The golden boke of Marcus Aurelius Emperour and eloquent oratour

¶Of the byrth and lyguage of Marke Aurele Anthony emperour. cap. primo. (Book 1)

IN the yere of the foundation of Rome .vi.C.lxxxxv. in the Olimpiade a. C.lxiii. Anthony the meke, beinge deed, than consules Fuluie Caton, and Gnee Patrocle in the hygh capy∣tol, the .iiii. daye of Octobre, at the demaunde of all the people Romayn, and consent of the sacred Se∣nate, was declared for emperour vniuersall of all the mo∣narche of Rome, Marc Aurely Antony. This excellente baron was naturally of Rome borne in the mounte Celye. And accordyng as Iulius Capitolyne sayth, he was born the .vi. kalendes of May, the whiche accordynge to the accompt of the latyns, was the xxvi. daye of the monethe of Apryll passed. His father was named Anio Vero. For the occasion whereof the histories dyuers tymes calle hym Marc Anthony Vero. True it is, that Adriane the empe∣rour called hym Verissimus, bycause in hym was neuer founde no lyes, nor neuer fayled the trouth. These Anius Veres was a lignage, that auaunced them to be descēded of Numa Pompilio, and of Quint{us} Curtius the famous Romayn: whiche for to delyuer the towne of Rome from perylle, and to gyue his persone perpetualle memorye, of his owne good free wylle he yelded hym selfe to the same vorage, that as than was sene in Rome. The mother of this emperour was called Domiciade, as Cyne historien recounteth in the bokes of the lygnages of Rome. The Camilles were persones in that tyme greatly estemed, by cause they were accompted to be descended of Camille the

famous and auncient capytayne Romayne, whiche dely∣uered Rome frome the Gaulles, that had wonne hit. The men that descended of that lygnage were called Camil∣li, for the remembrance of Camille, and the women were likewise called Camilles, in the remembrance of a dough∣ter of the sayde Camylle, that was called Camilla. ¶There was an auncyent lawe, that al Romaynes shuld haue a partycular priuylege in the same place, where their predecessours had done to the Romayne people any great seruyce. For this auncient custome they had priuylege, so that all they of the lygnage of Camylle were kepte and maynteyned in the hygh capytol. And though the varietie of the tyme, the multitude of tyrantes, the ebulition and mouynge of cyuill warres were cause of the diminyshing of the aunciente Polycie of Rome, and introduced in ma∣ner a lyfe not very good: yet for all that we reede not, that the preemynences of the Romaynes were broken, but yf it were in the tyme of Sylla, whanne he made the vny∣uersall prescription agaynst the Marians. After the deth of this cruelle Sylla, in exaltynge of hym selfe, Iulius Cesar the pitiefull, made dictatour of Rome, and chiefe of the Marians, adnulled and vndydde all that Sylla had made, and broughte ageyne into the auncyent estate the common welthe.

¶What hath benne the condycions, the estate, pouertie, rychesse, fauour, or disfauour of the auncestours of this Marke Aurelye Emperour, we fynde not in the aunciente hystories, and yet it hath ben dilygently serched for. The ancyent Romayn hystoriens were not accustomed to write the lyues of the emperours fathers, namely whanne they be made monarches, but the merytes and graces that their chyldren had, as for the auctoritie that they hadde in∣heritynge their fathers. Trouthe it is, as saythe Iulius

Capitolyn, the father of Marke Aurelee themperour, had ben pretour in exercises, and capitayne in the Frontiers, in the tyme of Traian the good, and Adrian the wyse, and Anthony the meke, emperours. This is cōfirmed by that the same Marc Aurelee wrot (being at Rodes) to a frende of his called Polion, that was at Rome, sayinge thus: Many thynges haue I felte and knowen frende Polyon, by the absence of Rome, namely of that I se my selfe here alone in this yle: but as vertue makethe a straunger na∣turall, and vice tournethe naturall to a straunger: And as I haue ben .x. yeres here at Rodes to rede philosophy, I therby repute my selfe as naturall of this lande, & that hathe caused me to forgette the pleasures of Rome, and it hath lerned me the maners of the yle. And here I haue founde many of my fathers frendes. Here was capitayne agaynste the Barbariens, to my lorde Adrian, Anthonye my father in lawe, the space of .xv. yeres. I lette the to wyte, that the Rodian people are curteis, and ful of good graces. I wolde haue redde phylosophy as longe as my father had ben at Rodes in warre, but I maye not: for A∣drian my lorde commaundethe me to go and kepe residēce at Rome, howe be it euery man reioysethe to see his natu∣rall countrey.

¶So by the wordes of this letter it is to be beleued, that Anio Vero, father to this emperour Marc, hadde applyed the mooste parte of his lyfe in warre. It was not the cu∣stome lyghtly to truste a person to haue the office of a go∣uernour on the Frontiers, without he had bene well exer∣cysed in the feates of warre. And as all the glorie of the Romaynes was to leaue after theym good renowme, the sayd Marc certaynly was taken for the mooste vertuous, and had greatteste frendes in the Senate, wherby he tru∣sted on the conquest of the most cruell enmyes: accordyng

as the sayde Sexto Cheronense historien saythe. The Ro∣mayns all though they had in theyr handes mooste peryl∣lous warres, yet they hadde in foure partes of the empire stronge and entier garnisons. That is to say in Byzance, the which is nowe Constantinople, by reasone of them of the oryente: And Engades, the whiche nowe is called Ca∣lex a citie of Spayne, for loue of them of the weste: In the ryuer of Rhodano, which is nowe y^e ryuer of Ryne, for the Germaynes: And in Collosse, whiche nowe is calledde the Rhodes, bycause of the Barbariens. In the kalendes of Ianuarie, whanne the senate deuyded the offyces, beinge pourueyed of a dictatour, and of two consulles yerely. Incontynente in the thyrde place they prouyded for foure mooste excellente barons to defendethe sayde foure Fron∣tiers: The whiche semeth to be true, for the most famous and renowmed barons of theyr yonge daies were capitai∣nes in the said Frontiers. The great Pompeius was sent to the Byzaunces Canstantinople: The worthy Scipio was sente to the Collossences and Rodyans: And the cou∣ragious Iulius Cesar was sent with the Gadytaynes of Calyx of Spayne: and the stronge estemed Marcus was sente to theym of the ryuer of Ryne. This we saye bycause that Anio Vero father to Marc Aurele emperour, had ben prouoste and pretour in the offices, and one of the capitai∣nes of the Frontiers, whiche oughte to be in Rome one of the persons most estemed.