266 ROMAN PHILOSOPHY. 



and on the Danube, by which the philosophic monarch protected the 

 boundaries and ensured the subsequent tranquillity of the Roman 

 empire. His reign forms part of the happy period in which the vast 

 extent of that empire has been characterised, as having " been governed 

 by absolute power under the guidance of virtue and wisdom." The 

 predilection of Antoninus for the Stoical system displayed itself early 

 in his life. At the age of twelve years he commenced that discipline 

 of patience and self-restraint, which in after-life enabled him to be the 

 master of himself, whilst he was the sovereign of the world. Through- 

 out life his self-command was complete and exemplary. In his youth 

 he was not a slave to the fervour of his passions, nor was he the play- 

 thing of ambition in his maturer age. In his palace he preserved the 

 strictness and system of a general. In his camp he composed a great 

 part of those philosophical meditations which will immortalize his 

 name. Even his own favourite sect never carried him away captive 

 from good sense, or led him to indulge in their extravagant pretensions 

 and paradoxes. His character is a bright example of the best influence 

 of the Stoical tenets, operating upon a mild temper and amiable dis- 

 position; and supplying that firmness and energy which are most 

 required for, but are rarely found combined with such a nature. 



