§5Fuit hic vitae laetissimae, eruditus in litteris, Hadriano, ut malevoli loquuntur, acceptior forma quam moribus, in aula diu non fuit, in vita privata etsi minus probabilis, minus tamen reprehendendus ac memor familiae suae, comptus, decorus, pulchritudinis regiae, oris venerandi, eloquentiae celsioris, versu facilis, in re publica etiam non inutilis, huius voluptates ab iis qui vitam eius scripserunt multae feruntur, et quidem non infames sed aliquatenus diffluentes.
He was of a most cheerful life, highly educated in literature, more acceptable to Hadrian, as the malevolent say, for his beauty than for his character, he was not long in the palace, and in private life, although less approved, yet less to be blamed and mindful of his family, elegant, comely, of royal beauty, of a venerable countenance, of a rather lofty eloquence, easy in verse-making, and also not useless in public affairs; his pleasures are reported by those who wrote his life to have been many, and indeed not infamous, but to some extent self-indulgent.
nam tetrapharmacum, seu potius pentapharmacum, quo postea semper Hadrianus est usus, ipse dicitur repperisse, hoc est sumen phasianum pavonem pernam crustulatam et aprunam.
For he himself is said to have invented the "four-ingredient dish", or rather "five-ingredient dish", which Hadrian afterwards always used, that is, sow's udder, pheasant, peacock, ham in pastry, and wild boar meat.
de quo genere cibi aliter refert Marius Maximus, non pentapharmacum sed tetrapharmacum appellans, ut et nos ipsi in eius vita persecuti sumus, fertur etiam aliud genus voluptatis, quod Verus invenerat.
Concerning this kind of food, Marius Maximus reports otherwise, calling it not "pentapharmacum" but "tetrapharmacum", as we ourselves have followed in his life; there is also reported another kind of pleasure, which Verus had invented.
nam lectum eminentibus quattuor anacliteriis fecerat minuto reticulo undique inclusum eumque foliis rosae, quibus demptum esset album, replebat iacensque cum concubinis velamine de liliis facto se tegebat unctus odoribus Persicis.
For he had made a couch with four protruding headrests, enclosed on all sides by a fine net, and filled it with rose leaves from which the white part had been removed, and lying there with his concubines, he covered himself with a veil made of lilies, anointed with Persian perfumes.
iam illa frequentantur a nonnullis quod et accubitationes ac mensas de rosis ac liliis fecerit et quidem purgatis, quae etsi non decora, non tamen ad perniciem publicam prompta sunt.
Now those details are repeated by some, that he also made couches and tables of roses and lilies, and indeed cleaned ones, which, although not decent, were nevertheless not prone to public ruin.
atque idem Apicii Caelii relata, idem Ovidii libros Amorum in lecto semper habuisse, idem Martialem, epigrammaticum poetam, Vergilium suum dixisse, iam illa leviora quod cursoribus suis exemplo Cupidinum alas frequenter adposuit eosque ventorum nominibus saepe vocitavit, Boream alium, alium Notum et item Aquilonem aut Circium ceterisque nominibus appellans et indefesse atque inhumaniter faciens cursitare.
And likewise that the same man always kept the writings of Caelius Apicius and the same Ovid's "Amores" in his bed, and that the same man called Martial, the epigrammatic poet, "his Virgil"; now those lighter matters, that he frequently attached wings to his runners after the example of Cupids, and often called them by the names of the winds, calling one Boreas, another Notus, and likewise Aquilo or Circius and by other names, and making them run tirelessly and inhumanly.
idem uxori conquerenti de extraneis voluptatibus dixisse fertur:
Patere me per alias exercere cupiditates meas; uxor enim dignitatis nomen est, non voluptatis. Eius est filius Antoninus Verus, qui adoptatus est a Marco, vel certe cum Marco, et cum eodem aequale gessit imperium, nam ipsi sunt qui primi duo Augusti appellati sunt, et quorum fastis consularibus sic nomina praescribuntur ut dicantur non duo Antonini sed duo Augusti.
The same man is said to have replied to his wife when she complained about his outside pleasures: "Suffer me to satisfy my desires through others; for 'wife' is a name of dignity, not of plea- sure." His son is Antoninus Verus, who was adopted by Marcus, or certainly along with Marcus, and held equal imperial power with him; for they are the ones who were first called "two Augusti", and whose names are so written in the consular fasti that they are called not "two Antonines" but "two Augusti".
tantumque huius rei et novitas et dignitas valuit ut fasti consulares nonnulli ab his sumerent ordinem consulum.
And so great was both the novelty and the dignity of this thing that several consular fasti took the order of consuls from them.
§6Pro eius adoptione infinitam pecuniam populo et militibus Hadrianus dedit, sed cum eum videret homo paulo argutior miserrimae valetudinis, ita ut scutum solidius iactare non posset, dixisse fertur:
Ter milies perdidimus, quod exercitui populoque dependimus; si quidem satis in caducum parietem incubuimus et qui non ipsam rem publicam, sed nos ipsos sustentare vix possit. et haec quidem Hadrianus cum praefecto suo locutus est.
For his adoption, Hadrian gave an infinite amount of money to the people and the soldiers, but when he, being a somewhat sharp-witted man, saw that he was of a most wretched health, so that he could not toss a fairly solid shield, he is said to have said: "We have wasted three hundred million sesterces, which we paid out to the army and the people; since indeed we have leaned heavily enough upon a falling wall, and one which can scarcely support, not the state itself, but our own selves." And Hadrian indeed spoke these things with his prefect.
quae cum prodidisset praefectus, ac per hoc Helius Caesar in dies magis magisque sollicitudine, utpote desperati hominis, adgravaretur, praefecto suo Hadrianus, qui rem prodiderat, successorem dedit, volens videri quod verba tristia temperasset.
When the prefect had betrayed these things, and through this Helius Caesar was weighed down day by day more and more by anxiety, as of a man past hope, Hadrian gave a successor to his prefect, who had betrayed the matter, wishing to make it appear that he had moderated his harsh words.
sed nihil profuit; nam, ut diximus, Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus Helius Caesar (nam his omnibus nominibus appellatus est) periit sepultusque est imperatorio funere, neque quicquam de regia ni mortis habuit dignitatem, doluit ergo illius mortem ut bonus pater, non ut bonus princeps, nam cum amici solliciti quaererent, qui adoptari posset, Hadrianus dixisse fertur iis:
Etiam vivente adhuc Vero decreveram. ex quo ostendit aut iudicium suum aut scientiam futurorum.
But it was of no avail; for, as we have said, Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus Helius Caesar (for he was called by all these names) died and was buried with an imperial funeral, nor did he have anything of royal dignity except that of his death; therefore he grieved his death as a good father, not as a good prince, for when his anxious friends asked who could be adopted, Hadrian is said to have said to them: "Even while Verus was still living, I had decided." By which he showed either his judgment or his knowledge of the future.
post hunc denique Hadrianus diu anceps quid faceret, Antoninum adoptavit Pium cognomine appellatum, cui condicionem addidit, ut ipse sibi Marcum et Verum Antoninus adoptaret filiamque suam Vero, non Marco daret, nec diutius vixit gravatus languore ac diverso genere morborum, saepe dicens sanum principem mori debere non debilem.
After him, finally, Hadrian, for a long time doubtful what he should do, adopted Antoninus, who was called by the surname Pius, to whom he added the condition that Antoninus himself should adopt Marcus and Verus for himself and should give his daughter to Verus, not to Marcus, nor did he live much longer, weighed down by weakness and various kinds of diseases, often saying that a healthy prince ought to die, not a feeble one.
§7Statuas sane Helio Vero per totum orbem colossas poni iussit, templa etiam in nonnullis urbibus fieri, denique illius merito filium eius Verum, nepotem utpote suum, qui pereunte Helio in familia ipsius Hadriani remanserat, adoptandum Antonino Pio cum Marco, ut iam diximus, dedit, saepe dicens:
Habeat res publica quodcumque de Vero,
quod quidem contrarium iis quae de adoptionis paenitentia per auctores plurimos intimata sunt, cum Verus posterior nihil dignum praeter clementiam in moribus habuerit, quod imperatoriae familiae lumen adferret.
He indeed ordered colossal statues of Helius Verus to be placed throughout the whole world, and temples also to be built in several cities; finally, on his account, he gave his son Verus (as his own grandson, as it were, who had remained in the family of Hadrian himself when Helius died) to be adopted by Antoninus Pius along with Marcus, as we have already said, often saying: "Let the state have whatever it can of Verus," which indeed is contrary to those things which have been suggested by very many authors about his repentance of the adoption, since the later Verus had nothing worthy in his character, except clemency, which might bring light to the imperial family.
Haec sunt quae de Vero Caesare mandanda litteris fuerunt, de quo idcirco non tacui, quia mihi propositum fuit omnes, qui post Caesarem dictatorem, hoc est divum Iulium, vel Caesares vel Augusti vel principes appellati sunt, quique in adoptationem venerunt, vel imperatorum filii aut parentes Caesarum nomine consecrati sunt, singulis libris exponere, meae satisfaciens conscientiae, etiamsi multis nulla sit necessitas talia requirendi.
These are the things which were to be committed to writing concerning Verus Caesar, concerning whom I have not remained silent for this reason: because it was my purpose to set forth in individual books all who, after Caesar the dictator, that is, the deified Julius, were called either Caesars or Augusti or princes, and who came into adoption, or being sons of emperors or parents of Caesars were consecrated with the name of Caesar, satisfying my own conscience, even if for many there is no necessity to seek such things.