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tilian. The translation of Aratus which has reached our time, is, 

 in the opinion of Vossius, undoubtedly the work of this emperor. 

 His subsequent tyranny, indeed, frustrated the hoi>es which these 

 promises gave, and his banishment of the philosophers merited the 

 keen reprobation which it has received from the philosophic pen of 

 Tacitus. Nerva, who succeeded, was also a poet. His elegant 

 verses had gained him the friendship of Nero, and the honor of 

 having his statue erected in the palace of that tyrant. Tliough 

 Trajan was prevented, by having spent his younger years in a 

 camp, from obtaining the renown of a scholar, the encouragement 

 which he gave to learning, appears in the great number of eminent 

 writers who flourished in his reign, among whom the names of Ju- 

 venal, Tacitus, and the younger Pliny, are the most distinguished. 

 Adrian, at the age of fifteen, had made such proficiency in the 

 study of Greek, that he was named the young Grecian. Gifted with 

 a memory capacious and retentive almost beyond credibility, a me- 

 mory which could repeat a whole volume after a single perusal, and 

 name every soldier in the Roman army, he excelled at once in 

 every branch of literature, science, and the fine arts. He united 

 the lighter pursuits of painting and music to the study of physic, 

 botany, and mineralogy ; the grammarian's accuracy to the orator's 

 vehemence, and the enthusiasm of the poet to the patience of 

 the mathematician. He gave a welcome reception in his court 

 to all who had signalized themselves in these pursuits; and often 

 found amusement in disputing with the philosophers, and challeng- 

 ing the poets in extemporaneous verses, which he poured forth with 

 the fluency of an improvisatore. He also wrote a Greek poem enti- 

 tled the Alexandriad, and several other works botli in prose and 

 verse. Florus, Suetonius, and Arian the disciple of Epictetus, adorned 

 his reign. Antoninus Pius was frugal of the treasury, and deemed it a 



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