Severus

“ The well-tried Severus restrained his ardour, and, while giving a certain liberty to Julian, retained the general direction of the action. Arrows whizzed and barbarian javelins, dragging long cords; and war-engines flung huge stones hundreds of yards. ”

“ After this guard walked our entire Senate, and, as the Emperor and Senate acknowledged the acclamations of the onlookers, passing amid thunders of cheering, behind we saw a long serpent ribbon of Illyrian legionaries, every man fully armed and armored as for instant battle, their even tramp sounding grim and monotonous when the cheerers paused for breath, their resistless might manifest. Indubitably Rome belonged to Severus, he was our master. ”

“ Severus, before passing on, warned them of their sin and folly. “O foolish people, whence have you derived these revellings, this custom of praying to the dead? Surely from the idolaters by whom you are surrounded!” he exclaimed. “Instead of being lights shining in the midst of a dark world, you have become as the blind leaders of the blind. Beware, lest the light you have be altogether taken away!” ”

“ The natural gifts of Severus were of no unusual order. He had a clear head, promptitude, resolution, tenacity and great organizing power, but no touch of genius. That he was cruel cannot be questioned, but his cruelty was of the calculating kind, and always directed to some end. He threw the head of Niger over the ramparts of Byzantium, but merely as the best means of procuring a surrender of the stubbornly defended fortress. ”

“ Severus is always safe, death never threatens him, on those travels of his. He is bold, and he will never be sacrificed upon the dark soil which yields its secrets to his searching mind. That soil knows that Severus is no stranger, knows that Severus is its loving friend. ”

“ DEATH OF HADRIAN AND SEVERUS. Severus’ restless pursuit after happiness was equally vain. His dying words are said to have been, 'Omnia fui et nihil expedit'—I have tried everything, and found nothing of any avail. What a contrast to the language addressed to him by the Ethiopian soldier—'Thou hast been everything—conquered everything: now, conqueror, be a god!'
393 The Roman Barrier of the Lower Isthmus. ”

“ He was powerful and prosperous at home, but his life was embittered by one great calamity, the dissolute character and the perpetual quarrels of his sons. To remove them from Rome, where they disgraced both themselves and their father by their vicious lives, and the ferocious rivalry and hatred they bore to each other, Severus planned an excursion to Britain, taking them with him, in the hope of turning their minds into new channels of thought, and awakening in them some new and nobler ambition. ”

“ Severus, pro-consul at Verulam, to my son Casca, greeting.
“My son,—News has reached me of your disasters by sea and land on your journey towards Rome. This will reach you by the hand of the noble Antonius, who will by his goodness receive you into his household, to prepare you to take office in that of the Emperor himself. You refused the study of arms, to my great disquiet, therefore you must now study diligently to shape your manners after those of the young nobles at Rome. You must learn to sing, game, and become an adept on some instrument of music. ”

“ He told Severus that he needed either a stronger army for the defense of the province or the presence of the emperor himself. 2. Severus was delighted with this news: glory-loving by nature, he wished to win victories over the Britons to add to the victories and titles of honor he had won in the East and the West. But he wished even more to take his sons away from Rome so that they might settle down in the soldier's life under military discipline, far from the luxuries and pleasures in Rome. ”

“ But how shall we cease to tell men of Christ? How shall he cease to draw men to himself?"
"Severus hath not been always thus," answered another voice, faint with weakness. "Proculus, the Christian, once saved the life of either Severus or his child, and the emperor took Proculus into the palace and treated him kindly, and chose a Christian nurse for Severus' boy, Caracalla. When the Romans rose against the Christians, Severus shielded our brethren. Oh, that the priests of the false gods of Egypt had not enticed our emperor!" ”

“ Severus subdued the riches of the east, and the valour of the west. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and ability, and defeated numerous armies, provided with weapons and discipline equal to his own. In that age, the art of fortification and the principles of tactics, were well understood by all the Roman generals; and the constant superiority of Severus was that of an artist, who uses the same instruments with more skill and industry than his rivals. ”

“ Severus has been so much admired for his military talents, that some have called him the most warlike of the Roman emperors. As a monarch he was cruel, and it has been observed that he never did an act of humanity or forgave a fault. In his diet he was temperate, and he always showed himself an open enemy to pomp and splendour. He loved the appellation of a man of letters, and he even composed a history of his own reign, which some have praised for its correctness and veracity. ”

“ THE DEATH OF SEVERUS. TYRANNY OF CARACALLA. USURPATION OF MACRINUS. FOLLIES OF ELAGABALUS. VIRTUES OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS. LICENTIOUSNESS OF THE ARMY. GENERAL STATE OF THE ROMAN FINANCES.
Greatness and discontent of Severus. THE ascent to greatness, however steep and dangerous, may entertain an active spirit with the consciousness and exercise of its own powers; but the possession of a throne could never yet afford a lasting satisfaction to an ambitious mind. This melancholy truth was felt and acknowledged by Severus. ”

“ In his banishment, Plautianus formed an acquaintance with Severus, who, some years after, ascended the imperial throne. This was the beginning of his prosperity; Severus paid the greatest attention to him, and, if we believe some authors, their familiarity and intercourse were carried beyond the bounds of modesty and propriety. Plautianus shared the favours of Severus on the throne as well as in obscurity. He was invested with as much power as his patron at Rome, and in the provinces; and, indeed, he wanted but the name of emperor to be his equal. ”

“ The uncommon abilities and fortune of Severus have induced an elegant historian to compare him with the first and greatest of the Cæsars. 40 The parallel is, at least, imperfect. Where shall we find, in the character of Severus, the commanding superiority of soul, the generous clemency, and the various genius, which could reconcile and unite the love of pleasure, the thirst of knowledge, and the fire of ambition? ”

“ The family and the adherents of ♠Albinus shared his fate; and the return of Severus to the capital exhibited the bloody triumphs of Marius and Sylla. The richest of the citizens were sacrificed, and their money became the property of the emperor. The wicked Commodus received divine honours, and his murderers were punished in the most wanton manner. Tired of the inactive life which he led in Rome, Severus marched into the east, with his two sons Caracalla and Geta, and with uncommon success made himself master of Seleucia, Babylon, and Ctesiphon ”

“ Severus possessed a considerable share of vigour and ability; but the daring soul of the first Cæsar, or the deep policy of Augustus, were scarcely equal to the task of curbing the insolence of the victorious legions. By gratitude, by misguided policy, by seeming necessity, Severus was induced to relax the nerves of discipline. [66] The vanity of his soldiers was flattered with the honour of wearing gold rings; their ease was indulged in the permission of living with their wives in the idleness of quarters. ”

“ No period in the history of Latin literature is so barren as the reign of Severus. Many later periods—the age of Stilicho, for example—shine brilliantly by comparison. The only great Latin writers are the Christians Tertullian and Cyprian. The Greek literature of the period is richer, but not owing to any patronage of the emperor, except perhaps in the case of Dio Cassius, who', though no admirer of Severus, attributes to encouragement received from him the execution of the great historical work which has come down to our time. ”

“ In professing that he had assumed the purple only to revenge the death of the virtuous Pertinax, Severus gained many adherents, and was enabled not only to disarm, but to banish the pretorians, whose insolence and avarice were become alarming not only to the citizens, but to the emperor. But while he was victorious at Rome, Severus did not forget that there was another competitor for the imperial purple. Pescennius Niger was in the east at the head of a powerful army, and with the name and ensigns of Augustus. ”

“ Severus. Noble Caesar, your word suffices.
Julian. What mean you, then, by your deluding speeches, my friends? Would you, in your too great love for me, make me a parasite, to be fed with the leavings you have pilfered from my kinsman’s table?—What think you, Decentius? What say you to this? You see, in my own camp, I have to keep an eye on adherents who, in their blind zeal, are sometimes in danger of straying over the border-line of revolt.
Florentius. [Hastily, to the Tribune.] I assure you, my words have been sadly misconstrued if——
Severus. ”

“ These upon attaining their goals proceeded to lay waste the land of the barbarians and to capture their cities. While Severus was greatly priding himself upon this achievement and feeling that he surpassed all mankind in both understanding and bravery, a most unexpected event took place. One Claudius, a robber, who overran Judaea and Syria and was sought for in consequence with great hue and cry, came to him one day with horsemen, like some military tribune, and saluted and kissed him. ”

“ But at the end of two months both the Praetorians and their nominee were swept away by the real disposers of Roman rule, the provincial legions. Four groups of legions at the time were strong enough to aspire to determine the destiny of the empire—those quartered in Britain, in Germany, in Pannonia and in Syria. Three of the groups took the decisive step, and Severus in Pannonia, Pescennius Niger in Syria, Clodius Albinus in Britain, received from their troops the title of Augustus. Severus outdid his rivals in promptness and decision. ”

“ The judgment of Severus himself is no doubt that which he puts in the mouth of his interlocutor Posthumian us: “I am astonished that one and the same man could have so far differed from himself that in the approved portion of his works he has no equal since the apostles, while in that portion for which he is justly blamed it is proved that no man has committed more unseemly errors.” Three Epistles on the death of Martin (ad Eusebium, ad Aurelium diaconum, ad Bassulam) complete the list of Severus’ genuine works. ”

“ Like most of the Africans, Severus was passionately addicted to the vain studies of magic and divination, deeply versed in the interpretation of dreams and omens, and perfectly acquainted with the science of judicial astrology; which, in almost every age except the present, has maintained its dominion over the mind of man. He had lost his first wife, while he was governor of the Lionnese Gaul. ”

“ If now we examine minutely the conduct of Severus, we shall find that he combined the ferocity of the lion with the cunning of the fox, and that he was feared and revered by every one, and was not hated by the army. Nor ought we to be surprised to find that, although a new man, he yet should have been able to maintain himself at the head of so great an empire; for his eminent reputation saved him always from incurring the hatred of the people, which his rapacity might otherwise have provoked. ”

“ He next crushed his two rival competitors, and was then undisputed master of the empire. He put to death forty senators for having favored his late rivals, and completely destroyed the power of their body. Committing to the prefect of the new praetorian guard the management of affairs at the capital, Severus passed the greater part of his long and prosperous reign upon the frontiers. At one time he was chastising the Parthians beyond the Euphrates, and at another, pushing back the Caledonian tribes from the Hadrian wall in the opposite corner of his dominions. ”

“ The only title he ever laid to the throne was the pronunciamiento of the legions, whose adherence to his cause he commemorated even on the coinage of the realm. The legions voted him the adopted son of Marcus Aurelius; the legions associated with him Caracalla in the government of the empire. Severus strove earnestly to wed the army as a whole to the support of his dynasty. He increased enormously the material gains and the honorary distinctions of the service, so that he was charged with corrupting the troops. ”

“ When at length their discontent was appeased by various kinds of caresses, and when the Rhine had been crossed by a bridge of boats, which was thrown over it, Severus, the master of the horse, up to that time a brave and energetic soldier, suddenly lost all his vigour.
2. And he who had frequently been used to exhort the troops, both in bodies and as individuals, to gallant acts, now seemed a base and timid skulker from battle, as if he feared the approach of death. ”