dissuaded the relentless Severus from his purpose, and obtained a remission of their sentence. Spartian, however, tells us that he was addicted to gluttony and wine:* and Julian, in his Satire, says, that when the brothers would have entered the assembly of the gods, Minos forbade them; but better discerning one from the other, admitted Geta as the least wicked. From these intimations it seems that he was "no better than he should be;" and the public probably lost little by his death.

Notwithstanding Caracalla's attempt to destroy every trace of his brother's memory, there exist great numbers of his medals, of all sizes and metals, and those of silver and second-brass are very common. The prænomen of Lucius appears on those minted previously to A. D. 205, but, except on some of the Greek Imperial coinage, it is afterwards discontinued. In Mezza-barba's Occo, p. 304, there is a denarius inscribed Divo Geta Pio; but never having heard of any other medallic evidence of Geta's consecration, I cannot but place it among the numerous errors which disgrace that work.

CCCLX.

Obverse. P. SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES. (Publius Septimius Geta, Cæsar.) The youthful and unlaurelled head of Geta, with close hair, and good features; the bust shews the laticlavium buckled over armour. This medal, thinly patinated, but in excellent preservation, was purchased from Mr. M. Young, in 1829.

Reverse. PRINC. IVVENT. (Principi Juventutis.) On the right side of the field S. C.; and on the exergum COS. which shews the date to be A. D. 205. Three youths on horseback, the foremost of whom represents the Prince-a device which alludes to his rank, and known attachment to the martial exercises. Geta prided himself greatly upon his horsemanship, and a silver coin was struck to his honour, under the style and title of Castor. See No. CCLXXXIII.

CCCLXI.

Obverse. P. SEPTIMIVS GETA PIVS AVG. BRIT. (Publius Septimius Geta, Pius, Augustus, Britannicus.) The laureated head of Geta, with his hair and beard neatly trimmed, good features, and bare neck. This rare medal, in the most perfect condition and richly covered with intense green patina, was purchased at Mr. Willett's sale, in 1834. It is, as far as I can collect, unpublished; not being mentioned by Occo, Erizzo, Oiselius, Vaillant, Pedrusi, Visconti, Eckhel, Havercamp, nor Mionnet.†

Reverse. ADVENTVS AVGVSTI. On the exergum S. C. Geta, in a camp-dress and bare-headed, is mounted upon a charger, with a pointed spear in his left hand, and extending his right. Before the horse marches a galeated warrior bearing a vexillum. Though the legend of a medal has been aptly styled its soul, it is often deficient in affording entire satisfaction; and here is nothing to assist exact chronology. The device probably records the return of the Prince from Britain, as corroborated by other types of " Adventus," shewing an equestrian figure of Geta, but without the foot-soldier.

CCCLXII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. P. SEPT. GETA PIVS AVG. (Imperator Cæsar Publius Septimius Geta, Pius, Augustus.) A remarkably fine and expressive profile of Geta, with short hair,

Geta is said to have had his dishes served up in alphabetical order, as anser, aprugna, acarne, aper, and anas together; bacchæ, banchus, boletus, and brabyla; farta, fasianus, and ficus; pavus, perdix, perna, piscis, porcellus, and pullus;

and so on.

+ Mons. Mionnet sometimes omits from his list of "revers rares," medals which are acknowledged as such by the highest authorities, as in the instance of Hadrian's Restitutori Nicomedia-No. CLXXIV. of this Catalogue,

thin beard, and bare neck; but certainly with an older aspect than suits a man of 21. This medal, densely coated with dark-green patina, and in splendid condition, was procured at Corinth, in 1820.

Reverse. PONTIF. TR. P. II. COS. II. (Pontifex, Tribunitia potestate iterum, Consul iterum.) On the exergum S. C. Three figures at a tripod altar, the centre one of whom is a tibicen with his double flute: the others are in sacerdotal vestinents, and the right-hand one holds a staff and a patera. At the foot of the altar lies a bound victim. This shews a sacrifice celebrated on some particular occasion in A. D. 210; and I cannot but think Havercamp had a less perfect specimen under his eye, when he described a similar device as Domna exhorting her sons to mutual concord.

CCCLXIII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. P. SEPT. GETA PIVS AVG. (Imperator Cæsar Publius Septimius Geta, Pius, Augustus.) The laurelled profile of Geta, with a sensible expression of countenance, and short hair and beard; the neck is naked, but some drapery appears over the left shoulder. This medal, though thinly patinated, is in good preservation; it was presented to me by Mr. Stephenson, the Surgeon of H. M. ship Adventure, in 1823.

Reverse. PONTIF. TR. P. II. COS. II. (Pontifex, Tribunitia potestate iterum, Consul iterum.) On the exergum S. C. Caracalla and Geta in camp-dresses, with lances reversed, and hands joined; the former is crowned by Hercules, and the latter by Bacchus-the Dii Auspices of Severus, as mentioned in No. CCCXXVIII. This was struck A. D. 210, and probably records the temporary reconciliation affected between those princes, through the intercession of their father.

CCCLXIV.

Obverse. P. SEPTIMIVS GETA PIVS AVG. BRIT. (Publius Septimius Geta, Pius, Augustus, Britannicus.) The head of Geta, with a thin beard, bare shoulders, and a laurel crown. He appears to have assumed the agnomen Pius when he became Augustus, and had the title of Britannicus in common with his father and brother: but there is no medallic evidence to confirm Spartian and Capitolinus in their assertion, that he bore the honoured name of Antoninus. This medal, struck A. D. 211, is in very good condition, and covered with a dark-brown patina; it was purchased at Lord Morton's sale in 1830.

Reverse. VICT. BRIT. TR. P. III. COS. II. (Victoria Britannica, Tribunitia potestate tertium, Consul iterum.) On the exergum S. C. A winged Victory seated upon armour, and writing on a buckler: this device, similar to that of Commodus, No. CCLXXXVII, relates to a success gained in Britain, the year in which Severus died.

CCCLXV.

Obverse. P. SEPTIMIVS GETA PIVS AVG. BRIT. (Publius Septimius Geta, Pius, Augustus, Britannicus.) The laureated head of Geta, with intelligent features, thin beard, and bare neck. This medal is varnished with a greenish-brown patina, and is in the highest preservation; it was presented to me at Tripoli, by Mr. Anderson, the American Consul-General, in 1821.

Reverse. CONCORDIAE AVGG. (Concordiæ Augustorum.) On the exergum S. C. Caracalla and Geta standing in the centre of the field, are crowned by robed females behind themthe one near the elder brother, carries a palm-branch. The princes are in camp habiliments, with the paludamentum over their shoulders; each holds a lance, and they are taking each other by the right-hand, an ancient token of love and friendship: "Dextra fidei consecrata fuit, Auris memoriæ, Frons genio, Digiti Minerva, Genua misericordiæ." This device was struck A. D. 211, on an attempt to soften the antipathy between the brothers. Dio tells as that, when their dissensions became public, the Senate ordered a sacrifice to the Immortal Gods, and particularly to Concord.

MACRINUS.

Marcus Opelius* Macrinus was born at Cæsarea, in Mauretania, of obscure parents, A. D. 164. The story of his having been a slave and a gladiator, may be passed by as unworthy of notice; but it seems that he was originally bred to the law, and improved his fortunes by becoming the steward of Plautian, the powerful minister of Severus. On the fall of that favourite, he was banished to Africa, but after his recall, rose gradually to the office of Prætorian Præfect: though if Capitolinus, who is evidently prejudiced against him, may be credited, his exaltation was more owing to the venal charms of Nonia Celsa, his wife, than to his own merit. Having heard Caracalla express a sarcasm by which he thought his life in danger, he procured the assassination of that tyrant, but with such precaution, that he remained for a time unsuspected, and the soldiers elected him Emperor A. D. 117: whence he is called in Julian's Satire, "cautus homicida." An attempt to regulate the abuses in the army, rendered him unpopular in the camp, and induced Julia Masa, who resided at Emesa with her daughters and youthful grandsons, to tamper with the authorities in favour of Bassianus. When Macrinus first heard of the revolt, he despised it as a mere faction of women, boys, and effeminate ministers: but having, in consequence of desertions, been driven from the field in which his cause was contested, he lost both the battle and the throne. Being overtaken, he was slain, and his head was exposed on a spear, by the side of that of his son Diadumenian, A. D. 218. He reigned—“ annum unum, menses duos, tribus diebus, si usque ad pugnæ tempus numeres, exceptis:" and was then in the 54th year of his age.

As first Advocate of the treasury, and Commander of the guards, we are told that Macrinus displayed such integrity, that his decisions were always right when he heard causes himself, and Caracalla was not present; and though he was not greatly skilled in the laws, yet he made up for that defect by his moderation and impartiality. In person he was not at all indebted to the Graces, and has been stigmatized as haughty, vulgar, cowardly, and luxurious. But it must be confessed that the accounts respecting him are very contradictory. Capitolinus, who probably gleaned from the writers employed by Elagabalus to blacken his memory, says he was so cruel that his servants called him, instead of Macrinus, Macellinus, because his house was like a shamble filled with murdered corpses ;† and that he was named Mezentius, because, like him, he tied living to dead bodies. The worthy Tristan indignantly exclaims, "Les accouploit avec des corps morts, les y laissant

* He is called Opilius by the historians,—but 1 have followed the surer testimony of medallic orthography.

↑ In a similar manner the ferocious and bloody governor of Acre, of our times, was called Djezzar Pasha, or the Butchering Pasha.

mourir enragez: ou bien en faisoit enfermer vifs dans des boeufs ouverts, et vivants, et les y laissoit mourir de faim : il en faisoit aussi sceler dans un múr, ou ils mouroient miserablement; et toutefois ce Busire, et Phalaris estoit mol, et effeminé aimant son plaisir." Now Dio, who was a contemporary, and seems alike free from personal hatred and regard, asserts, that he was a person of a mild and humane temper, which gained him the affections of the people, and caused the meanness of his birth and first employments to be forgotten. He was accused of neglecting public business for pleasure, and of loitering at Antioch instead of hastening to Rome, where his interests called him. But Herodian tells us his object in remaining there was to let his beard grow before his return, in order that he might resemble Marcus Aurelius, whose measured pace and low voice he had already imitated, as a stroke of policy. Among other regulations, he punished false accusers with death, a rigour which stifled the venom of those reptiles; and even Capitolinus acknowledges that he had planned a reform of the Roman jurisprudence, and the abolition of those Imperial Rescripts which had arbitrarily obtained the authority of the law. Such are the conflicting opinions respecting a man who, elevated by accident and overthrown by chance, would have died unlamented, had he not been succeeded by Elagabalus.

We may infer that Macrinus was superstitious, from his having recourse to oracular divination. Desirous of ascertaining his future destiny, he tried the Sortes Homerica, and chanced to hit upon an ominous passage in the eighth Iliad :—

"Great perils, father! wait th' unequal fight;

These younger champions will oppress thy might.
Thy veins no more with ancient vigour glow:
Weak is thy servant, and thy coursers slow."

Though during his reign there was a copious Latin mintage of gold, silver, and brass, of all sizes, except small-brass,† the medals of Macrinus are not easily procured,—those of silver and middle-brass being the least rare. Greece, Egypt, and the Colonies, also struck coins of every module in his honour, none of which can be said to be common. The Triumviri Monetales, who so long superintended the mint, appear, from an examination of Gruter's inscriptions, to have been discontinued about this time. See No. XI. It should be added, that though Nonia Celsa was declared Augusta, no medals of her are known to exist; nor is her fate, after the murder of her husband and son, recorded in history.

* The translation of the last line hardly expresses the faintness of the Charioteer, and the exhausted state of the horses, which rendered the Sortes so additionally ominous, in the original..

The genuineness of the small-brass coinage of Macrinus is doubted, because the specimens hitherto produced, are merely moulded from the silver types.

CCCLXVI.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. M. OPEL. SEV. MACRINVS AVG. (Imperator Cæsar Marcus Opelius Severus Macrinus, Augustus.) The laurelled head of Macrinus, with close hair, beard, and mustachios, short neck, turned-up nose, and ordinary features: the bust is in armour. Besides the proud agnomen of Augustus, he assumed those of Pius, Felix, and Antoninus, as is seen on marbles, but they do not appear on coins. This medal, of unpatinated yellow brass, and in excellent condition, was presented to me, in 1822, by Mr. Stephenson, Surgeon of H. M. Ship Adventure.

Reverse. PONTIF. MAX. TR. P. P. P. (Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate, Pater Patriæ.) On the exergum S. C. A female, splendidly attired, and seated upon a throne, is feeding a huge serpent which rises from a decorated cippus. This represents Salus, whose wand, or hasta salutis, was planted in the public market in times of distress. See No. CCCIX. Lucian, with his habitual pleasantry, describes the fraudulent use which the false prophet, Alexander, made of one of the snakes tamed at Pella, where those reptiles were allowed to suck milk from women's breasts!

CCCLXVII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. M. OPEL. SEV. MACRINVS AVG. (Imperator Cæsar Marcus Opelius Severus Macrinus, Augustus.) The laureated head of the Emperor, with similar characteristics, but a more wrinkled forehead, and a more animated expression. This medal, as well as all the others in large-brass, bear the prænomen Severus, which Macrinus had assumed for the sake of popularity; it is of pale-yellow brass without patina, in capital preservation, and was found near Astura in 1823, while the survey was carried on in the vicinity. Reverse, PONTIF. MAX. TR. P. COS. P. P. (Pontifex Maximus, Tribunitia potestate, Consul, Pater Patriæ.) In the field S. C. A robed female, wearing a diadem, rests her right foot upon a helmet, and holds a military standard in each hand, one of which is the manipulus. This was struck A. D. 217, to testify the fidelity of the troops; and Faith, who is here impersonated by the female, was honoured for preserving the public peace, by keeping the army true to its allegiance. A large donation was, however, necessary to secure this devotion; for Caracalla, vile as he was, had been idolized by the soldiers, because to enrich them, he had oppressed and impoverished all the other orders.

CCCLXVIII.

Obverse. IMP. CAES. M. OPEL. SEV. MACRINVS AVG. (Imperator Cæsar Marcus Opelius Severus Maerinus, Augustus.) The laurelled profile of Macrinus with close hair, and a fuller beard than in the last; the shoulders are cased in armour. This medal has a thin coating of yellowish-brown patina and is in high perfection; it was purchased on the 27th day of Mr. Trattle's sale, in 1832.

Reverse. VICTORIA PARTHICA. On the exergum S. C. A winged Victory seated upon a pile of bucklers and armour, with her left foot on a suppedaneum, is writing upon a shield. While the army was changing its masters, Artabanes, highly exasperated at the perfidy of Caracalla, invaded the Roman territory to avenge himself, and retaliate the injuries he had received. Macrinus, partly from irresolution and partly from motives of equity, was anxious to treat; but the Parthian rejected the overture, defeated the Romans in two or three encounters, and compelled the Emperor to purchase peace at the price of more than a million and a half sterling, besides the spoils and prisoners seized by Caracalla. Macrinus, rejoicing in having got out of the scrape, couched his report according to his feelings, and the Conscript Fathers decreed him a triumph, celebrated sacrifices, and struck medals for his Parthian Victory. They offered him, moreover, the title of Parthicus; here however his modesty interfered, and he declined the honour. A medal of the first magnitude was coined, having a pompous quadriga, with the Emperor crowned by Victory, on the reverse; but as he never entered Rome after being raised to the Purple, this was a triumph devised by anticipation.