TRAJAN. 



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as accidental as that ram, in English, means a male 

 sheep, and also to drive down. So far Mr Adelung. 

 The invention of tragedy, in its first rude form, is 

 ascribed to Thespis, who lived in the time of Solon. 

 According to Herodotus, the people of Sicyon in- 

 troduced tragic choruses before the times of Thes- 

 pis, first in honour of Bacchus, then cf Adrastus ; 

 to them, therefore, the invention of the Greek tra- 

 gedy is generally ascribed ; its developement is due 

 to JEschylus. As Aristotle found it, he described 

 it as a dramatic poem, which has for its object to 

 purify by terror and pity, awakened by the poetical 

 imitation of an action. To understand this oft-re- 

 peated explanation, we must examine the meaning 

 of purifying passions by means of passions. The 

 artificial production of those passions which affect 

 us disagreeably, cannot well have any effect in 

 purifying the soul, except by strengthening the 

 mind, and exercising it in governing the passions in 

 general. For such a purpose, indeed, a state of 

 mind seems proper, in which man feels at the same 

 time the influence of strong emotions, and the power 

 to free himself from their influence at pleasure. 

 Into this state tragedy strives to bring us. It aims 

 to awaken in us those passions which rest on sym- 

 pathy (and which, therefore, impede our inward 

 freedom less than the purely selfish ones), by an 

 artificial appearance, by truth of conception without 

 reality of action, and whilst it does not hide the 

 want of reality, it leaves us the feeling of ability to 

 free ourselves from the influence of the scene at 

 pleasure, even if it were only by the consciousness 

 that the whole is but appearance. Who could 

 calmly witness the performance of a tragedy if he 

 really thought, but for a moment, the sufferings 

 represented on the stage were real? The poet 

 strives to operate upon us by the liveliness of his 

 creations, and thus to arouse within us those powers 

 which counteract the passions. As the exercise of 

 these powers is the object in view, he must avoid 

 carrying the sympathetic emotion so far, that we 

 can escape the pain only by a complete destruction 

 of the illusion ; because, as soon as we take this 

 means, that exercise of the moral faculty ceases. 

 We must be able to suffer the conception of being 

 in the situation of the actors, even when we see 

 them perish, by feeling in ourselves the existence 

 of those powers, of which they, for the moment, 

 seem to be deprived. From this point of view, 

 the definition of Aristotle is perhaps to be recon- 

 ciled with what has been said, in modern times, on 

 the essence of tragedy. Even dramatic writers 

 have confounded the melancholy with the tragic ; 

 but it may be deduced from what has been said, 

 that the essence of tragedy does not depend on the 

 melancholy end, on the tears extorted, but on the 

 greatness and elevation of the chief idea contained 

 in the fable, and which it illustrates, as by a living 

 example. Whilst we pity the suffering depicted, 

 we must be able to delight in the nobleness of its 

 cause, as, otherwise, no feeling is excited in us .but 

 a purely painful one, from which we can only escape 

 by the idea that the whole spectacle is an illusion. 

 Many theories have been started to explain what is 

 properly the tragical in tragedy, some very obscure, 

 others less so ; as that the tragical is founded on 

 the struggle of human freedom with necessity, of 

 the will with fate, &c. But the comic, the true 

 comic, is, in many cases, nothing else. This strug- 

 gle belongs to the drama in general. See Drama. 

 TRAJAN. M. Ulpius Trajanus, a Roman em- 

 peror, born in Italica, in the Spanish province of 



Bcetica, was the son of Trajanus, a distinguished 

 Roman commander, under Vespasian. He accom- 

 panied his father in a campaign against the Parthi- 

 ans, and also served on the Rhine, where he ac- 

 quired so high a character, that when the excellent 

 and aged Nerva came to the throne, he adopted 

 him, and raised him to the rank of Cresar, in 97, 

 being then in his forty-second, or, according to 

 some, in his forty-fifth year, and of a most dignified 

 appearance and commanding aspect. His elevation 

 immediately curbed the insolence of the pretorian 

 guards ; and Nerva dying a few months after, he 

 peaceably succeeded to the throne. He was at 

 that time in Germany, where he remained for 

 more than a year, to settle a peace with the 

 German states, and, in 99, set out with a nume- 

 rous escort to Rome. After a liberal largess 

 to the soldiers and people, he took measures for 

 supplying the capital with corn ; in which he was 

 eminently successful. He then proceeded to punish 

 and banish the pernicious tribe of informers, and to 

 reduce some of the most odious of the taxes, and 

 showed the most praiseworthy solicitude to fill the 

 most important posts with men of talent and inte- 

 grity. Like Augustus, he cultivated personal friend- 

 ships, and visited his intimates at their houses with 

 entire confidence, and as a private person. His 

 palace was open to his friends and to all who chose 

 to enter it, and his audiences were free to all the 

 citizens. At his table were always some of the 

 most respectable Romans, who indulged in the ease 

 of mixed conversation. Although his early military 

 experience had prevented him from acquiring the 

 accomplishments of learning, he was sensible of its 

 importance, and founded libraries ; and under his 

 patronage, the stndies were revived which had suf- 

 fered from the persecution of Domitian. His virtues 

 procured for him, by the unanimous voice of the 

 senate, the title of Optimus. In the third year of 

 his reign, he accepted of a third consulship ; and 

 during his possession of this magistracy, the cele- 

 brated panegyric upon him was pronounced by Pliny, 

 which is still extant. In the following year, a war 

 broke out with Decebalus, king of the Dacians, 

 whom he subdued. He then returned to Rome, 

 and enjoyed the honours of a triumph, with the 

 name of Dacicus. The two following years he 

 passed at Rome, and in the last of them, 103, Pliny 

 was made governor of Pontus and Bithynia, which 

 circumstance gave rise to a series of official letters 

 between him and Trajan, which, beyond any rhe- 

 torical panegyric, afford proof of the liberal spirit 

 of the government. Among these are the famous 

 epistles respecting the Christians, whom he directs 

 Pliny not to search for, but to punish if brought 

 before him ; and on no account to listen to anony- 

 mous charges. In 104, Decebalus renewed the war 

 with the Romans, which immediately called out 

 the warlike emperor, who, with a view to form a 

 road for his troops, constructed a bridge over the 

 Danube, which was deemed one of the greatest 

 works of antiquity. He then marched into Dacia, 

 and reduced the capital of Decebalus, who, in des- 

 pair, killed himself; and Dacia became a Roman 

 province. His passion for war the only fault 

 which can be charged on Trajan as a sovereign 

 exhibits him, for the remainder of his reign, 

 rather as a victorious commander, engaged in dis- 

 tant expeditions for the enlargement of the em- 

 pire, than as a sovereign ruler. The disposal of 

 the crown of Armenia led, in the first instance, to 

 a contest with Chosrocs the Parthian, of which wai 



