258 The Republic. R * O 
after ordered all but her two attendants, Gharmion and Iras, 
to leave the room. Then, having previously ordered an asp 
to be secretly conveyed to her in a basket of fruit, she sent a 
letter to Octavianus, informing him of her fatal purpose, and - 
desiring to be buried in the same tomb with Antony. Octa¬ 
vianus, upon receiving this letter, instantly dispatched mes¬ 
sengers to prevent her, but they arrived too late. Upon en¬ 
tering the chamber, they beheld Cleopatra lying dead upon 
a gilded couch, arrayed in her royal robes. Near her, Iras, 
one of her faithful attendants, was stretched lifeless at the 
feet of her mistress; and Charmion herself, almost expiring, 
was settling the diadem upon Cleopatra’s head. She died at 
the age of thirty-nine, after having reigned twenty-two years. 
Her death put an end to the monarchy in Egypt, which had 
flourished there from time immemorial. 
Octavianus seemed much troubled at Cleopatra’s death, 
as it deprived him of a principal ornament in his intended 
triumph. However, the manner of it a good deal exalted 
her character among the Romans, with whom suicide was 
considered as a virtue. Her dying request was complied 
with, her body being laid by Antony’s, -and a magnificent 
funeral prepared for her and her two faithful attendants. 
And now Octavianus was at the height of his wishes, sole 
sovereign, sole master, of the whole Roman empire. But, 
on the other hand, the many dangers which attend an usurped 
power, appearing to him in a stronger light than ever, filled 
his mind with a thousand perplexing thoughts. The natural 
aversion of the Romans to a kingly government, their love of 
liberty, and the ides of March, when his father Julius was 
murdered in full senate by those very men whom he thought 
the most devoted to his person, made him fear there might 
arise another Brutus, who, to restore liberty to his country, 
might assassinate him on his very throne. The passion of 
fear outweighed in his soul the charms of a diadem, and 
inclined him to follow the example ofSylla, who, having laid 
down the authority he had usurped, died peaceably in his 
bed in the midst of his enemies. In this dilemma, he con¬ 
sulted his two most intimate friends, Agrippa and Maecenas. 
Agrippa enlarged on the many and almost inevitable dan¬ 
gers which attend monarchy, insupportable to a free people, 
and to men educated in a commonwealth, and he ex¬ 
horted Octavianus to convince the world, by restoring 
liberty to his country, that the only motive for his taking up 
arms was to revenge his father’s death. 
Maecenas, on the other hand, remonstrated to him, that he 
had done too much to go back; that, after so much blood¬ 
shed, there could be no safety for him but on the throne; 
that, if he divested himself of the sovereign power, he would 
be immediately prosecuted by the children and friends of the 
many illustrious persons whom the misfortunes of the times 
had forced him to sacrifice to his safety; that it was absolutely 
necessary for the welfare and tranquillity of the republic, that 
the sovereign power should be lodged in one person, not 
divided among many, &c. Octavianus adopted the advice 
of Maecenas, and under the modest title of Irnperator or 
Commander, disguised an assumption of despotic power 
which annihilated for ever the republic of Rome. Yet was this 
extensive usurpation effected only to the most consummate 
art, and by the deepest apparent respect for popular feel¬ 
ings. 
The reformation of the senate was one of the first steps in 
which the new tyrant professed himself the father of his 
country. He was elected censor; and, in concert with his 
faithful Agrippa, he examined the list of the senators, ex¬ 
pelled a few members, whose vices or whose obstinacy 
required a public example, persuaded near two hundred to 
prevent the shame of an expulsion by a voluntary retreat, 
raised the qualification of a senator to about ten thousand 
pounds, created a sufficient number of patrician families, 
and accepted for himself the honourable title of Prince of 
the Senate, which had always been bestowed, by the censors, 
on the citizen the most eminenl for his honours and services. 
But whilst he thus restored the dignity, he destroyed the in¬ 
dependence of the senate. The principles of a free constitu- 
M R. The Republic. 
tion are irrecoverably lost, when the legislative power is no„ 
minated by the executive. 
Before an assembly thus modelled and prepared, Augustus 
pronounced a studied oration, which displayed his patriotism, 
and disguised his ambition. “ He lamented, yet excused, 
his past conduct. Filial piety had required at his hands 
the revenge of his father’s murder, the humanity of his own 
nature had sometimes given way to the stern laws of neces¬ 
sity, and to a forced connexion with two unworthy col¬ 
leagues : as long as Antony lived, the republic forbad him 
to abandon her to a degenerate Roman, and a barbarian 
queen. He was now at liberty to satisfy his duty and his 
inclination. He solemnly restored the senate and people to 
all their ancient rights; and wished only to mingle with the 
crowd of his fellow citizens, and to share the blessings which 
he had obtained for his country.” 
It would require the pen of Tacitus (if Tacitus had as¬ 
sisted at this assembly) to describe the various emotions of 
the senate; those that were suppressed, and those that were 
affected. It was dangerous to trust the sincerity of Augustus; 
to seem to distrust it, was still more dangerous. The respec¬ 
tive advantages of monarchy and a republic have often di¬ 
vided speculative inquirers; the present greatness of the Ro¬ 
man state, the corruption of manners, and the licence of the 
Soldiers, supplied new arguments to the advocates of mo¬ 
narchy ; and these general views of government were again 
warped by the hopes and fears of each individual. Amidst 
this confusion of sentiments, the answer of the senate was 
unanimous and decisive. They refused to accept the resig¬ 
nation of Augustus; they conjured him not to desert the 
republic which he had saved. After a decent resistance 
the crafty tyrant submitted to the orders of the senate, and 
consented to receive the government of the provinces, and the 
general command of the Roman armies, under the well- 
known names of Proconsul and Irnperator. But he would 
receive them only for ten years. Even before the expiration 
of that period, he hoped that the wounds of civil discord 
would be completely, healed, and that the republic, restored 
to its pristine health and vigour, would no longer require the 
interposition of so extraordiary a magistrate. The memory 
of this comedy, repeated several times during the life of Augus¬ 
tus, was preserved to the last ages of the empire, by the pecu¬ 
liar pomp with which the perpetual monarchs of Rome always 
solemnized the tenth years of their reign. 
Without any violation of the principles of the constitu¬ 
tion, the general of the Roman armies might receive and 
exercise an authority, almost despotic over the soldiers, the 
enemies, and the subjects of the republic. With regard to 
the soldiers, the jealousy of freedom had, even from the 
earliest ages of Rome, given way to the hopes of conquest, 
and a just sense of military discipline. The dictator, or con¬ 
sul, had a right to command the service of the Roman youth; 
and to punish an obstinate or cowardly disobedience by the 
most severe and ignominious penalties, by striking the offen¬ 
der out of the list of citizens, by confiscating his property, and 
by selling his person into slavery. The most sacred rights 
of freedom, confirmed by the Porcian and Sempronian laws, 
were suspended by the military engagement. In his camp 
the general exercised an absolute power of life and death; 
his jurisdiction was not confined by any forms of trial, or 
rules of proceeding, and the execution of the sentence was im¬ 
mediate and without appeal. The choice of the enemies of 
Rome was regular! y decided by the legislative authority. The 
most important resolutions of peace and war were seriously 
debated in the senate, and solemnly ratified by the people. 
But when the arms of the legions Were carried to a great dis¬ 
tance from Italy, the generals assumed the liberty of direct¬ 
ing them against whatever people, and in whatever manner 
they judged most advantageous for the public service. It 
was from the success, not from the justice, of their enterprizes, 
that they expected the honours of a triumph. In the use of 
victory, especially after they were no longer controlled by the 
commissioners of the senate, they exercised themost unbounded 
despotism. When Pompey commanded in the east, he 
rewarded 
