A h K 



formed hU tade, eiil.iv;,rtd liis underilHiiJlnjJ. und gave !''« 

 tliL- noblcil ideas of nuin and goverinncnt. The cxercifcs 

 ..f the body fucccoded to tliofe of the mind ; ?.nd Alexan- 

 der, "ho was tall, attive, and robull, fni-palTed moll of liia 

 equals in the gymnalllc arts. Refiofiied by the ufe of the 

 bath and a lliglit dinner, he refiimcd, with new vigour, the 

 bnfmefs of the day ; and, till the hour of fupper, the pnn- 

 tipal meal of the Romans, he was attended by his fecrctanes, 

 with whom he read and anfwered the multitude of letters, 

 memorials, and petitions, that mull have been addreifed to 

 the maftcr of the grcateft part of the world. His table 

 was ftned with the moll fnigal fimplicity, and whenever 

 fie was at lib-rty to oonfult his own inelination, the com- 

 pany conlllltd of a few kKH friends, men of learning and 

 viriuc, amongll whom Ulpian was conilantly invited. 'I'heir 

 tonverfation was familiar and inilnidive ; and the paufea 

 were occalionally enlivened by the reeital of fome pleating 

 compofitiun, which fiipplied the place of the dancers, come- 

 dians, and even gladiators, i'o frKjiicntly fumnioned to the 

 tables of the rich and luxurious Roirans. The drefs of 

 iVlexandcr was plain and modell, his demeanour courteous 

 and atr:di!e : at tiie proper hours his palace was open to 

 nil his fubjecls ; but the voice of a crier was heard, as in 

 the Eleuiinian mylleries, pronouncing the fame lalutary 

 admonition ; " Let none enter tlufe holy walls, unlets he 

 is confcious of a pure and innocent mind." 



His mother,thougli a princtfsofluund judgment and good 

 difpofitlon, and though he owed many of the excellencies he 

 poirefTed to herwifdoin and attention, was more fond of pomp 

 than himfelf; and did not approve the plainnefsand popularity 

 of his behaviour. " Take care," faid (lie to him one day, 

 ")0u weaken not your authority,and render it contemptible." 

 " I render it," he anfwered, "more fecure and more dur- 

 able." Whilil he was ilnct, and fomttimes fevcre, in his 

 adminiftration of public jullice, and in the punidiment of 

 thofc who opprcfrtd the public, he was naturally mild 

 and gentle : and though he praftifed rigid economy, and 

 exercifcd felf-denial in eveiy thing that pertained to his 

 own gratification, he was liberal and beneficent. In the 

 courfe of his reign he made three general diliributions of 

 provifions to the people, and three largefiVs in money to the 

 foldicrs. To the indigent and dillreffed he gave lands, 

 flaves, cattle, and all necelfaiy implements of hufbandry ; 

 rightly judging, that this mode of cxercifing his liberality 

 was more beneficial and lefs humiliating than the giving of 

 gold and filver. If he granted pecuniary afllftance, it was 

 by way of loan ; and he eilabliihed a bank, where all who 

 wanted money found it at a moderate intereil, and on fome 

 occafion he lent without intereil. It was a faying of this 

 emperor ; " Imperium in virtute, non in decore ;" /. e. 

 " The majcily of the empire confifls in virtue, and not in 

 an oftentation of riches." Although he was very religious, 

 his offerings in the temples were not magnificent. He of- 

 ten repeated the words of Pcrfius (Sat. ii. v. 69.) " In 

 fanfto quid facit aurum ?" " What has gold to do with 

 facred things ?" His icfpedl for virtue extended to the 

 dead, as well as to the living. Accordingly he collefted in 

 Trajan's fquare the ilatues of the deified emperors of 

 Rome, and of the hunous Roman commanders, and 

 adorned them with infcriplions, fettlng forth their great 

 exploits and eminent virtues. In his palace he had two 

 chapels, in which the principal objefts of his veneration 

 were ranged in two clafTes, the one deftined to virtue, and 

 the other to talents. In the firil were placed the good em- 

 peror?, among whom he very enoneoufly ranked Alexan- 

 der the Great ; and next to them the wife men, by whofe 

 tjfeful leffous mankind had been benefited j and here were 

 7 



ALE 



blended Abraham, Orpheus, Apollonius TyaMKu?, and 

 Jefus Chrilt. The fecond chapel was dellintd to military 

 heroes, and men confpicuous in the republic of letters, 

 Acliilles, Cicero, Virgil, whom he called the Plato of the 

 poets, and fome others. In order to encourage the pi'ogrefs 

 of letters and of fcience in general, he allotted penfions to 

 rhetoricii.ns, graminarianp, phyficians, architedls, men 

 (killed in mechanics, and even to arufpices and adrologers. 

 He eilabliihed fchools for all ihefe arts, and provided for the 

 iidlruftion of the poor without expcnce to them. His life, 

 however, has not been free from blemilhes. His deference 

 for his mother was confideied as carried to a culpable cxcefs, 

 more efpecially as fhe, with all her good qualities, was ad- 

 difted to vanity and avarice. He gave htr name to fcveral 

 buildings, which, as we learn from 7\nimianus Marcelliiiu;) 

 (lib. xxviii. p. 372), they retained in the fourth century; 

 and caufed her to be honoured with the titles of Augufta, 

 mother of her country, of the armies, and of the leiiate. 

 He was alio charged, and not altogether without foundation, 

 with being of a fufpicious and inquifitive temper ; and with 

 being inclined to vanity; which latter weaknefs he indicated 

 by his avidity of praife and his affeiiiation of being regarded 

 as a Roman and of the family of iVIarcclli, and not a Syrian. 

 Plis timidity likewife betrayed him into imbecillity of con- 

 dnft ; particularly with reference to the prxtorian guards, 

 who by their mutiny produced a civil w ar in Rome, that 

 lailed three days, and that terminated in the maifacre of 

 Ulpian. Although this wife man, who was the friend of 

 the laws and of the people, fheltered himfelf from the fc- 

 ditious rage of this clafs of peri'ons in the emperor's palace, 

 and was murdered even in his prefence, he had not reiulutioa 

 fufficient to avenge this atrocious crime in the manner it de- 

 ferved. Such indeed was the weaknefs of government, that 

 the tyranny of the army threatened with inftant death his 

 moll faithful minillers, provided that they were only fuf- 

 peiled of an intention to corrett their intolerable diforders. 

 The hiflorian Dion Caffius, who had commanded the Pan- 

 nonian legions with a fpirit of ancient diicipline, and whom 

 the emperor recompenfed by appointing him his colleague in 

 the confullhip, was compelled to retire, by his advice, from 

 the citv, and to fpend the greatefl part of his confullhip at his 

 villas in Campania, and the remainder of his days in Bithynia, 

 his native countiy. Dion. Caff. Hill. lib. Ixxx. p. 1371. 



On another occafion, however, he manifefled a becoming 

 firmnefs and magnanimity. When fome of the foldiers at 

 Antioch had excited a fedition in the legion to which they 

 belonged, and interrupted his mild expoflulations by their 

 clamours, he addrefled them in the following dignified and 

 fplrited language : " Refcrve your fhouts, till vuu take the 

 field againft the Perfians, the Germans, and the Sarmatians. 

 Be filent in the prefence of your fovereign and benefaftor, 

 who beftows upon you the corn, the clothing, and the money 

 of the provinces. Be filent, or I fliall no longer flile you 

 feldiers, but citizens; if thofe indeed who difclalm.the laws 

 of Rome deferve to be ranked among the meaneil of the 

 people." When their brandiihed arms threatened even his 

 perfon ; " your courage," refumed the intrepid emperor, 

 " would be more nobly difplayed in the field of battle ; me 

 you may dcftroy ; you cannot intimidate ; and the fevcre 

 juflice of the repubhc would puniih your crime, and revenge 

 my death." The clamour continuing, the empcior, with a 

 loud voice, pronounced the decifive fentencc : " Cilizens, 

 lay down your arms, and depart in peace to your rcfpeftive 

 habitations." Such was the cffeft of the fentence, that the 

 clamour was inllantly filenced ; the foldiers conteifed their 

 crime, and fupplicated forgivenefs ; nor were they reflored 

 to their rank in the army, till he had punifhed with death 



thofc 



