[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.