AUG 



in cafe of any fudd.'n comiiiotion. His land forces confided 

 m 25 iL'gions, of which eight were on tjie Rhine, four on the 

 Danube, three inSpain, and two in Dahnatia. Thcotherei"-ht 

 were fent into Afia and Africa, four being quartered in the 

 neiiJ-hbourhood of theEnphratcs and in Syria, tw6 in Egypt, 

 aiid two in the province of Africa, confilting of the ancient 

 dominions of Carthage. The whole number of thefe, con- 

 ftaiitly maintained by Auguftus, and for fome ages by his 

 fnccefibrs, amounted to 170,650 men. In the vicinity of 

 Rome were always quartered 12 cohorts, about 10,000 

 men, of which nine were called prxtorian cohorts, and the 

 other three city cohorts. Tlicy were eftabliflied to guard the 

 emperor's perfon, and to maintain the peace of the citv. 

 That the former m.igiit be vigilant and faithful in their 

 duty for the fafety of the emperor's perfon, the fenatc 

 ordered their pay to be doubled. Befides thefe numerous 

 and-well diiciplined land-torces, Angullus kept conflartly 

 at fea two powerful fleets; one riding at anchor nf.ar Ra- 

 venna, in the Upper or Adriatic fea, the other at Mifcnum, 

 in the Lower or Mediterranean fea. 



Auguftus, having fettled all affairs in the capital, pafTed 

 into Gaul, towards the clofe of the year B.C. 27. with a 

 dclign of proceeding to the reduction of the Britifli iflands ; 

 but on his arrival at Narbonne, he received information 

 that the Salaifians at the foot of the Alps, and the Canta- 

 brians and Afturians in Spain, luid fhaken off the Ro- 

 man yoke : he therefore difeontinued his progrefs, and 

 marched in perfon into Spain, for the pm-pofe of fubdmng 

 thofe nations that had revolted. The conqueft of the Sa- 

 laffians he committed to his generals. In the year B. C. 

 23, Auguftus marrried his daughter Julia to his nephew 

 Marcellus ; and in the courfe of the year he was feized with 

 a dangerous diforder, v.hich threatened his life, of which 

 he was cured by his phylician Antonius Mufa, who devi- 

 ated from the common practice in adniiniftering cooling po- 

 tions, and recomm,ending the ufe of the cold bath. His 

 health was not only reftored, but his conftitution was ren- 

 dered more firm and vigorous than it had ever been be- 

 fore. . AVhen his hfe was thought to be in danger, he de4i- 

 vered his ring to Agrippa, thus intimating that he deemed 

 him to be a proper fucceffor. Marcellus, who was gene- 

 rally regarded as his intended fuceeflbr, was difgulled by 

 this preference ; but the death of this prince, who was 

 greatly regretted by the Roman people, made way for the 

 introduftion of Agrippa to court, and from this time he 

 continued the moil confidential f.iend of Auguilus. At 

 this time the adminiftration of the empire was conducted 

 with great equity and moderation ; and many inftances are 

 recorded, in which Auguftus excrcifed lenity and felf-de- 

 iiial, aiid recommended "himfelf by the refpeCl wlrch he 

 manifefted to the fenate and to the courts of jnlllce. In the 

 year B. C. 22, he declined the offices of didator ar.d of 

 cenfor, which were offered him by the fenate, and in his 

 general conduct he aifecled to appear no otherwife than as 

 a private citizen. To him it is I'aid, the title of « lord" 

 and " mafter" was always an objeft of deteftation, becaufe 

 its counterpart was that of a " flave ;" and to thofe who 

 behaved to him with difrefped, and who libe kd lum m 

 their fpeeches or writings, he was fingularly meek and for- 

 giving. Neverthelefs, mild and equitable as was the govern- 

 ment of Auguftus, feveral confpiracies were formed agamlt 

 him, during the courfe of his reign ; that of I'annius Ccc- 

 pio and Liciuius Murena, which was deteded, fo that the 

 principals were punifhed, gave occafion to two new laws m 

 the admmiftration of criminal jullice ; one of which was, 

 that aecufed perfons might be fued and condemned, though 

 they did not appear, as if they were preient ; and the other, 



AUG 



that judges' in criminal cafes fhould give their opinions rer- 

 bally, and not by ballot. 



Rome being now at peace, Auguftus determined to viCt 

 the eaftern part of the empire ; but as it was neceftary to 

 inveft foine perfon with authority for keeping the city in 

 order dining his abfence, he appointed Agrippa for this 

 purpofe ; and in order to annex additional dignity to his 

 charafter in the difcharge of the truft that was corr.mitted 

 to him, he gave him in marriage his daughter Julia, the 

 widow of Marcellus. Sueh was the refpecl with which 

 Agrippa was treated, and fo mild and yet fo firm was his 

 adniiiiillralion, that Rome hardly "perceived that it was be- 

 reave<l of the authority of Auguftus. In his progrefs 

 through the eaftern provincti, during the years B.C. 21 

 and 20, the emperor recovered from Phraates, king of 

 Parthia, the Roman ftandards ai:d captives that had been 

 taken from Ciaflus ; he placed Tigrancs on the throne of 

 Armenia; and at Samos, to the inhabitants of which he 

 grarited the liberty and ufe of their own laws, he received 

 ambaftadors from the remoteft parts of India. A philofo- 

 phcr, who accompanied thefe ambaftadors, attended the 

 emperor to Alliens, and committed himfelf to the flames in 

 his prefeiice. Auguftus, after his return, directed his at- 

 tention to various abufcs which needed reform, and to the 

 eiiaclment of regulations that contributed to the perftftion 

 of government. He reduced the number of fenators from 

 one thoufand to fix hundred, and fixed at a higher rate the 

 fortune tliat was rcquifite for qualifving a perfon to be 

 elected of that body ; and that no perfons, who were emi- 

 nently fit for the office, might be excluded, he made up 

 their deficiencies of fortune by his own liberality. He 

 alfo introduced fome otlier regulations for rcftraining the 

 liceutioufncfs and depravity of morals that too generally 

 prevailed ; and particularly fuch as concerned the nuptial 

 ftate, though rigour in this latter refptft did not well be- 

 come the emperor, who was known to have intrigues with 

 the wives of ieveral men of rank, and who had taken great 

 licence in the privilege of div<irce. Auguftus increafed the 

 tax on celibacy, and granted privileges and rewards to 

 married perfons v\ho had feveral children. See Papian- 

 Popi'jEan-/<;w. Sumptuary laws and regulations refpeft- 

 ing the public fpettacles, and the fuppreffion of riots and 

 diforders among the fpedlators, alfo occupied his attention. 

 In the year of Rome 737, B. C. 17, he celebrated the fe- 

 cular games with extraordinary fplendor. About this time 

 he alfo adopted his two grandfons Caius and Lucius ; the 

 children of Agrippa and Julia. Having received from Gaul 

 many complaints againft the intendants whom he had ap- 

 pointed to levy the tributes and impoils, and particularly 

 againft Licinius, he vifited that country ; but the principal 

 aggreftbr, Licinius, contrived to foothe his difpleafure by 

 giving him a great part of the treafures which he had 

 amafled. Upon his return from Gaul, B. C. 13. the death 

 of Lcpidus an"orded him an oppurtunity of aifuniing the 

 office of fupreme pontiff ; and in the firft exercife of this 

 authority, he collected all books of divination and pi\tendeJ 

 oracles, of wliicii more than 2000 were committed to the 

 flames. The books of the Sibyls, however, were cntruftcd 

 to the cullody of the priefts. The death of Agrippa was, 

 at this time, a very diltrefling event to Auguftus (fee 

 Agrippa"!; but it ferved to auvai.ee Tiberius in the family 

 of the emperor, who by au unwanantable ac't of tyranny 

 caufed him to be divorced from a wife to whom he was 

 aftedionately attached, and to marry the widowed JuUa, of 

 whofe irregularitie.! he was well apprifed. 



In the profecutiou of the German war, Dnifus diftin- 

 "uiflicd himfelf by his fuccefles, and citttnded his arms as 



far 



