it was again to be found among the great men; but Vespasian had struck at the roots of it. He ruled the state with great care and conscientiousness, putting down every sort of waste, and getting the confused finances in order: he showed no mistrust towards the governors, though, on the other hand, he would uphold the provinces against them. Yet the feelings of a refined soul were unknown to him: he did nothing to foster intellect, and he had an antipathy to men of education and philosophers, as well as to those who were something more than mere men of business: these he considered as useless, and even had a hostile feeling against them. Helvidius Priscus, who personally and intellectually, by his mind and his acquirements, certainly was one of the first men of Rome, professed to be of the Stoic philosophy. The Roman Stoics had a spice of republicanism in them which was ill suited to the age; and this gave birth to an unpardonable petulance, which could lead to no good. Helvidius was blind to the good qualities of Vespasian, and gave himself up to an utterly useless opposition. In this he cannot be excused; but what is worst of all, Vespasian conceived such a spite against him, that he had him put to death: it was the most noble blood of the Roman state which he then shed. Otherwise he kept himself pure from blood: on several occasions, when he had received no such provocation, he even showed himself truly mild. He was also grateful, and overlooked a great deal in Mucianus and others. Antonius Primus likewise lost his life, but deservedly: he had made the revolution for Vespasian that he might thus rule the Roman empire himself; and when he did not find this answer, he plotted against him. Suetonius particularly charges Vespasian with avarice; yet it is by no means certain whether there is any truth in this. He is said to have declared that the state wanted for its support _quadringinties millies_, that is to say, two thousand millions of dollars. This seems quite absurd. Even if we conceive all the countries of the empire as it was then, to have been as thriving as France and Italy are now, it seems scarcely possible that such a sum should have been raised. Nor can we understand what it should have been wanted for, although there was an army of about four hundred thousand men, and these received treble pay, a _denarius_ a day. That number cannot be correct. It is true that he spent much in building; but building is not after all one of the necessary expenses of the state. In the reign of Vespasian, very great works were completed in Rome and elsewhere: nor were they merely what could not be dispensed with; but such also was their magnificence that they were a lasting honour to the empire, like the Colosseum and the temple of Peace. This does not agree with his _sordidissima avaritia_; and such facts are to be set against the anecdotes of Suetonius. Vespasian died when upwards of sixty-nine.