two execellent examples of his father and brother as to feem more defirous of copying Nero or Caligula; and accordingly he met with their fate, being murdered by fome of his neareft relations. The fenate, in deteftation of his memory, ordered his name to be rafed out of all public acts. What fome writers relate concerning Apollonius Tyaneus, who was then at Ephefus, is almoft incredible. This perfon, whom fome call a magician, and fome a philofopher, but who more probably was nothing more than an impoftor, juft at the minute in which Domitian was flain, was lecturing in one of the public gardens of the city. But ftopping fhort, all of a fudden he cried out," Courage, Stephanus, ftrike the tyrant." And then, after a paufe"Rejoice, my friends, the tyrant dies this day; this day do "I fay! the very moment in which I kept filence he fuffers "for his crimes-he dies!" The truth feems to be, that a belief in omens and prodigies was again become prevalent. The people were relapfing into their priftine barbarity. A country of ignorance is ever the proper foil for an harvest of impofture. Nerva had fcarcely accepted the purple from A. D. 97. the affaffins of Domitian, before he discovered that his feeble age was unable to ftem the torrent of public diforders, which had multiplied under the long tyranny of his predeceffor; after a fhort reign of fixteen months, he adopted Trajan his fucceffor, a prince poffeffed A. D. 98. of every talent and virtue that can adorn a fove reign. The great qualities of his mind were accompanied with all the advantages of perfon. His body was majeftic and vigorous; he was at that middle time of life, which is happily tempered with the warmth of youth, and the caution of age, being forty-two years old. To thefe qualities were added, a modefty that feemed peculiar to himself; fo that mankind found a pleasure in praifing thofe accomplishments of which the poffeffor feemed no way confcious. Upon the whole, Trajan is diftinguifhed as the greatest and beft emperor of Rome. Others might have equalled him in war, and fome might have been his rivals in clemency and goodnefs; but he feems the only prince who, united thefe talents in the greatest perfection, and who appears equally to engage our admiration, and our regard. One of the firft lectures he received, refpecting his conduct in governing the empire, was from Plutarch, the philofopher, who had the honour of being his mafter. Upon his arrival at Rome, he is faid to have written him a letter to the following purpose: "Since your merit, and not your im "portunities, "portunities, have advanced you to the empire, permit me "to congratulate your virtues, and my own good fortune. "If your future government prove answerable to your for"mer worth, I fhall be happy. But if you become worse "for power, yours will be the danger, and mine the igno"miny of your conduct. The errors of the pupil will be "charged upon his inftructor. Seneca is reproached for the "enormities of Nero; and Socrates and Quintilian have "not escaped cenfure for the mifconduct of their respective "fcholars. But you have it in your power to make me the "moft honoured of men by continuing what you are. "on to command your paffions; and make virtue the scope ❝of all your actions. If you follow thefe inftructions, then "will I glory in having prefumed to give them; if you neg"lect what I offer, then will this letter be my teftimony, that "you have not erred through the counsel and authority of "Plutarch." It would be tedious and unneceffary to enter into a detail of this good monarch's labours for the state. His application to bufinefs, his moderation to his enemies, his modefty in exaltation, his liberality to the deferving, and his frugality in his own expences, have been the fubject of panegyric among his contemporaries, and continue to be the admiration of pofterity. Upon giving the prefect of the prætorian bands the fword, according to cuftom, he made ufe of this remarkable expreffion: "Take this fword, and ufe it; if I have merit, "for me; if otherwife, againft me." After which he added, "That he who gave laws was the first who was bound to ob"Serve them." How highly he was efteemed by his fubjects, appears from their manner of congratulating his fucceffors, upon their acceffion to the government. "We wish you," said they, "the fortune of Auguftus, and the goodness of Trajan." He died in the fixty-third year of his age, after a reign of nineteen years, fix months, and fifteen days. The Roman empire was never fo large, nor fo formidable to the rest of the world, as when he left it. And yet its ftrength was much impaired; for being spread over fo great an extent of territory, it wanted the invigorating principle of patriofifm among its fubjects, to infpire them in its defence. Its bulk, therefore, feemed rather a symptom of its disease than its vigour. The fucceffor of Trajan was Adrian, his nephew, under whom the government flourished in peace A. D. 117. and profperity. He was one of the most remarkable of the Roman emperors for the variety of his endowments. He He compofed with great beauty, both in profe and verse ; he pleaded at the bar, and was one of the beft orators of his time. He was deeply verfed in the mathematics, and no lefs fkilful in phyfic. In drawing and painting, he was equal to the greatest mafters. He was an excellent musician, and fung to admiration. Befides these qualifications, he had an aftonishing memory. He knew the names of all his foldiers, though never fo long abfent. He could dictate to one, confer with another, and write himself, all at the fame time. His moderation and clemency appeared, by pardoning the injuries which he had received, when he was a private man. One day meeting a perfon, who had formerly been his most inveterate enemy, "My good friend," faid he, " "efcaped, for I am made emperor." you have It was one of his maxims, that an emperor ought to imitate the fun, which diffufes warmth and vigour over all parts of the earth. He, therefore, prepared to vifit his whole empire. Having taken with him a fplendid court, and a confiderable force, he entered the province of Gaul, where he numbered all the inhabitants. From Gaul he went into Germany, from thence to Holland, and then paffed over, into Britain. There he reformed many abufes, and reconciled the natives to the Romans. For the better fecurity of the northern parts of the kingdom, he built a wall of wood and earth, extending from the river Eden, in Cumberland, to the Tyne, in Northumberland, in order to prevent the incurfions of the Picts, and other northern nations. After travelling into Greece, he paffed over into Afia Minor, from whence he directed his course into Syria. He then entered Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt, where he caufed Pompey's tomb, which had been long neglected, and almoît covered with fand, to be repaired and beautified. He refided in Africa for fome time, and erected many magnificent buildings. Among the reft, he ordered Carthage to be rebuilt; calling it, after his own name, Adrianople. Adrian, having spent thirteen years in travelling through his dominions, refolved, at length, to return and end all his fatigues at home. There he amufed himself in converfing with philofophers, and the most celebrated men in every art and fcience; who did not fail to grant him that fuperiority he feemed fo eagerly to affect. Favorinus, a man of great reputation at court for philofophy, happening one day to difpute with him upon fome philofophical fubject, acknowledged himfelf to be overcome. His friends blamed him for thus giving up the argument, when he might eafily have pursued it with fuccefs: "What," replied Favorinus, "would "would you have me contend with a man, who is master of "thirty legions ?" Adrían, finding the duties of his ftation daily increafing, and his own ftrength proportionally decreafing, refolved upon adopting a fucceffor, whofe merits might deferve, and whose courage would fecure, his exaltation. After many deliberations, he made choice of Lucius Commodus, whole bodily infirmities rendered him unfit for a truft of fuch importance. Of this, after fome time, Adrian feemed fenfible, declaring, that he repented of having chofen fo feeble a fucceffor; and faying, That he had leaned against a mouldering wall. However, Commodus foon after dying, the Emperor immediately adopted Titus Antoninus, afterwards furnamed the Pious; but previously obliged him to adopt two others, namely, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, all of whom afterwards fucceeded to the empire. In his laft illness, he could not be prevailed upon to obferve any regimen, often faying, "That kings died merely by the "multitude of their phyficians." It was probably joy at the approach of death, which dictated the celebrated ftanzas, fo well known, in repeating which he expired: Animula vagula blandula, "Oh fleeting fpirit, wandering fire, "Wilt thou no more my frame inspire! "No more a pleafing chearful gueft? "Whither, ahi whither art thou flying, Epictetus the philofopher, Plutarch, Suetonius, Florus, Ar tian, and Philo flourished at this period. VOL. I. R CHAP. CHA P. XLV. Antoninus Pius.Marcus Aurnlius, otherwife called Antoninus the Philofopher. His excellent Government.-His Army relieved by the Prayers of a Chriftian Legion.-His Philofophical Maxims.His Death. ADRIAN, after a profperous reign of twenty-one years, A. D. 138. man. and eleven months, left the Roman throne to Titus Aurelius Antoninus, an amiable as well as a good His morals were fo pure, that he was ufually compared to Numa, and was furnamed the Pious both for his tendernefs to his predeceffor, Adrian, when dying, and his particular attachment to the religion of his country. When any of his fubjects attempted to inflame him with a paffion for military glory, he would anfwer, "That he "more defired the prefervation of one fubject, than the de"fruction of a thousand enemies." Before his death, he ordered his friends and principal officers to attend him, when he confirmed the adoption of Marcus Aurelius, without once naming Lucius Verus, who had been joined by Adrian with him in the fucceffion. His funeral oration was pronounced as ufual, by his adopted fon, Marcus Aurelius; who, though left fucceffor to the throne, took Lucius Verus as his affociate and equal, in governing the ftate. Thus Rome, for the first A. D. 161. time, faw itfelf governed by two fovereigns of equal power, but of very different merit and pretenfions. Aurelius was as remarkable for his virtues and accomplishments, as his partner in the empire was for his ungovernable paffions and diffipated morals. The one was an example of the greatest goodness and wifdom; the other of ignorance, floth, andtravagance. The irregular life of Verus foon deftroyed an excellent conftitution; and, on a journey from Aquileia to Rome, he was feized with an apoplexy which put an end to his life, in the thirty-ninth year of his age, and after having reigned nine years in conjunction with Aurelius. The Marcomanni, Quadi, Sarmatians, Vandals, and other barbarous nations, having commenced hoftilities, with unufual rage and devaftation, Aurelius croffed the Danube by the bridge of boats. He then attacked the enemy, gained feveral advantages, burnt their houfes and magazines of corn, and |