happiness of his people was regarded by him as the greatest glory of his reign. During this reign, happened that eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in which Pliny, the celebrated philosopher, was destroyed. Titus was succeeded by Domitian, his younger brother, whose vices and cruelties were surpassed by none of his predecessors. After him, followed five princes in succession, whose names will ever adorn the history of Rome. They were Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. These great men swayed the sceptre for about eighty years. They did whatever could be expected from the greatest of men and of princes, in rendering the administration just, energetic and wise, and in making their subjects happy. But if the Roman people, even in the times of Augustus, had fallen from their ancient glory and virtue, if they had lost that greatness and independence of mind, which raised the republic to conquest and renown, what now must have been their state, after being prostrated, and degraded for a century by the worst of ernment. CHAPTER XIV. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE ROMAN HISTORY, FROM THE ACCESSION OF AUGUSTUS TO THE DEATH OF MARCUS AURE LIUS. THE period now before us contains about 210 years, viz. from the accession of Augustus, to that of Commodus. Concerning this period, we shall note a few things; and 1. The Roman empire, during this period, contained the middle and southern parts of Europe, the northern parts of Africa, and the western parts of Asia. In the directions and advice of Augustus to his successor, it was warmly recommended, that the empire should not be enlarged. Accordingly, the weak and effeminate emperors had no inclination nor ability to do it; and the valiant and warlike generally found business enough in defending what they already had; while the wise and prudent were sensibly impressed with the propriety of the advice of Augustus. The empire was, indeed, of vast extent; and, if we cast our eyes upon a map, we shall directly see, that it compre hended, as an elegant historian remarks, "the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind." During this period, however, very considerable additions were made to the empire, and I believe, more or less, in the three quarters of the globe. In Europe the Gallic and German provinces were enlarged, the island of Great Britain was subdued, and several large countries on this side and beyond the Danube, as Illyricum, Dacia, Pannonia, &c. The emperor Trajan, in order to prosecute the war with the Dacians, erected a stupendous bridge across the Danube; the ruins of which remain to this day, and afford a sublime specimen of ancient architecture. 2. The cruelty, depravity, folly and enormous vices of the emperors generally, form a striking feature in this period. They seem to have been utterly lost to all sense of justice, honor and duty. Had they followed the examples of Julius or Augustus Cesar, the Romans would scarcely have had reason to regret the establishment of a form of government, which rescued them from deplorable wars and wasting revolutions, urged on by the rage of various powerful parties, succeeding one another. Indeed it is surprising, that the illustrious examples of those great men should be deserted immediately, and so soon forgotten; and it can be accounted for in no other way, than by supposing, that the reins of government fell into the weakest and vilest of hands. When we consider the advantages the first emperors of Rome possessed, it can scarcely be doubted that many of them were the lowest, the most detestable and abandoned villains, that ever swayed a sceptre. Nor can we read the history of Rome, without wondering, how it was possible for that once powerful and magnanimous people, to be so sunk and depraved, as to endure the tyranny of such monsters, instead of hurling them, with indignant scorn, from the throne they so deeply disgraced. 3. If the fate of Poland, in our own times, stands as a beacon, exhibiting to the nations of the earth, a dreadful testimony of the effects of bad government; we may certainly derive a still stronger testimony from this period of the Roman history. The wars of Marius and Sylla, of Cesar and Pompey, and of Augustus and Antony, had *Though Gibbon has some excellences besides his "elegance," the young reader must be cautious not to imbibe his stiffness, his affectation, and especially, his obscurity.-Ed. demonstrated the power of individuals to ens.ave the state. Those wars had almost exterminated the ancient Romans; had extinguished almost all the great and eminent families, and quite all the great men, who dared to speak and act like Romans. At the same time, an immense multitude of foreigners from all parts of the world, poured into Rome; and the army, which always governed Rome, was composed of a mercenary, rapacious crew, as void of public spirit, as of all sense of justice and honor. An empire, governed by a prince as profligate and abandoned, as he was weak and ignorant, and who was merely the tool of a mutinous, ill-disciplined and vicious soldiery, must certainly experience the worst of governments, and must feel their worst effects. Accordingly, the lustre of Rome faded; her power decayed; her virtue and happiness were forever lost; and she was abandoned to every evil and calamity. From various internal causes, the strength of the Roman empire declined greatly, during the two first centuries of the Christian era. She was not only absolutely but comparatively weaker. Many of the Asiatic provinces seemed only to observe a nominal subjection; and the Parthians, especially, gained strength, rose and triumphed, and set Rome at defiance. The nations of Gaul and Germany grew strong, and often showed signs of revolt, and even indications, that they were one day to trample upon the ashes of their conquerors. 4. The Romans soon gave melancholy proofs of the decay of learning, as well as of civility and politeness. We have spoken of the deplorable fate of Cicero. Augustus, under the infamous pretence of appeasing the resentment of Mark Antony, had murdered and mangled that great man. The crafty tyrant well knew, how necessary it was for him to silence that eloquence, which must have shaken his throne, and exterminate that virtue, which must have thrown continual embarrassments in the way of his ambitious schemes. Mæcenas, the great friend of Virgil and Horace, still lived; but he only lived as a flatterer, to form new modes of adulation, and to act the cringing parasite. In the course of the reign of the twelve Cesars, the Roman horizon, which had been once illuminated with one immense constellation of poets, orators, philosophers, statesmen, heroes and sages, was left in dreary darkness. And if we descend to the reign of Commodus, we shall see few lights on that once splendid horizon, but such as most resembled the horrid glare of Tartarean fires. "From those flames No light, but rather darkness visible Yet the names of Seneca, Lucian, Pliny, Josephus, Quintilian, Tacitus, Juvenal, Plutarch, Justin and Galen, were scattered down this tract of time; long after which, Longinus flourished; and Marcus Aurelius, the emperor, was a great philosopher, and an ornament to the republic of letters. 5. It will be proper in this place, to notice to the young reader, the nature and form of the Roman legion, a military establishment and grand instrument of the Roman power, by which Rome conquered and governed the world. It had been improving through every period of the republic, and was still farther improved by Julius Cesar and some of his successors. The main strength of the legion consisted in a body of infantry, divided into ten cohorts and fifty-five companies, which companies were more or less full. Each cohort was commanded by a prefect or tribune; and each company, by a centurion. The first cohort, which always claimed the post of honor and carried the eagle, contained 1105 soldiers, the most approved for bravery and fidelity. The remaining cohorts consisted each of 555; and the infantry of a legion, in its most improved state, amounted to 6,100 men. Their arms, which were uniform, consisted of a helmet with a lofty crest, a breast-plate or coat of mail, greaves on their legs, and on their left arm a concave buckler, of an oval form, four feet in length and two and a half in breadth. This buckler was formed of light wood, covered with bull's hide, and strengthened with plates of brass. The pilum, a long and heavy spear, was the most effective of the Roman weapons. With this they usually conquered. It was about six feet long, and terminated in a triangular point of steel, eighteen inches in length. This dreadful javelin, when launched from the vigor of a Roman arm,' often pierced helmets, breast-plates and bucklers; nor was there any cavalry, that chose to venture within its reach. When the pilum was thrown, which was commonly within the distance of ten or even six yards, the soldier drew his sword, and closed with the enemy. The sword was a two-edged, short, well tempered blade. fitted to strike or push; the latter of which the Romans were instructed to prefer. The legion, in battle array, stood eight deep, preserving the distance of three feet between both the ranks and files; so that each one had a sufficient space to move and wield his arms in; and this loose order gave great celerity to their movements. It is remarked, perhaps justly, by Mr. Gibbon, that "the strength of the phalanx was unable to contend with the activity of the legion." But could the phalanx of Alexander have contended with the legion of Julius Cesar, each under the eye and animated by the spirit of those great commanders, a different conclusion perhaps might be drawn. A body of cavalry, consisting of ten troops or squadrons, was an essential appendage of each legion. The first troop of horse was the companion of the first cohort, and consisted of 132 men. The other nine consisted each of 66 men, and were attached to the remaining nine cohorts. The cavalry of a complete legion amounted to 726 men. Their defensive arms were a helmet, an oblong shield, light boots and a coat of mail. Their effective weapons were a javelin and a long broadsword. Thus the regular infantry and cavalry of a legion amounted to 6,826 men; besides which, several light armed troops, called auxiliaries, were attached to it, which, together with all the various attendants for baggage, &c. swelled each legion to upwards of 12,000 men. To every legion, was assigned ten engines of the larger size, and fifty-five of the smaller, for throwing large stones and heavy darts. The force of these engines was such, as to produce astonishing effects on walls and towers, and they are thought by some writers of note to have been little inferior to cannon. The camp of two complete legions usually occupied an exact square of nearly 700 yards on each side. This spot was levelled by the pioneers, and the tents were then pitched in the form of regular, broad streets, the prætorium or general's quarters in the centre. The whole square was then surrounded by a rampart 12 feet high, compactly formed of wood and earth, and also enclosed by a ditch 12 feet broad and deep. When this camp was to be left, it is incredible how soon the legions would be in motion. Their tents being struck and packed, each legionary loaded himself with his arms, kitchen furniture and provisions, sometimes for many days; and, with this weight, which, says |