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in Rhodes, was constantly employed in matters which, 

 although they would have allowed him to conceal his 

 real disposition, he could never have managed with such 

 success, unless his conduct had been directed by the force 

 of his real character. 



Augustus succeeded in making himself master of the 

 republic by accumulating: in his person the different 

 high functions of the state. Tiberius, proud and energetic, 

 abolished even the shadow of the sovereignty of a nation 

 which he despised. The Romans being sufficiently dis- 

 posed to obedience, the only obstacles in his way were 

 the worn-out institutions oi' the nntient republic. Imme- 

 diately upon the accession of Tiberius, Agrippa Postumus 

 was put to death, probably by order of Tiberius (Sue- 

 tonius, Tiberius, c. 22; Tacitus, Amial., i. 6.) About 

 this time the supreme power was ottered by the troops on 

 the Lower Rhine to Germanicns, who however refused it ; 

 and the mutiny was quelled by him and by Drusus, the son 

 of Tiberius, who commanded in Pannonia. Tiberius began 

 by some enactments which tended to ameliorate the state 

 of morals ; he abolished the comitia for the election of 

 the various officers of the state, and transferred the elec- 

 tion to the senate, the members of which were subservient 

 to liim. It has been already said that Tiberius intended 

 to destroy the last remnants of the antient sovereignty of 

 the people, and to supplant the majesty of the Roman 

 nation by the majesty of the emperor. Augustus had 

 already employed the Lex Julia Majestatis to punish the 

 authors of libels against his person (Tacitus, Annul., 

 i. 72) ; and his example was followed by Tiberius, who 

 established the .Indicia Majestalis. by which all those who 

 were suspected of having impugned the majesty of the 

 emperor, either by deeds or by words, were prosecuted with 

 the utmost severity. The number of the delatores, or 

 denouncers of such crimes, daily increased, and a secret 

 police was gradually established in Rome, as well organ- 

 1 1 supported by spies, as the secret police 

 ot Napoleon. The property, honour, and life of the 

 citizens were exposed to the most unfounded calumnies, 

 and a general feeling of anxiety and moral disease pre- 

 vailed through the empire. The natural severity of 

 Tiberius gradually degenerated into cruelty, and he showed 

 symptoms of that, misanthropy and that gloomy state of 

 mind which increased with years. In the mean time Ger- 

 manicus, the favourite of the army, had avenged the de- 

 feat of Varus. but Tiberius recalled him from Germany, 

 ami sent him into the East (17 A.D.). Germanicus con- 

 quered Cilicia ami Commagene, and he renewed the alli- 

 ance with the Parthians. but he died suddenly at Antioch 

 (19 A. D.) : public opinion accused (Jneius Piso, the com- 

 mander in Syria, of having poisoned Germanicns by order 

 of the emperor ; but before Piso could be sent to trial, he 

 was found dead. 



.inus, the son of a Praefectus Praetorio, succeeded 

 in obtaining the confidence of the emperor (19-22 

 A.D.\ who henceforth gradually abandoned to him the 

 direction of public affairs, of wnich Seianus became the 

 absolute master from the year 22 A.D. Drusus, the 

 son of Tibvriiis. who had governed the Roman part of 

 Germany with great ability, was poisoned by Seianus 

 -i A.D.), and this crime was followed by a great many 

 others, with which it is po~-iblc that (he emperor was very 

 imperfectly acquainted. His practice was to shut himself 

 up within his palace, and to spend his time in the most 

 revolting debauchery. After the death of Drusus, Tiberius 

 nmended to the. senate as his successors, Nero and 

 Drusus, the sons of the unfortunate Germanicus and of 

 Aerippina, who was still alive. In 2G A.D., Seianus at 

 last persuaded him to retire from public affairs. Tiberius 

 fiillo'.vfd his advice and went to Capua and Nola, until at 

 last he fixed his residence on the island of Capreae in the 

 Gulf of Naples. The life which he led at Capreae was a 

 series of infamous pleasures. 



From this time all public affairs were directed by Seianus ; 

 the emperor was inaccessible. T. Sabinus, a friend of Nero, 

 was put to death; statues were erected to Seianus, and re- 

 ceived divine honours. Afterthe death of Livia, in 29 A.D., 

 the authority of Seianus was at its height ; but at last An- 

 tonia.the aged mother of Germanicus, penetrated through 

 the barriers ot ( 'aprcoe, and informed the aged Tiberius that 

 -ins had left him only the name of emperor. She was 

 .oiled by Macro, the commander of the Praetorian 

 guard. In consequence of this information, Tiberhis 



ordered the senate to condemn Seianus; and the senate 

 obeyed : Seianus, his family, and his friends were put to 

 death in 31 A.D. Some time after this event, Tiberius 

 retired from Capreae, and took up his residence at a villa 

 near Misenum, which had formerly belonged to Lucullus. 

 (Suetonius, Tiberius, c. 73.) On the 16th March, 37 A.D., 

 he fell into a lethargy, and everybody believing him to be 

 dead, Caligula, the third son of Germanicus, the favourite 

 of old Tiberius, was proclaimed emperor. However 

 Tiberius recovered, and Macro, in order to save himself 

 and the new emperor, ordered him to be suffocated in his 

 bed. Thus died Tiberius, at the age of seventy-eight, after 

 a reign of twenty-three years. (Tacitus, Anna/., vi. 50 ; 

 Suetonius, Tiberiv, c. 73.) 



There is little doubt that the crimes said to have been 

 committed during the reign of Tiberius, either by himself 

 or by others in his name, are real facts. But the question 

 is whether they are all to be imputed as crimes to 

 Tiberius. His insanity is a fact which can hardly be 

 doubted ; a dark melancholy, disgust of life, and misan- 

 thropy, had taken possession of him, and his struggle with 

 the idea of self-destruction often threw him into wild 

 despair. He found consolation in the sufferings of others, 

 and thus gave those bloody orders which he afterwards 

 regretted. The unnatural pleasures to which he was 

 addicted were only another mode of soothing the despair 

 of his soul. It is prolKible that his insanity was complete 

 when he retired to Capreae. Sometimes he had lucid 

 intervals, in which he wrote those letters of which Sue- 

 tonius gives some extracts (Tiberius, c. 67), and in which 

 he confesses the wretched state of his soul. His physical 

 health was excellent, until some days before his death. 

 Tiberius loved the arts and literature. According to Sue- 

 tonius he wrote a lyric poem, ' Conquestio de L. Csesaris 

 Mortc ;' he also wrote poems in Greek, choosing for his 

 models Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenius, the author of 

 an erotic poem which has come down to us. 



(Suetonius, Tiberius i Velleius Paterculus, ii., c. 94, &c. ; 

 Tacitus, Annal., lib. i.-vi. ; DionCassius, lib. xlvi.-xlviii. ; 

 Horn, Tiberius, ein Historisches Gem'dlde. The character 

 of Tiberius has been defended by Buchholz, Philosophische 

 Untersuchungen, vol. ii., p. 49, &c.) 



TIBE'RIUS II., ANI'CIUS THRAX, FLA'VIUS CON- 

 STANTI'NUS, one of the greatest and most virtuous 

 emperors of the East. He was born in Thrace towards 

 the middle of the sixth century A.D., and belonged to a 

 rich and very distinguished family, the history of which is 

 unknown to us. He was educated at the court of 

 .histinian, whose successor, Justin II. (565-578), loved 

 him as his son, and employed him in various civil and 

 military offices. In 573 Tiberius, who was then general 

 of the Imperial guards, commanded the army against the 

 Avars, who were powerful north of the Save and the 

 Danube. His lieutenant having neglected to watch the 

 passages of the Danube, Tibenus was surprised by the 

 Avars and lost a battle. However, he recovered this loss, 

 and concluded a peace, by which the possession of the 

 important fortress of Sirmium, now Mitrowicz, on the 

 Save, near its junction with the Danube, was secured to 

 the Romans. This was one of the few advantages 

 obtained by the Greek armies during the unfortunate 

 ; of Justin II. Italy, which had been conquered by 

 Justinian, was overrun by the Longobards ; the Berbers 

 ravaged the kingdom of Carthage, which had been taken 

 from the Vandals ; and on the Persian frontier Chosroes 

 ^Khosrew) made various conquests. Justin, feeling his 

 incompetency, and having lost his son, looked for a co- 

 regent, and his choice fell upon Tiberius. The great 

 talents of Tiberins, his amiable character, his generosity 

 and love of justice, and his sincere piety, had won him 

 the hearts of the nation, and the esteem of the emperor 

 and his ministers. Justin was confirmed in his choice by 

 the empress Sophia, whose private views on this occasion 

 harmonised with the interest of the state. Tiberius was 

 the handsomest man at the court, and it seems that 

 Sophia intended to marry him on the death of Justin. 

 However this may be, before she declared in his favour, 

 she asked him whether he was married. Tiberius imme- 

 diately guessed the motive of the question, and answered 

 that he was not, although he was secretly married to a 

 lady named Anastasia. He thus gained the protection 

 dl the empress, and was proclaimed Caesar by Justin on 

 the 7th of December, 574, in a most solemn assembly of 



