OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

239

rival. His arts proved unsuccessful; his vain chap.

designs were constantly discovered by his own_^

loquacious folly, and disappointed by those vir-tuous and faithful servants whom the prudenceof Mamaea had placed about the person of herson. In a hasty sally of passion, Elagabalus resolved to execute by force what he had beenunable to compass by fraud, and by a despoticsentence degraded his cousin from the rank andhonours of Caesar. The message was receivedin the senate with silence, and in the camp withfury. The praetorian guards swore to protectAlexander, and to revenge the dishonoured ma-jesty of the throne. The tears and promises ofthe trembling Elagabalus , who only begged themto spare his life, and to leave him in the pos-session of his beloved Hierocles , diverted theirjust indignation; and they contented themselveswith empowering their prefects to watch overthe safety of Alexander, and the conduct of theemperor . 0

It was impossible that such a reconciliation Seditiono ,should last, or that even the mean soul of Ela- tl,e ur" ard »>

. . and mur-

gabalus could hold an empire on such humiliat,- derof Ei a -ing terms of dependence. He soon attempted,by a dangerous experiment, to try the temper Marcl ‘ 10,of the soldiers. The report of the death ofAlexander, and the natural suspicion that hehad been murdered, inflamed their passions in-to fury, and the tempest of the camp could only

• Dion, 1. lxxix, p. 13G5. Herodian , 1. v, p. 195-201. Hist. August,p. 10S. The last of the three historians seems to have followed thebest authors in his account of the revolution.