his power, for it would be a great mistake to suppose that Antoninus had
the unlimited authority which some modern sovereigns have had. His power
was limited by certain constitutional forms, by the Senate, and by the
precedents of his predecessors. We cannot admit that such a man was an
active persecutor, for there is no evidence that he was, though it is
certain that he had no good opinion of the Christians, as appears from
his own words. But he knew nothing of them except their hostility to the
Roman religion, and he probably thought that they were dangerous to the
state, notwithstanding the professions false or true of some of the
Apologists. So much I have said, because it would be unfair not to state
all that can be urged against a man whom his contemporaries and
subsequent ages venerated as a model of virtue and benevolence. If I
admitted the genuineness of some documents, he would be altogether clear
from the charge of even allowing any persecutions; but as I seek the
truth and am sure that they are false, I leave him to bear whatever blame
is his due. I add that it is quite certain that Antoninus did not derive
any of his ethical principles from a religion of which he knew nothing.

There is no doubt that the Emperor's Reflections--or his Meditations, as
they are generally named--is a genuine work. In the first book he speaks
of himself, his family, and his teachers; and in other books he mentions
himself.

It is plain that the emperor wrote down his thoughts or reflections as
the occasions arose; and since they were intended for his own use, it is
no improbable conjecture that he left a complete copy behind him written
with his own hand; for it is not likely that so diligent a man would use
the labor of a transcriber for such a purpose, and expose his most secret
thoughts to any other eye. He may have also intended the book for his son
Commodus, who however had no taste for his father's philosophy.