[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.