riting, meantime, meditations that show how sad and sick at
heart he was, and how little comfort philosophy gave him, while his eyes
were blind to the truth. He died of a fever in his camp, while still in
the prime of life, in the year 180, and with him ended the period of
good Emperors, which the Romans call the age of the Antonines. Aurelius
was indeed succeeded by his son Commodus, but he was a foolish
good-for-nothing youth, who would not bear the fatigues and toils of
real war, though he had no shame in showing off in the arena, and is
said to have fought there seven hundred and fifty times, besides killing
wild beasts. He boasted of having slain one hundred lions with one
hundred arrows, and a whole row of ostriches with half-moon shaped
arrows which cut off their heads, the poor things being fastened where
he could not miss them, and the Romans applauding as if for some noble
deed. They let him reign sixteen years before he was murdered, and then
a good old soldier named Pertinax began to reign; but the Praetorian
Guard had in those sixteen years grown disorderly, and the moment they
felt the pressure of a firm hand they attacked the palace, killed the
Emperor, cut off his head, and ran with it to the senate-house, asking
who would be Emperor. An old senator was foolish enough to offer them a
large sum if they would choose him, and this put it into their heads to
rush out to the ramparts and proclaim that they would sell the empire to
the highest bidder.

A vain, old, rich senator, named Didius Julianus, was at supper with his
family when he heard that the Praetorians were selling the empire by
auction, and out he ran, and actually bought it at the rate of about
L200 to each man. The Emperor being really the commander-in-chief, with
other offices attached to the dignity, the soldiers had a sort of right
to the choice; but the other armies at a distance, who were really
fighting and guarding the empire, had no notion of letting the matter
be settled by the Praetorians, mere guardsmen, who stayed at home and
tried to rule the rest; so each army chose its own general and marched
on Rome, and it was the general on the Danube, Septimius Severus, who
got there first; whereupon the Praetorians killed their foolish Emperor
and joined him.

[Illustration: MARCUS AURELIUS.]

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE PRAETORIAN INFLUENCE.

197--284.

Septimus Severus was an able Emperor, and reigned a long time. He was
stern and h