r outright with his own hand. They
were going along on their horses, for Severus, although his feet were
rather shrunken [Footnote: Reading [Greek: hypotetaekos] (suggestion of
Boissevain, who does not regard Naber's emendation, Mnemosyne, XVI, p.
113, as feasible).] by an ailment, nevertheless was on horseback himself
and the rest of the army was following: the enemy's force, too, was
likewise a spectator. At this juncture, in the midst of the silence and
order, Antoninus reined up his horse and drew his sword, apparently
intending to strike his father in the back. Seeing this, the other
horsemen in the detachment raised a cry of alarm, which scared the son, so
that he did nothing further. Severus turned at their shout and saw the
sword; however, he uttered not a syllable but ascended the tribunal,
finished what he had to do, and returned to the general's tent. Then he
called his son and Papinianus and Castor, ordered a sword to be placed
within easy reach, and upbraided the youth for having dared to do such a
thing at all and especially for having been on the point of committing so
great a crime in the presence of all the allies and the enemy. Finally he
said: "Now if you desire to slay me and have done, put an end to me here.
You are strong: I am an old man and prostrate. If you have no objection to
this, but shrink from becoming my actual murderer, there stands by your
side Papinianus the prefect, whom you may order to put me out of the way.
He will certainly do anything that you command, since you are emperor."
Though he spoke in this fashion, he still did the plotter no harm, in
spite of the fact that he had often blamed Marcus for not ending the life
of Commodus and that he had himself often threatened his son with this
treatment. Such words, however, were invariably spoken in a fit of anger:
on this occasion he allowed his love of offspring to get the better of his
love of country; yet in doing so he simply betrayed his other child, for
he well knew what would happen.

[Sidenote:--15--] Upon another revolt of the inhabitants of the island he
summoned the soldiers and bade them invade the rebels' country, killing
whomsoever they should encounter. He added these verses:

"Let none escape utter destruction At our hands. Yea, whatso is found in
the womb of the mother, Child unborn though it be, let it not escape
utter destruction!" [Footnote: Homer's Iliad, VI, verse 57, with a
slight change at the end.]