Historia Augusta: Diadumenus

I. 1 Antonini Diadumeni pueri, quem cum patre Opilio Macrino imperatorem dixit exercitus occiso Bassiano factione Macriniana, nihil habet vita memorabile, nisi quod Antoninus est dictus et quod ei stupenda omina sunt facta imperii non diutini, ut evenit. 2 Nam cum primum innotuit per legiones occisum esse Bassianum, ingens maeror obsedit omnium pectora, quod Antoninum in re p. non haberent, existimantium, quod cum eo Romanum esset imperium periturum. 3 Id ubi Macrino iam imperatori nuntiatum est, veritus, ne in aliquem Antoninorum, qui multi ex affinibus Antonini Pii erant inter duces, exercitus inclinaret, statim contionem parari iussit filiumque suum tunc puerum Antoninum appellavit.

1. 1 The life of Antoninus Diadumenus, a boy, whom the army, after Bassianus had been slain by the Macrinian faction, proclaimed emperor together with his father Opilius Macrinus, has nothing memorable, except that he was called Antoninus and that there were astonishing omens made for him of an empire not long-lasting, as it turned out. 2 For when first it became known through the legions that Bassianus had been killed, a vast grief seized the hearts of all, because they would not have an Antoninus in the commonwealth, thinking that along with him the Roman imperium would be about to perish. 3 When this was reported to Macrinus, now emperor, fearing lest the army might incline toward some one of the Antonini—many of whom, among the commanders, were of the affines of Antoninus Pius—he at once ordered an assembly to be prepared and called his son, then a boy, “Antoninus.”

4 Contio : "Videtis, commilitones, et me aetatis iam provectae et Diamenum puerum, quem diu principem, si di faveant, habebitis. 5 Intellego praeterea desiderium ingens Antoniani nominis apud vos manere, quare, quoniam mihi per conditionem fragilitatis humanae non multum superesse videtur ad vitam, hunc puerum Antoninum vobis auctoribus nuncupo diu vobis Antoninum repraesentaturum." Adclamatum : 6 "Macrine imperator, di te servent. Antonine Diadumene, di te servent.

4 Assembly : "You see, fellow-soldiers, both me, of age now advanced, and the boy Diadumenus, whom you will have as emperor for a long time, if the gods favor. 5 Moreover I understand that an immense desire for the Antonine name remains among you; wherefore, since by the condition of human fragility it seems that not much of life remains to me, I, with you as sponsors, name this boy ‘Antoninus,’ as one who will for a long time re-present to you an Antoninus." It was acclaimed : 6 "Emperor Macrinus, may the gods preserve you. Antoninus Diadumenus, may the gods preserve you.

Antoninum diu vivum omnes rogamus. 7 Iuppiter optime maxime, Macrino et Antonino vitam. tu scis, Iuppiter, Macrinus vinci non potest.

We all beg that Antoninus live long. 7 Jupiter Best and Greatest, life to Macrinus and Antoninus. You know, Jupiter, Macrinus cannot be conquered.

tu scis, Iuppiter, Antoninus vinci non potest. 8 Antoninum habemus, omnia habemus. Antoninum nobis di dederunt.

you know, Jupiter, Antoninus cannot be conquered. 8 We have Antoninus, we have everything. The gods have given Antoninus to us.

Puer Antoninus dignus imperio.

The boy Antoninus is worthy of the imperium.

II. 1 "Macrinus imperator dixit : "Habete igitur, commilitones, pro imperio aureos ternos, pro Antonini nomine aureos quinos et solitas promotiones sed geminatas. Di facient, ut haec saepius fiant. Dabimus autem per cuncta quiquennia hoc, quod hodie putavimus." 2 Post hoc ipse puerulus Diadumenus Antoninus imperator dixit : "Gratias vobis, commilitiones, quod me et imperio donastis et nomine, siquidem dignos et me et patrem meum duxistis, quos imperatores Romanos diceretis et quibus committeretis rem p. 3 Et pater quidem meus curabit, ne desit imperio, ego autem elaborabo, ne desim nomini Antoninorum.

2. 1 "Emperor Macrinus said : "Have, then, fellow-soldiers, three aurei for the imperium, five aurei for the name of Antoninus, and the customary promotions, but doubled. The gods will bring it about that these things happen more often. Moreover, at every quinquennium we shall give this which we have determined today." 2 After this, the little boy Diadumenus Antoninus the emperor said : "Thanks to you, fellow-soldiers, because you have endowed me both with the imperium and with the name, since you judged both me and my father worthy—men whom you would call Roman emperors and to whom you would entrust the commonwealth. 3 And my father indeed will take care that nothing is lacking to the imperium, but I on the other hand will strive that I not be lacking to the name of the Antonini.

Scio enim me Pii, me Marci, me Veri suscepisse nomen, quibus satis facere perdifficile est. 4 Interim tamen causa imperii, causa nominis id omne quod pater et tantundem promitto honoribus, ut et venerandus Macrinus pater praesens promisit, duplicatis. 5 "Herodianus Gracus scriptor haec praeteriens Diadumenum tantum Caesarem dicit puerum a militibus nuncupatum et cum patre occisum.

I know, indeed, that I have assumed the name of Pius, of Marcus, of Verus, to satisfy whom is most difficult. 4 Meanwhile, however, for the sake of the imperium, for the sake of the name, I promise in honors all that my father [promised] and as much again, with them doubled, as also the venerable father Macrinus here present promised. 5 "Herodian, the Greek writer, passing over these things, says that Diadumenus was only called Caesar, a boy styled so by the soldiers, and was slain with his father.

6 Hac habita contione statim apud Antiochiam moneta Antonini Diadumeni nomine percussa est, Macrini usque ad iussum senatus dilata est. 7 Missae etiam ad senatum litterae, quibus nomen Antonini indicatum est. Quare etiam senatus imperium id libenter dicitur recepisse, quamvis alii Antonini Caracalli odio id factum putent.

6 After this address had been held, at once at Antioch coinage was struck in the name of Antoninus Diadumenus, while that of Macrinus was deferred until the Senate’s mandate. 7 Letters were also sent to the Senate, in which the name Antoninus was made known. For which reason the Senate too is said to have gladly received that imperium, although others think this was done out of hatred for Antoninus Caracalla.

8 Paraverat sane paenulas populo coloris russei dare Macrinus imperator in honorem Antonini filii sui, quae vocarentur Antoninianae, ut caracallae Bassiani dictae sunt, adserens melius filium suum Paenuleum vel Paenularium dicendum, quam Caracallus esset dictus Bassianus. 9 Congiarium etiam per edictum Antonianum promisit, ut ipsum edictum poterit indicare. 10 Verba edicti : "Vellem, Quirites, iam praesentes essemus : Antoninus vester vobis congiarium sui nominis daret.

8 Macrinus the emperor had indeed prepared to give paenulae to the people of a russet color in honor of Antoninus his son, which would be called Antoninianae, as the caracallae of Bassianus were called, asserting that it were better that his son be called “Paenulean” or “Paenularian” than that Bassianus should have been called Caracallus. 9 He also promised a congiary by an Antoninian edict, as the edict itself can indicate. 10 The words of the edict : “I would wish, Quirites, that we were already present: your Antoninus would give you a congiary of his own name.”

Incideret praeterea et pueros Antoninianos et puellas Antoninianas, quae tam grati nominis gloriam propagarent." Et reliqua.

"He would moreover enroll both Antoninian boys and Antoninian girls, who would propagate the glory of so pleasing a name." And the rest.

III. 1 His ita gestis signa in castris et vexilla fieri Antoniniana iussit fecitque Bassiani simulacra ex auro atque argento atque dies septem supplicatio pro Antonini nomine celebrata est. 2 Puer fuit omnium speciosissimus, statura longiuscula, crine flavo, nigris oculis, naso deducto, ad omnem decorem mento composito, ore ad oscula parato, fortis nuturaliter, exercitio delicatior.

III. 1 With these things thus done, he ordered that the standards in the camp and the vexilla be made Antoninian, and he made simulacra of Bassianus out of gold and silver, and for seven days a supplication for the name of Antoninus was celebrated. 2 The boy was the most beautiful of all, of somewhat tall stature, with blond hair, dark eyes, a long-drawn nose, with a chin composed for every decorum, a mouth prepared for kisses, strong by nature, more delicate in exercise.

3 Hic ubi primum indumenta coccea et purpurea ceteraqua castrensia imperii insignia accepit, quasi sidereus et caelestis emicuit, ut amaretur ab omnibus gratia venustatis. 4 Haec sunt quae de puero sint dicenda. nunc veniamus ad omina imperii, quae cum in aliis tum in hoc praecipue sunt stupenda.

3 When he first received the scarlet garments and the purple, and the other camp insignia of the imperium, he flashed forth as if sidereal and celestial, so that he was loved by all for the grace of his comeliness. 4 These are the things which are to be said about the boy. now let us come to the omens of the imperium, which, as in others, so especially in this one, are stupendous.

IV. 1 Die, qua natus est, pater eius purpuras, tunc forte procurator aerarii maioris, inspexit et quas claras probavit, in id conclave reduci praecepit, in quo post duas horas Diadumenus natus est. 2 Solent deinde pueri pilleo insigniri naturali, quod obstetrices rapiunt et advocatis credulis vendunt, si quidem causidici hoc iuvari dicantur. 3 At iste puer pilleum non habuit sed diadema tenue, sed ita forte ut rumpi non potuerit, nervis intercedentibus specie nervi sagittari.

4. 1 On the day on which he was born, his father—then by chance procurator of the greater treasury—inspected the purple garments, and those which he approved as bright he ordered to be brought back into that chamber in which, after two hours, Diadumenus was born. 2 Then boys are wont to be marked with a natural cap (the caul), which the midwives snatch and sell to credulous advocates, since pleaders at law are said to be helped by this. 3 But this boy did not have a cap but a thin diadem, yet so strong that it could not be broken, with cords intervening in the likeness of an archer’s string.

4 Ferunt denique Diadematum puerum appellatum, sed ubi adolevit, avisui nomine materni Diadumenum vocatum, quamvis non multum abhorruerit ab illo signo Diademati nomen Diadumeni. 5 In agro patris eius oves purpureas duodecim ferunt natas, quarum una tantum varia fuerit. 6 Eadem die, qua hic natus est, aquilam ei constat sensim palumbum regium parvulum attulisse et posuisse in cunis dormienti ac recessisse sine noxa.

4 They say finally that the boy was called “the Diademed” (Diadematus), but when he grew up, by the name of his own maternal grandfather he was called Diadumenus, although the name Diadumenus did not differ much from that sign of the diadem, Diadematus. 5 In his father’s field they report that twelve purple sheep were born, of which only one was variegated. 6 On the same day on which he was born, it is established that an eagle gently brought him a small royal wood-pigeon and set it in the cradle as he slept, and withdrew without harm.

Pantagathi in domo patris eius nidum posuerunt.

Pantagathi built a nest in his father’s house.

V. 1 His diebus, quibus ille natus est, mathematici accepta genitura eius exclamaverunt et ipsum filium imperatoris esse et imperatorem, quasi mater eius adulterata esset, quod fama retinebat. 2 Huic eidem aquila pilleum in agro ambulanti tulit et, cum comitum infantis clamor esset factus, fertur in monumento regio, quod iuxta villam esset, in qua tunc pater agebat, supra statuam regis posuisse ita ut capiti eius aptaret. 3 Quod multi ominosum putarunt et morti adcommodum, clarum autem eventus ostendit.

5. 1 In those very days in which he was born, the mathematicians, his geniture (nativity) having been received, exclaimed that he himself was both the son of an emperor and an emperor, as if his mother had committed adultery, which rumor maintained. 2 To this same one an eagle brought a cap (pileus) while he was walking in the field, and when a shout of the child’s companions had been raised, it is said to have placed it on the royal monument, which was next to the villa in which his father was then staying, upon the statue of the king, in such a way that it fitted its head. 3 Which many thought ominous and suitable to death, but the outcome showed it clearly.

4 Natus est praeterea natali Antonini et ea hora et signis prope concinentibus, quibus et Antoninus Pius; quare dixerunt mathematici et imperatoris illum filium futurum et imperatorem, sed non diu. 5 Die, qua natus est, quod Antonini esset natalis, mulier quaedam propinqua dicitur exclamasse "Antoninus vocetur", sed Macrinus timuisse, quod nullus ex eius genere hoc nomine censeretur, et abstinuisse nomine imperatorio, simul quod iam rumor de vi geniturae illius emanasset. 6 Haec atque alia omina fuisse multi in litteras rettulerunt, sed illud praecipue quod, cum in cunis esset Diademenus et leo ruptis ruptis vinculis, ut quidam, ferus effugisset atque ad incunabula eius venisset, puerum delinxit et inviolatum reliquit, cum nutrix se in leonem misisset atque eius morsu adfecta perisset; atque sola forte in areola inventa erat, in qua infans iacebat.

4 He was born, moreover, on the natal day of Antoninus, and at that very hour and with signs almost concordant with those of Antoninus Pius; wherefore the astrologers said that he too would be the son of an emperor and an emperor, but not for long. 5 On the day on which he was born, because it was the birthday of Antoninus, a certain kinswoman is said to have cried out, "Let him be called Antoninus," but Macrinus feared, because no one of his stock was designated by this name, and he abstained from the imperial name, at the same time because already a rumor about the force of his geniture had emanated. 6 Many have consigned to letters that these and other omens existed, but especially this: that, when Diademenus was in his cradle and a lion, its bonds—so some say—having been broken, a wild one, had escaped and had come to his swaddling-place, it fawned upon the boy and left him unharmed, while the nurse, having thrown herself upon the lion, was attacked by its bite and perished; and by chance alone there was found in the little enclosure, in which the infant was lying.

VI. 1 Haec sunt quae digna memoratu in Antonino Diadumeno esse videantur. cuius vitam iunxissem patris gestis, nisi Antoninorum nomen me ad edendam pueruli specialem expositionem vitae coegisset. 2 Et fuit quidem tam amabile illis temporibus nomen Antoninorum, ut quieo nomine non niteretur, mereri non videretur imperium.

6. 1 These are the things which seem worthy of remembrance in Antoninus Diadumenus. whose life I would have joined to the deeds of his father, unless the name of the Antonines had compelled me to publish a special exposition of the little boy’s life. 2 And indeed the name of the Antonines was so amiable in those times, that he who did not rely on that name did not seem to deserve the imperium.

3 Unde etiam quidam et Severum et Pertinacem et Iulianum Antoninorum praenominibus honorandos putant, unde postea duos Gordianos, patremet filium, Antoninos cognominatos putant. 4 Sed aliud est cum praenomen adscitur, aliud cum ipsum nomen inponitur. 5 Nam Pius verum nomen Antonini habuit, cognomen Pii, Marcus verum nomen Verissimi habuit, sed hoc sublato atque abolito non praenomen Antonini sed nomen accepit.

3 Whence also some think that Severus and Pertinax and Julian should be honored with the praenomina of the Antonini, whence afterwards they think the two Gordians, father and son, were surnamed Antonini. 4 But it is one thing when a praenomen is adopted, another when the name itself is imposed. 5 For Pius had the true name Antoninus, the cognomen Pius; Marcus had the true name Verissimus, but with this removed and abolished he received not the praenomen of Antoninus but the name.

6 Verus autem Commodi nomen habuit, quo abolito Antonini non praenomen sed nomen accepit. 7 Commodum autem Marcus Antoninum appellavit atque ita in publica sedidit die natalis sui. 8 Iam Caracallum Bassianum satis constat vel somnii causa, quod Severus viderat, cum sibi Antoninum successorem praedictum sensisset, anno demum tertio decimo Antoninum dixit, quando ei etiam imperatoriam addidisse dicitur potestatem.

6 Verus, however, had the name Commodus, and when that was abolished he received not the praenomen of Antoninus but the name. 7 Moreover, Marcus called Commodus “Antoninus,” and thus he sat in public on his birthday. 8 As for Caracalla Bassianus, it is well agreed that—even on account of a dream which Severus had seen, when he had felt that a successor had been foretold to him as an Antoninus—he at last, in the thirteenth year, called him “Antoninus,” when he is also said to have added to him the imperial power.

9 Getam vero, quem multi Antoninum negant dictum, eadem ratione qua Bassianum appellatum satis constat, ut patri Severo succederet, quod minime factum est. 10 Post hoc ipse Diadumenus ut commendaretur exerxitui senatui populoque Romano, cum esset ingens desiderium Bassiani Caracalli, Antoninum appellatum satis constat.

9 Geta, however, whom many deny to have been called Antoninus, is well established to have been appellated by the same rationale as Bassianus, in order that he might succeed his father Severus—which by no means came to pass. 10 After this, Diadumenus himself, that he might be commended to the army, the senate, and the Roman people, since there was a great desire for Bassianus Caracalla, is well established to have been called Antoninus.

VII. 1 Extat epistola Opili Macrini, patris Diadumeni, qua gloriatur nontam se ad imperium pervenisse, qui esset secundus imperii, quam quod Antoniani nominis esset pater factus, quo clarius illis temporibus non fuerat vel deorum. 2 Quam epistolam priusquam intexam, libet versus inserere in Commodum dictos, qui se Herculem appellaverat, ut intellegant omnes tam clarum fuisse Antoninorum nomen, ut illi ne deorum nomen commode videretur adiungi. 3 Versus in Commodum Antoninum dicti :

7. 1 There exists an epistle of Opilius Macrinus, father of Diadumenus, in which he boasts not so much that he had arrived at the imperial power, he who was the second of the empire, as that he had been made the father of the Antoninian name, than which in those times nothing had been more illustrious, even among the gods. 2 Which epistle, before I weave it in, I am pleased to insert verses spoken against Commodus, who had called himself Hercules, so that all may understand that the name of the Antonini was so bright, that to it not even the name of the gods seemed suitably to be adjoined. 3 Verses spoken against Commodus Antoninus :

Commodus Herculem nomen habere cupit,
Antoninorum non putat esse bonum,
expers humani iuris et imperii,
sperans quin etiam clarius esse deum,
quam si sit princeps nominis egregii.
Non erit iste deus nec tamen ullus homo.

Commodus desires to have the name Hercules,
he does not think the Antonines’ name to be a good,
bereft of human law and empire,
hoping that it is even more illustrious to be a god
than if he should be a princeps of an outstanding name.
He will be no god, nor yet any man.

4 Hi versus a Graeco nescio quo compositi a malo poeta in Latinum translati sunt, quos ego idcirco inserendos putavi, ut scirent omnes Antoninos pluris fuisse quam deos, ac trium principum amore, quo sapientia, bonitas, pietas consecrata sit, in Antonino pietas, in Vero bonitas, in Marco sapientia. 5 Redeo nunc ad epistolam Macrini Opilii : "Opilius Macrinus Noniae Celsae coniugi. Quid boni adepti sumus, mi uxor, caret aestimatione.

4 These verses, composed by some Greek I-know-not-who, were translated into Latin by a bad poet, which I therefore thought should be inserted, so that all might know the Antonines to have been valued more than gods, and that, by the love of three princes—whereby wisdom, goodness, and piety have been consecrated—there was in Antoninus piety, in Verus goodness, in Marcus wisdom. 5 I return now to the letter of Macrinus Opilius: "Opilius Macrinus to his wife Nonia Celsa. What good we have obtained, my wife, is beyond estimation.

Et fortassis de imperio me putes dicere - non magnum est istud, quod etiam indignis fortuna concessit, - : 6 Antonini paterfactus sum, Antonini mater es facta. O nos beatos, o fortunam domum, praeclaram laudem nunc demum felicis imperii. 7 Di faxint et bona Iuno, quam colis, ut et ille Antonini meritum effingat, et ego, qui sum pater Antonini, dignus omnibus videar."

And perhaps you think me to be speaking about the imperium — this is not a great thing, that which Fortune has conceded even to the unworthy — : 6 I have been made the father of Antoninus, you have been made the mother of Antoninus. O happy we, O fortunate house, the illustrious praise at last of a felicitous empire. 7 May the gods bring it to pass, and good Juno, whom you worship, that he too may fashion himself to the merit of Antoninus, and that I, who am the father of Antoninus, may seem worthy of all things."

VIII. 1 Hac epistola indicatur, quantum gloriae adeptus sibi videretur, quod vocatus est filius Antoninus. 2 Hic tamen quarto decimo mense imperii ob incivilem patris atquea sperum principatum interfectus est cum patre, non suo nomine.

8. 1 By this epistle it is indicated how much glory he seemed to himself to have acquired, because he was called the son Antoninus. 2 He, however, in the 14th month of the reign was slain with his father, on account of the father’s uncivil and harsh principate, not under his own name.

3 Quamvis etiam istum ultra aetatem saevisse in pleroque repperiam, ut docent litterae ab hoc eodem ad patrem missae. 4 Nam cum quidam defectionis suspicionem incurrissent et eos Macrinus saevissime punisset filio forte absente atque hic audisset auctores quidem defectionis occisos, conscios tamen, quorum dux Armeniae erat et item legatus Asiae atque Arabiae, ob antiquam familiaritatem dimissos, his litteris convenisse patrem dicitur, paribus missisetiam ad matrem, quarum exemplum historiae causa inserendum putavi : 5 "Patri Augusto filius Augustus. Non satis, mi pater, videris in amore nostro tenuisse tuos mores, qui tyrannidis adfectatae conscios reservasti sperans eos vel ob amiciores tibi futuros, si his parceres, vel ob antiquam familiaritatem dimittendos : 6 quod nec debuit fieri nec proderit.

3 Although I also find that this one raged beyond his age in many matters, as the letters sent by this same person to his father show. 4 For when certain men had incurred suspicion of defection and Macrinus had punished them most savagely, the son by chance being absent, and when he heard that indeed the authors of the defection had been killed, but that the accomplices—whose leader was the dux of Armenia and likewise the legate of Asia and Arabia—had been dismissed on account of ancient familiarity, he is said to have addressed his father with these letters, equal ones also having been sent to his mother, of which example I thought should be inserted for the sake of history: 5 "To Father Augustus, the Son Augustus. Not enough, my father, do you seem to have held to your own ways in our love, you who have preserved the accomplices of an attempted tyranny, hoping either that they would become more friendly to you, if you spared them, or that, on account of old familiarity, they should be dismissed: 6 which neither ought to have been done nor will it be of profit.

Nam primum omnium iam te exulcerati suspicionibus amare non possunt. Deinde crudeliores inimici sunt, qui obliti veteris familiaritatis se inimicissisis tuis iunxerunt. Adde quod adhuc exercitus habent.

For, first of all, those now ulcerated by suspicions cannot love you. Then they are crueler enemies, who, forgetful of old familiarity, have joined themselves to your most hostile foes. Add that they still have armies.

7 Si te nulla movet tantarum gloria rerum, Ascanium surgentem et spes heredis Iuli respice, cui regnum Italiae Romanaeque tellus debetur. 8 Feriendi sunt isti, si vis esse securus. Nam vitio generis humani alii non sunt defuturi, cui isti servantur." 9 Hanc epistolam quidam ipsius, quidam magistri eius Caeliani ferunt, Afri quondam rhetoris, ex qua apparet, quam asper futurus iuvenis, si vixisset.

7 If no glory of such great affairs moves you, look upon Ascanius rising and the hopes of the heir of Iulus, to whom the kingdom of Italy and the Roman earth is owed. 8 These men must be struck down, if you wish to be secure. For by the vice of the human race others will not be lacking, for whom these are being spared." 9 Some ascribe this letter to himself, others to his teacher Caelianus, formerly an African rhetorician, from which it appears how harsh the youth would have been, if he had lived.

IX. 1 Extat alia epistola ad matrem ab oedem destinata talis : "Dominus noster et Augustus nec te amat nec ipsum se, qui inimicos suos servat. Age igitur, ut Arabianus et Tuscus et Gellius ad palum deligentur, ne, si occasio fuerit, non praetermittant." 2 Et, quantum Lollius Urbicus in historia sui temporis dicit, istae litterae per notarium proditae illi puero multum apud milites obfuisse dicuntur. 3 Nam, cum patrem occidissent, quidam hunc servare voluerunt, sed extitit cubicularius, qui has epistolas contioni militum legit.

9. 1 There exists another epistle to his mother, dispatched by the same, of this sort: "Our lord and Augustus neither loves you nor himself, he who spares his enemies. So act, therefore, that Arabianus and Tuscus and Gellius be bound to the stake, lest, if there should be an occasion, they not let it pass." 2 And, so far as Lollius Urbicus says in the history of his own time, these letters, betrayed by a notary, are said to have harmed that boy greatly among the soldiers. 3 For, when they had killed his father, some wished to preserve him, but there appeared a chamberlain who read these epistles to the assembly of the soldiers.

4 Interfectis igitur ambobus et capitibus pilo circumlatis in Marcum Aurelium Antoninum caritate nominis inclinavit exercitus. Is filius Bassiani Caracalli ferebatur. 5 Erat autem templi Heliogabali sacerdos, homo omniium inpurissimus et qui fato quodam Romanum deformarit imperium.

4 Therefore, with both slain and their heads carried around on a spear, the army inclined toward Marcus Aurelius Antoninus out of affection for the name. He was said to be the son of Bassianus Caracalla. 5 He was moreover priest of the temple of Heliogabalus, a man most impure of all, and one who by some fate has marred the Roman Empire.

6 De quo quidem, quia multa sunt, loco suo disseram.

6 About whom indeed, since there are many things, I will discourse in his proper place.