But let us come to Commodus, to whom it should have been very easy to hold the empire, for, being the son of Marcus, he had inherited it, and he had only to follow in the footsteps of his father to please his people and soldiers; but, being by nature cruel and brutal, he gave himself up to amusing the soldiers and corrupting them, so that he might indulge his rapacity upon the people; on the other hand, not maintaining his dignity, often descending to the theatre to compete with gladiators, and doing other vile things, little worthy of the imperial majesty, he fell into contempt with the soldiers, and being hated by one party and despised by the other, he was conspired against and was killed.
De beszéljünk Commodusról, aki könnyen megtarthatta volna birodalmát, hiszen iure hereditario kapta, lévén Marcus fivére, s ez, ha apja nyomdokaiba lép, elegendő is lett volna, mert a nép is, a hadsereg is elégedett volt vele. Ő azonban kegyetlen lelkű, állatias volt, és hogy a néppel erőszakoskodhassék, a hadsereg kegyét kereste, és eltűrte a szabados tetteket: másfelől, rangjához méltatlanul, gyakorta nyilvánosan összemérte erejét a gladiátorokkal, s más alantas, császári felségéhez nem illő dolgokat művelt, amiért katonái is megvetették.