Historical writing was at a low ebb. Suetonius is far the most important historian of the second century, and he is made important rather by the dearth of good historians than by his own merits. [Sidenote: Other historical writings of the second century.] Florus hardly deserves the name of historian. Justin’s epitome of Trogus (see page 164) belongs, perhaps, to the time of Hadrian, and is important because it has preserved much of the substance of the work of Trogus, but is in no sense an original history. Under Antoninus Pius a history of Rome was written by Granius Licinianus, but the extant fragments show that this was little more than an epitome of Livy. The _Liber Memorialis_, by Lucius Ampelius, written at about the same time, is a little handbook of useful knowledge, containing general information about the earth, the stars, and the winds, followed by a brief sketch of the history of various nations. It is a mere compilation, possessing neither historical nor literary value. [Sidenote: Jurists.] The study of law was, on the other hand, pursued by many jurists of ability, whose works were much used by those who gave to Roman law its final form in the reign of Justinian. Under Hadrian the edicts of the prætors and other magistrates were collected and codified by Salvius Julianus, a distinguished jurist of African birth, who attained the position of _præfectus urbi_ and was twice consul. The _Edictum Perpetuum_, as his work is called, became henceforth the basis of Roman law. Julianus was also the author of independent juristic works. Sextus Pomponius, a younger contemporary of Julianus, wrote among other things a brief history of Roman jurisprudence, which is incorporated in the digests. Among the many jurists of the reign of Antoninus Pius, the most important is Gaius (about 110-180 A. D.), whose introduction to the study of law (_Institutiones_), clearly written in good and simple language, is for the most part preserved in the digests, and served as the foundation of the similar work written at the command of Justinian. The works of Quintus Cervidius Scævola, who lived under Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, were also much used by the writers of the pandects. One of the most distinguished jurists under Commodus and Septimius Severus was Papinianus, who was put to death under Caracalla (212 A. D.) because he was faithful to that emperor’s brother Geta.