The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-01-03

"A sius in the sunset of his
wv life, stretched at ease in
the portico of his villa as
he dictated his monumental work to
his scribes. The turbulent days are
behind him now. He no longer walks
in fear and trembling. He no longer
Is compelled to acclaim the incredibly
grotesque performances of an imperial
mailman or to degrade his high office
of a senator lest the royal buffoon kill
him as he killed countless thousands
of others.
He has brought his history down,
step by step, and period by period, TO
q point where his own personal recol-
lections begin. His amanuensis awaits
the words which will begin the next
chapter.
An IndiscrimiHate Slayer.
The old man half raises from his
couch. his eyes narrowing. Almost l
can see him as for a space he sits
with. his gaze fixed in space. conjur-
ing up the images of his younger years,
some of them hideous, many of them
regretful, all of them terrible. Then
he gives an order:
'Put this down."
The secretary bends to his task.
ready for the words.
'This and what follows | state, not
on the authority of another's recollec-
lions or another's faculty traditions,
but from my own observation"
Thereafter we are to get first-hand
reporting which is the best of report
ing. One figures that Dio Cassius did
not intend that all he utters should
be preserved. Part of what he says
is Renaissance, part is confession,
torian. but the scholar who serves him
transcrines it all-the memoir along
with the rest, making the document
more valuable for US than it other
wise would be. 1t is as though we
looked backward through the eyes of
this ancient to the very scenes which
he describes.
He continues:
81 should render my narrative I'M
duly irksOme, were | TO set down care
fully TO name every single man put TO
death by CnmmOdus-all that he MUIR
dered because of false information, be-
cause of unjustifed suspicious, be
cause of notable wealth, because of dis,
tingushed family, because of unusual
education, or for any other excellence
they might possess.
CommOdus during most of his life
was given TO idleness nd horses and
battles of beasts and of men. Aside
from his craZed behavior ar home he
despatched many beasts in public and
many men on many occasions. With
his own hands and without assistance.
/ myself saw him giving the finishing
stroke to FIVE hippopotami at one time.
/ saw him kill two elephants on sep
arate days. This is what | have 10
say in general with reference to his
whole ignoble career:
seIf-styIed Glory.
''The crazed vanity of this man knew
no bounds. Neither dignity nor intel
ligence ever restrained him from the
time when he lost his mental balance.
And we, the senators of Rome, weie
through terror his unwilling servants.
The senate, from motives of pure re-
gard, had voted honors to his illustri-
Gus father. 1t was by brute force, by
the constant threat and menace of
death that we were compelled TO as
sign still greater honors TO the bonn
bastic son. He gave orders-and ig-
ANONYMOUSLY we obeyed them-thai
Rome itself, Rome the proudest city
on earth, should be called 'Commodi-
ara that the legions composing our
army should be called the Commodan
legions and that the day on which
these measures were adopted by our
by his name
upon himself he bestowed, in adj
dition TO very many other titles, that
Of Hercules. Rome he commonly
termed 'Commodus' Universal Colony
of the Earth'-for he wished it to seem
q settlement of his own. In his honor
q gold statue was erected of a thou
sand pounds weight. Finally, all the
months were likewise called after his
various names and fantastic self-adopt-
ed titles, so that they were enumerat-
ed as follows: Amazonian, Invincible,
Fortunate, Pious, Lucius. Aelius,
Aurelius, Commodus. August, Hercu-
lean, Roman, Transcendent. .Amazoni-
an and 'Transcendent' were the titles
most frequently applied to himself. 70
indicate that in absolutely every re-
spect he unapproachably surpassed all