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134-445: Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God 's right hand that is sealed with seven seals . The Lamb of God / Lion of Judah opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons four beings that ride out on white, red, black, and pale horses. All of the horsemen save for Death are portrayed as being human in appearance. In John's revelation the first horseman rides a white horse, carries

268-452: A 'favour', not to attack Atticus; he had already asked Atticus to refrain from making the first blows. Fronto replied that he was surprised to discover Marcus counted Atticus as a friend (perhaps Atticus was not yet Marcus's tutor), and allowed that Marcus might be correct, but nonetheless affirmed his intent to win the case by any means necessary: '[T]he charges are frightful and must be spoken of as frightful. Those in particular that refer to

402-516: A Caesar; do not be dipped into the purple dye – for that can happen'. At the senate's request, Marcus joined all the priestly colleges ( pontifices , augures , quindecimviri sacris faciundis , septemviri epulonum , etc.); direct evidence for membership, however, is available only for the Arval Brethren . Antoninus demanded that Marcus reside in the House of Tiberius, the imperial palace on

536-464: A Greek exegete writing in the sixth century, Berengaudus a French Benedictine monk of Ferrières Abbey at the same period, Luis del Alcázar a Spanish Jesuit in 1612, Benito Arias Montano , a Spanish Orientalist , in 1622, Jacques de Bordes, a French capuchin in 1639, Emanuel Swedenborg a Swedish theologian in 1766. Revelation 6 Revelation 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation or

670-472: A bow, and is given a crown as a figure of conquest , perhaps invoking pestilence , or the Antichrist . The second carries a sword and rides a red horse as the creator of (civil) war , conflict, and strife. The third, a food merchant , rides a black horse symbolizing famine and carries the scales. The fourth and final horse is pale, upon it rides Death , accompanied by Hades . "They were given authority over

804-549: A clipping of īnfernus lŏcus , "[the] lower place") in Latin. However, illustrations commonly depict him carrying a scythe, sword, or another implement, he is no different than typical portrayals of Death, and is the only horseman who doesn’t appear to be a human. The colour of Death's horse is written as pàllidus in Latin and as χλωρός ( khlōrós , latinized as chlōrus ) in the original Koine Greek , which can mean either green/greenish-yellow or pale/pallid in both languages. The colour

938-538: A fourth of the Earth" is generally taken as referring to Death and Hades , although some commentators see it as applying to all four horsemen. According to the Interpretātiō Graecǎ , he is Moros (Μόρος, Móros (latinized as Mŏrus ), literally "Fate" or "Doom"), personification / deity of impending doom. This fourth, pale horse, was the personification of Death, with Hades following him, jaws open and receiving

1072-441: A group of authors at the turn of the 4th century AD, but it is believed they were in fact written by a single author (referred to here as 'the biographer') from about 395. The later biographies and the biographies of subordinate emperors and usurpers are unreliable, but the earlier biographies, derived primarily from now-lost earlier sources ( Marius Maximus or Ignotus), are considered to be more accurate. For Marcus's life and rule,

1206-432: A hope of recovery. The diarrhea has stopped, the little attacks of fever have been driven away. But the emaciation is still extreme and there is still quite a bit of coughing'. He and Faustina, Marcus wrote, had been 'pretty occupied' with the girl's care. Domitia would die in 151. In 149, Faustina gave birth again, to twin sons. Contemporary coinage commemorates the event, with crossed cornucopiae beneath portrait busts of

1340-527: A lieutenant obeys a proconsul or a governor obeys the emperor". Immediately after their Senate confirmation, the emperors proceeded to the Castra Praetoria , the camp of the Praetorian Guard . Lucius addressed the assembled troops, which then acclaimed the pair as imperatores . Then, like every new emperor since Claudius , Lucius promised the troops a special donativum . This donative , however,

1474-508: A markedly different personality from Marcus: he enjoyed sports of all kinds, but especially hunting and wrestling; he took obvious pleasure in the circus games and gladiatorial fights. He did not marry until 164. In 156, Antoninus turned 70. He found it difficult to keep himself upright without stays . He started nibbling on dry bread to give him the strength to stay awake through his morning receptions. As Antoninus aged, Marcus would take on more administrative duties, more still when he became

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1608-744: A painting master, proved particularly influential; he seems to have introduced Marcus Aurelius to the philosophic way of life. In April 132, at the behest of Diognetus, Marcus took up the dress and habits of the philosopher: he studied while wearing a rough Greek cloak , and would sleep on the ground until his mother persuaded him to sleep on a bed. A new set of tutors – the Homeric scholar Alexander of Cotiaeum along with Trosius Aper and Tuticius Proculus , teachers of Latin – took over Marcus's education in about 132 or 133. Marcus thanks Alexander for his training in literary styling. Alexander's influence – an emphasis on matter over style and careful wording, with

1742-509: A palace beside the Lateran , where he would spend much of his childhood. Marcus thanks his grandfather for teaching him 'good character and avoidance of bad temper'. He was less fond of the mistress his grandfather took and lived with after the death of his wife Rupilia. Marcus was grateful that he did not have to live with her longer than he did. From a young age, Marcus displayed enthusiasm for wrestling and boxing . He trained in wrestling as

1876-548: A palace' – but he found it difficult nonetheless. He would criticize himself in the Meditations for 'abusing court life' in front of company. As quaestor, Marcus would have had little real administrative work to do. He would read imperial letters to the senate when Antoninus was absent and would do secretarial work for the senators. But he felt drowned in paperwork and complained to his tutor, Marcus Cornelius Fronto: 'I am so out of breath from dictating nearly thirty letters'. He

2010-610: A period from the celebration of the great secular games by the Emperor Philip to the death of Gallienus (in AD 268) as the 20 years of shame and misfortune, of confusion and calamity, as a time when the ruined empire approached the last and fatal moment of its dissolution. Every instant of time in every province of the Roman world was afflicted by military tyrants and barbarous invaders—the sword from within and without. According to Elliott, famine,

2144-615: A portion of this time, 5000 people died daily in Rome; and many towns that had escaped the attacks of barbarians were entirely depopulated. For a time in the late 260s, the strength of Aurelian crushed the enemies of Rome, yet after his assassination a certain amount of them revived. While the Goths had been destroyed for almost a century and the Empire reunited, the Sassanid Persians were uncowed in

2278-582: A quarter of the Earth, to kill with sword, famine and plague, and by means of the beasts of the Earth." Christianity typically interprets the Four Horsemen as a vision of harbingers of the Last Judgment , setting a divine end-time upon the world. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals , and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" I looked, and behold,

2412-496: A seaside resort on the Campanian coast. His condition did not improve, and he abandoned the diet prescribed by his doctors, indulging himself in food and drink. He sent for Antoninus, who was at his side when he died on 10 July 138. His remains were buried quietly at Puteoli . The succession to Antoninus was peaceful and stable: Antoninus kept Hadrian's nominees in office and appeased the senate, respecting its privileges and commuting

2546-475: A significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy. These writings have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death. The major sources depicting the life and rule of Marcus Aurelius are patchy and frequently unreliable. The most important group of sources, the biographies contained in the Historia Augusta , claimed to be written by

2680-514: A white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. The above passage is a common English translation of the rider of the White Horse (sometimes referred to as the White Rider ). He is thought to carry a bow (Greek τόξον, tóxon ) and wear a victor's crown (Greek στέφανος, stéphanos ). According to the Interpretātiō Graecǎ , he

2814-486: A youth and into his teenage years, learned to fight in armour and joined the Salii , an order of priests dedicated to the god Mars that were responsible for the sacred shields, called Ancilia , and possibly for heralding war season's beginning and end. Marcus was educated at home, in line with contemporary aristocratic trends; he thanks Catilius Severus for encouraging him to avoid public schools. One of his teachers, Diognetus,

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2948-539: Is Zelos (Ζῆλος, Zêlos (latinized as Zēlus), literally "Zeal" or "Jealousy"), daimon / deity of conquest and glory. For the broad historical interpretation of Christ as the rider of the white horse, it is to be understood that the Antichrist does not appear until the opening of the sixth seal. Events in world history since the founding of Christianity were interpreted as "horses" up to the sixth seal event. Therefore, this interpretation can be seen as either partially preterist , or an instance of dual fulfillment . In

3082-455: Is concerned, I am beginning to get it back; and there is no trace of the pain in my chest. But that ulcer [...] I am having treatment and taking care not to do anything that interferes with it'. Never particularly healthy or strong, Marcus was praised by Cassius Dio, writing of his later years, for behaving dutifully in spite of his various illnesses. In April 145, Marcus married Faustina, legally his sister, as had been planned since 138. Little

3216-472: Is it between you and me? I love you and you are not here' in their correspondence. Marcus spent time with Fronto's wife and daughter, both named Cratia, and they enjoyed light conversation. He wrote Fronto a letter on his birthday, claiming to love him as he loved himself, and calling on the gods to ensure that every word he learnt of literature, he would learn 'from the lips of Fronto'. His prayers for Fronto's health were more than conventional, because Fronto

3350-503: Is often translated as "pale", though "ashen", "pale green", and "yellowish green" are other possible interpretations (the Greek word is the root of " chlorophyll " and " chlorine "). Based on the uses of the word in ancient Greek medical literature, several scholars suggest that the colour reflects the sickly pallor of a corpse . In some modern artistic depictions, the horse is distinctly green. The verse beginning with "they were given power over

3484-603: Is specifically known of the ceremony, but the biographer calls it 'noteworthy'. Coins were issued with the heads of the couple, and Antoninus, as Pontifex Maximus , would have officiated. Marcus makes no apparent reference to the marriage in his surviving letters, and only sparing references to Faustina. After taking the toga virilis in 136, Marcus probably began his training in oratory . He had three tutors in Greek (Aninus Macer, Caninius Celer, and Herodes Atticus ) and one in Latin ( Marcus Cornelius Fronto ). The latter two were

3618-418: Is that grain crops would have been more naturally susceptible to famine years or locust plagues than olive trees and grapevines , which root more deeply. The statement might also suggest a continuing abundance of luxuries for the wealthy, while staples, such as bread, are scarce, though not completely depleted; such selective scarcity may result from injustice and the deliberate production of luxury crops for

3752-430: Is the only one to whom the text itself explicitly gives a name. Unlike the other three, he is not described as carrying a weapon or other object, instead, he is followed by Hades (Greek: ᾍδης, Hā́idēs, latinized as Hādēs), which here refers not to the pagan god of death and his abode in Greek mythology , but simply to the place of the dead in the Greek language , and which is called Īnfernus ("[the] Underworld",

3886-526: Is therefore predicted, though in his wrath God remembers mercy (cf. the judgments threatened in Leviticus 26:23–26 , viz. the sword, pestilence, and famine; also the expression, "They shall deliver you your bread again by weight"). The corollary to the preceding sentence, with the same signification. It expresses a limit set to the power of the rider on the black horse. These were typical articles of food (cf. Psalm 104:14, 15 , "That he may bring forth food out of

4020-485: The Iliad what he called the "briefest and most familiar saying [...] enough to dispel sorrow and fear": leaves, the wind scatters some on the face of the ground; like unto them are the children of men. Another daughter was born on 7 March 150, Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla . At some time between 155 and 161, probably soon after 155, Marcus's mother Domitia Lucilla died. Faustina probably had another daughter in 151, but

4154-524: The Revised Standard Version ) in connection with the riders in the passage following the introduction of the fourth rider; cf. "They were given power over a fourth of the Earth to kill by sword, famine, plague, and by the wild beasts of the Earth." in the NASB. However, the original Greek does not use the word for "plague" or "pestilence" here, simply "death" (θᾰ́νᾰτος, thánatos ). The use of "pestilence"

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4288-541: The Roman currency . He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 83.5% to 79% – the silver weight dropping from 2.68 g (0.095 oz) to 2.57 g (0.091 oz). Antoninus's funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, 'elaborate'. If his funeral followed those of his predecessors, his body would have been cremated on a pyre at the Campus Martius , and his spirit would have been seen as ascending to

4422-569: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina . It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. In accordance with his will, Antoninus's fortune passed on to Faustina. (Marcus had little need of his wife's fortune. Indeed, at his accession, Marcus transferred part of his mother's estate to his nephew, Ummius Quadratus . ) Faustina was three months pregnant at her husband's accession. During the pregnancy she dreamed of giving birth to two serpents, one fiercer than

4556-506: The praetorian prefect (an office that was as much secretarial as military) when Marcus Gavius Maximus died in 156 or 157. In 160, Marcus and Lucius were designated joint consuls for the following year. Antoninus may have already been ill. Two days before his death, the biographer reports, Antoninus was at his ancestral estate at Lorium , in Etruria , about 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He ate Alpine cheese at dinner quite greedily. In

4690-479: The tribunician power and the imperium – authority over the armies and provinces of the emperor. As tribune, he had the right to bring one measure before the senate after the four Antoninus could introduce. His tribunician powers would be renewed with Antoninus's on 10 December 147. The first mention of Domitia in Marcus's letters reveals her as a sickly infant. 'Caesar to Fronto. If the gods are willing we seem to have

4824-816: The Antonine elite, the orations of Aelius Aristides on the temper of the times, and the constitutions preserved in the Digest and Codex Justinianeus on Marcus's legal work. Inscriptions and coin finds supplement the literary sources. Marcus was born in Rome on 26 April 121. His birth name is sometimes given as Marcus Annius Verus, but sources assign this name to him upon his father's death and unofficial adoption by his grandfather, upon his coming of age. He may have been known as "Marcus Annius Catilius Severus", at birth or some point in his youth, or "Marcus Catilius Severus Annius Verus". Upon his adoption by Antoninus as heir to

4958-532: The Apocalypse , emerge as the first four seals are opened. The original text was written in Koine Greek . This chapter is divided into 17 verses. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are among others: The opening of the first four seals does not yield the content of the scroll, which can only be read after all the seals are opened, but serves as a preparation that recalls 'the beginning of

5092-616: The Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible . The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle , but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate. This chapter describes the opening of the first six of the seven seals . The opening of the seventh seal is recorded in chapter 8 . Four horses and their riders, the Four Horsemen of

5226-589: The Aurelii Fulvi, a branch of the Aurelii settled in the colony of Nemausus in Roman Gaul . Marcus's sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina , was probably born in 122 or 123. His father probably died in 125 or 126 when Marcus was three years old during his praetorship. Though he can hardly have known his father, Marcus wrote in his Meditations that he had learned 'modesty and manliness' from his memories of his father and

5360-534: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , which claims the Roman Empire suffered as a result of excessive taxation of its citizens, particularly during the reign of Emperor Caracalla , whom history has primarily remembered as a cruel tyrant and among the worst of the Roman emperors. Under the necessity of gratifying the greed and excessive lifestyle which Caracalla had excited in the army, old as well as new taxes, were at

5494-477: The East and, during the following year, hosts of central Asian Alani spread themselves over Pontus, Cappadocia, Cilicia, and Galatia, etching their course by the flames of cities and villages they pillaged. As for the wild beasts of the Earth, according to Elliott, it is a well-known law of nature that they quickly occupy the scenes of waste and depopulation—where the reign of man fails and the reign of beasts begins. After

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5628-455: The Horseman carries a pair of balances or weighing scales (Greek ζυγόν, zugón ), indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine. The rider is typically portrayed as an emaciated man. Other authors interpret the third Horseman as the "Lord as a Law-Giver", holding Scales of Justice . In the passage, it is read that the indicated price of grain is about ten times normal (thus

5762-615: The Lion in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Heaven, and the first Horseman may represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1866, when C. F. Zimpel defended the hypothesis that the first horseman was the Antichrist (and more precisely, according to him, Napoleon Bonaparte ). The Antichrist interpretation later found champions in

5896-645: The New Testament, the Book of Mark indicates that the advance of the gospel may precede and foretell the apocalypse. The colour white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is portrayed as a conqueror in other instances. Besides Christ, the Horseman could represent the Holy Spirit . The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the Apostles at Pentecost after Jesus departed Earth. The appearance of

6030-461: The Palatine, and take up the habits of his new station, the aulicum fastigium or 'pomp of the court', against Marcus's objections. Marcus would struggle to reconcile the life of the court with his philosophic yearnings. He told himself it was an attainable goal – 'Where life is possible, then it is possible to live the right life; life is possible in a palace, so it is possible to live the right life in

6164-655: The Parthian war. Roman conquest is demonstrated even in the most mighty of these wars: the Marcomannic Wars , a succession of victories under the second Antonine, unleashed on the German barbarians, who were driven into their forests and reduced to Roman submission. In some commentaries, the white Horseman symbolizes war, which may be decently exercised on moral grounds, hence the white colour. The red Horseman (see below) specifically symbolizes civil war. Under another interpretation,

6298-438: The Roman Empire appears to have increased during his reign, but his involvement in this is unlikely since there is no record of early Christians in the 2nd century calling him a persecutor, and Tertullian even called Marcus a "protector of Christians". The Antonine Plague broke out in 165 or 166 and devastated the population of the Roman Empire , causing the deaths of five to ten million people. Lucius Verus may have died from

6432-421: The Roman political body. For the next 80 or 90 years, succeeding the banishment of the prophet John to the island of Patmos and covering the successive reigns of the emperors Nerva , Trajan , Hadrian , and the two Antonines ( Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius ), a golden age of prosperity, union, civil liberty and good government unstained with civil blood unfolded. The agents of this prosperity, personified by

6566-566: The Romans fought the Parthian war of Lucius Verus with a revitalized Parthian Empire and the rebel Kingdom of Armenia . Marcus defeated the Marcomanni , Quadi , and Sarmatian Iazyges in the Marcomannic Wars . These and other Germanic peoples began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire. He reduced the silver purity of the Roman currency , the denarius . The persecution of Christians in

6700-449: The Romans, of the military profession. The apocalyptic figure armed with a great sword indicated an undue authority and unnatural use of it. Military men in power, whose vocation was war and weapon the sword, rose by it and also fell. The unrestrained military, no longer subject to the Senate, transformed the Empire into a system of pure military despotism. When He broke the third seal, I heard

6834-551: The United States, such as R. F. Franklin in 1898 and W. C. Stevens in 1928. It remains popular in evangelical circles today, for example with Pastor Billy Graham , for whom the horseman represented the Antichrist or false prophets in general. In Edward Bishop Elliott 's interpretation, the Four Horsemen represent a prophecy of the Roman Empire's subsequent history; the horse's white colour signifies triumph, prosperity, and health in

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6968-409: The beating and robbing I will describe so that they savour of gall and bile. If I happen to call him an uneducated little Greek it will not mean war to the death'. The outcome of the trial is unknown. By the age of twenty-five (between April 146 and April 147), Marcus had grown disaffected with his studies in jurisprudence , and showed some signs of general malaise . His master, he writes to Fronto,

7102-429: The biographer writes that he was 'compelled' to take imperial power. This may have been a genuine horror imperii , 'fear of imperial power'. Marcus, with his preference for the philosophic life, found the imperial office unappealing. His training as a Stoic however, had made the choice clear to him that it was his duty. Although Marcus showed no personal affection for Hadrian (significantly, he does not thank him in

7236-493: The biographies of Hadrian , Antoninus , Marcus, and Lucius are largely reliable, but those of Aelius Verus and Avidius Cassius are not. A body of correspondence between Marcus's tutor Fronto and various Antonine officials survives in a series of patchy manuscripts, covering the period from c. 138 to 166. Marcus's own Meditations offer a window on his inner life, but are largely undateable and make few specific references to worldly affairs. The main narrative source for

7370-448: The birth pangs' in Mark 13:7–8 . The choenix appears to have been the food allotted to one man for a day; while the denarius was the pay of a soldier or of a common labourer for one day ( Matthew 20:2 , "He agreed with the labourers for a penny a day," and Tacitus, 'Ann.,' 1:17, 26, "Ut denarius diurnum stipendium foret." Cf. Tobit 5:14, where drachma is equivalent to denarius). The choenix was

7504-453: The black horse is unleashed, representing aggravated distress and mourning. The balance in the rider's hand is not associated with a man weighing out bread for his family but with buying and selling corn and other grains. During the time of the apostle John's exile in Patmos, the balance was commonly a symbol of justice since it was used to weigh grains for a set price. The balance of justice held in

7638-474: The child, Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina , might not have been born until 153. Another son, Tiberius Aelius Antoninus, was born in 152. A coin issue celebrates fecunditati Augustae , 'to Augusta's fertility', depicting two girls and an infant. The boy did not survive long, as evidenced by coins from 156, only depicting the two girls. He might have died in 152, the same year as Marcus's sister Cornificia. By 28 March 158, when Marcus replied, another of his children

7772-449: The consul for 139. Marcus's adoption diverted him from the typical career path of his class. If not for his adoption, he probably would have become triumvir monetalis , a highly regarded post involving token administration of the state mint; after that, he could have served as tribune with a legion , becoming the legion's nominal second-in-command. Marcus probably would have opted for travel and further education instead. As it was, Marcus

7906-402: The day labor of a seasonal worker in the harvesting of grapes is also valued at one denarius ( Matthew 20:2 ). Thus, it is probably a fact that with the approach of the Apocalypse, the most necessary food will rise in price greatly and the wages earned per day will be enough only for the minimum subsistence for the same day and nothing more. Of the Four Horsemen, the black horse and its rider are

8040-571: The death sentences of men charged in Hadrian's last days. For his dutiful behaviour, Antoninus was asked to accept the name 'Pius'. Immediately after Hadrian's death, Antoninus approached Marcus and requested that his marriage arrangements be amended: Marcus's betrothal to Ceionia Fabia would be annulled, and he would be betrothed to Faustina , Antoninus's daughter, instead. Faustina's betrothal to Ceionia's brother Lucius Commodus would also have to be annulled. Marcus consented to Antoninus's proposal. He

8174-414: The earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart;" and Joel 1:10 , "The corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth"). Wordsworth interprets, "The prohibition to the rider, 'Hurt not thou the oil and the wine,' is a restraint on the evil design of the rider, who would injure the spiritual oil and wine, that is,

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8308-413: The eighth part of the " modius ", and a denarius would usually purchase a modius of wheat. The price given, therefore, denotes great scarcity, though not an entire absence of food, since a man's wages would barely suffice to obtain him food. Barley, which was the coarser food, was obtainable at one third of the price, which would allow a man to feed a family, though with difficulty. A season of great scarcity

8442-500: The end of the felicitas temporum ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed. In either autumn 161 or spring 162, the Tiber overflowed its banks, flooding much of Rome. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. Marcus and Lucius gave the crisis their personal attention. In other times of famine, the emperors are said to have provided for the Italian communities out of

8576-438: The fact that the comedy writer Marullus was able to criticize them without suffering retribution. As the biographer wrote, "No one missed the lenient ways of Pius". Marcus replaced a number of the empire's major officials. The ab epistulis Sextus Caecilius Crescens Volusianus, in charge of the imperial correspondence, was replaced with Titus Varius Clemens. Clemens was from the frontier province of Pannonia and had served in

8710-461: The famine interpretation popularity), with an entire day's wages (a denarius ) buying enough wheat for only one person (one choenix , about 1.1 litres ), or enough of the less nutritious barley for three, so that workers would struggle to feed their families. In the Gospels , the denarius is repeatedly mentioned as a monetary unit; for example, the denarius was the pay of a soldier for one day, and

8844-436: The fashion of the young, tired of boring work', Marcus had turned to philosophy to escape the constant exercises of oratorical training. Marcus kept in close touch with Fronto, but would ignore Fronto's scruples. Apollonius may have introduced Marcus to Stoic philosophy, but Quintus Junius Rusticus would have the strongest influence on the boy. He was the man Fronto recognized as having 'wooed Marcus away' from oratory. He

8978-544: The first Horseman is called Pestilence and is associated with infectious disease and plague. It appears at least as early as 1906 in the Jewish Encyclopedia . This particular interpretation is common in popular culture references to the Four Horsemen. The origin of this interpretation is unclear. Some translations of the Bible mention " plague " (e.g. the New International Version ) or "pestilence" (e.g.

9112-565: The first book of his Meditations ), he presumably believed it his duty to enact the man's succession plans. Thus, although the Senate planned to confirm Marcus alone, he refused to take office unless Lucius received equal powers. The Senate accepted, granting Lucius the imperium , the tribunician power, and the title Augustus . Marcus became, in official titulature, Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; Lucius, forgoing his name Commodus and taking Marcus's family name Verus, became Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus. It

9246-411: The frontiers. The triumphs of Emperor Trajan, a Roman Alexander, added to the empire Dacia , Armenia , Mesopotamia , and other provinces during the first 20 years of the period, which deepened the impression on the minds of the barbarians of the invincibility of the Roman Empire. The Roman war progressed triumphantly into the invader's territory, and the total overthrow of those people successfully ended

9380-555: The games. By the Emperor's authority, the whole mass of wealth was confiscated for use by the Imperial treasury —temples "stripped of their most valuable offerings of gold, silver [and statues] which were melted down and coined into money". When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come". I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had

9514-553: The gods' home in the heavens. Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification. In contrast to their behaviour during Antoninus's campaign to deify Hadrian, the Senate did not oppose the emperors' wishes. A flamen , or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Divus Antoninus. Antoninus's remains were laid to rest in Hadrian's mausoleum , beside the remains of Marcus's children and of Hadrian himself. The temple he had dedicated to his wife, Diva Faustina, became

9648-498: The hand of the rider of the black horse signified the aggravation of the other previous evil, with the bloodstained red of the Roman aspect morphing into the darker blackness of distress. The black horse rider is instructed not to harm the oil and the wine, which signifies that this scarcity should not fall upon the superfluities, such as oil and wine, which men can live without, but upon the necessities of life—bread. This interpretation also borrows from Edward Gibbon 's The History of

9782-572: The history of the Roman Empire, the second seal is opened and the Roman nation that experienced joy, prosperity, and triumph is made subject to the red horse which depicts war and bloodshed—civil war. Peace left the Roman Earth, resulting in the killing of one another as insurrection crept into and permeated the Empire, beginning shortly into the reign of Emperor Commodus . Elliott points out that Commodus, who had nothing to wish for and everything to enjoy, that beloved son of Marcus Aurelius who ascended

9916-450: The inevitable consequence of carnage and oppression, which demolished the present crop as well as the hope of future harvests, produced the environment for an epidemic of diseases, the effects of scanty and unwholesome food. That furious plague (the Plague of Cyprian ), which raged from 250 to 265, continued without interruption in every province, city and almost every family in the empire. During

10050-436: The influence of Atticus, Marcus would later become a Stoic. He would not mention Herodes at all in his Meditations , in spite of the fact that they would come into contact many times over the following decades. Fronto was highly esteemed: in the self-consciously antiquarian world of Latin letters, he was thought of as second only to Cicero , perhaps even an alternative to him. He did not care much for Atticus, though Marcus

10184-420: The longest reign since Augustus, surpassing Tiberius by a couple of months. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus was effectively sole ruler of the Empire. The formalities of the position would follow. The Senate would soon grant him the name Augustus and the title imperator , and he would soon be formally elected as pontifex maximus , chief priest of the official cults. Marcus made some show of resistance:

10318-709: The malignant climax of the evils of the two preceding seals, to which no such limitation is attached. Turning to a reading in Jerome 's Latin Vulgate which reads "over the four parts of the Earth", it requires that the Roman Empire should have some kind of quadripartition. Dividing from the central or Italian fourth, three great divisions of the Empire separated into the West, East, and Illyricum under Posthumus, Aureolus, and Zenobia respectively—divisions that were later legitimized by Diocletian . Diocletian ended this long period of anarchy, but

10452-406: The man's posthumous reputation. His mother Lucilla did not remarry and, following prevailing aristocratic customs, probably did not spend much time with her son. Instead, Marcus was in the care of 'nurses', and was raised after his father's death by his grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (II), who had always retained the legal authority of patria potestas over his son and grandson. Technically this

10586-699: The matter of the oil and wine". Theologian H. W. Rinek renders, "waste not". The vision is a general prophecy of the future for all time (see on verse 5 ); but many writers have striven to identify the fulfilment of the vision with someone particular famine. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746-1763) . Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs au̯ˈreːliʊs antoːˈniːnʊs] ; English: / ɔː ˈ r iː l i ə s / or- EE -lee-əs ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180)

10720-563: The means of grace, which had been typified under those symbols in ancient prophecy ( Psalm 23:4, 5 ), and also by the words and acts of Christ, the good Samaritan, pouring in oil and wine into the wounds of the traveller, representing human nature, lying in the road." 'Αδικήσῃς ἀδικεῖν in the Revelation invariably signifies "to injure," and, except in one case, takes the direct accusative after it (see Revelation 2:11 ; Revelation 7:2, 3 ; Revelation 9:4, 10, 19 ; Revelation 11:5 ). Nevertheless, Heinrich and Elliott render, "Do not commit injustice in

10854-474: The most esteemed orators of their time, but probably did not become his tutors until his adoption by Antoninus in 138. The preponderance of Greek tutors indicates the importance of the Greek language to the aristocracy of Rome. This was the age of the Second Sophistic , a renaissance in Greek letters. Although educated in Rome, in his Meditations Marcus would write his inmost thoughts in Greek. Atticus

10988-410: The name Death ; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the Earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the Earth. The fourth and final Horseman is named Death (Greek: Θᾰ́νᾰτος, Thánatos , Latin: Mŏrs or Thanatus ). Death , known in Latin as Mŏrs and in Greek as Thánatos (Θᾰ́νᾰτος), of all the riders, he

11122-525: The night before the scheduled speech, he grew ill and died of a hemorrhage later in the day. On 24 January 138, Hadrian selected Aurelius Antoninus, the husband of Marcus's aunt Faustina the Elder , as his new successor. As part of Hadrian's terms, Antoninus, in turn, adopted Marcus and Lucius Commodus, the son of Lucius Aelius. Marcus became M. Aelius Aurelius Verus, and Lucius became L. Aelius Aurelius Commodus. At Hadrian's request, Antoninus's daughter Faustina

11256-409: The night he vomited; he had a fever the next day. The day after that, 7 March 161, he summoned the imperial council, and passed the state and his daughter to Marcus. The emperor gave the keynote to his life in the last word that he uttered when the tribune of the night-watch came to ask the password – 'aequanimitas' (equanimity). He then turned over, as if going to sleep, and died. His death closed out

11390-413: The occasional Homeric quotation – has been detected in Marcus's Meditations . In late 136, Hadrian almost died from a hemorrhage . Convalescent in his villa at Tivoli , he selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus, Marcus's intended father-in-law, as his successor and adopted son , according to the biographer 'against the wishes of everyone'. While his motives are not certain, it would appear that his goal

11524-434: The only ones whose appearance is accompanied by vocalization. John hears a voice, unidentified but coming from among the four living creatures , that speaks of the prices of wheat and barley, saying, "and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine ". This suggests that the black horse's famine is to drive up the price of grain but leave oil and wine supplies unaffected (though out of reach of the ordinary worker). One explanation

11658-421: The other. On 31 August, she gave birth at Lanuvium to twins: T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. Aside from the fact that the twins shared Caligula 's birthday, the omens were favorable, and the astrologers drew positive horoscopes for the children. The births were celebrated on the imperial coinage. Soon after the emperor's accession, Marcus's eleven-year-old daughter, Annia Lucilla,

11792-639: The outskirts of Rome – a profitable enterprise in an era when the city was experiencing a construction boom – and the Horti Domitia Calvillae (or Lucillae ), a villa on the Caelian hill of Rome. Marcus himself was born and raised in the Horti and referred to the Caelian hill as 'My Caelian'. The adoptive family of Marcus was the gens Aurelia , an old Roman gens. His adoptive father Antoninus Pius came from

11926-402: The period is Cassius Dio , a Greek senator from Bithynian Nicaea who wrote a history of Rome from its founding to 229 in eighty books. Dio is vital for the military history of the period, but his senatorial prejudices and strong opposition to imperial expansion obscure his perspective. Some other literary sources provide specific details: the writings of the physician Galen on the habits of

12060-448: The philosopher to learn what I do not yet know.' And Lucius, raising his hand to heaven, said, ' O Zeus, the king of the Romans in his old age takes up his tablets and goes to school.' On 30 November 147, Faustina gave birth to a girl named Domitia Faustina. She was the first of at least thirteen children (including two sets of twins) that Faustina would bear over the next twenty-three years. The next day, 1 December, Antoninus gave Marcus

12194-467: The plague in 169. When Marcus himself died in 180, he was succeeded by his son Commodus . Commodus's succession after Marcus has been a subject of debate among both contemporary and modern historians. The Column of Marcus Aurelius and Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius still stand in Rome, where they were erected in celebration of his military victories. Meditations , the writings of "the philosopher" – as contemporary biographers called Marcus – are

12328-449: The reign of Gallienus and 20 or 30 years had passed, the multiplication of the animals had risen to such an extent in parts of the empire that they made it a 'crying evil'. One notable point of apparent difference between the prophecy and history might seem to be expressly limited to the fourth part of the Roman Earth, but in the history of the period, the devastation of the pale horse extended over all. The fourth seal prophecy seems to mark

12462-459: The rider of the white horse, are these five emperors wearing crowns, who reigned with absolute authority and power under the guidance of virtue and wisdom, the armies being restrained by their firm and gentle hands. According to this interpretation, this period in Roman history, both at its commencement and close, illustrated the empire's glory where its limits were extended, though not without occasional wars, which were always uniformly triumphant on

12596-482: The rider's possession of a great sword (μάχαιρα, mákhaira ), suggests blood that is to be spilled. As seen in heraldry, the sword held upward by the second Horseman may represent war or a declaration of war. In military symbolism, swords held upward, especially crossed swords held upward, signify war and entering into battle (see, for example, the historical and modern images and the coat of arms of Joan of Arc ). The second Horseman represents civil war as opposed to

12730-430: The same time levied in the provinces. The land tax, taxes for services, and heavy contributions of corn, wine, oil, and meat were exacted from the provinces for court, army, and capital use. According to Gibbon, this was exacerbated by the rise to power of Emperor Maximin , who "attacked the public property at length". Every city of the empire was destined to purchase corn for the multitudes, as well as supply expenses for

12864-557: The small colony of Ucubi (Colonia Claritas Iulia Ucubi) south-east of Córdoba in Iberian Baetica (modern Andalusia , Spain); the gens had legendary claims of descendance from Numa Pompilius . The Annii Veri rose to prominence in Rome in the late 1st century AD. Marcus's great-grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (I) was a senator and (according to the Historia Augusta ) ex- praetor ; his grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (II)

12998-434: The speech he had written on taking his consulship in 143, when he had praised the young Marcus, Fronto was ebullient: "There was then an outstanding natural ability in you; there is now perfected excellence. There was then a crop of growing corn; there is now a ripe, gathered harvest. What I was hoping for then, I have now. The hope has become a reality". Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius. Lucius

13132-521: The succession of civil wars and invasions caused much suffering, disorder and crime, which brought the empire into a state of moral lethargy from which it never recovered. After the plague had abated, the empire suffered from general distress, and its condition was very much like that which followed after the Black Death of the Middle Ages. Talent and art had become extinct in proportion to the desolation of

13266-424: The third living creature saying, "Come". I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not damage the oil and the wine". The third Horseman rides a black horse and is popularly understood to be Famine , as

13400-419: The throne with neither competitor to remove nor enemies to punish, became the slave of his attendants who gradually corrupted his mind. Elliott further recites that, after the death of Commodus, a most turbulent period lasting 92 years unfolded, during which time 32 emperors and 27 pretenders to the Empire hurled each other from the throne by incessant civil warfare. The sword was a natural universal badge, among

13534-407: The throne, Marcus studied Greek and Latin under tutors such as Herodes Atticus and Marcus Cornelius Fronto . He married Antoninus's daughter Faustina in 145. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus acceded to the throne alongside his adoptive brother, who took the regnal name Lucius Aurelius Verus. Under the reign of Marcus Aurelius , the Roman Empire witnessed much military conflict. In the East,

13668-434: The throne, he was known as "Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus Caesar" and, upon his ascension, he was "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus" until his death; Epiphanius of Salamis , in his chronology of the Roman emperors included in his On Weights and Measures , calls him Marcus Aurelius Verus . The father of Marcus Aurelius was Marcus Annius Verus (III) . His gens Annia was of Italic origin, but settled at some point in

13802-628: The two small boys, and the legend temporum felicitas , 'the happiness of the times'. They did not survive long. Before the end of the year, another family coin was issued: it shows only a tiny girl, Domitia Faustina, and one boy baby. Then another: the girl alone. The infants were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian , where their epitaphs survive. They were called Titus Aurelius Antoninus and Tiberius Aelius Aurelius. Marcus steadied himself: 'One man prays: 'How I may not lose my little child', but you must pray: 'How I may not be afraid to lose him'. He quoted from

13936-487: The victims slain by Death. Death's commission was to kill upon the Roman Earth with all of the four judgments of God—with sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. The deadly pale and livid appearance displays a hue symptomatic of approaching empire dissolution. According to Edward Bishop Elliott, an era in Roman history commencing within about 15 years after the death of Severus Alexander (in AD 235) strongly marks every point of this terrible emblem. Edward Gibbon speaks of

14070-483: The war in Mauretania . Recently, he had served as procurator of five provinces. He was a man suited for a time of military crisis. Lucius Volusius Maecianus, Marcus's former tutor, had been prefectural governor of Egypt at Marcus's accession. Maecianus was recalled, made senator, and appointed prefect of the treasury ( aerarium Saturni ). He was made consul soon after. Fronto's son-in-law, Gaius Aufidius Victorinus ,

14204-411: The war of conquest that the first Horseman is said to bring. Other commentators have suggested that it might also represent the persecution of Christians . According to the Interpretātiō Graecǎ , he is Ares (Ἄρης, Árēs (latinized as Ărēs), literally "Bane" or "War"), spirit / god of war and battle. According to Edward Bishop Elliott's interpretation of the Four Horsemen as symbolic prophecy of

14338-608: The wealthy over grain, as would have happened during the time the Book of Revelation was written. Alternatively, the preservation of oil and wine could symbolize the preservation of the Christian faithful, who use oil and wine in their sacraments. According to the Interpretātiō Graecǎ , he is Limos (Λῑμός, Līmós (latinized as Līmus), literally "Hunger", "Starvation" or "Famine"), personification / deity of famine. According to Edward Bishop Elliott's interpretation, through this third seal,

14472-413: The white horse was clad in a showy and barbarous attire. . . . While his horse continued galloping, he was bending his bow in order to spread pestilence abroad. At his back swung the brass quiver filled with poisoned arrows, containing the germs of all diseases". When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come". And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it

14606-555: The world. —  Events  — —  Figures  — —  Events and terms  — —  Events  — Before the Reformation and the woodcut by Albrecht Dürer , the usual and more influential commentaries of the Book of Revelation thought there was only one horseman riding successively these four horses, who was the Christ himself. So did some medieval illuminations, and after that some modern commentators: Oecumenius ,

14740-693: Was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty , the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana , an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161. Marcus Aurelius was the son of the praetor Marcus Annius Verus and his wife, Domitia Calvilla . He

14874-486: Was an old man, in the latter part of his reign, he studied under Sextus of Chaeronea : The Emperor Marcus was an eager disciple of Sextus the Boeotian philosopher, being often in his company and frequenting his house. Lucius, who had just come to Rome, asked the Emperor, whom he met on his way, where he was going to and on what errand, and Marcus answered, ' it is good even for an old man to learn; I am now on my way to Sextus

15008-545: Was an unpleasant blowhard, and had made 'a hit at' him: 'It is easy to sit yawning next to a judge, he says, but to be a judge is noble work'. Marcus had grown tired of his exercises, of taking positions in imaginary debates. When he criticized the insincerity of conventional language, Fronto took to defend it. In any case, Marcus's formal education was now over. He had kept his teachers on good terms, following them devotedly. It 'affected his health adversely', his biographer writes, to have devoted so much effort to his studies. It

15142-476: Was appointed governor of Germania Superior . Fronto returned to his Roman townhouse at dawn on 28 March, having left his home in Cirta as soon as news of his pupils' accession reached him. He sent a note to the imperial freedman Charilas, asking if he could call on the emperors. Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly. The tutor was immensely proud of his students. Reflecting on

15276-485: Was being 'fitted for ruling the state', in the words of his biographer. He was required to make a speech to the assembled senators as well, making oratorical training essential for the job. On 1 January 145, Marcus was made consul a second time. Fronto urged him in a letter to have plenty of sleep 'so that you may come into the Senate with a good colour and read your speech with a strong voice'. Marcus had complained of an illness in an earlier letter: 'As far as my strength

15410-411: Was betrothed to Lucius (in spite of the fact that he was, formally, her uncle). At the ceremonies commemorating the event, new provisions were made for the support of poor children, along the lines of earlier imperial foundations. Marcus and Lucius proved popular with the people of Rome, who strongly approved of their civiliter ("lacking pomp") behaviour. The emperors permitted free speech, evidenced by

15544-459: Was betrothed to Lucius. Marcus reportedly greeted the news that Hadrian had become his adoptive grandfather with sadness, instead of joy. Only with reluctance did he move from his mother's house on the Caelian to Hadrian's private home. At some time in 138, Hadrian requested in the Senate that Marcus be exempt from the law barring him from becoming quaestor before his twenty-fourth birthday. The Senate complied, and Marcus served under Antoninus,

15678-450: Was controversial: an enormously rich Athenian (probably the richest man in the eastern half of the empire), he was quick to anger and resented by his fellow Athenians for his patronizing manner. Atticus was an inveterate opponent of Stoicism and philosophic pretensions. He thought the Stoics' desire for apatheia was foolish: they would live a 'sluggish, enervated life', he said. In spite of

15812-449: Was dead. Marcus thanked the temple synod, 'even though this turned out otherwise'. The child's name is unknown. In 159 and 160, Faustina gave birth to daughters: Fadilla and Cornificia, named respectively after Faustina's and Marcus's dead sisters. Lucius started his political career as a quaestor in 153. He was consul in 154, and was consul again with Marcus in 161. Lucius had no other titles, except that of 'son of Augustus'. Lucius had

15946-452: Was eventually to put the pair on speaking terms. Fronto exercised a complete mastery of Latin, capable of tracing expressions through the literature, producing obscure synonyms , and challenging minor improprieties in word choice. A significant amount of the correspondence between Fronto and Marcus has survived. The pair were very close, using intimate language such as 'Farewell my Fronto, wherever you are, my most sweet love and delight. How

16080-482: Was frequently ill; at times, he seems to be an almost constant invalid, always suffering – about one-quarter of the surviving letters deal with the man's sicknesses. Marcus asks that Fronto's pain be inflicted on himself, 'of my own accord with every kind of discomfort'. Fronto never became Marcus's full-time teacher and continued his career as an advocate. One notorious case brought him into conflict with Atticus. Marcus pleaded with Fronto, first with 'advice', then as

16214-430: Was granted to take peace from Earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. The rider of the second horse is often taken to represent War (he is often pictured holding a sword upwards as though ready for battle ) or mass slaughter. His horse's colour is red (πυρρός, purrhós from πῦρ , fire), and in some translations, the colour is specifically a "fiery" red. The colour red, as well as

16348-406: Was less esteemed by Fronto than his brother, as his interests were on a lower level. Lucius asked Fronto to adjudicate in a dispute he and his friend Calpurnius were having on the relative merits of two actors. Marcus told Fronto of his reading – Coelius and a little Cicero – and his family. His daughters were in Rome with their great-great-aunt Matidia; Marcus thought the evening air of the country

16482-407: Was likely drawn from other parts of the Book of Revelation and included here as another form of death. Also, whether this passage refers to the fourth rider only or the four riders as a whole is a matter of debate. Vicente Blasco Ibáñez , in his 1916 novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (filmed in 1921 and 1962 ), provides an early example of this interpretation, writing, "The horseman on

16616-426: Was made consul for 140 with Antoninus as his colleague, and was appointed as a sevir , one of the knights ' six commanders, at the order's annual parade on 15 July 139. As the heir apparent, Marcus became princeps iuventutis , head of the equestrian order. He now took the name Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus Caesar. Marcus would later caution himself against taking the name too seriously: 'See that you do not turn into

16750-578: Was made patrician in 73–74. Through his grandmother Rupilia Faustina , Marcus was related to the Nerva-Antonine dynasty ; Rupilla was the step-daughter of Salonia Matidia , who was the niece of the emperor Trajan . Marcus's mother, Domitia Lucilla Minor (also known as Domitia Calvilla), was the daughter of the Roman patrician P. Calvisius Tullus and inherited a great fortune (described at length in one of Pliny 's letters) from her parents and grandparents. Her inheritance included large brickworks on

16884-461: Was not an adoption, the creation of a new and different patria potestas . Lucius Catilius Severus , described as Marcus's maternal great-grandfather, also participated in his upbringing; he was probably the elder Domitia Lucilla's stepfather. Marcus was raised in his parents' home on the Caelian Hill , an upscale area with few public buildings but many aristocratic villas. Marcus's grandfather owned

17018-589: Was older than Fronto and twenty years older than Marcus. As the grandson of Arulenus Rusticus , one of the martyrs to the tyranny of Domitian ( r . 81–96), he was heir to the tradition of ' Stoic Opposition ' to the 'bad emperors' of the 1st century; the true successor of Seneca (as opposed to Fronto, the false one). Marcus thanks Rusticus for teaching him 'not to be led astray into enthusiasm for rhetoric, for writing on speculative themes, for discoursing on moralizing texts.... To avoid oratory, poetry, and 'fine writing''. Philostratus describes how even when Marcus

17152-424: Was related through marriage to the emperors Trajan and Hadrian . Marcus was three when his father died, and was raised by his mother and paternal grandfather . After Hadrian's adoptive son, Aelius Caesar , died in 138, Hadrian adopted Marcus's uncle Antoninus Pius as his new heir. In turn, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius , the son of Aelius. Hadrian died that year, and Antoninus became emperor. Now heir to

17286-408: Was set apart from his fellow citizens. Nonetheless, his biographer attests that his character remained unaffected: 'He still showed the same respect to his relations as he had when he was an ordinary citizen, and he was as thrifty and careful of his possessions as he had been when he lived in a private household'. After a series of suicide attempts, all thwarted by Antoninus, Hadrian left for Baiae ,

17420-454: Was the first time that Rome was ruled by two emperors. In spite of their nominal equality, Marcus held more auctoritas , or 'authority', than Lucius. He had been consul once more than Lucius, he had shared in Antoninus's rule, and he alone was pontifex maximus . It would have been clear to the public which emperor was the more senior. As the biographer wrote: "Verus obeyed Marcus [...] as

17554-530: Was the only thing the biographer could find fault with in Marcus's entire boyhood. Fronto had warned Marcus against the study of philosophy early on: "It is better never to have touched the teaching of philosophy [...] than to have tasted it superficially, with the edge of the lips, as the saying is". He disdained philosophy and philosophers and looked down on Marcus's sessions with Apollonius of Chalcedon and others in this circle. Fronto put an uncharitable interpretation of Marcus's 'conversion to philosophy': 'In

17688-466: Was to eventually place the then-too-young Marcus on the throne. As part of his adoption, Commodus took the name, Lucius Aelius Caesar. His health was so poor that, during a ceremony to mark his becoming heir to the throne, he was too weak to lift a large shield on his own. After a brief stationing on the Danube frontier, Aelius returned to Rome to make an address to the Senate on the first day of 138. However,

17822-494: Was too cold for them. He asked Fronto for 'some particularly eloquent reading matter, something of your own, or Cato, or Cicero, or Sallust or Gracchus – or some poet, for I need distraction, especially in this kind of way, by reading something that will uplift and diffuse my pressing anxieties.' Marcus's early reign proceeded smoothly; he was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection. Soon, however, he would find he had many anxieties. It would mean

17956-425: Was twice the size of those past: 20,000 sesterces (5,000 denarii ) per capita, with more to officers. In return for this bounty, equivalent to several years' pay, the troops swore an oath to protect the emperors. The ceremony was perhaps not entirely necessary, given that Marcus's accession had been peaceful and unopposed, but it was good insurance against later military troubles. Upon his accession he also devalued

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