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11.Bias.Greek Philosopher.
[Born at Priene, in Ionia. Flourished, it is believed, about the middle of the Sixth CenturyB.C.]
One of the Seven Sages; and of the four to whom alone the title was universally conceded: the remaining three being Thales, Pittacus, and Solon. His profession was that of an advocate; his philosophy was practical—the fruit of experience. Many of his sayings and doings have been recorded. He died at a very advanced age.
[From the marble in the Vatican, which bears his name and themotto:—
ΟΙ ΠΛΕΙΣΤΟΙΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΙΚΑΚΟΙ.“The majority of men are bad.”
A curious mistake of the engraver is observable in the word ΠΡΗΝΕΥΣ, in which the I is omitted; it should have been ΠΡΙΗΝΕΥΣ, the name of his birth-place. This bust was found at Tivoli, with that of Periander, No. 29.]
12.Thucydides.Greek Historian.
[Born at Athens,B.C.471. Died (place uncertain)B.C.395. Aged 76.]
This great historian, holding military command in Thrace, suffered Amphipolis to be surprised and taken by the Spartan general, Brasidas; and for this misfortune was banished by his countrymen during the space of twenty years. It would have been a greater misfortune for the world had Thucydides proved a warier soldier; for it was during his exile, that he collected with infinite care the materials of his immortal history. That history chronicles, in eight books, the events of twenty out of the twenty-seven years of the Peloponnesian War:—a record of most interesting facts. Where political and moral observations occur, they reveal great knowledge of human character and motives. The style is pregnant, precise, and severely simple. Demosthenes is said to have copied the entire history many times with his own hand as a lesson of composition. The principal actors in the war were the historian’s books of reference. As an historical monument the work is matchless. It has been always believed that Thucydides came to a violent end, but it is not known whether he died at Athens, or in Thrace.
13.Socrates.Philosopher.
[Born near Athens,B.C.468. Died at Athens,B.C.399. Aged 69.]
One of the greatest names in ethics, philosophy, and religion before the Christian era. It was the belief of Socrates that he was specially charged by the Deity to awaken moral consciousness in men. He had no school, neither did he, like the sophists of his time, deliver public lectures. But he stood in the market-places, or entered the work-shops, or visited the schools, in order to teach the people his ideas respecting the scope and value of human speculation and action. Aristophanes, the comic poet, ridiculed and misrepresented the philosopher, who proceeded, nevertheless,with undaunted perseverance. After the banishment from Athens of the “Thirty Tyrants,” Socrates was impeached for corrupting the youth, and despising the tutelary deities of the state. He was condemned, and, preferring death to acknowledging, by a supplication for pardon, that he deserved punishment, he swallowed poison. Whilst the cruel draught was performing its work, he developed the grounds of his immovable conviction of the immortality of the soul, and with his very last breath pointed to a future state, as the true recovery from impurity and disease. He left no writings behind him. We derive our knowledge of his doctrines and character, mainly from his illustrious disciples, Xenophon and Plato. He effected a grand revolution in philosophy, for he first connected with Supreme intelligence, the attributes of goodness, justice and wisdom, and the idea of direct interposition in human affairs, and recalled Reason from vain disquisitions, to the questions which come home to the business and bosoms of men. In person, Socrates was said to resemble the god Silenus. His looks were as repulsive as his life was irreproachable and perfect. His peculiar method of teaching, since called the Socratic, was, by a series of artfully contrived questions, to draw out from the mind of his colloquist the truths which lay unconsciously embosomed there, or to entangle proud and false reasoning in self-confutation.
[A countenance so little expressive of wisdom and goodness, that it might be mistaken for that of a Silenus, whom he also equalled in the almost deformed rotundity of his figure. But this bust, which is from that in the Louvre, and an exceedingly fine work, has been proved to be a portrait of him by its close resemblance to the other busts of the same subject, and to that in particular in the Farnese Collection which bears his name, and the motto which Plato gives him (Criton). Busts and cameos of Socrates are numerous. No. 13Ais from the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitoline Museum; it is inferior to the first described.]
13A.Socrates.Philosopher.
14.Hippocrates.Physician.
[Born at Cos, in the Ægean Sea, aboutB.C.460. Died about 357. Aged 104.]
The great fame acquired by Hippocrates, would seem to have been won by a steadfast adherence to the sagacity of common sense. He had no chemical knowledge, and his acquaintance with anatomy appears to have been scanty and uncertain; yet, knowing how to turn a rare experience to account, and confining his operations mainly to the watching and assisting of Nature, he succeeded in obtaining credit for superhuman skill. His nephew, who is reputed to have possessed almost equal merit with his uncle, was murdered in a fit of jealousy, by Hippocrates, who shortly afterwards fell a sacrifice to the torments of remorse. A great number of works are extant under his name, but most of them were written by his disciples.
[From the marble in the Louvre, which has been verified by a medal bearing the name of Hippocrates, and showing a perfect resemblance to the head. There are several busts of Hippocrates in existence—one in the Capitoline Museum, another at Florence, and two in the Louvre.]
15.Isocrates.Rhetorician.
[Born at Athens,B.C.436. DiedB.C.338. Aged 98.]
It is said that Isocrates was the first man to describe the true value and objects of oratory. His language is the purest Attic; his style, which he elaborated with great pains, elegant and polished. As teacher of rhetoric, he became the instructor of the chief youths of his time. He composedseveral discourses on great political occasions, and amassed considerable wealth. He had throughout life a constitutional timidity, and a weakness of voice that prevented him from speaking in the assemblies of the people. Socrates had been one of his masters. His character appears to have been spotless.
[From the bust in the Villa Albani at Rome, bearing the name of Isocrates. A statue of him was sculptured by Leochares for the temple of Eleusis, and another is described by Pausanias as in the temple of Jupiter Olympius, which statue is spoken of by Christodorus, as being at Constantinople in his time.]
16.Plato.Greek Philosopher.
[Born at Athens,B.C.430. DiedB.C.347. Aged 83.]
The most illustrious amongst the disciples of Socrates. The doctrines of the great teacher have descended to us chiefly through the writings of this eloquent hearer. Whence, a singular and inextricable conflict. The sturdy, keen, practical plain sense of the master, and the soaring, brilliant imagination, and subtly-dividing wit of the pupil, have come down to us mingled ever in the same composition. In these extraordinary dialogues, which display the spoken Greek of Athens in its utmost purity, beauty, and melody, how much is Plato’s?—how much is of Socrates? The two busts may go as far as any other authorities, in affording the almost discretionary reply. The lip on which, whilst in the cradle, tradition says that the bee settled—signifying the sweetness of the speech which should flow from it—is before us, in part of the answer. Plato was, in his earlier life, a poet, but gave his poetical compositions, amongst which are mentioned an epic poem and a tragedy, to the flames. He excelled in bodily exercises, being distinguished as a wrestler. He travelled much in the quest of knowledge. Like his illustrious preceptor, he taught that wisdom, under which we must comprise goodness, is the attribute of the Godhead,—that philosophy is an intellectual necessity, and, as the fountain of virtue, which it thus includes, the most estimable of all the goods within the reach of man. Abstruse and sublime, seeking to rest science and morals on an immutable basis, Plato trains the intellect more than he teaches. In reading his writings, we enter the Socratic school as hearers, as disputants. The Socrates, who constantly leads the discussion, is rather the presiding Spirit, than the Man. We come out, whatsoever else, worshipping students of the True, of the Fair, of the Good.
[From the very beautiful little bust in the Florence Gallery. He wears the “strophium” as a mark of his great honours. This bust possesses a great claim to authenticity, on account of the name being deeply cut upon it in Greek letters of the antique form. There is a similar bust in the Naples Museum, of the same size, and inscribed with the name of Plato.]
17.Antisthenes.Philosopher.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Athens. Aged 70.]
He is the founder of the Cynic philosophy and flourished aboutB.C.375. He taught the love of poverty and labour, the renunciation of all the pleasures and conveniences of life, and contempt for everything but virtue, in which only he allowed true happiness to consist. It is said that Antisthenes left more books than scholars. But Socrates was his friend and Diogenes his pupil. His countenance did credit to his creed: it was severe, and looked the more terrible from his dishevelled hair and hanging beard. He taughtin the Gymnasium at Athens, called Cynosarges; and hence the name of his school—the Cynic.
[From the marble in the Vatican. It was found in the ruins of Hadrian’s Villa, and is of great beauty. It resembles another bust in the Vatican, which was found in the villa of Cassius at Tivoli, but which is of less merit, except that it bears his name. The portrait agrees precisely with the descriptions given of Antisthenes by the ancients.]
18.Diogenes.Philosopher.
[Born at Sinope, in Asia Minor, aboutB.C.412. Died at Corinth,B.C.323 or 324. Aged 90.]
Having been detected with his father, a banker, in some dishonest transaction, Diogenes went to Athens, where he became the pupil of Antisthenes, and adopted the Cynic philosophy. He carried his contempt for riches and the usages of society to an extravagant excess. He subsisted on charity, and slept where he could. Some doubt is thrown upon the story of his living in a tub. He said that all the vicissitudes of fortune which constitute tragedy, had been realized in him, but that patience had raised him above them all. When advanced in years he was taken by pirates to Crete, and there sold as a slave. Regaining his freedom, he revisited Athens and Corinth, and in the last-named city had his memorable interview with Alexander the Great. He inculcated morality, but despised intellectual pursuits. His disposition was kind and humorous, though his statue has an acute and caustic countenance.
[From the marble in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican. It is verified by its close resemblance to the head of a little statue in the Villa Albani at Rome, representing the Cynic perfectly nude, and accompanied by his dog. It is said that he sometimes appeared in the streets in this state, after having anointed his body, a piece of eccentricity that gave rise to the joke of Juvenal, that the Stoics differed from the Cynics only in the shirt, “tunicâ tantum.” There is in the Villa Albani an antique bas-relief representing Alexander the Great standing before the Cynic in his tub.]
19.Demosthenes.Greek Orator.
[Born at Athens,B.C.381. Died in the isle of Calauria, opposite Argolis,B.C.322. Aged 59.]
A chief, if not the chiefof—
“Those ancients, whose resistless eloquenceWielded at will that fierce Democracie,Shook th’ Arsenal, and fulmin’d over Greece,To Macedon and Artaxerxes’ throne.”[29]
“Those ancients, whose resistless eloquenceWielded at will that fierce Democracie,Shook th’ Arsenal, and fulmin’d over Greece,To Macedon and Artaxerxes’ throne.”[29]
This eloquence in Demosthenes—to the modern mind, the one unrivalled exemplar of the ancient Greek oratory—-was like a trained athlete, living nerve and bone. When Athens lay daunted under the successes of Philip of Macedon, Demosthenes, by the sole power of speech, roused the people to energetic warfare. His style was fit for sustaining argument on the destinies of great nations. It was simple, severe, lofty, vehement, and of irresistible power. He acquired this consummate mastery, having, by an invincible perseverance, vanquished seemingly invincible natural obstacles. At one period of his life Demosthenes was accused of receiving a bribe from Harpalus, a Macedonian General, who fled to Athens, to escape the vengeance of Alexander. He quitted Athens. Upon the death of Alexander he returned to the city; but the Athenian arms proving unsuccessful against Antipater, the ruler of Macedonia, the life of the orator was demanded by the conqueror.Demosthenes fled again—this time to the isle of Calauria—where he took poison to save himself from the swords of the soldiery. Looking upon the deep, contemplative, sad brow, figured in stone, we might well fancy that we see, gleaming there, a too real consciousness of the requital awaiting even the greatest Athenian, for services which no reward could measure.
[From the marble in the Louvre. Several busts in various collections had been called Terence, Pythagoras, Plato, and other names, when there were dug up in Herculaneum two bronze heads, on one of which was the name of Demosthenes; it was at once perceived that the busts above referred to had been wrongly named; for they one and all represented the great orator. A very beautiful carved medallion in amethyst exists also at Rome, which is an undoubted likeness of him. For an account of the statues of Demosthenes see Nos. 308 and 321 in the Handbook to the Roman Court and Nave.]
[29]Paradise Regained.
[29]Paradise Regained.
20.Epicurus.Philosopher.
[Born probably at Samos, in Greece,B.C.342. Died at Athens,B.C.270. Aged 72.]
The system of Epicurus has been much misrepresented. He did not teach mere refined animal enjoyment. He considered indeed human happiness as the end of philosophy, and he defined happiness as pleasure,—pleasure itself being defined as perfect independence, self-reliance, and contentment. The great aim of his ethics was to point out the way to the attainment of such happiness. The habits of Epicurus were temperate and frugal. During the later years of his life, he was afflicted with much physical suffering, and he bore it with fortitude and patience. He held his celebrated school, which founded the sect bearing his name, in a garden purchased by him at Athens.
20A.Metrodorus.Greek Philosopher.
[Born either at Lampsacus or Athens,B.C.329. DiedB.C.277. Aged 52.]
A devoted follower of Epicurus, between whom and his disciple the closest friendship subsisted. Upon the death of Metrodorus, Epicurus provided for his children. But Metrodorus failed to do justice to the philosophy of his master; and was the first to attach to the Epicurean idea the sensual notions that have ever since, more or less, been identified with it.
[The master and his intimate friend and disciple united. Busts of Epicurus are common. Such was the enthusiasm of his followers, that his portrait was multiplied in every way, and even the furniture of rooms engraved with his name. This double terminal is from the Capitoline Museum, at Rome, and bears the names of the two philosophers. It was dug up at Rome in 1742, when the foundations were making for Sta. Maria Maggiore. Epicurus is identified also by a beautiful and perfect little bronze found at Herculaneum amongst the remains of a library of a disciple of Epicurus; which bronze is now in the Naples Museum.]
21.Zeno.Founder of the Stoic Philosophy.
[Born at Citium, in the Isle of Cyprus, aboutB.C.362. Year of death uncertain.]
The son of a merchant, and himself a trader. Whilst pursuing his vocation, he obtained some works on the Socratic philosophy; read them with eagerness, and resolved to abandon trade for philosophy. Became a disciple of the Cynics; then a pupil of Stilpo of Megara; then lent an ear to the expositors of Plato. After twenty years’ study and inquiry, he turned aside from all existing schools, and created one for himself. The place chosen by him for his instructions was a portico, adorned on the wall with paintings by Polygnotus, hence called “The Variegated Porch” (Stoa Poicilē).Thus he and his pupils were called Stoics. They placed happiness in virtue. Virtue is—to live, by the rule of right reason, a life consistent with itself and with universal nature: and lifts aboveallconsideration of pleasures and pains. The absolute moral rectitude of volition and action is the steering star. But that secured—the humanities, courtesies, and customs of life are not, after the fashion of the Cynics, to be slighted and trampled upon. Zeno commands our respect by the purity of his life. He lived to a great age, though of weakly constitution, by dint of regularity and moderation. He had a serious and thoughtful countenance, corresponding to the severity of the doctrines he taught. In his 98th year, quitting his school, he fell to the ground and broke his finger. “Why am I thus importuned?” he exclaimed. “Earth, I obey thy summons.” He went home, and strangled himself.
[From the marble in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican. It was identified by the stooping attitude of the neck, a slight deformity which is referred to by the contemporaries of Zeno. For an account of the statue of this philosopher, see No. 327, Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]
22.Alexander the Third, surnamedthe Great.King of Macedonia,B.C.336-323.
[Born at Pella, in Macedonia,B.C. 356. Died at Babylon,B.C.323. Aged 32.]
The pupil of Aristotle, and the conqueror of the world. He ascended the throne of Macedon in the twentieth year of his age. Shortly afterwards he reduced the chief cities of Greece, and rased Thebes sparing only the house of the poet Pindar. In his twenty-second year, he crossed the Hellespont, and turned his arms against the Persian king, Darius, whom he defeated. He conquered Phœnicia, Damascus, and Tyre. Taking Gaza, he passed into Egypt, subdued it, and founded the city of Alexandria. Here, in the madness of his ambition, he claimed divine honours. In 331,B.C., he again attacked Darius, and destroyed the Persian monarchy. Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, next paid homage to his arms. A change now came over the victor, hitherto temperate and forgiving. He gave rein to his passions, and committed acts of cruelty and excess. But his activity was still incessant. He advanced victoriously to the Indus, and marched back in triumphal procession to Babylon, where, still full of mighty plans of conquest, he fell a victim to intemperance, took fever and died in the thirteenth year of his reign. There was no mediocrity in the character of Alexander. His vices were great, and his virtues magnificent. His heart and mind led him to the extremes of good and evil. His lust of dominion amounted to insane passion. In accordance with his wish, his body, enclosed in a golden coffin, was conveyed to Alexandria, and there deposited in a richly adorned sarcophagus,—now supposed to be in the British Museum. The military skill of Alexander was of a high order. His movements were rapid, decided, and well-directed:—he made great use of his cavalry. His conquests rendered eastern Asia accessible to European enterprise. He retained his affection for his early instructor, Aristotle, to the last, sending, from the scenes of his Eastern conquest, strange animals for the study of the great naturalist. In Asia, to this hour, the exploits of “Iskander,” are told by the people to their children.
[From the marble in the Louvre, inscribed with his name. It was dug up near Tivoli in 1779, and afterwards presented to Napoleon by the discoverer, the Chevalier d’Azara. It was by this bust, aided by the evidence of the coins, that all the portraits of Alexander were verified. Notwithstanding thenumerous statues, busts, and pictures of this renowned conqueror which are mentioned by ancient writers, only few now remain. One of the characteristics of the head is the curling up of the hair at the back, as though a circlet had given the hair that form, and it is said he was the first to wear a diadem. The peculiar rising up of the hair in front is also a characteristic of Alexander. A very beautiful little equestrian bronze was found at Herculaneum in 1751, conjectured at the time to be a copy of the statue of Alexander, by Lysippus.No. 22A, the inscription on which is evidently modern, is from the Berlin Museum.]
22A.Alexander the Third, surnamedthe Great.
23.Phocion.Athenian Statesman and General.
[Born in Attica,B.C.402. Died at Athens,B.C.317. Aged 85.]
He rose from the ranks of the people, and soon obtained military distinction; exhibiting, whenever tried, great bravery and foresight. He was forty-five times named general. He was opposed to the Macedonians, over whom, by his moderation, valour, and prudence, he obtained signal advantages. When, in his age, Athens—placed through the rejection of his sagacious counsels at the mercy of the Macedonians—was occupied by a foreign garrison, Phocion, whose integrity was invulnerable, was suspected by his countrymen of treachery, and forced to swallow hemlock. His body was denied burial, and cast beyond the confines of Attica; yet, according to the spirit of those singular times, in which the wildest barbarity co-existed with the purest heroism, and towering ingratitude seemed to be enacted only to make way for splendid remorse, his ashes were subsequently brought back to Athens, his accusers put to death, and a statue was raised to his honour. Phocion was surnamed “the Good.” Alexander, surnamed “the Great,” endeavouring to win him from his loyalty, offered him riches and the choice of four cities in Asia. The answer of Phocion bespoke the spotless character of the man. “If Alexander really esteems me,” he said, “let him leave me my honesty.”
[From the statue, No. 324, for account of which see Handbook of Roman Court and Nave.]
24.Alcibiades.Athenian General.
[Born at Athens,B.C.450. Died in Phrygia,B.C.404. Aged 45.]
The nephew of Pericles, in whose house he was brought up. He was beautiful in his youth, and he maintained his beauty throughout life,—a personal advantage of which he was not a little conscious. He was the pupil of Socrates, towards whom he entertained a sincere regard and friendship to the last. He entered early into the service of the Republic, and soon distinguished himself by his eloquence and feats of arms. Accused of irreligion, he quitted Athens and took refuge in Sparta, where he betrayed the designs of his country, and also abused the hospitality of the Spartan king. Returning to Athens he gained several victories at the head of her armies, and recovered his position, but only to lose it again in consequence of his ill-success in an expedition against Andros. By order of the “Thirty Tyrants,” established by Lysander in Athens, he was at length assassinated. Alcibiades was remarkable for activity, eloquence, and address. He was very plausible, very versatile, very unscrupulous, and a great dissembler. His unabashed audacity was matchless, but it was relieved, as well as heightened, by good nature, and good humour. He was also selfish, and ambitious, and inordinatelyvain. He had a slight defect in his speech, and could not pronounce the letter R.
[From the marble in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican. It has upon it the first four letters of Alcibiades’ name. By an inferior artist, and probably of a late date. It conveys no idea of the beauty of this fiery-hearted soldier. No. 24Ais a much finer head, but is not entitled to the same confidence as a portrait. Alcibiades is said to have been the model for Cupids and Mercuries in his youth. He received all the honours of portraiture from the Athenians, who made several statues of him in bronze, and the Romans placed his statue in the Forum by the side of one of Pythagoras.]
24A.Alcibiades.Athenian General.
25.Miltiades.Athenian General.
[Date and place of birth unknown. DiedB.C.489.]
An Athenian. Succeeded his father Cimon as “Tyrant” of the Thracian Chersonesus. He accompanied Darius on his expedition into Scythia. He was subsequently driven out of the Chersonesus by the Persians, and fled to Athens, where he resumed his rights as an Athenian citizen. He was one of the ten generals chosen by the Athenians to resist the Persian invasion, but by the consent of his colleagues he was invested with sole command. He defeated the Persians under Datis and Artaphernes, at Marathon (B. C.490), and saved Greece. The victory, as well for the import of its consequences as for the disproportion between the numbers engaged, is one of the most memorable recorded in history. Afterwards intrusted with the command of a fleet, with which he attacked the Island of Paros, to gratify a private enmity. This expedition proving unsuccessful, Miltiades was impeached, condemned to a fine, and thrown into prison, where he died of his wounds.
[The hero of Marathon received all portrait honours from the Athenians. Pliny relates that Panænus, the brother of Phidias, painted a picture of the battle with portraits of the generals; and the great sculptor himself made a statue of the conqueror, the cost of which was appropriately paid out of the spoils of the Persians. It was placed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The bust, No. 25A, is in the Louvre; it was found on the Celian Hill at Rome. The back part of the helmet has sculptured upon it the furious bull of Marathon which Theseus killed, and which Miltiades wears as a trophy of valour. This portrait has been identified by a bust engraved with the name, described by Fulvius Ursinus, but which is unfortunately lost.]
25A.Miltiades.Athenian General.
26.Aspasia.
[Born at Miletus, in Asia Minor. Date of birth and death unknown; but in the fifth centuryB.C.]
A woman of great beauty and intellectual power, and the contemporary of Pericles, who was her lover, and over whom she gained unbounded sway. Her house was the resort of the greatest and most learned men in Athens, and Socrates, Plato, and Alcibiades were her frequent guests. She is the first of her sex whose portrait has been handed down from hoary antiquity unto the present time. It is related that Pericles learnt political wisdom from her instruction, and took eloquence from her lips. Pericles rewarded his instructress by saving her life through his eloquence and tears, when, like Socrates, Aspasia was arraigned on the charge of impiety. After the death of Pericles, Aspasia attached herself to an obscure man of the name of Lysicles, whom she advanced by her instructions to high office in the Athenian republic.
[From the marble in the Vatican, which is inscribed with her name. This form of bust is rare for women; but it is thought to have been chosen purposely, to show the superiority of one who gave counsel to Pericles and taught, they say, Socrates eloquence. Her great celebrity is guaranteed by this monument, which is the earliest antique Greek portrait of a lady.]
27.Pericles.Athenian Statesman.
[Born at Athens,B.C.494. DiedB.C.429. Aged 65.]
For forty years at the head of the administration in Athens; twenty-five years in conjunction with others, and fifteen years alone. He was the pupil of Anaxagoras, from whom he derived philosophic equanimity and lofty principle. The eloquence of Pericles was a grand characteristic of the man, but not the grandest. When dying, he affirmed that his greatest honour had been, “that no Athenian, through his means, had ever put on mourning.” He promised the Athenians immortality; he secured it by means of the memorials of beauty which he left on the Athenian soil, now upwards of two thousand years ago. His oratory was rapid, penetrating, condensed, energetic, persuasive, graceful, and fertile in resources. His boundless influence was never degraded to unworthy purposes. Architecture, sculpture, and literature, reached their highest point under his protecting hand. Phidias was his director of public works; Sophocles and Euripides were his favoured friends. He governed with moderation and justice, and eschewing all aggression for the mere sake of conquest, endeavoured by every means to consolidate the dominion and to confirm the maritime power of Athens. His eloquence was the golden sceptre of his rule. He died in the great plague of Athens.
[Pliny mentions a painted portrait of him by Aristolaus, and Christodorus states that his statue in bronze existed at Constantinople. Phidias, it is said, sculptured the portrait of his illustrious patron on the shield of the great Minerva, and the busts of him are taken from this figure. This bust is from the British Museum. There is also a bust of Pericles in the Vatican, which has the name on the breast. He wears the Corinthian helmet.]
28.Pisistratus.“Tyrant” of Athens.[30]
[Born aboutB.C.612. Died at Athens,B.C.527.]
A prince who made his way to power by questionable means, but who made of power a noble and an exemplary use. When Solon established his constitution, and quitted Athens, Pisistratus headed one of the rival factions that instantly rose up. He seized the citadel of Athens (B.C.560), but was subsequently driven from the city by the united efforts of his foes. After six years’ absence he regained Athens by a stratagem, but, again expelled, suffered another exile for the space of ten years. He returned for a second time, and vanquished those who opposed him, assumed power, and maintained his position until his death. His rule was moderate, just, and productive of great benefit to the Athenian people. He encouraged literature and the drama, protected religion, and regarded the interests of the poor. To him we owe the first written text of the whole of the poems of Homer. He is also said to have been the first in Greece to collect a library for public use. He gave Athens repose, during which she nourished the elements of her future strength and power.
[From the marble, which has hitherto been called a Pericles, in the Rospigliosi Palace at Rome.]
[30]The title “Tyrant” in the old republics, meant only “absolute monarch.”
[30]The title “Tyrant” in the old republics, meant only “absolute monarch.”
29.Periander.“Tyrant” of Corinth.
[Born at Corinth, aboutB.C.670. Died aboutB.C.585.]
One of the “Seven Wise Men of Greece,” and the son of Cypselus, “Tyrant” of Corinth, whom he succeededB.C.625. The first years of his government were distinguished by moderation and wisdom, but afterwards he exercised great cruelty towards his family and people. He reigned many years.
[From the marble in the Vatican, which is remarkably well preserved. It bears his name in Greek letters. It was found in 1780, near Tivoli, in the house of Cassius, with the heads of Bias, Solon, Thales, Pittacus, and Cleobulus, and probably formed part of the Gallery of Cassius, the letters being of the Roman time. In the British Museum there is another original marble of this philosopher, which formerly was in the Palace of Sixtus V. at Rome.]
30.Lycurgus.Lawgiver.
[Date and place of birth and death unknown.]
Lycurgus holds an ambiguous place between tradition and history. Nothing authentic is known of him, and a touch of the fabulous pervades his story. He is said to have been of the line of Spartan kings, and, after having travelled in nearly all countries of the world, to have brought back his laws to Sparta, whose constitution he remodelled. Quitting Sparta, he exacted a promise from the Spartans that they would not alter his laws until his return. He never returned. He was honoured with a temple and a yearly sacrifice. He inculcated, according to the tradition, rigid discipline, unquestioning obedience, and military ardour.
[From the head of the statue in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican, Rome. It is another example of conventional or traditional portraiture, but possesses one very remarkable confirmation of an accident related in his life. In one of the disturbances of the populace, he was struck in the eye; and it will be observed that one eye of the bust has the peculiar appearance of being useless. Visconti, who noticed this peculiarity, first named the statue Lycurgus. There is a head in the Naples Museum which corresponds with this, and both are confirmed by the medals which bear his name. The drill holes about the beard are interesting, as they prove that the ancient sculptors worked on the same plan as the moderns.]
31.Posidippus.Comic Poet.
[Born at Cassandreia, in Macedonia. Date of birth and death unknown.]
Nothing is known of his life or death. He was an Athenian comic poet, of “The New Comedy,” and his first dramas appearedB.C.289. He was the last, in order of time, of the six who are mentioned by the anonymous writer on comedy, as the most celebrated poets of the New Comedy. He is said to have written forty plays, of which little more than the titles of eighteen are preserved. No accurate judgment can be formed of his style; some of his subjects, judging from the titles, must have been licentious.
[For account of this statue, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 291.]
32.Menander.Comic Poet.
[Born at Cephissia, near Athens,B.C.342. Died probably at Athens,B.C.290. Aged 52.]
The model writer of “The New Comedy,” which substituted for the personalities of the “Ancient Comedy,” a more faithful portraiture of the vices and follies of men. A few fragments only remain of his numerous works. His plays are said to have presented a most true and lively reflexion of the manners and morals of his age. He had many imitators amongst the Greeks and Romans, and Plautus and Terence profited by his writings. Only eightof his plays were crowned. He was probably in advance of his time and audience.
[For account of this statue, see Handbook to Greek Court, No. 290.]
33.Posidonius.Greek Philosopher.
[Born at Apameia in Syria, about 135 yearsB.C.Died, probably at Rome, about 51B.C.]
A writer on History, Astronomy, Astrology, Cosmography, and Grammar, but none of his works remain; a great scholar and traveller. A Stoic in philosophy, yet desirous of bringing all systems of philosophy into harmony. He suffered much from illness. Pompey visited him during a sharp attack of gout, but during his agony he sustained an argument with the orator Hermagoras to prove that pain is no evil. “Torment me if you will, oh Pain!” he exclaimed, “I shall not admit pain to be an evil, a bit the more for that.”
[For account of this statue, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 307.]
Line
(Numbers commencing on the right.)
34.Numa Pompilius.Second King of Rome.
[Born at Cures, in the country of the Sabines.]
The life of Numa Pompilius belongs to the realm of fable. “His name,” says Dr. Smith, “represents the rule of law and order, and to him are ascribed all those ecclesiastical institutions which formed the basis of the ceremonial religion of the Romans.” The legend attached to Numa describes him as the mildest, wisest, and most virtuous of men. After his election to the throne, vacated by Romulus, his first care was to ameliorate the condition of his people, and to legislate on behalf of religion. He reigned thirty-nine years in uninterrupted peace. It is suggested that as Numa was reputed chosen from amongst the Sabines, the Romans, in all probability, drew their religious institutions from that nation, rather than from the Etruscans.
[From the bust in the Vatican at Rome.]
35.Augustus.Roman Emperor,B.C.30-A.D.14.
[Born at Rome,B.C.63. Died at Nola, in Campania,A.D.14. Aged 76.]
The first Roman Emperor. Trained for his public career by his great-uncle, Julius Cæsar. After the death of Cæsar (B.C.44), he formed with Antony and Lepidus the league known as the triumvirate. But subsequently quarrelling with Antony, and overcoming him, he annexed Egypt to Rome, and became sole master of the State. His reign was tranquil, and heconciliated the people. His disposition appears to have been cold; he lived simply, and despised pomp and pageantry.
[Suetonius mentions the handsome features of Augustus as well preserved in his old age. He is described with eyebrows meeting and thick, the ears small and well formed, the nose finely chiselled. There are several busts of him taken at different periods. This Bust is from the Statue Gallery of the Vatican. It represents him in old age wearing a fillet and a medal bearing the effigy of his wife Livia. No. 35Ais a portrait at a younger period: it is from the Museo Chiaramonti of the Vatican. There is a noble statue of him in the “toga” in the Bas-relief gallery, see No. 80, Handbook of Greek Court.]
35A.Augustus.Roman Emperor.
36.Nero—Claudius Cæsar Drusus.Roman Emperor,A.D.54-68.
[Born at Antium, in Latium,A.D.37. Died near Rome, 68. Aged 31.]
When we desire to express in a word the height of sanguinary cruelty and atrocious tyranny, the name of Nero at once occurs to us. He was the son of Domitius Ahenobarbus, and of the infamous Agrippina, through whose intrigues he was adopted by Claudius, to the exclusion of his own son, as successor to the throne. Nero’s government, at first moderate and prudent, soon degenerated into fearful licentiousness. He poisoned Britannicus, the son of Claudius; he assassinated his mother; he divorced and murdered his wife Octavia, the daughter of Claudius, in order to marry the beautiful and depraved Poppæa; he set fire to Rome, and put many Christians to death, on the pretence that they had caused the conflagration; he killed Poppæa by a brutal kick, and he ordered executions and perpetrated wrongs of all kinds, and without number. The Roman world was at length tired of this monster; an insurrection broke out in Gaul; and Galba, the governor of Spain, was proclaimed Emperor. Rome followed the example of the provinces, and rose in insurrection. Nero took to flight, and gave himself a mortal wound, when he heard the trampling of the horses on which his pursuers were mounted. It is said that in his youth he was instructed in many branches of knowledge—that he wrote poetry, and had some skill in music. His criminal career may possibly have been the result of furious insanity—we think, at least of a lunatic, when we read that Nero appeared on the Roman stage as an actor, and played the fiddle whilst the city was burning.
[From the marble in the Louvre. The circlet round his head was worn by him to imitate the rays of the sun; the holes for the rays are observable. No. 36A, the bust crowned with laurel, is from the Statue Gallery of the Vatican.]
36A.Nero—Claudius Cæsar Drusus.Roman Emperor.
37 (outside).Tiberius—Claudius Nero Cæsar.Roman Emperor,A.D.14-37.
[Born,B.C.42. Died at Misenum,A.D.37. Aged 79.]
Son of Titus Claudius Nero, and of Livia, whose second husband was Augustus. The successor of his stepfather and the husband of Julia the daughter of Augustus. During his earlier years of rule he governed with moderation and justice; but, growing suspicious of those around him, he patronized a detestable class of men who acquired infamy in the state under the title of “Delatores,” or “Informers,” and by establishing in its utmost extent the law oflæsa majestas(high treason) obtained opportunity to theshedding of some base, and of much honourable blood. He also became a religious persecutor, unfilial, hateful of the rising glory of other men, and sensual. He quitted Rome,A.D.26, and never returned to the city. He took up his residence in the delicious island of Capreæ, lying off the Campanian coast. Mean, timid, irresolute, insincere: yet wise in his generation, with some penetration and political skill. He wrote a brief commentary of his life. His youthful name has been immortalized by Horace. In the reign of Tiberius and in the year 33, Jesus Christ suffered crucifixion in Judea, under the condemnation of Pontius Pilate.
38 (outside).Claudius I.—Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus.Roman Emperor,A.D.41-54.
[Born at Lyons, in Gaul,B.C.10. DiedA.D.54. Aged 64.]
Fourth in the series of Roman Emperors. Called to the throne in his fiftieth year, upon the murder of his nephew Caligula. Branded as a tyrant, but ought rather to be pitied for his weakness, timidity, vacillation, and utter helplessness. He was the sport of the wicked, and the victim of his own wretched feebleness. Unfortunate in every relation of life. His third wife was the notorious Valeria Messalina; his fourth, his own niece, the shameless Agrippina, who prevailed upon the half-witted Emperor to disinherit his offspring in favour of her son Nero, and who afterwards caused the unhappy Claudius to be poisoned. The rule of this Emperor, when left to himself, is described as mild and popular; but he had seldom the advantage of independent action, and in the hands of others he was robbed of moral will. Fond of building, Claudius raised the Claudian aqueduct. He wrote Greek as well as Latin, and composed some works on history, besides memoirs of his own life.
39.Galba—Servius Sulpicius.Roman Emperor,A.D.68-69.
[Born at Terracina, in Italy,B.C.3. Died at Rome,A.D.69. Aged 73.]
The successor of Nero; and governor of Spain when he was raised to the supreme dignity. A strict military disciplinarian, and remarkable for care and prudence. But when Emperor, his prudence became avarice, and he practised sordid measures, under the plea of imitating the frugality of the ancients. His niggardliness gave offence to the military and to the citizens, who had been used to festivals under Nero; and in his old age, Galba was cut down in the streets of Rome. He reigned 7 months.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
39*.Vespasian—Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus.Roman Emperor,A.D.69-70.
[Born at Nursia, in the country of the Sabines,A.D.9. Died at Cutiliæ, in the country of the Sabines,A.D.79. Aged 69.]
Of low origin. Went to Britain and subdued the Isle of Wight. Afterwards sent to the East by Nero against the Jews, and was proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Alexandria. On the death of Vitellius proceeded to Rome, where, as Emperor, he restored order, reformed abuses, and improved the condition of the empire. He commenced the Coliseum. A great Emperor, popular with his army, upright, conscientious, simple in his living, and affable in his manners.
[For account of the colossal Bust of Vespasian, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 338.]
40.Caligula.Roman Emperor,A.D.37-41.
[Born at Antium, in Latium,A.D.12. Died at Rome,A.D.41. Aged 29.]
Son of Germanicus and Agrippina. His real name was Caius Cæsar, but called Caligula by the soldiers, from his wearing in his boyhood small caligæ or soldier’s boots. Passed his boyhood in his father’s camp in Germany. On the death of Tiberius he became Emperor, and for a time ruled wisely. On recovering, however, from a severe illness, he perpetrated acts of horror characteristic of a madman. He murdered the innocent for his amusement, and married and dissolved his marriages in the most shameless manner. His favourite horse he raised to the Consulship, and he deified himself. After passing three years in raving crime and folly, he was struck down by the conspirator’s sword.
[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, of the Capitoline Museum. Busts of Caligula are very rare, because, like those of Commodus, they were as far as possible destroyed, on account of his atrocities. He is said to have had a complexion of repulsive paleness. Suetonius alludes to his thin lips and expression of confirmed dissimulation.]
41.Vitellius—Aulus.Roman Emperor,A.D.69.
[Born on the Island of Capreæ,A.D.15. Died at Rome,A.D.69. Aged 54.]
A royal glutton. He commanded in Lower Germany, where his popularity with the troops led to his being proclaimed Emperor by the soldiers at Cologne. Vitellius succeeded Otho, and reigned eight months after the death of the latter, when he was murdered. Avaricious of money for the sake of what it would purchase for the stomach. The life of Vitellius is told when we state that it was devoted to eating, drinking, and acts of cruelty. It was his boast that the infamous Nero was his chosen model.
[From the Louvre. Full of the character of the man—bloated and debased. He is said to have spent nine millions of sesterces in suppers.]
42.Nerva—Marcus Cocceius.Roman Emperor,A.D.96-98.
[Born at Narnia, in Umbria,A.D.32. Died at Rome,A.D.98. Aged 64.]
Pliny says that the commencement of the reign of Nerva was the era of returning freedom; and Tacitus praises the same Emperor, for reconciling supreme authority with the liberty of the citizen. He succeeded the Emperor Domitian, who was murdered, and his first care was to restore tranquillity, and to repair the effects of his predecessor’s tyranny. He put an end to the persecution of the Christians, attended to the wants of the poor, and exercised a rigid economy. Gentleness and goodness were marked features in his character.
[From the gallery of the Emperors in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
43.Titus—Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus.Roman Emperor,A.D.79-81.
[Born at Rome,A.D.40. Died at Cutiliæ, in the country of the Sabines,A.D.81. Aged 41.]
Elder son of the Emperor Vespasian, and one of the best of the Roman emperors. It was he who besieged and destroyed Jerusalem (A.D.70); he also completed the Coliseum at Rome, and during his reign Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (A.D.79). As a soldier and general, his conduct marked by great humanity and bravery. As Emperor, administered the laws justly and improved the condition of his people by whom he was beloved. “The being beloved,” to use the wordsof Voltaire, constituted his greatest glory. Possessed great intellectual refinement and delicacy of feeling. It is said that he was poisoned by his brother Domitian, who was impatient to succeed to the empire.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. Busts of Titus are not common: yet his statues were in every house, on account of his popularity. For an engraving of one, see Handbook of Roman Court and Nave.]
44.Domitian—Titus Flavius Sabinus.Roman Emperor,A.D.81-96.
[Born at Rome,A.D.51. Died there,A.D.96. Aged 45.]
Son of the Emperor Vespasian, and brother of Titus. He was bloody and cowardly throughout his career. Suetonius says his very virtues were turned into vices. Before the death of his brother Titus he made many attempts upon his life, and, during his own reign, he frequently compelled individuals to undergo the terrors of death, sparing their lives, in order to enjoy the sight of their sufferings. His government was disastrous for Rome, though he boasted annually of great victories, and assumed the title of God. Pliny used to say that the triumphs of Domitian were certain “proofs that the enemy had gained an advantage.” Neither talent nor virtue was safe from his persecutions, yet, although the last three years of his life form one of the most frightful epochs in history, Domitian had talent and a cultivated mind. He promoted architecture and beautified Rome; he rebuilt the libraries which had been burnt in the preceding reign, and sent literary men to the famous Alexandrine library to make copies of books there. He was the victim of a conspiracy, and the last of the twelve Cæsars.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
45.Trajan—M. Ulpius Trajanus.Roman Emperor,A.D.98-117.
[Born at Italica, in Spain,A.D.52. Died at Selinus, in Cilicia, 117. Aged 65.]
Trajan endeavoured to emulate the glory of Alexander by extending the Roman Empire in the East, but with imperfect success. He improved the social and physical condition of his subjects, was easy of access, possessed good sense, a profound judgment and knowledge of the world. Not a man of letters himself, he was the friend of Pliny the younger, Tacitus, Plutarch, and Epictetus. He was tall, majestic, robust, and his hair perfectly white.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum. Busts of Trajan are not uncommon. The seated statue of Trajan is described under No. 343, in Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]
46.Hadrian—Publius Ælius Hadrianus.Roman Emperor,A.D.117-138.
[Born at Rome,A.D.76. Died there,A.D.138. Aged 63.]
In his youth wedded to literature, especially that of Greece. He was the adopted son of Trajan, whom he succeeded as Emperor, inA.D.117. Travelling was with him a passion. InA.D.119, he set forth on a journey which lasted for the space of 17 years. He visited Gaul, Britain (where he erected the famous wall between the Solway and the Tyne), Spain, Africa, and part of Asia. On a second visit to the East he lost his favourite page Antinous, and his grief for this youth has since resounded through the world. Shortly after his return to Rome in 132, the Jewish war broke out. It ended in the subjugation and slavery of the chosen people. He was a wise Emperor, acultivator of the arts, and a lover of peace, though stained with vices of his age.
[Busts of Hadrian are common. This is from the Rotunda of the Vatican. No. 123 is from a very perfect one in the Naples Museum. For engraving of the fine statue in the British Museum, see Handbook of Roman Court and Nave, p. 13.]
47.Antoninus Pius.Roman Emperor,A.D.138-161.
[Born near Lanuvium,A.D.86. Died at Lorium,A.D.161. Aged 74.]
The successor of Hadrian, and one of the most distinguished of the Roman Emperors. Improved the condition of his people, and consolidated the power of the empire by enlightened and conciliatory measures. He was respected and beloved. Of commanding aspect and dignified demeanour. A deep-toned melodious voice heightened his native eloquence. One of the most virtuous princes that ever sat upon a throne.
[From the marble in the Berlin Museum. There is in the Louvre a bust of Antoninus Pius, having the head covered with a fold of the toga, and crowned with ears of wheat, a copy of which is described under No. 381, Handbook of Roman Court and Nave.]
48.Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.Roman Emperor,A.D.161-180.
[Born at Rome,A.D.121. Died at Sirmium, in Pannonia,A.D.180. Aged 59.]
Surnamed “The Philosopher.” One of the best and greatest princes of antiquity. He succeeded his adoptive father Antoninus Pius inA.D.161, and from that time until his death, his public and private acts conduced to the welfare of his people and to the true glory of the empire. His sole misfortune was to be father of the brutal Commodus, who succeeded him on the Imperial throne. He was clement, charitable, generous, and forgiving. His bodily health, always weakly, gave way beneath excessive labour of mind and body, and his death created universal sorrow. After the lapse of a hundred years his memory was still held in veneration by the people. He was of a thoughtful nature. At an early period he admired the precepts and adopted the costume of the Stoic philosophers. Later in life he was wont to repeat with great satisfaction the saying of Plato—“How happy would the people be, if philosophers were kings, and kings philosophers.” His “Meditations”—a work in the Greek language—is one of the noblest productions of Pagan philosophy.
[From the marble in the Berlin Museum. No. 48Ais called the young M. Aurelius. The colossal head from the Louvre is described under No. 344, Handbook to Roman Court and Nave. The Senate decreed that a bust of M. Aurelius should be in every house.]
48A.Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.Roman Emperor.
49.Pertinax—Publius Helvius.Roman Emperor,A.D.193.
[Born at Villa Martis, in Liguria,A.D.126. Assassinated at Rome,A.D.193. Aged 67.]
The son of a charcoal-burner. First a schoolmaster in Liguria, then a soldier. Rising to important command, he served in Great Britain and Africa. Upon the murder of Commodus, the Prætorians prevailed upon him to assume the purple. He accepted the honour in difficult times, when virtue met with as little mercy as vice. He stipulated that the dignity should not extend beyond himself, to his wife or son; he proclaimed that no man should be prosecuted for treason; he at once set about useful reforms in the state;but in less than three months after his accession, he was murdered by the same Prætorians, simply because he was too upright and too good a man. He had a venerable aspect, and was mild and winning in his address.
[From the marble in the Rotunda of the Vatican.]
50.Verus—-Lucius Aurelius.Roman Emperor,A.D.161-169.
[Born at Rome,A.D.130. Died at Altinum, in the country of the Veneti,A.D.169. Aged 39.]
Licentious and dissolute; the colleague of Marcus Aurelius in the empire, and the husband of Lucilla, daughter of the latter. During a four years’ war against the Parthians, Lucius held command of the Roman army: but, a drunkard and a gamester, his sole part in the war was to reap the glory of the victories won by his generals. In his youth, he is described as well made in person; frank, simple, and gentle of disposition.
[A colossal Bust of him will be found described under Nos. 331 and 333, in the Handbook to the Roman Court and Nave. It was found in the same place as the colossal Marcus Aurelius.]
51.Ælius Verus.Adopted Emperor.
[Born (uncertain). Died at Rome,A.D.138.]
Of a noble Etrurian family. His beauty and literary accomplishments drew the favour of the Emperor Hadrian, who changing his name, adopted him for his successor. Twice Consul. Governor, for a short time, of Pannonia. Died suddenly. Of a luxurious character.
[From the marble in the gallery of the Emperors of the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
52.Annius Verus.Roman Prince.
[BornA.D.162. Died at PrænesteA.D.170. Aged 7.]
The son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina, and the brother of Commodus, with whom he was raised to the rank of Cæsar,A.D.166.
[From the marble in the Louvre. Taken when young. A graceful little Bust, remarkable for having the pupil of the eye so firmly indicated.]
53.Marcus Galerius Antoninus.Roman Prince.
[Date and place of birth unknown. FlourishedA.D.140.]
Son of Antoninus Pius and Annia Galeria Faustina. Nothing is known of his life or death. His effigy is extant with that of his mother upon a rare Greek coin; but he is not styled Cæsar in the inscription. Marcus Galerius, no doubt, died before his father became Emperor.
[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors of the Capitoline Museum.]
54.Severus—Lucius Septimius.Roman Emperor,A.D.193-211.
[Born at Leptis, in Africa,A.D.146. Died at Eboracum (York),A.D.211. Aged 65.]
His family was of equestrian rank, and originally came from Gaul. InA.D.185, he was commander-in-chief of the army in Pannonia and Illyricum; and on the murder of Pertinax was elected Emperor. He disbanded and banished the Prætorian guards, re-constituted the army, whose fidelity he secured, and marched against his two rivals, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus, the first of whom had been declared Emperor in the East, and the last, in Gaul. Defeating them both, he passed three years in the East, warring against the Parthians, whom he subdued. InA.D.208, he went to Britain, in order to punish the Caledonians. But before his design could be carried out, he fell himself a victim—it is said to grief, to the dissensionsof his sons—in the city of York. He had many kingly qualities, but was without clemency. A rigid disciplinarian, simple and sober in his tastes.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
55.Gordianus—Marcus Antonius, surnamedAfricanus.Roman Emperor,A.D.238.
[Born at Rome,A.D.157. Died at Carthage, in Africa,A.D.238. Aged 80.]
Born of an honourable family, claiming high descent, and possessing great wealth. When Ædile, his public spectacles were pre-eminently magnificent. At one of them 1000 gladiators fought at once. When appointed Pro-Consul in Africa, he was called “The New Scipio,” on account of his popular manners. When eighty years of age he was forced to become Emperor by the people of Carthage, who would not submit to the ferocious Maximinus. After a few months’ reign, however, he was attacked by Capellianus, the Procurator of Numidia, and hearing of the fall of his son, strangled himself with his own belt. A man of extraordinary self-command and sobriety, and very studious. In his youth he composed a poem in thirty books; and, to his latest hour, he passed some portion of the day in the study of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Virgil. In temper gentle and affectionate.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
56.Commodus—Lucius Aurelius.Roman Emperor,A.D.180-192.
[Born at Lanuvium, in Italy,A.D.161. Died at Rome,A.D.192. Aged 31.]
Son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior. It is said that he was handsome in form and feature. If history can be believed, he was a monster in human form. He was cruel in hot and cold blood, vain, cowardly, impious. He appeared many times in the Circus as gladiator, and condescended to become a buffoon for the amusement of the lowest of his people; but he is chiefly famous for his human butcheries. He was poisoned at last by his mistress, Marcia, who was only just in time to save her own life, which had been already doomed by her sanguinary paramour. His death gave occasion to almost frantic joy in Rome.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
57.Macrinus—Marcus Opilius.Roman Emperor,A.D.217-218.
[Born at Cæsarea, in Numidia,A.D.164. Died near Archelaïs, in Cappadocia,A.D.218. Aged 54.]
An Emperor of obscure birth. He is said to have been, in his youth, a gladiator. When Præfect of the Prætorian guards, he contrived the murder of Caracalla, then at Antioch, in order to fulfil the prophecy of a soothsayer, who had predicted his accession to the throne. Elected Emperor by the soldiers, he was himself dethroned and assassinated in Cappadocia, after a brief reign of fourteen months. He is represented as haughty, bloodthirsty, cruel, and cowardly.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
58.Pupienus—Marcus Claudius Pupienus Maximus.Roman Emperor,A.D.238.
[BornA.D.164. Died at Rome,A.D.238. Aged 74.]
Called “the Sad” from the melancholy expression of his countenance. He was of an obscure family, but a distinguished soldier. After the deathof the two Gordiani, he was elected with Balbinus, by the senate, to the empire, in order to oppose Maximinus; but that tyrant was soon after murdered by his own soldiers. The Prætorians, however, regretting Maximinus, assassinated the two Emperors when they were preparing to depart on separate expeditions.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
59.Maximinus—Caius Julius Verus.Roman Emperor,A.D.235-238.
[Born on the confines of Thrace,A.D.173. Died before Aquileia,A.D.238. Aged 65.]
An Emperor of Gothic origin, who was originally a shepherd, and owed his elevation entirely to his physical power and stature. He stood eight feet high, and was muscular in proportion. Serving with Alexander Severus on the Rhine, he excited a mutiny in the troops, in which Alexander and his mother were assassinated, and he himself declared Emperor by the soldiers. His reign was marked by mad severity, cruelty, and rapacity, and was fiercely closed by a band of Prætorians, who broke into his tent and slew him, having first put an end to his son before his eyes. He was a rare monster. It is related that his thumb was of the girth of a woman’s wrist; he could wear his wife’s bracelet as a ring: his eyes were inordinately large; with a kick, he could break the leg of a horse; and his appetite corresponded with his muscular development.