Hadrian distinguished himself as an administrator. He may
be compared with Augustus in his love of peace and in his care for the
interests of the provincials. Hadrian made two long journeys throughout the
Roman world. On the frontiers he built fortresses and walls, in the provinces
he raised baths, aqueducts, theaters, and temples. Scarcely a city throughout
the empire lacked some monument to his generosity. Hadrian left behind him the
memory of a prince whose life was devoted to the public welfare—the first
servant of the state.
MARCUS AURELIUS, THE PHILOSOPHER ON THE THRONE
The last of the "Good Emperors," Marcus
Aurelius, was a thinker and a student, but he enjoyed little opportunity for
meditation. His reign was filled with an almost uninterrupted series of
campaigns against the Parthians on the Euphrates and the Germans on the Danube
and the Rhine. These wars revealed the weakness of the frontiers and rapidly
growing strength of the barbarians. After the death of Marcus Aurelius the
empire entered on its downward course. But before passing to this period of our
study, we may take a survey of the world under Roman rule, during the two
centuries between Augustus and Marcus Aurelius.
