ces. Thirty-five senators, however,
accused of having favored the party of Albinus, he freely pardoned, and,
by his subsequent behavior, endeavored to convince them, that he had
forgotten, as well as forgiven, their supposed offences. But, at the
same time, he condemned forty-one other senators, whose names history
has recorded; their wives, children, and clients attended them in death,
* and the noblest provincials of Spain and Gaul were involved in the
same ruin. Such rigid justice--for so he termed it--was, in the opinion
of Severus, the only conduct capable of insuring peace to the people or
stability to the prince; and he condescended slightly to lament, that to
be mild, it was necessary that he should first be cruel.

The true interest of an absolute monarch generally coincides with that
of his people. Their numbers, their wealth, their order, and their
security, are the best and only foundations of his real greatness; and
were he totally devoid of virtue, prudence might supply its place, and
would dictate the same rule of conduct. Severus considered the Roman
empire as his property, and had no sooner secured the possession, than
he bestowed his care on the cultivation and improvement of so valuable
an acquisition. Salutary laws, executed with inflexible firmness, soon
corrected most of the abuses with which, since the death of Marcus,
every part of the government had been infected. In the administration of
justice, the judgments of the emperor were characterized by attention,
discernment, and impartiality; and whenever he deviated from the strict
line of equity, it was generally in favor of the poor and oppressed;
not so much indeed from any sense of humanity, as from the natural
propensity of a despot to humble the pride of greatness, and to sink
all his subjects to the same common level of absolute dependence.
His expensive taste for building, magnificent shows, and above all
a constant and liberal distribution of corn and provisions, were the
surest means of captivating the affection of the Roman people. The
misfortunes of civil discord were obliterated. The clam of peace and
prosperity was once more experienced in the provinces; and many cities,
restored by the munificence of Severus, assumed the title of his
colonies, and attested by public monuments their gratitude and felicity.
The fame of the Roman arms was revived by that warlike and successful
emperor, and he boasted, with a just pride, that, having rece