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sect. Mr John Stuart Mill finds in this tragical 
error of the great emperor a most striking warning 
against the danger of interfering with the liberty 
of thought. What he says is so completely in har- 
mony with the above conception of the motives of 
Marcus Aurelius, and is in itself so eloquent, that no 
apology is required in quoting the passage: ° If ever 
any one possessed of power had grounds for thinking 
himself the best and most enlightened among his 
contemporaries, it was the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. 
Absolute monarch of the whole civilised world, he 
preserved through life not only the most unblemished 
justice, but what was less to be expected from his 
stoical breeding, the tenderest heart. The few fail- 
ings which are attributed to him were all on the side 
of indulgence; while his writings, the highest ethical 
product of the ancient mird, differ scarcely percepti- 
bly, if they differ at all, from the most characteristic 
teachings of Christ. This man, a better Christian, 
in all but the dogmatic sense of the word, than 
almost any of the ostensibly Christian sovereigns 
who have since reigned, persecuted Christianity. 
Placed at the summit of all the previous attainments 
of humanity, with an open, unfettered intellect, and a 
character which led him, of himself, to embody in his 
moral writings the Christian ideal, he yet failed to see 
that Christianity was to be a good and not an evil to 
the world, with his duties to which he was so deeply 
penetrated. Existing society he knew to be in a 
deplorable state. Bub such as it was, he saw, or 
thought he saw, that it was held together, and pre- 
vented from being worse, by belief and reverence of 
the received divinities. As a ruler of mankind, he 
deemed it his duty not to suffer society to fall n 
pieces, and saw not how, if its existing ties were 
removed, any others could be formed which could 
again knit it together. The mnew religion aimed 
openly at dissolving these ties: unless, therefore, it 
was his duty to adopt that religion, it seemed to be 
his duty to pub it down. Inasmuch, then, as the 
theology of Christianity did not appear to him true, 
or of Divine origin; inasmuch as this strange history 
of a crucified God was not credible to him, and a 
system which purported to rest entirely upon a 
foundation to him so wholly unbelievable, could not 
be foreseen by him to be that renovating agency 
which, after all abatements, it has in fact proved to be; 
the gentlest and most amiable of philosophers and 
rulers, under a solemn sense of duty, authorised the 
persecution of Christianity. To my mind, this is one 
of the most tragical factsin all history. Itisa bitter 
thought, how different a thing the Christianity of 
the world might have been, if the Christian faith 
had been adopted as the religion of the empire, under 
the auspices of Marcus Aurelius, instead of those of 
Constantine. But it would be equally unjust to him, 
and false to truth, to deny, that no one plea which 
can be urged for punishing Anti-christian teaching, 
was wanting to Marcus Aurelius for punishing, as he 
did, the propagation of Christianity. No Christian 
more firmly believes that atheism is false, and tends 
to the dissolution of society, than Marcus Aurelius 
believed the same things of Christianity; he who, of 
all men then living, might have been thought the 
most capable of appreciating it. Unless any one 
who approves of punishment for the promulgation of 
opinions, flatters himself that he is a wiser and 
better man than Marcus Aurelius—more deeply 
versed in the wisdom of his time—more elevated in 
his intellect above it—more earnest in his search for 
truth, or more single-minded in his devotion to it 
when found—Ilet him abstain from that assumption of 
the joint infallibility of himself and the multitude, 
which the great A. made with so unfortunate a result.’ 
ANTONI'NUS PIUS, Trrus Avre'rivs FuLvus, 
ANTONINTUS PIUS—ANTONINUS. 
reign of Domitian (86 A.D.). The family of A. was 
originally from Nemausus, now Nimes, in Gaul. A. 
inherited great wealth, and early gave proof of 
excellent qualities. In 120 he was made consul; 
afterwards was sent by Hadrian as proconsul into 
Asia, where the wisdom and gentleness of his rule won 
for him a higher reputation than had been enjoyed by 
any of his predecessors. By his wife Faustina he had 
four children, of whom three died, leaving a daugh- 
ter, Faustina, afterwards wife of Marcus Aurelius. 
In 138 he was -adopted by the Emperor Hadrian, in 
consequence of merit alone, and came to the throne 
in the same year. The reign of A. was proverbially 
peaceful and happy. In his private character, he 
was simple, temperate, and benevolent; while in 
public affairs he acted as the father of his people. 
The persecution of Christians, which was con- 
tinued during his reign, was partly stayed by his 
mild measures. He was little engaged in war, 
excepting in Britain, where he extended the power 
of Rome, and built a wall between the Forth and 
the Clyde, as a defence against invasions by the 
predatory inhabitants of the north ; but he was fre- 
quently employed in arbitration and general counsel 
on the affairs of foreign states. ¢Happy the nation 
which has no history.’ The reign of A. illustrates 
this saying, for by the justice, wisdom, kindliness, 
and courtesy of the emperor, his vast empire was 
preserved from the crimes, conspiracies, insurrec- 
tions, and bloodshed, the recording of which formed 
the largest part of the historian’s work in the dark 
centuries of the Roman empire. It is said that only 
one senator was impeached during As lifetime. 
  
Copper Coin of Antoninus Pius, 
commemorative of his Victories in Britain, from one in the 
British Museum. 
Literature received great encouragement; the laws 
were improved ; commerce extended ; the means of 
communication were facilitated by the repair of 
roads, bridges, &e.; new sanitary regulations were 
introduced ; and a taste for architecture fostered 
in the citizens.. The epithet Prus was conferred 
on him on account of his conduct in defending the 
memory of his predecessor Hadrian against certain 
dishonouring measures brought forward by the 
senate. A. died in 161 A.D. The column raised to 
his memory by his adopted son and successor, Mar- 
cus Aurelius Antoninus (q. v.), was discovered in 1709, 
and now exists only in fragments. The so-called 
Pillar of Antoninus,” now in the Piazza Colonnag 
at Rome, is that raised by the senate in honour 
of Marcus Aurelius, after his victory over the 
Marcomanni. 
ANTONI'NUS, ITINERARY OF (Antonint Itiner- 
arium), a valuable geographical work, containing 
the names of all the places and stations on the 
principal and cross roads of the Roman empire, 
with their distances from each other in Roman 
miles. Ithas been usually attributed to the Emperor 
M. Aurelius Antoninus, whence its name. The 
testimony, however, of the Greek geographer Zithi- 
  
a Roman emperor (138—161 A.D.), was born in the 
  
  
  
  
  
  
cus, author of the Cosmographic, assures %s that 
  
  
  
  
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