O name of country, once how sacred deem’d! 
  O sad reverse of manners, once esteem’d! 
  While Rome her ancient majesty maintain’d,
  And in his capitol while Jove imperial reign’d.—­Horace.

1.  The merits of Aurelius procured Commodus an easy accession to the throne.[1] He was acknowledged emperor by the army, by the senate and people, and afterwards by all the provinces.

2.  But his whole reign was a tissue of wantonness and folly, cruelty and injustice, rapacity and corruption.  So strong a similitude was there between his conduct and that of Domi’tian, that a reader might imagine he was going over the history of the same reign. 3.  He spent the day in feasting, and the night in the most abominable wickedness.  He would sometimes go about the markets in a frolic, with small wares, as a petty chapman; sometimes he affected to be a horse-courser; at other times he drove his own chariot, in a slave’s habit.  Those he promoted resembled himself, being the companions of his pleasures, or the ministers of his cruelties.

4.  If any person desired to be revenged on an enemy, by bargaining with Com’modus for a sum of money, he was permitted to destroy him in any manner he thought proper.  He commanded a person to be cast to the wild beasts for reading the life of Calig’ula in Sueto’nius.  He ordered another to be thrown into a burning furnace, for accidentally overheating his bath.  He would sometimes, when he was in a pleasant humour, cut off men’s noses, under pretence of shaving their beards; and yet he was himself so jealous of all mankind, that he thought it necessary to be his own barber.

5.  At length, upon the feast of Janus, resolving to fence before the people, as a common gladiator, three of his friends remonstrated with him upon the indecency of such behaviour:  these were Lae’tus, his general; Elec’tus, his chamberlain; and Mar’cia, of whom he always appeared excessively fond. 6.  Their advice was attended with no other effect than that of exciting him to resolve upon their destruction. 7.  It was his method, like that of Domi’tian, to set down the names of all such as he intended to put to death in a roll, which he carefully kept by him.  However, at this time, happening to lay the roll on his bed, while he was bathing a another room, it was taken up by a little boy whom he passionately loved.  The child, after playing with it some time brought it to Mar’cia, who was instantly alarmed at the contents. 8.  She immediately discovered her terror to Lae’tus and Elec’tus, who, perceiving their dangerous situation, instantly resolved upon the tyrant’s death. 9.  After some deliberation, it was agreed to dispatch him by poison; but this not succeeding, Mar’cia hastily introduced a young man, called Narcis’sus, whom she prevailed upon to assist in strangling the tyrant.  Com’modus died in the thirty-first year of his age, after an impious reign of twelve years and nine months.