p71  FRAGMENTS Yet he did not on this account collect money from the subject nations. On one occasion when, with wars impending, he found himself at a loss for funds, he neither devised any new tax nor brought himself to ask anyone for money, but instead exposed in the Forum all the heirlooms of the palace together with any ornaments that belonged to his wife, and urged any who so desired to buy them. In this way he raised funds which he paid to the soldiers. Then, after winning the war and gaining many times the amount in question, he issued a proclamation to the effect that any one of the purchasers of the imperial property who wished might return the article purchased and receive its value. Some did this, but the majority declined; and he compelled no one to return to him any object that had been thus acquired. Marcus Antoninus, when the treasuries had become exhausted in the course of the war, could not bring himself to make levies of money contrary to precedent, but took all the imperial ornaments to the Forum and sold them for gold. When the barbarian uprising had been put down, he returned the purchase price to those who voluntarily brought back the imperial possessions, but used no compulsion in the case of those who were unwilling to do so.

Cassius, it appears, while proceeding on foot, had encountered Antonius, a centurion, who suddenly wounded him in the neck, though the blow was not exactly a mortal one. Antonius, now, was carried on by the momentum of his horse and left the deed incomplete, so that his victim nearly escaped; but in the meantime the decurion finished what remained to be done. They cut off Cassius' head and set out to meet the emperor. 28 Marcus Antoninus was so greatly grieved at the death of Cassius that he could not bring himself even of the look at the severed head of his enemy, but before the murderers drew near gave orders that it should be buried.

17 The revolt of Cassius and Syria forced Marcus Antoninus to make terms with the Iazyges very much against his will; indeed, he was so alarmed by the news that he did not even communicate to the senate the conditions of the peace made with them, as he was wont to do in other cases. 222 When Cassius rebelled in Syria, Marcus in great alarm summoned his son Commodus from Rome, as being now entitled to assume the toga virilis. Cassius, who was a Syrian from Cyrrhus, had shown himself an excellent man and the sort one would desire to have as an emperor, save for the fact that he was the son of one Heliodorus,11 who had been content to secure the governorship of Egypt as the reward of his oratorical ability. 3 But

3 5 When the Marcomani were successful in a certain battle and slew Marcus Vindex, the prefect, the emperor erected three statues in his honour; and after conquering the foe he himself received the title of Germanicus (for we give the name of Germans to those who dwell in the northern regions). 4 The people called the Bucoli2 began a disturbance in Egypt and under the leadership of one Isidorus, a priest, caused the rest of the Egyptians to revolt. At first, arrayed in women's garments, they had deceived the Roman centurion, causing him to believe that they were women of the Bucoli and were going to give him gold as ransom for their  p19 husbands, and had then struck down when he approached them. They also sacrificed his companion, and after swearing an oath over his entrails, they devoured them. 2 Isidorus surpassed all his contemporaries in bravery. Next, having conquered the Romans in Egypt in a pitched battle, they came near capturing Alexandria, too, and would have succeeded, had not Cassius been sent against them from Syria. He contrived to destroy their mutual accord and to separate them from one another (for because of their desperation as well as of their numbers he had not ventured to attack them while they were united), and thus, when they fell to quarrelling, he subdued them.

Both the Astingi and the Lacringi came to the assistance of Marcus. 12 The Astingi, led by their chieftains Raüs and Raptus, came into Dacia with their entire households, hoping to secure both money and land in return for their alliance. But failing of their purpose, they left their wives and children under the protection of Clemens, until they should acquire the land of the Costoboci by their arms; but upon conquering that people, they proceeded to injure Dacia no less than before. The Lacringi, fearing that Clemens in his dread of them might lead these  p17 newcomers into the land which they themselves were inhabiting, attacked them while off their guard and won a decisive victory. As a result, the Astingi committed no further acts of hostility against the Romans, but in response to urgent supplications addressed to Marcus they received from him both money and the privilege of asking for land in case they should inflict some injury upon those who were then fighting against him. Now this tribe really did fulfill some of its promises; whereas the Cotini, though they made similar offers, nevertheless, upon receiving Tarrutenius Paternus, the secretary in charge of the emperor's Latin correspondence, on the pretext that they wished to make a campaign with him against the Marcomani, not only failed to do so, but even treated Paternus himself shamefully, thereby bringing about their own destruction later.

22 When Pertinax as a reward for his brave exploits obtained the consulship, there were nevertheless some who showed displeasure in view of the fact that he was of obscure family, and they quoted this line from tragedy: "Such things accursed war brings in its train."8 Little did they realize that he should be emperor as well.9

Moreover Faustina was given the title of "Mother of the Camp."7

The Quadi had surrounded them at a spot favourable for their purpose and the Romans were fighting valiantly with their shields locked together; then the barbarians ceased fighting, expecting to capture them easily as the result of the heat and their thirst. So they posted guards all about and hemmed them in to prevent their getting water anywhere; for the barbarians were far superior in numbers. The Romans, accordingly, were in a terrible plight from fatigue, wounds, the heat of the sun, and thirst, and so could neither fight nor retreat, but were standing and the line and at their several posts, scorched by the heat, when suddenly many clouds gathered and a mighty rain, not without divine interposition, burst upon them.

7 The Iazyges were conquered by the Romans on land at this time and later on the river. By this I do not mean that any naval battle took place, but that the Romans pursued them as they fled over the frozen Ister and fought there as on dry land. The Iazyges, perceiving that they were being pursued, awaited their opponents' onset, expecting to overcome them easily, as the others were not accustomed to the ice. Accordingly, some of the barbarians dashed straight at them, while others rode round to attack their flanks, as their horses had been trained to run safely even over a surface of this kind. The Romans upon observing this were not alarmed, but formed in a compact body, facing all their foes at once, and most of them laid down their shields and rested one  p25 foot upon them, so that they might not slip so much; and thus they received the enemy's charge. Some seized the bridles, others the shields and spearshafts of their assailants, and drew the men toward them; and thus, becoming involved in close conflict, they knocked down both men and horses, since the barbarians by reason of their momentum could no longer keep from slipping. The Romans, to be sure, also slipped; but in case one of them fell on his back, he would drag his adversary down on top of him and then with his feet would hurl him backwards, as in a wrestling match, and so would get on top of him; and if one fell on his face, he would actually seize with his teeth his antagonist, who had fallen first. For the barbarians, being unused to a contest of this sort, and having lighter equipment, were unable to resist, so that but few escaped out of a large force.

A captive lad, on being asked a question by him, replied: "I cannot answer you because of the cold. So, if you want to find out anything, command that a coat be given me, if you have one." And a soldier who was doing guard duty one night on the Ister, upon hearing a shout from his fellow-soldiers in captivity on the other side, at once swam across just as he was, released them, and then returned. One of the prefects of Marcus was Bassaeus Rufus, who was a good man in other respects, but was uneducated because of his rustic origin and had been reared in poverty in his youth. On a certain occasion someone had checked him while he was engage in pruning a vine that grew upon a tree, and when he did not come down at the first summons, the man had rebuked him and said: "Come now, prefect, get down." That is, he had  p21 used this title in speaking to him as to one who was now bearing himself haughtily but had formerly been of lowly station; and it was precisely this title that Fortune subsequently gave him. Once when Marcus was talking to someone in Latin and not only the man addressed but no one else of the bystanders, either, knew what he had said, Rufus, the prefect, exclaimed: "No wonder, Caesar, that he does not know what you said; for he does not understand Greek either." Indeed, he himself was ignorant of what had been said.

282 This same emperor neither slew nor imprisoned nor put under guard at all any of the senators who had been associated with Cassius. Indeed, he did not so much as bring them before his own court, but merely sent them before the senate, as though charged with some other offence, and set a definite day for their trial. 3 Of the others, he executed a very few, who had been guilty of some overt crime not only in co-operation with Cassius but also on their own account. A proof of this is that he did not slay or deprive of his property Flavius Calvisius,16 the governor of Egypt, but merely confined him on an island. 4 He also caused the records made in this man's case to be burned, in order that no reproach should attach to him from this source; and he released all who had been associated with him.

Another story is to the effect that Verus, who had been sent ahead into Syria, of which he had secured the governorship, found these papers among the effects of Cassius and destroyed them, remarking that this course would probably be most  p51 agreeable to the emperor, but that, even if he should be angry, it would be better that he himself alone should perish rather than many others.

31 A law was passed at this time that no one should serve as governor in the province from which he had originally come, inasmuch as the revolt of Cassius had occurred during his administration of Syria, which included his native district. And it was decreed by the senate that silver images of Marcus and Faustina should be set up in the temple of  p55 Venus and Rome, and that an altar should be erected whereon all the maidens married in the city and their bridegrooms should offer sacrifice; 2 also that a golden statue of Faustina should be carried in a chair into the theatre, on every occasion when the emperor was to be a spectator, and placed in the special section from which she herself had been wont, when alive, to view the games, and that the most influential women should sit round about it.

18 The Iazyges sent an embassy and asked to be released from certain of the agreements they had made; and some concessions were granted them, to prevent their becoming entirely alienated. Yet neither they nor the Buri were willing to join the Romans as allies until they had received pledges from Marcus that he would without fail prosecute the war to the uttermost; for they were afraid he might make a treaty with the Quadi, as before, and leave enemies dwelling at their doors.

20 With regard to the Quadi and the Marcomani, who sent envoys:— the twenty thousand soldiers that were stationed in forts among each of these tribes would not allow them to pasture their flocks or till the soil or do anything else in security, but kept receiving many deserters from the enemy's ranks and captives of their own; yet the soldiers themselves were enduring no great hardships, inasmuch as they had baths and all the necessaries of life in abundance. The Quadi, accordingly, being unwilling to endure the forts built to keep watch over them, attempted to migrate in a body to the land of the Semnones. But Antoninus learned beforehand of their intention and by barring the roads prevented their departure. This showed that he desired, not to acquire their territory, but to punish the men themselves. 21 And the Naristi, who had suffered hardships, at one and the same time deserted to the number of three thousand and received land in our territory.

35 His education was of great assistance to him, for he had been trained both in rhetoric and in philosophical disputation. In the former he had Cornelius Fronto and Claudius Herodes for teachers, and, in the latter, Junius Rusticus and Apollonius of Nicomedeia,25 both of whom professed Zeno's doctrines. 2 As a result, great numbers pretended to pursue philosophy, hoping that they might be enriched by the emperor. Most of all, however, he owed his advancement to his own natural gifts; for even before he associated with those teachers he had a strong impulse towards virtue. 3 Indeed, while still a boy he so pleased all his relatives, who were numerous, influential and wealthy, that he was loved by them all; and when Hadrian, chiefly for this reason, had adopted him, he did not become haughty, but, though young and a Caesar, served Antoninus most loyally throughout all the latter's reign and without giving offence showed honour to the others who were foremost in the State. 4 He used always to salute the most worthy men in the House of Tiberius, where he lived, before visiting his father, not only without putting on the attire befitting his rank, but actually dressed as a private citizen, and receiving them in the very apartment  p67 where he slept. He used to visit many who were sick, and never missed going to his teachers. 5 He would wear a dark cloak whenever he went out unaccompanied by his father, and he never employed a torch-bearer for himself alone. Upon being appointed leader of the knights he entered the Forum with the rest, although he was a Caesar. 6 This shows how excellent was his natural disposition, though it was greatly aided by his education. He was always steeping himself in Greek and Latin rhetorical and philosophical learning, even after he had reached man's estate and had hopes of becoming emperor. 36 Even before he was appointed Caesar he had a dream in which he seemed to have shoulders and arms of ivory, and to use them in all respect like his other members. 2 As a result of his close application and study he was extremely frail in body, though in the beginning he had been so vigorous that he used to fight in armour, and on the chase would strike down wild boars while on horseback; and not only in his early youth but even later he wrote most of his letters to his intimate friends with his own hand. 3 However, he did not meet with the good fortune that he deserved, for he was not strong in body and was involved in a multitude of troubles throughout practically his entire reign. But for my part, I admire him all the more for this very reason, that amid unusual and extraordinary difficulties he both survived himself and preserved the empire. 4 Just one thing prevented him from being completely happy, namely, that after rearing and educating his  p69 son in the best possible way he was vastly disappointed in him.

In addition to possessing all the other virtues, he ruled better than any others who had ever been in any position of power. To be sure, he could not display many feats of physical prowess; yet he had developed his body from a very weak one to one capable of the greatest endurance. Most of his life he devoted to beneficence, and that was the reason, perhaps, for his erecting a temple to Beneficence on the Capitol, though he called her by a most peculiar name, that had never been heard before.24 He himself, then, refrained from all offences and did nothing amiss whether voluntarily or involuntarily; but the offences of the others, particularly those of his wife, he tolerated, and neither inquired into them nor punished them. So long as a person did anything good, he would praise him and use him for the service in which he excelled, but to his other conduct he paid no attention; for he declared that it is impossible for one to create such men as one desires to have, and so it is fitting to employ those who are already in existence for whatever service each of them may be able to render to the State. And that his whole conduct was due to no pretence but to real excellence is clear; for although he lived fifty-eight years, ten months, and  p65 twenty-two days, of which time he had spent a considerable part as assistant to the first Antoninus, and had been emperor himself nineteen years and eleven days, yet from first to last he remained the same and did not change in the least. So truly was he a good man and devoid of all pretence.

Epitome of Book LXXI

THE PUNIC WRITING SYSTEM

THE FIRST MACEDONIAN WAR