THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CÆSAR. B.C. 31-A.D. 14.
Augustus, being now the emperor of Rome, sought to win the affections of
his people. He lived with republican simplicity in a plain house on the
Palatine Hill, and educated his family with great strictness and
frugality. His public conduct was designed to conceal his unbounded
power. He rejected all unworthy members from the Senate, and limited the
number of the Senators to six hundred. The Comitia of the Centuries was
still allowed to pass laws and elect magistrates, but gradually these
powers were taken away, until, in the reign of Tiberius, they are
mentioned no more. The emperor's chief counselors in public affairs were
his four friends, M. Vipsanius Agrippa, C. Cilnius Mæcenas, M. Valerius
Messala, and Asinius Pollio, all persons of excellent talents, and
devoted to their master. Agrippa aided him greatly in embellishing the
city of Rome with new buildings, and the Pantheon, which was built in
the Campus Martins, still bears the inscription, _M. Vipsanius Agrippa,
consul tertium_. Augustus was accustomed to say that he found Rome a
city of brick, and left it a city of marble.
To secure the peace of the capital, and to extirpate the robbers who
filled its streets, Augustus divided Rome into fourteen regions, and
each region into several smaller divisions called _Vici_: a magistrate
was placed over each _Vicus_, and all these officers were under the
command of the city prefect. A police force, _Vigiles_, seven hundred in
number, was also provided, who succeeded in restoring the public peace.
Italy, in a similar manner, was divided into regions, and local
magistrates were appointed, who made life and property every where
secure.
We must notice briefly the extent and condition of that vast empire,
over which Augustus ruled--too vast, in fact, to be subjected to the
control of a single intellect. Italy, the peculiar province of the
emperor, had lost a large part of its free population, whose place was
supplied by slaves; military colonies were numerous, a kind of
settlement which never tended to advance the prosperity of the country;
the cities were declining, and many of them almost abandoned. The north
of Italy, however, still retained a portion of its former prosperity;
its great droves of swine supplied the people of Rome with a large part
of their food; vineyards also abounded there, and the wine-vats of upper
Italy were said to be often larger than houses. Coarse woolen cloths
were manufactured in Liguria, and a finer wool was produced near Mutina.
But Italy, once so fertile, could no longer produce its own corn, for
which it depended chiefly upon Sicily, Africa, and Egypt.
The island of Sicily, too, had suffered greatly during the civil wars.
Its cities were fallen into ruin, and the woods and mountains were
filled with fugitive slaves, who, when captured, were taken to Rome and
exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheatres. A Roman colony was planted
by Augustus in the almost deserted city of Syracuse.
The condition of the extensive province of Gaul was more promising, its
savage tribes having begun to adopt the arts of civilization. The Gauls
purchased from southern traders such articles as they were unable to
produce at home, and supplied Italy, in return, with coarse wool and
cargoes of bacon. Several Roman colonies established in Gaul enjoyed
various political privileges, but the people in general were oppressed
with taxes and burdened with debts. The religion of the Druids was
discouraged by laws which forbade human sacrifices, and, indeed, all
rites opposed to the Roman faith. In Southern Gaul the city of Massilia
(Marseilles) had imparted civilization to the neighboring tribes: they
learned to use the Greek characters in writing, while many of the Gallic
cities invited Greek teachers to open schools in their midst.
Spain, rich in gold and silver, in fine wool, and a prolific soil,
traded largely with Rome. The valley of the Bætis, or Guadalquiver, was
renowned for its uncommon fertility. Many of the Spaniards had already
adopted the language and manners of their conquerors. Spain was divided
into three provinces, Bætica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarraconensis.
Gades, or Cadiz, was one of the richest cities of the empire, and,
according to Dion Cassius, had received the privilege of Roman
citizenship from Julius Cæsar, whom its people had aided against
Pompey's officers. The tribes in the northwest of Spain, however, were
savage and unquiet, and their language, the Basque, which still exists,
shows that they were never perfectly conquered by the Romans.
The northern coast of Africa, opposite to Spain, was held by Juba, a
native prince, while the Roman province of Africa embraced ancient
Carthage, together with a considerable territory around it. This
province possessed a large trade. Cyrenaica, to the eastward, included
the island of Crete, and was termed a prætorian province.
Egypt was ruled by a governor, who was always taken from the equestrian
order. Two legions only were stationed in that province. Being the
centre of the trade between Italy and the Indies, Egypt accumulated
great wealth, and was renowned for its extensive commerce. It exported
large quantities of corn to Italy, and also papyrus, the best writing
material then known. The two finest kinds of papyrus were named the
Augustan and the Livian. Alexandria, the sea-port of Egypt, was the
second city of the empire. Its commerce was immense; and its museum,
colleges, library, and literary men made it also the centre of Greek
literature. Alexandria, too, was famous for its superstition and its
licentiousness: the festivals and rites of Serapis had long excited the
contempt of the wiser Romans.
The trade between Alexandria and the Indies was carried on through two
routes: one was the famous canal which, begun by Pharaoh Necho, was
completed under the government of the Ptolemies. Leaving the Nile near
the southern point of the Delta, the canal, after a somewhat circuitous
course, joined the Red Sea at the town of Arsinoe, near the modern town
of Suez. Another route was overland from Coptos, on the Nile, across the
desert, to Berenice and Myos Hormos. Along this road wells were dug or
reservoirs of water provided, and thus an easy communication was kept up
with the East. Heavy duties, however, were laid upon all goods entering
or leaving Alexandria, and its extensive trade afforded a great revenue
to the government.
From Egypt to the Ægean Sea, various provinces were created in Syria and
Asia Minor. The most extensive of these were the two provinces of Syria
and Asia, which were governed by lieutenants of the emperor. Judea
retained a nominal independence, under the government of Herod;
Jerusalem was adorned by Herod with magnificent buildings; and Antioch,
Tyre, and several other eastern cities were still prosperous and
luxurious. They were, however, heavily taxed, and suffered from the
tyranny and exactions of their Roman rulers.
Greece, in the age of Augustus, seems to have been a scene of
desolation. It was divided into two provinces, Macedonia and Achaia,
both belonging to the jurisdiction of the Senate and the people. Greece
had suffered greatly during the civil wars, and had never recovered its
ancient prosperity. The peninsula was partly depopulated. Laconia had
long lost its importance, and Messenia and Arcadia were almost
deserted. Corinth and Patræ, however, were flourishing Roman colonies;
Thebes was a mere village; Athens still retained its literary renown,
and was always a favorite resort for cultivated Romans; but its harbor
was deserted, its walls thrown down, and the energy of its people
forever gone.
Macedonia had suffered equally with Greece, and no trace remained of its
former power. Thus we find that the civilized world, at the accession of
Augustus, was every where marked by desolation and decay.
The Roman empire, at this period, was bounded on the north by the
Euxine, the Danube, the Rhine, and the British Channel; westward it
reached to the Atlantic; on the south it was confined by the deserts of
Africa, and on the east by Assyria and Mesopotamia. The Mediterranean
Sea was wholly within the empire, and afforded an easy mode of
communication with the different provinces.
The government which Augustus now established was designed to preserve
the memory of the republic, while the real power remained with the
emperor alone. The people were deprived of all their former importance;
the Comitia were only suffered to pass upon laws proposed by the Senate,
which was now wholly under the control of the emperor. Consuls and other
magistrates were still chosen annually, and Augustus, in the earlier
years of his reign, was accustomed to solicit votes for his favorite
candidates, who, however, were always elected; later he contented
himself with furnishing them with a written recommendation. The Senate
met twice in every month, instead of three times, as was the former
custom, except during September and October, when no meetings were held.
The provinces were governed by proconsuls, several of whom were
appointed by the Senate and the people; but all of them were carefully
observed by the emperor. Rome itself was governed by a prefect, whose
duty it was to preserve the public peace.
In this manner Augustus, by the aid of his proconsuls, held a despotic
rule over all his dominions. He controlled the Senate, too, through his
authority as censor, and appointed or deposed its members; and he raised
the property qualification of each Senator to about $50,000. A large
part of the people of the capital were maintained by the free
distribution of corn; but Augustus reduced the number from 320,000 to
200,000, providing for the poorer citizens by settling them in new
colonies, and his measures seem to have produced general contentment.
He was also sincerely desirous to reform the morals of the nation.
Several laws were passed encouraging marriage, and in B.C. 18 he obliged
the Senate to decree that marriage should be imperative upon every
citizen of suitable age. Celibacy was punished by an incapacity to
receive bequests, and even the childless married man was deprived of
half his legacy; these efforts, however, failed, and a general license
prevailed. As censor, he sought to restrain extravagance, and limited
the sum to be expended upon entertainments. He insisted that the _toga_,
the national dress, be worn at least at the public spectacles; he
endeavored to preserve the distinctions of rank by providing each of the
three orders with its own seats in the circus; and he plainly sought to
elevate the aristocracy, and to withdraw all political power from the
people. It is said, however, that he once entertained the design of
resigning his authority, but was prevented from doing so by the advice
of his friends, who represented to him that the Romans were no longer
capable of governing themselves.
The Prætorian guard, which Augustus provided for his own protection,
consisted of ten cohorts, each containing 800 or 1000 men, both cavalry
and foot: of these only three cohorts were kept in the city, the others
being distributed through the Italian towns. These soldiers received
double pay, and were commanded by the _præfectus prætorii_: at a later
period they became the masters of the empire.
The whole army, amounting to about 350,000 men, was encamped in various
portions of his dominions. His fleet, which numbered 500 ships, was
stationed chiefly at Misenum and Ravenna. His revenues arose from the
contributions of the provinces, from various taxes, and from the rent of
the public domain. An excise was imposed upon all goods exposed for
sale, and there was also a tax upon all bachelors.
Augustus encouraged commerce and industry, built new roads, and provided
the capital with an abundance of food. Games and public spectacles were
exhibited to amuse the people, a free distribution of corn relieved the
indigent, literature was encouraged, the arts flourished with new vigor,
and the people and the Senate, pleased with present tranquillity,
bestowed upon Augustus the title of the Father of his Country.
Several conspiracies, however, alarmed the emperor. In B.C. 30, Lepidus,
a son of the former triumvir, had formed a plot for his destruction,
which was detected by Mæcenas, and its author put to death. Another, in
B.C. 22, was also unsuccessful. In A.D. 4, Cinna, a grandson of Pompey,
was discovered in a similar attempt, and was pardoned at the request of
Livia; he was afterward even raised to the consulship. But so
intimidated was Augustus by the fear of assassination, that, toward the
close of his life, he never went to a meeting of the Senate without
wearing a breastplate under his robe.
The military enterprises of Augustus were in general successful. He led
an army into Spain, and subdued the Cantabri and Astures, returning to
Rome B.C. 24. While in Spain he founded several cities, among others
Augusta Emerita (Merida), and Cæsar Augusta (Saragossa). Phraates, king
of the Parthians, fearful of the Roman arms, gave up the Roman standards
taken from Crassus and Antony, B.C. 20, and this event was celebrated by
striking medals and by the verses of the Augustan poets. The emperor
hung up the standards in a temple which he had built at Rome to Mars,
the Avenger.
Tiberius and Drusus, the two sons of Livia by her former husband, were
distinguished commanders, and gained many victories over the Germans;
but, in B.C. 9, Drusus died from a fall from his horse. Tiberius then
took the command of the army, and gained a great victory over the
Sigambri. He returned to Rome B.C. 6, and triumphed; was saluted
Imperator, and received the tribunitian power for five years.
Soon after, indignant at the dissolute conduct of his wife Julia, and
the honors bestowed upon her sons by Agrippa, he withdrew to Rhodes,
where he remained for seven years, a discontented exile. He returned to
Rome in A.D. 2, and, two years after, was adopted by Augustus as his
son. He next conquered a large part of Germany, and defeated several
large bodies of the Marcomanni in what is now the territory of Bohemia.
But, while he was employed upon this expedition, Arminius, the German
hero, excited an insurrection of his countrymen against the cruel
Romans, cut off Varus, their leader, with his army, and filled Rome with
alarm. Germany seemed lost. Augustus, when he heard of the disaster,
exclaimed, "Varus! Varus! give me back my legions!"
Tiberius, however, together with Germanicus, the brave son of Drusus,
returned to the defense of the frontier, but did not venture to
penetrate into the forests beyond the Rhine.
In his domestic life Augustus was singularly unfortunate. Livia, his
wife, for whom he entertained a sincere affection, was a person of
strong intellect and various accomplishments; but she was descended from
the Claudian family, and inherited all the pride, ambition, and love of
political intrigue which marked the descendants of Appius Claudius. She
was also married to a Claudius, and thus her two sons by her first
husband, Tiberius and Drusus, were even more than herself Claudians. On
them all Livia's affections were fixed; to secure their aggrandizement
she hesitated at no effort and no crime; and when Drusus died, her son
Tiberius, who resembled his mother in disposition, became the chief
object of her regard. Her husband and his family wore looked upon with
jealousy and dislike, and the darkest suspicions were aroused at Rome
by the death, one by one, of every person who stood between Tiberius and
the throne.
Livia had no child by her second marriage, and the only heir of Augustus
was Julia, the daughter of his former wife, Scribonia. Julia was
beautiful, intelligent, and highly educated; and Augustus, who was
strongly attached to his own family, looked upon his daughter with
singular affection and pride. He hoped to see her grow up pure, wise,
and discreet--a new Lucretia, the representative of the ideal Roman
matron; and he early accustomed Julia to practice moderation in dress,
to spend hours at the spinning-wheel, and to look upon herself as
destined to become the model and example of Roman women.
Julia was first married to her cousin Marcellus, the son of Octavia, a
young man of excellent character, whom Augustus adopted, and probably
destined as his successor; but, in B.C. 23, Marcellus died, amid the
sincere grief of all the Romans. Marcellus has been made immortal by a
few touching lines of Virgil.
[Illustration: Gold coin of Agrippa, with head of Augustus.]
Not long after, Augustus married Julia to his friend Agrippa, and they
had five children--three sons, Caius, Lucius, and Agrippa Postumus, the
latter being born after the death of his father, and two daughters,
Julia and Agrippina. These children were now the hope of the people and
the emperor, and objects of jealousy and dislike to Livia and Tiberius.
In B.C. 12 Agrippa died. Augustus then prevailed upon Tiberius to
divorce his own wife, to whom he was sincerely attached, in order to
marry Julia. Their union was an unhappy one, and, after living together
for about a year, they separated forever.
The conduct of Julia, in fact, had long been marked by gross
immoralities, and Augustus alone was unconscious of her unworthiness. He
refused to believe that his daughter, whom he had destined to become an
example of purity, had so deceived and dishonored him. At length,
however, he became convinced of her guilt, and banished her (B.C. 2) to
the island Pandataria (Santa Maria), off the coast of Campania, where
she was treated with just severity. Her daughter Julia, who had shared
in her excesses, was also sent into exile.
Meanwhile Caius and Lucius Cæsar both died suddenly. Caius was sent to
the East in B.C. 1, to improve himself in military affairs, and there
died, A.D. 3, from the effects of a wound given him by an assassin.
Lucius, the younger, having gone on a mission to Spain in A.D. 2, fell
sick and died at Massilia. About this time Tiberius had been recalled
from Rhodes and intrusted with the chief care of public affairs. It was
believed at Rome that Livia and her son had removed the two Cæsars by
poison and assassination.
All happiness must now have fled from the breast of the emperor. He
still, however, attended carefully to the duties of his station. In A.D.
4 he adopted Tiberius, together with Agrippa Postumus; Tiberius was
obliged at the same time to adopt Germanicus, the eldest son of his
brother Drusus. In A.D. 7 Augustus was induced to banish Agrippa
Postumus, who proved unworthy of his favor, to the island of Planasia,
and this act was ratified by a decree of the Senate; it was thought,
however, that Livia was again the cause of this unnatural act. In A.D. 8
the poet Ovid was banished for some unknown crime.
[Illustration: Medal of Agrippina, showing the Carpentum, or chariot, in
which the Roman ladies were accustomed to ride.]
It was in the year 5 or 7 B.C., for the true date is unknown, that Jesus
Christ, the Savior of the world, was born at Bethlehem, in Judea.
In A.D. 14, Augustus, aided by Tiberius, took a census--the third during
his reign. His health, which had always been delicate, now rapidly
declined. He had long borne with patience the infirmities of old age,
and he now retired to Nola, where he died, August 19, A.D. 14, in the
same room where his father had died before him. It is said that as he
was dying he exclaimed to those around him, "Have I not acted my part
well? It is time for the applause."
He was seventy-six years old. His subjects lamented his death with
sincere grief, since they had felt the happy effects of his care. His
funeral rites were performed in great solemnity; his body was burned on
the Campus Martius, and his ashes were placed in the splendid mausoleum
which he had built for himself and his family. The Senate ordered him to
be numbered among the gods of Rome.
In appearance Augustus was of middle stature, his features regular, and
his eyes of uncommon brilliancy. He was a tolerable writer, and capable
of distinguishing literary merit; his chosen friends were all men of
letters; and his fame with posterity rests, in a great degree, upon that
circle of poets, historians, and eminent scholars by whom he was
surrounded. The Augustan Age, indeed, forms one of the most remarkable
periods in the history of the human intellect.
[Illustration: Medal of Augustus, showing the myrtle crown, or Corona
ovalis.]
[Illustration: Medal of Nero, showing an Organ and a sprig of Laurel,
probably designed as a prize medal for a musician.]