Editing Marcus Aurelius (section)

===Early rule===
Soon after the emperor's accession, Marcus's eleven-year-old daughter, Annia Lucilla, was betrothed to Lucius (in spite of the fact that he was, formally, her uncle).<ref>''HA Marcus'' vii. 7; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 118.</ref> At the ceremonies commemorating the event, new provisions were made for the support of poor children, along the lines of earlier imperial foundations.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 118, citing Werner Eck, ''Die Organization Italiens'' (1979), pp. 146ff.</ref> Marcus and Lucius proved popular with the people of Rome, who strongly approved of their ''civiliter'' ("lacking pomp") behaviour. The emperors permitted free speech, evidenced by the fact that the comedy writer Marullus was able to criticise them without suffering retribution. As the biographer wrote, "No one missed the lenient ways of Pius".<ref>''HA Marcus'' viii. 1, qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119; 'Hadrian to the Antonines', p. 157.</ref>

Marcus replaced a number of the empire's major officials. The ''[[ab epistulis]]'' Sextus Caecilius Crescens Volusianus, in charge of the imperial correspondence, was replaced with Titus Varius Clemens. Clemens was from the frontier province of [[Pannonia]] and had served in the war in [[Mauretania]]. Recently, he had served as procurator of five provinces. He was a man suited for a time of military crisis.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 122–123, citing H.G. Pfalum, ''Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain'' I–III (Paris, 1960–61); ''Supplément'' (Paris, 1982), nos. 142; 156; Eric Birley, ''Roman Britain and the Roman Army'' (1953), pp. 142ff., 151ff.</ref> Lucius Volusius Maecianus, Marcus's former tutor, had been [[Augustal prefect|prefectural governor]] of [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]] at Marcus's accession. Maecianus was recalled, made senator, and appointed prefect of the treasury (''[[aerarium Saturni]]''). He was made consul soon after.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123, citing H.G. Pfalum, ''Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain'' I–III (Paris, 1960–61); ''Supplément'' (Paris, 1982), no. 141.</ref> Fronto's son-in-law, [[Gaius Aufidius Victorinus]], was appointed governor of [[Germania Superior]].<ref name='HA Marcus 8 1985'>''HA Marcus'' viii. 8; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 123, citing W. Eck, ''Die Satthalter der germ. Provinzen'' (1985), pp. 65ff.</ref>

Fronto returned to his Roman townhouse at dawn on 28 March, having left his home in [[Cirta]] as soon as news of his pupils' accession reached him. He sent a note to the imperial freedman Charilas, asking if he could call on the emperors. Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120, citing ''Ad Verum Imperatorem'' i.3.2 (= Haines 1.298ff).</ref> The tutor was immensely proud of his students. Reflecting on the speech he had written on taking his consulship in 143, when he had praised the young Marcus, Fronto was ebullient: "There was then an outstanding natural ability in you; there is now perfected excellence. There was then a crop of growing corn; there is now a ripe, gathered harvest. What I was hoping for then, I have now. The hope has become a reality".<ref>''Ad Antoninum Imperatorem'' iv.2.3 (= Haines 1.302ff), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 119.</ref> Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius.<ref name='Birley, Marcus Aurelius, p. 120'>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120.</ref>

Lucius was less esteemed by Fronto than his brother, as his interests were on a lower level. Lucius asked Fronto to adjudicate in a dispute he and his friend Calpurnius were having on the relative merits of two actors.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120, citing ''Ad Verum Imperatorem'' i.1 (= Haines 1.305).</ref> Marcus told Fronto of his reading – [[Lucius Coelius Antipater|Coelius]] and a little Cicero – and his family. His daughters were in Rome with their great-great-aunt Matidia; Marcus thought the evening air of the country was too cold for them. He asked Fronto for 'some particularly eloquent reading matter, something of your own, or Cato, or Cicero, or Sallust or Gracchus – or some poet, for I need distraction, especially in this kind of way, by reading something that will uplift and diffuse my pressing anxieties.'<ref>''Ad Antoninum Imperatorem'' iv.1 (= Haines 1.300ff), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120.</ref> Marcus's early reign proceeded smoothly; he was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection.<ref>''HA Marcus'' viii. 3–4; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120.</ref> Soon, however, he would find he had many anxieties. It would mean the end of the ''felicitas temporum'' ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed.<ref>Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120, citing H. Mattingly, ''Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus'' (London, 1940), Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, nos. 841; 845.</ref>
{{multiple image|total_width=500
|image1=12 dicembre 2008 piena del tevere 17.JPG
|alt1=Tiber Island in flood, December 2008
|image2=Piena del Tevere - Tiber in flood - Ponte Sisto - Rome, Italy - 12 Dec. 2008.jpg
|alt2=Tiber Island in flood, December 2008
|footer=[[Tiber Island]] seen at a forty-year high-water mark of the [[Tiber]], December 2008
}}
In either autumn 161 or spring 162,{{refn|Because both Lucius and Marcus are said to have taken active part in the recovery (''HA Marcus'' viii. 4–5), the flood must have happened before Lucius's departure for the east in 162; because it appears in the biographer's narrative after Antoninus's funeral has finished and the emperors have settled into their offices, it must not have occurred in the spring of 161. A date in autumn 161 or spring 162 is probable, and, given the normal seasonal distribution of Tiber flooding, the most probable date is in spring 162.<ref>Gregory S. Aldrete, ''Floods of the Tiber in ancient Rome'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), pp. 30–31.</ref> (Birley dates the flood to autumn 161.<ref name='Birley, Marcus Aurelius, p. 120'/>)|group=note}} the [[Tiber]] overflowed its banks, flooding much of Rome. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. Marcus and Lucius gave the crisis their personal attention.<ref>''HA Marcus'' viii. 4–5; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 120.</ref>{{refn|Since AD 15, the river had been administered by a Tiber Conservancy Board, with a consular senator at its head and a permanent staff. In 161, the ''curator alevi Tiberis et riparum et cloacarum urbis'' ('Curator of the Tiber Bed and Banks and the City Sewers') was A. Platorius Nepos, son or grandson of [[Aulus Platorius Nepos|the builder]] of [[Hadrian's Wall]], whose name he shares. He probably had not been particularly incompetent. A more likely candidate for that incompetence is Nepos's likely predecessor, [[Marcus Statius Priscus|M. Statius Priscus]]. A military man and consul for 159, Priscus probably looked on the office as little more than 'paid leave'.<ref>''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429224106/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+05932&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 5932] (Nepos), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120429224111/http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epieinzel_en?p_belegstelle=D+01092&r_sortierung=Belegstelle 1092] (Priscus); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 121.</ref>|group=note}} In other times of famine, the emperors are said to have provided for the Italian communities out of the Roman granaries.<ref>''HA Marcus'' xi. 3, cited in Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 278 n.16.</ref>
[[File:Marcus Aurelius Distributing Bread to the People 1765 Joseph-Marie Vien.jpg|thumb|Marcus Aurelius distributing bread to the people; painting by [[Joseph-Marie Vien]] (1765)]]

Fronto's letters continued through Marcus's early reign. Fronto felt that, because of Marcus's prominence and public duties, lessons were more important now than they had ever been before. He believed Marcus was 'beginning to feel the wish to be eloquent once more, in spite of having for a time lost interest in eloquence'.<ref>''Ad Antoninum Imperatorem'' 1.2.2 (= Haines 2.35), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 128.</ref> Fronto would again remind his pupil of the tension between his role and his philosophic pretensions: 'Suppose, Caesar, that you can attain to the wisdom of [[Cleanthes]] and [[Zeno of Citium|Zeno]], yet, against your will, not the philosopher's woolen cape'.<ref>''De eloquentia'' 1.12 (= Haines 2.63–65), qtd. and tr. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 128.</ref>

The early days of Marcus's reign were the happiest of Fronto's life: Marcus was beloved by the people of Rome, an excellent emperor, a fond pupil, and perhaps most importantly, as eloquent as could be wished.<ref>''Ad Antoninum Imperatorem'' 1.2.2 (= Haines 2.35); Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', pp. 127–128.</ref> Marcus had displayed rhetorical skill in his speech to the senate after an earthquake at [[Cyzicus]]. It had conveyed the drama of the disaster, and the Senate had been awed: "Not more suddenly or violently was the city stirred by the earthquake than the minds of your hearers by your speech". Fronto was hugely pleased.<ref>''Ad Antoninum Imperatorem'' 1.2.4 (= Haines 2.41–43), tr. Haines; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', p. 128.</ref>