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TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS DR Us Us Cres Ast. 417geded, that the Senate, by the total redustion of their political importance, ever since the overthrow of the Republic, had lost both the influence and authori ty whichthey formet ly ei oyed. The extreme crueity, likewise, which had been exorcised during the last two reigias, aia forded a farther motive sor relinquishing ali attempis in favor of liberty, as thuy might be severely revenged uponthenaselves by the subsequent emperor : and it was a de agree of modoration in Claudius, whicli palliates the inoius ice of his cause, that he began his goveriameiat withan adi os amnesty, respecting the public transactiona vhicli ensueti upon the death of Caligula. Claudius, at the time of his accession, v as fisty years of age : and though he had hitherio lived apparently un- ambitious of public honors, accompanted with great ostentation, yct he was now seired with the destre os en-JOying a triumph. As there existed no war, in whicli hemight per i in sonae military atchlevem ent, his vanity
.where, Contrary to the advice Contained in the testamentos Augustus, he might attempt to extend stili farther thali mits of the empire. Et ther Britalia, theres ore, or sonas nation On the continent, at a great distance fronet ilici capital, hecam e the objecto of such an enterprisse ;and the former was chosen, not Only 33 more Con Venient, frona iis vicini ty to the maritime province of Gaul, but on account of a remonstrance lately presented
by the Britons to the colari of Rome, res pedi ing the pro tection afforded to sonte persons of that nation, who had sed thither to elude the lavis of their country. Consider ing the state of Britalia at that time, divi ted as it mas intod number of principalities, amongst Whicli there V as nogenerat consedera cy for mutuat dcfence, and where the
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tended with successi. Accordiragly an ariny was sent over, under the command of Aulus Plautius, an able generat, vilio deseated the natives in severat cragagementS, and penetraled a considerable way into the Country. Preparations for the ei liperor's voyage now being made, Claudius set sali from Ostia, at the mouit, of the Tiber; butnaeeting with a violent storin in the Mediterranean, helanded at Marseilles, and proceoding theiace to Boulogne in Picardy, pasied over into Britain. In what part he de barked, is uncertain, hut it laenas to have been at lameplace on the uth- east coast of the isand. He immediately received the submission of severat Britissi states, the Cantii, Atrebates, Regni, and Trinobantes, who inhabited those paris; and returning to Rome, after an absenCe of si1κ monilis, celebrated with great pomp the triumph, for which he had underlahen the eXpedition. In the interior paris of Britain, the natives, under thecommand of Caradiacus, maintained an obstinate resistance, and litile progress was made by the Roman arms, untii Ostorius Scapula was sent over to prosecute thewar. He penetraled into the country of the Silures, amarithe tribo, who inhabited the bantis of the Severn : and having descated Caradiacus in a great batile, madehim prisoner, and sent him to Rome. The fame of the Brittili prince had by this time spread over the provinCesos Gaul and Italy; and upon his arrival in the Roman Capital, the peopte docked frona ali quarters to belloid hi m.
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TIBERIUS CLAUDI Us DRUSUS CAESAR. 4 I9 the emperor and his cotiri took their station in the frontos the lines, and bellind them was ranged the whole bodyof the people. The procession commenced with the dita ferent trophies which had been taken froni the Britonsduring the progress of the war. NeXt followed the brothers of the vanqui1hed prince, with his wife and daughter, in chains, expressing by their supplicating looks and ges fures the fears with whicli they were actualed. Butnot so Caradi acus himself. With a manly gait and an
Undavnted Countenance, he marched up to the tribunal,
added the viriues of moderation, Rome had belleid merather as a friend than a captive; and you would not have rejected an alliance mitti a prince, descended from illustrious ances fors, and go verning many nations. The Te verse of my fortune to you is glorious, and to me humi liating. I had arms, and men, and horses : I possessedeXtraordinary riches ; and cari it he any wonder that Ιwas unwilling to lose them p Because Rome aspires to iversat dominion, must men theres ore implicitly resignthenaseives to subjection 8 Ι opposed for a long time tho Progress Os your arms, and had I ached other i , wouldeither you have had the glory of conquest, or I of abrave resistance λ Ι am no in your power : is you are determined to take revenge, my fate will soon be sorioiten, and you will derive no honor fioin the transaction. Preserve my lise, and I mali remain to the latest ages a
Immediately upon this speech, Claudius granted hi in his liberty, as he did likewise to the other royal Cap-
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tives. They ali returned their thanks, in a manner themost grateful to the em peror ; and as ora as their chainswere taken o T, Walking tora artis Agrippina, who sat upona hench at a litile distance, they repeated to her me fame fervent declarations os gratitude anil esteem. History has preserved no account of Caracta cus asterthis period ; but it is probabie, that he returned in a mort
the magnanim ty which he had displayed at Rome, would continue to render hi in illustrious through li se, evenamidst the irreti levabie ruin os his fortunes. The most extraordinary charadfer in the present reignwas that of Valeria Messalina, the daughter of Valerius Messala Barbatus. She was married to Claudius, and had by him a son and a daughter. To crueity in the prosecution of her purposes, site added the most abandon-ed incontinence. Not confining her licentiolis est With in the limits of the palace, where me committed the mostsi a me fui excesses, sae prostitia ted her person in the common siems, and even in the public streets of the capital. As is her conduci: was atre ady not lassiciently scandaloris,sie obliged C. Silius, a man os Consular rank, to divo i Celiis Wisse, that sae might procure his company entirely tollers eis. Not contented with this indulgenco to her Criminal passion, uae nevi persuaded him to mari y her ;and during an excursion whicli the em peror made to Ostia, the cerem ony of marri age was actualty perform-ed belween them. The occasion was celebrated with a magnificent supper, to whicli stae invited a large Company ; and lest the whole smouid he regarded as a frolic, notineant to be consummated, the adulterous parties ascend-ed ii 2 nuptial couch in the presence of the astonissa edi pectatorsis
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TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS DRUSUS CAESAR. 42Ispectators. Great a s was the facili ty of Claudius's tem per in res pedi of her sortiter bellavio ur, he could notoverlook so flagrant a violation both of public decencyand the laws of the country. Silius was Condemned todeath for the adultery which he had perpetrated with reluctarace; and Messalina was ordered in to the em peror 'SPresenCe, to an wer for her conduct. Terror no
operating upon her mind in conjunction with remorse, sile Could not summon the resolution to suppotet sucii an intervie , but reti red into the gardens of Lucullus, thereto indulge at last the compunction whicli stae seli for her Crimes, and to meditate the entreaties by whicli uae sito uidende avor to oth the resentinent of her humand. In the eYtremi ty of her distresse, ille attempted to lay violenthan is iapon herself, but her Coui age was Unequat to the emergenCy. Her mollier Lepida, who had not spolienwith her for sol De years bes Ore, was preserat iapon the OC- Cassiora, and urged her to the adt which could alone puta period lo her infamy and wretche iness. Aga in stae made an es ori, but again her resolution abandoned her :V hen a Tribune bursi into the gardens, and plunging his sword into her body, she instantly expired. Thus peristieda woman, the scandal of whose lewdnesse res undedthrouglio ut the empire, and of Whom a great satirist, Uaeia living, has sa id, perhaps witlao ut a hyperbole,
It has ali eady been observe , that Claudius was entire-ly governed by his freedmeti ; a classi of reta iners wlai Chenjoyed a great saare os favor and confidence With their patrons in those times. 4'hey had bel ore been the faves of their musters, and had obta ined their free-dom as a re ard sor their faith fui and attentive services.
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THE LIFE OFwith an instance in Tiro, the freedman of Cicero : towhom that illustrious Roman addresses severat Episties, written in the most familiar and affectio nate strain offrientiship. As it was common for them to be taught themore useful paris of education in the families of theirmasters, they were usualty weli quali fled for the management of domestic concerns, and might even be competentio the superior depariments of the state ; especialty in those times, when negotiations and treaties with foreigia princesseldoin or never occurred ; and in arbitrary governinenis,
Where public affati s were directed more by the will of the foverei gn or his ministers, than by refined suggestions
From the character generalty given os Claudius, besere his elevation to the throne, we should not readily imagine that he was endowed with any taste for literary composition ; yet he seems to have enjoyed, eYclusively, this distinction during his own reign, in whicli learning was ata low ebb. Besides history, Suetonius informs iis, thathe wrote a Defence of Cicero against the Charges of Asinius Gallus. This appears to be the only tribute os esteemor approbation, pa id to the character of Cicero, stom theti me of Livy the historian, to the extinction of the race of the Caesars. Asinius Gallus was the son of Asinius Pollio, the orator. Mari ying Vipsania, after me hadbeen divorced by Tiberius, he incurred the displeasti re of that emperor, and died os lamine, ei ther voluntarily, orby order of the tyrant. He wrote a comparison belween his fallier and Cicero, in whicli, with more filial partia-lity than justice, he gave the reserence to me former.
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I. FROM the h use of the Domitii sprung two celebrat- ed families, the Calvini and AEnobarbi. The lalter derive their extraction and cognomen likewise Dom one L. Domitius, who, it is related, as he was returning frontille Country to Rome, was mel by t o yoUng men os amosi august appearance. I hcy destred him to cari y to the Senate and peopte the ne s of a victory, ConCerning which no certain ad vice had at that time reached the city. To aTure hina that they were more than mortals, theystroaked his cheehs, and by that means changed his beardfrom a black to a rud ly color, resembling that os brasi;
whicli mark of distinction descended to his posteri ty, forthey had generalty red beards. The fami ly had after misine honor of se ven Consul laips, one triumph, and tWOCensors hips ; and being advanced to the rank of nobili ty, ali continued the use of the fame cognomen, and noother praenomina mari thoseos Cneius and Lucius ; whichthey retained, however, with remari able irregulari ty ;so metimes adhering to one of them for three persons suCCessively, and then again changing them alternately. Forthe fit st, second, .and third of the AEnobarbi had that of Lucius, and again the three following, successively, thatos Cneius; but thos e vilio came after were called, One, Lucius, and the other, Cneius, by turn s. It appears tome Proper, to give a mort account of severat of the fa-
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424. nrily, io stlow that Nero so far degeneraled stom the no-ble qualities of his ancestors, that he retained only the vices of the fami ly, as is those alone had been transmittedio hi in by his descent. II. To begin there re at a remote period, his great- grandi ather's grandiather, when he was Tribune of the commons, heing offended with the high priesis for elect-ing another than him into their number, in the roo in os his fallier, procured the promulgation os a law for trania ferring the right of those elections frona the priesis to thepeos te. In his Consulsiis, having conquered the Allo,
broges and the Arverni, he made a tour of the province, molanted iapon an elephani, with a body of soldiers attend-ing him in a sori os triumphal pom p. of this person the
Orator Licinius Crassus id, It was no wonder he hada braZen beard, who had a face of iron, and a heari Of
Caesar, Upon the edic piration of his Consulate, should beCalled to an account be re me Senate for his administra- tion of that ossice, which was supposed to be contrary both to the auspicia and the laws. Asterwards, when he waSConsul, he attempted to have him recalled frona the aris
my, and having been by intrigue and cabal appotnted his
successor, he was in the beginning of the civit war madeprisoner at Corfinium. Being dismi med upon that occasion, he went seme time after to Marse illes, whicli thenwas besieged; where having by his presence animaledine pecple to hold o ut, he on a sudden test them again, and at last was sta in in the batile of Pharsalia. He was a man of litile constancy, and of a suileia temper. Havingorice in a desperate siluation had recourse to pol son, heWa8, immediat ely upon tali ing it, so terrified with theihoualiis of dying, that he took a vomit to throw it upagain,
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NERO CLAUDIUS CAESAR. 625 again, and manumited his physician, for having pui posely given him only a gentie do se of the pol son. When Cn. Pompey mas consulting with his friends in what manner he siould condodi himself towariis thos e whomere neuter, he alone gave his opinion that they ought
law Condemned, though innocent, amongst others VChomere Concerned in the dcath of Caesar. Vpon this, hewent over to Brutus and Cassius his near relations ; and after their dea th, not only kept the fleet, the command
Who urere condemned by the law abovementioned, he was the only man that was restored to his country, and Ob-ta ined the severat ossices of state. Upon a fresti differencebreaking out,. he had the commission os a lientenant-ge nerat under the fame Antony, and was offered the Chies Command in that war, by thos e who were amamed os Cleopatra ; but not daring, ori account of a sudden indisposition with which he was seiZed, ei ther to accepi Ora efuse it, he went over to Augustus, and illed a fe daysafter, not without an asperson Cast upon his memor .FOr Antony openly said, that his changing si des Was Wing to an impatience to be with his mi iresse, Servilia
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piarchaser of liis family in Augi istus's wili: being no Iessi amotis in his youth, for his dexteri ty in chariot-dri ving,
than he was after ards for the triumphat ornaments which he obtained in the German war. But he was aman os great arrogance, prodigali ty, and Cruelty. Whenhe was ri dile, he obliged L. Plancus the Censor to givehim the way ; and in his Praetor smip, and Consulmip, hebrought upon ille stage Roman knighis and married women, to adi in a mimic piece. F1e gave chases of wildbeasts, both in the Circus and in ali the wards of theci ty; as also a slaow of gladiators ; but with lach barbarity, that Augustus, having gi ven him a private repriai and for it, to no pui pose, was obliged to lay a restraint uponhim by proclamation. V. He had by the eliter Antonia the father of Nero, in every part of his life a maia os execrabie Character. In his attendance upon C. Caesar into the east, he killed afreedman of his o via, sor refusing to drin k as much as hecommanded hi m. He was on this account disinissed from Caesar's company, but profited nothing by the dis grace. For in a village iapon the Appian road, he drove his chariot over a poor boy, and crushed him ali to pieces. At Rome, he struck out an eye of a Roman knight in the Forum, Only for sonae free language in a dispute that happened belwixi them. He was likewise so fraudulent that he not only chea ted some bankers of the price of goods heliad hought of them, but, in his Praetorthis, defrauded the furni silers of chariois for the Circensi an games, of thepriges due to them for their victory. His sister interpos-