The actual tribunes of the people were annually appointed in December, but the potestas was conferred at any time; and it seems that the year of the Emperor was reckoned on the anniversary of his nomination, as two different tribunitian dates may be seen to the same consular one.

XCII.

Obverse. DIVAE IVLIAE AVG. DIVI TITI F. (Dive Julia Augusta, Divi Titi filiæ.) On the exergum S. P. Q. R. (Senatus Populus Que Romanus.) A rich carpentum drawn by two mules. This differs from the preceding, in that the supporters of the tilt are male figures, a portion of the interior decoration is visible, the side-pannel has but one figure upon it, and the reins are carried to a higher foot-board. It is in very good preservation, and covered with a thick grass-green patina; it was procured at Mr. Trattle's sale, in 1832. Of the consecration here perpetuated, Martial says,

"Dum voce supplex, dumque thure placabit
Matrona divæ dulce Juliæ nomen :

Manebit altum Flaviæ decus gentis,

Cum sole, et astris, cumque luce Romana."

Reverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. COS. XV. CENS. PER. P. P. (Imperator Casar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul decimum quintum, Censor perpetuus, Pater Patria.) In the field an uncial S. C. (Senatus Consulto.) It thus appears that this deification-medal was struck A. D. 91, by Domitian, after he had caused the death of the wretched object who was deified. For office of Censor, see No. LXVIII.

DOMITIAN.

Flavius Domitianus, the second son of Vespasian and Domitilla, was born A. D. 51, and passed a penurious youth in idleness and infamy. When his father was proclaimed Emperor in the East, he took refuge from the Vitellians in the capitol ; after narrowly escaping the deplorable fate of Sabinus, when hostilities had ceased he was saluted Cæsar, at the age of 18. On the death of his brother he ascended the throne, and after a detestable reign of 15 years and 5 days, was assassinated A. D. 96; being the last of the Flavian family, and likewise of those princes who are commonly called the twelve Cæsars.

On succeeding such a ruler as Titus, Domitian found it necessary to dissemble his vices, and to give instances, by several very laudable edicts, of a design of following in the footsteps of so illustrious a predecessor. But the constraint was unnatural, and his real character quickly blazed forth a compound of rapacity, ferocity, lust, vanity, and cowardice. He affected military virtue; but his unprovoked expedition against the Catti, displayed no more courage than did his practice of killing flies,"quas, stylo præacuto configebat." Tacitus, describing the reception of the despatches in which Agricola related his success in Britain, tells us that Domitian received them in the true spirit of his character," with a smile on his countenance, and malignity at his heart:" and in congratulating himself that his renowned father

K

in-law escaped the tyrant by death, he depicts the horrors of standing by, while— "with that fiery visage, of a dye so red that the blush of guilt could never colour his cheek"-the despot marked the pale languid countenances of the unhappy victims who shuddered at his frown. By the persecution and carnage of that horrid reign, the islands were peopled with exiles; the rocks contaminated with murder and blood; but more hideous still were the ravages of cruelty at Rome. The being a father, or being childless, were alike obnoxious: it was treasonable to be noble, a capital offence to be rich; criminal to have borne honours, criminal to have declined them; and the reward of worth and virtue was quick and inevitable destruction. When Juvenal lashes the summoning of the senate to deliberate upon the dressing of a turbot presented to Domitian, he says

"But long ere this, were hoary hairs become,

A prodigy, among the great, at Rome."

Bating a defect in the toes, which Suetonius has immortalized, Domitian appears to have been comely of person, and with a countenance of better character than Lavater would have looked for. He was an expert archer, but too impatient of study, or toil, to become eminent in higher departments, although Quinctilian, amongst other base adulations, was fulsome enough to praise his poetry. His wit amounted to the practical joke of terrifying senators with the prospect of execution, but his vanity knew no bounds. In order to count more consulships than any of his predecessors, he numbered 10, in anticipation; instead of 12 lictors he was attended by 24; he always, when presiding in the senate, wore the vestments used at his mock triumph; and, to complete the consummate arrogance of this truly infamous brute, this generis humani flagitium, he enacted that all men should pay him divine honours, by the style and title of Lord God! "Edictum Domini Deique nostri," says Martial, who fawned on the living tyrant, and bitterly reviled him when dead. Among other notable matter, we should mention that, under Domitian, the rights of the ocean were sordidly encroached upon to increase his exchequer,-for flatterers maintained that every thing which swam in the sea, or rivers, belonged to the Emperor's demesne :-Juvenal is angry with the versatile Palphurius, as judge of the Admiralty Court,

"Nay, if Palphurius may our credit gain,
Whatever rare or precious swims the main,
Is forfeit to the crown, and you may seize
Th'obnoxious dainty, when and where you please."

The medals of Domitian are abundant, and cheap, and are therefore prized according to their preservation, and the degree of interest attached to their reverses. Many of them were struck in the life-time of his father, principally in gold, silver,

and small-brass; which last, when bearing the likeness, are held in consideration by collectors, for although they lay no claim to the workmanship or consequence of large module, they are not destitute of interest.

XCIII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMITIAN. AVG. GERM. COS. XI. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul undecimum.) The laureated head of Domitian, with an animated countenance, and an amulet upon the breast. The coin is in excellent preservation, and covered with a thin brown patina; it was procured, in exchange for a cheese, from an inhabitant of Rio, in Elba, in 1823.

Reverse, S. C. (Senatus Consultu.) The Emperor, with a paludamentum over his armour, standing in the attitude of a conqueror. He holds a lance in his left hand, and the right is laid upon his breast. Before him is a kneeling captive, naked to the waist, who by his oblong shield and his trousers, is seen to be a German. Between the shield and the Emperor's foot is a helmet ; and on the exergum, a broken spear, the symbol of defeat. This medal was struck A. D. 85, and from commemorating a rank falsehood, is a lasting disgrace to the Senators who ordered the mintage: but, poor wretches, they had become terror-struck and tragic legislators, curia timida et elinguis. The circumstance was thus.-Domitian, piqued perhaps at his brother's military glory, affected a warlike ardour, and made a sudden incursion inte Germany, where he pretended to have gained a victory over the Catti, whom he never saw. Returning to Rome, in all the parade of a victor, a magnificent triumph was decreed; and to give semblance to the scene, slaves were purchased to personate captives, who, attired as Germans, marched along with dishevelled hair, and all becoming tokens of grief. XCIV.

Obverse. IMP. DOMITIAN. AVG. GERM. COS. XI. (Imperator Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul, undecimum.) A fine laurelled head of Domitian, in exquisite preservation, with an amuletic Medusa on the breast. It was struck A. D. 85, is of pale yellow-brass without patina, and was purchased at Mr. Trattle's sale, in 1832.

Reverse. S. C. (Senatus Consultu.) Victory alate, writing DE GER. (De Germanis.) upon a shield which is supported by a trophy: her left foot rests upon a helmet. At the base of the trophy sits a weeping female. As no historian records an advantage gained at this time, the medal probably commemorates the hoar just described, (No. XCIII.)

XCV.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMITIAN. AVG. GERM. COS. XI. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul undecimum.) An excellent laureated profile of the Emperor. with the Medusa's head on his breast. A medal of the mintage of A. D. 85; it is in fine preservation, covered with a deep brown patina, and was purchased at Naples, in 1817. Reverse. S. C. (Senatus Consultu.) Between those two uncial letters Domitian, veiled and attired as a priest, is standing at a decorated altar, and holding a patera over the flame. Behind the altar is a temple of four columns, with a female statue displaying a simpulum, to which the Emperor is sacrificing. The pediment is ornamented with a piece of sculpture, and to the capital of the left hand column is suspended a garland. As there is no legend, it is rather difficult to pronounce the peculiar object of this reverse. Antiquaries have usually assigned it to Minerva, from the veneration in which Domitian held that goddess. He even, "with matchless propriety," as Gifford says, claimed her as his mother, and instituted the Quinquatrian games in her honour: the birth of ignorance and brutality from the goddess of wisdom, would certainly have been as wondrous as that of Minerva herself, according to the pleasant relation of Lucian.

XCVI.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. COS XII CENS. P. P. P. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul duodecimum, Censor perpetuus, Pater Patriæ.)

The laurelled portrait of Domitian, with the usual amulet. This medal was purchased from Mr. Young; and though rubbed in ancient times, is now entirely coated with a thick grassgreen patina. It was struck A. D. 86, when the Emperor had been dubbed perpetual Censor; and truly, a man petulans et libidinosus was a pretty fellow to be the first so appointed. Reverse. S. C. (Senatus Consultu,) on the exergum. The Emperor is here represented on horseback, with a spear and shield; he is in the act of smiting a foe who has fallen on his knee, but who, grasping his buckler firmly, is making a blow at his antagonist with a sword. See No. LXXI. This is another allusion to the real or pretended victories of the Romans in Germany, to which we have no historic clue. For though Domitian proudly assumed the name of Germanicus, it was notorious, his armies beyond the Rhine were repulsed and defeated; insomuch that Pliny indignantly asserts that his triumphs were always proofs of signal advantages gained by the enemy.

XCVII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. COS. XII. CENS. PER. P. P. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul decimum secundum, Censor perpetuus, Pater Patria.) The laurelled head of Domitian, with an amulet on his neck. The medal is of some rarity, but only in secondary condition; it is brownly patinated, and was purchased at Mr. Philip Neave's sale, in 1830. Reverse. GERMANIA CAPTA. On the exergum S. C. A trophy composed of German spoils, on one side of which stands a man with his hands bound behind him, and on the other sits a female bewailing her fate. Broken armour is strewed around. XCVIII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. COS. XIIII. CENS. PER. P. P. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Consul decimum quartum, Censor perpetuus, Pater Patrie.) A fine and expressive head of Domitian, without the amulet on his neck. This medal is in good condition, and slightly coated with a dark green patina; it was procured from Mr. T. Burgon, in 1826, and formerly had a berth in the well-known cabinet of Mr. Tyssen. Reverse. S. C. (Senatus Consultu,) on the exergum. The Emperor standing with a paludamentum over his shoulders; his left hand supports a spear, and his right grasps a thunder bolt, as though he were another Jupiter: behind him stands a graceful winged victory, in the act of placing a laurel crown on his brow.

XCIX.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P. M, TR. P. VIII. CENS. PER. P. P. (Imperator Cesar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate octavum, Censor perpetuus, Pater Patriæ.) A capital laureated portrait of Domitian, with an intelligent and animated expression,-and without the amulet. This coin is in fine preservation, though but barely varnished with yellow patina; it was purchased on the 25th day of Mr. Trattle's sale, in 1832.

Reverse. COS. XIIII. LVD. SAEC. (Consul decimum quartum, Ludos Sæculares.) On the exergum, S. C. The togated Emperor is sitting upon a curule chair, placed upon a tribunal which is supported by four balls; it is inscribed SVF. P. D., (Suffimenta populo data,) and bears two large vases, to contain the drugs. Before the Emperor stands a citizen, who is in robes, to shew that freemen only are included in the donative,—and between them is a boy holding up his hands. In the back ground is a temple of four columns in front, with a garland on its pediment. This medal is one of a very interesting series which was struck by Domitian to record his having ordered the seventh celebration of the secular games; and it represents the giving of perfumes, torches, tapers, tædæ, sulphur, and bitumen for the lustral fumigations. Zosimus tells us that the people were summoned by sound of trumpet, several days beforehand, and that the Quindecemviri, or keepers of the Sibylline oracles, sat in the capitol to distribute the lustralia amongst those who were appointed to chaunt the prayers. The date of

this event, as shewn by the medal, and given by Censorinus, is A. D. 88, or only 40 years after the celebration by Claudius,-for Domitian, bent upon the occupation, took his computation from that of Augustus. The illustrious Tacitus assisted on this occasion, in quality of Quindecemvir.

The Ludi Sæculares are among the most remarkable games, and most solemn festivals that we meet with in the Roman history: nor does it appear that any modern ceremony has at all approached them in splendour. Valerius Maximus ascribes an odd origin to them; and the date of their introduction, though questionable, may be about B. C. 509.* It is also debated whether the period of celebration was every century, or every 110 years, while a third party maintains that the name merely implied its being renewed but seldom. So great was the ambition of some emperors to engross secular honours, that regularity of return was disregarded. The most flagrant instance of anticipation was that of Claudius, whose heralds were scoffed at because many living persons recollected the Augustan festival 64 years before,— and the form of proclamation was to invite all the people to a sight which none had seen, nor would ever see again. Though Livy, Varro, and Zosimus may be quoted as authorities for centenary returns, Ovid and the Sibyl are on the opposite side of the question; and the uterque" chorus of the Secular Hymn appears decisive,

66

"Certus undenos decies per annos

Orbis ut cantus referatque ludos
Ter die claro, totiesque grata

Nocte frequentes."
C.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P. M. TR. P. VIII. CENS. PER. P. P. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate, octavum, Censor perpetuus, Pater Patriæ.) A striking and intelligent profile of the Emperor, with his head laureated, and an amuletic medusa on his breast. This splendid medal is in singularly good conservation in every respect, and is uniformly coated with a brownish green patina; it was found at a farm in the vale of Arno, in 1823, about a fortnight before I purchased it in Pisa.

Reverse. COS. XIIII. LVD. SAEC. A. P. (Consul decimum quartum, Ludos Sæculares, a populo.) On the substructure FRVG. AC. (fruges accepta.) The Emperor is here seated as in the last, but the curule chair has a covering with a rich border, and there are no vases. The temple is of four columns also, but the pediment is ornamented with an eagle. Before the Emperor are three togated citizens, the foremost of whom is pouring out offerings of the first fruits, from the folds of his robe. The whole of this is very admirably designed and executed. On the exergum S. C.

CI.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. DOMIT. AVG. GERM. P. M. TR. P. VIII. CENS. PER. P. P. (Imperator Cæsar Domitianus, Augustus, Germanicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia

• The form and object of the Secular Games, will be understood by the celebrated Sibylline prophecy; and the neglect of them Zosimus thinks is sufficient to account for the fall of the Eternal City. "Remember, Romans, to offer sacrifices to the immortal gods, after every century, the term of the longest life. The field which is washed with the waters of the Tiber, shall be the place for this sacrifice. When the day closes, and the night draws on, prepare to offer goats and sheep to the Parcæ, then offer proper sacrifices to the Lucina, who have the care of women in childbed. Then offer a hog, and a black sow to the fruitful earth. The next day kill the white oxen on Jupiter's altars. The sacrifices which are offered up by day-light please the celestial gods. For this reason thou shalt offer a young heifer, of a fine coat, to Juno. Thou shalt also make the like sacrifices to Phœbus, or Apollo, who is called the sun. Some Latin boys, accompanied with girls, shall sing hymns in the sacred temples; but in such manner that the boys shall sing on one side, and the girls on the other; and let the fathers and mothers of the children be living. Married women shall pay their duty on their knees before the altar of Juno. They shall intreat the goddess to hear their prayers, and those of the public. Let every one according to his ability, offer first-fruits to the gods, to render them propitious to him. Let those first fruits be carefully kept, and let them be distributed amongst those who have assisted at the sacrifices. Let the statues of the gods be exposed day and night, to the adoration of the people, on stately beds. Let this solemnity be celebrated with seriousness, and with joy, O Romans! never forget the rules I give, so shall the land of the Italians and Latins be always subject unto you."