A Smaller History of Rome Part 21

s.e.xTUS AURELIUS PROPERTIUS was a native of Umbria, and was born about B.C. 51. He was deprived of his paternal estate by an agrarian division, probably that in B.C. 33, after the Sicilian War. He began to write poetry at a very early age, and the merit of his productions soon attracted the attention and patronage of Maecenas. The year of his death is altogether unknown. As an elegiac poet a high rank must be awarded to Propertius, and among the ancients it was a disputed point whether the preference should be given to him or to Tibullus. To the modern reader, however, the elegies of Propertius are not nearly so attractive as those of Tibullus. This arises partly from their obscurity, but in a great measure, also, from a certain want of nature in them. The fault of Propertius was too pedantic an imitation of the Greeks. His whole ambition was to become the Roman Callimachus, whom he made his model. He abounds with obscure Greek myths, as well as Greek forms of expression, and the same pedantry infects even his versification.

P. OVIDIUS NASO, usually culled OVID, was born at Sulmo, in the country of the Peligni, on the 20th of March, B.C. 43. He was descended from an ancient equestrian family, and was destined to be a pleader; but the bent of his genius showed itself very early. The hours which should have been spent in the study of jurisprudence were employed in cultivating his poetical talent. It is a disputed point whether he ever actually practiced as an advocate after his return to Rome. The picture Ovid himself draws of his weak const.i.tution and indolent temper prevents us from thinking that he ever followed his profession with perseverance, if, indeed, at all. He became, however, one of the _Triumviri Capitules_; and he was subsequently made one of the _Centumviri_, or judges who tried testamentary, and even criminal causes. Till his 50th year he continued to reside at Rome, where he had a house near the Capitol, occasionally taking a trip to his Pelignian farm. He not only enjoyed the friendship of a large circle of distinguished men, but the regard and favor of Augustus and the imperial family; notwithstanding, in A.D. 9, he was suddenly commanded by an imperial edict to transport himself to Tomi, a town on the Euxine, near the mouths of the Danube, on the very border of the empire. He underwent no trial, and the sole reason for his banishment stated in the edict was his having published his poem on the Art of Love (_Ars Amatoria_). The real cause of his banishment is unknown, for the publication of the Art of Love was certainly a mere pretext. Ovid draws an affecting picture of the miseries to which he was exposed in his place of exile. He complains of the inhospitable soil, of the severity of the climate, and of the perils to which he was exposed, when the barbarians plundered the surrounding country, and insulted the very walls of Tomi. In the midst of all his misfortunes he sought some relief in the exercise of his poetical talents. He died at Tomi in the 60th year of his age, A.D. 18. Besides his amatory poems, Ovid wrote the _Metamorphoses_ in 15 books, which consist of such legends or fables as involved a transformation, from the Creation to the time of Julius Caesar, the last being that emperor's change into a star; the _Fasti_ in 12 books, of which only the first six are extant, a sort of poetical Roman calendar, with its appropriate festivals and mythology; and the _Elegies_, written during his banishment. Ovid undoubtedly possessed a great poetical genius, which makes it the more to be regretted that it was not always under the control of a sound judgment. He exhibits great vigor of fancy and warmth of coloring, but he was the first to depart from that pure and correct taste which characterizes the Greek poets and their earlier Latin imitators.

We now turn to the history of prose literature among the Romans. The earliest prose works were Annals, containing a meagre account of the princ.i.p.al events in Roman history, arranged under their respective years. The earliest Annalists who obtained reputation were Q. FABIUS PICTOR and L. CINCIUS ALIMENTUS, both of whom served in the Second Punic War, and drew up an account of it, but they wrote in the Greek language.

The first prose writer in the Latin language, of whom any considerable fragments have been preserved, is the celebrated Censor, M. Porcius Cato, who died B.C. 149, and of whose life an account has been already given. He wrote an important historical work ent.i.tled _Origines_. The first book contained the history of the Roman kings; the second and third treated of the origin of the Italian towns, and from these two books the whole work derived its t.i.tle; the fourth book treated of the First Punic War, the fifth book of the Second Punic War, and the sixth and seventh continued the narrative to the year of Cato's death. There is still extant a work on agriculture (_De Re Rustica_) bearing the name of Cato, which is probably substantially his, though it is certainly not exactly in the form in which it proceeded from his pen. There were many other annalists, of whom we know little more than the names, and whose works were used by Livy in compiling his Roman history.

Oratory was always cultivated by the Romans as one of the chief avenues to political distinction. Cicero, in his work ent.i.tled _Brutus_, has given a long list of distinguished Orators whose speeches he had read, but he himself surpa.s.sed all his predecessors and contemporaries. In his works the Latin language appears in the highest perfection. Besides his numerous orations he also wrote several treatises on _Rhetoric_, of which the most perfect is a systematic treatise on the art of Oratory (_De Oratore_), in three books. His works on _Philosophy_ were almost the first specimens of this kind of literature ever presented to the Romans in their own language. He does not aim at any original investigation or research. His object was to present, in a familiar and attractive form, the results at which the Greek philosophers had arrived, not to expound any new theories. His Epistles, of which more than eight hundred have come down to us, are among the most valuable remains of antiquity. Cicero, during the most important period of his life, maintained a close correspondence with Atticus, and with a wide circle of political friends and connections. These letters supply the most ample materials for a history of the Roman Republic during its last struggles, and afford a clear insight into the personal dispositions and motives of its chief leaders.

The most learned Roman under the Republic was M. TERENTIUS VARRO, a contemporary and friend of Cicero. He served as Pompey's lieutenant in Spain in the Civil Wars, but was pardoned by Caesar after the battle of Pharsalia, and was employed by him in superintending the collection and arrangement of the great library designed for public use. Upon the formation of the second Triumvirate, Varro's name appeared upon the list of the proscribed; but he succeeded in making his escape, and, after having remained for some time in concealment, he obtained the protection of Octavian. His death took place B.C. 28, when he was in his 80th year.

Not only was Varro the most learned of Roman scholars, but he was likewise the most voluminous of Roman authors. We have his own authority for the a.s.sertion that he had composed no less than 490 books, but of these only two have come down to us, and one of them in a mutilated form: 1. _De Re Rustica_, a work on Agriculture, in three books, written when the author was 80 years old; 2. _De Lingua Latina_, a grammatical treatise which extended to 24 books, but six only have been preserved, and these are in a mutilated condition. The remains of this treatise are particularly valuable. They have preserved many terms and forms which would otherwise have been altogether lost, and much curious information connected with the ancient usages, both civil and religious, of the Romans.

C. JULIUS CaeSAR, the great Dictator, was also distinguished as an author, and wrote several works, of which the _Commentaries_ alone have come down to us. They relate the history of the first seven years of the Gallic War in seven books, and the history of the Civil War down to the commencement of the Alexandrine in three books. Neither of these works completes the history of the Gallic and Civil Wars. The history of the former was completed in an 8th book, which is usually ascribed to Hirtius. The history of the Alexandrine, African, and Spanish Wars was written in three separate books, which are also ascribed to Hirtius, but their authorship is uncertain. The purity of Caesar's Latin and the clearness of his style have deservedly obtained the highest praise.

C. SALl.u.s.tIUS CRISPUS, a contemporary of Caesar, and one of his supporters, was also distinguished as a historian. He was born B.C. 86 at Amiternum, in the country of the Sabines, and died in B.C. 34. After the African War (B.C. 46) he was left by Caesar as governor of Numidia, where he acquired great riches by his oppression of the people. Two of his works have come down to us, the _Catilina_, the history of the suppression of Catiline's conspiracy, and the _Jugurtha_, the history of the war against Jugurtha. Sall.u.s.t made Thucydides his model, and took great pains with his style.

CORNELIUS NEPOS, the contemporary and friend of Cicero and Atticus, was the author of numerous works, all of which are lost, with the exception of the well-known Lives of Distinguished Commanders (_Vitae Excellentium Imperatorum_). But even these Lives, with the exception of that of Atticus, are probably an abridgment of the original work of Nepos, made in the fourth century of the Christian era.

Of the prose writers of the Augustan age the most distinguished was the historian t.i.tUS LIVIUS, usually called LIVY. He was born at Patavium (_Padua_), B.C. 59. The greater part of his life appears to have been spent in Rome, but he returned to his native town before his death, which happened at the age of 76, in the fourth year of Tiberius, A.D.

17. His literary talents secured the patronage and friendship of Augustus; and his reputation became so widely diffused, that a Spaniard traveled from Cadiz to Rome solely for the purpose of beholding him; and, having gratified his curiosity in this one particular, he immediately returned home. Livy's "History of Rome" extended from the foundation of the city to the death of Drusus, B.C. 9, and was comprised in 142 books. Of these 35 have descended to us. The whole work has been divided into _decades_, containing 10 books each. The First decade (bks.

i.-x.) is entire. It embraces the period from the foundation of the city to the year B.C. 294, when the subjugation of the Samnites may be said to have been completed. The Second decade (bks. xi.-xx.) is altogether lost. It included the period from B.C. 294 to B.C. 219, comprising an account, among other matters, of the invasion of Pyrrhus and of the First Punic War. The Third decade (bks. xxi.-x.x.x.) is entire. It embraces the period from B.C. 219 to B.C. 201, comprehending the whole of the Second Punic War. The Fourth decade (bks. x.x.xi.-xl.) is entire, and also one half of the Fifth (bks. xli.-xlv.). These 15 books continue the history from B.C. 201 to B.C. 167, and develop the progress of the Roman arms in Cisalpine Gaul, in Macedonia, Greece, and Asia, ending with the triumph of aemilius Paullus. Of the remaining books nothing is extant except inconsiderable fragments. The style of Livy may be p.r.o.nounced almost faultless. In judging of his merits as a historian, we are bound to ascertain, if possible, the end which he proposed to himself. No one who reads his work with attention can suppose that he ever conceived the project of drawing up a critical history of Rome. His aim was to offer to his countrymen a clear and pleasing narrative, which, while it gratified their vanity, should contain no startling improbabilities or gross amplifications. To effect this purpose, he studied with care the writings of some of his more celebrated predecessors in the same field; but in no case did he ever dream of ascending to the fountain-head, and never attempted to test the accuracy of his authorities by examining monuments of remote antiquity.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Maecenas.]

[Footnote 74: These were probably composed in the Saturnian metre, the oldest species of versification among the Romans, in which much greater license was allowed in the laws of quant.i.ty than in the metres which were borrowed from the Greeks.]

[Footnote 75: The name signifies a mixture or medley. Hence a _lex per saturam lata_ is a law which contained several distinct regulations at once.]

[Footnote 76: _Georg._, iii., 41.]

[Footnote 77: Comp. _Georg._, iv., 560, and ii., 171.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Aureus of Augustus Caesar.]

CHAPTER x.x.xIX.

THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CaeSAR. B.C. 31-A.D. 14.

Augustus, being now the emperor of Rome, sought to win the affections of his people. He lived with republican simplicity in a plain house on the Palatine Hill, and educated his family with great strictness and frugality. His public conduct was designed to conceal his unbounded power. He rejected all unworthy members from the Senate, and limited the number of the Senators to six hundred. The Comitia of the Centuries was still allowed to pa.s.s laws and elect magistrates, but gradually these powers were taken away, until, in the reign of Tiberius, they are mentioned no more. The emperor's chief counselors in public affairs were his four friends, M. Vipsanius Agrippa, C. Cilnius Maecenas, M. Valerius Messala, and Asinius Pollio, all persons of excellent talents, and devoted to their master. Agrippa aided him greatly in embellishing the city of Rome with new buildings, and the Pantheon, which was built in the Campus Martins, still bears the inscription, _M. Vipsanius Agrippa, consul tertium_. Augustus was accustomed to say that he found Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble.

To secure the peace of the capital, and to extirpate the robbers who filled its streets, Augustus divided Rome into fourteen regions, and each region into several smaller divisions called _Vici_: a magistrate was placed over each _Vicus_, and all these officers were under the command of the city prefect. A police force, _Vigiles_, seven hundred in number, was also provided, who succeeded in restoring the public peace.

Italy, in a similar manner, was divided into regions, and local magistrates were appointed, who made life and property every where secure.

We must notice briefly the extent and condition of that vast empire, over which Augustus ruled--too vast, in fact, to be subjected to the control of a single intellect. Italy, the peculiar province of the emperor, had lost a large part of its free population, whose place was supplied by slaves; military colonies were numerous, a kind of settlement which never tended to advance the prosperity of the country; the cities were declining, and many of them almost abandoned. The north of Italy, however, still retained a portion of its former prosperity; its great droves of swine supplied the people of Rome with a large part of their food; vineyards also abounded there, and the wine-vats of upper Italy were said to be often larger than houses. Coa.r.s.e woolen cloths were manufactured in Liguria, and a finer wool was produced near Mutina.

But Italy, once so fertile, could no longer produce its own corn, for which it depended chiefly upon Sicily, Africa, and Egypt.

The island of Sicily, too, had suffered greatly during the civil wars.

Its cities were fallen into ruin, and the woods and mountains were filled with fugitive slaves, who, when captured, were taken to Rome and exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheatres. A Roman colony was planted by Augustus in the almost deserted city of Syracuse.

The condition of the extensive province of Gaul was more promising, its savage tribes having begun to adopt the arts of civilization. The Gauls purchased from southern traders such articles as they were unable to produce at home, and supplied Italy, in return, with coa.r.s.e wool and cargoes of bacon. Several Roman colonies established in Gaul enjoyed various political privileges, but the people in general were oppressed with taxes and burdened with debts. The religion of the Druids was discouraged by laws which forbade human sacrifices, and, indeed, all rites opposed to the Roman faith. In Southern Gaul the city of Ma.s.silia (Ma.r.s.eilles) had imparted civilization to the neighboring tribes: they learned to use the Greek characters in writing, while many of the Gallic cities invited Greek teachers to open schools in their midst.

Spain, rich in gold and silver, in fine wool, and a prolific soil, traded largely with Rome. The valley of the Baetis, or Guadalquiver, was renowned for its uncommon fertility. Many of the Spaniards had already adopted the language and manners of their conquerors. Spain was divided into three provinces, Baetica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarraconensis.

Gades, or Cadiz, was one of the richest cities of the empire, and, according to Dion Ca.s.sius, had received the privilege of Roman citizenship from Julius Caesar, whom its people had aided against Pompey's officers. The tribes in the northwest of Spain, however, were savage and unquiet, and their language, the Basque, which still exists, shows that they were never perfectly conquered by the Romans.

The northern coast of Africa, opposite to Spain, was held by Juba, a native prince, while the Roman province of Africa embraced ancient Carthage, together with a considerable territory around it. This province possessed a large trade. Cyrenaica, to the eastward, included the island of Crete, and was termed a praetorian province.

Egypt was ruled by a governor, who was always taken from the equestrian order. Two legions only were stationed in that province. Being the centre of the trade between Italy and the Indies, Egypt acc.u.mulated great wealth, and was renowned for its extensive commerce. It exported large quant.i.ties of corn to Italy, and also papyrus, the best writing material then known. The two finest kinds of papyrus were named the Augustan and the Livian. Alexandria, the sea-port of Egypt, was the second city of the empire. Its commerce was immense; and its museum, colleges, library, and literary men made it also the centre of Greek literature. Alexandria, too, was famous for its superst.i.tion and its licentiousness: the festivals and rites of Serapis had long excited the contempt of the wiser Romans.

The trade between Alexandria and the Indies was carried on through two routes: one was the famous ca.n.a.l which, begun by Pharaoh Necho, was completed under the government of the Ptolemies. Leaving the Nile near the southern point of the Delta, the ca.n.a.l, after a somewhat circuitous course, joined the Red Sea at the town of Arsinoe, near the modern town of Suez. Another route was overland from Coptos, on the Nile, across the desert, to Berenice and Myos Hormos. Along this road wells were dug or reservoirs of water provided, and thus an easy communication was kept up with the East. Heavy duties, however, were laid upon all goods entering or leaving Alexandria, and its extensive trade afforded a great revenue to the government.

From Egypt to the aegean Sea, various provinces were created in Syria and Asia Minor. The most extensive of these were the two provinces of Syria and Asia, which were governed by lieutenants of the emperor. Judea retained a nominal independence, under the government of Herod; Jerusalem was adorned by Herod with magnificent buildings; and Antioch, Tyre, and several other eastern cities were still prosperous and luxurious. They were, however, heavily taxed, and suffered from the tyranny and exactions of their Roman rulers.

Greece, in the age of Augustus, seems to have been a scene of desolation. It was divided into two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia, both belonging to the jurisdiction of the Senate and the people. Greece had suffered greatly during the civil wars, and had never recovered its ancient prosperity. The peninsula was partly depopulated. Laconia had long lost its importance, and Messenia and Arcadia were almost deserted. Corinth and Patrae, however, were flourishing Roman colonies; Thebes was a mere village; Athens still retained its literary renown, and was always a favorite resort for cultivated Romans; but its harbor was deserted, its walls thrown down, and the energy of its people forever gone.

Macedonia had suffered equally with Greece, and no trace remained of its former power. Thus we find that the civilized world, at the accession of Augustus, was every where marked by desolation and decay.

The Roman empire, at this period, was bounded on the north by the Euxine, the Danube, the Rhine, and the British Channel; westward it reached to the Atlantic; on the south it was confined by the deserts of Africa, and on the east by a.s.syria and Mesopotamia. The Mediterranean Sea was wholly within the empire, and afforded an easy mode of communication with the different provinces.

The government which Augustus now established was designed to preserve the memory of the republic, while the real power remained with the emperor alone. The people were deprived of all their former importance; the Comitia were only suffered to pa.s.s upon laws proposed by the Senate, which was now wholly under the control of the emperor. Consuls and other magistrates were still chosen annually, and Augustus, in the earlier years of his reign, was accustomed to solicit votes for his favorite candidates, who, however, were always elected; later he contented himself with furnishing them with a written recommendation. The Senate met twice in every month, instead of three times, as was the former custom, except during September and October, when no meetings were held.

The provinces were governed by proconsuls, several of whom were appointed by the Senate and the people; but all of them were carefully observed by the emperor. Rome itself was governed by a prefect, whose duty it was to preserve the public peace.

In this manner Augustus, by the aid of his proconsuls, held a despotic rule over all his dominions. He controlled the Senate, too, through his authority as censor, and appointed or deposed its members; and he raised the property qualification of each Senator to about $50,000. A large part of the people of the capital were maintained by the free distribution of corn; but Augustus reduced the number from 320,000 to 200,000, providing for the poorer citizens by settling them in new colonies, and his measures seem to have produced general contentment.

He was also sincerely desirous to reform the morals of the nation.

Several laws were pa.s.sed encouraging marriage, and in B.C. 18 he obliged the Senate to decree that marriage should be imperative upon every citizen of suitable age. Celibacy was punished by an incapacity to receive bequests, and even the childless married man was deprived of half his legacy; these efforts, however, failed, and a general license prevailed. As censor, he sought to restrain extravagance, and limited the sum to be expended upon entertainments. He insisted that the _toga_, the national dress, be worn at least at the public spectacles; he endeavored to preserve the distinctions of rank by providing each of the three orders with its own seats in the circus; and he plainly sought to elevate the aristocracy, and to withdraw all political power from the people. It is said, however, that he once entertained the design of resigning his authority, but was prevented from doing so by the advice of his friends, who represented to him that the Romans were no longer capable of governing themselves.

The Praetorian guard, which Augustus provided for his own protection, consisted of ten cohorts, each containing 800 or 1000 men, both cavalry and foot: of these only three cohorts were kept in the city, the others being distributed through the Italian towns. These soldiers received double pay, and were commanded by the _praefectus praetorii_: at a later period they became the masters of the empire.

The whole army, amounting to about 350,000 men, was encamped in various portions of his dominions. His fleet, which numbered 500 ships, was stationed chiefly at Misenum and Ravenna. His revenues arose from the contributions of the provinces, from various taxes, and from the rent of the public domain. An excise was imposed upon all goods exposed for sale, and there was also a tax upon all bachelors.

Augustus encouraged commerce and industry, built new roads, and provided the capital with an abundance of food. Games and public spectacles were exhibited to amuse the people, a free distribution of corn relieved the indigent, literature was encouraged, the arts flourished with new vigor, and the people and the Senate, pleased with present tranquillity, bestowed upon Augustus the t.i.tle of the Father of his Country.

Several conspiracies, however, alarmed the emperor. In B.C. 30, Lepidus, a son of the former triumvir, had formed a plot for his destruction, which was detected by Maecenas, and its author put to death. Another, in B.C. 22, was also unsuccessful. In A.D. 4, Cinna, a grandson of Pompey, was discovered in a similar attempt, and was pardoned at the request of Livia; he was afterward even raised to the consulship. But so intimidated was Augustus by the fear of a.s.sa.s.sination, that, toward the close of his life, he never went to a meeting of the Senate without wearing a breastplate under his robe.

The military enterprises of Augustus were in general successful. He led an army into Spain, and subdued the Cantabri and Astures, returning to Rome B.C. 24. While in Spain he founded several cities, among others Augusta Emerita (Merida), and Caesar Augusta (Saragossa). Phraates, king of the Parthians, fearful of the Roman arms, gave up the Roman standards taken from Cra.s.sus and Antony, B.C. 20, and this event was celebrated by striking medals and by the verses of the Augustan poets. The emperor hung up the standards in a temple which he had built at Rome to Mars, the Avenger.

Tiberius and Drusus, the two sons of Livia by her former husband, were distinguished commanders, and gained many victories over the Germans; but, in B.C. 9, Drusus died from a fall from his horse. Tiberius then took the command of the army, and gained a great victory over the Sigambri. He returned to Rome B.C. 6, and triumphed; was saluted Imperator, and received the tribunitian power for five years.

Soon after, indignant at the dissolute conduct of his wife Julia, and the honors bestowed upon her sons by Agrippa, he withdrew to Rhodes, where he remained for seven years, a discontented exile. He returned to Rome in A.D. 2, and, two years after, was adopted by Augustus as his son. He next conquered a large part of Germany, and defeated several large bodies of the Marcomanni in what is now the territory of Bohemia.

But, while he was employed upon this expedition, Arminius, the German hero, excited an insurrection of his countrymen against the cruel Romans, cut off Varus, their leader, with his army, and filled Rome with alarm. Germany seemed lost. Augustus, when he heard of the disaster, exclaimed, "Varus! Varus! give me back my legions!"

Tiberius, however, together with Germanicus, the brave son of Drusus, returned to the defense of the frontier, but did not venture to penetrate into the forests beyond the Rhine.