OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

197

The true interest of an absolute monarch ge-nerally coincides with that of his people. Theirnumbers, their wealth, their order, and their se-curity, are the best and only foundations of hisreal greatness; and were he totally devoid ofvirtue, prudence might supply its place, andwould dictate the same rule of conduct. Severusconsidered the Roman empire as his property,and had no sooner secured the possession, thanhe bestowed his care on the cultivation and im-provement of so valuable an acquisition. Salu-tary laws, executed with inflexible firmness,soon corrected most of the abuses with which,since the death of Marcus, every part of the go-vernment had been infected. In the adminis-tration of justice, the judgments of the emperorwere characterised by attention, discernment,and impartiality; and whenever he deviatedfrom the strict line of equity, it was generallyin favour of the poor and oppressed; not somuch indeed from any sense of humanity, asfrom the natural propensity of a despot, to hum-ble the pride of greatness, and to sink all hissubjects to the same common level of absolutedependence. His expensive taste for build-ing, magnificent shows, and above all, a constantand liberal distribution of' corn and provisions,were the surest means of captivating the affec-tion of the Roman people. 0 The misfortunes of

n Dion, 1, lxxvi, p. 1272. Hist. August, p. 67. Severus cele-brated the secular games with extraordinary magnificence, and heleft in the public granaries a provision of corn for seven years, atthe rate ot 75,000 modii, or about 2500 quarters per day. 1 am

persuaded,

CHAP.

V.

The wis-dom andjustice ofhis govern-ment.