From A. D. 193. to 211. Biography. in the State, and he concealed his old grudge against them, under the recent discovery of some treasonable correspondence. He condemned, say Spartianus, fortyone Senators to death, whose wives, children, and clients were involved in the same fate. In the Epistle just mentioned, which is preserved by Capitolinus, he says, "I have ended several wars to the advantage of the Republic: I have filled the city with abundance of provisions; by my victory over Niger I delivered you from the horrors of a tyrannical Government, with which you were threatened. And how have you expressed your gratitude to me for so many services? By preferring to me a lying African, whose mouth was ever full of deceit, and whose whole merit consisted in the claims which he made to the honours of high birth which he did not possess !"* It deserves to be mentioned, however, that though Severus yielded to his vindictive passions more than became a truly great man, he granted a pardon to thirty-five Senators who had espoused the interests of Albinus; and, by his subsequent behaviour, endeavoured to convince them that he could forget the Political offences of individuals, whose general character he found reason to respect. Upon his return to Rome, after which the executions memory of mentioned above are understood to have taken place, he gave his sanction to a measure the precise object of which has not, perhaps, been clearly ascertained. He knew that the Senate detested the memory of Commodus, and yet, though the character of that Emperor presented no qualities which Severus himself could approve, he resolved, nevertheless, to raise him to the rank of a Divinity, and to appoint to him a Priest and a Festival. In the same spirit, he called himself the brother of that tyrant, and the son of Marcus Aurelius; an extravagance which is recorded in History, and perpetuated on the authority of contemporary medals. Restores the Commodus. Threatens The Citizens of Rome, dazzled, perhaps, by the brilliancy of his exploits, and willing to appease the wrath of a master at once so powerful and so stern, went forth to meet him, carrying in their hands branches of laurel, and other emblems of triumphant peace, and prepared to do him all the honours which were usually conferred upon the success of an Imperial Commander. The Senate, in like manner, received him with every demonstration of submission and respect; concealing their well-grounded fears under the outward expressions of joy. Severus, in the midst of the loudest acclamations, entered the City, went up to the Capitol, where he sacrificed to Jupiter: and returning thence to the Palace, made known to the People how much he was satisfied with their loyalty, and gave them assurances of his favour and protection. It was against their superiors that he cherished the angry feelings which clouded his countenance, and which burst forth on the following day, when he made his appearance in the Senate-house. In his first address to this illustrious Body, which he the Senate. had convoked, he gave intimation of the Policy which he meant to pursue, by praising the rigours of Sylla and of Marius, and by describing the bad consequences which resulted from the clemency practised, in the day of their power, by Julius Cæsar and Pompeius. His severity, for a time, as was to be expected, corresponded to the examples which he proposed to follow: and so Spartian. in Sever. c. 13. Capitolin. in Clod. Albin. c. 10. Herodian. lib. iii. Lucius Severus. many men of rank fell under the hands of the executioner, or were deprived of liberty and fortune, that Septimius Geta, the youngest son of the Emperor, exclaimed, that more persons would be sorry for the victory which had crowned the efforts of his father's House, than could partake in the joy for its success.* From A. D. 193. to 211. creases In proportion as he felt that his interests were slighted by the Senatorial Orders, he paid his court the more sedulously to the multitude and to the Army. Flatters the To the latter, in particular, his complaisance was ex- Soldiers, tended so far as to merit the indignation of several and inHistorians. Herodian, for example, maintains that, by their pay. his largesses and concessions, he impaired military discipline far more than had been done by Commodus; and forgetful of the venal and insolent spirit which he had found it necessary to check among the Prætorian Guards, he encouraged among his followers the same habits which had already led to so much disgraceful insubordination. No But Severus, while he pampered his Soldiers in the Capital, and allowed them to forget, during a short interval, the restraints and privations of active service, did not intend that they should be long idle. sooner had he confirmed his Government, and appointed the proper Magistrates to administer the Laws in his absence, than he resumed the war in Asia, which he had been compelled to leave unfinished when he marched to attack Albinus. Immediately, indeed, after the battle of Lugdunum, he is said to have despatched Lætus, with such forces as he could spare, to defend Nisibis against the Parthians, who had besieged it while he was employed in the West. He himself, before the end of the year in which he had defeated the British Legions, followed with the greater part of his Army; and having passed through Syria, he arrived in time to save the invested city, and to punish the fickleness or treachery of his Oriental Allies.† It was his intention, in the succeeding summer, to Resumes establish the power of Rome beyond the Euphrates on the war in a much firmer foundation than it had possessed since Asia. the days of Trajan. With this view, he strengthened his cohorts, built a great many transports and ships of burden, and, after the heat of the season was over, left the Syrian Province with a formidable armament as well by land as by water. He carried with him the brother of the King of Parthia, whose knowledge of the country, he hoped, might at once facilitate his conquests and give confidence to the troops. Arriving at Babylon, he found that great city deserted. Thence he directed his progress towards Seleucia, which the inhabitants likewise relinquished, and allowed to fall into his hands. Ctesiphon was not reduced without a siege, and the loss of many lives. The Parthians, animated by the presence of their King, Vologeses, who had shut himself up within the walls, made a brave and protracted resistance; while the Romans, destitute of provisions, and compelled to subsist upon herbs and the roots of plants, were consumed by an epidemic disease which greatly thinned their ranks. But the resolution of Severus triumphed over all these obstacles. He persevered, and his exertions were at length crowned with success. The city was taken by storm. The Captures Ctesiphon. *Elii Spartiani Antoninus Geta,-In civitate, ait, plures erunt tristes, quara læti, quod vicimus. + Dion Cassius, Epitom. Xiphilin. p. 325. c. 15, 16. Orosius, lib. vii. Herodian. lib. iii. Spartian. in Sever. Severus assumed for this exploit the title of Parthicus, to which the flattery of his troops induced him to add the more questionable epithet of Maximus. He seized the same occasion for associating his two sons with him in the Government; and though Caracalla was not more than eleven years of age, he was invested with the rank of Augustus, while upon his brother Geta, whose name was at that time changed to Antoninus, was conferred the distinction of Cæsar. The Senate, informed of what had taken place, sanctioned by a formal deed the proceedings of the Army, and thereby acknowledged the children of the Emperor as the legal heirs of the Crown. The capture of Ctesiphon, which cost so much labour and blood, proved in the end a very fruitless acquisition; for the effects of an unhealthy climate, combined with a scanty supply of food, soon reduced the Romans to great extremities, and compelled them to abandon their conquest. Severus, therefore, to procure for his men the benefit of a cooler sky, marched them into Armenia, where he renewed the alliance which had long subsisted between the Empire and the King of that country. But, that he might not return into Syria without accomplishing some object worthy of a place in the annals of his eventful reign, he resolved to reduce Besieges the city of Atra; which, besides having provoked his Atra, but is anger by taking part with Pescennius, had created to repulsed. itself an imperishable fame by baffling the utmost strength and skill of the Emperor Trajan. His intention was to attack it suddenly, and carry it by storm. But the inhabitants, aware of the resentment which they had kindled in the breast of the Roman Commander, were so completely prepared for his assault, that they drove him off with great slaughter, as well as with the loss of all his warlike engines. Obliged to desist for the time, he resumed his march into Syria; resolved, however, to spend the winter in preparations for the siege of Atra, upon the people of which he meant to inflict a severe and final chastisement. Having collected a great quantity of provisions and military stores, together with mechanical aids of every description, he turned his face once more towards the East, and encamped under the walls of the devoted city. But the inhabitants on their part were not less in readiness for a renewal of the contest. Being descended from a tribe of Arabians, they excelled in the use of horses, and in all the arts which render cavalry formidable in an open country. They formed, as it were, an invisible line around the entrenchments of the Romans, cut off their detachments, intercepted their supp ies, and confined the Legions to the ground which they covered with their tents. The garrison within were equally active in employing all the means of annoyance and destruction with which their rude warfare had rendered them familiar. They made frequent sallies, set fire to the engines which threatened their walls, and even poured down upon the heads of the assailants flaming pitch and poisonous liquids. * Dion Cassius, and Spartian. ubi suprà. Severus. From A. D. 193. to But the superior skill and formidable instruments of Lucius the Romans at length effected a breach in the fortifica- Septimius tions; when Atra must have fallen, had not the avarice of Severus counteracted what his perseverance had achieved. He knew that the place contained immense riches, which, if it were taken by storm, must become the booty of the Soldiers, but which, were the enemy to surrender upon capitulation, would belong exclusively 211. to the Imperial Exchequer. For this reason, when the reduction of the city was about to be completed, he called back his men, in the hope that conditions would be immediately proposed. The Atrians, however, so far from submitting to terms, resolved to continue their defence; and accordingly, repairing in the night the damage which had been done to their rampart, they laughed at the forbearance of the besiegers, and repeated a boastful defiance of their power. Severus, distracted with rage and disappointment, ordered his troops to resume their operations and carry the town; but, on And raises this occasion, his commands were met with a positive the siege. refusal; the engineers turned their backs upon the walls, and the legionaries threatened to lay down their arms. Thus, after twenty days of toil and danger, and the loss of many lives, the Roman Commander, in order to prevent the still greater evil of a general mutiny, was obliged to raise the siege. But although the Emperor failed in this instance, his Visits expedition into the East was, nevertheless, attended Egypt, with results very favourable to the peace as well as to the stability of his dominions. Returning from Syria by the way of Egypt, he gratified his learned curiosity by visiting the most celebrated places in the latter country, and performed, at the same time, an office grateful to his followers, by paying to the ashes of Pompey the honours which were due to the memory of that unfortunate General. He examined in person the works of Art which had long given a just celebrity to the Kingdom of the Pharaohs, the Statue of Memnon, the Pyramids, and the Labyrinth. He obtained access even into the Temples of the Gods and the Sanctuaries of Religion, conversed with the Priests on their Mythology, and received lessons in regard to the doctrines which were contained in their sacred books. In recompense for this addition to his knowledge, he granted to the Egyptian People several important privileges, relieved them from burdens which had borne them down from the days of Augustus, and established at Alexandria a Council of State, with powers not much inferior to those vested in the Roman Senate. After spending about six years in Asia he pursued his and returns journey into Italy, through Syria, Cilicia, Thrace, Mœsia, to Rome. and Pannonia. The Senators, if Spartianus may be credited, made haste to decree to their victorious Prince the splendours of a Triumph; an honour which the increasing infirmities of age induced him to decline. A Triumphal Arch, however, attests at once the success of Severus over the Parthians, and the date of his return to Rome. The inscription upon it, which is legible at the present day, records, that it was erected in the eleventh year of the Tribunitial power of Severus, coinciding with the two hundred and fourth year of the Christian era. and death of The tranquillity which this warrior expected to enjoy Discord in in the bosom of his family, was soon disturbed by the the Palace, ambition of his sons, and by the unpopularity of Plau- Plautianus, tianus, the Prætorian Præfect. The latter is said to the Prætohave made use of his exorbitant power to oppress the riau Præ c 2 fect. From A. D. 193. to 211. Biography. People, and to excite the vindictive passions of his master. By the marriage of his daughter with Caracalla, who had already, for some years, enjoyed the rank of Augustus, he obtained admittance into the Imperial household; where his pride, and the influence which he possessed over the Emperor, rendered him an object of suspicion and dislike. The Præfect could not be blind to the danger with which he was menaced, and, probably, for that reason might be induced to entertain designs in regard to the succession which could not fail to alarm the selfishness of the Prince, and even to form some ground for the charge which he brought against him. Herodian, who appears not to have examined with suitable care the particulars of the accusation, yields to the impression which prevailed against Plautianus; while Dion Cassius, whose rank in the State afforded him an opportunity of sifting the accuracy of such rumours, satisfies himself with insinuating, that the Prætorian General gave way to hopes and desires which ought not to have entered his mind. The Emperor's brother, at the approach of death, whispered into his ear some cautions respecting the views of Plautianus; the effect of which soon appeared in the diminished confidence of Severus, and in the restricted power of his favourite. Caracalla, who incessantly lay in wait for an occasion to ruin his father-in-law, seized the moment of suspicion and declining authority to lay before the Emperor the most appalling evidence that the Prætorian Præfect had entered into a conspiracy to murder all the male branches of the Royal family. Plautianus, who was immediately sent for, made haste to the Palace to learn the pleasure of his master. As soon as he entered, Severus gently upbraided him with his ingratitude, and with the violent nature of his intentions. It was in vain that the Præfect asserted his innocence in the strongest terms. Caracalla seized a sword to run him through the body, but being admonished by a frown from his father, he gave orders to a soldier, who instantly performed the office of executioner. Plautianus fell dead at the feet of the Sovereign, whose injudicious favour had led, step by step, to his destruction, and to the perpetual unhappiness of his own family.* Increased the administration. The unhappiness which preyed upon the mind of severity of Severus, gave birth to many cruel acts of tyranny in the general administration of the Government. Being naturally superstitious, he lent a ready ear to every rumour of magical incantation and unfavourable omens; and, with a degree of inconsistency which proves how confused the notions of the most learned Pagans were in respect to the power or constancy of their Gods, he, on some occasions, used the most unjustifiable means to defeat the accomplishment of their declared intentions. To illustrate this statement, as well as to describe the general insecurity of life and property which, at that period, prevailed among all classes of Roman Citizens, Dion Cassius records an incident which could hardly be credited on any testimony less unimpeachable than that of an eye-witness.t Death of nus. Apronianus, the Proconsul of Asia, was charged with Apronia High Treason, merely because his nurse had dreamed, when he was a child, that he would one day be Emperor. It was added, as an atrocious aggravation of this offence, that he had, in order to penetrate more Dion Cassius, and Spartian. ubi suprà. Dion Cassius, Epitom. Xiphilin. p. 336. deeply into the will of Heaven, consulted Soothsayers, and offered up impure or irregular sacrifices. Upon the simple announcement of these charges, which he was not allowed an opportunity either to disprove or to deny, he was condemned by the Senate as an enemy to his Country, and as a conspirator against the life of the Sovereign. Lucius Septimius Severus. From A. D. 193. to 211. But the main fact itself sinks into insignificance when compared with a circumstance which attended its And of progress through the Court of Justice. When the in- Marcelformations were laid before the Senate, it was dis- linus. covered that a witness, who had been examined concerning this criminal dream, upon being asked in regard to the person who had related it, as well as in respect to those in whose hearing it had been mentioned, replied, that the individual chiefly implicated in the narrative was a bald-headed Senator then present. Nothing could illustrate more forcibly the horrible excess to which tyranny was then carried, than the consternation into which the whole Senate is said to have been thrown by the reading of this deposition. As the name of the accused person was not stated, Dion Cassius confesses that they all trembled, as well those among them who were bald, as those whose heads were well clothed with hair. I acknowledge, says he, that I could not help putting up my hand to feel whether I still retained my hair, and I observed that several others did the same. A circumstance which was afterwards specified, restricted the danger to a small number of individuals. It was declared, that the bald Senator wore at the time in question the toga prætexta. The eyes of all were immediately fixed on Bæbius Marcellinus, who was very bald, and who, besides, was invested with the office of Curule Edile at the period referred to in the evidence. Marcellinus rose up, and said, if the witness saw me on that occasion he will, without doubt, know me again. The informer could not identify the individual whom he had attempted to describe; and it was not till one of the members, desirous, perhaps, for his own sake, to put an end to the cruel uncertainty, pointed out Marcellinus, that the infamous wretch could select his victim. But no sooner was the accusation repeated than the unfortunate Senator was seized, dragged to the place of execution, and put to death.* to invade Severus, after a short residence in his Capital, took Severus refuge from the dissensions of his family and the in- resolves trigues of State in the stirring scenes of a foreign war. Caledonia. He passed over into Britain, with the view of securing the northern boundaries of the Roman Province against the incursions of the Caledonians, and of the other barbarous Tribes, who dwelt between the wastes of Northumberland and the Grampian Mountains. He had hoped, also, that the love of military glory might exalt the ambition of his sons, and chase from their breasts those malignant passions which at once disturbed his domestic repose, and ever and anon threatened to tear the Commonwealth in pieces. His success against the foreign enemy was much more complete than his scheme for restoring fraternal concord. He repressed the wandering savages of Caledonia, confined them by a wall and rampart to their barren hills, and even taught them, by repeated chastisements, to respect the power of the Empire, and the Arts of civilized life But he did not succeed in subduing the * Dion Cassius, Epitom. Xiphilin. p. 336. Biography, fierce temper of Caracalla, nor in moderating the peevish resentment of Geta. When his triumph over From the Britains was accomplished, Severus found that he had not yet made any progress in uniting his sons in a common interest, or in establishing between them the bonds of harmony and peace. A. D. 193. to Account of the Caledo 211. The account which is given by Dion Cassius of the northern parts of Britain, betrays much ignorant crenians by dulity. The inhabitants are represented as living in the Dion Cas very lowest state of barbarism, without houses or agriculture, and so totally unacquainted with the Arts, as not to be able to provide themselves with clothes, or shoes, or any of the most common comforts of Society: and yet they are described as possessing an efficient body of cavalry, well armed and appointed, and, moreover, as bringing into the field of battle a great number of chariots, the riders of which were so well trained as to be formidable even to the Roman Legions. Some distinction, perhaps, ought to be admitted between the Maate, the natives of that comparatively level country which stretches from the Tweed to the narrow neck of land which separates the estuaries of the Forth and Clyde, and those ruder clans who preferred the inheritance of the steep and barren mountains, which constitute the frontier of Caledonia Proper. Still, there can be no reader who does not, at once, perceive the absurdity of attributing to a People the use of wheeled carriages and a regular system of military tactics, and of denying to them, at the same time, the knowledge necessary to construet a house, or to protect their limbs with a garment. The information on which Dion wrote must have been either very imperfect or very ill understood, when he relates, that the inhabitants of ancient Scotland were wont to pass whole days up to the chin in water, and that they had discovered the composition of a species of food, the smallest morsel of which, not larger even than a bean, proved a substitute for all other meat and drink for several days together!* of the They ask The Historian subjoins what is, indeed, much more peace and probable, that the Barbarians, terrified at the approach forgiveness of the Emperor towards their country, sent messengers Emperor. to beg his forgiveness, and to solicit peace. But Severus, regardless of their promised fidelity, or desirous to carry the conquest of Britain farther than any of his predecessors, refused to receive their submission. Leaving his younger son to command in the Roman Province, he himself, with Caracalla, marched northward at the head of the Legions. It is mentioned, that he was carried in a litter, being so much enfeebled by the gout as not to be able to sit on horseback. The pro gress and lasses of Severus. The difficulties which he had to overcome were very great, and must have conquered the resolution of a mind less firm than that of Severus. He was obliged, says Dion, to cut down forests, level mountains, construct bridges over rivers, and form roads through fens and marshes. Nor had he an opportunity of revenging, in a regular engagement, the losses which were inflicted upon his troops by the incessant attacks of the enemy. The latter were too sensible of their inferiority in the art of war to present themselves in large bodies, or on equal ground. They chose rather to hang upon the skirts of their martial invaders, to cut off stragglers, or to draw them into snares by the prospect of booty; and, in this way, they prosecuted their petty warfare Dion Cassius, Epitom. Xiphilin. p. 337, 338. Spartian. in Sever, c. 18. Herodian. lib. iii. Con Lucius Severus. with so much success, that when the Imperial Commander had finished his campaign, and added a few Septimius leagues of useless territory to the Empire of Rome, he found that his army was diminished by disease, or accident, to the amount of fifty thousand men. soling himself with the titles of Britannicus, Maximus, which he likewise conferred upon each of the Princes, he retraced his steps towards the centre of the Island.* His triumph, such as it was, was soon disturbed by the restless spirit of the Caledonians, and by the intrigues of his ungrateful son Caracalla. This young Prince, after failing in an attempt to excite the soldiers to mutiny, is said to have drawn his own sword against the person of his father. Irritated by such conduct, on the part of his friends as well as of his enemies, Severus allowed himself to fall a prey to the corroding feelings of anger and disappointment. He invited his son to complete his act of meditated parricide; while, in respect to the revolted Britons who had abused his clemency, he expressed, in the words of Homer, his fixed resolution to exterminate them from the face of the earth. —— Τῶν μήτις ὑπεκφύγοι αἰπὸν ὄλεθρον, From A. D. 193. to 211. But death soon put an end to his sufferings and to Death of all his plans for revenge. Having returned as far as Severus. York, he was attacked with a disease which he himself foresaw would, at no distant period, terminate his career. In the expectation of this event, he called for both his sons, whom he once more exhorted to be affectionate to one another, and to cooperate with mutual endeavours to strengthen the interests of their Family, and the welfare of the Empire. "I found the Republic," said he, "in disorder and confusion. I leave it quiet at home and abroad, even as far as these remote Provinces of Britain. I am now an old man, and rendered feeble by much suffering; but I bequeath to my two Antonini, my beloved children, an Empire which, if they are good, will prove lasting and strong, but which, if they are bad, must be weak and precarious." Spartianus informs us, that he made, on this occasion, some very suitable reflections on the vanity of Human ambition, and on the unsatisfactory nature of all earthly greatness. "I have been every thing," he exclaimed, "but what avails it now." Ordering the urn in which his ashes were to be enclosed to be brought to him, he took it into his hands, and inspecting it narrowly, addressed it in these words, expressive at once of triumph and disappointment: "Thou shalt soon be the habitation of a man whose ashes the whole world was too narrow to confine." He expired at York, in the two hundred and eleventh year of the Christian faith, at the age of sixty-six, after having reigned nearly eighteen years. The funeral rites were performed in that City, and honoured with the respectful attendance of the Army, as well as of the principal inhabitants of the Province; by all of whom Spartian. in Sever. c. 18. Dion Cassius, Epitom. p. 340. Not one of all the race, nor sex, nor age, Her babes, her infants, at the breast shall fall. Pope. Dion Cassius, Epitom. Xiphilin, p. 344. From A. D. 193. Biography. the character of Severus was held in veneration, not less for his great talents than for his wisdom and justice in the administration of the Government. The body was burnt, and his remains were conveyed by his sons to Rome, where they were placed in the sepulchre of the Antonini, whose memory he ever cherished with particular pleasure. ter. to 211. His charac- It has been found very difficult to obtain from the pages of ancient writers a fair or consistent representation of the character of Severus. One of the authors of the Augustan History applies to him an expression which was suggested by the effects which the conduct of the first Roman Emperor had upon the fortunes of his Country, namely, that it would have been well for the Republic if he had never been born, or if he had never died.* This remark has in it, perhaps, more point than truth; for though Severus was no ordinary man, he nevertheless rather followed than directed the general current of events. He considered the Roman world as his property, and had no sooner secured the possession, than he bestowed the utmost care on the cultivation and improvement of so valuable an acquisition. Judicious law, executed with firmness, soon corrected most of the abuses which, since the time of Marcus Aurelius, had infected every department of the State. It has been remarked, that in the administration of justice, the sentences of the Emperor were characterised by attention, discernment, and impartiality; and if on any occasion he deviated from the strict line of equity, it was generally in favour of the poor and oppressed; not so much, perhaps, from any feeling of humanity, as from the natural propensity of a despot to humble the pride of greatness, and to sink all his subjects to the same level of absolute dependence upon his will. Arts. His magniHis taste for public buildings and magnificent specficence, and tacles recommended him greatly to the Roman People. love of the His unremitting care, too, that the Capital of his Empire should at all times be well supplied with provisions, confirmed the affection and gratitude of the Citizens. He laboured to obliterate all traces of the suffering and devastation which had arisen from Civil discord. The Provinces enjoyed under his Government the inestimable blessings of peace and security; and many Cities in the remoter parts of the Empire, restored by the munificence of Severus, have attested by public monuments the sense of their grateful felicity. Indulgence to the Army, In respect to his management of the Army, there is less ground for unqualified praise. Perhaps no degree of firmness or of wisdom could have avoided the errors with which his command has been charged; for as the Soldiers were the medium through which power was at the same time attained and preserved, an Emperor was induced, by every motive which affects either the gene * Illum aut nasci non debuisse aut non mori. Spartian. c. 18. Severus. From A. D. 193. to 211 rous or the selfish feelings of our nature, to bestow Lucius wealth and dignity upon his Troops. The main danger, Septimius moreover, arose from the number and power of the Prætorian Guards, the very ministers and bulwarks of despotism; and Severus not only increased this part of the military establishment fourfold, but also added to its pay, and extended its privileges. He flattered himself that, as the Prætorians were draughted from the whole body of the Army, Provincials as well as native Romans, the Legions would consider them as the representatives of their Order, and be delighted with the honours which, from the rewards bestowed upon the Guards, was reflected upon themselves; while, on the other hand, he cherished the hope, that the ready aid of fifty thousand men, superior in arms and professional experience to any force that could be brought into the field against them, would for ever crush the hopes of rebellion, and secure to himself and his posterity a perpetual possession of the Empire. ture. His memory has always been respected for the love Patronage which he showed to Learning. The habits of a life of Literaspent chiefly in the Camp were, no doubt, quite incompatible with any distinguished progress in Science or in Letters; but his taste, notwithstanding, induced him to spend his hours of leisure in the study of Philosophy, and his penetration suggested to him the numerous advantages which would result to his Government from the countenance of learned men. He was much devoted, it cannot be concealed, to that perversion of natural knowledge which was known to the ancients under the name of Magic; and led away by the foolish persuasion, that accidental combinations of matter, or particular positions of the stars, could influence the fortunes of mankind, he had recourse to the various arts by which the Sages of his time professed to lay open the future, and to render propitious the action of the elements. It is said, that he was determined in his choice of a second wife by the discovery that a young Syrian lady, whose name was Julia, had been born with a royal nativity; in other words, that those who could read in the position of the stars the secret pleasures of the Gods, had announced that she was ordained to be the wife of a Sovereign Prince. He wrote, in Latin, Memoirs of his own life; a work of which Aurelius Victor praises the style not less than the fidelity. But Dion Cassius, who had better means for forming a correct judgment, does not give so favourable an opinion of this Imperial autobiography; insinuating that Severus has not, on all occasions, paid the strictest regard to truth, and that in his attempts to vindicate himself from the charge of cruelty, he laid greater stress on hidden motives and refined views of of Policy than on the palpable facts which met the eye the Public.* Dion Cassius, Epitom. Xiphilin. p. 343. Spartian. in Sever. c. 19-21. Aurel. Victor, p. 517. |