Ex Libris ISAAC FOOT , s Q. THE HISTORY DECLINE AND PALL ROMAN EMPIRE. EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. IN TWELVE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR W. At-LASON ; B. WHITROW AND CO.; C. CHATPLE W. BARTON; i. EVANS AND SON; J. GREENHILL; J. HARWOOD R. HILL; G. HEBERT; w. HARRIS; T. MASON; B. SCHOLEY J. MAYNARD; T. BOHN ; W. MASON; 3. CARLISLE; T. FISHER j. BUMPUS; J, CRANWELL; i. PARSONS AND Co.; J. ROB T. LESTER; ALSO w. AND p. JENKINS; AND E. KHULL AND oo. GLASGOW ; J. CUMMINa AND C. LA GRANGE, DUBLIN mo. D.G-3H && / ?2 Q V. 1 Plinnmrr and Brewis, Printers, Love-Lane, Little-Easlche.ip PREFACE. IT is not my intention to detain the reader by expatiating on the variety, or the importance of the subject, which I have undertaken to treat ; since the merit of the choice would serve to ren- der the weakness of the execution still more ap- parent, and still less excusable. But as I have presumed to lay before the public a first volume only* of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, it will perhaps be expected that I should explain, in a few words, the na- ture and limits of my general plan. The memorable series of revolutions, which, in the course of about thirteen centuries, gradu- ally undermined, and at length destroyed, the solid fabric of human greatness, may, with some propriety, be divided in the three following pe- riods : I. The first of these periods may be traced from the age of Trajan and the Antonines, when the Roman monarchy, having attained its full strength and maturity, began to verge towards its decline ; and will extend to the subversion of the Western Empire, by the barbarians of Ger- many and Scythia, the rude ancestors of the most polished nations of modern Europe. This extraordinary re volution, which subjected Rome * Th* first volume of the quarto, which is now contained iu the two first volumes of the octavo edition. IV PREFACE. to the power of a Gothic conqueror, was com- pleted about the beginning of the sixth century. II. The second period of the Decline and Fall of Rome, may be supposed to commence with the reign of J ustinian, who by his laws, as well as by his victories, restored a transient splendour to the Eastern Empire. It will comprehend the invasion of Italy by the Lombards ; the con- quest of the Asiatic and African provinces by the Arabs, who embraced the religion of Ma- homet ; the revolt of the Roman people against the feeble princes of Constantinople ; and the elevation of Charlemagne, who, in the year eight hundred, established the second, or German em- pire of the West. III. The last and longest of these periods in- cludes about six centuries and a half; from the revival of the Western Empire, till the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, and the extinction of a degenerate race of princes, who continued to assume the titles of Caesar and Augustus, af- ter their dominions were contracted to the limits of a single city; in which the language, as well as manners, of the ancient Romans, had been long since forgotten. The writer who should undertake to relate the events of this period, would find himself obliged to enter into the ge- neral history of the crusades, as far as they con- tribute to the ruin of the Greek empire ; and he would scarcely be able to restrain his curiosity from making some inquiry into the state of the city of Rome during the darkness and confusion of the middle ages. As I have ventured, perhaps too hastily, to PREFACE. V commit to the press a work, which, in every sense of the word, deserves the epithet of imper- fect, I consider myself as contracting an engage- ment to finish, most probably in a second vo- lume,* the first of these memorable periods ; and to deliver to the public the complete His- tory of the Decline and Fall of Rome, from the age of the Aiitonines to the subversion of the Western Empire. With regard to the subse- quent periods, though I may entertain some hopes, I dare not presume to give any assur- ances. The execution of the extensive plan which I have described would connect the an- cient and modern history of the world ; but it would require many years of health, of leisure, and of perseverance. Bentinck Street, February 1, 1776. P. S. The entire, History, which is now pub- lished, of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, abundantly discharges my engagements with the public. Perhaps their favourable opinion may encourage me to prose- cute a work, which, however laborious it may seem, is the most agreeable occupation of my leisure hours. Bentinck Street , March 1, 1781. * The author, as it frequently happens, took an inadequate me* ure of his growing work. The remainder of the first peiiod has filled two volumes in quarto, being the third, fourth, fifth, and lixth volumes of the octavo edition. Yl PREFACE. An author easily persuades himself that the public opinion is still favourable to his labours ; and 1 have now embraced the serious resolution of proceeding to the last period of my original design, and of the Roman Empire, the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, in the year one thousand four hundred and fifty-three. The most patient reader, who computes that three ponderous volumes * have been already employ- ed on the events of four centuries, may, per- haps, be alarmed at the long prospect of nine hundred years. But it is not my intention to expatiate with the same minuteness on the whole series of the Byzantine history. At our entrance into this period, the reign of Justinian, and the conquests of the Mahometans, will de- serve and detain our attention ; and the last age of Constantinople (the crusades and the Turks) is connected with the revolutions of modern Europe. From the seventh to the eleventh cen- tury, the obscure interval will be supplied by a concise narrative of such facts as may still ap- pear either interesting or important. Bentinck Street, March 1, 1782. * The first six volumes of the octavo edition. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE THE History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is now delivered to the public in a more convenient form. Some alterations and improvements had presented themselves to my mind ; but I was unwilling to injure or offend the purchasers of the preceding editions. The accuracy of the corrector of the press has been already tried and approved ; and, perhaps, I may stand excused, if, amidst the avocations of a busy winter, I have preferred the pleasures of composition and study to the minute diligence of revising a former publication. Bmtinck Street, April 20, 1783. vm DILIGENCE and accuracy are the only merits which an historical writer may ascribe to him- self; if any merit, indeed, can be assumed from the performance of an indispensible duty. I may, therefore, be allowed to say, that I have carefully examined all the original materials that could illustrate the subject which I had un- dertaken to treat. Should I ever complete the extensive design which has been sketched out in the preface, I might perhaps conclude it with a critical account of the authors consulted during the progress of the whole work ; and however such an attempt might incur the censure of os tentation, I am persuaded, that it would be sus ceptible of entertainment, as well as information. At present I shall content myself with a single observation. The biographers who, under the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine, composed, or rather compiled, the lives of the emperors, from Hadrian to the sons of Cams, are usually, mentioned, under the names of jiElius Spartia- nus, Julius Capitolinus, JElius Lampridius, Vul- catius Gallicanus, Trebellius Pollio, and Fla- vius Vopiscus. But there is so much perplexity in the titles of the MSS. ; and so many disputes have arisen among the critics (see Fabricius, Biblioth. Latin. 1. iii, c. 6) concerning their num- ber, their names, and their respective property, that for the most part I have quoted them with- out distinction, under the general and well- known title of the Avgustan History. LIFE EDWARD GIBBON, Esq. T HIS clistinguisketl historian was born at Putney, in the county of Surrey, on the 27th of April, 1737. His father, Edward Gibbon, Esq. was of an ancient family at Burton, near Petersfield, in Hampshire,, and had a seat in two Parlia- ments. Edward was the only child reared by his parents ; and his constitution was so infirm in childhood, that his life was often despaired of. In his ninth yar hp was sent to the scb*ol of Dr. Woodeson, at Kiiigston-upon-Thames. After a residence of two years with this master, in which he ac- quired the rudiments of Latin, he returned to his friends; and he has recorded his twelfth year, in which he read a va- riety of English books of poetry, romance, history, and tra- vels, " as the most propitious to the growth of his intellec- tual stature." He then was entered at Westminster-school ; but repeated attacks of ill health prevented him from making a regular progress in the classical studies of the place ; and he was more the nurseling of an affectionate aunt, with whom he boarded, than the adventurous school-boy. After several changes of situation, in which he was chiefly the object of medical care,- his constitution began to acquire firmness ; and his father, with the idea of pusliing him forwards to manly acquisitions, placed him as a gentleman-commoner in Magda- len-college, Oxford, before he had completed his fifteenth year. He had already imbibed an extraordinary portion of historical knowledge by multifarious reading, which had stood in the place of the grammatical and philological studies used tu a literary progress at that period of life. " I arrived at 4 LIFE OF Oxford," says he, " with a stock of erudition that might have puzzled a doctor, arid a degree of ignorance of which a school-boy would have been ashamed." In this state it is evident that he was ill prepared to receive the benefits, what- ever they may be, of an university education; and this cir- cumstance might perhaps operate as some counterpoise to the very bitter philippic he has pronounced against the conduct of public and private instruction at Oxford. The fourteen months he spent there, he stigmatises as the most idle and unprofitable of his whole life. To a total neglect of religious instruction he has attributed the most remarkable incident of his early days, which took place at this time. From child- hood he had been addicted to disputation on topics of divi- nity. His leisure from other pursuits induced him to turn his attention to the controversies between the papists and protestants ; and as he entered into the field " without ar- mour," he fell before the weapons of authority which the ca- tholics so well know how to wield. His conversion to that faith was chiefly effected by reading the works of Bossuet ; and it was not till a perfect confidence in that author's tenets had taken place in his mind, that he had an interview in Lon- don with a popish priest, at whose feet, in June, 1753, he so- lemnly abjured the protestant religion. He immediately wrote a long letter to his father, in which he avowed and jus- tified the step he had taken. In reply to some reproaches that have been cast upon him for this change of religion, he has said, with proper confidence, " I am proud of an honest sacrifice of interest to conscience : I can never blush if my tender mind was entangled in the sophistry that seduced the acute and manly understandings of Chillingworth and Bayle." In order to reclaim him, he was sent by his offended fa- ther to reside among the Calvinists at Lausanne in Switzer- land, and was placed under Mr. Pavilliard, a calvinist minis- ter. There is something very characteristic in the sketch that gentleman has given of his pupil as he first appeared to him : " A little thin figure, with a large head, disputing, and urging with the greatest ability, all the best arguments that had ever been used in favour of popery." By the well-direct- ed efforts of this tutor, aidtd by his own sound reason and mature reflections, his faith in the Romish articles gradually gave way, and on 'Christmas-day, 1761, he received the sacra- EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. 6 meiit in the protestant church. His residence at Lausanne was ako of high importance to his progress in knowledge, and the formation of regular habits of study. He made him- self perfectly master of the French and Latin languages, and of the art of logic ; and read with great attention many ex- cellent authors, from which he made large selections. His ruling passion, that of reading, now fully developed itself, and he wanted no incitements to industry from a tutor. Belles- lettres, and the history of man and the human miud, were his favourite objects of study: mathematics he slightly touch- ed upon, but soon relinquished ; and he congratulates him- self that he escaped from them " before his mind was har- dened by the habit of rigid demonstration, so destructive of the finer feelings of moral evidence." This is an uncommon O view of the effect of mathematical studies, and which he ne- ver would have made, had the light of true mathematical de- monstration shed its effulgence over his mind. An extraor- dinary instance of his ardour for information is, that while an unknown youth at Lausanne, he ventured to open a coYres- pondence on learned topics with some celebrated foreign pro- fessors. In the midst of these literary occupations, love un- suspectedly found an entrance into his heart. The personal and mental accomplishments of an amiable and celebrated woman, were not to be resisted. The circumstances are so elegantly and undisguisedly related by Mr. Gibbon himself, as to give public interest to private connection : we shall therefore state the passage in the writer's own words : " I hesitate, from the apprehension of ridicule, when I approach . the delicate subject of my early love. By this word I do not mean the polite attention, the gallantry without hope or de- sign, which has originated in the spirit of chivalry, and is interwoven with the texture of French manners. I under- stand by this passion the union of desire, friendship, and tenderness, which is inflamed by a single female ; which pre- fers to the rest of her sex, and which seeks her possession as the supreme or the sole happiness of our being. I need not blush at recollecting the object of my choice ; and though my love was disappointed of success, I am rather proud that 1 was once capable of feeling such a pure and exalted senti- ment. The personal attractions of mademoiselle Susan Curchod were embellished by the virtues and talents of htr 6 . LIFE OF mind. Her fortune was humble, but her family was respec- table. Her mother, a native of France, had preferred her religion to her country. The profession of her father did not extinguish the moderation and philosophy of his temper, and he lived contented with a small salary and laborious duty, in the obscure lot of minister of Grassy, in the mountains that separate Pays de Vaud from the county of Burgundy. In the solitude of a sequestered village, he bestowed a liberal and even learned education on his only daughter. She sur- passed his hopes by her proficiency in the sciences and lan- guages ; and in her short visits to some relations at Lausanne, the wit, the beauty, and the erudition of mademoiselle Cur- cho.d, were the theme of universal applause. The report of such a prodigy awakened my curiosity : I saw, and loved. I found her learned without pedantry, lively in conversation, pure in sentiment, and elegant in manners ; and the first sud- den emotion was fortified by the habits and knowledge of a more familiar acquaintance. She permitted me to make her two or three visits at her father's house. 1 passed some happy days there in the mountains of Burgundy, and her parents honourably encouraged the connection. In a calm retirement the gay vanity of you-th no longer fluttered in her bosom : she listened to the voice of truth and passion, and I might presume to hope that I had made some impression on a virtuous heart. At Crassy and Lausanne I indulged my dream of felicity; but on ray return to England I soon disco- vered that my father would not hear of this strange alliance, and that without his consent I was myself destitute and help- less. After a painful struggle I yielded to my fate ; I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son; my wound was insensibly healed by time, absence, and the habits of a new life. My cure was accelerated by a faithful report of the tranquillity and cheerfulness of the lady herself; and my love subsided in friendship and esteem. The minister of Crassy soon af- terwards died, his stipend died with him ; his daughter re- tired to Geneva, where, by teaching young ladies, she earned a hard subsistence f9r herself and her mother : but in her low- est distress she maintained a spotless reputation and a digni- fied behaviour. A rich banker of Paris, a citizen of Geneva, had the good fortune and good sense to discover and possess this inestimable treasure ; and in the capital of taste and EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. 7 luxury he resisted the temptations of wealth as she had sus- tained the hardships of indigence. The genius of her husband has exalted him to the most conspicuous station in Europe. In every change of prosperity and disgrace, he has reclined on the bosom of a faithful friend ; for mademoiselle Cure! od became the wife of M. Neckar, the minister and legislator of the French monarchy." It is impossible not to pause after the perusal of this pas- sage, to contemplate the strange reverses of fortune which we meet with in the events of real life; and to be filled with melancholy reflections on the subsequent fate and fortunes of Susan Curchod and her husband. In the midst of these serious emotions, however, it is impossible not to admire the writer who describes his own youthful love with the same stately and unbending dignity of style, in which he related the conversion of Constantine, the imposture of Mohammed, the conquests of Timour, the laws of Justinian, or the liceu- tious amours of Theodora, in his highly distinguished work. His banishment at Lausanne, which he has justly regarded as the incident to which he was chiefly indebted for all he afterwards gained as a thinker and writer, terminated in April, 1758. He was received by his father with affection and friendship ; and he found in a mother-in-law a new relative, who in lime conciliated his good-will and confidence. Though the gaieties of London for a time gave an interruption to his literary course, yet he soon began to lay the foundation of a copious library, and prepared for his first appearance before the public as an author. He undertook the arduous task of writing a work which required great elegance of style, in a foreign language, which, indeed, had for some years been more familiar to him than his native tongue. His Essaisur I' Etude de la Litttrature, was printed, in 1761, in one volume 12mo. It was a very respectable juvenile performance, and was highly praised in foreign journals, and by his friends abroad. That it should bear no marks of being written by a foreigner, was not to be expected ; but it displayed a very uncommon degree of facility and correctness in that language for one to whom it was only the acquisition of a few years. It however excited little attention at home, where French works were less read than they are at present. Mr. Gibbon about this time took a captain's commission 8 LIFE OF in the south battalion of the Hampshire militia ; in which h afterwards became lieutenant-colonel commandant. Of the progress of his military acquirements he thus speaks : " The loss of so many busy and idle hours was- not compensated by any elegant pleasure; and my temper was insensibly soured by the society of our rustic officers. In every state there exists, however, a balance of good and evil. The habits of a sedentary life were usefully broken by the duties of an active profession : in the healthful exercise of the field 1 hunted with a battalion, instead of a pack ; and at that time I was ready, at any hour of the day or night, to fly from quarters to London, from London to iquarters, on the slightest call of private or regimental business. But my principal obligation to the militia, was the making me an Englishman and a sol- dier. After my foreign education, with my reserved temper, I should long have continued a stranger in my native country, had I not been shaken in this various scene of new faces and new friends : had not experience fo/ced ine to feel the cha- racters of our leading men, the state of parties, the forms of office, and the operation of our civil and military system. In this peaceful service I imbibed the rudiments of the language and science of tactics, which opened a new field of study and observation. I diligently read, and meditated, the Memoires Militaires of Quintus Icilius, (Guichardt,) the only writer who has united the merit's of a professor and a veteran. The discipline and evolutions of a modern battalion gave me a clearer notion of the phalanx and the legion ; and the captain of the Hampshire grenadiers (the reade> may smile) has not been useless to the historian of the Roman empire." While thus engaged in military service, Mr. Gibbon's tent and quarters were often encumbered with the unusual furni- ture of Greek and Latin books ; and though in a school so unfavourable to literature, his bent of mind was continually turned to study. On May 8, 1762, he thus delineates his own character: " This was my birth-day, on which I entered into the twenty-sixth year of my age. This gave me occasion to look a little into myself, and consider impartially my good and bad qualities. It appeared to me, upon this inquiry, that my character was virtuous, incapable of a base action, and formed for generous ones ; but that it was proud, violent, and disagreeable in society. These qualities I must endeavour EDWARD GIBBON, ESO. 9 to cultivate, extirpate, or restrain, according to their different tendency. Wit I have none. My imagination is rather strong than pleasing. My memory both capacious and retentive. The shining qualities of my understanding are extensiveness and penetration; but I want both quickness and exactness. As to my situation in life, though I may sometimes repine at it, it perhaps is the best adapted to my character. I can com- mand all the conveniences of life, and I can command too that independence, (that first earthly blessing,) which is hard- ly to be met with in a higher or lower fortune. When I talk of my situation, I must exclude that temporary one, of being in the militia. Though I go through it with spirit and appli- cation, it is both unfit for and unworthy of me." From his military engagements Mr. Gibbon was set free by the general peace of 1762 ; and the first use he made of his liberty was to pay a visit to Paris, in the beginning of 1763. After passing some months with the gay and the learned in that capital, he visited Lausanne, where almost a year was employed in cultivating society, and in laying in materials for a profitable journey into Italy. This took place in 1765; and he thus in glowing language described his sen- sations on entering Rome : " After a sleepless night, I trod, with a lofty step, the ruins of the forum ; each memorable spot where Romulus stood, or Tully spoke, or Caesar fell, was at once present to my eye ; and several days of intoxication were lost or enjoyed before I could descend to a cool and minute investigation." It was, he informs i;s, on the 15th of October, 1764, as he sat musing amidst the ruins of the capitol, while the bare-footed friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of this city first started into his mind. To treat some great historical subject had long been his favourite design, and he had fluctuated amid a variety which presented themselves. Of these, perhaps, the most promising was the history of the republic of Florence under the house of Medicis ; but we cannot lament that he finally fixed upon a more extensive theme. He first, however, actually proceeded some way in another interesting design, and composed in the French lan- guage the first book of a History of the Swiss Liberty ; but this, probably on account of its style, was condemned by a literary society of foreigners in London, to whom it wa read, 10 LIFE OF and he committed it to the flames. In 1767, he assisted hi* friend Deyverdun in compiling a critical work, entitled Memoires Litteraires de la Grande Bretegne, of which a se- cond volume was published in the ensuing year ; but its suc- cess was not great. Hitherto he had shewn a singular, and in him injudicious, preference of the French language in writ- ing ; but in 1770, he tried his powers in his native tongue by a pamphlet of Critical Observations on the sixth Book of the JEueid, intended as a refutation of Dr. Warburton's extraor- dinary hypothesis concerning the meaning of the fabled de- scent of ./Eneas. This piece was printed anonymously, and did not captivate the public attention ; yet it has been pro- nounced by able judges a very ingenious and elegant work of criticism, not unworthy of the author's subsequent fame. He himself has confessed, that his personal attack upon the cele- brated veteran, whose opinion he opposed, was too severe, though provoked by the assuming arrogance which always characterised that writer. In 1770 Mr. Gibbon's father died, and left him possessor of au estate much involved* He seems scarcely ever to have extricated himself from perplexities arising from this cause: yet he has observed, th^t upon the whole his circumstances were well suited to the great task he undertook as an author; and that either poorer or richer he should probably never have accomplished it. Leisure and books were on the one hand necessary ; on the other, the stimulus of a handsome in- crease of property. The circle of his acquaintance in Lon- don was large ; but he compensated the hours devoted to them by early rising and close application.' His studies were, however, more seriously interrupted by a seat in parliament, which he obtained for the borough of Liskeard in -1774, through the favour of his kinsman, Mr. (afteiwards Lord) Eliot. Of his prowess in the House of Commons he thus speaks : " I took my seat at the beginning of the memorable contest between Great Britain and America, and supported, with many a sincere and silent vote, the rights, though not perhaps the interest, of the mother country. After a fleet- ing illusive hope, prudence condemned me to acquiesce in the humble station of a mute. The great speakers filled me with despair, the'bad ones with terror. I was not armed by EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. 11 nature and education with the intrepid energy of mind and voice, Vincentum strepitus, et natum rebus agendis. Timidity was fortified by pride, and even the success of my pen discouraged the trial of my voice. But I assisted at the debates of a free assembly; I listened to the attack and de- * fence of eloquence and reason ; I had a near prospect of the characters, views, and passions, of the first men of the age. The cause of government was ably vindicated by Lord North, a statesman of spotless integrity, a consummate master of de- bate, who could wield with equal dexterity the arms of reason and of ridicule. He was seated on the treasury bench be- tween his attorney and solicitor general, the two pillars of the law and state, magis pares quam similes ; and the minister might indulge in a short slumber, while he was upholdeii on either hand by the majestic sense of Thurlow, and the skilful eloquence of Wedderburne. From the adverse side of the house au ardent and powerful opposition was supported, by the lively declamation of Barre, the legal acuteuess of Dun- ning, the profuse and philosophic fancy of Burke, and the argumentative vehemence of Fox. By such men every oper- ation of peace and war, every principle of justice or policy, every question of authority and freedom, was attacked and defended ; and the subject of the momentous contest was the union or separation of Great Britain and America. The eight sessions that I sat in parliament were a school of civil prudence, the first and most essential virtue of an historian." In the beginning of 1776, the first volume, quarto, of this history, was given to the public. His expectations of its suc- cess were very moderate, and it is not to be wondered at that he was much elated with the success it really met with, which he thus describes : " The first impression was exhausted in a few days ; a second and a third edition was scarcely adequate to the demand ; and the bookseller's property was twice in- vaded by the pirates of Dublin. My book was on every table, and almost on every toilette." Of all the applause he re- ceived, none seemed to flatter him so much as that of the two celebrated historians Hume and Robertson, who, instead of 12 LIFE or viewing his rising fame with jealousy, promoted it with liberal commendation. But, in the midst of this triumph, his two chapters concerning the growth and progress of Christianity raided a storm against him, which he seems not to have fore- seen, and, when it fell, to have regarded with some alarm. A number of .antagonists arose, of different degrees of hosti- lity and acrimony ; some, enlisted in the defence of a church which was to reward their zeal; some, the voluntary cham- pions of a revered faith. As he professed to have touched upon this subject only as an historian, he declined entering upon it as a controversialist ; and the only reply he made was to Mr. Davis, who had in very unmeasured terms at- tacked " not the faith, but the fidelity, of the historjan.'' His Vindication against this opponent was greatly admired, as a model of keen and polished retort ; and it was generally admitted, that he successfully repelled the principal charges, and returned them upon his foe. With respect to the general spirit and design of the two chapters, we shall only observe, that, the suggestion of secondary causes, by which the spread of Christianity was peculiarly favoured, had been already adopted by some undoubted believers in its divine origin: and that, although there can be no doubt that Gibbon was a real enemy to revelation under the mask of a believer, yet, while penal laws subsist against an open declaration of opi- nion, however requisite this might appear, the practice of a prudential disguise cannot so much be wondered at. A second visit to Paris soon followed the publication of his first volume, and he appeared in no haste to re- sume his historical task. After it was begun again, a short interruption took place from his composing, at the request of the ministers a Memoire Justificatif, inteuded as an answer to the manifesto of the court of France on its declaration of hostilities. This piece, written in French, was admired both for its style and its reasoning, and was delivered as a state paper to the courts of Eu- rope. For this service, joined to his literary celebrity, he re- ceived the appointment of one of the Lords of Trade, by which a handsome addition was made to his income, and little to his engagements. -At the beginning of 1781, the second and third volumes of the History appeared ; and though many readers judged them to be inferior in point 'of compoii EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. 13 tion to the first, yet, upon the whole, they supported his re- putation. At a new election he had lost his seat for Lis- keard, but he was brought in, upon a vacancy, for Lymiugton. It was not long, however, before Lord North's ministry was dissolved and the abolition of the Board of Trade, by Mr. Burke's bill, followed. The prize being now lost, Gibbon seemed to think his parliamentary career terminated ; and the defalcation of his income no longer permitted him to sup- port the same style of living. He took a resolution, there- fore, of removing his residence to his favourite Lausanne in Swisserland, as a place where he might pursue his studies with- out interruption, and enjoy all the pleasures of an elegant re- treat at much less expence than in England. This plan he put in execution in the autumn of 1783. He was joint-pos- sessor with his friend Deyverduuof a handsome and charm- ingly-situated house, and commenced a mode of living happi- ly compounded of the man of letters and the gentleman of easy fortune. During the four following years he completed the three remaining quarto volumes of his History, which were published together in April 1788. He has described his sa- tisfaction on finishing this great work, in the following words: " As I have presumed to mark the moment of conception, I shall now commemorate the hour of my 6nal deliverance. It was on the day, or rather night, of the 27th of June, 1787, be- tween the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote the last lines of the last page, in a summer-house in my garden. Af- ter laying down my pen, I took several turns in a berceau, or covered walk of acacias, which commands a prospect of the country, the lake, and the mountains. The air was temper- ate, the sky was serene, the silver orb of the moon was re- flected from the waters, and all nature was silent. I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and, perhaps, the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind, by the idea that 1 had taken an ever- lasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that what- soever might be the future date of my History, the life of the historian must be short and precarious." He came to Eng land to superintend the printing, and then returned to that abode of Lausanne, which had now become doubly endeared to him by the force of habit. 14 LIFE OF The remainder of Mr. Gibbon's life, being only that of a private gentleman, affords little matter for the biographer. The storms of the French revolution, which began to menace the quiet regions of Swisserland, gradually loosened his at- tachment to Lausanne, and made him look towards a refuge in England. He viewed that great event with all the alarm and detestation of one habituated to the higher orders of so- ciety, and radically hostile to democratical sway. He thus explicitly declares his sentiments on the occasion. " I beg leave to subscribe my assent to Mr. Burke's creed on the re- volution of France. I admire his eloquence, I approve his politics, I adore his chivalry, and I can almost excuse his re- verence for church establishments." Many passages of his letters to his most confidential friend, Lord Sheffield, shew that in his terror or indignation he had acquired a thorough aversion to even the most moderate and reasonable reforms. In such a state of mind the authority of his opinion can stand for little ; and his politics were always too personal to command much deference. His return to England, in 1793, was, however, the immediate result of a call of friendship which does honour to his heart: it was to console the friend above-mentioned under a heavy domestic loss. He spent some months with that friend and in other visits, when his attention was forcibly called to the progress of a disease which though it had long produced little inconvenience, was now become suddenly alarming. Mr. Gibbon had been three times tapped fol" an hydrocele; this disorder, which was originally a slight rupture, had been coming on for more than thirty years ; and he at last perhaps fell a victim to his own delicacy, since he declined surgical aid, and would not suffer his servant or any one to speak of his disorder till it got to an alarming height. He died on the 16th of January, 1794, three days after the third puncture. His body was opened on the fifth day after his death. It was then found, that a degree of mortifi- cation, not very considerable, had taken place on a part of ihe colon ; which, with the whole ouientum, of a very en- larged size, had descended into the scrotum, forming a bag that hung down nearly as low as the knee. Since that part had been inflamed and ulcerated, Mr. Gibbon could not bear a truss ; and when the last six quarts of fluid were discharged, the colon and omentum descending lower, thev, by their EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. 15 weight, drew the lower mouth of the stomach downwards to the os pubis ; and this probably was the immediate cause of his death. Mr. Gibbon has given a picture of his own character, which is probably near the truth. " I am endowed with a cheerful temper, a moderate sensibility, and a natural dispo- sition to repose rather than to activity : some mischievous appetites and habits have been perhaps corrected by philoso- phy or time. The love of study supplies each day, each hour, with a perpetual source of independent and rational pleasure." He was easy in society, and fond of it : he was beloved- by his friends, and had in an eminent degree the manners and sentiments of a gentleman. Early indulgence and habit had made the conveniences and elegances of cul- tured life essential to his comfort, and he was not one who could have been content with the consciousness of mental superiority in an humble state. After his death, two quarto volumes of liis miscellaneous works were published by lord Sheffield. Of these, the most valuable part is the Memoirs of his Life and Writings, composed by himself, whence the preceding narrative has been chiefly extracted. They are written in a very pleasing manner, with much apparent frank- ness. Many of his private- letters are subjoined, which are lively and entertaining, in the true epistolary style. The se- cond volume contains a journal of his studies, with remarks upon books, chiefly in French; together with his smaller publications already mentioned. The person and manners of Mr. Gibbon are thus de- scribed by M. Fred. Matthisson, a German writer of some celebrity: "I yesterday waited on Mr. Gibbon. His figure is very striking. He is tall, of athletic make, and rather auk- ward when he moves. His face forms one of the most singu- lar physiognomical phenomena, owing to the irregular pro- portion of the parts to the whole. The eyes are so little as peculiarly to contrast with his high and finely-arched fore- head; while the nose, inclining to flatness, almost vanishes be- tween the cheeks,whicli project exceedingly. The double chin hanging down very low renders the elliptical shape of his long face still more remarkable : yet, in spite of these irregularities, Mr. Gibbon's countenance has an uncommon expression of dignity, which, at first sight, bespeaks the profound and acute 16 LIVE OF reasoner. Nothing exceeds the glowing animation of his eyes. In his conversation and manner, he is quite the polite gentleman ; civil, but cold. He speaks French with elegance ; arid, which is truly surprising in an Englishman, pronounces it nearly like a Parisian man of letters. He listens to his own accents with great complacency, and talks slowly, as if care- fully examining each phrase before he gives it utterance. With the same composed countenance he speaks on agreeable and on disagreeable subjects, on joyful and on melancholy events. During the whole of our conversation, the muscles of his face remained unaltered ; though a very ludicrous inci- dent, which he had occasion to relate, might naturally have drawn a smile from him. In his house the strictest punctu. ality and order prevail ; and his domestics must expect to be dismissed if they perform not their business almost at the stated moment. Of this exactness, he sets them the ex- ample himself. His day is divided like that of king Alfred. As the clock strikes, he goes to business, to dinner, or sees company; always taking the utmost care not to spend one minute beyond the time set apart for the occasion." Upon the whole, with all his faults and failings, foibles and mis- takes, Mr. Gibbon might be considered as one of the first li- terary characters which illumined and adorned the eighteenth century, CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAP. I. The extent and military force of the empire I'M the time of the Aiitn* nines A. D. PAGE. 98 Introduction - - - 1 180 Moderation of Augustus - 2 Imitated by bis successors - 4 Conquest of Britain was the first exception - - 5 Conquest of Dacia, the second exception - 8 Conquest of Trajan in the East - - - 9 Rescued by his successor Hadrian - - 10 Contrast of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius - - 12 Pacific system of Hadrian and the two Antouines - ib Defensive wars of Marcus Antoninus - - 13 Military establishment of the Roman emperors - 14 Discipline - - - 15 Exercise - ._>-? - 17 'The legions under the emperors - - .' v si 19 Anns - - 20 Cavalry - ^ - -< .-.- ...-' :-,,# 22 Auxiliaries - - 'ft 4r- - 23 Artillery - . -- * - .;-.- 24 Encampment- . -w - - 25 Marcli - - - 26 Number and disposition of the legions - .'4' 27 Navy - - , hi z?i 28 Amount of the whole establishment /- - 30 Yiew or the provinces of the Roman empire - ib Spain - - - - - ib Gaul .... .,,A 31 Britain - - - ' * 33 Italy - - ib the Danube and Illyrian frontier - - 36 Rhaetia . -. i s . - i^i ib Xxti CONTENTS. A. D. PAGF. Noricum and Pannonia - - > 36 Dalmatia - -, * 84 The Tine - - .;. ,t'-f * . - - - - . 7-<- . - 85 The olive .... ^* ; . i - - - ib, Flax 86 Artilicial grass - - - - - - ib. General plenty -------- ib. Arts of luxury - - - - -.- - -87 Foreign trade --------88 Cold and silver - - - - -- - -89 General felicity - - - - - -90 Decline of courage -------91 genius - - ----92 Degeneracy - -''- .'-4i - - - - -94 CHAP. III. Of ike constitution of the Roman empire in the age of the Antoninet. ft. D. PAGE. Idea of a monarchy --- - - - -95 Situation of Augustus ;r'_) - ib. lie reforms the senate , ~ - - - .97 Resigns his usurped power - .<* - - ib. Is prevailed upon to resume it under the title of emperor or general - *; j.' - " * " ' - 98 Power of the Roman generals - - - - - 99 Lieutenants of the emperor _.->. - - - 101 Division of the provinces between the emperor and the senate - -.- - - - \- - ]Q2 The former preserves his military command, and guards, in Rome itself - -_- - - - - 103' Consular and tribunitian powers - - - - ib. Imperial prerogatives - - - - -106 The magistrates . - . -. ';t^>. * - - - ib. The senate -----.-. 108 General idea of the imperial system .... 109 Court of the emperors - ,;,, - - _ no Deification - - -,- - -- -111 Titles of Augustus and Caesar - - - - - 1 13 Character and policy of Augustus - - > - 114 Image of liberty for the people - - - - 1 15 Attempts of the senate after the death of Caligula - 116 Image of government for the armies - ib. Their obedience - - - - - -117 Designation of a successor - - - - - -118 Of Tiberius ......... 119 Of Titus -:*.:.- - ib. The race of the Caesars and Flavian family - - - ib. 96 Adoption and character of Trajan - -".'.,,- 12O 117 Of Hadrian .... .._.'., 121 Adoption of the elder and younger Verus - "_ ..5* Itjfc 138-180 Adoption of the two Antonjns - - - - 123 XXIV CONTENTS. A. D. Character and reign of Pius ^ r - * -124 of Marcus - 125 Happiness of the Romans - - 126 Its precarious nature - 127 Memory of Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, and Domitian - 128 Peculiar misery of the Romans under their tyrants - 129 Insensibility ol' the Orientals - - - - ib. Knowledge and free spirit of the Romans - 130 Extent of their empire left them no place of refuge - 132 CHAP. IV.^ The cruelty, follies, and murder of Commodut. Election ofPertinax. His attempts to reform tfie ttate. Hit assassination by the praetorian guards* , A D. ' PAGE Indulgence of Marcus _ _ . 13., To his wife Faustina - - . _ - ib. To his son Commodus "i'i <;; :;ii1It, of Elagabalus, called at first JJassianus and Antoninus - - ib. 218 Defeat and death of Macrinus - 230 Elagabalns writes to (he senate - - 232 219 Picture of Elagabalus - 233 His superstition - ib. His profligate and effeminate luxury - - 235 Contempt of decency which distinguished the Roman tyrants - - 237 Discontents of the army - - 238 221 Alexander Severus declared Csesar - - ib. 322 Sedition of the guards, and murder of Elagabalus - 239 Accession of Alexander Severus - - 240 Power of his mother Mamma - 241 His wise and moderate administration - 243 Education and virtuous temper of Alexander - 244 Journal of his ordinary liic - - - ib. CONTENTS. XXtit A. D. P AGE . 222-235 General Happiness of the Roman world - . 246 Alexander refuses the name of Antoninus - . 247 He attempts to reform the army - - - - ib. Seditions of the pitetorian guards, and murder of Ulpian _-__.___ 249 Danger of Dion Cassius - - - - . 250 Tumults of the legions - - - - " - _ 251 Firmness of the emperor ------ ib. Defects of his reign and character - 253 Digression on the finances of the empire - 254 Establishment of the tribute on Roman citizens - - 255 Abulitii a of the tribute ---___ 256 Tributes of the provinces - - - - - . 257 Of Asia, Egypt, and Gaul ----- ib. Of Africa and Spain ----__ 258 Of the isle of Gyarus ----__ 259 Amount of the revenue - - ib. Taxes on Roman citizens instituted by Augustus - 260 I. The customs ---._. 261 II. The excise - - - - - _ ' 262 III. Tax onllegacies and inheritances - 263 Suited to the laws and manners - 264 Regulations of the emperors - - ... 265 Edict of Caracalla" -----.. o^J The freedom of the city given to all the provincials, for the purpose of taxation - 267 Temporary reduction of the tribute ib. Consequences of the universal freedom of Rome - 268 CHAP. VII. Tiie elevation and tyranny of Maximin. Rebellion in Africa and Italy, under the authority of the senate. Civil wars and seditions. Vio- lent deaths ofMaximin and his son, of Maximus and Balbimts, and of the three Gordians. Usurpation and secular games of Philip. A. D. PAGE. The apparent ridicule and solid advantage of hereditary succession --.-_... 270 Want of it in the Roman empire productive of the greatest calamities --_.__ "*fi\ Birth and fortunes of Maximin ----- 272 His military service and honours .... 274 236 Conspiracy of Maximin -.-... 275 Murder of Alexander Severus ----- 276 Tyranny of Maximin - - - - - - 277 Oppression of the provinces - - - - - 280 237 Revolt iii Africa - ... ., 4 ,':. ' . 281 Character aud elevation of the two Gordians -...%>'.. - 282 CONTENTS. A. D, PACE. They solicit the confirmation of their authority - 285 The senate ratifies the election of the Gordians - 286 Declares Maximiu a public enemy - 287 Assumes the command of Rome and Italy - - ib. Prepares for a civil war - 288 237 Defeat and death of the two Gordians - - 289 Election of Maximus and Balbinus by the senate - 290 Their characters - - 292 Tumult at Rome - - 293 The younger Gordian is declared Caesar - ib. Maximin prepares to attack the senate, and their emperors - - - 294 238 Marches into Italy - - - 296 Siege of Aquileia - - - . ib. Conduct of Maximus - - 298 238 Murder of Maximin and his son - - 299 His portrait - - , - 300 Joy of the Roman world ib. Sedition at Rome - , - - 302 Discontent of the praetorian guards - - - 303 238 Massacre of Maximus and Balbinus ... 304 The third Gordian remains sole emperor - 30G Innocence and virtues of Gordian - ib. 240 Administration of Misitheus - - 307 242 The Persian war - - 308 243 The arts of Philip - 309 244 Murder of Gordian - ib. Form of a military republic - - ib. Reign of Philip - 311 248 Secular games - - 312 Decline of the Roman empire - - 313 CHAP. VIII. Of the state of Persia after the restoration of the monarchy by Ar- taxerxet. A. D. PAGE. The barbarians of the East and of the North - - 315 Revolutiens of Asia - - 816 The Persian monarchy restored by Artaxerxes - 317 Reformation of the Magian religion - - 318 Persian theology, two principles - - 320 Religious worship - 322 Ceremonies and moral precepts - 323 Encouragement of agriculture - 324 Power of the Magi - 325 Spirit of persecution - - 386 Establishment of the royal authority in the provinces - 329 CONTENTS. XXIX A. D. PAGE. Extent and population of Persia, - - 330 Recapitulation of the war between the Parthian and Roman empires - - - - 331 165 Cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, - 332 216 Conquest of Osrhoene by the Romans, - - 334 230 Artaxerxes claims the provinces of Asia, and declares war against the Romans, - - 336 233 Pretended victory of Alexander Severus, - - 337 More probable account of the war, - 339 240 Character and maxims of Artaxerxes, 341 Military power of the Persians, - - 842 Their infantry contemptible, - ib. Their cavalry ^excellent, - - ib. CHAP. IX. The state of Germany till the invasion of the barbarians, in tie time of the emperor Deciut, A. D, PAGE. Extent of Germany, - - 345 Climate, - - - ' - - 346 Its effects on the natives, - - 348 Origin of the Germans, - - 349 Fables and conjectures, - - 350 The Germans ignorant of letters, - - 351 . of arts and agriculture, - 353 . o. the use of metals, - 355 Their indolence, - "'* - 356 Their taste for strong liquors, - - 358 State of population, - 359 German freedom, - - - 36L Assemblies of the people, - 362 Authority of the princes and magistrates - 364 More absolute over the property, than over the persons, of the Germans, - - 365 Voluntary engagements, ' v - - ib. German chastity, - 367 Its probable causes, - 368 Religion, '".'.' ~ 37 Its effects in peace, r - 372 in war, - - - 373 The Eards, - - 374 Causes which checked the progress of the Germans, - 375 Want of arms, - - - ib. of discipline, - 3.'.-\ J - '"'*-_ ; - 376 Civil dissensions of Germany, - - 378 Fomented by the policy of Rome, - 379 Transient union against Marcus Antoninus, '- ^ - 380 Distinction of the German tribes, '"''* ' - 382 Numbers, - - ** ? 1k 4i ' - 383 1 b XXX CONTENTS. CHAP. X. The emperors Decius, Gall-its, JEmilianus, Valerian, and GalKenut. The general irruption of the barbarians. The thirty tyrants. A.J). PAGR 248-268. The nature of the subject, - - 348 The emperor Philip, - - ib. 249 Services, revolt, victory, and reign of the emperor Decius 385 250 He marches against the Goths, - - 387 Origin of the Goths from Scandinavia, - - ib. Religion of the Goths, - 389 Institutions and death of Odin, - - 390 Agreeable, but uncertain, hypothesis concerning Odin, ib. Emigration of the Goths from Scandinavia into Prussia, 391 from Prussia to the Ukraine, - 393 The Gothic nation increases in its march, - - 394 Distinction of the Germans and Sarmatians, - - 395 Description of the Ukraine, - - 390' The Goths invade the Roman provinces, - - 397 250 Various events of the Gothic war, - - 398 251 Decius revives the office of censor in the person of Vale- rius, - - 400 The design impracticable, and without effect, - - 402 Defeat and death of Decius and his son, - 403 251 Election of Gallus, - - - 405 252 Retreat of the Goths, - : 406 Gallus purchases peace by the payment of an annual tribute, - ib. Popular discontent, - . 407 253 Victory and revolt of ^Emilianus, - 408 Gallus abandoned and slain, - - 409 Valerian revenges the death of Gallus, and is acknow- ledged emperor, - - ib. Character of Valerian, - - 410 253-268. General misfortunes of the reigns of Valerian and Gallienus - 411 Inroads of the barbarians, - 412 Origin and confederacy of the Franks, - - ib. They invade Gaul, - 414 They ravage Spain, and pass over into Africa, - 415 Origin and renown of the Suevi, - 416 A mixed body of Suevi assume the name of Alcmauni, 417 Invade Gaul and Italy, - - 418 Are repulsed from Home by Iho senate and people, - ib. The senators excluded by Gaiiicnus from the military service, - 419 Gallienus contracts an alliance with the Alemanm, - ib. Conquest of (he Bosphorus by the Goths, - 421 Inroads of the Goths, - - 420 The Goths acquire a naval force, ; - 423 CONTENTS. XXXI A. D. PAOE. First naval expedition of Hie Goths, - 424 The Goths besiege and take Trebizond, . ib. The second expedition of the Goths, - -' . 426 They plunder the cities of Uithinia, - - - ib. Retreat of the Goths, - .';' . 427 Third naval expedition of the Goths, - - 438 They pass the Bosphorus and Hellespont, - 429 4 Ravage Greece and threaten Italy, - - 430 Their divisions and retieat, - - 431 Ruin of the temple of Ephesus, - 432 Conduct of the Goths at Athens, - - 434 Conquest of Armenia by the Persians, ... 435 Valerian marches into IJie East, - 436 260 Is defeated and taken prisoner by Sapor, king of Persia, ib. Sapor overruns Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia, - 438 Boldness and success of Odenathiis against Sapor, - 441) ' Treatment of Valerian, - ... 441 Character and administration of Gallienus, - - - 442 The thirty tyrants, - - 414 Their real number was no more than nineteen, - 446 Character and merit of th, tyrants, - - - ib. Their obscure birth, - - - 446 The causes of their rebellion, - ... 437 Their violent deaths, - - - 44 Fatal consequences of these usurpations, - - 44J) Disorders of Sicily - ... 451 Tumults of Alexandria, - - 452 Rebellion of the Isaurians, ... 454 Famine and pestilence, ... 455 Diminution of the human species, - ib. THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. CHAP. I. The extent and military force of the empire in the age of the Antonines. N the second century of the Christian sera, the CHAP. empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part J;^. of the earth, and the most civilized portion of introdue- mankind. The frontiers of that extensive mo- narchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valour. The gentle, but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence : the Roman senate appeared to pos- sess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of govern- ment. During a happy period of more VOL. i. B 2 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtues and abilities of Nerva. Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this, and of the two succeeding chapters, to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most im- portant circumstances of its decline and fall ; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth. Modera- The principal conquests of the Romans were Augusta*, achieved under the republic ; and the empe- rors, for the most part, were satisfied with pre- serving those dominions which had been acquired by the policy of the senate, the active emula- tion of the consuls, and the martial enthusiasm of the people. The seven first centuries were filled with a rapid succession of triumphs ; but it was reserved for Augustus, to relinquish the ambi- tious design of subduing the whole earth, and to introduce a spirit of moderation into the pub- lic councils. Inclined to peace by his temper and situation, it was easy for him to discover, that Rome, in her present exalted situation, had much less to hope than to fear from the chance of arms ; and that, in the prosecution of remote wars, the undertaking became every day more difficult, the event more doubtful, and the pos- session more precarious, and less beneficial. The experience of Augustus added weight to these salutary reflections, and effectually convinced him that, by the prudent vigour of his counsels, it would be easy to secure every concession, which the safety or the dignity of Rome might require CHAP. from the most formidable barbarians. Instead .'. of exposing his person and his legions to the arrows of the Parthians, he obtained, by an honourable treaty, the restitution of the stand- ards and prisoners which had been taken in the defeat of Crassus.* His generals, in the early part of his reign, attempted the reduction of Ethiopia and Arabia Felix. They marched near a thousand miles to the south of the tropic ; but the heat of the cli- mate soon repelled the invaders, and protected the un warlike natives of those sequestered re- gions. k The northern countries of Europe scarce- 'y deserved the expence and labour of conquest. The forests and morasses of Germany were filled with a hardy race of barbarians, who despised life when it was separated from freedom ; and though, on the first attack, they seemed to yield to the weight of the Roman power, they soon, by a signal act of despair, regained their indepen- dence, and reminded Augustus of the vicissitude * Dion Cassias (1. liv, p.736 ), with the annotations of Rcymar, who has collected all that Roman vanity has left upon the subject. The marble of Ancyra, on which Augustus recorded his own exploits, asserts that he compelled the Parthians to restore the ensigns of Crassus. b Strabo (1. xvi, p. 780), Pliny the elder (Hist. Natur. 1. vi, c. 32- 35), and Dion Cassius (1. liii, p. 723, and 1. liv, p. 734), have left u very curious details concerning these wars. The Romans made them* selves masters of Mariaba, or Merab, a city of Arabia Felix, well known to the Orientals (see Abulfedaand the Nubian geography, p. 52). They were arrived within three days journey of the spice country, the rich object of their invasion. B 2 4 THE DECLINE 'AND FALL CHAP, of fortune/ On the death of that emperor, his ~~~~~ testament was publicly read in the senate. He bequeathed, as a valuable legacy to his succes- sors, the advice of confining the empire within those limits, which nature seemed to have placed as its permanent bulwarks and boundaries ; on the west the Atlantic ocean ; the Rhine and Danube on the north ; the Euphrates on the east; and towards the south, the sandy deserts of Arabia and Africa/ imitated Happily for the repose of mankind, the mode- byhisuc- ra j e S y s tem recommended by the wisdom of Ccssors. * " * Augustus was adopted by the fears and vices of his immediate successors. Engaged in the pur- suit of pleasure, or in the exercise of tyranny, the first Caesars seldom shewed themselves to the armies, or to the provinces ; nor were they dis- posed to suffer, that those triumphs which their indolence neglected, should be usurped by the conduct and valour of their lieutenants. The military fame of a subject was considered as an insolent invasion of the imperial prerogative; and it became the duty, as well as interest, of every Roman general, to guard the frontiers entrusted to his care, without aspiring to conquests which e By the slaughter of Varus and his three legions. See the first book of the Annals of Tacitus. Sneton, in August, c. 23, and Velleius Par- tercules, 1. ii. c. 117, &c. Augustus did not receive the melancholy news with all the temper and firmness that might have been expected from his character. d Tacit Annal. 1. ii. Dion. Cassus, 1. li, p. 833, and the speech of Augustus himself, in Julian's Ca-sars. It receives great light from the learned notes of hit French translator, M. Spanheim. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. might have proved no less fatal to himself than CHAP. to the vanquished barbarians." The only accession which the Roman empire conquest received, during the first century of the Christian was the"" aera, was the province of Britain. In this sing instance, the successors of Caesar and Augustus were persuaded to follow the example of the for- mer, rather than the precept of the latter. The proximity of its situation to the coast of Gaul seemed to invite their arms ; the pleasing though doubtful intelligence of a pearl fishery, attracted their avarice ; f and as Britain was viewed in the light of a distinct and insulated world, the con- quest scarcely formed any exception to the gene- ral system of continental measures. After a war of about forty years, undertaken by the most stupid, 8 maintained by the most dissolute, and terminated by the most timid of all the emperors, the far greater part of the island submitted to e Germanicus, Suetonius Paulina?, and Agricola, were checked and recalled in the course of their victories. Corbulo was put to death. Military merit, as it is admirably expressed by Tacitus, was, in the strictest sense of the word, impt.ratoria virtus. { Caesar himself conceals that ignoble motive ; but it is mentioned by Suetonius, c. 47. The British pearls proved, however, of little value, on account of their dark and livid colour. Tacitus observes, with reason (in Agricola, c. 12), that it was an inherent defect, " Ego faeilius crediderim, uaturam margaritis deesse MW !A pwMk ** M *** w * awv wta*MMM^ u ^_^^MHNHw ceived the intelligence of new names and new nations, that acknowledged his sway. They were informed that the kings of Bosphorus, Col- chos, Jberia, Albania, Osrhoene, and even the Parthian monarch himself, had accepted their diadems from the hands of the emperor; that the independent tribes of the Median and Car- ducian hills had implored his protection ; and that the rich countries of Armenia, Mesopota- mia, and Assyria, were reduced into the state of provinces/ But the death of Trajan soon clouded the splendid prospect ; and it was justly to be dreaded, that so many distant nations would throw off the unaccustomed yoke, when they were no longer restrained by the powerful hand which had imposed it Resigned, It was an ancient tradition, that when the capitol was founded by one of the Roman kings, the g O( j Terminus (who presided over bound- *" Eiitropius and Sextus Rufus'have endeavoured to perpetuate the illusion. See a very sensible dissertation of M. Freret, in the Aca- demic des Inscriptions, torn, xxi, p. 55.' / Dion Cassius, 1. Ixviii ; aud the Abbreviator* . OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE/ 1 1 aries, and was represented according to the CHAP. fashion of that age, by a large stone) alone, a- ' 9fn mong all the inferior deities, refused to yield his place to Jupiter himself. A favourable in- ference was drawn from his obstinacy, which was interpreted by the augurs as a sure presage that the boundaries of the Roman power would never recede. 7 During many ages, the predic- tion, as it is usual, contributed to its own ac- complishment. But though Terminus had re- sisted the majesty of Jupiter, he submitted to the authority of the emperor Hadrian. * The resignation of all the eastern conquests of Tra- jan was the first measure of his reign. He re- stored to the Parthians the election of an inde- pendent sovereign, withdrew the Roman garri- sons from the provinces of Armenia, Mesopo- tamia, and Assyria, and in compliance with the precept of Augustus, once more established the Euphrates as the frontier of the empire.* Cen- sure, which arraigns the public actions and the private motives of princes, has ascribed to envy, a conduct, which might be attributed to the prudence and moderation of Hadrian. The various character of that emperor, capable, by turns, of the meanest and the most generous sen- timents, may afford some colour to the suspi- y Ovid. Fast. 1. ii, ver. 667. See Livy, and Dionysius of Halicar- nasus, under the reign of Tarquin. z St. Augustin is highly delighted with the proof of the weakness of Terminus, and the vanity of the augurs. See De Civitate Dei, i?.29. , * See the Augustan History, p. 5. Jerome's Chronicle, and all th Epitomisers. It is somewhat surprising, that this memorable event should be omitted by Dion, or rather by Xiphilin. ] 2 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. cion. It was, however, scarcely in his power J^^ to place the superiority of his predecessor in a more conspicuous light, than by thus confessing himself unequal to the task of defending the conquests of Trajan. Contrast The martial and ambitious spirit of Trajan an? Anto? formed a very singular contrast with the mode- ninusPius. ra tion of his successor. The restless activity of Hadrian was not less remarkable, when com- pared with the gentle repose of Antoninus Pius. The life of the former was almost a perpetual journey ; and as he possessed the various talents of the soldier, the statesman, and the scholar, he gratified his curiosity in the discharge of his duty. Careless of the difference of seasons and of climates, he marched on foot, and barehead- ed, over the snows of Caledonia, and the sultry plains of the Upper Egypt; nor was there a province of the empire, which, in the course of his reign, was not honoured with the presence of the monarch .* But the tranquil life of Anto- ninus Pius was spent in the bosom of Italy ; and, during the twenty-three years that he directed the public administration, the longest journies of that amiable prince extended no further than from his palace in Rome, to the retirement of his Lanuvian villa. 6 Pacific Notwithstanding this difference in their per- HaSian * sonal conduct, the general system of Augustus and the two Anto- niaei. > Dion, 1. Ixix, p. 1158. Hist. August, p. 5-8. If all our historians were lost, medals, inscriptions, and other monuments would be suffi- cient to record the travels of Hadrian. * See the Augustan History and the Epitomes. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 13 was equally adopted and uniformly pursued by CHAP. Hadrian and by the two Antonines. They per- ~ ' sisted in the design of maintaining the dignity of the empire, without attempting to enlarge its limits. By every honourable expedient they invited the friendship of the barbarians ; and en- deavoured to convince mankind, that the Roman power, raised above the temptation of conquest, was actuated only by the love of order and jus- tice. During a long period of forty-three years, their virtuous labours were crowned with success; and if we except a few slight hostilities that served to exercise the legions of the frontier, the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius offer the fair prospect of universal peace.* The Roman name was revered among the most remote na- tions of the earth. The fiercest barbarians fre- quently submitted their differences to the arbi- tration of the emperor; and we are informed by a contemporary historian, that he had seen ambassadors who were refused the honour which they came to solicit, of being admitted into the rank of subjects.' The terror of the Roman arms added weight and dignity to the moderation of the emperors. JJ* rcn " DOS. " We must, however, remember, that, in the time of Hadrian, a rebellion of the Jews raged with religions fury, though only in a sin- gle province : Pausanias (1. viii, c. 43), mentions two necessary and iiiccessful wars, conducted by the generals of Pius. 1st, Against the wandering Moors, who were driven into the solitudes of Atlas. 2d, Against the brigan tines of Britain, who had invaded the Roman pro- vince. Both these wars (with several other hostilities) are mentioned in the Augustan History, p. 19. ' Appiau of Alexandria, in the preface to his History of tlie Roman wan 14 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. They preserved peace by a constant preparation i. . -JLJL _,*-, . * ' r . for war; and while justice regulated their con- duct, they announced to the nations on their con- fines, that they were as little disposed to endure, as to offer an injury. The military strength, which it had been sufficient for Hadrian and the elder Antoninus to display, was exerted against the Parthians and the Germans by the emperor Marcus. The hostilities of the barbarians pro- voked the resentment of that philosophic mo- narch, and, in the prosecution of a just defence, Marcus and his generals obtained many signal victories, both on the Euphrates, and on the Danube/ The military establishment of the Roman empire, which thus assured either its tranquillity or its success, will now become the proper and important object of our attention. Military In the purer ages of the commonwealth, the meat of the "se of arms was reserved for those ranks of citi- empTrors zens w ^ uac ^ a coun try to love, a property to defend, and some share in enacting those laws, which it was their interest, as well as duty, to maintain. But in proportion as the public free- dom was lost in*exlent of conquest, war was gra- dually improved into an art, and degraded into a trade.* The legions themselves, even at the 0rt^-WW** I * fc *> f Dion. 1. Ixxi, Hist. August, in 'Marco. The Parthian victories gave birth to a crowd of contemptible historians, whose memory has been rescued from oblivion, and exposed to ridicule, in a very lively piece of criticism of Lucian. 8 The poorest rank of soldiers possessed above forty pounds ster- ling (Dionys. Halicarn. iv, 17), a very high qualification, at a time when money was so scaice, that an ounce of silver was equivalent to OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 15. time when they were recruited in the most dis- CHAP. tant provinces, were supposed to consist of Ro- ~z^~.~. man citizens. That distinction was generally considered, either as a legal qualification, or as a proper recompence for the soldier ; but a more serious regard was paid to the essential merit of age, strength, and military stature. h In all le- vies, a just preference was given to the climates of the north over those of the south: the race of men born to the exercise of arms was sought for in the country rather than in cities ; and it was very reasonably presumed, that the hardy occupations of smiths, carpenters, and huntsmen, would supply more vigour and resolution, than the sedentary trades which are employed in the service of luxury.' After every qualification of property had been laid aside, the armies of the Roman emperors were still commanded, for the most part, by officers of a liberal birth and edu- cation; but the common soldiers, like the mer- cenary troops of modern Europe, were drawn from the meanest, and very frequently from the most profligate, of mankind. That public virtue which, among the ancients, was denominated patriotism, is derived from a strong sense of our own interest in the preser- vation and prosperity of the free government of which we are members. Such a sentiment, to seventy pound weight of brass. The populace, excluded by the m- eient constitution, were indiscriminately admitted by Marias. See Sallart. de Bell. Jugnrth, c. 91. " Caesar formed his legion Alanda of Gauls and strangers ; bat it was during the licence of civil war ; and after the victory, he gave them the freedom of the city for their reward. * Sec Vegetius de Re Mil it ari, 1. i, c. 2-T. 16 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP, \vhich had rendered the legions of the republic , almost invincible, could make but a very feeble impression on the mercenary servants of a des- potic prince ; and it became necessary to supply that defect by other motives, of a different, but not less forcible nature; honour and religion. The peasant, or mechanic, imbibed the useful prejudice that he was advanced to the more dig- nified profession of arms, in which his rank and reputation would depend on his own valour ; and that, although the prowess of a private sol- dier must often escape the notice of fame, his own behaviour might sometimes confer glory or disgrace on the company, the legion, or even the army, to whose honours he was associated. On his first entrance into the service, an oath was administered to him, with every circumstance of solemnity. He promised never to desert his standard, to submit his own will to the com- mands of his leaders, and to sacrifice his life for the safety of the emperor and the empire. 1 " The attachment of the Roman troops to their stand- Iards was inspired by the united influence of religion and of honour. The golden eagle, which glittered in the front of the legion, was the object of their fondest devotion ; nor was it esteemed less impious than it was ignominious, to abandon that sacred ensign in the hour of danger. 1 These motives, which derived their k The oath of service and fidelity to the emperor was annually renew- ed by the troops on the first of January. 1 Tacitus calls the Roman eagles, Bellorum Deos. They were placed in a chapel in the camp, and with the other deities received the religi- ous worship of tits troops. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. strength from the imagination, were enforced CHAP. by fears and hopes of a more substantial kind ,' Regular pay, occasional donatives, and a stated recompence after the appointed time of service, alleviated the hardships of the military life, whilst, on the other hand, it was impossible for cowardice or disobedience to escape the severest punishment. The centurions were authorized to chastise with blowSTthe generals had a right to punish with death ; and it was an inflexible maxim of Roman discipline, that a good soldier / should dread his officers far more than the ene- . / my. From such laudable arts did the valour of the imperial troops receive a degree of firmness and docility, unattainable by the impetuous and irregular passions of barbarians. And yet so sensible were the Romans of thexercu, imperfection of valour without skill and practice, that, in their language, the name of an army was borrowed from the word which signified ex- jj ercise." Military exercises were the important '' m Sec Gronovius de Pecunia vetere, 1. iii, p. 120, &c. The em- peror Domitian raised the annual stipend of the legionaries to twelve pieces of gold, which, in his time, was equivalent to about ten of " our guineas. This pay, somewhat higher than our own, had been, and was afterwards, gradually increased, according to the progress of wealth and military government. After twenty years service, the veteran received three thousand denarii (about one hundred pounds sterling), or a proportionable allowance of land. The pay and advantages of the guards were, in general, about double those of the legions. n Exercitus ab exercitando, Varro de Lingua, Latina, 1. iv. Cicero in Tuscuian. 1. ii, 37. There is room for a very interesting work, which should lay open the connection between the languages and manners of nations. VOL. I. C 18 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, and unremitted object of their discipline. The J recruits and young soldiers were constantly train- ed both in the morning and in the evening, nor was age or knowledge allowed to excuse the ve- terans from the daily repetition of what they had completely learnt. Large sheds were erected in the winter-quarters of the troops, that their use- ful labours might not receive any interruption from the most tempestuous weather ; and it was carefully observed, that the arms destined to this imitation of war, should be of double the weight which was required in real action. It is not the purpose Of this work to enter into any minute description of the Roman exercises. We shall only remark, that they comprehended whatever could add strength to the body, activity to the limbs, or grace to the motions. The soldiers were diligently instructed to march, to run, to leap, to swim, to carry heavy burdens, to handle every species of arms that was used either for offence or for defence, either in distant engage- ment, or in a closer onset; to form a variety of evolutions ; and to move to the sound of flutes, in the Pyrrhic or martial dance. p In the midst of peace, the Roman troops familiarized them- selves with the practice of war ; and it is prettily remarked by an ancient historian who had fought against them, that the effusion of blooc was the * Vergetius, 1. ii. and the rest of his first book. p The Pyrrhic dance is extremely well illustrated by M. le Beau, in the Academic des Inscriptions, torn. xxxv. p. 262, &c. That learned academician, in a series of memoirs, has collected all the passages of tbe ancients that relate to the Roman leg'on.' OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1Q only circumstance which distinguished a field of CHAP. battle from a field of exercise.' It was the po- ', licy of the ablest generals, and even of the em- perors themselves, to encourage these military studies by their presence and example ; and we are informed that Hadrian, as well as Trajan, frequently condescended to instruct the unex- perienced soldiers, to reward the diligent, and sometimes to dispute with them the prize of su- perior strength or dexterity/ Under the reigns of those princes, the science of tactics was cul- tivated with success ; and as long as the empire retained any vigour, their military instructions were respected as the most perfect model of Roman discipline. Nine centuries of war had gradually intro-Theie- duced into the service many alterations and im- feMhe"" provements. The legions, as they are described emperors. by Polybius; 5 in the time of the Punic wars, differed very materially from those which a- chieved the victories of Csesar, or defended the monarchy of Hadrian and the Antonines. The constitution of the imperial legion may be de- scribed in a few words.' The heavy-armed in- q Joseph, de Bell. Judaico. 1. iii, c. 5. We are indebted to this Jew for some very curious details of Roman discipline. r Hin. Panegyr. c. 13, Life of Hadrian, in the Augustine His- tory. s See an admirable digression on the Roman discipline, in the sixth book of his history. 1 Vegetius de Re Militari, 1. ii, c. 4, &c. Considerable part of his very perplexed abridgment was taken from the regulations of Trajan and Hadrian ; and the legion, as be describes it, cannot suit any other age of the Roman empire. C* 20 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, fantry, which composed its principal strength," , '. was divided into ten cohorts, and fifty-five com- panies, under the orders of a correspondent num- ber of tribunes and centurions. The first co- hort, which always claimed the post of honour and the custody of the eagle, was formed of eleven hundred and five soldiers, the most ap- proved for valour and fidelity. The remaining nine cohorts consisted each of five hundred and fifty-five ; and the whole body of legionary in- fantry amounted to six thousand one hundred Arms. men. Their arms were uniform, and admirably adapted to the nature of their service: an open helmet, with a lofty crest ; a breast-plate, or coat of mail ; greaves on their legs, and an ample buckler on their left arm. The buckler was of an oblong and concave figure, four feet in length, and two and a half in breadth, framed of a light wood, covered with a bull's hide, arid "strongly guarded with plates of brass. Besides a lighter spear, the legionary soldier grasped in his right hand the formidable pilum, a ponderous javelin, whose utmost length was about six feet, and which was terminated by a massy triangular point of steel of eighteen inches. 1 This instrument was indeed much inferior to our modern fire- u Vegetius de Re Militari, 1. iii, c. 1. In the purer age of Ca>sar and Cicero, the word miles was almost confined to the infantry. Un- der the lower empire, and in the times of chivalry, it was appro- priated almost as exclusively to the men at arms, who fought on horseback. x In the time of Polybius and Dionysins of Halicarnassus (1. v, c. 45), the steel point of the pilurn seems to have been much longer. In the time of Vegetius, it was reduced to a foot, or even nine inches. I have chosen a medium. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 2 1 arms ; since it was exhausted by a single dis- CHAP. charge, at the distance of only ten or twelve '. paces. Yet when it was launched by a firm and skilful hand, there was not any cavalry that durst venture within its reach, nor any shield or corslet that could sustain the impetuosity of its weight. As soon as the Roman had darted his pilum, he drew his sword, and rushed forwards to close with the enemy. His sword was a short well- tempered Spanish blade, that carried a double edge, and was alike suited to the purpose of strik- ing or of pushing ; but the soldier was always instructed to prefer the latter use of his weapon, as his own body remained less exposed, whilst he inflicted a more dangerous wound on his ad- versary/ The legion was usually drawn up ftght deep ; and the regular distance of three feet was left between the files as well as ranks. 1 A body of troops habituated to preserve this open order, in a long front and a rapid charge, found themselves prepared to execute every disposi- tion which the circumstances of war, or the skill of their leader might suggest The soldier pos- sessed a free space for his arms and motions, and sufficient intervals were allowed, through which seasonable reinforcements might be in- troduced to the relief of the exhausted com- batants. a The tactics of the Greeks and Ma- 7 For the legionary arms, see Lipsius de Militii Romanft, 1. iii, c. z See the beautiful comparison of Virgil, Georgic, ii, v. 279. 1 M. Guichard, Memoires Militaires, torn, i, c. 4, and Nonveaux Memoires, torn, i, p. 293-311, has treated the subject like a scholar and an officer. 22 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, cedonians were formed on very different primes* ,' pies. The strength of the phalanx depended on sixteen ranks of long pikes, wedged together in the closest array.* But it was soon discovered by reflection, as well as by the event, that the strength of the phalanx was unable to contend with the activity of the legion." Cavalry. The cavalry, without which the force of the legion would have remained imperfect, was di- vided into ten troops or squadrons ; the first, as the companion of the first cohort, consisted of an hundred and thirty-two men ; whilst each of the other nine amounted only to sixty-six. The entire establishment formed a regiment, if we may use the modern expression, of seven hundred and twenty six horse, naturally connected with its respective legion, but occasionally separated to act in the line, and to compose a part of the wings of the % army/ The cavalry of the Em- perors was no longer composed, like that of the ancient republic, of the noblest youths of Rome and Italy, who, by performing their military ser- vice on horseback, prepared themselves for the offices of senator and consul; and solicited, by deeds of valour, the future suffrages of their countrymen. 6 Since the alteration of manners b See Arrian's Tactics. With the true partiality of a Greek, Arriaa rather chose to describe the phalanx, of which he had read, than the legions which he had commanded. c Polyb. 1. xvii. d Veget. de Re Militari, 1. ii, c. G. His positive testimony, which might be supported by circumstantial evidence, ought surely to ti. lence those critics who refuse the imperial legion its proper body v of cavalry. ' Set Livy almost throughout, particularly xlii, 61, . OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 23 and government, the most wealthy of the eques- CHAP. trian order were engaged in the administration ~ of justice, and of the revenue;' and whenever they embraced the profession of arms, they were immediately entrusted with a troop of horse, or a cohort of foot. 5 Trajan and Hadrian formed their cavalry from the same provinces, and the same class of their subjects, which recruited the ranks of the legion. The horses were bred, for the most part, in Spain or Cappadocia. The Roman troopers despised the complete armour with which the cavalry of the East was encum- bered. Their more ^useful arms consisted in a tielmet, an oblong shield, light boots, and a coat of mail. A javelin, and a long broad-sword, were their principal weapons of offence. The use of .ances, and of iron maces, they seem to have bor- rowed from the barbarians.* 1 The safety and honour of ine empire were prin- cipally entrusted to the legions; but the policy of rics< Rome condescended to adopt every useful instru- ment of war. Considerable levier- were regularly made among the provincials, who had not yet deserved the honourable distinction of Romans. Many dependent princes and communities dis- persed round the frontiers, were permitted, for i while, to hold their freedom and security by the f Plin. Hist. Natnr. xxxiii, 2. The true sense of that very curious jassage was first discovered and illustrated by M. de Beaufort, Repub- ique Romaine, 1. ii, c. 2. B As in the instance of Horace and Agricola. This appears to hav >een a defect in the Roman discipline, which Hadrian endeavoured to emedy, by ascertaining the legal age of a tribune. h See Arrian's Tactics. 24 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAI>. tenure of military service. 1 Even select troops of hostile barbarians were frequently compelled or persuaded to consume their dangerous valour in remote climates, and for the benefit of the state. k All these were included under the ge- neral name of auxiliaries; and howsoever they might vary according to the difference of times and circumstances, their numbers were seldom much inferior to those of the legions them- selves. 1 Among the auxiliaries, the bravest and most faithful bands were placed under the com- mand of prefects and centurions, and severely trained in the arts of Roman discipline ; but the far greater part retained those arms, to which the nature of their country, or their early habits of life, more peculiarly adapted them. By this in- stitution, each legion, to whom a certain propor- tion of auxiliaries was allotted, contained within itself every species of lighter troops, and of mis- sile weapons ; and was capable of encountering every nation, with the advantages of its respec- Artiiiery. f.- ye arms an( j discipline." Nor was the legion destitute of what, in modern language, would be styled a train of artillery. It consisted in ten military engines of the largest, and fifty-five of 1 JSucb, in particular, was the state of the Batavians. Tacit Genoa < nia, c. 29. k Marcus Antoninus oblijred the vanquished Quadi and Marcoraanni to supply him with a large body of troops, which he immediately sent into Britain. Dion. Cassius, 1. Ixxi. 1 Tacit. Annal. iv, 5. Those who fix a regular proportion of as many foot, and twice as many horse, confound the auxiliaries of the emperors with the Italian allies of the republic. m Vegetius, ii, 2. Arrian, in his older of march and battle agaiart the Alaui. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 25 a smaller size; but all of which, either in an CHAP. oblique or horizontal manner, discharged stones ^ ' and darts with irresistible violence." The camp of a Roman legion presented the Encamp appearance of a fortified city. As soon as the m space was marked out, the pioneers carefully levelled the ground, and removed every impedi^ ment that might interrupt its perfect regularity. Its form was an exact quadrangle; and we may calculate, that a square of about seven hundred yards was sufficient for the encampment of twen- ty thousand Romans; though a similar number of our own troops would expose to the enemy a front of more than treble that extent. In the midst of the camp, the praetorium, or general's quarters, rose above the others ; the cavalry, the infantry, and the auxiliaries, occupied their re- spective stations; the streets were broad, and perfectly straight, and a vacant space of two hundred feet was left on all sides, between the tents and the rampart. The rampart itself was usually twelve feet high, armed with a line of " The subject of the ancient machines is treated with great know- ledge and ingenuity by the chevalier Folard (Polybe, torn, ii, p. 233- 290). He prefers them, in many respects, to our modern cannon and mortars. We may observe, that the use of them in the field gradually became more prevalent, in proportion as personal valour and military skill declined with the Roman empire. When men were no longer found, their place was supplied by machines. See Yegetius, ii, 25, Arrian. * Vegetius finishes his second book, and the description of the legion, with the following emphatic words : " Universa qua in " quoque belli genere necessaria esse creduntur, secum legio debet " ubiqne portare, ut in quovis loco fixcrit castra, ariuatam facial " civitatem." *J6 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, strong and intricate palisades, and defended by '. a ditch of twelve feet in depth as well as in breadth. This important labour was performed by the hands of the legionaries themselves ; to I whom the use of the spade and the pick-axe was no less familiar than that of the sword or pilum. Active valour may often be the present of na- ture ; but such patient diligence can be the fruit only of habit arid discipline." March Whenever the trumpet gave the signal of de- parture, the camp was almost instantly broke up, and the troops fell into their ranks without delay or confusion. Besides their arms, which the le- gionaries scarcely considered as an incumbrance, they were laden with their kitchen furniture, the instruments of fortification, and the provision of many days.i Under this weight, which would oppress the delicacy of a modern soldier, they were trained by a regular step to advance, in about six hours, near twenty miles/ On the appearance of an enemy, they threw aside their baggage, and by easy and rapid evolutions con- verted the column of march into an order of bat- tle. 8 The slingers and archers skirmished in the front ; the auxiliaries formed the first line, and were seconded or sustained by the strength of the p For the Roman Castremetation, see Polybius, 1. vi. with Lipsius de Militid Roman, Joseph, de Bell. Jud, 1. iii, c. 5. Vegetius, i. 21-25 ; iii, 9 ; and Memoires de Guichard, torn, i, c. 1. q Cicero in Tusculan. ii, 37. Joseph, dc Bell. Jud. 1. iii, 5. Fronti- nus, iv, 1. r Vergetius, i, 9. See Memoires de 1' Academic des Inscriptions, torn, xxv, p. 187. * See those evolutions admirably well explained by M. Guichard, Nouvenux Memoires, torn, i, p. 111-234. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 27 legions ; the cavalry covered the flanks, and the CHAP. military engines were placed in the rear. ^ Such were the arts of war, by which the Ro- Number man emperors defended their extensive conquests, suionof~ and preserved a military spirit, at a time when thele s ion> every other virtue was oppressed by luxury and despotism. If, in the consideration of their ar- mies, we pass from their discipline to their num- bers, we shall not find it easy to define them with any tolerable accuracy. We may compute, how- ever, that the legion, which was itself a body of six thousand eigEt hundred and thirty-one Romans, might, with its attendant auxiliaries, amount to about twelve thousand five hundred men. The peace establishment of Hadrian and his successors was composed of no less than thirty of these formidable brigades ; and most probably formed a standing force of threehundred and seventy-five thousand men. Instead of being confined within r the walls of fortified cities, which the Romans considered as the refuge of weakness or pusillani- mity, the legions were encamped on the banks of the great rivers, and along the frontiers of the barbarians. As their stations, for the most part, remained fixed and permanent, we may venture to describe the distribution of the troops. Three legions were sufficient for Britain. The principal strength lay upon the Rhine and Danube, and consisted of sixteen legions, in the following pro- portions; two in the Lower, and three in the Upper Germany ; one in Rhaetia, one in Nori- cum, four in Pannonia, three in Maesia, and two in Dacia. The defence of the Euphrates was 28 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP.' entrusted to eight legions, six of whom were ~~J~* planted in Syria, and the other two in Cappa- docia. With regard to Egypt, Africa, and Spain, as they were far removed from any im- portant scene of war, a single legion maintain- ed the domestic tranquillity of each of those great provinces. Even Italy was not left des- titute of a military force. ' Above twenty thou- sand chosen soldiers, distinguished by the titles of city cohorts and praetorian guards, watched over the safety of the monarch and the capi- tal. As the authors of almost every revolu- tion that distracted the empire, the praetorians will, very soon, and very loudly, demand our attention ; but in their arms and institutions we cannot find any circumstance which dis- criminated them from the legions, unless it were a more splendid appearance, and a less rigid discipline.* Navy. The navy maintained by the emperors might seem inadequate to their greatness ; but it was fully sufficient for every useful purpose of govern- ment. The ambition of the Romans was con- fined to the land; nor was that warlike people ever actuated by the enterprising spirit which had prompted the navigators of Tyre, of Carthage, and even of Marseilles, to enlarge the bounds of the world, and to explore the most remote coasts of the ocean. To the Romans the ocean remained 'Tacitus (Annal. iv, 5), has given us a state of the legions under Tiberius; and Dion Cassins (I. Iv, p. 794) under Alexander Severus. I have endeavoured to fix on the proper medium between these two periods. See likewise Lipsius de Magnfcudine Romani, I. i, 4,5. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 29 an object of terror rather than of curiosity, 11 the CHAP. whole extent of the Mediterranean , after the \ jffi destruction of Carthage, and the extirpation of the pirates, was included within their provinces. The policy of the emperors was directed only to preserve the peaceful dominion of that sea, and to protect the commerce of their subjects. With these moderate views, Augustus stationed two permanent fleets in the most convenient ports of Italy; the one at Ravenna, on the Adriatic, the other at Misenuni, in the bay of Naples. Ex- perience seems at length to have convinced the ancients, that as soon as their galleys exceeded two, or at the most three ranks of oars, they were suited rather for vain pomp than for real service. - Augustus himself, in the victory of Actium, had seen the superiority of his own light frigates (they were called liburnians) over the lofty but un- wieldy castles of his rival. x Of these liburni- ans he composed the two fleets of Ravenna and Misenum, destined to command, the one the eastern, the other the western division of the Me- diterranean ; and to each of the squadrons he at- tached a body of several thousand mariners. Be- sides these two ports, which may be considered as the principal seats of the Roman navy, a very considerable force was stationed atFrejus, on the coast of Provence, and the Euxine was guarded " The Romans tried to disguise, by the pretence of religious awe, their ignorance and terror. See Tacit. Germania, c. 34. x Plutarch, in Marc. Anton. And yet, if we may credit Orosins, these monstrous castles were no more than ten feet above the water, vi, 19. 30 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, by forty ships, and three thousand soldiers. To J; all these we add the fleet which preserved the communication between Gaul and Britain, and a great number of vessels constantly maintained on the Rhine and Danube, to harass the country, or to intercept the passage of the barbarians.r If we review this general state of the imperial forces; of the cavalry as well as infantry; of the legions, the auxiliaries, the guards, and the navy ; the most liberal computation will not allow ug to Amount of fix the entire establishment by sea and by land at establish* more than four hundred and fifty thousand men ; ment a military power, which, however formidable it may seem, was equalled by a monarch of the last century, whose kingdom was confined within a single province of the Roman empire. 2 view of the We have attempted to explain the spirit which Ef ine n Ro- moderated, and the strength which supported, the man em- powe r of Hadrian and the Antonines. We shall P lre - -11 now endeavour, with clearness and precision, to describe the provinces once united under their sway, but at present divided into so many inde- pendent and hostile states. Spain, the western extremity of the empire, of Europe, and of the ancient world, has, in every age, invariably preserved the same natural limits; the Pyrenean mountains, the Mediter- ranean, and the Atlantic ocean. That great peninsula, at present so unequally divided be- y See Lipsius, de Magnitud. Rom. 1. i, c. 5. The sixteen last chap, ters of Vegetius relate to naval affairs. * Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XIV, c. 29. It mut, however be remem- bered, that France still feels that extraordinary effort. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 31 tween two sovereigns, was distributed by Au- CHAP. gustus into three provinces, Lusitania, Baetica, Wf ^, M and Tarraconensis. The kingdom of Portugal now fills the place of the warlike country of the Lusitanians; and the loss sustained by the for- mer, on the side of the east, is compensated by an accession of territory towards the north. The confines of Grenada and Andalusia correspond, with those of ancient Baetica. The remainder of Spain, Gallicia, and the Asturias, Biscay and Navarre, Leon, and the two Castiles, Murcia, Valencia, Catalonia, and Arragon, all contri- buted to form the third and most considerable of the Roman governments, which, from the name of its capital, was styled the province of Tar- ragoda/ Of the native barbarians, the Celti- berians were the most powerful, as the Canta- brians and Asturians proved the most obstinate. Confident in the strength of their mountains, they were the last who submitted to the arms of Rome, and the first who threw off the yoke of the Arabs. Ancient Gaul, as it contained the whole coun- try between the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Rhine, and the ocean, was of greater extent than mo- dern France. To the dominions of that power- ful monarchy, with its recent acquisitions of Al- sace and Lorraine, we must add the duchy of a See Strabo, 1. ii. It is natural enough to suppose that Arragon it derived from Tarraconensis ; and several moderns who have written in Latin, use those words as synonymous. It is, however, certain, that the Arragon, a little stream which falls from the Pyrenees into the Ebro, first gave its name to a country, and gradually to a kingdom. See d' Anvillc, Geographic du Moyen Age, p. 181. 32 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Savoy, the cantons of Switzerland, the four elec- <->~,sL,~ torates of the Rhine, and the territories of Liege, Luxemburg, Hainault, Flanders, and Brabant. When Augustus gave laws to the conquests of his father, he introduced a division of Gaul, equally adapted to the progress of the legions, to the course of the rivers, and to the principal national distinctions, which had comprehended above an hundred independent states.* The sea-coast of the Mediterranean, Languedoc, Pro- vence, and Dauphine, received their provincial appellation from the colony of Narbonne. The government of Aquitaine was extended from the Pyrenees to the Loire. The country between the Loire and the Seine was styled the Celtic Gaul, and soon borrowed a new denomination from the celebrated colony of Lugdunum, or Lyons. The Belgic lay beyond the Seine, and in more ancient times had been bounded only by the Rhine; but a little before the age of Cae- sar, the Germans, abusing their superiority of valour, had occupied a considerable portion of the Belgic territory. The Roman conquerors very eagerly embraced so flattering a circum- stance, and the Gallic frontier of the Rhine, from Basil to Leyden, received the pompous names of the Upper and the T Lower Germany. Such, under the reign of the Antonines, were the six k One hundred and fifteen cities appear in the Notitia of Gaul and it is well known that this application was applied not only to the capital town, but to the whole territory of each state. But Piu- tarch and Appian increase the number of tribes to three or four hun- dred. c D'Anville. Notice de 1'Ancienne Gaul. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 33 provinces of Gaul: the Narbonnese, Aquilaine, CHAP. ihe Celtic, or Lyonnese, the Belgic, and the two , '. Germanys. We have already had occasion to mention the Britain conquest of Britain, and to fix the boundary of the Roman province in this island. It compre- hended all England, Wales, and the lowlands of Scotland, as far as the friths of Duobartoii and Edinburgh. Before Britain lost her freedom, the country was irregularly divided between thirty tribes of barbarians, of whom the most consider- able were the Belgae in the west, the Brigautes in the north, the Silures in South Wales, and the Iceni in Norfolk and Suffolk/ As far as we can either trace or credit the resemblance of manners and language, Spain, Gaul, and Britain were peopled by the same hardy race of savages. Before they yielded to the Roman arms, they often disputed the field, and often renewed the co jtest. After their submission, they constituted tiie western division of the European provinces, which extended from the columns of Hercules to the wall of Antoninus, and from the mouth of the Tagus to the sources of the Rhine and Danube. Before the Roman conquest, the country which is now called Lombardy was not considered as a part of Italy. It had been occupied by a pow- erful colony of Gauls, who, settling themselves along the banks of the Po, from Piedmont to Romagna, carried their arms and diffused their name from the Alps to the Appenine. The d Whitaker's History of Manchester, voL i, c. 3. VOL. I. D 34 THE DECLINE AND FALL- CHAP. Ligurians dwelt on the rocky coast, which now ' forms the republic of Genoa. Venice was yet unborn : but the territories of that state which lie to the east of the Adige, were inhabited by the Venetians. 6 The middle part of the pen- insula that now composes the duchy of Tuscany and the ecclesiastical state, was the ancient seat of the Etruscans and Umbrians ; to the former of whom Italy was indebted for the first rudi- ments of civilized life/ The Tyber rolled at the foot of the seven hills of Rome, and the country of the Sabines, the Latins, and theVolsci, from that river to the frontiers of Naples, was the theatre of her infant victories. On that ce- lebrated ground the first consuls deserved tri- umphs, their successors adorned villas, and their posterity have erected convents.* Capua and Campania possessed the immediate territory of Naples; and the rest of the kingdom was inhabit- ed by many warlike nations, the Marsi, the Sam- nites, the Apulians, and the Lucanians ; and the sea-coasts had been covered by the flourishing colonies of the Greeks. We may remark, that when Augustus divided Italy into eleven regions, the little province of Istria was annexed to that seat of Roman sovereignty.* The Italian Veneti, though often confounded with the Gauls, wer more probably of Illyrian origin. See M. Freret, Memoires de 1'Aca- demi des Inscriptions, torn, xviii. f See Maffei Verona illustrata, 1. i. 8 The first contract was observed by the ancients. See Floras, i, 11. The second must strike every modern traveller. h Pliny (Hist. Natur. 1. iii) follows the division of Italv by A- gustos. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 35 The European provinces of Rome were pro- CHAP. tected by the course of the Rhine and the Danube ll The latter of those mighty streams, which rises nube^nd at the distance of only thirty miles from thej 11 ^". 311 frontier. former, flows above thirteen hundred miles, for the most part to the south east, collects the tri- bute of sixty navigable rivers, and is at length, through six mouths, . received into the Euxine, which appears scarcely equal to such an acces- sion of waters. 1 The provinces of the Danube soon acquired the general appellation of Illyri- cum, or the Illyrian frontier;* and were esteem- ed the most warlike of the empire; but they de- serve to be more particularly considered under the names of Rhaetia, Noricum, Pannonia, Dal- Jnatia, Dacia, Mesia, Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece. The province of Rhaetia, which soon extin guished the name of the Vindelicians, extended from the summit of the Alps to the banks of the Danube; from its source, as far as its conflux with the Inn. The greatest part of the flat country is subject to the elector of Bavaria; the city of Augsburg is protected by the constitution of the German empire; the Grisons are safe in their mountains, and the country of Tyrol i* ranked among the numerous provinces of the house of Austria. The wide extent of territory which is included between the Inn, the Danube, and the Save;nn. Tournefort, Voyages en Grece et Asia Mineure, lettre xvKi. k The name of IHyricum originally belonged to the sea-coast of fhe Hadriatic, and was gradually extended by the Romans from the Alps to the Euxine sea. See Serverini Panonia, 1. i, c. 3. D 2 3*3 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Lower M ^ Hungary, and Sclavonia, was known to the an- cients under the names of Noricum and Panno- nia. In their original state of independence, their fierce inhabitants were intimately connect- ed. Under the Roman government they were frequently united, and they still remain the pa- triomony of a single family. They now contain the residence of a German prince, who stiles him- self emperor of the Romans, and form the centre, as well as strength, of the Austrian power. It may not be improper to observe, that if we except Bo- hemia, Moravia, the northern skirts of Austria, , and a part of Hungary between the Teyss and the Danube, all the other dominions of the house of Austria were comprised within the limits of the Roman empire. Daimatia. Dalrnatia, to which the name of Illyricum more properly belonged, was a long but narrow tract, between the Save and the Adriatic. The best part of the sea-coast, which still retains its anci- ent appellation, is a province of the Venetian state, and the seat of the little republic of Ragu- sa. The inland parts have assumed the Sclavo- nian names of Croatia and Bosnia ; the former obeys an Austrian governor, the latter a Turkish pasha ; but the whole country is still infested by tribes of barbarians, whose savage independence irregularly marks the doubtful limit of the Chris- tian and mahometan power. 1 1 A Veuetian traveller, the Abbate Fortis, has lately given us some , account of those very obscure countries. But the geography and anti- quities of the western Illyricum can be expected only from the munifi- cence of the emperor, its sovereign. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 37 After the Danube had received the waters of CHAP. the Teyss and the Save, it acquired, at least , ' f among the Greeks, the name of Ister. It for-Msesiaand merly divided Maesia arid Dacia, the latter of which, as we have already seen, was a conquest of Trajan, and the only province beyond the river. If we inquire into the present state of those countries, we shall find that, on the left hand of the Danube, Temeswar and Transylvania have been annexed, after many revolutions, to the crown of Hungary; whilst the principalities of Moldavia and Walachia acknowledge the su- premacy of the Ottoman Porte. On the right hand of the Danube, Mresia, which, during the middle ages, was broken into the barbarian king- doms of Servia and Bulgaria, is again united in Turkish slavery. The appellation of Roumelia, which is still be- Thrace, stowed by the Turks on the extensive countries nia^amT of Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece, preserves the Greece - memory of their ancient state under the Roman empire. In the time of the Antonines, the mar- tial regions of Thrace, from the mountains of Haemus and Rhodope, to the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, had assumed the form of a province. Notwithstanding the change of masters and of reiigion, the new city of Rome, founded by Constantine on the banks of the Bosphorus, has ever since remained the capital of a. great mo- narchy. The kingdom of Macedonia, which, m The Save rises near the confines of Istria, and was considered by the more early Greeks as the principal stream of the Danube. 38 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, under the reign of Alexander, gave laws to Asia, derived more solid advantages from the policy of the two Philips : and, with its dependencies of Epirus and Thessaly, extended from the^gean to the Ionian sea. When we reflect on the fame of Thebes and Argos, of Sparta and Athens, we can scarcely persuade ourselves, that so many immortal republics of ancient Greece were lost in a single province of the Roman empire, which, from the superior influence of the Achaean league, was usually denominated the province ofAchaia. Asia Mi- Such was the state of Europe under the Ro- man emperors. The provinces of Asia, with- out excepting the transient conquests of Trajan, are all comprehended within the limits of the Turkish power. But, instead of following the arbitrary divisions of despotism and ignorance, it will be safer for us, as well as more agreeable, to observe the indelible characters of nature. The name of Asia Minor is attributed, with some propriety, to the peninsula, which, con- fined betwixt the Euxine and the Mediterra- nean, advances from the Euphrates towards Europe. The most extensive and flourishing district, westward of mount Taurus and the ri- ver Halys, was dignified by the Romans with the exclusive title of Asia. The jurisdiction of that province extended over the ancient monar- chies of Troy, Lydia, and Phrygia, the maritime counties of the Pamphylians, Lycians, and Ca- rians, and the Grecian colonies of Ionia, which equalled in arts, though not in arms, the glory of their parent. The kingdoms of Bithynia and Pontus possessed the northern side of the pe-' OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 39 ninsula from Constantinople to Trebizond. On CHAP. the opposite side, the province of Cilicia was , terminated by the mountains of Syria: the in- land country, separated from the Roman Asia by the river Halys, and from Armenia by the Euphrates, had once formed the independent kingdom of Cappadocia. In this place we may observe, that the northern shores of the Euxine, beyond Trebizond in Asia, and beyond the Da- nube in Europe, acknowledged the sovereignty of the emperors, and received at their hands either tributary princes or Roman garrisons. Budzak, Crim Tartar, Circassia, and Mingre- lia, are the modern appellations of those savage countries. 11 Under the successors of Alexander, Syria Sia was the seat of the Seleucidae, who reigned over Phoenicia, Upper Asia, till the successful revolt of the Par- tine. thians confined their dominions between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean. When Sy- ria became subject to the Romans, it formed the eastern frontier of their empire ; nor did that province, in its utmost latitude, know any other bounds than the mountains of Cappadocia to the north, and towards the south, the confines of Egypt, and the Red sea. Phoenicia and Pales- tine were sometimes annexed to, and sometimes separated from, the jurisdiction of Syria. The former of these was a narrow and rocky coast; the latter was a territory scarcely superior to * See the Periplns of Arrian. He examined the coasts of the Euiine, when he was governor of Cappadocia. 40 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAI Wales, either in fertility or extent. Yet Phoe- nicia and Palestine will for ever live in the memory of mankind, since America, as well as Europe, has received letters from the one, and religion from the other. A sandy desert, alike destitute of wood and water, skirts along the doubtful confine of Syria, from the Euphrates to the Red sea. The wandering life of the Arabs was inseparably connected with their independ- ence : and wherever, on some spots less barren than the rest, they ventured to form any settled habitation, they soon became subjects to the Roman empire. p Egypt. r ^ e geographers of antiquity have frequently hesitated to what portion of the globe they { should ascribe Egypt. q By its situation, that : celebrated kingdom is included within the im- mense peninsula of Africa ; but it is accessible only on the side of Asia, whose revolutions, in almost every period of history, Egypt has hum- bly obeyed. A Roman praefect was seated on the splendid throne of the Ptolemys; and the The progress of religion is well known. The use of letters was introduced among the savages of Europe about fifteen hundred years before Christ; and the Europeans carried them to America about fifteen reuturies after the Christian aera. Bat in a period of three thousand years, the Phoenician alphabet received considerable alterations, as it passed through the hands of the Greeks and Ro- mans. p Dion Cassius, lib. Ixviii, p. 1131. q Ptolemy and Strabo, with the modern geographers, fix the isthmus of Suez, as the boundary of Asia and Africa. Dionysius, Mela, Pliny, Sallust, Hirtius, and Solinus, have preferred for that pur- pose the western branch of the Nile, or even the great Catabathmus, or descent, which last would assign to Asia, not only Egypt, but part of Libya. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 41 iron sceptre of the Mamalukes is now in the CHAP. hands of a Turkish pasha. The Nile flows down the country above five hundred miles, from the tropic of Cancer to the Mediterranean, and marks, on either side, the extent of fertility by the measure of its inundations. Cyrene, situate towards the west, and along the sea-coast, was first a Greek colony, afterwards a province of Egypt, and is now lost in the desert of Barca. From Cyreue to the ocean, the coast of Africa Africa, extends above fifteen hundred miles; yet so closely is it pressed between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, or sandy desert, that its breadth seldom exceeds fourscore or an hundred miles. The eastern division was considered by the Ro- mans as the more peculiar and proper province of Africa. Till the arrival of the Phrenician colonies, that fertile country was inhabited by the Libyans, the most savage of mankind. Un- der the immediate jurisdiction of Carthage, it became the centre of commerce and empire ; but the republic of Carthage is now degenerat- ed into the feeble and disorderly states of Tripoli and Tunis . The military government of Algiers oppresses the wide extent of Numidia, as it was once united under MassinissaaudJugurtha: but in the time of Augustus, the limits of Numidia were contracted; and, at least, two thirds of the country acquiesced in the name of Mauritania, with the epithet of Caesariensis. The genuine Mauritania, or country of the Moors, which, from the ancient city of Tingi, or Tangier, 42 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, was distinguished by the appellation of Tingi- L tana, is represented by the modern kingdom of Fez. Salle, on the ocean, so infamous at pre- sent for its piratical depredations, was noticed by the Romans, as the extreme object of their power, and almost of their geography. A city of their foundation may still be discovered near Mequinez, the residence of the barbarian whom we condescend to style the emperor of Mo- locco; but it does not appear that his more southern dominions, Morocco itself, and Segel- messa, were ever comprehended within the Ro- man province. The western parts of Africa are intersected by the branches of mount Atlas, a name so idly celebrated by the fancy of poets ; r but which is now diffused over the immense ocean that rolls between the ancient and the new continent. s The Medi Having now finished the circuit of the Roman terranean, empire, we may observe that Africa is divided islands, from Spain by a narrow strait of about twelve miles, through which the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean. The columns of Hercules, so famous among the ancients, were two mountains ^ r The long range, moderate height, and gentle declivity of mount Atlas (see Shaw's Travels, p. 5) are very unlike a solitary mountain which rears its head into the clouds, and seems to support the hea- vens. The peak of Teneriff, on the contrary, rises a league and a half above the surface of the sea, and as it was frequently visited by the Phoenicians, might engage the notice of the Greek poets. See Buffon, Histoire Naturelle, torn, i, p, 312. Histoire des Voyages, torn. ii. ' M. de Voltaire, torn, xiv, p. 297, unsupported by either fact or probability, has generously bestowed the Canary islands on the Ro- man empire. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 43 w hich seemed to have been torn asunder by some CHAP. convulsion of the elements; and at the foot of, w j^, the European mountain, the fortress of Gibral- tar is now seated. The whole extent of the Me- diterranean sea, its coasts, and its islands, were comprised within the Roman dominion. Of the larger islands, the two Baleares, which derive their name of Majorca and Minorca from their respective size, are subject, at present, the former to Spain, the latter to Great Britain. It is easier to deplore the fate, than to describe the actual condition of Corsica. Two Italian sovereigns assume a regal title from Sardinia and Sicily. Crete, or Candia, with Cyprus, and most of the smaller islands of Greece and Asia, have been subdued by the Turkish arms, whilst the little rock of Malta defies their power, and has emer- ged, under the government of its military order, into fame and opulence. This long enumeration of provinces, whose General broken fragments have formed so many power- Roman tLe ful kingdoms, might almost induce us to forgive em P ire - the vanity or ignorance of the ancients. Daz- ^ zled with the extensive sway, the irresistible - strength, and the real or affected moderation of > the emperors, they permitted themselves to de- spise, and sometimes to forget, the outlying coun- tries, which had been left in the enjoyment of a barbarous independence; and they gradually usurped the licence of confounding the Roman MSy wiili Uie globe of the eartn/ But the 1 Bergier, Hist, des Grands Chemins, L iii, c. 1, 2, S, 4 ; a very use- ful collection. 44 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, temper, as well as knowledge, of a modern his- mff ^ torian require a more sober and accurate lan- guage. He may impress a juster image of the greatness of Rome, by observing that the empire was above two thousand miles in breadth, from the wall of Antoninas and the northern limits of Dacia,to mount Atlas and the tropic of Cancer; that it extended, in length, more than three thousand miles, from the western ocean to the Euphrates ; that it was situated in the finest part of the temperate zone, betweeii the twenty- fourth and fifty-sixth degrees of northern lati- tude ; and that it was supposed to contain above sixteen hundred thousand square miles, for the most part of fertile and well cultivated land." u See Templeuian's Survey of the Globe ; but I distrust both doctor's learning and im maps. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 45 CHAP. II. Of the union and internal prosperity of the Ro- man empire, in the age of the Antonines. IT is not alone by the rapidity, or extent of CHAP. conquest, that we should estimate the great- IL ness of Rome. The sovereign of the Russian Principle, deserts commands a larger portion of the globe. of e ovtrn - In the seventh summer after his passage of the Hellespont, Alexander erected the Macedonian trophies on the banks of the Hyphasis/ Within less than a century, the irresistible Zingis, and the Mogul princes of his race, spread their cruel devastations and transient empire from the sea of China to the confines of Egypt and Germany." But the firm edifice of Roman power was raised and preserved by the wisdom of ages. The obe- dient provinces of Trajan and the Antonines were united by laws, and adorned by arts. They might occasionally suffer from the partial abuse of delegated authority; but the general principle of government was wise, simple, and beneficent. They enjoyed the religion of their ancestors, whilst in civil honours and ad vantages they were exalted, by just degrees, to an equality with their conquerors. * They were erected about the midway between Labor and Delhi. The conquests of Alexander in Hindostan were confined to the Punjab, a country watered by the five great streams of the Indus. k See M. de Guignes, Histoii es de< Huns, 1. xv, xvi, and xvii. 46 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. i The policy of the emperors and the senate, ____ ' ___ as far as it concerned religion, was happily se- conded by the reflections of the enlightened, and ieration. to " by the habits of the superstitious, part of their subjects. The various modes of worship, which prevailed fn the Koman world, were all con- sidered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the ma- gistrate as equally useful. And thus toleration , produced not only mutual indulgence, but even religious concord of the The superstition of the people was not embit- tered by any mixture of theological rancour; nor was it confined by the chains of any specu- lative system. The devout polytheist, though fondly attached to his national rites, admitted, with implicit faith, the different religions of the earth. c Fear, gratitude, and curiosity, a dream or an omen, a singular disorder, or a distant journey, perpetually disposed him to multiply the articles of his belief, and to enlarge the list of his protectors. The thin texture of the pa- gan mythology was interwoven with various, but, not discordant materials. As soon as it was al- lowed that sages and heroes, who had lived, or e There is not any writer who describes, in so lively a manner as Herodotus, the true genius of polytheism. The best commentary may be found in Mr. Hume's Natural History of Religion ; and the best contrast in Bossuet's Universal History. Some obscure traces of an intolerent spirit appear in the conduct of the Egyptians (sec Juve- nal, sat. xv) ; and the Christians, as well as Jews, who lived under the Roman empire, formed a very important exception ; so important indeed, that the discussion will require a distinct chapter of thu work. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 47 who had died for the benefit of their country, CHAP. were exalted to a state ofpower and immortality, '.. t it was universally confessed, that they deserved, if not the adoration, at least the reverence, of all mankind. The deities of a thousand groves and a thousand streams possessed, in peace, their local and respective influence ; nor could the Roman who deprecated the wrath of the Tiber, deride the Egyptian who presented his offering to the beneficent genius of the Nile. The visi- ble powers of nature, the planets, and the ele- ments, were the same throughout the universe. The invisible governors of the moral world were inevitably cast in a similar mould of fiction and allegory. Every virtue, and even vice, acquir- ed its divine representative ; every art and pro fession its patron, whose attributes, in the most distant ages and countries, were uniformly de- rived from the character of their peculiar vota- ries. A republic of gods of such opposite tem pers and interest required, in every system, the moderating hand of a supreme magistrate, who, by the progress of knowledge and flattery, was gradually invested with the sublime perfections of an eternal parent, and an omnipotent mo- narch/ Such was the mild spirit of antiquity, that the nations were less attentive to the differ- ence, than to the resemblance of their religious worship. The Greek, the Roman, and the bar- barian, as they met before their respective al- * The rights, powers, and pretensions of the sovereign of Olympoi are yery clearly described in the fifteenth book of the Iliad ; in the Greek original, I mean ; for Mr. Pope, without perceiving it, has im- proved the theology of'Homer. 48 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP, tars, easily persuaded themselves, that under w various names, and with various ceremonies, they adored the same deities. The elegant my- thology of Homer gave a beautiful, and almost a regular form, to the polytheism of the ancient world." ofphiioso- The philosophers of Greece deduced their morals from the nature of man, rather than from that of God. They meditated, however, on the divine nature, as a very curious and important speculation ; and in the profound inquiry, they, displayed the strength and weakness of the hu- man understanding/ Of the four most celebrat- ed schools, the stoics and the platonists endea- voured to reconcile the jarring interests of reason and piety. They have left us the most sublime proofs of the existence and perfections of the first cause; but as it was impossible for them to conceive the creation of matter, the workman in the stoic philosophy was, not sufficiently dis- tinguished from the work ; whilst, on the con- trary, the spiritual god of Plato and his disci- ples, resembled an idea, rather than a substance. The opinions of the academics and epicureans were of a less religious cast ; but whilst the mo- dest science of the former induced them to doubt, the positive ignorance of the latter urged ' See, for instance, Caesar de Bell. Gall, vi, 17. Within a century or two, the Gauls themselves applied to their gods the names of Mer- cury, Mars, Apollo, &c. f The admirable work of Cicero de Natura. Deorum, is the best clue we have to guide us through the dark and profound abyss. He repre- sents with candour, and confutes with subtlety, the opinions of the phi- losophers. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE- 49 them to deny, the providence of a supreme ruler. CHAP. The spirit of inquiry prompted by emulation, and supported by freedom, had divided the public teachers of philosophy into a variety of contending sects; but the ingenious youth, who, from every part, res^orfect to Athens, 'and tlie other seats of learning in the Roman empire, were alike instructed, in every school, to reject and despise the religion of the multitude. How, indeed, was it possible that a philosopher should accept, as divine truths, the idle tales of the poets, and the incoherent traditions of an- tiqiu'ty ; or, that he should adore, as gods, those imperfect beings whom he must have despised as men! Against such unworthy adversaries, Cicer expose the gods of his country to public ridicule, had they not already been the objects of secret contempt among the polished and enlightened orders of society. 8 Notwithstanding the fashionable irreligion which prevailed in the age of the Antonines, both the interests of the priests, and the credu- lity of the people, were sufficiently respected. In their writings and conversation, the philoso- * I do not pretend to assert, that, in this irreligious age, the natural terror* of superstition, dreams, omens, apparitions, &c. had lost tbeir efficacy VOL. I. E 50 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, phers of antiquity asserted the independent dig- ' Mff nity of reason ; but they resigned their actions to the commands of law and of custom. View- ^MiddHnM , ing, with a smile of pity and indulgence, the variotis errors of the vulgar, they diligently practised the ceremonies of their fathers, de- voutly frequented the temples of the gods, and sometimes condescending to act a part on the \ I theatre of superstition, thej concealed the sen- timents of an atheist under the sacerdotal robes. ' Reasoners of such a temper were scarcely in- clined to wrangle about their respective modes of faith, or of worship. It was indifferent to them what shape the folly of the multitude might choose to assume ; and they approached, with the same inward contempt, and the same external reverence, the altars of the Lybian, the Olympian, or the Capitoline Jupiter. h It is not ofjgy to conceive from what motives a spirit of persecution could introduce itself in- to the Roman councils. The magistrates could not be actuated by a blind, though honest bigo- try, since the magistrates were themselves phi- losophers ; and the school of Athens had given laws to the senate. They could not be impel- led by ambition or avarice, as the temporal and ecclesiastical powers were united in the same hands. The pontiffs were chosen among the most illustrious of the senators ; and the office n Socrates, Epicurus, Cicero, and Plutarch, always inculcated a de- cent reverence for the religion of their own country, and of mankind. The devotion of Epicurus was assiduous and exemplary. Diogen. Laert. x, 10. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 51 of supreme pontiff was constantly exercised by CHAP. the emperors themselves. They knew and va- ,, J^ lued the advantages of religion, as it is connect- ed with civil government. They encouraged the public festivals, which humanize the man- ners of the people. They managed the arts of divination, as a convenient instrument of poli- ''^y^KfV'^ cy ; and they respected, as the firmest bond of society, the useful persuasion, that, either in this, or in a future life, the crime of perjury is most assuredly punished by the avenging gods. 1 But whilst they acknowledged the general ad- vantages of religion, they were convinced, that the various modes of worship contributed alike to the same salutary purposes: and that, in very country, the form of superstition, which had received the sanctitm of time and experi- ence, was the best adapted to the climate, and to its inhabitants. Avarice and taste very fre- quently despoiled the vanquished nations of the elegant statues of their gods, and the rich orna- ments of their temples ; k but, in the exercise of the religion which they derived from their an- cestors, they uniformly experienced the indul- gence, and even protection, of the Roman con- querors. The province of Gaul seems, and indeed only seems, an exception to this univer- sal toleration. Under the specious pretext of abolishing human sacrifices, the emperors Tibe- 1 Polybins, 1. vi, c. 53, 54. Juvenal, Sat. xiii, laments, that in hit ime this apprehension had lost much of its effect. k See the fate of Syracuse, Tarentum, Ambracia, Corinth, &c. the conduct of Verres, in Cicero ( Actio ii, Orat 4), and the usual practice f governors, in the eighth Satire of Juvenal. 52 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, rius and Claudius suppressed the dangerous power of the druids: 1 but the priests them- selves, their gods, and their altars, subsisted in peaceful obscurity till the final destruction of paganism." 1 At Rome. Rome, the capital of a great monarchy, was incessantly filled with subjects and strangers from every part of the world," who all intro- duced and enjoyed the favourite superstitions of their native country. Every city in the em- pire was justified in maintaining the purity of its ancient ceremonies ; and, the Roman senate using the common privilege, sometimes inter- posed to check this inundation of foreign rites. The Egyptian superstition, of all the most con- temptible and abject, was frequently prohibit- ed; the temples of Serapis and Isis demolished, and their worshippers banished from Rome and Italy/ But the zeal of fanaticism prevailed over the cold and feeble efforts of policy. The exiles returned, the proselytes multiplied, the 'temples were restored with increasing splen- 1 Sueton. in Claud. Plin. Hist. Nat. xxx, 1. m Pelloutier Histoire des Celtes, torn, vi, p. 230-252. Seneca Consolat. at Helviam, p. 74. Edit. Lips. Dionysius Halicarn. Antiquitat. Roman. 1. ii. f In the year of Rome 701, the temple of Isis and Serapis \va* demolished by the order of the senate (Dion Cassius, 1. xl, p. 252), and even by the hands of the consul (Valerius Maximus, 1, 3). After the death of Caesar, it was restored, at the public expence (Dion. 1. xlvii, p. 501). When Augustus was in Egypt, he revered the ma- jesty of Serapis (Dion. 1. li, p. 647) ; but in the Pomaeriam of Rome, and a mile round it, he prohibited the worship of the Egyptian gods (Dion. 1. liii. p. 679, 1. liv, p. 735). They remained, however, very fashionable under his reign, (Ovid, de Art. Amand. 1. i), and that of his successor, till the justice of Tiberius was provoked to some acts of severity. (See Tacit. Annal. ii, 85, Joseph. Antiquit. 1. xviii, c. 3). OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 53 dour, and Isis and Serapis at length assumed CHAP. their place among the Roman deities." 1 Nor was this indulgence a departure from the old maxims of government. In the purest ages of the commonwealth, Cybele and^Esculapius had been invited by solemn embassies ; and it was customary to tempt the protectors of besieged cities, by the promise of more distinguished honours than they possessed in their native country.' Rome gradually became the com- mon temple of her subjects ; and the freedom of the city was bestowed on all the gods of man- kind. 1 ii. The narrow policy of preserving, without F rd any foreign mixture, the pure blood of the an- cient citizens, had checked the fortune, and hastened the ruin of Athens and Sparta. The / aspiring genius of Rome sacrificed vanity to ambition, and deemed it more prudent, as well j as honourable, to adopt virtue and merit for hef own, wheresoever they were found, among slave! or strangers, enemies or barbarians." During the most flourishing era of the Athenian com- monwealth, the number of citizens gradually d e- creased from about thirty* to twenty-one thou - ' Tertnllian in Apologetic, c. 6, p. 74, edit. Havercamp. I am in- clined to attribute their establishment to the devotion of the Flavian family. ' See Livy, I. xi. and xxix. * Macrob. Saturnalia, 1. iii, c. 9. He gives ns a form of evocation. ' Minutius Faelix in Octavio, p. 54. Arnobius, 1. vi, p. 115. " Tacit. Annal. xi. 24. The Orbis Romanus of the learned Spanheint is a complete history of the progressive admission of Latium, Italy, and the provinces, to the freedom of Rome. * Herodotus, v. 97. It should seem, however, that he followed a Urge and popular estimation. 54 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, sand/ If, on the contrary, we study the growth ff of the Roman republic, we may discover, that notwithstanding the incessant demands of wars and colonies, the. citizens, who, in the first cen- sus of Servius Tullius, amounted to no more than eighty-three thousand, were multiplied, be- fore the commencement of the social war, to the number of four hundred and sixty-three thou- sand men, able to bear arms in the service of their country/ When the allies of Rome claim- ed an equal share of honours and privileges, the senate, indeed, preferred the chance of arms to an ignominious concession. The Samnites and the Lucanians paid the severe penalty of their rashness ; but the rest of the Italian states, as they successively returned to their duty, were admitted into the bosom of the republic,* and soon contributed to the ruin of public freedom. Under a democratical government, the citizens exercise the powers of sovereignty ; and those powers will be first abused, and afterwards lost, if they are committed to an unwieldy multitude. But when the popular assemblies had been sup- pressed by the administration of the emperors, the conquerors were distinguished from the van- quished nations, only as the first and most ho- nourable order of subjects ; and their increase, however rapid, was no longer exposed to the y Athena-us, Deipuosophist. 1. vi, p. 272, edit. Casaubon. Meursiug de Fortunu, Attica, c. 4. 2 See a very accurate collection of the numbers of each lustrum in M. de Beaufort, Republique Romaine, 1. iv, c- 4. * Appian. de Bell. Civil. 1, 1. Velleius Paterculus, I. ii, c. 16, IS, IT. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. same dangers. Yet the wisest princes, who CHAP. adopted the maxims of Augustus, guarded with _____ '_ the strictest care the dignity of the Roman name, and diffused the freedom of the city with a prudent liberality.* Till the privileges of Romans had been pro- ItaI J- gressively extended to all the inhabitants of the empire, an important distinction was preserved between Italy and the provinces. The former was esteemed the centre of public unity, and the firm basis of the constitution. Italy claimed the birth, or at least the residence, of the emperors and the senate.' The estates of the Italians were exempt from taxes ; their persons from the arbitrary jurisdiction of governors. Their mu- nicipal corporations, formed after the perfect model of the capital, were intrusted, under the immediate eye of the supreme power, with the execution of the laws. From the foot of the Alps to the extremity of Calabria, all the natives of Italy were born citizens of Rome. Their \ partial distinctions were obliterated, and they insensibly coalesced into one great nation, uni- ted by language, manners, and civil institutions, and equal to the weight of a powerful empire. The republic gloried in her generous policy, and was frequently rewarded by the merit and b Maecenas had advised him to declare, by one edict, all his subjects citizens. But we may justly 'suspect that the historian Dion was the author of a counsel so much adapted to the practice of his own age, and so little to that of Augustus. c The senators were obliged to have one third of their own landed property in Italy. See Plin. 1. vi, ep. 19. The qualification was rc- dnced by Marcus to one fonrth. Since the reign of Trajan, Italy had unk nearer to the level of the provinces. tf) THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, services of her adopted sons. Had she always I!t confined the distinction of Romans to the an- cient families within the walls of the city, that immortal name would have been deprived of some of its noblest ornaments. Yirgil was a native of Mantua; Horace was inclined to doubt whether he should call himself an Apu- lian or a Lucaniari ; it was in Padua that an historian was found worthy to record the ma- jestic series of Roman victories. The patriot : family of the Catos emerged from Tusculum ; and the little town of Arpinum claimed the double honour of producing Marius and Ci- cero, the former of whom deserved, after Ro- mulus and Camillus, to be styled the third founder of Rome ; and the latter, after saving his country from the designs of Catiline, enabled her to contend with Athens for the palm of elo- quence/ The provinces of the empire (as they have been described in the preceding chapter) were destitute of any public force, or constitutional freedom. In Etruria, in Greece,' and in Gaul/ it was the first care of the senate to dissolve those dangerous confederacies, which taught mankind, that as the Roman arms prevailed by division, d The first part of the Verona Illnstrata of the Marquis Maffei gives the clearest and most comprehensive view of the s!ate of Italy under the Caesars. ' See Pausanias, 1. vii. The Romans condescended to restore the names of those assemblies, wheu they could no longer be danger- ous. f They are frequently mentioned by Caesar. The Abb Dubos at- tempts, with very little success, to prove that the assemblies of Gaol were continued under the emperors. Histoire de TEstablishment de 1ft Monarchic Fran$oise, 1. i, c. 4. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 57 they might be resisted by union. Those princes, CHAP. whom the ostentation of gratitude or generosity .'. permitted for a while to hold a precarious scep- tre, were dismissed from their thrones, as soon as they had performed their appointed task of fa- shioning to the yoke the vanquished nations. The free states and cities which had embraced the cause of Rome, were rewarded with a nomi- nal alliance, and insensibly sunk into real servi- tude. The public authority was everywhere exercised by the ministers of the senate and of the emperors, and that authority was absolute, and without controul. But the same salutary maxims of government, which had secured the peace and obedience of Italy, were extended to themostdistantconquests. Anation of Romans was gradually formed in the provinces, by the double expedient of introducing colonies, and of admitting the most faithful and deserving of the provincials to the freedom of Rome. " Wheresoever the Roman conquers, he in- ry^til^^^ confirmed by history and experience. . The na-towa*. tives of Italy, allured by pleasure or by interest, hastened to enjoy the advantages of victory ; and we may remark, that about forty years after the reduction of Asia, eighty thousand Romans were massacred in one day, by the cruel orders of Mithridates. h These voluntary exiles were en- Seneca in Consolat. ad Helviam, c. 6. " Memnon apud Photinm, c. 33. Valer. Maxim, ix, 2. Plutarch and Dion Cassius swell the massacre to 150,000 citizens. But I should e- teem the smaller number to be more than sufficient. 58 THE DECLINE AND PALI, CHAP, gaged, for the most part, in the occupations of ~,,J~~ commerce, agriculture, and the farm of the re- venue. But after the legions were rendered per- manent by the emperors, the provinces were peopled by a race of soldiers ; and the veterans, whether they received the reward of their service in land or in money, usually settled, with their families, in the country where they had honour- ably spent their youth. Throughout the empire, but more particularly in the western parts, the most fertile districts, and the most convenient situations, were reserved for the establishment of colonies; some of which were of a civil, and others of a military nature. In their manners and internal policy, the colonie's formed a per- fecl^jpfesentationof their greatparent ; and they were soon endeared to the natives by the ties of friendship and alliance; they effectually diffused a reverence for the Roman name, and a desire, which was seldom disappointed, of sharing, in due time, its honours and advantages. 1 The municipal cities insensibly equalled the rank and splendour of the colonies ; and, in the reign of Hadrian, it was disputed which was the prefera- ble condition, of those societies which had issu- ed from, or those which had been received into, the bosom of Rome k The right of Latium, 1 Twenty-five colonies were settled in Spain (see Plin. Hist. Natur. iii, 3, 4, iv, 35) ; and nine in Britain, of which London, Cole-heater, Lincoln, Chester, Gloucester, and Bath, still remain considerable cities (see Richard of Cirencester, p. 36, and Whitaker's History of Manches- ter, 1. i, c. 3). * Anl. Gell. Noctes Atticae, xvi, 13. The emperor Hadrian ex- pressed his surprise, that the cities of Utica, Gades, and Itatica, which OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 5i* as it was called, conferred on the cities to which CHAP. it had been granted, a more partial favour. The J magistrates only, at the expiration of their office, assumed the quality of Roman citizens ; but as those offices were annual, in a few years they circulated round the principal families.' Those of the provincials who were permitted to bear arms in the legions;" 1 those who exercised any civil employment; all, in a word, who perform- ed any public service, or displayed any personal talents, were rewarded with a present, whose value was continually diminished by the increas- ing liberality of the emperors. Yet, even in the age of the Antonines, when the freedom of the city had been bestowed on the greater number of their subjects, it was still accompanied with very solid advantages. The bulk of the people acquired, with that title, the benefit of the Ro- man laws, particularly in the interesting articles of marriage, testaments, and inheritances; and the road of fortune was open to those whose pre- tensions were seconded by favour or merit. The grandsons of the Gauls, who had besieged Julius CaBsar in Alesia, commanded legions, governed provinces, and were admitted into the senate of Rome." Their ambition, instead of disturbing the tranquillity of the state, was intimately con- nected with its safety and greatness. which already enjoyed the rights of Munieipia, should solicit the title of colonies. Their example, however, became fashionable, and the empire was filled with honorary colonies. See Spanheim, de Usu Numisma- tnra, Dissertat. xiii. 1 Spanheim, Orbis Roman, c. 8, p. 62. * Aristid. in Roma: Encomio, torn, i, p. 218, edit. Jebb. Tacit Annal. xi, 23, 24. Hist iv, 74. 00 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. So sensible were the Romans of th^ejnfluence /J f of language over national manners, that it was Division of their most serious care to extend, with the pro- and the'" gress of their arms, the use of the Latin tongue.' Snces. pr " Tne ancient dialects of Italy, the Sabine, the Etruscan, and the Venetian, sunk into oblivion ; but in the provinces, the East was less docile than the West, to the voice of its victorious pre- ceptors. This obvious difference marked the two portions of the empire with a distinction of colours, which, though it was in some degree concealed during the meridian splendour of pro- sperity, became gradually more visible, as the shades of night descended upon the Roman I world. The western countries were civilized by the same hands which subdued them. As soon as the barbarians were reconciled to obe- dience, their minds were opened to any new im- pressions of knowledge and politeness. The language of Virgil and Cicero, though with some inevitable mixture of corruption, was so universally adopted in Africa, Spain, Gaul, Bri- tain, and Pannonia," that the faint traces of the Punic or Celtic idioms were preserved only in the mountains, or among the peasants.* 1 Edu- cation and study insensibly inspired the natives See Plin. Hist. Natur, iii, 5. Augustin. de Civitate Dei, xix. 7. Lipsius de prommciatione Linguae Latinae, c. 3. p Apuleius and Augastin will answer for Africa; Strabo for Spain and Gaul ; Tacitus, in the life of Agricola, for Britain ; and Velleiiu Paterculus for Pannonia. To them we may add the language of the Inscriptions. ! The Celtic was preserved in the mountains of Wales, Corn- wall, and Armorica. We may observe, that Apuleius reproaches an African OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 61 of those countries with the sentiments of Ro- CHAP. mans ; and Italy gave fashions, as well as laws, L~. to her Latin provincials. They solicited with more ardour, and obtained with more facility, the freedom and honours of the state ; support- ed the national dignity in letters r and in arms ; and, at length, in the person of Trajan, pro- duced an emperor whom the Scipios would not have disowned for their countryman. The si- tuation of the Greeks was very different from that of the barbarians. The former had been long since civilized and corrupted. They had too much taste to relinquish their language, and- too much vanity to adopt any foreign institu- tions. Still preserving the prejudices, after they had lost the virtues, of their ancestors, they affected to despise the unpolished manners of the Roman conquerors, whilst they were com- pelled to respect their superior wisdom and power.' Nor was the influence of the Grecian language and sentiments confined to the narrow limits" of that once celebrated country. Their empire, by the progress of colonies and con- quest, had been diffused from the Hadriatic to the Euphrates and the Nile. Asia was covered ) African youth, who lived among the populace, with the nse of the Pa- nic; whilst he had almost forgot Greek, and neither could nor wonld speak Latin (Apolog. p. 596). The greater part of St. Austin's congre- gations were strangers to the Punic. T Spain alone produced Columella, the Senecas, Lucan, Martial, and Quintilian. ' There is not, I believe, from Dionysius to Libauius, a single Greek critic who mentions Virgil or Horace. They seem ignorant that the Romans had any good writers. (52 T HE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, with Greek cities, and the long reign of the Ma- "'__ cedohian kings had introduced a silent revolu- tion into Syria and Egypt. In their pompous courts those princes united the elegance of Athens with the luxury of the East, and the example of the court was imitated, at an humble distance, by the higher ranks of their subjects. Such was the general division of the Roman em- pire into the Latin and Greek languages. To these we may add a third distinction for the body of the natives in Syria, and especially in Egypt. The use of their ancient dialects, by secluding them from the commerce of mankind, checked the improvements of those barbarians.' The slothful effeminacy of the former exposed them to the contempt; the sullen ferociousness of the latter excited the aversion of the conquerors." Those nations had submitted to the Roman power, but they seldom desired or deserved the freedom of the city ; and it was remarked, that more than two hundred and thirty years elapsed, after the ruin of the Ptolemys, before an Egyp- tian was admitted into the senate of Rome/ General It is a just, though trite observation, that vic- torious Rome was herself subdued by the arts of Greece. Those immortal writers who still com- mand the admiration of modern Europe, soon 1 became the favourite object of study and imita- 1 The curious reader may see in Dupin(Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, torn. xix. p. 1. c, 8), how much the use of the Syriac and Egyptian languages was still preserved. u See Juvenal, Sat. iii and xv, Ammtan. Marcelin. xxii, 16. 1 Dion Cassius, 1. Ixxvii, p. 1275. The first instance happened un- der the reign of Septimius Severus. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 63 tion in Italy and the western provinces. But the CHAP. elegant amusements of the Romans were not suf- fered to interfere with their sound maxims of po- licy. Whilst they acknowledged the charms of the Greek, they asserted the dignity of the Latin tongue, and the exclusive use of the latter was inflexibly maintained in the administration of civil as well as military government/ The two languages exercised, at the same time, their se- parate jurisdiction throughout the empire: the former, as the natural idiom of science ; the latter, as the legal dialect of public transactions. Those who united letters with business, were equally conversant with both ; and it was almost impos- sible, in any province, to find a Roman subject, of a liberal education, who was at once a stran- ger to the Greek and to the Latin language. It was by such institutions that the nations of the empire insensibly melted away into the Ro- man name and people. But there still remained, in the centre of every province, and of every fa- mily, an unhappy condition of men, who endured the wei1it, without sharing the benefits, of so- ciety. In the free states of antiquity, the do- ine*stic slaves were exposed to the wanton rigour of despotism. The perfect settlement of the Their Roman empire was preceded by ages of violence tre a tment and rapine. The slaves consisted, for the most part, of barbarian captives, taken in thousands r See Valerius Maximns, 1. ii, c. 2, n. 2. The emperor Claudius dis- franchised an eminent Grecian for not understanding Latin. He wu probably in some public office. Suetonius in Claud, c. 16. 64 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, by the chance of war, purchased at a vile price,* ~~"~~ accustomed to a life of independence, and im- patient to break and to revenge their fetters. Against such internal enemies, whose desperate insurrections had more than once reduced the republic to the brink of destruction,* the most severe regulations," and the most cruel treat- ment, seemed almost justified by the great law of self-preservation. But when the principal xations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, were united under the laws of one sovereign, the source of foreign sullies flowed with much less abun- dance, and the Romans were reduced to the milde/, but more tedious, method of propaga- tion. In their numerous families, and particu- larly in their country estates, they encouraged the marriage of their slaves. The sentiments of nature, the habits of education, and the posses- sion of a dependent species of property, contri- buted to alleviate the hardships of servitude. 6 The existence of a slave became an object of greater value; and though his happiness still depended on the temper and circumstances of the master, the humanity of the latter, instead of being restrained by fear, was encouraged by - In the camp of Lucnllus, an ox sold for a drachma, and a slave for four drachmae, or about three shillings. Plutarch in Lucull. p. 580. * Diodorns Siculus in Eclojr. Hist. 1. xxxiv and xxxvi. Florus, iii, 19, 20. b See a remarkable instance of severity in Cicero in Verrem, V. 3. c See in Gruter, and the other collectors, a great number of inscrip. tions addressed by slaves to their wives, children, fellow-servants, ma- ters, &c. They are all, most probably, of the imperial age. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 65 the sense of his own interest. The progress of CHAP. manners was accelerated by the virtue or policy w , of the emperors ; and by the edicts of Hadrian and the Antonines, the protection of the laws was extended to the most abject part of man- kind. The jurisdiction of life and death over the slaves, a power long exercised and often abused, was taken out of private hands, and re- served to the magistrates alone. The subterra- neous prisons were abolished ; and, upon a just complaint of intolerable treatment, the injured slave obtained either his deliverance, or a less cruel master/ Hope, the best comfort of our imperfect con- EnfraB . dition, was not denied to the Roman slave f and f if he had any opportunity of rendering himsel* either useful or agreeable, he might very natu- rally expect that the diligence and fidelity of a few years would be rewarded with the inesti- mable gift of freedom. The benevolence of the master was so frequently prompted by the meaner suggestions of vanity and avarice, that the laws found it more necessary to restrain than to encourage a profuse and undistinguish- ing liberality, which might degenerate into a very dangerous abuse/ It was a maxim of ancient jurisprudence, that a slave had not any country of his own; he acquired with his li- berty an admission into the political society of d See the Augustan History, and a Dissertation of M. de Bnrigny, in the 25th volume of the Academy of Inscriptions, upon the Roman slaves. c See another Dissertation of M. de Burijny, in the S7tii volume on the Roman freedmau. VOL. I. F <3 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, which his patron was a member. The conse- quences of this maxim would have prostituted the privileges of the Roman city to a mean and promiscuous multitude. Some seasonable ex- ceptions were therefore provided ; and the ho- nourable distinction was confined to such slaves only, as, for just causes, and with the approba- tion of the magistrate, should receive a solemn and legal manumission. Even these chosen freedmen obtained no more than the private rights of citizens, and were rigorously excluded from civil or military honours. Whatever might be the merit or fortune of their sons, they like- wise were esteemed unworthy of a seat in the senate ; nor were the traces of a servile origin allowed to be completely obliterated till th third or fourth generation/ Without destroy- ing the distinction of ranks, a distant prospect * J of freedom and honours was presented, even to those whom pride and prejudice almost dis- dained to number among the human species. Numbers. It was once proposed to discriminate the slaves~By a" "peculiar Habit; but it was justly apprehended that there might be some danger in acquainting them with their own numbers. 8 \/ Without interpreting, in their utmost strictness, the liberal appellations of legions and myriads,* f Spanheim. Orbis Roman. 1. i, c. 16, p. 124, &c. 6 Seneca de dementia, 1. i, c. 24. The original is much stronger, " Quantum periculum iramineret si servi nostri numerare nos coe- " pissent." " See Pliny (Hist. Natur. 1. xxxiii) and Athenaeus (Deipnosophist, 1. vi, p. 272). The latter boldly asserts, that he knew very many (wa(*,*o\\oi) Romans who possessed, not for use, but ostentation, ten and even twenty thousand slaves. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 67 we may venture to pronounce, that the propor- CHAP. tion of slaves, who were valued as property, ' fffft was more considerable than that of servants, who can be computed only as an expence. 1 The youths of a promising genius were instructed in the arts and sciences, and their price was as- certained by the degree of their skill and ta- lents. 1 ' Almost every profession, either liberal 1 or mechanical, might be found in the household of an opulent senator. The ministers of pomp and sensuality were multiplied beyond the con- ception of modern luxury . m It was more for the interest of the merchant or manufacturer to purchase, than to hire his workmen; and in the country, slaves were employed as the cheap- est and most laborious instruments of agricul- ture. To confirm the general observation, and to display the multitude of slaves, we might allege a variety of particular instances. It was discovered, on a very melancholy occasion, that four hundred slaves were maintained in a sin- gle palace of Rome." The same number of four hundred belonged to an estate which an Afri- can widow, of a very private condition, resigned In Paris there are not more than 43,700 domestics of every sort, and not a twelfth part of the inhabitants. Messange Recbercbes sur In Population, p. 186. * A learned slave sold for many hundred pound* sterling : Atticna always bred and taught them himself. Cornel. Nepos in ViL c. 13. 1 Many of the Roman physicians were slaves. See Dr. Middleton* Dissertation and Defence. m Their ranks and offices are very copiously enumerated by Pigno- rius de Servis. * Tacit. Annal. xiv, 43. They were all executed for not preventing their master's murder. F2 68 THE DECLINE AND FALL (.HAP, to her son. whilst she reserved for herself a ff much larger share of her property. A freed- man, under the reign of Augustus, though his fortune had suffered great losses in the civil wars, -left behind him three thousand six hun- dred yoke of oxen, two hundred and fifty thou- sand head of smaller cattle, and, what was al- most included in the description of cattle, four thousand one hundred and sixteen slaves/ Populous- The number of subjects who acknowledged Roman 1 * -the laws of Rome, of citizens, of provincials, and empire. o s i aveS) cannot now be fixed with such a de- gree of accuracy as the importance of the ob- ject would deserve. We are informed, that ' when the emperor Claudius exercised the office of censor, he took an account of six millions nine hundred and forty-five thousand Romai; citizens, who, with the proportion of women and children, must have amounted to about twenty millions of souls. The multitude of subjects of an inferior rank, was uncertain and fluctuating. But, after weighing with attention every circumstance which could influence the balance, it seems probable, that there existed, in the time of Claudius, about twice as many provincials as there were citizens, of either sex, and of every age ; and that the slaves were at least equal in number to tEe free inhabitants of the Roman world. The total amount of tKis imperfect calculation would rise to about one hundred and twenty millions of persons : a de- Apuleius in Apolag. p. 548, Edit. Delphin. ' Plin. Hist. Natur. 1. xxxiii, 47. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 69 gree of population which possibly exceeds that CHAP. of modern Europe," and forms the most nume- ^ rous society that has ever been united under the same system of government. Domestic peace and union were the natural obedience r , . and union. consequences of the moderate and comprehen- sive policy embraced by the Romans. If we turn our eyes towards the monarchies of Asia, we shall behold despotism in the centre, and / weakness in the extremities ; the collection 'of the revenue, or the administration of justice, enforced by the presence of an army ; hostile barbarians established in the heart of the coun- try, hereditary satraps usurping the dominion of the provinces, and subjects inclined to^rebel- lion, though incapable of freedom. But the bedience of the Roman world was uniform, voluntary, and permanent. The vanquished nations, blended into one great people, resigned the hope, nay even the wish, of resuming their independence, and scarcely considered their own existence as distinct from the existence of Rome. The established authority of the em- perors pervaded, without an effort, the wide ex- tent of their dominions, and was exercised with the same facility on the banks of the Thames, or of the Nile, as on those of the Tyber. The * Compute twenty millions in France, twenty-two in Germany, four in Hungary, ten in Italy, with its islands, eight in Great Britain and Ireland, eight in Spain and Portugal, ten or twelve in the European Russia, six in Poland, six in Greece and Turkey, four in Sweden, three in Denmark and Norway, four in the Low Countries. The whole would amount to one hundred and five, or one hundred and seven mil" lion. See Voltaire, de Histoire Generale. 70 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, legions were destined to serve against the public , l^^ enemy, and the civil magistrate seldom required the aid of a military force/ In this state of ge- neral security, the leisure as well as opulence, both of the prince and people, were devoted to improve and to adorn the Roman empire. mom?- 11 Among the innumerable monuments of archi- ments. tecture constructed by the Romans, how many have escaped the notice of history, how few have resisted the ravages of time and barbarism! And yet even the majestic ruins that are still scattered over Italy and the provinces, would be sufficient to prove, that those countries were once the seat of a polite and powerful empire. Their greatness alone, or their beauty, might deserve our attention; but they are rendered more interesting, by two important circum- stances, which connect the agreeable history of the arts with the more useful history of human manners. Many of those works were erected at private expence, and almost all were intend- ed for public benefit. Many of It is natural to suppose, that the greatest num- Niat pri- ber, as well as the most considerable of the Ro* man edifices, were raised by the emperors, who possessed so unbounded a command both of men and money. Augustus was accustomed to boast that he had fomiL his capital of brick, and that j he^Tiad left it of marble* The strict economy T Joseph, de Bell. Judaico, 1. ii, c. 16. The oration of Agrippa, or rather of the historian, is a fine picture of the Roman empire. * Sueton. in August, c. 28. Augustus built in Rome the temple and forum of Mars the Avenger ; the temple of Jupiter Tonans in the Ca- pilol ; OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 7 1 of Vespasian was the source of his magnificence. CHAP. The Avorks of Trajan bear the stamp of his ge- ,'^ nius. The public monuments with which Had- rian adorned every province of the empire, were executed not only by his orders, but under his immediate inspection. He was himself an artist, and he loved the arts, as they conduced to the glory of the monarch. They were encouraged by the Antonines, as they contributed to the happi- ness of the people. But if the emperors were the first, they were not the only architects of their dominions. Their example was universally imi- tated by their principal subjects, who were not afraid of declaring to the world, that they had spirit to conceive, and wealth to accomplish, the noblest undertakings. Scarcely had the proud .structure of the Coliseum been dedicated at Rome, before the edifices, of a smaller scale in- deed, but of the same design and materials,, were erected for the use, and at the expence, of the cities of Capua and Verona.' The inscription of the stupendous bridge of Alcantara, attests that it was thrown over the Tagus by the contri- bution of a few Lusitanian communities. When Pliny was entrusted with the government of Bithynia and Pontus, provinces by no means the richest or most considerable of the empire, he found the cities within his jurisdiction striving pitol ; that of Apollo Palatine, with public libraries ; the portico and basilica of Cains and Lucius; the porticos of Livia and Octavia ; and the theatre of Marcellus. The example of the sovereign was imitated by his ministers and generals ; and his friend Agrippa left behind him the immortal monument of the Pantheon. 1 See Maffei, Verona illus trata, 1. iv, p. 68 72 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, with each other in every useful and ornamental ,', work, that might deserve the curiosity of stran- gers, or the gratitude of their citizens. It was the duty of the proconsul to supply their deficiencies, to direct their taste, and sometimes to moderate their emulation." The opulent senators of Rome and the provinces esteemed it an honour, and al- most an obligation, to adorn the splendour of their age and country; and the influence of fashion very frequently supplied the want of taste or ge- nerosity. Among a crowd of these private be- nefactors, we may select Herodes Atticus, an Athenian citizen, who lived in the age of the Antonines. Whatever might be the motive ol his conduct, his magnificence would have been worthy of the greatest kings. Example The family of Herod, at least after it had been Atticus. s favoured by fortune, was lineally descended from Cimon and Miltiades, Theseus and Cecrops. jEacus and Jupiter. But the posterity of so many gods and heroes was fallen into the most abject state. His grandfather had suffered by the hands of justice, and Julius Atticus, his father, must have ended his life in poverty and contempt, had he not discovered an immense treasure buried under an old house, the last remains of his pa- trimony. According to the rigour of law, the emperor might have asserted his claim, and the " See the tenth book of Pliny's Epistles. He mentions the follow, ing works, carried on at the expence of the cities. At Nicomedia, a new forum, an aqueduct, and a canal, left unfinished by a king : at Nice, a gymnasium, and a theatre , which had already co st near ninety thousand pounds ; baths at Prusa and Cl-audiopolis ; and an aqueduc of sixteen milts in Irngth for tin- n>e of Sinope. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 73 prudent Atticus prevented, by a frank confession, CHAP. the officiousness of informers. But the equita- ** ble Nerva, who then filled the throne, refused to accept any part of it, and commanded him to use, without scruple, the present of fortune. . The cautious Athenian still insisted, that the treasure was too considerable for a subject, arid that he knew not how to use it. Abuse it, then, replied the monarch, with a good-natured pee- vishness ; for it is your own." Many will be of opinion, that Atticus literally obeyed the em- peror's last instructions, since he expended the greatest part of his fortune, which was much in- creased by an advantageous marriage, in the ser- vice of the public. He had obtained for his son Herod, the prefecture of the free cities of Asia; and the young magistrate, observing that the town of Troas was indifferently supplied with water, obtained from the munificence of Hadrian, three hundred myriads of drachms (about a hun- dred thousand pounds) for the construction of a aew aqueduct. But in the execution of the work, the charge amounted to more than double the estimate, and the officers of the revenue began co murmur, till the generous Atticus silenced their complaints, by requesting that he might be permitted to take upon himself the whole additional expence/ * Hadrian afterwards made a very equitable regulation, which divid- ed all treasure-trove between the right of property and that of disco. fery. Hist. August, p. 9. * Philostrat. in Vit. Sophist. I. ii> p. 548. 74 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. ; The ablest preceptors of Greece and Asia had .been invited by liberal rewards to direct the His repu- education of young Herod. Their pupil soon became a celebrated orator, according to the i useless rhetoric of that age, which, confining itself to the schools, disdained to visit either the forum or the senate. He was honoured with the consulship at Rome ; but the greatest part of his life was spent in a philosophic retirement at Athens, and his adjacent villas, perpetually surrounded by sophists, who acknowledged, without reluctance, the superiority of a rich and generous rival. 8 The monuments of his genius have perished ; some considerable ruins still preserve the fame of his taste and munifi- cence : modern travellers have measured the re- mains of the stadium which he constructed at Athens, It was six hundred feet in length, built entirely of white marble, capable of ad- mitting the whole body of the people, and finished in four years, whilst Herod was presi- dent of the Athenian games. To the memory of his wife Regilla, he dedicated a theatre, scarcely to be paralleled in the empire: no wood except cedar, very curiously carved, was employed in any part of the building. The odeum, designed by Pericles for musical per- formances, and the rehearsal of new tragedies, had been a trophy of the victory of the arts over barbaric greatness, as the timbers employed in the construction consisted chiefly of the masts of the Persian vessels. Notwithstanding the z Aulus Gellius, in Noct. Attic, i, 2, ix, 2, xviii, 10, xix, 12. Philo- trat. p. 664. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 75 repairs bestowed on that ancient edifice by a CHAP. king of Cappadocia, it was again fallen to de-^, cay. Herod restored its ancient beauty and magnificence. Nor was the liberality of that il- lustrious citizen confined to the walls of Athens. The most splendid ornaments bestowed on the temple of Neptune in the isthmus, a theatre at Corinth, a stadium at Delphi, a bath at Ther- mopylae, and an aqueduct at Canusium in Italy, were insufficient to exhaust his treasures. The people of Epirus, Thessaly, Euboea, Breotia, and Peloponnesus, experienced his favours; and many inscriptions of the cities of Greece and Asia gratefully style Herodes Atticus their pa- tron and benefactor.* In the commonwealths of Athens and Rome, Most of the modest simplicity of private houses annouri- ced the equal condition of freedom : whilst the sovereignty of the people was represented in the lic majestic edifices designed to the public use ; k nor was this republican spirit totally extinguish- ^ q c " edll( -tS| ed by the introduction of wealth and monarchy. It was in works of national honour and benefit, that the most virtuous of the emperors affected to display their magnificence. The golden pa- lace of Nero excited a just indignation, but the vast extent of ground which had been usurped by his selfish luxury, was more nobly filled un- der the succeeding reigns by the Coliseum, the * See Philostrat. I. ii, p. 548, 560. Pausanias, 1. i and vii, 10. The life of Herodes, in the thirtieth volume of the Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions. b It is particularly remarked of Athens by Diczearchus, de Statu Graeciae, p. 8, inter Geographos M mores, edit. Hudson 76 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, baths of Titus, the Claudian portico, and the , * temples dedicated to the goddess of peace, and to the genius of Rome. 6 These monuments of architecture, the property of the Roman people, were adorned with the most beautiful produc- tions of Grecian painting and sculpture; and in the temple of peace, a very curious library was open to the curiosity of the learned. At a small distance from thence was situated the forum of Trajan. It was surrounded with a lofty porti- co, in the form of a quadrangle, into which four triumphal arches opened a noble and spacious entrance : in the centre arose a column of mar- ble, whose height, of one hundred and ten feet, denoted the elevation of the hill that had been cut away. This column, which still subsists in its ancient beauty, exhibited an exact repre- sentation of the Dacian victories of its founder. The veteran soldier contemplated the story of his own campaigns, and by an easy illusion of national vanity, the peaceful citizen associated himself to the honours of the triumph. All the other quarters of the capital, and all the pro- vinces of the empire, were embellished *by the same liberal spirit of public magnificence, and were filled with amphitheatres, theatres, tem- ples, porticos, triumphal arches, baths, and c Donatus de Roma Vetere, 1. iii, c. 4, 5, 6. Nardini Roma Antica, 1. iii, 11, 12, 13, and a MS. description of ancient Rome, by Bernardus Oriccllarius, or Riicellai, of which I obtained a copy from the library of the Canon Ricardi at Florence. Two celebrated pictures of Timanthes and of Piotogenes are mentioned by Pliny, a* in the temple of peace ; and the Laocoon was found in the baths f Titos. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE . 77 aqueducts, all variously conducive to the health, CHAP. the devotion, and the pleasures of the meanest ' citizen. The last-mentioned of those edifices deserve our peculiar attention. The boldness of the enterprise, the solidity of the execution, and the uses to which they were subservient, rank the aqueducts among the noblest monu- ments of Roman genius and power. The aque- ducts of the capital claim a just pre-eminence; but the curious traveller, who, without the light of history, should examine those of Spoleto, of Metz, or of Segovia, would very naturally con- clude, that those provincial towns had formerly been the residence of some potent monarch.' The solitudes of Asia and Africa were once covered with flourishing cities, whose populous- ness, and even whose existence, was derived from such artificial supplies of a perennial stream* of fresh water.* We have computed the inhabitants, and con- Number templated the public works of the Roman em- ncss S of the pire. The observation of the number and great- ness of its cities will serve to confirm the former, and to multiply the latter. It may not be un- pleasing to collect a few scattered instances rela- tive to that subject, without forgetting, however, that, from the vanity of nations, and the poverty of language, the vague appellation of city has been indifferently bestowed on Rome and upon Laurentum. I, Ancient Italy is said to have con- 1 * Montfaucon 1'Antiquitc Explique'e, torn, iv, p. 2, I. I, c. 9. Fabretti has composed a very learned treatise on the aqueducts of Rome. 78 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, tained eleven hundred and ninety-seven cities ; ff and for whatsoever era of antiquity the expres- sion might be intended,' there is not any reason to believe the country less populous in the age of the Antonines, than in that of Romulus. The petty states of Latium were contained within the metropolis of the empire, by whose superior in- fluence they had been attracted. Those parts of Italy which have so long languished under the lazy tyranny of priests and viceroys, had been afflicted only by the more tolerable calamities of war; and the first symptoms of decay which they experienced were amply compensated by the rapid improvements of the Cisalpine Gaul. The splendour of Verona may be traced in its re- mains ; yet Verona was less celebrated than *5> a ahi and Aquileia or Padua, Milan, or Ravenna, u, The spirit of improvement had passed the Alps, and been felt even in the woods of Britain, which were gradually cleared away, to open a free space for convenient and elegant habitations. York was the seat of government ; London was already enriched by commerce ; and Bath was celebrated for the salutary effects of its medici- nal waters. Gaul could boast of her twelve hundred cities ; f and though, in the northern parts, many of them, without excepting Paris itself, were little more than the rude and imper- fect townships of a rising people, the southern provinces imitated the wealth and elegance of * Xtian. Hist. Var. 1. ix, c. 16. He lived in the time of Alexander Severus. See Fabricius, Biblioth. Graeca, 1. iv, c. 21. f Joseph, de Bell. Jud. ii, 16. The number, however, is mentioned, Mid should be received with a degree of latitude. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 79 Italy.* Many were the cities of Gaul, Marseil- CHAP. les, Aries, Nismes, Narbonne, Thoulouse, Bour-, ^ deaux, Autun, Vienna, Lyons, Langres, and Treves, whose ancient condition might sustain an equal, and perhaps advantageous compari- son with their present state. With regard to Spain, that country flourished as a province, and has declined as a kingdom. Exhausted by the abuse of her strength, by America, and by superstition, her pride might possibly be con- founded, if we required such a list of three hundred and sixty cities, as Pliny has exhibited under the reign of Vespasian. h in, Three hun- Africa, dred African cities had once acknowledged the authority of Carthage,' nor is it likely that their numbers diminished under the administration of the emperors : Carthage itself rose with new splendour from its ashes ; and that capital, as well as Capua and Corinth, soon recovered all the advantages which can be separated from in- dependent sovereignty, iv, The provinces of Asia, the East present the contrast of Roman mag- nificence with Turkish barbarism. The ruins of antiquity, scattered over uncultivated fields, and ascribed, by ignorance, to the power of magic, scarcely afford a shelter to the oppres- sed peasant or wandering Arab. Under the reign of the Caesars, the proper Asia alone con- * PUn. Hist. Natar. iii, 5. b PHn. Hist. Natur. iii, 3, 4 ; iv. 43. The list seems authentic and accurate : the division of the provinces, and the different condition of the cities, are minutely distinguished. 1 Strabon. Geograph. 1. xvii, p. 1189. 80 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, tained five hundred populous cities, k enriched IL with all the gifts of nature, and adorned with all " the refinements of art. Eleven cities of Asia had once disputed the honour of dedicating a temple to Tiberius, and their respective merits were examined by the senate. 1 Four of them were immediately rejected, as unequal to the burden ; and among these was Laodiceo, whose splen- dour is still displayed in its ruins." 1 Laodicea collected a very considerable revenue from its flocks of sheep, celebrated for the fineness of their wool, and had received, a little before the contest, a legacy of above four hundred thou- sand pounds, by the testament of a generous citizen. 11 If such was the poverty of Laodicea, what must have been the wealth of those cities, whose claim appeared preferable, and particu- larly of Pergamus, of Smyrna, and of Ephesus, who so long disputed with each other the titu- k Joseph, de Bell. Jud. ii, 16. Philostrat. in Vit. Sophist. I. ii, p. 548, edit. Olear. 1 Tacit. Annal. iv. 55. I have taken some pains in consulting and comparing modern travellers, with regard to the fate of those eleven cities of Asia. Seven or eight are totally destroyed Hypaepe, Tralle Laodicea, Ilium, Halicarnassus, Miletus, Ephesus, and we may add Sardes. Of the remaining three, Pergamus is a straggling village of two or three thousand inhabitants ; Magnesia, under the name of Guzel-hissar, a town of some consequence ; and Smyrna, a great city, peopled by an hundred thousand souls. But even at Smyrna, while the Franks have maintained commerce, the Turks have ruined the arts. """ See a very exact and pleasing description of the ruins of Laodicea, in Chandler's Travels through Asia Minor, p. 225, &c. Strabo, 1, xii, p. 666. He had studied at Tralles. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 81 iar primacy of Asia? The capitals of Syria CHAP. and Egypt held a still superior rank in the em- J,.^ pire: Antioch and Alexandria looked down with disdain on a crowd of dependent cities/ and yielded, with reluctance, to the majesty of Tk " Rome itself. All these cities were connected with each R 0man other, and with the capital, by the public high- roads - ways, which, issuing from the forum of Rome, traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, and were terminated only by the frontiers of the empire. If we carefully trace the distance from the wall of Antoninus to Rome, and from thence to Jerusalem, it will be found that the great chain of communication from the north-west to the south-east point of the empire, was drawn out to the length of four thousand and eighty Roman miles. q The public roads were accu- rately divided by mile-stones, and ran in a di- See a Dissertation of M. de Boze, Mem. de 1'Academie, torn, xviii. Aristides pronounced an oration, which is still extant, to recommend concord to the rival cities. p The inhabitants of Egypt, exclusive of Alexandria, amounted to seven millions and a half (Joseph, de Bell. Jud. ii, 16). Under the mi- litary government of the Mamalukes, Syria was supposed to contain sixty thousand villages (Histoire de Timur Bee. 1. v, c. 20.) q The followingitinerary may serve to convey some idea of the direc- tion of the road, and of the distance between the principal towns. i. From the wall of Antoninus to York, 222 Roman miles. 11. London 227. in. Rhutiipiae or Sandwich 67. iv. The navigation to Bou- logne 45. T. Rheims 174. vi. Lyons 330. vn. Milan 324. vai. Rome 426. ix. Brundusium 360. x. The navigation to Dyrrachium 40. TI. Byzantium 711. TII. Ancyra 283. xin. Tarsus 301. xiv. Antioch 141. xv. Tyre 252. XVI. Jerusalem 168. In all 4080 Roman, or 3740 English miles. See theitinerariespublished by We- ncling, Iris annotations ; Gale and Stukely for Britain, and M. d'AnvilU for Gaul and Italy. VOL. I. f social life. In the empire. more remote ages of antiquity, the world was unequally divided. The East was in the imme- morial possession of arts and luxury ; whilst the West was inhabited by rude and warlike barba- rians, who either disdained agriculture, or to whom it was totally unknown. Under the pro- tection of an established government, the pro- ductions of, happier climates, and the industry of more civilized nations, were gradually intro- duced into the. western countries of Europe ; and the natives were encouraged, by an open and profitable commerce, to multiply the for- mer, as well as to improve the latter. It would be almost impossible to enumerate all the ar- ticles, either of the animal or the vegetable reign, which were successively imported in- to Europe, from Asia and Egypt ; a but it will not be unworthy of the dignity, and much less of the utility, of an historical work, slightly to touch on a few of the principal heads. 1. introdnc- Almost all the flowers, the herbs, and the tion of . ' ' fruits, & C . fruits, that grow in our European gardens, are of foreign extraction, which, in many cases, is betrayed even by their names : the apple was a native of Italy, and when the Romans had tast- ed the richer flavour of the apricot, the peach, the pomegranate, the citron, and the orange, , a It is not improbable that the Greeks and Phoenicians introduced some new arts and productions into the neighbourhood of Marseille! and Gadci. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 85 they contented themselves with applying to all CHAP. these new fruits the common denomination of ',, apple, discriminating them from each other by the additional epithet of their country. 2. In The vine, the time of Homer, the vine grew wild in the island of Sicily, and most probably in the adja- cent continent ; but it was not improved by the skill, nor did it afford a liquor grateful to the taste of the savage inhabitants. 1 * A thousand years afterwards, Italy could boast, that of the fourscore most generous and celebrated wines, more than two thirds were produced from her soil.' The blessing was soon communicated to the Narbonnese province of Gaul ; but so intense was the cold to the north of the Cevennes, that, in the time of Strabo, it was thought impossible to ripen the grapes in those parts of Gaul. d This difficulty, however, was gradually van- quished ; and there is some reason to believe, that the vineyards of Burgundy are as old as the age of the Antonines.* 3. The olive, in the western world, followed the progress of peace, of which it was considered as the symbol. Two centuries after the foundation of Rome, both Italy and Africa were strangers to that useful plant ; it was b See Homer Odyss. 1. ix, v. 358. c Plin. Hist. Natur. 1. xiv. d Strab. Geograpb. 1. iv, p. 223. The intense cold of a Gallic win- ter was almost proverbial among the ancients. e In the beginning of the fourth century, the orator Enmenius (Pane- gyric. Veter. viii, 6, edit. Delphin.) speaks of the vines in the territory of Antnn, which were decayed through age, and the first plantation of which was totally unknown. The Pagus Arebrignns is supposed by M. d' Anville to be the district of Beaune,. celebrated even at present, for one of the first growths of Burgundy. 86 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, naturalized in those countries ; and atlength car- ~~*~~ ried into the heart of Spain and Gaul. The timid errors of the ancients, that it required a certain degree of heat, and could only flourish in the neighbourhood of the sea, were insensibly ex- n**' ploded by industry and experience/ 4. The cultivation of flax was transported from Egypt to Gaul, and enriched the whole country, however it might impoverish the particular lands on which Artificial it was sown. 8 5. The use of artificial grasses became familiar to the farmers both of Italy and the provinces, particularly the Lucerne, which derived its name and origin from Media. h The assured supply of wholesome and plentiful food for the cattle during winter, multiplied the num- ber of the flocks arid herds, which, in their turn, contributed to the fertility of the soil. To all these improvements may be added, an assiduous attention to mines and fisheries, which, by em- ploying a multitude of laborious hands, serve to increase the pleasures of the rich, and the sub- General sistence of tLe poor. The elegant treatise of plenty. Columella describes the advanced state of the Spanish husbandry, under the reign of Tiberius; and it may be observed, that those famines, which so frequently afflicted the infant republic, were seldom or never experienced by the extensive empire of Rome. The accidental scarcity, in any single province, was immediately relieved by the plenty of its more fortunate neighbours. f Plin. Hist. Natur. 1. xv. Plin. Hist. Natur. 1. xix. * See the agreeable Essays on Agriculture, by Mr. Harte, in which he has collected all that the ancients and moderns hare said of Lu- ccrne. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 87 Agriculture is the foundation of manufactures, CHAP. since the productions of nature are the materials , of art. Under the Roman empire, the labour of Arts of an industrious and ingenious people was various- ly, but incessantly employed in the service of the rich. In their dress, their table, their houses, 'and their furniture, the favourites of fortune united every refinement of conveniency, of ele- gance, and of splendour, whatever could soothe their pride, or gratify their sensuality. Such refinements, under the odious name of luxury, have been severely arraigned by the moralists of every age ; and it might perhaps be more con- ducive to the virtue, as well as happiness, of mankind, if all possessed the necessaries, and none the superfluities of life. But in the present imperfect condition of society, luxury, though it may proceed from vice or folly, seems to be the only means that can correct the unequal distri- bution of property. The diligent mechanic, and the skilful artist, who have obtained no share in the division of the earth, receive a voluntary tax from the possessors of land ; and the latter are prompted, by a sense of interest, to improve those estates, with whose produce they may pur- chase additional pleasures. This operation, the particular effects of which are felt in every so- cie^y, acted with much more diffusive energy in the Roman world. The provinces would soon have been exhausted of their wealth, if the ma- nufactures and commerce of luxury had not in- sensibly restored to the industrious subjects the urns which were exacted from them by the arms THE DECLINE AND^FALL CHAP. a nd authority of Rome. As long as the circu- ,,' latiori was confined within the bounds of the empire, it impressed the political machine with a new degree of activity, and its consequences, sometimes beneficial, could never become per- nicious. trade? 1 ) ^ u * ; ** * s no easv task * connne luxury with- I in the limits of an empire. The most remote countries of the ancient world were ransacked to supply the pomp and delicacy of Rome. The forest of Scythia afforded some valuable furs. Amber was brought over land from the shores of the Baltic to the Danube ; and the barbarians were astonished at the price which they receiv- ed in exchange for so useless a commodity . J There was a considerable demand for Babylo- nian carpets and other manufactures of the East; but the most important and unpopular branch of foreign trade was carried on with Arabia and India. Every year, about the time of the sum- mer solstice, a fleet of an hundred and twenty vessels sailed from Myos-hormos, aport of Egypt on the Red sea. By the periodical assistance of the monsoons, they traversed the ocean in about forty days. The coast of Malabar, or the island of Ceylon, k was the usual term of their navi- gation, and it was in those markets that the ' Tacit. Germania, c. 45. Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxviii, 11. The lat- ter observed, with some humour, that even fashion had not yet found out the use of amber. Nero sent a Roman knight to purchase great quantities on the spot where it was produced the coast of modern Prussia. k Called Taprobana by the Romans, and Screndib by the Arabs. It was discovered under the reign of Claudius, and gradually became the principal mart of (he East OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 80 merchants from the more remote countries of CHAP Asia expected their arrival. The return of the w ' fleet of Egypt was fixed to the months of De- cember or January ; and as soon as their rich cargo had been transported, on the backs of camels, from the Red sea to the Nile, and had descended that river as far as Alexandria, it was poured, without delay, into the capital of the empire. 1 The objects of oriental traffic were splendid and trifling: silk, a pound of which w r as esteemed not inferior in value to a pound of gold ; m precious stones, among which the pearl claimed the first rank after the diamond ;" and a variety of aromatics, that were consumed in religious worship and the pomp of funerals. The labour and risk of the voyage was rewarded with almost incredible profit; but the profit was made upon Roman subjects, and a few indivi- duals were enriched at the expence of the pub- lic. As the natives of Arabia and India were Gold and contented with the productions and manufac 5llver * tures of their own country, silver, on the side of the Romans, was the principal, if not the only instrument of commerce. It was a complaint worthy of the gravity of the senate, that in the pursuit of female ornaments the wealth of the 1 Plin. Hist Natur. 1. vi. Strabo, 1. xvii. "' Hist. August, p. 224. A silk garment was considered as an orna- ment to a woman, but as a disgrace to a man. ; The two great pearl fisheries were the same as at present. OnnuK and Cape Comorin. As well as we can compare ancient with modem geography, Rome was supplied with diamonds from the mine of Jumel- pur, in Bengal, which is described in the voyages de Tavernier, torn. ii, p. 281. 90 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, state was irrecoverably given away to foreign IL and hostile nations. The annual loss is com- " puted, by a writer of an inquisitive, but censo- rious temper, at upwards of eight hundred thou- (sand pounds sterling. 1 * Such was the style of discontent, brooding over the dark prospect of approaching poverty. And yet if we compare the proportion between gold and silver as it stood in the time of Pliny, and as it was fixed in the reign of Constantine, we shall discover with- in that period a very considerable increased There is not the least reason to suppose that gold was become more scarce; it is therefore evident that silver was grown more common ; that whatever might be the amount of the Indian and Arabian exports, they were far from ex- hausting the wealth of the Roman world; and that the produce of the mines abundantly sup- plied the demands of commerce. Notwithstanding the propensity of mankind to exalt the past, and to depreciate the present, the tranquil and prosperous state of the empire was warmly felt, and honestly confessed, by the General provincials as well as Romans. " They acknow- feiicity. ledged that the true principles of social life, " laws, agriculture, and science, which had been " first invented by the wisdom of Athens, were " now firmly established by the power of Rome, * Tacit. Annal. iii, 52. In a speech of Tiberius. p Plin. Hist. Natur. xii, 18. In another place he computes half that mm ; Qningenties H. S. for India, exclusive of Arabia. q The proportion, which was 1 to 10, and 12}, rose to 14 2-6th, the legal regulation of Constantiue. See Arbutknot's Tables of ancient Coins, c. 6. OF THE ROMAS EMPIRE. 91 " under whose auspicious influence the fiercest CHAP " barbarians were united by an equal govern- * efif ' ff ^, " raent and common language. They affirm, " that, with the improvement of arts, the human " species was visibly multiplied. They cele- " brate the increasing splendour of the cities, " the beautiful face of the country, cultivated " and adorned like an immense garden, and the " long festival of peace, which was enjoyed by " so many nations, forgetful of their ancient " animosities, and delivered from the apprehen- " sion of future danger. " r Whatever suspicions may be suggested by the air of rhetoric and de- clamation, which seems to prevail in these pas- sages, the substance of them is perfectly agree- able to historic truth. It was scarcely possible that the eyes of con- Decline of temporaries should discover in the public fell- courage. city the latent causes of decay and corruption. This long peace, and the uniform government of the Romans, introduced a slow and secret poison into the vitals of the empire. The minds of men were gradually reduced to the same le- yel, the fire of genius was extinguished, and even the military spirit evaporated. The natives of 'Europe were brave and robust. Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Illyricum, supplied the legions with excellent soldiers, and constituted the real strength of the monarchy. Their personal va- lour remained ; but they no longer possessed thai public courage which is nourished by the love of independence, the sense of national ho- * Among many other passages, see Pliny (Hist. Natur. iii,5). Aril- tides (de Urbe Roma), and Tertullian fde Anitti, . 30). THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, nour, the presence of danger, and the habit of *' command. They received laws and governors from the will of their sovereign, and trusted for their defence to a mercenary army. The poste- rity of their boldest leaders was contented with the rank of citizens and subjects. The most aspiring spirits resorted to the court or standard of the emperors ; and the deserted provinces, deprived of political strength or union, insen- sibly sunk into the languid '^difference ofpn- vale life.'" of genius. ^ ne l ve of letters, almost inseparable from peace and refinement, was fashionable among the subjects of Hadrian and the Antonines, who were themselves men of learning and curiosity. It was diffused over the whole extent of their empire ; the most northern tribes of Britons had acquired a taste for rhetoric ; Homer, as well as Virgil, were transcribed and studied on the banks of the Rhine and Danube; and the most liberal rewards sought out the faintest glimmer- ings of literary merit. 3 The sciences of physic and astronomy were successfully cultivated by " Horodes Atticus gave the sophist Polemo above eight thousand pounds for three declamations. See Philostrat, 1. i, p. 558. The An- tonines founded a school at Athens, in which professors of grammar, rhetoric, politics, and the four great sects of philosophy, were main- tained at the public expence, for the instruction of youth. The salary of a philosopher was ten thousand drachmae, between three and four hundred pounds a-year. Similar establishments were formed in the other great cities of the empire. See Lucian iu Eunuch, torn, ii, p. 353. edit. Reitz. Pnilostrat. 1. ii, p. 566. Hist. August, p. 21. Dion Ca- sius, 1. Ixxi, p. 1195. Juvenal himself, in a morose satire, which, in every line, betrays his own disappointment and envy, is obliged, how- ever, to say, - O Juvenes, cireumspicit et agitat vos, Materiamque sibi Ducis indulgentia quaerit. SATIH, vii, 90. OF THE ROMAty EMPIRE, < the Greeks ; the observations of Ptolemy, and CHAP. the writings of Galen, are studied by those who *] have improved their discoveries, and corrected their errors ; but if we except the inimitable Lu- cian, this age of indolence, passed away with- out having produced a single writer of original genius, or who excelled in the arts of elegant composition. The authority of Plato and Ari- stotle, of Zeno and Epicurus, still reigned in the schools; and their systems, transmitted, with blind deference, from one generation of disciples to another, precluded every generous attempt to exercise the powers, or enlarge the limits, of the human mind. The beauties of the poets and orators, instead of kindling a fire like their own, inspired only cold and servile imita- tions ; or, if any ventured to deviate from those models, they deviated, at the same time, from good sense and propriety. On the revival of letters, the youthful vigour of the imagination, after a long repose, national emulation, a new religion, new languages, and a new world, cal- led forth the genius of Europe. But the pro- vincials of Rome, trained by an uniform artifi- cial foreign education, were engaged in a very unequal competition with those bold ancients, who, by expressing their genuine feelings in their native tongue, had already occupied every place of honour. The name of poet was almost forgotten; that of orator was usurped by the sophists. A cloud of critics, of compilers, of commentators, darkened the face of learning; and the decline of genius was soon folio wed by the corruption of taste. 94 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The sublime Longinus, who, in somewhat a j^ later period, and in the court of a Syrian queen, Degene- preserved the spirit of ancient Athens, observes racy> and laments this degeneracy of his contempora- ries, which debased their sentiments, enervated their courage, and depressed their talents. " In " the same manner," says he, " as some children " always remain pigmies, whose infant limbs / " have been too closely confined ; thus our ten- " der minds, fettered by the prejudices and ha- " bits of a just servitude, are unable to expand " themselves, or to attain that well-proportioned " greatness which we admire in the ancients; " who, living under a popular government, wrote " with the same freedom as they acted." 1 This diminutive stature of mankind, if we pursue the metaphor, was daily sinking below the old standard, and the Roman world was indeed peopled by a race of pigmies, when the fierce giants of the north broke in, and mended the puny breed. They restored a manly spirit of freedom ; and after the revolution of ten centu- ries, freedom became the happy parent of taste and science. 1 Longin. de Sublim. c. 43, p. 229, edit Toll. Here, too, we may say of Longinus, " His own example strengthens all his laws." Instead of proposing his sentiments with a manly boldness, he insinuates them with the most guarded caution, puts them into the mouth of a friend, and, as far as we can collect from a corrupted text, makes a shew of refuting them himself OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 96 CHAP. III. Of the constitution of the Roman empire, in the age of the Antonines. THE obvious definition of a monarchy seems CHAP. to be that of a state, in which a single person, ^ by whatsoever name he may be distinguished, Idea of a is entrusted with the execution of the laws, the monarchy, management of the revenue, and the command of the army. But, unless public liberty is pro- tected by intrepid and vigilant guardians, the au- thority of so formidable a magistrate will .soon degenerate into despotism. The influence of the clergy, in an age of superstition, might be usefully employed to assert the rights of mankind ; but so intimate is the connection between the throne and the altar, that the banner of the church has very seldom been seen on the si4e of the people. A martial nobility and stubborn commons, pos- j sessed of arms, tenacious of property, and col- i lected into constitutional assemblies, form the ; only balance capable of preserving a free consti- j tution against enterprizes of an aspiring prince. Every barrier of the Roman constitution had situation been levelled by the vast ambition of the die- J^f " gni " tator ; every fence had been extirpated by the cruel hand of the triumvir. After the victory of Actium, the fate of the Roman world de- pended on the will of Octavianus, surnamed C&sar, by his uncle's adoption, and afterwards W THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Augustus, by the flattery of the senate. Thu \ conqueror was at the head of forty-four veteran legions, * conscious of their own strength, and of the weakness of the constitution, habituated, during twenty years civil war, to every act of blood and violence, arid passionately devoted to the house of Caesar, from whence alone they had received and expected, the most lavish rewards. The provinces, long oppressed by the ministers of the republic, sighed for the government of a single person, who would be the master, not the accomplice, of those petty tyrants. The people of Rome, viewing, with a secret pleasure, the humiliation of the aristocracy, demanded only bread and public shows, and were supplied with n^ both by the liberal hand of Augustus. The rich and polite Italians, who had almost universally embraced the philosophy of Epicurus, enjoyed the present blessings of ease and tranquillity, \ and suffered not the pleasing dream to be inter- rupted by the memory of their old tumultuous freedom. With its power, the senate had lost its dignity; many of the most noble families were extinct. The republicans of spirit and ability had perished in the field of battle, or in the proscrip- tion. The door of the assembly had been design- I edly left open for a mixed multitude of more than I a thousand persons, who reflected disgrace up- \ on their rank, instead of deriving honour from it. k ' Orosins, vi, 18. b Julius Caesar introduced soldiers, strangers, and half barbarians, into the senate (Sueton. in Caesar, c. 77, 80). The abuse became still more scandalous after his death. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 97 The reformation of the senate was one of the first steps in which Augustus laid aside the ty^ rant, and professed himself the father of his country. He was elected censor ; and, in con- th * * enate ' cert with his faithful Agrippa, he examined the list of the senators, expelled a few members, whose vices or whose obstinacy required a pub- lic example, persuaded near two hundred to prevent the shame 1 of an expulsion by a volun- tary retreat, raised- the; qualification of a senator to about ten thousand pounds, created a suffi- cient number of patrician, families, and accepted for himself the honourable title of prince of the senate, which had always been bestowed, by the censors, on the citizen, the most eminent for his honours and services. But whilst he thus restored the dignity, he destroyed the indepen- dence of the senate. The principles of a free con- stitution are irrecoverably lost, when the legis- lative power is nominated by the executive. Before an assembly thus modelled and pre- RegiRnghii pared, Augustus pronounced a studied oration, which displayed his patriotism, and disguised his ambition. " He lamented, yet excused, his past " conduct. Filial piety had required at his " hands the revenge of his father's murder; the " humanity of his own nature had sometimes " given way to the stern laws of necessity, and " to a forced connection with two unworthy col-' " leagues : as long as Antony lived, the republic c Dion Cassins, t. liii, p. 693. Suetonius in August, c. 65, VOL. I. H 98 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. " forbad him to abandon her to a degenerate tf " Roman, and a barbarian queen. He was now " at liberty to satisfy his duty and his incline " tion. He solemnly restored the senate and peo- v< " pie to all their ancient rights ; and wished only " to mingle with the crowd of his fellow citi- " zens, and to share the blessings which he had " obtained for his country.'" 1 is prevail- It would require the pen of Tacitus (if Taci- tas had assisted at this assembly) to describe f em- the various emotions of the senate; those that pcior or were suppressed, and those that were affected. general. Irr . It was dangerous to trust the sincerity of Augus- tu , to seem to distrust it was still more danger- ous. The respective advantages of monarchy and a republic have often divided speculative inquirers ; the present greatness of the Roman state, the corruption of manners, and the licence of the soldiers, supplied new arguments to the advocates of monarchy ; and these general views of government were again warped by the hopes and fears of each individual. Amidst this con- fusion of sentiments, the answer of the senate was unanimous and decisive. They refused to accept the resignation of Augustus ; they conjur- ed him not to desert the republic which he had saved. After a decent resistance, the crafty ty- rant submitted to the orders of the senate, and consented to receive the government of the pro- d Dion (1. liii, p. 698) gives us a prolix and bombast speech on this great occasion. I have borrowed from Suetonius and Tacitus the gene- ral language of Augustus. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 99 rinces, and the general command of the Roman CHAP. armies, under the well-known names of Procon- sul and Imperator* But he would receive them only for ten years. Even before the expiration of that period, he hoped that the wounds of ci- vil discord would be completely healed, and that the republic, restored to its pristine health and vigour, would no longer require the dange- rous interposition of so extraordinary a magi- strate. The memory of this comedy, repeated several times during the life of Augustus, was preserved to the last ages of the empire, by the peculiar pomp with which the perpetual me*- i narchs of Rome always solemnized the tenth years of their reign/ Without any violation of the principles of the Power of constitution, the general of the Roman armies might receive and exercise an authority almost I despotic over the soldiers, the enemies, and the subjects of the republic. \Vith regard to the soldiers, the jealousy of freedom had, even from the earliest ages of Rome, given way to the hopes of conquest, and a just sense of military discipline. The dictator, or consul, had a right to command the service of the Roman youth ; and to punish an obstinate or cowardly disobe- dience by the most severe and ignominious pe- ' Imperator (from which we have derived emperor) signified, under the republic, no more than general, and was emphatically bestowed by the soldiers, when on the field of battle they proclaimed their victori- ous leader worthy of that title. When the Roman emperors assumed it in that sense, they placed it after their name, and marked how often they had taken it. ' Dion, 1. liii, p. 703, p te- . - , . . , nants of first chapter in this work, some notion may be the empe- formed of the armies and provinces thus in- r trusted to the ruling hand of Augustus. But as it was impossible that he could personally command the legions of so many distant fron- tiers, he was indulged by the senate, as Pom- pey had already been, in the permission of de- volving the execution of his great office on a sufficient number of lieutenants. In rank and authority these officers seemed not inferior to the ancient proconsuls ; but their station was dependent and precarious. They received and held their commissions at the will of a supe- 1 By the lavish, but unconstrained, .suffrages of the people, Pompey had obtained a military command scarcely inferior to that of Augus- tus. Among the extraordinary acts of power executed by the former, we may remark the foundation of twenty-nine cities, and the distri- bution of three or four millions sterling to his troops. The ratification of his acts met with some opposition and delays in the senate. See Plutarch, Appian, Dion Cassins, and the first book of the epistles to Atticui. 102 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAI>. nor, to whose auspicious influence the merit of ' their actions was legally attributed. k They were the representatives of the emperor. The emperor alone was the general of the republic, and his jurisdiction, civil as well as military, extended over all the conquests of Rome. It was some satisfaction, however, to the senate, that he always delegated his power to the mem- bers of their body. The imperial lieutenants were of consular or praetorian dignity; the le- gions were commanded by senators; and the prefecture of Egypt was the only important trust committed to a Roman knight. Division Within six days after Augustus had beeri com- be- pelled to accept so very liberal a grant, he re- solved to gratify the pride of the senate by an eas Y sacrifice. He represented to them, that they had enlarged his powers, even beyond that degree which might be required by the melan- choly condition of the times. They had not permitted him to refuse the laborious command of the armies and the frontiers ; but he must in- sist on being alloy ed to restore the more peace- ful and secure provii ces to the mild administra- tion of the civil magistrate. In the division of the provinces, Augustus provided for his own k Under the common wealth, a triumph could only be claimed by the general, who was authorized to take the auspices in the name of the people. By an exact consequence, drawn from this principle of policy and religion, the triumph was reserved to the emperor; and his most successful lieutenants were satisfied with some marks of distinc- tion, which, under the name of triumphal honours, were invented in their favour. Of THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 103 power, and for the dignity of the republic. CHAP. The proconsuls of the senate, particularly those ' ff .. of Asia, Greece, and Africa, enjoyed a more honourable character than the lieutenants of the emperor, who commanded in Gaul or Syria. The former were attended by lictors, the latter by soldiers. A law was passed, that wherever the emperor was present, his extraordinary commission should supersede the ordinary jurisdiction of the governor; a custom was in- troduced, that the new conquests belonged to the imperial portion ; and it was soon discover- ed, that the authority of the prince, the fa- vourite epithet of Augustus, was the same in every part of the empire. In return for this imaginary concession, An- The for- gustus obtained an important privilege, which 2"h"w rendered him master of Rome and Italy. By niilita 'y * * command a dangerous exception to the ancient maxims, ?"d pwb he was authorized to preserve his military com- itself, inand, supported by a numerous body of guards, even in time of peace, and in the heart of the capital. His command, indeed, was confined to those citizens who were engaged in the ser- vice by the military oath ; but such was the propensity of the Romans to servitude, that the oath was voluntarily taken by the magistrates, the senators, and the equestrian order, till the homage of flattery was insensibly converted in- to an annual and solemn protestation of fide iity. Although Augustus considered a military consular force as the firmest foundation, he wisely re- JJ jected it, as a very odious instrument of govern- 104 THE DECLINE AND FALL . CHAP. ment. It was more agreeable to his temper, ..;. as well as to his policy, to reign under the ve- nerable names of ancient magistracy, and art- fully to collect, in his own person, all the scat- tered rays of civil jurisdiction. With this view, he permitted the senate to confer upon him, for his life, the powers of the consular 1 and tribu- nitian offices," 1 which were, in the same man- ner, continued to all his successors. The con- suls had succeeded to the kings of Rome, and represented the dignity of the state. They su- perintended the ceremonies of religion, levied andTcomihanded the legions, gave audience to foreign ambassadors, and presided in the as- s<*mblies both of the senate and people. The general controul of the finances was intrusted to their care ; and though they seldom had lei- sure to administer justice in person, they were considered as the supreme guardians of law, equity, and the public peace. Such was their ordinary jurisdiction; but whenever the senate empowered the first magistrate to consult the safety of the commonwealth, he was raised by that degree above the laws, and exercised, in the defence of liberty, a temporary despotism." 1 Cicero (de Legibns, iii, 3) gives the consular office the name of regia pntenttu; and PoJybins (1. vi, c. 3) observes three powers in the Roman constitution. The monarchial was represented and exercised by the consuls. m As the tribunitian power (distinct from the annual office) was first invented for the dictator Caesar, (Dion. 1. xliv, p, 384), we may easily conceive that it was given as a reward for having so nobly asserted, by arms, the sacred rights of the tribunes and people. See his own com- mentaries, de Bell. Civil. 1. i. " Augustus exercised nine annual consulships without interruption. He then most artfully refused that magistracy, as well as the dictator- OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 105 The character of the tribunes was, in every re- CHAP. spect, different from tn"aToT the consuls. The ^ appearance of the former was modest and hum- ble; but their persons was sacred and inviolable. Their force was suited rather for opposition than for action. They were instituted to defend the oppressed, to pardon offences, to arraign the enemies of the people, and, when they judged it \ necessary, to stop, by a single word, the whole machine of government. As long as the repub- lic subsisted, the dangerous influence, which ei- ther the consul or the tribune might derive from their respective jurisdiction, was diminished by several important restrictions. Their authority expired with the year in which they were elect- ed ; the former office was divided between two, the latter among ten persons ; and, as both in their private and public interest they were a- i verse to each other, their mutual conflicts con- tributed, for the most part, to strengthen rather than to destroy the balance of the constitution. ' But when the consular and tribunitian powers were united, when they were vested for life in a single person, when the general of the army was at the same time, the minister of the senate and the representation of the Roman people, it was impossible to resist the exercise, nor was it easy to define the limits, of his imperial prerogative. | hip, absented himself from Rome, and waited till the fatal effects of tumult and faction forced the senate to invest him with a perpetual consulship. Augustas, as well a* his successors, affected, however, to conceal so invidious a tale. - '-,-, I 106 THE DECLINE AND FALL GHAP. To these accumulated honours, the policy of ' fw Augustus soon added the splendid as well as im- imperiai portant dignities of supreme pontiff, and of cen- Sves? 8 * sor. By the former^he acquired the manage- ment of the religion, and by the latter a legal Inspection over the manners and fortunes of the Roman people, [f so many distinct and inde- pendent powers did not exactly unite with each other, the complaisance of the senate was pre- pare4 to supply every deficiency, by the most ample and extraordinary concessions. The emperors, as the first ministers of the republic, were exempted from the obligation and penalty of many inconvenient laws ; they were autho- rized to convoke the senate, to make several motions, in the same day, to recommend candi- dates for the honours of the state, to enlarge the bounds of the city, to employ the revenue at their discretion, to declare peace ami war, to ratify treaties; and by a most comprehensive clause, they were empowered to execute what- soever they should judge advantageous to the em- pire, and agreeable to the majesty of things, pri- vate, or public, human or divine. The ma- When all the various powers of executive go- gutrates. . ** vernment were committed to the imperial magis- trate, the ordinary magistrates of the common- wealth languished in obscurity, without vigour, and almost without business. The names and s See 4 fragment of a decree of the senate, conferring on the emperor Vespasian all the powers grantee} to his predecessors, Augustus, Tibe- rius, and Claudius. This curious and important monument is publish- ed in Gruter's Inscriptions, No. ccxlii. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 107 forms of the ancient administration were prefer- CHAP. f . in. vetlTDy Augustus, with the most anxious care. , The usual number of consuls, praetors, and tri- bunes, p were annually invested with their 're- spective ensigns of office, and continued to dis- charge some of their least important functions. Those honours still attracted the vain ambition of the Romans ; and the emperors themselves, though invested for life with the powers of the consulship, frequently aspired to the title of that annual dignity, which they condescended to share with the most illustrious of their fellow- citizens. q In the election of these magistrates, the people, during the reign of Augustus, were permitted to expose all the inconveniencies of a wild democracy. That artful prince, instead of discovering the least symptom of impatience, humbly solicited their suffrages for himself or his friends, and scrupulously practised all the duties r Two consuls were created on the calends of January ; hot, in the conne of the year, others were substituted iu their places, till the annual number seems to have amounted to no less than twelve. The praetors were usually sixteen or eighteen (Lipsius in Excurs. D. ad Tacit. Annal. 1. i). I Lave not mentioned the aediles or quaes- tors. Officers of the police or revenue easily adapt themselves to any form of government In the time of Nero, the tribunes legally possessed the right of intercession, though it might be dangerous to exercise it (Tacit. Aanal. xvi, 26). In the time of Trajan, it was doubtful whether the tribuneship was an office or a name (Plin. Epist. i,23). * The tyrants themselves were ambitious of the consulship. The virtuous princes were moderate in the pursuit, and exact in the dis- charge of it. Trajan revived the ancient oath, and swore before the consul's tribunal, that he would observe the laws (Plin. Panegyric. 108 THE DECLINE AND ?ALL CHAP, of an ordinary candidate/ But we maj ven- ture to ascribe to his councils, the first measure of the succeeding reign, by which the elections were transferred to the senate. 3 The assemblies of the people were for ever abolished, and the emperors were delivered from a dangerous mul- titude, who, without restoring liberty, might have disturbed, and perhaps endangered, the established government. te By declaring themselves the protectors of the I people, Marius and Caesar had subverted the \ constitution of their country. But as soon as the senate had been humbled and disarmed, such an assembly, consisting of five or six hundred persons, was found a much more tractable and useful instrument of dominion. It was on the dignity of the senate, that Augustus and his stfcCessors founded their new empire ; and they affected, on every occasion, to adopt the lan- guage anu principles of patricians. In the ad- ministration of their own powers, they frequent- ly consii-tea the great national council, and seemed to refer to its decision the most import ant concerns of peace and war. Rome, Italy, and the internal provinces, were subject to the immediate jurisdiction of the senate. With re- ' Quoties Magistratiuim Comitiis interesset. Tribus cum candu datis suis circuibat: snpplicabatque more solemn!. Ferebat ct ipse siiffiagium in tiibubus, ut unus e popula. Suetonius in August, c. 66. * Turn primum Comitia e campo ad patres translata snnt. Tacit. Atinal. i, 15. The word primum seems to allude to some faint and unsuccessful efforts, which were made towards restoring them to the people. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 109 gard to civil objects, it was the supreme court CHAP. of appeal ; with regard to criminal matters, a ' tribunal, constituted for the trial of all offences that were committed by men in any public sta- tion, or that affected the peace and majesty of the Roman people. The exercise of the judi- cial power became the most frequent and seri- ous occupation of the senate ; and the import- ant causes that were pleaded before them, af- forded a last refuge to the spirit of ancient elo- quence. As a council of state, and as a court of justice, the senate possessed very consider- able prerogatives; but in its legislative capa- city, in which it was supposed virtually to re- present the people, the rights of sovereignty were acknowledged to reside in that assembly. Every power was derived from their authority, ev^ry law was ratified by their sanction. Their regular meetings were held on three stated days in every month, the calends, the nones, and the ides. The debates were conducted with decent freedom; and the emperors themselves, who gloried in the name of senators, sat, voted, and divided with their equals. To resume, in a few words, the system of the Gencra , imperial government, as it was instituted by ideaoftl . , , . , J imperial Augustus, and maintained by those princes who system, understood their own interest and that of the people, it may be defined an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms ot a commonwealth. The masters of the Roman world surrounded their throne with darkness, concealed their irre- sistible strength, and humbly professed them- HO THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP.' selves the accountable ministers of the senate, w ^ whose supreme decrees they dictated and obeyed.* court of The face of the court corresponded with the the^empe- f ormg o f tne administration. The emperors, if we except those tyrants whose capricious folly violated every law of nature and decency, dis- dained that pomp and ceremony which might offend their countrymen, but could add nothing t6 their real power. In all the offices of life, they affected to confound themselves with their subjects, and maintained with them an equal intercourse of visits and entertainments. Their habit, their palace, their table, were suited only to the rank of an opulent senator. Their family, however numerous or splendid, was composed entirely of their domestic slaves and freedmen. u Augustus or Trajan would have blushed at em- ploying the meanes* of the Romans in those me- nial offices, ~ T hic:2, in the household and bed- chamber of a limited monarch, are so eagerly solicited by the proudest nobles of Britain. * Dion Cassias 1. liii, p. 703-714) has given a very loose and partial ketch of the imperial system. To illustrate, and often to correct, him, I have meditated Tacitus, examined Suetonius, and consulted the fol- lowing moderns : The Abbe" de la Bletcric, in the Memoires de PAca- demie des Inscriptions, torn, xix, xxi, xxiv xxv, xxvii. Beaufort, Republique Romaine, torn, i, p. 255-275. The Dissertations of Noodt and Gronovius, de lege Regia, printed at Leyden, in the year 1731. Gravina de Imperio Romano, p. 479-544 of his Opuscula. Maffei Ve- rona Illustrata, p. i, p. 245, &c. n A weak prince will always be governed by his domestics. The power of slaves aggravated the shame of the Romans ; and the senate paid court to a Pallas or a Narcisius. There is a chance that a rtiodeni favourite may be a- gentleman. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. The deification of the emperors* is the only CHAP. irisf ance ift which they departed from their ac- LJ5i, customed prudence and modesty. The Asiatic Greeks were the first inventors, the successors of tion Alexander the first objects, of this servile and impious mode of adulation. It was easily trans- ferred from the kings to the governors of Asia; and the Roman magistrates very frequently were adored as provincial deities, with the poirip of altars and temples, of festivals and sacrifices/ It was natural that the emperors should hot Re- fuse what the proconsuls had accepted ; and the divine honours which both the one and the other received from the provinces, attested rather the despotism than the servitude of Rome. But the conquerors soon imitated the vanquished nations in the arts of flattery ; and the imperious spirit of the first Caesar too easily consented to assume, during his lifetime, a place among the tutelar deities of Rome. The milder temper of his sue'-' cessor declined so dangerous an ambition, which was never afterwards revived, except by the madness of Caligula and Domitian. Augustus permitted indeed some of the provincial cities to erect temples to his honour, on condition that they should associate the worship of Rome with that of the sovereign; he tolerated private super- see a treatise of Vandale de Consccratione Principum. It wonld be easier for me to copy, than it has been to verify, the quotations of that learned Dutchman. y See a dissertation of the Abb6 Mongault, in the first volume of the Academy of Inscriptions 112 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, stition, of which he might be the object;* but [IL he contented himself with being revered by the senate and people in his human character, and wisely left to his successor, the care of his pub- lic deification. A regular custom was introdu- ced, that on the decease of every emperor who had neither lived nor died like a tyrant, the se- nate by a solemn decree should place him in the number of the gods ; and the ceremonies of his apotheosis were blendid with those of his fune- ral. This legal, and, as it should seem r inju- dicious profanation, so abhorrent to our stricter principles, was received with a very faint mur- mur,* by the easy nature of polytheism ; but it was received as an institution, not of religion but of policy. We should disgrace the virtues of the Antonines, by comparing them with the vices of Hercules or Jupiter. Even the charac- ters of Caesar or Augustus were far superior to those of the popular deities. But it was the misfortune of the former to live in an enlighten- ed age, and their actions were too faithfully re- corded to admit of such a mixture of fable and mystery, as the devotion of the vulgar requires, As soon as their divinity was established by law, it sunk into oblivion, without contributing either to their own fame, or to the dignity of succeeding princes. 1 Jurandasque tuum per nomen poninius aras, says Horace to the emperor himself; and Horace was well acquainted with the court of Augustus. See 'Cicero in Philippic, i, 6. Julian in Caesaribus. In quo Deura templis jurabit Roma per umbras, is the indignant expression of Lucan ; but it is a patriotic, rather than a detent indignation. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1 1 3 In the consideration of the imperial govern- C **AP. ment, we have frequently mentioned the artful ' founder, under his well-known title of Augustus, Titles of which was not, however, conferred upon him till the edifice was almost completed. The obscure name of Octavianus he derived from a mean fa- mily in the little town of Aricia. It was stained with the blood of the proscription ; and he was desirous, had it been possible, to erase all me- mory of his former life. The illustrious sur- name of Caesar, he had assumed, as the adopted son of the dictator ; but he had too much good sense, either to hope to be confounded, or to wish to be compared, with that extraordinary man. It was proposed in the senate, to dignify their ministers with a new appellation ; and after a very serious discussion, that of Augustus was chosen, among several others, as being the most expressive of the character of peace and sancti- ty, which he uniformly affected. b Augustus, was therefore a personal, Ccesar a family distinction, The former should naturally have expired with the prince on whom it was bestowed ; and how- ever the latter was diffused by adoption and fer male alliance, Nero was the last prince who could alledge any hereditary claim to the honours of the Julian line. But, at the time of his death, the practice of a century had inseparably connected those appellations with the imperial dignity, and they have been preserved by along succession of b Dion Cassius, 1. liii, p. 710, with the curious annotations of Reymar. VOL. I. I 114 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, emperors, Romans, Greeks, Franks, and Ger- r~~L,~ mans, from the fall of the republic to the present time. A distinction was, however, soon intro- duced. The sacred title of Augustus was al- ways reserved for the monarch, whilst the name of Caesar was more freely communicated to his relations; and, from the reign of Hadrian at least, was appropriated to the second person in the state, who was considered as the presump- tive heir of the empire. character The tender respect of Augustus for a free con- ofASus C - y stitution which he had destroyed, can only be " 1 explained by an attentive consideration of the character of that subtle tyrant. A cool head, an ' unfeeling heart, and a cowardly disposition, prompted him, at the age of nineteen, to assume the mask of hypocrisy, which he never afterwards laid aside. With the same hand, and probably with the same temper, he signed the proscription , of Cicero, and the pardon of Cinna. His vir- tues, and even his vices, were artificial; and according to the various dictates of his interest, he was at first the enemy, and at last the father, of the Roman world. When he framed the artful system of the imperial authority, his mode- ration was inspired by his fears. He wished to c As Octavianus advanced to the banquet of the Caesars, his colour changed like that of the camelion ; pale at first, then red, afterwards black ; he at last assumed the mild livery of Venus and the graces (Caesars, p. 301/). This image, employed by Julian, in his ingenious fiction, is just and elegant; but when he considers this change of cha- racter as real, and ascribes it to the power of philosophy, he does too much honour to philosophy, and to Octavianui. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 1 1 5 deceive the people by an image of civil liberty, CHAP. and the armies by an image of civil govern- ment. i. The death of Caesar was ever before his image of eyes. He had lavished wealth and honours on hfs adherents; but the most favoured friends of his uncle were in the number of the conspirators. The fidelity of the legions might defend his au- thority against open rebellion; but their vigi- lance could not secure his person from the dag- ger of a determined republican ; and the Romans, who revered the memory of Brutus, d would ap- plaud the imitation of his virtue. Caesar had provoked his fate, as much by the ostentation of his power, as by his power itself. The consul or the tribune might have reigned in peace. The title of king had armed the Romans against hfs life. Augustus was sensible that mankind is governed by names ; nor was he deceived in his expectation, that the senate and people would submit to slavery, provided they were respect- fully assured that they still enjoyed their an- cient freedom. A feeble senate and enervated people cheerfully acquiesced in the pleasing il- lusion, as long as it was supported by the vir- tue, or even by the prudence, of the successors of Augustus. It was a motive of self-preserva- tion, not a principle of liberty, that animated the conspirators against Caligula, Nero, and Domitian. They attacked the person of the d Two centuries after the establishment of monarchy, the emperor Marcus Antoninus recommends the character of Brutus as a perfect model of Roman virtue. I 2 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. } tyrant, without aiming their blow at the autho- ) f rity of the emperor. Attempt of There appears, indeed, one memorable occa- s i n m which the senate, after seventy years of P a ti ence m ade an ineffectual attempt to reas- sume its long-forgotten rights. When the throne was vacant by the murder of Caligula, the con- suls convoked that assembly in the capitol, con- demned the memory of the Caesars, gave the watch-word liberty to the few cohorts who faint- ly adhered to their standard, and during eight- and-forty hours, acted as the independent chiefs of a free commonwealth. But while they deli- berated, the praetorian guards had resolved. The stupid Claudius, brother of Germanicus, was already in their camp, invested with th" imperial purple, and prepared" to support his election by arms. The dream of liberty was at an end; and the senate awoke to all the horrors of inevitable servitude. Deserted by the peo pie, and threatened by a military force, that feeble assembly was compelled to ratify the choice of the praetorians, and to embrace the be- nefit of an amnesty, which Claudius had the pru- dence to offer, and the generosity to observe.* image of H. The insolence of the armies inspired Au- ment for gustus with fears of a still more alarming nature. 81 The despair of the citizens could only attempt, what the power of the soldiers was, at any time ' It is much to be regretted, that we have lost the part of Tacitus which treated of that transaction. We are forced to content ourselves with the popular rumours of Josephus, and the imperfect hints of Dion and Suetonius OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 117 able to execute, How precarious was his own CHAP. authority over men whom he had taught to vio- , ^ late every social duty! He had heard their se- ditious clamours; he dreaded their calmer mo- ments of reflection. One revolution had been purchased by immense rewards ; but a second revolution might double those rewards. The troops professed the fondest attachment to the house of Caesar ; but the attachments of the multitude are capricious and inconstant. Au- gustus summoned to his aid whatever remained in those fierce minds of Roman prejudices; en- forced the rigour of discipline by the sanction of the law; and, interposing the majesty of the senate between the emperor and the arms, bold- ly claimed their allegiance, as the first magis- trate of the republic/ During a long period of two hundred and Theirobe twenty years, from the establishment of this art- ful system to the death of Commodus, the dan- gers inherent to a military government were, in a great measure, suspended. The soldiers were seldom roused to that fatal sense of their own strength, and of the weakness of the civil autho- rity, which was, before and afterwards, produc- tive of such dreadful calamities. Caligula and Domitian were assassinated in their palace by their own domestics : the convulsions which agi- tated Rome on the death of the former, were confined to the walls of the city. But Nero in- f Augustas restored the ancient severity of discipline. After the civil wars, he dropped the endearing name of fellow-soldiers, and cal- led them only soldiers (Snetoa. in August, c, 25). See the use Tibe- rius made of the senate, in the mutiny of the Pannonian legions (Tacit. Annal. i). 118 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, volved the whole empire in his ruin. In the f ^ fff , space of eighteen months, four princes perished by the sword ; and the Roman world was sha- ken by the fury of the contending armies. Ex- cepting only this short, though violent, eruption of military licence, the two centuries from Au- gustus to Commodus passed away unstained with civil blood, and undisturbed by revolu- tions. The emperor was elected by the autho- rity of the senate, and the consent of the soldiers. * The legions respected their oath of fidelity; and it requires a minute inspection of the Roman annals, to discover three inconsiderable rebel- lions, which were all suppressed in a few months, and without even the hazard of a battle. h In the elective monarchies, the vacancy of the throne is a moment big with danger and mischief. The Roman emperors, desirous to spare the legions that interval of suspense, and the temptation of an irregular choice, invested their designed successor with so large a share of present power, as should enable him, after their decease, to assume the remainder, without suffering the empire to perceive the change of masters. Thus Augustus, after all his fairer E These words seem to have been the constitutional language. See Tacit. Annal. xiii, 4. h The first was Camillus Scribonianus, who took up arms in Dalmatia against Claudius, and was deserted by his own troops in five days. The second, L. Antonius, in Germany, who rebelled against Domitian ; and the third, Avidius Cassius, in the reign of M. Antoninus. The two last reigned but a few months, and were cut off by their own adherents. We may observe, that both Camil- lus and Cassius coloured their ambition with the design of restoring the republic ; a task, said Cassius, peculiarly reserved for kit name and family. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1 I 9 prospects had been snatched from him by un- CHAP. timely deaths, rested his last hopes on Tiberius, ,'.,, obtained for his adopted son the censorial and ornbe- tribunitian powers, and dictated a law, by which rius- the future prince was invested with an autho- rity equal to his own, over the provinces and the armies.' Thus Vespasian subdued the ge- of Titus, nerous mind of his eldest son. Titus was adorn- ed by the eastern legions, which, under his com- mand, had recently achieved the conquest of Judea. His power was dreaded, and, as his vir- tues were clouded by the intemperance of youth, his designs were suspected. Instead of listen- ing to such unworthy suspicions, the prudent monarch associated Titus to the full powers of the imperial dignity ; and the grateful son ever approved himself the humble and faithful minis- ter, of so indulgent a father. k The good sense of Vespasian engaged him in- The rac deed to embrace every measure that might con- firm his recent and precarious elevation. The military oath, and the fidelity of the troops, had been consecrated, by the habits of an hundred years, to the name and family of the Caesars ; and although that family had been continued only by the fictitious rite of adoption, the Ro- mans still revered, in the person of Nero, the grandson of Germanicus, and the lineal succes- sor of Augustus. It was not without reluctance and remorse, that the praetorian guards had 1 Vmlleius Patcrculus, I. ii, c. 121. Sueton. in Tiber, c. 20. k Sueton. in Tit. c. . Pliu. in Prxfat Hist. Natur. . : - 't- !<;.. i.-'f^Y- 120 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAi- been persuaded to abandon the cause of the ty- ' rant. 1 The rapid downfal of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, taught the armies to consider the em- perors as the creatures of their will, and the instruments of their licence. The birth of Ves- pasian was mean ; his grandfather had been a private soldier, his father a petty officer of the revenue; 10 his own merit had raised him, in an advanced age, to the empire ; but his merit was rather useful than shining, and his virtues were disgraced by a strict and even sordid parsi- mony. Such a prince consulted his true inte- rest by the association of a son, whose more splendid and amiable character might turn the public attention, from the obscure origin, to the future glories, of the Flavian house. Under the mild administration of Titus, the Roman world enjoyed a transient felicity, and his be- loved memory served to protect, above fifteen years, the vices of his brother Domitian. Ado'uon Nerva had scarcely accepted the purple from and cha- the assassins of Domitian, before he discover- Traja'n. ed that his feeble age was unable to stem the torrent of public disorders, which had multi- plied under the long tyranny of his predecessor. His mild disposition was respected by the good; but the degenerate Romans required a more vigorous character, whose justice should strike terror into the guilty. Though he had several 1 This idea is frequently and strongly inculcated by Tacitus. See Hist, i, 5, 16, ii, 76. m The emperor Vespasian, with his usual good sense, laughed at the genealogists, who deduced his family from Flavins, the founder of Reate (his native country), and one of the companions of Hercules. Suet, io Vespasian, c. 12. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 121 relations, he fixed his choice on a stranger. He CHAP. adopted Trajan, then about forty years of age, ' and who commanded a powerful army in the lower Germany ; and immediately, by a decree of the senate, declared him his colleague and successor in the empire. It is sincerely to be lamented, that whilst we are fatigued with the A - D - 98 - disgustful relation of Nero's crimes and follies, we are reduced to collect the actions of Trajan from the glimmerings of an abridgement, or the doubtful light of a panegyric. There remains, however, one panegyric far removed beyond the suspicion of flattery. Above two hundred and fifty years after the death of Trajan, the senate, in pouring out the customary acclamations on the accession of a new emperor, wished that he might surpass the felicity of Augustus, and the virtue of Trajan. We may readily believe, that the father of his * nr. Of Ha country hesitated whether he ought to entrust drian. the various and doubtful character of his kins- man Hadrian with sovereign power. In his last moments, the arts of the empress Plotina either fixed the irresolution of Trajan, or boldly sup- posed a fictitious adoption; 11 the truth of which could not be safely disputed, and Hadrian was * Dion, L Ixviii, p. 1121. Plin. Secund. in Panegyric. Felicior. Augusto. MKLIOK TRAJANO. Eutrop. viii, 5. * Dion (1. Ixix, p. 1249) affirms the whole to have been a fiction, on the authority of his father, who being governor of the province where Trajan died, had very good opportunities of sifting this mysterious transaction. Yet Dodwell (Prelect. Camden, xvii) has maintained that Hadrian was called to the certain hope of the empire during the lifetime of Trajan. 122 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, peaceably acknowledged as his lawful succes- IIL sor. Under his reiern, as has been already men- ******' * tioned, the empire flourished in peace and pros- perity. He encouraged the arts, reformed the laws, asserted military discipline, and visited all his provinces in person. His vast and active genius was equally suited to the most enlarged views, and the minute details of civil policy. I But the ruling passions of his soul were curio- sity and vanity. As they prevailed, and as they were attracted by different objects, Had- rian was, by turns, an excellent prince, a ridi- culous sophist, and a zealous tyrant. The general tenor of his conduct deserved praise for its equity and moderation. Yet in the first days of his reign, he put to death four consular senators, his personal enemies, and men who had been judged worthy of empire; and the tediousness of a painful illness rendered him, at last, peevish and cruel. The senate doubted whether they should pronounce him a god or a tyrant; and the honours decreed to his me- mory were granted to the prayers of the pious Antoninus/ 1 Adoption The caprice of Hadrian influenced his choice demand 1 " ^ a successor. After revolving in his mind se- younger veral men of distinguished merit, whom he esteemed and hated, he adopted ^Elius Verus, a gay and voluptuous nobleman, recommended by uncommon beauty to the lover of Antinous.' > Dion (Ixx, p. 1171). Aurel. Victor. f The deification of Antinous, his medals, statues, temples, city, ora- cles, and constellation, are well known, and still dishonour the memory f Hadrian. Yet we may remark, that of the first fifteen emperor*, Claadiu OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 123 But while Hadrian was delighting himself with c *JA p . his own applause, and the acclamations of the . soldiers, whose consent had been secured by an immense donative, the new Caesar ' was ravished from his embraces by an untimely death. He left only one son. Hadrian commended the boy to the gratitude of the Antonines. He was adopted by Pius ; and, on the accession of Mar- cus, was invested with an equal share of sove- reign power. Among the many vices of this younger Verus, he possessed one virtue; a duti- ful reverence for his wiser colleague, to whom he willingly abandoned the ruder cares of em- pire. The philosophic emperor dissembled his follies, lamented his early death, and cast a de- cent veil over his memory. As soon as Hadrian's passion was either gra- Adoption tified or disappointed, he resolved to deserve the Antonine*, thanks of posterity, by placing the most exalted merit on the Roman throne. His discerning eye easily discovered a senator about fifty years of age, blameless in all the offices of life ; and a youth of about seventeen, whose riper years opened a fair prospect of every virtue ; the elder of these was declared the son and successor of Hadrian, on condition, however, that he himself should immediately adopt the younger. The two Antonines (for it is of them that we are now speaking) governed the Roman world forty-two A. D. iss- 180. Claudius was the only one whose taste in love was entirely correct* For the honours of Antinous, see Spanheim Commentaire sur les Cm- an de Julien, p. 80. ' Hist. August, p. 13 Aurelius Victor in Epitotn. 124 THE DECLINE AND FALL OHAP. years, with the same invariable spirit of wisdom ^ _ and virtue. Although Pius had two sons, 1 he preferred the welfare of Rome to the interest oi his family, gave his daughter Faustina in mar- riage to young Marcus, obtained from the se- nate the tribunitian and proconsular powers, and with a noble disdain, or rather ignorance of jea- lousy, associated him to all the labours of go- vernment. Marcus, on the other hand, revered the character of his benefactor, loved him as a parent, obeyed him as his sovereign," and, after ne was no more, regulated his own administra- tion by the example and maxims of his prede- cessor. Their united reigns are possibly the only period of history in which the happiness of a great people was the sole object of govern- ment. character Titus Antoninus Pius has been justly denomi- of Pius? nafed a second Numa. The same love of reli- gion, justice, and peace, was the distinguishing characteristic of both princes. But the situation of the latter opened a much larger field for the exercise of those virtues. Numa could only prevent a few neighbouring villages from plun- dering each other's harvests. Antoninus diffused order and tranquillity over the greatest part of tne earth. His reign is marked by the rare ad- vantage of furntshiiig very few materials for his- tory ; which is, indeed, little more than the * Without the help of medals and inscriptions, we should be ignorant of this fact, so honourable to the memory of Pius. n During the twenty- three years of Pius's reign, Marcus was only two nights absent from the palace, and even those were at different times. Hist. August, p. 25, OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 125 register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes CHAP. of mankind. In private life, he was an ami-, J able, as well as a good man. The native sim- plicity of his virtue was a stranger to vanity or affectation. He enjoyed, with moderation, the conveniencies of his fortune, and the innocent pleasures of society; 1 and the benevolence of his soul displayed itself in a cheerful serenity of temper. The virtue of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was of a severe and more laborious kind. 7 It was the well-earned harvest of many a learned con- ference, of many a patient lecture, and many a midnight lucubration. At the age of twelve years, he embraced the rigid system of the stoics, which taught him to submit his body to his mind, his passions to his reason; to consider virtue as the only good, vice as the only evil, all things external, as things indifferent.* His * He was fond of the theatre, and not insensible to the charms of the fair sex. Marcos Antoninus, i, 16. Hist August, p. 20, 21. Julian in Caesar. r The enemies of Marcus charged him with hypocrisy, and with a want of that simplicity which distinguished Pius, and even Verus (Hist. August. 6-34). This suspicion, unjust as it was, may serve to account for the superior applause bestowed upon personal qualifications, in preference to the social virtues. Even Marcus Antoninus has been called a hypocrite, but the wildest scepticism, never insinuated that C* jar might possibly be a coward, or TulJy a fool. Wit and valour are qualifications more easily ascertained than humanity or the love of justice. 1 Tacitus has characterized in a few words, the principles of the portico : Doctores sapientiae secutus est, qui sola bona qua honesta, mala tantum quae turpia ; potentiam, nobilitatem, catteraque extra ani- niurn, neqne bonis neque malis aduumerant. Tacit. Hist, iv, 5. 12 THE DECLINE AND FA* Ji CHAP, meditations, composed in the tumult of a camp, \ are still extant ; and he even condescended to give lessons of philosophy, in a more public manner than was perhaps consistent with the modesty of a sage, or the dignity of an empe- ror.* But his life was the noblest commentary on the precepts of Zeno. He was severe to him- self, indulgent to the imperfection of others, just and beneficent to all mankind. He regret- ted that Avidius Cassius, who excited a rebellion in Syria, had disappointed him, by a voluntary death, of the pleasure of converting an enemy in- to a friend ; and he justified the sincerity of that sentiment, by moderating the zeal of the senate against the adherents of the traitor.* War he detested, as the disgrace and calamity of human nature ; but when the necessity of a just defence called upon him to take up arms, he readily ex- posed his person to eight winter campaigns on the frozen banks of the Danube, the severity of which was at last fatal to the weakness of his constitution. His memory was revered by a grateful posterity; and above a century after his death, many persons preserved the image of Marcus Antoninus among those of their house- hold gods.' Happiness!- If a man were called to fix the period in the an? R ^ history of the world during which the condition |of the human race was most happy and prosper- * Before he went on the second expedition against the Germans, he read lectures of philosophy to the Roman people during three days. He had already done the same in the cities of Greece and Asia. Hist August, in Cassio. c. 3. * Dion. 1, Ixxi, p. 1190. Hist. August, in Avid. Cassio. e Hist August, in Marc. Antcuin. c. 18. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 127 ous, he would without hesitation, name that CHAP. which elapsed from the death of Domitian to *+ the accession ofCommodus. 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 involun- tary respect. The forms of the civil admini- stration were carefully preserved by Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, who de- lighted in the image of liberty, and were pleased with considering themselves as the accountable ministers of the laws. Such princes deserved the honour of restoring the republic, had the Romans of their days been capable of enjoying a rational freedom. The labours of these monarchs were overpaid iti pr by the immense reward that inseparably waited on their success ; by the honest pride of virtue, and by the exquisite delight of beholding the ge- neral happiness of which they were the authors. A just, but melancholy reflection embittered, however, the noblest of human enjoyments. They must often have recollected the instability of a happiness which depended on the character of a single man. The fatal moment was perhaps approaching, when some licentious youth, or some jealous tyrant, would abuse, to the de- struction, that absolute power, which they had exerted for the benefit of their people. The ideal restraints of the senate and the laws might serve to display the virtues, but could never 128 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, correct the vices, of the emperor. The military ^JL,i force was a blind and irresistible instrument of oppression ; and the corruption of Roman man ners would always supply flatterers eager to applaud, and ministers prepared to serve, the fear or the avarice, the lust or the cruelty, of their masters. Memory of These gloomy apprehensions had been al- CaUguia,' ready justified by the experience of the Ro- Domit? a D n d mans - r ^^ ie anna l s of the emperors exhibit a strong and various picture of human nature, which we should vainly seek among the mixed and doubtful characters of modern history. In the conduct of those monarchs we may trace the utmost lines of vice and virtue; the most exalted perfection, and the meanest degeneracy of our own species. The golden age of Trajan and the Antonines had been preceded by an age of iron. It is almost supefluous to enume- rate the unworthy successors of Augustus. Their unparalleled vices, and the splendid theatre on which they were acted, have saved them from oblivion. The dark unrelenting Ti- berius, the furious Caligula, the feeble Clau- dius, the profligate and cruel Nero, the beastly Vitellius, d and the timid inhuman Domitian, d Vitellius consumed in mere eating, at least six millions of our money in about seven months. It is not easy to express his vices with dignity, or even decency. Tacitus fairly calls him a hog, but it is by substituting to a coarse word a very fine image. " At Vitellins, urn- " braculis hortornm abditus, ut ignava. animalia, quibus si cibnm sug- " geras jacent torpentqne, praeterita, instantia, futura, pari oblivione " dimiserat. Atqne ilium nemore Arcino desidem et marcentem," &c. Tacit. Hist, iii, 36, ii, 95. Suetou. in Vitell. c. 13. Dion Cassius. U Ixv, p 1062. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, are condemned to everlasting infamy. During CHAP. fourscore years (excepting only the short and ' doubtful respite of Vespasian's reign") Rome groaned beneath an unremitting tyranny, which exterminated the ancient families of the repub- lic, and was fatal to almost every virtue, and every talent, that arose in that unhappy period. Under the reign of these monsters, the slavery peculiar of the Romans was accompanied with two pecu- fj' e 8e ^. of liar cirumstances, the one occasioned by their ans ."?* der tbeir former liberty, the other by their extensive con- tyrants. quests, which rendered their condition more completely wretched than that of the victims of tyranny in any other age or country. From these causes were derived, 1. The exquisite jensibility of the sufferers ; and, 2. The impos- sibility of escaping from the hand of the op- pressor. i. When Persia was governed by the descend- insensibi. ants of Sefi, a race of princes, whose wanton orientals*, cruelty often stained their divan, their table, and their bed, with the blood of their favourites, there is a saying recorded of a young nobleman, that he never departed from the sultan's pre- sence, witKoiit satisfying- himself whether his head was still on his shoulders. The experience of every rJay might almost justify the scepticism of Rustan/ Yet the fatal sword, suspended above him by a single thread, seems not to have c The execution of Helvidius Priscus, and of the virtuous Eponina, disgraced the reign of Vespasian. f Voyage de Chardin en Perse, vol. iii, p. 29$. VOL. I. K !30 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, disturbed the slumbers, or interrupted the tran- [II> nuillity, of the Persian. The monarch's frown, rtf*r*ffrr T. * ' he well knew, could level him with the dust; but the stroke of lightning or apoplexy might be 1 equally fatal ; and it was the part of a wise man, \ to forget the inevitable calamities of human life * in the enjoyment of the fleeting hour. He was dignified with the appellation of the king's slave; had, perhaps, been purchased from obscure pa- rents, in a country which he had never known ; and was trained up from his infancy in the se- vere discipline of the seraglio. 8 His name, his wealth, his honours, were the gift of a master, who might, without injustice, resume what he had bestowed. Rustan's knowledge, if he pos- sessed any, could only serve to confirm his ha- bits by prejudices. His language afforded not words for any form of government, except ab- solute monarchy. The history of the East in- formed him, that such had ever been the con- dition of mankind. h The Koran, and the inter- preters of that divine book, inculcated to him, that the sultan was the descendant of the pro- phet, and the vicegerent of heaven ; that pati- ence was the first virtue of a mussulman, and unlimited obedience the great duty of a sub- ject. 1 The practice of raising slaves to the great offices of state is still more common among the Turks than among the Persians. The miser- able countries of Georgia and Circassia supply rulers to the greatest part of the east. b Chadrian says, tliat European travellers have diffused among the Persians some ideas of the freedom and mildness of our governments. They have done them a verv ill office. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 131 The minds of the Romans were very differ- CHAP. ently prepared for slavery. Oppressed beneath ' the weight of their own corruption and of mill- Know- tary violence, they for a long while preserved the JjJ * p 'J?{ sentiments, or at least the ideas, of their free- oftheR - born ancestors. The education of Helvidius and Thrasea, of Tacitus and Pliny, was the same as that of Cato and Cicero. From Grecian phi- losophy, they had imbibed the justest and most liberal notions of the dignity of human nature, and the origin of civil society. The history of their own country had taught them to revere a free, a virtuous, and a victorious commonwealth ; to abhor the successful crimes of Caesar and Au- gustus; and inwardly to despise those tyrants whom they adored with the most abject flattery. As magistrates and senators, they were admitted into the great council, which had once dictated laws to the earth, whose name still gave a sanc- tion to the acts of the monarch, and whose autho- rity was so often prostituted to the vilest pur- poses of tyranny. Tiberius, and those emperors who adopted his maxims, attempted to disguise their murders by the formalities of justice, and perhaps enjoyed a secret pleasure in rendering the senate their accomplice as well as their vic- tim. By this assembly, the last of the Romans were contemned for imaginary crimes and real virtues. Their infamous accusers assumed the language of independent patriots, who arraigned a dangerous citizen before the tribunal of his country; and the public service was rewarded K 2 132 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, by riches and honours. 1 The servile judges ~~~J~ professed to assert the majesty of the common- wealth, violated in the person of its first magi- strate, 1 " whose clemency they most applauded when they trembled the most at his inexorable and impending cruelty. 1 The tyrant beheld their baseness with just contempt, and encoun- tered their secret sentiments of detestation with sincere and avowed hatred for the whole body of the senate. Extent of n. The division of Europe into a number of pire r ieft" independent states, connected, however, with them no each other by the general resemblance of reliffi- placeof J refuge, on, language, and manners, is productive of the most beneficial consequences to the liberty of mankind. A modern tyrant, who should finfi no resistance either in his own breast, or in his people, would soon experience a gentle restraint from the example of his equals, the dread of present censure, the advice of his allies, and the 1 They alleged the example of Scipio and Cato (Tacit. Annal. iii, 66). Marcellus Epirus and Crispus Vibius had acquired two millions and a half under Nero. Their wealth, which aggravated their crimes, protected them under Vespasian. See Tacit. Hist, iv, 43. Dialog, de Orator, c. 8. For one accusation, Regulus, the just object of Pliny** satire, received from the senate the consular ornaments, and a present of sixty thousand pounds. k The crime of majesty was formerly a treasonable offence againit the Roman people. As tribunes of the people, Augustus and Tibe- rius applied it to their own persons, and extended it to an infinite latitude. 1 After the virtuous and unfortunate widow of Gennanicus had been put to death, Tiberius received the thanks of the senate for his clemency. She had not been publicly strangled ; nor was the body drawn with a hook to the Gemoniae, where those of common male- factors were exposed. See Tacit. Annal. vi, 25. Sueton in Tiberio, C. 53. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 13i apprehension of his enemies. The object of his CHAP. displeasure, escaping from the narrow limits of , rff his dominions, would easily obtain, in a happier climate, a secure refuge, a new fortune adequate to his merit, the freedom of complaint, and per- haps the means of revenge. But the empire of the Romans filled the world, and when that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies. The slave of imperial despotism, whe- ther he was condemned to drag his gilded chain in Rome and the senate, or to wear out a life of exile on the barren rock of Seriphus, or the fro- zen banks of the Danube, expected his fate in silent despair. To resist was fatal, and it was impossible to fly. On every side he was encom- passed with a vast extent of sea and land, which he could never hope to traverse without being discovered, seized, and restored to his irritated master. Beyond the frontiers, his anxious view could discover nothing, except the ocean, in- hospitable deserts, hostile tribes of barbarians, of fierce manners and unknown language, or dependent kings, who would gladly purchase the emperor's protection by the sacrifice of an ob- Seriphus was a small rocky island in the yge an sea, the inhabitants of which were despised for their ignorance and obscurity. The place of Ovid's exile is well known, by his just, but unmanly lamentations. It should seem, that he only received an order to leave Rome in so many days, and *o transport himself to Tomi. Guards and gaolert were unnecessary. 134 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, noxious fugitive." " Wherever you are," said ~~~~.^ Cicero to the exiled Marcellus, " remember " that you are equally within the power of the " conqueror." Under Tiberius, a Roman knight attempted to fly to the Parthians. He was stopt in the streights of Sicily ; but so little danger did there appear in the example, that the most jealous of tyrants disdained to punish it. Tacit. Annal. vi, 14. Cicero ad FamUiares, i v, 7 OF THE ROMAli E1P1RE. CHAP. IV. The cruelty, follies, and murder of Commodus. Election of Pertinax. His attempts to re- form the state. His assassination of the prae- torian guards. THE mildness of Marcus, which the rigid CHAP. discipline of the stoics was unable to eradicate, IV - formed, at the same time, the most amiable, i n dui-'~ and the only defective, part of his character. M""^ His excellent understanding was often deceived by the unsuspecting goodness of his heart. Art- ful men, who study the passions of princes, and conceal their own, approached his person in the disguise of philosophic sanctity, and acquired riches and honours by affecting to despise them.' His excessive indulgence to his brother, his wife, and his son, exceeded the bounds of private vir- tue, and became a public injury, by the example and consequences of their vices. Faustina, the daughter of Pius, and the wife to his wife of Marcus, had been as much celebrated for her Faustina i gallantries as for her beauty. The grave sim- plicity of the philosopher was ill calculated to engage her wanton levity, or to fix that un- bounded passion for variety, which often disco- rered personal merit in the meanest of man- ' See the Complaints of Avidius Cassius, Hist. August, p. 45. These are, it is true, the complaints of faction ; but even faction exaggerate*, rather than invents 136 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, kind. 6 The Cupid of the ancients, was, in gene- \ ral, a very sensual deity ; and the amours of an empress, as they exact on her side the plainest advances, are seldom susceptible of much senti- mental delicacy. Marcus was the only man in the empire who seemed ignorant or insensible of the irregularities of Faustina; which, according to the prejudices of every age, reflected some disgrace on the injured husband. He promoted several of her lovers to posts of honour and pro- fit, 6 and during a connection for thirty years, invariably gave her proofs of the most tender confidence, and of a respect which ended not with her life. In his meditations, he thanks the gods, who has bestowed on him a wife, so faith- ful, so gentle, and of such a wonderful simpli- city of manners. 11 The obsequious senate, at his earnest request, declared her a goddess. She was represented, in her temples, with the attri- butes of Juno, Venus, and Ceres; and it was decreed that, on the day of their nuptials, the youth of either sex should pay their vows be- fore the altar of their chaste patroness." b Faustinam satis constat apnd Cayetam, conditiones, sibi et nauticas -t gladiatorias, elegisse. Hist. August, p. 30. Lampridius explains the sort of merit which Faustina chose, and the conditions which she exacted. Hist. August, p. 102. c Hist. August, p. 34. * Meditat. 1. i. The world has laughed at the credulity of Mar- cus ; but Madam Dacier assures us (and we may credit a lady), that the husband will always be deceived, if the wife condescends to dissemble, e Dion. Cassius, 1. Ixxi, p. 1195. Hist. August, p. 33. Commentaire de Spanheim sur les Caesars de Julien, p. 289. The deification of Faus- tina is the only defect which Julian's criticism is able to discover in lh all-accomplished character of Marcus. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 137 The monstrous vices of the son have cast a CHAP. IV shade on the purity of the father's virtues. It ^ has been objected to Marcus, that he sacrificed to hi* son the happiness of millions to a fond partiality for dw " a worthless boy ; and that he chose a successor in his own family, rather than in the republic. Nothing, however, was neglected by the anxious father, and by the men of virtue and learning whom he summoned to his assistance, to expand the narrow mind of young Commod,us, to cor- rect his growing vices, and to render him wor- thy of the throne, for which he was designed. But the power of instruction is seldom of much efficacy, except in those happy dispositions where it is almost superfluous. The distasteful lesson of a grave philosopher was, in a moment, obliterated by the whisper of a profligate fa- vourite ; and Marcus himself blasted the fruits of this laboured education, by admitting his son, at the age of fourteen or fifteen, to a fu'fl partici- pation of the imperial power. He lived but four year s 'after wards; but he lived long enough to repent a rash measure, which raised the impe- tuous youth above the restraint of reason and authority. Most of the crimes which disturb the internal Accession peace of society, are produced by the restraints which the necessary, but unequal laws of pro- perty have imposed on the appetites of man- kind, by confining to a few the possession of those objects that are coveted by many. Of all our passions and appetites, the love of power is of the most imperious and unsociable nature, ; since the pride of one man requires the submis- j f 138 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. s i on of the multitude. In the tumult of civil \ discord, the laws of society lose their force, and their place is seldom supplied by those of hu- manity. The ardour of contention, the pride of victory, the despair of success, the memory of past injuries, and the fear of future dangers, all contribute to inflame the mind, and to si- lence the voice of pity. From such motives almost every page of history has been stained with civil blood; but these motives will not account for the unprovoked cruelties of Com- 4. . 180. modus, who had nothing to wish, and every thing to enjoy. The beloved son of Marcus succeeded to his father, amidst the acclama- tions of the senate and armies/ and when he ascended the throne, the happy youth saw round him neither competitor to remove, nor enemies to punish. In this calm elevated sta- tion, it was surely natural, that he should pre- fer the love of mankind to their detestation, the mild glories of his five predecessors, to the ig- nominious fate of Nero, and Domitian. Character Yet Commodus was not, as he has been re- P resen ted, a tyger, born with an insatiate thirst of human blood, and capable, from his infancy, of the most inhuman actions. 5 Nature had formed him of a weak, rather than a wicked disposition. His simplicity and timidity ren- dered him the slave of his attendants, who gra- f Commodus was the first Porphyrogenitus (born since his father's ac- cession to the throne). By a new strain of flattery, the Egyptian medals date by the years of his life, as if they were synonymous to those of hit reign. Tillemont, Hist, des Empereurs, torn, ii, p. 752. ' Hist. August. D. 46. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 139 dually corrupted his mind. His cruelty, which CHAP. at first obeyed the dictates of others, rated into habit, and at length became the ru- ling passion of his soul. h Upon the death of his father, Commodus He return* found himself embarrassed with the command of a great army, and the conduct of a difficult war against the Quadi and M arcomanni. 1 The servile and profligate youths whom Marcus had banished, soon regained their station and influ- ence about the new emperor. They exaggerated the hardships and dangers of a campaign in the wild countries beyond the Danube; and they assured the indolent prince, that the terror of his name, and the arms of his lieutenants, would 6e sufficient to complete the conquest of the dismayed barbarians, or to impose such con- ditions, as were more advantageous than any conquest. By a dexterous application to his sensual appetites, they compared the tranquil- lity, the splendour, the refined pleasures of Rome, with the tumult of a Pannonian camp, which afforded neither leisure nor materials for luxury . k Commodus listened to the pleasing '** J advice ; but whilst he hesitated between his own inclination, and the awe which he stall retained for his father's counsellors, the sum- mer insensibly elapsed, and his triumphal entry into the capital was deferred till the autumn. * Dion. Cassias, 1. Ixxii, p. 1203. 1 According to Tcrtullian (Apolog. c. 25), he died at Sirminm. But the situation of Vindobona, or Vienna, where both the Victors place his death, is better adapted to the operation of the war against the Mr- eomanni and Quadi. '* Hcrodian, 1. i, p. 12. 140 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. His graceful person, 1 popular address, and Una- ^^J gined virtues, attracted the public favour; the honourable peace which he had recently grant- ed to the barbarians, diffused an universal joy ; m his impatience to re visit Rome was fondly ascrib- ed to the love of his country ; and his dissolute course of amusements was faintly condemned in a prince of nineteen years of age. During the three first years of his reign, the forms, and even the spirit of the old administra- tion were maintained by those faithful counsel- lors, to whom Marcus had recommended his son, and for whose wisdom and integrity Com- modus still entertained a reluctant esteem. The young prince and his profligate favourites re- velled in all the licence of sovereign power ; but his hands were yet unstained with blood, and he had even displayed a generosity of sentiment, which might, perhaps, have ripened into solid virtue." A fatal incident decided his fluctuat- ing character. ( wound- O ne evening, as the emperor was returning to issassin 11 ^ ie P a ^ ace through a dark and narrow portico in *. D. iss. the amphitheatre, an assassin, who waited his ( passage, rushed upon him with a drawn sword, loudly exclaiming, " The senate sends you this." The menace prevented the deed; the assassin was seized by the guards, and immediately re- 1 Herodian, 1. i, p. 16. m This universal joy is well described (from the medals as well as historians) by Mr. Wotton, Hist, of Rome, p. 192, 193. n Manilius, the confidental secretary of Avidius Cassias, was disco- vered after he had lain concealed several years. The emperor nobly relieved the public anxiety, by refusing to see him, and burning his pa- pers without opening them. Dion. Cassius, Ixxii, p. 1209. Sec Maffei dcgli Amphitheatri, p. 126. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 141 vealed the authors of the conspiracy. It had CHAP. been formed not in the state, but within the walls of the palace. Lucilla, the emperors' sister, and widow of Lucius Verus, impatient of the second rank, and jealous of the reigning empress, had armed the murderer against her brother's life. She had not ventured to com- municate the black design to her second hus- band Claudius Pompeianus, a senator of distin- guished merit and unshaken loyalty; but a- mong the crowd of her lovers (for she imitated the manners of Faustina) she found men of des- perate fortunes and wild ambition, who were prepared to serve her more violent, as well as her tender passions. The conspirators expe- rienced the rigour of justice, and the abandon- ed princess was punished, first with exile, and afterwards with death . p But the words of the assassin sunk deep into Hatred the mind of Comnaodus, and left an indelible t a y n o f c c " e , impression of fear and hatred against the whole modns to - body of the senate. Those whom he had dread- senate. ed as importunate ministers, he now suspected as secret enemies. The delators, a race of men discouraged, and almost extinguished, under the former reigns, again became formidable, as soon as they discovered that the emperor was desirous of finding disaffection and treason in the senate. That assembly, whom Marcus had ever consider- ed as the great council of the nation, was compos- ed of the most distinguished of the Romans ; and ' Dion, 1. Ixxii, p. 1205. Hcrodiaii, 1. i, p. 16. Hist. August. p. 46. 1 42 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, distinction of every kind soon became criminal. ^ The possession of wealth stimulated the diligence of the informers ; rigid virtue implied a tacit censure of the irregularities of Commodus ; im- portant services implied a dangerous superiority of merit; and the friendship of the father always ensured the aversion of the son. Suspicion was equi valent to proof ; trial to condemnation. The execution of a considerable senator was attend- ed with the death of all who might lament or revenge his fate ; and when Commodus had once tasted human blood, he became incapable of pity or remorse. rhcQuin- Of these innocent victims of tyranny, none Her" bl died more lamented than the two brothers of the Quintilian family, Maximus and Condianus; whose fraternal love has saved their names from oblivion, and endeared the"ir memory to poste- rity. Their studies and their occupations, their pursuits and their pleasures, were still the same. In the enjoyment of a great estate, they never admitted the idea of a separate interest ; some fragments are now extant of a treatise which they composed in common ; and in every action of life it was observed, that their two bodies were animated by one soul. The Antonines, who va- lued their virtues, and delighted in their union, raised them, in the same year, to the consul- ship ; and Marcus afterwards entrusted to their joint care the civil administration of Greece, and a great military command, in which they obtained a signal victory over the Germans. The OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 143 kind cruelty of Commodus united them in CHAP. death. q '. The tyrant's rage, after having shed the no- The minis* blest blood of the senate, at length recoiled on the principal instrument of his cruelty. Whilst Commodus was immersed in blood and luxury, he devolved the detail of the public business on Perennis, a servile and ambitious minister, who had obtained his post by the murder of his pre- decessor, but who possessed a considerable share of vigour and ability. By acts of extor- tion, and the forfeited estates of the nobles sa- crificed to his avarice, he had accumulated an immense treasure. The praetorian guards were under his immediate command ; and his son, who already discovered a military genius, was at the head of the Illyrian legions. Perenuis aspired to the empire ; or what, in the eyes of Commodus, amounted to the same crime, he was capable of aspiring to it, had he not been prevented, surprised, and put to death. The A . D . fall of a minister is a very trifling incident in the general history of the empire; but 'it was hastened by an extraordinary circumstance, which proved how much the nerves of disci- pline were already relaxed. The legions of Britain, discontented with the administration of Perennis, formed a deputation of fifteen hundred select men, with instructions to march to Rome, and lay their complaints before the emperor. These military petitioners, by their s In a note npon the Augustau History, Casaubon has collected a number of particulars concerning these celebrated brothers. See p. 96 of his learned commentary. 144 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, own determined behaviour, by inflaming the "~*^~. divisions of the guards, by exaggerating the strength of the British army, and by alarming the fears of Commodus, exacted and obtained the minister's death, as the only redress of their grievances/ This presumption of a distant army, and their discovery of the weakness of government, was a sure presage of the most dreadful convulsions. Revolt of The negligence of the public administration ' was betrayed soon afterwards, by a new dis- order, which arose from the smallestbeginnings. A spirit of desertion began to prevail among the troops; and the deserters, instead of seeking their safety in flight or concealment, infested the highways. Materuus, a private soldier, of a daring boldness above his station, collected these bands of robbers into a little army, set open the prisons, invited the slaves to assert their freedom, and plundered with impunity the rich and defenceless cities of Gaul and Spain. The governors of the provinces, who had long been the spectators, and perhaps the partners, of his depredations, were at length roused from their supine indolence by the threatening com- mands of the emperor. Maternus found that he was encompassed, and foresaw that he must be overpowered. A great effort of despair was his last resource. He ordered his followers to ' Dion, 1. Ixxii, p. 1210 ; Herodian, 1. i, p. 22 ; Hist. August, p. 48. Dion gives a much less odious character of Perennis, than the other historians. His moderation is almost a pledge of his va- rtcitjr. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 145 disperse, to pass the Alps in small parties and CHAP. various disguises, and to assemble at Rome, ^ during the licentious tumult of the festival of Cybele. 8 To murder Commodus, and to ascend the vacant throne, was the ambition of no vul- gar robber. His measures were so ably con- certed, that his concealed troops already filled the streets of Rome. The envy of an accom- plice discovered and ruined this singular enter- prise, in the moment when it was ripe for exe- cution. 1 Suspicious princes often promote the lowest The minu of mankind., from a vain persuasion that those Se r r Clean wTTo have no dependence, except on their fa- vour, will have no attachment, except to the person of their benefactor. Cleander, the suc- cessor of Perennis, was a Phrygian by birth ; ofi a nation, over whose stubborn, but servile temper, blows only could prevail." He had been sent from his native country to Rome, in the capacity of a slave. As a slave he entered the imperial palace, rendered himself useful to his master's passions, and rapidly ascended to the most exalted station which a subject could enjoy. His influence over the mind of Corn- modus was much greater than that of his pre- * During the second punic %*ar, the Romans imported from Asia the worship of the mother of the gods. Her festival, the Megalesia, began on the fourth of April, and lasted six days. The streets were crowded with mad processions, the theatres with spectators, and the public ta- bles with unbidden guests. Order and, police were suspended, and - f pleasure was the only serious business of the city. See Ovid de ^astis, 1. iv, 189, &c. ' Herodian, 1. i, p. 23, 28. u Cicero pro Flacco, c. 27 VOL. I. L 146 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, decessor ; for Oleander was devoid of any abi- lity or virtue which could inspire the emperor Hisava- with envy or distrust. Avarice was the reign- oraeity. d m g passion of his soul, and the great principle of his administration. The rank of consul, of patrician, of senator, was exposed to public sale; and it would have been considered as disaffection, if any one had refused to purchase these empty and disgraceful honours with the greatest part of his fortune/ In the lucrative provincial employments, the minister shared with the governor the spoils of the people. The execution of the laws was venal and arbitrary. A wealthy criminal might obtain, not only the reversal of the sentence by which he was justly condemned, but might likewise inflict whatever punishment he pleased on the accuser, the wit- nesses, and the judge. By these means, Oleander, in the space of three years, had accumulated more wealth than had ever yet been possessed by any freedman/ Commodus was perfectly satisfied with the mag- nificent presents which the artful courtier laid at his feet in the most seasonable moments. To divert the public envy, Oleander, under the em- peror's name, erected baths, porticos, and places of exercise, for the use of the people. 8 He x One of these dear-bought promotions occasioned a current bon mot, that Julius Solon was banished into the senate. ? Dion (1. Ixxii, p. 12, 13) observes, that uo fieedman had possessed riches equal to those of Cleander. The fortune of Pallas amounted, however, to upwards of five and twenty hundred thousand pounds ; ttr millies. 1 Dion, 1. Ixxii, p. 12, 13 ; Herodian, 1. i, p. 29 ; Hist. August p. 62. These baths were situated near the Porta Capena. See Nardini Roma Antica, p. 79. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 147 flattered himself that the Romans, dazzled and CHAI>. amused by this apparent liberality, would be ,' less affected by the bloody scenes which were daily exhibited; that they would forget the death of Byrrhus, a senator to whose superior merit the late emperor had granted one of his daughters; and that they would forgive the execution of Arius Antoninus, the last repre- sentative of the name and virtues of the Anto- nines. The former, with more integrity than prudence, had attempted to disclose, to his brother-in-law, the true character of Oleander. An equitable sentence pronounced by the lat- ter, when proconsul of Asia, against a worth- less creature of the favourite, proved fatal to him. 1 After the fall of Perennis, the terrors of Commodus had, for a short time, assumed the appearance of a return to virtue. He repealed the most odious of his acts, loaded his memory with the public execration, and ascribed to the pernicious counsels of that wicked minister, all the errors of his inexperienced youth. But his repentance lasted only thirty days; and, under Oleander's tyranny, the administration of Pe- rennis was often regretted. Pestilence and famine contributed to fill up Sedition the measure of the calamities of Rome.* The and death first could be only imputed to the just indigna- der. tion of the gods ; but a monopoly of corn, sup- A ' D ' lfi ported by the riches and power of the minister, * Hist. August, p. 48. b Herodian, 1. i, p. 28; Dion, 1. Ixxii, p. 1215. The latter says, that two thousand persons died every day at Rome, during a considerable length of time. 148 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. W as considered as the immediate cause of the ^J^ second. The popular discontent, after it had long circulated in whispers, broke out in the assembled circus. The people quitted their fa- Tourite amusements, for the more delicious pleasure of revenge, rushed in crowds towards a palace in the suburbs, one of the emperor's re- tirements, and demanded, with angry clamours, the head of the public enemy. Oleander, who commanded the praetorian guards, ordered a body of cavalry to sally forth and disperse the seditious multitude. The multitude fled with precipitation towards the city ; several were slain, and many more were trampled to death : but when the cavalry entered the streets, their pursuit was checked by a shower of stones and darts from the roofs and windows of the houses. The foot guards/ who had been long jealous of the prerogatives and insolence of the praeto- rian cavalry, embraced the party of the people. The tumult became a regular engagement, and threatened a general massacre. The praetori- ans at length gave way, oppressed with num- bers ; and the tide of popular fury returned Tuneque primum tres praefecti praetorio fuere : inter quos liberti- nus. From some remains of modesty, Cleander declined the title, whilst he assumed the powers of praetorian prefect. As the other freedmea were styled, from their several departments, a rationibus ab epitioljs, Cleander called himself a ptifione, as intrusted with the defence of his master's person. Salmasius and Casaubon seem to have talked very idly upon this passage. a 'e TJ wi'Atttf *E to the nnm- reclth part of its members in arms and idleness, beroftb But although this relative proportion may be uniform, the influence of the army over the rest of the society will vary according to the degree of its positive strength. The advantages ot military science and discipline cannot be exert- ed, unless a proper number of soldiers are united into one body, and actuated by one soul. With a handful of men, such an union would be ineffectual ; with an unwieldy host, it would be impracticable ; and the powers of the ma- chine would be alike destroyed by the extreme minuteness, or the excessive weight, of its springs. To illustrate this observation, we need only reflect, that there is no superiority of natural strength, artificial weapons, or ac- 1(38 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP quired skill, which could enable one man to ^ , ..,., keep in constant subjection one hundred of his fellow-creatures: the tyrant of a single town, or a small district, would soon discover that an nundred armed followers were a weak defence against ten thousand peasants or citizens; but an hundred well-disciplined soldiers will com- mand, with despotic sway, ten millions of sub- jects ; and a body of ten or fifteen thousand guards will strike terror into the most numerous populace that ever crowded the streets of an immense capital. The praj-j The praetorian bands, whose licentious fury guards} was the first symptom and cause of the decline of the Roman empire, scarcely amounted to the last-mentioned number.* They derived their institution from Augustus. That crafty tyrant, sensible that laws 'might colour, but that arms alone could maintain, his usurped dominion, had gradually formed this powerful body of guards, in constant readiness to protect his per- son, to awe the senate, and either to prevent or to crush the first motions of rebellion. He dis- tinguished these favoured troops by a double pay, and superior privileges; but, as their for- midable aspect would at once have alarmed and irritated the Roman people, three cohorts only were stationed in the capital ; whilst the re- a They were originally nine or ten thousand men (for Tacitus and Dion are not agreed upon the subject), divided into as many cohorts. Vitelliiis increased them to sixteen thousand, and, as far as we can learn from inscriptions, they never afterwards sunk much below that number. See Lipsius de magnitudine Romana, i, 4. BlltUtlOD OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 169 mainder was dispersed in the adjacent towns CHAP. of Italy. 6 But after fifty years of peace and ' servitude, Tiberius ventured on a decisive mea- Their sure, which for ever rivetted the fetters of his camp> country. Under the fair pretences of relieving Italy from the heavy burthen of military quar- ters, and of introducing a stricter discipline among the guards, he assembled them at Rome, in a permanent camp, 6 which was fortified with skill and care/ and placed on a commanding situation. 8 Such formidable ^servants are_always neces- Their sary, but often fatal, to the throne of despotism, and COH- By thus introducing the praetorian guards as it '"' were into the palace and the senate, the emper- ors taught them to perceive their own strength, and the weakness of the civil government ; to view the vices of their masters with familiar con- tempt, and to lay aside that reverential awe, which distance only, and mystery, can preserve, towards an imaginary power. In the luxurious idleness of an opulent city, their pride was nourished by the sense of their irresistible weight; nor was it possible to conceal from them, that the person of the sovereign, the au- thority of the senate, the public treasure, and the seat of empire, were all in their hands. To b Sueton. in August, c. 49. ' Tacit. Annal, iv, 2.- Sueton. in Tiber, c. 37. Dion Cassius, I. Ivii. p. 867. d In the civil war between Vitellins and Vespasian, the praetorian camp was attacked and defeated with all the machines used ia the siege of the best fortified cities. Tacit. Hist, iii, B4. ' Close to the walls of the city, on the broad summit of the Quirinal and Viminal hills. See Nardini Roma Antica, p. 174. Donatus de Roma Antica, p. 46. 170 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, divert the praetorian bands from these dange- fMf 'r rous reflections, the firmest and best-establish- ed princes were obliged to mix blandishments with commands, rewards with punishments, to flatter their pride, indulge their pleasures, con- nive at their irregularities, and to purchase their precarious faith by a liberal donative ; which, since the elevation of Claudius, was exacted as a legal claim, on the accession of every new emperor/ Their The advocates of the guards endeavoured to claims! 18 justify by arguments, the power which they as- serted by arms ; and to maintain that, accord- ing to the purest principles of the constitution, their consent was essentially necessary in the appointment of an emperor. The election of consuls, of generals, and of magistrates, how- ever it had been recently usurped by the senate, was the ancient and undoubted right of the Roman people. 5 But where was the Roman people to be found? Not surely amongst the mixed multitude of slaves and strangers that filled the streets of Rome; a servile populace, as devoid of spirit as destitute of property, The defenders of the state, selected from the f Claudius, raised by the soldiers to the empire, was the first who gave a donative. He gave quina dena, 120 (Sueton. in Claud, c. 10 ;) when Marcus, with his colleague Lucius Verus, took quiet possession of the throne, he gave i-ictna, .160, to each of the guards. Hist. August, p. 25. (Dion, 1. Ixxiii, p. 1231). We may form some idea of the amount of these sums, by Hadrian's complaint, that the promotion of a Caesar had cost him ter millies, two millions and a half sterling. 6 Cicero de Legibus, iii, 3. The first book of Livy, and the second of Dionj sius of Hahcarnassus, shew the authority of the people, even in the election of the kings. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 171 flower of the Italian youth," and trained in the CHAP. exercise of arms and virtue, were the genuine ff representatives of the people, and the best en- titled to elect the military chief of the republic. These assertions, however defective in reason, became unanswerable, when the fierce praeto- rians increased their weight, by throwing, like I the barbarian conqueror of Rome, their swords j into the scale. 1 The praetorians had violated the sanctity of They offer the throne, by the atrocious murder of Perti- e ,3e. pire nax; they dishonoured the majesty of it, by their subsequent conduct. The camp was without a leader, for even the prefect Laetus, who had excited the tempest, prudently de- lined the public indignation. Amidst the wild disorder Sulpicianus, the emperor's father-in- law, and governor of the city, who had been sent to the camp on the first alarm of mutiny, was endeavouring to calm the fury of the mul- titude, when he was silenced by the clamorous return of the murderers, bearing on a lance the head of Pertinax. Though history has accus- tomed us to observe every principle and every passion yielding to the imperious dictates of ambition, it is scarcely credible that in these moments of horror, Sulpicianus should have aspired to ascend a throne polluted with the fc They were originally recruited in Latium, Etruria, and the old colonies (Tacit. Annal. iv, 5). The emperor Otho compliments their rarity, with the flattering titles of Italia Alumni, Romana vere juven- tns. Tacit. Hist, i, 84. 1 In the siege of Rome by the Gauls. See Liv y, v. 48. Plutarch in Cunil. p. 143. 172 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP* recent blood of so near a relation, and so excel- ^ lent a prince. He had already begun to use the only effectual argument, and to treat for the imperial dignity ; but the more prudent of the praetorians, apprehensive that, in this private contract, they should not obtain a just price for so valuable a commodity, ran out upon the ram- parts, and, with a loud voice, proclaimed that the Roman world was to be disposed of to the best bidder by public auction. k This infamous offer, the most insolent excess chased by Julian, of military licence, diffused an universal grief, March zs. shame, and indignation throughout the city. It reached at length the ears of Didius Julianus, a wealthy senator, who, regardless of the public calamities, was indulging himself in the luxury of the table. 1 His wife and his daughter, his freedmen and his parasites, easily convinced him that he deserved the throne, and earnestly con- jured him to embrace so fortunate an opportu- nity. The vain old man hastened to the praeto- rian camp, where Sulpicianus was still in treaty with the guards ; and began to bid against him from the foot of the rampart. The unworthy negociation was transacted by faithful emissa- ries, who passed alternately from one candi- date to the other, and acquainted each of them k Dion, 1. Ixxiii, p. 1234. Herodian, 1. li, p. 63. Hist. Au- gust, p. GO. Though the three historians agree that it was in fact an auction, Herodian alone affirms that it was proclaimed as such by the soldiers. 1 S'partianus softens the most odious parts of the character and ele- vation of Julian. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 173 with the offers of his rival. Sulpicianus had al- CHAP. ready promised a donative of five thousand _ drachms (above one hundred and sixty pounds) to each soldier ; when Julian, eager for the prize, rose at once to the sum of six thousand two hundred and fifty drachms, or upwards of two hundred pounds sterling. The gates of the camp were instantly thrown open to the purcha- ser; he was declared emperor, and received an oath of allegiance from the soldiers, who retain- ed humanity enough to stipulate that he should pardon and forget the competition of Sulpi- cianus. It was now incumbent on the proetorians to J'ian is fulfil the conditions of the sale. They placed ledgcd by their new sovereign, whom they served and de- tlie seuate spised, in the centre of their ranks, surrounded him on every side with their shields, and con- ducted him in close order of battle through the deserted streets of the city. The senate was commanded to assemble ; and those who had been the distinguished friends of Pertinax, or the personal, enemies of Julian, found it neces- sary to affect a more than common share of sa- tisfaction at this happy revolution." 1 After Ju- lian had filled the senate-house with armed soldiers, he expatiated on the freedom of his election, his own eminent virtues, and his full assurance of the affections of the senate. The obsequious assembly congratulated their own and the public felicity; engaged their alle- giance, and conferred on him all the several m Dion Cassius, at that time praetor, had been a personal enemy to Julian, Ixxii, p. 1135. 174 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, branches of the imperial power. From the se- f ' fwf nate Julian was conducted, by the same military Takes pos. procession, to take possession of the palace. the s pa"ace. Tne first objects that struck his eyes, were the abandoned trunk of Pertinax, and the frugal entertainment prepared for his supper. The one he viewed with indifference; the other with contempt. A magnificent feast was prepared by his order, and he amused himself till a very late hour, with dice, and the performances of Pylades, a celebrated dancer. Yet it was ob- served, that after the crowd of flatterers dis- persed, and left him to darkness, solitude, and terrible reflection, he passed a sleepless night ; revolving most probably in his mind his own rash folly, the fate of his virtuous predecessor and the doubtful and dangerous tenure of *an empire, which had not been acquired by merit, but purchased by money. the public He had reason to tremble. On the throne of discontent. the world he found himself without a friend, and even without an adherent. The guards them- selves were ashamed of the prince whom their avarice had persuaded them to accept ; nor was there a citizen who did not consider his elevation with horror, as the last insult on the Roman name. The nobility, whose conspicuous station and ample possessions exacted the strictest cau- tion, dissembled their sentiments, and met the n Hist. August, p. 61. We learn from thence one curious circum- stance, that the new emperor, whatever had been his birth, was imme- diately aggregated to the number of patrician families. Dion, h Ixxiii, p. 1235. Hist. August, p. 61. I have endeavoured to blend into one consistent story the seeming contradictions of the two writers. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE, i75 affected civility of the emperor with smiles of CHAP. complacency, and professions of duty. But^^ ' the people, secure in their numbers and obscu- rity, gave a free vent to their passions. The streets and public places of Rome resounded with clamours and imprecations. The enraged multitude affronted the person of Julian, reject- ed his liberality, and, conscious of the impo- tence of their own resentment, they called aloud on the legions of the frontiers to assert the vio- lated majesty of the Roman empire. The public discontent was soon diffused from the centre to the frontiers of the empire. The armies of Britain, of Syria, and of Illyricum, lamented the death of Pertinax, in whose com- against pany, or under whose command, they had so JaL "* often fought and conquered. They received with surprise, with indignation, and perhaps with envy, the extraordinary intelligence, that the praetorians had disposed of the empire by public auction ; and they sternly refused to ra- tify the ignominious bargain. Their immediate and unanimous revolt was fatal to Julian, but it was fatal, at the same time, to the public peace ; as the generals of the respective armies, Clodius Albinus, Pescennius Niger, and Septi- mius Severus, were still more anxious to suc- ceed than to revenge the murdered Pertinax. Their forces were exactly balanced. Each of them was at the head of three legions, p with a numerous train of auxiliaries; and, however ' Dion, 1. Ixxiii. p. 1235. 1 76 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, different in their characters, they were all sol- M*M diers of experience and capacity, ciodius Clodius Albinus, governor of Britain, sur- Aibinus in passeiTbolhTiis competitors in the nobility of his Britain. * . r . extraction, which he derived from some ot the most illustrious names of the old republic.' But the branch from whence he claimed his descent, was sunk into mean circumstances, and transplanted into a remote province. It is dif- ficult to form a just idea of his true character. Under the philosophic cloak of austerity, he stands accused of concealing most of the vices which degrade human nature/ But his accu- sers are those venal writers who adored the for- tune of Severus, and trampled on the ashes of an unsuccessful rival. Virtue, or the appear- ances of virtue, recommended Albinus to the confidence and good opinion of Marcus; and his preserving with the son the same interest which he had acquired with the father, is a proof at least that he was possessed of a very flexible disposition. The favour of a tyrant does not always suppose a want of merit in the object of it ; he may, without intending it, re- ward a man of worth and ability, or he may find such a man useful to his own service. It does not appear that Albinus served the son of Marcus, either as the minister of his cruelties, i The Posthumian and the Cejonian, the former of whom was raised to the consulship in the fifth year after its institution. r Spartanius, in his undigested collections, mixes up all the virtues and all the vices that enter into the human composition, and bestows them on the same object. Such, indeed, are many of the characters in the Augustan history OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 177 or even as the associate of his pleasures. He CFLAP. was employed in a distant honourable com- , mand, when he received a confidential, letter from the emperor, acquainting him of the trea- sonable designs of some discontented generals, and authorising him to declare himself the guar- dian and successor of the throne, by assuming the title and ensigns of Ca?sar. 9 The governor of Britain wisely declined the dangerous honour, which would have marked him for the jealousy, or involved him in the approaching ruin, of Commodus. He courted power by nobler, or, at least, by more specious arts. On a prema- ture report of the death of the emperor, he as- sembled his troops; and, in an eloquent dis- course, deplored the inevitable mischiefs of des- potism, described the happiness and glory which their ancestors had enjoyed under the consular government, and declared his firm re- solution to reinstate the senate and people in their legal authority. This popular harangue was answered by the loud acclamations of the British legions, and received at Rome with a secret murmur of applause Safe in the pos- session of this little world, and in the command of an army less distinguished indeed for disci- pline than for numbers and valour,* Albinus braved the menaces of Commodus, maintained towards Pertinax a stately ambiguous reserve, * Hist. August, p. 80, 84. 1 Pertinax, who governed Britain a few years before, liad be**. left for dead, in a mutiny of the soldiers. Hist. AognsL p. 54. Yet they loved and regretted him : admirantibus earn virtutem cui irasce- bantur. VOL. I. N 178 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, and instantly declared against the usurpation ;_ of Julian. The convulsions of the capital ad- ded new weight to his sentiments, or rather to his professions of patriotism. A regard to de- cency induced him to decline the lofty titles of Augustus and emperor; and he imitated per- haps the example of Galba, who, on a similar occasion, had styled himself the lieutenant of the senate and people." Personal merit alone had raised Pescennius Niger in .. , . . ,11. - - n-in - Syria. INiger, from an obscure birth and station, to the government of Syria; a lucrative and important command, which, in times of civil confusion, gave him a near prospect of the throne. Yet his parts seem to have been better suited to the se- cond than to the first rank ; he was an unequaX rival, though he might have approved himself aiv. excellent lieutenant, to Severus, who afterwards displayed the greatness of his mind by adopting several useful institutions from a vanquished enemy. 1 In his government, Niger acquired the esteem of the soldiers, and the love of the pro- vincials. His rigid discipline fortified the valour, and confirmed the obedience of the former, whilst the voluptuous Syrians were less delighted with themild firmness of his administration, than with the affability of his manners, and the apparent pleasure with which he attended their frequent and pompous festivals/ As soon as the Intel- " Sueton. in Galb. c. 10. * Hist. August, p. 76 y Herod. 1. ii, p. 68. The chronicle of John Malala, of Antioch, shews the zealous attachment of his countrymen to these festivals, which at once gratified their superstition, and their love of pleasure. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 179 ligence of the atrocious murder of Pertinax had CHAP. reached Antioch, the wishes of Asia invited Ni- , J^, ger to assume the imperial purple, and revenge his death. The legions of the eastern frontier embraced his cause ; the opulent but unarmed provinces from the frontiers of Ethiopia* to the Hadriatic, cheerfully submitted to his power ; and the kings beyond the Tygris and the Eu- phrates congratulated his election, and offered him their homage and services. The mind of Niger was not capable of receiving this sudden tide of fortune ; he flattered himself that his ac- cession would be undisturbed by competition, and unstained by civil blood ; and whilst he enjoyed the vain pomp of triumph, he neglected to secure the means of victory. Instead of en- tering into an effectual negociation with the powerful armies of the West, whose resolution might decide, or at least must balance, the mighty contest ; instead of advancing without delay towards Rome and Italy, where his pre- sence was impatiently expected, 1 ]\iger trifled away, in the luxury of Antioch, those irretriev- able moments which were diligently improved by the decisive activity of Severus." 1 A king of Thebes, in Egypt, is mentioned in Ihe Augustan history as an ally, and, indeed, as a personal friend, of Niger. If Spartianus ii not, as I strongly suspect, mistaken, he has brought to light a dy- nasty of tributary priiices totally unknown to history. 1 Dion, 1. Ixxiii, p. 1238. Herod 1. ii, p. 67. A verse in everyone's mouth at that time, seems to express the general opinion of the three rivals: Optinins est Niger, bonus Aftr t pi ssimus A Una. Hist. AugniL p. 75. k Hrrodian, 1. ii, p. 71. 1 80 ECLINE>ND PALL CHAP. The country of Pannonia and Dalmatia, ^ which occupied the space between the Danube and the, Hadriatic, was one of the last and most difficult conquests of the Romans. In the de- fence of national freedom, two hundred thou- sand of these barbarians had once appeared in the field, alarmed the declining age of Augustus, and exercised the vigilant prudence of Tiberius at the head of the collected force of the empire.' The Pannonians yielded at length to the arms and institutions of Rome. Their recent subjec- tion, however, the neighbourhood, and even the mixture of the unconquered tribes, and perhaps the climate, adapted, as it has been observed to the production of great bodies and slow minds/ all contributed to preserve some re- mains of their original ferocity, and under the tame and uniform countenance of Roman pro- vincials, the hardy features of the natives were still to be discerned. Their warlike youth af- forded an inexhaustible supply of recruits to the legions stationed on thebanks of the Da- nube, and which, from a perpetual warfare against the Germans and Sarmatians, were de- servedly esteemed the best troops in the service. The Pannonian army was at this time com- manded by Septimus Severus, a native of Africa, who, in the gradual ascent of private honours, had concealed his daring ambition, which was e See an account of that memorable war in Velleins Patercnlus. ii, 110, &c. who served in the army of Tiberius. d Such is the reflection of Ileroclian, 1. ii, p. 71. M ill the modern Anstrians allow the hdltit nee ? OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 181 never diverted from its steady course by the al- CHAP. lurements of pleasure, the apprehension of dan-, ,.,' w ger, or the feelings of humanity.* On the first news of the murder of Pertinax, he assembled his troops, painted in the most lively colours the crime, the insolence, and the weakness of the praetorian guards, and animated the legions to arms and to revenge. He concluded (and the peroration was thought extremely eloquent) with promising every soldier about four hundred pounds; an honourable donative, double in value to the infamous bribe with which Julian had purchased the empire/ The acclamations of Declared the army immediately saluted Severus with the JJ'JJe'* names of Augustus, Pertinax, and emperor ; Pannonian and he thus attained the lofty station to which A. D. 193, ^e was invited, by conscious merit and 'a long pnl train of dreams and omens, the fruitful offspring either of his superstition or policy. 8 The new candidate for empire saw and im- proved the peculiar advantage of his situation. His province extended to the Julian Alps, which ' In the letter to Albums, already mentioned, Commodus accuses Severus, as one of the ambitions generals who censured his conduct, and wished to occupy his place. Hist. August, p. 80. f Pannouia was too poor to supply such a sun:. It was probably pro- mised in the camp, and paid at Rome, after the victory. In fixing the sum, I have adopted the conjecture of Causabon. See Hist. August, p. 66. Comment, p. 115. 6 Herodian, 1. ii, p. 78. Severus was declared emperor on the banki of the Danube, either at Carnuntum, according to Spartianus (Hist. August, p. 65), or else at Sabaria, according to Victor. Mr. Hume, in supposing that the birth and dignity of Severus were too much inferior to the imperial crown, and that he marched into Italy as general only, has not considered this transaction witb his usual accuracy (Essay on the original contract.) 182 THE DECLINE ANL> JALL ... CHAP, gave an easy access into Italy; and he remeni- ^ y* bered the saying of Augustus, that a Pannonian Marches army might in ten days appear in sight of Rome. k lato Italy, jjy a celerity proportioned to the greatness of the occasion, he might reasonably hope to re- venge Pertinax, punish Julian, and receive the homage of the senate and people, as their law- ful emperor, before his competitors, separated from Italy by an immense tract of sea and land, were apprised of his success, or even of his elec- tion. During the whole expedition he scarcely allowed himself any moments for sleep or food ; marching on foot, and in complete armour, at the head of his columns, he insinuated himself into the confidence and affection of his troops, pressed their diligence, revived their spirits, ani- mated their hopes, and was well satisfied to share the hardships of the ipeaneHsoI^rerTwIlttSt he kept in view the infinite superiority of his reward. Advances The wretched Julian had expected, and thought Roml ds himself prepared to dispute the empire with the governor of Syria; but in the invincible and rapid approach of the Pannonian legions, he saw his inevitable ruin. The hasty arrival of every mes- senger increased his just apprehensions. He was successively informed, that Severus had passed the Alps ; that the Italian cities, unwilling or unable to oppose his progress, had received him with the warmest professions of joy and duty; h Velleius Paterculus, 1. ii, c. 3. We must reckon the inarch from the nearest verge at Pannoma, and extend the sight of the city at fat as two hundred mile*. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. that the important place of Ravenna had sur- CHAP. rendered without resistance, and that the Had- riatic fleet was in the hands of the conqueror. The enemy was now within two hundred and fifty miles of Rome ; and every moment dimi- nished the narrow span of life and empire al- lotted to Julian. He attempted, however, to prevent, or at least Distress of to protract, his ruin. He implored the venal JuhaM - faith of the praetorians, filled the city with un- availing preparations for war, drew lines round the suburbs, and even strengthened the fortifica- tions of the palace ; as if those last entrench- ments could be defended without hope of relief against a victorious invader. Fear and shame prevented the guards from deserting his stand- ard ; but they trembled at the name of the Pan- nonian legions, commanded by an experienced general, and accustomed to vanquish the bar barians on the frozen Danube. 1 They quitted, with a sigh, the pleasures of the baths and theatres, to put on arms, whose use they had al- most forgot ten, and beneath the weight of which they were oppressed. The unpractised ele- phants, whose uncouth Appearance, it Was hoped, would strike terror into the army of the North, threw their unskilful riders ; and the awkward evolutions of the marines, drawn from the fleet of Misenum, were an object of ridicule to the populace; whilst the senate enjoyed, 1 This is not a puerile figure of rhetoric, but an allusion to a real fact, recorded by Dion, 1. Ixxi, p. 1181. It probably happened more than once. 184 CHAP, with secret pleasure, the distress and weakness I, of the usurper . k His nncer. Everymotion of Julian betrayed his trembling perplexity. He insisted that Severus should be declared a public enemy by the senate. He en- treated that the Pannonian general might be as- sociated to the empire. He sent public ambassa- dors of consular rank to negociate with his rival ; he dispatched private assassins to take away his life. He designed that the vestal virgins, and all the colleges of priests, in their sacerdotal ha- bits, and bearing before them the sacred pledges of the Roman religion, should advance, in solemn procession, to meet the Pannonian legions ; and, at the same time, he vainly tried to interrogate, or to appease, the fates, by magic ceremonies, and unlawful sacrifices. 1 is desert- Severus, who dreaded neither his arms nor his enchantments, guarded himself from the only danger of secret conspiracy, by the faithful at- tendance of six hundred chosen men, who never quitted his person or their cuirasses, either by night or by day, during the whole march. Ad- vancing with a steady and rapid course, he pas- sed, without difficulty, the defiles of the Appe- iiines, received into his party the troops and ambassadors, sent to retard his progress, and made a short halt at Interamnia, about seventy k Dion, 1. Ixxiii, p. 1233. Herodian, 1. ii, p. 81. There is no surer proof of the military skill of the Romans, than their first surmounting the idle terror, and afterwards disdaining the dangerous use, of ele- phants in war. 1 Hist. August, p. 02, 63. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 185 miles from Rome. His victory was already se- CHAP. cure; but the despair of the praetorians might Mt have rendered it bloody ; and Severus had the laudable ambition of ascending the throne with- out drawing the sword. m His emissaries, dis- persed in the capital, assured the guards, that provided they would abandon their worthless prince, and the perpetrators of the murder of Pertinax, to the justice of the conqueror, he would no longer consider that melancholy event as the act of the whole body. The faithless praetorians, whose resistance was supported only by sullen obstinacy, gladly complied with the easy conditions, seized the greatest part of the assassins, and signified to the senate, that they no longer defended the cause of Julian. That assembly, convoked by the consul, una- nimously acknowledged Severus as lawful em- peror, decreed divine honours to Pertinax, and pronounced a sentence of deposition and death and against his unfortunate successor. Julian was conducted into a private apartment of the baths cu * ed b y of the palace, and beheaded as a common cri- the senate, minal, after having purchased, with an immense j n ne 2. ' treasure, an anxious and precarious reign of only sixty-six days." The almost incredible expedition of Severus, who, in so short a space of time, conducted a numerous army from the banks of the Danube to those of the Tyber, m Victor and Eutropins, viii, 17, mention a combat near the Milviau bridge, the Ponte Molle, unknown to the better and more ancient writers. 11 Dion, 1. Ixxiii, p. 1240. Hcrodian, 1. ii, p. 83. Hist. August. p. 63. 186 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, proves at once the plenty of provisions produced ,, by agriculture and commerce, the goodness of the roads, the discipline of the legions, and the indolent subdued temper of the provinces. Disgrace The first cares of Severus were bestowed on torian 1 "*" two measures, the one dictated by policy, the guards - other by decency ; the revenge, and the honours, due to the memory of Pertinax. Before the new emperor entered Rome, he issued his commands to the praetorian guards, directing them to wait his arrival on a large plain near the city, without arms, but in the habits of ceremony in which they were accustomed to attend their sovereign. He was obeyed by those haughty troops, whose contrition was the effect of their just terrors. A chosen part of the Illyrian army encompassed them with levelled spears. Incapable of flight or resistance, they expected their fate in silent consternation. Severus mounted the tribunal, sternly reproached them with perfidy and cowardice, dismissed them with ignominy from the trust which they had betrayed, despoiled them of their splendid ornaments, and banish- ed them, on pain of death, to the distance of an hundred miles from the capital. During the transaction, another detachment had been From these sixty-six days we must first deduct sixteen, as Pertinax was murdered on the 28th of March, and Severus most probably elect- ed on the 13th of April (see Hist. August, p. 65, and Tillemont, Hist, des Empereurs, torn, iii, p. 393, note 7). We cannot allow less than ten days after his election, to put a numerous army in motion. Forty days remain for this rapid march; and as we may compute about eight hundred miles from Rome to the neighbourhood of Vienna, the army of Severus maiohcd twenty mile* every day without halt or in- termission OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 187 sent to seize their arms, occupy their camp, CHAP. and prevent the hasty consequences of their _____ ', despair. p The funeral and consecration of Pertinax was Funeral next solemnized with every circumstance of sad theosis'of magnificence/ 1 The senate, with a melancholy Pertuia ^ pleasure, performed the last rites to that excel- lent prince, whom they had loved, and still re- gretted. The concern of his successor was pro- bably less sincere. He esteemed the virtues of Pertinax, but those virtues would for ever have confined his ambition to a private station. Sevfr- rus pronounced his funeral oration with studied eloquence, inward satisfaction, and well-acted sorrow; and, by this pious regard to his memo- ry, convinced the credulous multitude that he atone was worthy to supply his place. Sensible, however, that arms, not ceremonies, must assert his claim to the empire, he left Rome at the end of thirty days, and without suffering himself to be elated by this easy victory, prepared to en- counter his more formidable rivals. The uncommon abilities and fortune of Se- success of verus, have induced an elegant historian to com- * j pare him with the first and greatest oT~flie and MM MM0^M^^^^ H ^ MMMwH "^ MMM "^ M> wM * w ***** wtf ** lih ^ MvMiiM *"' w ' MBV Hffiiinjit Caesars/ The parallel is, at least, imperfect. Aiwnn*. Where shall we find, in the character of Seve- , rus, the commanding superiority of soul, the / generous clemency, and the various genius, p Dion, 1. Ixxiv, p. 1241. Herodian, 1. ii, p. 84. * Dion, (1. Ixxir, p. 1244) who assisted at the ceremony as a senator, gives a most pompous description of it. ' Herodian, 1. iii, p. 112. 188 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, which could reconcile and unite the love of tr ... - _ J pleasure, the thirst of knowledge, and the fire of ambition? 5 In one instance only, they inay be compared, with some degree of propriety, in the celerity of their motions, and their civil A. D. victories. In less than four years, 1 Severus subdued the riches of the east, and the valour of the west. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and ability, and defeated nume- rous armies, provided with weapons and dis- cipline equal to his own. In that age, the art of fortification, and the principles of tactics, were well understood by all the Roman gene- rals; and the constant superiority of Severus was that of an artist, who uses the same instru- ments with more skill and industry than his ri- vals. I shall not, however, enter into a minute narrative of these military operations ; but as the two civil wars against Niger and against Albinus, were almost the same in their conduct, event, and consequences, I shall collect into one point of view, the most striking circumstances, tending to develope the character of the con queror, and the state of the empire. Conduct of Falsehood and insincerity, unsuitable as they vii wars" seem to the dignity of public transactions, offend ' Though it is not, most assuredly, the intention of Lucan, to exalt the character of Caesar, yet the idea he gives of that hero, in the tenth book of the Pharsalia, where he describes him, at the same time, mak- ing love to Cleopatra, sustaining a siege against the power of Egypt, and conversing with the sages of the country, is, in reality, the noblest panegyric. 1 Reckoning from his election, April 13, 193, to the death of Alhinui, February 19, 197. See Tillemont's Chronology. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 189 us.,with a less degrading idea of meanness than when they are found in the intercourse yate life. In the latter, they discover a wantf of courage ; in the other, only a defect of power ; and as it is impossible for the most able states- man to subdue millions of followers and enemies by their own personal strength, the world, under the name of policy, seems to have granted them a very liberal indulgence of craft and dissimula- tion. Yet the arts of Severus cannot be justi- Arts of fie^ by the most ample privileges of state reason. Se?erus He promised, only to betray; he flattered, only to ruin; and however he might occasionally bfind himself by "oaths and treaties, his conscience, ob- sequious to his interest, alw r ays released him from the inconvenient obligation." If his two competitors, reconciled by their toward! common danger, had advanced upon him with- Nigeri out delay, perhaps Severus Avould have sunk un- der their united effort. Had they even attacked him, at the same time, with separate views and separate armies, the contest might have been long and doubtful. But they fell, singly and successively, an easy prey to the arts as well as arms of their subtle enemy, lulled into security by the moderation of his professions, and over- whelmed by the rapidity of his action. He first marched against Niger, whose reputation and power he the most dreaded; but he declined any hostile declarations, suppressed the name of his antagonist, and only signified to the senate Herodian, 1. ii, p. 85. 190 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, and people, his intention of regulating the east- ' f ern provinces. In private he spoke of Niger, his old friend and intended successor, 1 with the most affectionate regard, and highly applauded his generous design of revenging the murder of Pertinax. To punish the vile usurper of the throne, was the duty of every Roman general. To persevere in arms, and to resist a lawful emperor, acknowledged by the senate, would alone render him criminal/ The sons of Niger had fallen into his hands among the children of the provincial governors, detained at Rome as pledges for the loyalty of their parents. 1 As long as the power of Niger inspired terror, or even respect, they were educated with the most tender care, with the children of Severus himself; but they were soon involved in their father's ruin, and removed, first by exile, and af- terwards by death, from the eye of public com- passion.* owards While Severus was engaged in his eastern war, he had reason to apprehend that the governor of Britain might pass the sea and the Alps, occupy the vacant seat of empire, and oppose his return * Whilst Severus was very dangerously ill, it was industriously given out, that he intended to appoint Niger and Albinus bis successors. At he could not be sincere with respect to both, he might not be so with regard to either. Yet Severus carried his hypocrisy so far, as to profes* that intention in the memoirs of his ovrn life. 1 Hist. August, p. 65. 1 This practice, invented by Commodus, proved very useful to Seve- ms. He found at Rome the children of many of the principal adher- ents of his rivals ; and he employed them more than once to intimidate, or seduce, the parents. * Herodian, 1. Hi, p. 00. Hist. August, p. 67, 66. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 191 with the authority of the senate and the forces CHAP. of the west. The ambiguous conduct of Albi- ww , w nus, in not assuming the imperial title, left room for negociation. Forgetting, at once, his pro- fessions of patriotism, and the jealousy of sove- reign power, he accepted the precarious rank of Caesar, as a reward for his fatal neutrality. Till the first contest was decided, Severus treated the man, whom he had doomed to de- struction, with every mark of esteem and re- gard. Even in the letter, in which he announ- ced his victory over Niger, he styles Albinus the brother of his soul and empire, sends him the affectionate salutations of his wife Julia, and his young family, and entreats him to preserve the armies and the republic faithful to their common interest. The messengers charged with this letter, were Instructed to accost the Caesar with" respect, to desire a private audi- ence, and to plunge their daggers into his heart.* The conspiracy was discovered, and the too credulous Albinus at length passed over to the continent, and prepared for an unequal contest with his rival, who rushed upon him at the head of a veteran and victorious army. The military labours of Severus seem inade- Event oi . the civil quate to the importance of his conquests. 1 wo wan. engagements, the one near the Hellespont, the other in the narrow denies of Cilicia, decided the fate of his Syrian competitor; and the troops of Europe asserted their usual ascendant over 6 Hist. August, p. 84. Spartiamu has inserted this curious letter at full length. 192 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, the effeminate natives of Asia.' The battle of Lyons, where one hundred and fifty thousand 4 Romans were engaged, was equally fatal to Albums. The valour of the British army main- tained, indeed, a sharp and doubtful contest with the hardy discipline of the Illyrian legions. The fame and person of Severus appeared, dur- ing a few moments, irrecoverably lost, till that warlike prince rallied his fainting troops, and led them on to a decisive victory." The war was finished by that memorable day. decided by The civil wars of modern Europe have been banks. W distinguished, not only by the fierce animosity, but likewise by the obstinate perseverance, of the contending factions. They have generally been justified by some principle, or, at least, coloured by some pretext, of religion, freedom, or loyalty. The leaders were nobles of inde- pendent property and hereditary influence. The troops fought like men interested in the decision of the quarrel; and as military spirit and party zeal were strongly diffused throughout the whole community, a vanquished chief was im- mediately supplied with new adherents, eager to shed their blood in the same cause. But the Romans, after the fall of the republic, combated c Consult the third book of Herodian, and the seventy-fourth book of Dion Cassius. d Dion, 1. Ixxv, p. 1260. * Dion, 1. Ixxv, p. 1261. Herodian, 1. iii, p. 110. Hist. Au- gust, p. 68. The battle was fought in the plain of Trevoux, thre or four leagues from Lyons. See Tillemont. torn, in, p. 406. Note 18. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 19, only for the choice of masters. Under the CHAP. ^MM^^&ta^*WMMMu*MMM>*<^VV - - standard of a popular candidate for empire, a few inlisted from affection, some from fear, mail} from interest, none from principle. The le- gions, uninflamed by party zeal, were allured into civil war by liberal donatives, and still more liberal promises. A defeat, by disabling the chief from the performance cf his engage- ments, dissolved the mercenary allegiance of his followers, and left them to consult their own safety, by a timely desertion of an unsuccessful ' *U>Mft^bvn>Mw^riH*MWMv*4MlV*VHVMMW>9WMB^ cause. It was of little moment to the provinces under whose name they were oppressed or go- verned ; they were driven by the impulsion of the present power, and as soon as that power yielded to a superior force, they hastened to im- plore the clemency of the conqueror, who, as he had an immense debt to discharge, was obliged to sacrifice the most guilty countries to the ava- rice of his soldiers. In the vast extent of the Roman empire, there were few fortified cities capable of protecting a routed army ; nor was there any person, or family, or order of men, whose natural interest, unsupported by the powers of government, was capable of restoring the cause of a sinking party.' Yet, in the contest between Niger and Seve- siege of rus, a single city deserves an honourable excep- Byzan ' tion. As Byzantium was one of the greatest passages from Europe into Asia, it had been provided with a strong garrison, and a fleet of f Montesquieu, Considerations sur la Grandeur et la Decadence dea Remains, c. xii. VOL. I. O tium. 194 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, five hundred vessels was anchored in the har- ~,X~~ bour.* The impetuosity of Severus disappoint- ed this prudent scheme of defence ; he left to his generals the siege of Byzantium, forced the less guarded passage of the Hellespont, and, impatient of a, meaner enemy, pressed forward to encounter his rival. Byzantium, attacked by a numerous and increasing army, and after- wards by the whole naval power of the empire, sustained a siege of three years, and remained faithful to the name and memory of Niger. The citizens and soldiers (we know not from what cause) were animated with equal fury ; several of the principal officers of Niger, who despair- ed of, or who disdained a pardon, had throw^ themselves into this last refuge : the fortifica- tions were esteemed impregnable, and, in the defence of the place, a celebrated engineer dis- played all the mechanic powers known to the ancients. 11 Byzantium, at length, surrendered to famine. The magistrates and soldiers were put to the sword, the walls demolished, the pri- vileges suppressed, and the destined capital of the East subsisted only as an open village, sub- ject to the insulting jurisdiction of Perinthus. The historian Dion, who had admired the flou- rishing, and lamented the desolate, state of 8 Most of these, as may be supposed, were small open vesseU ; some, however, were gallies of two, and a few of three ranks of oars. h The engineer's name was Prisons. His skill saved his life, and he was taken into the service of the conqueror. For the particular facts of the siege, consult Dion Cassins (1. Ixxv, p. 1251) and Herodian (1. iii, p. 95). For the theory of it, the fanciful chevalier de Folard may be looked into. See Polybe, torn i, p, 70 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Byzantium, accused the revenge of Severus, CHAP. for depriving the Roman people of the strongest r ' tfft bulwark against the barbarians of Pontus and Asia. 1 The truth of this observation was but too well justified in the succeeding age, when the Gothic fleets covered the Euxine, and pas- sed through the undefended Bosphorus into the centre of the Mediterranean. Both Niger and Albinus were discovered and Deaths of put to death in their flight from the field of bat tie. Their fate excited neither surprise nor n compassion. Thev had staked their lives a- oftbeciv * r *>< gainst the chance of empire, and suffered what they would have inflicted ; nor did Severus claim the arrogant superiority of suffering his vivals to live in a private station. But his un- forgiving temper, stimulated by avarice, indul- ged a spirit of revenge, where there was no room for apprehension. The most consider- able of the provincials, who, without any dis- like to the fortunate candidate, had obeyed the governor under whose authority they were ac- cidentally placed, were punished by death, exile, and especially by the confiscation of their estates. Many cities of the East were stript of their ancient honours, and obliged to pay, into the treasury of Severus, four times the amount of the sums contributed by them for the service of Niger . k 1 Notwithstanding the authority of Spartianni, and urne modern Greeks, \ve may be assured from Dion and Herodian, that Byzantium, many years after the death of Severus, lay in rains, k Dion, 1. Ixxiv, p. 1250. 02 196 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Till the final decision of the war, the cruelty ^^ of Severus was, in some measure, restrained by Animosity the uncertainty of the event, and his pretended a^nTuhe i* everence for the senate. The head of Albinus, Senate, accompanied with a menacing letter, announced to the Romans, that he was resolved to spare none of the adherents of his unfortunate compe- titors. He was irritated by the just suspicion, that he had never possessed the affections of the senate, and he concealed his old malevolence under the recent discovery of some treasonable correspondences. Thirty-five senators, however, accused of having favoured the party of Albinus, he freely pardoned; and, by his subsequent be- haviour, endeavoured to convince them, that he had forgotten, as well as forgiven, their supposed offences. But, at the same time, he condemned forty-one' other senators, whose names history has recorded ; their wives, children, and clients, attended them in death, and the noblest pro- vincials of Spain and Gaul were involved in the same ruin. Such rigid justice, for so he termed it, was, in the opinion of Severus, the only con- duct capable of ensuring peace to the people, or stability to the prince; and he condescended slightly to lament, that, to be mild, it was neces- sary that he should first be cruel. m 1 Dion (1. Ixxv, p. 1264); only twenty-nine senators are mentioned by him, but forty-one are named in the Augustan History, p. 69, among whom were six of the name of Pescennius. Herodian (1. iii, p. 115), peaks in general of the cruelties of Severus. " Aurelius Victor. . . f T* ( - f ./ j OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 197 The true interest of an absolute monarch ge- CHAP. nerally coincides with that of his people. Their ', numbers, their wealth, their order, and their se- The wis- curity, are the best and only foundations of his justice of real greatness; and were he totally devoid of T virtue, prudence might supply its place, and would dictate the same rule of conduct. Severus considered the Roman empire as his property, and had no sooner secured the possession, than he bestowed his care on the cultivation and im- provement of so valuable an acquisition. Salu- tary laws, executed with inflexible firmness, soon corrected most of the abuses with which, since the death of Marcus, every part of the go- vernment had been infected. In the adminis- ration of justice, the judgments of the emperor were characterised by attention, discernment, and impartiality; and whenever he deviated from the strict line of equity, it was generally in favour of the poor and oppressed; not so much indeed from any sense of humanity, as from the natural propensity of a despot, to hum- ble the pride of greatness, and to sink all his subjects to the same common level of absolute dependence. His expensive taste for build- ing, magnificent shows, and above all, a constant and liberal distribution of corn and provisions, were the surest means of captivating the affec- tion of the Roman people." The misfortunes of " Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1272. Hist. August, p. 67. Severus cele- brated the secular games with extraordinary magnificence, and he left in the public granaries a provision of corn for seven years,] at the rate of 75,000 modii, or about 2500 quarters per day. I am persuaded, 1 . 198 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, civil discord were obliterated. The calm of ' peace and prosperity was once more experienc- Generai e & in the provinces; and many cities, restored peace and ^y tne munificence of Severus, assumed the title prosperity. * ' of his colonies, and attested by public monu- ments their gratitude and felicity. The fame of the Roman arms was revived by that warlike and successful emperor/ and he boasted, with a just pride, that having received the empire oppressed with foreign and domestic wars, he left it established in profound, universal, and honourable peace. q Although the wounds of civil war appeared Reiaxati- completely healed, its mortal poison still lurked on of mill- .,.,, . tary disci- in the vitals of the constitution. Severus pos- sessed a considerable share of vigour and ability; but the daring soul of the first Caesar, or the deep policy of Augustus, were scarcely equal to the task of curbing the insolence of the victorious legions. By gratitude, by misguided policy, by seeming necessity, Severus was induced to re- lax the nerves of discipline/ The vanity of his persuaded, that the granaries of Severus were supplied for a long term ; but I am not less persuaded, that policy on the one hand, and admiration on the other, magnified the hoard far beyond its true contents. See Spanheim's treatise on ancient medals, the inscriptions, and our learned travellers Spon and Wheeler, Shaw, Pocock, &c. who, in Africa, Greece, and Asia, have found more monuments of Severus, than of any other Roman emperor whatsoever. p He carried his victorious arms to Seleucia and Ctesiphon, the ca- pitals of the Parthian monarchy. I shall have occasion to mention this war in its proper place. q Etiam m Britannia, was his own just and emphatic expression, Hist. August. 78. ' Herodian, 1. iii, p. 115. Hist. August, p. 68 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. soldiers was flattered with the honour of wearing CHAP. gold rings; their ease was indulged in the mission of living with their wives in the idleness of quarters. He increased their pay beyond the example of former times, and taught them to ex- pect, and soon to claim, extraordinary donatives on every public occasion of danger or festivity. Elated by success, enervated by luxury, and raised above the level of subjects by their dan- gerous privileges, 5 they soon became incapable of military fatigue, oppressive to the country, and impatient of a just subordination. Their officers asserted the superiority of rank by a more pro- fuse and elegant luxury. There is still extant a letter of Severus, lamenting the licentious state of the army, and exhorting one of his generals to oegin the necessary reformation from the tri- bunes themselves; since, as he justly observes, the officer who has forfeited the esteem, will never command the obedience, of his soldiers. 1 Had the emperor pursued the train of reflec- tion, he would have discovered, that the pri- mary cause of this general corruption, might be ascribed, not indeed to the example, but to the pernicious indulgence, however, of the com- mander in chief. The praBtorians, who murdered their emperor New eta- and sold the empire, had received the just pu- nishment of their treason ; but the necessary, torian guards., * Upon the insolence and privileges of the soldiers, the 16th satire, falsely ascribed to Juvenal, may be consulted ; the style and circum- tances of it would induce me to believe, that it was composed under the reign of Sevems, or that of his son. ' Hist. August, p. 73. 200 THE DECLIN 7 E AND FALL CHAP, though dangerous, institution of guards, was ,' soon restored on a new model by Severus, and increased to four times the ancient number." Formerly these troops had been recruited in Italy ; and as the adjacent provinces gradually imbibed the softer manners of Rome, the levies were extended to Macedonia, Noricum, and Spain. In the room of these elegant troops, better adapted to the pomp of courts than to the uses of war, it was established by Severus, that from all the legions of the frontiers, the sol- diers most distinguished for strength, valour, and fidelity, should be occasionally draughted ; and promoted, as an honour and reward, into the more eligible service of the guards. 1 By this new institution, the Italian youth were di- verted from the exercise of arms, and the capi- tal was terrified by the strange aspect and man- ners of a multitude of barbarians. But Seve- rus flattered himself, that the legions would consider these chosen praetorians as the repre- sentatives of the whole military order ; and that the present aid of fifty thousand men, superior in arms and appointments to any force that could be brought into the field against them, would forever crush the hopes of rebellion, and secure the empire to himself and his posterity. The command of these favoured and formi- dajjTe~tFoops soon became the first office of the empire. As the government degenerated into military despotism, the praBtorian jprefect, who " Hfrodian, I. iii, p. 131. 4 * Dion, 1. Ixxiv, p. 1243. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 201 in his origin had been a simple captain of the CHAP. guards, was placed, not only at the head of the ',,. army, but of the finances, and even of the law. In every department of administration, he repre- sented the person, and exercised the authority, of the emperor. The first prefect who enjoyed and abused this immense power was Plautianus t the favourite minister of Severus. "His reign lasted above ten years, till the marriage of his daughter with the eldest son of the emperor, which seemed to assure his fortune, proved the occasion of his ruin. y The animosities of the pa- lace, by irritating the ambition and alarming the fears of Plautianus, threatened to produce a re- volution, and obliged the emperor, who still loved him, to consent with reluctance to his death.* After the fall of Plautianus, an eminent lawyer, the celebrated Papinian, was appoint- ed to execute the motley office of praetorian prefect. Till the reign of Severus, the virtue, and even the good sense of the emperors had been distin- guishedby their zeal or affected reverencefor the des P Usm senate, and by a tender regard to the nice frame of civil policy instituted by Augustus. But the youth of Severus had been trained in the implicit obedience of camps, and his riper years spent in T One of his most daring and wanton acts of power, was tLe castra- tion of an hundred free Romans, some of them married men, and even fathers of families, merely that his daughter, on her marriage with the young emperor, might be attended by a train of eunuchs worthy of au eastern queen. Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1271. * Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1274. Herodian, 1. iii, p. 122-129. The gram- marian of Alexandria seems, as it is not unusual, much better acquaint- ed with this mysterious transaction, and more assured of the guilt of Plautianus, than the Roman senator ventures to b 202 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, the despotism of military command. His haugh- ' ff ty and inflexible spirit could not discover, or would not acknowledge, the advantage of pre- serving an intermediate power, however imagin- ary, between the emperor and the army. He disdained to profess himself the servant of an as- sembly that detested his person, and trembled at his frown ; he issued his commands, where his request would have proved as effectual; assum- ed the conduct and style of a sovereign and a conqueror, and exercised, without disguise, the whole legislative as well as the executive power. New max- The victory over the senate was easy and in- imperiai he glorious. Every eye and every passion were di- P. r v c e ro a - rected to the supreme magistrate, who posses- sed the arms and treasure of the state ; whilst the senate, neither elected by the people, nor guarded by military force, nor animated by public spirit, rested its declining authority on the frail and crumbling basis of ancient opinion. The fine theory of a republic insensibly vanish- ed, and made way for the more natural and sub- stantial feelings of monarchy. As the freedom and honours of Rome were successively com- municated to the provinces, in which the old government had been either unknown, or was remembered with abhorrence, the tradition of republican maxims was gradually obliterated. The Greek historians of the age of the Anto- nines,* observe with a malicious pleasure, that although the sovereign of Rome, in compliance with an obsolete prejudice, abstained from the Appian in 1'rocm. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 203 name of king, he possessed the full measure of fcnAp. regal power. In the reign of Severus, the se- 4. ! natewas filled with poiished and eloquent slaves from the eastern provinces, who justified per- sonal flattery by speculative principles of servi- tude. These new advocates of prerogative were heard with pleasure by the court, and with pa- tience by the people, when they inculcated the duty of passive obedience, and descanted on the inevitable mischiefs of freedom. The lawyers an3 the historians concurred in teaching, that the imperial authority was held, not by the de- legated commission, but by the irrevocable re- signation of the senate ; that the emperor was freed from the restraint of civil laws, could com- mand by his arbitrary will the lives and for- tunes of his subjects, and might dispose of the empire as of his private patrimony. 1 * The most eminent of the civil lawyers, and particularly Papinian, Paulas, and Ulpian, flourished under the house of Severus ; and the Roman jurispru- dence having closely united itself with the sys- tem of monarchy, was supposed to have attain- ed its full maturity and perfection. The contemporaries of Severus, in the enjoy- ment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire. . ' fc Dion Cassias seems to have written with no other view, than to form these opinions into an historical system. The pandects will hew how assiduously the lawyers, oo their side, laboured in the cause ef prerogative. 204 THE DECLINE AND FALL - CHAP. VI. The death of Severus. Tyranny of Caracalla. Usurpation of Macrinus. Follies of Elagaba- lus. Virtues ojF^fTexander Severus. Licenti- ousness of the army. General state of the Roman finances. C ?, AP> THE ascent to ffreatness, however steep and VI. ^--* -*. * . , v .?--. dangerous, may entertain an active spirit with Greatness the consciousness and exercise of its own pow- contenTof ers i but the possession of a throne could never y^ afford a lasting satisfaction to an ambi- tious mind. This melancholy truth was felt and acknowledged by Severus. Fortune and merit had, from an humble station, elevated him to the first place among mankind. " He had " been all things," as he said himself, " and all " was of little value."* Distracted with the care, not of acquiring, but of preserving an empire, oppressed with age and infirmities, careless of fame, b and satiated with power, all his pros- pects of life were closed. The desire of perpe- tuating the greatness of his family, was the only remaining wish of his ambition and paternal tenderness. His wife Like most of the Africans, Severus was pas- sionately addicted to the vain studies of magic and divination, deeply versed in the interpreta- * Hist. August, p. 71. " Omnia fui et nihil expedit." ' 6 Dion Cassius, 1. Ixxvii, p. 1284. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 205 tion of dreams and omens, and perfectly ac- CHAP. quainted with the science of judicial astrology, ^ which, in almost every age except the present, has maintained its dominion over the mind of man; He had lost his first wife whilst he was governor of the Lionese Gaul. c In the choice of a second, he sought only to connect himself with some favourite of fortune; and as soon as he had discovered that a young lady of Emesain Syria had a royal nativity, he solicited, and obtained her hand/ Julia Domna (for that was her name) deserved allT;hat the stars could promise her. She possessed, even in an advanced age, the at- tractions of beauty;' and united to a lively ima- gination a firmness of mind, and strength of judgment, seldom bestowed on her sex\ Her amiable qualities never made any deep impres- sion on the dark and jealous temper of her hus- band ; but in her son's reign, she administered the principal affairs of the empire, with a pru- dence that supported his authority, and with a moderation that sometimes corrected his -wild extravagancies/ Julia applied herself to letters and philosophy, with some success, and with ' About the year 186, M. de Tillemont is miserably embarrassed with a passage of Dion, in which the empress Faustina, who died in the year 175, is introduced as having contributed to the marriage of Severus and Julia (1. Ixxiv, p. 1248). The learned compiler forgot, that Dion is re- lating, not a real fact, but a dream of Severus ; and dreams are circum- scribed to no limits of time or space. Did M. de Tillemont imagine that marriages were consummated in the temple of Venus at Rome ? Hist, des Empereurs, torn, iii, p. 389, note 6. '..Hist. August, p. 65 * Hist. August, p. 85. r Dion Cassias, 1. Ixxvii, p. 1304, 1314. 206 THE DECLINE AND FALL _ a-*'.?.'"'' ' t CHAP, the most splendid reputation. She was the pa- ^ ', troness of every art, and the friend of every man of genius. 8 The grateful flattery of the learned has celebrated her virtue ; but, if we may cre- dit the scandal of ancient history, chastity was very far from being the most conspicuous virtue of the empress Julia. h Their two Two sons, Caracalla 1 and Geta, were the fruit raiia and of this marriage, and the destined heirs of the empire. The fond hopes of the father, and of the Roman world, were soon disappointed by these vain youths, who displayed the indolent security of hereditary princes, and a presump- tion that fortune would supply the place of me- rit and application. Without any emulation of virtue or talents, they discovered, almost from their infancy, a fixed and implacable antipathy Their mu. for eacn other. Their aversion, confirmed by years, and fomented by the arts of their inte- other rested favourites, broke out in childish, and gradually in more serious competitions, and, at length, divided the theatre, the circus, and the court, into two factions, actuated by the hopes and fears of their respective leaders. The prudent emperor endeavoured, by every * See a dissertation of Menage, at the end of his edition of Diogenes Laertins, de Fceminis Philosopliis. h Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1285. Aurelius Victor. ' Bassianus was his first name, as it had been that of his maternal grandfather. During his reign, he assumed the appellation of Anto- ninus, which is employed by lawyers and ancient historians. After hi* death, the public indignation loaded him with the nick-names of Ta- rantus and Caracalla. The first was borrowed from a celebrated gla- diator, the second from a long Gallic gown which he distributed to the people of Rome. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 207 expedient of advice and authority, to allay this CHAP. growing animosity. The unhappy discord of ^ ' his sons clouded all his prospects, and threat- ened to overturn a throne, raised with so much labour, cemented with so much blood, and guarded with every defence of arms and trea- sure. With an impartial hand, he maintained between them an exact balance of favour, con- ferred on both the rank of Augustus, with the , revered name of Antoninus ; and, for the first time, the Roman world beheld three emperors. 1 * Three em- \\ Yet even this equal conduct served only to in- P eroM< flame the contest, whilst the fierce Caracalla as- serted the right of primogeniture, and the mild- er Geta courted the affections of the people and the soldiers. In the anguish of a disappointed father, Severus foretold, that the weaker of his sons would fall a sacrifice to the stronger, who, in his turn, would be ruined by his own vices. 1 The c a ie- In these circumstances, the intelligence of a W a") , war in Britain, and of an invasion of the pro- A ' B ' 20 * vince by the barbarians of the north, was re- ceived with pleasure by Severus. Though the vigilance of his lieutenants might have been suf- ficient to repel the distant enemy, he resolved to embrace the honourable pretext of with- drawing his sons from the luxury of Rome, which enervated their minds, and irritated their passions, and of inuring their youth to the toils of war and government. Notwithstanding his k The elevation of Caracalla is fixed by the accurate M. de Tillemont to the year 108 ; the association of Geta to the year 208. 1 Herodian, 1. iii, p. 130 The lives of Caracalla and Geta in the Augustan History. 208 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, advanced age (for he was above three-score), ^ and his gout, which obliged him to be carried in a litter, he transported himself in person in to that remote island, attended by his two sons, his whole court, and a formidable army. He immediately passed the walls of Hadrian and Antoninus, and entered the enemy's country, with the design of completing the long-attempt- ed conquest of Britain. He penetrated to the northern extremity of the island, without meet- ing an enemy. But the concealed ambuscades of the Caledonians, who hung unseen on the rear and flanks of hie army, the coldness of the climate, and the severity of a winter march a- cross the hills and morasses of Scotland, are reported -to have cost the Romans above fifty thousand men. The Caledonians at length yielded to the powerful and obstinate attack, sued for peace, and surrendered apart of their arms, and a large track of territory. But their apparent submission lasted no longer than the present terror. As soon as the Roman legions had retired, they resumed their hostile inde- pendence. Their restless spirit provoked Seve- rus to send a new army into Caledonia, with the most bloody orders, not to subdue, but to extir- pate the natives. They were saved by the death of their haughty enemy . m Fingai and This Caledonian war, neither marked by de- s ' cisive events, nor attended with any important consequences, would ill deserve our attention; but it is supposed, not without a considerable m Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1280, &c. Hcrodian, I. iii, p. 132, &c. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 209 degree of probability that the invasion of Seve- CHAI>. rus is connected with the most shining period of ' ffff the British history or fable. Fingal, whose fame, with that of his heroes and bards, has been re- vived in our language by a recent publication, is said to have commanded the Caledonians in that memorable juncture, to have eluded the power of Severus, and to have obtained a signal victory on the banks of the Carun, in which the son of the king of the world. Caracul, fled from his arms along the iields of his pride." Some- thing of a doubtful mist still hangs over these highland traditions ; nor can it be entirely dis- pelled by the most ingenious researches of mo- dern criticism: but if he could, with safety, in- contrast o. dulgethe pleasing supposition, that Fingal lived, n^^'j " and that Ossiau suns:, the striking; contrast of the the Ro- mans. situation and manners ot the contending nations might amuse a philosophic mind. The parallel would be little to the advantage of the more civilized people, if we compare the unrelenting revenge of Severus with the generous clemency of Fingal ; the timid and brutal cruelty of Cara- . n Ossinn's Poems, vol. i, p. 175. That the Caracnl of Ossian is the Curacalia of the Roman history, is, perhaps, the only point of British antiquity in which Mr. Macpher- son and Mr. Whitaker are of the same opinion ; and yet the opinion is not vrltbont difficulty. In the Caledonian war, the son of Severns was known only by the appellation of Antoninus -, and it may seem strange that the Highland hard should describe him by a nick-name, invented four years afterwards, scarcely used by the Romans till after the death of that emperor, and seldom employed by the most ancient historians. See Dion, 1 Ixxvii, p. 1317. Hist. Augnst p 89. Aurel Victot, Euscb. iu Chron. ad ann. 214. VOL. I. P 210 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, calla, with the bravery, the tenderness, the ele- .~,',1~ gant genius of Ossian; the mercenary chiefs who, from motives of fear or interest, served under the imperial standard, with the freeborn warriors who started to arms at the voice of the king o Morven ; if, in a word, we contemplated the untutored Caledonians, glowing with the warm virtues of nature, and the degenerate Romans, polluted with the mean vices of wealth and sla- very. Ambition The declining health and last illness of Severus cilia"* inflamed the wild ambition and black passions of Caracalla's soul. Impatient of any delay or divi- sion of empire, he attempted, more than once, to shorten the small remainder of his father's days, and endeavoured, but without success, to excite a mutiny among the troops. p The old emperor had often censured the misguided lenity of Marcus, who, by a single act of justice, might have saved the Romans from the tyranny of his worthless son. Placed in the same situation, h experienced how easily the rigour of a judge dis- solves away in thB tenderness of a parent. He deliberated, he threatened, but he could riot* punish; and this last and only instance of mercy was more fatal to the empire than a long se ies Death of of cruelty. q The disorder of his mind erri- and acc'es. tated the pains of his body ; he wished impa- tw" son", 8 tiently for death, and hastened the instant of iihFtbra- ** ^7 n ^ s impatience. He expired_at York in ary. " Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1282. Hist. August, p. 71. Asrel. Victor. i Dion, 1. Ixxvi. p. 128*. Hut. August, p. 80. OF THE *CMAN EMPIRE. the sixty-fifth year of his life, and in the eigh- CHAP. teenth of a glorious and successful reign. In his ff last moments he recommended concord to his sons, and his sons to the army. The salutary advice never reached the heart, or even the un- derstanding, of the impetuous youths ; but the more obedient troops, mindful of their oath of allegiance, and of the authority of their deceased master, resisted the solicitations of Caracalla, and proclaimed both brothers emperors of Rome. The new princes soon left the Caledonians in peace, returned to the capital, celebrated their father's funeral with divine honours, and were cheerfully acknowledged as lawful sovereigns, by the senate, the people, and the provinces. Some pre-eminence of rank seems to have been allowed to the elder brother ; but they both ad- ministered the empire with equal and independ- ent power/ Such a divided form of government would j ea ionsy have proved a source of discord between the ofth^tw most affectionate brothers. It was impossible emperor*, that it could long subsist between two impla- 4able enemies, who neither desired nor could trust a reconciliation. It was visible that one only could reign, and that the other must fall ; and each of them judging of his rival's designs by his own, guarded his life with the most jea- lous vigilance fr.om the repeated attacks of poi- son or the sword. Their rapid journey through Dion, 1. Ixxvi, p. 1284. Herodian, 1. iii p. 135. P 2 r - '.. v 212 THE DECLINE ANL- FALL CHAP. Gaul and Italy, during which they never eat at the same table, or slept in the same house, dis- played to the provinces the odious spectacle of fraternal discord. On their arrival at Rome, they immediately divided the vast extent of the imperial palace. 5 No communication was al- lowed between their apartments ; the doors and passages were diligently fortified, and guards posted and relieved with the same strictness as ^ in a besieged place. The emperors met only in public, in the presence of their afflicted mo- ther; and each surrounded by a numerous train -of armed followers. Even on these occasions of ceremony, the dissimulation of courts could ill disguise the rancour of their hearts.* Fruitless This latent civil war already distracted th on for'du whole government, when a scheme was suggest- empm/be- e & that seemed of mutual benefit to the hostile them" brothers. It was proposed, that since it was V T" ' Mr. Hume is justly surprised at a passage of Herodian (I. iv, p. 139), who, on this occasion, represents the imperial palace as equal in extent to the rest of Rome. The whole region of the Palatine mount, on which it was built, occupied, at most, a circumference of eleven or twelve thousand feet (see the Notitia and Victor, in Nardini's Roma Antica) But we should recollect that the opulent senators had almost surrounded the city with their extensive gardens and supero palaces, the greatest part of which had been gradually confiscated by the emperors. If Geta resided iu the gardens that bore his name on the Jamculum, and if Caracalla inhabited the gardens of Maecenas on the Esqueline, the .rival brothers were separated from each other by the distance of several miles ; and yet the intermediate space was filled by the imperial gardens of Sallust, of Lncnllust, of Agrippa, of Domi- tian, of Cains, &c. all skirting round the city, and all connected with each other, and with the palace, by bridges thrown over the Tiber and the streets. Bat this explanation of Herodian would require, though it ill deserves, a particular dissertation, illustrated by a map of ancient Rome. c Herodian, I. iv, p. 139. n . OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 213 impossible to reconcile their min^ls, they should CHAP. separate their interest, and divide the empire ' between them. The conditions of the treaty were already drawn with some accuracy. It was agreed, that Caracalla, as the elder brother, should remain in possession of Europe and the western Africa, and that he should relinquish the sovereignty of Asia and Egypt to Geta, who might -fix his residence at Alexandria or Antioch, cities little inferior to Rome itself in wealth and greatness ; that numerous armies should be con- stantly encamped on either side of the Thracian Bosphorus, to guard the frontiers of the rival % ^ monarchies ; and that the senators of European extraction should acknowledge the sovereign of Rome, whilst the natives of Asia followed the emperor of the East. The tears of the empress Julia interrupted the negociation, the first idea of which had filled every Roman breast with surprise and indignation. The mighty mass of conquest was so intimately united by the hand of time and policy, that it required the most for- * cible violence to rend it asunder. The Romans had reason to dread, that the disjointed mem- bers would soon be reduced by a civil war un- der the dominion of one master ; but if the se- paration was permanent, the division of the pro- vinces must terminate in the dissolution of an empire whose unity had hitherto remained in- violate." u Herodian, I. iv, p. 144. 2 1 4 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Had the treaty been carried into execution, ' the sovereign of Europe might soon have been Murder of theconquerorof Asia; but Caracalla obtained an ?. e n!'2i2, easier though a more guilty victory. He artfully bruar Fe * listened to his mother's entreaties, and consented to meet his brother in her apartment, on terms of peace and reconciliation. In the midst of their conversation, some centurions, who had contrived to conceal themselves, rushed with drawn swords upon the unfortunate Geta. His distracted mother strove to protect him in her arms ; but, in the unavailing struggle, she was wounded in the hand, and covered with the blood of her younger son, while she saw the elder animating and assisting 1 the fury of the assassins. As soon as the deed was perpetrafc ed, Caracalla, with hasty steps, and horror in his countenance, ran towards the praetorian camp as his only refuge, and threw himself on the ground before the statues of the tutelar dei- ties/ The soldiers attempted to raise and com- fort him. In broken and disordered words he informed them of his imminent danger and for- tunate escape; insinuating that he had prevent- ed the designs of his enemy, and declared his resolution to live and die with his faithful troops. * Caracalla consecrated, in the temple of Serapis, the sword, with which, as he boasted, he had slain his brother Geta. Dion, 1. Ixxvii, p. 1307. y Herodian, 1. iv, p. 147. In every Roman camp there was a small chapel near the head-quarters, in which the statues of the tutelar deities were preserved and adored ; and we may remark, that the eagles, and other military ensigns, were in the first rank of these deities ; an excel- lent institution, which confirmed discipline by the sanction of religion, iec Lipsius de Militii Romans, iv, 5, v, 2. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 21 Geta had been the favourite of the soldiers: CHAP. VL but complaint was useless, revenge was dan- y the whole body, was always dele- gated to one of its members. But Macrinus was not a senator. 5 The sudden elevation of the praetorian prefects betrayed the meanness of their origin ; and the equestrian order was still in possession of that great office, which com- manded with arbitrary sway the lives and for- tunes of the senate. A murmur of indignation was heard, that a man whose obscure 1 extrac- tion had never been illustrated by any signal service, should dare to invest himself with the purple, instead of bestowing it on some distin- 1 Dion, I. Ixxxvii}, p. 1350. Elagabalus reproached his predecessor, with daring to seat himself on the throne ; though, as pnetorian pre- fect, he could not have been admitted into the senate after the voice of the cryer had cleared the house. The personal favour of Plaulianus and Sejanus had broke through the established rule. They rose indeed from the equestrian order, but they preserved the prefecture with the rank of senator, and even with the consulship. 1 He was a native of Caesarea, in Numidia, and began his fortune by serving in the household of Plautian, from whose ruin he narrowly escaped. His enemies asserted that he was born a slave, and had exercised, amongst other infamous professions, that of gladiator. The fashion of aspersing the birth and condition of an adversary, seems to have lasted from the time of the Greek orators, to the learned gram- marians of the last age. VOL. I. g 226 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, guished senator, equal in birth and dignity to the splendour of the imperial station. As soon as the character of Macrinus was surveyed by the sharp eye of discontent, some vices, and many defects, were easily discovered. The choice of his ministers was in many instances justly censured, and the 'dissatisfied people, with their usual candour, accused at once his indolent tameness and his excessive severity." and the His rash ambition had climbed a height where army- it wainfiflicuH ; {(TstannJ with firmness, and im- [n _ 1 fju f Kill i B~ T ^ ^"*-^-"^^^^ "^^"^"^'^^ ^-"--*^*^-f^ T^^^tlF possible to fall without instant destruction. Trained in the arts of courts and the forms of civil business, he trembled in the presence of the fierce and undisciplined multitude over whom he had assumed the command ; his mili- tary talents were despised, and his personal courage suspected ; a whisper that circulated in the camp, disclosed the fatal secret of the conspiracy against the late emperor, aggravated the guilt of murder by the baseness of hypo- crisy, and heightened contempt by detestation. To alienate the soldiers, and to provoke inevi- \ table ruin, the character of a reformer was only wanting ; and such was the peculiar hardship of his fate, that Macrinus was compelled to exercise that invidious office. The prodigality of Caracalla had left behind it a long train of ruin and disorder ; and if that worthless tyrant " Both Dion and Herodian speak of the virtues and vices of Ma- crinus, with candour and impartially; but the author of his life, in the Augustan history, seems to have implicitly copied some of the ve- nal writers, employed by Elagabulng, to blacken the memory of his predecessor. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 227 had been capable of reflecting on the sure con- CHAP. sequences of his cwn conduct, he would per- haps have enjoyed the dark prospect of the dis- tress and calamities which he bequeathed to his successors. In the management of this necessary reforma- tion, Macrinus proceeded with a cautious pru- reforma- * dence, which would have restored health and army?* th * vigour to the Roman army, in an easy and al- most imperceptible manner. To the soldiers already engaged in the service, he was con- strained to leave the dangerous privileges and extravagant pay given by Caracalla; but the new recruits were received on the more mode- -ate, though liberal, establishment of Severus, and gradually formed to modesty and obedi- ence/ One fatal error destroyed the salutary effects of this judicious plan. The numerous army, assembled in the east by the late emper- or, instead of being immediately dispersed by Macrinus through the several provinces, were suffered to remain united in Syria, during the winter that followed his elevation. In the luxu- rious idleness of their quarters, the troops view- ed their strength and numbers, communicated their complaints, and revolved in their minds the advantages of another revolution. The ve- terans, instead of being flattered by the advan- tageous distinction, were alarmed by the first * Dion, 1. Ixxxiii, p. 1336. The sense of the author is as clear as the intention of the emperor ; bnt M. Wotton has mistaken both, by under- standing the distinction, not of veterans and recruits, bnt of old aad new legions. History of Rome, p. 347. Q 2 228 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, steps of the emperor, which they considered as the presage of his future intentions. The re- KWWHPWI .r o cruits, with sullen reluctance, entered on a service, whose labours were increased, while its rewards were diminished by a covetous and unwarlike sovereign. The murmurs of the army swelled with impunity into seditious cla- mours ; and the partial mutinies betrayed a spirit of discontent and disaffection, that waited only for the slightest occasion to break out on every side, into a general rebellion. To minds thus disposed, the occasion soon presented it- self. Death of The empress Julia had experienced all the vi- presTj'u- cissitudes of fortune. From an humble station Bducati- sne ^ a( ^ Deen raised to greatness, only to taste on, P rcten the superior bitterness of an exalted rank. She sions, and r revolt of was doomed to weep over the death of one of her sons, and over the life of the other. The cruel fate of Caracalla, though her good sense - m ust have long taught her to expect it, awa- kened the feelings of a mother and of an em- press. Notwithstanding the respectful civility expressed by the usurper towards the widow of Severus, she descended with a painful struggle into the condition of a subject, and soon with- drew herself, by a voluntary death, from the anxious and humiliating dependence/ Julia Maesa, her sister, was ordered to leave the court and Antioch. She retired to Emesa with an immense fortune, the fruit of twenty years favour, accompanied by her two daughters, y Dion, 1. Ixxviii, p. J330. The abridgment of Xipliilin, though lest particular, is in this place clearer than the origin;;!. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 22f> Soaemias and Mamsea, each of whom was a CHAP. widow, and each had an only son. Bassianus, . , for that was the name of the son of Soaemias, was consecrated to the honourable ministry of high priest of the sun ; and this holy vocation, embraced either from prudence or superstition, contributed to raise the Syrian youth to the em- pire of Rome. A numerous body of troops was stationed at Emesa ; and, as the severe disci- pline of Macrinus had constrained them to pass the winter encamped, they were eager to re- venge the cruelty of such unaccustomed hard- ships. The soldiers, who resorted in crowds to the temple of the sun, beheld with veneration and delight the elegant dress and figure of the young pontiff; they recognized, or they thought hat they recognised, the features of Caracalla, whose memory they now adored. The artful Maesa saw and cherished their rising partiality, and readily sacrificing her daughter's reputation to the fortune of her grandson, she insinuated that Bassianus was the natural son of their murdered sovereign. The sums distributed by her emissaries with a lavish hand, silenced every objection, and the profusion sufficiently proved the affinity, or at least the resemblance, of Bas- *; D * 218> Yi i m May 16. sianus with the great original. The young An- toninus (for he had assumed and polluted that respectable name) was declared emperor by the troops of Emesa, asserted his hereditary right, and called aloud on the armies to follow the standard of a young and liberal prince, who 230 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, had taken up arms to revenge his father's death and the oppression of the military order.* Defeat and Whilst a conspiracy of women and eunuchs was concerted with prudence, and conducted with rapid vigour, Macrinus, who, by a deci- sive motion, might have crushed his infant ene- my, floated between the opposite extremes of terror and security, which alike fixed him in- active at Antioch. A spirit of rebellion diffused itself through all the camps and garrisons of Syria, successive detachments murdered their officers,* and joined the party of the rebels ; and the tardy restitution of military pay and privileges was imputed to the acknowledged weakness of Macrinus. At length he marched out of Antioch, to meet the increasing and zea 7tu June' ^ ous armv ^ * ne voun S pretender. His own troops seemed to take the field with faintness and reluctance; but, in the heat of the battle,* the praBtorian guards, almost by an involuntary z According to Lampridius (Hist. August, p. 135), Alexander Se- verus lived twenty-nine years, three months, and seven days. As he was killed March 19, 235, he was born December 12, 205, and was consequently about this time thirteen years old, as his elder cousin might be about seventeen. This computation suits much better the history of the young princes, than that of Herodian, (1. v, p. 181), who repre- sents him as three years younger; whilst, by an opposite error of chro- nology, he lengthens the reign of Elagabalus two years beyond its real duration. For the particulars of the conspiracy, see Dion, I. Ixxviii, p. 1339. Herodian, 1. v, p. 184. * By a most dangerous proclamation of the pretended Antoninus, every soldier who brought in his officer's head, became entitled to his private estate, as well as to his military commission. b Dion, 1. Ixxviii, p. 1345. Herodian, 1. v, p. 186. The battle wa fought near the village of Immae, about two and-twenty miles from Antioch. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 231 impulse, asserted the superiority of their valour CHAH and discipline. The rebel ranks were broken ; ?.}' when the mother and grandmother of the Syrian prince, who, according to their eastern custom, had attended the army, threw themselves from their covered chariots, and, by exciting the com- passion of the soldiers, endeavoured to animate their drooping courage. Antoninus himself, who, in the rest of his life, never acted like a man, in this important crisis of his fate appro- ved himself a hero, mounted his horse, and, at the head of his rallied troops, charged sword in hand among the thickest of the enemy; whilst the eunuch Gannys, whose occupations had been confined to female cares and the soft lux- ury of Asia, displayed the talents of an able *nd experienced general. The battle still ra- ged with doubtful violence, and Macrinus might have obtained the victory, had he not betrayed his own cause by a shameful and precipitate flight. His cowardice served only to protract his life a few days, and to stamp deserved ig- nominy on his misfortunes. It is scarcely ne- cessary to add, that his son Diadumenianus was involved in the same fate. As soon as the stubborn praetorians could be convinced that they fought for a prince who had basely de- serted them, they surrendered to the conquer- or ; the contending parties of the Roman army, mingling tears of joy and tenderness, united under the banners of the imagined son of Cara- calla, and the East acknowledged with pleasure the first emperor of Asiatic extraction. 32 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The letters of Macriiius had condescended to inform the senate of the slight disturbance occa- Eiaaba- sioned by an impostor in Syria, and a decree im- to the se - mediately passed, declaring the rebel and his fa- mily public enemies; with a promise of pardon, however, to such of his deluded adherents as should merit it by an immediate return to their duty. During the twenty days that elapsed from the declaration to the victory of Antoninus (for in so short an interval was the fate of the Roman world decided), the capital and the provinces, more especially those of the East, were distract- ed with hopes and fears, agitated with tumult, and stained with a useless effusion of civil blood, since whosoever of the rivals prevailed in Syria, must reign over the empire. The specious let- ters in which the young conqueror announced his victory to the obedient senate, were filled with professions of virtue and moderation ; the shining examples of Marcus and Augustus, he should ever consider as the great rule of his ad- ministration ; and he affected to dwell with pride on the striking resemblance of his own age and fortunes with those of Augustus, who in the ear- liest youth had revenged, by a successful war, the murder of his father. By adopting the style of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, son of Antoninus, and grandson of Severus, he tacitly asserted his hereditary claim to the empire; but, by assum- ing the tribunitian and proconsular powers be- fore they had been conferred on him by a decree of the senate, he offended the delicacy of Roman prejudice. This new and injudicious violation OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 233 of the constitution was probably dictated either CHAP. by the ignorance of his Syrian courtiers, or the ' fierce disdain of his military followers.' As the attention of the new emperor was di- Picture of verted by the most trifling amusements, he wast- gabl ed many months in his luxurious progress from * Di 219< Syria to Italy, passed at Nicomedia his first winter after his victory, and deferred till the en- suing summer his triumphal entry into the capi- tal. A faithful picture, however, which preceded his arrival, and was placed by his immediate or- der over the altar of victory in the senate-house, conveyed to the Romans the just but unworthy resemblance of his person and manners. He was drawn in his sacerdotal robes of silk and gold, after the loose flowing fashion of the Medes and Phoenicians ; his head was covered with a lofty tiara, his numerous collars and bracelets were adorned with gems of an inestimable value. His eyebrows were tinged with black, and his cheeks painted with an artificial red and white/ The i grave senators confessed with a sigh, that, after having long experienced the stern tyranny of their own countrymen, Rome was at length humbled beneath the effeminate luxury of ori- s ental despotism. The sun was worshipped at Emesa, under the Hi> gu p er . name of Elagabalus," and under the form of a 8titi * B ' ' Dion, 1. Ixxix, p. 1353. * Dion, 1. Ixxix, p. 13C3. Herodian, 1. v, p. 189. ' This name is derived by the learned from two Syriac wordt, Ela, a god, and Gabel, to form, the forming, or plastic god, a pro- . per, and even happy epithet for the sun. Wotton's History of Rome, p. 378. 234 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP, black conical stone, which, as it was universal- ~~~~,, ly believed, had fallen from heaven en that sa- cred place. To this protecting deity Antoninus, not without some reason, ascribed his elevation to the .throne. The display of superstitious gratitude, was the only serious business of his reign. The triumph of the god of Emesa over all the religions of the earth, was the great ob- ject of his zeal and vanity; and the appellation of Elagabalus (for he presumed as pontiff and favourite to adopt that sacred name) was dear- er to him than all the titles of imperial great- ness. In a solemn procession through the streets of Rome, the way was strewed with gold dust; the black stone, set in precious gems, was plac- ed on a chariot drawn by six milk-white horses richly caparisoned. The pious emperor held the reins, and, supported by his ministers, moved slowly backwards, that he might perpetually enjoy the felicity of the divine presence. In a magnificent temple raised on the Palatine mount, the sacrifices of the god Elagabalus were cele- brated with every circumstance of cost and so- lemnity. The richest wines, the most extraor- dinary victims, and the rarest aromatics, were profusely consumed on his altar. Around the altar a chorus of Syrian damsels performed their lascivious dances to the sound of barbarian mu- sic, whilst the gravest personages of the state and army, clothed in long Phoenician tunics, of- ficiated in the meanest functions with affected zeal and secret indignation/ ' Hcrodian, 1. v, p. 190. Of THE ROMAN EMPIRE 235 To this temple, as to the common centre of CHAP. religious worship, the imperial fanatic attempted to remove the ancilia, the palladium, 8 and all the sacred pledges of the faith of Numa. A crowd of inferior deities attended in various sta- tions the majesty of the god of Emesa; but his court was still imperfect, till a female of distin- guished rank was admitted to his bed. Pallas had been first chosen for his consort ; but as it was dreaded lest her warlike terrors might af- fright the soft delicacy of a Syrian deity, the moon, adored by the Africans under the name of Astarte, was deemed a more suitable compa- nion for the sun. Her image, with the rich of- ferings of her temple as a marriage portion, was transported with solemn pomp from Carthage to Rome, and the day of these mystic nuptials was a general festival in the capital and through- out the empire. h A rational voluptuary adheres with invari- His profli- able respect to the temperate dictates of nature, ^ te and , . ,, ..% . c , effeminate and improves the gratifications of sense by so- luxury. cial intercourse, endearing connections, and the soft colouring of taste and the imagination. But Elagabalus (I speak of the emperor of that ' He broke into the sanctuary of Vesta, and carried away a statue, which he supposed to be the palladium ; but the vestals boasted, that, by a pious fraud, they had imposed a counterfeit image on the profane intruder. Hist. August, p. 103. h Dion, 1. Ixxix, p. 1360. Herodian, 1; v, p. 193. The subject* of the empire were obliged to make liberal presents to the new- married couple ; and whatever they had promised during the life of Elagabalus, was carefully exacted under the administration of Ma- mas*. 236 THE DECLINE AND FALL C! i AP ' name), corrupted by his youth, his country, ~* '.. and his fortune, abandoned himself to the gros- sest pleasures with ungoverned fury, and soon found disgust and satiety in the midst of his en- joyments. The inflammatory powers of art were summoned to his aid : the confused mul titude of women, of wines, and of dishes, and the studied variety of attitudes and sauces, ser- ved to revive his languid appetites. New terms and new inventions in these sciences, the only ones cultivated and patronised by the monarch, 1 signalized his reign, and transmitted his infamy to succeeding times. A capricious prodigality supplied the want of taste and elegance ; and whilst Elagabalus lavished away the treasures of his people in the wildest extravagance, his own voice and that of his flatterers applauded a spirit and magnificence unknown to the tame- ness of his predecessors. To confound the or- der of seasons and climates, k to sport with the passions and prejudices of his subjects, and to subvert every law of nature and decency, were in the number of his most delicious amusements. A long train of concubines, and a rapid succes- sion of wives, among whom was a vestal virgin, ' The invention of a new sauce was liberally rewarded ; but if it was not relished, the inventor was confined to eat of nothing else, till he had discovered another, more agreeable to the imperial palate. Hist. August, p. 111. k He never would eat sea-fish, except at a great distance from th wa ; he then would distribute vast quantities of the rarest sorts, brought at an immense expcnce, to the peasants of the inland country. Hist. Atognst. p. 109. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE . 237 ravished by force from her sacred asylum, 1 were CHAP.- insufficient to satisfy the impotence of his pas- ^ sions. The master of the Roman world affected to copy the dress and manners of the female sex, preferred the distaff to the sceptre, and disho- noured the principal dignities of the empire by distributing them among his numerous lovers ; one of whom was publicly invested with the title t and authority of the emperor's, or as he more properly styled himself of the empress's husband. It may seem probable, the vices and follies of Contempt Elagabalus have been adorned by fancy, and blackened by prejudice. Yet confining our- selves to the public scenes displayed before the man '* Roman people, and attested by grave and con- temporary historians, their inexpressible infamy surpasses that of any other age or country. The licence of an eastern monarch is secluded from the eye of curiosity by the inaccessible walls of his seraglio. The sentiments of honour and gallantry have introduced a refinement of pleasure, a regard for decency, and a respect for the public opinion, into the modern courts of Europe ; but the corrupt and opulent nobles 1 Dion, 1. Ixxix, p. 1358. Herodian, 1. r, p. 192. m Hierocles enjoyed that honour; but he would have been supplant- ed by one Zoticus, had he not contrived, by a potion, to enervate the powers of his rival, who being found, on trial, unequal to his reputa- tion, was driven with ignominy from the palace. Dion, 1. Ixxix, p. 1363, 1364. A dancer was made prefect of the city, a charioteer pre- fect of the watch, a barber prefect of the provisions. These three mi- nisters, with many inferior officers, were all recommended, enormitatt membrorum. Hist. August, p. 105. " Even the credulous compiler of his life, in the Augnstwe hw- tory (p. Ill), is inclined to suspect that his vice* may have been aggerated. 238 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, of Rome gratified every vice that could be col- , ' lected from the mighty conflux of nations and manners. Secure of impunity, careless of cen- sure, they lived without restraint in the patient and humble society of their slaves and para- sites. The emperor, in his turn, viewing every rank of his subjects with the same contemptu- ous indifference, asserted without controul his sovereign privilege of lust and luxury. Di y on /.i. The most worthless of mankind are not afraid .fnts ot the -i-o^f-n..-*^- .--- "ny.; to condemn in others the same disorders which they allow in themselves ; and can readily dis- ( cover some nice difference of age, character, or station, to justify the partial distinction. The licentious soldiers, who had raised to the throne the dissolute sou of Caracalla, blushed at their ignominious choice, and turned with disgust from that monster, to contemplate with pleasure the opening virtues of his cousin Alexander the son of Maimea. The crafty Maesa, sensible that her grandson Elagabalus must inevitably destroy himself by his own vices, had provided another and surer support of her family. Embracing a favourable moment of fondness and devotion, she had persuaded the young emperor to adopt Alexander Alexander, and to invest him with the title ot Several declared Capsar, that liis own divine occupations might be. A. D. 221. no longer interrupted by the care of the earth. In the second rank that amiable prince soon ac- quired the affections of the public, and excited the tyrant's jealousy, who resolved to terminate the dangerous competition, either by corrupting the manners, or by taking away the life, of his OF-THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 2.30 rival. His arts proved unsuccessful; his vain CHAP. designs were constantly discovered by his own ______ ^ loquacious folly, and disappointed by those vir- tuous and faithful servants whom the prudence of Mamaea had placed about the person of her son. In a hasty sally of passion, Elagabalus resolved to execute by force what he had been unable to compass by fraud, and by a despotic sentence degraded his cousin from the rank and honours of Caesar. The message was received in the senate with silence, and in the camp with fury. The praetorian guards swore to protect Alexander, and to revenge the dishonoured ma- jesty of the throne. The tears and promises of the trembling Elagabalus, who only begged them to spare his life, and to leave him in the pos- session of his beloved Hierocles, diverted their just indignation; and they contented themselves with empowering their prefects to watch over the safety of Alexander, and the conduct of the emperor. It was impossible that such a reconciliation sedition o/ should last, or that even the mean soul of Ela- * h n e /^ a u r r d8 ' gabalus could hold an empire on such humiliat- ing terms of dependence. He soon attempted, T. by a dangerous experiment, to try the temper March 10t of the soldiers. The report of the death of Alexander, and the natural suspicion that he had been murdered, inflamed their passions in- to fury, and the tempest of the camp could only Dion, 1. Ixxix, p. 1385. Herodian, 1. v, p. 195-201. Hist. Augwt. p. 105. The last of the three historians seems to hare followed the best authors in his account of the revolution. 240 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, be appeased by the presence and authority of ~,~^~ the popular youth. Provoked at this new in- stance of their affection for his cousin, and their contempt for his person, the emperor ventured to punish some of the leaders of the mutiny. His unseasonable severity proved instantly fatal to his minions, his mother, and himself. Elaga- balus was massacred by the indignant praeto- rians, his mutilated corpse dragged through the streets of the city and thrown into the Ty- ber. . His memory was branded with eternal infamy by the senate; the justice of whose de- cree has been ratified by posterity. 1 " Accession 1 the room of Elagabalus, his cousin Alex- Se A seve?" J!5^ was ra i se( l to the throne by the praetorian ru - guards. His relation to the family of Severus, whose name he assumed, was the same as that of his predecessor; his virtue and his danger had already endeared him to the Romans, and the eager liberality of the senate conferred up- on him, in one day, the various titles and p The era of the death of Elagabalus, and of the accession of Alexander, has employed the learning and ingenuity of Pagi, Tille- mont, Valsecchi, Vignoli, and Torre, bishop of Adria. The ques- tion is most assuredly intricate ; but I still adhere to the authority of Dion, the truth of whose calculations is undeniable, and the purity of whose text is justified by the agreement of Xiphilan, Zo- naras, and Cedrenus. Elagabalus reigned three years, nine months, and four days, from his victory over Macrintis, and was killed March 10, 222. But what shall we reply to the medals, undoubt- edly genuine, which reckon the fifth year of his fribnnitian power? We shall reply with the learned Valsecchi, that the usurpation of Macrintis was annihilated, and that the son of Caracalla oated hi* reign from his father's death. After resolving this great difficulty, the smaller knots of this question may be easily untied, or cut asa> der. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 241 powers of the imperial dignity.* But as Alex- CHAR ander was a modest and dutiful youth, of only ^ seventeen years of age, the reins of government were in the hands of two women, of his mother Mamaea, and of Msesa, his grandmother. Kfter the death of the latter, who survived but a short time the elevation of Alexander, Mamaea remain- ed the sole regent of her son and of the empire. In every age and country, the wiser, or at least Power of J his mother the stronger, of the two sexes, has usurped the powers of the state, and confined the other to, the cares and pleasures of domestic life. In he- reditary monarchies, however, and especially in those of modern Europe, the gallant spirit Of chivalry, and the law of succession, have accus- tomed us to allow a singular exception; and a Woman is often acknowledged the absolute sove- reign of a great kingdom, in which she woulcft)e deemed incapable of exercising the smallest em- ployment, civil or military. But as the Roman emperors were still considered as thegenerals and magistrates of the republic, their wives and mo- thers, although distinguished by the name of Au- gusta, were never associated to their personal honours; and a female reign would have ap- peared an inexplicable prodigy in the eyes of those primitive Romans, who married without love,- or loved without delicacy and respect/ The q Hist. August, p. 114. By this nnnsnal precipitation, Uie senate meant to confound the hopes of pretenders, and prevent the factions of the armies. r Metellus Nnmidicus, the censor acknowledged to the Roman peo- ple, in a public oration, that had kind nature allowed us to exist with- out VOL. I. R 242 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, haughty Agrippina aspired, indeed, to share the , ' f .^ honours of the empire, which she had conferred on her son; but her mad ambition, detested by every citizen who felt for the dignity of Rome, was disappointed by the artful firmness of Se- neca and Burrhus. 8 The good sense, or the in- difference, of succeeding princes, restrained them from offending the prejudices of their sub- jects; and it was reserved for the profligate Elagabalus, to discharge the acts of the senate, with the name of his mother Sosemias, who was placed by the side of the consuls, and sub- scribed, as a regular member, the decrees of the legislative assembly. Her more prudent sis- ter, Mamoea, declined the useless and odious prerogative, and a solemn law was enacted, ex eluding women for ever from the senate, and devoting to the infernal gods, the head of the wretch by whom this sanction should be violat- ed. 1 The substance, not the pageantry of power ' was the object of Mamaea's rnanly ambition. She maintained an absolute and lasting empire over the mind of her son, and in his affection the mother could not brook a rival. Alexan- der, with her consent, married the daughter of a patrician; but his respect for his father-in- law, and love for the empress, were inconsist- ent with the tenderness or interest of Mamaea. The patrician was executed on the ready accu- out the help of women, we should be delivered from a very troublesome companion ; and he could recommend matrimony only as the sacrifice of private pleasure to public duty. Aulus Gellius, i, 6. 1 Tacit. Anna), xiii, 5. ' Hist. August, p. 102, 107. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 243 gation of treason, and the wife of Alexander CHAP. driven with ignominy from the palace, and ba- " nished into Africa." Notwithstanding this act of jealous cruelty, as wise and well as some instances of avarice, with which Sj e n r j e Mamaea is charged, the general tenor of her tratlon ^ administration was equally for the benefit of her son and of the empire. With the approbation of the senate, she chose sixteen of the wisest and most virtuous senators, as a perpetual council of state, before whom every public business of mo- ment was debated and determined. The cele- brated Ulpian, equally distinguished by his knowledge of, and his respect for, the laws of Rome, was at their head; and the prudent firm- ness of this aristocracy restored order and au- thority to the government. As soon as they had purged the city from foreign superstition and luxury, the remains of the capricious ty- ranny of Elagabalus, they applied themselves to remove his public creatures from every department of worthless administration, and to / supply their places with men of virtue and abi- lity. Learning, and the love of justice, became the only" recommendations for civil offices. Va- in I: , - . n r- - r - - 1 It u Din, 1. Ixxx, p. 1S69. Herodian, 1. vi, p. 206. Hist. An- gust. p. 131. Herodian represents the patrician as innocent. The Augustan history, on the authority of Dexippus, condemns him, as guilty of a conspiracy against the life of Alexander. It is impos- sible to pronounce between them ; bnt Dion is an irreproachable witness of the jealousy and cruelty of Mamaea toward the young empress, whose hard fate Alexander lamented, but durst not op- pose. R2 244 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. lour, and the love of discipline, the only quali- T!~~ fications for military employments/ Education But the most important care of Mamaea and and virtu- fo er w [ se counsellors, was to form the character ous temper of Aiexan- of the young emperor, on whose personal quali- ties the happiness or misery of the Roman world must ultimately depend. The fortunate soil as- sisted, and even prevented, the hand of cultiva- tion. An excellent understanding soon convin- ced Alexander of the advantages of virtue, the pleasure of knowledge, and the necessity of la- bour. A natural mildness and moderation of temper preserved him from the assaults of pas- sion and the allurements of vice. His unalter- able regard for his mother, and his esteem for the wise Ulpian, guarded his unexperienced youth from the poison of flattery. journal of The simple journal of his ordinary occupa- e. tions exhibits a pleasing picture of an accom- plished emperor/ and with some allowance for the difference of manners, might well deserve the imitation of modern princes. Alexander rose early ; the first moments of the day were consecrated to private devotion, and his domes- tic chapel was filled with the images of those heroes, who, by improving or reforming human x Herodian, 1. vi, p. 203. Hist. August, p. 119. The latter insinu- atcs, that when any law was to be passed, the council was assisted by a number of able lawyers and experienced senators, whose opinions were separately given, and taken down in writing. T See his life in the Augustan history. The undistinguishing com- piler has buried these interesting anecdotes under a load of trivial and nnmeaning circumstances OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 245 life, had deserved the grateful reverence of pos- CHAP. terity. But, as he deemed the service of man- ^, kind the most acceptable worship of the gods, the greatest part of his morning hours was em- ployed in his council, where he discussed pub- lic affairs, and determined private causes, with a patience and discretion above his years. The dryness of business was relieved by the charms of literature ; and a portion of time was always set apart for his favourite studies of poetry, his- tory, and philosophy. The works of Virgil and Horace, the republics of Plato and Cicero, form- ed his taste, enlarged his understanding, and gave him the noblest ideas of man and govern- ment. The exercises of the body succeeded to ' ' hose of the mind ; and Alexander, who was tall, active, and robust, surpassed most of his equals in the gymnastic arts. Refreshed by the use of the bath and a slight dinner, he re- sumed, with new vigour, the business of the day ; and, till the hour of supper, the principal meal of the Romans, he was attended by his secretaries, with whom he read and answered the multitude of letters, memorials, and peti- tions, that must have been addressed to the master of the greatest part of the world. His table was served with the most frugal simplicity; and whenever he was at liberty to consult his own inclination, the company consisted of a few select friends, men of learning and virtue, a- mongst whom Ulpian was constantly invited. Their conversation was familiar and instruc- tive; and the pauses were occasionally enliven- 246 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, ed by the recital of some pleasing composition, ' which supplied the place of the dancers, comedi- ans, and even gladiators, so frequently summoned to the tables of the rich and luxurious Romans. 1 The dress of Alexander was plain and modest, his demeanour courteous and affable : at the proper hours his palace was opened to all his subjects, but the voice of a crier was heard, as in the Eleusinian mysteries, pronouncing the same salutary admonition; " Let none enter " those holy walls, unless he is conscious of a " pure and innocent mind." a Such an uniform tenour of life, which left not happiness of iheRo a moment for vice or folly, is a better proof of A!''D "222- the wisdom and justice of Alexander's govern- ment, than all the trifling details preserved in the compilation of Lampridius. Since the ac- cession of Commodus, the Roman world had ex- perienced, during a term of forty years, the successive and various vices of four tyrants. From the death of Elagabalus, it enjoyed an auspicious calm of thirteen years. The pro- vinces, relieved from the oppressive taxes in- vented by Caracalla and his pretended son, flou- rished in peace and prosperity, under the admi- nistration of magistrates, who were convinced by experience, that to deserve the love of the sub- jects, was their best and only method of obtain ing the favour of their sovereign. While some entle restraints were imposed on the innocent Aiixury of the Roman people, the price of pro- vision/s, and the interest of money, were reduced z See the thirteenth satire of Juvenal. a Hist. August, p. 119. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 247 by the paternal care of Alexander, whose pru- C HAP. dent liberality, without distressing the industri- ous, supplied the wants and amusements of the populace. The dignity, the freedom, the autho- rity of the senate were restored ; and every vir- tuous senator might approach the person of the emperor, without fear, and without a blush. The name of A ntoninus, ennobled by the vir- Alexander tues of Pius and Marcus, had been communi- name of cated by adoption to the dissolute Verus, and by iomauM - descent to the cruel Commodus. It became the honourable appellation of the sons of Severus, was bestowed on young Diadumenianus, and at length prostituted to the infamy of the high priest of Emesa. Alexander, though pressed by the studied, and perhaps sincere importunity of the enate, nobly refused the borrowed lustre of a name: whilst in his whole conduct he laboured to restore the glories and felicity of the age of the genuine Antonines. b In the civil administration of Alexander, wis- He at - tempts to doni was enforced by power, and the people refoim the sensible of the public felicity, repaid their bene- " factor with their love and gratitude. There still remained a greater, a more necessary, but a more difficult enterprise ; the reformation of the military order, whose interest and temper, con- b See in the Hist. August p. 116, 117, the whole contest between Alexander and the senate, extracted from the journals of that assem- bly. It happened on the sixth of March, probably of the year 223, when the Romans had enjoyed, almost a twelvemonth, the blessings of bis reign. Before the appellation of Antoninus was offered him as a title of honour, the senate waited to see whether Alexander would not assume it as a family name. , THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, firmed by long impunity, rendered them impa- ' tient of the restraints of discipline, and careless of the blessings of public tranquillity. In the execution of his design the emperor affected to display his love, and to conceal his fear, of the army. The most rigid economy in every other branch of the administration, supplied a fund of gold and silver for the ordinary pay and the ex- traordinary rewards of the troops. In their marches he relaxed the severe obligation of car- rying seventeen days provision on their shoulders. Ample magazines were formed along the public roads, and as soon as they entered the enemy's country, a numerous train of mules and camels waited on their haughty laziness. As Alexander despaired of correcting the luxury of his soldiers, he attempted at least to direct it to objects of martial pomp and ornament, fine horses, splen- did armour, and shields enriched with silver and gold. He shared whatever fatigues he was obliged to impose, visited in person the sick and wounded, preserved an exact register of their services and his own gratitude, and expressed, on every occasion, the warmest regard for a body of men, whose welfare, as he affected to declare, was so closely connected with that of the state. By the most gentle arts he laboured to inspire the fierce multitude with a sense of duty, and to restore at least a faint image of that discipline to which the Romans owed their empire over so c It was a favourite saying of the emperor's, Se milites magis ser- vare, quam seipsum ; quod salus publica iu his esset. Hist. Augusta p. 130. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 249 many other nations, as warlike and more power- CHAP. ful than themselves. But his prudence was , i + *+++^+*+^ vain, his courage fatal, and the attempt to- wards a reformation served only to inflame the ills it was meant to cure. The praetorian eruards were attached to the * youth of Alexander. They loved him as a ten- der pupil, whom they had saved from a tyrant's fury, and placed on the imperial throne. That amiable prince was sensible of the obligation ; but as his gratitude was restrained within the limits of reason and justice, they soon were more dissatisfied with the virtues of Alexander, than !hey had ever been with the vices of Elagabalus. Their prefect, the wise Ulpian, was the friend of the laws and of the people ; he was con sidered as the enemy of the soldiers, and to his pernicious counsels every scheme of reformation was imputed. Some trifling accident blew up their discontent into a furious mutiny ; and a m the Metelli. Hist. August, p. 119. The choice was judici- ous. In one short period of twelve years, the Metelli could reckon seven consulships and five triumphs. Sec Vellcius Paterculus, ii, 11, and the Fasti. k The life of Alexander, in the Augustan history, is the mere idea of a prefect prince, an awkward imitation of the Cyropa?dia. The ac- count of his reign, as given by Herodian, is rational and moderate, consistent with the general history of the age, and, in some of the most invidious particulars, confirmed by the decisive fragments of Dion. Yet, from a very paultry prejudice, the greater number of our mo- dern writers abuse Herodian, and copy the Augustan history. See Messrs, de Tillemont and Wotton. From the opposite prejudice, the emperor Julian (in Caesarib. p. 315) dwells with a visible satisfaction on the effeminate weakness of the Syrian, and the ridiculous avarice of bis mother. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 255 impressed on the minds of the Romans. This CHAP. internal change, which undermined the founda-^, , tions of the empire, we have endeavoured to ex- plain with some degree of order and perspicu- ity. The personal characters of the emperors, their victories, laws, follies, and fortunes, can interest us no farther than as they are connect- ed with the general history of the decline and fall of the monarchy. Our constant attention to that great object will not suffer us to over- look a most important edict of Antoninus Cara- calla, which communicated to all the free inha- bitants of the empire the name and privileges of Roman citizens. His unbounded liberality flowed not, however, from the sentiments of a generous mind ; it was the sordid result of ava- rice, and will naturally be illustrated by some observations on the finances of that state, from the victorious ages of the commonwealth to the reign of Alexander Severus. The siege ofVeii in Tuscany, the first consi- Establish derable enterprize of the Romans, was protract- '" ed to the tenth year, much less by the strength of the place than by the unskilfulness of the be- siegers. The unaccustomed hardships of so many winter campaigns, at the distance of near twenty miles from home, 1 required more than common encouragements ; and the senate wisely 1 According to the more accurate Dionysius, the city itself was only an hundred stadia, or twelve miles and a half from Rome, though some out-posts might be advanced farther on the side of Etruria. Nardini, in a professed treatise, has combated the popular opinion, and the authority of two popes, and has removed Veii from Civita Castellana to a little spot called Isola, in the midway between Rome and the lake Itraccutiu. 256 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, prevented the clamours of the people, by the in- -~*~ w stitutiou of a regular pay for the soldiers, which was levied by a general tribute, assessed accord- ing to an equitable proportion on the property of the citizens." 1 During more than two hun- dred years after the conquest of Veii, the vic- tories of the republic added less to the wealth than to the power of Rome. The states of Italy paid their tribute in military service only, and the vast force, both by sea and land, which was exerted in the Punic wars, was maintained at the expence of the Romans themselves. That high-spirited people (such is often the generous enthusiasm of freedom) cheerfully submitted to the most excessive but voluntary burdens, in the just confidence that they should speedily enjoy the rich harvest of their labours. Their expectations were not disappointed. In the course of a few years, the riches of Syracuse, of Carthage, of Macedonia, and of Asia, were brought in triumph to Rome. The treasures and aboii- f Perseus alone amounted to near two millions * and the Roman people, the sovereign Roman ci- of so many nations, was for ever delivered from the weight of taxes." The increasing revenue of the provinces was found sufficient to defray the ordinary establishment of war and govern- ment, and the superfluous mass of gold and silver was deposited in the temple of Saturn, m See the fourth and fifth books of Livy. lu the Roman Census, property, power, and taxation, were commensurate with each other. " Piin.Hist. Natur. 1. xxxiii, c.S. Cicero de Offic. ii, 22. Plutarch. ni P. /Emil. p. 275 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 257 and reserved for any unforeseen emergency of CHAP. the state. History has never perhaps suffered a greater Tributes or more irreparable injury, than in the loss of jf H cS, pr the curious register bequeathed by Augustus to the senate, in which that experienced prince so accurately balanced the revenues and expences of the Roman empire. p Deprived of this clear and comprehensive estimate, we are reduced to collect a few imperfect hints from such of the ancients as have accidentally turned aside from the splendid to the more useful parts of history. We are informed that, by the conquests of Pom- pey, the tributes of Asia were raised from fifty of Asia, to one hundred and thirty-five millions of drachms: or about four millions and a half sterling.* 1 Under the last and most indolent of the Ptolemies, the revenue of Egypt is said to fE gyp t, have amounted to twelve thousand five hundred talents; a sum equivalent to more than two millions and a half of our money, but which was afterwards considerably improved by the more exact economy of the Romans, and the increase of the trade of Ethiopia and India/ Gaul was enriched by rapine, as Egypt was by O f Gaui, commerce, and the tributes of those two great provinces have been compared as nearly equal See a fine description of this accumulated wealth of ages, in Lncan's Phars. 1. iii, v. 155, &c. p Tacit, in Annal. i, 11. It seems to have existed in the time of Appian. q Plutarch, in Pompeio, p. 642. r Strabo, 1. xvii, p. 793. VOL. I. S 258 CHAP, to each other in value.' The ten thousand EH- VT ^, boic or Phoenician talents, about four millions of Africa, sterling, 1 which vanquished Carthage was con- demned to pay within the term of fifty years, were a slight acknowledgment of the superio- rity of Rome, u and cannot bear the least pro- portion with the taxes afterwards raised both on the lands and on the persons of the inhabi- tants, when the fertile coast of Africa was re- duced into a province/ of Spain, Spain, by a very singular fatality, was the Peru and Mexico of the old world. The dis- covery Uf thti rich western continent by the Phoenicians, and the oppression of the simple natives, who were compelled to labour in their own mines for the benefit of strangers, form an exact type of the more recent history of Spanish America/ The Phoenicians were acquainted only with the sea-coast of Spain ; avarice, as well as ambition, carried the arms of Rome and Carthage into the heart of the country, and al- most every part of the soil was found preg- nant with copper, silver, and gold. Mention is made of a mine near Carthagena, which yieid- 1 V elk-ins Paterculus, I. c. ii, 39. He seems to give the preference to the revenue of Gaul. I The Euboc, the Phoenician, and the Alexandrian talents were don- ble in weight to the Attic. See Hooper on ancient weights and mea- sures, p. iv, c. 5. It is very probable that the same talent was carried from Tyre to Carthage. II Polyb. 1. xv, c. 2. * Appian in Punicis, p. 84. 7 Diodorus Sicnlus, I. v. Cadiz was built by the Phoenicians, a little more than a thousand ears before Christ. See Veil. Paterc. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 259 ed every day twenty-five thousand drachms of CHAP. silver, or about three hundred thousand pounds fff ..^ ff . a year.* Twenty thousand pound weight cf gold was annually received from the provinces of Austria, Gallicia, and Lusitania.* We want both leisure and materials to pursue of theisie this curious inquiry through the many potent "* states that were annihilated in the Roman em- pire. Some notion, however, may be formed of the revenue of the provinces, where considerable wealth had been deposited by nature, or collect- ed by man, if we observe the severe attention that was directed to the abodes of solitude and sterility. Augustus once received a petition from the inhabitants af Gyarus, humbly pray- ing that they might be relieved from one-third of their excessive impositions. Their whole tax amounted indeed to no more than one hundred and fifty drachms, or about five pounds : but Gyarus was a little island, or rather a rock of the ^Egean sea, destitute of fresh water and every necessary of life, and inhabited only by a few wretched fishermen.* From the faint glimmerings of such doubtful Amount of and scattered lights we should be inclined to D ue. ref believe, 1st, That (with every fair allowance for * Strabo. 1. iii, p. 148. 1 Plin. Hist. Natnr. 1. xxxiii, c. 3. He mentions likewiie a sil- ver mine in Dalmatia, that yielded every day fifty pounds to the state. b Strabo, 1. x, p. 485. Tacit. Annal. iii, 69, and iv, 30. See in Tor- nefort (Voyages au Levant, lettre viii), a very little picture of the M. tual misery of Gyarus . 1 260 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, the difference of times and circumstances) the ^^.^ general income of the Roman provinces could seldom amount to less than fifteen or twenty 'millions of our money; 6 and, 2dly, That so ample a revenue must have been fully adequate ji ; to all the expences of the moderate government instituted by Augustus, whose court was the modest family of a private senator, and whose military establishment was calculated for the defence of the frontiers, without any aspiring views of conquest, or any serious apprehension of a foreign invasion. Taxes on Notwithstanding the seeming probability of in- both these conclusions, the latter of them at least positively disowned by the language and con- duct of Augustus. It is not easy to determine whether, on this occasion, he acted as the com- mon father of the Roman world, or as the op- pressor of liberty ; whether he wished to relieve the provinces, or to impoverish the senate and the equestrian order. But no sooner had he assumed the reins of government, than he fre- quently intimated the insufficiency of the tributes, and the necessity of throwing an equitable pro- portion of the public burden upon Rome and Italy. In the prosecution of this unpopular de- sign, he advanced, however, by cautious and well-weighed steps. The introduction of customs was followed by the establishment of an .excise, c Lipsius de magnitudiue Romana (1. 2, c. 3; computes tire re- venue at one hundred and fifty millions of gold crowns ; but his whole book, thoogh learned and ingenious, betrays a very heated ima- gination. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 2t>l and the scheme of taxation was completed by CHAP. an artful assessment on the real and personal . ' property of the Roman citizens, \vho had been exempted from any kind of contribution above a century and a half. i. In a great empire like that of Rome, a na- Tlle c " " tonu. tural balance of money must have gradually es- tablished itself. It has been already observed, that as the wealth of the provinces was attracted to the capital by the strong hand of conquest and power; so a considerable part of it was re- stored to the industrious provinces by the gentle influence of commerce and arts. In the reign of Augustus and his successors, duties were im- posed on every kind of merchandise, which through a thousand channels flowed to the great centre of opulence and luxury ; and in whatso- ever manner the law was expressed, it was the Roman purchaser, and not the provincial mer- chant, who paid the tax. d The rate of the cus- toms varied from the eighth to the fortieth part of the value of the commodity ; and we have a right to suppose that the variation was directed by the unalterable maxims of policy; that a higher duty was fixed on the articles of luxury than on those of necessity, and that the produc- tions raised or manufactured by the labour of the subjects of the empire, were treated with more indulgence than was shewn. to the pernicious, or at least the unpopular commerce of Arabia and % " Tacit. Annal. xiii, 31. - 262 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP. India.' There is still extant a Ions but im- vi perfect catalogue of eastern commodities, which about the time of Alexander Severus were sub- ject to the payment of duties; cinnamon, myrrh, pepper, ginger, and the whole tribe of aromatics, a great variety of precious stones, among which the diamond was the most remarkable for its price, and the emerald for its beauty/ Parthian and Babylonian leather, cottons, silks, both raw and manufactured, ebony, ivory, and eunuchs. 1 We may observe that the use and value of those effeminate slaves gradually rose with the decline of the empire. The excise u. The excise, introduced by Augustus after the civil wars, was extremely moderate, but if was general. It seldom exceeded one per cent.. but it comprehended whatever was sold in the markets or by public auction, from the most con- siderable purchase of lands and houses, to those minute objects which can only derive a value from their infinite multitude, and daily consump- tion. Such a tax, as it affects the body of the people, has ever been the occasion of clamour and discontent. An emperor well acquainted e See Pliny (Hist. Natur. 1. vi, c. 23, 1. xii, c. 18). His observation, that the Indian commodities were sold at Rome at a hundred times their original price, may give us some notion of the produce of the customs, since that original price amounted to more than eight hundred thousand pounds. f The ancients were unacquainted with the art of cutting dia- monds. 6 M. Bouchaud, in his treatise de 1'Impot chez les Remains, bat transcribed this catalogue from the Digest, and attempts to illustrate H by a very prolix commentary. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 203 with the wants and resources of the state, was CHAP. vi. obliged to declare by a public edict, that the support of the army depended in a great mea- sure on the produce of the excise. h in. When Augustus resolved to establish a Tax on ie- permanent military force for the defence of his " government against foreign and domestic ene- mies, he instituted a peculiar treasury for the pay of the soldiers, the rewards of the veterans, and the extraordinary expences of war. The ample revenue of the excise, though peculiarly appro- priated to those uses, was found inadequate. To supply the deficiency, the emperor suggested a new tax of five per cent, on all legacies and inheritances. But the nobles of Rome were more tenacious of property than of freedom. Their indignant murmurs were received by Au- gustus with his usual temper. He candidly re- ferred the whole business to the senate, and ex- horted them to provide for the public service by some other expedient of a less odious nature. They were divided and perplexed. He insinu- ated to them, that their obstinacy would oblige him to propose a general land-tax and capitation. They acquiesced in silence. 1 The new imposi- tion on legacies and inheritances was, however, mitigated by some restrictions. It did not take place unless the object was of a certain value, * Tacit. Annal. i, 78. Two years afterwards, the reduction of the poor kingdom of Cappadocia gave Tiberius a pretence for dimi- nishing the excise to one half; but the relief wa of ery hort duration. ' Dion CassiiM, 1. Iv, p. 794, 1. hri, p. 825. S 4 264 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, most probably of fifty or an hundred pieces of .* gold; k nor could it be exacted from the nearest of kin on the father's side. 1 When the rights of nature and poverty were thus secured, it seemed reasonable, that a stranger, or a distant relation, who acquired an unexpected accession of for- tune, should cheerfully resign a twentieth part of it, for the benefit of the state. 1 " suited to Such a tax, plentiful as it must prove in every the laws and man- wealthy community, was most happily suited to the situation of the Romans, who could frame their arbitrary wills, according to the dictates of reason or caprice, without any restraint from the modern fetters of entails and settlements. From various causes the partiality of paternal affection often lost its influence over the stern patriots o" the commonwealth, and the dissolute nobles of the empire ; and if the father bequeathed to his son the fourth part of his estate, he removed all ground of legal complaint. 11 But a rich child- less old man was a domestic tyrant, and his power increased .with his years and infirmities. A servile crowd, in which he frequently reck- oned praetors and consuls, courted his smiles, pampered his avarice, applauded his follies, ser- ved his passions, and waited with impatience for k The sum is only fixed by conjecture. 1 As the Roman law subsisted for many ages, the cognati, or real tions on the mother's side, were not called to the succession. This harsh institution was gradually undermined by humanity, and finally abolished by Justinian. m Plin. Panegyric, c. 37. * See Heineccius in the Antiquit. Juris Roman!, 1. ii. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 265 his death. The arts of attendance and flattery CHAP. were formed into a most lucrative science ; those who professed it acquired a peculiar appellation; and the whole city, according to the lively de- scriptions of satire, was divided between two parties, the hunters and their game. Yet, while so many unjust and extravagant wills were every day dictated by cunning, and subscribed by folly, a few were the result of rational esteem and virtuous gratitude. Cicero, who had so often defended the lives and fortunes of his fel- low-citizens, was rewarded with legacies to the amount of an hundred and seventy thousand pounds ; p nor do the friends of the younger Pliny seem to have been less generous to that amiable orator. q Whatever was the motive of the testator, the treasury claimed, without dis- tinction, the twentieth part of his estate ; and ID the course of two or three generations, the whole property of the subject must have gradually passed through the coffers of the state. In the first and golden years of the reign of R eg ni- Nero, that prince, from a desire of popularity and perhaps from a blind impulse of benevo- lence, conceived a wish of abolishing the op- pression of the customs and excise. The wisest senators applauded his magnanimity ; but they Horat. 1. ii, sat. v. Petron. c. 116, &c. Plin. 1. ii, epiit. 20. f Cicero in Pbillipp. ii, c. 16. ^ See his epistles. Every such will give him an occasion of display- ing his reverence to the dead, and his justice to the living. He recon- ciled both, in his behaviour to a son who had been disinherited by bis mother (v. 1). 266' THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, diverted him from the execution of a design, which would have dissolved the strength and resources of the republic/ Had it indeed been possible to realize this dream of fancy, such princes as Trajan and the Antonines would surely have embraced with ardour the glorious opportunity of conferring so signal an obliga- tion on mankind. Satisfied, however, with al- leviating the public burden, they attempted not to remove it. The mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the rule and measure of taxation, and protected the subject of every rank against arbitrary interpretations, antiquat- ed claims, and the insolent vexation of the far- mers of the revenue.* For it is somewhat sin- gular that, in every age, the best and wisest o* the Roman governors persevered in this perni cious method of collecting the principal branches at least of the excise and customs. 1 Edict of The sentiments, and, indeed, the situation of Caracalla, were very different from those of the Antonines. Inattentive, or rather averse to the welfare of his people, he found himself under the necessity of gratifying the insatiate avarice, which he had excited in the army. Of the seve- ral impositions introduced by Augustus, the twentieth on inheritances and legacies was the most fruitful, as well as the most comprehen- r Tacit. Anna), xiii, 50. Esprit des Loix, 1. xii, c. 19. 8 See Pliny's Panegyric, the Augustan history, and Bnrman de Vec- tigal. passim. 1 The tributes (properly so called) were not fanned, iince the good princes often remitted many millions of arrears. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 267 sive. As its influence was not confined to Rome CHAP. VI or Italy, the produce continually increased with ' ffff the gradual extension of the Roman City. The new citizens, though charged, on equal terms," with the payment of new taxes, which had not affected them as subjects, derived an ample compensation from the rank they obtained, the privileges they acquired, and the fair prospect of honours and fortune that was thrown open to their ambition. But the favour which implied The fh*. a distinction was lost in the prodigality of Cara- C itgj veB * calla, and the reluctant provincials were com- 1"^!,^! pelled to assume the vain title, and the real ob- als for tn / T TVT i purpose ot ligatious, of JKoman citizens. IN or was the ra- taxation, pacious son of Severus contented with such a neasure of taxation as had appeared sufficient to his moderate predecessors. Instead of a twentieth, he exacted a tenth of all legacies and inheritances ; and during his reign (for the ancient proportion was restored after his death) he crushed alike every part of the empire un- der the weight of his iron sceptre. 1 When all the provincials became liable to the peculiar impositions of Roman citizens, they Ij seemed to acquire a legal exemption from the tnbute - tributes which they had paid in their former condition of subjects. Such were not the max- ims of government adopted by Caracalla and his pretended son. The old as well as the new taxes were, at the same time, levied in the pro- u The situation of the new citizens is minutely described by Pliny ^Panegyric, c. 37, 38, 39). Trajan published a law very much in their favour. ' Dion, 1. Ixxvii, p. 1295. 208 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, vinces. It was reserved for the virtue of A lex- .*.* ander to relieve them, in a great measure, from this intolerable grievance, by reducing the tri- butes to a thirtieth part of the sum exacted at the time of his accession/ It is impossible to conjecture the motive that engaged him to spare so trifling a remnant of the public evil ; but the noxious weed, which had not been totally era- dicated, again sprang up with the most luxuri- ant growth, and, in the succeeding age, dark- ened the Roman world with its deadly shade. In the course of this history, we shall be too often summoned to explain the land-tax, the capitation, and the heavy contributions of corn, wine, oil, and meat, which were exacted from the provinces for the use of the court, the army, and the capital. As long as Rome and Italy were respected as quences of . i * the uni- the centre or government, a national spirit was doinof ree preserved by the ancient, and insensibly imbibed Rome. j-jy j ie a( | O pted, citizens. The principal com- mands of the army were filled by men who had received a liberal education, were well instruct- ed in the advantages of laws and letters, and who had risen, by equal steps, through the regular succession of civil and military honours.* TV their influence and example we may partly ascribe the modest obedience of the legions y He who paid ten aurei, the usual tribute, was charged with no morr than the third part of an aureus, and proportional pieces of gold were coined by Alexander's order. Hist. August, p. 127, with the commen- tary of Salmasius. z See the lives of Agricola, Vespasian, Trajan, Severus, and his three competitors, and indeed of all the eminent men of those times. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 269 during the two first centuries of the imperial CHAP. history. ' wf But when the last enclosure of the Roman constitution was trampled down by Caracalla, the separation of professions gradually succeeded to the distinction of ranks. The more polished citizens of the internal provinces were alone qua- lified to act as lawyers and magistrates. The rougher trade of arms was abandoned to the pea- sants and barbarians of the frontiers, who knew no country but their camp, no science but that of war, no civil laws, and scarcely those of military discipline. With bloody hands, savage manners, and desperate resolutions, they sometimes guard- ed, but much oftener subverted, the throne of the emperors. 270 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP VII. The elevation and tyranny of Maximin. Rebel- lion in Africa and Ilaly, under the authority oj the senate. Civil wars and seditions. -Violent deaths of Maximin and his son, of Maximum and Balbinus, and of the three Gordians. Usurpation and secular games of Philip. CHAP. | OF the various forms of government, which ____ ,> have prevailed in the world, an hereditary mo- aJ narchy seems to present the fairest scope for ri- cu"e." dl i dicule. Is it possible to relate, without an in- dignant smile, that on the father's decease, the property of a nation, like that of a drove of oxen, descends to his infant son, as yet unknown to mankind and to himself; and that the bravest warriors and the wisest statesmen, relinquishing their natural right to empire, approach the royal cradle with bended knees and protestations of inviolable fidelity? Satire and declamation may paint these obvious topics in the most dazzling ? colours, but our more serious thoughts will re- spect a useful prej udice, that establishes a rule of ? succession, independent of the passions of man- kind ; and we shall cheerfully acquiesce in any expedient which deprives the multitude of the dangerous, and indeed the ideal, power of giv- ing themselves a master. and solid j n t ne coo i shade of retirement, we may easi- adrantages ly devise imaginary forms of government, in which the sceptre shall be constantly bestowed OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 271 on the most worthy, by the free and incorrupt cfi\i>. suffrage of the whole community. Experience \ M overturns these airy fabrics, and teaches us, that in a large society, the election of a monarch can never devolve to the wisest, or to the most nu- merous, part of the people. The army is the only order of men sufficiently united tojconcur in the same sentiments, and powerful enough to impose them on the rest of their fellow-citizens ; but the temper of soldiers, habituated at once tcrriolence and to slavery, renders them very unfit guardians of a legal, or even a civil, con- stitution. Justice, humanity, or political wis- dom, are qualities they are too little acquainted with in themselves, to appreciate them in others. Valour will acquire their esteem, and liberality will purchase their suffrage; but the first of these merits is often lodged in the most savage breasts; the latter can only exert itself at the expence of the public ; and both may be turned against the possessor of the throne, by the am- bition of a daring rival. The superior prerogative of birth, when it has Want ><" u* J Tu f x- in theKo- obtamed the sanction of time and popular opi- man em- nion, is the plainest and least invidious of all ductiveof distinctions amonff mankind. The acknowledged tlle e reat : ; 9 _ est calami- right extinguishes the hopes of faction, and the ties. ] conscious security disarms the cruelty ofthemo- nnarch. To the firm establishment of tbie idea, we owe the peaceful succession and mild admi- nistration of European monarchies. To the defect of it, we must attribute the frequent civil 272 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, wars, through which an Asiatic despot is obliged tf l to cut his way to the throne of his fathers. Yet even in the East, the sphere of contention is usually limited to the princes of the reigning house; and as soon as the more fortunate compe- titor has removed his brethren, by the sword and the bow-string, he no longer entertains any jea- lousy of his meaner subjects. But the Roman empire, after the authority of the senate had sunk into contempt, was a vast scene of confusion. The royal, and even noble, families of the pro- vinces, had long since been led in triumph before the car of the haughty republicans. The ancient families of Rome had successively fallen beneath the tyranny of the Caesars; and whilst those princes were shackled by the forms of a com mon-wealth, and disappointed by the repeated failure of their posterity,* it was impossible that any idea of hereditary succession should have taken root in the minds of their subjects. The right to the throne, which none could claim from birth, every one assumed from merit. The daring hopes of ambition were set loose from the salutary restraints of law and prejudice, and the meanest of mankind might, without folly, entertain a hope of being raised, by va- lour and fortune, to a rank in the army, in which a single crime would enable him to wrest the sceptre of the world from his feeble and un- n There had been no example of three successive generations on the throne ; only three instances of sons who succeeded their fathers. The marriages of the Csesars (notwithstanding the permission, and the fre- quent practice of divorces) were generally unfruitful. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 273 popular master. After the murder of Alexan- CHAP. der Severus, and the elevation of Maximin, 110 emperor could think himself safe upon the throne, and every barbarian peasant of the fron- tier might aspire to that august, but dangerous station. About thirty-two years before that event, the Birth and emperor Severus, returning from an eastern ex- i pedition, halted in Thrace, to celebrate, with mi- litary games, the birth-day of his younger son, Geta. The country flocked in crowds to behold their sovereign, and a young barbarian of gigantic stature, earnestly solicited, in his rude dialect, that he might be allowed to contend for the prize of wrestling. As the pride of discipline would have been disgraced in the overthrow of a Roman soldier by a Thracian peasant, he was matched with the stoutest followers of the camp, sixteen of whom he successively laid on the ground. His victory was rewarded by some trifling gifts, and a permission to inlist in the troops. The next day, the happy barbarian was distinguished above a crowd of recruits, dancing and exulting after the fashion of his country: As soon as he perceived that he had attracted the emperor's notice, he instantly ran up to his horse, and fol- lowed him on foot, without the least appearance of fatigue, in a long and rapid career. " Thra- " cian," said Severus with astonishment, " art " thou disposed to wrestle after thy race?" Most willingly, sir, replied the unwearied youth ; and, almost in a breath, overthrew seven of the strongest soldiers in the army. A gold collarwas VOL. i. T 274 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP, the prize of his matchless vigour and activity, J and he was immediately appointed to serve in the horse-guards who always attended on the person of the sovereign.* tarter Maximin, for that was his name, though born vice and on the territories of the empire, descended from a mixed race of barbarians. His father was a Goth, and his mother of the nation of the Alani. He displayed, on every occasion, a valour equal to his strength ; and his native fierceness was soon tempered or disguised by the knowledge of the world. Under the reign of Severus and his son, he obtained the rank of centurion, with the favour and esteem of both those princes, the for- mer of whom was an excellent judge of merit Gratitude forbade Maximin to serve under the assassin of Caracalla. Honour taught him to decline the effeminate insults of Elagabalus. On the accession of Alexander he returned to court, and was placed by that prince in a station useful to the service, and honourable to himself. The fourth legion, to which he was appointed tribune, soon became, under his care, the best disciplined of the whole army. With the general applause of the soldiers, who bestowed on their favourite hero the names of Ajax and Hercules, he was successively promoted to the first military com- mand ; e and had not he still retained too much b Hist. August, p. 138. c Hist. August, p. 140. Herodian, 1. vi, p. 223. Aurelius Victoi. By comparing these authors, it should seem that Maximin had the par- ticislar command of the TribaHiau horse, with the general commission of OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 275 of his savage origin, the emperor might perhaps C y^ p ' have given his own sister in marriage to the son *~~~,* of Maximin/ Instead of securing his fidelity, these favours Cojjs . served only to inflame the ambition of the Thra- cy ofMax- cian peasant, who deemed his fortune inadequate 1 to his merit, as long as he was constrained to acknowledge a superior. Though a stranger to real wisdom, he was not devoid of a selfish cun- ning, which shewed him that the emperor had lost the affection of the army, and taught him to improve their discontent to his own advantage. It is easy for faction and calumny to shed their poison on the administration of the best of princes, and to accuse ven their virtues, by artfully con- r ounding them with those vices to which they be-ar the nearest affinity. The troops listened with pleasure to the emissaries ^-f Maximin. They blushed at their own ignominious patience, which, during thirteen years, had supported the vexatious discipline imposed by an effeminate Syrian, the timid slave of his mother and of the senate. It was time, they cried, to cast away that useless phantom of the civil power, and to elect for their prince and general a real soldier, educated in camps, exercised in war, who would assert the glory, and distribute among his com- panions the treasures of the empire. A great of discipling the recruits of the whole army. His biographer ought to have marked, with more care, his exploits, and the successive steps of Ins military promotions. See the original letter of Alexander Severus. Hist. Augiut. p. 149. T 2 276 THE DECLINE AND FALL OHAE army was al that time assembled on the banks of VTT ^ the Rhine, under the command of the emperor himself, who, almost immediately after his re- turn from the Persian war, had been obliged to march against the barbarians of Germany. The important care of training and reviewing the new levies was intrusted to Maximin. One day, as he entered the field of exercise, the troops, either from a sudden impulse, or a formed con- spiracy, saluted him emperor, silenced by their loud acclamations his obstinate refusal, and has- A. D . 235, tened to consummate their rebellion by the mur- ' der of Alexander Severus. Murder of The circumstances of his death are variously Severus der related. The writers, who supposed that he died in ignorance of the ingratitude and ambition of Maximin, affirm that, after taking a frugal re- past in the sight of the army, he retired to sleep, and that, about the seventh hour of the day, a part of his own guards broke into the imperial tent, and, with many wounds, assassinated their virtuous and unsuspecting prince.' If we credit another, and indeed a more probable account, Maximin was invested with the purple by a nu- merous detachment, at the distance of several miles from the head-quarters; and he trusted for success rather to the secret wishes, than to the c Hist. August, p. 135. I have softened some of the most improba- ble circumstances of this wretched biographer. From this ill-worded narration, it should seem, that the prince's buffoon having accidently entered the tent, and awakened the slumbering monarch, the fear of punishment urged him to persuade the disaffected soldiers to commit the murder. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 277 public declarations of the great army. Alexan- CHAP. der had sufficient time to awaken a faint sense V~ of loyalty among his troops ; but their reluctant professions of fidelity quickly vanished on the appearance of Maximin, who declared himself the friend and advocate of the military order, and was unanimously acknowledged emperor of the Romans by the applauding legions. The son of Mamaea, betrayed and deserted, withdrew into his tent, desirous at least to conceal his ap- proaching fate from the insults of the multitude. He was soon followed by a tribune and some centurions, the ministers of death ; but instead of receiving with manly resolution the inevitable stroke, his unavailing cries and entreaties dis- graced the last moments of his life, and con- verted into contempt some portion of the just pity which his innocence and misfortunes must inspire. His mother Mamaea, whose pride and avarice he loudly accused as the cause of his ruin, perished with her son. The most faithful of his friends were sacrificed to the first fury of the soldiers. Others were reserved for the more deliberate cruelty of the usurper; and those who experienced the mildest treatment, were stripped of their employments, and ignominiously driven from the court and army/ The former tyrants, Caligula and Nero, Com- Tyranny modus and Caracalla, were all dissolute and un- min. ** experienced youths,*educated in the purple, and f Herodian, 1. vi, p. 223-227. 1 Caligula, the eldest of the four, was only twenty-five yeart of age when he ascended the throne ; Caracalla was twenty-three, Commodu* uincteen, and Nero no more than seventeen. 278 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, corrupted by the pride of empire, the luxury of J_ Rome, and the perfidious voice of flattery. The cruelty of Maximin was derived from a different souf dte/ the fear of jboriiitempt. though' he "dtJ- pended on the attachment of the soldiers, who loved him for virtues like their own, he was con- scious that his mean and barbarian origin, his savage appearance, and his total ignorance of the arts and institutions of civil life, h formed a very unfavourable contrast with the amiable manners of the unhappy Alexander. He remembered, that, in his humbler fortune, he had often waited before the door of the haughty nobles of Rome, and had been denied admittance by the inso- lence of their slaves. He recollected too th friendship of a few who had relieved his pover ty, and assisted his rising hopes. But those who had spurned, and those who had protected the Thracian, were guilty of the same crime, the knowledge of his original obscurity. For this crime many were put to death; and by the exe- cution of several of his benefactors, Maximin published, in characters of blood, the indelible history of his baseness and ingratitude. 1 The dark and sanguinary soul of the tyrant, was open to every suspicion against those among his subjects who were the most distinguished by their birth or merit. Whenever he was alarmed h , It appears that he was totally ignorant of the Greek language, which, from its universal use in conversation and letters, was an essen- tial part of every liberal education ' Hist. August, p. 141. Herodian, 1. vii, p. 237. The latter of these historians has been most unjustly censured for sparing the vic f Maximin. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 279 with the sound of treason, his cruelty was un- CHAP. bounded and unrelenting. A conspiracy against ,, his life was either discovered or imagined, and Magnus, a consular senator, was named as the principal author of it. Without a witness, with- out a trial, and without an opportunity of de- fence, Magnus, with four thousand of his sup- posed accomplices, were put to death. Italy and the wholeempire were infested with innumerable spies and informers. On the slightest accusation, the first of the Roman nobles, who had governed provinces, commanded armies, and been adorned with the consular and triumphal ornaments, were chained on the public carriages, and hurried away to the emperor's presence. Confiscation, exile, or simple death, were esteemed uncommon ftstances of his lenity. Some of the unfortunate sufferers he ordered to be sewed up in the hides of slaughtered animals, others to be exposed to wild beasts, others again to be beaten to death with clubs. During the three years of his reign, he disdained to visit either Rome or Italy. Bis camp, occasionally removed from the banks of the Rhine to those of the Danube, was the seat of his stern despotism, which trampled on every principle of law and justice, and was supported by the avowed power of the sword. k No man k The wife or* Maximin, by insinuating wise counsels with female gentleness, sometimes brought back the tyrant to the way of truth and humanity. See Ammianus Marcellinns, 1. xiv, c. 1, where he alludes to the fact, which he had more fully related under the reign of the Gordians. We may collect from the medals, that Paulina was the name of tliis benevolent empress; and from the title of Diva, that she died before Maximin. (Valesius ad loc. cit. Amniian.) Spanheim de U. et P. N. torn, ii, p. 300. 280 THE DECLINE AND FALL crfAP. of noble birth, elegant accomplishments, or l ' f ___ knowledge of civil business, was suffered near his person; and the court of a Roman emperor revived the idea of those ancient chiefs of slaves and gladiators, whose savage power had left a deep impression of terror and detestation. 1 Oppress!- As long as the cruelty of Maximin was con- provinces. fined to the illustrious senators, or even to the bold adventurers, who in the court or army ex- pose themselves to the caprice of fortune, the body of the people viewed their sufferings with indifference, or perhaps with pleasure. But the tyrant's avarice, stimulated by the insatiate de- sires of the soldiers, at length attacked the pub- lic property. Every city of the empire was pos- sessed of an independent revenue, destined to purchase corn for the multitude, and to supply the expences of the games and entertainments. By a single act of authority, the whole mass of wealth was at once confiscated for the use of the imperial treasury. The temples were stripped of their most valuable offerings of gold and sil- ver, and the statues of gods, heroes, and em- perors, were melted down and coined into money. These impious orders could not be executed without tumults and massacres, as in many places the people chose rather to die in the defence of their altars, than to behold in the midst of peace their cities exposed to the rapine and cruelty of war. The soldiers them- selves, among whom this sacrilegious plunder ' He was compared to Spartacus and Athenio. Hist. August. p. 141 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE* 281 was distributed, received it with a blush ; and, CHAP. hardened as they were in acts of violence, they ft dreaded the just reproaches of their friends and relations. Throughout the Roman world a ge- neral cry of indignation was heard, imploring vengeance on the common enemy of human kind ; and at length, by an act of private op- pression, a peaceful and unarmed province was driven into rebellion against him. m The procurator of Africa was a servant worthy Revolt in of such a master, who considered the fines and A .D?^3r confiscations of the rich as one of the most fruit- ApnL ful branches of the imperial revenue. An ini- quitous sentence had been pronounced against some opulent youths of that country, the execu- tion o&which would have stripped them of far the greater part of their patrimony. In this ex- tremity, a resolution that must either complete or prevent their ruin, was dictated by despair. A respite of three days, obtained with difficulty from the rapacious treasurer, was employed in collecting from their estates a great number of slaves and peasants, blindly devoted to the com- mands of their lords, and armed with the rustic weapons of clubs and axes. The leaders of the conspiracy, as they were admitted to the audi- ence of the procurator, stabbed him with the daggers concealed under their garments, and, by the assistance of their tumultuary train, seiz- ed on the little town of Thysdrus," and erected m Herodian, 1. vii, p. 238. Zosim. 1. i, p. 15. " In the fertile territory of' Byzacium, one hundred and fifty miles to the south of Carthage. This city was decorated, probably by the Gordiam, 282 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, the standard of rebellion against the sovereign ^ of the Roman empire. They rested their hopes on the hatred of mankind against Maximin, and they judiciously resolved to oppose to that de- tested tyrant, an emperor whose mild virtues had already acquired the love and esteem of the Romans, and whose authority over the province would give weight and stability to the enterprize. Gordianus, their proconsul, and the object of tHeiFchoice, refused, with unfeigned reluctance, the dangerous honour, and begged, with tears, that they would suffer him to terminate in peace a long and innocent life, without staining his feeble age with civil blood. Their menaces compelled him to accept the imperial purple, his only refuge, indeed, against the jealous cruelty j of Maximin, since, according to the reasoning of ; tyrants, those who have been esteemed worthy of the throne deserve death, and thc-se who de- liberate have already rebelled. Character The family of Gordianus was one of the most tton of the illustrious of the Roman senate. On the father's d7ans G s ide, ne was descended from the Gracchi; on his mother's, from the emperor Trajan. A great estate enabled him to support the dignity of his birth; and, in the enjoyment of it, he displayed an elegant taste, and beneficent dis- position. The palace in Rome, formerly inha- bited by the great Pompey, had been, during Gordians, with the title of colony, and with a fine amphitheatre, which is still in a very perfect state. See Itinerar. Wesseling, p. 59, and Shaw's Travels, p. 117. Herodian. 1. vii, p. 239. Hist. August, p. 15$. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 283 several generations, in the possession of Gordi- c * p - an's family. 13 It was distinguished by ancient '. trophies of naval victories, and decorated with the works of modern painting. His villa on the road to Praeneste was celebrated for baths of sin- gular beauty and extent, for three stately rooms of an hundred feet in length, and for a magnifi- cent portico, supported by two hundred columns of the four most curious and costly sorts of mar- ble." 1 The public shews exhibited at his ex- pence, and in which the people were entertained with many hundreds of wild beasts and gladia- tors/ seem to surpass the fortune of a subject; and whilst the liberality of other magistrates was confined to a few solemn festivals in Rome, the magnificence of Gordian was repeated, when he was sedile, every monTTTin the year, and ex- tended, during his consulship, to the principal p Hist. August, p. 152. The celebrated bouse of Pompey in carinis was usurped by Marc Antony, and consequently became, after the tri- umvir's death, a part of the imperial domain. The emperor Trajan al- lowed, and even encouraged, the rich senators to purchase those magni- ficent and useless places (Plia. Panegyric, c. 50,); and it may seem probable that, on this occasion, Pompty's house came into the posses- sion of Gordian's great-grandfather. q The Claudian, the Numidian, the Carystian, and the Synna- dian. The colours of Roman marbles have been faintly described, and imperfectly distinguished. It appears, however, that the Carys- tian was a sea-green, and that the marble of Synnada was white, mixed with oval spots of purple. See Salmasius ad Hist. August. p. 164. " Hist. August, p. 151, 152. He sometimes gave five hundred pair of gladiators, never less than one hundred and fifty. He once gave, for the use of the circus, one hundred Sicilian, and as many Cappadocian horses. The animals designed for hunting were chiefly bears, boars, bulls, stags, elks, wild asses, &c. Elephants and lions seem to have been appropriated to imperial magnificence. 284 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, cities of Italy. He was twice elevated to the last- VII. mentioned dignity, by Caracalla and by Alex- ander; for he possessed the uncommon talent of acquiring the esteem of virtuous princes, with- out alarming the jealousy of tyrants. His long life was innocently spent in the study of letters and the peaceful honours of Rome; and, till he was named proconsul of Africa by the voice of the senate and the approbation of Alexander, * he appears prudently to have declined the com- mand of armies and the government of provinces. As long as that emperor lived, Africa was happy under the administration of his worthy repre- sentative ; after the barbarous Maximin had usurped the throne, Gordianus alleviated the miseries which he was unable to prevent. When he reluctantly accepted the purple, he was above fourscore years old ; a last and valuable remains of the happy age of the Antonines, whose virtues he revived in his own conduct, and celebrated in an elegant poem of thirty books. With the ve- nerable proconsul, his son, who had accompanied him into Africa as Kislieutenant, was likewise declared emperor. His manners were less pure, but his character was equally amiable with that of his father. Twenty-two acknowledged con- cubines, and a iTBfary of sixty-two thousand vo- lumes, attested the variety of jhis jnclinations; and from "the productions which he left behind * Sec the original letter, in the Augustan History, p. 152, which at once shews Alexander's respect for the authority of the senate, and his esteem for the proconsul appointed by that assembly. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 285 him, it appears that the former as well as the C " I A I P * u la~tter were designed for use rather than for os- ^ r tentation.* The Roman people acknowledged / in the features of the younger Gordian the re- semblance of Scipio Africanus, recollected with pleasure that his mother was the grand-daughter of Antoninus Pius, and rested the public hope on those latent virtues which had hitherto, as they fondly imagined, lain concealed in the lux- urious indolence of a private life. AssoonastheGordians had appeased the first They soli- tumult of a popular election, they removed their fim court to Carthage. They were received with the acclamations of the Africans, who honoured their virtues, and who, since the visit of Hadrian, had never beheld the majesty of a Roman em- peror. But these vain acclamations neither strengthened nor confirmed the title of the Gor- dians. They were induced by principle, as well as interest, to solicit the approbation of the senate ; and a deputation of the noblest provin- cials w r as sent, without delay, to Rome, to relate and justify the conduct of their countrymen, who, having long suffered with patience, were at length resolved to act with vigour. The letters of the new princes were modest and respectful, excu- sing the necessity which had obliged them to accept the imperial title ; but submitting their c By each of his concubines, the younger Gordian left three or fonr children. His literary productions, though lets numerous, were by mean* contemptible. 286 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, election and their fate to the supreme judgment of the senate." The senate The inclinations of the senate were neither eiecJoiurf doubtful nor divided. The birth and noble alli- dian? r ances of the Gordians had intimately connected them with the most illustrious houses of Rome. Their fortune had created many dependents in that assembly, their merit had acquired many friends. Their mild administration opened the flattering prospect of the restoration, not only of the civil but even of the republican government. The terror of military violence, which had first obliged the senate to forget the murder of Alex- ander, and to ratify the election of a barbarian peasant, 1 now produced a contrary effect, and provoked them to assert the injured rights of freedom and humanity. The hatred of Maxirnin towards the senate was declared and implacable; the tamest submission had not appeased his fury; the most cautious innocence would not remove his suspicions ; and even the care of their own safety urged them to share the fortune of an enterprise, of which (if unsuccessful) they were sure to be the first victims. These considerations, and perhaps others of a more private nature, were debated in a previous conference of the consuls and the magistrates. As soon as their resolution was decided, they convoked in the temple of Castor the whole body of the senate, u Herodian, 1. vii, p, 243. Hist. August, p. 144. x Quod tamer, patres dum perictilosum existiniaut ; inermes arrnat* rwistere approbaverunt. Aureliu* Victor. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 287 according to an ancient form of secrecy/ cal- CHAP. culated to awaken their attention, and to conceal . their decrees. " Conscript fathers," said the consul Syllanus, " the two Gordians, both of " consular dignity, the one your proconsul, the " other your lieutenant, have been declared em- " perors by the general consent of Africa. Let " us return thanks," he boldly continued, " to " the youth of Thysdrus; let us return thanks " to the faithful people of Carthage, our gene- " rous deliverers from an horrid monster. Why " do you hear me thus coolly, thus timidly ? " Why do you cast those anxious looks on each " other? why hesitate? Maximin is a public " enemy ! may his enmity soon expire with him, " and may we long enjoy the prudence and feli- " city of Gordian the father, the valour and " constancy of Gordian the son!" 2 The noble ardour of the consul revived the languid spirit of the senate. By an unanimous decree the elec- and de- / . tion of the Gordians was ratified ; Maximin, his son, and his adherents were pronounced enemies of their country, and liberal rewards were of- fered to whosoever had the courage and good fortune to destroy them. During the emperor's absence, a detachment Assume* of the praetorian guards remained at Rome, to m andS protect, or rather to command the capital. The * an r , . ' authorized to enrol and discipline the Italian youth ; and instructed to fortify the ports and highways, against the impending invasion ol Maximin. A number of deputies, chosen from the most illustrious of the senatorian and eques- trian orders, were dispatched at the same time to the governors of the several provinces, earnestly conjuring them to fly to the assistance of their country, and to remind the nations of their an- cient ties of friendship with the Roman senate and people. The general respect with which these deputies were received, and the zeal of Italy and the provinces in favour of the senate, sufficiently prove that the subjects of Maximin were reduced to that uncommon distress, in which the body of the people has more to fear from oppression than from resistance. The con- sciousness of that melancholy truth, inspires a degree of persevering fury, seldom to be found in those civil wars which are artificially support- ed for the benefit of a few factious and designing leaders. 6 For while the cause otbe Gordians was em- Deft at and braced with such diffusive ardour, the Gordians the tiro themselves were no more. The feeble court of ?' di ^' - A* 1) 4O4 , Carthage was alarmed with the rapid approach of 3d Jul y- Capelianus, governor of Mauritania, who, with a small band of veterans, and a fierce host of bar- b Herodian, 1. vii, p. 247. I. viii, p. 277. Hist. August, p. 196- 158. VOL. I. U 290 THE DECLINE AND FALL barians, attacked a faithful, but unwarlike pro- vince. The younger Gordian sallied out to meet the enemy at the head of a few guards, and a numerous undisciplined multitude, educated in the peaceful luxury of Carthage. His useless valour served only to procure him an honourable death in the field of battle. His aged father, whose reign had not exceeded thirty-six days, put an end to his life on the first news of the de- feat. Carthage, destitute of defence, opened her gates to the conqueror, and Africa was ex- posed to the rapacious cruelty of a slave, obli- ged to satisfy his unrelenting master with a large account of blood and treasure." 1 Election of The fate of the Gordians filled Rome with just - but unexpected terror. The senate convoked in the the temple of Concord; affected to transact the 9th July, common business of the day ; and seemed to de- cline, with trembling anxiety, the consideration of their own, and the public danger. A silent consternation prevailed in the assembly, till a senator, of the name and family of Trajan, awak- ened his brethren from their fatal lethargy. He represented to them, that the choice of cautious dilatory measures had been long since out of their power; that Maximin, implacable by nature, c Herodian, 1. vii, p. 254. Hist. August, p. 150 160. We may ob- serve, that one month and six days, for the reign of Gordian, is a just correction of Casaubon and Panvinius, instead of the absurd reading of one year and six months. See Commentar. p. 193. Zosimus relates, 1. i, p 17, that the two Gordians perished by a tempest in the midst of their navigation ; a strange ignorance of history, or a strange abuse of metaphors ! OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 29 and exasperated by injuries, was advancing to- CHAP. wards Italy, at the head of the military force of .!!*' the empire; and that their only remaining alter- native, was either to meet him bravely in the field, or tamely to expect the tortures and igno- minious death reserved for unsuccessful rebel- lion. " We have lost," continued he, " two " excellent princes; but unless we desert our- " selves, the hopes of the republic have not " perished with the Gordians. Many are the " senators, whose virtues have deserved, and " whose abilities would sustain, the imperial " dignity. Let us elect two emperors, one of " whom may conduct the war against the pub- " lie enemy, whilst his colleague remains at " Rome to direct the civil administration. I " cheerfully expose myself to the danger and " envy of the nomination, and give my vote in " favour of Maximus and Balbinus. Ratify my " choice, conscript fathers, or appoint, in their " place, others more worthy of the empire." The general apprehension silenced the whispers of jealousy; the merit of the candidates was universally acknowledged; and the house re- sounded with the sincere acclamations of " long " life and victory to the emperors Maximus and " Balbinus. You are happy in the judgment " of the senate; may the republic be happy un- " der your administration !" d " See the Augustine history, p. 166, from the registers of the senate; the date is confessedly faulty, but the coincidence of the Apoilinarisn games enables us to correct it. u 2 292 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The virtues and the reputation of the new em- XTTT ' fM perors justified the most sanguine hopes of the Their cha- Romans. The various nature of their talents racters. seeme( j to appropriate to each his peculiar de- partment of peace and war, without leaving room for jealous emulation. Balbinus was an admired orator, a poet of distinguished fame, and a wise magistrate, who had exercised with innocence and applause the civil jurisdiction in almost all the interior provinces of the empire. His birth was noble, 6 his fortune affluent, his manners li- beral and affable. In him the love of pleasure was corrected by a sense of dignity, nor had the habits of ease deprived him of a capacity for business. The mind of Maximus was formed in a rougher mould. By his valour and abili ties he had raised himself from the meanest ori- gin to the first employments of the state and army. His victories over the Sarmatians and the Germans, the austerity of his life, and the rigid impartiality of his justice, whilst he was prefect of the city, commanded the esteem of a people, whose affections were engaged in favour of the more amiable Balbinus. The two col- e He was descended from Cornelius Balbus, a noble Spaniard, and the adopted son of Theophanes, the Greek historian. Balbus obtained the freedom of Rome by the favour of Pompey, and preserved it by the eloquence of Cicero (see Orat. pro Cornel. Balbo;. The friend- ship of Csesar (to whom he rendered the most important secret services in the civil war) raised him to the consulship and the pontificate, ho- nours never yet possessed by a stranger. The nephew of this Balbus triumphed over the Garamantes. See Dictionnaire de Bayle, an mot lialbus, where he distinguishes the several persons of that name, -and rectifies, with his usual accuracy, the mistakes of former writeo con- cerning then:. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 293 leagues had both been consuls (Balbinus had CHAP. twice enjoyed that honourable office), both had ,,, ' been named among the twenty lieutenants of the senate; and since the one was sixty, and the other seventy-four years old/ they had both at- tained the full maturity of age and experience. After the senate had conferred on Maximus Tnmuit at and Balbinus an equal portion of the consular ?"*;. and tribunitian power, the title of fathers ofs erGordi - i -i i rr- t- an is de- their country, and the joint office of supreme pontiff, they .ascended to the capitol, to return c * sar ' thanks to the gods, protectors of Rome. 8 The solemn rites of sacrifice were disturbed by a se- dition of the people. The licentious multitude neither loved the rigid Maximus, nor did they sufficiently fear the mild and humane Balbinus. Their increasing numbers surrounded the tem- ple of Jupiter; with obstinate clamours they as- serted their inherent right of consenting to the election of their sovereign ; and demanded, with an apparent moderation, that, besides the two emperors chosen by the senate, a third should be added of the family of the Gordians, as a just return of gratitude to those princes who had sacrificed their lives for the republic. At the head of the city-guards, and the youth of the 1 Zonaras, 1. xii, p. 622. But little dependence is to be had on the authority of a modern Greek, so grossly ignorant cl the history of the third century, that be creates several imaginary emperors, and con- founds those who really existed. * Herodian, 1. vii, p. 25C, supposes that the senate was at first con- voked in the capitol, and is very eloquent on the occasion. The A- gustan history, p. 116, seems much more authentic. 294 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, equestrian order, Maximus and Balbinus at- J tempted to cut their way through the seditious multitude. The multitude, armed with sticks and stones, drove them back into the capitol. It is prudent to yield when the contest, what- ever may be the issue of it, must be fatal to both parties. A boy, only thirteen years of age, the grandson of the elder, and nephew of the younger, Gordian, was produced to the people, invested with the ornaments and title of Csesar. The tumult was appeased by this easy conde- scension ; and the two emperors, as soon as they had been peaceably acknowledged in Rome, prepared to defend Italy against the common enemy. Maximin Whilst in Rome and Africa revolutions suc- prepares . ... to attack cecded each other with such amazing rapidity, and their 6 the mind of Maximin was agitated by the most smperors. f ur j olls passions. He is said to have received the news of the rebellion of the Gordians, and of the decree of the senate against him, not with the temper of a man, but the rage of a wild beast ; which, as it could not discharge itself on the dis- tant senate, threatened the life of his son, of his friends, and of all who ventured to approach his person. The grateful intelligence of the death of the Gordians was quickly followed by the as- surance that the senate, laying aside all hopes of pardon or accommodation, had substituted in their room two emperors, with whose merit he could not be unacquainted. Revenge was the only consolation left to Maximin, and revenge could only be obtained by arms. The strength of the legions had been assembled by Alexander OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 295 from all parts of the empire. Three successful CHAP. campaigns against the Germans, and the Sarma- ' M tians, had raised their fame, confirmed their discipline, and even increased their numbers, by filling the ranks with the flower of the barbarian youth. The life of Maximiri had been spent in war, and the candid severity of history cannot refuse him the valour of a soldier, or even the abilities of an experienced general.* 1 It might naturally be expected, that a prince of such a character, instead of suffering the rebellion to gain stability by delay, should immediately have marched from the banks of the Danube to those of the Tyber, and that his victorious army, in- stigated by contempt for the senate, and eager to gather the spoils of Italy, should have burned with impatience to finish the easy and lucrative conquest. Yet as far as we can trust to the ob- scure chronology of that period/ it appears that h In Herodian, 1. vii, p. 249, and in the Augustan history, we have three several orations of Maximal to his army, on the rebellion of Africa and Rome. M. de Tillemont has very justly observed, that they nei- ther agree with each other, nor with truth Histoire des Empereucs, torn, iii, p. T99. 1 The carelessness of the writers of that age leaves us in a singular perplexity. 1. We know that Maximus and Balbinns were killed dur- ing the Capitoline games. Herodian, I. viii, p. 285. The authority of Censorinus (de Die Nataii, c. 18) enables us to fix those games, with certainty, to the year 238, but leaves us in ignorance of the month or day. 2. The election of Gordian by the senate is fixed, with equal certainty, to the 27th of May ; but we are at, a loss to discover, whe- ther it was in the same or the preceding year. Tillemont and Mura- tori, who maintain the two opposite opinions, bring into the field a de- sultory troop of authorities, conjectures, and probabilities. The one seems to draw out, the other to contract, the series of events between those periods, more than can be well reconciled to reason and history. Yet it is necessary to choose between them. 296 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, the operations of some foreign war deferred the II- Italian expedition till the ensuing spring. From the prudent conduct of Maximin, we may learn that the savage features of his character have been exaggerated by the pencil of party, that his passions, however impetuous, submitted to the force of reason, and that the barbarian pos- sessed something of the generous spirit of Syl- la, who subdued the enemies of Rome, before he suffered himself to revenge his private in- juries. 1 ' Marches When the troops of Maximin, advancing in ex- A Dt . I ?38| cellent order, arrived at the foot of the Julian February. Alps, they were terrified by the silence and deso- lation that reigned on the frontiers of Italy. The villages and open towns had been abandoned on their approach by the inhabitants, the cattle was driven away, 'the provisions removed, or destroy- ed, the bridges broke down, nor was any thing- left which could afford either shelter or sub- sistence to an invader. Such had been the wise orders of the generals of the senate; whose de- sign was to protract the war, to ruin the army of Maximin by the slow operation of famine, and to consume his strength in the sieges of the prin- cipal cities of Italy, which they had plentifully stored with men and pro visions from the deserted siege of country. Aquileia received and withstood the . g rs snoc k of the invasion. The streams that issue from the head of the Hadriatic gulf, swelled k Veileius Paterculns, I. ii, c. 24. The president de Montes- quien in his dialogue between Sylla and Encrates) expresses the sentiments of the dictator, in a spirited, and even a sublime man- ner. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 297 by the melting of the winter snows, 1 opposed CHAP. an unexpected obstacle to the arms of Maximin. ff Atlength, on a singular bridge, constructed, with art and difficulty, of large hogsheads, he trans- ported his army to the opposite bank, rooted up the beautiful vineyards in the neighbourhood of Aquileia, demolished the suburbs, and employed the timber of the buildings in the engines and towers, with which, on every side, he attacked the city. The walls, fallen to decay during the security of along peace, had been hastily repair- ed on this sudden emergency ; but the firmest defence of Aquileia consisted in the constancy of the citizens: all ranks of whom, instead of being dismayed, were animated, by the extreme dan- ger, and their knowledge of the tyrant's unrelent- ing temper. Their courage was supported and directed by Crispinus andMenophilus,two of the twenty lieutenants of the senate, who, with a small body of regular troops, had thrown them- selves into the besieged place. The army of Maximin was repulsed on repeated attacks, his 1 Muratori (Annali d'ltalia, torn, ii, p. 291) thinks the melting of the snow suits better with the months of June or July, than with that of February. The opinion of a man who passed his life between the Alps and the Appennincs, is undoubtedly of great weight; jet I ob- serve, 1. That the long winter, of which Muratori takes advantage, is to be found only in the Latin version, and not iu the Greek text of Herodian. 2. That the vicissitude of suns and rains, to which the aol- diers of Maximin were exposed (Herodian, 1. viii, p. 277) denotes the spring rather than the summer. We may observe likewise, that these several streams, as they melted into one, composed the Timavos, so poetically (in every sense of the word) described by Virgil. They are about twelve miles to the east of Aquileia. See Cluver. Italia, torn, i, p. 189, &c. 298 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, machines destroyed by showers of artificial fire, l^ f and the generous enthusiasm of the Aquileians was exalted into a confidence of success, by the opinion, that Belenus, their tutelar deity, com- bated in person in the defence of his distressed worshipers." 1 Conduct of The emperor Maximus, who had advanced as Maxiimis. ,,-- . far as Kaveuna, to secure that important place, and to hasten the military preparations, beheld the event of the war in the more faithful mirror of reason and policy. He was too sensible, that a single town could not resist the persevering efforts of a great army; and he dreaded, lest the enemy, tired with the obstinate resistance of Aquileia, should on a sudden relinquish the fruitless siege, and march directly towards Rome The fate of the empire, and the cause of freedom, must then be committed to the chance of a battle; and what arms could he oppose to the veteran legions of the Rhine and Danube ? Some troops newly levied among the generous, but enervated, youth of Italy, and a body of German auxiliaries, on whose firmness, in the hour of trial, it was dangerous to depend. In the midst of these just alarms, the stroke of domestic con- spiracy punished the crimes of Maximin, and delivered Rome and the senate from the calami- ties that would surely have attended the victory of an enraged barbarian. m Herodian, 1. viii, p. 272. The Celtic deity was supposed to be Apollo, and received, under that name, the thanks of the senate. A temple was likewise built to Venus the Bald, in honour of the women of Aquileia who had given up their hair to make ropes for the military cuginei. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. The people of Aquileia had scarcely expe- CHAP. rienced any of the common miseries of a siege; ____ J ___ their magazines were plentifully supplied, and Murder of several fountains within the walls assured them of an inexhaustible resource of fresh water. The " D ^ 238> soldiers of Maximin were, on the contrary, ex- A P ril - posed to the inclemency of the season, the con- tagion of disease, and the horrors of famine. The open country was ruined, the rivers filled with the slain, and polluted with blood. A spi- rit of despair and disaffection began to diffuse itself among the troops; and as they were cut off from all intelligence, they easily believed that the whole empire had embraced the cause of the senate, and that they were left as devoted vic- tims to perish under the impregnable walls of Aquileia. The fierce temper of the tyrant was exasperated by disappointments, which he im- puted to the cowardice of his army; and his wan- ton and ill-timed cruelty, instead of striking ter- ror, inspired hatred, and a just desire of revenge. A party of praetorian guards, who trembled for their wives and children in the camp of Alba, near Rome, executed the sentence of the senate. Maximin, abandoned by his guards, was slain inhjs tent, with his son (whom he had associated (to/ the honours of the purple), Anuli- nus the prelect, and the principal ministers of his tyranny. 11 The sight of their heads, borne * Herodian, 1. riii, p. 279. Hist. August, p. 146. The duration of Maximin's reign has not been defined with much accuracy, except by Eutropius, who allows him three years and a few days(l. is. i); we may 300 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, on the point of spears, convinced the citizens of , J^.Aquileia, that the siege was at an end; the gates of the city were thrown open, a liberal market was provided for the hungry troops of Maximin, and the whole army joined in solemn protesta- tions of fidelity to the senate and the people of Rome, and to their lawful emperors Maximus His por and Balbiims. Such was the deserved fate of a brutal savage, destitute, as he has generally been represented, of every sentiment that dis- tinguishes a civilized, or even a human being. The body was suited to the soul. The stature of Maximin exceeded the measure of eight feet, and circumstances almost incredible are related of his matchless strength and appetite. Had he lived in a less enlightened age, tradition and poetry might well have described him as one of those monstrous giants, whose superna- tural power was constantly exerted for the de- struction of mankind. joy of the It is easier to conceive than to describe the universal joy of the Roman world on the fall of the tyrant, the news of which is said to have been carried in four days from Aquileia to Rome. The return of Maximus was a triumphal proces- may depend on the integrity of the text, as the Latin original is check- ed by the Greek version of Paeanius. Eight Roman feet and one third, which are equal to above eight English feet, as the two measures are to each other in the proportion to 967 to 1000. See Graves's discourse on the Roman foot. We are told that Maximin could drink in a day an amphora (or about seven gallons of wine), and eat thirty or forty pounds of meat. He could move a loaded waggon, break a horse's leg with his fist, crumble stones in his hand, and tear up small trees by the roots. See his life in the Augoetau History. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 301 sion; his colleague and young Gordian went out CHAP. to meet him, and the three princes made their ' entry into the capital, attended by the ambassa- dors of almost all the cities of Italy, saluted with the splendid offerings of gratitude and su- perstition, and received with the unfeigned ac- clamations of the senate and people, who per- suaded themselves that a golden age would suc- ceecTtb an age of iron. p The conduct of the two emperors corresponded with these expectations. They administered justice in person; and the ri- gour of the one was tempered by the other's cle- mency. The oppressive taxes with which Maxi- min had loaded the rights of inheritance and succession, were repealed, or at least moderated. Discipline was revived, and with the advice of the senate many wise laws were enacted by their imperial ministers, who endeavoured to restore a civil constitution on the ruins of military ty- ranny. " What reward may we expect for de- / " .livering Rome from a monster?" was the ques- tion asked by Maximus, in a moment of freedom and confidence. Balbinus answered it without hesitation, " the love of the senate, of the peo- { " pie, and of all mankind." " Alas!" replied his more penetrating colleague, " Alas ! I dread S " the hatred of the soldiers, and the fatal effects [ " of their resentment.'" 1 His apprehensions were but too well justified by the event. " See the congratulatory letter of Claudius Julianus the consul, to the two emperors, in the Augustan History. Hist. August, p. 171. 302 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Whilst Maximus was preparing to defend Italy against the common foe, Balbinus, who sedition at remained at Rome, had been engaged in scenes Rome. O f blood and intestine discord. . Distrust and jealousy reigned in the senate; and even in the temples where they assembled, every senator carried either open or concealed arms. In the midst of their deliberations, two veterans of the guards, actuated either by curiosity or a sinis- ter motive, audaciously thrust themselves into the house, and advanced by degrees beyond the altar of Victory. Gallicanus, a consular, and Maecenas, a praetorian senator, viewed with in- dignation their insolent intrusion : drawing their daggers, they laid the spies, for such they deem- ed them, dead at the foot of the altar, and then advancing to the door of the senate, imprudent- ly exhorted the multitude to massacre the prae- torians, as the secret adherents of the tyrant. Those who escaped the first fury of the tumult took refuge in the camp, which they defended with superior advantage against the reiterated attacks of the people, assisted by the numerous bands of gladiators, the property of opulent nobles. The civil war lasted many days, with infinite loss and confusion on both sides. When the pipes were broken that supplied the camp with water, the praetorians were reduced to in- tolerable distress; but in their turn they made desperate sallies into the city, set fire to a great number of houses, and filled the streets with the blood of the inhabitants. The emperor Balbinus attempted, by ineffectual edicts and OF THE ROMAN E.MPIRfc. 305 precarious truces, to reconcile the factions at CHAP. Rome. But their animosity, though smothered ^ for a while, burnt with redoubled violence. The soldiers, detesting the senate and the people, despised the weakness of a prince, who wanted either the spirit or the power to command the obedience of his subjects/ After the tyrant's death, his formidable army had acknowledged, from necessity rather than from choice, the authority of Maximus, who 8 uards - transported himself without delay to the camp before Aquileia. As soon as he had received their oath of fidelity, he addressed them in terms full of mildness and moderation ; lamented, ra- ther than arraigned, the w r ild disorders of the times, and assured the soldiers, that of all their past conduct, the senate would remember only their generous desertion of 'the tyrant, and their voluntary return to their duty. Maximus en forced his exhortations by a liberal donative, purified the camp by a solemn sacrifice of ex piation, and then dismissed the legions to their several provinces, impressed, as he hoped, with a lively sense of gratitude and obedience. 8 But nothing could reconcile the haughty spirit of the praetorians. They attended the emperors on the memorable day of their public entry into Rome, but amidst the general acclamations, the sullen dejected countenance of the guards sufficiently declared that they considered themselves as the object, rather than the partners, of the triumph. When the whole body was united in their camp, ' Herodian, 1. viii, p. 2S8. ' Heiodian, 1. viii, p. 213. 304 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, those who had served'under'Maximin, and those ______ I ___ who had remained at Rome, insensibly commu- nicated to each other their complaints and ap- prehensions. The emperors chosen by the army had perished with ignominy ; those elected by the senate were seated on the throne.* The long discord between the civil and military powers was decided by a war, in which the former had obtained a complete victory. The soldiers must now learn a new doctrine of submission to the senate; and whatever clemency was affected by that politic assembly, they dreaded a slow revenge, coloured by the name of discipline, and justified by fair pretences of the public good. But their fate was still in their own hands ; and if they had courage to despise the vain terror? of an impotent republic, it was easy to con- vince the world, that those who were masters of the arms, were masters of the authority, of the state. Massacre When the senate elected two princes, it is mns and probable that, besides the declared reason of f or the various emergencies of peace and war, they were actuated by the secret desire of weakening by division the despotism of the supreme magistrate. Their policy was effectual, but it proved fatal both to their emperors and to themselves. The jealousy of pOAver was soon exasperated by the difference of character. Max- imus despised Balbinus as a luxurious noble,and The observation had been made imprudently enough in the accla- mations of the senate, and with regard to the soldiers it carried the appearance of a wanton insult. Hist. August, p. 170. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 305 was in his turn disdained by his colleague as an CHAP. obscure soldier. Their silent discord was under- stood rather than seen;" but the mutual con- sciousness prevented them from uniting in any vigorous measures of defence against their com- mon enemies of the praetorian camp. The whole city was employed in the capitoline games, and the emperors were left almost alone in the palace. On a sudden they were alarmed A . p 233, by the approach of a troop of desperate assas- July 15 * sins. Ignorant of each other's situation or de- signs, for they already occupied very distant apartments, afraidtoghe or to receive assistance, they wasted the important moments in idle de- bates and fruitless recriminations. The arrival of the guards put an end to the vain strife. They seized on these emperors of the senate, for such they called them with malicious con- tempt, stripped them of their garments, and dragged them in insolent triumph through the streets of Rome, with a design of inflicting a slow and cruel death on these unfortunate princes. t The fear of a rescue from the faith- ful Germans of the imperial guards, shortened their tortures ; and their bodies, mangled with a thousand wounds, were left exposed to the insults or to the pity of the populace/ Discordiae tac\rae, et quae intelligerentur polios quam videientni. Hist. August, p. 170. This well chosen expression it probably stolen from some better writer. * Herodiari, I. viii, p. 287, 288. VOL. I. X 306 CHAP. In the space of a few months, six princes had , J been cut off by the sword. Gordian, who Fad The third already received the title of Caesar, was the only remains person that occurred to the soldiers as proper to fill the vacant throne. x They carried him to the camp, and unanimously saluted him Augus- tus and emperor. His name was dear to the se- nate and people ; his tender age promised a long impunity of military licence; and the submis- sion of Rome and the provinces to the choice of the praetorian guards, saved the republic, at the expence indeed of its freedom and dignity, from the horrors of a new civil war in the heart of the capital/ innocence $ the third Gordian was only nineteen years of Gordian of age at the time of his death, the history of his life, were it known to us with greater accuracy than it really is, would contain little more than the'account of his education, and the conduct of the ministers, who by turns abused or guided the simplicity of his unexperienced youth . Immedi- ately after his accession, he fell into the hands of - * Qnia non alius erat in present!, is the expression of the Augustan history. * Quintus Curtias (1. x, c. 9) pays an elegant compliment to the em- peror of the day, for having, by his happy accession, extinguished so many firebrands, sheathed so many swords, and put an end to the evils of a divided government. After weighing with attention every word of the passage, I am of opinion, that it suits better with the eleration of Gordian, than with any other period of the Roman history. In that case, it may serve to decide the age of Quintus Curtius. Those who place him under the first Cresars, argue from the purity of his style, bnt are embarrassed by the silence of Quintilian, in his accurate list of Roman historians. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE SO? his mother's eunuchs, that pernicious vermin of CHAP. the East, who, since the days of Elagabalus, had ...... ' infested the Roman palace. By the artful conspi racy of these wretches, an impenetrable veil was drawn between an innocent prince and his op- pressed subjects ; the virtuous disposition of Gordian was deceived, and the honours of the empire sold without his knowledge, though in a very public manner, to the most worthless of mankind. We are ignorant by what fortunate accident the emperor escaped from this ignomi- nious slavery, and devolved his confidence on a minister, whose wise councils had no object ex- cept the glory of his sovereign, and the happi- ness of the people. It should seem that love A . D . and learning introduced Misitheus to the favour of Gordian. The young prince married the Misitheui - daughter of his master of rhetoric, and promoted his father-in-law to the first offices of the em- pire. Two admirable letters that passed be- tween them are still extant. The minister, with the conscious dignity of virtue, congratulates Gordian that he is delivered from the tyranny of the eunuchs, 2 and still more that he is sen- sible of his deliverance. The emperor acknow- ledges, with an amiable confusion, the errors of his past conduct* and laments, with singular propriety, the misfortune of a monarch, from z Hist. August, p. 161. From some bints in the two letters, I should expect that the eunuchs were not expelled the palace, without soro degree of gentle violence, and that the young Gordian rather approved of, than consented to, their disgrace. x 2 308 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP, whom a venal tribe of courtiers perpetually la- , J_ hour to conceal the truth.* The Per- The life of Misitheus had been spent in the . profession of letters, not of arms ; yet such was the versatile genius of that great man, that, when he was appointed praetorian prefect, he dis- charged the military 3ufies 6F his place with vi- gour and ability. The Persians had invaded Mesopotamia, and threatened Antioch. By the persuasion of his father-in-law, the young em- oeror quitted the luxury of Rome, opened, for the last time recorded in history, the temple of Janus, and marcFed in person into the East. On his approach with a great army, the Persians withdrew their garrisons from the cities which they had already taken, and retired from the Euphrates to the Tigris. Gordian enjoyed the pleasure of announcing to the senate the first success of his arms, which he ascribed with a becoming modesty and gratitude to the wisdom of his father and .prefect. During the whole expedition, Misitheus watched over the safety and discipline of the army ; whilst he prevented their dangerous murmurs by maintaining a re- gular plenty in the camp, and by establishing ample magazines of vinegar, bacon, straw, bar- ley, and wheat, in all the cities of the frontier . k But the prosperity of Gordian expired with * Duxit uxorem filiam Misithei, quern caus&. eloquentiae digmim pa- rentela su putavit; et pvaefecttim statini fecit; post quod, non puerile jam et contemptible videbatur iniperiura. b Hist. August, p. 162. Aurclius Victor. Porphyrius in Vit. Plotiu. ap. Fabricium. Biblioth. Grace. 1. iv, c. 36. The philosopher Plotinus accompanied the army, prompted by the Jove of knowledge, and by the hope of penetrating as far as India. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 309 Misitheus, who died of a flux, not without very CHA^P. trong suspicions of poison. Philip, his sue- ^ :essor in the prefecture, was an Arab by birth, A. D. 243, and consequently, in the earlier part of his life, Philip. a robber by profession. His rise from so ob- scure a station to the first dignities of the em- pire, seems to prove that he was a bold and able leader. But his boldness prompted him to aspire to the throne, and his abilities were employed to supplant, not to serve, his indul- gent master. The minds of the soldiers were irritated by an artificial scarcity, created by his contrivance in the camp ; and the distress of the army was attributed to the youth and inca- pacity of the prince. It is not in our power to trace the successive steps of the secret conspi- racy and open sedition, which were at length fatal to Gordian. A sepulchral monument was Harder of erected to his memory on the spot e where he A . D .244, was killed, near the conflux of the Euphrates March ' with the little river Aboras/ The fortunate Philip, raised to the empire by the votes of the soldiers, found a ready obedience from the se- nate and the provinces." We cannot forbear transcribing the ingenious, Form of a though somewhat fanciful description, which a c About twenty miles from die little town of Circesinm, on the fron- tier of the two empires. " The inscription (which contained a very singular pun) was erased by the order of Lacinius, who claimed some degree of relationship to Philip (Hist. August, p. 165); but the tumulus, or mound of earth, which formed the sepulchre, still subsisted in the time of Julian. See Amrai- an, Marceltin. xxiii, 5. c Aurelius Victor. Eutrop. ix, 2. Orosins, vii, 20. Ammiauog Marcellinus, xxiii, 5. Zosimus, L i, p. 19. Philip, who was a native of Bostra, was about forty years of age. 310 THE DECLINE AND FALL C vn P ' ce ^ e ^ rate( ^ writer of our own times has traced of ,', the military government of the Roman empire. " What in that age was called the Roman em- " pire, was only an irregular republic, not un- " like the aristocracy f of Algiers, 8 where the " militia, possessed of the sovereignty, creates " and deposes a magistrate, who is styled a dey. " Perhaps, indeed, it may be laid down as a " general rule, that a military government is, " in some respects, more republican than mo- " narchial. Nor can it be said that the sol- " diers only partook of the government by their " disobedience and rebellions. The speeches " made to them by the emperors, were they " not at length of the same nature as those " formerly pronounced to the people by the " consuls and the tribunes ? And although the " armies had no regular place or forms of as- " sembly ; though their debates were short, " their action sudden, and their resolves seldom " the result of cool reflection, did they not dis- " pose, with absolute sway, of the public for- " tune? What was the emperor, except the " minister of a violent government, elected for " the private benefit of the soldiers. " When the army had elected Philip, who " was praetorian prefect to the third Gordian, f Can the epithet of aristocracy be applied, with any propriety; to the government of Algiers ? Every military government floats between the extremes of absolute monarchy and wild democracy. The military republic of the mamalukes in Egypt, would have afforded M. de Montesquieu (see Considerations sur la Grandeur et la Decadence des Remains, c. 16), a juster and more noble parallel. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 31 1 the latter demanded, that he miffht remain CHAP. VII sole emperor : he was unable to obtain it. He , " requested, that the power might be equally " divided between them ; the army would not " listen to his speech. He consented to be de- " graded to the rank of Caesar; the favour was " refused him. He desired, at least, he might " be appointed praetorian prefect ; his prayer " was rejected. Finally, he pleaded for his life. " The army, in these several judgments, exer- " cised the supreme magistracy." According to the historian, whose doubtful narrative the pre- sident De Montesquieu has adopted, Philip, who, during the whole transaction, had preserved a sullen silence, was inclined to spare the innocent life of his benefactor; till, recollecting that his .nnocence might excite a dangerous compassion in the Roman world, he commanded, without regard to his suppliant cries, that he should be seized, stript, and led away to instant death. After a moment's pause, the inhuman sentence was executed. 11 On his return from the East to Rome, Philip, desirous of obliterating the memory of his crimes, and of captivating the affections of the people, h The Augustan history (p. 163, 164), cannot in this instance, be reconciled with itself or with probability. How could Philip condemn his predecessor, and yet consecrate his memory? How could he order his public execution, and yet, in his letters to the senate, exculpate himself from the guilt of his death? Philip, though an ambitious usurper, was by no means a mad tyrant. Some chrono- logical difficulties have likewise been discovered by the nice eyes of Tillemont and Muratori, in this supposed association of Philip to the empire. 312 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, solemnized the secular games with infinite pomp .*' and magnificence. Since their institution or re- vival by Augustus, 1 they had been celebrated by Claudius, by Domitian, and by Severus, and were now renewed the fifth time, on the accom- plishment of the full period of a thousand years s*cuUr from the foundation of Rome. Ev^ry circum- A?D eS 24a, stance of the secular games was skilfully adapt- Apni 21. e( j O j ng pj re th e superstitious mind with deep and solemn reverence. The long interval be- tween them k exceeded the term of human life ; and as none of the spectators had already seen them, none could flatter themselves with the expectation of beholding them a second time. The mystic sacrifices were performed, during three nights on the banks of the Tyber; and the Campus Martins resounded with music and dances, and was illuminated with innumerable lamps and torches. Slaves and strangers were excluded from any participation in these na- tional ceremonies. A chorus of twenty-seven youths, and as many virgins, of noble families, and whose parents were both alive, implored the propitious gods in favour of the present, and ' The account of the last supposed celebration, though in an enlight- ened period of history, was so very doubtful and obscure, that the al- ternative seems not doubtful. When the popish jubilees, the copy of the secular games, were invented by Boniface VIII, the crafty pope pretended that he only revived an ancient institution. See M. le Chais Lettres sur les Jubiles. k Either of a hundred, or a hundred and ten years. Varro and Livy adopted the former opinion, but the infallible authority of the Sibyl consecrated the latter (Censorinus de Die Natal, c. 17). The emperors Claudius and Philip, however, did not treat the oracle with implicit mpcet OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 313 for the hope of the rising generation; request- CHAP ing, in religious hymns, that, according to the f ^ faith of their ancient oracles, they would still maintain the virtue, the felicity, and the empire of the Roman people. 1 The magnificence of Philip's shows and entertainments dazzled the eyes of the multitude. The devout were em- ployed in the rites of superstition, whilst the reflecting few revolved in their anxious minds the past history and the future fate of the em- pire. Since Romulus, with a small band of shep- Decline of herds and outlaws, fortified himself on the hills empire, near the Tyber, ten centuries had already elaps- ed. During the four first ages, the Romans, in the laborious school of poverty, had acquir- ed the virtues of war and government : by the vigorous exertion of those virtues, and by the assistance of fortune, they had obtained in the course of the three succeeding centuries, an ab- solute empire over many countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The last three hundred years had been consumed in apparent prosperity and ' internal decline. The nation of soldiers, magis- trates, and legislators, who composed the thirty five tribes of the Roman people, was dissolved into the common mass of mankind, and con- founded with the millions of servile provincials, ' The idea of the secular games is best understood from the poem of Horace, and the description of Zosimus, 1. ii, p. 167, &c. The received calculation of Varro assigns to the foundation of Rome, an aera that corresponds with the 754th year before Christ. But to little is the chronology of Rome to be depended on, in the more early ages, that Sir Isaac Newton has brought the same event as low as the year 627 3 I 4 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, who had received the name, without adopting fr the spirit of Romans. A mercenary army, le- vied among the subjects and barbarians of the frontier, was the only order of men who pre- served and abused their independence. By their tumultuary election, a Syrian, a Goth, or an Arab, was exalted to the throne of Rome, and invested with despotic power over the con- quests and over the country of the Scipios. The limits of the Roman empire still extended from the Western ocean to the Tigris, and from Mount Atlas to the Rhine and the Danube. To the undiscerning eye of the vulgar, Philip appeared a monarch no less powerful than Hadrian or Augustus had formerly been. The form was still the same, but the animating health and vigour were fled. The industry of the people was discouraged and exhausted by a long series of oppression. The discipline of the legions, which alone, after the extinction of every other virtue, had propped the greatness of the state, was corrupted by the ambition, or relaxed by the weakness, of the emperors. The strength of the frontiers, which had always con- sisted in arms rather than in fortifications, was insensibly undermined; and the fairest pro- vinces were left exposed to the rapaciousness or ambition of the barbarians, who soon dis- covered the decline of the Roman empire. OF THE WOMAN EMPIRE. 315 CHAP. VIII. Of the state of Persia after the restoration of the monarchy by Artaxerxes \VHEXEVER Tacitus indulges himself in CHAP. those beautiful episodes, in which he relates some domestic transaction of the Germans or of Thebarba the Parthians, his principal object is to relieve "ait'ando the attention of the reader from a uniform scene the norlh - of vice and misery. From the reign of Augustus to the time of Alexander Severus, the enemies of Rome were in her bosom ; the tyrants, and the soldiers; and her prosperity had a very distant and feeble interest in the revolutions that might happen beyond the Rhine and the Euphrates. But when the military order had levelled, in wild anarchy, the power of the prince, the laws of the senate, and even the discipline of the camp, the barbarians of the north and of the east, who had long hovered on the frontier, boldly at- tacked the provinces of a declinin monarchy. Their vexatious inroads were changed into formidable irruptions, and, after a long vicissi- tude of mutual calamities, many tribes of the victorious invaders established themselves in the provinces of the Roman empire. To obtain a clearer knowledge of these great events, we shall endeavour to form a previous idea of the cha- j racter, forces, and designs of those nations who J avenged the cause of Hannibal and Mithridates. ' 316 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. In the more early ages of the world, whilst the forest that covered Europe afforded a retreat Revoiu- to a few wandering savages, the inhabitants of Asia. Asia were already collected into populous cities, and reduced under extensive empires, the seat of the arts, of luxury, and of despotism. The Assyrians reigned over the East, 8 till the scep- tre of Ninus and Semiramis droptfrom the hands of their enervated successors. The Medes and the Babylonians divided their power, and were themselves swallowed up in the monarchy of the 'Persians, whose arms could not be confined within the narrow limits of Asia. Followed, as it is said, by two millions of men, Xerxes, the descendant of Cyrus, invaded Greece. Thirty thousand soldiers, under the command of Alex- ander, the son of Philip, who was intrusted by the Greeks with their glory and revenge, were sufficient to subdue Persia. The princes of the house of Seleucus usurped and lost the Mace- donian command over the East. About the same time that, by an ignominious treaty, they resigned to the Romans the country on this side Mount Taurus, they were driven l>y the Par- thians, an obscure horde of Scythian origin, from all the provinces of Upper Asia. The for- * An ancient chronologist, quoted by Velleius Paterculus (I. i, c. 6) observes, that the Assyrians, the Medes, the Persians, and the Ma- cedonians, reigned over Asia one thousand nine hundred and ninety- five years, from the accession of Ninus to the defeat of Antiochns by the Romans. As the latter of these great events happened 289 years before Christ, the former may be placed 2184 years before the same era. The astronomical observations, found at Babylon by Alexander, went nfty years higher OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 317 midable power of the Parthians, which spread CHAP. from India to the frontiers of Syria, was in its ^ turn subverted by Ardshir, or Artaxerxes, the founder of a new dyasty, which, under the name of Sassanides, governed Persia till the in- vasion of the Arabs. This great revolution, whose fatal influence was soon experienced by the Romans, happened in the fourth year of Alexander Severus, two hundred and twenty- six years after the Christian era. h Artaxerxes had served with great reputation T 116 Per - in the armies of Artaban, the last king of the narchy r . Parthians, and it appears that he was driven in- ArTax- y to exile and rebellion by royal ingratitude, the erae ** customary reward for superior merit. His birth was obscure, and the obscurity equally gave room to the aspersions of his enemies, and the flattery of his adherents. If we credit the scan- dal of the former, Artaxerxes sprang from the illegitimate commerce of a tanner's wife with a common soldier. The latter represent him as descended from a branch of the ancient kings of Persia, though time and misfortune had gra- dually reduced his ancestors to the humble fc In the five hundred and thirty-eighth year of the era of Selencm. See Agathias, L ii, p. 03. This great event (such is the carelessness of the Orientals) is placed by Enty chins as high as the tenth year of Commodus ; and by Moses of Chorene, as low as the reign of Philip. Ammianus Marcelliniis has so servilely copied (xxiii, 6) his ancient ma- terials, which are indeed very good, that he describes the family of the Arsacides as still seated on the Persian throne in the middle of the fourth century. e The tanner's name was Babec, the soldier's Sassan ; from the for- mer Artaxerxes obtained the surname of Babegan, from the latter all hi* desccudacU have been styled Sattaaidtt. 3 1 8 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, station of private citizens/ As the lineal heir ! of the monarchy, he asserted his right to the throne, and challenged the noble task of deliver- ing the Persians from the oppression under which they groaned above five centuries since the death of Darius. The Parthians were de- feated in three great battles. In the last of these their king Artaban was slain, and the spi- rit of the nation was now for ever broken." The authority of Artaxerxes was solemnly acknow- ledged in a great assembly held at Balch in Khorasan. Two younger branches of the royal house of Arsaces were confounded among the prostrate satraps. A third, more mindful of ancient grandeur than of present necessity, at- tempted to retire, with a numerous train of vas- sals, towards their kinsman the king of Arme- nia; but this, little army of deserters was inter- cepted, and cut off, by the vigilance of the con- queror/ who boldly assumed the double dia- dem, and the title of king of kings, which had been enjoyed by his predecessor. But these pompous titles, instead of gratifying the vanity of the Persian, served only to admonish him of his duty, and to inflame in his soul the ambi- tion of restoring, in their full splendour, the re- ligion and empire of Cyrus. Reforma- j. During the long servitude of Persia- under Magian the Macedonian and the Parthian yoke, the na- rehgion. ^ions o f. E urO p e an( j Asia had mutually adopted d D'Herbelot. Bibliotheque Orientale. Ardshir. " Dion Cassius, 1. Ixxx. Herodian, 1. vi, p. 207. Abulpharagiu* Dynast, p. 80. f See Moses Choreuensis, 1. ii, c. C5-71. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 3J9 and corrupted each other's superstitions. The CHAP. Arsacides, indeed, practised the worship of the \ fe Magi; but they disgraced and polluted it with a various mixture of foreign idolatry. The me- mory of Zoroaster, the ancient prophet and phi- losopher of the Persians, 8 was still revered in the East ; but the obsolete and mysterious lan- guage in which the Zeudavesta was composed/ opened a field of dispute to seventy sects, who variously explained the fundamental doctrines of their religion, and were all indifferently de- rided by a crowd of infidels, who rejected the divine mission and miracles of the prophet. To suppress the idolaters, reunite the schismatics, and confute the unbelievers, by the infallible de- cision of a general council, the pious Artaxerxes summoned the Magi from all parts of his domi- nions. These priests, who had so long sighed in contempt and obscurity, obeyed the welcome summons ; and on the appointed day appeared, to the number of about eighty thousand. But 8 Hyde and Pridcaux, working up the Persian legends, and their own conjectures, into a very agreeable story, represent Zoroaster as a contemporary of Darins Hystaspes. Bnt it is sufficient to observe, that the Greek writers, who lived almost in the age of Darius, agree in plac- ing the era of Zoroaster many hundred, or even thousand, years before their own time. The judicious criticism of Mr. Moyle perceived, and maintained against his uncle, Dr. Prideaux, the antiquity of the Per- sian prophet. See his work, vol. ii. . h That ancient idiom was called the Zend. The language of the commentary, the Pehlvi, though much more modern, has ceased many ages ago to be a living tongue. This fact alone (if it is allow- ed as authentic) sufficiently warrants the antiquity of those writings, which M. d'Anquetil has brought into Europe, and translated into French. 320 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, as the debates of so tumultuous an assembly VIII. . ,,J_ could not have been directed by the authority of reason, or influenced by the art of policy, the Persian synod was reduced, by successive ope- rations, to forty thousand, to four thousand, to four hundred, to forty, and at last to seven Magi, the most respected for their learning and p*ety One of these, Erdaviraph, a young but holy prelate, received from the hands of his breth- ren three cups of soporiferous wine. He drank them off, and instantly fell into a long and pro- found sleep. As soon as he waked, he related to the king and to the believing multitude, his journey to heaven, and his intimate conferences with the Deity. Every doubt was silenced by this supernatural evidence ; and the articles of the faith of Zoroaster were fixed with equal au- thority and precision. 1 A short delineation of that celebrated system will be found useful, not only to display the character of the Persian na- tion, but to illustrate many of their most impor- tant transactions, both in peace and war, with the Roman empire. k Persian The great and fundamental article of the sys- tw'o'pnn-' t em was ^ e celebrated doctrine of the two prin- ciples, ciples ; a bold and injudicious attempt of eastern philosophy to reconcile the existence of moral 1 Hyde de Religione veterum Pers. c. 21. k I have principally drawn this account from the Zendavesta of M. d'Anqnctil, and the Sadder, subjoined to Dr. Hyde's treatise. It must, however, be confessed, that the studied obscurity of a prophet, the fi- gurative style of the East, and the deceitful medium of a French or Latin version, may have betrayed us into error and heresv, in thu abridgmsnt of Persian theology. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 321 and physical evil, with the attributes of a benefi- CHAP. cent Creator and Governor of the world. The_ first and original Being, in whom, or by whom, the universe exists, is denominated in the writ- ings of Zoroaster, time without bounds ; but it must be confessed, that this infinite substance seems rather a metaphysical abstraction of the mind, than a real object endowed with self-con- sciousness, or possessed of moral perfections. From either the blind, or the intelligent opera- tion of this infinite time, which bears but too near an affinity with the chaos of the Greeks, the two secondary but active principles of the uni- verse, were from all eternity produced, Ormusd and Ahriman, each of them possessed of the powers of creation, but each disposed, by his invariable nature, to exercise them with differ- ent designs. The principle of good is eternally absorbed in light; the principle of evil eternally buried in darkness. The wise benevolence of Ormusd formed man capable of virtue, and abundantly provided his fair habitation with the materials of happiness. By his vigilant provi- dence, the motion of the planets, the order of the seasons, and the temperate mixture of the elements, are preserved. But the malice of Ahriman has long since pierced Ormusd's egg ; or, in other words, has violated the harmony of his works. Since that fatal irruption, the most minute articles of good and evil are intimately intermingled and agitated together; the rankest poisons spring up amidst the most salutary VOL. i. Y 322 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, plants; deluges, earthquakes, and conflagra- ^tions, attest the conflict of nature, and the little world of man is perpetually shaken by vice and misfortune. While the rest of human kind are led away captives in the chains of their infernal enemy, the faithful Persian alone reserves his religious adoration for his friend and protector Ormusd, and fights under his banner of light, in the full confidence that he shall, in the last day, share the glory of his triumph. At that decisive period, the enlightened wisdom of goodness will render the power of Ormusd superior to the fu- rious malice of his rival. Ahriman and his fol- lowers, disarmed and subdued, will sink into their native darkness; and virtue will maintain the eternal peace and harmony of the universe. 1 Religious The theology of Zoroaster was darkly com- 5up ' prehended by foreigners, and even by the far greater number of his disciples ; but the most careless observers were struck with the philo- sophic simplicity of the Persian worship. " That " people," says Herodotus, 171 " rejects the use " of temples, of altars, and of statues, and " smiles at the folly of those nations, who ima- " gine that the gods are sprung from, or bear " any affinity with, the human nature. The 1 The modern Persees (and in some degree the Sadder) exalt Or- musd into the first and omnipotent cause, while they degrade Ahri- man into an inferior bat rebellious spirit. The desire of pleas- ing the mahometans may have contributed to refine their theological system. '' Hcro'iotus !. i, c. 131. But Dr. Pridranx thinks, with rea <>;!, that the use of temples was ai"UT\vards permitted in the maginn OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 323 " tops of the highest mountains are the places CHAR V T I T ' chosen for sacrifices. Hymns and prayers \ f " are the principal worship ; the supreme God " who fills the wide circle of heaven, is the ob- " ject to whom they are addressed." Yet, at the same time, in the true spirit of a polytheist, he accuses them of adoring earth, water, fire, the winds, and the sun and moon. But the Per- sians of every age have denied the charge, and explained the equivocal conduct, which might appear to give a colour to it. The elements, and more particularly fire, light, and the sun, whom they called Mithra, were the objects of their re- ligious reverence, because they considered them as the purest symbols, the noblest productions, and themost powerful agents of the divine power and nature. 11 Every mode of religion, to make a deep and lasting impression on the human mind, must exercise our obedience, by enjoining practices of cepts * devotion, for which we can assign no reason ; and must acquire our esteem, by inculcating moral duties analogous to the dictates of our own hearts. The religion of Zoroaster was abundantly pro- vided with the former, and possessed a sufficient portion of the latter. At the age of puberty, the faithful Persian was invested with a mysteri- ous girdle, the badge of the divine protection ; and from that moment, all the actions of his life, even the most indifferent, or the most necessary, n Hyde de Relig. Pcrs. c. 8. Notwithstanding all their distinctions and protestations, which seem sincere enough, their tyrants, the inalio- metans, 'have constantly stigmatised them as idolatrous worshipper* of the fire. Y 2 324 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, were sanctified by their peculiar prayers, ejacu ,/,_lations, or genuflexions ;* the omission of which, under any circumstances, was a grievous sin, not inferior in guilt to the violation of the moral duties. The moral duties, however, of justice, mercy, liberality, &c. where in their turn requir- ed of the disciple of Zoroaster, who wished to escape the persecution of Ahriman, and to live with Ormusd in a blissful eternity, where the degree of felicity will be exactly proportioned to the degree of virtue and piety. Encou- But there are some remarkable instances, in of agricui- which Zoroaster lays aside the prophet, assumes the legislator, and discovers a liberal concern for private and public happiness, seldom to be found among the groveling or visionary schemes of superstition. Fasting and celibacy, the com- mon means of purchasing the divine favour, he condemns with abhorrence, as a criminal rejec- tion of the best gifts of providence. The saint, in the magian religion, is obliged to beget chil- dren, to plant useful trees, to destroy noxious animals, to convey water to the dry lands of Persia, and to work out his salvation by pur- suing all the labours of agriculture. We may quote from the Zendavesta a wise and benevo- lent maxim, which compensates for many an ab- surdity. " He who sows the ground with care See the Sadder, the smallest part of which consists of moral pre- cepts. The ceremonies enjoined are infinite and trifling. Fifteen ge- nuflexions, prayers, &c. were required whenever the devout Persian cuts his nails, or made water, or as often as he put on the sacred girdle. Sadder, Art. 14, 50, 60. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 325 " and diligence, acquires a greater stock of re- CHAP " ligious merit, than he could gain by the re- ", " petition of ten thousand prayers." p In the spring of every year a festival was celebrated, destined to represent the primitive equality, and the present connection, of mankind. The stately r kings of Persia, exchanging their vain pomp for more genuine greatness, freely mingled with the : ; humblest but most useful of their subjects. On that day the husbandmen were admitted, with- out distinction, to the table of the king and his satraps. The monarch accepted their petitions, inquired into their grievances, and conversed with them on the most equal terms. " From " your labours, was he accustomed to say (and " to say with truth, if not with sincerity), from your labours, we receive our subsistence; you " derive your tranquillity from our vigilance; > " since, therefore, we are mutually necessary to . " each other, let us live together like brothers " in concord and love." q Such a festival must indeed have degenerated, in a wealthy and des- potic empire, into a theatrical representation; but it was at least a comedy well worthy of a royal audience, and which might sometimes im- print a salutary lesson on the mind of a young prince. Had Zoroaster, in all his institutions, invari-Powerof ably supported this exalted character, his name would deserve a place with those of Numa and " Zendavesta, torn. i.'p. 224, and Precis du Systeme de Zoroastre, torn. iii. . ' Hyde de Religioue Persarum, c. 19k 326 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. Confucius, and his system would be justly entit- ^,l,,led to all the applause, which it has pleased some of our divines, and even some of our philoso- phers, to bestow on it. But in that motley com- position, dictated by reason and passion, by en- thusiasm and by selfish motives, some useful and sublime truths were disgraced by a mixture of the most abject and dangerous superstition. The magi, or sacerdotal order, were extremely nu- merous, since, as we have already seen, fourscore thousand of them were convened in a general council. Their forces were multiplied by disci- pline. A regular hierarchy was diffused through all the provinces of Persia ; and the Archima- gus, who resided at Balch, was respected as the visible head of the church, and the lawful suc- cessor of Zoroaster/ The property of the magi was very considerable. Besides the less invidi- ous possession of a large tract of the most fer- tile lands of Media/ they leA r ied a general tax on the fortunes and the industry of the Per- sians. 1 " Though your good works," says the interested prophet, " exceed in number the r Hyde de Religione Prrsarum, c. 28. Both Hyde and Prideaiix affect to apply to the magian, the terms consecrated to the Christian hierarchy. * Ammian. Marcellian. xxiii, 6. He informs us (as far as we may credit him) of two curious particulars : 1. That tiie magi derived some of their most secret doctrines from the Indian brachmans; and, 2. That they were a tribe or family, as well as order. 1 The divine institution of tylhes exhibits a singular instance of con- formity between the law of Zoroaster and that of Moses. Those who cannot otherwise account for it, may suppose, if they please, that the magi of the latter times inserted so useful an interpolation into the writ- ings of their prophet. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 327 " leaves of the trees, the drops of rain, the stars CKAP. " in the heaven, or the sands on the sea-shore, ^ " they will all be unprofitable to you, unless " they are accepted by the destour, or priest. " To obtain the acceptation of this guide to sal- \ " vation, you must faithfully pay him lythes of " all you possess, of your goods, of your lands, " and of your money, if the destour be satis- " fied, your sou! will escape hell tortures; you " will secure praise in this world, and liuppi- " ness in the next. For the destours are the " teachers of religion ; they know all things, " and they deliver all men."" These convenient maxims of reverence and implicit faith were doubtless imprinted with care on the tender minds of youth, since the magi were the masters of education in Persia, and to their hands the children even of the royal family were intrusted/ The Persian priests, who were of a speculative genius, preserved and investi- gated the secrets of oriental philosophy, and acquired, either by superior knowledge or su- perior art, the reputation of being well versed in some occult sciences, which have derived their appellation from the magi. y Those of more active dispositions mixed with the world in courts and cities ; and it is observed, that the administration of Artaxerxes was in a great measure directed by the counsels of the sacer- dotal order, whose dignity, either from policy u Sadder, Art. 8. z Plato in Alcibiad. y Pliny (Hist. Natur. 1. xxx. c. 1) observes, tbat magic held roan. kiud by the t ripple chain of religion, of physic, and of astronomy. 328 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, or devotion, that prince restored to its ancient VIII. splendour.* spirit of The first counsel of the magi was agreeable to Son?" the unsociable genius of .their faith,* to the practice of ancient kings, b and even to the ex- ample of their legislator, who had fallen a victim to a religious war, excited by his own intolerant zeal. 6 By an edict of A rtaxerxes, the exercise of every worship, except that of Zoroaster, was severely prohibited. The temples of the Par thians, and the statues of their deified monarchs, were thrown down with ignominy.* 1 The sword of Aristotle (such was the name given by the orientals to the polytheism and philosophy of the Greeks) was easily broken ; e the flames of persecution soon reached the more stubborn Jews and Christians ; f nor did they spare the heretics of their own nation and religion. The majesty of Ormusd, who was jealous of a rival, was se- conded by the despotism of Artaxerxes, who could not suffer a rebel ; and the schismatics within his vast empire were soon reduced to the inconsiderable number of eighty thousand.* 1 Agathias, 1. iv, p. 134. * Mr. Hume, in the Natural History of Religion, sagaciously remarks, that the most refined and philosophic sects are constantly the most in- tolerant. b Cicero de Legibus, ii, 10. Xerxes, by the advice of the magi, de- stroyed the temples of Greece. c Hyde de Relig. Persar. c. 23, 24. D'Herbelot Bibliotheque Ori- entale Zei-dusht. Life of Zoroaster, in torn, ii of the Zendavesta. d Compare Moses of Choreue, 1. ii, c. 74, with Ammian. Marcellin. xxiii, G. Hereafter I shall make use of these passages. e Rabbi Abraham in the Taiikh Schickard, p. 108, 109. { Basnage Histoiredes Juifs 1. viii, c. 3. Sozomen, 1. ii, c. 1. Mane, vrho suffered an ignominious death, may be deemed a magian, as well as Christian heretic. Hyde de Religione Persar. c. 21. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 329 This spirit of persecution reflects dishonour or] CHAP. the religion of Zoroaster; but as it was not pro- J^ ductive of any civil commotion, it served to strengthen the new monarchy, by uniting all the various inhabitants of Persia in the bands of religious zeal. ii. Artaxerxes, by his valour and conduct, Estabiish- hajd wrested the sceptre of the East from the an- men * oftb< royal au- cient royal family of Parthia. There still remain- thonty in edthe more difficult task of establishing, through- v i out the vast extent of Persia, a uniform and vi- gorous administration. The weak indulgence of the Arsacides had signed to their sons and brothers the principal provinces, and the greatest offices of the kingdom, in the nature of heredi- tary possessions. The mtaxce, or eighteen most powerful satraps, were permitted to assume the regal title ; and the vain pride of the monarch was delighted with a nominal lo minion over so many vassal kings. Even tribes of barbarians in their mountains, and the Greek cities of Upper Asia, h within their walls, scarcely acknowledg- ed, or seldom obeyed, any superior : and the Parthian empire exhibited, under other names, a lively image of the feudal system 1 which has since prevailed in Europe. But the active vie- h These colonies were extremely numerous. Seleucns Nicator found- ed thirty-nine cities, all named from himself, or some of his relations (see Appian in Syriac. p. 124). The era of Selencus (still in use among the eastern Christians) appears as late as the year 508, of Christ 196, on the medals of the Greek cities within the Parthian empire. See Moyle's works, vol. i, p. 273, &c. and M. Freret, Mem. de 1'Academy, torn. xix. 1 The modern Persians distinguish that period as the dynasty of the kings of the nations. See Plin. Hist. Nat. vi, 25. 330 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, tor, at the head of a numerous and disciplined .army, visited in person every province of Persia. The defeat of the boldest rebels, and the reduc- tion of the strongest fortifications, k diffused the terror of his arms, and prepared the way for the peaceful reception ofhis authority. An obstinate resistance was fatal to the chiefs ; but their fol- lowers were treated with lenity. 1 A cheerful sub- mission was rewarded with honours and riches ; but the prudent Artaxerxes, suffering no person except himself to assume the title of king, abo- lished every intermediate power between the Extent and throne and the people. His kingdom, nearly f penS 11 e 9. ua l m extent to modern Persia, was, on every side, bounded by the sea, or by great rivers ; by the Euphrates, the Tigris, theAraxes, the Oxus, and the Indus, by the Caspian sea, and the gulph of Persia." 1 That country was computed k Eutychius (torn, i, p. 367, 371, 375) relates the siege of the island of Mesene in the Tigris, with some circumstances not unlike the story of Nisus and Scylla. 1 Agathias, ii, 164. The princes of Segestan defended their indepen- dence during many years. As romances generally transport to an an- cient period the events of their own time, it is not impossible that the fabulous exploits of Rustan, prince of Segestan, may have been grafted on this real history. m We can scarcely attribute to the Persian monarchy the sea-coast of Gedrosia or Macran, which extends along the Indian ocean from Cape Jask (the promontory Capella) to Cape Goodel. lu the tim of Alexander, and probably many years afterwards, it was thinly inhabited by a savage people of Ictthyophagi, or fishermen, who knew no arts, who acknowledged no master, and who were divided by inhospitable deserts from the rest of the world. (See Arrian de Reb. Indicis). In the twelfth century, the little town of Taiz (sup- posed by M. d'Anville to be the Tefa of Ptolemy) was peopled and enriched OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 331 to contain, in the last century, five hundred and CHAP. fifty-four cities, sixty thousand villages,and about ^ forty millions of souls." If we compare the ad- ministration of the house of Sassan with that of the house of Sefi, the political influence of the magian with that of the mahometan religion, we shall probably infer, that the kingdom of Artaxerxes contained at least as great a number of cities, villages, and inhabitants. But it must likewise be confessed, that in every age the want of harbours on the sea-coast, and the scarcity of fresh water in the inland provinces, have been very unfavourable to the commerce and agri- culture of the Persians; who, in the calculation of their numbers, seem to have indulged one of the meanest, though most common, articles of national vanity. As soon as the ambitious mind of Artaxerxes Recapitn- had triumphed over the resistance of his yassals, tn e ?"ar be he besran to threaten the neighbouring: states, twecn the * 'Parthian who, during the long si umber of his predecessors, nd RO- had insulted Persia with impunity. He obtai ed some easy victories over the wild Scythians and the effeminate Indians; but the Romans were an enemy, who, by their past injuries and present power, deserved the utmost efforts of his arms. A forty years tranquillity, the fruit of va- enriched by the resort of the Arabian merchants. (See Geographic Nubiens, p. 58, and d'Anville Geographic Ancienne, torn, ii, p. 283). la the last age, the whole country was divided between three princes, one mahometan and two idolaters, who maintained their independence against the successors of Shaw Abbas. (Voyages de Ta vernier, part i, 1. v, p. 635). " Chadrin, torn. Hi, c. 1, 2, 3. 332 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, lour and moderation, had succeeded the victo- f lories of Trajan. During the period that elapsed from the accession of Marcus to the reign of Alexander, the Roman and the Parthian em- pires were twice engaged in war ; and although the whole strength of the Arsacides contended with a part only of the forces of Rome, the event was most commonly in favour of the latter. Macrinus, indeed, prompted by his precarious situation, and pusillanimous temper, purchased a peace at the expence of near two millions of our money ; but the generals of Marcus, the em- peror Severus, and his son, erected many tro- phies in Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria. Among their exploits, the imperfect relation of which would have unseasonably interrupted the more important series of domestic revolu- tions, we shall only mention the repeated cala- mities of the two great cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. cities of Selucia, on the western bank of the Tigris, andcte a ^ ou ^ forty-five miles to the north of ancient *iphon. Babylon, was the capital of the Macedonian conquests in Upper Asia. p Many ages after the fall of their empire, Seleucia retained the genuine characters of a Grecian colony, arts, military virtue, and the love of freedom. The inde- pendent republic was governed by a senate of three hundred nobles ; the people consisted of Dion, 1. xxviii, p. 1335. p For the precise situation of Babylon, Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Mo- clain, and Bagdad, cities often confounded with each other, see an ex- cellent Geographical Tract of M. d'Anviile, in Mem. de 1'Academie, torn. xxx. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 333 six hundred thousand citizens; the walls were CHAP. strong, and as long as concord prevailed among '. the several orders of the state, they viewed with contempt the power of the Parthian ; but the madness of faction was sometimes provoked to implore the dangerous aid of the common enemy, who was posted almost at the gates of the colony. q The Parthian monarchs, like the Mogul sovereigns of Hindostan, delighted in the pastoral life of their Scythian ancestors ; and the imperial camp was frequently pitched in the plain of Ctesiphon, on the eastern bank of the Tigris, at the distance of only three miles from Seleucia/ The innumerable attendants on lux- ury and despotism restorted to the court, and the little village of Ctesiphon insensibly swelled into a great city. 3 Under the reign of Marcus, the Roman generals penetrated as far as Ctesi- phon and Seleucia. They were received as friends A - lfl & by the Greek colony ; they attacked as enemies the seat of the Parthian kings ; yet both cities experienced the same treatment. The sack and conflagration of Seleucia, with the massacre of three hundred thousand of the inhabitants, tar- * Tacit. Annal. xi, 42. Plin. Hist. Nat. vi, 26. r This may be inferred from Strabo, 1. xvi, p. 743. * That most curious traveller Bernier, who followed the camp of Anrengzebe from Dehli to Cashmir, describes, with great accuracy, the immense moving city. The guard of cavalry consisted of 35.000 men, that of infantry of 10,000. It was computed that the camp contained 150,000 horses, mules, and elephants ; 50,000 camels, 50,000 oxen, and between 300,000 and 400,000 persons. Almost all Dehli followed the court, whose magnificence supported its industry. 334 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, nished the glory of the Roman triumph.* Se ia, already exhausted by the neighbourhood of a too powerful rival, sunk under the fatal A. D. IDS. D l w i butCtesiphon, in about thirty-three years, had sufficiently recovered its strength to main- tain an obstinate siege against the emperor Se- verus. The city was, however, taken by as- sault ; the king, who defended it in person, es- caped with precipitation ; an hundred thousand captives, and a rich booty, rewarded the fatigues of the Roman soldiers." Notwithstanding these misfortunes, Ctesiphon succeeded to Babylon and to Seleucia, as one of the great capitals of the East. In summer, the monarch of Persia enjoyed at Ecbatana the cool breezes of the mountains of Media ; but the mildness of the climate engaged him to prefer Ctesiphon for his winter residence. Conquest From these successful inroads the Romans ne by 'the derived no real or lasting benefit; nor did they Romans, attempt to preserve such distant conquests, sepa- rated from the provinces of the empire by a large tract of intermediate desert. The reduction of the kingdom of Osrhoene was an acquisition of less splendour indeed, but of a far more solid advantage. That little state occupied the north- ern and most fertile part of Mesopotamia, be- tween the Euphrates and the Tigris. Edessa, 1 Dion, 1. Ixxi, p. 1178. Hist. August, p. 38. Eutrop. viii, 10. Euseb. in Chronic. Quadratus (quoted in the Augustan history) at- tempted to vindicate the Romans, by alleging, that the citizens of Seleucia had first violated their faith. " Dion, I. Ixxv, p. 1263. Herodian, 1. iii, p. 120. Hist. August. p. 70. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 335 its capital, was situated about twenty miles be- CHAP. yond the former of those rivers; and the i biiants, since the time of Alexander, were a mixed race of Greeks, Arabs, Syrians, and Ar- menians." The feeble sovereigns of Osrhoene, placed on the dangerous verge of two contending empires, were attached from inclination to the Parthian cause ; but the superior power of Rome exacted from them a reluctant homage, which is still attested by their medals. After the conclu- sion of the Parthian war under Marcus, it was judged prudent to secure some substantial pledges of their doubtful fidelity. Forts were constructed in several parts of the country, and a Roman garrison was fixed in the strong town of Nisibis. During the troubles that followed Ae death of Commodus,the princes of Osrhoene attempted to shake off the yoke ; but the stern policy of Severus confirmed their dependence/ and the perfidy of Caracalla completed the easy conquest. Abgarus, the last king of Edessa, A. D. 2i. was sent in chains to Rome, his dominions re- duced into a province, and his capital dignified with the rank of colony ; and thus the Romans, about ten years before the fall of the Parthian * The polished citizens of Antioch called those of Edessa mixed bar- barians. It was, however, some praise, that of the three dialects of the Syriac, the purest and most elegant (the Aramaean) was spoke at Edessa. This remark M. Bayer (Hist. Edess. p. 5), has borrowed from George of Malatia, a Syrian writer. v Dion, 1. Ixxv, p. 1248, 1249, 1250. M. Bayer has neglected to OM tiii- most important passage. 336 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, monarchy, obtained a firm and permanent estab- , l,,lishment beyond the Euphrates. 2 Artaxerx- Prudence as well as glory might have j ustified a war on the side of Artaxerxes, had his views been confined to the defence or the acquisition declares o f a use ful frontier. But the ambitious Persian war against the RO- openly avowed a far more extensive design of A. n/230. conquest ; and he thought himself able to sup- port his lofty pretensions by the arms of reason as well as by those of power. Cyrus, he alleged, had first subdued, and his successors had for a long time possessed, the whole extent of Asia, as far as the Propontis and the ^Egean sea ; the provinces of Caria and Ionia, under their empire, had been governed by Persian satraps, and all Egypt, to the confines of ^Ethiopia, had acknow- ledged their sovereignty.* Their rights had been suspended, though not destroyed, by a long usurpation ; and as soon as he received the Per- sian diadem, which birth and successful valour had placed upon his head, the first great duty of his station called upon him to restore the ancient limits and splendour of the monarchy. The great king, therefore (such was the haughty style of his embassies to the emperor Alexander), commanded the Romans instantly to depart froua z This kingdom, from Osrhoes, who gave a now name to the country, to the last Abgarns, had lasted 353 years. See the learned work of M. Bayer, Historia Osrhoena et Edessena. a Xenophon, in the preface to the Cyropaedia, gives a clear and magnificent idea of the extent of the empire of Cyrus. Herodotus (1. iii, c. 79, &c.) enters into a curious and particular description of the twenty great satrapies into which the Persian empire was divided by Darius Hystaspes. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 337 all the provinces of his ancestors, and yielding CHAP. to the Persians the empire of Asia, to content ....... '. ff themselves with the undisturbed possession of Europe. This haughty mandate was delivered by four hundred of the tallest and most beauti- ful of the Persians ; who, by their fine horses, splendid arms, and rich apparel, displayed the pride and greatness of their master . b Such an embassy was much less an offer of negociation than a declaration of war. Both Alexander Severus and Artaxerxes, collecting the military force of the Roman and Persian monarchies, resolved in this important contest to lead their armies in person. If we credit what should seem the most au- p .' etended . victory of thentic of all records, an oration^ still extant, Alexander and delivered by the emperor himself to the s nate, we must allow that the victory of Alex- ander Severus was not inferior to any of those formerly obtained over the Persians by the son of Philip. The army of the great king consist- ed of one hundred and twenty thousand horse, clothed in complete armour of steel ; of seven hundred elephants, with towers filled with arch- ers on their backs, and of eighteen hundred chariots, armed with scythes. This formidable host, the like of which is not to be found in east- ern history, and has scarcely been imagined in eastern romance, was discomfited in a great b Herodian, vi, 209, 212. c There were two hundred scythed chariots at the battle of Ar- bela, in the host of Darius. In the vast army of Tigranes, which was vanquished by Lucullus, seventeen thousand horse only were completely VOL. I. Z 338 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, battle, in which the Roman Alexander approved himself an intrepid soldier and a skilful general. The great king fled before his valour ; an im- mense booty, and the conquest of Mesopota- mia, were the immediate fruits of this signal victory. Such are the circumstances of this ostentatious and improbable relation, dictated, as it too plainly appears, by the vanity of the monarch, adorned by the unblushing servility of his flatterers, and received without contra- diction by a distinct and obsequious senate.* Far from being inclined to believe that the arms of Alexander obtained any memorable advan- tage over the Persians, we are induced to sus- pect, that all this blaze of imaginary glory was designed to conceal some real disgrace. More pro- Our suspicions are confirmed by the authority count of of a contemporary historian, who mentions the the war. completely armed. Antiochus brought fifty-four elephants into the field against the Romans. By his frequent wars and negociations with the princes of India, he had once collected an hundred and fifty of those great animals ; but it may be questioned, whether the most pow- erful monarch of Hindostan ever formed a line of battle of seven hun- dred elephants. Instead of three or four thousand elephants, which the great Mogul was supposed to possess, Tavernier (Voyages, part ii, 1. i, p. 198) discovered, by a more accurate inquiry, that he had only five hundred for his baggage, and eighty or ninety for the service of war. The Greeks had varied with regard to the number which Porus brought into the field ; but Quintus Curtius (viii, 13), in this instance judicious and moderate, is contented with eighty-five elephants, dis- tinguished by their size and strength. In Siam, where these animals are the most numerous, and th In lios artus, in haec corpora, quas miramur. excrescunt. Tacit. Get-mania 3, 20. Cluver. I. i, c. 14. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 349 winter campaign, that chilled the courage of the CHAP. Roman troops, was scarcely felt by these hardy ' f children of the north, k who in their turn were unable to resist the summer heats, and dissolved away in langour and sickness under the beams of an Italian sun. 1 There is not any where upon the globe, a large origin of tract of country, which we have discovered desti- the Ger ' J mans. tute of inhabitants, or whose first population can be fixed with any degree of historical certainty. And yet, as the most philosophic minds can sel- dom refrain from investigating the infancy of great nations, our curiosity consumes itself in toilsome and disappointed efforts. WhenTacitus considered the purity of the German blood, and the forbidding aspect of the country, he was dis- posed to pronounce those barbarians indigence, or natives of the soil. We may allow with safe- ty, and perhaps with truth, that ancient Ger- many was not originally peopled by any foreign colonies already formed into apolitical society; 10 but that the name and nation received their ex- istence from the gradual union of some wander- k Plutarch, in Mario. The Cimbri, by way of amusement, often slid down mountains of snow on their broad shields. 1 The Romans made war in all climates, and by their excellent dis- cipline were, in a great measure, preserved in health and vigour. It may be remarked, that man is the only animal which can live and mul- tiply in every country from the equator to the poles. The hog seems to approach the nearest to our species in that privilege. m Tacit. German, c. 3. The emigration of the Gauls followed tb course of the Danube, and discharged itself on Greece and Asia. Taci- tus could discover only one inconsiderable tribe that retained any traces of a Gallic origin. 350 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, mg savages of the Hercynian woods. To assert 1.,, those savages to have been the spontaneous production of the earth which they inhabited, would be a rash inference, condemned by reli- gion, and unwarranted by reason. Fables and g ucn rational doubt is but ill-suited with the conjec- tures, genius of popular vanity. Among the nations who have adopted the Mosaic history of the world, the ark of Noah has been of the same use, as was formerly to the Greeks and Romans the siege of Troy. On a narrow basis of acknow- ledged truth, an immense but rude superstruc- ture of fable has been erected ; and the wild Irishman," as well as the wild Tartar, could point out the individual son of Japhet, from whose loins his ancestors were lineally descend- ed; The last century abounded with antiqua- rians of profound learning and easy faith, who, by the dim light of legends and traditions, of conjectures and etymologies, conducted the great grandchildren of Noah from the tower of Babel to the extremities of the globe. Of these judicious critics, one of the most entertaining was Olaus Rudbeck, professor in the univer- " According to Dr. Keating (History of Ireland, p. 13, 14), the giant Partholanus, who was the son of Seara, the son of Esra, the son of Sru, the son of Framant, the son of Fathaclan, the son of Magog, the son of Japhet, the son of Noath, landed on the coast of Minister, the 14th day of May, in the year of the world one thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight. Though he succeeded in his great enterprise, the loose behaviour of his wife rendered his domestic life very unhappy, and provoked him to such a degree, that he killed her favourite greyhound. This, as the learned historian very properly ob- serves, was the first instance of female falsehood and infidelity ever known in Ireland. Genealogical History of the Tartars, by Abulghazi Bahadur Khan. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 351 sity of Upsal.p Whatever is celebrated either CHAP. in history or fable, this zealous patriot ascribes **', to his country. From Sweden (which formed so considerable a part of ancient Germany) the Greeks themselves derived their alphabetical characters, their astronomy, and their religion. Of that delightful region (for such it appeared to the eyes of a native) the Atlantis of Plato, the country of the Hyperboreans, the gardens of the Hesperides, the Fortunate islands, and even the Elysian fields, were all but faint and im- perfect transcripts. A clime so profusely fa- voured by nature, could not long remain desert after the flood. The learned Rudbeck allows the family of Noah a few years to multiply from eight to about twenty thousand persons. He then disperses them into small colonies to replenish the earth, and to propagate the hu- man species. The German or Swedish detach- ment (which marched, if I am not mistaken, under the command of Askenaz, the son of Go- mer, the son of Japhet) distinguished itself by a more than common diligence in the prosecu- tion of this great work. The northern hive cast its swarms over the greatest part of Europe, Africa, and Asia; and (to use the author's me- taphor) the blood circulated from the extremi- ties to the heart. But all this well-laboured system of German The Ger antiquities is annihilated by a single fact, too well mans ig- i ' / . if j Ilor at of attested to admit of any doubt, and of too deci- letter*. r His work, entitled Atlantica, is uncommonly scarce. Bayle has given two most curious extracts from it. Rcpublique des Lettres Jan- vier et Fevrier, 1686. THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, give a nature to leave room for any reply. The *^..,, Germans, in the age of Tacitus, were unac- quainted with the use of letters ; q and the use of I letters is the principal circumstance that distin- guishes a civilized people from a herd of savages , incapable of knowledge or reflection. Without that artificial help, the human memory soon dis- sipates or corrupts the ideas intrusted to her charge; and the nobler faculties of the mind, no longer supplied with models or with materials, gradually forget their powers : the judgment be- comes feeble and lethargic, the imagination lan- guid or irregular. Fully to apprehend this im- portant truth, let us attempt, in an improved so- ciety, to calculate the immense distance between the man of learning and the illiterate peasant. The former, by reading and reflection, multiplies his own experience, and lives in distant ages and remote countries; whilst the latter, rooted to a single spot, and confined to a few years of existence, surpasses, but very little, his fellow- labourer the ox in the exercise of his mental fa- * Tacit. Germ, ii, 19. Literarnm secreta viri partier ac foeminae ignorant. We may rest contented with this decisive authority, without entering into the obscure disputes concerning the antiquity of the Runic characters. The learned Celsius, a Swede, a scholar, and a philosopher, was of opinion, that they were nothing more than the Roman letters, with the curves changed into straight lines for the ease of engraving. See Pelloutier, Histoire des Celtes, 1. ii. c. 11. Dictionnaire Diplomatique, torn, i, p. 223. We may add, that the oldest Runic inscriptions are supposed to be of the third century, and the most ancient writer who mentions the Runic characters is Venantius Fortunatus (Carm. vii, 18), who lived towards the end of the istii century. Barbara fraxineis pingatur Runa tabellis. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 353 culties. The same, and even a greater, differ- CHAP. ence will be found between nations than between individuals; and we may safely pronounce, that without some species of writing, no people has ever preserved the faithful annals of their history, ever made any considerable progress in the ab- stract sciences, or ever possessed, in any toler- able degree of perfection, the useful and agree- able arts of life. Of these arts, the ancient Germans were O f arts and wretchedly destitute. They passed their lives JJJJ 1 " in a state of ignorance and poverty, which it has pleased some declaimers to dignify with the ap- pellation of virtuous simplicity. Modern Ger- many is said to contain about two thousand three hundred walled towns/ In a much wider extent of country, the geographer Ptolemy could discover no more than ninety places, which he decorates with the name of cities ; s though, ac- cording to our ideas, they would but ill deserve that splendid title. We can only suppose them co have been rude fortifications, constructed in the centre of the woods, and designed to secure the women, children, and cattle, whilst the war- riors of the tribe marched out to repel a sudden invasion. 1 But Tacitus asserts, as a well-known T Recherches Pbilosophiques sur les Americains, torn- iii, p. 228. The author of that very curious work is, if I am not misinformed, a (icrniE.ii . by birth. s The Alexandrian geographer is often criticised by the accurate Cluverhis. 1 See Caesar, and the learned Mr. Whitaker, in his History of Man- chester, vol i. * x v * ' 'p f * , VOL. I. A a 354 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, fact, that the Germans, in his time, had no ci- , \ ties ; n and that they affected to despise the works of Roman industry, as places of confine- ment rather than of security. 1 Their edifices were not even contiguous, or formed into regu- lar villas ; T each barbarian fixed his indepen- dent dwelling on the spot to which a plain, a wood, or a stream of fresh water, had induced him to give the preference. Neither stone, nor brick, nor tiles, were employed in these slight habitations.* They were indeed no more than low huts of a circular figure, built of rough timber, thatched with straw, and pierced at the top to leave a free passage for the smoke. In the most inclement winter, the hardy German was satisfied with a scanty garment made of the skin of some animal. The nations who dwelt towards the north, clothed themselves in furs; and the women manufactured for their own use a coarse kind of linen.* The game of various sorts, with which the forests of Germany were plentifully stocked, supplied its inhabitants " Tacit. Germ. 15. 1 When the Germans commanded the Ubii of Cologne to cast off the Roman yoke, and with their new freedom to resume their ancient man- ners, they insisted on the immediate demolition of the walls of the co- lony. " Postulamus a vobis, muros coloniae, munimenta servitii detra- " hatis 5 etiam fera animalia, si clausa teneas, virtutis obliviscuntnr." Tacit. Hist, iv, 64. y The straggling villages of Silesia are several miles in length. See Clnver. I. i, c. 13. * One hundred and forty years after Tacitus, a few more regular ttrnctures were erected near the Rhine and Danube. Herodian, 1. vfi, p. 234. Tacit. Germ. 17. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 355 with food and exercise.* Their monstrous herds CHAP. of cattle, less remarkable indeed for their beauty,^ ' than for their utility, formed the principal ob- ject of their wealth. A small quantity of corn was the only produce exacted from the earth ; the use of orchards or artificial meadows was un- known to the Germans ; nor can we expect any improvements in agriculture from apeople, whose property every year experienced a general change by a new division of the arable lands, and who, in that strange operation, avoided disputes, by suffering a great part of their territory to lie waste and without tillage/ Gold, silver, and iron, were extremely scarce andofth* in Germany. Its barbarous inhabitants want- " a s j g fmet ed both skill and patience to investigate those rich veins of silver, which have so liberally re- warded the attention of the princes of Brunswick and Saxony. Sweden, which now supplies Eu- rope with iron, was equally ignorant of its own riches ; and the appearance of the arms of the Germans furnished a sufficient proof how little iron they were able to bestow on what they must have deemed the noblest use of that metal. The various transactions of peace and war had in- troduced some Roman coins (chiefly silver) among the borderers of the Rhine and Danube; but the more distant tribes were absolutely un- acquainted with the Use of money, carried on their confined traffic by the exchange of com- b Tacit. Germ. 5. c Caesar, de Bell. Gall, vi, 21. * Tacit. Gerin. 26. Caesar, vi, 22. A a 2 356 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, modities, and prized their rude earthen vessels of equal value with the silver vases, the pre sents of Rome to their princes and ambassadors.* To a mind capable of reflection, such leading facts convey more instruction, than a tedious detail of subordinate circumstances. The va- lue of money has been settled by general con- sent to express our wants and our property, as letters were invented to express our ideas ; and both these institutions, by giving a more active energy to the powers and passions of human nature, have contributed to multiply the objects they were designed to represent. The use of gold and silver is in a great measure factitious ; but it would be impossible to enumerate the im- portant and various services which agriculture, and all the arts, have received from iron, when tempered and fashioned by the operation of fire and the dexterous hand of man. Money, in a word, is the most universal incitement, iron the most powerful instrument, of human industry ; and it is very difficult to conceive by what means a people, neither actuated by the one, nor se- conded by the other, could emerge from the grossest barbarism/ riieir in- If we contemplate a savage nation in any part iolence. - _ . . J _ r of the globe, a supine indolence and a careless- ness of futurity will be found to constitute their general character. In a civilized state, every e Tacit. Germ. G. f It is said that the Mexicans and Peruvians, without the use of ei- ther money or iron, had made a very great progress in the arts. Those arts, and the monuments they produced, have been strangely magnified. See Rechcrches sur ics Amerirains, toin. ii, p, 153, &c. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 357 faculty of man is expanded and exercised, and CHAP. Y the great chain of mutual dependence connects^ and embraces the several members of society. The most numerous portion of it is employed in constant and useful labour. The select few, placed by fortune above that necessity, can, however, fill up their time by the pursuits of in- terest or glory, by the improvement of their es- tate or of their understanding, by the duties, the pleasures, and even the follies of social life. The Germans were not possessed of these varied re- sources. The care of the house and family, the management of the land and cattle, were dele- gated to the old and the infirm, to women and slaves. The lazy warrior, destitute of every art that might employ his leisure hours, consumed his days and nights in the animal gratifications of sleep and food. And yet, by a wonderful di- versity of nature (according to the remark of a writer who had pierced into its darkest recesses), the same barbarians are by turns the most indo- lent and the most restless of mankind. They delight in sloth, they detest tranquillity. 8 Tt'he langufa soul, f oppresses WKn its""own weight, anxiously required some new and powerful sen- sation ; and war and danger were the only amusements adequate to its fierce temper. The sound that summoned the German to arms was gratefuT to his ear. It roused him fruin lllsHh- comfortable lethargy, gave him an active pur- suit, and, by strong exercise of the body, and violent emotions of the mind, restored him to a 1 Tacit. Germ. 15. 358 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, more lively sense of his existence. In the dull '* intervals of peace, these barbarians were immo- derately addicted to deep gaming and excessive drinking; both of which, by different means, the one by inflaming their passions, the other by extinguishing their reason, alike relieved them from the pain of thinking. They gloried in pass- ing whole days and nights at table ; and the blood of friends and relations often stained their numerous and drunken assemblies. k Their debts of honour (for in that light they have transmit- ted to us those of play) they discharged with the most romantic fidelity. The desperate gamester, who had staked his person and liberty on a last throw of the dice, patiently submitted to the de- cision of fortune, and suffered himself to be bound, chastised, and sold into remote slavery, by his weaker but more lucky antagonist. 1 Their taste Strong beer, a liquor extracted with very lit- ^ e art fr m wheat or barley, and corrupted (as it is strongly expressed by Tacitus) into a cer- tain semblance of wine, was sufficient for the gross purposes of German debauchery. But those who had tasted the rich wines of Italy, and afterwards of Gaul, sighed for that more de- licious species of intoxication. They attempted not, however (as has since been executed with so much success), to naturalize the vine on the banks of the Rhine and Danube ; nor did they b Tacit. Germ. 22, 23. * Id. 21. The Germans might borrow the arts of play from the Romans, but the pussioti in wonderfully inherent in the human species*. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 35S endeavour to procure by industry the materials CHAP. C;f an advantageous commerce. To solicit by_ labour what might be ravished by arms, was esteemed unworthy of the German spirit. k The intemperate thirst of strong liquors often urged the barbarians to invade the provinces on which art or nature had bestowed those much envied presents. The Tuscan who betrayed his coun- try to the Celtic nations, attracted them into Italy by the prospect of the rich fruits and de- licious wines, the productions of a happier cli- mate. 1 And in the same manner the German auxiliaries, invited into France during the civil wars of the sixteenth century, were allured by the promise of plenteous quarters in the pro- vinces of Champaigne and Burgundy. 01 Drun- kenness, the most illiberal, but not the most dangerous of our vices, was sometimes capable, in a less civilized state of mankind, of occasion- ing a battle, a war, or a revolution. The climate of ancient Germany has been state of mollified, and the soil fertilized, by the labour PP UI - of ten centuries from the time of Charlemagne. The same extent of ground which at present maintains, in ease and plenty, a million of hus- bandinen and artificers, was unable to supply an hundred thousand lazy warriors with the simple necessaries of life. n The Germans aban- * Tacit. Germ. 14. 1 Plutarch, in Caraillo. T. Livy. v, S3. B Dnbos. Hist, de la Monarchic Fran9oise, toni. i, p. 195. * The Helvetian nation, which issued from the country called Swiizerbnd, contained, of every age and sex, 368,000 persons (Cttsar 360 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, doned their immense forests to the exercise of ^ hunting, employed in pasturage the most con- siderable part of their lands, bestowed on the small remainder a rude and careless cultivation, and then accused the scantiness and sterility of a country that refused to maintain the multi- tude of its inhabitants. When the return of fa- mine severely admonished them of the import- ance of the arts, the national distress was some- times alleviated by the emigration of a third, perhaps, or a fourth part of their youth. The possession and the enjoyment of property are the pledges which bind a civilized people to an improved country. But the Germans, who car- ried with them what they most valued, their arms, their cattle, and their women, cheerfully abandoned the vast silence of their woods for the unbounded hopes of plunder and conquest. The innumerable swarms that issued, or seem- ed to issue, from the great storehouse of na- tions, were multiplied by the fears of the van- quished, and by the credulity of succeeding ages. And from facts thus exaggerated, an opinion was gradually established, and has been supported by writers of distinguished reputation, that in the age of Cassar and Tacitus, the inhabitants of the north were far more numerous than they are (Caesar de Bell. Gal. i, 29). At present, the number of people in the Pays de Vaud (a small district on the banks of the Leman lake, much more distinguished for politeness than for industry) amounts to 112,591. See an excellent tract of M. JVIuret. in the Meraoires de la Societ6 dt Bern. Paul Diaconus, c. 1, 2, 3. Machiavel, Davila, and the reft of Paul's followers, represent these emigrations too much as regular and concerted measures. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE in our days. p A more serious inquiry into the CHAP. causes of population seems to have convinced ~^ wt modern philosophers of the falsehood, and in- deed the impossibility, of the supposition. To the names of Mariana and of Machiavel, q we can oppose the equal names of TCobertson and Hume/ A warlike nation like the Germans, without German either cities, letters, arts, or money, found some freedOBU compensation for this savage state in the enjoy- ment of liberty. Their poverty secured their freedom, since our desires and our possessions are the strongest fetters of despotism. " Among " the Suiones (says Tacitus), riches are held in " honour. They are therefore subject to an ab- " solute monarch, who, instead of entrusting his " people with the free use of arms, as is practised " in the rest of Germany, commits them to the " safe custody, not of a citizen, or even of a " freed man, but of a slave. The neighbours of " the Suiones, the Sitones, are sunk~even below " servitude; they obey a woman. 5 " In the men- tion of these exceptions, the great historian suf- ficiently acknowledges the general theory of go- vernment. We are only at a loss to conceive by what means riches and despotism could pene- p Sir William Temple and Montesquieu have indulged, on this sub- ject the usual liveliness of their fancy. '' .Marhiavcl Hist, de Firenze, 1, i. Mariana Hist. Hispan. 1. r, c. 1. r Robertson's Charles V. Hume's Political Essays. * Tacit. German. 44, 45. Frenshemius (who dedicated his supple* mem to Livy, to Christina of Sweden) thinks proper to be very angry with the Roman who expressed so very littJe reverence for northern queens 362 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, trate into a remote corner of the north, and f9 extinguish the generous flame that blazed with such fierceness on the frontier of the Roman provinces ; or how the ancestors of those Danes and Norwegians, so distinguished in latter ages by their unconquered spirit, could thus tamely resign the great character of German liberty. 1 Some tribes, however, on the coast of the Baltic, acknowledged the authority of kings, though without relinquishing the rights of men; u but in the far greater part of Germany, the form of government was a democracy, tempered indeed, and controuled, not so much by general and positive laws, as by the occasional ascendant of birth or valour, of eloquence or superstition." Assemblies Civil governments, in their first institutions, are voluntary associations for mutual defence. To obtain the desired end, it is absolutely ne- cessary that each individual should conceive himself obliged to submit his private opinion and actions to the judgment of the greater num- ber of his associates. The German tribes were contented with this rude, but liberal, outline of political society. As soon as a youth, born of free parents, had attained the age of manhood, ' May we not suspect that superstition was the parent of despot- ism ? The descendants of Odin (whose race was not extinct till the year 1060) are said to have reigned in Sweden above a thousand years. The temple of Upsal was the ancient seat of religion and empire. In the year 1153, I find a singular law, prohibiting the use and profes- sion of arms to any except the king's guards. Is it not probable that it was coloured by the pretence of reviving an old institution ? See Dailin's History of Sweden, in the Bibliothe'que Raisonne"e, torn, xl and xlv. " Tacit. Germ. c. 43. * Id. c. 11, 12, 13, Ac. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 363 he was introduced into the general council of CHAP. his countrymen, solemnly invested with a shield and spear, and adopted as an equal and wor- thy member of the military commonwealth. The assembly of the warriors of the tribe was convened at stated seasons, or on sudden emer- gencies. The trial of public offences, the elec- tion of magistrates, and the great business of peace and war, were determined by its inde- pendent vojce. Sometimes, indeed, these im- portant questions were previously considered, and prepared in a more select council of the principal chieftains/ The magistrates might deliberate and persuade, the people only could resolve and execute ; and the resolutions of the Germans were for the most part hasty and vio lent. Barbarians accustomed to place their freedom in gratifying the present passion, and their courage in overlooking all future conse- quences, turned away w r ith indignant contempt from the remonstrances of justice and policy, and it was the practice to signify by a hollow murmur their dislike of such timid counsels. But whenever a more popular orator proposed to vindicate the meanest citizen from either fo- reign or domestic injury, whenever be called upon his fellow countrymen to assert the nation- al honour, or to pursue some enterprise full of danger and glory, a loud clashing of shields and spears expressed the eager applause of the assembly. For the Germans always met in 7 Gcotius changes an expression of Tacitus, pertractantw into pr<*- trattantur, The correction is equally jnst and ingenious. 364 THE DECLINE AMD FALL CHAP, arms, and it was constantly to be dreaded, lest J an irregular multitude, inflamed with faction and strong liquors, should use those arms to enforce, as well as to declare, their furious resolves. We may recollect how often the diets of Poland have been polluted with blood, and the more numerous party has been compelled to yield to the more violent and seditious. 2 Authority A general of the tribe was elected on occasions princes of danger; and, if the danger was pressing and and magis- ex tensive, several tribes concurred in the choice trutcs of the same general. The bravest warrior was named to lead his countrymen into the field, by his example rather than by his commands. But this power, however limited, was still invi- dious. It expired with the war, and in time of peac* the German tribes acknowledged not any supreme chief/ Princes were, however, ap- pointed in the general assembly, to administer justice, or rather to compose differences," in their respective districts. In the choice of these magistrates, as much regard was shewn to birth as to merit/ To each was assigned, by the public, a guard, and a council of an hundred persons ; and the first of the princes appears to have enjoyed a pre-eminence of rank and honour z Even in our ancient parliament, the barons often carried a ques- tion, not so much by the number of votes, as by that of their armed followers. Caesar de Bell. Gal. vi, 23. b Minuunt controversias, is a very happy expression of Caesar's. c Rcges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt. Tacit. Germ. 7. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 365 which sometimes tempted the Romans to com- CHAP. pliment him with the regal title. d The comparative view of the powers of the more abso- magistrates, in two remarkable instances, alone sufficient to represent the whole system German manners. The disposal of the landed persons . of the property within their district was absolutely Germans. vested in their hands, and they distributed it every year according to a new division. 6 At the same time they were not authorised to punish with death, to imprison, or even to strike, a private citizen/ A people thus jealous of their persons, and careless of their possessions, must have been totally destitute of industry and the arts, but animated with a high sense of honour and independence. The Germans respected only those duties Voluntary which they imposed on themselves. The most obscure soldier resisted with disdain the autho- rity of the magistrates. " The noblest youths " blushed not to be numbered among the " faithful companions of some renowned chief, " to whom they devoted their arms and service. " A noble emulation prevailed among the com- " panions, to obtain the first place in the esteem " of their chief; amongst the chiefs, to acquire " the greatest number of valiant companions. " To be ever surrounded by a band of select " youths, was the pride and strength of the " chiefs, their ornament in peace, their defence d .Clover. Germ. Ant. I. i, o. 38. e Caesar, vi, 22. Tacit. Germ. 26. f Tacit. Germ. 7. 366 CHAP. " in war. The glory of such distinguished IX '^ "' heroes diffused itself beyond the narrow li- " mits of their own tribe. Presents and embas- " sies solicited their friendship, and the fame of " their arms often ensured victory to the party " which they espoused. In the hour of danger " it was shameful for the chief to be surpassed " in valour by his companions; shameful for the " companions not to equal the valour of their " chief. To survive his fall in battle, was in- * * delible infamy. To protect his person, and to " adorn his glory with the trophies of their own " exploits, were the most sacred of their duties. " The chiefs combated for victory, the compa- " nions for the chief. The noblest warriors, " whenever their native country was sunk in the " laziness of peace, maintained their numerous " bands in some distant scene of action, to ex- " ercise their restless spirit, and to acquire re- " nown by voluntary dangers. Gifts worthy of " soldiers, the warlike steed, the bloody and " ever victorious lance, were the rewards which " the companions claimed from the liberality of " their chief. The rude plenty of his hospitable " board was the only pay that he could bestow, " or they would accept. War, rapine, and the " freewill offerings of his friends, supplied the " materials of this munificence." 5 This institu- tion, however it might accidentally weaken the several republics, invigorated the general charac- ter of the Germans, and even ripened amongst B Tacit. Germ. 13, 14, OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 367 them all the virtues of which barbarians are sus- CHAP. IX ceptible; the faith and valour, the hospitality ^ and the courtesy, so conspicuous long afterwards in the ages of chivalry. The honourable gifts, bestowed by the chief on his brave companions, have been supposed, by an ingenious writer, to contain the first rudiments of the fiefs, distri- buted, after the conquest of the Roman pro- vinces, by the barbarian lords among their vas- sals, with a similar duty of homage and military service. 11 These conditions are, however, very repugnant to the maxims of the ancient Ger- mans, who delighted in mutual presents ; but without eitherimposing, or accepting, the weight of obligations. 1 " In the days of chivalry, or more properly German " of romance, all the men were brave, and all c " the women were chaste " and notwithstand- ing the latter of these virtues is acquired and preserved with much more difficulty than the former, it is ascribed, almost without exception, to the wives of the ancient Germans. Polygamy was not in use, except among the princes, and among them only for the sake of multiplying their alliances. Divorces were prohibited by manners rather than by laws. Adulteries were punished as rare and inexpiable crimes; nor h Esprit des Loix, 1. xxx, c. 3. The brilliant imagination of Montesquieu is corrected, however, by the dry cold reason of the Abb delMably. Observations sur 1'Histoire de France, torn, i, p. 356. ' Gaudent muneribiis, sed nee data imputant, nee acceptis obligan- tur. Tacit. Germ. c. 21. THE DECLINE AND FALLr CHAP, was seduction j ustified by example and fashion k We may easily discover, that Tacitus indulges an honest pleasure in the contrast of barbarian virtue with the dissolute conduct of the Roman ladies ; yet there are some striking circum- stances that give an air of truth, or at least of probability, to the conjugal faith and chastity of the Germans. its proba- Although the progress of civilization has un- 'doubtedly contributed to assuage the fiercer pas- sions of human nature, it seems to have been less favourable to the virtue of chastity, whose most dangerous enemy is the softness of the mind. The refinements of life corrupt while they polish the intercourse of the sexes. The gross appetite of love becomes most dangerous when it is ele- vated, or rather, indeed, disguised by sentimental passion. The elegance of dress, of motion, and of manners, gives a lustre to beauty, and inflames the senses through the imagination. Luxurious entertainments, midnight dances, and licentious spectacles, present at once temptation and op- portunity to female frailty. 1 From such dan- gers the unpolished wives of the barbarians were secured by poverty, solitude, and the painful cares of a domestic life. The German huts, open, on every side, to the eye of indiscretion or k The adulteress was whipped through the village. Neither wealth nor beauty could inspire compassion, or procure her a second husband. 18, 19. 1 Ovid employs two hundred lines in the research of places the most favourable to love. Above all, he considers the theatre as the best adapted to collect the beauties of Rome, and to melt them into tender- ness am! sensuality. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 369 jealousy were a better safeguard of conjugal fi- CHAP. delity than the walls, the bolts, and the eunuchs , of a Persian haram. To this reason, another may be added, of a more honourable nature. The Germans treated their women with esteem and confidence, consulted them on every occa- sion of importance, and fondly believed, that in their breasts resided a sanctity and wisdom more than human. Some of these interpreters of fate, such as Velleda, in the Batavian war, governed, in the name of the deity, the fiercest nations of Germany. 01 The rest of the sex, without being adored as goddesses, were respected as the free and equal companions of soldiers ; associated, even by the marriage ceremony, to a life of toil, of danger, and of glory . n In their great inva- sions, the camps of the barbarians were filled with a multitude of women, who remained firm and undaunted amidst the sound of arms, the various forms of destruction, and the honourable wounds of their sons and husbands. Fainting armies of Germans have more than once been driven back upon the enemy, by the generous despair of the women, who dreaded death much less than servitude. If the day was irrecoverably lost, they well knew how to deliver themselves and their children, with their own hands, from Tacit. Anna!, iv, 01, 65. " The marriage present was a yoke of oxen, horses, and arms. Ser Germ. c. 18. Tacitus ij some what too florid on the subject. The change of exigere into exugere, is a most excellent correc- tion. VOL. I. B l> 370 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAI. an insulting victor.* Heroines of such a cast ' f may claim our admiration; but they were most assuredly neither lovely, nor very susceptible of love. Whilst they affected to emulate the stern virtues of man, they must have resigned that attractive softness in which principally consists the charm and weakness of women. Conscious pride taught the German females to suppress every tender emotion that stood in competition with honour, and the first honour of the sex has ever been that of chastity. The sentiments and conduct of these high-spirited matrons may, at once, be considered as a cause, as an effect, and as a proof of the general character of the nation. Female courage, however it may be raised b^ fanaticism, or confirmed by habit, can be only a faint and imperfect imitation of the manly valour that distinguishes the age or country in which it may be found. Religion. The religious system of the Germans (if the wild opinions of savages can deserve that name) was dictated by their wants, their fears, and their ignorance. q They adored the great visible objects and agents of nature, the sun and the p Tacit. Germ. c. 7. Plutarch, in Mario. Before the wives of the Teutones destroyed themselves and their children, they had offered to surrender, on condition that they should be received as the slaves of the vestal virgins. q Tacitus has employed a few lines, and Cluverins one hundred and twenty-four pages, on this obscure subject. The former discovers in Germany the gods of Greece and Rome. The latter is positive, that under the emblems of the sun, the moon, and the fire, his pious ance*> tors worshipped the Trinity in unity. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 371 moon, the fire and the earth ; together with CHAP. those imaginary deities, who were supposed to ' preside over the most important occupations of human life. They were persuaded, that, by some ridiculous arts of divination, they could discover the will of the superior beings, and that human sacrifices were the most precious and acceptible offering to their altars. Some ap- plause has been hastily bestowed on the sublime notion, entertained by that people, of the Deity, whom they neither confined within the walls of a temple, nor represented by any human figure; but when we recollect, that the Germans were unskilled in architecture, and totally unacquaint- ed with the art of sculpture, we shall readily %ssign the true reason of scruple, which arose not so much from a superiority of reason, as from a want of ingenuity. The only temples in Ger- many were dark and ancient groves, consecrated by the reverence of succeeding generations. Their secret gloom, the imagined residence of an in- visible power, by presenting no distinct object of fear or worship, mpressed the mind with a still deeper sense of religious horror ; r and the priests, rude and illiterate as they were, had been taught by experience the use of every artifice that could preserve aad fortify impressions so well suited to their own interest. * The sacred wood, described with such sublime horror by Lucan, was in the neighbourhood of Marseilles ; but there were many of the same kind'in Germany. fib 2 372 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The same ignorance which renders barbarians incapable of conceiving or embracing the useful its effects restraints of laws, exposes them naked and un- cc> armed to the blind terrors of superstition. The German priests, improving this favourable tem- per of their countrymen, had assumed a juris- diction, even in temporal concerns, which the magistrate could not venture to exercise; and the haughty warrior patiently submitted to the lash of correction, when .it was inflicted, not by any human power, but by the immediate order of the god of war. 8 The defects of civil policy were sometimes supplied by the interposition of ecclesiastical authority. The latter was con- stantly exerted to maintain silence and decency in the popular assemblies; and was sometimes extended to a more enlarged concern for the national welfare. A solemn procession was oc- casionally celebrated in the present countries of Mecklenburgh and Pomerania. The unknown symbol of the earth, covered with a thick veil, was placed on a carriage drawn by cows: and in this manner the goddessj^vhose common resi- dence was in the isle of Rugen, visited several adjacent tribes of her worshippers. During her progress, the sound of war was hushed, quarrels were suspended, arms laid aside, and the restless Germans had an opportunity of tasting the blessings of peace and harmony.' The truce of God, so often and so ineffectually proclaimed ' Tacit. Germania, c. 7. 1 Tacit, Germania, c. 40. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 373 by the clergy of ilae eleventh century, was an CHAP, obvious imitation of this ancient custom." But the influence of religion was far more in war. powerful to inflame, than to moderate, the fierce passions of the Germans. Interest and fanati- cism often prompted its ministers to sanctify the most daring and the most unjust enterprises, by the approbation of heaven, and full assurances of success. The consecrated standards, long revered in the groves of superstition, were placed in the front of the battle; 1 and the hostile army was devoted with dire execrations to the gods of war and of thunder/ In the faith of soldiers (and such were the Germans) cowardice is the most unpardonable of sins. A brave man was the worthy favourite of their martial deities ; the wretch who had losthis shield, was alike banish- ed from the religious and the civil assemblies of his countrymen. Some tribes of the north seem to have embraced the doctrine of transmigra- tion, 3 others imagined a gross paradise of im- mortal drunkenness/ All agreed^lnalf aTTTfe spent in arms, and a glorious death in battle, were the best preparations for a happy futurity, either in this or in another world. u See Dr. Robertson's History of Charles V, vol. i, note Id " Tacit. Germ. c. 7. These standards were only the heads of wild beasts. y Sec an instance of this custom, Tacit. Annal. xiii, 57. ' Caesar, Diodorus, and Lucan, seem to ascribe this doctrine to the Gauls ; but M. Pelloutier (Histoire des Celtes, 1. iii, c. 18), labours to reduce their expressions to a more orthodox sense. 1 Concerning this gross but alluring doctrine of the Edda, see fable xx, in the curious version of that book, published by M. Mallet, in hit Introduction to the History of Denmark. 374 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The immortality so vainly promised by the .priests, was in some degree conferred by the The bardi. bards. That singular order of men has most deservedly attracted the notice of all who have attempted to investigate the antiquities of the Celts, the Scandinavians, and the Germans. Their genius and character, as well as the rever- ence paid to that important office, have been sufficiently illustrated. But we cannot so easily express, or even conceive, the enthusiasm of arms and glory which they kindled in the breast of their audience. Among a polished people, a taste for poetry is rather an amusement of the fancy, than a passion of the soul. And yet, when in calm retirement we peruse the combats described by Homer or Tasso, we are insensibly seduced by the fiction, and feel a momentary glow of martial ardour. But how faint, how cold is the sensation which a peaceful mind can receive from solitary study ! It was in the hour of battle, or in the feast of victory, that the bards celebrated the glory of heroes of ancient days, the ancestors of those warlike chieftians who list- ened with transport to their artless but animat- ed strains. The view of arms and of danger heightened the effect of the military song ; and the passions which it tended to excite, the desire of fame, and the contempt of death, were the habitual sentiments of a German mind. k Such was the situation, and such were the 1 See Tacit. Germ. c. 3. Diodor. Sicul. 1. v. Strabo, 1. iv, p. 197. The classical reader may remember the rank of Demodocus in the Pbvtcian OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 375 manners, of the ancient Germans. Their cli- CHAP. . . ix mate, their want of learning, of arts, and of ' laws, their notions of honour, of gallantry, and Cas of religion, their sense of freedom, impatience checked of peace, and thirst of enterprise, all contributed g h r ^ r Jf to form a people of military heroes. And yet'we the Ger- find, that during more than two hundred and fifty years that elapsed from the defeat of Varus to the reign of Decius, these formidable barba- rians made few considerable attempts, and not any material impression, on the luxurious and enslaved provinces of the empire. Their pro- gress was checked by their want of arms and discipline, and their fury was diverted by the intestine divisions of ancient Germany. i. It has been observed, with ingenuity, and Want <* not without truth, that the command of iron soon gives a nation the command of gold. But the rude tribes of Germany, alike destitute of both those valuable metals, were reduced slowly to acquire, by their unassisted strength, the pos- session of the one, as well as the other. The face of a German army displayed their poverty of iron. Swords, and the longer kind of lances, they could seldom use. Their framece (as they called them in their own language) were long spears, headed with a sharp but narrow iron Phaeacian court, and the ardour infused by Tyrtaeus into the fainting Spartans. Yet there is little probability that the Greeks and the Ger- mans were the same people. Much learned trifling might be spared, if our antiquarians would condescend to reflect, that similar manner* will naturally be produced by similar situation*. 376 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, point, and which, as occasion required, they ei- ^,1 ther darted from a distance, or pushed in close onset. With this spear, and with a shield, their cavalry was contented. A multitude of darts, scattered e with incredible force, were an addi- tional resource of the infantry. Their military dress, when they wore any, was nothing more than a loose mantle. A variety of colours was the only ornament of their wooden or osier shields. Few of the chiefs were distinguished by cuirasses, scarce any by helmets. Though the horses of Germany were neither beautiful, swift, nor practised in the skilful evolutions of the Roman manege, several of the nations ob- tained renown by their cavalry; but, in general, the principal strength of the Germans consisted in their infantry,* 1 which was drawn up in seve- ral deep columns, according to the distinction and of dis- of tribes and families. Impatient of fatigue or delay, these half-armed warriors rushed to bat- tle with dissonant shouts, and disordered ranks; and sometimes, by the effort of native valour, prevailed over the constrained and more artifi- cial bravery of the Roman mercenaries. But as the barbarians poured forth their whole souls on the first onset, they knew not how to rally, (or to retire. A repulse was a sure defeat ; and a defeat was most commonly total destruction. c Missilia spargunt. Tacit. Germ. c. 6. Either that historian nsed a vague expression, or he meant that they were thrown at ran- dom. d It was their principal distinction from the Sarmatians, who general- ly fought on horseback OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 377 When \ve recollect the complete armour of the CHAP. ... . TV Roman soldiers, their discipline, exercises, evo- lutions, fortified camps, and military engines, it appears a just matter of surprise, how the naked and unassisted valour of the barbarians could dare to encounter in the field the strength of the legions, and the various troops of the auxilia- ries, which seconded their operations. The con- test was too unequal, till the introduction of luxury had enervated the vigour, and a spirit of disobedience and sedition had relaxed the dis- cipline, of the Roman armies. The introduc- tion of barbarian auxiliaries in those armies, was a measure attended with very obvious dan- gers, as it might gradually instruct the Germans in the arts of war and of policy. Although they were admitted in small numbers, and with the strictest precaution, the example of Civilis was proper to convince the Romans, that the danger was not imaginary, and that their pre- cautions were not always sufficient." During the civil wars that followed the death of Nero, that artful and intrepid Batavian, whom his ene- mies condescended to compare with Hannibal and Sertorius/ formed a great design of free- dom and ambition. Eight Batavian cohorts, renowned in the wars of Britain and Italy, re- paired to his standard. He introduced an army e The relation of this enterprise occupies a great part of the fourth and fifth books of the History of Tacitus, and is more remarkable for its eloquence than perspicuity. Sir Henry Saville has observed scve ral inaccuracies. .' Tacit. Hist, iv, 13, Like them he had lost an eye. CHAP, of Germans into Gaul, prevailed on the power- " ful cities ofTreves and Langres to embrace his cause, defeated the legions, destroyed their for- tified camps, and employed against the Romans the military knowledge which he had acquired in their service. When at length, after an ob- stinate struggle, he yielded to the power of the empire, Civilis secured himself and his country by an honourable treaty. The Batavians still continued to occupy the islands of the Rhine,* the allies, not the servants, of the Roman mo- narchy. dis- ii. The strength of ancient Germany appears Germany/ formidable, when we consider the effects that might have been produced by its united effort The wide extent of country might very possibly contain a million of warriors, as all who were of age to bear arms were of a temper to use them. But this tierce multitude, incapable of concert- ing or executing any plan of national greatness, was agitated by various and often hostile inten- tions. Germany was divided into more than forty independent states ; and, even in each state, the union of the several tribes was extremely looseand precarious. The barbarians were easily provoked ; they knew not how to forgive an in- jury, much less an insult; their resentments were bloody and implacable. The casual disputes that so frequently happened in their tumultuous par- ties of hunting or drinking, were sufficient to * It was contained between tbe two branches of the old Rhine, a* they subsisted before the face of the country, was changed by art and nature. See Clnver. German, Antiq. I. iii, c. 30, 57. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 379 inflame the minds of whole nations ; the private CHAP. feud of any considerable chieftains diffused itself,^ among their followers and allies. To chastise the insolent, or to plunder the defenceless, were alike causes of war. The most formidable states of Germany affected to encompass their terri- tories with a wide frontier of solitude and de- vastation. The awful distance preserved by their neighbours, attested the terror of their arms, and in some measure defended them from the danger of unexpected incursions. 11 " TheBructeri(it is Tacitus who now speak s) on >>ted " were totally exterminated by the neighbouring hey of " tribes, 1 provoked by their insolence, allured " by the hopes of spoil, and perhaps inspired by " the tutelar deities of the empire. Above sixty " thousand barbarians were destroyed; not by " the Roman arms, but in our sight, and for " our entertainment. May the nations, enemies " of Rome, ever preserve this enmity to each " other! We have now attained the utmost " verge of prosperity, k and have nothing left " to demand of fortune, except the discord of " these barbarians.'' 1 These sentiments, less Cesar de Bell. Gall. 1. vi, 23. 1 They are mentioned, however, hi the fourth and fifth centuries, by Nazarius, Ammianus, Claudian, &c. as a tribe of Franks. See Cluver. Germ. Antiq. 1. iii, c. 13. * Vrgentibus is the common reading, bat good sense, Lipsius, and some >iss. declare for I'ergentibus. 1 Tacit. Germania, c. 33. The pious Abbe de la Bleterie is very an- gry with Tacitus, talks of the devil who was a murderer from the be- ginning Ace. Sic. 380 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, worthy of the humanity than of the patriotism f ^ of Tacitus, express the invariable maxims of the policy of his countrymen. They deemed it a much safer expedient to divide than to combat the barbarians, from whose defeat they could derive neither honour nor advantage. The money and negociations of Rome insinuated themselves into the heart of Germany ; and every art of seduction was used with dignity, to con- ciliate those nations whom their proximity to the Rhine or Danube might render the most useful friends, as well as the most troublesome enemies. Chiefs of renown and power were flattered by the most trifling presents, which they received either as marks of distinction, or as the instruments of luxury. In civil dissentions, the weaker faction endeavoured to strengthen its interest by entering into secret connexions with the governors of the frontier provinces. Every quarrel among the Germans was fomented by the intrigues of Rome ; and every plan of union and public good was defeated by the stronger bias of private jealousy and interest." 1 Transient The general conspiracy which terrified theRo- mans under the reign of Marcus Antoninus com- P renen ded almost all the nations of Germany, arid even Sarmatia, from the mouth of the Rhine to that of the Danube." It is impossible for m Many traces of this policy may be discovered in Tacitus and Dion ; and many more may be inferred from the principles of human nature. n Hist. August, p. 31. Ammian. Marcellin, 1. xxxi, c. 5. Aurel. Victor. The emperor Marcus was reduced to sell the rich furniture of the palace, and to enlist slaves and robbers. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 381 us to determine whether this hasty confederation CHAP. was formed by necessity, by reason, or by pas- .'.. sion ; but we may rest assured, that the barba- rians were neither allured by the indolence, or provoked by the ambition, of the Roman mo- narch. This dangerous invasion required all the firmness and vigilance of Marcus. He fixed generals of ability in the several stations of at- tack, and assumed in person the conduct of the most important province on the Upper Danube. After a long and doubtful conflict, the spirit of the barbarians was subdued. The Quadi and the Marcomanni, who had taken the lead in the war, were the most severely punished in its catastrophe. They were commanded to retire five miles p from their own banks of the Da- nube, and to deliver up the flower of the youth, who were immediately sent into Britain, a remote island, where they might be secure as hostages, and useful as soldiers. q On the frequent rebel- lions of the Quadi and Marcomanni, the irri- tated emperor resolved to reduce their country into the form of a province. His designs were disappointed by death. This formidable league, how r ever, the only one that appears in the two first centuries of the imperial history, was en- The Marcomanni, a colony, who, from the banks of the Rhine, oc- cupied Bohemia and Moravia, bad once erected a great aud formidable monarchy under their king Marobodus. See Strabo, 1. vii. Veil. Pat. ii, 105. Tacit. Annal. ii, 63. p Mr. Wotton (History of Rome, p. 169) increases the prohibition to ten tiroes the distance. His reasoning is specious, bat not conclusive. Five miles were sufficient for a fortified barrier. < Dion, 1. Isxi and Ixxii. 382 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. tire*y dissipated, without leaving any traces be- , ^ hind in Germany. Distinct!- In the course of this introductory chapter, we German 6 have confined ourselves to the general outlines tn ' of the manners of Germany, without attempting to describe or to distinguish the various tribes which filled that great country in the time of Caesar, of Tacitus, or of Ptolemy. As the an- cient, or as new tribes successively present themselves in the series of this history, we shall concisely mention their origin, their situation, and their particular character. Modern na- tions are fixed and permanent societies, con- nected among themselves by laws and govern- ment, bound to their native soil by arts and agriculture. The German tribes were voluntary and fluctuating associations of soldiers, almost of savages. The same territory often changed its inhabitants in the tide of conquest and emi- gration. The same communities, uniting in a plan of defence or invasion, bestowed a new title on their new confederacy. The dissolu- tion of an ancient confederacy, restored to the independent tribes their peculiar but long for- gotten appellation. A victorious state often communicated its own name to a vanquished people. Sometimes crowds of volunteers flock- ed from all parts to the standard of a favourite leader ; his camp became their country, and some circumstance of the enterprise soon gave a com- mon denomination to the mixed multitude. The distinctions of the ferocious invaders were per- petually varied by themselves, and confound* OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 383 ed by the astonished subjects of the Roman CHAP. empire/ '.. Wars, and the administration of public affairs, r are the principal subjects of history; but the number of persons interested in these busy scenes, is very different, according to the different condition of mankind. In great monarchies, mil- lions of obedient subjects pursue their useful oc- cupations in peace and obscurity. The attention of the writer, as well as of the reader, is solely confined to a court, a capital, a regular army, and the districts which happen to be the occa- sional scene of military operations. But a state of freedom and barbarism, the season of civil commotions, or the situation of petty republics, 1 raises almost every member of the community into action, and consequently into notice. The irregular divisions, and the restless motions, of the people of Germany, dazzle our imagination, and seem to multiply their numbers. The pro- fuse enumeration of kings and warriors, of ar- mies and nations, inclines us to forget that the same objects are continually repeated under a variety of appellations, and that the most splen- did appellations have been frequently lavished on the most inconsiderable objects. ' See an excellent dissertation on the origin and migrations of na- tions ; in the .Memoires de 1' Academic des Inscriptions, torn, xviii, p. 48-71. It is seldom that the antiquarian and the philosopher are so happily blended. 1 Should we suspect that Athens contained only 21,000 citizens, and Sparta no more than 39,000 ? See Hume and Wallace on the number of mankind in ancient and modern times. 3B4 THE DECLINE AND FALL nriAT* v , ,, , CHAP. X. The emperors Decius, Gallus, jEmilianus, Vale- rian and Gallienus. The general irruption of the barbarians. The thirty tyrants. , CHAP. FROM the great secular games celebrated by , Philip to the death of the emperor Gallienus, Se of the tnere e l a P se d twenty years of shame and mis- subject, fortune. During that calamitous period, every A. D. 248- - ,. f 268. instant of time was marked, every province of the Roman world was afflicted, by barbarous in- vaders and military tyrants, and the ruined em- pire seemed to approach the last and fatal mo ment of its dissolution. The confusion of the times, and the scarcity of authentic memorials, oppose equal difficulties to the historian, who at- tempts to preserve a clear and unbroken thread of narration. Surrounded with imperfect frag- ments, always concise, often obscure, and some- times contradictory, he is reduced to collect, to compare, and to conjecture : and though he ought never to place his conjectures in the rank of facts, yet the knowledge of human nature, and of the sure operation of its fierce and un- restrained passions, might, on some occasions, supply the want of historical materials. ^"'.""V. " There is not, for instance, any difficulty in conceiving, that the successive murders of so many emperors had loosened all the ties of alle- giance between the prince and people ; that all OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 38" the generals of Philip were disposed to imitate* CHAP. the example of their master ; and that the ca- ,' price of armies, long since habituated to frequent and violent revolutions, might every day raise to the throne the most obscure of their fellow-sol- diers. History can only add, that the rebellion against the emperor Philip broke out in the summer of the year two hundred and forty-nine, among the legions of Msesia; and that a subal- tern officer* named Marinus, was the object of their seditious choice. Philip was alarmed. He dreaded lest the treason of the Maesian army should prove the first spark of a general confla- gration. Distracted with the consciousness of his guilt and of his danger, he communicated the intelligence to the senate. A gloomy si- lence prevailed, the effect of fear, and perhaps, of disaffection : till at length Decius, one of the services, assembly, assuming a spirit worthy of his noble I'ory'^Jd'" extraction, ventured to discover more intrepidi-'f i g nof * the enipe- ty than the emperor seemed to possess. HerorDecim treated the whole business with contempt, as a hasty and inconsiderate tumult, and Philip's ri- val as a phantom of royalty, who in a very few days would be destroyed by the same incon- stancy that had created him. The speedy com- pletion of the prophecy inspired Philip with a just esteem for so able a counsellor; and De- cius appeared to him the only person capable, oferestoring peace and discipline to an army, whose tumultuous spirit did not immediately t ; a The expression used by Zosimus and Zonaras may signify that Mariuus commanded a century, a cohort, or a legion. VOL. i. c e 380 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP subside after the murder of Marinus. Decius, v who long resisted his own nomination, seems to have insinuated the danger of presenting a lea- der of merit, to the angry and apprehensive minds of the soldiers ; and his prediction was again confirmed by the event. The legions of Maesia forced their judge to become their ac- complice. They left him only the alternative of death or the purple. His subsequent conduct, after that decisive measure, was unavoidable. He conducted or followed his army to the con- fines of Italy, whither Philip, collecting all his force to repel the formidable competitor whom he had raised up, advanced to meet him. The imperial troops were superior in number ; b but the rebels formed an army of veterans, com- manded by an able and experienced leader. Philip was either killed in the battle, or put to death a few days afterwards at Verona. His sou and associate in the empire was massacred at Rome by the praetorian guards ; and the vic- torious Decius, with more favourable circum- stances than the ambition of that age can usually plead, was universally acknowledged by the se- nate and provinces. It is reported, that, imme- diately after his reluctant acceptance of the title His birth at Bubalia, a little village in Pannonia (Eutrop. ix. Vic- tor in Caesarib. epitom.), seems to contradict, unless it was merely ac- cidental, his supposed descent from the Decii. Six hundred years had bestowed nobility on the Decii ; but at the commencement of that pe- riod, they were only plebeians of merit, and amonaf the first who shared the consulship with the haughty patricians. Plcbciae Deciorum animse, &c. Juvenal, Sat. viii. 254. See the spirited speech of Decius, iu Livy, x, 9, 10. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 387 of Augustus, he had assured Philip by a private CHAP. message, of his innocence and loyalty, solemnly^ protesting, that on his arrival in Italy, he would resign the imperial ornaments, and return to the condition of an obedient subject. His professions might be sincere; but in the situation where fortune had placed him, it was scarcely possible that he could either forgive or be forgiven. The emperoi Decius had employed a few He march. i i i /. , . ed against months in the works of peace and the admi- the Goth*, nistration of justice, when he was summoned to A ' D ' the banks of the Danube by the invasion of the Goths. This is the first considerable occasion in" which history mentions that great people, ^ ^^^^'^'^^^'^^^^^fc who afterwards broke the Roman power, .sack- ed the capitol, and reigned in Gaul, Spain, and Italy. So memorable was the part which they acted in the subversion of the Western empire, that the name of Goths is frequently, but impro- perly, used as a general appellation of rude and warlike barbarism. In the besfinninff of the sixth century, and ri ? inof V the Goths after the conquest of Italy, the Goths, in session of present greatness, very naturally in- dulged themselves in the prospect of past and of future glory. They wished to preserve the memory of their ancestors, and to transmit to posterity their own achievements. * The princi- pal minister of the court of Ravenna, the learn- ed Cassiodorus, gratified the inclination of the conquerors in a Gothic history, which consisted ' Zosltnu!, 1. i, p. 20. Zonaras, 1. \ii, p. 624. Edit. Louvre. c c 2 388 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, of twelve books, now reduced to the imperfect ,,", abridgment of Jornandes. d These writers pas- sed with the most artful conciseness over the misfortunes of the nation, celebrated its suc- cessful valour, and adorned the triumph with many Asiatic trophies, that more properly be- longed to the people of Scythia. On the faith of ancient songs, the uncertain, bul the only me- morials of barbarians, they deduced the first origin of the Goths from the vast island, or pe- ninsula, of Scandinavia.' That extreme country of the north was not unknown to the conquerors of Italy : the ties of ancient consaaguinity had been strengthened by recent offices of friendship; and aScandinavian king had cheerfully abdicated his savage greatness, that he might pass the re- mainder of his days in the peaceful and polished court of Ravenna. f Many vestiges, which can- not be ascribed to the arts of popular vanity, attest the ancient residence of the Goths in the countries beyond the Baltic. From the time of the geographer Ptolemy, the southern part of Sweden seems to have continued in the possession of the less enterprising remnant of the nation, and a large territory is even at present divided into east and west Gothland. During the middle ages (from the ninth to the twelfth century), whilst Christianity was advancing with a slow progress into the north, the Goths and the Swedes com- d See the prefaces of Cassiodorus and Jornaudes. It is surprising that the latter should be omitted in the excellent edition published by Grotins, of the Gothic writers. e On the authority of Ablavius, Jornandes quotes some old Gothic chronicles in verse. De Reb. Geticis, c. 4. f Jornaudes, c. 3. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 389 posed two distinct and sometimes hostile mem- CHAP. bers of the same monarchy. 5 The latter of these two names has prevailed without extinguishing the former. The Swedes, who might well be satisfied with their own fame in arms, have in every age claimed the kindred glory of the Goths. In a moment of discontent against the court of Rome, Charles the Twelfth insinuated, that his victorious troops were not degenerated from their brave ancestors, who had already subdued the mistress of the world. h Till the end of the eleventh century, a cele- Religion of brated temple subsisted at Upsal, the most con- siderable town of the Swedes and Goths. It was enriched with the gold which the Scandi- navians had acquired in their piratical adven- tures, and sanctified by the uncouth represen- tations of the three principal deities, the god of war, the goddess of generation, and the god of thunder. In the general festival, that was so- lemnized every ninth year, nine animals of every species (without excepting the human) were sa- crificed, and their bleeding bodies suspended in the sacred grove adjacent to the temple. 1 * See in the Prolegomeua of Grotius some large extracts from Adam of Bremen, and Saxo-Grammaticus. The former wrote in the year 1077, the latter flourished about the year 1200. " Voltaire, Histoire de Charles in, 1. in. When the Austrians de- sired the aid of the court of Rome against Gustavus Adolphus, they always represented that conqueror as the lineal successor of Alaric. Harte's History of Gustavus, vol. ii, p. 123. ' See Adam of Bremen in Grotii Prolegomenis, p. 104. The temple of Vpsal was destroyed by Ingo king of Sweden, who began nil reign M 390 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The only traces that now subsist of this barba- ' ____ ric superstition are contained in the Edda, a system of mythology, compiled in Iceland about the thirteenth century, and studied by the learn- ed of Denmark and Sweden, as the most valu- able remains of their ancient traditions. tions'and Notwithstanding the mysterious obscurity of death of the Edda, we can easily distinguish two persons confounded under the name of Odin ; the god of war, and the great legislator of Scandinavia. The latter, the Mahomet of the north, instituted a religion adapted to the climate and to the people. Numerous tribes on either side of the Baltic were subdued by the invincible valour of Odin, by his persuasive eloquence, and by the fame which he acquired, of a most skilful ma- gician. The faith that he had propagated dur- ing a long and prosperous life, he confirmed by a voluntary death. Apprehensive of the igno- minious approach of disease and infirmity, he re- solved to expire as became a warrior. In a solemn assembly of the Swedes and Goths, he wounded himself in nine mortal places, hastening away (as he asserted with his dying voice) to prepare the feast of heroes in the palace of the god of war. k Agreeable The native and proper habitation of Odin is but uncer- l * distinguished by the appellation of As-gard. The happy resemblance of that name with Odin. in the year 1075, and about fourscore years afterwards a Christian ca- thedral was erected on its ruins. See Dallin's History of Sweden, in the Bibliotheque Raisone"e. k Mallet, Introduction a 1'Histoirc du Dannemarf . OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 391 As-burg, or As-of, 1 words of a singular signifi- CHAP. cation, has given rise to an historical system of^,^,^ so pleasing a contexture, that we could almost wish to persuade ourselves of its truth. It is supposed that Odin was the chief of a tribe of barbarians which dwelt on the banks of the lake Maeotis, till the fall of Mithridates and the arms of Pompey menaced the north with servitude. That Odin, yielding with indignant fury to a power which he was unable to resist, conduct- ed his tribe from the frontiers of the Asiatic Sarmatia into Sweden, with the great design of forming, in that inaccessible retreat of freedom, a religion and a people, which, in some remote age, might be subservient to his immortal re- venge; when his invincible Goths, armed wfdh martial fanaticism, should issue in numerous swarms from the neighbourhood of the polar circle, to chastise the oppressors of mankind." 1 If so many successive generations of Goths Emi were capable of preserving a faint tradition of Goths their Scandinavian origin, we must not expect, from such unlettered barbarians, any distinct toprussia> 1 Mallet, ,. i r , p. 55, has collected from Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, and Stepkanns Bvzar.timu, the vestiges of such a city and people. m This wonderful expedition of Odin, which, by deducing the en- mity of the Goths and Romans from so memorable a cause, might sup. ply the noble groundwork _of an epic poem, but cannot safely be received as authentic history. According to the obvious sense of theEdda, and the interpretation of the most skilful critics, As.gard, instead of de- noting a real city of the Asiatic Sarmatia, is the fictitious appellation of the mystic abode of the gods, the Olympus of Scandinavia, from whence the prophet was supposed to descend, when he announced his new religion to the Gothic nations, who were already seated in the southern parts of Sweden. 392 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, account of the time and circumstances of their jl, ........ emigration. To cross the Baltic was an easy and natural attempt. The inhabitants of Swe- den were masters of a sufficient number of large vessels, with oars, n and the distance is little more than one hundred miles from Carlscroon to tlie nearest ports of Pomerania and Prussia. Here, at length, we land on firm and historic ground. At least as early as the Christian era, and as late as the age of the Antonines, p the Goths were established towards the mouth of the Vistula, and in that fertile province where the commercial cities of Thorn, Elbing, Kon- ingsberg, and Dantzick, were long afterwards founded. q Westward of the Goths, the nume- rous tribes of the Vandals were spread along the banks of the Oder, and the sea-coast of Po- merania and Mecklenburg. A striking resem- blance of manners, complexion, religion, and language, seemed to indicate that the Vandals and the Goths were originally one great people/ The latter appear to have been subdivided into Tacit. Germania, c. 44. ". Tacit. Anna), ii, 62. If we could yield a firm assent to the naviga- tions of Pytheas of Marseilles, we must allow that the Goths had passed the Baltic at least three hundred years before Christ. ' Ptolemy, 1. ii. 9 By the German colonies, who followed the arms of the Teutonic knights. The conquest and conversion of Prussia were completed by those adventurers in the thirteenth century. r Pliny (Hist. Natur. iv, 14) and Procopius (in Bell. Vandal. 1. i, c. 1) agree in this opinion. They lived in distant ages, and possessed different means of investigating the truth. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 393 Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Gepidae. 1 The dis- CHAP. tinction among the Vandals was more strongly '. marked by the independent names of Heruli, Burgundians, Lombards, and a variety of other petty states, many of which, in a future age, expanded themselves into powerful monarchies. In the age of the Antonines, the Goths were From still seattd in Prussia. About the reign of Alex-toThe* ander Severus, the Roman province of Dacia ukrauie * had already experienced their proximity by fre- quent and destructive inroads.' In this inter- val, therefore, of about seventy years, we must place the second migration of the Goths from the Baltic to the Euxine; but the cause that produced it lies concealed among the various motives which actuate the conduct of unsettled barbarians. Either a pestilence, or a famine, a victory, or a defeat, an oracle of the gods, or the eloquence of a daring leader, were sufficient to impel the Gothic arms on the milder climates of the south. Besides the influence of a martial religion, the numbers and spirit of the Goths were equal to the most dangerous adventures. ' The Ostro and Put, the eaitern and western Goths, obtained those denominations from their original seats in Scandinavia. In all their future marches aud settlements, they preserved with their names, the same relative situation. When they first departed from Sweden, the infant colony was contained in three vessels. The third being a heavy sailer, lagged behind, and the crew, which afterwards swelled into a nation, received, from that circumstance, the appellation of Gepidae, or loiterers. Jornandes, c. 17. 1 See a fragment of Peter Patricias in the Excerpta Legationum ; and with regard to its probable date, see Tillemoftt, Hist, des Empe- rors, torn, iii, p. 34C-. 394 THE DECLINE AND FALL' CHAP. The use of round bucklers and short swords '. rendered them formidable in a close engage- ment ; the manly obedience which they yielded to hereditary kings, gave uncommon union and stability to their councils;" and the renowned Amala, the hero of that age, and the tenth an- cestor of Theodoric, king of Italy, enforced, by the ascendant of personal merit, the prerogative of his birth, which he derived from the anses, or demi-gods of the Gothic nation. 1 The GO- The fame of a great enterprise excited the increases" bravest warriors from all the Vandalic states of Germany, many of whom are seen a few years afterwards combating under the common stand- ard of the Goths. y The first motions of the emigrants carried them to the bank of the Pry- pec, a river universally conceived by the ancients to be the southern branch of the Borysthenes." The windings of that great stream through the plains of Poland and Russia gave a direction to their line of march, and a constant supply of fresh water and pasturage to their numerous herds of u Omnium barum gentium insigne, rotunda senta, breves gladii, et rrga reges obseqninm. Tacit. Germania, c. 43. The Goths probably acquired their iron by the commerce of amber. * Jornandes, c. 13, 14. - v The Heruli, and the Uregundi or Burgundi, are particularly mentioned. See Mascou's History of the Germans, 1. v. A passage in the Augnstan history, p. 28, seems to allude to this great emigra- tion. The Marcomannic war was partly occasioned by the pressure of barbarous tribes, who fled before the arms of more northern bar- barians. z D'Anville, Geographic Ancienne, and the third part of his incom- parable nap of Europe. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. . 395 cattle. They followed the unknown course of CHAP. the river, confident in their valour, and careless ^^J,^,, of whatever power might oppose their progress. The Bastarnae and the Venedi were the first who presented themselves ; and the flower of their youth, either from choice or compulsion, increas- ed the Gothic army. The Bastarnae dwelt on the northern side of the Carpathian mountains: the immense tract of land that separated the Bas- tarnae from the savages of Finland was possess ed, or rather wasted, by the Venedi : a we have some reason to believe that the first of these na- tions, which distinguished itself in the Macedo- nian war, b and was afterwards divided into the formidable tribes of the Peucini, the Borani, the Carpi, &c. derived its origin from the Germans. With better authority, a Sarmatian extraction may be assigned to the Venedi, who rendered themselves so famous in the middle affes. e But Distincti - f /-iii i . on of Ger- the confusion ot blood and manners on thatmansand doubtful frontier often perplexed the most rate observers/ As the Goths advanced hear the Euxine sea, they encountered a purer race of Sarmatians, the Jazyges, the Alani, and the Roxolani ; and they were probably the first Ger- mans who saw the mouths of the Borysthenes, and of the Tanais. If we inquire into the cha- * Tacit. Germania, c. 46. b Cluvcr. Germ. Antiqua, 1. iii, c. 43. c The Venedi, the Slmi, and the Antes, were the three great tribe* of the same people. Jornandes, c. 24. d Tacinis most assuredly deserves that title, and even his caution* suspense is a proof of his diligent inquiries. 396 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, racteristic marks of the people of Germany and of , ,/ w , Sarmatia, we shall discover that those two great portions of human kind were principally dis- tinguished by fixed huts or moveable tents, by a close dress, or flowing garments, by the mar- riage of one or of several wives, by a military force, consisting, for the most part, either of in- fantry or cavalry; and, above all, by the use of the Teutonic, or of the Sclavonian language, the last of which has been diffused, by conquest, from the confines of Italy to the neighbourhood of Japan. The Goths were now in possession of the Ukraine. Ukraine, a country of considerable extent and uncommon fertility, intersected with navigable rivers, which from either side discharged them- selves into the Borysthenes, and interspersed with large and lofty forests of oaks. The plenty of game and fish, the innumerable bee^hives de- posited in the hollow of old trees, and in the ca- vities of rocks, and forming, even in that rude age, a valuable branch of commerce, the size of the cattle, the temperature of the air, the aptness of the soil for every species of grain, and the luxuriancy of the vegetation, all displayed the liberality of nature, and tempted the industry of man.' But the Goths withstood all these temp- tations, and still adhered to a life of idleness, of poverty, and of rapine. c Genealogical History of the Tartars, p. 593. Mr. Bell. (vol. ii, p 379) traversed the Ukraine in his journey from Petersbnrgh to COB- stantinople. The modern face of the country is a just representation of the ancient, since, in the hands of the Cossacks, it still remains in a state of nature. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 397 TT he Scythian hordes, which, towards the CHAP. cast, bordered on the new settlements of Goths, presented nothing to their arms, except The Goths the doubtful chance of an unprofitable victory. JJ^ the But the prospect of the Roman territories wasP roviuces - far more alluring ; and the fields of Dacia were covered with rich harvests, sown by the hands of an industrious, and exposed to be gathered by those of a warlike, people. It is probable, that the conquests of Trajan, maintained by his successors, less for any real advantage, than for ideal dignity, had contributed to weaken the empire on that side. The new and unsettled province of Dacia was neither strong enough to resist, nor rich enough to satiate, the rapacious- ness of the barbarians. As long as the remote banks of the Niester were considered as the boundary of the Roman power, the fortifications of the Lower Danube were more carelessly guarded, and the inhabitants of Maesia lived in supine security, fondly conceiving themselves at an inaccessible distance from any barbarian in- vaders. The irruptions of the Goths, under the reign of Philip, fatally convinced them of their mistake. The king, or leader of that fierce nation, traversed with contempt the province of Dacia, and passed both the Niester arid the Danube without encountering any opposition capable of retarding his progress. The relax- ed discipline of the Roman troops betrayed the most important posts, where they were station- ed, and the fear of deserved punishment in- deed great numbers of them to enlist under 398 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, the Gothic standard. The various multitude of ..' barbarians appeared, at length, under the walla of Marcianopolis, a city built by Trajan in honour of his sister, and at that time the capital of the second Maesia. f The inhabitants consent- ed to ransom their lives and property, by the payment of a large sum of money, and the inva- ders retreated back into their deserts, animated rather than satisfied, with the first success of their arms against an opulent but feeble country. In- telligence was soon transmitted to the emperor Decius, that Cniva, king of the Goths, had pass- ed the Danube a second time, with more consi- derable forces ; that his numerous detachments scattered devastation over the province ofMaesia, whilst the main body of the army, consisting of seventy thousand Germans and Sarmatians, a force equal to the most daring achievements, re- quired the presence of the Roman monarch, and the exertion of his military power. Various Decius found the Goths engaged before Ni- polis, on the Jatrus, one of the many monu- 250 ments of Trajan's victories. 5 On his approach ' they raised the siege, but with a design only of inarching away to a conquest of greater import- f In the sixteenth chapter of Jornandes, instead of secundo Maesiara, we may venture to substitute sccundam, the second Maesia, of which Marcianopolis was certainly the capital (see Hierocles de Provinciis, and Wessling ad locum, p. 630, Itcnerar.) It is surprising how this palpable error of the scribe could escape the judicious correction of Grotius. s The place is still called Nicop. The little stream, on whose banks it stood, falls into the Danube. D'Anville, Geographic Ancienne, torn, i, p. 307 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 39J *nce, thesiege of Philippopolie, a city of Thrace, CHAP. founded by the father of Alexander, near the^ foot of mount Haemus. h Decius followed them through a difficult country, and by forced marches ; but when he imagined himself at a considerable distance from the rear of the Goths, Cniva turned with rapid fury on his pursuers. The camp of the Romans was surprised and pil- laged, and, for the first time, their emperor fled in disorder before a troop of half armed barba- rians. After a long resistance, Philippopolis, destitute of succour, was taken by storm. A hundred thousand persons are reported to have been massacred in the sack of that great city. 1 Many prisoners of consequence became a valu- able accession to the spoil ; and Priscus, a bro- ther of the late emperor Philip, blushed not to assume the purple under the protection of the barbarous enemies of Rome. k The time, how- ever, consumed in that tedious siege, enabled Decius to revive the courage, restore the disci- pline, and recruit the numbers of his troops. He intercepted several parties of Carpi, and other Germans, who were hastening to share the victory of their countrymen, 1 intrusted tlfe passes of the mountains to officers of approved valour and fidelity," 1 repaired and strengthened the for- h Stephan. Byzant, de Urbibus, p. 740. Wesseling Itenerar. p. 136. Zonaras, by an odd mistake, ascribes the foundation of Philippopolis to the immediate predecessor of Decius. 1 Ammian, xxxi, 5. k Aurel. Victor, c. 29. 1 Victoria earpiece, on some medals of Decius, insinuate these advan- tages. "' Claudius (who afterwards reigned with so much glory) was posted in the pass of Thermopylae with 200 Dordaniaus, 100 heavy and 400 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, tifications of the Danube, and exerted his ut- x vigilance to oppose either the progress or the retreat of the Goths. Encouraged by the return of fortune, lie anxiously waited for an opportunity to retrieve, by a great and decisive >low, his own glory, and that of the Roman arms. n re- At the same time when Decius was struggling office of" W ^h the violence of the tempest, his mind, censor in calm and deliberate amidst the tumult of war, the person of Vale- investigated the more general causes, that, since the age of the Antonines, had so impetu- ously urged the decline of the Roman great- ness. He soon discovered that itwas impos- sible to replace that greatness on a permanent basis, without restoring public virtue, ancient principles and manners, and the oppressed ma- jesty of the laws. To execute this noble but arduous design, he first resolved to revive the obsolete office of censor; an office, which, as lo"ng as^rTTiaS^'suKsTsTecl in its pristine integrity, had so much contributed to the perpetuity of the state, till itwas usurped and gradually neglected and 160 light horse, 60 Cretan archers, and 1000 well armed recruits. See an original letter from the emperor to his officer, in the- Augustan history, p. 200. " Jornandes, c. 16-18. Zosimiis, 1. i, p. 22. In the general ac- count of this war, it is easy to discover the opposite prejudices of the Gothic and the Grecian writer. In carelessness alone they are alike. Montesquieu, Grandeur et Decadence des Remains, c. viii. He illustrates the nature and nse of the censorship with his usual ingenuity, and with tin common precision OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 401 by the Caesars. p Conscious that the favour of CHAP. "Y the sovereign may confer power, but that the ' esteem of the people can alone bestow authority, he submitted the choice of the censor to the un- biassed voice of the senate. By their unanimous A . D. 251, votes, or rather acclamations, Valerian, who tober c was afterwards emperor, and who then served with distinction in the army of Decius, w r as de- clared the most worthy of that exalted honour. As soon as the decree of the senate was trans- mitted to the emperor, he assembled a great council in his camp, and, before the investiture of the censor elect, he apprised him of the difficulty and importance of his great office. " Happy Valerian," said the prince to his dis- tinguished subject, " happy in the general ap- " probation of the senate and of the Roman re- " public! Accept the censorship of mankind; " and judge of oUr manners. You will select " those who deserve to continue members of the " senate; you will restore the equestrian order " to its ancient splendour; you will improve the " revenue, yet moderate the public burdens. " You will distinguish into regular classes the " various and infinite multitude of citizens, and " accurately review the military strength, the " wealth, the virtue, and the resources of Rome. " Your decisions shall obtain the force of laws. " The army, the palace, the ministers of justice, p Vespasian and Titns were the last censors (Pliny Hist. Natur. vii, 19. .Censorinus de Die Natali). The modesty of Trajan refused art honour which he deserved, and his example became a law to the Au tonines. See Pliny's Panegyric, c. 45 and 60. VOL. I. D d 402 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. " and the great officers of the empire are all ^ " subject to your tribunal. None are exempt- " ed, excepting only the ordinary consuls, q the " prefect of the city, the king of the sacrifices, " and (as long as she preserves her chastity in- ^^violate) the eldest of the vestal virgins. Even " these few, who may not dread the severity, " will anxiously solicit the esteem, of the Ro- " man censor." 1 Thedeiign A magistrate, invested with such extensive cThTand P owers > would have appeared not so much the without minister as the colleague of his sovereign. 1 Valerian justly dreaded an elevation so full of envy and of suspicion. He modestly urged the alarming greatness of the trust, his own insuf- ficiency, and the incurable corruption of the times. He artfully insinuated, that the office of censor was inseparable from the imperial dignity, and that the feeble hands of a subject were un- equal to the support of such an immense weight of cares and of power. 1 The approaching event of war soon put an end to the prosecution of a project so specious but so impracticable; and whilst it preserved Valerian from the danger, saved the emperor Decius from the disappoint- ment which would most probably have attended q Yet, in spite of this exemption, Pompey appeared before that tri- bunal during his consulship. The occasion indeed was equally singu- lar and honourable. Plutarch in Pomp. p. 630. * See the original speech, in the Augustan Hist. p. 173, 174. s This transaction might deceive Zonaras, who supposes that Vale- rian was actually declared the colleague of Decius, 1. xii, p. 625. 1 Hist. August, p. 174. The emperor's reply is omitted. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 403 it. A censor may maintain, he can never restore, CHAP. the morals of a state. It is impossible for such w< a magistrate to exert his authority with benefit, of~even with effect, unless he is supported by a quick sense of honour and virtue in the minds of the people ; by a decent reverence for the public opinion, and by a tram of useful prejudices com- bating on the side of national manners. In a period when these principles are annihilated, the censorial jurisdiction must either sink into empty pageantry, or be converted into a partial instrument of vexatious oppression." It was ^f f easier to vanquish the Goths, than to eradicate tHe public vices ; yet, even in the first of these enterprises, Decius lost his army and his life. The Goths were now on every side surrounded Defeat and pursued by the Roman arms. The flower ofDedw of their troops had perished in the long siege of * nd Lis Philippopolis, and the exhausted country could no longer afford subsistence for the remaining multitude of licentious barbarians. Reduced to this extremity, the Goths would gladly have purchased, by the surrender of all their booty and prisoners, the permission of an undisturbed retreat. But the emperor, confident of victory, and resolving, by the chastisement of these in- vaders, to strike a salutary terror into the na- tions of the north, refused to listen to any terms of accommodation. The high spirited bar- barians preferred death to slavery. An obscure u Such as the attempts of Augustus towards a mbrmation of man- ners. Tacit. Anoal. iii, 24. D d 2 404 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, town of Maesia, called Forum Terebronii,* was */ the scene of the battle. The Gothic army was drawn up in three lines, and, either from choice or accident, the front of the third line was co- vered by a morass. In the beginning of the action, the son of Decius, a youth of the fairest hopes, and already associated to the honours of the purple, was slain by an arrow, in the sight of his afflicted father; who, summoning all his fortitude, admonished the dismayed troops, that the loss of a single soldier was of little import- ance to the republic/ The conflict was ter- rible ; it was the combat of despair against grief and rage. The first line of the Goths at length gave way in disorder; the second, advancing to sustain it, shared its fate ; and the third only remained entire, prepared to dispute the passage of the rnorass, which was imprudently attempted by the presumption of the enemy. " Here the " fortune of the day turned, and all things be- " came adverse to the Romans : the place deep " with ooze, sinking under those who stood, " slippery to such as advanced ; their armour " heavy, the waters deep; nor could they wield, " in that uneasy situation, their weighty jave- " lins. The barbarians, on the contrary, were " enured to encounters in the bogs, their per- " sons tall, their spears long, such as could * Tillemont, Histoire des Empereurs, torn, iii, p. 598. As Zosimus and some of his followers mistake the Danube for the Tanais, they place the field of battle in the plains of Scythia. y Aurelins Victor allows two distinct actions for the deaths of the two Dccli ; but I have preferred the account of Jornandeg. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 405 " wotmd at a distance." 2 In this morass the CHAP. Roman army, after an ineffectual struggle, was '. irrecoverably lost ; nor could the body of the 4Ka*MMw*yMM'>*Mi l 4* 'rtni| emperor ever be found/ Such was the fate of Deems, in the fiftieth year of his age; an ac- complished prince, active in war, and affable in peac6; b who, together with his son, has de- served to be compared, both in life and death, with the brightest examples of ancient virtue. 6 This fatal blowhumbled, for a very little time, Election the insolence of the legions. They appear to ^ D a 25i! have patiently expected, and submissively obey- i )ecembe * ed, the decree of the senate which regulated the succession to the throne. From a just regard for the memory of Decius, the imperial title was conferred on Hostilianus, his only surviv- ing son ; but an equal rank,~with more effectual power, was granted to Gallus, whose expe- rience and ability seemeci equal to the great trust of guardian to the young prince and the distressed empire.* 1 The first care of the new emperor was to deliver the Illyrian provinces 1 I have ventured to copy from Tacitns (Annal. i, 64) the pic- ture of a similar engagement between a Roman army and a German tribe. 1 Jornandes, c. 18. Zosimus, 1. i, p. 22. Zonaras, 1. xii, p. 627. Aurelius Victor. b The Decii were killed before the end of the year two hundred and fifty-one, since the new princes took possession of the consulship on the ensuing calends of January. c Hist. August, p. 223, gives them a very honourable place among the small number of good emperors who reigned between Augustus and Diocletian. a HJEC ubi patres comperere decermint. Victor in C saribus. 400 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, from the intolerable weight of the victorious Goths. He consented to leave in their hands A D. 252. the rich fruits of their invasion, an immense booty, and, what was still more disgraceful, a great number of prisoners of the highest merit IheSShs anc ^ quality. He plentifully supplied their camp ^with every conveniency that could assuage their angry spirits, or facilitate their so much wished for departure ; and he even promised to pay them annually a large sum of gold, on condition they should never afterwards infest the Roman terri- tories by their incursions.' In the age of the Scipios, the most opulent m g s of the earth, who courted the protection the pay. o f ^ ne victorious commonwealth, were gratified mentofan . annual tri. with such trifling presents as could only derive a value from the hand that bestowed them ; an ivory chair, a coarse garment of purple, an in- considerable piece of plate, or a quantity of cop- per coin/ After the wealth of nations had cen- tered in Rome, the emperors displayed their great- ness, and even their policy, by the regular exer- cise of a steady and moderate liberality towards the allies of the state. They relieved the poverty of the barbarians, honoured their merit, and recompensed their fidelity. These voluntary marks of bounty were understood to flow, not from the fears, but merely from the generosity ' Zonaras, 1. xii, p. 628. { A sella, a toga, and a golden patera of five pounds weight, were ac- cepted with joy and gratitude by the wealthy king of Egypt. (Livy, xxvii, 4). Qut millia n's, a weight of copper, in value about eighteen pounds sterling, was the usual present made to foreign ambaisadora. (Livy. xxxi, 9), OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 407 or the gratitude of the Romans; and whilst pre- CHAP. sents and subsidies were liberally distributed^, , among friends and suppliants, they were sternly refused to such as claimed them as a debti* But this stipulation of an annual payment to a Popular Tictorious enemy, appeared without disguise in tent" 11 the light of an ignominious tribute ; the minds of the Romans were not yet accustomed to ac- cept such unequal laws from a tribe of barba- rians; and the prince, who by a necessary con- cession had probably saved his country, became the object of the general contempt and aversion. The death of Hostilianns, though it happened in the midst of a raging pestilence, was inter- preted as the personal crime of Gallus; h and even the defeat of the late emperor was ascribed by the voice of suspicion to the perfidious coun- sels of his hated successor. 1 The tranquillity which the empire enjoyed during the first year of his administration 11 served rather to inflame than to appease the public discontent ; and, as soon as the apprehensions of war were removed, the infamy of the peace was more deeply and more sensibly felt. * See the firmness of a Roman general so late as the time of Alexan- der Severus, in the Excerpta Legationum, p. 25, edit. Louvre. h For the plague, see Jornandes, c. 19, and Victor in Caesari- bus. ' , 1 These improbable accusations are alleged by Zosimus, 1, i, p. 28, 94. k Jornandes, c. 19. The Gothic writer at least observed the penc which his victorious countrymen had sworn to Gallus. 408 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP But the Romans were irritated to a still higher .degree, when they discovered that they had victory not even secured their repose, though at the expence of their honour. The dangerous se- cre t of the wealth and weakness of the empire had been revealed to the world. New swarms of barbarians, encouraged by the success, and not conceiving themselves bound by the obli- gation, of their brethren, spread devastation through the Illyrian provinces, arid terror as far as the gates of Rome. The defence of the monarchy, which seemed abandoned by the pusillanimous emperor, was assumed by JEmi- jianus^ governor of Pannonia and Maesia ; who* rallied the scattered forces, and revived the fainting spirits of the troops. The barbarians were unexpectedly attacked, routed, chased, and pursued beyond the Danube. The vic- torious leader distributed as a donative the money collected for the tribute, and the ac- clamations of the soldiers proclaimed him em- peror on the field of battle. 1 Gallus, who, care- less of the general welfare, indulged himself in the pleasures of Italy, was almost in the same instant informed of the success, of the revolt, and of th rapid approach of his aspiring lieutenant. He advanced to meet him as far as the plains of Spoleto. When the armies came in sight of each other, the soldiers of Gallus compared the ig- nominious conduct of their sovereign with the glory of his rival. They admired the valour of JEmiiianus; they were attracted by his liberality, 1 Zosinm*, I. i, j>. 2.-, 26. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 40& for he offered a considerable increase of pay to CHAP. all deserters." 1 The murder of Gallus^ and of, his son Volusianus, put an end to the civil war; Gaiins a- and the senate gave a legal sanction to the rights of conquest. The letters of ./Emilianus to that assembly displayed a mixture of moderation and vanity. He assured them, that he should resign to their wisdom the civil administration; and, contenting himself with the quality of their general, would in a short time assert the glory of Rome, and deliver the empire from all the barbarians both of the north and of the east." His pride was flattered by the applause of the senate ; and medals are still extant, representing him with the name and attributes of Hercules the victor, and Mars the avenger. If the new monarch possessed the abilities, he Valerian wanted the time necessary to fulfil these splendid promises. Less than four months intervened between his victory and his fall. p He had van- , know - . ledged quished Gallus; he sunk under the weight of a emperor. competitor more formidable than Gallus. That unfortunate prince had sent Valerian, already distinguished by the honourable title of censor, to bring the legions of Gaul and Germany* 1 to his aid. Valerian executed that commission with zeal and fidelity ; and as he arrived too late to m Victor hi Caesaribus. B Zonaras, 1. xii. p. 628. Banduri Numismata, p. 94. p Eutropies, I. ix, c. 6, says tertio raense. Eusebius omits thii flbperor. 1 ; Zosimus, 1. i, p. 28. Eutropius and Victor station Valerian's army in Rhaetia. 410 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, save his sovereign, he resolved to revenge him. ,,J^ The troops of JSmilianus, who still lay encamped in the plains of Spoleto, were awed by the sanc- tity of his character, but much more by the su- perior strength of his army; and as they were now become as incapable of personal attachment lis they had always been of constitutional prin- A. D. 253. ciple, they readily imbrued their hands in the August, blood of a prince who so lately had been the ob- ject of their partial choice. The guilt was theirs, but the advantage of it was Valerian's; who obtained the possession of the throne by the means indeed of a civil war, but with a degree of innocence singular in that age of revolutions ; since he owed neither gratitude nor allegiance to his predecessor, whom he dethroned. character; Valerian was about sixty years of age r when he was invested with the purple, not by the caprice of the populace, or the clamours of the army, but by the unanimous voice of the Ro man world. In his gradual ascent through the honours of the state, he had deserved the favour ofcvirtuous princes, and had declared himself the enemy of tyrants. 5 His noble birth, his mild but unblemished mariners, his learning, pru- dence, and experience, were revered by the se- nate and people; and if mankind (according to the observation of an ancient writer) had been r He was about seventy at the time of his accession, or, as it is more probable, of his death. Hist. August, p. 173. Tillemont, Hist, de Emperenrs, torn, iii, ]>. 893, note 1. * Inimicus Tyrannorum. Hist. August, p. 173. In the glorious struggle of the senate against Maximin, Valerian acted a verv spirited part. Hist. August, p 156. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 411 left at libej^_tgjch(>ose_a jgaagter, that-choice CHAP. would most assuredly have fallen on Valerian.* ^ Perhaps the merit of this emperor was inade- quate to his reputation; perhaps his abilities, or at least his spirit, were affected by the languor and coldness of old age. The consciousness of General his decline enaraffed him to share the throne with tunes of ... a younger and more active associate; 11 the emergency of the times demanded a general no less than a prince; and the experience of the A. 0.253- Roman censor might have directed him where to bestow the imperial purple, as the reward of military merit. But instead of making a judi- cious choice, which would have confirmed his reign, and endeared his memory, Valerian, con- sulting only the dictates of affection or vanity, immediately invested with the supreme honours his sonGallienus, a youth whose effeminate vices had been'nitherto concealed by the obscurity of a private station. The joint government of the father and the son subsisted about seven, and the sole administration ofGallienus continued about eight years. But the whole period was one un- interrupted series of confusion and calamity. As the Roman empire was at the same time, and on every side, attacked by the blind fury of foreign invaders, and the wild ambition of do- 1 According to the distinction of Victor, he seems to have received the title of Imperator from the army, and that of Augustus from the senate. u From Victor, and from the medals, Tillemont (torn, iii, p. 710) very "ustly infers, that Gallicnus was associated to the empire about the month of August of the year 253. 412 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP mestic usurpers, we shall consult order and per- , I spicuity, by pursuing, not so much the doubt- ful arrangement of dates, as the more natural distribution of subjects. The most dangerous enemies of Rome, during the reigns of Valerian T , nr K ad l of and Gallienus, were, 1. The Franks. 2. The the barba- i. Alemanni. 3. The Goths ; and, 4. The Per sians. Under thesegeneral appellations, we may comprehend the adventurers of less considerable tribes, whose obscure and uncouth names would only serve to oppress the memory, and perplex the attention of the reader. Origin T> As the posterity of the Franks compose one and confe- 1 . * . dentcy of of the greatest and most enlightened nations of ts Europe, th6 powers of learning and ingenuity have been exhausted in the discovery of their unlettered ancestors. To the tales of credulity have succeeded the systems of fancy. Every passage has been sifted, every spot has been surveyed, that might possibly reveal some faint traces of their origin. It has been supposed that Pannonia, x that Gaul, that the northern parts ofj Germany/ gave birth to that cele- brated colony of warriors. At length the most rational critics, rejecting the fictitious emigra- tions of ideal conquerors, have acquiesced in a sentiment whose simplicity persuades us of its * Various systems have been formed to explain a difficult passage in Gregory of Tours, 1. ii, c. 9. i y .The Geographer of Ravenna, i, 11, by mentioning Mauringania on the confines of Denmark, as the ancient seat of the Franks, gave birth to an ingenious system of Leibnitz. in OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 413 truth.* They suppose that about the year two CHAP. hundred and forty,* a new confederacy was !,'_ formed under the name of Franks, by the old inhabitants of the Lower Rhine and the Weser. The present circle of Westphalia, the land- graviate of Hesse, and the duchies of Brunswick and Lunenburgh, were the ancient seat of the Chauci, who, in their inaccessible morasses, de- fied the Roman arms; b of the Cherusci, proud of the fame of Arminius ; of the Catti, formid- able by their firm and intrepid infantry ; and of several other tribes of inferior power and re- nown. The love of liberty was the ruling passion of these Germans; the enjoyment of it their best treasure; the word that expressed that enjoyment, the most pleasing to their ear. They deserved, they assumed, they maintained the ho- nourable epithet of Franks or freemen ; which concealed, though it did not extinguish, the peculiar names of the several states of the con- federacy/ Tacit consent, and mutual ad van tage, dictated the first laws of the union; it was gradually cemented by habit and experience. The league of the Franks may admit of some * See Cluver. Ger mania Antiqua, 1. iii, c. 20. M. Freret, in the Memoires de 1'Academie des Inscriptions, torn, xviii. * Most probably under the reign of Gordian, from an accidental cir- cumstance, fully canvassed by Tillemont, torn, iii, p. 710, 1181.- b Plin. Hist. Natur. xvi, 1. The panegyrists frequently allude to the morasses of the Franks. c Tacit. Germania, c. 30, 37. d In a subsequent period, most of those old names are occasional- ly mentioned. See some vestiges of them in Cluver. Germ. Antiq. I. iii. I 1 1 4 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, comparison with the Helvetic body ; in which ,".,, every canton, retaining its independent sove- reignty, consults with its brethren in the com- mon cause, without acknowledging the autho- rity of any supreme head, or representative as- sembly.' But the principle of the two confede- cies was extremely different. A peace of two hundred years has rewarded the wise and honest policy of the Swiss. An inconstant spirit, the thirst of rapine, and a disregard to the most solemn treaties, disgraced the character of the Franks. The Romans had long experienced the daring valour of the people of Lower Germany. The union of their strength threatened Gaul with a more formidable invasion, and required the pre- sence of Gallienus, the heir and colleague of imperial power/ Whilst that prince, and his infant son Salonius, displayed, in the court of Treves, the majesty of the empire, its armies were ably conducted by their general Posthu- mus, who, though he afterwards betrayed the family of Valerian, was ever faithful to the great interest of the monarchy. The treacherous lan- guage of panegyrics and medals darkly an- nounces a long series of victories. Trophies and titles attest (if such evidence can attest) the fame of Posthumus, who is repeatedly styled the con- queror of the Germans, and the saviour of Gaul. f e Simler de Republica Helvet. cum notis Fiuelin. f Zosimus, 1. i, p. 27. * M. de Brequigny (in the Memoires de TAcademie, torn, xxx) has given us a very curious life of Po?thumus. A series of the Augustan history, from medals and inscriptions, has been more than once planned, and is still much wanted. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 4 1 5 But a single fact, the only one indeed of which CHAP. we have any distinct knowledge, erases, in a^ great measure, these monuments of vanity and rava ge adulation. The Rhine, though dignified with s P ain the title of safeguard of the provinces, was an imperfect barrier against the daring spirit of en- terprise with which the Franks were actuated. Their rapid devastations stretched from the ri- ver to the foot of the Pyrenees : nor were they stopped by those mountains. Spain, which had never dreaded, was unable to resist, the inroads of the Germans. During twelve years, the greatest part of the reign of Gallienus, that opu- lent country was the theatre of unequal and de- structive hostilities. Tarragona, the flourish- ing capital of a peaceful province, was sacked and almost destroyed ; h and so late as the days of Orosius, who wrote in the fifth century, wretched cottages, scattered amidst the ruins of magnificent cities, still recorded the rage of barbarians. 1 When the exhausted country no longer supplied a variety of plunder, the Franks seized on some vessels in the ports of Spain, k and pass and transported themselves into Mauritania. The distant province was astonished with the fury of these barbarians, who seemed to fall h Aurel. Victor, c. 33. Instead of Ptene direpto, both the sense and the expression require deleto, though indeed, for different reasons, it is alike difficult to correct the text of the best, and of the worst, writers. ' In the time of Ausonins (the end of the fourth centuary) Ilerda, or Lerkla, was in a very ruinous state (Auson. Epist. xxv, 58), Which pro- bably was the consequence ef this invasion. k Valesius is therefore mistaken in supposing that the Franks had invaded Spain by sea. 416 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP from a new world, as their name, manners, and complexion, were equally unknown on the coast of Africa. 1 Origin and n. In that part of Upper Saxony beyond the rif Elbe, which is at present called the marquisate of Lusace, there existed, in ancient times, a sa- cred wood, the awful seat of the superstition of the Suevi. None were permitted to enter the holy precincts, without confessing, by their ser- vile bonds and suppliant posture, the immediate presence of the sovereign Deity . m Patriotism contributed as well as devotion to consecrate the Sonnenwald, or wood of the Semnones. n It was universally believed, that the nation had re- ceived its first existence on that sacred spot. At stated periods, the numerous tribes who gloried in the Suevic blood, resorted thither by their am- bassadors; and the memory of their common ex- traction was perpetuated by barbaric rites and human sacrifices. The wide extended name of Suevi filled the interior countries of Germany, from the banks of the Oder to those of the Da- nube. They were distinguished from the other Germans by their peculiar mode of dressing their long hair, which they gathered into a rude knot on the Crown of the head ; and they delighted in an ornament that shewed their ranks more lofty and terrible in the eyes of the enemy. Jealous as the Germans were of military renown, they 1 Am el. Victor. Eutrop. ix, c. m Tacit. Germania, 38. n Cluver. Germ. Antiq. iii, 25. Sic Sncvi a ceteris Germanis, sic Seuvonim ingenui a servis scpa- rantur. A proud separation ! OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 4 1 7 all confessed the superior valour of the Suevi; CHAP. and the tribes of the Usipetes and Tencteri, ^ who, with a vast army, encountered the dictator Caesar, declared that they esteemed it not a dis- grace to have fled before a people, to whose arms the immortal gods themselves were unequal. In the reisrn of the emperor Caracalla, an in- A mixed body of numerable swarm of Suevi appeared on the snevi a*, banks of the Mein, and in the neighbourhood of n'.mc of* the Roman provinces, in quest either of food, j\ lemau - of plunder, or of glory . p The hasty army of volunteers gradually coalesced into a great and permanent nation ; and as it was composed from so many different tribes, assumed the name of A.lemanni, or All-men; to denote at once their Various lineage, and their common bravery. q The latter was soon felt by the Romans in many a hostile inroad. The Alemanni fought chiefly on horseback; but their cavalry was ren- dered still more formidable by a mixture of light infantry, selected from the bravest and most active of the youth, whom frequent exercise had enured to accompany the horseman in the long- est march, the most rapid charge, or the most precipitate retreat' . Cssar in Bello Gallico, iv, 7. f Victor in Caracal. Dion Cassias, Ixvii, p. 1350. q This etymology (far different from those which amuse the fancy of the learned) is preserved by Asinius Quadratic, an original historian, quoted by Agathias, i, c. 5. r The Snevi engaged Caesar in this manner, and the manoeuvre deserved the approbation of the conqueror Cin Bello Gallico, i, 48). VOL. I. E 418 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. This warlike people of Germans had been asto- . nished by the immense preparations of Alexander vade Severus; they were dismayed by the arms of his Italy," successor, a barbarian equal in valour and fierce- ness to themselves. But still hovering on the frontiers of the empire, they increased the general disorder that ensused after the death of Decius. They inflicted severe wounds on the rich pro- vinces of Gaul; they were the first who removed the veil that covered the feeble majesty of Italy. A numerous body of the Alemauni penetrated across the Danube, and through the Rhaetian Alps, into the plains of Lombardy, advanced as far as Ravenna, and displayed the victorious banners of barbarians almost in sight of Rome.' The insult and the danger rekindled in the sc- are repui- na te some sparks of their ancient virtue. Both sed from Rome by the emperors were engaged in far distant wars; and peo- Valerian iri the East, and Gallienus on the Rhine. ple ' All the hopes and resources of the Romans were in themselves. In this emergency, the senators resumed the defence of the republic, drew out the praetorian guards, who had been left to gar- rison the capital, and filled up their numbers, by inlisting into the public service the stoutest and most willing of the plebeians. The Ale- manni, astonished with the sudden appearance of an army more numerous than their own, re- tired into Germany, laden with spoil ; and their retreat was esteemed as a victory by the unwai like Romans. 1 ' Hist. August, p. 215, 216. Dcxippus in theExcerpta LegaUoniim. |). 8. Heronym. Chron. Orosius, vii, 22 ' Zosjmir-, i. i, p. 34. OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 41 When Gallienus received the intelligence that CHAP. his capital was delivered from the barbarians, he was much less delighted, than alarmed, with the courage of the senate, since it might one cinded by day prompt them to rescue the public from do- from the mestic tyranny, as well as from foreign invasion. His timid ingratitude was published to his sub- jects, in an edict which prohibited the senators from exercising any military employment, and even from approaching the camps of the legions. But his fears were groundless. The rich and luxurious nobles, sinking into the natural cha- racter, accepted, as a favour, this disgraceful exemption from military service; and as long as they were indulged in the enjoyment of their baths, their theatres, and their vallas, they cheerfully resigned the more dangerous cares of empire, to the rough hands of peasants and soldiers." Another invasion of the Alemanni, of a more formidable aspect, but more glorious event, is mentioned by a writer of the lower empire. ancc wit ' Three hundred thousand of that warlike people are said to have been vanquished, in a battle near Milan, by Gallienus in person, at the head of only ten thousand Romans/ We may, however, with great probability, ascribe this incredible victory, either to the credulity of the historian, or to some exaggerated exploits of one of the emperor's lieutenants. It was by arms of a very - Aurel. Victor, in Gallicno et Probo. Hu complaints breath* aa uncommon spirit of freedom. 1 Zoaaras, 1. xii, p. 631. E 6 2 420 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, different nature, that Gallienus endeavoured to ~~*^~* protect Italy from the fury of the Germans. He espoused Pipa, the daughter of a king of the Marcomanni, a Suevic tribe, which was often confounded with the Alemanni in their wars and conquests. 7 To the father, as the price of his alliance, he granted an ample settlement in Pannonia. The native charms of unpolished beauty, seem to have fixed the daughter in the affections of the inconstant emperor, and the bands of policy were more firmly connected by those of love. But the haughty prejudice of Rome still refused the name of marriage, to the profane mixture of a citizen and a barbarian ; and has stigmatized the German princess with the opprobrious title of concubine of Gallie- nus. 2 inroads of in. We have already traced the emigration of ths> the Goths 'from Scandinavia, or at least from Prussia, to the mouth of the Borysthenes, and have followed their victorious arms from the Borysthenes to the Danube. Under the reigns of Valerian and Gallienus, the frontier of the last- mentioned river was perpetually infested by the inroads of Germans and Sarmatians : but it was defended by the Romans with more than usual firmness and success. The provinces that were the seat of war recruited the armies of Rome with an inexhaustible supply of hardy soldiers ; and more than one of these Illyrian peasants ' One of the Victors calls him king of the Marcomanni ; the other, of the Germans. 1 See Tillt-inont. Hist. d< s F.mprrenrs, loin, iii, p. 39S, &c. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 421 attained the station, and displayed the abilities, CHAP. of a general. Though flying parties of the barba-^^ J^ r rians, who incessantly hovered on the banks of the Danube, penetrated sometimes to the con- fines of Italy and Macedonia, their progress was commonly checked, or their return intercepted, by the imperial lieutenants.* But the great stream of the Gothic hostilities was diverted into a very different channel. The Goths, in their new settlement of the Ukraine, soon be- came masters of the northern coast of the Euxinc: to the south of that inland sea, were situated the soft and wealthy provinces of Asia Minor, which possessed all that could attract, and no- thing that could resist, a barbarian conqueror. The banks of the Borysthenes are only sixty conquest miles distant from the narrow entrance* of the fth ? Bospho- peninsula of CrimTartary, known to the ancients rus by tb under the name of Chersonesus Taurica.' On that hospitable shore, Euripides, embellishing with exquisite art the tales of antiquity, has placed the scene of one of his most affecting tragedies/ The bloody sacrifices of Diana, the arrival of Orestes and Pylades, and the triumph of virtue and religion over savage fierceness, serve to represent an historical truth, that the Tauri, a See the lives of Claudius, Anrelian, and Probus, in the Augustan History. b It is about half a league in breadth. Genealogical History of the Tartars," p. 598. c M. de Peyssonel, who had been French consul at Cafla, in hit Observations sur les Peuples Barbares, qui ont habile" les hordi du Danube. * Euripides in Iphigenia in Tarn id. 422 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP the original inhabitants of the peninsula, were, I in some degree, reclaimed from their brutal man- ners, by a gradual intercourse with the Grecian colonies, which settled along the maritime coast. . The little kingdom of Bosphorus, whose capital was situated on the straits, through which tke Maeotis communicates itself to the Euxine, was composed of degenerate Greeks, and half civil- ized barbarians. It subsisted, as an independent state, from the time of the Peloponnesian war/ was at last swallowed up by the ambition of Mi- thridates/ and, with the rest of his dominions, sunk under the weight of the Roman arms. From the reign of Augustus, 6 the kings of Bosphorus were the humble, but not useless, allies of the empire. By presents, by arms, and by a slight fortification drawn across the isthmus, they ef- fectually guarded against the roving plunderers of Sarmatia, the access of a country, which, from its peculiar situation and convenient harbours, commanded the Euxine sea and Asia Minor. k As long as the sceptre was possessed by a lineal succession of kings, they acquitted themselves of their important charge with vigilance and suc- cess. Domestic factions, and the fears, or pri- e Strabo, 1. vii. p. 309. The first kings of Bosphorus were the allies of Athens. f Appian in Mithridat. 8 It was reduced by the arms of Agrippa. Orosius, vi, 21. Entro- pius, vii, 9. The Romans once advanced within three days march of the Tanais. Tacit. Annal. xii, 17. h See the Toxaris of Luc-ian, if we credit the sincerity and the Tir- tues of the Scythian, who relates a great war of his nation against to* kings of Bosphorus OP THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 423 rate interest, of obscure usurpers, who seized CHAP. on the vacant throne, admitted the Goths into Mft the heart of Bosphorus. With the acquisition of a superfluous waste of fertile soil, the con- querors obtained the command of a naval force, sufficient to transport their armies to the coast of Asia. 1 . The ships used in the navigation of wh . a which might deserve our notice, were it Athens, not justly to be suspected as the fanciful conceit of a recent sophist. We are told, that, in the sack of Athens, the Goths had collected all the libraries, and were on the point of setting fire to this funeral pile of Grecian learning, had not one of their chiefs, of more refined policy than his brethren, dissuaded them from the design ; by the profound observation, that as long as the Greeks were addicted to the study of books, they would never apply themselves to the exer- cise of arms/ The sagacious counsellor (should the truth of the fact be admitted) reasoned like an ignorant barbarian. In the most polite and powerful nations, genius oTevery kind has dis- played itself about the same period ; and the age of science~Eas generally been Hie age of military virtue ancflmccelssT" > The policy, however, of the Romans induced them to abridge the extent of the sanctuary or asylum, which, by successive privileges, had spread itself two stadia round the temple. Strabo, 1. xiv, pi 641. Tacit. Anna), iii, CO, &c. q They offered no sacrifices to the Grecian gods. See Epistol. Gre- gor. Thaumat. 1 Zonaras, 1. xii, p. G35. Such an anecdote was perfectly suited to the taste of Montaigne. He makes use of it in his agreeable Essay on Pedantry, 1. i, c. 24. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 435 iv. The new sovereigns of Persia, Artaxerxes CHAP. v and his son Sapor, had triumphed (as we have_ already seen) over the house of Arsaces. Of conquest the many princes of that ancient race, Chosroes, nL^yThe king of Armenia, had alone preserved both his Persians. life and his independence. He defended him- self by the natural strength of his country ; by the perpetual resort of fugitives and malecon- tents; by the alliance of the Romans ; and, above all, by his own courage. Invincible in arms, during a thirty years war, he was at length assassinated by the emissaries of Sapor, king of Persia. The patriotic satraps of Ar- menia, who asserted the freedom and dignity of the crown, implored the protection of Rome in favour of Tiridates the lawful heir. But the son of Chosroes was an infant, the allies were at a distance, and the Persian monarch ad- vanced towards the frontier at the head of an irresistible force. Young Tiridates, the future hope of his country, was saved by the fidelity of a servant, and Armenia continued above twenty-seven years a reluctant province of the great monarchy of Persia. 8 Elated with this easy conquest, and presuming on the distresses or the degeneracy of the Romans, Sapor obliged the strong garrisons of Carrha? and Nisibis to surrender, and spread devastation and terror on either side of the Euphrates. s Moses Chorenensis, 1, ii, c. 71, 73, 74. Zonaras, 1. xii, p. 628. The authentic relation of the Armenian historian serves to rectify the con- fused account of the Greek. The latter talks of the children of Tiri- dates, who at that time was himself an infant. F f2 430 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. The loss of an important frontier, the ruin of .a faithful and natural ally, and the rapid success Valerian of Sapor's ambition, affected Rome with a deep StoMthe* sense of the insult as well as of the danger. Va- East. lerian flattered himself, that the vigilance of his lieutenants would sufficiently provide for the safety of the Rhine and of the Danube ; but he resolved, notwithstanding his advanced age, to march in person to the defence of the Euphrates. During his progress through Asia Minor, the naval enterprises of the Goths were suspended, and the afflicted province enjoyed a transient and fallacious calm. He passed the Euphrates, encountered the Persian monarch near the walls is defeat- o f Edessa, was vanquished, and taken prisoner by ed and ta- __,, . . kenpriso- Sapor. 1 he particulars of this great event ar por kmsT darkly and imperfectly represented ; yet, by the * e 26o' glimmering light which is afforded us, we may discover a long series of imprudence, of error, and of deserved misfortune, on the side of the Roman emperor. He reposed an implicit con- fidence in Macrianus, his praetorian prefect.* That worthless minister rendered his master formidable only to the oppressed subjects, jjnd contemptible to the enemies of Rome/" Byhis , ^-vf-.. i* i M< ikU i ..~>^.^...<.-".'~-y<-'"t^- y<. weak or wicked counsels, the imperial army was betrayed into a situation, where valour and mi- litary skill were equally unavailing/ The vi- gorous attempt of the Romans to cut their way through the Persian host was repulsed with great * Hist. August, p. 191. As Macrianus was an enemy to the chrU. timns, they charged him with bting a magician. u Zosimus, 1. i. p. 33. x Hist. August, p. 174, OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 43? slaughter ; y and Sapor, who encompassed the CHAP. camp with superior numbers, patiently waited * till the increasing rage of famine and pestilence had ensured his victory. The licentious mur- murs of the legions soon accused Valerian as the cause of their calamities; their seditious clamours demanded an instant capitulation. An immense sum of gold was offered to purchase the permission of a disgraceful retreat. But the Persian, conscious of his superiority, refus- ed the money with disdain ; and detaining the deputies, advanced in order of battle to the foot of the Roman rampart, and insisted on a per- sonal conference with the emperor. Valerian was reduced to the necessity of intrusting his % and dignity to the faith of an enemy. The interview ended as it was natural to expect. The emperor was made a prisoner, and his as- tonished troops laid down their arms.* In such a moment of triumph, the pride and policy of Sapor prompted him to fill the vacant throne with a successor entirely dependent on his plea- sure. Cyriades, an obscure fugitive of Antioch, stained with every vice, was chosen to dishon- our the Roman purple ; and the will of the Per- sian victor could not fail of being ratified by the acclamations, however reluctant, of the captive army.' 1 Victor in Caesar. Eutropius, ix, 7. * Zosimns, 1. i, p. 33. Zonaras, 1. xii, p. C30. Peter Patriciut to the Excerpta Legat. p. 29. a Hist. Angnst. p. 185. The reign of Cyriades appears in that collection prior to the death of Valerian ; but I have preferred a pro. bable series of events to the doubtful chronology of a most inacrnrate writes. 438 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP The imperial slave was eager to secure the , favour of his master by an act of treason to his sapor native country. He conducted Sapor over the 8yria"ci- Euphrates, and, by the way of Chalcis, to the Ca' a 'ado- me tropolis of the East. So rapid were the mo- cj a. tions of the Persian cavalry, that, if we may credit a very judicious historian, 1 * the city of Antioch was surprised when the idle multitude was fondly gazing on the amusements of the theatre. The splendid buildings of Antioch, private as well as public, were either pillaged or destroyed ; and the numerous inhabitants were put to the sword, or led away into captivity.' The tide of devastation was stopped for a moment by the resolution of the high priest of Einesa. Arrayed in his sacerdotal robes, he appeared at the head of a great body of fanatic peasants, armed only with slings, and defended his god and his property from the sacrilegious hands of the followers of Zoroaster/ 1 But the rain of Tar- sus, and of many other cities, furnishes a melan- choly proof, that, except in this singular in- stance, the conquest of Syria and Cilicia scarce- ly interrupted the progress of the Persian arms. The advantages of the narrow passes of mount Taurus were abandoned, in which an invader, whose principal force consisted in his cavalry, would have been engaged in a very unequal b The sack of Antioch, anticipated by some historians, is assigned, by the decisive testimony of Ammiamis Marcellinus. to the reign of Oallienus, xxiii, 5 , c Zosimus, 1. i, p. 35. d John Malala, torn, i, p. 301 He corrupts this probable event bv one fabulous circumstances. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 439 combat : and Sapor was permitted to form the CHAP. siege of Csesarea, the capital of Cappadocia ; a ,^_ city, though of the second rank, which was supposed to contain four hundred thousand in- habitants. Demosthenes commanded in the place, not so much by the commission of the emperor, as in the voluntary defence of his country. For a long time he deferred its fate ; and, when at last Caesarea was betrayed by the perfidy of a physician, he cut his way through the Persians, who had been ordered to exert their utmost diligence to take him alive. This heroic chief escaped the power of a foe, who might either have honoured or punished his ob- stinate valour ; but many thousands of his fel- low-citizens were involved in a general massa- cre ; and Sapor is accused of treating his pri- soners with wanton and unrelenting cruelty.' Much should undoubtedly be allowed for na- tional animosity, much for humbled pride and impotent revenge ; yet, upon the whole, it is certain that the same prince, who in Armenia had displayed the mild aspect of a legislator, shewed himself to the Romans under the stern features of a conqueror. He despaired of ma- king any permanent establishment in the em- pire, and sought only to leave behind him a wasted desert, whilst he transported into Per- sia the people and the treasures of the pro * vinces/ ' Zonaras, I. xii, p. 630. Deep vallics were filled up with the slain. Crowds of prisoners were driven to water like beasts, and many pe- rished for want of food. f Zosimus, I. i, p. 25, asserts, that Saoor, had he not preferred spoil u, conquest, might have remained master of Asia. . _ 440 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP. At the time when the East trembled at the ~,~J_^name of Sapor, he received a present not unwor- Boidness thy of the greatest kings ; a long train of camels, ?* of C ~ laden with the most rare and valuable merchan- odena- (Ji ses> The rich offering was accompanied with gainst an epistle, respectful but not servile, from Ode- iMyor. _~* * nathus, one of the noblest and most opulent senators of Palmyra. " Who is this Odenathus," (said the haughty victor, and he commanded that the presents should be cast into the Eu- phrates) " that he thus insolently presumes to " write to his lord ? If he entertains a hope of " mitigating his punishments, let him fall pro- " strate before the foot of our throne with his " hands bound behind' his back. Should he " hesitate, swift destruction shall be poured op *' his head, on his whole race, and on his coun- " try." 5 The desperate extremity to which the Palmyrenian was reduced called into action all the latent powers of his soul. He met Sapor ; but he met him in arms. Infusing his QWIV spi- rit into a little army collected from the villages of Syria, h and the tents of the desert, 1 , he hovered round the Persian host, harassed their retreat, carried off part of the treasure, and what was dearer than any treasure, several of the Peter Patricins in Excerp. Leg. p. 29. ? Syrorum agrestium nianu. Sextus Rufus, c. 23, Rufus Victor, the Augustan History (p. 192), and several inscriptions, agree in making Odenathus a citizen of Palmyra. 1 He possessed so powerful an interest among the wandering tribes, that Procopius (Bell. Persic. 1, ii, c. 5), and John Malala (tern, i p. 801), style him prince of the Saracens. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 44 I women of the great king ; who was at last ob- CHAP. liged to repass the Euphrates with some mark s ,, of haste and confusion. 1 " By this exploit, Ode- nathus laid the foundations of his future fame and fortunes. The majesty of Romj^jjr^ressed by a Persia^wj^J^tecJ^^y^ a^^ yVar voice of history, which is often little Treat more than the organ of hatred or flattery, re- proaches Sapor with a proud abuse of the rights of conquest. We are told that Valerian, in chains, but invested with the imperial purple, was exposed to the multitude, a constant spec- tacle of fallen greatness ; and that whenever the Persian monarch mounted on horseback, he placed his foot on the neck of a Roman empe- ror. Notwithstanding all the remonstrances of his allies, who repeatedly advised him to re- member the vicissitudes of fortune, to dread the returning power of Rome, and to make his il lustrious captive the pledge of peace, not the object of insult, Sapor still remained inflexible. When Valerian sunk under the weight of shame and grief, his skin stuffed with straw, and form- ed into the likeness of a human figure, was pre- served for ages in the most celebrated temple of Persia; a more real monument of triumph, than the fancied trophies of brass and marble so often erected by Roman vanity. 1 The tale is moral gniii ' >-.-. * Peter Patricias, p. 25. 1 The pagan writers lament, the Christians insult, the misfortune* of Valerian. Their various testimonies are accurately collected by Tillemont, 442 THE DECLINE AND PALL CHAP and pathetic, but the truth of it may very fairly ' f be called in question. The letters still extant from the princes of the East to Sapor are mani fest forgeries ; m nor is it natural to suppose that a jealous monarch should, even in the person of a rival, thus publicly degrade the majesty of kings. Whatever treatment the unfortunate Valerian might experience in Persia, it is at least certain, that the only emperor of Rome who had ever fallen into the hands of the ene- my languished away his life in hopeless capti- vity. character The emperor Gallienus, who had lone: sup- and admi- -5 ' i nistration ported with impatience the censorial severity of Ls. ali his father and colleague, received the intelligence of his misfortunes with secret pleasure and avowed indifference. " I knew that my father " was a mortal," said he ; " and since he has " acted as becomes a brave man, I am satisfied." Whilst Rome lamented the fate of her sovereign, the savage coldness of his son was extolled by the servile courtiers, as the perfect firmness of a hero and a stoic." It is difficult to paint the light, the various, the inconstant, character of Gallienus, which he displayed without con- straint, as soon as he became sole possessor of the empire. In every art that he attempted, his Tillemont, torn. Hi, p. 739, &c. So little has been preserved of eastern histor^ before Mahomet, that the modern Persians are totally ignorant or'the victory of Sapor, an event so glorious to their nation. See Rib liotheque Orientale. m One of these epistles Is from Artavasdes, king of Armenia. Since Armenia was then a province in Persia, the king, the kingdom, and the epistle, must be fictitious. * See his lire in the Augustan History. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 443 lively genius enabled him to succeed ; and as CHAP. his genius was destitute of judgment, he at- ^^ tempted every art, except the important ones of wlarnmoTgbvernment. "He* was a1ma.ster"ofseve- raTcunous but useless sciences ; a ready ora- toi%~and elegant poet, a skilful gardener^ an excellent cook, and most contemptible prince Wtren the great emergencies of the state requir ed his presence and attention, he was engaged in conversation with the philosopher Plotinus, p wasting his time in trifling or licentious plea- sures, preparing his initiation to the Grecian mysteries, or soliciting a place in the Areopa- gus of Athens. His profuse magnificence in- sulted the general poverty; the solemn ridicule of his triumphs impressed a deeper sense of the public disgrace.* 1 The repeated intelligence of There is still extant a very pretty epithalamiam, composed by Gailienus for the nuptials of his nephews. Ite ait, O juvenes, pariter sndatc mednllis Omnibus, inter vos ; non rnnrmiira vt-stra colnmba?, Brachia non hedene, non vincant oscula concbae. p He was on the point of giving Plotious a ruined city of Campania, to try the experiment of realizing Plato's republic. See the life of Plo- tinus, by Porphyry, in Fabrieius's Biblioth Graec. 1. iv. q A medal which bears the head of Gailienus has perplexed the antiquarians by its legend and reverse ; the former Gallienat August*, the latter Ubique Pax. M. Spanheim supposes that the coin was struck by some of the enemies of Gailienus, and was designed as a severe satire on that effeminate prince. Bnt as the nse of irony may seem unworthy of the gravity of the Roman mint, M. de Vallemont Las deduced from a passage of Trebellius Pollio (Hist. August, p. 198) an ingenious and natural solution. Galliena was first cousin to the emperor. By delivering Africa from the usurper Celsus, she deserved the title of Augusta. On a medal in the French king's collection, we read a similar inscription of Faustina Augusta round the bead of Mac- ens Aurelius. With regard to the Ubique Pax, it is easily explained by the vanity of Gallienus, who seized, perhaps, the occasion of some momentary 444 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, invasions, defeats, and rebellions, he received V ' ff with a careless smile; and singling out, with affected contempt, some particular production of the lost province, he carelessly asked, whe- ther Rome must be ruined, unless it was sup- plied with linen from Egypt, and Arras cloth from Gaul? There were, however, a few short moments in the life of Gallienus, when, exaspe- rated by some recent injury, he suddenly ap- peared the intrepid soldier and the cruel tyrant ; till, satiated with blood, or fatigued by resist- ance, he insensibly sunk into the natural mild- ness and indolence of his character/ The thirty At a time when the reins of government were held with so loose a hand, it is not surprising, that a crowd of usurpers should startup in every province of the empire against the son of Vale- rian. It was probably some ingenious fancy, of comparing the thirty tyrants of Rome with the thirty tyrants of Athens, that induced the writers of the Augustan history to select that cele- brated number, which has been gradually receiv- ed into a popular appellation. 5 But in every light the parallel is idle and defective. What resemblance can we discover between a council momentary calm. See Nonvelles de la Republique des Lettres, Jan- vier 1700, p. 21- 34. ' This singular character has, I believe, been fairly transmitted to us. The reign of his immediate successor was short and busy ; and the historians who wrote before the elevation of the family of Con- stantine could not have the most remote interest to misrepresent the character of Gallienus. * Pollio expresses the most minute anxiety to complete the num- ber. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE- 445 of thirty persons, the united oppressors of a sin- CHAP. gle city, and an uncertain list of independent^, rivals, who rose and fell in irregular succession through the extent of a vast empire? Nor can the number of thirty be completed, unless we include in the account the women and children who were honoured with the imperial title. The reign of Gallienus, distracted as it was, produced only nineteen pretenders to the throne; Cyriades, Their real Macrianus, Balista, Odenathus, and Zenobia, in the East; in Gaul and the western provinces, Posthumus, Lollianus, Victorinus and his mo- ther Victoria, Marius, and Tetricus. In Illyri- cum and the confines of the Danube, Ingenuus, Regilianus, and Aureolus ; in Pontus/ Saturni- nus ; in Isauria, Trebellianus ; Piso in Thes- saly; Valens in Achaia; ^Emilianus in Egypt: and Celsus in Africa. To illustrate the obscure monuments of the life and death of each indi- vidual would prove a laborious task, alike bar- ren of instruction and of amusement. We may content ourselves with investigating some gene- ral characters, that most strongly mark the con- dition of the times, and the manners of the men, their pretensions, their motives, their fate, and the destructive consequences of their usurpa- tion." It is sufficiently known, that the odious ap- Character pellation of tyrant was often employee! by the of 'the t>- aUciehts io e^ress^ jhe_jlle^ir '^seizure of jti- c The place of his reign is somewhat doubtful; but there wmi a tyrant in Pontus, and we are acquainted with the seat of all the others. " TiUemont, torn, iii, p. 1163, reckons them somewhat differently. rant*. 446 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, preme power, without anj_reference to the abuse ./,,,, oTit. Several of the pretenders, who raised the standard of rebellion against the emperor Gal- lienus, were shining models of virtue, and al- most all possessed a considerable share of vi- gour and ability. Their merit had recommend- ed them to the favour of Valerian, and gradually promoted them to themost important commands of the empire. The generals, who assumed the title of Augustus, were either respected by their troops for their able conduct and severe disci- pline, or admired for valour and success in war, or beloved for frankness and generosity. The field of victory was often the scene of their elec- tion ; and even the armourer Marius, the most contemptible of all the candidates for the pur- ple, was distinguished however by intrepid courage, matchless strength, and blunt hones- ty/ His mean and recent trade cast indeed an Their ob- air of ridicule on his elevation ; but his birth scure birth , -, , , i /. i could not be more obscure than was that of the greater part of his rivals, who were born of pea- sants, and inlisted in the army as private sol- diers. In times of confusion, every active ge- nius finds the place assigned him by nature : in a general state of war, military merit is the road to glory and to greatness. Of the nine- teen tyrants, Tetricus only was a senator ; Piso alone was a noble. The blood of Numa, through twenty-eight successive generations, ran in the * See the speech of Marius, in the Augustan History, p. 197. The accidental identity of names was the only circumstance that could tempt Pollio to imitate Sallust. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 447 veins of Calphurnius Piso, y who, by female al- CH\P. liances, claimed a right of exhibiting, in his house, the images of Crassus and of the great Pompey. z His ancestors had been repeatedly dignified with all the honours which the com- monwealth could bestow ; and of all the an- cient families of Rome, the Calphurnian alone had survived the tyranny of the Caesars. The personal qualities of Piso added new lustre to his race. The usurper Valens, by whose order he was killed, confessed, with deep remorse, that even an enemy ought to have respected the sanctity of Piso; and although he died in arms against Gallienus, the senate, with the emper- or's generous permission, decreed the triumphal ornaments to the memory of so virtuous a re- bel - a The can. The lieutenants of Valerian were grateful to the father whom they esteemed. They dis- dained to serve the luxurious indolence of his unworthy son. The throne of the Roman world was unsupported by any principle of loyalty ; and treason against such a prince might easily be considered as patriotism to the state. Yet if we examine with candour the conduct of these ' Vos, O Pompilius sanguis ! is Horace's address to the Pisos. See Art. Poet, v, 292, with Dacier's and Sanadon's notes. z Tacit. Annal. xv, 48. Hist, i, 15. In the former of these pas- sages we may venture to change paterna into materna. In every ge- neration from Augustus to Alexander Severus, one or more Pises ap- pear as consuls. A Pisos was deemed worthy of the throne by Augustas (Tacit. Annal. i, 13). A second headed a formidable con- spiracy against Nero ; and a third was adopted, and declared Caesar by Gal ha. a Hist. August, p. 195. The senate, in a moment of enthusiasm, seems to hare presumed on the approbation of Gallienui. 448 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, usurpers, it will appear that they were much , J ff oftener driven into rebellion by their fears, than urged to it by their ambition. They dreaded the cruel suspicions of Gallienus ; they equally dreaded the capricious violence of their troops. If the dangerous favour of the army had impru- dently declared them deserving of the purple, they were marked for sure destruction ; and even prudence would counsel them to secure a short enjoyment of empire, and rather to try the for- tune of war than to expect the hand of an execu- tioner. When the clamour of the soldiers in- vested the reluctant victims with the ensigns of sovereign authority, they sometimes mourned in secret their approaching fate. " You have lost," said Satur:ninu^,onth^^ << ^yolTli^e loslTa useful comman(Ier, an? you " nave ma jg a very wretcned emp^ror/* b Their rio- The appreEelisiolns'bTSaturninus were j ustified nut by the repeated experience of revolutions. Of the nineteen tyrants who started up under the reign oT Gallienus, there was not one who enjoyed a life of peace, ora natural death. As soon as they were invested with the Uloody purple, they inspired their adherents with the same fears and ambition which had occasioned their own revolt. Encompassed with domestic con- spiracy, military sedition, and civil war, they trembled on the edge of precipices, in which, after a longer or shorter term of anxiety, they were inevitably lost. These precarious monarchs b Hist. August p. 196. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 449 received, however, such honours, as the flattery CHAP. of their respective armies and provinces could- bestow: but their claim, founded on rebellion, could never obtain the sanction of law 7 or history, Italy, Rome, and the senate, constantly adhered to the cause of Gallienus, and he alone was con- sidered as the sovereign of the empire. That prince condescended indeed, to acknowledge the victorious arms of Odenathus, who deserv- ed the honourable distinction, by the respectful conduct which he always maintained towards the son of Valerian. With the general applause of the Romans, and the consent of Gallienus, the senate conferred the title of Augustus on the brave Palm} -reman ; and seemed to intrust him with the government of the East, which he al- ready possessed, in so independent a manner, that, like a private succession, he bequeathed it to his illustrious widow Zenobia. c The rapid and perpetual transitions from the F 81 * 1 ^* spquencri cottage to the throne, and from the throne to of these the grave, might have amused an indifferent J philosopher ; were it possible for a philosopher to remain indifferent amidst the general cala- mities of human kind. The election of these precarious emperors, their power, and their death, were equally destructive to their sub- jects and adherents. The price of their fatal elevation was instantly discharged to the troops, by an immense donative, drawn from the bowels c The association of the brave Palmyrenian was the most popular ct of the whole reign of Gallienus. Hat. August, p. 1$0 VOL. J. G 450 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, of the exhausted people. However virtuous was their character, however pure their intentions, they found themselves reduced to the hard ne- cessity of supporting their usurpation by fre- quent acts of rapine and cruelty. When they fell, they involved armies and provinces in their fall. There is still extant a most savage man- date from Gallienus to one of his ministers, af- ter the suppression of Ingenuus, who had as- sumed the purple in Illyricum. " It is not " enough," says that soft but inhuman prince, " that you exterminate such as have appeared " in arms : the chance of battle might have " served me as effectually. The male sex of " every age must be extirpated ; provided that, " in the execution of the children and old men, " you can contrive means to save our reputa- " tion. Let every one die who has dropt an " expression, who has entertained a thought " against me, against me, the son of Valerian, " the father and brother of so many princes.* " Remember that Ingenuus was made emperor; " tear, kill, hew in pieces. I write to you with " my ewn hand, and would inspire you with " my own feelings.'" Whilst the public forces of the state were dissipated in private quarrels^ d Gallienus had given the titles of Caesar and Augustus to his ton Saloninus, slain at Cologne by the usurper Posthumus. A second con of Gallienus succeeded to the name and rank of his elder brother. Valerian, the brother of Gallienu*, was also associated to the em- pire : several other brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces, of the em- peror, formed a very numerous royal family. See Tillemont, ton.. iii, and M. de Brequigny in the Memoires dc TAcademie, torn, xxxti. ;>. 262. * Hist. August, p. 88. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 451 the defenceless provinces lay exposed to every CHAP. invader. The bravest usurpers were compelled, . by the perplexity of their situation, to conclude ignorainous treaties with the common enemy, to purchase with oppressive tributes the neutra- lity or services of the barbarians, and to intro- duce hostile and independent nations into the heart of the Roman monarchy/ Such were the barbarians, and such the tyrants, who, under the reigns of Valerian andGallienus, dismembered the provinces, and reduced the empire to the lowest pitch of disgrace and ruin, from whence it seemed impossible that it should ever emerge. As far as the barrenness of mate- o rials would permit, we have attempted to trace, with order and perspicuity, the general events of that calamitous period. There still remain some particular facts; i. The disorders of Sicily; ii. The tumults of Alexandria ; and, in. The rebellion of the Isaurians, which may serve to reflect a strong light on the horrid picture. i. Whenever numerous troops of banditti, Disorder multiplied by success and impunity, publicly 01 defy, instead of eluding, the justice of their country, we may safely infer, that the excessive weakness of the government is felt and abused by the lowest ranks of the community. The situation of Sicily preserved it from the bar- barians ; nor could the disarmed province have supported an usurper. The sufferings of that f Regillianus bad some bands of Roxolani in bis service. Postlm- mus a body of Franks. It was perhaps in the character of anxiliarier that the latter introduced themselves into Spain. 452 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, once flourishing and still fertile island, were in- .', flieted by baser hands. A licentious crowd of slaves and peasants reigned for a while over the plundered country, and renewed the memory of the servile wars of more ancient times. 8 De- vastations of which the husbandman was either the victim or the accomplice, must have ruined the agriculture of Sicily ; and as the principal estates were the property of the opulent sena- tors of Rome, who often enclosed within a farm, the territory of an old republic, it is not im- probable, that this private injury might affect the capital more deeply than all the conquests of the Goths or the Persians. JrTiex- H> The foundation of Alexandria was a noble anaria. design, at once conceived and executed by the son of Philip. The beautiful and regular form of that great city, second only to Rome itself, comprehended a circumference of fifteen miles ; k it was peopled by three hundred thousand free inhabitants, besides at least an equal number of slaves/ The lucrative trade of Arabia and India flowed through the port of Alexandria to the capital and provinces of the empire. Idle- ness was unknown. Some were employed in blowing of glass, others in weaving of linen, others again manufacturing the papyrus. Either sex, and every age, was engaged in the pursuits of industry; nor did even the blind or the lame 1 The Augustan History, p. 177, calls it senile helium. See Diodor. Sicul. 1. xxxiv. " Plin. Hut. Natur. v. 10. ' Diodor. Sicnl. 1. xvii, p. 500. Edit. Wesseling. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 453 want occupations suited to their condition.* CHAP. But the people of Alexandria, a various mixture ** f * f f ***f"rf of nations, united the vanity and inconstancy of the Greeks, with the superstition and obstinacy of the Egyptians. The most trifling occasion, a transient scarcity of flesh or lentils, the neg- lect of an accustomed salutation, a mistake of precedency in the public baths, or even a reli- gious dispute, 1 were at any time sufficient to kindle a sedition among that vast multitude, whose resentments were furious and implaca- ble. 10 After the captivity of Valerian and the insolence of his son had relaxed the authority of the laws, the Alexandrians abandoned them- selves to the ungoverned rage of their passions, and their unhappy country was the theatre of a civil war, which continued (with a few short and auspicious truces) above twelve years." All intercourse was cut off between the several quarters of the afflicted city, every street was polluted with blood, every building of strength converted into a citadel; nor did the tumults subside, till a considerable part of Alexandria was irretrievably ruined. The spacious and magnificent district of Bruchion, with its palaces k See a very curious letter of Hadrian in the Augustan History, p. 245. 1 Such as the sacrilegious murder of * divine cat. See Diodor. Sicul. 1. i. m Hist. August, p. 195. This long and terrible sedition was first occasioned by a dispute between a soldier and a townsman about a pair of shoes. " Dionysins apnd Euteb. Hut. Eccles. vol. vii. p. 21. Ainmuan xxii, 16. 454 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP and museum, the residence of the kings and philosophers of Egypt, is described above a century afterwards, as already reduced to its present state of dreary solidude. Rebellion m The obscure rebellion of Trebellianus, of the Is- . . who assumed the purple in Isauria, a petty pro- vince of Asia Minor, was attended with strange and memorable consequences. The pageant of royalty was soon destroyed by an officer of Gal- lienus; but his followers, despairing of mercy, resolved to shake off their allegiance not only to the emperor, but to the empire, and sudden- ly returned to the savage manners, from which they had never perfectly been reclaimed. Their craggy rocks, a branch of the wide extended Taurus, protected their inaccessible retreat. The tillage of some fertile vallies p supplied them with necessaries, and a habit of rapine with the luxuries of life. In the heart of the Roman monarchy, the Isaurians long continu- ed a nation of wild barbarians. Succeeding princes, unable to reduce them to obedience ei- ther by arms or policy, were compelled to ac- knowledge their weakness, by surrounding the hostile and independent spot, with a strong chain of fortifications,* 1 which often proved in- sufficient to restrain the incursions of these domestic foes. The Isaurians, gradually ex- tending their territory to the sea coast, subdued the western and mountainous part of Cilicia, Scaliger, Animadver. ad Euseb. Chron. 258. Three dissertations of M. Bonamay, in the Mem. de 1' Academie, torn. ix. f Strabo, 1. xii, p. 569. * Hist. August, p. 107. OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 456 formerly the nest of those daring pirates, against CHAP. whom the republic had once been obliged to, ____ ' exert its utmost force, under the conduct of the great Pompey/ Our habits of thinking so fondly connect the Famine . and pesti. order of the universe with the fate of man, that this gloomy period of history has been decorated with inundations, earthquakes, uncommon me- teors, preternatural darkness, and a crowd of prodigies, fictitious or exaggerated. 8 But a long and general famine was a calamity of a more serious kind. It was the inevitable consequence of rapine and oppression, which extirpated the produce of the present, and the hope of future harvests. Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases, the effect of scanty and un- wholesome food. Other causes must, however, have contributed to the furious plague, which, from the year two hundred and fifty to the year two hundred and sixty-five, raged without in- terruption in every province, every city, and al- most every family, of the Roman empire. Dur- ing some time five thousand persons died daily in Rome ; and many towns, that had escaped the hands of the barbarians, were entirely de- populated. 1 We have the knowledge of a very curious cir- cumstance, of some use perhaps in the melaii- choly calculation of human calamities. An ex- 8 P cciet - r See Cellaring, Geogr. Antiq. torn, ii, p. 137, upon the limits of Isauria. 5 Hist. August, p. 177. c Hist. August, p. 177. Zosimns, 1. i, p. 24. Zonaras, I. xii, p. 623. Easeb. Chronicon. Victor in Epitoni. Victor in Cesar. Entropies, x, 5. Orosius, vii, 21. 456 THE DECLINE AND FALL, Ac. CHAP, act register was kept at Alexandria of all the .~*.~... citizens entitled to receive the distribution of corn. It was found, that the ancient number of those comprised between the ages of forty and seventy, had been equal to the whole sum of claimants, from fourteen to fourscore years of age, who remained alive after the reign of Gal- lien us." Applying this authentic fact to the most correct tables of mortality, it evidently proves, that above half the people of Alexandria had perished ; and could we venture to extend the analogy to the other provinces, we might suspect, that war, pestilence, and famine, had consumed, in a few years, the moiety of the hu- man species.* u Enseb. Hist. Eccles. vii, 21. The fart is taken from the Let- ters of Dionysius, who, in the time of those troubles, was bishop of Alexandria. * In a great number of parishes, 11,000 persons were fonnd between fourteen and eighty : 5363 between forty and serenty. See Baflon, Histoire, Naturelle, torn, ii, p. 590. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. FluouMc *