* 
ms me 
610 
na, the brother-in aay of Cesar, who 
had raised him to the prefecture, follow- 
ed, and made an eulogium on the mur- 
derers of the tyrant: but the audience 
could nolonger restrain their indignation; 
they overw belmed the orator with re- 
proaches, drove him from the place he oc- 
cupied, and pelted him with stones. On 
this the conspirators, deeming themselves 
no longer in safety, ; repaired to the ca- 
tol.” 
© The thirteenth period comprehends 
the history of Rome, from the death of 
Cesar to the battle of Actium., Under 
the head of “ Rome under Augustus,” we 
meet with the following reflections: — 
“ We have beheld ‘Rome amidst its 
grandeur a very bad republic, because 
its Constitution was not befitting an im- 
mense people, the sovereign “of so many 
other nations. The government next be- 
came monarchical, “and that monarchy 
was hideous, because it sprung out of a 
republic which had attained the height 
of corruption, and whose manners were 
no less atrocious than disorderly. 
“<< Tt however enjoyeda few short years 
of repose, and even of happiness, under 
some good princes; and we ought to 
reckon among these Octavius Augustus, 
the first of all. Even admitting that at 
the epoch of the proscriptions, and some 
time after, he had rendered himself 
guilty of those cruelties with which some 
_ historians’sully his memory, I yet do not 
- believe that he was cruel by character, 
and that he became only clement through 
policy, when the sovereign authority de- 
volved upon him, I think, on the con- 
trary, that at the commencement of his 
career he permitted cruelties by policy, 
and through the interests required by his 
fortune and preservation; but that when 
he became sovereign, he only followed 
the impulse of his natural disposition. 
“ During the period he was detained 
- atia distance from Rome, by the wars 
bf sateen thony and Cleopatra, Italy re- 
mained tranquil, in consequence of the 
i 
“able ge emnetiation of Mzcenas, a cour- 
“ther devoid of ambition, a man active 
and laborious, when entrusted with» af- 
fairs of moment, and, on the other hand, 
luxurious andtindolent, when he could 
abandon himself to repose; a lover @ 
» literature a siso, partly by inclination ee 
partly Pecause he knew that it een 
bured to the splendour ofa state. 
*¢ Octavius did ~not hasten nf quit 
Egypt aiterthe death of Cleopatra, As 
: that country had become a portion of his 
empire, he was eager to remedy 
4. 
the most ignominious plaudits, 
‘saluted by the soldiers. 
_ individual. 
whate | 
Retrospect of Prevttl Liter ature—History. 
ever mista had been B sdgiid by. 
war, and the negligence o? its sovereigns; 
more especially the re-establishinent_of 
‘canals, which distributed the water 
through the country, after the inunda- 
tions of the Nile. This was a benefit he 
conferred on the Romans before his re= 
turn; for Egypt was at this period the 
principal granary of Rome. 
“ He then sailed for Italy; and was. 
at Samos when he was elected consul 
for the fifth time. The senate and the 
people also invested him with the tribu- 
hitian authority, which rendered his per- 
son sacred and inviolable. > 
“ On his return, he afforded the? Ro- 
mans the spectacle of three successive 
triumphs: the first day he triumphed 
over the Pannonians and the Dalma-., 
tians; the second, over the allies of a 
thony, at the battle of Actium; 
over Cieopatra. 
5 tae! hird, 
“The optilence of Rome was increas- 
ed by the riches which he brought. froin 
Egypt, while the large sums distributed 
~ among his troops, at once strengthened 
his own power, and gave a mortal blow 
afi 
to that of his successors, who, being in~ 
vested with a delusive authority, be- 
caine the slaves of the soldiers. Magni- 
ficentgames agreeably occupied the minds 
of the people; and a senator present- 
ed a new spectacle, by combating with 
gladiators. This example at length pro- 
duced imitators ; and astonished Rome 
beheld personages of the first rank in the 
state covet, im conjunction with slaves, 
“ Octavius assumed the title of empe- 
ror (perator), with which he had been 
We haye al- 
ready seen thatit was bestowed pyWfoops 
on their general, when they were satis- 
fied with the mode in which they had 
been. commanded. It was under this 
modest name, which conferred no | ie 
thority, that, as sovereign of a power 
“nation, he execened the greatest authori-"" ty 
ty with which any man in Europe had 
ever been invested. 
“ He took care, however, that 0 @x- 
mense power. He occupied the house 
which had appertained to the orator Hor- 
tensius, and added no embellishment 
whatscever: his furniture was not supe- 
rior to that commonly used by a priv ate 
Fe sat in the senate, and at 
the public games, in common with other 
senators, and took his seat on the same 
bench with the judges, when they exer- 
cised sacha le authority. He was af- 
4 fable 
‘ternal pomp ‘should annotnce his im=~ ~~ 
