From U. C.

722.

to

766.

Biography, them. There were no public hospitals, no institutions for the relief of the infirm and poor; no Societies for the removal of abuses, or the improvement of the condition of mankind from motives of charity. Nothing was done to promote the instruction of the lower classes; nothing to mitigate the miseries of domestic slavery, and far less to stop altogether the perpetual atrocities of the kidnapper and the slave market. The selfishness of human nature was thus spared its most painful sacrifice; and he who was most largely endowed with the gifts of fortune, was taught only to abstain from doing active injury, and to enjoy the good things which he possessed in a life of social and intellectual gratification.

A. C.

32.

to

A. D. 13.

Of the effect produced

in the East

the Greek

translation

But there was one part of the Empire in which a better knowledge had been slowly working its way, by the resi- and must by this time have produced considerable dence of the effect. We have already observed that the Jews were Jews, and widely scattered over the Eastern Provinces; and as they adopted the language which was most prevaof the Old lent around them, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Testament, commonly known by the name of the Septuagint, was the form in which they were most familiar with their Scriptures. Intercourse with the Jews, and an acquaintance thus gained with the contents of their Law, and of the writings of their Prophets, gave birth, throughout Syria and Asia Minor, to a class of persons who are called in our translation of the Acts, by the name of "the Devout;"* and who, without thinking themselves bound to conform to the national peculiarities of the Jewish worship, had yet acquired those true notions of the Divine nature and attributes, and of the duties which God demands of man, which are so largely contained in the Old Testament. The effect of this knowledge, on those who profited by it, was to produce the very virtues in which the world was generally most deficient, devotion and charity;† and by these means a large portion of the people was in some degree prepared for the doctrines of a still more perfect law, which were a few years afterwards introduced among them by the Christian Apostles.

Here then our review of the state of the Roman world must terminate. Deficient as we well know it to be from the imperfection of our own knowledge, it will yet serve, perhaps, to show what were the most striking differences between the condition of society in those times and in ours; and to point out on how much less firm a foundation civilisation was then built than we may hope is the case now. When, however, we reflect on the point of time at which this sketch terminates, other thoughts, we confess, are foremost in our minds, the expression of which we do not feel called upon entirely to restrain. About fourteen years before the death of Augustus, Jesus Christ was born into the world, and in less than twenty years afterwards the first foundations of the Christian society were laid. Henceforward the Roman Empire acquires, in our eyes, a nearer interest; as a country to which we were before indifferent, becomes at once

Ch. xvii. ver. 4. 17. See also ch. x. ver. 2. ch. xiii. ver. 50. And the same word is used in the Greek, although it is dif ferently translated in our version, ch. xiii. ver. 43. ch. xvi. ver. 14. ch. xviii. ver. 7.

+ See the character of the Centurion Cornelius, Acts, ch. x, ver. 2.

From

U. C.

729.

to

endeared to us, when we know it to be the abode of Caius Octathose whom we love. In pursuing the story of poli- vius Cæsar tical crimes and miseries, there will be henceforth a Augustus resting place for our imaginations, a consciousness that, amidst all the evil which is most prominent on the records of History, a power of good was silently at work, with an influence continually increasing, and that Virtue and Happiness were daily more and more visiting a portion of mankind, which till now seemed to be in a condition of hopeless suffering. reader, who has accompanied us through all the painful details presented by the last century of the Roman Commonwealth, will be inclined, perhaps with us, to rejoice in the momentary contemplation of such a scene of moral beauty.

The

766.

A. C.

32.

to

A. D.

13.

It now only remains that we give some account of Of the fathe family of Augustus, and conclude this Memoir mily of with some particulars of his own private life. We Augustus. have already mentioned his marriage with Livia, the wife of Tib. Nero, in the year 716; and that he had at that time one daughter, named Julia, the child of his former marriage with Scribonia. As he had no children by Livia, Julia remained his only heiress, and the choice of her husband became a matter of great importance. She was first married to her cousin Claudius Marcellus, the nephew of Augustus by his sister Octavia;* and the person celebrated by Virgil in those famous lines of the sixth Æneid, for which Octavia so largely rewarded him. But Marcellus dying young, and without children, Augustus selected for the second husband of his daughter, his oldest friend and most useful adherent M. Vipsanius Agrippa. This marriage seemed to answer all his wishes, for Julia became the mother of five children, Caius, Lucius, Julia, Agrippina, and Agrippa Postumus, so called, because he was born after his father's death, which took place in the year 741. Caius and Lucius were immediately adopted by their grandfather, and assumed the name of Cæsar; before they arrived at the age of manhood, they were distinguished by the title of "Principes Juventutis," or "Chiefs of the Youth ;" they were marked out as Consuls elect, to enter upon that office as soon as they arrived at a fit age; they were sent to the different Provinces and presented to the armies, as the heirs of the Emperor; their education was conducted, in great measure, by Augustus himself, and they were his constant companions at table, and on his journies. But all his hopes in them were marred by their successive premature deaths. Lucius Cæsar, when on his way to take the command of the army in Spain, was taken ill, and died at Massilia, about the year 754; and Caius Cæsar, who commanded the army on the frontiers of Parthia, having been wounded in Armenia, and returning slowly homewards towards Italy, died about eighteen months after his brother at the town of Limyra, in Lycia. Meanwhile their mother, Julia, had been married, for the third time by her father, after the death of Agrippa, to Tiberius Claudius Nero, the son of Livia; but when Caius and Lucius Cæsar were grown up to manhood, and were in the height of their favour with their grandfather, Tiberius, for whatever reasons, thought proper to withdraw from Rome to

* Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. c. 3. Suetonius, in Augusto, c. 63, et seq. + Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii. c. 125.

U. C.

766.

A. C.

32.

to

A. D.

13

*

Biography, the island of Rhodes; where he lived in the greatest retirement, and during a part of the time in a sort of From disgrace, for the space of more than seven years. During his absence, his wife, Julia, was guilty of such gross 22. infidelities to him, that Augustus himself divorced to her in the name of his son-in-law, and banished her to the island of Pandataria, off the coast of Campania, where she was closely confined for some time, and treated with the greatest rigour; nor would Augustus ever forgive her, or receive her into his presence, although he afterwards removed her from Pandataria to Rhegium, and somewhat softened the severity of her treatment. After the deaths of Caius and Lucius Cæsar, Tiberius was adopted by Augustus as his son, in the year 756,† and with him M. Agrippa Postumus, now the only surviving son of M. Agrippa. But Agrippa Postumus is represented as a youth of a brutal and intractable temper; ‡ and Livia, to favour her son's interests, so exaggerated his faults, and so prejudiced his grandfather against him, that he too, like his mother, was banished from Rome, and confined in the island of Planasia: Tiberius thus remained the sole heir to the greatness of his father-in-law; but in order to point out the succession even for a more remote period, he was obliged, by Augustus, to adopt as his son his nephew Germanicus, the only surviving child of his brother Drusus, although he had at the same time a son of his own. Accordingly, during the last ten years of the life of Augustus, Tiberius was associated with him in the Tribunician power, and in the general administration of the Empire, and was clearly marked out as his successor; while Drusus and Germanicus, the two sons of Tiberius by birth and by adoption, seemed to ensure the continuance of the sovereign power in his family to the third generation.

Anecdotes

We have said that M. Vipsanius Agrippa died in the of his cha racter and year 741. Four years afterwards Augustus lost his behaviour, other chief counsellor and faithful friend, C. Cilnius Mæcenas, by whose advice he is said to have been greatly assisted in the arrangement of his Government. But his power was now securely settled, and the various conspiracies which were formed against him at different times after the battle of Actium, were the mere efforts of individual revenge or ambition, and were all easily discovered and punished. In the case of L. Cinna, § who had intended to assassinate him when sacrificing at the altar, he not only forgave his intended murderer, but offered him his friendship, and afterwards raised him to the Consulship; being resolved, it is said, to try the effect of clemency after having indulged so largely in cruelty, or being anxious rather to preserve that character of magnanimity which, since the overthrow of every enemy whom he dreaded, he might counterfeit with little danger. Various other stories of his moderation are recorded; his manners were affable, and courteous to all; he forbade, and probably in sincerity, that any one should address him by the name of Dominus, or Master; and when the People wished to force upon him the ominous title of Dictator, he threw himself on

*Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. c. 53.

+ Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii. c. 126. Tacitus, Annal. lib. i. c. 3. Suetonius, c. 65. § Seneca, de Clementiâ, lib. i. c. 9, &c. Suetonius, c. 53, et seq.

From

U. C. 722.

to

766.

A. C.

32

to

A. D. 13.

his knees, and casting off his robe, and baring his breast, Caius Octaintreated them rather to kill him, than to oblige him to vius Cæsar Augustus. accept it. In these points the example of his uncle always served as a useful warning to him; and he also learned from it to avoid every display of state in the appearance and manners of his family, in the size of his house, and in the regulation of his establishment. Yet it would be unjust to ascribe to a politic premeditation all the popular actions of his reign. Good is in itself so much more delightful than evil, that he was doubtless not insensible to the pleasure of kind and beneficent actions, and perhaps sincerely rejoiced that they were no longer incompatible with his interest. When Valerius Messala was sent to him by the Senate, to confer on him, in the name of the Senate and People of Rome, the title of "Father of his Country, ," he was affected even to tears, and replied, "I have now gained all that I desired, Conscript Fathers; and what have I left to pray for from the Gods, but that I may preserve to the latest day of my life, this same unanimous love of my countrymen." He did preserve it, and even with an increased affection; in proportion as the remembrance of his former cruelties became less lively, and the period of general tranquillity which had commenced under his auspices was continually lengthening. At last, in the seventy- His last sixth year of his age, when, he was going to accom- sickness. pany Tiberius as far as Beneventum, on the way to Illyricum, he was seized with a dysentery, which at first attacked him but slightly, and did not prevent him from fulfilling the object of his journey, after having spent some days on the coast of Campania, in the hope of recruiting his strength. But on his return from Beneventum, his complaint grew more serious; he stopped at Nola, at the house which had belonged to his father, and in which his father had died; and as he became visibly worse, his wife Livia sent hasty messengers after Tiberius, to recall him instantly to the death-bed of the Emperor. Meantime every thing that passed within the walls was concealed by Livia with the utmost care; insomuch, that although it was given out that Tiberius found his adopted father still alive,† and had a long and affectionate interview with him, yet Tacitus informs us that it was never clearly ascertained whether these stories were not mere fabrications, and whether Augustus was not in reality already dead, when Tiberius arrived at Nola. The His death. same authority which related the conversation of the dying Emperor with his successor, pretended also that he actually expired in the arms of his wife, and that his last words were, Farewell, Livia, and ever be mindful of our long union." It was said that he died about three o'clock in the afternoon, on the nineteenth of August, in the year of Rome 766,§ and when he had in fact a little more than completed his seventy-sixth year.

U. C.

766.

A. D. 15

From U, C.

722.

to

*766.

A. C.

32.

to

Biography. general expression of his countenance was remarkably calm and mild. His health was throughout his life delicate, yet the constant attention which he paid to it, and his strict temperance in eating and drinking, enabled him, as we have seen, to reach the full age of man. As a seducer and adulterer,* and a man of low sensuality, his character was as profligate as that of his uncle; it is mentioned also, that he was extremely fond of gaming, a propensity which he indulged even when he was advanced in years. In his literary qualifications, without at all rivalling the attainments of Cæsar, he was on a level with most Romans of distinction of his time; and it is said that both in speaking and writing, his style was eminent for its perfect plainness and propriety.† His speeches on any public occasion, were composed beforehand, and recited from memory; nay, so careful was he not to commit himself by any inconsiderate expression, that even when discussing any important subject with his own wife, he wrote down what he had to say, and read it before her. Like his uncle, he was strongly tinged with superstition; he was very much afraid of thunder and lightning, and

A. D. 13.

vius Cæsar any Augustus.

From

U. C.

722.

to

A. C.

32.

to

A. D.

always carried about with him a seal skin as a charm Caius Octa against its power; notwithstanding which, in severe storm, he was accustomed to hide himself in a chamber in the centre of his house, to be as much out of the way of it as possible; add to which, he was a great observer of dreams, and of lucky and unlucky days. He was totally destitute of military talent; but in every species of artful policy, in 766. clearly seeing, and steadily and dispassionately following his own interest, and in turning to his own advantage all the weaknesses of others, his ability, if so it may be called, has been rarely equalled. His deliberate cruelty, his repeated treachery, and sacrifice of every duty and every feeling to the purposes of his ambition, have been sufficiently shown in the course of this narrative. But it was his good fortune, for the last forty years of his life, to be placed in circumstances in which he had no longer any temptation to the same kind of wickedness; and thus it has happened that he whose crimes fitted him to rank with Marius or Sylla, with Nero or with Domitian, has been loaded with praises as a benefactor to his species, and his name has passed into a proverb as a promoter of peace, and a general patron of literature and of civilisation.

13.

Biography.

From

U. C.

1.

to

766.

A. C. 740.

to

Ꭺ. D. 13.

ENOSLASES IVVATE

NEVE LVER VEMARMAR SINCVRRER EIN PLEORES
SATVR FVFERE MARS LIMEN SALISTA BERBER
SEMVNES ALTERNEI ADVOCAPIT CONCTOS

ENOS MARMOR IVVATO
TRIVMPE TRIVMPE TRIVMPE.

Various arrangements and interpretations of this singular document have been proposed. It appears that the first word should be divided into Enos Lases; and "sincurrer" into sin currer. The interpretations are, as might be expected, unsatisfactory and discordant. We subjoin that of Lanzi: "Nos, Lares, juvate; neve luerem, Mamars, sinas incurrere in flores. Ador fieri, Mars; (vμov) pestem maris siste, Mars. Semones alterni advocate cunctos. Nos, Mamuri, juvato. Triumphe, Triumphe, Triumphe." Although this interpretation is liable to some objections, it is, perhaps, the most correct that has been given; nor does the subject merit, for itself, any very laborious investiga

tion.

The ferocious spirit of the Government of Romulus was, in some degree, mitigated by his pacific successor; still, however, nothing deserving the name of Poetry appeared. The Sali, priests appointed by Numa to guard the ancilia, or sacred shields, one of which was supposed to have fallen from heaven, and on which the safety of the Roman State was imagined to depend, sang a rude carol, a few words of which have been preserved to us by Varro;* and although, in the time of Horace, antiquaries professed to understand and admire it, the assurance of the Poet that it was unintelligible to him may reasonably console us for its loss, and may humble our confidence in our ability to decypher the isolated wrecks which time has spared of those barbarous ages. The Triumphal songs, of which frequent mention is made by Livy,§ appear to have been merely the rude, extemporaneous effusions of military licence amidst the hilarity of a Triumph, and never to have been considered in the light of compositions; and the style and nature of the sacred Hymns may be sufficiently gathered from what has just been said concerning those of Romulus and Numa. Cicero informs us, out of Cato's "Origines," that it was the custom of the Romans, many ages before the time even of that Philosopher, to comme morate the valiant or virtuous achievements of their countrymen in songs, accompanied on the flute, in their entertainments; and on one occasion he regrets the loss of these ballads. But how far there was any real cause of regret, we may tolerably well estimate from what is actually known of the state of Roman Poetry when it first had any sensible existence, and when it was sufficiently bald, though formed on the perfect models of Greece. So little groundwork is there for the theories of Schlegel and Niebuhr,¶ that the exploits of the Roman worthies were contained in a series of rhapsodies, and much less that they formed the subject of a regular Epic poem. It was, most probably, this rude kind of ballad, sung at harvest homes and other rustic festivals, which gave rise to that law of the

Latin

Poetry.

twelve tables, which Cicero alludes to in order to Horace.-
show that the early ages of Rome were not so totally
destitute of cultivation as was generally believed.
"Si quis pipulo occentassit, carmenve condisit, quod
infamiam farit flagitiumve alteri, fuste feritor." The
following is Horace's account of the rise and progress
of this species of poetry :†

"Agricolæ prisci, fortes, parvoque beati,
Condita post frumenta, levantes tempore festo
Corpus, et ipsum animum spe finis dura ferentem,
Cum sociis operum, pueris, et conjuge fillâ,
Tellurem porco, Sylvanum lacte piabant,
Floribus et vino Genium memorem brevis ævi.
Fescennina per hunc inventa licentia morem
Versibus alternis opprobria rustica fudit;
Libertasque recurrentes accepta per annos
Lusit amabiliter, donec jam sævus apertam
In rabiem verti cœpit jocus, et per honestas
Ire domos, impunè minax : doluere cruento
Dente lacessiti; fuit intactis quoque cura
Conditione super communi: quinetiam lex
Panaque lata, malo quæ nollet carmine quenquam
Describi. Vertere modum, formidine fustis

Ad bene dicendum delectandumque redacti.”

From U.C.

1.

to

766.

A. C. 740.

to

A. D. 13. Fescennin carols.

In the three hundred and ninety second year of the Ludi city, and in the Consulship of C. Sulpitius Peticus and Scenici, C. Licinius Stolo, a pestilence raged in Rome. The Senate, after exhausting their whole ritual of superstitions without success, had recourse to that nation from which they obtained almost all their sacred rites and all their arts of divination ;-Etruria. It was then that scenic entertainments, (ludi scenici) for dramatic they could not be called, were first exhibited in Rome. Poetry had so little connection with these, that they did not so much as embrace dumb show, but consisted merely of dances to the flute. The Roman youth were pleased with these exhibitions, and imitated them, accompanying the action with raillery. The Fescennine carols, (so called from Fescennium, a town of Etruria) which were, for the most part as scurrilous and obscene as they were rude and inharmonious, and which seem to have borne great analogy to the Greek phallics, sank into disrepute, or were only retained as part of nuptial ceremonies, on which they long reinained faithful attendants. Frequent repetition advanced the scenic exercises of the Romans to their first essay towards a regular production, which was called a Satura, and was accompanied with appropriate music.

The derivation of this word has been a point of con- Saturæ. troversy with the learned. Not to mention any other authors who have treated it, the Scaligers are divided on it. The word is written variously in MSS. of authority: Satura, satyra, satira. Some derive it from the "lanx satura," a dish of various kinds of fruit, and suppose it to mean an olio; and in proof of their etymology they adduce the " "leges saturæ,"§ which treated on several subjects; satira, as they say, being only a more modern orthography of satura, as mus" for the more ancient form "maxumus."|| Others, who contend that the true orthography is satyra, derive it from oárupos, and make it somewhat analogous to the early satyric drama of Greece. If this be the true etymology, the early form would have been, most probably, satura, which orthography we shall, therefore, adopt.

*Tusc. Disp. iv. Cf. Hor. lib. ii. Sat. i. v. 82.
+ Ep. ad Aug. v. 139.
+ Liv. vii. 2.

«maxi

§ Harris, Philosophical Arrangements, ch. 18. "Medius est quidam U et I litteræ sonus." Quint. i. iv.