The kings of Rome were the same in number as the hills on which she seated herself. The seventh, and last, was Tarquinius Superbus. After the abolition of the royal sway she had various forms of government. Sometimes her rulers bore the title of Consuls, Dictators, Tribunes, Ediles, and Questors. Then the supreme power was vested in Emperors, of whom there were fifty-five. Some of these were fearful examples of every vice. The excess of luxurious indulgence and pitiless cruelty darken their names in history.
Among this mass of shameless rulers, five appeared in regular succession, who, by their comparatively virtuous course, have obtained the honourable distinction of the "good Emperors." The first of this line was Nerva, who began his reign in the year 96 after the Christian era, when he was himself quite advanced in age. He was a native of Spain, and the first foreigner who had been permitted to wear Rome's imperial purple. He was welcomed with great joy, for the people had just been suffering from the monstrous barbarities of Domitian. Nerva was a man of gentle temper, and like Numa Pompilius, the second king, who had reigned about eight centuries before him, a true lover of peace. With paternal care he used the public money for the public good, instead of wasting it in mad extravagance, like his predecessors. Unfortunately, his sway was short, only about sixteen months, when he fell a victim to a sudden fever, at the age of sixty-six. His memory was gratefully embalmed, for his justice and generosity, and the tranquillity he had given to the empire.
"Continue the command of your passions; make virtue the scope of all your actions."—[p. 98]
Trajan, his successor, was also born in Spain. In his youth he had been the pupil of Plutarch, the philosopher, who after his elevation thus addressed him in an affectionate speech "Continue the command of your passions. Make virtue the scope of all your actions. You have it in your power to render me the most honoured of men, by continuing your present course of conduct. If you follow my instructions, I shall glory in having given them. If you neglect them, this address shall be my testimony, that you have not erred through the counsel or authority of Plutarch."
The Emperor did not disregard the motives set before him by his revered teacher. The principles that had been impressed on his boyhood, were as a guiding helm amid the cares of state. He carefully improved his time, was moderate in expense, and modest amid pomp and power. Among his public works was a noble bridge over the Danube, whose massy ruins are still seen by the traveller. He adorned the city of Rome with splendid and substantial buildings, and delighted to draw men of merit from obscurity. His faults were, great fondness for war, and persecuting the Christians, which his strong attachment to the heathen ritual in which he had been educated made him consider as a duty, or a proof of sincerity. He died, during an absence from home, of apoplexy, at the age of sixty-three, having reigned nineteen years.
Adrian, the fifteenth Roman Emperor, began his reign in 117. He had received an excellent education. He was an eloquent speaker, and wrote well, both in prose and poetry. One of his greatest virtues was, that he truly loved peace. He treated those who were in humble stations with kindness. He said that the chief ruler of a nation should be "like the sun, giving warmth to the lowly vales as well as to the mountains." He travelled to France, to Germany, and to Holland; not to make war, but to show himself friendly to their inhabitants. From thence he went to England, and built a wall from Cumberland to Northumberland, to assist in protecting that part of the island from the natives of the north, who were unfriendly and barbarous. He visited Spain and Athens, showing kindness to the people, and went also to many parts of Asia and Africa. He made just laws, and favoured men of learning. He had so remarkable a memory, that he could repeat the substance of a book after once reading it, and he knew the name of every soldier in the Roman army. Though he had so many virtues, he had also great faults. He committed some acts of cruelty, and was very unkind to the Jews. He banished them from their beloved city Jerusalem, and forbade them to come even in sight of it, or to enter it, except one day in the year. In his last sickness he became impatient of pain, and even entreated those around him to take away his life. He cried out, "How miserable a thing it is to seek death and not to find it!" Being a heathen, he had not the comfort of hope in another life. Just before he expired, he composed some verses addressed to his soul, expressing uncertainty with regard to its immortality. He died at the age of sixty-two, having reigned twenty-two years.
Titus Antoninus Pius was one of the most faultless of the good emperors. As his father died in his childhood, his mother and grandfather conducted his education. To them, as well as to all aged persons, he habitually paid great respect. In his youth, his temper was so mild and affectionate, that he gained the love of all with whom he associated. After he became Emperor, he distributed among the poor the greater part of the revenue from his own estates. He completed a magnificent tomb for his predecessor Adrian, repaired many of the edifices of ancient Greece, and built a wall in Britain, between the rivers Esk and Tweed. He laboured to prevent wars, and uttered the noble sentiment,
"I had rather save the life of one citizen than to destroy a thousand enemies."
He was friendly to the Christians, and showed them favour. He sought to be a peace-maker between all contending persons, and to set a consistent example of moral excellence. In these respects he has been compared both to Nerva and to Numa, the latter of whom preserved the blessings of peace to the people during his whole reign of forty-three years. Marcus Antoninus reigned somewhat more than half as long, namely, twenty-two years. During a residence at one of his country-seats, he was attacked by a fever which proved fatal to him at the age of seventy-four. He was loved and lamented by the whole empire, over which he had ruled as a father, seeking the welfare of his children.