Historia Augusta: Antoninus Pius

I. 1 Tito Aurelio Fulvo Boionio Antonino Pio paternum genuse Gallia Transalpina, Nemausense scilicet, 2 avus Titus Aurelius Fulvus, qui per honores diversos ad secundum consulatum et praefecturam urbis pervenit, 3 pater Aurelius Fulvus, qui et ipse fuit consul, homo tristis et integer, 4 avia materna Boionia Procilla, mater Arria Fadilla, avus maternus Arrius Antoninus, bis consul, homo sanctus et qui Nervam miseratus esset, quod imperare coepisset, 5 soror uterina Iulia Fadilla, 6 vitricus Iulius Lupus consularis, socer Annius Verus, uxor Annia Faustina, 7 filii mares duo, duae feminae, gener per maiorem filiam Lamia Silvanus, per minorem Marcus Antoninus fuere. 8 Ipse Antoninus Pius natus est XIII. kl. Oct.

1. 1 Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus Pius’s paternal lineage was from Transalpine Gaul, specifically Nemausus; 2 the grandfather was Titus Aurelius Fulvus, who through diverse honors reached a second consulship and the prefecture of the city; 3 the father was Aurelius Fulvus, who himself also was consul, a grim and upright man; 4 the maternal grandmother was Boionia Procilla, the mother Arria Fadilla, the maternal grandfather Arrius Antoninus, twice consul, a holy man and one who pitied Nerva because he had begun to rule; 5 the uterine sister was Julia Fadilla; 6 the stepfather was Julius Lupus, of consular rank; the father-in-law Annius Verus, the wife Annia Faustina; 7 there were two male children, two female; the son-in-law through the elder daughter was Lamia Silvanus, through the younger Marcus Antoninus. 8 Antoninus Pius himself was born on the 13th day before the Kalends of October.

FL. Domitiano XII et Cornelio Dolabella conss. In villa Lanuvina. Educatus Lori in Aurelia, ubi postea palatium extruxit, cuius hodieque reliquiae manent.

Under Flavius Domitian, in his 12th consulship, and Cornelius Dolabella, consuls. In the Lanuvian villa. Brought up at Lorium on the Aurelian Way, where afterward he constructed a palace, of which relics still today remain.

9 Pueritiam egit cum avo paterno, mox cum materno, omnes suos religiose colens, atque adeo et consobrinorum et vitrici et multorum adfinium hereditate ditatus est.

9 He passed his boyhood with his paternal grandfather, soon with his maternal [grandfather], honoring all his kin scrupulously; and indeed he was enriched by the inheritance of his first-cousins, his stepfather, and many affines (relations by marriage).

II. 1 Fuit vir forma conspicuus, ingenio clarus, moribus clemens, nobilis, vultu placidus, ingenio singulari, eloquentiae nitidae, litteraturae praecipuae, sobrius, diligens agri cultor, mitis, largus, alieni abstinens, et omnia haec cum mensura et sine iactantia, 2 in cunctis postremo laudabilis et qui merito Numae Pompilio ex bonorum sententia conparatur. 3 Pius cognominatus est a senatu, vel quod soceri fessiiam aetatem manu praesente senatu levaret ((quod quidem non satis magnae pietatis est argumentum, cum impius sit magis, qui ista non faciat, quam pius qui debitum reddat)) 4 vel quod eos, quos Hadrianus per malam valetudinem occidi iusserat, reservavit, 5 vel quod Hadriano contra omnium studia post mortem infinitos atque inmensos honores decrevit, 6 vel quod, cum se Hadrianus interimere vellet, ingenti custodia et diligentia fecit, ne id posset admittere, 7 vel quod vere natura clementissimus et nihil temporibus suis asperum fecit. 8 Idem fenus trientarium, hoc est minimis usuris exercuit, ut patrimonio suo plurimos adiuvaret.

2. 1 He was a man conspicuous in form, renowned in genius, gentle in character, noble, placid in countenance, of singular genius, of polished eloquence, of outstanding letters, sober, a diligent cultivator of the field, mild, generous, abstaining from what is another’s—and all these things with measure and without vaunting, 2 in all things, finally, praiseworthy, and one who is deservedly compared to Numa Pompilius by the verdict of good men. 3 He was surnamed Pius by the senate, either because he supported with his hand the very weary age of his father-in-law, with the senate present ((which indeed is not proof of very great pietas, since he is rather impious who does not do such things than pious who pays what is owed)), 4 or because he spared those whom Hadrian, on account of ill health, had ordered to be killed, 5 or because, against everyone’s inclinations, he decreed to Hadrian after his death infinite and immense honors, 6 or because, when Hadrian wished to kill himself, by vast guard and diligence he brought it about that he could not be allowed to do so, 7 or because he was truly by nature most clement and did nothing harsh in his times. 8 Likewise he practiced the trientary loan, that is, at the smallest rate of usury, so that he might aid very many with his patrimony.

9 Fuit quaestor liberalis, praetor splendidus, consul cum Catilio Severo. 10 Hic in omni vita sua privata in agris frrequentissime vixit, sed clarus in locis omnibus fuit. 11 Ab Hadriano inter quattuor consulares, quibus Italia committebatur, electus est ad eam partem Italiae regendam, in qua plurimum possidebat, ut Hadrianus viri talis et honori consuleret et quieti.

9 He was a liberal quaestor, a splendid praetor, a consul with Catilius Severus. 10 In all his private life he lived most frequently in the country, but he was renowned in all places. 11 He was chosen by Hadrian among the four consulars, to whom Italy was committed, to govern that part of Italy in which he possessed the most, so that Hadrian might consult both the honor and the quiet of such a man.

III. 1 Huic, cum Italiam regeret, imperii omen est factum. nam cum tribunal ascendisset, inter alias adclamationes dictum est "Auguste, dii te servent". 2 Proconsulatum Asiae sic egit, ut solus avum vinceret.

3. 1 To him, when he was governing Italy, an omen of empire was made. for when he had ascended the tribunal, among other acclamations it was said, "Augustus, may the gods preserve you." 2 He conducted the proconsulate of Asia in such a way that he alone outdid his grandfather.

3 In proconsulatu etiam sic imperii omen accepit : nam cum sacerdos femina Trallis ex more proconsules semper hoc nomine salutaret, non dixit "ave pro consule", sed "ave imperator". 4 Cysici etiam de simulacro dei ad statuam eius corona translata est. 5 Et post consulatum in virdiario taurus marmoreus cornibus ramis arboris adcrescentibus adpensus est, et fulgur caelo sereno sine noxa in eius domum venit, et in Etruria dolia, quae defossa fuerant, supra terram reperta suntet statuas eius in omni Etruria examen apium replevitet somnio saepe monitus est penatibus suis Hadriani simulacrum inserere. 6 Proficiscens ad proconsulatum filiam maiorem amisit.

3 In his proconsulship also thus he received an omen of empire : for when a priestess at Tralles, according to custom, was always greeting proconsuls by this title, she did not say "hail, proconsul", but "hail, Imperator". 4 At Cyzicus also a crown was transferred from the image of a god to his statue. 5 And after the consulship, in the viridarium a marble bull was suspended by its horns upon the branches of a tree as they grew, and lightning in a clear sky, without harm, came into his house, and in Etruria the jars, which had been buried, were foundabove groundand his statues in all Etruria a swarm of bees filledand in a dream he was often warned to insert among his household gods the image of Hadrian. 6 Setting out for the proconsulship he lost his elder daughter.

7 De huius uxore multa dicta sunt ob nimiam libertatem et vivendi facilitatem, quae iste cum animi dolore compressit. 8 Post proconsulatum in consiliis Hadriani Romae frequens dixit de omnibus, quibus Hadrianus consulebat, mitiorem sententiam semper ostendens.

7 About his wife many things were said on account of excessive liberty and facility of living, which he, with sorrow of mind, suppressed. 8 After the proconsulship, in the councils of Hadrian at Rome he was frequently present and spoke on all the matters about which Hadrian consulted, always showing the milder opinion.

IV. 1 Genus sane adoptionis tale fertur : mortuo Aelio Vero, quem sibi Hadrianus adoptaverat et Caesarem nuncupaverat, dies senatus habebatur; 2 eo Arrius Antoninus soceri vestigia levans venit atque idcirco ab Hadriano dicitur adoptatus. 3 Quae causa sola esse adoptionis nec potuit omnino nec debuit, maxime cum et semper rem publicam bene egisset Antoninus et in proconsulatu se sanctum gravemque praebuisset. 4 Ergo cum eum Hadrianus adoptare se velle publicasset, acceptum est spatium deliberandi, utrum adrogari ab Hadriano vellet.

4. 1 The kind of adoption is reported to have been as follows : upon the death of Aelius Verus, whom Hadrian had adopted to himself and had named Caesar, a session of the senate was being held; 2 to it Arrius Antoninus came, treading in his father-in-law’s footsteps, and on that account he is said to have been adopted by Hadrian. 3 But this alone could neither possibly be, nor ought it to have been, the cause of the adoption, especially since Antoninus had always conducted the commonwealth well and in his proconsulship had shown himself upright and grave. 4 Therefore, when Hadrian had made public that he wished to adopt him, a period for deliberation was granted, whether he wished to be adrogated by Hadrian.

5 Adoptionis lex huiusmodi data est, ut quemadmodum Antoninus ab Hadriano adoptabatur, ita sibi ille adoptaret M. Antoninum, fratris uxoris suae filium, et L. Verum, Aelii Veri, qui ab Hadriano adoptatus fuerat, filium, qui postea Verus Antoninus est dictus. 6 Adoptatus est V. kl. Mart. die in senatu gratias agens, quodde se ita sensisset Hadrianus.

5 The law of adoption was given of this sort: that just as Antoninus was being adopted by Hadrian, so he in turn should adopt for himself Marcus Antoninus, the son of his wife’s brother, and Lucius Verus, the son of Aelius Verus, who had been adopted by Hadrian, who afterwards was called Verus Antoninus. 6 He was adopted on the 5th day before the Kalends of March, giving thanks in the senate because Hadrian had thought thus concerning him.

7 Factusque est patri et in imperio proconsulari et in tribunicia potestate collega. 8 Huius primum hoc fertur, quod, cum ab uxore argueretur quasi parum nescio quid suis largiens, dixerit : "stulta, posteaquam ad imperium transivimus, et illud, quod habuimus ante, perdidimus." 9 Congiarium militibus populo de proprio dedit et ea, quae pater promiserat. 10 Et ad opera Hadriani plurimum contulit et aurum coronarium, quod adoptionis suae causa oblatum fuerat, Italicis totum, medium provincialibus reddidit.

7 And he was made a colleague to his father both in proconsular imperium and in tribunician power. 8 The first thing told of him is this: that, when he was being accused by his wife as if he were giving too little I know not what to his own, he said : "foolish woman, after we passed over to the imperium, even that which we had before, we lost." 9 He gave a congiary to the soldiers and the people from his own resources, and the things which his father had promised. 10 And he contributed very much to the works of Hadrian, and the crown-gold, which had been offered on account of his adoption, he returned whole to the Italians, and half to the provincials.

V. 1 Et patri, cum advixerit, religiosissime paruit. Sed Hadriano apud Baias mortuo reliquias eius Romam pervexit sancte ac reverenter atque in hortis Domitiae conlocavit, etiam repugnantibus cunctis inter divos eum rettulit. 2 Uxorem Faustinam Augustam appellari a senatu permisit.

5. 1 And to his father, while he still lived, he obeyed most religiously. But when Hadrian had died at Baiae, he conveyed his relics to Rome in a sacred and reverent manner and placed them in the Gardens of Domitia, and, even with all opposing, he enrolled him among the divi. 2 He permitted his wife Faustina to be called Augusta by the senate.

Pii appellationem recepit. Patri et matri atque avis et fratribus iam mortuis statuas decretas libenter accepit. Circenses natalisuo dicatos non respuit aliis honoribus refutatis.

He received the appellation “Pious.” He gladly accepted the statues decreed for his father and mother and grandparents and brothers already dead. The Circensian games dedicated to his birthday he did not spurn, with other honors refused.

Clipeum Hadriano magnificentissimum posuit et sacerdotes instituit. 3 Factus imperator nulli eorum, quos Hadrianus provexerat, successorem dedit fuitque ea constantia, ut septenis et novenis annis in provinciis bonos praesides detineret. 4 Per legatos suos plurima bella gessit.

He set up a most magnificent shield for Hadrian and instituted priests. 3 Having become emperor, he gave no successor to any of those whom Hadrian had advanced, and he was of such constancy that he kept good governors in the provinces for seven and even nine years. 4 Through his legates he waged very many wars.

nam et Brittanos per Lollium Urbicum vicit legatum alio muro cespiticio summotis barbaris ducto et Mauros ad pacem postulandam coegit et Germanos et Dacos et multas gentes atque Iudaeos rebellantes contudit per praesides ac legatos. 5 In Achaia etiam atque <apud> Aegyptum rebelliones repressit. Alanos molientis saepe refrenavit.

for he also conquered the Britons through Lollius Urbicus, his legate, with another turf wall constructed, the barbarians having been driven back; and he compelled the Moors to petition for peace, and he crushed the Germans and the Dacians and many peoples and the Jews rebelling, through governors and legates. 5 In Achaia also and <apud> Egypt he suppressed rebellions. He often reined in the Alans in their attempts.

VI. 1 Procuratores suos et modeste suscipere tributa iussit et excedentes modum rationem factorum suorum reddere praecepit nec umquam ullo laetus est lucro, quo provincialis oppressus est. 2 Contra procuratores suos conquerentes libenter audivit. 3 His, quos Hadrianus damnaverat, in senatu indulgentias petit dicens etiam ipsum Hadrianum hoc fuisse facturum.

6. 1 He ordered his procurators both to collect the tributes modestly and, if they exceeded the measure, to render an account of their deeds; nor was he ever glad at any profit by which a provincial was oppressed. 2 He gladly listened to those complaining against his procurators. 3 For those whom Hadrian had condemned, he sought indulgences in the senate, saying that Hadrian himself would also have done this.

4 Imperatorium fastigium ad summam civilitatem deduxit ; unde plus crevit recusantibus aulicis ministris, qui illo nihil per internuntios agente nec terrere poterant homines aliquando nec ea, quae occulta non erant, vendere. 5 Senatui tantum detulit imperator, quantum, cum privatus esset, deferri sibi ab alio principe optavit. 6 Patris patriae nomen delatum a senatu, quod primo distulerat, cum ingenti gratiarum actione suscepit.

4 He brought the imperial eminence down to the highest civility ; whence he grew the more, with the courtly ministers demurring, who, since he did nothing through inter-nuncios, could neither at times terrify men nor vend the things that were not occult. 5 The emperor deferred to the Senate as much as, when he was a private man, he had wished to be deferred to himself by another princeps. 6 The name Father of the Fatherland, offered by the Senate, which at first he had deferred, he received with immense thanksgiving.

7 Tertio anno imperii sui Faustinam uxorem perdidit, quae a senatu consecrata est delatis circensibus atque templo et flaminicis et statuis aureis atque argenteis, cum etiam ipse hoc concesserit, ut imago eius cunctis circensibus poneretur. 8 Statuam auream delatam a senatu positam suscepit. 9 M. Antoninum quaestorem consulem petente senatu creavit.

7 In the third year of his imperium he lost his wife Faustina, who was consecrated by the senate, with circus games decreed and a temple and flaminicae and golden and silver statues granted, since he himself also permitted this: that her image be set up at all the circus games. 8 He accepted the golden statue, decreed by the senate, when it had been set up. 9 He made M. Antoninus, a quaestor, consul at the senate’s request.

10 Annium Verum, qui postea dictus est Antoninus, ante tempus quaestorem designavit. 11 Neque de provinciis neque de ullis actibus quicquam constituit, nisi quod prius ad amicos rettulit, atque ex eorum sententia formas composuit. 12 Visus est sane ab amicis et cum privatis vestibus et domestica quaedam gerens.

10 He designated Annius Verus, who afterward was called Antoninus, quaestor before the time.
11 And he constituted nothing about the provinces nor about any acts, except what he had first referred to his friends, and according to their opinion he composed the forms.
12 He was indeed seen by his friends both in private garments and attending to certain domestic matters.

VII. 1 Tanta sane diligentia subiectos sibi populos rexit, ut omniaet omnes, quasi sua essent, curaret. Provinciae sub eo cunctae floruerunt.

7. 1 With such great diligence he ruled the peoples subject to him, that he cared for all things and everyone as if they were his own. All the provinces flourished under him.

2 Quadruplatores extincti sunt. 3 Publicatio bonorum rarior quam umquam fuit, ita ut unus tantum proscriberetur affectatae tyrannidis reus, hoc est Atilius Titianus, senatu puniente, a quo conscios requiri vetuit, filio eius ad omnia semper adiuto. 4 Perit et Priscianus reus affectatae tyrannidis, sed morte voluntaria.

2 The quadruplators were done away with. 3 The publication of goods was rarer than ever, such that only one man was proscribed as a defendant of attempted tyranny—that is, Atilius Titianus—the senate inflicting the punishment; he forbade that accomplices be sought, his son being always assisted in everything. 4 Priscianus also perished, a defendant of attempted tyranny, but by a voluntary death.

de qua coniuratione quaeri vetuit. 5 Victus Antonini Pii talis fuit, ut esset opulentia sine reprehensione, parsimonia sine sordibus, et mensa eius per proprios servos, proprios aucupes, piscatores ac venatores instrueretur. 6 Balneum, quo usus fuisset, sine mercede populo exhibuit nec omnino quicquam de vitae privatae qualitate mutavit.

about which conspiracy he forbade that inquiry be made. 5 The manner of living of Antoninus Pius was such that there was opulence without reprehension, parsimony without sordidness, and his table was furnished by his own servants—his own fowlers, fishermen, and hunters. 6 The bath which he had used he exhibited to the people without fee, and he did not in any way change anything of the quality of private life.

7 Salaria multis subtraxit, quos otiosos videbat accipere, dicens nihil esse sordidius, immo crudelius, quam si rem p. is adroderet, qui nihil in eam suo labore conferret. 8 Unde etiam Mesomedi lyrico salarium inminuit. rationes omnium provinciarum adprime scivit et vectigalium.

7 He subtracted salaries from many, whom he saw receiving them while idle, saying that nothing was more sordid, nay rather more cruel, than that the commonwealth should be gnawed at by one who contributed nothing to it by his own labor. 8 Whence he even diminished the salary of Mesomedes the lyricist. He knew the accounts of all the provinces and of the revenues most thoroughly.

9 Patrimonium privatum in filiam contulit, sed fructus reipublicae donavit. 10 Species imperatorias superfluas et praedia vendidit et in suis propriis fundis vixit varie ac pro temporibus. 11 Nec ullas expeditiones obiit, nisi quod ad agros suos profectusest et ad Campaniam dicens gravem esse provincialibus comitatum principis, etiam nimis parci.

9 He conferred his private patrimony upon his daughter, but he donated the fruits to the Republic. 10 He sold superfluous imperial furnishings and estates, and he lived on his own proper farms variously and according to the times. 11 Nor did he undertake any expeditions, except that he set out to his fields and to Campania, saying that the escort of the emperor was burdensome to provincials, even that of one excessively sparing.

12 Et tamen ingenti auctoritate apud omnes gentes fuit, cum in urbe propterea sederet, ut undique nuntios, medius utpote, citius posset accipere.

12 And yet he was of immense authority among all nations, since he sat in the city for that very reason, so that, as being in the middle, he could receive dispatches from every quarter more quickly.

VIII. 1 Congiarium populo dedit, militibus donativum addidit. Puellas alimentarias in honorem Faustinae Faustinianas constituit.

8. 1 He gave a congiary to the people, he added a donative to the soldiers. He constituted alimentary girls in honor of Faustina, as “Faustinianae.”

2 Opera eius haec extant : Romae templum Hadriani honori patris dicatum, Graecostadium post incendium restitutum, instauratum amphitheatrum, sepulchrum Hadriani, templum Agrippae, pons Sublicius; 3 Fari restitutio, Caietae portus, Terracinensis portus restitutio, lavacrum Ostiense, Antiatium aquae ductus, templa Lanuviana. 4 Multas etiam civitates adiuvit pecunia, ut opera vel nova facerent vel vetera restituerent, ita ut et magistratus adiuvaret et senatores urbis ad functiones suas. 5 Hereditates eorum, qui filios habebant, repudiavit.

2 His works that are extant are these : at Rome, a temple dedicated to Hadrian in honor of his father, the Graecostadium restored after a fire, the amphitheater renewed, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the Temple of Agrippa, the Sublician Bridge; 3 the restoration of the Pharos, the harbor at Caieta (Gaeta), the restoration of the harbor of Terracina, a bath at Ostia, the aqueduct of the Antiates, temples at Lanuvium. 4 He also helped many cities with money, so that they might either make new works or restore old ones, in such a way that he aided both the magistrates and the senators of the City for their functions. 5 He repudiated the inheritances of those who had sons.

primus constituit, ne poena causa legatum relictum maneret. 6 Successorem viventi bono iudici nulli dedit nisi Orfito praefecto urbi, sed petenti. 7 Nam Gavius Maximus praefectus praetorii usque ad vicensimum annum sub eo pervenit, vir severissimus, cui Tatius Maximus successit.

he first established that a legacy left as a penalty should not stand. 6 He gave a successor to no good judge while he was still living, except to Orfitus, the Prefect of the City, but at his own request. 7 For Gavius Maximus, Praetorian Prefect, under him reached up to the twentieth year—a most severe man—to whom Tatius Maximus succeeded.

8 In cuius demortui locum duos praefectos substituit Fabium Repentinum et Cornelium Victorinum. 9 Sed Repentinus <fabula> famosa percussus est, quod per concubinam principis ad praefecturam venisset. 10 Usque adeo sub eo nullus percussus est senator, ut etiam parricida confessus in insula deserta poneretur, quia vivere illi naturae legibus non licebat.

8 In the place of the deceased he substituted two prefects, Fabius Repentinus and Cornelius Victorinus. 9 But Repentinus was struck by a notorious <rumor>, that he had come to the prefecture through the emperor’s concubine. 10 To such an extent under him no senator was executed, that even a parricide who had confessed was placed on a deserted island, because by the laws of nature it was not permitted for him to live.

11 Vini, olei et tritici penuriam per aerarii sui damna emendo et gratis populo dando sedavit.

11 He alleviated the scarcity of wine, oil, and wheat by purchasing at a loss to his own treasury and by giving it free to the people.

IX. 1. Adversa eius temporibus haec provenerunt : fames, de qua diximus, circi ruina, terrae motus, quo Rhodiorum et Asiae oppida conciderunt, quae omnia mirifice instauravit, et Romae incendium, quod trecentas quadraginta insulas vel domos absumpsit. 2 Et Narbonensis civitas et Antiochense oppidum et Carthaginense forum arsit. 3 Fuit et inundatio Tiberis, apparuit et stella crinita, natus estet biceps puer, et uno partu mulieris quinque pueri editi sunt.

CHAPTER 9. 1. Adverse things in his times came to pass : a famine, about which we have spoken, the ruin of the circus, an earthquake, by which the towns of the Rhodians and of Asia collapsed, all of which he marvelously restored, and a conflagration at Rome, which consumed 340 blocks or houses. 2 And the city of Narbonensis and the town of Antioch and the forum of Carthage burned. 3 There was also an inundation of the Tiber, and a hairy star (comet) appeared, and a two-headed boy was born, and in one childbirth of a woman five boys were brought forth.

4 Visus est in Arabiam iubatus anguis maior solitis, qui se acauda medium comedit. Lues etiam in Arabia fuit. Hordeum in Moesia in culminibus arborum natum est.

4 A maned serpent, larger than usual, was seen in Arabia, which ate itself from the tail as far as the middle. There was also a pestilence in Arabia. In Moesia, barley grew on the tops of trees.

5 Quattuor praeterea leones mansueti sponte se capiendos in Arabia praeberunt. 6 Pharasmanes rex ad eum Romam venit plusque illi quam Hadriano detulit. Pacorum regem Lazis dedit.

5 Furthermore, four tame lions of their own accord offered themselves to be captured in Arabia. 6 King Pharasmanes came to him in Rome and showed more deference to him than to Hadrian. He gave Pacorus as king to the Lazi.

Parthorum regem ab Armeniorum expugnatione solis litteris reppulit. Abgarum regem ex orientis partibus sola auctoritate deduxit. 7 Causas regales terminavit.

He drove back the king of the Parthians from the assault upon the Armenians by letters alone. He led King Abgar from the regions of the East by authority alone. 7 He determined royal causes.

Sellam regiam Parthorum regi repetenti quam Traianus ceperat, pernegavit. 8 Rhoemetalcen in regnum Bosforanum audito inter ipsum et Eupatorem negotio remisit. 9 Olbiopolitis contra Tauroscythas in Pontum auxilia misit et Tauroscythas usque addandos Olbiopolitis obsides vicit.

He utterly refused to the king of the Parthians, when he was reclaiming the royal throne which Trajan had taken. 8 He restored Rhoemetalces to the Bosporan kingdom, after the matter between him and Eupator had been heard. 9 To the Olbiopolites he sent auxiliaries into Pontus against the Tauro-Scythians, and he defeated the Tauro-Scythians even to the giving of hostages to the Olbiopolites.

10 Tantum sane auctoritatis apud exteras gentes nemo habuit, cum semper amaverit pacem, eo usque ut Scipionis sententiam frequentarit, qua ille dicebat malle se unum civem servare quam mille hostes occidere.

10 Indeed, no one had so much authority among foreign nations, since he always loved peace, to such an extent that he frequently appealed to Scipio’s opinion, wherein that man used to say that he preferred to preserve one citizen rather than to kill a thousand enemies.

X. 1 Mensem Septembrem atque Octobrem Antoninum atque Faustinum appellandos decrevit senatus, sed id Antoninus respuit. 2 Nuptias filiae suae Faustinae, cum Marco Antonino eam coniungeret, usque ad donativum militum celeberrimas fecit. 3 Verum Antoninum post quaesturam consulem fecit.

CHAPTER 10. 1 The senate decreed that the months September and October be called Antoninus and Faustinus, but Antoninus spurned it. 2 He made the nuptials of his daughter Faustina, when he joined her to Marcus Antoninus, most celebrated, even to a donative for the soldiers. 3 Indeed he made Antoninus consul after the quaestorship.

4 Cum Apollonium, quem e Calchide acciverat, ad Tiberianam domum, in qua habitabat, vocasset, ut ei Marcum Antoninum traderet, atque ille dixisset "non magister ad discipulum debet venire, sed discipulus ad magistrum", risit eum dicens : "facilius fuit Apollonio a Calchide Romam venire quam a domo sua in palatium." cuius avaritiam etiam in mercedibus notavit. 5 Inter argumenta pietatis eius et hoc habetur, quod, cum Marcus mortuum educatorem suum fleret vocareturque ab aulicis ministris ab ostentatione pietatis, ipse dixerit : "permittite", inquit, "illi, ut homo sit. Neque enim vel philosophia vel imperium tollit affectus." 6 Praefectos suos et locupletavit et ornamentis consularibus donavit.

4 When he had summoned Apollonius, whom he had called from Chalcis, to the Tiberian house, in which he was living, so that he might entrust Marcus Antoninus to him, and when the latter had said, "the master ought not to come to the disciple, but the disciple to the master," he laughed at him, saying : "it was easier for Apollonius to come from Chalcis to Rome than from his own house to the palace." He also noted his greed even in his fees. 5 Among the proofs of his pietas this too is held, that, when Marcus was weeping for his dead tutor and was being called away by the courtly attendants from the ostentation of pietas, he himself said : "allow him," he said, "to be a man. For neither philosophy nor imperium removes affections." 6 He both enriched his prefects and endowed them with consular ornaments.

7 Si quos repetundarum damnavit, eorum liberis bona paterna restituit, ea tamen lege, ut illi provincialibus redderent, quod parentes acceperant. 8 Ad indulgentias pronissimus fuit. 9 Edita munera, in quibus elephantos et corocottas et tigrides et rhinocero(n)tes, crocodillos etiam atque hippopotamos et omnia ex toto orbe terrarum cum tigridibus exhibuit.

7 If he condemned any for extortions, he restored the paternal goods to their children, yet on this condition, that they should return to the provincials what their parents had received. 8 He was most ready toward indulgences. 9 He put on shows, in which he exhibited elephants and crocottas and tigers and rhinoceroses, crocodiles too and hippopotami, and everything from the whole orb of lands together with tigers.

centum etiam leones una missione edidit.

he also exhibited one hundred lions in a single release.

XI. 1. Amicis suis in imperio suo non aliter usus est quam privatus, quia et ipsi numquam de eo cum libertis per fumum aliquid vendiderunt ; si quidem libertis suis severissime usus est. 2 Amavit histrionum artes. Piscando se et venando multum oblectavit et deambulatione cum amicis atque sermone.

11. 1. He dealt with his friends in his reign no otherwise than as a private man, because they themselves never, with the freedmen, vended anything about him through smoke ; since indeed he used his own freedmen most severely. 2 He loved the histrionic arts. By fishing and hunting he greatly amused himself, and by deambulation with friends and by discourse.

Vindemias privati modo cum amicis agebat. 3 Rhetoribus et philosophis per omnes provincias et honores et salaria detulit. Orationes plerique alienas esse dixerunt, quae sub eius nomine feruntur; Marius Maximus eius proprias fuisse dicit.

He used to conduct the vintages in the manner of a private man with friends. 3 He conferred both honors and salaries upon rhetors and philosophers throughout all the provinces. Very many said that the orations which are circulated under his name are alien; Marius Maximus says they were his own.

4 Convivia cum amicis et privata communicavit et publica 5 nec ullum sacrificium per vicarium fecit, nisi cum aeger fuit. 6 Cum sibi et filiis honores peteret, omnia quasi privatus fecit. 7 Frequentavit et ipse amicorum suorum convivia.

4 He shared banquets with friends, both private and public. 5 Nor did he perform any sacrifice through a vicar, except when he was ill. 6 When he sought honors for himself and his sons, he did everything as if a private citizen. 7 He himself also frequented the banquets of his friends.

8 Inter alia etiam hoc civilitatis eius praecipuum argumentum est, quod, cum domum Homulli visens miransque columnas porphyreticas requisset, unde eas haberet, atque Homullus ei dixisset : "cum in domum alienam veneris, et mutus et surdus esto", patienter tulit. Cuius Homulli multa ioca semper patienter accepit.

8 Among other things, this too is a chief proof of his civility, that, when visiting the house of Homullus and, admiring the porphyry columns, he asked whence he had them, and Homullus said to him : "when you come into another man’s house, be both mute and deaf", he bore it patiently. Many jokes of that Homullus he always patiently accepted.

XII. 1 Multa de iure sanxit ususque est iuris peritis Vindio Vero, Salvio, Valente, Volusio Maeciano, Ulpio Marcello et Diaboleno. 2 Seditiones ubicumque factas non crudelitate sed modestia et gravitate compressit.

12. 1 He enacted many things concerning law and made use of legal experts Vindius Verus, Salvius, Valens, Volusius Maecianus, Ulpius Marcellus, and Diabolenus. 2 Seditions, wherever they occurred, he suppressed not by cruelty but by moderation and gravity.

3 Intra urbes sepeliri mortuos vetuit. Sumptum muneribus gladiatoriis instituit. Vehicularium cursum summa diligentia sublevavit.

3 He forbade the dead to be buried within cities. He instituted expenditure for gladiatorial munera. He, with the utmost diligence, relieved the vehicular cursus.

Omnium, qua gessit, et in senatu et per edicta rationem reddidit. 4 Perit anno septuagesimo, sed quasi adulescens desideratus est. Mors autem eius talis fuisse narratur : cum Alpinum caseum incena edisset avidius, nocte reiectavit atque alia die febre commotus est.

Of all the things which he did, both in the Senate and through edicts he rendered an account. 4 He perished in the seventieth year, but was desired as though an adolescent. His death, moreover, is related to have been of this sort : when he had eaten Alpine cheese at dinner too greedily, in the night he threw it back up and on the next day was disturbed by a fever.

5 Tertia die, cum se gravari videret, Marco Antonino rem publicam et filiam praesentibus praefectis commendavit Fortunamque auream, quae in cubiculo principum poni solebat, tansferri ad eum iussit, 6 signum tum tribuno aequanimitatis dedit atque ita conversus quasi dormiret, spiritum reddidit apud Lorium. 7 Alienatus in febri nihil aliud quam de re p. et de his regibus, quibus irascebatur, loquutus est. 8 Privatum patrimonium filiae reliquit.

5 On the third day, when he saw himself growing worse, he commended the republic and his daughter to Marcus Antoninus, with the prefects present, and he ordered that the Golden Fortune, which used to be placed in the bedchamber of the emperors, be transferred to him, 6 then he gave to the tribune the watchword, “Equanimity,” and thus, turning as if he were going to sleep, he gave up the spirit at Lorium. 7 Out of his mind in fever he spoke of nothing else than about the republic and about those kings toward whom he was angry. 8 He left his private patrimony to his daughter.

Testamento autem omnes suos legatis idoneis prosecutus est.

Moreover, by his testament he provided for all his own with suitable legacies.

XIII. 1 Fuit statura elevata decorus. Sed cum esset longus et senex incurvareturque, tiliaciis tabulis in pectore positis fasciabatur, ut rectus incederet.

13. 1 He was comely in elevated stature. But since he was tall and, as an old man, became bent, he was bound with linden-wood boards placed on his chest, so that he might proceed upright.

2 Senex etiam, antequam salutatores venirent, panem siccum comedit ad sustentandas vires. Fuit voce rauca et sonoracum iocundidate. 3 A senatu divus est appellatus cunctis certatim adnitentibus, cum omnes eius pietatem, clementiam, ingenium, sanctimoniam laudarent.

2 Even as an old man, before the salutators came, he ate dry bread to sustain his strength. He had a hoarse and sonorous voice with pleasantness. 3 He was declared divine by the senate, with all vying in their efforts, as all praised his piety, clemency, genius, and sanctity.

Decreti etiam sunt omnes honores, qui optimis principibus ante delati sunt. 4 Meruit et flaminem et circenses et templum et sodales Antoninianos solusque omnium prope principum prorsus [sine] civili sanguine et hostili, quantum ad se ipsum pertinet, vixit et qui rite comparetur Numae, cuius felicitatem pietatemque et securitatem cerimoniasque semper obtinuit.

There were also decreed all the honors which had previously been conferred upon the best emperors. 4 He merited both a flamen and circus-games and a temple and the Antoninian sodales, and he alone of almost all emperors lived altogether [without] civil and hostile blood, so far as pertains to himself; and he is one who may rightly be compared to Numa, whose felicity and piety and security and ceremonies he always maintained.