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11 Exc. De virt.: That Trajan granted the Christians a certain suspension of punishment. For those appointed to offices from time to time by the Romans, in order to please the emperors of that time, inflicted various punishments on the Christians. Whence also Tiberianus, governing the first province of Palestine, reported to him, saying that he was no longer able to kill the Christians, since they willingly brought themselves to punishment. From this, Trajan forbade all those under him from punishing them. 112 Exc. De ins.: That Trajan held his loyalty to his friends so unshakeable, that when Sura Licinius, a man of great power with him, was slandered by certain persons who envied his good fortune, he neither suspected nor hated him, and when the slanderers insisted, saying that the man was plotting against him, he went uninvited to dinner at Licinius' house, and after dismissing his entire guard, first, he summoned Licinius' doctor and had his eyes anointed by him, then he summoned the barber and entrusted his beard to be shaved by him. When he returned home to those who were accustomed to slandering the man, he said, "If Sura had wanted to kill me, he would have killed me yesterday." Thus, the loyalty of his judgment was confirmed more by what he knew the man had done than by what others supposed. Therefore, both while he was still living and after he had ceased from this life, he was worshipped equally with the gods. 113 . Exc. De virt.: That Hadrian was pleasant to meet, and a certain charm bloomed about him, using both the Latin and Greek languages excellently; however, he was not admired for the gentleness of his ways; and he was zealous about the collection of public funds. 114 Exc. Salm.: Hadrian compelled a certain Similis, a man adorned with prudence and fairness, to accept the command of the bodyguard, and with difficulty, he persuaded him. But after holding it for a short time, he begged to be relieved of the command, and after living for 7 years in the country, he died, having ordered it to be inscribed on his tomb: "Similis lies here, having been in the world for 50 years, but having lived for 7 years." After his death, a statue of Hadrian with a four-horse chariot was made of such a size that a very stout man could pass through the eye of each horse; but those walking on the ground, because of the excessive height of the structure, consider the horses themselves and Hadrian to be very small. 115. Exc. De virt.: That the emperor Antoninus was most excellent, and especially worthy of being compared to Numa in respect to his manner of ruling, just as Trajan was considered similar to Romulus. For Antoninus lived a most excellent and honorable life as a private citizen, and during his reign he seemed to be better and more prudent; harsh or burdensome to no one, but being kind and gentle to all; yet in matters of war, seeking a reputation based on justice rather than on profit, he chose to keep the * of the empire safe rather than to expand them to greatness; appointing to the administration of public affairs men who, as much as possible, took the greatest care for justice, rewarding the good governors with honors from him, but driving the bad ones from public affairs without any harshness. Therefore he was admired not only by his own people, but also by foreigners; so that some of the neighboring barbarians, laying down their arms and entrusting their disputes to the emperor, settled them by his decisions. And although he had possessed a great amount of wealth during his private life, when he came to the imperial power, he spent his own fortune on gifts for the soldiers and his friends; and he left a multitude of all kinds of money in the public treasury; and he was the first of all emperors to bear the surname "Pius" because of the simplicity of his character.

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11 Exc. De virt.: Ὅτι Τραϊανὸς τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἀνακωχήν τινα τῆς τιμωρίας

παρέσχεν. Οἱ γὰρ κατὰ καιρὸν ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων τὰς ἀρχὰς ὠνούμενοι, πρὸς θεραπείαν τῶν τότε βασιλέων διαφόρους ἐπῆγον τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς κολάσεις. Ὅθεν καὶ Τιβεριανὸς ἡγε μονεύων τοῦ πρώτου Παλαιστίνων ἔθνους ἀνήγαγεν αὐτῷ λέγων, ὡς οὐκ ἐπαρκεῖ λοιπὸν τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς φονεύειν, ἐκείνων αὐτομάτως ἐπεισαγόντων ἑαυτοὺς τῇ κολάσει. Ἐντεῦθεν ὁ Τραϊανὸς πᾶσιν ἅμα τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτὸν ἀπηγόρευσε τοῦ τιμωρεῖσθαι τούτους. 112 Exc. De ins.: Ὅτι ὁ Τραϊανὸς τὸ πιστὸν πρὸς τοὺς φίλους οὕτως εἶχεν ἀκίνητον, ὥστε Σούραν Λικίνιον, ἄνδρα μέγα μὲν παρ' αὐτῷ δυνάμενον, διαβληθέντα δὲ πρός τινων φθονούντων οἱ τῆς εὐπραγίας, μήτε ὑποπτεύσας, μήτε μισήσας, ἐγκειμένων τῶν διαβαλλόντων καὶ ἐπιβουλεύειν αὐτῷ τὸν ἄνδρα φασκόντων, ἐπὶ δεῖπνον ὡς τὸν Λικίνιον ἀπῆλθε ἄκλητος, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν φρουρὰν ἀποπεμψάμενος, πρῶτα μὲν τὸν ἰατρὸν τὸν τοῦ Λικινίου καλέσας, ὑπ' ἐκείνου τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπηλείψατο, ἔπειτα δὲ τὸν κουρέα μετακαλεσάμενος, ξυρεῖν ἐκείνῳ τὸ γένειον παραδέδωκεν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπῆλθεν οἴκαδε πρὸς τοὺς εἰωθότας διαβάλλειν τὸν ἄνδρα, «Εἰ ἤθελέ με Σούρας ἀποκτεῖναι, χθὲς ἂν ἀπέκτεινεν». Οὕτως ἄρα τὸ πιστὸν τῆς γνώμης ἐξ ὧν αὐτῷ συνῄδει πεπραγότι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐξ ὧν ἕτεροι ἐδόξαζον, ἐβεβαιοῦτο. ∆ιὸ δὴ ζῶν τε ὁμοίως ἔτι καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο τοῦ βίου παυσάμενος, κατ' ἴσον προσεκυνεῖτο τοῖς κρείττοσιν. 113 . Exc. De virt.: Ὅτι Ἀδριανὸς ἦν ἡδὺς μὲν ἐντυχεῖν, καὶ ἐπήνθει τις αὐτῷ χάρις, τῇ τε Λατίνων καὶ Ἑλλήνων ἄριστα γλώττῃ χρώμενος· οὐ μὴν ἐπὶ πρᾳότητι τρόπων ἐθαυμάζετο· περί τε τὴν τῶν δημοσίων χρημάτων ἐσπουδακὼς ἄθροισιν. 114 Exc. Salm.: Ἀδριανὸς Σίμιλίν τινα, ἄνδρα φρονήσει καὶ ἐπιεικείᾳ κεκοσμημένον, ἠνάγκασε τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν δορυφόρων παραλαβεῖν, καὶ μόλις μὲν, ἔπεισε δ' οὖν. Ὀλίγον δὲ ἐπισχὼν καὶ δεηθεὶς ἐξέστη τῆς ἀρχῆς, καὶ ἐν ἀγρῷ ἔτη ζʹ διαγαγὼν τελευτᾷ, ἐπιγραφῆναι προστάξας ἐν τῷ μνημείῳ αὑτοῦ· «Σίμιλις ἐνταῦθα κεῖται, βιοὺς μὲν ἔτη νʹ, ζήσας δὲ ἔτη ζʹ.» Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ θάνατον Ἀδριανῷ τηλικοῦτον ἄγαλμα μετὰ τεθρίππου, ὥστε διὰ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ ἑκάστου ἵππου παχύτατον ἄνδρα διιέναι· οἱ δὲ ἐν γῇ βαδίζοντες, ἐκ τῆς ὑπερβολῆς τοῦ ὕψους τοῦ κτίσματος, αὐτούς τε τοὺς ἵππους βραχυτάτους καὶ τὸν Ἀδριανὸν νομίζουσι. 115. Exc. De virt.: Ὅτι Ἀντωνῖνος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἄριστος ἦν, καὶ μάλιστα Νουμᾷ κατὰ τὸ τῆς ἡγεμονίας ὁμοιότροπον ἄξιος παραβάλλεσθαι, καθάπερ δὴ Ῥωμύλῳ Τραϊανὸς ἐνομίσθη παραπλήσιος. Τόν τε γὰρ ἰδιώτην ὁ Ἀντωνῖνος ἄριστα καὶ ἐντιμότατα διετέλεσε βίον, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἀμείνων ἔδοξεν εἶναι καὶ σωφρονέστερος· οὐδενὶ τραχὺς οὐδὲ φορτικὸς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἅπαντας χρηστός τε καὶ ἤπιος ὤν· ἔν γε μὴν τοῖς πολεμικοῖς τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ δικαίου μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ κερδαλέου δόξαν θηρώμενος, φυλάττειν σώους ἤπερ εἰς μέγεθος ἐκφέρειν τοὺς τῆς ἀρχῆς * ἐγίνωσκεν· ἄνδρας, ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα πλείστην τοῦ δικαίου ποιουμένους ἐπιμέλειαν, ταῖς τῶν δημοσίων ἐφιστὰς διοικήσεσι, τοὺς μὲν ἀγαθοὺς τῶν ἡγεμόνων ταῖς παρ' αὐτοῦ τιμαῖς ἀμειβόμενος, τούς γε μὴν φαύλους δίχα τινὸς τραχύτητος τῶν κοινῶν ἀπελαύνων πραγμάτων. Οὔκουν ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων μόνων, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ πρὸς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐθαυμάζετο· ὡς τῶν προσοίκων τινὰς βαρβάρων τὰ ὅπλα κατατιθεμένους, ἐπιτρέποντάς τε τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰς δίκας, διαλύεσθαι ταῖς ἐκείνου ψήφοις. Αὐτὸς δὲ παρὸ τὸν ἰδιώτην βίον πολύ τι πλῆθος χρημάτων κεκτημένος, ἐπειδὴ παρῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἡγεμονίαν, τὴν μὲν ἑαυτοῦ περιουσίαν εἴς τε τῶν στρατιωτῶν καὶ τῶν φίλων ἀπανάλωσε δωρεάς· τῷ δὲ δημοσίῳ θησαυρῷ πλῆθος παντοδαπῶν ἀπέλιπε χρημάτων· τήν τε τοῦ Εὐσεβοῦς ἐπίκλησιν πρῶτος ἁπάντων αὐτοκρατόρων ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ἤθους ἁπλότητος ἀπηνέγκατο.