CHAPTER XXII.
SECTION I.
Happy Augustus! who so well inspired, Couldst throw thy pomp and royalties aside.
Attentive to the wise, the great of soul.
And dignify thy mind.

Thrice glorious days.
Auspicious to the muses!--_Dyer_.
1.

By the death of Antony, Augus'tus having become master of the Roman empire, returned to Rome in triumph; where, by feasts and magnificent shows, he began to obliterate the impressions of his former cruelty; and thenceforward resolved to secure, by his clemency, a throne, the foundations of which were laid in blood.2.He was now at the head of the most extensive empire that mankind had ever beheld.

The former spirit of the Romans, and those characteristic marks that distinguished them from others, were now totally lost.

The city was inhabited by a concourse from all the countries of the world; and being consequently divested of all just patriotic principles, perhaps a monarchy is the best form of government that could be found to unite its members.3.However, it was very remarkable, that during these long contentions among themselves, and these horrid devastations by civil war, the state was daily growing more formidable and powerful, and completed the destruction of all the kings who presumed to oppose it.
4.