MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF AGRIPPINA, THE WIFE OF GERMANICUS, CruttweJlj Printer, St. J*Bie»>$-Street, Bs»th, MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE OF AGRIPPINA, WIFE OF GERMANICUS. ELIZABETH HAMILTON, AUTHOR OF " LETTERS ON THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION j" &C. &C. Hiltory may be faid to embody Truth, and prove from Fads "the Reafonablenefs of Opinion." Johnson. IM THR7.E VOLS.— VOL. 1. BATH, PRINTED BY R. CRUTTWELL; tor G. AND J. ROBiNSONj PATf-K-NOSTER-ROH', LONDON. 1S04. *\ J CONTENTS. PREFACE.— P. vii. GENEALOGICAL SKETCH.— P. xxxir. CHAPTER I.— P. l. Preliminary Observations on the History and Charac- ter of the Ancient Romans. CHAPTER II.-P. 62. Octavius Cjesar, his Birth; Education; Marriage *with Scribonia; Divorce ; Marriage ivith L i v i A . — Education of Julia; her Marriage with Mar- cellus; ivith Vipsanius Agrippa; ivith Tibe- rius. CHAPTER III.— P. 80. Agrippina's infant Charaeler; CareofAvGvsrvs in her Education ; cont railed to G £ R M A n i c u s ; her Mother's Profligacy and Wretchedness. CHAP. IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV.— P. 105. Conduct qflAViA to Agrippisa and her Brothers. — Lucius Cesar sent from Rome. — -Caius Caesar ynarried to L i v j l l a ; sent into Asia.—G ermanicus assumes the ??zanly Goivn; married to Agrippina. CHAPTER V.— P. 122. Lucius Caesar, sent to Marseilles ; dies by Poison.— Augustus made acquainted with Julia's guilty Conduct ; his Grief. — Trial cf J u l i a ; her Banish- ment. — Death cfCkivs Caesar. — Recall of Tmi- rius; adopted by the Emperor. — Germanicu' adopted by Tiberius. CHAPTER VI.— P. 152. Banishment of Ag r i p p a Post h u m u s . — Refection r en the Conduct of Avcvstvs. ^Domestic Life of Agr i p p i n a. — Domestic Economy of the Romans. — Jsnportance attached to Education. — Slavery. — Ia- terature. — Popularity {/Germasicus. CHAPTER VII.— P. 179. Marriage ofD R usus . — Public Amuseynents. — Death of C a i u s . — T i b e r i v s and G e k m a n i c u s j .- >. : : . quell the Revolt in Dalmatia. — Their Return. — .Defeat of Varus. — Agrippina accompanies bei Husband to Germany. — Returns to Rjfiz.-—Birl ! - r.f CONTENTS. V ^"Caligula. — Second Expedition into Germany. — Death of Augustus. — Murder of Agrippa Posthumus. CHAPTER VIII.— P. 224. Fear s of Tiberius. — Loyalty of Germanicus. — ■ Agrippina accompanies him into Gaul. — Mutiny if the Legions. — Heroism of Agrippina. — At the Request of Germ amicus, she retires to Ubiorum Oppidum. CHAPTER IX.— P. 256. Ag r i p p i n A proceeds to the City of Ubii. — Manners of the Ger?nans. — Entertainments. — Martial Dance. — Gaming. — Res peel for their Female Relations. — A German Wedding. — Thusnelda the wife of A R m i n i u s . — Her Adventures. a\*A*A%***^MMMffl££3£&.* 1 ? %*tewMfr0*ew\ PREFACE, TO point out the advantages which are to be derived from paying some attention to the nature of the human mind in the education of youtji, was the object of a former work; the Author's aim in the present is to give such an illustration of the principles that were then unfolded, as may ren- der them more extensively useful. In the task of instructing others many are indeed concerned ; but the duties of self-instruction and self- government are imposed on all. Who- vol. J. a ever [ viii ] ever can lend assistance towards the due performance of these important duties, may be considered as the bene- factor of the human race ; and from the approbation with which her feeble efforts have been hitherto honoured, the Author is convinced, that even those who briny; their single mite into the treasury, shall in no wise fail of reward. Such a knowledge of the human mind as is to be obtained from obser- vation and experience, appears to be placed within the reach of every one capable of reflection, and this reflec- tion it is the aim of every moralist to excite, when he reasons upon the consequences of vice and virtue: But to those who wish to attain a know- ledge of their own hearts, and are anxiously solicitous for their improve- ment, something more than general observations are requisite. In C i* ] In order to the government of the passions, it is necessary to be acquaint- ed with their origin and progress; a species of knowledge, to be derived not so much from a view of their con- sequences, as from an accurate obser- vation of their gradual developement. In pursuing this enquiry, we ought not to be discouraged at finding it more complex than we at first view ap- prehended. The metaphysician may indeed separate the passions from each other, as the experimental philoso- pher separates the rays of light by the prism, and represent each singly to our view in one uniform colour. But in human character it is not thus that the passions are found to ap- pear. Every passion, even that which predominates, is there seen blend- ed with those which gave it birth, and with the passions and affeclions to which it has affinity : audit is by observing I x ] observing these affinities, that we arc enabled to pronounce on the good or evil tendency of an}' particular passion. If pride, for instance, be a virtue, it will be found in connexion with, and productive of, affections of the benevo- lent class ; if on the contrary it should appear allied to the malevolent and vindictive, we need not hesitate to pronounce it a dangerous inmate of the human bosom. Convinced of the importance of throwing light upon a subject so uni- versally interetsing, and fully aware of the dislike which the young and unreflecting arc apt to conceive again.)!; whatever appears in a didactic form, the Author formed the design of con- veying the observations that had oc- curred to her, through a more agree- able medium. She soon perceived that it was not by fiction her purpose could be accom- plished. A work r *i i A -work of imagination, in which the characters are of the author's own creation, and in which every event is at his disposal, may he so managed, as to he admirably calculated to pro- mote the* reception of a favourite the- ory, but can never be considered as a confirmation of its truth. Nor will the theory built upon such a basis be of long duration; for though the bril- liant illusions of fancy may affect the sensibilities of the heart, and so far captivate the understanding as to ren- tier it unwilling to exert itself in de- tecting the fallacy of arguments which have spoken so powerfully to the feel- ings, the charm will at length be bro- ken, and then the system which had been supported by its influence, will inevitably sink into disgrace. The characters in a work of imagi- nation may, it is true, be drawn in cxacl conformity to nature, and placed in C xii ] jn such situations as to afford a striking illustration of certain truths; but how are those who are little accustomed' to make observations on human life to judge of the genuineness of the repre- sentation? They cannot appeal to experience, and if they refer to the feelings, it is but too probable that the decision will be erroneous. Should it even be otherwise, there is still reason to doubt whether the emotions pro- duced by the narration of fictitious events will awaken those reflections upon the progress of the passions, for which the work may have been prin- cipally intended. Where the effect produced upon the feelings is powerful, all that is address- ed to the judgment appears dull; nor is it to be expected, that the young and ardent mind will receive much im- provement from lessons of wisdom, perused at a moment, «« When [ xiii 1 "When hope and fear alternate fway thebreaft, " Like light and {hade upon a waving fields " Courfing each other." If from an interesting novel so lit- 1 tie is to be expected, from a novel void of interest we can hope for nothing; since, however wise, however moral, it would have few readers. \he same sermon which a person of taste would listen to with delight from the mouth ofti the preacher, would, if delivered from the stage, appear intolerably dull. So necessary it is that the tone of mind should be in unison with the object of attention ! Hence arises the advan- tage which the biographer possesses over the novelist. Amusement is ex- pected by the reader from both; but in sitting down to peruse the memoirs of a fellow-being, in whose past exist- ence we have assurance, in whose eternal existence we have hope, the expeclation of amusement is chastened by [ xiv j by the solemnity of the ideas attached to truth. The emotions produced will, on this account, be probably less vivid, but the interest will be deeper; while the impression made upon the mind, by a belief in the reality of the scene will give a peculiar force to whatever is calculated to operate either as warn- ing or example. Such was the tenbur of the arguments which determined th£ Author in fa- four of biography. What subject to make choice of, was the question that next occurred; and it must be con- fessed, that it was far from being easily resolved. To give the memoirs of those who have but lately departed from the scene, and who still live in the hearts of their friends and the memory of the public, may at first view appear an easy task. Concerning them there seems to be no difficulty in obtaini»g information. L" "v ] information. All the events of tlrei* lives, their peculiar habits and senti- ments, their joys and sorrows, their frailties and their virtues, may be col- lected from the lips of living witnesses. But even with all these sources of information at his command, the bio- grapher who wishes to convey instruc- tion to the living from the grave of the dead, will find himself encompas- sed with many difficulties. The ob- stacles by which he is opposed, are, in some instances, such as sensibility will never attempt to surmount; and in others, of a nature which not even the united powers of industry and genius can overcome. In the lives of persons who have fil- led a private station, exercising their talents and their virtues in the per- formance of the relative and social duties, there may be much to honour, and much to applaud ; but there can- not. [ xvi ] aot, in the nature of things, be a suf- ficient variety of incident to attract attention. In the few instances where: the memoirs of such persons have been given to the world, we accordingly, seldom find more than a general eulo- gium on their characters; which, the/ it may leave an impression favourable to virtue, is not calculated to add much to our knowledge. Nor concerning* those who have been placed in situa- tions more conspicuous, who in their lives were considered as the ornaments of their country, and whose names are universally known and venerated, is it easy for the biographer to give such particulars as can alone convey a full -.mil just idea of the character. To trace the progress of an extra- ordinary mind from the first dawn of genius to maturity; to mark the cir- cumstances from which it received its peculiar bent ; to develope the sources whence [ xvii ] whence the understanding derived its stores; and thus (if I may be allowed the expression) to pourtray the cha- racteristic features of the soul, though a task that requires transcendent abi- lities for its accomplishment, is but a part of what the biographer is expected to perform. Every individual, however, high hi* intellectual endowments, is impelled by. passions, and influenced by affee-? tions, . which essentially afTecl; his ch&>- raCter and conduct Without a conv* pleat display of these, the delineation} will remain imperfect; and iyet com-, pletely to delineate them, is not in human power: for however possible it may be to trace the progress of talents, and to take the measure of the under- standing, He who made the heart can alone appreciate its frailties and its virtues. Their record is on high, but the memorial that remains is imper- [ xviii ] fecr, arid the manner of their growth has eluded observation. To special acts of benevolence many may indeed give testimony; but the secret trials of the heart, those exercises of patience, forbearance, and fortitude, by which it obtained a triumph over the selfish affeclions, are not of a nature to be disclosed. In private life, the virtues are exer- cised by the temper, dispositions, and sentiments of those with whom one is intimately connected. Wisdom is learn- ed from experience; and this experi- ence is in many instances derived from the errors of the individual, or from the errors and frailties of those most dear to him. These are, these ought to be, for ever veiled from vulgar eyes, The heart must be without a spark of delicacy or feeling, that would volun- tarily drag them into notice. If [ six 1 If in tracing the virtues of the illus- trious dead we find it so difficult to arrive at truth, how shall we dare to dip our pencil in the darker shades? Is it from indifferent spectators, from friends Or foes, that we shall take our colouring? Upon whom, alas! can we depend? Casual observers are lia- ble to misapprehension ; where there lias been enmity, there will be preju- dice ; and ill would it suit the tender- ness of friendship to point out the blemishes which have been washed with its tears, and to harrow up the faults which time would soon have buried in oblivion ! Nor is it from what passes in con- versation, when the spirits are animated beyond the usual tone, and the mind is influenced by associations which an intimate acquaintance with every member of the company could alone explain, that a just idea of the princi- ple* pies and sentiments of an individual is to be obtained. The observations which drop even from persons of deep reflection, upon subjecls casually in- troduced, are not always to be received as conclusive testimony of their serious opinions- far less ought tlie express- ions drawn forth by opposition in the warmth of colloquial debate to be re- corded as certain indications of pee- vishness or irascibility. The writer who speaks from his own knowledge, •may doubtless, in his statement, be exceedingly correct; he may describe with faithful accuracy the personal defects, the incidental weaknesses of a departed friend, and by his philoso- phical impartiality entitle himself to rank with the investigator of nature. " One who could peep and botanize " Upon his mother's grave !" But with whatever avidity this species of information may be received, we naturally I *** ] naturally revolt from the hand that offers it. It is also to be questioned. whether all that could be learned from such disclosures of the secret trans- actions of private life, would in any degree compensate for the moral evils which would ensue, did such instan- ces of breach of confidence become common. Intimacy would then be considered as a snare, and the compa- nion of the social board dreaded as a spy, who was to report to the world the unguarded sallies of the moment. Are we, then, it may be asked, to make no enquiries concerning- the characters of those who have gone be- fore us to the silent house? Should delicacy with regard to the feelings of surviving friends be permitted to si- lence the voice of truth? or respecl for departed genius to cancel the remem- brance of its follies, and to veil its Grimes? ' On this general view of the question L xxii ] question it becomes not the present writer to decide. It is enough for her to point out the difficulties which must be encountered by a mind not desti- tute of sensibility, in attempting to give a genuine likeness of any well- known character. If uncertainty dwell upon the trans- actions of a recent period, it may be deemed fruitless to carry our researches into times that are now remote : and fruitless it must undoubtedly prove, if we confine our enquiries to the lives and characters of private citizens. Even of those votaries of science, or favou- rites of the muses, who have " built to themselves a name, " how few are there concerning whom we can now obtain such information as would afford any addition to our knowledge of the hu- man mind? Of such however it cannot be said, that " their memorial has perished with them." In their wri- tings. [ xxiii ] tings thcyhaveleft an evidence of their talents, whose testimony cannot be suborned ; but still they do not afford sufficient data to the biographer, who is required to give an account of the aclions, as well as of the sentiments. If he go to former ages in quest of materials, he can only hope to find them in the page of history; and the transactions that are there recorded, will, in the opinion of many, appear too far removed from the occurrences of common life, to convey instruction to those who aspire not beyond the sphere in which Providence has placed them. To the writer of the following me- moirs the objection above stated did not appear so forcible as it has been by others represented. In order to get a clear insight into the nature of the passions, and the consequences arising from their indulgence, it is perhaps c necessary necessary that we extend our views beyond the station in which Provi- dence has placed ns. If human nature be our obje6t, it is needless to confine ourselves to rank, or sex, or period of society, for we shall find it in every climeand situation invariably the same. The actions of a person of exalted rank may not, it is true, afford us any direct example, capable of application to the transactions of our limited sphere; but are we hence to infer, that an exa- mination of the passions and opinions in which those actions originated, is without its use? To know how this man rose to power, and that atchieved greatness, may be a fruitless specula- tion to the private citizen. But to know how far the attainment of the objectof ambition tended to happiness; to ascertain the consequences of in- dulging the love of wealth, or power, or distinction, and all the passions with which [ xxv ] which they arc connected; are object* in which all have an equal degree of interest. When the sphere of action is circumscribed, the passions must of necessity be subject to controul. It is in the rank soil of unlimited power that we are to look for these giant pro- ductions of the active principle: but let it be remembered, that though situation may lop some of the most luxuriant shoots, the root is still the same; and that human pride operates in the production of human misery as certainly in the bosom of the peasant as in that of the prince. That the characters of those who stand on the dangerous pinnacle of greatness are peculiarly liable to mis- representation, cannot be denied. Their errors are marks at which ca- lumny delights to throw her darts, whilst flattery holds up her concave mirror to their slightest virtues. But as [ avi ] as time advances, malice and flattery disappear ; and from actions which have been scrutinized and canvassed by friends and foes, and received and acknowledged as facts by both parties, truth then endeavours to extract the evidence on which posterity is to pro- nounce its verdict. It is, indeed, the conquerors and disturbers of the earth, to whose actions the attention of succeeding ages has been chiefly devoted; " for, 1 ' as it has been well observed by a venerable his- torian, "it has unfortunately happen- ed, the Muse of History hath been so much in love with Mars, that she hath conversed but little with Minerva."* The character of Agrippina must be considered as an exception to the above observation, By the masterly hand of Tacitus it has been delineated J Henry's Hiil. of Britain, vol. iv. p. 91. with ' xxvii ] with a force and spirit, which give? the original to our eyes glowing with life and animation. The features are, indeed, so prominent, that the most unskilful artist could not fail of taking a likeness ; and it is this consi- deration which has chiefly operated as an encouragement to what has been attempted in the following pages. The age in which Agrippina lived is likewise considered as a favourable circumstance. With the names of her contemporaries all are in some degree conversant. The most remarkable events of the period are so familiar even to the unlearned, that imagina- tion can without difficulty enter on the scene, and be pleased to form an intimacy with objects which had hi- therto heen only indistinctly viewed, as from a distance. In singling out the grand-daughter of Augustus as the subject of her first attempt £ xxviii attempt at biographical sketching, the author may perhaps have been influ- enced by impressions made upon the mind at that period of life when the feelings are usually stronger than the judgment: but though, on mature de- liberation, she perceived that the choice was not without objections, none oc- curred that were of sufficient force to induce her to relinquish the design. In one whose range of information is, even when compared with many of her own sex, extremely limited, and who in classical learning vies not with a school-boy of the lowest form, an attempt to approach so near to classic ground, may have the appearance of presumption: but as the most enlight- ened are always the most liberal and candid, she has little reason to fear being thus interpreted. In the memoirs of Agrippina, the learned reader will not expect to find anv £ xxix any accession to his knowledge with regard to facts ; though, when pre- sented in a detached form, they may possibly, in some instances, give rise to reflections that did not before occur : nor will he be displeased to re-peruse even those more trifling anecdotes, which, by delighting the youthful fancy, had served to sweeten the labours of his school-day hours. In a work intended only for the learned, these might with propriety have been omit- ted ; but as there are many readers of her own sex, who are only acquainted with the outliue of Roman history, every minute circumstance which ten- ded to render the scene familiar to the imagination, was essential to the author's plan. In this respect, advan- tage might undoubtedly have been derived from the assistance of the art- ist; but by the author who aspires at having a book approved on other grounds [ XXV ] grounds than the merits of its adven- titious embellishments, such decora- tions will be rejected, as, while they do not essentially enhance the value of the work, add materially to its price. It now remains to give same account of the materials that have been employ- ed in the compilation of the following Memoirs. These have been chiefly taken from the records of antiquity; for though it was only through the medium of translation that these could be consulted, it appeared more advise- able thus to apply to the source, than to seek for information from the com- pilers of modern history. Mr. Murphy's translation of the An- nals of Tacitus, and the notes prefixed to that valuable performance, have af- forded almost the whole of the outline; occasionally assisted by Suetonius, in Mr. Thomson's translation. For what- ever related to Agrippina in Dio Cas- sias [ xxx i 1 sius, or in V. Paterculus, the Author has been indebted to the kindness of two learned friends, who obligingly translated such extracts from each as they thought would be in any wise use- ful. In the description of manners and customs she has been assisted by the works of numerous writers, but where accuracy was required, has chiefly consulted the treatise of Mr. Adams on Roman antiquities. To avoid swelling the page with a parade of quotations, authorities have never been referred to, except where the very words of the author are quoted ; and it is believed that those who are most intimately acquainted with the original, will not be most forward to tax the author with having; exao-ocra- ted the features of the portrait, which, with feeble hand, she has attempted to delineate. In [ xxxii ] In the life of Agrippina, she lias never departed from lier authorities; though where they were silent, she has endeavoured to fill the chasm in the manner that appeared most con- sonant to probability. The employ- ment of Agrippina r s leisure hours, her domestic avocations, society, bee. Mere circumstances which it suited not the dignity of history to record. But cir- cumstances too trivial for history are essentially necessary to the biographer, who aims at exciting an interest for the subject of his memoirs in the read- er's breast. General descriptions pos- sess not a sufficient influence over the imagination or the feelings, to answer his purpose. :c "Where we do not con- ceive distinctly, we do not sympathize deeply in any human affection.'"* If Agrippina may sometimes be found in scenes into which she was not fol- L ■- low Vi\ xxxiii lowed by the historian, — the scenes themselves, every object with which they are filled, and every ornament by which they aie decorated, are faith- fully copied from the most authentic describcrs of ancient manners. The period of Agrippina's residence in Germany could not be passed over without some account of the native inhabitants. In a detached form, this account would have been disgusting to those to whom it was already, fami- liar, and dull and uninteresting to the ignorant. By interweaving it with the narrative, it was hoped that it might be rendered acceptable to both. In a few other instances a similar li- berty has been taken. I low far the author has succeeded upon these occa- sions in keeping up the character of the heroine, bv ascribing to her such sentiments and feelings as were per- fectly [ xxx iv ] fectly appropriate, every reader will for himself determine. Throughout the whole performance criticism may find much to censure, but it is hoped that candour will find something* to applaud : and let those who are least willing to admit exte- nuation or apology for the author's failures remember, that Cl to have at- tempted much is always laudable, even when the enterprise is above the strength that undertakes it.''* * Johnfbn. 1 XXXV ] GENEALOGICAL SKETCH AS the names that moft frequently occur in ?.hefe Memoirs are all in fome degree connected with the family of the Caefars, in order to give a clear idea of their different degrees of con- sanguinity, it may be proper to prefent the reader with a fhort Iketch of the three principal branches, and the manner in which they are interwoven with each other. Theie are, firfl, the descendants of Auguftus; fecondlv, the defendants of Li via, adopted by Auguftus; and thirdly, the defendants of his fitter Oclavia. Caius O&avius Auguftus Caefar was the ion of Caius Octavius, by Atia, the neice of Julius Csfar. He married, firft, Claudia; fecond, Seribonia; and third. Livia. By Scribonia [ XXXVI ] Scribonia he had one daughter, Julia, who married, firft, Marcellus; fecond, M. Vipfa- nius Agrippa; and third, Tiberius. By Agrippa Julia had five children; viz. Cains, Lucius, Agrippina, Julia, and Agrippa Pofthumus. Fler fecond hulband V. Agrippa had by his firft marriage with Pomponia, the daughter of Atticus, one daughter, Vipfania Agrippina; who was married firft to Tiberius, the ftep-fon of Anguftus, and fecondly, to Afinius Gall us. Vipfania was confequcntly (though no relation to Anguftus) half-filter to his grand-children. Octavia, thefifter of Auguftus, was married firft to Claudius Marcellus, by whom (he had two daughters. After the death of Marcellus, Octavia married Mark Antony, by whom fhe had two daughters, both of the name of Antonia. Her fecond daughter bv Marcellus was married firft to Agrippa, (mentioned above) fecond to Julius Antoninus, the fori of Antony by his former wife. Octavia's daughters by Antony were married, the elder, to Domitius /Enobarbus; the younger to NeroDrufus, the fo:i of Livia. and brother of Tiberius. The [ xxxvii ] The children of Antonia and Drufus, were, £rft, Germanicus; fecond, Claudius; third. Livilla. Germanicus, fon of Antonia, and grandfon of Octavia, married Agrippina, the grand-daughter Gf Auguftus. The ions of Livia, the third wife of Auguftus, by her fir ft hufband Claudius Nero, were, firfi, Tiberius; fecond, Nero Drufus. Tibcrrus married, firit, Vipfania Agrippina; and fecond, Julia, ftepmother to Vipfania, and daughter to Auguftus. By Vipfania Tiberius had one fon, Drufus, who married his coufin Livilla, the daughter of his uncle Drufus and Antonia. Tiberius was adopted by Auguftus A. D. 4, fueceeded him in the empire A. D. 14, and died A. D. 37. Drufus, the fecond fon of Livia bv Claudius Nero, married Antonia, as mentioned above: her fon Germanicus, by Ins marriage with Agrippina, united the family of Livia with that of the Ca;fars, and joined the two branches of the houfe of Oetavius. Their children were related equally to Auguftus, to Oetavia, and to Livia; their names were as foliow: 1. Nero Qefar. He married his coufin Julia, grand-daughter of Tiberius, and daughter *f Drufus and Livilla. e. Drufus [ xxxviii ] 2. Drufus Caefar. ./Emilia Lepida became his wife. 3. Caius. Died in infancy. 4. Drufus Cirfar, afterwards named Cali- gula. He married, divorced, and murdered ievcral wives. 5. Agrippina. Married, firft, Domitius JEno- barbus, by whom lhe had one Ton, Nero emperor of Rome ; fecond, to Pafsianus Crifpus; third, to her uncle Claudius. 6. Drufilia. She was twice married. 7. Julia. She was likewife twice married^ but not in the life- time of her mother. CHAP. CHAPTER I. Preliminary Observations on the History and Character of the Ancient Romans. O various and (o fplendid are the memorials of Roman greatnefs, that had the hiftory of Rome been loft, almofl every nation of Europe and of Afia could produce fufHciy a falfe tafte for finery and (hew. As a nation of warriors, the Romans difdained all employment but that of war. Neither arts nor commerce were purfued as the means of acquiring pro- perty, and confequently the intervals of peace were fpent in idlenefs. Aclive minds can never be idle with impunity ; and the wifdom oF the legiflator faw that, to pre- vent mifchief, it was neceflary to furnifh the idle with a conftant fupply of amufe- ment. Hence all the pomp and fplendour of the Pagan worlhip; which in fo far ob- tained the end propofed, as it attracted the attention of the populace, and gave an object on which the reftlefsnefs of activity might [ 45 ] might fpend itfelf, without difturbing the public tranquillity. The farther confe- quences of a paffion for amufement thus infpired will be feen hereafter. Of the influence of the fentiments of honourable ambition, which were mingled with every endearment of maternal love, enough has already been faid, to give fome idea of the confequences that arife to fo- ciety from the formation of the female mind. It was the union of elevated fenti- ment with modefty and rcferve, which ren- dered the character of a Roman matron an object, of elleem and veneration. We may however obferve, thai had the efteem which the virtues of the Roman females were calculated to infpire, been permitted to mingle with tiie paiTions of the youth- ful bofom, tie effects produced would have beenflill happier and more extenfive. But the chaftened femiment of virtuous love was unknown to the Roman bread. Marriage was with them merely an inflt- flitution [ 46 ] flitution of policy. Unions were formed and dillolved from motives of interefl or convenience ; but that refined affe&ion which binds heart to heart, had no con- cern in lighting the hymeneal torch. As the Romans married without love, we need not be furprifed to find that they loved without delicacy. Where no fenti- ments of elteem blend their mild influences with paffion, unbridled licentioufnefs will fooner or later be the confequence. Po- verty and an aftive life preferved the more ancient republicans from the groffnefs of depravity ; but no fooner had luxury opened the flood-gates of fenfuality, than the Romans funk into brutality. The Ro- man females foon caught the contagion of licentioufnefs. Unfpotted chaftity was no longer the matron's glory, or the maiden's pride. The care and inilruction of her children, or ikill and prudence evinced in the management of domeitic affairs, no longer conferred dignity in the eyes of an illuftrious [ 47 ] iHuftrious dame. The refpect given to virtue could no longer gratify her ambi- tion, for with objects of a very different nature ambition was now affociated. So that (lie was diflinguifhed, it was of little confequence that fhe was defpifed. We need not feek a furer criterion of corruption. Before the reign of Augustus, the Roman character had undergone a rapid and important change. With the influx of wealth, and extent of dominion, thofe paffions whofe feeds had been fown by the religious and political inftitutions of the republic, at a period coeval with its date, ripened to maturity. Poverty and the itriclnefs of rigid difcipline had reprelTed their growth ; but beneath the foftering hand of luxury, they fprung and flourimed. Every circumflance that had tended to counteract or reftrain their influence, was diminifhed or annihilated, before the Ro- man world (looped to acknowledge the authority of a matter. The C 48 ] The important confequences of thofc hal its o l thinking which blended the idea of perfonal glory with the welfare and glory of Rome, have already been noticed; but this fentiment depended too much' upon fympathy, to operate for any length of time upon diflan't' armies, which no longer breathed the fpirit of freemen and citizens, having an equal intereff. in the profperity of the commonwealth for which they fought. Compofed of va- rious nations, having no tie but that of dis- cipline and obedience to the fame general, they imperceptibly transferred to their commander the allegiance and afTeclion which in former times had been referved for the (late. The general on his part, having had his ambition polluted by the love of power and riches, no longer con- fidered the applaufe of his fellow-citizens, and the glory of an illuflricus name, as rewards fufficiently folid. Avarice was the concomitant of luxury, and inordinate wealth [ 49 ] wealth could alone gratify the pride that was united with fenfuality. The command of an army, which conferred fovereign authority in a diftant province, was con- fidered as the furefh and fhortefl road to fortune : and as neither juftice nor compaf- fion to barbarians formed any part of his religious code, he omitted no methods of extortion, of rapine, or of cruelty, which could facilitate the attainment of his ob- ject. Enriched by plunder, he returned to Rome, certain of purchafing from the cupidity of a degenerate people thofe pub- lic honours which had formerly been the meed of confpicuous valour or diftin- guiGied virtue. In the tafle for fhews and public fpec- tacles, a tafle which policy had cherifhed as the means of foftening the ierocky of a fierce and warlike peopV, he found a ready inflrument of corv uon. That greed inefs ofamufemer% which is either the prog- nose or the iymptom of the mind's difeafe, vol. i. e was [ so ] was now augmented by indulgence into an epidemic phrenzy, All the nobler af- fections yielded to its influence ; and as the fpectacles, by which the infatiable third for amufement could only now be grati- fied, were little calculated to excite gene- rous emotions; public fpirit was neither kept alive by fympathy, nor rekindled by emulation. In lofing public fpirit, the Romans loft the fole animating principle on which their virtues depended for exist- ence. While the love of virtue was fup- ported by a rigid fimplicity of manners, the talents of C^sar, feconded by the wealth of Crassus, and the power of Pom- pey, would have in vain attempted to overthrow the conftitution of their coun- try ; but the change of manners, and the prevalence of vice, rendered it an eafy enterprife. The penetration of Caesar difcovered the vulnerable part. He knew that luxury is prodigal, and that prodiga- lity is felfiih, and that felfifhnefs fcruples not C 51 ] not to purchafe the low gratifications of depraved appetite at the expence of the public good. He therefore, by his ex- ample of profufion, increafed prodigality, encouraged luxury, and promoted that de- fire of felfifli gratification, which he knew how to turn to his own advantage. Judging that the man who has not courage to combat his own vicious incli- nations, will not evince much conftancy in the caufe of freedom ; he confidered all in whom the fpirit of independence was too feeble to reflrain the love of pleafure, as deferters from the flandard of liberty. His expectation was juftified by the event. His camp became the afylum of every diftinguifhed profligate, who in fcenes of giddy riot or oftentatious luxury had fquandered the fortunes of his anceftors. The number was formidable. By the le- vity of idlenefs, and the factious fpirit of difcontent, it was every day increafed. The fortunes of C^sar prevailed. But in faa C 52 ] fact the triumph of Cjesar was nothing more than the triumph of the felfifti and fenfual paffions over thofe reftraints which a contempt of riches and love of national glory had once impofed. Roman liberty did not die a violent, but a natural death. In vain did a few vigorous and indepen- dent minds endeavour to protract the hour of her dhTolution. In vain did they hope from the death of C^sar a reftoration of her exiftence. The dagger of Brutus, might, like the Galvanic fhock, produce a fhort and convulfive motion, but the animating foul of liberty, had lied for ever ! The defign of the prefent difTertation does not permit us to purfue the confe- quences of thofe circumftances which con- fpired in the formation and developement of Roman character, beyond the firft ages of the empire. To the general Mate of fociety in that period we muft confine our views. But connected as that period is with an event of univerfal importance to the [ 53 ] the human race, my readers will pardon a {hort digreflion upon a fubject of fuch general intereft. The more feriouily we contemplate the effects of thofe affociations which the poli- tical inflitutions and idolatrous worfhip of ancient Rome infpired, and which philo- fophy itfelf tended to rivet in the human mind ; the more deeply (hall we be im- preffed with admiration at the unfearchable wifdom and omnipotent power of that Being, by whom it was decreed, that at this very era of depravity a religion mould make its way into the world, which not only overturned the fpeculative opinions that influenced the underftanding, but com- pelled its votaries to make a facrifice of all the p anions and prejudices which edu- cation and habit had entwined with every fibre of the heart ! Opinions which are formed from abftract fpeculations vary with every change in the point of view from which they are contemplated : but the [ 54 ] the affbciations which have engendered pride, the love of power or of glory, a difpofition to cruelty, to fenfuality, or re- venge, take too firm a hold upon the mind to be diftblved at the command of reafon. The wifdom of philofophy, fo far from aiming at the fubjugation of all the malig- nant paflions, only partially difapproved them; each feci pleading for the indulgence of the particular clafs which was con- nected with its peculiar tenets. The (tern virtue of the Stoic was proud, vindictive, and unrelenting. The felfifh fyftem of the Epicurean was effeminate andfenfual: and although the Academic philofophy ad- mitted of more fublime and elevated fenti- ments of moral duty, the foundation upon which thefe fentiments were built, was of a nature fo unfteady and fluctuating, that however they might occasionally influence the conduct: of an individual, they could have no general operation upon human character. Completely [ 5S J Completely to change the ideas of happinefs or glory in the mind of an indi- vidual, is a taikfo difficult as to have been rarely accomplifhed. To eradicate the paffions and prejudices connected with thefe affociations, may well by human wif- dom be deemed impoffible, for never by human power has it been effected. To what caufe but to the overruling provi- dence of the great Creator, can we then affign the progrefs of a religion, which changed every principle of action, oppofed all the prejudices of education, and con- demned the cuftoms and habits which time, andthe intercourfes of fociety,had rendered congenial to the mind ? In vain might Paul have planted or Apollos watered, nothing but Divine grace could have been effectual " in turning the hearts of the dif- obedient to the wifdom of the jufl !" But however powerfully Divine grace was ma- nifefled in preparing the hearts of men for the reception of the Gofpel, we have no reafon C S6 ] reafon to believe, that it at once conquered all the prejudices of education, or entirely and miraculouily fubdued the paffions which the corrupt cuftoms of fociety had inflamed and cherifhed. Saint Paul, in his Epiftle to the Romans, evidently ad- drefleshimfelf to men who were ftill labour- ing under theinfluence of thofe affociations, whofe pernicious tendency we have been endeavouring to explain. The pain and difficulty of diiTolving them could only be compared to death — ic a death unto fin, and new birth unto righteoufnefs." And when we confider the extraordinary change that was to be produced, we (hall not think the metaphor overftrained. At a period when the grolTeli impurities were praclifed without fhame and without difgrace, the Chriftians were required to preferve unfpotted holinefs. Pure as the unblemilhed facrifice which they had been taught to oiler to their divinities, they were to prefent their bodies to the Lord. They [ 57 ] They who had been acccuftomcd to confider themfelves as fuperior to the reft of the human race, were no longer to think of themfelves more highly than they ought to think, but to think foberly. The refined policy of Augustus had introduced that politenefs which throws the veil of deceit over rancour and internal hatred; but the Chriftians were to love without difflmulation,- openly and without difguife, to abhor evil, and to cleave to that which was good. They who had had their hearts fhut againft the tender impulfes of humanity, who had con- fidered the fufferings of their inferiors as beneath their notice or regard, were to difiribute to the neceffities of the faints, to rejoice with them that rejoiced, and weep with them that weeped; and they who had been accudomed to view revenge in the light of an heroic virtue, were to avenge themfelves no more; to give place to wrath; to feed the enemy that hungered, and to give drink to the t hit fly foe. Of C 58 ] Of the difficulty of effecting fuch a total change in the fentiments, manners, and affections, we who have been brought up under the influence of the Gofpel difpen- fation can form but a very inadequate idea. Even the infidel who now denies the truth of Divine revelation, has drawn from the fource which he affects to defpife, ideas of moral purity and perfection which never entered into the heart of heathen moralist to conceive; vices, which, in the ages of Roman refinement, philofophers could applaud, and poets celebrate, would now procure irrevocable and difgraceful banifliment from fociety. But in the age of Nero, when the light of the Gofpel began to dawn upon the Pagan world, the heart was not only corrupted by the pre- valence of vice, but the underflanding darkened by falfe notions of virtue. No wonder, then, if paflions and prejudices, which had been the growth of ages, mould fometimes appear to have retained an in- fluence C 59 ] fluence in the minds of individuals, however oppofite to the tenets of that religion which they now profeffed. It has been obferved by a learned prelate, to whom his contemporaries and posterity will admit the juftice of applying the eulo- gium bellowed by Mr. Gibbon on thofe philofophers " whofe names adorn the age in which they lived, and exalt the dignity of human nature," that " the fame intolerant fyftem which had been adopted by the em- perors in their treatment of Chriflians whilft they themfelves were Pagans, was afterwards obferved by them in their treat- ment of Pagans when they themfelves be- came Chriflians. 5 '* Nor is it intolerance only that defcended from the ancient inftitutions of Rome to de- file the pure current of the Gofpel virtues. The long-cherifhed fpirit of Roman pride, and that love of power which was the * The Biihop of Landaff's Letters to Mr. Gibbon. diftinguifhing [ 60 ] diftinguifhing chara&eriftic of Roman am- bition, may in after ages have been fome times found to triumph over the meeknefs and moderation inculcated by the religion of Jesus. The impofmg pageantries of Pagan worfhip was another and a fruitful fource of corruption. Minds long accuf- tomed to attach ideas of refpecr. and vene- ration to the fplendour of decoration, the pomp of procefTions, and the obfervance of a multitude of trifling ceremonies, could not eafily break thefe affociations, however oppofite they might be to the fpirituality of Chriflian devotion. Superftition, whofe roots had taken hold of the foil by a thoufand ramifications, was too deeply fixed to be eafily eradicated. Before the firft preachers of the Gofpel it had indeed fallen proftrate; but in imperfeft profelytes it revived and flourished; nor has it, in the centuries that have fucceeded, given way, fo as to promife its fpeedy extirpation from the Chriflian world. Imperfectly [ 61 ] Imperfectly as the religion of Jesus may have been underftood andpracYifedbymany of its votaries, the benevolent mind will rejoice in tracing its benignant influence in humanizing the paffions, and ameliorat- ing the condition of the human race. Let uscherifh the delightful hope, that its more perfect acceptance and more univerfal in- fluence will complete the triumph of reafon and virtue, teaching every heart to give glory to God, and to glow with benevo- lence towards man. CHAPTER II. Oct a vi us C^isar, his birth; education; marriage with Scribonia; divorce; marriage with Livia. — Education of Julia; her marriage with Marcel lus; with Vespasianus Agrippa; withTi- BERIUS. FROM THE 671ST TO THE 742D YEAR OF ROME. OCTAVIUS CiESAR, afterwards honoured by the title of Augustus, was defcended from an equeftrian family, of which his father Caius was the firft who obtained the fenatorian dignity. His mother Atia, niece to Julius Caesar, was a woman of exemplary conduct^ and diftinguifhed accomplifhments. Her care in C 63 1 in the education of her fon is celebrated by Tacitus, who attributes the early maturity of his talents to her affiduous cultivation. At twelve years of age he did honour to his inftru&refs, by the ele- gance and propriety with which he pro- nounced a funeral oration in honour of her mother Julia. But whatever applaufe may be due to the mother of Augustus for the pains (lie bellowed on the improvement of his mind, it is but too probable that (lie cm- bued it with that fpirit of ambition which proved the governing principle of his future life. To the love of power all the other paffions of the heart were rendered fubfervient. Neither anger nor refenc- ment, neither love, nor pity, nor gratitude, nor honour, were permitted to oppofe the call of intereft, or to (land in the way of the gratification of ambition. At eighteen years of age the pupil of Atia was the moft accorapliihed of hypocrites. Matter t 64 ] Mafter of the arts of diffimulation, Oc- tavius, at this early period, rendered the wifdom of Cicero, the profligacy of An- thony, and the levity of Lepidus, alike inftrumental to the accomplishment of his defigns. Alternately uniting himfelf to the party that could bed promote his inte- reft, and facrificing without remorfe the friends who had fupported him, when they could no longer ferve the purpofes of his ambition ; he at length, through treachery and {laughter, waded to that pre-eminent fkuation, from which his uncle had been hurled by the weak vengeance of an ill-concerted confpiracy. In the re- fentment againfl Julius, thecool and crafty Augustus faw the effects of wounded pride, which though it could fubmit to flavery, could not brook contempt. He, therefore, took care to avoid the rock which had proved fatal to his predecef- for. Contenting himfelf with the reality of power, he quietly left the fenate, and the people [ 65 ] people in poffeiuon of its appearance. Re- nouncing the hateful title of Dictator, he, under the popular appellation of Tribune and Imperator, for upwards of fifty years maintained abfoiute fovereignty over the Roman world. Could the undifturbed poneffion of power confer happinefs, Auguftus had been the happieft of human kind ; but while he tailed of greatnefs even to fatiety, the cup of blifs was often empoifoned by domeftic mifery; and he who could difpofe of king- doms at his pleafure, and command the lives and fortunes of a vaft portion of the human race, was a ftranger to heartfelt fatisfa£Hon. According to the cuflom of the Ro- mans, he had been contracted in infancy to the daughter of a perfon of rank ; bur as no engagement could ftand in the way of his ambition, be no fooner found it his interefl to form an alliance with Mark An- thony, than he gave up all thoughts of the vol. i. f daughter [ Co' J daughter of Ifauricus ; and at the fame time that he figned the bloody profcription, which gave the beffc and nobleft of his former friends to the vengeance of his new ally, he efpoufed Claudia, the daughter- in-law of the profligate triumvir.* The fame policy which formed, difTolved the inaufpicious union. But what were the motives which dictated his fucceeding choice, it is fomewhat more difficult to determine. He was (till but in the fpring of life when he became the third hufband of Scribonia, who was probably his fenior in years, and was already a mother. By this marriage he had one daughter, Julia his only child. How long he might have continued to live with Scribonia is uncertain. He com- plained loudly of the pervcrfenefs of her temper ; but as he did not part with her, till his paflions were inflamed by another * Sec Note A. at die end of the volume. object, L 67 3 object, it is poffible that the account he gave of the jrafcibility of her difpofition, might only be an excufe for the ficklenefs of his own. His daughter Julia was yet ia the cradle, when Tiberius Claudius Nero, a man of learning and talents, who had obtained the dignities of pontiff and of prcetor, returned from Sicily, whither he had fled after the defeat of Anthony, and with his wife and infant fon threw him- felf at the feet of the conqueror. The eyes of Livia were more eloquent than her hufband's orations. Her tears obtained the pardon, of which her charms were the price. The clemency of Auguitus was ex- tended to the friend of Anthony, on the humiliating condition of yielding his wife, then far advanced in her pregnancy, to the arms of the emperor. That delicacy of fentiment which would in the prefent times attach ideas of infamy to fuch a Jiihonourable barter, was un- known to the Romans Tiberius Nero, reftored [ 63 ] reftored to his rank, continued to live in eftimation ; and Livia was congratulated on the acceffion of dignity, without being- deemed to have incurred difgrace. In a few weeks after her marriage with Au- guftus, fhe gave a fon to her former huf- band, who had her family name of Drufus,* and who, with his brother Tiberius, was afterwards adopted by the emperor. No female conqueft was ever more fudden or compleat than that which Livia obtained over the heart of her imperial lover. Her power was permanent; but it was fupported by arts which truth and virtue hold in ab- horrence, and employed for purpofes the mod wicked and flagitious. In cunning and diffimulation, Aug»:ftus himfelf, the mod accomplished diffembler of his times, Was confefiedly her inferior. Nor did fhe yield to him in the ftrength of her ambi- * It was the fori of this Druil.s who was married to Agrippina. tion. C 69 ] tion, or in the perfeverance with which fhe purfued her deep-laid plans for the aggran- difement of her family. Under fuch a mother it cannot be fup- pofed that the tender mind of Julia would imbibe the principles of virtue. Her fa- ther, recollecting the care which Atia had bellowed on his initruftion, and from her precepts and his own experience being deeply impreffed with the importance of education, fpared no pains in the cultiva- tion of her talents, and even feems to have watched over her morals and conduct with the molt laudable affiduity. But in vain did he endeavour by precepts to pre- ferve the purity of her mind from conta- mination. In vain, by prohibiting her from converfing with Grangers, or by or- dering a diary to be kept of all her words and anions,* did he hope to infpire her with virtuous principles. The influence of Livia was too predominant not to extend * Suetonius* to [ 70 ] to the Haves who were placed about the perfbn of her flep-duaghter; and it was not for Livia's intereft, that Julia ihould be too worthy of her father's efteem. Auguflus, difappointed in his hopes of having children by Livia, was anxious to ftrengthen his family by the marriage of Julia with his nephew, the fon of his lifter O&avia,* for whom he feems always to have preferved the tendered aftedlion. Marcellus was a youth of much promife. Graceful in his perfon, engaging in his manners, and amiable in all the difpofi- tions of the heart, he was endeared to the people by his virtues, and beloved by his uncle as the ornament of the Julian line. In rendering him his fon by adop- tion, and his fon-in-law by marriage, he equally confulted his own inclination and the interefls of the people. But alas! the bright profpecls that opened on this * See Note B. at the end of the volume. illuftrious [ 71 ] illuftrious youth were foon clofed by death, His death was however glorious, for Vir- gil has immortalifed his memory. The difpofal of Julia again became the object of paternal care. The perfon who appeared moft worthy in the eyes of Au- guftus to fucceed the young Marcellus, was a man whofe merit might deferve the efteem of the father, but whofe manners were not very likely to engage the daugh- ter's affe&ions. Marcus VipfaniusAgrippa, who was thus diftinguilhed by the favour of the emperor, was of low extraction, unpoliihed to a degree of rutticity, and at this time, though not in the decline of life, confiderably advanced in years. Not- withftanding the disadvantages of a rude exterior, Agrippa polfefled thofe qualities which deferved the friendship, and did ho- nour to the difcernment, of Auguftus. The vigour of his genius fupplied the want of a liberal education. Though a ilranger to letters, he was the friend of literature; and hough [ 72 ] though deftitute of knowledge in the fine arts, he i'o judicioufly employed the tafle and (kill of others, that under his direction not only R orae, but all Italy was adorned by the mod ufefnl and magnificent ftructures. In war he difpla) ed the talents of a great general, and in peace maintained a cha- racter of unblemifhed integrity. From an humble ftation he had the art of rifing in the world with dignity ; a certain proof that his mind was greater than his fortunes. At the time that he was fele£ted by Auguftus for his fon-in-law, Agrippa was enjoying the happinefs of connubial love with the filler of the deceafed Marcellus, who had already brought him feveral child- ren. The mifery he might inflict upon his niece, by tearing from her arms the huf* band of her affections, and father of her infant family, did not affect the mind of Auguftus; but to reconcile his fitter to the indignity that was thus offered to her daughter, he deigned to confider as an obi eel c 73 : obje£t: of fome importance. O&avia had the fenfe to yield with a good grace to an evil fhe had it not in her power to prevent. She took home the divorced Marcella, and permitted Agrippa to pur- fue the path of ambition in a nearer con- nexion with the imperial family. About the fame time that Agrippa re- ceived the hand of Julia, his daughter Vipfania, the offspring of a former mar- riage, was united to Tiberius, (the elder fon of Livia") whofe fullen mind was foft- ened into tendernefs by the virtues and charms of his amiable confort. Domeftic felicity now feemed to have taken up her abode in the family of Au- guftus. Drufus Nero, the younger of his ftep-fons, whofe virtues and accom- plishments were, even at an early period, the .objects of univerfal admiration, was united to Antonia, the daughter of O&a- via by Mark Anthony ; and the ftrength chat was thus given by family connexion to [ 74 ] lo the Julian line, was augmented by the promifing family which bleffed the union of Julia and Agrippa. Caius and Lucius, the fons of Julia, were, according to the forms of the Roman law, purchafed from their father by Auguftus, and formally adopted by him as his fons, and confequently heirs of his fortune and dignities. The two daughters, Julia and Agrippina, fhared with their brothers the tender affection of their illuftrious grandfather ; who, blind to the miferies that awaited his ill-fated race, indulged the pleafmg hope that his name fhould through them be perpetuated to the lateft pofterity. The haughty Livia beheld with a jea- lous and malignant eye the blooming off- fpring of Julia, whofe numbers feemed to prefent an infuperable bar to her ambitious views. The death of Agrippa re-infpired her hopes. While he lived, his children had a protector too vigilant to be duped by her diih mutation, and too powerful to be [ 75 1 be overcome by the utmoft efforts of her malice. But when Agrippa expired, the defencelefs orphans came within her graip. The compleat afcendancy which (he had by this time obtained over the mind of her hufband, put them compleatly in her power ; and the character of Julia was not fuch as to give her an influence that could counteract the fpecious arts of an infidious ftep-dame. After her hufband's death, Julia was delivered of her fifth child, who bore his father's name of Agrippa, and from the circumflances of his birth, had the additional appellation of Pofthumus. It was now that Livia took the firft ftep towards the accomplishment of the long-cherifhed object of her ambition, the aggrandifement of her favourite fon. By her perfuafions, the emperor projected the union of Julia with Tiberius, who, though far from being inferior to his mo- ther in ambition, was in this inftance utterly averfe [ 76 ] averfe from the plan which fhe had fo kindly formed for his advancement. He loved Vipfania,, who was now in a fitua- tiun th«c gratified his hopes of paternal endearment, and called forth all his ten- dernefs. Vipfania merited the affection of her hufband and the world's efteem, by the gentlenefs of her manners and the pu- rity of her life. Had fhe continued the wife of Tiberius, it is more than probable, that her benignant influence would have fmoothed the ruggednefs of his nature, and chained the gloomy paffions of his foul. It was neither from her great beauty, though fhe was acknowledged to be beautiful, nor from the mere fweetnefs of her manners, however captivating, that we (hould have expected a permanent change to have been wrought in the ty- rant's heart. But in addition to thefe endearing qualities, Vipfania polTefTed an elegant and cultivated mind. Her tafle for literature was hereditary ; for fhe was the [ 77 J the great-grand-child of the celebrated Attica, the friend of Cicero. An attach- ment to fuch a woman, cemented as it was by tendernefs and eiteem, could hardly fail of having a falutary influence on a young man who was neither deflitute of understanding, nor of tafte. In the mind of Tiberius love for feme time triumphed over ambition. lie refilled the entreaties of his mother, and the com- mands of Auguftus. But the former knew how and when to ailail him with her arguments ; or to wound him by her refentment. Miitrefs of ail the avenues to his heart, (lie alternately piqued his pride, and fired his ambition; rill at length me extorted from him an ungracious con- lent to her wifnes. lie divorced the be- loved Vipfania, and with ill-concealed aver- iion, took the widow of her father to his reluctant bofjm. The confequences of this ill-omened union were_ fuch as might have been ex- pected. [ 78 ] peeled. Julia, whofe criminal levity had been retrained by her refpect. for Agrippa, fenfible that file was odious to Tiberius, who was probably not lefs fo to her, gave a ioofe to the vicious inclinations that revelled in her heart. As her children were the care of her father, {he felt not the maternal tie as any check upon her moral conduct. Her flagitious amours, though they were for fome time managed with a degree of fecrecy, did not efcape the knowledge of her hufband; who defpifed, as much as he detefted her. But it was dangerous to complain of the daughter of Auguftus ; and after the farrifice of his feelings which Tiberius had already made, he thought it folly to rifque his hope?, by giving way to his refentment. By devouring in fecret the chagrin which proved upon his heart, he gave an additional (hade to the natural gloom of his temper. The more he ob- ferved of the conduct of Julia, the more deeply did he regret the lofs of his beloved Vipfania ; C 79 ] Vipfania; and fo greatly was he affected by an accidental interview with this lady, who was now married to Afinius Gallus,* that by the emperor's command care was taken that they fhould meet no mure. In the houfe of her fecond hufband, Vipfania was delivered of that child on whom Tibe- rius had fondly placed his hope:. He gave the name of Drums to this ion of his love, and treated him through life as the fole object of his affection. * Afinius Gallus was the (on of A. Poilio, the friend of AuguiHis, and the patron of Virgil, who addreiTes to him his molt celebrated eclogue. C 80 ] CHAPTER III. Agrippina's infant Character-, Care of Augustus?/? her Kduca tion ; con traded to Germantcus ; her Mother's Profli- gacy and Wretchedness. CONTINUED TO THE 753D YEAR OF HOME, BEING THE FIRST YEAR OF THE CHRISTIAN -flERA. T TAVING given fuch a fketch of the -*• -*■ events which preceded the birth of Agrippina, and of the characters with whom {he v/as mod nearly connected, as fcemed necefTary for the purpofe of elu- cidation, we fhall now attend more clofely to the immediate fubject. of the preient Memoirs, Agrippina [ 81 ] Agrippina loft her father at a period when the mind is happily infenfible to mif- fortune. Surrounded by all that could gratify or amufe the infant fancy, (he felt no diminution of happinefs, no interrup- tion of enjoyment. Perceiving herfelf a particular obje£t of attention to him whofe fmiles imparted the glow of fatisfa&ion, and whofe frowns were dreaded as the wrath of heaven, fhe could not avoid, even at a very early age, feeling the complacency of felf- importance ; a feeling which we may prefume the obfequioufnefs of do- meftics, and the flattery of friends, did not tend to diminifh. The young favourite of the emperor was not likely to be often vexed by contradiction. Even Livia, whatever averfion me might fecretly en- tertain, would, according to the maxims which governed her condu£t ; proportion the ardency of her carelfes to the depth of her malignity. The fame means which had been taken to corrupt the mind of vol. i. g the [ 82 ] the mother might have been adopted with equal fuccefs to deprave the principles of the daughter ; but happily for Agrippina, fhe was foon removed from the dangers and temptations, which, in the houfe of Auguftus, might have enfnared her unfuf- picious youth. According to the ancient cuflom of the Romans, fhe was contracted in infancy to Germanicus, the fon of Drufus and An- tonia, who was then a boy about her own age. Marriages formed in this arbitrary manner cannot be fuppofed to have been often productive of matrimonial felicity. The mifery attendant upon fuch unions was expected to be obviated by the facility of divorce ; but it was foon found that the remedy was in itfelf an evil more per- nicious than that which it was intended to remove. Divorces had at all times been authorifed by the Roman laws, but (fuch was the virtue of the early ages) were long without example in the Roman hiftory : [ 83 ] hiftory; their frequency, which may juftly be confidered as the criterion of general depravity, was now productive of all the evil confequences that canarife from giving legality to prostitution. Auguftus, though he had himfelf abufed the liberty of di- vorce in a mod licentious and lhameful manner, no fooner became intent upon the reformation of public morals, than he re- probated the practice as the fource of then- corruption. He iffued edicts, he promul- gated laws, to check the growing evil. But alas ! neither laws nor edicts can alter the nature of things. When luxury and its attendant vices have pervaded all ranks, and univerfally vitiated the morals of a powerful and wealthy people, vice is not to be controled by the authority of legif- lative wifdom. In fuch a {late, nothing fhort of national calamity can prove a cor- rective of fufficient efficacy ; but to this date of univerfal depravity Rome had not yet fully arrived. Virtue had (till many vota- ries ; [ 8* ] ties; and in the midft of a corrupt fociety a number of illuftrious citizens flill preferved the purity of unbleraiftied reputation. Of this honourable defcription were the parents of Gerrnanicus. The cha- racter of Drusus has been celebrated by mofl of the poets, and all the hifi >rians, of the Auguilan age. It is impreflively de- lineated by one of the latter, who fays, that Drufus was il a youth of as many virtues as prudence can acquire, or human nature can admit. "* His military talents engaged the affections of the army, while his amiable manners endeared him to the people. The virtues of Antoniaf were not lefs eminent, or lefs worthy of univerfal efteem, tha:. hofe of her hulband. Though dif- cinguiflied b\ beauty and every perfonal accomplifhment, fhe was ambitious of a * Vellei :s Pater^ulus. t See Note C at the end of the volume. higher [ 85 ] higlier title to admiration than beauty or perfonal accompliihments can beftow. — Wifdom and prudence, tendernefs and fide- lity, were the honourable charatteriftics of the wife of Drufus. Attached to each other by every tie of affection and efteem, Drufus and Antonia prefented to a diifo- Iute age a rare example of connubial hap- pinefs. But alas ! fuch happinefs was not doomed to be of long duration. The ami- able Drufus, loaded with early honours, was, in the midft of his career of glory, {hatched from an admiring world. After having, for his fuccefs in the wars of Germany, obtained the honour of an ova- tion,* and the triumphal ornaments, he returned with the additional dignity of the Confulate to the fummer camp, where he fhortly after expired ; leaving to his afflicted widow no confolation fo foothing as the remembrance of his virtues. His * See Note D. at the end of the volume. death [ 86 ] death was lamented by the prince and people with equal fincerity ; and the ho- nourable firname of Germanicus was by the vote of the fenate decreed to his pofte- rity, as a perpetual memorial of the virtues and atchievements of their illuftrious an- ceftor. His fon was deftined to do immortal honour to the name, and in the promifing difpofitions of her charming boy, the heart of Antonia experienced the invigorating folace of hope. Germanicus was only three years of age at the time of his father's death; how foon he was contracted to Agrippina is uncer- tain ; but as they were equally the care of Antonia, (he, in the courfe of their edu- cation, fuccefsfully cultivated in their ten- der minds that mutual affection which laid the foundation of their future felicity. Under her maternal care they were preferved from the contamination of vice, while they were embued with every noble and generous fentiment that can adorn the human C 87 ] human character. Nor was Auguftus lefs folicitous concerning the education of his grand-children, than he had been with re- gard to his daughter. His letters to Agrip- pina were dill extant in the time of the hiftorian Suetonius ; who quotes one that was written to her while (lie was very young, in which he commends her inge- nuity, and among other excellent advices, begs her " to be particularly carefuU both in /peaking and writings to avoid affectation" Agrippina was endowed by nature with a capacity that rendered the acquifition of knowledge not only eafy, bur delightful; and fhe had the happinefs of being born at a period, when literary tafte had reached its utmofl: perfe&ion. That impetus which the inftitutions of ancient Rome had given to the human mind was not yet exhaufted; but being now impelled into other chan- nels, produced thofe glorious monuments of genius which have been the admiration of all fucceeding ages. The C 83 ] The love of letters had been fuccefs- fully cultivated by Atia in the mind of her fon. In his tafte for literature, Au- guflus was no hypocrite. He cultivated the arts of oratory and poetry with fuc- cefs; but as an author, though defirous of diflinction, he was fuperior to the meannefs of jealoufy. His friend and minifler Maecenas was endeared to him by a fimilarity of tafte. It was this diftinguifhed patron of genius, who firft introduced Virgil to the notice of Auguftus. And Virgil in his turn, with a liberality worthy of his talents, introduced Horace to the favour of both. Encourage- ment gave an additional ftimulus to genius; and under the protection of Auguflus, Latin poetry was taught fuccefsfully to emulate the beft productions of the Grecian mufe. The wifh of the prince was feconded by the fervour of the people. Of that fervour, with regard to the effufions of poetry, we, in modern times, can form but a very in- adequate C 89 ] adequate notion. The Chriflian religion has rendered our ideas of immortality- more correct; but in the age of Auguf- tus, the idea of immortal glory was firmly afTociated with every exertion perfonal or mental, that raifed an individual to diflin- guilhed renown. Though the iEneid, which would undoubtedly have proved the mod popular of his works, was not publifhed till after the death of Virgil ; fuch was the celebrity he enjoyed, that when at any time he came to Rome, the people crouded to gaze upon him with the profoundeft admiration. When he went to the theatre, the audience manifefted their refpeel: by riling from their feats, as was cuftomary on the entrance of the em- peror. Wherever he appeared, he re- ceived the tribute that was due to one who had done honour to his country, and heard on every hand the burd: of admira- tion or the murmur of applaufe. It was [ 90 ] It was at this time the cuflora for authors of all defcriptions to read or recite their works to a felect, audience of friends and critics, who freely commented upon the faults or beauties of the performance. Virgil had long refifled the intreaues of Auguftus, who was entremely anxious to be favoured with a fpecimen of the iEneid, upon which he knew he had been for a length of time engaged ; when the work was confiderably advanced, the poet fo far yielded to the requett of the Emperor, as to recite the fecond, the fourth, and the fixrh books, in the prefence of a felect party at the palace. The recent death of Mar- cellus had at this time thrown a gloom over the focial board, and Auguftus was glad to feize the opportunity of giving a momentary fufpenfion to the forrows of his beloved fitter, by diverting her atten- tion to another object. Oc"t ivia's attention was foon arretted. She littened with tran- quil plcafure to the woes of Priam and of Hecuba, [ 91 J Hecuba, fmiled at the frantic defpair of the Carthaginian Chieen, and anxioufly fol- lowed the pious hero to the regions of the dead, and faw the (hades of her illuflri- ous anceftors pafs in review before her. But when the poet arrived at that cele- brated paflage, where he has fo artfully- introduced the young Marcellus, as if in perfpeclive, encompafTed by admiring crowds, who feem in vain endeavouring to ward oil his deftiny, the feelings of Oclavia were wound to too high a pitch for her en- feebled frame to fupport ; {he fainted away, and was with difficulty reftored to life. After (lie had been fufficiently recovered, and had time for recollection, (lie (hewed her fenfe of the poet's merit, by ordering him a prefent of ten fed ere i for every line relative to her Marcellus, which on the whole amounted to rather more than two thoufand pounds fterling.* * See Note F. at the end of the volume. As As a true tafle for the beauties of po- etical compofition was never yet found in a mind poiTcfTed of a limited range of ideas; it cannot be fuppofed that poetry engroffed the favour of Auguftus. In his edimation of talents or of virtue, Auguftus was not biaffed by the fpirit of party; he was too confcious of his own fuperiority to have recourfe to the defpi- cable practice of traducing the character, or under-rating the genius, of an opponent. Though he had purfued Brums and Caf- fius with unrelenting vengeance, he was not offended with the hiflorian Livy, for attributing to them the virtues of con- fiftency and patriotifm. And though the murder of Cicero threw the mofl indelible difgrace upon his own character, he did not feek to juftify the atrocity of that black tranfacYion by infinuations that would leffen the merit of the man he had deftroyed. It was, however, a fubject on which delicacy would choofe to be filent, and fo much did one C 93 ] one of the brothers of Agrippina fear that he fhould incur the difpleafure of his grandfather, by fludying the works of the unfortunate conful, that upon his fudden entrance he haftily hid the book beneath his robe. The quick eye of Auguftns detected the concealment; the poor boy was made inftantly to produce the hidden treafure, and while the emperor turned over the pages with ferious attention, flood in trembling expectation of a fevere rebuke. His apprehenfions were groundlefs. Au- guflus returned the volume with an ap- proving fmile, faying, " My dear boy, the author of this book was a wife man, and a lover of his country." It is, perhaps, feldom that the children of a prince have been thus permitted to reap inftruction from the enemies of their family! The ambition of Auguftus was not tinc- tured with the littlenefs of vanity. He knew that to give popularity to his govern- ment, it was more material to render his fubiects [ 94 ] fubje&s happy, than to make an oflentatious difplay of his own wealth or confequencc. While he poiTelTed an abfolute dominion over the lives and fortunes of his former fellow-citizens, he affe&ed no external ap- pearance of fuperiority, but lived in every refpecl: like a private gentleman of mode- rate fortune. The houfe he occupied was far from being one of the bcil in Rome; nor was it furnilhed in a manner that was either fo magnificent or expenfive, as thofe of many other fenators.* His table was remarkable for the fame plainnefs and fru- gality ; but to thofe who pofTeffcd a tafte for the pleafures of converfation, it never failed to afford a mod luxurious treat. His parties were ufually fmall, but they were * " His frugality in the furniture of his houfe ap- pears even at this day (viz. in the time of Suetonius) from fome beds and tables, ft ill extant, moft of which are fcarcely fit for any genteel private family. It is reported, that he never lay upon a bed but fuch as was low and meanly furnifhed. He feldom '".ore any gar- ment but what was made by his wife, lifter, daughter, and grand-daughters." — Suet, i'.ct. 73. C & ] enlivened by wit, and adorned by genius and wifdom. All the young perfons of the family were placed at an adjoining table ; and had the advantage of liftening to the various fubjects of difcuflion or of criti- cifm that engaged the attention of their feniors. Sometimes a poem or a play was read for the amufement of the company, who afterwards delivered their opinions upon the merits of the competition. Tho' decorum was preferved, rellraint was ba- niflied from the focial board, and in the houfe of Aueuilus the puefts forgot that Rome had now a mailer. With the leiTons of prudence and wifdom the ardent mind of Agrippina imbibed the generous fpirit of independence. The haughty Livia foon faw that her arts were detected, and her character abhorred; her hatred to Agrippina was increafed by' the conviction, and its rancour foon extended to all with whom (he wa, connected. The arowin? attachment of her grandfon to his C 9 6 ] his betrothed wife gave to her malignant mind a pang fuch as a demon may be fup- pofed to feel ; and while they were united in the love and admiration of all their other relatives, they were alfo united as objects of equal averfion in the breafl of Livia. A daughter who was elder, and a fon who was younger, than our hero, fhared the maternal care of Antonia. The for- mer, named Livilla, was foon contracted to Caius Crefar, the brother of Agrip- pina; and as fhe by this means came under the authority, and was fubjefted to the influence, of her grandmother Livia, the infamy of her after- conduct may be eafily accounted for. She and the younger fitter of Agrippina were equal victims to the corrupting arts which had deflroyed the innocence of Julia; who was now running the career of depravity without fhame and without reflraint. The huiband of Julia was no ftranger to the infamy of her conduct. He knew that C 97 1 that in the life-time of Agrippa the tongue of fcandal had not been filent: and was aware that Sempronius Gracchus flill car- ried on the criminal intimacy, which was then fufpe&ed to have taken place betwixt him and Julia. Tiberius buried his re- fentment in the dark recefTes of his breafl; but he marked Sempronius Gracchus for future vengeance. It is the nature of vice to be progreffive. The imagination of Julia had fir it been foiled by the admifhon of impure ideas; the fecond ftep in vice was a breach of her marriage vows, which was probably ex- cufed to herfelf by the falfe and pernicious notions of the irrefiuible influence of fym- pathetic tendernefs. The arts of the feducer might aid the fophiftry of nailion; but the woman who has forfeited her honour, can- not long retain that felf-refpecl which is the fupport of every virtue. She who ceafes to be chafle, will foon ceafe to be amiable. Julia, inftead. of being humbled vol. i. ji by [ 98 ] by the confcioufnefs of guilt, became more proud and arrogant. She defpifed Tibe- berius, and taking advantage of her fu- perior birth, and the favour of Auguftus, flie took every opportunity of evincing her contempt. Nor was flie long conflant to her firft feducer. Another and another fucceeded him in her favour, till at length in her coufin Marcus Julius Antonius (lie found a paramour equally abandoned as herfelf. Antonius was the fon of the triumvir by Fulvia, and inherited all his father's profligacy without any pretentions to his talents. His half-fifter Antonia was not more remarkable for the pofTeflion. of every virtue, than he was for the prac- tice of every vice. The unfortunate Mar- cella, who was divorced from Agrippa, in order to make way for his marriage with Julia, was deflined to receive Anto- tonius as'her fecond hufband: and this near connexion with the family of Auguftus, gave an eafy accefs to Antonius in the profecution of his intrigue. [ 99 ] Long did the clofe and fullen mind of Tiberins brood in filence over the deep- felt injury. Diflimulation and concealment converted malevolence into a chronic dif- eafe of the mind, which no alteration of circumftances could remedy. From inflicting mifery on Julia, he hoped to experience fome alleviation of his own. To divulge her conduct to Au- guftus, was a ftep which to his fufpicious temper appeared fraught with danger : he therefore preferred a plan of retirement which was better fuited to the gloomy ha- bits of his foul. Caius, the elded fon of Julia, and heir- apparent of Auguftus, was now fpringing into manhood ; he and his brother Lucius had both been prefented to the fenate, ho- noured with the name of Cfefar, and loaded with dignities which had never before been conferred on youths of their tender age. Tiberius, under a plea of delicacy, requeued permiilioa to retire, that he might not (land in [ ioo ] in the way of their preferment. He had already borne all the public offices of the ftate, had been twice conful, and had for five years been inverted with the tribunitian authority. The refignation of fo many ho- nours had the appearance of forbearance and humility; but Auguftus faw the mifan- thropy of his heart. He refufed his permif- fion to the departure of Tiberius, in which he was fupported by Livia, who was much incenfed at a plan which (lie conceived to be weak and impolitic, and which fhe feared would effectually impede the exe- cution of her own defigns. But Tiberius was firm. He avowed his intention of flarving himfclf to death, if he were difap- pointed ; and had actually been fome days without food, when a pafTport from the emperor faved his life to be the fcourge and bane of the family of his benefactor. He immediately quitted the city, ac- companied by the reJuchvnt Julia. Out of refpedt to the ion-in-Jaw of the empe- ror, [ ioi ] ror, many perfons of diftin&ion attended them to the place of embarkation ; but the gloomy cynic maintained impenetrable filence on the road. He arrived at Oftia without having opened his lips to any one of the company; and at parting only coldly faluted a few of thofe who had fo kindly attended him,* The ifland of Rhodes was the place chofen by Tiberius for his retreat. Thither he and his fmall fuite arrived in fafety; and to a mind at cafe the beauty of this celebrated foot might have afforded the mofl lively fenfations of delight. But it is difficult to fay, whether Tiberius or his wife was lealt qualified to enjoy the charms of nature. The fublime or the beautiful can produce no correfpondent emotions, where malignity or fenfuality have taken poffeflion of the heart. To impurity or malevolence the exquifite gra- tifications of refined tafte are unknown. Suetonius, Julia, L 102 ] Julia, awakened from her dream of plea- fure, was purfued by the gnawing worm of felf-reproach. She found herfelf in the power of the man (lie had injured and hated; and while (lie walked in folitary forrow through the Rhodian groves, (he could only look back to fcenes of infamy, or forward to the horrors of mifery and difgrace. In the awful filence of retire- ment, the made of Agrippa and the images of her children alternately arofe to her imagination. The former with a frowning afpect accufed her infidelity; the latter, cloathed in infant innocence, re- proved her foul defcrtion of the maternal character. Every recollection of the arts of Livia fixed a venomed fhaft in her la- cerated heart. She too late was fenfible, that in forfaking the paths of virtue, me had involved not only herfelf, but her off- spring, in a labyrinth of evil, from which there was no poilibility of efcape. Anguftus had given peace to the world, but he could not (till the paflions of the guilty [ 103 ] guilty brcafl. He had exalted his family to the pinnacle of human greatnefs, but while they looked down with pride on all that dwelt upon earth, they felt not in thefituation to which they had been raifed any real felicity. To the imperial family, however, did all the various nations which bowed beneath the yoke of Rome, direct their eyes with emotions of envy or ad- miration. The power of Auguftus was felt in the remotcit ic/ions. Throughout every province of the empire his wiil was law. " Bid though he meant not fo, neither did his heart think fa" he was but an in- ftrument in the baud of Providence for fulfilling the eternal purpofes of Divine wifdom. To this end, the peace which lie eftabliihed, the ordinances which he iffued, and the rules of government which he adopted, were alike conducive. " He fent forth a decree that the world iliould be taxed," and that decree, by leading the blelTed Mary to the city of David, cfta- bliOied [ 104 ] blifhed her defcent from the King of Ifrael, to whom it had been promifed, that of him a prince fhould in after times be born, LESSED in the tender love of her -*~* Germanicus, admired by all who faw, and careffed by all who were dear to her, Agrippina confidered this world as an elyfium, far fairer than the poet's fancy had ever feigned. Next to her hufband, her brothers held the deareft place in her affection. Lucius [ 123 ] Lucius had been permitted to return from Campania to aflifl at her nuptials ; and while his improvement did honour to the maflers under whom he ftuuied, his appearance indicated a fpirit and capacity beyond his years. On his afTuming the manly robe, he was prefented to the people by Auguftus in a fet fpeech, which he concluded by entreating them to grant their favour to the youth according as he deferved it. The honours which had been conferred upon his brother, were by accla- mation voted to Lucius ; and the friends of the houfe of Casfar rejoiced in the ap* parent ftrength of the Julian line. By the advice of Livia, the command of the army in Spain, a province which en- joyed the mofl uninterrupted tranquillity, was granted to the young prince, as an initiation into the knowledge of military affairs ; and that he might have no time for being injured by the diffipation of the capitol, his departure from Rome, was, by the C 12* ] the provident wifdom of his ftep-mother, haftened as much as poffible. Who were the companions of his journey, or by what route he travelled, cannot now be accu- rately known ; but Agrippina had the pleafure of hearing that he reached Mar- feilles in fafety. Marfeillcs had rifen to renown as a Grecian colony, and was for ages diflin- guifhed as a feat of learning, " where'* in the elegant language of Tacitus, " the refinements of Greece were happily blend- ed with the fober manners of provincial economy.'* Its fehools of oratory and philofcphy could not fail to attract the attention of a young man of vigorous talents and liberal education ; and it was probably with regret, that Lucius took leave of the hofpitable Marfeillans to pro- ceed to the Spanifli camp. Unconfcious as the victim which crops the flowers that ftrew its path to the altar on which it is doomed to bleed, Lucius feized the pre- fent [ 125 ] fent moment of delight, and expected that futurity would only vary the fcene of plea- fure. But alas ! before he left Rome, his fate had been decreed by Livia. The moraine's fun which was to have guided him on his journey, beheld the unhappy youth a lifelefs corfe. The firft bloody facrifice offered by the emprefs at the ihrine of ambition ! By whom the poifon was adminiflered is not clearly afcertained ; and as all en- quiry concerning it was quailied by the authority of her whofe deed it was mod: juflly confidered, the name of the Have who was the blind inftrument of her cruelty, has not been deemed worthy of notice by any hiftorian. A deed which filled Rome with horror and indignation, could not fail of making a dill deeper impreffion on all who were more immediately interacted in the fate of the unhappy youth. Thofe lively feelings which diflinguifhed Agrippina, and ren- dered [ 126 ] dered her through all the fcenes of her darkly-chequered life peculiarly fufceptiblc of happinefs or mifery, brought agony to her heart. Alternately a prey to grief, to fufpicion, and to the mod diftra&ing apprehenfion, for 'the lives of her remain- ing brothers, it would have been impof- iible for her in the prefence of Livia to have retrained the emotions produced by the conflicting paffions of her foul. Ger- manicus faw the danger to which (he might be expofed, and wifely prevailed upon her to withdraw from obfervation. Soothed by the endearments of tender fympathy, fhe liftened to the wife remonftrances of her hufband ; and while fhe bedewed the memory of Lucius with her tears, ab- flained from complaint or accufation. Whatever were the feelings or the fuf- picions of Auguftus on the tragical fate of his favourite grandfon, he did not be- tray fuch fymptoms of emotion as could lead to their difcoveryj but left his mind, if permitted [ 127 ] permitted to dwell without interruption on the melancholy fcene, ihould gather ftrength to turn on the viper whofe venom threatened perdition to his blood, it was deemed necefTary to dire£t his attention into an other channel. The art of Livia, always fruitful in in- vention, contrived that the guilt of Julia fhould all at once burfl on the mind of her unhappy father. Pride {lie well knew to be in his bofom a (till (Ironger feeling than paternal affection. Nor was fhe difap- pointed in her expectations. No fooner was Auguftus convinced of his daughter's in- famy, than all the feelings of indignant honour (hook his difordered foul. Shame and rage, grief and refentment, alternately took pofielTion of his heart, till by the itruggle of contending paiiions reafon had nearly loft her feat. He imprecated vengeance on the head of his child, he curfed the hour of her birth, and, as if he had wiflied the whole world [ 123 ] world to fympathife in his defpair, he fcnt a letter to the fenate, defcribing in the mod lively colours, the difgrace of Julia, and the anguifti of his heart.* A bill of divorce was inftantly difpatched to Tiberius, with orders to fend the un- happy Julia to Rome, there to expiate by death the crimes which had fullied the honour of her illuftrious family. Letters from Livia accompanied this difpatch, which apprifed Tiberius that his fupplica- tions in favour of his wretched wife would redound to the honour of his own cle- mency, but that there was no room to fear that they would have any effect in foften- ing the ftern heart of her incenfed father. Tiberius obeyed the imperial mandate with real joy, and well-feigned reluctance. * Augtvftus foon repented of this indiflraet expo- pofuro of his daughter's guilt, and bitterly lamented the rafhnefs with which he had thus publifhed the fcamhd of his houfe. " If Agrippa or Maecenas had live^i," he was heard to fay, " I fhould have been re- {trained from this act of imprudence." — Seneca, a* quoted by Fergufon. [ 129 ] He interceded for his guilty wife with fuch an appearance of candour and magnani- mity, as was calculated to make her con- duct appear dill more inexcufable in the eyes of Auguftus and of the world. But his character was already too well known to gain much credit, either with the empe- ror or the public, for pity or fincerity. Agrippina heard with horror of her mother's crimes. Her virtuous mind was fhocked at the idea of fuch impurity; her filial piety was wounded by being obliged to condemn the conduct of a parent. In trembling fufpence fhe waited the hour of her arrival ; now dreading that life might be the forfeit of her guilt, and again wifhing that her crimes and forrows might be buried in a watery grave. In the mean time, Sempronius Gracchus and Ju- lius Antonius, the lovers of Julia, were brought to trial. They were both con- demned: the former to perpetual banifh- mentj the latter to fuffer an ignominious vol. i. k death. [ 130 ] death. No one called in queftion the juflice of the femence. Gracchus had be- trayed the confidence of friendfhip, and while he was under many obligations to Auguflus and his fon, had, by the reduc- tion of Julia, brought difhonour on all with whom (he was connected. Antonius was involved in Hill deeper guilt ; to the ties of friendship he added thofe of blood, and the crime of adultery was aggravated by the fin of ingratitude. Yet his punifh- ment was to a Roman lefs dreadful than that of his fellow-delinquent.* The fate of Julia was perhaps more ter- rible than either. Auguflus retracted the kntence of death, but doomed the once gay and thoughtlefs Julia to hopelefs exile. A confeience filled with remorfe, and a mind enervated by diffipation, are wretched companions in retirement ; what muft they then prove in a folitude never to be cheered by hope, never to be interrupted by foci- Note M. et y! I 131 ] cty! The ifland of Pandatoria, (now Santa Maria) in the Tufcan fea, was fixed upon as the place of her confinement. Thither Hie was hurried, without being permitted to take a laft leave of her children ; and by the commands of Auguftus diverted of all the ornaments of her rank, and humbled by the mean attire of a plebeian. It was reported to the emperor, that Phcebe, the freed- woman and confidante of of Julia, (whom we may, without impropri- ety, conjecture to have been one of thofe employed by Livia to corrupt the anfufpedt- ing innocence of her youth) had in a fit of remorfe hanged herfelf. " Would I had been the father of Phcebe, rather than of Julia!" was the emphatic reply of Auguftus.* The wound which a mother's difgrace had inflicted in the filial heart of Agrip- pina dill continued to bleed, when the promifed return of her elder brother gave a falutary check to her affliction, and re- * Suetonius. vived C 132 ] vived the drooping fpirits of her family. The prefcnce of Caius was anxiouily ex- pelled by his fitter, not only on account of the pleafure flie naturally hoped to receive in the fociety of a beloved brother, but as {lie thought it neceffary to the fupport and protection of his relations, and of his younger brother in particular. Poor Pofthumus had been in infancy awed into timidity by the harfh aufterity of the em- prefs ; but the unfortunate boy had an in- genuous temper and an affectionate heart; and to his fifter the natural kindnefs of his difpofition was (hewn without difguife. She encouraged him to hope that the re- ftraint in which he was now held, was foon to terminate ; and that on the return of Caius he would find a friend, who had fuf- ficient intereft with Auguftus to counteract the infidious arts by which Livia fo fuc- cefsfully endeavoured to create a prejudice againfl his unoffending innocence. 'The. ronfuhr dignity, to which Caius had been elected, [ 133 ] elected, could not fail of arming him with fuch an authority as might be fatal to the murderers of the unhappy Lucius. His arrival was expected with impatience by all who either hated the arrogance or dreaded the refentment of the haughty Livia ; and it is probable that his young bride, whom he had been obliged fo pre- cipitately to leave, was not fo devoid of attachment to the gallant youth, as to think with indifference of the expelled moment that was to reftore him to her arms. But alas ! that moment was never deflined to arrive. While (he indulged the dream of happinefs, Livilla was already a widow ! The heavy tidings of the prince's death Were brought by a courier from Syria; for fo far had the ill-fated Caius proceeded on his journey homeward from Armenia, when a fatal period was put to his pro- grefs and his life. Confternation and dif- may fpread through the palace, and from the palace were foon diffufed over the city. The C 134 ] The account fuccinclly dated, that he had died at Lydia, and that his death was occa- fioned by a wound. From what hand was the wound re- ceived? was the general queftion. The anfwers were vague and contradic- tory; nor did anyftatement of the fact ever appear that was fufficiently authentic to clear from fufpicion the character of Lol- lius. The prince's tutor was too high in the favour of Livia, to be arraigned for the murder ; but in the public mind he never was acquitted of the charge. This fecond blow was more than Agrip- pina could fupport. She now to a cer- tainty was convinced, that both her bro- thers had been inhumanly murdered by the fame relentlefs hand : for whoever were the inftruments, ft was Livia, the cruel Livia, who dealt the deadly wound. The murder of Lucius had been attributed to perfonal malice, and particular refent- ment for a fuppofed offence j but in the death [ 135 ] death of Caius the views of the emprefs were too palpably difplayed to admit of doubt. To open the fucceffion to Tiberius, the two princes were cut off in the bloom of youth, and the career of glory ; when their opening virtues had jufl began to attract the efteem and admiration of the world. Would the unhappy Pofthumus long remain the only furviving obftacle to his ambition ? Alas ! in the fate of his brothers all faw the doom of the unfortu- nate boy, whofe mind had been purpofely injured in hopes of giving a fhew of juftice to the blacked inhumanity. The guilt of Livia was known and ab- horred j but who dared accufe the wife of Au^uftus of the crime of murder? That noble intrepidity which braves all perfo- nal danger in the caufe of juftice and hu- manity, is the inheritance of freemen; the cautious policy of feliimnefs is the only wifdom known to ilavcs. The T 136 ] The introduction of domedic aiiafTma- tion was confidered by the Romans with horror, and (lie who fet the firfl example of a deed fo atrocious, was deteded by every honed mind ; but the murmurs of indignation were fecret, and fuch was the degeneracy of the times, that they who were confcious of having uttered them with mod afperity, were perhaps the fore- mod to pay their court to the emprefs, in order to conceal their guilt. The malign influence of Livia over the mind of Augudus had already alienated his heart from all who had a natural claim to his afFe&ion. She, and me alone, was now neceffary to his happinefs. The compofure with which he bore the melan- choly fate of his fons, was confidered lefs as a proof of fortitude than of infen- fibility. The courtiers, with admirable verfatility, took the tone from the fove- reign, and ceafed to mourn thofe whom Ccefar had ceafed to lament. The pious reflation [ 137 ] resignation was approved by the fmiles of Livia, and the names of Caius and of Lu- cius were foon configned to oblivion in the regions of the palace. The foul of Agrippina was fuperior to difguife. She could not even bear the appearance of being impofed upon by the hypocritical fymparhy of the wretch who had embrued her hands in the blood of her beloved brothers. RefpecT: for Ger- manicus might feal her lips ; but no confe- deration could prevail on her to aiTume the femblance of efleem for the woman fhe abhorred. Her prefent fituation was an apology for retirement, and the birth of a fon gave a new object to her foliciuide. The anguifh of her heart was foothed by the feelings of maternal tendernefs, and in the moment that fhe prefented the little Nero to the arms of Germanicus, fhe might poiTibly forget that fhe had ever been afflicted. But forrows fuch as flic had ex- perienced, give too deep a tone to the feel- ings, [ 138 ] ings, to admit of an immediate change* It is more than probable, that while (he hung with a mother's fondnefs over her fieeping infant, the dangers to which he might hereafter be expofed, would invo- luntarily intrude upon her fancy, and by the anguifh of anxiety chaften the fervour of hope. While the cruel Livia was paving the way for the advancement of Tiberius, by the deftrucHon of her hufband's family; the fon of her idolatry was wading his gloomy hours in the folitude of Rhodes, a prey to abortive malevolence, and unavailing dis- content. Auguflus, with all the appear- ance of fuavity and complaifance, could not brook the fhadow of oppofuion. The love of power had been the ruling paffion of his life. He had now for years been accuflomed to defpotic fway. His w r ord, nay even his look, was confidered as law, by all who approached him. Livia took advantage of his weaknefs, and made this tenaciouf- [ 139 ] tenacioufnefs of authority the inftrument of her ambition. By an appearance of abject fubmiflion to his will, (he governed him with an authority more abfolute than he had ever ruled the meaned flave. She hoped that (lie had taught Tiberius an equal (hare of diflimulation. But the ilub- bornnefs of his temper, and the ilrength of his palhons, made him fomewhat of a lefs accomplished hypocrite. Though op- pofed by Auguftus in his fullen reiolution of retiring from Rome, he had obdinately perfifted in the defign ; the hopes of being able to punifh, or at leaftto mortify his wife, being at that time a motive more powerful than the fear of the emperor's refentment. That he did not put an end to his nn- eafinefs by the murder of Julia, is rather extraordinary ; but as we cannot fuppofe him to have been retrained by any fcruple of confeience, we may believe that he was deterred by a fear of detection ; or, that as Julia was furrounded by her own people, and r uo ] and treated with all the refpect due to her ran!:, he might even find it impoffible to execute jfuch a plan of vengeance. If he indeed ever harboured fuch a fcheme, and was obliged to relinquish it, the difap- pointment would not fail to add to the irkfomenefs of his fituation. Be that as it may, he foon became difgufted with re- tirement, and folicited the emperor's leave to return to Rome. Bat Auguftus de- termined to mortify that pride which had dared to oppofe his inclination. He fternly refufed compliance with his requeit; and upon a fecond fupplication, in which Ti- berius mod humbly declared, that his only intention in retiring from Home was a point of delicacy with regard to the young princes, who were now of an age to fecure their own dignity, and to obviate all iufpi- cions of rivalfhip ; and his only motive for defiring to return was the wifli of vifiting his beloved relations ; Auguflus replied, that " he might lay aiide all concern for his [ 1*1 ] his relations, whom he had left with fo much indifference."* On the condemnation of Julia, he again renewed his folicitations with no better fuccefs ; and as the friendship of courtiers is regulated by the favour of the monarch, it was no fooner imagined that he was in difcrace with Aimuflus, than he funk into an object of univerfal hatred -and contempt. Of all the trials to which the human mind is expofed, there appears to be none more difficult to fupport with dignity than a date of exile. The annals of ancient hiflory pre- fent upon this fubjecl: to the philofophic enquirer a number of curious and intereft- ing facls. We mail there find, that the fo much admired virtue of theheroes and fages of antiquity was a funfhine plant, which expanded its fair foliage in the hour of profperity, but flirunk and withered in the winter's dorm. Could confeious rectitude afford a fufikient fupport in the adverfe * Suetonius turns [ 1+2 ] turns of fortune, we fliould not have to blufh for the pufiiianimous wailings of the virtuous Cicero, in the fhort-lived period of difgrace. Could the certainty of public celebrity impart fatisfaction to the human mind, Ovid might have fmiled at the vengeance of Augullus, in the con- fidence that the name of the poet would be as immortal as that of the emperor. Could patriotifm and courage fultain the foul, Cato and Brutus might have outlived the triumph of defpotifm, and fmiled at the malignity of fortune. To brave the tranfient pain of death, is to a mind ele- vated by the tone of paffion an effort of no great magnitude: but to bear with firmnefs and magnanimity the trials of ad- verfity, where there is no eye to witnefs, and no fpectator to applaud; to evince the fame refolution, and to praclife the lame virtue, in the dreary (hade of folitude, as on the theatre of an admiring world; re- quires the fupport of principles more powerful C 143 ] powerful than heathen philofophy could infpire.* If to minds pofTefTed of every moral virtue a ftate of exile appeared a calamity fo very infupportable, we need not be furprifed, that one who had fo fewrefources as Tiberius, fhould find itflill more dread- ful. His was not indeed without hope of a fpeedy termination ; for he could not believe that the intereft of Livia would prove unequal to obtaining any object: on which (he let her heart. But he felt the bitternefs of neglect; and a temper al- ready foured by chagrin was ftill farther irritated by difappointment. Inftead of thofe liberal purfuits which might have had a falutary influence in allaying the perturbed paffions of the foul, the weak deiire of prying into futurity made him addict himfelf to the fcience of aftrology, which the fuperltition of the times had brought into repute. The trial he made of the abilities of Thrafullus, a celebrated » Note X. ma ft cr [ 144 ] mafter of this pretended fcience, prefents fuch a ftriking a view of the character of Tiberius, and of the fuperftition of the times, that I (hall beg leave to give the anecdote in the words of the hiflorian. " Whenever he chofe to confult an aftrologer," fays Tacitus, " he retired with him to the top of the houfe, attended by a fingle freedman feledled for the purpofe, illiterate, but of great bodily ftrength. This man conduced the foothfayer, whofe talents were to be tried, along the ridge of the cliff on which the manfion flood; and as he returned, if the emperor fuf- pecled fraud or vain affectation of know- ledge, he threw the impoflor headlong into the fea. Tiberius was by thefe means left at eafe, and no witnefs furvived to tell the ftory. Thrafullus was put to the fame tefl. Being led along the precipice, he anfwered a number of queflions ; and not only promifed imperial fplendour to Tiberius, but opened a fccne of future events, C 145 ] events, in a manner that filled his imagi- nation with aftonifhment. Tiberius defired to know whether he had cad his own na- tivity ? Could he forefee what was to happen in the courfe of the year? Nay, on that very day? Thrafullus confuhed the pofition of the heavens, and the afpeft of the planets : he was (truck with fear — ; he paufed — he hefitated — he funk into profound meditation — terror and amaze- ment {hook his frame. Breaking filence at laft, ' I perceive,' he faid, ' the crifis of my fate j this very moment may be my laft.* Tiberius clafped him in his arms, congra- tulating him both on his knowledge, and on his efcape from danger. From that moment he conlidered the predictions of Thrafullu9 as the oracles of truth, and the aftrologer was ranked in the number of the prince's confidential friends." Without confulting the ftars, the cun- ning foothfayer might have foretold with certainty, that the anxiety of Tiberius to vol. i. l know n i46 i know his future fortune was prompted by an ambition, which was not very likely to be deterred from the attainment of its object by any confiderations of pity or remorfe. Eight years did Tiberius fpend in the gloom of folitude, a prey to chagrin, and all the paillons allied to impotent ambition. His temper was not, perhaps, by nature prone either to wrath or cruelty. Had his mother perifhed in the hour of his birth, the fon of Claudius Nero might have been virtuous and happy. By early aiTociating in his mind the idea of glory with abfolute power, (lie gave the felfifh paflioiis an afcendancy over the focial; and by teaching him that diffimulation was the firft attribute of wifdom, fhe extinguifhed the generous principles of truth and ho- nour, and rendered him perpetually liable to the torture of fufpicion. The malevo- lent pafhons that were thus introduced into the heart, were augmented by the very effort [ W ] effort of concealment. Let us not however believe, that they at once conquered every feeling, and extirpated all the Sympathetic affections. Their progrefs was gradual ; but like the flow difeafe which attacks the vital organs of the human frame, they im- perceptibly increafed in malignity, till at length they corrupted the whole mafs. Upon the death of Caius, Livia renewed her folicitations for the return of Tiberius; whofe prefence was fo ncceffary to confole her well-feigned affliction, that the empe- ror, Softened by grief, and fubdued by the appearance of fympathy, confented with- out reluctance to her wifhes. A conftitu- tion always delicate was now finking under the infirmities of declining age; and the afliflance of a young man noted for pru- dence and discretion appeared to Auguitus as a very defirable object. Efleem and affection would have pointed to Germani- cus, as the perfon mofl eminently qualified to fupply the place of a lamented fon. The [ 1« ] The endowments of his mind, the inte- grity of his heart, and the urbanity of his temper, recommended the fon of Drufus to the favour of Auguflus, and had fecured to him the affections of the people; who eagerly believed, that fhould he fucceed to the imperial dignity, the refloration of their liberties would be the fole object of his generous ambition. It is poffible, that a knowledge of their fentiments, their hopes, and wihhes, might impart an appre- henfion that the popularity of a youth fo much and fo defervedly beloved would fhade the fetting glories of his reign. This apprehenfion, added to the knowledge of Livia's hatred of Agrippina, and the fears of having his peace interrupted by do- meflic diiTention, was the probable caufe of his determination in favour of Tibe- rius. But that Germanicus might not be removed from all hopes of iucceffion, the emperor ftipulated with Tiberius, that on the fame day on which he was adopted by [ 149 ] by him, he fhould on his part adopt Ger- raanicus. Auguftus, though by the pernicious arts of Livia, he had been in fome meafure alienated from his family, was not entirely devoid of natural affe£tion. The innocent Poflhumus, whofe fhynefs and timidity had been craftily mifreprefented by the emprefs as fullennefs and pride, was neither over looked nor fet afide. His adoption preceded that of Tiberius, whowas confidered by Au- guftus as the guardian of his tender years. What were the fentiments of Agrippina upon thefe feveral arrangements can only be conjectured from a knowledge of her temper, and general mode of thinking and acting. The fatal cataflrophe of her elder brothers could infpire her with little hope in regard to the fate of Poflhumus, who was as much their inferior in abilities as in years. Nor is it likely that the near con- nexion with Tiberius, whofe children fhe and her hulband had now become by adoption. L 1-50 J adoption, would be at all agreeable to a mind like hers. Her independent fpirit mud: hive revolted at being thus made fuhjeft to the abfolute control of the man to whom (he attributed her mother's dif- grace, and for whofe fake (he knew her brothers to have been cruelly facrificed. Whatever were her feelings, the interefts of her family rendered an appearance of ac- quiefcence in the will of Auguftus an act of duty ; and me had too much good fenfe :o murmur, where (he muft inevitably fubmit. Tiberius fet the example of the obedi- ence which he exacted. After his adop- tion, he never exercifcd any of the rights of a ittc citizen, but in every refpect be- came fubordinate :o his new father ; not even taking the liberty oi' giving freedom to a Have in his own name, nor of accept- ing , 'iy gift or legacy, but as a part of the :'-.lowance which was from that time his due. This oftentatious parade of duty was amply recompenfed by fubftantial be- nefits, [ 151 ] nefits, and the appearance of humility rewarded by unlimited authority. The tribunitian dignity, which in fact was equi- valent to fupreme power, was conferred upon him for five years, and was followed by a fpecial commiffion to fettle the (late of Germany. Called by his new office to take the command of the army in a remote province, his abfence relieved Ger- manicus and Agrippina from the insup- portable burthen which reflraint impofes unon the generous and fincere. The marriage of Julia, Agrippina's younger fitter, took place about this time, and diiTufedan air of cheerfulnefs and joy. Auguftus gave her hand to a noble patri- cian, whofe family was worthy of the ho- nourable alliance. The character of Paulus JEmilius Lepidus never rofe to diftinguifhed eminence, but he was a man of birth and fair reputation, and as fuch deferved a better wife, CHAP. [ 152 ] CHAP. VI. Banishment of Agrippa Po«thumus. — Reflection s on the Conduct o/Augustus. —Domestic Life of Agrippina. — Do- mestic Economy of the Romans. — Impor- tance attached to Education* — Slavery . — Literature. — Popularity of Germant- cus. A. D. 5 TO 10. — A. U.C. 7^3. AGRIPPINA was not long permitted to enjoy the tranquillity which the abfence of Tiberius was calculated to pro- duce. It did not require her acutenefs of penetration to predict the fate of the un- fortunate Poflhumus ; but fo willing is af- fection to grafp at hope, that (he might fometimes flatter herfclf, that Livia would be C 1^3 ] be contented with having rendered the poor youth fo apparently infignificant, as to be no longer an object of jealoufy or apprehenfion. Bat Livia argued in a very different manner. By the adoption of his "randfon, Au folute [ 161 ] folute authority over the inferior domeftics. This delegation of trufl was more or lefs definite, according to the character and abi- lities of the miftrefs. While thofewho had like Agrippina been educated in the fobri- ety of republican manners, flill confidcred an attention to houfhold economy as one of their primary duties ; fuch as had im- bibed the modern ideas of pleafure, gave themfelves neither care nor trouble con- cerning any domeftic arrangement. The houfes of the latter confequently exhibited fcenes of diflipation and extravagance, fuch as modern folly can never hope to equal.* In the houfe of Germanicus riot and confufion were unknown. The number of domeftic (laves rendered it neceflary to inftitute a rigid difcipline; but as obedience to rules is always lefs grievous than {ab- jection to caprice, it may be inferred, that thofe who lived under the roof of Germa- * Note P. vol. t, m nicus [ '62 ] nicus and Agrippina, had no reafon to com- plain of any peculiar hardfhip. That contempt for indolence which the ancient Romans had been at fo much pains to cherifh as a republican virtue, continued ftill in fome degree to operate, and to difFufe a fpirit of activity through every part of the domeflic economy. The times indeed were now approaching, when idlenefs, un- der the aufpices of folly and vanity, was to be brought into fafhion, and confidercd as one of the diftiimuifhed privileges of the great : but as we are informed that Aujmftus o > o never wore a robe which was not fabri- cated by rhe hands of his wife, his daugh- ter, or his grand daughter, we may infer that the Roman ladies of his time were in general Grangers to idlenefs and ennui. And if " To gu'ulc the fpindlc, and direct the loom," were frill confidered as part of the efiential duties of a virtuous matron; we have every reafon to conclude, that in the apartment appro- [ 163 ] appropriated to the various branches oi domeftic manufacture Agrippina was no itranger. Every thing was made at home. And though luxury had ere now introduced the fafhions and the filks of Perfia, pride, or fhame, or economy, prevented the Ro- mans from wearing the productions of a foreign loom in the flate in which they had been imported. The webs of filk were unravelled, and wrought up anew with an equal mixture of linen or woollen yarn : An opportunity was thus given for the difplay of tafte in the invention of new patterns. Agrippina, while (lie arranged the glofTy threads, could not but admire their inimitable beauty; but had no con- ception of the manner of their formation. Believing filk to be a vegetable production of fome unknown region, flic might amufe her fancy by forming conjectures concern- ing the appearance of the parent plant; but natural hiftcry was a fcience in which !b [ 164 ] little progrefs had then been made, that no obje$ belonging to that important branch of human knowledge excited much curiofity. While preiiding over the labours of her attendant nymphs, Agrippina often liftened to fome favourite author, whofe works were read to her by a young female Have infhucted for the purpofer Nor did this retard the progrefs of her embroiderers, or give any interruption to the bufy fhuttle; it being one of the ineflimable advantages of induftry, that it gives a famulus to the power of attention, and increafes its capa- city in fuch a degree that what was at firft difficult foon appears to be mechanical. The robes that were manufactured by Agrippi- na* s damfels, however they might be orna- mented by embroidery, which was now much in fafhion, were of a clofe and folid fabric. It was not till the fucceeding age that they were worn of fo thin a texture as to attract the notice of the fatiriil, and to give juft offence to delicacy. Tafle had not C 165 ] not as yet been thus far corrupted by licen- tioufnefs, and confequently modefty was not in the days of Agrippina openly vio- lated in the drefs of thofe who had any with to be confidered as virtuous. A predilection for the principles that had guided the conduct of thevenerablematrons of former times, had been early implanted by Antonia in the mind of her daughter-in- law. Hence, doubtlefs, arofe that loftinefs of fpirit, which difdained to feek for glory in thofe puerile obje&s to which fo many of her fex dire&cd their ambition. The praife of excelling in beauty, wit, elegance, or learning, was to her not fufficiently gra- tifying, unlefs fentiments of refpeft and ef- teem were mingled with thofe of admiration. As the fphere of her duties enlarged, her anxiety to fulfill them increafed in an equal proportion ; and as of all the duties to which {he was now called, the care and in- ftru&ion of her children appeared the mod important, it may be believed thatfhe appli- ed with [ 166 J cd with affiduity to the delightful talk. In an affair of fuch moment Agrippina was too wife to be guided by the caprice of faftiion. Confidering that plan of education which had produced the greatefl and the wifefl men as mofl worthy to be adopted, me endeavoured to follow the method that had been purfued in former times. In thofe times, the firft words lifped by the infant tongue had been to the Roman ladies a fignal for commencing the labour of inftru&ion. Senfible of the advantages of a diltincl: articulation, they wifely en- deavoured, while the organs of fpeech were flexible, to form them to the pronunciation of every difficult found. By this attention alone it is that children can acquire fuch a command of thofe organs, as is not only effential to eloquence, but highly ufeful in beftowing a facility in the acquirement of every foreign language. From the time that a child could fpeak, no inaccuracy of cxprefhon was permitted to pafs unnoticed ; and [ 16? ] and that they might be enabled thus to Jay a foundation for that pre-eminence in the art of oratory, which was a primary object of ambition, ladies of rank aflidu- oufly cultivated the ftudy of their .native language. They learned to fpeak with peculiar purity and elegance, and valued themfelves upon this accomplilhment, as one that could be rendered ufeful to their offspring. No fooner did it become fafhionable to confign the tender period of infancy to the care of Haves and mercenaries, than oratory declined : nor was it oratory alone that fuffered by this pernicious change, fmce to the fame caufe may fairly be attri- buted the decline of tafte. To render the mind fufceptible of the emotions of fublimity or beauty, is not a tafk to be performed by the vulgar. To perfons of this defcription the rules of criticifm may indeed be known, and by pedants they may be applied with great fa- gaiety; [ 168 ] gacity ; but to feel, to admire, and to enjoy excellence of every kind and fpecies, is a privilege that not " all the learning of the fchools" can beftow on a coarfe or vulgar mind. In fixing the aflbciations by which this fenfibility may in fome refpe&s be faid to be created, the virtuous and well-educated mother pofiefTed fo many advantages over the fcrvile or mercenary preceptor, that we cannot be furprifed at her fuperior fuc- cefs. To the inftructions of Cornelia hiftorians have attributed the eloquence of the Gracchi j and it was from Atia that Auguflus acknowledged having derived thofe mental accomplifhments which en- deared him to the Roman people. Nor did the firfl and greateft characters of the Roman world fcruple to confeis fimilar obligations to the virtuous matrons fro Hi whom they derived their birth. Women fo capable of initrucring their fons mud have made no finall progrefs in tafte. L 169 ] talte, knowledge, and literature. They were in facl: highly accomplifhed: and as all their accomplishments tended to fome ufeful pur- pofe, they were unaccompanied by vanity. Greek, the only language befides their own which the Romans thought worthy their attention, was affiduoufly cultivated by every perfon of liberal education. Agrippina both wrote and converfed in the Greek tongue with facility and ele- gance ; and it is probable, that it was from her that her children received their firfl iiiftrucYions in this as in other branches of knowledge. What tafte fhe had in mufic cannot now be afcertained; but the notions of propriety that were (till prevalent, left the ambition of excelling as mufical per- formers to their Greek {laves. Ladies 9 however fond of mufic, were content to liften ; nor did it occur to them, that any glory was to be acquired by rivalling in Vneir art thofe public performers who were often C 170 ] often the mod depraved and worthlcfs of the human race. Compared to the depravity of after-times, Rome was in the days of Auguftus vir- tuous. To the cotemporaries of Agrip- pina, the difgufting defcription of the pro- fligacy of female manners, given by the fatirifr. of a fucceeding age, was by no means applicable. Many were indeed vi- cious, but as few had yet arrived at that pitch of iniquity as openly to glory in their fhame, it is but reafonable to prefume, that the numbers were on the fide of vir- tue. We fhall have the greater reafon to acquiefce in this conclufion, from the re- fpecl: that was as yet paid to the female character. And it will be obferved by every attentive reader of Roman hiftory, that it was not till men were no longer indebted to maternal inftru&ion, that they relinquifhed thofe fentiments of refpect for the fex, which few who have owed much mental [ 171 J mental improvement to a mother's care, have ever failed to feel. The character of Antonia had been too much venerated by her fon, to permit him to entertain that contempt for the female mind, which, by removing every idea of equality, frequently renders the hy- meneal chain fo pall in?. He did not con- fider Agrippina in the light of an inferior an irrational being, incapable of entering into his fentiments, and unworthy of his confidence and friendship. He knew that it was not the honour of fliaring in her hufband's ftudies, nor the confeioufnefs of being the chofen companion of his ferious hours, that would lead her to neglect the peculiar duties of her fituation, or to go beyond her fphere. The conduct of Agrip- pina did honour to her hufband's diicern- ment, and rewarded his tendernefs. By her active mind every hour was occupied by its appropriate duties, and of thefe the improvement of her underflanding was neither lalt nor leaft. Embuccj [ 172 ] Embued from her earlieft years with a tafte for literature, fhe delighted to liften to the converfations that were held at her hufband's table by the mod learned men of the age. Supper, the favourite repaft of the Romans, and the only meal at which the family regularly affembled, commenced rather earlier than the modern hour of dinner j and fometimes laded till the even- ing was far advanced. But the time fpent at table was not loft. It was then that Agrippina had the opportunity of hearing fuch difcuftions on every interefling fub- ject, as ftrengthened her underftanding, and improved her tafte. Gluttony, the vice of the bafe and dege- nerate, muft ever be held in abhorrence by fuperior minds. It was for the pleafure of fociety, more than for the luxury of the table, that the friends of Germanicus re- joiced in an invitation to his hofpitable board. Both in the town and country- houfes of the Romans the apartment al- lotted C 1-3 ] lotted to the focial meal was fituated in the upper part of the houfe, a circumftancc neceiTary, in the firffc inflance, for fecuring the enjoyment of quiet, and advantageous in the fecond, by affording to the vifitors at the rural villa the opportunity of view- ing without fatigue the beauties of its prof- peels. The focial repad was in fome refpecls confidered as a facred rite. The table was confecrated by the images of the houfhold gods, in whofe prefence it would in ancient times have been deemed inde- corous to utter a word inconfiftent with purity and virtue. Thefe deities were deemed the guardians of the Granger, and became fecurities for his protection and the rites of hofpitality.* The ideas of reverence that were thus connected with the focial board, rendered the time of meals the moft favourable fea- fon for difcuiling the moft ferious topics. AiFociations fo deeply fixed could not be * Note Q. eafily C 17* ] eafily changed ; and accordingly we find, that even after luxury had corrupted all the inftitutions of the primitive ages, the cuftom of having a reader to entertain the company during fupper with the works of fome favourite author was ftill ob- ferved. At the conclufion of the meal thefe well-known compofitions gave place to thofe of later date. As indolence and inanity had not yet become the character- istics of a fine gentleman, mod of thofe who had any ambition to be diftinguifhed either at the bar or in the fenate, could boafl of r ome literary production worthy the at- tention of their friends. Thefe effufions of genius, whether in profe or verfe, it was cuflomary for the author to read to a felect audience previous to publication ; that thus having it in his power to profit by the ob- fervations of friends, on whofe tafle and judgment he could rely, he might be for- tified againft the cavils of meaner critics.* * Note R. a ? C 175 ] As writing was not then a trade, fame was the generous object of the author's ambition j and as critinfm was paid for in the fame unfubftantial coin as all other efforts of literary talle, and as it moreover required intellect of the higher! order, and information of the mofl extenfive and mul- tifarious kind, few authors engaged in it, that were not perfectly qualified for the undertaking. Envy mud indeed in all ages have equally hated the fuccefs that attended merit, and ill-nature muft have been then, as in after-times, delighted with every op- portunity of detraction: but the criticifms of malignity have not been thought worthy of prefervation; they have periflied with the pailions that produced them, nor can we regret that it is only thofe of a more ufeful and penerous nature that have cf- caped the wreck of time. The cuftorn above alluded to, of reading aloud the compofitions of the clofet in the prefence cf a numerous audience, is utterly repugnant [ 176 ] repugnant to our ideas of delicacy, and in- deed feeras incompatible with that fenfibility which is fo generally found connected with genius. But to our refined notions of de- licacy the Romans were entirely flrangers. No manwas afhamed of praifing himfelf, or of openly foliciting the applaufe of others; and as the approbation of perfons of approved tafte was fought after with an avidity, of which we can fcarcely form any conception, we may believe that Agrippina was often called to liften to the literary productions of her friends. Germanicus cultivated a tafte for poetry, and wrote feme tragedies in the Greek language, which arc fpeken of as excellent. We cannot now pronounce upon their me- rits, but they are a proof that his leifure hours were devoted to the elegant gratifi- cations of a iuperior mind. Nor did poetry alone engrofs the attention of this accom- plished prince. Learned in the laws of his country, and diflinguiihed as an orator, he exerted [ 177 } exerted his talents and his eloquence in the caufe of truth and virtue. Even after he had arrived at the dignity of conful, he appeared at the forum as the fupponer of injured innocence. At the bar, or in the fenate, whether the interefls of the public or of individuals became the fubject of difcuilion, he zealouily efpoufed the caufe of juitice and humanity. To defend the weak from the oppreflion of the mighty, to bring guilt to punifhment, and to refcue innocence from the fnares of the dedroyer, were objects worthy of Germanicus. For thefe noble purpofes he often exchanged the confular robe for the pleader's gown; and fuch was the high opinion formed of his character, and fo far did the fame of his generofity extend, that his patronage and protection were affiduoufly fought after not only by the towns of Italy but even by foreign dates. Agrippina (hewed upon all occafionsfuch a lively intereft in her hufband's fame, that vol. i. n (lie [ 178 3 fine could not but exult in every proof of his increafmg and far-extended popularity. A cautious prudence would have dictated referve in the expreffionof thefe fentimentsj but cautious prudence was not the charac- terise of Agrippina. She- gloried in mor- tifying Livia, by exaggerating every proof of public favour {hewed to Germanicus. She delighted in convincing her, that Ger- manicus was the favourite of the people* and that Tiberius, however favoured by Augustus, was 11 ill the object of public averiion and contempt. By this imprudence Agrippina, while {be neither added to her hufband's reputation, nor her own happinefs, increafed the ha- tred which rankled in the bofom of her ftep-mother, and awakened the full en jea- loufy of Tiberius. It is thus, alas! that ardent minds, by raflily yielding to the im- pulfe of the moment, fo frequently become acceffary to their own misfortunes! CHAP. c m ] CHAPTER VII. Marriage o/Dro s vs.-Public Amusements. — Death of Caius. Tiberius and Germanic us sent to quell the Revolt in Dalmatia. — Their Return, — Defeat of Varus. — A grippina a eeo mpa nies h e r Husband to Germany. — Returns to Rome. — Birth o/Caligul a . — Second Expe- dition into Germany. — Death of Augus- I 1 S.-J/rt/Yfero/AGRIPPAPoSTHUMUS, PROM A.D. 9, TO A.D. 14, TTOWEVER they might be difpofed A -^ to relifti the pleafures of retirement, it was not poffible for Germanicus and Agrippina to tafte often of its fweets. Time, that ineftimable talent which thofe who fill a private ftation have it in their power to fpend [ 180 ] fpend as inclination prompts, comes bur- thened with a thoufand taxes to the envied great, who frequently livelefs to themftlves than to the world. Of thefc facrifices of time, the confhmt attendance at public fpec- tacles, which, as a mark of refpeel for the people, was numbered among the indifpen- fable duties of a Roman magistrate, may appear to us as the moft painful. But we are not to judge of their feelings by our own. The love of amufement had dege- nerated into a paiTiOn, from the influence of which few were now exempted. This pallion it had been the policy of Auguftus to cherifh, and of fuch importance did he confider the gratification of the public tafle, that in the hour of death he mentioned it as the glory of his reign, that he had kven and forty times prefented the people with games, either upon his own account, or on the account of abfer.t magiflrates. Upon one occafion, however, he was made to feel, that it was not by turning the attention [ 181 ] attention of the populace to frivolous ob- jects, that he could at all times fecure to himfelf tranquillity. The difgrace of a favourite performer was deemed an affair of fuch ferious importance, as to throw all Rome into a ferment: and thofe degenerate Roman?, who beheld with apathy every encroachment made upon the liberties of the people, could not with patience fubmit to trie decree which deprived them of a worbief ^dividual, who contributed to their amuiement. The emperor was in this inftance obliged to yield. The banifhed actor was recalled, md received by the peo- ple with (hours and acclamations, fuch as had formerly welcomed the heroes who had filed then blood in defence of the li- berties of Rome. The conftant attendance of Auguftus at every public exhibition was not only dic- tated by policy but inclination. H was, in faft, fond of the amufements of the po- pulace; and in gratifying the tafte of the people [ 182 ] people he gratified his own. Nor can we fuppofe that Agrippina was endowed with fentiments of delicacy, that were unknown the age in which fhe lived. Nor is it probable, that in accompanying the relt of the imperial family to the amufements of the arena, the circus, or the theatre, that fhe ever once reflected with any degree of horror on the nature of the fpectacles that were exhibited. From regard to decency, Auguflus had prohibited the female part of the audience from taking their feats in the circus or amphitheatre, till after the performance of the wreftlers. But this was the only part of the entertainment from which they were excluded; and to make amends for the mortification, they were permitted freely to indulge their curiofity in beholding the murder of gladiators, and the ferocious conflict of wild beads. Nor were the amufements of the theatre lefs objection- able ; for the plays and pantomimes that were there performed, are faid by refpec% [ 183 ] able writers, to have been too grofs to be defcribed. The pantomimes were introduced by Auguftus, who, though certainly intent upon the reformation of public morals, piqued himfclf upon having added thefe indecent fpeclacles to the number of popu- lar an ufemtnts; a c rt..in proof, that the confcquences of polluting the imagination had never attracted the attention of the pagan world. To preferve, amid fuch numerous fources of corruption, a fteady regard for virtue, and manners unblemifhed by any impro- priety, was no ordinary merit. The cha- racter of Agrippina will rife in our efteem, according as we are capable of eftimating the temptations by which (he was fur- rounded. Nor can the licentioufuefs of the times be more forcibly difplayed, than by the unbounded applaufe beftowed upon her conduct; fince it was by comparing it Ttvkh that of others, that her cotemporaries mult [ 184 ] muft: have formed their opinion of its un- common merit. To be faithful to fuch a hufband as Germanicus, appears not to us in the light of an extraordinary effort of female virtue; but the chafle decorum of Agrippina is always mentioned in terms of fuch high approbation by the Roman writers, as may induce us to conclude, that they were not acquainted with manyfimilar infTances of conjugal fidelity. About this time Livilla, fifler of Germa- nicus, and widow of the young Ca?far, was married to Drufus the fon of Tiberius. This young man appears in every refpecl, but the love of wine, to have been the very oppofite of his father. His temper was open, his heart generous and fincere. Affectionately attached to Germanicus, he rejoiced in the double tie that now united them; and had the difpofitions of LivMla borne any refemblance to thofe of her bro- ther, the happinefs of Drufus had been compleat. hi [ 185 ] In the midft of the rejoicings at thefe. nuptiah, the felicity of Germanicus and Agrippina was interrupted by a domeflic forrow, in which all their friends partook, nor r i: ceri did the hard heart of Livia ren. ■ j fympathifein this affliction. Their yom it fon, a child of uncommon beauty, wa: : '.ched away by hidden death: and fo n in h had the infantine graces of the lovely hoy endeared him to his family, that Ids !ofs was lamented with all the fin- ceri'y 01 grief. In honour to the memory of tiiis captivating child, his effigy, in the character of Cupid, was fet up by Livia in • e temple of Venus, for the adoration of the populace; and Auguftus had ano- ther of admirable woikmanfhip placed in Lis bed-chamber, which he is faid by Sue- tonius to have kilTedas often as he entered the apartment. While Agrippina was indulging that. melancholy which was naturally occafioned by the lofs {lie had fuflained, the public mind [ 186 ] mind was agitated by a variety of events, which alternately called forth the oppofite emotions of grief and joy. The fatisfaction occafioned by the fuccefs of Tiberius in Iliy- ricum was counterbalanced by the dread of a general revolt of the conquered pro- vinces from the Danube to the Rhine. A few words dropped by Auguflus, import- ing the poihbiiity of the barbarians reach- ing Rome by a march of ten days, fpread a general alarm. The apprehenfiuii of danger, however caufelefs, gave a facility to the preparations for war, which were carried on with fuch vigour, that the new levies were foon in a condition to follow Tiberius and Germanicus to the field. As Dalmatia, which had been invaded by the barbarians, was the immediate fcene of action, the emperor thought proper to fix his refidence during the campaign at Arimi- nam, a convenient fituation for receiving the earlieft intelligence from the armies. Thither Agrippina with her family accom- panied r w ] panled b