In the year 135, Adrian, hay ing returned from Athens to Rome, fell into a lingering disease, which terminated in a dropsy. In the course of his the cruelty of his temper, tie hich even in the days of health, he had not always been able to check, increased to such a degree, that he ordered many illustrious persons to be arraigned and executed, and others to be put to death, without trial or accusation. He made choice, first of Commo dus Verus, and then of Titus Antinous, as his successor in the government. Upon the adoption of the latter. the empress Sabina died ; not without a suspicion of being poisoned by Adrian, or treated so harshly as to he driven, in a lit of sorrow and despair, to put an end to her existence. But whatever ground there may be for this suspicion, the emperor, as was customary at that time, inrolted her among the number of the deities. The end of Adrian was now approaching. His disease made gradual, but sure advances ; and all the symp toms of its malignity were increased by a habitual in temperance, in which he indulged, till at last he sunk under the violence of complicated disorders, and expired, at Baia, in Campania, after a reign of twenty-one years and eleven months.
On his deathbed he composed the following beautiful verses, which he addressed to his soul : The reign of Adrian was not distinguished by any splendid conquest. He is to he regarded as a legisla tor, a ruler, a patron of learning, and a scholar ; but not as a general, or a successful leader in war. He enac ted many laws of great utility ; and enforced those which had become dormant. Ile deprived masters of the power of life and death over their slaves ; he pro hibited the sale of these unfortunate persons ; and for bade them to be condemned, either as the victims of prostitution, or to fight as gladiators, without the au thority of the judge. He abolished the use of private prisons. He reformed the police in all the great cities ; and rendered the property of individuals more secure than it had been in ally preceding reign. Many of the regulations which he introduced were observed till the end of the fourth century. Considering the termi
nation of disputes by equitable decision, as one of the principal duties of a sovereign, he was active and faith ful in the discharge of it : and in cases, where the mat ter was doubtful, he sought the aid of the most experi enced lawyers, in order to guide his judgment. He Was a patron of learning, and accessible at all times to those who. profersed it ; encou.raging them to diligence in the acquisition of knowledge, and rewarding them ac cording to their deserts. Pnlegon, Eavormus, Epicte tus, Adrian, Horns, Plutarch, Dionysius of llidicarnas sus, Philo of Byblos, and Suetonius, all flourished in his reign; names which, though not equal in celebrity to those of the writers in the Augustan period, hold a con stclerable place in the annals of literature. lie was him self a scholar, and composed many works both in prose and verse. A Greek poem which he wrote, and called the ..//e.randoad, has been quoted with approbation by some of the ancients ; though, in his Catacriani, he is said to have followed Antimachus, whom he preferred to Homer. Ho was the most accomplished orator, grammarian, philosopher, and mathematician of his Such was the strength of his memory, that he knew the name of every soldier in his army, and could address him by it ; and such his readiness and command over his attention, that it was often his practice to write, to dictate to a secretary, and to converse with his min isters about the affairs of the empire, at the same time. To this enviable character, historians have added, that he was fickle, licentious, and cruel ; and have charged him with suspiciousness and credulity : Nor is it to he denied, that while lie was often eminent for virtue, he was sometimes noted for vice. See. ._Elius .Sfiartionus, iii .1drian. Dim. Cass. H'st. ROI/7(M. torn. ii. p. 1149— 1170. _Ed. Re/marl. Horsley's Britannica Romana. Univ. Hist. vol. xiii. p. 269 ; and Crevicr's Rom. Empire, vol. i ii. b. 19. (h)