The Works Of Tacitus - Vol. 1

Tacitus

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THE WORKS OF TACITUS.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

To which are prefixed, Political DISCOURSES UponThat AUTHOR.

VOL. I. The SECOND EDITION, corrected.

LONDON:

Printed for T. WOODWARD, and J. PEELE; And Sold by J. OSBORN, at the Golden Ball, in Pater - nosterRow.

M.DCC.XXXVII.

TO The Right Honourable Sir ROBERTWALPOLE,

First Commissioner of the Treasury, Chancellor andUnder-Treasurer of the Exchequer, one of his Majesty’s Most Honourable PrivyCouncil, and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

SIR,

AS You were the first who promoted the following Work in apublic manner, I take liberty to present it to the Public under your name, andto do an act of acknowledgmentfor one of generosity. Be pleased to be the Patron ofa Book which under your Patronage was composed. It is natural and common formen who profess Letters, to seek the countenance and protection of Men ofPower; and from such of them as to greatness of fortune were happy enough tojoin greatness of mind, they have not sought in vain.

POWER without Politeness and Complacency, is at bestdistasteful, often hated; amiable when it knows how to condescend. It is thusthat men in high stations avoid envy from such as stand below them. He whocannot rise to their height, finds a sort of retaliation and amends in theircoming down to him. No Man is pleased with a behaviour which represents him ascontemptible. To make us think well of ourselves, by another’s shewing us thatwe are well thought of by him, is a generousand artful civility: a lesson which stately andrebuking men want to learn. A mean man of great quality and figure (for suchincongruities we often meet) teaches others to scorn him, by his shewing thathe scorns them. Affability therefore, accompanied with good sense, which willalways guard it from exceeding, is the art of keeping great Splendor fromgrowing offensive to the rest of the world.

IT must be owned, that no Affability, even the mostflowing; no Genius, even the most elevated, can escape particular distastes;and from the dislike of Persons to that of Actions the transition is easy andtoo common. Men do not easily discern good qualities and intentions in one, towhom they do not wish well. All men, even those of the most unexceptionableCharacters, are apt to form their judgment over-hastily,when their passions are warmed: and from this cause ithas often proceeded, that the inevitable misfortunes of times and accidentshave been charged upon such, whose interest and study it was to prevent them.This is one of the evils and uneasinesses inseparably attending everyAdministration. When a State is under heavy burdens and difficulties, the meansto relieve and support it will be, almost always, proportionably heavy: and aswhatever proves heavy, however necessary, is easily called Oppression; so thehand, which administers a remedy, may, merely because it is felt, be easilystyled oppressive.

BESIDES the reason which I have already given for thisAddress, I have another; one taken from the Character of my Author. As he was aMan of Affairs, a great Minister, I chuse to present him to another; to one whohavingbeen long engaged in public Life, having had longexperience of men, seen far into their bent and foibles, and been conversantwith the mysteries and primary operations of Government; can thence readilyjudge whether TACITUS has refined too much in his Politics,or been over-severe in his Censures upon mankind: or whether this charge hasnot been chiefly raised by men of speculation, who, however furnished withLearning, were yet unacquainted with the transactions of States, and ignorantof human nature; or perhaps willing to do honour to it, or to themselves, atthe expence of Truth. Men are to be known, not by Theories taken up in closets,but by Commerce with men; and best of all in those great scenes of public Life,where You, SIR, have sustained, for so many years, a highand important part, and gained eminent experienceas well as the just opinion of greatsufficiency.

I could here, agreeably to the usual style and purpose of Dedications, say agreat many advantageous things, without risquing the usual censure incurred byDedicators. But such things I would much rather say of you, than to you. Inthis place, I shall only profess to be, what I intirely am, with perfect truth,and high regard,

SIR, Your most obliged, and most obedient humbleServant,

T. GORDON.

THE CONTENTS OF THE DISCOURSES.

- DISCOURSE I. Upon the former EnglishTranslations of TACITUS.

- SECT. I. OF the Translation by GREENWAY and SIR H. SAVIL. Page 1

- II. Of the EnglishTranslation by several hands. p. 2

- III. Of the lastTranslation of the first Annal. p. 3

- IV. Of the lastTranslation of the second Annal. p. 5

- V. Of the lastTranslation of the third Annal. ibid.

- VI. Of the lastTranslation of the fourth, fifth, and sixth Annals. p. 8

- VII. Of the lastTranslation of the eleventh Annal. p. 10

- VIII. Of the lastTranslation of the twelfth and thirteenth Annals. p. 11

- IX. Of the lastTranslation of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth Annals. p. 14

- DISCOURSE II. Upon TACITUS and his Writings.

- SECT. I. The Character of TACITUS. p. 19

- II. How much he excellsin Description and Force. p. 21

- III. Further instancesof the justness of his Genius, and of his great Thoughts. p. 24

- IV. The Moralityof TACITUS, and his spirit virtuousand humane. p. 27

- V. The Stile of TACITUS, how pertinent and happy: hisObscurity, a charge of the moderns only. p. 29

- VI. A general Characterof his Works. p. 33

- VII. TACITUS vindicated from the imputation of deriving events from counselstoo subtle and malevolent. p. 34

- VIII. More Proofs ofthe Candour and Veracity of TACITUS. p. 38

- IX. Mr. BAYLE ’s unjust censure of TACITUS; and how well the latter knew andobserved the Laws of History. p. 43

- X. An Apology for thewrong account by TACITUS given of theJews and Christians, and for his disregard of the Religion then received. p. 44

- XI. The foolish Censureof BOCCALINI and others upon TACITUS. p. 52

- XII. Of the severalCommentators and Translators of TACITUS. p. 53

- XIII. A Conjectureconcerning the modern Languages, more largely concerning the English. p. 56

- XIV. A Conjectureconcerning the present state of the English Tongue, with an account of thepresent Work. p. 60

- DISCOURSE III. Upon CÆSAR the Dictator.

- SECT. I. Of CÆSAR ’s Usurpation, andwhy his Name is less odious than that of CATILINE. p. 64

- II. Of the publicCorruption by CÆSAR promoted orintroduced; with his bold and wicked Conduct. p. 66

- III. CÆSAR might have purified and reformed the State; but far differentwere his intentions. His Art, good Sense, and continued ill Designs. p. 68

- IV. The probability ofhis waxing more cruel, had he reigned much longer. p. 71

- V. CÆSAR no lawful Magistrate, but a public Enemy. p. 74

- VI. Of the share whichCasualties had, in raising the Name and Memory of CÆSAR. The Judgment of CICERO concerning him. p. 76

- VII. How vain it is toextol any Designs of his for the Glory of the Roman people. p. 78

- VIII. Of his Death; andthe rashness of ascribing to divine Vengeance the fate of such as slewhim. p. 79

- DISCOURSE IV. Upon OCTAVIUS CÆSAR, afterwards called AUGUSTUS.

- SECT. I. Of the base and impious Arts by which he acquired the Empire. p. 81

- II. Of the vindictivespirit of OCTAVIUS, and his horridCruelties. p. 82

- III. Of the treachery,ingratitude, and further cruelties of OCTAVIUS: that the same were wanton and voluntary. p. 86

- IV. Of the popular Artsand Accidents which raised the Character of AUGUSTUS. p. 88

- V. Though AUGUSTUS courted the people and particularSenators, he continued to depress public Liberty and the Senate. p. 92

- VI. What Fame hederived from the Poets and other flattering Writers of his time. p. 93

- VII. Of the false Glorysought and acquired by AUGUSTUS fromthe badncss of his Successors. p. 95

- VIII. The Characterof AUGUSTUS. p. 96

- IX. Of the Helps andCauses which acquired and preserved the Empire to AUGUSTUS. His great Power and Fortune, no proofof extraordinary Ability. p. 97

- DISCOURSE V. Of Governments free andarbitrary, more especially that of the CÆSARS.

- SECT. I. The Principle of God’s appointing and protecting Tyrants, anAbsurdity not believed by the Romans. p. 100

- II. The reasonablenessof resisting Tyrants asserted, from the ends of Government and the Nature ofthe Deity. Opinions the most impious and extravagant, why taught and how easilyswallowed. p. 102

- III. The danger ofslavish Principles to such as trust in them, and the notorious insecurity oflawless Might. p. 106

- IV. Princes of littleand bad Minds, most greedy of Power: Princes of large and good Minds chuse torule by Law and Limitations. p. 108

- V. The Wisdom andSafety of ruling by standing Laws, to Prince and People. p. 111

- VI. The Condition offree States, how preferable to that of such as are not free. p. 113

- VII. The Misery andInsecurity of the Cæsars from their overgrown Power. p. 115

- VIII. A representationof the Torments and Horrors under which TIBERIUS lived, p. 117

- IX. The terribleOperation of lawless Power upon the Minds of Princes; and how it changesthem. p. 119

- X. The wretched Fearsaccompanying the possession of arbitrary Power, exemplified in CALIGULA and other Roman Emperors. p. 121

- XI. What it is thatconstitutes the Security and Glory of a Prince; and how a Prince and Peoplebecome estranged from each other. p. 122

- XII. How nearly itbehoves a Prince to be beloved and esteemed by his Subjects. The terribleConsequences of their mutual Mistrust and Hatred. p. 12S

- XIII. Public Happinessonly then certain, when the Laws are certain and inviolable. p. 127

- DISCOURSE VI. Of the old Law of Treasonby the Emperors perverted and extended.

- SECT. I. The antient Purpose of that Law: the Politics of AUGUSTUS in stretching it. p. 129

- II. The Deification ofthe Emperors, what an engine of Tyranny, and snare to the Roman People. p. 133

- III. The Images of theEmperors, how sacred they became, and how pernicious. p. 135

- IV. What a destructiveCalamity the Law of Majesty grew, and how fast Treasons multiplied under itsName. p. 138

- DISCOURSE VII. Of the Accusations, andAccusers under the Emperors.

- SECT. I. The pestilent Employment of these Men, their Treachery andEncouragement. p. 141

- II. The traiterousMethods taken to circumvent and convict Innocence. The spirit of accusing howcommon, the dread of it how universal; and the misery of the Times. p. 146

- III. Plots feigned ortrue, an ample field for Accusations and Cruelty; and upon what miserableEvidence Executions were decreed. p. 148

- IV. What ridiculousCauses produced capital Guilt. The Spirit of the Emperor CONSTANTIUS; with somewhat of his Father CONSTANTINE. p. 151

- V. The black andgeneral carnage made under CONSTANTIUS, by his bloody Minister PAULUS CATENA, for certain Acts of Superstition and Curiosity. p. 153

- VI. The Ravages of theAccusers continued; their Credit with the Emperors; yet generally meet theirFate. The Falshood of these Princes: the melancholy State of those Times. p. 155

- VII. The increase ofTyranny. Innocence and Guilt not measured by the Law, but by the Emperor’sPleasure and Malice. p. 160

- VIII. What TACITUS means by Instrumenta regni. p. 162

- IX. How much theseEmperors hated, and how fast they destroyed all great and worthy Men. Theirdread of every Man for any Reason. p. 164

- X. Reflections upon theSpirit of a Tyrant. With what Wantonness the Roman Emperors shed theblood of the Roman People. The blindness of such asassisted the Usurpation of CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS. p. 167

- XI. Why under suchTyrants, the Senate continued to subsist. p. 170

- XII. How theunrelenting Cruelty of the Emperors hastened the Dissolution of the Empire. Thebad Reigns of CONSTANTINE and CONSTANTIUS. The good Reign of JULIAN. The indiscreet behaviour of theChristians. Continued Tyranny: and end of the Empire. p. 172

- XIII. The Excellency ofa limited Monarchy, especially of our own. p. 175

- DISCOURSE VIII. Of the generalDebasement of Spirit and Adulation which accompany Power unlimited.

- SECT. I. The motives of Flattery considered. Its vileness, and whence itbegins. p. 178

- II. Men of elevatedMinds irreconcileable to Arbitrary Power, and thence suspected by it. The Courtpaid to it always insincere, sometimes expedient, but seldom observes anybounds. p. 183

- III. The excessivePower of Imperial freed Slaves; with the scandalous Submission and Honours paidthem by the Romans. p. 185

- IV. The excessiveFlattery of the Senate, how ill judged, p. 188

- V. The free judgment ofPosterity a powerful warning to Princes, to reign with moderation and to detestFlatterers. The Name and Memory of the Roman Tyrants how treated. p. 190

- VI. How lamentablyPrinces are debauched and misled by Flatterers. p. 193

- VII. The pestilenttendency of flattering Counsels, and the Glory of such as are sincere. p. 195

- DISCOURSE IX. Upon Courts.

- SECT. I. Of Freedom of Speech; and how reasonable it is. p. 199

- II. The Spirit ofCourtiers what: some good ones. p. 202

- III. The Arts ofCourtiers; their Cautiousness, and its Causes. p. 204

- IV. Of Slanderers andTale-bearers in Courts: the Folly of Craft. p. 208

- V. How much worthlessPeople abound in Courts, and why. p. 212

- VI. The remarkableFickleness and Insincerity of Courtiers. p. 217

- DISCOURSE X. Of Armies and Conquest.

- SECT. I. The Burden and Danger of maintaining great Armies. p. 219

- II. Great Armies thebest disciplined, whether thence the less formidable to a Country. Their Temperand Views. p. 221

- III. Princes ruling bymilitary Power, ever at the Mercy of military Men. p. 223

- IV. Instances of theBoldness and Fury of the Roman Soldiery. p. 226

- V. The Humour ofConquering, how injudicious, vain, and destructive. p. 228

- VI. The Folly ofconquering further urged and exemplified. p. 232

DISCOURSES UPON TACITUS.

DISCOURSE I.: Upon the former English Translations of TACITUS.

Sect. I.: Of the Translation by GREENWAY and Sir H. SAVILL.

I AM going to offer to the publick the Translation of a Work,which for wisdom and force, is in higher fame and consideration, than almostany other that has yet appeared amongst men; a Work often translated into manyLanguages, seldom well into any, into ours worst of all. The first was done inQueen ELIZABETH’S reign, the Annals by one GREENWAY, and four Books of the History by Sir HENRY SAVILL, a man exceeding learned, and esteemed for hiscritical notes upon TACITUS, as well as for those upon St. CHRYSOSTOM, of whose works he has published an elaborateedition. But though he was an able Grammarian, and understood the Antiquitiesin TACITUS, and his words, his Translation is amean performance; his stile is stiff, spiritless, andobscure; he drops many of his Author’s ideas, preserves none of his turns, andstarves his meaning even where he best conveys it. ’Tis a mere Translation,that rather of one word into another, than that of a dead tongue into a living,or of sense into sense. The Roman idiom is forced and wire-drawn into theEnglish, a task altogether impossible; and not adopted and naturalized, a thingpossible enough; and out of a Book prosuse in eloquence, fine spirit andimages, he has drawn a work harsh, halting and barren. OGILBY is not more unlike VIRGIL. GREENWAY is still worse than SAVILL; he had none of his learning, hehad all his faults and more: The former has at least performed like aschool-master, the latter like a school-boy.

Sect. II.: Of the English Translation by severalhands.

ABOUT a hundred years after them another English Translation wasundertaken by several hands, Mr. DRYDEN and others. DRYDEN has translated the first Book; but done it almostliterally from Mr. AMELOT DE LA HOUSSAYE, with so muchhaste and little exactness, that besides his many mistakes, he has introducedseveral Gallicisms: he follows the French author servilely, and writes FrenchEnglish, rather than trust him out of his eye. It is true, LAHOUSSAYE is an honest Translator, and one of the foremost: He has gone asfar as the thirteenth Annal inclusive; but his phrases are often weak andtrifling, and he is subject to all that faintness and circumlocution for whichthe French tongue is noted. DRYDEN copies his manner aswell as his meaning. It was pure hurry and want of application; for he was afine writer, had a copious imagination, a good ear, anda flowing stile. Strike away all that is bad in hisworks, enough will remain to shew him a great Poet, a man of parts and a masterof language. Even his many enemies and opposers shew the considerableness ofthe man; but his excellencies in many things excuse not his faults in others;his Translation of TACITUS is poor and languid, no wherederived from the original, generally full of mistakes; at best it is only theFrench Translator ill translated, or ill imitated.

Sect. III.: Of the last Translation of the firstAnnal.

TACITUS talking of the latter end of AUGUSTUS his reign, says, domi res tranquillæ.Eadem magistratuum vocabula. These are two sentences independent of eachother; yet Mr. DRYDEN translates, “all things at Rome beingin a settled peace, the Magistrates still retained their former names;” as ifthe one was all the cause of the other. This blunder is owing to LA HOUSSAYE ill understood: tout étoittranquille à Rome, les Magistrats avoient les mêmes noms: if instead of avoient, he had said ayant, thetranslation would have come pretty near the French. But the English Translatordoes not seem to understand French, though he has no other guide, else howcould he so miserably mistake, pars multo maxima imminentisdominos variis rumoribus disserebant; as to render it, “the greater partemployed their time in various discourses of future matters?” From this it isplain he never looked into the original, or understood it not. He was misled bythe French which he appears here to have as little understood; la plus part se plaisoient à faire divers jugemens de ceux quialoient devenir leurs Maitres.

BUT more wretched still is what follows: TACITUS represents the Romans discoursing, during the declineof AUGUSTUS, concerning the next successors in view, AGRIPPA Posthumus and TIBERIUS, andmakes them say of LIVIA the Empress; accedere matrem muliebri impotentia: serviendum feminæ,c. “His mother of a violent and imperious nature, according to thesex themselves, subjected to the slavery of a woman.” This is jargon andnonsense, tho’ the author seems to have followed the French; qui (Tibere) a une mere imperieuse violente, selon la coutumedu sexe, à laquelle il faudra obéir en esclaves. Well may he be said tofollow the French Translator blindly; and less is the wonder that he adopts hisGallicisms where he happens to understand him.

When DRUSUS, the son of TIBERIUS, entred the camp of the seditious Legions in Pannonia, and the mutinous soldierywere gathered round him; TACITUS makes a charming andstrong description of their behaviour, with the several vicissitudes of theirpassions, which shifted strangely according as they dreaded his person andauthority, or recalled their grievances, and surveyed their own numbers andstrength; and he concludes the whole, according to his custom, with a finereflection: Illi, quotiens oculos ad multitudinem retulerant,vocibus truculentis strepere; rursum, viso Cæsare, trepidare. Murmur incertum,atrox clamor, repente quies; diversis animorum motibus, pavebant,terrebantque. This is all pretty well translated by LAHOUSSAYE. I shall only quote the last clause or reflection: par des mouvemens tout differens, ils prenoient l’epouvante,la donnoient; and this I quote only to shew how impotently theEnglish Translator hangs by the French phrase and takes it literally: “by theirdifferent motions, says he, they gave and took terror in their turns.”

IS not this pithy and sounding? There are numbers ofsuch instances both as to language and strength; insomuch that I have beensometimes tempted to think it not to be DRYDEN’S : but Ihave many assurances of its being his. I take it for granted it was a jobb forthe Booksellers, carelessly performed by one, who wanted no capacity, but onlypains or encouragement to have done it much better, perhaps very well.

Sect. IV.: Of the last Translation of the secondAnnal.

THE next Annal is translated by another hand, less negligently,but with small taste and vigour; no resemblance of the original, where in everysentence almost there occur surprizing images and turns, which no where appearin the Translation. ’Tis not the fire of TACITUS, but hisembers quenched with English words cold and Gothick. Let any one readparticularly the two speeches of ARMINIUS and MAROBODUUS to their different armies just before theyengaged, cap. 45. and 46. and he will find that between TACITUS and his Translator, there is just as much difference asbetween a living soul and a cold carcase. Yet the lifeless Translation of thisAnnal compared with that of the third by a different hand, is an ableperformance.

Sect. V.: Of the last Translation of the thirdAnnal.

THIS translation is in truth wretched beyond belief; ’tis belowdrollery, and a sort of a middle between bad sense and good nonsense. TACITUS says of the arrival of the fleet, which brought AGRIPPINA from Asia with her husband’sfuneral urn, and her children now fatherless; classis paulatim successit, non alacri, ut adsolet, remigio,sed cunctis ad tristitiam compositis, An. 3. c. 1.“The fleet (says the Translator) came in, not rowing briskly, as they used todo, but slowly, and with sorrow in their countenances;” a translation worthy ofone who could make TACITUS say elsewhere, “ DRUSUS left the City to enquire his fortune:” Would not onethink that he went to some remote country to consult a cunning man? Or meantthe Translator to joke upon the religion and solemnities of the Romans? Thewords of TACITUS which he thus perverts, or rather quitedrops, are, Drusus urbe egressus repetendis auspiciis: “ DRUSUS went without the gates, to repeat the formality ofthe auspices.”

TACITUS at the end of his discourse upon laws, says, Cæsar Augustus, potenliæ securus, quæ Triumviratu jusserat,abolevit, deditque jura, quis pace Principe uleremur: acriera ex eo vincla, inditi custodes,lege Papia Poppæa præmiis inducti, ut si c. sed altius penetrabant,(custodes, scil. ) Urbemque Italiam, quodusquam civium, corripuerant, multorumque excisi status; terror omnibusintentabatur, nisi Tiberius statuendo remedio, c. Now observe thesorce, and elegance, and truth, with which this is rendered by the Translator;“ AUGUSTUS CESAR being settled in his authority, heabolished those things he commanded in the Triumvirate, and gave new laws to beobserved in time of peace, and under a Monarch. And that they might be thebetter kept, he appointed some to look after them:” [as if the laws had been aflock of sheep] “The law PAPIA POPPEA provided, c. But the informers went farther, not only in theCity, but thro’ all Italy, where any citizens were, ruined many families andfrightened all. To remedy which TIBERIUS, ” c. A little farther TACITUS says, adversis animis acceptum,quod filio Claudii socer Sejanus destinaretur: polluisse nobilitatem familiævidebantur, suspectumque jam nimiæ spei Sejanum ultro extulisse. “Therewere (says the Translator) great discontents upon CLAUDIUS’S son’s being to marry SEJANUS’S daughter as a disparagement to him, [to what him? SEJANUS was the last named.] “But SEJANUS, whose ambition wassuspected, was much exalted upon it.”

TACITUS discoursing of the revolt of FLORUS and SACROVIR, and representing thesentiments of the people upon that and other alarms, says, increpabant Tiberium, quod in tanto rerum motu, libellisaccusatorum insumeret operam. An Julium Sacrovirum majestatis crimine reum inSenatu fore? Extitisse tandem viros, qui cruentas epistolas armis cohiberent:miseram pacem vel bello bene mutari. Tanto impensius in securitatem compositus,neque loco, neque vultu mutato, sed ut solitum per illos dies egit: altitudineanimi, an compererat modica esse vulgatis leviora. Hear how this istranslated. Blaming “ TIBERIUS for employing himself inreading informers accusations where there was so great commotions. What, saidthey, have the Senate found JULIUS SACROVIR guilty oftreason? Some have had the courage to suppress by arms the bloody libels of aTyrant; war is a good change for a miserable peace. But he neither changedplace nor countenance; affecting to shew he was not afraid, either throughcourage, or that he knew things to be less than they were reported.” Was evergood sense so vilely burlesqued? were one to study to ridicule TACITUS, what more miserable stuff, void of all sense andsound, could one make him utter? It puts me in mind of a notable compliment inan address from a learned Society to the late King; “We perceive that you areone that is notafraid that posterity should make mention of you;” orwords of the like force and beauty. Neither have I picked out these passagesinvidiously, as the worst: I have read the whole Annal, and I know no part ofit better done.

Sect. VI.: Of the last Translation of thefourth, fifth, and sixth Annal.

THE fourth, fifth, and sixth Annals are done by another hand,and poorly done. In him you find little of the true meaning of TACITUS; of his spirit and manner nothing at all; but frequentdeviations from his sense, and even from all sense. TACITUS in the Character of SEJANUS, says; intussumma apiscendi libido, ejusque causa modo largitio luxus, sæpiusindustria ac vigilantia, haud minus noxiæ, quotiens parando regnofinguntur. Who but the Translator would have discovered, that by thesewords TACITUS meant to declare, that “virtues are asdangerous as vices, when they meet with a turbulent spirit aspiring to Empire?”Yet the Translation of this passage is as just as that of many others.Sometimes he drops whole phrases and passages, such as he knows not what tomake of, and oftner loses out of sight the meaning of others however plain.

TACITUS says, ut series futuri inAgrippinam exitii inciperet, Claudia Pulchra sobrina ejus postulatur, accusanteDomitio Afro. Is recens prætura, modicus dignationis, quoquo facinoreproperus clarescere, crimen impudicitiæ, adulterum Furnium, veneficia inPrincipem, devotiones objectabat. “To begin the ruin of AGRIPPINA, [how insipid and defective!] DOMITIUS AFER lately Pretor [not a word of modicus dignationis ] and ready to engage in any thing to gainhimself credit [observe the force!] accuses CLAUDIA PULCHRA of adulterywith FURNIUS [the words sobrina ejus, which explain the rest, and the word impudicitiæ, one of the articles of the charge, areomitted] “and to have a design on the life of that Prince with her charms andperson:” What Prince? FURNIUS was none; TIBERIUS has not been mentioned in several pages: it isnonsense; and “a design on his life with her charms and person,” multiplies thenonsense.

WHAT follows fares not much better: Agrippina semper atrox, tum periculo propinquo accensa,pergit ad Tiberium. “ AGRIPPINA always of a violenttemper, but at present extremely enraged, runs immediately to TIBERIUS, c. ” He drops periculo propinquæ, as useless words.

TACITUS says, that amongst other reasons assigned why TIBERIUS retired from Rome, some alledged the authorityassumed by his mother; who having persuaded AUGUSTUS, contrary to his inclinations, to postpone GERMANICUS andadopt TIBERIUS, did afterwards upbraid TIBERIUS with so signal a service, and even challenged theEmpire as her own: idque Augusta exprobrabat, reposcebat. “The Empress (says the Translator) seemed to reproach him with that favour, andrequested it for her son.” What gibberish! she had but one son, and he had it.She, forsooth, reproached her son TIBERIUS for having givenhim the Sovereignty, and from the same TIBERIUS claimed itfor the same TIBERIUS. SEJANUS, once when a cave fell inupon TIBERIUS and his company, covered the Emperor with hisown body: major ex eo, says TACITUS. “This admirable and undoubted fidelity,” says the Translator; which TACITUS never said nor meant. How miserably too does hetranslate, ingentium bellorum cladem æquavit malum improvisum:ejus initium simul finis exstitit. “Happened a calamityin which we sustained as great a loss as in thegreatest defeats, though it was all done in an instant.” I will venture to say,that this is as well done as any other part of all the three Books.

Sect. VII.: Of the last Translation of theeleventh Annal.

THE eleventh Annal is translated by another Gentleman; but notwith another spirit: it is like the rest, full of feebleness and mistakes andlow phrases. I shall here give some instances. The Pleaders, in a speech to theEmperor CLAUDIUS, in defence of taking fees, and in answerto SILIUS, who alledged against them the example of certaingreat Orators of the former age who had never taken any; say, facile Asinium Messalam, inter Antonium Augustumbellorum præmiis refertos, c. c. 7. “ ASINIUS and MESSALA, who feathered their nests well in the Civil Wars’twixt ANTHONY, ” c. This is theLanguage of a chairman, but of a piece with the rest, such as, a King’s [a] playing the good fellow; [b] trumping up ARMINIUS ’ s title; [c] being equipped with money; [d] his reputation began to exert itself far and near; [e] saw but one poor snake; [f] more bloody than he ought to be; Senators [g] squabling in the house; A silver mine [h] which bled but a little; [i] It was not come to that yet; [k] Advice hurts not the guiltless; [l] Men hadrecourse to impudence when their ill actions came tobe discovered: [m] others were in the same predicament with them in thatmatter; [n] Claudius as he was easily angry, so he was easilypleased; [o] Matrimony the last comfort of those who give themselvesto lewdness; [p] Assidavits of her lewdness; [q] The vast treasures given to Silius for hisdrudgery. Such cant, jargon, and ill-favoured nonsense, is called theTranslation of TACITUS.

Sect. VIII.: Of the last Translation of thetwelfth and thirteenth Annals.

THE two succeeding Annals are Englished by another hand, andmiserably Englished they are; rather worse than the former. ’Tis all wretchedtittle-tattle, unmeaning and ill-bred; nor could any number of words throwntogether at random, without thought or idea, be more shallow or vulgar, moredestitute of ornament or sound. To pass by his top Orators;Knack of speaking; Staving off a war any ways. — He being rectine. — TheEmperor himself their worthy. Yea, Gentlemen and Senators do make no otheroriginal to themselves but from thence; and the like gibberish whichoccurs in every sentence: I shall here transcribe a passage where he seems toaim at a meaning and to exceed himself: “ [r] The power his mother had over him“( NERO ) dwindled away by degrees,and NERO fell in love with ACTE, afreed-woman, and made OTHO and CLAUDIUSSENECIO the confidents of his new Amour, one of which (to wit) OTHO, was of a consular family, but SENECIO, a son of one of CESAR’S freed-men;who at first without the mother’s knowledge, and since in spite of all shecould do, worked himself by degrees into the Prince’s affections, by luxury andsecret ways, that no body knew, which the best friends he had, indulged him in,and were pleased to see him take up and content himself with that woman, athing which did no body an injury: for he had the misfortune to dislike hiswife OCTAVIA (whether it be that we naturally slight whatwe can have, and eagerly pursue what is forbidden) of an illustrious family,and of an unspotted virtue, and ’twas feared he might fall into a vein ofdebauching women of quality, if he was checked in that intrigue: but AGRIPPINA could not bear that a freed-woman should noseher,” c. That “a freed-woman should beard her,” saysthe old Translation.

HOW clear, how strong, and how just! This is in thethirteenth Book: take one or two samples more out of the twelfth. “ [s] ’Twas enacted thatif they (women) married (to slaves) without theirmaster’s consent, they should remain such” [who should, the women or theslaves? the former were none, and could not remain what they were not; and tosay it of the latter, is nonsense.] “ BAREA SORANUS, Consulelect, moved that PALLAS (whom CESAR said was the first that brought it into the House) should have the Pretorialhonours, and fifteen millions of Sesterces, and, that SCIPIOCORNELIUS might have the Thanks of the House, for that being descendedfrom the Kings of Arcadia, he forgot his birth and quality to serve thepublick, and was contented to be one of the Prince’s servants. CLAUDIUS assured them, that PALLAS, satisfied with the honour the Senate had done him, would live as retiredly ashe used to do. In short an act was made,” c.

THESE two passages are as brightly translated as any inthe two Books, indeed beyond most passages.

I shall quote one more; it is in the thirteenth Annal, cap. 26. It wasimportunately urged in the Senate that such freedmen as by abusing their Lords,had shewn themselves unworthy of their liberty, should remain at the mercy ofthe said Lords, and be subject to their former chains, necdeerant qui censerent, says TACITUS, sed Consules relationem incipere non ausi ignaro principe ( i. e.) “There were Senators too ready to have voted for such aDecree; but the Consuls durst not propose it to thevote without acquainting the Emperor.” Of all this plain matter the Translatorunderstood not one word. He says, “neither were there those wanting who wouldcensure them (nec deerant qui censerent) but the Consulsdurst not, without the Emperor’s knowledge, determine the matter.”

I cannot omit one polite phrase more out of this Book. Suilius Senecam increpans, says TACITUS. “He laid it in SENECA’S dish,” says the Translator, c. 42.“laying it in SENECA’S dish,” says the old Translation. Heindeed has stolen all he knew of TACITUS from the oldTranslation, with all its blunders and stupidity, and improved both notably.Behold another specimen. “At Rome he cheated men of their legacies, and wrongedthe fatherless, who were deluded by him [t] .” The words of TACITUS are, Romætestamenta orbos, velut indagine ejus capi, c. 42.

Sect. IX.: Of the last Translation of thefourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth Annals.

A Fresh hand has undertaken the three following Annals, and bygood fortune such a hand as has preserved an eminent uniformity with theforegoing; only he is somewhat more gross. TACITUS says, itwas reported that when AGRIPPINA studied to draw NERO her son into an incestuous commerce with herself, Senecam contra muliebres inlecebras subsidium a feminapetivisse: immissamque Acten libertam. “ SENECA (saysthe Translator)soon brought in ACTE, NERO’S beloved woman, to expel one whore with another.”

When AGRIPPINA had escaped the first attempt upon herlife, she dissembled, and seemed not to think it designed, nor to entertain anyfuture apprehensions: simulata securitate: “Under theappearance of security,” (says the Translator.) But as ACERRONIA one of her maids had perished in that attempt, sheordered her Will to be found, and all her effects to be sealed up. This shedid, says TACITUS, without any dissimulation; id tantum non per simulationem, c. 6. “She takes allnecessary care (says the Translator) for the cure of her wound; the Testamentof ACERRONIA to be looked out, her coffers to be sealed up,and all things necessary to be done without the least dissimulation:” Hownicely he understands the original, and how grammatical is his English! Herehowever there seems to be some meaning aimed at; in what follows, even that iswanting: “The image of the villains who were stained with the guilt of thisparricide, still haunted him.” The words of the original are observabanturque maris illius litorum gravis adspectus,c. 10.

IN truth, to expose the insipidness and nonsense ofthese Annals, were to transcribe them. In some places he is so gross, that hiswords will not bear repeating; as particularly where one of OCTAVIA’S maids tells TIGELLINUS, castiora esse muliebria Octaviæ quam os ejus. HisTranslation of this is abominable, as well as ridiculous and false; and manysuch like instances there are in him. I beg leave to quote one short passagemore out of this Annal. When that Lady was by the Tyrant divorced, and banishedinto Campania under a guard; inde crebri questus, says TACITUS, nec occulti per vulgum, cui minorsapientia, ex mediocritate fortunæ,pauciora pericula sunt, c. 60. This is a finereflection; observe how execrably it is rendred: “Upon the clamour of thepeople (who having nothing to lose, are commonly fearless, not out of any loveor relenting at his severity) this was remitted.”

THE fifteenth Annal is done just like the fourteenth,wretchedly. Here follows a specimen: CORBULO and CESENNIUS PETUS commanded in the East: sedneque Corbulo æmuli patiens (says TACITUS ); Pætus, cui satis ad gloriam erat, si proximus haberetur,despiciebat gesta, nibil cædis aut prædæ, usurpatas nomine tenus urbiumexpugnationes, dictitans: se tributa ac leges, pro umbra Regis Romanumjus victis impositurum, c. 6. The misfortune was, (says the Translator)“the one was impatient of a rival, and the other could not endure a superior;and PETUS, who ought to have contented himself in beingsecond to CORBULO, ever took pleasure to diminish the gloryof his actions, upbraiding him that his victory in taking of towns wasimaginary, without conquest or plunder. That he would impose laws and demandcontributions, introduce the Roman power in the place of their Knights, andrender them a meer shadow.”

HE often seems to be without the least glimmering of TACITUS’S meaning, or any meaning, and puts down a parcelof words at random. How clearly does he English, provisisexemplis Caudinæ ac Numantinæ cladis; “resolving to follow the example ofNumantian, and the Caudine defeat, which practice they thought they mightjustify, since the Parthians were at this time more powerful than theCarthaginians or Samnites:” [were they in truth? what a discovery is here?] neque eandem vim Samnitibus Italico populo, aut Pœnis Romaniimperii æmulis. He goes on: They were now beginning totalk that the Antients were always commendedfor their address in suiting all things to the times,and securing a safe retreat when fortune should frown upon them. This isanother discovery which he has made from these words: validamquoque laudatam antiquitatem, quotiens fortuna contra daret, saluticonsuluisse, c. 13; that is, “these same venerable Antients, so verystubborn and invincible, and so much adored, always consultedself-preservation, as often as pressed by the assaults of a calamitousfortune.”

When PETUS had submitted to such shameful conditionsfrom the Parthians, he, amongst the rest, made a bridge over the riverArsanias, and to hide his disgrace, pretended it was to shorten his own march;when in truth, it was done in obedience to the commands of the Parthians, as amonument of their superiority and conquest: namque iis usuifuit; nostri per diversum iere, c. 15. “It being commodious to them,(quoth the Translator) and not in any manner to molest us.” Were ever twomeanings more remote? He often adds words of his own to those of TACITUS, and often drops many more of the original, sometimeswhole sentences. TACITUS says, there prevailed then apestilent custom of making fraudulent Adoptions, by such Candidates for Officesas had no children of their own; and as soon as the Election was over, theyinstantly dismissed such as they had occasionally adopted. This abuse raised astorm from such as were real parents; who, having applied to the Senate withwarm representations against such fallacious dealings in others, and suchinjury done to themselves, add, sibi promissa legum diuexpectata, in ludibrium verti, quando quis sine solicitudine parens, sine luctuorbus, longa patrum vota repente adæquaret, c. 19. All this is dropped bythe Translator, and the following jargon of his own inserted: “They tookchildren to quit them attheir fancy in contempt of those laws, while they hada great many privileges, for care or sorrow, the other with ease enjoyed thesame.”

I am afraid I have tired my reader, as I have done my self, with such a dulldeduction of stupidities. I did not at first intend to say any thing of theformer Translations: I took it for granted that every man who had seen them,must have condemned them, and found them as pitiful and bad as they really are.But when upon publishing my Proposals, I found that some, who by their titlesand profession should be learned, others who by their high quality, ought tohave taste and elegance, had commended the former Translation, and utteredtheir despair of seeing a better; I found it necessary to give some account ofthat performance, which I think to be as low, defective, and wretched as anything in print; neither language, nor sense, nor decency, and as much unlike TACITUS the Historian, as the meanest slave of TACITUS the Consul, was unlike his master. It is much worsethan the old Translation, which is exceeding bad. It is in my own defence, aswell as in defence of TACITUS, that I have censured it, andagainst my inclination. It looks indeed as if the Translators themselves had noopinion of it, since they have not, as is usual, said one word about it by wayof Preface. This is what Mr. DRYDEN particularly never usedto omit doing; why did he omit it now in the Translation of a work of such nameand weight? As far as the sixth Annal there is a Translation too of LA HOUSSAYE’S Notes, but done with great ignorance anderrors.

DISCOURSE II.: Upon TACITUS and hisWritings.

Sect. I.: The Character of TACITUS.

AS to the Character of TACITUS and hiswritings; he was the greatest Orator, Statesman, and Historian of his time; hehad long frequented the Bar; he had passed through all the high offices ofState: he was Edile, Pretor, Consul; and after long acquaintance with businessand men, he applied himself to collect observations, and to convey the fruitsof his knowledge to posterity, under the agreeable dress of a History. For thistask he was excellently qualified: No man had seen more, scarce any man hadever thought so much, or conveyed his thoughts with greater force and vivacity;a mighty genius, for which no conception or design was too vast; a powerfulOrator, who abounds in great sentiments and description: yet a man ofconsummate integrity, who, though he frequently agitates the passions, nevermisleads them: a masterly Historian, who draws events from their first sources;and explains them with a redundancy of images, and a frugality of words: aprofound Politician who takes off every disguise, and penetrates everyartifice: an upright Patriot, zealous for publick Liberty and the welfare ofhis Country, and a delared enemy to Tyrants and to the instruments of Tyranny;a lover of human-kind; a man of virtue, who adores Liberty and Truth, and everywhere adorns and recommends them; who abhors falshood and iniquity, despiseslittle arts, exposes bad ones; and shews, upon alloccasions, by the fate and fall of great wicked men, by the anxiety of theirsouls, by the precariousness of their power, by the uncertainty or suddennessof their fate, what a poor price greatness obtained is for goodness lost; andhow infinitely, persecuted virtue is preferable to smiling and triumphantwickedness. GERMANICUS under all his hardships anddisfavour, is a happier man than TIBERIUS with all hispower and Empire; happier in peace of mind, happier in his fame and memory. TIGELLINUS is a great favourite with NERO, but detested by all the rest of the world and fearful ofall men. SENECA is disliked by the Emperor, but universallybeloved and regretted. TACITUS is a fine Gentleman, whosuffers nothing pedantick or low, nothing that is trifling or indecent to fallfrom his pen. He is also a man of wit; not such a one as is fond of conceitsand the quaintness of words, but a wit that is grave, majestick, and sublime;one that blends the solemnity of truth with the fire of imagination, andtouches the heart rather than the fancy; yet for the better reception of truth,pleases and awakens the fancy.

THE telling of truth is dry and unaffecting; but toenliven it with imagery, is describing it: and every one knows the advantagesthat Description has over bare Narration. Hence the force of fine painting;though, in my opinion, the Orator has the advantage of the Painter, as wordscan multiply ideas better than the pencil, throw them thicker together, andinflame them more. What piece of APELLES could haveanimated the Athenians against PHLIP of Macedon, like oneof DEMOSTHENES’S Orations? What picture of Love can equalthe description of that passion by LUCRETIUS, the noblestwit of all the Latin Poets? Itis hardly, I believe, possible for colours to carryimages higher than they are by MICHAEL ANGELO carried, inhis piece of the Last Day: yet I believe it not only possible, but easy to makea description of that day more affecting than the sight of that celebratedpiece.

Sect. II.: How much he excells in Descriptionand Force.

PAINTING in words is the strongest painting; and in that art TACITUS excells to amazement. His images are many, butclose and thick; his words are few, but pointed and glowing; and even hissilence is instructive and affecting.

HOW justly does he represent that noble sullenness anddisdain of the wife of ARMINIUS, when brought with othercaptives before GERMANICUS ? Inerantfeminæ nobiles, inter quas uxor Arminii, eademque filia Segestis, mariti magisquam parentis animo, neque victa in lacrymas, neque voce supplex, compressisintra sinum manibus gravidum uterum intuens, A. 1. c. 57. A circumstance of distress more moving than this last, could not bedevised; and what words, or exclamations, or tears could raise compassion soeffectually, as the representation of a spirit too great to weep or complain;of a grief too mighty to be uttered?

THE March of GERMANICUS and his Armyto the Forest of Teutburg, to bury the bones of VARUS andhis Legions, there massacred by the Germans; the description of that Camp, withthe revival of the circumstances of that tragical event; and the sympathy andresentments of the Soldiers, are all beautifully displayed with great force andbrevity, with equal tenderness and horror.

PERMOTO admiserationem omni qui aderat exercitu, ob propinquos, amicos, denique ob casusbellorum, sortem hominum. Incedunt mœstoslocos, visuque ac memoria deformes. Prima Vari castra lato ambitu,dimensis principiis, trium legionum manus ostentabant: dein semiruto vallo,humili fossa, accisæ jam reliquiæ consedisse intelligebantur: medio campialbentia ossa, ut fugerant, ut restiterant, disjecta vel aggerata: adjacebantfragmina telorum, equorumque artus, simul truncis arborum antefixa ora; lucispropinquis barbaræ aræ, apud quas tribunos ac primorum ordinum centurionesmactaverant. Cladis ejus superstites pugnam aut vincula elapsi, referebant, hiccecidisse legatos, illic raptas aquilas; primum ubi vulnus Varo adactum, ubiinfelici dextra, suo ictu mortem invenerit; quo tribunali concionatusArminius; quot patibula captivis, quæ scrobes; utque signis aquilis per superbiam inluserit. IgiturRomanus qui aderat exercitus, sextum post cladis annum, trium Legionum ossa,nullo noscente alienas reliquias an suorum humo tegeret, omnes ut conjunctos,ut consanguineos, auctâ in hostem irâ, mœsti simul infensi condebant, An. 1. c. 61, 62.

HERE IS ELOQUENCE AND DESCRIPTION! WHAT CAN BE ADDED, WHAT CAN BETAKEN AWAY? HIS STILE IS EVERY WHERE WARM AND PATHETICK, AND HE NEVER INFORMSTHE UNDERSTANDING, OR ENTERTAINS THE IMAGINATION, BUT HE KINDLES THEAFFECTIONS. YOU ARE NOT ONLY CONVINCED BY HIS SENTIMENTS, BUT GOVERNED BY THEM,CHARMED WITH THEM, AND GROW ZEALOUS FOR THEM. THIS IS A TRIAL OF THE POWER ANDSKILL OF A WRITER: THIS THE DRIFT AND GLORY OF PERSUASION AND ELOQUENCE; ANDTHIS THE TALENT OF TACITUS.

TO display Tyrants andTyranny he chuses the strongest words and figures: facinora ac flagitiasua ipsi quoque in supplicium verterant. Si recludantur tyrannorum mentes,posse adspici laniatus ictus; quando ut corpora verberibus, ita sævitia,libidine, malis consultis, animus dilaceretur: quippe Tiberium non fortuna, nonsolitudines, protegebant, quin tormenta pectoris suasque ipse pœnas fateretur,An. 6. c. 6.

IT was his business and design to lay open the iniquityand horrors of their mis-rule; sæva jussa, continuasaccusationes, fallaces amicitias, perniciem innocentium. You see thebloody hands of the executioners, Rome swimming in the blood of her ownCitizens, and all the rage of unrelenting Tyranny; undantem perdomos sanguinem, aut manus carnificum. You see the bands of accusers letloose, nay hired to destroy, and breathing death and exile; sævitiam oratorum accusationes minitantium: delatores per præmiaeliciebantur. You see the barbarous outrages of an insolent and mercilesssoldiery; cuncta sanguine, ferro, flammisque miscent. Yousee madmen bear rule, these mad rulers governed and made worse by slaves,villains, and harlots; yet all these monsters adored, their persons,wickedness, and even their fury sanctified; iniquity exalted, virtue trod underfoot, laws perverted, righteousness and truth depressed and banished; everyworthy man doomed to scaffolds, rocks, and dungeons; the basest of all menpronouncing that doom, and making a prey or a sacrifice of the best; fear anddistrust and treachery prevailing; the destroyers themselves haunted with theperpetual dread of destruction, at last overtaken by it, yet seldom leavingbetter in their room.

ALL these melancholy scenes you see exposed in coloursstrong and moving: the thoughts are great, the phrase elevated, and the wordschaste and few. It is all a picture: whatever he says, you see, and all thatyou see affects you. It puzzles one to give instances, because there are somany in every page. How many affecting images are there in these few words nearthe beginning of the first Annal; Quotusquisque reliquus quirempublicam vidisset? How mournful too and expressive, yet how plain arethese which immediately follow! Igitur verso civitatisstatu, nihil usquam prisci integri moris; as well as those a little before; rebus novis aucti tutapræsentia, quam vetera periculosa mallent.

WITH what thunder andvehemence does ARMINIUS rouse the Cheruscans, hiscountry-men, to arms, when his wife became a captive to the Romans, and hischild a slave though yet unborn? Egregium patrem! magnanimum imperatorem!fortem exercitum! quorum tot manus unam mulierculam avexerint: sibi tresLegiones, totidem legatos procubuisse: non enim se proditione, neque adversusfeminas gravidas, sed palam adversus armatos bellum tractare. Cerni adhucGermanorum in lucis signa Romana. Coleret Segestes victam ripam, redderet filiosacerdotium, c. In how few words does he comprise a longand perplexed debate in the council held by GERMANICUS, howto proceed with the mutinous Legions! Augebat metum gnarus (superiorexercitus) Romanæ seditionis, si omitteretur ripa, invasurus hostis; acsi auxilia socii adversum abscedentes Legiones armarentur, civile bellumsuscipi: periculosa severitas, flagitiosa largitio: seu nihil militi, seu omniaconcederentur, in ancipiti Respublica. Igitur, c. An. 1.

Sect. III.: Further instances of the justness ofhis Genius, and of his great Thoughts.

HIS account of the persecutions of GERMANICUS, with his last words and amiable Character,makes a fine Tragedy; so does the Death of SENECA; so doesthat of the Conspirators against NERO. With whatmagnanimity and calmness does SULPITIUS ASPER the Centurionanswer the brutal Tyrant, when asked, why he had conspired against hislife? non aliter tot flagitiis ejus subveniri potuisse. With what silence and firmness did the Consul VESTINUS die? though he was NERO’S old companion and friend, andunconcerned in the conspiracy, and no crime nor accuser against him: vigens adbuc balneo infertur, calida aqua mersatur, nulla edita voce qua semiseraretur. How beautiful, how deep, and just are hisobservations upon human nature! Molles in calamitate humani animi: mobilesad superstitionem perculsæ semel mentes: cupidine ingenii humani lubentiusobscura credi: neque morum spernendus, nisi quod paupertatem præcipuum malorumcredebat. Vivorum ut magna admiratio, ita censura difficilis: eandem virtutemadmirantibus cui irascebantur: manebat admiratio viri fama, sed oderant.Beneficia eo usque læta sunt dum videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multumantecessere, pro gratia odium redditur. Exacto per scelera die, novissimummalorum fuit lætitia. Rumore populi, qui neminem sine æmulo sinit: minore speveniæ, crescit vinculum sceleris: populus novarum rerum cupiens pavidusque:vulgus eadem pravitate interfectum insectatur, qua viventem foverat.

How masterly and profound are those uponGovernment! Primas dominandi spes in arduo: ubi sis ingressus adessestudia ministros. Arduum eodem loci potentiam concordiam esse.Potentia cautis consiliis tutius habetur. Major e longinquo reverentia.Principibus præcipua rerum ad famam dirigendo. Insociabile regnum: cupido regnifratre filia potior. Scaurum cui implacabilius irascebatur (Tiberius)silentio tramisit. Intelligebantur artes, sed pars obsequii in eo, nedeprehenderentur. In summa fortuna æquius quod validius. TheseI do not quote as the finest Thoughts in TACITUS, but onlysuch as occur to me.

HE paints Thoughts andFaculties, Men and Passions, Tyranny and Slaves. His imagination is boundless,yet never out-runs his judgment; his wisdom is solid and vast, yet alwaysenlivened by his imagination. His designing is great, his drawing just, hiscolouring beautiful. See the descriptionof a Pestilence at Rome, An. 16. c. 13. Domus corporibus exanimis,itinera funeribus complebantur. Non sexus, non ætas periculo vacua. Servitiaperinde ac ingenua plebes raptim extingui, inter conjugum liberorumlamenta, qui dum assident, dum deflent, sæpe eodem rogo cremabantur. EquitumSenatorumque interitus quamvis promiscui, minus flebiles erant, tanquam communimortalitate sævitiam Principis prævenirent. Under a Tyrant, aPlague was a blessing.

WHO but TACITUS could have said ashe does of the antient Germans: Argentum aurum propitiian irati Dii negaverint, dubito? or that afterwards of the same people: mira diversitate naturæ, cum iidem homines sic ament inertiam,quietem oderint? or that of the Sitones, a particular Clan of Germans, whowere under the Government of a Woman; in tantum non modo alibertate, sed etiam a servitute degenerant? These are such instances ofdiscernment, sagacity and happy expression, as few Writings can shew. By themand a thousand more, it is manifest that TACITUS saw everything in a true and uncommon light: and his reflections are like mirrours wherehuman nature and government are exhibited in their proper size and colours.

I cannot help thinking That to be a bold and gallant Saying of BOIOCALUS to the Roman General, who refused him a mansionfor himself and his people in the vacant lands of Frizia; and thence provokedhim to implore the Sun and Stars: quasi coram interrogabat,vellentne contueri inane solum? potius mare superfunderent adversus terrarumereptores. Deesse nobis terram in qua vivamus; in qua moriamur non potest. What a sublime thought is that of his concerning the Fennians? The most savageand wretched race this of all the wild Germans; their cloathing, skins; theirbed, the earth; their food, the grass; destitute of horses, houses, and arms;the thick branches of trees their only shelter againsttempests and the ravening beasts: Here they find cradles and protection fortheir babes; here live the old men, and hither resort the young. Yet thismiserable life they prefer to that of sweating at the plough, and to the painsof rearing houses: they thirst not after the fortunes of others; they have noanxiety about preserving their own; so that they hoped for nothing that was nottheirs, and having nothing of their own, could fear to lose nothing; securi (says TACITUS ) adversus homines, securi adversus deos, rem difficillimam adsecutisunt, ut illis ne voto quidem opus sit.

Sect. IV.: The Morality of TACITUS, and his spirit virtuous andhumane.

AS obvious too as his other great qualities, is his love ofMankind, of Civil Liberty, and of private and publick Virtue. His Book is agreat tablature of the ugliness and horrors of Tyranny; of the scandal andinfamy of servitude and debasement; of the loveliness of virtue and a freespirit; of the odiousness of vice and sycophancy. Such was his sympathy for thesufferings and severe lot of the Romans under TIBERIUS, that he is glad of a digression from home, and keeps thence as long as he can,to relieve his soul from attending to domestick evils; duabusæstatibus gesta conjunxi, quo requiesceret animus a domesticis malis. Hegrieves for the slavish spirit, for the stupid tameness of the Romans under theTyranny of the detestable NERO. So much Roman bloodwantonly shed by that monster, is a load upon his soul, and oppresses it withsorrow. Patientia servilis, tantumque sanguinis domi perditum,fatigant animum, mæstitia restringunt.

HE delights in good times, in publick Liberty andvirtuous Reigns, and delights to praise them;such as those of NERVA and TRAJAN; rara temporum felicitate, ubisentire quæ velis, quæ sentias dicere licet. In what a differentstrain does he speak of the foregoing Emperors? Nobilitas,opes, omissi gestique honores pro crimine, ob virtutes certissimumexitium. He glories however that the worst and most faithless timesproduced many instances of friendship and generous fidelity; non tamen adeo virtutum sterile seculum, ut non bona exemplaprodiderit.

HE is fond of a virtuous Character; as that of LABEO: Labeo incorrupta libertate obid fama celebratior: such as that of LEPIDUS; hunc ego Lepidum temporibus illis, gravem sapientem virumfuisse comperio: nam plæraque ab sævis adulationibus aliorum, in meliusflexit: and that of L. PISO chief Pontiff; nulliu servilis sententiæ sponte auctor. How amiable arethe Death and last words of L. ARRUNTIUS, like those of aPatriot, and a Prophet! But how vile every where, and even miserable andinsecure, are Tyrants, Flatterers and the Ministers of Iniquity? What he saysof the first I have quoted above: and against the other hear his honestindignation: tempora infecta, adulatione sordida fuere.Fædaque nimia censerent. Adulatio perinde anceps si nulla, ubinimia est. Delatores genus hominum in exitium publicum repertum, perniciemaliis, ac postremo sibi invenere. What an odious insect is VATINIUS; what a horrible villain TIGELLINUS; what infamous sycophants are CAPITO and VITELLIUS; and what a shockingparicide is SERENUS, the accuser of his father and ageneral accuser?

Sect. V.: The Stile of TACITUS, how pertinent and happy: hisObscurity, a charge of the moderns only.

BESIDES the grandeur and dignity of his phrase, he is remarkablefor a surprising brevity: but let his words be ever so few, his thought andmatter are always abundant. His expression is like the dress of POPPÆA SABINA, described by himself; velataparte oris ne satiaret aspectum, vel quia sic decebat. He starts the Idea, and leavesthe Imagination to pursue it. The sample he gives you is so fine, that you arepresently curious to see the whole piece, and then you have your share in themerit of the discovery; a compliment which some able Writers have forgot to payto their Readers. I cannot help thinking Mr. LOCKE a greatdeal too wordy, and that the plainness of his propositions, as well as theirstrength, suffers often by an explanation over-diffuse. Dr. TILLOTSON’S stile is much better, indeed very fine, but takesup too much room; it is likely he chose it as fit for popular discourses; sinceit is plain from the vivacity of his Parts, and the many fine turns found inhis Writings, that he could have been very sententious. These two great namesare by no man reverenced more than I reverence them, and without malignity Imention them, as I do that of the worthy Lord CLARENDON, whose language is weighty, and grave, but encumbred and even darkened, I mightsay flattened, with a multiplication of words.

STILE is a part of Genius, and TACITUS had one peculiar to himself, a sort of a language ofhis own, one fit to express the amazing vigour of his spirit, and thatredundancy of reflections which for force and frequency are to be equalled byno Writer before or since. Besides, the course andfluency of his Narration, is almost every where brokenby persons whom he introduces speaking and debating; insomuch that a great partof his History comes out of the mouths of other people, and in expressionssuitable to their several Characters. It is plain too that the older he grew,the more he pruned and curtailed his Stile; for his Histories are much morecopious and flowing than his Annals: and thus what has been by others reckoneda fault, was in him the effect of his judgment. Neither were his Works intendedfor the populace; but for such as governed States, or such as attended to theconduct of Governors; nor, were the Stile and Latin ever so plain, would theyever be understood by such as do not. As PLUTARCH came tounderstand the Roman Tongue by understanding their Affairs; TACITUS is to be known by knowing human nature, and theelements and mechanism of Government.

IT is madness to wish for the manner and redundancy of LIVY in the Writings of TACITUS. Theywrote at different times, and of Governments differently formed. TACITUS had transactions of another sort to describe, and othersorts of men; (for by Government men are changed); the crooked arts of policy,the false smiles of power, the jealousy, fury and wantonness of Princesuncontrolled; the flattery of the grandees; the havock made by the accusers,and universal debasement of all men: matter chiefly for reflection, complaintsand rebuke! Nobis in arto, inglorius labor: mœstæ urbisres, c. LIVY had another field and more scope;the History of a Commonwealth rising, forming and conquering; perpetualvictories and matter of panegyrick; and his pen flowed like the prosperity ofthe State. Ingentia bello, expugnationes urbium, fusoscaptosque reges, discordias Consulum adversus Tribunos, agrariasfrumentariasque leges,plebis optimatium certamina, libere egressumemorabat, An. 4. 32. Doubtless he could have adopted another Stile if hewould, perhaps the stile of LIVY, as I think this veryquotation shews; but TACITUS had another view and differenttopicks; nor would another stile, the easy and numerous stile of LIVY, have answered his purpose. I fancy too that no body whoknows TACITUS, would wish him to have written in a straindifferent from what he has done. There are charms in his manner and words, aswell as in his thoughts, and he wears the only dress that would become him.

IT is amazing that this obscurity of his should never bementioned by any of the Antients who mention him. It is a fault discovered bythe Moderns, though, in my opinion, common to him with other Classical Writers;nor has he puzzled the Commentators more than HORACE, CICERO,PLINY, SALLUST, c. His Latin is truly pure andclassical; he has few or no words which had not been used by approved writers,nor does he often give new ideas to old words. If his Works were no wiseobscure to men of sense when he composed them, as we have no reason to think;it is insolence and folly in us to reckon his obscurity a fault. It is a deadlanguage which he writes in, and he wrote seventeen hundred years ago. When TACITUS the Emperor directed copies of his Books to beplaced in all the Libraries, and for their better preservation, to betranscribed ten times every year, he ordered no Grammarian to explain hisabstruse places; though the Historian had been then dead near two hundredyears. Great Writers are in their manner and phrase a Law and Authority tothemselves; and not confined to the Rules that fill the heads or grammars ofsmall wits and pedants. MILTON has a stile of his own, andrules for writing of his own; and who that tastes his geniuswould wish him more fashionable and exact, or to havewritten otherwise. I am even pleased with the jarrings of MILTON’S phrases. But here I chiefly mean his poetical style.Of his prose I shall make mention hereafter.

WHEN the subject varies, soshould the stile: that of TACITUS is marvellously suited tohis subject and design; had it been more familiar, it had neither been so justnor so beautiful. To me nothing is more so than the manner of TACITUS; his words and phrases are admirably adapted to hismatter and conceptions, and make impressions sudden and wonderful upon the mindof man. The doleful condition of the Emperor VITELLIUS, when deserted by his fortune and all men, is strong and tragical as imaginationand words can make it. Terret solitudo tacentes loci; tentat clausa;inhorrescit vacuis; fessusque misero errore, pudenda latebra semetoccultans, à Tribuno protrahitur. Vinctæ pone tergum manus; laniata veste,fædum spectaculum ducebatur, multis increpantibus, headds, nullo inlachrymante; and the reason he gives forthis, is judicious and fine; deformitas exitus misericordiam abstulerat. What follows is in the same affecting strain; as are the firstsensible approaches of his calamity. Vitellius, capta urbe, Aventinum indomum uxoris cellula defertur, ut si diem latebra vitavissetTerracinam—perfugeret: dein mobilitate ingenii, quæ natura pavoris est,cum omnia metuenti, præsentia maxime displicerent, in palatium regreditur,vastum desertumque; dilapsis etiam infimis servorum, aut occursum ejusdeclinantibus.

WHO would blame TACITUS for apaucity of words, when he conveys so many images in so few? Ishabitus animorum fuit, ut pessimum facinus auderent pauci, plures vellent,omnes paterentur? Where can there be a happier expression than thatconcerning GALBA, when the Empire was already rent fromhim, and he knew it not? Ignarusinterim Galba sacris intentus, fatigabat alieni jam imperii deos. When OTHO, proclaimed Emperor by no more than three andtwenty Soldiers, was advancing to the Camp, paucitatesalutantium trepidus; the behaviour and acquiescence of those he met inhis way are accounted for with surprising brevity and justness; alii conscientia, plerique miraculo; pars clamore gladiis,pars silentio, animum ex eventu sumpturi. There is infinite pathos in whathe says of the Omens and Phænomena, which were observed during the Civil Wars,and the strife of Princes; cœlo terraque prodigia,fulminum monitus, futurorum præsagia læta, tristia, ambigua,manifesta. What can be more solemn, sounding and sublime, even in LUCRETIUS ? When NERO was disgracinghimself and the Roman State, by debasing his person to that of a player uponthe publick Stage; how pathetically is the behaviour and spirit of BURRUS described in a few words; adstabatBurrus mærens laudans!

Sect. VI.: A general Character of hisWorks.

THERE is no end of specimens and examples; it is all over awonderful Book, full of wisdom, full of virtue; of astonishing strokes ofgenius and superior sense. Yet he seems not to value himself upon his greatthoughts; the finest things fall from him like common things; he says themnaturally, and never dwells upon one, because he has always more to utter. Whenhe has struck your imagination, and you want to stand still and ruminate, youhave no time; he draws, or rather forces you forward, and the next thoughtstrikes you as much; so does the third, and all of them; and you go on readingand wondering, yet wishing for leisure to ponder and recollect. But he givesyounone; for from first to last the present reflection isalways the best.

’Tis all of it eternal good sense, and will bear an eternity of time andcensure. It is no wise akin to your pretty trifles of humour and fancy, thatjust tickle the imagination, but go no deeper, and please for a day. Hisbeauties are solid, and upon the strictest examination discover no paint ortinsel; his wisdom and instruction are inexhaustible, and his worksconsequently an everlasting feast. I have seen several performances oftolerable length and notable reputation, all derived from so many shortsentences of TACITUS, well wiredrawn and paraphrased. He isindeed a fund for Writers who have discretion and stile, but want depth.

There is a fine short Character of TACITUS in OWEN’S Epigrams;

- Veracem fecit probitas, natura sagacem,

- Obscurum brevitas te, gravitasque brevem. Ep.157.

Sect. VII.: TACITUS vindicated from the imputation of deriving events from counsels toosubtle and malevolent.

HE is accused too of over-much subtilty and refining, and ofderiving the actions of his Princes, even the most innocent and plausible, fromcrooked designs, and a base heart; and of imputing to craft and politicks whatwas often no more than the effect of inclination and passion: A charge in myopinion intirely groundless. TACITUS describes things andmen as they are, shews particulars acting agreeably to their characters, theirsituation and views; and represents counsels flowing from such sources only aswere likely to produce them. Let us examine his reign of TIBERIUS for which he is chiefly censured.

THE first feat of this reign, was the murder of AGRIPPA, the grandson of AUGUSTUS.TIBERIUS ordered it, and denied it, and threatned the Centurion who wasthe executioner, that he should answer for it to the Senate. This is theaccount given by TACITUS, and the same is given by SUETONIUS; the former adds, that it was done from jealousyof State, and for the removal of a Rival; and what other reason is to be given?for he had shewn how improbable it was that the same had been ordained by AUGUSTUS, though this was pretended, as SUETONIUS too testifies. Nor was any thing more natural thanhis apprehensions of GERMANICUS, a young Prince popularabove all men, and at the head of a great army, who wanted him for theirEmperor in the room of TIBERIUS. This is matter of fact,and well attested. Now where is the extreme refining, to represent TIBERIUS as contriving to remove such a dangerous man, oneof such good pretences and powerful interest, first from his faithful Legions,and then from home, for ever; though at the same time he flattered him,extolled him, and heaped honours upon him? All this is but the common road ofsuch Courts, when they have the same designs and fears. Is it not usual inTurkey to load a Bashaw with Imperial Presents, to bestow upon him some greatGovernment, and to murder him before he arrive at it?

IS not power a jealous and artificial thing, full offears and wiles; and is not TIBERIUS allowed by all men tohave been a Prince of infinite distrust, craft, and cruelty? What meant he bymaking great men Governors of Provinces, and yet never suffering them to gothither for a course of years, nor even out of Rome, though they still held thename? What meant he by continuing others in the actual possession of Provincesfor a long tract of years, nayfrequently to the end of their life? Was it not hisdistrust of the former; and that as to the latter, he could not make a saferchoice, and therefore was afraid to choose any? Yet TACITUS, far from diving into his Politicks in this matter, orbeing subtle and dogmatical about it, gives you the sentiments of others; alii lædio novæ curæ, semel placita pro æternis servavisse.Quidam, invidia, ne plures fruerentur. Sunt qui existimant, ut callidum ejusingenium, ita anxium judicium; neque enim eminentis virtutes sectabatur,rursum vitia oderat: ex optimis periculum sibi; a pessimis dedecus publicummetuebat. Never was any thing said more impartial, never any thing morejust and solid. From the doubles and even contradictions that possess the heartof man, the conduct of men will be perplexed and contradictory. It is allowedthat alieni appetens, sui profusus, was a just branch inthe Character of CATILINE, and is reckoned one of thebeauties and strong places in SALLUST. Withoutperadventure, as beautiful, and strong, and just, is this of TACITUS; neque eminentis virtutis sectabatur,rursum vitia oderat; the reason too assigned for it, is equally justand fine; ex optimis periculum sibi; a pessimis dedecuspublicum metuebat. Is not this accounting, from the principles of natureand self-preservation, for the conduct and politicks of TIBERIUS ? Many of his actions and measures, recounted by TACITUS, are supported by collateral evidence, by SUETONIUS, PLINY, DION CASSIUS, and others; many by themomitted are by him related, with such probability, and so perfectly resemblethe rest of his conduct, that we must deny TIBERIUS to havebeen such a Prince as all men agree he was, or believe the account of him givenby TACITUS.

HIS dissimulation was constant and notorious. In thevery beginning, while he confidently actedas Emperor, with all the pomp and might of Majesty, heopenly refused the Empire; Principatum (says SUETONIUS ) quamvis neque occupareconfestim, neque agere dubitasset, vi specie dominationis assumpta, diutamen recusavit impudentissimo animo; Such severe language as this is notgiven him by TACITUS.

DOES TACITUS represent him as hating and fearing thegreat Romans, and illustrious Senators? And do not other Historians; do not thefacts themselves prove it? Was he not continually destroying them, till theywere almost all destroyed? Of the twenty Grandees particularly (principum Civitatis) whom he desired of the Senate, for hisConfidents and Counsellors, he left not above two or three alive; all the restwere by treachery and feigned crimes cut off by him: Horumomnium vix duos aut tres incolumes præstitit; cæteros, alium alia de causaperculit, says SUETONIUS. Is TACITUS therefore too refined, in discovering what factsdemonstrate? Is it not SUETONIUS too who says, Multa specie gravitatis, ac morum corrigendorum, sed magisnaturæ obtemperans, sæve atrociter factitavit? “It was usual withhim, to do actions exceeding barbarous and merciless, yet all under shew ofJustice, and the reforming of Manners; but in reality from the instigation ofhis own cruel spirit.” Is SUETONIUS also over subtle, theHistorian in the world the most plain, and seldom aiming at a reflection? Forwhat reason did he suffer the boundaries of the Empire to be invaded, andProvinces to be seized by the Barbarians, but from fear of trusting any greatOfficer with the conduct of the War?

THAT he affected to derive all power from the Senate,yet left them but the shadow of authority, and was even jealous of that shadow,is sacredly true. It was even natural; and wanted no resining, to discover it.Did not CROMWEL do the same?And are not all men willing to have their power,however lawless, legitimated, and the odium of their acts of violencetransferred upon others? Will any one say, that the Senate liked his acts ofSovereignty, his frequent impeachments of their Members, often the best andmost innocent, and his obliging them to condemn, (for he that dares not refuseis forced to consent) and his leaving every particular in continual dread ofbeing the next; which was a farther motive in each to hatred and complaisance?He knew he had earned their hate, reputante sibi publicumodium. Is it likely now that he loved them, or that there was or could besincerity or confidence on either side? What did his retirement in the Isle ofCapreæ, with his perpetual absence from Rome, infer, but continual distrust ofthe Senate and People? Just before he expired, he was hastening from a rambleupon the Continent, back to his Den, non temere quidquam nisiex tuto ausurus; to take measures of vengeance against the Senate, forthat he had read in their acts, that they had discharged certain personsaccused, though he had writ to the Senate, that they were only named by theinformer; pro contempto se habitum fremens, repetere Capreasquoque modo destinavit, non temere, c. This too is related by SUETONIUS. It is certain the Senate were to all theseTyrants a constant mark of jealousy and hate; and some of them, particularly CALIGULA and NERO, had proposed toextirpate that venerable Assembly, by murdering the whole Body.

Sect. VIII.: More Proofs of the Candour andVeracity of TACITUS.

TACITUS makes TIBERIUS no worse than he was,hardly so bad. That he doomed almost his whole family to exile, famine, or theexecutioner; that his cruel suspicion and distrustextended even to women, even to his mother, nay to children, relations andstrangers, to names, nobility, and all men, is undeniable. Nor does TACITUS relate any part of the conduct or politicks of TIBERIUS, but what evidently results either from the natureof the man, or the nature of his power. He frequently speaks well of thatPrince; and ill he could not avoid speaking, if he spoke of him at all. Nay thewhole sixth chapter of the fourth Annal, is a fine panegyrick upon themoderation and wisdom of his Government for eight years before: publica negotia, privatorum maxima, apud patres tractabantur;dabaturque primoribus disserere, in adulationem lapsos cohibebat ipse;mandabatque honores, nobilitatem majorum, claritudinem militiæ, inlustres domiartes spectando: ut satis constaret non alios potiores fuisse. Sua consulibus,sua prætoribus species; minorum quoque magistratuum exercita potestas;legesque, si majestatis quæstio eximeretur, bono in usu, c.

WHAT can be fairer than this? and do not otherHistorians agree that he grew worse and worse: that he had long smothered hisvices, and was, first and last, a complete dissembler? And is it just upon TACITUS, to accuse him of displaying the subtleties andcraft of a Prince, who was all craft and subtlety? Does he not give us the goodand bad of his character, and frequently defend it? Does he not say of him, inopposition to popular opinion and report, non crediderim adostentandam sævitiam, movendasque populi offensiones concessam filio materiam;quanquam id quoque dictum est? An. 1. c. 76.

DOES he not represent TIBERIUS elsewhere as mollifying a rigorous sentence of the Senate, for banishing acriminal to a barren and desolate Island, and arguing that to whomsoever theygranted life, they ought to grant the conveniences of life; dandosvitæ usus, cui vita concederetur? Does he notrepresent him in another place absolutely refusing a new accession of power,and arguing against it, like a Republican; yet charges him there with nodissimulation?

IN TACITUS you have no false colouring, no true worthblemished, no bad qualities disguised; but fair representations and equaljustice. TIBERIUS is a dangerous Prince, extremely false,extremely cruel; but he has many abilities, and some good qualities. He isprudent in moderating the excesses of others, where he was not instigated byhis own personal anger; prudens moderandi, ubi propriâ irâ nonimpelleretur. He loved power without bounds; yet was constant and resolutein rejecting pompous honours; spernendis honoribusvalidus: a great Tyrant, but a Prince observing the rules of primitiveparcimony; antiquæ parcimoniæ princeps: furiously jealousof prerogative; yet the laws, where processes of treason interfered not, werein proper force; leges, si majestatis quæstio eximeretur, bonoin usu. He is inflexible in his vengeance, and where-ever his jealousy oranger centers, there terrible tragedies are sure to follow; yet the popularimputation of his poisoning his son, is by TACITUS exposedas incredible and fabulous; with many the like instances of eminentimpartiality. He gives fair quarter to the Man, but none to the Tyrant.

TO CLAUDIUS, a stupid Prince, and almost a changeling,who had no judgment, no aversion of his own, but only such as were insused andmanaged by others, he allows a share of sense at intervals; allows that he didsome reasonable things, gave good advice to the Prince of Parthia; and wantednot elegance in his speeches, when his speeches were premeditated. He owns thespirit of Sovereignty to be jealous and unsociable; but as an exception fromthis rule, mentions the amiable friendship andunion between GERMANICUS and DRUSUS, in the Court of TIBERIUS, though their different interests had rent the whole Court into factions. Heowns the friendship of DRUSUS, for the children of GERMANICUS; though the participation of power, and theunion of hearts, are seldom compatible.

The same fair temper and truth he observes in the Conduct and Character of GALBA, OTHO, and even of NERO and VITELLIUS; and it was his business and design to lay openthe iniquity and horrors of their misrule.

THESE are some of the objections made to the Writings of TACITUS, and I think with extreme injustice. His Criticsare more subtle than he; they are false refiners, who for the reputation ofsagacity, make singular remarks, and serve him as they say he did TIBERIUS; they pervert and blacken his designs, and are toocurious to be equitable. TACITUS, with a masterlydiscernment, unravels the mysterious conduct of TIBERIUS; it is from awe of his Mother, it is from fear of GERMANICUS, it is from jealousy of the Grandees, and withdesign to amuse and humour, or to deceive them all, that he rules and acts withsuch temper and moderation, against the bent and pride of his nature alwaysimperious and tyrannical. But when he had well established himself; when GERMANICUS was dead; when his Mother too was gone; when hehad crushed some of the Grandees, and terrified all; and especially when he wasfar from the eyes of Rome, is it not most true, that he then gave a loose toall the excesses of vileness and cruelty? cuncta simul vitia,male diu dissimulata, tandem profudit. It is not TACITUS who says this.

WAS he not continually mocking and deluding the Senate?First he would by no means accept theEmpire, at a time when he was actually in possession;sometimes he was weary of it, and would needs resign at every turn. Before hequitted the City, he was for visiting the Provinces, and for this purpose manypreparations were made, and high expectation raised; then, when he had retiredto Capreæ, he was continually amusing them with his immediate return to Rome,nay begged one of the Consuls to guard him. He carried the deceit so far, thathe often visited the Continent, and the very Walls and Gardens about Rome; butnever once returned to Rome, nor visited the Provinces, nor had a thought ofresigning. The Commonwealth was always in his mouth, even when he was actingthe Tyrant most; he professed eminent moderation while he was meditating actsof cruelty; and in instances of injustice and rigour, pleaded law andmercy.

HIS malice in leaving so wicked a Successor appears morefrom SUETONIUS than from TACITUS, whoallows him to have had some thoughts of appointing another; but the formertestifies expresly, that TIBERIUS was wont to foretel whata devouring Dragon he reared for the Roman people, and what a PHAETON or incendiary to the whole earth. TACITUS is vouched by SUETONIUS in what hesays was reported for the motive which determined AUGUSTUS to adopt TIBERIUS; ambitione tractum, uttali successore considerabilior ipse quandoque fieret. Suet. in Tiber. c. 21. The same too is testified by DION CASSIUS.

Sect. IX.: Mr. BAYLE ’ s unjust censure of TACITUS; and how well the latter knew andobserved the Laws of History.

MR. BAYLE in his Dictionary in the Article of Tacitus, quotes some passages out of a Book entitled Anonymiana, (avery foolish book) where TACITUS is criticized as above,and approves those passages. This is the less matter of wonder to me, for thatMr. BAYLE, with all his immense learning, acuteness, andcandour, had a strange and unnatural biass to absolute Monarchy, though he hadfled from the fury of it, and taken refuge in a free State. A proof this thatgreat weakness cleaves to the greatest minds; and who can boast an exemptionfrom prejudices, when a spirit so signally disinterested and philosophical asthat of BAYLE was not exempted? He himself says of TACITUS, qu’il y a bien à reprendre dansl’affectation de son langage, dans celle de rechercher les motifs secretsdes actions, de les tourner vers le criminel. That this charge isgroundless I have already proved. Much less to be regarded is the authority ofMr. St. EVREMOND in his censure upon TACITUS: his observations are without depth, to say no worse;nor have I found in his Works any political observations remarkable forsolidity and force. What he has said of the Romans, is superficial, and oftenwrong.

TACITUS knew perfectly the Laws of History, and blamesthe passionate and partial accounts given by those who described the samereigns; since those of them which were written during the lives of the Princes,were falsified through dread of their Tyranny, and when dead, throughdetestation of their late cruelties. He had no motive to bepartial; free as he was from affection, free fromresentment. He knew that truth uncorrupted was the Business of an Historian,and that personal affection and hate should have no share in the work; nec amore quisquam, sine odio dicendus est. Of GALBA, OTHO, and VITELLIUS he says,that to him they were known by no mark either of favour or diskindness. Thesame is true of AUGUSTUS, TIBERIUS, CALIGULA, CLAUDIUS, and NERO. He shews how the truth was corrupted, first byflattery, then by resentment; and professes to be far from either. I think heis as good as his word.

Sect. X.: An Apology for the wrong accountby TACITUS given of the Jews andChristians, and for his disregard of the Religion then received.

THERE are other accusations against TACITUS: he has misrepresented the Jews and Christians, and wanted Religion.

CONCERNING the Jews, he followed the tradition andaccounts current amongst the Romans. He tells you what different relationsthere were, and neither adds any thing, nor misrepresents things maliciously.It was an obscure State, generally enslaved to some greater power; to theAssyrians, Ægyptians, Grecians, and then to the Romans; and contemned by all,as much as they themselves hated all. They had not common mercy or charitytoward the Gentiles and uncircumcised; and being persuaded that the Almightyloved only themselves, they fancied that he abhorred, and therefore theyabhorred, the whole human race besides: so that it was said by TACITUS too truly, adversus omnes alios hostileodium. They were likewise ever solicitous to hide their mysteries from theeyes of the Heathens, and could not blame them for notknowing what was not to be known. Yet he was not ill informed in someinstances, especially in their spiritual notions of the Deity, with theiraversion to Images, and to the adoration of the Emperors: nullasimulacra urbibus suis; non regibus hæc adulatio, non Cæsaribus honor.

OF the Gospel it is manifest he knew nothing; he couldnot else have made so ugly a picture of those who professed it; for it is notlikely that the Christians were yet so degenerated as to disgrace the ChristianReligion. TACITUS wanted an opportunity to be betterinformed. That Religion, as it began among the lower sort of people, had notprobably hitherto gained many proselytes of name and quality, to countenanceand recommend it to men of figure. TACITUS considered itlike a Statesman, as a new Sect inconsistent with the Laws of Rome, andthreatning civil tumults and innovations. It is probable too he had heard andcredited the calumnies then usually thrown upon the manners and meetings ofthat people. Nor after the best instruction could he have become a Believerwithout the illumination of the Spirit; which, it is plain, was withheld fromhim: and, without a change of heart, it was impossible for him to conceive theResurrection of the dead, and the Crucifixion of the Son of God. Yet he doesthem the justice to vindicate them from the obloquy of NERO, and exposes the barbarity of their treatment by thatTyrant.

FOR his disregarding the Religion then received, when Iconsider what sorts of absurdities the Pagans held for Religion, I cannot somuch blame him. It was a worship paid to Deities altogether frantick andimpure, by sacrifices and follies ridiculous and vain; and both their Worshipand their Gods were invented by the cunning or delusion of men. Itconsisted in no purification of heart, nor amendmentof morals; the things which men and societies require; but in sounds,gesticulation, and the blood of beasts; not in truth and sense, in benevolenceand rectitude of mind; but in lying oracles, unaccountable mysteries, and araving imagination; sometimes in professed acts of lewdness; often in those offury and madness; always in such as were foreign from real virtue, and therestraining of the passions. Public calamities were never thought to be broughtdown by public depravity and vice, nor to be averted or removed by publicreformation. The Gods were not offended but by the omission, or wrongperformance of some ceremony or grimace; and by grimace and ceremony they wereto be appeased. And when the Deities were deemed to be endowed with thepeevishness and caprices of children and apes, or the phrenzy of lunatics, whatman of sense could reverence them, or believe in them? It would not haveredounded to the reputation of his sense, if he had. Where Religion is pureSuperstition, and the belief of it absolutely groundless and blind; where itsRites are fanciful, foolish, and unmanly, as the Religion, and Gods, andWorship of the Pagans were; it would have been a revolt from common Reason tohave had any such Religion. We know how freely CICERO dealswith their Gods.

IT is true that these great men of Rome, who either hadno notion of Religion, or one quite opposite to that publicly received andpractised, regarded it as far as it was interwoven with the constitution of theState, and subservient to the ends of Government: yet they suffered theirPoets, especially the dramatic Poets, to treat their Gods with severe jests andsatire. They seemed to be of TIBERIUS’S mind, Deorum injurias diis curæ; that is, to leave to the Godsthe avenging of indignitiesdone to the Gods. Men were punished for theirlibelling particulars, people of condition, and especially Magistrates; but toridicule and lampoon the Deities, JUPITER himself, evenupon the Stage, was a matter of impunity and diversion.

THEIR Religion therefore consisting in Rituals, a manmight be very religious with a very debauched and libertine Spirit. Cultor deorum parcus infrequens, is a complaint madeby HORACE of himself, but does not seem to infer muchheavenly-mindedness, nor a departure from his impure pleasures. One might, onthe contrary, be exactly good and just, nay the pattern of Virtue, and a publicpatriot, without any tincture of their Religion. Such was CATO the Censor, such EPICURUS, and suchwas TACITUS. He thought that either there was no Providence(for his mind wavered between the doctrine of necessity and that of chance) orsuch a Providence as he could have well spared; non esse curæDeis securitatem nostram, esse ultionem. But this bold reproach upon theDeities, he uttered after his heart, zealous for the good of his Country, hadbeen heated by a terrible detail of her Calamities.

NOR indeed, according to the ideas conceived of theseodd Beings, so easily humoured and provoked, could one say much good of them,or expect it from them. In the reign of NERO he enumeratesmany presages, from which, as from signals divinely sent, great changes for thebetter were inferred; but all vanished into air and disappointment; prodigia crebra inrita intercessere, c. Hencehe argues, that all these omens happened so apparently without any direction orinterposition of the Gods, that, for many years after, NERO rioted in power and wickedness.

WHATEVER were the speculations of our Author aboutReligion, his Morality is strong andpure, full of benevolence to human society, full ofevery generous passion, and every noble principle; a terrible rebuke toiniquity, vice and baseness, in all stations and shapes; and one continuedlesson of wisdom and virtue. These are the excellencies which in civil liferecommend Books and Men; these the excellencies which recommend TACITUS; excellencies which he has carried as high as theutmost efforts of human genius could carry them. Mr. BAYLE says, Ses Annales son Histoire sont quelque chosed’admirable, l’un des plus grands efforts de l’esprit humain; soit quel’on y considere la singularité du stile, soit que l’on s’attache à la beautédes penses, à cet heureux pinceau avec lequel il a sçu peindre lesdisguisemens les fourberies des politiques, le foible despassions.

NOR does he shew more abilities than probity, asastonishing as his abilities were; and having so much, what more did he wantfor his design? or what more could we wish in him? Which is the betterinstructor, he who has store of saith, but wants virtue, and abounds not ingood sense; or he who wants the first, but abounds in knowledge and the rulesof righteousness? It is for this we consult TACITUS, notfor his Theological Speculations. How do his metaphysical notions impede hisexcellencies as an Historian and Politician; or his mistakes in one thing,lessen his discernment and veracity in another?

ACCORDING to the accounts of our best Travellersconcerning China, the Mandarins who are the Nobility of the country, theLearned, and such as hold the Magistracy, have no religion at all, theirgoverning principle is publick spirit; their principal study the good of theState; and they are noted for politeness and virtue. The Bonzes or Priests, on the contrary, pretend to extraordinarydevotion; but are vicious, sordid, base, and voidof every virtue private or public. Here is an instanceof a Monarchy the most thriving of any upon earth, or that ever was upon earth;an Empire that contains more people than half the rest of the globe, thesepeople full of industry and arts; yet administred by men who are of noparticular Religion, or Sect, but are guided by the natural lights of Reasonand Morality; nor knows it a greater blot and disgrace than the vile lives ofits Priests and Religious.

AGAINST this instance set another, that of the Pope’sDominions, the center of the Romish Religions; where holy men sway all things,and have engrossed all things; where tortures and flames keep out Infidels andHeretics, and every man who thinks awry; and where the champions for devotion,so called, protect the Church, and feed themselves. Now where but here shouldone look for the marks of opulence, ease, and plenty, and public happiness, ifby an Administration of Priests and Devotees, public happiness were advanced?But behold a different and melancholy scene! Countries fertile, but desolate;the people ignorant, idle, and starving, and all the marks and weight ofMisery!

DOES not this merit reflection, that a Church blendedand debauched with excessive wealth and power, is worse, a thousand times worsethan none; and that the mere light of nature and reason is many degrees moreconducive to the temporal welfare of humankind, than a Religion or Church whichis purely lucrative and selfish? Were the Romish Church, or any other Churchthat teaches pains and penalties; any that exalts Ecclesiastics into power, andleaves them the sword, or weilds it for them, once established in China; therewould in a little time be an end of their incredible numbers; and it would soonfeel the cruel curse attending thechange. In this sentiment I am vouched by thatpolite Writer, and candid Prelate, Dr. TILLOTSON: “Better it were, says he, there were no revealedReligion, and that human nature were left to the conduct of its own principlesand inclinations, which are much more mild and merciful, much more for thepeace and happiness of human society; than to be acted by a Religion thatinspires men with so wild a fury, and prompts them to commit such outrages.”Serm. Vol. I. p. 206.

Make another comparison between two particuculars, a Heathen guided byreason, and a Christian by passion and false zeal; between TACITUS and St. JEROM; behold thepoliteness, candour, eternal truth, and good sense in the one; mark therashness and enthusiasm, the fierceness and falshood of the other. So muchstronger were the passions and insincerity of this great Saint, than theimpressions of the Christian Religion, which is all meekness and candour; nay,he often makes it a stale for his fury, forgeries, and implacable vengeance. Imeddle not with his strange maxims, some foolish, some mad, many impracticable,and others turbulent and seditious. In TACITUS you have thegood sense and breeding of a Gentleman; in the Saint the rage and dreams of aMonk. Does the religion of the latter recommend his reveries and bitter spirit;or the want of it in TACITUS, weaken the shining truthsthat are in him?

WHEN a Writer relates facts, or reasons from principles,his good sense and veracity only are to be regarded; and we have no more to dowith his speculations or mistakes in other matters, than with his person orcomplection. PLINY and ARISTOTLE arereckoned Atheists; but what is this to their fine parts and learning? Withsmall spirits and bigots every thing that is noble and free, is Atheism andBlasphemy. The littleness and sournessof their own hearts, is the measure of all things. NERVA, TRAJAN, and MARCUS AURELIUS wereHeathen Princes; but they had virtue and benevolence, and their administrationwas righteous: what more did their subjects want from them? JUSTINIAN, CONSTANTIUS, JOHN BASILOWITZ, JOHN GALEAS, and LEWIS the eleventh were Christian Princes, and menpretending to high Devotion; some of them great contenders for Orthodoxy, andgreat builders of Churches; but all barbarous and consuming Tyrants. What werethe people or themselves the better for their Religion, without good nature andprobity? Nay, they made Religion one of the principal machines for Tyranny; asReligion in a Tyrant or Impostor is little else but an impious bargain andcomposition with God for abusing men.

SUCH in truth is the situation of things below, such theframe and foible of men, that it depends in a great measure upon CivilGovernment, whether Religion shall in this world do good or harm. Is a countryfilled with oppression, the happier for being filled too with Churches andPriests, as were Greece and Italy by JUSTINIAN ? Or can acountry that abounds in virtue, and happiness, and good Laws, want any more toall the purposes of social life; like Lacedæmon and Rome in their best ages?Let us praise all who have true Religion, full of mercy, and void of bigotry;but let us not condemn such as, for want of the same lights and revelationwhich we have been blessed with, are, without any forms of Religion, virtuousand wise. Certainly worse, much worse than none, is that Religion whichinspires pride, bigotry, and fierceness, and hath not charity for all men.

TO conclude this head, I shall here subjoin what I havesaid elsewhere to the like purpose; “That black is not white, and that two andtwo make four,is as true out of the mouth of an Atheist, as out ofthe mouth of an Apostle. A penny given by an Atheist to a beggar, is betteralms than a half-penny given by a Believer; and the good sense of an Atheist ispreferable to the mistakes of a good Christian. In short, whatever reputedAtheists do well, or speak truly, is more to be imitated and credited, thanwhat the greatest Believers do wickedly, or say falsely. Even in the businessof bearing testimony, or making a report, in which cases the credit orreputation of the witness gives some weight, or none, to what he says; moreregard is to be had to the word of an Unbeliever, who has no interest on eitherside, than to the word of a Believer, who has; neither are the good or badactions of an Atheist worse, with respect to the world at least, for his beingone; though the sin of a Saint is more sinful than that of a Pagan. It is thegreatest folly to think that any man’s crimes are the less for him who commitsthem; or that truth is less or more truth, for the ill or good name of him whospeaks it.”

Sect. XI.: The foolish censure of BOCCALINI and others upon TACITUS.

THE censure passed upon TACITUS by BOCCALINI and some of the other Commentators, as if hemaliciously taught lessons of Tyranny; is so senseless and absurd, that itmerits no notice, much less consutation. As well may they say that LUTHER and father PAUL display theencroachments and frauds of the Church of Rome, on purpose to teach that orother Churches how to oppress and deceive; or that LIVY, asgreat a Republican as ever lived, exposed the usurpations and Tyranny of TARQUIN, in order to instructUsurpers to support themselves and extinguish publicliberty. TACITUS represents Tyrants as odious to all men,and even to themselves. But what answer could one give to a man who shouldadvance that GROTIUS wrote his Book of the Truth ofChristianity, with a view to promote and confirm Paganism?

Sect. XII.: Of the several Commentators andTranslators of TACITUS.

IT were almost endless to mention all who have written upon TACITUS, and their success; numbers have done it, many asCritics, some politically; and several of the former with sufficiency andapplause, such as LIPSIUS, FREINSHEMIUS, old GRONOVIUS, and RYCKIUS. From the editionpublished by this last I have made my Translation; the text is very correct,and his notes are judicious and good. Of all those who have commented upon hisPolitics, I can commend but very few; I mean such as I have seen; many of themare worse than indifferent; tedious compilations of common places, or heavyparaphrases upon the original, where its vigour is lost in superfluousexplications; and the lively thoughts of TACITUS convertedinto lifeless maxims; frequently wrong converted; frequently trifling andaffected; often such discoveries as are obvious to every peasant or child; orpuffy declamations, tedious, laboured and uninstructive. Of one or the othersort are the Commentaries of BOCCALINI, ANNIBAL SCOTI,FORSTNERUS, SCHILDUS, and divers others.

Mr. AMELOT DE LA HOUSSAYE has made a large collection of political observations upon TACITUS, as far as the thirteenth Annal inclusive; some of thempertinent and useful; but many of them insipid, and little worth.The very first which he makes, is flat and poor; dés que la Roïautécommence a degénérer en tyrannie, le peuple aspire à la liberté. Little better is this; quand un Prince commence à devenirinfirme, ou cassé, tout le monde tourne les yeux vers le soleil levant, c’est àdire, vers son successeur; or this; les refus du Princedoivent être assaisonnez de douceur de courtoisie; orthis; ceux même qui ont renoncé à leur honneur, qui font gloire deleur sceleratesse, s’offensent d’etre appellez traitres; orthis; un bon General ne doit jamais hazarder une bataille, qu’il n’ait misbon ordre par tout; this too; il n’y a rien dont unFavori, ou un premier Ministre, doive se mettre plus en peine, que de bienconnoitre l’humeur de son Prince; this too; un Princedépoüillé de ses Etats ne reste pas volontiers entre les mains de celui qui enest emparé. All this is trite, void of force andinstruction.

THE Spanish Translation by DON ALAMOS DEBARRIENTOS, is accompanied with numerous Annotations, by him stiled Aforismos, which are as indifferent and impotent as theTranslation it self is good and strong. His observation upon, cuncta discordiis civilibus fessa, nomine principis sub imperiumaccepit, is, Quando alguno se viniere a hazer Senor de unagrande, y poderosa cividad libre, lo mas ordinario serà despues de una largaguerra civil; “the opportunity for any one to become master of a great andpowerful free City, is most commonly at the end of a great civil war.” TACITUS says that AUGUSTUS left thefirst Lords of the Senate his heirs in the third degree, though most of themwere hated by him; plerosque invisos sibi, sed jactantiagloriaque ad posteros. DON ALAMOS observes upon this; El principe muchas vezes haze honra a las personas queaborrece, para gagnar fama de modestia y sufrimiento; “a Prince oftenconfers honours on those he hates, purely for the reputation of moderationand temper.” TACITUS says of GERMANICUS, anxius occultis in se patruiaviæque odiis, quorum caussæ acriores, quia iniquæ; El hombre inocente ybueno, (says DON ALAMOS by way of Annotation) de ninguna cosa recibe tanta congoxa, como de los secretosaborrecimientos que sabe le tienen sus parientos, sin merecerlo; “a worthyand innocent man feels so much anguish from nothing as from the secret hatewhich he knows his parents bear him, without deserving it.”

OF small value are such reflections, and small thought they cost to producethem; the less is the wonder that DON ALAMOS has ventedsuch a myriad. CANINI, an Italian, has however translatedthem into his own language, with high encomiums, and published them with theItalian Translation of POLITI, a Translation which readswell, but hampers the thoughts of TACITUS, and from anaffectation to be as concise as the original, loses much of its weight andspirit. DON ALAMOS, on the contrary, opens the sentimentsof TACITUS fully, often over-fully, by supplementalparentheses, that are sometimes perfectly needless, and always mar andembarrass the reading.

THESE are the only Spanish and Italian Versions which Ihave seen of TACITUS. There are two more of the former, by SUEYRO and COLOMA, both well esteemed;and as many more Italian by DATI and DAVANZATI, not at all commended. Of French Translations thereare five or six, all, except two, good for little, some of them good fornothing. These two are by Mr. D’HARLAY DE CHANVALLON, whohas done the whole, Mr. AMELOT DE LA HOUSSAYE, who has onlygone as far as the thirteenth Annal. The former is vigorous and just, like thatof a man of sense and observation; nor has the latter any advantage over him,save that his French is moremodern, if that be any. ABLANCOURT is likewise one of the French Translators of TACITUS, a manof name and of a flowing stile; but if he has abused other Authors as he hasabused and transformed TACITUS, it is fit they were alldone over again. There is some life in him, and harmony, but no justness norstrength. All the force and fine ideas of TACITUS are lostin ABLANCOURT.

Sect. XIII.: A Conjecture concerning the modernLanguages, more largely concerning the English.

OF the French Tongue itself I may venture to say, after betterjudges than my self, that from a laxness and effeminacy essential to it, itcannot naturalize the strong expressions of the Ancients, without spreading andweakening them considerably. It has a number of relatives, particles andmonosyllables that return incessantly, and flatten the sense, and tire the ear.The English Language has indeed many words more harsh than the French; but ithas likewise many more spirituous and sounding; and though it be also loadedwith relatives, particles and words of one syllable, yet I think not to thesame degree, nor do those we have return so often; and we can frequently dropthe particles, and leave them to be understood, as well as the relatives.

IN this respect the Latins had an advantage over theGreeks; as those two Languages have over every other that is now in the world,or perhaps ever was. We are infinitely behind them in significancy and sound,and, with all our adventitious words and refinements, are still crude andgothick to them. Nearest in Language to the Ancients come the Spaniards andItalians, though still far behind; yet they stand over the heads of the Englishand French, and walk while we creep. The Spanish isthe more sonorous and lofty; the Italian the more sweet and gliding; and bothexcel in harmony, numerosity, and the pomp of words. The Italians seem to havespoiled their Tongue, by wild hyperboles, and phrases of mere sound andcompliment; whether it be from the turn of the nation to Love and Music;whether it be from the Legends of their Saints, and their extravagantPanegyrics upon them, or from their Slavery to Churchmen, or the Severity oftheir Government, or from what other cause, I do not pretend to determine.

THE French profess to have greatly refined their Tongue;and it is indeed brought to be exceeding glib and perspicuous; but whether therefiners have not pared away its strength to make it more shapely and regular,has been doubted. Some refinements we also have made in ours, perhaps byimitating the French; though I hope we have better preserved its force. Easywriting has been studied to affectation; a sort of writing, which, where thethoughts are not close, the sense strong, and the phrase genteel, is of allothers the most contemptible. Such were the productions of Sir ROGER L’ESTRANGE, not fit to be read by any who have taste orgood breeding; they are full of technical terms, of phrases picked up in thestreet from apprentices and porters, and nothing can be more low and nauseous.His sentences, besides their grossness, are lively nothings, which can never betranslated (a sure way to try language) and will hardly bear repetition. Between hawk and buzzard: clawed him with kindness: alert andfrisky: guzzling down tipple: would not keep touch: a queer putt: lay cursedhard upon their gizzard: cram his gut: conceited noddy: old chuff: and thelike, are some of Sir ROGER’S choice flowers. Yet this manwas reckoned a Master, nay a Reformer of the EnglishLanguage; a man who writ no Language; nor does itappear that he understood any; witness his miserable Translations of CICERO’S Offices and JOSEPHUS. That ofthe latter is a Version full of mistakes, wretched and low, from an easy andpolite one of Monsieur D’ANDILLY.

SIR ROGER is one amongst the several hands who attempted TACITUS, and the third Book of the History is said to be done by him. He knew not a word of itbut what he has taken from Sir HENRY SAVILL, and him he haswretchedly perverted and mangled. Out of the wise and grave mouth of TACITUS he brings such quaint stuff as this; to cast the point upon that issue: — sneaking departure of VITELLIUS: — at the rate of a man at hiswit’s end: — sottish multitude never went beyond bawling: — an Emperor lugg’dout of his hole: — the sexton of the Capitol: — the Government dropt into VESPASIAN’S mouth: — not cut out for asoldier: — went not a sneaking way to work: — VALENS in the interim with his dissolute train of capons: [intothis senseless cant word Sir ROGER elegantly changes thatof Eunuchs used by Sir H. SAVILL; forI dare say he neither saw nor knew the original, agminespadonum ] : the Emperor guzzling and gormandizing like abeast.

SUCH jargon is hardly good enough for a Puppet-shew. Sir ROGER had a genius for buffoonry and a rabble, and higherhe never went; his stile and his thoughts are too vulgar for a sensibleartificer. To put his Books into the hands of youth or boys, for whom chiefly ÆSOP, by him burlesqued, was designed, is to vitiate theirtaste, and to give them a poor low turn of thinking; not to mention the vileand slavish principles of the man. He has not only turned ÆSOP’S plain Beasts, from the simplicity of nature, intoJesters and Bussoons; but out of the mouths of animals inured to theboundless freedom of air and desarts, has drawndoctrines of servitude, and a defence of Tyranny.

THE taste and stile of the Court is always the standardof the public. At the Restoration, a time of great festivity and joy, theformal and forbidding gravity of the preceding times, became a fashionabletopic of ridicule; a manner different and opposite was introduced; jest andwaggery were encouraged; and the King himself delighted in drollery, and lowhumour. Hence the Language became replete with ludicrous phrases; archness andcant grew diverting; the writings of witlings passed for wit; and if they weresevere upon the Sectaries, as the fashion was, they pleased the Court. By thismeans L’ESTRANGE got his character. It is very true thatthere appeared at the same time men of just wit, and polite stile; but itcannot be denied but that the other manner was prevalent; the greatest witssometimes fell into it.

THIS humour ended not with that Reign, nor the next, butwas continued after the Revolution by L’ESTRANGE, TOMBROWN, and other delighters in low jests, their imitators; and suchwitlings have contributed considerably to debauch our Tongue. If we go so highas Queen ELIZABETH’S time, we shall find that a good stilebegan then to be used, agreeably to the good sense of that Princess, and herCourt; and we have the Language of that age in Sir WALTERRALEIGH, whose genius was too just and strong to go into the miserablepedantry of the next reign. Many of the productions then, and particularly theRoyal productions, are wretched beyond measure; (I wish the honour and politicsof those days had been better) nor could so considerable a man as Sir FRANCIS BACON escape the infection.

THE next Prince affected a high and rigid gravity, and apomp and solemnity of stile becamecommon; yet the Language began to recover, when thecant and enthusiasm ensuing, gave it a new turn extremely insipid andoffensive. But between the reign of King JAMES and theRestoration, several Writers appeared eminently happy in their stile: suchparticularly was Mr. CHILLINGWORTH, whose language isflowing, and free as his own candid spirit. The same character is due to theexcellent Lord FALKLAND, and Mr. HALES of Eaton. Mr. HOBBES’S English is beautiful almost, if notaltogether, beyond example; nothing can be finer than his way of expressing histhoughts; his stile is as singularly good, charming and clear, as many of hisprinciples are dangerous and false. Under this character of his stile I do notcomprize his Translation of THUCYDIDES; as it does not,however just it be, resemble his other Works. Hence I am inclinable to believewhat I have heard, that it was done by some of his disciples, and by himrevised; yet it far excels most of our Translations. MILTON’S English Prose is harsh and uncouth, though vigorousand expressive. The stile of SELDEN and HAMMOND is rugged and perplexed.

Sect. XIV.: A Conjecture concerning the presentstate of the English Tongue, with an account of the present Work.

OF the Character of Writing in our own time, were I to give myopinion, I should be apt to say, that in general it comes too near to talking;a method which will hardly make it delightful or lasting; no words upon paperwill have the same effect as words accompanied with a voice, looks and action;hence the thoughts and language should be so far raised as to supply the wantof those advantages; but indeed this is impossible, and therefore there is thegreater cause for heightening the stile; now becauselaboured periods are offensive, and flat ones are insipid, the excellency liesbetween pomp and negligence. Let it be as easy as you please, but let it bestrong; two advantages that are very compatible, and often found in the samewriter. LIVY is remarkable for both; it is his eloquenceand ornaments which have preserved him in such esteem, as much as his matterand good sense. The late Lord SHAFTESBURY, though he hasbeen perhaps too anxious and affected in forming his phrase to easiness andfluency, has yet had good success; since it is manifest that his soft alluringstile has multiplied his Readers, and helped powerfully to recommend his Works.Dr. BURNET of the Charter-House wrote with great eloquenceand majesty, yet easy and unaffected. Dr. TILLOTSON’S stileis plain and pleasant, enlivened too with fine images, and strong sense; yetmany, while they strove to imitate him, have written very poorly. This hashappened to some of our Divines, who, studying his manner, but wanting hisgenius, have uttered a flow of words, which sound not ill, but lack spirit andmatter. I have looked over whole pages of Bishop BLACKAL’S Sermons, without finding any thing which offended the ear, or pleased theimagination, or informed the understanding. I cannot help mentioning hereanother Writer, who has gained great reputation for Stile, without deservingany; I mean Dr. SPRAT, Bishop of Rochester. His expressionis languishing and insipid, full of false pomp, full of affectation. He isalways aiming at harmony and wit, but succeeds ill; for his manner is starchedand pedantic. With much greater justice has the Stile of Dr. ATTERBURY, his successor, been admired.

OUR Tongue is naturally cold, and the less force ourwords have, the more they must be multiplied;this multiplying of words is tedious; thence theremedy is as bad as the disease. The Latin phrases, on the contrary, are shortand lively, and a few words convey many images. These difficulties, with manyothers, I found in this Translation very sensibly. I wanted new words, but haverarely coined any, as the creating of words is generally thought affected andvain; yet I have sometimes ventured upon a new phrase, and a way of my own,upon drawing the English idiom as near as possible to that of the Latin, and tothe genius of my Author; by leaving the beaten road, dropping particles,transposing words, and sometimes beginning a sentence where it is usual to endit. I have studied to imitate the spirit, eloquence and turns of TACITUS, as far as I could, assisted by a Language weak in itssounds, and loose in its contexture. This manner of writing, I own, would bestrange and even ridiculous in plain and familiar subjects; but where thesubject is high and solemn, there must be a conformity of stile.

IN the political Discourses following, I have likewisetaken a method of my own, in reasoning largely upon topics which to me seemedof the most moment to this free Nation, and giving an idea of the politics ofthe Cæsars; of the vis, artes, instrumenta regni, asthey are called by TACITUS. I have vindicated theprinciples of civil Liberty; I have examined the defences made for CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS; I have displayedthe genius of these Usurpers; the temper and debasement of the people; with theconduct and tyranny of their successors, to the end of the Annals. In my Translation of the History I have done the same. I have little troubled myself with the strife and guessesof Commentators, and various Readings. I have chosen the best editions, andwhere the meaning was dubious, taken the most probable; for,after all, there is a good deal of guess-work anduncertainty; difficulties not peculiar to TACITUS.

I was persuaded to this undertaking several years ago by a friend of mine, aGentleman of Letters in the City; for then I had never seen the EnglishTranslation, and knew not but it was a good one. Mr. TRENCHARD approved the design with his usual zeal for everything which favoured public Liberty. My Lord CARTERET, whounderstands TACITUS perfectly, and admires him, was pleasedto think me not unfit for it, and gave me many just lights about the manner ofdoing it; that particularly of allowing my self scope and freedom, withoutwhich I am satisfied every Translation must be pedantic and cold. A Translationought to read like an Original. The Duke of ARGYLL espousedit generously, with that frankness which is natural to him, agreeably to hisknowledge and taste of polite Learning, and to his sincere love of Liberty. Sodid my Lord TOWNSHEND. Sir ROBERTWALPOLE encouraged me in the pursuit of it in a manner eminently to mycredit; and to many Gentlemen of my acquaintance I am much obliged upon thisoccasion. I own I have been long about this Translation; that I was so, is tobe ascribed not so much to idleness, as to diffidence. It was done a long whilebefore I put it to the press; after all my care and many revises, I continuedapprehensive that much fault might be found, and many objections made; amisfortune which I still doubt I shall not be able to escape, and wish I maynot deserve. I therefore rely more on the candour of my Readers, than on my ownsufficiency. Those of them who understand TACITUS in theoriginal, will easily make allowances for the difficulty of making him speakany other Language. I have been chiefly careful not to mistake the sentimentsof my Author about human Nature and Government;and I will venture to say, that no man who has notaccustomed himself to think upon these two subjects, can ever make tolerablesense of TACITUS, let him be as learned in other things ashe will. For the same reason, no man that is merely Learned, can ever bepleased with a free Translation, however faithful and just; for his chiefattachment will ever be to Words and Criticism. Who had more Learning than SirH. SAVILL ? ’tis plain he abounded beyond most men; but Isuppose Learning was his chief accomplishment; and thence his Translation is avery poor one. The fault cannot be ascribed to the time; for at that time thepolite world wrote and spoke well; and if Sir WALTERRALEIGH had then translated it, no body I believe would have everattempted to mend it.

DISCOURSE III.: Upon CÆSAR theDictator.

Sect. I.: Of CÆSAR’S Usurpation, and why his Name is lessodious than that of CATILINE.

NOTHING has been hitherto found a sufficient check and barrierto the exorbitant passions of men; neither kindness nor severity; nor mulcts nor pain; nor honour; norinfamy; nor the terrors of death. A proof how far human malice or ambition isan over-match for human wisdom; since Laws and Constitutions framed by the bestand wisest men, have, first or last, become the sport and conquest of theworst, sometimes of the most foolish. Could wise Establishments have ensuredthe stability of a State, that of Rome hadbeen immortal. Besides adopting all the bestInstitutions of the free States of Greece, [a] her principal struggle and employment for some Centuries, was thesubduing of foreign enemies by Arms, and the securing of domestic Liberty bywholsome Laws; and for Laws and Arms she was the wonder and the glory of theearth. But she, whose force and policy no power could withstand, not that ofGreece nor of Carthage, nor of the World, fell by the corruption, andperfidiousness, and violence of her own Citizens. The only sword that couldhurt her, was her own; with that she trusted CÆSAR, andthat he turned unnaturally upon his own mother, and by it enslaved her.

CATILINE’S conspiracy and crime every man detests; yet CÆSAR accomplished what CATILINE onlyintended. Had he better qualities than CATILINE ? he was somuch the worse, and able to do higher mischiefs. See how infatuation prevails!the same men who abhor CATILINE, admire CÆSAR, who actually did more evil than ever the wicked heart of CATILINE had conceived. But CATILINE had no success, nor consequently flatterers. Had he succeeded, had he entailedRome upon his race, and such as would have been concerned to have guarded hisfame; there would not have been wanting flattering Poets and Historians to haveechoed his Praises and Genius divine, his Eloquence, Courage, Liberality andPolitics, and how much the degeneracy of Rome wanted such a Reformer, withevery other topic urged in defence of CÆSAR. But CATILINE failed, and is owned to have been a Traitor. CÆSAR’S iniquity was triumphant, so was his name; andafter-ages have continued to reverence him by the force of habit, and ofsuperstition which swallows every thing, examinesnothing. When popular opinion has consecrated a man ora name, all that man’s actions, however wicked or foolish, and every thing doneunder that name, are sure to be consecrated too. The force of authority isirresistible and infatuating, and reason and truth must yield to prejudice andwords.

Sect. II.: Of the publick Corruption by CÆSAR promoted or introduced; with his boldand wicked Conduct.

WAS the Commonwealth become disjointed and corrupt; as in truthit was deeply and dangerously? who had contributed so much as CÆSAR to that wicked work? From his first appearance in theworld he confederated with every public Incendiary, with every troubler of thepeace of the State, with every Traitor against his Country: insomuch that hewas divested of the dignity of Prætor by a solemn Decree of Senate: and when hesollicited for the Consulship, his ambition and violent designs were so muchapprehended in that supreme Office [b] , that to check him with a proper Collegue, the Senators contributed agreat sum of money; nor did even CATO deny but that suchcontribution, however against Law, was necessary then to save the State [c] .

HE began that Office with violent acts of power; byviolence dispossessed his Collegue of all Share in the Administration; and,during the whole term, he raised and pulled down, gave and took away by merewill and power, whatsoever and whomsoever he would; terrified some, imprisonedothers; forged

plots, suborned lying accusers, and then murdered them, andtrampled upon all Faith and Law.

TO escape punishment for all these outrages, hecorrupted and bribed the people, to chuse his own creatures into theMagistracy, or bribed the Magistrates after they were chosen. He went so far aseven to engage some of them, by oath and writing, never to call him to account,nor suffer him to be called.

BY the same wicked methods he obtained for his lot theprovince of Gaul, and kept it for ten years, committing fresh treason everyday; making war of his own head, right or wrong, upon friend and foe; insomuchthat it was proposed in Senate to deliver him up to the enemy; but faction andbribery saved him, and from the most extensive rapine he derived his power ofbribing. He feasted the people; he gave them largesses; he gained the Senatorsby money, the soldiers by donatives; nay, the favourite servants and lowestslaves of considerable men, were bribed by him. Every prodigal, every expensiveyouth, every man indebted and desperate, every criminal, found in him a readysupport and protector; and when their expences, debts, and crimes, were soexcessive as to admit of no relief from him, to such he was wont to preach theabsolute necessity of a Civil War.

NOR did foreign Kings and Nations escape his court andgifts; upon them he bestowed aids, and arms, and captives, all belonging to theRoman people, and without their authority; thus to purchase foreign friendshipagainst a day of usurpation and need. To do all this he robbed the Provinces,plundered Towns, pillaged Temples, even the Capitol he plundered, whence hestole a vast quantity of gold, and placed so much gilt brass in the room of it,and put whole Kingdoms and Provinces under contribution to his privy purse.

HOW many thousand deaths did this man deserve, evenbefore he had committed his capital iniquity! It was he who thus principallycorrupted the State, and embroiled it, and unsettled it in all its parts.

HE offered indeed to disband his forces, if POMPEY would do so too; but even this offer was giving lawto Rome. The Senate was to judge, and not CÆSAR, whatarmies were to be disbanded, what to be retained. Besides, even that proposalwas justly suspected to have been faithless and hollow; since, had he executedthe same, it had been easier for him to have re-assembled upon occasion hisveteran soldiers, than for POMPEY his troops latelylevied.

HAD there been no corruption in the State, such a manwas enough to introduce it. From his infancy he was thought to have meditatedthe enslaving of his Country, and in order to enslave it, created corruption,or improved it. To commit the blackest treason and iniquity that the malice ofman could devise, he stuck at no other, but by a Babel of crimes accomplishedthe highest.

Sect. III.: CÆSAR mighthave purified and reformed the State; but far different were his intentions.His Art, good Sense, and continued ill Designs.

DID the State want reforming? why did not CÆSAR reform and restore it? This would have been true glory,the only true use of his absolute power, and the only amends for having assumedit. The work too was practicable; the wisest and greatest men in Rome thoughtit so, even after all the poison and depravity introduced by him. BRUTUS, CICERO, and the Senate thought so; else he wouldnever have been put to Death by those who did it. If the State had beendeemed irretrievable, and an Usurper a necessary evil,they could not have had a better than CÆSAR. But theyjudged otherwise, and for some time Liberty was actually restored. Why itsubsisted no longer, was owing to casualties and the faithlessness of OCTAVIUS. No human wisdom can take in all incidents andpossibilities at one view; to see them by succession is often to see them toolate; and against what is not foreseen no remedy can be provided. CICERO who swayed the Senate, in hatred to ANTHONY, trusted OCTAVIUS too much, andraised him too high, and was by that false creature given up to the slaughter,to satiate the vengeance of ANTHONY, to cement their lateunion, and to begin the bloody Tragedy which they had meditated against theirCountry and her Liberty, by the murder of so signal a Patriot. What followedwas horrible, continued massacres and the rage of the sword, the people armedagainst one another, two thirds of them destroyed, and AUGUSTUS established Sovereign over the rest. He too thought itpossible to resettle the old free State, by proposing once or twice to resign;however insincere he were, it was a confession that he thought it to bepracticable; and DRUSUS, his wife’s son, declared his ownpurpose to effect it; nay, it was what TIBERIUS, after hewas Emperor, pretended to do.

CÆSAR was said to have foretold the public Calamitiesand Civil Wars to ensue: Why did he not prevent them? By his Dictatorial powerhe might have removed what enormities, and made what regulations he would,suppressed the insolence of particulars, revived the force of the Laws, andreduced the Commonwealth to her first principles and firmness. Instead of this,he continued, more and more, to break her remaining balance, toweaken and debauch the people, and to destroy everyLaw of Liberty.

LIBERTY and the Republic were a jest to CÆSAR; he treated the very name with ridicule and contempt [d] ; he punned upon SYLLA for resigning his usurpedpower. He had nothing in his head or heart but absolute rule, a Diadem, thetitle of King, and controuling the world according to his lust [e] ; nay, to have his very words go for Laws [f] ; and as a proof that he meant to entail all this pompous Dominion uponhis Race, he had a Law ready to be proposed for a privilege of taking as manyWives as he thought fit, and of what quality and condition he thought fit. Hisacts of Tyranny were indeed so many, so high and insupportable, that even hisdear friends the populace, notwithstanding all his bounties, his feasts andshews, and all his other arts to sooth and debauch them, grew sullen anddiscontented; they declaimed against such usurpation, in their houses and inthe Forum; they called aloud for avengers, and gave him public affronts.

BY the Laws of Rome the Dominion of one, andconsequently the dominion of CÆSAR, was detestable andaccursed, and any man was warranted to slay the Tyrant [g] : Nor was there any valid reason against killing CÆSAR, but that somewhat as bad or worse was to follow. Now thebest and ablest Romans judged otherwise, as I have shewn; and who was betterqualified to judge? As to CÆSAR’S prophecy of worse times,it was decidingin his own favour, and not to be credited; and therewas policy in it as well as vanity.

THE accomplishments of CÆSAR, themildness of his administration, and mercy to his enemies, have been muchmagnified. It is certain he had exquisite abilities and address; but how did heapply them? Was it not to be the Master of mankind? and was not this, interestand self-love? What could be more interested, what more selfish, than to takethe world to himself? CÆSAR had good sense and experience;he knew that particular acts of cruelty and revenge were odious, even moreodious than the slaughter of thousands, under the title of war and conquest,however unprovoked and unjust: So much more quarter from the world has ambitionthan cruelty, though the former is often the more mischievous passion. He knew,that, while general acts of blood would pass for Heroism, fit to bedistinguished with praise and laurels, a particular life, taken away in anger,would pass for barbarity. Such fallacy is there in sounds, and in theimaginations of men! We judge not of evil by its quantity, the true medium ofjudging, but by its name, and the quality of the doer or sufferer; hence thefoolish causes of popularity without merit and innocence. Acts of rage, theexecution of particulars, and a vindictive Reign, would have diminished theHero, and tarnished his fame, as much as his generosity to enemies, his noblecontempt of fear and offenders, blazoned his glory, and begot admirers.

Sect. IV.: The probability of his waxing morecruel, had he reigned much longer.

THE generous, the forgiving temper of CÆSAR, was no sure warrant, that he would not have broke out into personal cruelties;for, of his public cruelty, Rome and the world were the theatre andthe witnesses: He must have acted agreeably to thenecessities and jealousy of power, broken those necks which would not bend, anddestroyed such as he could not but constantly fear. I own there came after himsome Emperors who reigned without many acts of blood; but the sovereignty wasthen thoroughly established, and they had no high spirits to fear, bred in thenotions and possession of Liberty, as were all the Romans in his time. Nor,even after servitude had been begun, and for some time suffered under CÆSAR, could the second Triumvirate think themselvessecure, till they had destroyed at once by Proscription a whole army ofillustrious Romans, such as they conceived would oppose and even extirpatetheir domination. Nor did this tragical precaution and general barbarity, putan end to barbarity in particular instances; AUGUSTUS, forthe first years of his Reign, was making almost daily sacrifices of noble bloodto his fears and safety.

POWER of it self makes men wanton, distrustful andcruel; CÆSAR lived not long enough in purple to shew whathe would prove; five months were but a short term for trial [h] . It would be rash to assert, that he who had shed the blood of Nationsand Armies, without provocation, without authority; he who had violated Libertyand Law, and put chains upon his Country, and the race of men, would havespared particular lives, when from particular lives he came to apprehend dangerand revolt. He that could be piqued even to folly and ridicule, because AQUILA the Tribune did not rise as he passed by; he whocould not put up this, nor forget it, nor cease mentioning it upon everyoccasion for a long while after, nor even forbear scolding at it, must havebeen capable of carrying his resentmentvery far, as well as of sudden anger; nay, been fullof capricious and childish humours. How far such humours, and vanity, and angermight have carried him, he lived not to shew. But he had amply shewn, that hisAmbition was dearer to him than Rome and the whole earth, and to this privatepassion of his, every public regard had yielded; the genuine mark this of aTyrant, who rules the State for his own sake, and, rather than not rule it,enthralls it! CÆSAR, who had committed all wickedness togain power, would have committed more to have kept it, as soon as he found moreto be necessary [i] .

WHAT avails the fair behaviour of one who may do what hepleases? What avail his fair promises, which he may break when he pleases? Theworst of the Roman Emperors began their Reigns well, many of them excellentlywell; as NERO, CLAUDIUS, CALIGULA, DOMITIAN [k] ; some of them reigned well for some years. CÆSAR was generous, magnificent, and humane to affectation, but [l] every passion, every sentiment must yield to the ardent lust ofreigning. Had it not been for his great and acceptable qualities, he could nothave introduced public bondage; the Hero, the Orator, and the fine Gentleman,hid the Usurper, and palliated at least the Usurpation.

LET any man consider CÆSAR as aSubject of the State, altogether private; one who never bore Office orAuthority; as a Physician, a Scribe or an Artist, or as one just started out ofobscurity, or come from another Country; and then ask himself, What has thisman, this private unknown man, todo with governing all men against Laws established byall? His being once Consul, his commanding of Armies, and appearing in a greatpublic light; gave him no more right to do what he did, than the quality of anArtist, a Scribe, Physician, Upstart, or stranger, would have given him. Public trusts betrayed wereaggravations of his crime, horrible aggravations! so were his excellent partsimpiously applied.

Sect. V.: CÆSAR nolawful Magistrate, but a public Enemy.

OF CÆSAR, his Usurpation and Death, I havereasoned largely elsewhere [m] , and shall here abridge part of that reasoning. “He had no sort ofTitle, but success, gained by violence and all wicked means. The acquiring andexercising of Power by force is Tyranny, nor is success any proof of right. Ifthe person of CÆSAR was sacred, so is the person of everyUsurper and Tyrant; and if all the privileges and impunity belonging to alawful Magistrate, do also appertain to a lawless Intruder and publicOppressor, then all these blessed consequences follow: There is an utter end ofall right and wrong, public and private; every Usurper is a lawful Magistrate;every Magistrate may be a lawless Tyrant; It is unlawful to resist the greatesthuman evil; the necessary means of self-preservation are unlawful: Though it belawful and expedient to destroy little Robbers, who are so for subsistence, itis impious and unlawful to oppose great Robbers, who destroy nations out oflust and ambition. Public mischief is defended by giving it a good name, sinceTyranny may be practised withimpunity, if it be but called Magistracy; and theexecrable Authors of it are sacred, if they but call themselves Magistrates;Though it be unlawful to be a public destroyer, yet it is unlawful to destroyhim, and to prevent or punish that which is most impious and unlawful. In fine,any man who has wickedness and force enough to destroy or enslave the wholeworld, may do it, and be safe.

“If CÆSAR was a lawful Magistrate, every powerfulvillain may make himself one, and lawful Magistrates may become such by mereforce and iniquity. But if lawful Magistracy be not acquired by violence andbutchery, CÆSAR was none: if he was not, how came he by therights and impunity of such?

“ AGAINST lawless force every man has a right to useforce. CÆSAR had no more right than ALARICK,ATTILA, or BRENNUS, who were foreign Invaders; hiscrime? was greater, as, to that of usurpation, he added those of ingratitudeand treachery. It is owned that when he first made war upon his Country, hisCountry had a right to make war upon him; How came that right to cease, when hehad heightened that iniquity by success? Is it lawful to resist a Robber beforehe has robbed you, but not after? Is a wickedness lessened by aggravations? CÆSAR had forfeited his life by all the Laws of Rome; wasit not as lawful to take it away by thirty men as by thirty thousand; in theSenate as in the field?

“A private man in society, even capitally injured, must not be his ownjudge, but leave revenge to the more impartial Law; but a capital offenderagainst all, who sets himself above Law and Judgment, is a public enemy; andviolence is the proper remedy for violence, whenno other is left. In a State of Nature, every man hasa right to vindicate himself; when Society is dissolved, the same rightreturns. Men can never be deprived of both public protection and privatedefence.

“ CÆSAR had violated every tye that can bind the humansoul; Oaths, Trust, and Law; he had violated every thing dear to human kind,their Peace, Liberty, Rights and Possessions: He did all this by means the mostblack and flagitious; by Plots, Faction, Corruption, Robbery, Devastation,Sacrilege, and Slaughter.

“ WHAT was lest to the oppressed Romans to do, under thebonds of the Oppressor with his sword at their throat? Law and Appeals were nomore; a Tyrant was their Master; the Will of a Tyrant their Law. Because he hadslaughtered and destroyed one half of the people, had he thence a right togovern the rest? There was no public force to oppose him; he had destroyed manyof the Armies of the State, and appropriated the rest to himself against theState; it would have been madness to have thought of judicial process. Inshort, there was no other way of abolishing his Tyranny, but by dispatching theTyrant.

Sect. VI.: Of the share which Casualtieshad, in raising the Name and Memory of CÆSAR. The Judgment of CICERO concerning him.

PEOPLE suffer their own imaginations to abuse and mislead them.The sound of CÆSAR’S Name; the superstitious reverence paidto it, his great employments, great victories, and even his great usurpation,are all pompous images that dazzle the eyes, and give a false lustre to theblackest iniquity and imposture. Nay, it proved anadvantage to the fame and defence of CÆSAR, that he wasassassinated. Hence so much popular pity and lamentation for him; hence so muchrage and obloquy upon the Tyrannicides. A violent death or violent sufferings,often pass for great merit, often atone for great crimes; and in the compassionfor the doom of criminals the abhorrence of their villainies is oftenextinguished; malefactors the most barbarous, who never shewed any mercy intheir lives, are bewailed at their execution, only because they areexecuted.

THERE were circumstances also in his Death favourable tohis fame; he died with decency and a manly spirit, and he fell by the hands ofhis friends. These circumstances, and his bloody shirt displayed to a mob, withan artful melting speech from ANTHONY, inflamed them withsorrow and fury; two gross passions which do not reason but feel. The sametopics have ever since furnished undiscerning Declaimers with big words andvehemence, in behalf of so fine a man, slain for no fault but that ofUsurpation and Tyranny; a small crime, that of being the enemy of humankind!

AS to the glory and prosperous fortune of this mightyConqueror, CICERO says, with great truth, “that Felicity isnothing else but good fortune assisting righteous Counsels; nor can he whosepurposes are not upright, be, from any success, esteemed in any-wise happy.Hence it is, that from the impious and abandoned pursuits of CÆSAR, no true felicity could flow: happier, in my judgment,was CAMILLUS under exile from his Country, than MANLIUS his co-temporary had been, though he had acquiredover his Country that Tyranny which he lusted after [n] .” Thesame wise man says elsewhere, “that he would havepreferred the last day of ANTONIUS the Orator, tragical asit was, to the usurped rule of CINNA, by whom that worthyRoman was barbarously murdered.” I cannot admire CÆSAR’S ambition; he would rather have been Lord of a poor Village, than the second manin Rome. To me it appears more glory to be the Member of a free State,especially of the greatest State upon earth, than a Lord of Slaves, the biggestLord.

Sect. VII.: How vain it is to extol any Designsof his for the Glory of the Roman people.

IT is said, that CÆSAR was meditating greatand glorious things for the Roman people, when he was cut off. He might indeedhave gathered empty Laurels for himself by more wars at the expence of thepeople; but how this would have redounded to their advantage, I cannot see. Ican easily see, that all the future strength he could have acquired, must havebeen acquired to himself, and over them; and every accession of power must, byraising his Tyranny higher, have sunk them lower, and streightened theirchains. He wanted to fight the Parthians, but first he wanted to be King; andfor this purpose a Prophecy was forged, that none but a King could conquerthem. Was this impudent forgery too, and the design of it, for the glory of thepeople who were abused by it? In short, he could have done nothing beneficialor glorious for the Roman people, but to have restored them to their ancientand substantial glory, that of their Liberty and Laws. This too would have beenthe highest glory of his own life, which, to those who consider things as theyare, stripped of foolish fair names and disguises, is, without this, all overblack and infamous.

NO man’s life can be said to be detestable, if his wasnot; seeing all the malefactors condemned since there were men and crimes, didnot half the mischief which he did. It was even currently believed (and whatworse could be believed of him than he had done?) that he meant to translatethe seat of Empire, with all its strength, to Ilium, or to Alexandria; andhaving exhausted all Italy by great levies, (that she might never recoverherself) he would have begun, probably, a new sort of Sovereignty upon his ownmodel, exempt from the names and appearances of the old Constitution and Laws,which still had reverence paid them at Rome, and consequently were so manygrievances to him. Rome he intended to have left to the dominion of hiscreatures. It is probable he thought himself not safe at Rome, nor in any placewhich had ever known the governance of Laws, nor any where but at the head ofArmies. He had reason for his fear; the severest oppressor can never tye thehands of all the oppressed, nor put chains upon their resentments.

Sect. VIII.: Of his Death; and the rashness ofascribing to divine Vengeance the fate of such as slew him.

IN the midst of his farther designs, whatever they were, abloody doom overtook this man of blood, and he was lawfully slain, though notby the forms of Law [o] ; his lawless power had made this impossible. It is true, they who slewhim, were themselves slain. The righteousness of a cause does not always ensureits success; too seldom, God knows; but they who perish in defence of the Laws,are slain against Law. Such was the difference between his death and theirs.They were vanquished and slainin a great Civil War, at a time when Courage, andVirtue, and Patriotism were capital and proscribed.

DID none of those who destroyed CÆSAR die a natural death? no more did CÆSAR, who destroyed the State. If this was not a judgment uponhim, why should theirs be one upon them? What rule have we to know a judgment,but from the justice or iniquity of a cause? If so, CESAR fell by the appointment of Heaven; BRUTUS and his brethrenby the malice of Men. But if there be no rule, or if judgments, like parties,take different sides; how dare we pronounce? How many of the Cæsars hissuccessors died naturally? Not one, if we will believe the Historians andprobability, from CÆSAR the Dictator to the Emperor VESPASIAN. AUGUSTUS was poisoned by LIVIA his wife; TIBERIUS smothered by MACRO his favourite, to make way for CALIGULA, who was slain with the sword by the officers of hisguard. AGRIPPINA poisoned her husband CLAUDIUS; NERO stabbed himself; GALBA wasmurdered by the soldiers, so was VITELLIUS. OTHO fell byhis own hands.

DISCOURSE IV.: Upon OCTAVIUS CÆSAR, afterwards called AUGUSTUS.

Sect. I.: Of the base and impious Arts by whichhe acquired the Empire.

BY the death of the Usurper, Liberty was restored, but lastednot [a] ; and OCTAVIUS succeeded CÆSAR, by no superior genius, by no military prowess or magnanimity; for tricking anddeceit constituted his chief parts, and though he was bold in council, he was acoward in the field. But he usurped the Empire by methods so low and vile, asbrought disgrace even upon Usurpation; by a thousand frauds, and turns suddenlymade, without the common appearances of decency or shame; by thousands ofmurders deliberately committed, without process or provocation; by multipliedtreacheries, assassinations, and acts of ingratitude; by employing ruffians,and being himself one; and by destructive wars conducted by the bravery ofothers.

HE levied forces without authority; and, under a lyingpretence of defending Liberty, got to be employed by the State against ANTHONY. He then robbed the Commonwealth of her Armies; andwas thought to have murdered both her chief Magistrates, the Consuls HIRTIUS and PANSA; the former by hisown hand in the hurry of battle, the other after it, by causing poison to bepouredinto his wound by GLYCO hisPhysician. It is certain, that the Physician was suspected, seized, and evendoomed to the torture, but saved by the credit of his master OCTAVIUS; whose villainy had these farther aggravations, thathe was generally believed to have been a Pathic to HIRTIUS for hire; and PANSA had ever a tender regard for him, aregard superior to that which he owed his Country, as he manifested by theadvice which he gave him before he expired under agonies caused by thehard-hearted contrivance of that his beloved and perfidious friend.

WITH this very Army of the Commonwealth he turned headupon the Commonwealth, marched in an hostile manner to Rome, and sent adeputation of Officers to his Masters the Senate, to demand the Consulship inthe name of the Legions: and, upon some hesitation shewn by that venerableBody, one of these armed Embassadors laid his hand upon his sword, and toldthem, “If you will not make him Consul, this shall.” For his first credit withthe Senate he was beholden to CICERO, at whose suit he wastrusted with command in conjunction with the Consuls, and dignified with thetitle of Proprætor. We see how he requited the Senate, we see how he served theConsuls; and CICERO his father in Counsel, and the fatherof the Republic, he delivered up to be murdered and mangled by his implacableenemy.

Sect. II.: Of the vindictive spirit of OCTAVIUS, and his horridCruelties.

IN the Battle of Philippi, OCTAVIUS wasbeaten out of the field, his Camp seized, and, but for the fortune and valourof ANTHONY, the day must have been lost. After the victoryhe shewedas much insolence and cruelty, as he had wantedcourage in it. He could not forbear manifesting cowardly spite to the dead bodyof BRUTUS, before whom he had a little before fled for hislife, and sent the head of that excellent person to Rome, to be laidignominiously at the feet of the Statue of CÆSAR. Differentwas the treatment shewn by ANTHONY, who had saved OCTAVIUS, and beat BRUTUS. ANTHONY beheld his Corpse with grief and tears, covered it with his own armour, andtreated it with respect and tenderness. OCTAVIUS had notgreatness of heart enough for such generous humanity; but treated everyillustrious captive with bitter words and cowardly insults, and put them todeath without mercy [b] ; says SUETONIUS. To one of these, imploring theprivilege of burial, the base Tyrant answered, “That the fowls of the air wouldsoon regulate that matter.” When a father begged mercy for his son, and the sonfor the father, the merciful OCTAVIUS commanded the fatherand son to fight for the survivorship. This barbarous fight he beheld, beheldthe son slay his father, and then himself for having done it. Had not theremaining Prisoners reason, when they were brought before ANTHONY and him, to salute the former with the honourable titleof Imperator, and the latter with invectives andcontempt?

WITH the same cruel spirit he behaved himself after thesiege of Perusia. All who applied to him, whether they pleaded innocence, orbegged mercy, had one and the same merciless answer [c] , “Death is the lot of you all;” and they had it. Three hundred of thechief, comprizing their Nobility andMagistrates, were carried in chains to an Altar raisedto JULIUS CÆSAR, and there butchered like cattle, asvictims to his ghost, upon the Ides of March, the Anniversary of hisAssassination. The City itself he delivered to the lust and plunder of hissoldiers, contrary to articles, and his faith given. Never was a more tragicaland horrible scene. After killing, robbing and ravishing, what the sword couldnot destroy, the fire did; and that great and beautiful City, one of thefairest in Italy, was reduced to ashes. There were Historians, who asserted,that the quarrel between him and LUCIUS ANTONIUS, who hadshut himself up in that City, was all feigned, and a contrivance between them,for two reasons; first, to try who were real friends, and who were coveredenemies; and then, by the conquest and confiscation of such, to find a fund forpaying the Veterans their promised largess.

FROM the citizens of Nursia he took all that they had,their substance and even their city, and sent them forth to wander and starve;for no other crime but that, for their fellow citizens, slain at the siege ofModena, they had raised a Monument with an Inscription, “that they died for thepublic liberty;” though he had but just before fought and declared for the sameside.

IT is impossible to paint the horrors of theProscription; by it every considerable man in the Roman world, who wasdisliked, or suspected by the Triumvirate to disapprove their Tyranny, wasdoomed to die; it was death to conceal or to help them, and rewards were givento such as discovered and killed them. Many were betrayed and butchered bytheir slaves and freedmen; many by their treacherous hosts and relations; andmany fled with their wives and tender children to the howling wilderness, andlived or perished amongst woods and wolves. Nothing was to be seen but bloodandslaughter; the streets ware covered with carcasses;the heads of the illustrious dead were exposed upon the Rostra, and theirbodies upon the pavement, denied the mercy of burial, other than such as theyfound in the entrails of devouring dogs and ravenous birds. This looked likedooming Rome to perish at once; and when the other two were satiated with somany butcheries, OCTAVIUS, who never had blood enough,still persisted to shed more. No sort of men escape his cruelty, nor Nobles,nor Knights, strangers nor acquaintance, nay, nor his confidents, and favouritefreedmen; nor even his old companion and tutor, TORANIUS, no one knows why, unless for being an honest man, and a lover of hisCountry.

THESE victims continued daily for a course of years; theslightest suspicions, the vilest forgeries, were grounds for slaughters, forillustrious slaughters. Nor could the great quality and venerable station of QUINTUS GELLIUS the Prætor, nor his innocence, exempt himfrom the bloody hands of the executioner; nor was execution the worst part ofhis doom; he was by a band of soldiers seized in his seat of justice, hurriedaway and subjected to the torture, like the meanest slave; but confessednothing. Nor did all this injustice and barbarity satisfy the gentle AUGUSTUS, so much renowned for moderation and clemency; hehad the brutal baseness to dig out the eyes of that Magistrate with his ownhands, before he allowed him the mercy of being murdered outright. One of hisfavourite Ministers shewed his sentiments of the clemency of AUGUSTUS plainly enough, upon the following occasion. ThatPrince was judging some criminals, and giving himself over to revenge, andbloody decrees, without check or compassion, when the Minister, who abhorred tosee him engaged in such feats of cruelty,sent him a note, told him, “he was a butcher,” and badhim “come down from his Tribunal.”

Sect. III.: Of the treachery, ingratitude,and further cruelties of OCTAVIUS. That the same were wanton and voluntary.

THE conduct of OCTAVIUS in regard to ANTHONY, was, like the rest of his conduct, all one trainof perfidiousness. First he made court to ANTHONY, thensuborned rogues to murder him; then made war upon him with the arms of theState; then joined with him against the State; then by the bravery of ANTHONY he conquered the Empire, and then by plots, and thevalour of AGRIPPA, he conquered ANTHONY; then he was devising ways to destroy AGRIPPA, and, but for an expedient offered by MÆCENAS, had destroyed him.

WAS it strange that against such a Prince conspiracieswere frequent? As he was an Usurper he could not escape some; his falshood andcruelties begot others; and, from considerations public as well as personal,there was abundant cause for many. To punish one plot with exceeding violence,is a sure way to produce more; and, when there is no safety found in innocence,further methods will be tried.

IT is a poor defence for AUGUSTUS, to say, that it was from necessity, and to serve himself, that he shed so muchblood; for, besides that his cruelty was natural, wanton and unnecessary, whydid he seek to be in a station where acts of blood were necessary? why did heusurp the state? why did he make himself a mark for public and privatevengeance? was it not by ambition, was it not by treachery, that he assumedSovereignty? was he nota public Traitor? and was it not his choice to be so?why did he wilfully commit crimes so flagitious, that in their defence he mustcommit more? Can one horrible iniquity efface another? Is a subject justified,who, because he has deserved the pains of treason, raises a rebellion againsthis Prince, nay, kills him, to be safe? No villainy ever was, or ever can beperpetrated, which such reasoning will not justify.

WHEN some were bold and honest enough to talk to OLIVER CROMWEL about his excesses and usurpation, he askedthem, What would you have one in my station do? He was well answered: Sir, We would have no body in your station. To vindicatemurder from the necessity of committing it, in order to conceal robbery; is toargue like a murderer and a robber; but it is honest Logic, to reply; “Do notrob, and then you need not be tempted to murder; but if you will do one, andconsequently both, remember that punishment does or ought to follow crimes, andthe more crimes the more punishment. If, by a repetition of crimes, you becometoo mighty to be punished, you must be content to be accursed and abhorred asan enemy to human race; you must expect to have all men for your enemies, asyou are an enemy to all men; and since you make sport of the lives andliberties of men, you must not wonder, nor have you a right to complain, ifthey have all of them memories and feeling, and some of them courage andswords.”

Sect. IV.: Of the popular Arts and Accidentswhich raised the Character of AUGUSTUS.

MANY things concurred to favour the same of AUGUSTUS, and to obliterate his reproach. He reigned very long,and established a lasting peace; a special blessing and refreshment after aCivil War so long and ruinous [d] . For, though that war was the child of his ambition, yet, in a seriesof ensuing tranquillity, it was forgot. Nay, the greatness of the publiccalamities was a reason for forgetting them; the generation who felt them, werealmost all cut off by them; and the next generation, which had not suffered,did not remember [e] : what the people had not seen, they did not lament. When he died therewere scarce any living who had beheld the old free State [f] . The people too were deceived into a belief that they still enjoyedtheir old Government, because their Magistrates had still their old names,though with just as much power as he thought fit to leave them. This was theadvice of MÆCENAS, that to the Officers of the State, thesame names, pomp and ornaments should be continued, with all the appearances ofauthority without power [g] . They were to have no military command during their term, but topossess the old jurisdiction of adjudging all causes finally, except such aswere capital; and though some of these last were left to the Governor of Rome,an Officer newly created by the Emperor, yet the chief were reserved.

Moreover AUGUSTUS paid great court to the people: thevery Name that covered his Usurpation was a compliment to them: he affected tocall it the Power of the Tribuneship, an Office first created purely for theirprotection, and as the strongest effort and barrier of popular Liberty. It wasfor their sake and security, he pretended to assume this power, though by it heacted as absolutely as if he had called it the Dictatorial power; such energythere is in words! The Office itself was erected as a bulwark against Tyranny;and by the name of it Tyranny is now supported. In the same manner he used andperverted the Consulship; another Magistracy peculiar to the Commonwealth, butby him abused to the ends of his Monarchy.

HE likewise won the hearts of the people by fillingtheir bellies, by cheapness of provisions, and plentiful markets. This hasinfinite effect. If people have plenty at home, they will not be apt todiscover many errors or much iniquity in the public, which will always be atquiet when particulars are so. But famine, or the fear of it, children cryingfor bread, mothers weeping for their children, and husbands and fathers unableto stop their tears, and find the necessaries of life for themselves, and suchdear relations; all these are terrible materials for tumults, sedition, andeven for revolutions. But people in ease and plenty are under no temptation tobe inquiring into the title of their Prince, or to resent acts of power whichthey do not immediately feel.

HE frequently entertained them with Shews andSpectacles; a notable means to produce or continue good humour in the populace,to beget kind wishes and zeal for the author of so much joy, and to make themforget Usurpation, Slavery, and every public evil. These were indeed used forthe ends of corruption and servitude; they rendred the people idle,venal, vicious, insensible of private virtue,insensible of public glory or disgrace; but the things were liked, and the endsnot seen, or not minded, so that they had their thorough effect; and the Romanpeople, they who were wont to direct mighty wars, to raise and depose greatKings, to bestow or take away Empires, they who ruled the world, or directedits rule, were so sunk and debauched, that if they had but bread and shews,their ambition went no higher.

BY the same arts Cardinal MAZARIN began to soften and debase the minds of the French; and after his death thelike methods for promoting of idleness and luxury were pursued; shews,debauchery, wantonness and riot were encouraged and became common; and afterthe Restoration, England adopted the modes of France, her worst modes. Therewere some, too many, who, unworthy, of their own happiness and Liberty, came toadmire her Government and misfortune; and laboured, with the spirit ofParricides, though without their punishment, to bring ours to the model ofthat.

I cannot omit observing here, that by the same means that CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS acquired the Empire,they destroyed its force. In the Civil Wars great part of the people perished,and the rest they debauched. They had utterly drained or corrupted that sourceof men which furnished soldiers who conquered the earth; henceforth the plebs ingenua became a mere mob, addicted to idleness andtheir bellies, void of courage, void of ambition, and careless of renown.Armies were with difficulty raised amongst them; when raised, not good, or aptto corrupt the rest. It was such who excited the sedition in the GermanLegions, after the death of AUGUSTUS [h] :“the recruits lately raised in Rome, men accustomed tothe softness and gaieties of the City, and impatient of military labour anddiscipline, inflamed the simple minds of all the rest by seditious infusions,and harangues, c. ” Indeed the Roman Armies (sochiefly in name) were mostly composed of foreigners.

TO engage new creatures and dependencies, he createdmany new Offices; as the multitude of Offices in France is reckoned a greatsupport of the Authority Royal. He raised many public buildings, repaired manyold, and to the City added many edifices and ornaments. He attended business,reformed enormities, shewed high regard for the Roman name; was sparing inadmitting foreigners to the rights of Citizens; preserved public peace;procured public abundance, promoted public pleasure and festivity; oftenappeared in person at the public diversions, and in all things studied torender himself dear to the populace. In truth, when he had done all themischief he could, or all that he wanted, and more, he ceased his cruelty andravages. This too was imputed to him for merit. He was reckoned very good,because he began to do less mischief. It was a rational saying of that madman CALIGULA, “that calamitous and tragical to the Roman peoplewere the boasted Victories of his great grandfather AUGUSTUS; ” and therefore he forbad them to be solemnizedannually for the future.

Sect. V.: Though AUGUSTUS courted the people, and particularSenators, he continued to depress public Liberty, and the Senate.

BUT, amidst all these acts of popularity and beneficence, andthis plausible behaviour of AUGUSTUS, the root of the evilremained and spread; the bulwarks of Liberty were daily broken down, and havinglulled the public asleep, he was sowing his tares. The best of his Governmentwas but the sunshine of Tyranny [k] . AUGUSTUS was become the centre and measure of allthings; he was the Senate, Magistracy and Laws; the arms of the Republic he hadwrested out of her hands; those who had wielded them for her, he had slain [l] . The armies of the State were now the armies of AUGUSTUS, and every Province where Legions were kept ornecessary, he reserved to himself; such as were unarmed he left to the Senateand people; in kindness forsooth to them; for he studied to relieve them fromall anxiety and fatigue, and to leave them nothing to do; but would take allthe care and trouble to himself. Italy, the original soil of Liberty andFreemen, he utterly disarmed, agreeably to the Maxims of absolute Monarchy. TheRoman people and the Roman Senate he had reduced to cyphers and carcasses [m] . Hence all the submission and duty formerly paid to the free State,were, with her power, transferred to the Emperor, and certain wealth andpreferment were the rewards of ready servility andacquiescence [n] .

THIS shews that, however he depressed the power of theSenate, he paid great court to particular Senators; and it is too true, that asmen generally love themselves better than their Country, they too easilypostpone the public interest to their own. [o]

Sect. VI.: What Fame he derived from the Poetsand other flattering Writers of his time.

THE Renown of AUGUSTUS was also notablyblazoned by the Historians and Poets of his time; men of excellent wit, butegregious flatterers. According to them, AUGUSTUS had allthe accomplishments to be acquired by men, the magnanimity of Heroes, theperfections and genius of the Deity, and the innocence peculiar to theprimitive race of men. After so many instances of his cruelty, revenge,selfishness, excessive superstition, and defect in courage; after all thecrying calamities and afflictions, all the oppression and vassalage, that hisambition had brought upon his Country and the globe, one would think that suchpraises must have passed for satire and mockery. But ambition, successfulambition, is a credulous passion; or whether he believed such praises or no, hereceived them graciously, and caressed the Authors. Hence so much favour to VIRGIL and HORACE, and to such otherwits as knew how to be good Courtiers; and hence every admirer of thosecharming Poets, is an admirer of AUGUSTUS, who was sogenerousto them, and is the chief burden of theirPanegyrics.

SUPPOSE he had miscarried; suppose the Commonwealthrestored, and him punished as a Traitor instead of gaining the Sovereignty;would not the Historians, would not the Poe tshave then spoke as the Law spoke,that Law by which he had certainly forfeited his life? would not BRUTUS and CASSIUS have then filled theirmouths with Panegyrics, as the Saviours of the State? would they have lamentedthat the Usurpation failed, and extolled the Usurper? Is CATILINE extolled, or are the Usurpations of CINNA, SYLLA, or MARIUS ? nor was theconduct and domination of either, half so barbarous and tragical as was that of AUGUSTUS for a course of years. The truth is, their Tyrannywas shortlived, unsuccessful, or resigned.

INIQUITY unprosperous or punished, no man praises; butwickedness exceeding great and triumphant, almost all men do, as well as decryvirtuous attempts defeated. CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS succeeded; and their flattery continued, because theirgovernment and race did; [p] Sycophancy is ever a constant attendant upon greatness, says PATERCULUS, who was himself a scandalous flatterer, and hasin his History, miserably perverted truth, or utterly suppressed it, that hemight lye for the Cæsars. When Truth was treason, who would venture to speakit? and when Flattery bore a vogue and a price, there were enough found tocourt it, and take it. Hence the partiality or silence of Poets and Historians [q] .

Sect. VII.: Of the false Glory sought andacquired by AUGUSTUS, from the badnessof his Successors.

ANOTHER signal advantage to the name and memory of AUGUSTUS, was the badness of his Successors; and for hisposthumous lustre he was indebted to the extreme misery of the Roman people. Inproportion as TIBERIUS, CALIGULA, c. were detested, AUGUSTUS wasregretted; yet who but AUGUSTUS was to be thanked for thesemonsters of cruelty? They were legacies by him entailed upon that great State,and he was even suspected to have surrendered the Roman people to the Tyrannyof TIBERIUS, purely to enhance his own praise withposterity, by the comparison and opposition of their Reigns [r] . He sought renown from a counsel for which he deserved abhorrence. Hehad made a feint or two to abdicate the Sovereignty; had he been in earnest, hemight at least have contrived, that his Usurpation should last no longer thanhis life, and have left for a legacy to the Roman people that Liberty of whichhe had robbed them; that dominion over themselves, which none but themselveshad any right to exercise. The truth is, his power and name were dearer to himthan the Roman people or human race; he made provision by a long train ofsuccessors against any possible relapse into Liberty [s] . When he had no longer any heir of his own blood, or none that heliked, he adopted the sons of his wife; and even the worst of them was destinedto the succession [t] .

IF IT BE SAID THAT BY SUCH ADOPTION HE FORTIFIED HIMSELF, ANDCONSIDERED HEIRS AS [U] THE STAYS AND SECURITY OF HIS DOMINATION; THIS STILL SHEWS WHAT WASUPPERMOST IN HIS VIEWS, THAT HE MEANT TO PERPETUATE SLAVERY. IF HE HAD STUDIEDTHE GOOD OF ROME, WHY WAS NOT TIBERIUS, WHOM HE KNEW TO BETYRANNICAL AND ARROGANT, POSTPONED? WHY WAS NOT HIS BROTHER DRUSUS, THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED AND POPULAR MAN IN THE EMPIRE,PREFERRED? OR (AFTER HIS DEATH) GERMANICUS HIS SON, ONEEQUALLY DESERVING, AND EQUALLY BELOVED? IT IS EVEN SAID THAT HE LOVED DRUSUS, LOVED GERMANICUS, AND WASSUSPECTED TO HAVE HATED AND DESPISED TIBERIUS; YET TIBERIUS WAS PREFERRED, AND HAD THE WORLD BEQUEATHED TOHIM. WAS IT DONE TO PLEASE HIS WIFE? THEN HE LOVED HER BETTER THAN THE ROMANPEOPLE, NAY, PREFERRED HER CAPRICE TO THE FELICITY OF HUMAN KIND. DRUSUS HAD DECLARED HIS PURPOSE TO RESTORE THECOMMONWEALTH; THE SAME INTENTION IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN IN GERMANICUS. THIS PERHAPS WAS THE REASON FOR SETTING THEM ASIDE [W] ; AS WAS SAID OF TIBERIUS.

Sect. VIII.: The Character of AUGUSTUS.

AS to the Character of AUGUSTUS, he was aman of Sense and Art; his courage below his capacity, his capacity below hisfortune, yet his fortune below his fame; because his fame was the child of ableflattery as well as of propitious fortune. He was a cunning man, not a greatgenius; dextrous to apply the abilities of others to his own ends, and hadability enough to be counselled by such as had more; his designs were ratherincidental and progressive,than vast and conceived at once; and he cannot be saidto have mastered fortune, but to have been led by it. In the times of theRepublic he would have made but a middling figure; in the station and pursuitsof JULIUS CÆSAR, none at all. It is not in the least likelythat he would have thought or attempted what CÆSAR accomplished. He wanted CÆSAR’S masterly spirit, the eclatof that consummate Warrior, his boundless Liberality, his enchanting Eloquence.For the Eloquence of AUGUSTUS, which was easy and flowing,such as became a Prince, was quite different from that torrent of Language, andpower of speaking necessary to agitate and controul the spirit of Republicans,and came far short of the talent of JULIUS, who stood inrank with the most distinguished Orators. I know not whether the vices of theDictator had not more popular charms than the virtues of AUGUSTUS. CÆSAR made his way to the Throne, AUGUSTUS found it already made, or, where difficultiesoccurred, was conducted by the superior lights and force of others, whom herewarded with all the meanness of ingratitude, and even cruelty, and did manythings which the great heart of CÆSAR would have scorned.No great mind ever delighted in petty mischiefs; though to do mighty evil anelevated genius is not always necessary.

Sect. IX.: Of the Helps and Causes whichacquired and preserved the Empire to AUGUSTUS. His great Power and Fortune no proof of extraordinaryAbility.

THAT AUGUSTUS acquired the Empire, is not aproof of talents grand and surprizing; a thousand things concurred to it, timesand accidents, friends and enemies, the living and the dead,fought and contrived for him; CÆSAR,ANTHONY, the authority of the Senate, the folly and corruption of thepeople, the eloquence and abilities of CICERO, seasonableconjunctures, the opposition of some, the compliance or intoxication of others,nay, the charms of CLEOPATRA, and his own treachery andfears: All these coincided to push him forwards, and to hoist him intoSovereignty; nor indeed wanted he dexterity to improve opportunities; for hewas a notable man, judged well, and had a turn for business.

NOR did it require much genius to hold the Empire, whenhe had got it. All who could oppose him were slain or subdued. He had Armiesand Guards; and the people were disarmed and enslaved; the State was sothoroughly mastered, the Roman spirit so entirely broken [x] , that any the most contemptible wretch among men, provided he were butvouched by the Armies, and called CÆSAR, might rule,insult, and lay waste the Roman world at his pleasure [y] . What was CALIGULA, what were NERO and CLAUDIUS ? were they not monsters,who but for shape and speech, were utterly disjoined from humanity? and yetwere not these monsters suffered, nay adored, and deified, while they werewallowing in the blood of men, and making spoil of the creation? Nor were thesavages cut off by any effort of the Roman people, but by the instruments oftheir own cruelty, their wives, soldiers and slaves.

THUS it was possible to be Masters of mankind, not onlywithout common sense, and common mercy and compassion, but even armed withintense and settled hate against the race of men, and daily exerting it. Therule and havock of a Lion, or anyother beast of prey, would have been less pernicious,and less disgraceful to the Roman people, though he had required for hissustenance a vessel of human blood every day. Nay, had the imperial Lion keptabout him a Court and Guard of subordinate Lions for his Instruments andCounsellors, they could not have worried and devoured faster than did theAccusers, Freedmen, Poisoners, and Assassins of the Emperors. Cruelty, inspiredby hunger, ceases when hunger is asswaged; but cruelty, created by fear andmalice, is never satiated, nor knows any bounds. So much less dangerous andpernicious are the jaws and rapaciousness of a Tyger, than the jealousy andrage of a Tyrant, his flatterers and executioners.

NOW where was the difficulty to AUGUSTUS, where the necessity of high wisdom, to maintain theSovereignty, when such despicable wretches could maintain themselves in it fora course of years? The Romans, who were masters of mankind, were become thetame property, the vassals and victims of creatures equal to no office in aState, even the meanest and most contemptible office; creatures void ofunderstanding, void of courage. Such, without aggravation, were the Lords ofRome for several successive reigns. Such as were a scandal to human Nature,trod upon the necks and wantoned in the blood of human kind; nay, delegatedthis work, and the disposal of the Romans life and property, to the vilest oftheir domestics and dependants, their spies, informers, and bond-slaves.

DISCOURSE V.: Of Governments free and arbitrary, moreespecially that of the CÆSARS.

Sect. I.: The Principle of God’s appointing andprotecting Tyrants, an Absurdity not believed by the Romans.

I Do not find that a servitude so beastly and ignominious wasborne by the Romans out of Principle. Their Religion, as vain and superstitiousas it was, had never offered such an insult to common sense, as to teach themthat their Deities, as capricious as they thought them, warranted Tyranny, andsanctified Tyrants; that the brutal and bloody CALIGULA, was the beloved and Vicegerent of Jove, almighty, all-wise and all-merciful;that the worst of men had a commission from Heaven to oppress all men, and todestroy the best; that murder, rapine and mis-rule were Government, and suchlawless and bloody robbers were Governors divinely appointed; that Society hadno remedy against devouring lust, and the raging sword, which were destroyingall the ends of Society, and Society it self. These are Absurdities belowPaganism and all its chimeras; even the Superstition of Pagans never broachedsuch blasphemies and indignities to God and Man; never propagated Doctrineswhich would have turned men into idiots, destitute of reflection and feeling,nay, into beasts of burden, and beasts for sacrifice; turned the Deities intoDevils; human society into a chaos of blood and carcasses, and this earth intoa place of torments. It neverentered into the heart of a Greek or a Roman, norinto any heart which felt the sentiments of virtue and humanity, that it wasunlawful to defend Law; a crime to ward against murder, barbarity, anddesolation; and an impiety to do the most godlike action which can be done onthis side Heaven, that of disarming a Tyrant, and saving one’s Country fromperishing. It is true, that the Romans flattered their Tyrants, as Tyrants everwill be flattered; but as the names and appearances of the old Government stillsubsisted, they pretended to believe that none but the old Laws were exercised;and by the old Laws the Emperors still pretended to act. For severalgenerations after the State was enslaved, and even during the Reigns of theworst of the CÆSARS, the Romans expressed high contempt forNations who were avowedly slaves, and for Kings who were avowedly arbitrary;and it then continued usual to behold foreign Monarchs attending the levee andtrain of the Roman Magistrates and Governors of Provinces; nay, they weresometimes denied access, and treated with great scorn.

GOVERNMENT is doubtless a sacred thing, and justlyclaims all reverence and duty; but in the idea of Government is implied that ofpublic Protection and Security; that it is the terror of evil doers, and theencouragement of such as do well. But when what was Government ceases; and whatis called Government, is, in reality, general oppression, havock, and spoil;when a power prevails which is swayed by evil doers to the destruction of allwho do well; when law and righteousness are banished, lust and iniquitytriumph; property is violently invaded, and lives are wantonly destroyed; isthis Government too? If it be, I should be glad to know what is notGovernment.

Sect. II.: The reasonableness of resistingTyrants asserted, from the Ends of Government, and the Nature of the Deity.Opinions the most impious and extravagant, why taught, and how easilyswallowed.

IT is certainly unlawful to resist Government; but it iscertainly lawful to resist the deviation from Government, to resist whatdestroys Government and men. To resist the abuse of Government, is to assistGovernment. It is allowed to be just to help our protectors; but it is equallyjust to oppose our enemies, madmen and spoilers. Now what was NERO, what CALIGULA and CLAUDIUS ? one a bloody idiot, the other an inhuman madman; thefirst like the second, and all of them public robbers and butchers. If theircourse of cruelties and oppression was Government, so are plagues, tempests andinundations; but if their lives and actions were altogether pernicious anddetestable; the exterminating of such monsters from amongst men, would havebeen a service to the whole race. Was TARQUIN half so blackand odious? yet who has ever blamed his expulsion? was the Insolence andTyranny of TARQUIN the Ordinance of God? what then was thesucceeding Government of the People and Senate? if this was the Ordinance ofGod too; then every Government good and bad, or rather Mis-government as wellas Government, public robbery and ruin, as well as public security andprotection, may be equally said to be his Ordinance; and there are Ordinancesof his that combat one another, like the two Angels contending in one of theProphets. But if the Tyranny of TARQUIN was, and theestablishing of the free State was not the Ordinance of God, then are not thePatrons of this opinion obliged to say, and to maintainthis gross and blasphemous absurdity, that the divineBeing disapproves of good Government, Equity and Laws, and delights ininjustice, cruelty and confusion; not in the rule of equal justice, but in theravages of lust and iniquity?

TO say that all Governments, the good and the bad, arealike to him, equally inviolable, is to say that he takes no cognizance ofthings below; and at this rate, there is, in his sight, no such thing as guiltand innocence. To alledge that that Government which is best for men, isdisliked by him; and the rule of lust is preferable to that of Laws; is to makehim worse than indifferent, the patron of wantonness and oppression; a foe toorder and benevolence, fonder of one man’s caprice and violence, than of thehappiness of millions; nay a professed advocate for iniquity, a professedadversary to all public righteousness. If it be said, that he approves not ofTyranny himself, and yet would not have it resisted by others; this is nonsenseadded to prophaneness; since what he neither checks nor allows to be checked,he may be said to approve. If I see a man going to commit murder, and byterrible threatning and penalties restrain such as would restrain him, will itnot be construed, that I chose to have the murder perpetrated? It makes himbesides a hard-hearted being, who forbids to remedy the highest human evil,nay, wilfully dooms human kind to the severest misery.

I never heard that he has forbid under any penalty the use of Medicinesagainst the Plague, and I think I have found the reason why I never heard it;the Plague has no treasures, nor dignities to recompence flatterers. Had itbeen worth while to have made such prohibition a Doctrine of Religion; that is,had it been pleasing to Power, and the way to favour, I doubt not but it wouldhave gained ground, and many followers, as other doctrines equally absurd havedone, where the gain and craft of a few havebeen followed and defended by the superstition andzeal of many; witness Transubstantiation, Purgatory, Auricular Confession,blind Obedience under the rod of Tyranny, c. TheTurks out of bigotry to that of Predestination, forbear all precautions againstthe Plague, when raging on every side of them. It is impossible to invent aDoctrine so monstrous and mischievous, but it will meet with partizans andadmirers, provided the inventors have convenient names and habiliments, withoutwhich the most illustrious and benevolent truths will hardly pass with amultitude bewitched with the magic of words and superstition.

IT is impossible for the hearts of men to contrive aprinciple more absurd and wicked, than that of annexing divine and everlastingvengeance to the resisting of the most flagrant mischief which can possiblybefal the sons of men; yet it has found inventors and vouchers. It is plainfrom this instance, and from a thousand more, that there is no wickedness ofwhich the hearts of men are not capable, and that the wretchedness of the wholerace weighs not so much with them as their own profit and pleasure. It wouldseem from hence, as if we had lived in the dregs and barbarism of time, sinceto the late age (at least here in Christendom) was reserved the infamy ofhatching a Monster so horrible, that to its birth was sacrificed all Sense andHumanity, all the considerations, and even the essence of Truth, Order andLiberty.

THE advocates for this impious tenet, which representsthe great and good God as incensed with men for striving to remove their chainsand sorrows, are, by defending Tyranny, so much worse than Tyrants, as a Schemeof Barbarity coolly and deliberately contrived or defended, is more heinousthan particular acts of barbarity committed in the heat and hurry of passion,and as Murder is a greater crime than Manslaughter.

WHAT avail Laws and Liberty, ever so excellently framed,when they are at the mercy of lawless rage and caprice? If we are forbid by Godto defend Laws, why do we make them? Is it not unlawful to make what it isunlawful to defend? What else is the end of Government, but the felicity ofmen; and why are some raised higher in Society than others, but that all may behappy? Has God ever interposed against the establishment of Society upon a goodfoot? If he has not, but wills the good of Society, and of men, how comes he tointerpose against the defence of an Establishment which he nowhere forbids, andagainst that good which he is said to will? What more right had NERO to take away the lives of innocent men than any otherAssassin; what more title to their fortune than any other Robber; what betterright to spill their blood than any Tyger? And is it unlawful to resistRobbers, and Assassins, and Beasts of Prey? Did the Almighty ever say of thatbeastly Tyrant, “Touch not NERO my Anointed, nor do hisRuffians any harm?” Did NERO’S station lessen or abrogatehis crimes?

WHAT idea does it give of God, the Father of mercies andof men, to represent him screening that enemy to God and man, as a personsacred and inviolable, and holding his authority from himself; the merciful andholy Jehovah protecting an inhuman Destroyer! What more relation could there bebetween God and NERO, than between God and an Earthquake,God and a Conflagration or Massacre? The very phrase is shocking to the soul!Is such representation likely to make the name and nature of God amiable tomen, likely to excite them to love and reverence him? SATAN is said to be delighted with the miseries and calamities of men; and, tosuppose that wicked Being concerned for the security of a Tyrant, whose officeit is to debaseand afflict human race, is natural and consistentwith his Character. But I wish men would not father upon the Author of all goodsuch counsels and inclinations, as can only suit the father of cruelties andlies.

Sect. III.: The danger of slavish Principles tosuch as trust in them, and the notorious insecurity of lawless Might.

NEITHER have Tyrants and Oppressors been much obliged to thisenslaving Doctrine, which has generally filled them with false confidence andsecurity; it has always made them worse, seldom safer; and, without doing anygood, been the cause of much evil to their poor subjects. The Turks hold it asan Article of Faith, and it is one worthy of Turkish grossness and barbarity!yet where has the deposing and murdering of Princes been so common as inTurkey? The Monarch is told he may do what he pleases; their Religion tells himso, the holy Mufti, who explains it, tells him so, and from God he tells himso; but notwithstanding all these holy Authorities, this person so sacred, andguarded with securities human and divine, is often butchered with less formthan a common male-factor, and even with the Mufti’s consent and assistance.Thus it has happened to several in a Century; had not their power been sogreat, their security would have been greater.

[a] AN absolute Prince is of all others the mostinsecure; as he proceeds by no rule of Law, he can have no rule of Safety. Heacts by violence, and violence is the only remedy against him. Now violencewhich is confined to no rule, but as various and unlimited as the passions anddevices of men,can never be parried by any certain provision ordefence. His acts of cruelty upon particulars, whether done for revenge orprevention, do but alarm other particulars to save themselves by destroyinghim. Men who apprehend their lives to be in danger, will venture any thing topreserve them; or if they do more than apprehend and be already becomedesperate, we know to what lengths despair will push them. Thus CALIGULA, thus DOMITIAN and COMMODUS, were slaughtered by those whom they had doomed toslaughter. Nor Armies nor Guards can prevent the machinations and efforts of asecret enemy; even amongst his Armies and Guards such a one may be found, nay,in his Houshold, in his Bed-chamber, amongst his Kindred, nay, amongst hisChildren.

WHEN Princes act by Law, in case of hardship uponparticulars, there is a remedy to be sought from the Law; and when the Lawfairly administered will afford none, they will acquiesce; or, if they blameany thing, they will blame the Law, but a remedy they will be apt to seek; and,when they suffer not from Law, but from mere violence, they will have recourseto violence. Neither can a people be ever so sunk or deadened by Oppression,but much provocation, some management and a skilful leader, will find or raisesome spirit in them, often enough to accomplish great Revolutions; witnessSicily under the French, Swisserland under the Yoke of Austria, and the LowCountries under that of Spain; nay, the most consummate and professed slaves,those of Turkey, often rouse themselves, and casting their proud rider to theearth, trample him to death.

INDEED slaves enraged are the most dangerous populace;because having no other resource against oppression, they repel violence withoutrage; a little spark often raises a great flame; and a flame soonspreads to a Conflagration, where materials areprepared, as they almost eternally are in Governments that are absolute oraiming to be so. The Commotions at Paris, during the Minority of the late King,were followed by others all over France, though the whole Kingdom had been fora great while before, by the Tyranny of the Administration, frightened,despairing, and even lethargic; but the resentment and convulsions thatfollowed this false calm, had like to have overset the Monarchy. Nor can anypublic calm be certain, or any Government secure, where the people are pillagedand oppressed. People that are used like beasts, will act like beasts; and bemad and furious, when buffeted and starved.

Sect. IV.: Princes of little and bad Minds, mostgreedy of Power. Princes of large and good Minds chuse to rule by Law andLimitations.

IT is poor and contemptible ambition in a Prince, that ofswelling his Prerogative, and catching at advantages over his People; it isseparating himself from the tender relation of a Father and Protector, aCharacter which constitutes the Glory of a King; and assuming that of a foe,and an ensnarer [b] . This is what a Prince of a great and benevolent spirit will consider;not himself as a lordly Tyrant, nor them as his Property and Slaves; buthimself and them under the amiable and engaging ties of Magistrate and fellowCitizens. Such was the difference between a Queen ELIZABETH and a RICHARD the second; how glorious and prosperous theReign of the one, how infamous and unhappy that of the other! what renownaccompanies her memory, what scorn his! It is indeed apparentfrom our History, that those of our Princes whothirsted most violently after arbitrary rule, were chiefly such as wereremarkable for poor spirit, and small genius, Pedants, Bigots, the timorous andeffeminate.

THE French Historians observe that the worst and weakestof their Kings were fondest of Dominion, and their best and wisest contentedwith stinted Power, and the rule of Laws. LEWIS theeleventh, says Cardinal DE RETZ, was more crafty than wise.He was in truth a genuine Tyrant; he trampled upon the Laws of the Kingdom, andthe lives of his Subjects, pillaged and oppressed all manner of ways, andfollowed no Counsel but that of his Lust and Caprice. But what advantage orcontent, what security or fame did he draw from his exorbitant encroachmentsand power? No man ever lived under a blacker series of fears, and cares, andsuspicions, or died in greater misery and terrors; and in his life, and death,and memory he is equally detestable [c] . LEWIS the thirteenth, a man naturally harmless,but silly, was jealous of his authority, purely because he was ignorant aboutit; but HENRY the fourth, who was born with a Soul greatand generous, never distrusted the Laws, because he trusted in the uprightnessof his own Designs. Il ne se defioit pas des loix, parce qu’ilse fioit en lui même, says DE RETZ. Another FrenchMonarch of great name, loved and enjoyed unbridled Dominion, but had nogreatness of mind or genius answerable to the measure of his ambition. He had asort of stiffness and perseverance, by his flatterers stiled Fortitude andFirmness, but in reality arising from arrogance or obstinacy; qualities foundin the weakest women, and eminently in his mother. In Religion he was a bigot;in Politics false, suspicious,and timid; in Government insolent and oppressive; theproperty of his Mistresses, the Pupil of his Confessors, the Dupe of hisMinisters; a sore Plague to his Neighbours; a sorer to his own People; vainlyaddicted to War without the talents of a Warrior; a dishonourable Enemy, afaithless Ally; and, with small Abilities, a great Troubler of the World.

IT was natural to such an Imperial Wolf as CALIGULA, to delight in power as savage as his own bloodyspirit, and to boast that he had an unlimited privilege to do whatever his willor fury suggested [d] ; but worthy of the benevolent and humane heart of TRAJAN, were the words by him used to his chief Officers, whenhe presented them with the sword. “This sword, this badge of Authority, youhold from me; but turn it, if I deserve it, against me [e] .” Now, did the challenging and exercise of this monstrous power secure CALIGULA; or did the disavowing of it lessen the securityof TRAJAN ? quite otherwise; the former was abhorred andassassinated as a Tyrant; the latter was adored living, and died lamented, as apublic Father and Guardian: TRAJAN knew no other purpose ofImperial Prerogative, but that of protecting the People; nor indeed is thereany other use of Emperors and Prerogatives upon earth.

Cardinal DE RETZ says, that with all the arguments andpains he could use, he could never bring the Queen Regent to understand themeaning of these words, the Public. She thought that toconsult the interest of the People was to be a Republican, and had no notionthat the Government of a Prince was any thing else but Royal Will andAuthority, rampant and without bounds. Was it any wonder, that the people ofFrance gasped under Oppressions and Taxes, when the Government wasswayed by such a Woman, herself blindly governed by MAZARINE, a public Thief, if ever there was any; oneconvicted to have stollen from the Finances nine millions in a few years; onewho had spent his younger years in low rogueries; who had no maxims of rule butsuch as were adapted to the severest Tyranny in Italy, that of the Pope; andone, who, in the highest post of first Minister, could never help shewing thebase spirit of a little Sharper. Le vilain cæur paroissoittoûjours au travers, says DE RETZ: the Duke of Orleanscalled him un Scelerat, Ministre incapable abhorrédu genre humain; un Menteur fieffé.

Sect. V.: The Wisdom and Safety of ruling bystanding Laws, to Prince and People.

IT was a fine answer of THEOPOMPUS King ofLacedæmon to his wife, who reproached him that he would leave the Kingshipdiminished to his sons, by creating the Ephori: Yes, sayshe, I shall leave it smaller, but I shall leave it morepermanent. VALERIUS MAXIMUS explains this by a veryjust reflection; “ THEOPOMPUS’S reason was full ofpertinency and force; for, in reality, that Authority which bounds itself, andoffers no injuries, is exposed to none. The king therefore by restrainingRoyalty within the just limits of Laws, did as much endear it to the Affectionsof his Countrymen, as he pruned it of all Licentiousness and Terror [f] .”

IT is as rare for a Prince limited by Laws, and contentwith his power, to reign in sorrow, or to die tragically, as it is uncommon forthose who have no bounds set them, or will suffer none, to escape a miserableReign, and unbloody end. The power of the Roman Kingswas, from the first establishment, very short; they had no negative voice inthe Senate, and could neither make War nor Peace. What TACITUS says of ROMULUS [g] , can only mean his administring justice, as the chief Magistrate,between man and man, or perhaps his encroachments upon the Senate towards hislatter end, for which, it is thought, he paid dear.

WHERE the Government is arbitrary and severe, theoppressed people will be apt to think that no change can make their conditionworse; and therefore will be ready to wish for any, nay, to risque a Civil War,risque fresh evils and calamities, to get rid of the present, and to berevenged on their Oppressor. Such was the temper of the Romans upon the revoltof SACROVIR; they even rejoiced in it, and, in hatred to TIBERIUS, wished success to the public enemy [h] . People will be quiet and patient under burdens, however heavy, whichLaw lays on; for they suppose that laws are founded upon reason and necessity;but impositions the most reasonable will be apt to appear unreasonable andtyrannical, where they proceed from the will of one. Mere will is supposed toact without reason, and to be only the effect of wantonness; hence theacquiescence of a free people however taxed, and from their acquiescence, thesafety of their Governors. Hence too the industry and wealth, and consequentlythe peaceableness of the country; for industry and wealth are things exceedingquiet and tame, and only aim at securing themselves; whereas idleness andindigence are uneasy, tumultuous, and desperate. Besides, he who pays twentyshillings in a free Government, and pays it chearfully, would not perhaps,were the Government changed, pay willingly ten, nay,perhaps be unable to pay it, though by the change no new taxes were added.While the Law requires it, he will imagine that no more than enough isrequired; and as the same Law leaves him all the rest to himself, he will beindustrious to acquire more, and as much as he can; but when the quantity ofhis Tax depends upon the caprice or avarice of one; when the more he is worth,the more he will be taxed, or even fancies that he will be, he will grow idle,discontented and desponding, and rather live poor and lazy, than labour to makehis Taxmaster rich. Not to mention the furious Monarchies of the Eastdestructive of all Diligence and Arts; the COMTE DEBOULAINVILLIERS in his Elat de la France, says, thatin some Provinces in France the soil is left uncultivated, and several tradesand professions are disused; because the labour of the Husbandman, and theskill and application of the Artist, are rendered abortive by rigorousimpositions. They chuse rather to starve in idleness, than to work andstarve.

Sect. VI.: The Condition of free States, howpreferable to that of such as are not free.

NO arbitrary Prince upon earth could have raised from the Statesof Holland the fifth part of what they have, as a free State, paid to their ownMagistrates, nor could have sound whence to have raised it. I will venture tosay the same of England. Under a Monarchy of the late King JAMES’S model, was it possible to have supported two wars solong and consuming as the two last, or to have raised sums soimmense to carry them on? It would be madness to assert it. By this timenumbers of our people would have been driven from their Country, much of ourSoil been waste, many of ourManufactures laid aside, our Trade sunk, our Wealthfled, and the condition of England have resembled that of France, as well asour Government theirs, and for the same reason. It is in vain boasted of theHouse of Medicis, that in a long course of years they had laid no new tax upona country where their power was absolute; since the Cities and Territories,under their Sovereignty, are by it reduced from great wealth and populousnessto such miserable desolation and poverty, that it is downright oppression tooblige them to pay any considerable part of the old, much more all.

TO reason from experience and examples, is the bestreasoning [i] . Compare any free State with any other that is not free. Compare theformer and present condition of any State formerly free; or once enslaved, andnow free. Compare England with France; Holland with Denmark; or the sevenProvinces under the States, with the same seven Provinces under Philip thesecond; you will find in these and every other instance, that happiness andwretchedness are the exact tallies to Liberty and Bondage.

FLORENCE was a Commonwealth ill framed at first, andconsequently subject to frequent convulsions, factions, parties, andsubdivision of parties; yet by the mere blessing and vigour of Liberty, sheflourished in people, riches and arms, till with her Liberty she lost allspirit and prosperity; and became languishing, little and contemptible under asmall Prince with a great name. She has been long cured of all her formerfrolicks and tumults, by an effectual remedy, servitude; and beggary, the childof servitude; and by depopulation, the offspring of both [k] . All arguments for absolute Power, are confuted by facts; no Countrygoverned by mere willwas ever governed well; passion governs the will, thewill becomes the measure of right and wrong and of all things, and caprice theballance of the will; and I know not but it may be maintained that a free Statethe worst constituted, as was that of Florence, is, with all its disorders,factions, and tumults, preferable to any absolute Monarchy, however calm [l] .

Sect. VII.: The Misery and Insecurity of theCæsars from their overgrown Power.

THESE Emperors of Rome, who had sacrificed their country and allthings to their supreme power, found little ease and security from its beingsupreme. From CÆSAR the Dictator, who had sacrificed publicLiberty, and was himself sacrificed to her manes, till CHARLEMAIN, above thirty of them were murdered, and four ofthem murdered themselves; the soldiery were their masters, and upon every piqueput them to death. If the Prince was chosen by the Senate, this was reasonenough for shedding his blood by the Armies; or if the Armies chose him, thischoice of their own never proved an obstacle against shedding it. It was thesoldiers that dispatched the Emperor PERTINAX, after he hadbeen forced to accept the Empire. These lofty Sovereigns having trodden underfoot the Senate, People and Laws, the best supports of legitimate Power, heldtheir scepter and their lives upon the courtesy of their masters the soldiers.He who swayed the Universe, was a slave to his own mercenaries.

Though AUGUSTUS had reigned so long, and so thoroughlyenfeebled or extinguished the maxims of Liberty, and introduced and settledthose of Monarchy; TIBERIUS his immediate Successor,thought himself so little safe, that he lived inperpetual vassalage to his own fears. By making all men slaves, he could notmake himself free, and was only the most overgrown and gaudy slave in theEmpire; so much do Princes gain by being above Law! They who will be contentwith no terms of reigning, but such as make all men fear them, will findreasons to fear all men. TIBERIUS did so, and the manysacrifices which he made to his fear, far from lessening, did but encrease it,as such sacrifices did but multiply enemies and terrors.

FIRST he dreaded AGRIPPA POSTHUMUS, and murdered him; but the murder ensured not his repose, even from thatquarter; for a slave of that Prince personated his master, and alarmed TIBERIUS more than AGRIPPA had done. Hedreaded GERMANICUS, and when that excellent person was dead(by no fair means, it was supposed) he dreaded AGRIPPINA his wife, and her little children; and when by all manner of treachery andcruelty he had oppressed them, he was seized with new dread from SEJANUS, the greatest and justest of all; nor ceased his dreadafter the execution of SEJANUS; insomuch, that he commandeda general Massacre of all his Family, Friends, and Adherents. Next, his fearsstill continuing, he doomed to the most barbarous death his own grandsons by GERMANICUS; for their being already under miserableimprisonment and exile, did not suffice. And when the Family of GERMANICUS was destroyed; he had remaining fears from theFriends and Dependants of that House; these were the next objects of hisVengeance, which he executed fiercely. Nor small was the Terror which heentertained of his own Mother; and when she was gone, he let loose his rageupon the Favourites and Adherents of his Mother.

NOW after all these precautions, so many and so bloody,did his suspicions abate? No; they were rather whetted and inflamed [m] . Of the great Lords of the Senate he was under perpetual apprehensions,and making daily victims; their wealth and race, nay, their poverty, names, andqualities frightened him; he feared friends and enemies. Those who advised himin council, those who diverted him at his leisure hours; his Confidents,Counsellors, and Bottle-companions, were all Martyrs to his Jealousy and Fury.He was so afraid of considerable men, or giving them employments which madethem so, that some who were appointed Governors of Provinces, were neverpermitted to go thither, and great Provinces, for a course of years, leftdestitute of their Governors; and though he dreaded stirs and innovations aboveall things [n] ; yet he suffered the loss and devastation of Provinces, the insults andinvasion of enemies, rather than trust any one with the power of avenging theState, and repulsing the public foe. Thus he left Armenia to be seized by theParthians, Mœsia by the Dacians and other barbarians, and both the Gauls to beravaged by the Germans [o] , says SUETONIUS.

Sect. VIII.: A representation of the Tormentsand Horrors under which TIBERIUS lived.

WHAT joy, what tranquillity did TIBERIUS reap from his great and unaccountable Sovereignty? Did it exempt him fromdisquiet, or could all his efforts, all the terrors of his Power, preventor remove his own? Did his numerous Armies protecthim from the assaults of fear and apprehension? Did he sleep the sounder forhis Prætorian Bands? Did the Rocks of Capreæ, hardly accessible to men, keepoff those horrors of mind which haunted him at Rome, and on the Continent? Orrather, with all the eclat of Empire, with all his Policy and all his Guards,was he not the most miserable Being in his Dominions? Doubtless he was; otherparticulars, the most obnoxious and threatened, had but some things and somepersons to fear; TIBERIUS dreaded all men and every thing.Was his Power unlimited? so was his Misery; the more he made others suffer, thefaster he multiplied his own torments. He himself confessed, that all the angerof the Deities could not doom him to more terrible anguish than that underwhich he felt himself perishing daily.

IMAGINE this great Prince, this Sovereign of Rome, inhourly fear of secret Assassins; daily dreading and expecting the news ofArmies revolted, a new Emperor created, and himself deposed: imagine him fixedupon a high rock, and watching there from day to day, with a careful eye and ananxious and boding heart, for signals from the Continent, whether he must stayor fly: imagine him every moment ready to commit himself to the waves andtempests, and to escape whither he could for life and shelter: imagine him,even after a Conspiracy suppressed, lurking for nine months together in onelodge, under such terrors as not to dare to venture an airing even in hisbeloved Capreæ, however walled with Rocks and defended with Guards. In short,he feared every thing but to do evil, which yet was the sole cause of hisfears. Such was his situation and life, and such the blessing of lawless might!“To TIBERIUS not his Imperial fortune, not his gloomy andinaccessible solitude could ensurerepose, nor keep him from feeling nor even fromavowing the rack in his breast and the avenging furies that pursued him.” HisDeath too, was, like his life and reign, tragical and bloody.

Sect. IX.: The terrible Operation of lawlessPower upon the minds of Princes; and how it changes them.

TIBERIUS was an able man; he had talents for Affairs; he hademinent sufficiency in War; during the Commonwealth he would have wellsupported the Dignity of a Senator; he would have filled the first Offices ofthe State; he would have probably been zealous for public Liberty. He had evenunder AUGUSTUS, while he was yet a Subject, acquired asignal name and estimation. Nay it is likely he might have left behind him ahigh reputation and applause; for he had Art enough to have hid or suppressedthe ill qualities which were naturally in him; so that he might have livedhappy and admired, and died in renown. But being, unhappily for himself and hisCountry, invested with Power without controul, he let loose all his Passions,and he, who might have proved an excellent and useful Member of a free State,became a Prince altogether merciless and pernicious; a terrible Tyrant, void ofnatural affection for his own Blood and Family, void of all regard andtenderness for his People, and possessed with intense hate towards the Senateand Nobility. One of his discernment was not to be deceived by Flattery; heknew that, whatever submissions and even prostrations were made him, the Yokeof Sovereignty was grating and grievous to the Romans, and he sought revengeupon their persons for hating his Usurpation. This conduct made him more hated,and this hatred enraged him so, that at last, renouncing all shame, andthrowing away his beloved Arts of Dissimulation, hecommenced, as it were, an open Enemy to his People, surrendered himself over toevery act of Cruelty, and to every abomination, even to Rapaciousness andPlunder, a vice to which for a long time he seemed to have no biass.

BUT what is not to be apprehended from Power withoutcontroul, and who is to be trusted with it, when a man of such strong parts andlong experience as TIBERIUS, was so entirely mastered andperverted by it? It is a task too mighty for the soul of man, and fit for nonebut God, who cannot change, cannot act passionately, cannot be mistaken, and isomnipresent. There are few instances of men who have not been corrupted andintoxicated with it, and many, of whom the highest hopes were conceived, havedegenerated notoriously under it. When men are once above fear of punishment,they soon grow to be above shame. Besides, the genius and abilities of men arelimited, but their passions and vanity boundless; hence so few can be perfectlygood, and so many are transcendently evil. They mistake good fortune for greatmerit, and are apt to rise in their own conceit as high at least as fortune canraise them. GALBA was, in the opinion of all men, worthy ofEmpire, and that opinion would have ever continued, had he never been tried;and VESPASIAN was, till then, the only instance of anEmperor by power changed for the better [p] .

Sect. X.: The wretched Fears accompanyingthe Possession of arbitrary Power, exemplified in CALIGULA and other Roman Emperors.

NOR was this anguish and these fears peculiar to TIBERIUS, his Successors felt them eminently; as did every onewho reigned as he reigned. CALIGULA was so haunted byinward horrors, and his imagination so terrified, that he became almost astranger to sleep, and used to roam about the palace while others slept, afraidof the night, and invoking the return of day. Upon an alarm from Germany, heprepared to run away from Rome; and was always provided with exquisite poisonagainst an exigency. CLAUDIUS scarce lived a moment of hisReign free from affrights and suspicions; nor was there any accident sotrivial, or any Man, Woman, or Slave, or Child so contemptible, as not todismay him and set him upon sanguinary precautions and punishments; he wasseveral times almost frighted out of his Sovereignty, and willing to creep awayinto safety and solitude. Even before the Senate, which upon the sight of adagger, he had summoned in great haste and earnestness, the poor unmanly wretchburst into tears and howling, bewailed his perillous condition, that in noplace or circumstance could he be out of the way of danger. His whole life wasgoverned by fears, and his fears by his wives and freedmen; hence his excessivecruelty, according to the measure of his own timidity, or of their ambition,vindictiveness, and rapacity. The Horrors of NERO’S guiltnever forsook him; they were sometimes so violent, that every joint about himtrembled; he dreaded his Mother’s Ghost as much as he had her living Spirit,and made doleful complaints, that the Furies pursued him withStripes, and Rage, and burning Torches: and that hewas alarmed with horrid shrieks and groans from his Mother’s Tomb. What elsedid HELIOGABALUS apprehend but a violent death, when hewent always provided with a silken halter and a golden poignard, as expedientsto escape death by the hand of an enemy? For the like purpose CARACALLA made himself a copious provision of poisons. Thisbarbarous Parricide was wont to complain that the Ghost of his Father, and thatof his Brother by him murdered, terrified and pursued him with drawn swords. Sosorely did the bloody Horrors of their Crimes and Infamy, haunt these men ofBlood, and became their Executioners! What availed their Power and Armiesagainst the alarms of their Conscience? Could all their Titles and Might, allthe Guards at their gate, scare away reflection, or rescue them from theagonies and goreings of their own breasts?

Sect. XI.: What it is that constitutes theSecurity and Glory of a Prince; and how a Prince and People become estrangedfrom each other.

WHAT then is it that a Prince may rely on for the security ofhis Person, and the quiet of his Soul? Hear the opinion of a great and a goodPrince, MARCUS ANTONINUS, delivered to his Friends andCounsellors just before he expired: “Verily it is neither the influence ofRevenue and Treasures, nor the multitude of Guards, that can uphold a Prince,or assure him of obedience, unless with the duty of obedience, the zeal andaffections of his People do concur. Surely, only long and secure is the Reignof such a one as by actions of benignity stamps upon the hearts of his Peoplethe impressions of love; not those offear by acts of cruelty.” He adds, “that a Prince hasnothing to fear from his People, as long as their obedience flows fromInclination, and is not constained by Servitude; and that Subjects will neverrefuse obedience, when they are not treated with contumely and violence [q] .

A man who means no ill would not seek the Power to do it, and he who seeksthat Power, or has it, will be eternally suspected to mean no good. Now theonly way to obviate such suspicion, is, to act by known rules of Law; he whorules by consent is obnoxious to no blame. Such restraint may probably at sometimes keep a just Prince from doing good, but it certainly withholds a bad onefrom doing much greater mischief. An arbitrary Prince who can do what he will,is for ever liable to be suspected of willing all that he can; hence his peoplemistrust him; hence his indignation for their mistrust, and hence the root ofeternal jealousy and uneasiness between him and them.

THE People likewise expect complaisance from the Prince,expect to have their sentiments and humours considered; while the Princeprobably thinks that they have no right to form any judgment of public matters,or to make any demands upon him; but, on the contrary, requires of them blindreverence and obedience to his Authority; and acquiescence in his superiorConduct and Skill; that all his doings should pass for just; himself for aperson altogether sacred and unaccountable; and his words for Laws. If theirbehaviour towards him do not happen to square exactly with these his sovereignnotions and high conceit of himself, he will be apt to think, or some officiousflatterer will be ready to persuade him [r] , “his Royal Authority is set at nought, thePeople are revolted; and what remains but that theytake Arms?” To punish therefore their Disobedience, he proceeds to violence,and exercises real severity for imaginary guilt. Mischief is prolific; violencein him begets resentment in them; the People murmur and exclaim; the Prince isthence provoked, and studies vengeance; when one act of vengeance is resentedand exposed, as it ever will be, more will follow. Thus things go on. Affectionis not only lost, but irrecoverable on either side; hatred is begun on both;and Prince and People consider themselves no longer as Magistrate and Subjects,but one another as Enemies. Hence perhaps CALIGULA’S inhuman wish, that he could murder all his People at a blow. The sequel of allthis is easy to be guessed; he is continually destroying them; they arecontinually wishing him destroyed.

Sect. XII.: How nearly it behoves a Prince to bebeloved and esteemed by his Subjects. The terrible Consequences of their mutualMistrust and Hatred.

HOW much does it import Princes to preserve the good opinion oftheir People! when it is once lost, it is scarce ever to be recalled. When oncethey come to believe ill of their Prince, there is nothing so ill that theywill not believe; as in the instance of TIBERIUS, of whomthings the most improbable and horrid were believed. It is hardly possible forany merit, the most genuine and exalted, to preserve popular favour for a longtime; accidents and disasters will be falling in, to sour the spirits of thepopulace; or some fresh merit, more new or more glaring, may appear, and lessenor intercept their admiration of the other; or the same person may not alwayshave the same opportunities to oblige them; so that the best care and conductcanonly serve to retain it to a certain degree; and thisby good conduct is certainly and always to be done. But when the reputation ofthe Prince with his Subjects is entirely gone, something worse than the barewant of it will ensue. Between a Prince’s forfeiting the public Affection andhis incurring the public Hatred, there is scarce any medium, and even thatmedium is a terrible one, since to be scorned is not much better than to behated, and often infers it.

WOULD a Prince live in security, ease and credit? lethim live and rule by a standard certain and fixed, that of Laws, nor grasp atmore than is given him. Many by seeking too much have lost all, and forfeitedtheir Crown through the wantonness and folly of loading it with false andinvidious ornaments. While nothing would serve them but lawless Power, eventheir legitimate Authority grew odious, and was rent from them. They set theirPeople the example of assuming what was none of theirs, to do acts of violencein defense of violated Laws, to judge for themselves, and to sanctify by thetitle of Right whatever they could accomplish by force. Rather than live uponbad terms, people will be apt to make their own terms, and think no fealty isdue where no saith is kept. Who would not rejoice more in a free gift than inplunder? for such is the difference between Power conferred and Power usurped.What new Prerogative acquired to the Crown, or what new Revenue can make amendsfor the Hearts of the People estranged and embittered? This is such a loss, asno acquisition, no pomp of Power whatsoever, can atone for. We have seen underwhat gloom, asfright, and despair the Cæsars lived and swayed, though theirsway was without check and bounds. MACHIAVEL says, thatwhen a Prince has once incurred the public hate, there is no person nor thingwhich he ought not to dread.

HE who does no ill, fears none; but such as arecontinually creating terrors and calamities to others, have abundant reason tobe under continual apprehensions themselves. How much more desirable, how muchmore just, and easy, and safe is the condition of a Prince, who lives and rulesby Laws over a free People by their own consent? both People and Laws are hisguard, and what secures them, secures him. They seel that he loves them; and heis conscious that they ought to love him. This is Government, and the effectsof it; not the triumph of boundless arrogance or folly; not the insults of oneover all, nor consequently his distrust of them, nor their slavish dread ofhim; but the equal administration of eternal Righteousness, and stated Laws; anendearing intercourse of fatherlycare and protection, and of filial gratitude and duty. How amiable must it be,how refreshing to a generous Spirit, to oblige and solace a whole People, tohave a whole People adore and bless him! What master of Slaves, even thehighest and most unbounded master, can boast so much of himself and his slaves?The Grandeur of such a Prince is all false and tinsel, painted and hollow; heis never secure, because he is not innocent; he is not innocent, because he isan Oppressor.

TO rule by mere Will, is to rule by Violence, andviolence is War. He who puts himself in a state of Hostility with his Subjects,invites Hostility from them, as did the late King JAMES, who having no Confidence in the Laws, which he had violated, nor in his People,whom he had oppressed, put himself in a posture of War against his Subjects; sothat when they too had recourse to arms, they did but stand in their owndefence. They had no quarrel to that King JAMES, who hadtaken an Oath to rule by Law; but when that King assumed another person, and,in spite of Oaths and Laws, would oppressand spoil, they who owed this man of violence noAllegiance, opposed Might to Might, since he would abide by no Law. It was nottheir Prince therefore that they resisted, but their Enemy and Spoiler: he intruth, had no more Right to what the Law gave him not, than the great Turk had;they therefore opposed not an English Monarch, but an Invader and a Tyrant. Nordo I know of any People who threw off their Monarchy wantonly; and if they didit through Oppression, the Oppressor might blame himself [s] . Had he conquered his Subjects, what would he have gained, but thedetestable Glory of a triumphant Oppressor; of seeing a rich Country reduced byservitude to poverty, and of bearing the curses of a free People oppressed?Whoever has beheld the condition of a great neighbouring Kingdom, naturally thefinest in Europe, has seen in the condition of the Inhabitants, poor, pale,nasty, and naked, what genuine Glory their Princes have reaped, by reducing allthe Laws of their Country into one short one, that of Royal Will andPleasure.

Sect. XIII.: Public Happiness only then certain,when the Laws are certain and inviolable.

IT is allowed that amongst the Roman Emperors, there were someexcellent ones. But was not all this chance? They might have proved like therest, who were incredibly mischievous and vile. They had nothing but their ownInclinations to restrain them; and is human Society to depend for security andhappiness upon uncertain Inclinations and Will? They were good by conformity tothe Laws, as Laws are the only defense against such asare bad. The bad ones had almost sunk the Empire to achaos, before there appeared one Prince of tolerable capacity and virtue toretrieve it. Insomuch that VESPASIAN declared it to beabsolutely necessary to raise a fund of above three hundred millions of money(of our money) purely to save the State from absolute ruin, and dissolution [t] . After DOMITIAN there succeeded five good Reigns,during which Law and Righteousness prevailed, and the Emperors took nothing,neither power nor money, but what Laws long established gave them, andprofessed to derive every thing from the Law, and to occupy nothing in theirown Name. But as the Emperor might still be a Tyrant if he would, that wildPrince COMMODUS resumed the old measures of violence, and,becoming a second CALIGULA, dissipated and overturned, in afew years, all the treasure, wise provisions and establishments, contrived andgathered by his Predecessors during the best part of a Century.

TO conclude, if Princes would never encroach, Subjectswould hardly ever rebel; and if the sormer knew that they would be resisted,they would not encroach. Every Subject knows that if he resist against Law, hewill die by Law. It is certain mischief to both Prince and People, to assertslavish Doctrines, and no security to either; since nature oppressed willdepart from passive principle. But to assert the reasonableness of vindicatingviolated Laws, is no more than asserting that Laws ought not to be violated, asthey ever will be where there is no penalty annexed. The least attempt uponpublic Liberty is therefore alarming; if it is suffered once, it will be apt tobe repeated often; a few repetitions create a habit; habit claims prescriptionand right. Such also is the nature of man, thatwhen public Affairs are once disconcerted, it ishard, sometimes impossible, to restore them to their first firmness; numbersbecome engaged in the corruption, and will be trying all their Arts and Powerto support it. Where it grows extensive and general, the public Authority willprobably espouse and defend it; and even where that authority is against it,the torrent may be so strong as to bear down Authority itself. How many greatand good men have fallen themselves while they strove to restore the State?attempts to reform the Soldiery, to reform the Clergy, to reform the CivilAdministration, have often drawn down a tragical doom upon the authors of them.It is much easier to prevent than to cure.

DISCOURSE VI.: Of the old Law of Treason by the Emperorsperverted and extended.

Sect. I.: The antient Purpose of that Law;the Politics of AUGUSTUS in stretchingit.

I Proceed now to shew by what Arts and Supports the Tyranny waspreserved and exerted; how the old Laws, especially that of Treason, wereperverted, and to explain the instrumenta regni. “ThisLaw, says TACITUS, in the days of our Ancestors, had indeedthe same Name, but implied different arraignments and crimes, namely thoseagainst the State; as when an army was betrayed abroad, when seditions wereraised at home; in short, when the public was faithleslyadministered, and the Majesty of the Roman People wasdebased. These were Actions; and Actions were punished, but Words were free. AUGUSTUS was the first who brought Libels under thepenalties of this wrested Law [a] .”

IN that sense of this Law (and doubtless it is the truesense) the Emperors were the criminals; they who had enslaved Senate andPeople, usurped and destroyed the State. But they had got the Power ofinterpreting Laws, or of directing those who did, and consequently were becomethe Law-makers. As Laws observed had defended Liberty; Laws wrested secured theUsurpers. Hence the old Law of Treason was degraded and perverted to involve inits penalties the Authors of Lampoons and Pasquinades. This Law of Majesty wasso much and so long prostituted and abused; so much bloodshed and oppressionwas committed by the succeeding Emperors under its name, that at last everysentence and punishment, however just, which was pronounced by virtue of it,was thought unlawful and cruel; so that out of detestation to this abused Law,many other good Laws perished.

DOUBTLESS Reputation is a tender thing, and ought nomore to be violated than property or life; and they who attack and blacken it,are as vile Offenders as they who rob and steal. But there was no betterpretence for making it treasonable, than for construing any other offenceagainst particulars, to be an offence against the public. In truth, AUGUSTUS could have no other view in this, than thesuppressing of that Freedom of Speech whichwas an effect of the freedom of the antientGovernment, and inconsistent with his Usurpation. When words were made Treason,it was time to be wary of one’s expressions; especially when the constructionof them was merely arbitrary, and the Law that made them so, was utterly silentabout them, there remained no sort of rule to know when they were otherwise;nor had he who was to be judge any rule but his own suspicion, anger andpartiality. For every word, for every action, men were involved in process forTreason, provided there appeared but an informer to charge him, and call itso.

IT is to no purpose to say that AUGUSTUS sometimes overlooked or pardoned invectives againsthimself. It was all grimace and false generosity; since, after this Law was soterribly inverted, there was little likelihood that men would run such capitalrisques. If contumelies upon private persons were high Treason, what must it beto meddle with the Prince or his Administration? He took care of himselfwithout seeming to do so; he found his own sanctuary in providing one forothers; and regulations made for his own defence and gratification, had anappearance of a spirit altogether public and disinterested. But it was adownright insult upon the sense of mankind, to convert a petulant imaginationand a few wanton words, into a crime against the State. He who exposed thegallantries of a Lady of Quality, or the faults and foibles of a Patrician,was, forsooth, deemed to bear hostile purposes against the Commonwealth: forthis is the construction of Treason by the Lawyers. Yet AUGUSTUS himself had made obscene Libels, particularly upon FULVIA the wife of ANTHONY. Thismultiplying of Treasons from Words and Writings, had a melancholy aspect; for,besides that Treasons multiplied are the bulwarks and engines of Tyranny; looksatlast became treasonable, as did natural sympathy andsorrow, nay, sighs and silence.

AUGUSTUS was cunning enough to know the advantages ofTreasons multiplied to his own domination, and wrested adultery also into acrime of State. His daughter and her daughter were prostitutes, and all theirgallants, according to this merciful Monarch, were Traytors, and because thesesort of Traytors were very numerous, as well as considerable for quality andcredit, he had here a good pretence to get rid of many considerable Romans, whogave him uneasiness and jealousy. With death or banishment therefore hepunished their gallants. For to a crime common between men and women, he gavethe grievous name of Treason and Sacrilege, and trod upon the moderation ofAntiquity. Nor was this sort of Treason limited to the Reigning House and theblood of the Cæsars; it was universal, and every Adulterer was a Traytor; bywhich he made himself the greatest Traytor in Rome, as he was the mostuniversal Adulterer; nor were his own severe Laws any check upon him, no morethan the sacred ties of friendship; for he spared not the wife of his ownFavourite, and faithful Counsellor MÆCENAS. This was notextreme prudence in so great a Politician, to be daily violating institutionsof his own making, especially when by the rigour of the penalties, and theformidable name which he had given to the crime, he had shewn how important andunpardonable he thought it; unless, like the Princes of Italy in MACHIAVEL’S time, he broke penal Laws, to encourage others todo so, on purpose to ensnare delinquents, and gain confiscations.

Sect. II.: The Deification of the Emperors, whatan engine of Tyranny, and snare to the Roman People.

THE Deification of AUGUSTUS and his usurpingeven in his life-time the Attributes and Prerogatives of a Deity, was anothersnare for Power and Crimes. Henceforth every offence offered to this new Deitywas high Treason against the Gods; for he was a God as well as the best ofthem, and indeed more to be dreaded than all of them. It became a high crime toswear falsly by his name, the same as if the name of Jupiter had beenfalsified; nay, to sell his Statue in the sale of a house or gardens; and thecitizens of Cyzicus, notwithstanding their faithful adherence and strenuousservices to the Romans in the Mithridatic War, were bereft of their freedom forneglecting the worship of the deified AUGUSTUS. The name of APIDIUS MERULA was razed from the list of Senators, becausehe had not sworn upon the Acts of the deified AUGUSTUS. Oneof the articles charged against C. SILANUS, Proconsul ofAsia, was, that he violated the Deity of AUGUSTUS. VARILIA, in the opinion of TIBERIUS, deserved to be condemned, ifshe had uttered aught irreligiously concerning the deified AUGUSTUS; for this was Treason and Blasphemy. Such was the aweand reverence paid to this fresh Deity; and such care had he taken to tie upthe tongues of men from censuring him living or dead; he was instar omnium deorum; you might say what you would of otherGods, but beware of injuring a deified Emperor. He had done more mischief,committed higher oppressions, spilt more human blood than all the men in theworld, and was made a Deity!

NOR was it out of any principle of Superstition, that TIBERIUS guarded the fame and Godhead of AUGUSTUS with such severe sanctions; for he little mattered theGods and godly Rites, being himself a Fatalist, and only infatuated withnotions of Astrology. Neither was it from any regard to AUGUSTUS (who was suspected to have been poisoned to make wayfor him) and whose Blood and Posterity he was daily destroying; a proceedinginconsistent with the adorations and sacrifices which he affected to offer him,as AGRIPPINA truly told him. But he did it to promoteSuperstition in others, and rivet the public Slavery; since in religiousdevotion paid to a Prince, civil submission was included and enforced. It intruth imported him nearly to have all the Laws and doings of AUGUSTUS pass for sacred, and to set an example himself that hethought them so. AUGUSTUS had left him (as he pretended)his Successor, and it behoved him that AUGUSTUS should passfor a Prince of consummate wisdom; for had he erred in other great counsels andevents, he might have erred in that; besides, AUGUSTUS wasa popular Prince, and it would have been unpopular to have neglected him, orrescinded his deeds.

NERO too acquired the Sovereignty by the murder of CLAUDIUS, and, to keep it, murdered his Children andKindred; yet he at first treated his memory with high regard, vindicated theReign, and even extolled the parts and prudence of this deified fool; for CLAUDIUS too was listed amongst the Gods; he who had beenthe most stupid, cowardly, and bloody Idiot that could possibly wear anddisgrace a Diadem. This strange animal or human monster, just begun by nature,but never finished, as his mother used to say, was utterly unfit for any Officein the Empire or private life, yet came to be an Emperor and a God. So that tobear sovereign rule, or to be exalted to a God, noqualification at all was necessary. His grandmother LIVIA contemned him even to loathing; she could not bear to speak to him. His nephew CALIGULA, when he had butchered many of his kindred, saved CLAUDIUS purely to keep him for a laughing-stock. He washeld in the same scorn by his sister LIVILLA, by AUGUSTUS and all his family. He was the jest of the Court [b] . The kindest word AUGUSTUS gave him was that of misellus, wretching.

Sect. III.: The Images of the Emperors, howsacred they became, and how pernicious.

AS flattery begot servitude, so it was by servitude propagated,and whatever tended to sink and debase the spirit of the people, as sycophancydid, exalted the Tyrants; nay, their Images and Statues became sacred andrevered; and any villain or profligate might offer what outrage he pleased toevery worthy man, every slave insult his Lord, every criminal escape justice,by sheltering himself under the Emperor’s Statue, or by carrying his Effigiesabout him. Nor could so considerable a man as a Senator of Rome, even in theface of the Tribunal, and in the very portal of the Senate, escape the insultsand menaces of a profligate woman, who thus defended herself with the Image of TIBERIUS, though he had legally convicted her of forgery;so far was he from daring to bring her to judgment. So that in this impiousreverence to a silent Stone, all Law, and punishment, and protection wasswallowed up. This gives probability to what PHILOSTRATUS tells us in the life of APOLLONIUS TYANEUS, that a masterwascondemned, as one sacrilegious and accursed, forhaving chastized a slave, who happened to have about him a small coin impressedwith the Effigies of TIBERIUS. So vastly had servitudegrown upon the Romans so early as the Reign of TIBERIUS, and in the best part of his Reign, even while he yet kept tolerable measureswith Law and Liberty, and warily avoided all excesses of power and cruelty. Yetin his second year, GRANIUS MARCELLUS being arranged ofhigh Treason, it was one of the Articles, that the Statue of MARCELLUS stood higher than that of the Cæsars, and from thatof AUGUSTUS the head had been taken off, and the head of TIBERIUS put on. At the recital of this TIBERIUS waxed into such a flame and fury, that, departing fromhis wonted caution and silence, he cried aloud, he would vote in this causehimself under the tie of an oath. He was excellently answered by CNEIUS PISO, who asked him; “In what place, CÆSAR, will you chuse to vote? if first, I shall have yourexample to follow; if last, I fear, through ignorance, I may happen to differfrom you.” Hence the reflection of TACITUS, that there eventhen remained some faint traces of expiring Liberty [c] .

IT is not strange, however hideous, to find afterwardsthese Statues, these dead representatives of the dead, invested with suchextravagant and inviolable sanctity, that it was death without redemption for amaster to chastize his slave near the picture or image of AUGUSTUS; death, to change one’s garments there; death, tocarry a coin or a ring with his Image into the Privy or into the Stews; death,to drop a word that seemed to censure any action or any saying of his; anddeath was the portion of that unhappy man, who suffered some publichonour to be decreed him by his Colony, on theAnniversary of the same day, when AUGUSTUS had once publichonours decreed to him.

THE execrable CALIGULA, who was aprofessed foe to the human race, a monster gorged with blood, and dyed in it,assumed Godhead as well as the rest, and claimed all the apparatus of Divinity,a Temple and Altars, Worship and choice Sacrifices. It is incredible whatdreadful punishments he inflicted upon many even of principal fashion, for noother crime, than that they had never invoked his celestial Genius by an Oath.This was capital, it was Majesty violated; and for it the offenders, after theyhad been first torn and mangled with stripes, were doomed to the mines, or tothe drudgery of mending the public roads, or to be thrown to wild beasts; andsome were sawed asunder. A bloody Deity! Had he been omnipotent, the race ofmen must have been extinct. All his own murders, all the efforts of his maliceand rage, were not able to accomplish it, and he wished to derive the Glory ofhis Reign from some signal Calamities happening in it; as if the monsterhimself had not been curse and calamity enough! He envied AUGUSTUS the happiness of an Army massacred, and TIBERIUS the sad disaster at Fidenæ, where fifty thousand soulswere maimed, or perished outright by the fall of the Amphitheatre there. Hencehe longed passionately for the blessing of some public Calamities great anddreadful, the Slaughter of great Armies, Famine, Pestilence, Conflagrations andEarthquakes. The acclamations of the crowd in the Theatre differing from his,he uttered a Godlike wish, “That the whole Roman People had but one commonneck; for then one execution would have dispatched them all.” To complete theCharacter of this benevolent Deity, heboasted, that of all his great Qualities, nonedelighted him so much as his defiance of all shame [d] .

THESE CELESTIAL TITLES AND WORSHIP DIVINE, WERE SOMETIMESBESTOWED UPON THE WIVES OF THE EMPERORS, THEIR SISTERS, HARLOTS, AND INFANTS. CALIGULA WAS WONT TO SWEAR BY THE DIVINITY OF DRUSILLA HIS SISTER AND CONCUBINE. CLAUDIUS HAD DIVINE HONOURS DECREED TO LIVIA HIS GRANDMOTHER. NERO’S DAUGHTER BY POPPÆA WAS DEIFIED; WORSHIP, PRIEST, AND CHAPEL WEREASSIGNED HER; AND IT WAS ONE OF THE CRIMES IMPUTED TO THRASEAPÆTUS, THAT HE DID NOT BELIEVE POPPÆA HERSELF TO BE ADIVINITY. NAY, IT WOULD SEEM AS IF NERO’S VOICE HAD BEENCREATED A DIVINITY, SINCE I THINK, IT WAS TREASON NEVER TO HAVE SACRIFICED TOIT; A CRIME IMPUTED TO THE SAME THRASEA. DOMITIAN LIKEWISEADJUDGED HIMSELF A GOD, AND PROVED MUCH SUCH ANOTHER AS CALIGULA.

Sect. IV.: What a destructive Calamity the Lawof Majesty grew, and how fast Treasons multiplied under its Name.

I Have said so much of this humour of deifying Princes living ordead, not so much to expose it, as to shew the wicked effects it had uponLiberty and the State. It opened a new Source of flattery, and accusations, andpunishments, and strengthened the hand of Tyranny; of this I have givensufficient instances, and many more might be given, all manifestly proving withwhat impudence and cruelty the Law of Majesty was stretched and embittered. Inthis Law all Laws were swallowed up, and therefore all crimes brought under thearticle of Treason,as Treason was the highest crime [e] , as in the case of C. SILIUS, whose chief offencewas overmuch service done to TIBERIUS; thence that refinedobservation of TACITUS; “That benefits are only fo faracceptable, as it seems possible to discharge them; but when once they haveexceeded all retaliation, hatred is returned for gratitude.” Under TIBERIUS, says SUETONIUS, every faultpassed for Capital, even that of Words, however few and undesigning. When C. SILANUS was arraigned for male-administration in Asia, TACITUS says, that besides all the other methods ofartifice and violence, manifold and barbarous, used to destroy him; that noneof his relations might dare to aid him and plead for him in his trial, articlesof Treason were subjoined, a sure bar to all assistance, and a seal upon theirlips. One of the great charges against LIBO DRUSUS was,that he asked the fortune-tellers, whether he should not one day be immenselyrich. This too was the sin of Majesty violated, and for it he was pursued todeath and his estate seized. Note, that these were two men of high quality,akin to the Cæsars, and obnoxious to TIBERIUS. This seemsto have been their real crime. CESIUS CORDUS was accused ofRapine in his Government of Crete; but to make sure of the criminal, he waslikewise charged with the crime of violated Majesty; a charge, says TACITUS, which in those days proved the sum and bulwark ofall accusations whatsoever.

IT WAS TREASON IN CREMUTIUS CORDUS TO HAVEINSERTED IN HIS HISTORY THE PRAISES OF BRUTUS; TREASON, TOHAVE STILED CASSIUS THE LAST OF THE ROMANS, THOUGH IN DOINGIT HE ONLY QUOTED THE WORDS OF BRUTUS; TREASON IN TITIUS SABINUS TO HAVE BEEN A FOLLOWER OF GERMANICUS, AND AFTER HIS DEATH, A FAITHFUL FRIEND TO HIS WIFEAND CHILDREN; TREASON IN POMPEIA MACRINA, TREASON IN HERFATHER AND BROTHER, THE FORMER AN ILLUSTRIOUS ROMAN KNIGHT, THE LATTER ONCEPRÆTOR, TO HAVE BEEN DESCENDED FROM THEOPHANES OF MITYLENE,A NOBLE GREEK, IN GREAT CONFIDENCE WITH POMPEY THE GREAT;TREASON IN L. ENNIUS A ROMAN KNIGHT, TO HAVE TURNED THEEFFIGIES OF THE EMPEROR INTO MONEY; TREASON IN LUTORIUSPRISCUS, ANOTHER ROMAN KNIGHT, TO HAVE COMPOSED DURING THE ILLNESS OF DRUSUS, A POEM FOR AN ELEGY, IN CASE HE DIED; TREASON IN MAMERCUS SCAURUS, AN ILLUSTRIOUS ORATOR NOBLY BORN, THAT INA TRAGEDY BY HIM COMPOSED, THERE WERE CERTAIN VERSES CAPABLE OF TWO MEANINGS;TREASON IN TORQUATUS SILANUS, A NOBLEMAN OF THE FIRST RANKIN ROME, TO LIVE SPLENDIDLY, AND ENTERTAIN SEVERAL PRINCIPAL SERVANTS; ANOTHER SILANUS HIS NEPHEW DIED SOON AFTER FOR THE VERY SAME SORTOF TREASON. IN ANOTHER NOBLEMAN IT WAS TREASON, TO HAVE PRESERVED THE IMAGE OF CASSIUS AMONGST THOSE OF HIS ANCESTORS; TREASON IN THE TWOBROTHERS SIRNAMED PETRÆ, BOTH ILLUSTRIOUS ROMAN KNIGHTS, TOHAVE DREAMED SOMETHING ABOUT CLAUDIUS; TREASON IN APPIUS SILANUS, THAT MESSALINA THEEMPRESS, AND NARCISSUS THE FREEDMAN, HAD FORGED A DREAMCONCERNING HIM; AND, TO ADD NO MORE, IT WAS TREASON, IT WAS MAJESTY VIOLATED,FOR A POOR DISTRESSED LADY TO HAVE BEWAILED THE BLOOD OF HER SON, SPILT TOSATIATE AN IMPLACABLE TYRANT INCENSED BY HIS GAY RAILLERY. THIS WAS FUSIUS GEMINUS LATELY CONSUL; AND HIS ANCIENT MOTHER WASMURDERED FOR BEWAILING THE MURDER OF HER CHILD [F] .

DISCOURSE VII.: Of the Accusations, and Accusers under theEmperors.

Sect. IV.: The pestilent Employment of theseMen, their Treachery and Encouragement.

FROM Law thus perverted there arose encouragement more thanenough for Informers and Accusers, and a plentiful harvest: a sort of men, says TACITUS, born for the destruction of mankind, and by noterrors or penalties ever sufficiently restrained; yet by the Emperor such sonsof perdition were sought out and invited by great rewards. TIBERIUS had the front to tell the Senate, that these insects,enemies to Law and Liberty, were the Guardians and Defenders of the Laws. Theywere his Defenders, if he pleased; the Champions of Imperial Violence and Lust;but the Pests of the Public; dogs of Prey thirsting after the blood andfortunes of every worthy and every wealthy man. That Prince who does not punishInformers, encourages them, said DOMITIAN; but this he saidin the beginning of his Reign while he yet retained the appearances ofbenevolence and humanity; afterwards when the disguise was taken off, and hefollowed the bent of his brutal nature, it was enough to ruin, any man, if hewere but charged to have done some deed, or spoke some word, no matter what,against the Majesty of the Prince. Men were then capitally arraigned, and theestates were seized of both the living and the dead, for any fault whatsoever,upon the credit of any Accuser whatsoever; andinheritances, to which he could have no possible title or pretence upon earth,were usurped by him, if there was but one Person, one Informer, who could say,that he heard the deceased declare CÆSAR to be his heir.The same pretence served CALIGULA; nay, when people had outof fear named him amongst their heirs, he wondered at their impudence to keephim out of his share by living afterwards, and for that offence poisoned manysuch. In short the chief and most frequent incidents in the Reigns of almostall the Cæsars, were but the bloody efforts and success of the Accusers; andthe groundwork and support of all accusations, was the perverted Law ofviolated Majesty, which came to signify every thing which the Accusers averredand the Emperors disliked.

IN the beginning of TIBERIUS’S Reign, L. Piso, one of the boldest men then surviving, owned himself so muchintimidated by the merciless pursuits of the Impleaders, who breathed nothingbut terror and accusations, that he threatned in open Senate to relinquish Romeand retire into some distant corner of the earth. He had reason for hiscomplaint and fears, he was afterwards marked out as a victim and prey by oneof the tribe, and arraigned for certain words secretly dropped against theMajesty of the Prince. These accusations were no other or better than the cruelProscription continued; by the latter, Senators and Knights, Patriots obnoxiousto the Usurpers, were butchered in the lump; afterwards, under the process ofthe Accusers, they perished piece-meal, but were incessantly perishing [a] , often a great many at a time. Every Lawof the old free State, and every man who loved hisCountry and her Laws, were repugnant to the reigning Tyranny; hence as theRepublic was swallowed up in the Sovereignty of the Cæsars, all her laws weremade to center in that of Majesty, and all men who adhered or were suspected toadhere to the ancient Constitution, were either destroyed by this new Law(rather an old Law turned into a new snare) or at the mercy of its Guardiansand Accusers. And all this new violence was committed under old names andconstitutions [b] ; so that the Commonwealth was made to cut her own throat; just as crueland ambitious men justify Persecution and Oppression by the authority of theGospel, which abhors it. The Church of Rome calls every thing that displeasesher, Heresy and Blasphemy; this is the Lex Majestatis ofsome Churchmen, and by cruelties committed under that name they have more thanvied with the NERO’S and DOMITIAN’S .Thus, after a solemn murder committed by the Senate, to gratify TIBERIUS, he sent them a Letter of thanks, for punishing aperson who was an enemy to the Commonwealth; as if the Republic had been thensubsisting and vindicating her own wrongs.

THE Accusers were the agents and tools of Tyranny, andby the Tyrants upheld and animated with open countenance and high rewards;their business was to hunt down and destroy every man signal for blood, orwealth, or dignity, or virtue; because all such men were obnoxious to imperialJealousy and Displeasure. Had a noble Roman sustained public Offices? he was adangerous man; had another refused to bear them? he was equally dangerous; andfor public Offices either exercised or declined, he was sure to be attacked asa criminal of State;and if he were conspicuous for any notable ability orvirtue, his doom was inevitable [c] . VALERIUS ASIATICUS perished because he haddelightful Gardens, which tempted the avidity of MESSALINA; as did STATILIUS TAURUS, for the same reason, by theavarice and subornation of AGRIPPINA; so did SEXTUS MARIUS for his immense Wealth and gold Mines, under TIBERIUS. This gives one an idea of the terrible spirit ofthe Emperors as well as of the Accusers; how much the former feared and hated,and how fast they destroyed every thing that was noble, good, or amiableamongst men; and what a pestilent employment was that of an Accuser! Was it anywonder that to carry on so detestable a trade, they were to be tempted withlucrative earnings? In truth, their recompences were so public and ample, thatthey were detested not more for their Iniquities than for the Wages of theirIniquities.

THESE Pests of Rome were, for being so, frequentlyraised to the highest Offices in the Roman State; and that Imperial City, theMistress of the Earth, saw her public Dignities, those of the Pontificate, andof the Consulship, bestowed as spoils upon Parricides for spilling her bestblood, and tearing her vitals. With the Prince their credit was high, as theirmerit was infamous; some were preferred to be Governors of the Provinces,others taken to be his chief Confidents and Counsellors in the Palace. Andthus, vested with credit and sway, exerting all their terrors, and pursuingtheir hate, they controuled and confounded all things [d] . After the tragical Death of LIBO DRUSUS, procuredby execrable Artifices, Falshoods, Horrors and wrested Laws,all the substance of that noble Patrician was dividedamongst his Accusers; and such of them as were Senators were created Prætors,even without the regular method of election. The four Senators who ensnared TITIUS SABINUS, by trapanning, lurkking, feignedfriendship, and by a series of treachery the most infamous and cruel that couldbe practised amongst men, and afterwards accused him, engaged in all thismeritorious villainy purely to gain the Consulship, to which there was nopossible access but through SEJANUS, nor without villainywas the favour of SEJANUS to be sought or purchased.

BUT besides rewarding of the Accusers out of the fortuneof the Accused, (for where they had not all, they still went shares with hischildren) they had frequently excessive sums out of the public Treasury; CAPITO COSSUTIANUS had near a hundred and thirty thousandCrowns, for accusing THRASEA PETUS; EPRIUS MARCELLUS had asmuch, for the same good service; for NERO, after he hadlong wallowed in the blood of eminent men, and butchered them without number,was in hopes by the murder of THRASEA and SORANUS, to extirpate Virtue, name and essence, from the faceof the earth. OSTORIUS SABINUS, the Accuser of SORANUS, had indeed a less reward in money, that of thirtythousand Crowns; but the reward was enhanced by the ornaments of theQuæstorship presented with it. “These Incendiaries were animated, and suchcrying calamities to the public were excited by the Minions of the Court, who,as it were, sounded the Trumpet to Arraignments and Confiscations; on purpose,that out of the fortunes of the condemned they might raise or increase theirown;” says AM. MARCELLINUS. AQUILIUS REGULUS, an upstartand a mischievous Accuser under NERO, was distinguishedwith two Consulships, and the dignity of Pontiff;and had premiums in money to the value of more thantwo hundred thousand Crowns; as if he had been burying the Commonwealth, andfor this merit had afterwards gathered her spoils, says TACITUS.

Sect. II.: The traiterous Methods taken tocircumvent and convict Innocence. The spirit of accusing how common, the dreadof it how universal; and the misery of the Times.

AS upon these bloody occasions, it was necessary to find orfeign some crime; so any crime served the turn, as I have largely shewn;witnesses also must be had; but any witnesses were good witnesses; and wherethey did not offer themselves, they were bought with money, or frightened withthe torture. Slaves were suborned against the life of their Lords; clients andfreedmen against their Patrons; and he who had no enemy, was betrayed andundone by his friends [e] . Now, because, by the old Roman laws, slaves could not be witnessesagainst their masters, the crafty TIBERIUS found a trick toevade that law without seeming to violate it; he contrived to have the slavesupon such occasion sold; and then they might be evidence against their lateLord. This perfidious subtilty was begun by AUGUSTUS, as islargely shewn by DION CASSIUS. Nay, when a man had no otherto accuse him, he was accused by his own son. Dreadful times! even, all rewardsand incitements apart, fear for themselves made men treacherous to others;falshood and cruelty reigned uncontrouled. If you would please the Prince, youmust gratify his bloody spirit; to do that, you must offer victims and exercisethe tradeof accusing; if you were ill with him, no man, noinnocence could protect you; and to be well with him, you must make all othermen detest you. To make your own fortune you must ruin that of others, and shedblood to get money.

TO this vile employment men of the highest Qualitydescended, and those of the first note for Eloquence and Civil Accomplishments;such was COTTA MESSALINUS, a man nobly born, but theforemost in every sanguinary motion; such was PUBLIUSDOLABELLA, who sprung from Ancestors the most illustrious, yet debased hisNobility, and engaged in the occupation of an Accuser, even against those ofhis own blood. When men of such Quality set such example, what wonder ifnumbers followed it? Many pursued it for money; others because they would notbecome obnoxious by appearing slack. The question was not about right or wrong,Law or Magistracy; but how to please and humour, to satiate the Emperor, and toescape his suspicion and fury. It was the plea of the Accusers afterward, whenthey were brought to answer for their crimes, that they were obliged by theEmperors, or their wives, to undertake and prosecute accusations: this SUILIUS pleaded, and urged the imperious orders of MESSALINA. Nay, men of figure were sometimes called upon bythe Emperor in person to undertake Accusations. This, says TACITUS, was one of the most baneful and deadly evils of thosetimes, that the first Lords of the Senate degraded themselves to the office ofthe vilest Informers; some impudently in the face of the sun; others in thedark ways of treachery; no distinction of kindred from strangers, of friendsfrom such as were unknown; none between things lately transacted, and such aswere covered by a course of years in oblivion; for words spoken in the Forum,spoken at an entertainment, and about what subject soeverspoken, the speaker was accused; every one hasteningto be foremost in the accusation, and to prevent his fellows; some for theirown safety, many, as it were, struck with the contagion, and smitten with thedisease of accusing.

THIS universal treachery begot apprehension in all menequally universal. When villainy was thus rewarded, or thus necessary, and thusevery-where practised by high and low, every man was fearful of finding everyman a villain. Hence the mournful anguish and terror which seized the City;people were afraid to converse, nay, afraid to meet; they distrusted all alike,their acquaintance as well as the unknown; even things mute and inanimate weredreaded; and roofs and walls created terror and circumspection; nay, they wereapprehensive that guilt might be found in these their apprehensions, and thencecame to dread this very thing, that they had shewn dread [f] .

Sect. III.: Plots feigned or true, an ample fieldfor Accusations and Cruelty; and upon what miserable Evidence Executions weredecreed.

BUT the best market for Accusations, and the best opportunityfor the Emperor to exert Tyranny, and consume men, was the detection of anyConspiracy forged or real. How prodigious and merciless was the slaughtercommitted by CONSTANTIUS after the death of MAGNENTIUS, and by his bloody instrument PAULUS, sirnamed Catena from his dexterityin calumny and accusations! Thus too, upon the detection of the designs of SEJANUS against TIBERIUS, who at onetime, for a course of years, had destroyed every man thatwas obnoxious to this execrable Favourite of his, andafterwards destroyed every man who had been well with his Favourite; thus whenthose of PISO against NERO came to bediscovered, the whole business of the State was that of accusing, imprisoningand executing. Rome was dyed, deformed, and filled with blood, and death, andfunerals; and as many as were hated, or disliked, or worth destroying upon anyaccount, were sure to have been Conspirators, and to be doomed to the painsannexed to Conspiracy. TIBERIUS caused a general slaughterto be made of all that were in prison, under accusation of intelligence with SEJANUS. Any thing upon earth, the lightest, the mostfortuitous and foolish thing, served for proof of such intelligence. POMPONIUS SECUNDUS was arraigned of Treason, for that therewere some signs (but not shewn by him neither) of friendship between him and AETIUS GALLUS, who was a friend to SEJANUS, who was a Traytor. GALLUS, uponthe execution of SEJANUS, had retired into the Gardens of POMPONIUS: this was all; yet this was the doughty argumentused by his Accuser, for proving this worthy and accomplished man a Traytor,one who had violated Majesty. Yet his Accuser CONSIDIUS wasa man considerable enough to have been Prætor: it was thus, I suppose, heshewed how well he deserved Imperial Favour, and one of the highest Dignitiesin the State.

THE Emperor CONSTANTIUS was as crueland as credulous: with him it was death to be accused, and every Accusation,however doubtful, or false, or even whispered, was convincing proof of guilt;nay, the least rumour, however groundless, the smallest hint, however spiteful,created Treason and death without redemption; and by no better proof men of thefirst quality and merit were doomed to confiscation, or banishment, orexecution. Thebare saying that such a one was in the Conspiracy, ora friend to the Conspirators, was conviction in abundance for taking awayEstates and Lives. NERO, whose chief and only purpose wasto afflict and destroy, created guilt wheresoever he found distaste. His ownhatred or fear was crime enough, and reason sufficient to destroy the object.Some were sacrificed without being once accused, or named; some punished erethey knew they were accused; and the least defamation was full conviction.Nothing was more common than to charge any great man, doomed beforehand todestruction, with designs against the State. This was the charge upon LIBO DRUSUS. All the guilt that could be proved upon him,though to prove it, and indeed to create it, the most villainous arts wereused, was, that he had consulted the Fortune-tellers, and dealt in Charms. Thiswas conspiring against the State, it was Treason; and because the Romans weremuch addicted to such sort of Superstition, this became a very convenientTreason, and very fertile; yet TIBERIUS himself was, asmuch as any, addicted to Astrology. In the accusations particularly againstgreat Ladies, who for blood, or wealth, or beauty, merited Imperial Wrath, itwas a constant article, that they had dealt with the Chaldeans, or practisedthe rites of Magic: and for this many great Ladies were doomed to death [g] .

Sect. IV.: What ridiculous Causes producedcapital Guilt. The spirit of the Emperor CONSTANTIUS; with somewhat of his Father CONSTANTINE.

THIS humour of consulting the Astrologers, still encreasing withSuperstition and Tyranny, administered an inexhaustible fund of crimes andaccusations: the noise of a Mouse in a wall, or the sight of a Weasel, becamematters of omen and consultation, and consequently matters of Treason andBlood: so did the use of an old Woman’s Charm for aches: so did the countingthe Vowels upon one’s Fingers, as a remedy against the Colic: so did thewearing of an Amulet for an Ague: so did the casual dropping of any Word orJoke, that bore any analogy to the Empire, or the Emperor’s name, or to anymatter of State and Power: so did the frequenting of Sepulchres, and carryingaway the bones or habiliments of the dead: so did any Dream dreamt about anysuch subject, or construed to be so dreamed.

Under CONSTANTIUS there was one MERCURIUS, a Persian, who was a favourite of the Emperor, and aspy for Dreams; insomuch that he had the title of Somniorumcomes. This blessed instrument, a fellow of a malicious spirit, andfawning behaviour, used to creep into all companies and banquets, to fish outDreams from particulars; and whatever he there learned of this kind, after hehad, with all his invention, dressed it up in ugly and formidable colours, hecarried instantly to the Emperor, whose ears were ever open wide to suchmischievous infusions; and this Dreaming, thus represented, was a crime to beexpiated only by the blood of the Criminal, I should say, Dreamer, and so aterrible process was formed. This terror spread so much,that people, far from telling their Dreams, durstscarce own that they slept: nay, it was lamented by some, that they had notbeen born upon Mount Atlas, where, according to tradition, people neverdream.

TO complain too of the badness of the times, was highTreason; for this was arraigning the Government, and punished capitally. ButDeath itself, however unjust, was not always the most formidable woe. Theaccused were often not allowed the benefit of Death, till they were firstbarbarously racked and mangled by torture; and to gratify the inhuman Vengeanceof the Prince, their Agonies were continued as long as life could continueunder them [h] . This is testified by AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS of CONSTANTIUS the second Christian Emperor, more cruel than NERO and CALIGULA; a considerationwhich confirms what I have said before, that where the Government is bad, eventhe best Religion can do little good. CONSTANTIUS was aChristian, and even zealous in Church Matters, and Religious Disputes, and byfostering them did miserably afflict Christianity and the Empire. But he was sofar from being improved or bettered by this zeal, that the most cruel Tyrantsthat went before him, such monsters as CALIGULA, DOMITIAN, and COMMODUS, were but babes to him in cruelty [i] .

I wish much better things could be boasted of his Father, the first Emperorwho embraced Christianity, and stiled CONSTANTINE THEGREAT. All the Princes, even the persecuting Princes who went before him,hurt not Religion so much as he did;by blending it unnaturally with Politics and Power,by laying the foundations of a spiritual Tyranny, and enabling the Bishop ofRome, and other great Prelates, to exert the domineering spirit, which beforethey had but ill concealed; a spirit which has almost extinguished that of theGospel. In his Civil Administration, he was rapacious, profuse, and oppressive;and in his Family barbarous and sanguinary; however his partial and flatteringHistorian, EUSEBIUS, has extolled him, and concealed theiniquities of his Reign. But, in barbarity, and the excesses of Power, his sonand Successor CONSTANTIUS exceeded him. What just reasonhad AMMIANUS to say, that under the lying pretence ofguarding Imperial Majesty, numerous and horrible were the butcheries thencommitted [k] !

Sect. V.: The black and general carnagemade under CONSTANTIUS, by his bloodyMinister PAULUS CATENA, for certainActs of Superstition and Curiosity.

CONSTANTIUS surrendered at one time a great part of the RomanWorld to the merciless hands of Accusers, Torturers and Executioners; andcertain causes, in themselves frivolous and contemptible, but magnified withthe swelling imputation of Majesty violated, produced all the uproar andcalamity attending a great Civil War. The trumpets sounded to try and slay [l] .

AN Egyptian Deity, named Besa, wasnoted for uttering Oracles, and telling fortunes, and thencemuch frequented, adored and consulted by all theCountries round about. As many consulted him in person, others did it inwriting: this occasioned, that several of the billets thus sent, continued inthe Temple after the answer was returned. Some of these were maliciouslytransmitted to the Emperor, a Prince of a poor spirit, suspicious, and bitter.He now waxed fierce and wrathful, and instantly dispatched his execrableinstrument, PAULUS CATENA, into the East, armed with Powersequal to those given to some famous Captain for carrying on a mighty war. PAULUS was authorized to hear and determine discretionally,and proceeded to his charge, breathing nothing but rage, and bloody zeal.Universal accusation and calumny being thus licensed and encouraged, numbers ofall degrees were dragged from far and near, as it were, out of the severalquarters of the world, to this barbarous Tribunal, and exposed to the mercy ofa butcher, who only pursued blood and prey. Some came with their jointsexcoriated with fetters, others crushed and spent in carts made for carryingcriminals; no distinction made between the noble and vulgar. The process waslong and tragical; in short, confiscations, exiles, tortures worse than death,death under tedious torments, and every evil painful or destructive to humannature, was there exerted and suffered. As for PAULUS, thelives, and fortunes, and fate of multitudes depended upon his nod, a manskilled in the Arts of cruelty, aad openly professing them; a savage who made amarket of the rack and the wheel; one, fed, as it were, with human carcassesmangled, and enriched by butchery and rapine; a fellow who avowed the trade ofaccusing and killing, and studied to ensnare and devour innocence, lives, andproperty. This was the man in high favour and trust under the pious CONSTANTIUS. It will be a relief to the Reader to know thatthis monster,bloated with blood and crimes, was burnt alive under JULIAN, a Prince of very different parts and spirit.

Sect. VI.: The Ravages of the Accuserscontinued; their Credit with the Emperors; yet generally meet their Fate. TheFalsehood of these Princes. The melancholy State of those Times.

THE Reigns of these following Princes, CONSTANTIUS, CONSTANS, GALLUS, VALENTINIAN, VALENS, were spentin a continual war upon their people, under colour of their Majesties beingviolated.

CRYING AND TRAGICAL WERE THE RAVAGES COMMITTED AT ROME BY THATBLOODY MAN MAXIMINUS, WHERE, UNDER PRETENCE OF MAJESTYVIOLATED, POISONINGS, AND ACTS OF LEWDNESS, SOME FEW REAL, MORE IMPUTED, WEREUSED AS A STALE FOR KILLING, TORTURING, AND DESTROYING. EVERY MAN, OR WOMAN,THAT WAS OBNOXIOUS TO HIM OR THE ACCUSERS, WAS PUT TO DEATH; AND TO PRIVATEMALICE OR RAPACIOUSNESS A SEA OF ROMAN BLOOD WAS SPILT. I THINK IT WAS THIS MAXIMINUS, WHO PERSUADED CERTAIN PERSONS ACCUSED TO CONFESSAND DISCOVER OTHERS, AND IN THAT CASE PROMISED THEY SHOULD UNDERGO NOPUNISHMENT EITHER BY SWORD OR FIRE. THEY DID SO, TRUSTING TO HIS FAITH, ANDCONFESSED CRIMES NEVER COMMITTED; HE THEN, FOR A SALVO, DOOMED THEM TO DIEUNDER LEADEN HAMMERS. HE WAS EXECUTED HIMSELF UNDER GRATIAN.

AGAINST the defence of innocence accused, against themost evident truth and justice, and all honest information, the ears of theEmperor were eternally shut; but calumny whispered by any malighant, had equalweight with real crimes proved by authentic witnesses; says AMMIANUS. Falsehoodand flattery, envy and rapaciousness passed forevidence; justice was converted into cruelty, and judgment into rage; theTribunals erected for justice, and preservation of life and property, werebecome shambles, and what had the names of pains and penalties, was in truthrobbery and assassination.

AS there was never any lack of Accusers, there was noneof Criminals; and the accused, the more they were destroyed, the faster theymultiplied; like witches in former days, daily executed, and daily increasing.They were the food and revenue of the Accusers, who while they could speak andlie, could never want occupation or wages, as long as there were Tyrants andmen. MARCELLUS was charged with having uttered disaffectedwords concerning TIBERIUS, and the Accuser collecting everything which was detestable in the manners of that Prince, alledged the same asthe imputations of the accused. A large field for accusations, and wellcultivated by the Accusers! you could say nothing of these Emperors that wastrue, but what was Treason; such bloody monsters were they all! and the worstyou could have said being actually true, you were easily believed to haveactually said it. What a blessed lot it must have been to have lived in thoseReigns, under monsters unchained, and rogues let loose; when virtue andproperty were proscribed, villains caressed and guarded!

THE persons of Accusers came to be considered as sacredand inviolable; the more they were detested by the public, the more they wereprotected by the Emperor; and in proportion as they merited death and ignominy,had countenance and preferment. Their vilest forgeries, convicted and owned,against the lives and fortunes of the greatest men, drew down no doom orpenalty upon them. The crimes charged upon FONTEIUS, lateProconsul of Asia, by SERENUS, were proved to have beenby him forged; yet he escaped punishment. Nay, themore the man was abhorred by all men, the more TIBERIUS considered and protected him. This SERENUS was a villain ofexalted merit; he had falsly accused his own father of Treason, an old man, andalready in exile: but TIBERIUS owed him a spite, and theson studied to oblige TIBERIUS, who had been offended withthe elder SERENUS for once upbraiding him with some wickedservice unrewarded; nor had an interval of eight years pacified the Prince. Yetit generally so happened, that their reign was but temporary; first or lastmost of them found the genuine wages of their fraud and iniquity, and sufferedthe same doom which they had made others suffer; a doom much more bitter, as itwas just, accompanied also with universal hatred of their persons, and with aguilty and upbraiding conscience. This was the fate of SUILIUS,CASSIUS SEVERUS, and others.

NOW as it was the custom, to find high Treason inharmless words, impertment vanities, and even in ridiculous follies, deservingrather pity than punishment, such as were those charged upon LIBO; so it was the purpose and policy of the Emperor never toprevent any guilt of this kind: on the contrary, he was glad of guilt, and whenhe knew it was begun, let it run on, till it was ripe, and evidence andAccusers were ready. TIBERIUS knew that LIBO dealt with the Astrologers, with every thing done or saidby him; yet at no time had he caressed LIBO more, than atthe time when he was meditating his destruction. He preferred him to thePrætorship; he entertained him at his table; shewed no strangeness in hiscountenance, no resentment in his words; so deeply had he smothered hisvengeance! and when he might have restrained all the dangerous Speeches andPractices of LIBO, he chose rather to permit them, in orderto punish him for them.The crafty Tyrant did not only lull asleep hisdestined victim by these excessive civilities; but meant by them to deceive theworld, as if LIBO’S crimes were a surprize upon him, at ajuncture when he would seem to have meant all kindness to LIBO. But he was mistaken, and his dissimulation only served toheighten the opinion of his malice; for craft discovered is worse than folly,as folly never creates hatred. Cunning is only then complete, when it cannot bedetected, which seldom happens. NERO caressed and flattered SENECA, while he was devising all methods to destroy him.When he meant to murder his mother, never was there such a scene of falsefondness as that which he played. He was formed by nature, says TACITUS, and by habit nurtured, to hide his hate underinsidious blandishments. DOMITIAN used to treat with theutmost good humour and tenderness such as he intended to murder; nor was thereany warning or interval between his caressing you and delivering you to theExecutioner; nor a more certain sign that a tragical doom awaited you, than thePrince’s gentle behaviour towards you. Well might SUETONIUS say, that his cruelty was not only excessive, but sly, and instantaneous.

NOW under such a torrent of Accusations, under Lawsperverted, Informers busy, employed, protected and rewarded, when all thingswere crimes, and all men were feared, nay, when fear itself was a crime, (forwhen CALIGULA murdered his brother, he gave it for areason, that the youth was afraid of being murdered) when servants andneighbours, nay, acquaintance and kindred, were all justly to be suspected; weneed not admire that all offices of friendship and compassion were suspendedamongst men, and compassion itself, as it were, extinguished. When LIBO DRUSUS, so often already mentioned, upon hisarraignment for Treason, went in mourningfrom house to house to sollicit the interposition ofhis relations (as all the great families in Rome were so) and to pray theiraid, when his life and all was at stake; they all declined it to a man, eachalledging a reason of his own, but every one in reality from the same cause,namely, their fear of the Emperor [m] .

PEOPLE must not only shew no sorrow or sympathy fortheir murdered relations, but they must testify joy, unless they had a mind tobe murdered themselves; as under NERO, many, whose nearestrelations had been murdered by him, repaired to the Temples with thanksgivingand offerings, and when the City was filled with corps, so was the Capitol withvictims. In that mighty carnage made by TIBERIUS of thefriends and followers of SEJANUS at once; when thepavements were covered with single carcasses, or filled with carcasses inpiles, those of every sex and age, many that were noble, many that were mean,all cast abroad promiscuously; neither their acquaintance nor kindred wereallowed to approach them, or to bewail them, or even at last to behold them.About the coarses spies were placed, to watch countenances, and the signs ofsorrow: and when, after they became putrified and noisome, and were thrown intothe Tiber, whether they floated in the stream, or were cast upon the banks,none would touch them, none durst bury or burn them. The force of Fear had cutoff all the commerce and offices of Humanity; and the more Tyranny raged, themore human compassion was extinguished [n] . Even the outrageous CALIGULA had so well learnedto hide his heart, that when bythe cruelty of TIBERIUS, hismother and both his brothers were condemned and banished, not a word escapedhim; nor a groan; though all arts were used to draw words and resentment fromhim. OCTAVIA too, the wife of NERO, when her little innocent brother was murdered before her face, by the directionof the Tyrant her husband, had even then learned, young as she was, to smotherall symptoms of tenderness and sorrow, and every affection of the soul; nay, AGRIPPINA, with all her courage and high spirit, labouredto hide her surprize and dread, and every other emotion, upon thatoccasion.

Sect. VII.: The increase of Tyranny. Innocenceand Guilt not measured by the Law, but by the Emperor’s Pleasure andMalice.

ONE would think that Tyranny had by this time gone as far as itcould go, and that after this, human cruelty and terrors could be strained nohigher. But this is a mistake, Flatterers and Accusers were ingenious villains,and Tyranny is a monster never glutted; it is still craving for new butcheryand victims; its purveyors therefore are ever studying to humour and pamper it [o] . Who could have imagined any thing upon earth more intensely cruel than TIBERIUS ? yet his Successors exceeded him and one anotherin cruelties, for number and quality; and DOMITIAN committed such as had escaped even the preceding monsters. Hence TACITUS says; “As our fore-fathers had seen the ultimate pointand last efforts of public Liberty; it was reserved to us of this generation tobehold the utmost weight and severity of public Bondage; since by the terrorsof State Inquisitors,we were even bereft of the common intercourse ofCivil Life, that of discoursing ourselves, and of listening to the discourse ofothers:” he adds, “we should have also lost the use of memory, as well as thehabit of speaking, had it been equally in our power to forget as to besilent.”

THE trial of persons for Treason went on generally inthe old form, but in effect, was all resolvable into the breast and goodpleasure of the Prince. According to hints from him, persons were condemned oracquitted; sometimes by his interposing the Tribunitial Power, they were notadmitted to be accused; sometimes Treason was found in one man’s words andactions, which in another were not allowed to be criminal. Thus men weresentenced, or absolved, or not accused, not according to their guilt orinnocence, but to their degree of grace or dislike with the Emperor, who hadthe Prerogative to coin guilt and innocence, and invert one into the other, ashe pleased. Thus TIBERIUS pursued VESTILIUS to death, his brother’s antient friend and his own,for suspicion of having lampooned his Nephew CALIGULA; butwould not allow COTTA MESSALINUS to be a criminal for thesame offence and for many more. But COTTA had merit, he wasalways foremost in every bloody Counsel; all his wickedness and crimes were somany services, and so much merit. In those days there was no sure guilt butthat of worth and of virtue, and innocence; hence the security of all menegregiously mischievous. The known cruelty of the Prince, was no terror tothose who took care to escape it, by the vileness of their lives; especially ifthey were active to feed his cruelty by noble sacrifices; like HATERIUS AGRIPPA, who meditated in the midst of his cups andharlots the destruction of illustrious men. The worst andvilest men in the Empire, became the securest, andoften the highest, by destroying the best.

Sect. VIII.: What TACITUS means by Instrumenta regni.

BESIDES the Accusers, who were the Imperial Bloodhounds, to huntmen down for words, conjectures, signs, and appearances, by ridiculous pleas,forced constructions, and wrested Laws; the Emperors had other pestilent toolscalled by TACITUS Instrumenta regni, the Instruments of Imperial Rule. These were the Poisoners and Assassins. Whenthere was no room or pretence to accuse a person signal for worth or opulence,or on any account obnoxious, and thence fit to be destroyed; or when it wasunsafe to accuse him; recourse was had to a dose or dagger. Such were P. CELER, and ÆLIUS the Freedman, they whopoisoned JULIUS SILANUS, by the appointment of AGRIPPINA: such was ANICETUS, whomurdered NERO’S Mother, by the direction of her son: suchwas LOCUSTA, who administred the poison to CLAUDIUS, a woman famous for many feats in poisoning, and longretained for this talent, amongst the implements of Court; it was she whoprepared this poison as well as that which destroyed young BRITANNICUS: such was XENOPHON, Physicianto CLAUDIUS; one who helped to dispatch his master: suchwere they who by the procurement of LIVIA, made away thedescendants of AUGUSTUS. After the assassination of CALIGULA, in his apartment was found a chest filled withall sorts of poisons, so rapid, that when they were thrown into the sea, theyproved baneful to the fish; and numbers were by the tide cast dead upon theshore. Such also were the Tribunes and Centurions, and even the Captain of thePrætorian Guards; whowhenever they were ordered to seize and kill, neverfailed to obey, without any reason but the word of command. Thus POSTHUMUS AGRIPPA was dispatched by a Centurion under TIBERIUS: thus GERELANUS the Tribune,was, at the head of a band of soldiers, by NERO employed tosee the execution of VESTINUS the Consul, a man chargedwith no guilt; but NERO, who hated and feared him, havingneither crime nor accuser against him, and being therefore unable to assumeeven the false guise of a Judge, betook himself to the violence of aTyrant.

IN truth, the whole body of Prætorian Guards were keptby these Tyrants as their Assassins, to murder for them, or to secure otherswho did. The Turk too has his Mutes and Poisoners in the Seraglio, as well assoldiers, to execute his fury secretly, or openly. LEWIS the eleventh entertained other secret Ruffians to stab and drown, besides histrusty murderer the Provost TRISTAN. Queen KATHERINE and her son CHARLES the Ninth,kept an Assassin, to dispatch privately such men of rank as they could find noother means to destroy; and as dark as the proceedings in the Bastile are kept,it is known what helps have been administered to the miserable prisoners there,to get rid of life, besides that of nature. Under the Reign of LEWIS the fourteenth the trade of poisoning was brought togreat perfection; and was suspected, with too much appearance, to have beenpart of the Politics of some French Ministers, as well as the bane ofothers.

Sect. IX.: How much these Emperors hated, andhow fast they destroyed all great and worthy Men. Their dread of every Man forany Reason.

THE destruction of every man who was great or good, was socommon and almost certain in those tragical Reigns, that TACITUS reckons as a wonder the natural death of L. PISO, chief Pontiff [p] . Eminent men, and eminent merit, are the dread of Tyrants. That meritand those talents which, during the old Republic, would have certainlyrecommended a man to public Favour and public Honours, did afterwards exposehim as certainly, to Imperial jealousy and persecution, generally to ruin anddeath; and those pestilent Accusers, Instruments of public Servitude, the sonsof rapine and blood, who were now the men of fashion and favour, and cloathedwith the spoils of their Country, for afflicting and mangling her, anddevouring her vitals, would have been then treated as public Enemies and Beastsof prey, and doomed to the pains of Murder and Treason, with universal consentand abhorrence.

SUCH a barbarous and unnatural inversion of all Order,Law, and Righteousness, accompanied the Sovereignty of the Cæsars. AUGUSTUS, reckoned the best and wisest of them, though heaffected to love and countenance men of parts and accomplishments, yet limitedhis favours to such of them as were devoted to Flattery and the Usurpation.Hence the public Honours conferred by him upon ATEIUSCAPITO, a new man, one of signal Abilities, but a notorious Flatterer;nay, the Emperorraised him in opposition to ANTISTIUSLABEO, one who excelled in the same acquirements; one who never departedfrom a laudable freedom of speech and spirit, and thence more applauded thanthe other, by the public voice: whereas, the suppleness and submission of CAPITO rendered him more acceptable to those who bore rule.The latter by this merit gained the dignity of Consul; the other, for havingtoo much, was never suffered to rise higher than that of Prætor. How much mustthe spirit of Imperial Jealousy encrease afterwards?

EVERY thing gave these Tyrants fear and offence. Was aman nobly born and popular? He withdrew the affections of the People, rivalledthe Prince, and threatened a Civil War [q] . Was he akin to AUGUSTUS ? He had his eye upon theSovereignty [r] . Had he a reputation for Arms? He was a living terror to the Prince [s] . Was a great man afraid of popularity, and lived retired? He gainedfame by shunning it, and still was an eyesore [t] ; and his best fate was to leave his Country [u] ; but where the exile was a considerable man, the executioner generallyfollowed. Was he virtuous, and his life and morals exact? He was another BRUTUS, and by the purity of his manners, upbraided thevitious behaviour of the Emperor [w] . Was a man sad? It was because the administration prospered [x] .Did he indulge himself in gayety and feasting? It wasbecause the Emperor was ill, and his end thought to be near [y] . Was he rich? He was too wealthy for a subject, and great wealth inprivate hands boded ill to Princes [z] . Was he poor? He was thence the more enterprizing and desperate [a] . Was he a dull man, and unactive; He only put on the guise of stupidityand sloth, till he found room for some bloody purpose [b] . Or had he a different character, and was a lively and active man? Thenit was plain he did not so much as feign a desire of private life and recess,but avowed a bustling Republican Spirit, and to be meddling with the State [c] . Did he live in pomp and magnificence? He studied to overshadow theEmperor in seats and grandeur [d] . Was he accomplished in science, a Philosopher, or master of Eloquence,and thence esteemed? The lustre of his Fame gave umbrage to the Prince [e] .

IN short, no man could possess any advantage or qualitythat rendered him acceptable to God or man, a blessing to his Country, to hisfriends, or to himself, but such quality and advantage was sure toawaken the jealousy and vengeance of these Tyrants,and procure his doom [f] .

Sect. X.: Reflections upon the Spirit of aTyrant. With what Wantonness the Roman Emperors shed the blood of the RomanPeople. The blindness of such as assisted the Usurpation of CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS.

HOW miserable must be the reflections of a Tyrant, if he has anyreflections, that numbers must be wretched (for what wretchedness is notproduced by Tyranny?) that he may make a hideous figure, unsafe and detested?Every step he takes for his grandeur and security, renders him morecontemptible or abhorred, and therefore more insecure; and the bloody end ofmost, abundantly shews, that numerous Guards and Armies are so far fromsecureing him, that from them his greatest dread accrues. What a curse it isupon a thinking Being, to consider himself as an obstacle to every thing lovelyand desirable amongst men: to the Virtue, Liberty and Happiness of all men, tohis own peace and stability, to his own innocence and true glory: that forevery chain he puts upon his People, he multiplies terrors and contempt uponhis own head; and having forfeited their affections, and living in distrust ofthose whom he ought chiefly to confide in, relies for his life upon hirelings,the sons of vice and idleness, or forced from their honest labour to be madeso, and often picked out of streets and gaols? He dreads every man who is greatand brave; and one who fights for him, conquers for him, and saves him, doesbut expose himself to jealousy, indignity and martyrdom. His own slaves,spiritless and cowardly,cannot serve him, and a man truly valiant is undoneby serving him. The people are apt to admire and magnify military virtue, andthence the Tyrant hates and dreads such as have it. CHARLES the fifth held it a greater honour, to be Count of CATALONIA, than King of the Romans: he had reason; the CATALANS were free men and valiant; the Romans poormonk-ridden slaves.

BUT I shall find another place in the course of theseObservations to discourse more sully of Armies and Conquests: I shall here onlyobserve with what wantonness these Tyrants shed the blood of Roman Citizens;Citizens whose lives were once so valuable, fenced and secured by Laws sonumerous, so sacred, and strong; lives so precious that nothing against thelife and fortune of the meanest Roman could be determined, but by the Romans ingeneral, assembled in Centuries. These Romans who, while free, became themasters of mankind, were, by losing their Liberty, become daily victims totheir own domestic Traitors, and miserable Traitors they were; to a CLAUDIUS, a CALIGULA, a NERO. By the ancient Constitution and Laws of Rome, theseUsurpers were the only persons liable to be put to death, without process, orform, or penalty. See the Lex Valeria in LIVY, and CICERO Pro domosua.

HAD such as were Champions for the exaltation of CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS, foreseen what theirrace and descendants were to suffer under the Successors of these Usurpers,would it not have quenched their zeal, would it not have struck them withhorror? Had they foreseen their offspring stooping and groaning under a beastlybondage, not to the Emperor only, but to his slaves and strumpets; living aprecarious life at the mercy of sycophants; under continual terrors of theAccusers, or themselves exercising the execrable occupation of such; someendangeredby the lustre of their name; some by that of theirvirtue and capacity, others from that of their wealth; many become Pimps,Pathics, and Parasites to the Prince; several, upon his authority, prostitutingtheir persons and quality upon the public Stage; numbers doomed to exile upondesolate rocks and islands; numbers slain outright, their carcases exposed anddenied the privilege of burial, their fortunes seized from their families; andall of them liable to the like tragical fate; their wives withal daily exposedto the lust of the Tyrant, and afterwards made the subject of his ImperialSport and Drollery, even before their injured and blushing husbands, nay,prostituted in the Palace as in the public Stews, and such as passed by invitedin to lie with these illustrious Ladies, as with common harlots, for money.

HAD the Partizans of Usurpation foreseen these wofulconsequences to their families from it, would it not have changed their heartsand their conduct? Yet what was easier to be foreseen than the fury and ravagesof a madman or fool unlimited, where chance, and not law, directed the blindSuccession; as did blind will, and not reason, the Administration? But with theheat of party and present impulse, cool reflection and foresight areincompatible: it scarce ever happens, that, for future considerations, howeverwise, the instant passion, however foolish, is smothered. The Adherents of CÆSAR and AUGUSTUS had an immediateview of greatness, and would not disturb so pleasing an imagination by anxiouscare or fear for things future. All the world goes well with those that arewell; and before men can be brought to believe prophecies of misery, they mustbegin to feel it. What a child is Man! what a name is Reason! The most frequentuse we make of it, is to reason ourselves out of it, and from it to borrow armsagainst itself: just as we have seenLaws quoted to vindicate the subversion of Law, andthe Holy Gospel of Peace and Love urged in defence of Persecution andEnmity.

Sect. XI.: Why under such Tyrants, the Senatecontinued to subsist.

IT may be inquired why Tyrants so jealous and precipitate, didnot abolish the Senate; and it was once the purpose of CALIGULA, as it was afterwards that of NERO, to have murdered all the Senators: but in truth it wouldhave been an enterprize of infinite difficulty and danger, to have attemptedthe suppression of that body. It is incredible what stubbornness and forcethere is in established Names, Customs and Forms, which often are harder todestroy than realities and substances; and signs and titles frequently remain,when the things signified and denominated by them are gone. Thus Popery hasextirpated Christianity, and is called Christianity; and Evangelical Humilityand Forbearance are preached and extolled in the midst of Pride and Flames.

AS the Popes pretend to derive all power from theGospel, which they pervert and suppress, so did the other Roman Tyrants theirsfrom the Senate; as if the ancient free State had still subsisted, and to havedestroyed the Senate, would have been to have abrogated their own title toSovereignty. They must likewise have destroyed the Consulship, which was stillreckoned summum Imperium, the supreme Magistracy: with theOffice of Prætor, and every Office, great and small, in the State, with thetitle and stile of every Law of Rome, and every Tribunal of Justice there: for,every Law and every Office depended upon the Senate, or upon the Senate andPeople. They must have abolished Learning, History, Records, all Process andMemory;nay, the very Military Titles, and Laws of War andNegotiation; those about the Colonies and Provinces, Customs and Trade; andhave introduced absolute Oblivion, a new Language, and a new Creation.

NOW what Power, what Genius upon earth, was equal tosuch a prodigious design, that of vacating at once regulations and usages soinfinitely numerous, so long established, become a great part of the publicLanguage, grown, as it were, to the minds and memories of men, and essential toSpeech and Conversation, as well as to business and protection; and then tosupply such an immense void, with Ordinances, Offices, Terms and manner ofProcess, so as to answer all the ends of Society in so vast an Empire? This wasnot to be done, nor was it needful: they found their account sufficiently inbreaking the Power and Spirit of the Senate, in reducing it to a skeleton and aname, and in exercising under that name all their own violences andexorbitances. The Senate and the People had a venerable sound, and served as acloak for power when they themselves had none, and the Emperor had all [g] . The registering of Edicts by the Parliament of Paris is become amatter of form; but without that form, the Court, as uncontrouled as it is,does not care to execute an Edict. The Romans still preserved a veneration fortheir Senate and Magistrates, and the same was often found in the Armies;insomuch that as late as the Reign of COMMODUS, thesoldiers were so enraged at the insolence of PERENNIS, hisFavourite and Minister, for discharging from their military commands such aswere Patricians and Senators, and for placing in their room others ofEquestrian Rank, that they cut him in pieces.

TIME, however, with the continuance of Tyranny, andBarbarity its inseparable companion, cancelled by degrees the old names andforms, after the essence had been long cancelled; and introduced a cloud ofoffices and words, of rumbling sounds, and swelling titles, suitable to thegenius of absolute Rule, and as different from the purity of the old RepublicanLanguage, as are Liberty and Politeness from grossness and bondage.

Sect. XII.: How the unrelenting Cruelty ofthe Emperors hastened the Dissolution of the Empire. The bad Reigns of CONSTANTINE and CONSTANTIUS. The good Reign of JULIAN. The indiscreet behaviour of theChristians. Continued Tyranny; and end of the Empire.

TO resume once more the subject of Accusations and the abusedLaw of Majesty; They were cankers in the heart of the Empire, which at lasthastened its Dissolution. The Emperors, to gratify their own cruelty, werecontinually wasting the public Strength by sacrifices noble and many; and, tosatiate their avarice or that of their creatures, encouraged endless seizuresand confiscations. This crying Oppression was by the Emperor CONSTANTINE, before mentioned, carried higher than any of thePagan Emperors had ever carried it. Besides his own rapine, which was mercilessand excessive, he glutted his Favourites and Grandees with the spoil andfortunes of others; as MARCELLINUS witnesses [h] . His son CONSTANTIUS followed his example, and wasa more consuming Tyrant than the Father. I have already said something of hisCharacter and Reign, which was chiefly conductedby inhuman villains, whose heads and hands wereeternally engaged in the plunder and blood of his People. Such were hisCounsellors, such his Governors of Provinces, which were sucked and devoured tothe bone, and might say with truth, what a noble Dalmatian once told TIBERIUS; “Instead of sending us Shepherds to protect ourflocks, you send us Wolves to devour them.” How many Governors in all Countrieshave deserved to be hanged, before they reached their Governments, because theywent with design to rob and oppress?

THESE depredations were restrained during the Reign of JULIAN, who had as much capacity, as many virtues andaccomplishments, as could well adorn private life, or a crown: he was brave,generous, wise, and humane; a Hero, a Philosopher, a Politician, a Friend andFather to mankind. It is pity such an amiable Character should have any blots;his had two; he was superstitious even to weakness, and had conceived anaversion to the Christians altogether unsuitable to his remarkable candor andequity; an aversion which they themselves improved too much, by a behaviourunworthy of so great a Prince, much more unworthy of so meek a Religion. Theyindeed treated him with eminent spite and outrage, traduced him, libelled him,and even mobbed him. Nothing could be a sharper Satire upon them, for suchbrutish conduct, than the singular meekness with which he bore it. The truthis, the Christians were then strangely degenerated from the primitivepeaceableness and purity, become licentious and turbulent to the last degree,and perpetually instigated by the arrogance and ambition of the Bishops, whowere come to contend with arms as well as curses, for the possession of opulentChurches. It was not uncommon with these ambitious men, to affront and revilethe Emperors to their faces, to publish Invectives againstthem, to break the public Peace and to raise frequentTumults and Seditions. As they were the most complaisant Courtiers whenpleased; so they were the most implacable Incendiaries when disgusted. All thiswas enough to alarm any Prince, and to awaken resentment in the most flegmatic.Moreover a great part of the wealth and revenue, which used to go towards thepublic Charge, particularly to defend the Frontiers against the Barbarians, wasdiverted and appropriated to maintain the grandeur and pomp of the greatPrelates; sacerdotes specie religionis fortunas omneseffundebant, as TACITUS says, upon anotheroccasion.

AS some parts of the behaviour of that great Prince, onewise and good in most things, but mistaken and even unjust in others, chieflytowards the Christians, ought to be censured and condemned; the behaviour ofthe Christians towards him can never be justified. They insulted himintolerably, with all the excesses of bitterness and ill-breeding, while helived, and slandered and blackened him shamefully when dead; as much as some ofthem basely flattered and extolled other Emperors, who, though complaisant andliberal to the Ecclesiastics, were consuming Tyrants.

IT is the business of Truth and of true Religion, togive even enemies their due, and friends no more than their due. To give JULIAN his; if we lay aside his Religion, I doubt whetherwe can find upon record one Prince that excelled him, or three that equalledhim. He is indeed a pattern to princes, in spite of the anger and obloquy ofWriters who were apparently animated by a spirit then too common, a spiritaltogether narrow, monkish, and vindictive; such a one as the charitableReligion of JESUS disclaims, and wants not. To hisbenevolent Gospel and Precepts I sincerely wish all men to conform;but fewer signs of such conformity, or rather greatersigns of the want of it, have I no where seen, than in the Conduct, Discourses,and Writiengs of such as have railed at others for their religious sentiments,real or imputed. I wish too that a temper so barbarous and Antichristian hadbeen entirely confined to the Days of that Emperor, whose Administration willfor ever recommend him to all calm and impartial men, as an astonishing exampleof virtue and parts.

THE Reign of JOVIAN, whose intentionseems to have been honest and good, was but short, and followed by those of VALENTINIAN and VALENS; Princesexceeding furious, suspicious and sanguinary. Under them the old Accusations,Confiscations and Carnage were revived without mercy, and continuedthenceforward, with few intervals, till the Roman Empire was quite overthrown.The people in every part of it being quite harrassed and consumed, finding norelaxation from Oppressors and Accusations, no protection from Law, no refugein the Clemency of the Emperors, grew desperate, and revolted to the Goths,Huns, Vandals, and other Invaders.

Sect. XIII.: The Excellency of a limited Monarchy,especially of our own.

I Think it is MACHIAVEL who observes, thattwo or three weak and bad Princes succeeding each other, are sufficient to ruina State, where they govern by mere Will; but it may survive a long successionof foolish Princes limited by good Laws. VESPASIAN foundthree hundred millions (of our money) wanting to restore the Empire to acondition of subsisting. Monarchy, according to PLATO, isthe best Government, or the worst: to which opinion I subscribe; as I do tothat of PHILIP DECOMINES, that England is the place in the world,where the Public is most equally administered, and where the people suffer theleast violence. We are blessed with that form of Government which TACITUS mentions as the most perfect, and thinks thehardest to be framed; that happy ballance and mixture of interests whichcomprehends every interest [i] .

AN English Monarch has one advantage which sets himabove any arbitrary Monarch upon earth; he obliges his subjects by beingobliged to them. As he protects them by defending their Property and Laws; sothey, by supporting him, enable him to do it: while they give by choice, andnot by force, they give chearfully. Princes who take all themselves, and leavenothing to their people to give, can never be beloved by their people. If it betrue that we hate those whom we have hurt, it is equally true, that we are aptto love those whom we have obliged. Hence God is said, not only to love doinggood, but to love the good that he does.

ARBITRARY Princes would doubtless chuse to have the loveand affections of their people, were the same to be acquired by furious andunaccountable Rule; but this is impossible. Hence dread of their power is allthe share they can expect in the hearts of their subjects; and this is acompliment which their subjects pay to things the most hideous and vile; toSerpents; to mad and wild Beasts; to Plagues and Satan; to Pain and Poverty.But even this miserable compliment is not always paid to such princes: they arenot always dreaded. When their terrors are become habitual, they cease, in agood measure, to be terrors; the people grow hardenedand desperate; they themselves become scorned; andcontempt, the most abject lot in life, becomes the portion of those who possessthe highest. When NERO asked SUBRIUSFLAVIUS, one of the Conspirators against his life, from what motives hehad renounced his Allegiance; “It was because I abhorred thee,” said he. TheConsul VESTINIUS too was known to NERO, to despise his vile and unmanly spirit; and in the whole detection of thatConspiracy, and the punishment of the conspirators, nothing was so signal asthe series of contempt poured upon that brutal Tyrant, in the heighth of hisPower, and amidst the terrors of his Tyranny. Nothing, says TACITUS, mortified him so much. But when the Monster wasdeposed, he incurred such sovereign scorn, that he was doomed to be strippednaked, and scourged to death like a slave, with his head fastened in a pillory;his carcass to be cast afterwards from the Tarpeian Rock, and with a hook inhis nose to be dragged to the Tiber.

NOR could the great reputation of JULIUSCÆSAR, or that of AUGUSTUS, and all their Power,secure them from popular insults and despight. The mœchumcalvum, and videsne ut cinædus orbem digito temperet; were contumelies which even their greatness could not escape. MITHRIDATES King of Armenia, when despoiled of his Kingdom,experienced by the behaviour of his People, how much they reverenced him; theyeven assaulted him with reproaches and blows [k] . When the Emperor VITELLIUS was led along to theslaughter, with his hands bound behind him, his habit all torn, and himself afilthy spectacle; he found much the like usage. Numbers wounded him withreproaches; but none was found to bewail him; and the populace railed at himwhen dead, with thesame baseness of heart, with which they had flatteredhim living [l] .

DISCOURSE VIII.: Of the general Debasement of Spirit and Adulationwhich accompany Power unlimited.

Sect. I.: The motives of Flattery considered.Its vileness, and whence it begins.

I SHALL now say something of the extreme Debasement of theRomans under the Emperors. Flattery ever rises in proportion to Power and Fear.Where Law and Liberty reign, and men hold not their Property and Lives at themercy of one or a few; this security begets in them a pride and stubbornnessinconsistent with Servility and Adulation. Men do not flatter such as they dareown to be no better than themselves, or such as have no power to hurt them; norwill they pay over-much reverence to great Titles which are not accompaniedwith great Power, nor supported by Superstition. For Superstition enslaves aseffectually as real Power, and therefore confers it; nor is Tyranny ever socomplete as when the chief Magistrate is chief Pontiff, as were the Soldans ofEgypt and Bagdat; or, which is the next thing, can create and depose him, as dothe Turkish Emperors. But where men hold their fortunes and lives at the meremercy of another, they will fear him as much as they love themselves,and flatter him, as much as they fear him [a] . If his Power be limited, their Flattery will be limited; butboundless, if his Authority be so. Thus court and sycophancy prevail less undera mixed Monarchy, than under one that is despotic; in an Aristocracy less thanthere; and less still in a popular State. Perfect equality quite destroys it;complete Sovereignty raises it to the highest.

THE more foolish and wicked a Prince is, the moreIncense he will have; it is the surest way of pleasing a Tyrant, as itsanctifies his Iniquities, and represents him to himself as worthy of all hisGrandeur and equal to all the highest Offices of Empire. TIBERIUS, who was a Prince of great penetration, hatedFlattery, because he knew it to be so; as he knew that they who paid him most,the Senate and Grandees, dreaded, and therefore hated his Power; as he, whounderstood perfectly the nature and blessing of Liberty, would have dreaded andhated any man in his place, had he been in theirs. He knew that Flattery andHate often go together; so that they who possess the greatest Hate, profess thegreatest Affection. It is as much as their lives are worth, to manifest anytokens of Aversion; and the stronger it is, it will require the more Art andAssiduity to hide it. JULIUS CÆSAR was loaded with allsorts and every excess of Honours, some that were divine, with design to makehim odious, while they who conferred them abhorred him, and were concertingschemes to destroy him. With the same view the like artifices were practised bythe Senate towards his Successor OCTAVIUS, afterwards AUGUSTUS, concerning whom the equivocal saying of CICERO, could not but be remembered by TIBERIUS [b] , “they should extol theYouth, and take him off.” Hence though TIBERIUS was irreconcileable to public Liberty, he abominatedFlattery [c] . He saw that Flattery was the mere effect of Bondage, and suiting onlywith the spirit of Slaves; and though he would not part with the Sovereignty(notwithstanding he often talked of it, as well as pretended great backwardnessto accept it) yet he was ashamed of the vile and slavish abjectness of theRomans [d] .

BUT neither under TIBERIUS was thereany security in abstaining from Flattery; he was a Prince infinitely jealous,and could brook no sort of opposition, nor even independence; and it was bothnecessary and dangerous to flatter him; but, in my opinion, not so dangerous asnecessary: I mean, to such as purely consulted their own safety, and to escapethe rage of the Tyrant. It is true, he despised Flatterers; but he hurt themnot; and it was natural for him to think (suspicious as he was) that such aswould not flatter him, scorned him. It is certain he never forgave freespeakers, never could endure men of bold spirit, but, first or last, pursuedthem to destruction. It was perillous, says TACITUS, topractise no Flattery, and perillous to practise too much [e] . L. PISO had inveighed against the corruptions ofthe State, particularly against the pestilent pursuits of the Impleaders, whowere daily arraigning, and circumventing, and menacing all men; he eventhreatened to quit Rome. TIBERIUS bore this calmly, nay, hedescended to mollify him with kind words. But in a soul like his, brooding overVengeance, though he had suppressed the sallies of Wrath, the deep impressionsremained; PISO was agood while afterwards charged with Treason, and, butfor a natural death, which opportunely intervened, must have suffered the painsof Treason. ASINIUS GALLUS incurred his rage for a motionin Senate which had really a compliment in it. TIBERIUS hadin a Letter to the Fathers complained, that from the plots and snares of hisenemies, he led a life full of dread and apprehensions. GALLUS proposed to address the Prince, that he would explainhis fears to the Senate, and permit them to remove the causes; this incensedhim. GALLUS too had piqued him before, and was suspected byhim of aspiring views; and though he had notoriously flattered him, he couldnot by it redeem his life.

AS all Corruptions in a State begin commonly from theGrandees (or rather they are beginners of all Corruption) so the Grandees arethe most signal Flatterers; they are most in the eye of a Prince, they are themost obnoxious to his jealousy, and thence the most prone to flatter him [f] . A Prince who governs or would govern by mere Will, must countenanceand employ such as ask no reasons for what he does; but commend all he does;and the more they have to get or lose, the lower they must stoop, the more theymust praise [g] . For this vile servitude of theirs they make reprisals upon the people,and are as terrible to those below them, as fawning to those above them; forthe most prostitute Slaves, are the most insolent Tyrants, and it is from thesame baseness of spirit that men oppress and flatter; it was truly said of CALIGULA, “that there never lived a more complaisant Slave,nor a more cruel and detestable Master.” ThusFlattery is propagated, and infects all degrees ofmen. The Prince awes the Grandees, and by the Grandees is flattered; theGrandees oppress and terrify the people; and thence the people dread and adorethe Grandees. The Bashaws are slaves to the great Turk; the people slaves tothe Bashaws.

THE insolence of slavish spirits is by TACITUS exemplified in VITELLIUS, amongmany other instances. He was always the foremost in Flattery; ever assaultingevery worthy Patriot with reproaches, and ever struck silent when repulsed;agreeably to the genius of Sycophants, to be both insulting and cowardly. Thisman, however, prospered by Prostitution. He had great employments under TIBERIUS, he was a great Favourite in the two succeedingReigns, he was thrice Consul and once Censor. Nor did the man want good talentsand qualifications; in the Government of Provinces, says TACITUS, he exercised the integrity of a primitive Roman. Buthis dread of CALIGULA, and complaisance to CLAUDIUS, changed him into a filthy Slave, and he is handeddown to posterity as a pattern of the most infamous Flattery: The just rewardof his servile submission. His first and best actions were forgot; his last andworst remembered; and the excellencies of his younger years obliterated by anold age drenched in servitude and iniquity. Besides his adoring CLAUDIUS as a God, he carried one of MESSALINA’S sandals in his bosom continually, frequently kissedit; and amongst his houshold Gods placed golden Statues of PALLAS and NARCISSUS, the Emperor’s freedslaves. This man was, I think, farther to VITELLIUS afterwards Emperor. Such men such Princes delight in; regibusboni quam mali suspectiores sunt, semperque his aliena virtus formidolosaest: says SALLUST.

Sect. II.: Men of elevated Minds irreconcileableto Arbitrary Power, and thence suspected by it. The Court paid to it alwaysinsincere, sometimes expedient, but seldom observes any bounds.

AGRIPPA told AUGUSTUS, according to DION CASSIUS, that it was impossible for a man of greatspirit and resolution, to be other than a lover of Liberty, and an enemy in hisheart to an absolute master. AGRIPPA himself was that sortof man; he had courage enough to advise that Prince to resign the Sovereignty,and restore public Liberty; such in truth was his credit and bravery, that AUGUSTUS thought himself no otherwise safe, than either bykilling him, or taking him for his son-in-law. The Emperor did more than givehim his daughter; he assumed him partner in the Tribunitial Power, which, asthat Usurper and his Successors managed it, was, in effect, the DictatorialPower. The other great men of Rome he suspected and hated; though in vanity andfor the praise of Posterity, he left them his heirs in the third degree [h] ; AUGUSTUS and TIBERIUS judgedtoo well, to imagine that the illustrious Senators and Chiefs of Rome, men whohad scorned the alliance and affinity of Kings, nay, treated Kings as theircreatures and dependents, could like a blind dependence upon one of their ownCitizens, who by usurpation and violence had made himself an enemy to all. Evenin the Reign of TIBERIUS there were Romans who thoughtthemselves as good as him; CNEIUS PISO, for example, scarcegave place to him, and despised his sons, as men far beneath himself. Buthis haughty spirit cost him his life; for though TIBERIUS used him as a proper instrument to thwart andoverthrow GERMANICUS, he afterwards turned that veryservice to the destruction of PISO.

AFFECTION can never accompany a submission which isforced, nor men submit willingly to a Power which they think they havethemselves a right to exercise. Hence the compliments and praises of theseeminent Romans towards the Emperors, are generally by TACITUS derived from Flattery; though sometimes necessary, andsometimes well intended; necessary, when used for their own preservation; andwell intended, when employed to instil into the Prince virtuous lessons ofGovernment. MARCUS TERENTIUS was perhaps justifiable, whenin defence of his life, which was at stake, he made that high-flown complimentto TIBERIUS; “To thee the Gods have granted the supremedisposal of things, and to us have left the glory of obedience.” The Senatorsalso did well in magnifying some popular Acts of NERO, thathis youthful mind being thus incited by the Glory arising from light things,might court it in things which were greater. And THRASEAPETUS was justifiable, when in his speech about ANTISTIUS the Prætor, arraigned for Treason for lampooning theEmperor, he extolled that Prince’s mercy, in order to make him merciful.

BUT as that which is only good in some certain degreesand exigences, seldom stops there; so this same Flattery, no wise blameableunder some circumstances, grew scandalous and excessive; it kept pace with allthe phrenzy and cruelties of these outrageous and inhuman Tyrants; and by ittheir cruelties and phrenzy were encouraged. The more mischievous and vile theywere, the more they were adored. Dread of their fury had seized the souls ofmen; nor was any remedy sought against their furybut that of Flattery. Men of slavish minds alwaysbegan the detestable rout; their example drew others after them; the lovers ofliberty found it impossible to resist the many, and unsafe to distinguishthemselves by opposition. Interest swayed some, example others, fear all, andat last it became a common strife who should be foremost in the race toServitude. All public spirit, all regard to the glory and good of Rome, theinseparable characteristic of the old free Romans, was now lost and forgot; itwas converted into fear and anxiety of every man for himself. This will ever bethe case when a Prince, armed with sufficient Powers, sets up his own interestagainst that of the State; particulars having no longer any thing to do withthe public, will study only to secure themselves.

Sect. III.: The excessive Power of the Imperialfreed Slaves; with the scandalous Submission and Honours paid them by theRomans.

AS Tyranny produces abject fear and anxiety in particulars forthemselves, so from this selfish fear and anxiety come the beginning andprogress of universal Servitude, the extinction of all Patriotism and honestzeal, the power of corruption, and the symptoms of a State hastening to ruinand desolation. All the good or evil which could befal any Roman, lay wholly inthe breast and option of the Prince; and hence the study of every man to humourthe Prince, or the Slaves who governed him; for governed he generally was byslaves the vilest and most pestilent; yes, the whole Empire, that Empire thatcontained a great share of the Globe, and terrified almost the whole, wasswayed, sold, oppressed, and exhausted by slaves bought from the chain and theoar. CLAUDIUS not only declared that affairsadjudged by his Receivers should be held equallyvalid with those adjudged by himself, but got the same established by a solemnDecree of Senate. Now these Receivers of the Emperors were his manumizedSlaves, who under that title often governed Provinces; he raised the authorityof these vermin to a pitch equal with that of the Sovereign and the Laws. FELIX Governor of Judea was a freed slave, the husband ofthree Queens, and the brother of PALLAS another freedslave, who controlled the Emperor, lay with the Empress, and was master of theEmpire; so that NERO said pertinently of him, when heturned him out of office, “that PALLAS went to abdicate theSovereignty.”

BEHOLD the debasement of the great and venerable RomanSenate! It is not enough that they flatter the Emperor, and heap upon himPowers and Honours so great and manifold, that at last they have none forthemselves, hardly any for him; they must likewise adore, and enrich, and exaltthe fugitives and off-scourings of the earth, insects naturally doomed to thevilest offices of the kitchen, stable, and privies. The Romans, Lords of theWorld, must put their necks under the feet of the dregs of human race. For acontemptible project of that same PALLAS, about punishingLadies who married slaves, BAREAS SORANUS Consul elect, thefirst Magistrate in the Roman world, moved the Senate to reward him with theornaments of Prætor, the next Civil Office in the State, and a present of nearan hundred thousand pounds. To this motion it was added by CORNELIUS SCIPIO, that PALLAS should havepublic thanks, that he who was descended from the old Kings of Arcadia, shouldto the service of the public thus postpone that his ancient Nobility, and deignto be reckoned amongst the Emperor’s Ministers. But CLAUDIUS averred,that PALLAS would rest contentwith the honours of the Prætorship, and, rejecting the present, chuse to livein his usual poverty. The Decree passed, was engraved in brass, and publiclyhung up; a pompous Decree, in which a fellow, lately a baresooted slave, nowworth near eight millions, was magnified for observing the laudable self-denialand parcimony of the primitive ages. Observe the strange inversion of all orderand sense! dignity debased; infamy exalted; how low the awful authority of theSenate descended! how vilely the function of a Consul prostituted! howignominiously the glorious name of SCIPIO employed! howabominably the ornaments of Magistracy defiled! an ordinance of State, big withservitude and lies! what stupidity in the Emperor, what insolence in the slave,and what a melancholy failure of all Virtue, Truth, and Liberty amongst alldegrees of men! It was, in truth, a compliment made to a slave by a body ofslaves, as PLINY well observes. We may guess at thevillainy and evil deeds of the man by the enormous Honours that were paid him,though we had no other rule or proof, as we have proofs enough. No such violentcourt was ever paid to SENECA; and TIGELLINUS had much more weight and authority than BURRUS.

REAL goodness and merit beget in all good men realfriendship and affection; and real affection is never so loud nor shewy asaffection assumed. Where we sincerely like and esteem, we are not afraid ofsuspicion in the person esteemed, nor spend much breath and ceremony toconvince him. But where we are conscious of our own insincerity, ourprofessions are pompous and wordy. It was absolutely impossible that these vileUpstarts should love the Senate, or any great men, great in blood, or fortune,or virtue; or the Senate or any great Roman could love such vile Upstarts; butwe see what disguisesfear and falshood can put on! Impartial posterity,which neither fears the Senate nor PALLAS, can perceivenothing in the Honours by them conferred upon him, but the infamy of bothperpetuated. Nor was CLAUDIUS the only Emperor who was thusled in bondage by his franchised bondmen; others submitted to the samevassalage, to the same infamous Counsellors; Pleriqueprincipes (says PLINY ) libertorumerant servi; borum consiliis, borum nutu regebantur. Was not the worldfinely governed, and humankind completely happy; when the universal Lord wasswayed by the lust and nod of creatures just redeemed from the infamy of whipsand fetters? The mighty CÆSAR, to whom the Romans owed alltheir ensuing misery and bondage, began the exaltation of such sons of earth;and, in contempt of censure, declared, that, “if he had employed Highwaymen andAssassins to support his grandeur, he would in return have honoured them withthe same favour.” A true confession, but methinks not very politic; we haveseen already whether his worthy Successors did not actually do so, and whatwere the Instrumenta regni, the bloody tools and machineryof absolute Rule. POLYCLETUS, a manumized slave of NERO’S , when sent by his master to inspect the State ofBritain, travelled with such an immense train, that he was a burden to greatnations, even those of Italy and Gaul.

Sect. IV.: The excessive Flattery of the Senate,how ill judged.

THERE was no mean in the Flattery of the Senate. They might havebeen good Courtiers, without being so abandoned Courtiers. There are instancesof their carrying questions against the spirit of the Court and the efforts ofFavourites, inthe worst Reigns. Thus, in spight of all the powerand caballing of AGRIPPINA, they expelled TARQUITIUS PRISCUS, a creature of hers, from the Senate, indetestation of his base attack upon the life of STATILIUSTAURUS, in subserviency to the Empress, who yearned after the Wealth andfine Gardens of that illustrious Senator. Thus too in the case of ANTISTIUS the Prætor, who had composed some virulent Versesagainst NERO, and exposed them at a great entertainment;though he was impleaded of Treason by COSSUTIANUS CAPITO son-in-law to that powerful minion TIGELLINUS, and though JUNIUS MARULLUS, the Consul elect, moved that he might bedoomed to die after the rigorous manner of antiquity; the Senate followed themilder motion of THRASEA PETUS for confiscation and exile.Nor would they depart from the sentence even after they had received NERO’S Letter about it, though in it he manifested highindignation.

THEY might have made some other efforts of this kind,where they made none; on the contrary, they gave away their Liberties andVoices faster than they could have been taken. But the honest boldness of THRASEA broke the bondage which hung upon the minds ofothers; so much can the example of one worthy man do even in an assemblydevoted to corruption and servitude! It is true, THRASEA paid a severe after-reckoning, and it was the apprehension of that whichstopped the mouths of others, or opened them only to fawn. But who would notchuse the reputation, and integrity of a Patriot, that of a THRASEA, even at the expence of his fate; rather than thefortune and favour of the sycophant VITELLIUS, with theabjectness of his life, and infamy of his name?

Sect. V.: The free Judgment of Posterity apowerful warning to Princes, to reign with moderation and to detest Flatterers.The Name and Memory of the Roman Tyrants how treated.

ALL men have some vanity, and thence some fondness for fame; ifthey would acquire it, and avoid infamy, they must square their actions to thejudgment of Posterity. With Posterity, little evasions, false colourings, andchicane will not pass for reasons, though they may with our cotemporaries, whoare often influenced by friendships, often engaged in parties, often warmed andmisled by passion and partiality. Death and Time destroy all artifices,dissipate all mists, and unveil mysteries; the intentions of men with all theirmotives and pursuits are then scanned and laid open. The flights of Flattery,will not then be termed fondness for the Prince, nor the efforts of Ambitionmiscalled public zeal. CLAUDIUS and PALLAS,TIBERIUS and SEJANUS, NERO and TIGELLINUS; men so caressed, applauded and worshipped duringtheir life and power, men who then employed all tongues in their praises, donow fill, and have long filled the mouths of all men with detestation, andtheir hearts with abhorrence. What avail now their craft and subornations,their power and high posts? Does the awe of purple, or the violence of thesword, do Prætorian Guards and perverted Laws, secure their memory, as they didtheir persons? Do I, for example, fear their charges of Treason, or the vilebreath of their Informers, while I treat them as sanguinary Monsters, as theTyrants, Pests and Oppressors of the earth, as public Curses, and Murderers incold blood?

THESE Tyrants and their Flatterers, though they pushedboth Tyranny and Flattery as far as they would go, have not been able, with alltheir Arts and Terrors, to stifle the memory of men, nor restrain the speech.They are handed down to us under their proper titles. The Emperor NERO we seldom say; but the Tyrant NERO is in every one’s mouth;and the idea of a sycophant ever accompanies the name of VITELLIUS. His great credit and offices are forgot, orremembered only to his infamy. What a check must History and the Censure ofPosterity be to a Prince that has any reflection! Had TIBERIUS,CLAUDIUS, CALIGULA, and other Imperial Monsters considered what frightfullights they were like to be drawn in to future times, it would have spoiledtheir pleasure in tyrannizing, and made them hate their Flatterers, whopersuaded them that all men, at least the best men, spoke of them as theythemselves spoke. With regard to Fame and Posterity it had been better forthese wretches that they had never been born, as well as happy for human-kind;yet no man was ever a greater drudge for Fame than NERO; Erat illi æternitatis perpetuæque famæ cupido, sedinconsulia, says SUETONIUS. Witness his laboriousfatigues in the Theatre and Circus, continued day after day, and often nightsand days, for the reputation of a good Singer, Harper, and Coachman. CALIGULA aspired to the like glory, and was a notableFencer and assiduous Dancer, as well as a Charioteer [i] . Laudable Ambition for a Prince, and as just and high as that of manyothers!

TIBERIUS also wished and prayed for the praises andaffectionate remembrance of posterity [k] . Howwell he succeeded, we all know. He is detested as oneof the most dangerous, false, and deliberate Tyrants that ever afflicted men;nay, he was no sooner known to be dead, than the people broke forth into joyand execrations; some cried, “Into the Tiber with TIBERIUS: others besought mother earth and the infernal Gods to allot him no mansion butamongst the damned and accursed:” others threatened to drag his body with hooksto the charnel of malefactors. And when his corps was going to be removed fromMisenum to Rome, every one cried aloud, that it should rather be carried to thetown of Atella, to be in the Amphitheatre there thrown into a fire, till itwere half burned. Such were the marks of remembrance he had, and deserved, fromthe people! The other two are treated as frantic butchers, or rather as two maddogs delighted with carnage and worrying, bent and active to kill and destroy.What is it to us that they were Princes and Emperors? Men of sense find nomagic in names, but regard Monsters as Monsters, whatever titles Fortune orFlatterers gave them, or they themselves took.

IT is thus Tyrants suffer the vengeance of afterages;and terrible vengeance it is to such as are tender of their Renown, and seekImmortality, as most Princes do; and indeed have it forced upon them, sincethey stand too high, and do too much not to be remembered. Hence they ought tobe more afraid of future censure, which is generally well grounded and willcertainly last, than of temporary praise, which is often false, consequentlyfleeting, at best to be suspected.

Sect. VI.: How lamentably Princes are debauchedand misled by Flatterers.

NOW if Tyrants are abhorred, how much abhorrence is due toFlatterers, who often change Princes into Tyrants, and make Tyrants worse thanthey would be? TIBERIUS assumed the Sovereignty with greatdiffidence; and his natural wariness would have probably made him mild againsthis nature, had not the Romans so readily offered him their necks and theirpersons to bondage. But when he found them devoted to Slavery, he used themlike Slaves, and having nothing to fear from them, he only followed the vilebent of his own spirit [l] .

DOMITIAN rejoiced when he found that AGRICOLA had left him coheir with his wife and daughter; hevainly thought it done out of judgment and choice, and in pure regard to hisperson. So much was he corrupted and blinded by continual Flattery, as to beutterly ignorant, that no Prince, but a bad one, was ever by a father tender ofhis issue and family, assumed into heirship with them, as PLINY the younger well observes.

NERO was in terrible agonies after he had murdered hisMother; he dreaded the soldiery, the Senate, and the people; but when, insteadof danger and resentment, he met with flattering speeches from the Officers,flattering Decrees from the Senate, popular Processions, Applauses, publicDevotions paid to all the Deities, and universal acquiescence; his nativeinsolence became more swelled; and, from this general Servitude, assuming thepride of victory, he ascended the Capitol, offered sacrifices, and thenceforthsurrendered himself to the full sway of all his exorbitant lusts. When he hadcaused thesetwo noble Romans, PLAUTUS and SYLLA, to be assassinated, he wrote to the Senate withoutmentioning the execution, only that they were two men of turbulent spirits, andwhat mighty care it cost him to secure the State. Instantly the obsequiousfathers degraded from the Senate these dead Senators, and ordained publicPrayers and Sacrifices. NERO, upon the receiving of thisDecree, and finding that all his brutal iniquities and acts of blood passed forso many feats of renown, grew emboldened to do a thing which even NERO till then durst not do, and turned away the virtuous OCTAVIA his wife, her by whom he held the Empire [m] . Nay, when soon after the Imperial butcher had ordered the blood ofthat illustrious Innocent to be shed, thanks and oblations were again presentedto the Deities, by an ordinance of Senate. A particular, says TACITUS, which with this view I recount, that whoever reads theevents of those times in this or any other History, may take it for granted,that as often as the Emperors commanded acts of cruelty, banishments andassassinations, so often thanks and sacrifices were decreed to the Gods; andthose Solemnities which were of old the marks and consequences of publicvictories and public felicity, were now so many sad marks of public slaughterand desolation [n] .

THIS was remarkably verified afterwards as well as now;when NERO, upon the discovery of PISO’S conspiracy, had spilt rivers of blood, and slain men by heaps; the fuller thecity was of executions and funerals, the fuller too were the Temples ofsacrifices. One had lost a son, one a brother,or kinsman, or friend in this general butchery; andthe greater their loss, the more gayety they shewed, adorned their houses withLaurel, frequented Temples with Thanksgiving, embraced the knees of the Tyrant,and worried his hand with kisses. NERO took all this for somany sincere tokens of affection and joy; when, in truth, their Congratulationsand Flattery were just in proportion to their severe sorrow.

Sect. VII.: The pestilent tendency of flatteringCounsels, and the Glory of such as are sincere.

WHAT a poisonous thing is Flattery? By it Princes are misledinto a persuasion that all their measures of Oppression, all their acts ofFrenzy and Rage, are just measures of Government, that forced praise is realaffection, that they themselves are popular when they are abhorred; and thusthey are kept from repenting or amending, because, relying upon the assurancesof Flatterers, they cannot find that they have done amiss, or see any thing tobe mended. The Flatterers of NERO ridiculed SENECA, and railed at him, and persuaded that Prince he wantedno Tutors. The same did the Flatterers of COMMODUS inrelation to the old Counsellors; which had been his father’s. NERO and COMMODUS followed the advice oftheir Flatterers, and reigned mischievously, and died tragically, and theirmemories are abhorred. Thus they are kept hoodwinked and secure, till the firstthing they open their eyes upon, is their Throne tottering or overturned, andperhaps an executioner’s knife at their breast; and even when things are cometo that extremity, there will be those to misrepresent and flatter, as in thecase of GALBA; a few moments before he was massacred, hewas soothed with false assurances of security [o] .

HOW pernicious too is such falsification even to thosethat practise it; since though they mean it out of selfishness and forsecurity, yet by sanctifying upon all occasions the Oppression and Destructionof others, they do but invite their own! Whereas were matters laid honestlybefore Princes, that this measure is a Grievance, that an Oppression, and thatwhatever is unjust to others is dangerous to themselves, they would prefercaution with safety, to humour and wilfulness accompanied with peril; theywould grow into a habit of doubting, deliberateing and enquiring; of submittingtheir own judgment to that of others; of remembering that they are what theyare for the sake of their People, and that they ought to have no Will, norInterest, but the public Will and the public Interest.

Had NERO pursued the good Rules of Government dictatedby SENECA and BURRUS, and proposed byhimself in his first Speech to the Senate; had he avoided the counsels of thatbloody and detestable sycophant TIGELLINUS, and of otherslike him, he might have ended his reign with as much renown as he began it, andleft a memory revered as much as it is now detested. And would the Confidentsof Princes, instead of debasing themselves into the characters of Parasites,instead of abusing their trust, and bringing infamy upon their masters andthemselves; would they, instead of this, give upright counsel, such as conducedto the good of all men, they would, besides the praise of well-doing, take thebest method to secure themselves, their fortunes and families in the generalsecurity: or, should they be rewarded with disgrace, or even with death, theywould have the approbation of their own Consciences, the applauses of theLiving, and the praises of Posterity. But while they sooth the Prince in hisjealousies and violence, and encourage him in destroying such as he, or such asthey fear or dislike, they set him a lesson and examplefor turning the edge of his fury upon themselves,whenever he becomes prompted by his humour or caprice; a case often happening,and always to be apprehended. The Courtiers and Flatterers of the Emperor CARACALLA, to humour him, concurred with him in the murderof his brother GETA; and, after that murder, thoughcommitted by his own hand, were themselves murdered for their wickedcomplaisance, and amongst them LETUS his Favourite andConfident. Yet he was so far from remorse for shedding his brother’s blood,that he massacred every friend and adherent to his brother, to the number oftwenty thousand, in a short time. TIBERIUS, of all hisFriends, Confidents and Counsellors, scarce let one escape a violent end,unless where by a natural death they prevented it: and they who had been theMinisters of his Tyranny, hardly ever failed to fall by it. He indeed protectedthem from the resentment and prosecution of others; but he generally pouredvengeance upon them himself [p] . VESCULARIUS ATTICUS and JULIUSMARINUS, were two of his most ancient intimates; they had accompanied himduring his retirement at Rhodes, and never forsook him in his retreat atCapreæ; they had abetted his Tyranny, and assisted him in his cruel Counsels,nor does it appear that they had ever offended him by any good Counsel. VESCULARIUS was his manager and inter-agent in theperfidious plot to destroy that noble Roman LIBO DRUSUS; and by the co-operation of MARINUS, SEJANUS had worked theoverthrow of CURTIUS ATTICUS. Was not all this meritenough, at least, to have redeemed their own lives? It was not; they fellthemselves victims to his cruelty, as to satiate his cruelty they had madeothers fall: admortem aguntur: quo lætius acceptum, says TACITUS, sua exempla in consultoresrecidisse; their tragical end was followed with the more joy, for thatupon their own heads had thus recoiled the precedents of their own traiterousdevising. In truth, these instruments of cruelty are generally abhorred by thePrinces that use them. ANICETUS Admiral of the Gallies to NERO, conducted and perpetrated the murder of his mother AGRIPPINA, and for a short space continued in some smallfavour with the Prince; but was afterwards held in greater aversion; for, says TACITUS, the Ministers of evil Counsels are by Princesbeheld as men whose looks continually upbraid them [q] . Such too was the fate of CLEANDER under COMMODUS, who loved him, was governed by him, and cut offhis head. How differently related is the fate of BURRUS, suspected to have been poisoned by NERO [r] : Mighty and lasting was the sorrow of Rome for his death, for theRomans remembered his virtues; and a little before [s] , While the calamities of the Public were growing daily more heavy andbitter, the resources of the Public were diminished, and BURRUS died. How nobly too is the tragedy of SENECA recounted! it is too long to find room here.

I shall end this Discourse with observing, that as Flattery is the effect ofdread and falshood; as the most tyrannical Princes are most flattered, and menof the falsest minds are the greatest Flatterers; this consideration should bea lesson to Princes and great men, to weigh the actions they do against thepraises they receive; and if they find themselves righteous, they may concludetheir panegyrics to be sincere. Let them reflect upon their acts of benevolenceor oppression, and how they have used their people.They would also do well to examine what sort of menthey are who praise them; whether men of virtue and honour, lovers of truth,lovers of their Country, and of human-kind; or whether they are those unlimitedSycophants, whose custom and rule it is to extol at random all the sayings anddoings of Princes, worthy and unworthy [t] .

DISCOURSE IX.: Upon COURTS.

Sect. I.: Of Freedom of Speech; and howreasonable it is.

TO the foregoing Discourse upon Flattery, I thought it might notbe unsuitable to subjoin another upon Courts, the place where that pestilentand unmanly practice is wont chiefly to prevail.

DURING those Reigns which I have been describing, whenPower was established in Terrors, and Subjection converted into Abasement,small was the wonder that restraint upon speech was no inconsiderable link inthe public chain, and care taken that such as presumed to breathe aught butvassalage, should not breathe at all. This was wretched policy, barbarous, andimpossible to be practised. The passions are not to be extinguished but withlife; and to forbid people, especially a suffering people, to speak, is toforbid them to feel.

IT is not indeed to be expected that men should besuffered to meet together tumultuously, in order to publish their mutualDiscontents and Wrongs, and to inflame one another; but complaints uttered intheir families, or dropped occasionally, or communicatedto a friend, can never affect Authority. The more menexpress of their hate and resentment, perhaps the less they retain; andsometimes they vent the whole that way; but these passions, where they aresmothered, will be apt to fester, to grow venomous, and to discharge themselvesby a more dangerous organ than the mouth, even by an armed and vindictive hand.Less dangerous is a railing mouth, than a heart filled and enflamed withbitterness and curses; and more terrible to a Prince ought to be the secretexecrations of his people than their open revilings, or than even the assaultsof his enemies. Of all the blood spilt under TIBERIUS andthe following Tyrants for Words (and for no greater cause a deluge was spilt)how small a part conduced to their security? none that I remember; but everydrop was an indelible stain upon their persons and upon their Government; everydrop derived hatred, and consequently weakness and danger, upon it. Rigorouspunishment for small faults, or for such as in the common opinion pass fornone, is a mark of ill politics; it makes the spirit of the Administration lookhideous and dreadful, and it renders every man who finds himself liable to thelike faults, a capital enemy. Surely it ought to be a maxim in Government, thaterrors which can have no consequences, ought to have no punishment.

OLIVER CROMWELL, who seems to have seen far into theheart of man, was little affected with the hard words and invectives ofparticulars, and as high as he carried Authority, left people to talk and rail.The same is true of the late Regent of France, one who well knew human nature,and the nature of power; it was then common to see Frenchmen swagger and stormas freely as an old Roman would have done against an unpopular Magistrate. Intruth, where no liberty is allowed to speak of Governors, besides that ofpraising them, their praises will be little believed. Their tendernessand aversion to have their conduct examined, will beapt to prompt people to think their conduct guilty or weak, to suspect theirmanagement and designs to be worse than perhaps they are, and to becometurbulent and seditious, rather than be forced to be silent. When nothing butincense and applause will be accepted or borne; all plain dealing, all honestcounsel and true information, will be at an end, and banished, to make room fordeceitful adorations, for pleasing and pernicious falshoods. If Princes whosememory is disliked, had allowed their subjects and co-temporaries to havespoken truth to them, or of them, probably Posterity would not have spoke somuch ill, as it is probable they would not then have deserved it; and I am aptto believe, that it had been better for all of them to have permitted all thatcould have been said, than to have missed hearing what it imported them to haveheard; better to have heard the disgusts and railings of their people, thanthat their people were armed against them, or revolted from them; a fate whichhas befallen some of them, who, having had Courtiers over-complaisant, or earsover-tender, learnt that they were dethroned before they had learnt that theywere not beloved; and found scarce any interval between the acclamations ofFlatterers and the strokes of an Executioner. Such is the genius of Courts,where ill tidings are generally concealed or disguised; such too often thesilence and soothings of Courtiers, who tell only or chiefly what is pleasing;and such sometimes the pride and impatience of Princes, that they will suffernothing which ruffles their passions, to approach their understanding.

Sect. II.: The Spirit of Courtiers what; somegood ones.

IT is something else than zeal for telling truth, that carries men to Court,and keeps them in it; to raise an interest, or to preserve it, is the moreprevailing passion. And because whoever sets his footthere with any view to place and favour, is always sure of competitors, be hisperson or pretences what they will, ever so considerable or inconsiderable; hischief care will be to conquer opposers, and secure himself; and as there everwill be some opposition, real or apprehended, that care will be constant. Hencethe spirit of a Court, selfish, suspicious and unfriendly; and hence the supplespirit of Courtiers, to love and hate, court and avoid, praise and persecutethe same person with notable suddenness, just as he is promoted or disgraced,and can help or hurt, or is to be deprived of all capacity to do either. To bewell with the subsisting Power, with him who holds the reins of Authority, anddistributes, or causes to be distributed the blessings and terrors of Power, isthe main pursuit; his motions are chiefly watched, his affections and aversionsare studied and adopted; and thus a smile or a frown from the Throne, or fromone who is next the Throne, is eagerly catched up, seizes the faces of a wholedrawing-room in an instant, and is handed down, with signal uniformity, throughall classes of men, from a Grandee to the lowest Clerk in an Office.

A Court is a great Exchange, where one or a few have favours to dispose of,where many resort to procure them, and where all therefore strive to outgo inthe ways of pleasing every one who has the same aim, and study every method torender themselves acceptable. Hence their obsequious Countenances, Flattery,Insinuations, and Zeal, some passions concealed, some disguised, and otherspersonated; hence too their attachment to such as can help to promote them, andtheir neglect of such as cannot; hence with them good fortune, howeverunworthily placed, always passes for merit, and abilities ever sink with power;and hence their falsehood, ingratitude and courteous behaviour.

THAT this is true of the herd of Courtiers, I believewill be allowed. Without doubt there are exceptions, and men of great honour,disinterestedness and friendship are often to be found there; men who scorntreachery and baseness, and would risk all, rather than do a mean thing. Suchwere MANIUS LEPIDUS, SENECA, and BURRUS; such COCCEIUS NERVA and JULIUS AGRICOLA, and such were the Chancellor DE L’HOSPITAL, Chancellor HYDE, and theEarl of SOUTHAMPTON; all these great men were Courtiers,and lived in Courts full of corruption and dangerous designs; all practisedsome degrees of suppleness, submitted their opinions to the necessity of thetimes, and, by defeating many evil measures, were the Authors of much good,though not of all that they would.

CARDINAL RICHELIEU makes heavy complaints of theopposition which he found to his best designs from the credit and intrigues ofWomen, and the whispers and ill offices of malevolent Courtiers. These greatmen abovementioned were likewise often wronged; bad counsels which they hadheartily opposed, were imputed to them; and, when they concurred with someexcesses to obviate much greater, just allowances were not made, and theirmotives were spitefully construed. Thus the Chancellor DEL’HOSPITAL was severely censured by the Hugonots for passing the Edict ofRomorantin, which bore hard upon them; though by that Edict he prevented theirutter extirpation, and the misery of all France, by hindering the introductionand establishment of that monstrous and bloody Tribunal the Inquisition; inwhich design the Court and Parliament were already agreed, and I think theEdict for that detestable purpose was ready. For such signal and gloriousservice the Protestants first railed at him, and the Papists afterwards cursedhim. Lord CLARENDON too was reproachedwith the sale of Dunkirk, and for many otherexorbitancies which the sincere heart of that upright Minister abhorred. Norcould the good counsels of SENECA secure him from much envyand defamation; and many great Ministers, thought to be the Authors of evilcounsels, have fallen into disgrace, or perished, for daring to offer such aswere benevolent and upright [a] .

Sect. III.: The Arts of Courtiers; theirCautiousness, and its Causes.

PLausibleness and guises are inseparable from Courts; men mustnot seem to understand all that they apprehend or know, no more than they mustspeak all that they think or feel [b] . Princes often dissemble with their Subjects, their Ministers withthem, and all with one another; and every one talks, as he appears, to the bestadvantage. Some dissimulation there, is absolutely necessary, and thereforelawful. Men are not obliged upon all occasions to speak the truth, thoughwhatever they speak upon any occasion ought to be true. Nor ought any one to beblamed for hiding his passions and sentiments, when the discovery would onlyserve to hurt himself. But few people in private life can be trusted withsecrets, which published would lessen one’s peace or same; and in Courts thereare much fewer, perhaps none. Particular interests and passions are oftenshifting there; men who were once close united, become widely divided;friendships old and long, are turned into bitter and vindictive enmity; and hewho would once have risqued his life for the preferment of his friend, wouldventure as much, upon a disgust, to bring him to a scaffold. This might beexemplified by a thousand instances in all Timesand Histories. Nothing keeps the passions more awakethan the pursuit of power; nothing touches the pride of man more sensibly, thanneglect or disappointment in that pursuit, and nothing is more tender andsuspicious than pride. Few have got so much as not to aim at more, or have hadever so much assistance but they expect further, even where the same isunreasonable or perhaps impossible; and from disappointment ensues disgust. Toorarely seen is that Gratitude which looks backward, and generously subsistsupon favours past, without fresh claims and aliment; how much more common isthat which must be kept up by daily benefits, and, when bereft of such food,expires? Nor is the ceasing of gratitude the worst that is to be apprehendedfrom selfish and ungenerous men; the room of it is too often supplied by spiteand revenge; and if it be natural to hate such as we have injured, this hatemust be great in proportion to the injury done; and what injury can be greaterthan that of being barbarous to benefactors?

THESE considerations are sufficient to make such asfrequent Courts and know men, slow and wary in confiding, and to put them underconsiderable reserves even where they confide most. No one cares to be at themercy of a friend, that may be an enemy; hence, in the making of friendship anywhere, it ought to be one of the first considerations, whether there be anyprobable causes which threaten a rupture; whether the business of love, orpower, or fame, or anger, or interest, be never likely to interfere, andproduce the most bitter of all enmities, that of friends.

THIS wariness at Court extends even to words and looks.The conversing with great men and great affairs, naturally produces secresy andsilence; for, since such is the folly of the world, that whatever a great mansays, however light or accidental, shall be deemed deep and mysterious, if ithasthe least allusion to the transactions of the times,and since they who hear it will be apt, through vanity, to quote it; great menseldom say any thing upon such subjects; and even when they hear the talk andsentiments of others, they take care that neither their answers, nor theircountenance, shall betray their own. Sometimes a word thoughtlessly dropped, oran unseasonable smile, or some mark of surprize, has given light into animportant design, and marred it intirely. The like circumspection they observein their discourse upon particulars, because their discourse may be easilyaltered and poisoned by the malice or folly of such as hear it; a practice asusual at Court, as in any country village; and many a man has been disgraced byhis own words, whispered and altered by a virulent breath; nay, the very samething reported with a different tone and action, has had the same effect; andwhere the alteration of the words was considerable, those of them which wereforged and criminal have been believed, because the rest that were true andinnocent, were well attested.

I shall illustrate this by the story of young NERO (theson of GERMANICUS ) in the Court of TIBERIUS. It excellently shews the jealousies of Princes, andthe spirit of Courts. That young Prince was intirely beloved of the RomanPeople, who had adored his father; hence the distaste and dark suspicions ofthe Emperor, his great uncle and grandfather by adoption. SEJANUS, who had already poisoned the Emperor’s son DRUSUS, and was ploting the overthrow of the whole reigningHouse, fed the hate and apprehensions of the old Prince, by malignant reportsand infusions concerning the young, now the next in Succession. This he did bythe inter-agency of hollow whispers and tale-bearers, who related and blackenedevery thing that escaped NERO, who was also hard used andbrow-beaten, on purpose to extort from him severe and unwary complaints, suchas might fill up the charge againsthim. Moreover his domestics and retainers, impatientto see him in power that they might shine in its trappings, were continuallyexciting him to rouse his courage and exert himself, to meet the zeal of thepeople, to gratify the passionate wishes of the army; as the only expedients todaunt and repulse the insolence of SEJANUS, who nowdespised him as a boy, and his grandfather as superannuated.

THE young Prince, however naturally modest, was yet byso many instigations transported beyond the circumspection which the stationthat he was in, and the many eyes that were upon him, required; and thence gavevent to words, which, though they betrayed no sign of any treasonable purpose,yet, being ill-guarded and savouring of contumacy, were, by the spies purposelyplaced about him, carried instantly, well heightened and imbittered, to TIBERIUS. Nor, under all these imputations and aspersions,was he warned or admitted to vindicate himself, but beset, on the contrary,with several melancholy and boding appearances. Some of the Court carefullyshunned to meet him; others just greeted him, and then instantly left him; manywith whom he had begun a conversation, broke it off abruptly; while thecreatures and adherents of SEJANUS looked on with amalicious laugh. TIBERIUS too always received him sternly,or with a hollow and upbraiding smile; and, whether the youth spoke, or saidnothing, there were crimes in his words, crimes in his silence. Neither did hisbed-chamber and the shades of night secure him from his Enemies and Accusers,for even his restlessness and watchings, nay, his sighs and dreams, were by hiswife divulged to her mother LIVIA, and by her to heradulterer SEJANUS. DRUSUS also, his younger brother, was,by this wicked politician, drawn to combine against him as one who stoodbetween himself and the Empire, and was better beloved by their common mother AGRIPPINA; a fresh cause of emulation and prejudice. Yet atthatvery time was SEJANUS laying adesign against the life of this same DRUSUS, whom he knewto be of a spirit tempestuous and fiery, and thence the more obnoxious tosnares. Thus he began the Tragedy of these two youths, and that of theirmother; but before he had finished theirs, suffered his own, which wasabundantly bloody, but abundantly just. Their brother CALIGULA was a better Courtier; he studied the temper andmanner of TIBERIUS, and in all things conformed to it; butwas particularly a complete scholar of his in dissimulation [c] . Upon the condemnation of his mother, upon the exile of his brothers,not a word, not a groan escaped him, nor any symptom of resentment or pity. Thepassions are no where more agitated than at Court; yet no where are the signsof perturbation more suppressed.

Sect. IV.: Of Slanderers and Tale-bearers inCourts. The Folly of Craft.

THE occupation of slander and whispering, will, like otheroccupations, always thrive according to the encouragement given to it, andbeing easily exercised, will be ever engaging fresh adventurers. What requiresless labour and conscience than to find out, or frame, or invenom a story tothe prejudice of another, especially when he is not to be heard in his owndefence, nor suffered to confront his Accuser, nor perhaps even knows that hehas one? There is an endless appetite in mankind for Intelligence and secretHistory; and in proportion to that appetite, they who feed it are well receivedand encouraged. But of all places they fare best in Courts. Great men are inthe power of such people much more than they themselves imagine or mean; theseassiduous shadows of theirs, who have their ear, and know their tempers, watchtheir unwary moments, and observe when they are gay andopen, when disobliged and angry, when full of thoughtand business; and will be sure to improve the present temper and opportunity.They know the Characters of men; know whom their Patron loves, whom hedislikes, to whom he is altogether indifferent, with what is likely to bebelieved of each. They extoll some, decry others, flatter him, misrepresentall; and sooth, or alarm, or divert him, just as his humour and their driftrequires. If with this they can play the droll, and make dry and maliciousjests, they are accomplished in their way; but most villainous is that talentwhich is good for nothing but to do hurt; it is like death and poison, fit onlyto take away life. VATINIUS was a buffoon of this pestilentcast, and, from working in a stall, taken to Court, at first for jest anddiversion; but having a malicious spirit and a sarcastical turn, soon became aterror to every worthy and illustrious man; insomuch that in wealth and favour,and in power to do mischief, he grew to exceed all the other Ministers ofinquity in NERO’S Court.

IN all Courts there are many who rise into notice andpreferment for no greater merit than that of officiousness, buffoonery andtale-bearing; and Courts are the places in the world where bad and worthlesspeople can do the most harm; a Barber, a Porter, a Valet de Chambre, and even aChild, are all capable of doing notable mischief there. Those instruments, letthem be ever so mean, will find some or other to hear them; these will findothers; and a story that has run through a hundred hands, and can be traced tono original, or to a very low one, perhaps the idle Prattle of a Chambermaid,may, for all that, have no mean influence.

BUT whatever reason men have, upon all these accounts,to keep a guard upon their lips and behaviour at Court; there is still room forgreat frankness and candour, and no necessity of illusion anddeceiving, though it be often necessary to let peopledeceive themselves, and would be often imprudent and dangerous to undeceivethem. It is certain, that in the transacting of great Affairs, the rules ofmorality admit of some relaxation; this is to be lamented, but not to behelped. Such frequently are the exigencies of a State, and such always thecrookedness and depravity of the heart of man, that were you to deal openly, totell all that you mean, all that you know, and all that you aim at, you wouldexpose your Country to ruin, and yourself to scorn, perhaps to the block. Themost that can be done is to save appearances, and be wary of what expressionsare used; for, upon these occasions, and many others, men are not to beupbraided for their silence. I know some who have gone through nice Embassies,some who have concluded intricate Negotiations, others who have administeredthe highest Offices, and still preserved the character of high Honour, anduntainted Veracity. This shews the thing to be possible; and a promise orassurance, just given to serve a turn, and therefore not observed afterwards,does often more injury to him who made it, than the serving that turn did good.Cardinal RICHELIEU was not liberal of money nor promises;but he always performed more than he undertook; hence the zeal and firmadherence of all who depended upon him. Cardinal MAZARIN denied nothing, performed nothing, was believed in nothing, and his ill faithwas become proverbial; hence no man was ever more hated, no man in his stationmore despised; he could never rely upon any party, for he deceived all partiesand all particulars; and nothing could support him but the blind obstinacy ofthe Queen Regent, and the mere weight of Royal Power armed in his defence; butin spite of the Queen and the Authority Royal, he was forced to run and sculkfor his life. The Parliament set a priceupon his head, and issued ordinances to the people tofall upon him as a public Enemy. Yet he had never carried Sovereign Power sohigh as his Predecessor, nor ever exerted it so terribly; but he had no faithnor honour, and therefore no personal friends. To this hour, RICHELIEU is considered as a Minister, who, though arbitraryand severe, was yet an elevated genius, and a man of veracity to particulars; MAZARIN, as a man not rigorous indeed, nor vindictive, butsordid, addicted to low cunning and lyes, and with all the eclat of a greatMinister unable to hide the little tricking Italian.

CRAFTINESS is a despicable quality, and undoes itself;he who has it, and acts by it, can never disguise it long; and when it becomesapparent, it becomes impotent, arms every body against it, brings hatred orridicule, at best is perfectly useless; and the man, even when he dealsuprightly, is suspected to mean knavishly. What gained TIBERIUS by all his profound subtlety and wiles, but to havehis best actions ill construed, and his sincerest professions to be disbelieved [d] ? What gained PHILIP the second of Spain by thatstrange and intricate scene of false Politics, concerted to transfer his ownguilt upon the head of his Minister ANTONIO PEREZ; but tobring home the just imputation of that guilt to his own door, and to producefull proof, where before there was only suspicion? Sincerity is very consistentwith human prudence, and often a part of it, considering the reputation thatalways attends it; and men even in Courts may be very upright, without beingunguarded; nor can Courtiers ever do business with one another without someopenness and candour. I have seen it asserted somewhere, that people are oftnerdeceived by distrust than byacts of confidence. I have observed as plain dealingin Courtiers as in any other sort of men in the world. It is ridiculous tocarry reserve and deepness into every thing. I know not a more contemptiblesort of men than such as mimic business and mystery; I have seen some subalternCourtiers look as important, demure and wary, as if they had carried greatmatters, and even the weight of the State upon their shoulders. Thisaffectation serves to raise their credit amongst their servants and artificersin town, and in the country amongst their tenants and neighbours, and divertsbetter judges. There are others who really believe themselves to be in secrets;who take shrugs and nods, mere words and shadows for real confidence andcommunication; and live in happy ignorance, under the conceit of high trust andintelligence. Some few too there are, who, besides despising the foppery ofbeing thought trusted where they are not, are careful to hide it from the worldwhen they are. ’Tis men of this turn who chiefly do credit to a Court; andwhoever does it credit, does it service.

Sect. V.: How much worthless People abound inCourts, and why.

AS in a great family, where there are numerous domestics, inspite of all the care that can be taken to examine the Characters of servantswhen they are admitted, or to regulate and watch their behaviour afterwards,there will be some still unworthy of their places, and a discredit to theirmaster; how much more so must it be in a Court, where not only the officers,but even the offices are so numerous; where so many have a right to prefer orrecommend, and where so many do both from strange, wretched, and selfishmotives, nay, often for considerations altogether dishonourable and scandalous?It is thereforeno wonder, that though the politest men are alwaysfound at Court, so likewise are always a strange rabble of creatures, ignorant,mercenary, ridiculous and disagreeable, who owe their preferment to chance,whim, money, dirty services, to names, affinities, nay, to impudence and folly;and one who has no pretences to any thing else, neither to education, norcapacity, nor honour, nor spirit, nor even to good looks and common sense,shall find pretences to a place, and probably get one. Nor is this to beremedied; since he who gives it does not chuse, but take, and has oftenstronger reasons to oblige the recommender, than to reject the recommended. Ihave known a friend, nay, a relation of a great Minister, disappointed twice ofan Office which was even intended for him, but by potent intercession wasbestowed elsewhere; the first time, upon one whom the Minister knew not, whomthe Recommender knew not, nor whom even the Lady who spoke for him knew; butone who for a sum of money engaged a Gentleman’s Valet de Chambre to engage theLady’s Woman whom the Valet courted, to engage her Lady whom she governed, toengage the last Recommender, who undertook it, and succeeded. He who had thefirst pretences was again put by upon a vacancy, and a creature put in, whomthe Minister was known to despise, and almost to loath; but sacrificed hisopinion, his aversion, and his friend to mediation not more honourablyobtained. At so critical a juncture as that of a Rebellion, I have heard of onewho by a Letter written with the same pen which he had used in correspondingwith the Rebels, procured a handsome provision for his brother, who wished theRebels as well as he, and had distinguished himself in a very public place byacts of disaffection, and disloyal healths. Nor in this instance was there anymoney or intrigue at all; the Recommender had only once told a hearty lye for agreat man in a nice case, and sworn to it; hence hismerit and influence. For an act of honour or spirit, done to serve the Public,he might perhaps have found less regard, perhaps not so much as access; asbefel some who did.

IT is certain, great men often prefer such as theydislike, and such as do them no credit, sometimes with their eyes open,frequently through misinformation, and in both cases through solicitation andimportunity. Men of merit often want interest, often application and boldness;whereas one who has no one worthy qualification, is the more likely to haveimportunity and shamelessness. It has indeed been often a notable advantage toa man, that he had not sense enough to be ashamed nor baulked; nay, I haveknown such a negative accomplishment to be the making of his fortune. Arational man will take a rational answer, or even a trifling one, when he seesit meant for a rebuke or a refusal; or perhaps he has too much pride to pressand beseech, or to ask above once; but he who has no understanding to misleadhim from his interest; or to apprehend what is said to him; he who is incapableof a repulse, or to be ashamed of begging and teasing; but has an unchangeablefront and unwearied nonsense, stands in a fair light to have his pretencesconsidered. Though he cannot persuade, he can tire; and he finds the fruit andadvantage of talents in the absolute want of them; he is despised and promoted;a little share of good sense and modesty, would have ruined him, and he mightthen have been neither disliked nor minded.

SUCH is the force of recommendation without reason, oragainst it; and such too the power of assiduity unincumbered with parts! Thereare strange inconsistencies in the make, and turn, and education of men. Thereare those who can calmly encounter death and terrors in any shape, yet shalltremble inspeaking two or three words to a Secretary of State;a task which would not baulk a common Footman. Others can harangue readily andboldly before a great Assembly, yet are struck dumb in the company of Women, aplace where a Page, or an ignorant Beau, can be entertaining and eloquent. Somehave talents, but not the use of them. Many have capacity, but wantapplication; many are hurt by too much application not directed by capacity;several have good sense and activity, and can apply both to serve a friend, butneither to do good to themselves. In some you find excellent parts frustratedby predominant passions; in others eminent courage and spirit drowned anddepreciated by a modesty almost childish; and numbers there are who, under anotorious defect of ability, acquirements, and every amiable quality, arepushed up as high as any of these could have pushed them, perhaps much higherthan all of them would. So that, in the odd assortment of human things, Fortunewould seem to correspond with the caprice and wantonness of Nature.

I have already owned that it is impossible to keep many worthless people outof a Court, considering how many ways there are to get in; but owing to such isa good measure of the obloquy usually thrown upon Courts and ministers; as thefalshood, the low tricks and spirit of these Underlings, are all ascribed tothe genius of the place and of power; and under the character of insincerityand ingratitude, it is usual in popular discourse and opinion, though it isreally very unjust, to throw all Courtiers together. I even believe that thereare some of them foolish and base enough to like the reputation of slipperinessand deceiving, for the sake of being thought good Courtiers. From the numberstoo and little minds of such, we may account for the general outcry andreproach which from that quarter usually follow any worthy Minister fallen intodisgrace. They are forthe Powers that be; and though they be the work ofhis hands, were thrust into place by his late might, and are still basking inthe Sun-shine which he let in upon them; yet they are ready not only to leave afalling house, but to help pull it down. It is the temper of Renegadoes. Thecelebrated SANCHO was first warmly in the interest of theinjured BASIL, one who had lost his Mistress for no want ofmerit, but through the superior wealth of his rival GAMACHO; yet the savory skimmings and loaded ladles out of GAMACHO’S kettles, so effectually turned the supple spiritof that courtly Squire, that, without more ceremony, he began to justify andextol the happy supplanter, and to rail plentifully at poor BASIL under misfortune and disgrace.

WHAT can Ministers expect, when they have raised suchdust, but that with the first contrary wind, it will be blown into their eyes?Mean spirits, selfish and impudent, can never take the impressions of gratitudeand honour; no more than such as are modest and generous can ever be ungratefulor base. Yet hard is the task to weed a Court of such; not only because thesame interest that recommends, does likewise protect; but because there are somany Candidates ready to fill their places, and supported by so many Patronsand Intercessors, that more will be disobliged than can be gratified by thechange; and after all perhaps the fresh comer may not prove the more deservingman. Neither can the great Officers easily cure the exorbitances and exactionsof the inferior; especially when the same are become common and inveterate. Allmen, even the greatest men desire to live easy with those they have daily to dowith, and will not care to incur the clamour and curses of Subalterns; who,though they are but small men, yet being numerous, and supported by all who areinterested in corruption, are able by continual complaintsand noise, to weaken the credit of the most puissantMinister, and to make him very uneasy.

Sect. VI.: The remarkable Fickleness andInsincerity of Courtiers.

I Had once an opportunity of seeing the steadiness and gratitudeof Courtiers put to trial, upon an apprehension of a change in the ministry. Iwas strictly curious in my observations and inquiries; and my discoveries weresuch, as have fully confirmed me in all my former and present sentiments ofthese people. There were some who gave proofs of signal friendship andconstancy to the standing Ministry; several were wary and silent, but many madepreposterous haste to shew their levity and selfishness; and, from thebehaviour of most, there arose warning enough, even to greatness itself, torely for its best security upon wisdom and innocence.

A little before the death of TIBERIUS, then past hopes,he was reported to be dead. Instantly the Courtiers crowded about CALIGULA the next heir, with a torrent of congratulationsand zeal; and he was going forth, thus attended, to assume the pomp andexercise of Sovereignty, when sudden tideings came, that the Emperor, who hadlain some time in a swoon, was revived, and calling for some refreshment tostrengthen his spirits. Instant terror seized all; most of them dispersed andfled; some assumed an air of mourning; many feigned utter ignorance. CALIGULA was struck speechless, and, from the highesthopes, expecting his last doom. MACRO only remainedundaunted; he commanded the ancient Emperor to be smothered with a great weightof coverings, having first ordered every body to quit the chamber.

AMONGST the many good things, and excellent sense in theMemoirs of Cardinal DE RETZ, there occur frequent picturesof the Court, particularly upon the beginning of the Commotions in Paris. Atthe Palace Royal, and especially in the Cabinet, upon that occasion, everyindividual assumed a person, and acted a part. The Coadjutor acted the innocentand the dupe, but was not so. MAZARIN affected to appearresolute, but appeared more so than he was. By starts and intervals the Queencounterfeited great temper and gentleness; yet had been at no time more bitterand enraged. The Duke DE LONGUEVILLE feigned extremeaffliction, yet felt a sensible joy, as he was the man in the world the mostdelighted with the beginnings of all affairs. The Duke of ORLEANS, in speaking to the Queen, shewed great warmth andvehemence, but presently after fell a whistling (a usual habit of his) with allthe indolence in the world. The Marshal DE VILLEROY displayed gayety and unconcern, to make his Court to MAZARIN; but to the Coadjutor he owned, with tears in his eyes,that the State was upon the brink of a precipice. Mr. DEBEAUTRU and Mr. DE NOGENT, played the buffoons, tohumour the Queen, and drolled upon the commotion; though both these men knewwell, that, in all probability, this farce of theirs would too soon be followedby a Tragedy. The Abbé DE LA RIVIERE only, though the mostnotorious poltron of the age, was persuaded that this popular insurrection wasbut smoke; this he maintained stiffly to the Queen, and this pleased her. Tofill up the complement of Actors, the Marshal DE LAMEILLERAIE, who had hitherto joined with the Coadjutor in representing theterrors and consequences of the tumult, all on a sudden changed his past part,and took that of the Champion, with a different tone and other sentiments; inan instanthe was all rage, and contempt, and defiance. Mem. DE RETZ, vol. 1. p. 122.

IN short, the Queen and the Cardinal took every one whotold them truth, for a certain enemy to themselves, and for a promoter, atleast a secret wellwisher, of the revolt. When this was the reward ofplain-dealing, who would venture his place and favour by dealing plainly? Thus,for want of honest information, and sincere advisers, and by suspecting ordisbelieving such as were so, the State had nigh perished. The whole detail in DE RETZ is full of curious incidents, full of strong andjust reflections; as is almost the whole Book.

DISCOURSE X.: Of Armies and Conquest.

Sect. I.: The Burden and Danger of maintaininggreat Armies.

TOO many Princes are infatuated with false notions of Glory, andthence delight in War. Without doubt it is true Glory to excel in war, wherewar is necessary; but in the whole course of History, where one has been so,twenty have been otherwise; and to engage in it from the wantonness ofambition, or for the sake of Laurel, or through peevishness and humour, is torisque the blood, and treasure, and people, and being of a State, for thefoppery of false Heroism: or to sacrifice the same to the selfish andinglorious view of making a Country (either that which conquers, or that whichis conquered, or both) the prey of the Hero. For such has been generally thelogic of the Sword, that because it has saved, it maytherefore oppress and enthral, and for defending apart, take the whole. Wars beget great Armies; Armies beget great Taxes; heavyTaxes waste and impoverish the Country, even where Armies commit no violences;a case seldom to be supposed, bebause it has seldom happened. But where greatArmies are, they must be employed, and do mischief abroad, to keep them fromdoing it at home; so that the people must be exhausted and oppressed to keepthe men of the sword in exercise.

THE great Turk, to keep the swords of the Janizariesfrom his own throat, is forced to plague his neighbours, even where he earnsnothing but blows and disgrace; and thence increases the danger which he wouldavert; for, as by his Armies he makes all men slaves, he himself is a slave tohis Armies, and often their victim; or, to escape himself, is frequently forcedto satiate their fury by the blood of his bravest Officers, and bestCounsellors. If it be the Glory of his Monarchy, that he can put the greatestmen and all men to death, without reason, or form, or process; he is subject inhis own person to the same lawless and expeditious butchery, from his ownoutrageous slaves, who being not accustomed to receive any Law from him, givehim none, whenever he is in their power, which is as often as they think fit;and he who is a Prince of slaves, is adjudged by slaves, and dies like themeanest slave. What is there to save him? His people who are oppressed, wantthe inclination, and being unarmed, the power. So that he lives in personalservitude to those who are the instruments of public Servitude; and as othersmust die to please him, so must he to please them. It is the Law ofretaliation, and operates as often as its causes operate, namely, caprice, orrage, or fear. This is the blessing of being absolute, and unfettered by humanconstitutions; the same sword which is lifted up for youat the command of whim or passion, is with the likewantonness lifted up against you; and if you reign in blood, you must not thinkit strange to die in it.

Sect. II.: Great Armies the best disciplined,whether thence the less formidable to a Country. Their Temper and Views.

IN regard to public Liberty, Armies the best disciplined are notless to be dreaded than the worst, but I think, more; since their relaxation ofdiscipline takes away from their union and sufficiency; it renders them weakerand less equal to mighty mischief; but where they are strict and united, thehighest iniquities are not too big for them. Disorderly Troops may robparticulars, ravage towns, and harass a Country; but if you would subdueNations, commit universal spoil, and enslave Empires, your forces must be underthe best regulations. It was with an Army victorious and brave, andconsequently well disciplined, that AGATHOCLES slaughteredall the Nobles of Syracuse, and brought that illustrious State (the noblest ofall the Greek Cities) under bondage. CROMWELL’S conquest ofhis Country was made by Troops the most sober and best disciplined that this,or perhaps any other nation, had ever seen. And it was with the best of all theRoman Armies, that CÆSAR established himself Tyrant ofRome.

SOLDIERS know little else but booty, and blindobedience; whatever their interest, or rapacity dictates, they generally willdo; and whatever their officers command, they must do. It is their professionto dispute by force, and the sword; they too soon learn their own power, andwhere it is an overbalance for the Civil Power, it will always controulthe Civil Power, and all things [a] . They find readily somewhat to say; the strongest is ever the bestdisputant, when he carries his reasons upon the point of his sword [b] . They have done great services, they have suffered great wrongs, andwill therefore reward and redress themselves. It is the reasoning of CÆSAR [c] . It is nothing to the purpose to say, that an Army listed amongst thenatives, especially the officers being natives, and many of them men offortune, will never hurt or oppress their Country; for such were CROMWELL’S Army, such were CÆSAR’S , andmany other enslaving Armies; besides Armies are soon modelled, and Officers whoare obnoxious, are soon changed.

NO Government can subsist but by force, and where-everthat force lies, there it is that Government is or soon will be. Free Statestherefore have preserved themselves, and their Liberties, by arming all theirpeople, because all the people are interested in preserving those Liberties; bydrawing out numbers of them thus armed, to serve their Country occasionally,and by dissolving them (when that occasion was over) into the mass of thepeople again; by often changing the chief Officers, or, if they continued thesame, by letting their commissions be temporary, and always subject to thecontroul of the supreme Power, often to that of other co-ordinate Power, as theDutch Generals are to the Deputies. It is indeed but rare, that States who havenot taken such precaution, have not lost their Liberties; their Generals haveset up for themselves, and turnedthe Arms put into their hands against their Masters.This did MARIUS, SYLLA, CÆSAR, DIONYSIUS, AGATHOCLES, CHARLESMARTEL, OLIVER CROMWELL, and many others; and this they all did by thesame means: it is still frequently done in the Eastern Monarchies; and by thesame means all the Christian Princes of Europe, who were arbitrary, became so.For as the experience of all ages shews us, that all men’s views are to attaindominion and riches, it is ridiculous to hope, that they will not use the meansin their power to attain them, and madness to trust them with those means. Theywill never want pretences, either from their own fafety, or the public Good, tojustify the measures which have succeeded; and they know well, that the successwill always justify itself; that great numbers will be found to sanctify theirpower; most of the rest will submit to it, and in time will think it just andnecessary; perhaps at last believe it to be obtained miraculously, and to havebeen the immediate act of Heaven.

Sect. III.: Princes ruling by military Power,ever at the Mercy of military Men.

AS by these means private men often come at Sovereign Power; solimited Princes often become arbitrary; but one mischief is inseparable fromthis sort of Government; they generally lose their Authority by the same methodthey get it. For, having attained it by violence, they are obliged to keep itby violence; and that cannot be done but by engaging in the interest of theirOppression a body of men, strong enough to maintain it; and it will for themost part happen, that as these men have no interest but their own in serving aTyrant, so when that interest ceases, and they can serve themselves better indestroying him, they seldom fail ofdoing it. In fact we find, that in all the greatdespotic Governments in the world the Monarchs are slaves to their soldiery,and they murder and depose their Princes just according to their caprices. TheGeneral sets up any of the Princes of the blood, whom he thinks most for hisinterest, and often-times upon the death of the Possessor they are all set up,by one part of the Army or other, (if one cannot get all the rest into hispower, and murder them) and the Civil War continues, till one has slaughteredall his rivals.

IF this is not done in the modern absolute Governmentsof Europe, it is because despotic Power is not so thoroughly established there,and the people have yet some share of Property, and consequently of Power; butstill they do it as much as they dare; in some instances they have set upthemselves, and in almost all have been the principal engines and instrumentsin working about Revolutions, according to their own inclinations and disgusts.Of this we had many instances in our own Country, within the compass of notmany years.

HOW much easier is it to corrupt a few leading Officers,often necessitous, generally ambitious, than to persuade a whole Kingdom, ifthey are well governed, to destroy themselves? Some will be disobliged, becausenot preferred to their wishes, or because others are preferred before them;they will differ according to their countries or their interests about theperson to be their General, and to have the power of preferring or recommendingOfficers; and that part which is disappointed shall be a faction against thatwhich succeeds. Where-ever Commissions are venal, there will be no difficultyof buying those, who are disaffected, into them, if they can disguise theirdisaffection till a proper opportunity. In a Country where factions abound, andthose at the helm can find any account in keeping measureswith a contrary faction, Officers will be put in tooblige that faction, sometimes to gratify friends or favourites; at differenttimes, others will be discarded, to oblige one party, or to mortify the other.New men, by private recommendation or money, shall supercede old Officers; thiswill create new dissatisfactions and disgusts, as soon as they dare shew them.When the Administration is changed, and another party gets uppermost, all thosethings shall be done over again; so that at last an Army shall be a medley ofall the factions of a Kingdom; and all their preferments and expectationsdepending upon the success of those factions; each individual will take everysafe opportunity to advance his own; and for the most part one or other ofthese factions, sometimes all, are ready to join in shuffling the cards anew;the sure prelude of a Civil War.

THIS is and ever must be the case of all Countries whichsubsist by standing Armies. For there are few instances in History, to be givenof Armies who did not play their own game, in times of distress; few instancesof disobliged or unpreferred Officers, who did not change sides; too many havemade their peace by some remarkable act of treachery; very often they have doneit only from the motives of ambition and avarice. I wish that we never had hadinstances amongst ourselves of any who have done the same; or even of Generalswho played a double game. What OLIVER CROMWELL, MONK, andvery many both of the King’s and of the Parliament Officers did in the CivilWar, we all know, as well as what King JAMES’S Army didmore lately: I wish we equally knew what intrigues of this kind have beencarrying on since. In Civil Wars amongst men of the same Country, thecommunication is so easy between friends, relations and former acquaintance,that there is a very ready transition from one side to another;and a little success, small intrigues, and a fewadvantages generally make that transition.

Sect. IV.: Instances of the Boldness and Fury ofthe Roman Soldiery.

IT is astonishing from what light and wanton motives, by whatvile and contemptible instruments, Armies are often instigated to violence andravages. The sedition of that in Pannonia, after the death of AUGUSTUS, was raised by one common soldier, inflamed byanother; rapine and massacres were committed or defended by almost all; theymurdered their Officers; even their General had like to have been murdered,upon the credit of an impudent lie told by one of these vile incendiaries, whoyet could scarce alledge any other grievance than that they had not too muchpay, and too little discipline. Nor was the insurrection, excited by these twofellows, restrained to the Pannonian Legions only, but extended to those inGermany, who waxed into fury rather greater, and outraged all things human anddivine.

IT was one common soldier who gave the Empire to CLAUDIUS, by saluting him Emperor, while the poor dastardlywretch was lurking in a corner, and expecting death instead of Sovereignty.Under GALBA two private Centinels undertook to transfer theEmpire to another, and actually transferred it. It is shocking to reflect withwhat eagerness these blood-thirsty assassins hastened to murder that good oldPrince, for no charge of misgovernment, nor for defrauding them of their pay;but because he would not exhaust the Public to glut them with bounties. Theywere such abandoned Russians, that they sought to kill MARIUSCELSUS, purely because as he was an able and virtuous man,they judged him an enemy to themselves who delightedonly in blood, and wickedness, and spoil. It would require a volume to recountthe behaviour, the treacherous and inhuman exploits of these sons of violencethenceforward; their murdering and promoting of Emperors, sometimes two orthree, sometimes more, once thirty at a time; their selling the Empire formoney; their besieging and threatning to massacre the Senate; their burning theCapitol, setting fire to the Imperial City, pillaging and butchering itsinhabitants, and using them like slaves and captives; with other instances oftheir insolence, barbarity, and misrule. In the third and fourth Volumes ofthis Work much of this will be seen, recounted by TACITUS.

THE Gothic Governments were military in their firstsettlement; the General was King, the Officers were the Nobles, and theSoldiers their Tenants; but by the nature of the settlement, out of an Army aCountry Militia was produced. The Prince had many occasional troops, but nostanding troops; hence he grew not absolute, like the Great Turk; who havingcantoned out the conquered Countries amongst his horsemen, must by doing ithave lost his arbitrary Power, but that he kept a large body of men in arms,called the Janizaries.

GREAT BRITAIN has preserved its Liberties so long,because it has preserved itself from great standing Armies; which, where-everthey are strong enough to master their Country, will certainly first or lastmaster it. Some troops we must have for guards and garisons, enough to preventsudden Insurrections, and sudden Revolutions. What numbers are sufficient forthis, the experience of past times, and the sense of our Parliaments, haveshewn.

Sect. V.: The Humour of conquering, howinjudicious, vain, and destructive.

THE Athenians began the ruin of their State, by a mad andexpensive War upon Sicily; and from an ambition of conquering a people who hadnever offended them, exposed themselves to the attacks of the Lacedemonians, tothe revolt of their own subjects, to domestic disorders, and the change oftheir Government. And though upon the recalling of ALCIBIADES, they won some victories, and for a while made somefigure; they were at last conquered intirely by LYSANDER, their walls thrown down, the States subject to them set at liberty, and theythemselves subjected to the domination of thirty Tyrants. They never afterrecovered their former Glory. The Lacedemonians fell afterwards into the samewarlike folly, and their folly had the same fate. By lording over Greece theydrew upon themselves a combination of Greek Cities, which together (especiallythe Thebans under the famous EPAMINONDAS ) despoiled them oftheir Authority, soon after their triumph over Athens. The Thebans too abusedtheir good fortune; they were equally fond of fighting and conquest, and by itdrew another confederacy against them. In truth, everyone of these States hadbeen so long weakening themselves, and one another, by their propensity to War,that at last they fell under servitude to the Kings of Macedon, a Countryformerly depending upon, or rather under vassalage to Athens and Sparta.

THESE States acted like some of the Princes of our time;by trusting to their own superior Prowess, they invaded their neighbours, andtaught them Art enough to beat themselves. Thus the Muscovite,by falling upon the late King of Sweden, yet in hisminority, roused a tempest that had well nigh overturned his Throne; and thusthat King, by refusing the most honourable conditions of peace, and by urginghis fate and revenge too far, taught the Russians that bravery and disciplinewhich nothing could ever teach them before; saw his own brave Army utterlyrouted by forces that he despised; himself driven from his dominions, and afugitive in a Country of Infidels; and his Provinces cantoned out amongstenemies, who, before he had tempted his good fortune to leave him, would havebeen glad to have compounded with him for a moiety of their own dominions.

CHARLES Duke of Burgundy had his head so turned withgaining the battel of Montl’hery, that he never listened afterwards to anycounsel, but that of his own headstrong humour; nor ceased plunging himselfinto Wars, till in that against the Switzers, who had given him no justprovocation, he lost his Army, his dominions, and his life. If PHILIP the second had kept his oath with the Low Countries, hemight have preserved his Authority over them all. But nothing less would humourhis pride than the subduing of their Liberties and Conscience; and in defenceof their Conscience and Property, he drove them to the use of Arms, which apeople employed in trade and manufacture, as they were, had no list to, norskill in. Every body knows the issue; he lost the seven Provinces and theirRevenue for ever, with many millions of money, and almost half a million oflives thrown away to recover them. By his mighty and boasted Armada designed toconquer England, what else did he conquer but his own Power at sea? He hadprepared, he had been for some years preparing, a naval force mighty as his ownarrogance; but it all proved to be only measures taken for baffling hisarrogance, and for destroyingthe maritime force of Spain; and all the while thathe was vainly meditating the destruction of England, he was in reality takingthe part of England against himself, and, with all his might, weakening itsgreatest enemy. Had he husbanded that mighty strength; had he employed it attimes, and in parcels, against these dominions, he might have had some success;but he combined against his own hopes.

HOW foolish is the reasoning of passion! It leads men tothrow away strength to gain weakness. Even where these sons of violencesucceed, they may be justly said to acquire nothing, beyond the praise ofmischief. What is the occupation and end of Princes and Governors, but to rulemen for their good, and to keep them from hurting one another? Now whatConqueror is there who mends the condition of the conquered? ALEXANDER the Great, though he well knew the difference betweena limited and a lawless Monarchy, did not pretend, that his invasion of Persiawas to mend the condition of the Persians. It was a pure struggle for dominion;when he had gained it, he assumed the Throne upon the same arbitrary terms uponwhich their own Monarchs had held it, nor knew any Law but his will. Thesubject only felt the violence of the change, without any benefit or relaxationfrom slavery. His Glory therefore is all false and deceitful, as is all Glorywhich is gained by the blood of men, without mending the state of mankind. Thisspirit of fighting and conquering continued in his Successors, who plagued theearth as he had done, and weltered in the blood of one another, till they werealmost all destroyed by the sword or poison, with the whole family of ALEXANDER. It was no part of the dispute amongst them,which of them could bestow most happiness upon the afflicted world, about whichthey strove, but who should best exalt himself, andenslave all.

THE State of Carthage after many Countries conquered,but not bettered by her Arms, was almost dissolved by her own barbarousMercenaries, and at last conquered and destroyed by the Romans; who were intruth the most generous conquerors that the world has known: and most Countriesfound the Roman Government better than their own. This continued for some time,till their Provincial Magistrates grew rapacious, and turned the Provinces intospoil. Rome itself perished by her conquests, which being made by great Armies,occasioned such power and insolence in their Commanders, and set some Citizensso high above the rest, an inequality pernicious to free States, that she wasenslaved by ingrates whom she had employed to defend her. Rome vanquishedforeign nations; foreign luxury debauched Rome, and traiterous Citizens seizedupon their mother with all her acquisitions. All her great blaze and grandeur,served only to make her wretchedness more conspicious, and her chains moreintensely felt. Upon her thraldom there ensued such a series of Tyranny andmisery, treachery, oppression, cruelty, death and affliction, in all shapes;that her agonies were scarce ever suspended till she finally expired. When herown Tyrants, become through Tyranny impotent, could no longer afflict her, forprotection was none of their business; a host of Barbarians, only known forravages, and acts of inhumanity, finished the work of desolation, and closedher civil doom. She has been since racked under a Tyranny more painful, as itis more slow; and more base, as it is scarce a domination of men; I mean hervassalage to a sort of beings of all others the most merciless andcontemptible, Monks and Spectres.

Sect. VI.: The Folly of conquering further urgedand exemplified.

THE Turks, like other Conquerors, know not when to leave off.They sacrifice the people to gain more territories; and the more they conquer,the greater is their loss. They lavish men and treasure, to gain waste ground.What is the use of earth and water, where there are no Inhabitants for theseelements to support? The strength of a Government consists in numerous subjectsindustrious and happy; not in extent of territory desolate or ill peopled, orpeopled with inhabitants poor and idle. It is incredible what a profusion ofwealth and lives their attempts upon Persia have cost them, always with fatalsuccess, even under their wisest and most warlike Princes; and at a time whentheir Empire flourished most. Yet these attempts are continued, at a seasonwhen their Affairs are at the lowest; their Provinces exhausted, their peopleand revenue decayed, their soldiery disorderly, and all things conspiring tothe final dissolution of their Empire.

THOSE who will be continually exerting their wholestrength, whether they be societies or particular men, will at last have noneto exert. The Turks have been for ages wasting their vitals to widen theirextremities, and to extend their limbs; which, by being unnaturally stretched,are quite disjointed and benumbed for want of nourishment from the seat oflife; and must therefore, like mortified members, soon drop off; they have beenlong spinning out their own vitals. Now if they had conquered Persia, whatbenefit would the conquest have derived to the Persians? None at all; but onthe contrary, fresh oppression, and probably persecution; since the Turks deemthem Heretics for the colour of their caps, and for their obstinaterefusal to change one name for another in the list ofMahomet’s Successors.

THUS these Barbarians destroy themselves to destroyothers; and Christian Princes imitate these Barbarians. The Spaniard, to secureto himself the possession of America, destroyed more lives than he had subjectsin Europe; and his mighty Empire there, with his mountains of treasure, bearsindeed an awful sound; yet it is allowed that he has lost much more than hegot, besides the crying guilt of murdering a large part of the globe. Hisconquests there, together with his expulsion of the Moors at home, havedispeopled Spain; and the inhabitants who remain trusting to their Americanwealth, are too proud and lazy to be industrious; so that most of their goldgoes to other nations for the manufactures wanted in the Spanish West-Indies.Hence multitudes and diligence (and diligence often creates multitudes, as bymultitudes diligence is created) are better than mountains of gold, and willcertainly attract such mountains; though others have the name and firstproperty. Had he kept the industrious Moors, and expelled the barbarousInquisitors; encouraged Liberty and Trade, and consequently Liberty ofConscience, Spain would have been a more powerful nation, and he consequently agreater King, than all his wide and guilty conquests have made him. Sir WALTER RALEIGH says, that the Low Countries alone did, forrevenue, equal his West-Indies. Notwithstanding his many Kingdoms, his Empirein both Hemispheres, and that the sun never sets upon all his dominions atonce, the small Republic of Holland, small in compass of territory, has been anovermatch for him.

A late neighbouring Prince was a busy Conqueror. But did his People andCountry gain by his conquests? He drained them of men and money bymillions, only to add to their poverty servitude andwretchedness, and from their chains and misery derived his own Glory. Nor do Iknow any reason why a Prince, who reduces his People, his Nobles, and alldegrees of men in his Dominions, to poverty and littleness, should have thetitle of Great, unless for the greatness of the evils which he brought upon hisown Kingdom and all Europe. Let the late and present condition of that Monarchydeclare, what advantages that noble Country owes to his Glory and Victories.Had it not been for his wanton Wars and oppressive Taxes, there is no pitch offelicity which the goodness of their soil and climate, the number and industryof the natives, their many manufactures, and the advantage of their situation,might not have raised them to. But all was sacrificed to the Ambition andBigotry of one. How many resources that Kingdom has within itself; and to whathappiness it is capable of rising under a just and gentle Administration, ismanifest from the suddenness with which it recovered itself under the goodGovernment of HENRY the fourth; how many millions it paid,how many put into the Exchequer; and what a flourishing condition it wasarrived to, after so fierce, so long, and so consuming a Civil War, and aftertwo such profuse and profligate Reigns, as that of CHARLES the Ninth, and that of HENRY the Third. But what avails allthis, when one short Edict, and the maggot of a minute, can dissipate all itswealth and all its happiness?

I might here display what ridiculous causes do often pique and awaken thevanity and ambition of Princes, and prompt them to lavish lives and treasure,and utterly undo those whom they should tenderly protect. For a beast ofburden, or even for the tooth of a beast; for a mistress, for a river, for asenseless word hastily spoken, for words that hada foolish meaning, or no meaning at all; for an emptysepulchre or an empty title; to dry the tears of a coquette, to comply with thewhims of a pedant, or to execute the curses of a bigot; important Wars havesometimes been waged, and nations animated to destroy one another; nor is thereany security against such destructive follies, where the sense of every manmust acquiesce in the wild passion of one; and where the interest and peace,and preservation of a State, are found too light to ballance his rage orcaprice. Hence the policy of the Romans to tame a people not easy to besubdued; they committed such to the domination of Tyrants. Thus they did inArmenia, and thus in Britain [e] . And these instruments did not only enslave their subjects, but bycontinual fighting with one another, consume them.

NECESSARY Wars are accompanied with evils more thanenough; and who can bear or forgive calamities courted and sought? The RomanState owed her greatness in a good measure to a misfortune; it was founded inWar, and nourished by it. The same may be said of the Turkish Monarchy. ButStates formed for peace, though they do not arrive to such immensity andgrandeur, are more lasting and secure; witness Sparta and Venice. The formerlasted eight hundred years, and the other has lasted twelve hundred, withoutany Revolution; what errors they both committed, were owing to their attemptsto conquer, for which they were not formed; though the Spartans were exceedingbrave and victorious; but they wanted the Plebs ingenua, which formed the strength of theRoman Armies; as the Janizaries, a militia formerlyexcellently trained and disciplined, formed those of the Turk. With the latter,fighting and extending their dominions, is an article of their Religion, asfalse and barbarous in this as in many of its other principles, and as littlecalculated for the good of men.

THE ANNALS OF TACITUS.

BOOK I.

The SUMMARY.

ENumeration of the several changes in the Governmentof Rome. The State of Rome under AUGUSTUS; his politicks, death and character; with thearts and dissimulation of TIBERIUS. Revolt of the Legions in Pannonia, and in Germany; the Conduct of GERMANICUS upon that occasion, andalso against the common enemy, with his success and victories. The death andcharacter of JULIA, daughter of AUGUSTUS: Plays instituted in hishonour. GERMANICUS makes anotherexpedition against the German nations, and subdues them; frees SEGESTES from the violence of ARMINIUS, and is for his exploitssaluted Imperator; continues the war in Germany, recoversand buries the remains of VARUS ’sLegions. The difficulties which befel CÆCINA in his march, with his bravery and success inovercoming them. The Law of violated Majesty, greatly extended and severelyexecuted. An Inundation from the Tiber. Licentiousness of the Theatres, and theinsolence of Players, checked by a Decree of Senate. Measures proposed forrestraining the overflowing of the Tiber, but opposed by several Communities ofItaly. TIBERIUS seldom changes theGovernors of Provinces, and why. His dark and crafty conduct upon the Electionof Magistrates at Rome.

KINGS were the original Magistrates of Rome. LUCIUS BRUTUS founded Liberty and the Consulship. Dictatorswere chosen only in pressing exigencies. Little more than two years prevailedthe supreme power of the Decemvirate; and the consular jurisdiction of themilitary Tribunes, not very many. The domination of CINNA was but short; that of SYLLA not long. The authority of POMPEY and CRASSUS was quicklyswallowed up in CÆSAR; that of LEPIDUS and ANTHONY in AUGUSTUS. TheCommon-wealth, then long distressed and exhausted by civil dissensions, felleasily into his hands, and over her he assumed sovereign dominion, softenedwith the popular title of Prince of the Senate. But theseveral revolutions in the ancient free state of Rome, and all her happy ordisastrous events, are already recorded by Writers of signal renown. Nor, evenin the reign of AUGUSTUS, were there wanting Authors ofdistinction and genius to have composed his story, till by the prevailingspirit of flattery and abasement, they were checked. As to the succeedingPrinces, TIBERIUS, CALIGULA, CLAUDIUS and NERO; the dread of their tyranny, whilst they yet reigned,falsified their history; and after their fall, the fresh detestation of theircruelties inflamed their Historians. Hence my own design of recounting brieflycertain incidents in the reign of AUGUSTUS, chiefly towardshis latter end, and of entering afterwards more fullyinto that of TIBERIUS and the otherthree, unbiassed by any resentment, or any affection, the influences of suchpersonal passions being far from me.

WHEN after the fall of BRUTUS and CASSIUS there remained none to fight for the Common-wealth,and her arms were no longer in her own hands; when SEXTUSPOMPEIUS was utterly defeated in Sicily, LEPIDUS bereft of his command, MARC ANTHONY slain; and of all thechiefs of the late Dictator’s party, only OCTAVIUS hisnephew was left; he put off the invidious name of Triumvir, and stiling himselfConsul, pretended that the jurisdiction attached to the Tribuneship was hishighest aim, as in it the protection of the populace was his only view. Butwhen once he had secured the Soldiery by liberality and donations, gained thePeople by store of provisions, and charmed all by the blessings and sweetnessof publick peace, he began by politick gradations to exalt himself, and withhis own power to consolidate the authority of the Senate, jurisdiction of theMagistrate, and weight and force of the Laws; usurpations, in which he wasthwarted by no man; all the most determined Republicans had fallen in battle,or by the late sanguinary Proscriptions; and for the surviving Nobility, theywere covered with wealth, and distinguished with publick honours, according tothe measure of their debasement, and promptness to bondage. Add, that all whoin the loss of publick freedom had gained private fortunes, preferreda servile condition, safe and possessed, to the revivalof ancient Liberty with personal peril. Neither were the Provinces averse tothe present Revolution; since, under the Government of the People and Senate,they had lived in constant fear and mistrust, from the raging competitionamongst our Grandces, as well as from the rapine and exactions of ourMagistrates. In vain too had been their appeal to the Laws, which were utterlyenfeebled and borne down by violence, by parties; nay, even by subornation andmoney.

Moreover, AUGUSTUS, to fortify his domination withcollateral bulwarks, raised his sister’s son CLAUDIUSMARCELLUS, a perfect youth, to the dignity of Pontiff and that of Edile;preferred MARCUS AGRIPPA to two successive Consulships, aman in truth meanly born, but an accomplished soldier, and the companion of hisvictories; and ( MARCELLUS, the husband of JULIA, soon after dying) chose him for his son-in-law. Even thesons of his wife, TIBERIUS NERO and CLAUDIUSDRUSUS, he dignified with high military titles and commands; though hishouse was yet supported by descendants of his own blood. For into the JULIAN family and name of the CÆSARS hehad already adopted LUCIUS and CAIUS, the sons of AGRIPPA; and though they were but children,neither of them seventeen years old, vehement had been his ambition to see themdeclared Princes of the Roman Youth, and even designed to the Consulship; whileopenly hewas protesting against admitting these early honours.Presently upon the decease of AGRIPPA, were these hischildren snatched away, either by their own natural, but hasty fate, or by thedeadly fraud of their step-mother LIVIA; LUCIUS on hisjourney to command the armies in Spain, CAIUS in his returnfrom Armenia, ill of a wound. And as DRUSUS, one of her ownsons, had been long since dead, TIBERIUS remained solecandidate for the succession. Upon this object centered all princely honours;he was by AUGUSTUS adopted for his son, assumed Collegue inthe Empire, partner in the jurisdiction tribunitial, and presented under allthese dignities to the several armies; instances of grandeur which were nolonger derived from the secret schemes of his mother, as in times past, whileher husband had unexceptionable heirs of his own, but thenceforth bestowed ather open suit. For as AUGUSTUS was now very aged, she hadobtained over him such absolute sway, that for her pleasure he banished intothe Isle of Planasia his only surviving grandson AGRIPPAPOSTUMUS, destitute, in truth, of laudable accomplishments, in his temperuntractable, and stupidly conceited of his mighty strength, but branded with nomisdemeanour or transgression. The Emperor had withal set GERMANICUS, the son of DRUSUS, over eightlegions quartered upon the Rhine, and obliged TIBERIUS toadopt him, though TIBERIUS had then a son of his own,one of competent years. But it was the study of AUGUSTUS, to secure himself and the succession by varietyof stays and engraftments. War at that time there was none, except that inGermany, kept on foot rather to abolish the disgrace sustained by QUINTILIUS VARUS, there slain with his army, than from anyambition to enlarge the Empire, or for any other valuable advantage. Inprofound tranquillity were affairs at Rome. To the Magistrates remained theirwonted names; of the Romans the younger sort had been born since the battle ofActium, and even most of the old during the civil wars: How few were thenliving who had seen the ancient free state!

THE frame and œconomy of Rome being thus totallyoverturned, amongst the Romans were no longer found any traces of theirprimitive spirit, or attachment to the virtuous institutions of antiquity. Butas the equality of the whole was extinguished by the sovereignty of one, allmen regarded the orders of the Prince as the only rule of conduct andobedience; nor felt they any anxiety, while AUGUSTUS yetretained vigour of life, and upheld the credit of his administration withpublick peace, and the imperial fortune of his house. But when he became brokenwith age and infirmities; when his end was at hand, and thence a new source ofhopes and views was presented, some few there were who began to reason idlyabout the blessings and recovery ofLiberty; many dreaded a civil war, others longed forone; while far the greater part were uttering their several apprehensions oftheir future masters; “that naturally stern and savage was the temper of AGRIPPA, and by his publick contumely enraged into fury;and neither in age nor experience was he equal to the weight of Empire. TIBERIUS indeed had arrived at fulness of years, and was adistinguished captain, but possessed the inveterate pride entailed upon the CLAUDIAN race; and many indications of a cruel natureescaped him, in spite of all his arts to disguise it; besides that from hisearly infancy he was trained up in a reigning house, and even in his youthinured to an accumulation of power and honours, consulships and triumphs. Norduring the several years of his abode at Rhodes, where, under the plausiblename of retirement, a real banishment was covered, did he exercise otheroccupation than that of meditating future vengeance, studying the arts oftreachery, and practising secret and abominable sensualities. Add to theseconsiderations, that of his mother, a woman inspired with all the tyranny ofher sex; that the Romans must be under bondage to a woman, and moreoverenthralled by two youths, who would first combine to oppress the State, thenfalling into dissension, rend it piece-meal.”

WHILE the Public was engaged in these and the likedebates, the illness of AUGUSTUS daily increased, and somestrongly suspected the pestilent practices of his wife. For there had been,some months before, a rumour abroad, That AUGUSTUS, havingsingled out a few of his most faithful servants, and taken FABIUS MAXIMUS for his only companion, had sailed secretly overto the Island of Planasia, there to visit his Grandson AGRIPPA; that many tears were shed on both sides, many tokensof mutual tenderness shewn, and hopes from thence conceived, that the unhappyyouth would be restored to his own place in his Grandfather’s family: That MAXIMUS had disclosed it to MARTIA, sheto LIVIA; and thence the Emperor knew that the secret wasbetrayed: That MAXIMUS being soon after dead (dead, as itwas doubted, through fear, by his own hands) MARTIA wasobserved, in her lamentations and groans at his funeral, to accuse herself asthe sad cause of her husband’s destruction. Whatever truth was in all this, TIBERIUS was scarce entered Illyricum but he was hastilyrecalled by his mother’s letters. Nor is it fully known whether, at his returnto Nola, he found AUGUSTUS yet breathing, or alreadybreathless. For LIVIA had carefully beset the palace, andall the avenues to it, with detachments of the guards; and good news of hisrecovery were from time to time given out. When she had taken all measuresnecessary in so great a conjuncture, in one and the same moment waspublished the departure of AUGUSTUS, and the accession of TIBERIUS.

THE first feat of this new reign was the murder of young AGRIPPA. The assassin, a bold and determined Centurion,found him destitute of arms, and little apprehending such a destiny, yet wasscarce able to dispatch him. Of this transaction TIBERIUS avoided any mention in the Senate. He would have it pass for done by thecommands of AUGUSTUS; as if he had transmitted writtenorders to the Tribune who guarded AGRIPPA, “to slay him theinstant he heard of his Grandfather’s decease.” It is very true, that AUGUSTUS had made many and vehement complaints of the youngman’s obstinate and unruly demeanour, and even solicited from the Senate aDecree to authorize his banishment; but he had never hardened himself againstthe sentiments of nature, nor in any instance dipt his hands in his own blood;neither is it credible that he would sacrifice the life of his grandson for thesecurity and establishment of his step-son. More probable it is, that thishasty murder was purely the work of TIBERIUS and LIVIA; that the young Prince, hated and dreaded by both,fell thus untimely, to rid the one of his apprehensions and a rival, and tosatiate in the other the rancorous spirit of a step-mother. When the Centurion,according to the custom of the army, acquainted TIBERIUS, “that his commands were executed”; he answered, “he had commanded no suchexecution, and theCenturion must appear before the Senate, and for it beanswerable to them.” This alarmed SALLUSTIUS CRISPUS, whoshared in all his secret counsels, and had sent the Centurion the warrant; hedreaded that he should be arraigned for the assassination, and knew it equallyperilous either to confess the truth, and charge the Emperor; or falsly toclear the Emperor, and accuse himself. Hence he had recourse to LIVIA, and warned her, “never to divulge the secrets of thepalace, never to expose to publick examination the ministers who advised, northe soldiers who executed. TIBERIUS should beware ofrelaxing the Authority of the Prince, by referring all things to that of theSenate; since it was the indispensable Prerogative of Sovereignty, for all mento be accountable to one.”

NOW at Rome, Consuls, Senators, and Roman Knights, wereall rushing with emulation into bondage; the higher the quality of each, themore false and forward the men; all careful so to frame their faces, as toreconcile false joy for the accession of TIBERIUS, withfeigned sadness for the loss of AUGUSTUS. Hence theyintermingled tears with gladness, wailings with gratulations, and all withservile flattery. SEXTUS POMPEIUS and SEXTUSAPULEIUS, at that time Consuls, took first the oath of fidelity to TIBERIUS, then administered it to SEIUSSTRABO and CAIUS TURRANIUS, the former Captain of thePretorian Guards, the other Intendant of the public stores. The oath wasnext given to the Senate, to the People, and to theSoldiery, all by the same Consuls. For TIBERIUS affected toderive all publick transactions from the legal ministry of the Consuls; as ifthe ancient Republick still subsisted, and he were yet unresolved aboutembracing the sovereign rule. He even owned in his Edict for summoning theSenate, that he issued it by virtue of the Tribunitial power, granted him under AUGUSTUS. The Edict too was short, and unexceptionablymodest. It imported, that “they were to consider of the funeral honours properto be paid his deceased Father; for himself he would not depart from the corps;and further than this edict implied, he claimed no share in the publicadministration.” Yet from the moment AUGUSTUS was dead, heusurped all the prerogatives of imperial State, gave the word to the PretorianCohorts, had soldiers about the palace, guards about his person, went guardedin the Street, guarded to the Senate, and bore all the marks of Majesty. Nay,he writ Letters to the several Armies in the undisguised style of one alreadytheir Prince; nor did he ever hesitate or speak with ambiguity about it, butwhen he spoke to the Senate. The chief cause of his reserve and obscurity thereproceeded from his fear of GERMANICUS. He dreaded that he,who was master of so many Legions of numberless Auxiliaries, and of all theAllies of Rome; he, who was the darling of the people, might wish rather topossess the Empire,than to wait for it. He likewise aimed at false glory,and would rather seem by the Commonwealth chosen and called to the Empire, thanto have crept darkly into it by the intrigues of a woman, or by adoption from asuperannuated Prince. It was also afterwards found, that, by this abstrusenessand counterfeit irresolution, he meant to penetrate into the designs andinclinations of the great men; for his jealous spirit construed all theirwords, all their looks, into crimes, and stored them up in his heart against aday of vengeance.

WHEN he first met the Senate, he would bear no otherbusiness to be transacted but that about the Funerals of AUGUSTUS. His last will was brought in by the Vestal Virgins;in it TIBERIUS and LIVIA were appointedhis heirs, LIVIA adopted into the JULIAN Family, and dignified with the name of AUGUSTA. Into the next and second degree of heirship he adoptedhis grandchildren and their children; and in the third degree he named thegreat men of Rome, most of them hated by him; but out of vain-glory he namedthem, and for future renown. His legacies were not beyond the usual bounds;only he left to the Roman people four hundred thousand great Sesterces [a] ; to the Populace or common sort, thirty-five thousand [b] ; to every common Soldier of the Pretorian Guards a thousand smallSesterces [c] ,and to every Soldier of the Roman Legions threehundred [d] . The funeral Honours were next considered. The chief presented werethese; ASINIUS GALLUS proposed, that “the Funeral shouldpass through the Triumphal gate;” LUCIUS ARRUNTIUS, “thatthe Titles of all the Laws which he had made, and the names of all the Nationswhich he had conquered, should be carried before the corps;” VALERIUS MESSALA added, “that the Oath of Allegiance to TIBERIUS should be renewed every Year”; and being asked by TIBERIUS, “whether at his instigation he had made thatmotion? I spoke it as my opinion, says MESSALA; nor will Iever be determined by any but my own, in things which concern the Commonweal;let who will be provoked by my freedom.” Only this new turn was wanting tocompleat the prevailing flattery of the time. The Senators then concurred in aloud cry, “that upon their own shoulders they must bear the body to the pile.”But TIBERIUS declined the offer from an arrogant shew ofmoderation. Moreover he cautioned the people by an Edict, “not to disturb thefuneral functions with a zeal over-passionate, as they had those of JULIUS CÆSAR; nor to insist that the Corps of AUGUSTUS should be burnt rather in the Forum, than in thefield of Mars, which was the place appointed.” On the funeral daythe Soldiers under arms kept guard; a mighty mockeryto those who had either seen, or heard their fathers describe, the day when CÆSAR the Dictator was slain. Servitude was then new, itssorrows yet fresh and bitter; and liberty unsuccessfully retrieved by a deed,which, while it seemed impious to some, was thought altogether glorious byothers, and hence tore Rome into tumults, and the violence of parties. Theyridiculed the Grimace of “calling an aid of soldiers to secure a peaceableburial to a Prince, who had grown old in peace and power, and even providedagainst a relapse into liberty, by a long train of successors.”

HENCE much and various matter of observation concerning AUGUSTUS. The superstitious multitude admired thefortuitous events of his fortune; “that the last day of his life, and the firstof his reign, was the same; that he died at Nola, in the same village, in thesame house, and in the same chamber, where his father OCTAVIUS died. They observed to his glory, his manyConsulships, equal in number to those of VALERIUS CORVINUS and of CAIUS MARIUS, joined together: that he had exercisedthe power of the Tribuneship seven and thirty years without interruption: thathe was one and twenty times proclaimed Imperator; withmany other numerous honours repeated to him, or created for him”. Men of deeperdiscernment entered further into his Life, but differed about it. His admirerssaid, that “hisfilial piety to his father CÆSAR, and the distractions of the Republic, where the laws no longer governed, haddriven him into a civil war; which, whatever be the first cause, can never bebegun or carried on by just and gentle means. Indeed, to be revenged on themurderers of his father, he had made many great sacrifices to ANTHONY; many to LEPIDUS. But when LEPIDUS was become sunk and superannuated in sloth; when ANTHONY was lost headlong in sensuality, there was then noother remedy for the distracted State, rent piece-meal by its chiefs, but theSovereignty of one. AUGUSTUS, however, never had assumed torule over his Country as King, or Dictator; but settled the Government underthe legal name of Prince of the Senate. He had extendedthe Empire, and set for its bounds the distant Ocean, and rivers far remote;the several parts and forces of the State, the Legions, the Provinces, theNavy, were all properly balanced and connected; the Citizens lived dutifullyunder the protection of the law, the Allies in terms of respect, and Romeitself was adorned with magnificent structures. Indeed in a few instances, hehad exerted the arbitrary violence of power; and in but a few, only to securethe peace of the whole.”

IN answer to all this, it was urged, that “his filialpiety, and the unhappy situation of the Republic, were pure pretences; but theardent lust of reigning, his true and only motive;with this spirit he had solicited into his service, by bribery, a body ofveteran soldiers; and, though a private youth, levied an Army. With this spirithe had debauched, and bought the Roman Legions under the Consuls, while he wasfalsly feigning a coalition with POMPEY’S republican party;that soon after, when he had procured from the Senate, or rather usurped thehonours and authority of the Pretorship; and when HIRTIUS and PANSA, the two Consuls, were slain, he seized boththeir Armies; that it was doubted whether the Consuls fell by the enemy, orwhether PANSA was not killed by pouring poison into hiswounds, and HIRTIUS slain by his own soldiers; and whetherthe young CÆSAR was not the contriver of this bloodytreason; that by terror he had extorted the Consulship in spite of the Senate;and turned against the Commonwealth the very arms with which the Commonwealthhad trusted him for her defence against ANTHONY. Add to allthis his cruel Proscriptions, and the Massacre of so many citizens; his seizingfrom the public, and distributing to his own creatures, so many lands andpossessions; a violation of property not justified even by those who gained byit. But, allowing him to dedicate to the Manes of the Dictator the Lives of BRUTUS and CASSIUS (though more to hishonour, had it been to have postponedhis own personal hate to publick good), did he notbetray the young POMPEY by an insidious peace, betray LEPIDUS by a deceitful shew of friendship? Did he not nextensnare MARK ANTHONY, first by Treaties those of Tarentumand Brundusium; then by aMarriage, that of his sister OCTAVIA ? And did not ANTHONY, at last, pay with his life the penalty of thatsubdolous alliance? After this, no doubt there was Peace, buta bloody Peace; bloody in thetragical defeat of LOLLIUS, and that of VARUS, in Germany; and at Rome, the VARRONES, the EGNATII, the JULII, (illustrious names!) were put to death.” Nor was hisdomestic life spared upon this occasion. “He had arbitrarily robbed NERO of his wife big with child by her husband; and mockedthe Gods by consulting the Priests, whether Religion permitted him to marry herbefore her delivery, or obliged him to stay till after. His minions, TEDIUS, and VEDIUS POLLIO, had lived inscandalous and excessive luxury; his Wife LIVIA, who whollycontrouled him, had proved a cruel governess to the Commonwealth, and to theJulian house a more cruel step-mother. He had even invaded the incommunicablehonours of the Gods, and, setting up for himself Temples like theirs, would,like them, be adored in the image of a Deity, with all the sacred solemnity ofPriests and Sacrifices. Nor had he adopted TIBERIUS for hissuccessor, eitherout of affection for him, or from concern for thepublic welfare; but having discovered in him a spirit proud and cruel, hesought future glory from the blackest opposition and comparison.” For, AUGUSTUS, when, a few years before, he solicited the Senateto grant to TIBERIUS another term of the authority of theTribuneship, though he mentioned him with honour, yet taking notice of his oddhumour, behaviour, and manners, dropt some expressions, which, while theyseemed to excuse him, exposed and upbraided him.

AS soon as the funeral of AUGUSTUS was over, a Temple and divine worship were forthwith decreed him. The Senatethen turned their supplications to TIBERIUS, to fill hisvacant place; but received an abstruse answer, touching the greatness of theEmpire, and his own distrust of himself. He said, that “nothing but the divinegenius of AUGUSTUS was equal to the mighty task; forhimself, who had been called by him into a participation of his cares, he hadlearnt by feeling them, what a daring, what a difficult toil was that ofGovernment, and how perpetually subject to the caprices of fortune; that in aState supported by so many illustrious Patriots, they ought not to cast thewhole administration upon one; and more easy to be administered were theseveral offices of the Government by the united pains and sufficiency of many.”A Speech much morespecious and sounding than cordial and sincere. TIBERIUS, even upon subjects which needed no disguises,used words dark and cautious; perhaps from his diffident nature, perhaps from ahabit of dissembling. At this juncture indeed, as he laboured wholly to hidehis heart, his language was the more carefully wrapt up in equivoques andobscurity. But the Senators, who dreaded nothing so much as to seem tounderstand him, burst into tears, plaints and vows. With extended arms theysupplicated the Gods, invoked the image of AUGUSTUS, andembraced the knees of TIBERIUS. He then commanded theimperial Register to be produced and recited. It contained a summary of thestrength and income of the Empire, the number of Romans and auxiliaries in pay,the condition of the navy, of the several Kingdoms paying tribute, and of thevarious provinces and their revenues, with the state of the public expence, theissues of the exchequer, and all the demands upon the public. This Register wasall written by the hand of AUGUSTUS; and in it he hadsubjoined his counsel to posterity, that the present boundaries of the Empireshould stand fixed without further enlargement. Whether this counsel wasdictated by fear for the public, or by envy towards his successors, isuncertain.

NOW when the Senate was stooping to the vilestimportunity and prostrations, TIBERIUS happened to say,that, “as he was unequal to the weight of the whole government, so ifthey entrusted him with any particular part, whateverit were, he would undertake it.” Here ASINIUS GALLUS interposed. “I beg to know, CÆSAR, says he, what part ofthe government you desire for your share?” He was astonied with the unexpectedquestion, and, for a short space, mute; but recovering himself, answered, that“it ill became his modesty to chuse or reject any particular branch of theadministration, when he desired rather to be excused from the whole.” GALLUS, who from his looks inferred deep displeasure, againaccosted him, and said, “By this question I did not mean that you should sharethat power which cannot be separated; but to reason you into a confession, thatthe Commonwealth is but one body, and can be governed only by one soul.” Headded an encomium upon AUGUSTUS, and reminded TIBERIUS himself of his many victories, of the many civilemployments which he had long and nobly sustained. Nor even thus could hemollify the wrath of TIBERIUS, who had long hated him, forthat GALLUS had married VIPSANIA, daughter of MARCUS AGRIPPA, formerly wife to TIBERIUS, who thence suspected that he meant to soar above therank of a subject, and possessed too the bold and haughty spirit of ASINIUS POLLIO his father.

LUCIUS ARRUNTIUS INCURRED HIS DISPLEASURE NEXT, BY A SPEECH NOTMUCH UNLIKE THAT OF GALLUS. IT IS TRUE, THAT TOWARDS HIM TIBERIUS BORE NO OLD RANCOUR; BUT ARRUNTIUS HAD MIGHTY OPULENCE, PROMPT PARTS, NOBLEACCOMPLISHMENTS, WITH EQUAL POPULARITY AND RENOWN; AND HENCE WAS MARKED BY HIMWITH A FELL EYE OF SUSPICION. FOR, AS AUGUSTUS, SHORTLYBEFORE HIS DECEASE, WAS MENTIONING THOSE AMONG THE GREAT MEN, WHO WERE CAPABLEOF THE SUPREME POWER, BUT WOULD NOT ACCEPT IT; OR UNEQUAL TO IT, YET WISHED FORIT; OR SUCH AS HAD BOTH AMBITION AND SUFFICIENCY; HE HAD SAID, THAT “ MARCUS LEPIDUS WAS QUALIFIED, BUT WOULD REJECT IT; ASINIUS WOULD BE ASPIRING, BUT HAD INFERIOR TALENTS; ANDTHAT LUCIUS ARRUNTIUS WANTED NO SUFFICIENCY, AND, UPON APROPER OCCASION, WOULD ATTEMPT IT.” THAT HE SPOKE THUS OF LEPIDUS AND ASINIUS, IS AGREED; BUT,INSTEAD OF ARRUNTIUS, SOME WRITERS HAVE TRANSMITTED THENAME OF CNEIUS PISO: AND EVERY ONE OF THESE GREAT MEN,EXCEPT LEPIDUS, WERE AFTERWARDS CUT OFF, UNDER THEIMPUTATION OF VARIOUS CRIMES, ALL DARKLY FRAMED BY TIBERIUS.QUINTUS HATERIUS, AND MAMERCUS SCAURUS DID ALSOINCENSE HIS DISTRUSTFUL SPIRIT; THE FIRST BY ASKING HIM, “HOW LONG, CÆSAR, WILT THOU SUFFER THE COMMONWEALTH TO REMAINDESTITUTE OF A HEAD?” SCAURUS, BECAUSE HE HAD SAID, THEREWAS ROOM TO HOPE THAT THE PRAYERS OF THE SENATE WOULD NOT PROVE ABORTIVE, SINCEHE HAD NOT INTERPOSED THE TRIBUNITIAL POWER, AND THENCE OBSTRUCTED THE MOTIONOF THE CONSULS IN HIS BEHALF.” WITH HATERIUS HE FELL INTOINSTANT RAGE. TOWARDS SCAURUS HIS RESENTMENT WAS MORE DEEPAND IMPLACABLE,AND IN PROFOUND SILENCE HE HID IT. WEARIED AT LASTWITH PUBLIC IMPORTUNITY AND CLAMOUR, AND WITH PARTICULAR EXPOSTULATIONS, HEBEGAN TO UNBEND A LITTLE; NOT THAT HE WOULD OWN HIS UNDERTAKING THE EMPIRE, BUTONLY AVOID THE UNEASINESS OF PERPETUAL SOLICITATIONS AND REFUSALS. IT ISCERTAIN, THAT HATERIUS, WHEN HE WENT NEXT DAY TO THE PALACETO IMPLORE PARDON, AND THROWING HIMSELF AT THE FEET OF TIBERIUS EMBRACED HIS KNEES, NARROWLY ESCAPED BEING SLAIN BYTHE SOLDIERS; BECAUSE TIBERIUS, WHO WAS WALKING, TUMBLEDDOWN, WHETHER BY CHANCE, OR WHETHER HIS LEGS WERE ENTANGLED IN THE ARMS OF HATERIUS. NEITHER WAS HE A JOT MOLLIFIED BY THE DANGERWHICH THREATENED SO GREAT A MAN, WHO WAS AT LENGTH FORCED TO SUPPLICATE AUGUSTA FOR PROTECTION; NOR COULD EVEN SHE OBTAIN IT, BUTAFTER THE MOST LABOURED ENTREATIES.

TOWARDS LIVIA likewise exorbitant was the flatteringcourt of the Senate. Some were for decreeing her the general title of Mother; others the more particular one of Mother of her Country; and almost all proposed, that to thename of TIBERIUS should be added, The Sonof JULIA. TIBERIUS urged in answer, that “publichonours to women ought to be adjudged with a sparing hand; and that with thesame measure of moderation he would receive such as were presented to himself.”In truth, from envy and solicitude, lest his own grandeur should sink as thatof his mother rose, he would not suffer so much as a Lictor to bedecreed her, and even forbad the raising her an Altarupon her late adoption, or paying her any such solemnities. Yet, for GERMANICUS he asked the Proconsular power; and, to carryhim that dignity, honourable deputies were sent, as also to mollify his sorrowfor the death of AUGUSTUS. If for DRUSUS he demanded not the same honour, it was because DRUSUS was present, and already Consul designed. He thennamed twelve candidates for the Prætorship, the same number settled by AUGUSTUS; and, though the Senate requested him to increaseit, he bound himself by an oath never to exceed.

THE privilege of creating Magistrates was now firsttranslated from the assemblies of the people to the Senate. For though theEmperor had before conducted all affairs of moment at his pleasure; yet tillthat day, some were still transacted by the Tribes, and carried by their bentand suffrages. Neither did the regret of the people for the seizure of thesetheir ancient rights, rise higher than some impotent grumbling. The Senate tooliked the change, as by it they were released from the charge of buying votes,and from the shame of begging them. And so moderate was TIBERIUS, that, of the twelve Candidates, he only reserved tohimself the recommendation of four, to be accepted without opposition orcaballing. At the same time, the Tribunes of the people asked leave tocelebrate, at their own expence, certain plays in honour of AUGUSTUS, such as were to becalled after his name, and inserted in the calendar.But it was decreed, that out of the Exchequer the charge should be defrayed,and the Tribunes should in the Circus wear the triumphal robe; but to becarried in chariots was denied them. The annual celebration of these plays was,for the future, transferred to one of the Prætors, him in particular to whomshould fall the jurisdiction of deciding suits between citizens andstrangers.

THUS stood affairs at Rome when a sedition seized theLegions in Pannonia; without any fresh grounds, save that from a change ofPrinces they meant to assume a warrant for licentiousness and tumult, and froma civil war hoped great earnings and acquisitions. They were three Legionsencamped together, all commanded by JUNIUS BLESUS, who uponnotice of the death of AUGUSTUS, and the accession of TIBERIUS, had granted the soldiers a recess from theirwonted duties for some days, as a time either of public mourning or festivity.From being idle they waxed wanton, quarrelsom, and turbulent; greedily listenedto mutinous discourses; the most profligate amongst them had most credit withthem, and at last they became passionate sor a life of lise and riot, utterlyaverse to all military discipline and every fatigue of the camp. In the campwas one PERCENNIUS; formerly a busy leader in theembroilments of the theatre, and now a common soldier; a fellow of a petulantdeclaiming tongue, and, by inflaming parties inthe playhouse, well qualified to excite and infatuatea crowd. This incendiary practised upon the ignorant and unwary, such as weresolicitous what might prove their future usage, now AUGUSTUS was dead. He engaged them in nightly confabulations,and, by little and little, incited them to violence and disorders; and, towardsthe evening, when the soberest and best affected were withdrawn, he assembledthe worst and most turbulent. When he had thus ripened them for sedition, andother ready incendiaries were combined with him, he personated the character ofa lawful Commander, and thus questioned and harangued them:

“ WHY did they obey, like slaves, a few Centurions, and afewer Tribunes? When would they be bold enough to demand redress of their heavygrievances, unless they snatched the present occasion, while the Emperor wasyet new, and his authority wavering, to prevail with him by petition, or byarms to force him? They had already, by the misery of many years, paid dear fortheir patient sloth, and stupid silence, since, decrepid with age, and maimedwith wounds, aster a course of service for thirty or forty years, they werestill doomed to carry arms. Nor, even to those who were discharged, was thereany end of the misery of warfare; they were still kept tied to the colours,and, under the creditable title of Veterans, endured the same hardships, andunderwent the same labours. But suppose any of them escaped somany dangers, and survived so many calamities, wherewas their reward at last? A long and weary march remained yet to be taken intocountries far remote and strange, where, under the name of lands given them tocultivate, they had inhospitable boggs to drain, and the wild wastes ofmountains to manure. Severe and ungainful of itself was the occupation of war;ten As’s a day the poor price of their persons and lives; out of this they mustbuy cloaths, and tents, and arms; out of this bribe the cruel Centurions, for aforbearance of blows, and occasional exemption from hard duty. But stripes fromtheir officers, and wounds from their enemies, hard winters and laborioussummers, bloody wars and barren peace, were miseries without end; nor remainedthere other cure or relief than to refuse to list but upon conditions certain,and fixed by themselves; particularly, that their pay be a Denarius or sixteenAs’s a day, sixteen years be the utmost term of serving; when discharged, to beno longer obliged to follow the colours, but to have their reward, in readymoney, paid them in the camp where they earned it. Did the Prætorian guards,they who had double pay, they who, after sixteen years service, were paid offand sent home, bear severer difficulties, undergo superior dangers? He did notmean to detract from the merit of their brethren the City guards; their ownharder lot however was, to be placed amongsthorrid and barbarous nations, nor could they look fromtheir tents, but they saw the foe.”

THE whole crowd received this harangue with shouts ofapplause; but from various instigations. Some displayed upon their bodies theimpressions of stripes, others their hoary heads, many their vestments raggedand curtailed, with backs utterly bare; as did all, their various griefs in thebitterness of reproach. At length to such excessive fury they grew, that theyproposed to incorporate the three Legions into one; nor by ought but emulationwas the project defeated: for, to his own Legion, every man claimed theprerogative of swallowing and denominating the other two. They took anothermethod, and placed the three Eagles of the Legions, with the Standards of theseveral Cohorts, all together, without rank or priority; then forthwith diggedturf, and were rearing a Tribunal, one high enough to be seen at a distance. Inthis hurry arrived BLESUS, who, falling into sore rebukes,and by force interrupting particulars, called with vehemence to all; “Dip yourhands rather in my blood. To murder your General, will be a crime less shamefuland heinous, than to revolt from your Prince: for, determined I am, either topreserve the Legions in their faith and obedience, if you kill me not for myintended good office; or my death, if I fall by your hands, shall hasten yourremorse.”

FOR all this, turfs were accumulated, and the work wasalready breast-high, when, atlast, overcome by his spirit and perseverance, theyforbore. BLESUS was an able speaker; he told them, “thatsedition and mutiny were not the methods of conveying to the Emperor thepretensions of the soldiers; their demands too were new and singular; such asneither the soldiers of old had ever made to the ancient Generals, nor theythemselves to the deified AUGUSTUS: besides, their claimswere ill-timed, when the Prince, just upon his accession, was alreadyembarrassed with the weight and variety of other cares. If however they meantto try to gain in full peace those concessions, which, even after a civil war,the conquerors never claimed; yet why trample upon duty and obedience, whyreject the laws of the army, and rules of discipline? And if they meant topetition, why meditate violence? They might at least appoint deputies; and inhis presence trust them with their pretensions.” Here they all cried out, “thatthe son of BLESUS, one of their Tribunes, should executethat deputation; and demand, in their name, that, after sixteen years service,they should be discharged. They said, they would give him new orders, when hehad succeeded in these.” After the departure of the young officer, a moderaterecess ensued. The soldiers however exulted to have carried such a point: thesending the son of their General, as the public advocate for their cause, wasto them full proof, that they had gained, by force and terror, that which, bymodesty and gentle means, they would never havegained.

IN the mean time those companies, which, before thesedition began, were sent to Nauportum, to mend roads and bridges, and uponother duties, no sooner heard of the uproar in the camp, but they cast off allobedience, tore away the ensigns, and plundered the neighbouring villages. EvenNauportum itself, which for greatness resembled a municipal City, wasplundered. The endeavours of the Centurions to restrain this violence, werefirst returned with mockery and contempt, then with invectives and contumelies,at last with outrage and blows. Their vengeance was chiefly bent against theCamp-Marshal, AUFIDIENUS RUFUS: him they dragged from hischariot, and loading him with baggage, drove him before the first ranks. Theythen insulted him, and asked in scorn, “whether he would gladly bear suchenormous burdens; whether endure such immense marches?” RUFUS had been long a common soldier, then became a Centurion,and afterwards Camp-Marshal; a severe restorer of primitive strictness anddiscipline; an indefatigable observer of every military duty, which he exactedfrom others with the more rigour, as he had himself undergone them with allpatience.

BY the arrival of this tumultuous band, the sedition wasagain awakened to its former outrage, and the Seditious roving abroad withoutcontroul, ravaged the county on every side. BLESUS, for an example of terrorto the rest, commanded those who were most laden with plunder, to be punishedwith stripes, and cast into prison. For the General was still dutifully obeyedby the Centurions, and by all the soldiers of any merit. But the criminalsrefused to submit, and even struggled with the guard who were carrying themoff: They clasped the knees of the by-standers, implored help from theirfellows; now calling upon every individual, and conjuring them by theirparticular names; then appealed to them in a body, and supplicated the Company,the Cohort, the Legion, to which they belonged; warning and proclaiming, thatthe same ignominy and chastisement hung over them all. With the same breaththey heaped invectives without measure upon their General, and called uponheaven and all the Gods to be their witnesses and avengers; nor left they oughtunattempted to raise effectual hatred, compassion, terror, and every species offury. Hence the whole body rushed to their relief, burst open the prison,unbound and rescued the prisoners. Thus they owned for their brethren, andincorporated with themselves, infamous revolters, and traitors convict andcondemned.

HENCE the violence became more raging, and hence moresedition from more leaders. There was particularly one VIBULENUS a common soldier, who, exalted on the shoulders ofhis comrades, before the tribunal of BLESUS, thus declaimedin the ears of a multitude alreadyoutrageous, and eager to hear what he had to say. “Tothese innocents, says he, to these miserable sufferers, our fellow soldiers,you have indeed restored breath and liberty; but, who will restore life to mypoor brother; who my poor brother to me? He was sent hither by the Germanarmies, with propositions for our common good; and for this, was last nightbutchered by the same BLESUS, who in the murder employedhis gladiators, bloody men, whom he purposely entertains and arms for ourcommon execution: where, oh BLESUS, hast thou thrown hismangled corps? Even open enemies do not inhumanly deny burial to the slain.When I have satiated my sorrow with a thousand kisses, and a flood of tears,command me also to be murdered, that these our brethren may together bury mypoor brother and me, slaughtered both as victims, yet both guiltless of anycrime, but that of studying the common interest of the Legions.”

HE inflamed those his complaints and expostulations,with affecting sighs and lamentations, beat his breast, and tore his face.Then, those who carried him, giving way, he throwed himself headlong at thefeet of his companions; and thus prostrate and supplicating, in them raisedsuch a spirit of commiseration, and such a storm of vengeance, that one partyof them seized and bound the General’s gladiators; another, the rest of hisfamily; while many ran and dispersed themselves to search for thecorps: and, had it not been quickly manifest thatthere was no corps to be found, that the slaves of BLESUS had upon the rack cleared themselves, and that VIBULENUS never had any brother; they had gone nigh to have sacrificed the General. As itwas, they expulsed the Camp-Marshal and Tribunes, and, as they fled, plunderedtheir baggage. They likewise put to death LUCILIUS theCenturion, whom they had sarcastically named Cede alteram, because when upon the back of a soldier he had broken one wand, he was wont tocall for another, then a third. The other Centurions lurked in concealment, allbut JULIUS CLEMENS, who, for his prompt capacity, was savedin order to manage the negociations of the Soldiers. Even two of the Legions,the eighth and the fifteenth, were ready to turn their swords upon each other;and had, but for the ninth. One SIRPICUS, a Centurion, wasthe subject of the quarrel: him the eighth required to be put to death; thefifteenth protected him; but the ninth interposed with entreaties to both, andwith threats to those who would not listen to prayers.

TIBERIUS, however close and impenetrable, and everlabouring to smother all melancholy tidings, was yet driven by those fromPannonia, to dispatch his son DRUSUS thither, accompaniedby the principal nobility, and guarded by two Prætorian cohorts; but chargedwith no precise instructions, only to adapt his measures to the presentexigency. The cohortswere strengthened with an extraordinary addition ofchosen men, with the greatest part of the Prætorian horse, and main body of theGerman, then the Emperor’s guards. ÆLIUS SEJANUS, latelyjoined with his father STRABO in the command of thePrætorian bands, was also sent, not only as governor to the young Prince, but,as his credit with the Emperor was known to be mighty, to deal with therevolters by promises and terrors. When DRUSUS approached,the Legions, for shew of respect, marched out to meet him, not with the usualsymptoms and shouts of joy, nor with gay ensigns and arms glittering, but in adress and accountrements hideous and squalid. In their countenances too, thoughcomposed to sadness, were seen greater marks of sullenness and contumacy.

AS soon as he was within the camp, they secured theentrances with guards, and in several quarters of it placed parties upon duty.The rest crouded about the Tribunal of DRUSUS, who stoodbeckoning with his hand for silence. Here, as often as they surveyed their ownnumbers, and met one another’s resentful looks, they uttered their rage inhorrible cries: Again, when they beheld CÆSAR upon theTribunal, awe and trembling seized them. Now, there prevailed an hollow andinarticulate murmur; next, a furious clamour; then, suddenly, a dead silence.So that, by a hasty succession of opposite passions, they were at once dismayedand dreadful. When, at last, the uproarwas staid, he read his father’s letters, who in themdeclared, “that he would take an affectionate care of the brave and invinciblelegions, by whom he had sustained successfully so many wars; and, as soon ashis grief was a little abated, deal with the Senate about their demands; in themean time he had sent them his son, on purpose to make them forthwith all theconcessions, which could instantly be made them: the rest were to be reservedfor the Senate, the proper distributors of rewards and punishments by a rightaltogether unalienable.”

THE ASSEMBLY ANSWERED, THAT TO JULIUS CLEMENS THEY HAD INTRUSTED WHAT TO SPEAK IN THEIR NAME: HE BEGAN WITH THEIR DEMANDS,“TO BE DISCHARGED AFTER SIXTEEN YEARS SERVICE, TO HAVE THE REWARD WHICH, FORPAST SERVICES UPON THAT DISCHARGE, THEY CLAIMED; THEIR PAY TO BE INCREASED TO AROMAN DENARIUS; THE VETERANS TO BE NO LONGER DETAINED UNDER THEIR ENSIGNS.”WHEN DRUSUS URGED, THAT WHOLLY IN THE JUDGMENT OF THESENATE AND HIS FATHER THESE MATTERS RESTED; HE WAS INTERRUPTED BY THEIRCLAMOURS: “TO WHAT PURPOSE CAME HE; SINCE HE COULD NEITHER AUGMENT THEIR PAY,NOR ALLEVIATE THEIR GRIEVANCES? AND WHILE EVERY OFFICER WAS ALLOWED TO INFLICTUPON THEM BLOWS AND DEATH, THE SON OF THEIR EMPEROR WANTED POWER TO RELIEVETHEM BY ONE BENEFICENT ACTION. THIS WAS THE POLICY OF THE LATE REIGN, WHEN TIBERIUS FRUSTRATED EVERY REQUEST OF THE SOLDIERS, BYREFERRING ALL TO AUGUSTUS; NOW DRUSUS WAS COME, WITH THE SAME ARTIFICES TO DELUDE THEM. WERETHEY NEVER TO HAVE A HIGHER VISIT THAN FROM THE CHILDREN OF THEIR PRINCE? ITWAS, INDEED, UNACCOUNTABLE, THAT TO THE SENATE THE EMPEROR SHOULD LEAVE NO PARTIN THE DIRECTION OF THE ARMY, ONLY THE REWARDING OF THE SOLDIERY. OUGHT NOT THESAME SENATE TO BE CONSULTED AS OFTEN AS A BATTLE WAS TO BE FOUGHT, OR A PRIVATEMAN TO BE PUNISHED? OR, WERE THEIR RECOMPENCES TO BE ADJUDGED BY MANY MASTERS,BUT THEIR PUNISHMENTS TO REMAIN WITHOUT ANY RESTRAINT OR MODERATORWHATSOEVER?”

AT last, they abandoned the Tribunal, and with menacesand insults fell upon all they met, belonging to DRUSUS either as guards or friends; meditating thus to provoke a quarrel, and anintroduction to blood. Chiefly enraged they were against CNEIUSLENTULUS, as one, for years and warlike renown, superior to any about theperson of DRUSUS, and thence suspected to have hardened thePrince, and been himself the foremost to despise these outrages in thesoldiery. Nor was it long after, that, as he was leaving DRUSUS, and, from the foresight of danger, returning to thewinter quarters, they surrounded him, and demanded, “whither he went? to theEmperor or Senate? there also to exercise his enmity to the legions, and opposetheir interest?” and instantly assaulted him with stones. He was alreadycovered with wounds and blood, and awaiting certain assassination,when the troops attending DRUSUS flew to his assistance, and saved him.

THE following night had a formidable aspect, andthreatened the speedy eruption of some tragical vengeance, when a phenomenonintervened and asswaged all. The Moon, in the midst of a clear sky, seemed tothe soldiers suddenly to sicken; and they who were ignorant of the naturalcause, took this for an omen foreboding the issue of their present adventures.To their own labours they compared the eclipse of the planet, and prophesied,“that, if to the distressed Goddess should be restored her wonted brightnessand vigour, equally successful would be the issue of these their struggles.”Hence they strove to charm and revive her with sounds, and, by ringing uponbrasen metal, and an uproar of trumpets and cornets, made a vehement bellowing.As she appeared brighter or darker, they exulted or lamented: but whengathering clouds had utterly bereft them of her sight, and they believed hernow buried in everlasting darkness; then, as minds once throughly dismayed arepliant to superstition, they bewailed “their own eternal sufferings thusportended, and that against their misdeeds the angry deities were contending.” DRUSUS, who thought it behoved him to improve thisdisposition of theirs, and to reap the fruits of wisdom from the operations ofchance; ordered certain persons to go round, and apply to themfrom tent to tent. For this purpose, he called andemployed the Centurion JULIUS CLEMENS, and whoever elsewere by honest methods acceptable to the multitude. These insinuated themselvesevery-where, with those who kept watch, or were upon patrol, or guarded thegates, soothing all with hopes, and by terrors rousing them: “How long, saidthey, shall we hold the son of our Emperor thus besieged? Where will our broilsand wild contentions end? Shall we swear allegiance to PERCENNIUS and VIBULENUS ? Will VIBULENUS and PERCENNIUS support uswith pay during our service, and reward us with lands when dismissed? In short,shall two common men dispossess the NEROS and the DRUSI, and to themselves assume the Empire of the Romanpeople? Let us be wiser; and as we were the last to revolt, be the first torelent. Such demands as comprize terms for all, are ever slowly accorded: butparticulars may, when they please, merit instant favour, and instantly receiveit.” These reasonings alarmed them, and filled them with mutual jealousies.Presently the fresh soldiers forsook the Veterans, one Legion separated fromanother; then by degrees returned the love of duty and obedience. Theyrelinquished the guard of the gates; and the Eagles and other ensigns, which inthe beginning of the tumult they had thrown together, were now restored each toits distinct station.

DRUSUS, as soon as it was day, summoned an assembly, andthough unskilled in speaking, yet with a haughtiness inherent in his blood,rebuked their past, and commended their present behaviour: “With threats andterrors, he said, it was impossible to subdue him; but if he saw them reclaimedto submission, if from them he heard the language of supplicants, he would sendto his father to accept with a reconciled spirit the petitions of the Legions.”Hence, at their entreaty, for their deputy to TIBERIUS, thesame BLESUS was again dispatched, and with him LUCIUS APRONIUS, a Roman Knight, and intimate companion of DRUSUS, and JUSTUS CATONIUS, aCenturion of the first order. There followed great debates in the council of DRUSUS, while some advised “to suspend all proceeding tillthe return of the deputies, and by a course of courtesy the while to sooth thesoldiers; others maintained, that remedies more potent must needs be applied:in a multitude was to be found nothing on this side extremes; always imperiouswhere they are not awed, and to be despised without danger when frightened. Totheir present terror from superstition was to be added the dread of theirGeneral, by his dooming to death the authors of the sedition.” Rather prompt torigorous counsels was the genius of DRUSUS. VIBULENUS and PERCENNIUS were produced, and by his command executed. Itis by many recounted, that inhis own tent they were secretly dispatched and buried;by others, that their bodies were ignominiously thrown over the entrenchments,for a public spectacle of terror.

SEARCH was then made for other remarkable incendiaries.Some were caught skulking without the camp, and there by the Centurions orPrætorian soldiers slain. Others were by their several companies delivered up,as a proof of their own fidelity. The consternation of the soldiers washeightened by the precipitate accession of winter, with rains incessant, and soviolent, that they were unable to stir from their tents, or maintain commonintercourse, nay scarce to preserve their standards, assaulted continually bytempestuous winds and raging floods. Dread besides of the angry Gods stillpossessed them; “nor was it at random, they thought, that such profane traitorswere thus visited with black eclipses, and roaring tempests; neither againstthese their calamities was there other relief than the relinquishing of a campby impiety contaminated and accursed, and, after expiation of their guilt,returning to their several garisons.” The eighth legion departed first; thenthe fifteenth: the ninth, with earnest clamours, pressed for continuing theretill the letters from TIBERIUS arrived; but when desertedby the other two, their courage failed, and by following of their own accord,they prevented the shame of being forced. DRUSUS seeingorder and tranquillity thus restored,without staying for the return of the Deputies,returned himself to Rome.

ALMOST at the same time, and from the same causes, thelegions in Germany raised an insurrection, with greater numbers, and thencewith more fury. Passionate too were their hopes that GERMANICUS would never brook the rule of another, but yield tothe spirit of the legions, who had force sufficient to bring the whole Empireunder his sway. Upon the Rhine were two armies; that called the higher,commanded by CAIUS SILIUS, Lieutenant-General; the lower,by AULUS CÆCINA. The command in chief rested in GERMANICUS, then busy collecting the tribute in Gaul. Theforces however under SILIUS, with cautious ambiguity,watched the success of the revolt which others began: for the soldiers of thelower army had broken out into open outrages, which began from the fifthlegion, and the one and twentieth, who drew after them the first and thetwentieth. These were altogether upon the frontiers of the Ubians, passing thecampaign in utter idleness, or light duty: so that upon the news that AUGUSTUS was dead, the whole swarm of new soldiers latelylevied in the city, men accustomed to the effeminacies of Rome, and impatientof every military hardship, began to possess the ignorant minds of the restwith many turbulent expectations, “that now was presented the lucky juncturefor Veterans to demand intire dismission; the fresh soldiers, largerpay; and all, some mitigation of their miseries; asalso to return due vengeance for the cruelties of the Centurions.” These werenot the harangues of a single incendiary, like PERCENNIUS amongst the Pannonian legions; nor uttered, as there, in the ears of men, who,while they saw before their eyes armies greater than their own, mutinied withawe and trembling: But here was a sedition of many mouths, filled with manyboasts, “that in their hands lay the power and fate of Rome; by their victoriesthe Empire was inlarged, and from them the CÆSARS took, asa compliment, the surname of GERMANICUS. ”

NEITHER did CÆCINA strive torestrain them. A madness so extensive had berest him of all his bravery andfirmness. In this precipitate frenzy they rushed at once, with swords drawn,upon the Centurions, the eternal objects of their resentment, and always thefirst victims to their vengeance. Them they dragged to the earth, and upon eachbestowed a terrible portion of sixty blows; a number proportioned to that ofCenturions in a legion. Then bruised, mangled, and half expiring, as they were,they cast them all out of the camp, some into the stream of the Rhine. SEPTIMIUS, who had for refuge fled to the tribunal of CÆCINA, and lay clasping his feet, was demanded with suchimperious vehemence, that he was forced to be surrendered to destruction. CASSIUS CHEREA (afterwards famous to posterityfor killing CALIGULA ) then a youngman of undaunted spirit, and one of the Centurions, boldly opened himself apassage with his sword through a crowd of armed foes striving to seize him.After this no further authority remained to the Tribunes, none to theCamp-Marshals. The seditious soldiers were their own officers; set the watch,appointed the guard, and gave all orders proper in the present exigency. Hencethose who dived deepest into the spirit of the soldiery, gathered a specialindication how powerful and obdurate the present insurrection was like toprove; for in their conduct were no marks of a rabble, where every man’s willguides him, or the instigation of a few controuls the whole. Here, all at oncethey raged, and all at once kept silence; with so much concert and steadiness,that you would have believed them under the sovereign direction of one.

TO GERMANICUS the while, then receiving, as I have said,the tribute in Gaul, news were brought of the decease of AUGUSTUS, whose grand-daughter AGRIPPINA hehad to wife, and by her many children. He was himself the grandson of LIVIA, by her son DRUSUS the brother of TIBERIUS; but ever under heavy anxiety from the secret hatewhich his uncle and grandmother bore him; hate the more virulent, as itsgrounds were altogether unrighteous. For, dear and adored was the memory of hisfather DRUSUS amongst the Roman people, and from him wasfirmly expected,that had he succeeded to the Empire, he would haverestored public liberty. Hence their zeal for GERMANICUS, and of him the same hopes conceived; as from his youth he possessed a popularspirit, and marvellous affability, utterly remote from the comportment andaddress of TIBERIUS, ever haughty and mysterious. Theanimosities too between the ladies administered fresh fuel, while, towards AGRIPPINA, LIVIA was actuated by the despight natural tostep-mothers: and over-tempestuous was the indignation of AGRIPPINA; only that her known chastity, and love for herhusband, always gave her mind, however vehement, a virtuous turn.

BUT GERMANICUS, the nearer he stood to supreme rule, themore vigour he exerted to secure it to TIBERIUS; to whom heobliged the Sequanians, a neighbouring people, as also the several Belgiccities, to swear present allegiance; and the moment he learnt the uproar of thelegions, posted thither. He found them advanced without the camp to receivehim, with eyes cast down, in feigned token of remorse. After he entered theentrenchments, instantly his ears were filled with plaints and grievances,uttered in hideous and mixt clamours. Nay, some catching his hand, as if theymeant to kiss it, thrust his fingers into their mouths, to feel their gumsdestitute of teeth; others shewed their limbs enfeebled, and bodies stoopingunder old age. As he saw the assembly mixt at random, he commandedthem “to range themselves into companies, thence moredistinctly to hear his answers; as also to place before them their severalEnsigns; that the cohorts at least might be distinguished.” With slowness andreluctance they obeyed him. Then beginning with an encomium upon the “venerablememory of AUGUSTUS, ” he proceeded to the “many victoriesand many triumphs of TIBERIUS, and with peculiar praisescelebrated the glorious and immortal deeds, which with these very legions hehad accomplished in Germany;” he next boasted the quiet state of things, theconsent of all Italy, the loyal faith of both the Gauls; and every quarter ofthe Roman state exempt from disaffection and disorders.

THUS far they listened with silence, at least withmoderate murmuring; but the moment he touched their sedition, and questioned,“where now was the wonted modesty of soldiers? where the glory of ancientdiscipline? whither had they chased their Tribunes, whither their Centurions?”to a man, they stripped themselves to the skin, and there exposed the seams oftheir wounds, and bruises of their chastisements, in the rage of reproach. Thenin the undistinguished voice of uproar, they urged, “the exactions foroccasional exemptions; their scanty pay; and their rigorous labours;” whichthey represented in a long detail; “ramparts to be reared; entrenchmentsdigged, trees felled and drawn; foragecut and carried; fuel prepared and fetched;” withevery other article of toil required by the exigencies of war, or to preventidleness in the soldiery. Above all, from the Veterans arose a cry mostvehement and furious: they enumerated thirty years or upwards undergone in theservice, “and besought, that, to men utterly spent, he would administerrespite, nor suffer them to be beholden to death for the last relief from theirtoils; but discharge them from a warfare so lasting and severe, and grant themthe means of a comfortable recess.” Nay, some there were who required of himthe money bequeathed them by AUGUSTUS; and towards GERMANICUS uttering zealous vows, with omens of happyfortune, declared their cordial attachment to his cause, if he would himselfassume the Empire. Here, as if already stained with their treason, he leapedheadlong from the Tribunal; but with swords drawn they opposed his departure,and threatened his life, if he refused to return: yet, with passionateprotestations, that “he would rather die than be a traitor,” he snatched hissword from his side, and aiming full at his breast, would have buried it there,had not those who were next him seized his hand, and by force restrained him. Acluster of soldiers in the extremity of the assembly, exhorted him, nay, whatis incredible to hear, some particulars advancing nearer, exhorted him, to strike home. In truth, one CALUSIDIUS, a common soldier,presented him his naked sword, and added, “it issharper than your own;” a behaviour which to the rest, outrageous as they were,seemed savage, and of horrid example. Hence, the friends of GERMANICUS had time to snatch him away to his tent.

IT was here consulted what remedy to apply; for it wasadvised, that “ministers of sedition were preparing to be dispatched to theother army, to draw them too into a confederacy in the revolt; that the capitalof the Ubians was destined to be sacked; and if their hands were once inured toplunder, they would break in, and ravage all Gaul.” This dread was augmented byanother: the enemy knew of the sedition in the Roman army, and were ready toinvade the Empire, if its barrier the Rhine were left unguarded. Now, to armthe allies and the auxiliaries of Rome, and lead them against the departingLegions, was to rouse a civil war: severity was dangerous; the way of largessesinfamous; and alike threatning it was to the State, to grant the turbulentsoldiers nothing, or yield them every thing. After revolving every reason andobjection, the result was, to feign letters and directions from TIBERIUS, “that those who had served twenty years should befinally discharged; such as had served sixteen be under the ensign andprivilege of Veterans, released from every duty, but that of repulsing theenemy; and the legacywhich they demanded, should be paid and doubled.”

THE soldiers, who perceived, that, purely to evadepresent difficulty, the concessions were forged, insisted to have themforthwith executed; and instantly the Tribunes dispatched the discharge of theVeterans. That of the money was adjourned to their several winter-quarters: butthe fifth Legion, and the one and twentieth, refused to stir, till in that verycamp they were paid; so that out of the money reserved by himself and hisfriends for travelling expences, GERMANICUS was obliged toraise the sum. CÆCINA, Lieutenant-General, led the firstLegion and twentieth, back to the capital of the Ubians; an infamous march,when the plunder of their General’s coffers was carried amidst the Ensigns andRoman Eagles. GERMANICUS, the while, proceeding to the armyin higher Germany, brought the second, thirteenth and sixteenth Legions toswear allegiance without hesitation: to the fourteenth, who manifested someshort suspense, he made, unasked, a tender of their money, and a presentdischarge.

BUT a party of Veterans which belonged to the disorderlyLegions, and then in garison among the Chaucians, as they began a seditionthere, were somewhat quelled by the instant execution of two of their body; anexecution commanded by MENNIUS, Camp-Marshal, and rather ofgood example, than done by competent authority. The tumulthowever swelling again with fresh rage, he fled, butwas discovered; so that, finding no safety in lurking, from his own bravery hedrew his defence, and declared, “that to himself, who was only theirCamp-Marshal, these their outrages were not done, but done to the authority of GERMANICUS their General, to the Majesty of TIBERIUS their Emperor.” At the same time, braving anddismaying all that would have stopped him, he fiercely snatched the colours,faced about towards the Rhine, and, pronouncing the doom of traitors anddeserters to every man who forsook his ranks, brought them back to theirwinter-quarters, mutinous, in truth, but not daring to mutiny.

IN the mean time the deputies from the Senate met GERMANICUS at the altar of the Ubians, whither in hisreturn he was arrived. Two Legions wintered there, the first, and twentieth,with the soldiers lately placed under the standard of Veterans; men alreadyunder the distractions of guilt and fear: and now a new terror possessed them,that these Senators were come armed with injunctions to cancel every concessionwhich they had by sedition extorted; and, as it is the custom of the crowd tobe ever charging some body with the crimes suggested by their own false alarms,the guilt of this imaginary decree they laid upon MINUTIUSPLANCUS, a Senator of consular dignity, and at the head of thisdeputation. In the dead of night, they began to clamour aloud for the purplestandard placed in the quartersof GERMANICUS; and rushingtumultuously to his gate, burst the doors, dragged the Prince out of his bed,and with menaces of present death, compelled him to deliver the standard. Then,as they roved about the camp, they met the Deputies; who having learnt theoutrage, were hastening to GERMANICUS: upon them theypoured a deluge of contumelies, and were devoting them to present slaughter; PLANCUS chiefly, whom the dignity of his character hadrestrained from flight; nor in this mortal danger had he other refuge than thequarters of the first Legion, where, embracing the Eagle, and other ensigns, hesought sanctuary from the religious veneration ever paid them. But, in spite ofreligion, had not CALPURNIUS the Eagle-bearer by forcedefeated the violent assault, in the Roman camp had been slain an Ambassador ofthe Roman people, and with his blood the inviolable altars of the Gods had beenstained; a barbarity rare even in the camp of an enemy. At last, day returning,when the General, and the soldiers, and their actions could be distinguished, GERMANICUS entered the camp; and commanding PLANCUS to be brought, seated him by himself upon the tribunal:he then inveighed against the late “pernicious frenzy, which in it, he said,had fatality, and was rekindled by no despite in the soldiers, but by that ofthe angry Gods.” He explained the genuine purposes of that Embassy, andlamented with affecting eloquence “the outrage committed upon PLANCUS, altogetherbrutal and unprovoked; the foul violence done to thesacred person of an Ambassador, and the mighty disgrace from thence derivedupon the Legion.” Yet as the assembly shewed more stupefaction than calmness,he dismissed the Deputies under a guard of auxiliary horse.

DURING this affright, GERMANICUS wasby all men censured, “that he retired not to the higher army, whence he hadbeen sure of ready obedience, and even of succour against the revolters.Already he had taken wrong measures more than enough, by discharging some,rewarding all, and other tender counsels. If he despised his own safety; yetwhy expose his infant-son, why his wife big with child, to the fury ofoutrageous traitors, wantonly violating all the most sacred rights amongst men?It became him at least to restore his wife and son safe to TIBERIUS, and to the state.” He was long unresolved; besides AGRIPPINA was averse to leave him, and urged that “she wasthe grand-daughter of AUGUSTUS, and it was below her spiritto shrink in a time of danger.” But, embracing her and their little son, withgreat tenderness and many tears, he prevailed with her to depart. Thus theremarched miserably along a band of helpless women; the wife of a great commanderfled like a fugitive, and upon her bosom bore her infant-son; about her a troopof other ladies, dragged from their husbands, and drowned in tears, utteringtheir heavy lamentations.Nor weaker than theirs was the grief felt by all whoremained.

THESE groans and tears, and this spectacle of woe, theappearances rather of a city stormed and sacked, than of a Roman camp, that of GERMANICUS CÆSAR, victorious and flourishing, awakenedattention and inquiry in the soldiers: leaving their tents, they cried, “Whencethese doleful wailings? what so lamentable! so many ladies of illustriousquality, travelling thus forlorn; not a Centurion to attend them; not a soldierto guard them; their General’s wife amongst them, undistinguished by any markof her princely dignity; destitute of her ordinary train; frightened from theRoman Legions, and repairing, like an exile, for shelter to Treves, there tocommit herself to the faith of foreigners.” Hence shame and commiserationseized them, and the remembrance of her illustrious family, with that of herown virtues; the brave AGRIPPA her father; the mighty AUGUSTUS her grandfather; the amiable DRUSUS her father-in-law, her self celebrated for a fruitfulbed, and of signal chastity: add the consideration of her little son, born inthe camp, nursed in the arms of the Legions, and by themselves named CALIGULA, a military name from the boots which of the samefashion with their own, in compliment to them, and to win their affections, hefrequently wore. But nothing so effectually subdued them as their own envytowards the inhabitants of Treves. Hence theyall besought, all adjured, that she would return tothemselves, and with themselves remain. Thus some stopped AGRIPPINA; but the main body returned with their intreaties to GERMANICUS; who, as he was yet in the transports of griefand anger, addressed himself on this wise to the surrounding crowd:

“ TO me neither is my wife or son dearer than my fatherand the commonwealth. But him doubtless his proper majesty will defend; and theother armies will defend the Roman State. As to my wife and children, whom, foryour glory, I could freely sacrifice; I now remove them from your rage, that bymy blood alone may be expiated whatever further mischief your fury meditates;and that the murder of the great grandson of AUGUSTUS, themurder of the daughter-in-law of TIBERIUS, may not be addedto mine, nor to the blackness of your past guilt. For, during these days ofphrensy, what has been too horrid for you to commit? What so sacred that youhave not violated? To this audience what name shall I give? Can I call you Soldiers? you who have beset with arms the son of yourEmperor, confined him in your trenches, and held him in a siege? Roman citizens can I call you? you who have trampled uponthe supreme authority of the Roman Senate? Laws religiously observed by commonenemies, you have profaned; violated the sacred privileges and persons ofAmbassadors; broken the lawsof nations. The deified JULIUSCÆSAR quelled a sedition in his army by a single word; by calling all whorefused to follow him, Townsmen. The deified AUGUSTUS, when, after the battle of Actium, the Legionslapsed into mutiny, terrified them into submission by the dignity of hispresence, and an awful look. These, it is true, are mighty characters, whom Idare not emulate: but, as I inherit their blood, should the armies in Syria andSpain contemn my authority, I should think their behaviour strange and base.Yet you are the first and the twentieth Legions, the former enrolled by TIBERIUS himself, the other his constant companions in somany battels, his partners in so many victories, and by him enriched with somany bounties! Is this the worthy return you make your Emperor, and latecommander? And shall I be the author of such tidings to him, in the midst ofcongratulations and happy accounts from every province in the Empire, that hisown new levies, as well as his own Veterans who long fought under him, these,not appeased by their discharge, and neither of them satiated with the moneygiven them, are both still combined in a furious mutiny? that here, and onlyhere, the Centurions are butchered, the Tribunes driven away, the Ambassadorsimprisoned; that with blood the camp is stained; that the rivers flow withblood; and that for me,his son, I hold a precarious life amongst men thusraging and implacable?

“Why did you the other day, oh unseasonable friends! snatch away my sword,when I would have plunged it into my breast? He who offered me his own sword,acted better, and was more my friend. I would then have fallen happy, as mydeath would have hid from mine eyes so many horrible crimes, since committed bymy own army. You too would have chosen another General, who, though he wouldhave left my death unpunished, yet would have sought vengeance for that of VARUS, and the three Legions. For the Gods are too just topermit that the Belgians, however generously they offer their service, shallreap the credit and renown of retrieving the glory of the Roman name, and ofreducing in behalf of Rome the German nations her foes. I therefore here invokethy spirit now with the Gods, oh deified AUGUSTUS; and thyimage interwoven in the ensigns, and thy memory, oh deceased father, tovindicate these Legions from this foul infamy. They already feel the remorsesof shame, and a sense of honour. Let them turn the tide of their civil rage tothe destruction of their common enemy. And for you, my fellow soldiers, in whomI now behold other countenances, and minds happily changed; if you mean torestore to the Senate its Ambassadors, to your Emperoryour sworn obedience, to me my wife and son; fly thecompany of incendiaries, separate the sober from the seditious. This will be afaithful sign of remorse, this a firm pledge of fidelity.”

THESE words softened them into supplicants: theyconfessed that all his reproaches were true; they besought him to punish theguilty and malicious, to pardon the weak and misled, and to lead them againstthe enemy; to recal his wife, to bring back his son, nor to suffer thefosterling of the Legions to be given in hostage to the Gauls. Against therecalling of AGRIPPINA he alledged the advance of winter,and her approaching delivery; but said, that his son should return, and that tothemselves he left to execute what remained further to be executed. Instantly,with changed resentments, they ran, and, seizing the most seditious, draggedthem in bonds to CAIUS CETRONIUS, commander of the firstLegion, who judged and punished them in this manner. The Legions, with theirswords drawn, surrounded the Tribunal; from thence the prisoner was by aTribune exposed to their view, and if they proclaimed him guilty, cast headlongdown, and executed even by his fellow-soldiers, who rejoiced in the execution,because by it they thought their own guilt to be expiated: nor did GERMANICUS restrain them, since on themselves remained thecruelty and reproach of the slaughter committed without any order of his. TheVeterans followed the same example of vengeance, andwere soon after ordered into Rhetia, in appearance todefend that province against the invading Suevians; in reality, to remove themfrom a camp, still horrible to their sight, as well in the remedy andpunishment, as from the memory of their crime. GERMANICUS next passed a scrutiny upon the conduct and characters of the Centurions:before him they were cited singly; and each gave account of his name, hiscompany, country, the length of his service, exploits in war, and militarypresents, if he had been distinguished with any. If the Tribunes, or hisLegion, bore testimony of his diligence and integrity, he kept his post; uponconcurring complaint of his avarice or cruelty, he was degraded.

THUS were the present commotions appeased; but others asgreat still subsisted, from the rage and obstinacy of the fifth andtwenty-first Legions. They were in winter-quarters sixty miles off, in a placecalled the Old Camp, and had first began the sedition: norwas there any wickedness so horrid that they had not perpetrated; nay, at thistime, neither terrified by the punishment, nor reclaimed by the reformation oftheir fellow soldiers, they persevered in their fury. GERMANICUS therefore determined to give them battle, if theypersisted in their revolt, and prepared vessels, arms, and troops, to be sentdown the Rhine.

BEFORE the issue of the sedition in Illyricum was knownat Rome, tidings of the uproar in the German Legions arrived. Hence the citywas filled with much terror, and hence against TIBERIUS many complaints, “that while with feignedconsultations and delays he mocked the Senate and People, once the great bodiesof the estate, but now bereft of power and armies, the soldiery were in openrebellion, one too mighty and stubborn to be quelled by two Princes so young inyears and authority. He ought at first to have gone himself, and awed them withthe majesty of imperial power; as doubtless they would have returned to duty,upon the sight of their Emperor, a Prince of consummate experience, thesovereign disposer of rewards and severity. Did AUGUSTUS, even under the pressures of old age and infirmities, take so many journies intoGermany? and should TIBERIUS, in the vigour of his life,when the same, or greater occasions called him thither, sit lazily in theSenate, to watch Senators, and cavil at words? He had fully provided for thedomestic servitude of Rome; he ought next to cure the licentiousness of thesoldiers, to restrain their turbulent spirits, and reconcile them to a life ofpeace.”

BUT all these reasonings and reproaches moved not TIBERIUS. He was determined not to depart from the Capital,the centre of power and affairs, nor expose to chance or peril his person andempire. In truth, many and contrary difficulties pressed and perplexed him:“the German army was the stronger; that of Pannonia nearer; the power of boththe Gauls supported the former; the latter was at thegates of Italy. Now, to which should he repair first? and would not the lastvisited be enraged, by being postponed? But by sending one of his sons to each,the equal treatment of both was maintained; as also the majesty of the supremepower, which from distance ever derived most reverence. Besides, the youngPrinces would be excused, if to their father they referred such demands as wereimproper for them to grant; and if they disobeyed GERMANICUS and DRUSUS, his own authorityremained to appease or punish them. But if once they had contemned theirEmperor himself, what other resource was behind?” However, as if he had beenupon the point of marching, he chose his attendants, provided his equipage, andprepared a fleet: but by various delays and pretences, sometimes that of thewinter, sometimes business, he deceived for a time even the wisest men, muchlonger the common people, and the provinces for a great while.

GERMANICUS had already drawn together his army, and wasprepared to take vengeance on the seditious: but judging it proper to allowspace for trial whether they would follow the lare example, and, consultingtheir own safety, do justice upon one another; he sent letters to CÆCINA, “that he himself approached, with a powerful force;and, if they prevented him not, by executing the guilty, he would put allindifferently to the slaughter.” Theseletters CÆCINA privately read tothe principal Officers, and such of the camp as the sedition had not tainted;besought them, “to redeem themselves from death, and all from infamy; urgedthat in peace alone reason was heard, and merit distinguished; but in the rageof war, the blind steel spared the innocent no more than the guilty.” TheOfficers having tried those whom they believed for their purpose, and found themajority still to persevere in their duty, settled, in concurrence with theGeneral, the time for falling with the sword upon the most notoriously guiltyand turbulent. Upon a particular signal given, they rushed into their tents,and butchered them; void as they were of all apprehension; nor did any but theCenturions and executioners know whence the massacre began, or where it wouldend.

THIS had a different face from all the civil slaughtersthat ever happened: it was a slaughter not of enemies upon enemies, nor fromdifferent and opposite camps, nor in a day of battle; but of comrades uponcomrades, in the same tents where they eat together by day, where they slepttogether by night. From this state of intimacy, they fly into mortal enmity;friends launched their darts at friends: wounds, outcries, and blood were opento view; but the cause remained hid: wild chance governed the rest, and severalinnocents were slain. For the criminals, when they found against whom all thisfury was bent, had also betaken themselvesto their arms. Neither did CÆCINA, nor any of the Tribunes, intervene to stay the rage: so that the soldiers hadfull permission of vengeance, with a licentiousness and satiety of killing. GERMANICUS soon after entered the camp now full of bloodand carcasses, and, lamenting with many tears, that “this was not a remedy, butcruelty and desolation,” commanded the bodies to be burnt. The minds of therest, still tempestuous and bloody, were transported with sudden eagerness toattack the foe; as the best expiation of their tragical fury: nor otherwise,they thought, could the ghosts of their butchered brethren be appeased, than byreceiving in their own profane breasts a chastisement of honourable wounds. GERMANICUS fell in with the ardour of the soldiers, andlaying a bridge upon the Rhine, marched over twelve thousand Legionarysoldiers, twenty-six cohorts of the allies, and eight regiments of horse; menall untainted in the late sedition.

THE Germans rejoiced, not far off, at this vacation ofwar, occasioned first by the death of AUGUSTUS, andafterwards by intestine tumults in the camp. But the Romans by a hasty marchpassed through the Cæsian woods, and levelling the barrier formerly begun by TIBERIUS, pitched their camp upon it. In the front and rearthey were defended by a palisade, on each side by a barricade of the trunks oftrees felled. From thence, beginning to traverse gloomy forests, they stoppedto consult whichof two ways they should chuse, the short andfrequented, or the longest and least known, and therefore unsuspected by thefoe. The longest way was chosen; but in every thing else dispatch was observed:for, by the scouts, intelligence was brought, that the Germans did, that night,celebrate a festival, with great mirth and revelling. Hence CÆCINA was commanded to advance with the cohorts without theirbaggage, and to clear a passage through the forest: at a moderate distancefollowed the Legions: the clearness of the night facilitated the march; andthey arrived at the villages of the Marsians, which they presently investedwith guards. The Germans were even yet under the effects of their debauch,scattered here and there, some in bed, some lying by their tables; no watchplaced, no apprehension of an enemy. So utterly had their false securitybanished all order and care; and they were under no dread of war, withoutenjoying peace, other than the deceitful and lethargic peace of drunkards.

THE Legions were eager for revenge; and GERMANICUS, to extend their ravage, divided them into fourbattalions. The country was wasted by fire and sword fifty miles round; nor sexnor age found mercy; places sacred and prophane had the equal lot ofdestruction, all razed to the ground, and with them the temple of Tanfana, ofall others the most celebrated amongst these nations. Nor did all thisexecution cost the soldiers a wound, while theyonly slew men half asleep, disarmed, or dispersed.This slaughter roused the Bructerans, the Tubantes, and the Usipetes; and theybeset the passes of the forest, through which the army was to return; an eventknown to GERMANICUS, and he marched in order of battle: theauxiliary cohorts and part of the horse led the van, followed close by thefirst Legion; the baggage was in the middle; the twenty-first Legion closed theleft wing, and the fifth the right; the twentieth defended the rear; and afterthem marched the rest of the allies. But the enemy stirred not, till the bodyof the army was entered the wood: they then began lightly to insult the frontand wings; and, at last, with their whole force fell upon the rear. The lightcohorts were already disordered by the close German bands, when GERMANICUS riding up to the twentieth Legion, and exalting hisvoice; “this was the season, he cried, to obliterate the scandal of sedition:hence they should fall resolutely on, and convert into sudden praise their lateshame and offence.” These words inflamed them: at one charge they broke theenemy, drove them out of the wood, and slaughtered them in the plain. In themean while, the front passed the forest, and fortified the camp. The rest ofthe march was uninterrupted, and the soldiers, trusting to the merit of theirlate exploits, and forgetting at once past faults and terrors, were placed inwinter-quarters.

THE tydings of these exploits affected TIBERIUS with gladness and anguish. He rejoiced that thesedition was suppressed; but, that GERMANICUS had, bydischarging the Veterans, by shortening the term of service to the rest, and bylargesses to all, gained the hearts of the army, as well as earned high gloryin war; proved to the Emperor matter of torture. To the Senate, however, hereported the detail of his feats, and upon his valour bestowed copious praises,but in words too pompous and ornamental to be thought dictated by his heart. Itwas with more brevity that he commended DRUSUS, and hisaddress in quelling the sedition of Illyricum, but more cordially withal, andin language altogether sincere; and even to the Pannonian Legions he extendedall the concessions made by GERMANICUS to his own.

THE same year died JULIA, for herlewdness long since banished by her father AUGUSTUS intothe isle of Pandateria, and afterwards to the city of Rhegium upon thestreights of Sicily. Whilst CAIUS and LUCIUS, her sons by AGRIPPA, yet lived, shewas given in marriage to TIBERIUS; and despised him, as aman beneath her. Nor any motive so cogent as this had TIBERIUS for his retirement to Rhodes. When he came to theempire, she was already under the pressures of infamy and exile, and since thedeath of AGRIPPA POSTHUMUS, destitute of all hope andsupport. Yetsuch multiplied distresses softened not the Emperor,who, by a long train of miseries, and continued want, caused her finally toperish; as he supposed that in the distance of her banishment her tragicaldeath would remain concealed. From the same root was derived his cruelty to SEMPRONIUS GRACCHUS, the descendent of a family eminentlynoble, himself of a lively wit and prevailing eloquence, but viciously applied.He, while JULIA was yet AGRIPPA’S wife,had debauched her: neither with AGRIPPA ended their viciousleague; but after she was given to TIBERIUS, he stillpersisted her adulterer, and towards her husband inspired her with notableaversion and contumacy: The letters too by her written to her father, full ofasperity against TIBERIUS, and labouring his ruin, werethought to have been composed by GRACCHUS. He was thereforebanished to Cercina, and island in the African sea, where, for fourteen years,he suffered exile. The soldiers dispatched to the assassination found him upona rising by the shore, to himself presaging nothing joyful from their arrival.Of them he only desired a short respite to send his last will in a letter to ALLIARIA his wife, and then extended his neck to the swordof the assassins; a constancy in death not unworthy the Sempronian name: in hislife he had degenerated. Some authors have related, that these soldiers werenot sent directly from Rome, but by LUCIUS ASPRENAS, Proconsulof Africa, by the policy and command of TIBERIUS, who in vain hoped to have cast upon ASPRENAS the imputation of the murder.

THERE was likewise this year an admission of new rites,by the establishment of another College of Priests, one sacred to the deity of AUGUSTUS; as formerly TITUS TATIUS, topreserve the religious rites of the Sabines, had founded the fraternity ofTitian Priests. To fill the society, one and twenty the most considerableRomans were drawn by lot, and to them were added TIBERIUS,DRUSUS, CLAUDIUS, and GERMANICUS. The games in honourof AUGUSTUS, began then first to be embroiled by emulationamong the players, and by the strife of parties in their behalf. AUGUSTUS had countenanced these players, and their art, incomplaisance to MÆCENAS, who was mad in love with BATHYLLUS the comedian; nor to such favourite amusements ofthe populace had he any aversion himself; he rather judged it an acceptablecourtesy to mingle with the multitude in these their popular pleasures.Different was the temper of TIBERIUS, different hispolitics: to severer manners, however, he durst not yet reduce the people, somany years indulged in licentious gaieties.

IN the consulship of DRUSUS CÆSAR and CAIUS NORBANUS, a triumph was decreed to GERMANICUS, while the war still subsisted. He was preparingwith all diligence to prosecute it the following summer; but began much soonerby a sudden irruption early inthe spring into the territories of the Cattians; ananticipation of the campaign, which proceeded from the hopes given him ofdissension amongst the enemy, caused by the opposite parties of ARMINIUS and SEGESTES; two men signallyknown to the Romans upon different accounts; the last for his firm faith, thefirst for faith violated. ARMINIUS was the incendiary ofGermany; but by SEGESTES had been given repeated warningsof an intended revolt, particularly during the scstival immediately precedingthe insurrection. He had even advised VARUS, “to secure himand ARMINIUS, and all the other chiefs; for that themultitude, thus bereft of their leaders, would dare to attempt nothing; and VARUS have time to distinguish crimes and such as committednone.” But by his own fate, and the sudden violence of ARMINIUS,VARUS fell. SEGESTES, though by the weight andunanimity of his nation, he was forced into the war, yet remained at constantvariance with ARMINIUS: a domestic quarrel too heightenedtheir hate; as ARMINIUS had carried away the daughter of SEGESTES, already betrothed to another; and the samerelations which amongst friends prove bonds of tenderness, were freshstimulations of wrath to an obnoxious son, and an offended father.

UPON these encouragements, GERMANICUS committed to the command of CÆCINA four Legions, five thousand auxiliaries, and some bandsof Germans, dwellers on this side theRhine, drawn suddenly together; he led himself as manyLegions, with double the number of allies, and erecting a fort in mount Taunus,upon the old foundations of one raised by his father, rushed full march againstthe Cattians; having behind him left LUCIUS APRONIUS, tosecure the ways from the fury of inundations. For, as the roads were then dry,and the rivers low, events in that climate exceedingly rare, he had withoutcheck expedited his march, but against his return apprehended the violence ofrains and floods. Upon the Cattians he fell with such surprize, that all theweak, through sex or age, were instantly taken or slaughtered. Their youth, byswimming over the Adrana, escaped, and attempted to force the Romans frombuilding a bridge to follow them, but by dint of arrows and engines wererepulsed; then having in vain tried to gain terms of peace, some submitted to GERMANICUS; the rest abandoned their villages anddwellings, and dispersed themselves in the woods. Mattium, the Capital of thenation he burnt, ravaged all the open country, and bent his march to the Rhine:nor durst the enemy harass his rear; an usual practice of theirs, whensometimes they fly more through craft than affright. The Cheruscans indeed wereaddicted to assist the Cattians, but terrified from attempting it by CÆCINA, who moved about with his forces from place toplace; and, by routing the Marsians who had dared to engage him, restrained alltheir efforts.

SOON after arrived deputies from SEGESTES, praying relief against the combination and violenceof his countrymen, by whom he was held besieged; as more powerful amongst themthan his was the credit of ARMINIUS, since it was he whohad advised the war. This is the genius of Barbarians, to judge that men are tobe trusted in proportion as they are fierce, and in public commotions ever toprefer the most resolute. To the other deputies SEGESTES had added SEGIMUNDUS his son; but the young man faultered awhile, as his own heart accused him; for that, the year when Germany revolted,he who had been by the Romans created Priest of the Altar of the Ubians, rentthe sacerdotal Tiara, and fled to the revolters: yet, encouraged by the Romanclemency, he undertook the execution of his father’s orders, was himselfgraciously received, and then conducted with a guard to the frontiers of Gaul. GERMANICUS led back his army to the relief of SEGESTES, and was rewarded with success. He fought thebesiegers, and rescued him with a great train of his relations and followers;amongst them too were ladies of illustrious rank, particularly the wife of ARMINIUS, she who was the daughter of SEGESTES; a lady more of the spirit of her husband than that ofher father; a spirit so unsubdued, that from her eyes captivity forced not atear, nor from her lips a breath in the stile of a supplicant. Not a motion ofher hands, nor a look escaped her; but, fast across her breast she held herarms, and upon her heavy womb her eyes were immoveablyfixed. There were likewise carried Roman spoils taken at the slaughter of VARUS and his army, and then divided as prey amongst manyof those who were now prisoners. At the same time, appeared SEGESTES, of superior stature; and, from a confidence in hisgood understanding with the Romans, undaunted. In this manner he spoke:

“This is not the first day, that to the Roman people I have approved myfaith and adherence. From the moment I was by the deified AUGUSTUS presented with the freedom of the city, I havecontinued by your interest to chuse my friends, by your interest to denominatemy enemies; from no hate of mine to my native country (for odious are traitorseven to the party which they embrace) but, because the same measures wereequally conducing to the benefit of the Romans and of the Germans; and I wasfor peace rather than war. For this reason I applied to VARUS, the then General, with an accusation against ARMINIUS, who from me had ravished my daughter, and withyou violated the faith of leagues. But growing impatient with the slowness andinactivity of VARUS, and well apprized how little securitywas to be hoped from the laws, I pressed him to seize myself, and ARMINIUS, and his accomplices; witness that fatal night, tome I wish it had been the last! More to be lamented than defended are thesad events which followed. I moreover cast ARMINIUS into irons, and was myself cast into irons by hisfaction; and as soon as to you, CÆSAR, I could apply, yousee I prefer old engagements to present violence; tranquillity to combustions;with no view of my own to interest or reward, but to banish from me theimputation of perfidiousness. For the German nation too, I would thus become amediator, if peradventure they will chuse rather to repent than be destroyed:for my son I intreat you, have mercy upon his youth, pardon his error. That mydaughter is your prisoner by force, I own: in your own breast it wholly lies,under which character you will treat her, whether as one who has conceived by ARMINIUS, or as one by me begotten.” The answer of GERMANICUS was gracious: he promised indemnity to hischildren and kindred, and to himself a safe retreat in one of the oldprovinces; then returned with his army, and, by the direction of TIBERIUS, received the title of Imperator. The wife of ARMINIUS brought forth a male child, and theboy was brought up at Ravenna. His unhappy conflicts afterwards with thecontumelious insults of fortune, will be remembered in their place.

THE DESERTION OF SEGESTES BEING DIVULGED,WITH HIS GRACIOUS RECEPTION FROM GERMANICUS, AFFECTED HISCOUNTRYMEN VARIOUSLY, WITH HOPE OR ANGUISH, AS THEY WERE PRONE OR AVERSE TO THEWAR. NATURALLY VIOLENT WAS THE SPIRIT OF ARMINIUS, AND NOW, BY THE CAPTIVITY OF HIS WIFE, AND BY THE FATEOF HIS CHILD DOOMED TO BONDAGE THOUGH YET UNBORN, ENRAGED EVEN TO DISTRACTION:HE FLEW ABOUT AMONGST THE CHERUSCANS, CALLING THEM TO ARMS; TO ARM AGAINST SEGESTES, TO ARM AGAINST GERMANICUS: INVECTIVES FOLLOWED HIS FURY: “A BLESSED FATHER THIS SEGESTES, HE CRIED! A MIGHTY GENERAL, THIS GERMANICUS ! INVINCIBLE WARRIORS THESE ROMANS! SO MANY TROOPSHAVE MADE PRISONER OF A WOMAN. IT IS NOT THUS THAT I CONQUER: BEFORE ME THREELEGIONS FELL, AND THREE LIEUTENANT-GENERALS. OPEN AND HONOURABLE IS MY METHODOF WAR, NOR WAGED WITH BIGBELLIED WOMEN, BUT AGAINST MEN AND ARMS; AND TREASONIS NONE OF MY WEAPONS. STILL TO BE SEEN ARE THE ROMAN STANDARDS IN THE GERMANGROVES, THERE BY ME HUNG UP, AND DEVOTED TO OUR COUNTRY GODS. LET SEGESTES LIVE A SLAVE IN A CONQUERED PROVINCE; LET HIMRECOVER TO HIS SON A FOREIGN PRIESTHOOD: WITH THE GERMAN NATIONS HE CAN NEVEROBLITERATE HIS REPROACH, THAT THROUGH HIM THEY HAVE SEEN, BETWEEN THE ELB ANDRHINE, RODS AND AXES, AND THE ROMAN TOGA. TO OTHER NATIONS, WHO KNOW NOT THEROMAN DOMINATION, EXECUTIONS AND TRIBUTES ARE ALSO UNKNOWN; EVILS WHICH WE TOOHAVE CAST OFF, IN SPITE OF THAT AUGUSTUS NOW DEAD, ANDENROLLED WITH THE DEITIES, IN SPITE TOO OF TIBERIUS HISCHOSEN SUCCESSOR. LET US NOT, AFTER THIS, DREAD A MUTINOUS ARMY, AND A BOYWITHOUT EXPERIENCE, THEIR COMMANDER: BUT,IF YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR KINDRED, YOUR ANCIENTLIBERTY AND LAWS, BETTER THAN TYRANTS AND NEW COLONIES, LET ARMINIUS RATHER LEAD YOU TO LIBERTY AND GLORY, THAN THE WICKED SEGESTES TO THE INFAMY OF BONDAGE.”

By these stimulations, not the Cheruscans only were rouzed, but all theneighbouring nations; and into the confederacy was drawn INGUIOMERUS, paternal uncle to ARMINIUS, aman long since in high credit with the Romans. Hence a new source of fear to GERMANICUS, who, to avoid the shock of their whole forces,and to divert the enemy, sent CÆCINA with forty Romancohorts to the river Amisia, through the territories of the Bructerians. PEDO the Prefect led the cavalry by the confines of theFrisians. He himself embarked four Legions on the lake: and upon the bank ofthe said river the whole body met, foot, horse, and the fleet. The Chaucians,upon offering their assistance, were taken into the service; but theBructerians, setting fire to their effects and dwellings, were routed by STERTINIUS, by GERMANICUS dispatchedagainst them with a band lightly armed. As this party were engaged betweenslaughter and plunder, he found the Eagle of the nineteenth Legion, lost in theoverthrow of VARUS. The army marched next to the furthestborders of the Bructerians, and the whole country between the rivers Amisia andLuppia, was laid waste. Not far hence lay the forest of Teutoburgium,and in it the bones of VARUS andthe Legions, by report still unburied. Hence GERMANICUS became inspired with a tender passion to pay the last offices to the Legionsand their leader: The like tenderness also affected the whole army. They weremoved with compassion, some for the fate of their friends, others for that oftheir relations, here tragically slain: They were struck with the dolefulcasualties of war, and the sad lot of humanity. CÆCINA wassent before to examine the gloomy recesses of the forest, to lay bridges overthe pools, and, upon the deceitful marshes, causways. The army entered thedoleful solitude, hideous to sight, hideous to memory. First they saw the campof VARUS, wide in circumference; and the three distinctspaces allotted to the different Eagles, shewed the number of the Legions.Further they beheld the ruinous entrenchment, and the ditch nigh choaked up; init the remains of the army were supposed to have made their last effort, and init to have found their graves. In the open fields lay their bones all bleachedand bare, some separate, some on heaps, just as they had happened to fall,flying for their lives, or resisting unto death. Here were scattered the limbsof horses, there pieces of broken javelins; and the trunks of trees bore theskulls of men. In the adjacent groves were the savage altars; where theBarbarians had made a horrible immolation of the Tribunes and principalCenturions. Those who survived theslaughter, having escaped from captivity and thesword, related the sad particulars to the rest: “Here the commanders of theLegions were slain: There we lost the Eagles: Here VARUS had his first wound; there he gave himself another, and perished by his ownunhappy hand. In that place too stood the tribunal whence ARMINIUS harangued: In this quarter, for the execution of hiscaptives, he erected so many gibbets; in that such a number of funeral trencheswere digged; and with these circumstances of pride and despight he insulted theensigns and Eagles.”

THUS the Roman army buried the bones of the threeLegions, six years after the slaughter; nor could any one distinguish, whetherhe gathered the particular remains of a stranger, or those of a kinsman: Butall considered the whole as their friends, the whole as their relations, withheightened resentments against the foe, at once sad and revengeful. In thispious office, so acceptable to the dead, GERMANICUS was apartner in the woe of the living; and upon the common tomb laid the first sod:a proceeding not liked by TIBERIUS; whether it were thatupon every action of GERMANICUS he put a perverse meaning,or believed that the affecting spectacle of the unburied slain, would sink thespirit of the army, and heighten their terror of the enemy; as also that “aGeneral vested, as Augur, with the intendency of religious rites, becamedefiledby assisting at the solemnities of the dead.”

ARMINIUS retiring into desart and pathless places, waspursued by GERMANICUS; who, as soon as he reached him,commanded the horse to advance, and dislodge the enemy from the post they hadpossessed. ARMINIUS, having directed his men to keep closetogether, and draw near to the woods, wheeled suddenly about, and to those whomhe had hid in the forest, gave the signal to rush out. The Roman horse, nowengaged by a new army, became disordered, and to their relief some cohorts weresent, but likewise broken by the press of those that fled; and great was theconsternation so many ways increased. The enemy too were already pushing theminto the morass; a place well known to the pursuers, as to the unapprizedRomans it had proved pernicious, had not GERMANICUS drawnout the Legions in order of battle. Hence the enemy became terrified, our menreassured, and both retired with equal loss and advantage. GERMANICUS presently after returning with the army to the riverAmisia, reconducted the Legions, as he had brought them, in the fleet. Part ofthe horse were ordered to march along the sea-shore to the Rhine. CÆCINA, who led his own men, was warned, that though he wasto return through known roads, yet he should with all speed pass the causway,called The Long Bridges. It is a narrow track, betweenvast marshes, and formerly raised by LUCIUS DOMITIUS. The marshesthemselves are of an uncertain soil, here full of mud, there of heavy stickingclay, or traversed with various currents. Round about are woods which risegently from the plain, and were already filled with soldiers by ARMINIUS, who, by shorter ways, and a running march, hadarrived there before our men, who were loaded with arms and baggage. CÆCINA, who was perplexed how at once to repair the causwaydecayed by time, and to repulse the foe, resolved at last to encamp in theplace, that whilst some were employed in the work, others might maintain thefight.

THE Barbarians strove violently to break our station,and to fall upon the entrenchers; harassed our men, assaulted the works,changed their attacks, and pushed every-where. With the shouts of theassailants the cries of the workmen were confusedly mixed; and all thingsequally combined to distress the Romans; the place deep with ouze sinking underthose who stood, slippery to such as advanced, their armour heavy, the watersdeep, nor in them could they launch their javelins. The Cheruscans, on thecontrary, were inured to encounters in the bogs; their persons tall, theirspears long, such as could wound at a distance. At last the Legions, alreadyyielding, were by night redeemed from an unequal combat; but night interruptednot the activity of the Germans, become by success indefatigable. Withoutrefreshing themselves with sleep, they divertedall the courses of the springs which rise in theneighbouring mountains, and turned them into the plains; thus the Roman campwas flooded, the work, as far as they had carried it, overturned, and thelabour of the poor soldiers renewed and doubled. To CÆCINA this year proved the fortieth of his sustaining as officer or soldier thefunctions of arms; a man in all the vicissitudes of war, prosperous ordisastrous, well experienced, and thence undaunted. Weighing therefore withhimself all probable events and expedients, he could devise no other than thatof restraining the enemy to the woods, till he had sent forward the wounded menand baggage; for from the mountains to the marshes there stretched a plain, fitonly to hold a little army. To this purpose the Legions were thus appointed;the fifth had the right wing, and the one and twentieth the left; the first ledthe van; the twentieth defended the rear.

A RESTLESS night it was to both armies, but in differentways: the Barbarians feasted and caroused; and with songs of triumph, or withhorrid and threatning cries, filled all the plain and echoing woods. Amongstthe Romans were feeble fires, sad silence, or broken words; they leaneddrooping here and there against the pales, or wandered disconsolately about thetents, like men without sleep, but not quite awake. A frightful dream tooterrified the General; he thought he heard and saw QUINCTILIUSVARUS, rising out of themarsh, all besmeared with blood, stretching forth hishand, and calling upon him; but that he rejected the call, and pushed him away.At break of day, the Legions, posted on the wings, through contumacy oraffright, deserted their stations, and took sudden possession of a field beyondthe bogs; neither did ARMINIUS fall straight upon them,however open they lay to his assault: but, when he perceived the baggage setfast in mire and ditches; the soldiers about it disorderly and embarassed; theranks and ensigns in confusion; and, as usual in a time of distress, every onein haste to save himself, but slow to obey his officer; he then commanded hisGermans to break in: “Behold, he vehemently cried, behold again VARUS and his Legions, subdued by the same fate!” Thus hecried, and at the same time, with a select body, broke quite through ourforces; and chiefly against the horse directed his havock: so that the groundbecoming slippery, by their blood and the slime of the marsh, their feet flewfrom them, and they cast their riders; then galloping and stumbling amongst theranks, they overthrew all they met, and trod to death all they overthrew. Thegreatest difficulty was, to maintain the Eagles; a storm of darts made itimpossible to advance them, and the rotten ground impossible to fix them. CÆCINA, while he sustained the fight, had his horse shot,and having fallen, was nigh taken; but the first Legion saved him. Our reliefcame from the greediness of the enemy, whoceased slaying, to seize the spoil. Hence the Legionshad respite to struggle into the fair field, and firm ground: nor was here anend to their miseries; a palisade was to be raised, an entrenchment digged;their instruments too, for throwing up and carrying earth, and their tools forcutting turf, were almost all lost; no tents for the soldiers; no remedies forthe wounded; and their food all defiled with mire or blood; as they shared itin sadness amongst them, they lamented that mournful night, they lamented theapproaching day, to so many thousand men the last.

IT happened that a horse, which had broke his collar, ashe strayed about, became frightened with noise, and ran over some that were inhis way: this raised such a consternation in the camp, from a persuasion thatthe Germans in a body had forced an entrance, that all rushed to the gates,especially to the postern, as the furthest from the foe, and safer for flight. CÆCINA, having found the vanity of their dread, but unableto stop them, either by his authority, or by his prayers, or indeed by force,flung himself, at last, cross the gate. This prevailed; their awe andtenderness of their General, restrained them from running over his body; andthe Tribunes and Centurions satisfied them the while that it was a falsealarm.

THEN, calling them together, and desiring them to hearhim with silence, he minded them of their difficulties, and how to conquerthem: “that for their lives they must be indebtedto their arms, but force was to be tempered with art;they must therefore keep close within their camp, till the enemy, in hopes oftaking it by storm, advanced; then make a sudden sally on every side; and bythis push they should break through the enemy, and reach the Rhine; but, ifthey fled, more forests remained to be traversed, deeper marshes to be passed,and the cruelty of a pursuing foe to be sustained.” He laid before them themotives and fruits of victory, public rewards and glory, with every tenderdomestic consideration, as well as those of military exploits and praise. Oftheir dangers and sufferings he said nothing. He next distributed horses, firsthis own, then those of the Tribunes and leaders of the Legions, to the bravestsoldiers impartially; that thus mounted they might begin the charge, followedby the foot.

AMONGST the Germans, there was not less agitation, fromhopes of victory, greediness of spoil, and the opposite counsels of theirleaders. ARMINIUS proposed, “to let the Romans march off,and to beset them in their march, when engaged in bogs and fastnesses.” Theadvice of INGUIOMERUS was fiercer, and thence moreapplauded by the Barbarians: he declared “for forcing the camp; for that thevictory would be quick, there would be more captives, and intire plunder.” Assoon therefore as it was light, they rushed out upon the camp, cast hurdlesinto the ditch, attacked andgrappled the palisade: Upon it, few soldiers appeared,and these seemed frozen with fear: but as the enemy in swarms were climbing theramparts, the signal was given to the cohorts; the cornets and trumpetssounded, and instantly, with shouts and impetuosity, they issued out, andbegirt the assailants; “Here are no thickets, they scornfully cried; no bogs;but an equal field, and impartial Gods.” The enemy, who imagined few Romansremaining, fewer arms, and an easy conquest, were struck with the soundingtrumpets, with the glittering armour; and every object of terror appeareddouble to them who expected none. They fell like men who, as they are void ofmoderation in prosperity, are also destitute of conduct in distress. ARMINIUS forsook the fight unhurt; INGUIOMERUS grievously wounded: their men were slaughtered aslong as day and rage lasted. In the evening the Legions returned, in the samewant of provisions, and with more wounds: but in victory they found all things,health, vigour, and abundance.

IN the mean time, a report had flown, that the Romanforces were routed, and an army of Germans upon full march, to invade Gaul: sothat under the terror of this news there were those, whose cowardice would haveemboldened them to have demolished the bridge upon the Rhine, had not AGRIPPINA restrained them from that infamous attempt. Intruth, such was the undaunted spirit of the woman, that at this time sheperformed all the duties of aGeneral, relieved the necessitous soldiers, upon thewounded bestowed medicines, and upon others cloaths. CAIUSPLINIUS, the writer of the German Wars, relates, that she stood at the endof the bridge, as the Legions returned, and accosted them with thanks andpraises; a behaviour which sunk deep into the spirit of TIBERIUS; “for that all this officiousness of hers, he thought,could not be upright; nor that it was against foreigners only she engaged thearmy: to the direction of the Generals nothing was now left, when a womanreviewed the companies, attended the Eagles, and to the men distributedlargesses, as if before she had shewn but small tokens of ambitious designs, incarrying her child (the son of the General) in a soldier’s coat about the camp,with the title of CÆSAR CALIGULA. Already in greater creditwith the army was AGRIPPINA than the leaders of theLegions, in greater than their Generals, and a woman had suppressed sedition,which the authority of the Emperor was not able to restrain.” These jealousieswere inflamed, and more were added by SEJANUS; one who waswell skilled in the temper of TIBERIUS, and purposelyfurnished him with sources of hatred, to lie hid in his heart, and bedischarged with increase hereafter.

GERMANICUS, IN ORDER TO LIGHTEN THE SHIPS IN WHICH HE HADEMBARKED HIS MEN, AND FIT THEIR BURDEN TO THE EBBS AND SHALLOWS, DELIVERED THESECOND AND FOURTEENTH LEGIONS TO PUBLIUSVITELLIUS, TO LEAD THEM BY LAND. VITELLIUS, AT FIRST, HAD AN EASY MARCH ON DRY GROUND, OR GROUNDMODERATELY OVERFLOWED BY THE TIDE; WHEN SUDDENLY THE FURY OF THE NORTH WINDSWELLING THE OCEAN (A CONSTANT EFFECT OF THE EQUINOX) THE LEGIONS WERESURROUNDED AND TOSSED WITH THE TIDE, AND THE LAND WAS ALL ON FLOOD; THE SEA,THE SHORE, THE FIELDS, HAD THE SAME TEMPESTUOUS FACE; NO DISTINCTION OF DEPTHSFROM SHALLOWS; NONE OF FIRM FROM DECEITFUL FOOTING; THEY WERE OVERTURNED BY THEBILLOWS; SWALLOWED DOWN BY THE EDDIES; AND HORSES, BAGGAGE, AND DROWNED MENENCOUNTERED EACH OTHER, AND FLOATED TOGETHER. THE SEVERAL COMPANIES WERE MIXEDAT RANDOM BY THE WAVES; THEY WADED NOW BREAST-HIGH; NOW UP TO THEIR CHIN; ANDAS THE GROUND FAILED THEM, THEY FELL, SOME NEVER MORE TO RISE. THEIR CRIES ANDMUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENTS AVAILED THEM NOTHING AGAINST THE PREVAILING ANDINEXORABLE WAVES; NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COWARD AND THE BRAVE, THE WISE ANDTHE FOOLISH; NONE BETWEEN CIRCUMSPECTION AND CHANCE; BUT ALL WERE EQUALLYINVOLVED IN THE INVINCIBLE VIOLENCE OF THE FLOOD. VITELLIUS, AT LENGTH, STRUGGLING INTO AN EMINENCE, DREW THELEGIONS THITHER, WHERE THEY PASSED THE COLD NIGHT WITHOUT FIRE, AND DESTITUTEOF EVERY CONVENIENCE; MOST OF THEM NAKED, OR LAMED; NOT LESS MISERABLE THAN MENINCLOSED BY AN ENEMY: FOR EVEN TO SUCH REMAINED THE CONSOLATION OF ANHONOURABLE DEATH; BUT HERE WAS DESTRUCTION, EVERY WAY VOID OF GLORY. THE LANDRETURNED WITH THE DAY, AND THEY MARCHEDTO THE RIVER VIDRUS, WHITHER GERMANICUS HAD GONE WITH THE FLEET. THERE THE TWO LEGIONS WEREAGAIN EMBARKED, WHEN FAME HAD GIVEN THEM FOR DROWNED; NOR WAS THEIR ESCAPEBELIEVED, TILL GERMANICUS AND THE ARMY WERE SEEN TORETURN.

STERTINIUS, who in the mean while had been sent beforeto receive SEGIMERUS, the brother of SEGESTES (a Prince willing to surrender himself) brought himand his son to the city of the Ubians: both were pardoned; the father freely,the son with more difficulty; because he was said to have insulted the corps of VARUS. For the rest, Spain, Italy, and both the Gaulsstrove with emulation to supply the losses of the army; and offered arms,horses, money, according as each abounded. GERMANICUS applauded their zeal; but accepted only the horses and arms, for the service ofthe war: with his own money he relieved the necessities of the soldiers; and tosoften also by his kindness the memory of the late havock, he visited thewounded, extolled the exploits of particulars, viewed their wounds; with hopesencouraged some; with a sense of glory animated others; and by affability andtenderness confirmed them all in devotion to himself, and to his fortune inwar.

THE ornaments of triumph were this year decreed to AULUS CÆCINA, LUCIUS APRONIUS, and CAIUSSILIUS, for their services under GERMANICUS. The titleof Father of his Country, so often offered by the Peopleto TIBERIUS, was rejected by him: norwould he permit swearing upon his acts, though the same was voted by theSenate. Against it he urged “the instability of all mortal things; and that thehigher he was raised, the more slippery he stood:” but for all this ostentationof a popular spirit, he acquired not the reputation of possessing it. For hehad revived the law concerning violated majesty; a law which, in the days ofour ancestors, had indeed the same name, but implied different arraignments andcrimes, namely those against the State; as when an army was betrayed abroad,when seditions were raised at home; in short, when the public was faithleslyadministered, and the majesty of the Roman people was debased. These wereactions, and actions were punished, but words were free. AUGUSTUS was the first who brought libels under the penaltiesof this wrested law, incensed as he was by the insolence of CASSIUS SEVERUS, who had in his writings wantonly defamed menand ladies of illustrious quality. TIBERIUS too,afterwards, when POMPEIUS MACER, the Prætor, consulted him,“whether process should be granted upon this law?” answered, “that the lawsmust be executed.” He also was exasperated by satirical verses written byunknown authors, and dispersed; exposing his cruelty, his pride, and his mindunnaturally alienated from his mother.

IT will be worth while to relate here the pretendedcrimes charged upon FALANIUS and RUBRIUS, two Roman Knights of small fortunes;that hence may be seen from what beginnings, and byhow much dark art of TIBERIUS, this grievous mischief creptin; how it was again restrained [a] ; how at last it blazed out and consumed all things [b] . To FALANIUS was objected by his accusers, that“amongst the adorers of AUGUSTUS, who went in fraternitiesfrom house to house, he had admitted one CASSIUS, a mimicand prostitute; and having sold his gardens, had likewise with them sold thestatue of AUGUSTUS. ” The crime imputed to RUBRIUS was, “that he had sworn falsly by the divinity of AUGUSTUS. ” When these accusations were known to TIBERIUS, he wrote to the Consuls, “that Heaven was nottherefore decreed to his father, that the worship of him might be a snare tothe citizens of Rome; that CASSIUS the player was wont toassist with others of his profession at the interludes consecrated by hismother to the memory of AUGUSTUS: neither did it affectreligion, that his effigies, like other images of the Gods, was comprehended inthe sale of houses and gardens. As to the false swearing by his name, it was tobe deemed the same as if RUBRIUS had profaned the name ofJupiter; but to the Gods belonged the avenging of injuries done to theGods.”

NOT long after, GRANIUS MARCELLUS, Prætor of Bithynia, was charged with hightreason by his own Quæstor CEPIOCRISPINUS; ROMANUS HISPO, the pleader, supporting the charge. This CEPIO began a course of life, which, through the miseriesof the times and the bold wickedness of men, became afterwards famous. Atfirst, needy and obscure, but of busy spirit, he made court to the cruelty ofthe Prince by occult informations; and presently, as an open accuser, grewterrible to every distinguished Roman. This procured him credit with one,hatred from all, and made a precedent, to be followed by others, who frompoverty became rich; from being contemned, dreadful; and in the destructionwhich they brought upon others, found at last their own. He accused MARCELLUS of “malignant words concerning TIBERIUS; ” an inevitable crime! when the accuser, collectingall the most detestable parts of the Prince’s character, alledged them as theexpressions of the accused: for, because they were true, they were believed tohave been spoken. To this HISPO added, “that the statue of MARCELLUS was by him placed higher than those of the CÆSARS; and that, having cut off the head of AUGUSTUS, he had in the room of it set the head of TIBERIUS. ” This enraged him so, that breaking silence, hecried, “he would himself, in this cause, give his vote explicitly, and underthe tye of an oath.” By this he meant to force the assent of the rest of theSenate. There remained even then some faint traces of expiring liberty. Hence CNEIUS PISO askedhim; “In what place, CÆSAR, willyou chuse to give your opinion? If first, I shall have your example to follow:if last, I fear I may ignorantly dissent from you.” The words pierced him, buthe bore them, the rather as he was ashamed of his unwary transport; and hesuffered the accused to be acquitted of high treason. To try him for the publicmoney, was referred to the proper judges.

NOR sufficed it TIBERIUS to assistin the deliberations of the Senate only: he likewise sate in the seats ofjustice; but always on one side, because he would not dispossess the Prætor ofhis chair; and by his presence there, many ordinances were established againstthe intrigues and solicitations of the grandees. But while private justice wasthus promoted, public liberty was likewise overthrown. About this time PIUS AURELIUS the Senator, whose house, yielding to thepressure of the public road and aqueducts, had fallen, complained to theSenate, and prayed relief; a suit opposed by the Prætors who managed thetreasury: but he was relieved by TIBERIUS, who ordered himthe price of his house; for he was fond of being liberal upon honest occasions;a virtue which he long retained, even after he had utterly abandoned all othervirtues. Upon PROPERTIUS CELER, once Prætor, but nowdesiring leave to resign the dignity of Senator, as a burden to his poverty, hebestowed a thousand great sesterces [*] , upon ample information that CELER’S necessities were derivedfrom his father. Others, who attempted the same thing, he ordered to lay theircondition before the Senate; and from an affectation of severity, was thusaustere, even where he acted with uprightness. Hence the rest preferred povertyand silence to begging and relief.

THE SAME YEAR THE TIBER, BEING SWELLED WITH CONTINUAL RAINS,OVERFLOWED THE LEVEL PARTS OF THE CITY; AND THE COMMON DESTRUCTION OF MEN ANDHOUSES FOLLOWED THE RETURNING FLOOD. HENCE ASINIUS GALLUS MOVED, “THAT THE SIBYLLINE BOOKS MIGHT BE CONSULTED.” TIBERIUS OPPOSED IT, EQUALLY SMOTHERING ALL INQUIRIESWHATSOEVER, WHETHER INTO MATTERS HUMAN OR DIVINE. TO ATEIUSCAPITO, HOWEVER, AND LUCIUS ARRUNTIUS, WAS COMMITTEDTHE CARE OF RESTRAINING THE RIVER WITHIN ITS BANKS. THE PROVINCES OF ACHAIA ANDMACEDON, PRAYING RELIEF FROM THEIR PUBLIC BURDENS, WERE FOR THE PRESENTDISCHARGED OF THEIR PROCONSULAR GOVERNMENT, AND SUBJECTED TO THE EMPEROR’SLIEUTENANTS. IN THE ENTERTAINMENT OF GLADIATORS AT ROME, DRUSUS PRESIDED: IT WAS EXHIBITED IN THE NAME OF GERMANICUS, AND HIS OWN; AND AT IT HE MANIFESTED TOO MUCH LUSTOF BLOOD, EVEN OF THE BLOOD OF SLAVES: A QUALITY TERRIBLE TO THE POPULACE; ANDHENCE HIS FATHER WAS SAID TO HAVE REPROVED HIM. HIS OWN ABSENCE FROM THESESHEWS, WAS VARIOUSLY CONSTRUED; BY SOME ASCRIBED TO HIS IMPATIENCE OF A CROWD;BY OTHERS TO HIS RESERVED AND SOLITARY GENIUS, AND HIS FEAR OF AN UNEQUALCOMPARISON WITH AUGUSTUS, WHO WAS WONT TO BE A CHEARFUL SPECTATOR THERE. BUT,THAT HE THUS PURPOSELY FURNISHED MATTER FOR EXPOSING THE CRUELTY OF HIS SONTHERE, AND FOR RAISING HIM POPULAR HATE, IS WHAT I WOULD NOT BELIEVE; THOUGHTHIS TOO WAS ASSERTED.

THE dissensions of the theatre, begun last year, brokeout now more violently, with the flaughter of several, not of the people only,but of the soldiers, with that of a Centurion: nay, a Tribune of a PrætorianCohort was wounded, whilst they were securing the magistrates from insults, andquelling the licentiousness of the rabble. This riot was canvassed in theSenate, and votes were passing for impowering the Prætors to whip the players. HATERIUS AGRIPPA, Tribune of the People, opposed it; andwas sharply reprimanded by a speech of ASINIUS GALLUS.TIBERIUS was silent, and to the Senate allowed these empty apparitions ofliberty. The opposition, however, prevailed, in reverence to the authority of AUGUSTUS, who, upon a certain occasion, had given hisjudgment, “that players were exempt from stripes:” nor would TIBERIUS assume to violate any words of his. To limit the wagesof players, and restrain the licentiousness of their partizans, many decreeswere made: the most remarkable were, “that no Senator should enter the house ofa Pantomime; no Roman Knight attend them abroad; they should shew no where butin the theatre; and the Prætors should have power to punish with exile anyinsolence in the spectators.”

THE Spaniards were, upon their petition, permitted tobuild a temple to AUGUSTUS, in the colony of Terragon; anexample for all the provinces to follow. In answer to the People, who prayed tobe relieved from the Centesima, a tax of one in thehundred, established at the end of the civil wars, upon all vendiblecommodities; TIBERIUS by an edict declared, “that upon thistax depended the fund for maintaining the army: Nor even thus was theCommonwealth equal to the expence, if the Veterans were dismissed before theirtwentieth year.” So that the concessions made them during the late sedition, todischarge them finally at the end of sixteen years, as they were made throughnecessity, were for the future abolished.

IT was next proposed to the Senate, by ARRUNTIUS and ATEIUS, whether, in order torestrain the overflowing of the Tiber, the channels of the several rivers andlakes by which it was swelled, must not be diverted? Upon this question thedeputies of several cities and colonies were heard. The Florentines besought,“that the bed of the Clanis might not be turned into their river Arnus; forthat the same would prove their utter ruin.” The like plea was urged by theInteramnates; “since the most fruitful plains in Italy would be lost, if,according to the project, the Nar, branched out into rivulets, overflowedthem.” Nor were the Reatinians less earnest against, stopping the outlets ofthe lake Velinus intothe Nar; “otherwise, they said, it would break overits banks, and stagnate all the adjacent country: the direction of nature wasbest in all natural things: it was she that had appointed to rivers theircourses and discharges, and set them their limits as well as their sources.Regard too was to be paid to the religion of our Latin allies, who, esteemingthe rivers of their country sacred, had to them dedicated priests, and altars,and groves. Nay, the Tiber himself, when bereft of his auxiliary streams, wouldflow with diminished grandeur.” Now, whether it were that the prayers of thecolonies, or the difficulty of the work, or the influence of superstitionprevailed; it is certain, the opinion of PISO was followed,that nothing should be altered.

TO POPPEUS SABINUS was continued his province of Mœsia;and to it was added that of Achaia and Macedon. This too was part of thepolitics of TIBERIUS, to prolong governments, and maintainthe same men in the same armies, or civil employments, for the most part, tothe end of their lives; with what view, is not agreed. Some think, “that froman impatience of returning cares, he was for making, whatever he once liked,perpetual.” Others, “that from the malignity of his invidious nature, heregretted the preferring of many.” There are some who believe, “that as he hada crafty penetrating spirit, so he had an understanding ever irresolute andperplexed.” So much is certain, that henever courted any eminent virtue, yet hated vice: fromthe best men he dreaded danger to himself; and disgrace to the public from theworst. This hesitation mastered him so much at last, that he committed foreigngovernments to some, whom he meant never to suffer to leave Rome.

CONCERNING the management of consular elections, eitherthen, or afterwards, under TIBERIUS, I can affirm scarceany thing: such is the variance about it, not only amongst historians, but evenin his own speeches. Sometimes, not naming the candidates, he described them bytheir family, by their life and manners, and by the number of their campaigns;so as it might be apparent whom he meant. Again, avoiding even to describethem, he exhorted the candidates, not to disturb the election by theirintrigues, and promised himself to take care of their interests. But chiefly,he used to declare, “that to him none had signified their pretensions, but suchwhose names he had delivered to the Consuls; others too were at liberty tooffer the like pretensions, if they trusted to the favour of the Senate, ortheir own merits.” Specious words! but intirely empty, or full of fraud; and,by how much they were covered with the greater guise of liberty, by so muchthreatning a more hasty and devouring bondage.

BOOK II.

The SUMMARY.

Commotions in the East. VENONES King of the Parthians, his expulsion by ARTABANUS, and flight to Armenia,where he is chosen King, but dethroned by SILANUS at the motion of ARTABANUS. TIBERIUS designs to send GERMANICUS to the East, under feigned pretences. Theexploits of the latter in Germany; he builds a fleet, defeats and ravages manynations there; and routs ARMINIUS ina great battle. The misfortune of his fleet in a tempest. The remarkableaccusation, trial, and violent death of LIBODRUSUS, charged with designs against the state. The poverty of M. HORTALUS, grandson of the famousorator HORTENSIUS; he applies forrelief to the Senate; TIBERIUS opposes him, but complies with the inclination of the Fathers to assist him. Acounterfeit AGRIPPA POSTUMUS raisesgreat alarms, but is detected to have been one of his slaves, and put to death.The triumph of GERMANICUS overseveral nations in Germany. The story and death of King ARCHELAUS: His Kingdom reduced into a Roman Province. Thecontumacious behaviour of CNEIUS PISO and his wife PLANCINA to GERMANICUS in the East, supposed tobe encouraged by TIBERIUS and hismother. DRUSUS, the Emperor’s son,sent into Illyricum, and why. A great battle between ARMINIUS and MAROBODUUS, two German Chiefs: Theformer conquers. Twelve noble cities in Asia destroyed by an earthquake. TACFARINAS, first a common soldier,then a robber, raises a war in Africa. The success of CAMILLUS, the Proconsul, against him. GERMANICUS enters Armenia, andestablishes ZENO King there. DRUSUS encourages dissensions amongstthe German nations. MAROBODUUS, exterminated by CATUALDA, flies intoItaly, and continues there. CATUALDA suffers the like fate. War between two Kings of Thrace composed by seizing theaggressor. GERMANICUS visits Egypt,and views the antiquities there; returns to Asia, is insulted by PISO, sickens and dies: His amiablecharacter: Suspicions about the cause of his death. PISO tries to gain the supreme command; is successfullyopposed by the friends of GERMANICUS, and retires. Numerous honours decreed at Rome to GERMANICUS. Laws to restrain the lubricity of women. A newVestal Virgin chosen in the place of OCCIA deceased. ARMINIUS fraudulently slain in Germany. His eminentcharacter.

DURING the consulship of SISENNA STATILIUSTAURUS, and LUCIUS LIBO, the Kingdoms and Romanprovinces of the east, were involved in war, begun by the Parthians, who havingsought and accepted a King from Rome, did afterwards, though he was of the raceof the Arsacides, contemn him as a foreigner. This was VENONES, who had been given as an hostage to AUGUSTUS by PHRAHATES. For PHRAHATES, though he had defeated the Roman captains andarmies, yet had courted AUGUSTUS with all the reverence ofa dependent, and sent him, to bind their friendship, part of his offspring; notso much through fear of the Romans, as distrusting the ill faith of theParthians.

AFTER the death of PHRAHATES, andthe succeeding Kings, ambassadors from the chief men of Parthia arrived atRome, to call home VENONES his eldest son, in order to endtheir intestine slaughters. TIBERIUS found his own grandeurand glory in this embassy, and dismissed him with great pomp and presents. TheBarbarians too received him with rapture and exultation; a spirit whichcommonly animates the people, where their governors are yet new and untried.But shame soon succeeded; shame “for the degeneracy of the Parthians, to havethus sent to another world for a King, one debauched with the manners andmaxims of their enemies. The imperial throne of the Arsacides, they said, wasnow deemed and given as a Roman province. Where was the glory of those braveParthians who slew CRASSUS, of those who exterminated MARC ANTHONY; if they were reduced so low as to receive forthe Lord of Parthia a slave of CÆSAR’S , inured so manyyears to foreign bondage?” His own behaviour inflamed their disdain: heabandoned the customs of his ancestors; was seldom in the chace; took smalldelight in horses, travelled luxuriously through their towns in a litter, anddespised the Parthians feasts. They ridiculed his Greek attendants, and themean care of sealing up his domestic moveables with his signet. But hiseasiness of access, his flowing courtesy (virtues unknown to the Parthians)were to them so many newvices; and every part of his manners, the laudable andthe bad, were subject to equal hatred, because foreign from their own.

THEY therefore sent for ARTABANUS, of the blood of the Arsacides, bred amongst the Dahans. In the first engagementhe was routed, but repaired his forces and gained the Kingdom. The vanquished VENONES found a retreat in Armenia, a vacant throne, and apeople wavering between the neighbouring powers of Parthia and of Rome: from usthey were alienated by the fraud and iniquity of MARCANTHONY, who having by shews and professions of friendship, ensnared intohis power ARTAVASDES, King of the Armenians, loaded himwith chains, and at last put him to death. ARTAXIAS, hisson, for his father’s sake, hating us, defended himself and his Kingdom by theprotection and forces of the Arsacides. ARTAXIAS beingslain by a conspiracy of his kindred, TIGRANES was by AUGUSTUS set over the Armenians, and by TIBERIUS NERO put in possession of the Kingdom. But neither wasthe reign of TIGRANES lasting, nor that of his children,however associated together, according to the mode and politics of the East, bythe double ties of marriage and government. ARTAVASDES wasnext established, by the appointment of AUGUSTUS, and thenexpelled; but at great expence of Roman blood.

CAIUS CÆSAR was then chosen to settle Armenia. By him ARIOBARZANES, by descent a Mede, was, for his gracefulperson and eminentendowments, placed over the Armenians, with their ownconsent. ARIOBARZANES being killed by an accident, theywould not bear the rule of his children, but tried the government of a woman,(her name ERATO ) and quickly expulsed her. After this,unsettled and wavering, rather exempt from tyranny, than possessed of liberty,they received the fugitive VENONES for their King: butanon, when he saw himself threatened by ARTABANUS, smallreliance on the Armenians, and no protection from the Romans without a war withthe Parthians, he accepted the offer of CRETICUS SILANUS, Governor of Syria, who invited him thither; but when he came, set a guard uponhim; leaving him still the name and luxury of royalty. What attempts VENONES made to escape from this mock-majesty, we willrelate in its place.

THE commotions in the East happened not ungratefully to TIBERIUS, since thence he had a colour for separating GERMANICUS from his old and faithful Legions, for settinghim over strange provinces, and exposing him at once to casual perils and theefforts of fraud. But he, the more ardent he found the affections of thesoldiers, and the greater the hatred of his uncle, so much the more intent upona decisive victory, weighed with himself all the methods of that war, with allthe disasters and successes which had befallen him in it to this his thirdyear. He remembered, “that the Germans were ever routed in a fair battle, anduponequal ground; that woods and boggs, short summers, andearly winters, were their chief resources; that his own men suffered not somuch from their wounds, as from tedious marches, and the loss of their arms.The Gauls were weary of furnishing horses; long and cumbersom was his train ofbaggage, easily surprized, and with difficulty defended. But, if he entered thecountry by sea, the invasion would be easy, and the enemy unapprized: besides,the war would be earlier begun; the Legions and provisions would be carriedtogether, and the cavalry brought with safety, through the mouths and channelsof the rivers, into the heart of Germany.”

ON that method therefore he fixed. Whilst PUBLIUS VITELLIUS and PUBLIUS CANTIUS weresent to collect the tribute of the Gauls; SILIUS, ANTEIUS, and CÆCINA, had the direction of building the fleet. Athousand vessels were thought sufficient, and with dispatch finished: some wereshort, sharp at both ends, and wide in the middle, the easier to endure theagitations of the waves; some had flat bottoms, that without damage they mightbear to run aground: several had helms at each end, that by suddenly turningthe oars only, they might work either way. Many were arched over, for carryingthe engines of war. They were fitted for holding horses and provisions, to flywith sails, to run with oars; and the spirit and alacrity of the soldiersheightened the shew and terror of the fleet.They were to meet at the Isle of Batavia, which waschosen for its easy landing, for its convenience to receive the forces, andthence to transport them to the war. For the Rhine flowing in one continualchannel, or only broken by small islands, is, at the extremity of Batavia,divided, as it were, into two rivers; one running still through Germany, andretaining the same name and violent current, till it mixes with the ocean; theother washing the Gallic shore, with a broader and more gentle stream, is bythe inhabitants called by another name, the Wahal, which it soon after changesfor that of the Meuse, by whose immense mouth it is discharged into the sameocean.

WHILE the fleet sailed, GERMANICUS commanded SILIUS his Lieutenant, with a flying band toinvade the Cattians; and he himself, upon hearing that the fort upon the riverLuppia was besieged, led six Legions thither. But the sudden rains prevented SILIUS from doing more than taking some small plunder, withthe wife and daughter of ARPUS, Prince of the Cattians; nordid the besiegers stay to fight GERMANICUS, but upon thereport of his approach, stole off, and dispersed. As they had, however, throwndown the common tomb lately raised over the Varian Legions, and the old altarerected to DRUSUS; he restored the altar, and performed inperson with the Legions, the funeral ceremony of running courses to the honourof his father. To replace the tomb was not thought fit; but, all the spacebetween fort Aliso and the Rhine, he fortified with anew barrier.

THE fleet was now arrived; the provisions were sentforward; ships were assigned to the Legions and the allies; and he entered thecanal cut by DRUSUS, and called by his name. Here heinvoked his father, “to be propitious to his son attempting the sameenterprizes; to inspire him with the same counsels, and animate him by hisexample.” Hence he sailed successfully through the lakes and the ocean to theriver Amisia. At the town of Amisia the fleet was left, upon the left shore,and it was a fault that it sailed no higher; for he landed the army on theright shore; so that in making bridges many days were consumed. The horse andthe Legions passed over without danger, as it was yet ebb; but the returningtide disordered the rear, especially the Batavians, while they played with thewaves, and shewed their dexterity in swimming; and some were drowned. Whilst GERMANICUS was incamping, he was told of the revolt of theAngrivarians behind him; and thither he dispatched a body of horse and lightfoot, under STERTINIUS, who with fire and slaughter tookvengeance on the perfidious revolters.

BETWEEN the Romans and the Cheruscans flowed the riverVisurgis, and on the banks of it stood ARMINIUS, with theother chiefs. He inquired whether GERMANICUS was come; andbeing answered that he was there, he prayed leave to speak with his brother.Thisbrother of his was in the army, his name FLAVIUS, one remarkable for his lasting faith towards theRomans, and for the loss of an eye in the war under TIBERIUS. This request was granted. FLAVIUS stepped forward, and was saluted by ARMINIUS, who havingremoved his own attendants, desired that our archers, ranged upon the oppositebanks, might retire. When they were withdrawn, “How came you (says he to hisbrother) by that deformity in your face?” The brother having informed himwhere, and in what fight, was next asked, “what reward he had received?” FLAVIUS answered, “Increase of pay, the chain, the crown,and other military gifts;” all which ARMINIUS treated withderision, as the vile wages of servitude.

HERE began a warm contest. FLAVIUS pleaded “the grandeur of the Roman Empire, the power of the Emperor, the Romanclemency to submitting nations; the heavy yoke of the vanquished; and thatneither the wife, nor son of ARMINIUS, was used like acaptive.” ARMINIUS to all this opposed “the natural rightsof their country, their ancient liberty; the domestic Gods of Germany; he urgedthe prayers of their common mother joined to his own, that he would not preferthe character of a deserter, that of a betrayer of his family, his countrymenand kindred, to the glory of being their commander.” By degrees they fell intoreproaches; nor would the interpositionof the river have restrained them from blows, had not STERTINIUS hasted to lay hold on FLAVIUS, full of rage, and calling for his arms and his horse.On the opposite side was seen ARMINIUS, swelling withferocity and threats, and denouncing battle. For, of what he said, much wassaid in Latin; since, as the General of his countrymen, he had served in theRoman armies.

NEXT day, the German army stood embatteled beyond theVisurgis. GERMANICUS, who thought it became not a Generalto endanger the Legions, till, for their passage and security, he had placedbridges and guards, made the horse ford over. They were led by STERTINIUS, and by ÆMILIUS Lieutenant-Colonel of a Legion: and these two officers crossed the river indistant places, to divide the foe. CARIOVALDA, Captain ofthe Batavians, passed it where most rapid, and was by the Cheruscans, whofeigned flight, drawn into a plain surrounded with woods, whence they rushedout upon him and assaulted him on every side; overthrew those who resisted, andpressed vehemently upon those who gave way. The distressed Batavians formedthemselves into a ring, but were again broken, partly by a close assault,partly by distant showers of darts. CARIOVALDA, having longsustained the fury of the enemy, exhorted his men to draw up in platoons, andbreak through the prevailing host; he himself forced his way into their center,and fell with his horse under a showerof darts, and many of the principal Batavians roundhim: the rest were saved by their own bravery, or rescued by the cavalry under STERTINIUS and ÆMILIUS.

GERMANICUS, having passed the Visurgis, learnt from adeserter, that ARMINIUS had marked out the place of battle;that more nations had also joined him; that they rendevoused in a wood sacredto HERCULES, and would attempt to storm our camp by night.The deserter was believed; the enemy’s fires were discerned; and the scoutshaving advanced towards them, reported that they had heard the neighing ofhorses, and the hollow murmur of a mighty and tumultuous host. In thisimportant conjuncture, upon the approach of a decisive battle, GERMANICUS thought it behoved him to learn the inclinations andspirit of the soldiers, and deliberated with himself how to be informed withoutfraud: “for the reports of the Tribunes and Centurions used to be oftenerpleasing than true; his freedmen had still slavish souls, incapable of freespeech; friends were apt to flatter; there was the same uncertainty in anassembly, where the counsel proposed by a few, was wont to be echoed by all.The minds of the soldiery were then best known when they were least watched;when free and over their meals, they frankly disclosed their hopes andfears.”

IN the beginning of night, he went out at the auguralgate, with a single attendant; himselfdisguised with the skin of a wild beast hanging overhis shoulders; and chusing secret ways, he escaped the notice of the watch,entered the lanes of the camp, listened from tent to tent, and enjoyed thepleasing display of his own popularity and fame; as one was magnifying theimperial birth of his General; another his graceful person; all, his patience,condescension, and the equality of his soul in every temper, pleasant or grave.They confessed the gratitude due to so much merit, and that in battle theyought to express it, and to sacrifice at the same time to glory and revenge,these perfidious Germans, who for ever violated stipulations and peace. In themean time, one of the enemy who understood Latin, rode up to the palisades,and, with a loud voice, offered in the name of ARMINIUS, toevery deserter a wife and land, and, as long as the war lasted, an hundredsesterces a day. This contumely kindled the wrath of the Legions: “Let daycome, they cried, let battle be given. The soldiers would seize and not acceptthe lands of the Germans; take and not receive German wives; they, however,received the offer as an omen of victory, and considered the money and women astheir destined prey.” Near the third watch of the night, they approached, andinsulted the camp, but without striking a blow, when they found the rampartscovered thick with cohorts, and no advantage given.

GERMANICUS had the same night a joyful dream: he thoughthe sacrificed, and, in place of his own robe besmeared with the sacred blood,received one fairer from the hands of his grandmother AUGUSTA; so that elevated by the omen, and by equalencouragement from the auspices, he called an assembly, where he opened hisdeliberations concerning the approaching battle, with all the advantagescontributing to victory; “That to the Roman soldiers, not only plains anddales, but, with due circumspection, even woods and forests were commodiousplaces for an engagement. The huge targets, the enormous spears of theBarbarians, could never be weilded amongst thickets and trunks of trees, likeRoman swords and javelins, and armour adjusted to the shape and size of theirbodies; so that with these tractable arms they might thicken their blows, andstrike with certainty at the naked faces of the enemy; since the Germans wereneither furnished with headpiece nor coat of mail; nor were their bucklersbound with leather, or fortified with iron, but all bare basket-work, orpainted boards; and though their first ranks were armed with pikes, the resthad only stakes burnt at the end, or short and contemptible darts. For theirpersons, as they were terrible to sight, and violent in the onset, so they wereutterly impatient of wounds, unaffected with their own disgrace, unconcernedfor the honour of their General,whom they ever deserted, and fled; in distresscowards, in prosperity despisers of all divine, of all human laws. To conclude,if the army, after their fatigues at sea, and their tedious marches by land,longed for an utter end of their labour; by this battle they might gain it. TheElb was now nearer than the Rhine; and if they would make him a conqueror inthose countries where his father and his uncle had conquered, the war wasconcluded.” The ardour of the soldiers followed the speech of the General, andthe signal for the onset was given.

NEITHER did ARMINIUS, or the otherChiefs, neglect to declare to their several bands, that “these Romans were thecowardly fugitives of the Varian army, who, because they could not endure tofight, had afterwards chosen to rebel: that some with backs deformed by wounds;some with limbs maimed by tempests; forsaken of hope, and the Gods againstthem, were once more presenting their lives to their vengeful foes. Hitherto afleet, and unfrequented seas, had been the resources of their cowardice againstan assaulting or a pursuing enemy; but now that they were to engage hand tohand, vain would be their relief from wind and oars after a defeat. The Germansneeded only remember their rapine, cruelty, and pride; and that to themselvesnothing remained, but either to maintaintheir native liberty, or by death to preventbondage.”

THE enemy thus inflamed, and calling for battle, wereled into a plain called Idistavisus: it lies between the Visurgis and thehills, and winds unequally along, as it is streightened by the swellings of themountains, or enlarged by the circuits of the river. Behind rose a forest ofhigh trees, thick of branches above, but clear of bushes below. The army ofBarbarians kept the plain, and the entrances of the forest; only the Cheruscanssat down upon the mountain, in order to pour down from thence upon the Romans,as soon as they became engaged in the fight. Our army marched thus; theauxiliary Gauls and Germans in front, after them the foot archers, next fourLegions, then GERMANICUS with two prætorian Cohorts, andthe choice of the cavalry; then four Legions more, and the light foot witharchers on horse-back, and the other troops of the allies; the men all carefulto march in order of battle, and ready to engage as they marched.

AS the impatient bands of Cheruscans were now perceiveddescending fiercely from the hills, GERMANICUS commanded abody of the best horse to charge them in the flank, and STERTINIUS with the rest to wheel round to attack them in therear, and promised to be ready to assist them in person. During this a joyfulomen appeared; eight eagles were seen to fly toward the wood, and to enter it;a presageof victory to the General! “Advance, he cried, followthe Roman birds; follow the tutelar Deities of the Legions.” Instantly the footcharged the enemies front, and instantly the detached cavalry attacked theirflank and rear. This double assault had a strange event; the two divisions oftheir army fled opposite ways; that in the woods ran to the plain; that in theplain rushed into the woods. The Cheruscans between both, were driven from thehills, amongst them ARMINIUS, remarkably brave, who withhis hand, his voice, and distinguished wounds, was still sustaining the fight.He had assaulted the archers, and would have broken through them; but thecohorts of the Retians, the Vindelicians, and the Gauls, marched to theirrelief: however, by his own spirit, and the vigour of his horse, he escaped;his face besmeared with his own blood to avoid being known. Some have related,that the Chaucians, who were amongst the Roman auxiliaries, knew him, and lethim go. The same bravery, or deceit, procured INGUIOMERUS his escape: the rest were every where slain; and great numbers attempting toswim the Visurgis, were destroyed in it, either pursued with darts, orswallowed by the current, or overwhelmed with the weight of the crowd, orburied under the falling banks. Some seeking a base refuge on the tops oftrees, and concealment amongst the branches, were shot in sport by the archers,or squashedas the trees were felled. This was a mighty victory,and to us far from bloody!

THIS slaughter of the foe, from the fifth hour of theday till night, filled the country for ten miles with carcasses and arms.Amongst the spoils, chains were found, which, sure of conquering, they hadbrought to bind the Roman captives. The soldiers proclaimed TIBERIUS Imperator upon the field ofbattle, and, raising a mount, placed upon it as Trophies, the German arms, withthe names of all the vanquished nations, inscribed below.

THIS sight filled the Germans with more anguish andrage, than all their wounds, past afflictions, and slaughters. They, who werejust prepared to abandon their dwellings, and flit beyond the Elb, meditate warand grasp their arms. People, nobles, youth, aged, from all quarters, rushsuddenly upon the Roman army in its march, and disorder it. They next chosetheir camp, a streight and moist plain, shut in between a river and a forest;the forest too surrounded with a deep marsh, except on one side, which wasclosed with a barrier raised by the Angrivarians, between them and theCheruscans. Here stood their foot: their horse were distributed and concealedamongst the neighbouring groves, thence, by surprize, to beset the Legions inthe rear, as soon as they had entered the wood.

NOTHING of all this was a secret to GERMANICUS: he knew their counsels, their stations;what steps they pursued, what measures theyconcealed; and to the destruction of the enemy turned their own subtilty anddevices. To SEIUS TUBERO, his Lieutenant, he committed thehorse and the field; the infantry he so disposed, that part might pass thelevel approaches into the wood; and the rest force the rampart. This was themost arduous task, and to himself he reserved it: the rest he left to hisLieutenants. Those who had the even ground to traverse, broke easily in; butthey who were to assail the rampart, were as grievously battered from above, asif they had been storming a wall. The General perceived the inequality of thisclose attack, and drawing off the Legions a small distance, ordered theslingers to throw, and the engineers to play, to beat off the enemy.Immediately showers of darts were poured from the engines, and the defenders ofthe barrier, the more bold and exposed they were, with the more wounds theywere beaten down. GERMANICUS, having taken the rampart,first forced his way, at the head of the Prætorian Cohorts, into the woods, andthere it was fought foot to foot. Behind, the enemy were begirt with themorass; the Romans with the mountains, or the river; no room for either toretreat, no hope but in valour; no safety but in victory.

THE Germans had not inferior courage, but they wereexceeded in the fashion of arms and art of fighting. Their mighty multitude,hampered in narrow places, could not push norrecover their long spears; nor practise in a closecombat, their usual boundings and velocity of limbs. On the contrary, oursoldiers, with handy swords, and their breasts closely guarded with a buckler,delved the large bodies and naked faces of the Barbarians, and openedthemselves a way with a havock of the enemy. Besides, the activity of ARMINIUS now failed him; either spent through his continualefforts, or slackened by a wound just received. INGUIOMERUS, was every-where upon the spur, animating thebattle; but fortune, rather than courage, deserted him. GERMANICUS, to be the easier known, pulled off his helmet, andexhorted his men, “to prosecute the slaughter; they wanted no captives, hesaid; only the cutting off that people root and branch, would put an end to thewar.” It was now late in the day, and he drew off a Legion to make a camp; therest glutted themselves till night with the blood of the foe. The horse foughtwith doubtful success.

GERMANICUS, in a speech from the tribunal, praised hisvictorious army, and raised a monument of arms, with a proud Inscription, THAT THE ARMY OF TIBERIUS CÆSAR, HAVING VANQUISHED INTIRELY THENATIONS BETWEEN THE RHINE AND THE ELB, HAD CONSECRATED THAT MONUMENT TO MARS,TO JUPITER, AND TO AUGUSTUS. Of himself he made no mention, either fearfulof provoking envy, or that he thought it sufficient praise to have deserved it.He had next commanded STERTINIUS, to carry the waramongst the Angrivarians; but they instantly submitted; and these supplicants,by yielding without articles, obtained pardon without reserve.

THE summer now declining, some of the Legions were sentback into winter-quarters, by land; more were embarked with GERMANICUS, upon the river Amisia, to go from thence by theocean. The sea, at first, was serene, no sound or agitation, except from theoars or sails of a thousand ships; but, suddenly a black host of clouds poureda storm of hail; furious winds roared on every side, and the tempest darkenedthe deep, so that all prospect was lost; and it was impossible to steer. Thesoldiers too, unaccustomed to the terrors of the sea, in the hurry of feardisordered the mariners, or interrupted the skilful by unskilful help. At last,the south-wind mastering all the rest, drove the ocean and the sky. The tempestderived new force from the windy mountains and swelling rivers of Germany, aswell as from an immense train of clouds; and contracting withal fresh vigourfrom the boisterous neighbourhood of the north, it hurled the ships, and tossedthem into the open ocean, or against islands shored with sharp rocks, ordangerously beset with covered shoals. The ships, by degrees, with greatlabour, and the change of the tide, were relieved from the rocks and sands, butremained at the mercy of the winds; their anchors could not hold them; theywere full of water, nor could all their pumps dischargeit; hence, to lighten and raise the vesselsswallowing at their decks the invading waves, the horses, beasts, baggage, andeven the arms, were cast into the deep.

BY how much the German ocean is more outrageous than therest of the sea, and the German climate excels in rigour, by so much this ruinwas reckoned to exceed in greatness and novelty. They were engaged in atempestuous sea, believed deep without bottom, vast without bounds, or noshores near but hostile shores. Part of the fleet were swallowed up; many weredriven upon remote islands, void of human culture, where the men perishedthrough famine, or were kept alive by the carcasses of horses, cast in by theflood. Only the galley of GERMANICUS landed upon the coastof the Chaucians, where, wandring sadly, day and night, upon the rocks andprominent shore, and incessantly accusing himself as the author of such mightydestruction, he was hardly restrained by his friends, from casting himselfdesperately into the same hostile floods. At last, with the returning tide, andan assisting gale, the ships began to return, all maimed, almost destitute ofoars, or with coats spread for sails; and, some utterly disabled, were draggedby those that were less. He repaired them hastily, and dispatched them tosearch the islands; and by this care many men were gleaned up, many were by theAngrivarians, our new subjects, redeemed from their maritime neighbours, andrestored; and some, driveninto Great Britain, were sent back by the littleBritish Kings. Those who had come from afar, recounted wonders at their return,“the impetuosity of whirlwinds; wonderful birds; sea-monsters of ambiguousforms between man and beast;” strange fights; or the effects of imagination andfear.

THE noise of this wreck, as it animated the Germans withhopes of renewing the war, awakened GERMANICUS also torestrain them. He commanded CAIUS SILIUS, with thirtythousand foot, and three thousand horse, to march against the Cattians; hehimself, with a greater force, invaded the Marsians, where he learnt from MALOVENDUS, their General, lately taken into oursubjection, that the Eagle of one of VARUS’S Legions, washid under ground in a neighbouring grove, and kept by a slender guard.Instantly two parties were dispatched; one, to face the enemy, and provoke themfrom their post; the other to beset their rear, and dig up the Eagle; andsuccess attended both. Hence GERMANICUS advanced withgreater alacrity, laid waste the country, and smote the foe, either not daringto engage, or, where-ever they engaged, suddenly defeated; nor, as we learntfrom the prisoners, were they ever seized with greater dismay. “The Romans,they cried, are invincible; no calamities can subdue them. They have wreckedtheir fleet; their arms are lost, our shores are covered with the bodies oftheir horses and men: Yet they attack us with their usualferocity, with the same firmness, and with numbers,as it were, increased.

THE army was from thence led back into winter-quarters,full of joy to have balanced, by this prosperous expedition, their latemisfortune at sea; and by the bounty of GERMANICUS, theirjoy was heightened, since to each sufferer he caused to be paid as much as eachdeclared he had lost; neither was it doubted but the enemy were humbled, andconcerting measures for obtaining peace, and that the next summer wouldterminate the war. But TIBERIUS, by frequent letters urgedhim “to come home, there to celebrate the triumph already decreed him; he hadalready tried enough of events, and tempted abundant hazards. He had indeedfought great and successful battles; but he must likewise remember his lossesand calamities, which, however owing to wind and waves, and no fault of theGeneral, were yet great and grievous. He himself had been sent nine times intoGermany by AUGUSTUS, and effected much more by policy thanarms: it was thus he had brought the Sigambrians into subjection, thus drawnthe Suevians, and King MAROBODUUS, under the bonds ofpeace. The Cheruscans too, and the other hostile nations, now the Romanvengeance was satiated, might be left to pursue their own national feuds.” GERMANICUS besought one year to accomplish his conquest;but TIBERIUS assailed his modesty with a newbait, and fresh importunity, by offering him anotherConsulship, for the administration of which he was to attend in person at Rome:he added, “that if the war was still to be prosecuted, GERMANICUS should leave a field of glory to his brother DRUSUS, to whom there now remained no other; since theEmpire had no-where a war to maintain but in Germany, and thence only DRUSUS could acquire the title of Imperator, and merit thetriumphal laurel.” GERMANICUS persisted no longer, thoughhe knew that this was all feigned and hollow, and saw himself invidiously tornaway from a harvest of ripe glory.

ABOUT this time, LIBO DRUSUS, of theScribonian family, was arraigned for meditating attempts against the State.And, because then first were devised those pestilent arts and impeachments,which for so many years devoured the Commonwealth, I will lay open with themore exactness the beginning, progress and issue of this affair. FIRMIUS CATUS the Senator, a close confident of LIBO, traiterously misled that youth, unwary as he was, andeasy to be ensnared, with specious delusions; engaged him to try thepredictions of the Chaldeans, the superstitious rites of Magicians, and theinterpreters of dreams; and to flatter his hopes and ambition, was incessantlymagnifying the nobility of his race; for that POMPEY was“his great grand-father, SCRIBONIA, once the wife of AUGUSTUS, his aunt, the Cæsars his kinsmen; and his housefull of images;”tempted him to luxury and borrowing; was associatedwith him in his debauches, surety for his debts, and all to accumulate morematter for crimes and evidence.

When he found himself furnished with store of witnesses, and amongst themsome of LIBO’S slaves, who were also privy to the obnoxiousconduct of their master, he sought admittance to the Emperor; having first by FLACCUS VESCULARIUS, a Roman Knight, intimate with TIBERIUS, represented to him LIBO as acriminal, as also a detail of his crimes. TIBERIUS slightednot his information, but denied him access, “for that the communication, hesaid, might be still managed by the same FLACCUS. ” In themean time, he preferred LIBO to the Prætorship, entertainedhim at his table, shewed no strangeness in his countenance, no resentment inhis words (so deeply had he smothered his vengeance); and, when he might haverestrained all the dangerous speeches and practices of LIBO, he chose rather to permit them, in order to know andpunish them: nor were they checked or made public, till one JUNIUS, who was dealt with to call up by charms the infernalshades, discovered this to FULCINIUS TRIO, a distinguishedaccuser, one greedy of renown in wickedness. Instantly TRIO marked out the doom of the accused, hastened to the Consuls, and of themdemanded that the Senate might meet and adjudge him. Thus the fathers wereforthwith summoned, and even apprized, that “upon an affair ofmighty moment and horrible tendency to the State,they were to deliberate.”

LIBO, the while, having changed his dress, went coveredwith mourning, from house to house, accompanied by Ladies of the noblest rank,and implored the mediation of his kindred, that they would protect him againstimpending ruin, and speak in his behalf. But every one of them declined hissuit, each upon a different pretence; yet, in reality, all from the same fear.The day the Senate sat for his trial, vanquished with dread, and sinking undersickness; or, as some relate, feigning it, he was borne in a litter to thecourt, and, leaning upon his brother, with supplicant hands and words, heaccosted and strove to soften TIBERIUS, who received himwith a countenance perfectly unmoved. It was the Emperor who next recited thecharge against him, and the authors of the charge; but with such warymoderation, that he might seem neither to soften nor sharpen his crimes.

TO TRIO and CATUS, two otheraccusers, FONTEIUS AGRIPPA and CAIUSVIBIUS, joined themselves, and strove who should have the right to impleadthe accused. At last, when neither would yield, and LIBO was come unprovided with a pleader, VIBIUS undertook tomaintain distinctly the several heads of the charge, and produced articles soextravagant, that amongst the rest it was one, how LIBO hadconsulted the fortune-tellers, “whether he should ever be master of opulencesufficientto cover the great Appian road with money as far asBrundusium.” There were others of the same kind, foolish, chimerical, or (takenin tenderer sense) deserving pity. But there was one article formed upon apaper, containing the names of the Cæsars as well as those of some Senators,with mysterious characters, and malignant notes joined to them. This theaccuset urged against LIBO, as written in his own hand. LIBO denied it, and hence it was proposed to examine bytorture his conscious slaves. But, seeing it was forbid by an ancient law ofthe Senate, to put servants to the question, in a trial touching the life oftheir master, the crafty TIBERIUS invented a new law, toelude the old, and ordered these slaves to be sold to the public steward, that,by this expedient, evidence against LIBO might be rackedfrom his servants, without violating the law. In this state of despondency, LIBO requested respite till the next day; and thenreturning to his own house, transmitted, by his kinsman PUBLIUSQUIRINUS, his last prayers to the Emperor, who replied, that “he must makehis request to the Senate.”

HIS house was in the mean time encompassed with a bandof soldiers, who with studied noise and terror were filling all the court, onpurpose to create certain attention and alarm, just when LIBO sat down to the banquet, which, as the ultimate pleasureof his life, he had prepared. But, then feeling agonies instead of pleasure, hecalled for a minister of death, successivelygrasped the hands of his slaves, and into them, byturns, strove to squeeze a sword. But they, as they trembled and shunned thesad task, through the hurry of fear and flight overturning the lamp thatilluminated the table; in this ominous and tragical darkness, he gave himselftwo deadly stabs in the bowels. As he groaned and fell, his freedmen sprang in,and the soldiers, seeing the slaughter perpetrated, retired. The charge againsthim was however pushed in the Senate, with the same unrelenting eagerness. Yet TIBERIUS vowed, “that he would have interceded for hislife, notwithstanding his treason, if he had not thus hastily died by his ownhands.”

HIS estate was divided amongst his accusers; and thoseof them who bore the rank of Senators, were, without the regular way ofelection, preferred to Prætorships. Then COTTA MESSALINUS proposed, that “the image of LIBO might not accompany thefunerals of his posterity;” CNEIUS LENTULUS, that “none ofthe SCRIBONII should henceforth assume the sirname of DRUSUS; ” and at the motion of POMPONIUSFLACCUS, days of thanksgiving were appointed. That “gifts should bepresented to JUPITER, to MARS, and tothe Goddess CONCORD; and that the thirteenth of September,the day on which LIBO slew himself, should be anestablished festival,” were the votes of LUCIUS PUBLIUS, of ASINIUS GALLUS, of PAPIUS MUTILIUS, andof LUCIUS APRONIUS. I have related the votes and sycophancyof these men, to shew that adulation is an inveterateevil in the state. Decrees of the Senate were likewise made for drivingAstrologers and Magicians out of Italy; and one of the herd, LUCIUS PITUANIUS, was precipitated from the Tarpeian Rock. PUBLIUS MARCIUS, another, was by judgment of the Consuls,at the sound of trumpet, executed without the Esquiline Gate, according to theancient form.

NEXT time the Senate sat, long discourses against theluxury of the city were made by QUINTUS HATERIUS, aConsular, and by OCTAVIUS FRONTO, formerly Prætor, and alaw was passed “against using table-plate of solid gold; and against men’sdebasing themselves with gorgeous and effeminate silks.” FRONTO went farther, and desired that “the quantities ofsilver-plate, the expence of furniture, and the number of domestics, might belimited.” For it was yet common for Senators to depart from the present debate,and offer, as their advice, whatever they judged conducing to the interest ofthe Commonweal. Against him it was argued by ASINIUSGALLUS, “that with the growth of the Empire, private riches were likewisegrown, and it was no new thing for citizens to live according to theirconditions, but, indeed, agreeable to the most primitive usage. The ancient FABRICII, and the latter SCIPIOS, having different wealth, lived differently; but all suitably to the severalstages of the Commonwealth.Public poverty was accompanied with domestic; but,when the State rose to such a height of magnificence, the magnificence ofparticulars rose too. As to plate, and train, and expence, there was nostandard of excess or frugality, but from the fortunes of men. The law, indeed,had made a distinction between the fortunes of Senators and of Knights; not forany natural difference between them; but that they who excelled in place, rank,and civil pre-eminence, might excel too in other particulars, such as conducedto the health of the body, or to the peace and solacement of the soul; unlessit were expected, that the most illustrious citizens should sustain thesharpest cares, and undergo the heaviest fatigues and dangers, but continuedestitute of every alleviation of fatigue, and danger, and care.” GALLUS easily prevailed, whilst, under worthy names, heavowed and supported popular vices in an assembly engaged in them. TIBERIUS too had said, “that it was not a season forreformation; or, if there were any corruption of manners, there would not bewanting one to correct them.”

DURING these transactions, LUCIUSPISO, after he had declaimed bitterly, in the Senate, against “the cabalsand intrigues of the Forum, the corruption of the tribunals, and the inhumanityof the pleaders breathing continual terror and impeachments,” declared, “hewould intirely relinquish Rome, and retireinto a quiet corner of the country, far distant andobscure.” With these words he left the Senate. TIBERIUS wasprovoked; and yet not only soothed him with gentle words, but likewise obliged PISO’S relations, by their authority or entreaties toretain him. The same PISO gave soon after an equal instanceof the indignation of a free spirit, by prosecuteing a suit against URGULANIA; a Lady whom the partial friendship of LIVIA had set at defiance with the laws. URGULANIA being carried, for protection, to the palace,despised the efforts of PISO; so that neither did shesubmit, nor would he desist, notwithstanding the complaints and resentments of LIVIA, that, in the prosecution, “violence and indignitywere done to her own person.” TIBERIUS promised to attendthe trial, and assist URGULANIA; but only promised incivility to his mother, for so far he thought it became him; and thus left thepalace, ordering his guards to follow at a distance. People, the while, crowdedabout him, and he walked with a slow and composed air. As he lingered, andprolonged the time and way with various discourse, the trial went on; PISO would not be mollified by the importunity of hisfriends; and hence at last the Empress ordered the payment of the money claimedby him. This was the issue of the affair. By it PISO lostno renown; and it signally increased the credit of TIBERIUS. The power however of URGULANIA was so exorbitant to the State, that she disdained to appeara witness in a certain cause before the Senate; and,when it had been always usual, even for the Vestal virgins to attend the Forum,and Courts of Justice, as oft as their evidence was required; a Prætor was sentto examine URGULANIA at her own house.

THE procrastination which happened this year in thepublic affairs, I should not mention, but that the different opinions of CNEIUS PISO and ASINIUS GALLUS aboutit, are worth knowing. Their dispute was occasioned by a declaration of TIBERIUS; “that he was about to be absent.” And it was themotion of PISO, “that for that very reason, the prosecutionof public business was the rather to be continued; since, as in the Prince’sabsence, the Senate and Equestrian order might administer their several parts,the same would become the dignity of the Commonwealth.” This was a declarationfor liberty, and in it PISO had prevented GALLUS, who now, in opposition, said, “that nothingsufficiently illustrious, nor suiting the dignity of the Roman people, could betransacted but under the immediate eye of the Emperor, and therefore theconflux of suitors, and the affairs from Italy, and the provinces, must by allmeans be reserved for his presence.” TIBERIUS heard, andwas silent, while the debate was managed on both sides with mighty vehemence;but the adjournment was carried.

A DEBATE too arose between GALLUS and the Emperor; for, GALLUS moved, “that theMagistrates should be henceforth elected but onceevery five years; that the legates of the Legions, who had never exercised thePrætorships, should be appointed Prætors; and that the Prince should nominatetwelve candidates every year.” It was not doubted but this motion had a deeperaim, and that by it the secret springs and reserves of imperial power wereinvaded. But TIBERIUS, as if he rather apprehended theaugmentation of his authority, argued, “that it was a heavy task upon hismoderation, to chuse so many Magistrates, and to postpone so many candidates;that disgusts from disappointments were hardly avoided in yearly elections;though, for their solacement, fresh hopes remained of approaching success inthe next; now how great must be the hatred, how lasting the resentment of suchwhose pretensions were to be rejected beyond five years? and whence could it beforeseen, that, in so long a tract of time, the same men would continue to havethe same dispositions, the same alliances and fortunes? even an annualdesignation to power, made men imperious; how imperious would it make them, ifthey bore the honour for five years! besides, it would multiply every singleMagistrate into five, and utterly subvert the laws which had prescribed aproper space for exercising the diligence of the candidates, and forsolliciting as well as enjoying preferments.”

By this speech, in appearance popular, he still retained the spirit andforce of the sovereignty. He likewise sustained by gratuities the dignity ofsome necessitous Senators. Hence it was the more wondered, that he receivedwith haughtiness and repulse the petition of MARCUSHORTALUS, a young man of signal quality, and manifestly poor. He was thegrandson of HORTENSIUS the Orator; and had been encouragedby the deified AUGUSTUS with a bounty of a thousand greatsesterces [a] , to marry for posterity, purely to prevent the extinction of a familyso eminently illustrious. The Senate were sitting in the palace, and HORTALUS having set his four children before the door,fixed his eyes, now upon the statue of HORTENSIUS, placedamongst the Orators; then upon that of AUGUSTUS; and,instead of speaking to the question then debated, began on this wise:“Conscript fathers, you see there the number and infancy of my children; notmine by my own choice, but in compliance with the advice of the Prince. Suchtoo was the splendor of my ancestors, that it merited to be perpetuated intheir race. But, for my own particular, who, marred by the revolution of thetimes, could not raise wealth, nor engage popular favour, nor cultivate thehereditary fortune of our house, the fortune of Eloquence; I deemed itsufficient, if, in my narrow circumstances,I lived no disgrace to myself, no burden to others.Commanded by the Emperor, I took a wife: behold the offspring of so manyConsuls; behold the descendants of so many Dictators! nor is this remembranceinvidiously made, but made to move mercy. In the progress of your reign, CÆSAR, these children may arrive at the honours in yourgift. Defend them in the mean time from want: they are the great grandsons of HORTENSIUS; they are the foster sons of AUGUSTUS. ”

THE inclination of the Senate was favourable, anincitement to TIBERIUS the more eagerly to thwart HORTALUS. These were in effect his words: “If all that arepoor recur hither for a provision of money to their children, the public willcertainly fail, yet particulars never be satiated. Our ancestors, when theypermitted a departure from the question, to propose somewhat more important tothe state, did not therefore permit it, that we might here transact domesticmatters, and augment our private rents; an employment invidious both in theSenate and the Prince; since, whether they grant or deny the petitionedbounties, either the people or the petitioners will ever be offended. Butthese, in truth, are not petitions; they are demands made against order, andmade by surprize. While you are assembled upon other affairs, he stands up, andurges your pity, by the number and infancyof his children; with the same violence, he changesthe attack to me, and, as it were, bursts open the exchequer. But, if bypopular bounties we exhaust it, by rapine and oppression we must supply it. Thedeified AUGUSTUS gave you money, HORTALUS; but without sollicitation he gave it, and on nocondition that it should always be given: otherwise diligence will languish;sloth will prevail; and men having no hopes in resources of their own; noanxiety for themselves, but all securely relying on foreign relief, will becomeprivate sluggards and public burdens.” These and the like reasonings of TIBERIUS were differently received; with approbation bythose whose way it is to extol, without distinction, all the doings of Princes,worthy and unworthy; by most, however, with silence, or low and discontentedmurmurs. TIBERIUS perceived it, and having paused a little,said, “his answer was particularly to HORTALUS; but, if theSenate thought fit, he would give his sons two hundred great sesterces [b] each.” For this all the Senators presented their thanks; only HORTALUS said nothing; perhaps through present awe, orperhaps possessed, even in poverty, with the grandeur of his ancient nobility.Nor did TIBERIUS ever shew farther pity, though the houseof HORTENSIUS was fallen into shameful distress.

THE same year, the boldness of a single bondman had, butfor early prevention, torn the state with great combustions and civil arms. Aslave of POSTHUMUS AGRIPPA, his name CLEMENS, having learnt the death of AUGUSTUS, conceived a design to sail to Planasia, and therereleasing AGRIPPA by art or force, to carry him to thearmies in Germany. No slavish design! but, the slowness of the laden vesseldefeated his bold purpose; for AGRIPPA was alreadymurdered. Hence he conceived views still higher and more daring. He stole thefuneral ashes, and sailing to Cosa, a promontory of Etruria, hid himself indesart places, till his hair and beard were grown long; for, in age and person,he was not unlike his master. Then, a report spread by trusty emissaries andthe associates of the plot, “that AGRIPPA lived,” began tothicken. It first crept abroad in dark whispers, as usual in matters ofdangerous tendency; but becoming soon a prevailing rumour, it filled the greedyears of the credulous, or was encouraged by turbulent minds, such as are everfond of public agitations and changes. He himself, when he entered theneighbouring towns, did it in the gloom of the day; never to be seen publicly,nor long in the same place. But, as truth is strengthened by observation andtime; lies by haste and uncertainty, he out-ran fame. Here he staid not to beknown; there he arrived before his name arrived.

IT flew through Italy, in the mean time, “that, by thebounty of the Gods, AGRIPPA was preserved.” It was evenbelieved at Rome. His supposed arrival at Ostia, was celebrated by greatmultitudes abroad; and in the city by clandestine cabals; whilst divided caresdistracted TIBERIUS, whether he should suppress his slaveby the power of the sword, or suffer the empty credulity of the public tovanish with time. Now he thought that nothing was to be slighted; now thatevery thing was not to be dreaded, wavering between shame and fear. At last hecommitted the affair to SALLUSTIUS CRISPUS. CRISPUS chosetwo of his creatures, (some say two soldiers) and directed them to go directlyto him, to feign themselves his adherents, men who were conscious that he wasthe genuine AGRIPPA, to present him with money, and topromise him, without reserve, their faith and fortunes. They instantly executedthese orders, and afterwards spying him one night without guards, and beingthemselves furnished with a proper band of men, they carried him to the palace,gagged and bound. To TIBERIUS, when he asked him, “how hewas become AGRIPPA ?” he is said to have answered, “Just asyou became CÆSAR. ” But, to discover his accomplices, hecould never be constrained. Neither dared TIBERIUS ventureto execute him publicly, but ordered him to be dispatched in a secret part ofthe palace, and his body to be carried privately away; and, though manyof the Prince’s houshold, many Knights and Senators,were said to have supported him with money, and assisted him with theirCounsels; no enquiry followed.

AT the end of the year, a triumphal arch was raised nearthe Temple of Saturn, as a monument for the recovery of the Varian Eagles,under the conduct of GERMANICUS, and the auspices of TIBERIUS. A Temple was dedicated to happy Fortune near theTiber, in the Gardens bequeathed to the Roman people by CÆSAR the Dictator. A Chapel was consecrated to the Julianfamily, and statues to the deified AUGUSTUS, in the suburbscalled Bovillæ. In the Consulship of CAIUS CELIUS and LUCIUS POMPONIUS, the six and twentieth of May, GERMANICUS CÆSAR triumphed over the Cheruscans, theCattians, the Angrivarians, and the other nations as far as the Elb. In thetriumph were carried all the spoils and captives, with the representations ofmountains, of rivers, and of battles; so that his conquests, because he wasrestrained from compleating them, were taken for compleat. His own gracefulperson, and his chariot filled with his five children, heightened the shew andthe delight of the beholders. Yet they were checked with secret fears; as theyremembered, “that popular favour had proved malignant to his father DRUSUS; that his uncle MARCELLUS wassnatched, in his youth, from the burning affections of the populace, and, thatevershort-lived and unfortunate were the favourites ofthe Roman people.”

TIBERIUS distributed to the people in the name of GERMANICUS, three hundred sesterces [c] a man, and named himself his Collegue in the Consulship. Nor even thusdid he gain the opinion of tenderness and sincerity. In effect, on pretence ofinvesting the young Prince with fresh preferment and honours, he resolved toalienate him from Rome; and, to accomplish it, craftily framed an occasion, orsnatched such a one as chance presented. ARCHELAUS hadenjoyed the Kingdom of Cappadocia now fifty years, a Prince under the deepdispleasure of TIBERIUS, because in his retirement atRhodes, the King had paid him no sort of court nor distinction; an omissionwhich proceeded from no disdain, but from the warnings given him by theconfidents of AUGUSTUS; for that the young CAIUS CÆSAR, the presumptive heir to the Sovereignty, thenlived, and was sent to compose and administer the affairs of the East; hencethe friendship of TIBERIUS was reckoned then dangerous. Butwhen, by the utter fall of the family of the CÆSARS, he hadgained the Empire, he enticed ARCHELAUS to Rome, by meansof letters from his mother, who, without dissembling her son’s resentment,offered the King his mercy, provided he came and in person implored it. He, whowas either ignorant of thesnare, or dreaded violence if he had appeared toperceive it, hastened to the City; where he was received by TIBERIUS with great sternness and wrath, and soon after accusedas a criminal in the Senate. The crimes alledged against him were merefictions; yet, as equal treatment is unusual to Kings, and, to be treated likemalefactors, intolerable; ARCHELAUS, who was broken withgrief as well as age, by choice or fate ended his life. His Kingdom was reducedinto a province, and by its revenues TIBERIUS declared, thetax of the hundredth penny would be abated, and reduced it for the future tothe two hundredth. At the same time died ANTIOCHUS, King ofComagena, as also PHILOPATER, King of Cilicia; and greatcombustions shook these nations; whilst many of the people desired the RomanGovernment, and many were addicted to domestic Monarchy. The provinces too ofSyria and Judea, as they were oppressed with impositions, prayed an abatementof tribute.

THESE affairs, and such as I have above relatedconcerning Armenia, TIBERIUS represented to the Fathers,and, “that the commotions of the East could only be settled by the wisdom andabilities of GERMANICUS. For himself; his age now declined,and that of DRUSUS was not yet sufficiently ripe.” Theprovinces beyond the sea were thence decreed to GERMANICUS, with authority superior to all those who obtained provinces by lot, or thenomination of the Prince. But, TIBERIUS had already taken careto remove from the government of Syria CRETICUS SILANUS, one united to GERMANICUS in domestic alliance, by havingbetrothed his daughter to NERO, the eldest son of GERMANICUS. In his room he had preferred CNEIUS PISO, a man of violent temper, incapable of subjection,and heir to all the ferocity and haughtiness of his father PISO; the same who, in the civil war, assisted the revivingparty against CÆSAR in Africa, with vehement efforts, thenfollowed BRUTUS and CASSIUS, but had atlast leave to come home; yet disdained to sue for any public offices; nay, waseven courted by AUGUSTUS to accept the Consulship. His son,besides his hereditary pride and impetuosity, was elevated with the nobilityand wealth of PLANCINA his wife. Scarce yielded he to TIBERIUS, and, as men far beneath him, despised the sons of TIBERIUS. Neither did he doubt but he was set over Syria onpurpose to defeat all the views of GERMANICUS. Some evenbelieved, that he had to this purpose secret orders from TIBERIUS; as it was certain, that LIVIA directed PLANCINA to exert the spirit of the sex, and byconstant emulation and indignities, to persecute AGRIPPINA. For, the whole court was rent, and their affections secretly divided between DRUSUS and GERMANICUS. TIBERIUS waspartial to DRUSUS, as his own son by generation; othersloved GERMANICUS; the more for the aversion of his uncle,and for being by his mother, of moreillustrious descent; as MARCANTHONY was his grandfather, and AUGUSTUS his greatuncle. On the other side, POMPONIUS ATTICUS, a RomanKnight, by being the great grandfather of DRUSUS, seemedthence to have derived a stain upon the images of the Claudian house. Besides, AGRIPPINA, the wife of GERMANICUS, didin the fruitfulness of her body, and the reputation of her virtue, far excel LIVIA the wife of DRUSUS. Yet the twobrothers lived in amiable dearness and concord, no wife shaken or estranged bythe reigning contention amongst their separate friends and adherents.

DRUSUS was soon after sent into Illyricum in order toinure him to war, and gain him the affections of the army. Besides, TIBERIUS thought that the youth, who lived wantoning in theluxuries of Rome, would be reformed in the camp, and that his own securitywould be enlarged when both his sons were at the head of the Legions. But, thepretence for sending him was the protection of the Suevians, who were thenimploring assistance against the power of the Cheruscans. For, these nations,who since the departure of the Romans, saw themselves no longer threatened withterrors from abroad, and were then particularly engaged in a nationalcompetition for glory, had relapsed, as usual, into their old intestine feuds,and turned their arms upon each other. The two people were equally powerful,their two leaders equally brave, but differently esteemed, as the title ofKing, haddrawn upon MAROBODUUS the hateand aversion of his countrymen; whilst ARMINIUS, as achampion warring for the defence of liberty, was the universal object ofpopular affection.

HENCE not only the Cheruscans and their confederates,they who had been the ancient soldiery of ARMINIUS, tookarms; but to him too revolted the Semnones and Langobards, both Sueviannations, and even subjects of MAROBODUUS; and by theiraccession he would have exceeded in puissance, but INGUIOMERUS with his band of followers deserted to MAROBODUUS; for no other cause than disdain, that an oldman and an uncle like himself, should obey ARMINIUS a youngman his nephew. Both armies were drawn out, with equal hopes; nor disjointed,like the old German battles, into scattered parties for loose and randomattacks; for, by long war with us, they had learnt to follow their ensigns, tostrengthen their main body with parties of reserve, and to observe the ordersof their Generals. ARMINIUS was now on horseback viewingall the ranks: as he rode through them he magnified their passed feats; “theirliberty recovered, the slaughtered Legions; the spoils of arms wrested from theRomans; monuments of victory still retained in some of their hands.” Upon MAROBODUUS he fell with contumelious names, as “a fugitive,one of no abilities in war; a coward, who had sought defence from the gloomycoverts of the Hercynian wood, and then by gifts and sollicitations,courted the alliance of Rome; a betrayer of hiscountry, a lifeguard-man of CÆSAR’S , worthy to beexterminated with no less hostile vengeance than in the slaughter of QUINCTILIUS VARUS they had shewn. Let them only remember somany battles bravely fought; the events of which, particularly the utterexpulsion of the Romans, were sufficient proofs with whom remained the glory ofthe war.”

NEITHER did MAROBODUUS fail to boasthimself, and depreciate the foe. “In the person of INGUIOMERUS, he said, (holding him by the hand) rested thewhole renown of the Cheruscans; and from his counsels began all their exploitsthat ended in success. ARMINIUS, a man of a frantic spirit,and a novice in affairs, assumed to himself the glory of another, for having bytreachery surprized three Legions, which expected no foe, and their leader, whofeared no fraud; a base surprize, revenged since on Germany with heavyslaughters, and on ARMINIUS himself with domestic infamy,while his wife and his son still bore the bonds of captivity. For himself; whenattacked formerly by TIBERIUS at the head of twelveLegions, he had preserved unstained the glory of Germany, and on equal termsended the war. Nor did he repent of the treaty, since it was still in theirhands to wage, anew, equal war with the Romans, or save blood and maintainpeace.” The armies, besides the incitementsfrom these speeches, were animated by nationalstimulations of their own. The Cheruscans fought for their ancient renown, theLangobards for their recent liberty; and the Suevians and their King, on thecontrary, were struggling for the augmentation of their monarchy. Never didarmies make a fiercer onset, never had onset a more ambiguous event; for, boththe right wings were routed, and hence a fresh encounter was certainlyexpected, until MAROBODUUS drew off his army and encampedupon the hills; a manifest sign that he was humbled; frequent desertions tooleaving him at last naked of forces, he retired to the Marcomannians, andthence sent Embassadors to TIBERIUS, to implore succours.They were answered, “That he had no right to invoke aid of the Roman armsagainst the Cheruscans; since to the Romans, while they were warring with thesame foe, he had never administered any assistance.” DRUSUS was however sent away, as I have said, with the character of a negociator ofpeace.

THE same year, twelve noble cities of Asia wereoverturned by an earthquake. The ruine happened in the night, and the moredreadful as its warnings were unobserved. Neither availed the usual sanctuaryagainst such calamities; namely, a flight to the fields; since those who fled,the gaping earth devoured. It is reported, “That mighty mountains subsided,plains were heaved into high hills; and that with flashes and eruptions offire, the mightydevastation was every where accompanied.” TheSardians felt most heavily the rage of the concussion, and therefore mostcompassion; TIBERIUS promised them a hundred thousand greatsesterces [d] , and remitted their taxes for five years. The inhabitants of Magnesiaunder Mount Sipylus, were held the next in sufferings, and had proportionablerelief. The Temnians, Philadelphians, the Egeatæans, Apollonians, with thosecalled the Mostenians or Macedonians of Hyrcania, the cities too ofHierocæsarea, Myrina, Cyme and Tmolus; were all for the same term eased oftribute. It was likewise resolved to send one of the Senate to view thedesolations, and administer proper remedies. MARCUS ALETUS was therefore chosen, one of Prætorian rank; because a Consular Senator thengoverning Asia, had another of the like quality been sent, an emulation betweenequals was apprehended, and consequently opposition and delays.

THE credit of this noble bounty to the public, heincreased by private liberalities, which proved equally popular; the estate ofthe wealthy EMILLA MUSA, claimed by the exchequer, as shedied intestate, he surrendered to EMILIUS LEPIDUS, to whosefamily she seemed to belong; as also to MARCUS SERVILIUS, the inheritance of PATULEIUS, a rich Roman Knight, thoughpart of it had been bequeathed to himself; but he found SERVILIUS namedsole heir in a former and well-attested will. Hesaid, such was “the nobility of both, that they deserved to be supported.” Nordid he ever accept to himself any man’s inheritance, but where formerfriendship gave him a title. The wills of such as were strangers to him, and ofsuch as, from hate and prejudice to others, had appointed the Prince theirheir, he utterly rejected. But, as he relieved the honest poverty of thevirtuous, so he degraded from the Senate, (or suffered to quit it of their ownaccord) VIBIDIUS VARRO, MARIUS NEPOS, APPIUS APPIANUS, CORNELIUSSYLLA, and QUINTUS VITELLIUS, all prodigals, and onlythrough debauchery indigent.

ABOUT this time, TIBERIUS finishedand consecrated what AUGUSTUS began, the Temples of theGods consumed by age or fire; that near the great Circus, vowed by AULUS POSTHUMIUS the Dictator, to Bacchus, Proserpina andCeres; in the same place the Temple of Flora, founded by LUCIUSPUBLICIUS and MARCUS PUBLICIUS, while they wereÆdiles; the Temple of Janus, built in the Herb-Market by CAIUSDUILLIUS, who first signalized the Roman power at sea, and merited a navaltriumph over the Carthaginians. That of Hope was dedicated by GERMANICUS. This Temple ATILIUS had vowedin the same war.

THE Law of violated Majesty, in the mean time, waxedintense, and by it an accuser impleaded APULEIA VARILIA, grand-niece to AUGUSTUS by his sister; for that withopprobriouswords she had reviled the deified AUGUSTUS, TIBERIUS and his mother; and being nearly allied tothe Emperor, had stained by adultery the Cæsarean blood. Concerning theadultery, sufficient provision was thought already made by the Julian Law; andthe crimes of state, TIBERIUS desired, might be separated:“If she had uttered impious speeches of AUGUSTUS, she mustbe condemned; but, for invectives against himself, he would not have her calledto any account.” The Consul asked him, “What would be his sentiments, if shewere convicted of defaming his mother?” To this he made no answer; but nextsitting of the Senate, he prayed too in her name, “That no words spoken againsther, might to any one be imputed for crimes;” and acquitted APULEIA of the treason; of her punishment too for adultery, hebegged a mitigation, and prevailed, that, “by the example of our ancestors, sheshould be removed by her kindred two hundred miles from Rome.” MANLIUS her adulterer was interdicted Italy and Africa.

A debate at this time arose about substitueing a Prætor in the room of VIPSANIUS GALLUS, removed by death. GERMANICUS and DRUSUS (for they were yet atRome) espoused HATERIUS AGRIPPA, kinsman to GERMANICUS. Many, on the contrary, insisted, that the number ofchildren should decide it, and the candidate who had most be preferred; forthis was the voice of the law. TIBERIUS rejoicedto see the Senate engaged in a contention between hissons and the laws. The law, without doubt, was vanquished, yet not instantly,and by a small majority; but with the same struggle that laws were vanquishedwhen laws were in force.

THIS year a war began in Africa, conducted by TACFARINAS. He was a native of Numidia, and had servedamongst the auxiliaries in the Roman armies, but deserting the service,gathered together, by the allurements of booty and rapine, at first a herd ofvagabonds and men inured to robberies; then formed them, like an army, intoregular companies of foot, and troops of horse, under distinct standards andcolours. At length he was no longer esteemed the leader of a disorderly gang,but considered as General of the Musulanians. This powerful people, borderersupon the desarts of Africa, still wild, and without towns, took arms, and drewinto the war the neighbouring Moors. These too had a General of their own, hisname MAZIPPA; and between the two leaders the army wasdivided, that, whilst TACFARINAS encamped with the bestmen, armed after the fashion of Romans, and accustomed them to discipline andcommand, MAZIPPA, with a flying band, might make excursionson every side, with fire, slaughter, and alarms. They had likewise forced theCinithians into their measures, a nation no wise despicable; when FURIUS CAMILLUS, Proconsul of Africa, marched against theenemywith one Legion, and what troops of the Allies wereunder his command; a handful of men at most, when compared to the multitude ofNumidians and Moors! But it was his first care not to intimidate them withnumbers, and thence tempt them to elude fighting, and prolong the war. Indeed,he gave them hopes of victory, only to enable himself to vanquish them. TheLegion was placed in the center, the light cohorts, and two wings of horse onthe right and left. Nor did TACFARINAS decline the combat.The Numidians were routed; and, after a long series of years, military renownrecovered to the name of FURIUS. For since CAMILLUS the restorer of Rome and his son, the glory of commandand victories continued in other families. Even he whom I have mentioned,passed for a man destitute of military abilities and experience in war. Hence TIBERIUS magnified with the more unfeigned alacrity hisexploits to the Senate, and to him the fathers decreed the ensigns of triumph.Yet to CAMILLUS all this merit and distinction proved tosnare, protected as he was by a life singularly modest and retired.

THE Consuls for the following year were, TIBERIUS the third time, GERMANICUS thesecond. This dignity overtook GERMANICUS at Nicopolis, acity of Achaia, whither he arrived, by the coast of Illyricum, from visitinghis brother DRUSUS, then abiding in Dalmatia, and hadsuffered a tempestuous passage, both in the Adriatic and Ionian sea. Hethereforespent a few days to repair his fleet, and viewed thewhile the Bay of Actium, renowned for the naval victory there, as also thespoils consecrated by AUGUSTUS, and the Camp of ANTHONY, with an affecting remembrance of these hisancestors; for ANTHONY, as I have said, was his greatuncle, AUGUSTUS his grandfather. Hence this scene proved to GERMANICUS a mighty source of images pleasing and sad. Nexthe proceeded to Athens, where, in concession to that ancient city, allied toRome, he would use but one Lictor. The Greeks received him with the mostelaborate honours, and, to dignify their personal flattery, carried before himtablatures of the signal deeds and sayings of his ancestors.

HENCE he sailed to Eubœa, thence to Lesbos, where AGRIPPINA was delivered of JULIA, whoproved her last child. Then he kept the coast of Asia, and visited Perinthusand Byzantium, cities of Thrace, and entered the streights of Propontis, andthe mouth of the Euxine, fond of beholding ancient places long celebrated byfame. He relieved, at the same time, the provinces where-ever distracted withintestine factions, or aggrieved with the oppressions of their Magistrates. Inhis return he strove to see the religious rites of the Samothracians, but, bythe violence of the north wind was repulsed from the shore As he passed, he sawTroy and her remains, venerable for the vicissitude of her fate, and for thebirth of Rome. Regaining the coast of Asia, he putin at Colophon, to consult there the Oracle of theClarian Apollo. It is no Pythoness that represents the God here, as at Delphos,but a priest, one chosen from certain families, chiefly of MILETUS; neither requires he more than just to hear the namesand numbers of the querists, and then descends into the oracular cave; where,after a draught of water from a secret spring, though ignorant for the mostpart of Letters and Poetry, he yet utters his answers in Verse, which has forits subject the conceptions and wishes of cach consultant. He was even said tohave sung to GERMANICUS his hastening fate, but, as Oraclesare wont, in terms dark and doubtful.

NOW CNEIUS PISO, HURRYING TO THE EXECUTION OF HIS PURPOSES,TERRIFIED THE CITY OF ATHENS BY A TEMPESTUOUS ENTRY, AND REPROACHED THEM IN ASEVERE SPEECH, WITH OBLIQUE CENSURE OF GERMANICUS, “THAT,DEBASING THE DIGNITY OF THE ROMAN NAME, HE HAD PAID EXCESSIVE COURT, NOT TO THEATHENIANS, BY SO MANY SLAUGHTERS LONG SINCE EXTINCT, BUT TO THE THEN MIXED SCUMOF NATIONS THERE; FOR THAT THESE WERE THEY WHO HAD LEAGUED WITH MITHRIDATES AGAINST SYLLA, AND WITH ANTHONY AGAINST AUGUSTUS. ” HE EVENCHARGED THEM WITH THE ERRORS AND MISFORTUNES OF ANCIENT ATHENS; HER IMPOTENTATTEMPTS AGAINST THE MACEDONIANS; HER VIOLENCE AND INGRATITUDE TO HER OWNCITIZENS. HE WAS ALSO AN ENEMY TO THEIR CITY FROM PERSONAL ANGER; BECAUSE THEYWOULD NOT PARDON, AT HIS REQUEST, ONE THEOPHILUS, CONDEMNED BY THE AREOPAGUS FOR FORGERY. FROM THENCE,SAILING HASTILY THROUGH THE CYCLADES, AND TAKING THE SHORTEST COURSE, HEOVERTOOK GERMANICUS AT RHODES, BUT WAS THERE DRIVEN BY ASUDDEN TEMPEST UPON THE ROCKS; AND GERMANICUS, WHO WAS NOTIGNORANT WITH WHAT MALIGNITY AND INVECTIVES HE WAS PURSUED, YET ACTED WITH SOMUCH HUMANITY, THAT, WHEN HE MIGHT HAVE LEFT HIM TO PERISH, AND HAVE REFERREDTO CASUALTY THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS ENEMY, HE DISPATCHED GALLEYS, TO RESCUE HIMFROM THE WRECK. THIS GENEROUS KINDNESS, HOWEVER, ASSWAGED NOT THE ANIMOSITY OF PISO; SCARCE COULD HE BROOK A DAY’S DELAY WITH GERMANICUS, BUT LEFT HIM IN HASTE TO ARRIVE IN SYRIA BEFOREHIM. NOR WAS HE SOONER THERE, AND FOUND HIMSELF AMONGST THE LEGIONS, THAN HEBEGAN TO COURT THE COMMON MEN BY BOUNTIES AND CARESSES, TO ASSIST THEM WITH HISCOUNTENANCE AND CREDIT, TO FORM FACTIONS, TO REMOVE ALL THE ANCIENT CENTURIONS,AND EVERY TRIBUNE OF REMARKABLE DISCIPLINE AND SEVERITY, AND, IN THEIR PLACES,TO PUT DEPENDENTS OF HIS OWN, OR MEN RECOMMENDED ONLY BY THEIR CRIMES. HEPERMITTED SLOTH IN THE CAMP, LICENTIOUSNESS IN THE TOWNS, A RAMBLING ANDDISORDERLY SOLDIERY, AND CARRIED THE CORRUPTION SO HIGH, THAT IN THE DISCOURSESOF THE HERD, HE WAS STILED FATHER OF THE LEGIONS. NOR DID PLANCINA RESTRAIN HERSELF TO A CONDUCT SEEMLY IN HER SEX,BUT FREQUENTED THE EXERCISES OF THE CAVALRY, AND ATTENDED THE DECURSIONS OF THECOHORTS, EVERY WHERE IN WEIGHINGAGAINST AGRIPPINA, EVERY WHEREAGAINST GERMANICUS; AND SOME, EVEN OF THE MOST DESERVINGSOLDIERS, BECAME PROMPT TO BASE OBEDIENCE, FROM A RUMOUR WHISPERED ABROAD,“THAT ALL THIS WAS NOT UNACCEPTABLE TO TIBERIUS. ”

THESE DOINGS WERE ALL KNOWN TO GERMANICUS; BUT HIS MORE INSTANT CARE WAS, TO VISIT ARMENIA, AN INCONSTANT AND RESTLESSNATION FROM THE BEGINNING, FROM THE GENIUS OF THE PEOPLE, AS WELL AS FROM THESITUATION OF THEIR COUNTRY, WHICH, BORDERING WITH A LARGE FRONTIER ON OURPROVINCES, AND STRETCHING THENCE QUITE TO MEDIA, IS INCLOSED BETWEEN THE TWOGREAT EMPIRES, AND OFTEN AT VARIANCE WITH THEM; WITH THE ROMANS THROUGHANTIPATHY AND HATRED, WITH THE PARTHIANS THROUGH COMPETITION AND ENVY. AT THISTIME, AND EVER SINCE THE REMOVAL OF VONONES, THEY HAD NOKING; BUT THE AFFECTIONS OF THE NATIONS LEANED TO ZENO, SONOF POLEMON KING OF PONTUS, BECAUSE BY AN ATTACHMENT, FROMHIS INFANCY, TO THE FASHIONS AND CUSTOMS OF THE ARMENIANS, BY HUNTING,FEASTING, AND OTHER USAGES PRACTISED AND RENOWNED AMONGST THE BARBARIANS, HEHAD EQUALLY WON THE NOBLES AND PEOPLE. UPON HIS HEAD, THEREFORE, AT THE CITY OFARTAXATA, WITH THE APPROBATION OF THE NOBLES, IN A GREAT ASSEMBLY, GERMANICUS PUT THE REGAL DIADEM; AND THE ARMENIANS DOINGHOMAGE TO THEIR KING, SALUTED HIM, ARTAXIAS, A NAME WHICHFROM THAT OF THEIR CITY, THEY GAVE HIM. THE CAPPADOCIANS, AT THIS TIME REDUCEDINTO THE FORM OF A PROVINCE, RECEIVED FOR THEIR GOVERNOR, QUINTUSVERANIUS; AND, TO RAISE THEIR HOPES OF THEGENTLER DOMINION OF ROME, SEVERAL OF THE ROYAL TAXES WERE LESSENED. QUINTUS SERVEUS WAS SET OVER THE COMAGENIANS, THEN FIRSTSUBJECTED TO THE JURISDICTION OF A PRÆTOR.

FROM the affairs of the Allies, thus all successfullysettled, GERMANICUS reaped no pleasure, through theperverseness and pride of PISO, who was ordered to lead, byhimself or his son, part of the Legions into Armenia, but contemptuouslyneglected to do either. They, at last, met at Cyrrum, the winter quarters ofthe tenth Legion, whither each came with a prepared countenance; PISO to betray no fear, and GERMANICUS would not be thought to threaten. He was indeed, as I have observed, of ahumane and reconcileable spirit: but, officious friends, expert at inflaminganimosities, aggravated real offences, added fictitious, and with manifoldimputations charged PISO, PLANCINA, and their sons. To thisinterview GERMANICUS admitted a few intimates, and beganhis complaints in such words as dissembled resentment usually dictates. PISO replied with disdainful submissions, and they partedin open enmity. PISO, hereafter, came rarely to theTribunal of GERMANICUS; or, if he did, sate sternly there,and in manifest opposition. He likewise published his spite at a feast of theNabathean King’s, where golden Crowns of great weight were presented to GERMANICUS and AGRIPPINA; but to PISO and the rest, such as were light. “This banquet, hesaid, was madefor the son of a Roman Prince, not of a ParthianMonarch.” With these words, he cast away his crown, and uttered many invectivesagainst luxury. Sharp insults upon GERMANICUS ! yet he borethem.

AT THIS TIME ARRIVED AMBASSADORS FROM ARTABANUS KING OF THE PARTHIANS. HE SENT THEM “TO REPRESENT THESTATE OF THE MUTUAL LEAGUE AND FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO EMPIRES, HOW DESIROUSHE WAS TO RENEW IT; THAT, IN HONOUR TO GERMANICUS, HE WOULDCOME TO RECEIVE HIM AS FAR AS THE BANKS OF THE EUPHRATES; AND REQUESTED, IN THEMEAN TIME, THAT VONONES MIGHT NOT BE CONTINUED IN SYRIA,LEST, TAKING THE ADVANTAGE OF SO NEAR A NEIGHBOURHOOD, HE SHOULD, BYCORRESPONDING WITH THE GRANDEES OF PARTHIA, INGAGE THEM IN CIVIL DISSENTION ANDREBELLION.” THE ANSWER GIVEN BY GERMANICUS, AS FAR ASRELATED TO THE ALLIANCE OF THE ROMANS AND PARTHIANS, WAS CONCEIVED IN TERMS OFDIGNITY AND GRANDEUR; BUT, OF THE COMING OF THE KING, AND THE COURT ANDVENERATION INTENDED TO HIMSELF, HE SPOKE WITH BECOMING COMPLAISANCE ANDMODESTY. VONONES WAS REMOVED TO POMPEIOPOLIS, A MARITIMECITY OF CILICIA, A CONCESSION MADE, NOT TO THE REQUEST OF ARTABANUS ONLY, BUT IN CONTUMELY TO PISO, WITH WHOM VONONES WAS HIGH IN FAVOUR, FOR THE ASSIDUOUSCOURT AND MANY PRESENTS BY WHICH HE HAD WON PLANCINA.

IN the Consulship of MARCUS SILANUS and LUCIUS NORBANUS, GERMANICUS travelled to Ægypt, to viewthe famous Antiquities of thecountry; though for the motives of the journey, thecare and inspection of the province were publicly alledged: and, indeed, byopening the granaries, he mitigated the price of corn, and practised manythings grateful to the people; walking without guards, his feet bare, and hishabit the same with that of the Greeks; after the example of PUBLIUS SCIPIO, who, we are told, was constant in the samepractices in Sicily, even during the rage of the Punic War there. For these hisassumed manners and foreign habit, TIBERIUS blamed him in agentle stile, but censured him with great asperity for violating anestablishment of AUGUSTUS, and entring Alexandria withoutconsent of the Prince. For AUGUSTUS, amongst other secretsof power, had set apart and appropriated Ægypt, and restrained the Senators anddignified Roman Knights from going thither without licence; as he apprehendedthat Italy might be distressed with famine, by any who seized that province,the key to the Empire by sea and land, and defensible by a light band of menagainst potent armies.

GERMANICUS, not yet informed that his journey wascensured, sailed up the Nile, beginning at Canopus, one of its mouths, built bythe Spartans, as a monument to CANOPUS, a Pilot buriedthere, at the time when MENELAUS, returning to Greece, wasdriven to different seas and the Libyan continent. Hence he visited the nextmouth of the river sacred to HERCULES. Him the nativesaverr to have beenborn amongst them; that he was the most ancient ofthe name, and that all the rest, who, with equal virtues, followed his example,were, in honour, called after him. Next he visited the mighty antiquities ofancient Thebes, where, upon huge Obelisks yet remained Ægyptian Characters,describing its former opulency. One of the oldest Priests was ordered tointerpret them; he said they related “that it once contained seven hundredthousand fighting men; that with that army King RHAMSES hadconquered Libya, Ethiopia, the Medes and Persians, the Bactrians and Scythians;and to his Empire had added the territories of the Syrians, Armenians, andtheir neighbours the Cappadocians; a tract of countries reaching from the seaof Bithynia to that of Lycia.” Here also was read the assessment of Tributelaid on the several nations; what weight of silver and gold; what number ofhorses and arms; what ivory and perfumes, as gifts to the Temples; whatmeasures of grain; what quantities of all necessaries, were by each peoplepaid; revenues equally grand with those exacted by the domination of theParthians, or by the Power of the Romans.

GERMANICUS was intent upon seeing other wonders. Thechief were, the effigies of MEMNON, a Colossus of stone,yielding, when struck by the solar rays, a vocal found; the Pyramids rising,like mountains, amongst rolling and almost impassable waves of sand, proudmonuments of the emulation and opulency ofÆgyptian Kings; the artificial Lake, a receptacle ofthe overflowing Nile; and elsewhere abysses of such immense depth, that thosewho tried, could never fathom. Thence he proceeded to Elphantina and Syene, twoIslands, formerly frontiers of the Roman Empire, which is now widened to theRed-Sea.

WHILST GERMANICUS spent this summer in severalprovinces, DRUSUS was sowing feuds amongst the Germans, andthence reaped no light renown; and, as the power of MAROBODUUS was already broken, he engaged them to persist andcomplete his ruin. Amongst the Gotones was a young man of quality, his name CATUALDA, a fugitive long since from the violence of MAROBODUUS, but now, in his distress, resolved on revenge.Hence, with a stout band, he entered the borders of the Marcomannians, and,corrupting their chiefs into his alliance, stormed the regal palace, and thecastle situate near it. In the pillage were found the ancient stores of preyaccumulated by the Suevians, as also many victuallers and traders from ourprovinces; men who were drawn hither from their several homes, first byprivilege of traffic, then retained by a passion to multiply gain, and at last,through utter oblivion of their own country, fixed, like natives, in a hostilesoil.

TO MAROBODUUS, on every side forsaken, no other refugeremained but the mercy of CÆSAR. He therefore passed theDanube where it washes the province of Norica, and wrote to TIBERIUS, not however in thelanguage of a fugitive or supplicant, but with a spirit suitable to his lategrandeur; “that many nations invited him to them, as a King once so glorious;but he preferred to all the friendship or Rome.” The Emperor answered, “that inItaly he should have a safe and honourable retreat, and, when his affairsrequired his presence, the same security to return.” But to the Senate hedeclared, “that never had PHILIP of Macedon been soterrible to the Athenians; nor PYRRHUS, nor ANTIOCHUS to the Roman people.” The speech is extant: in it hemagnifies “the greatness of the man, the fierceness and bravery of the nationshis subjects; the alarming nearness of such an enemy to Italy, and his ownartful measures to destroy him.” MAROBODUUS was kept atRavenna, for a check and terror to the Suevians; as if, when at any time theygrew turbulent, he were there in readiness to recover their subjection. Yet ineighteen years he left not Italy, but grew old in exile there; his renown toobecame eminently diminished. Such was the price which he paid for anoverpassionate love of life. The same sate had CATUALDA, and no other sanctuary; he was soon after expulsed by the forces of theHermundurians, led by VIBILIUS, and being received underthe Roman protection, was conveyed to Forum Julium, a Colony in Narbon Gaul.The Barbarians, their followers, lest, had they been mixed with the provinces,they might have disturbed their present quiet, wereplaced beyond the Danube, between the rivers Marus and Cusus, and for theirKing had assigned them VANNIUS, by nation a Quadian.

AS soon as it was known at Rome, that ARTAXIAS was by GERMANICUS given to theArmenians for their King, the fathers decreed to him and DRUSUS the lesser Triumph. Triumphal arches were likewiseerected, on each side the Temple of MARS the Avenger, supporting the statues of these two CÆSARS; and for TIBERIUS, he was morejoyful to have established peace by policy, than if by battles and victories hehad ended the war. He therefore also assailed by the ways of craft RHESCUPORIS a King of Thrace. That whole nation had beensubject to RHEMETALCES; but, upon his death, one moiety wasby AUGUSTUS granted to RHESCUPORIS hisbrother, and one to COTYS his son. In this partition, thevales, cities, and territories bounding upon Greece, fell to COTYS; to RHESCUPORIS the wilds, the hills,and the parts exposed to a hostile neighbourhood. The two Kings were likewisedissonant in their genius, the former mild and agreeable; the latter cruel,rapacious, and impatient of equality. Yet, at first they lived in hollowfriendship, but, in a while, RHESCUPORIS began to breakbounds, to seize for himself the portions of COTYS, and,where he met resistance, to exercise violence; cautiously, it is true, and bydegrees, in the life of AUGUSTUS, to whose grant they owed both their Kingdoms and, ifhis authority had been despised, his vengeance was dreaded. But, upon thechange of Emperors, he poured in bands of robbers, demolished forts, and thussought to provoke war.

TIBERIUS was about no consideration of state so anxious,as that things once settled should never after be molested. He instantlydispatched a Centurion to the two Kings, to forbid their proceeding to adecision by arms; and COTYS forthwith dismissed the forceshe had raised. RHESCUPORIS feigned submission, and desiredan interview, “for that by treaty, he said, they might adjust all theirdifferences:” and, upon the time, the place, and even upon the conditions, theyquickly agreed, while one through easiness, one through fraud, yielded andaccepted every proposition. RHESCUPORIS, for a sanction, ashe pretended, to the league, added a banquet, and the festivity and drinkingwas prolonged till midnight, when COTYS, warm with wine andfeasting, and void of circumspection, was suddenly loaded with chains,deprecating in vain the brutal treachery, “by the inviolable rights of Kings,by the common Gods of their family, by that very banquet of sacred pledge ofconcord and hospitality.” RHESCUPORIS, having now seizedall Thrace, wrote to TIBERIUS, “that bloody snares werecontrived for him, but he had anticipated the contriver;” and, pretending a waragainst the Basternæans and Scythians,fortified himself with new forces, horse andfoot.

HE had a soft answer, “that if he had practised noguile, he might securely trust to his innocence; but, neither could he himselfnor the Senate, without hearing the cause, distinguish between justice andviolence: that therefore, delivering up COTYS, he shouldcome, and upon him effectually transfer the odium of the crime.” This letter LATINIUS PANDUS, Proprætor of Mesia, transmitted to Thrace,by the soldiers sent to receive COTYS. RHESCUPORIS, wavering long between fear and rage, determined at last rather to be guilty ofa finished than an imperfect villainy: he caused COTYS tobe murdered, and belied his death, as if by his own hands it had been procuredNeither yet did TIBERIUS change his favourite course ofdissembling, but, upon the death of PANDUS, whom RHESCUPORIS alledged to have been his enemy, preferred tothe Government of Mesia POMPONIUS FLACCUS, an ancientofficer, one in close friendship with the King, and by it more qualified tobetray him; hence chiefly he was preferred.

FLACCUS passed into Thrace, and, though he found himfull of hesitation, and revolving with great dismay upon the crying horror ofhis own wickedness, yet, by mighty promises, prevailed upon him to enter theRoman barrier. Here the King, on pretence of solemnity and honour, wassurrounded with a strong party, and a crowd of officers, who pressedhim by earnest exhortations, and many arguments, andthe further they travelled, the more apparent to him was his confinement; sothat at last, convinced of the necessity of going, he was by them haled toRome. He was accused before the Senate by the wife of COTYS, and condemned to exile far from his Kingdom. Thrace wasdivided between RHEMETALCES his son, who, it was manifest,had opposed all his father’s outrageous measures; and the sons of COTYS. These were minors, and placed with their Kingdomunder the administration of TREBELLIENUS RUFUS, formerlyPrætor, after the example of our Ancestors, who sent MARCUSLEPIDUS into Ægypt, in quality of guardian to the children of PTOLEMY. RHESCUPORIS was transported to Alexandria, andthere slain, attempting flight, or falsly charged with it.

AT the same time, VONONES, who hadbeen removed, as I have above related, into Cilicia, corrupted his keepers, andendeavoured to escape to Armenia, thence to the Albanians and Heniochians, andthen to his kinsman the King of Scythia. Thus pretending to hunt, and avoidingthe maritime coasts, he gained the devious recesses of the forests; and then,on a sudden, rode full speed to the River Pyramus. But, the country-men,apprized of the King’s flight, had broken the bridges; neither was the streamto be forded. Upon the banks therefore of the river, he was by VIBIUS FRONTO, General of horse, put in bonds, andpresently after, by REMMIUS, aresumed Veteran, lately his keeper, run through, in affected wrath, with asword. Hence arose the stronger belief that, from consciousness of fraud, anddread of discovery, VONONES was slain.

GERMANICUS returning from Ægypt, learned that all hisorders left with the Legions, and the Eastern cities, were either intirelyabolished, or contrary regulations established; a ground for his severeresentment and reproaches upon PISO. Nor less keen were theefforts and machinations of PISO against GERMANICUS. Yet PISO afterwards determinedto leave Syria, but was detained by the following illness of GERMANICUS. Again, when he heard of his recovery, and perceivedthat vows were paid for his restoration, the Lictors, by his command, broke thesolemnity, drove away the victims, already at the altars, overturned theapparatus of the sacrifice, and scattered the people of Antioch employed incelebrating the festival. He then departed to Seleucia, waiting the event ofthe malady, which had again assaulted GERMANICUS. His ownpersuasion too, that poyson was given him by PISO, heightened the cruel vehemence of the disease. Indeed, upon the floors andwalls were found fragments of human bodies, the spoils of the grave, withcharms and incantations, and the name of GERMANICUS gravedon sheets of lead, carcasses half burnt, besmeared with gore, and otherwitchcrafts, by which souls are thought doomed to the infernal gods. Besides,there were certainpersons, charged as creatures of PISO, purposely sent and employed to watch the progress andefforts of the disease.

THESE things filled GERMANICUS withapprehensions great as his resentment. “If his doors, he said, were besieged,if under the eyes of his enemies he must render up his spirit, what was to beexpected to his unhappy wife, what to his infant children? The progress ofpoyson was thought too slow. PISO was impatient, and urgingwith eagerness to command alone the Legions, to possess alone the province: but GERMANICUS was not sunk to such lowness and impotence, thatthe price of his murder should remain with the murderer:” and by a Letter to PISO, he renounced his friendship. Some add, that hecommanded him to depart the province. Nor did PISO tarrylonger, but took ship, yet checked her sailing, in order to return with themore quickness, should the death of GERMANICUS the whileleave the Government of Syria vacant.

GERMANICUS, after a small revival, drooping again, whenhis end approached, spoke on this wise to his attending friends. “Were I toyield to the destiny of nature, Just, even then, were my complaints against theGods, for hurrying me from my parents, my children, and my country, by a hastydeath, in the prime of life. Now, shortened in my course by the malignity of PISO, and his wife, to your breasts I commit my lastprayers.Tell my father, tell my brother, with what violentpersecutions afflicted, with what mortal snares circumvented, I end a mostmiserable life by death of all others the worst. All they whose hopes in myfortune, all they whose kindred blood, and even they whose envy, possessed themwith impressions about me whilst living, shall bewail me dead, that once greatin glory, and surviveing so many wars, I fell at last by the dark devices of awoman. To you place will be left to complain in the Senate, place to invoke theaid and vengeance of the Laws. To commemorate the dead with slothful wailings,is not the principal office of friends: They are to remember his dying wishes,to fulfil his last desires. Even strangers will lament GERMANICUS. You are my friends; if you loved me rather than myfortune, you will vindicate your friendship. Shew the people of Rome my wife,her who is the grand-daughter of AUGUSTUS, and enumerate tothem our offspring, even six children. Their compassion will surely attend youwho accuse; and the accused, if they pretend clandestine warrants of iniquity,will not be believed; if believed, not pardoned.” His friends, as a pledge oftheir fidelity, touching the hand of the dying Prince, swore that they wouldforego their lives sooner than their revenge. Then turning to his wife, hebesought her, “That in tenderness to his memory, in tenderness to their commonchildren, shewould banish her haughty spirit, yield to her hostilefortune; nor, upon her return to Rome, by an impotent competition for ruleing,irritate those who were masters of rule.” So much openly, and more in secret,whence he was believed to have warned her of guile and danger from TIBERIUS. Soon after he expired, to the heavy sorrow of theprovince, and of all the neighbouring countries; insomuch that remote nationsand foreign Kings were mourners: such had been his complacency to ourconfederates; such his humanity to his enemies! Alike venerable he was, whetheryou saw him, or heard him; and without ever departing from the grave port anddignity of his sublime rank, he yet lived destitute of arrogance, and untouchedby envy.

THE funeral, which was performed without exteriour pompor a procession of images, drew its solemnity from the loud praises and amiablememory of his virtues. There were those who, from the loveliness of his person,his age, his manner of dying, and even from the proximity of places where bothdeparted, compared him, in the circumstances of his fate, to the Great ALEXANDER; “each of a graceful person, each of illustriousdescent; in years neither much exceeding thirty; both victims to the malice andmachinations of their own people, in the midst of foreign nations; but GERMANICUS, gentle towards his friends, his pleasuresmoderate, confined to one wife, all his children by one bed;nor less a warriour, though not so rash, howeverhindered from a final reduction of Germany, broken by him in so many victories,and ready for the yoke. So that had he been sole arbiter of things, had heacted with the Sovereignty and title of Royalty, he had easier overtaken him inthe glory of conquests, as he surpassed him in clemency, in moderation, and inother virtues.” His body, before its commitment to the pile, was exhibitednaked in the Forum of Antioch, the place where the pile was erected. Whether it bore the marks of poyson,remained undecided: for people, as they were divided in their affections, asthey pitied GERMANICUS, and presumed the guilt of PISO, or were partial to him, gave opposite accounts.

IT was next debated amongst the legates of the Legions,and the other Senators there, to whom should be committed the administration ofSyria: and, after the faint efforts of others, it was long disputed between VIBIUS MARSUS and CNEIUS SENTIUS.MARSUS at last yielded to SENTIUS, the older man, andthe more vehement competitor. By him one MARTINA, infamousin that province for practices in poisoning, and a close confident of PLANCINA, was sent to Rome, at the suit of VITELLIUS, VERANIUS, and others, who were preparing criminalarticles against PISO and PLANCINA, asagainst persons evidently guilty.

AGRIPPINA, though overwhelmed with sorrow, and her bodyindisposed, yet impatientof all delays to her revenge, imbarked with the ashesof GERMANICUS, and her children, attended with universalcommiseration: “That a Lady, in quality a Princess, wont to be beheld in herlate splendid wedlock with applauses and adorations, was now seen bearing inher bosom her husband’s funeral urn, uncertain of vengeance for him, andfearful for herself, unfortunate in her fruitfulness, and from so many childrenobnoxious to so many blows of fortune.” PISO, the while,was overtaken at the Isle of Cous by a message, “that GERMANICUS was deceased,” and received it intemperately, slewvictims and repaired with thanksgiving to the Temples. Yet, however immoderateand undisguised was his joy, more arrogant and insulting proved that of PLANCINA, who immediately threw off her mourning, which forthe death of a sister she wore, and assumed a dress adapted to gaiety andgladness.

ABOUT him flocked the Centurions with officiousrepresentations, “That upon him particularly were bent the affections and zealof the Legions, and he should proceed to resume the province, at firstinjuriously taken from him, and now destitute of a Governor.” As he thereforeconsulted what he had best pursue, his son MARCUS PISO advised “a speedy journey to Rome. Hitherto, he said, nothing past expiation,was committed; neither were impotent suspicions to be dreaded; nor the idleblazonings of fame.His variance and contention with GERMANICUS was, perhaps, subject to popular hate and aversion,but to no prosecution or penalty; and, by bereaving him of the province, hisenemies were gratified. But if he returned thither, as SENTIUS would certainly oppose him with arms, a civil war wouldthence be actually begun. Neither would the Centurions and soldiers persist inhis party, men with whom the recent memory of their late Commander, and aninveterate love to the Cæsars in general, were still prevalent.”

DOMITIUS CELER, one in intimate credit with PISO, argued on the contrary, “That the present event mustby all means be improved; it was PISO, and not SENTIUS, who had commission to govern Syria; upon him wereconferred the jurisdiction of Prætor, and the badges of Magistracy, and withhim the Legions were intrusted. So that if acts of hostility were by hisopponents attempted, with how much better warrant could he avow assuming armsin his own right and defence, who was thus vested with the authority ofGeneral, and acted under special orders from the Emperor. Rumours too were tobe neglected, and left to perish with time. In truth, to the sallies andviolence of recent hate, the innocent were often unequal. But were he oncepossessed of the Army, and had well augmented his forces, many things, not tobe foreseen, would fromfortune derive success. Are we then preposterouslyhastening to arrive at Rome with the ashes of GERMANICUS, that you may there fall, unheard and undefended, a victim to the wailings of AGRIPPINA, a prey to the passionate populace governed bythe first impressions of rumour? LIVIA, it is true, is yourconfederate, TIBERIUS is your friend; but both secretly:and indeed none will more pompously bewail the violent fate of GERMANICUS, than such as do most sincerely rejoice for it.”

PISO, of himself prompt to violent pursuits, was with nogreat labour persuaded into this opinion, and, in a Letter transmitted to TIBERIUS, accused GERMANICUS “of luxuryand pride; that for himself, he had been expulsed, to leave room for dangerousdesigns against the State, and now resumed, with his former faith and loyalty,the care of the Army.” In the mean time he put DOMITIUS onboard a galley, and ordered him to avoid appearing upon the Coasts or amongstthe Isles, but, through the main sea, to sail to Syria. The deserters, who fromall quarters were flocking to him in crowds, he formed into companies, andarmed all the retainers to the Camp; then sailing over to the continent,intercepted a regiment of recruits, upon their march into Syria, and wrote tothe small Kings of Cilicia to assist him with present succours. Nor was theyounger PISO slow in prosecuting all themeasures of war, though to adventure a war had beenagainst his sentiments and advice.

AS they coasted Lycia and Pamphylia, they encounteredthe ships which carried AGRIPPINA, with hostile spirits oneach side, and each at first prepared for combat; but as equal dread of oneanother possessed both, they proceeded not further than mutual contumelies. VIBIUS MARSUS particularly summoned PISO, as a criminal, to Rome, there to make his defence. Heanswered, with derision, “That when the Prætor, who was to sit upon poysonings,had assigned a day to the accusers and the accused, he would attend.” DOMITIUS, the while, landing at Laodicea, a city of Syria,would have proceeded to the winter-quarters of the sixth Legion, which hebelieved to be the most prone to engage in novel attempts, but was prevented by PACUVIUS, its commander. SENTIUS represented this by Letter to PISO, and warned him, “at hisperil to infect the Camp by ministers of corruption, or to assail the provinceby war,” and drew into a body such as he knew loved GERMANICUS, or such as were averse to his foes. Upon them heinculcated with much ardour, that PISO was with open armsattacking the majesty of the Prince, and invading the Roman state; and thenmarched at the head of a puissant body, equipped for battle, and resolute toengage.

NEITHER failed PISO, though hisenterprizes had thus far miscarried, to apply the securestremedies to his present perplexities, and thereforeseized a Castle of Cilicia strongly fortified, its name Celendris. For, to theAuxiliary Cilicians, sent him by the petty Kings, he had joined his body ofdeserters, as also the recruits lately intercepted, with all his own and PLANCINA’S slaves; and thus in number and bulk, had of thewhole composed a Legion. To them he thus harangued; “I, who am the Lieutenantof CÆSAR, am yet violently excluded from the province whichto me CÆSAR has committed; not excluded by the Legions,(for by their invitation I am arrived) but by SENTIUS, whothus disguises, under feigned crimes against me, his own animosity, andpersonal hate. But with confidence you may stand in battle, where the oppositearmy, upon the sight of PISO, a Commander lately bythemselves stiled their Father, will certainly refuse tofight; they know too, that were right to decide it, I am the stronger; and ofno mean puissance in a trial at arms.” He then arrayed his men without thefortifications, on a hill steep and craggy, for all the rest was begirt by thesea. Against them stood the Veterans regularly embattled, and supported with abody of reserve; so that here appeared the force of men, there only the terrorand stubbornness of situation. On PISO’S side was nospirit, no hope, nor even weapons, save those of rustics, for instant necessityhastily acquired. As soon as they came to blows, the issue was no longerdoubtful than while the Roman Cohorts struggled upthe steep. The Cilicians then fled, and shut themselves up in the Castle.

PISO having the while attempted in vain to storm thefleet, which rode at a small distance, as soon as he returned, presentedhimself upon the walls; where, by a succession of passionate complaints andintreaties, now bemoaning in agonies the bitterness of his lot, then callingand cajoling every particular soldier by his name, and by rewards tempting all,he laboured to excite a sedition; and thus much he had already effected, thatthe Eagle-bearer of the sixth Legion revolted to him with his Eagle. Thisalarmed SENTIUS, and instantly he commanded the cornets andtrumpets to sound, a mount to be raised, the ladders placed, and the bravestmen to mount, and others to pour from the Engines volleys of darts, and stones,and flaming torches. The obstinacy of PISO was at lastvanquished; and he desired, “that, upon delivering his arms, he might remain inthe Castle till the Emperor’s pleasure, to whom he would commit the Governmentof Syria, were known;” conditions which were not accepted, nor was oughtgranted him, save ships, and a passport to Rome.

AFTER the illness of GERMANICUS became noised abroad there, and all its circumstances, like rumours magnifiedby distance, were related with many aggravations, sadness seized the people.They burned with indignation, andeven poured out in plaints the anguish of theirsouls: “For this, they said, he had been banished to the extremities of theEmpire, for this the province of Syria was committed to PISO, and these the fruits of LIVIA’S mysterious conferences with PLANCINA. Truly had our fathersspoken concerning his father DRUSUS, that the possessors ofrule beheld with an evil eye the popular spirit of their sons; nor for aughtelse were they sacrificed, but for their equal treatment of the Roman people,and studying to restore the popular state.” These lamentations of the populacewere, upon the tidings of his death, so inflamed, that, without staying for anEdict from the Magistrates, without a Decree of Senate, they by general consentassumed a vacation; the public Courts were deserted, private houses shut up,prevalent every-where were the symptoms of woe, heavy groans, dismal silence;the whole a scene of real sorrow, and nothing devised for form or shew; and,though they forbore not to bear the exterior marks and habiliments of mourning,in their souls they mourned still deeper. Accidentally some Merchants fromSyria, who had left GERMANICUS still alive, brought morejoyful news of his condition. These were instantly believed, and instantlyproclaimed: each, as fast as they met, informed others, who forthwith conveyedtheir light information with improvements, and accumulated joy, to more; allflew with exultation through the city, and, to pay their thanksand vows, burst open the Temple doors. The night tooheightened their credulity, and affirmation was bolder in the dark. Nor did TIBERIUS restrain the course of these fictions, but leftthem to vanish with time. Hence with more bitterness they afterwards grievedfor him, as if anew snatched from them.

HONOURS were invented and decreed to GERMANICUS, various as the affections and genius of theparticular Senators who proposed them; “that his name should be sung in theSalian Hymns; Curule Chairs placed for him amongst the Priests of AUGUSTUS, and over these Chairs Oaken Crowns hung; hisStatue in Ivory precede in the Circensian Games; none but one of the Julianrace be, in the room of GERMANICUS, created Flamen orAugur:” Triumphal arches were added, one at Rome, one upon the banks of theRhine, one upon mount Amanus in Syria, with inscriptions of his exploits, and atestimony subjoined, “that he died for the Commonwealth;” a Sepulchre atAntioch, where his corps was burnt; a tribunal at Epidaphne, the place where heended his life. The multitude of statues, the many places where divine honourswere appointed to be paid him, would not be easily recounted. They would havealso decreed him, as to one of the masters of Eloquence, a golden shield,signal in bulk as in metal; but TIBERIUS offered “todedicate one himself, such as was usual and of a like size with others; forthat Eloquence wasnot measured by fortune; and it was sufficient glory,if he were ranked with ancient Writers.” The Battalion called after the name ofthe JUNII, was now, by the Equestrian order, entitled theBattalion of GERMANICUS, and a rule made, that on everyfifteenth of July, these troops should follow, as their standard, the effigiesof GERMANICUS. Of these honours many continue, some wereinstantly omitted, or by time are utterly obliterated.

IN THE HEIGHT OF THIS PUBLIC SORROW, LIVIA, SISTER TO GERMANICUS, AND MARRIED TO DRUSUS, WAS DELIVERED OF MALE TWINS; AN EVENT EVEN IN MIDDLINGFAMILIES, RARE AND ACCEPTABLE, AND TO TIBERIUS SUCH MIGHTYMATTER OF JOY, THAT HE COULD NOT REFRAIN BOASTING TO THE FATHERS, “THAT TO NOROMAN OF THE SAME EMINENCE, BEFORE HIM, WERE EVER TWO CHILDREN BORN AT A BIRTH.FOR TO HIS OWN GLORY HE TURNED ALL THINGS, EVEN THINGS FORTUITOUS. BUT TO THEPEOPLE, AT SUCH A SAD CONJUNCTURE, IT BROUGHT FRESH ANGUISH, AS THEY FEAREDTHAT THE FAMILY OF DRUSUS, THUS INCREASED, WOULD PRESSHEAVY UPON THAT OF GERMANICUS.

THE same year the lubricity of women was by the Senaterestrained with severe laws; and it was provided, “that no woman should becomevenal, if her father, grandfather or husband, were Roman Knights.” For VISTILIA, a Lady born of a Prætorian family, had, beforethe Ædiles, published herself a prostitute, upon a custom allowed by ourancestors, who thought that prostitutes were, by thus avowing their infamy,sufficiently punished. TITIDIUSLABEO too was questioned, that in the manifest guilt of his wife, he hadneglected the punishment prescribed by the law; but he alledged, that the sixtydays allowed for consultation, were not elapsed; and it was deemed sufficientto proceed against VISTILIA, who was banished to the Isleof Seriphos. Measures were also taken for exterminating the solemnities of theJews and Ægyptians; and by decree of Senate four thousand descendents offranchised slaves, all tainted with that superstition, but of proper strengthand age, were to be transported to Sardinia, to restrain the Sardinian robbers;and if, through the malignity of the climate, they perished, despicable wouldbe the loss. The rest were doomed to depart Italy, unless by a stated day theyrenounced their profane rites.

AFTER this, TIBERIUS represented,that, to supply the place of OCCIA, who had presided sevenand fifty years with the highest sanctimony over the Vestals, another Virginwas to be chosen, and thanked FONTEIUS AGRIPPA, and ASINIUS POLLIO, that, by offering their daughters, theycontended in good offices towards the Commonwealth. POLLIO’S daughter was preferred, for nothing else but that hermother had ever continued in the same wedlock; for AGRIPPA, by a divorce, had impaired the credit of his house. Upon her who was postponed, TIBERIUS, in consolation, bestowed for her fortune athousand great sesterces. [*]

As the people murmured at the severe dearth of corn, he settled grain at aprice certain to the buyer, and undertook to pay fourteen pence a measure tothe seller. Neither yet would he accept the name of Father ofhis Country, a title offered him before, and for these bounties, nowagain; nay, he sharply rebuked such as stiled these provisions of his, divine occupations, and him, Lord. Hence freedom of speech became cramped and insecure under such a Prince, onewho dreaded liberty, and abhorred flattery.

I find in the Writers of those times, some of them Senators, that in theSenate were read Letters from ADGANDESTRIUS, Prince of theCattians, undertaking to dispatch ARMINIUS, if in order toit poison were sent him; and an answer returned, “that not by frauds and blowsin the dark, but armed, and in the face of the sun, the Roman people tookvengeance on their foes.” In this TIBERIUS gained equalglory with our ancient Captains, who rejected and disclosed a plot to poisonKing PYRRHUS. ARMINIUS, however, who, upon the departure ofthe Romans, and expulsion of MAROBODUUS, aimed at Royalty,became thence engaged in a struggle against the Liberty of his country, and, indefence of their Liberty, his country-men took arms against him: So that, whilewith various fortune he contended with them, he fell by the treachery of hisown kindred. The deliverer of Germany without doubt he was, one who assailedthe Romanpower, not like other Kings and Leaders, in its firstelements, but in its highest pride and elevation; one sometimes beaten inbattle, but never conquered in war. Thirty-seven years he lived, twelve hecommanded; and, amongst these barbarous nations, his memory is still celebratedin their songs, though his name be unknown in the Annals of the Greeks, whoonly admire their own national exploits and renown; nor, even amongst theRomans, does this great Captain bear much distinction, while, overlookinginstances of modern prowess and glory, we only delight to magnify men and featsof old.

BOOK III.

The SUMMARY.

AGRIPPINA returns to Italy with the ashes and children of GERMANICUS. The passionate Zeal of the people towards her,and them, and his memory. His funeral; with the behaviour of TIBERIUS and LIVIA, on that occasion. DRUSUS returns to Illyricum, as does PISO to Rome, and is tried as the poisoner of GERMANICUS, despairs of acquittal,and kills himself. TACFARINAS renewsthe war in Africa, and is repressed by APRONIUS the Proconsul there. The trial and condemnationof LEPIDA ÆMYLIA, for adultery andpoisoning. The law Papia Poppæa, long abused, nowrestrained. Fresh commotions in Africa, by TACFARINAS. JUNIUS BLÆSUS sent to oppose him. CertainRoman Knights condemned upon the Law of Majesty violated. Revolts in bothGauls, conducted by JULIUS SACROVIR, and JULIUS FLORUS; the issue tragicalto the revolters, and their chiefs. C. LUTORIUS, a Roman Knight, condemned upon the Law ofMajesty, and executed in prison. The cure of luxury attempted, and dropped. DRUSUS made partner with his fatherin the power Tribunitial. The Priest of JUPITER, not allowed to ballot for a Province. The GreekSanctuaries, their claims, examined and reformed. C. SILANUS condemned for bribery and treason. JUNIUS BLÆSUS routs TACFARINAS, and takes his brotherprisoner. JUNIA, the illustrioussister of the famous MARCUS BRUTUS, and widow of CASSIUS, her death andfuneral.

AGRIPPINA, not withstanding the roughness ofwinter, pursuing without intermission her boisterous voyage, put in at theIsland Corcyra, situated over-against the coasts of Calabria. Here, to settleher spirit, she spent a few days, violent in her grief, and a stranger topatience. Her arrival being the while divulged, all the particular friends toher family, mostly men of the sword, many who had served under GERMANICUS, and even many strangers from the neighbouringtowns, some in officiousness towards the Emperor, more for company, crowded tothe City of Brundusium, the readiest port in her way, and the safest landing.As soon as the fleet appeared in the deep, instantly were filled, not the portalone and adjacent shores, but the walls and roofs, and as far as the eye wouldgo; filled with the sorrowing multitude. They were consulting one from one, howthey should receive her, landing, “whether with universal silence, or with somenote of acclamation.” Nor was it manifest which they would do, when the fleetsailed slowly in, not, as usual, with joyful sailors and chearful oars, but allthings impressed with the face of sadness. After she descended from the ship,accompanied with her two Infants, carrying in her bosom the melancholy Urn,with her eyes cast steddily down; equal and universal were the groans of thebeholders: nor could you distinguish relations from strangers, nor the wailingsof men from those of women,unless that the new-comers, who were recent in theirsallics of grief, exceeded AGRIPPINA’S attendants, weariedout with long lamentations.

TIBERIUS HAD DISPATCHED TWO PRÆTORIAN COHORTS, WITH DIRECTIONS,THAT THE MAGISTRATES OF CALABRIA, APULIA AND CAMPANIA, SHOULD PAY THEIR LASTOFFICES TO THE MEMORY OF HIS SON. UPON THE SHOULDERS THEREFORE OF THE TRIBUNESAND CENTURIONS HIS ASHES WERE BORNE; BEFORE WENT THE ENSIGNS, ROUGH ANDUNADORNED, WITH THE FASCES REVERSED. AS THEY PASSED THROUGH THE COLONIES, THEPOPULACE WERE IN BLACK, THE KNIGHTS IN PURPLE; AND EACH PLACE, ACCORDING TO ITSWEALTH, BURNT PRECIOUS RAYMENT, PERFUMES, AND WHATEVER ELSE IS USED IN FUNERALSOLEMNITIES. EVEN THEY WHOSE CITIES LAY REMOTE, ATTENDED. TO THE GODS OF THEDEAD, THEY SLEW VICTIMS, THEY ERECTED ALTARS, AND WITH TEARS AND UNITEDLAMENTATIONS, TESTIFIED THEIR COMMON SORROW. DRUSUS CAME ASFAR AS TERRACINA, WITH CLAUDIUS THE BROTHER OF GERMANICUS, AND THOSE OF HIS CHILDREN WHO HAD BEEN LEFT ATROME. THE CONSULS MARCUS VALERIUS AND MARCUSAURELIUS (JUST THEN ENTERED UPON THEIR OFFICE) THE SENATE, AND GREAT PARTOF THE PEOPLE, FILLED THE ROAD; A SCATTERED PROCESSION, EACH WALKING ANDWEEPING HIS OWN WAY. IN THIS MOURNING, FLATTERY HAD NO SHARE; FOR ALL KNEW HOWREAL WAS THE JOY, HOW HOLLOW THE GRIEF OF TIBERIUS FOR THEDEATH OF GERMANICUS.

TIBERIUS and LIVIA avoided appearingabroad. Public lamentation they thought below their grandeur; or, perhaps, theyapprehended that their countenances, examined by all eyes, might shew deceitfulhearts. That ANTONIA, mother to the deceased, bore any partin the Funeral, I do not find either in the Historians or in the City Journals,though besides AGRIPPINA, and DRUSUS, and CLAUDIUS, his other relations are likewise thererecorded by name; whether by sickness she was prevented; or, whether her soul,vanquished by sorrow, could not bear the representation of such a mightycalamity. I would rather believe her to have been constrained by TIBERIUS and LIVIA, who left not thepalace; and, affecting equal affliction with her, would have it seem, that, bythe example of the mother, the grandmother too and uncle were detained.

THE DAY WHEN HIS REMAINS WERE REPOSITED IN THE TOMB OF AUGUSTUS, VARIOUS WERE THE SYMPTOMS OF PUBLIC GRIEF; NOW ANAWFUL SILENCE, THEN AN UPROAR OF LAMENTATION, THE CITY IN EVERY QUARTER FULL OFPROCESSIONS, THE FIELD OF MARS IN A BLAZE OF TORCHES. HERE THE SOLDIERS UNDERARMS, THE MAGISTRATES WITHOUT THE INSIGNIA, THE PEOPLE BY THEIR TRIBES, ALLCRIED IN CONCERT, THAT “THE COMMONWEALTH WAS FALLEN, AND HENCEFORTH THERE WASNO REMAIN OF HOPE;” SO OPENLY AND BOLDLY, THAT YOU WOULD HAVE BELIEVED THEY HADFORGOT WHO BORE SWAY. BUT NOTHING PIERCED TIBERIUS MORETHAN THE ARDENT AFFECTIONS OF THE PEOPLE TOWARDS AGRIPPINA, WHILE THEY GAVE HER SUCH TITLES AS “THE ORNAMENT OFHER COUNTRY, THE ONLY BLOOD OF AUGUSTUS, THE SINGLEINSTANCE OF ANCIENT VIRTUE;” AND, WHILE APPLYING TO HEAVEN, THEY IMPLORED “THECONTINUANCE OF HER ISSUE, THAT THEY MIGHT SURVIVE THE PERSECUTING ANDMALIGNANT.”

THERE were those who missed the Pomp of a publicFuneral, and compared with this the superior honours and magnificence bestowedby AUGUSTUS on that of DRUSUS thefather of GERMANICUS; “that he himself had travelled, inthe sharpness of winter, as far as Pavia, and thence, continuing by the corps,had with it entered the city; round his head were placed the Images of the CLAUDII and JULII; he was mourned inthe Forum; his Encomium pronounced in the Rostra’s; all sorts of honours, suchas were the inventions of our ancestors, or the improvements of theirposterity, were heaped upon him. But to GERMANICUS weredenied the ordinary Solemnities, and such as were due to every distinguishedRoman. In a foreign country indeed, his corps, because of the long journey, wasburnt without pomp; but afterwards, it was but just to have supplied thescantiness of the first ceremony by the solemnity of the last. His brother methim but one day’s journey, his uncle not even at the gate. Where were thosegenerous observances of the ancients, the Effigies of the dead borne on a bed,Hymns composed inmemory of their virtue, with the Oblations of praisesand tears? Where, at least, were the ceremonies, and even outside ofsorrow?”

ALL this was known to TIBERIUS; and,to suppress the discourses of the populace, he published an Edict, “that manyillustrious Romans had died for the Commonwealth, but none so vehementlylamented; this, however, was to the glory of himself and of all men, if ameasure were observed. The same things which became private families and smallstates, became not Princes and an Imperial people. Fresh grief, indeed,required vent and ease by lamentation; but, it was now time to recover andfortify their minds. Thus the deified JULIUS, upon the lossof an only daughter; thus the deified AUGUSTUS, upon thehasty death of his grandsons, had both vanquished their sorrow. More ancientexamples were unnecessary, how often the Roman people sustained with constancythe slaughter of their Armies, the death of their Generals, and intiredestruction of their noblest families. Princes were mortal, the Commonwealthwas eternal. They should therefore resume their several vocations.” And,because the Megalensian Games were at hand, he added, “that they should evenapply to the usual festivities.”

THE vacation ended, public affairs were resumed; DRUSUS departed for the Army in Illyricum, and the minds ofall men were bent uponseeing vengeance done upon PISO. They repeated their resentments, that while he wandered over the delightfulcountries of Asia and Greece, he was stifling, by contumacious and deceitfuldelays, the evidences of his crimes; for it was bruited abroad, that MARTINA, she who was famous for poysonings, and sent, as Ihave above related, by CNEIUS SENTIUS towards Rome, wassuddenly dead at Brundusium; that poyson lay concealed in a knot of her hair,but upon her body were found no symptoms of self-murder.

PISO, sending forward his son to Rome, with instructionshow to soften the Emperor, proceeded himself to DRUSUS. Himhe hoped to find less rigid for the death of a brother, than favourable for theremoval of a rival. TIBERIUS, to make shew of a spiritperfectly unbiassed, received the young man graciously, and honoured him withthe presents usually bestowed on young Noblemen. The answer of DRUSUS to PISO was, “that if the currentrumours were true, he stood in the first place of grief and revenge; but hehoped they were false and chimerical, and that the death of GERMANICUS would be pernicious to none.” This he declared inpublic, and avoided all privacy. Nor was it doubted but the answer was dictatedby TIBERIUS, when a youth, otherwise easy and unwary,practised thus the wiles and cunning of age.

PISO having crossed the sea of Dalmatia, and left hisships at Ancona, took first the road ofPicenum, and then the Flaminian way, following theLegion which was going from Pannonia to Rome, and thence to garrison in Africa.This too became the subject of popular censure, that he officiously mixed withthe soldiers, and courted them in their march and quarters. He therefore, toavoid suspicion, or, because when men are in dread, their conduct wavers, didat Narni embark upon the Nar, and thence sailed into the Tiber. By landing atthe burying place of the Cæsars, he heightened the wrath of the populace.Besides, he and PLANCINA came ashore in open day, in theface of the city, who were crowding the banks, and proceeded with gaycountenances, he attended by a long band of Clients, she by a train of Ladies.There were yet other provocations to hatred, the situation of his house,proudly overlooking the Forum, and adorned and illuminated as for a festival,the banquet and rejoicings held in it, all as public as the place.

THE next day FULCINIUS TRIO arraigned PISO before the Consuls, but was opposed by VITELLIUS, VERANIUS, and others, who had accompanied GERMANICUS. They said, “that in this prosecution TRIO had no part; nor did they themselves act as accusers,but only gathered materials, and, as witnesses, produced the last injunctionsof GERMANICUS. ” TRIO dropped thataccusation, but got leave to call in question his former life. And now theEmperor was desired to undertake theTrial; a request which the accused did not at alloppose, dreading the inclinations of the People and Senate. “He knew TIBERIUS, on the contrary, resolute in despising popularrumours, and in guilt confederate with his mother; besides that truth andmisrepresentations were easiest distinguished by a single judge, but inassemblies odium and envy often prevailed.” TIBERIUS wasaware of the weight of the Trial, and with what reproaches he was assaulted.Admitting therefore a few confidents, he heard the charge of the accusers, asalso the apology of the accused, and left the cause intire to the Senate.

DRUSUS returned the while from Illyricum; and, thoughthe Senate had for the reduction of MAROBODUUS, and otherhis exploits the summer before, decreed him the Triumph of Ovation, he postponed the honour, and privately entered thecity. PISO, for his advocates, desired TITUSARRUNTIUS, FULCINIUS, ASINIUS GALLUS, ESERNINUS MARCELLUS, and SEXTUS POMPEIUS. But they all framed different excuses; andhe had, in their room, MARCUS LEPIDUS, LUCIUS PISO, and LIVENEIUS REGULUS. Now earnest were the expectations of allmen, “how great would prove the fidelity of the friends of GERMANICUS; what the assurance of the criminal, what thebehaviour of TIBERIUS, whether he would sufficientlysmother, or betray his sentiments.” He never had a more anxious part; neitherdid the people ever indulge themselvesin such secret murmurs against their Emperor, norharbour in silence severer suspicions.

WHEN the Senate met, TIBERIUS made aspeech, full of laboured moderation, “that PISO had beenhis father’s Lieutenant and friend, and lately appointed by himself, at thedirection of the Senate, Coadjutor to GERMANICUS, inadministering the affairs of the East. Whether he had there by contumacy andopposition exasperated the young Prince, and exulted over his death, orwickedly procured it, they were then to judge with minds unprejudiced. For, ifhe who was the Licutenant of my son, violated the limits of his commission,cast off obedience to his General, and even rejoiced at his decease, and at myaffliction; I will detest the man, I will banish him from my house, and, fordomestic injuries exert domestic revenge, not the revenge of an Emperor. Butfor you; if his guilt of any man’s death whatsoever, be discovered, shew yourjust vengeance, and by it satisfy yourselves, satisfy the children of GERMANICUS, and us his father, and grand-mother. Considertoo especially whether he viciated the discipline, and promoted sedition in theArmy, whether he sought to debauch the affections of the soldiers, and torecover the province by arms; or whether these allegations are not publishedfalsly and with aggravations by the accusers, with whose over-passionate zeal Iam justly offended. For, whither tended thestripping the corps, and exposing it to the eyes andexamination of the populace; with what view was it proclaimed, even to foreignnations, that his death was the effect of poison, if all this was stilldoubtful, and remains yet to be tried? It is true, I bewail my son, and shallever bewail him. But neither do I hinder the accused to do what in him lies tomanifest his innocence, even at the expence of GERMANICUS, if ought blameable was in him. From you I intreat the same impartiality; letnot the connexion of my sorrow with this cause, mislead you to take crimes forproved, because they are imputed. For PISO; if thetenderness of kinsmen, if the faith of friends, has furnished him with patrons,let them aid him in his peril, shew their utmost cloquence, and exert theirbest diligence. To the same pains, to the same firmness I exhort the accusers.Thus much, out of the common course, we will grant to the memory of GERMANICUS, that the inquest concerning his death, be heldrather here than in the Forum, in the Senate than in the common Tribunals. Inall the rest, we will descend to the ordinary methods. Let no man in this causeconsider DRUSUS’S tears; let none regard my sorrow, no morethan the probable fictions of calumny against us.”

TWO days were then appointed for maintaining the charge,six for preparing the defence, and three for making it. FULCINIUS began with things stale and impertinent, about theambition and rapine of PISO in his administration of Spain;things which, though proved, brought him under no penalty, if acquitted of thepresent charge; nor, though he had been cleared of former faults, could heescape the load of greater enormities. After him SERVEUS,VERANIUS and VITELLIUS, all with equal zeal, but VITELLIUS, with great Eloquence, urged, “That PISO, in hatred to GERMANICUS, andpassionate for innovations, had, by tolerating general licenciousness, and theoppression of the Allies, corrupted the common soldiers to that degree, that bythe most profligate he was stiled Father of the Legions. He had, on the contrary, been outrageous to the best men, above all to thefriends and companions of GERMANICUS, and, at last, bywitchcraft and poyson destroyed GERMANICUS himself; hencethe infernal charms and immolations practised by him and PLANCINA. He had then attacked the Commonwealth with open arms;and, before he could be brought to be tried, they were forced to fight anddefeat him.”

IN every article but one his defence was faltering. For,neither his dangerous intrigues in debauching the soldiery, nor his abandoningthe province to the most profligate and rapacious, nor even his insults to GERMANICUS, were to be denied. He seemed only to wipe offthe charge of poyson; a charge whichin truth was not sufficiently corroborated by theaccusers, since they had only to alledge, “that at an entertainment of GERMANICUS, PISO, while he sat above him, with his handspoysoned the meat.” It appeared absurd, that, amongst so many attending slavesbesides his own, in so great a presence, and under the eye of GERMANICUS, he would attempt it. He himself required that thewaiters might be racked, and offered to the rack his own domestics. But theJudges were implacable, from different motives, TIBERIUS for the war raised in the province; and the Senate could never be convincedthat the death of GERMANICUS was not the effect of fraud.Some moved for the Letters written to PISO from Rome, amotion opposed by TIBERIUS no less than by PISO. From without, at the same time, were heard the cries ofthe people, “that if he escaped the judgment of the Senate, they would withtheir own hands destroy him.” They had already dragged his Statues to the placefrom whence Malefactors were precipitated, and there had broken them; but bythe orders of TIBERIUS they were rescued and replaced. PISO was put into a litter and carried back by a Tribune ofa Prætorian Cohort; an attendance variously understood, whether that officerwas intended as a guard for his safety, or a minister of death.

PLANCINA was under equal public hatred, but had moresecret favour; hence it was doubted how far TIBERIUS durstproceed againsther. For herself; while her husband’s hopes were yetplausible, she professed that “she would accompany his fortune whatever itwere, and, if he fell, fall with him.” But when, by the secret sollicitationsof LIVIA, she had secured her own pardon, she began bydegrees to drop her husband, and to make a separate defence. After this fatalwarning, he doubted whether he should make any further efforts; but, by theadvice of his sons, fortifying his mind, he again entered the Senate. There hefound the prosecution renewed, suffered the declared indignation of thefathers, and saw all things cross and terrible; but nothing so much daunted himas to behold TIBERIUS, without mercy, without wrath, close,dark, unmoveable, and bent against every access of tenderness. When he wasbrought home, as if he were preparing for his further defence the next day, hewrote somewhat, which he sealed and delivered to his Freedman. He then washedand anointed, and took the usual care of his person. Late in the night, hiswife leaving the chamber, he ordered the door to be shut, and was found, atbreak of day, with his throat cut, his sword lying by him.

I remember to have heard from ancient men, that in the hands of PISO was frequently seen a bundle of writings, which he didnot expose, but which, as his friends constantly averred, “contained theLetters of TIBERIUS, and his cruel orders towards GERMANICUS; that he resolved to lay them before theFathers,and to charge the Emperor, but was deluded by thehollow promises of SEJANUS; and that neither did PISO die by his own hands, but by those of an express andprivate executioner.” I dare affirm neither; nor yet ought I to conceal therelations of such as still lived when I was a youth. TIBERIUS, with an assumed air of sadness, complained in theSenate, that PISO, by that sort of death, had aimed to loadhim with obloquy, and asked many questions, how he had passed his last day, howhis last night? The Freedman answered to most with prudence, to some inconfusion. The Emperor then recited the Letter sent him by PISO. It was conceived almost in these words; “Oppressed by acombination of my enemies, and the imputation of false crimes, since no placeis left here to truth and my innocence; to the immortal Gods I appeal, thattowards you, CÆSAR, I have lived with sincere faith, nortowards your mother with less reverence. For my sons, I implore her protectionand yours; my son CNEIUS had no share in my latemanagement, whatever it were, since, all the while, he abode at Rome. My son MARCUS dissuaded me from returning to Syria. Oh that, oldas I am, I had yielded to him, rather than he, young as he is, to me! Hence,more passionately, I pray, that, innocent as he is, he suffer not in thepunishment of my guilt. By a series of services for five and forty years, Ientreat you, by our former fellowship in the Consulship,by the memory of the deified AUGUSTUS, your father, by his friendship to me, by mine to you,I entreat you for the life and fortune of my unhappy son. It is the lastrequest which I shall ever make you.” Of PLANCINA he saidnothing.

TIBERIUS, upon this, cleared the young man of any crimeas to the Civil War; he alledged “the orders of his father, which a son couldnot disobey.” He likewise bewailed “that noble house, and even the grievous lotof PISO himself, however deserved.” For PLANCINA he pleaded with shame and guilt, alledgeing theimportunity of his mother, against whom more particularly the secret murmurs ofthe best people waxed bitter and poignant. “Was it then the tender part of agrand-mother to admit to her sight the murderess of her grandson, to beintimate with her, and to snatch her from the vengeance of the Senate? To GERMANICUS alone was denied what by the Laws was granted toevery Citizen. By VITELLIUS and VERANIUS, the cause of that Prince was mourned and pleaded; bythe Emperor and his mother, PLANCINA was defended andprotected. Henceforth she might pursue her infernal arts, so successfullytried, repeat her poisonings, and by her arts and poisons assail AGRIPPINA and her children, and, with the blood of that mostmiserable house, satiate the worthy grand-mother and uncle.” In this Mock-Trialtwo days were wasted; TIBERIUS, allthe while, animating the sons of PISO to defend their mother. When the pleaders and witnesseshad vigorously pushed the charge, and no reply was made, commiserationprevailed over hatred. The Consul AURELIUS COTTA was firstasked his opinion; for, when the Emperor collected the voices, the Magistrateslikewise voted. COTTA’S sentence was, “That the name of PISO should be razed from the Annals, part of his estateforfeited, part granted to his son CNEIUS, upon changingthat name; his son MARCUS should be divested of hisdignity, and, content with fifty thousand great sesterces, be banished for tenyears; and to PLANCINA, at the request of LIVIA, indemnity should be granted.”

MUCH OF THIS SENTENCE WAS ABATED BY THE EMPEROR, PARTICULARLYTHAT OF STRIKING PISO’S NAME OUT OF THE ANNALS, WHEN “THATOF MARC ANTHONY, WHO MADE WAR UPON HIS COUNTRY, THAT OF JULUS ANTONIUS, WHO HAD BY ADULTERY VIOLATED THE HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS, CONTINUED STILL THERE.” HE ALSO EXEMPTED MARCUS PISO FROM THE IGNOMINY OF DEGRADATION, AND LEFT HIMHIS WHOLE PATERNAL INHERITANCE; FOR, AS I HAVE ALREADY OFTEN OBSERVED, HE WASINCORRUPTIBLE BY ANY TEMPTATIONS OF MONEY, AND FROM THE SHAME OF HAVINGACQUITTED PLANCINA, RENDERED THEN MORE THAN USUALLY MILD.HE LIKEWISE WITHSTOOD THE MOTION OF VALERIUS MESSALINUS, “FOR ERECTING A GOLDEN STATUE IN THE TEMPLE OF MARS THE AVENGER,” AND THAT OF CÆCINA SEVERUS, “FOR FOUNDING AN ALTAR TO REVENGE.” SUCH MONUMENTS“AS THESE, HE ARGUED, WERE ONLY FIT TO BE RAISED UPON FOREIGN VICTORIES;DOMESTIC EVILS WERE TO BE BURIED IN SADNESS.” MESSALINUS HAD ADDED, “THAT TO TIBERIUS, LIVIA, ANTONIA, AGRIPPINA AND DRUSUS, PUBLIC THANKS WERE TO BE RENDERED FOR HAVEINGREVENGED THE DEATH OF GERMANICUS; ” BUT HAD OMITTED TOMENTION CLAUDIUS. MESSALINUS WAS ASKED BY LUCIUS ASPRENAS, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SENATE, “WHETHER BYDESIGN HE HAD OMITTED HIM?” AND THEN AT LAST THE NAME OF CLAUDIUS WAS SUBJOINED. TO ME, THE MORE I REVOLVE THE EVENTS OFLATE OR OF OLD, THE MORE OF MOCKERY AND SLIPPERINESS APPEARS IN ALL HUMANWISDOM, AND THE TRANSACTIONS OF MEN; FOR, IN POPULAR FAME, IN THE HOPES, WISHESAND VENERATION OF THE PUBLIC, ALL MEN WERE RATHER DESTINED TO THE EMPIRE, THANHE FOR WHOM FORTUNE THEN RESERVED THE SOVEREIGNTY IN THE DARK.

A few days after, VITELLIUS, VERANIUS and SERVEUS, were by the Senate preferred to the honours of thePriesthood, at the motion of TIBERIUS. To FULCINIUS he promised his interest and suffrage towardspreferment, but advised him “not to embarass his Eloquence by impetuosity.”This was the end of revenging the Death of GERMANICUS, anaffair ambiguously related, not by those only who then lived and interestedthemselves in it, but likewise in following times; so dark and intricate areall the highest transactions, whilesome hold for certain facts, the most precarioushearsays, others turn facts into falshood, and both are swallowed and improvedby the credulity of posterity. DRUSUS went now without theCity, there to renew the ceremony of the Auspices, and presently re-entred inthe Triumph of Ovation. A few days after died VIPSANIA his mother, of all the children of AGRIPPA, the only one who made a pacific end; the restmanifestly perished, or are believed to have perished, by the sword, poison,and famine.

THE same year, TACFARINAS, whom Ihave mentioned to have been the former summer defeated by CAMILLUS, renewed the war in Africa, first by rovingdevastations, so sudden that they escaped unchastised; next he sacked towns,and bore away mighty plunder; at last he begirt a Roman Cohort, a smalldistance from the river Pagida. It was a fort commanded by DECRIUS, a brave soldier, exercised in war, and now touchedwith the ignominy of such a siege. Encouraging therefore his men to offer openbattle, he drew them up without the walls. At the first shock the Cohort wasrepulsed; but the resolute DECRIUS braved the enemy’sdarts, opposed the runaways, and upbraided the standard-bearers, “that, uponvagabonds, and undisciplined robbers, the Roman soldiers turned their backs.”He had already received several wounds, and his eye was beat out, but stillfaced the foe, nor ceased fighting, till, wholly deserted by his men, he atlast was slain.

LUCIUS APRONIUS had succeeded CAMILLUS. As soon as he learnt this defeat, piqued rather bythe infamy of his own men, than the glory of the enemy, he practised anexemplary severity, at this time rare, but agreeable to ancient discipline, byexecuting with a club every tenth man of that ignominious Cohort, drawn by lot.Such too was the effect of this rigour, that those very forces of TACFARINAS, as they besieged the fortress of Thala, wererouted by a squadron of five hundred Veterans. In this battle RUFUS HELVIUS, a common soldier, acquired the glory of saving aCitizen, and was by APRONIUS presented with the Spear andCollar. TIBERIUS added the Civic Crown, complaining, ratherthan resenting, that APRONIUS had not, in right ofProconsul, granted that also. TACFARINAS, now his Numidianswere dismayed, and bent against sieges, made a desultory war, flying whenattacked, and, upon a retreat, assaulting the rear. As long as the Africanobserved this method, he, with impunity to himself, mocked and harassed theRomans; but after he drew down to the maritime places, the allurements andquantities of plunder confined him to his Camp. Hither APRONIUSCESIANUS was, by his father, dispatched with the cavalry and auxiliaryCohorts, to which was added a detachment of the best Legionary foot; and,having successfully fought the Numidians, drove them back to the desarts.

AT Rome the while, EMILIA LEPIDA, who, besides the nobleness of the Emilian family, was great grand-daughter to POMPEY and SYLLA, was charged withimposing a false birth upon PUBLIUS QUIRINIUS her husband,a man rich and childless. The charge was swelled with “adulterics, poisonings,and treasonable dealings with the Chaldeans about the fate and continuance ofthe Imperial house.” Her brother MANIUS LEPIDUS defendedher; and, guilty and infamous as she was, the persecution from her husband(continued after their divorce) drew compassion upon her. In this Trial, it wasno easy matter to discover the heart of TIBERIUS, with suchsubtlety he mixed and shifted the symptoms of indignation and clemency. Atfirst, he besought the Senate, “not to meddle with the articles of treason;”and presently engaged MARCUS SERVILIUS, once Consul, andthe other witnesses, to produce the very evidences of treason which he wouldhave appeared desirous to suppress. Yet he took the slaves of LEPIDA from the guard of soldiers, and surrendered them to theConsuls; nor would he suffer them to be examined by torture, as to herpractises against himself; he even excused DRUSUS fromvoting first, as Consul elect. This some understood as an instance ofcomplaisance, “that the rest might not be obliged to follow the example of DRUSUS. ” Some ascribe it to cruelty, “for that onlywith design to have her condemned, that concessionwas made.”

THE public Games interrupted the Trial, and in therecess, LEPIDA, accompanied with other Ladies of greatquality, entered the Theatre. There, with doleful lamentations, invoking herillustrious ancestors, especially the great POMPEY, whosestatues stood round in view, the Theatre itself a monument of his raising, sheexcited such universal commiseration, that the Spectators burst into tears; anduttering cruel and direful imprecations against QUIRINIUS, declared their indignation, “That to his childless old age, and mean blood,should be given a Lady once designed for the wife of LUCIUSCÆSAR, and for the daughter-in-law of the deified AUGUSTUS. ” At last, by racking her slaves, her crimes were mademanifest, and the judgment of RUBELLIUS BLANDUS prevailed,for interdicting her from fire and water. To this judgment DRUSUS assented, though others had proposed a milder. That herestate should not be forfeited, was granted to SCAURUS, whoby her had had a daughter. And now, after condemnation, TIBERIUS advertised the Senate, that “from the slaves too of QUIRINIUS he had learnt her attempts to poison him.”

AS a consolation to the illustrious Families of Rome,for their late calamities (for the Calpurnian house hadsuffered the loss of PISO, and, just after, the Emilian house that of LEPIDA ) DECIUS SILANUS was now restored tothe Junian family. I willbriefly recite his disgrace. As against the Republic, the fortune of AUGUSTUS was prevalent, so, in his family, it was unhappy,by the lewdness of his daughter and grand-daughter, whom he turned out of Rome,and with death or exile punished their adulterers. For, to a fault commonbetween men and women, he gave the heinous name of sacrilege and treason; andthence had a colour for departing from the tenderness of our ancestors, and forviolating his own laws. But I shall hereafter relate the fate of others fromthis his severity, as also the other transactions of that time, if, havingfinished my present undertaking, life remains for other studies. SILANUS, who had viciated the granddaughter of AUGUSTUS, though he felt no higher indignation than to beexcluded from the friendship and presence of the Emperor, yet understood thisas a denunciation of banishment; nor durst he, till the reign of TIBERIUS, supplicate the Prince and Senate for leave to return;and then only trusted to the prevailing credit of his brother MARCUS SILANUS, distinguished by his illustrious quality, andeminent for his great Eloquence. MARCUS having returnedthanks to TIBERIUS, had this answer before the Senate;“That he himself also rejoiced that his brother was returned from travels solong and remote; that his return home was perfectly unexceptionable, sinceneither by decree of Senate, nor by any sentence of law had he beendriven thence; that to himself however still remainedintire the resentments of his father towards him; nor by the return of SILANUS were the purposes of AUGUSTUS violated.” Thenceforward he remained in Rome, but distinguished by nopreferment in the State.

THE qualifying of the Law Papia Poppea was afterwardsproposed; a Law, which, to enforce those of JULIUS CÆSAR,AUGUSTUS had made when he was old, for punishing Celibacy, and enrichingthe Exchequer. Nor even by this means had marriages and children multiplied,while a passion to live single and childless still prevailed: But, in the meantime, the numbers threatened and in danger by it, increased daily, while by theglosses and chicane of the impleaders every family was undone. So that, asbefore the city laboured under the weight of crimes, so now under the pest oflaws. From this thought I am led backwards to the first rise of Laws, and toopen the steps and causes by which we are arrived to the present number andexcess, a number infinite and perplexed.

THE first race of men, free as yet from every depravedpassion, lived without guile and crimes, and therefore without chastisementsand restraints; nor was there occasion for rewards, when of their own accordthey pursued righteousness; and as they courted nothing contrary to justice,they were debarred from nothing by terrors. But, after they had abandoned theiroriginal equality, and frommodesty and shame to do evil, proceeded to ambitionand violence, Lordly dominion was introduced, and arbitrary rule, and in manynations grew perpetual. Some, either from the beginning, or after they weresurfeited with Kings, preferred the sovereignty of Laws, which, agreeably tothe artless minds of men, were at first short and simple. The laws in mostrenown were those framed for the Cretans by MINOS, for theSpartans by LYCURGUS; and afterwards such as SOLON delivered to the Athenians, now greater in number, andmore exquisirely composed. To the Romans justice was administered by ROMULUS according to his pleasure. After him, NUMA managed the people by religious devices, and lawsdivine. Some institutions were made by TULLUS HOSTILIUS, some by ANCUS MARTIUS; but above all our laws were thosefounded by SERVIUS TULLIUS, such laws as even our Kingswere bound to obey.

UPON the expulsion of TARQUIN, thepeople, for the security of their freedom against the encroachment and factionsof the Senate, and for binding the public concord, prepared many ordinances.Hence were created the Decemviri, and by them were composed the twelve Tables,out of a collection of the most excellent institutions found abroad. This wasthe period of all upright and impartial Laws. What laws followed, thoughsometimes made against crimes and offenders, were yet chiefly made by violence,through the animosity ofthe two Estates, and for seizing unjustly withholdenoffices, or for banishing illustrious Patriots, and to other wicked ends. Hencethe GRACCHI and SATURNINI, inflamers ofthe people; and hence LIVIUS DRUSUS vying, on behalf of theSenate, in popular concessions with these inflamers, whence our Italian Allieswere first corrupted and animated with fair promises, then by the opposition ofother Demagogues disappointed and deceived. Neither during the War of Italy,nor during the Civil War, was the making of regulations discontinued; many andcontradictory were even then made. At last SYLLA theDictator, changing or abolishing the past, added many of his own, and procuredsome respite in this matter, but not long; for presently followed the turbulentpursuits and proposals of LEPIDUS, and soon after were theTribunes restored to their licentious authority of throwing the people intocombustions at pleasure. And now Laws were not made for the public only, but,for particular men, particular laws; and, corruption abounding in theCommonwealth, the Commonwealth abounded in laws.

POMPEY was now, in his third Consulship, chosen tocorrect the public enormities, and his remedies proved to the State moregrievous than its distempers. He made Laws, such as suited his ambition, andbroke them when they thwarted his will, and lost by arms the regulations whichby arms he had procured. Henceforward for twenty years civil discord raged,and there was neither law nor settlement; the mostwicked found impunity in the excess of their wickedness, and many virtuous menin their uprightness met destruction. At length, AUGUSTUSCÆSAR, in his sixth Consulship, then confirmed in power without a rival,abolished the orders which during the Triumvirate he had established, and gaveus laws proper for peace and a single ruler. These laws had sanctions severerthan any heretofore known; as their guardians, Informers were appointed, who bythe Law Papia Poppea were encouraged with rewards, to watch such as neglectedthe privileges annexed to marriage and fatherhood, and consequently could claimno legacy or inheritance, the same, as vacant, belonging to the Roman people,who were the public parent. But these Informers struck much deeper; by them thewhole City, all Italy, and the Roman Citizens in every part of the Empire, wereinfested and persecuted; numbers were stripped of their intire fortunes, andterror had seized all, when TIBERIUS, for a check to thisevil, chose twenty Noblemen, five who were formerly Consuls, five, who wereformerly Prætors, with ten other Senators, to review that law. By them many ofits intricacies were explained, its strictness qualified; and hence somepresent alleviation was yielded.

TIBERIUS, about this time, recommended to the Senate NERO, one of the sons of GERMANICUS, now seventeen years of age, and desired, “that he might be exempted fromexecuting the office of the Vigintivirate, and haveleave to sue for the Quæstorship five years sooner than the laws directed.” Apiece of mockery this request to all who heard it; but TIBERIUS pretended, “that the same concessions had been decreedto himself, and his brother DRUSUS, at the request of AUGUSTUS. ” Nor do I doubt but there were then such whosecretly ridiculed that sort of petitions from AUGUSTUS. Such policy was however natural to that Prince, then laying the foundations ofthe Imperial power, and while the Republic and its late laws were still freshin the minds of men. Besides, the relation was lighter between AUGUSTUS and his wife’s sons, than between a grandfather andhis grandsons. To the grant of the Quæstorship was added a seat in the Collegeof Pontifs; and the first day he entered the Forum in his manly robe, adonative of corn and money was distributed to the populace, who exulted tobehold a son of GERMANICUS now of age. Their joy was soonheightened by his marriage with JULIA, the daughter of DRUSUS. But as these transactions were attended with publicapplauses, so the intended marriage of the daughter of SEJANUS with the son of CLAUDIUS, wasreceived with popular indignation. By this alliance the nobility of theClaudian house seemed stained, and by it SEJANUS, alreadysuspected of aspiring views, was exalted still higher.

AT THE END OF THIS YEAR DIED TWO GREAT AND EMINENT MEN, LUCIUS VOLUSIUS, AND SALLUSTIUSCRISPUS. THE FAMILY OF VOLUSIUS WAS ANCIENT, BUT, IN THE EXERCISE OF PUBLIC OFFICE,ROSE NEVER HIGHER THAN THE PRÆTORSHIP; IT WAS HE WHO HONOURED IT WITH THECONSULSHIP. HE WAS LIKEWISE CREATED CENSOR, FOR MODELLING THE CLASSES OF THEEQUESTRIAN ORDER, AND FIRST ACCUMULATED THE WEALTH WHICH RAISED THAT FAMILYBEYOND ALL MEASURE. CRISPUS WAS BORN OF AN EQUESTRIANHOUSE, GREAT NEPHEW BY A SISTER TO CAIUS SALLUSTIUS, THERENOWNED ROMAN HISTORIAN, AND BY HIM ADOPTED. THE WAY TO THE GREAT OFFICES WASOPEN TO HIM; BUT, IN IMITATION OF MÆCENAS, HE LIVED WITHOUTTHE DIGNITY OF SENATOR, YET OUTWENT IN POWER MANY WHO WERE DISTINGUISHED WITHCONSULSHIPS AND TRIUMPHS. HIS MANNER OF LIVING, HIS DRESS AND DAINTINESS, WEREDIFFERENT FROM THE WAYS OF ANTIQUITY, AND, IN EXPENCE AND AFFLUENCE, HEBORDERED RATHER UPON LUXURY. HE POSSESSED, HOWEVER, A VIGOUR OF SPIRIT, EQUALTO GREAT AFFAIRS, AND EXERTED THE GREATER PROMPTNESS, FOR THAT HE HID IT IN ASHEW OF INDOLENCE AND SLOTH. HE WAS THEREFORE, IN THE LIFE-TIME OF MÆCENAS, THE NEXT IN FAVOUR, AFTERWARDS CHIEF CONFIDENT INALL THE SECRET COUNSELS OF AUGUSTUS AND TIBERIUS, AND ASSENTING TO THE ORDER FOR SLAYING AGRIPPA POSTHUMUS. IN HIS OLD AGE HE PRESERVED WITH THE PRINCERATHER THE OUTSIDE THAN THE VITALS OF AUTHORITY. THE SAME HAD HAPPENED TO MÆCENAS. SUCH IS THE LOT OF POWER, RARELY PERPETUAL,PERHAPS FROM SATIETY ON BOTH SIDES,WHEN PRINCES HAVE NO MORE TO GRANT, AND MINISTERS NOMORE TO CRAVE.

NEXT followed the Consulship of TIBERIUS and DRUSUS, to TIBERIUS the fourth, to DRUSUS the second;a Consulship remarkable, for that in it the father and son were Collegues.There was indeed the same fellowship between TIBERIUS and GERMANICUS, two years before; but, besides the distastes ofjealousy in the uncle, the ties of blood were not so near. In the beginning ofthe year, TIBERIUS, on pretence of his health, retired toCampania, either already meditating a long and perpetual retirement, or toleave to DRUSUS, in his father’s absence, the honour ofexecuting the Consulship alone. And there happened a thing which, small initself, yet as it produced mighty contestation, furnished the young Consul withmatter of popular affection. DOMITIUS CORBULO, formerlyPrætor, complained to the Senate of LUCIUS SYLLA, a nobleyouth, “that in the shew of Gladiators, SYLLA would notyield him place.” Age, domestic custom, and the ancient men were for CORBULO. MAMERCUS SCAURUS, LUCIUS ARRUNTIUS, and others,laboured for their kinsman SYLLA. Warm speeches were made,and the examples of our ancestors were urged, “who by severe decrees hadcensured and restrained the irreverence of the youth.” DRUSUS interposed with arguments proper for calminganimosities, and CORBULO had satisfaction made him by SCAURUS, who was bothfather-in-law and uncle to SYLLA, and the most copious Orator of that age. The same CORBULO, exclaiming against “the condition of most of the roads through Italy, thatthrough the fraud of the undertakers, and negligence of the civil officers,they were broken and unpassable;” undertook of his own accord the cure of thatabuse; an undertaking which he executed, not so much to the advantage of thepublic, as to the ruin of many private men in their fortunes and reputation, byhis violent mulcts, and unjust judgments and forfeitures.

SOON after TIBERIUS by Letteracquainted the Senate, “That by the incursions of TACFARINAS there were fresh commotions in Africa, and that theymust chuse a Proconsul, one of military experience, vigorous, and equal to thatwar.” SEXTUS POMPEIUS, taking this occasion to dischargehis hate against MARCUS LEPIDUS, reproached him “asdastardly, indigent, a scandal to his ancestors, and therefore to be divestedeven of the Government of Asia, his province by lot.” The Senate opposed him;they thought LEPIDUS a man rather mild than slothful, andthat, as in his narrow fortune bequeathed to him, but not impaired by him, hesupported his quality without blemish, he merited honour rather than contumely.He was therefore sent to Asia. Concerning Africa, it was decreed, that theappointment of a Governor should be left to the Emperor.

DURING these transactions, CÆCINASEVERUS proposed, “That no Magistrate should go into any provinceaccompanied by his wife.” He introduced this motion with a long preface, “thathe lived with his own in perfect concord, by her he had six children, and whathe offered to the public he had practised himself, having during forty yearsservice, left her still behind him, confined to Italy. It was not indeed,without cause, established of old, that women should neither be carried bytheir husbands into confederate nations, nor into foreign. A train of womenintroduced luxury in peace, by their fears retarded war, and made a Roman armyresemble, in their march, a mixed host of Barbarians. The sex was not tenderonly and unfit for travel, but, if suffered, cruel, aspiring, and greedy ofauthority; they even marched amongst the soldiers, and were obeyed by theofficers. A woman had lately presided at the exercises of the troops, and atthe decursions of the Legions. The Senate themselves might remember, that asoften as any of the Magistrates were charged with plundering the provinces,their wives were always charged with much guilt. To the Ladies the mostprofligate in the province ever applied, by them all affairs were undertaken,by them transacted; at home two distinct courts were kept, and abroad the wifehad her distinct train and attendants. The Ladies too issued distinctorders, but more imperious, and better obeyed. Suchfeminine excesses were formerly restrained by the Oppian and other Laws, butnow these restraints were violated, women ruled all things, their families, theForum and Tribunals, and even the armies.”

THIS speech was heard by few with approbation, and manyproclaimed their dissent, “for that neither was that the point in debate, norwas CÆCINA considerable enough to censure so weighty anaffair.” He was presently answered by VALERIUS MESSALINUS, who was the son of MESSALA, and inherited a sparkling ofhis father’s Eloquence: “that many rigorous institutions of the ancients weresoftened and changed for the better. For neither was Rome now, as of old, besetwith wars, nor Italy with hostile provinces; hence a few concessions were madeto the conveniences of women, who were so far from burdening the provinces,that to their own husbands there they were no burden. As to honours,attendants, and expence, they enjoyed them in common with their husbands, whocould receive no embarassment from their company in time of peace. To war,indeed, we must go equipped and unincumbered; but after the fatigues of war,what was more allowable than the consolations of a wife? But it seemed, thewives of some Magistrates had given a loose to ambition andavarice: And were the Magistrates themselves freefrom these excesses? Were not most of them governed by many exorbitantappetites? Did we therefore send none into the provinces? It was added, thatthe husbands were corrupted by their corrupt wives; Were therefore all singlemen uncorrupt? The Oppian Laws were once thought necessary, because theexigencies of the State required their severity; they were afterwards relaxedand mollified, because that too was expedient for the State. In vain we coveredour own sloth with borrowed names; if the wife broke bounds, the husband oughtto bear the blame. It was moreover unjustly judged, for the weak and uxoriousspirit of one or a few, to bereave all others of the fellowship of their wives,the natural partners of their prosperity and distress. Besides, the sex, weakby nature, would be left defenceless, exposed to the luxurious bent of theirnative passions, and to the seduction of adulterers. Scarce under the eye andrestraint of the husband, was the marriage-bed preserved inviolate; what must be the consequence, when, by anabsence of many years, the ties of marriage would be forgot, as it were, in adivorce? It became them therefore, so to cure the evils abroad, as not toforget the enormities at Rome.” To this DRUSUS addedsomewhat concerning his own wedlock. “Princes, he said, were frequently obligedto visit the remote parts of the Empire;how often did the deified AUGUSTUS travel to the East, how often to the West, stillaccompanied with LIVIA ? He himself too had taken a progressto Illyricum, and, if it were expedient, was ready to visit other nations; butnot always with an easy spirit, if he were to be torn from his dear wife, herby whom he had so many children.” Thus was CÆCINA’S motioneluded.

WHEN the Senate met next, they had a Letter from TIBERIUS. In it he affected indirectly to chide thefathers, “that upon him they cast all public cares,” and named them M. LEPIDUS and JUNIUS BLESUS, to chooseeither for Proconsul of Africa. They were then both heard as to thisnomination, and LEPIDUS excused himself with earnestness,pleaded “his bodily frailty, the tender age of his children, and a daughter fitfor marriage.” There was another reason too, of which he said nothing, but itwas easily understood, even that BLESUS was uncle to SEJANUS, and therefore had the prevailing interest. BLESUS too made a shew of refusing, but not with the likepositiveness, and moreover, was heard with partiality by the flatterers ofpower.

NOW at last broke out a grievance which had lainhitherto smothered in the uneasy minds of men. The Statues of the Emperor werebecome sanctuaries to every profligate, who, by laying hold on these Statues,had assumed the insolence of venting with impunity their invectives and hatredagainst worthymen. Even slaves and freedmen were thence grownterrible to their masters, and wantonly insulted and threatned them. Againstthis abuse it was argued by CAIUS SESTIUS the Senator,“that Princes were indeed the representatives of the Gods, but by the Gods justpetitions only were heard, nor did any one betake himself to the Capitol, orthe other Temples of Rome, that under their sacred shelter he might exercisevillainies. The laws were abolished, and finally overturned, if a criminalconvict could, in the public Forum, nay, at the door of the Senate, assault herprosecutor with invectives and menaces; Yet thus had ANNIARUFILLA assaulted him, she whom he had got judicially condemned forforgery; neither durst he seek relief from the law, for that she protectedherself with the Emperor’s Statue. Much the same reasoning was offered byothers: some aggravated the offence with greater bitterness, and besought DRUSUS to shew an exemplary instance of vengeance; so thatshe was summoned, convicted of the charge, and by his command committed to thecommon prison.

CONSIDIUS EQUUS too, and CELIUSCURSOR, Roman Knights, were at the motion of DRUSUS, punished by a decree of Senate, for forging a charge of treason against thePrætor MAGIUS CÆCILIANUS. From this their punishment andthat of RUFILLA, DRUSUS reaped popular praise, “that byhim, living thus sociably at Rome, and frequenting thepublic assemblies, the dark spirit and designs of hisfather were softened.” Neither did the luxury, in which the young Prince lived,give much offence. “Let him, it was said, be rather thus imployed, his days inshews and acts of popularity, his nights in banqueting, than in dismalsolitude, withdrawn from public gayety, worried with incessant distrusts, andfostering black designs.”

FOR neither was TIBERIUS nor theimpleaders yet tired with accusations. ANCHARIUS PRISCUS had accused CÆSIUS CORDUS, Proconsul of Crete, of robbingthe public, with an additional charge of high treason, a charge which at thattime was the main bulwark of all accusations. ANTISTIUSVETUS, a Nobleman of the first rank in Macedonia, had been tried foradultery, and absolved. This offended TIBERIUS, whoreproached the Judges, and recalled him to be tried for treason, as a disturberof the public, and confederate with the late King RHESCUPORIS, when having slain his brother COTYS, he meditated war against us. So that VETUS was condemned, and interdicted from fire and water. Tothis sentence it was added, “that he should be confined to an island, neitherin the neighbourhood of Macedon nor of Thrace.” For, upon the division of thatKingdom between RHEMETALCES and the sons of COTYS, who being children, had for their guardian TREBELLIENUS RUFUS, the Thracians, not used to ourGovernment, waxed discontented and tumultuous;nor did they less censure RHEMETALCES than TREBELLIENUS, for leavingunpunished the violences done them. The Cœletæans, Odrysœans, and other verypowerful nations, took arms, under distinct Captains, but all equal in meannessand incapacity. For this reason, their armies were not united, nor the warterrible. Some committed ravages at home, others traversed Mount Haemus, to engage in the insurrection thedistant provinces. The greatest part, and best appointed, besiegedPhilippopolis, (a City founded by PHILIP of Macedon) and init King RHEMETALCES.

PUBLIUS VELLEIUS, who commanded the army in theneighbouring province, when he heard of these commotions, dispatched parties ofhorse and light foot, some against those who roamed about for plunder, someagainst such as rambled from place to place to sollicit succours; he himselfled the body of the Infantry to raise the siege. These several enterprizes wereat once successfully executed, the rovers were cut off; divisions arose amongstthe besiegers, and the King fortunately sallied, just as the Roman forcesarrived. This gang of Thracians deserve not the name of an army, nor this routto be called a battle, where vagabonds half-armed were slaughtered, withoutblood on our side.

THE same year the Cities of Gaul, stimulated by theirexcessive debts, began a Rebellion. The most vehement incendiaries were JULIUS FLORUS, and JULIUS SACROVIR, thefirst amongst those of Treves, the second amongst theEduans. They were both of distinguished nobility, both descended fromancestors, who had done signal services to the Roman State, and thence acquiredof old the right of Roman Citizens, a privilege rare in those days, and onlythe prize of virtue. When by secret meetings they had gained those who weremost prompt to rebel, with such as were desperate through indigence, or, fromguilt of past crimes, forced to commit more, they agreed that FLORUS should begin the insurrection in Belgia, SACROVIR amongst the neighbouring Gauls. They therefore hadmany consultations and cabals, where they spared no topic of sedition, “theirtribute without end, their devouring usury, the pride and cruelty of theirGovernors, the discord that had seized the Roman soldiery since the report ofthe murder of GERMANICUS; a glorious conjuncture forredeeming their Liberty, if they would only consider their own happiness andstrength, while Italy was poor and exhausted, the Roman populace weak andunwarlike, the Roman armies destitute of all vigour, but that derived fromforeigners.”

SCARCE one City remained untainted with the seeds ofthis Rebellion, but it first broke out at Angiers and Tours. The former werereduced by ACILIUS AVIOLA, a Legate, with the assistance ofa Cohort drawn from the garrison at Lions. Those of Tours were suppressed bythe same AVIOLA, assisted with adetachment sent from the Legions, by VISELLIUS VARRO, Lieutenant-Governor of lower Germany. Some ofthe Chiefs of the Gauls had likewise joined him with succours, the better todisguise their defection, and to push it with more effect hereafter. Even SACROVIR was beheld engaged in fight for the Romans, withhis head bare, a demonstration, he pretended, of his bravery; but, the prisoners averred, “that he didit to be known to his country-men, and to escape their darts.”

AN account of all this was laid before TIBERIUS, who slighted it, and by hesitation fostered the war. FLORUS the while pushed his designs, and tried to persuadea Regiment of horse, levied at Treves, and kept under our pay and discipline,to begin the war, by putting to the sword the Roman Merchants; and some fewwere corrupted by him, but the body remained in their allegiance. A rabblehowever of his followers and desperate debtors, took arms, and were making tothe Forest of Arden, when the Legions, sent from both armies by VISELLIUS and CAIUS SILIUS, throughdifferent routs to intercept them, marred their march. JULIUSINDUS too, one of the same country with FLORUS, atenmity with him, and therefore more eager to engage him, was dispatched forwardwith a chosen band, and broke the ill-appointed multitude. FLORUS, by lurking from place to place, frustrated the searchof the conquerors; at last, when he saw all the passes beset with soldiers, hefell by hisown hands. This was the issue of the insurrection atTreves.

AMONGST the Eduans the revolt was as much stronger, asthe state was more opulent, and the forces to suppress it were to be broughtfrom afar. Augustodunum, the capital of the nation, was seized by SACROVIR, and in it all the noble youth of Gaul, who werethere instructed in the Liberal Arts. By securing these pledges, he aimed tobind in his interest their parents and relations, and at the same timedistributed to the young men the arms which he had caused to be secretly made.He had forty thousand men, the fifth part armed like our Legions, the rest withpoles, hangers, and other weapons used by hunters. To the number were addedsuch of the slaves as had been appointed to be Gladiators, covered, after thefashion of the country, with a continued armour of iron, and stiled Crupellarii, a sort of militia, unweildly at exercisingtheir own weapons, and impenetrable by those of others. These forces were stillincreased by voluntiers from the neighbouring cities, where, though the publicbody did not hitherto avow the revolt, yet the zeal of particulars wasmanifest. They had likewise leisure to increase from the contention of the twoRoman Generals; a contention for some time undecided, while each demanded thecommand in that war. At length VARRO, old and infirm,yielded to the superior vigour of SILIUS.

NOW, at Rome, “not only the insurrection of Treves andof the Eduans, but likewise, that threescore and four cities of Gaul hadrevolted, that the Germans had joined in the revolt, and that Spainfluctuated,” were reports, all believed with the usual aggravations of fame.The best men grieved in sympathy for their country; many, from hatred of thepresent government, and thirst of change, rejoiced in their own perils. Theyinveighed against TIBERIUS, “that, in such a mighty uproarof rebellion, he was only employed in perusing the informations of theState-Accusers.” They asked, “Did he mean to surrender JULIUSSACROVIR to the Senate, to try him for treason?” They exulted, “that therewere at last found men, who would with arms restrain his bloody Letters (to theSenate) continually demanding condemnations and executions;” and declared,“that even war was a happy change for a most wretched and calamitous peace.” Somuch the more for this, TIBERIUS affected to appear wraptup in security and unconcern; he neither changed place nor countenance, butbehaved himself at that time as at other times, whether from elevation of mind,or whether he had learnt that the state of things was not alarming, and onlyheightened by vulgar representation.

SILIUS the while sending forward a band of Auxiliaries,marched with two Legions, and ravaged the villages of the Sequanians, nextneighbours to the Eduans, and their associates inarms. He then advanced towards Augustodunum, a hasty march, theStandard-bearers mutually vying in expedition, and the common men breathingardour and eagerness, “that no time might be wasted even in the usualrefreshments, none of their nights in sleep; let them only see and confront thefoe; they wanted no more to be victorious.” Twelve miles from Augustodunum SACROVIR appeared with his forces upon the plains; in thefront he had placed the iron troop, his Cohorts in the wings, the half-armed inthe rear; he himself, upon a fine horse, attended by the other chiefs,addressing himself to them from rank to rank; reminded them “of the gloriousatchievements of the ancient Gauls; of the victorious mischiefs they hadbrought upon the Romans; of the liberty and renown attending victory; of theirredoubled and intolerable servitude, if once more vanquished.”

A short speech, and disheartened audience! For, the embattled Legionsapproached, and the crowd of townsmen, ill-appointed and novices in war, stoodastonished, bereft of the present use of eyes and hearing. On the other side, SILIUS, though he presumed the victory, and thence mighthave spared exhortations, yet called to his men, “That they might be withreason ashamed, that they, the Conquerors of Germany, should be thus ledagainst a rabble of Gauls as against an equal enemy;one Cohort had newly defcated the rebels of Tours,one Regiment of horse those of Treves; a handful of this very army had routedthe Sequanians. The present Eduans, the more they abound in wealth, the morethey wallow in voluptuousness, are so much the more soft and unwarlike: this iswhat you are now to prove, and your task to prevent their escape.” His wordswere returned with a mighty cry. Instantly the horse surrounded the foe, thefoot attacked their front, and the wings were presently routed. The iron-bandgave some short obstruction, as the bars of their coats withstood the stroaksof sword and pike; but the soldiers had recourse to their hatchets andpick-axes, and, as if they had battered a wall, hewed their bodies and armour;others with clubs, and some with forks, beat down the helpless lumps, who, asthey lay stretched along, without one struggle to rise, were left for dead. SACROVIR fled first to Augustodunum, thence, fearful ofbeing surrendered, to a neighbouring town, accompanied by his most faithfuladherents; there he slew himself, and the rest one another, having first setthe town on fire, by which they were all consumed.

NOW at last TIBERIUS wrote to theSenate about this war, and, at once, acquainted them with its rise andconclusion, neither aggravateing facts nor lessening them; but added, “That itwas conducted by the fidelity and bravery of his Lieutenants, guided by hiscounsels.”He likewise assigned the reasons why neither he, nor DRUSUS, went to that war; “That the Empire was an immensebody, and it became not the dignity of a Prince, upon the revolt of one or twocommunities, to desert the capital, whence motion was derived to the whole. Butnow, since he could not be thought conducted by any dread of those nations, hewould take a progress to visit and settle them.” The Senate decreed vows andsupplications for his return, with other customary honours. Only CORNELIUS DOLABELLA, while he strove to outdo others, fell intoridiculous sycophancy, by proposing, “That returning from Campania he shouldenter Rome in the Triumph of Ovation. ” This occasioned aLetter from TIBERIUS, in which he declared, “That he wasnot so destitute of glory, that after having in his youth subdued the fiercestnations, and enjoyed or slighted so many Triumphs, he should now in his old ageseek empty honours from a short progress about the suburbs of Rome.”

ABOUT the same time he desired of the Senate, that “thecorps of SULPITIUS QUIRINUS might be distinguished with apublic Funeral.” QUIRINUS was born at Lanuvium, a Municipaltown, and no wise related to the ancient Patrician family of the SULPITII, but being a brave soldier, was, for his vigorousmilitary services to AUGUSTUS, rewarded with theConsulship, and soon after with a Triumph,for driving the Homonades out of their strong holdsin Cilicia. Next, when the young CAIUS CÆSAR was sent tosettle the affairs of Armenia, QUIRINUS was appointed hisGovernor, and at the same time paid all court to TIBERIUS, then in his retirement at Rhodes. This the Emperor represented now to theSenate, extolled the kind offices of QUIRINUS, and branded MARCUS LOLLIUS as the author of the perverse behaviour of CAIUS CÆSAR to himself, and of all the jarring betweenthem. In other instances the memory of QUIRINUS was notacceptable to the Senate, for his deadly persecution against LEPIDA, above recited, and for his prevailing power and avaricein his old age.

AT the end of the year, CAIUS LUTORIUSPRISCUS, a Roman Knight, who had composed a celebrated Poem, bewailing thedeath of GERMANICUS, and received a reward from TIBERIUS, was attacked by an informer. His charge was,“That during an illness of DRUSUS, he had composed another,which, if the distemper proved mortal, he hoped to publish with a reward stillgreater.” This Poem LUTORIUS had, in the fulness of vanityand ostentation, rehearsed at the house of PUBLIUSPETRONIUS, in the presence of VITELLIA, mother-in-lawto PETRONIUS, and of other Ladies of quality, who were allsummoned by the impleader, and all, except VITELLIA, wereterrified into a confession; she alone persisted that she had heard nothing.Butthe evidence tending to destroy him had most credit,and it was the sentence of HATERIUS AGRIPPA, Consul elect,that death should be his punishment.

THIS was opposed by M. LEPIDUS, whospoke on this wise. “Conscript fathers, if we only regard, with what abominableeffusions LUTORIUS PRISCUS has defiled his own soul, andthe ears of men, neither dungeon, nor rope, nor indeed the punishments peculiarto slaves, are sufficient for him. But though wickedness and enormities aboundwithout measure, yet since in coercions and penalties, we must observe thelimits set by the moderation of the Prince, set by precedents made by ourancestors and yourselves; and since we must distinguish the vanity of the headfrom the malignity of the heart, and words from evil doings; there is room leftfor a middle judgment, by which neither his offence need escape unpunished, norwe repent of our tenderness or severity. I have often heard our Princecomplain, when any criminal had, by a desperate death, prevented his mercy. Thelife of LUTORIUS is still untouched; to save it, will nowise endanger the State, nor will the taking it away have any influence uponothers. His studies, as they are full of wildness, are likewise empty andperishing; neither is aught important or terrible to be apprehended from onewho thus betrays his own follies, and makes his court not to the minds of men,but the imaginations of women. Let him, however, beexpelled Rome, interdicted from fire and water, and his estate be forfeited;which judgment of mine is the same as if he were charged with hightreason.”

OF all the Consulars, only RUBELLIUSBLANDUS assented to this opinion of LEPIDUS; the restvoted with AGRIPPA. PRISCUS was led to the dungcon, andinstantly put to death. TIBERIUS, in a Letter to theSenate, discanted upon this proceeding, with his usual doubles and ambiguities,magnified “their tenderness and zeal in avenging thus with severity even suchslight injuries done to the Prince;” entreated them, “not to be sudden inpunishing for words;” he praised LEPIDUS, and censured not AGRIPPA. Hence an order was made, “that the decrees ofSenate should not in less than ten days be carried to the Exchequer, and to thecondemned so much time should be granted.” But to the Senate remained noliberty of revisal or annulling; nor was TIBERIUS eversoftened by time.

CAIUS SULPITIUS and DECIMUS HATERIUS were the following Consuls. Their year was exempt from disturbances abroad, butat home some severe blow was apprehended against luxury, which prevailedmonstrously in all things that create a profusion of money. But as the morepernicious articles of expence were covered by concealing their prices,therefore from the excesses of the table, which werebecome the common subject of daily animadversion,apprehensions were raised of some rigid correction from a Prince who observedhimself the ancient parcimony. For, CAIUS BIBULUS havingbegun the complaint, the other Ædiles took it up, and argued, “That thesumptuary Laws were despised, the pomp and expence of plate and entertainments,in spite of restraints, increased daily, and by moderate penalties were not tobe stopped.” This grievance thus represented to the Senate, was by themreferred intire to the Emperor. TIBERIUS having longweighed with himself whether such an abandoned propensity to prodigality couldbe stemmed, whether the stemming it would not bring heavier evils upon thepublic, how dishonourable it would be to attempt what could not be effected, orat least effected by the disgrace of the nobility, and by the subjectingillustrious men to infamous punishments, wrote at last to the Senate in thismanner:

“ IN other matters, Conscript Fathers, perhaps it mightbe more expedient for you to consult me in the Senate, and for me to declarethere what I judge for the public weal; but in the debate of this affair, itwas best that my eyes were withdrawn, lest, while you marked the countenancesand terror of particulars charged with scandalous luxury, I too should haveobserved them, and, as it were, caught them in it. Had the vigilant Ædilesfirst asked counsel of me, I knownot whether I should not have advised them rather tohave passed by potent and inveterate corruptions, than only make it manifest,what enormities are an over-match for us. But they, in truth, have done theirduty, as I would have all other Magistrates fulfil theirs. But, for myself, itis neither commendable to be silent, nor does it belong to my station to speakout; since I neither bear the character of an Ædile, nor of a Prætor, nor of aConsul. Something still greater and higher is required of a Prince. Every oneis ready to assume to himself the credit of whatever is well done, while uponthe Prince alone are thrown the miscarriages of all. But what is it that I amfirst to prohibit, what excess retrench to the ancient standard? Am I to beginwith that of our country seats, spacious without bounds; and with the number ofdomestics, a number distributed into nations in private families? or with thequantity of plate, silver, and gold? or with pictures, and the works, andstatues of brass, the wonders of art? or with the gorgeous vestments,promiscuously worn by men and women? or with what is peculiar to the women,those precious stones, for the purchase of which our coin is carried intoforeign and hostile nations? I am not ignorant that at entertainments and inconversation, these excesses are censured, and a regulation is required. Yet ifan equal Law were made, if equal penalties were prescribed,these very censurers would loudly complain, That the State was utterly overturned, that snares anddestruction were prepared for every illustrious house, that no man could beguiltless, and all men would be the prey of informers. And yet bodilydiseases grown inveterate and strengthened by time, cannot be checked but bymedicines rigid and violent; it is the same with the soul, the sick and ragingsoul, itself corrupted and scattering its corruption, is not to be qualifiedbut by remedies equally strong with its own flaming lusts. So many Laws made byour ancestors, so many added by the deified AUGUSTUS, theformer being lost in oblivion, and (which is more heinous) the latter incontempt, have only served to render luxury more secure. When we covet a thingyet unforbidden, we are apt to fear that it may be forbidden; but when once wecan with impunity and defiance over-leap prohibited bounds, there remainafterwards nor fear nor shame. How therefore did Parcimony prevail of old? Itwas because every one was a Law to himself, it was because we were then onlymasters of one City; nor afterwards, while our dominion was confined only toItaly, had we found the same instigations to voluptuousness. By foreignConquests we learned to waste the property of others, and in the Civil Wars toconsume our own. What a mighty matter is it that the Ædiles remonstrate!how little to be weighed in the balance with others?It is wonderful that no body represents, That Italy is in constant want offoreign supplies, that the lives of the Roman people are daily at the mercy ofuncertain seas and of tempests: were it not for our supports from theprovinces, supports, by which the masters, and their slaves, and their estates,are maintained, would our own Groves and Villas maintain us? This caretherefore, Conscript Fathers, is the business of the Prince, and by the neglectof this care, the foundations of the state would be dissolved. The cure ofother defects depends upon our own private spirits; some of us shame willreclaim, necessity will mend the poor, satiety the rich. Or if any of theMagistrates, from a confidence of his own firmness and perseverance, willundertake to stemm the progress of so great an evil, he has both my praises,and my acknowledgement that he discharges me of part of my fatigues. But ifsuch will only impeach corruptions, and when they have gained the glory, wouldleave upon me the indignation, (indignation of their own raising;) believe me,Conscript Fathers, I am not fond of bearing resentments. I already suffer manyfor the Commonwealth, many that are grievous, and almost all unjust; andtherefore, with reason, I intreat that I may not be loaded with such as arewantonly andvainly raised, and promise no advantage to you nor tome.”

THE Senate, upon reading the Emperor’s Letter, releasedthe Ædiles from this pursuit; and the luxury of the table which, from thebattle of Actium till the revolution made by GALBA, flowed,for the space of an hundred years, in all profusion, at last graduallydeclined. The causes of this change are worth knowing. Formerly the greatfamilies, signal for nobility or for riches, were carried away with a passionfor magnificence; for in those days it was allowed to court the good graces ofthe Roman people, with the favour of Kings, and confederate Nations, and to becourted by them; so that each was distinguished by the lustre of popularity anddependences, in proportion to his affluence, the splendour of his house, andthe figure which he made. But after Imperial fury had for some time raged inthe slaughter of the Grandees, and great reputation brought sure destruction,the rest grew wiser. Besides, new men frequently chosen Senators from theMunicipal towns, from the Colonies, and even from the Provinces, brought withthem their own domestic parcimony; and though, by fortune or industry, many ofthem grew wealthy as they grew old, yet their former frugal spirit continued.But above all, VESPASIAN proved the promoter of moderationand frugality, being himself the pattern of ancient Oeconomy inhis person and table; hence the compliance of thepublic with the manners of the Prince, and an emulation to practise them, anincitement more prevalent than the terrors of Laws and all their penalties. Or,perhaps, all human things go a certain round, and, as there are revolutions oftime, there are also vicissitudes in manners. Nor, indeed, have our ancestorsexcelled us in all things; our own age has produced many excellencies worthy ofpraise and the imitation of posterity. Let us still preserve this strife invirtue with our forefathers.

TIBERIUS having gained the fame of moderation, because,by rejecting the project for reforming luxury, he had disarmed the growinghopes of the accusers, wrote to the Senate, to desire the Tribunitial Power for DRUSUS. AUGUSTUS haddevised this title as best suiting the supreme power, while avoiding the odiousname of King or Dictator, he yetwanted some particular appellation, under it to controul all other powers inthe State. He afterwards assumed MARCUS AGRIPPA into afellowship in it, and, upon his death, TIBERIUS, that nonemight doubt who was to be his successor. By this means, he conceived, he shoulddefeat the aspiring views of others; besides, he confided in the moderation of TIBERIUS, and in the mightiness of his own authority. Byhis example, TIBERIUS now advanced DRUSUS to a participation of the supreme Magistracy, whereas,while GERMANICUS yet lived, he acted without distinction towards both.In the beginning of his Letter, he besought the Gods, “That by his counsels theRepublic might prosper,” then added a modest testimony concerning the qualitiesand behaviour of the young Prince, without aggravation or false embellishments,“That he had a wife and three children, and was of the same age with himselfwhen called by the deified AUGUSTUS to that office; that DRUSUS was not now by him adopted a partner in the toils ofGovernment, precipitately, but after eight years experience made of hisqualifications, after seditions suppressed, wars concluded, the honour ofTriumph, and two Consulships.”

THE Senators had foreseen this address; hence theyreceived it with the more elaborate adulation. However, they could devisenothing to decree, but “Statues to the two Princes, altars to the Gods,triumphal arches,” and other usual honours, only that MARCUSSILANUS strove to honour the Princes by the disgrace of the Consulship; heproposed “That all records, public and private, should, for their date, beinscribed no more with the names of the Consuls, but of those who excrcised theTribunitial power.” But HATERIUS AGRIPPA, by moving to have“the Decrees of that day engraved in Letters of gold, and hung up in theSenate,” became an object of derision, for that, as he was an ancient man, hecould reap from his mostabominable flattery no other fruit but that ofinfamy.

IN the mean time, as the Province of Africa wascontinued to JUNIUS BLÆSUS, SERVIUS MALUGINENSIS Priest ofJupiter, demanded that of Asia. He insisted, “That it was vainly alledged, thatsuch Priests were not allowed to leave Italy; that he was under no otherrestriction than those of Mars and Romulus; and if they were admitted to thelots of Provinces, why were those of Jupiter debarred? The same was neitheradjudged by the authority of the people, nor in the books which ascertained thesacred rites. Frequently, when the Priests of Jupiter were detained bysickness, or engaged in the public, their function was supplied by the Pontifs.The function itself lay unfilled for two and seventy years together, after thedeath of CORNELIUS MERULA, and yet the exercise of Religionnever ceased. Now if in such a series of years, Religion could subsist unhurtwithout the creation of any such Priest at all, how much easier might hisabsence be borne in the exercise of the Proconsular power, for one year? It wasto satiate private piques, if formerly the Priests of Jupiter were by the chiefPontifs debarred from the Government of Provinces. But now, by the goodness ofthe Gods, the chief Pontif was also the chief of men, a Pontif to whomemulation, hatred, and other personal prepossessions, had no access.”

TO these his reasonings several answers were made by LENTULUS the Augur, and others, but all disagreeing, sothat the result was “to wait for the decision of the supreme Pontif.” TIBERIUS in his answer to the Senate, postponing his noticeof the pretensions of the Priest of Jupiter, qualified the honours decreed to DRUSUS with the Tribunitial power, and especially censuredthe “extravagance of the proposition for golden letters, as contrary to theexample and usage of Rome.” Letters from DRUSUS werelikewise read, and, though modest in expression, were construed to be full ofhaughtiness; “Were all things in the Roman state so miserably reversed, thateven a youth, one just distinguished with such supreme honour, deigned not tovisit the Gods of Rome, nor appear in Senate, nor begin in his native City theauspices of his dignity? No war detained him; he had no journey to make fromremote countries, while he was only diverting himself upon the lakes and shoresof Campania, and pleasure his chief avocation. With such tuition was heprepared the future ruler of human kind! this the lesson he had learnt from themaxims of his father! In truth, the Emperor himself, an ancient man, might finduneasiness in living under the eye of the public, and plead a life alreadyfatigued with age and occupations; but what besides pride and stateliness couldobstruct DRUSUS ?”

TIBERIUS, while he fortified the vitals of his owndomination, afforded the Senate a shadow of their ancient Jurisdiction, byreferring to their examination petitions and claims from the Provinces. Forthere had now prevailed amongst the Greek Cities a latitude of institutingSanctuaries at pleasure. Hence the Temples were filled with the most profligatefugitive slaves; here debtors found protection against their creditors, andhither were admitted such as were pursued for capital crimes. Nor was anyauthority found sufficient to bridle the seditious zeal of the people, thusdefending the villainies of men, as if the same were the sacred institutions ofthe Deities. It was therefore ordered, that these cities should send deputiesto represent their claims. Some voluntarily relinquished the privileges whichthey had arbitrarily assumed; many confided in their right, from the antiquityof their superstitions, or their services to the Roman people. Glorious to theSenate was the appearance of that day, when the grants from our ancestors, theengagements of our confederates, the ordinances of Kings, such Kings who hadreigned as yet independent of the Roman power, and when even the institutions,sacred to the Gods, were now all subjected to their inspection, and theirjudgment free, as of old, to ratify or abolish with absolute power.

FIRST of all the Ephesians applied, and alledged, that“Diana and Apollo were notborn at Delos, according to the opinion of thevulgar. In their territory flowed the river Cenchris, where also stood theOrtygian Grove; there the big-bellied Latona, leaning upon an Olive-tree, whicheven then remained, was delivered of these Deities, and thence, by theirappointment, the Grove became sacred. Thither Apollo himself, after hisslaughter of the Cyclops, retired for a sanctuary from the wrath of Jupiter.Soon after, the victorious Bacchus pardoned the suppliant Amazons, who soughtrefuge at the Altar of Diana. By the concession of Hercules, when he reigned inLydia, her Temple was dignified with an augmentation of immunities, nor duringthe Persian Monarchy were they abridged; they were next maintained by theMacedonians, and then by us.”

THE Magnesians next asserted their claim, founded on anestablishment of LUCIUS SCIPIO, confirmed by another of SYLLA; the former after the defeat of ANTIOCHUS, the latter after that of MITHRIDATES, having, as a testimony of the faith and bravery ofthe Magnesians, dignified their Temple of the Leucophrynean Diana with theprivileges of an inviolable Sanctuary. After them, the Aphrodisians andStratoniceans produced a grant from CÆSAR the Dictator, fortheir early services to his party, and another lately from AUGUSTUS, with a commendation inserted, “that with zealunshaken towards the Roman people, they hadborne the irruption of the Parthians.” But these twopeople adored different Deities; Aphrodisium was a city devoted to Venus, thatof Stratonicea maintained the worship of Jupiter and of Diana Trivia. Those ofHierocæsarea exhibited claims of higher antiquity, “that they possessed thePersian Diana, and her Temple consecrated by King CYRUS. ”They likewise pleaded the authorities of PERPENNA,ISAURICUS, and of many more Roman Captains, who had allowed the samesacred immunity, not to the temple only, but to a precinct two miles round it.Those of Cyprus pleaded right of sanctuary to three of their Temples, the mostancient founded by AERIAS to the Paphian Venus, another byhis son AMATHUS to the Amathusian Venus, the third to theSalaminian Jupiter by TEUCER, the son of TELAMON, when he fled from the fury of his father.

THE deputies too of other cities were heard. But theSenate, tired with so many, and because there was a contention begun amongstparticular parties for particular cities, gave power to the Consuls, “to searchinto the validity of their several pretensions, and whether in them no fraudwas interwoven, with orders to lay the whole matter once more before theSenate.” The Consuls reported, that, besides the cities already mentioned,“they had found the Temple of ÆSCULAPIUS at Pergamos to bea genuine Sanctuary. The rest claimed upon originals, from the darknessof antiquity, altogether obscure. Smyrna particularlypleaded an oracle of Apollo, in obedience to which they had dedicated a Templeto Venus Stratonices; as did the Isle of Tenos an oracular order from the sameGod, to erect to Neptune a Statue and Temple. Sardis urged a later authority,namely, a grant from the Great ALEXANDER; and Miletusinsisted on one from King DARIUS: as to the Deities ofthese two cities, one worshiped Diana, the other, Apollo, and Crete toodemanded the privilege of Sanctuary to a Statue of the deified AUGUSTUS. ” Hence divers orders of Senate were made, by which,though great reverence was expressed towards the Deities, yet the extent of theSanctuaries was limited, and the several people were injoined “to hang up ineach Temple the present Decree, engraven in brass, as a sacred Memorial, and arestraint against their lapsing, under the colour of Religion, into claims ofsuperstition and preeminence.”

AT the same time, a vehement distemper having seized LIVIA, obliged the Emperor to hasten his return to Rome;seeing the mother and son lived hitherto in apparent unanimity, or perhapsmutually disguised their hate; for, not long before, LIVIA, having dedicated a Statue to the deified AUGUSTUS, near theTheatre of MARCELLUS, had the name of TIBERIUS inscribed after her own. This he was believed to haveresented heinously, as a degradingthe dignity of the Prince, but to have smothered hisresentment under dark dissimulation. Upon this occasion therefore, the Senatedecreed “supplications to the Gods, with the celebration of the greater RomanGames, under the direction of the Pontiss, the Augurs, the College of fifteen,assisted by the College of seven, and the fraternity of Augustal Priests.” LUCIUS APRONIUS had moved, that “with the rest mightpreside the company of Heralds.” TIBERIUS opposed it, anddistinguished between the jurisdiction of the Priests and theirs, “for that atno time had the Heralds arrived to so much pre-eminence; but for the Augustalfraternity, they were therefore added, because they exercised a Priesthoodpeculiar to that family for which the present vows and solemnities weremade.”

IT is no part of my purpose to trace all the votes ofparticular men, unless they are memorable for integrity, or for notoriousinfamy. This I conceive to be the principal duty of an Historian, that hesuppress no instance of virtue, and that by the dread of future infamy and thecensures of posterity, men may be deterred from detestable actions andprostitute speeches. In short, such was the abomination of those times, soprevailing the contagion of flattery, that not only the first Nobles, whoseobnoxious splendour found protection in obsequiousness, but all who had beenConsuls, a great part of such as had been Prætors, and even many ofthe unregistered Senators, strove for priority in thevileness and excess of their votes. There is a tradition, that TIBERIUS, as often as he went out of the Senate, was wont tocry out in Greek, Oh men prepared for bondage! Even he whocould not bear public liberty, nauseated this prostitute tameness ofslaves.

HENCE by degrees they proceeded from acts of abasementto those of vengeance. CAIUS SILANUS, Proconsul of Asia,accused by these our Allies of robbing the public, was impleaded by MAMERCUS SCAURUS once Consul, JUNIUSOTHO Prætor, and BRUTIDIUS NIGER Ædile. They chargedhim with “violating the Divinity of AUGUSTUS, and withdespising the Majesty of TIBERIUS. ” MAMERCUS boasted, that he imitated the great examples of old,“that LUCIUS COTTA was accused by SCIPIO,SERVIUS GALBA by CATO the Censor, PUBLIUS RUTILIUS by MARCUS SCAURUS. ” As ifsuch crimes as these had been ever avenged by SCIPIO and CATO, or by that very SCAURUS, whomthis MAMERCUS his great grandson, and the reproach of hisprogenitors, was now disgracing by the vile occupation of an informer! The oldemployment of JUNIUS OTHO, was that of a schoolmaster.Thence being by the power of SEJANUS created a Senator, helaboured by notorious attempts to triumph over the baseness of his original. BRUTIDIUS abounded in worthy accomplishments, and, had heproceeded in the upright road, was in the readyway to every the most distinguished honour; buteagerness hurried him, while he pushed to surpass first his equals, afterwardshis superiors, and at last his own very hopes; a course which has overwhelmedeven many virtuous men, who, scorning acquirements that came slow, but attendedwith security, grasped at such as were sudden, though linked todestruction.

GELLIUS POPLICOLA, and MARCUSPACONIUS, increased the number of the accusers, the former Quæstor to SILANUS, the other his Lieutenant. Neither was it doubtedbut the accused was guilty of cruelty and extortion. But he was beset with aseries of hardships, dangerous even to the innocent, when, besides so manySenators, his foes, he was to reply single to the most eloquent pleaders of allAsia, chosen purposely to accuse him, ignorant himself of pleading, and besetwith capital terrors, a circumstance which disables the most practisedEloquence. Neither did TIBERIUS spare him, but, with anangry voice and countenance, daunted and interrupted him with incessantquestions; nor was he allowed to refute or evade them, nay, was often forced toconfess, lest the Emperor should have asked in vain. The slaves too of SILANUS, in order to be examined by torture, were deliveredin sale to the City-steward; and that none of his relations might engage toassist him, when his life was thus at stake, crimes of treason were subjoined,a sure bar to all help, and a seal upon their lips. Having therefore requestedan intervalof a few days, he dropped all defence, and tried theEmperor by a Memorial, in which he menaced him with the public odium, andblended expostulations with prayers.

TIBERIUS, the better to palliate by precedent hispurposes against SILANUS, caused to be recited aRepresentation from AUGUSTUS, concerning VOLESUS MESSALA, Proconsul of the same province, and the Decreeof Senate made against him. He then asked LUCIUS PISO hisopinion. PISO, after a long preface of the Emperor’sclemency, proposed “to interdict SILANUS from fire andwater, and to banish him into the island Gyarus.” The rest voted the samething, only that CNEIUS LENTULUS moved, “that the estatedescending from his mother CORNELIA, should bedistinguished from his own, and restored to his son.” TIBERIUS assented. But, CORNELIUSDOLABELLA, pursuing his old strain of adulation, and having first exposedthe morals of SILANUS, added, “that no man of profligatemanners, and marked with infamy, should be admitted to the lot of Provinces;and of this their character the Prince was to judge. Transgressions, he said,were punished by the Laws; but how much more merciful would it be to preventtransgressors! more merciful to the men themselves, more to the Provinces.”

AGAINST THIS TIBERIUS REASONED, “THAT INTRUTH HE WAS NOT IGNORANT OF THE PREVAILING RUMOURS CONCERNING THE CONDUCT OF SILANUS; BUT ESTABLISHMENTS MUST NOT BE BUILT UPON RUMOURS. INTHE ADMINISTRATION OF PROVINCES, MANY HAD DISAPPOINTED OUR HOPES, AND MANY OURFEARS. SOME WERE, BY THE GREAT WEIGHT OF AFFAIRS, ROUSED INTO VIGILANCE ANDAMENDMENT, OTHERS DEGENERATED AND SUNK UNDER THEM. THE PRINCE COULD NOT WITHINHIS OWN VIEW COMPRIZE ALL THINGS, NOR WAS IT AT ALL EXPEDIENT FOR HIM TO MAKEHIMSELF ANSWERABLE FOR THE CHARACTERS OF OTHER MEN ENGAGED IN PURSUITS OFAMBITION. LAWS WERE THEREFORE APPOINTED AGAINST FACTS COMMITTED, BECAUSE ALLTHINGS FUTURE ARE HID IN UNCERTAINTY. SUCH WERE THE INSTITUTIONS OF OURANCESTORS, THAT IF CRIMES PRECEDED, PUNISHMENTS WERE TO FOLLOW. NOR SHOULD THEYCHANGE ESTABLISHMENTS WISELY CONTRIVED AND ALWAYS APPROVED. THE PRINCE HADALREADY SUFFICIENCY OF BURDENS, AND EVEN SUFFICIENCY OF POWER; THE AUTHORITY OFTHE LAWS DECREASED WHEN THAT OF THE PRINCE ADVANCED, NOR WAS SOVEREIGNTY TO BEEXERCISED WHERE THE LAWS WOULD SERVE.” A POPULAR SPEECH, AND THE MORE JOYFULLYHEARD, AS ACTS OF POPULARITY WERE RARE WITH TIBERIUS. TO ITHE ADDED, PRUDENT AS HE WAS IN MITIGATING EXCESSES, WHERE HIS OWN PROPERRESENTMENTS DID NOT CONTROUL HIM, “THAT GYARUS WAS AN UNHOSPITABLE ISLAND, ANDDEVOID OF HUMAN CULTURE; THAT, IN FAVOUR TO THE JUNIAN FAMILY, AND TO APATRICIAN LATELY OF THEIR OWN ORDER, THEY SHOULD ALLOW HIM FOR HIS PLACE OFEXILE THE ISLE OF CYTHERA; THAT THIS TOO WAS THE REQUEST OF TORQUATA, THE SISTER OF SILANUS, A VESTAL VIRGIN OF PRIMITIVE SANCTITY.” THISMOTION PREVAILED.

THE Cyrenians were afterwards heard, and CESIUS CORDUS, charged by them, and impleaded by ANCHARIUS PRISCUS, for plundering the Province, was condemned. LUCIUS ENNIUS, a Roman Knight, was impeached of Treason,“for that he had converted an effigies of the Prince into common uses ofsilver;” but TIBERIUS withstood admitting him as acriminal. Against this acquittal ATEIUS CAPITO openlydeclared his protest from an affected spirit of liberty; “for that the Emperorought not to snatch from the fathers the power of penalties, nor ought such amighty iniquity to pass unpunished; he, indeed, might be passive under his owngrievances; but let him not give up the indignation of the Senate, and theinjuries done the Commonwealth.” TIBERIUS considered ratherthe drift of these words than the expression, and persisted in hisinterposition. The infamy of CAPITO was the more signal,because, learned as he was in Laws human and divine, he thus debased thedignity of the State, and his own personal accomplishments.

THE next was a religious debate, in what Temple to placethe gift vowed by the Roman Knights to FORTUNE stiled the Equestrian, for the recovery of LIVIA; for, though in the city were many Temples to this Goddess, yet none had thattitle. At last it was discoveredthat at Antium was one thus named; and as all thereligious Institutions in the cities of Italy, all the Temples and Statues ofthe Deities, were included in the jurisdiction and sovereignty of Rome, thegift was ordered to be presented there. While matters of Religion were on foot,the answer lately deferred, concerning SERVIUSMALUGINENSIS, Priest of Jupiter, was now produced by TIBERIUS, who recited a Statute of the Pontifs, “that when thePriest of Jupiter was taken ill, he might, with the consent of the chiefPontif, be absent two nights, except on days of public sacrifice, and nevermore than twice in the same year.” This regulation, made under AUGUSTUS, sufficiently shewed, that a year’s absence, and theadministration of Provinces, were not allowed to the Priests of Jupiter. Helikewise quoted the example of LUCIUS METELLUS, ChiefPontif, who restrained to Rome AULUS POSTUMIUS, who wasunder that character. So the lot of Asia was conferred on that Consular who wasnext in seniority to MALUGINENSIS.

DURING this time, LEPIDUS askedleave of the Senate, to strengthen and beautify at his expence the Basilic ofPaulus, a peculiar Monument of the Æmilian family. For even then it was usualwith private men to be magnificent in public structures. Nor had AUGUSTUS blamed TAURUS, PHILIPPUS, or BALBUS, for applying their overflowing wealth, or thespoils of the enemy, towards the decoration of theCity, and the perpetuation of their own fame. Bytheir example LEPIDUS, though but moderately rich, revivedthe venerable glory of his Ancestors. But, as the Theatre of POMPEY was consumed by accidental fire, TIBERIUS undertook to rebuild it, because none of the familywere equal to the charge, and promised that it should, however, be still calledby the name of POMPEY. At the same time, he celebrated thepraises of SEJANUS, and to his vigilance and effortsascribed it, that a flame so violent was stopped at one building only. Hencethe Fathers decreed a Statue to SEJANUS, to be placed uponthe Theatre of POMPEY. Nor was it long after that theEmperor, when he dignified JUNIUS BLESUS with the ensignsof Triumph, declared, “that in honour to SEJANUS he didit,” for, to SEJANUS, BLESUS was uncle.

AND yet the actions of BLESUS wereentitled to so much distinction. For, TACFARINAS, thoughoften repulsed, yet still repairing his forces in the heart of Africa, hadarrived to such a pitch of arrogance, that he sent Embassadors to TIBERIUS, with demands “for a settlement to himself, andhis army,” otherwise he threatened “everlasting war.” They say that upon nooccasion did ever TIBERIUS, for any insult offered himself,and the Roman name, manifest a more sensible indignation; “that a deserter anda robber should presume to offer terms, like an equal foe; when even to SPARTACUS no concession was made ofbeing received and treated under the sanction of thepublic faith, while, after the slaughter of so many Consular armies, he stillcarried, with impunity, fire and desolation through Italy; though theCommonwealth was then gasping under two mighty wars, with SERTORIUS and MITHRIDATES. Much less was TACFARINAS, a free-booter, to be bought off by terms ofpeace, and concession of lands, whilst the Roman people enjoyed the highestpitch of glory and power.” Hence he commissioned BLESUS, “to engage by the hopes of indemnity all his followers, to lay down their arms;but to get into his hands the leader himself, by whatever means.”

SO that by this pardon many were brought over, and thewar was forthwith prosecuted against him by stratagems, not unlike his own. Foras he, who in strength of men was unequal, but in arts of stealth and pillagingsuperior, made his incursions in separate bands, and thence could at once eludeany attack of ours, and harass us by ambushes of his; so on our side, threedistinct routes were resolved, and three several bodies formed. SCIPIO, the Proconsul’s Lieutenant, commanded on that quarterwhence TACFARINAS made his depredations upon theLeptitanians, and then his retreat amongst the Garamantes. In another quarter BLESUS the son led a band of his own, to protect theterritory of the Cirtensians from ravages; between both marched the Proconsulhimself, with the flower of the army, erectingforts, and casting up entrenchments in convenientplaces. By these dispositions he sorely cramped the foe, and rendered all theirmovements dangerous; for, which ever way they turned, still some party of theRoman forces was upon them, in front, in flank, and often at their heels; andby this means many were slain, or made prisoners. This triple army was againsplit by BLESUS into bands still smaller, and over each aCenturion of tried bravery placed. Neither did he, as usual at the end of theseason, draw off his forces from the field, or dispose them intowinter-quarters in the old Province; but, as in the first heat of war, havingraised more forts, he dispatched light parties, acquainted with the wilderness,who drove TACFARINAS before them, continually shifting hishuts; till, having taken his brother, he retreated, too suddenly however forthe good of the province, as there were still left behind instruments torekindle the war. But TIBERIUS took it for concluded, andlikewise granted to BLESUS that he should be by the Legionssaluted Imperator, an ancient honour, usually done to theold Roman Captains, who, upon their successful exploits for their country, werein the shouts and vehemence of victory, thus complimented by their armies; andthere have been at once several Imperators, without anypre-eminence of one over the rest. It was a title vouchsafed to some, even by AUGUSTUS, and now, for the last time, by TIBERIUS to BLESUS.

THIS year died two illustrious Romans, ASINIUS SALONINUS, splendid in his relations and descent; as MARCUS AGRIPPA and ASINIUS POLLIO werehis grandfathers, DRUSUS his half brother, and himselfbetrothed to the Emperor’s grand-daughter; and ATEIUSCAPITO, already mentioned, in civil acquirements the principal man inRome; as to descent, his grand-father was only a Centurion under SYLLA, but his father arrived to the Prætorship. AUGUSTUS had pushed him early into the Consulship, that, by thegrandeur of that office, he might be set above ANTISTIUSLABEO, who excelled in equal accomplishments; for that age producedtogether these two ornaments of peace. But LABEO preservedunstained a spirit of liberty, and thence was more the object of popularrenown; while CAPITO gained by obsequiousness greatercredit with those who bore rule. The former, as he was never suffered to risebeyond the Prætorship, met with matter of praise from a source of injury; tothe other, with the glory of the Consulate, accrued likewise the envy, and withenvy hatred.

JUNIA too, now sixty-four years after the battle ofPhilippi, finished her course; the niece of CATO, sister of BRUTUS, and wife of CASSIUS. Her Willmade much noise amongst the populace; for that being immensely rich, and havinghonourably distinguished with legacies almost all the great men of Rome, sheomitted TIBERIUS; an omission which hetook civilly, nor hindered her Panegyric from beingpronounced in public, nor her Funeral from being celebrated with othercustomary solemnities. Before it were borne the Images of twenty the most noblefamilies, the MANLII, the QUINCTII, andother names of equal lustre; but superior to all shone CASSIUS and BRUTUS, on this very account,that their Images were not with the rest seen now.

END of VOL. I.

a

Vinolentiam libidines usurpans, c. 16.

b

Frustra Arminium præscribi, c. 16.

c

Auctum pecunia, c. 16

d

Jam longius clarescere, c. 16.

e

Unam omnino anguem visam.

f

Atrociorem quam novo regno conduceret, c. 9.

g

Obstrepentibus his, c. 6.

h

Unde tenuis fructus, c. 20.

i

Non eo ventum, c. 26.

k

Insontibus innoxia consilia, ib.

l

Flagitiis manifestis, subsidium ab audacia petendum, ib.

m

Adesse conscios, ib.

n

Claudium, ut insidiis incautum, ita iræ properum, ib.

o

Nomen matrimonii cupivit, ob magnitudinem insamiæ, cujus apud prodigosnovissima voluptas est, ib.

p

Codicillos libidinum indices, c. 34.

q

Quicquid habitum Neronibus Drusis in precium probri cessisse, c.35.

r

Cæterum infracta paulatim potentia matris, delapso Nerone in amorem libertæ,cui vocabulum Acte fuit: simul adsumptis in conscientiam Othone ClaudioSenecione adolescentulis decoris, quorum Otho familia Consulari, Senecioliberto Cæsaris patre genitus, ignara matre, dein frustra obnitente, penitusinrepserant per luxum ambigua secreta. Ne severioribus quidem Principisamicis adversantibus, muliercula, nulla cujusquam injuriâ, cupidines principisexplente: quando uxore ab Octavia, nobili quidem probitatis spectatæ,fato quodam, an quia prævalent inlicita, abhorrebat: metuebaturque, ne instupra feminarum inlustrium prorumperet, si illa libidine prohiberetur. SedAgrippina libertam æmulam, c. An. 13. C. 12. 13.

s

Inter quæ refertur ad patres, de pœna feminarum, quæ servis conjungerentur.Statuiturque, ut ignaro domino ad id prolapsa, in servitutem, sin consensisset,pro liberto haberetur. Pallanti, quem repertorem ejus relationis edideratCæsar, prætoria insignia, centies quinquagesies sestercium censuit consuldesignatus Barea Soranus: additum à Scipione Cornelio, grates publice agendas,quod regibus Arcadiæ ortus, veterrimam nobilitatem usui publico postponeret,seque inter ministros Principis haberi sineret. Asseveravit Claudius, contentumhonore Pallantem, intra priorem paupertatem subsistere. Et fixum est ærepublico Senatus Consultum, c. An. 12. C. 53.

t

The old Translation has it, At Rome hecosetted men of their legacies such as diedwithout children, as if he had laid a snare to entrap them. This isfoolish, but wiser than the other.

a

Accitis quæ usquam egregia.

b

Nihil non ausurum eum in summo magistratu.

c

Ne Catone quidem abnuente eam largitionem e Rep. fieri.

d

Nihil esse Rempublicam; appellationem modo sine corpore ac specie.

e

Nullos non honores ad libidinem cœpit dedit, spreto Patriæ more.

f

Debere homines pro Legibus habere quæ dicat.

g

Eum jus fasque esset occidi, neve ea cædes capitalis noxæ haberetur.

h

Retinuit famam sine experimento.

i

Nemo enim unquam imperium flagitio quæsitum bonis artibus exercuit.

k

Nihil abnuentem, dum dominationis adipisceretur.

l

Cunctis affectibus flagrantiorem dominandi libidinem.

m

See CATO’S Letters, Vol. II.

n

Epist. ad nepot.

o

Abusus dominatione jure cæsus existimaretur. (Sueton.)

a

Libertate improspere repetita.

b

In splendidissimum quemque captivorum non sine verborum contumeliosæviit.

c

Moriendum esse.

d

Cuncta discordiis civilibus fessa, sub imperium accepit.

e

Juniores post Actiacam victoriam, etiam senes plerique inter bella civiumnati.

f

Quotusquisque reliquus qui Rempublicam vidisset?

g

Eadem magistratuum vocabula: sua consulibus, sua prætoribus species.

h

Vernacula multitudo, nuper acto in urbe delectu, lasciviæ sueta, laborumintolerans, implere ceterorum rudes animos; venisse tempus, c. An. 1. C.31.

k

Ubi militem donis, populum annona, cunctos dulcedine pacis pellexit,insurgere paulatim, munia Senatus, Magistratuum, Legum, in se trahere.

l

Bruto Cassio cæsis, nulla jam publica arma.

m

Patres plebem, invalida inermia.

n

Quanto quis servitio promptior, opibus honoribus extollerentur.

o

— Nihil est quod credere de se

Non possit cum laudatur Diis æqua potestas.

p

Semper magnæ fortunæ comes adest adulatio.

q

Gliscente adulatione deterrerentur.

r

Comparatione deterrima sibi gloriam quæsivisse.

s

Provisis etiam hæredum in Rempublicam opibus.

t

Ne successor in incerto soret.

u

Subsidia dominationis.

w

Quippe illi non perinde curæ gratia presentium, quam in posterosambitio.

x

Verso civitatis statu, nihil usquam prisci integri moris.

y

Omnis exuta æqualitate jussa principis aspectare.

a

Nunquam satis fida potentia, ubi nimia.

b

Non dominationem servos, sed rectorem cives cogitaret.

c

Vid. PHIL. DE COMINES and MEZERAY.

d

Omnia sibi in homines licere.

e

Pro me; si merear, in me.

f

Optime quidem; ea demum tuta est potentia, quæ viribus suis modum imponit.Theopompus i itur legitimis regnum vinculis constringendo, quo longius alicentia retraxit, hoc propius ad benevolentiam civium admovit. Val. Max L. 4.C. 1.

g

Nobis Romulus ad libitum imperitaverat.

h

Multi odio præsentium, cupidine mutationis, suis quisque periculislætabantur.

i

Quia pauci prudentia, honesta ab deterioribus, utilia ab noxiis discernunt;plures aliorum eventis docentur.

k

Instrumenta servitutis reges habuere.

l

Solitudinem faciunt, pacem vocant.

m

Irritatus suppliciis.

n

Nihil æque Tiberium anxium habebat, quam ne composita turbarentur.

o

Magno dedecore Imperii, nec minore discrimine.

p

Solusque omnium ante se Principum in melius mutatus est.

q

See Herodian in Marc. Antonin.

r

Spretam voluntatem Principis, descivisse populum: quid reliquum nisi utcaperent ferium?

s

Quidam, postquam regum pertæsum, leges maluerunt.

t

Ut Respublica stare possit.

a

Legem Majestatis reduxerat (Tiberius); cui nomen apud veteres idem, sed aliain judicium veniebant: si quis proditione exercitum, aut plebem seditionibus,denique male gesta Repub. Majestatem populi Romani minuisset. Factaarguebantur, dicta impune erant. Primus Augustus cognitionem de famosislibellis, specie legis ejus tractavit.

b

Tum Claudius inter ludibria aulæ erat.

c

Manebant etiam tum vestigia morientis libertatis.

d

Nihil majus in natura sua laudare se ac probare quam ἀδιατρεψιαι.

e

Cuncta quæstione majestatis exercita.

f

Fœminæ ob lacrymas incusabantur; necataque est VitiaFusii Gemini mater, quod filii necemflevisset.

a

Quem diem vacuum pœna ubi inter sacra vota, vincla laqueusinducantur.

b

Proprium id Tiberio fuit, scelera nuper reperta priscis verbis obtegere.

c

Nobilitas, opes, omissi gestique honores, pro crimine; ob virtutescertissimum exitium.

d

Agerent, verterent cuncta, odio terrore.

e

Corrupti in dominos servi, in patronos liberti, quibus deeratinimicus, per amicos oppressi.

f

Id ipsum paventes, quod timuissent.

g

Ob hæc mors indicta.

h

Mortemque longius in puniendis quibusdam, si natura permitteret, conabaturextendi.

i

Caligulæ, Domitiani, Commodi immanitatem facile superabta, says the same Ammianus.

k

Per simulationem tuendæ Majestatis imperatoriæ multa nefandaperpetrabantur.

l

Ad vicem bellorum civilium inflabant litui quædam coloratæ læsæ Majestatiscrimina—materiam autem in infinitum quæstionibus extendendis dedit occasiovilis parva.

m

Abnuentibus cunctis, cum diversa prœtenderent, eadem, formidine.

n

Interciderat sortis humanæ commercium vi metus; quantumque sævitiaglisceret, miseratio arcebatur.

o

Metus principis rimantur, sævitiæ adrepunt.

p

Per idem tempus L. Piso Pontifex, rarum in tanta claritudine, fatoobiit.

q

Studia civium in se verteret; secessionem jam partes, si multiidem audeant, bellum esse.

r

Nobilem, quod tunc spectaretur, è Cæsarum posteris.

s

Ostorius multa militari fama—metum Neroni fecerat, ne invaderet pavidumsemper — missus Centurio qui cædem ejus maturaret.

t

Quanto metu occultior, tanto plus famæ adeptus.

u

Consuleret quieti urbis; esse illi per Asiam avitos agros.

w

Gliscere ac vigere Brutorum æmulos — rigidi tristis, quo tibilascivium exprobrent.

x

Hominem bonis publicis mœstum.

y

Reddendam pro intempestiva lætitia mœstam funebrem noctem, qua sentiatvivere Vitellium imperare.

z

Plautum magnis opibus — auri vim atque opes principibus infensas.

a

Syllam inopem, unde præcipuam audaciam.

b

Simulatorem segnitiæ, dum temeritati locum reperiret.

c

Plautum ne fingere quidem cupidinem otii, sed veterum Romanorum incitamentapræferre; assumpta etiam Stoicorum arrongantiasectaque, quæ turbidos negotiorum appetentes faciat.

d

Hortorum amœnitate villarum magnificentia quasi principemsupergrederetur.

e

Verginium Rufum claritudo nominis expulit; name Verginius studiajuvenum eloquentia, Musonius præceptis sapientiæ fovebat.

f

Omni bonâ arte in exsilium actâ, ne quid usquam honestum occurreret.

g

Cuncta Legum Magistratuum in se trahens Princeps.

h

Proximorum fauces aperuit primus Constantinus.

i

Cunctas nationes urbes populus, aut primores, aut singuli regunt.Delecta ex his constituta Reipub. forma laudari facilius quam evenire,vel, fi evenit, haud diuturna esse potest.

k

Vulgus duro imperio habitum, probra ac verbera intentabat.

l

Vulgus eadem pravitate insectabatur interfectum, qua foverat viventem.

a

Omnis exuta æqualitate, jussa Principis aspectare.

b

Ut juvenem laudarent, tollerent.

c

Libertatem metuebat, adulationem oderat.

d

Etiam illum, qui libertatem publicam nollet, tam projectæ servientiumpatientiæ tædebat.

e

Adulatione, quæ moribus corruptis, perinde anceps si nulla, ubi nimiaest.

f

Ruere in servitium consules, patres, eques; quanto quis inlustrior, tantomagis falsi ac festinantes.

g

Primores civitatis quorum claritudo sua obsequiis protegendaerat.

h

Tertio gradu primores civitatis scripserat; plerique invisos sibi, sedjactantia gloriaque apud posteros.

i

Scenicas saltandi canendique artes studiosissime appeteret — Thraxauriga.

k

Ut quandocunque concessero, cum laude bonis recordationibus factaatque famam nominis mei prosequantur.

l

Rupto pudore metu, suo tantum ingenio utebatur.

m

Igitur accepto patrum consulto, postquam cuncta scelerum suorum pro egregiisaccipi videt, exturbat Octaviam.

n

Quod ad eum finem memoravimus, ut quicunque casus temporum illorum nobis velaliis auctoribus noscent, præsumptum habeant, quotiens fugas cædes jussitprinceps, totiens grates deis actas; quæque rerum secundarum olim, tum publicæcladis insignia fuisse.

o

Quidam minora vero, ne tum quidem obliti adulationis.

p

Scelerum ministros, ut perverti ab aliis nolebat; ita plerumque satiatus,oblatis in eandem operam recentibus, veteres prægravesadflixit.

q

Ut exprobrantes aspiciuntur.

r

Civitati grande desiderium ejus manfit per memoriam virtutis.

s

Gravescentibus in dies publicis malis, subsidia minuebantur, concessitquevita Burrus.

t

Quibus omnia principis, honesta atqueinhonesta laudare mos est.

a

Est vulgus ad deteriora promptum.

b

Intelligebantur artes, sed pars obsequii in eo ne deprehenderentur.

c

Simulationum falsa in sinu avi perdidiscerat.

d

Ad vana totiens inrisa revolutus, de reddendâ Repub. c. veroquoque hopesto fidem dempsit.

a

Suâ in manu sitam rem Romanam; suis victoriis augeri Rempublicam.

b

Preces erant, sed quibus contradici non posset.

c

Hæc voluerunt: tantis rebus gestic, C. Cæsar condemnatus essem,nisi ab exercitu auxiliumpetissem.

e

Quædam civitates regi Cogiduno donatæ; vetere ac jampridem recepta populiRomani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta servitutis reges.

a

About a Million of Crowns.

b

About eighty-seven thousand five hundred Crowns.

c

About twenty-five Crowns.

d

About seven Crowns and a half.

a

Under that excellent Prince TITUS.

b

Under that terrible tyrant DOMITIAN.

*

About five and twenty thousand Crowns.

a

About twenty-five thousand Crowns.

b

About five thousand Crowns.

c

Seven Crowns and a half.

d

Two hundred and fifty thousand Crowns.

*

Twenty-five thousand Crowns.

Table of Contents

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DISCOURSES UPON TACITUS.

DISCOURSE I.: Upon the former English Translations of Tacitus.

Sect. I.: Of the Translation by Greenway and Sir H. Savill.

Sect. II.: Of the English Translation by several hands.

Sect. III.: Of the last Translation of the first Annal.

Sect. IV.: Of the last Translation of the second Annal.

Sect. V.: Of the last Translation of the third Annal.

Sect. VI.: Of the last Translation of the fourth, fifth, and sixth Annal.

Sect. VII.: Of the last Translation of the eleventh Annal.

Sect. VIII.: Of the last Translation of the twelfth and thirteenth Annals.

Sect. IX.: Of the last Translation of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth Annals.

DISCOURSE II.: Upon Tacitus and his Writings.

Sect. I.: The Character of Tacitus.

Sect. II.: How much he excells in Description and Force.

Sect. III.: Further instances of the justness of his Genius, and of his great Thoughts.

Sect. IV.: The Morality of Tacitus, and his spirit virtuous and humane.

Sect. V.: The Stile of Tacitus, how pertinent and happy: his Obscurity, a charge of the moderns only.

Sect. VI.: A general Character of his Works.

Sect. VII.: Tacitus vindicated from the imputation of deriving events from counsels too subtle and malevolent.

Sect. VIII.: More Proofs of the Candour and Veracity of Tacitus.

Sect. IX.: Mr. Bayle’s unjust censure of Tacitus; and how well the latter knew and observed the Laws of History.

Sect. X.: An Apology for the wrong account by Tacitus given of the Jews and Christians, and for his disregard of the Religion then received.

Sect. XI.: The foolish censure of Boccalini and others upon Tacitus.

Sect. XII.: Of the several Commentators and Translators of Tacitus.

Sect. XIII.: A Conjecture concerning the modern Languages, more largely concerning the English.

Sect. XIV.: A Conjecture concerning the present state of the English Tongue, with an account of the present Work.

DISCOURSE III.: Upon Cæsar the Dictator.

Sect. I.: Of Cæsar’s Usurpation, and why his Name is less odious than that of Catiline.

Sect. II.: Of the publick Corruption by Cæsar promoted or introduced; with his bold and wicked Conduct.

Sect. III.: Cæsar might have purified and reformed the State; but far different were his intentions. His Art, good Sense, and continued ill Designs.

Sect. IV.: The probability of his waxing more cruel, had he reigned much longer.

Sect. V.: Cæsar no lawful Magistrate, but a public Enemy.

Sect. VI.: Of the share which Casualties had, in raising the Name and Memory of Cæsar. The Judgment of Cicero concerning him.

Sect. VII.: How vain it is to extol any Designs of his for the Glory of the Roman people.

Sect. VIII.: Of his Death; and the rashness of ascribing to divine Vengeance the fate of such as slew him.

DISCOURSE IV.: Upon Octavius Cæsar, afterwards called Augustus.

Sect. I.: Of the base and impious Arts by which he acquired the Empire.

Sect. II.: Of the vindictive spirit of Octavius, and his horrid Cruelties.

Sect. III.: Of the treachery, ingratitude, and further cruelties of Octavius. That the same were wanton and voluntary.

Sect. IV.: Of the popular Arts and Accidents which raised the Character of Augustus.

Sect. V.: Though Augustus courted the people, and particular Senators, he continued to depress public Liberty, and the Senate.

Sect. VI.: What Fame he derived from the Poets and other flattering Writers of his time.

Sect. VII.: Of the false Glory sought and acquired by Augustus, from the badness of his Successors.

Sect. VIII.: The Character of Augustus.

Sect. IX.: Of the Helps and Causes which acquired and preserved the Empire to Augustus. His great Power and Fortune no proof of extraordinary Ability.

DISCOURSE V.: Of Governments free and arbitrary, more especially that of the Cæsars.

Sect. I.: The Principle of God’s appointing and protecting Tyrants, an Absurdity not believed by the Romans.

Sect. II.: The reasonableness of resisting Tyrants asserted, from the Ends of Government, and the Nature of the Deity. Opinions the most impious and extravagant, why taught, and how easily swallowed.

Sect. III.: The danger of slavish Principles to such as trust in them, and the notorious insecurity of lawless Might.

Sect. IV.: Princes of little and bad Minds, most greedy of Power. Princes of large and good Minds chuse to rule by Law and Limitations.

Sect. V.: The Wisdom and Safety of ruling by standing Laws, to Prince and People.

Sect. VI.: The Condition of free States, how preferable to that of such as are not free.

Sect. VII.: The Misery and Insecurity of the Cæsars from their overgrown Power.

Sect. VIII.: A representation of the Torments and Horrors under which Tiberius lived.

Sect. IX.: The terrible Operation of lawless Power upon the minds of Princes; and how it changes them.

Sect. X.: The wretched Fears accompanying the Possession of arbitrary Power, exemplified in Caligula and other Roman Emperors.

Sect. XI.: What it is that constitutes the Security and Glory of a Prince; and how a Prince and People become estranged from each other.

Sect. XII.: How nearly it behoves a Prince to be beloved and esteemed by his Subjects. The terrible Consequences of their mutual Mistrust and Hatred.

Sect. XIII.: Public Happiness only then certain, when the Laws are certain and inviolable.

DISCOURSE VI.: Of the old Law of Treason by the Emperors perverted and extended.

Sect. I.: The antient Purpose of that Law; the Politics of Augustus in stretching it.

Sect. II.: The Deification of the Emperors, what an engine of Tyranny, and snare to the Roman People.

Sect. III.: The Images of the Emperors, how sacred they became, and how pernicious.

Sect. IV.: What a destructive Calamity the Law of Majesty grew, and how fast Treasons multiplied under its Name.

DISCOURSE VII.: Of the Accusations, and Accusers under the Emperors.

Sect. IV.: The pestilent Employment of these Men, their Treachery and Encouragement.

Sect. II.: The traiterous Methods taken to circumvent and convict Innocence. The spirit of accusing how common, the dread of it how universal; and the misery of the Times.

Sect. III.: Plots feigned or true, an ample field for Accusations and Cruelty; and upon what miserable Evidence Executions were decreed.

Sect. IV.: What ridiculous Causes produced capital Guilt. The spirit of the Emperor Constantius; with somewhat of his Father Constantine.

Sect. V.: The black and general carnage made under Constantius, by his bloody Minister Paulus Catena, for certain Acts of Superstition and Curiosity.

Sect. VI.: The Ravages of the Accusers continued; their Credit with the Emperors; yet generally meet their Fate. The Falsehood of these Princes. The melancholy State of those Times.

Sect. VII.: The increase of Tyranny. Innocence and Guilt not measured by the Law, but by the Emperor’s Pleasure and Malice.

Sect. VIII.: What Tacitus means by Instrumenta regni.

Sect. IX.: How much these Emperors hated, and how fast they destroyed all great and worthy Men. Their dread of every Man for any Reason.

Sect. X.: Reflections upon the Spirit of a Tyrant. With what Wantonness the Roman Emperors shed the blood of the Roman People. The blindness of such as assisted the Usurpation of Cæsar and Augustus.

Sect. XI.: Why under such Tyrants, the Senate continued to subsist.

Sect. XII.: How the unrelenting Cruelty of the Emperors hastened the Dissolution of the Empire. The bad Reigns of Constantine and Constantius. The good Reign of Julian. The indiscreet behaviour of the Christians. Continued Tyranny; and end of the Empire.

Sect. XIII.: The Excellency of a limited Monarchy, especially of our own.

DISCOURSE VIII.: Of the general Debasement of Spirit and Adulation which accompany Power unlimited.

Sect. I.: The motives of Flattery considered. Its vileness, and whence it begins.

Sect. II.: Men of elevated Minds irreconcileable to Arbitrary Power, and thence suspected by it. The Court paid to it always insincere, sometimes expedient, but seldom observes any bounds.

Sect. III.: The excessive Power of the Imperial freed Slaves; with the scandalous Submission and Honours paid them by the Romans.

Sect. IV.: The excessive Flattery of the Senate, how ill judged.

Sect. V.: The free Judgment of Posterity a powerful warning to Princes, to reign with moderation and to detest Flatterers. The Name and Memory of the Roman Tyrants how treated.

Sect. VI.: How lamentably Princes are debauched and misled by Flatterers.

Sect. VII.: The pestilent tendency of flattering Counsels, and the Glory of such as are sincere.

DISCOURSE IX.: Upon Courts.

Sect. I.: Of Freedom of Speech; and how reasonable it is.

Sect. II.: The Spirit of Courtiers what; some good ones.

Sect. III.: The Arts of Courtiers; their Cautiousness, and its Causes.

Sect. IV.: Of Slanderers and Tale-bearers in Courts. The Folly of Craft.

Sect. V.: How much worthless People abound in Courts, and why.

Sect. VI.: The remarkable Fickleness and Insincerity of Courtiers.

DISCOURSE X.: Of Armies and Conquest.

Sect. I.: The Burden and Danger of maintaining great Armies.

Sect. II.: Great Armies the best disciplined, whether thence the less formidable to a Country. Their Temper and Views.

Sect. III.: Princes ruling by military Power, ever at the Mercy of military Men.

Sect. IV.: Instances of the Boldness and Fury of the Roman Soldiery.

Sect. V.: The Humour of conquering, how injudicious, vain, and destructive.

Sect. VI.: The Folly of conquering further urged and exemplified.

THE ANNALS OF TACITUS.

BOOK I.

The SUMMARY.

BOOK II.

The SUMMARY.

BOOK III.

The SUMMARY.