THE PORTRAIT GALLERY.
ANTIQUE PORTRAITS.
GREEK COURT.—South Side-Court.
POETS AND DRAMATISTS.
[28]1. Homer. Great Epic Poet of Greece.
[Born, probably B.C. 850. Place of birth unknown.]
A majestic antique Bust. The kingly and venerated Patriarch of all Poets, for the western civilization—or, the sound of a Name! The two wonderful poems which bear down this name—whatever signifying—through the lapse and revolutions of time, preserve, as it were, the image of an extinct world: although of a world, perhaps less than half real, and more than half ideal:—for the manners were: the persons and events may, or may not have been: and the gods and goddesses of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” were, we know, only a believed-in, waking dream. But, by the potency of the song, the picture lives! The war, imaginary or no, raging between the Hellespont and the foot of Mount Ida, remains, to the educated memory of the nations, like the beginning—if not of the world’s, yet of its western half’s—history. And those heroes and heroines, with their high actions and their deep passions—the unrolling, embroidered web of their fortunes and fates:—the king of men, Agamemnon,—the swift-footed son of the sea-goddess, Achilles,—-the sage, long-lived Nestor,—the shrewd, enduring Ulysses,—Ajax, a tower in the fight,—Diomed, favoured of Minerva present beside him in the storm of spears;—and that grey-headed, imperial sire of Troy, with all his falling sons, Priam,—the gallant and good Hector,—the loving and faithful Andromache,—the aged, too fruitful mother, Hecuba;—even the fatal and criminal, but divinely beautiful Helen—Is it not a strange magic that dwells in the creative thought of the poet, and in his modulated words, and that thus, in a language, and with manners, a faith, an age—all so long since dead and gone—can, as if reviving all, render those Shadows, to us—now, here—the earliest objects of a wondering and aspiring enthusiasm:—the first enkindlers in our bosoms of that glowing, intense, comprehensive, and intelligent sympathy, which transports us out of the central self, and beyond the close-drawn horizon of our own particular life, to feel the conditions and to understand the spirits of all our fellow men? Let the theory be true, which denies to these incomparable works an individual author—which supposes them woven together of many songs, first sung in many places, by many singers; let the benignly august, fillet-bound head before us, be—that which only at last it can be—a conjecture of the Grecian chisel;—we see at least here how the consummated art of sculpture has chosen to express, in corporeal form, the one soul of power which animates those immortal twins of poesy. We see in what shape of a human head, crowned with its own irradiations, the fountains of all song might have sprang. We see what the living and wandering minstrel of Greece, beloved and honoured wheresoever, in hall or on green, he and his harp came,—what the individual Homer, for whose birth seven cities contended, and whom in the after-day the land numbered amongst her half-divine and worshipped heroes—WOULD HAVE BEEN:—or, WAS!
[Although modern antiquaries agree with Pliny that busts of Homer are apocryphal, yet there can be no doubt this is the true Greek conventional portrait of that poet. A headless marble was dug up inscribed with his name and shortly afterwards the head itself was found in the same hole, and it fitted precisely to the marble previously discovered. The bust, so found, is now in the Naples Museum. The same head is constantly found in other representations of the ancient poet. The head is bound with the “strophium,” an ornament given by the Greek artists to their gods and heroes. The attitude of the head would seem to express the blindness with which Homer, according to tradition, was afflicted. This bust is from the marble in the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitoline Museum, Rome.]
[28] The objects forming the Portrait Gallery in the Crystal Palace, are numbered in red figures throughout.
2. Archilochus. Greek Poet.
[Born at Paros, about B.C. 700. Killed in battle, about B.C. 635]
A satirical poet of great renown, whose acrid pen spared neither friend nor foe. A writer also of licentious verse. Fragments only of his compositions have come down to us. To him is attributed the invention of the Iambic measure, and he shares with Thaletas and Terpander the honour of establishing lyric poetry in Greece. The victors in the Olympic games were accustomed to sing one of his hymns in their triumphal procession. The countenance of his statue denotes impudent boldness.
[The two early poets united: a mode of portraiture adopted by the Greek artists when two celebrated men were of the same country, and of kindred pursuits, as Herodotus and Thucydides, parallel historians; Metrodorus and Epicurus, philosophers of the same sect (see [No. 20]). This double terminal or Janus was found at Rome on the Celian Hill: it is now in the Vatican. The ends of the noses are modern, as are some other parts in the Homer. That portraits of Archilochus existed so long after his death is proved by the existence of an inscription in the Analecta of Thucydides written for his portrait.]
2A. Homer. Great Epic Poet of Greece.
[For life see [No. 1].]
3. Æsop. Writer of Fables.
[Born in Phrygia, about B.C. 620. Died about B.C. 560.]
The reputed author of the fables to which his name has been for centuries attached. According to the general account, he was originally a slave, and gained much notice for his wit, and especially for his talent of communicating useful maxims in the form of apologues. His talent procured him favour at the court of Crœsus. He is said to have been thrown from the top of a rock and killed, by the priests of Delphi. His fables, at first preserved by tradition, were at a later period converted into Greek and Latin verse by Babrias and Phædrus. We have them in Greek prose, told naturally and in the utmost simplicity. In stature Æsop is described as small and hump-backed, with a prominent stomach and pointed head, yet the intellectual expression of his countenance is not that usually given to dwarfs.
[From the very remarkable half-figure in marble in the Villa Albani, at Rome; the whole of which is of great antiquity. It has been maintained that Æsop was not deformed, inasmuch as the circumstance is not mentioned by writers, before the time of the Greek monk, Planudes Maximus. There are, however, traditions affirming his deformity, and Plutarch, in his Feast of the Sages, makes him sit upon a low stool at the feet of Solon. The countenance has a thoughtful and elevated expression. Lysippus sculptured the portrait of Æsop to be placed amongst the sages of Greece at Athens. Phædrus refers to this work, and the celebrity of the man is fixed by the fact that the court sculptor of Alexander employed himself upon his statue.]
4. Homer. Great Epic Poet of Greece.
[From the marble. Once in the Capitoline Museum; now in the Louvre.]
5. Epimenidies. Poet and Prophet of Crete.
[Flourished about B.C. 596]
St. Paul in his Epistle to Titus (i. 12) is supposed to allude to Epimenides. But little more than his name and existence are known, apart from tradition. About B.C. 596, he was invited to Athens, in order to stay the plague brought upon the city by an impious outrage committed by Cylon, one of the Athenian rulers, on the altars of the Acropolis. Succeeding in arresting the pestilence, he augmented his already great fame—but he refused any other reward beyond the goodwill of the Athenians in favour of the inhabitants of Gnossus, where he dwelt. He was a native of Crete.
[From the marble in the Vatican. One of the conventional portraits of the ancient Greek poets. The closed eyes are to represent the sleep which tradition says he fell into for fifty-seven years.]
6. Æschylus. Tragic Poet.
[Born at Eleusis, in Greece, B.C. 525. Died at Gela, in Sicily, B.C. 456. Aged 69.]
The founder of Greek tragedy as it existed in its greatness. He introduced a second actor upon the scene, and gave dramatic interest to his act, by rendering dialogue the most important element in the play. He improved the masks and dresses of the actors, and raised the character of the choral dances. The scenes painted under his direction were, it is said, the first in which the idea of perspective was maintained. Sublimity and magnificence characterize the style of his tragedies, in which the action and plot, with an unparalleled simplicity of structure, move on, in commanding and stern strength, to their catastrophe; supported by grand imagery, with diction wrested to the height of energy and solemn passion. The characters drawn by Æschylus are as lofty as the language which they speak. We almost yearn for the simple voice of Nature as we listen to the sustained thunder-tone of this great master. His mind seems ever attuned for discourse with the Gods; yet in the “Prometheus,” though dealing with a demigod, he describes with awful power, human suffering and human passion in its saddest and most thrilling aspect. The family of Æschylus were remarkable for their valour, and he himself fought bravely at Marathon and Salamis. He was an actor in his own plays.
[From the marble in Stanza dei Filosofi, of the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
7. Sophocles. Tragic Poet.
[Born at Colonus, in Attica, about B.C. 495. Died probably at Athens, B.C. 405. Aged 90.]
In Sophocles, Æschylus found a rival and a conqueror. When Cimon (B.C. 468) returned from the Isle of Scyros, with the ashes of Theseus, the first play of Sophocles (“Triptolemus”) was preferred to the composition of Æschylus, who in chagrin retired to Sicily. From this time Sophocles stood alone, until he, in his turn, met a successful rival in Euripides. In 440, he produced “Antigone,” for its calm beauty, and the pure picture of heroic, feminine self-devotion, one of the finest antique tragedies extant, and the occasion of his promotion through the favour of Pericles. In the person of Sophocles was represented the ideal of Greek perfection. He was very beautiful; he excelled in gymnastics, music, and dancing; in temperament he was calm and contented; in disposition kind and cheerful; he had a ready wit, a serene piety, and intellectual grandeur. His tragedies have an advantage over those of Æschylus, in being essentially human; they appeal to the feelings of an auditory, and are written in a less magniloquent style than that of the sublime father of Greek tragedy,—to whom, however, Sophocles lay under the obligations of a pupil to his instructor. Both are profound masters of their art.
[This bust is from the Capitoline Museum, and is identified by another in the Vatican—found in 1778—on which all the letters of the name remained, except the SO. It was for a long time called Pindar,* because of the inscription; Bottari has proved it to be Sophocles, whom it completely resembles. Compare the Lateran statue, No. 325, standing in the great Transept, near the monument of Lysicrates.]
*. Pindar. Greek Poet.
[Born probably at Thebes, about B.C. 522. Died there, about B.C. 442. Aged about 80 years.]
The most famous lyric poet of Greece. Sent at an early age to Athens, he became the pupil of Lasus. He sung the victors in the Olympic, Nemæan, Pythian, and Isthmian games,—the great festivals of assembled Greece. Forty-five of these odes of triumph are all that have descended to us; they are characterized by great boldness of style, spirit, and trumpet-toned enthusiasm, but the brilliant diction does not escape obscurity; and the modern student often follows with difficulty the excursive wing of “The Theban Eagle,” through the wide regions of Hellenic mythology. Pindar’s earliest extant work was written in his twentieth year. He is described as a man of strong religious feelings, and a devout worshipper of the gods.
8. Æschines. Greek Orator.
[Born in Attica, about B.C. 389. Died in the Isle of Samos, B.C. 314. Aged about 75.]
One of the greatest Greek orators. Was at the battle of Mantineia (B.C. 362), and distinguished himself at the battle of Tamynæ in Eubœa (B.C. 358). Afterwards entered into political life, and became a partizan of Philip of Macedonia. Accompanied Demosthenes on two embassies to Philip, and was accused by Demosthenes of betraying the interests of the state to that monarch. The speech of his accuser and his own admirable defence are extant. His last great public act was the prosecution of Gtesiphon for illegally proposing to present Demosthenes with a golden crown for his services to the state. Demosthenes defended the accused, and the speeches of the two orators delivered on this occasion are also preserved. The prosecution failing, Æschines at once went into exile (B.C. 330). As a popular leader and orator worthy to be called the rival of Demosthenes. He lacked the vehement passion and powerful invective of that consummate master, but his lucid arrangement, his facility and perspicuity, have never been surpassed.
[For an account of this statue, so long called Aristides,* see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 326.]
*. Aristides. Athenian Patriot.
[Born (uncertain). Died about B.C. 468.]
His unbending integrity procured him the title of “The Just.” Was at the battle of Marathon (B.C. 480), where he fought bravely. Opposed to the extreme democratical party in Athens, headed by Themistocles, by whose influence he was banished (about B.C. 483). He was still in exile at the time of the sea-fight of Salamis (B.C. 482), but he raised a band, and fought for his country in this battle. Recalled by the Athenians from banishment, and commanded their army at the battle of Platæa (B.C. 479). His sense of justice spotless: his self-denial unimpeachable. At his death he was very poor, although he had borne the highest offices of the State. The Athenians became more virtuous from the contemplation of this bright example. It is related that in the representation of one of the tragedies of Æschylus, a sentence was uttered in favour of moral goodness. The eyes of the audience turned involuntarily and at once from the actor to Aristides.
9. Euripides. Greek Poet.
[Born at Salamis, B.C. 480. Died in Macedonia, B.C. 406. Aged 74.]
The father of Euripides, putting his own interpretation upon the oracle which promised that his son should be crowned with “sacred garlands,” had him carefully trained in gymnastic exercises, and whilst yet a boy Euripides won the prize at the Eleusinian and Thesean games. But the lad was soon allured from physical sports, by the fascinations of philosophy and literature. He became the ardent pupil and friend of the philosopher Anaxagoras, and the instruction thus derived is visible in many of his productions. At the age of 18, Euripides wrote his first tragedy. He gained the first prize B.C. 441, and continued to exhibit his plays until within two years of his death. He died in Macedonia, and is said to have been torn in pieces by the dogs of the Macedonian king. Twenty of his plays are extant. Like Anaxagoras, Euripides was of a serious temper, and averse to mirth. He was intimate with Socrates, and the contemporary of Herodotus, Xenophon, Thucydides, Pindar, Aristophanes, Æschylus, and Sophocles. To assign him his poetical rank we must look back. In the three great Attic tragedians we trace a natural progress of their theatre. In Æschylus, the stage appears attracted with predominant force to the high mythological ideas which it arose to embody: the muse stalks sublimely above the heads of men. In Sophocles, the art tempers and adjusts, with admirable equipoise, the superhuman and the human element; the spirits and hearts of men are more closely approached by the poet, still overshadowed by the heroic and the divine. In Euripides, although the story which he represents is still drawn from the same source of divine and heroic fable, the sympathy with passions, events, interests, and sufferings, incident to humanity, prevails in excess. With him, amidst strewings of beautiful poetry, and whilst penetrated with strokes of singular pathos, we too much feel that we step on our own daily and common earth. We miss the elevation of an art which should, in reflecting ourselves, lift us above ourselves: as we have experience in our own Shakspeare. Sophocles said that “he himself represented men as they ought to be, but Euripides as they are.”
[This bust is verified by another in the Louvre, and one in the Naples Museum, which has the name of Euripides engraved on the breast. There is also a cameo of exceeding beauty in the Louvre, on which we find the same head. Portraits of Euripides were common at Athens, and even as late as the 5th century his statues were to be seen at Constantinople. A small seated statue of Euripides will be found in the Bas-relief Gallery, No. 215. It is inscribed with his name, and has a list of his plays, upon the slab which supports the statue. See Handbook to Greek Court, No. 215.]
10. Aratus. Astronomer.
[Flourished about B.C. 270.]
A fellow-countryman of St. Paul, who quotes one of his works in his address to the Athenians. Called to the Court of Antigonus Gonatas, King of Macedonia. He there pursued physics, grammar, and philosophy. He also versified two astronomical treatises by Eudoxus. There are many errors with much want of precision in the descriptive portions of these works, proving the poet to have been neither a mathematician nor an acute observer. As a poet, Aratus was hardly more eminent. He is wanting in originality and poetic feeling; yet his verses obtained popularity both in Greece and Rome.
[The well known head, representing, as it is supposed, the Poet of the Stars, in the attitude of viewing the heavens. The same head is found on medals, of which the best is preserved in the Hunterian Museum of the College of Surgeons, London.]
GREEK COURT.—North Side-Court.
GREEK PHILOSOPHERS, STATESMEN, AND GENERALS.
11. Bias. Greek Philosopher.
[Born at Priene, in Ionia. Flourished, it is believed, about the middle of the Sixth Century B.C.]
One of the Seven Sages; and of the four to whom alone the title was universally conceded: the remaining three being Thales, Pittacus, and Solon. His profession was that of an advocate; his philosophy was practical—the fruit of experience. Many of his sayings and doings have been recorded. He died at a very advanced age.
[From the marble in the Vatican, which bears his name and the motto:—
ΟΙ ΠΛΕΙΣΤΟΙ
ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΙ
ΚΑΚΟΙ.
“The majority of men are bad.”
A curious mistake of the engraver is observable in the word ΠΡΗΝΕΥΣ, in which the I is omitted; it should have been ΠΡΙΗΝΕΥΣ, the name of his birth-place. This bust was found at Tivoli, with that of Periander, No. 29.]
12. Thucydides. Greek Historian.
[Born at Athens, B.C. 471. Died (place uncertain) B.C. 395. Aged 76.]
This great historian, holding military command in Thrace, suffered Amphipolis to be surprised and taken by the Spartan general, Brasidas; and for this misfortune was banished by his countrymen during the space of twenty years. It would have been a greater misfortune for the world had Thucydides proved a warier soldier; for it was during his exile, that he collected with infinite care the materials of his immortal history. That history chronicles, in eight books, the events of twenty out of the twenty-seven years of the Peloponnesian War:—a record of most interesting facts. Where political and moral observations occur, they reveal great knowledge of human character and motives. The style is pregnant, precise, and severely simple. Demosthenes is said to have copied the entire history many times with his own hand as a lesson of composition. The principal actors in the war were the historian’s books of reference. As an historical monument the work is matchless. It has been always believed that Thucydides came to a violent end, but it is not known whether he died at Athens, or in Thrace.
13. Socrates. Philosopher.
[Born near Athens, B.C. 468. Died at Athens, B.C. 399. Aged 69.]
One of the greatest names in ethics, philosophy, and religion before the Christian era. It was the belief of Socrates that he was specially charged by the Deity to awaken moral consciousness in men. He had no school, neither did he, like the sophists of his time, deliver public lectures. But he stood in the market-places, or entered the work-shops, or visited the schools, in order to teach the people his ideas respecting the scope and value of human speculation and action. Aristophanes, the comic poet, ridiculed and misrepresented the philosopher, who proceeded, nevertheless, with undaunted perseverance. After the banishment from Athens of the “Thirty Tyrants,” Socrates was impeached for corrupting the youth, and despising the tutelary deities of the state. He was condemned, and, preferring death to acknowledging, by a supplication for pardon, that he deserved punishment, he swallowed poison. Whilst the cruel draught was performing its work, he developed the grounds of his immovable conviction of the immortality of the soul, and with his very last breath pointed to a future state, as the true recovery from impurity and disease. He left no writings behind him. We derive our knowledge of his doctrines and character, mainly from his illustrious disciples, Xenophon and Plato. He effected a grand revolution in philosophy, for he first connected with Supreme intelligence, the attributes of goodness, justice and wisdom, and the idea of direct interposition in human affairs, and recalled Reason from vain disquisitions, to the questions which come home to the business and bosoms of men. In person, Socrates was said to resemble the god Silenus. His looks were as repulsive as his life was irreproachable and perfect. His peculiar method of teaching, since called the Socratic, was, by a series of artfully contrived questions, to draw out from the mind of his colloquist the truths which lay unconsciously embosomed there, or to entangle proud and false reasoning in self-confutation.
[A countenance so little expressive of wisdom and goodness, that it might be mistaken for that of a Silenus, whom he also equalled in the almost deformed rotundity of his figure. But this bust, which is from that in the Louvre, and an exceedingly fine work, has been proved to be a portrait of him by its close resemblance to the other busts of the same subject, and to that in particular in the Farnese Collection which bears his name, and the motto which Plato gives him (Criton). Busts and cameos of Socrates are numerous. No. 13A is from the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitoline Museum; it is inferior to the first described.]
13A. Socrates. Philosopher.
14. Hippocrates. Physician.
[Born at Cos, in the Ægean Sea, about B.C. 460. Died about 357. Aged 104.]
The great fame acquired by Hippocrates, would seem to have been won by a steadfast adherence to the sagacity of common sense. He had no chemical knowledge, and his acquaintance with anatomy appears to have been scanty and uncertain; yet, knowing how to turn a rare experience to account, and confining his operations mainly to the watching and assisting of Nature, he succeeded in obtaining credit for superhuman skill. His nephew, who is reputed to have possessed almost equal merit with his uncle, was murdered in a fit of jealousy, by Hippocrates, who shortly afterwards fell a sacrifice to the torments of remorse. A great number of works are extant under his name, but most of them were written by his disciples.
[From the marble in the Louvre, which has been verified by a medal bearing the name of Hippocrates, and showing a perfect resemblance to the head. There are several busts of Hippocrates in existence—one in the Capitoline Museum, another at Florence, and two in the Louvre.]
15. Isocrates. Rhetorician.
[Born at Athens, B.C. 436. Died B.C. 338. Aged 98.]
It is said that Isocrates was the first man to describe the true value and objects of oratory. His language is the purest Attic; his style, which he elaborated with great pains, elegant and polished. As teacher of rhetoric, he became the instructor of the chief youths of his time. He composed several discourses on great political occasions, and amassed considerable wealth. He had throughout life a constitutional timidity, and a weakness of voice that prevented him from speaking in the assemblies of the people. Socrates had been one of his masters. His character appears to have been spotless.
[From the bust in the Villa Albani at Rome, bearing the name of Isocrates. A statue of him was sculptured by Leochares for the temple of Eleusis, and another is described by Pausanias as in the temple of Jupiter Olympius, which statue is spoken of by Christodorus, as being at Constantinople in his time.]
16. Plato. Greek Philosopher.
[Born at Athens, B.C. 430. Died B.C. 347. Aged 83.]
The most illustrious amongst the disciples of Socrates. The doctrines of the great teacher have descended to us chiefly through the writings of this eloquent hearer. Whence, a singular and inextricable conflict. The sturdy, keen, practical plain sense of the master, and the soaring, brilliant imagination, and subtly-dividing wit of the pupil, have come down to us mingled ever in the same composition. In these extraordinary dialogues, which display the spoken Greek of Athens in its utmost purity, beauty, and melody, how much is Plato’s?—how much is of Socrates? The two busts may go as far as any other authorities, in affording the almost discretionary reply. The lip on which, whilst in the cradle, tradition says that the bee settled—signifying the sweetness of the speech which should flow from it—is before us, in part of the answer. Plato was, in his earlier life, a poet, but gave his poetical compositions, amongst which are mentioned an epic poem and a tragedy, to the flames. He excelled in bodily exercises, being distinguished as a wrestler. He travelled much in the quest of knowledge. Like his illustrious preceptor, he taught that wisdom, under which we must comprise goodness, is the attribute of the Godhead,—that philosophy is an intellectual necessity, and, as the fountain of virtue, which it thus includes, the most estimable of all the goods within the reach of man. Abstruse and sublime, seeking to rest science and morals on an immutable basis, Plato trains the intellect more than he teaches. In reading his writings, we enter the Socratic school as hearers, as disputants. The Socrates, who constantly leads the discussion, is rather the presiding Spirit, than the Man. We come out, whatsoever else, worshipping students of the True, of the Fair, of the Good.
[From the very beautiful little bust in the Florence Gallery. He wears the “strophium” as a mark of his great honours. This bust possesses a great claim to authenticity, on account of the name being deeply cut upon it in Greek letters of the antique form. There is a similar bust in the Naples Museum, of the same size, and inscribed with the name of Plato.]
17. Antisthenes. Philosopher.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Athens. Aged 70.]
He is the founder of the Cynic philosophy and flourished about B.C. 375. He taught the love of poverty and labour, the renunciation of all the pleasures and conveniences of life, and contempt for everything but virtue, in which only he allowed true happiness to consist. It is said that Antisthenes left more books than scholars. But Socrates was his friend and Diogenes his pupil. His countenance did credit to his creed: it was severe, and looked the more terrible from his dishevelled hair and hanging beard. He taught in the Gymnasium at Athens, called Cynosarges; and hence the name of his school—the Cynic.
[From the marble in the Vatican. It was found in the ruins of Hadrian’s Villa, and is of great beauty. It resembles another bust in the Vatican, which was found in the villa of Cassius at Tivoli, but which is of less merit, except that it bears his name. The portrait agrees precisely with the descriptions given of Antisthenes by the ancients.]
18. Diogenes. Philosopher.
[Born at Sinope, in Asia Minor, about B.C. 412. Died at Corinth, B.C. 323 or 324. Aged 90.]
Having been detected with his father, a banker, in some dishonest transaction, Diogenes went to Athens, where he became the pupil of Antisthenes, and adopted the Cynic philosophy. He carried his contempt for riches and the usages of society to an extravagant excess. He subsisted on charity, and slept where he could. Some doubt is thrown upon the story of his living in a tub. He said that all the vicissitudes of fortune which constitute tragedy, had been realized in him, but that patience had raised him above them all. When advanced in years he was taken by pirates to Crete, and there sold as a slave. Regaining his freedom, he revisited Athens and Corinth, and in the last-named city had his memorable interview with Alexander the Great. He inculcated morality, but despised intellectual pursuits. His disposition was kind and humorous, though his statue has an acute and caustic countenance.
[From the marble in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican. It is verified by its close resemblance to the head of a little statue in the Villa Albani at Rome, representing the Cynic perfectly nude, and accompanied by his dog. It is said that he sometimes appeared in the streets in this state, after having anointed his body, a piece of eccentricity that gave rise to the joke of Juvenal, that the Stoics differed from the Cynics only in the shirt, “tunicâ tantum.” There is in the Villa Albani an antique bas-relief representing Alexander the Great standing before the Cynic in his tub.]
19. Demosthenes. Greek Orator.
[Born at Athens, B.C. 381. Died in the isle of Calauria, opposite Argolis, B.C. 322. Aged 59.]
A chief, if not the chief of—
“Those ancients, whose resistless eloquence
Wielded at will that fierce Democracie,
Shook th’ Arsenal, and fulmin’d over Greece,
To Macedon and Artaxerxes’ throne.”[29]
This eloquence in Demosthenes—to the modern mind, the one unrivalled exemplar of the ancient Greek oratory—-was like a trained athlete, living nerve and bone. When Athens lay daunted under the successes of Philip of Macedon, Demosthenes, by the sole power of speech, roused the people to energetic warfare. His style was fit for sustaining argument on the destinies of great nations. It was simple, severe, lofty, vehement, and of irresistible power. He acquired this consummate mastery, having, by an invincible perseverance, vanquished seemingly invincible natural obstacles. At one period of his life Demosthenes was accused of receiving a bribe from Harpalus, a Macedonian General, who fled to Athens, to escape the vengeance of Alexander. He quitted Athens. Upon the death of Alexander he returned to the city; but the Athenian arms proving unsuccessful against Antipater, the ruler of Macedonia, the life of the orator was demanded by the conqueror. Demosthenes fled again—this time to the isle of Calauria—where he took poison to save himself from the swords of the soldiery. Looking upon the deep, contemplative, sad brow, figured in stone, we might well fancy that we see, gleaming there, a too real consciousness of the requital awaiting even the greatest Athenian, for services which no reward could measure.
[From the marble in the Louvre. Several busts in various collections had been called Terence, Pythagoras, Plato, and other names, when there were dug up in Herculaneum two bronze heads, on one of which was the name of Demosthenes; it was at once perceived that the busts above referred to had been wrongly named; for they one and all represented the great orator. A very beautiful carved medallion in amethyst exists also at Rome, which is an undoubted likeness of him. For an account of the statues of Demosthenes see Nos. 308 and 321 in the Handbook to the Roman Court and Nave.]
[29] Paradise Regained.
20. Epicurus. Philosopher.
[Born probably at Samos, in Greece, B.C. 342. Died at Athens, B.C. 270. Aged 72.]
The system of Epicurus has been much misrepresented. He did not teach mere refined animal enjoyment. He considered indeed human happiness as the end of philosophy, and he defined happiness as pleasure,—pleasure itself being defined as perfect independence, self-reliance, and contentment. The great aim of his ethics was to point out the way to the attainment of such happiness. The habits of Epicurus were temperate and frugal. During the later years of his life, he was afflicted with much physical suffering, and he bore it with fortitude and patience. He held his celebrated school, which founded the sect bearing his name, in a garden purchased by him at Athens.
20A. Metrodorus. Greek Philosopher.
[Born either at Lampsacus or Athens, B.C. 329. Died B.C. 277. Aged 52.]
A devoted follower of Epicurus, between whom and his disciple the closest friendship subsisted. Upon the death of Metrodorus, Epicurus provided for his children. But Metrodorus failed to do justice to the philosophy of his master; and was the first to attach to the Epicurean idea the sensual notions that have ever since, more or less, been identified with it.
[The master and his intimate friend and disciple united. Busts of Epicurus are common. Such was the enthusiasm of his followers, that his portrait was multiplied in every way, and even the furniture of rooms engraved with his name. This double terminal is from the Capitoline Museum, at Rome, and bears the names of the two philosophers. It was dug up at Rome in 1742, when the foundations were making for Sta. Maria Maggiore. Epicurus is identified also by a beautiful and perfect little bronze found at Herculaneum amongst the remains of a library of a disciple of Epicurus; which bronze is now in the Naples Museum.]
21. Zeno. Founder of the Stoic Philosophy.
[Born at Citium, in the Isle of Cyprus, about B.C. 362. Year of death uncertain.]
The son of a merchant, and himself a trader. Whilst pursuing his vocation, he obtained some works on the Socratic philosophy; read them with eagerness, and resolved to abandon trade for philosophy. Became a disciple of the Cynics; then a pupil of Stilpo of Megara; then lent an ear to the expositors of Plato. After twenty years’ study and inquiry, he turned aside from all existing schools, and created one for himself. The place chosen by him for his instructions was a portico, adorned on the wall with paintings by Polygnotus, hence called “The Variegated Porch” (Stoa Poicilē). Thus he and his pupils were called Stoics. They placed happiness in virtue. Virtue is—to live, by the rule of right reason, a life consistent with itself and with universal nature: and lifts above all consideration of pleasures and pains. The absolute moral rectitude of volition and action is the steering star. But that secured—the humanities, courtesies, and customs of life are not, after the fashion of the Cynics, to be slighted and trampled upon. Zeno commands our respect by the purity of his life. He lived to a great age, though of weakly constitution, by dint of regularity and moderation. He had a serious and thoughtful countenance, corresponding to the severity of the doctrines he taught. In his 98th year, quitting his school, he fell to the ground and broke his finger. “Why am I thus importuned?” he exclaimed. “Earth, I obey thy summons.” He went home, and strangled himself.
[From the marble in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican. It was identified by the stooping attitude of the neck, a slight deformity which is referred to by the contemporaries of Zeno. For an account of the statue of this philosopher, see No. 327, Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]
22. Alexander the Third, surnamed the Great. King of Macedonia, B.C. 336-323.
[Born at Pella, in Macedonia, B.C. 356. Died at Babylon, B.C. 323. Aged 32.]
The pupil of Aristotle, and the conqueror of the world. He ascended the throne of Macedon in the twentieth year of his age. Shortly afterwards he reduced the chief cities of Greece, and rased Thebes sparing only the house of the poet Pindar. In his twenty-second year, he crossed the Hellespont, and turned his arms against the Persian king, Darius, whom he defeated. He conquered Phœnicia, Damascus, and Tyre. Taking Gaza, he passed into Egypt, subdued it, and founded the city of Alexandria. Here, in the madness of his ambition, he claimed divine honours. In 331, B.C., he again attacked Darius, and destroyed the Persian monarchy. Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis, next paid homage to his arms. A change now came over the victor, hitherto temperate and forgiving. He gave rein to his passions, and committed acts of cruelty and excess. But his activity was still incessant. He advanced victoriously to the Indus, and marched back in triumphal procession to Babylon, where, still full of mighty plans of conquest, he fell a victim to intemperance, took fever and died in the thirteenth year of his reign. There was no mediocrity in the character of Alexander. His vices were great, and his virtues magnificent. His heart and mind led him to the extremes of good and evil. His lust of dominion amounted to insane passion. In accordance with his wish, his body, enclosed in a golden coffin, was conveyed to Alexandria, and there deposited in a richly adorned sarcophagus,—now supposed to be in the British Museum. The military skill of Alexander was of a high order. His movements were rapid, decided, and well-directed:—he made great use of his cavalry. His conquests rendered eastern Asia accessible to European enterprise. He retained his affection for his early instructor, Aristotle, to the last, sending, from the scenes of his Eastern conquest, strange animals for the study of the great naturalist. In Asia, to this hour, the exploits of “Iskander,” are told by the people to their children.
[From the marble in the Louvre, inscribed with his name. It was dug up near Tivoli in 1779, and afterwards presented to Napoleon by the discoverer, the Chevalier d’Azara. It was by this bust, aided by the evidence of the coins, that all the portraits of Alexander were verified. Notwithstanding the numerous statues, busts, and pictures of this renowned conqueror which are mentioned by ancient writers, only few now remain. One of the characteristics of the head is the curling up of the hair at the back, as though a circlet had given the hair that form, and it is said he was the first to wear a diadem. The peculiar rising up of the hair in front is also a characteristic of Alexander. A very beautiful little equestrian bronze was found at Herculaneum in 1751, conjectured at the time to be a copy of the statue of Alexander, by Lysippus. [No. 22A], the inscription on which is evidently modern, is from the Berlin Museum.]
22A. Alexander the Third, surnamed the Great.
23. Phocion. Athenian Statesman and General.
[Born in Attica, B.C. 402. Died at Athens, B.C. 317. Aged 85.]
He rose from the ranks of the people, and soon obtained military distinction; exhibiting, whenever tried, great bravery and foresight. He was forty-five times named general. He was opposed to the Macedonians, over whom, by his moderation, valour, and prudence, he obtained signal advantages. When, in his age, Athens—placed through the rejection of his sagacious counsels at the mercy of the Macedonians—was occupied by a foreign garrison, Phocion, whose integrity was invulnerable, was suspected by his countrymen of treachery, and forced to swallow hemlock. His body was denied burial, and cast beyond the confines of Attica; yet, according to the spirit of those singular times, in which the wildest barbarity co-existed with the purest heroism, and towering ingratitude seemed to be enacted only to make way for splendid remorse, his ashes were subsequently brought back to Athens, his accusers put to death, and a statue was raised to his honour. Phocion was surnamed “the Good.” Alexander, surnamed “the Great,” endeavouring to win him from his loyalty, offered him riches and the choice of four cities in Asia. The answer of Phocion bespoke the spotless character of the man. “If Alexander really esteems me,” he said, “let him leave me my honesty.”
[From the statue, No. 324, for account of which see Handbook of Roman Court and Nave.]
24. Alcibiades. Athenian General.
[Born at Athens, B.C. 450. Died in Phrygia, B.C. 404. Aged 45.]
The nephew of Pericles, in whose house he was brought up. He was beautiful in his youth, and he maintained his beauty throughout life,—a personal advantage of which he was not a little conscious. He was the pupil of Socrates, towards whom he entertained a sincere regard and friendship to the last. He entered early into the service of the Republic, and soon distinguished himself by his eloquence and feats of arms. Accused of irreligion, he quitted Athens and took refuge in Sparta, where he betrayed the designs of his country, and also abused the hospitality of the Spartan king. Returning to Athens he gained several victories at the head of her armies, and recovered his position, but only to lose it again in consequence of his ill-success in an expedition against Andros. By order of the “Thirty Tyrants,” established by Lysander in Athens, he was at length assassinated. Alcibiades was remarkable for activity, eloquence, and address. He was very plausible, very versatile, very unscrupulous, and a great dissembler. His unabashed audacity was matchless, but it was relieved, as well as heightened, by good nature, and good humour. He was also selfish, and ambitious, and inordinately vain. He had a slight defect in his speech, and could not pronounce the letter R.
[From the marble in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican. It has upon it the first four letters of Alcibiades’ name. By an inferior artist, and probably of a late date. It conveys no idea of the beauty of this fiery-hearted soldier. No. 24A is a much finer head, but is not entitled to the same confidence as a portrait. Alcibiades is said to have been the model for Cupids and Mercuries in his youth. He received all the honours of portraiture from the Athenians, who made several statues of him in bronze, and the Romans placed his statue in the Forum by the side of one of Pythagoras.]
24A. Alcibiades. Athenian General.
25. Miltiades. Athenian General.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died B.C. 489.]
An Athenian. Succeeded his father Cimon as “Tyrant” of the Thracian Chersonesus. He accompanied Darius on his expedition into Scythia. He was subsequently driven out of the Chersonesus by the Persians, and fled to Athens, where he resumed his rights as an Athenian citizen. He was one of the ten generals chosen by the Athenians to resist the Persian invasion, but by the consent of his colleagues he was invested with sole command. He defeated the Persians under Datis and Artaphernes, at Marathon (B. C. 490), and saved Greece. The victory, as well for the import of its consequences as for the disproportion between the numbers engaged, is one of the most memorable recorded in history. Afterwards intrusted with the command of a fleet, with which he attacked the Island of Paros, to gratify a private enmity. This expedition proving unsuccessful, Miltiades was impeached, condemned to a fine, and thrown into prison, where he died of his wounds.
[The hero of Marathon received all portrait honours from the Athenians. Pliny relates that Panænus, the brother of Phidias, painted a picture of the battle with portraits of the generals; and the great sculptor himself made a statue of the conqueror, the cost of which was appropriately paid out of the spoils of the Persians. It was placed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The bust, No. 25A, is in the Louvre; it was found on the Celian Hill at Rome. The back part of the helmet has sculptured upon it the furious bull of Marathon which Theseus killed, and which Miltiades wears as a trophy of valour. This portrait has been identified by a bust engraved with the name, described by Fulvius Ursinus, but which is unfortunately lost.]
25A. Miltiades. Athenian General.
26. Aspasia.
[Born at Miletus, in Asia Minor. Date of birth and death unknown; but in the fifth century B.C.]
A woman of great beauty and intellectual power, and the contemporary of Pericles, who was her lover, and over whom she gained unbounded sway. Her house was the resort of the greatest and most learned men in Athens, and Socrates, Plato, and Alcibiades were her frequent guests. She is the first of her sex whose portrait has been handed down from hoary antiquity unto the present time. It is related that Pericles learnt political wisdom from her instruction, and took eloquence from her lips. Pericles rewarded his instructress by saving her life through his eloquence and tears, when, like Socrates, Aspasia was arraigned on the charge of impiety. After the death of Pericles, Aspasia attached herself to an obscure man of the name of Lysicles, whom she advanced by her instructions to high office in the Athenian republic.
[From the marble in the Vatican, which is inscribed with her name. This form of bust is rare for women; but it is thought to have been chosen purposely, to show the superiority of one who gave counsel to Pericles and taught, they say, Socrates eloquence. Her great celebrity is guaranteed by this monument, which is the earliest antique Greek portrait of a lady.]
27. Pericles. Athenian Statesman.
[Born at Athens, B.C. 494. Died B.C. 429. Aged 65.]
For forty years at the head of the administration in Athens; twenty-five years in conjunction with others, and fifteen years alone. He was the pupil of Anaxagoras, from whom he derived philosophic equanimity and lofty principle. The eloquence of Pericles was a grand characteristic of the man, but not the grandest. When dying, he affirmed that his greatest honour had been, “that no Athenian, through his means, had ever put on mourning.” He promised the Athenians immortality; he secured it by means of the memorials of beauty which he left on the Athenian soil, now upwards of two thousand years ago. His oratory was rapid, penetrating, condensed, energetic, persuasive, graceful, and fertile in resources. His boundless influence was never degraded to unworthy purposes. Architecture, sculpture, and literature, reached their highest point under his protecting hand. Phidias was his director of public works; Sophocles and Euripides were his favoured friends. He governed with moderation and justice, and eschewing all aggression for the mere sake of conquest, endeavoured by every means to consolidate the dominion and to confirm the maritime power of Athens. His eloquence was the golden sceptre of his rule. He died in the great plague of Athens.
[Pliny mentions a painted portrait of him by Aristolaus, and Christodorus states that his statue in bronze existed at Constantinople. Phidias, it is said, sculptured the portrait of his illustrious patron on the shield of the great Minerva, and the busts of him are taken from this figure. This bust is from the British Museum. There is also a bust of Pericles in the Vatican, which has the name on the breast. He wears the Corinthian helmet.]
28. Pisistratus. “Tyrant” of Athens.[30]
[Born about B.C. 612. Died at Athens, B.C. 527.]
A prince who made his way to power by questionable means, but who made of power a noble and an exemplary use. When Solon established his constitution, and quitted Athens, Pisistratus headed one of the rival factions that instantly rose up. He seized the citadel of Athens (B.C. 560), but was subsequently driven from the city by the united efforts of his foes. After six years’ absence he regained Athens by a stratagem, but, again expelled, suffered another exile for the space of ten years. He returned for a second time, and vanquished those who opposed him, assumed power, and maintained his position until his death. His rule was moderate, just, and productive of great benefit to the Athenian people. He encouraged literature and the drama, protected religion, and regarded the interests of the poor. To him we owe the first written text of the whole of the poems of Homer. He is also said to have been the first in Greece to collect a library for public use. He gave Athens repose, during which she nourished the elements of her future strength and power.
[From the marble, which has hitherto been called a Pericles, in the Rospigliosi Palace at Rome.]
[30] The title “Tyrant” in the old republics, meant only “absolute monarch.”
29. Periander. “Tyrant” of Corinth.
[Born at Corinth, about B.C. 670. Died about B.C. 585.]
One of the “Seven Wise Men of Greece,” and the son of Cypselus, “Tyrant” of Corinth, whom he succeeded B.C. 625. The first years of his government were distinguished by moderation and wisdom, but afterwards he exercised great cruelty towards his family and people. He reigned many years.
[From the marble in the Vatican, which is remarkably well preserved. It bears his name in Greek letters. It was found in 1780, near Tivoli, in the house of Cassius, with the heads of Bias, Solon, Thales, Pittacus, and Cleobulus, and probably formed part of the Gallery of Cassius, the letters being of the Roman time. In the British Museum there is another original marble of this philosopher, which formerly was in the Palace of Sixtus V. at Rome.]
30. Lycurgus. Lawgiver.
[Date and place of birth and death unknown.]
Lycurgus holds an ambiguous place between tradition and history. Nothing authentic is known of him, and a touch of the fabulous pervades his story. He is said to have been of the line of Spartan kings, and, after having travelled in nearly all countries of the world, to have brought back his laws to Sparta, whose constitution he remodelled. Quitting Sparta, he exacted a promise from the Spartans that they would not alter his laws until his return. He never returned. He was honoured with a temple and a yearly sacrifice. He inculcated, according to the tradition, rigid discipline, unquestioning obedience, and military ardour.
[From the head of the statue in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican, Rome. It is another example of conventional or traditional portraiture, but possesses one very remarkable confirmation of an accident related in his life. In one of the disturbances of the populace, he was struck in the eye; and it will be observed that one eye of the bust has the peculiar appearance of being useless. Visconti, who noticed this peculiarity, first named the statue Lycurgus. There is a head in the Naples Museum which corresponds with this, and both are confirmed by the medals which bear his name. The drill holes about the beard are interesting, as they prove that the ancient sculptors worked on the same plan as the moderns.]
31. Posidippus. Comic Poet.
[Born at Cassandreia, in Macedonia. Date of birth and death unknown.]
Nothing is known of his life or death. He was an Athenian comic poet, of “The New Comedy,” and his first dramas appeared B.C. 289. He was the last, in order of time, of the six who are mentioned by the anonymous writer on comedy, as the most celebrated poets of the New Comedy. He is said to have written forty plays, of which little more than the titles of eighteen are preserved. No accurate judgment can be formed of his style; some of his subjects, judging from the titles, must have been licentious.
[For account of this statue, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 291.]
32. Menander. Comic Poet.
[Born at Cephissia, near Athens, B.C. 342. Died probably at Athens, B.C. 290. Aged 52.]
The model writer of “The New Comedy,” which substituted for the personalities of the “Ancient Comedy,” a more faithful portraiture of the vices and follies of men. A few fragments only remain of his numerous works. His plays are said to have presented a most true and lively reflexion of the manners and morals of his age. He had many imitators amongst the Greeks and Romans, and Plautus and Terence profited by his writings. Only eight of his plays were crowned. He was probably in advance of his time and audience.
[For account of this statue, see Handbook to Greek Court, No. 290.]
33. Posidonius. Greek Philosopher.
[Born at Apameia in Syria, about 135 years B.C. Died, probably at Rome, about 51 B.C.]
A writer on History, Astronomy, Astrology, Cosmography, and Grammar, but none of his works remain; a great scholar and traveller. A Stoic in philosophy, yet desirous of bringing all systems of philosophy into harmony. He suffered much from illness. Pompey visited him during a sharp attack of gout, but during his agony he sustained an argument with the orator Hermagoras to prove that pain is no evil. “Torment me if you will, oh Pain!” he exclaimed, “I shall not admit pain to be an evil, a bit the more for that.”
[For account of this statue, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 307.]
ROMAN COURT.
ENTERING BY THE CENTRE ARCH FROM THE NAVE.
(Numbers commencing on the right.)
ROMAN EMPERORS.
34. Numa Pompilius. Second King of Rome.
[Born at Cures, in the country of the Sabines.]
The life of Numa Pompilius belongs to the realm of fable. “His name,” says Dr. Smith, “represents the rule of law and order, and to him are ascribed all those ecclesiastical institutions which formed the basis of the ceremonial religion of the Romans.” The legend attached to Numa describes him as the mildest, wisest, and most virtuous of men. After his election to the throne, vacated by Romulus, his first care was to ameliorate the condition of his people, and to legislate on behalf of religion. He reigned thirty-nine years in uninterrupted peace. It is suggested that as Numa was reputed chosen from amongst the Sabines, the Romans, in all probability, drew their religious institutions from that nation, rather than from the Etruscans.
[From the bust in the Vatican at Rome.]
35. Augustus. Roman Emperor, B.C. 30-A.D. 14.
[Born at Rome, B.C. 63. Died at Nola, in Campania, A.D. 14. Aged 76.]
The first Roman Emperor. Trained for his public career by his great-uncle, Julius Cæsar. After the death of Cæsar (B.C. 44), he formed with Antony and Lepidus the league known as the triumvirate. But subsequently quarrelling with Antony, and overcoming him, he annexed Egypt to Rome, and became sole master of the State. His reign was tranquil, and he conciliated the people. His disposition appears to have been cold; he lived simply, and despised pomp and pageantry.
[Suetonius mentions the handsome features of Augustus as well preserved in his old age. He is described with eyebrows meeting and thick, the ears small and well formed, the nose finely chiselled. There are several busts of him taken at different periods. This Bust is from the Statue Gallery of the Vatican. It represents him in old age wearing a fillet and a medal bearing the effigy of his wife Livia. No. 35A is a portrait at a younger period: it is from the Museo Chiaramonti of the Vatican. There is a noble statue of him in the “toga” in the Bas-relief gallery, see No. 80, Handbook of Greek Court.]
35A. Augustus. Roman Emperor.
36. Nero—Claudius Cæsar Drusus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 54-68.
[Born at Antium, in Latium, A.D. 37. Died near Rome, 68. Aged 31.]
When we desire to express in a word the height of sanguinary cruelty and atrocious tyranny, the name of Nero at once occurs to us. He was the son of Domitius Ahenobarbus, and of the infamous Agrippina, through whose intrigues he was adopted by Claudius, to the exclusion of his own son, as successor to the throne. Nero’s government, at first moderate and prudent, soon degenerated into fearful licentiousness. He poisoned Britannicus, the son of Claudius; he assassinated his mother; he divorced and murdered his wife Octavia, the daughter of Claudius, in order to marry the beautiful and depraved Poppæa; he set fire to Rome, and put many Christians to death, on the pretence that they had caused the conflagration; he killed Poppæa by a brutal kick, and he ordered executions and perpetrated wrongs of all kinds, and without number. The Roman world was at length tired of this monster; an insurrection broke out in Gaul; and Galba, the governor of Spain, was proclaimed Emperor. Rome followed the example of the provinces, and rose in insurrection. Nero took to flight, and gave himself a mortal wound, when he heard the trampling of the horses on which his pursuers were mounted. It is said that in his youth he was instructed in many branches of knowledge—that he wrote poetry, and had some skill in music. His criminal career may possibly have been the result of furious insanity—we think, at least of a lunatic, when we read that Nero appeared on the Roman stage as an actor, and played the fiddle whilst the city was burning.
[From the marble in the Louvre. The circlet round his head was worn by him to imitate the rays of the sun; the holes for the rays are observable. No. 36A, the bust crowned with laurel, is from the Statue Gallery of the Vatican.]
36A. Nero—Claudius Cæsar Drusus. Roman Emperor.
37 (outside). Tiberius—Claudius Nero Cæsar. Roman Emperor, A.D. 14-37.
[Born, B.C. 42. Died at Misenum, A.D. 37. Aged 79.]
Son of Titus Claudius Nero, and of Livia, whose second husband was Augustus. The successor of his stepfather and the husband of Julia the daughter of Augustus. During his earlier years of rule he governed with moderation and justice; but, growing suspicious of those around him, he patronized a detestable class of men who acquired infamy in the state under the title of “Delatores,” or “Informers,” and by establishing in its utmost extent the law of læsa majestas (high treason) obtained opportunity to the shedding of some base, and of much honourable blood. He also became a religious persecutor, unfilial, hateful of the rising glory of other men, and sensual. He quitted Rome, A.D. 26, and never returned to the city. He took up his residence in the delicious island of Capreæ, lying off the Campanian coast. Mean, timid, irresolute, insincere: yet wise in his generation, with some penetration and political skill. He wrote a brief commentary of his life. His youthful name has been immortalized by Horace. In the reign of Tiberius and in the year 33, Jesus Christ suffered crucifixion in Judea, under the condemnation of Pontius Pilate.
38 (outside). Claudius I.—Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 41-54.
[Born at Lyons, in Gaul, B.C. 10. Died A.D. 54. Aged 64.]
Fourth in the series of Roman Emperors. Called to the throne in his fiftieth year, upon the murder of his nephew Caligula. Branded as a tyrant, but ought rather to be pitied for his weakness, timidity, vacillation, and utter helplessness. He was the sport of the wicked, and the victim of his own wretched feebleness. Unfortunate in every relation of life. His third wife was the notorious Valeria Messalina; his fourth, his own niece, the shameless Agrippina, who prevailed upon the half-witted Emperor to disinherit his offspring in favour of her son Nero, and who afterwards caused the unhappy Claudius to be poisoned. The rule of this Emperor, when left to himself, is described as mild and popular; but he had seldom the advantage of independent action, and in the hands of others he was robbed of moral will. Fond of building, Claudius raised the Claudian aqueduct. He wrote Greek as well as Latin, and composed some works on history, besides memoirs of his own life.
39. Galba—Servius Sulpicius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 68-69.
[Born at Terracina, in Italy, B.C. 3. Died at Rome, A.D. 69. Aged 73.]
The successor of Nero; and governor of Spain when he was raised to the supreme dignity. A strict military disciplinarian, and remarkable for care and prudence. But when Emperor, his prudence became avarice, and he practised sordid measures, under the plea of imitating the frugality of the ancients. His niggardliness gave offence to the military and to the citizens, who had been used to festivals under Nero; and in his old age, Galba was cut down in the streets of Rome. He reigned 7 months.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
39*. Vespasian—Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 69-70.
[Born at Nursia, in the country of the Sabines, A.D. 9. Died at Cutiliæ, in the country of the Sabines, A.D. 79. Aged 69.]
Of low origin. Went to Britain and subdued the Isle of Wight. Afterwards sent to the East by Nero against the Jews, and was proclaimed Emperor by his troops at Alexandria. On the death of Vitellius proceeded to Rome, where, as Emperor, he restored order, reformed abuses, and improved the condition of the empire. He commenced the Coliseum. A great Emperor, popular with his army, upright, conscientious, simple in his living, and affable in his manners.
[For account of the colossal Bust of Vespasian, see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave, No. 338.]
40. Caligula. Roman Emperor, A.D. 37-41.
[Born at Antium, in Latium, A.D. 12. Died at Rome, A.D. 41. Aged 29.]
Son of Germanicus and Agrippina. His real name was Caius Cæsar, but called Caligula by the soldiers, from his wearing in his boyhood small caligæ or soldier’s boots. Passed his boyhood in his father’s camp in Germany. On the death of Tiberius he became Emperor, and for a time ruled wisely. On recovering, however, from a severe illness, he perpetrated acts of horror characteristic of a madman. He murdered the innocent for his amusement, and married and dissolved his marriages in the most shameless manner. His favourite horse he raised to the Consulship, and he deified himself. After passing three years in raving crime and folly, he was struck down by the conspirator’s sword.
[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, of the Capitoline Museum. Busts of Caligula are very rare, because, like those of Commodus, they were as far as possible destroyed, on account of his atrocities. He is said to have had a complexion of repulsive paleness. Suetonius alludes to his thin lips and expression of confirmed dissimulation.]
41. Vitellius—Aulus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 69.
[Born on the Island of Capreæ, A.D. 15. Died at Rome, A.D. 69. Aged 54.]
A royal glutton. He commanded in Lower Germany, where his popularity with the troops led to his being proclaimed Emperor by the soldiers at Cologne. Vitellius succeeded Otho, and reigned eight months after the death of the latter, when he was murdered. Avaricious of money for the sake of what it would purchase for the stomach. The life of Vitellius is told when we state that it was devoted to eating, drinking, and acts of cruelty. It was his boast that the infamous Nero was his chosen model.
[From the Louvre. Full of the character of the man—bloated and debased. He is said to have spent nine millions of sesterces in suppers.]
42. Nerva—Marcus Cocceius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 96-98.
[Born at Narnia, in Umbria, A.D. 32. Died at Rome, A.D. 98. Aged 64.]
Pliny says that the commencement of the reign of Nerva was the era of returning freedom; and Tacitus praises the same Emperor, for reconciling supreme authority with the liberty of the citizen. He succeeded the Emperor Domitian, who was murdered, and his first care was to restore tranquillity, and to repair the effects of his predecessor’s tyranny. He put an end to the persecution of the Christians, attended to the wants of the poor, and exercised a rigid economy. Gentleness and goodness were marked features in his character.
[From the gallery of the Emperors in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
43. Titus—Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 79-81.
[Born at Rome, A.D. 40. Died at Cutiliæ, in the country of the Sabines, A.D. 81. Aged 41.]
Elder son of the Emperor Vespasian, and one of the best of the Roman emperors. It was he who besieged and destroyed Jerusalem (A.D. 70); he also completed the Coliseum at Rome, and during his reign Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (A.D. 79). As a soldier and general, his conduct marked by great humanity and bravery. As Emperor, administered the laws justly and improved the condition of his people by whom he was beloved. “The being beloved,” to use the words of Voltaire, constituted his greatest glory. Possessed great intellectual refinement and delicacy of feeling. It is said that he was poisoned by his brother Domitian, who was impatient to succeed to the empire.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. Busts of Titus are not common: yet his statues were in every house, on account of his popularity. For an engraving of one, see Handbook of Roman Court and Nave.]
44. Domitian—Titus Flavius Sabinus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 81-96.
[Born at Rome, A.D. 51. Died there, A.D. 96. Aged 45.]
Son of the Emperor Vespasian, and brother of Titus. He was bloody and cowardly throughout his career. Suetonius says his very virtues were turned into vices. Before the death of his brother Titus he made many attempts upon his life, and, during his own reign, he frequently compelled individuals to undergo the terrors of death, sparing their lives, in order to enjoy the sight of their sufferings. His government was disastrous for Rome, though he boasted annually of great victories, and assumed the title of God. Pliny used to say that the triumphs of Domitian were certain “proofs that the enemy had gained an advantage.” Neither talent nor virtue was safe from his persecutions, yet, although the last three years of his life form one of the most frightful epochs in history, Domitian had talent and a cultivated mind. He promoted architecture and beautified Rome; he rebuilt the libraries which had been burnt in the preceding reign, and sent literary men to the famous Alexandrine library to make copies of books there. He was the victim of a conspiracy, and the last of the twelve Cæsars.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
45. Trajan—M. Ulpius Trajanus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 98-117.
[Born at Italica, in Spain, A.D. 52. Died at Selinus, in Cilicia, 117. Aged 65.]
Trajan endeavoured to emulate the glory of Alexander by extending the Roman Empire in the East, but with imperfect success. He improved the social and physical condition of his subjects, was easy of access, possessed good sense, a profound judgment and knowledge of the world. Not a man of letters himself, he was the friend of Pliny the younger, Tacitus, Plutarch, and Epictetus. He was tall, majestic, robust, and his hair perfectly white.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum. Busts of Trajan are not uncommon. The seated statue of Trajan is described under No. 343, in Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]
46. Hadrian—Publius Ælius Hadrianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 117-138.
[Born at Rome, A.D. 76. Died there, A.D. 138. Aged 63.]
In his youth wedded to literature, especially that of Greece. He was the adopted son of Trajan, whom he succeeded as Emperor, in A.D. 117. Travelling was with him a passion. In A.D. 119, he set forth on a journey which lasted for the space of 17 years. He visited Gaul, Britain (where he erected the famous wall between the Solway and the Tyne), Spain, Africa, and part of Asia. On a second visit to the East he lost his favourite page Antinous, and his grief for this youth has since resounded through the world. Shortly after his return to Rome in 132, the Jewish war broke out. It ended in the subjugation and slavery of the chosen people. He was a wise Emperor, a cultivator of the arts, and a lover of peace, though stained with vices of his age.
[Busts of Hadrian are common. This is from the Rotunda of the Vatican. No. 123 is from a very perfect one in the Naples Museum. For engraving of the fine statue in the British Museum, see Handbook of Roman Court and Nave, p. 13.]
47. Antoninus Pius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 138-161.
[Born near Lanuvium, A.D. 86. Died at Lorium, A.D. 161. Aged 74.]
The successor of Hadrian, and one of the most distinguished of the Roman Emperors. Improved the condition of his people, and consolidated the power of the empire by enlightened and conciliatory measures. He was respected and beloved. Of commanding aspect and dignified demeanour. A deep-toned melodious voice heightened his native eloquence. One of the most virtuous princes that ever sat upon a throne.
[From the marble in the Berlin Museum. There is in the Louvre a bust of Antoninus Pius, having the head covered with a fold of the toga, and crowned with ears of wheat, a copy of which is described under No. 381, Handbook of Roman Court and Nave.]
48. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 161-180.
[Born at Rome, A.D. 121. Died at Sirmium, in Pannonia, A.D. 180. Aged 59.]
Surnamed “The Philosopher.” One of the best and greatest princes of antiquity. He succeeded his adoptive father Antoninus Pius in A.D. 161, and from that time until his death, his public and private acts conduced to the welfare of his people and to the true glory of the empire. His sole misfortune was to be father of the brutal Commodus, who succeeded him on the Imperial throne. He was clement, charitable, generous, and forgiving. His bodily health, always weakly, gave way beneath excessive labour of mind and body, and his death created universal sorrow. After the lapse of a hundred years his memory was still held in veneration by the people. He was of a thoughtful nature. At an early period he admired the precepts and adopted the costume of the Stoic philosophers. Later in life he was wont to repeat with great satisfaction the saying of Plato—“How happy would the people be, if philosophers were kings, and kings philosophers.” His “Meditations”—a work in the Greek language—is one of the noblest productions of Pagan philosophy.
[From the marble in the Berlin Museum. No. 48A is called the young M. Aurelius. The colossal head from the Louvre is described under No. 344, Handbook to Roman Court and Nave. The Senate decreed that a bust of M. Aurelius should be in every house.]
48A. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Roman Emperor.
49. Pertinax—Publius Helvius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 193.
[Born at Villa Martis, in Liguria, A.D. 126. Assassinated at Rome, A.D. 193. Aged 67.]
The son of a charcoal-burner. First a schoolmaster in Liguria, then a soldier. Rising to important command, he served in Great Britain and Africa. Upon the murder of Commodus, the Prætorians prevailed upon him to assume the purple. He accepted the honour in difficult times, when virtue met with as little mercy as vice. He stipulated that the dignity should not extend beyond himself, to his wife or son; he proclaimed that no man should be prosecuted for treason; he at once set about useful reforms in the state; but in less than three months after his accession, he was murdered by the same Prætorians, simply because he was too upright and too good a man. He had a venerable aspect, and was mild and winning in his address.
[From the marble in the Rotunda of the Vatican.]
50. Verus—-Lucius Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 161-169.
[Born at Rome, A.D. 130. Died at Altinum, in the country of the Veneti, A.D. 169. Aged 39.]
Licentious and dissolute; the colleague of Marcus Aurelius in the empire, and the husband of Lucilla, daughter of the latter. During a four years’ war against the Parthians, Lucius held command of the Roman army: but, a drunkard and a gamester, his sole part in the war was to reap the glory of the victories won by his generals. In his youth, he is described as well made in person; frank, simple, and gentle of disposition.
[A colossal Bust of him will be found described under Nos. 331 and 333, in the Handbook to the Roman Court and Nave. It was found in the same place as the colossal Marcus Aurelius.]
51. Ælius Verus. Adopted Emperor.
[Born (uncertain). Died at Rome, A.D. 138.]
Of a noble Etrurian family. His beauty and literary accomplishments drew the favour of the Emperor Hadrian, who changing his name, adopted him for his successor. Twice Consul. Governor, for a short time, of Pannonia. Died suddenly. Of a luxurious character.
[From the marble in the gallery of the Emperors of the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
52. Annius Verus. Roman Prince.
[Born A.D. 162. Died at Præneste A.D. 170. Aged 7.]
The son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina, and the brother of Commodus, with whom he was raised to the rank of Cæsar, A.D. 166.
[From the marble in the Louvre. Taken when young. A graceful little Bust, remarkable for having the pupil of the eye so firmly indicated.]
53. Marcus Galerius Antoninus. Roman Prince.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Flourished A.D. 140.]
Son of Antoninus Pius and Annia Galeria Faustina. Nothing is known of his life or death. His effigy is extant with that of his mother upon a rare Greek coin; but he is not styled Cæsar in the inscription. Marcus Galerius, no doubt, died before his father became Emperor.
[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors of the Capitoline Museum.]
54. Severus—Lucius Septimius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 193-211.
[Born at Leptis, in Africa, A.D. 146. Died at Eboracum (York), A.D. 211. Aged 65.]
His family was of equestrian rank, and originally came from Gaul. In A.D. 185, he was commander-in-chief of the army in Pannonia and Illyricum; and on the murder of Pertinax was elected Emperor. He disbanded and banished the Prætorian guards, re-constituted the army, whose fidelity he secured, and marched against his two rivals, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus, the first of whom had been declared Emperor in the East, and the last, in Gaul. Defeating them both, he passed three years in the East, warring against the Parthians, whom he subdued. In A.D. 208, he went to Britain, in order to punish the Caledonians. But before his design could be carried out, he fell himself a victim—it is said to grief, to the dissensions of his sons—in the city of York. He had many kingly qualities, but was without clemency. A rigid disciplinarian, simple and sober in his tastes.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
55. Gordianus—Marcus Antonius, surnamed Africanus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 238.
[Born at Rome, A.D. 157. Died at Carthage, in Africa, A.D. 238. Aged 80.]
Born of an honourable family, claiming high descent, and possessing great wealth. When Ædile, his public spectacles were pre-eminently magnificent. At one of them 1000 gladiators fought at once. When appointed Pro-Consul in Africa, he was called “The New Scipio,” on account of his popular manners. When eighty years of age he was forced to become Emperor by the people of Carthage, who would not submit to the ferocious Maximinus. After a few months’ reign, however, he was attacked by Capellianus, the Procurator of Numidia, and hearing of the fall of his son, strangled himself with his own belt. A man of extraordinary self-command and sobriety, and very studious. In his youth he composed a poem in thirty books; and, to his latest hour, he passed some portion of the day in the study of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Virgil. In temper gentle and affectionate.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
56. Commodus—Lucius Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 180-192.
[Born at Lanuvium, in Italy, A.D. 161. Died at Rome, A.D. 192. Aged 31.]
Son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Junior. It is said that he was handsome in form and feature. If history can be believed, he was a monster in human form. He was cruel in hot and cold blood, vain, cowardly, impious. He appeared many times in the Circus as gladiator, and condescended to become a buffoon for the amusement of the lowest of his people; but he is chiefly famous for his human butcheries. He was poisoned at last by his mistress, Marcia, who was only just in time to save her own life, which had been already doomed by her sanguinary paramour. His death gave occasion to almost frantic joy in Rome.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
57. Macrinus—Marcus Opilius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 217-218.
[Born at Cæsarea, in Numidia, A.D. 164. Died near Archelaïs, in Cappadocia, A.D. 218. Aged 54.]
An Emperor of obscure birth. He is said to have been, in his youth, a gladiator. When Præfect of the Prætorian guards, he contrived the murder of Caracalla, then at Antioch, in order to fulfil the prophecy of a soothsayer, who had predicted his accession to the throne. Elected Emperor by the soldiers, he was himself dethroned and assassinated in Cappadocia, after a brief reign of fourteen months. He is represented as haughty, bloodthirsty, cruel, and cowardly.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
58. Pupienus—Marcus Claudius Pupienus Maximus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 238.
[Born A.D. 164. Died at Rome, A.D. 238. Aged 74.]
Called “the Sad” from the melancholy expression of his countenance. He was of an obscure family, but a distinguished soldier. After the death of the two Gordiani, he was elected with Balbinus, by the senate, to the empire, in order to oppose Maximinus; but that tyrant was soon after murdered by his own soldiers. The Prætorians, however, regretting Maximinus, assassinated the two Emperors when they were preparing to depart on separate expeditions.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
59. Maximinus—Caius Julius Verus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 235-238.
[Born on the confines of Thrace, A.D. 173. Died before Aquileia, A.D. 238. Aged 65.]
An Emperor of Gothic origin, who was originally a shepherd, and owed his elevation entirely to his physical power and stature. He stood eight feet high, and was muscular in proportion. Serving with Alexander Severus on the Rhine, he excited a mutiny in the troops, in which Alexander and his mother were assassinated, and he himself declared Emperor by the soldiers. His reign was marked by mad severity, cruelty, and rapacity, and was fiercely closed by a band of Prætorians, who broke into his tent and slew him, having first put an end to his son before his eyes. He was a rare monster. It is related that his thumb was of the girth of a woman’s wrist; he could wear his wife’s bracelet as a ring: his eyes were inordinately large; with a kick, he could break the leg of a horse; and his appetite corresponded with his muscular development.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
60. Caracalla. Roman Emperor, A.D. 211-217.
[Born at Lyons in France, A.D. 188. Died in Mesopotamia, A.D. 217. Aged 29.]
In early life remarkable for gentle and pleasing address; but on the death of his father, Septimius Severus, he assassinated his brother Geta, who was left, with himself, joint heir to the throne. Other crimes were added, and, conscience-stricken, he soon gave rein to the passions of a madman. He oppressed his citizens by extortionate taxation, and plundered the world for the means of paying for his soldiers and his amusements. He, however, erected some great monuments in Rome. He was assassinated in Mesopotamia by order of Macrinus, his chief officer.
[All busts of him show the peculiar deformed turn of the neck with which he was afflicted.]
61. Geta—Publius Septimius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 211-212.
[Born at Milan, A.D. 189. Died A.D. 212. Aged 23.]
The second son of Septimius Severus. During his second Consulship proceeded to Britain (208) and obtained the surname of Britannicus. Upon the death of his father, he and his brother Caracalla were declared joint successors to the Imperial crown; but Geta, at the instigation of Caracalla, was assassinated in the very arms of his mother, to whom he had fled for refuge. Caracalla caused his brother’s statues to be destroyed, and his inscriptions to be obliterated. Geta was depraved in his habits, and unpolished, but not without some good qualities.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
62. Gordianus II.—Marcus Antonius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 238.
[Born, A.D. 192. Died at Carthage, in Africa, A.D. 238. Aged 46.]
Eldest son of Gordianus Africanus, with whom he was proclaimed Emperor, in Africa, in opposition to Maximinus. He was defeated and slain by Capellianus, the Procurator of Numidia, who remained faithful to Maximinus. His instructor, Serenus Sammonicus, left him heir to a large library. Gordianus II. had a good knowledge of law, and cultivated literature.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
63. Decius—Caius Messius Quintus Trajanus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 249-251.
[Born at Bubalia, in Lower Pannonia, A.D. 201. Died near Abricium, A.D. 251. Aged 50.]
The first of a long line of monarchs who traced an Illyrian ancestry. In A.D. 245, he was entrusted with an important command on the Danube. Shortly afterwards he was ordered by the Emperor Philippus to calm the rebellious soldiery of Mœsia; but, on attempting to pacify them, he was offered, with a sword to his breast, the alternative of instant death or the purple. Choosing the purple, he was opposed in the field by Philippus, who fell. After reigning thirty months, he met his death in battle against the Goths. During his short rule, the Christians were bitterly persecuted. It is difficult to form a just estimate of this Emperor’s character. He has been described as “most amiable, highly accomplished, mild, affable, and brave.” He has also been stigmatized as a monster of iniquity.
[From the gallery of the Emperors in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
64. Alexander Severus—Marcus Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 222-235.
[Born at Arce, in Phœnicia, A.D. 205-208. Died in Gaul, A.D. 235.]
Elected Emperor on the death of Elagabalus, in A.D. 222. His reign was marked by a gradual improvement in religion, morality, and politics. In A.D. 232, he drove the Persians under Artaxerxes, in defeat across the Tigris. He was about to advance against the Germans, then ravaging Gaul, when he was murdered, together with his mother Julia Mamæa, by a band of mutinous soldiers, instigated by the ferocious Maximinus, who seized the crown. His life was simple and pure; his government considerate and just. His death caused general regret.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
65. Heliogabalus or Elagabalus—Varius Avitus Bassianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 218-222.
[Born at Antioch, A.D. 204. Assassinated A.D. 222. Aged 18.]
From his earliest years a priest of the Sun in the Temple of Emesa, in Syria: but by the intrigues of his grandmother, Julia Mæsa, declared Emperor of Rome, in place of Macrinus, whom he defeated in battle, and put to death. Elagabalus—so called from his sun-worship—the priest taking the name of the God—introduced into Rome the superstitions in which he had been nurtured. By way of strengthening his power, his grandmother induced him to associate with himself, in the government, his cousin Alexander Severus. Repenting of this act, he was about to undo it, when a revolt of the Prætorians decided the question of rule by assassinating him and throwing his body into the Tiber. A more worthless carcase had never floated down the polluted river. His vices were as gross as his superstitions. He left behind him a smirched and hated name.
[All Busts of him were ordered to be destroyed by the Senate: they are consequently rare. This is from the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
66. Gallienus—Publius Licinius Valerianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 253-268.
[Born A.D. 218. Died before Milan, A.D. 268. Aged 50.]
Son of Valerian. When associated with his father in the empire, he commanded with success against the barbarians on the Rhine and Danube. In 260, Valerian was made captive by the Persians, and during the eight years of his imprisonment, his son made no effort to release him. Rome, whilst Gallienus reigned, was a prey to pestilence, internal rebellion, and the ravages of foreign nations. In A.D. 268, he laid siege to Milan, whither Aureolus, an invader of his empire, had fled for refuge. During the siege Gallienus fell—it is said by the hands of his own soldiers. His character was very bad. He was cruel, treacherous, and indolent, apathetic to public disaster, self-indulgent, frivolous, and a glutton.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
67. Gordianus III. or Pius—Marcus Antonius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 238-244.
[Born A.D. 224. Died near Castrum Circesium, in Mesopotamia, A.D. 244. Aged 20.]
An emperor, endowed with many good qualities. He was son of the Consul Junius Balbus and Metia Faustina, daughter of Gordianus Africanus. When sixteen years old he married the beautiful and virtuous daughter of Misitheus, a wise and eloquent man, whom he appointed Prefect of the Prætorians, and by whose prudent advice he was successfully guided. Upon the death of this able minister, Philip the Arabian contrived to associate himself in the government with Gordianus, who shortly afterwards fell a victim, it is supposed, to the conspiracies of his colleague.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
68. Caius Julius Verus Maximus. Roman Prince.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Aquileia, A.D. 238. Aged 18 or 21.]
Son of the Emperor Maximinus, who, on his accession to the purple in 235, raised him to the rank of Cæsar. Well educated, vain of his personal beauty, and haughty of demeanour, but not evil disposed. He was massacred with his father at Aquileia by the rebel Prætorians.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
69. Philip the Younger.—Marcus Julius Philippus II. Roman Prince.
[Born (place unknown), A.D. 237. Died A.D. 249. Aged 12.]
Son of Philip I., Emperor of Rome. When seven years old dignified with the title of Cæsar. When ten years old chosen Consul, and shared the empire under the title of Augustus. A child of singularly serious temperament. He could never be induced to laugh, and would turn away his head when his father indulged in merriment.
[From the Statue Gallery of the Vatican.]
70. Carinus—Marcus Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 283-285.
[Born probably at Rome, A.D. 249. Died in Moesia, A.D. 285. Aged 36.]
Eldest son of the Emperor Carus. Was appointed to the command of the Western Provinces, A.D. 282. In A.D. 283, on the death of his father, was associated in the government with his brother Numerianus, who was assassinated when Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor by the army in Asia. Carinus marched against Diocletian, but in the moment of triumph he was slain by one of his own officers, whose domestic happiness he had destroyed. Carinus was a brave and skilful general, but a profligate and vicious man. He was sensual and ferocious.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
71. Julian the Apostate—Flavius Claudius Julianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 361-363.
[Born at Constantinople, A.D. 331. Died in Persia, A.D. 363. Aged 32.]
Unquestionably a ruler of extraordinary capacity and power. He was the nephew of Constantine the Great, and was brought up in strict seclusion by the Christians, in order to save him from Constantius II., who, upon his accession, had murdered the male members of Julian’s family. He withdrew for a time to Athens; was thence recalled by the relenting Constantius, and invested with command in Gaul. He resided chiefly in Paris, and it is worthy of note that at a time of scarcity in that city, Julian drew his supplies of corn from England. During his stay in Gaul, the soldiers proclaimed him Emperor. He marched against Constantinople, but before he reached the city Constantius had died. Julian, created Emperor, renounced Christianity for the Paganism of Greece; hence the name which he has carried as a brand ever since. The Heathens extol this prince, the Christians blame him. His life at least was pure, and his rule sagacious; and, although he naturally hated his former co-religionists, he was no religious persecutor. After his accession to the throne he carried war into Persia, where he was slain in battle. He was a prince of profound knowledge, of great eloquence, and remarkable for philosophic calm. He professed Stoicism. He was also a writer, and many of his works, displaying reflexion and inquiring thought, have come down to us.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. A very interesting statue of Julian will be found described under No. 92, Handbook of Greek Court.]
72. Diocletian—Caius Valerius Aurelius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 284-305.
[Born in Dalmatia, A.D. 245. Died A.D. 313. Aged 68.]
At first a simple soldier, he rose by his own merit to the rank of Captain of the Palace Guard, an office which he held until the death of Numerianus, when he was declared his successor. He associated Maximianus with him in the empire, and appointed Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, Cæsars. At the instigation of Galerius he barbarously persecuted the Christians. In A.D. 305, he resigned the empire in consequence of growing infirmities, and withdrew to Salona, where he cultivated his own garden and lived in philosophical retirement. Whilst he held power, he thought less of the freedom and dignity of Rome, than of maintaining the power of the sovereign, and of securing a regular succession. His cruelty to the Christians has caused his reign to be described as “The Age of Martyrs.”
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum.]
73. Constantius Chlorus—Flavius Valerius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 305-306.
[Born A.D. 250. Died at York, in England, A.D. 306. Aged 55.]
The father of Constantine, surnamed “the Great,” who was founder of Constantinople. Constantius governed, as colleague of Diocletian, beyond the Alps, and his dominion extended over Gaul, Britain, and Spain. He died in England whilst preparing for an expedition against the Scots. He was the best of the later Roman Emperors, having a regard to the welfare of his people, and exhibiting no rapacity in his administration. In religious matters he was mild and tolerant, showing great humanity towards the Christians. He had excellent talents, and was surnamed “Chlorus,” or “the pale,” from the pallor of his countenance.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
74. Hostilianus. Roman Emperor, A.D. 251 or 252.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died A.D. 251 or 252.]
Generally regarded as the second son of the Emperor Decius, whom he survived. Declared Cæsar in A.D. 249, and was afterwards adopted by Trebonianus Gallus as his colleague in the empire. Died either of poison or the plague.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
75. Volusianus—Caius Vibius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 252-254.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Interamna, in Italy, A.D. 253 or 254.]
Son of the Emperor Gallus, with whom he reigned, being elected Augustus in A.D. 252. Little is known of his life or character. When Æmilianus was chosen Emperor, he went with Gallus to oppose him; but, before a battle could be fought, father and son were slain by their own troops.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome.]
76*. Magnus Decentius. Roman Prince.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Sens, in Gaul, A.D. 353.]
A brother or cousin of the Emperor Flavius Magnentius. Nominated Cæsar, A.D. 351, he went into Gaul, and suffered defeat in defending that country against the Germans. He strangled himself upon hearing of the defeat and deposition of his brother by Constantius, who succeeded to the throne of Magnentius.
[For an account of a curious head of this Prince, placed in the Bas-relief gallery, see Handbook to Greek Court, No. 217.]
AVENUE IN FRONT OF ROMAN COURT.
(Numbers continuing at the end next to the Greek Court.)
77. Trajan. Roman Emperor.
For life, see [No. 45].
78. Trajan. Roman Emperor.
79. Antinous. Bithynian youth.
[Died in Egypt, A.D. 132.]
Celebrated for his beauty. He was the page and companion of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, whom he accompanied to Egypt. He was drowned in the Nile, and the Emperor was inconsolable for his loss. On the spot where he died, the city of Antinœa was raised; temples and statues in Egypt and Greece were erected to his memory; and in Greece, coins were struck in his honour. The numerous representations of his beauty gave a fresh impulse to the Fine Arts, and may be compared with the works of the best periods of Grecian Sculpture.
[From the marble in the Louvre; the head bound with a fillet of vine. For account of the many beautiful statues of Antinous see Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]
| 81. | - | Four duplicate busts removed. | |
| 82. | |||
| 83. | |||
| 84. |
85. Antoninus Pius. Roman Emperor.
For life, see [No. 47].
[From the marble in the Naples Museum.]
86. Augustus. Roman Emperor.
For life, see [No. 35].
[This very beautiful Bust is from the Florence Gallery.]
87. Tiberius. Roman Emperor.
For life, see [No. 37].
[This Bust is from the Berlin Museum.]
88. Claudius. Roman Emperor.
For life, see [No. 38].
89. Herennius. Roman Emperor, A.D. 251.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died near Abricium, in Thrace, A.D. 251.]
Little interest is connected with the history of this emperor. In 249, he was declared Cæsar, and in 251, Augustus, as the colleague of his father Decius. In a battle fought near Abricium, between the Emperor Decius and the Goths, both he and his father were slain.
[From the Capitoline Museum.]
90. Scipio Africanus. Roman General.
For life, see [No. 109].
91. Julia Mæsa. Roman Empress.
[Born at Emesa, in Syria, (date unknown). Died, probably at Rome, A.D. 223.]
Daughter to a Priest of the Sun. When her sister, Julia Domna, as wife of Septimius Severus, became Empress, Julia Mæsa resided at the Imperial Court. Her bold political intrigues placed her grandson Elagabalus on the throne. Against law, she was made a member of the Senate. She bore the title of Augusta to her death, and was afterwards deified. A woman of powerful mind, unscrupulously ambitious, but using power well.
[From the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, in the Capitol, at Rome.]
92. Sabina.
[Died probably A.D. 137.]
Wife of the Emperor Hadrian, and grandniece of Trajan. Ill treated by her husband, by whom, it is said, she was poisoned. Others assert that in despair she put an end to her life. She was deified after her decease.
[From the original in alabaster in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
COURT OF THE ROMAN LADIES.
(Numbers commencing on the right.)
93. Livia Drusilla. Roman Empress.
[Born B.C. 56-54. Died A.D. 29.]
Married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, a Roman general; but her beauty captivating the Triumvir Octavian, afterwards Augustus, her divorce was effected, and she became the Triumvir’s wife. A consummate actress, full of craft and dissimulation, possessing great knowledge of the world, and, by an affected purity of life, maintaining to the last her influence over the mind of Augustus. She successfully intrigued for the succession in favour of Tiberius, her son by her first marriage, and, it is said, removed by poison the grandsons of Augustus, who stood in the way of her own offspring. Tiberius became Emperor, and repaid the service by base ingratitude. He removed his mother from all share in the government, declined all intercourse with her, refused to see her when she was dying, and rejoiced, in open show, at her death.
94*. Domna—Julia (Pia Felix Augusta). Roman Empress.
[Born at Emesa, in Syria, about A.D. 170. Died A.D. 217.]
A woman of humble origin, but beautiful, ambitious and crafty. She became the wife of Septimius Severus, then of the rank of general, and acquired boundless influence over his mind, persuading him that a prophecy had destined her to become the wife of an Emperor, and inciting him to labour to that end. After the death of her husband, her son Geta was murdered in her arms by his brother Caracalla; and after the successful revolt of Macrinus, being suspected of treason, she, possibly to avoid punishment, starved herself to death.
[From the marble in the Rotunda of the Vatican. This colossal head will be found No. 334, Roman Court.]
95*. Julia, daughter of Augustus.
[Born at Rome, B.C. 39. Died at Rhegium, A.D. 14. Aged 53.]
The daughter of the Roman Emperor by his third wife Scribonia. Strictly brought up, she was married at fourteen to Marcellus. Left a widow at sixteen, she was forced by her father to marry the veteran Agrippa, by whom she had three sons and two daughters. Her conduct dissolute and unrestrained. Agrippa dying, she married again Tiberius Nero (afterwards emperor) who left her in disgust. She was banished by her father until the accession of Tiberius, when she suffered still harsher exile. Consumption killed her. In spite of her vices, the people of Rome loved her for her frank and lively manner, and frequently solicited Augustus to recall her.
[For further account of this graceful Statue of Julia, see No. 229, of Handbook to Roman Court, and Nave.]
96. Agrippina—the Elder.
[Born B.C. 15. Died A.D. 33. Aged 48.]
Daughter of Vipsanius Agrippa, and wife of Cæsar Germanicus, to whom she bore nine children. Accompanied her husband in all his campaigns, and aided him by her cool foresight and energetic will: once, on the Rhine, in his absence, by her heroic resistance to the timid counsels of those about her, saving the relics of an army. On his death in Asia, she returned to Rome, whence she was banished by Tiberius, jealous of her popularity. After three years’ persecution and suffering, she died—possibly by her own hand. She had all the lofty qualities of a Roman matron—nobility of soul, purity, and a devoted love for her husband and children. Tacitus says of her, that “the cares which belong to men supplanted, in her mind, the vices common to her sex.”
[From the seated Statue, for account of which, see No. 281, of Hand-book to Roman Court, and Nave.]
97. Agrippina the Younger. Roman Empress.
[Born at Oppidum Ubiorum (Cologne), A.D. 14-17. Died at Rome, A.D. 60.]
The ruthless and dissolute daughter of noble parents—of Germanicus and Agrippina the elder. The unenviable mother of the madman, Nero. Upon the death of her second husband, whom she was accused of poisoning, she married her uncle Claudius, whom she induced to nominate Nero for his successor, excluding his own son. She poisoned her uncle-husband, and received her reward from her son, the matricide,—dying by hands commissioned by him to the murder. Tacitus speaks of some interesting memoirs of her time, written by Agrippina, to which he had access in writing his history. She was beautiful, but ambitious, and as wicked as she proved unfortunate.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
98. Valeria Messalina. Roman Empress.
[Born, uncertain. Died at Rome, A.D. 48.]
The third wife of the Emperor Claudius I. Her name has become a bye-word for profligacy. A murderess. Herself pierced through the breast by the sword of a tribune entrusted with the execution of one of her victims. The slave of lust, avarice, and ambition. Difficult to find in history a woman more blackened by crime than Valeria Messalina.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
99. Plotina—Pompeia. Roman Empress.
[Date, and place of birth and death unknown.]
The wife of the Emperor Trajan. A woman of clear, strong mind, and an exemplary purity of life and consistency of character. Childless herself, she prevailed upon her husband to adopt Hadrian, in whose reign she died. Hadrian built a temple in her honour, and composed hymns in her praise.
[From the marble in the Rotunda of the Vatican.]
100. Matidia.
[Date and place of birth unknown.]
The niece of Trajan. Declared Augusta, A.D. 113, and after death, deified.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
101. Crispina.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Capreæ, A.D. 183.]
Was married to the Roman Emperor Commodus, A.D. 177, but divorced for infidelity, banished, and put to death in her exile. She was very beautiful and ambitious.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
102. Mamæa—Julia. Roman Empress.
[Born at Emesa, in Syria (date unknown). Died in Gaul, A.D. 235.]
The mother of Alexander Severus, for whom she governed wisely during his minority. With many virtues, she possessed what, in the eyes of the Roman soldiers, was invariably considered as a great vice—she was an economist in her expenditure; and, disgusting the army by recommending retrenchments, she gave occasion to a mutiny, to which she and her son Alexander both fell victims. It is said that, whilst at Antioch, she received instruction from Origen in the Christian faith.
[From the very beautiful Bust in the Florence Gallery.]
102A. Mamæa—Julia. Roman Empress.
[The same as preceding, in advanced age.]
103. Salonina—Cornelia. Roman Empress.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died before Milan, A.D. 268.]
Supposed to have been of Greek origin. Was the wife of the Emperor Gallienus, and dignified with the title of Augusta upon his ascending the throne. She cultivated literature and philosophy, and was the protector of Plotinus the philosopher. She is described as a woman of great good sense, and exceeding benevolence. She roused him to repel the barbarians, and accompanied his army that she might attend to the wants of the soldiers. She was massacred with her husband and youngest son before Milan.
[From the marble in the Capitol at Rome.]
104. Mariniana.
[Date and place of birth and death unknown.]
Little is known respecting this Princess, who was either wife, sister, or daughter of the Emperor Valerian, and died at least four years before his Persian expedition. Some coins, having on the obverse her name and a veiled head, were struck, A.D. 254.
105. Faustina Junior—Annia Faustina.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died A.D. 175.]
The daughter of Antoninus Pius, and wife of Marcus Aurelius, whom she accompanied into Asia, and there died suddenly. One of the most abandoned and dissolute of the Roman Empresses, yet her virtuous husband preserved his first affection for her to the last; and, on the spot where she died, erected to her honour the city of Faustinopolis.
[From the Capitoline Museum, at Rome. The original is in the marble called “Paonazzetto” (peacock-stone).]
105A. Faustina.
[This bust, which is from the Florence Collection, bears the name of “Faustina, Junior.” It is a beautiful bust, well preserved, but bears little resemblance to the preceding portrait. If it really represent the same person, the work has been executed by a more flattering hand.]
106. Sabina—Poppæa. Roman Empress.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died A.D. 65.]
“She possessed,” says Tacitus, “everything but a virtuous mind.” She became the wife of the Emperor Nero, after having been his mistress; at her instigation Nero’s mother was killed by him, and his former wife, Octavia, divorced and put to death. She was herself destroyed by a brutal blow from Nero, who pronounced her eulogium at the tomb. “As he could not,” says Tacitus, “speak of her virtues, he enlarged upon her beauty.” She was deified, and honoured with a temple. Her luxurious tastes were extravagant. It is related that her mules were shod with gold; and that when she travelled, she was followed by five hundred asses, whose milk furnished a bath to preserve her complexion.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
COURT OF ROMAN GENERALS AND POETS.
ADJOINING THE COURT OF ROMAN LADIES.
(Numbers commencing on the right.)
107. Lucius Junius Brutus. Roman Consul.
[Date and place of birth unknown.]
The first Consul, and one of the Founders, of the Roman Republic. Before he was elected to the Consulate in B.C. 509, he had been the main cause of the expulsion of royalty from Rome in the persons of Tarquin and his sons. He fell in battle whilst defending, as Consul, the infant Republic against the royal exiles fighting for their restoration. These are admitted facts in the life of Lucius Junius Brutus. His assumption of idiotcy during the reign of the Tarquins, in order to carry on with greater safety his patriotic designs, and his connexion with the affecting history of the devoted Lucretia, are events which in recent years have passed from the grave volume of history to the more fascinating pages of poetry. Philosophical historians permit us to sing, but no longer to believe in, the once cherished narratives of earliest Rome. The act, whether historical or merely traditionary, which the most memorably distinguishes his name, is that of ordering the execution of his two sons, convicted of conspiring for the restoration of the Tarquins.
[From the bronze in the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the Capitol at Rome.]
108. Marcellus—M. Claudius. Roman General.
[Born about B.C. 268. Died in Apulia, B.C. 208. Aged about 60.]
A Roman of high fame. At his hands Hannibal received the first check that he experienced in Italy. He subsequently besieged Syracuse, but was forced to convert the siege into a blockade in consequence of the genius displayed in the defence of the city by the great Archimedes, who rendered of no avail every engine brought against Syracuse, and inspired dread by his own instruments of war. At length Marcellus triumphed, the city was given over to pillage, and its defender perished, whilst pondering over a geometrical problem, by the hand of a common soldier. He again turned his victorious arms against Hannibal, winning fresh laurels and new honours from the state. It was whilst fighting against the Carthaginian hero that he fell, slain by a spear of the enemy. Hannibal sympathized with his fall, and paid honour to his remains. A plain, stern, unlettered soldier, brave to recklessness, rude and unpolished in manners, unyielding in temper.
[This Bust bears the name of Marcellus in the Capitoline Museum. It may be the nephew of Augustus when a child.]
109. Scipio—Publius Cornelius Africanus Major. Roman General.
[Born probably at Rome, B.C. 234. Died at Liternum, in Campania, B.C. 183. Aged 51.]
Son of Publius Cornelius Scipio, whose life he saved in the battle of the Ticinus. One of the few Roman generals who survived the fatal battle of Cannæ, and chosen with Appius Claudius to command the remains of the army. Went as Prætor or Pro-Consul to Spain at the age of 24, where he took Carthagena, gained the battle of Bœcula, and recovered the whole country. Forcing Hannibal, the victorious Carthaginian general, to carry the theatre of war to Africa, he gained the celebrated victory of Zama, which decided the long conflict between Rome and Carthage for dominion. Received the surname of Africanus in consequence, but, vexed with the ingratitude of his countrymen he withdrew to Liternum, where he died. Like Mahomet and Cromwell, he believed himself the special instrument of Heaven. He was undoubtedly the greatest man of his age, and one of the first of the Roman worthies. The affectionate friend of the poet Ennius, and the patron of literature. The Spaniards, for his virtues, would have made him king.
[From the Capitol at Rome. Many busts of this great general are in existence. They all represent him with the head and face close shaved, according to the fashion of his day, when men shaved closely after the age of forty. The authentic busts have the scar on the left side of the head, and some have a scar on each side, and some on the wrong side. No. 127 is from the bust in basalt belonging to the Rospigliosi Palace. No. 125 is from the bronze found in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, and now in the Naples Museum.]
110. Cato—Marcus Porcius. Roman Patriot and General.
[Born B.C. 95. Died at Utica, in Africa, B.C. 46. Aged 49.]
One of the classical undying forms reared in antiquity to symbolize high moral purity, unquenchable love of liberty, and the sternest virtue. Cato answers to the idea of Roman patriotism, as Julius Cæsar to that of Roman conquest. Before this one we stand, wondering at human power; before that, subdued by the might of the highest moral excellence. Cato as a child was grave, pains-taking, resolute, tenacious; as he grew, he became strong in the love of virtue, and in his hatred of oppression. Attached to the philosophy of the Stoics, he aimed at happiness through its teaching. He had served with honour many offices in Rome when Pompey, Cæsar, and Crassus found it necessary to remove him to Cyprus, in order that his patriotism might offer no obstacle to their ambitious schemes. Returning to Rome, he was made Prætor, the highest office he ever held. At the breaking out of the civil war he was entrusted by the senate with the defence of Sicily: he afterwards joined Pompey. Subsequently to the battle of Pharsalia, at which he was not present, he sailed to Africa in search of Pompey. Suffering defeat at Thapsus, he committed self-destruction. Before the fatal act he read Plato’s Phædon several times through. His death caused great grief. It was mourned by great Cæsar himself, who grudged Cato his death, since Cato grudged him the glory of sparing his life.
[Double bust representing Cato and his daughter Porcia; it is from the Capitoline Museum, but possesses no especial authenticity.]
111. Julius Cæsar. Roman Dictator.
[Born at Rome, B.C. 100. Died there, B.C. 44. Aged 56.]
The mightiest amongst the mighty of men. At the outset of his career he served in Asia, where he won a civic wreath. Subsequently made Consul in Rome (B.C. 59); and, at the close of his term of office, appointed to the government of Gaul—which country in nine years he wholly subjugated to Roman rule. His invasion of Britain is amongst the earliest recollections of the English schoolboy. The renowned Commentaries of Julius Cæsar graphically narrate these deeds. Rousing the jealousy of Pompey, in Rome, by his splendid achievements, he marched into Italy—afterwards into Spain, in order to crush the adherents of Pompey, and then returned to Rome in triumph, to be created Dictator. As Dictator he overcame his rival in the battle of Pharsalia, in Thessaly. He performed fresh service to the state in Egypt, and going back to Rome in order to advance the social and material prosperity of his country, he fell a victim to a conspiracy, of which Brutus and Cassius were at the head. Twice had the crown been offered to him, and twice had he refused it. No Roman before his time had ever won such honour as was heaped upon his head. He suffered from epilepsy, and was very abstemious. He was tall, fair and slight—very careful of his person, concealing his baldness by a laurel crown. His was indeed a head inwreathed with palms. He was a great captain, a great statesman, a great orator—a great writer. He had innate personal intrepidity, instantaneous decision, answering celerity of action, resources to meet every emergency, consummate military skill, an unshaken presence of mind, a trust—whether in his fortune, as he said, or in himself—which still augured and still conquered success. He had also the most implicit confidence in his troops, whom he treated ever as companions and brothers in arms. Intellectual action in him was without labour. It was subtle, comprehensive, rapid, luminous, self-possessed. He dictated to five secretaries at once, on different subjects: his strokes of eloquence in the Senate, as his strokes of action in the field, were quick and irresistible. In the terrible civil war of the dissolving Republic—a war wasteful of Roman blood in the field,—thirstier for the flow of the same drear beverage by the axe and the dagger,—there, where the sole sad policy of the victor hitherto was revenge, Cæsar tried the novel art of forgiveness: although in his Gaulish conquests—when the barbarian stands before him—he looks to us, by his own reporting, sanguinary and merciless. By toil and spare diet, he hardened a feeble health for any work. A civilian, with but a taste, in youth, of war, he, at forty, stepped into command, at once a supreme commander. Recklessly licentious, yet no intellect could be keener, healthier, and more vigorous. His writings, with the simplicity of a soldier, have the clearness and precision of a grammarian. And why not, since we know that in the versatility of his genius, he wrote two books on grammar. In the history of the world, Julius Cæsar was a power. In the records of psychology a wonder.
[From the bronze in the Florence Gallery. He wore the front of his head shaven. It resembles the bronze medals of Cæsar, but is suspected to be modern. He is said to have been sensitive on account of his baldness, and this bust shows the hair combed forward to hide it. No. 111B possesses much individuality; it is from the head in basalt in the Berlin Museum, and stood constantly on the study table of Frederic the Great. No. 111A is the bust from the Poniatowsky Collection, and remarkable for having the diadem round the head. No. 125 is from the marble in the Gallery of the Emperors, in the Capitol at Rome.]
| 111A. | - | Julius Cæsar. Roman Dictator. | |
| 111B. |
112. Marcus Junius Brutus. Roman General.
[Born B.C. 85. Died B.C. 42. Aged 43.]
The friend of Cicero—the fellow conspirator of Cassius—one of those who shared in the deed memorable to all time—questionable in its own—of killing Julius Cæsar. From his earliest youth, and through life, absorbed in study and self-contemplation, to the detriment of his powers as a man of action. He was much attached to Cato, whom he accompanied to Cyprus, when it was found necessary to remove the republican leaders from Rome. We are accustomed to think of Brutus—Shakspeare being greatly answerable for the thought—as standing aloof from the vulgar ambition and desires of his fellow-men; yet we find him in Cilicia (B.C. 53), growing rich by letting out money at usurious interest. In the civil war of Pompey and Cæsar he took part with Pompey; Cæsar, however, gave orders that at the battle of Pharsalia his person should be sacred. Grateful for the consideration, Brutus, upon the defeat of Pompey, asked pardon from Cæsar, which was generously accorded. In B.C. 48, appointed by Cæsar governor of Cisalpine Gaul: the inhabitants of which, delighted with his mild treatment of them, and his justice, honoured him with public monuments. Four years later he joined the conspiracy against his patron, and burdened his hand with the death of that great soldier. Then took up arms against Antony; but suffering defeat at Philippi, fell by his own sword. His reading and varied knowledge were immense: he was speculative, superstitious, and highly imaginative. His aspirations pure and noble, but his practical ability small, and his judgment imperfect and too easily led. He wrote much, his chief productions being his orations.
[From the Capitol at Rome, where it stands in the same gallery as the Dying Gladiator (No. 309) in the Nave.]
113. M. Vipsanius Agrippa. Roman General.
[Born B.C. 63. Died in Campania, B.C. 12. Aged 51.]
His victories mainly contributed to make the Emperor Augustus, whose daughter he married, master of the Roman Empire: and he was the chief support of the rising monarchical institution in Rome. He spent much money on public works, erected several public buildings, including the Pantheon and the Julian aqueduct; was a patron of the fine Arts, and dying, bequeathed his goods and his gardens to the people of Rome.
[From a Bust in the Louvre.]
114. Nero Claudius Drusus. Roman General.
[Born at Rome, B.C. 38. Died B.C. 9. Aged 29.]
A son of Livia who married the Emperor Augustus, and brother of Tiberius. Victorious in Gaul and Germany. Unflinchingly firm and severe towards all who resisted him, but generous to those who trusted and submitted to him. He married Antonia, the daughter of Marc Antony. His known desire to see the commonwealth restored endeared him to the Roman people. Died in Germany, from an injury sustained in a fall from his horse.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome. See also a statue of him, No. 222, Roman Court.]
115. Germanicus Cæsar. Roman General.
[Born B.C. 15. Died at Antioch, in Syria, A.D. 19. Aged 34.]
Son of Nero Claudius Drusus, and his wife Antonia; was adopted by Tiberius, at the request of Augustus. Occupied for a time in an exterminating war against the eastern Germans. Afterwards appointed by Tiberius supreme ruler of the eastern provinces. Died at Antioch, where, it is supposed, he was poisoned by the governor of the place. A man of sensitive feeling, temperate, and virtuous. Remarkable for the dignity of his person, for captivating eloquence, munificence, and unaffected courtesy; but credulous, nervous, and a believer in magic. Idolized by his soldiers, and popular with the multitude.
[From the marble in the Capitol, at Rome. The statue generally called by his name is described under No. 312 in the Hand-book to Roman Court and Nave.]
116. Corbulo—Cneius Domitius. Roman General.
[Date and place of birth unknown. Died at Cenchreæ, in Greece, A.D. 67.]
One of the most celebrated generals of his age, and brother-in-law of Caligula. He composed some military memoirs after the manner of Cæsar’s Commentaries, but they have not been preserved. He was a good disciplinarian, and cautious as well as brave. He commanded against the Parthians, and was victorious in every engagement. After Nero’s accession, he continued faithful to his new master, who summoned him to Greece, and for his fidelity greeted him with an order for execution on his landing at Cenchreæ. He stabbed himself with his own sword. His daughter Domitia Longina, celebrated for her beauty and vices, was the wife of the Emperor Domitian.
[From the marble in the Gallery of Philosophers, of the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
117. Decimus Clodius Ceionius Septimius Albinus. Roman General.
[Born at Adrumetum, in Africa. Date not known. Died at Lugdunum (Lyons), in Gaul, A.D. 197.]
Entered the army at an early age, and served with distinction under Marcus Aurelius. Held a command in Gaul, and afterwards in Britain, under Commodus. After the murder of Pertinax, the successor of Commodus, Clodius was proclaimed Emperor in Britain by the British legions, and shared the purple with Septimius Severus. Subsequently discarded by Severus, he put himself at the head of his legions, and met his colleague in battle at Lugdunum, in Gaul, where he fell. He was of great beauty and strength, and was called by his father “Albinus,” on account of the great whiteness of his skin. A skilful general, but severe: styled by some, the “Catiline” of his time.
[From the gallery of the Emperors, in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
118. Terence—Publius Terentius. Latin Comic Poet.
[Born at Carthage, B.C. 195. Died (place uncertain), B.C. 159. Aged 36.]
The second and last of the Latin comic poets—Plautus being the first—whose plays have descended to our time. He was the slave of a Roman senator, who, having regard to his talents and handsome person, gave him his liberty: on which occasion the freedman assumed his patron’s name—Terentius. In person, he was thin and of the middle height, with an olive complexion. Terence is the one Latin writer in whom the stateliness and the lofty strength, seemingly inherent in the language of Rome, at once ceases: and the tongue which we had deemed fit only to be spoken by the Kings of the world,—-by the Fathers convened in the temple of Capitoline Jove,—gently condescends to the hearts and the hearths of men. In the six preserved comedies of his—both by the delineation of the characters, and by the strain of their speaking—we feel ourselves in the familiar presence of known humanity. Not but that the manner implies delicate choice and thoughtful art; but its easy, natural air deceives the belief in the actual study. The words rise up from the heart, to drop from the lip. In the dialogue of Terence, the barrier that hitherto has stood inflexibly between the modern and the antique world has fallen. We are at home in the Roman theatre. To great purity, grace, tenderness, the style adds, even in description, or narrative, or continuous argument, that utter simplicity and obviousness of the sense, which is found in the most trivial uses of speech.
[From the marble in the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitol, at Rome. On the right shoulder is sculptured the histrionic mask, a curious fancy of the artist, which may have been suggested by the custom in Egyptian portraiture, of carving the name in a small “cartouche” on the shoulder, a practice alluded to in the scriptures.]
119. Quintus Hortensius. Roman Orator.
[Born B.C. 113. Died B.C. 49. Aged 64.]
He employed his great oratorical powers in the defence of Sylla, and of the aristocratic party to which he had attached himself. Cicero styled him “rex judiciorum.” He defended Verres against Cicero: and the triumph of Cicero on that occasion threw Hortensius ever after into the second rank. He acquired great wealth, and lived luxuriously. His oratory was of the florid kind, and greatly aided by gesticulation; he had a retentive memory, and a sweetly sonorous voice.
[From the marble in the Villa Albani, Rome. The Bust is inscribed with his name. It was found together with the bust of Isocrates (No. 15).]
120. Cicero—Marcus Tullius. Roman Orator.
[Born at Arpinum, B.C. 106. Died at Formiae, B.C. 43. Aged 63.]
The acknowledged greatest name in Roman eloquence. A man diligent in accomplishing himself by various study, and wonderfully gifted with the power of clothing thought in copious and musical words. He is less distinguished as an original thinker. He frequented the schools of the philosophers, but seemed in heart more dedicated to the worldly ambition of power and fame than to the studious zeal of truth. He courted popularity, and lived in anticipated immortality. He was an ambiguous partisan, waiting to be directed by victory to the side which he should embrace. He loved to throw an air of philosophical reflexion over questions of human affairs; and his expression of these reflexions is felt even to this day as singularly felicitous. We quote his words, because we can find no apter expression yet for the permanent thoughts. His writings show him undisguisedly vain. After the assassination of the great Julius (B.C. 44), he became the leader of the republican party, and in his celebrated “Philippics” denounced Antony as the foe of his country. This was his ruin. On the formation of the Triumvirate of Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, he was included in the proscriptions; his head was cut off, and fixed upon the Rostra which had so frequently resounded with his eloquence. His greatest political achievement was the detection and sudden overthrow of the revolutionary conspiracy headed by Catiline (B.C. 63), his brilliant denunciations of whom we listen to in our boyhood. Kind and pure in his life, but without true greatness of character, and with many moral weaknesses.
[From the marble in the Vatican. Considered to be the most faithful portrait of this renowned orator. No. 120A is from the Gallery of Philosophers of the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
120A. Cicero—Marcus Tullius. Roman Orator.
121. Virgil—Publius Virgilius Maro. Latin Poet.
[Born at Andes, near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul, B.C. 70. Died at Brundusium, in Italy, B.C. 19. Aged 51.]
The district in which Virgil was born not being then included in Italy, he did not enjoy the native rights of a Roman citizen; and when Augustus divided the lands in Cisalpine Gaul amongst his victorious veteran soldiers, Virgil was ejected from his small patrimonial farm. Upon his petitioning the emperor, however, the farm was restored to him. He was the friend of Horace, whom he introduced to Mæcenas. Besides poetry, he cultivated medicine and agriculture. He was tall, dark, rustic in appearance, and feeble in body. He was drawn by the power of genius from the obscure shade of a peasant’s life, to be the favoured poet and friend of an emperor. In his verse the native majesty of the language appears more perfectly tempered, than in any other, with grace and sweetness. Virgil is the most pathetic of the Roman poets: the heart speaks in his verse. He has the soul of the beautiful, like an earlier Raffaelle in song. His poem on Husbandry—the most finished work of his muse—is written with a cleaving of soul to the native theme. The purport of the poem was to recall the luxurious Romans to the simple and vigorous way of life of their ancestors, who lived cultivating the earth. If the rural earth and free nature could have been endeared to the voluptuous masters of the world by the charm of musical words, the Georgics might have done this. We ourselves feel the pouring of a purer atmosphere into the corrupted city. The epic poem of Virgil, “The Æneid,” relating the transplantation of a Trojan colony from the flames of falling Troy, to found (in Italy) future Rome, derives a high poetical cast from the prophetic spirit that overshadows it. Both “The Georgics” and the “Æneid” express love in the soul of the poet—love for the scenes and vocation, in which he was born—love of Rome, which he will purify or will glorify.
[From the marble in the Stanza dei Filosofi of the Capitol, at Rome. The portraits of Virgil have been verified by Bellori. The tomb of Virgil is a well-known object of interest near Naples. It is now an ivy-grown, but venerated ruin, although so late as 1326 it was nearly perfect.]
122. Seneca—Lucius Annæus. Philosopher.
[Born at Corduba (Cordova), in Spain, about A.D. 2. Died at Rome, A.D. 68. Aged 66.]
The tutor of young Domitius, afterwards the Emperor Nero, by whom he was condemned and sentenced to self-destruction—-probably that Nero might secure his great possessions. Seneca underwent his punishment with great firmness and philosophic calm. He was a writer of many works, and Quintilian says that he corrupted the taste of his age by an affected though elegant style. Many of his epistles and moral and physical treatises are extant. His philosophy was Stoical, with modifications; his manner of writing is antithetical, and apparently laboured. He rejected the superstitions of his country, and was a monotheist.
[From the marble in the Berlin Museum. In the Florence collection there are three Busts of him. The portrait of Seneca was identified as early as the sixteenth century by a medallion engraved with his name, possessed by Cardinal Mattei. A Bust in bronze was found at Herculaneum.]
122*. Livy—Titus Livius. Roman Historian.
[Born at Petavium (Padua), B.C. 59. Died A.D. 17. Aged 76.]
Little is known of the life of this famous historian, save that he enjoyed the patronage and friendship of Augustus, and established a wide and instantaneous fame in his own time. The great and only extant work of Livy is his History of Rome. It originally consisted of 142 books: 35 only have come down to us—of the remainder we have merely short summaries. Livy is an admirable weaver together, without sifting criticism, of received records and traditions. His reader glides on the stream of his flowing narration. His style is lucid, animated, picturesque. But in the annals of the warlike republic—that setter up and putter down of kings—that mistress of the nations—we look for and desire, more stern and majestic strength;—a profounder disclosure of the heroic political wisdom, which steadily advanced in building up the most memorable empire in the world.
[Bust yet to come.]
(Leaving the Court of Roman Generals, we proceed to the Nave. The numbers of the Portrait Gallery continue into the Nave from left to right.)
123. Hadrian. Roman Emperor.
For life, see [No. 46].
124. Livia Drusilla. Roman Empress.
For life, see [No. 93].
[A fine statue of Livia will be seen in the vestibule adjoining the Court of the Generals, No. 237.]
125. Julius Cæsar. Roman Dictator.
For life, see [No. 111].
126. Scipio Africanus. Roman General.
For life, see [No. 109].
127. Scipio Africanus. Roman General.
For life, see [No. 109].
128. Decimus Cœlius Balbinus. Roman Statesman and Emperor, A.D. 238.
[Date, and place of birth unknown.]
A man of Consular dignity, who had governed in nearly all the peaceful provinces of the Empire, and was esteemed and beloved by all ranks; when, upon the death of the Gordiani in Africa, he was selected as one of the Emperors to oppose the ferocious Maximinus—Pupienus being the other. Soon after the death of Maximinus, both Balbinus and Pupienus were murdered by the Prætorians, who remembered to their disadvantage the prodigal liberality of their lately-slain tyrant. They reigned only four months. Balbinus was celebrated for his oratory and poetry.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum, at Rome.]
THE ITALIAN PORTRAITS.