally, that he was a party to + at least two other conspiracies. There was even a fourth, meditated by + Crassus, which Cæsar so far encouraged as to undertake a journey to Rome + from a very distant quarter, merely with a view to such chances as it + might offer to him; but as it did not, upon examination, seem to him a + very promising scheme, he judged it best to look coldly upon it, or not to + embark in it by any personal co-operation. Upon these and other facts we + build our inference—that the scheme of a revolution was the one + great purpose of Cæsar, from his first entrance upon public life. Nor does + it appear that he cared much by whom it was undertaken, provided only + there seemed to be any sufficient resources for carrying it through, and + for sustaining the first collision with the regular forces of the existing + government. He relied, it seems, on his own personal superiority for + raising him to the head of affairs eventually, let who would take the + nominal lead at first. To the same result, it will be found, tended the + vast stream of Cæsar's liberalities. From the senator downwards to the + lowest <i>fæx Romuli</i>, he had a hired body of dependents, both in and + out of Rome, equal in numbers to a nation. In the provinces, and in + distant kingdoms, he pursued the same schemes. Every where he had a body + of mercenary partisans; kings are known to have taken his pay. And it is + remarkable that even in his character of commander in chief, where the + number of legions allowed to him for the accomplishment of his mission + raised him for a number of years above all fear of coercion or control, he + persevered steadily in the same plan of providing for the day when he + might need assistance, not from the state, but <i>against</i> the state. + For amongst the private anecdotes which came to light under the researches + made into his history after his death, was this—that, soon after his + first entrance upon his government in Gaul, he had raised, equipped, + disciplined, and maintained, from his own private funds, a legion + amounting, perhaps, to six or seven thousand men, who were bound by no + sacrament of military obedience to the state, nor owed fealty to any + auspices except those of Cæsar. This legion, from the fashion of their + crested helmets, which resembled the crested heads of a small bird of the + lark species, received the popular name of the <i>Alauda</i> (or Lark) + legion. And very singular it was that Cato, or Marcellus, or some amongst + those enemies of Cæsar, who watched his conduct during the period of his + Gaulish command with the vigilance of rancorous malice, should not have + come to the knowledge of this fact; in which case we may be sure that it + would have been denounced to the senate. + </p> + <p> + Such, then, for its purpose and its uniform motive, was the sagacious + munificence of Cæsar. Apart from this motive, and considered in and for + itself, and simply with a reference to the splendid forms which it often + assumed, this munificence would furnish the materials for a volume. The + public entertainments of Cæsar, his spectacles and shows, his naumachiæ, + and the pomps of his unrivalled triumphs, (the closing triumphs of the + Republic,) were severally the finest of their kind which had then been + brought forward. Sea-fights were exhibited upon the grandest scale, + according to every known variety of nautical equipment and mode of + conflict, upon a vast lake formed artificially for that express purpose. + Mimic land-fights were conducted, in which all the circumstances of real + war were so faithfully rehearsed, that even elephants "indorsed with + towers," twenty on each side, took part in the combat. Dramas were + represented in every known language, (<i>per omnium linguarum histriones</i>.) + And hence [that is, from the conciliatory feeling thus expressed towards + the various tribes of foreigners resident in Rome] some have derived an + explanation of what is else a mysterious circumstance amongst the + ceremonial observances at Cæsar's funeral—that all people of foreign + nations then residing at Rome, distinguished themselves by the conspicuous + share which they took in the public mourning; and that, beyond all other + foreigners, the Jews for night after night kept watch and ward about the + emperor's grave. Never before, according to traditions which lasted + through several generations in Rome, had there been so vast a conflux of + the human race congregated to any one centre, on any one attraction of + business or of pleasure, as to Rome, on occasion of these spectacles + exhibited by Cæsar. + </p> + <p> + In our days, the greatest occasional gatherings of the human race are in + India, especially at the great fair of the <i>Hurdwar</i>, in the northern + part of Hindostan; a confluence of many millions is sometimes seen at that + spot, brought together under the mixed influences of devotion and + commercial business, and dispersed as rapidly as they had been convoked. + Some such spectacle of nations crowding upon nations, and some such + Babylonian confusion of dresses, complexions, languages, and jargons, was + then witnessed at Rome. Accommodations within doors, and under roofs of + houses, or of temples, was altogether impossible. Myriads encamped along + the streets, and along the high-roads in the vicinity of Rome. Myriads of + myriads lay stretched on the ground, without even the slight protection of + tents, in a vast circuit about the city. Multitudes of men, even senators, + and others of the highest rank, were trampled to death in the crowds. And + the whole family of man seemed at that time gathered together at the + bidding of the great Dictator. But these, or any other themes connected + with the public life of Cæsar, we notice only in those circumstances which + have been overlooked, or partially represented by historians. Let us now, + in conclusion, bring forward, from the obscurity in which they have + hitherto lurked, the anecdotes which describe the habits of his private + life, his tastes, and personal peculiarities. + </p> + <p> + In person, he was tall, fair, and of limbs distinguished for their elegant + proportions and gracility. His eyes were black and piercing. These + circumstances continued to be long remembered, and no doubt were + constantly recalled to the eyes of all persons in the imperial palaces, by + pictures, busts, and statues; for we find the same description of his + personal appearance three centuries afterwards, in a work of the Emperor + Julian's. He was a most accomplished horseman, and a master (<i>peritissimus</i>) + in the use of arms. But, notwithstanding his skill in horsemanship, it + seems that, when he accompanied his army on marches, he walked oftener + than he rode; no doubt, with a view to the benefit of his example, and to + express that sympathy with his soldiers which gained him their hearts so + entirely. On other occasions, when travelling apart from his army, he + seems more frequently to have rode in a carriage than on horseback. His + purpose, in making this preference, must have been with a view to the + transport of luggage. The carriage which he generally used was a <i>rheda</i>, + a sort of gig, or rather curricle, for it was a four-wheeled carriage, and + adapted (as we find from the imperial regulations for the public + carriages, &c.) to the conveyance of about half a ton. The mere + personal baggage which Cæsar carried with him, was probably considerable, + for he was a man of the most elegant habits, and in all parts of his life + sedulously attentive to elegance of personal appearance. The length of + journeys which he accomplished within a given time, appears even to us at + this day, and might well therefore appear to his contemporaries, truly + astonishing. A distance of one hundred miles was no extraordinary day's + journey for him in a <i>rheda</i>, such as we have described it. So + elegant were his habits, and so constant his demand for the luxurious + accommodations of polished life, as it then existed in Rome, that he is + said to have carried with him, as indispensable parts of his personal + baggage, the little lozenges and squares of ivory, and other costly + materials, which were wanted for the tessellated flooring of his tent. + Habits such as these will easily account for his travelling in a carriage + rather than on horseback. + </p> + <p> + The courtesy and obliging disposition of Cæsar were notorious, and both + were illustrated in some anecdotes which survived for generations in Rome. + Dining on one occasion at a table, where the servants had inadvertently, + for salad-oil, furnished some sort of coarse lamp-oil, Cæsar would not + allow the rest of the company to point out the mistake to their host, for + fear of shocking him too much by exposing the mistake. At another time, + whilst halting at a little <i>cabaret</i>, when one of his retinue was + suddenly taken ill, Cæsar resigned to his use the sole bed which the house + afforded. Incidents, as trifling as these, express the urbanity of Cæsar's + nature; and, hence, one is the more surprised to find the alienation of + the senate charged, in no trifling degree, upon a failure in point of + courtesy. Cæsar neglected to rise from his seat, on their approaching him + in a body with an address of congratulation. It is said, and we can + believe it, that he gave deeper offence by this one defect in a matter of + ceremonial observance, than by all his substantial attacks upon their + privileges. What we find it difficult to believe, however, is not that + result from the offence, but the possibility of the offence itself, from + one so little arrogant as Cæsar, and so entirely a man of the world. He + was told of the disgust which he had given, and we are bound to believe + his apology, in which he charged it upon sickness, which would not at the + moment allow him to maintain a standing attitude. Certainly the whole + tenor of his life was not courteous only, but kind; and, to his enemies, + merciful in a degree which implied so much more magnanimity than men in + general could understand, that by many it was put down to the account of + weakness. + </p> + <p> + Weakness, however, there was none in Caius Cæsar; and, that there might be + none, it was fortunate that conspiracy should have cut him off in the full + vigor of his faculties, in the very meridian of his glory, and on the + brink of completing a series of gigantic achievements. Amongst these are + numbered—a digest of the entire body of laws, even then become + unwieldy and oppressive; the establishment of vast and comprehensive + public libraries, Greek as well as Latin; the chastisement of Dacia; the + conquest of Parthia; and the cutting a ship canal through the Isthmus of + Corinth. The reformation of the calendar he had already accomplished. And + of all his projects it may be said, that they were equally patriotic in + their purpose, and colossal in their proportions. + </p> + <p> + As an orator, Cæsar's merit was so eminent, that, according to the general + belief, had he found time to cultivate this department of civil exertion, + the precise supremacy of Cicero would have been made questionable, or the + honors would have been divided. Cicero himself was of that opinion; and on + different occasions applied the epithet <i>Splendidus</i> to Cæsar, as + though in some exclusive sense, or with a peculiar emphasis, due to him. + His taste was much simpler, chaster, and disinclined to the <i>florid</i> + and ornamental, than that of Cicero. So far he would, in that condition of + the Roman culture and feeling, have been less acceptable to the public; + but, on the other hand, he would have compensated this disadvantage by + much more of natural and Demosthenic fervor. + </p> + <p> + In literature, the merits of Cæsar are familiar to most readers. Under the + modest title of <i>Commentaries</i>, he meant to offer the records of his + Gallic and British campaigns, simply as notes, or memoranda, afterwards to + be worked up by regular historians; but, as Cicero observes, their merit + was such in the eyes of the discerning, that all judicious writers shrank + from the attempt to alter them. In another instance of his literary + labors, he showed a very just sense of true dignity. Rightly conceiving + that every thing patriotic was dignified, and that to illustrate or polish + his native language, was a service of real patriotism, he composed a work + on the grammar and orthoepy of the Latin language. Cicero and himself were + the only Romans of distinction in that age, who applied themselves with + true patriotism to the task of purifying and ennobling their mother + tongue. Both were aware of the transcendent quality of the Grecian + literature; but that splendor did not depress their hopes of raising their + own to something of the same level. As respected the natural wealth of the + two languages, it was the private opinion of Cicero, that the Latin had + the advantage; and if Cæsar did not accompany him to that length, he yet + felt that it was but the more necessary to draw forth any single advantage + which it really had. [Footnote: Cæsar had the merit of being the first + person to propose the daily publication of the acts and votes of the + senate. In the form of public and official dispatches, he made also some + useful innovations; and it may be mentioned, for the curiosity of the + incident, that the cipher which he used in his correspondence, was the + following very simple one:—For every letter of the alphabet he + substituted that which stood fourth removed from it in the order of + succession. Thus, for A, he used D; for D, G, and so on.] + </p> + <p> + Was Cæsar, upon the whole, the greatest of men? Dr. Beattie once observed, + that if that question were left to be collected from the suffrages already + expressed in books, and scattered throughout the literature of all + nations, the scale would be found to have turned prodigiously in Cæsar's + favor, as against any single competitor; and there is no doubt whatsoever, + that even amongst his own countrymen, and his own contemporaries, the same + verdict would have been returned, had it been collected upon the famous + principle of Themistocles, that <i>he</i> should be reputed the first, + whom the greatest number of rival voices had pronounced the second. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> + <p> + The situation of the Second Cæsar, at the crisis of the great Dictator's + assassination, was so hazardous and delicate, as to confer interest upon a + character not otherwise attractive. To many, we know it was positively + repulsive, and in the very highest degree. In particular, it is recorded + of Sir William Jones, that he regarded this emperor with feelings of + abhorrence so <i>personal</i> and deadly, as to refuse him his customary + titular honors whenever he had occasion to mention him by name. Yet it was + the whole Roman people that conferred upon him his title of <i>Augustus</i>. + But Sir William, ascribing no force to the acts of a people who had sunk + so low as to exult in their chains, and to decorate with honors the very + instruments of their own vassalage, would not recognise this popular + creation, and spoke of him always by his family name of Octavius. The + flattery of the populace, by the way, must, in this instance, have been + doubly acceptable to the emperor, first, for what it gave, and secondly, + for what it concealed. Of his grand-uncle, the first Cæsar, a tradition + survives—that of all the distinctions created in his favor, either + by the senate or the people, he put most value upon the laurel crown which + was voted to him after his last campaigns—a beautiful and + conspicuous memorial to every eye of his great public acts, and at the + same time an overshadowing veil of his one sole personal defect. This + laurel diadem at once proclaimed his civic grandeur, and concealed his + baldness, a defect which was more mortifying to a Roman than it would be + to ourselves, from the peculiar theory which then prevailed as to its + probable origin. A gratitude of the same mixed quality must naturally have + been felt by the Second Cæsar for his title of <i>Augustus</i>, which, + whilst it illustrated his public character by the highest expression of + majesty, set apart and sequestrated to public functions, had also the + agreeable effect of withdrawing from the general remembrance his obscure + descent. For the Octavian house [<i>gens</i>] had in neither of its + branches risen to any great splendor of civic distinction, and in his own, + to little or none. The same titular decoration, therefore, so offensive to + the celebrated Whig, was, in the eyes of Augustus, at once a trophy of + public merit, a monument of public gratitude, and an effectual + obliteration of his own natal obscurity. + </p> + <p> + But, if merely odious to men of Sir William's principles, to others the + character of Augustus, in relation to the circumstances which surrounded + him, was not without its appropriate interest. He was summoned in early + youth, and without warning, to face a crisis of tremendous hazard, being + at the same time himself a man of no very great constitutional courage; + perhaps he was even a coward. And this we say without meaning to adopt as + gospel truths all the party reproaches of Anthony. Certainly he was + utterly unfurnished by nature with those endowments which seemed to be + indispensable in a successor to the power of the great Dictator. But + exactly in these deficiencies, and in certain accidents unfavorable to his + ambition, lay his security. He had been adopted by his grand-uncle, + Julius. That adoption made him, to all intents and purposes of law, the + son of his great patron; and doubtless, in a short time, this adoption + would have been applied to more extensive uses, and as a station of + vantage for introducing him to the public favor. From the inheritance of + the Julian estates and family honors, he would have been trained to mount, + as from a stepping-stone, to the inheritance of the Julian power and + political station; and the Roman people would have been familiarized to + regard him in that character. But, luckily for himself, the finishing, or + ceremonial acts, were yet wanting in this process—the political + heirship was inchoate and imperfect. Tacitly understood, indeed, it was; + but, had it been formally proposed and ratified, there cannot be a doubt + that the young Octavius would have been pointed out to the vengeance of + the patriots, and included in the scheme of the conspirators, as a + fellow-victim with his nominal father; and would have been cut off too + suddenly to benefit by that reaction of popular feeling which saved the + partisans of the Dictator, by separating the conspirators, and obliging + them, without loss of time, to look to their own safety. It was by this + fortunate accident that the young heir and adopted son of the first Cæsar + not only escaped assassination, but was enabled to postpone indefinitely + the final and military struggle for the vacant seat of empire, and in the + mean time to maintain a coequal rank with the leaders in the state, by + those arts and resources in which he was superior to his competitors. His + place in the favor of Caius Julius was of power sufficient to give him a + share in any triumvirate which could be formed; but, wanting the formality + of a regular introduction to the people, and the ratification of their + acceptance, that place was not sufficient to raise him permanently into + the perilous and invidious station of absolute supremacy which he + afterwards occupied. The <i>felicity</i> of Augustus was often vaunted by + antiquity, (with whom success was not so much a test of merit as itself a + merit of the highest quality,) and in no instance was this felicity more + conspicuous than in the first act of his entrance upon the political + scene. No doubt his friends and enemies alike thought of him, at the + moment of Cæsar's assassination, as we now think of a young man heir-elect + to some person of immense wealth, cut off by a sudden death before he has + had time to ratify a will in execution of his purposes. Yet in fact the + case was far otherwise. Brought forward distinctly as the successor of + Cæsar's power, had he even, by some favorable accident of absence from + Rome, or otherwise, escaped being involved in that great man's fate, he + would at all events have been thrown upon the instant necessity of + defending his supreme station by arms. To have left it unasserted, when + once solemnly created in his favor by a reversionary title, would have + been deliberately to resign it. This would have been a confession of + weakness liable to no disguise, and ruinous to any subsequent pretensions. + Yet, without preparation of means, with no development of resources nor + growth of circumstances, an appeal to arms would, in his case, have been + of very doubtful issue. His true weapons, for a long period, were the arts + of vigilance and dissimulation. Cultivating these, he was enabled to + prepare for a contest which, undertaken prematurely, must have ruined him, + and to raise himself to a station of even military pre-eminence to those + who naturally, and by circumstances, were originally every way superior to + himself. + </p> + <p> + The qualities in which he really excelled, the gifts of intrigue, + patience, long-suffering, dissimulation, and tortuous fraud, were thus + brought into play, and allowed their full value. Such qualities had every + chance of prevailing in the long run, against the noble carelessness and + the impetuosity of the passionate Anthony—and they <i>did</i> + prevail. Always on the watch to lay hold of those opportunities which the + generous negligence of his rival was but too frequently throwing in his + way—unless by the sudden reverses of war and the accidents of + battle, which as much as possible, and as long as possible, he declined—there + could be little question in any man's mind, that eventually he would win + his way to a solitary throne, by a policy so full of caution and subtlety. + He was sure to risk nothing which could be had on easier terms; and + nothing, unless for a great overbalance of gain in prospect; to lose + nothing which he had once gained; and in no case to miss an advantage, or + sacrifice an opportunity, by any consideration of generosity. No modern + insurance office but would have guaranteed an event depending upon the + final success of Augustus, on terms far below those which they must in + prudence have exacted from the fiery and adventurous Anthony. Each was an + ideal in his own class. But Augustus, having finally triumphed, has met + with more than justice from succeeding ages. Even Lord Bacon says, that, + by comparison with Julius Cæsar, he was "<i>non tam impar quam dispar</i>," + surely a most extravagant encomium, applied to whomsoever. On the other + hand, Anthony, amongst the most signal misfortunes of his life, might + number it, that Cicero, the great dispenser of immortality, in whose hands + (more perhaps than in any one man's of any age) were the vials of good and + evil fame, should happen to have been his bitter and persevering enemy. It + is, however, some balance to this, that Shakspeare had a just conception + of the original grandeur which lay beneath that wild tempestuous nature + presented by Anthony to the eye of the undiscriminating world. It is to + the honor of Shakspeare, that he should have been able to discern the true + coloring of this most original character, under the smoke and tarnish of + antiquity. It is no less to the honor of the great triumvir, that a + strength of coloring should survive in his character, capable of baffling + the wrongs and ravages of time. Neither is it to be thought strange that a + character should have been misunderstood and falsely appreciated for + nearly two thousand years. It happens not uncommonly, especially amongst + an unimaginative people like the Romans, that the characters of men are + ciphers and enigmas to their own age, and are first read and interpreted + by a far distant posterity. Stars are supposed to exist, whose light has + been travelling for many thousands of years without having yet reached our + system; and the eyes are yet unborn upon which their earliest rays will + fall. Men like Mark Anthony, with minds of chaotic composition—light + conflicting with darkness, proportions of colossal grandeur disfigured by + unsymmetrical arrangement, the angelic in close neighborhood with the + brutal—are first read in their true meaning by an age learned in the + philosophy of the human heart. Of this philosophy the Romans had, by the + necessities of education and domestic discipline not less than by original + constitution of mind, the very narrowest visual range. In no literature + whatsoever are so few tolerable notices to be found of any great truths in + Psychology. Nor could this have been otherwise amongst a people who tried + every thing by the standard of <i>social</i> value; never seeking for a + canon of excellence, in man considered abstractedly in and for himself, + and as having an independent value—but always and exclusively in man + as a gregarious being, and designed for social uses and functions. Not man + in his own peculiar nature, but man in his relations to other men, was the + station from which the Roman speculators took up their philosophy of human + nature. Tried by such standard, Mark Anthony would be found wanting. As a + citizen, he was irretrievably licentious, and therefore there needed not + the bitter personal feud, which circumstances had generated between them, + to account for the <i>acharnement</i> with which Cicero pursued him. Had + Anthony been his friend even, or his near kinsman, Cicero must still have + been his public enemy. And not merely for his vices; for even the grander + features of his character, his towering ambition, his magnanimity, and the + fascinations of his popular qualities,—were all, in the + circumstances of those times, and in <i>his</i> position, of a tendency + dangerously uncivic. + </p> + <p> + So remarkable was the opposition, at all points, between the second Cæsar + and his rival, that whereas Anthony even in his virtues seemed dangerous + to the state, Octavius gave a civic coloring to his most indifferent + actions, and, with a Machiavelian policy, observed a scrupulous regard to + the forms of the Republic, after every fragment of the republican + institutions, the privileges of the republican magistrates, and the + functions of the great popular officers, had been absorbed into his own + autocracy. Even in the most prosperous days of the Roman State, when the + democratic forces balanced, and were balanced by, those of the + aristocracy, it was far from being a general or common praise, that a man + was of a civic turn of mind, <i>animo civili</i>. Yet this praise did + Augustus affect, and in reality attain, at a time when the very object of + all civic feeling was absolutely extinct; so much are men governed by + words. Suetonius assures us, that many evidences were current even to his + times of this popular disposition (<i>civilitas</i>) in the emperor; and + that it survived every experience of servile adulation in the Roman + populace, and all the effects of long familiarity with irresponsible power + in himself. Such a moderation of feeling, we are almost obliged to + consider as a genuine and unaffected expression of his real nature; for, + as an artifice of policy, it had soon lost its uses. And it is worthy of + notice, that with the army he laid aside those popular manners as soon as + possible, addressing them as <i>milites</i>, not (<i>according</i> to his + earlier practice) as <i>commilitones</i>. It concerned his own security, + to be jealous of encroachments on his power. But of his rank, and the + honors which accompanied it, he seems to have been uniformly careless. + Thus, he would never leave a town or enter it by daylight, unless some + higher rule of policy obliged him to do so; by which means he evaded a + ceremonial of public honor which was burdensome to all the parties + concerned in it. Sometimes, however, we find that men, careless of honors + in their own persons, are glad to see them settling upon their family and + immediate connections. But here again Augustus showed the sincerity of his + moderation. For upon one occasion, when the whole audience in the Roman + theatre had risen upon the entrance of his two adopted sons, at that time + not seventeen years old, he was highly displeased, and even thought it + necessary to publish his displeasure in a separate edict. It is another, + and a striking illustration of his humility, that he willingly accepted of + public appointments, and sedulously discharged the duties attached to + them, in conjunction with colleagues who had been chosen with little + regard to his personal partialities. In the debates of the senate, he + showed the same equanimity; suffering himself patiently to be + contradicted, and even with circumstances of studied incivility. In the + public elections, he gave his vote like any private citizen; and, when he + happened to be a candidate himself, he canvassed the electors with the + same earnestness of personal application, as any other candidate with the + least possible title to public favor from present power or past services. + But, perhaps by no expressions of his civic spirit did Augustus so much + conciliate men's minds, as by the readiness with which he participated in + their social pleasures, and by the uniform severity with which he refused + to apply his influence in any way which could disturb the pure + administration of justice. The Roman juries (<i>judices</i> they were + called), were very corrupt; and easily swayed to an unconscientious + verdict, by the appearance in court of any great man on behalf of one of + the parties interested: nor was such an interference with the course of + private justice any ways injurious to the great man's character. The wrong + which he promoted did but the more forcibly proclaim the warmth and + fidelity of his friendships. So much the more generally was the + uprightness of the emperor appreciated, who would neither tamper with + justice himself, nor countenance any motion in that direction, though it + were to serve his very dearest friend, either by his personal presence, or + by the use of his name. And, as if it had been a trifle merely to forbear, + and to show his regard to justice in this negative way, he even allowed + himself to be summoned as a witness on trials, and showed no anger when + his own evidence was overborne by stronger on the other side. This + disinterested love of justice, and an integrity, so rare in the great men + of Rome, could not but command the reverence of the people. But their + affection, doubtless, was more conciliated by the freedom with which the + emperor accepted invitations from all quarters, and shared continually in + the festal pleasures of his subjects. This practice, however, he + discontinued, or narrowed, as he advanced in years. Suetonius, who, as a + true anecdote-monger, would solve every thing, and account for every + change by some definite incident, charges this alteration in the emperor's + condescensions upon one particular party at a wedding feast, where the + crowd incommoded him much by their pressure and heat. But, doubtless, it + happened to Augustus as to other men; his spirits failed, and his powers + of supporting fatigue or bustle, as years stole upon him. Changes, coming + by insensible steps, and not willingly acknowledged, for some time escape + notice; until some sudden shock reminds a man forcibly to do that which he + has long meditated in an irresolute way. The marriage banquet may have + been the particular occasion from which Augustus stepped into the habits + of old age, but certainly not the cause of so entire a revolution in his + mode of living. + </p> + <p> + It might seem to throw some doubt, if not upon the fact, yet at least upon + the sincerity, of his <i>civism</i>, that undoubtedly Augustus cultivated + his kingly connections with considerable anxiety. It may have been upon + motives merely political that he kept at Rome the children of nearly all + the kings then known as allies or vassals of the Roman power: a curious + fact, and not generally known. In his own palace were reared a number of + youthful princes; and they were educated jointly with his own children. It + is also upon record, that in many instances the fathers of these princes + spontaneously repaired to Rome, and there assuming the Roman dress—as + an expression of reverence to the majesty of the omnipotent State—did + personal 'suit and service' (<i>more clientum</i>) to Augustus. It is an + anecdote of not less curiosity, that a whole 'college' of kings subscribed + money for a temple at Athens, to be dedicated in the name of Augustus. + Throughout his life, indeed, this emperor paid a marked attention to all + the royal houses then known to Rome, as occupying the thrones upon the + vast margin of the empire. It is true that in part this attention might be + interpreted as given politically to so many lieutenants, wielding a remote + or inaccessible power for the benefit of Rome. And the children of these + kings might be regarded as hostages, ostensibly entertained for the sake + of education, but really as pledges for their parents' fidelity, and also + with a view to the large reversionary advantages which might be expected + to arise upon the basis of so early and affectionate a connection. But it + is not the less true, that, at one period of his life, Augustus did + certainly meditate some closer personal connection with the royal families + of the earth. He speculated, undoubtedly, on a marriage for himself with + some barbarous princess, and at one time designed his daughter Julia as a + wife for Cotiso, the king of the Getæ. Superstition perhaps disturbed the + one scheme, and policy the other. He married, as is well known, for his + final wife, and the partner of his life through its whole triumphant + stage, Livia Drusilla; compelling her husband, Tiberius Nero, to divorce + her, notwithstanding she was then six months advanced in pregnancy. With + this lady, who was distinguished for her beauty, it is certain that he was + deeply in love; and that might be sufficient to account for the marriage. + It is equally certain, however, upon the concurring evidence of + independent writers, that this connection had an oracular sanction—not + to say, suggestion; a circumstance <i>which was long remembered</i>, and + was afterwards noticed by the Christian poet Prudentius: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Idque Deûm sortes et Apollinis antra dederunt + Consilium: nunquam meliùs nam cædere tædas + Responsum est, quàm cum prægnans nova nupta jugatur." +</pre> + <p> + His daughter Julia had been promised by turns, and always upon reasons of + state, to a whole muster-roll of suitors; first of all, to a son of Mark + Anthony; secondly, to the barbarous king; thirdly, to her first cousin—that + Marcellus, the son of Octavia, only sister to Augustus, whose early death, + in the midst of great expectations, Virgil has so beautifully introduced + into the vision of Roman grandeurs as yet unborn, which Æneas beholds in + the shades; fourthly, she was promised (and this time the promise was + kept) to the fortunate soldier, Agrippa, whose low birth was not permitted + to obscure his military merits. By him she had a family of children, upon + whom, if upon any in this world, the wrath of Providence seems to have + rested; for, excepting one, and in spite of all the favors that earth and + heaven could unite to shower upon them, all came to an early, a violent, + and an infamous end. Fifthly, upon the death of Agrippa, and again upon + motives of policy, and in atrocious contempt of all the ties that nature + and the human heart and human laws have hallowed, she was promised, (if + that word may be applied to the violent obtrusion upon a man's bed of one + who was doubly a curse—first, for what she brought, and, secondly, + for what she took away,) and given to Tiberius, the future emperor. Upon + the whole, as far as we can at this day make out the connection of a man's + acts and purposes, which, even to his own age, were never entirely cleared + up, it is probable that, so long as the triumvirate survived, and so long + as the condition of Roman power or intrigues, and the distribution of + Roman influence, were such as to leave a possibility that any new + triumvirate should arise—so long Augustus was secretly meditating a + retreat for himself at some barbarous court, against any sudden reverse of + fortune, by means of a domestic connection, which should give him the + claim of a kinsman. Such a court, however unable to make head against the + collective power of Rome, might yet present a front of resistance to any + single partisan who should happen to acquire a brief ascendancy; or, at + the worst, as a merely defensive power, might offer a retreat, secure in + distance, and difficult access; or might be available as a means of delay + for recovering from some else fatal defeat. It is certain that Augustus + viewed Egypt with jealousy as a province, which might be turned to account + in some such way by any aspiring insurgent. And it must have often struck + him as a remarkable circumstance, which by good luck had turned out + entirely to the advantage of his own family, but which might as readily + have had an opposite result, that the three decisive battles of Pharsalia, + of Thapsus, and of Munda, in which the empire of the world was three times + over staked as the prize, had severally brought upon the defeated leaders + a ruin which was total, absolute, and final. One hour had seen the whole + fabric of their aspiring fortunes demolished; and no resource was left to + them but either in suicide, (which, accordingly, even Cæsar had meditated + at one stage of the battle of Munda, when it seemed to be going against + him,) or in the mercy of the victor. + </p> + <p> + That a victor in a hundred fights should in his hundred-and-first, + </p> + <p> + [Footnote: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The painful warrior, famoused for fight, + After a thousand victories once foil'd, + Is from the book of honor razed quite, + And all the rest forgot for which he toil'd." + <i>Shakespeare's Sonnets.</i>] +</pre> + <p> + as in his first, risk the loss of that particular battle, is inseparable + from the condition of man, and the uncertainty of human means; but that + the loss of this one battle should be equally fatal and irrecoverable with + the loss of his first, that it should leave him with means no more + cemented, and resources no better matured for retarding his fall, and + throwing a long succession of hindrances in the way of his conqueror, + argues some essential defect of system. Under our modern policy, military + power—though it may be the growth of one man's life—soon takes + root; a succession of campaigns is required for its extirpation; and it + revolves backwards to its final extinction through all the stages by which + originally it grew. On the Roman system this was mainly impossible from + the solitariness of the Roman power; co-rival nations who might balance + the victorious party, there were absolutely none; and all the underlings + hastened to make their peace, whilst peace was yet open to them, on the + known terms of absolute treachery to their former master, and instant + surrender to the victor of the hour. For this capital defect in the tenure + of Roman power, no matter in whose hands deposited, there was no absolute + remedy. Many a sleepless night, during the perilous game which he played + with Anthony, must have familiarized Octavius with that view of the risk, + which to some extent was inseparable from his position as the leader in + such a struggle carried on in such an empire. In this dilemma, struck with + the extreme necessity of applying some palliation to the case, we have no + doubt that Augustus would devise the scheme of laying some distant king + under such obligations to fidelity as would suffice to stand the first + shock of misfortune. Such a person would have power enough, of a direct + military kind, to face the storm at its outbreak. He would have power of + another kind in his distance. He would be sustained by the courage of + hope, as a kinsman having a contingent interest in a kinsman's prosperity. + And, finally, he would be sustained by the courage of despair, as one who + never could expect to be trusted by the opposite party. In the worst case, + such a prince would always offer a breathing time and a respite to his + friends, were it only by his remoteness, and if not the <i>means</i> of + rallying, yet at least the <i>time</i> for rallying, more especially as + the escape to his frontier would be easy to one who had long forecast it. + We can hardly doubt that Augustus meditated such schemes; that he laid + them aside only as his power began to cement and to knit together after + the battle of Actium; and that the memory and the prudential tradition of + this plan survived in the imperial family so long as itself survived. + Amongst other anecdotes of the same tendency, two are recorded of Nero, + the emperor in whom expired the line of the original Cæsars, which + strengthen us in a belief of what is otherwise in itself so probable. + Nero, in his first distractions, upon receiving the fatal tidings of the + revolt in Gaul, when reviewing all possible plans of escape from the + impending danger, thought at intervals of throwing himself on the + protection of the barbarous King Vologesus. And twenty years afterwards, + when the Pseudo-Nero appeared, he found a strenuous champion and protector + in the king of the Parthians. Possibly, had an opportunity offered for + searching the Parthian chancery, some treaty would have been found binding + the kings of Parthia, from the age of Augustus through some generations + downwards, in requital of services there specified, or of treasures + lodged, to secure a perpetual asylum to the prosperity of the Julian + family. + </p> + <p> + The cruelties of Augustus were perhaps equal in atrocity to any which are + recorded; and the equivocal apology for those acts (one which might as + well be used to aggravate as to palliate the case) is, that they were not + prompted by a ferocious nature, but by calculating policy. He once + actually slaughtered upon an altar, a large body of his prisoners; and + such was the contempt with which he was regarded by some of that number, + that, when led out to death, they saluted their other proscriber, Anthony, + with military honors, acknowledging merit even in an enemy, but Augustus + they passed with scornful silence, or with loud reproaches. Too certainly + no man has ever contended for empire with unsullied conscience, or laid + pure hands upon the ark of so magnificent a prize. Every friend to + Augustus must have wished that the twelve years of his struggle might for + ever be blotted out from human remembrance. During the forty-two years of + his prosperity and his triumph, being above fear, he showed the natural + lenity of his temper. + </p> + <p> + That prosperity, in a public sense, has been rarely equalled; but far + different was his fate, and memorable was the contrast, within the circuit + of his own family. This lord of the universe groaned as often as the + ladies of his house, his daughter and grand-daughter, were mentioned. The + shame which he felt on their account, led him even to unnatural designs, + and to wishes not less so; for at one time he entertained a plan for + putting the elder Julia to death—and at another, upon hearing that + Phoebe (one of the female slaves in his household) had hanged herself, he + exclaimed audibly,—"Would that I had been the father of Phoebe!" It + must, however, be granted, that in this miserable affair he behaved with + very little of his usual discretion. In the first paroxysms of his rage, + on discovering his daughter's criminal conduct, he made a communication of + the whole to the senate. That body could do nothing in such a matter, + either by act or by suggestion; and in a short time, as every body could + have foreseen, he himself repented of his own want of self-command. Upon + the whole, it cannot be denied, that, according to the remark of Jeremy + Taylor, of all the men signally decorated by history, Augustus Cæsar is + that one who exemplifies, in the most emphatic terms, the mixed tenor of + human life, and the equitable distribution, even on this earth, of good + and evil fortune. He made himself master of the world, and against the + most formidable competitors; his power was absolute, from the rising to + the setting sun; and yet in his own house, where the peasant who does the + humblest chares, claims an undisputed authority, he was baffled, + dishonored, and made ridiculous. He was loved by nobody; and if, at the + moment of his death, he desired his friends to dismiss him from this world + by the common expression of scenical applause, (<i>vos plaudite!</i>) in + that valedictory injunction he expressed inadvertently the true value of + his own long life, which, in strict candor, may be pronounced one + continued series of histrionic efforts, and of excellent acting, adapted + to selfish ends. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> + <p> + The three next emperors, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, were the last + princes who had any connection by blood [Footnote: And this was entirely + by the female side. The family descent of the first six Cæsars is so + intricate, that it is rarely understood accurately; so that it may be well + to state it briefly. Augustus was grand nephew to Julius Cæsar, being the + son of his sister's daughter. He was also, by adoption, the <i>son</i> of + Julius. He himself had one child only, viz. the infamous Julia, who was + brought him by his second wife Scribonia; and through this Julia it was + that the three princes, who succeeded to Tiberius, claimed relationship to + Augustus. On that emperor's last marriage with Livia, he adopted the two + sons whom she had borne to her divorced husband. These two noblemen, who + stood in no degree of consanguinity whatever to Augustus, were Tiberius + and Drusus. Tiberius left no children; but Drusus, the younger of the two + brothers, by his marriage with the younger Antonia, (daughter of Mark + Anthony,) had the celebrated Germanicus, and Claudius, (afterwards + emperor.) Germanicus, though adopted by his uncle Tiberius, and destined + to the empire, died prematurely. But, like Banquo, though he wore no + crown, he left descendants who did. For, by his marriage with Agrippina, a + daughter of Julia's by Agrippa, (and therefore grand-daughter of + Augustus,) he had a large family, of whom one son became the Emperor + Caligula; and one of the daughters, Agrippina the younger, by her marriage + with a Roman nobleman, became the mother of the Emperor Nero. Hence it + appears that Tiberius was uncle to Claudius, Claudius was uncle to + Caligula, Caligula was uncle to Nero. But it is observable, that Nero and + Caligula stood in another degree of consanguinity to each other through + their grandmothers, who were both daughters of Mark Anthony the triumvir; + for the elder Antonia married the grandfather of Nero; the younger Antonia + (as we have stated, above) married Drusus, the grandfather of Caligula; + and again, by these two ladies, they were connected not only with each + other, but also with the Julian house, for the two Antonias were daughters + of Mark Anthony by Octavia, sister to Augustus.] with the Julian house. In + Nero, the sixth emperor, expired the last of the Cæsars, who was such in + reality. These three were also the first in that long line of monsters, + who, at different times, under the title of Cæsars, dishonored humanity + more memorably, than was possible, except in the cases of those (if any + such can be named) who have abused the same enormous powers in times of + the same civility, and in defiance of the same general illumination. But + for them it is a fact, than some crimes, which now stain the page of + history, would have been accounted fabulous dreams of impure romancers, + taxing their extravagant imaginations to create combinations of wickedness + more hideous than civilized men would tolerate, and more unnatural than + the human heart could conceive. Let us, by way of example, take a short + chapter from the diabolic life of Caligula: In what way did he treat his + nearest and tenderest female connections? His mother had been tortured and + murdered by another tyrant almost as fiendish as himself. She was happily + removed from his cruelty. Disdaining, however, to acknowledge any + connection with the blood of so obscure a man as Agrippa, he publicly gave + out that his mother was indeed the daughter of Julia, but by an incestuous + commerce with her father Augustus. His three sisters he debauched. One + died, and her he canonized; the other two he prostituted to the basest of + his own attendants. Of his wives, it would be hard to say whether they + were first sought and won with more circumstances of injury and outrage, + or dismissed with more insult and levity. The one whom he treated best, + and with most profession of love, and who commonly rode by his side, + equipped with spear and shield, to his military inspections and reviews of + the soldiery, though not particularly beautiful, was exhibited to his + friends at banquets in a state of absolute nudity. His motive for treating + her with so much kindness, was probably that she brought him a daughter; + and her he acknowledged as his own child, from the early brutality with + which she attacked the eyes and cheeks of other infants who were presented + to her as play-fellows. Hence it would appear that he was aware of his own + ferocity, and treated it as a jest. The levity, indeed, which he mingled + with his worst and most inhuman acts, and the slightness of the occasions + upon which he delighted to hang his most memorable atrocities, aggravated + their impression at the time, and must have contributed greatly to sharpen + the sword of vengeance. His palace happened to be contiguous to the + circus. Some seats, it seems, were open indiscriminately to the public; + consequently, the only way in which they could be appropriated, was by + taking possession of them as early as the midnight preceding any great + exhibitions. Once, when it happened that his sleep was disturbed by such + an occasion, he sent in soldiers to eject them; and with orders so + rigorous, as it appeared by the event, that in this singular tumult, + twenty Roman knights, and as many mothers of families, were cudgelled to + death upon the spot, to say nothing of what the reporter calls "innumeram + turbam ceteram." + </p> + <p> + But this is a trifle to another anecdote reported by the same authority:—On + some occasion it happened that a dearth prevailed, either generally of + cattle, or of such cattle as were used for feeding the wild beasts + reserved for the bloody exhibitions of the amphitheatre. Food could be + had, and perhaps at no very exorbitant price, but on terms somewhat higher + than the ordinary market price. A slight excuse served with Caligula for + acts the most monstrous. Instantly repairing to the public jails, and + causing all the prisoners to pass in review before him (<i>custodiarum + seriem recognoscens</i>), he pointed to two bald-headed men, and ordered + that the whole file of intermediate persons should be marched off to the + dens of the wild beasts: "Tell them off," said he, "from the bald man to + the bald man." Yet these were prisoners committed, not for punishment, but + trial. Nor, had it been otherwise, were the charges against them equal, + but running through every gradation of guilt. But the <i>elogia</i> or + records of their commitment, he would not so much as look at. With such + inordinate capacities for cruelty, we cannot wonder that he should in his + common conversation have deplored the tameness and insipidity of his own + times and reign, as likely to be marked by no wide-spreading calamity." + Augustus," said he, "was happy; for in his reign occurred the slaughter of + Varus and his legions. Tiberius was happy; for in his occurred that + glorious fall of the great amphitheatre at Fidenæ. But for me—alas! + alas!" And then he would pray earnestly for fire or slaughter—pestilence + or famine. Famine indeed was to some extent in his own power; and + accordingly, as far as his courage would carry him, he did occasionally + try that mode of tragedy upon the people of Rome, by shutting up the + public granaries against them. As he blended his mirth and a truculent + sense of the humorous with his cruelties, we cannot wonder that he should + soon blend his cruelties with his ordinary festivities, and that his daily + banquets would soon become insipid without them. Hence he required a daily + supply of executions in his own halls and banqueting rooms; nor was a + dinner held to be complete without such a dessert. Artists were sought out + who had dexterity and strength enough to do what Lucan somewhere calls <i>ensem + rotare</i>, that is, to cut off a human head with one whirl of the sword. + Even this became insipid, as wanting one main element of misery to the + sufferer, and an indispensable condiment to the jaded palate of the + connoisseur, viz., a lingering duration. As a pleasant variety, therefore, + the tormentors were introduced with their various instruments of torture; + and many a dismal tragedy in that mode of human suffering was conducted in + the sacred presence during the emperor's hours of amiable relaxation. + </p> + <p> + The result of these horrid indulgences was exactly what we might suppose, + that even such scenes ceased to irritate the languid appetite, and yet + that without them life was not endurable. Jaded and exhausted as the sense + of pleasure had become in Caligula, still it could be roused into any + activity by nothing short of these murderous luxuries. Hence, it seems, + that he was continually tampering and dallying with the thought of murder; + and like the old Parisian jeweller Cardillac, in Louis XIV.'s time, who + was stung with a perpetual lust for murdering the possessors of fine + diamonds—not so much for the value of the prize (of which he never + hoped to make any use), as from an unconquerable desire of precipitating + himself into the difficulties and hazards of the murder,—Caligula + never failed to experience (and sometimes even to acknowledge) a secret + temptation to any murder which seemed either more than usually abominable, + or more than usually difficult. Thus, when the two consuls were seated at + his table, he burst out into sudden and profuse laughter; and, upon their + courteously requesting to know what witty and admirable conceit might be + the occasion of the imperial mirth, he frankly owned to them, and + doubtless he did not improve their appetites by this confession, that in + fact he was laughing, and that he could not but laugh, (and then the + monster laughed immoderately again,) at the pleasant thought of seeing + them both headless, and that with so little trouble to himself, (<i>uno + suo nutu</i>,) he could have both their throats cut. No doubt he was + continually balancing the arguments for and against such little escapades; + nor had any person a reason for security in the extraordinary obligations, + whether of hospitality or of religious vows, which seemed to lay him under + some peculiar restraints in that case above all others; for such + circumstances of peculiarity, by which the murder would be stamped with + unusual atrocity, were but the more likely to make its fascinations + irresistible. Hence he dallied with the thoughts of murdering her whom he + loved best, and indeed exclusively—his wife Cæsonia; and whilst + fondling her, and toying playfully with her polished throat, he was + distracted (as he half insinuated to her) between the desire of caressing + it, which might be often repeated, and that of cutting it, which could be + gratified but once. + </p> + <p> + Nero (for as to Claudius, he came too late to the throne to indulge any + propensities of this nature with so little discretion) was but a variety + of the same species. He also was an amateur, and an enthusiastic amateur + of murder. But as this taste, in the most ingenious hands, is limited and + monotonous in its modes of manifestation, it would be tedious to run + through the long Suetonian roll-call of his peccadilloes in this way. One + only we shall cite, to illustrate the amorous delight with which he + pursued any murder which happened to be seasoned highly to his taste by + enormous atrocity, and by almost unconquerable difficulty. It would really + be pleasant, were it not for the revolting consideration of the persons + concerned, and their relation to each other, to watch the tortuous pursuit + of the hunter, and the doubles of the game, in this obstinate chase. For + certain reasons of state, as Nero attempted to persuade himself, but in + reality because no other crime had the same attractions of unnatural + horror about it, he resolved to murder his mother Agrippina. This being + settled, the next thing was to arrange the mode and the tools. Naturally + enough, according to the custom then prevalent in Rome, he first attempted + the thing by poison. The poison failed: for Agrippina, anticipating tricks + of this kind, had armed her constitution against them, like Mithridates; + and daily took potent antidotes and prophylactics. Or else (which is more + probable) the emperor's agent in such purposes, fearing his sudden + repentance and remorse on first hearing of his mother's death, or possibly + even witnessing her agonies, had composed a poison of inferior strength. + This had certainly occurred in the case of Britannicus, who had thrown off + with ease the first dose administered to him by Nero. Upon which he had + summoned to his presence the woman employed in the affair, and compelling + her by threats to mingle a more powerful potion in his own presence, had + tried it successively upon different animals, until he was satisfied with + its effects; after which, immediately inviting Britannicus to a banquet, + he had finally dispatched him. On Agrippina, however, no changes in the + poison, whether of kind or strength, had any effect; so that, after + various trials, this mode of murder was abandoned, and the emperor + addressed himself to other plans. The first of these was some curious + mechanical device, by which a false ceiling was to have been suspended by + bolts above her bed; and in the middle of the night, the bolt being + suddenly drawn, a vast weight would have descended with a ruinous + destruction to all below. This scheme, however, taking air from the + indiscretion of some amongst the accomplices, reached the ears of + Agrippina; upon which the old lady looked about her too sharply to leave + much hope in that scheme: so <i>that</i> also was abandoned. Next, he + conceived the idea of an artificial ship, which, at the touch of a few + springs, might fall to pieces in deep water. Such a ship was prepared, and + stationed at a suitable point. But the main difficulty remained, which was + to persuade the old lady to go on board. Not that she knew in this case <i>who</i> + had been the ship-builder, for that would have ruined all; but it seems + that she took it ill to be hunted in this murderous spirit, and was out of + humor with her son; besides, that any proposal coming from him, though + previously indifferent to her, would have instantly become suspected. To + meet this difficulty, a sort of reconciliation was proposed, and a very + affectionate message sent, which had the effect of throwing Agrippina off + her guard, and seduced her to Baiæ for the purpose of joining the + emperor's party at a great banquet held in commemoration of a solemn + festival. She came by water in a sort of light frigate, and was to return + in the same way. Meantime Nero tampered with the commander of her vessel, + and prevailed upon him to wreck it. What was to be done? The great lady + was anxious to return to Rome, and no proper conveyance was at hand. + Suddenly it was suggested, as if by chance, that a ship of the emperor's, + new and properly equipped, was moored at a neighboring station. This was + readily accepted by Agrippina: the emperor accompanied her to the place of + embarkation, took a most tender leave of her, and saw her set sail. It was + necessary that the vessel should get into deep water before the experiment + could be made; and with the utmost agitation this pious son awaited news + of the result. Suddenly a messenger rushed breathless into his presence, + and horrified him by the joyful information that his august mother had met + with an alarming accident; but, by the blessing of Heaven, had escaped + safe and sound, and was now on her road to mingle congratulations with her + affectionate son. The ship, it seems, had done its office; the mechanism + had played admirably; but who can provide for every thing? The old lady, + it turned out, could swim like a duck; and the whole result had been to + refresh her with a little sea-bathing. Here was worshipful intelligence. + Could any man's temper be expected to stand such continued sieges? Money, + and trouble, and infinite contrivance, wasted upon one old woman, who + absolutely would not, upon any terms, be murdered! Provoking it certainly + was; and of a man like Nero it could not be expected that he should any + longer dissemble his disgust, or put up with such repeated affronts. He + rushed upon his simple congratulating friend, swore that he had come to + murder him, and as nobody could have suborned him but Agrippina, he + ordered her off to instant execution. And, unquestionably, if people will + not be murdered quietly and in a civil way, they must expect that such + forbearance is not to continue for ever; and obviously have themselves + only to blame for any harshness or violence which they may have rendered + necessary. + </p> + <p> + It is singular, and shocking at the same time, to mention, that, for this + atrocity, Nero did absolutely receive solemn congratulations from all + orders of men. With such evidences of base servility in the public mind, + and of the utter corruption which they had sustained in their elementary + feelings, it is the less astonishing that he should have made other + experiments upon the public patience, which seem expressly designed to try + how much it would support. Whether he were really the author of the + desolating fire which consumed Rome for six [Footnote: But a memorial + stone, in its inscription, makes the time longer: "Quando urbs per novem + dies arsit Neronianis temporibus."] days and seven nights, and drove the + mass of the people into the tombs and sepulchres for shelter, is yet a + matter of some doubt. But one great presumption against it, founded on its + desperate imprudence, as attacking the people in their primary comforts, + is considerably weakened by the enormous servility of the Romans in the + case just stated: they who could volunteer congratulations to a son for + butchering his mother, (no matter on what pretended suspicions,) might + reasonably be supposed incapable of any resistance which required courage + even in a case of self-defence, or of just revenge. The direct reasons, + however, for implicating him in this affair, seem at present insufficient. + He was displeased, it seems, with the irregularity and unsightliness of + the antique buildings, and also with the streets, as too narrow and + winding, (<i>angustiis flexurisque vicorum</i>.) But in this he did but + express what was no doubt the common judgment of all his contemporaries, + who had seen the beautiful cities of Greece and Asia Minor. The Rome of + that time was in many parts built of wood; and there is much probability + that it must have been a <i>picturesque</i> city, and in parts almost + grotesque. But it is remarkable, and a fact which we have nowhere seen + noticed, that the ancients, whether Greeks or Romans, had no eye for the + picturesque; nay, that it was a sense utterly unawakened amongst them; and + that the very conception of the picturesque, as of a thing distinct from + the beautiful, is not once alluded to through the whole course of ancient + literature, nor would it have been intelligible to any ancient critic; so + that, whatever attraction for the eye might exist in the Rome of that day, + there is little doubt that it was of a kind to be felt only by modern + spectators. Mere dissatisfaction with its external appearance, which must + have been a pretty general sentiment, argued, therefore, no necessary + purpose of destroying it. Certainly it would be a weightier ground of + suspicion, if it were really true, that some of his agents were detected + on the premises of different senators in the act of applying combustibles + to their mansions. But this story wears a very fabulous air. For why + resort to the private dwellings of great men, where any intruder was sure + of attracting notice, when the same effect, and with the same deadly + results, might have been attained quietly and secretly in so many of the + humble Roman <i>coenacula</i>? + </p> + <p> + The great loss on this memorable occasion was in the heraldic and + ancestral honors of the city. Historic Rome then went to wreck for ever. + Then perished the <i>domus priscorum ducum hostilibus adhuc spoliis + adornatæ</i>; the "rostral" palace; the mansion of the Pompeys; the + Blenheims and the Strathfieldsays of the Scipios, the Marcelli, the + Paulli, and the Cæsars; then perished the aged trophies from Carthage and + from Gaul; and, in short, as the historian sums up the lamentable + desolation, "<i>quidquid visendum atque memorabile ex antiquitate + duraverat</i>." And this of itself might lead one to suspect the emperor's + hand as the original agent; for by no one act was it possible so entirely + and so suddenly to wean the people from their old republican + recollections, and in one week to obliterate the memorials of their + popular forces, and the trophies of many ages. The old people of Rome were + gone; their characteristic dress even was gone; for already in the time of + Augustus they had laid aside the <i>toga</i>, and assumed the cheaper and + scantier <i>pænula</i>, so that the eye sought in vain for Virgil's + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Romanes rerum dominos gentemque <i>togatam</i>." +</pre> + <p> + Why, then, after all the constituents of Roman grandeur had passed away, + should their historical trophies survive, recalling to them the scenes of + departed heroism, in which they had no personal property, and suggesting + to them vain hopes, which for them were never to be other than chimeras? + Even in that sense, therefore, and as a great depository of heart-stirring + historical remembrances, Rome was profitably destroyed; and in any other + sense, whether for health or for the conveniences of polished life, or for + architectural magnificence, there never was a doubt that the Roman people + gained infinitely by this conflagration. For, like London, it arose from + its ashes with a splendor proportioned to its vast expansion of wealth and + population; and marble took the place of wood. For the moment, however, + this event must have been felt by the people as an overwhelming calamity. + And it serves to illustrate the passive endurance and timidity of the + popular temper, and to what extent it might be provoked with impunity, + that in this state of general irritation and effervescence, Nero + absolutely forbade them to meddle with the ruins of their own dwellings—taking + that charge upon himself, with a view to the vast wealth which he + anticipated from sifting the rubbish. And, as if that mode of plunder were + not sufficient, he exacted compulsory contributions to the rebuilding of + the city so indiscriminately, as to press heavily upon all men's finances; + and thus, in the public account which universally imputed the fire to him, + he was viewed as a twofold robber, who sought to heal one calamity by the + infliction of another and a greater. + </p> + <p> + The monotony of wickedness and outrage becomes at length fatiguing to the + coarsest and most callous senses; and the historian, even, who caters + professedly for the taste which feeds upon the monstrous and the + hyperbolical, is glad at length to escape from the long evolution of his + insane atrocities, to the striking and truly scenical catastrophe of + retribution which overtook them, and avenged the wrongs of an insulted + world. Perhaps history contains no more impressive scenes than those in + which the justice of Providence at length arrested the monstrous career of + Nero. + </p> + <p> + It was at Naples, and, by a remarkable fatality, on the very anniversary + of his mother's murder, that he received the first intelligence of the + revolt in Gaul under the Proprætor Vindex. This news for about a week he + treated with levity; and, like Henry VII. of England, who was nettled, not + so much at being proclaimed a rebel, as because he was described under the + slighting denomination of "one Henry Tidder or Tudor," he complained + bitterly that Vindex had mentioned him by his family name of Ænobarbus, + rather than his assumed one of Nero. But much more keenly he resented the + insulting description of himself as a "miserable harper," appealing to all + about him whether they had ever known a better, and offering to stake the + truth of all the other charges against himself upon the accuracy of this + in particular. So little even in this instance was he alive to the true + point of the insult; not thinking it any disgrace that a Roman emperor + should be chiefly known to the world in the character of a harper, but + only if he should happen to be a bad one. Even in those days, however, + imperfect as were the means of travelling, rebellion moved somewhat too + rapidly to allow any long interval of security so light-minded as this. + One courier followed upon the heels of another, until he felt the + necessity for leaving Naples; and he returned to Rome, as the historian + says, <i>prætrepidus</i>; by which word, however, according to its genuine + classical acceptation, we apprehend is not meant that he was highly + alarmed, but only that he was in a great hurry. That he was not yet under + any real alarm (for he trusted in certain prophecies, which, like those + made to the Scottish tyrant "kept the promise to the ear, but broke it to + the sense,") is pretty evident, from his conduct on reaching the capitol. + For, without any appeal to the senate or the people, but sending out a few + summonses to some men of rank, he held a hasty council, which he speedily + dismissed, and occupied the rest of the day with experiments on certain + musical instruments of recent invention, in which the keys were moved by + hydraulic contrivances. He had come to Rome, it appeared, merely from a + sense of decorum. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, however, arrived news, which fell upon him with the force of a + thunderbolt, that the revolt had extended to the Spanish provinces, and + was headed by Galba. He fainted upon hearing this; and falling to the + ground, lay for a long time lifeless, as it seemed, and speechless. Upon + coming to himself again, he tore his robe, struck his forehead, and + exclaimed aloud—that for him all was over. In this agony of mind, it + strikes across the utter darkness of the scene with the sense of a sudden + and cheering flash, recalling to us the possible goodness and fidelity of + human nature—when we read that one humble creature adhered to him, + and, according to her slender means, gave him consolation during these + trying moments; this was the woman who had tended his infant years; and + she now recalled to his remembrance such instances of former princes in + adversity, as appeared fitted to sustain his drooping spirits. It seems, + however, that, according to the general course of violent emotions, the + rebound of high spirits was in proportion to his first despondency. He + omitted nothing of his usual luxury or self-indulgence, and he even found + spirits for going <i>incognito</i> to the theatre, where he took + sufficient interest in the public performances, to send a message to a + favorite actor. At times, even in this hopeless situation, his native + ferocity returned upon him, and he was believed to have framed plans for + removing all his enemies at once—the leaders of the rebellion, by + appointing successors to their offices, and secretly sending assassins to + dispatch their persons; the senate, by poison at a great banquet; the + Gaulish provinces, by delivering them up for pillage to the army; the + city, by again setting it on fire, whilst, at the same time, a vast number + of wild beasts was to have been turned loose upon the unarmed populace—for + the double purpose of destroying them, and of distracting their attention + from the fire. But, as the mood of his frenzy changed, these sanguinary + schemes were abandoned, (not, however, under any feelings of remorse, but + from mere despair of effecting them,) and on the same day, but after a + luxurious dinner, the imperial monster grew bland and pathetic in his + ideas; he would proceed to the rebellious army; he would present himself + unarmed to their view; and would recall them to their duty by the mere + spectacle of his tears. Upon the pathos with which he would weep he was + resolved to rely entirely. And having received the guilty to his mercy + without distinction, upon the following day he would unite <i>his</i> joy + with <i>their</i> joy, and would chant hymns of victory (<i>epinicia</i>)—"which + by the way," said he, suddenly, breaking off to his favorite pursuits, "it + is necessary that I should immediately compose." This caprice vanished + like the rest; and he made an effort to enlist the slaves and citizens + into his service, and to raise by extortion a large military chest. But in + the midst of these vascillating purposes fresh tidings surprised him—other + armies had revolted, and the rebellion was spreading contagiously. This + consummation of his alarms reached him at dinner; and the expressions of + his angry fears took even a scenical air; he tore the dispatches, upset + the table, and dashed to pieces upon the ground two crystal beakers—which + had a high value as works of art, even in the <i>Aurea Domus</i>, from the + sculptures which adorned them. + </p> + <p> + He now prepared for flight; and, sending forward commissioners to prepare + the fleet at Ostia for his reception, he tampered with such officers of + the army as were at hand, to prevail upon them to accompany his retreat. + But all showed themselves indisposed to such schemes, and some flatly + refused. Upon which he turned to other counsels; sometimes meditating a + flight to the King of Parthia, or even to throw himself on the mercy of + Galba; sometimes inclining rather to the plan of venturing into the forum + in mourning apparel, begging pardon for his past offences, and, as a last + resource, entreating that he might receive the appointment of Egyptian + prefect. This plan, however, he hesitated to adopt, from some apprehension + that he should be torn to pieces in his road to the forum; and, at all + events, he concluded to postpone it to the following day. Meantime events + were now hurrying to their catastrophe, which for ever anticipated that + intention. His hours were numbered, and the closing scene was at hand. + </p> + <p> + In the middle of the night he was aroused from slumber with the + intelligence that the military guard, who did duty at the palace, had all + quited their posts. Upon this the unhappy prince leaped from his couch, + never again to taste the luxury of sleep, and dispatched messengers to his + friends. No answers were returned; and upon that he went personally with a + small retinue to their hotels. But he found their doors every where + closed; and all his importunities could not avail to extort an answer. + Sadly and slowly he returned to his own bedchamber; but there again he + found fresh instances of desertion, which had occurred during his short + absence; the pages of his bedchamber had fled, carrying with them the + coverlids of the imperial bed, which were probably inwrought with gold, + and even a golden box, in which Nero had on the preceding day deposited + poison prepared against the last extremity. Wounded to the heart by this + general desertion, and perhaps by some special case of ingratitude, such + as would probably enough be signalized in the flight of his personal + favorites, he called for a gladiator of the household to come and dispatch + him. But none appearing,—"What!" said he, "have I neither friend nor + foe?" And so saying, he ran towards the Tiber, with the purpose of + drowning himself. But that paroxysm, like all the rest, proved transient; + and he expressed a wish for some hiding-place, or momentary asylum, in + which he might collect his unsettled spirits, and fortify his wandering + resolution. Such a retreat was offered to him by his <i>libertus</i> + Phaon, in his own rural villa, about four miles distant from Rome. The + offer was accepted; and the emperor, without further preparation than that + of throwing over his person a short mantle of a dusky hue, and enveloping + his head and face in a handkerchief, mounted his horse, and left Rome with + four attendants. It was still night, but probably verging towards the + early dawn; and even at that hour the imperial party met some travellers + on their way to Rome (coming up, no doubt, [Footnote: At this early hour, + witnesses, sureties, &c., and all concerned in the law courts, came up + to Rome from villas, country towns, &c. But no ordinary call existed + to summon travellers in the opposite direction; which accounts for the + comment of the travellers on the errand of Nero and his attendants.] on + law business)—who said, as they passed, "These men are certainly in + chase of Nero." Two other incidents, of an interesting nature, are + recorded of this short but memorable ride; at one point of the road, the + shouts of the soldiery assailed their ears from the neighboring encampment + of Galba. They were probably then getting under arms for their final march + to take possession of the palace. At another point, an accident occurred + of a more unfortunate kind, but so natural and so well circumstantiated, + that it serves to verify the whole narrative; a dead body was lying on the + road, at which the emperor's horse started so violently as nearly to + dismount his rider, and under the difficulty of the moment compelled him + to withdraw the hand which held up the handkerchief, and suddenly to + expose his features. Precisely at this critical moment it happened that an + old half-pay officer passed, recognised the emperor, and saluted him. + Perhaps it was with some purpose of applying a remedy to this unfortunate + rencontre, that the party dismounted at a point where several roads met, + and turned their horses adrift to graze at will amongst the furze and + brambles. Their own purpose was, to make their way to the back of the + villa; but, to accomplish that, it was necessary that they should first + cross a plantation of reeds, from the peculiar state of which they found + themselves obliged to cover successively each space upon which they trode + with parts of their dress, in order to gain any supportable footing. In + this way, and contending with such hardships, they reached at length the + postern side of the villa. Here we must suppose that there was no regular + ingress; for, after waiting until an entrance was pierced, it seems that + the emperor could avail himself of it in no more dignified posture, than + by creeping through the hole on his hands and feet, (<i>quadrupes per + angustias receptus</i>.) + </p> + <p> + Now, then, after such anxiety, alarm, and hardship, Nero had reached a + quiet rural asylum. But for the unfortunate concurrence of his horse's + alarm with the passing of the soldier, he might perhaps have counted on a + respite of a day or two in this noiseless and obscure abode. But what a + habitation for him who was yet ruler of the world in the eye of law, and + even <i>de facto</i> was so, had any fatal accident befallen his aged + competitor! The room in which (as the one most removed from notice and + suspicion) he had secreted himself, was a cella, or little sleeping closet + of a slave, furnished only with a miserable pallet and a coarse rug. Here + lay the founder and possessor of the Golden House, too happy if he might + hope for the peaceable possession even of this miserable crypt. But that, + he knew too well, was impossible. A rival pretender to the empire was like + the plague of fire—as dangerous in the shape of a single spark left + unextinguished, as in that of a prosperous conflagration. But a few brief + sands yet remained to run in the emperor's hour-glass; much variety of + degradation or suffering seemed scarcely within the possibilities of his + situation, or within the compass of the time. Yet, as though Providence + had decreed that his humiliation should pass through every shape, and + speak by every expression which came home to his understanding, or was + intelligible to his senses, even in these few moments he was attacked by + hunger and thirst. No other bread could be obtained (or, perhaps, if the + emperor's presence were concealed from the household, it was not safe to + raise suspicion by calling for better) than that which was ordinarily + given to slaves, coarse, black, and, to a palate so luxurious, doubtless + disgusting. This accordingly he rejected; but a little tepid water he + drank. After which, with the haste of one who fears that he may be + prematurely interrupted, but otherwise, with all the reluctance which we + may imagine, and which his streaming tears proclaimed, he addressed + himself to the last labor in which he supposed himself to have any + interest on this earth—that of digging a grave. Measuring a space + adjusted to the proportions of his person, he inquired anxiously for any + loose fragments of marble, such as might suffice to line it. He requested + also to be furnished with wood and water, as the materials for the last + sepulchral rites. And these labors were accompanied, or continually + interrupted by tears and lamentations, or by passionate ejaculations on + the blindness of fortune, in suffering so divine an artist to be thus + violently snatched away, and on the calamitous fate of musical science, + which then stood on the brink of so dire an eclipse. In these moments he + was most truly in an <i>agony</i>, according to the original meaning of + that word; for the conflict was great between two master principles of his + nature: on the one hand, he clung with the weakness of a girl to life, + even in that miserable shape to which it had now sunk; and like the poor + malefactor, with whose last struggles Prior has so atrociously amused + himself, "he often took leave, but was loath to depart." Yet, on the other + hand, to resign his life very speedily, seemed his only chance for + escaping the contumelies, perhaps the tortures, of his enemies; and, above + all other considerations, for making sure of a burial, and possibly of + burial rites; to want which, in the judgment of the ancients, was the last + consummation of misery. Thus occupied, and thus distracted—sternly + attracted to the grave by his creed, hideously repelled by infirmity of + nature—he was suddenly interrupted by a courier with letters for the + master of the house; letters, and from Rome! What was their import? That + was soon told—briefly that Nero was adjudged to be a public enemy by + the senate, and that official orders were issued for apprehending him, in + order that he might be brought to condign punishment according to the + method of ancient precedent. Ancient precedent! <i>more majorum!</i> And + how was that? eagerly demanded the emperor. He was answered—that the + state criminal in such cases was first stripped naked, then impaled as it + were between the prongs of a pitchfork, and in that condition scourged to + death. Horror-struck with this account, he drew forth two poniards, or + short swords, tried their edges, and then, in utter imbecility of purpose, + returned them to their scabbards, alleging that the destined moment had + not yet arrived. Then he called upon Sporus, the infamous partner in his + former excesses, to commence the funeral anthem. Others, again, he + besought to lead the way in dying, and to sustain him by the spectacle of + their example. But this purpose also he dismissed in the very moment of + utterance; and turning away despairingly, he apostrophized himself in + words reproachful or animating, now taxing his nature with infirmity of + purpose, now calling on himself by name, with adjurations to remember his + dignity, and to act worthy of his supreme station: <i>ou prepei Neroni</i>, + cried he, <i>ou prepeu næphein dei en tois toidætois ale, eleire seauton</i>—i.e. + "Fie, fie, then Nero! such a season calls for perfect self-possession. Up, + then, and rouse thyself to action." + </p> + <p> + Thus, and in similar efforts to master the weakness of his reluctant + nature—weakness which would extort pity from the severest minds, + were it not from the odious connection which in him it had with cruelty + the most merciless—did this unhappy prince, <i>jam non salutis spem + sed exitii solatium quærens</i>, consume the flying moments, until at + length his ears caught the fatal sounds or echoes from a body of horsemen + riding up to the villa. These were the officers charged with his arrest; + and if he should fall into their hands alive, he knew that his last chance + was over for liberating himself, by a Roman death, from the burthen of + ignominious life, and from a lingering torture. He paused from his + restless motions, listened attentively, then repeated a line from Homer— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Ippon m' ochupodon amphi chtupos ouata ballei +</pre> + <p> + (The resounding tread of swift-footed horses reverberates upon my ears);—then + under some momentary impulse of courage, gained perhaps by figuring to + himself the bloody populace rioting upon his mangled body, yet even then + needing the auxiliary hand and vicarious courage of his private secretary, + the feeble-hearted prince stabbed himself in the throat. The wound, + however, was not such as to cause instant death. He was still breathing, + and not quite speechless, when the centurion who commanded the party + entered the closet; and to this officer, who uttered a few hollow words of + encouragement, he was still able to make a brief reply. But in the very + effort of speaking he expired, and with an expression of horror impressed + upon his stiffened features, which communicated a sympathetic horror to + all beholders. + </p> + <p> + Such was the too memorable tragedy which closed for ever the brilliant + line of the Julian family, and translated the august title of Cæsar from + its original purpose as a proper name to that of an official designation. + It is the most striking instance upon record of a dramatic and extreme + vengeance overtaking extreme guilt; for, as Nero had exhausted the utmost + possibilities of crime, so it may be affirmed that he drank off the cup of + suffering to the very extremity of what his peculiar nature allowed. And + in no life of so short a duration, have there ever been crowded equal + extremities of gorgeous prosperity and abject infamy. It may be added, as + another striking illustration of the rapid mutability and revolutionary + excesses which belonged to what has been properly called the Roman <i>stratocracy</i> + then disposing of the world, that within no very great succession of weeks + that same victorious rebel, the Emperor Galba, at whose feet Nero had been + self-immolated, was laid a murdered corpse in the same identical cell + which had witnessed the lingering agonies of his unhappy victim. This was + the act of an emancipated slave, anxious, by a vindictive insult to the + remains of one prince, to place on record his gratitude to another. "So + runs the world away!" And in this striking way is retribution sometimes + dispensed. + </p> + <p> + In the sixth Cæsar terminated the Julian line. The three next princes in + the succession were personally uninteresting; and, with a slight reserve + in favor of Otho, whose motives for committing suicide (if truly reported) + argue great nobility of mind, [Footnote: We may add that the unexampled + public grief which followed the death of Otho, exceeding even that which + followed the death of Germanicus, and causing several officers to commit + suicide, implies some remarkable goodness in this Prince, and a very + unusual power of conciliating attachment.] were even brutal in the tenor + of their lives and monstrous; besides that the extreme brevity of their + several reigns (all three, taken conjunctly, having held the supreme power + for no more than twelve months and twenty days) dismisses them from all + effectual station or right to a separate notice in the line of Cæsars. + Coming to the tenth in succession, Vespasian, and his two sons, Titus and + Domitian, who make up the list of the twelve Cæsars, as they are usually + called, we find matter for deeper political meditation and subjects of + curious research. But these emperors would be more properly classed with + the five who succeed them—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two + Antonines; after whom comes the young ruffian, Commodus, another Caligula + or Nero, from whose short and infamous reign Gibbon takes up his tale of + the decline of the empire. And this classification would probably have + prevailed, had not the very curious work of Suetonius, whose own life and + period of observation determined the series and cycle of his subjects, led + to a different distribution. But as it is evident that, in the succession + of the first twelve Cæsars, the six latter have no connection whatever by + descent, collaterally, or otherwise, with the six first, it would be a + more logical distribution to combine them according to the fortunes of the + state itself, and the succession of its prosperity through the several + stages of splendor, declension, revival, and final decay. Under this + arrangement, the first seventeen would belong to the first stage; Commodus + would open the second; Aurelian down to Constantine or Julian would fill + the third; and Jovian to Augustulus would bring up the melancholy rear. + Meantime it will be proper, after thus briefly throwing our eyes over the + monstrous atrocities of the early Cæsars, to spend a few lines in + examining their origin, and the circumstances which favored their growth. + For a mere hunter after hidden or forgotten singularities; a lover on + their own account of all strange perversities and freaks of nature, + whether in action, taste, or opinion; for a collector and amateur of + misgrowths and abortions; for a Suetonius, in short, it may be quite + enough to state and to arrange his cabinet of specimens from the + marvellous in human nature. But certainly in modern times, any historian, + however little affecting the praise of a philosophic investigator, would + feel himself called upon to remove a little the taint of the miraculous + and preternatural which adheres to such anecdotes, by entering into the + psychological grounds of their possibility; whether lying in any + peculiarly vicious education, early familiarity with bad models, + corrupting associations, or other plausible key to effects, which, taken + separately, and out of their natural connection with their explanatory + causes, are apt rather to startle and revolt the feelings of sober + thinkers. Except, perhaps, in some chapters of Italian history, as, for + example, among the most profligate of the Papal houses, and amongst some + of the Florentine princes, we find hardly any parallel to the atrocities + of Caligula and Nero; nor indeed was Tiberius much (if at all) behind + them, though otherwise so wary and cautious in his conduct. The same tenor + of licentiousness beyond the needs of the individual, the same craving + after the marvellous and the stupendous in guilt, is continually emerging + in succeeding emperors—in Vitellius, in Domitian, in Commodus, in + Caracalla—every where, in short, where it was not overruled by one + of two causes, either by original goodness of nature too powerful to be + mastered by ordinary seductions, (and in some cases removed from their + influence by an early apprenticeship to camps,) or by the terrors of an + exemplary ruin immediately preceding. For such a determinate tendency to + the enormous and the anomalous, sufficient causes must exist. What were + they? + </p> + <p> + In the first place, we may observe that the people of Rome in that age + were generally more corrupt by many degrees than has been usually supposed + possible. The effect of revolutionary times, to relax all modes of moral + obligation, and to unsettle the moral sense, has been well and + philosophically stated by Mr. Coleridge; but that would hardly account for + the utter licentiousness and depravity of Imperial Rome. Looking back to + Republican Rome, and considering the state of public morals but fifty + years before the emperors, we can with difficulty believe that the + descendants of a people so severe in their habits could thus rapidly + degenerate, and that a populace, once so hardy and masculine, should + assume the manners which we might expect in the debauchees of Daphne (the + infamous suburb of Antioch) or of Canopus, into which settled the very + lees and dregs of the vicious Alexandria. Such extreme changes would + falsify all that we know of human nature; we might <i>à priori</i> + pronounce them impossible; and in fact, upon searching history, we find + other modes of solving the difficulty. In reality, the citizens of Rome + were at this time a new race, brought together from every quarter of the + world, but especially from Asia. So vast a proportion of the ancient + citizens had been cut off by the sword, and partly to conceal this waste + of population, but much more by way of cheaply requiting services, or of + showing favor, or of acquiring influence, slaves had been emancipated in + such great multitudes, and afterwards invested with all the rights of + citizens, that, in a single generation, Rome became almost transmuted into + a baser metal; the progeny of those whom the last generation had purchased + from the slave merchants. These people derived their stock chiefly from + Cappadocia, Pontus, &c., and the other populous regions of Asia Minor; + and hence the taint of Asiatic luxury and depravity, which was so + conspicuous to all the Romans of the old republican severity. Juvenal is + to be understood more literally than is sometimes supposed, when he + complains that long before his time the Orontes (that river which washed + the infamous capital of Syria) had mingled its impure waters with those of + the Tiber. And a little before him, Lucan speaks with mere historic + gravity when he says— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ———"Vivant Galatæque Syrique + Cappadoces, Gallique, extremique orbis Iberi, + Armenii, Cilices: <i>nam post civilia bella + Hic Populus Romanus erit</i>." +</pre> + <p> + [Footnote: Blackwell, in his Court of Augustus, vol. i. p. 382, when + noticing these lines upon occasion of the murder of Cicero, in the final + proscription under the last triumvirate, comments thus: "Those of the + greatest and truly Roman spirit had been murdered in the field by Julius + Cæsar; the rest were now massacred in the city by his son and successors; + in their room came Syrians, Cappadocians, Phrygians, and other + enfranchised slaves from the conquered nations;"—"these in half a + century had sunk so low, that Tiberius pronounced her very senators to be + <i>homines ad sermtutem natos</i>, men born to be slaves."] + </p> + <p> + Probably in the time of Nero, not one man in six was of pure Roman + descent. [Footnote: Suetonius indeed pretends that Augustus, personally at + least, struggled against this ruinous practice—thinking it a matter + of the highest moment, "Sincerum atque ab omni colluvione peregrini et + servilis sanguinis incorruptum servare populum." And Horace is ready with + his flatteries on the same topic, lib. 3, Od. 6. But the facts are against + them; for the question is not what Augustus did in his own person, (which + at most could not operate very widely except by the example,) but what he + permitted to be done. Now there was a practice familiar to those times; + that when a congiary or any other popular liberality was announced, + multitudes were enfranchised by avaricious masters in order to make them + capable of the bounty, (as citizens,) and yet under the condition of + transferring to their emancipators whatsoever they should receive; <i>ina + ton dæmosios d domenon siton lambanontes chata mæna—pherosi tois + dedochasi tæn eleutherian</i> says Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in order + that after receiving the corn given publicly in every month, they might + carry it to those who had bestowed upon them their freedom. In a case, + then, where an extensive practice of this kind was exposed to Augustus, + and publicly reproved by him, how did he proceed? Did he reject the + new-made citizens? No; he contented himself with diminishing the + proportion originally destined for each, so that the same absolute sum + being distributed among a number increased by the whole amount of the new + enrolments, of necessity the relative sum for each separately was so much + less. But this was a remedy applied only to the pecuniary fraud as it + would have affected himself. The permanent mischief to the state went + unredressed.] And the consequences were suitable. Scarcely a family has + come down to our knowledge that could not in one generation enumerate a + long catalogue of divorces within its own contracted circle. Every man had + married a series of wives; every woman a series of husbands. Even in the + palace of Augustus, who wished to be viewed as an <i>exemplar</i> or ideal + model of domestic purity, every principal member of his family was tainted + in that way; himself in a manner and a degree infamous even at that time. + [Footnote: Part of the story is well known, but not the whole. Tiberius + Nero, a promising young nobleman, had recently married a very splendid + beauty. Unfortunately for him, at the marriage of Octavia (sister to + Augustus) with Mark Anthony, he allowed his young wife, then about + eighteen, to attend upon the bride. Augustus was deeply and suddenly + fascinated by her charms, and without further scruple sent a message to + Nero—intimating that he was in love with his wife, and would thank + him to resign her. The other, thinking it vain, in those days of lawless + proscription, to contest a point of this nature with one who commanded + twelve legions, obeyed the requisition. Upon some motive, now unknown, he + was persuaded even to degrade himself farther; for he actually officiated + at the marriage in character of father, and gave away the young beauty to + his rival, although at that time six months advanced in pregnancy by + himself. These humiliating concessions were extorted from him, and yielded + (probably at the instigation of friends) in order to save his life. In the + sequel they had the very opposite result; for he died soon after, and it + is reasonably supposed of grief and mortification. At the marriage feast, + an incident occurred which threw the whole company into confusion: A + little boy, roving from couch to couch among the guests, came at length to + that in which Livia (the bride) was lying by the side of Augustus, on + which he cried out aloud,—"Lady, what are you doing here? You are + mistaken—this is not your husband—he is there," (pointing to + Tiberius,) "go, go—rise, lady, and recline beside <i>him</i>."] For + the first 400 years of Rome, not one divorce had been granted or asked, + although the statute which allowed of this indulgence had always been in + force. But in the age succeeding to the civil wars men and women + "married," says one author, "with a view to divorce, and divorced in order + to marry. Many of these changes happened within the year, especially if + the lady had a large fortune, which always went with her, and procured her + choice of transient husbands." And, "can one imagine," asks the same + writer, "that the fair one, who changed her husband every quarter, + strictly kept her matrimonial faith all the three months?" Thus the very + fountain of all the "household charities" and household virtues was + polluted. And after that we need little wonder at the assassinations, + poisonings, and forging of wills, which then laid waste the domestic life + of the Romans. + </p> + <p> + 2. A second source of the universal depravity was the growing inefficacy + of the public religion; and this arose from its disproportion and + inadequacy to the intellectual advances of the nation. <i>Religion</i>, in + its very etymology, has been held to imply a <i>religatio</i>, that is, a + reiterated or secondary obligation of morals; a sanction supplementary to + that of the conscience. Now, for a rude and uncultivated people, the Pagan + mythology might not be too gross to discharge the main functions of a + useful religion. So long as the understanding could submit to the fables + of the Pagan creed, so long it was possible that the hopes and fears built + upon that creed might be practically efficient on men's lives and + intentions. But when the foundation gave way, the whole superstructure of + necessity fell to the ground. Those who were obliged to reject the + ridiculous legends which invested the whole of their Pantheon, together + with the fabulous adjudgers of future punishments, could not but dismiss + the punishments, which were, in fact, as laughable, and as obviously the + fictions of human ingenuity, as their dispensers. In short, the civilized + part of the world in those days lay in this dreadful condition; their + intellect had far outgrown their religion; the disproportions between the + two were at length become monstrous; and as yet no purer or more elevated + faith was prepared for their acceptance. The case was as shocking as if, + with our present intellectual needs, we should be unhappy enough to have + no creed on which to rest the burden of our final hopes and fears, of our + moral obligations, and of our consolations in misery, except the fairy + mythology of our nurses. The condition of a people so situated, of a + people under the calamity of having outgrown its religious faith, has + never been sufficiently considered. It is probable that such a condition + has never existed before or since that era of the world. The consequences + to Rome were—that the reasoning and disputatious part of her + population took refuge from the painful state of doubt in Atheism; amongst + the thoughtless and irreflective the consequences were chiefly felt in + their morals, which were thus sapped in their foundation. + </p> + <p> + 3. A third cause, which from the first had exercised a most baleful + influence upon the arts and upon literature in Rome, had by this time + matured its disastrous tendencies towards the extinction of the moral + sensibilities. This was the circus, and the whole machinery, form and + substance, of the Circensian shows. Why had tragedy no existence as a part + of the Roman literature? Because—and <i>that</i> was a reason which + would have sufficed to stifle all the dramatic genius of Greece and + England—there was too much tragedy in the shape of gross reality, + almost daily before their eyes. The amphitheatre extinguished the theatre. + How was it possible that the fine and intellectual griefs of the drama + should win their way to hearts seared and rendered callous by the + continual exhibition of scenes the most hideous, in which human blood was + poured out like water, and a human life sacrificed at any moment either to + caprice in the populace, or to a strife of rivalry between the <i>ayes</i> + and the <i>noes</i>, or as the penalty for any trifling instance of + awkwardness in the performer himself? Even the more innocent exhibitions, + in which brutes only were the sufferers, could not but be mortal to all + the finer sensibilities. Five thousand wild animals, torn from their + native abodes in the wilderness or forest, were often turned out to be + hunted, or for mutual slaughter, in the course of a single exhibition of + this nature; and it sometimes happened, (a fact which of itself proclaims + the course of the public propensities,) that the person at whose expense + the shows were exhibited, by way of paying special court to the people and + meriting their favor, in the way most conspicuously open to him, issued + orders that all, without a solitary exception, should be slaughtered. He + made it known, as the very highest gratification which the case allowed, + that (in the language of our modern auctioneers) the whole, "without + reserve," should perish before their eyes. Even such spectacles must have + hardened the heart, and blunted the more delicate sensibilities; but these + would soon cease to stimulate the pampered and exhausted sense. From the + combats of tigers or leopards, in which the passions could only be + gathered indirectly, and by way of inference from the motions, the + transition must have been almost inevitable to those of men, whose nobler + and more varied passions spoke directly, and by the intelligible language + of the eye, to human spectators; and from the frequent contemplation of + these authorized murders, in which a whole people, women [Footnote: + Augustus, indeed, strove to exclude the women from one part of the + circension spectacles; and what was that? Simply from the sight of the <i>Athletæ</i>, + as being naked. But that they should witness the pangs of the dying + gladiators, he deemed quite allowable. The smooth barbarian considered; + that a license of the first sort offended against decorum, whilst the + other violated only the sanctities of the human heart, and the whole + sexual character of women. It is our opinion, that to the brutalizing + effect of these exhibitions we are to ascribe not only the early + extinction of the Roman drama, but generally the inferiority of Rome to + Greece in every department of the fine arts. The fine temper of Roman + sensibility, which no culture could have brought to the level of the + Grecian, was thus dulled for <i>every</i> application.] as much as men, + and children intermingled with both, looked on with leisurely + indifference, with anxious expectation, or with rapturous delight, whilst + below them were passing the direct sufferings of humanity, and not seldom + its dying pangs, it was impossible to expect a result different from that + which did in fact take place,—universal hardness of heart, obdurate + depravity, and a twofold degradation of human nature, which acted + simultaneously upon the two pillars of morality, (which are otherwise not + often assailed together,) of natural sensibility in the first place, and, + in the second, of conscientious principle. + </p> + <p> + 4. But these were circumstances which applied to the whole population + indiscriminately. Superadded to these, in the case of the emperor, and + affecting <i>him</i> exclusively, was this prodigious disadvantage—that + ancient reverence for the immediate witnesses of his actions, and for the + people and senate who would under other circumstances have exercised the + old functions of the censor, was, as to the emperor, pretty nearly + obliterated. The very title of <i>imperator</i>, from which we have + derived our modern one of <i>emperor</i>, proclaims the nature of the + government, and the tenure of that office. It was purely a government by + the sword, or permanent <i>stratocracy</i> having a movable head. Never + was there a people who inquired so impertinently as the Romans into the + domestic conduct of each private citizen. No rank escaped this jealous + vigilance; and private liberty, even in the most indifferent circumstances + of taste or expense, was sacrificed to this inquisitorial rigor of <i>surveillance</i> + exercised on behalf of the State, sometimes by erroneous patriotism, too + often by malice in disguise. To this spirit the highest public officers + were obliged to bow; the consuls, not less than others. And even the + occasional dictator, if by law irresponsible, acted nevertheless as one + who knew that any change which depressed his party, might eventually + abrogate his privilege. For the first time in the person of an imperator + was seen a supreme autocrat, who had virtually and effectively all the + irresponsibility which the law assigned, and the origin of his office + presumed. Satisfied to know that he possessed such power, Augustus, as + much from natural taste as policy, was glad to dissemble it, and by every + means to withdraw it from public notice. But he had passed his youth as + citizen of a republic; and in the state of transition to autocracy, in his + office of triumvir, had experimentally known the perils of rivalship, and + the pains of foreign control, too feelingly to provoke unnecessarily any + sleeping embers of the republican spirit. Tiberius, though familiar from + his infancy with the servile homage of a court, was yet modified by the + popular temper of Augustus; and he came late to the throne. Caligula was + the first prince on whom the entire effect of his political situation was + allowed to operate; and the natural results were seen—he was the + first absolute monster. He must early have seen the realities of his + position, and from what quarter it was that any cloud could arise to + menace his security. To the senate or people any respect which he might + think proper to pay, must have been imputed by all parties to the + lingering superstitions of custom, to involuntary habit, to court + dissimulation, or to the decencies of external form, and the prescriptive + reverence of ancient names. But neither senate nor people could enforce + their claims, whatever they might happen to be. Their sanction and + ratifying vote might be worth having, as consecrating what was already + secure, and conciliating the scruples of the weak to the absolute decision + of the strong. But their resistance, as an original movement, was so + wholly without hope, that they were never weak enough to threaten it. + </p> + <p> + The army was the true successor to their places, being the <i>ultimate</i> + depository of power. Yet, as the army was necessarily subdivided, as the + shifting circumstances upon every frontier were continually varying the + strength of the several divisions as to numbers and state of discipline, + one part might be balanced against the other by an imperator standing in + the centre of the whole. The rigor of the military <i>sacramentum</i>, or + oath of allegiance, made it dangerous to offer the first overtures to + rebellion; and the money, which the soldiers were continually depositing + in the bank, placed at the foot of their military standards, if sometimes + turned against the emperor, was also liable to be sequestrated in his + favor. There were then, in fact, two great forces in the government acting + in and by each other—the Stratocracy, and the Autocracy. Each needed + the other; each stood in awe of each. But, as regarded all other forces in + the empire, constitutional or irregular, popular or senatorial, neither + had any thing to fear. Under any ordinary circumstances, therefore, + considering the hazards of a rebellion, the emperor was substantially + liberated from all control. Vexations or outrages upon the populace were + not such to the army. It was but rarely that the soldier participated in + the emotions of the citizen. And thus, being effectually without check, + the most vicious of the Cæsars went on without fear, presuming upon the + weakness of one part of his subjects, and the indifference of the other, + until he was tempted onwards to atrocities, which armed against him the + common feelings of human nature, and all mankind, as it were, rose in a + body with one voice, and apparently with one heart, united by mere force + of indignant sympathy, to put him down, and "abate" him as a monster. But, + until he brought matters to this extremity, Cæsar had no cause to fear. + Nor was it at all certain, in any one instance, where this exemplary + chastisement overtook him, that the apparent unanimity of the actors went + further than the <i>practical</i> conclusion of "abating" the imperial + nuisance, or that their indignation had settled upon the same offences. In + general the army measured the guilt by the public scandal, rather than by + its moral atrocity; and Cæsar suffered perhaps in every case, not so much + because he had violated his duties, as because he had dishonored his + office. + </p> + <p> + It is, therefore, in the total absence of the checks which have almost + universally existed to control other despots, under some indirect shape, + even where none was provided by the laws, that we must seek for the main + peculiarity affecting the condition of the Roman Cæsar, which peculiarity + it was, superadded to the other three, that finally made those three + operative in their fullest extent. It is in the perfection of the + stratocracy that we must look for the key to the excesses of the autocrat. + Even in the bloody despotisms of the Barbary States, there has always + existed in the religious prejudices of the people, which could not be + violated with safety, one check more upon the caprices of the despot than + was found at Rome. Upon the whole, therefore, what affects us on the first + reading as a prodigy or anomaly in the frantic outrages of the early + Cæsars—falls within the natural bounds of intelligible human nature, + when we state the case considerately. Surrounded by a population which had + not only gone through a most vicious and corrupting discipline, and had + been utterly ruined by the license of revolutionary times, and the + bloodiest proscriptions, but had even been extensively changed in its very + elements, and from the descendants of Romulus had been transmuted into an + Asiatic mob;—starting from this point, and considering as the second + feature of the case, that this transfigured people, <i>morally</i> so + degenerate, were carried, however, by the progress of civilization to a + certain intellectual altitude, which the popular religion had not strength + to ascend—but from inherent disproportion remained at the base of + the general civilization, incapable of accompanying the other elements in + their advance;—thirdly, that this polished condition of society, + which should naturally with the evils of a luxurious repose have counted + upon its pacific benefits, had yet, by means of its circus and its + gladiatorial contests, applied a constant irritation, and a system of + provocations to the appetites for blood, such as in all other nations are + connected with the rudest stages of society, and with the most barbarous + modes of warfare, nor even in such circumstances without many palliatives + wanting to the spectators of the circus;—combining these + considerations, we have already a key to the enormities and hideous + excesses of the Roman Imperator. The hot blood which excites, and the + adventurous courage which accompanies, the excesses of sanguinary warfare, + presuppose a condition of the moral nature not to be compared for + malignity and baleful tendency to the cool and cowardly spirit of + amateurship, in which the Roman (perhaps an effeminate Asiatic) sat + looking down upon the bravest of men, (Thracians, or other Europeans,) + mangling each other for his recreation. When, lastly, from such a + population, and thus disciplined from his nursery days, we suppose the + case of one individual selected, privileged, and raised to a conscious + irresponsibility, except at the bar of one extra-judicial tribunal, not + easily irritated, and notoriously to be propitiated by other means than + those of upright or impartial conduct, we lay together the elements of a + situation too trying for poor human nature, and fitted only to the + faculties of an angel or a demon; of an angel, if we suppose him to resist + its full temptations; of a demon, if we suppose him to use its total + opportunities. Thus interpreted and solved, Caligula and Nero become + ordinary men. + </p> + <p> + But, finally, what if, after all, the worst of the Cæsars, and those in + particular, were entitled to the benefit of a still shorter and more + conclusive apology? What if, in a true medical sense, they were insane? It + is certain that a vein of madness ran in the family; and anecdotes are + recorded of the three worst, which go far to establish it as a fact, and + others which would imply it as symptoms—preceding or accompanying. + As belonging to the former class, take the following story: At midnight an + elderly gentleman suddenly sends round a message to a select party of + noblemen, rouses them out of bed, and summons them instantly to his + palace. Trembling for their lives from the suddenness of the summons, and + from the unseasonable hour, and scarcely doubting that by some anonymous + <i>delator</i> they have been implicated as parties to a conspiracy, they + hurry to the palace—are received in portentous silence by the ushers + and pages in attendance—are conducted to a saloon, where (as in + every where else) the silence of night prevails, united with the silence + of fear and whispering expectation. All are seated—all look at each + other in ominous anxiety. Which is accuser? Which is the accused? On whom + shall their suspicion settle—on whom their pity? All are silent—almost + speechless—and even the current of their thoughts is frost-bound by + fear. Suddenly the sound of a fiddle or a viol is caught from a distance—it + swells upon the ear—steps approach—and in another moment in + rushes the elderly gentleman, grave and gloomy as his audience, but + capering about in a frenzy of excitement. For half an hour he continues to + perform all possible evolutions of caprioles, pirouettes, and other + extravagant feats of activity, accompanying himself on the fiddle; and, at + length, not having once looked at his guests, the elderly gentleman whirls + out of the room in the same transport of emotion with which he entered it; + the panic-struck visitors are requested by a slave to consider themselves + as dismissed: they retire; resume their couches:—the nocturnal + pageant has "dislimned" and vanished; and on the following morning, were + it not for their concurring testimonies, all would be disposed to take + this interruption of their sleep for one of its most fantastic dreams. The + elderly gentleman, who figured in this delirious <i>pas seul</i>—who + was he? He was Tiberius Cæsar, king of kings, and lord of the terraqueous + globe. Would a British jury demand better evidence than this of a + disturbed intellect in any formal process <i>de lunatico inquirendo</i>? + For Caligula, again, the evidence of symptoms is still plainer. He knew + his own defect; and purposed going through a course of hellebore. + Sleeplessness, one of the commonest indications of lunacy, haunted him in + an excess rarely recorded. [Footnote: No fiction of romance presents so + awful a picture of the ideal tyrant as that of Caligula by Suetonius. His + palace—radiant with purple and gold, but murder every where lurking + beneath flowers; his smiles and echoing laughter—masking (yet hardly + meant to mask) his foul treachery of heart; his hideous and tumultuous + dreams—his baffled sleep—and his sleepless nights—compose + the picture of an Æschylus. What a master's sketch lies in these few + lines: "Incitabatur insomnio maxime; neque enim plus tribus horis + nocturnis quiescebat; ac ne his placida quiete, at pavida miris rerum + imaginibus: ut qui inter ceteras pelagi quondam speciem colloquentem secum + videre visus sit. Ideoque magna parte noctis, vigilse cubandique tsedio, + nunc toro residens, nunc per longissimas porticus vagus, invocare + identidem atque exspectare lucem consueverat:"—i. e., But, above + all, he was tormented with nervous irritation, by sleeplessness; for he + enjoyed not more than three hours of nocturnal repose; nor these even in + pure untroubled rest, but agitated by phantasmata of portentous augury; + as, for example, upon one occasion he fancied that he saw the sea, under + some definite impersonation, conversing with himself. Hence it was, and + from this incapacity of sleeping, and from weariness of lying awake, that + he had fallen into habits of ranging all the night long through the + palace, sometimes throwing himself on a couch, sometimes wandering along + the vast corridors, watching for the earliest dawn, and anxiously invoking + its approach.] The same, or similar facts, might be brought forward on + behalf of Nero. And thus these unfortunate princes, who have so long (and + with so little investigation of their cases) passed for monsters or for + demoniac counterfeits of men, would at length be brought back within the + fold of humanity, as objects rather of pity than of abhorrence, would be + reconciled to our indulgent feelings, and, at the same time, made + intelligible to our understandings. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> + <p> + The five Cæsars who succeeded immediately to the first twelve, were, in as + high a sense as their office allowed, patriots. Hadrian is perhaps the + first of all whom circumstances permitted to show his patriotism without + fear. It illustrates at one and the same moment a trait in this emperor's + character, and in the Roman habits, that he acquired much reputation for + hardiness by walking bareheaded. "Never, on any occasion," says one of his + memorialists (Dio,) "neither in summer heat nor in winter's cold, did he + cover his head; but, as well in the Celtic snows as in Egyptian heats, he + went about bareheaded." This anecdote could not fail to win the especial + admiration of Isaac Casaubon, who lived in an age when men believed a hat + no less indispensable to the head, even within doors, than shoes or + stockings to the feet. His astonishment on the occasion is thus expressed: + "Tantum est <i>hæ aschæsis</i>:" such and so mighty is the force of habit + and daily use. And then he goes on to ask—"Quis hodie nudum caput + radiis solis, aut omnia perurenti frigori, ausit exponere?" Yet we + ourselves, and our illustrious friend, Christopher North, have walked for + twenty years amongst our British lakes and mountains hatless, and amidst + both snow and rain, such as Romans did not often experience. We were + naked, and yet not ashamed. Nor in this are we altogether singular. But, + says Casaubon, the Romans went farther; for they walked about the streets + of Rome [Footnote: And hence we may the better estimate the trial to a + Roman's feelings in the personal deformity of baldness, connected with the + Roman theory of its cause, for the exposure of it was perpetual.] + bareheaded, and never assumed a hat or a cap, a <i>petasus</i> or a <i>galerus</i>, + a Macedonian <i>causia</i>, or a <i>pileus</i>, whether Thessalian, + Arcadian, or Laconic, unless when they entered upon a journey. Nay, some + there were, as Masinissa and Julius Cæsar, who declined even on such an + occasion to cover their heads. Perhaps in imitation of these celebrated + leaders, Hadrian adopted the same practice, but not with the same result; + for to him, either from age or constitution, this very custom proved the + original occasion of his last illness. + </p> + <p> + Imitation, indeed, was a general principle of action with Hadrian, and the + key to much of his public conduct; and allowably enough, considering the + exemplary lives (in a public sense) of some who had preceded him, and the + singular anxiety with which he distinguished between the lights and + shadows of their examples. He imitated the great Dictator, Julius, in his + vigilance of inspection into the civil, not less than the martial police + of his times, shaping his new regulations to meet abuses as they arose, + and strenuously maintaining the old ones in vigorous operation. As + respected the army, this was matter of peculiar praise, because peculiarly + disinterested; for his foreign policy was pacific; [Footnote: + "Expeditiones sub eo," says Spartian, "graves nullæ fuerunt. Bella etiam + silentio pene transacta." But he does not the less add, "A militibus, + propter curam exercitus nimiam, multum amatus est."] he made no new + conquests; and he retired from the old ones of Trajan, where they could + not have been maintained without disproportionate bloodshed, or a jealousy + beyond the value of the stake. In this point of his administration he took + Augustus for his model; as again in his care of the army, in his + occasional bounties, and in his paternal solicitude for their comforts, he + looked rather to the example of Julius. Him also he imitated in his + affability and in his ambitious courtesies; one instance of which, as + blending an artifice of political subtlety and simulation with a + remarkable exertion of memory, it may be well to mention. The custom was, + in canvassing the citizens of Rome, that the candidate should address + every voter by his name; it was a fiction of republican etiquette, that + every man participating in the political privileges of the State must be + personally known to public aspirants. But, as this was supposed to be, in + a literal sense, impossible to all men with the ordinary endowments of + memory, in order to reconcile the pretensions of republican hauteur with + the necessities of human weakness, a custom had grown up of relying upon a + class of men, called <i>nomenclators</i>, whose express business and + profession it was to make themselves acquainted with the person and name + of every citizen. One of these people accompanied every candidate, and + quietly whispered into his ear the name of each voter as he came in sight. + Few, indeed, were they who could dispense with the services of such an + assessor; for the office imposed a twofold memory, that of names and of + persons; and to estimate the immensity of the effort, we must recollect + that the number of voters often far exceeded one quarter of a million. The + very same trial of memory he undertook with respect to his own army, in + this instance recalling the well known feat of Mithridates. And throughout + his life he did not once forget the face or name of any veteran soldier + whom he ever had occasion to notice, no matter under what remote climate, + or under what difference of circumstances. Wonderful is the effect upon + soldiers of such enduring and separate remembrance, which operates always + as the most touching kind of personal flattery, and which, in every age of + the world, since the social sensibilities of men have been much developed, + military commanders are found to have played upon as the most effectual + chord in the great system which they modulated; some few, by a rare + endowment of nature; others, as Napoleon Bonaparte, by elaborate mimicries + of pantomimic art. [Footnote: In the true spirit of Parisian mummery, + Bonaparte caused letters to be written from the War-office, in his own + name, to particular soldiers of high military reputation in every brigade, + (whose private history he had previously caused to be investigated,) + alluding circumstantially to the leading facts in their personal or family + career; a furlough accompanied this letter, and they were requested to + repair to Paris, where the emperor anxiously desired to see them. Thus was + the paternal interest expressed, which their leader took in each man's + fortunes; and the effect of every such letter, it was not doubted, would + diffuse itself through ten thousand other men.] + </p> + <p> + Other modes he had of winning affection from the army; in particular that, + so often practised before and since, of accommodating himself to the + strictest ritual of martial discipline and castrensian life. He slept in + the open air, or, if he used a tent (papilio), it was open at the sides. + He ate the ordinary rations of cheese, bacon, &c.; he used no other + drink than that composition of vinegar and water, known by the name of <i>posca</i>, + which formed the sole beverage allowed in the Roman camps. He joined + personally in the periodical exercises of the army—those even which + were trying to the most vigorous youth and health: marching, for example, + on stated occasions, twenty English miles without intermission, in full + armor and completely accoutred. Luxury of every kind he not only + interdicted to the soldier by severe ordinances, himself enforcing their + execution, but discountenanced it (though elsewhere splendid and even + gorgeous in his personal habits) by his own continual example. In dress, + for instance, he sternly banished the purple and gold embroideries, the + jewelled arms, and the floating draperies so little in accordance with + the-severe character of "<i>war in procinct</i>" [Footnote: "<i>War in + procinct</i>"—a phrase of Milton's in Paradise Regained, which + strikingly illustrates his love of Latin phraseology; for unless to a + scholar, previously acquainted with the Latin phrase of <i>in procinctu</i>, + it is so absolutely unintelligible as to interrupt the current of the + feeling.] Hardly would he allow himself an ivory hilt to his sabre. The + same severe proscription he extended to every sort of furniture, or + decorations of art, which sheltered even in the bosom of camps those + habits of effeminate luxury—so apt in all great empires to steal by + imperceptible steps from the voluptuous palace to the soldier's tent—following + in the equipage of great leading officers, or of subalterns highly + connected. There was at that time a practice prevailing, in the great + standing camps on the several frontiers and at all the military stations, + of renewing as much as possible the image of distant Rome by the erection + of long colonnades and piazzas—single, double, or triple; of crypts, + or subterranean [Footnote: "<i>Crypts</i>"—these, which Spartian, in + his life of Hadrian, denominates simply <i>cryptæ</i>, are the same which, + in the Roman jurisprudence, and in the architectural works of the Romans, + yet surviving, are termed <i>hypogæa deambulationes, i. e.</i> + subterranean parades. Vitruvius treats of this luxurious class of + apartments in connection with the Apothecæ, and other repositories or + store-rooms, which were also in many cases under ground, for the same + reason as our ice-houses, wine-cellars, &c. He (and from him Pliny and + Apollonaris Sidonius), calls them <i>crypto-porticus</i> (cloistral + colonnades); and Ulpian calls them <i>refugia</i> (sanctuaries, or places + of refuge); St. Ambrose notices them under the name of <i>hypogæa</i> and + <i>umbrosa penetralia</i>, as the resorts of voluptuaries: <i>Luxuriosorum + est</i>, says he, <i>hypogæa quærere—captantium frigus æstivum</i>; + and again he speaks of <i>desidiosi qui ignava sub terris agant otia</i>.] + saloons, (and sometimes subterranean galleries and corridors,) for evading + the sultry noontides of July and August; of verdant cloisters or arcades, + with roofs high over-arched, constructed entirely out of flexile shrubs, + box-myrtle, and others, trained and trimmed in regular forms; besides + endless other applications of the <i>topiary</i> [Footnote: "<i>The + topiary art</i>"—so called, as Salmasius thinks, from <i>ropæion, a + rope</i>; because the process of construction was conducted chiefly by + means of cords and strings. This art was much practised in the 17th + century; and Casaubon describes one, which existed in his early days + somewhere in the suburbs of Paris, on so elaborate a scale, that it + represented Troy besieged, with the two hosts, their several leaders, and + all other objects in their full proportion.] art, which in those days + (like the needlework of Miss Linwood in ours), though no more than a + mechanic craft, in some measure realized the effects of a fine art by the + perfect skill of its execution. All these modes of luxury, with a policy + that had the more merit as it thwarted his own private inclinations, did + Hadrian peremptorily abolish; perhaps, amongst other more obvious + purposes, seeking to intercept the earliest buddings of those local + attachments which are as injurious to the martial character and the proper + pursuits of men whose vocation obliges them to consider themselves + eternally under marching orders, as they are propitious to all the best + interests of society in connection with the feelings of civic life. + </p> + <p> + We dwell upon this prince not without reason in this particular; for, + amongst the Cæsars, Hadrian stands forward in high relief as a reformer of + the army. Well and truly might it be said of him—that, <i>post + Cæsarem Octavianum labantem disciplinam, incurid superiorum principum, + ipse retinuit</i>. Not content with the cleansings and purgations we have + mentioned, he placed upon a new footing the whole tenure, duties, and + pledges, of military offices. [Footnote: Very remarkable it is, and a fact + which speaks volumes as to the democratic constitution of the Roman army, + in the midst of that aristocracy which enveloped its parent state in a + civil sense, that although there was a name for a <i>common soldier</i> + (or <i>sentinel</i>, as he was termed by our ancestors)—viz. <i>miles + gregarius</i>, or <i>miles manipularis</i>—there was none for an <i>officer</i>; + that is to say, each several rank of officers had a name; but there was no + generalization to express the idea of an officer abstracted from its + several species or classes.] It cannot much surprise us that this + department of the public service should gradually have gone to ruin or + decay. Under the senate and people, under the auspices of those awful + symbols—letters more significant and ominous than ever before had + troubled the eyes of man, except upon Belshazzar's wall—S.P.Q.R., + the officers of the Roman army had been kept true to their duties, and + vigilant by emulation and a healthy ambition. But, when the ripeness of + corruption had by dissolving the body of the State brought out of its + ashes a new mode of life, and had recast the aristocratic republic, by aid + of its democratic elements then suddenly victorious, into a pure autocracy—whatever + might be the advantages in other respects of this great change, in one + point it had certainly injured the public service, by throwing the higher + military appointments, all in fact which conferred any authority, into the + channels of court favor—and by consequence into a mercenary + disposal. Each successive emperor had been too anxious for his own + immediate security, to find leisure for the remoter interests of the + empire: all looked to the army, as it were, for their own immediate + security against competitors, without venturing to tamper with its + constitution, to risk popularity by reforming abuses, to balance present + interest against a remote one, or to cultivate the public welfare at the + hazard of their own: contented with obtaining <i>that</i>, they left the + internal arrangements of so formidable a body in the state to which + circumstances had brought it, and to which naturally the views of all + existing beneficiaries had gradually adjusted themselves. What these might + be, and to what further results they might tend, was a matter of moment + doubtless to the empire. But the empire was strong; if its motive energy + was decaying, its <i>vis inertia</i> was for ages enormous, and could + stand up against assaults repeated for many ages: whilst the emperor was + in the beginning of his authority weak, and pledged by instant interest, + no less than by express promises, to the support of that body whose favor + had substantially supported himself. Hadrian was the first who turned his + attention effectually in that direction; whether it were that he first was + struck with the tendency of the abuses, or that he valued the hazard less + which he incurred in correcting them, or that, having no successor of his + own blood, he had a less personal and affecting interest at stake in + setting this hazard at defiance. Hitherto, the highest regimental rank, + that of tribune, had been disposed of in two ways, either civilly upon + popular favor and election, or upon the express recommendation of the + soldiery. This custom had prevailed under the republic, and the force of + habit had availed to propagate that practice under a new mode of + government. But now were introduced new regulations: the tribune was + selected for his military qualities and experience: none was appointed to + this important office, "<i>nisi barbâ plenâ</i>" The centurion's + truncheon, [Footnote: <i>Vitis</i>: and it deserves to be mentioned, that + this staff, or cudgel, which was the official engine and cognizance of the + Centurion's dignity, was meant expressly to be used in caning or + cudgelling the inferior soldiers: "<i>propterea</i> vitis in manum data," + says Salmasius, "<i>verberando scilicet militi qui deliquisset</i>." We + are no patrons of corporal chastisement, which, on the contrary, as the + vilest of degradations, we abominate. The soldier, who does not feel + himself dishonored by it, is already dishonored beyond hope or redemption. + But still let this degradation not be imputed to the English army + exclusively.] again, was given to no man, "<i>nisi robusto et bonæ famæ</i>." + The arms and military appointments (<i>supellectilis</i>) were revised; + the register of names was duly called over; and none suffered to remain in + the camps who was either above or below the military age. The same + vigilance and jealousy were extended to the great stationary stores and + repositories of biscuit, vinegar, and other equipments for the soldiery. + All things were in constant readiness in the capital and the provinces, in + the garrisons and camps, abroad and at home, to meet the outbreak of a + foreign war or a domestic sedition. Whatever were the service, it could by + no possibility find Hadrian unprepared. And he first, in fact, of all the + Cæsars, restored to its ancient republican standard, as reformed and + perfected by Marius, the old martial discipline of the Scipios and the + Paulli—that discipline, to which, more than to any physical + superiority of her soldiery, Rome had been indebted for her conquest of + the earth; and which had inevitably decayed in the long series of wars + growing out of personal ambition. From the days of Marius, every great + leader had sacrificed to the necessities of courting favor from the + troops, as much as was possible of the hardships incident to actual + service, and as much as he dared of the once rigorous discipline. Hadrian + first found himself in circumstances, or was the first who had courage + enough to decline a momentary interest in favor of a greater in reversion; + and a personal object which was transient, in favor of a state one + continually revolving. + </p> + <p> + For a prince, with no children of his own, it is in any case a task of + peculiar delicacy to select a successor. In the Roman empire the + difficulties were much aggravated. The interests of the State were, in the + first place, to be consulted; for a mighty burthen of responsibility + rested upon the emperor in the most personal sense. Duties of every kind + fell to his station, which, from the peculiar constitution of the + government, and from circumstances rooted in the very origin of the + imperatorial office, could not be devolved upon a council. Council there + was none, nor could be recognised as such in the State machinery. The + emperor, himself a sacred and sequestered creature, might be supposed to + enjoy the secret tutelage of the Supreme Deity; but a council, composed of + subordinate and responsible agents, could <i>not</i>. Again, the auspices + of the emperor, and his edicts, apart even from any celestial or + supernatural inspiration, simply as emanations of his own divine + character, had a value and a consecration which could never belong to + those of a council—or to those even which had been sullied by the + breath of any less august reviser. The emperor, therefore, or—as + with a view to his solitary and unique character we ought to call him—in + the original irrepresentable term, the imperator, could not delegate his + duties, or execute them in any avowed form by proxies or representatives. + He was himself the great fountain of law—of honor—of + preferment—of civil and political regulations. He was the fountain + also of good and evil fame. He was the great chancellor, or supreme + dispenser of equity to all climates, nations, languages, of his mighty + dominions, which connected the turbaned races of the Orient, and those who + sat in the gates of the rising sun, with the islands of the West, and the + unfathomed depths of the mysterious Scandinavia. He was the universal + guardian of the public and private interests which composed the great + edifice of the social system as then existing amongst his subjects. Above + all, and out of his own private purse, he supported the heraldries of his + dominions—the peerage, senatorial or prætorian, and the great gentry + or chivalry of the Equites. These were classes who would have been + dishonored by the censorship of a less august comptroller. And, for the + classes below these,—by how much they were lower and more remote + from his ocular superintendence,—by so much the more were they + linked to him in a connection of absolute dependence. Cæsar it was who + provided their daily food, Cæsar who provided their pleasures and + relaxations. He chartered the fleets which brought grain to the Tiber—he + bespoke the Sardinian granaries whilst yet unformed—and the harvests + of the Nile whilst yet unsown. Not the connection between a mother and her + unborn infant is more intimate and vital, than that which subsisted + between the mighty populace of the Roman capital and their paternal + emperor. They drew their nutriment from him; they lived and were happy by + sympathy with the motions of his will; to him also the arts, the + knowledge, and the literature of the empire looked for support. To him the + armies looked for their laurels, and the eagles in every clime turned + their aspiring eyes, waiting to bend their flight according to the signal + of his Jovian nod. And all these vast functions and ministrations arose + partly as a natural effect, but partly also they were a cause of the + emperor's own divinity. He was capable of services so exalted, because he + also was held a god, and had his own altars, his own incense, his own + worship and priests. And that was the cause, and that was the result of + his bearing, on his own shoulders, a burthen so mighty and Atlantean. + </p> + <p> + Yet, if in this view it was needful to have a man of talent, on the other + hand there was reason to dread a man of talents too adventurous, too + aspiring, or too intriguing. His situation, as Cæsar, or Crown Prince, + flung into his hands a power of fomenting conspiracies, and of concealing + them until the very moment of explosion, which made him an object of + almost exclusive terror to his principal, the Cæsar Augustus. His + situation again, as an heir voluntarily adopted, made him the proper + object of public affection and caresses, which became peculiarly + embarrassing to one who had, perhaps, soon found reasons for suspecting, + fearing, and hating him beyond all other men. + </p> + <p> + The young nobleman, whom Hadrian adopted by his earliest choice, was + Lucius Aurelius Verus, the son of Cejonius Commodus. These names were + borne also by the son; but, after his adoption into the Ælian family, he + was generally known by the appellation of Ælius Verus. The scandal of + those times imputed his adoption to the worst motives. "<i>Adriano</i>," + says one author, ("<i>ut malevoli loquuntur</i>) <i>acceptior formâ quam + moribus</i>" And thus much undoubtedly there is to countenance so shocking + an insinuation, that very little is recorded of the young prince but such + anecdotes as illustrate his excessive luxury and effeminate dedication to + pleasure. Still it is our private opinion, that Hadrian's real motives + have been misrepresented; that he sought in the young man's extraordinary + beauty—[for he was, says Spartian, <i>pulchritudinis regiæ</i>]—a + plausible pretext that should be sufficient to explain and to countenance + his preference, whilst under this provisional adoption he was enabled to + postpone the definitive choice of an imperator elect, until his own more + advanced age might diminish the motives for intriguing against himself. It + was, therefore, a mere <i>ad interim</i> adoption; for it is certain, + however we may choose to explain that fact, that Hadrian foresaw and + calculated on the early death of Ælius. This prophetic knowledge may have + been grounded on a private familiarity with some constitutional infirmity + affecting his daily health, or with some habits of life incompatible with + longevity, or with both combined. It is pretended that this distinguished + mark of favor was conferred in fulfilment of a direct contract on the + emperor's part, as the price of favors such as the Latin reader will + easily understand from the strong expression of Spartian above cited. But + it is far more probable that Hadrian relied on this admirable beauty, and + allowed it so much weight, as the readiest and most intelligible + justification to the multitude, of a choice which thus offered to their + homage a public favorite—and to the nobility, of so invidious a + preference, which placed one of their own number far above the level of + his natural rivals. The necessities of the moment were thus satisfied + without present or future danger;—as respected the future, he knew + or believed that Verus was marked out for early death; and would often + say, in a strain of compliment somewhat disproportionate, applying to him + the Virgilian lines on the hopeful and lamented Marcellus, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Ostendent terris hunc tantum fata, neque ultra + Esse sinent." +</pre> + <p> + And, at the same time, to countenance the belief that he had been + disappointed, he would affect to sigh, exclaiming—"Ah! that I should + thus fruitlessly have squandered a sum of three [Footnote: In the original + <i>ter millies</i>, which is not much above two millions and 150 thousand + pounds sterling; but it must be remembered that one third as much, in + addition to this popular largess, had been given to the army.] millions + sterling!" for so much had been distributed in largesses to the people and + the army on the occasion of his inauguration. Meantime, as respected the + present, the qualities of the young man were amply fitted to sustain a + Roman popularity; for, in addition to his extreme and statuesque beauty of + person, he was (in the report of one who did not wish to color his + character advantageously) "<i>memor families suce, comptus, decorus, oris + venerandi, eloquentice, celsioris, versufacilis, in republicâ etiam non + inutilis</i>." Even as a military officer, he had a respectable [Footnote:—"nam + bene gesti rebus, vel potius feliciter, etsi nori summi—medii tamen + obtinuit ducis famam."] character; as an orator he was more than + respectable; and in other qualifications less interesting to the populace, + he had that happy mediocrity of merit which was best fitted for his + delicate and difficult situation—sufficient to do credit to the + emperor's preference—sufficient to sustain the popular regard, but + not brilliant enough to throw his patron into the shade. For the rest, his + vices were of a nature not greatly or necessarily to interfere with his + public duties, and emphatically such as met with the readiest indulgence + from the Roman laxity of morals. Some few instances, indeed, are noticed + of cruelty; but there is reason to think that it was merely by accident, + and as an indirect result of other purposes, that he ever allowed himself + in such manifestations of irresponsible power—not as gratifying any + harsh impulses of his native character. The most remarkable neglect of + humanity with which he has been taxed, occurred in the treatment of his + couriers; these were the bearers of news and official dispatches, at that + time fulfilling the functions of the modern post; and it must be + remembered that as yet they were not slaves, (as afterwards by the + reformation of Alexander Severus,) but free citizens. They had been + already dressed in a particular livery or uniform, and possibly they might + wear some symbolical badges of their profession; but the new Cæsar chose + to dress them altogether in character as winged Cupids, affixing literal + wings to their shoulders, and facetiously distinguishing them by the names + of the four cardinal winds, (Boreas, Aquilo, Notus, &c.) and others as + levanters or hurricanes, (Circius, &c.) Thus far he did no more than + indulge a blameless fancy; but in his anxiety that his runners should + emulate their patron winds, and do credit to the names which he had + assigned them, he is said to have exacted a degree of speed inconsistent + with any merciful regard for their bodily powers.[Footnote: This, however, + is a point in which royal personages claim an old prescriptive right to be + unreasonable in their exactions and some, even amongst the most humane of + Christian princes, have erred as flagrantly as Ælius Verus. George IV., we + have understood, was generally escorted from Balkeith to Holyrood at a + rate of twenty-two miles an hour. And of his father, the truly kind and + paternal king, it is recorded by Miss Hawkins, (daughter of Sir J. + Hawkins, the biographer of Johnson, &c.) that families who happened to + have a son, brother, lover, &c. in the particular regiment of cavalry + which furnished the escort for the day, used to suffer as much anxiety for + the result as on the eve of a great battle.] But these were, after all, + perhaps, mere improvements of malice upon some solitary incident. The true + stain upon his memory, and one which is open to no doubt whatever, is + excessive and extravagant luxury—excessive in degree, extravagant + and even ludicrous in its forms. For example, he constructed a sort of bed + or sofa—protected from insects by an awning of network composed of + lilies, delicately fabricated into the proper meshes, &c., and the + couches composed wholly of rose-leaves; and even of these, not without an + exquisite preparation; for the white parts of the leaves, as coarser and + harsher to the touch, (possibly, also, as less odorous,) were scrupulously + rejected. Here he lay indolently stretched amongst favorite ladies, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And like a naked Indian slept himself away." +</pre> + <p> + He had also tables composed of the same delicate material—prepared + and purified in the same elaborate way—and to these were adapted + seats in the fashion of sofas (<i>accubationes</i>,) corresponding in + their materials, and in their mode of preparation. He was also an expert + performer, and even an original inventor, in the art of cookery; and one + dish of his discovery, which, from its four component parts, obtained the + name of <i>tetrapharmacum</i>, was so far from owing its celebrity to its + royal birth, that it maintained its place on Hadrian's table to the time + of his death. These, however, were mere fopperies or pardonable + extravagancies in one so young and so exalted; "quæ, etsi non decora," as + the historian observes, "non tamen ad perniciem publicam prompta sunt." A + graver mode of licentiousness appeared in his connections with women. He + made no secret of his lawless amours; and to his own wife, on her + expostulating with him on his aberrations in this respect, he replied—that + "<i>wife</i>" was a designation of rank and official dignity, not of + tenderness and affection, or implying any claim of love on either side; + upon which distinction he begged that she would mind her own affairs, and + leave him to pursue such as he might himself be involved in by his + sensibility to female charms. + </p> + <p> + However, he and all his errors, his "regal beauty," his princely pomps, + and his authorized hopes, were suddenly swallowed up by the inexorable + grave; and he would have passed away like an exhalation, and leaving no + remembrance of himself more durable than his own beds of rose-leaves, and + his reticulated canopies of lilies, had it not been that Hadrian filled + the world with images of his perfect fawn-like beauty in the shape of + colossal statues, and raised temples even to his memory in various cities. + This Cæsar, therefore, dying thus prematurely, never tasted of empire; and + his name would have had but a doubtful title to a place in the + imperatorial roll, had it not been recalled to a second chance for the + sacred honors in the person of his son—whom it was the pleasure of + Hadrian, by way of testifying his affection for the father, to associate + in the order of succession with the philosophic Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. + This fact, and the certainty that to the second Julius Verus he gave his + own daughter in marriage, rather than to his associate Cæsar Marcus + Aurelius, make it evident that his regret for the elder Verus was + unaffected and deep; and they overthrow effectually the common report of + historians—that he repented of his earliest choice, as of one that + had been disappointed not by the decrees of fate, but by the violent + defect of merits in its object. On the contrary, he prefaced his + inauguration of this junior Cæsar by the following tender words—Let + us confound the rapine of the grave, and let the empire possess amongst + her rulers a second Ælius Verus. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Diis aliter visum est:</i>" the blood of the Ælian family was not + privileged to ascend or aspire: it gravitated violently to extinction; and + this junior Verus is supposed to have been as much indebted to his + assessor on the throne for shielding his obscure vices, and drawing over + his defects the ample draperies of the imperatorial robe, as he was to + Hadrian, his grandfather by fiction of law, for his adoption into the + reigning family, and his consecration as one of the Cæsars. He, says one + historian, shed no ray of light or illustration upon the imperial house, + except by one solitary quality. This bears a harsh sound; but it has the + effect of a sudden redemption for his memory, when we learn—that + this solitary quality, in virtue of which he claimed a natural affinity to + the sacred house, and challenged a natural interest in the purple, was the + very princely one of—a merciful disposition. + </p> + <p> + The two Antonines fix an era in the imperial history; for they were both + eminent models of wise and good rulers; and some would say, that they + fixed a crisis; for with their successor commenced, in the popular belief, + the decline of the empire. That at least is the doctrine of Gibbon; but + perhaps it would not be found altogether able to sustain itself against a + closer and philosophic examination of the true elements involved in the + idea of declension as applied to political bodies. Be that as it may, + however, and waiving any interest which might happen to invest the + Antonines as the last princes who kept up the empire to its original + level, both of them had enough of merit to challenge a separate notice in + their personal characters, and apart from the accidents of their position. + </p> + <p> + The elder of the two, who is usually distinguished by the title of <i>Pius</i>, + is thus described by one of his biographers:—"He was externally of + remarkable beauty; eminent for his moral character, full of benign + dispositions, noble, with a countenance of a most gentle expression, + intellectually of singular endowments, possessing an elegant style of + eloquence, distinguished for his literature, generally temperate, an + earnest lover of agricultural pursuits, mild in his deportment, bountiful + in the use of his own, but a stern respecter of the rights of others; and, + finally, he was all this without ostentation, and with a constant regard + to the proportions of cases, and to the demands of time and place." His + bounty displayed itself in a way, which may be worth mentioning, as at + once illustrating the age, and the prudence with which he controlled the + most generous of his impulses:—"<i>Finus trientarium</i>," says the + historian, "<i>hoc est minimis usuris exercuit, ut patrimonio suo plurimos + adjuvaret</i>." The meaning of which is this:—in Rome, the customary + interest for money was what was called <i>centesimæ usuræ</i>; that is, + the hundredth part, or one per cent. But, as this expressed not the + annual, but the <i>monthly</i> interest, the true rate was, in fact, + twelve per cent.; and that is the meaning of <i>centesimæ usuræ</i>. Nor + could money be obtained any where on better terms than these; and, + moreover, this one per cent, was exacted rigorously as the monthly day + came round, no arrears being suffered to lie over. Under these + circumstances, it was a prodigious service to lend money at a diminished + rate, and one which furnished many men with the means of saving themselves + from ruin. Pius then, by way of extending his aid as far as possible, + reduced the monthly rate of his loans to one-third per cent., which made + the annual interest the very moderate one of four per cent. The channels, + which public spirit had as yet opened to the beneficence of the opulent, + were few indeed: charity and munificence languished, or they were abused, + or they were inefficiently directed, simply through defects in the + structure of society. Social organization, for its large development, + demanded the agency of newspapers, (together with many other forms of + assistance from the press,) of banks, of public carriages on an extensive + scale, besides infinite other inventions or establishments not yet created—which + support and powerfully react upon that same progress of society which + originally gave birth to themselves. All things considered, in the Rome of + that day, where all munificence confined itself to the direct largesses of + a few leading necessaries of life,—a great step was taken, and the + best step, in this lending of money at a low interest, towards a more + refined and beneficial mode of charity. + </p> + <p> + In his public character, he was perhaps the most patriotic of Roman + emperors, and the purest from all taint of corrupt or indirect ends. + Peculation, embezzlement, or misapplication of the public funds, were + universally corrected: provincial oppressors were exposed and defeated: + the taxes and tributes were diminished; and the public expenses were + thrown as much as possible upon the public estates, and in some instances + upon his own private estates. So far, indeed, did Pius stretch his + sympathy with the poorer classes of his subjects, that on this account + chiefly he resided permanently in the capital—alleging in excuse, + partly that he thus stationed himself in the very centre of his mighty + empire, to which all couriers could come by the shortest radii, but + chiefly that he thus spared the provincialists those burthens which must + else have alighted upon them; "for," said he, "even the slenderest retinue + of a Roman emperor is burthensome to the whole line of its progress." His + tenderness and consideration, indeed, were extended to all classes, and + all relations, of his subjects; even to those who stood in the shadow of + his public displeasure as State delinquents, or as the most atrocious + criminals. To the children of great treasury defaulters, he returned the + confiscated estates of their fathers, deducting only what might repair the + public loss. And so resolutely did he refuse to shed the blood of any in + the senatorial order, to whom he conceived himself more especially bound + in paternal ties, that even a parricide, whom the laws would not suffer to + live, was simply exposed upon a desert island. + </p> + <p> + Little indeed did Pius want of being a perfect Christian, in heart and in + practice. Yet all this display of goodness and merciful indulgence, nay, + all his munificence, would have availed him little with the people at + large, had he neglected to furnish shows and exhibitions in the arena of + suitable magnificence. Luckily for his reputation, he exceeded the general + standard of imperial splendor not less as the patron of the amphitheatre + than in his more important functions. It is recorded of him—that in + one <i>missio</i> he sent forward on the arena a hundred lions. Nor was he + less distinguished by the rarity of the wild animals which he exhibited + than by their number. There were elephants, there were crocodiles, there + were hippopotami at one time upon the stage: there was also the + rhinoceros, and the still rarer <i>crocuta</i> or <i>corocotta</i>, with a + few <i>strepsikerotes</i>. Some of these were matched in duels, some in + general battles with tigers; in fact, there was no species of wild animal + throughout the deserts and sandy Zaarras of Africa, the infinite <i>steppes</i> + of Asia, or the lawny recesses and dim forests of then sylvan Europe, + [Footnote: And not impossibly of America; for it must be remembered that, + when we speak of this quarter of the earth as yet undiscovered, we mean—to + ourselves of the western climates; since as respects the eastern quarters + of Asia, doubtless America was known there familiarly enough; and the high + bounties of imperial Rome on rare animals, would sometimes perhaps + propagate their influence even to those regions.] no species known to + natural history, (and some even of which naturalists have lost sight,) + which the Emperor Pius did not produce to his Roman subjects on his + ceremonious pomps. And in another point he carried his splendors to a + point which set the seal to his liberality. In the phrase of modern + auctioneers, he gave up the wild beasts to slaughter "without reserve." It + was the custom, in ordinary cases, so far to consider the enormous cost of + these far-fetched rarities as to preserve for future occasions those which + escaped the arrows of the populace, or survived the bloody combats in + which they were engaged. Thus, out of the overflowings of one great + exhibition, would be found materials for another. But Pius would not allow + of these reservations. All were given up unreservedly to the savage + purposes of the spectators; land and sea were ransacked; the sanctuaries + of the torrid zone were violated; columns of the army were put in motion—and + all for the transient effect of crowning an extra hour with hecatombs of + forest blood, each separate minute of which had cost a king's ransom. + </p> + <p> + Yet these displays were alien to the nature of Pius; and, even through the + tyranny of custom, he had been so little changed, that to the last he + continued to turn aside, as often as the public ritual of his duty allowed + him, from these fierce spectacles to the gentler amusements of fishing and + hunting. His taste and his affections naturally carried him to all + domestic pleasures of a quiet nature. A walk in a shrubbery or along a + piazza, enlivened with the conversation of a friend or two, pleased him + better than all the court festivals; and among festivals, or anniversary + celebrations, he preferred those which, like the harvest-home or feast of + the vintagers, whilst they sanctioned a total carelessness and dismissal + of public anxieties, were at the same time colored by the innocent gaiety + which belongs to rural and to primitive manners. In person this emperor + was tall and dignified (<i>staturâ elevatâ decorus;</i>) but latterly he + stooped; to remedy which defect, that he might discharge his public part + with the more decorum, he wore stays. [Footnote: In default of whalebone, + one is curious to know of what they were made:—thin tablets of the + linden-tree, it appears, were the best materials which the Augustus of + that day could command.] Of his other personal habits little is recorded, + except that, early in the morning, and just before receiving the + compliments of his friends and dependents, (<i>salutatores</i>,) or what + in modern phrase would be called his <i>levee</i>, he took a little plain + bread, (<i>panem siccum comedit</i>,) that is, bread without condiments or + accompaniments of any kind, by way of breakfast. In no meal has luxury + advanced more upon the model of the ancients than in this: the dinners (<i>cænæ</i>) + of the Romans were even more luxurious, and a thousand times more costly, + than our own; but their breakfasts were scandalously meagre; and, with + many men, breakfast was no professed meal at all. Galen tells us that a + little bread, and at most a little seasoning of oil, honey, or dried + fruits, was the utmost breakfast which men generally allowed themselves: + some indeed drank wine after it, but this was far from being a common + practice. [Footnote: There is, however, a good deal of delusion prevalent + on such subjects. In some English cavalry regiments, the custom is for the + privates to take only one meal a day, which of course is dinner; and by + some curious experiments it has appeared that such a mode of life is the + healthiest. But at the same time, we have ascertained that the quantity of + porter or substantial ale drunk in these regiments does virtually allow + many meals, by comparison with the washy tea breakfasts of most + Englishmen.] + </p> + <p> + The Emperor Pius died in his seventieth year. The immediate occasion of + his death was—not breakfast nor <i>cæna</i>, but something of the + kind. He had received a present of Alpine cheese, and he ordered some for + supper. The trap for his life was baited with toasted cheese. There is no + reason to think that he ate immoderately; but that night he was seized + with indigestion. Delirium followed; during which it is singular that his + mind teemed with a class of imagery and of passions the most remote (as it + might have been thought) from the voluntary occupations of his thoughts. + He raved about the State, and about those kings with whom he was + displeased; nor were his thoughts one moment removed from the public + service. Yet he was the least ambitious of princes, and his reign was + emphatically said to be bloodless. Finding his fever increase, he became + sensible that he was dying; and he ordered the golden statue of + Prosperity, a household symbol of empire, to be transferred from his own + bedroom to that of his successor. Once again, however, for the last time, + he gave the word to the officer of the guard; and, soon after, turning + away his face to the wall against which his bed was placed, he passed out + of life in the very gentlest sleep, "<i>quasi dormiret, spiritum reddidit</i>;" + or, as a Greek author expresses it, <i>kat iso hypno to malakotato</i>. He + was one of those few Roman emperors whom posterity truly honored with the + title of <i>anaimatos</i> (or bloodless;) <i>solusque omnium prope + principum prorsus sine civili sanguine et hostili vixit</i>. In the whole + tenor of his life and character he was thought to resemble Numa. And + Pausanias, after remarking on his title of <i>Eusebæs</i> (or Pius), upon + the meaning and origin of which there are several different hypotheses, + closes with this memorable tribute to his paternal qualities—<i>doxæ + de emae, kai to onoma to te Kyros pheroito an tos presbyteros, Pater + anthropon kalemenos</i>: <i>but, in my opinion, he should also bear the + name of Cyrus the elder—being hailed as Father of the Human Race</i>. + </p> + <p> + A thoughtful Roman would have been apt to exclaim, <i>This is too good to + last</i>, upon finding so admirable a ruler succeeded by one still more + admirable in the person of Marcus Aurelius. From the first dawn of his + infancy this prince indicated, by his grave deportment, the philosophic + character of his mind; and at eleven years of age he professed himself a + formal devotee of philosophy in its strictest form,—assuming the + garb, and submitting to its most ascetic ordinances. In particular, he + slept upon the ground, and in other respects he practised a style of + living the most simple and remote from the habits of rich men [or, in his + own words, <i>tho lithon chatha tæn diaitan, chai porro tæs pleousiachæs + hagogæs</i>]; though it is true that he himself ascribes this simplicity + of life to the influence of his mother, and not to the premature + assumption of the stoical character. He pushed his austerities indeed to + excess; for Dio mentions that in his boyish days he was reduced to great + weakness by exercises too severe, and a diet of too little nutriment. In + fact, his whole heart was set upon philosophic attainments, and perhaps + upon philosophic glory. All the great philosophers of his own time, + whether Stoic or Peripatetic, and amongst them Sextus of Cheronæa, a + nephew of Plutarch, were retained as his instructors. There was none whom + he did not enrich; and as many as were fitted by birth and manners to fill + important situations, he raised to the highest offices in the State. + Philosophy, however, did not so much absorb his affections, but that he + found time to cultivate the fine arts, (painting he both studied and + practised,) and such gymnastic exercises as he held consistent with his + public dignity. Wrestling, hunting, fowling, playing at cricket (<i>pila</i>), + he admired and patronized by personal participation. He tried his powers + even as a runner. But with these tasks, and entering so critically, both + as a connoisseur and as a practising amateur, into such trials of skill, + so little did he relish the very same spectacles, when connected with the + cruel exhibitions of the circus and amphitheatre, that it was not without + some friendly violence on the part of those who could venture on such a + liberty, nor even thus, perhaps, without the necessities of his official + station, that he would be persuaded to visit either one or the + other.[Footnote: So much improvement had Christianity already accomplished + in the feelings of men since the time of Augustus. That prince, in whose + reign the founder of this ennobling religion was born, had delighted so + much and indulged so freely in the spectacles of the amphitheatre, that + Mæcenas summoned him reproachfully to leave them, saying, "Surge tandem, + carnifex." + </p> + <p> + It is the remark of Capitoline, that "gladiatoria spectacula omnifariam + temperavit; temperavit etiam scenicas donationes;"—he controlled in + every possible way the gladiatorial spectacles; he controlled also the + rates of allowance to the stage performers. In these latter reforms, which + simply restrained the exorbitant salaries of a class dedicated to the + public pleasures, and unprofitable to the state, Marcus may have had no + farther view than that which is usually connected with sumptuary laws. But + in the restraints upon the gladiators, it is impossible to believe that + his highest purpose was not that of elevating human nature, and preparing + the way for still higher regulations. As little can it be believed that + this lofty conception, and the sense of a degradation entailed upon human + nature itself, in the spectacle of human beings matched against each other + like brute beasts, and pouring out their blood upon the arena as a + libation to the caprices of a mob, could have been derived from any other + source than the contagion of Christian standards and Christian sentiments, + then beginning to pervade and ventilate the atmosphere of society in its + higher and philosophic regions. Christianity, without expressly affirming, + every where indirectly supposes and presumes the infinite value and + dignity of man as a creature, exclusively concerned in a vast and + mysterious economy of restoration to a state of moral beauty and power in + some former age mysteriously forfeited. Equally interested in its + benefits, joint heirs of its promises, all men, of every color, language, + and rank, Gentile or Jew, were here first represented as in one sense (and + that the most important) equal; in the eye of this religion, they were, by + necessity of logic, equal, as equal participators in the ruin and the + restoration. Here first, in any available sense, was communicated to the + standard of human nature a vast and sudden elevation; and reasonable + enough it is to suppose, that some obscure sense of this, some sympathy + with the great changes for man then beginning to operate, would first of + all reach the inquisitive students of philosophy, and chiefly those in + high stations, who cultivated an intercourse with all the men of original + genius throughout the civilized world. The Emperor Hadrian had already + taken a solitary step in the improvement of human nature; and not, we may + believe, without some sub-conscious influence received directly or + indirectly from Christianity. So again, with respect to Marcus, it is + hardly conceivable that he, a prince so indulgent and popular, could have + thwarted, and violently gainsaid, a primary impulse of the Roman populace, + without some adequate motive; and none <i>could</i> be adequate which was + not built upon some new and exalted views of human nature, with which + these gladiatorial sacrifices were altogether at war. The reforms which + Marcus introduced into these "crudelissima spectacula," all having the + common purpose of limiting their extent, were three. First, he set bounds + to the extreme cost of these exhibitions; and this restriction of the cost + covertly operated as a restriction of the practice. Secondly,—and + this ordinance took effect whenever he was personally present, if not + oftener,—he commanded, on great occasions, that these displays + should be bloodless. Dion Cassius notices this fact in the following + words:—"The Emperor Marcus was so far from taking delight in + spectacles of bloodshed, that even the gladiators in Rome could not obtain + his inspection of their contests, unless, like the wrestlers, they + contended without imminent risk; for he never allowed them the use of + sharpened weapons, but universally they fought before him with weapons + previously blunted." Thirdly, he repealed the old and uniform regulation, + which secured to the gladiators a perpetual immunity from military + service. This necessarily diminished their available amount. Being now + liable to serve their country usefully in the field of battle, whilst the + concurrent limitation of the expenses in this direction prevented any + proportionate increase of their numbers, they were so much the less + disposable in aid of the public luxury. His fatherly care of all classes, + and the universal benignity with which he attempted to raise the abject + estimate and condition of even the lowest <i>Pariars</i> in his vast + empire, appears in another little anecdote, relating to a class of men + equally with the gladiators given up to the service of luxury in a haughty + and cruel populace. Attending one day at an exhibition of rope-dancing, + one of the performers (a boy) fell and hurt himself; from which time the + paternal emperor would never allow the rope-dancers to perform without + mattrasses or feather-beds spread below, to mitigate the violence of their + falls.] In this he meditated no reflection upon his father by adoption, + the Emperor Pius, (who also, for aught we know, might secretly revolt from + a species of amusement which, as the prescriptive test of munificence in + the popular estimate, it was necessary to support;) on the contrary, he + obeyed him with the punctiliousness of a Roman obedience; he watched the + very motions of his countenance; and he waited so continually upon his + pleasure, that for three-and-twenty years which they lived together, he is + recorded to have slept out of his father's palace only for two nights. + This rigor of filial duty illustrates a feature of Roman life; for such + was the sanctity of law, that a father created by legal fiction was in all + respects treated with the same veneration and affection, as a father who + claimed upon the most unquestioned footing of natural right. Such, + however, is the universal baseness of courts, that even this scrupulous + and minute attention to his duties, did not protect Marcus from the + injurious insinuations of whisperers. There were not wanting persons who + endeavored to turn to account the general circumstances in the situation + of the Cæsar, which pointed him out to the jealousy of the emperor. But + these being no more than what adhere necessarily to the case of every heir + <i>as</i> such, and meeting fortunately with no more proneness to + suspicion in the temper of the Augustus than they did with countenance in + the conduct of the Cæsar, made so little impression, that at length these + malicious efforts died away, from mere defect of encouragement. + </p> + <p> + The most interesting political crisis in the reign of Marcus was the war + in Germany with the Marcomanni, concurrently with pestilence in Rome. The + agitation of the public mind was intense; and prophets arose, as since + under corresponding circumstances in Christian countries, who announced + the approaching dissolution of the world. The purse of Marcus was open, as + usual, to the distresses of his subjects. But it was chiefly for the + expense of funerals that his aid was claimed. In this way he alleviated + the domestic calamities of his capital, or expressed his sympathy with the + sufferers, where alleviation was beyond his power; whilst, by the energy + of his movements and his personal presence on the Danube, he soon + dissipated those anxieties of Rome which pointed in a foreign direction. + The war, however, had been a dreadful one, and had excited such just fears + in the most experienced heads of the State, that, happening in its + outbreak to coincide with a Parthian war, it was skilfully protracted + until the entire thunders of Rome, and the undivided energies of her + supreme captains, could be concentrated upon this single point. Both + [Footnote: Marcus had been associated, as Cæsar and as emperor, with the + son of the late beautiful Verus, who is usually mentioned by the same + name.] emperors left Rome, and crossed the Alps; the war was thrown back + upon its native seats—Austria and the modern Hungary: great battles + were fought and won; and peace, with consequent relief and restoration to + liberty, was reconquered for many friendly nations, who had suffered under + the ravages of the Marcomanni, the Sarmatians, the Quadi, and the Vandals; + whilst some of the hostile people were nearly obliterated from the map, + and their names blotted out from the memory of men. + </p> + <p> + Since the days of Gaul as an independent power, no war had so much alarmed + the people of Rome; and their fear was justified by the difficulties and + prodigious efforts which accompanied its suppression. The public treasury + was exhausted; loans were an engine of fiscal policy, not then understood + or perhaps practicable; and great distress was at hand for the State. In + these circumstances, Marcus adopted a wise (though it was then esteemed a + violent or desperate) remedy. Time and excessive luxury had accumulated in + the imperial palaces and villas vast repositories of apparel, furniture, + jewels, pictures, and household utensils, valuable alike for the materials + and the workmanship. Many of these articles were consecrated, by color or + otherwise, to the use of the <i>sacred</i> household; and to have been + found in possession of them, or with the materials for making them, would + have entailed the penalties of treason. All these stores were now brought + out to open day, and put up to public sale by auction, free license being + first granted to the bidders, whoever they might be, to use, or otherwise + to exercise the fullest rights of property upon all they bought. The + auction lasted for two months. Every man was guaranteed in the peaceable + ownership of his purchases. And afterwards, when the public distress had + passed over, a still further indulgence was extended to the purchasers. + Notice was given—that all who were dissatisfied with their + purchases, or who for other means might wish to recover their cost, would + receive back the purchase-money, upon returning the articles. + Dinner-services of gold and crystal, murrhine vases, and even his wife's + wardrobe of silken robes interwoven with gold, all these, and countless + other articles were accordingly returned, and the full auction prices paid + back; or were <i>not</i> returned, and no displeasure shown to those who + publicly displayed them as their own. Having gone so far, overruled by the + necessities of the public service, in breaking down those legal barriers + by which a peculiar dress, furniture, equipage, &c., were appropriated + to the imperial house, as distinguished from the very highest of the noble + houses, Marcus had a sufficient pretext for extending indefinitely the + effect of the dispensation then granted. Articles purchased at the auction + bore no characteristic marks to distinguish them from others of the same + form and texture: so that a license to use any one article of the <i>sacred</i> + pattern, became necessarily a general license for all others which + resembled them. And thus, without abrogating the prejudices which + protected the imperial precedency, a body of sumptuary laws—the most + ruinous to the progress of manufacturing skill, [Footnote: Because the + most effectual extinguishers of all ambition applied in that direction; + since the very excellence of any particular fabric was the surest pledge + of its virtual suppression by means of its legal restriction (which + followed inevitably) to the use of the imperial house.] which has ever + been devised—were silently suspended. One or two aspiring families + might be offended by these innovations, which meantime gave the pleasures + of enjoyment to thousands, and of hope to millions. + </p> + <p> + But these, though very noticeable relaxations of the existing prerogative, + were, as respected the temper which dictated them, no more than everyday + manifestations of the emperor's perpetual benignity. Fortunately for + Marcus, the indestructible privilege of the <i>divina domus</i> exalted it + so unapproachably beyond all competition, that no possible remissions of + aulic rigor could ever be misinterpreted; fear there could be none, lest + such paternal indulgences should lose their effect and acceptation as pure + condescensions. They could neither injure their author, who was otherwise + charmed and consecrated, from disrespect; nor could they suffer injury + themselves by misconstruction, or seem other than sincere, coming from a + prince whose entire life was one long series of acts expressing the same + affable spirit. Such, indeed, was the effect of this uninterrupted + benevolence in the emperor, that at length all men, according to their + several ages, hailed him as their father, son, or brother. And when he + died, in the sixty-first year of his life (the 18th of his reign), he was + lamented with a corresponding peculiarity in the public ceremonial, such, + for instance, as the studied interfusion of the senatorial body with the + populace, expressive of the levelling power of a true and comprehensive + grief; a peculiarity for which no precedent was found, and which never + afterwards became a precedent for similar honors to the best of his + successors. + </p> + <p> + But malice has the divine privilege of ubiquity; and therefore it was that + even this great model of private and public virtue did not escape the + foulest libels: he was twice accused of murder; once on the person of a + gladiator, with whom the empress is said to have fallen in love; and + again, upon his associate in the empire, who died in reality of an + apoplectic seizure, on his return from the German campaign. Neither of + these atrocious fictions ever gained the least hold of the public + attention, so entirely were they put down by the <i>prima facie</i> + evidence of facts, and of the emperor's notorious character. In fact his + faults, if he had any in his public life, were entirely those of too much + indulgence. In a few cases of enormous guilt, it is recorded that he + showed himself inexorable. But, generally speaking, he was far otherwise; + and, in particular, he carried his indulgence to his wife's vices to an + excess which drew upon him the satirical notice of the stage. + </p> + <p> + The gladiators, and still more the sailors of that age, were constantly to + be seen playing naked, and Faustina was shameless enough to take her + station in places which gave her the advantages of a leisurely review; and + she actually selected favorites from both classes on the ground of a + personal inspection. With others of greater rank she is said even to have + been surprised by her husband; in particular with one called Tertullus, at + dinner. [Footnote: Upon which some <i>mimographus</i> built an occasional + notice of the scandal then floating on the public breath in the following + terms: One of the actors having asked "<i>Who was the adulterous paramour?</i>" + receives for answer, <i>Tullus</i>. Who? he asks again; and again for + three times running he is answered, <i>Tullus</i>. But asking a fourth + time, the rejoinder is, Jam dixi <i>ter Tullus</i>.] But to all + remonstrances on this subject, Marcus is reported to have replied, "<i>Si + uxorem dimittimus, reddamus et dotem;</i>" meaning that, having received + his right of succession to the empire simply by his adoption into the + family of Pius, his wife's father, gratitude and filial duty obliged him + to view any dishonors emanating from his wife's conduct as joint legacies + with the splendors inherited from their common father; in short, that he + was not at liberty to separate the rose from its thorns. However, the + facts are not sufficiently known to warrant us in criticising very + severely his behavior on so trying an occasion. + </p> + <p> + It would be too much for human frailty, that absolutely no stain should + remain upon his memory. Possibly the best use which can be made of such a + fact is, in the way of consolation to any unhappy man, whom his wife may + too liberally have endowed with honors of this kind, by reminding him that + he shares this distinction with the great philosophic emperor. The + reflection upon this story by one of his biographers is this—"Such + is the force of daily life in a good ruler, so great the power of his + sanctity, gentleness, and piety, that no breath of slander or invidious + suggestion from an acquaintance can avail to sully his memory. In short, + to Antonine, immutable as the heavens in the tenor of his own life, and in + the manifestations of his own moral temper, and who was not by possibility + liable to any impulse or 'shadow of turning' from another man's + suggestion, it was not eventually an injury that he was dishonored by some + of his connections; on him, invulnerable in his own character, neither a + harlot for his wife, nor a gladiator for his son, could inflict a wound. + Then as now, oh sacred lord Diocletian, he was reputed a god; not as + others are reputed, but specially and in a peculiar sense, and with a + privilege to such worship from all men as you yourself addressed to him—who + often breathe a wish to Heaven, that you were or could be such in life and + merciful disposition as was Marcus Aurelius." + </p> + <p> + What this encomiast says in a rhetorical tone was literally true. Marcus + was raised to divine honors, or canonized [Footnote: In reality, if by <i>divus</i> + and <i>divine honors</i> we understand a saint or spiritualized being + having a right of intercession with the Supreme Deity, and by his temple, + &c., if we understand a shrine attended by a priest to direct the + prayers of his devotees, there is no such wide chasm between this pagan + superstition and the adoration of saints in the Romish church, as at first + sight appears. The fault is purely in the names: <i>divus</i> and <i>templum</i> + are words too undistinguishing and generic.] (as in Christian phrase we + might express it.) That was a matter of course; and, considering with whom + he shared such honors, they are of little account in expressing the grief + and veneration which followed him. A circumstance more characteristic, in + the record of those observances which attested the public feeling, is this—that + he who at that time had no bust, picture, or statue of Marcus in his + house, was looked upon as a profane and irreligious man. Finally, to do + him honor not by testimonies of men's opinions in his favor, but by facts + of his own life and conduct, one memorable trophy there is amongst the + moral distinctions of the philosophic Cæsar, utterly unnoticed hitherto by + historians, but which will hereafter obtain a conspicuous place in any + perfect record of the steps by which civilization has advanced, and human + nature has been exalted. It is this: Marcus Aurelius was the first great + military leader (and his civil office as supreme interpreter and creator + of law consecrated his example) who allowed rights indefeasible—rights + uncancelled by his misfortune in the field, to the prisoner of war. Others + had been merciful and variously indulgent, upon their own discretion, and + upon a random impulse to some, or possibly to all of their prisoners; but + this was either in submission to the usage of that particular war, or to + special self-interest, or at most to individual good feeling. None had + allowed a prisoner to challenge any forbearance as of right. But Marcus + Aurelius first resolutely maintained that certain indestructible rights + adhered to every soldier, simply as a man, which rights, capture by the + sword, or any other accident of war, could do nothing to shake or to + diminish. We have noticed other instances in which Marcus Aurelius + labored, at the risk of his popularity, to elevate the condition of human + nature. But those, though equally expressing the goodness and loftiness of + his nature, were by accident directed to a perishable institution, which + time has swept away, and along with it therefore his reformations. Here, + however, is an immortal act of goodness built upon an immortal basis; for + so long as armies congregate, and the sword is the arbiter of + international quarrels, so long it will deserve to be had in remembrance, + that the first man who set limits to the empire of wrong, and first + translated within the jurisdiction of man's moral nature that state of war + which had heretofore been consigned, by principle no less than by + practice, to anarchy, animal violence, and brute force, was also the first + philosopher who sat upon a throne. + </p> + <p> + In this, and in his universal spirit of forgiveness, we cannot but + acknowledge a Christian by anticipation; nor can we hesitate to believe, + that through one or other of his many philosophic friends, [Footnote: Not + long after this, Alexander Severus meditated a temple to Christ; upon + which design Lampridius observes,—<i>Quod et Hadrianus cogitâsse + fertur;</i> and, as Lampridius was himself a pagan, we believe him to have + been right in his report, in spite of all which has been written by + Casaubon and others, who maintain that these imperfect temples of Hadrian + were left void of all images or idols,—not in respect to the + Christian practice, but because he designed them eventually to be + dedicated to himself. However, be this as it may, thus much appears on the + face of the story,—that Christ and Christianity had by that time + begun to challenge the imperial attention; and of this there is an + indirect indication, as it has been interpreted, even in the memoir of + Marcus himself. The passage is this: "Fama fuit sane quod sub + philosophorum specie quidam rempublicam vexarent et privates." The <i>philosophi</i>, + here mentioned by Capitoline, are by some supposed to be the Christians; + and for many reasons we believe it; and we understand the molestations of + the public services and of private individuals, here charged upon them, as + a very natural reference to the Christian doctrines falsely understood. + There is, by the way, a fine remark upon Christianity, made by an infidel + philosopher of Germany, which suggests a remarkable feature in the merits + of Marcus Aurelius. There were, as this German philosopher used to + observe, two schemes of thinking amongst the ancients, which severally + fulfilled the two functions of a sound philosophy, as respected the moral + nature of man. One of these schemes presented us with a just ideal of + moral excellence, a standard sufficiently exalted: this was the Stoic + philosophy; and thus far its pretensions were unexceptionable and perfect. + But unfortunately, whilst contemplating this pure ideal of man as he ought + to be, the Stoic totally forgot the frail nature of man as he is; and by + refusing all compromises and all condescensions to human infirmity, this + philosophy of the Porch presented to us a brilliant prize and object for + our efforts, but placed on an inaccessible height. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, there was a very different philosophy at the very + antagonist pole,—not blinding itself by abstractions too elevated, + submitting to what it finds, bending to the absolute facts and realities + of man's nature, and affably adapting itself to human imperfections. This + was the philosophy of Epicurus; and undoubtedly, as a beginning, and for + the elementary purpose of conciliating the affections of the pupil, it was + well devised; but here the misfortune was, that the ideal, or <i>maximum + perfectionis</i>, attainable by human nature, was pitched so low, that the + humility of its condescensions and the excellence of its means were all to + no purpose, as leading to nothing further. One mode presented a splendid + end, but insulated, and with no means fitted to a human aspirant for + communicating with its splendors; the other, an excellent road, but + leading to no worthy or proportionate end. Yet these, as regarded morals, + were the best and ultimate achievements of the pagan world. Now + Christianity, said he, is the synthesis of whatever is separately + excellent in either. It will abate as little as the haughtiest Stoicism of + the ideal which it contemplates as the first postulate of true morality; + the absolute holiness and purity which it demands are as much raised above + the poor performances of actual man, as the absolute wisdom and + impeccability of the Stoic. Yet, unlike the Stoic scheme, Christianity is + aware of the necessity, and provides for it, that the means of + appropriating this ideal perfection should be such as are consistent with + the nature of a most erring and imperfect creature. Its motion is <i>towards</i> + the divine, but <i>by</i> and <i>through</i> the human. In fact, it offers + the Stoic humanized in his scheme of means, and the Epicurean exalted in + his final objects. Nor is it possible to conceive a practicable scheme of + morals which should not rest upon such a synthesis of the two elements as + the Christian scheme presents; nor any other mode of fulfilling that + demand than, such a one as is there first brought forward, viz., a double + or Janus nature, which stands in an equivocal relation,—to the + divine nature by his actual perfections, to the human nature by his + participation in the same animal frailties and capacities of fleshly + temptation. No other vinculum could bind the two postulates together, of + an absolute perfection in the end proposed, and yet of utter imperfection + in the means for attaining it. + </p> + <p> + Such was the outline of this famous tribute by an unbelieving philosopher + to the merits of Christianity as a scheme of moral discipline. Now, it + must be remembered that Marcus Aurelius was by profession a Stoic; and + that generally, as a theoretical philosopher, but still more as a Stoic + philosopher, he might be supposed incapable of descending from these airy + altitudes of speculation to the true needs, infirmities, and capacities of + human nature. Yet strange it is, that he, of all the good emperors, was + the most thoroughly human and practical. In evidence of which, one body of + records is amply sufficient, which is, the very extensive and wise reforms + which he, beyond all the Cæsars, executed in the existing laws. To all the + exigencies of the times, and to all the new necessities developed by the + progress of society, he adjusted the old laws, or supplied new ones. The + same praise, therefore, belongs to him, which the German philosopher + conceded to Christianity, of reconciling the austerest ideal with the + practical; and hence another argument for presuming him half baptized into + the new faith.] whose attention Christianity was by that time powerful to + attract, some reflex images of Christian doctrines—some + half-conscious perception of its perfect beauty—had flashed upon his + mind. And when we view him from this distant age, as heading that shining + array, the Howards and the Wilberforces, who have since then in a + practical sense hearkened to the sighs of "all prisoners and captives"—we + are ready to suppose him addressed by the great Founder of Christianity, + in the words of Scripture, "<i>Verily, I say unto thee, Thou art not far + from the kingdom of heaven.</i>" + </p> + <p> + As a supplement to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, we ought to notice the + rise of one great rebel, the sole civil disturber of his time, in Syria. + This was Avidius Cassius, whose descent from Cassius (the noted + conspirator against the great Dictator, Julius) seems to have suggested to + him a wandering idea, and at length a formal purpose of restoring the + ancient republic. Avidius was the commander-in-chief of the Oriental army, + whose head-quarters were then fixed at Antioch. His native disposition, + which inclined him to cruelty, and his political views, made him, from his + first entrance upon office, a severe disciplinarian. The well known + enormities of the neighboring Daphne gave him ample opportunities for the + exercise of his harsh propensities in reforming the dissolute soldiery. He + amputated heads, arms, feet, and hams: he turned out his mutilated + victims, as walking spectacles of warning; he burned them; he smoked them + to death; and, in one instance, he crucified a detachment of his army, + together with their centurions, for having, unauthorized, gained a + splendid victory, and captured a large booty on the Danube. Upon this the + soldiers mutinied against him, in mere indignation at his tyranny. + However, he prosecuted his purpose, and prevailed, by his bold contempt of + the danger which menaced him. From the abuses in the army, he proceeded to + attack the abuses of the civil administration. But as these were protected + by the example of the great proconsular lieutenants and provincial + governors, policy obliged him to confine himself to verbal expressions of + anger; until at length, sensible that this impotent railing did but expose + him to contempt, he resolved to arm himself with the powers of radical + reform, by open rebellion. His ultimate purpose was the restoration of the + ancient republic, or, (as he himself expresses it in an interesting + letter, which yet survives,) "<i>ut in antiquum statum publica forma + reddatur</i>;" <i>i.e.</i> that the constitution should be restored to its + original condition. And this must be effected by military violence and the + aid of the executioner—or, in his own words, <i>multis gladiis, + multis elogiis</i>, (by innumerable sabres, by innumerable records of + condemnation.) Against this man Marcus was warned by his imperial + colleague Lucius Verus, in a very remarkable letter. After expressing his + suspicions of him generally, the writer goes on to say—"I would you + had him closely watched. For he is a general disliker of us and of our + doings; he is gathering together an enormous treasure, and he makes an + open jest of our literary pursuits. You, for instance, he calls a + philosophizing old woman, and me a dissolute buffoon and scamp. Consider + what you would have done. For my part, I bear the fellow no ill will; but + again, I say, take care that he does not do a mischief to yourself, or + your children." + </p> + <p> + The answer of Marcus is noble and characteristic: "I have read your + letter, and I will confess to you I think it more scrupulously timid than + becomes an emperor, and timid in a way unsuited to the spirit of our + times. Consider this—if the empire is destined to Cassius by the + decrees of Providence, in that case it will not be in our power to put him + to death, however much we may desire to do so. You know your + great-grandfather's saying,—No prince ever killed his own heir—no + man, that is, ever yet prevailed against one whom Providence had marked + out as his successor. On the other hand, if Providence opposes him, then, + without any cruelty on our part, he will spontaneously fall into some + snare spread for him by destiny. Besides, we cannot treat a man as under + impeachment whom nobody impeaches, and whom, by your own confession, the + soldiers love. Then again, in cases of high treason, even those criminals + who are convicted upon the clearest evidence, yet, as friendless and + deserted persons contending against the powerful, and matched against + those who are armed with the whole authority of the State, seem to suffer + some wrong. You remember what your grandfather said—Wretched, + indeed, is the fate of princes, who then first obtain credit in any + charges of conspiracy which they allege—when they happen to seal the + validity of their charges against the plotters, by falling martyrs to the + plot. Domitian it was, in fact, who first uttered this truth; but I choose + rather to place it under the authority of Hadrian, because the sayings of + tyrants, even when they are true and happy, carry less weight with them + than naturally they ought. For Cassius, then, let him keep his present + temper and inclinations; and the more so—being (as he is) a good + General—austere in his discipline, brave, and one whom the State + cannot afford to lose. For as to what you insinuate—that I ought to + provide for my children's interests, by putting this man judicially out of + the way, very frankly I say to you—Perish my children, if Avidius + shall deserve more attachment than they, and if it shall prove salutary to + the State that Cassius should live rather than the children of Marcus." + </p> + <p> + This letter affords a singular illustration of fatalism, such certainly as + we might expect in a Stoic, but carried even to a Turkish excess; and not + theoretically professed only, but practically acted upon in a case of + capital hazard. <i>That no prince ever killed his own successor</i>, i.e., + that it was vain for a prince to put conspirators to death, because, by + the very possibility of doing so, a demonstration is obtained that such + conspirators had never been destined to prosper, is as condensed and + striking an expression of fatalism as ever has been devised. The rest of + the letter is truly noble, and breathes the very soul of careless + magnanimity reposing upon conscious innocence. Meantime, Cassius increased + in power and influence: his army had become a most formidable engine of + his ambition through its restored discipline; and his own authority was + sevenfold greater, because he had himself created that discipline in the + face of unequalled temptations hourly renewed and rooted in the very + centre of his head-quarters. "Daphne, by Orontes," a suburb of Antioch, + was infamous for its seductions; and <i>Daphnic luxury</i> had become + proverbial for expressing an excess of voluptuousness, such as other + places could not rival by mere defect of means, and preparations elaborate + enough to sustain it in all its varieties of mode, or to conceal it from + public notice. In the very purlieus of this great nest, or sty of + sensuality, within sight and touch of its pollutions, did he keep his army + fiercely reined up, daring and defying them, as it were, to taste of the + banquet whose very odor they inhaled. + </p> + <p> + Thus provided with the means, and improved instruments, for executing his + purposes, he broke out into open rebellion; and, though hostile to the <i>principatus</i>, + or personal supremacy of one man, he did not feel his republican purism at + all wounded by the style and title of <i>Imperator</i>,—that being a + military term, and a mere titular honor, which had co-existed with the + severest forms of republicanism. <i>Imperator</i>, then, he was saluted + and proclaimed; and doubtless the writer of the warning letter from Syria + would now declare that the sequel had justified the fears which Marcus had + thought so unbecoming to a Roman emperor. But again Marcus would have + said, "Let us wait for the sequel of the sequel," and that would have + justified him. It is often found by experience that men, who have learned + to reverence a person in authority chiefly by his offices of correction + applied to their own aberrations,—who have known and feared him, in + short, in his character of reformer,—will be more than usually + inclined to desert him on his first movement in the direction of wrong. + Their obedience being founded on fear, and fear being never wholly + disconnected from hatred, they naturally seize with eagerness upon the + first lawful pretext for disobedience; the luxury of revenge is, in such a + case, too potent,—a meritorious disobedience too novel a temptation,—to + have a chance of being rejected. Never, indeed, does erring human nature + look more abject than in the person of a severe exactor of duty, who has + immolated thousands to the wrath of offended law, suddenly himself + becoming a capital offender, a glozing tempter in search of accomplices, + and in that character at once standing before the meanest of his own + dependents as a self-deposed officer, liable to any man's arrest, and, <i>ipso + facto</i>, a suppliant for his own mercy. The stern and haughty Cassius, + who had so often tightened the cords of discipline until they threatened + to snap asunder, now found, experimentally, the bitterness of these + obvious truths. The trembling sentinel now looked insolently in his face; + the cowering legionary, with whom "to hear was to obey," now mused or even + bandied words upon his orders; the great lieutenants of his office, who + stood next to his own person in authority, were preparing for revolt, open + or secret, as circumstances should prescribe; not the accuser only, but + the very avenger, was upon his steps; Nemesis, that Nemesis who once so + closely adhered to the name and fortunes of the lawful Cæsar, turning + against every one of his assassins the edge of his own assassinating + sword, was already at his heels; and in the midst of a sudden prosperity, + and its accompanying shouts of gratulation, he heard the sullen knells of + approaching death. Antioch, it was true, the great Roman capital of the + Orient, bore him, for certain motives of self-interest, peculiar + good-will. But there was no city of the world in which the Roman Cæsar did + not reckon many liege-men and partisans. And the very hands, which dressed + his altars and crowned his Prætorian pavilion, might not improbably in + that same hour put an edge upon the sabre which was to avenge the injuries + of the too indulgent and long-suffering Antoninus. Meantime, to give a + color of patriotism to his treason, Cassius alleged public motives; in a + letter, which he wrote after assuming the purple, he says: "Wretched + empire, miserable state, which endures these hungry blood-suckers + battening on her vitals!—A worthy man, doubtless, is Marcus; who, in + his eagerness to be reputed clement, suffers those to live whose conduct + he himself abhors. Where is that L. Cassius, whose name I vainly inherit? + Where is that Marcus,—not Aurelius, mark you, but Cato Censorius? + Where the good old discipline of ancestral times, long since indeed + disused, but now not so much as looked after in our aspirations? Marcus + Antoninus is a scholar; he enacts the philosopher; and he tries + conclusions upon the four elements, and upon the nature of the soul; and + he discourses learnedly upon the <i>Honestum</i>; and concerning the <i>Summum + Bonum</i> he is unanswerable. Meanwhile, is he learned in the interests of + the State? Can he argue a point upon the public economy? You see what a + host of sabres is required, what a host of impeachments, sentences, + executions, before the commonwealth can reassume its ancient integrity! + What! shall I esteem as proconsuls, as governors, those who for that end + only deem themselves invested with lieutenancies or great senatorial + appointments, that they may gorge themselves with the provincial luxuries + and wealth? No doubt you heard in what way our friend the philosopher gave + the place of prætorian prefect to one who but three days before was a + bankrupt,—insolvent, by G—, and a beggar. Be not you content: + that same gentleman is now as rich as a prefect should be; and has been + so, I tell you, any time these three days. And how, I pray you, how—how, + my good sir? How but out of the bowels of the provinces, and the marrow of + their bones? But no matter, let them be rich; let them be blood-suckers; + so much, God willing, shall they regorge into the treasury of the empire. + Let but Heaven smile upon our party, and the Cassiani shall return to the + republic its old impersonal supremacy." + </p> + <p> + But Heaven did <i>not</i> smile; nor did man. Rome heard with bitter + indignation of this old traitor's ingratitude, and his false mask of + republican civism. Excepting Marcus Aurelius himself, not one man but + thirsted for revenge. And that was soon obtained. He and all his + supporters, one after the other, rapidly fell (as Marcus had predicted) + into snares laid by the officers who continued true to their allegiance. + Except the family and household of Cassius, there remained in a short time + none for the vengeance of the senate, or for the mercy of the emperor. In + <i>them</i> centred the last arrears of hope and fear, of chastisement or + pardon, depending upon this memorable revolt. And about the disposal of + their persons arose the final question to which the case gave birth. The + letters yet remain in which the several parties interested gave utterance + to the passions which possessed them. Faustina, the Empress, urged her + husband with feminine violence to adopt against his prisoners + comprehensive acts of vengeance. "Noli parcere hominibus," says she, "qui + tibi non pepercerunt; et nec mihi nec filiis nostris parcerent, si + vicissent." And elsewhere she irritates his wrath against the army as + accomplices for the time, and as a body of men "qui, nisi opprimuntur, + opprimunt." We may be sure of the result. After commending her zeal for + her own family, he says, "Ego vero et ejus liberis parcam, et genero, et + uxori; et ad senatum scribam ne aut proscriptio gravior sit, aut poena + crudelior;" adding that, had his counsels prevailed, not even Cassius + himself should have perished. As to his relatives, "Why," he asks, "should + I speak of pardon to them, who indeed have done no wrong, and are + blameless even in purpose?" Accordingly, his letter of intercession to the + senate protests, that, so far from asking for further victims to the crime + of Avidius Cassius, would to God he could call back from the dead many of + those who had fallen! With immense applause, and with turbulent + acclamations, the senate granted all his requests "in consideration of his + philosophy, of his long-suffering, of his learning and accomplishments, of + his nobility, of his innocence." And until a monster arose who delighted + in the blood of the guiltless, it is recorded that the posterity of + Avidius Cassius lived in security, and were admitted to honors and public + distinctions by favor of him, whose life and empire that memorable traitor + had sought to undermine under the favor of his guileless master's too + confiding magnanimity. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. + </h2> + <p> + The Roman empire, and the Roman emperors, it might naturally be supposed + by one who had not as yet traversed that tremendous chapter in the history + of man, would be likely to present a separate and almost equal interest. + The empire, in the first place, as the most magnificent monument of human + power which our planet has beheld, must for that single reason, even + though its records were otherwise of little interest, fix upon itself the + very keenest gaze from all succeeding ages to the end of time. To trace + the fortunes and revolutions of that unrivalled monarchy over which the + Roman eagle brooded, to follow the dilapidations of that aêrial arch, + which silently and steadily through seven centuries ascended under the + colossal architecture of the children of Romulus, to watch the unweaving + of the golden arras, and step by step to see paralysis stealing over the + once perfect cohesion of the republican creations,—cannot but insure + a severe, though melancholy delight. On its own separate account, the + decline of this throne-shattering power must and will engage the foremost + place amongst all historical reviews. The "dislimning" and unmoulding of + some mighty pageantry in the heavens has its own appropriate grandeurs, no + less than the gathering of its cloudy pomps. The going down of the sun is + contemplated with no less awe than his rising. Nor is any thing portentous + in its growth, which is not also portentous in the steps and "moments" of + its decay. Hence, in the second place, we might presume a commensurate + interest in the characters and fortunes of the successive emperors. If the + empire challenged our first survey, the next would seem due to the Cæsars + who guided its course; to the great ones who retarded, and to the bad ones + who precipitated, its ruin. + </p> + <p> + Such might be the natural expectation of an inexperienced reader. But it + is <i>not</i> so. The Cæsars, throughout their long line, are not + interesting, neither personally in themselves, nor derivatively from the + tragic events to which their history is attached. Their whole interest + lies in their situation—in the unapproachable altitude of their + thrones. But, considered with a reference to their human qualities, + scarcely one in the whole series can be viewed with a human interest apart + from the circumstances of his position. "Pass like shadows, so depart!" + The reason for this defect of all personal variety of interest in these + enormous potentates, must be sought in the constitution of their power and + the very necessities of their office. Even the greatest among them, those + who by way of distinction were called <i>the Great</i>, as Constantine and + Theodosius, were not great, for they were not magnanimous; nor could they + be so under <i>their</i> tenure of power, which made it a duty to be + suspicious, and, by fastening upon all varieties of original temper one + dire necessity of bloodshed, extinguished under this monotonous cloud of + cruel jealousy and everlasting panic every characteristic feature of + genial human nature, that would else have emerged through so long a train + of princes. There is a remarkable story told of Agrippina, that, upon some + occasion, when a wizard announced to her, as truths which he had read in + the heavens, the two fatal necessities impending over her son,—one + that he should ascend to empire, the other that he should murder herself, + she replied in these stern and memorable words—<i>Occidat, dum + imperet</i>. Upon which a continental writer comments thus: "Never before + or since have three such words issued from the lips of woman; and in + truth, one knows not which most to abominate or to admire—the + aspiring princess, or the loving mother. Meantime, in these few words lies + naked to the day, in its whole hideous deformity, the very essence of + Romanism and the imperatorial power, and one might here consider the + mother of Nero as the impersonation of that monstrous condition." + </p> + <p> + This is true: <i>Occidat dum imperet</i>, was the watchword and very + cognizance of the Roman imperator. But almost equally it was his watchword—<i>Occidatur + dum imperet</i>. Doing or suffering, the Cæsars were almost equally + involved in bloodshed; very few that were not murderers, and nearly all + were themselves murdered. + </p> + <p> + The empire, then, must be regarded as the primary object of our interest; + and it is in this way only that any secondary interest arises for the + emperors. Now, with respect to the empire, the first question which + presents itself is,—Whence, that is, from what causes and from what + era, we are to date its decline? Gibbon, as we all know, dates it from the + reign of Commodus; but certainly upon no sufficient, or even plausible + grounds. Our own opinion we shall state boldly: the empire itself, from + the very era of its establishment, was one long decline of the Roman + power. A vast monarchy had been created and consolidated by the + all-conquering instincts of a republic—cradled and nursed in wars, + and essentially warlike by means of all its institutions [Footnote: + Amongst these institutions, none appear to us so remarkable, or fitted to + accomplish so prodigious a circle of purposes belonging to the highest + state policy, as the Roman method of colonization. Colonies were, in + effect, the great engine of Roman conquest; and the following are among a + few of the great ends to which they were applied. First of all, how came + it that the early armies of Rome served, and served cheerfully, without + pay? Simply because all who were victorious knew that they would receive + their arrears in the fullest and amplest form upon their final discharge, + viz. in the shape of a colonial estate—large enough to rear a family + in comfort, and seated in the midst of similar allotments, distributed to + their old comrades in arms. These lands were already, perhaps, in high + cultivation, being often taken from conquered tribes; but, if not, the new + occupants could rely for aid of every sort, for social intercourse, and + for all the offices of good neighborhood upon the surrounding proprietors—who + were sure to be persons in the same circumstances as themselves, and + draughted from the same legion. For be it remembered, that in the + primitive ages of Rome, concerning which it is that we are now speaking, + entire legions—privates and officers—were transferred in one + body to the new colony. "Antiquitus," says the learned Goesius, + "deducebantur integral legiones, quibus parta victoria." Neither was there + much waiting for this honorary gift. In later ages, it is true, when such + resources were less plentiful, and when regular pay was given to the + soldiery, it was the veteran only who obtained this splendid provision; + but in the earlier times, a single fortunate campaign not seldom dismissed + the young recruit to a life of ease and honor. "Multis legionibus," says + Hyginus, "contigit bellum feliciter transigere, et ad laboriosam + agriculturæ requiem <i>primo tyrocinii gradu</i> pervenire. Nam cum signis + et aquilâ et primis ordinibus et tribunis deducebantur." Tacitus also + notices this organization of the early colonies, and adds the reason of + it, and its happy effect, when contrasting it with the vicious + arrangements of the colonizing system in his own days. "Olim," says he, + "universæ legiones deducebantur cum tribunis et centurionibus, et sui + cujusque ordinis militibus, <i>ut consensu et charitate rempublicam + efficerent</i>." <i>Secondly</i>, not only were the troops in this way + paid at a time when the public purse was unequal to the expenditure of war—but + this pay, being contingent on the successful issue of the war, added the + strength of self-interest to that of patriotism in stimulating the soldier + to extraordinary efforts. Thirdly, not only did the soldier in this way + reap his pay, but also he reaped a reward, (and that besides a trophy and + perpetual monument of his public services,) so munificent as to constitute + a permanent provision for a family; and accordingly he was now encouraged, + nay, enjoined, to marry. For here was an hereditary landed estate equal to + the liberal maintenance of a family. And thus did a simple people, obeying + its instinct of conquest, not only discover, in its earliest days, the + subtle principle of Machiavel—<i>Let war support war</i>; but (which + is far more than Machiavel's view) they made each present war support many + future wars—by making it support a new offset from the population, + bound to the mother city by indissoluble ties of privilege and civic + duties; and in many other ways they made every war, by and through the + colonizing system to which it gave occasion, serviceable to future + aggrandizement. War, managed in this way, and with these results, became + to Rome what commerce or rural industry is to other countries, viz. the + only hopeful and general way for making a fortune. <i>Fourthly</i>, by + means of colonies it was that Rome delivered herself from her surplus + population. Prosperous and well-governed, the Roman citizens of each + generation outnumbered those of the generation preceding. But the colonies + provided outlets for these continual accessions of people, and absorbed + them faster than they could arise. [Footnote: And in this way we must + explain the fact—that, in the many successive numerations of the + people continually noticed by Livy and others, we do not find that sort of + multiplication which we might have looked for in a state so ably governed. + The truth is, that the continual surpluses had been carried off by the + colonizing drain, before they could become noticeable or troublesome.] And + thus the great original sin of modern states, that heel of Achilles in + which they are all vulnerable, and which (generally speaking) becomes more + oppressive to the public prosperity as that prosperity happens to be + greater (for in poor states and under despotic governments, this evil does + not exist), that flagrant infirmity of our own country, for which no + statesman has devised any commensurate remedy, was to ancient Rome a + perpetual foundation and well-head of public strength and enlarged + resources. With us of modern times, when population greatly outruns the + demand for labor, whether it be under the stimulus of upright government, + and just laws, justly administered, in combination with the manufacturing + system (as in England,) or (as in Ireland) under the stimulus of idle + habits, cheap subsistence, and a low standard of comfort—we think it + much if we can keep down insurrection by the bayonet and the sabre. <i>Lucro + ponamus</i> is our cry, if we can effect even thus much; whereas Rome, in + her simplest and pastoral days, converted this menacing danger and + standing opprobrium of modern statesmanship to her own immense benefit. + Not satisfied merely to have neutralized it, she drew from it the vital + resources of her martial aggrandizement. For, <i>Fifthly</i>, these + colonies were in two ways made the corner-stones of her martial policy: + 1st, They were looked to as nurseries of their armies; during one + generation the original colonists, already trained to military habits, + were themselves disposable for this purpose on any great emergency; these + men transmitted heroic traditions to their posterity; and, at all events, + a more robust population was always at hand in agricultural colonies than + could be had in the metropolis. Cato the elder, and all the early writers, + notice the quality of such levies as being far superior to those drawn + from a population of sedentary habits. 2dly, The Italian colonies, one and + all, performed the functions which in our day are assigned to garrisoned + towns and frontier fortresses. In the earliest times they discharged a + still more critical service, by sometimes entirely displacing a hostile + population, and more often by dividing it and breaking its unity. In cases + of desperate resistance to the Roman arms, marked by frequent infraction + of treaties, it was usual to remove the offending population to a safer + situation, separated from Rome by the Tiber; sometimes entirely to + disperse and scatter it. But, where these extremities were not called for + by expediency or the Roman maxims of justice, it was judged sufficient to + <i>interpolate</i>, as it were, the hostile people by colonizations from + Rome, which were completely organized [Footnote: That is indeed involved + in the technical term of <i>Deductio</i>; for unless the ceremonies, + religious and political, of inauguration and organization, were duly + complied with, the colony was not entitled to be considered as <i>deducta</i>—that + is, solemnly and ceremonially transplanted from the metropolis.] for + mutual aid, having officers of all ranks dispersed amongst them, and for + overawing the growth of insurrectionary movements amongst their neighbors. + Acting on this system, the Roman colonies in some measure resembled the <i>English + Pale</i>, as existing at one era in Ireland. This mode of service, it is + true, became obsolete in process of time, concurrently with the dangers + which it was shaped to meet; for the whole of Italy proper, together with + that part of Italy called Cisalpine Gaul, was at length reduced to unity + and obedience by the almighty republic. But in forwarding that great end, + and indispensable condition towards all foreign warfare, no one military + engine in the whole armory of Rome availed so much as her Italian + colonies. The other use of these colonies, as frontier garrisons, or, at + any rate, as interposing between a foreign enemy and the gates of Rome, + they continued to perform long after their earlier uses had passed away; + and Cicero himself notices their value in this view. "Colonias," says he [<i>Orat. + in Rullum</i>], "sic idoneis in locis contra suspicionem periculi + collocarunt, ut esse non oppida Italiæ sed <i>propugnacula</i> imperii + viderentur." <i>Finally</i>, the colonies were the best means of promoting + tillage, and the culture of vineyards. And though this service, as + regarded the Italian colonies, was greatly defeated in succeeding times by + the ruinous largesses of corn [<i>frumentationes</i>], and other vices of + the Roman policy after the vast revolution effected by universal luxury, + it is not the less true that, left to themselves and their natural + tendency, the Roman colonies would have yielded this last benefit as + certainly as any other. Large volumes exist, illustrated by the learning + of Rigaltius, Salmatius, and Goesius, upon the mere technical arrangements + of the Roman colonies. And whose libraries might be written on these same + colonies considered as engines of exquisite state policy.] and by the + habits of the people. This monarchy had been of too slow a growth—too + gradual, and too much according to the regular stages of nature herself in + its development, to have any chance of being other than well cemented; the + cohesion of its parts was intense; seven centuries of growth demand one or + two at least for palpable decay; and it is only for harlequin empires like + that of Napoleon, run up with the rapidity of pantomime, to fall asunder + under the instant reaction of a few false moves in politics, or a single + unfortunate campaign. Hence it was, and from the prudence of Augustus + acting through a very long reign, sustained at no very distant interval by + the personal inspection and revisions of Hadrian, that for some time the + Roman power seemed to be stationary. What else could be expected? The mere + strength of the impetus derived from the republican institutions, could + not but propagate itself, and cause even a motion in advance, for some + time after those institutions had themselves given way. And besides the + military institutions survived all others; and the army continued very + much the same in its discipline and composition, long after Rome and all + its civic institutions had bent before an utter revolution. It was very + possible even that emperors should have arisen with martial propensities, + and talents capable of masking, for many years, by specious but transitory + conquests, the causes that were silently sapping the foundations of Roman + supremacy; and thus by accidents of personal character and taste, an + empire might even have expanded itself in appearance, which, by all its + permanent and real tendencies, was even then shrinking within narrower + limits, and travelling downwards to dissolution. In reality, one such + emperor there was. Trajan, whether by martial inclinations, or (as is + supposed by some) by dissatisfaction with his own position at Rome, when + brought into more immediate connection with the senate, was driven into + needless war; and he achieved conquests in the direction of Dacia as well + as Parthia. But that these conquests were not substantial,—that they + were connected by no true cement of cohesion with the existing empire, is + evident from the rapidity with which they were abandoned. In the next + reign, the empire had already recoiled within its former limits; and in + two reigns further on, under Marcus Antoninus, though a prince of elevated + character and warlike in his policy, we find such concessions of territory + made to the Marcomanni and others, as indicate too plainly the shrinking + energies of a waning empire. In reality, if we consider the polar + opposition, in point of interest and situation, between the great officers + of the republic and the Augustus or Cæsar of the empire, we cannot fail to + see the immense effect which that difference must have had upon the + permanent spirit of conquest. Cæsar was either adopted or elected to a + situation of infinite luxury and enjoyment. He had no interests to secure + by fighting in person: and he had a powerful interest in preventing others + from fighting; since in that way only he could raise up competitors to + himself, and dangerous seducers of the army. A consul, on the other hand, + or great lieutenant of the senate, had nothing to enjoy or to hope for, + when his term of office should have expired, unless according to his + success in creating military fame and influence for himself. Those Cæsars + who fought whilst the empire was or seemed to be stationary, as Trajan, + did so from personal taste. Those who fought in after centuries, when the + decay became apparent, and dangers drew nearer, as Aurelian, did so from + the necessities of fear; and under neither impulse were they likely to + make durable conquests. The spirit of conquest having therefore departed + at the very time when conquest would have become more difficult even to + the republican energies, both from remoteness of ground and from the + martial character of the chief nations which stood beyond the frontier,—it + was a matter of necessity that with the republican institutions should + expire the whole principle of territorial aggrandizement; and that, if the + empire seemed to be stationary for some time after its establishment by + Julius, and its final settlement by Augustus, this was through no strength + of its own, or inherent in its own constitution, but through the continued + action of that strength which it had inherited from the republic. In a + philosophical sense, therefore, it may be affirmed, that the empire of the + Cæsars was <i>always</i> in decline; ceasing to go forward, it could not + do other than retrograde; and even the first <i>appearances</i> of decline + can, with no propriety, be referred to the reign of Commodus. His vices + exposed him to public contempt and assassination; but neither one nor the + other had any effect upon the strength of the empire. Here, therefore, is + one just subject of complaint against Gibbon, that he has dated the + declension of the Roman power from a commencement arbitrarily assumed; + another, and a heavier, is, that he has failed to notice the steps and + separate indications of decline as they arose,—the moments (to speak + in the language of dynamics) through which the decline travelled onwards + to its consummation. It is also a grievous offence as regards the true + purposes of history,—and one which, in a complete exposition of the + imperial history, we should have a right to insist on,—that Gibbon + brings forward only such facts as allow of a scenical treatment, and seems + every where, by the glancing style of his allusions, to presuppose an + acquaintance with that very history which he undertakes to deliver. Our + immediate purpose, however, is simply to characterize the office of + emperor, and to notice such events and changes as operated for evil, and + for a final effect of decay, upon the Cæsars or their empire. As the best + means of realizing it, we shall rapidly review the history of both, + promising that we confine ourselves to the true Cæsars, and the true + empire, of the West. + </p> + <p> + The first overt act of weakness,—the first expression of conscious + declension, as regarded the foreign enemies of Rome, occurred in the reign + of Hadrian; for it is a very different thing to forbear making conquests, + and to renounce them when made. It is possible, however, that the cession + then made of Mesopotamia and Armenia, however sure to be interpreted into + the language of fear by the enemy, did not imply any such principle in + this emperor. He was of a civic and paternal spirit, and anxious for the + substantial welfare of the empire rather than its ostentatious glory. The + internal administration of affairs had very much gone into neglect since + the times of Augustus; and Hadrian was perhaps right in supposing that he + could effect more public good by an extensive progress through the empire, + and by a personal correction of abuses, than by any military enterprise. + It is, besides, asserted, that he received an indemnity in money for the + provinces beyond the Euphratus. But still it remains true, that in his + reign the God Terminus made his first retrograde motion; and this emperor + became naturally an object of public obloquy at Rome, and his name fell + under the superstitious ban of a fatal tradition connected with the + foundation of the capitol. The two Antonines, Titus and Marcus, who came + next in succession, were truly good and patriotic princes; perhaps the + only princes in the whole series who combined the virtues of private and + of public life. In their reigns the frontier line was maintained in its + integrity, and at the expense of some severe fighting under Marcus, who + was a strenuous general at the same time that he was a severe student. It + is, however, true, as we observed above, that, by allowing a settlement + within the Roman frontier to a barbarous people, Marcus Aurelius raised + the first ominous precedent in favor of those Gothic, Vandal, and Frankish + hives, who were as yet hidden behind a cloud of years. Homes had been + obtained by Trans-Danubian barbarians upon the sacred territory of Rome + and Cæsar: that fact remained upon tradition; whilst the terms upon which + they had been obtained, how much or how little connected with fear, + necessarily became liable to doubt and to oblivion. Here we pause to + remark, that the first twelve Cæsars, together with Nerva, Trajan, + Hadrian, and the two Antonines, making seventeen emperors, compose the + first of four nearly equal groups, who occupied the throne in succession + until the extinction of the Western Empire. And at this point be it + observed,—that is, at the termination of the first group,—we + take leave of all genuine virtue. In no one of the succeeding princes, if + we except Alexander Severus, do we meet with any goodness of heart, or + even amiableness of manners. The best of the future emperors, in a public + sense, were harsh and repulsive in private character. + </p> + <p> + The second group, as we have classed them, terminating with Philip the + Arab, commences with Commodus. This unworthy prince, although the son of + the excellent Marcus Antoninus, turned out a monster of debauchery. At the + moment of his father's death, he was present in person at the + head-quarters of the army on the Danube, and of necessity partook in many + of their hardships. This it was which furnished his evil counsellors with + their sole argument for urging his departure to the capital. A council + having been convened, the faction of court sycophants pressed upon his + attention the inclemency of the climate, contrasting it with the genial + skies and sunny fields of Italy; and the season, which happened to be + winter, gave strength to their representations. What! would the emperor be + content for ever to hew out the frozen water with an axe before he could + assuage his thirst? And, again, the total want of fruit-trees—did + that recommend their present station as a fit one for the imperial court? + Commodus, ashamed to found his objections to the station upon grounds so + unsoldierly as these, affected to be moved by political reasons: some + great senatorial house might take advantage of his distance from home,—might + seize the palace, fortify it, and raise levies in Italy capable of + sustaining its pretensions to the throne. These arguments were combated by + Pompeianus, who, besides his personal weight as an officer, had married + the eldest sister of the young emperor. Shame prevailed for the present + with Commodus, and he dismissed the council with an assurance that he + would think farther of it. The sequel was easy to foresee. Orders were + soon issued for the departure of the court to Rome, and the task of + managing the barbarians of Dacia, was delegated to lieutenants. The system + upon which these officers executed their commission was a mixed one of + terror and persuasion. Some they defeated in battle; and these were the + majority; for Herodian says, <i>pleizous ton barbaron haplois echeirosanto</i>: + Others they bribed into peace by large sums of money. And no doubt this + last article in the policy of Commodus was that which led Gibbon to assign + to this reign the first rudiments of the Roman declension. But it should + be remembered, that, virtually, this policy was but the further + prosecution of that which had already been adopted by Marcus Aurelius. + Concessions and temperaments of any sort or degree showed that the + Pannonian frontier was in too formidable a condition to be treated with + uncompromising rigor. To <i>hamerimnon onoumenos</i>, purchasing an + immunity from all further anxiety, Commodus (as the historian expresses + it) <i>panta edidou ta aitoumena</i>—conceded all demands whatever. + His journey to Rome was one continued festival: and the whole population + of Rome turned out to welcome him. At this period he was undoubtedly the + darling of the people: his personal beauty was splendid; and he was + connected by blood with some of the greatest nobility. Over this + flattering scene of hope and triumph clouds soon gathered: with the mob, + indeed, there is reason to think that he continued a favorite to the last; + but the respectable part of the citizens were speedily disgusted with his + self-degradation, and came to hate him even more than ever or by any class + he had been loved. The Roman pride never shows itself more conspicuously + throughout all history, than in the alienation of heart which inevitably + followed any great and continued outrages upon his own majesty, committed + by their emperor. Cruelties the most atrocious, acts of vengeance the most + bloody, fratricide, parricide, all were viewed with more toleration than + oblivion of his own inviolable sanctity. Hence we imagine the wrath with + which Rome would behold Commodus, under the eyes of four hundred thousand + spectators, making himself a party to the contests of gladiators. In his + earlier exhibitions as an archer, it is possible that his matchless + dexterity, and his unerring eye, would avail to mitigate the censures: but + when the Roman Imperator actually descended to the arena in the garb and + equipments of a servile prize-fighter, and personally engaged in combat + with such antagonists, having previously submitted to their training and + discipline—the public indignation rose a to height, which spoke + aloud the language of encouragement to conspiracy and treason. These were + not wanting: three memorable plots against his life were defeated; one of + them (that of Maternus, the robber) accompanied with romantic + circumstances, [Footnote: On this occasion we may notice that the final + execution of the vengeance projected by Maternus, was reserved for a + public festival, exactly corresponding to the modern <i>carnival</i>; and + from an expression used by Herodian, it is plain that masquerading had + been an ancient practice in Rome.] which we have narrated in an earlier + paper of this series. Another was set on foot by his eldest sister, + Lucilla; nor did her close relationship protect her from capital + punishment. In that instance, the immediate agent of her purposes, + Quintianus, a young man, of signal resolution and daring, who had + attempted to stab the emperor at the entrance of the amphitheatre, though + baffled in his purpose, uttered a word which rang continually in the ears + of Commodus, and poisoned his peace of mind for ever. His vengeance, + perhaps, was thus more effectually accomplished than if he had at once + dismissed his victim from life. "The senate," he had said, "sends thee + this through me:" and henceforward the senate was the object of + unslumbering suspicions to the emperor. Yet the public suspicions settled + upon a different quarter; and a very memorable scene must have pointed his + own in the same direction, supposing that he had previously been blind to + his danger. On a day of great solemnity, when Rome had assembled her + myriads in the amphitheatre, just at the very moment when the nobles, the + magistrates, the priests, all, in short, that was venerable or consecrated + in the State, with the Imperator in their centre, had taken their seats, + and were waiting for the opening of the shows, a stranger, in the robe of + a philosopher, bearing a staff in his hand, (which also was the + professional ensign [Footnote: See Casaubon's notes upon Theophrastus.] of + a philosopher,) stepped forward, and, by the waving of his hand, + challenged the attention of Commodus. Deep silence ensued: upon which, in + a few words, ominous to the ear as the handwriting on the wall to the eye + of Belshazzar, the stranger unfolded to Commodus the instant peril which + menaced both his life and his throne, from his great servant Perennius. + What personal purpose of benefit to himself this stranger might have + connected with his public warning, or by whom he might have been suborned, + was never discovered; for he was instantly arrested by the agents of the + great officer whom he had denounced, dragged away to punishment, and put + to a cruel death. Commodus dissembled his panic for the present; but soon + after, having received undeniable proofs (as is alleged) of the treason + imputed to Perennius, in the shape of a coin which had been struck by his + son, he caused the father to be assassinated; and, on the same day, by + means of forged letters, before this news could reach the son, who + commanded the Illyrian armies, he lured him also to destruction, under the + belief that he was obeying the summons of his father to a private + interview on the Italian frontier. So perished those enemies, if enemies + they really were. But to these tragedies succeeded others far more + comprehensive in their mischief, and in more continuous succession than is + recorded upon any other page of universal history. Rome was ravaged by a + pestilence—by a famine—by riots amounting to a civil war—by + a dreadful massacre of the unarmed mob—by shocks of earthquake—and, + finally, by a fire which consumed the national bank, [Footnote: Viz. the + Temple of Peace; at that time the most magnificent edifice in Rome. + Temples, it is well known, were the places used in ancient times as banks + of deposit. For this function they were admirably fitted by their + inviolable sanctity.] and the most sumptuous buildings of the city. To + these horrors, with a rapidity characteristic of the Roman depravity, and + possible only under the most extensive demoralization of the public mind, + succeeded festivals of gorgeous pomp, and amphitheatrical exhibitions, + upon a scale of grandeur absolutely unparalleled by all former attempts. + Then were beheld, and familiarized to the eyes of the Roman mob—to + children—and to women, animals as yet known to us, says Herodian, + only in pictures. Whatever strange or rare animal could be drawn from the + depths of India, from Siam and Pegu, or from the unvisited nooks of + Ethiopia, were now brought together as subjects for the archery of the + universal lord. [Footnote: What a prodigious opportunity for the + zoologist!—And considering that these shows prevailed, for 500 + years, during all which period the amphitheatre gave bounties, as it were, + to the hunter and the fowler of every climate, and that, by means of a + stimulus so constantly applied, scarcely any animal, the shyest, rarest, + fiercest, escaped the demands of the arena,—no one fact so much + illustrates the inertia of the public mind in those days, and the + indifference to all scientific pursuits, as that no annotator should have + risen to Pliny the elder—no rival to the immortal tutor of + Alexander.] Invitations (and the invitations of kings are commands) had + been scattered on this occasion profusely; not, as heretofore, to + individuals or to families—but, as was in proportion to the occasion + where an emperor was the chief performer, to nations. People were summoned + by circles of longitude and latitude to come and see <i>theasumenoi ha mæ + proteron mæte heormkesun mæte ækaekoeisun</i>—things that eye had + not seen nor ear heard of] the specious miracles of nature brought + together from arctic and from tropic deserts, putting forth their + strength, their speed, or their beauty, and glorifying by their deaths the + matchless hand of the Roman king. There was beheld the lion from + Bilidulgerid, and the leopard from Hindostan—the rein-deer from + polar latitudes—the antelope from the Zaara—and the leigh, or + gigantic stag, from Britain. Thither came the buffalo and the bison, the + white bull of Northumberland and Galloway, the unicorn from the regions of + Nepaul or Thibet, the rhinoceros and the river-horse from Senegal, with + the elephant of Ceylon or Siam. The ostrich and the cameleopard, the wild + ass and the zebra, the chamois and the ibex of Angora,—all brought + their tributes of beauty or deformity to these vast aceldamas of Rome: + their savage voices ascended in tumultuous uproar to the chambers of the + capitol: a million of spectators sat round them: standing in the centre + was a single statuesque figure—the imperial sagittary, beautiful as + an Antinous, and majestic as a Jupiter, whose hand was so steady and whose + eye so true, that he was never known to miss, and who, in this + accomplishment at least, was so absolute in his excellence, that, as we + are assured by a writer not disposed to flatter him, the very foremost of + the Parthian archers and of the Mauritanian lancers [<i>Parthyaion oi + toxichæs hachribentes, chai Mauresion oi hachontixein harizoi</i>] were + not able to contend with him. Juvenal, in a well known passage upon the + disproportionate endings of illustrious careers, drawing one of his + examples from Marius, says, that he ought, for his own glory, and to make + his end correspondent to his life, to have died at the moment when he + descended from his triumphal chariot at the portals of the capitol. And of + Commodus, in like manner, it may be affirmed, that, had he died in the + exercise of his peculiar art, with a hecatomb of victims rendering homage + to his miraculous skill, by the regularity of the files which they + presented, as they lay stretched out dying or dead upon the arena,—he + would have left a splendid and a characteristic impression of himself upon + that nation of spectators who had witnessed his performance. He was the + noblest artist in his own profession that the world had seen—in + archery he was the Robin Hood of Rome; he was in the very meridian of his + youth; and he was the most beautiful man of his own times <i>Ton chath + eauton hathropon challei euprepestatos</i>. He would therefore have looked + the part admirably of the dying gladiator; and he would have died in his + natural vocation. But it was ordered otherwise; his death was destined to + private malice, and to an ignoble hand. And much obscurity still rests + upon the motives of the assassins, though its circumstances are reported + with unusual minuteness of detail. One thing is evident, that the public + and patriotic motives assigned by the perpetrators as the remote causes of + their conspiracy, cannot have been the true ones. The grave historian may + sum up his character of Commodus by saying that, however richly endowed + with natural gifts, he abused them all to bad purposes; that he derogated + from his noble ancestors, and disavowed the obligations of his illustrious + name; and, as the climax of his offences, that he dishonored the purple—<i>aischrois + epitædeumasin</i>—by the baseness of his pursuits. All that is true, + and more than that. But these considerations were not of a nature to + affect his parasitical attendants very nearly or keenly. Yet the story + runs—that Marcia, his privileged mistress, deeply affected by the + anticipation of some further outrages upon his high dignity which he was + then meditating, had carried the importunity of her deprecations too far; + that the irritated emperor had consequently inscribed her name, in company + with others, (whom he had reason to tax with the same offence, or whom he + suspected of similar sentiments,) in his little black book, or pocket + souvenir of death; that this book, being left under the cushion of a sofa, + had been conveyed into the hands of Marcia by a little pet boy, called + Philo-Commodus, who was caressed equally by the emperor and by Marcia; + that she had immediately called to her aid, and to the participation of + her plot, those who participated in her danger; and that the proximity of + their own intended fate had prescribed to them an immediate attempt; the + circumstances of which were these. At mid-day the emperor was accustomed + to bathe, and at the same time to take refreshments. On this occasion, + Marcia, agreeably to her custom, presented him with a goblet of wine, + medicated with poison. Of this wine, having just returned from the + fatigues of the chase, Commodus drank freely, and almost immediately fell + into heavy slumbers; from which, however, he was soon aroused by deadly + sickness. That was a case which the conspirators had not taken into their + calculations; and they now began to fear that the violent vomiting which + succeeded might throw off the poison. There was no time to be lost; and + the barbarous Marcia, who had so often slept in the arms of the young + emperor, was the person to propose that he should now be strangled. A + young gladiator, named Narcissus, was therefore introduced into the room; + what passed is not known circumstantially; but, as the emperor was young + and athletic, though off his guard at the moment, and under the + disadvantage of sickness, and as he had himself been regularly trained in + the gladiatorial discipline, there can be little doubt that the vile + assassin would meet with a desperate resistance. And thus, after all, + there is good reason to think that the emperor resigned his life in the + character of a dying gladiator. [Footnote: It is worthy of notice, that, + under any suspension of the imperatorial power or office, the senate was + the body to whom the Roman mind even yet continued to turn. In this case, + both to color their crime with a show of public motives, and to interest + this great body in their own favor by associating them in their own + dangers, the conspirators pretended to have found a long roll of + senatorial names included in the same page of condemnation with their own. + A manifest fabrication!] + </p> + <p> + So perished the eldest and sole surviving son of the great Marcus + Antoninus; and the crown passed into the momentary possession of two old + men, who reigned in succession each for a few weeks. The first of these + was Pertinax, an upright man, a good officer, and an unseasonable + reformer; unseasonable for those times, but more so for himself. Lætus, + the ringleader in the assassination of Commodus, had been at that time the + prætorian prefect—an office which a German writer considers as best + represented to modern ideas by the Turkish post of grand vizier. Needing a + protector at this moment, he naturally fixed his eyes upon Pertinax—as + then holding the powerful command of city prefect (or governor of Rome.) + Him therefore he recommended to the soldiery—that is, to the + prætorian cohorts. The soldiery had no particular objection to the old + general, if he and they could agree upon terms; his age being doubtless + appreciated as a first-rate recommendation, in a case where it insured a + speedy renewal of the lucrative bargain. + </p> + <p> + The only demur arose with Pertinax himself: he had been leader of the + troops in Britain, then superintendent of the police in Rome, thirdly + proconsul in Africa, and finally consul and governor of Rome. In these + great official stations he stood near enough to the throne to observe the + dangers with which it was surrounded; and it is asserted that he declined + the offered dignity. But it is added, that, finding the choice allowed him + lay between immediate death [Footnote: Historians have failed to remark + the contradiction between this statement and the allegation that Lætus + selected Pertinax for the throne on a consideration of his ability to + protect the assassins of Commodus.] and acceptance, he closed with the + proposals of the praetorian cohorts, at the rate of about ninety-six + pounds per man; which largess he paid by bringing to sale the rich + furniture of the last emperor. The danger which usually threatened a Roman + Cæsar in such cases was—lest he should not be able to fulfill his + contract. But in the case of Pertinax the danger began from the moment + when he <i>had</i> fulfilled it. Conceiving himself to be now released + from his dependency, he commenced his reforms, civil as well as military, + with a zeal which alarmed all those who had an interest in maintaining the + old abuses. To two great factions he thus made himself especially + obnoxious—to the praetorian cohorts, and to the courtiers under the + last reign. The connecting link between these two parties was Lætus, who + belonged personally to the last, and still retained his influence with the + first. Possibly his fears were alarmed; but, at all events, his cupidity + was not satisfied. He conceived himself to have been ill rewarded; and, + immediately resorting to the same weapons which he had used against + Commodus, he stimulated the praetorian guards to murder the emperor. Three + hundred of them pressed into the palace: Pertinax attempted to harangue + them, and to vindicate himself; but not being able to obtain a hearing, he + folded his robe about his head, called upon Jove the Avenger, and was + immediately dispatched. + </p> + <p> + The throne was again empty after a reign of about eighty days; and now + came the memorable scandal of putting up the empire to auction. There were + two bidders, Sulpicianus and Didius Julianus. The first, however, at that + time governor of Rome, lay under a weight of suspicion, being the + father-in-law of Pertinax, and likely enough to exact vengeance for his + murder. He was besides outbid by Julianus. Sulpician offered about one + hundred and sixty pounds a man to the guards; his rival offered two + hundred, and assured them besides of immediate payment; "for," said he, "I + have the money at home, without needing to raise it from the possessions + of the crown." Upon this the empire was knocked down to the highest + bidder. So shocking, however, was this arrangement to the Roman pride, + that the guards durst not leave their new creation without military + protection. The resentment of an unarmed mob, however, soon ceased to be + of foremost importance; this resentment extended rapidly to all the + frontiers of the empire, where the armies felt that the prætorian cohorts + had no exclusive title to give away the throne, and their leaders felt, + that, in a contest of this nature, their own claims were incomparably + superior to those of the present occupant. Three great candidates + therefore started forward—Septimius Severus, who commanded the + armies in Illyria, Pescennius Niger in Syria, and Albinus in Britain. + Severus, as the nearest to Rome, marched and possessed himself of that + city. Vengeance followed upon all parties concerned in the late murder. + Julianus, unable to complete his bargain, had already been put to death, + as a deprecatory offering to the approaching army. Severus himself + inflicted death upon Lætus, and dismissed the praetorian cohorts. Thence + marching against his Syrian rival, Niger, who had formerly been his + friend, and who was not wanting in military skill, he overthrew him in + three great battles. Niger fled to Antioch, the seat of his late + government, and was there decapitated. Meantime Albinus, the British + commander-in-chief, had already been won over by the title of Cæsar, or + adopted heir to the new Augustus. But the hollowness of this bribe soon + became apparent, and the two competitors met to decide their pretensions + at Lyons. In the great battle which followed, Severus fell from his horse, + and was at first supposed to be dead. But recovering, he defeated his + rival, who immediately committed suicide. Severus displayed his ferocious + temper sufficiently by sending the head of Albinus to Rome. Other + expressions of his natural character soon followed: he suspected strongly + that Albinus had been favored by the senate; forty of that body, with + their wives and children, were immediately sacrificed to his wrath; but he + never forgave the rest, nor endured to live upon terms of amity amongst + them. Quitting Rome in disgust, he employed himself first in making war + upon the Parthians, who had naturally, from situation, befriended his + Syrian rival. Their capital cities he overthrew; and afterwards, by way of + employing his armies, made war in Britain. At the city of York he died; + and to his two sons, Geta and Caracalla, he bequeathed, as his dying + advice, a maxim of policy, which sufficiently indicates the situation of + the empire at that period; it was this—"To enrich the soldiery at + any price, and to regard the rest of their subjects as so many ciphers." + But, as a critical historian remarks, this was a shortsighted and + self-destroying policy; since in no way is the subsistence of the soldier + made more insecure, than by diminishing the general security of rights and + property to those who are not soldiers, from whom, after all, the funds + must be sought, by which the soldier himself is to be paid and nourished. + The two sons of Severus, whose bitter enmity is so memorably put on record + by their actions, travelled simultaneously to Rome; but so mistrustful of + each other, that at every stage the two princes took up their quarters at + different houses. Geta has obtained the sympathy of historians, because he + happened to be the victim; but there is reason to think, that each of the + brothers was conspiring against the other. The weak credulity, rather than + the conscious innocence, of Geta, led to the catastrophe; he presented + himself at a meeting with his brother in the presence of their common + mother, and was murdered by Caracalla in his mother's arms. He was, + however, avenged; the horrors of that tragedy, and remorse for the twenty + thousand murders which had followed, never forsook the guilty Caracalla. + Quitting Rome, but pursued into every region by the bloody image of his + brother, the emperor henceforward led a wandering life at the head of his + legions; but never was there a better illustration of the poet's maxim, + that + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Remorse is as the mind in which it grows: + If <i>that</i> be gentle,' &c. +</pre> + <p> + For the remorse of Caracalla put on no shape of repentance. On the + contrary, he carried anger and oppression wherever he moved; and protected + himself from plots only by living in the very centre of a nomadic camp. + Six years had passed away in this manner, when a mere accident led to his + assassination. For the sake of security, the office of praetorian prefect + had been divided between two commissioners, one for military affairs, the + other for civil. The latter of these two officers was Opilius Macrinus. + This man has, by some historians, been supposed to have harbored no bad + intentions; but, unfortunately, an astrologer had foretold that he was + destined to the throne. The prophet was laid in irons at Rome, and letters + were dispatched to Caracalla, apprizing him of the case. These letters, as + yet unopened, were transferred by the emperor, then occupied in witnessing + a race, to Macrinus, who thus became acquainted with the whole grounds of + suspicion against himself,—grounds which, to the jealousy of the + emperor, he well knew would appear substantial proofs. Upon this he + resolved to anticipate the emperor in the work of murder. The + head-quarters were then at Edessa; and upon his instigation, a + disappointed centurion, named Martialis, animated also by revenge for the + death of his brother, undertook to assassinate Caracalla. An opportunity + soon offered, on a visit which the prince made to the celebrated temple of + the moon at Carrhæ. The attempt was successful: the emperor perished; but + Martialis paid the penalty of his crime in the same hour, being shot by a + Scythian archer of the body-guard. + </p> + <p> + Macrinus, after three days' interregnum, being elected emperor, began his + reign by purchasing a peace from the Parthians. What the empire chiefly + needed at this moment, is evident from the next step taken by this + emperor. He labored to restore the ancient discipline of the armies in all + its rigor. He was aware of the risk he ran in this attempt; and that he <i>was</i> + so, is the best evidence of the strong necessity which existed for reform. + Perhaps, however, he might have surmounted his difficulties and dangers, + had he met with no competitor round whose person the military malcontents + could rally. But such a competitor soon arose; and, to the astonishment of + all the world, in the person of a Syrian. The Emperor Severus, on losing + his first wife, had resolved to strengthen the pretensions of his family + by a second marriage with some lady having a regal "genesis," that is, + whose horoscope promised a regal destiny. Julia Domna, a native of Syria, + offered him this dowry, and she became the mother of Geta. A sister of + this Julia, called Moesa, had, through two different daughters, two + grandsons—Heliogabalus and Alexander Severus. The mutineers of the + army rallied round the first of these; a battle was fought; and Macrinus, + with his son Diadumenianus, whom he had adopted to the succession, were + captured and put to death. Heliogabalus succeeded, and reigned in the + monstrous manner which has rendered his name infamous in history. In what + way, however, he lost the affections of the army, has never been + explained. His mother, Sooemias, the eldest daughter of Moesa, had + represented herself as the concubine of Caracalla; and Heliogabalus, being + thus accredited as the son of that emperor, whose memory was dear to the + soldiery, had enjoyed the full benefit of that descent, nor can it be + readily explained how he came to lose it. + </p> + <p> + Here, in fact, we meet with an instance of that dilemma which is so + constantly occurring in the history of the Cæsars. If a prince is by + temperament disposed to severity of manners, and naturally seeks to + impress his own spirit upon the composition and discipline of the army, we + are sure to find that he was cut off in his attempts by private + assassination or by public rebellion. On the other hand, if he wallows in + sensuality, and is careless about all discipline, civil or military, we + then find as commonly that he loses the esteem and affections of the army + to some rival of severer habits. And in the midst of such oscillations, + and with examples of such contradictory interpretation, we cannot wonder + that the Roman princes did not oftener take warning by the misfortunes of + their predecessors. In the present instance, Alexander, the cousin of + Heliogabalus, without intrigues of his own, and simply (as it appears) by + the purity and sobriety of his conduct, had alienated the affections of + the army from the reigning prince. Either jealousy or prudence had led + Heliogabalus to make an attempt upon his rival's life; and this attempt + had nearly cost him his own through the mutiny which it caused. In a + second uproar, produced by some fresh intrigues of the emperor against his + cousin, the soldiers became unmanageable, and they refused to pause until + they had massacred Heliogabalus, together with his mother, and raised his + cousin Alexander to the throne. + </p> + <p> + The reforms of this prince, who reigned under the name of Alexander + Severus, were extensive and searching; not only in his court, which he + purged of all notorious abuses, but throughout the economy of the army. He + cashiered, upon one occasion, an entire legion: he restored, as far as he + was able, the ancient discipline; and, above all, he liberated the + provinces from military spoliation. "Let the soldier," said he, "be + contented with his pay; and whatever more he wants, let him obtain it by + victory from the enemy, not by pillage from his fellow-subject." But + whatever might be the value or extent of his reforms in the marching + regiments, Alexander could not succeed in binding the prætorian guards to + his yoke. Under the guardianship of his mother Mammæa, the conduct of + state affairs had been submitted to a council of sixteen persons, at the + head of which stood the celebrated Ulpian. To this minister the prætorians + imputed the reforms, and perhaps the whole spirit of reform; for they + pursued him with a vengeance which is else hardly to be explained. Many + days was Ulpian protected by the citizens of Rome, until the whole city + was threatened with conflagration; he then fled to the palace of the young + emperor, who in vain attempted to save him from his pursuers under the + shelter of the imperial purple. Ulpian was murdered before his eyes; nor + was it found possible to punish the ringleader in this foul conspiracy, + until he had been removed by something like treachery to a remote + government. + </p> + <p> + Meantime, a great revolution and change of dynasty had been effected in + Parthia; the line of the Arsacidæ was terminated; the Parthian empire was + at an end; and the sceptre of Persia was restored under the new race of + the Sassanides. Artaxerxes, the first prince of this race, sent an embassy + of four hundred select knights, enjoining the Roman emperor to content + himself with Europe, and to leave Asia to the Persians. In the event of a + refusal, the ambassadors were instructed to offer a defiance to the Roman + prince. Upon such an insult, Alexander could not do less, with either + safety or dignity, than prepare for war. It is probable, indeed, that, by + this expedition, which drew off the minds of the soldiery from brooding + upon the reforms which offended them, the life of Alexander was prolonged. + But the expedition itself was mismanaged, or was unfortunate. This result, + however, does not seem chargeable upon Alexander. All the preparations + were admirable on the march, and up to the enemy's frontier. The invasion + it was, which, in a strategic sense, seems to have been ill combined. + Three armies were to have entered Persia simultaneously: one of these, + which was destined to act on a flank of the general line, entangled itself + in the marshy grounds near Babylon, and was cut off by the archery of an + enemy whom it could not reach. The other wing, acting upon ground + impracticable for the manoeuvres of the Persian cavalry, and supported by + Chosroes the king of Armenia, gave great trouble to Artaxerxes, and, with + adequate support from the other armies, would doubtless have been + victorious. But the central army, under the conduct of Alexander in + person, discouraged by the destruction of one entire wing, remained + stationary in Mesopotamia throughout the summer, and, at the close of the + campaign, was withdrawn to Antioch, <i>re infectâ</i>. It has been + observed that great mystery hangs over the operations and issue of this + short war. Thus much, however, is evident, that nothing but the previous + exhaustion of the Persian king saved the Roman armies from signal + discomfiture; and even thus there is no ground for claiming a victory (as + most historians do) to the Roman arms. Any termination of the Persian war, + however, whether glorious or not, was likely to be personally injurious to + Alexander, by allowing leisure to the soldiery for recurring to their + grievances. Sensible, no doubt, of this, Alexander was gratified by the + occasion which then arose for repressing the hostile movements of the + Germans. He led his army off upon this expedition; but their temper was + gloomy and threatening; and at length, after reaching the seat of war, at + Mentz, an open mutiny broke out under the guidance of Maximin, which + terminated in the murder of the emperor and his mother. By Herodian the + discontents of the army are referred to the ill management of the Persian + campaign, and the unpromising commencement of the new war in Germany. But + it seems probable that a dissolute and wicked army, like that of + Alexander, had not murmured under the too little, but the too much of + military service; not the buying a truce with gold seems to have offended + them, but the having led them at all upon an enterprise of danger and + hardship. + </p> + <p> + Maximin succeeded, whose feats of strength, when he first courted the + notice of the Emperor Severus, have been described by Gibbon. He was at + that period a Thracian peasant; since then he had risen gradually to high + offices; but, according to historians, he retained his Thracian brutality + to the last. That may have been true; but one remark must be made upon + this occasion: Maximin was especially opposed to the senate; and, wherever + that was the case, no justice was done to an emperor. Why it was that + Maximin would not ask for the confirmation of his election from the + senate, has never been explained; it is said that he anticipated a + rejection. But, on the other hand, it seems probable that the senate + supposed its sanction to be despised. Nothing, apparently, but this + reciprocal reserve in making approaches to each other, was the cause of + all the bloodshed which followed. The two Gordians, who commanded in + Africa, were set up by the senate against the new emperor; and the + consternation of that body must have been great, when these champions were + immediately overthrown and killed. They did not, however, despair: + substituting the two governors of Rome, Pupienus and Balbinus, and + associating to them the younger Gordian, they resolved to make a stand; + for the severities of Maximin had by this time manifested that it was a + contest of extermination. Meantime, Maximin had broken up from Sirmium, + the capital of Pannonia, and had advanced to Aquileia,—that famous + fortress, which in every invasion of Italy was the first object of attack. + The senate had set a price upon his head; but there was every probability + that he would have triumphed, had he not disgusted his army by immoderate + severities. It was, however, but reasonable that those, who would not + support the strict but equitable discipline of the mild Alexander, should + suffer under the barbarous and capricious rigor of Maximin. That rigor was + his ruin: sunk and degraded as the senate was, and now but the shadow of a + mighty name, it was found on this occasion to have long arms when + supported by the frenzy of its opponent. Whatever might be the real + weakness of this body, the rude soldiers yet felt a blind traditionary + veneration for its sanction, when prompting them as patriots to an act + which their own multiplied provocations had but too much recommended to + their passions. A party entered the tent of Maximin, and dispatched him + with the same unpitying haste which he had shown under similar + circumstances to the gentle-minded Alexander. Aquileia opened her gates + immediately, and thus made it evident that the war had been personal to + Maximin. + </p> + <p> + A scene followed within a short time which is in the highest degree + interesting. The senate, in creating two emperors at once (for the boy + Gordian was probably associated to them only by way of masking their + experiment), had made it evident that their purpose was to restore the + republic and its two consuls. This was their meaning; and the experiment + had now been twice repeated. The army saw through it: as to the double + number of emperors, <i>that</i> was of little consequence, farther than as + it expressed their intention, viz. by bringing back the consular + government, to restore the power of the senate, and to abrogate that of + the army. The prætorian troops, who were the most deeply interested in + preventing this revolution, watched their opportunity, and attacked the + two emperors in the palace. The deadly feud, which had already arisen + between them, led each to suppose himself under assault from the other. + The mistake was not of long duration. Carried into the streets of Rome, + they were both put to death, and treated with monstrous indignities. The + young Gordian was adopted by the soldiery. It seems odd that even thus far + the guards should sanction the choice of the senate, having the purposes + which they had; but perhaps Gordian had recommended himself to their favor + in a degree which might outweigh what they considered the original vice of + his appointment, and his youth promised them an immediate impunity. This + prince, however, like so many of his predecessors, soon came to an unhappy + end. Under the guardianship of the upright Misitheus, for a time he + prospered; and preparations were made upon a great scale for the energetic + administration of a Persian war. But Misitheus died, perhaps by poison, in + the course of the campaign; and to him succeeded, as prætorian prefect, an + Arabian officer, called Philip. The innocent boy, left without friends, + was soon removed by murder; and a monument was afterwards erected to his + memory, at the junction of the Aboras and the Euphrates. Great obscurity, + however, clouds this part of history; nor is it so much as known in what + way the Persian war was conducted or terminated. + </p> + <p> + Philip, having made himself emperor, celebrated, upon his arrival in Rome, + the secular games, in the year 247 of the Christian era—that being + the completion of a thousand years from the foundation of Rome. But + Nemesis was already on his steps. An insurrection had broken out amongst + the legions stationed in Moesia; and they had raised to the purple some + officer of low rank. Philip, having occasion to notice this affair in the + senate, received for answer from Decius, that probably the + pseudo-imperator would prove a mere evanescent phantom. This conjecture + was confirmed; and Philip in consequence conceived a high opinion of + Decius, whom (as the insurrection still continued) he judged to be the + fittest man for appeasing it. Decius accordingly went, armed with the + proper authority. But on his arrival, he found himself compelled by the + insurgent army to choose between empire and death. Thus constrained, he + yielded to the wishes of the troops; and then hastening with a veteran + army into Italy, he fought the battle of Verona, where Philip was defeated + and killed, whilst the son of Philip was murdered at Rome by the prætorian + guards. + </p> + <p> + With Philip ends, according to our distribution, the second series of the + Cæsars, comprehending Commodus, Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Septimius + Severus, Caracalla, and Geta, Macrinus, Heliogabalus, Alexander Severus, + Maximin, the two Gordians, Pupienus and Balbinus, the third Gordian, and + Philip the Arab. + </p> + <p> + In looking back at this series of Cæsars, we are horror-struck at the + blood-stained picture. Well might a foreign writer, in reviewing the same + succession, declare, that it is like passing into a new world when the + transition is made from this chapter of the human history to that of + modern Europe. From Commodus to Decius are sixteen names, which, spread + through a space of 59 years, assign to each Cæsar a reign of less than + four years. And Casaubon remarks, that, in one period of 160 years, there + were 70 persons who assumed the Roman purple; which gives to each not much + more than two years. On the other hand, in the history of France, we find + that, through a period of 1200 years, there have been no more than 64 + kings: upon an average, therefore, each king appears to have enjoyed a + reign of nearly nineteen years. This vast difference in security is due to + two great principles,—that of primogeniture as between son and son, + and of hereditary succession as between a son and every other pretender. + Well may we hail the principle of hereditary right as realizing the praise + of Burke applied to chivalry, viz., that it is "the cheap defence of + nations;" for the security which is thus obtained, be it recollected, does + not regard a small succession of princes, but the whole rights and + interests of social man: since the contests for the rights of belligerent + rivals do not respect themselves only, but very often spread ruin and + proscription amongst all orders of men. The principle of hereditary + succession, says one writer, had it been a discovery of any one + individual, would deserve to be considered as the very greatest ever made; + and he adds acutely, in answer to the obvious, but shallow objection to it + (viz. its apparent assumption of equal ability for reigning in father and + son for ever), that it is like the Copernican system of the heavenly + bodies,—contradictory to our sense and first impressions, but true + notwithstanding. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> + <p> + To return, however, to our sketch of the Cæsars—at the head of the + third series we place Decius. He came to the throne at a moment of great + public embarrassment. The Goths were now beginning to press southwards + upon the empire. Dacia they had ravaged for some time; "and here," says a + German writer, "observe the shortsightedness of the Emperor Trajan." Had + he left the Dacians in possession of their independence, they would, under + their native kings, have made head against the Goths. But, being compelled + to assume the character of Roman citizens, they had lost their warlike + qualities. From Dacia the Goths had descended upon Moesia; and, passing + the Danube, they laid siege to Marcianopolis, a city built by Trajan in + honor of his sister. The inhabitants paid a heavy ransom for their town; + and the Goths were persuaded for the present to return home. But sooner + than was expected, they returned to Moesia, under their king, Kniva; and + they were already engaged in the siege of Nicopolis, when Decius came in + sight at the head of the Roman army. The Goths retired, but it was to + Thrace; and, in the conquest of Philippopolis, they found an ample + indemnity for their forced retreat and disappointment. Decius pursued, but + the king of the Goths turned suddenly upon him; the emperor was obliged to + fly; the Roman camp was plundered; Philippopolis was taken by storm; and + its whole population, reputed at more than a hundred thousand souls, + destroyed. + </p> + <p> + Such was the first great irruption of the barbarians into the Roman + territory: and panic was diffused on the wings of the winds over the whole + empire. Decius, however, was firm, and made prodigious efforts to restore + the balance of power to its ancient condition. For the moment he had some + partial successes. He cut off several detachments of Goths, on their road + to reinforce the enemy; and he strengthened the fortresses and garrisons + of the Danube. But his last success was the means of his total ruin. He + came up with the Goths at Forum Terebronii, and, having surrounded their + position, their destruction seemed inevitable. A great battle ensued, and + a mighty victory to the Goths. Nothing is now known of the circumstances, + except that the third line of the Romans was entangled inextricably in a + morass (as had happened in the Persian expedition of Alexander). Decius + perished on this occasion—nor was it possible to find his dead body. + This great defeat naturally raised the authority of the senate, in the + same proportion as it depressed that of the army; and by the will of that + body, Hostilianus, a son of Decius, was raised to the empire; and + ostensibly on account of his youth, but really with a view to their + standing policy of restoring the consulate, and the whole machinery of the + republic, Gallus, an experienced commander, was associated in the empire. + But no skill or experience could avail to retrieve the sinking power of + Rome upon the Illyrian, frontier. The Roman army was disorganized, + panic-stricken, reduced to skeleton battalions. Without an army, what + could be done? And thus it may really have been no blame to Gallus, that + he made a treaty with the Goths more degrading than any previous act in + the long annals of Rome. By the terms of this infamous bargain, they were + allowed to carry off an immense booty, amongst which was a long roll of + distinguished prisoners; and Cæsar himself it was—not any lieutenant + or agent that might have been afterwards disavowed—who volunteered + to purchase their future absence by an annual tribute. The very army which + had brought their emperor into the necessity of submitting to such abject + concessions, were the first to be offended with this natural result of + their own failures. Gallus was already ruined in public opinion, when + further accumulations arose to his disgrace. It was now supposed to have + been discovered, that the late dreadful defeat of Forum Terebronii was due + to his bad advice; and, as the young Hostilianus happened to die about + this time of a contagious disorder, Gallus was charged with his murder. + Even a ray of prosperity, which just now gleamed upon the Roman arms, + aggravated the disgrace of Gallus, and was instantly made the handle of + his ruin. Æmilianus, the governor of Moesia and Pannonia, inflicted some + check or defeat upon the Goths; and in the enthusiasm of sudden pride, + upon an occasion which contrasted so advantageously for himself with the + military conduct of Decius and Gallus, the soldiers of his own legion + raised Æmilianus to the purple. No time was to be lost. Summoned by the + troops, Æmilianus marched into Italy; and no sooner had he made his + appearance there, than the prætorian guards murdered the Emperor Gallus + and his son Volusianus, by way of confirming the election of Æmilianus. + The new emperor offered to secure the frontiers, both in the east and on + the Danube, from the incursions of the barbarians. This offer may be + regarded as thrown out for the conciliation of all classes in the empire. + But to the senate in particular he addressed a message, which forcibly + illustrates the political position of that body in those times. Æmilianus + proposed to resign the whole civil administration into the hands of the + senate, reserving to himself only the unenviable burthen of the military + interests. His hope was, that in this way making himself in part the + creation of the senate, he might strengthen his title against competitors + at Rome, whilst the entire military administration going on under his own + eyes, exclusively directed to that one object, would give him some chance + of defeating the hasty and tumultuary competitions so apt to arise amongst + the legions upon the frontier. We notice the transaction chiefly as + indicating the anomalous situation of the senate. Without power in a + proper sense, or no more, however, than the indirect power of wealth, that + ancient body retained an immense <i>auctoritas</i>—that is, an + influence built upon ancient reputation, which, in their case, had the + strength of a religious superstition in all Italian minds. This influence + the senators exerted with effect, whenever the course of events had + happened to reduce the power of the army. And never did they make a more + continuous and sustained effort for retrieving their ancient power and + place, together with the whole system of the republic, than during the + period at which we are now arrived. From the time of Maximin, in fact, to + the accession of Aurelian, the senate perpetually interposed their credit + and authority, like some <i>Deus ex machinâ</i> in the dramatic art. And + if this one fact were all that had survived of the public annals at this + period, we might sufficiently collect the situation of the two other + parties in the empire—the army and the imperator; the weakness and + precarious tenure of the one, and the anarchy of the other. And hence it + is that we can explain the hatred borne to the senate by vigorous + emperors, such as Aurelian, succeeding to a long course of weak and + troubled reigns. Such an emperor presumed in the senate, and not without + reason, that same spirit of domineering interference as ready to manifest + itself, upon any opportunity offered, against himself, which, in his + earlier days, he had witnessed so repeatedly in successful operation upon + the fates and prospects of others. + </p> + <p> + The situation indeed of the world—that is to say, of that great + centre of civilization, which, running round the Mediterranean in one + continuous belt of great breadth, still composed the Roman Empire, was at + this time most profoundly interesting. The crisis had arrived. In the + East, a new dynasty (the Sassanides) had remoulded ancient elements into a + new form, and breathed a new life into an empire, which else was gradually + becoming crazy from age, and which, at any rate, by losing its unity, must + have lost its vigor as an offensive power. Parthia was languishing and + drooping as an anti-Roman state, when the last of the Arsacidæ expired. A + perfect <i>Palingenesis</i> was wrought by the restorer of the Persian + empire, which pretty nearly re-occupied (and gloried in re-occupying) the + very area that had once composed the empire of Cyrus. Even this <i>Palingenesis</i> + might have terminated in a divided empire: vigor might have been restored, + but in the shape of a polyarchy, (such as the Saxons established in + England,) rather than a monarchy; and in reality, at one moment that + appeared to be a probable event. Now, had this been the course of the + revolution, an alliance with one of these kingdoms would have tended to + balance the hostility of another (as was in fact the case when Alexander + Severus saved himself from the Persian power by a momentary alliance with + Armenia.) But all the elements of disorder had in that quarter re-combined + themselves into severe unity: and thus was Rome, upon her eastern + frontier, laid open to a new power of juvenile activity and vigor, just at + the period when the languor of the decaying Parthian had allowed the Roman + discipline to fall into a corresponding declension. Such was the condition + of Rome upon her oriental frontier. [Footnote: And it is a striking + illustration of the extent to which the revolution had gone, that, + previously to the Persian expedition of the last Gordian, Antioch, the + Roman capital of Syria, had been occupied by the enemy.] On the northern, + it was much worse. Precisely at the crisis of a great revolution in Asia, + which demanded in that quarter more than the total strength of the empire, + and threatened to demand it for ages to come, did the Goths, under their + earliest denomination of <i>Getæ</i> with many other associate tribes, + begin to push with their horns against the northern gates of the empire: + the whole line of the Danube, and, pretty nearly about the same time, of + the Rhine, (upon which the tribes from Swabia, Bavaria, and Franconia, + were beginning to descend,) now became insecure; and these two rivers + ceased in effect to be the barriers of Rome. Taking a middle point of time + between the Parthian revolution and the fatal overthrow of Forum + Terebronii, we may fix upon the reign of Philip the Arab, [who naturalized + himself in Rome by the appellation of Marcus Julius,] as the epoch from + which the Roman empire, already sapped and undermined by changes from + within, began to give way, and to dilapidate from without. And this reign + dates itself in the series by those ever-memorable secular or jubilee + games, which celebrated the completion of the thousandth year from the + foundation of Rome. [Footnote: This Arab emperor reigned about five years; + and the jubilee celebration occurred in his second year. Another + circumstance gives importance to the Arabian, that, according to one + tradition, he was the first Christian emperor. If so, it is singular that + one of the bitterest persecutors of Christianity should have been his + immediate successor—Decius.] + </p> + <p> + Resuming our sketch of the Imperial history, we may remark the natural + embarrassment which must have possessed the senate, when two candidates + for the purple were equally earnest in appealing to them, and their + deliberate choice, as the best foundation for a valid election. Scarcely + had the ground been cleared for Æmilianus, by the murder of Gallus and his + son, when Valerian, a Roman senator, of such eminent merit, and + confessedly so much the foremost noble in all the qualities essential to + the very delicate and comprehensive functions of a Censor, [Footnote: It + has proved a most difficult problem, in the hands of all speculators upon + the imperial history, to fathom the purposes, or throw any light upon the + purposes, of the Emperor Decius, in attempting the revival of the ancient + but necessarily obsolete office of a public censorship. Either it was an + act of pure verbal pedantry, or a mere titular decoration of honor, (as if + a modern prince should create a person Arch-Grand-Elector, with no objects + assigned to his electing faculty,) or else, if it really meant to revive + the old duties of the censorship, and to assign the very same field for + the exercise of those duties, it must be viewed as the very grossest + practical anachronism that has ever been committed. We mean by an + anachronism, in common usage, that sort of blunder when a man ascribes to + one age the habits, customs, or generally the characteristics of another. + This, however, may be a mere lapse of memory, as to a matter of fact, and + implying nothing at all discreditable to the understanding, but only that + a man has shifted the boundaries of chronology a little this way or that; + as if, for example, a writer should speak of printed books as existing at + the day of Agincourt, or of artillery as existing in the first Crusade, + here would be an error, but a venial one. A far worse kind of anachronism, + though rarely noticed as such, is where a writer ascribes sentiments and + modes of thought incapable of co-existing with the sort or the degree of + civilization then attained, or otherwise incompatible with the structure + of society in the age or the country assigned. For instance, in Southey's + Don Roderick there is a cast of sentiment in the Gothic king's remorse and + contrition of heart, which has struck many readers as utterly unsuitable + to the social and moral development of that age, and redolent of modern + methodism. This, however, we mention only as an illustration, without + wishing to hazard an opinion upon the justice of that criticism. But even + such an anachronism is less startling and extravagant when it is confined + to an ideal representation of things, than where it is practically + embodied and brought into play amongst the realities of life. What would + be thought of a man who should attempt, in 1833, to revive the ancient + office of <i>Fool</i>, as it existed down to the reign, suppose, of our + Henry VIII. in England? Yet the error of the Emperor Decius was far + greater, if he did in sincerity and good faith believe that the Rome of + his times was amenable to that license of unlimited correction, and of + interference with private affairs, which republican freedom and simplicity + had once conceded to the censor. In reality, the ancient censor, in some + parts of his office, was neither more nor less than a compendious + legislator. Acts of attainder, divorce bills, &c., illustrate the case + in England; they are cases of law, modified to meet the case of an + individual; and the censor, having a sort of equity jurisdiction, was + intrusted with discretionary powers for reviewing, revising, and amending, + <i>pro re nata</i>, whatever in the private life of a Roman citizen + seemed, to his experienced eye, alien to the simplicity of an austere + republic; whatever seemed vicious or capable of becoming vicious, + according to their rude notions of political economy; and, generally, + whatever touched the interests of the commonwealth, though not falling + within the general province of legislation, either because it might appear + undignified in its circumstances, or too narrow in its range of operation + for a public anxiety, or because considerations of delicacy and prudence + might render it unfit for a public scrutiny. Take one case, drawn from + actual experience, as an illustration: A Roman nobleman, under one of the + early emperors, had thought fit, by way of increasing his income, to + retire into rural lodgings, or into some small villa, whilst his splendid + mansion in Rome was let to a rich tenant. That a man, who wore the <i>laticlave</i>, + (which in practical effect of splendor we may consider equal to the ribbon + and star of a modern order,) should descend to such a degrading method of + raising money, was felt as a scandal to the whole nobility. [Footnote: + This feeling still exists in France. "One winter," says the author of <i>The + English Army in France</i>, vol. ii. p. 106-7, "our commanding officer's + wife formed the project of hiring the chateau during the absence of the + owner; but a more profound insult could not have been offered to a + Chevalier de St. Louis. Hire his house! What could these people take him + for? A sordid wretch who would stoop to make money by such means? They + ought to be ashamed of themselves. He could never respect an Englishman + again." "And yet," adds the writer, "this gentleman (had an officer been + billeted there) would have <i>sold</i> him a bottle of wine out of his + cellar, or a billet of wood from his stack, or an egg from his hen-house, + at a profit of fifty per cent., not only without scruple, but upon no + other terms. It was as common as ordering wine at a tavern, to call the + servant of any man's establishment where we happened to be quartered, and + demand an account of the cellar, as well as the price of the wine we + selected!" This feeling existed, and perhaps to the same extent, two + centuries ago, in England. Not only did the aristocracy think it a + degradation to act the part of landlord with respect to their own houses, + but also, except in select cases, to act that of tenant. Thus, the first + Lord Brooke, (the famous Fulke Greville,) writing to inform his next + neighbor, a woman of rank, that the house she occupied had been purchased + by a London citizen, confesses his fears that he shall in consequence lose + so valuable a neighbor; for, doubtless, he adds, your ladyship will not + remain as tenant to "such a fellow." And yet the man had notoriously held + the office of Lord Mayor, which made him, for the time, <i>Right Honorable</i>. + The Italians of this day make no scruple to let off the whole, or even + part, of their fine mansions to strangers.] + </p> + <p> + Yet what could be done? To have interfered with his conduct by an express + law, would be to infringe the sacred rights of property, and to say, in + effect, that a man should not do what he would with his own. This would + have been a remedy far worse than the evil to which it was applied; nor + could it have been possible so to shape the principle of a law, as not to + make it far more comprehensive than was desired. The senator's trespass + was in a matter of decorum; but the law would have trespassed on the first + principles of justice. Here, then, was a case within the proper + jurisdiction of the censor; he took notice, in his public report, of the + senator's error; or probably, before coming to that extremity, he + admonished him privately on the subject. Just as, in England, had there + been such an officer, he would have reproved those men of rank who mounted + the coach-box, who extended a public patronage to the "fancy," or who rode + their own horses at a race. Such a reproof, however, unless it were made + practically operative, and were powerfully supported by the whole body of + the aristocracy, would recoil upon its author as a piece of impertinence, + and would soon be resented as an unwarrantable liberty taken with private + rights; the censor would be kicked, or challenged to private combat, + according to the taste of the parties aggrieved. The office is clearly in + this dilemma: if the censor is supported by the state, then he combines in + his own person both legislative and executive functions, and possesses a + power which is frightfully irresponsible; if, on the other hand, he is + left to such support as he can find in the prevailing spirit of manners, + and the old traditionary veneration for his sacred character, he stands + very much in the situation of a priesthood, which has great power or none + at all, according to the condition of a country in moral and religious + feeling, coupled with the more or less primitive state of manners. How, + then, with any rational prospect of success, could Decius attempt the + revival of an office depending so entirely on moral supports, in an age + when all those supports were withdrawn? The prevailing spirit of manners + was hardly fitted to sustain even a toleration of such an office; and as + to the traditionary veneration for the sacred character, from long disuse + of its practical functions, that probably was altogether extinct. If these + considerations are plain and intelligible even to us, by the men of that + day they must have been felt with a degree of force that could leave no + room for doubt or speculation on the matter. How was it, then, that the + emperor only should have been blind to such general light? + </p> + <p> + In the absence of all other, even plausible, solutions of this difficulty, + we shall state our own theory of the matter. Decius, as is evident from + his fierce persecution of the Christians, was not disposed to treat + Christianity with indifference, under any form which it might assume, or + however masked. Yet there were quarters in which it lurked not liable to + the ordinary modes of attack. Christianity was creeping up with inaudible + steps into high places,—nay, into the very highest. The immediate + predecessor of Decius upon the throne, Philip the Arab, was known to be a + disciple of the new faith; and amongst the nobles of Rome, through the + females and the slaves, that faith had spread its roots in every + direction. Some secrecy, however, attached to the profession of a religion + so often proscribed. Who should presume to tear away the mask which + prudence or timidity had taken up? A <i>delator</i>, or professional + informer, was an infamous character. To deal with the noble and + illustrious, the descendants of the Marcelli and the Gracchi, there must + be nothing less than a great state officer, supported by the censor and + the senate, having an unlimited privilege of scrutiny and censure, + authorized to inflict the brand of infamy for offences not challenged by + express law, and yet emanating from an elder institution, familiar to the + days of reputed liberty. Such an officer was the censor; and such were the + antichristian purposes of Decius in his revival.] that Decius had revived + that office expressly in his behalf, entered Italy at the head of the army + from Gaul. He had been summoned to his aid by the late emperor, Gallus; + but, arriving too late for his support, he determined to avenge him. Both + Æmilianus and Valerian recognised the authority of the senate, and + professed to act under that sanction; but it was the soldiery who cut the + knot, as usual, by the sword. Æmilianus was encamped at Spoleto; but as + the enemy drew near, his soldiers, shrinking no doubt from a contest with + veteran troops, made their peace by murdering the new emperor, and + Valerian was elected in his stead. This prince was already an old man at + the time of his election; but he lived long enough to look back upon the + day of his inauguration as the blackest in his life. Memorable were the + calamities which fell upon himself, and upon the empire, during his reign. + He began by associating to himself his son Gallienus; partly, perhaps, for + his own relief, partly to indulge the senate in their steady plan of + dividing the imperial authority. The two emperors undertook the military + defence of the empire, Gallienus proceeding to the German frontier, + Valerian to the eastern. Under Gallienus, the Franks began first to make + themselves heard of. Breaking into Gaul they passed through that country + and Spain; captured Tarragona in their route; crossed over to Africa, and + conquered Mauritania. At the same time, the Alemanni, who had been in + motion since the time of Caracalla, broke into Lombardy, across the + Rhætian Alps. The senate, left without aid from either emperor, were + obliged to make preparations for the common defence against this host of + barbarians. Luckily, the very magnitude of the enemy's success, by + overloading him with booty, made it his interest to retire without + fighting; and the degraded senate, hanging upon the traces of their + retiring footsteps, without fighting, or daring to fight, claimed the + honors of a victory. Even then, however, they did more than was agreeable + to the jealousies of Gallienus, who, by an edict, publicly rebuked their + presumption, and forbade them in future to appear amongst the legions, or + to exercise any military functions. He himself, meanwhile, could devise no + better way of providing for the public security, than by marrying the + daughter of his chief enemy, the king of the Marcomanni. On this side of + Europe, the barbarians were thus quieted for the present; but the Goths of + the Ukraine, in three marauding expeditions of unprecedented violence, + ravaged the wealthy regions of Asia Minor, as well as the islands of the + Archipelago; and at length, under the guidance of deserters, landed in the + port of the Pyræus. Advancing from this point, after sacking Athens and + the chief cities of Greece, they marched upon Epirus, and began to + threaten Italy. But the defection at this crisis of a conspicuous + chieftain, and the burden of their booty, made these wild marauders + anxious to provide for a safe retreat; the imperial commanders in Moesia + listened eagerly to their offers: and it set the seal to the dishonors of + the state, that, after having traversed so vast a range of territory + almost without resistance, these blood-stained brigands were now suffered + to retire under the very guardianship of those whom they had just visited + with military execution. + </p> + <p> + Such were the terms upon which the Emperor Gallienus purchased a brief + respite from his haughty enemies. For the moment, however, he <i>did</i> + enjoy security. Far otherwise was the destiny of his unhappy father. Sapor + now ruled in Persia; the throne of Armenia had vainly striven to maintain + its independency against his armies, and the daggers of his hired + assassins. This revolution, which so much enfeebled the Roman means of + war, exactly in that proportion increased the necessity for it. War, and + that instantly, seemed to offer the only chance for maintaining the Roman + name or existence in Asia, Carrhæ and Nisibis, the two potent fortresses + in Mesopotamia, had fallen; and the Persian arms were now triumphant on + both banks of the Euphrates. Valerian was not of a character to look with + indifference upon such a scene, terminated by such a prospect; prudence + and temerity, fear and confidence, all spoke a common language in this + great emergency; and Valerian marched towards the Euphrates with a fixed + purpose of driving the enemy beyond that river. By whose mismanagement the + records of history do not enable us to say, some think of Macrianus, the + prætorian prefect, some of Valerian himself, but doubtless by the + treachery of guides co-operating with errors in the general, the Roman + army was entangled in marshy grounds; partial actions followed, and + skirmishes of cavalry, in which the Romans became direfully aware of their + situation; retreat was cut off, to advance was impossible; and to fight + was now found to be without hope. In these circumstances they offered to + capitulate. But the haughty Sapor would hear of nothing but unconditional + surrender; and to that course the unhappy emperor submitted. Various + traditions [Footnote: Some of these traditions have been preserved, which + represent Sapor as using his imperial captive for his stepping-stone, or + <i>anabathrum</i>, in mounting his horse. Others go farther, and pretend + that Sapor actually flayed his unhappy prisoner whilst yet alive. The + temptation to these stories was perhaps found in the craving for the + marvellous, and in the desire to make the contrast more striking between + the two extremes in Valerian's life.] have been preserved by history + concerning the fate of Valerian: all agree that he died in misery and + captivity; but some have circumstantiated this general statement by + features of excessive misery and degradation, which possibly were added + afterwards by scenical romancers, in order to heighten the interest of the + tale, or by ethical writers, in order to point and strengthen the moral. + Gallienus now ruled alone, except as regarded the restless efforts of + insurgents, thirty of whom are said to have arisen in his single reign. + This, however, is probably an exaggeration. Nineteen such rebels are + mentioned by name; of whom the chief were Calpurnius Piso, a Roman + senator; Tetricus, a man of rank who claimed a descent from Pompey, + Crassus, and even from Numa Pompilius, and maintained himself some time in + Gaul and Spain; Trebellianus, who founded a republic of robbers in Isauria + which survived himself by centuries; and Odenathus, the Syrian. Others + were mere <i>Terra filii,</i> or adventurers, who flourished and decayed + in a few days or weeks, of whom the most remarkable was a working armorer + named Marius. Not one of the whole number eventually prospered, except + Odenathus; and he, though originally a rebel, yet, in consideration of + services performed against Persia, was suffered to retain his power, and + to transmit his kingdom of Palmyra to his widow Zenobia. He was even + complimented with the title of Augustus. All the rest perished. Their + rise, however, and local prosperity at so many different points of the + empire, showed the distracted condition of the state, and its internal + weakness. That again proclaimed its external peril. No other cause had + called forth this diffusive spirit of insurrection than the general + consciousness, so fatally warranted, of the debility which had emasculated + the government, and its incompetency to deal vigorously with the public + enemies. [Footnote: And this incompetency was <i>permanently</i> increased + by rebellions that were brief and fugitive: for each insurgent almost + necessarily maintained himself for the moment by spoliations and robberies + which left lasting effects behind them; and too often he was tempted to + ally himself with some foreign enemy amongst the barbarians, and perhaps + to introduce him into the heart of the empire.] The very granaries of + Rome, Sicily and Egypt, were the seats of continued distractions; in + Alexandria, the second city of the empire, there was even a civil war + which lasted for twelve years. Weakness, dissension, and misery were + spread like a cloud over the whole face of the empire. + </p> + <p> + The last of the rebels who directed his rebellion personally against + Gallienus was Aureolus. Passing the Rhætian Alps, this leader sought out + and defied the emperor. He was defeated, and retreated upon Milan; but + Gallienus, in pursuing him, was lured into an ambuscade, and perished from + the wound inflicted by an archer. With his dying breath he is said to have + recommended Claudius to the favor of the senate; and at all events + Claudius it was who succeeded. Scarcely was the new emperor installed, + before he was summoned to a trial not only arduous in itself, but terrific + by the very name of the enemy. The Goths of the Ukraine, in a new armament + of six thousand vessels, had again descended by the Bosphorus into the + south, and had sat down before Thessalonica, the capitol of Macedonia. + Claudius marched against them with the determination to vindicate the + Roman name and honor: "Know," said he, writing to the senate, "that + 320,000 Goths have set foot upon the Roman soil. Should I conquer them, + your gratitude will be my reward. Should I fall, do not forget who it is + that I have succeeded; and that the republic is exhausted." No sooner did + the Goths hear of his approach, than, with transports of ferocious joy, + they gave up the siege, and hurried to annihilate the last pillar of the + empire. The mighty battle which ensued, neither party seeking to evade it, + took place at Naissus. At one time the legions were giving way, when + suddenly, by some happy manoeuvre of the emperor, a Roman corps found its + way to the rear of the enemy. The Goths gave way, and their defeat was + total. According to most accounts they left 50,000 dead upon the field. + The campaign still lingered, however, at other points, until at last the + emperor succeeded in driving back the relics of the Gothic host into the + fastnesses of the Balkan; and there the greater part of them died of + hunger and pestilence. These great services performed, within two years + from his accession to the throne, by the rarest of fates the Emperor + Claudius died in his bed at Sirmium, the capitol of Pannonia. His brother + Quintilius who had a great command at Aquileia, immediately assumed the + purple; but his usurpation lasted only seventeen days, for the last + emperor, with a single eye to the public good, had recommended Aurelian as + his successor, guided by his personal knowledge of that general's + strategic qualities. The army of the Danube confirmed the appointment; and + Quintilius committed suicide. Aurelian was of the same harsh and + forbidding character as the Emperor Severus: he had, however, the + qualities demanded by the times; energetic and not amiable princes were + required by the exigences of the state. The hydra-headed Goths were again + in the field on the Illyrian quarter: Italy itself was invaded by the + Alemanni; and Tetricus, the rebel, still survived as a monument of the + weakness of Gallienus. All these enemies were speedily repressed, or + vanquished, by Aurelian. But it marks the real declension of the empire, a + declension which no personal vigor in the emperor was now sufficient to + disguise, that, even in the midst of victory, Aurelian found it necessary + to make a formal surrender, by treaty, of that Dacia which Trajan had + united with so much ostentation to the empire. Europe was now again in + repose; and Aurelian found himself at liberty to apply his powers as a + reorganizer and restorer to the East. In that quarter of the world a + marvellous revolution had occurred. The little oasis of Palmyra, from a + Roman colony, had grown into the leading province of a great empire. This + island of the desert, together with Syria and Egypt, formed an independent + monarchy under the sceptre of Zenobia. [Footnote: Zenobia is complimented + by all historians for her magnanimity; but with no foundation in truth. + Her first salutation to Aurelian was a specimen of abject flattery; and + her last <i>public</i> words were evidences of the basest treachery in + giving up her generals, and her chief counsellor Longinus, to the + vengeance of the ungenerous enemy.] After two battles lost in Syria, + Zenobia retreated to Palmyra. With great difficulty Aurelian pursued her; + and with still greater difficulty he pressed the siege of Palmyra. Zenobia + looked for relief from Persia; but at that moment Sapor died, and the + Queen of Palmyra fled upon a dromedary, but was pursued and captured. + Palmyra surrendered and was spared; but unfortunately, with a folly which + marks the haughty spirit of the place unfitted to brook submission, + scarcely had the conquering army retired when a tumult arose, and the + Roman garrison was slaughtered. Little knowledge could those have had of + Aurelian's character, who tempted him to acts but too welcome to his cruel + nature by such an outrage as this. The news overtook the emperor on the + Hellespont. Instantly, without pause, "like Até hot from hell," Aurelian + retraced his steps—reached the guilty city—and consigned it, + with all its population, to that utter destruction from which it has never + since arisen. The energetic administration of Aurelian had now restored + the empire—not to its lost vigor, that was impossible—but to a + condition of repose. That was a condition more agreeable to the empire + than to the emperor. Peace was hateful to Aurelian; and he sought for war, + where it could seldom be sought in vain, upon the Persian frontier. But he + was not destined to reach the Euphrates; and it is worthy of notice, as a + providential ordinance, that his own unmerciful nature was the ultimate + cause of his fate. Anticipating the emperor's severity in punishing some + errors of his own, Mucassor, a general officer in whom Aurelian placed + especial confidence, assassinated him between Byzantium and Heraclea. An + interregnum of eight months succeeded, during which there occurred a + contest of a memorable nature. Some historians have described it as + strange and surprising. To us, on the contrary, it seems that no contest + could be more natural. Heretofore the great strife had been in what way to + secure the reversion or possession of that great dignity; whereas now the + rivalship lay in declining it. But surely such a competition had in it, + under the circumstances of the empire, little that can justly surprise us. + Always a post of danger, and so regularly closed by assassination, that in + a course of two centuries there are hardly to be found three or four cases + of exception, the imperatorial dignity had now become burdened with a + public responsibility which exacted great military talents, and imposed a + perpetual and personal activity. Formerly, if the emperor knew himself to + be surrounded with assassins, he might at least make his throne, so long + as he enjoyed it, the couch of a voluptuary. The "<i>ave imperator!</i>" + was then the summons, if to the supremacy in passive danger, so also to + the supremacy in power, and honor, and enjoyment. But now it was a summons + to never-ending tumults and alarms; an injunction to that sort of + vigilance without intermission, which, even from the poor sentinel, is + exacted only when on duty. Not Rome, but the frontier; not the <i>aurea + domus,</i> but a camp, was the imperial residence. Power and rank, whilst + in that residence, could be had in no larger measure by Cæsar <i>as</i> + Cæsar, than by the same individual as a military commander-in-chief; and, + as to enjoyment, <i>that</i> for the Roman imperator was now extinct. Rest + there could be none for him. Battle was the tenure by which he held his + office; and beyond the range of his trumpet's blare, his sceptre was a + broken reed. The office of Cæsar at this time resembled the situation (as + it is sometimes described in romances) of a knight who has achieved the + favor of some capricious lady, with the present possession of her castle + and ample domains, but which he holds under the known and accepted + condition of meeting all challenges whatsoever offered at the gate by + wandering strangers, and also of jousting at any moment with each and all + amongst the inmates of the castle, as often as a wish may arise to benefit + by the chances in disputing his supremacy. + </p> + <p> + It is a circumstance, moreover, to be noticed in the aspect of the Roman + monarchy at this period, that the pressure of the evils we are now + considering, applied to this particular age of the empire beyond all + others, as being an age of transition from a greater to an inferior power. + Had the power been either greater or conspicuously less, in that + proportion would the pressure have been easier, or none at all. Being + greater, for example, the danger would have been repelled to a distance so + great that mere remoteness would have disarmed its terrors, or otherwise + it would have been violently overawed. Being less, on the other hand, and + less in an eminent degree, it would have disposed all parties, as it did + at an after period, to regular and formal compromises in the shape of + fixed annual tributes. At present the policy of the barbarians along the + vast line of the northern frontier, was, to tease and irritate the + provinces which they were not entirely able, or prudentially unwilling, to + dismember. Yet, as the almost annual irruptions were at every instant + ready to be converted into <i>coup-de-mains</i> upon Aquileia—upon + Verona—or even upon Rome itself, unless vigorously curbed at the + outset,—each emperor at this period found himself under the + necessity of standing in the attitude of a champion or propugnator on the + frontier line of his territory—ready for all comers—and with a + pretty certain prospect of having one pitched battle at the least to fight + in every successive summer. There were nations abroad at this epoch in + Europe who did not migrate occasionally, or occasionally project + themselves upon the civilized portion of the globe, but who made it their + steady regular occupation to do so, and lived for no other purpose. For + seven hundred years the Roman Republic might be styled a republic + militant: for about one century further it was an empire triumphant; and + now, long retrograde, it had reached that point at which again, but in a + different sense, it might be styled an empire militant. Originally it had + militated for glory and power; now its militancy was for mere existence. + War was again the trade of Rome, as it had been once before: but in that + earlier period war had been its highest glory now it was its dire + necessity. + </p> + <p> + Under this analysis of the Roman condition, need we wonder, with the crowd + of unreflecting historians, that the senate, at the era of Aurelian's + death, should dispute amongst each other—not, as once, for the + possession of the sacred purple, but for the luxury and safety of + declining it? The sad pre-eminence was finally imposed upon Tacitus, a + senator who traced his descent from the historian of that name, who had + reached an age of seventy—five years, and who possessed a fortune of + three millions sterling. Vainly did the agitated old senator open his lips + to decline the perilous honor; five hundred voices insisted upon the + necessity of his compliance; and thus, as a foreign writer observes, was + the descendant of him, whose glory it had been to signalize himself as the + hater of despotism, under the absolute necessity of becoming, in his own + person, a despot. + </p> + <p> + The aged senator then was compelled to be emperor, and forced, in spite of + his vehement reluctance, to quit the comforts of a palace, which he was + never to revisit, for the hardships of a distant camp. His first act was + strikingly illustrative of the Roman condition, as we have just described + it. Aurelian had attempted to disarm one set of enemies by turning the + current of their fury upon another. The Alani were in search of plunder, + and strongly disposed to obtain it from Roman provinces. "But no," said + Aurelian; "if you do that, I shall unchain my legions upon you. Be better + advised: keep those excellent dispositions of mind, and that admirable + taste for plunder, until you come whither I will conduct you. Then + discharge your fury, and welcome; besides which, I will pay you wages for + your immediate abstinence; and on the other side the Euphrates you shall + pay yourselves." Such was the outline of the contract; and the Alans had + accordingly held themselves in readiness to accompany Aurelian from Europe + to his meditated Persian campaign. Meantime, that emperor had perished by + treason; and the Alani were still waiting for his successor on the throne + to complete his engagements with themselves, as being of necessity the + successor also to his wars and to his responsibilities. It happened, from + the state of the empire, as we have sketched it above, that Tacitus really + <i>did</i> succeed to the military plans of Aurelian. The Persian + expedition was ordained to go forward; and Tacitus began, as a preliminary + step in that expedition, to look about for his good allies the barbarians. + Where might they be, and how employed? Naturally, they had long been weary + of waiting. The Persian booty might be good after <i>its</i> kind; but it + was far away; and, <i>en attendant</i>, Roman booty was doubtless good + after <i>its</i> kind. And so, throughout the provinces of Cappadocia, + Pontus, &c., far as the eye could stretch, nothing was to be seen but + cities and villages in flames. The Roman army hungered and thirsted to be + unmuzzled and slipped upon these false friends. But this, for the present, + Tacitus would not allow. He began by punctually fulfilling all the terms + of Aurelian's contract,—a measure which barbarians inevitably + construed into the language of fear. But then came the retribution. Having + satisfied public justice, the emperor now thought of vengeance: he + unchained his legions: a brief space of time sufficed for a long course of + vengeance: and through every outlet of Asia Minor the Alani fled from the + wrath of the Roman soldier. Here, however, terminated the military labors + of Tacitus: he died at Tyana in Cappadocia, as some say, from the effects + of the climate of the Caucasus, co-operating with irritations from the + insolence of the soldiery; but, as Zosimus and Zonaras expressly assure + us, under the murderous hands of his own troops. His brother Florianus at + first usurped the purple, by the aid of the Illyrian army; but the choice + of other armies, afterwards confirmed by the senate, settled upon Probus, + a general already celebrated under Aurelian. The two competitors drew near + to each other for the usual decision by the sword, when the dastardly + supporters of Florian offered up their chosen prince as a sacrifice to his + antagonist. Probus, settled in his seat, addressed himself to the regular + business of those times,—to the reduction of insurgent provinces, + and the liberation of others from hostile molestations. Isauria and Egypt + he visited in the character of a conqueror, Gaul in the character of a + deliverer. From the Gaulish provinces he chased in succession the Franks, + the Burgundians, and the Lygians. He pursued the intruders far into their + German thickets; and nine of the native German princes came spontaneously + into his camp, subscribed such conditions as he thought fit to dictate, + and complied with his requisitions of tribute in horses and provisions. + This, however, is a delusive gleam of Roman energy, little corresponding + with the true condition of the Roman power, and entirely due to the <i>personal</i> + qualities of Probus. Probus himself showed his sense of the true state of + affairs, by carrying a stone wall, of considerable height, from the Danube + to the Neckar. He made various attempts also to effect a better + distribution of barbarous tribes, by dislocating their settlements, and + making extensive translations of their clans, according to the + circumstances of those times. These arrangements, however, suggested often + by short-sighted views, and carried into effect by mere violence, were + sometimes defeated visibly at the time, and, doubtless, in very few cases + accomplished the ends proposed. In one instance, where a party of Franks + had been transported into the Asiatic province of Pontus, as a column of + defence against the intrusive Alans, being determined to revisit their own + country, they swam the Hellespont, landed on the coasts of Asia Minor and + of Greece, plundered Syracuse, steered for the Straits of Gibraltar, + sailed along the shores of Spain and Gaul, passing finally through the + English Channel and the German Ocean, right onwards to the Frisic and + Batavian coasts, where they exultingly rejoined their exulting friends. + Meantime, all the energy and military skill of Probus could not save him + from the competition of various rivals. Indeed, it must then have been + felt, as by us who look back on those times it is now felt, that, amidst + so continued a series of brief reigns, interrupted by murders, scarcely + any idea could arise answering to our modern ideas of treason and + usurpation. For the ideas of fealty and allegiance, as to a sacred and + anointed monarch, could have no time to take root. Candidates for the + purple must have been viewed rather as military rivals than as traitors to + the reigning Cæsar. And hence one reason for the slight resistance which + was often experienced by the seducers of armies. Probus, however, as + accident in his case ordered it, subdued all his personal opponents,—Saturninus + in the East, Proculus and Bonoses in Gaul. For these victories he + triumphed in the year 281. But his last hour was even then at hand. One + point of his military discipline, which he brought back from elder days, + was, to suffer no idleness in his camps. He it was who, by military labor, + transferred to Gaul and to Hungary the Italian vine, to the great + indignation of the Italian monopolist. The culture of vineyards, the + laying of military roads, the draining of marshes, and similar labors, + perpetually employed the hands of his stubborn and contumacious troops. On + some work of this nature the army happened to be employed near Sirmium, + and Probus was looking on from a tower, when a sudden frenzy of + disobedience seized upon the men: a party of the mutineers ran up to the + emperor, and with a hundred wounds laid him instantly dead. We are told by + some writers that the army was immediately seized with remorse for its own + act; which, if truly reported, rather tends to confirm the image, + otherwise impressed upon us, of the relations between the army and Cæsar + as pretty closely corresponding with those between some fierce wild beast + and its keeper; the keeper, if not uniformly vigilant as an Argus, is + continually liable to fall a sacrifice to the wild instincts of the brute, + mastering at intervals the reverence and fear under which it has been + habitually trained. In this case, both the murdering impulse and the + remorse seem alike the effects of a brute instinct, and to have arisen + under no guidance of rational purpose or reflection. The person who + profited by this murder was Carus, the captain of the guard, a man of + advanced years, and a soldier, both by experience and by his propensities. + He was proclaimed emperor by the army; and on this occasion there was no + further reference to the senate, than by a dry statement of the facts for + its information. Troubling himself little about the approbation of a body + not likely in any way to affect his purposes (which were purely martial, + and adapted to the tumultuous state of the empire), Carus made immediate + preparations for pursuing the Persian expedition,—so long promised, + and so often interrupted. Having provided for the security of the Illyrian + frontier by a bloody victory over the Sarmatians, of whom we now hear for + the first time, Carus advanced towards the Euphrates; and from the summit + of a mountain he pointed the eyes of his eager army upon the rich + provinces of the Persian empire. Varanes, the successor of Artaxerxes, + vainly endeavored to negotiate a peace. From some unknown cause, the + Persian armies were not at this juncture disposable against Carus: it has + been conjectured by some writers that they were engaged in an Indian war. + Carus, it is certain, met with little resistance. He insisted on having + the Roman supremacy acknowledged as a preliminary to any treaty; and, + having threatened to make Persia as bare as his own skull, he is supposed + to have kept his word with regard to Mesopotamia. The great cities of + Ctesiphon and Seleucia he took; and vast expectations were formed at Rome + of the events which stood next in succession, when, on Christmas day, 283, + a sudden and mysterious end overtook Carus and his victorious advance. The + story transmitted to Rome was, that a great storm, and a sudden darkness, + had surprised the camp of Carus; that the emperor, previously ill, and + reposing in his tent, was obscured from sight; that at length a cry had + arisen,—"The emperor is dead!" and that, at the same moment, the + imperial tent had taken fire. The fire was traced to the confusion of his + attendants; and this confusion was imputed by themselves to grief for + their master's death. In all this it is easy to read pretty + circumstantially a murder committed on the emperor by corrupted servants, + and an attempt afterwards to conceal the indications of murder by the + ravages of fire. The report propagated through the army, and at that time + received with credit, was, that Carus had been struck by lightning: and + that omen, according to the Roman interpretation, implied a necessity of + retiring from the expedition. So that, apparently, the whole was a bloody + intrigue, set on foot for the purpose of counteracting the emperor's + resolution to prosecute the war. His son Numerian succeeded to the rank of + emperor by the choice of the army. But the mysterious faction of murderers + were still at work. After eight months' march from the Tigris to the + Thracian Bosphorus, the army halted at Chalcedon. At this point of time a + report arose suddenly, that the Emperor Numerian was dead. The impatience + of the soldiery would brook no uncertainty: they rushed to the spot; + satisfied themselves of the fact; and, loudly denouncing as the murderer + Aper, the captain of the guard, committed him to custody, and assigned to + Dioclesian, whom at the same time they invested with the supreme power, + the duty of investigating the case. Dioclesian acquitted himself of this + task in a very summary way, by passing his sword through the captain + before he could say a word in his defence. It seems that Dioclesian, + having been promised the empire by a prophetess as soon as he should have + killed a wild boar [Aper], was anxious to realize the omen. The whole + proceeding has been taxed with injustice so manifest, as not even to seek + a disguise. Meantime, it should be remembered that, <i>first,</i> Aper, as + the captain of the guard, was answerable for the emperor's safety; <i>secondly,</i> + that his anxiety to profit by the emperor's murder was a sure sign that he + had participated in that act; and, <i>thirdly,</i> that the assent of the + soldiery to the open and public act of Dioclesian, implies a conviction on + their part of Aper's guilt. Here let us pause, having now arrived at the + fourth and last group of the Cæsars, to notice the changes which had been + wrought by time, co-operating with political events, in the very nature + and constitution of the imperial office. + </p> + <p> + If it should unfortunately happen, that the palace of the Vatican, with + its thirteen thousand [Footnote: "<i>Thirteen thousand chambers</i>."—The + number of the chambers in this prodigious palace is usually estimated at + that amount. But Lady Miller, who made particular inquiries on this + subject, ascertained that the total amount, including cellars and closets, + capable of receiving a bed, was fifteen thousand.] chambers, were to take + fire—for a considerable space of time the fire would be retarded by + the mere enormity of extent which it would have to traverse. But there + would come at length a critical moment, at which the maximum of the + retarding effect having been attained, the bulk and volume of the flaming + mass would thenceforward assist the flames in the rapidity of their + progress. Such was the effect upon the declension of the Roman empire from + the vast extent of its territory. For a very long period that very extent, + which finally became the overwhelming cause of its ruin, served to retard + and to disguise it. A small encroachment, made at any one point upon the + integrity of the empire, was neither much regarded at Rome, nor perhaps in + and for itself much deserved to be regarded. But a very narrow belt of + encroachments, made upon almost every part of so enormous a circumference, + was sufficient of itself to compose something of an antagonist force. And + to these external dilapidations, we must add the far more important + dilapidations from within, affecting all the institutions of the State, + and all the forces, whether moral or political, which had originally + raised it or maintained it. Causes which had been latent in the public + arrangements ever since the time of Augustus, and had been silently + preying upon its vitals, had now reached a height which would no longer + brook concealment. The fire which had smouldered through generations had + broken out at length into an open conflagration. Uproar and disorder, and + the anarchy of a superannuated empire, strong only to punish and impotent + to defend, were at this time convulsing the provinces in every point of + the compass. Rome herself had been menaced repeatedly. And a still more + awful indication of the coming storm had been felt far to the south of + Rome. One long wave of the great German deluge had stretched beyond the + Pyrenees and the Pillars of Hercules, to the very soil of ancient + Carthage. Victorious banners were already floating on the margin of the + Great Desert, and they were not the banners of Cæsar. Some vigorous hand + was demanded at this moment, or else the funeral knell of Rome was on the + point of sounding. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that, had the + imbecile Carinus (the brother of Numerian) succeeded to the command of the + Roman armies at this time, or any other than Dioclesian, the empire of the + west would have fallen to pieces within the next ten years. + </p> + <p> + Dioclesian was doubtless that man of iron whom the times demanded; and a + foreign writer has gone so far as to class him amongst the greatest of + men, if he were not even himself the greatest. But the position of + Dioclesian was remarkable beyond all precedent, and was alone sufficient + to prevent his being the greatest of men, by making it necessary that he + should be the most selfish. For the case stood thus: If Rome were in + danger, much more so was Cæsar. If the condition of the empire were such + that hardly any energy or any foresight was adequate to its defence, for + the emperor, on the other hand, there was scarcely a possibility that he + should escape destruction. The chances were in an overbalance against the + empire; but for the emperor there was no chance at all. He shared in all + the hazards of the empire; and had others so peculiarly pointed at + himself, that his assassination was now become as much a matter of certain + calculation, as seed-time or harvest, summer or winter, or any other + revolution of the seasons. The problem, therefore, for Dioclesian was a + double one,—so to provide for the defence and maintenance of the + empire, as simultaneously (and, if possible, through the very same + institution) to provide for the personal security of Cæsar. This problem + he solved, in some imperfect degree, by the only expedient perhaps open to + him in that despotism, and in those times. But it is remarkable, that, by + the revolution which he effected, the office of Roman Imperator was + completely altered, and Cæsar became henceforwards an Oriental Sultan or + Padishah. Augustus, when moulding for his future purposes the form and + constitution of that supremacy which he had obtained by inheritance and by + arms, proceeded with so much caution and prudence, that even the style and + title of his office was discussed in council as a matter of the first + moment. The principle of his policy was to absorb into his own functions + all those offices which conferred any real power to balance or to control + his own. For this reason he appropriated the tribunitian power; because + that was a popular and representative office, which, as occasions arose, + would have given some opening to democratic influences. But the consular + office he left untouched; because all its power was transferred to the + imperator, by the entire command of the army, and by the new organization + of the provincial governments. [Footnote: In no point of his policy was + the cunning or the sagacity of Augustus so much displayed, as in his + treaty of partition with the senate, which settled the distribution of the + provinces, and their future administration. Seeming to take upon himself + all the trouble and hazard, he did in effect appropriate all the power, + and left to the senate little more than trophies of show and ornament. As + a first step, all the greater provinces, as Spain and Gaul, were + subdivided into many smaller ones. This done, Augustus proposed that the + senate should preside over the administration of those amongst them which + were peaceably settled, and which paid a regular tribute; whilst all those + which were the seats of danger,—either as being exposed to hostile + inroads, or to internal commotions,—all, therefore, in fact, <i>which + could justify the keeping up of a military force,</i> he assigned to + himself. In virtue of this arrangement, the senate possessed in Africa + those provinces which had been formed out of Carthage, Cyrene, and the + kingdom of Numidia; in Europe, the richest and most quiet part of Spain <i>(Hispania + Bætica),</i> with the large islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and + Crete, and some districts of Greece; in Asia, the kingdoms of Pontus and + Bithynia, with that part of Asia Minor technically called Asia; whilst, + for his own share, Augustus retained Gaul, Syria, the chief part of Spain, + and Egypt, the granary of Rome; finally, all the military posts on the + Euphrates, on the Danube, or the Rhine. + </p> + <p> + Yet even the showy concessions here made to the senate were defeated by + another political institution, settled at the same time. It had been + agreed that the governors of provinces should be appointed by the emperor + and the senate jointly. But within the senatorian jurisdiction, these + governors, with the title of <i>Proconsuls,</i> were to have no military + power whatsoever; and the appointments were good only for a single year. + Whereas, in the imperatorial provinces, where the governor bore the title + of <i>Proprætor,</i> there was provision made for a military + establishment; and as to duration, the office was regulated entirely by + the emperor's pleasure. One other ordinance, on the same head, riveted the + vassalage of the senate. Hitherto, a great source of the senate's power + had been found in the uncontrolled management of the provincial revenues; + but at this time, Augustus so arranged that branch of the administration, + that, throughout the senatorian or proconsular provinces, all taxes were + immediately paid into the <i>ararium</i>, or treasury of the state; whilst + the whole revenues of the proprætorian (or imperatorial) provinces, from + this time forward, flowed into the <i>fiscus</i>, or private treasure of + the individual emperor.] And in all the rest of his arrangements, Augustus + had proceeded on the principle of leaving as many openings to civic + influences, and impressing upon all his institutions as much of the old + Roman character, as was compatible with the real and substantial supremacy + established in the person of the emperor. Neither is it at all certain, as + regarded even this aspect of the imperatorial office, that Augustus had + the purpose, or so much as the wish, to annihilate all collateral power, + and to invest the chief magistrate with absolute irresponsibility. For + himself, as called upon to restore a shattered government, and out of the + anarchy of civil wars to recombine the elements of power into some shape + better fitted for duration (and, by consequence, for insuring peace and + protection to the world) than the extinct republic, it might be reasonable + to seek such an irresponsibility. But, as regarded his successors, + considering the great pains he took to discourage all manifestations of + princely arrogance, and to develop, by education and example, the civic + virtues of patriotism and affability in their whole bearing towards the + people of Rome, there is reason to presume that he wished to remove them + from popular control, without, therefore, removing them from popular + influence. + </p> + <p> + Hence it was, and from this original precedent of Augustus, aided by the + constitution which he had given to the office of imperator, that up to the + era of Dioclesian, no prince had dared utterly to neglect the senate, or + the people of Rome. He might hate the senate, like Severus, or Aurelian; + he might even meditate their extermination, like the brutal Maximin. But + this arose from any cause rather than from contempt. He hated them + precisely because he feared them, or because he paid them an involuntary + tribute of superstitious reverence, or because the malice of a tyrant + interpreted into a sort of treason the rival influence of the senate over + the minds of men. But, before Dioclesian, the undervaluing of the senate, + or the harshest treatment of that body, had arisen from views which were + <i>personal</i> to the individual Cæsar. It was now made to arise from the + very constitution of the office, and the mode of the appointment. To + defend the empire, it was the opinion of Dioclesian that a single emperor + was not sufficient. And it struck him, at the same time, that by the very + institution of a plurality of emperors, which was now destined to secure + the integrity of the empire, ample provision might be made for the + personal security of each emperor. He carried his plan into immediate + execution, by appointing an associate to his own rank of Augustus in the + person of Maximian—an experienced general; whilst each of them in + effect multiplied his own office still farther by severally appointing a + Cæsar, or hereditary prince. And thus the very same partition of the + public authority, by means of a duality of emperors, to which the senate + had often resorted of late, as the best means of restoring their own + republican aristocracy, was now adopted by Dioclesian as the simplest + engine for overthrowing finally the power of either senate or army to + interfere with the elective privilege. This he endeavored to centre in the + existing emperors; and, at the same moment, to discourage treason or + usurpation generally, whether in the party choosing or the party chosen, + by securing to each emperor, in the case of his own assassination, an + avenger in the person of his surviving associate, as also in the persons + of the two Cæsars, or adopted heirs and lieutenants. The associate + emperor, Maximian, together with the two Cæsars—Galerius appointed + by himself, and Constantius Chlorus by Maximian—were all bound to + himself by ties of gratitude; all owing their stations ultimately to his + own favor. And these ties he endeavored to strengthen by other ties of + affinity; each of the Augusti having given his daughter in marriage to his + own adopted Cæsar. And thus it seemed scarcely possible that a usurpation + should be successful against so firm a league of friends and relations. + </p> + <p> + The direct purposes of Dioclesian were but imperfectly attained; the + internal peace of the empire lasted only during his own reign; and with + his abdication of the empire commenced the bloodiest civil wars which had + desolated the world since the contests of the great triumvirate. But the + collateral blow, which he meditated against the authority of the senate, + was entirely successful. Never again had the senate any real influence on + the fate of the world. And with the power of the senate expired + concurrently the weight and influence of Rome. Dioclesian is supposed + never to have seen Rome, except on the single occasion when he entered it + for the ceremonial purpose of a triumph. Even for that purpose it ceased + to be a city of resort; for Dioclesian's was the final triumph. And, + lastly, even as the chief city of the empire for business or for pleasure, + it ceased to claim the homage of mankind; the Cæsar was already born whose + destiny it was to cashier the metropolis of the world, and to appoint her + successor. This also may be regarded in effect as the ordinance of + Dioclesian; for he, by his long residence at Nicomedia, expressed his + opinion pretty plainly, that Rome was not central enough to perform the + functions of a capital to so vast an empire; that this was one cause of + the declension now become so visible in the forces of the state; and that + some city, not very far from the Hellespont or the Aegean Sea, would be a + capital better adapted by position to the exigencies of the times. + </p> + <p> + But the revolutions effected by Dioclesian did not stop here. The + simplicity of its republican origin had so far affected the external + character and expression of the imperial office, that in the midst of + luxury the most unbounded, and spite of all other corruptions, a majestic + plainness of manners, deportment, and dress, had still continued from + generation to generation, characteristic of the Roman imperator in his + intercourse with his subjects. All this was now changed; and for the Roman + was substituted the Persian dress, the Persian style of household, a + Persian court, and Persian manners, A diadem, or tiara beset with pearls, + now encircled the temples of the Roman Augustus; his sandals were studded + with pearls, as in the Persian court; and the other parts of his dress + were in harmony with these. The prince was instructed no longer to make + himself familiar to the eyes of men. He sequestered himself from his + subjects in the recesses of his palace. None, who sought him, could any + longer gain easy admission to his presence. It was a point of his new + duties to be difficult of access; and they who were at length admitted to + an audience, found him surrounded by eunuchs, and were expected to make + their approaches by genuflexions, by servile "adorations," and by real + acts of worship as to a visible god. + </p> + <p> + It is strange that a ritual of court ceremonies, so elaborate and + artificial as this, should first have been introduced by a soldier, and a + warlike soldier like Dioclesian. This, however, is in part explained by + his education and long residence in Eastern countries. + </p> + <p> + But the same eastern training fell to the lot of Constantine, who was in + effect his successor; [Footnote: On the abdication of Dioclesian and of + Maximian, Galerius and Constantius succeeded as the new Augusti. But + Galerius, as the more immediate representative of Dioclesian, thought + himself entitled to appoint both Cæsars,—the Daza (or Maximus) in + Syria, Severus in Italy. Meantime, Constantine, the son of Constantius, + with difficulty obtaining permission from Galerius, paid a visit to his + father; upon whose death, which followed soon after, Constantine came + forward as a Cæsar, under the appointment of his father. Galerius + submitted with a bad grace; but Maxentius, a reputed son of Maximian, was + roused by emulation with Constantine to assume the purple; and being + joined by his father, they jointly attacked and destroyed Severus. + Galerius, to revenge the death of his own Cæsar, advanced towards Rome; + but being compelled to a disastrous retreat, he resorted to the measure of + associating another emperor with himself, as a balance to his new enemies. + This was Licinius; and thus, at one time, there were six emperors, either + as Augusti or as Cæsars. Galerius, however, dying, all the rest were in + succession destroyed by Constantine.] and the Oriental tone and standard + established by these two emperors, though disturbed a little by the plain + and military bearing of Julian, and one or two more emperors of the same + breeding, finally re-established itself with undisputed sway in the + Byzantine court. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the institutions of Dioclesian, if they had destroyed Rome and + the senate as influences upon the course of public affairs, and if they + had destroyed the Roman features of the Cæsars, do, notwithstanding, + appear to have attained one of their purposes, in limiting the extent of + imperial murders. Travelling through the brief list of the remaining + Cæsars, we perceive a little more security for life; and hence the + successions are less rapid. Constantine, who (like Aaron's rod) had + swallowed up all his competitors <i>seriatim,</i> left the empire to his + three sons; and the last of these most unwillingly to Julian. That + prince's Persian expedition, so much resembling in rashness and + presumption the Russian campaign of Napoleon, though so much below it in + the scale of its tragic results, led to the short reign of Jovian, (or + Jovinian,) which lasted only seven months. Upon his death succeeded the + house of Valentinian, [Footnote: Valentinian the First, who admitted his + brother Valens to a partnership in the empire, had, by his first wife, an + elder son, Gratian, who reigned and associated with himself Theodosius, + commonly called the Great. By his second wife he had Valentinian the + Second, who, upon the death of his brother Gratian, was allowed to share + the empire by Theodosius. Theodosius, by his first wife, had two sons,—Arcadius, + who afterwards reigned in the east, and Honorius, whose western reign was + so much illustrated by Stilicho. By a second wife, daughter to Valentinian + the First, Theodosius had a daughter, (half-sister, therefore, to + Honorius,) whose son was Valentinian the Third.] in whose descendant, of + the third generation, the empire, properly speaking, expired. For the + seven shadows who succeeded, from Avitus and Majorian to Julius Nepos and + Romulus Augustulus, were in no proper sense Roman emperors,—they + were not even emperors of the West,—but had a limited kingdom in the + Italian peninsula. Valentinian the Third was, as we have said, the last + emperor of the West. + </p> + <p> + But, in a fuller and ampler sense, recurring to what we have said of + Dioclesian and the tenor of his great revolutions, we may affirm that + Probus and Carus were the final representatives of the majesty of Rome: + for they reigned over the whole empire, not yet incapable of sustaining + its own unity; and in them were still preserved, not yet obliterated by + oriental effeminacy, those majestic features which reflected republican + consuls, and, through them, the senate and people of Rome. That, which had + offended Dioclesian in the condition of the Roman emperors, was the + grandest feature of their dignity. It is true that the peril of the office + had become intolerable; each Cæsar submitted to his sad inauguration with + a certainty, liable even to hardly any disguise from the delusions of + youthful hope, that for him, within the boundless empire which he + governed, there was no coast of safety, no shelter from the storm, no + retreat, except the grave, from the dagger of the assassin. Gibbon has + described the hopeless condition of one who should attempt to fly from the + wrath of the almost omnipresent emperor. But this dire impossibility of + escape was in the end dreadfully retaliated upon the emperor; persecutors + and traitors were found every where: and the vindictive or the ambitious + subject found himself as omnipresent as the jealous or the offended + emperor. The crown of the Cæsars was therefore a crown of thorns; and it + must be admitted, that never in this world have rank and power been + purchased at so awful a cost in tranquillity and peace of mind. The steps + of Cæsar's throne were absolutely saturated with the blood of those who + had possessed it: and so inexorable was that murderous fate which overhung + that gloomy eminence, that at length it demanded the spirit of martyrdom + in him who ventured to ascend it. In these circumstances, some change was + imperatively demanded. Human nature was no longer equal to the terrors + which it was summoned to face. But the changes of Dioclesian transmuted + that golden sceptre into a base oriental alloy. They left nothing behind + of what had so much challenged the veneration of man: for it was in the + union of republican simplicity with the irresponsibility of illimitable + power, it was in the antagonism between the merely human and approachable + condition of Cæsar as a man, and his divine supremacy as a potentate and + king of kings—that the secret lay of his unrivalled grandeur. This + perished utterly under the reforming hands of Dioclesian. Cæsar only it + was that could be permitted to extinguish Cæsar: and a Roman imperator it + was who, by remodelling, did in effect abolish, by exorcising from its + foul terrors, did in effect disenchant of its sanctity, that imperatorial + dignity, which having once perished, could have no second existence, and + which was undoubtedly the sublimest incarnation of power, and a monument + the mightiest of greatness built by human hands, which upon this planet + has been suffered to appear. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Caesars, by Thomas de Quincey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CAESARS *** + +***** This file should be named 6672-h.htm or 6672-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/6/7/6672/ + + +Text file produced by Anne Soulard, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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