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Emperor of [the] Romans, son of Vespasian, a man who brought together every kind of virtue so as to be called the love and delight of the human race by everyone.[1] For he was at the same time sweet-speaking, warlike, and moderate. And just as he used the native tongue of the Latins for his management of public affairs so too he laboriously composed poems and tragedies in the Greek language. And, when Titus had sacked Jerusalem, all of Syria and Egypt and every race dwelling near Palestine crowned him, calling him conqueror. But he turned down the crowns, claiming that he had not done these things, but had supplied his hands to a god who showed his anger. So moderate and full of prudence was he.
While this Titus was besieging Jerusalem, a very well respected Roman among the cavalry saw the Jews being pushed down into a ravine, and, riding up alongside and bending down from his horse while galloping along in pursuit of the Jewish cavalry, he snatched up a youth who was running away, grabbing him by the ankle, though the young man was of stout body and fully armed. Indeed, after he had shown the strength of his hand and the rest of his body to be so great and had displayed his superiority in horsemanship, he came bringing the prisoner like a prize to Caesar.[2] And Titus, marvelling at his insuperable strength and power and repaying him with gifts, killed the captive.[3]

*ti=tos, basileu\s *(rwmai/wn, *ou)espesianou= ui(o/s, a)nh\r pa=n a)reth=s suneilhfw\s ge/nos, w(s pro\s a(pa/ntwn e)/rws te kai\ trufh\ tou= qnhtou= prosagoreuqh=nai ge/nous: eu)glwtto/tato/s te ga\r kai\ polemikw/tatos kai\ metriw/tatos h)=n, kai\ th=| me\n *lati/nwn e)pixwri/w| glw/tth| pro\s ta\s tw=n koinw=n e)xrh=to dioikh/seis, poih/mata de\ kai\ tragw|di/as *(ella/di fwnh=| dieponei=to. e)pei\ de\ h(|rh/kei ta\ *(ieroso/luma o( *ti=tos, *suri/a te pa=sa kai\ *ai)/guptos kai\ o(/sa th=| *palaisti/nh| pro/soika ge/nh e)stefa/noun to\n a)/ndra, nikhth\n a)nakalou=ntes. o( de\ diwqei=to tou\s stefa/nous, ou)k au)to\s le/gwn ei)rga/sqai tau=ta, qew=| de\ fh/nanti o)rgh\n e)pidedwke/nai ta\s e(autou= xei=ras. ou(/tws h)=n me/trios kai\ swfrosu/nhs mesto/s. e)pi\ de\ *ti/tou tou/tou th\n *(ierousalh\m poliorkou=ntos *(rwmai=o/s tis tw=n i(ppe/wn dokimw/tatos tou\s *)ioudai/ous w)qoume/nous kata\ th=s fa/raggos qeasa/menos, e)k plagi/ou parelau/nwn to\n i(/ppon a(rpa/zei tina\ neani/an feu/gonta, stibaro\n kata\ to\ sw=ma kai\ w(plisme/non, e)k tou= sfurou= draca/menos, e(auto\n e)pikli/nas tou= i(/ppou tre/xontos kai\ to\n *)ioudai=on e)/fippon katadiw/kontos. kai\ tosou=ton th=s decia=s to/non kai\ tou= loipou= sw/matos e)pideica/menos kai\ th=s i(ppikh=s te/xnhs th\n a)reth/n, w(/sper ti keimh/lion h(=ke tw=| *kai/sari komi/zwn to\n ai)xma/lwton. o( de\ *ti=tos u(perqauma/sas th=s i)sxu/os tou/tou kai\ duna/mews to\ a)h/tthton, dw/rois au)to\n a)mei/yas to\n lhfqe/nta a)pe/kteine.

Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus was the eleventh Roman emperor (79-81 AD) and the second of the three Flavians, his father Vespasian preceding him and his brother Domitian following. See web address 1 for a fuller description, with bibliography; and cf. iota 503, iota 504, delta 1351, delta 1352, beta 200.
The first paragraph of the present entry is drawn from the Excerpta de Virtutibus of Constantine Porphyrogenitus 1.186.1-12 (= John of Antioch frs.102-103 FHG [4.578], now 185-186 Roberto) and the second is from George the Monk, Chronicon 384.24-385.9 (also via the Excerpta according to Adler), both with minor modifications. On the latter Adler cites de Boor 1919: 17.
[1] Compare Suetonius, Titus 1 "amor ac deliciae generis humani" (see web address 2), clearly the source of the Greek phrase found here and in John of Antioch.
[2] i.e. to Titus.
[3] George the Monk here paraphrases Josephus' account of this brave soldier in Jewish War 6.161-163 (web address 3). The original passage is quoted (less extensively) at rho 218, and a looser paraphrase of either this version or Josephus's occurs at sigma 1098.

David Whitehead (restored earlier vetting status) on 15 November 2003@07:10:22.
David Whitehead (more keywords; cosmetics; raised status) on 14 January 2014@04:15:02.
David Whitehead on 14 January 2014@04:16:10.
William Hutton (augmented general note and tweaked n.3, added bibliography) on 7 April 2014@12:46:05.
David Whitehead (updated a ref) on 30 January 2015@05:12:00.
Catharine Roth (coding) on 7 May 2015@00:44:21.
Catharine Roth (tweaked link) on 12 January 2022@00:41:15.

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