His demeanour to the senate was just as if he looked upon it as the old senate, the real seat of Roman sovereignty, and upon himself as a mere _magistratus_. This excellent man was very unhappy: a gloomy fatality seemed to weigh upon him in every relation of life. The times became very troubled. The long peace had destroyed military discipline, and relaxed the energy of the Roman armies; sensuality, the love of pleasure, and sloth, had risen to a dreadful height. The German nations, pressed upon by the Sclavonic races, were obliged to throw themselves into the arms of the Romans, wherever these were strong enough to protect them; or else to invade the Roman territory, as was done by the Marcomanni and Quadi, who now crossed the Danube. On the other side, the Parthians in the East burst into Armenia, which in fact owed allegiance to both states; and when they had become masters of it, they also marched from thence into the Roman territory, and cut to pieces a legate with one or two legions. This happened in the beginning of his reign.—Another of his misfortunes was his having L. Verus for his adopted brother, a man who wallowed in luxury and debauchery: he was the true counterpart of Caligula and Nero, only he could not as yet display the same cruelty as they did, being kept under by Marcus.—Aurelius was also unhappy in his wife Faustina, the daughter of Antoninus; yet more than he himself was aware of: he loved her dearly, especially as the mother of his children; but she was by no means worthy of him. He had perhaps the good fortune of having never been awakened from his delusion as to her real character, always seeing her as he wished to see her. It is also possible that her morals may have been drawn in darker colours than her actions would warrant; yet there cannot be any doubt as to what her feelings were. Against the Parthians, he sent L. Verus, that he might give him an opportunity of deserving well of the empire. But Verus stayed at Antioch, and in four campaigns he only once crossed the Euphrates. His generals, Statius Priscus, Avidius Cassius, and Martius Varus, carried on the war in a very brilliant manner: they decided it in the three last campaigns, and Cassius even conquered Seleucia. To the Parthians a peace was granted, the conditions of which, however, are not known to us.