CHAP. IV.
_____
towards the senate.of fear and hatred against the whole body of the senate. Those whom he had dreaded as importunate ministers, he now suspected as secret enemies. The delators, a race of men discouraged, and almost extinguished, under the former reigns, again became formidable, as soon as they discovered that the emperor
was desirous of finding disaffection and treason in the senate. That assembly, whom Marcus had ever considered as the great council of the nation, was composed of the most distinguished of the Romans; and distinction of every kind soon became criminal. The possession of wealth stimulated the diligence of the informers ; rigid virtue implied a tacit censure of the irregularities of Commodus; important services implied a dangerous superiority of merit ; and the friendship of the father always ensured the aversion of the son. Suspicion was equivalent to proof; trial to condemnation. The execution of a considerable senator was attended with the death of all who might lament or revenge his fate ; and when Commodus had once tasted human blood, he became incapable of pity or remorse.
Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/128
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
104
THE DECLINE AND FALL