their caftles, and ploughing up their ftrong places, after difpatching 58,000 of the inhabitants-that Fuller fays it never did recover; and in his book upon the Holy War obferves, that "tis no marvel if so thin a meadow were quickly mown by him who had plenty of hands to work." But we return and follow Adrian to Britain, which, to fay true, fuffered fome little from his difpleafure; though Selden fays his general, Coilus, built Colchester in Effex, if it was not even then known by name of Caer Colin among the old inhabitants. Some traces too of his turfwall, or mound, may be feen in Cumberland ftill: and perhaps he, whofe fpirit of travelling prompted him to vifit fuch remote parts of the Roman empire, might have been induced to pass more time amidst our northern provinces, had not his dainty minion, fair Antinous, been haftily knocked down by some rough British hand; an infult his great mafter could not be pleafed with, yet had more magnanimity than to refent, except by leaving the island. That taste for feeing various life, however, which fuggefted his journey hither, prompted him to continue it through his own native country Spain, to Afric, where he rebuilt Carthage, and vifited the Nile. But although he erected a monument for his horfe Boryfthenes, and set up a pillar to his memory near Barcelona, we muft remember that the ancients often paid funeral honours to their favourite animals. The epitaph on Craffus's mule is preferved by Porcacchi, a Tufcan writer, who found the ftone between Rome and Tivoli. Her name was Cincia, if I remember right: and although Adrian filled half Europe with fine ftatues of his lefs valuable favourite, the beautiful youth who fell into the Nile, and there was drowned; yet fuffered this philofophic fovereign no idle whims, no vicious propenfitics, to mingle with his ftudies or his state affairs; but apparently triumphed in the almost boundless capacity of a mind which could folve the hardest problems of Euclid, and plan with elegance of architecture a temple to Love: who encouraged all artifts, and was excelled by none: whofe powers of rhetoric kept pace with the firmnefs of his logical difputations: and whofe VOL. I. F progrefs progrefs through his widely extended empire was marked in every part of it by fome benefit conferred. Adrianople, the old Oreftia, he repaired, and called it after himself; because, having been built by parricide, he deemed it of ill omen. But though he delighted in the baths of Aix la Chapelle, as Granus, a general of fome former reign, had originally difcovered the waters' efficacy, he confirmed the appellation Aquis Granum, and by that name the town is ftill called by Italians, with very little alteration. A defcendant of that General's (called Nero's half brother in Isaacfon's Chronology) Serenus Granus, wrote about the year 127 fo excellent an apology for the poor Chriftians, that Adrian had thoughts of building them a church, but suffered other occupations to intervene. Meanwhile Anacletus had prohibited, in Trajan's time, that any bishop should wear long curling hair, as did the gay young Romans, upon which the clergy were foon diftinguished by a tonfure; and Alexander I., ftyled by his own decretary Archbishop of Rome, instituted holy water for purification of those who should come unprepared to church; fome falt was added in a natural fpirit of imitation; the luftral water had falt mixed with it. By his command, likewife, water was mixed with wine in the facrament, most probably because from our Redeemer's fide flowed blood and water. This hapless primate was martyr'd, contrary to Government's intent, during fome accidental abfence of the Emperor; who now caufed Pompey's tomb to be repaired, set up an honorary remembrance of Epaminondas in the plains of Mantinæa, and erected for his own the Moles Adriani, now Castle St. Angelo ;—whilst Sixtus I. in thankfulness to heaven for that remiffion of mifery which our church enjoyed, fung the Trifagion, or hymn, of Holy! Holy! Holy Lord God of Sabaoth! in open day; and fent public miffionaries into Gaul for converfion of profelytes, at which the court connived. Ill health now ftopt the fovereign's further travels, yet would he not yield to its enfeebling power: he ftill, as ufual, bathed in a crowd of people, where he one day perceived a poor old old foldier (whom he had formerly observed in his own legion) now fo friendless, as to have no one to perform for him the common office of a bathing guide, to fcrape or curry his back, as it was then the mode, fo that he was obliged to rub himself against the wall, as beasts do. Adrian, who recollected both his perfon and good services, asked him the reason why? 'Tis, faid the foldier, Sir, because I have no fervant. The Emperor immediately sent him three flaves, and a small pension to maintain them. Such an action foon drew its natural confequences; for fashions alter, but human nature is the fame. Numberless old men took the fame method of obtaining notice from fo charitable a Prince. Our Spaniard, not duped however, nor as it appears much disgusted by fuch conduct, quietly provided thofe fellows each a frigil, and laughingly advised them to curry one another.* It was time though to be ferious. Many disorders gathering round his constitution, he had, fome months before the time we treat of, adopted Lucius Verus Commodus, who died before his friend, leaving an infant fon. Of this man nothing is I think recorded, but that he lay on mattreffes of roses, rendered elastic by their quantity and number; and that he first brought up the cuftom of making footmen run before a carriage. Those destined for his use were boys, eminent in personal beauty, dreffed like the four winds, and their Lord called them Volanti-they were fo dreffed at Rome when I was there, and called fo then. Adrian next fought an heir among the Stoics, though he himself and his immediate favourites were of the Epicuræan school. His laft felection lighted on the man, whofe pure morality cafts that of every other monarch into fhade; and fearful left death fhould rob the Romans foon of fuch a parent, he wished him to entail the fucceffion on still further; then, having provided pofterity with the protection of the Antonines, retired to Baiæ, confulting his health only. In that * The operation of champooing, in the east, seems another manner of producing a like effect. delightful retreat it was, that he compofed the well-known lines addreffed to his departing foul; and as he had lived a philofopher, defired to die a poet.* His last act of authority almost, was shipping off incredible numbers of Jewish captives into Spain, where they subsisted by working in the gold and filver mines, both in the character of labourer and trader, till fome time about the year 1500 they were expelled either by Ferdinand or Emanuel. A Retrospect of that peculiar circumstance is useful, to elucidate the cause of jealousy which Spaniards have been always apt to difplay, concerning the antiquity of their own families; of which the true fource is, fear left they should be fufpected of fharing this old Jewish, or elfe Moorish blood. When Sancho is afked about his mafter's genealogy, De los Chriftianos mas viejos, is his reply. That country, which was to Italy in Adrian's time what Mexico has fince been to all Europe, afforded no ill-devised retreat to Hebrew avarice and genius for mean traffic; but one wonders why thofe mines fhould now reft quiet, whence Pliny fays 20,000 pounds weight of gold were annually received at Rome. There is indeed a tradition, that the fhepherds who kept goats in Gallicia or Afturia, having made a fire to burn fome stubbed rosemary, never could quench it; and having often tried, left it at length to end as chance directed; the fire then catching volcanic matter, fused all the metal by its violence, and carried away to fea. Some rivulets there, as in Peru, are now called Lavaderos, from having washed ores and minerals in their stream: fome grains of gold are yet to be found too; but they confider the mines as ruined by fome accident, and can relate none but this. Titus Antoninus meanwhile, fo justly surnamed Pius, * Animula vagula blandula, Gentle Soul! a moment stay, Whither wouldst thou wing thy way? the the fucceffor of Adrian, and the fixteenth emperor of Rome, fought for no treasures, except in his own heart; desired no conquests, unless over himself; no wars, but with thofe appetites and paffions, which however he wished not to annihilate but to restrain; inafmuch as they lead men to heroic actions, while under the dominion and guidance of that reason which, as heaven's last, best gift, this wife and virtuous Prince mifufed not in fubtle difputations or rhetorical flowers, but exercised in a perpetual attention to his duty, in an active and paternal care of that state he was called to command-preferring, on all occafions, modesty to wit; well-judged beneficence, to oftentatious difplay of fentiment. In proof of his liberality, he gave up, on his acceffion, the immenfe civil lift appointed for the maintenance of imperial fplendour; defiring to live frugally, after the old Roman fashion, with one woman only, his wife, the first Fauftina; depending on his own fuperior merit to awe that world which he difdained to dazzle. But, though he encouraged learned men, particularly Appollonius Chalcidicus, his tutor, though he rewarded Justin, and received, well pleased, the dedication of his epitome; he confidered goodness as much nearer in claim for favours, than either perfonal prowess or mental endowment. He would rather hear, he said, of one citizen faved, than of a thousand enemies destroyed. In his uncommon character was verified the faying of that fage, who pronounced her the best woman of whom leaft could be faid out of her own house-while it is the reign of Titus that we are told, affords of all others the fewest materials for hiftory. In his day Lent was first instituted, as an obfervation of our church; Telefphorus chanted the Gloria in Excelfis; and Hyginus, a Greck by birth, called himself Pope. His fucceffor, a native of Aquileia, confecrated Christian virgins, in imitation of the vestals revered by Pagan fuperstition: their having been priests to fome heathen deity themselves, before converfion, might lead their thoughts perhaps in the fame track. I take the commonly accepted chronology, and will not lofe my time to prove or disavow it. Many mistakes have been made by the wifeft, concerning |