[Born at Italica, in Spain, A.D. 52. Died at Selinus, in Cilicia, 117.
Aged 65.]
Trajan endeavoured to emulate the glory of Alexander by extending the
Roman Empire in the East, but with imperfect success. He improved the
social and physical condition of his subjects, was easy of access,
possessed good sense, a profound judgment and knowledge of the world.
Not a man of letters himself, he was the friend of Pliny the younger,
Tacitus, Plutarch, and Epictetus. He was tall, majestic, robust, and his
hair perfectly white.
[From the marble in the Capitoline Museum. Busts of Trajan are not
uncommon. The seated statue of Trajan is described under No. 343, in
Handbook to Roman Court and Nave.]