[Born at Rome, A.D. 40. Died at Cutiliæ, in the country of the
Sabines, A.D. 81. Aged 41.]
Elder son of the Emperor Vespasian, and one of the best of the Roman
emperors. It was he who besieged and destroyed Jerusalem (A.D. 70); he
also completed the Coliseum at Rome, and during his reign Pompeii and
Herculaneum were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (A.D. 79). As
a soldier and general, his conduct marked by great humanity and bravery.
As Emperor, administered the laws justly and improved the condition of
his people by whom he was beloved. “The being beloved,” to use the
words of Voltaire, constituted his greatest glory. Possessed great
intellectual refinement and delicacy of feeling. It is said that he was
poisoned by his brother Domitian, who was impatient to succeed to the
empire.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. Busts of Titus are
not common: yet his statues were in every house, on account of his
popularity. For an engraving of one, see Handbook of Roman Court and
Nave.]