In order to regulate the affairs of the East, Marcus proceeded thither in person. He visited Syria and Egypt, and stopping, on his return, at Athens, (176,) he was there initiated in the mysteries. On the 23d of December, he entered Rome in triumph, with his son Commodus. The triumph was for the victories over the Germans. While Marcus was in Asia, the empress Faustina, who accompanied him, died suddenly in a little town at the foot of Mount Taurus. Her husband lamented her, even with tears; and, at his request, the senate deified her, and erected an altar to her, at which all young maidens, when they married, were to sacrifice with their bridegrooms. Yet, if history may be credited, Faustina was so abandoned to lust, that she used to select the most vigorous rowers from the fleet, and gladiators from the arena, to share her embraces; and the general opinion was, that a gladiator, and not Marcus, was the father of Commodus. Her infamy, it is said, was not unknown to her husband, who, when urged to divorce her if he would not put her to death, replied, If I put away my wife, I must restore her dower," that is, the empire; a reply so unworthy of Marcus, that we cannot regard it as true.* The war had been rekindled on the banks of the Danube; the Marcomans, Quadans, and their allies, were again in arms, and the presence of the emperor was required. He left Rome in the autumn of 178, taking with him his son. He is said to have gained à considerable victory the following year, and the subjugation of the barbarians was regarded as certain; but, in the spring of 180, he was attacked by a contagious malady, which carried him off on the seventh day, after a reign of nineteen years, and when he had nearly attained the fifty-ninth year of his age. The emperor M. Aurelius has been compared to the English king Alfred. Like him, he united the active and contemplative life, led armies and cultivated literature. But Alfred had far greater difficulties to contend with, and his studies were more directed to objects suitable to a sovereign. The British monarch, too, (favored in this, perhaps, by nature or fortune,) was more happy in his family than the Roman; for, while Alfred left children worthy to occupy *It is more probable that he did not know her infamy; for in the first book of his Meditations, written only a short time before she died, he praises her obedience, affection, and simplicity of manners. his place, and was blessed in all his domestic relations, the vices of his wife, his son, and his adoptive brother, cast a shade over the virtues of Aurelius. His blindness to these vices, if he really was not aware of them, derogates from his judgment and wisdom; while, if we concede him penetration of character, we must condemn the weakness which could, for example, commit the happiness of the world to a Commodus. A certain imbecility of character was in effect the chief blemish of Aurelius. It would almost seem as if too early a study of speculative philosophy were detrimental to a man who is called on to take an active part in the affairs of life, and to direct the destinies of an empire. "If a man," says Gibbon, "were called to fix a period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus. The vast extent of the Roman empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of virtue and wisdom. The armies were restrained by the firm but gentle hand of four successive emperors, whose characters and authority commanded involuntary respect. The forms of the civil administration were carefully preserved by Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, who delighted in the image of liberty, and were pleased with considering themselves as the accountable ministers of the laws. Such princes deserved the honor of restoring the republic, had the Romans of their days been capable of enjoying a rational freedom." In this passage, characterized by the author's usual prejudices, there is certainly much that is true, but mingled with exaggeration and error. The character and reign of Hadrian, for example, are surely not entitled to such lofty terms of praise. The brightest spot in the picture is the period of the dominion of Pius; but our information respecting that reign is so imperfect, that we have not the means of forming a correct judgment. As happiness is seated so entirely in the mind, and depends so much on natural character, comparisons of the amount of it enjoyed in different periods, and by different classes of persons, are quite fallacious; and we have no doubt that the guards and the populace at Rome thought themselves happier under a Nero and a Domitian than a Hadrian and an Aurelius. We still, however, agree generally in the conclusions of the historian. OF CLEANDER. VICES OF COMMODUS. HIS DEATH. SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS. MARCH OF SEVERUS. DEATH OF JULIAN. -PLAUTIANUS. MAXIMS OF GOVERNMENT. L. Elius Aurelius Commodus. A. U. 933-945. A. D. 180-192. L. ELIUS AURELIUS COMMODUS, the son and successor of M. Aurelius, was in the nineteenth year of his age when the death of his excellent father left him master of the Roman world. He was the first of the Roman emperors who was what was termed Porphyrogenitus, i. e. born to a reigning emperor. Not a murmur was raised against his succession; a liberal donative gratified the soldiers, and the war was, during the summer, prosecuted with vigor against the barbarians; but Commodus longed for the pleasures of Rome, and he willingly listened to their solicitations for peace. Treaties honorable to Rome were therefore concluded. The terms given to the Quadans and Marcomans were nearly the same as those accorded by Marcus; but they were bound not to make war on the Jazygans, the Burrans, or the Vandals. They were each to furnish a certain number of men for the Roman armies. The terms imposed on the rest were not dissimilar. The emperor then returned to Rome and triumphed, (Oct. 22.) * Authorities: Dion, Herodian, the Augustan History, and the Epi tometors. Commodus is one among the many instances which we may find of the feebleness of education in the attempt to control the tendencies of nature. It was in vain that Marcus had, in his own person, given his son an example of all the virtues, and had surrounded him with the ablest instructors. Their lessons were unheeded, and their pupil was distinguished only by skill in the exercises of the gladiators' school, and for the unerring aim with which he flung the javelin or shot the arrow, under the teaching of Moors and Parthians. Не is also noted for being the first of the emperors who was totally devoid of taste for literature. The foreign transactions of this reign are of little importance; the German and British frontiers merely gave their usual occupation to the legions. At Rome, for the space of about three years, all was tranquillity also; for Commodus, whose natural character, as we are assured, was weak and timid, rather than wicked, allowed himself to be directed by the able and upright men to whom his father had recommended him. His hours were devoted to luxury and indulgence, till, at length, (183,) an event occurred which revealed the latent cruelty of his nature. After the death of L. Verus, Marcus had given his daughter Lucilla in marriage to Pompeianus, a most respectable senator, and, after the death of her mother, he allowed her all the honors of an empress, which her brother also continued to her. But, on the marriage of Commodus with a lady named Crispina, Lucilla was obliged to yield precedence to the reigning empress. Her haughty spirit deemed this an indignity, and she resolved on revenge. Fearing to intrust her design to her noble-minded husband, she first communicated it to Quadratus, a wealthy young nobleman, with whom she carried on an adulterous intercourse; she also engaged in the plot Claudius Pompeianus, another of her paramours, who was betrothed to her daughter; some senators also were aware of it. As Commodus was entering the amphitheatre, through a dusky passage, Pompeianus, who was lying in wait, drew his sword, and cried, "The senate sends thee this." But the words prevented the execution of his design, and he was seized by the guards. He, Quadratus, and some others, were executed; Lucilla was, for the present, confined in the isle of Capreæ, but she was, "The power of instruction," observes Gibbon, "is seldom of much efficacy, except in those happy dispositions where it is almost superfluous.' ere long, put to death; and a similar fate soon befell her rival, Crispina, on account of adultery. In her place, Commodus took a freedwoman, named Marcia, who had been the concubine of Quadratus, and to whom he gave all the honors of an empress, except that of having fire borne before her. The unwise exclamation of Pompeianus sank deep in the mind of Commodus: he learned to regard the senate as his deadly enemies, and many of its most illustrious members were put to death, on various pretexts. His only reliance was now on the guards; and the prætorian prefects soon became as important as in former times. The prefects now were Tarruntius Paternus and Perennis; but the arts of the latter caused the former to be removed and put to death, and the whole power of the state fell into his hands; for the timid Commodus no longer ventured to appear in public, and all business was transacted by Perennis. The prefect removed all he dreaded, by false accusations; and he amassed wealth by the confiscation of the properties of the nobility. His son was in command of the Illyrian legions, and he now aspired to the empire. But he had offended the army of Britain, and they deputed (186) fifteen hundred of their number to accuse him to Commodus of designs on the empire. They were supported by the secret influence of the freedman Cleander, and Perennis was given up to their vengeance. Himself, his wife, his sister, and two of his children, were massacred; his eldest son was recalled, and murdered, on the way to Rome. The character of Perennis is doubtful, but that of Cleander, who succeeded to his power, was one of pure evil. Cleander, a Phrygian by birth, had been brought to Rome as a slave, and sold in the public market. He was purchased for the palace, and placed about the person of Commodus, with whom he speedily ingratiated himself; and when the prince became emperor, he made Cleander his chamberlain. The power of the freedman, when Perennis was removed, became absolute; avarice, the passion of a vulgar mind, was his guiding principle. All the honors and all the posts of the empire were put to sale; pardons for any crime were to be had for money; and, in the short space of three years, the wealth of Cleander exceeded that of the Pallas and Narcissus of the early days of the empire. A conspiracy of an extraordinary nature occurred not long after the death of Perennis. A great number of men who |