Produced by Ted Garvin, Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed Proofreaders




DIO'S ROME



AN

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE ORIGINALLY COMPOSED IN GREEK

DURING THE REIGNS OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, GETA

AND CARACALLA, MACRINUS, ELAGABALUS

AND ALEXANDER SEVERUS:


AND

NOW PRESENTED IN ENGLISH FORM

BY


HERBERT BALDWIN FOSTER, A.B. (Harvard), Ph. D. (Johns Hopkins), Acting
Professor of Greek in Lehigh University

FOURTH VOLUME


Extant Books 52-60 (B.C. 29-A.D. 54).


1905

PAFRAETS BOOK COMPANY TROY NEW YOKK



VOLUME CONTENTS

Book Fifty-two
Book Fifty-three
Book Fifty-four
Book Fifty-five
Book Fifty-six
Book Fifty-seven
Book Fifty-eight
Book Fifty-nine
Book Sixty


DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

52

VOL. 4-1

The following is contained in the Fifty-second of Dio's Rome:

How Cæsar formed a plan to lay aside his sovereignty (chapters 1-40).

How he began to be called emperor (chapters 41-43).

Duration of time, the remainder of the consulship of Cæsar (5th) and
Sextus Apuleius. (B.C. 29 = a. u. 725.)


_(BOOK 52, BOISSEVAIN)_

[-1-] My record has so far stated what the Romans both did and endured
for seven hundred and twenty-five years under the monarchy, as a
democracy, and beneath the rule of a few. After this they reverted to
nothing more nor less than a state of monarchy again, although Cæsar had
a plan to lay down his arms and entrust affairs to the senate and the
populace. He held a consultation on the subject with Agrippa and Mæcenas,
to whom he communicated all his secrets. Agrippa, first of the two,
answered him as follows:--

[-2-] "Be not surprised, Cæsar, if I try to turn your mind away from
monarchy, in spite of the fact that I might enjoy many advantages from it
if you held the place. If it were going to prove serviceable to you, I
should be thoroughly enthusiastic for it. But those who hold supreme
power are not in a like position with their friends: the latter without
incurring jealousy or danger reap all the benefits they please, whereas
jealousies and dangers are the lot of the former. I have thought it
right, as in other cases, to look forward not for my own interest but for
yours and the public's. Let us consider leisurely all the features of the
system of government and turn whichever way our reflection may direct us.
For it will not be asserted that we ought to choose it under any and all
circumstances, even if it be not advantageous. Otherwise we shall seem to
have been unable to bear good fortune and to have gone mad through our
successes, or else to have been aiming at it long since, to have used our
father and our devotion to him as a mere screen, to have put "the people
and the senate" forward as an excuse. Our object will seem to have been
not to free them from conspirators but to enslave them to ourselves.
Either supposition entails censure. Who would not be indignant to see
that we had spoken words of one tenor, but to ascertain that we had had
something different in mind? How much more would he hate us now than if
we had at the outset laid bare our desires and aimed straight at the
monarchy! It has come to be generally believed that to adopt some violent
course belongs somehow to the nature of man, even if it involves taking
an unfair advantage. Every person who excels in any business thinks it
right that he should enjoy more advantages than his inferior. If he meets
with a success he ascribes it to the force of his individual temperament,
and if he fails in anything he refers it to the workings of the
supernatural. A man, however, who tries to gain advancement by plots and
injuries is in the first place held to be crafty and crooked, malicious
and vicious: (and this I know you would allow no one to say or think
about you, even if you might rule the whole world by it): again, if he
succeeds, he is thought to have gained an unjust advantage, and if he
fails, to have met with merited misfortune. [-3-] This being so, any one
might reproach us quite as much, even if we had nothing of the sort in
mind at the beginning and were to begin to devise it only now. For to let
the situation get the better of us and not restrain ourselves and not
make a right use of the gifts of Fortune is much worse than for a man to
do wrong through ill-luck. The latter sort are often compelled by their
very disasters and in consideration of their own need of profit to behave
against their will in an irregular way: the others voluntarily abandon
self-control even if to do so is contrary to their own interests. And
when men neither have any love of simplicity in their souls nor are able
to show moderation in regard to the blessings bestowed upon them, how
could one expect that they would either rule well over others or behave
themselves uprightly in trouble? Let us make our decision on the basis
that we are in neither of the classes mentioned and do not desire to
act in any way unreasonably, but will choose whatever course after
deliberation appears to us best. I shall speak quite frankly, for I could
not for my part express myself in any other way, and I am aware that you
do not enjoy hearing lies mingled with flattery.

[-4-] "Equality before the law has a pleasant name and its results are a
triumph of justice. If you take men who have received the same nature,
are of kindred race to one another, have been brought up under the same
institutions, have been trained in laws that are alike, and yield in
common the service of their bodies and of their minds to the same State,
is it not just that they should have all other things, too, in common? Is
it not best that they should secure no superior honors except as a result
of excellence? Equality of birth strives for equality of possessions,
and if it attains it is glad, but if it misses is displeased. And human
nature everywhere, because it is sprung from the gods and is to return to
the gods, gazes upward and is not content to be ruled forever by the
same person, nor will it endure to share in the toils, the dangers, the
expenditures, and be deprived of partnership in higher matters. Or, if
it is forced to submit to such conditions, it hates the power which has
applied coercion and if it obtains an opportunity takes vengeance on what
it hates. All men think they ought to rule, and for this reason submit to
being ruled in turn. They do not wish to be defrauded, and therefore do
not insist on defrauding others. They are pleased with honors bestowed by
their peers, and approve the penalties inflicted by their laws. If they
conduct their government on these lines, and believe that profits and the
opposite shall be shared in common, they wish no harm to happen to any
one of the citizens and devoutly hope that all good things may fall to
the lot of all of them. If one of them himself possesses any excellence,
he makes it known without hesitation, practices it enthusiastically,
and exhibits it very gladly: or, if he sees it in another, he readily
advances it, is eager to increase it, and honors it most brilliantly. On
the other hand if any one deteriorates, everybody hates him. If one meets
misfortune, everybody pities him. Each person regards the loss or shame
that such cause to be a common detriment to the city.

[-5-] "This is the constitution of democracies. Under tyrannies exactly
the opposite conditions are found. It is useless to go at length into all
of the details, but the chief feature is that no one is willing to
seem to know or possess anything good, because the whole ruling power
generally becomes hostile to him in such a case. Every one else takes the
tyrant's behavior as a standard of life, and pursues whatever objects he
may hope to gain through him by taking advantage of his neighbor while
incurring no danger himself. Consequently the majority of the people have
an eye only to their own interests and hate all other citizens: they
esteem their neighbor's good fortune as a personal loss, and his
misfortunes as a personal gain.

"Such being the state of the case, I do not see what could possibly
incite you to become sole ruler. Besides the fact that that system is
disagreeable to democracies, it would be far more unpleasant still to
yourself. You surely see how the City and its affairs are even now in a
state of turmoil. It is difficult, also, to overthrow our populace which
has lived during so many years in freedom, and difficult, since so many
enemies confront us round about, to reduce again to slavery the allies
and the subject nations, which from of old have been democratic
communities and were set free by our own selves.

[-6-] "To begin first with the smallest matter, it will be requisite that
you procure a large supply of money from all sides. It is impossible
that our present revenues should suffice for the very expenses, and
particularly for the support of the soldiers. This need exists also in
democracies, for it is not possible to organize any government without
expense. But under such a system many give largely in addition to what
is required, and do it frequently, making it a matter of rivalry and
securing proper honors for their liberality. Or, if perchance there
are compulsory levies upon everybody, they endure it because they can
persuade themselves that it is wise and because they are contributing in
their own behalf. Under sovereignties they think that the ruling power
alone, to which they credit boundless wealth, should bear the expense:
they are very ready to search out the ruler's sources of income, but do
not make a similar careful calculation about the outgo. They are not
inclined to pay out anything extra personally and of their own free will,
nor will they hear of voluntary public contributions. The former course
no one would choose, because he would not readily admit that he was rich,
and it is not to the advantage of the ruler to have it happen. So liberal
a citizen would immediately acquire a reputation for patriotism among the
mass of the people, would become conceited, and cause a disturbance in
politics. On the other hand, a general levy weighs heavily upon them all
and chiefly because they endure the loss whereas others take the gain. In
democracies those who contribute money as a general rule also serve in
the army, so that in a way they get it back again. But in monarchies one
set of people usually farm, manufacture, carry on maritime enterprises,
engage in politics,--the principal pursuits by which fortunes are
secured,--and a different set are under arms and draw pay.

"This single necessity, then, which is of such importance [-7-] will
cause you trouble. Here is another. It is by all means essential that
whoever from time to time commits a crime should pay some penalty. The
majority of men are not brought to reason by suggestion or by example,
but it is absolutely requisite to punish them by disenfranchisement, by
exile, and by death; and this often happens in so great an empire and in
so large a multitude of men, especially during a change of government.
Now if you appointed other men to judge these wrongdoers, they would
acquit them speedily, particularly all whom you may be thought to hate.
For judges secure a pretended authority when they act in any way contrary
to the wish of the ruling power. If, again, any are convicted, they will
believe they have been condemned on account of instructions for which
you are responsible. However, if you sit as judge yourself, you will be
compelled to chastise many of the peers,--and this is not favorable,--and
you will certainly be thought to be setting some of them right in anger
rather than in justice. No one believes that those who have the power to
use compulsion can execute judgment with justice, but everybody thinks
that out of shame they spread out a mere phantom and rough picture of
government in front of the truth, in order that under the legitimate
name of court they may fulfill their desire. This is what happens in
monarchies. In democracies, when any one is accused of committing a
private wrong, he is made defendant in a private suit before judges who
are his equals: or, if he is accused for a public crime, such a man has
empaneled a jury of his peers, whoever the lot shall designate. It is
easier for men to bear their decisions, since they do not think that any
verdict rendered is due to the power of the judge or has been wrung from
him as a favor.[1]

[-8-] "Then again there are many, apart from any criminals, some priding
themselves on birth, others on wealth, others on something different,
in general not bad men, who are by nature opposed to the conception of
monarchy. If a ruler allows them to become strong, he cannot live in
safety, and if he undertakes to impose a check on them, he cannot do so
justly. What then shall he do with them? How shall he treat them? If you
root out their families, diminish their wealth, humble their pride, you
will lose the good-will of your subjects. How can it be otherwise, if no
one is permitted to be born nobly or to grow rich honestly or to become
strong, brave, or learned? But if you allow all the separate classes to
grow strong, you will not be able to deal with them easily. If you alone
were sufficient for carrying on politics and war well and opportunely,
and needed no assistant for any of them, it would be a different story.
As the case stands, however, it is quite essential for you to have many
helpers, since they must govern so large a world: and they all ought
to be both brave and prudent. Now if you hand over the legions and
the offices to such men, there will be danger that both you and your
government will be overthrown. It is not possible for a valuable man to
be produced without good sense, and he cannot acquire any great good
sense from servile practices. But again, if he becomes a man of sense, he
cannot fail to desire liberty and to hate all masters. If, on the other
hand, you entrust nothing to these men, but put affairs in charge of the
worthless and chance comers, you will very quickly incur the anger of the
first class, who think themselves distrusted, and you will very quickly
fail in the greatest enterprises. What good could an ignorant or low-born
person accomplish? What enemy would not hold him in contempt? What allies
would obey him? Who, even of the soldiers themselves, would not disdain
to be ruled by such a man? What evils are wont to result from such a
condition I do not need to describe to you, for you know them thoroughly.
I feel obliged to say only this, that if such an assistant did nothing
right, he would injure you far more than the enemy: if he did anything
satisfactorily, his lack of education would cause him to lose his head,
and he would be a terror to you.

[-9-] "Such a question does not arise in democracies. The more men there
are who are wealthy and brave, so much the more do they vie with one
another and up-build the city. The latter uses them and is glad, unless
any one of them wishes to found a tyranny: him the citizens punish
severely. That this is so and that democracies are far superior to
monarchies the experience of Greece makes clear. As long as the people
had the monarchical government, they effected nothing of importance: but
when they began to live under the democratic system, they became most
renowned. It is shown also by the experience of other branches of
mankind. Those who are still conducting their governments under tyrannies
are always in slavery and always plotting against their rulers. But those
who have presidents for a year or some longer period continue to be both
free and independent.

"Yet, why need we use foreign examples, when we have some of our own? We
Romans, ourselves, after trying a different social organization at first,
later, when we had gone through many bitter experiences, felt a desire
for liberty; and having secured it we attained our present eminence,
strong in no advantages save those that come from democracy, through
which the senate debated, the people ratified, the force under arms
showed zeal, and the commanders were fired with ambition. None of these
things could be done under a tyranny. For that reason, indeed, the
ancient Romans detested it so much as to impose a curse upon that form of
government.

[-10-] "Aside from these considerations, if one is to speak about what is
disadvantageous for you personally, how could you endure the management
of so many interests by day and night alike? How could you hold out in
your enfeebled state? How could you participate in human enjoyments?
How could you be happy if deprived of them? What could cause you
real pleasure? When would you be free from biting grief? It is quite
inevitable that the man who holds so great an empire should reflect
deeply, be subject to many fears enjoy very little pleasure, but hear
and see, perform and suffer, always and everywhere, what is most
disagreeable. That is why, I think, both Greeks and some barbarians would
not accept government by a king when offered to them.

"Knowing this beforehand, take good counsel before you enter upon such an
existence. For it is disgraceful, or rather impossible, after you have
once plunged into it to rise to the upper air again. Do not be deceived
by the greatness of the authority nor the abundance of possessions, nor
the mass of body-guards, nor the throng of courtiers. Men who have great
power have great troubles: those who have large possessions are obliged
to spend largely: the crowd of body-guards is gathered because of the
crowd of conspirators: and the flatterers would be more glad to destroy
than to save any one. Consequently, in view of these facts, no sensible
man would desire to become supreme ruler. [-11-] If the fact that such
rulers can enrich and preserve others and perform many other good deeds,
and that, by Jupiter, they may also outrage others and injure whomsoever
they please leads any one to think that tyranny is worth striving for, he
is utterly mistaken. I need not tell you that to live licentiously and to
do evil is base and hazardous and hated of both gods and men. You are not
that sort of man, and it is not for these reasons that you would choose
to be sole ruler. I have elected to speak now not of everything which one
might accomplish who handled affairs badly, but of what even the very
best are compelled to do and endure when they adopt the system. The other
point,--that one may bestow abundant favors,--is worthy of zeal, to be
sure: yet when this disposition is indulged in private capacity, it is
noble, august, glorious, and safe, whereas in monarchies it is first of
all not a sufficient offset to the other, more disagreeable matters, that
any one should choose monarchy for this especially when one is to grant
to others the benefit to be derived therefrom, and accept himself the
unpleasantness involved in the rest of the conduct of the office.

[-12-] "In the next place, the matter is not simple, as people think. No
one could render assistance enough to satisfy all who need help. Those
who think they ought to receive some gift from the sovereign are
practically all mankind, even though no favors can at once be seen to be
due them. Every one naturally has his own approbation and wishes to enjoy
some benefit from him who is able to give. But the presents which can
be given them,--I mean honors and offices, and sometimes money,--can be
counted quite easily as compared with so great a multitude. This being
so, more hatred would fall to the monarch's lot from those who fail to
get what they want than friendship from such as obtain their desires.
The latter take what they regard as due to them and think there is no
particular reason for being very thankful to the one who gives it, since
they are getting no more than they expected. Moreover, they actually
shrink from such behavior for fear they may appear in the light
of persons undeserving of generous treatment. The others, who are
disappointed of their hopes, are grieved for two causes. First, they feel
that they are robbed of what belongs to them, for by nature all persons
think that everything which they desire is their own: second, they feel
as if they were finding themselves guilty of some wrong, if they show
resignation at not obtaining what they expect. The man who gives such
great gifts rightly of course investigates before all else each person's
worth: some he honors, others he neglects. As a result, then, of his
judgment, some are filled with pride and others with vexation by their
own consciousness of its correctness. If any one were to wish to guard
against this outcome and distribute his presents without system, he would
fail utterly. The base, being honored contrary to their deserts, would
become worse; for they would decide either that they were approved as
being good or, if not so, that they were courted as dangerous persons:
the excellent, on attaining no higher place than they, but held merely in
equal honor with the base, would be more indignant at their reduction to
the latter's level than the others would rejoice to be deemed valuable.
Accordingly, they would give up the practice of better principles and
strive to emulate less worthy men. Thus, even as a result of the very
honors, those who bestow them would reap no benefit and those who receive
them would become worse than before. So that this consideration, which
would please some persons most in the monarchical constitution, has been
proved to be a most difficult problem for you to deal with.

[-13-] "Reflecting on these facts and the rest which I mentioned a little
earlier, be prudent while you may, and restore to the people the arms,
the provinces, the offices, and the funds. If you do it at once and
voluntarily, you will be the most famous of men and the most secure. But
if you wait for some force to be applied, perhaps you might suffer some
disaster together with ill repute. Here is evidence. Marius, Sulla,
Metellus, and Pompey at first, when they got control of affairs, refused
to become princes, and by this attitude escaped harm. Cinna, however, and
Strabo,[2] the second Marius, Sertorius, and Pompey himself at a later
date, through their desire for sovereignty perished miserably. It is hard
for this city which has been under a democracy for so many years and
rules so many human beings to be willing to be a slave to any one. You
have heard that the people banished Camillus when he used white horses
for his triumph: you have heard that they overthrew Scipio after
condemning him for some fraudulent procedure: you remember how they
behaved toward your father because they had some suspicion that he wanted
monarchy. Yet there have never been any better men than these.

"Moreover, I do not advise you merely to relinquish dominion, but to
accomplish beforehand all that is advantageous for the public, and by
decrees and laws to settle definitely whatever business needs attention,
just as Sulla did. For even if some of his ordinances were subsequently
overthrown, yet the majority of them and the more important still hold
their ground. Do not say that even then some will indulge in factional
quarrels, or I may be tempted to say again that all the more the Romans
would not submit to a single ruler. If we were to review all the
calamities that might befall a nation, it would be most unreasonable for
us to fear dissensions which are the outgrowth of democracy rather then
the tyrannies which spring from monarchy. Regarding the terrible nature
of the latter I have not even undertaken to say a word. It has been my
wish not merely to inveigh against a proposition so capable of censure,
but to show you this,--that it is naturally such a régime that not even
the most excellent men....[3]

[-14-] "They cannot easily persuade by frank argument men who possess
less power, or succeed in their enterprises, because their subjects are
not in accord with them. Hence, if you have any care at all of your
country, for whom you have fought so many wars, for whom you would gladly
surrender your life, attune her to greater moderation and order her
affairs with that in view. For the privilege of doing and saving
precisely what one pleases becomes in the case of sensible people, if you
examine it, a cause of prosperity to all: but in the case of the foolish,
a cause of disaster. Therefore he who confers authority upon such men is
holding out a sword to a child and a madman; but he who gives it to the
prudent, besides performing other services, preserves the objects of his
liberality themselves, though they may be unwilling. Therefore I ask you
not to be deceived by regarding fine-sounding names, but to look forward
to the results that spring from them, and so to put an end to the
insolence of the populace, and to impose the management of public affairs
upon yourself and the most excellent of the remainder of the community.
Then the most prudent may deliberate, those most qualified for generals
become commanders, and the strongest and most needy men serve as
soldiers and draw pay. In this way, all zealously discharging the duties
appertaining to their offices and paying without hesitation the debts
they owe one another, they will not be aware of their inferiority and
lack of certain advantages and will secure the real democracy and a safe
sort of freedom. The boasted "freedom" of the mob proves to be the most
bitter servitude of the best element and brings a common destruction upon
both. The other, which I advocate, honors responsible men everywhere and
bestows equal advantages upon all so far as they are worthy: thus it
renders prosperous all alike who possess it. [-15-] Do not think that I
am advising you to enslave the people and the senate and then play the
tyrant. This plan I should never dare to suggest nor you to execute. It
would, notwithstanding, be well and useful both for you and for the city
that you should yourself establish all proper laws with the approval of
the best men without any opposing talk or resistance on the part of the
masses, that you and your counselors should arrange the details of wars
according to your united wishes while all the rest straightway obey
orders, that the choice of officials should be in the power of the
cabinet to which you belong, and that the same men should also determine
honors and penalties. Then whatever pleases you after consulting the
Peers will be immediately a law, and wars against enemies may be waged
with secrecy and at an opportune time; those to whom a trust is committed
will be appointed because of excellence and not by lot and strife for
office; the good will be honored without jealousy and the bad punished
without opposition. Thus what was done would be accomplished in the best
way, not referred to the public, nor talked over openly, not committed to
packed committees, nor endangered by rivalry. We should reap the benefits
of the blessings that belong to us with enjoyment,[4] not entering upon
dangerous wars nor impious civil disputes. These two drawbacks are found
in every democracy: the more powerful, desiring first place and hiring
the weaker men, turn everything continually upside down. They have been
most frequent in our epoch and there is no other way save the one I
propose that will put a stop to them. The proof of my words is that
we have been warring abroad and fighting among ourselves for an
inconceivably long time: the cause is the multitude of men and the
magnitude of the interests at stake. The men are of all sorts in respect
to both race and nature and have the most diversified tempers and
desires. The interests have become so vast that it is very difficult to
attempt to administer them. [-16-] Witness to the truth of my words is
borne by our past. While we were but few, we had no important quarrel
with our neighbors, got along well with our government, and subjugated
almost all of Italy. But ever since we spread beyond the peninsula and
crossed to many foreign lands and islands, filling the whole sea and the
whole earth with our name and power, nothing good has been our lot. In
the first place we disputed in cliques at home and within our walls, and
later we exported this plague to the camps. Therefore our city, like a
great merchantman full of a crowd of every race borne without a pilot
these many years through rough water, rolls and shoots hither and thither
because it is without ballast. Do not, then, allow her to be longer
exposed to the tempest; for you see that she is waterlogged. And do not
let her split upon a reef[5]; for her timbers are rotten and will not be
able to hold out much longer. But since the gods have taken pity on this
land and have set you up as her arbiter and chief; do not betray your
country. Through you she has now revived a little: if you are faithful,
she may live with safety for ages to come.

[-17-] "That I do right to urge you to be sole ruler of the people I
think you have long ere this been persuaded. If so, then be ready and
eager to assume the leadership of the State, or rather, do not let it
slip. For we are not deliberating about taking something, but about not
losing it and about running hazards in addition. Who will spare you if
you commit matters to the people as they were, and to some other man,
seeing that there are great numbers whom you have injured, all of whom,
or nearly all, will lay claim to the sovereignty? No one of them will
fail to wish to punish you for what you have done, or will care to have
you survive as a rival. There is evidence of this in the case of Pompey,
who, when he withdrew from his supremacy, became the victim of scorn and
of plots: he found himself unable to win back his place, and so perished.
Also Cæsar your father, who did this very same thing, was slain for his
trouble. Marius and Sulla would certainly have endured a like fate, had
they not died too soon. Indeed, some say that Sulla anticipated this
very end by making away with himself. Many of the provisions of his
constitution, at any rate, began to be abolished while he was still
alive. You, too, must expect to find that many Lepiduses, Sertoriuses,
Brutuses, Cassiuses will arise against you.

[-18-] "Seeing these facts and reflecting on the other interests
involved, do not abandon yourself and your country, out of fear that you
may seem to some to be pursuing the office of set purpose. First of all,
even if any one does suspect it, the desire is not one repugnant to human
nature, and the danger from it is a noble danger. Second, is any one
unaware of the necessity under which you were led to take this action?
Hence, if there be any blame attached to it, one might most justly
censure your father's slayers therefor. For if they had not murdered him
in so unjust and pitiable a fashion, you would not have taken up arms,
would not have gathered your legions, would not have made a compact with
Antony and Lepidus, and would not have taken measures against those very
men. That you were right and were justified in doing all this no one is
unaware. If any slight errors have been committed, at least we cannot
safely make any further changes. Therefore for our own sakes and for that
of the city let us obey Fortune, who gives you the supremacy. Let us be
very thankful to her that she has not simply filled us with civil woes,
but has put the reorganization of the government in your hands. By paying
due reverence to her you may show all mankind that whereas others wrought
disturbance and injury, you are an upright man.

"Do not, I beg you, fear the magnitude of the empire. The greater its
extent, the more are the preservative influences it possesses; also, to
guard anything is a long way easier than to acquire it. Toils and dangers
are needed to win over what belongs to others, but a little prudence
suffices to retain what is already yours. Moreover, do not be afraid
that you will not live quite safely in the midst of it and enjoy all the
blessings extant among men, if you are willing to arrange all the details
as I shall advise you. And do not think that I am making my appeal depart
from the subject in hand, if I shall speak at some length about the
project. I shall not do this merely to hear myself talk, but to the end
that you may be positively assured that it is both possible and easy, for
a man of sense at least, to govern well and without danger.

[-19-] "I maintain, therefore, first of all that you ought to pick out
your friends in the senatorial body and then subject it to a sifting
process, because some who are not fit have become senators on account
of civil disputes: such of them as possess any excellence you ought to
retain, but the rest you should erase from the roll. Do not, however, get
rid of any man of worth, because of poverty, but give him the money that
he needs. In the place of those who have been dropped introduce the
noblest, the best, the richest men obtainable, selecting them not only
from Italy but from the allies and subject nations. In this way you will
not be employing many assistants and you will insure a correct attitude
on the part of the chief men from all the provinces. These districts,
having no renowned leader, will not be disposed to rebel, and their
prominent men will entertain affection for you because they have been
made sharers in your empire.

"Take precisely these same measures in the case of the knights, by
enrolling in the equestrian class such as hold second place everywhere in
birth, excellence, and wealth. Register as many in both classes as may
please you, not troubling at all about their numbers. The more men of
repute you have as your associates, the more easily will you yourself
settle everything in case of need and persuade your subjects that you are
treating them not as slaves nor in any way as inferior to us, but are
sharing with them besides all the other blessings that belong to us the
chief magistracy also, that so they may be devoted to it as their own
possession. I am so far from assuming this to be a mistaken policy that I
say they ought all to be given a share in the government. Thus, having an
equal allotment in it, they might be faithful allies of ours, believing
that they inhabited one single city owned in common by all of us,
and this _really_ a city, and regarding fields and villages as their
individual property. But about this and what ought to be done so as not
to grant them absolutely everything, we shall reflect in greater detail
at another time.

[-20-] "It is proper to put men on the roll of the knights at eighteen
years of age; for at that period of life physical condition is at its
best and suitability of temperament can be discerned. But for the
senate they should wait till they are twenty-five years old. Is it not
disgraceful and hazardous to entrust public business to men younger than
this, when we will commit none of our private affairs to any one before,
he has reached such an age? After they have served as quæstors and
ædiles, or tribunes, let them be prætors, when they have attained their
thirtieth birthday. These offices and that of consul are the only ones at
home which I maintain you ought to recognize; and that is for the sake of
remembrance of ancestral customs and in order not to seem to be changing
the constitution altogether. Do you, however, yourself choose all who are
to hold them and not put any of these offices longer in charge of the
rabble or the populace,--for they will surely quarrel,--nor in charge of
the senate, for its members will contend for the prize. Moreover, do
not keep up the ancient powers of these positions, for fear history
may repeat itself, but preserve the honor attached while abating the
influence to such an extent as will enable you to deprive each place of
none of its esteem but to forestall any desire of insubordination. This
can be done if you require the incumbents to stay in town, and do not
permit any of them to handle arms either during their period of office or
immediately afterward, but only after the lapse of some time, as much
as you think sufficient in each instance. In this way none of them will
rebel, because they become to an extent by their title masters of armies,
and their irritation will be assuaged by their faring as private citizens
for a time. Let these magistrates conduct such of the festivals as would
naturally belong to their office, and let them all individually try cases
save those of homicide, during their tenure of office in Rome. Courts
should also be made up of the senators and knights, but the final appeal
should be to the aforesaid officials.

[-21-] "Let a præfectus urbi be appointed from the ranks of the prominent
men and from such as have previously passed through the necessary
offices. His duties should not be to govern when the consuls are
somewhere out of town, but to exercise at all times a general supervision
of the City's interests and to decide the cases referred to him by all
the other magistrates I mentioned, both those demanding final decision
and such as may be appealed, together with any that involve the death
penalty; and he must have authority in all of them that concern men both
in the City (except such as I shall name) and those dwelling outside to
the distance of seven hundred and fifty stades.

"Still another magistrate ought to be chosen, himself also from a similar
class, to investigate and watch the matters of family, property, and
morals of senators and knights, alike of men and of the children and
wives belonging to them[6]. He should also set right such behavior as
properly entails no punishment, yet if neglected becomes the cause of
many great evils. The more important details he must report to you. This
duty ought to be assigned to some senator, and to the most distinguished
one after the præfectus urbi, rather than to one of the knights. He would
naturally receive his name from your authority as censor, (for you must
certainly be the dictator of the census), so that he might be called
sub-censor[7].--Let these two hold office for life, unless either of them
deteriorates in any way or becomes sick or superannuated. By reason of
the permanence of their positions they would do nothing dangerous, for
one would be entirely unarmed and the other would have but a few soldiers
and be acting for the most part under your eyes. By reason of their rank
they would shrink from coming into collision with any one and would be
afraid to do any act of violence, for they would foresee their retirement
to ordinary citizenship and the supremacy of others in their stead. Let
them also draw a certain salary, to compensate them for the time consumed
and to increase their reputation. This is the opinion I have to give you
in regard to these officials.

"Let those who have been prætors hold some office among the subject
nations. Before they have been prætors I do not think they should have
this privilege. Let those who have not yet been prætors serve for one
or two terms as lieutenants to such persons as you may have designated.
Then, under these conditions, let them be consuls if they continue to
govern rightly, and after that let them take the greater positions of
command. [-22-] The following is the way I advise you to arrange it.
Divide up all of Italy which is over seven hundred and fifty stades from
the city and all the rest of the territory which owns our sway, both on
the continents and in the islands,--divide it up everywhere according to
races and nations; and pursue the same course with as many cities as are
important enough to be ruled by one man with full powers. Then establish
soldiers and a governor in each one and send out one of the ex-consuls to
take charge of all, and two of the ex-prætors. One of the latter, fresh
from the City, should have the care of private business and the supplying
of provisions: the other should be one of those who have had this
training, who will attend to the public interests of the cities and will
govern the soldiers, except in cases that concern disenfranchisement or
death. These must be referred only to the ex-consul who is governor,
except in regard to the centurions who are on the lists and to the
foremost private individuals in every place. Do not allow any other
person than yourself to punish either of these classes, so that they may
never be impelled by fear of any one else to take any action against you.
As for my proposition that the second of the ex-prætors should be put in
charge of the soldiers, it is subject to the following limitations. If
only a few are in service in foreign forts or in one native post, it is
well enough for this to be so. But if two citizen legions are wintering
in the same province (and more than this number I should not advise you
to trust to one commander), it will be necessary for the two ex-prætors
to superintend them, each having charge of one besides managing
the remaining political and private interests. Therefore, let the
ex-consul[8]... these matters and likewise on the cases, both those
subject to appeal and those already referred which are sent up to him
from[9] his prætors. And do not be surprised that I recommend to you to
divide Italy also into such sections. It is large and populous, and so
is incapable of being well managed by the governors at the capital. The
governor of any district ought to be always present and no duties should
be laid upon our city magistrates[10] that are impossible of fulfillment.

[-23-] "Let all these men to whom affairs outside the city are committed
receive pay, the greater ones more, the inferior ones less, those of
medium importance a medium amount. They can not in a foreign land live
on their own resources nor as now stand an unlimited and uncalculated
expense. Let them govern not less than three years (unless any one of
them commits a crime), nor more than five. These limits are because
annual and short-time appointments after teaching persons what they
need to know send them back again before they can display any of their
knowledge: and, on the other hand, longer and more lasting positions fill
many with conceit and incline them to rebellion. Hence I think that
the greater posts of authority ought not to be given to persons
consecutively, without interval, for it makes no difference whether a man
is governor in the same province or in several in succession, if he holds
office longer than is proper. Appointees improve when a period of time is
allowed to elapse and they return home and live as ordinary citizens.

"The senators, accordingly, I affirm ought to discharge these duties and
in the way described. [-24-] Of the knights the two best should command
the body-guard which protects you. To entrust it to one man is hazardous,
and to several is sure to breed turmoil. Let these prefects therefore be
two in number, in order that, if one of them suffers any bodily harm, you
may still not lack a person to guard you: and let them be appointed from
those who have been on many campaigns and have been active also in many
other capacities. Let them have command both of the Pretorians and of all
the remaining soldiers in Italy with such absolute power that they
may put to death such of them as do wrong, except in the case of the
centurions and any others who have been assigned to members of the senate
holding office. These should be tried by the senatorial magistrates
themselves, in order that the latter may have authority both to honor
and to chastise their dependents and so be able to count on their
unhesitating support. Over all the other soldiers in Italy those prefects
should have dominion (aided of course by lieutenants), and further over
the Cæsarians, both such as wait upon you and all the rest that are of
any value. These duties will be both fitting and sufficient for them to
discharge.[11] They should not have more labors laid upon them than they
will be able to dispose of effectively, that they may not be weighed down
by the press of work or find it impossible to see to everything. These
men ought to hold office for life like the præfectus urbi and the
sub-censor. Let some one else be appointed night watchman, and still
another commissioner of grain and of the other market produce, both of
these from the foremost knights after those mentioned and appointed to
hold their posts for a definite time like the magistrates elected from
the senatorial class. [-25-] The disposition of the funds, also,--of both
the people and the empire, I mean, whether in Rome or in the rest of
Italy or outside,--should be entirely in the hands of the knights. These
treasurers also, as well as all of the same class who have the management
of anything, should draw pay, some more and some less, with reference to
the dignity and magnitude of their employment. The reason is that it is
not possible for them, since they are poorer than the senators, to spend
their own means while engaged in no business in Rome. And then again, it
is neither possible nor advantageous for you that the same men should be
made masters of both the troops and the finances. Furthermore, it is well
that all the business of the empire should be transacted through a number
of agents, in order that many may receive the benefit of it and become
experienced in affairs. In this way your subjects, reaping a multiform
enjoyment from the public treasures, will be better disposed toward you,
and you will have an abundant supply of the best men on each occasion for
all necessary lines of work. One single knight with as many subordinates
(drawn from the knights and from your freedmen) as the needs of the case
demand, is sufficient for every separate form of business in the City and
for each province outside. You need to have these assistants along with
them in order that your service may contain a prize of excellence, and
that you may not lack persons from whom you may learn the truth even
contrary to the wishes of their superiors, in case there is anything
irregular happening.

"If any one of the knights after passing through many forms of service
distinguishes himself enough to become a senator, his age ought not to
hinder him at all from being enrolled in the senate. Let some of those
even be registered who have held the post of company leaders in citizen
forces, unless it be one who has served in the rank and file; for it is
both a shame and a reproach to have on the list of the senate any of
these persons who have carried loaded panniers and charcoal baskets. But
in the case of such as were originally centurions there is nothing to
prevent the most distinguished of them from being advanced to a better
class.

[-26-] "With regard to the senators and the knights this is my advice to
you. And, by Jupiter, I have this to say further. While they are still
children they should attend schools, and when they come out of childhood
into youth they should turn their minds to horses and arms and have paid
public teachers in each of these two departments. In this way from very
boyhood they will both learn and practice all that they must themselves
do on becoming men, and so they will prove far more serviceable to you
for every work. The best ruler, who is of any value, must not only
himself perform all his required tasks, but also look forward to see how
the rest shall become also as excellent as possible. And this name can be
yours, not if you allow them to do whatever they please and then censure
those who err, but if before any mistakes occur you teach them everything
which, when practiced, will render them more useful both to themselves
and to you. And afford nobody any excuse whatever, either wealth or
birth, or anything else that accompanies excellence, for affecting
indolence or effeminacy or any other behavior that is not genuine. Many
persons, fearing that on account of some such possession they may incur
jealousy or danger, do much that is unworthy of themselves, expecting
by such behavior to live in greater security. As a consequence they
commiserate themselves, believing themselves wronged in this very
particular, that they are not allowed to appear to live aright. Their
ruler also suffers a loss because he is deprived of the services of good
men, and suffers ill repute for the censure imposed upon them. Therefore
never permit this to be done, and have no fears that any one brought up
and educated as I propose will ever adopt a rebellious policy. Quite the
reverse; it is only the ignorant and licentious that you need suspect.
Such persons are easily influenced to behave most disgracefully and
abominably in absolutely every way first toward their own selves and next
toward other people. Those, however, who have been well brought up and
educated are purposed not to wrong any one and least of all him who cared
for their rearing and education. If any one, accordingly, shows himself
wicked and ungrateful, do not entrust him with any such position as will
enable him to effect any harm: if even so he rebels, let him be tried and
punished. Do not be afraid that any one will blame you for this, if you
carry out all my injunctions. For in taking vengeance on the wrongdoer
you will be guilty of no sin any more than the physician who burns and
cuts. All will pronounce the man justly treated, because after partaking
of the same rearing and education as the rest he plotted against
you.--This is the course of action I advise in the case of the senators
and knights.

[-27-] "A standing army should be supported, drawn from the citizens,
the subject nations, and the allies, in one case more, in another less,
province by province, as the necessities of the case demand; and they
ought to be always under arms and make a practice of warfare continually.
They must have secured winter-quarters at the most opportune points, and
serve for a definite time, so that a certain period of active life may
remain for them before old age. For, separated so far as we are from the
frontiers of the empire, with enemies living near us on every side, we
should otherwise no longer be able to count on auxiliaries in the case of
emergencies. Again, if we allow all those of military age to have arms
and to practice warlike pursuits, quarrels and civil wars will always be
arising among them. However, if we prevent them from doing this and then
need their assistance at all in battle, we shall always have to face
danger with inexperienced and untrained soldiers at our back. For this
reason I submit the proposition that most of them live without arms
and away from forts; but that the hardiest and those most in need of a
livelihood be registered and kept in practice. They themselves will fight
better by devoting their leisure to this single business; and the rest
will the more easily farm, manage ships, and attend to the other pursuits
of peace, if they are not forced to be called out for service, but have
others to stand as their guardians. The most active and vigorous element,
that is, which is oftenest obliged to live by robbery, will be supported
without harming others, and all the rest of the population will lead a
life free from danger.

[-28-] "From what source, then, will the money come for these warriors
and for the other expenses that will be found necessary? I shall make
this point clear, with only the short preliminary statement that even
were we under a democracy, we should in any case need money. We can not
survive without soldiers, and without pay none of them will serve. Hence
let us not feel downhearted in the belief that the compulsory collection
of money appertains only to monarchy, and let us not turn away from
the system for that reason, but conduct our deliberations with a full
knowledge of the fact that in any case it is necessary for us to obtain
funds, whatsoever form of government we may adopt. Consequently, I
maintain that you should first of all sell the goods which are in the
public treasury,--and I notice that these have become numerous on account
of the wars,--except a few which are exceedingly useful and necessary
to you: and you should loan all this money at some moderate rate of
interest. In this way the land will be worked, being delivered to men who
will cultivate it themselves, and the latter will obtain a starting-point
and so grow more prosperous, while the treasury will have a sufficient
and perpetual revenue. This amount should be computed together with all
the rest of the revenue that can be derived from the mines and with
certainty from any other source; and after that we ought to reckon on not
only the military service but everything else which contributes to the
successful life of a city, and further how much it will be necessary to
lay out in campaigns at short notice and other critical occurrences which
are wont to take place. Then, to make up the deficiency in income, we
ought to levy upon absolutely all instruments which produce any profit
for the men who possess them, and we should exact taxes from all whom we
rule. It is both just and proper that no one of them should be exempt
from taxation,--individual or people,--because they are destined to enjoy
the benefit of the taxes in common with the rest. We should set over them
tax-collectors in every case to manage the business, so that they may
levy from all sources of revenue everything that falls due during their
term of management. The following plan will render it easier for the
officers to gather the taxes and will be of no little service to those
who contribute them. I mean that they will bring in whatever they owe
in an appointed order and little by little, instead of remaining idle
a short time and then having the entire sum demanded of them in one
payment.

[-29-] "I am not unaware that some of the incomes and taxes established
will be disliked. But I know this, too,--that if the peoples secure
immunity from any further abuse and believe in reality that they will be
contributing all of this for their own safety and for reaping subsidiary
benefits in abundance and that most of it will be obtained by no others
than men of their own district, some by governing, others by managing,
others by army service, they will be very grateful to you, giving as they
do a small portion of large possessions, the profits of which they enjoy
without oppression. Especially will this be true if they see that you
live temperately and spend nothing foolishly. Who, if he saw you very
economical of your own means and very lavish of the public funds,
would not willingly contribute, and deem your possession of wealth to
constitute his safety and prosperity? By these means a very large amount
of money would be on hand.

[-30-] "The rest I urge you to arrange in the following way. Adorn this
city in the most expensive manner possible and add brilliance by every
form of festival. It is fitting that we who rule many people should
surpass all in everything, and such spectacles tend in a way to promote
respect on the part of our allies and alarm on the part of enemies. The
affairs of other nations you should order in this fashion. First, let the
various tribes have no power in any matter nor meet in assemblies at all.
They would decide nothing good and would always be creating more or less
turmoil. Hence I say that even our own populace ought not to gather at
court or for elections or for any other such meeting where any business
is to be transacted. Next, they should not indulge in numbers of houses
of great size and beyond what is necessary, and they should not expend
money upon many and all kinds of contests: so they will neither be worn
out by vain zeal nor become hostile through unreasonable rivalries. They
ought, however, to have certain festivals and spectacles, (apart from the
horse-race held among us), but not to such an extent that the treasury or
private estates will be injured, or any stranger be compelled to spend
anything whatever in their midst, or food for a lifetime be furnished
to all who have merely won in some contest. It is unreasonable that the
well-to-do should submit to compulsory expenditures outside their own
countries; and for the athletes the prizes for each event are sufficient.
This ruling does not apply to any one of them who might come out victor
in the Olympian or Pythian games, or some contest here at Rome.[12] Such
are the only persons who ought to be fed, and then the cities will not
exhaust themselves without avail nor anybody practice save those who have
a chance of winning, since one can follow some other pursuit that is
more advantageous both to one's self and to one's country. "This is my
decision about these matters.--Now to the horse-races which are held
without gymnastic contests, I think that no other city but ours should be
allowed to hold them, so that vast sums of money may not be dissipated
recklessly nor men go miserably frantic,--and most of all that the
soldiers may have a plentiful supply of the best horses. This, therefore,
I would forbid altogether, that those races should take place anywhere
else than here. The other amusements I have determined to moderate so
that all organizations should make the enjoyment of entertainments for
eye and ear inexpensive, and men thereby live more temperately and free
from discontent.

"Let none of the foreigners employ their own coinage or weights or
measures, but let them all use ours. And they should send no embassy to
you, unless it involve a point for decision. Let them instead present to
their governor whatever they please and through him forward to you all
such requests of theirs as he may approve. In this way they will neither
spend anything nor effect their object by crooked practices, but receive
their answers at first hand without any expenditure or intrigue.

[-31-] "Moreover, in respect to other matters, you would seem to be
ordering things in the best way if you should, in the first place,
introduce before the senate the embassies which come from the enemy and
from those under truce, both kings and peoples. For it is awe-inspiring
and impressive to let the senate appear to be master of all situations
and to exhibit many adversaries prepared for petitioners who are guilty
of double dealing. Next, have all the laws enacted by the senators, and
do not impose a single one upon all the people alike, except the decrees
of that body. In this way the dignity of the empire would be the more
confirmed and the decisions made in accordance with the laws would prove
indisputable and evident to all alike. Thirdly, it would be well in case
the senators who are serving in the city, their children or their wives,
are ever charged with any serious crime, so that a person convicted would
receive a penalty of disenfranchisement or exile or even death, that
you should set the situation before the senate, without any previous
condemnation, and commit to that body the entire decision at first hand
regarding it. Thus those guilty of any crime would be tried before all
their peers and punished without any ill-feeling against you. The rest,
seeing this, would improve in character for fear of being themselves
publicly apprehended. I am speaking here about those offences regarding
which laws are established, and judgments are rendered according to the
laws.

"As for talk that some one has abused you or spoken in an unfitting way
about you, do not listen to any one who brings such an accusation nor
investigate it. It is disgraceful to believe that any one has wantonly
insulted you who are doing no wrong and benefiting all. Only those who
rule badly will credit these reports. Because of their own conscience
they surmise that the matter has been stated truthfully. It is a shame to
be angry at complaints for which, if true, one had better not have been
responsible, and about which, if false, one ought not to pretend to care.
Many in times past by angry behavior have caused more things and worse to
be said against them. This is my opinion about those accused of uttering
some insult. Your personality should be too strong and too lofty to be
assailed by any insolence, and you should never allow yourself to think
nor lead others into thinking that any person can be indecent toward you.
Thus they will think of you as of the gods, that you are sacrosanct. If
any one should be accused of plotting against you (such a thing might
happen), do not yourself sit as judge on a single detail of the case nor
reach any decision in advance,--for it is absurd that the same man should
be made both accuser and judge,--but take him to the senate and make him
plead his defence. If he be convicted, punish him, though moderating the
sentence so far as is feasible, in order that belief in his guilt may be
fostered. It is very difficult to make most men believe that any unarmed
person will plot against him who is armed. And the only way you could
gain credence would be by punishing him not in anger nor overwhelmingly,
if it be possible.--This is aside from the case of one who had an army
and should revolt directly against you. It is not fitting that such an
one be tried, but that he be chastised as an enemy.

"In this way refer to the senate these matters and [-32-] most of the
highly important affairs that concern the commonwealth. Public interests
you must administer publicly. It is also an inbred trait of human nature
for individuals to delight in marks of esteem from a superior, which seem
to raise one to equality with him, and to approve everything which the
superior has determined after consulting them, as if it were their own
proposal, and to cherish it, as if it were their own choice. Consequently
I affirm that such business ought to be brought before the senate.--In
regard to most cases all those senators present ought equally to state
their opinions: but when one of their number is accused, not all of them
should do so, unless it be some one who is not yet a senator or is not
yet in the ranks of the ex-quæstors that is being tried. And, indeed, it
is absurd that one who has not yet been a tribune or an ædile should cast
a vote against such as have already filled these offices, or, by Jupiter,
that any one of the latter should vote against the ex-prætors or they
against the ex-consuls. Let the last named have authority to render a
decision in all cases, but the rest only in the cases of their peers and
their subordinates.

[-33-] "You yourself must try in person the referred and the appealed
cases which come to you from the higher officials, from the procurators,
from the præfectus urbi, from the sub-censor, and the prefects, both the
commissioner of grain[13] and the night-watch.[14] No single one of them
should have such absolute powers of decision and such independence that a
case can not be appealed from him. You should be the judge, therefore
in these instances, and also when knights are concerned and properly
enrolled centurions and the foremost private citizens, if the trial
involves death or disenfranchisement. Let these be your business alone,
and for the reasons mentioned let no one else on his own responsibility
render a decision in them. You should always have associated with you
for discussion the most honored of the senators and of the knights, and
further certain others from the ranks of the ex-consuls and ex-prætors,
some at one time and some at another. In this association you will become
more accurately acquainted with their characters beforehand, and so be
able to put them to the right kind of employment, and they by coming in
contact with your habits and wishes will have them in mind on going out
to govern the provinces. Do not, however, openly ask their opinions when
a rather careful consideration is required, for fear that they, being
outside their accustomed sphere, may hesitate to speak freely; but let
them record their views on tablets. To these you alone should have
access, that they may become known to no one else, and then order the
writing to be immediately erased. In this way you may best get at each
man's exact opinion, when they believe that it can not be identified
among all the rest.

"Moreover for the lawsuits, letters, and decrees of the cities, for the
consideration of the demands of individuals and everything else which
belongs to the administration of the empire you must have supporters and
assistants from among the knights. Everything will move along more easily
in this way, and you will neither err through want of fairness nor become
exhausted by doing everything yourself. Grant every one who wishes to
make any suggestion whatever to you the right of speaking freely and
fearlessly. If you approve what he says, it will be of great service:
and if you are not persuaded, it will do no harm. Those who obtain your
favorable judgment you should both praise and honor, since by their
devices you will receive glory: and those who fail of it you should never
dishonor or censure. It is proper to look at their intentions, and not to
find fault because their plans were unavailable. Guard against this same
mistake when war is concerned. Be not enraged at any one for involuntary
misfortune nor jealous of his good fortune, to the end that all may
zealously and gladly run risks for you, confident that if they make a
slip they will not be punished nor if successful become the objects of
intrigue. There are many who through fear of jealousy on the part of
those in power have chosen to meet reverses rather than to effect
anything. As a result they retained their safety, but the loss fell upon
their own heads. You, who are sure to reap the principal benefit from
both classes alike,--the inferior and the superior,--ought never to
choose to become nominally jealous of others, but really of yourself.

[-34-] "Whatever you wish your subjects to think and do _you_ must
say and do. You can better educate them in this way than if you
should desire to terrify them by the severities of the laws. The former
course inspires emulation, the latter fear. And any one can more easily
imitate superior conduct, when he actually sees it in some life, than he
can guard against low behavior which he merely hears to be prohibited by
edict. Act in every way yourself with circumspection, not condoning any
mistakes of your own, for be well assured that all will straightway learn
everything you say and do. You will live as it were in a kind of theatre,
whose audience is the whole world: and it will not be possible for you to
escape detection if you commit the very smallest error. No act of yours
will ever be in private, but all of them will be performed in the midst
of many persons. And all the remainder of mankind somehow take the
greatest delight in being officious with respect to what is done by their
rulers. Hence, if they once ascertain that you are urging them to one
course and following a different one yourself, they will not fear your
threats, but will imitate your deeds.

"Have an eye to the lives of others, but do not carry your investigations
unpleasantly close. Decide cases which are brought before you by
outsiders, but do not pretend to notice conduct that receives no
outspoken censure from any one, except irregularities not consonant with
public interest. The latter ought to be properly rebuked, even if no one
has aught to say against them. Other private failings you ought to know,
in order to avoid making a mistake some day by employing an assistant
unsuitable for a particular duty: do not, however, take individuals to
task. Their natures impel many persons to commit various violations of
the law. If you make an unsparing campaign against them, you might leave
scarcely one man unpunished. But if you humanely mingle consideration
with the strict command of the law, you may perhaps bring them to their
senses. For the law, though necessarily severe in its punishments, can
not always conquer nature. Some men, if permitted to think they are
unobserved, or if moderately admonished, improve, some through shame
at being discovered and others through fear of failure the next time.
Whereas when they are openly denounced and throw compunction to the
winds, or where they are chastised beyond measure, they overturn and
trample under foot all law and order and obey slavishly the impulses of
their nature. Therefore it is not easy to discipline all of them nor is
it fitting to allow some of them to continue publicly their outrageous
conduct.

"This is the way I advise you to treat people's offences, except the very
desperate cases: and you should honor even beyond the deserts of the deed
whatever they do rightly. In this way you can best make them refrain from
baser conduct by kindliness and cause them to aim at what is better by
liberality. Have no dread that either money or other means of rewarding
those who do well will ever fail you. I think those deserving of good
treatment will prove far fewer than the rewards, since you are lord of so
much land and sea. And fear not that any who are benefited will commit
some act of ingratitude. Nothing so captivates and conciliates any one,
be he foreigner or be he foe, as freedom from wrongs and likewise kindly
treatment.

[-35-] "This is the attitude which I urge you to assume toward others.
For your own part allow no extraordinary or overweening distinction to
be given you through word or deed by the senate or by anybody else. To
others honor which you confer lends adornment, but to your own self
nothing can be given that is greater than what you already have, and it
would arouse no little suspicion of failure in straightforwardness. None
of the ordinary people willingly approves of having any such distinction
voted to the man in power. As he receives everything of the kind
from himself, he not only obtains no praise for it but becomes a
laughing-stock instead. Any additional brilliance, then, you must create
for yourself by your good deeds. Never permit gold or silver images of
yourself to be made; they are not only costly, but they give rise to
plots and last but a brief time: you must build in the very hearts of
men others out of benefits conferred, which shall be both unalloyed and
undying. Again, do not ever allow a temple to be raised to yourself.
Large amounts of money are spent uselessly on such objects, which had
better be laid out upon necessary improvements. Great wealth is gathered
not so much by acquiring a great deal as by not spending a great deal.
Nor does a temple contribute anything to any one's glory. Excellence
raises many men to the level of the gods, but nobody ever yet was made a
god by show of hands. Hence if you are upright and rule well, the whole
earth will be your precinct, all cities your temple, all mankind your
statues. In their thoughts you will ever be enshrined and surrounded by
good repute. Those who administer their power in any other way are not
only not magnified by sites and edifices of worship, though these be
the choicest in all the cities, but erect for themselves therein mute
detractors which become trophies of their baseness, memorials of their
injustice. And the longer these last, the more steadfastly does the
ill-repute of such sovereigns abide. [-36-] Therefore if you desire to
become in very truth immortal, act in this way; and further, reverence
the Divine Power yourself everywhere in every way, following our fathers'
belief, and compel others to honor it. Those who introduce strange ideas
about it you should both hate and punish, not only for the sake of the
gods (because if a man despises them he will esteem naught else sacred)
but because such persons by bringing in new divinities persuade many to
adopt foreign principles of law. As a result conspiracies, factions, and
clubs arise which are far from desirable under a monarchy. Accordingly,
do not grant any atheist or charlatan the right to be at large. The art
of soothsaying is a necessary one and you should by all means appoint
some men to be diviners and augurs, to whom people can resort who desire
to consult them on any matter; but there ought to be no workers of magic
at all. Such men tell partly truth but mostly lies, and frequently
inspire many of their followers to rebel. The same thing is true of many
who pretend to be philosophers. Hence I urge you to be on your guard
against them. Do not, because you have come in contact with such
thoroughly admirable men as Areus and Athenodorus, think that all
the rest who say they are philosophers are like them. Some use this
profession as a screen to work untold harm to both populace and
individuals.

[-37-] "Your spirit, then, because you have no desire for anything more
than you possess, ought to be most peaceful, whereas your equipment
should be most warlike, in order that no one ordinarily may either wish
or try to harm you, but if he should, that he may be punished easily and
instantly. For these and other reasons it is requisite for some persons
to keep their ears and eyes open to everything appertaining to your
position of authority, in order that you may not fail to notice anything
which needs guarding against or setting right. Remember, however, that
you must not trust merely to all they say, but investigate their words
carefully. There are many who, some through hatred of certain persons,
others out of desire for what they possess, or as a favor to some one, or
because they ask money and do not receive it, oppress others under the
pretext that the latter are rebellious or are guilty of harboring some
design or uttering some statement against the supreme ruler. Therefore it
is not right to pay immediate or ready attention to them, but to enquire
into absolutely everything. If you are slow in believing anybody, you
will suffer no great harm, but if you are hasty, you may make a mistake
which can not easily be repaired.

"Now it is both right and necessary for you to honor the excellent both
among the freedmen and among the rest of your associates. This will
afford you great renown and security. They must, however not have any
extraordinary powers but all carefully moderate their conduct, that
so you may not be ill spoken of through them. For everything they do,
whether well or ill, will be accredited to you, and the estimate of
yourself to be made by all men will depend upon what you permit these
persons to do.

"Do not, then, allow the influential either to make unjust gains or to
concern themselves with blackmail: and let no one be complained of for
'having influence', even if he is otherwise irreproachable. Defend the
masses vigorously when they are wronged and do not attend too easily to
accusations against them. Examine every deed on its merits, not being
suspicious of every one who is prominent nor believing every one who is
lower in the social scale. Those who are active and are the authors of
any useful device you must honor, but the idle or such as busy themselves
with petty foolishness you must hate. Thus your subjects will be inclined
to the former conduct because of the benefits attached and will refrain
from the latter on account of the penalties, and will become better
as individuals and more serviceable for your employment in the public
service.

"It is an excellent achievement also to render private disputes as few as
possible and their settlement as rapid as may be. But it is best of all
to cut short the impetuosity of communities, and, if under guise of some
appeals to your sovereignty and safety and good fortune they undertake to
use force upon anybody or to undertake exploits or expenditures that are
beyond their power, not to permit it. You should abolish altogether their
enmities and rivalries among themselves and not authorize them to create
any empty titles or anything else which will breed differences between
them. All will readily obey you both in this and in every other matter,
private and public, if you never permit any one to transgress this rule.
Non-enforcement of laws makes null and void even wisely framed precepts.
Consequently you should not allow persons to ask for what you are not
accustomed to give. Try to compel them to avoid diligently this very
practice of petitioning for something prohibited. This is what I have to
say on that subject.

[-38-] "I advise you never to make use of your authority against all the
citizens at once nor to deem it in any way curtailed if you do not do
absolutely everything that is within your power. But in proportion as you
are able to carry out all your wishes, you must be anxious to wish only
what is proper, make always a self-examination, to see whether what you
are doing is right or not, what conduct will cause people to love you,
and what not, in order that you may perform the one set of acts and avoid
the other. Do not admit the thought that you will sufficiently escape
the reputation of acting contrary to this rule, if only you hear no one
censuring you; and do not look for any one to be so mad as to reproach
you openly for anything. No one would do this, not even if he should be
violently wronged. Quite the reverse,--many are compelled in public to
praise their oppressors, and while engaged in opposition not to manifest
their wrath. The ruler must infer the disposition of people not from what
they say but from the way it is natural for them to feel.

[-39-] "This and a similar policy is the one I wish you to pursue. I pass
over many matters because it is not feasible to speak of them all at one
time and within present limits. One suggestion therefore I will make to
sum up both previous remarks and whatever is lacking. If you yourself by
your own motion do whatever you would wish some one else who ruled you
to do, you will make no mistakes and will be always successful, and
consequently your life will be most pleasant and free from danger. How
can all fail to regard you and to love you as father and preserver, when
they see you are orderly, leading a good life, good at warfare, but a man
of peace: when you are not wanton, do not defraud: when you meet them
on a footing of equality, and do not yourself grow rich while demanding
money from others: are not yourself given to luxury while imposing
hardships upon others: are not yourself unbridled while reproving others:
when, instead, your life in every way without exception is precisely
like theirs? Be of good cheer, for you have in your own hands a great
safeguard by never wronging another. And believe me when I tell you that
you will never be the object of hatred or plots. Since this is so, you
must quite inevitably lead a pleasant life. What is pleasanter, what is
more conducive to prosperity, than to enjoy in a rightful way all the
blessings among men and to have the power of granting them to others?

[-40-] "With this in mind, together with all the rest that I have told
you, heed my advice and let not that fortune slip which has chosen you
out of all and set you at the head of all. If you would choose the
substance of monarch but fear the name of 'kingdom' as accursed, then
refrain from taking possession of the latter and be satisfied to employ
merely the title of 'Cæsar.' If you need any further appellations, they
will give you that of _Imperator_, as they gave it to your father. They
will reverence you also by still another name, so that you may obtain all
the advantages of a kingdom without the disfavor that attaches to the
term itself."

[-41-] Mæcenas thus brought his speech to an end. Cæsar thanked them both
heartily for their many ideas, the exhaustiveness of their exposition,
and their frankness. He rather inclined, however, to the proposition of
Mæcenas. Yet he did not immediately put into practice all of the other's
suggestions, for fear that he might meet with some setback if he wanted
to reform men in multitudes. So he made some changes for the better at
once and others later. He left some things also for those who should
come to the head of the State afterward to do, as might be found more
opportune in the progress of time. Agrippa coöperated with him in all his
projects quite zealously, in spite of having stated a contrary opinion,
just as if he had been the one to propose the plan. Cæsar did this and
what I have recorded earlier in the narrative in that year when he was
consul for the seventh time, and added the title of _Imperator_. I do not
refer to the title anciently granted some persons for victories,--this he
received many times before and many times later for his deeds themselves,
so that he had the name of imperator twenty-one times,--but to the other
one which signifies supreme power, just as they had voted to his father
Cæsar and to the children and descendants of the same.

[-42-] After this he entered upon a censorship with Agrippa and besides
setting aright some other business he investigated the senate. Many
knights and many foot-soldiers, too, who did not deserve it were in the
senate as a result of the civil wars, so that the total of that body
amounted to a thousand. These he wished to remove, but did not himself
erase any of their names, urging them to become their own judges out of
the consciousness of their family and their life. So first he persuaded
fifty of them to retire voluntarily from the assemblage and then
compelled one hundred and forty others to imitate their example. He
disenfranchised none of them, but posted the names of the second
division. In the case of the first, because they had not delayed but had
straightway obeyed him, he remitted the reproach and their identity was
not made public. These accordingly returned willingly to private life. He
ousted Quintus Statilius, very much against the latter's will, from the
tribuneship to which he had been appointed. Some others he made senators,
and he counted among the ex-consuls two men of the senatorial class,--a
certain Cluvius and Gaius Furnius,--because they had been appointed
first, though certain others had taken possession of their offices
so that they were unable to become consuls. He added to the class of
patricians, the senate allowing him to do this because most of its
members had perished. No element is exhausted so fast in civil wars as
the nobility or is deemed to be so necessary for the continuance of
ancestral customs. In addition to the above measures he forbade all
persons in the senate to go outside of Italy, unless he himself should
order or permit any one of them to do so. This custom is still kept up at
the present day. Except that he may visit Sicily and Gallia Narbonensis
no senator is allowed to go anywhere out of the country. As these regions
are close at hand and the population is unarmed and peaceful, those who
have any possessions there have been granted the right to take trips to
them as often as they like, without asking leave.--Since also he saw that
many of the senators and of the others who had been devoted to Antony
still maintained an attitude of suspicion toward him, and as he was
afraid they might cause some uprising, he announced that all the letters
found in his rival's chest had been burned. Some of them as a matter of
fact had perished, but the majority of them he took pains to preserve and
did not even hesitate to use them later.

[-43-] Besides these acts related he also settled Carthage anew, because
Lepidus had laid waste a part of it and for that reason he maintained
that the colonists' rights of settlement had been abrogated. He summoned
Antiochus of Commagene to appear before him because this prince had
treacherously slain an envoy despatched to Rome by his brother, who was
at variance with him. Cæsar brought him before the senate, where he was
condemned and the sentence of death imposed. Capreæ was also obtained
from the Neapolitans, to whom it had anciently belonged, in exchange for
other land. It lies not far from the mainland opposite Surrentum and is
good for nothing but has a name even now on account of Tiberius's sojourn
there.--These were the events of that period.


[Footnote 1: Reading [Greek: anagchastae] (Boissevain)]

[Footnote 2: The same Strabo who is mentioned in the early part of
chapter 28, Book Forty-four.]

[Footnote 3: There is a gap here in the Greek text. The conclusion of
Agrippa'a speech is missing, as is also the earlier portion of Mæcenas's,
with some brief preface thereto. In the next chapter we are full in the
midst of the opposite argument,--in favor, namely, of the assumption of
supreme power by Octavius Cæsar.]

[Footnote 4: Cobet prefers to read "fearlessly" (substituting [Greek:
hadeos] for [Greek: aedeos]).]

[Footnote 5: Dio seems here to be imitating, in his phraseology,
Thukydides (VII, 25). The proper reading is [Greek: peri herma] (two
words), not [Greek: perierma] as in some of the MSS.]

[Footnote 6: Dindorf's reading (Greek: _gunaichon te ton prosaechouson
autois_).]

[Footnote 7: Compare Suetonius, _Augustus_, chapter 37. In practice there
were six of them,--three to nominate senators, and three to make a review
of the knights.]

[Footnote 8: Here some words have evidently fallen out of the text.]

[Footnote 9: Reading [Greek: hapo] with Dindorf.]

[Footnote 10: Reading [Greek: archousi] (MSS. and Boissevain) instead of
[Greek: archomenois] (Xylander).]

[Footnote 11: Adopting Boissevain's reading (Greek: diagein estai).]

[Footnote 12: A reference particularly to the ludi Capitolini, founded by
Domitian.]

[Footnote 13: Latin, _præfectus annonæ_.]

[Footnote 14: Latin, _præfectus vigilum_.]



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

53

The following is contained in the Fifty-third of Dio's Rome:

How the temple of Apollo on the Palatine was consecrated (chapters 1, 2).

How Cæsar delivered in the senate a speech as if retiring from the
sovereignty; and thereafter assigned to that body its proper provinces
(chapters 3-12).

About the appointment of the governors sent to the provinces (chapters
13-15).

How Cæsar was given the title of Augustus (chapter 16).

About the names which the emperors assume (chapters 17-22).

How the Sæpta were consecrated (chapters 23, 24).

How Cæsar fought against Astures and Cantabri (chapter 25).

How Gaul began to be governed Romans (chapter 26).

How the Portico of Neptune and the Baths of Agrippa were dedicated
(chapter 27).

How the Pantheon was dedicated (chapter 27).

How Augustus was released from the obligation of obeying the laws
(chapter 28).

How an expedition was made into Arabia Felix (chapters 29-33).

Duration of time six years, in which there were the following magistrates
here enumerated.

Cæsar (VI), M. Vipsanius L.F. Agrippa (II). (B.C. 28 = a. u. 726.)

Cæsar (VII), M. Vipsanius L.F. Agrippa (III). (B.C. 27 = a. u. 727.)

Cæsar Augustus (VIII), T. Statilius T.F. Taurus (II). (B.C. 26 = a. u.
728.)

Augustus (IX), M. lunius M.F. Silanus. (B.C. 25 = a. u. 729.)

Augustus (X), C. Norbanus C.F.C.N. Flaccus. (B.C. 24 = a. u. 730.)

Augustus (XI), Cn. Calpurnius Cn.F.Cn.N. Piso. (B.C. 23 = a. u. 731.)


_(BOOK 53, BOISSEVAIN.)_

[B.C. 28 (_a. u._ 726)]

[-1-] The following year Cæsar held office for the sixth time and did
everything according to the usage approved from very early times,
delivering to Agrippa his colleague the bundles of rods which belonged
to an incumbent of the consulship, while he himself used the others. On
completing his term he had the oath administered according to ancestral
custom. Whether he ever did this again I do not know. Agrippa he honored
exceedingly, even going so far as to give him his niece in marriage and
to provide him with a tent similar to his own whenever they went on a
campaign together; and the watchword was given by both of them. At that
particular time besides attending to the ordinary run of business he
finished the taking of the census, in which he was called _Princeps
Senatus_, as had been deemed proper under the real democracy. He further
completed and dedicated the temple of Apollo on the Palatine, the
precinct surrounding it, and the stores of books. And he celebrated in
company with Agrippa the festival in honor of the victory won at Actium,
which had been voted: in it he had the horse-race between boys and
between men of the nobility. This celebration every five years, as long
as it lasted, was in charge of the four priesthoods in succession,--I
mean the pontifices and augurs and the so-called septemviri and
quindecimviri. A gymnastic contest was also held at that time,--a wooden
stadium being built in the Campus Martius,--and there was an armed combat
of captives. This continued for several days without a break, in spite of
Cæsar's falling sick; for even so Agrippa filled his place.

[-2-] Cæsar spent some of his private means upon the festivals, and when
money was needed for the public treasury he borrowed it and supplied the
want. For the management of this branch of the service he ordered two
annual magistrates to be chosen from among the ex-prætors. To the
populace he distributed a quadruple allowance of grain and made a present
of money to some of the senators. For many of them had grown so poor as
not to be willing to be even ædile on account of the great expenses.
Moreover the courts which belonged to the ædileship were to be assigned
to the prætors as had been the custom, the more important to the prætor
urbanus and the others to the prætor peregrinus. Again, he himself
appointed the prætor urbanus, as he often did subsequently. The pledges
deposited with the public treasury before the battle of Actium he
released, save any that involved house property, and burned the old
acknowledgments of those who owed the State anything. Egyptian rites
he did not admit within the pomerium, but paid great attention to
the temples of Egyptian deities. Such as had been built by private
individuals he ordered their children and descendants, if any survived,
to repair, and the rest he restored himself. He did not, however,
appropriate the credit for their building but allowed it to rest with
those who had originally constructed them. And since very many unlawful
and unjust ordinances had been passed during the internecine strifes and
in the wars, and particularly in the dual reign of Antony and Lepidus, he
abolished them all by one promulgation, setting his sixth consulship as
the limit of their existence. As he obtained approbation and praise for
this act he desired to exhibit another instance of magnanimity, that by
such a policy he might be honored the more and that his supremacy might
be voluntarily confirmed by the people, which would enable him to
avoid the appearance of having forced them against their will. As a
consequence, after apprising those senators with whom he was most
intimate of his designs, he entered the senatorial body in his seventh
consulship and read the following document.

[B.C. 27 (_a. u._ 727)]

[-3-] "I am sure that I shall seem to some of you, Conscript Fathers, to
have made an incredible choice. For what each one of my hearers would not
wish to do himself, he does not like to believe when another states it as
accomplished. This is chiefly because every one is jealous of every one
who surpasses him and is more or less inclined to distrust anything said
that is higher than his own standard.[1] Moreover I know this, that those
who make apparently untrustworthy statements not only persuade nobody but
further have the appearance of cheats. And, indeed, if it were a case of
announcing something that I was not intending to do immediately, I should
hesitate very much about making it public, for fear of obtaining some
unworthy charge against me instead of gratitude. But, as it is, when
the performance will follow the promise this very day, I feel entirely
confident not only of avoiding any shame for prevarication but of
surpassing all mankind in good repute. [-4-] You all see that I am so
situated that I could rule you perpetually. All the revolutionists either
have been disciplined and been made to halt or have had pity shown them
and so have come to their senses. My helpers have been made devoted by
a recompense of benefits and steadfast by a participation in the
government: therefore they do not desire any political innovations, and
if anything of the sort should take place, the men to assist me are even
more ready for it than the instigators of rebellion. My military is in
prime condition, we have good-will, strength, money, and allies, and
chiefest of all you and the people are so disposed toward me that you
would be quite willing to have me at your head. However, I will lead you
no longer, nor shall any one say that all the acts of my previous career
have been with the object of sole rulership. I give up the entire domain,
and I restore to you absolutely everything,--the arms, the laws, and the
provinces,--not only all those which you committed to me but also all
that I myself subsequently acquired for you. Thus by my deeds themselves
you may ascertain that I did not from the outset desire any position of
power, but wished in very truth to avenge my father cruelly murdered and
to extricate the city from great and continuous evils. [-5-] I would that
I had never taken charge of affairs even to the present extent. That is,
I would that the city had never needed me for any such purpose, but that
we of this age had from the outset lived in peace and harmony as our
fathers once did. But since an inflexible fate, as it seems, brought you
to a place where there was need even of me, though I was still young,
and I was put to the test, I was always ready to labor zealously at
everything even beyond what was expected of my years, so long as the
situation demanded my help, and I accomplished everything with good
fortune, even surpassing my powers. There was not one consideration out
of all that might be cited which could turn me from aiding you when you
were in danger, not toil or fear or threats of foes or prayers of friends
or the numbers of the confederates or the desperation of our adversaries.
I gave myself to you unsparingly for all the tasks that fell to our
lot, and my performances and sufferings you know. From it I myself have
derived no gain except that I caused my country to survive, but you are
both preserved and in your sober senses. Since, then, the gracious act
of Fortune has restored to you by my hands peace without treachery and
harmony without turmoil, receive back also liberty and democracy.
Take possession of the arms and the subject nations, and conduct the
government as has been your wont.

[-6-] "You should not be surprised at my attitude when you see my right
conduct in other ways, my mildness and freedom from meddling, and reflect
moreover that I have never accepted any extraordinary privilege, beyond
what the majority might gain, though you have often voted many of them to
me. Do not, again, condemn me for folly because, when it is in my power
to rule over you and hold so great a sovereignty over this great world, I
am unwilling. Examining the merits of the situation I deem it most just
for you to manage your own affairs: examining the advantages, I regard it
as most advantageous to myself to be free from trouble, from jealousy,
from plots, and for you to conduct a free government with moderation and
love: examining where the glory lies (for the sake of which men often
choose to enter war and danger), will it not add most to my reputation
to resign so great a dominion? Will it not be most glorious to leave so
exalted a sovereignty and voluntarily become a plain citizen? So if any
one of you doubts that any one else could show true moderation in this
and bring himself to speak out, let him at all events believe me. For,
though I could recite many great benefits which have been conferred upon
you by me and by my father for which you would naturally love and honor
us above all the rest, I could say nothing greater and I should take
pride in nothing else more than this, that he would not accept the
monarchy which you strove to give him, and that I, holding it, lay it
aside.

[-7-] "What need to set side by side his separate exploits,--the conquest
of Gaul, the subduing of Moesia, the subjugation of Egypt, the enslaving
of Pannonia? Or again Pharnaces, Juba, Phraates, the campaign against
the Britons, the crossing of the Rhine? Yet these are greater and more
important deeds than all our forefathers performed in all previous time.
Still, any of these accomplishments scarcely deserves a place beside my
present act, nor yet, indeed, does the fact that the civil wars, the
greatest and most diverse that have occurred in the history of man, we
fought to a successful finish, and that we made humane terms, overcoming
all who withstood us, as enemies, and saving alive all who yielded, as
friends; (so that if our city should ever again be fated to suffer from
disaffection, we might pray that the quarrel should follow this same
course). For that in spite of our possessing such great power and
standing at the summit of excellence and good fortune so that we might
govern you willing or unwilling, we should neither lose our heads nor
desire sole supremacy, but that instead he should reject it when offered
and I return it when given is a superhuman achievement. I speak in this
way not for idle boasting,--I should not have said it at all if I were
to derive any advantage whatever from it,--but in order that you may see
that whereas there are many public benefits to our credit and we have
in private many lofty titles, we take greatest pride in this, that what
others desire to gain even by doing violence to their neighbors we
surrender without any compulsion.

[-8-] Who could be found more magnanimous than I (not to mention again
my father deceased) or whose conduct more godlike? With so many fine
soldiers at my back and citizens and allies (O Jupiter and Hercules!),
that love me, supreme over the entire sea within the Pillars of Hercules
except a very few tribes, possessing both cities and provinces on all the
continents, at a time when there is no longer any foreign enemy opposing
me and there is no disturbance at home, but you all are at peace,
harmonious and strong, and greatest of all are willingly obedient,--under
such conditions I voluntarily, of my own motion, resign so great a
dominion and alienate so vast a property. For if Horatius, Mucius,
Curtius, Regulus, the Decii wished to encounter danger and death with the
object of seeming to have done a great and noble deed, why should I not
even more desire to do this as a result of which I shall while alive
excel both them and all the rest of mankind in glory? No one of you
should think that whereas the ancient Romans pursued excellence and good
repute, all manliness has now become extinct in the city. Again, do not
entertain a suspicion that I wish to betray you and confide you to any
base fellows or expose you to mob rule, from which nothing good but all
the most terrible evils always result to mankind. Upon you, upon you, the
most excellent and prudent, I lay all public interests. The other course
I should never have followed, had it been necessary for me to die or even
to become monarch ten thousand times. This policy I adopt for my own
good and for that of the city. I myself have undergone both labors
and hardships and I can no longer hold out either in mind or in body.
Furthermore I foresee the jealousy and hatred which rises in the breasts
of some against the best men, and the plots which result from those
feelings; and for that reason I choose rather to be a private citizen
with glory than to be a monarch in danger. And the public business would
be managed much better if carried on publicly and by many people at once
than if it were dependent upon any one man.

[-9-] "For these reasons, then, I supplicate and beseech all of you both
to commend my course and to coöperate heartily with me, reflecting upon
all that I have done for you in war and in government. You will be paying
me all the thanks due for it by allowing me now at last to lead a life of
quiet. Thus you will come to know that I understand not only how to rule
but to be ruled, and that all commands which I have laid upon others I
can endure to have laid upon me. I must surely expect to live in security
and to suffer no harm from any one by either deed or word, such is the
confidence (based upon the consciousness of my own rectitude) that I have
in your good-will. I may of course meet with some catastrophe, as happens
to many; for it is not possible for a man to please everybody, especially
when he has been involved in so great wars, some foreign and some civil,
and has had affairs of such magnitude entrusted to him: yet even so, I
am quite ready to choose to die as a private citizen before my appointed
time rather than to become immortal as a sole ruler. That very
circumstance will bring me fame,--that I not only murdered no one in
order to hold possession of the sovereignty but even died untimely in
order to avoid becoming monarch. The man who has dared to slay me will
certainly be punished by Heaven and by you, as took place in the case
of my father. He was declared to be equal to a god and obtained eternal
honors, whereas those who slew him perished, the evil men, in evil
plight. We could not become deathless, yet by living well and by dying
well we do in a sense gain this boon. Therefore I, who possess the first
requisite and hope to possess the second, return to you the arms and the
provinces, the revenues and the laws. I make only this final suggestion,
that you be not disheartened through fear of the magnitude of affairs or
the difficulty of handling them, nor neglect them in disdain, with the
idea that they can be easily managed.

[-10-] "I have, indeed, no objection to suggesting to you in a summary
way what ought to be done in each of the leading categories. And what
are these suggestions? First, guard vigilantly the established laws and
change none of them. What remains fixed, though it be inferior, is more
advantageous than what is always subject to innovations, even though it
seem to be superior. Next, whatever injunctions these laws lay upon you
be careful to perform, and to refrain from whatever they forbid, and do
this scrupulously not only in word but also in deed, not only in public
but in private, that you may obtain not penalties but honors. The offices
both of peace and of war you should entrust to those who are each time
the most excellent and sensible, without jealousy of any persons, and
entering into rivalry not that this man or that man may reap some
advantage but that the city may be preserved and prosperous. Such men you
must honor but chastise those who show any different spirit in politics.
Make your private means public property of the city, and keep your hands
off public money as you would off your neighbors' goods. Keep careful
watch over what belongs to you but be not eager for that upon which you
can have no claim. Treat the allies and subject nations with neither
insolence nor rapacity, and neither wrong nor fear the enemy. Have your
arms always in hand, but do not use them against one another nor against
a peaceful population. Give the soldiers a sufficient support, so that
they may not on account of want desire anything which belongs to others.
Keep them together and discipline them, to prevent their doing any damage
through audacity.

"But why need I make a long story by going into everything which it is
your duty to do? You may easily understand from this how the remaining
business must be conducted. I will close with this one remark. If you
conduct the government in this way, you will enjoy prosperity yourselves
and you will gratify me, who found you in the midst of wretched dishonor
and have rendered you such as you are. If you prove impotent to carry out
any single branch as you should, you will cause me regret and you will
cast the city again into many wars and great dangers."

[-11-] While Cæsar was engaged in setting his decision before them, a
varied feeling took possession of the senators. A few of them knew his
real intention and as a result they kept applauding him enthusiastically.
Of the rest some were suspicious of what was said and others believed
in it, and therefore both marveled equally, the one class at his great
artifice and the other at the determination that he had reached. One side
was displeased at his involved scheming and the other at his change
of mind. For already there were some who detested the democratic
constitution as a breeder of factional difficulties, were pleased at the
change of government, and took delight in Cæsar. Consequently, though
the announcement affected different persons differently, their views in
regard to it were in each case the same. As for those who believed his
sentiments to be genuine, any who wished it could not rejoice because of
fear, nor the others lament because of hopes. And as many as disbelieved
it did not venture to accuse him and confute him, some because they were
afraid and others because they did not care to do so. Hence they all
either were compelled or pretended to believe him. As for praising him,
some did not have the courage and others were unwilling. Even in the
midst of his reading there were frequent shouts and afterward many more.
The senators begged that a monarchy be established, and directed all
their remarks to that end until (naturally) they forced him to assume the
reins of government. At once they saw to it that twice as much pay was
voted to the men who were to compose his body-guard as to the rest of the
soldiers, that this might incite the men to keep a careful watch of him.
Then he began to show a real interest in setting up a monarchy.

[-12-] In this way he had his headship ratified by the senate and the
people. As he wished even so to appear to be democratic in principle,
he accepted all the care and superintendence of public business on the
ground that it required expert attention, but said that he should not
personally govern all the provinces and those that he did govern he
should not keep in his charge perpetually. The weaker ones, because
(as he said) they were peaceful and free from war, he gave over to the
senate. But the more powerful he held in possession because they were
slippery and dangerous and either had enemies in adjoining territory or
on their own account were able to cause a great uprising. His pretext was
that the senate should fearlessly gather the fruits of the finest portion
of the empire, while he himself had the labors and dangers: his real
purpose was that by this plan the senators be unarmed and unprepared for
battle, while he alone had arms and kept soldiers. Africa and Numidia,
Asia and Greece with Epirus, the Dalmatian and Macedonian territories,
Sicily, Crete, and Libya adjacent to Cyrene, Bithynia with the adjoining
Pontus, Sardinia and Baetica, were consequently held to belong to
the people and the senate. Cæsar's were--the remainder of Spain, the
neighborhood of Tarraco and Lusitania, all Gauls (the Narbonensian and
the Lugdunensian, the Aquitani and the Belgæ), both themselves and the
aliens among them. Some of the Celtae whom we call Germani had occupied
all the Belgic territory near the Rhine and caused it to be called
Germania, the upper part extending to the sources of the river and the
lower part reaching to the Ocean of Britain. These provinces, then,
and the so-called Hollow Syria, Phoenicia and Cilicia, Cyprus and the
Egyptians, fell at that time to Cæsar's share. Later he gave Cyprus and
Gaul adjacent to Narbo back to the people, and he himself took Dalmatia
instead. This was also done subsequently in the case of other provinces,
as the progress of my narrative will show. I have enumerated these in
such detail because now each one of them is ruled separately, whereas in
old times and for a long period the provinces were governed two and three
together. The others I have not mentioned because some of them were
acquired later, and the rest, even if they had been already subdued, were
not being governed by the Romans, but either were left to enjoy their own
laws or had been turned over to some kingdom or other. All of them that
after this came into the Roman empire were attached to the possessions
of the man temporarily in power.--This, then, was the division of the
provinces.

[-13-] Wishing to lead the Romans still further away from the idea
that he looked upon himself as absolute monarch, Cæsar undertook the
government of the regions given him for ten years. In the course of this
time he promised to reduce them to quiet and he carried his playfulness
to the point of saying that if they should be sooner pacified, he would
deliver them sooner to the senate. Thereupon he first appointed the
senators themselves to govern both classes of provinces except Egypt.
This land alone, for the reasons mentioned, he assigned to the knight
previously named.[2] Next he ordained that the rulers of senatorial
provinces should be annual magistrates, elected by lot, unless any one
had the special privilege accorded to a large number of children or
marriage. They were to be sent out by the assembly of the senate as a
body, with no sword at their side nor wearing the military garb. The name
proconsul was to belong not only to the two ex-consuls but also to
the rest who had served as prætors or who at least held the rank of
ex-prætors. Both classes were to employ as many lictors as were usual in
the capital. He ordered further that they were to put on the insignia of
their office immediately on leaving the pomerium and were to wear them
continually until they should return. The heads of imperial provinces, on
the other hand, were to be chosen by himself and be his agents, and they
were to be named proprætors even if they were from the ranks of the
ex-consuls. Of these two names which had been extremely common under the
democracy he gave that of prætor to the class chosen by him because
from very early times war had been their care, and he called them also
proprætors: the name of consul he gave to the others, because their
duties were more peaceful, and called them in addition proconsuls. These
particular names of prætor and consul he continued in Italy, and spoke of
all officials outside as governing as their representatives. He caused
the class of his own choosing to employ the title of proprætor and to
hold office for as much longer than a year as should please him, wearing
the military costume and having a sword with which they are empowered to
punish soldiers. No one else, proconsul or proprætor or procurator, who
is not empowered to kill a soldier, has been given the privilege of
wearing a sword. It is permitted not only to senators but also to knights
who have this function. This is the condition of the case.--All the
proprætors alike employ six lictors: as many of them as do not belong to
the number of ex-consuls are named from this very number.[3] Both classes
alike assume the decorations of their position of authority when they
enter their appointed district and lay them aside immediately upon
finishing their term.

[-14-] It is thus and on these conditions that governors from among the
ex-prætors and ex-consuls have been customarily sent to both kinds
of provinces. The emperor would send one of them on his mission
whithersoever and whenever he wished. Many while acting as prætors and
consuls secured the presidency of provinces, as sometimes happens at the
present day. In the case of the senate he privately gave Africa and Asia
to the ex-consuls and all the other districts to the ex-prætors. He
publicly forbade all the senators to cast lots for anybody until five
years after such a candidate had held office in the City. For a short
time all persons that fulfilled these requirements, even if they were
more numerous than the provinces, drew lots for them. Later, as some
of them did not govern well, this I appointment, too, reverted to the
emperor. Thus they also in a sense receive their position from him, and
he ordains that only a number equal to the number of provinces shall draw
lots, and that they shall be whatever men he pleases. Some emperors have
sent men of their own choosing there also, and have allowed certain of
them to hold office for more than a year: some have assigned certain
provinces to knights instead of to senators.

These were the customs thus established at that time in regard to those
senators that were authorized to execute the death penalty upon their
subjects. Some who have not this authority are sent out to the provinces
called "provinces of the senate and the people",--namely, such quæstors
as the lot may designate and men who are co-assessors with those who hold
the actual authority. This would be the correct way to speak of these
associates, with reference not to the ordinary name but to their duties:
others call these also _presbeutai_, using the Greek term; about this
title enough has been said in the foregoing narrative. Each separate
official chooses his own assessors, the exprætors selecting one from
either their peers or their inferiors, and the ex-consuls three from
among those of equal rank, subject to the approval of the emperor.

There were certain innovations made also in regard to these men, but
since they soon lapsed this is sufficient to say here.

[-15-] This is the method followed in regard to the provinces of the
people. To the others, called provinces of the emperor, which have more
than one citizenlegion, lieutenants are sent chosen by the ruler himself,
generally from the ex-prætors but in some instances already from the
ex-quæstors or those who had held some office between the two. Those
positions, then, appertain to the senators.

From among the knights the emperor himself despatches, some to the
citizen posts alone but others to foreign places (according to the
custom then instituted by [the same] Cæsar), the military tribunes, the
prospective senators and the remainder, concerning whose difference in
rank I have previously spoken in the narrative.[4] The procurators (a
name that we give to the men who collect the public revenues and spend
what is ordered) he sends to all the provinces alike, his own and the
people's, and some of these officers belong to the knights, others to the
freedmen. By way of exception the proconsuls levy the tribute upon
the people they govern. The emperor gives certain injunctions to the
procurators, the proconsuls, and the proprætors, in order that they may
proceed to their place of office on fixed conditions. Both this practice
and the giving of salary to them and to the remaining employees of the
government were made the custom at this period. In old times some by
contracting for work to be paid for from the public treasury furnished
themselves with everything needed for their office. It was only in the
days of Cæsar that these particular persons began to receive something
definite. This salary was not assigned to all of them in equal amounts,
but as need demands. The procurators get their very name, a dignified
one, from the amount of money given into their charge. The following laws
were laid down for all alike,--that they should not make up lists for
service or levy money beyond the amount appointed, unless the senate
should so vote or the emperor so order: also that when their successors
should arrive, they were immediately to leave the province and not to
delay on their return, but to be back within three months.

[-16-] These matters were so ordained at that time,--or, at least, one
might say so. In reality Cæsar himself was destined to hold absolute
control of all of them for all time, because he commanded the soldiers
and was master of the money; nominally the public funds had been
separated from his own, but in fact he spent the former also as he saw
fit.

When his decade had come to an end, there was voted him another five
years, then five more, after that ten, and again another ten, and a like
number the fifth time,[5] so that by a succession of ten-year periods he
continued monarch for life. Consequently the subsequent emperors, though
no longer appointed for a specified period but for their whole life at
once, nevertheless have been wont to hold a festival every ten years as
if then renewing their sovereignty once more: this is done even at the
present day.

Cæsar had received many honors previously, when the matter of declining
the sovereignty and that regarding the division of the provinces were
under discussion. For the right to fasten the laurel in front of his
royal residence and to hang the oak-leaf crown above the doors was then
voted him to symbolize the fact that he was always victorious over
enemies and preserved the citizens. The royal building is called
Palatium, not because it was ever decreed that that should be its name,
but because Cæsar dwelt on the Palatine and had his headquarters there;
and his house secured some renown from the mount as a whole by reason
of the former habitation of Romulus there. Hence, even if the emperor
resides somewhere else, his dwelling retains the name of Palatium.

When he had really completed the details of administration, the name
Augustus was finally applied to him by the senate and by the people. They
wanted to call him by some name of their own, and some proposed this,
while others chose that. Cæsar was exceedingly anxious to be called
Romulus, but when he perceived that this caused him to be suspected of
desiring the kingship, he no longer insisted on it but took the title of
Augustus, signifying that he was more than human. All most precious and
sacred objects are termed _augusta_. Therefore they saluted him also
in Greek as _sebastós_, meaning an _august_ person, from the verb
_sebazesthai_. [-17-] In this way all the power of the people and that of
the senate reverted to Augustus, and from his time there was a genuine
monarchy. Monarchy would be the truest name for it, no matter how much
two and three hold the power together. This name of monarch the Romans so
detested that they called their emperors neither dictators nor kings nor
anything of the sort. Yet since the management of the government devolves
upon them, it can not but be that they are kings. The offices that
commonly enjoy some legal sanction are even now maintained, except that
of censor. Still, everything is directed and carried out precisely as the
emperor at the time may wish. In order that they may appear to hold this
power not through force, but according to law, the rulers have taken
possession,--names and all,--of every position (save the dictatorship)
which under the democracy was of mighty influence among the citizens who
bestowed the power. They very frequently become consuls and are always
called proconsuls whenever they are outside the pomerium. The title of
imperator is invariably given not only to such as win victories but to
all the rest, to indicate the complete independence of their authority,
instead of the name "king" or "dictator." These particular names they
have never assumed since the terms first fell out of use in the Senate,
but they are confirmed in the prerogatives of these positions by the
appellation of imperator. By virtue of the titles mentioned they get the
right to make enrollments, to collect moneys, declare wars make peace,
rule foreign and native territory alike everywhere and always, even to
the extent of putting to death both knights and senators within the
pomerium, and all the other privileges once granted to the consuls and
other officials with full powers. By virtue of the office of censor they
investigate our lives and characters and take the census. Some they list
in the equestrian and senatorial class and others they erase from
the roll, as pleases them. By virtue of being consecrated in all the
priesthoods and furthermore having the right to give the majority of them
to others and from the fact that _one_ of the high priests (if there be
two or three holding office at once) is chosen from their number, they
are themselves also masters of holy and sacred things. The so-called
tribunician authority which the men of very greatest attainment used to
hold gives them the right to stop any measure brought up by some one
else, in case they do not join in approving it, and to be free from
personal abuse. Moreover if they are thought to be wronged in even the
slightest degree not merely by action but even by conversation they may
destroy the guilty party without a trial as one polluted. They do not
think it lawful to be tribune, because they belong altogether to the
patrician class, but they assume all the power of the tribuneship
undiminished from the period of its greatest extent; and thereby the
enumeration of the years they have held the office in question goes
forward on the assumption that they receive it year by year along with
the others who are successively tribunes. Thus by these names they have
secured these privileges in accordance with all the various usages of the
democracy, in order that they may appear to possess nothing that has not
been given them.

[-18-] They have gained also another prerogative which was given to none
of the ancient Romans outright to apply to all cases, and it is through
this alone that it would be possible for them to hold the above offices
and any others besides. They are freed from the action of the laws, as
the very words in Latin indicate. That is, they are liberated from every
consideration of compulsion and are subjected to none of the written
ordinances. So by virtue of these democratic names they are clothed in
all the strength of the government and have all that appertains to kings
except the vulgar title. "Cæsar" or "Augustus" as a mode of address
confers upon them no distinct privilege of its own but shows in the one
case the continuance of their family and in the other the brilliance and
dignity of their position. The salutation "father" perhaps gives them a
certain authority over us which fathers once had over their children. It
was not used, however, for this purpose in the beginning, but for their
honor, and to admonish them to love their subjects as they would their
children, while the subjects were to respect them as they respect their
fathers.

Such is the number and quality of the titles to which those in power
are accustomed according to the and according to what has now become
tradition. At present all of them are, as a rule, bestowed upon the
rulers at once, except the title of censor: to the earlier emperors they
were voted separately and from time to time. Some of the emperors took
the censorship in accordance with ancient custom and Domitian took it for
life. This is, however, no longer done at the present day. They possess
its powers and are not chosen for it and do not employ its name except in
the censuses.

[-19-] Thus was the constitution made over at that time for the better
and in a way to provide greater security. It was doubtless absolutely
impossible for the people to be preserved under a democracy. Events after
this, however, can not be said to be similar to those preceding this
period. Formerly everything was referred to the senate and the people
even if it occurred at a distance; hence all learned of it and many
recorded it. Consequently the truth of happenings, no matter with how
much fear and gratitude and friendship and enmity toward any one they
were related, has been found at least In the works of those who wrote of
them and to a certain extent also in the public records. But after this
time business began to be transacted more often with concealment and
secrecy. Nowadays, even if anything is made public, it is distrusted
because it can not be proved. It is suspected that all speeches and acts
are to meet the wishes of the men at the time in power and of their
associates. As a result much that never occurs is noised abroad and
much that really happens is unknown. Nearly everything is reported in a
different form from what really takes place. Yet the magnitude of the
empire and the number of events render accuracy in regard to them most
difficult. In Rome there are many operations going on, and so in its
subject territory, as well as against hostile tribes, always and every
day, so to speak, clear information about which no one can easily get
except those actively concerned. There are great numbers who do not hear
at all of what has taken place. Hence all that follows which will require
mention I shall narrate as it has been published, whether it is so in
truth or is really somewhat different. In addition, however, my own
opinion so far as possible will be stated in matters where I have been
able to deduce something else than the common report from the many things
I have read or heard or seen.

[-20-] Cæsar, as I have said, received the further designation of
Augustus, and a sign of no little moment in regard to him occurred that
very night. The Tiber overflowed and occupied all of Rome that was built
in the plain country so that it was submerged. From this the soothsayers
inferred that he would rise to great heights and keep the whole city
subservient. While different persons were rivals to show him excessive
honors, one Sextus Pacuvius, or, as others say, Apudius[6] surpassed them
all. In the open senate he consecrated himself to him after the fashion
of the Spaniards and advised the rest to do the same. When Augustus
hindered him he rushed out to the crowd standing near by, and (as he was
tribune) compelled them and next all the rest who were wandering about
through the streets and lanes to consecrate themselves; to Augustus. From
this episode we are wont even now to say in appeals to the sovereign
"we have consecrated ourselves to you." Pacuvius ordered all to offer
sacrifice for this occurrence and before the people he once said he
should make Augustus his inheritor on equal terms with his son. This was
not because he possessed anything much, but because he wished to get
more. And his desire was accomplished.

[-21-] Augustus attended with considerable zeal to all the business of
the empire to make it appear that he had received it in accordance with
the wishes of all, and he also enacted many laws. (I need not go into
each one of them in detail except those which have a bearing upon my
history. This same course I shall follow in the case of later events, in
order not to become wearisome by introducing all such matters as not even
those who specialize on them most narrowly know with accuracy.) Not all
of these laws were enacted on his sole responsibility: some of them he
brought before the public in advance, in order that, if any featured
caused displeasure, he might learn it in time and correct them. He urged
that any one at all give him advice, if any one could think of anything
better. He accorded them full liberty of speech and some provisions he
actually did alter. Most important of all, he took as advisers for six
months the consuls or the consul (when he himself also held the office),
one of each of the other kinds of officials, and fifteen men chosen
by lot from the remainder of the senatorial body. Through them he was
accustomed to a certain extent to communicate to all the rest the
provisions of his laws. Some features he brought before the entire
senate. He deemed it better, however, to consider most of the laws and
the greater ones in company with a few persons at leisure, and acted
accordingly. Sometimes he tried cases with their assistance. The entire
senate by itself sat in judgment as formerly and transacted business with
occasional groups of envoys and heralds from both peoples and kings.
Furthermore the people and the plebs came together for the elections, but
nothing was done that would not please Cæsar. Some of those who were
to hold office he himself chose out and nominated and others he put,
according to ancient custom, in the power of the people and the plebs,
yet taking care that no unfit persons should be appointed, nor by
factious cliques nor by bribery. In this way he controlled the entire
empire.

[-22-] I shall relate also in detail all his acts that need mentioning,
together with the names of the consuls under whom they were performed.
In the year previously named, seeing that the roads outside the wall had
become through neglect hard to traverse, he ordered different senators to
repair different ones at their own expense. He himself attended to the
Flaminian Way, since he was going to lead an army out by that route.
This operation was finished forthwith and images of him were accordingly
erected on arches on the bridge over the Tiber and at Ariminum. The other
roads were repaired later either at public expense (for none of the
senators liked to spend money on it) or by Augustus, as one may wish to
state. I can not distinguish their treasures in spite of the fact that
Augustus coined into money some silver statues of himself made by his
friends and by certain of the tribes, purposing thereby to make it appear
that all the expenditures which he said he made were from his own means.
Therefore I have no opinion to record as to whether a ruler at any
particular time took money from the public treasury or whether he ever
gave it himself. For both of these things were often done. Why should any
one list such things as either expenditures or donations, when the people
and the emperor are constantly making both the one and the other in
common?

These were the acts of Augustus at that time. He also set out apparently
to make a campaign into Britain, but on coming to the provinces of Gaul
lingered there. For the Britons seemed likely to make terms with him
and Gallic affairs were still unsettled, as the civil wars had begun
immediately after their subjugation. He made a census of the people and
set in order their life and government.

[ B.C. 26 (_a. u. 728_)]

[-23-] From there he came to Spain and reduced that country also to
quiet. After this he became consul for the eighth time with Statilius
Taurus, and Agrippa dedicated the so-called for he had not promised to
repair any road. This edifice in the Campus Martius had been constructed
by Lepidus by the addition of porticos all about for the tribal
elections, and Agrippa adorned it with stone tablets and paintings, naming
it Julian, from Augustus. The builder incurred no jealousy for it but was
greatly honored both by Augustus himself and by all the rest of the
people. The reason is that he gave his master the most kindly, the most
distinguished, the most beneficial advice and coöperation, yet claimed
not even a small share of the consequent glory. He used the honors which
Cæsar gave not for personal gain or enjoyment but for the benefit of the
giver himself and of the public.--On the other hand Cornelius Gallus
was led to insolent behavior by honor. He talked a great deal of idle
nonsense against Augustus and was guilty of many sly reprehensible
actions. Throughout nearly all Egypt he set up images of himself and he
inscribed upon the pyramids a list of his achievements. For this he
was accused by Valerius Largus, his comrade and intimate, and was
disenfranchised by Augustus, so that he was prevented from living in the
emperor's provinces. After this took place others attacked him, and
brought many indictments against him. The senate unanimously voted that
he should be convicted in the courts, be deprived of his property, and be
exiled, that his possessions be given to Augustus, and that they should
sacrifice oxen. In overwhelming grief at this Gallus committed suicide
before the decrees took effect. [-24-] The false behavior of most men was
evidenced by this fact, that they now treated the man whom they once used
to flatter in such a way that they forced him to die by his own hand.
To Largus they showed devotion because his star was beginning to
rise,--though they were sure to vote the same measures against him, if
anything similar should ever occur in his case. Proculeius, however, felt
so toward him that on meeting him once he clapped his hand over his nose
and his mouth, thereby signifying to the bystanders that it was not safe
even to breathe in the man's presence. Another person, although unknown,
approached him with witnesses and asked if Largus recognized him. When
the one questioned said "no", he recorded his denial on a tablet, thus
making it beyond the power of the rascal to inform against a person at
least whom he had not previously known.

Thus we see that most men emulate the exploits of others, though they be
evil, instead of guarding against their fate. So also at this time there
was Marcus Egnatius Rufus, who had been an ædile: the majority of his
deeds had been good, and with his own slaves and with some others that
were hired he lent aid to the houses that took fire during his year of
office. In return he received from the people the expenses incurred in
his position and by a suspension of the law was made prætor. Elated at
these marks of favor he despised Augustus so much as to record that he
(Rufus) had delivered the City unimpaired and entire to his successor.
All the foremost men, and Augustus himself most of all, became indignant
at this. He prepared therefore to teach the upstart a lesson in the near
future not to exalt his mind above the mass of men. For the time being
he issued an edict to the ædiles to see to it that no building took fire
and, if aught of the kind did happen, to extinguish the blaze.

[-25-] In this same year also Polemon, who was king of Pontus, was
enrolled among the friends and allies of the Roman People; front seats
for the senators were provided in all the theatres of the emperor's whole
domain. Augustus, finding that the Britons would not come to terms,
wished to make an expedition into their country, but was detained by the
Salassi, who had revolted against him, and by the Cantabri and Astures,
who had been made hostile. The former dwell close under the Alps, as
has been herein stated,[7] whereas both of the latter tribes hold the
strongest region of the Pyrenees on the Spanish side and the plain which
is below it. For these reasons Augustus, now in his ninth consulship with
Marcus Silanus, sent Terentius Varro against the Salassi.

[B.C. 25 (_a. u._ 729)]

The latter invaded their territory at many points at once in order that
they might not unite and become harder to subdue, and had a very easy
time in conquering them because they attacked him only in small groups.
Having forced them to capitulate he demanded a fixed sum of money,
allowing it to be supposed that he would impose no other punishment.
After that he sent soldiers everywhere, apparently to attend to the
collection of the indemnity and arrested those of military age, whom he
sold under an agreement that none of them should be liberated within
twenty years. The best of their land was given to members of the
Pretorians and came to include a city called Augusta Prætoria.[8]
Augustus himself waged war upon the Astures and upon the Cantabri at
the same time. These refused to yield, because of confidence in their
position on the heights, and would not come to close quarters owing
to their inferior numbers and the fact that most of them were javelin
throwers, but they caused him much trouble, whenever he made any
movement, by always seizing the higher ground in advance and placing
ambuscades in depressions and in wooded spots. He found himself therefore
quite unable to cope with the difficulty, and having fallen ill from
weariness and worry retired to Tarraco, and there remained sick. Meantime
Gaius Antistius fought against them, accomplishing considerable, not
because he was a better general than Augustus, but because the barbarians
felt contempt for him and thus joined battle with the Romans and were
defeated. In this way he captured some points, and afterward Titus[9]
Carisius took Lancia, the principal fortress of the Astures, which had
been abandoned, and won to his side many towns.

[-26-] At the conclusion of this war Augustus dismissed the more aged of
his soldiers and gave them a city to settle in Lusitania,--the so-called
Augusta Emerita. For those who were still of the military age he arranged
some spectacles right among the legions, through the agency of Tiberius
and Marcellus as ædiles. To Juba he gave portions of Gætulia in return
for the prince's ancestral domain (for the majority of the inhabitants
had been enrolled as members of the Roman polity), and also the
possessions of Bocchus and Bogud. On the death of Amyntas he did not
entrust the country to the children of the deceased but made it a part of
the subject territory. Thus Gaul together with Lycaonia obtained a Roman
governor. The regions of Pamphylia formerly assigned to Amyntas were
restored to their own district.--About this same time Marcus Vinicius
in making reprisals against the Celtæ, because they had arrested and
destroyed Romans who had entered their country to have friendly dealings
with them, himself gave the name of imperator to Augustus. For this and
for the other achievements of the time a triumph was voted to Cæsar;
but as he did not care to celebrate it, an arch bearing a trophy was
constructed in the Alps for his glory and authority was given him to wear
always on the first day of the year both the crown and the triumphal
garb. After these successes in the wars Augustus closed the precinct of
Janus, which had been opened because of the strife.

[-27-] Meanwhile Agrippa had been beautifying the city at his own
expense. First, in honor of the naval victories he built over the
so-called _Portico of Neptune_ and lent it further brilliance by the
painting of the Argonauts. Secondly, he repaired the Laconian sudatorium.
He gave the name Laconian to the gymnasium because the Lacedæmonians had,
in those days, a greater reputation than anybody else for stripping
naked and exercising smeared with oil. Also, he completed the so-called
_Pantheon_. It has this name perhaps because it received the images
of many gods and among them the statues of Mars and Venus; but my own
opinion is that the name is due to its round shape, like the sky. Agrippa
desired to place Augustus also there and to take the designation of the
structure from his title. But, as his master would not accept either
honor, he placed in the temple itself a statue of the former Cæsar and in
the anteroom representations of Augustus and himself. This was done not
from any rivalry and ambition on Agrippa's part to make himself equal to
Augustus, but from his superabundant devotion to him and his perpetual
affection for the commonwealth; hence Augustus, so far from censuring
him for it, honored him the more. For, being unable through sickness
to superintend at that time the marriage of his daughter Julia and his
nephew Marcellus, he commissioned Agrippa to hold the festival in his
absence. And when the house on the Palatine hill, which had formerly been
Antony's but was later given to Agrippa and Messala, was burned down,
he made a grant of money to Messala and gave Agrippa equal rights of
domicile. The latter not unnaturally gained high distinction as a result
of this. And one Gaius Toranius also acquired a good reputation because
while tribune he brought his father, though some one's freedman, into the
theatre and made him sit beside him upon the tribune's bench. Publius
Servilius, too, made a name for himself because while prætor he caused to
be killed at a festival three hundred bears and other Libyan wild beasts
equal in number.

[B.C. 24 (_a. u._ 730)]

[-28-] Augustus now entered upon office for the tenth time with Gaius
Norbanus, and on the first day of the month the senate took oaths,
confirming his deeds. When he was announced as drawing near the city
(his sickness had delayed him), he promised to give the people a hundred
denarii each and issued instructions that the document concerning the
money should not be bulletined until the senate also should approve.
They had freed him from all compulsion of the laws to the end, as I have
stated,[10] that being really independent and possessed of full powers
over both himself and the laws he should follow all of them that he
wished and not follow any that he did not wish. This right was voted to
him while still absent. On his arrival in Rome there were various events
in honor of his preservation and return, and Marcellus was accorded the
right to be a senator of the class of ex-prætors and to be a candidate
for the consulship ten years earlier than was customary. Tiberius was
permitted in a similar fashion to be a candidate five years before the
age set for each office. The latter was at once appointed quæstor and
the former ædile. As the quæstors needed to serve in the provinces were
proving insufficient, all drew lots for the places who for ten years
previous had been named quæstors without the duties of the office. These,
then, were the occurrences in the City worthy of note that year.

[-29-] As soon as Augustus had departed from Spain, leaving behind Lucius
Æmilius[11] as governor of it, the Cantabri and Astures made an uprising.
They sent to Æmilius before anything about it became known to him and
said they wished to give the army grain and some other presents. Then,
having secured a number of soldiers, who were presumably to carry the
supplies, they led them to suitable places and butchered them. Their
pleasure, however, did not last long. When their country had been
devastated and some forts burned and, chiefest of all, the hands of every
one that was caught were cut off, they were quickly subdued. While this
was going on, another new campaign had its beginning and end. It was
led by Ælius Gallus, governor of Egypt, against the so-called _Arabia
Felix_[12] of which Sabos was king. At first he encountered no one at
all, yet did not proceed without effort. The desert, the sun, and the
water (which had some peculiar nature), distressed them greatly so that
the majority of the army perished. The disease proved to be dissimilar
to any ordinary complaint, and fell upon the head, which it caused
to wither. This killed most of them at once, but in the case of the
survivors it descended to the legs, skipping all the intervening parts of
the body, and wrought injury to them. There was no remedy for it except
by both drinking and rubbing on olive oil mixed with wine. This was in
the power of only a few of them to do, for the country produces neither
of these articles and the men had not provided a large supply of them
beforehand. In the midst of this trouble the barbarians also fell upon
them. For a while the enemy were defeated whenever they joined battle and
lost some places: later, however, with the disease as an ally they won
back their own possessions and drove the survivors of the expedition out
of the country. These were the first of the Romans (and I think the only
ones) who traversed so much of this part of Arabia in warfare. They had
advanced as far as the so-named Athlula, a famous locality.

[B.C. 23 (_a. u._ 731)]

[-30-] Augustus was for the eleventh time consul with Calpurnius Piso,
when he fell so sick once more as to have no hope of saving his life. He
accordingly arranged everything in the idea that he was about to die, and
gathering about him the officials and the other foremost senators and
knights he appointed no successor, though they were expecting that
Marcellus would be preferred before all for the position. After
conversing briefly with them about public matters he gave Piso the list
of the forces and the public revenues written in a book, and handed his
ring to Agrippa. The emperor became unable to do even the very simplest
things, yet a certain Antonius Musas managed to restore him to health by
means of cold baths and cold drinks. For this he received a great deal
of money from both Augustus and the senate, as well as the right to wear
gold rings,--he was a freedman,--and secured exemption from taxes for
both himself and the members of his profession, not only those then
living but also those of coming generations. But he who assumed the
powers of Fortune and Fate was destined soon after to be well worsted.
Augustus had been saved in this manner: but Marcellus, falling sick not
much later, was treated in the same way by Musas and died. Augustus gave
him a public burial with the usual eulogies, placed him in the monument
which was being built, and honored his memory by calling the theatre,
the foundations of which had already been laid by the former Cæsar, the
Theatre of Marcellus. He ordered also that a gold image of the deceased,
a golden crown, and his chair of office be carried into the theatre at
the Ludi Romani and be placed in the midst of the officials having charge
of the function. This he did later.

[-31-] After being restored to health on this occasion he brought his
will into the senate and wished to read it, by way of showing people that
he had left no successor to his position. He did not, however, read it,
for no one would permit that. Quite every one, however, was astonished
at him in that since he loved Marcellus as son-in-law and nephew yet he
failed to trust him with the monarchy but preferred Agrippa before him.
His regard for Marcellus had been shown by many honors, among them his
lending aid in carrying out the festival which the young man gave as
ædile; the brilliance of this occasion is shown by the fact that in
midsummer he sheltered the Forum by curtains overhead and introduced a
knight and a woman of note as dancers in the orchestra. But his final
attitude seemed to show that he was not yet confident of the youth's
judgment and that he either wanted the people to get back their liberty
or Agrippa to receive the leadership from them. He understood well that
Agrippa and the people were on the best of terms and he was unwilling to
appear to be delivering the supreme power with his own hands. [-32-] When
he recovered, therefore, and learned that Marcellus on this account was
not friendly toward Agrippa, he immediately despatched the latter to
Syria, so that no delay and desultory dispute might arise by their being
in the same place. Agrippa forthwith started from the City but did not
make his way to Syria, but, proceeding even more moderately than usual,
he sent his lieutenants there and himself lingered in Lesbos.

Besides doing this Augustus appointed ten prætors, feeling that he did
not require any more. This number remained constant for several years.
Some of them were intended to fulfill the same duties as of yore and two
of them to have charge of the administration of the finances each year.
Having settled these details he resigned the consulship and went to
Albanum. He himself ever since the constitution had been arranged had
held office for the entire year, as had most of his colleagues, and he
wished now to interrupt this custom again, in order that as many as
possible might be consuls. His resignation took place outside the city to
prevent his being hindered in his purpose.

For this act he received praise, as also because he chose to take his
place Lucius Sestius, who had always been an enthusiastic follower of
Brutus, had campaigned with the latter in all his wars, and even at this
time made mention of him, had his images, and delivered eulogies. So
far from disliking the friendly and faithful qualities of the man, the
emperor even honored him.

The senate consequently voted that Augustus be tribune for life and that
he might bring forward at each meeting of the senate any business he
liked concerning any one matter, even if he should not be consul at
the time, and allowed him to hold the office of proconsul once for all
perpetually, so that he had neither to lay it down on entering the
pomerium nor to take it up again outside. The body also granted him more
power in subject territory than the several governors possessed. As a
result both he and subsequent emperors gained a certain legal right to
the use of the tribunican authority, in addition to their other powers.
But the actual name of tribune neither Augustus nor any other emperor has
held.

[-33-] And it seems to me that he then acquired these rights as described
not from flattery but as a mark of real honor. In most ways he behaved
toward the Romans as if they were free citizens. For, when Tiridates in
person and envoys from Phraates arrived to settle their mutual disputes,
he introduced them to the senate. After this, when the decision of the
question had been entrusted to him by that body, he refused to surrender
Tiridates to Phraates, but sent back to him his son, whom Tiridates had
formerly received from the other and was keeping, on condition that the
captives and the military standards taken in the disasters of Crassus and
of Antony be returned.

In this same year one of the inferior ædiles died and Gaius Calpurnius
succeeded him, in spite of having served previously as one of the
patrician ædiles. This is not mentioned as having occurred in the case of
any other man. During the Feriæ there were two præfecti urbi each day,
and one of them, who was not yet admitted to the standing of a youth,
nevertheless held office.

Livia, however, was accused of having caused the death of Marcellus
because he had been preferred before her sons. This suspicion became
a matter of controversy both in that year and in the following, which
proved so unhealthful that great numbers perished during its progress.
And, as it usually happens that some sign occurs before such events,
so on this occasion a wolf had been caught in the city, fire and storm
damaged many buildings, and the Tiber, rising, washed away the wooden
bridge and rendered the city submerged for three days.


[Footnote 1: Following Dindorf's reading [Greek: hyper heauton].]

[Footnote 2: A reference to Cornelius Gallus (see Book Fifty-one, chapter
17).]

[Footnote 3: The expression to which Dio here refers is doubtless the
adjective _quinquefascalis_, found in inscriptional Latin. All the
editions from Xylander to Dindorf gave "six lictors", erroneously, as was
pointed out by Mommsen (_Romisches Staatsrecht_, 12, p. 369, note 4).
Boissevain is the first editor to make the correction. (See the latter
portion of chapter 17, Book Fifty-seven, which should be compared with
Tacitus, Annals, II, 47, 5.)

The Greek language had a phrase [Greek: hae hexapelekus archae],
corresponding to the Latin _sexfascalis_, but no adjective [Greek:
pentapelekus], which would be the equivalent of _quinquefascalis_, is
reported in the lexicons.]

[Footnote 4: Cp. Book Fifty-two, chapter 25.]

[Footnote 5: Translating Boissevain's conjecture, [Greek: dela chahi
pempton isa], in place of a corruption in the text.]

[Footnote 6: In view of the fact that _Sex. Pacuvius Taurus_ does not
come on the scene (as tribune of the plebs) till B.C. 9-7, it seems more
likely, as Boissevain remarks, that Apudius is the correct name of the
author of this piece of flattery.]

[Footnote 7: Boissevain thinks that the passage indicated was probably in
Book Twenty-two (one of the lost portions of the work). Compare Fragment
LXXIV (1) in Volume VI of this translation.--Boissée suggested Book
Forty-nine, Chapter 34. There, too, the correspondence is not complete.]

[Footnote 8: The modern _Aosta_.]

[Footnote 9: Possibly this prænomen is an error for _Publius_.]

[Footnote 10: Chapter 18 of this Book.]

[Footnote 11: Another writer reports his name as _Lucius Lamia_.]

[Footnote 12: The "prosperous" or fertile part of Arabia, as opposed to
_Arabia Deserta_ or _Petræa_.]



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

54

The following is contained in the Fifty-fourth of Dio's Rome:

How road commissioners were appointed from among the ex-prætors (chapter
8).

How grain commissioners were appointed from among the ex-prætors
(chapters 1 and 17).

How Noricum was reduced (chapter 20).

How Rhætia was reduced (chapter 22).

How the Maritime Alps began to yield obedience to the Romans (chapter
24).

How the theatre of Balbus was dedicated (chapter 25).

How the theatre of Marcellus was dedicated (chapter 26).

How Agrippa died and Augustus acquired the Chersonese (chapters 28, 29).

How the Augustalia was instituted (chapter 34).

Duration of time, 13 years, in which there were the following magistrates
here enumerated:

M. Claudius M. F. Marcellus Æserninus, L. Arruntius L.F. (B.C. 22 = a. u.
732.)

M. Lollius M. F., Q. Æmilius M. F. Lepidus. (B.C. 21 = a. u. 733.)

M. Apuleius Sex, F., P. Silius P. F. Nerva. (B.C. 20 = a. u. 734.)

C. Sentius C. F. Saturninus, Q. Lucretius Q. F. Vispillo. (B.C. 19 = a.
u. 735.)

Cn. Cornelius L. F., P. Cornelius P. F. Lentulus Marcellinus. (B.C. 18 =
a. u. 736.)

C. Furnius C. F., C. Iunius C. F. Silanus. (B.C. 17 = a. u. 737.)

L. Domitius Cn. F. Cn. N. Ahenobarbus, P. Cornelius P. F. P. N. Scipio.
(B.C. 16 = a. u. 738.)

M. Livius L. F. Drusus Libo, L. Calpurnius L. F. Piso Frugi. (B.C. 15 =
a. u. 739.)

M. Licinius M. F. Crassus, Cn. Cornelius Cn. F. Lentulus. (B.C. 14 = a.
u. 740.)

Tib. Claudius Tib. F. Nero, P. Quintilius Sex. F. Varus. (B.C. 13 = a. u.
741.)

M. Valerius M. F. Messala Barbatus, P. Sulpicius P. F. Quirinus. (B.C. 12
= a. u. 742.)

Paulus Fabius Q. F. Maximus, Q. Ælius Q. F. Tubero. (B.C. 11 = a. u.
743.)

Iullus Antonius M. F., Africanus Q. Fabius Q. F. (B.C. 10 = a. u. 744.)


_(BOOK 54, BOISSEVAIN.)_

[B.C. 22 (_a. u._ 732)]

[-1-] The following year, during which Marcus Marcellus and Lucius
Arruntius were the consuls, the river caused another flood which
submerged the City, and many objects were struck by thunderbolts, among
them the statues in the Pantheon; and the spear even fell from the hand
of Augustus. The pestilence raged throughout Italy so that no one tilled
the land, and I think that the same was the case in foreign parts. The
Romans, therefore, reduced to dire straits by disease and by famine,
thought that this had happened to them for no other reason than that they
did not have Augustus for consul this time also. They accordingly wished
to elect him as dictator, and shutting the senate up within its halls
they forced it to vote this measure by threatening to burn down the
building. Next they took the twenty-four rods and accosted Augustus,
begging him both to be named dictator and to become commissioner of
grain, as Pompey had once been. He accepted the latter duty under
compulsion and ordered two men from among those who had served as prætors
five years or more previously, in every instance, to be chosen annually
to attend to the distribution of grain. As for the dictatorship, however,
he would not hear of it and went so far as to rend his clothing when
he found himself unable to restrain them in any other way, either by
reasoning or by prayer. As he already had authority and honor even beyond
that of dictators he did right to guard against the jealousy and hatred
which the title would arouse. [-2-] His course was the same when they
wished to elect him censor for life. Without entering upon the office
himself he immediately designated others as censors, namely Paulus
Æmilius Lepidus and Lucius Munatius Plancus, the latter a brother of that
Plancus who had been proscribed and the former a person who at that time
had himself been under sentence of death. These were the last private
citizens to hold the appointment, as was at once made manifest by the
men themselves. The platform on which they were intended to perform the
ceremonies pertaining to their position fell to the ground in pieces when
they had ascended it on the first day of their office. After that there
were no other censors appointed together, as they had been. Even at this
time Augustus in spite of their having been chosen took care of many
matters which properly belonged to them. Of the Public Messes he
abolished some altogether and reformed others so that greater temperance
prevailed. He committed the charge of all the festivals to the prætors,
commanding that an appropriation be given them from the public treasury.
Moreover he forbade them to spend from their own means on these occasions
more than they received from the other source, or to have armed combat
under any other conditions than if the senate should vote for it, and
even then there were to be not more than two such contests in each year
and they should consist of not more than one hundred and twenty men. To
the curule ædiles he entrusted the extinguishment of conflagrations, for
which purpose he granted them six hundred slave assistants. And since
knights and women of note had thus early appeared in the orchestra, he
forbade not only the children of senators, to whom the prohibition had
even previously extended, but also their grandchildren, who naturally
found a place in the equestrian class, to do anything of the sort again.
[-3-] In these ordinances he let both the substance and the name of the
lawgiver and emperor be seen. In other matters he was more moderate
and even came to the aid of some of his friends when their conduct was
subjected to official scrutiny. But a certain Marcus Primus was accused
of having made war upon the Odrysae, while he was governor of Macedonia,
who said at one time that he had done it with the approval of Augustus,
and again with that of Marcellus. The emperor thereupon came of his own
accord into the court and, when interrogated by the prætors as to whether
he had instructed the man to make war, entered a denial. The advocate
of Primus, Licinius Murena, in the course of some rather disrespectful
remarks that he made to him enquired: "What are you doing here!" and "Who
summoned you!" To this Augustus only replied: "The Public Good." For this
he received praise from sensible persons and was even given the right to
convene the senate as often as he pleased. Some of the others looked down
upon him. Indeed, not a few voted for the acquittal of Primus and others
united to form a plot against Cæsar. Fannius Cæpio was at the head of it,
though others had a share. Murena also was said, whether truly or by way
of calumny, to have been one of the conspirators, since he was insatiate
and unsparing in his outspokenness to all alike. These men did not appear
for trial in court but were convicted by default on the supposition that
they intended to flee; shortly after, however, they were put to death.
Murena found neither his brother Proculeius nor Mæcenas his sister's
husband of any avail, though they were the recipients of distinguished
honors from Augustus. And as some of the jurymen actually voted to acquit
these conspirators, the emperor made a law that votes should not be cast
secretly in cases by default and that the persons on trial must receive
a unanimous conviction. That he authorized these provisions not in anger
but as really conducive to the public good he gave overwhelming evidence.
Cæpio's father liberated one of his slaves who had accompanied his son on
his flight, because he had wished to defend the younger man when he met
his death; but a second slave who had betrayed him the father led through
the middle of the Forum with an inscription making known the reason why
he should be killed, and after that crucified him: yet at all this the
emperor showed no indignation. He would have allayed all the criticism
of those not pleased with the course of events, had he not allowed
sacrifices, as for some victory, to be both voted and offered.

[-4-] It was at this period that he restored both Cyprus and Gallia
Narbonensis to the people as provinces no longer needing his
administration of martial law.

Thus proconsuls began to be sent to these places also. He also dedicated
the temple of Jupiter Tonans, concerning which event these two traditions
survive,--that at the time thunder occurred during the ritual, and that
later Augustus had a dream, which I shall proceed to describe. He thought
that the throng had come to do reverence to the deity, partly attracted
by the novelty of his name and form and partly because he had been put in
place by Augustus, but chiefest of all because they encountered him first
when they ascended the Capitol; and he dreamed that Jupiter in the great
temple was angry because he was now reduced to second place, and that he
himself thereupon said to the offended god (as he reported the story)
that he had Tonans as an advance guard. When it became day he attached a
bell to the statue by way of confirming the vision. For those who guard
apartment houses by night carry a bell, in order to be able to signal the
inhabitants whenever they wish.--These events, then, took place at Rome.

[-5-] About this same period the Cantabri and the Astures broke out into
war again. The action of the Astures was due to the haughtiness and
cruelty of Carisius. The Cantabri, on the other hand, took the field
because they learned that the other tribe was in revolt and because they
despised their governor, Gaius Furnius, since he had but lately arrived
and they conceived him to be unacquainted with conditions in their
territory. He did not, however, show himself that sort of man in action,
for both tribes were defeated and reduced to slavery by him, Carisius
even receiving help from him. Not many of the Cantabri were captured. As
they had no hope of freedom they did not choose to live, but some after
setting the forts on fire stabbed themselves, and others let themselves
be consumed with the works, while still others in the sight of all took
poison. Thus the most of them and the fiercest faction perished. As for
the Astures, as soon as they had been repulsed in a siege at some
point and had subsequently been beaten in battle, they made no further
resistance but were straightway subdued.

About this same time the Ethiopians, who dwell beyond Egypt, advanced
as far as the city called Elephantine, with Candace as their leader,
ravaging the whole region that they traversed. On learning that Gaius[1]
Petronius, the governor of Egypt, was approaching and somewhere near,
they hastily retreated hoping to make good their escape. Overtaken on the
road, however, they suffered defeat and then drew him on into their own
country. There, too, he contended nobly and took among other cities
Napata, the royal residence of that tribe. This town was razed to the
ground and a garrison left at another post. For Petronius, not being able
to advance farther on account of the sand and the heat, nor to remain
conveniently on the spot with his entire army, withdrew, taking the most
of it with him. At that the Ethiopians attacked the garrisons, but he
again proceeded against them, rescued his own men, and compelled Candace
to make terms with him.

[ B.C. 21 (_a. u._ 733)]

[-6-] While this was going on Augustus went to Sicily in order to settle
the affairs of that island and of other countries as far as Syria. While
he was still there, the Roman populace fell to disputing over an election
of the consuls. This incident showed clearly that it was impossible for
them to be safe under a democracy, for with the little power that they
had over elections and in regard to offices, even, they began rioting.
The place of one of the consuls was being kept for Augustus and in this
way at the beginning of the year Marcus Lollius alone entered upon
office. As the emperor would not accept the place, Quintus Lepidus and
Lucius Silvanus became rival candidates and threw everything into such
turmoil that Augustus was invoked by those who still retained their
senses. He would not return, however, and sent them back when they came
to him, rebuking them and bidding them cast their votes during the
absence of both claimants. This did not promote peace any the more, but
they began to quarrel and dispute again vehemently, so that it was long
before Lepidus was chosen. Augustus was displeased at this, for he could
not spend all his time at Rome alone, and he did not dare to leave the
city without a head; seeking, therefore, for some one to set over it he
judged Agrippa to be most suitable for the purpose. And as he wished to
clothe him in some greater dignity than common, in order that this might
help him to govern the people more easily, he summoned him, compelled him
to divorce his wife (although she was Cæsar's own niece), and to marry
Julia, and forthwith sent him to Rome to attend both to the wedding and
to the administration of the City. This step is said to have been due
partly to the advice of Mæcenas, who in conversation with him upon these
very matters said: "You have made him so great that he should either
become your son-in-law or be killed."--Agrippa healed the sores which he
found still festering and repelled the advance of the Egyptian rites,
which were returning once more to the City, forbidding any one to perform
them even in the suburbs within eight half-stadia. A disturbance arose
regarding the election of the præfectus urbi--the one chosen on account
of the Feriæ--and he did not attempt to quell it, but they lived through
that year without that official. This was what _he_ accomplished.

[-7-] Augustus after settling various affairs in Sicily and making
Syracuse together with certain other cities Roman colonies crossed over
into Greece. The Lacedæmonians he honored by giving them Cythera and
attending their Public Mess, because Livia, when she fled from Italy with
her husband and son, passed some time there. From the Athenians, as some
say, he took away Ægina and Eretria, the produce of which they were
enjoying, because they had espoused the cause of Antony. Moreover he
forbade them to make any one a citizen for money. It seemed to them that
what happened to the statue of Athena had tended to their misfortune.
Placed on the Acropolis facing the east it had turned about to the west
and spat blood.

[ B.C. 20 (_a. u._ 734)]

As for Augustus, after setting the Greek world in order, he sailed to
Samos, passed the winter there, and in the spring when Marcus Apuleius
and Publius Silius became consuls proceeded to Asia and gave his
attention to matters there and in Bithynia. Though these and the
foregoing provinces were regarded as belonging to the people, he did not
make light of them, but accorded them the very best of care, as if they
were his own. He instituted all reforms that seemed desirable and made a
present of money to some, while others he instructed to collect an amount
in excess of the tribute. The people of Cyzicus he reduced to slavery
because during an uprising they had flogged and put to death some Romans.
And when he reached Syria he took the same action in the case of the
people of Tyre and Sidon on account of their uprising.

[-8-] Meanwhile Phraates, fearing that he might lead an expedition
against him because as yet none of the agreements had been carried out,
sent back to him the standards and all the captives, save a few who in
shame had destroyed themselves or by eluding detection had remained
in the country. Augustus received them with the appearance of having
conquered the Parthian in some war. He took great pride in the event,
saying that what had been lost in former battles he had recovered without
a struggle. Indeed, in honor of his success he both commanded sacrifices
to be voted and performed them, besides constructing a temple of Mars
Ultor on the Capitol, in imitation of Jupiter Feretrius, for the offering
up of the standards. Moreover he rode into the City on a charger and
was with an arch carrying a trophy. That was what was done later in
commemoration of the event. At this time he was chosen commissioner of
the highways round about Rome, set up the so-called golden milestone,
and assigned road-builders from the ranks of the ex-prætors, with two
lictors, to take care of the various streets. Julia also gave birth to a
child, who received the name Gaius; and a sacrifice of kine was permitted
forever upon his birthday. Now this was done, like everything else,
in pursuance of a decree: privately the ædiles had a horse-race and
slaughter of wild beasts on the birthday of Augustus.--These were the
occurrences in the City.

[-9-] Augustus ordained that the subject territory should be managed
according to the customs of the Romans, but permitted allied countries to
be governed according to their own ancestral usage. He did not think it
desirable that there should be any additions to the former or that any
new regions should be acquired, but deemed it best for the people to
be thoroughly satisfied with what they already possessed; and he
communicated this opinion to the senate. Therefore he began no war at
this time, but gave out certain sovereignties,--to Iamblichus son of
Iamblichus his ancestral dominion over the Arabians, and to Tarcondimotus
son of Tarcondimotus the kingdom of Cilicia which his father held, except
a few coast districts. For these together with Lesser Armenia he granted
to Archelaus, because the Median king, who had previously ruled them, was
dead. To Herod he entrusted the tetrarchy of a certain Zenodorus and to
one Mithridates, though a mere lad, Commagene, since the king of it had
killed his father. And as the other Armenians had preferred charges
against Artaxes and had summoned his brother Tigranes, who was in Rome,
the emperor sent for Tiberius to cast the former out of his kingdom and
restore the latter to it once more. Nothing was accomplished, however,
worthy of the preparations he had made, for the Armenians slew Artaxes
before his arrival. Still, Tiberius assumed a lofty bearing as if he had
effected something by his own ability, and all the more when sacrifices
were voted in honor of the result. And he now began to have thoughts
about obtaining the monarchy when, as he was approaching Philippi, an
outcry was heard from the field of battle, as if coming from an army, and
fire of its own accord shot up from the altars founded by Antony upon the
ramparts. These things contributed to the exalted feelings of Tiberius.

Augustus returned to Samos and once more passed the winter there. As a
recompense for his stay he awarded the islanders freedom, and he attended
to many kinds of business. Great numbers of embassies came to him, and
the Indi, who had previously opened negotiations about friendship, now
made terms, sending among other gifts tigers, which were then for the
first time seen by the Romans, as also, I think, by the Greeks. They
likewise presented to him a boy without shoulders (like the statues of
Hermes that we now see). Yet this creature in spite of his anatomy made
perfect use of his feet and hands: he would stretch a bow for them, shoot
missiles, and sound the trumpet,--how, I do not know; I merely record the
story. One of the Indi, Zarmarus, whether he belonged to the class of
sophists and was ambitious on this account or because he was old and was
following some immemorial custom, or because he wished to make a display
for Augustus and the Athenians (for it was there that he had obtained an
audience), chose to die; he was therefore initiated into the service of
the two goddesses,--although it was not the proper time, it is said, for
the ritual,[2]--through the influence of Augustus, and having become an
initiate he threw himself alive into the fire.

[B.C. 19 (_a. u._ 735)]

[-10-] The consul that[2] year was Gaius Sentius. When it was found
necessary that a colleague be appointed to hold office with him,--for
Augustus again refused to accept the post which was being saved for
him,--an uprising once more broke out in Rome and assassinations
occurred, so that the senators voted Sentius a guard. When he expressed
himself as opposed to using it, they sent envoys to Augustus, each with
two lictors. As soon as the emperor learned this and felt assured that
nothing but evil would come of it, he did not adopt an attitude like
his former one toward them but appointed consul from among the envoys
themselves Quintus Lucretius, though this man's name had been posted
among the proscribed, and he hastened to Rome himself. For this and his
other actions while absent from the city many honors of all sorts were
voted none of which he would accept, save the founding of a temple to
Fortuna Redux,[3] (this being the name they applied to her), and that the
day on which he arrived should be numbered among the thanksgiving days
and be called Augustalia. Since even then the magistrates and the rest
made preparations to go out to meet him, he entered the city by night;
and on the following day he gave Tiberius the rank of the ex-prætors and
allowed Drusus to become a candidate for offices five years earlier than
custom allowed. The quarrelsome behavior of the people during his absence
did not accord at all with their conduct, influenced by fear, when he was
present; he was accordingly invited and elected to be commissioner of
morals for five years, held the authority of the censors for the same
length of time and that of the consuls for life, being allowed to use the
twelve rods always and everywhere and to sit in the chair of office in
the midst of the consuls of any year. After voting these measures they
begged him to set right all these matters and to enact what laws he
liked. And whatever ordinances might be composed by him they called from
that very moment _leges Augustæ_ and desired to take an oath that they
would abide by them. He accepted their principal propositions, believing
them to be necessary, but absolved them from the requirement of an oath.
If they should vote for a measure that suited them, he knew well that
they would observe it even if they made no agreement to that effect.
Otherwise they would not pay any attention to it, even if they should
take ten thousand pledges to secure it.--Augustus did this. Of the ædiles
one voluntarily resigned his office by reason of poverty.

[-11-] Agrippa on being sent at this time, as described from Sicily to
Rome, transacted whatever business was urgent and was later assigned to
the Gauls. The inhabitants there were at war among themselves and were
being harshly used by the Celtæ. After settling those troubles he went
over to Spain. For the Cantabri, who had been captured alive in the war
and had been sold, severally killed their masters, returned home, and
united many for a revolt. With the aid of these accessions they occupied
available sites, walled them about and concocted schemes against
the Roman garrisons. It was against this tribe that Agrippa led an
expedition, but he had some trouble also with the soldiers. Not a few of
them were too old, exhausted by the succession of wars, and in fear of
the Cantabri, whom they regarded as hard to subdue; and they consequently
would not obey him. However, by admonition, exhortation, and the hopes
that he held out[4] he soon made them yield obedience: in fighting the
Cantabri, on the other hand, he met with many failures. They had the
advantage of experience in affairs, since they had been slaves to the
Romans, and of despair of ever gaining safety again in case of capture.
Agrippa lost numbers of his soldiers and degraded numerous others because
they had been defeated; among other actions he prohibited a whole
division called the Augustan from being so named any longer; still, after
a long time he destroyed nearly all of the enemy who were of age for
warfare. He deprived the rest of their arms and made them go down from
the heights to the flat lands. Yet he made no communication about them to
the senate and did not accept the triumph although voted in accordance
with instructions from Augustus. In these matters he showed moderation,
as was his wont, and when asked once by the consul for an opinion in a
case concerning his brother he would not give it. At his own expense
he brought in the so-called Parthenian water-supply and named it the
Augustan. In this the emperor took so great delight that once when a
great scarcity of wine had arisen and persons were making a terrible
to-do about it, he declared that Agrippa had carefully seen to it that
they should never perish of thirst.

[-12-]Such was the character of this man. Of the rest many both made a
triumph their object and celebrated it, not for rendering these same
services, but some for having arrested robbers and others for quieting
cities that were in a state of turmoil. For Augustus, at first at least,
bestowed these rewards lavishly upon some and honored a very great
number with public burials. Those persons, then, gained splendor by
these fêtes; but Agrippa was advanced by him to a position of comparative
independence. Augustus saw that the public business required strict
attention and feared that he might, as often happens in such cases,
become the victim of plots.

[B.C. 18 (a. u. 736)]

The breastplate which he often wore beneath his dress even on entering
the senate itself he expected would be of small and slight assistance to
him in that case. Therefore he himself first added five years to his term
as supreme ruler when the ten-year period had expired (this took place in
the consulship of Publius and Gnaeus Lentulus), and then he gave Agrippa
many rights almost equal to his own, together with the tribunician
authority for the same length of time. He then said that so many years
would suffice them. Not much later he obtained the remaining five
belonging to his imperial sovereignty, so that the number of years became
ten again.

[-13-] When he had done this he next investigated the senatorial body.
The members seemed to him even now to be numerous and he saw
danger in so large a throng, while he felt a hatred for not only such as
were notorious for some baseness, but also those who were distinguished
for their flattery. And when no one, as previously, would resign willingly
nor wished alone to incur accusation, he himself selected the thirty best
men (a point which he confirmed by oath) and bade them after first taking
the same oath to choose and write down groups of five, outside of their
relatives, on tablets. After this he subjected the groups of five to a
casting of lots, with the arrangement that the one man in each who drew
a lot should himself be a senator, and enroll five others on the same
conditions.

There would, of course, properly be thirty of those chosen by others and
by those who drew a lot. And since some of them were out of town others
drew as substitutes and attended to what should have been their duties.
At first this went on so for several days; but when some abuses crept
in, he no longer put the documents in the charge of the quaestors nor
submitted the groups of five to lot, but he himself read whatever
remained and he himself chose the members that were lacking: and thus six
hundred in all were appointed. [-14-]It had been his plan to make them
three hundred as in old times, and he thought he ought to be well
satisfied if he found so many of them worthy of the senate. But he
finally chose a list of six hundred because of the universal displeasure;
for it came out, by reason of the fact that those whose names would be
cancelled would be many more than those who remained in the body, that
greater fear of becoming private citizens prevailed among its members
than expectation of being senators. Not even here did the matter rest,
since some unsuitable persons were still enrolled. A certain Licinius
Regulus after this, indignant because his name had been erased whereas
his son and several others to whom he thought himself superior had been
counted in, rent his clothing in the very senate, laid bare his body,
enumerated his campaigns, and showed them his scars. And Articuleius
Pætus, one of the senators _in posse_, besought earnestly that he might
retire from his seat in the senate in place of his father, who had been
rejected. Augustus then made a new organization, getting rid of some and
choosing others in their place. Since even so the names of many had been
stricken out and some of them, as usually happens in such a case, charged
that they had been driven out unjustly, he immediately accorded them
the right to behold spectacles and join in festivals in common with the
senators, wearing the same garb, and he permitted them for the future to
stand for offices. Most of them came back in the course of time into
the senate: some few were left in an intermediate position, regarded as
belonging neither to the senate nor to the people.

[-15-] After this many at once and many subsequently gained the
reputation, whether it was true or false, of plotting against both the
emperor and Agrippa. It is not possible for one outside of such matters
to have certain knowledge about them. Much of what a sovereign does by
way of punishment either personally or through the senate on the ground
that plots have been made against him is viewed with suspicion as
probably a display of wanton power, no matter how justly he may have
acted. For that reason my intention is to record in all matters of this
nature simply the regular version of the story, not busying myself with
aught beyond the public report, except in perfectly patent cases, nor
making any ulterior suggestions as to whether any act was just or unjust
or any statement true or false. Let this principle apply to everything
which I shall write after this.

At the time Augustus executed a few: Lepidus he hated because his son
had been detected in a against him and had been punished, as well as for
other reasons; he did not, however, wish to kill him but kept insulting
him now in one way, now in another. He ordered Lepidus against his
will to come down from the country to the city and always took him to
gatherings, in order that the man might be subjected to the greatest
amount of jeering and insolence in view of the change from his former
power and dignity. He did not treat him in any way as worthy his
consideration, and at this time he afforded him, last of all the
ex-consuls, the chance of voting. To the rest he was wont to put the
question in the order that belonged to them, but of the ex-consuls he
used to make one first, another second, and third and fourth and so on as
he liked. This the consuls also did. Thus it was that he treated Lepidus.
And when Antistius Labeo enrolled the latter among the men who were to be
senators at the time the vote on this matter was taken, the emperor first
declared that he had perjured himself and threatened to take vengeance.
Thereupon the other replied: "Why, what harm have I done by keeping in
the senate one whom you even now still permit to be high priest?" This
answer quieted Augustus's anger, for though he had often, both privately
and publicly, been judged worthy of this priesthood, he did not deem
it right to take it while Lepidus lived. The reply of Antistius seemed,
indeed, to have been a rather happy one, as was the case once when there
was talk in the senate to the effect that they ought to take turns in
guarding Augustus; for he had said, not daring to speak in opposition nor
willing to agree: "As for me, I snore, and so can not sleep at the door
of his chamber."

[-16-] Among the laws that Augustus enacted was one which provided that
those who to gain office bribed any person should be debarred from the
said office for five years. He laid heavier penalties upon the unmarried
men and women without husbands, and on the other hand offered prizes for
marriage and the procreation of children. And since among the nobility
there were far more males than females he allowed those who pleased, save
the senators, to marry freedwomen, and ordered that the offspring of such
a man should be deemed legitimate.

At this period a clamor arose in the senate regarding the disorderly
conduct of the women and the young men, this being alleged as a reason
for the difficulty of persuading them to contract marriage; and when they
urged him to remedy this abuse also, meanwhile indulging in sarcasms
because he enjoyed the favors of many women, at first he made answer that
the most necessary restrictions had been laid down and that anything
further could not be defined in a similar fashion. Then, when he was
driven into a corner, he said: "You ought to admonish and command your
wives what you wish,--just as I myself do." When they heard that, they
plied him with questions all the more, wishing to learn the admonitions
which he said he gave Livia. Reluctantly thereupon he made a few remarks
about dress and about other adornment, about going out and modest
behavior on such occasions. He cared not at all that he did not make good
his words in fact. Something of the sort he had done also while censor.
They brought before him a young man who had married a woman after
seducing her, making the most violent accusations against him: Augustus
was at a loss what to do, not daring to overlook the affair nor yet to
administer any rebuke. After a very long time he heaved a deep sigh and
said: "The factional disputes have borne many terrible fruits: let us try
to forget them and give our attention to the future, to see that nothing
of the sort occurs again."

Inasmuch, too, as certain infants were obtaining by betrothal the honors
of married couples, but did not accomplish the object in view, he ordered
that no betrothal should be valid where a person did not marry before two
years had passed. That is, any one betrothed must be certainly ten years
old in order to reap any benefit from it. Twelve full years, as I have
said, is required by custom for girls to reach the marriageable age.

[-17-] Besides these separate enactments there was one instructing those
from time to time in office each to propose one of those who had been
prætors three years previously to attend to the distribution of the
grain, and providing that of that number the four who secured the lot
should give out grain in turn: and the præfectus urbi, appointed for the
Feriæ, was always to choose one of them. The Sibylline verses which had
become indistinct through lapse of time he ordered the priests to copy
out with their own hands in order that no one else should read them. He
allowed the offices to be thrown open to all such as had property worth
ten myriad denarii and were competent to hold office in accordance with
the law. This was the value which he at first set upon the senatorial
rank: later he raised it to twenty-five myriads. Upon some of those who
lived upright lives but possessed less than ten myriads in the first case
or twenty-five in the second he bestowed the amount lacking. Again, he
allowed those prætors who so desired to spend on the festivals besides
what was given them from the public treasury three times as much
again, so that even if some were vexed at the minuteness of his other
regulations yet by reason of this one and also because he brought
back from exile one Pylades, a dancer, driven out on account of civil
quarrels, they remembered them no longer. Hence Pylades is said to have
rejoined very cleverly when the emperor rebuked him for having quarreled
with Bathyllus, an artist in the same line and a relative of Mæcenas: "It
is to your advantage, Cæsar, that the populace should exhaust its energy
over us."--These were the occurrences of that year.

[B.C. 17 (_a. u._ 737)]

[-18-]In the consulship of Gaius Furnius and Gaius Silanus Agrippa again
announced the birth of a son named Lucius, and Augustus immediately
adopted him together with his brother Gaius, not waiting for them to
become men but appointing them that very moment successors to his office,
in order that less plots might be directed against him. The festival
of Honor and of Virtus he transferred to the days which are at present
theirs. Those that celebrated triumphs he commanded to erect out of the
spoils some public work to commemorate their deeds. The Sæcularia he
brought for the fifth time to a successful conclusion. The orators, he
ordered, were to give their services without pay, on pain of a fine of
quadruple the amount they might receive. Those whom the lot made jurymen
in any season he forbade to enter any person's house during that year.
And since members of the senate showed lack of interest in attending
meetings of that body, he increased the penalties for such as were late
without some good excuse.

[B.C. 16 (_a. u._ 7386)]

[-19-] Next he started for Gaul, during the consulship of Lucius Domitius
and Publius Scipio, making an excuse of the wars that had arisen in that
region. For since he had become disliked by many as a result of his
long stay in the capital and by inflicting penalties offended many who
committed some act contrary to the laws laid down, while he was compelled
in sparing many others to transgress his own enactments, he decided to
leave the country, somewhat after the manner of Solon. Some suspected
that he had gone away on account of Terentia, the wife of Mæcenas, and
intended, because there was much talk made about them in Rome, to join
her without any gossip during his trip abroad. So great was his passion
for her that he once had her enter a contest of beauty against Livia.

Before starting he dedicated the temple of Quirinus, which he had built
up anew. By this I mean he had adorned it with seventy-six columns, equal
to the total number of years he had lived. This consequently caused some
to say that he had chosen the number purposely and not by mere chance.
After the consecration of this edifice he arranged through Tiberius and
Drusus for gladiatorial combats, permission having been granted them
by the senate. Then he committed to Taurus the management of the City
together with the rest of Italy,--for Agrippa had been despatched again
to Syria and he no longer looked with equal favor on Mæcenas because of
the latter's wife,--and taking Tiberius, though he was prætor, along, he
set out on his journey. Tiberius had become prætor in spite of holding
the honors of an ex-prætor, and his entire office by a decree was placed
in the hands of Drusus. The night following their departure the Hall
of Youth burned to the ground. This was not the only portent that had
occurred, for a wolf had rushed along the Sacred Way into the Forum,
tearing men to pieces, and at a distance from the Forum ants were very
plainly seen together in swarms; likewise a gleam all night long kept
shooting from the south toward the north. Prayers were therefore
offered for the safe return of Augustus. Meantime they celebrated the
quinquennial festival of his sovereignty, the expense being borne by
Agrippa; for the latter had been consecrated by his fellow priests to
be one of the quindecimviri to whom the oversight of the event fell in
regular succession.

[-20-] There was much other confusion, too, during that period. The
Camunni and Vennones, Alpine tribes, flew to arms but were conquered and
subdued by Publius Silius. The Pannonians in company with the Norici
overran Istria, and after suffering damage at the hands of Silius and
his lieutenants the former came to terms again and were the cause of the
Norici falling into the same slavery. The uprisings in Dalmatia and
in Spain were in a short time quelled. Macedonia was ravaged by the
Dentheleti and the Scordisci. In Thrace somewhat earlier Marcus Lollius
while aiding Rhoemetalces, the uncle and guardian of the children of
Cotys, had subjugated the Bessi. Later Lucius Gallus conquered the
Sarmatæ in the same dispute and drove them back across the Ister. The
greatest, however, of the wars which at that time fell to the lot of the
Romans, which also had something to do, probably, with Augustus's leaving
the city, was against the Celtæ.

The Sugambri, Usipetes, and Tencteri had first seized in their own
territory some of the Romans and had crucified them, after which they
crossed the Rhine and plundered Germania and Gaul. When the Roman cavalry
approached they laid an ambush and by taking to flight drew their
assailants to follow them; and though they fell in unexpectedly with
the Roman leader Lollius, they conquered even him. On ascertaining this
Augustus hastened against them but found no warfare to carry on. For the
barbarians, learning that Lollius was getting ready and that the emperor
was also heading an expedition, retired into their own territory and made
peace, giving hostages.

[B.C. 15 (_a. u._ 739)]

[-21-] On this account Augustus had no need of arms, but the demands of
various other business consumed the entire time of this year, as well as
of the next, in which Marcus Libo and Calpurnius Piso were consuls.
For much injury had been wrought by the Celtæ and much by a certain
Licinnius.[5] And of this, I think, the sea-monster had very plainly
given them warning beforehand. This creature, twenty feet broad and three
times as long and resembling a woman except for its head, had been washed
up on the land from the ocean. Now Licinnius was originally a Gaul but
was captured, brought among Romans, and made a slave to Cæsar, by whom he
was set free, and then by Augustus he had been made procurator of Gaul.
He had barbarian avarice and Roman haughtiness, and tried to overthrow
every person and thing deemed superior to himself and to annihilate
any power which temporarily appeared strong. It was his care to supply
himself with plenty of funds for the requirements of his ministry as well
as to secure a plenty for himself and for members of his family. His
abuses went so far that in some cases where the population paid tribute
by the month he made the months fourteen in number. He declared that this
month called December was really the tenth, and for that reason it was
necessary to count in also the two last months (of which he called one
Undecimber and the other Duodecimber), and to contribute the money that
was due for them. These quibbles brought him into danger. The Gauls
secured the ear of Augustus and made a terrible protest, so that the
emperor first shared their indignation and next begged them to be
patient. Of some of the extortions he said he was unaware and others
he affected not to believe. Some things he concealed, being ashamed of
having employed such a procurator. Licinnius however, by devising another
scheme was enabled to laugh to scorn absolutely all their efforts. When
found that Augustus was displeased with him and that he was likely to
be punished, he took the emperor into his house, and showing him many
treasures of silver and gold and many other valuables piled up in heaps,
he said: "I have gathered these purposely, master, for you and for the
rest of the Romans, to prevent the inhabitants from getting control of so
much money and therefore revolting. You see I have kept it all for you
and herewith give it to you." Thus the sophist was saved, by pretending
that he had sapped the strength of the barbarians to serve Augustus.

[-22-] Drusus and Tiberius meanwhile were concerned with the following
undertakings. The Rhæti, who dwell between Noricum and Gaul, near the
Tridentine Alps close to Italy, overran a good part of the adjacent
territory of Gaul and carried plunder even out of Italy. Such of the
Romans or their allies as used the road going through their country met
with depredations. These actions of theirs were of course more or less
like those of any nation which has not accepted terms of peace, but
further they destroyed all the males among their captives, not only those
who were apparent but also the embryo ones in the wombs of women, the sex
of which they discovered by some divination. For these reasons Augustus
first sent Drusus against them: he joined battle with a detachment of
theirs that met him near the Tridentine mountains, and speedily had them
routed; for this exploit he received the honors belonging to prætors.
Later, when the tribe had been repulsed from Italy but still harassed
Gaul, the emperor despatched Tiberius in addition. Both of the leaders
then invaded the Rhætian country at many points at once,--the lieutenants
leading such divisions as they did not command personally,--and Tiberius
even crossed the lake[6] in boats. In this way, by encountering them
separately, the Roman commanders spread alarm and had no difficulty in
overcoming those who came near enough for fighting at any time, because
they had only to deal with scattered forces; the remainder, who had
become weaker and more despondent through such tactics, they captured.
And because the land had a large population of males and seemed ripe
for revolt, they deported most of those of military age, especially the
strongest, leaving behind only so many as would be sufficient to inhabit
the country but unable to make any uprising.

[-23-] This same year Vedius Pollio died, a man who in general had done
nothing deserving notice, being the son of liberti, ranking as a knight,
without any achievement of consequence in his record; but he had become
exceedingly renowned for his wealth and his cruelty, so that he has
even won a place in history. Most of the things that he did it would be
wearisome to relate, but I may mention that he kept in tanks huge eels
trained to eat men, and was accustomed to throw to them the slaves that
he desired to put to death. Once, when he was entertaining Augustus, the
cupbearer shattered a crystal goblet, and without respect to the guest he
ordered that the fellow be thrown to the eels. Hereupon the boy fell on
his knees supplicating Augustus who at first tried to persuade Pollio not
to carry out his intentions. As his host would not yield the point the
emperor said: "Bring all the rest of the drinking vessels which are of
the same sort or any others of value that you may possess, for I want to
use them," and when they were brought he ordered them to be broken. The
master seeing this was of course vexed but could no longer be angry over
one cup, considering the great number of others that were ruined, and
could not punish his servant for what Augustus had done; therefore
reluctantly he took no action. That was the sort of person this Pollio
was, who died. He left various bequests to many different persons and to
Augustus a good share of his inheritance together with Pausilypum[7], a
place between Neapolis and Puteoli, with instructions that some public
work of great beauty should be erected. Augustus razed his house to the
foundation, on the pretext that it was necessary for the preparation of
the other structure, but really with the purpose that he should have no
monument in the city, and built a colonnade, inscribing on it the name
not of Pollio but of Livia.

This he did later. At the time mentioned he founded a number of cities as
colonies in Gaul and in Spain and restored to the people of Cyzicus their
freedom. To the Paphians, who had suffered from an earthquake, he gave
money and allowed them, by a decree, to call their city Augusta. I have
recorded this, not because Augustus himself and the senators failed to
aid many other cities both before and after this, in case of similar
misfortunes,--if any one should attempt to mention them all, the task of
such a historian would be endless,--but my aim is to show that the senate
assigned names to cities as an honor and the latter did not, as is the
usual procedure now, compile for themselves (each separately) such lists
of names as they might choose.

[B.C. 14 (_a. u._ 740)]

[-24-] The next year Marcus Crassus and Gnæus Cornelius became consuls;
and the curule ædiles after resigning their office because they had
entered upon it under unfavorable auguries took it back again, contrary
to precedent, at another meeting of the assembly. The Portico of Paulus
was burned and the fire from it reached the temple of Vesta, so that the
sacred objects that this shrine contained were carried up to the Palatine
by all of the vestal virgins except the eldest (who had gone blind)
and were placed in the house of the priest of Jupiter. The portico was
afterward rebuilt, nominally by Æmilius, who was the representative of
the family that had formerly erected it, but really by Augustus and the
friends of Paulus. At this time the Pannonians revolted and were again
subdued, and the maritime Alps, inhabited by Ligurians called Cometæ and
still free even then, were reduced to a slave district. The revolt in the
Cimmerian Bosporus was also quelled. One Seribonius, who maintained
that he was a grandson of Mithridates and had received the kingdom from
Augustus after the death of Asander, married the latter's wife,
named Dynamis, who was the daughter of Pharnaces and a grandchild of
Mithridates, and obtaining the power committed to her by her husband got
control of Bosporus. Agrippa on being informed of this sent against him
Polemon, king of the Pontus near Cappadocia. He found Seribonius no
longer alive, for the people of Bosporus, learning of his ambitions, had
killed him beforehand, but when these resisted Polemon out of fear that
he might be allowed to reign over them, he engaged them in a set battle.
The victory was his, but he was unable to reduce them to order until
Agrippa came to Sinope, apparently with the intention of conducting
a campaign against them. At that they laid down their arms and were
delivered to Polemon. The woman Dynamis became his spouse,--of course
with the sanction of Augustus. For this outcome sacrifices were made in
the name of Agrippa, but he did not celebrate the triumph, though voted
to him. Nay, he did not so much as write the senate anything about what
had been accomplished. As a result subsequent conquerors, taking his
method as a law, no longer sent any word themselves to the legislative
body and did not accept the celebration of a triumph. For this reason no
one else among his peers (so I am inclined to think) was permitted to do
this, but they enjoyed merely the ornament of triumphal honors.

[-25-] Augustus finally finished ordering everything in the Gauls, the
Germanias, and the Hispaniæ: upon special districts he spent a great
deal, and levied a great deal upon others, and to some he gave freedom
and citizenship, whereas from others he took them away.

[B.C. 13 (_a. u._ 741)]

He then left Drusus in Germania and himself returned to Rome in the
consulship of Tiberius and of Quintilius Varus. It chanced that the news
of his coming reached the city during those days when Cornelius
Balbus after dedicating the theatre now called by his name was giving
spectacles. At this he assumed great importance as if it were he that was
to bring Augustus back, though because of a flooding of the Tiber there
was so great a quantity of water in the theatre that no one could enter
it save in a boat; and Tiberius put the vote to Balbus first, as an
honor for his building the theatre. The senate convened and among other
decisions resolved to place an altar in the senate-chamber itself, to
commemorate the return of Augustus, and that criminals who approached
him as suppliants within the pomerium should be exempt from punishment.
However, he accepted neither of these honors and even escaped a reception
by the people on this occasion by being brought into the city under the
cover of night. This he did almost always whenever he had to go out to
the suburbs or anywhere else, both on his way out and on his way back, so
that nobody should annoy him. The following day he greeted the people on
the Palatine, ascended the Capitol, and taking off the laurel from
around his rods he placed it upon the knees of Jupiter. For that day he
furnished the people with baths and barbers free of charge. After this he
convened the senate and made no address himself by reason of hoarseness,
but gave the book to the quaestor to read which enumerated his
achievements and promulgated rules as to how many years the citizens
should serve in the army and how much money they should receive at the
end of their services in place of the land for which they were always
wont to ask. The object was that by being enlisted on certain specified
terms from the very start they should find in their treatment no excuse
for revolt. The number of years was for the Pretorians twelve and for the
rest sixteen; and the money to be distributed was less for some and more
for others. These measures caused the soldiers neither pleasure nor anger
for the time being, because they had neither obtained all they were
desiring nor yet lost everything. In the remainder of the population it
aroused confident hopes of not being deprived of their possessions in the
future.

[-26-] His next action was to dedicate the theatre called after
Marcellus. In the festival held on this account the patrician children as
well as his grandson Gaius performed the "Troy" equestrian exercise,
and six hundred Libyan wild beasts were slaughtered. Iullus, the son
of Antony, who was prætor, celebrated the birthday of Augustus with
horse-races and slaughterlng of wild beasts, and entertained both him and
the senate (following a decree of that body) upon the Capitol.

After this there was another reorganization of the senate. At first the
necessary value of their property had been limited to ten myriad denarii
because many of them had been deprived by the wars of their ancestral
estates. As time went on and men's possessions became larger, it was
advanced to twenty-five myriads, and no one was any longer found who
wanted to be senator. On the contrary, some children and grandchildren
of senators, of whom a part were really poor and another part had been
brought low through calamities suffered by their ancestors, not only
failed to lay claim to the senatorial dignity, but when already placed on
the list withdrew on oath. Therefore previous to this, while Augustus
was still out of the City, a decree had been passed that the so-called
viginti viri[8] should be appointed from the knights. Hence none of them
was any longed enrolled in the senate without having secured some one of
the other offices that lead to it.--These twenty men are a part of the
six-and-twenty.[9] Three of them have charge of capital cases at law. The
next three attend to the coinage of the money. Four act as commissioners
of the streets in the City. Ten are put over the courts that fall by lot
to the _Centumviri_. The two who were entrusted with the roads outside
the walls and the four who were sent to Campania had been abolished. The
senate had voted during the absence of Augustus another measure besides
this, namely that, since nobody could any longer be easily induced to
become a candidate for the tribuneship, they might appoint by lot some
who had been quæstors and were not yet forty years old. At this time the
emperor made a scrutiny of the whole body of citizens. Those of them who
were over thirty-five years of age he did not trouble, but those under
that age who had property of the requisite value he forced to become
senators, except in the case of cripples. Their bodies he viewed himself
but in regard to their property he accepted sworn statements, the men
themselves taking the oath (with others to corroborate their allegations)
and accounting for their lack of funds as well as for their habits of
life.

[-27-] Nor did he, while observing such strictness in ordinary public
business, neglect the conduct of his own family. Indeed, he rebuked
Tiberius because he had seated Gaius beside him at the thanksgiving
festival which he gave in honor of the emperor's return: and he censured
the people for honoring him with applause and eulogies. On the death of
Lepidus he was appointed high priest and the senate consequently wished
to vote him certain honors;[10] but he declared that he would not accept
them, and when the senators became urgent he rose and left the gathering.
So that measure was not ratified, and he received no official residence,
but because it was absolutely essential that the high priest should live
on public ground he made a portion of his own dwelling public property.
The house of the rex sacrificulus, however, he gave to the vestal virgins
because it was separated merely by a wall from their apartments.

Cornelius Sisenna was blamed for the conduct of his wife and stated in
the senate that he had married her with the knowledge and on the advice
of the emperor,--whereat Augustus grew exceedingly angry. He indulged in
no violence of word or action but hurried out of the senate-chamber and
then a little later came back again, choosing rather to do this (as he
said to his friends afterward), in spite of its not being right, than to
remain where he was and be compelled to do some harm.

[B.C. 12 (_a. u._ 742)]

[-28-] Meantime he bestowed upon Agrippa, who had come from Syria, the
great honor of the tribunician authority for another five years, and sent
him out to Pannonia, which was ready for war, allowing him greater powers
than officials outside of Italy ordinarily possessed. Agrippa made the
campaign though it already was winter: Marcus Valerius and Publius
Sulpicius were the consuls. As the Pannonians became terror stricken at
his approach and showed no further signs of uprising he returned, and on
reaching Campania fell sick. Augustus happened to be giving, under the
name of his children, contests of armed warriors at the Panathenaic
festival, and when he learned of Agrippa's condition he left the country.
Finding him dead, he conveyed his body to the capital and allowed it to
lie in state in the Forum. He also delivered the oration over the dead
man, with a curtain stretched in front of the corpse. Why he did this
I know not. Yet some have said it was because he was high priest, and
others because he was discharging the functions of censor. Both are
mistaken. A high priest is not forbidden to behold a corpse, nor yet
a censor, except when he is about to put the finishing touches to the
census. Then if he sees such an object before his purification, all his
work is rendered null and void. Besides this oration Augustus conducted
his funeral procession in the way that his own was later conducted. He
buried him in his own tomb, though the deceased had a lot of his own in
the Campus Martius.

[-29-] Such was the end of Agrippa, who had in every way proved himself
clearly the noblest of the men of his day and used the friendship of
Augustus for the emperor's own greatest benefit and for that of the
commonwealth. So much as he surpassed others in excellence, to such an
extent did he voluntarily make himself lower than his patron. He employed
all his own skill and bravery for what would prove most profitable to
Augustus and expended all the honor and power received from him on
benefiting others. As a result he never became in the least troublesome
to Augustus nor the object of jealousy on the part of others. He helped
his friend organize the monarchy like one who was really in love with
the idea of supreme power and he won over the populace by his kindness,
showing himself most truly a friend of the people. At his death he left
them gardens and the bath-house called after his name, so that they
might bathe free of charge; and he gave Augustus certain lands for
this purpose. The latter not only rendered these public property, but
distributed to the people also a hundred denarii apiece, with the
explanation that Agrippa had ordered it. He had inherited most of the
deceased's property, among the articles of which was the Hellespontine
Chersonese, which had come I know not how into the possession of Agrippa.
The emperor felt his loss for a very long time and therefore caused the
populace to hold him in honor. A posthumous son born to him he called
Agrippa. However, he did not allow any of the citizens to omit any of
the ancestral customs (although none of the more prominent men wished to
present himself for the festivals) and he personally superintended the
gladiatorial combats. They were often given, too, in his absence.--This
demise of Agrippa was not only a private loss to his own household, but
a public loss to all the Romans, as was shown by the fact that portents
occurred on this occasion as great as were usually seen before the
most tremendous disasters. Owls gathered in the capital and a bolt of
lightning descended upon the house at Albanum, where the consuls reside
during the sacrifices.[11] The star called comet stood for several days
over the City and was finally dissolved into flashes of light. Many
buildings in the City were destroyed by fire, among them the tent of
Romulus, which was set ablaze by crows dropping upon it burning meat from
some altar.--These were the matters of interest connected with Agrippa.

[-30-] After this Augustus was chosen supervisor and corrector of morals
for another five years,--this also he received for a limited period as he
had the monarchy,--and he ordered the senators to burn incense as often
as they had a sitting, and not to come to his residence: the first, that
they might show reverence to the gods, and the second, that they might
have no difficulty in convening. Inasmuch as very few became candidates
for the tribuneship on account of its power having been abolished, he
made a law that magistrates should each nominate one of the knights who
possessed not less than twenty-five myriads; the people should then
choose from these the number lacking, and if the men desired to be
senators afterward, well and good; otherwise they should return again to
the rank of knights.

The province of Asia also stood very greatly in need of some assistance
on account of earthquakes, and he therefore paid into the public treasury
from his own resources their annual tribute and assigned them a governor
for two years chosen by lot and not arbitrarily selected.

Apuleius and Mæcenas were at one time bitterly reviled in some court of
adultery, not because they had themselves behaved wantonly but because
they had actively aided the man on trial; thereupon Augustus entered the
courtroom and sat in the prætor's chair: he did nothing violent, but
simply forbade the accuser to insult his relatives or friends, and then
rose and left the place. For this action and others the senators honored
him with statues, paid for by private subscription, and by giving
bachelors and spinsters the right to behold spectacles with other people
and to attend banquets on his birthday. Neither of these privileges was
previously permitted them.

[-31-] When now Agrippa, whom he loved for his excellence and not
through any compulsion, had died, the emperor found that he needed an
assistant in the public business, one who would far surpass the rest in
both honor and power, who might manage everything opportunely and be free
from envy and plots. Therefore he reluctantly chose Tiberius, for his own
grandsons were at this time still minors. He caused him also to divorce
his wife, though she was a daughter of Agrippa by another marriage and
had one child an infant and was soon to give birth to another; and having
betrothed Julia to him he sent him out against the Pannonians. This
people had for a time been quiet, fearing Agrippa, but now after his
death they revolted. Tiberius subdued them, having ravaged considerable
of their territory and done much injury to its inhabitants; he had as
enthusiastic allies the Scordisci, who were neighbors of theirs and
similarly equipped. He took away their arms and sold for export most of
the male population that was of age. For these achievements the senate
voted him a triumph, but Augustus did not allow him to hold it, granting
him instead the triumphal honors.

[-32-] Drusus had this same experience. The Sugambri and their allies,
owing to the absence of Augustus and the fact that the Gauls were restive
under the yoke of slavery, had become hostile, and he therefore occupied
the subject territory before them, sending for the foremost men on the
pretext of the festival which they celebrate even now about the altar of
Augustus at Lugdunum. Also he observed the Celtae crossing the Rhine
and drove them back. Next he crossed over to the land of the Usipetes
opposite the very island of the Batavi, and from there marched along the
river to the Sugambri country, devastating vast stretches. He sailed
along the Rhine to the ocean, conciliated the Frisii, and traversing the
lake invaded Chaucis, where he ran in danger, as his boats were left high
and dry at the ebb-tide of the ocean. He was saved at this time by the
Frisii (who joined his expedition with infantry), and withdrew, for it
was now winter.

[B.C. 11(_a. u._ 743)]

Coming to Rome he was made aedile[12]in the consulship of Quintus Aelius
and Paulus Fabius, though he had already prætor's honors.

[-33-] At the opening of the spring he set out again to the war, crossed
the Rhine, and subjugated the Usipetes. He bridged the Lupia, invaded the
country of the Sugambri and advanced through it into Cheruscis, as far as
the Visurgis. He was able to do this because the Sugambri in anger at the
Chatti, the only tribe among their neighbors that had refused to join
their alliance, had made a campaign of the whole population against them.
Drusus took this opportunity to traverse their country unnoticed. And he
would nave crossed also the Visurgis, had not provisions grown scarce and
the their country, and though beaten at first vanquished them in turn and
ravaged both that land and the territory of adjacent tribes which had
taken part in the uprising. Immediately he reduced all of them to
subjugation, gaining control of some with their consent, terrifying
others into reluctant submission, and engaging in pitched battles with
others. Later, when some of them rebelled, he again enslaved them. And
for this thanksgivings and triumphal honors were accorded him.

[-35-] While these events were occurring Augustus took a census,
reckoning in all the property that belonged to him, as an individual
might do, and also making a list of the senate. As he saw that many were
not always present at the meetings he ordered that even less than four
hundred might constitute a quorum for passing decrees. Previously that
had been the minimum number for ratifying any measure. The senate and the
people again contributed money to be spent on images of himself, but he
would erect no such likeness, and only set up representations of the
Public Health, of Concord, and of Peace. The citizens were always
collecting money for statues to him, on the slightest excuse; and at last
they ceased paying it privately, as before, but would come to him on the
first day of the year and give, some more, some less. He, after adding as
much or more again, would return it, not only to the senators but to
all the rest. I have also heard the story that on one day of the year,
following some oracle or dream, he would assume the guise of a beggar and
would accept money from those who passed. This, whether trustworthy or
not, is a prevailing tradition.

That year he gave Julia in marriage to Tiberius, and his sister Octavia
dying, he caused her body to lie in state in the hero-shrine of Julius;
on this occasion, too, he had a curtain over the corpse. He himself
delivered there the funeral speech and Drusus, having changed his
senatorial dress, had a place on the platform, for the mourning was a
public affair. Her body was carried in procession by her sons-in-law: not
all the honors voted to her were accepted by Augustus.

At this same time the first priest of Jupiter since [-36-] Merula was
appointed; and the quaestors were ordered to pay careful heed to the
decrees passed from time to time, because the tribunes and the ædiles,
who had previously been entrusted with this business, transacted it
through their assistants, and as a result some mistakes and confusion
took place.

It was voted, moreover, that the temple of Janus Geminus, which was open,
should be closed, on the assumption that wars had ceased.

[B.C. 10 (_a. u._ 744)]

It was not closed, however, for the Dacians crossing the Ister on the ice
took the crops of Pannonia as booty, and the Dalmatians revolted at the
imposition of taxes. Against the latter Tiberius was sent from Gaul,
whither he had gone in company with Augustus, and he restored order. The
nations of the Celtæ, and especially the Chatti, were partly weakened
and partly subdued by Drusus; the tribe mentioned had gone to join the
Sugambri, having abandoned their own country, which the Romans had given
them to dwell in. The emperor delayed in Lugdunis, where he could keep a
sharp watch on affairs, as it was so near the Celtæ. The victors returned
to Rome with Augustus, assumed whatever dignities had been voted them by
the senate, and performed such other duties as belonged to them.--These
events took place in the consulship of Iullus and Fabius Maximus.


[Footnote 1: Pliny (Natural History VI, 181) calls him _Publius_.]

[Footnote 2: Readings and punctuation from Dindorf.]

[Footnote 3: Augustus returned to Rome October twelfth, and the temple in
question was consecrated December fifteenth.]

[Footnote 4: Boissevain here amends to [Greek: 'epelpisas]]

[Footnote 5: In the matter of the spelling of this name the weight of
authority prefers _Licinus_. Dio's form is less correct.]

[Footnote 6: I. e., the _lacus Venetus_.]

[Footnote 7: This eminence with its villa appropriately bore the Greek
title _Pausilypon_ (Grief's Surcease), a compound word like our modern
names _Heartsease_, _Sans Souci_, etc. It is the modern "Hill of
Posilipo."]

[Footnote 8: English, _Twenty Men_; their regular title.]

[Footnote 9: Latin, _Viginti Sex Viri_.]

[Footnote 10: The words "certain honors" are supplied on the suggestion
of Boissevain. Boissée and others, who surmise that the text here
contains a lacuna]

[Footnote 11: I. e., at the time of the Feriæ.]

[Footnote 12: The reading [Greek: agoranomos] is generally preferred here
to [Greek: asotunmos]]



DIO'S

ROMAN HISTORY

55

The following is contained in the Fifty-fifth of Dio's Rome:

How Drusus died (chapters 1, 2).

How the Precinct of Livia was consecrated (chapter 8)

How the Campus Agrippae was consecrated (chapter 8)

How the Diribitorium was consecrated (chapter 8).

How Tiberius retired to Rome (chapter 11).

How the Forum of Augustus was consecrated (chapter 12).

How the Temple of Mars therein was consecrated (chapter 12).

How Lucius Cæsar and Gaius Cæsar died (chapters 11, 12).

How Augustus adopted Tiberius (chapter 13).

How Livia urged Augustus to rule more mercifully (chapters 14-22).

About the legions and how men were appointed to manage the military fund
(chapters 23-25).

How the night-watchmen[1] were appointed (chapter 26).

How Tiberius fought against the Dalmatians and Pannonians (chapters
28-34).

Duration of time, 17 years, in which there were the following magistrates
here enumerated:

Nero Claudius Tib. F. Drusus, T. Quinctius T. F. Crispinus. (B.C. 9 = a.
u. 745.)

C. Marcius L. F. Censorinus, C. Asinius C. F. Gallus. (B.C. 8 = a. u.
746.)

Tib. Claudius Tib. F. Nero (II), Cn. Calpurnius Cn. F. Piso. (B.C. 7 = a.
u. 747.)

Decimus Laelius Decimi F. Balbus, C. Antistius C. F. Veter. (B.C. 6 = a.
u. 748.)

Augustus (XII), L. Cornelius P. F. Sulla. (B.C. 5 = a. u. 749.)

C. Calvisius C. F. Sabinus (II), L. Passienus Rufus (B.C. 4 = a. u. 750.)

L. Cornelius L. F. Lentulus, M. Valerius M. F. Messalla [or] Messalinus.
(B.C. 3 = a. u. 751.)

Augustus (XIII), M. Plautius M. F. Silvanus. (B.C. 2 = a. u. 752.)

Cossus Cornelius Cn. F. Lentulus, L. Calpurnius Cn. F. Piso (B.C. 1 = a.
u. 753.)

C. Cæsar Augusti F., L. Æmilius L. F. Paulus. (A.D. 1 = a. u. 754.)

P. Vinicius [or Minucius] M. F., P. Alfenus [or Alfenius] P.F. Varus.
(A.D. 2 = a. u. 755.)

L. Ælius L. F. Lamia, M. Servilius M.F. (A.D. 3 = a. u. 756.)

Sextus Ælius Q. F. Catus, C. Sentius C.F. Saturninus. (A.D. 4 = a. u.
757.)

L. Valerius Potiti F. Messala Valesus, Cn. Cornelius L. F. Cinna Magnus.
(A.D. 5 = a. u. 758.)

M. Æmilius L.F. Lepidus, L Arruntius L.F. (A.D. 6 = a. u. 759)

Aul. Licinius Aul. F. Nerva Silianus, Q. Cæcilius Q.F. Metellus Creticus.
(A.D. 7 = a. u. 760.)

M. Furius M. F. Camillus, Sex. Nonius L.F. Quintilianus. (A.D. 8 = a. u.
761.)


_(BOOK 55, BOISSEVAIN.)_

[B.C. 9 (_a. u._ 745)]

[-1-] The following year Drusus became consul with Titus Crispinus,
and omens occurred that were not favorable to him. Many buildings were
destroyed by storm and thunderbolts, among them many temples: even that
of Jupiter Capitolinus and the temple annexed to it were injured. He,
however, paid no attention to this and invaded the country of the Chatti,
advancing as far as Suebia, conquering the territory traversed not
without hardship and vanquishing the troops that assailed him not without
bloodshed. From there he marched to Cheruscis and crossing the Visurgis
proceeded as far as the Albis, pillaging the entire district. This Albis
rises in the Vandaliscan mountains and empties in a great flood into the
ocean this side of the Arctic Sea. Drusus undertook to cross it, but
failing in the attempt set up trophies and withdrew. For a woman taller
than mankind confronted him and said: "Whither are thou hastening,
insatiable Drusus? It is not fated that thou shalt see all this region.
Depart. For thee the end of labor and of life is already at hand." It is
strange to think that any such voice should have come to a person's ears
from the apparition, yet I can not discredit the tale, for he at once
retired. And as he was returning in haste he died on the way of some
disease, before he reached the Rhine. Proof of the story seems to me to
lie in the fact that at the time of his death wolves prowled and yelped
about the camp and two youths were seen riding through the middle of the
ramparts. A kind of lamentation in a woman's voice was also heard, and
there were shooting stars in the sky. These are the noteworthy points.
[-2-] Augustus, soon learning that he was sick (for he was not far off),
sent Tiberius to him with speed. The latter found him still breathing
and on his death carried his body to Rome, causing the centurions and
military tribunes to convey him over the first stage,--as far as the
winter quarters of the army,--and from there the foremost men of each
city. When the deceased was laid in state in the Forum a double funeral
oration was delivered. Tiberius eulogized him there and Augustus in the
Flaminian hippodrome. Since the latter had been abroad on a campaign it
was impious for him to do otherwise than perform the fitting rites in
honor of the exploits of Drusus at the very entrance of the pomerium. The
body was carried to the Campus Martius by the knights, both those who
belonged strictly to the equestrian order and those, as well, who were
of senatorial family.[2] Then, after being given to the flames, it was
deposited in the monument of Augustus. He and his children received the
title of Germanicus and honors in the way of both images and an arch,
besides obtaining a cenotaph close to the Rhine itself.

Tiberius, while Drusus was still alive, had overcome the Dalmatians and
Pannonians, who were again a little restless, had celebrated a triumph on
horseback, and had banqueted the people, a part on the Capitol and a
part in many other places. At this time also Livia and Julia together
entertained the women. Same festivities were being made ready for Drusus
The Feriæ were to be held a second time on this account so that he might
celebrate his triumph on the same occasion, but his untimely death upset
the plans. As a consolation to Livia images were awarded her and she was
enrolled among the mothers of three children. For upon such men or women
as are not granted so many offspring by Heaven, or at least upon some of
them, a law emanating formerly from the senate but now from the emperor
bestows the dignities belonging to parents of three children. In this way
they are not subject to the reproaches for childlessness and may receive
all but a few of the prizes for fecundity. Not only men but gods enjoy
the privilege, to the end that, if any one dying leaves them anything,
they may take possession of it. These are the facts of the matter.

[-3-] Augustus ordered that the sittings of the senate should be held on
specified days. Previously there had been no real system about them, and
some members on that account were often late; therefore he appointed two
regular monthly councils, so that those whom the law summoned should be
under compulsion to attend; and in order that no other excuse for their
absence should be within their power he commanded that no court or other
meeting which required their attention should be held at that time. He
made provision with respect to the number necessary for ratifying decrees
under each separate category, to put it briefly; and he increased the
fines imposed upon those who without good excuse were not present at the
gatherings. Inasmuch as many such offences had generally gone unpunished
owing to the large number of those who had incurred penalties, he
commanded that if many should do this, they should draw lots, and every
fifth one to draw a lot should be held liable to punishment.--The names
of all the senators he had recorded on a white tablet and conspicuously
posted. From the beginning made by him this is now annually done. _His_
intention in doing it was to make it absolutely necessary for them to
come together. Sometimes, by some accident, not so many might assemble as
a special case demanded. This would be known, because except on such days
as the emperor himself might be present the number of those in attendance
was both at this time and later carefully ascertained, and with a great
degree of accuracy. Under these circumstances they would deliberate and
their decision would be recorded, but it was not final, was not ratified:
instead, _auctoritas_ was declared, in order that their _will_ might be
evident,--for such is the force of this word. To translate the term into
Greek by a single expression is not possible. This same custom prevailed
in case they ever assembled through haste in an irregular place, or on a
day that was not fitting, or without a legal summons, or if because
of the opposition of tribunes a decree could not be passed, but their
opinion was not to be concealed. Later, ratification was granted
according to ancestral precedent to the resolution in question, and the
latter obtained the name of _senatus consultum_. This method, strictly
observed for an extremely long period by the men of old time, has in a
already become null and void,--as also the prerogative of the prætors.
For the latter were indignant that they might bring no proposition before
the senate although they ranked above the tribunes in dignity and they
received from Augustus the right of doing so, but in the course of time
it was taken away from them again.

[-4-] These and other laws which he at this time enacted he inscribed on
white tablets and submitted to the senate before taking any final action
with regard to them; and he allowed the senators to read, each one, the
articles separately, his object being that if any provision did not
please them, or if they could suggest anything better, they might speak.
He was very desirous of being democratic, and once, when one of the
companions of his campaigns asked him to aid him in the capacity of
advocate, at first he pretended to be busy and bade one of his friends
serve as advocate; when, however, the petitioner grew angry and said:
"but as often as you needed my assistance, I did not send somebody else
to you in place of myself, but in person I encountered dangers everywhere
in your behalf," the emperor then entered the courtroom and pled his
cause. He also stood by a friend of his who was defendant in a suit,
having first communicated this very purpose to the senate: he saved the
friend but was so far from being angry at his accuser, although the
latter spoke most bluntly, that when he had to undergo a scrutiny
regarding his morals the emperor acquitted him, saying that his bluntness
was a necessary thing on account of the out-and-out baseness of the mass
of mankind. Augustus, indeed, punished others who were reported to be
conspiring against their sovereign. He had quæstors hold office in the
coast districts near the City and in certain other parts of Italy; and
this he did for several years. Yet at this time he was unwilling, as I
have remarked, [3] to enter the city on account of Drusus's death.

[B.C. 8 _(a. u. 746)_]

[-5-] But the next year, in which Asinius Gallus and Graius Marcius were
consuls, he came back and carried the laurel, contrary to custom, into
the temple of Jupiter Feretrius. No festival did he celebrate over his
achievements, thinking that he had lost far more in the death of Drusus
than he had gained by the victories. The consuls carried out the program
usual on such occasions and set some of the captives to fighting with one
another. Later, when they and the rest of the officials were accused of
having been appointed by means of some bribery, he did not investigate
the case but pretended not even to know of it. He did not like to visit
punishment on any of them or to pardon them if they were convicted. But
from office seekers he demanded before the elections a deposit of money
as a guarantee that they would resort to no such methods, on pain of
forfeiting what they had paid in. This course all approved.--As it was
not permissible for a slave to be tortured for evidence against his
master, he ordered that, as often as the necessity for such a course
should arise, the slave should be sold either to the State or to him, in
order that being now the property of some one else than the man on trial
he might be examined. Some found fault with this, because the law was to
be invalidated by the change of masters; but others declared it to be
necessary, because many under the previous arrangement united to take
advantage of the loophole offered and to get the offices.

[-6-] Augustus, after this, although, as he said, he was minded to lay
aside the supreme power, since the second ten-year period had run out,
resumed it again with a show of reluctance and made a campaign against
the Celtæ. He himself remained behind on Roman territory, but Tiberius
crossed the Rhine. The barbarians in dread of him, all except the
Sugambri, made overtures for peace, but they did not obtain their request
at this time,--for Augustus refused to conclude a truce with them if they
lacked the Sugambri,--nor did they later. To be sure, the Sugambri, too,
sent envoys, but they failed completely to accomplish anything: on the
contrary, all of them, a numerous and distinguished band, met an untimely
end. Augustus arrested them and placed them in various cities: they took
this very much amiss and committed suicide. The tribes then were
quiet for a time, but later they amply requited the Romans for the
calamity.--Besides doing this Augustus granted money to the soldiers, not
as to victors, though he himself had taken the name of imperator and had
given it to Tiberius, but because this was the first time that they had
Gaius appearing in the exercises with them. He advanced Tiberius to the
position of imperator in place of Drusus, and besides exalting him with
that title appointed him consul once more. According to the ancient
custom he had a written notice bulletined for the public benefit before
Tiberius entered upon the office, and he furthermore accorded him the
solemnity of a triumph. Augustus himself did not wish to hold it, but
obtained the privilege of a horse-race perpetually upon his birthday. He
enlarged the pomerium and renamed the month called Sextilis, Augustus.
The people generally wanted September to be so named, because he had been
born in it, but he preferred the other month, in which he had first been
appointed consul and had conquered in many great battles. It was in these
things that he took pride.

[-7-] The death of Mæcenas caused him grief. He had enjoyed many kind
services at his hands, for which reason he had entrusted him, though but
a knight, with the care of the City for a long time, but especially
was his ministry of use when the emperor's passion became nearly
uncontrollable. Mæcenas was then able to banish his anger and to lead him
into a gentler frame of mind. Here is an instance. Mæcenas once found
his patron holding court, and seeing that would undoubtedly condemn many
persons to death, he undertook to push through the bystanders and
get Finding this impossible, he wrote on a tablet: "Pray desist now,
executioner." Making as if it contained something different, he threw it
into the lap of Augustus, and the latter imposed no death sentences but
immediately rose and left. The emperor was not displeased at such hints
but rather glad of them, because whatever excess of anger he felt by
reason of his own nature and the press of affairs he was able to tone
down with the aid of his friend's frank advice.--This also is a very
great proof of Mæcenas's excellence, that he made himself liked by
Augustus, in spite of resisting his projects, and pleased all the people.
Though he had tremendous influence with the emperor, so that he could
bestow offices and honors upon many men, he did not lose his head but
continued to the end of his life in the equestrian class. For all these
reasons Augustus missed him greatly, and he was affected by the fact that
his minister, though irritated about his own wife, had left him as his
heir and had put all his property, save a very small amount, in his hands
to give to his friends or not, as he saw fit. Such was the character of
Mæcenas and such his treatment of Augustus. He was the first to construct
a swimming pool of warm water in the city and the first to devise signs
for letters, to facilitate speed,--a system which, through Aquila [4] a
freedman, he taught to a number.

[B.C. 7 (_a. u._ 747)]

[-8-] Tiberius on the first day that he began the consulship with Gnæus
Piso convened the senate in the Octavium, because it was outside the
pomerium. After assigning himself the duty of repairing the temple of
Concord, in order that he might inscribe upon it his own name and that of
Drusus, he held his triumph, and in company with his mother dedicated the
so-called Precinct of Livia. He himself entertained the senate on the
Capitol, and she the women privately. Not much later, as there was some
disturbance in Germany, he took the field. The festival held in honor of
the return of Augustus was managed by Gaius together with Piso, in his
place. The Campus Agrippæ (except the portico) and the Diribitorium
Augustus himself made public property. The latter was the largest house
ever constructed under a single roof; now the whole top of it has been
taken off because it could not be put together solidly again, and the
edifice stands wide open to the sky. Agrippa had left it still in the
process of building, and it was completed at this time. The portico
in the plain, which Polla his sister (who had also decorated the
race-courses) was making, was not yet finished. Meantime funeral combats
in honor of Agrippa were given, all except Augustus wearing dark clothing
and even his sons the same, and there were both duels and contests of
groups; they were held in the Sæpta out of honor to Agrippa and because
many of the structures surrounding the Forum had been burned. The blame
for the fire was laid upon the debtor class and they were suspected of
having set it with the purpose of having some of their debts remitted
when they appeared to have lost considerable. They obtained nothing,
however. The lanes at this time were provided with certain supervisors
from among the people, whom we call road commissioners[5] They were
allowed to use official dress and two lictors just in the places where
they had jurisdiction and on certain days, and they were given charge of
the body of slaves which previously had accompanied the ædiles to save
buildings that were set afire,--an arrangement still continued to the
present day. They, together with the tribunes and prætors, were by lot
appointed to have charge of the entire city, which was divided into
fourteen wards.--These were all the events of that year, for nothing
worthy of mention happened in Germany.

[B.C. 6 (_a. u._ 748)]

[-9-] The year following, which marked the consulship of Gaius Antistius
and Lælius Balbus, Augustus was displeased to see that Gaius and Lucius,
who were being brought up in the lap of sovereignty, did not carefully
imitate his ways. They not only lived too luxuriously, but showed
unseemly audacity. Lucius once entered the theatre by himself and became
the center of attraction of the whole population; some merely let
him engross their thoughts and others openly paid court to him. This
treatment made him more arrogant, and among his other doings he proposed
for consul Gaius, who was not yet a iuvenis. His father, however,
expressed the earnest wish that no such complication of circumstances
might arise as once occurred in his own case,--that any one younger than
twenty should be consul. When the people still remained urgent he then
said that a man ought to receive this office at time when he would not be
liable to error himself and could resist the passions of the populace.
After that he gave Gaius a priesthood, with the right of attendance in
the senate and of beholding spectacles and sitting at banquets with that
body. And wishing in some way [6] to rebuke them still more severely he
bestowed upon Tiberius the tribunician authority for five years, and
assigned to him Armenia, which was becoming estranged since the death of
Tigranes. The result was that he was soon at odds with the people and
Tiberius, though without effecting anything. The people felt that they
had been slighted, and Tiberius feared their anger. He was, however, soon
sent to Rhodes on the pretext that he needed some education; and he
took not even his entire retinue, to say nothing of others, that so his
appearance and his deeds might drop out of their minds. [The trip he made
as a private person except in so far as he compelled the Parians to
sell him the statue of Vesta, that it might be placed in the temple of
Concord. When he reached the island he neither behaved at all nor spoke
in an overweening way.--This is the truest reason for his foreign
journey.] There is also a story current that he did this on account of
his wife Julia, because he could no longer endure her; at any rate she
was left behind at Rome. [Others have said that he was angry at not
having been designated Cæsar. Others still, that he was driven out by
Augustus, being accused of plotting against the latter's children. But
that his departure was not for the sake of education nor because he was
displeased at the decrees passed became plain from many of his subsequent
actions, and especially through his immediately opening his will at that
time, and reading it to his mother and to Augustus. But all possible
conjectures were made.]

[B.C. 5 (_a. u._ 749)]

  The following year Augustus in the course of his twelfth consulship
  placed Gaius among the iuvenes and at the same time brought him
  before the senate, declared   him Princeps luventutis, and allowed
  him to become cavalry commander.

       *       *       *       *       *

  [B.C. 2 (_a. u._ 752)]

  And after the elapse of a year Lucius also obtained all the honors
  that had been granted to his brother Gaius. On an occasion when the
  populace had gathered and were asking that some reforms be instituted,
  when, indeed, they had sent for this purpose the tribunes to Augustus,
  Lucius came and deliberated with them about their demands; and at
  this all were pleased.

[-10-]Augustus limited the number of the populace to be supplied with
grain, something previously left vague, to twenty myriads, and, as some
say, he gave each one sixty denarii.. .. to Mars, and that he himself and
his grandsons, as often as they pleased, and those who were passing
from the classification of children and were being registered among
the iuvenes, should invariably resort thither; that magistrates being
despatched to offices abroad should make that their starting-point; that
the senate should there declare their votes in regard to the granting
of triumphs and the victors celebrating them should devote to this Mars
their sceptre and their crown; that such victors and all others who might
obtain triumphal honors should have their likenesses in bronze erected
in the Forum; that in case military standards captured by the enemy were
ever recovered, they should be placed in the temple; that a festival of
the god should be celebrated near the Scalæ by the persons successively
occupying the office of præfectus alae; that a nail should be driven for
his glory by those acting as censors; that senators have the right to
undertake the work of furnishing the horses that were to compete in the
equestrian contest, as well as the general care of the temple, precisely
as had been provided by law in the case of Apollo and in the case of
Jupiter Capitolinus.

These matters settled, Augustus dedicated that spacious hall: yet to
Gaius and to Lucius he gave once and for all powers to officiate at all
similar consecrations, on the strength of a kind of consular authority
(founded on precedent) that they were to use. They, too, directed the
horse-race on this occasion, and their brother Agrippa took part with
the children of the leading families in the so-called "Troy" equestrian
games. Two hundred and sixty lions were slaughtered in the hippodrome.
There was a gladiatorial combat in the Sæpta, and a naval battle of
"Persians" and "Athenians" was given on the spot, where even at the
present day some relics of it are still exhibited. The above were the
names applied to the parties engaged, and the Athenians, as of old, came
out victorious.

In the course of the spectacle he let water into the Flaminian Hippodrome
and thirty-six crocodiles were there cut in pieces. However, Augustus did
not serve as consul every day continuously, but after holding office a
little while he gave the title of the consulship to another.

These were the exercises in honor of Mars. To Augustus himself a sacred
contest was offered in Neapolis, the Campanian city, nominally because he
had helped it rise when it was prostrated by earthquake and by fire,
but in reality because the inhabitants, alone of their neighbors, were
enthusiastic over Greek customs; and he also received the title of
Father, with, binding force (for previously he was merely spoken of by
that name and no decree had been passed). Moreover, it was now that for
the first time he appointed two pretorian prefects, Quintus Ostorius
Scapula and Publius Salvius Aper. This term "prefect" is the word which
I, too, shall use solely to designate the commanders of any body, since
it has won its way into general currency. Likewise Pylades the dancer
conducted certain games, not performing any manual labor in connection
with them (since he was now a man of advanced age) but employing the
insignia of office and authorizing the necessary expenditures. Similarly
the prætor Quintus Crispinus conducted games (though I need lay no
emphasis on that point) and under his management knights and women of
families not unknown to fame were brought into the orchestra. But of all
this Augustus made no account; his daughter Julia, however, proved so
dissolute that she held revels and drinking bouts by night in the
Forum and on the very rostra. When at last he found this out, he was
exceedingly enraged. He had guessed before that she did not lead a right
life, but refused to believe it. For those who hold supreme power are
acquainted with anything better than with their own affairs. Their own
deeds do not go undetected by their associates, but they are not fully
aware of the latter's. In this instance [when he learned what was going
on], he gave way to such violent rage that he could not keep the matter
to himself, but communicated it to the senate. As a result she was
banished to the island of Pandateria, near Campania, and her mother
Scribonia voluntarily was the companion of her voyage. Of the men who
enjoyed her favors Iullus Antonius, on the ground that his conduct was
prompted by designs upon the monarchy, was put to death, along with
others, [prominent persons]. The remainder were banished to islands.
[And since there was a tribune among them he was not tried till he had
completed his term of office.] Many other women, too, were accused of
similar behavior, but the emperor would not permit all the suits: he set
a definite time and forbade investigation of what had occurred previous
to that. In the case of his daughter he would show no mercy, urging that
he would rather have been Phoebe's father than hers, but the rest he
spared. Now Phoebe been a freedwoman of Julia's and the companion of her
undertakings, and had already caused her own death. For this Augustus
praised her.

  [B.C. 1 (_a. u._ 753)]

  Gaius' captaincy of the legions on the Ister was a peaceful period.
  He fought no war, not because there was none but because he cultivated
  ruling in quiet and safety, and the dangers were assigned to others.

The revolt of the Armenians and the Parthians' coöperation with them kept
Augustus sorrowful, and he was at a loss to know what to do. His age
rendered him incapable of campaigning, Tiberius (as stated) had already
withdrawn, he could not venture to send any other influential man,
and Gaius and Lucius were, as it happened, young and inexperienced in
affairs. Still, under the prod of necessity, he chose Gaius, gave him
the proconsular authority and a wife (an act intended to increase his
dignity) and assigned advisers to him. Gaius set out and was everywhere
received with marks of distinction, occupying as he did the position of
the emperor's grandson,--one might almost say son,--and Tiberius went
to Chios and paid him court to rid himself of suspicion. He humiliated
himself and groveled at the feet not only of Gaius but of all the
latter's associates. On his return to Syria, after no great successes
won, he was wounded.

[When the barbarians heard of the campaign of Gaius, Phrataces sent to
Augustus men to explain what had occurred and asked to get back his
brothers on condition of accepting peace.

[A.D. 1 (_a. u._ 754)]

The emperor's reply, addressed simply to "Phrataces," without the title
of king, directed him to lay aside the royal name and withdraw from
Armenia. The Parthian, however, instead of being cowed at this, wrote
back in a generally supercilious tone, calling himself "king of kings,"
but the other only "Cæsar."--Tigranes did not at once send any envoys,
but when Artabazus somewhat later fell sick and died he despatched a
letter, not writing the name "king" in it, and asked Augustus for the
kingdom. Influenced by these considerations and in fear, likewise, of war
with the Parthians, the emperor accepted the gifts and bade him go with
good hopes to meet Gaius in Syria.]

[-10a-(_Boissevain_)] ... other party from Egypt that campaigned against
them they repulsed, and did not yield till a tribune from the pretorian
guard was sent against them. He in progress of time checked their
incursions, and for a long period no senator governed the cities in this
region.

Coincident with these troubles there was a new movement on the part of
the Celtæ. Some time earlier Domitius, while still governing the regions
adjacent to the Ister, had intercepted the Hermunduri (a tribe that for
some unknown reason had left their native land and were wandering about
in search of a different country), and he had settled them in a portion
of Marcomania; next, encountering no opposition, he had crossed the
Albis, cemented friendship with the barbarians on the other side, and
set up an altar to Augustus to commemorate the event. Just now he
had transferred his position to the Rhine, where, in pursuance of an
intention to have his subordinates restore certain Cheruscian exiles, he
had met with misfortune and had caused the other barbarians likewise to
concieve a contempt for the Romans. This was, however, the extent of his
operations during the year in question, for because of the Parthian war
impending no chastisement was visited upon the rebels immediately.

Nevertheless the war with the Parthians did not materialize. Phrataces
heard that Gaius was in Syria, equipped with consular powers, and was
furthermore uneasy about home interests in which even previously he had
failed to discern a friendly feeling; hence he hastened to effect a
reconciliation, secured on the proviso that he himself should depart from
Armenia and his brothers remain over seas.

[A.D. 2(_a. u._ 755)]

Now the Armenians fell into conflict with the Romans the following year,
in which Publius Vinicius and Publius Varus were consuls. The restraining
influence of the fact that Tigranes had perished in some barbarian war
and that Erato had resigned the sovereignty was nullified as soon as they
were delivered to a Mede, Ariobarzanes, who had once come to the Romans
in company with Tiridates. They accomplished nothing worthy of note save
that a leader named Addon,[7] who was occupying Artagira, induced Gaius
to come close up to the wall, pretending that he would reveal to him some
secrets of the Parthian king, and then wounded him. In the consequent
siege he maintained a prolonged resistance. When he was at last
overthrown, not only Augustus but Gaius, too, assumed the title of
imperator, and Armenia passed into the control of Ariobarzanes. Soon
after the latter died, and his son Artabazus received it as the gift of
Augustus and the senate. Gaius fell ill from the wound, and though he
was not in any way robust and the condition of his health had, in fact,
injured his mind, he now grew still more feeble. At length he begged
leave to retire to private life, and it was his wish to take up his abode
somewhere in Syria. Augustus, in the depth of grief, communicated his
desire to the senate, and urged him to come at any rate to Italy and
then do what he pleased. So Gaius resigned at once all the duties of his
office and took a coastwise trading vessel to Lycia, where, at Limyra,
he breathed his last. Prior to his demise the spark of Lucius's life had
also paled. (He, too, was being given practice in many places, sent now
here, now there; and he was wont to read personally the letters of Gaius
before the senate, so often as he was present.) His death was due to a
sudden illness. In connection with both these cases, therefore, suspicion
rested upon Livia, and particularly because the return of Tiberius
from Rhodes to Rome occurred at this time. [-11-] As for him he was so
extremely well versed in the art of divination by the stars, having with
him Thrasyllus, who was a past master of all astrology, that he had
understood accurately what was fated both for himself and for them. And
the story goes that once in Rhodes he was about to push Thrasyllus from
the walls, because the latter was the only one aware of all he had in
mind; observing, however, that his intended victim looked gloomy, he
asked him why his face was overcast. When the other replied that he
suspected some danger, he was surprised [8] and gave up his murderous
designs. Thrasyllus had such a clear knowledge of all things that when
he descried approaching afar off the boat which brought to Tiberius the
message from his mother and Augustus to return to Rome, he told him in
advance what news it would bring.

[-12-] The bodies of Lucius and of Gaius were brought to Rome by the
military tribunes and by the chief men of each city. The targes and the
golden spears which they had received from the knights on entering the
class of iuvenes were set up in the senate-house.

Augustus was once called "master" by the people, but he not only forbade
that any one should use this form of address to him but took very good
care in every way to enforce his command.

[A.D. 3 (_a. u._ 756)]

When his third ten-year period had been accomplished, he then accepted
the rulership for the fourth time,--of course under compulsion! He had
become milder through age and more hesitating in regard to offending any
of the senators and now wished to have no differences with any of them.

  For lending for three years to such as needed it fifteen hundred
  myriads of denarii, without interest, he was praised and reverenced
  by all.

Once, when a fire destroyed the palace, and many persons offered him
large amounts, he would take nothing except an aureus from the various
peoples and a denarius from single individuals. The name _aureus_, which
I give here, is a local term for a piece of money worth twenty-five
denarii.[9] Some of the Greeks also, whose books we read for acquiring
a pure Attic style, give it this name. When Augustus had restored his
dwelling he made all of it public property, either because of the
contributions made by the people or because he was high priest and wished
to live in a building both private and public.

[-13-] The people urged Augustus very strongly to rescind the sentence of
exile passed upon his daughter, but he answered that fire would mix with
water before she should be brought back. And the populace did throw a
good deal of fire into the Tiber. For the time being they accomplished
nothing, but later they brought such pressure to bear that she was at
last moved from the island to the mainland.

  And later the outbreak of war with the Celtæ found Augustus worn
  out in body (by reason of old age and sickness) and incapable of taking
  the field. Yielding, then, partly to the requirements of the situation
  and partly to the persuasions of Julia[10] (who had already been restored
  from banishment)
he both adopted Tiberius and sent him out[11] against the Celtæ, granting
him the tribunician authority for ten years.

[A.D. 4 (_a. u._ 757)]

Yet suspecting that he might lose his head and fearing a possible
insurrection he adopted for him also his nephew Germanicus, though
Tiberius himself had a son. After this he took courage, and feeling that
he had successors and supporters, he became desirous to organize the
senate once more. So he nominated the ten senators whom he most honored
and appointed three of them, selected by lot, to be scrutinizers. There
were not many, however, who either imposed sentence on themselves
beforehand,--permission being given them to do so, just as
previously,--or were retired against their will.

This business, then, was managed by others. The emperor himself took a
census of the inhabitants of Italy possessing property valued at not less
than five myriad denarii. The weaker citizens and those dwelling outside
of Italy he did not compel to undergo the taking of a census, for he
feared that they might be disturbed and show insubordination of some
sort. And in order that he might not seem to be acting in the capacity
of censor (for the reason I mentioned before) [12] he assumed proconsular
powers for the purpose of completing the census and accomplishing the
purification. And inasmuch as many of the young men of the senatorial
class and of the equestrian, as well, had grown poor though not at fault
for it themselves, he made up to most of them the required amount of
property, and in the case of some eighty increased it to thirty myriads.

[A.D. 4 ( _a. u._ 757) ]

Since, also, many were giving unrestricted emancipation to their slaves,
he directed what age the manumitter and likewise the person to be
liberated by him must have reached: moreover, what regulations people
in general, and the former masters, should observe toward those made
freedmen.

[-14-] While he was thus occupied plots were formed against him, and
notably one by Gnæus Cornelius, a son of the daughter of Pompey the
Great. For some time the emperor was a prey to great perplexity not
wishing to kill the men,--for he saw that no greater safety would be
his by their destruction,--nor yet to let them go, for fear this might
attract others to conspire against him. While he was in a dilemma as to
what he should do and could not be free from anxiety by day nor from
terror by night, Livia one day said to him:--

"What is this, husband? Why is it you do not sleep!"

"Wife," answered Augustus, "who could be even to the slightest degree
free from care, that has so many enemies and is so constantly the object
of plots of one set of men or another? Do you not see how many are
attacking both me and our sovereignty? The vengeance meted out to those
found guilty does not retard them: quite the contrary, as if they were
pressing forward to do some noble action the rest also hasten to perish
similarly."

Livia, hearing this, said: "That you should be the object of plots is not
remarkable, nor is it contrary to human nature. Having so large an empire
you must do many things and naturally you cause grief to not a few
people. A ruler can not please all: on the contrary, even an exceedingly
upright sovereign must inevitably make foes of many persons. For those
who wish to be unjust are many more than those who act justly, and their
desires it is impossible to satisfy. Even among such as possess a certain
excellence some yearn for many great rewards which they can not obtain
and some chafe because they are inferior to others: so both of them find
fault with the ruler. From this you can see that it is impossible to
avoid evil, and furthermore that of all the attacks made none is upon you
but all upon your position of supremacy. If you were a private citizen,
no one would willingly do you any harm unless he had previously received
some injury. But for the supremacy and for the good things that it
contains all yearn, and those who occupy any post of influence far more
than their inferiors. It is the nature of wicked men, who have very
little sense, to do so. It is implanted in their dispositions, just like
anything else, and it is impossible by either persuasion or compulsion to
remove such a bent from some of them. There is no law or fear stronger
than natural tendencies. Reflect on this and do not take the offences of
others so hard, but keep yourself and your supremacy carefully guarded,
that we may hold it safely not by virtue of inflicting severe punishments
but by means of strict watchfulness."

[-15-] To this Augustus replied: "Wife, I too know that nothing great is
ever free from envy and plots,--least of all sole power. We should be
peers of the gods if we did not have troubles and cares and fears beyond
all private individuals. But to me it is also a source of grief that this
is inevitably so and that no cure for it can be found."

"Yet," said Livia, "since some men are so constituted as to want to do
wrong in any event, let us guard against them. We have many soldiers who
protect us,--some marshaled against foreign foes and others about your
person,--and a large retinue, so that by their help we may live safely
both at home and abroad."

"I do not need," said Augustus, interrupting, "to state that many men on
many occasions have perished at the hands of their immediate associates.
For in addition to other disadvantages this, too, is a most distressing
thing in monarchies, that we fear not only enemies (like other people)
but also our friends. Many more rulers have been plotted against by such
persons than by those who had nothing to do with them. This is to be
expected, since the inner circle is with the potentate day and night,
exercising and eating, and he has to take food and drink that they have
prepared. Moreover, against acknowledged enemies you can array these very
men, but against the latter themselves there is no one else to employ as
an ally. To us, therefore, the whole time through, solitude is dreadful,
company dreadful: to be unguarded is terrifying, but most terrifying are
the guards themselves: enemies are difficult to deal with, but still
greater difficulties are presented by our friends. They must all be
called friends, whether they are such or not, but even if one should find
them most reliable, even so one may not trust one's self in their company
with a clear, carefree, unsuspecting heart. This, then, and the fact
that it is requisite to take measures of defence against ordinary
conspirators, make the situation overwhelmingly dreadful. For to be
always compelled to be inflicting punishment and chastisement upon
somebody is highly repugnant to men of character."

[-16-] "You are right," answered Livia, "and I have some advice to give
you,--at least, if you prove willing to receive it and willing not to
censure me that, woman as I am, I dare to make suggestions to you which
no one else, even of your most intimate friends, would venture. And this
is not through any lack of knowledge on their part, but because they are
not bold enough to speak."

"Say on," rejoined Augustus, "and let us have it."

"I will tell you," continued Livia, "without hesitation, because I share
your comforts and adversities, and while you are safe I myself hold
dominion day by day, whereas if you come to any harm (which Heaven
forbid!) I shall perish with you. Well, then, human nature persuades some
to sin under any conditions, and there is no device for controlling
it when it has once started toward any goal. What seems good to
persons,--not to rehearse the vices of the masses,--at once induces very
many of them to do wrong. [-17-] The boast of birth and pride of wealth,
greatness of honor, audacity founded on bravery, and conceit due to
authority, bring shipwreck to not a few. There is no making nobility
ignoble, bravery cowardly, or prudence foolish: it is impossible. Nor,
again, is it to curtail men's abundance or to strike down ambitions where
conduct has been correct: that is iniquitous. That he who is on the
defensive and anticipates others' movements should incur injury and ill
repute is inevitable. Come, let us change our policy and spare some of
them. To me it seems far more feasible to set things right by kindness
than by harshness. Not only are those who grant pardon loved by the
objects of their clemency, who strive to repay the favor, but all others
both respect and reverence them and will not readily endure to see harm
done to them. Sovereigns, however, who maintain an inexorable anger not
only are hated by those who have aught to fear, but cause uneasiness to
all the rest. As a result, men plot against them to avoid meeting an
untimely fate. Do you not notice that physicians very rarely have
recourse to cutting and burning, wishing to avoid aggravating a person's
disease, but in the majority of cases soothe and cure by means of
fomentations and mild drugs? Do not think that because those ailments
have to do with the body and these with the mind that they are
essentially different. Very many experiences of the body are similar in
a way to what goes on in the souls of men, no matter how bodiless the
latter may be. The soul contracts under the influence of fear and expands
under that of wrath. Pain humiliates men and audacity puffs them up. The
correspondences then are very close and therefore both kinds of trouble
need treatments which are much alike. A gentle speech uttered to a man
causes all his unruliness to subside, just as a harsh one provokes to
anger even an easy-going person. The granting of pardon melts the most
audacious, just as punishment irritates the most mild. Acts of violence
inflame all men in every instance, even though such measures may be
thoroughly just, but considerate treatment mollifies them. Hence
one would more readily brave great dangers through persuasion and
voluntarily, than under compulsion. Such is the inherent, unalterable
quality of both methods of behavior that even among brute beasts that
have no mind many of the strongest and fiercest are domesticated by
petting and are subdued by coaxing, whereas many of the most cowardly and
weak are made unmanageable and maddened by cruelties and terrors.

[-18-] "I am not saying that we must spare absolutely all wrongdoers, for
we must cut out of the way the daredevil and busybody, the man of
evil nature and evil devices, who gives himself up to an unyielding,
persistent baseness, just as we treat parts of the body that are quite
incurable. But of the rest, who err through youth or ignorance or
a misunderstanding or some other chance, some purposely and others
unwillingly, it is proper to admonish some with words, to bring others to
their senses by threats, and to handle still others with moderation in
some different way, precisely as in other [matters] ... all men impose
upon some greater and upon others lesser punishments. So far as these
persons are concerned you may employ moderation without danger,
inflicting upon some the penalty of banishment, upon others that of loss
of political rights, upon still others a money fine. You may also place
some of them in country districts or in certain cities.

"In the past a few have been brought to their senses by missing what they
hoped for, by failing to secure what they aimed at. A degradation in
seats[13] and factional disputes involving disgrace, as well as being
injured or terrified before they could make a move, has improved not a
few. Yet one well born and courageous would prefer to die rather than to
have any such experience. As a result, vengeance would become not easier
for the plotters but more difficult, and we should be able to live in
safety, since not a word could be said against us. At present we are
thought to kill many through anger,[14] many because of a desire for
their money, others through fear of their bravery, and a great many
others on account of jealousy of their excellence. No one will readily
believe that a person possessing so great an authority and power can
seriously be the object of the plots of any unarmed individual. Some talk
as above and others say that we hear a great many lies and foolishly pay
heed to many of them, believing them true. They assert that those who spy
into and overhear doubtful matters concoct many falsehoods, some being
influenced by enmity, others by wrath, some because they can get money
from their foes, others because they can get no money from the same
persons, and further, that they report not only the fact of certain
persons having committed suspicious actions or intending to commit them,
but also how A said so-and-so, and B hearing it was silent, how one man
laughed and somebody else wept.

[-19-] "I could cite innumerable other details of like nature which,
no matter how true they were, are no business for free men to concern
themselves about or report to you. If they went unnoticed, they would do
you no harm, but when heard they might irritate you even against your
will: and that ought by no means to happen, especially in a ruler of the
people. Now many believe that from this cause large numbers unjustly
perish, some without a trial and others by some unwarranted condemnation
of a court. They will not admit that the evidence given or statements
made under torture or any similar proof against them is genuine. This is
the sort of talk, though some of it may not be just, which is reported in
the case of practically all so put to death. And you ought, Augustus,
to be free not only from injustice but from the appearance of it. It is
sufficient for a private individual to avoid irregular conduct, but it
behooves a ruler to incur not even the suspicion of it. You are the
leader of human beings, not of beasts, and the only way you can make
them really friendly to you is by persuading them by every means
and constantly, without a break, that you will wrong no one either
voluntarily or involuntarily. A man can be forced to fear another but he
has to be persuaded to love him: and he is to be persuaded by the good
treatment he himself receives and the benefits he sees conferred on
others. The person, however, who suspects that somebody has perished
unjustly both fears that he may some day meet the same fate and is
compelled to hate the one responsible for the deed. And to be hated by
one's subjects is (besides containing no element of good) exceedingly
unprofitable. The general mass of people feel that ordinary individuals
must defend themselves against all who wrong them in any way or else be
despised and consequently oppressed: but rulers, they think, ought to
prosecute those who wrong the State but endure those who are thought
to commit offences against them privately; rulers can not be harmed by
disdain or assault, because they have many guardians to protect them.

[-20-] "When I hear this and turn my attention to this I feel inclined to
tell you outright to put no one to death for any such reason. Places of
supremacy are established for the preservation of subjects, to prevent
them from being injured either by one another or by foreign tribes:
such places are not, by Jupiter, for the purpose of allowing the rulers
themselves to hard their subjects. It is most glorious to be able not to
destroy most of the citizens but to save them all, if possible. It is
right to educate them by laws and, favours and admonitions, that they may
be right-minded and further to watch and guard them, so that even if they
wish to do wrong they may not be able. And if there is anything ailing,
we must cure and correct it in some way, in order that there may be no
entire loss. To endure the offences of the multitude is a task requiring
great prudence and force: if any one should simply punish all of them as
they deserve, before he knew it he would have destroyed the majority of
mankind. For these reasons, then, I give you my opinion to the effect
that you should not inflict the death penalty for any such error, but
bring the men to their senses in some other way, so that they will not
again do anything dangerous. What crime could a man commit shut up on
an island, or in the country, or in some city, not only destitute of a
throng of servants and money, but under guard, if it be necessary? If the
enemy were anywhere near here or some alien force had dominion over this
sea so that one of the prisoners might escape to them and do us some
harm, or if, again, there were strong cities in Italy with fortifications
and weapons, so that if a man seized them he might become a menace to us,
that would be a different story. But all towns in this neighborhood are
unarmed and lacking any walls that would serve in war, and the enemy is
removed from them by vast distances; a long stretch of sea, and a journey
by land including mountains and rivers hard to cross lie between them and
us.

Why, then, should one fear this man or that man, defenceless, private
citizens, here in the middle of your empire and enclosed by your armed
forces? I can not see how any one could conceive such a notion or how the
maddest madman could accomplish anything.

[-21-] "With these premises, therefore, let us give the idea a trial. The
discontented will soon themselves change their ways and bring about an
improvement in others. You notice that Cornelius is both of good birth
and renowned. This matter has to be reasoned out in a human fashion. The
sword can not effect everything for you; it would be a great blessing if
it could bring some men to their senses and persuade them or even compel
them to love any one with genuine affection: but, instead, it will
destroy the body of one man and alienate the minds of the rest. People
do not become more attached to any one because of the vengeance they see
meted out to others, but they become more hostile through the influence
of their own fears. That is one side of the picture. On the other hand,
those who obtain pardon for any crime and repent are ashamed to wrong
their benefactors again, but render them much service in return, hoping
to receive much more again for it. When a man is saved by some one who
has been wronged, he thinks that his rescuer, if fairly treated, will
go to any lengths to aid him. Heed me, therefore, dearest, and make a
change. Then all your other acts that have caused displeasure will
appear to have been due to necessity. In conducting so great a city from
democracy into monarchy it is impossible to make the transfer without
bloodshed. But if you follow your old policy, you will be thought to have
done these unpleasant things intentionally."

[-22-] Augustus heeded these suggestions of Livia and released all those
against whom charges were pending, admonishing some of them orally;
Cornelius he even appointed consul. Later he so conciliated both him and
the other men that no one else again really plotted against him or had
the reputation of so doing. Livia had had most to do with saving the life
of Cornelius, yet she was destined to be held responsible for the death
of Augustus.

[A.D. 5 (a. u. 758)]

At this time, in the consulship of Cornelius and Valerius Messala,
earthquakes of ill omen occurred and the Tiber tore away the bridge so
that the City was under water for seven days. There was an eclipse of the
sun, and famine set in. This same year Agrippa was enrolled among the
iuvenes, but obtained none of the same privileges as his brother. The
senators attended the horse-races separately and the knights also
separately from the remainder of the populace, as is done nowadays. And
since the noblest families did not show themselves inclined to give their
daughters for the service of Vesta, a law was passed that the daughters
of freedmen might likewise be consecrated. Many contended for the honor,
and so they drew lots in the senate in the presence of their fathers; no
priestess, however, was appointed from this class.

[-23-] The soldiers were displeased at the small size of the prizes for
the wars that had taken place at this period and no one was willing to
carry arms for longer than the specified term of his service. It was
therefore voted that five thousand denarii be given to members of the
pretorian guard when they had ended sixteen, and three thousand to
the other soldiers when they had completed twenty years' service.
Twenty-three legions were being supported at that time, or, as others
say, twenty-five, of citizen soldiers. Only nineteen of them now remain.
The Second (Augusta) is the one that winters in Upper Britain. Of the
Third there are three divisions,--the Gallic, in Phoenicia; the Cyrenaic,
in Arabia; the Augustan, in Numidia. The Fourth. (Scythian) is in Syria,
the Fifth (Macedonian), in Dacia. The Sixth is divided into two parts, of
which the one (Victrix) is in Lower Britain, and the other (Ferrata) is
in Judæa. The soldiers of the Seventh, generally called Claudians, are in
Upper Moesia. Those of the Eighth, Augustans, are in Upper Germany. Those
of the Tenth are both in Upper Pannonia (Legio Gemina) and in Judaea.
The Eleventh, in Lower Moesia, is the Claudian. This name two legions
received from Claudius because they had not fought against him in the
insurrection of Camillus. The Twelfth (Fulminata) is in Cappadocia: the
Thirteenth (Gemina) in Dacia: the Fourteenth (Gemina) in Upper Pannonia:
the Fifteenth (Apollinaris) in Cappadocia. The Twentieth, called both
Valeria and Victrix, is also in Upper Britain. These, I believe, together
with those that have the title of the Twenty second[15] and winter in
Upper Germany Augustus took in charge and kept; and this I say in spite
of the fact that they are by no means called Valerians by all and do
not themselves use the title any longer. These are preserved from the
Augustan legions. Of the rest some have been scattered altogether and
others were mixed in with different legions by Augustus himself and by
the other emperors, from which circumstance they are thought to have been
called Gemina.

[-24-] Now that I have once been brought into a discussion of the
legions, I shall speak of the forces as they are at present according
to the disposition made by subsequent emperors: in this way any one who
desires to learn anything about them may do so easily, finding all his
information written in one place. Nero organized the First legion, called
the Italian, and now wintering in Lower Moesia; Galba, the First legion,
called Adiutrix, in Lower Pannonia, and the Seventh (Gemina), which is in
Spain; Vespasian, the Second, Adiutrix, in Lower Pannonia, and the Fourth
(the Flavian) in Syria; Domitian, the First (Minervia), in Lower Germany;
Trajan, the Second (the Egyptian), and the Thirtieth (Germanic), which he
also named after himself. Marcus Antoninus organized the Second, which
is in Noricum, and the Third, in Rhætia; these are also called Italian:
Severus the Parthian legions, i. e., the First and the Third in
Mesopotamia and between them the Second, the one in Italy.

This is at present the number of legions which are enrolled in the
service, exclusive of the cohortes urbanæ and the pretorian guard.
At that time, in the days of Augustus, those I mentioned were being
supported, whether twenty-three or twenty-five altogether; and then there
was some allied force, whatever the size, of infantry and cavalry and
sailors. I can not state the exact figures. The body-guards, ten thousand
in all, were divided into ten portions, and the six thousand warders of
the city into four portions, and there were picked foreign horsemen
to whom the name Batavians is applied (from the island Batavia in the
Rhine), because the Batavians are noted for superiority in horsemanship.
I can not, however, state their exact number any more than that of the
evocati. He began to reckon in the latter from the time that he called
the warriors who had previously supported his father to arms again
against Antony; and he retained control of them. They constitute even now
a special corps and carry rods, like the centurions.

For the distribution mentioned he needed money and therefore introduced
a motion into the senate to the effect that a definite permanent fund be
created, in order that without troubling any private citizen they might
obtain abundant support and rewards from the proposed appropriation.
The means for such a fund was accordingly sought.--As no one showed a
willingness to become ædile, some from the ranks of ex-quæstors and
ex-tribunes were compelled by lot to take the office. This happened
frequently at other times.

[A.D. 6 (_a. u._ 759)]

[-25-] After this, in the consulship of Æmilius Lepidus and Lucius
Arruntius, when no source for the fund was found that suited anybody, but
quite everybody felt dejected because such an attempt was being made,
Augustus in the name of himself and of Tiberius put money into
the treasury, which he called the ærarium militare. Some of the
ex-prætors--such as drew the lots--he instructed to administer it for
three years, employing two lictors apiece and such further assistance as
was fitting. This was done by successive officials for a number of years.
At present they are chosen by whoever is emperor and they go about
without lictors. Augustus himself made some further contributions and
promised to do this annually, and he accepted offers from kings and
certain peoples. From private individuals, though a number were ready
and glad to give (as they said), he would take nothing. But as all this
proved very slight in comparison with the large amount spent, and there
was need of some inexhaustible supply, he ordered each one of the
senators to devise means by himself, to write his plan in a book, and
give it to him to look over. This was not because he had no plan of his
own, but because he was most anxious to persuade them to choose the
one that he wished. Various men proposed various courses, but he would
approve none of them: instead, he arranged for five per cent. of the
inheritances and bequests which should be left by deceased persons
(except in the case of very near relations or poor families); he
pretended that he had found this tax suggestion in Cæsar's memoirs. It
was a method that had been introduced once before, but had been later
abolished and was now introduced anew. In this way he increased the
revenues. The expenditures made by three men of consular rank, whom
the lot designated, he partly made smaller and partly did away with
altogether.

[-26-] This was not the only source of trouble to the Romans: there was
also a severe famine. As a consequence, the gladiators and the slaves
offered for sale were removed to a distance of over seven hundred and
fifty stadia, Augustus and others dismissed the greater part of their
retinue, there was a cessation of lawsuits, and senators were permitted
to leave the city and go where they pleased. In order to prevent any
hindrance to decrees from this last measure it was ordered that all those
framed by as many as happened to attend meetings should be binding.
Moreover, ex-consuls were appointed to take charge of grain and bread
supplies, so as to have a stated quantity sold to each person. Those who
were recipients of public bounty had as much added to their supply gratis
by Augustus as they might obtain at any time. When even that did not
suffice, he forbade the citizens to hold any public festivals on his
birthday.

Since also at this time many parts of the City fell a prey to fire, he
formed a company of freedmen in seven divisions to render assistance on
such occasions, and appointed a knight as their leader, thinking soon
to disband them. He did not do this, however. Having ascertained by
experience that the aid they gave was most valuable and necessary, he
kept them. The night-watchmen exist to the present day, subject to
special regulations, and those in the service are selected not from the
freedmen only any longer but from on the rest of the classes as well.
They have barracks in the city and draw pay from the public treasury.

[-27-] The multitude, under the burden of the famine and the tax and the
losses sustained by fire, were ill at ease. They discussed openly many
schemes of insurrection and by night scattered pamphlets more still: this
move was said to be traceable to a certain Publius Rufus, but others were
suspected of it. Rufus could not have originated or have taken an
active part in it; therefore it was thought that others who aimed at a
revolution were making an illicit use of his name. An investigation
of the affair was resolved upon and rewards for information offered.
Information accordingly came in and the city as a result was stirred up.
This lasted till the scarcity of grain subsided, when gladiatorial games
in honor of Drusus were given by Germanicus Cæsar and Tiberius Claudius
Nero, his sons. [In the course of them an elephant vanquished a
rhinoceros and a knight distinguished for his wealth fought as a
gladiator.] The people were encouraged by this honor shown to the memory
of Drusus and by Tiberius's dedication of the temple of the Dioscuri,
upon which he inscribed not only his name but also that of Drusus.
Himself he called Claudianus instead of Claudius, because of his adoption
into the family of Augustus. He continued to direct operations against
the enemy and visited the City constantly whenever opportunity offered;
this was partly on account of various kinds of business but chiefly owing
to fear that Augustus might promote somebody else during his absence.
These were the events in the City that year.

In Achæa the governor died in the middle of his term and directions were
given to his quæstor and to his assessor (whom, as I have said,[16] we
call legatus) that the latter should administer the government as far as
the isthmus, and the former the rest of it. Herod [17] of Palestine, who
was accused by his brothers of some wrongdoing, was banished beyond the
Alps and his portion of the Palestinian domain reverted to the State.
[Augustus suffered from old age and infirmity, so that he could not
transact business for all that needed his aid: some cases he reviewed and
tried with his counselors, sitting upon the tribunal on the Palatine;
the embassies which came from the various nations and princes he put in
charge of three ex-consuls, under the arrangement that any one of them
individually might listen to such an embassy and return an answer, except
in cases where it was necessary for himself and the senate to render a
decision besides.]

[-28-] During this same period also many wars took place. Pirates overran
many quarters, so that Sardinia had no senatorial governor for some
years, but was in charge of soldiers with knights for commanders. Not a
few cities rebelled, with the result that for two years the same persons
held office in the same provinces of the People, and were personally
appointed instead of being chosen by lot. The provinces of Cæsar were
in general so arranged that men should govern in the same places for
a considerable time. However, I shall not go into all these matters
minutely. Many things not worthy of record happened in individual
instances, and no one would be benefited by the exact details. I shall
mention simply the events worth remembering, and very briefly, save those
of greatest importance.

The Isaurians began marauding expeditions and kept on till they faced
grim war, but were finally subdued. The Gætuli, discontented with their
king, Juba, and at the same time feeling themselves slighted because not
governed by the Romans, rose against him: they ravaged the neighboring
territory and killed even many of the Romans who made a campaign against
them. In fine, they gained so great an ascendancy that Cornelius Cossus,
who reduced them, received triumphal honors and title for it. While
these troubles were in progress expeditions against the Celtæ were being
conducted by various leaders, and notably by Tiberius. He advanced first
to the river Visurgis and subsequently as far as the Albis, but nothing
of any moment was accomplished then, although not only Augustus but also
Tiberius was dubbed imperator for it, and Gaius Sentius, governor
of Germany, received triumphal honors. The Celtæ were so afraid of their
foes that they made a truce with him not merely once but twice. And the
reason that peace was again granted them, in spite of their having broken
it so soon, was that the affairs of the Dalmatians and Pannonians, who
had begun a rebellion on a large scale, needed vigilant attention.

[-29-] The Dalmatians, smarting under the levies of tribute, had for some
time previous kept quiet even against their will. But, at the same time
that Tiberius made his second campaign against the Celtæ, Valerius
Messalinus, the governor of Dalmatia and Pannonia, was himself despatched
to the front with Tiberius, taking most of his army; they, too, were
ordered to send a contingent and on coming together for this purpose had
a chance to see the flower of their fighting force. After that there was
no more delay, but urged on particularly by one Bato, a Dæsidiatian, at
first a few revolted and worsted the Romans that came against them, and
this success then led others to rebel. Next, the Breuci, a Pannonian
tribe, put another leader named Bato at their head and marched against
Sirmium and the Romans in the town. This they did not capture: Cæcina
Severus, the governor of Moesia close by, he heard of their uprising
marched rapidly upon them, and joining battle with them near the river
Dravus vanquished their army. Hoping to renew the struggle soon, since
many of the Romans also had fallen, they turned to summon their allies,
and collected as many as they could. Meanwhile the Dalmatian Bato had
made a descent upon Salonæ, and being himself grievously wounded with a
stone accomplished nothing, but sent some others, who wrought havoc along
the whole sea-coast as far as Apollonia. There, in spite of his
defeat, his representatives won a slight battle against the Romans who
encountered them.

[-30-] Tiberius ascertaining this feared they might invade Italy and so
returned from Celtica: he sent Messalinus ahead and himself followed with
the rest of the army. Bato learned of their approach and though not yet
well went to meet Messalinus. He proved the latter's superior in open
conflict but was afterward conquered by an ambuscade. Thereupon he went
to Bato the Breucan, and making common cause with him in the war occupied
a mountain named Alma. Here they were defeated in a slight skirmish by
Rhoemetalces the Thracian, despatched in advance against them by Severus,
but resisted Severus himself vigorously. Later Severus withdrew to
Moesia because the Dacians and the Sauromatæ were ravaging it, and while
Tiberius and Messalinus were tarrying in Siscia the Dalmatians overran
their allied territory and likewise caused many to revolt. Although
Tiberius approached them, they would engage in no open battle with him
but kept moving from one place to another, devastating a great deal of
ground. Owing to their knowledge of the country and the lightness of
their equipment they could easily go wherever they pleased. When winter
set in, they did much greater damage by invading Macedonia again.
Rhoemetalces and his brother Rhascuporis got the better of this force in
battle.

[A.D. 7 (_a. u._ 760)]

The rest did not stay in their territory while it was being ravaged
(this was principally later, in the consulship of Cæcilius Metellus and
Lincinius Silanus), but took refuge on the heights, from which they made
descents whenever they saw a chance.

[-31-] When Augustus learned this he began to be suspicious of Tiberius,
for he thought the latter might have overcome them soon but was delaying
purposely so that he might be under arms as long as possible, with war
for an excuse. The emperor therefore sent Germanicus, though he was then
quæstor, and gave him soldiers not only from the free born citizens but
from the freedmen, some of whom were slaves that he had taken from both
men and women, in return for their value, with food for six months,
and had set free. This was not the only measure he took in view of the
necessities of the war: he also postponed the review of the knights,
which was wont to occur in the Forum. And he vowed to conduct the Great
Games [18] because a woman had cut some letters on her arm and had
practiced some kind of divination. He knew well, to be sure, that she had
not been possessed by some divine power, but had done it intentionally.
Inasmuch, however, as the populace were terribly wrought up over the wars
and the famine (which had now set in once more), he, too, affected
to believe what was said and did anything that would lead to the
encouragement of the multitude as a matter of course. In view of the
stringency in the grain supply he again appointed two grain commissioners
from among the ex-consuls, together with lictors. As there was need
of further money for operations against the enemy and the support of
night-watchmen, he introduced the tax of two per cent. on the sale of
slaves, and he ordered that the money delivered from the public treasury
to the prætors who gave armed combats should no longer be expended.

[-32-]The reason that he sent Germanicus and not Agrippa to take the
field was that the latter possessed a servile nature and spent most of
his time fishing, wherefore he also used to call himself Neptune. He used
to give way to violent anger and slandered Julia as a stepmother, while
upon Augustus he heaped abundant reproaches in the matter of his paternal
inheritance. When he could not be made to moderate his conduct he was
banished and his property was given to the ærarium militare: he himself
was put ashore on Planasia, the island near Corsica.--These were the
events in the City.

Germanicus reached Pannonia, where armies from various points were
shortly to assemble; the Batos watched for Severus, who was approaching
from Moesia, and fell upon him unexpectedly, while he was encamped near
the Volcæan marshes. The pickets outside the ramparts they frightened
and hurled back within it, but as the men inside stood their ground, the
attacking party was defeated. After this the Romans divided, in order
that many detachments might overrun the country in separate places at one
time. Most of them did nothing worthy of note during this enterprise,
but Germanicus conquered in battle and badly demoralized the Mæzei, a
Dalmatian tribe.--These were the results of that year.

[A.D. 8 (_a. u._ 761)]

[-33-] In the consulship of Marcus Furius with Sextus Nonius the
Dalmatians and Pannonians decided they would like to make peace because
they were in distress primarily from famine and then from disease that
followed it, due to their using grasses of various sorts and roots for
food. They did not attempt, however to open any negotiations, being
restrained by those who had no hope of preservation at the hands of the
Romans. So even as they were they still resisted. And one Scenobardus,
who had feigned a readiness to change sides, and had had dealings on this
very business with Manius Ennius, commander of the garrison in Siscia,
declaring that he was ready to desert, became afraid that he might be
injured ere his project was complete, and [19] ...

  _The Po, which they call the monarch of rivers that cleave the soil of
  Italy, known by the name Eridanus, had its waters let into a very
  broad excavation, on the command of the emperor Augustus. A seventh
  division of the channel of this river flows through the center of the
  state, affording at its mouth a most satisfactory harbor, and was
  formerly believed (my authority is Dio) to be an entirely safe anchorage
  for a fleet of two hundred and fifty ships._ (From the Latin of
  Jordan.)

  When the famine at last had subsided, he conducted a horse-race in
  the name of Germanicus, who was son of Drusus, and in the name of
  his brother. On this occasion an elephant fought a rhinoceros, and a
  knight who had once held a prominent position on account of
  wealth contended in single combat.

  And he found himself sinking under the burden of old age and
  physical weakness, so that he could not transact business with all the
  persons that needed his services, he delivered to three ex-consuls the
  care of the embassies that were constantly arriving from peoples and
  kings; each one of these officials separately was empowered to give any
  such delegation a hearing and to transmit an answer to them, save in
  such cases as he and the senate needed to pass upon finally. Other
  questions continued to be investigated and decided by the emperor himself
  with the help of his cabinet.

[-34-] ... however, among the first, but among the last he declared, in
order that everybody might be permitted to hold an individual opinion,
and no one of them be obliged to abandon his own ideas because he felt
it obligatory to agree with his sovereign; and he would often help the
magistrates try cases. Also, as often as the consulting judges held
different views, his vote was reckoned only as equal to that of any one
else. It was at this time that Augustus allowed the senate to try the
majority of cases without his being present, and he no longer frequented
the assemblies of the people. Instead, he had the previous year
personally appointed all who were to hold office, because there were
factional outbreaks: this year and those following he merely posted a
kind of bulletin and made known to the plebs and to the people what
persons he favored. Yet he had so much strength for managing hostile
campaigns that he journeyed to Ariminum in order that he might be able to
give from close at hand all necessary advice in regard to the Dalmatians
and Pannonians. Prayers were offered at his departure and sacrifices upon
his return, as if he had come back from some hostile territory. This was
what was done in Rome.

Meantime Bato the Breucan, who had betrayed Pinnes and received the
governorship of the Breuci as reward for this, was captured by the other
Bato, and perished. The Breucan had been a little suspicious of his
subject tribes and went around to each of the garrisons to demand
hostages: the other, learning of this habit, lay in wait for him,
conquered him in battle, and shut him up within the fortifications. Later
his defeated rival was given up by those in the place, and he took him
and led him before the army, whereupon the man was condemned to death
and sentence executed without delay. After this event numbers of the
Pannonians rose in revolt. Silvanus led a campaign in person, conquered
the Breucans, and won the allegiance of some of the rest without a
struggle. Bato seeing this gave up all hope of Pannonia, but stationed
garrisons at the passes leading to Dalmatia and ravaged the country.
Then the remainder of the Pannonians, especially as their country was
suffering harm from Silvanus, made terms. Only certain nests of brigands,
who in so great a disturbance could naturally do damage for a long time,
held out. Tins practically always happens in the case of all enemies, and
is especially characteristic of the tribes in question. These localities
were reduced by other persons.


[Footnote 1: Lat. _custodes vigilum_.]

[Footnote 2: Cp. Ovid, _Tristia_, IV, 10, vv. 7 and 8.]

[Footnote 3: See Chapter 2.]

[Footnote 4: Compare Reifferscheid's _Suetoni Reliquice_, page 136.]

[Footnote 5: Or _Curatores Viarum_.]

[Footnote 6: Between this point and ... "to Mars" two leaves are missing
in the codex Marcianus. The gap is filled in the usual makeshift fashion
by Xiphilinus and Zonaras.]

[Footnote 7: The ancients seem rather uncertain about this personage's
name, for Velleius Paterculus gives _Adduus_, and Florus _Donnes_. The
modern reader may take his choice of the three, and the layman is as
likely to be right as the expert]

[Footnote 8: Between this point and the words "he both adopted Tiberius,"
etc., in chapter 13, two leaves of the codex Marcianus are lacking.
Of the missing portion Xiphilinus and Zonaras supply perhaps
three-sevenths.]

[Footnote 9: These are the words of Xiphilinus. Zonaras presents an
alternate possibility (X, 36) as follows: "Among the Greeks, Dio says,
the coin called _aureus_ has twenty drachmæ (denarii) as its regular rate
of exchange."]

[Footnote 10: It seems rather likely that Zonaras has become confused,
and that he should have said "Livia."]

[Footnote 11: Verb supplied by Xylander.]

[Footnote 12: Possibly a reference to the opening of Book Fifty-four.
(Boissée.)]

[Footnote 13: Compare Xenophon, _Cyropædia_, VIII, 4, 5.]

[Footnote 14: The three words after "kill" are on the basis of a
suggestion made by Boissevain. The MS. has a gap of some fifteen
letters.]

[Footnote 15: Emendation by Mommsen.]

[Footnote 16: Compare Book Fifty-three, chapter 14.]

[Footnote 17: His true name was Archelaus.]

[Footnote 18: Cp. Suetonius, Life of Augustus, chapter 23.]

[Footnote 19: At this point in the codex Marcianus four leaves have been
lost.]



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

56

The following is contained in the Fifty-sixth of Dio's Rome:

How Augustus addressed those having children and afterward the childless
and unmarried, and what rules he laid down to apply to them (chapters
1-10).

How Quintilius Varus was defeated by the Celtæ and perished (chapters
18-24).

How the Temple of Concord was consecrated (chapter 25).

How the Portico of Livia was consecrated (chapter 27).

How Augustus passed away (chapters 29-47).

Duration of time, six years, in which there were the following
magistrates here enumerated:

Q. Sulpicius Q.F. Camerinus, C. Poppæus Q.F. Sabinus. (A.D. 9 = a. u.
762.)

P. Cornelius P.F. Dolabella, C. Iunius C.F. Silanus. (A.D. 10 = a. u.
763.)

M. Æmilius Q.F. Lepidus, T. Statilius T.F. Taurus. (A.D. 11 = a. u. 764.)

Germanicus Cæsaris F. Cæsar, C. Fonteius C.F. Capito. (A.D. 12 = a. u.
765.)

L. Munatius L.F. Plancus, C. Silius C.F. Cæcina Largus. (A.D. 13 = a. u.
766.)

Sextus Pompeius Sexti F., Sex. Apuleius Sex. F. (A.D. 14 = a. u. 767.)


_( BOOK 56, BOISSEVAIN.)_

[A.D. 9 (_a. u._ 762)]

[-1-] Tiberius returned to Rome after the winter when Quintus Sulpicius
and Gaius Sabinus were consuls. Augustus went out into the suburbs to
meet him, accompanied him to the Sæpta, and there from a platform greeted
the people. Next he performed the ceremonies proper on such an occasion
and had the consuls give triumphal spectacles. And since the knights on
this occasion with great vigor sought for the repeal of the law regarding
the unmarried and the childless, he assembled in one place in the Forum
the unmarried men of this number and in another those who were married or
had children. Seeing that the latter were much fewer in number than the
former he was filled with grief and addressed them to the following
effect:

[-2-] "Though you are but few all together, in comparison with the great
throng that inhabits this city, and are far behind the others, who are
unwilling to fulfill their duties at all, yet for this reason I praise
you the more and I am heartily grateful that you have shown yourselves
obedient and are helping to replenish the fatherland. It is by lives so
conducted that the Romans of later days will become a mighty multitude.
We were at first a mere handful, but when We had recourse to marriage and
begot children we came to surpass all mankind not only in manliness but
in populousness. This we must remember and console the mortal element of
our being with an endless succession of generations like torches. Thus
the one gap which separates us from divine happiness may through relays
of men be filled by immortality. It was for this cause most of all that
that first and greatest god who fashioned us divided the race of mortals
in twain, rendering one half of it male and the other female, and added
love and the compulsion of their intercourse together, making their
association fruitful, that by the young continually born he might in
a way render mortality eternal. Even of the gods themselves some are
believed to be male, the rest female: and the tradition prevails that
some have begotten others and certain ones have been born of others. So,
even among them, who need no such device, marriage and child-begetting
have been approved as noble. [-3-] You have done right, then, to imitate
the gods and right to emulate your fathers, that, just as they begot you,
you may also bring others into the world. Just as you deem them and
name them ancestors, others will regard you and address you in similar
fashion. The undertakings which they nobly achieved and handed down to
you with glory you will hand on to others. The possessions which they
acquired and left to you will leave to others sprung from your own loins.
Surely the best of all things is a woman who is temperate, domestic,
a good house-keeper, a rearer of children; one to gladden you when in
health, to tend you when sick; to be your partner in good fortune, to
console you in misfortune; to restrain the frenzied nature of the youth
and to temper the superannuated severity of the old man. Is it not a
delight to acknowledge a child bearing the nature of both, to nurture and
educate it, a physical image and a spiritual image, so that in its growth
you yourself live again? Is it not most blessed on departing from life to
leave behind a successor to and inheritor of one's substance and family,
something that is one's own, sprung from one's self? And to have only
one's human part waste away, but to live through the child as successor?
We need not be in the hands of aliens, as in war, nor perish utterly, as
in war. These are the private advantages that accrue to those who marry
and beget children: but for the State, for whose sake we ought to do many
things that are even distasteful to us, how excellent and how necessary
it is, if cities and peoples are to exist, if you are to rule others and
others are to obey you, that there should be a multitude of men to till
the earth in peace and quiet, to make voyages, practice arts, follow
handicrafts, men who in war will protect what we already have with the
greater zeal because of family ties and will replace those that fall by
others. Therefore, men,--for you alone may properly be called men,--and
fathers,--for you are worthy to hold this title like myself,--I love you
and I praise you for this, I am glad of the prizes I have already offered
and I will glorify you still more besides by honors and offices. Thus
you may yourselves reap great benefits and leave them to your children
undiminished. I shall now descend to speak to the rest, who have not done
like you, and whose lot will therefore be directly the opposite: you will
thus learn not only from words but by facts even more how far you excel
them."

[-4-] After this speech he made presents to some of them at once and
promised to make others: he then went over to the other throng, to whom
he addressed these words:

"A strange experience has been mine, O--What shall I call you?--Men? But
you do not perform the offices of men.--Citizens? But so far as you are
concerned the city is perishing.--Romans? But you are undertaking to do
away with this name.--Well, at any rate, whoever you are and by whatever
name you delight to be called, mine has been an unexpected experience.
For, though I am always doing everything to promote an increase of
population among you and am now about to rebuke you, I grieve to see that
you are numerous. I could rather wish that those others to whom I have
just spoken were so many than to see you as many as you are; or, still
better, to see you mustered with them,--or at least not to know how
things stand. It is you who without pausing to reflect on the foresight
of the gods or the care of your forefathers are bent upon annihilating
your whole race and making it in truth mortal, upon destroying and ending
the whole Roman nation. What seed of human beings would be left, if all
the remainder of mankind should do the same as you? You are their leaders
and may rightly bear the responsibility for universal destruction. Or,
even if no others emulate you, will you not be justly hated for the very
reason that you overlook what no one else would overlook, and neglect
what no one else would neglect? You are introducing customs and
practices, which, if imitated, would lead to the annihilation of all,
and, if hated, would end in your own punishment. We do not spare
murderers because all persons do not murder, nor do we let temple-robbers
go because not everybody robs temples: but anybody who is convicted of
committing any forbidden act is chastised for the very reason that he
alone, or as one of a small group, does such things as no one else would
do. [-5-] Yet if one should name over the greatest offences, there is
none to compare with that which is now being committed by you, and this
statement holds true not only if you examine crime for crime but if you
compare all of them together with this single one of yours. You have
incurred blood guiltiness by not begetting those who ought to be your
descendants; you are sacrilegious in putting an end to the names and
honors of your ancestors; you are impious in abolishing your families,
which were instituted by the gods, and destroying the greatest of
offerings to them,--the human being,--and by overthrowing in this way
their rites and their temples. Moreover, by causing the downfall of the
government you are disobedient to the laws, and you even betray your
country by rendering her barren and childless: nay more, you lay her even
with the dust by making her destitute of inhabitants. A city consists of
human beings, not of houses or porticos or fora empty of men. Think what
rage would justly seize the great Romulus, the founder of our race, if he
could reflect on the circumstances of his own birth, and then upon
your attitude,--refusing to get children even by lawful marriages! How
wrathful would the Romans who were his followers be when they considered
that they themselves even seized foreign girls, but you are not satisfied
with those of your own race. They actually had children even by their
enemies: you will not beget them even of women with undisputed standing
in the State. How incensed would Curtius be, who endured to die that
the married men might not be sundered from their wives: how indignant
Hersilia, the attendant of her daughter, who instituted for us all the
rites of marriage. Our fathers fought the Sabines to obtain marriages and
made peace through the intercession of their wives and children; they
administered oaths and made sundry treaties for this very purpose: you
are bringing all that labor to naught. Why is it? Do you desire to live
forever apart from women, as the vestal virgins live apart from men?
Then you should be punished like them if you break out into any act of
lewdness.

[-6-] "I know that my words to you appear bitter and harsh. But, first of
all, reflect that physicians, too, treat many patients by burning when
they can not recover health in any other way. In the second place, it is
not my wish or my pleasure to speak them; and hence it is that I have
this further reproach to bring against you, that you have provoked me to
this discourse. If you dislike what I say, do not continue the conduct
for which you are inevitably reprimanded. If my speech wounds any of you,
how much more do your acts wound both me and all the rest of the Romans.
If you vexed in very truth, make a change, that so I may praise and
reward you. You yourselves are aware that I am not irritable by nature
and that I have done, subject to human limitations, all the acts proper
for a good lawgiver. Never in old times was any one permitted to neglect
marriage and the rearing of children, but from the very outset, at the
first establishment of the government, strict laws were passed regarding
them: since then many decrees have been issued by both the senate and the
people, which it would be superfluous to enumerate. I have increased the
penalties for the disobedient in order that through fear of becoming
liable to them you may be brought to your senses. To those that obey I
have offered more numerous and greater prizes than are given for any
other display of excellence, that if for no other reason at least by
this one you may be persuaded to marry and beget children. Yet you, not
striving for any of the recompenses nor fearing any of the penalties,
have despised all these measures, have trodden them all under foot, as
if you were not even inhabitants of the city. You declare you have taken
upon yourselves this free and continent life, without wives and without
children. You are no different from robbers or the most savage [-7-]
beasts. It is not your delight in a solitary existence that leads you
to live without wives. There is not one of you who either eats alone
or sleeps alone, but you want to have opportunity for wantonness and
licentiousness. Yet I have allowed you to court girls still tender and
not yet of age for marriage, in order that having the name of intendant
bridegrooms you may lead a domestic life. And those not in the senatorial
class I have permitted to wed freedwomen, so that if any one through
passion or some inclination should be disposed to such a proceeding he
might go about it lawfully. I have not limited you rigidly to this, even,
but at first gave you three whole years in which to make preparations,
and later two. Yet not even so, by threatening or urging or postponing or
entreating, have I accomplished anything. You see for yourselves how much
larger a mass you constitute than the married men, when you ought by this
time to have furnished us with as many more children, or rather with
several times your number. How otherwise shall families continue? How can
the commonwealth be preserved if we neither marry nor produce children?
Surely you are not expecting some to spring up from the earth to succeed
to your goods and to public affairs, as myths describe. It is neither
pleasing to Heaven nor creditable that our race should cease and the
name of Romans meet extinguishment in us, and the city be given up to
foreigners,--Greek or even barbarians. We liberate slaves chiefly for the
purpose of making out of them as many citizens as possible; we give our
allies a share in the government that our numbers may increase: yet you,
Romans of the original stock, including Quintii, Valerii, Iulli, are
eager that your families and names at once shall perish with you.

[-8-] "I am thoroughly ashamed that I have been led to speak in such a
fashion. Have done with your madness, then, and reflect now if not before
that with many dying all the time by disease and many in the wars it is
impossible for the city to maintain itself unless the multitude in it is
constantly reinforced by those who are ever and anon being born. Let no
one of you think that I am ignorant of the many disagreeable and painful
features that belong to marriage and child-rearing. But bear in mind that
we possess nothing at all good with which some bane is not mingled, and
that in our most abundant and greatest blessings there reside the most
abundant and greatest woes. If you decline to accept the latter, do
not strive to obtain the former. Practically all who possess any real
excellence and pleasure are obliged to work before its enjoyment, to work
at the time, and to work afterward. Why should I lengthen my speech by
going into each one of them in detail? Therefore even if there are
some unpleasant features connected with marriage and the begetting of
children, set over against them the better elements: you will find them
more numerous and more vital. For, in addition to all the other blessings
that naturally inhere in this state of life, the prizes offered by
law--an infinitesimal portion of which determines many to undergo
death--might induce anybody to obey me. And is it not a disgrace that for
rewards which influence others to give up their own lives you should be
unwilling either to marry wives or to rear children?

[-9-] "Therefore, fellow-citizens (for I believe that I have now
persuaded you both to hold fast to the name of citizens and to secure the
additional title of men and fathers), I have administered this rebuke
reluctantly but of necessity, not as your foe nor as one hating you, but
rather loving you and wishing to obtain many others like you,--as one
wishing you to guard lawful hearths, with houses full of descendants,
that we may approach the gods together with wives and children, and
associate with one another standing on an equality in whatever we possess
and harvesting equally the hopes to which it gives rise. How could I
call myself a good ruler over you if I should endure seeing you becoming
constantly fewer? How could I any longer be rightfully named your father,
if you rear no children? Therefore, if you really have a regard for me
and have given me this title not out of flattery but as an honor, desire
yourselves to become men and fathers. Thus you may yourselves share this
title and also render me well named."

[-10-] Such were his words to both groups at that time. After this he
increased the rewards for those having children and by penalties made a
still wider difference between the married and those without wives. He
further allowed each of them a year in which persons who obeyed him might
render themselves non-liable by yielding obedience. Contrary to the
Voconian Law, according to which no woman could inherit any property
over two and a half myriads in value, he gave women permission to become
inheritors of any amount. He also granted the vestal virgins all the
benefits enjoyed by women who had children. Later the Pappian and Poppæan
Law was framed by Marcus Pappius Mutilus and by Quintus Poppæus Secundus,
who were then consuls for a portion of the year. It turned out that both
of them had not only no children but not even wives. From this very fact
the need of the law was discernible.--These were the events in Rome.

[-11-] Germanicus meanwhile had captured among other posts in Dalmatia
also Splonum, in spite of the fact that it occupied a naturally strong
position, was well protected by walls, and had a huge number of
defenders. Consequently he was unable to accomplish aught with engines
or by assaults, yet he took it as a result of the following coincidence.
Pusio, a Celtic horseman, discharged a stone against the wall which so
shook the superstructure that it immediately fell and dragged down the
man who was leaning upon it. At this the rest were terrified, and in fear
left the wall to ascend the acropolis. Subsequently they surrendered both
it and themselves.

The Romans under Germanicus having reached Rætinium, a city of Dalmatia,
fared rather badly. Their opponents, forced back by the numbers, could
not resist them and therefore placed fire in a circle about themselves
and threw it into the buildings near by, devising a way to keep it surely
from blazing up at once and to make it go unnoticed for a long time. The
enemy after doing this retired to the heights. The Romans, unaware of
their action, followed hard after them expecting to find no work at all
in pillaging extensively. Thus they got inside of the circle of fire and
with their minds directed upon the enemy saw nothing of it until they
were encompassed by it on all sides. Then they found themselves in
imminent danger, being pelted by men from above and injured by fire from
without. They could neither safely stay where they were nor break their
way out without danger. If they stood out of range of the missiles they
were consumed by the fire, or if they jumped away from the flame they
were destroyed by the hurlers of missiles. Some were caught in narrow
places and perished by both at once, wounded on one side and burned on
the other. The majority of those who entered the circle met their fate in
this way. Some few by casting corpses into the very flame and making a
passage over them as over bridges managed to escape. The fire gained
such headway that not even those on the acropolis could stay there, but
abandoned it in the night and hid themselves in subterranean chambers.

[-12-] These were the operations at that point.--Seretium, which Tiberius
had once besieged but not captured, was subdued, and after this some
other towns were more easily won. But since the remainder even under
these conditions offered resistance and the war kept lengthening out and
famine came in its train, especially in Italy, Augustus sent Tiberius
again into Dalmatia. He saw that the soldiers were not for enduring
further delay and were anxious to end the war in some way eyen if it
involved danger; therefore, fearing that if they remained in one place
together they might revolt, he divided them into three parts. One he
assigned to Silvanus and one to Marcus Lepidus; with the remainder he
marched with Germanicus against Bato. Without difficulty the two former
overcame those arrayed in battle opposite them. Tiberius himself went
wandering off through practically the entire country, as Bato appeared
first at one point and then at another: finally, Bato took refuge in Fort
Andetrium, located close to Salonæ, and Tiberius, who besieged him,
found himself in sore straits. The garrison had the protection of
fortifications built upon a well guarded rock, difficult of access,
encircled by deep ravines through which torrents roared, and the men had
all necessary provisions, part of which they had previously stored there,
while a part they were still bringing from the mountains, which were
in their hands. Moreover, by ambuscades they interfered with the Roman
provision trains. Hence Tiberius, though supposed to be besieging them,
was himself placed in the position of a besieged force.

[-13-] He was in a dilemma and could not find any plan to pursue:
the siege was proving fruitless and dangerous and a retreat appeared
disgraceful. This led to an uproar on the part of the soldiers, who
raised so great an outcry that the enemy, who were encamped in the
shelter of the wall, were terrified and retreated. As a consequence,
being partly angry and partly pleased, he called them together and
administered some rebukes and some admonition. He displayed no rashness
nor yet did he withdraw, but remained quietly on the spot until Bato,
despairing of victory, sent a herald to ask terms. This act was due to
the subjugation of all but a few of the other tribes and the fact that
the force which Bato had was inferior to the one then opposing it. He
could not persuade the rest to ask a truce and so abandoned them, nor did
he again assist one of them, though he received many requests for aid.
Tiberius consequently conceived a contempt for those still left in the
fortress and thinking that he could conquer them without loss paid no
further heed to the nature of the country but proceeded straight up the
cliff. Since there was no level ground and the enemy would not come down
against them, he himself took his seat on a platform in full view in
order to watch the engagement (for this would cause his soldiers to
contend more vigorously), and to render opportune assistance, should
there be any need of it. He kept a part of the army, inasmuch as he had a
great plenty of men, for this very purpose. The rest, drawn up in a dense
square, at first proceeded at a walk; later they were separated by the
steepness and unevenness of the mountain (which was full of gullies and
at many points cut up into ravines), and some ascended more quickly,
others more slowly. [-14-] Seeing this, the Dalmatians marshaled outside
the wall, at the top of the steep, and hurled down quantities of stones
upon them, throwing some from slings, and rolling down others. Others
set in motion wheels, others whole wagons full of rocks, others circular
chests manufactured in some way peculiar to the country and packed with
stones. All these things coming down with great noise kept striking in
different quarters, as if discharged from a sling, and separated the
Romans from one another even more than before and crushed them. Others by
discharging either missiles or spears knocked many of them down. At this
juncture much rivalry developed on the part of the warriors, one side
endeavoring to ascend and conquer the heights, the other to repulse them
and hurl them back. There was great excitement also on the part of the
rest, who watched the action from the walls, and on the part of those
about Tiberius. Each side as a body and also individually encouraged its
own men, trying to lend strength to such as showed zeal and chiding those
that anywhere gave way. Those whose voices could be heard above the rest
were invoking the gods, both parties praying for the protection of
their warriors for the time being, and one side calling for freedom
for themselves in the future, and the other for peace. Under these
circumstances the Romans would certainly have risked their lives in vain,
having to contend against two things at once,--the nature of the
country and the lines of their antagonists,--had not Tiberius by sudden
reinforcements prevented them from taking to flight and disturbed the
enemy from another quarter by means of other soldiers who went about and
ascended the incline a considerable distance off. As a result, the enemy
were routed and could not even enter the fortifications, but scattered
up the mountain sides, first casting off their armor so as to be lightly
equipped. Their pursuers followed them at every point, for they were
exceedingly anxious to end the war and did not want them to unite again
and cause trouble. So they discovered the most of them hiding in the
forests and killed them like beasts, after which they took possession
of the men in the fort, who capitulated. To these Tiberius assured the
rights which had been agreed upon and some others.

[-15-] Germanicus now turned to meet his adversaries, for many deserters
who were in their ranks prevented a peaceful settlement. He succeeded in
enslaving a place called Arduba, but could not do it with his own force,
though the latter was far greater than his opponents' army. The town had
been powerfully strengthened and a river with a strong current surrounded
its foundations except for a small space. But the deserters had a dispute
with the inhabitants, because the latter were anxious for peace, and came
to blows with them. The assailants had the coöperation of the women in
the town, for these contrary to the judgment of the men desired liberty,
and were ready to suffer any fate whatever sooner than slavery: there was
consequently a great battle, the deserters were beaten and surrendered,
and some of them made their escape. The women caught up their children,
and some threw themselves into the fire, others hurled themselves down
into the river. In this way that post was taken and others near it
voluntarily came to an understanding with Germanicus. He, after effecting
this, went back to Tiberius, and Postumius[1] completed the subjugation
of the remaining sections. [-16-] Upon this, Bato sent his son Sceuas
to Tiberius, promising to surrender himself and all his followers if he
could obtain protection. When he had received a pledge he came by night
into his conqueror's camp and was on the following day led before the
latter who was seated on a platform. Bato asked nothing for himself, even
holding his head forward to await the stroke, but in behalf of the rest
he made a long defence. Being again asked by Tiberius: "Why has it
pleased you to revolt and to war against us so long a time?" he made the
same answer as before: "You are responsible for this; for you send as
guardians over your flocks not dogs or shepherds, but wolves."

In this way, then, the war was ended once more, after many men and much
money had been consumed. The legions supported for it were very numerous,
whereas the spoils taken were exceedingly meagre. [-17-] On this occasion
also Germanicus announced the victory, in honor of which Augustus and
Tiberius were allowed to bear the name imperator and to celebrate a
triumph; and they received still other honors, as well as two arches
bearing trophies, in Pannonia. These, at least, were all of many
distinctions voted that Augustus would accept. Germanicus received
triumphal honors (which belonged likewise to the other commanders) and
prætorial honors, the right of casting his vote immediately after the
ex-consuls and of obtaining the consulship earlier than custom allowed.
Drusus, the son of Tiberius, although he had not participated in the
war, was voted permission to attend the sittings of the senate before he
became a member of that body, and when he should become quæstor to cast
his vote before the exprætors.

[-18-] Scarcely had these resolutions been passed when terrible news that
arrived from Germany prevented them from holding any festivals. At that
same period the following events had taken place in Celtica. The Romans
had a hold on parts of it,--not the whole region, but just places
that happened to have been subdued, so that the fact has not received
historical notice,--and soldiers of theirs were used to wintering there
and cities were being founded. The barbarians were adapting themselves
to Roman ways, were taking up the custom of markets, and were holding
peaceful meetings. They had not, however, forgotten their ancestral
habits, their native manners, the life of independence, or the authority
given by arms. Hence, while they were unlearning them gradually and
imperceptibly, with careful watching, they were not disturbed by the
changed conditions of existence, and they were becoming different without
knowing it. Finally, Quintilius Varus received the command of Germany and
in the discharge of his office strove, in administering the affairs of
the people, to introduce more widespread changes among them. He treated
them in general as if they were already slaves, levying money upon them
as he had upon subject nations. This they were not inclined to endure,
for the prominent men longed for their former ascendency and the masses
preferred their accustomed constitution to foreign domination. They did
not openly revolt, since they saw there were many Roman soldiers near
the Rhine and many in their own territory; but they received Varus,
pretending they would execute all his commands, and took him far away
from the Rhine into Cheruscis near the Visurgis. There by behaving in a
most peaceful and friendly manner they led him to believe that they could
be trusted to live submissively without soldiers. [-19-] Consequently he
did not keep his legions together as was proper in an enemy's country,
and many of the men he distributed to helpless communities who asked it,
for the supposed purpose of guarding certain localities, or arresting
robbers, or escorting provision trains. Those deepest in the conspiracy
and the leaders of the plot and of the war, among others Armenius and
Segimerus, were his constant companions and often entertained him. He,
accordingly, became confident and expecting no harm not only refused to
believe all such as suspected the truth and advised him to be on his
guard, but even rebuked them on the ground that they were needlessly
disturbed and slandered his friends. Then there came an uprising, first
of those dwelling at a distance from him, purposely contrived, that Varus
should march against them and be easier overcome while on his journey
through what he deemed a friendly country, and that he might not at once
know that all were his enemies and guard himself against all of them. It
turned out precisely so. They escorted him on his setting out, and begged
to be excused from attendance[2] in order to gather auxiliaries (as they
said), after which they would quickly come to his assistance. So then
they took charge of forces already in waiting, and after killing the
different bodies of soldiers for whom they had previously asked they
encountered him in the midst of forests by this time hard to traverse.
There they showed themselves as enemies instead of subjects and wrought
many deeds of fearful injury. [-20-] The mountains had an uneven surface
broken by ravines, and the trees, standing close together, were extremely
tall. Hence the Romans even before the enemy assaulted them were having
hard work in felling, road making, and bridging places that required it.
They had with them many wagons and many beasts of burden as in a time of
peace. Not a few children and women and a large body of servants were
following them,--another reason for their advancing in scattered groups.
Meanwhile a great rain and wind came up that separated them still
farther, while the ground, being slippery where there were roots and
logs, made walking very difficult for them, and the top branches of
trees, which kept breaking off and falling down, caused confusion. While
the Romans were in such perplexity as this the barbarians suddenly
encompassed them from all sides at once, coming through the thickest part
of the underbrush, since they were acquainted with the paths. At first
they hurled from a distance; then as no one defended himself but many
were wounded, they approached closer to them. The Romans were in no order
but going along helter-skelter among the wagons and the unarmed, and so,
not being able to form readily in a body, and being fewer at every point
than their assailants, they suffered greatly and offered no resistance
at all. [-21-] Accordingly, they encamped on the spot, after securing
a suitable place so far as that was possible on a wooded mountain, and
afterward they either burned or abandoned the majority of their wagons
and everything else that was not absolutely necessary for them. The next
day they advanced in better order, with the aim of reaching open country;
but they did not gain it without loss. From there they went forward and
plunged into the woods again, defending themselves against the attacks,
but endured no inconsiderable reverses in this very operation. For
whereas they were marshaled in a narrow place in order that cavalry
and heavy-armed men in a mass might run down their foes, they had many
collisions with one another and with the trees. Dawn of the fourth day
broke as they were advancing and again a violent downpour and mighty wind
attacked them, which would not allow them to go forward or even to stand
securely, and actually deprived them of the use of their weapons. They
could not manage successfully their arrows or their javelins or, indeed,
their shields (which were soaked through). The enemy, however, being for
the most part lightly equipped and with power to approach and retire
freely, suffered less from the effects of the storm. _Their_ numbers,
moreover, increased, as numbers of those who had at first wavered joined
them particularly for the sake of plunder, and so they could more easily
encircle and strike down the Romans, who were already few, many having
perished in the previous battles. Varus, therefore, and the most eminent
of the other leaders, fearing that they might either be taken alive or be
killed by their bitterest foes,--for they had been wounded,--dared do a
deed which was frightful but not to be avoided: they killed themselves.

[-22-] When this news was spread, none of the rest, even if he had
strength still left, defended himself longer. Some imitated their leader;
others, throwing aside their arms, allowed who pleased to slay them. To
flee was impossible, however one might wish it. Every man and horse,
therefore, was cut down without resistance, and the[3] ...

  And the barbarians occupied all the strongholds save one, delay over
  which prevented them from either crossing the Rhine or invading Gaul.
  Yet they found themselves unable to reduce this particular fort because
  they did not understand the conduct of sieges and because the Romans
  employed numerous archers, who repeatedly repulsed them and from
  first to last destroyed a large proportion of the attacking party.

  Later they learned that the Romans had posted a guard at the Rhine
  and that Tiberius was approaching with an imposing force of fighters.
  Therefore most of the barbarians retired from the fortress, and the
  detachment still left there withdrew some distance away, so as not to
  be damaged by sudden sallies of the men inside; and they kept watch
  of the roads, hoping to capture the garrison through scarcity of food
  supplies. The Romans within, so long as they had abundance of sustenance,
  remained where they were awaiting relief. But when no one
  came to their assistance and they were likewise a prey to hunger, they
  watched for a stormy night and issued forth--the soldiers were but
  fed, the unarmed many,--and

they passed the first and second guard of their adversaries, but when
they reached the third they were detected; for on account of fatigue and
fear, and the darkness and cold, the women and children kept calling to
the men of fighting age to come back. They would all have perished or
been captured, had not the barbarians been so busily occupied with
seizing the plunder. This gave an opportunity for many of the most hardy
to get some distance off, and the trumpeters with them by sounding the
signal for a double quick march caused the enemy to think (for night
was coming on and they could not be seen) that they had been sent from
Asprenas. Therefore the foe ceased their pursuit, and Asprenas on
learning what was taking place rendered them assistance in reality. Some
of the captives were later ransomed by their relatives and returned,
for this was permitted on condition that the ransoming party should be
outside of Italy at the time.--But this was only afterward. [-23-] At the
time, when Augustus heard of the disaster to Varus, he rent his clothing
(as some assert) and mourned greatly over the lost soldiers as also over
the fear inspired by the Germans and the Gauls. His grief was especially
keen because he expected that they would march upon Italy and upon Rome
itself. There were no citizens of military age worth mentioning that
were left and the allied forces that were of any value had been ruined.
Nevertheless he made preparations as well as he could in view of the
circumstances: and when no one of the proper age for warfare showed a
willingness to be enrolled, he instituted a drawing of lots and deprived
of his property every fifth man to draw of those not yet thirty-five
years old and every tenth man among those who were older, besides
disenfranchising them. Finally, as very many paid no heed to him even
then, he put some to death. He chose by lot as many as he could of those
who had already finished their service and of the freedmen, and having
enrolled them sent them at once in haste with Tiberius into Germany. And
as there were in Rome a number of Gauls and Celtæ, sojourning there for
various purposes, and some of them serving in the pretorian guard, he
feared that they might commit some act of insurrection: therefore he sent
such as were in his guard off to the islands and ordered the unarmed
class to leave the city.

[-24-] This was the way be busied himself at that time, and none of the
usual business went on nor were the festivals celebrated. After this,
when he heard that some of the soldiers had been saved, that the
Germanies were garrisoned and the enemy did not dare to come down even to
the Rhine, he ceased to be excited and stopped to consider the matter.
A catastrophe so great and prostrating as this, it seemed to him, could
have been due to nothing else than the wrath of some Divinity: moreover,
by reason of the portents which took place both before the defeat and
afterward he was greatly inclined to suspect some miraculous working. The
temple of Mars in the field of the same name had been struck by lightning
and many locusts that flew into the very city were devoured by swallows;
the peaks of the Alps seemed to totter toward one another and to send up
three fiery columns; the sky in many places appeared ablaze and at the
same time numerous comet stars came to view; spears darting from the
north seemed to be falling upon the Roman camp; bees formed their combs
about Roman altars; a statue of Victory which was in Germany, facing
hostile territory, turned about toward Italy; and once an aimless battle
and conflict of the soldiers occurred about the eagles in the camps, as
if the barbarians had fallen upon them.

For these reasons, then, and also because ... [4]

  [A.D. 10 (_a. u._ 763)]

  Tiberius did not see fit to cross the Rhine, but kept quiet, watching
  to see that the barbarians should not do so. The latter, however,
  knowing him to be present, did not venture to cross either.

  Germanicus was endeared to the populace for many causes, but particularly
  because he interceded for various persons, and this quite as
  much in the presence of Augustus himself as before other justices. Now
  there was a court to try a quæstor who was charged with murder,
  and, as Germanicus was going to be his advocate, his accuser became
  alarmed lest he might consequently meet with defeat before those
  judges in whose presence such cases were wont to be tried, and he
  desired to have Augustus preside. Yet his efforts were vain, for he
  did not win his case.

 ... holding [it] after his prætorship.

[A.D. 11 (_a. u._ 764)]

[-25-]But in the following season the temple of Concord was dedicated by
Tiberius and both his name and that of Drusus, his dead brother, were
inscribed upon it. In the consulship of Marcus Æmilius with Statilius
Taurus Tiberius and Germanicus acting as proconsul invaded Celtica and
overran some parts of it. They did not conquer, however, in any battle
(since no one came to close quarters with them), and did not reduce
any tribe. For in their fear of falling victims to a new disaster they
advanced not far beyond the Rhine, but after remaining there until late
autumn and celebrating the birthday of Augustus, on which they held a
kind of horse-race under the direction of the centurions, they returned.

At Rome Drusus Cæsar, the son of Tiberius, became quæstor, and sixteen
prætors held office because that number became candidates for the
position and Augustus, mindful of his condition, was unwilling to
offend any of them. The same did not hold true, however, of the years
immediately following, but the number remained twelve for a long period.
Besides these proceedings the seers were forbidden to prophesy in private
to any one, or regarding death even if there should be others with
them. Yet in this matter Augustus had no personal feeling, so that by a
bulletin he even published to all the conjunction of stars under which
he had been born. In addition to forbidding the above he proclaimed to
subject states that they should grant no honors to any one assigned to
govern them either during his term of office or within sixty days after
he had departed. For some governors by arranging for testimonials and
eulogies from their subjects were doing much harm. Three senators, as
before, transacted business with the embassies, and the knights,--a fact
which might cause surprise,--were allowed to fight as gladiators. The
reason was that some persisted in disregarding the disenfranchisement
stated as a penalty for such conduct. And as there proved to be no use in
forbidding it and the participants seemed to require a greater punishment
before they would be turned aside from this course, they were given
permission to do as they liked. In this way they incurred death instead
of disenfranchisement, for they fought more than ever, and especially
because their contests were centers of attraction, so that even Augustus
became a spectator in company with the prætors who superintended games.

[A.D. 12 (_a. u._ 765)]

[-26-] Germanicus soon after received the office of consul, though he had
not even been prætor, and held it actually throughout the whole year, not
because of fitness but as a number of others held office at that time.
The consul did nothing worthy of note save that at this time, too, he
acted as advocate in suits, since his colleague Gaius Capito counted as
a mere figurehead. Augustus, because he was growing old, wrote a letter
commending Germanicus to the senate and the latter to Tiberius: the
manuscript was not read by him in person, for he was unable to make
himself heard, but by Germanicus, as usual. After that he asked them,
making the Celtic war his excuse, not to come to greet him at home nor to
be angry if he did not continue to eat with them. For generally, as often
as they had a sitting, in the Forum and sometimes in the senate-house
itself, they saluted him when he entered and again when he left; and it
had already happened that, when he was sitting and sometimes lying down
in the Palatium, not only the senate but the knights and many of the
populace greeted him. [-27-] All this time he continued to attend to his
business as before. He allowed the knights to become candidates for the
tribuneship. And learning that vituperative books concerning certain men
were being written, he ordered a search for them. Those that he found in
the city he had burned by the ædiles and those outside by the officials
who might be in charge, and he visited punishment upon some of the
composers. As there were many exiles who were either carrying on their
occupations outsides of the places to which they had been banished or
living too luxuriously in the proper places, he forbade that any one who
had been debarred from fire and water should stay either on the mainland
or on any of the islands distant less than four hundred stadia from the
mainland. Only he made an exception of Cos, Rhodes, Samos[5], and Lesbos,
for what reason I know not. He enjoined upon them also that they should
not cross the seas to any other point and should not possess more than
one ship of burden having a capacity of one thousand amphoræ, and two
driven by oars; that they should not employ more than twenty slaves or
freedmen; that they should not hold property above twelve and a half
myriads; and he threatened to take vengeance upon them for any violation
as well as upon all others who should in any way assist them in violating
these ordinances. These are the laws, as fully as is necessary for our
history, that he laid down.

A festival extraordinary was conducted by the dancers and horse-breeders.
The Feast of Mars, because the Tiber had previously occupied the
hipprodrome, was this time held in the forum of Augustus and honored by a
kind of horse-race and by the slaughter of wild beasts. It was celebrated
a second time, as custom decreed, and Germanicus on that occasion killed
two hundred lions in the hippodrome. The so-called portico of Julia was
built in honor of Gaius and Lucius, the Cæsars, and was at that time
dedicated.

[A.D. 13 (_a. u._ 766)]

[-28-] When Lucius Munatius and Gaius Silius had been registered as
consuls Augustus reluctantly accepted the fifth decennial presidency of
the State and gave Tiberius again the tribunician authority. To Drusus,
the latter's son, he granted permission to stand for the consulship a
third year, still without having held the prætorship; and for himself
he asked twenty annual counselors because of his old age, which did not
permit him to visit the senate any longer save rarely. Previously fifteen
were attached to him for six months. It was further voted that any
measure should have authority, as satisfactory to the whole senate, which
should after deliberation be resolved upon by him in conjunction with
Tiberius and with the consuls of the year, with the men appointed for
deliberation and his grandchildren (the adopted ones, of course) and the
others that he might on any occasion call upon for advice. Gaining by the
decree those powers (which in reality he had in any case) he transacted
most of the is necessary business, though sometimes lying down. Now
as nearly all felt oppressed by the five per cent tax and a political
convulsion seemed likely, he sent document to the senate bidding its
members seek some other means of income. This he did not in the intention
of abolishing the tax but in order that when no other appeared to them
preferable they might though reluctantly ratify it without declaiming
against him He also ordered Germanicus and Drusus not to make any
official statement about it, for fear that if they expressed an opinion
persons would suspect that this had been done by his orders and choose
that plan without further investigation. There was much discussion and
some schemes were submitted to Augustus in writing. When he found by them
that the senators were ready to endure any form of tax rather than that
in force, he changed it to a levy upon fields and houses. And without
telling how great it would be or in what way imposed, he immediately sent
men in different directions to make a list of the possessions both of
individuals and of towns. His object was that they should fear losses on
a large scale and so be content to pay the five per cent. This actually
happened, and so it was that Augustus settled the difficulty.

[-29-] At the spectacle of the Augustalia [6] which occurred on his
birthday a madman seated himself in the chair which was dedicated to
Julius Cæsar, and taking his crown put it on. This happening disturbed
everybody, for it seemed to have some bearing upon Augustus, as, indeed,
proved true.

[A.D. 14 (_a. u._ 767)]

For the following year, when Sextus Apuleius and Sextus Pompeius were
consuls, Augustus set out for Campania and after superintending the games
at Naples soon passed away in Nola. Omens had appeared to him, not few by
any means nor difficult to interpret, that pointed to this end. The sun
suffered a total eclipse and most of the sky seemed to be on fire. The
forms of glowing logs appeared falling from it and bloody comet stars
were seen. When a senate-meeting had been announced on account of his
sickness in order that they might offer prayers, the senate-house was
found closed and an owl sitting upon it hooted. A thunderbolt fell upon
his image standing on the Capitol and erased the first letter of the name
of Cæsar. This led the seers to declare that on the hundredth day
after that he should attain to some heavenly condition. They made this
deduction from the fact that the letter mentioned signifies "hundred"
among the Latins and all the rest of the name means "god" among the
Etruscans. These signs appeared while he was still alive. Men of later
times called attention to the case of the consuls and of Servius
Sulpicius Galba. The former officials were in some way related to
Augustus, and Galba, who afterward came to power, was at this time on the
very first day of the year enrolled among the iuvenes. Since he was the
first of the Romans to become sovereign after the race of Augustus had
passed away, it gave occasion to some to say that this coincidence had
not been due to mere accident, but had been brought about by some divine
counsel.

[-30-] So Augustus fell sick and died. Livia incurred some suspicion
regarding the manner of his death, inasmuch as he had secretly sailed
over to the island to meet Agrippa and thought to reconcile everything in
a way satisfactory to all. She was afraid, some say, that Augustus would
bring him back to make him sovereign, and so smeared with poison some
figs that were still on trees from which Augustus was wont to gather
fruit with his own hands. So she ate the ones that had not been smeared,
and pointed out the poisoned ones to him. From this or from some other
cause he became ill and sending for his associates he told them all his
wishes, finally adding: "Rome was clay when I took it in hand: I leave it
to you stone." In this he had reference not entirely to the appearance
of its buildings, but also to the strength of the empire. By asking
some applause from them as to comic actors at the close of some mime he
ridiculed most tellingly the whole life of man.

Thus on the nineteenth day of August, the day on which he first became
consul, he passed away, having lived seventy-five years, ten months, and
twenty-six days. He had been born on the twenty-third of September. He
reigned as monarch, from the time he conquered at Actium, forty-four
years lacking thirteen days. [-31-] His death, however, was not
immediately made public. Livia, fearing that as Tiberius was still in
Dalmatia there might be some uprising, concealed the fact until the
latter arrived. This is the statement made in the larger number of
histories and the more trustworthy ones. There are some who have affirmed
that Tiberius was present during the emperor's illness and received some
injunctions from him.--The body of Augustus was carried from Nola by
the foremost men of each city in succession. When it came near Rome the
knights took it in charge and conveyed it by night into the city. On the
following day there was a senate-meeting, and to it the majority came
wearing the equestrian costume, but the officials the senatorial, except
for the purple-bordered togas. Tiberius and Drusus his son wore dark
clothing made in everyday fashion. They, too, offered incense but made
no use of a flute player. Most of the members sat in their accustomed
places, but the consuls below, one on the prætors' bench and one on
the tribunes'. After this Tiberius was absolved for having touched
the corpse,--a forbidden act,--and for having escorted it on its way,
although the ...

[-32-]

  ... his will Drusus took from the virgin priestesses of Vesta, with
  whom it had been deposited, and carried it into the senate. Those who
  had sealed it viewed the impressions, and then it was read in hearing
  of the senate.

 ... one Polybius of Cæsar's household read his will, as it was not proper
for a senator to read anything of the sort. It showed that two-thirds
of the inheritance had been left to Tiberius and the rest to Livia,--at
least this is one report. In order that she, too, might have the benefit
of his property he had asked permission of the senate to leave her
so much, since it was contrary to law. These two were mentioned as
inheritors. He ordered many objects and sums of money to be given to many
different persons, both relatives of his and those joined by no ties of
kindred, not only to senators and knights but also to kings; for the
people there were a thousand myriads and for the soldiers two hundred
and fifty denarii apiece to the Pretorians, half that amount to the city
force, and to the remainder of the native soldiery seventy-five each.
Moreover, in the case of children, of whose fathers he had been the heir
while they were still small, he enjoined that everything, together with
income, should be given back to them when they became men: this was,
indeed his custom while in life. Whenever he inherited the estate of any
one who had offspring, he never neglected to give it all to the man's
children, immediately if they were already adults, and later if it were
otherwise. Though he took such an attitude toward other people's children
he did not restore his daughter from exile, though he deemed her worthy
of gifts; and he forbade her being buried in his own tomb.--So much was
learned from the will.

[-33-] Four books were then brought in and Drusus read them. In the first
were written details pertaining to his funeral; in the second all the
works which he had done, which he commanded to be inscribed aloft upon
bronze columns to be set around his heroum; the third contained
an account of military matters, of the revenues and of the public
expenditures, the amount of money in the treasuries, and everything else
of the sort having a bearing upon the administration; and the fourth had
injunctions and orders for Tiberius and for the public. Among these last
was a command that they should not liberate many slaves and should thus
avoid filing the city with a variegated rabble. He also exhorted them
not to enroll large numbers as citizens, in order that there might be a
distinct difference between themselves and subject nations; to deliver
the control of public business to all who had ability both to understand
and to act, and never to let it depend on any one person; in this way no
one would set his mind on a tyranny nor would the State go to pieces if
one fell. He advised them to be satisfied with present possessions
and under no conditions to wish to increase the empire to any greater
dimensions. It would be hard to guard, he said, and this would lead to
danger of their losing what was already theirs. This principle he had
himself really always followed not only in speech but also in action.
For, whereas he might have made great acquisitions of barbarian
territory, he had not wished to do so.--These were his injunctions.

[-34-] Then came his funeral. There was a couch made of ivory and gold
and adorned with robes of purple mixed with gold. In it his body was
hidden, in a kind of box down below: a wax image of him in triumphal
garb was displayed. This one was borne from the Palatium by the officials
for the following year, and another of gold from the senate-house, and
still another upon a triumphal chariot. Behind these came the images of
his ancestors and of his deceased relatives (except of Cæsar, because he
had been enrolled among the heroes), and those of other Romans who had
been prominent in any way, beginning with Romulus himself. An image of
Pompey the Great was also seen, and all the nations he had acquired, each
represented by a likeness which bore some local characteristic, were
carried in procession. After these followed all the remaining objects
mentioned above. When the couch had been placed in view upon the orators'
platform, Drusus read something from that place: and from the other, the
rostra of the Julian shrine, Tiberius delivered the following public
oration over the deceased, according to a decree:--

[-35-] "What needed to be said privately by relatives over the divine
Augustus Drusus has spoken. But since the senate has wisely deemed him
worthy of some kind of public utterance, I know that the speech was
fittingly entrusted to me. To whom more justly than to me, his child and
successor, could be the task of praising him be confided? It is not my
privilege, however, to be gladdened by the thought that my ability must
prove no whit inferior to your desires in the matter and to his worth.
Indeed, if I were to speak among strangers, I should be greatly alarmed
lest in following my speech they should believe his deeds to be no better
than I describe them. As it is, I am encouraged by the thought that my
words will be directed to you who know all of them thoroughly, have
experienced them all, and for that reason have deemed him worthy of these
very praises. You will judge of his excellence not from what I may say
but from what you yourselves know, and you will assist my discourse,
making good what is deficient by your memory of events. So that in this
way his eulogy will become a public one, given by all, as I, like the
head of some chorus, indicate the chief points and you come in with the
remainder of the refrain. I am certainly not afraid that you will hold me
guilty of weakness because I am unable to meet your desires nor that you
will be jealous to see his excellence going beyond your reach. Who does
not understand the fact that not all mankind assembled in one place could
worthily sound his praises? And you all voluntarily make way for him to
triumph, not envious to think that not one of you could equal him, but
rejoicing in his surpassing greatness. The greater he looms up before
you, the more greatly will you feel yourselves benefited, so that envy
will not be bred in you by your inferiority to him but awe from the
advantages you have received at his hands.

[-36-] "I shall begin at the point where he also began to enter politics,
that is, from his earliest manhood. This, indeed, is one of the greatest
achievements of Augustus,--that when he had just emerged from boyhood and
was entering upon the state of youth, he paid attention to education
so long as public affairs were well managed by the famous Cæsar, the
demi-god: when after the conspiracy against the latter the whole
commonwealth was thrown into confusion, he at the same time amply avenged
his father and rendered a much needed aid to you, not fearing the
multitude of his enemies nor dreading the greatness of the business nor
hesitating through his own immaturity. Yet what deed like this can be
cited of Alexander of Macedon or our Romulus, who have the reputation of
having done something brilliant when very young? But these I shall pass
over, lest from merely comparing them with him and bringing them up,--and
that among you who are acquainted with him no less than I,--I may be
thought to be diminishing the greatness of Augustus. If I am to do this
sort of thing, I should be justified only if I looked at his deeds beside
those of Hercules: yet even then I should fail of my effect, inasmuch as
the latter killed only serpents when he was a child, a stag and a
boar when he was a man,--oh, yes, and by Jupiter a lion also, though
reluctantly and in obedience to a command; whereas our hero voluntarily
made wars and enacted laws not among beasts but among men, carefully
preserved the commonwealth, and himself gained brilliance. It was for
this that you chose him prætor and appointed him consul at that age when
some are unwilling even to serve in the army.

[-37-] "This was the beginning of political life for Augustus, and it is
the beginning of my speech about him. Soon after, seeing that the
largest and best portion both of the people and of the senate was in
accord with him, but that Lepidus and Antony, Sextus, Brutus, and Cassius
were employing rebels, he feared that the city might become involved in
many wars,--civil wars,--at once, and be so torn asunder and exhausted as
not to be able to revive in any fashion; and so he manipulated them very
cleverly and to the greatest public good. He attached himself to the
strong ones, who were menacing the very city, and with them fought the
others till he made an end of them: when these were out of the way he in
turn freed us from the former. He chose against his will to surrender a
few to their wrath so that he might save the majority, and he chose to
assume a friendly attitude toward them individually so as not to have to
fight with them all at once. From this he derived no individual gain but
aided us all most evidently. Why should one speak at length to enumerate
his deeds in the wars both at home and abroad? Consider especially that
the former ought never to have occurred at all and that the latter by the
conquests gained show their advantages better than any words, moreover
that they largely depended upon chance, that the successes were obtained
with the aid of many citizens and many allies so that these deserve the
credit equally with him, and finally that the achievements might possibly
be compared with those of some others. These, accordingly, I shall put
aside. You can behold and read them inscribed in letters and characters
in many places. I shall speak only of the works which belong to Augustus
himself, which have never been performed by any other man, and have not
only caused our city to survive from many dangers of a sorts but have
rendered it more prosperous and powerful. The mention of them will confer
upon him a unique glory and will afford the elder among you an innocent
pleasure while giving the younger men an exact instruction in the
character and constitution of the government.

[-38-] "This Augustus, then, whom you deemed worthy of this title for the
very reasons just cited, as soon as he had freed himself from the civil
wars after acting and enduring (not in a way that pleased himself)
as Heaven approved, first of all preserved the lives of most of his
opponents, who were survivors of the army, and thus he in no way imitated
Sulla, called the Fortunate. Not to give you a list of all of them, who
does not know about Sosius, about Scaurus the brother of Sextus, and
particularly about Lepidus, who lived so long a time after his defeat and
continued to be high priest his whole life through? Next he honored his
companions in conflict with many great gifts, but did not allow them to
act in any arrogant way or to be wanton. You know thoroughly among others
in this category both Mæcenas and Agrippa, so that there is no need of my
enumerating the names. Augustus had two qualities, too, which were never
united in any one else. Some conquerors, I know, have spared their
enemies and others have refused to allow their companions to give way
to license. But both sorts of behavior at once, continually without any
exception, were never found in the same man. Here is evidence. Sulla and
Marius treated as enemies even the children of those who fought against
them. Why need I cite the other less important men? Pompey and Cæsar were
in general guiltless of this conduct, but permitted their friends to do
not a few things that were contrary to their own principles. But this
man had each of the two virtues so fused and intermingled that to his
adversaries he made defeat look like victory and to his comrades he
showed a happiness in excellence.

[-39-] "After doing this and quieting by kindness all that remained of
factional disputes and imposing temperance by his benefits upon the
victorious military, he might as a result of this and the weapons and the
money at his command have been indisputably the sole lord of everything,
as, indeed, he had been made by the very course of events. Yet he
refused, and like a good physician, who takes in hand a disease-ridden
body and heals it, he restored everything to you after making it well.
And to what this action amounted you can best realize from the fact that
our fathers spoke in praise of Pompey and Metellus, who was formerly
prominent, because they voluntarily disbanded the forces with which they
had been engaged in war. Now if they, who had but a small force and a
merely temporary one and besides saw opponents who would not allow them
to do otherwise,--if they received praise for doing this,--how could one
speak fittingly of the magnanimity of Augustus? He held all your forces,
however great, he was master of all your funds, vast in amount, had no
one to fear or suspect: but whereas he might have ruled alone with the
approval of all, he would not accept such a course, but laid the arms,
the provinces, the money at your feet. Wherefore you with wise insistence
and proper prudence would not have it nor allow him to retire to private
life; you knew well that democracy would never accommodate itself to such
tremendous interests, but that the superintendence of a single person
would most surely preserve them, and so refused what was nominally
independence but really factional discord. And making choice of him, whom
you had proved worthy by his very deeds, you compelled him to stand at
your head for a time at least. When you had in this way tested him even
more than before, you finally forced him a second, a third, a fourth, and
a fifth time to remain as manager of public affairs. [-40-] It was
only natural. Who would not choose to be safe without trouble, to
be prosperous without danger, to enjoy unsparingly the blessings of
government and not to be disturbed by cares for its maintenance? Who was
there that could rule even his private possessions better than Augustus,
to say nothing of the goods of so many human beings? He accepted the
trying and hostile provinces for his own portion to guard and preserve,
but restored to you all such others as were peaceful and free from
danger. Though he supported such a large standing army to fight in your
behalf, he let the soldiers be troublesome to none of his own countrymen
but rendered them to outsiders most terrifying guardians, to the people
at home unarmed and unwarlike. The senators in places of authority
were not deprived of appeal to the lot, but prizes for excellence were
furnished them in addition. He did not destroy the power of the ballot in
their decisions and he guaranteed safety in free speech as well. Cases
difficult to decide he transferred from the people to the searching
justice of the courts, but preserved to the popular body the dignity of
the elections and trained citizens in these to seek a means of honor, not
of strife. He even cut away the ambitious greed of office seekers and put
a regard for reputation in its place. His own money, which he increased
by legitimate methods, he spent for public needs: for the public funds he
cared as if they were his own, while he refrained from touching them, as
belonging to others. He saw that all public works that were falling to
decay were repaired, and deprived no one connected with their renovation
of the glory attaching: many structures he built anew (some in his own
name, some in that of another), or else gave others charge of erecting
them. Consequently, his gaze was directed toward public utility and
privately he grudged no one the fame to be derived from public service.
Wantonness among his own kin he recompensed relentlessly, but the
offences of others he treated with humaneness. Those who had traits of
excellence he allowed to come as near as they could to his own standard,
and with the conduct of such as lived otherwise he did not concern
himself minutely. Among those who conspired against him he invoked
justice upon only those whose lives were of no profit even to themselves.
The rest he placed in such a position that for a great while they could
obtain no excuse either true or false for attacking him. It is nothing
surprising that he was occasionally the object of conspiracies, for
even the gods do not please all alike. The excellence of good rulers
is discernible not in the villainies of others but in their own good
behavior.

[-41-] "I have spoken, Quirites, of his greatest and most striking
characteristics in a rather summary way. For if one should desire to
enumerate all of his great points individually, it would need many days.
Furthermore, I know that though you will have heard so few facts from me,
they will lead you to remember for yourselves everything else, and it
will seem almost as if I had spoken that too. In the rest that I have
said about him I have not been speaking in a spirit of vainglory [7], nor
has that been your state of mind in listening; but I intended that his
many noble achievements might obtain an ever memorable glory in your
souls. Who would not feel inclined to make mention of his senators?--how
without giving offence he removed the scum that had come to the surface
from the factions, how by this very act he exalted the remainder,
magnified it by increasing the property requirement, and enriched it by
grants of money; how he voted on an equality with the senators and
had their help in making changes; how he communicated to them all the
greatest and most important matters either in the meeting-place or else
at his house, whither he called different members at different times
because of his age and bodily infirmity. Who would not like to cite the
condition of the rest of the Romans, before whom he set public works,
money, games, festivals, amnesty, an abundance of food, safety not only
from the enemy and evildoers but even from the acts of Heaven, nor such
alone as befall by day, but by night as well? Or, again, the allies?--how
he made their freedom free from danger and their alliance to involve
no loss. Or the subject nations?--how no one of them was treated with
insolence or abuse. How can one forget a man who was in private life
poor, in public life rich, saving in his own case but liberal of
expenditures for others?--one who even endured all toil and danger for
you but would not submit to your escorting him when he went forth on any
expedition or to your meeting him when he returned: one who on festivals
admitted even the populace to his home, but on other days greeted even
the senate only in its chambers? How could one forget the number and
precision as well of his laws, which contained for the wronged an
all-sufficient consolation and for the wrongdoers a not inhuman
punishment? Or his rewards offered to those who married and had children?
Or the prizes given to the soldiers without disadvantage to any
other person? Then there is the fact of his being satisfied with our
possessions once for all acquired by the will of Destiny, and his refusal
to subjugate additional territory. For while imagining that we bore a
wider sway we might meantime lose all we had. You recall how he always
shared the joys and sorrows, the jests and earnestness of his intimate
friends, and allowed absolutely all who could make any useful suggestion
to feel free to speak; how he praised those who spoke the truth and hated
flatterers; how he bestowed upon many large sums from his own means, and
how when aught was bequeathed to him by men with children he restored it
all to those children. What oblivion is dark enough to bury all this? It
was for this, therefore, I say, that you naturally made him your head and
a father of the people, that you decked him with many marks of esteem and
numerous consulships and finally declared him a hero and published him
as immortal. Hence we ought not either to mourn for him, but to give his
body back now in due time to Nature, and to glorify his spirit, as that
of a god, forever."

[-42-] This was what Tiberius read. Directly after, the same men as
before took up the couch and carried it through the triumphal gateway,
according to the senate's decree. There were present and took part in
carrying him out the senate and the equestrian class, the women of his
family, and the pretorian guard; and nearly everybody else in the city
was in attendance. When the body had been placed on the pyre in the
Campus Martius, all the priests marched about it first; and then the
knights, all the magistrates and others, and the heavy-armed force for
garrison duty ran around it; and they cast upon it all the triumphal
decorations which any of them had ever received from him for any deed of
valor. Next the centurions took torches, conformably to a decree of the
senate, and kindled the fire from beneath. So it was consumed, and an
eagle released from it flew aloft appearing to bear his spirit into
heaven. When this had been accomplished most of those present departed;
but Livia remained on the spot for five days in company with the most
prominent knights, and gathered his bones, which she placed in the
monument.

The show of grief required by law was prolonged [-43-] only for a few
days by the men, but by the women, according to a decree, for a whole
year. Real grief not in the hearts of many at the time, but later felt by
all the citizens. Augustus had been accessible to all and was accustomed
to aid many persons in the matter of money. He used to bestow honors
scrupulously upon his friends and delighted exceedingly to have them
speak frankly. One instance, in addition to what has been told, occurred
in the case of Athenodorus. The latter was once brought into his room in
a covered litter, as if it were some woman, and leaping from it sword in
hand asked: "Aren't you afraid that some one may come in this way
and kill you?" Instead of being angry Augustus thanked him for his
suggestion.

The people consequently were wont to recall these traits of his, and how
he did not get blindly enraged at those who injured him as well as how
he kept faith with even such as were unworthy of it. There was a robber
named Corocotta, who flourished in Spain, and the emperor was in the
first place so angry at him that he offered twenty-five myriads to the
man that captured him alive. Later the robber came to him of his own
accord, and he not only did him no harm but made him richer by the amount
of money mentioned. Hence the Romans missed him mightily for these
reasons as well as because by mingling monarchy with democracy he
preserved their freedom for them and secured orderliness and security, so
that their lives, free from the audacities of democracy, free from the
wantonness of tyrannies, were cast in a liberty of moderation and under a
monarchy without terrors; they were subjects of royalty, yet not slaves,
and democratic citizens without discord. [-44-] If any of them remembered
his former deeds in the course of the civil wars, they laid them to the
pressure of circumstances, and they thought it fair to look for his real
disposition, which had given him undisputed authority. This offered, in
truth, a mighty contrast. Any one who goes carefully into each of his
separate actions will find this true. In regard to the mass of them I
must record curtly that he stopped all factional disputes, transformed
the government in a way to give it power, and strengthened it greatly.
Therefore if any deed of violence is encountered,--as is often bound to
happen when the face of a situation shifts unexpectedly,--one might more
justly blame the circumstances themselves than him.

Not the smallest factor in his glory was the length of his reign. The
majority of those that had lived under a democracy and the more powerful
had time to die. Those who were left, knowing nothing of that form of
government and having been reared entirely or mostly under existing
conditions, were not only not displeased with them,--they had become so
familiar,--but took delight in them, for they saw that these were better
and more free from terror than others of which they heard.

[-45-] Though the people knew this during his life they nevertheless
realized it more fully after his decease. Human nature is so constituted
that in good fortune it does not perceive its prosperity so fully as it
misses it when evil days arrive. This was the case then in regard to
Augustus. When they found his successor Tiberius not the same sort of
man they longed for the previous emperor. Persons with their wits about
them had some immediate evidence of the change in the constitution.
The consul Pompeius, who went out to meet the men bearing the body of
Augustus, received a blow in the leg and had to be carried back with the
body. An owl sat over the senate-house again at the very first sitting of
the senate after his death and uttered many ill-omened cries. The two men
differed so from each other that some suspected that Augustus with full
knowledge of Tiberius's character had purposely appointed him for
successor to the end that he himself might have greater glory. This
began to be rumored at a later date.

[-46-] At this time they declared Augustus immortal and assigned to him
attendants and sacred rites, making Livia (who was already called Julia
and Augusta) his priestess. Permission was granted Livia to employ a
lictor during the services. And she bestowed upon a certain Numerius
Atticus, a senatorial exprætor, twenty-five myriads because he swore that
he had seen Augustus ascending into heaven after the manner described in
the cases of Proclus and of Romulus. A heroüm voted by the senate and
built by Livia and Tiberius was erected to the dead emperor in Rome,
and others at many different points, sometimes with the consent of the
nations concerned and sometimes without their consent. Also the house at
Nola, where he passed away, was dedicated to him as a precinct. While the
heroüm was being built in Rome, they placed a golden image of him upon a
couch in the temple of Mars, and to this they paid all the honors that
they were afterward to give to his statue. Other votes in regard to
him were that his image should not be borne in procession at any one's
funeral and the consuls should celebrate his birthday with games no less
than that of Mars[8] the tribunes, as being sacrosanct, were to manage
the Augustalia. These officials conducted everything as had been the
custom, wearing the triumphal costume at the horse-race; they did not,
however, ascend the chariot. Besides this Livia held a private festival
in his honor for three days in the Palatium, and this is continued to the
present day by whoever is emperor.

[-47-] This was the extent of the decrees passed in memory of Augustus
nominally by the senate but really by Tiberius and Livia. Various men
made various motions and they decided that Tiberius should receive
written proposals from them and pick out whatever he chose. I have added
the name of Livia because she took a share in the proceedings, as though
she had full power.

Meantime the populace was plunged in tumult because at the Augustalia one
of the dancers would not enter the theatre for the stipulated pay. They
did not cease their disturbances until the tribunes convened the senate
without delay and begged that body to allow them to spend something more
than the legal amount.--Here ends my account of Augustus.


[Footnote 1: Undoubtedly _C. Vibius_ POSTUMUS is the person meant.]

[Footnote 2: Reading [Greek: paremenoi] (Boissevain, following the MS.).]

[Footnote 3: A leaf is here missing in the codex Marcianus. Of the
portion lost Zonaras supplies about one quarter.]

[Footnote 4: Another leaf of the codex Marcianus is here lacking, leaving
a gap of which Zonaras and an Excerpt of de Valois supply a sixth or
more.]

[Footnote 5: A conjecture of Boissevain's. The MS. has "Sardinia." (See
Mnemosyne, N.S. XIII, p. 329.)]

[Footnote 6: Dio here appears to confuse the festival of Augustus's
Birthday (September 23d) with that of the Augustalia proper, which was
celebrated October third to twelfth. The opening of chapter 34, Book
Fifty-four, might lead one to think, however, that he had accustomed
himself to use the phrase "which are still celebrated" to listing the
latter from the former.]

[Footnote 7: This sentence in the MS. is faulty. Oddey and Bekker
supplied words for the necessary sense.]

[Footnote 8: Compare Roscher, II, column 2399.];



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

57

The following is contained in the Fifty-seventh of Dio's Rome:

About Tiberius (chapter I ff.). How Cappadocia began to be governed by
Romans (chapter 17). How Germanicus Cæsar died (chapter 18). How Drusus
Cæsar died (chapter 22).

Duration of time, 11 years, in which there were the following magistrates
here enumerated:

Drusus Cæsar Tiberi F., C. Norbanus C. F. Flaccus (A.D. 15 = a. u. 768 =
Second of Tiberius, from Aug. 19th.)

T. Statilius T. F. Sisenna Taurus, L. Scribonius L. F. Libo. (A.D. 16 =
a. u. 769 = Third of Tiberius.)

C. Cæcilius C. F. Nepos [or] Rufus, L. Pomponius L. F. Flaccus. (A.D. 17
= a. u. 770 = Fourth of Tiberius.)

Tib. Cæsar Augusti F. (III), Germanicus Cæsar Tib. F. (II). (A.D. 18 = a.
u. 771 = Fifth of Tiberius.)

M. Iunius M. F. Silanus, C. Norbanus C. F. Flaccus or Balbus. (A.D. 19 =
a. u. 772 = Sixth of Tiberius.)

M. Valerius M. F. Messala, M. Aurelius M. F. Cotta. (A.D. 20 = a. u. 773
= Seventh of Tiberius.)

Tib. Cæsar Augusti F. (IV), Drusus Iulius Tib. F. (II). (A.D. 21 = a. u.
774 = Eighth of Tiberius.)

Decimus Haterius C. F. Agrippa, C. Sulpicius Serg. F. Galba. (A.D. 22 =
a. u. 775 = Ninth of Tiberius.)

C. Asinius C. F. Pollio, C. Antistius C. F. Vetus. (A.D. 23 = a. u. 776 =
Tenth of Tiberius.)

Sergius Cornelius Sergi F. Cethego, L. Visellius L. F. Varro. (A.D. 24 =
a. u. 777 = Eleventh of Tiberius.)

M. [or C.] Asinius [M. or] C. F. Agrippa, Cossus Cornelius Cossi F.
Lentulus. (A.D. 25 = a. u. 778 = Twelfth of Tiberius.)


_(BOOK 57 BOISSEVAIN)_

[A.D. 14 (_a. u._ 767)]

[-1-] Tiberius was a patrician of good education, but he had a most
peculiar nature. He never let what he desired appear in his talk, and
about what he said he wished he usually cared nothing at all. Thus his
words indicated just the opposite of his real purpose: be denied any
interest in what he longed for and urged the claims of what he hated. He
would exhibit anger over matters that were very far from arousing his
rage and made a show of affability where he was most vexed. He would pity
those whom he severely punished and retain a grudge against those whom he
pardoned. Sometimes he would regard his dearest foe as his nearest friend
and again he would act toward his most intimate companion as if the
latter were thoroughly hostile. In general, he thought it bad policy
for the independent sovereign to reveal his state of mind; this was the
source, he said, of great failures, but by the opposite course even more
successes, and greater, were attained. If he had merely followed this
method without complications, he would have had no protection against
such as had come to know him; they would have taken everything by
contraries and would have deemed his saying that he did not wish
something to be equivalent to his ardently desiring it, and that he was
eager for something equivalent to his not being concerned about it. It
happened, however, that he became angry if any one gave evidence of
understanding him. Many were those he put to death for no other offence
than having comprehended him. It was a dangerous matter, then, to fail to
understand him--for many were ruined by approving what he said instead of
what he wished,--but still more dangerous to understand him. Such persons
were suspected of discovering his practice and being consequently
displeased with it. Practically the only sort of man that could maintain
himself,--and such a person is rarely found,--was one who did not
misunderstand his nature yet did not subject it to uncomfortable
exposure. Under these conditions men would not be deceived by believing
him nor be hated for revealing their comprehension of his policy. For he
gave plenty of trouble both to any one who opposed what he said and to
any one who favored it. As he was really anxious for one thing to be
done but wanted to appear to desire something different, he invariably
regarded those who took either side as his opponents and therefore was
hostile to the one class because of his real feelings, and to the other
for the sake of appearances.

[-2-] It was due to this characteristic that, as emperor, he sent a
dispatch straight from Nola to the legions and provinces declaring that
he was emperor. This name, which was voted him along with the rest, he
would not accept, and though taking the portion of Augustus he would not
adopt this title of his. At a time when he was already surrounded by the
body-guards he asked the senate to help him escape suffering any violence
at the burial of the emperor's body. He was afraid some men might snatch
it up and burn it in the Forum, as they had that of Cæsar. When somebody
thereupon as a compliment voted that he be given a guard, as if he had
none, he saw through the man's flattery and answered: "The soldiers are
not mine but the public's." Besides doing this he administered in fact
all the business of the empire, meanwhile declaring that he wanted none
of it. At first he said he should give it all up on account of his
age,--fifty-six,--and his near-sightedness (although he saw extremely
well in the dark, his eyes in the daylight were very weak). Later he
asked for some associates and colleagues, though not to take charge of
the whole domain at once, as in an oligarchy, but he divided it into
three parts, one of which he should retain himself and yield the
remaining two to others. One of these portions consisted of Rome and
the rest of Italy, the second of the legions, the third of the subject
peoples outside. Though he became very urgent, most of the senators
still opposed him and begged him to govern the entire realm. But Asinius
Gallus, who employed the frank speech of old days more than was good for
him, replied: "Choose whichever part you wish." Tiberius rejoined: "How
is it feasible for the same man both to make the division and to choose?"
Gallus, perceiving into what a plight he had fallen, framed his words to
flatter him, interrupting to the effect that: "I not setting before you
the idea of your having a third but the impossibility of the empire's
being divided." In fact, however, he did not mollify Tiberius, but after
first undergoing many dire sufferings was subsequently murdered. For
Gallus had married the former wife of the new ruler and claimed Drusus as
his son, and consequently there had been hatred between them before this.

[-3-] Tiberius acted in this way at that time chiefly because it was his
nature and he had determined upon that policy, but partly also because
he was suspicious of the Pannonian and Germanic legions and feared
Germanicus, the ruler of the Germany of that day and a favorite of
theirs. He had previously made sure of the soldiers in Italy by means of
the oaths established by Augustus; but as he was suspicious of the others
he waited for either possible outcome, intending to save himself by
retiring to private life in case the legions should revolt and prevail.
For this reason he often feigned sickness and remained at home, so as not
to be compelled to say or do anything definite. I have even heard that
when it began to be said that Livia against the will of Augustus had kept
the empire for him, he took such action[1] that he might appear to have
received it not from her (with whom he was on very bad terms), but under
compulsion from the senators through surpassing them in excellence. Again
I have heard that when he saw that people were cool toward him he waited
and delayed in order that they in the hope of his voluntarily resigning
the empire might no adopt rebellious measures until he had secured an
unshakable control of the government. Still, I do not record these
stories as the true causes of his delay, but rather his usual disposition
and the disturbance among the soldiers. He sent some one from Nola and
had Agrippa killed at once. Yet he declared this had not been done by
his orders and he threatened the perpetrator of the deed. Instead of
punishing him, however, he allowed men to invent versions of the affair
some to the effect that Augustus had put him out of the way just before
his death, others that the centurion who was guarding him slew him on his
own responsibility for some revolutionary dealings, others that Livia and
not Tiberius had ordered his death.

[-4-] This rival, then, he had removed from the scene immediately, but
there remained Germanicus, whom he feared mightily. The soldiers in
Pannonia had risen as soon as they learned of the demise of Augustus.
They gathered in one fort and having strengthened it they took many steps
toward rebellion. Among other things they attempted to kill their leader,
Junius Blæsus, and arrested and tortured his slaves. In general, what
they wanted was to have the period of service extend over not more than
sixteen years, and they demanded that they should receive a denarius per
day and be given at once his prizes that were in the camp. In case they
did not obtain their demands they threatened to make the province revolt
and to march upon Rome. Indeed, they were at this time with difficulty
won over by the persuasions of Blæsus to send envoys to Tiberius at Rome
in regard to these matters. For they hoped during this change in
the government to accomplish the utmost of their desires either by
frightening the emperor into it or by giving the power to some one else.
Subsequently, when Drusus came upon them with the Pretorians, they were
thrown into tumult once more because no definite answer was returned
them. Some of his followers they wounded and they put a guard around him
in the night to prevent his escape. Noticing, however, an eclipse of the
moon occurring they felt their boldness begin to waver so that they
did no further harm to this detachment and despatched envoys again to
Tiberius. Meantime a great storm came up, and when on this account every
one had retired to his own quarters, the most audacious soldiers were
destroyed, some in one manner, some in another, by Drusus and his
associates in his own tent, whither he had summoned them on some
unsignifying pretext. The rest were restored to good standing on
condition of surrendering for punishment those responsible for the
uprising. In this way this division became quiet.

[-5-] The warriors in Germany, however, where many had been assembled
on account of the war, would not hear of moderation, since they saw that
Germanicus was both a Cæsar and far superior to Tiberius, but proclaiming
publicly the above facts they heaped abuse upon Tiberius and saluted
Germanicus as emperor. When after much pleading he found himself unable
to reduce them to order, finally he drew his sword as if to despatch
himself. They cried out upon him in horror, and one of them proffering
his own sword said: "Take this; this is sharper." Germanicus, seeing
to what lengths the matter had gone, did not venture to kill himself,
particularly as he had reason to believe that they would persist in their
uprising none the less. Therefore he composed a letter purporting to have
been sent from Tiberius, gave them twice the gift bequeathed them by
Augustus,--pretending it was the emperor who did this,--and released
those who were beyond the age of service. Most of them belonged to the
city troops which Augustus had gathered as an extra force after the
disaster to Varus. As a result, they ceased for the time being their
seditious behavior. Later on came senators as envoys from Tiberius, to
whom the latter had secretly communicated only so much as he wished
Germanicus to know. He felt quite sure that they would tell him the
emperor's plans in their entirety, and accordingly did not care that
either they or Germanicus should trouble themselves about anything
further; the instructions delivered were supposed to comprise everything.
Now when these men had arrived and the soldiers learned about the trick
Germanicus had played, a suspicion sprang up that the presence of the
senators meant the overthrow of their leader's measures, and this led to
new turmoil. The men-at-arms almost killed some of the envoys and to the
point of seizing Germanicus's wife Agrippina (daughter of Agrippa and
Julia, the daughter of Augustus) and his son, both of whom had been
sent by him to some place for refuge. The boy was called Gaius Caligula
because, being brought up for the most part in the camp he wore the
military shoes instead of those usual at the capital. At the request of
Germanicus they released to him Agrippina, who was pregnant but they
retained possession of Gaius. Yet on this occasion too, as they
accomplished nothing, they after a time grew quiet. In fact, they
experienced such a revulsion of sentiment that of their own accord they
arrested the boldest of their number: and some they killed privately, the
rest they brought before a gathering; and then, according to the wish of
the majority, [-6-] they executed some and released others. Germanicus
being still afraid that they would make another uprising invaded the
enemy's country and there spent some time, giving them plenty of work and
abundant food,--the fruit of others' labor.

Thus, though he might have obtained the imperial power,--for he found
favor in the sight of absolutely all the Romans as well as their
subjects,--he declined the honor. For this Tiberius praised him and sent
many pleasing messages both to him and to Agrippina: he was not, however,
pleased with his rival's progress but feared him all the more because he
had won the attachment of the legions. Tiberius assumed that he did not
feel as he appeared to do, from his own consciousness of saying one thing
and doing another. Hence he was suspicious of Germanicus and further
suspicious of his wife, who was possessed of an ambition appropriate to
her lofty lineage. Yet he displayed no sign of irritation toward them,
but delivered many eulogies of Germanicus in the senate and proposed
sacrifices to be offered in honor of his achievements as he did in the
case of Drusus. Also he bestowed upon the soldiers in Pannonia the same
privileges as Germanicus had given. For the future, however, he refused
to release members of the service outside of Italy until they had served
the twenty years.

[-7-] Now when no further news of a revolutionary nature came, but all
parts of the Roman world began to yield a steady acquiescence to his
leadership, he no longer practiced dissimulation regarding the acceptance
of sovereign power, and managed the empire, so long as Germanicus lived,
in the way I am about to describe. He did little or nothing, that is, on
his own responsibility, but brought even the smallest matters before the
senate and communicated them to that body. In the Forum a platform had
been erected on which he sat in public to transact business, and he
always gathered about him advisers, after the manner of Augustus.
Moreover, he did not take any step of consequence without making it known
to the rest. He stated his own opinion openly and not only granted every
one the right to oppose it freely in speech, but sometimes even endured
to have some vote directly against it. Often he would cast a vote
himself. Drusus did this, like the rest, now voting first and again after
some others. The emperor would sometimes remain silent and sometimes give
his opinion first, or after a few others, or even last; in some cases he
would speak out directly, but generally (to avoid appearing to have cut
short their freedom of speech), he would say: "If I were to give my views
I should propose this or that." This had equal influence with the other
method, only those who came after were not prevented by him from stating
what appeared good to them. But frequently he would outline one plan and
those who came after him would prefer something different; occasionally
they even prevailed. Yet for all that he harbored anger against no
one. He held court himself, as I have stated, but he also attended
the magistrates' courts, both when summoned by them and without an
invitation. These officials he allowed to sit in their own places: he
himself took his seat on the bench located opposite them and as presiding
officer made any remarks that seemed to him pertinent.

[-8-] In all other matters, too, he behaved in this same way. He would
not allow himself to be called "master" by the freedmen, nor "imperator"
except by the soldiers; the title of _Pater Patriæ_ he put away from him
entirely: that of _Augustus_ he did not assume (for he never permitted
the question to be put to vote), but endured to hear it spoken and to
read it when written. Moreover, when he sent messages to any kings he
would regularly include this title in his letter. In general he spoke
of himself as Cæsar, sometimes as Germanicus (from the exploits of
Germanicus), and _Princeps Senatus_, according to ancient usage. Often he
used to say: "My position is that of master of the slaves, imperator of
the soldiers, and first citizen among the rest." He would pray, whenever
it happened that he was so engaged, that he might live and rule so long
a time as should be to the advantage of the public. And he was so
democratic in all circumstances alike that on his birthday he did not
permit any unusual demonstrations, and he did not give people the right
to swear by his Fortune nor did he prosecute any one who after swearing
by it incurred the charge of perjury. In short, he would not (at first,
at least) sanction in his own case the carrying out of the custom which
has obtained as a matter of course on the first day of the year, down to
the present, in honor of Augustus, of all rulers that came after him of
whom we make any account, and of such as nowadays succeed to imperial
privileges,--namely, the ratification under oath of what they have done
and of what they shall do by citizens alive during the particular year
in question. Yet in the case of the measures of Augustus he both
administered the oath to others and took it himself. In order to render
his attitude more striking, he would let the first day of the month go
by, not entering the senate nor showing himself at all in the City on
that day, but spending the time in some suburb; then later he would come
in and take pledges separately. This was part of the reason that he
remained somewhere outside on the first days of the month, but he was
also anxious to avoid disturbing any of the inhabitants, who were
concerned with the new offices and the festival, and to avoid taking
money from them. He did not even commend Augustus for his behavior in
this respect because it brought about great dissatisfaction and a great
expenditure in order to return favors. [-9-] Not only in this way were his
actions democratic, but no precinct was set apart for him either by his
own choice or in any other way,--that is to say at this time. Nor was any
one allowed to set up an image of him. Without delay he expressly forbade
any city or individual to do this. To this refusal he attached the phrase
"unless I grant permission "; but he added: "I will not grant it." Least
of all did he assume to have been insulted or to have been impiously
treated by any one. (Men were already calling such a procedure impiety,
and were bringing many suits based on that ground.) He would not hear of
any such indictment being brought for his own benefit, though he paid
tribute to the majesty of Augustus in this matter also. At first he would
not punish even such as had incurred charges for their actions in regard
to his predecessor, and some against whom complaint was made of their
having perjured themselves by the Fortune of Augustus he released. As
time went on, however, he put a very great number to death.

[-10-] Not only did he magnify Augustus as above stated, but in giving
the finishing touches to the buildings of which Augustus had laid the
foundations (though not bringing them to completion) he inscribed the
first emperor's name; the latter's statues and heroä, likewise, whether
those that the provinces or those that individuals were erecting he
partly consecrated himself and partly assigned to some member of the
pontifices. This plan of inscribing the builder's name he carried out not
only in the case of the actual monuments of Augustus himself, but equally
in the case of all such as needed any repair. He put in good condition
all buildings that had fallen to decay (not constructing anything new at
all himself, except the temple of Augustus), and appropriated none of
them, but restored to all of them the same names, names of the original
builders. While expending extremely little for himself he laid out
very great sums for the common good, either building over or adorning
practically all the public works. He assisted many cities and individuals
and enriched numerous senators who were poor and on that account were no
longer willing to be members of the senate. However, he did not do this
promiscuously and even expunged the names of some for licentiousness and
of others for poverty when they could give no adequate reason for it.
Every gift that was bestowed upon any persons was counted out directly in
his presence. For since in the days of Augustus the officials who made
the presentation were wont to deduct large sums for their own use, he
took the greatest care that this should not happen during his reign. All
the expenditures, moreover, he made from the regular sources of income.
He killed no one for his money, did not confiscate (at this time) any
one's property, nor collect any funds by abuses. Indeed, when Aemilius
Rectus once sent him from Egypt, of which he was governor, more money
than was required, he sent him a message, saying: "To shear my sheep and
not to shave them to the skin is what I desire."

[-11-] Furthermore he was extremely easy of access and ready to grant
an audience. The senators he bade greet him all at once and so avoid
jostling one another. In fine, he showed himself so considerate that
once, when the leaders of the Rhodians sent him some communication and
failed to write at the foot of the letter this customary formula about
offering their prayers for his welfare, he summoned them in haste as
if he intended to do them some harm, but on their arrival instead of
administering any serious rebuke had them subscribe what was lacking and
then sent them away. The temporary officials he honored as he would have
done in a democracy, even rising from his seat at the approach of the
consuls. Whenever he entertained them at dinner he would in the first
place receive them at the door when they entered, and secondly escort
them on their way when they departed. In case he was at any time being
carried anywhere in his litter, he would not allow even one of the
knights who was prominent to accompany him, still less a senator. On the
occasion of festivals or so often as anything similar was going to
afford the people leisure, he would go the evening before to one of the
Cæsarians who lived near the places where there was sure to be a large
crowd and there pass the night. His object was to make it possible for
the people to meet him with a minimum of formality and fatigue. The
equestrian contests he would often watch in person from the house of some
freedman. He attended the spectacles very frequently in order to do
honor to those who gave them as well as to ensure the orderliness of the
multitude and to seem to take an interest in their celebration. Really he
did not care in the least about anything of the kind, nor did he have the
reputation of being enthusiastic in these matters. In every way he was so
fair and equal that when the populace once desired that a certain dancer
be set free he would not approve the proposal until the man's master had
been persuaded and received the value of his chattel. His intercourse
with his companions was like that between private individuals: he helped
them when they were sued and joined them in the ceremony of sacrifice; he
visited them when they were sick, taking no guard into the room with him;
over one of them who died he himself delivered the funeral oration.

[-12-] Moreover, he bade his mother behave in a similar manner, so far
as it was proper for her to do so, partly that she might imitate him and
partly to prevent her becoming overproud. She occupied a position of
great prominence, far above all women of former time, so that she could
at any time receive the senate and such of the people as so wished to
greet her in her house. This was also inscribed in the public records.
The letters of Tiberius bore for a time her name also and were written by
both with equal authority. Except that she never ventured to enter the
senate or the camps or the public assemblies she undertook to man age
everything like a sole ruler. In the time of Augustus she had had great
influence and she declared that it was she who made Tiberius emperor.
Consequently she was not satisfied to rule on equal terms with him, but
wished to assert a superiority over him. In this way many measures out of
the ordinary were introduced and many persons voted that she should be
called Mother of her Country, many others that she should he termed
Parent. Others proposed that Tiberius should receive his name from her,
that just as the Greeks were called by their father's name so he should
be called by his mother's. This vexed him and he neither ratified the
honors voted her (save a very few) nor allowed her any further unusual
freedom of action. For instance, she had once dedicated in her house
an image to Augustus and in honor of the event wished to entertain the
senate and the knights together with their wives, but he would not grant
her permission to carry out any part of this program until the senate had
voted it, and not even then to receive the men at dinner. Instead, he
entertained the latter and she attended to the women. Finally, he removed
her entirely from the public sphere, allowing her to direct affairs
within doors; then, as she was troublesome even in this capacity, he
proceeded to absent himself from the City and avoided her in every way
possible. It was chiefly on her account that he removed to Capreae.--This
is the tradition that obtains about Livia.

[-13-] Now Tiberius began to treat more harshly those accused of any
crime and became at enmity with his son Drusus, who was most licentious
and cruel (as is evidenced by the fact that the sharpest kind of swords
was called Drusian after him); him he often censured both privately and
publicly. Once he said to him outright in the Presence of many witnesses:
"While I live you shall perform no act of violence or insolence, and
if you venture to do any such thing, you shall be cut off from the
possibility after I am dead." For during some time the emperor continued
to live a very temperate life and allowed no one else to indulge in
licentiousness but punished numbers for it. Yet once when the senators
evinced a desire to have a penalty imposed by law upon those guilty of
lewd living he would make no such ruling, explaining that it is better to
correct them privately in some way or other instead of laying them open
to a public punishment. Under existing conditions, he said, there was a
chance of bringing some of them to moderation through fear of disgrace,
and they might endeavor to escape discovery; but if the law should once
be overcome by nature, no one would pay any further heed to it. Not a
few men also were wearing quantities of purple clothing (though this had
formerly been forbidden); of these no one was either rebuked or fined:
but when a rain came up on a certain festival the emperor put on a dark
woolen cloak. After this none of them dared any longer to assume any
different kind of garb.

This is the way he behaved under all conditions so long as Germanicus
lived. Subsequent to that event he changed many of his ways. Perhaps he
had been minded from the first as he later appeared to feel, and had been
merely shamming as long as Germanicus existed because he saw that he
was lying in wait for the leadership; or perhaps he was excellent by
nature but drifted into vice when he was deprived of his rival. [-14-] I
shall notice also separate events,--all those, at least that deserve
mention,--each in its proper place.

[A.D. 15 (_a. u._ 768)]

In the consulship of Drusus his son and of Gaius Norbanus he presented
to the people the bequests made by Augustus: this was after some one had
approached a corpse that was being carried out through the Forum for
burial and bending down had whispered something in its ear; when the
spectators asked what he had said, he stated that he had commissioned
the dead to tell Augustus that they had got nothing as yet. This man the
emperor immediately despatched, in order (as he jokingly said) that he
might carry his own message to Augustus; with the rest he settled after a
little, distributing sixty-five denarii apiece. Some say this payment was
made the previous year.

At this time certain knights desired to enter a championship contest in
the games which Drusus had arranged for his own celebration and that of
Germanicus; Tiberius did not view their combat, and when one of them was
killed he forbade the other to fight as a gladiator again. Still other
conflicts took place in connection with the horse-race that was in honor
of Augustus's birthday; indeed, a few beasts were slain. So things went
on for a number of years.

At this time, too, Crete, its governor being dead, was attached to the
quaestorship and to the quaestor's assistant for the future. Since, also,
many of those to whom the provinces had been allotted lingered in Rome
and in the remainder of Italy for a long time, so that those who had held
the office before them delayed, contrary to precedent, Tiberius commanded
that they should take their departure by the first day of June. Meanwhile
his grandson by Drusus died, but he neglected none of his customary
duties; it was his settled conviction that a governor of men ought not to
give up care of the common weal by reason of private misfortunes, and he
confirmed the rest in their purpose not to jeopardize the interests of
the living because of the dead.

The river Tiber now proceeded to occupy a large portion of the City,
so that there was an inundation. Most people regarded this also as a
prodigy, like the great earthquakes which shook down a portion of the
wall, and like the frequent fall of thunderbolts, which made wine leak
even from pails that were sound. The emperor, however, thinking that it
was due to the great number of springs, appointed five senators, chosen
by lot, to constitute a permanent board to look after the river, to the
end that it should not give out in summer nor become over full in winter,
but flow evenly so far as possible all the time. These were the measures
of Tiberius.

As for Drusus, he performed the duties pertaining to the consulship along
with his colleague as any private citizen might have done. Being left
heir to someone's estate he assisted in carrying out the funeral. Yet
he was so prone to anger that he inflicted blows upon a distinguished
knight, and for this exploit he obtained the surname of Castor. [2] And
he showed himself such a hard drinker that one night, when he was forced
to lend aid with the Pretorians to some people whose property was on
fire, he commanded, at their request for water, to pour it out hot for
them. He was so fond of dancers that this class raised a tumult and would
not be brought to order by the laws which Tiberius had introduced to
apply to them.

[A.D. 16 (_a. u._ 769)]

[-15-] These were the events of that period. Now when Statilius Taurus
was consul with Lucius Libo, Tiberius forbade any man to wear silk
clothing and likewise to use gold ornaments, except for sacred
ceremonies. As some were at a loss to know whether it were forbidden them
also to possess silver ornaments which had some gold inlaid, he wished
to issue some decree about this too, but he refused to let the word
_emblaema_, since it was a Greek term, be inserted in the original
document. Yet he could find no native word that would describe such
inlaid work.

This was the position he took in that matter. Now there was a centurion
who wished to give some evidence before the senate in Greek, and he would
not allow it. Yet he was wont to hear many suits that were argued there
in that language and to investigate many himself. Besides his unusual
behavior in this respect he failed to pass sentence on Lucius Scribonius
Libo, a young noble suspected of revolutionary designs, so long as the
latter was well; but upon his falling sick he had him brought into the
senate in a covered litter (such as the wives of senators use) to be
condemned to death.

A slight delay ensued and Libo committed suicide, whereupon the emperor
passed judgment upon his behavior, though he was dead, gave his money to
the accusers, and had sacrifices voted for his overthrow, not only for
his own sake, but for the sake of Augustus and of the latter's father
Julius, as had occasionally been decreed in past times.

Though he took such action in the case of this man, he administered no
rebuke at all to Vibius Rufus, who used Cæsar's chair (the one on which
the latter was always accustomed to sit and on which he was slain). Rufus
did this regularly, besides having Cicero's wife as his consort, and
prided himself on both achievements, evidently thinking that he would
become an orator by means of the wife or a Cæsar by means of the chair.
For this, as I have stated, he received no censure; indeed, he became
consul.

Tiberius was, moreover, forever in the company of Thrasyllus and made
some use of the mantic art every day, becoming himself so proficient in
the study that when he was once bidden in a dream to give money to a
certain person, he comprehended that a deceitful spirit had been called
up before him and he put the man to death. Likewise, in the case of
all the rest of the astrologers and magicians and those who practiced
divination in any other way whatever, he had the foreigners executed
and banished all such citizens as still at that time after the previous
decree, by which it had been forbidden to engage in any such business in
the City, were accused in court of employing the art.

To such of them as obeyed immunity had been granted. In fact, all the
citizens would have been acquitted even contrary to his wish, had not
a certain tribune prevented it. Here one could catch a glimpse of the
democratic constitution, inasmuch as the senate, approving the course
of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, overcame Drusus and Tiberius and was itself
subdued by the tribune.

[-16-] These affairs were settled in this way. Certain men who had been
quaestors the previous year were sent out to the provinces, since those
who were quaestors at the time proved too few for them. This was done
again and again, as often as it was found necessary.

Many of the public documents had either perished utterly or had faded
during the lapse of time. Three senators were therefore elected to copy
off what was extant and to look up the rest.--Assistance was given in
several conflagrations not only by Tiberius but also by Livia.

The same year a certain Clemens, who had been a slave of Agrippa and
resembled him to a certain extent, pretended to be he. He went to Gaul
and won the attachment of many there, and later of many in Italy. Finally
he marched upon Rome with the avowed intention of recovering the dominion
of his grandfather. Many of the inhabitants of the city were thrown into
confusion at this, and not a few joined his cause. Tiberius, however, got
him in his hands by a clever device and through the agency of certain
persons who pretended to sympathize with the upstart. Then he tortured
the prisoner in order to learn something about his fellow conspirators,
but when the victim uttered not a word the emperor asked him:" How did
you get to be Agrippa?" And he replied: "In the same way as you got to be
Cæsar."

[A.D. 17 (a. u. 770)]

[-17-] The following year Gaius Cæcilius and Lucius Flaccus received the
title of consuls. And when some brought Tiberius money after the first
of the month, he would not accept it and published a kind of document
regarding this very point, in which he used a word that was not Latin.
After thinking it over by night he sent for all those who had accurate
knowledge of such matters, for he was extremely anxious to have his
diction irreproachable. Thereupon a certain Ateius Capito declared: "Even
if no one has previously used this expression, yet because of you we
shall all enumerate it among the primitive usages," but was interrupted
by one Marcellus,[3] who said: "You, being Cæsar, can extend Roman
government over men, but not over words." And the emperor did the man no
harm for this, in spite of the excessive frankness of his speech.

He had a grudge, however, against Archelaus. the king of Cappadocia,
because the latter had first become his suppliant to the extent of
employing him as advocate when this monarch in the time of Augustus had
been accused by his people, and had subsequently slighted him on the
occasion of a visit to Rhodes, but had paid court to Gaius, who also went
to Asia. Therefore he summoned him on the charge of rebellious behavior
and delivered him up to the votes of the senate. (The king was not only
well stricken in years, but a great sufferer from gout, and was moreover
believed to be demented.) As a matter of fact he had been incommoded
previously by loss of mind to the extent of having a guardian placed over
his domain by Augustus; but at that time he was no longer weak-witted and
was merely feigning, in the hope of saving himself by this expedient
if by no other. He would now have been executed, had not some one in
testifying against him stated that he had once said: "When I get back
home, I will show him what sort of sinews I possess." A shout of laughter
went up at this, for the man was not only unable to stand, but could
not even assume a sitting posture, and so Tiberius gave up his plan of
putting him to death. The condition of the prince was so serious that
he was carried into the senate in a covered litter. For since it was
customary even for men, whenever one of them came there feeling ill, to
be carried in a reclining position, Tiberius took advantage of the method
on this occasion, too. (And the invalid spoke a few words, bending
forward from the litter.) So it was that the life of Archelaus was
temporarily saved, but he died shortly afterward in some other way. After
this Cappadocia reverted to the Romans and was put in charge of a knight.

To the cities in Asia which had been damaged by the earthquake an
ex-prætor was assigned with five lictors. Considerable money therefore
was diverted from the revenues and considerable was given by Tiberius
personally. For whereas he refrained scrupulously from the possessions of
others,--so long at least as he practiced virtue at all,--and would not
even accept the inheritances which were left to him by testators having
relatives, he spent vast sums both upon the cities and upon private
individuals. He would not hear of any honor or praise for these
acts.--Embassies that came from foreign cities or nations he never
dealt with alone, but caused a number of others to participate in the
deliberations, and especially such as had once governed these peoples.

[-18-] Now Germanicus, having acquired a reputation for his campaign
against the Celtae, advanced as far as the ocean, inflicted an
overwhelming defeat upon the barbarians, collected and buried the bones
of those who had fallen under Varus, and won back the military standards.

  His wife Julia was not recalled from the banishment to which for
  unchastity her father Augustus had condemned her; nay, he even put
  her under lock and key till wretchedness and starvation caused her
  death.

[A.D. 17 or 18]

The senate urged upon Tiberius the request that the month of November, on
the sixteenth of which he had been born, should be called Tiberius; to
which he responded: "What will you do, if there arise thirteen Cæsars?"

[A.D. 19 (_a. u._ 772)]

Later, when Marcus Junius and Lucius Norbanus came to office, a portent
of some magnitude occurred on the very first day of the month, and it
doubtless had a bearing on the fate of Germanicus. Norbanus the consul
had always been devoted to the trumpet, and as he had practiced
assiduously in this pursuit he wished on this occasion also to play the
instrument just about dawn, when many persons were already near his house
This proceeding threw them all without exception into confusion, just as
if the consul had imparted to them some warlike signal; and they were
also disturbed by the falling of the statue of Janus. Their calm was
further ruffled by an oracle, reputed to be a Sibylline utterance, which
would not fit any other period of the city's history, but pointed to that
very time. It declared:

  "After thrice three hundred revolving years have been numbered, Civil
  strife shall consume the Romans,--and the Sybaritan Folly." ...

Tiberius denounced these verses as false and made an investigation of all
the books containing any prophecies. Some he rejected as worthless and
others he admitted as genuine.

  As there had been a large influx of Jews into Rome and they were
  converting many of the native inhabitants to their principles he
  expelled the great majority of them.

At the death of Germanicus Tiberius and Livia were thoroughly pleased,
but everybody else was mightily afflicted. He was a man who possessed the
most striking physical beauty and likewise the noblest of spirits. Both
in education and in strength he was conspicuous [and whereas he was the
bravest of the brave against the enemy, he was the mildest of the mild to
his friend. Though as a Cæsar he had extreme power he kept his ambitions
on the same plane as weaker men. He in no wise conducted himself
oppressively toward his subjects] or with jealousy toward Drusus or in
any way to deserve censure toward Tiberius. [In brief, he belonged to the
few men of all time who have neither sinned against the fortune allotted
to them nor been destroyed by it.]

Although on several occasions he might [with the free consent not only
of the soldiers but of the people and senate as well] have obtained the
imperial power, he refused to do so. His death occurred in Antioch as the
result of a plot formed by Piso and Plancina. Bones of men buried in the
house where he dwelt and sheets of lead containing certain curses along
with his name were found while he yet breathed.

[A.D. 20 (_a u._ 773)]

Piso was brought before the senate by Tiberius himself on the charge of
having murdered Germanicus, but succeeded in securing a postponement and
committed suicide.

  Germanicus left three sons, whom Augustus in his testament denominated
  Cæsars. The eldest of these, Nero, at that time had his name
  placed among the number of the iuvenes.

[-19-] Tiberius, who had hitherto been the author of manifold meritorious
works and had made but few errors, now, when he ceased to have a rival in
view, changed to precisely the reverse of his previous conduct, which had
included many excellent deeds. Among other ways in which his rule became
cruel he pushed to the bitter end the trials for maiestas, in cases where
complaint was made against any one for committing any improper act or
uttering any improper speech not only against Augustus but against
Tiberius personally and against his mother.

  And towards those suspected of plotting against him he was inexorable.

  Tiberius was stern in his chastisement of persons accused of an
  offence. He would remark as follows: "Nobody willingly submits to
  be ruled, but a man is driven into it reluctantly. Not only do subjects
  like to refuse obedience, but, more than that, they enjoy plotting
  against their rulers. And he would accept accusers indiscriminately: a
  slave might denounce a master or a son a father.

  Indeed, by indicating to certain persons his wish for the death of
  certain others he brought about the destruction of the latter through
  the medium of the former, and there was no secrecy about these
  transactions.

Not only were slaves tortured to make them testify against their own
masters, but freedmen and citizens as well. Such as accused or offered
testimony against persons divided by lot the property of those convicted
and received in addition both offices and honors. In the case of many he
took care to ascertain the day and the hour that they had been born and
on the basis of their character and fortune thus investigated would
put them to death. If he discovered any qualities of haughtiness and
aspiration to power in any one, he despatched him whether or no. Yet so
much did he investigate and understand what was fated for each of the
prominent men that on meeting Galba (subsequently emperor), when the
latter had betrothed a wife, he remarked: "You also shall taste of the
sovereignty." He spared him, as I conjecture, because this was settled as
his fate; but, as he explained it himself, because Galba would reign only
in old age and long after his death.

[Tiberius also found some pretexts for assassinations. The death of
Germanicus led to the destruction of many others on the ground that they
were pleased at it.]

The man who coöperated with him and helped him in all his undertakings
with the utmost zeal was Lucius Aelius Sejanus, a son of Strabo, and
formerly a favorite of Marcus Gabius Apicius,--that Apicius who so
surpassed all mankind in voluptuous living that when he had once desired
to learn how much he had already spent and how much he still had,
on finding that two hundred and fifty myriads were left him became
grief-stricken, feeling that he was destined to die of hunger, and took
his own life. This Sejanus, accordingly, at one time shared his father's
command of the Pretorians. After his father had been sent to Egypt, and
he obtained entire control, he made the force more compact in many ways,
gathering within one fortification the cohorts, which had been separate
and apart from one another like those of the night guardsmen. In this way
the entire body could receive the orders speedily and they were a source
of terror to all, because they were within one fortification. This was
the man whom Tiberius, because of the similarity of their characters,
took as his helper, elevating him to prætorial honors, which had never
yet been accorded to any of his peers; and he made him his adviser and
assistant in all matters. [In fine, he changed so much after the death
of Germanicus that whereas previously he was highly praised, he now
attracted even greater wonder.]

[A.D.21 (a. u. 774)]

[-20-] When Tiberius began to hold the consular office in company with
Drusus, men immediately began to prophecy destruction for Drusus from
this very circumstance. For there is not a man who was ever consul with
Tiberius that did not meet a violent death, but in the first place there
was Quintilius Varus, and next Gnæus Piso, and then Germanicus himself,
who perished violently and miserably. The emperor was evidently doomed
to cause such ruin throughout his life: Drusus, his colleague at this
time, and Sejanus, who subsequently participated in the office, also
came to grief.

While Tiberius was out of town, Gaius Lutorius Priscus,[4] a knight, who
took great pride in his poetic talents and had composed a notable funeral
oration over Germanicus for which he had received considerable money, was
charged with having composed a poem upon Drusus also, during the latter's
illness. For this he was tried in the senate, condemned and put to death.
Now Tiberius was vexed, not because the man had been punished, but
because the senators had inflicted death upon any one without his
approval. He therefore rebuked them and ordered a decree to be issued to
the effect that no person condemned by them be executed within ten days,
nor the document applying to his case be made public before the same
time. This was to ensure the possibility of his learning their decrees
in advance even while absent and of rendering a final decision on such
matters.

[A.D. 22 (_a. u._ 775)]

[-21-] After this, when his consulship had expired, he came to Rome and
prevented the consuls from acting as advocates to certain persons by
saying: "If I were consul, I should not do this."

One of the prætors was accused of having uttered some impious word or
having committed some impious act against him, whereupon the man left the
senate and taking off his robe of office returned, demanding as a private
citizen to have the complaint lodged at once. At this the emperor showed
great grief and molested him no further.

[A.D. 23 (_a. u._ 776)]

The dancers he drove out of Rome and would allow them no place in which
to practice their profession, because they kept debauching the women and
stirring up tumults.

He honored many men, and numbers of those who died, with statues and
public funerals. A bronze statue of Sejanus was erected in the theatre
during the life of the model. As a result, numerous images of this
minister were made by many persons and many encomiuma were spoken both in
the assembly and in the senate. The consuls themselves, besides the other
prominent citizens, regularly had recourse to his house just at dawn, and
communicated to him both all the private requests that any of them wished
to make of Tiberius and the public business which had to be taken up.
In brief, henceforth nothing of the kind was considered without his
knowledge.

About this time one of the largest porticos in Rome began to lean to one
side and was set upright in a remarkable way by a certain architect
whose name no one knows, because Tiberius, jealous of his wonderful
achievement, would not permit it to be entered in the records. This
architect, accordingly, however he was called after strengthening the
foundations all about, so that they could not move out of position, and
surrounding all the rest of the arcade with thick fleeces and cloths,
ran ropes all over it and through it and by the pushing of many men and
machines brought it once more into its previous position. At the time
Tiberius both admired him and felt envious of him; for the former reason
he honored him with a present of money and for the latter he expelled
him from the city. Later, the exile approached him to make supplication
during the course of which he purposely let fall a crystal goblet, which
fell apart somehow or was broken, and then by passing his hands over
it showed it straightway intact; for this the suppliant hoped to have
obtained pardon, but instead the emperor put him to death.

[-22-] Drusus, son of Tiberius, perished by poison. Sejanus, puffed up
by power and rank, in addition to his other overweening behavior finally
turned against Drusus and once struck him a blow with his fist. As this
gave the assailant reason to fear both Drusus and Tiberius, and inasmuch
as he felt sure that, if he could get the young man out of the way, he
could handle the elder very easily, he administered poison to the former
through the agency of those in attendance upon him and of Drusus's wife,
whom some name Livilla. [5] Sejanus was her paramour.--The guilt was
imputed to Tiberius because he altered none of his accustomed habits
either during the illness of Drusus or at his death and would not allow
others to alter theirs. But the story is not credible. This was his
regular behavior, as a matter of principle, in every case alike,
and furthermore he was attached to his son, the only one he had and
legitimate. Those that engineered his death he punished, some at once and
some later. At the time he entered the senate, delivered the appropriate
eulogy over his child, and departed homeward.

  Thus perished Sejanus's victim. Tiberius took his way to the
  senate-house, where he lamented him publicly, put Nero and Drusus
  (children of Germanicus) in charge of the senate, and exposed the body
  of Drusus upon the rostra; and Nero, being his son-in-law, pronounced
  an eulogy over him. This man's death proved a cause of death to many
  persons, who were taxed with being pleased at his demise. Among the
  large number of people who lost their lives was Agrippina, together
  with  her children, the youngest excepted. Sejanus had incensed
  Tiberius greatly against her, anticipating that, when she and her
  children were disposed of, he might have for his spouse Livia, wife of
  Drusus, for whom he entertained a passion, and might wield supreme
  power, since no successor would be found for Tiberius. The latter
  detested his nephew as a bastard. Many others also did he banish or
  destroy for different and ever different causes, for the most part
  fictitious.

Tiberius forbade those debarred from fire and water to make any will,--a
custom still observed. Ælius Saturninus he brought before the senate for
trial on the charge of having recited some improper verses about him, and
the culprit having been found guilty was hurled from the Capitol. [-23-]I
might narrate many other such occurrences, if I were to go into all in
detail. But the general statement may suffice that many were slain by him
for such offences. And also this,--that he investigated carefully, case by
case, all the slighting remarks that any persons were accused of uttering
against him and then called himself all the ill names that other men
invented. Even if a person made some statement secretly and to a single
companion, he would publish this too, and actually had it entered on the
official records. Often he falsely added, from his own consciousness of
defects, what no one had even said as really spoken, in order that it
might be thought he had juster cause for his wrath. Consequently it came
to pass that he himself committed against himself all those outrages for
which he was wont to chastise other people on the ground of impiety; and
he likewise became subject to no little ridicule. For, if persons denied
having spoken certain phrases, he, by asserting and taking oath that it
had been said, wronged himself with greater show of reality. For this
reason some suspected that he was bereft of his senses. Yet he was not
generally believed to be insane simply for this behavior. All other
business he managed in a way quite beyond criticism. For instance, he
appointed a guardian over a certain senator that lived licentiously, as
he might have done for a child. Again, he brought Capito, procurator of
Asia, before the senate, and, after charging him with using soldiers and
acting in some other ways as if he had supreme command, he banished him.
In those days officials administering the imperial funds were allowed
to do nothing more than to levy the customary tribute, and they were
compelled, in the case of disputes, to stand trial in the Forum and
according to the laws, on an equal footing with private persons.--So
great were the contrasts in Tiberius's conduct.

[A.D. 24 (_a. u._ 777)]

[-24-] When the ten years of his office had expired, he did not ask any
vote for its resumption, for he had no wish to receive it piecemeal, as
Augustus had done. The decennial festival, however, was held.

[A.D. 25 (_a. u._ 778)]

Cremutius Cordus was forced to lay violent hands upon himself, because he
had come into collision with Sejanus. He was at the gates of old age and
had lived most irreproachably, so much so that no sufficient complaint
could be found against him and he was tried for the history which he
had long before composed regarding the deeds of Augustus and the latter
himself had read. The ground of censure was that he had praised Cassius
and Brutus and had attacked the people and the senate. Of Cæsar and
Augustus he had spoken no ill, but at the same time had shown no
excessive respect for them. This was the complaint against him, and this
it was that caused his death as well as the burning of his works,--those
found in the city at this time being destroyed by the ædiles, and those
abroad by the officials of each place. Later they were published again,
for his daughter Marcia in particular, as well as others, had hidden
copies, and they attracted much greater attention by reason of the
unhappy end of Cordus.

About this time Tiberius exhibited to the senators his pretorian cohort
in the act of exercising, as if they were ignorant of his power; his
purpose was to make them more afraid of him, when they saw his defenders
so many and so strong.

Besides these events of the time that seem worthy to chronicle in a
history, the people of Cyzicus were once more deprived of their freedom
because they had imprisoned certain Romans and because they had not
completed the heroüm to Augustus that they had begun to build.--And the
emperor would certainly have put to death the man who sold the emperor's
statue along with his house and was brought to trial for the act, had not
the consul asked the ruler himself to give his vote first. Being ashamed
to appear partial to himself, he cast his ballot for acquittal.

Also a senator, Lentulus, an excellent man naturally and now far advanced
in old age, was accused by some one of having plotted against the
emperor. Lentulus was present and burst out laughing. At this an uproar
arose in the senate, which was calmed by Tiberius saying: "I am no longer
worthy to live, if Lentulus, too, hates me."


[Footnote 1: Reading [Greek: epratten] (Boissevain) in place of the MS.
[Greek: eplatten].]

[Footnote: 2: This was the name of a celebrated gladiator of the time.
(Compare Horace, Epistles, I, 18, 19.)]

[Footnote 3: This is M. Pomponius Marcellus.]

[Footnote 4: Reported elsewhere as _Clutorius_ or _Cluturius Priscus_.
The error may probably be referred to Dio as well as to Xiphilus, through
whom this particular chapter comes. (See Dessau, Prosop. Imp. Rom., I,
p.425)]

[Footnote 5: The version of Zonaras says: "whom some record as Julia,
others as Livia." Inscriptions give her name as either _Claudia Livia_ or
_Livilla_. From these two pieces of evidence Boissevain with customary
acumen concludes that Dio's original words were probably: "whom some name
Livilla, and others Livia."]



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

58

Tiberius withdraws to Capreæ: Sabinus loses his life through the
treachery of Latiarius (chapter 1).

About the death of Livia (chapter 2).

Gallus is condemned to consume away by a slow death (chapter 3).

Sejanus, puffed up by excessive honors, is put to death together with his
household and friends by the artifice of Tiberius (chapters 4-19).

The method of selecting magistrates and of holding comitia (chapter 20).

The lustfulness of Tiberius, his cruelty towards his own family and
others, and likewise his greed (chapters 21-25).

About Artabanus, the Parthian King, and about Armenia (chapter 26).

About the death of Thrasyllus (chapter 27).

About the death of Tiberius (chapter 28).

DURATION OF TIME.

Cn. Lentulus Gætulicus, C. Calvisius Sabinus. (A.D. 26 = a. u. 779 =
Thirteenth of Tiberius, from Aug. 19th.)

M. Licinius Crassus, L. Calpurnius Piso. (A.D. 27 = a. u. 780 =
Fourteenth of Tiberius.)

App. Iunius Silanus, P. Silius Nerva. (A.D. 28 = a. u. 781 = Fifteenth of
Tiberius.)

L. Rubellius Geminus, C. Fufius Geminus. (A.D. 29 = a. u. 782 = Sixteenth
of Tiberius.)

M. Vinicius Quartinus, L. Cassius Longinus. (A.D. 30 = a. u. 783 =
Seventeenth of Tiberius.)

Tiberius Aug. (V), L. Ælius Seianus. (A.D. 31 = a. u. 784 = Eighteenth of
Tiberius.)

Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, Furius Camillus Scribonianus. (A.D. 32 = a. u.
785 = Nineteenth of Tiberius.)

Serv. Sulpicius Galba, L. Cornelius Sulla, (A.D. 33 = a. u. 786 =
Twentieth of Tiberius.)

L. Vitellius, Paulus Fabius Persicus. (A.D. 34 = a. u. 787 = Twenty-first
of Tiberius.)

C. Cestius Gallus, M. Servilius Nonianus. (A.D. 35 = a. u. 788 =
Twenty-second of Tiberius.)

Sex. Papinius, Q. Plautius. (A.D. 36 = a. u. 789 = Twenty-third of
Tiberius.)

Cn. Acerronius Proculus, C. Pontius Nigrinus. (A.D. 37 = a. u. 790 =
Twenty-fourth of Tiberius, to March 26th.)


_(BOOK 57, BOISSEVAIN.)_

[A.D. 26 (_a. u._ 779)]

[-1-] He went away about this time from Rome and never returned to the
city at all, though he was ever on the point of doing so and kept sending
messages to that effect.

[A.D. 27 (_a. u._ 780)]

  Much calamity could be laid by the Romans at his door, since
  he wasted the lives of men alike for public service and for
  private whim, as when he decided to expel the hunting
  spectacles from the city. Consequently some persons attempted
  to carry them on in the country outside and perished in the
  ruins of their theatres, which had been loosely
  constructed of rude planks.

[A.D. 28 (_a. u._ 781)]

It was now, too, that a certain Latiarius, a companion of Sabinus (one of
the most prominent men at Rome) and also in favor with Sejanus, concealed
senators in the ceiling of the apartment where his friend lived and led
Sabinus into conversation. By throwing out some of his usual remarks he
induced the other also to speak out freely all that he had in his mind.
It is the practice of such as wish to play the sycophant to take the lead
in some kind of abuse and to disclose some secret, intending that their
victim either for listening to them or for saying something similar may
find himself liable to indictment. To the sycophants, since they do it
with a purpose, freedom of speech involves no danger. They are regarded
as speaking so not because their words express their real sentiments but
because they wish to convict others. Their victims, however, are punished
for the smallest syllable out of the ordinary that they may utter. This
also happened in the present case. Sabinus was put in prison that very
day and subsequently perished without trial. His body was flung down the
Scalæ Gemoniæ and cast into the river. The affair was made more tragic by
the behavior of a dog of Sabinus that went with him to his cell, was
by him at his death, and at the end was thrown into the river with
him.--Such was the nature of this event.

[Sidenote: A.D. 29 (_a. u._ 782)]

[-2-] During this same period Livia also passed away at the age of
eighty-six. Tiberius paid her no visits while she was ill and did not
personally attend to her laying out. In fact, he made no arrangements at
all in her honor save the public funeral and images and some other small
matters of no importance. As for her being deified, he forbade that
absolutely. The senate, however, did not content itself with voting
merely the measures which he had ordained, but enjoined upon the women
mourning for her during the entire year, although it approved the course
of Tiberius in not abandoning even at this time the conduct of public
business. Furthermore they voted her an arch (as had never been done in
the case of any other woman), because she had preserved not a few of
them, had reared many children belonging to citizens, and had helped
find husbands for numerous girls,--for all of which acts some called her
Mother of her Country. She was buried in the mausoleum of Augustus.

Tiberius would not pay a single one of her bequests to anybody.

Among the many excellent utterances of hers that are related is one
concerned with the occasion when some men that were naked met her and on
that account fell under sentence of execution; she saved their lives by
saying that to chaste women such persons were no whit different from
statues. When some one asked her how and by what course of action she had
obtained such an influence over Augustus, she answered that it was by
being scrupulously chaste herself, doing willingly whatever pleased him,
not meddling with any of his business, and particularly by pretending
neither to hear of nor notice the favorites that were the objects of his
passion. Such was the character of Livia. The arch voted to her, however,
was not built for the reason that Tiberius promised to construct it
at his own expense. For, as he disliked to annul the decree by direct
command, he made it void in this way, by not allowing the work to be
undertaken out of the public funds nor attending to it himself.

[A.D. 29 or 30]

Sejanus was rising to still greater heights. It was voted that his
birthday should be publicly observed, and the mass of statues which the
senate and the equestrian order, the tribes and the foremost citizens set
up, would have passed any one's power to count. Separate envoys were sent
to both these "rulers" by the senate as well as the knights and also by
the people, who selected them from their own tribunes and aediles. For
both of them alike they offered prayers and sacrifices and they took
oaths by their Fortunes.

[A.D. 30 (a. u. 783)]

[-3-] Gallus, who married the wife of Tiberius and spoke his mind
regarding the empire, was the next object of the emperor's attack, for
which the right moment had been carefully selected. [Whether he really
believed that Sejanus would be emperor or whether it was out of fear of
Tiberius, he paid court to the former. It may indeed, have been a kind
of plot, to make the minister irksome to Tiberius and so accomplish his
ruin: but at any rate Gallus transacted the greater and more important
part of his business with him and made efforts to be one of the envoys.
Therefore the emperor sent a report about him to the senate, making among
other statements one to the effect that this man was jealous of his
friendship for Sejanus, although Gallus himself treated Syriacus as an
intimate friend. He did not make this known to Gallus, entertaining him
most hospitably instead.] Hence something most unusual befell him that
never happened to any one else. On the very same day he was banqueted at
the house of Tiberius, pledging him in the cup of friendship, and was
condemned before the senate. Indeed, a prætor was sent to imprison him
and lead him away for punishment. Yet Tiberius, though he had acted so,
did not permit his victim to die, in spite of the latter's wish for death
as soon as he learned the decree. Instead, he bade Gallus (in order to
make his lot still more dismal) to be of good cheer and instructed the
senate[1] that he should be guarded without bonds until the emperor
should reach the City; his object, as I said, was to make the prisoner
suffer for the longest possible time both from deprivation of his civic
rights and from terror. So it turned out. He was kept under the eyes of
the consuls of each year except when Tiberius held the office, in that
case he was guarded by the prætors, not to prevent his escape, but to
prevent his death. He had no companion or servant as associate, spoke to
no one, saw no one, except when he was compelled to take food. And what
he got was of such a quality and amount as neither to afford him any
pleasure or strength nor yet to allow him to die. This was the worst
feature of it. Tiberius did the same thing in the case of many others.
For instance, he had imprisoned one of his companions, and when there was
later talk about executing him, he said: "I have not yet made my peace
with him." Some one else, again, he had tortured very severely, and then
on ascertaining that the victim had been unjustly accused he had him
killed with all speed, remarking that he had been too terribly outraged
to find any satisfaction in living. Syriacus, who had neither committed
nor been charged with any wrong, but was renowned for his education, was
slain merely for the reason that Tiberius said he was a friend of Gallus.
[Sejanus brought false accusation also against Drusus, through the medium
of his wife. For, by maintaining illicit relations with practically all
the wives of the distinguished men, he learned what their husbands said
and did, and further made them his assistants by promises of marriage.
Now when Tiberius without discussion sent Drusus to Rome, Sejanus,
fearing that his position might be injured, persuaded Cassius [2] to busy
himself against him.]

After exalting Sejanus to a high pinnacle of glory and making him a
member of his family by the alliance with Julia, daughter of Drusus,
Tiberius later killed him.

[-4-] Now Sejanus was growing greater and more formidable all the time,
and his progress made the senators and the rest look up to him as if he
were actually emperor and esteem Tiberius lightly. When Tiberius learned
this, he did not regard the matter as a trivial one, fearing, indeed,
that they would hail his rival as emperor outright, and he did not
neglect it. Yet he did nothing openly, for Sejanus had won the entire
pretorian guard thoroughly to his own side and had gained the favor of
the senators partly by benefits, partly by implanting hopes, and partly
by intimidation. He had made all the attendants on Tiberius so entirely
his friends that absolutely everything the emperor did was at once
reported to him, whereas of what he did not a word reached Tiberius's
ears. Hence the latter appeared content to follow where Sejanus led,
appointed him consul, and termed him Sharer of his Cares, repeating often
the phrase "My Sejanus," and publishing the same by writing it to the
senate and the people. Men took this behavior as sincere and were
deceived, and so set up bronze statues all about to both alike, wrote
their names together in bulletins, and brought into the theatres gilded
chairs for both. Finally it was voted that they should together be made
consuls every four years and that a body of citizens should go out to
meet both alike whenever they entered Rome. In the end they sacrificed to
the images of Sejanus as to those of Tiberius. This was the way matters
stood with Sejanus. Now among the rest many famous men met an ill fate,
of whom was also Gaius Fufius Geminus. Being accused of the crime of
maiestas against Tiberius he took his will into the senate-chamber and
read it, showing that he had left his inheritance in equal portions to
his children and to his sovereign. As he was charged with weakness he
went home before any vote was reached. When he learned that the quæstor
had arrived to attend to his execution, he wounded himself and displaying
the wound to the official exclaimed: "Report to the senate that it is
thus one dies who is a man." Likewise, his wife, Mutilia Prisca, against
whom some complaint was made, made her way into the senate and there
stabbed herself with a dagger, which she had brought in secretly.

Next he destroyed Mutilia and her husband together with two daughters on
account of her friendship for his mother.

In the days of Tiberius all who accused any persons regularly received
money and large allotments both from the victims' property and from the
public treasury in addition to various honors. There were cases where
certain men who impudently threw others into a panic or recklessly passed
the death sentence upon them obtained in the one instance statues and
in the other triumphal honors. Hence several citizens who were really
illustrious and conquered the right to some such distinction would not
assume it out of reluctance to let any period of their lives betray even
a superficial similarity to the careers of those scoundrels.

Tiberius, feigning sickness, sent Sejanus on to Rome with the assurance
that he should follow. He declared that in this separation a part of his
own body and soul was wrenched away from him: shedding tears he embraced
and kissed him, and Sejanus naturally was thereat the more elated.

[A.D. 31 (a u. 784)]

[-5-] By this time Sejanus was so imposing both in his haughtiness of
mind and in his immensity of power that, to make a long matter short, he
seemed to be the emperor and Tiberius a kind of island potentate because
the latter spent all his days in the island called Capreæ. Then there was
rivalry and jostling about the great man's doors from the fear not merely
that a person might fail to be observed by his patron but that he might
appear among the last: for all the words and gestures, particularly of
those in front, were carefully watched. People who hold a prominent
position as the result of native worth are not given at all to seeking
signs of friendship from others, and in case anything of the sort is seen
to be wanting on the part of these others the persons in question are not
provoked, inasmuch as they have an innate consciousness that they are not
being looked down upon. Any, however, that hold an artificial rank are
extremely jealous of all such attentions, feeling them to be necessary to
render their position complete. If they fail to obtain them then they
are as irritated as if slander were being pronounced against them and as
angry as if they were the recipients of positive insult. Consequently
the world is more scrupulous in the case of such persons than (one might
almost say) in the case of emperors themselves. To the latter it is
ascribed as a virtue to pardon any one if an error is committed; but in
the self-made persons that course appears to argue an inherent weakness,
whereas to attack and to exact vengeance is thought to furnish proof of
great power.

One morning, the first of the month, when all were gathered at Sejanus's
house, the couch placed in the small room where he received broke into
infinitesimal fragments under the weight of the throng seated upon it;
and, as he was leaving the house, a weasel darted through the midst of
them. After he had sacrificed on the Capitol and was now coming down to
the Forum, his servants that acted as body-guard turned aside along
the road leading to the prison, because the crowd prevented them from
escorting him, and as they descended the steps down which condemned
criminals were commonly cast they slipped and fell. Subsequently he took
the auspices and not one bird of good omen appeared, but crows flew and
cawed about him and then flew off all together to the jail, where they
alighted.

[-6-] These prodigies neither Sejanus nor any one else laid to heart.
For, in view of the way things stood, not even if some god had plainly
foretold that so great a change would take place in a short time, would
any one have believed it. They swore by his Fortune as if they would
never be weary, and hailed him colleague of Tiberius, making this phrase
refer not to the consulship but to the supreme power. Tiberius was no
longer uninformed of aught that concerned his minister. He racked his
brains to see in what manner he might kill him, but, not finding any way
in which he might do this openly and safely, he treated both the man
himself and all the rest in a remarkable fashion, so as to gain an
accurate knowledge of their feeling. He sent many despatches of all kinds
regarding himself to Sejanus and to the senate incessantly, saying at one
time that he was poorly and just at the point of death, and again that
he was in exceedingly good health and would reach Rome directly. Now he
would strongly approve Sejanus and again vehemently denounce him. Some of
his companions he would honor to show his regard for him, and others he
would dishonor. Thus Sejanus, filled in turn with extreme elation
and extreme fear, was always in a flutter. He could not decide to be
terrified and for that reason attempt a revolution, inasmuch as he was
being honored, nor yet to become bold enough to attempt some desperate
venture inasmuch as he was frequently abased. Moreover, all the rest of
the people were getting to feel dubious, because they heard alternately
and at short intervals the most contrary reports, because they could no
longer justify themselves in either admiring or despising Sejanus, and
because they were wondering about Tiberius, thinking first that he was
going to die and then that his arrival was imminent.

[-7-] Sejanus was disturbed by all this, and a great deal more by the
fact that from one of his statues at first a mass of smoke ascended in a
burst, and then, when the head was taken off to enable investigators to
see what was going on, a huge serpent darted up. Another head at once
replaced the former, and accordingly he was on the point of sacrificing
to himself (for sacrificing to himself was a regular part of his
program), when a rope was discovered coiled around the statue's neck.
Also a figure of Fortuna, made (as is said) in the time of Tullius, an
early king of Rome,--one which Sejanus at this time kept at his house and
took great pride in,--he saw turn away while he was sacrificing in
person ... and later others who had gone out in their company.[3] Most
men were suspicious of these circumstances, but since they did not know
the mind of Tiberius and further took into consideration the latter's
caprice and the unstable condition of affairs, they were divided in
sentiment. Privately they kept a sharp eye on their own safety, but
publicly they paid court to him, among other reasons because Tiberius
had joined to [him][4] as priests both Sejanus and his son. Moreover, they
had given him the proconsular authority and had likewise voted that word
be sent to all such as were consuls from year to year to emulate him in
their office. So Tiberius had honored him with the priesthoods, but he
did not send for him: instead, when his minister requested that he might
go to Campania, pleading as an excuse that his fiancée was ill, the
emperor directed him to stay where he was, giving as a reason that he
would himself arrive in Rome in almost no time.

[-8-] As a result, then, of this, Sejanus was again gradually alienated
and his vexation was increased by the fact that Tiberius appointed Gaius
priest with the imperial commendation and gave some hints to the effect
that he should make the new appointee his successor in the empire. The
angry favorite would have begun rebellious measures, especially as the
soldiers were ready to obey him in everything, had he not perceived that
the populace was hugely pleased at what was said in regard to Gaius,
out of reverence for the memory of Germanicus his father. Sejanus had
previously thought that these persons, too, were on his side, and now,
finding them enthusiastic for Gaius, he became dejected. He felt sorry
that he had not shown open revolt during his consulship. The rest were
strongly influenced against him by the course of events [5] as also by
Tiberius's action in releasing soon after an enemy of Sejanus, chosen ten
years before to govern Spain and just now being tried on certain charges.
Because of Sejanus the emperor also granted temporary immunity from
such suits to such others as were going to govern any provinces or to
administer any similar public business. And in writing to the senate
about the death of Nero he used simply the name Sejanus, with no phrases
added as had been his custom. Moreover, he forbade offering sacrifice to
any human being (because sacrifice was often offered to this man) and
the introduction of any business looking to his own honor (because many
honorary measures were being passed for his rival's benefit). He had
forbidden this practice still earlier, but now, on account of Sejanus, he
renewed his injunction. For naturally, if he allowed nothing of the
sort to be done in his own case, he would not permit it in the case of
another.

[-9-] In view of all this, the people began to look down on Sejanus more
and more, to the point of drawing aside at his approach and leaving him
alone,--and that openly, without pretence of concealment. When Tiberius
learned of it, his courage revived: he felt that he should have the
coöperation of the people and the senate, and accordingly began an attack
upon his enemy. First, in order to take him off his guard to the fullest
possible extent, be spread a report that he would give him the office of
tribune. Then he despatched a communication against him to the senate by
the hands of Nævius Sertorius Macro, whom he had privately appointed to
command the body-guards and had instructed as to precisely what must be
done. The latter came by night into Rome as if on some different errand
and made known his message to Memmius Regulus, then consul (his colleague
sided with Sejanus), and to Græcinius Laco, commander of the night watch.
At dawn Macro ascended the Palatine, where there was to be a session of
the senate in the temple of Apollo. Encountering Sejanus, who had not yet
gone in, he saw that he was troubled at Tiberius's having sent him no
message, and encouraged him, telling him aside and in confidence that he
was bringing him the tribunician authority. Sejanus, overjoyed at
this, hastened to the senate-chamber. Macro sent away to the camp the
Pretorians that commonly surrounded the minister and the senate, after
revealing to them his right as leader to do so and declaring that he
brought documents from Tiberius that bestowed gifts upon them. Around
the temple he stationed the night watch in their stead, went in himself,
delivered his letter to the consuls, and went out before a word was read.
He then put Laco in charge of guard duty at that point, and himself
hurried to the camp to prevent any uprising.

[-10-] Meanwhile the letter was read. It was a long one and contained
no wholesale denunciations of Sejanus but first some indifferent
matters, then a slight censure of his conduct, then something else, and
after that some further objection to him. At the close it said that two
senators that were very intimate with him must be punished and that
he himself must be kept guarded. Tiberius did not give them orders
outright to put him to death, not because such was not his desire, but
because he feared that some disturbance might be the result of it. But
since, as he said, he could not take the journey safely, he had sent for
one of the consuls.

This was all that the composition disclosed. During the reading many
diverse utterances and expressions of countenance were observable. First,
before the people heard the letter, they were engaged in lauding the
man, whom they supposed to be on the point of receiving the tribunician
authority. They shouted their approval realizing in anticipation all
their hopes and making a demonstration to show that they would concur in
granting him honor. When, however, nothing of the sort was discovered,
but they kept hearing just the reverse of what they expected, they fell
into confusion and subsequently into deep dejection. Some of those seated
near him even withdrew. They now no longer cared to share the same seat
with the man whom previously  they were anxious to claim as friend. Then
prætors and tribunes began to surround him to prevent his causing any
uproar by rushing out,--which he certainly would have done, if he had
been startled at the outset by any general tirade. As it was, he paid no
great heed to what was read from time to time, thinking it a slight
matter, a single charge, and hoping that nothing further, or at any rate
nothing serious in regard to him had been made a matter of comment. So
he let the time slip by and remained where he was.

Meantime Regulus called him forward, but he paid no attention, not out
of contempt,--for he had already been humbled,--but because he was
unaccustomed to hearing any command given him. But when the consul
shouted at him a second and a third time, at the same time stretching out
his arm and saying: "Sejanus, come here!" he enquired blankly: "Are you
calling _me_?" So at last he stood up, and Laco, who had entered,
took his stand beside him. When finally the reading of the letter was
finished, all with one voice both denounced him and uttered threats, some
because they had been wronged, others through fear, some to disguise
their friendship for him and others out of joy at his downfall. Regulus
did not give all of them, however, a chance to vote, nor did he put the
question to any one regarding the man's death, for fear there should be
come opposition and a consequent disturbance; for Sejanus had numerous
relatives and friends. Hence, after asking one person's opinion and
obtaining a supporting vote in favor of imprisonment, he conducted
the former favorite out of the senate-chamber, and in company with the
other officials and with Laco led him down to the prison.

[-11-] Then might one have obtained a clear and searching
insight into the weakness of man, so that self-conceit would have been
never again, under any conditions possible. Him whom at dawn they had
escorted to the senate-halls as one superior to themselves they were now
dragging to a cell as if no better than the worst. On him whom they once
deemed worthy of crowns they now heaped bonds. Him whom they were wont to
protect as a master they now guarded like a runaway slave, and
uncovered while he wore a headdress. Him whom they had adorned with the
purple-bordered toga they struck in the face. Whom they were wont to
adore and sacrifice to as to a god they were now leading to execution.
The crowd also assailed him, reproaching him violently for the lives he
had destroyed and jeering loudly at what had been hoped of him. All of
his images they hurled down, beat down, and pulled down, seeming to
feel that they were maltreating the man himself, and he thus became a
spectator of what he was destined to suffer. For the moment he was merely
cast into prison; but not much later,--that very day, in fact,--the
senate assembled in the temple of Concord not far from his cell, and
seeing the attitude of the populace and that none of the Pretorians was
near by it condemned him to death. On these orders he was executed and
his body cast down the Scalæ Gemoniæ, where the rabble abused it for
three whole days and afterward threw it into the river. His children
were put to death by special decree, the girl (whom he had betrothed
to the son of Claudius) having been first outraged by the public
executioner on the principle that it was unlawful for a virgin to meet
death in prison. His wife Apicata was not condemned, to be sure, but
on learning that her children were dead and after seeing their bodies
on the Stairs she withdrew and composed a statement regarding the
death of Drusus, directed against Livilla, the latter's wife, who had
been the cause of a quarrel between herself and her husband, resulting
in their separation. This document she forwarded to Tiberius and then
committed suicide. Thus the statement came to the hands of Tiberius,
and when he had obtained proof of the information he put to death
Livilla and all others therein mentioned. I have, indeed, heard that he
spared her out of regard for her mother Antonia, and that Antonia
herself voluntarily destroyed her daughter by starving her. At any
rate, that was later.

[-12-] At this time a great uproar ensued in the City. The
populace slew any one it saw of those who had possessed great influence
with Sejanus and relying on him had committed acts of insolence.
The soldiers, too, in irritation because they had been suspected of
friendliness toward Sejanus and because the nightwatchmen had been
preferred before them in the confidence of the emperor, proceeded to
burn and plunder,--and this in spite of the fact that all officials were
guarding the entire city in accordance with the injunction of Tiberius.

Not even the senate was quiet, but such members of it as had paid court
to Sejanus were greatly disturbed by dread of reprisals; and those who
had accused or borne witness against any persons were filled with fear
by the prevailing suspicion that they had destroyed their victims out of
regard for the minister instead of for Tiberius. Very small indeed
was the courageous element, which was unhampered by these terrors and
expected that Tiberius would become milder. For as usually happens, they
laid the responsibility for their previous misfortunes upon the dead man
and charged the emperor with few or none of them. Of the most of this
unjust treatment, they said, he had been ignorant, and he had been forced
into the rest against his will. Privately this was the disposition of
the various classes; publicly they voted, as if they had cast off some
tyranny, not to hold any mourning over the deceased and to have a statue
of Liberty erected in the Forum; also a festival was to be celebrated
under the auspices of all the magistrates and priests,--as had never
before occurred; and the day on which he died was to be made renowned
by annual horse-races and slaughters of wild beasts, directed by those
appointed to the four priesthoods and by the members of the Sodality of
Augustus. This, too, had never before been done. To celebrate the ruin of
the man whom they by the excess and novelty of their honors had led to
destruction they voted solemnities that were not customary even for the
gods. They comprehended so clearly that it was chiefly these honors
which had bereft him of his senses that they at once forbade explicitly
the giving of excessive marks of esteem to any one, as also the taking
of oaths in the name of any one other than the emperor. Yet though
they passed such votes, as if under a divine inspiration, they began
shortly after to fawn upon Macro and Laco. They gave them great sums
of money and to Laco the honors of ex-quaestors, while to Macro they
extended the honors of ex-prætors. Similarly[6] they allowed them
also to view spectacles in their company and to wear the toga
praetextata at the ludi votivi. The men did not accept these privileges,
however, for the recent example served as a deterrent. Nor would
Tiberius take any honor bestowed, though many were voted him, chief
among them being that he should begin from this time to be termed Father
of his Country and that his birthday should be marked by ten equestrian
contests and a senatorial banquet. Indeed, he gave notice anew that no
one should introduce any such motion.--These were the events happening in
the capital.

[-13-] Tiberius for a time had certainly been in great fear
that Sejanus would occupy the City and sail against him, and so he had
prepared boats, to the end that, if anything of the sort should come to
pass, he might escape. He had commanded Macro,--or so some say,--if there
should be any uprising to bring Drusus before the senate and the people
and appoint him emperor.

When he learned that his enemy was dead, he rejoiced, as was natural, yet
would not receive the embassy sent to congratulate him, though many
members of the senate and many of the knights and of the populace had
been despatched, as before. Indeed he even rebuffed the consul Regulus,
who had always been devoted to his interests and had come in accordance
with the emperor's own commands to see about his being conveyed in
safety to the City.

[-14-] Thus perished Sejanus, who had attained greater power
than those who obtained his office before or after him (save Plautianus).
His relatives, his associates, and all the rest who had paid court to
him and had moved that honors be granted him were brought to trial. The
majority of them were convicted for the acts that had previously made
them objects of envy; and their fellow-citizens condemned them for the
measures which they themselves had previously voted. Numbers of men who
had been tried on various charges and acquitted were again accused and
convicted on the ground that they had been saved the first time as a
favor to the deceased. Accordingly, if no other complaint could be
brought against a person, the statement that he had been a friend of
Sejanus served to convict him,--as if, forsooth, Tiberius himself had not
been friendly with him, and caused others to become interested for his
sake. Among those who laid information in this way were the men who were
wont to pay court to Sejanus. Inasmuch as they knew thoroughly those who
were in the same position, they had no great trouble either in finding
them out or securing their conviction. So they, expecting to save
themselves by  doing this, and to obtain honors and money besides,
accused others or else bore witness against them. But it proved that none
of their hopes was realized. They found themselves liable to the same
charges on which they had prosecuted others, and partly as a result of
them and partly on account of the general detestation of traitors perished
along with their companions. [-15-] Of those against whom charges were
brought many were present in person to hear their accusation and make
their defence, and some employed great frankness in so doing. Still, the
majority made away with themselves prior to their conviction. They did
this chiefly to avoid suffering insult and outrage. (For all who had
incurred any such charge, senators as well as knights, women as well as
men, were crowded together into the prison. After their condemnation
some underwent the penalty there and others were hurled from the
Capitol by the tribunes or the consuls. The bodies of all of them were
cast into the Forum and subsequently were thrown into the river.) But
their object was partly that their children might inherit their property.
Very few estates of such as voluntarily took themselves off before their
trial were confiscated, Tiberius in this way inviting men to become their
own murderers, that he might avoid the reputation of having killed
them; as if it were not far more fearful to compel a man to die by his
own hand than to deliver him to the executioner. [-16-] Most of the
estates of such as failed to die in this way were confiscated, only a
little or nothing at all even being given to their accusers. For he was
now giving far more[7] accurate attention  to money. After this Tiberius
increased to one per cent. a tax which  was already one-half of one
per cent. and proceeded to accept every  inheritance left to him. And
in fact nearly every one left him something,--even those who made
away with themselves,--as they had to Sejanus while the latter lived.

Also, with that same intention which had led him not to take possession
of the wealth of those who perished voluntarily, he made the senate
sponsor for every official summons, to the end that he might be free
from blame himself (for so he thought) and the senate pass sentence upon
itself as a wrongdoer.[8] By this means people came to be thoroughly
aware, during the time that they were being destroyed through one
another's agency, that their former troubles had emanated no more from
Sejanus than from Tiberius. For not only were the accusers of various
persons brought to trial, but those who had condemned them were in turn
sentenced. So it was that Tiberius spared no one, but kept using up
all the citizens one against another; no firm friendships existed any
longer[9]; but the unjust and the guiltless, the fearful and the fearless
stood on the same footing as regarded the investigation made into the
complaints about Sejanus. At length he saw fit to propose a kind of
amnesty for the sufferers, and so he gave permission to those who wished
to go into mourning for the deceased; and in addition he forbade that any
one should in any way be hindered from showing this respect to the memory
of any person,--for such prohibitory votes were frequently passed. Yet he
did not in fact confirm this edict, but after a brief space he punished
numbers on account of Sejanus and on other complaints: they were
generally charged with having outraged and murdered their nearest female
relatives.

[A.D. 32(_a. u._ 785)]

[-17-] Such was the state of affairs at this time, and there was not a
soul that could deny that he would be glad to feast on the emperor's
flesh. Now the next year, when Gnæus Domitius and Camillus Scribonianus
became consuls, a very laughable thing happened. It had now long been the
custom for the members of the senate on the first of the year to take the
oath not man by man, but for one (as I have stated)[10] to take the oath
for them and the rest to express their acquiescence. This time, however,
they did not do so, but of their own motion, without any compulsion, they
were separately and individually pledged, as though this would make them
any more regardful of their oath. Previously for many years the emperor
had allowed matters to go on without a single person's swearing
allegiance to his acts of government: this I have mentioned. [11]--At
this time also there occurred something else still more laughable.

[-18-] They voted that he should select as many of their number as he
liked and should employ twenty of them,--whomsoever the lot should
designate,--as guards with daggers as often as he entered the
senate-chamber. Of course, as the exterior of the building was watched by
the soldiers and no private citizen could come inside, their resolution
that a guard be given him amounted to a precaution against no one but
themselves, thus indicating that they were hostile. Naturally Tiberius
expressed his obligations to them and thanked them for their good
intentions, but he rejected their offer as being too much out of the
ordinary. He was not so simple as to give swords to the very men whom he
hated and by whom he was hated. Yet, as a result of this very measure
he began to grow suspicious of them,--for every act in contravention
of sincerity which one undertakes for the purpose of flattery breeds
suspicion,--and bidding a long adieu to their decrees he began to
honor the Pretorians both by addresses and with money, in spite of his
knowledge that they had been on the side of Sejanus, so that he might
find them more disposed to be employed against the senators. On occasion,
to be sure, he in turn commended the latter, when they voted that
funds from the public treasury be bestowed on the guardsmen. He kept
alternately deceiving the one party by his talk and winning over the
other party by his acts in a most effective way. For instance, Junius
Gallic had moved that a spectacle be provided in the meeting place of
the knights for those of the body-guard who had finished their term of
service: Tiberius did not merely banish him when the man was brought up
on this very charge of giving an impression that he was persuading the
soldiers to show good-will to the government rather than to the emperor;
no, but when he found that Junius was setting sail for Lesbos he deprived
him of a safe and comfortable existence there and delivered him to the
custody of the magistrates, as he had once done with Gallus. And in order
to assure the two classes still more fully how he felt toward both of
them he not long after asked the senate that Macro and some military
tribunes be deemed sufficient to conduct him to the senate-chamber. He
had no need of those persons, for he had no idea of ever entering the
city again, but what he wanted was to display his hatred of the senators
and show the latter the friendliness of the soldiers. The senators
actually granted this request. However, they attached to the decree a
clause that the escort should be searched on entering to make sure that
no one had a dagger hidden beneath his arm.--This resolution was passed
in the following year.

[-19-] At this time he spared among some others who had been intimate
with Sejanus Lucius Cæsianus,[12] a prætor, and Marcus Terentius, a
knight. He overlooked the behavior of the former, who at the Floralia to
ridicule Tiberius had had everything up to midnight done by baldheaded
men (because the emperor himself was also baldheaded) and had furnished
light to those leaving the theatre by the hands of five thousand boys
with shaven pates. Tiberius was so far from becoming angry at him that
he pretended not to have heard about it at all, though all baldheaded
persons were from then on called Caesiani, after this man. Terentius he
spared because when on trial for his friendship with Sejanus he not only
did not deny it but affirmed that he had worked for him and paid court to
him to the greatest possible extent for the reason that the minister was
so highly honored by Tiberius himself. "Consequently," he said, "if the
emperor did rightly in having such a friend, neither have I done any
wrong: and if my sovereign, who knows all things accurately, erred, what
wonder is it that I shared his deception? Our duty is to cherish all whom
he honors without concerning ourselves overmuch about the kind of men
they are, but making one thing determine our friendship for them,--the
fact that they please the emperor." The senate for these reasons
acquitted him and in addition rebuked his accusers. Tiberius concurred
with them. When Piso, the praefectus urbi, died, he honored him with a
public funeral,--a distinction granted also to others. In his place he
chose Lucius Lamia, whom he had long ago put in charge of Syria[13] and
was keeping at Rome. He took similar action, too, in the case of many
others, really caring nothing at all for them, but making an outward show
of honoring them.--Meantime Vitrasius Pollio, governor of Egypt died, and
he entrusted the province for a time to one Hiberus, a Cæsarian.

[A.D. 33 (_a. u._ 786)]

[-20-] Now of the consuls Domitius held office the whole year
through,--for he was husband of Agrippina, the daughter of
Germanicus,--but the rest adapted themselves to the whims of Tiberius.
Some he elevated for a longer time and some for a shorter: some he
stopped before the end of their appointed term and others he allowed
to hold office beyond the limits designated. Not infrequently he would
appoint a man for an entire year and then depose him, setting up another
and still another in his place. Sometimes, after choosing certain
substitutes for third place, he would then have others become consuls
before them in the place of still others. These irregularities in the
case of the consuls occurred through practically his entire reign. Of the
candidates for the other offices he selected as many as he wished and
sent their names to the senate, recommending some to that body,--and
these were chosen, by acclamation,--but making others depend upon their
own claims or the assent of the senate or the decision of the lot. After
that, in order to follow out ancient precedent, such as belonged to
the people and the plebs went before one of these two bodies and were
announced: this is the same practice that is followed at present,
intended to produce at least an appearance of valid election. In case
there was ever a deficiency of candidates or they became involved in
irreconcilable strife, a smaller number was chosen.--The following year,
in which Servius Galba (that later became emperor) and Lucius Cornelius
held the consular title, fifteen prætors held office. This went on for
many years, so that sometimes sixteen and sometimes one or two less were
chosen.

[-21-] The next move of Tiberius was to approach the capital and sojourn
in its environs; he did not, however, go within the walls, although
he was but thirty stades distant, so that he bestowed in marriage the
remaining daughters of Germanicus and also Julia, the daughter of Drusus.
Hence the city did not make a festival of their marriages, but everything
went on as usual: the senators met and decided judicial cases. For
Tiberius made an important point of their assembling as often as he would
have convened them, and insisted on their not arriving later or departing
earlier than the time fixed. He sent to the consuls many injunctions on
this head and once ordered certain statements to be read aloud by them.
He behaved in the same way in regard to certain other matters (just as if
he could not write directly to the senate!). To that body he sent in not
only the documents given him by the informers but also the confessions
under torture which Macro obtained, so that nothing was left in the hands
of the senators save the vote of condemnation. About this time, however,
a certain Vibullius Agrippa, a knight, swallowed poison from a ring and
died in the senate-house itself, and Nerva, who could no longer endure
the emperor's society, starved himself to death, his chief reason for
doing so being that Tiberius had reaffirmed the laws on contracts,
enacted by Cæsar, which were sure to result in great loss of confidence
and upheaval; and although his chief repeatedly urged him to utter
some word,[14] he refused to answer. These events seemed to make some
impression on the emperor and he modified the situation, so far as it
pertained to loans, by giving two thousand five hundred myriads to the
public treasury under the arrangement that this money could be lent out
by the senatorial party without interest for three years to such as
desired it. He further commanded that the most notorious of those who had
steadily acted as accusers should be put to death on one day. And when a
man who belonged to the centurions wished to lodge information against
some one, he forbade that any person who had served in the army should do
so, although he allowed the privilege to knights and senators.

[-22-] There is no denying that he received praise for his behavior in
these matters, and most of all because he would not accept a number of
honors that were voted to him for it. But the sensual orgies which he
carried on shamelessly with the individuals of highest rank, male and
female alike, caused ill to be spoken of him. For example, there was the
case of his friend Sextus Marius. Imperial favor had made this man so
rich and so powerful that when he was once at odds with a neighbor he
invited him to dine for two successive days. On the first he razed his
guest's dwelling entirely to the ground and on the next he rebuilt it on
a larger scale and in more elaborate style. The victim of his treatment
declared his ignorance of the perpetrators, whereupon Marius admitted
being responsible for both occurrences and added significantly: "This
shows you that I have both the knowledge and the power to repel attacks
and also to requite a kindness." This friend, then, who had sent his
daughter, a strikingly beautiful girl, to a place of refuge to prevent
her being outraged by Tiberius, was charged with having criminal
relations with her and for that reason destroyed both his daughter and
himself. All this covered the emperor with disgrace, and his connection
with the death of Drusus and Agrippina gave him a reputation for cruelty.
Men had been thinking all along that the whole of the previous action
against these two was due to Sejanus, and had been hoping that now their
lives would be spared; so, when they learned that they had been actually
murdered, they were exceedingly grieved, partly for the reasons mentioned
and partly because, so far from depositing their bones in the imperial
tomb, Tiberius ordered their remains to be hidden so carefully in the
earth that they might never be found. In addition to Agrippina, Munatia
Plancina was slain. Previous to this time, though he hated her (not on
account of Germanicus but for another reason), he yet allowed her to live
to prevent Agrippina from rejoicing at her death.

[-23-] Besides doing this he appointed Gaius quaestor, though not of
first rank, promising him, however, that he would advance him to the
other office five years earlier than was customary. At the same time he
requested the senate not to make the young man conceited by numerous or
extraordinary honors, for fear the latter might go astray in one way or
another. He had, indeed, a descendant in the person of Tiberius, but him
he disregarded both on account of age (he was a mere child as yet) and
on account of the prevailing suspicion that this boy was not the son of
Drusus. He therefore clove to Gaius as the most eligible candidate for
sole ruler, especially as he felt sure that Tiberius would live but a
short time and would be murdered by that very man. There was no detail
of the character of Gaius of which he was in ignorance; indeed, he once
remarked to his successor, who was quarreling with Tiberius: "You will
kill him, and others will kill you." The emperor knew of no one else that
suited him so entirely, and at the same time he was well aware that the
man would be a thorough knave; yet the story obtains that he was glad to
give him the empire in order that his own crimes might find concealment
in the enormity of Gaius's offences and that the largest and the noblest
portion of what was left of the senate might perish after him. At all
events he is said to have often uttered the ancient saying:

  "When I am dead, let fire o'erwhelm the earth."[15]

Often, also, he declared Priam fortunate, because that king involved his
country and his throne in his own utter ruin. These records about him are
given a semblance of reality by what took place in those days. Such a
multitude of the senators and of others lost their lives that out of
the officials chosen by lot the ex-prætors held the governorship of the
provinces for three years and the ex-consuls for six, owing to the lack
of persons to succeed them. And what name could one properly give to the
elected magistrates, whom from the first he allowed to hold office for an
unusually long time?

Now among those who died at this time was also Gallus. Tiberius himself
said that only then (and scarcely even so) did he become reconciled with
him. Thus it was that contrary to the usual custom he inflicted upon some
life as a punishment and bestowed upon others death as a kindness.

[A.D. 34 (_a. u._ 787)]

[-24-] The twentieth year of the emperor's reign now came in, and he
himself though he sojourned in the vicinity of Albanum and Tusculum did
not enter the City; the consuls, Lucius Vitellius and Fabius Persicus,
celebrated the second ten-year period. The senators so termed it in
preference to "twenty-year period" to signify that they were granting
him the leadership of the State again, as had been done in the case
of Augustus. Punishment overtook them at the same time that they were
celebrating the appropriate festival. This time none of those accused
was acquitted, but all were convicted,--the majority from documents
contributed by Tiberius and the statements under torture obtained by
Macro, the rest by what these two suspected they were planning. It was
rumored that the real reason why Tiberius did not come to Rome was to
avoid being disgraced while present by the sentences of condemnation.
Among various persons who perished either at the hands of the
executioners or by their own acts was Pomponius Labeo. He, who had once
governed Moesia for eight years after his prætorship, was, with his wife,
indicted for receiving bribes and voluntarily destroyed both her and
himself. Mamercus AEmilius Scaurus, on the other hand, who had never
governed anybody nor received bribes, was convicted because of a tragedy
and fell a victim to a worse fate than any he had depicted. Atreus was
the name of the composition, and in the manner of Euripides[16] it
advised some one of the subjects of that monarch to endure the folly of
the ruling prince. Tiberius, when he heard of it, declared that the verse
had been composed against him at this juncture and that "Atreus" was
merely a pretence used on account of that monarch's bloodthirstiness.
And adding quietly "I will have him play the part of Ajax," he brought
pressure to bear to make him commit suicide. The above was not the
accusation made against him; instead, he was charged with having kept up
a _liaison_ with Livilla. Many others had been punished on her account,
some with good reason and some as the result of blackmail.

[-25-] While matters at Rome were in this condition, the subject
territory was not quiet either. The very moment a certain youth who
declared he was Drusus appeared in the region of Greece and Ionia, the
cities both received him enthusiastically and supported his cause. He
would have proceeded to Syria and taken possession of the legions, had
not some one recognized him and putting an end to his success taken him
to Tiberius.

[A.D. 35 (_a. u._ 788)] After this Gaius Gallus and Marcus Servilius
became consuls. Tiberius was at Antium holding fête in honor of the
nuptials of Gaius. Not even for such a purpose would he enter Rome,
because of the case of one Fulcinius Trio. The latter, who had been a
friend of Sejanus but had stood high in the favor of Tiberius on account
of his readiness at blackmail, was, when accused, delivered up for
punishment; and through fear he slew himself beforehand after abusing
roundly both the emperor and Macro in his testament. His children did not
dare to publish it, but Tiberius, learning what had been written, ordered
it to be presented before the senate. Little did he trouble himself
about such matters. Sometimes he would voluntarily give to the public
denunciations of his conduct that were being kept secret, as another man
would eulogies. Indeed, he took all that Drusus had uttered in distress
and misfortune, and this, too, he sent in to the senate.--So much, then,
for the death of Trio. Poppaeus Sabinus, who had governed both the Mysias
and Macedonia besides during almost all the reign of Tiberius up to this
time, withdrew from life with the greatest good-will before any charge
could be brought against him. He was succeeded by Regulus with equal
authority. For, according to some reports, Macedonia and Achaea were both
assigned to the new ruler without lots being cast for them.

[A.D. 36 (_a. u._ 789)]

[-26-] About the same period Artabanus the Parthian after the death of
Artaxias bestowed Armenia upon his son Arsaces. When no vengeance fell
upon him from Tiberius for this move, he made an attempt upon Cappadocia
and treated the Parthians, too, rather haughtily. Consequently some
revolted from him and went on an embassy to Tiberius, asking a king for
themselves from among those serving as hostages. He sent them at once
Phraates, son of Phraates, and at the death of the latter (which occurred
on the way) Tiridates, who was himself also of the royal race. To insure
his securing the throne as easily as possible the emperor wrote orders to
Mithridates the Iberian to invade Armenia, so that Artabanus should leave
home and assist his son. Things turned out as planned, but the reign of
Tiridates lasted only a short time, for Artabanus got the Scythians on
his side and had no great difficulty in expelling him. So much for the
Parthian affairs.--Armenia fell into the hands of Mithridates, son of
Mithridates the Iberian, of course, and a brother of Pharasmanes, who
became king of the Iberians after him.--When Sextus Papinius became
consul with Quintus Plautius, the Tiber inundated a large part of the
City so that it remained under water, and a much more extensive section
in the vicinity of the hippodrome and the Aventine was devastated by
fire. In view of these disasters Tiberius gave two thousand five hundred
myriads to those who had suffered any loss.

[A.D. 37 (_a. u._ 790)]

And if Egyptian affairs also touch Roman interests at all, it might be
mentioned that that year the phoenix was seen. All these events were
thought to foreshadow the death of Tiberius. Thrasyllus died at this very
time and the emperor himself in the following spring, in the consulship
of Gnaeus Proculus and Pontius Nigrinus. It chanced that Macro had
plotted against Domitius and numerous others and had devised complaints
and tortures against them. Not all that were accused, however, were put
to death, because Thrasyllus handled Tiberius very cleverly. Concerning
himself he stated very accurately both the day and the hour in which he
should die, but he falsely declared that the emperor would live ten more
years, in order that the latter, feeling he had a moderately long time to
live, might be in no hurry to kill them. The issue justified the plan.
Thinking that it would be possible for him later to do whatever he liked
at his leisure, he made no haste in any way and showed no anger when the
senate, in consideration of the opposition to the tortures expressed by
the magistrates, postponed the sentencing of the prisoners. Yet pitiable
scenes were not wanting. One woman wounded herself, was carried into
the senate and from there to prison, where she died. Lucius Arruntius,
distinguished both for his age and for his education, destroyed himself
voluntarily when Tiberius was already sick and was not thought likely to
recover. The man was aware of the evil character of Gaius and desired to
depart before he should taste of it, saying: "I can not in my old
age become the slave of a new master like him." Still others were
saved,--some who had actually been condemned but were not permitted to
die before the expiration of ten days, and others because their trial was
again put off when the judges learned that Tiberius was seriously ailing.

[-28-] He passed away at Misenum before he could learn anything of this.
He had been sick for a considerable time, but expecting to live, as
Thrasyllus had foretold, he neither consulted physicians nor changed his
way of life; wasting away gradually as he was, in old age and subject to
a sickness that was not severe, he would often all but expire and then
recover strength again. These changes would cause Gaius and the rest
first great pleasure, when they thought he was going to die, and then
great fear, when they thought he would live. His successor, therefore,
fearing that his health might actually be restored, refused his requests
for anything to eat, on the ground that he would be injured, and
pretending that he needed warmth wrapped many thick cloths about him. In
this way he smothered him, with a certain amount of help, to be sure,
from Macro. The latter, as Tiberius was already seriously ill, was paying
his court to the young man, particularly as he had before this succeeded
in making him fall in love with his own wife, Ennia Thrasylla. Tiberius
suspecting this had once said: "You understand well when to abandon the
setting, and hasten to the rising sun."

So Tiberius, who possessed the most varied virtues, the most varied
vices, and followed each set in turn as if the other did not exist,
passed away in this fashion on the twenty-sixth day of March.[17] He had
lived seventy-seven years, four months, nine days, of which he had spent
as ruler twenty-two years, seven months and seven days. A public funeral
was accorded him and a eulogy, delivered by Gaius.


[Footnote 1: Supplying here (as did Sylburgius, to fill a gap in the
sense) ... [GREEK: echeleuse chahi tae boulae]....]

[Footnote 2: The consul of A.D. 30, either _C. Cassius Longinus_ or his
brother _L. Cassius Longinus_.]

[Footnote 3: A gap in the MS. exists, as indicated.]

[Footnote 4: A corrupt reading for which no wholly satisfactory
substitute has been offered.]

[Footnote 5: The predicate of this clause has fallen out in the MS., and
the restoration is on lines suggested by Bekker.]

[Footnote 6: Reading (with Mommsen) [Greek: outo] for [Greek: auto].]

[Footnote 7: Reading [Greek: aedae polu] (Stephanus, Boissevain).]

[Footnote 8: Using Boissevain's reading [Greek: adikousaes] (from Reiske)
in preference to the MS. [Greek: diadikousaes].]

[Footnote 9: A small gap. The text filled and context amended by Kuiper.]

[Footnote 10: Evidently the previous reference was in a passage now lost,
between Bk. 57, ch. 17, sect. 8, and Bk. 58, ch. 7, sect. 2 of the Codex
Marcianus (Boissevain).]

[Footnote 11: Compare Book Fifty-seven, chapter eight.]

[Footnote 12: Cæsianus and Cæsiani are conjectures of Boissevain, the MS.
being corrupt. The person meant is _L. Apronius Cæsianus_ (consul A.D.
39).]

[Footnote 13: A correction of Casaubon's for "the army" (MS.), which
seems senseless.]

[Footnote 14: The phrase yields no particular sense and is probably
corrupt, but a correction is not easy. "To state his reasons" has been
suggested; and a very slight change in the Greek produces "to eat
something" another conjecture.]

[Footnote 15: Probably from the _Bellerophon_ of Euripides.]

[Footnote 16: Compare Euripides, Phoenician Maidens, verse 393.]

[Footnote 17: Dio is in error. The date was really about ten days
earlier.]



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

59

The following is contained in the Fifty-ninth of Dio's Rome.

About Gaius Cæsar, called also Caligula (chapters 1-6). How the Heroüm
of Augustus was sanctified (chapter 7). How the Mauritanias began to be
governed by Romans (chapter 25). How Gaius Cæsar died (chapters 29, 30).

Duration of time, the remainder of the consulship of Gnæus Acerronius and
Pontius Nigrinus, together with three additional years, in which there
were the following magistrates here enumerated.

M. Aquilius C. F. Iulianus, and P. Nonius M. F. Asprenas. (A.D. 38 = a.
u. 791 = Second of Gaius.)

C. Cæsar Germanicus (II), L. Apronius L. F. Cæsianus. (A.D. 39 = a. u.
792 = Third of Gaius, from March 26th.)

C. Cæsar (III). (A.D. 40 = a. u. 793 = Fourth of Gaius.)

C. Cæsar (IV), Cn. Sentius Cn. F. Saturninus. (A.D. 41 = a. u. 794 =
Fifth of Gaius, to Jan. 24th.)

This last year is not counted, because most of the events in it are
recorded in the sixtieth book.


_(BOOK 59, BOISSEVAIN)_

[A.D. 37 (_a. u._ 790)]

[-1-] This, then, is the tradition about Tiberius. His successor was
Gaius, son of Germanicus and Agrippina, who was known also, as I have
stated, by the nicknames of Germanicus and Caligula. Tiberius had left
the empire partly in charge of his grandson Tiberius; but Gaius had his
will carried to the senate by Macro and caused it to be declared null
and void by the consuls and the rest (with whom he had made previous
arrangements) on the ground that the author of the document had not been
of sound mind. This was evidenced by his allowing a mere boy to rule
them, who had not yet the right even to enter the senate. Thus did Gaius
at this time separate the lad from imperial office, and later in spite of
having adopted him he slew him. Of no avail was the fact that Tiberius in
his testament, still extant, had written the same words over in a number
of ways, as if this would lend them some force, nor yet that all of it
had been at this time read aloud by Macro before the senatorial body. For
no injunction can have weight against the intentional misunderstanding or
the power of one's successors. Tiberius suffered the same treatment he
had accorded to his mother's wishes, save that he discharged none of the
obligations imposed by her will in the case of any person, whereas all
his bequests were paid to all the beneficiaries, save to his grandson.
This, of course, made it perfectly plain that the whole fault found with
the will had been invented on account of the lad. Gaius need not have
published it, since he was not unacquainted with the contents, but
inasmuch as many knew what was in it and it seemed likely that he himself
on the one hand or the senate on the other would be blamed for its
suppression, he chose rather to have the latter body overthrow it than to
conceal the document.

[-2-] At the same time by paying all the bequests of the dead emperor, as
if they were his own, to every one concerned he gained among the many a
certain reputation for nobility of character. In company with the senate
he inspected the Pretorians while they were busy with exercises and
distributed to them the two hundred and fifty denarii apiece that had
been bequeathed, and he added as a gift as many more. To the people he
paid the one thousand one hundred and twenty-five myriads (this was the
amount bequeathed to them) and in addition the sixty denarii per man
which they had failed to receive on the occasion of his enrollment among
the iuvenes,--this with interest amounting to fifteen denarii more. He
also settled the bequests to the citizen force, to the night-watchmen, to
those of the regular army outside Italy, and to any other army of native
Romans in the smaller forts,--that is, the citizens proper received one
hundred twenty-five denarii each, and all the rest seventy-five.

He behaved in this same way also in regard to Livia's will, executing all
the provisions of it. If he had spent the rest of his money with equal
propriety, he would nave been thought prudent and munificent. Sometimes,
through fear of the people and the soldiers, he did so act, but it
was mostly through whims. At such times he discharged not only the
obligations of Tiberius but those of his great-grandmother, and debts
owing to private individuals as well as to others. As it was, he lavished
boundless sums upon dancers (whose recall he at once effected), upon
horses, upon gladiators and everything of that sort; and so in an
inconceivably short time he had exhausted the treasures, which had grown
so great, and at the same time convicted himself of having done it
through a sort of easy-going temper and indecision. He had found
accumulated five myriad myriads, seven thousand five hundred denarii, or
(according to others) eight myriad myriads, two thousand five hundred,
and yet could not keep any part of it to the third year, but actually in
the second season fell in need of a great deal besides.

[-3-] He went through the same process of deterioration, too, in almost
all other respects. At first he seemed a most democratic person and would
send no letters either to the people or to the senate nor assume any of
the titles of sovereignty; yet he became most dictatorial, so that he
took in one day all those honors which Augustus had with difficulty
secured, voted one by one, during the long extent of his reign, some of
which Tiberius had refused to accept at all. He postponed nothing except
the title of _Father_, and that he acquired after no long time. Though
he had proved himself the most libidinous of men, had seduced one
woman already betrothed and had dragged others from their husbands, he
afterward hated them all save one. And he would certainly have detested
her, had he lived any longer. Toward his mother, his sisters, and his
grandmother Antonia he conducted himself in the most dutiful manner
possible. The last named he immediately saluted as Augusta and appointed
her priestess of Augustus, giving her at once all the privileges
pertaining to the vestal virgins. To his sisters he assigned these honors
of the vestal virgins, the right to witness horse-races in the same
section of seats with him, and the right to have uttered in their behalf
as well the prayers which were annually offered by the magistrates and
the priests for his welfare and that of the State, and the oaths of
allegiance sworn to his empire. He set sail himself and with his own
hands collected and brought back the bones of his mother and of his
brothers that had died: wearing the purple-bordered toga and attended
by some lictors, as at a triumph, he deposited these in the monument
of Augustus. All measures voted against them he canceled, all who had
plotted against them he chastised, and recalled such as were in exile on
their account.--Now, though he had done all this, he showed himself
the most impious of men in the case both of his grandmother and of his
sisters. The former, because she had rebuked him for something, he forced
to seek death by her own hand; and after ravishing all his sisters he
shut two of them up on an island: the third had previously died. Again in
the matter of Tiberius (whom he also termed "grandfather"), he asked that
he might receive from the senate the same honors as Augustus; but these
were not immediately voted, for the senators could not endure to honor
that tyrant, nor did they make bold to dishonor him because they were
not yet clearly acquainted with the character of their young lord, and
consequently postponed everything until the latter should be present:
so then Gaius bestowed upon him no mark of notice other than a public
funeral, after bringing the body into the City by night and having it
laid out at daybreak. And though he did make a speech over it, he did
not say so much in praise of Tiberius as he did to remind the people of
Augustus and Germanicus, comparing himself meanwhile with them.

[-4-] Gaius inevitably went so by contraries in every matter that he not
only emulated but even surpassed his predecessor's licentiousness and
bloodthirstiness, for which he had censured him; but of the qualities he
had praised in him he imitated not one. Though he had been the first to
insult him, the first to abuse him, so that others thinking to please
him in this way made use of rather heedless freedom of speech, he later
lauded and magnified Tiberius, going to the point of punishing some for
what they had said. These, as enemies of the former emperor, he hated for
their injurious remarks, and he hated equally those who in way praised
Tiberius, as being the latter's friends.

Though he had put an end to complaints arising from maiestas, he made
these the cause of many persons' downfall. Though according to his own
account he dismissed the anger that he felt toward those who had united
against his father and his mother and his brothers (and burned their
letters), he yet put to death great numbers of them on the basis of
evidence contained in such documents. He did, to be sure, really destroy
some papers, but not those which held definite incontrovertible proof; of
these he made copies. Besides, though he at first forbade any one to set
up his images, he went on to manufacture the statues himself. Whereas
once he requested the annulment of a decree that sacrifice should be
offered to his Fortune, and had this action of his inscribed on a tablet,
he afterward ordered temples and sacrifices to be prepared for him as for
some god. He delighted by turns in vast throngs of men and in solitude;
he grew angry if requests were preferred, or if they were not preferred.
He would start out on enterprises with the greatest amount of dash, and
then carry them through in the most sluggish manner. He both spent money
most unsparingly and showed a thoroughly sordid spirit in exacting it. He
was alike irritated and pleased both at those who flattered him and at
those who spoke their own minds. Many who were guilty of great crimes
he neglected to punish and many who had done no wrong he ruthlessly
slaughtered. Among his associates he made some the recipients of
excessive adulation and others of excessive insult. Consequently, no one
knew either what to say or how to act toward him, but all who met with
success obtained it as the result of chance rather than of rational
calculation.

[-5-] That was the kind of emperor into whose hands the Romans had now
fallen. Hence the deeds of Tiberius, though they were felt to have been
most grievous, were still as far superior to those of Gaius as the deeds
of Augustus were to those of his successor. For Tiberius always held the
power in his own hands and used other people to help him carry out
his wishes: Gaius, on the other hand, was ruled by charioteers and by
gladiators; he was the slave of dancers and other theatrical performers.
Indeed, he always kept Apelles, the most famous of the tragedians of that
day, with him even in public. Thus he by himself and they by themselves
did without let or hindrance all that such persons when given power would
naturally dare to do. Everything that could help theatrical productions
he arranged and settled on the slightest pretext in the most expensive
manner, and compelled prætors and consuls to do the same, so that almost
every day some performance of the kind was sure to be given. Originally
he was but a spectator and listener at these and would take sides for and
against various performers like one of the mob; and sometimes, if he were
irritated at his opponents, he would not visit the spectacle. But as time
went on he came to imitate and contend in many events, driving chariots,
fighting duels, giving exhibitions of dancing, and acting in tragedy.
This became his regular practice. And one night he urgently summoned
the leaders of the senate as if to some important deliberation and then
danced before them.

[-6-] Now in that year that Tiberius died and Gaius entered upon office
in his stead he first began to show great deference to the senators on an
occasion when knights were present at the meeting and also some of the
populace. He promised to share his power with them and do whatever would
please them, calling himself meanwhile their son and nursling. He was
then twenty-five years old, lacking five months, four days. After this he
freed those who were in prison, among whom was Quintus Pomponius, who for
seven whole years after his consulship had been kept in a cell suffering
abuse. Gaius did away with the complaints for maiestas, on account of
which he saw that most of the prisoners were suffering, and heaped up (or
so he pretended) and burned the documents pertaining to their cases that
Tiberius had left behind. He also declared: "I have done this, that
no matter how much I might wish to bear malice toward any one; for my
mother's and my brothers' sake, I might still be unable to punish him."
For this he was commended because it was expected that _he_ at all events
would speak the truth; by reason of his youth it was not thought possible
that he could be guilty of duplicity in thought or speech. And he still
further increased their hopes by ordering that the celebration of the
Saturnalia extend over five days, and by taking from each of those
enjoying an allowance of grain only an as instead of the denarius which
they were wont to give an emperor for the manufacture of images.

It was voted that he should at once become consul by the removal of
Proculus and Nigrinus, who were holding office at the time, and that he
should thereafter be consul annually. However, he did not accept the
offer, but instead waited until the two officials completed the six
months' term for which they had been appointed, and then became consul
himself, taking his uncle Claudius as a colleague. The latter, who had
previously been ranked among the knights and after the death of Tiberius
had been sent as an envoy to Gaius in behalf of that order, now for the
first time after living forty-six years became both consul and senator at
once. The behavior of Gaius in these matters appeared satisfactory and
to his actions corresponded the speech which he delivered in the
senate-house on entering upon his consulship. In it he denounced Tiberius
for each of the crimes of which he was commonly accused and made many
announcements about his own line of conduct; and the senate, fearing
that he might change, issued a decree that his statements should be read
annually.

[-7-] Soon after, clad in the triumphal garb, he dedicated the heroüm of
Augustus. Boys of the noblest families, both of whose parents had to be
living, together with maidens similarly circumstanced, sang the hymn,
and the senators with their wives as well as the people were banqueted.
Entertainments of all sorts were given. There were exhibitions involving
music, and horseraces took place on two days,--twenty heats the first
day and forty [1] more the second, because the former was the emperor's
birthday and the latter that of Augustus. He had a similar number of
events on many other occasions, as seemed good to him. Hitherto not more
than ten[2] events had been usual, but this time he finished four hundred
bears together with an equal number of beasts from Libya. The boys of
noble birth performed "Troy" on horseback, and six horses drew the
triumphal car on which he was borne. This was an innovation.

In the races he did not give the signals to the charioteers in person,
but viewed the spectacle from a front seat with his brothers and his
fellow-priests of the Augustan order. He was always greatly displeased
if any one was absent from the theatre or left in the middle of the
performance, and so, in order that no one might have an excuse for
not attending, he postponed all lawsuits and suspended all periods of
mourning. Thus, women bereft of their husbands were allowed to marry even
before the appointed time, unless, indeed, they were pregnant. In order
to enable people to come without formality and to save them the trouble
of greeting him (for previously those who met the emperor on the streets
always saluted him), he forbade any one's doing this again. Those who
chose might come barefoot to the spectacles. It had been from very
ancient times the custom for persons to do this who held court in the
summer; the practice had been frequently followed by Augustus at the
summer festivals but had been abandoned by Tiberius.

It was at this period that the senators first began sitting upon cushions
instead of the bare boards, and that they were allowed to wear caps to
the theatre, Thessalian fashion, to avoid distress from the sun's rays.
And whenever the sun was particularly severe, they used instead of the
theatre the Diribitorium, which was furnished with benches.--This was
what Gaius did in his consulship, which he held two months and twelve
days. The remainder of the six months' term he surrendered to the men
previously appointed for it. [-8-] It was after this that he fell sick,
but instead of dying himself he managed to cause the death of Tiberius,
who had been registered among the iuvenes, had been given the title of
Princeps Iuventutis, and finally had been adopted into his family.[3] The
complaint brought against the lad was that he had prayed and expected
that Gaius might die. This charge proved the destruction of many others,
too. The same ruler who gave to Antiochus son of Antiochus the district
of Commagene, which his father had held, and likewise the coast districts
of Cilicia, and had freed Agrippa (grandson of Herod, who had been
imprisoned by Tiberius), and had put him in charge of his grandfather's
domain, not only deprived Agrippa's brother (or else his son) of his
paternal fortune but furthermore had him murdered, without making any
communication about him to the senate. Later he took similar action in a
number of other cases.

Now the young Tiberius perished on suspicion of having utilized the
emperor's illness as an occasion for conspiracy. On the other hand, there
were Publius Afranius Potitus, a plebeian, who in a burst of foolish
servility had promised not only of his own free will but under oath that
he would give his life to have Gaius recover, and a certain Atanius
Secundus, a knight, who announced that in the event of a favorable
outcome he would fight as a gladiator. These, instead of the money which
they hoped to receive from him in return for offering to die in exchange
for his life, were compelled to keep their promises so as not to
perjure themselves. That was the cause of these men's death. Again, his
father-in-law Marcus Silanus, though he had made no promise and taken
no oath, nevertheless, because his virtue and his relationship made him
displeasing to the emperor and subjected him to extreme insults, for
this reason committed suicide. Tiberius had held him in such honor as to
refuse always to try a case that was appealed from his jurisdiction and
to refer all such disputes back to him again. But Gaius abused him in
every way and had such a high opinion of him that he called him "the
golden sheep." Now Silanus on account of his age and his reputation was
accorded by all the consuls the honor of casting his vote first; and to
prevent his doing so any longer Gaius had abolished the custom of having
some of the ex-consuls vote first or second according to the pleasure of
those who put the vote. He arranged that such persons should cast their
votes on the same footing as the rest and in the same order as they had
held the office. Moreover, he put aside his victim's daughter to marry
Cornelia Orestilla, whom he had actually seized during the marriage
festival which she was celebrating with her betrothed, Gaius Calpurnius
Piso. Before two months had elapsed he banished both of them on the
ground that they had carnal knowledge of each other. He allowed Piso to
take with him ten slaves, and then when the latter asked for more he
let him employ as many as he liked, saying: "You will have just so many
soldiers."

[A.D. 38 (_a. u._ 791)]

[-9-] The next year Marcus Julianus and Publius Nonius, regularly
appointed, became consuls. Oaths pertaining to the acts of Tiberius were
not introduced and for this reason are not used nowadays either. No
one numbers Tiberius among the emperors in the list of members of his
house.[4] But in regard to Augustus and Gaius they took the oaths which
had regularly been the custom and others to the effect that they would
hold Gaius and his sisters in greater respect than themselves and their
children, and they offered prayers for all of them alike.

On the very first day of the new year one Machaon, a slave, climbed upon
the couch of Jupiter Capitolinus and after uttering from that place many
dire prophecies killed a little dog which he had brought in with him and
slew himself.

The following good deeds must be set down to the credit of Gaius. He
published, as Augustus had done, all the accounts of public funds, which
had not been made known during the time Tiberius was out of the city. He
helped the soldiers extinguish a conflagration and assisted those who
suffered loss by it. As the equestrian order pined from lack of men he
summoned the foremost men from every office, even abroad, and enrolled
them with due regard to their relatives and their wealth. Some of them he
allowed to wear the senatorial costume occasionally even before they had
held any office through which we enter the senate, on the strength of
their hopes to secure admission to that body. Previously it would seem
that only those who had been born in the senatorial order were allowed to
do this. These deeds caused pleasure to all. But this action in restoring
the elections to the populus and the plebs, rescinding the decisions of
Tiberius about these matters, and in abolishing the one per cent.
tax, and again in scattering at some gymnastic contest tickets and
distributing very large gifts to such as secured them,--these actions,
though they delighted the lower classes, grieved the sensible, who
reflected that even if the offices fell once more into the hands of the
general public, still, in case the existing funds should be exhausted and
private sources of income fail, many dreadful disasters would result.

[-10-] The performances of his next to be enumerated elicited the censure
of all without distinction. He caused very great numbers of men to fight
as gladiators, forcing them to contend both separately and in groups,
drawn up in a kind of military formation: he requested permission from
the senate to do this, and again,--something quite contrary to the spirit
of the enacted law that he might do whatsoever he pleased,--he asked
leave to put to death a number of persons, among them twenty-six knights,
some of whom had already devoured their living, while others had merely
practiced gladiatorial combat. It was not the number of those who
perished that was so bad (though it was bad enough) but his frenzied
delight in their slaughter and his never satisfied gazing at the scene of
blood. The same trait of cruelty led him once, when there was a shortage
of condemned criminals to be given to the beasts, to order some of the
mob that stood near the benches to be seized and thrown to them. And to
prevent the possibility of their making an outcry or attacking him orally
he had their tongues cut out first of all. One of the prominent knights,
too, he compelled to fight in single combat on the charge of insult
offered to his mother Agrippina, and when the man proved victorious
handed him over to the accusers and had him slain. The same person's
father, though guilty of no wrong, he confined in a cage (as he had
confined numerous others), and there put an end to him.--These contests
he at first conducted in the Sæpta, after excavating [5] the entire site
and filling it with water, to enable him to bring in one ship. Later he
transferred his operations to another place, where he tore down a large
number of massive buildings and set up benches. The theatre of Taurus
he held in contempt. All this behavior, expenditures and murders alike,
subjected him to criticism.

He was further blamed for compelling Macro together with Ennia to cause
their own death, remembering neither the latter's affection nor the
former's benefits, which had gained for him among other advantages the
sole possession of the empire. The fact that he had appointed Macro to
govern Egypt had not the slightest influence. He even involved him in
a scandal (of which the greatest share belonged to Gaius himself), by
bringing against him besides all the rest a complaint that he had played
the pander. Before long many others were condemned and executed, and
some were executed prior to their conviction. Nominally they suffered on
account of some wrong done to his parents or his brothers or the rest who
had perished with those relatives as an excuse, but really on account
of their property. For the treasury had been exhausted and he had no
resources. Such persons were convicted by witnesses against them and by
the documents which he once declared he had burned. Again, the disease
which had attacked him the previous year and the death of his sister
Drusilla brought about the ruin of others, since,--to omit graver
cases,--whoever had entertained or had greeted any one or had bathed on
the days in question incurred punishment.

[-11-] The nominal spouse of Drusilla was Marcus Lepidus, at once the
favorite and lover of the emperor, but Gaius also treated her as a
concubine. When her death occurred at this time, her husband delivered
the eulogy but it was her brother who accorded her a public funeral. The
Pretorians with their commander and the equestrian order by itself
ran about the pyre [6] and the boys of noble birth performed the Troy
exercise about her tomb; all the honors that had been given to Livia were
voted to her, and it was further decreed that she should be declared
immortal, that a figure in gold representing her be set up in the
senate-house, and that in the temple of Venus in the Forum there should
be dedicated with equal honors a statue of her as large as that of the
goddess. Moreover, a separate shrine should be built for her and twenty
priests [7] not only men but also women should do her honor. Women, as
often as they gave testimony, should swear by her and on her birthday a
festival equal to the Megalensia should be celebrated and the senate and
the knights should hold a banquet. She straightway received the name
Panthea and was declared worthy of divine honors in all the cities. A
certain Livius Geminus, a senator, stated on oath, invoking destruction
upon himself and his children if he spoke falsely, that he had seen her
ascending into heaven and holding converse with the gods; and he called
all the other gods and Panthea herself to witness. For his declaration he
received twenty-five myriads. Besides all this Gaius showed her honor in
not having the festivals which were then due to take place celebrated
either at their appointed time (except as mere formalities) or at any
later date. All persons incurred equal censure whether they showed
pleasure at anything, as being grieved, or behaved as if they were
glad.[9] They were charged with malice either in failing to mourn her
(this was disrespect to her as a mortal) or in bewailing her (this was
disrespect to her as a goddess). One single occurrence gives the key to
all the transactions of that time. The emperor charged with impiety and
put to death a man who had sold warm water. [-12-] Having allowed a few
days to elapse he married Lollia Paulina and he compelled no less a
person than her husband, Memmius Regulus, to betroth her to him so that
he might not break the law in taking her without a betrothal. But almost
in a trice he had driven her away, too.

Meantime he granted to Soaimus the land of the Arabian Ituræans, to Cotys
Lesser Armenia and later parts of Arabia, to Rhoemetalces the possessions
of Cotys, and to Polemon son of Polemon his ancestral domain,--all these
upon the vote of the senate. The ceremony took place in the Forum, where
he sat upon the rostra in a chair between the consuls; some say he used
silken awnings. Soon after he caught sight of a lot of mud in an alley
and ordered that it be cast into the toga of Flavius Vespasian, who was
ædile at the time and had charge of keeping alleys clean. This event was
regarded at the moment as of no particular importance, but later, when
Vespasian, who took charge of a state in confusion and turmoil, had
reduced the same to order, it seemed to have been due to some divine
prompting and to have signified that Gaius had entrusted the city to him
unconditionally for its amelioration.

[A.D. 39 (_a. u._ 792)]

[-13-] He now became consul again, and though he prevented the priest
of Jupiter from taking the oath in the senate (for at this time they
regularly did so privately, as in the days of Tiberius), he himself both
when he entered upon office and when he relinquished it took the oath
like the rest upon the rostra, which had been made larger than before.
Thirty days was the duration of his tenure (whereas he let his colleague
Lucius Apronius hold office for six months), and his successor was
Sanguinius Maximus, præfectus urbi. During this and the following period
numbers of the foremost men perished in fulfillment of a sentence of
condemnation (for many who had been released from prison were punished
for the very reasons that had led to their imprisonment by Tiberius),
and many others in gladiatorial combats. There was nothing happening but
slaughter. The emperor no longer made any concessions to the populace,
opposing instead absolutely everything it wished, and consequently the
people, too, resisted all his desires. The talk and actions usual at such
a juncture with an angry ruler on one side and a hostile folk on the
other were plainly in evidence. The contest between them, however, was
not an equal one. The people could do nothing outside of discussion and
showing their feelings by their demeanor, whereas Gaius dragged many of
his opponents away while they were witnessing performances at the theatre
and arrested many more after they had left the building. The chief causes
for his rage were first that they did not show enthusiasm in attending;
he made his appearance at a different hour on different occasions,
sometimes not till nightfall, and they were worn out waiting for him:
second, that they did not always applaud the performances that pleased
him and sometimes even showed favor to objects of his dislike. Again, it
vexed him mightily to have them cry out in their efforts to extol him:
"Young Augustus!" He felt that he was not being congratulated upon being
emperor while so young, but was being censured for holding at his age
so great a domain. His regular conduct was as described. Once he said
threateningly to the whole people: "How I wish you had one neck!" At
another time, when he was showing some of his usual irritation, the
populace in displeasure ceased to notice the spectacle, and turned
against the informers, and with loud shouts demanded their surrender.
Gaius, indignant, vouchsafed them no answer, but committing to others
the conduct of the games withdrew into Campania. Later he returned to
celebrate the birthday of Drusilla, brought into the hippodrome on a
wagon her statue drawn by[10] elephants and gave the people a free show
for two days. The first day, besides the equestrian contests, he had five
hundred bears slaughtered, and on the second a like number of Libyan
beasts was used up. Athletes struggled in the pancratium at many
different points in the city. The populace was feasted and presents were
given to the senators and their wives.

       *       *       *       *       *

[-14-] At the same time that he authorized these murders, apparently
because he was so very poor, he devised another kind of transaction. He
took the surviving combatants and sold them at an excessive valuation to
the consuls, the prætors, and the rest, meeting with acquiescence from
some and compelling others, who objected strenuously, to carry out his
wishes at the horse-races; and most of all he imposed upon the ones
especially selected by lot for this purpose, for he had ordered that two
prætors, just as it might happen, should be allotted to take charge of
the gladiatorial games. He himself sat on the auctioneer's platform and
kept outbidding them. Many also came from outside to bid against
them, particularly because he allowed such as wished to employ a
greater number of gladiators than the law permitted and because he
often had recourse to them himself. So people bought them for large
sums, some through need of the men, others thinking they should
gratify him, and the largest number (in case they were reputed to be
property-holders) out of a wish to avail themselves of this pretext for
spending some of their substance and thus by becoming poorer save
their lives.

Yet, in spite of this action of his, he afterward put out of the way by
poison the best and most famous of these slaves. He did the same also in
the case of rival horses and charioteers, being greatly devoted to the
party that wore the frog green and from this color was called the Party
of the Leek. Even now the place where the chariots practiced is called
Galanum. One of the horses, that he named Incitatus, he invited to
dinner, offered him golden barley, and drank his health in wine from gold
goblets. He took oaths by the same beast's Guardian Spirit and Presiding
Fortune and promised besides that he would appoint him consul. This he
would certainly have done, too, if he had lived longer.

[-15-] Now formerly for the purpose of providing funds it had been voted
that all those persons who had wished to leave anything to Tiberius
and were alive should at their death bestow the same upon Gaius. The
publication of a decree was deemed necessary to prevent its seeming that
he could break the laws in securing by inheritance such gifts; for he
had at the time neither wife nor children. But at the time of which I am
speaking he proceeded to levy for himself without any vote absolutely all
the property of men who had served among the centurions and had after the
triumph which his father celebrated left it to somebody other than the
emperor. When not even this sufficed, he hit upon the following third
means of raising money. There was a senator, Gnæus Domitius Corbulo,
who had noticed that the roads during the reign of Tiberius were in bad
condition and was always nagging the road commissioners about it and
furthermore kept making a nuisance of himself before the senate regarding
the matter. Gaius took him as a confederate and through him attacked
all those, alive or dead, who had ever been road commissioners and had
received money for repairing the highways. He fined both them and the men
who had secured any contracts from them, on the pretence that they had
spent nothing. For this help Corbulo was at the time made consul,
but later, in the reign of Claudius, he was accused and his conduct
investigated. Claudius made no further demands for any sums still owing
and after collecting what had been paid in, partly from the treasury and
partly from Corbulo, he returned it to the persons who had been fined.
All that was later. At this time these unfortunates one by one and
practically everybody else in the City were, as one might say, despoiled.
Of those who possessed anything there was no one,--not a man nor a
woman,--who got off scot free. Though he allowed some of the more elderly
persons to live, yet by calling them his fathers, grandfathers, mothers,
and grandmothers, he got revenue from them during their lifetime and
inherited their property when they died.

[-16-] Up to this time he was always speaking ill of Tiberius before
everybody, and so far from rebuking others who criticised him privately
or publicly he enjoyed their language. But now he entered the
senate-house and eulogized his predecessor at length, besides severely
rebuking the senate and the people, saying that they did wrong in finding
fault with him. "I may do even this," he said, "in my capacity as
emperor, but you are not only unjust but also guilty of impiety[11] to
take such an attitude toward one who ruled you." Thereupon he considered
separately the case of each man who had lost his life and showed to his
own satisfaction that the senators had been responsible for the death of
most of them; some, he alleged, they had killed by accusation, some by
damning evidence, and all by sentence of condemnation. This he proved
by having some freedmen read it from those very documents which he once
declared he had burned. And he told them besides: "In case Tiberius
really did do wrong, you ought not to have honored him while he lived,
and at any rate, by Jupiter, you ought not to repudiate what you often
said and voted. But you both behaved toward him with fickleness and again
after filling Sejanus with conceit and spoiling him you put him to death,
and therefore I ought not either to expect any decent treatment from
you." After some such remarks he represented in his speech Tiberius
himself as saying to him: "All this that you have said has been good and
true. Therefore have no affection nor mercy for any one of them. They all
hate you: they all pray for your death. They will murder you if they can.
Hence do not stop to consider what acts of yours will please them and
heed none of their talk. Rather, have regard to your own pleasure and
safety solely, since that has the most just claim. In this way you
will suffer no harm and will enjoy all supremest pleasures. You will,
moreover, be honored by them whether they so desire or not. If you follow
a different course, it will be useless, and beyond an empty reputation
you will gain no advantage, but become the victim of plots and perish
ingloriously. No man living is ruled of his own free will, but the
element which is kept in fear, whatever its size, waits upon the stronger
element, whereas if it attains to courage, it always wreaks vengeance
upon the other, which has now become the weaker."

At the close of this address Gaius reintroduced the complaints for
maiestas, ordered his commands to be inscribed upon a bronze tablet and
rushing hastily from the senate-house proceeded the same day to the
suburbs of the capital. The senate and the people were filled with great
fear as they thought of the denunciations against Tiberius, which they
had often uttered, and of the many surprises his speech had had in store
for them. Temporarily their alarm and dejection prevented them from
saying a word or transacting any business. Next day they assembled again,
praised Gaius unstintedly as a most sincere and pious ruler, and thanked
him profusely that they had not perished like others. Accordingly,
they voted annually to sacrifice cattle to the Spirit of Kindness that
animated him both on the anniversary of the day he had read this matter
just mentioned and on those belonging to the Palatium[12]: on such
occasions his image in gold was to be conducted to the Capitol and hymns
sung in its honor by the boys of noblest birth. They granted him also
the right to celebrate a lesser triumph, as though he had defeated some
enemies. This was what they voted at that meeting: later they added to it
extensively on almost every pretext.

[-17-] Gaius took no heed of the celebration mentioned; it seemed to him
to be no great thing to drive a horse on land: but he had a desire to
ride horseback through the sea in a way, by bridging over the water
between Puteoli and Bauli. This locality is opposite the City, twenty-six
stades distant. Boats for the bridge were partly brought together and
partly built new for the purpose. For the number it had proved possible
to collect in a brief space of time was insufficient, although all
feasible vessels had been gathered, and it was principally this fact that
caused a serious famine in Italy and Rome. In joining these boats not
merely a passageway was constructed but resting places and waiting rooms
were built along in it, and these had running water fit for drinking.
When it was ready, he put on the breastplate of Alexander (or so he
said), and over it a purple silk chlamys, containing much gold and many
precious stones from India. He furthermore girt on a sword, took a
shield, and donned a garland of oak leaves. Next he offered sacrifice
to Neptune and some other gods and to Envy (in order, he said, that no
jealousy might attend him), and entered the passage from the end at
Bauli, taking with him great numbers of armed horsemen and foot soldiers;
and he made a fierce dash into the city as if he were after some enemies.
There he rested the following day, as though seeking respite from battle,
and wearing a gold-spangled tunic he returned on a chariot over the same
bridge. He was drawn by race-horses that were most competent to gain
victories. A long train of what was apparently spoils accompanied him,
among them Darius, one of the Arsacidæ, belonging to the group of
Parthians then serving as hostages. His friends and associates in
beflowered robes followed him on vehicles, as did the army and the rest
of the throng, which was decked out according to individual taste. Of
course, in the midst of such a campaign and after so magnificent a
victory he had to deliver a bit of an harangue: so he ascended a platform
which had likewise been erected at about the center of the bridge. First
he extolled himself as one who had undertaken a great enterprise; next
he praised the soldiers as men exhausted by the dangers they had faced,
adding the significant statement that they had traversed the sea on foot.
For this gallantry he gave them money and afterward for the rest of the
day and all through the night they enjoyed a banquet,--he on the bridge,
as though some island, and they at anchor on other boats. Light in
abundance shone upon them from the place itself and abundant light
besides from the mountains. For since the place was crescent-shaped, fire
was exhibited from all sides, as might be done in a theatre, so that no
one could notice the darkness. It was his wish to make the night day, as
he had made the sea land. When he had become full to excess of food and
strong drink, he threw numbers of his companions off the bridge into the
sea and sank many of the rest by making a circuitous attack upon them in
boats that had rams. Some perished, but the majority though drunk managed
to save themselves. The reason was that the sea showed itself extremely
smooth and tranquil both while the bridge was being put together and
while the other events were taking place. This, too, caused the emperor
some elation, and he said that even Neptune was afraid of him. As for
Darius and Xerxes, he made all manner of fun of them, inasmuch as he had
bridged over a far vaster expanse of sea than they.

[-18-] The final episode in the career of that bridge, which I shall now
relate, proved another source of death to many. Inasmuch as the emperor
had exhausted his revenues in the construction he fell to plotting against
many more persons because of their property. He presided at trials both
privately and in company with the entire senate. That body also tried
some cases by itself, yet it had not full powers and there were many
appeals from its decisions. The decisions of the senate were merely
made public, but when any men were condemned by Gaius their names were
bulletined, as though he feared they might not learn their fate. These
met their punishment some in prison and others by being hurled from the
Capitoline. Still others killed themselves beforehand. There was no
safety even for such as left the country, but many of them, too, lost
their lives either on the road or while in banishment It is not worth
while to burden my readers unduly by going into the details of most of
these cases, but I may stop to notice Calvisius Sabinus, one of the
foremost men in the senate. He had recently come from governing Pannonia,
and he and his wife Cornelia were both indicted. The charge against
her was that she had visited some military posts and had watched some
soldiers practicing. These two did not stand trial but despatched
themselves before the time set. The same is to be recorded of Titius
Rufus, against whom a complaint was lodged that he had said the senate
had one thing in their minds but uttered something different. Also one
Junius Priscus, a prætor, was accused on various charges, but his death
was really due to the supposition that he was wealthy. Gaius, on learning
that he possessed nothing worth causing his death for, made this
remarkable statement: "He fooled me and perished uselessly when he might
as well have lived."

[-19-] Among these men put on trial at this time Domitius Afer
encountered danger from an unexpected source and secured his preservation
in a still more remarkable way. Gaius was incensed against him (if for no
other reason) because in the reign of Tiberius he had accused a woman who
was related to the emperor's mother Agrippina. Later the woman had met
Afer and as she saw that out of embarrassment he stood aside from her
path she called to him and said (referring to the matter): "Never mind,
Domitius: it wasn't you, but Agamemnon, that caused me these troubles."
[13] Just about this time Afer had set up an image of the emperor and had
placed upon it an inscription showing that Gaius in his twenty-seventh
year was already consul for the second time. This vexed the latter, who
felt that undue notice was being given to his youth and his transgression
of the law. So for this action, for which Afer had looked to be honored,
he brought him before the senate and read a long speech against him.
Gaius always maintained that he surpassed all living orators, and knowing
that his adversary was an extremely gifted speaker he strove on this
occasion to excel him. He would certainly have put Afer to death, if the
latter had entered into the least competition with him. As it was,
the man made no answer or defence, but pretended to be astonished and
overcome by the cleverness of Gaius, and repeating the accusation point
by point he praised it as though he were some listener and not on trial.
When opportunity was given him to speak, he took to supplicating and
bewailing his lot; finally he threw himself on the earth and lying there
prostrate he besought his accuser, apparently fearing him as an orator
rather than as Cæsar. In this way the latter when he saw and heard what I
have described was melted, for he thought that he had really overwhelmed
Domitius by the eloquence of his address. For this reason, then, and on
account of Callistus the freedman, whom he was wont to honor and whose
favor Domitius had courted, he ceased his anger. And when Callistus later
blamed him for having accused the man in the first place, the emperor
answered: "It would not have been right for me to hide such a speech."
So Domitius was saved by being convicted of no longer being a skillful
speaker.

On the other hand Lucius Annæus Seneca, who was superior in wisdom to all
the Romans of his day and to many other great men, came very near being
ruined, though he had done no wrong and there was no suspicion of such
a thing, but just because he pled a case well in the senate while his
sovereign was present. Gaius ordered him to be put to death, but let
him go because he believed what one of his female associates said, that
Seneca had a bad case of consumption and would die before a great while.

[-20-] Directly he appointed Domitius consul and removed those who held
the office at the time: this he did because they had not proclaimed a
thanksgiving on the occasion of his birthday (the prætors had held a
horse-race and had slaughtered some beasts, but that happened every year)
whereas they had celebrated a festival to commemorate the victory of
Augustus over Antony. In order to find an accusation against them he
chose to figure as a descendant of Antony rather than of Augustus. He had
beforehand told those who shared his secrets that whichever the consuls
did they would certainly get into trouble, whether they offered sacrifice
as a mark of joy over Antony's disaster or whether they went without
sacrificing on such an occasion as the victory of Augustus. It was for
these reasons, then, that he summarily dismissed these officials and
broke to pieces their fasces. One of them took it so much to heart that
he killed himself.

Domitius was chosen as the emperor's colleague nominally by the people
but actually by Gaius himself. The latter had, to be sure, restored
the elections to the populace, but they had become rather lax in the
performance of their duties because for a long time now they had enjoyed
none of the privileges of freemen; and as a rule no more office-seekers
presented themselves than were needed to fill vacant places, or if ever
there was an excessive number the outcome had been all arranged among
themselves. Thus the appearance of a democracy was preserved but none of
the proper results was secured; and this led Gaius himself to abolish the
elections again. After this things went on precisely as in the reign of
Tiberius. Sometimes fifteen prætors were chosen and again one more or
less, as it might happen.

Such was the action he took regarding the elections. In general he
maintained a malignant and suspicious attitude toward quite everything
that went on, as witness his banishing Carrina Secundus the orator
because the latter had delivered in a gymnasium a speech against tyrants.
Also, when Lucius Piso, son of Plancina and Gnaeus Piso, chanced to
become governor of Africa, the emperor feared that pride might lead him
to revolt, particularly since he was to have a large force made up of
both citizens and foreigners. Hence the province was divided in two and
the military force together with the Nomads in the immediate vicinity was
assigned to a different official. That arrangement lasts to this day.

[-21-] Gaius had now spent practically all the money in Rome and the rest
of Italy, gathered from every source from which he could in any way get
it, and as no resource that was of any value or practicable could be
found there, his expenses became a source of great annoyance to him.
Therefore he set out for Gaul, declaring hostilities against the Celtae
on the ground that they were showing some uneasiness, but in reality his
purpose was to get money from that region and Spain, where wealth was
also abundant. However, he did not make an outright declaration of his
destination, but went first to one of the suburbs and then suddenly
started on his journey, taking with him many dancers, gladiators, horses,
women, and the rest of the rout. When he reached the section he had in
view he did no damage to any of the enemy;--as soon as he had proceeded
a short distance beyond the Rhine he turned back, and next he started
apparently to conduct a campaign against Britain, but turned back from
the ocean's edge, showing no little vexation at his lieutenants because
they won some slight success;--among the subject peoples, however, and
among the allies and the citizens he wrought the greatest imaginable
havoc. In the first place he despoiled property holders on any and every
excuse, and second, individuals and cities brought him "voluntarily"
large gifts. He kept on murdering victims, alleging that some were
rebelling and others conspiring. The general complaint against them all
was that they were rich. The fact that he attended to the selling of
their possessions in person enabled him to obtain far greater sums than
would otherwise have been the case. Everybody was compelled to buy them,
under all sorts of conditions and for much more than their value, for the
reasons I have mentioned. Accordingly, he sent also for the finest and
most precious heirlooms of the government and auctioned them off, selling
with them the fame of the persons who had once used them. He would make
some comment on each one, such as "This belonged to my father," "this to
my mother," "this to my grandfather," "this to my great-grandfather,"
"this Egyptian piece belonged to Antony--became a prize of Augustus."
Meantime he incidentally showed the necessity of selling them, so that no
one dared to appear to be indigent, and he sold with each article some
valuable association.

[-22-] In spite of all this he did not secure any surplus. He kept up his
expenditures both for the objects that regularly interested him,
producing some spectacles at Lugdunum, and also for the army. For the
number of soldiers he had gathered amounted to twenty myriads, or, as
some say, to twenty-five myriads. Seven times was he named imperator by
them (just as pleased him), though he had won no battle and slain no
enemy. To be sure, he did once by a ruse seize and make prisoners a few
of the latter, but it was his own people whom he wasted most, striking
some of them down individually and butchering others _en masse_. Once he
saw a crowd either of prisoners or some other persons and gave orders (in
the cant phrase) that they should all be slain from baldhead to baldhead.
Another time he was playing dice and, finding that he had no money,
called for the census of the Gauls and ordered the wealthiest of them to
be put to death. Then he returned to his fellow gamblers and said: "Here
you are playing for a few denarii, while I have collected nearly fifteen
thousand myriads." So these men perished without consideration. Indeed,
one of them, Julius Sacerdos, who was fairly well off but not so
extremely wealthy as naturally to become the object of attack,
nevertheless fell a victim because of a similarity of names. This shows
how carelessly everything went.

Others who perished I need not cite by name, simply mentioning enough
to satisfy the requirements of my record. One, then, that he killed was
Gastulicus Lentulus, a man of good reputation in every way, who had been
governor of Germany for ten years; his death was due to the fact that the
soldiers liked him. Another that he murdered was Lepidus, that lover and
favorite of his, husband of Drusilla, the man who together with Gaius had
maintained criminal relations with the emperor's other sisters Agrippina
and Julia, the man whom he had permitted to stand for office five years
earlier than the laws allowed, whom he also declared he should leave
to succeed him as emperor. To celebrate the event he gave the soldiers
money, as though he had worsted some hostile force, and sent three
daggers to Mars the Avenger in Rome. His sisters for their connection
with Lepidus he deported to the Portian islands, having first written
to the senate a great deal of outrageous and brutal comment upon them.
Agrippina was given the victim's bones in a jar and ordered to keep it in
her bosom throughout the entire journey and bring it back to Rome again.
Also, since many honors had been voted to these women on the emperor's
account, the emperor forbade any distinction being awarded to any of his
relatives again.

[-23-] He sent to the senate at the time a report of the matter as if he
had escaped some great plot, for he was always pretending to be in danger
and to be leading a miserable existence. The senators on being apprised
of the facts passed several complimentary votes and granted him a lesser
triumph; they sent envoys to announce this, some of whom were chosen by
lot, but Claudius by election. That also displeased the emperor to such
an extent that he again forbade anything approaching praise or honor
being given to his relatives. He felt, too, that he had not been honored
as he deserved, and indeed he never made any account of the honors
granted him. It irritated him to have small distinctions voted, since
that implied a slight, and greater distinctions irritated him because
then he was deprived of the possibility of winning still higher prizes.
He did not wish it to seem that anything that brought him honors was in
the senators' power,--that would make them stronger than he,--nor again
that they should have the right to grant such a thing to him, as if they
had power and he was inferior to them. For this reason he ofttimes found
fault with various gifts, on the ground that they did not increase his
splendor but rather diminished his power. Being of this mind he used to
become angry at those who did him honor if in any case it seemed that
they had voted him less than he deserved. So capricious was he that no
one could easily suit him.

Accordingly, for the reasons mentioned he would not receive all of those
ambassadors, affecting to mistrust that they were spies, but chose out
a few and sent the rest back before they reached Gaul. Those that he
admitted to his presence were not accorded any august reception; indeed,
he would have killed Claudius, had he not entertained a contempt for him,
since the latter partly by nature and partly with intention gave the
impression of great stupidity. Others were again sent, more in number
(for he had complained among other points of the smallness of the first
embassy), and they made the announcement that many marks of distinction
had been voted to him: these he received gladly, even going out to meet
them, for which action he received fresh honors at their hands. This,
however, was somewhat later.

At the time under discussion Gaius divorced Paulina on the pretext that
she was barren, but really because he had had enough of her, and married
Milonia Cæsonia. She had formerly been his mistress, but now as she was
pregnant he chose to make her his wife and have her bear him a child a
month later. The people of Rome were disturbed by this behavior and were
still further disturbed because a number of trials were hanging over
their heads as a result of the friendship they had shown for his sisters
and for the men who had been murdered: even some ædiles and prætors were
compelled to resign their offices and stand trial.--Meantime they also
suffered from the excessive heat. This grew so extremely severe that
curtains were stretched across the Forum.--Among the men exiled at this
time Ofonius Tigillinus was banished on the charge of having had a
_liaison_ with Agrippina.

[-24-] All this, however, did not distress the people so much as their
expectation that the cruelty and licentiousness of Gaius would go to
still greater lengths. They were particularly troubled on ascertaining
that King Agrippa and King Antiochus were with him, like two
tyrant-trainers.

[A.D. 40 (_a. u._ 793)]

As a consequence, while he was consul for the third time no tribune nor
prætor dared to convene the senate. For he had no colleague; though this,
as some think, was not intentional, but the regular appointee died and no
one else in so short a period of time as was available could be brought
forward in the comitia to fill his place. Moreover, the prætors who
attend to the affairs of the consuls, whenever the latter are out of
town, ought to have administered all business pending. But at this
period, in order not to appear to have acted for the emperor, they
performed none of their duties. The senators in a body ascended the
Capitoline, offered their sacrifices, and did obeisance to the chair
of Gaius located in the temple. Furthermore, according to a custom
prevailing in the time of Augustus, they deposited money, [14] making a
show of giving it to the emperor himself. Their practice was similar also
in the following year. At the time of the events just narrated they came
together in the senate-house after these proceedings, without any person
having convened them, but accomplished nothing, wasting the whole day in
laudations of Gaius and prayers in his behalf. Since they had no love
for him nor any wish that he should survive, they simulated both these
feelings to all the greater extent, as if hoping in this way to disguise
their real sentiments. On the third day devoted to prayers they came
together in response to an announcement of a meeting made by all the
prætors in a written notice: still, they transacted no business on this
day nor again on the next until on the twelfth day word was brought that
Gaius had resigned his office. Then at last the men who had been elected
for subsequent service succeeded to the position and administered the
business that fell to them. It was voted among other measures that the
same honors should be given to the birthdays of Tiberius and of Drusilla
as to that of Augustus. The actor folk also celebrated a festival,
provided a spectacle, and set up and dedicated images of Gaius and
Drusilla.--This was in accordance with a letter of Gaius. Whenever he
wished any business brought up he communicated in writing a small portion
of it to all the senators, but most of it to the consuls, and then
sometimes ordered this to be read in the senate.--So much for the
transactions of the senate.

[-25-] Meanwhile Gaius sent for Ptolemæus, the son of Juba, and on
ascertaining that he was wealthy put him to death and a number of others
with him. Also when he reached the ocean and was to all appearances about
to conduct a campaign in Britain and had drawn up all the soldiers on the
beach, he embarked on the triremes but after putting out a little from
the land he sailed back again. Next he took his seat on a high platform
and gave his soldiers the watchword as if for battle, while the
trumpeters urged them on. All of a sudden, however, he ordered them to
gather the shells. Having secured these "spoils" (you see he needed booty
for the celebration of his triumph) he became immensely elated, assuming
that he had enslaved the ocean itself; and he gave his soldiers many
presents. The shells he took back to Rome for the purpose of exhibiting
the spoils to the people there as well. The senate did not see how it
could remain inactive in the face of this procedure, inasmuch as it
learned he was in an exalted frame of mind, nor yet again how it could
praise him. For, when anybody bestows great praise or extraordinary
honors for a small success or none at all, that person becomes suspected
of making a mock and jest of the affair. Still, for all that, when
Gaius entered the City he came very near devoting the whole senate to
destruction because it had not voted him divine honors. But he contented
himself with assembling the populace, upon whom he showered from a raised
position quantities of silver and gold. Many perished in the effort to
seize it; for, as some say, he had mixed small knife-blades in with the
coin.

  As a result of his adulteries he repeatedly received the titles of
  imperator and Germanicus and Britannicus no less than if he had subdued
  Gaul and Britain entire.

  Since this was his manner of life, he was destined inevitably to be
  plotted against. He was on the lookout for an attack and arrested
  Anicius Cerealius and his son Sextus Papinius, whom he put to the
  torture. And inasmuch as the former would not utter a word, he
  persuaded Papinius (by promising him safety and immunity) to denounce
  certain persons (whether truly or falsely); he then straightway
  put to death both Cerealius and the rest before his very eyes.
  There was a Betilienus Bassus whom he had ordered killed, and
  he compelled Capito, the man's father, to be present at his son's
  execution, though Capito was not guilty of any crime and had received
  no court summons. When the father enquired if he would allow him
  to shut his eyes, Gaius ordered him to be slain likewise. He, finding
  himself in danger, pretended to have been one of the plotters and
  promised that he would disclose the names of all the rest; and he
  named the companions of Gaius and those who abetted his licentiousness
  and cruelty. He would have brought destruction upon many persons,
  had he not by laying further information against the prefects, and
  Callistus and Cæsonia, aroused distrust. So he was put to death, but
  this very act paved the way for the ruin of Gaius. For the emperor
  privately summoned the prefects and Callistus and said to them:
  "I am but one and you are three; and I am defenceless, whereas
  you are armed: hence, if you hate and desire to kill me, slay me at
  once." The general consequences were that he came to regard himself
  as an object of hatred, and believing that they were vexed at his
  behavior he harbored suspicion against them and wore a sword at his
  side when in the City; and to forestall any harmony of action on their
  part he attempted to embroil them one with another by pretending to
  make a confidant of each one separately and talking to him about the
  rest until they obtained a notion of his designs and left him a prey
  to the conspirators.

  The same emperor ordered the senate to convene and affected to
  grant its members amnesty, saying that there were only a very few
  against whom he still retained his anger. This expression doubled the
  anxiety of each one of them, for everybody was thinking of himself.

[-26-] Another person, named Protogenes, assisted the emperor in all his
projects, and carried continually on his person two books, of which he
called the one "sword" and the other "dagger." This Protogenes once
entered the senate as if on some indifferent business and when all, as
was to be expected, saluted and greeted him, he darted a kind of sinister
glance at Scribonius Proculus and said: "Do you, too, greet me, though
you hate the emperor so?" On hearing this all those present surrounded
their fellow senator and tore him to pieces and voted [some festivals
to Gains as also] that the emperor should have a high platform in the
senate-house to prevent any one's approaching him, besides enjoying the
use of a military guard even there. [They resolved further that his
statues should be guarded.

Pleased at this Gaius laid aside his anger toward them and with a buoyant
spirit promised them some money. Pomponius, who was said to have plotted
against him, he released, inasmuch as he had been betrayed by a friend.
And, as the man's mistress when tortured would not utter a word, he did
her no further harm and even gave her an honorary gift of money. Gaius
was praised for this partly through fear and partly sincerely, and] as
some called him hero and others god, he fairly went out of his head. Even
before this he was in the habit of demanding that he be given superhuman
regard and said that he had intercourse with the Moon Goddess and was
crowned by Victory. He also pretended to be Jupiter and took this as a
pretext for having carnal knowledge of various women, especially his
sisters. Again he would often figure as [Neptune, because he had bridged
so great an expanse of sea, or perhaps as] Juno and Diana and Venus.
[He would impersonate Hercules, Bacchus, Apollo, and all the other
divinities, not merely males but also females.] As fast as he changed the
names he would assume all the rest of the attributes that belonged to
them, [so that he might seem to resemble them]. Now he would be seen in
feminine guise, holding a wine-cup and thyrsus, again with masculine
trappings he would carry a club and lion-skin: [or perhaps a helmet
and shield]. He would make up first with smooth chin and later on as a
bearded man. Sometimes he wielded a trident and on other occasions he
brandished the thunderbolt. He would array himself like a maiden equipped
for [hunting or] war, and after a brief interval would come forth as a
woman. Thus he could make changes with careful attention to details by
the variety of his dress and by what he attached to or threw over it, and
he was anxious to appear to be anything rather than a human being [and
an emperor]. Once a certain Gaul, espying him on a, high platform
transacting business in the guise of Jupiter, laughed aloud. Gaius
called to him and asked: "What do I seem to you to be?" And the other
answered--I shall tell his exact words--: "A big pack of foolishness." Yet
the man met no dire fate, for he was a shoemaker. Persons of such rank as
Gaius can bear the frankness of the common herd more easily than that of
those who hold high position.--Now this was the attire he would
assume whenever he pretended to be some god; and there were suitable
supplications, prayers, and sacrifices offered to it. [-27-] Otherwise,
he usually appeared in public in silk and triumphal dress. Very few were
those whom he would kiss. To most of the senators even he extended his
hand or foot for homage. Consequently the men who were kissed by him
thanked him for it even in the senate, though all might see him kissing
dancers every day. [And these divine honors paid him came not only from
the many, accustomed at all times to flatter, but from those who really
pretended to be something.]

Take the case of Lucius Vitellius, not of low birth nor without sense, a
man who, on the contrary, had become famous by his governorship of Syria.
In addition to his other brilliant exploits as an official he spoiled
a plot of Artabanus in that region. He encountered the latter, who had
suffered no punishment for Armenia, already close to the Euphrates and
terrified him by his sudden appearance. He then induced him to come to
a conference and finally compelled him to sacrifice to the images of
Augustus and Gaius. Furthermore he made a peace with him that was
advantageous for the Romans and secured his children as hostages. This
Vitellius, then, was summoned by Gaius to be put to death. The complaint
against him was the same as the Parthians had against their king whom
they expelled. Jealousy made him the object of hatred, and fear the
object of plots. [For every power stronger than himself Gaius entertained
hatred, and he was suspicious of whatever was successful, feeling sure
that it would ultimately attack him.] But Vitellius saved his life by
somehow presenting himself in such a way as to appear of less importance
than his reputation would lead one to expect. He fell at the emperor's
feet shedding tears of lamentation, all the time saluting him frequently
as divine and paying him worship; at last he vowed that should he survive
he would sacrifice to Gaius. By this behavior he so mollified the
offended monarch and won his good-will that he not only managed to
survive but came to be regarded as one of his lord's most intimate
friends. On one occasion Gaius declared he was enjoying converse with the
Moon Goddess, and when he asked Vitellius if he could see the goddess
with him, the other kept his eyes fixed on the ground, as if overcome by
amazement. In a half whisper he answered: "Only you gods, master, may
behold one another."--So Vitellius from these beginnings, later came to
surpass all others in adulation.

[-28-] [Gaius gave orders that in Miletus of the province of Asia a
certain tract of land should be set apart for his worship. His avowed
reason for choosing this city was that Diana had preempted Ephesus,
Augustus Pergamum, and Tiberius Smyrna. The truth of the matter, however,
was that he had conceived a desire to appropriate to his own use the
large and extremely beautiful temple which the Milesians were building to
Apollo. Thereupon he went to still greater lengths and built actually in
Rome itself one temple of his own that was accorded him by vote of the
senate, and another at his private expense on the Capitoline.] He also
planned a kind of dwelling on the Capitol, in order, as he said, that he
might live in the same house with Jupiter. However, he disdained taking
second place in this union of households and found fault with the god for
occupying the Capitol before him: accordingly, he hastened to construct
another temple on the Palatine and by way of a statue for it thought he
should like to change that of Olympian Jove so as to resemble himself.
This he found impossible, for the boat built to bring it was shattered by
thunderbolts, and loud laughter was plainly heard as often as any persons
approached the pedestal to take hold of it. So after hurling threats at
the obdurate image he set up a new one of himself.--The temple of the
Dioscuri in the Roman Forum he cut in two and made through it an approach
to the Palatine running right between the statues, to the end (these
were at all events his words) that he might have the Dioscuri for
gate-keepers. Assuming the name of Dialius [15] he attached Cæsonia his
wife, Claudius, and other persons who were very wealthy to his service as
priests, receiving from each one two hundred and fifty myriads for this
honor. He also consecrated himself to his own service and appointed his
horse a fellow-priest. Dainty and expensive birds were daily sacrificed
to him; he had a contrivance by which he defied the thunder with
answering peals and could send return flashes when it lightened. Likewise
whenever a bolt fell, he would in turn hurl a javelin at a rock,
repeating each time the words of Homer: "Either lift me or I will thee."
[16] [When thirty days after her marriage Cæsonia brought forth a
little daughter, he pretended that this, too, had come about through
supernatural means and gave himself airs on the fact that in so few days
after becoming a husband he was a father. He gave the child the name of
Drusilla, and taking her up to the Capitol placed her on the knees of
Jupiter, with the implication that she was his child, and put her in
charge of Minerva to be suckled.] This god, then, this Jupiter,--[he
was called by the latter name so much that it even found its way into
documents,--at the same time that all this took place was collecting
money in most shameful and most frightful ways.] One may, to be sure,
[leave out of account the wares and the taverns, the brothels [17] and
the courts, the artisans and the wage-earning slaves] and other such
sources from [every single one of] which he gathered funds; but how can
one escape mentioning the rooms set apart in the very palace and
the wives of the foremost men as well as the children of the most
aristocratic families that he shut up in these rooms and foully abused,
sparing absolutely no one in his greed for such victims, meeting with no
resistance from some [who wished to avoid showing any displeasure] but
seizing others quite against their will? [Yet these proceedings did not
displease the mob very much, but they rather delighted with him in his
licentiousness and in the fact that] he also would throw himself on the
heap of gold and silver collected from these persons and roll in it.
[When, however, after enacting severe laws in regard to the taxes he
inscribed them in exceedingly small letters on a tablet which he then
hung up aloft so as to make sure that it should be read as little as
possible and that many through ignorance of what was bidden or forbidden
should make themselves liable to the penalties thereof, the people
straightway ran together excitedly into the hippodrome and raised fierce
shouts.]

Once the people had come together in the hippodrome and were objecting
to his conduct, and he had them cut down by the soldiers. In this way he
imposed silence upon them all.

[A.D. 41 (a. u. 794)]

[-29-] As he continued to show insanity in every way, a plot was formed
against him by Cassius Chairea and Cornelius Sabinus, though they were
holding tribuneships in his pretorian guard. A number were in the
conspiracy and privy to what was being done, among whom were Callistus
and the prefect.

Practically all of his courtiers were interested, both in their own
behalf and for the common good. Any who did not take part in the
conspiracy still refused to reveal it, though they knew of it and were
glad to see a plot formed against him.

But the men who actually killed Gaius were those mentioned. It is worth
noting, besides, that Chairea was an old-fashioned sort of man and had a
private cause for anger. Gaius was in the habit of nicknaming him "sissy"
(though he was the hardiest of men) and whenever it came the turn of
Chairea to command would give him some such watchword as "yearning" or
"Venus." Again, an oracle had a short time before warned Gaius to beware
of Cassius. The former, supposing that it had reference to Gaius Cassius,
governor of Asia at the time, because he was a descendant of that Cassius
who had slain Cæsar, had him brought as a prisoner. The person whose
future conduct the divinity was really indicating to the emperor,
however, was this Cassius Chairea. Likewise a certain Egyptian,
Apollonius, foretold in his native land what happened to him. For this
speech he was sent to Rome and was brought before the emperor the day on
which the latter was destined to die; his punishment was postponed till a
little later, and in this way his life was saved.

The deed was done as follows: Gaius was celebrating a festival in the
palace and was attending to the production of a spectacle. In the course
of this he was himself both eating and drinking and was feasting the rest
of the company. Pomponius Secundus, consul at the time, was taking his
fill of the food as he sat by the emperor's feet, and at the same time
kept continually bending over to shower kisses upon them. Gaius himself
decided that he wanted to dance and act as a tragedian. The followers of
Chairea could endure it no longer. As he went out of the theatre to see
the boys of most noble lineage whom he had imported from Greece and Ionia
to sing the hymn composed in his honor, the conspirators wounded him,
then intercepted him in a narrow passage and killed him. When he fell to
the ground none of those present would keep his hands off him but they
all savagely stabbed the lifeless corpse again and again. Some chewed
pieces of his flesh. His wife and daughter were immediately slain.

So Gaius, who accomplished all these exploits in three years, nine
months, and twenty-eight days, learned by actual experience that he was
not a god.

  Now he was openly spurned by those who had been accustomed to
  do him reverence even when absent. His blood was spilled by persons
  who were wont to speak and to write of him as "Jove" and "god."
  His statues and his images were dragged from their pedestals, for the
  people in particular retained a lively remembrance of the distress they
  had endured.

  All the soldiers in the Germanic division raised an outcry and their
  remonstrance extended to the point of indulging in slaughter.

Those who stood by remembered the words once spoken by him to the
populace: "How I wish you had but one neck!" and made it plain to him
that it was he who had but one neck, whereas they had many hands. And
when the pretorian guard, filled with consternation, began running about
and demanding who had slain Gaius, Valerius Asiaticus, an ex-consul, took
a remarkable mode of bringing them to their senses, in that he climbed
up to a conspicuous place and cried out: "I only wish I had killed him!"
This alarmed them so that they stopped their outcry.

  All such persons as in any way acknowledged the authority of the
  senate obeyed their oaths and became once more quiet.--While the
  overthrow of Gaius was thus being accomplished, the consuls Sentius
  and Secundus forthwith transferred the funds from the treasure-chambers
  to the Capitol. They stationed most of the senators and
  plenty of soldiers as guards over it to prevent any plundering being
  done by the populace. So these men in company with the prefects
  and the circle of Sabinus and Chairea deliberated as to what should
  be done.


[Footnote 1: Emended by Boissevain from the "four" of the MS.]

[Footnote 2: Boissevain restores the MS. "ten" in place of the "twelve"
of Robert Estienne.]

[Footnote 3: Compare Suetonius, Life of Gaius, chapter 15.]

[Footnote 4: This sentence is unintelligible and doubtless the MS. is
corrupt. No editor has offered a wholly satisfactory emendation, though
by comparing Book Sixty, chapter 4, the sense would seem to require: "no
one, in taking the oath, mentions the name of Tiberius in the number of
the emperors."]

[Footnote 5: Reading (with Boissevain) [Greek: exoruxas] for [Greek:
dioruxas].]

[Footnote 6: This predicate is supplied on the suggestion of Boissevain.
In the MS. an evident gap of a few words exists.]

[Footnote 7: Adopting the emendation of Bücheler, [Greek: ieraes
eichosin].]

[Footnote 9: Boissevain remarks that this sentence may be interpreted to
mean "All persons incurred equal censure whether they showed pleasure
at [decrees passed in her honor], as being grieved [at her death], or
behaved as if they were glad [that she had become a goddess]," but adds
that the text is open to suspicion.]

[Footnote: 10 Reading [Greek: up] (a suggestion of Boissevain's) in place
of [Greek: hép] Compare Book Sixty-one, chapter 16.]

[Footnote 11: Inserting with Bekker [Greek: alla chai asebeite.]]

[Footnote 12: This expression is obscure. Fabricius thought it contained
a reference to the Palatine Games, and Boissevain queries whether we
should read "at the _spectacles_ belonging to the Palatium."]

[Footnote 13: This is a quotation of the speech made by Achilles to the
heralds whom Agamemnon despatches to the hero's hut in pursuance of the
threat previously uttered that he (Agamemnon) will take Briseis, favorite
of Achilles, in lieu of Chryseis, surrendered to her father. (From
Homer's Iliad, Book I, verse 335.)]

[Footnote 14: Sc. "in it"? (Boissevain)]

[Footnote 15: According to Boissevain, this is very probably a MS. error
for _Jupiter Latiaris_.]

[Footnote 16: From Homer's Iliad, Book Twenty-three, verse 724.]

[Footnote 17: Reading (with Reiske) pornas for ornas]



DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY

60

Claudius is made emperor: his faults and excellencies (chapters 1-7).

He restores their kingdoms to Antiochus, to both the Mithridates, to
Agrippa, to Herod, and enlarges the size of the same (chapter 8).

The Chatti, Chauci, Mauri are overcome (chapters 8, 9).

Certain regulations: the harbor of Ostia: Lake Fucinus to empty into the
Tiber (chapters 10-13).

Assassinations instituted: crimes of Messalina and the freedmen (chapters
14-18).

Britain is partially subdued (chapters 19-23).

Certain regulations: outrages of Messalina: the causes of her demise
(chapters 24-31).

Agrippina is wed: she at once enacts the role of a Messalina: at length
she murders Claudius (chapters 32-35).

These events occurred during the remainder of the consulship of C. Cæsar
(4th) and Cn. Sentius Saturninus, together with 13 other years in which
the following held the consulship.

Claudius Cæsar Aug. (II), C. Cæcina Largus. (A.D. 42 = a. u. 795 = Second
of Claudius, from Jan. 24th.)

Claudius Cæsar Aug. (III), L. Vitellius (II). (A.D. 43 = a. u. 796 =
Third of Claudius.)

L. Quinctius Crispinus (II), M. Statilius Taurus. (A.D. 44 = a. u. 797 =
Fourth of Claudius.)

M. Vinicius (II), T. Statilius Taurus Corvinus. (A.D. 45 = a. u. 798 =
Fifth of Claudius.)

Valerius Asiaticus (II), M. Iunius Silanus. (A.D. 46 = a. u. 799 = Sixth
of Claudius.)

Claudius Cæsar Aug. (IV), L. Vitellius (III). (A.D. 47 = a. u. 800 =
Seventh of Claudius.)

A. Vitellius, L. Vipsanius. (A.D. 48 = a. u. 801 = Eighth of Claudius.)

C. Pompeius Longinus Gallus, Q. Veranius. (A.D. 49 = a. u. 802 = Ninth of
Claudius.)

C. Antistius Vetus, M. Suillius Nervilianus. (A.D. 50 = a. u. 803 = Tenth
of Claudius.)

Claudius Cæsar Aug. (V), Ser. Cornelius Orfitus. (A.D. 51 = a. u. 804 =
Eleventh of Claudius.)

Cornelius Sulla Faustus, L. Salvius Otho Titianus. (A.D. 52 = a. u. 805 =
Twelfth of Claudius.)

Dec. Iunius Silanus Torquatus, Q. Haterius Antoninus. (A.D. 53 = a. u.
806 = Thirteenth of Claudius.)

M. Asinius Marcellus, Manius Acilius Aviola. (A.D. 54 = a. u. 807 =
Fourteenth of Claudius--to October 13th.)


_(BOOK 60, BOISSEVAIN.)_

[A.D. 41 (_a. u._ 794)]

[-1-] When Gaius perished in the manner described, the consuls despatched
guards to every quarter of the city and gathered the senate on the
Capitol, where many diverse opinions were uttered. Some favored a
democracy, some a monarchy; some were for choosing this man, and others
that. Therefore they spent the rest of the day and the whole night
without accomplishing anything. Meanwhile some soldiers who had entered
the palace for the purpose of making spoil of something or other found
Claudius hidden away in a dark corner. He was attending Gaius when the
latter came out of the theatre, and at this time through fear of the
confusion had crouched down out of the way. At first, the men thinking
that he was some one else and perhaps had something worth taking dragged
him out. Afterwards, on recognizing him, they hailed him as emperor and
conducted him to the camp. Then in company with their comrades they
delivered to him the entire power of government, inasmuch as he was of
the imperial race and was regarded as suitable. In spite of his shrinking
and remonstrance the more he attempted to avoid the honor and to resist
the more did the soldiers in turn insist upon not accepting an emperor
from others but upon their own right to establish such a sovereign over
the entire world. Hence, with a show of reluctance, he yielded. The
consuls for a time sent tribunes and others forbidding him to assume any
such authority and to submit to the jurisdiction of the people and the
senate and the laws; but, when their attendant soldiers left them in the
lurch, then finally they too yielded and voted him all the remaining
privileges pertaining to sole rulership.

[-2-] So it was that Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus, the son of
Drusus child of Livia, obtained the imperial power without having been
previously tested at all in any position of authority, save only that he
had been consul. He was fifty years of age. In mental development he was
by no means inferior, having been through a sufficient education to do
a little history writing, but physically he was frail, and his head and
hands shook a little. Hence his voice was also faltering and he did not
himself read all the measures that he introduced before the senate but
would give them to the quæstor to read,--though at first, at least,
he was regularly present. Whatever he did read in person he generally
recited sitting down. He was the first of the Romans, too, to employ a
covered chair,--which has led to the present custom which prescribes that
not only the emperors be carried in chairs but we ex-consuls, as well.
Before this time, Augustus, Tiberius, and some others used to be carried
sometimes in litters such as women even at the present day affect. These
infirmities, however, were not the cause of nearly so much trouble to
him as were the freedmen and women with whom he associated; for more
conspicuously than any of his peers he was ruled by slaves and by women.
From a child he had been reared with careful nursing and in the midst of
terror and had for that reason feigned simplicity to a greater extent
than was really true this fact he himself admitted in the senate: and as
he had lived for a long time with his grandmother Livia and for another
long period with his mother Antonia and again with liberti, and moreover
had had several amours with women, he had acquired no qualities becoming
a freeman, but although ruler of all the Romans and their subjects he was
himself nothing more nor less than a slave. They would take advantage of
him particularly when he was inclined to drink and sexual intercourse,
for in both these directions he was quite insatiable and on such
occasions was exceedingly easy to master. Moreover, he was afflicted by
cowardice, which frequently roused in him so great alarm that he could
not calculate anything as he ought. They anticipated this failing of his,
too, and it was no inconsiderable help toward getting the better of him.
By frightening him half to death they would reap great benefits, and in
other people they inspired so much fear that--to give an epitome of the
situation--once when a number were on the same day invited to dinner by
Claudius and again by his dependents, the guests neglected him on
some indifferent pretext and presented themselves at the feast of his
companions.

[-3-] Though, generally speaking, he was the sort of character described,
still he performed not a few valuable services whenever he was free from
the influences mentioned and was master of himself. I shall take up his
acts in detail.

All honors voted to him he immediately accepted, except the title
"Father," and this he afterward took: yet he did not at once enter the
senate, but delayed as late as the thirtieth day. The fact that he had
seen Gaius perish as he did and now learned that some other candidates,
presumably superior to himself, had been proposed for emperor by the
senatorial body made him a little timid. Therefore he exercised great
caution at all points and caused all men and women who approached him to
be searched, for fear they might have a dagger. At banquets he made sure
there were some soldiers present,--a custom which, set by him, continues
to this day. That of invariable search was brought to an end by
Vespasian. He put to death Chairea and some others in spite of his
pleasure at the death of Gaius. In other words he looked far ahead to
ensure his own safety, and was not so much grateful to the man for having
by his deed enabled him to get the empire as he was displeased at the
idea of any one assassinating an emperor. He acted in this matter not as
an avenger of Gaius but as one who had caught a person plotting against
himself. As a sequel to this murder Sabinus also died by his own hand,
not choosing to survive after his comrade had been executed.

As for all other citizens who had openly shown their eagerness for
a democracy or had been regarded as eligible for the supreme power.
Claudius so far from bearing malice toward them gave them honors and
offices. In plainer terms than any ruler that ever lived he promised
them immunity,--therein imitating the example of the Athenians,[1] as
he said,--and it was no mere promise, but he afforded it in fact. He
abolished complaints of maiestas alike for things written and things
done and punished no one on any such charge for either earlier or later
offences. He invented no complaint for the sake of persecuting those who
had wronged or insulted him when he was a private citizen; and there were
many who had done this, particularly as he was deemed of no importance,
and to please either Tiberius or Gaius. If, however, he found them guilty
of some other crime, he would take vengeance on them also for their
former abuse. [-4-] The taxes introduced in the reign of Gaius and
whatever other measures had led to denunciation of the latter's acts were
done away with by Claudius, not all at once but as opportunity offered.
He also brought back such persons as Gaius had unjustly exiled,---among
others the latter's sisters Agrippina and Julia,--and restored to them,
their property. Of those imprisoned,--and a very great number were in
this predicament,--he liberated such as were suffering for maiestas or
any similar complaints, but real criminals he punished.

He investigated the cases very carefully, in order that those who had
committed crimes should not be released on account of the victims of
blackmail, nor yet the latter be ruined on account of the former. Nearly
every day either in company with the entire senate or alone he would sit
on a platform trying cases, generally in the Forum, but occasionally
elsewhere. In fact, he renewed the custom of having men sit as his
colleagues, which had been abandoned ever since Tiberius withdrew to the
island. Very often he joined the consuls and the prætors and especially
those having charge of the finances in their investigations, and some few
matters he turned over entirely to the various courts. He destroyed the
poisons (which were found in great variety among the effects of Gaius);
and the books of Protogenes (who was put to death) together with the
documents which Gaius pretended to have burned but which were actually
found in the imperial archives he showed to the senators and gave them to
the latter, to the very men who had written them, no less than to those
against whom they had been written, to read: afterward he burned them up.
Yet, when the senate manifested a desire to dishonor Gaius, he personally
prevented such a measure from being voted, but on his own responsibility
caused all of his predecessor's images to disappear by night. Hence the
name of Gaius does not occur in the list of emperors whom we mention
in oaths and prayers any more than that of Tiberius. Neither of them,
however, suffered any official disgrace.

[-5-] Accordingly, the unjust institutions set up by Gaius and by others
on his account Claudius overturned. To Drusus his father and Antonia
his mother he offered horse-races on their birthdays, putting off to
different days the festivals which would occur on the same dates, in
order that there should not be two celebrations at once. His grandmother
Livia was not only honored by equestrian contests, but was deified, and
he set up a statue to her in the temple of Augustus, charging the vestal
virgins with the duty of offering sacrifice in proper form. He also
ordered that women should use her name in taking oaths.

Though he paid such reverence to his ancestors, he himself would accept
nothing beyond the names pertaining to his office. On the first day of
August, to be sure,--his birthday,--there were equestrian contests, but
not on his account: it was because the temple of Mars had been dedicated
on that day, which had consequently been distinguished thereafter by
annual contests.

Beside moderation in this respect he further forbade any one's worshiping
him or offering him any sacrifice; he checked the many excessive
acclamations accorded him; and he accepted only one image,--of
silver,--and two statues, of bronze and stone, that had been voted to
him at the start. All such expenditures, he declared, were useless and
furthermore inflicted great loss and great annoyance upon the city. All
the temples and all the rest of the public works had been filled with
statues and votive offerings, so that he said he should have to make it
a matter of thought what to do with them. He forbade the prætors' giving
gladiatorial games and ordained that any one else who superintended them
in any place whatsoever should not allow to be written or reported the
statement that such games were being held for the emperor's preservation.
He became so used to settling all these matters by considering the merits
of each case rather than according to the dictates of custom that he
adopted the same attitude toward other departments of life. For instance,
when this year he betrothed one of his daughters to Lucius Junius Silanus
and gave the other in marriage to Gnæus Pompeius Magnus, he did nothing
out of the common to commemorate the occasion, but attended the courts
in person on those days and convened the senate as usual. He ordered his
sons-in-law temporarily to hold office among the viginti viri, and later
to act as prefects of the city at the Feriæ. After a long interval he
gave them the right to stand for the other offices five years sooner than
was customary.

Gaius had despoiled this Pompeius of his title _Magnus_ and came very
near killing him because he was so named. Yet out of contempt for him,
since he was still but a boy, he did not go to such extremes, and merely
abolished the offending epithet, saying that it was not safe for any one
to be called Magnus. Claudius now restored to him this title and gave him
his daughter to wife.

[-6-] These were certainly commendable actions. In addition, when at one
time in the senate the consuls came down from their seats to talk with
him, he rose in turn and went to meet them. In Naples he lived entirely
like a private citizen. He and his associates while there adopted the
Greek manner of life invariably; at the musical entertainments he would
wear cloak and military boots, and at the gymnastic exercises a purple
robe and golden crown. His action, moreover, in regard to money was
remarkable, for he forbade any one to bring him contributions, as had
been customary in the reigns of Augustus and of Gaius, and he refused
to allow any person to name him as heir if such person possessed any
relatives whatever. Indeed, the funds that had been confiscated by
government order during the period of Tiberius and Gaius he gave back
either to the victims themselves, if they still survived, or otherwise to
their children.

It had been the custom[2] that if any slightest detail were carried out
contrary to precedent on the occasion of the games these should be given
over again, as I have stated. But since such occasions were frequent,
occurring a third, fourth, fifth, and sometimes tenth time, and this
partly by accident but generally by intention on the part of those
benefited by these happenings, he enacted a law that on only one day
should the equestrian contests take place a second time; in fact,
however, he usually abrogated this privilege also. The schemers
henceforth easily avoided falling into irregularities, as they gained
very little by so doing.

In the matter of the Jews, who had again increased so greatly that by
reason of their multitude it would have been hard without raising a
tumult to bar them from the City, he decided not to drive them out, but
ordered them to follow that mode of life prescribed by their ancestral
custom and not to assemble in numbers.--The clubs instituted by Gaius he
disbanded.--Also, seeing that there was no use in forbidding the populace
to do certain things unless their daily life should be reorganized,
he abolished the taverns where they were wont to gather and drink and
commanded that no dressed meat nor warm water[3] should be sold. Some who
disobeyed this ordinance were punished.

He restored to the various cities the statues which Gaius was in the
habit of requiring them to send, restored also to the Dioscuri
their temple and to Pompey the right of naming the theatre. On the
stage-building of the latter he inscribed also the name of Tiberius,
because that emperor had rebuilt the structure when it was burned. His
own name he had chiseled there likewise (not because he had reared it
but because he had dedicated it), but on no other part of the edifice.
Likewise he did not wear the triumphal garb the entire time of the games,
though permission was voted to him, but appeared in it merely to
offer sacrifice; the rest of the festival he superintended in the
purple-bordered garment.

[-7-] He introduced in the orchestra among others knights and women who
were his peers, who had been accustomed in the reign of Gaius so to
appear regularly. The reason was not that he liked their performance,
but that he wanted a proof of their past behavior. Certainly none of them
was again marshaled on the stage during the era of Claudius. The Pyrrhic
dance, which the boys sent for by Gaius were practicing, they were
allowed to perform once, were honored with citizenship for it, and were
then dismissed. Others, in turn, chosen from among the retinue, then gave
exhibitions.--This was what took place in theatrical circles.

In the hippodrome twelve camels and horses had one contest, and three
hundred bears together with an equal number of Libyan beasts were
slaughtered. Previous to this time the different classes in attendance
had watched the spectacle each from its own special location,--senators,
knights, and populace; thus it had come to be a regular practice, yet no
definite positions had been assigned to them. [-8-] It was at this time
that Claudius marked off the space which still belongs to the senate,
and furthermore he allowed those senators who chose to view the sights
somewhere else and even in citizen's dress. After this he banqueted the
senators and their wives, the knights, and likewise the tribes.

Next he restored Commagene to Antiochus, for Gaius, though he had himself
given him the district, had taken it away again; and Mithridates the
Iberian, whom Gaius had summoned only to imprison, he sent home again to
resume his sovereignty. To another Mithridates, a lineal descendant of
Mithridates the Great, he granted Bosporus, giving to Polemon some land
in Cilicia in place of it. He enlarged the domain of Agrippa of Palestine
(who, happening to be in Rome, had helped him become emperor), and
bestowed on him consular honors. To the latter's brother Herod he gave
pretorial dignities and some authority. They were allowed to enter the
senate and to express their thanks to him in Greek.--Now these were the
acts of Claudius himself, and they were lauded by all.

But certain other deeds were done at this time of an entirely different
nature by his freedmen and by his wife, Valeria Messalina. She became
enraged at her niece Julia because the latter neither paid her honor nor
flattered her; and she was also jealous because the girl was extremely
beautiful and had been the only one to enjoy the favor of Claudius
several times. Accordingly, she had her banished by bringing against her
among other complaints that of adultery (for which Annius Seneca was also
exiled) and after a while she succeeded in procuring Julia's death. As
for the freedmen, it was they who persuaded Claudius to accept triumphal
honors for his deeds in Mauretania, though he had not been successful and
had not yet attained imperial power when the end of the war came. This
same year, however, Sulpicius Galba overcame the Chatti, and Publius
Gabinius conquered the Cauchi[4] beside winning fame in other ways; for
instance, he recovered a military eagle, the only one left among the
enemy from the catastrophe of Varus. Through the exploits of both of
these men Claudius received a title of imperator that had some foundation
in fact.

[A.D. 42 (_a. u._ 795)]

[-9-] The next year the same Moors were again subdued in fighting with
him. Suetonius Paulinus, one of the ex-prætors, overran their country
as far as the Atlantic. Gnæus Hosidius Geta, one of the peers, making a
subsequent campaign, advanced at once against their general Salabus and
conquered him two separate times. And when the latter after leaving a few
soldiers near the frontier to hold back any who might pursue took refuge
in the sandy part of the country, Geta ventured to follow him. First
stationing a part of his army opposite the hostile detachment that was
awaiting him he provided himself with as much water as was feasible, and
pushed forward. When this supply gave out and no more could be found,
he was caught in an exceedingly unpleasant position. The barbarians,
especially since through habit they can endure thirst an exceedingly long
time, and through knowledge of the country can always get _some_ water,
had no trouble in maintaining themselves. The Romans, for the opposite
reasons, found it impossible to advance and difficult to withdraw. While
Geta was in a dilemma as to what he should do, one of the natives who was
at peace with the invaders persuaded him to make use of incantations and
enchantments, telling him that as a result of such procedure abundant
water had frequently been granted them. No sooner had he taken this
advice than so much rain burst from heaven as to allay the soldiers'
thirst entirely, beside scaring the enemy, who thought the gods were
assisting the Roman. Consequently they came to terms voluntarily and
ended their warfare.--After these events Claudius divided the Moors who
were in subjection into two districts, namely, the country about Tengis
and that about Cæsarea, these cities giving their names to the whole
region; and he appointed two knights as governors. At this same period
certain parts of Numidia also were involved in warfare by neighboring
barbarians, and when the latter had been conquered returned to a state of
repose.

[-10-] The office of consul Claudius held in conjunction with Gaius
Largus. He allowed the latter to continue consul for a whole year, but as
for himself he remained a magistrate only two months at this time. He had
the rest swear to the deeds of Augustus, and was himself sworn, but in
regard to his own deeds he allowed no such procedure on the part of any
one. On leaving the office he took the oath again, like other people.
This was always his practice, every time he was consul.

About this period certain speeches of Augustus and Tiberius were being
read according to decree on the first of the month, and when they had
kept the senators busy till evening he ended the reading, declaring that
it was sufficient for them to be engraved on tablets.

Some prætors who were entrusted with the administration of the funds
having incurred charges, he did not take legal measures against them, but
made the rounds of those who sold goods and let buildings, and corrected
whatever he deemed to be abuses. This he did also on numerous other
occasions.--There were likewise peculiarities in the appointment of the
prætors, for their number was now fourteen or eighteen or somewhere
between, just as it happened.--Beside this action with reference to the
finances he established a board of three ex-prætors to collect debts
owing the government, granting them lictors and the usual force of
assistants.

[-11-] On the occasion of a severe famine he considered the problem of
abundant provisions not only for that particular crisis, but for all
succeeding time. Practically all food used by the Romans was imported,
and yet the region near the mouth of the Tiber had no safe landing-places
nor suitable harbors, so that their mastery of the sea was rendered
useless. Save for such staples as were brought in during their season
and stored in warehouses nothing from abroad could be had in the winter
season; and if any one risked a voyage, he was almost sure to meet with
disaster. Being cognizant of these facts Claudius undertook to build
a harbor and would not be turned aside, though the architects on his
enquiring how great the expense would be replied: "You don't want to do
this." So sure were they that the great disbursements necessary would
cause him to rein in his ambition if he should learn beforehand the exact
amount. He, however, desired a work worthy of the dignity and greatness
of Rome, and he brought it to a successful conclusion. In the first place
he excavated a very considerable piece of land, constructed quays on all
sides of it, and let the sea into it. Next in the sea itself he heaped
huge mounds on both sides of the entrance to this place,--mounds that
enclosed a large body of water. Between these breakwaters he reared an
island and planted on it a tower with a beacon light.--This harbor, then,
still so called in local parlance, was created by him at this period. He
had another project to make an outlet into the Liris from Lake Fucina, in
the Marsian country, to the end that the land around it might be tilled
and the river be rendered more navigable. But the expenditure was all to
no purpose.

He made a number of laws, most of which I have no need to mention; but
here are some of the regulations that he introduced. He had the governors
who were chosen by lot set out before the first day of April; for it was
their habit to delay a long time in the City. And he would not
permit those chosen by election to express any thanks to him in the
senate,--this had been a kind of custom with them,--but he said: "These
persons ought not to thank me, as if they were so eager for office, but I
them, because they cheerfully help me bear the burden of government:
and if they acquit themselves well in office, I shall praise them still
more." Such men as by reason of insufficient means were not able to be
senators he allowed to ask permission to retire, and he admitted some
of the knights to tribuneships: the rest of them, without exception, he
forced to attend the senate as often as notice was sent them. He was
so severe upon those who were remiss in this matter that some killed
themselves.

[-12-] In other respects he was sociable and considerate in his dealings
with them. He would visit them when sick and be a partner in their
merrymakings. A certain tribune beat a slave of his in public, but
Claudius did the offender himself no harm, only depriving him of his
assistants, and these he restored not long afterward. Another of his
slaves was sent to the Forum and severely scourged, because he had
insulted a prominent man. In the senate the emperor would himself
regularly rise in case the rest had been standing for a long time. On
account of his ill health, as I related, he frequently remained seated
and read his advice, if asked for it. He allowed Lucius Sulla to sit on
the prætors' bench because this man, being unable by reason of age to
hear anything from his own seat, had stood up. The day on which a year
previous he had been declared emperor he did nothing unusual, except to
give the Pretorians twenty-five denarii, and this he continued to do
every year thereafter. Some of the prætors, however, of their own free
will and not by any decree publicly celebrated that day and also the
birthday of Messalina. Not all of them did this, but as many as chose.
This shows what freedom they had. You may see how really moderate
Claudius was in all such matters from the fact that when a son was born
to him,--called at that time Claudius Tiberius Germanicus but later also
_Britannicus_,--he did not make the occasion in any way conspicuous and
would not allow him to be named Augustus nor Messalina Augusta.

[-13-]He was constantly arranging gladiatorial games, taking a degree of
pleasure in them that aroused criticism. Very few beasts were destroyed,
but a great many human beings, some of whom fought with one another
whereas others were devoured by animals. The emperor hated vehemently
the freed slaves who in the reigns of Tiberius and Gaius had conspired
against their masters, as well as those who extorted blackmail from
people or had borne false witness against any persons. The majority of
these he got rid of in the manner mentioned, though some of them he
punished by other methods. A great many he delivered up to the vengeance
of their masters. So great did the number become of those who died a
public death that the statue of Augustus, erected on the scene, was
turned to face in another direction, both to prevent its being thought
that _he_ was viewing the slaughter and to avoid having the statue
always covered up. For this act Claudius was well laughed at when people
reflected how he sated himself with the sights that he did not think
proper for even the inanimate bronze to behold. It might be noted
particularly that he used to delight greatly even at lunch time in
watching those who were incidentally cut down in the middle of the
spectacle. Yet a lion that had been trained to eat men and on this
account greatly pleased the crowd he ordered killed on the principle
that it was not fitting for Romans to gaze on such a sight. He received
abundant praise, however, for appearing in the people's midst at the
spectacle, for giving them all they wanted, and for his employing a
herald so very little and announcing most events by notices written on
boards.

[-14-] After he had become accustomed, then, to feast his fill on blood
and slaughter, he had recourse more readily to other kinds of killings.
The Cæsarians and Messalina were really responsible for this. Whenever
they desired to obtain any one's death, they would terrify him, with the
result that they would be allowed to do everything they chose. Often,
when in a moment of sudden alarm his momentary terror had led him to
order some one's death, afterward, when he recovered and came to his
senses, he would search for the man and on learning what had happened
would be grieved and repent. He began this series of slaughters with
Gaius Appius Silanus. This man, who was of very noble family and at the
time was governor of Spain, he had sent for, pretending that he wanted to
see him about something, had married him to Messalina's mother, and had
for some time held him in honor among his dearest and closest friends.
Then he suddenly killed him. The reason was that Silanus had offended
Messalina, the most abandoned and lustful of women, in refusing to lie
with her, and by the slight shown the empress had alienated Narcissus,
the emperor's freedman. As they had no true charge to bring against him,
nor even one that would be believed, Narcissus invented a dream in which
he declared he had seen Claudius murdered by the hand of Silanus. So just
before dawn, while the emperor was still in bed, he came all of a tremble
to tell him the dream, and Messalina by expatiating on it made it worse.
Thus Silanus perished just because of a vision.

[-15-] After the latter's death the Romans at once lost confidence in
Claudius, and Annius Vinicianus with some others formed a plot against
him. The chief conspirator had been one of those proposed at the death of
Gaius for the imperial office, and it was partly fear inspired by this
fact that caused him to rebel. As he possessed no considerable force,
however, he sent to Furius Camillus Scribonianus, governor of Dalmatia,
who had a large body of native and foreign troops. Camillus, who was
inclined to the project of his own accord, was induced to revolt at the
same time, particularly because he had been spoken of for emperor. When
so much had been accomplished, many senators and knights joined the ranks
of Annius. They did him no good, however,[5] for the soldiers, because
Camillus proffered them the name of _populus_ and promised that he would
restore to them their ancient freedom, suspected that they should have
troubles and changes of government again and would therefore no longer
obey him. Then in terror he fled from them, and coming to the island Issa
he there met a voluntary death. Claudius for a time was quite cowed
with fear and was ready at a demand from Camillus to withdraw from his
sovereignty voluntarily. Later he recovered courage and rewarded his
soldiers among other methods by having the citizen legions (the seventh
and the eleventh) named the Claudian, and the Faithful, and the Pious,
by the senate itself. Then he made reprisals upon those who had plotted
against him and on this charge put many to death, among them a prætor,
who first had to resign his office. Numbers, of whom Vinicianus was one,
committed suicide, for Messalina and Narcissus and all the latter's
fellow freedmen seized this opportunity to wreak their direst vengeance.
They employed slaves and liberti, for instance, and informers against
their own masters. These masters and others of undoubted nobility,
foreigners and citizens alike, not only plebeians, but some of the
knights and senators, were put to the torture in spite of the fact that
Claudius at the very beginning of his reign had sworn not to torture any
free citizen.

[-16-] Many men therefore at this time and many women incurred
punishment. Some of the latter met their fate right in the prison, and
when they were to die were actually led in chains upon a scaffold, like
captives, and their bodies like those of others were thrown down the
Scalæ Gemoniæ. Of those who were executed outside the prison only
the heads were exhibited in that place. Some of the most guilty,
nevertheless, either through favoritism or by the use of money saved
their necks with the help of Messalina and of the Cæsarians following
Narcissus. All the children of those who perished were granted immunity
and some received money. Trials were held in the senate-house in the
presence of Claudius, his prefects, and his freedmen. With a consul on
each side he made his report to the senators while seated upon a chair
of state or on a bench. Next he himself went to his accustomed seat and
chairs were set for his escort. This same program was followed also at
the other most important functions.

It was at this time that a certain Galæsus, a freedman of Camillus, was
brought into the senate and talked with the utmost frankness on a variety
of subjects. The following remark of his is worth instancing. Narcissus
had taken the floor and said to him: "What would you have done, Galæsus,
if Camillus had become monarch?" He replied: "I should have stood behind
him and said nothing." So he became famous for this speech, and Arria
for something quite different. The latter, who was wife of Cæcina Pætus,
refused to live after he had been put to death, although, being on very
intimate terms with Messalina, she might have occupied a position of some
honor. Moreover, when her husband showed cowardice, she strengthened his
resolution. She took the sword and gave herself a wound, then handed it
to him, saying: "See, Pætus, I feel no pain."--These two persons, then,
were accorded praise, for by reason of the long succession of woes
matters had now come to such a pass that excellence no longer meant
anything else than dying nobly.

The attitude of Claudius in bringing destruction upon them and others is
indicated by his forever giving to the soldiers as a watchword this verse
about its being necessary "In one's first anger to ward off the foe." [6]
He kept throwing out many other hints of that sort in Greek both to them
and to the senate, with the result that those who could understand any
of them laughed at him. These were some of the happenings of that
period.--And the tribunes at the death of one of their number themselves
convened the senate for the purpose of appointing a tribune to succeed
him,--this in spite of the fact that the consuls were accessible.

[A.D. 43 (_a. u._ 796)]

[-17-] When Claudius now became consul again,--it was the third time,--he
put an end to many sacrifices and many feast days. For, as the greater
part of the year was given up to them, no small damage was done to public
business. Beside curtailing the number of these he retrenched in all the
other ways that he could. What had been given away by Gaius without any
justice or reason he demanded back from the recipients; but he gave back
to the road commissioners all that his predecessor had exacted in fines
on account of Corbulo. Moreover, he gave notice to magistrates chosen by
lot, since they were even now slow about leaving the City, that they must
commence their journey before the middle of April came. He reduced to
servitude the Lycians, who rising in revolt had slain some Romans, and
merged them in the prefecture of Pamphylia. During the investigation,
which was conducted in the senate-house, he put a question in the Latin
tongue to one of the envoys who had originally been a Lycian but had been
made a Roman. As the man did not understand what was said, he took away
his citizenship, saying that it was not proper for a person to be a Roman
who had no knowledge of Roman speech. A great many other persons unworthy
of citizenship were excluded from its privileges, whereas he granted it
to some quite without restrictions, either individuals or large bodies of
men. And inasmuch as practically everywhere Romans were esteemed above
foreigners, many sought the franchise by personal application to the
emperor and many bought it from Messalina and the Cæsarians. For this
reason, though the right was at first bartered only for great sums, it
later was so cheapened by the facility with which it could be obtained
that it came to be said that if a person only gave a man some broken
glassware he might become a citizen.

This behavior, then, subjected the emperor to no end of jests, but he
received praise for such actions as the following. Many persons were all
the time becoming objects of blackmail, some because they did not use
Claudius's proper title and others because they were going to leave him
nothing when they died,--the blackmailers asserting that it was necessary
for those who obtained citizenship from him to do both of these things.
The emperor now stepped in and forbade that any one should be called
to account for such negligence.--Now Messalina and his freedmen kept
offering for sale and peddling out not merely the franchise, and military
posts, and positions as procurator, and governmental offices, but
everything in general to such an extent that all necessaries grew
scarce[7]; and Claudius was forced to muster the populace on the Campus
Martius and there from a platform to ordain what the prices of wares
should be.

Claudius himself wearing a chlamys gave a contest of armed men at the
camp. His son's birthday was observed voluntarily by the prætors with
a kind of spectacle that they produced and with dinners. This was once
afterward repeated, too,--at least by all of them that chose.

[-18-] Meanwhile Messalina was exhibiting her own licentious tendencies
and was forcing the other women of her circle to show themselves equally
unchaste. Many of them she caused to commit adultery in the very palace,
while their husbands were present and observed what took place. Such men
she loved and cherished, and crowned with honors and offices: but others,
who would not submit to this humiliation, she hated and brought to
destruction in every possible way. These deeds, however, though of such
a character and carried on so openly, for a long while never came to the
notice of Claudius. Messalina gave him some attractive housemaids
for bedfellows and intercepted those who were able to afford him any
information,--some by kindness and some by punishments. Thus, at this
period, she succeeded in putting out of the way Catonius Justus, captain
of the pretorian guard, before he could carry out his intention of
telling the emperor something about these doings. And becoming jealous
of Julia, daughter of Drusus son of Tiberius, and later wife of Nero
Germanicus, just as she had been of the other Julia, she compassed her
death.--It was about then, also, that one of the knights on the charge of
having conspired against Claudius was hurled down, the Capitoline by the
tribunes and the consuls.

[-19-] At the same time that these events were happening in the City
Aulus Plautius, a senator of great renown, made a campaign against
Britain. The cause was that a certain Bericus, who had been ejected from
the island during a revolution, had persuaded Claudius to send a body of
troops there. This Plautius after he was made general had difficulty in
leading his army beyond Gaul. The soldiers objected, on the ground that
their operations were to take place outside the limits of the known
world, and would not yield him obedience until the arrival of Narcissus,
sent by Claudius, who mounted the tribunal of Plautius and tried to
address them. This made them more irritated than ever and they would not
allow the newcomer to say a word, but all suddenly shouted together the
well-known phrase: "Ho! Ho! the Saturnalia!" (For at the festival of
Saturn slaves celebrate the occasion by donning their masters' dress.)
After this they at once followed Plautius voluntarily, but their delay
had brought the expedition late in the season. Three divisions were made,
in order that they might not be hindered in advancing (as might happen
to a single force), and some of them in their voyage across became
discouraged because they were buffeted into a backward course, whereas
others acquired confidence from the fact that a flash of light starting
from the east shot across to the west, the direction in which they were
sailing. So they came to anchor on the shore of the island and found no
one to oppose them. The Britons as a result of their inquiries had not
expected that they would come and had therefore not assembled beforehand.
Nor even at this time would they come into closer conflict with the
invaders, but took refuge in the swamps and in the forests, hoping to
exhaust their opponents in some other way, so that the latter as in
the days of Julius Cæsar would sail back empty-handed. [-20-] Plautius
accordingly had considerable trouble in searching for them.--They were
not free and independent but were parceled out among various kings.--When
at last he did find them, he conquered first Caratacus and next
Togodumnus, children of Cynobelinus, who was dead. After the flight of
those kings he attached by treaty a portion of the Bodunni, ruled by a
nation of the Catuellani. Leaving a garrison there he advanced farther.
On reaching a certain river, which the barbarians thought the Romans
would not be able to cross without a bridge,--a conviction which led them
to encamp in rather careless fashion on the opposite bank,--he sent ahead
Celtæ who were accustomed to swim easily in full armor across the most
turbulent streams. These fell unexpectedly upon the enemy, but instead
of shooting at any of the men confined themselves to wounding the horses
that drew their chariots and consequently in the confusion not even the
mounted warriors could save themselves. Plautius sent across also Fiavius
Vespasian, who afterward obtained the imperial office, and his brother
Sabinus, a lieutenant of his. So they likewise got over the river in some
way and killed numbers of the foe, who were not aware of their approach.
The survivors, however, did not take to flight, and on the next day
joined issue with them again. The two forces were rather evenly matched
until Gnæus Hosidius Geta, at the risk of being captured, managed to
conquer the barbarians in such a way that he received triumphal honors
without having ever been consul.

Thence the Britons retired to the river Thames at a point near where it
empties into the ocean and the latter's flood-tide forms a lake. This
they crossed easily because they knew where the firm ground in this
locality and the easy passages were; but the Romans in following them up
came to grief at this spot. However, when the Celtæ swam across again and
some others had traversed a bridge a little way up stream, they assailed
the barbarians from many sides at once and cut down large numbers of
them. In pursuing the remainder incautiously they got into swamps from
which it was not easy to make one's way out, and in this way lost many
men.

[-21-] Shortly after Togodumnus perished, but the Britons so far from
yielding stood together all the more closely to avenge his death. Because
of this fact and his previous mishap Plautius became alarmed, and instead
of advancing farther proceeded to guard what he had already gained and
sent for Claudius. He had been notified to do this in case he met with
any particularly stubborn resistance, and a large reinforcement for the
army, consisting partly of elephants, had been assembled in advance.

When the message reached him, Claudius entrusted domestic affairs
(including the management of the soldiers) to his colleague Vitellius,
whom he had caused to become consul like himself for the entire six
months' period, and started himself on the expedition. He sailed down the
river to Ostia, and from there followed the coast to Massilia. Thence
advancing partly by land and partly along the water courses he came to
the ocean and crossed over to Britain, where he joined the legions that
were waiting for him near the Thames. Taking charge of these he crossed
the stream, and encountering the barbarians, who had gathered at his
approach, he defeated them in a pitched battle and captured Camulodunum,
the capital of Cynobelinus. Next he extended his authority over numerous
tribes, in some cases by treaty, in others by force, and was frequently,
contrary to precedent, saluted as imperator. The usual practice is that
no single person may receive this title more than once from one and the
same war. He deprived those he conquered of their arms and assigned them
to the attention of Plautius, bidding him to subjugate the regions that
were left. Claudius himself now hastened back to Rome, sending ahead the
news of the victory by his sons-in-law, Magnus and Silanus.

[-22-] The senate on learning of his achievement gave him the title of
Britannicus and allowed him to celebrate a triumph.

[A.D. 44 (_a. u._ 796)]

They voted also that there should be an animal festival commemorating the
event and that an arch bearing a trophy should be erected in the City and
a second in Gaul, because it was from that district that he had set sail
in crossing over to Britain. They bestowed on his son the same honorific
title as upon him, so that Claudius was known in a way as Britannicus
Proper. Messalina was granted the same privilege of front seats as Livia
had enjoyed and also the use of the carpentum. These were the honors
bestowed upon the imperial family.

The memory of Gaius disgusted the senators so much that they resolved
that all the bronze coinage which had his image stamped upon it should
be melted down. Though this was done, yet the bronze was converted to no
better use, for Messalina made statues of Mnester the dancer out of it.
Inasmuch as the latter had once been on intimate terms with Gaius,
she made this offering as a mark of gratitude for his consenting to a
_liaison_ with her. She had been madly enamored of him, and when she
found herself unable in any way either by promises or by frightening him
to persuade him to have intercourse with her, she had a talk with
her husband and asked him that the man might be forced to obey her,
pretending that she wanted his help for some different purpose. Claudius
accordingly told him to do whatsoever he should be ordered by Messalina.
On these terms he agreed to enjoy her, alleging that he had been
commanded to do so by her husband. Messalina adopted this same method
with numerous other men, and committed adultery feigning that Claudius
knew what was taking place and countenanced her unchastity.

[-23-] Portions of Britain, then, were captured at this time in the
manner described. After this, during the second consulship of Gaius
Crispus and the first of Titus Statilius, Claudius came to Rome at the
end of a six months' absence from the city (of which time he had spent
only sixteen days in Britain) and celebrated his triumph. In this he
followed the well-established precedents, even to the extent of ascending
the steps of the Capitol on his knees, with his sons-in-law supporting
him on each side. He granted to the senators taking part with him in the
procession triumphal honors, and this not merely to the ex-consuls ...
for he was accustomed to do that most lavishly on other occasions and
with the slightest excuse. Upon Rufrius Pollio the prefect he bestowed an
image and a seat in the senatorial body as often as he would enter that
assembly with him. And to avoid having it thought that he was making any
innovation, he declared that Augustus had done this in the case of a
certain Valerius, a Ligurian. He also increased the dignity of Laco
(formerly præfectus vigilum but now procurator of the Gauls) by this same
mark of esteem and in addition by the honors belonging to ex-consuls.

Having finished this business he held the festival following the triumph
and assumed for the occasion some of the consular authority. It took
place in both the theatres at once. In the course of the spectacle he
would frequently absent himself while others superintended it in his
place. He had announced as many horse-races as could find place in a
day, but they amounted to not more than ten altogether. For between the
separate courses bears were slaughtered and athletes struggled. Boys sent
for from Asia also executed the Pyrrhic dance. The performers in the
theatre gave, with the consent of the senate, another festival likewise
intended to commemorate the victory. All this was done on account of
the successes in Britain, and to the end that other nations might more
readily capitulate it was voted that all the agreements which Claudius or
the lieutenants representing him should make with any peoples should be
binding, the same as if sanctioned by the senate and the people.

[-24-] Achæa and Macedonia, which ever since Tiberius became emperor had
belonged to elected governors, Claudius now returned to the choice by
lot. And abolishing the office of "prætor charged with the administration
of funds" he put the business in the hands of quæstors as it had been of
old; and these were not annual magistrates, as was the case with them
previously and with the prætors subsequently, but the same two men
attended to their duties for three entire years. Some of these secured a
prætorship immediately afterward and others drew a salary the amount of
which depended on the impression of efficiency they had created while in
office.

The quæstors, then, were given charge of the treasury in place of
governorships in Italy outside of the City; for he did away with all of
the latter. To compensate the prætors he entrusted to their care several
kinds of judicial cases which the consuls were previously accustomed to
try. Those serving as soldiers, since by law they could not have wives,
were granted the privileges of married men. Marcus Julius Cottius
received an increase in his ancestral domain (which included the Alps
named after him) and was now for the first time called king. The Rhodians
were deprived of their liberty because they had impaled certain Romans.
And Umbonius Silio, governor of Bætica, was summoned and ejected from the
senate because he had sent so little grain to the soldiers then serving
in Mauretania. At least, this was the accusation brought against him. In
reality it was not so at all, but his treatment was due to his having
offended some of the freedmen. So he brought together all his furniture,
considerable in amount and very beautiful, in the auction room as if he
were going to call for bids on all of it: but he sold only his senatorial
dress. By this he showed that he had received no deadly blow and could
enjoy life as a private citizen.--Beside these events of the time
the weekly market was transferred to a different day because of some
religious rites. That happened, too, on many other occasions.

[A.D. 45 _(a. u._ 798)]

[-25-] following year Marcus Vinicius for the second and Statilius
Corvinus for the first time entered upon the office of consul. Claudius
himself took all the customary oaths in detail, but prevented the rest
from taking oath separately. Accordingly, as in earlier times, one man
who was a prætor and second who was a tribune and one each of the other
officials repeated the oaths for those of the same grade. This custom was
followed for several years.

Now since the City was becoming filled with numbers of images,--for those
who wished might without restrictions appear in public in a painting or
in bronze or stone,--he had most of those already existing set somewhere
else and for the future forbade that any private citizen be allowed to
follow the practice, unless the senate should grant permission or except
he had built or repaired some public work. Such persons and their
relatives might have their likenesses set up in the places in question.

Having banished the governor of a certain province for venality the
emperor confiscated to public uses all the extra funds that the man had
gathered in office. Again, to prevent these persons eluding those who
wished to bring them to trial, he would give to nobody one office
immediately after another. This had been the custom in earlier days also,
to the end that any one without difficulty might institute a suit against
them in the intervening period; indeed, those whose terms had expired and
who were granted leave of absence from the City might not even take these
absences in succession, since it was intended that, if officials should
be guilty of any irregularity, they should not gain the further benefit
of escaping investigation by either continuous office or continuous
absence. The custom had, however, fallen out of use. So carefully did
Claudius guard against both possibilities that he would not without out
some delay allow even an official who was his colleague to be chosen by
lot for the governorship of a province that would naturally belong to
him. Still, he allowed some of them to govern for two years and sometimes
he would send elected magistrates. Persons who preferred a request to
leave Italy for a time were given permission by Claudius himself without
action of the senate; yet, in order to appear to be doing it under some
form of law, he ordered that a decree to the effect be issued. Votes
of this sort were also passed the following year. At the time under
consideration he arranged the votive festival which he had promised in
commemoration of his campaign. To the populace supported by public dole
he gave seventy-five denarii in every case and in some cases more, so
that for a few it amounted to three hundred twelve and a half. He did
not, however, distribute all of it in person, but his sons-in-law also
took part, because the distribution lasted several days and he was
anxious to use them in holding court.

In the case of the Saturnalia he put back the fifth day which had been
appointed by Gaius but was later abolished. [-26-] and inasmuch as the
sun was to undergo an eclipse on his birthday, he feared that some
disturbance might result,--for already certain other portents had
occurred,--and therefore he gave notice beforehand not only that there
would be an eclipse and when and for how long, but also the reasons for
which this would necessarily take place. They are as follows:

The moon, which revolves lower down than the sun (or so it is believed),
either directly below him or perhaps with Mercury and likewise Venus
intervening, has a longitudinal movement just like him, and a higher and
lower movement just like him, but furthermore a latitudinal movement such
as nowhere belongs to the sun under any circumstances. When, therefore,
she gets in a direct line with him over our heads and passes under his
blaze, then she obscures his beams that extend toward the earth, for
some to a greater, for some to a less degree, but does not conceal his
presence for even the briefest moment. For since the sun has a light of
his own he can never surrender it, and consequently, when the moon is
not directly in people's way so as to throw a shadow over him, he always
appears entire.

This, then, is what happens to the sun and it was made public by Claudius
at the time mentioned. With regard to the moon, however,--for it is not
irrelevant to speak of lunar phenomena also, since once I have broached
this subject,--as often as she gets directly opposite the sun (and she
only takes such a position with reference to him at full moon, whereas
he takes it with reference to her at the season of new moon), a conical
shadow falls upon the earth. This occurs whenever in her motion to and
from us her revolution takes her between the sun and the earth; then she
is deprived of the sun's light and appears by herself just as she really
is. Such are the conditions of the case.

[A.D. 46 (a. u. 799)]

[-27-] At the close of that year Valerius Asiaticus for the second time
and also Marcus Silanus became consuls. The latter held office for the
period for which he was elected. Asiaticus, however, though elected to
serve for the whole year (as was done in other cases), failed to do so
and resigned voluntarily. Some others had done this, though mostly by
reason of poverty. The expenses connected with the horse-races had
greatly increased, for generally there was a series of twenty-four
contests. But Asiaticus withdrew simply by reason of his wealth, which
also proved his destruction. Inasmuch as he was extremely well-to-do and
by being consul a second time had aroused the dislike and jealousy of
many, he desired in a way to overthrow himself, feeling that by so
doing he would be less likely to encounter danger. Still he was
deceived.--Vinicius, on the other hand, suffered no harm from Claudius,
for though he was an illustrious man he managed by keeping quiet and
minding his own business to preserve his life; but he perished by poison
administered by Messalina. She suspected that he had killed his wife
Julia and was angry because he refused to have intercourse with her. He
was duly accorded a public funeral and eulogies,--an honor which had been
granted to many.

Asinius Gallus, half-brother of Drusus by the same mother, conspired
against Claudius but instead of being put to death was banished. The
reason perhaps was that he made ready no army and collected no funds in
advance but was emboldened merely by his extreme folly, which led him to
think that the Romans would submit to having him rule them on account
of his family. But the chief cause was that he was a very small and
unshapely person and was therefore held in contempt, incurring ridicule
rather than danger.

[-28-]The people were truly loud in praise of Claudius for his
moderation, and also, by Jupiter, at the fact that he showed displeasure
when a certain man sought the aid of the tribunes against the person who
had freed him, asking and securing thus a helper in his cause. Both the
man in question and those associated with him in the proceedings were
punished; and the emperor further forbade rendering assistance to persons
in this way against their former masters, on pain of being deprived of
the right to bring suit against others. Per contra, people were vexed at
seeing him so much the slave of his wife and freedmen. This feeling was
especially marked on an occasion when Claudius himself and all the rest
were anxious to kill Sabinus (former governor of the Celtæ in the reign
of Gains) in a gladiatorial fight, but the latter approached Messalina
and she saved him. They were also irritated at her having withdrawn
Mnester from the theatre and keeping him with her. But whenever any talk
about his not dancing sprang up among the people, Claudius would appear
surprised and make various apologies, taking oath that he was not at his
house. The populace, believing him to be really ignorant of what was
going on, was grieved to think that he alone was not cognizant of what
was being done in the imperial apartments,--behavior so conspicuous
that news of it had already traveled to the enemy. They were unwilling,
however, to reveal to him the state of affairs, partly through awe of
Messalina and partly to spare Mnester. For he pleased the people as much
by his skill as he did the empress by his beauty. With his abilities in
dancing he combined great cleverness of repartee, so that once when the
crowd with mighty enthusiasm begged him to perform a famous pantomime, he
dared to come to the front of the stage and say:

  "To do this, friends, I may not try;
  Orestes' bedfellow am I."

This, then, was the relation of Claudius to these matters.

As the number of lawsuits was now beyond reckoning and persons summoned
would now no longer put in an appearance because they expected to be
defeated, he gave written notice that by a given day he should decide the
case against them, by default, so that they would lose it even if absent.
And there was no deviation from this rule.

  Mithridates king of the Iberians[8] undertook to rebel and was engaged
  in preparations for a war against the Romans. His mother,
  however, opposed him and since she could not win him over by persuasion,
  determined to take to flight: he then became anxious to conceal
  his project, and so, while himself continuing preparations, he sent
  his brother Cotys on an embassy to convey a friendly message to
  Claudius. But Cotys proved a treacherous ambassador and told the
  emperor all, and he was made king of Iberia in place of Mithridates.

[A.D. 47, (a. u. 800)]

[-29-]The following year, the eight hundredth anniversary of the founding
of the city of Rome, Claudius became consul for the fourth and Lucius
Vitellius for the third time. Claudius now ejected some members of
the senate, the majority of whom were not sorry to be driven out but
willingly stood aside on account of their poverty. Likewise he brought
in a number to fill their places. Among these he summoned with haste
one Surdinius Gallus, qualified to be a senator, who had emigrated to
Carthage, and said to him: "I will bind you with golden fetters." Gallus,
therefore, fettered by his rank, remained at home.

Although Claudius visited dire punishment upon the freedmen of others, in
case he caught them in any crime, he was very lenient with his own. One
day an actor in the theatre uttered this well-worn saying:

  "A knave who prospers scarce can be endured,"[9]

whereupon the whole assemblage looked at Polybius, the emperor's
freedman. He, undismayed, shouted out: "The same poet, however, says:--

  'Who once were goatherds now have royal power.'" [9]

and suffered no harm for his behavior.

Information was laid that some persons were plotting against Claudius,
but in the majority of instances he paid no attention, saying: "It
doesn't do to adopt the same defensive tactics against a flea as against
a beast of prey." Asiaticus, however, was tried before him and came very
near being acquitted. He entered a general denial, declaring: "I have
no knowledge of nor acquaintance with any of these persons who are
testifying against me." Then the soldier who stated he had been an
associate of his, being asked which one Asiaticus was, pointed out a
baldheaded man that happened to be standing near him. Baldness was the
only thing of which he was sure about Asiaticus. This event occasioned
much laughter and Claudius was on the point of freeing him, when
Vitellius to please Messalina made the statement that he had been sent
for by the prisoner, who requested the privilege of deciding the manner
of death to be visited upon him. Hearing this, Claudius believed that on
account of a guilty conscience Asiaticus had really condemned himself and
accordingly had him executed.

Among many others who were calumniated by Messalina he put to death
Asiaticus and likewise Magnus, his son-in-law. Asiaticus had property,
and the family of Magnus as well as his close relationship were irksome.
Of course, they were nominally convicted on different charges from these.

This year a new island, not large, made its appearance by the side of the
island Thera.

Claudius, monarch of the Romans, published a law to the effect that no
senator might journey above seven mile-posts from the City without the
monarch's express orders.[10]

Moreover, since many persons would afford their sick slaves no care,
but drove them out of their houses, a law was passed that all slaves
surviving such an experience should be free.

He also prohibited anybody's driving through the City [sic] seated in a
vehicle.[11]

[-30-]Vespasian in Britain had been hemmed in by the barbarians and was
in danger of annihilation, but his son Titus becoming alarmed about his
father managed by unusual daring to break through the enclosing line; he
then pursued and destroyed the fleeing enemy. Plautius for his skillful
handling of the war with Britain and his successes in it both received
praise from Claudius and obtained an ovation. [In the course of the armed
combat of gladiators many foreign freedmen and British captives fought.
The number of men receiving their finishing blow in this part of the
spectacle was large, and he took pride in the fact.]

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo as prætor in Celtica organized the forces and
damaged among other barbarians the Cauchi, as they are commonly called.
While in the midst of the enemy's country he was recalled by Claudius,
who on ascertaining his valor and his discipline would not allow him to
climb to any greater heights. Corbulo learning this turned back, giving
vent only to the following exclamation:--"How fortunate were those who
became prætors in the days of old!" He implied that the latter had been
permitted to exhibit their prowess without danger whereas his progress
had been blocked by the emperor on account of jealousy. Yet even so he
obtained a triumph. Being again entrusted with an army he trained it no
less thoroughly, and as the nations were at peace he had the men dig
a trench all the way across from the Rhine to the Meuse, as much as a
hundred and seventy stadia long, the purpose of which was to prevent the
rivers flowing back and causing inundations at the flood tide of the
ocean.

[A.D. 48 (a. u. 801)]

When a grandson was borne to him by his daughter Antonia (whom, after the
death of Magnus, he had given in marriage to Cornelius Faustus Sulla,
brother of Messalina), he had the good sense not to allow any decree to
be passed in honor of the occasion.

Messalina and her freedmen swelled with importance. There were three of
the latter in particular who divided the ruling power among themselves:
Callistus, who had been given charge of the records of value; Narcissus,
who presided over the letters and hence wore a dagger at his belt; and
Pallas, to whom the administration of funds had been entrusted.

[-31-] Messalina, as if it did not satisfy her to play the adulteress and
harlot,--for besides her usual shameful behavior she sometimes carried
on a regular brothel in the palace, serving as a prostitute herself and
compelling women of highest rank to do the same,--now conceived a desire
to have many husbands, that is, with the legal title. [And she would have
entered upon a legal contract with all those who enjoyed her favors, had
she not been detected and destroyed in her very first attempt. For a time
all the Cæesarians were on good terms with her and everything they did
was with one mind. But when she slandered and killed Polybius, after
herself making repeated advances to him, they no longer trusted her. As a
result, deserted by their good-will, she perished.] She registered Gaius
Silius [son of the Silius slain by Tiberius] as her husband, celebrated
the marriage in costly fashion, bestowed a royal residence upon him, and
gathered in it all the most valuable of Claudius's heirlooms. Finally she
declared him consul. Now all this though [even previously] heard and seen
by everybody [else] continued to escape the notice of Claudius. So when
he went down to Ostia to inspect the grain supply, and she was left
behind in Rome on the pretext of being ill, she got up a banquet of no
little renown and carried on a most licentious revel. Then Narcissus,
having got Claudius alone, conveyed to him through the medium of
concubines information of all that was taking place. [And by frightening
him with the idea that Messalina was going to kill him also and set up
Silius as emperor in his place, he persuaded him to arrest and torture
several persons.] The moment this was done the emperor hastened back in
person to the city; and entering just as he was he put to death Mnester
with many others and then slew Messalina [after she had retreated into
the gardens of Asiaticus, which more than anything else were the cause of
her ruin.]

[A.D. 48-54]

After her Claudius destroyed also his own slave for insulting one of the
prominent men.

[A.D. 49 (a. u. 802)]

After a little he married his niece Agrippina, mother of Domitius, who
was surnamed Nero. She had beauty and had been in the habit of consulting
him constantly and being in his company alone because he was her uncle,
though she was rather more free in her conduct toward him than would
properly become a niece. [And for this reason he executed Silanus,
feeling that he was plotting against him.] [Yet Silanus was regarded as
an upright man and was honored by Claudius to the extent of receiving
triumphal honors while still a boy, being betrothed to the emperor's
daughter Octavia, and becoming prætor long before the age ordained. He
was allowed to give the festival that fell to his lot at the expense of
Claudius, and during it the latter asked some favors of him as if he were
himself the mere head of some party[12] and uttered any shouts that he
saw other people wished him to utter. Yet in spite of all this Claudius
had become such a slave to the women that on their account he killed both
his sons-in-law.]

  On the heels of this occurrence Vitellius came forward in the senate with
  a declaration that the good of the State required Claudius to marry. He
  indicated Agrippina as a suitable person in this emergency and suggested
  that they force him to the marriage. Then the senators rose and came
  to Claudius and "compelled" him to marry. They also passed a decree
  permitting Romans to wed their nieces, a union formerly prohibited.

[-32-] As soon as Agrippina had become settled in the palace, she gained
complete control of Claudius; for she possessed in an unusual degree the
quality of _savoir faire_. Likewise she won the devotion of all those who
were at all fond of him, partly by fear and partly by benefits conferred.
[At length she caused his son Britannicus to be brought up as if he
were no relation of the emperor. The other child, who had betrothed the
daughter of Sejanus, was dead. She made Domitius at this time son-in-law
of Claudius and later actually had him adopted. She accomplished these
ends partly by causing the freedmen to persuade Claudius and partly by
seeing to it beforehand that the senate, the populace, and the soldiers
should always concur to favor her demands. This son Agrippina] was
training for the assumption of imperial office and was having educated
under Seneca. She gathered for him an inconceivable amount of wealth,
omitting not one of the most humble and least influential citizens in her
search for money, paying court to every one who was in the least degree
well-off and murdering many for this very reason. In addition, she
destroyed out of jealousy some of the foremost women and put to death
Lollia Paulina because the latter had cherished some hope of being
married to Claudius. As she did not recognize the woman's head when it
was brought to her, she opened with her own hand the mouth and inspected
the teeth, which had certain peculiarities.

  Mithridates, king of the Iberians; was defeated in a conflict with
  a Roman army. Despairing of his life he begged that a hearing be
  granted him to show cause why he should not be summarily executed
  or led in the procession of triumph. This right having been accorded
  him Claudius received him in Rome, standing on a tribunal, and addressed
  threatening language to him. The king throughout replied
  in an unabashed manner and concluded his remarks with "I was not
  carried to you, but made the journey: if you doubt it, release me and
  try to find me."

[-33-] She [sc. Agrippina] quickly became a second Messalina, and chiefly
because she obtained from the senate among other honors the right to use
the carpentum at festivals.

[A.D. 50 (a. u. 803)]

  Subsequently Claudius applied to Agrippina the additional title of
  _Augusta_.

When Claudius had adopted her son Nero and had made him his son-in-law
(by disowning his daughter and introducing her into another family so
that he might not have the name of uniting brother and sister), a mighty
portent occurred. All that day the sky seemed to be on fire.

  Agrippina banished also Calpurnia, one of the most distinguished
  ladies in the land, or perhaps even caused her death (as one version
  of the story reports), because Claudius had admired and commended
  her beauty.

  [A.D. 51 (a. u. 804)]

  When Nero (for this is the name for him that has won its way into
  favor) was registered among the iuvenes, the day that he was registered
  the Divine Power shook the earth for long distances and by
  night struck terror to the hearts of all men without exception.

[-32-] [While Nero was growing up, Britannicus received neither honor nor
care. Agrippina, indeed, either drove away or killed those who showed any
zeal in his behalf. Sosibius, to whom his bringing up and education
had been entrusted, she caused to be slain on the pretext that he was
plotting against Nero. After that she delivered the boy to the charge of
persons who suited her and did him all the harm she could. She would not
let him visit his father nor appear before the people, but kept him in a
kind of imprisonment, though without bonds.]

Dio, 61st Book: "Since the prefects Crispinus and Lusius Veta would not
yield to her in every matter, she ousted them from office."

[A.D. 51-52]

[-33-] [No one attempted any kind of reprisal upon Agrippina, for, to be
brief, she had more power than Claudius himself and gave greetings in
public to those who desired it. This fact was entered on the records.]

  She possessed all powers, since she dominated Claudius and had
  made sure of the devotion of Narcissus and Pallas. (Callistus, after
  rising to great heights of influence, was dead.)

  [A.D. 52 (a. u. 805)]

  The astrologers were banished from the entire expanse of Italy, and
  their disciples were punished.

  Carnetacus, a barbarian chieftain who was captured and brought to
  Rome and received his pardon at the hands of Claudius, then, after
  his liberation, wandered about the city; and on beholding its brilliance
  and its size he exclaimed: "Can you, who own these things and things
  like them, still yearn for our miserable tents?"

Claudius conceived a wish to have a naval battle in a certain lake[13];
so, after building a wooden wall around it and setting up benches,
he gathered an enormous multitude. Claudius and Nero were arrayed in
military costume. Agrippina wore a beautiful chlamys woven with gold, and
the rest of the people whatever pleased their fancy. Those who were to
take part in this sea-fight were condemned criminals, and each side had
fifty ships, one party being called Rhodians and the other Sicilians.
First they drew close together and after uniting at one spot they
addressed Claudius in this fashion: "Salve, imperator, morituri
salutamus."[14] Since this afforded them no salvation and they were still
ordered to fight, they used simple smashing tactics and took very good
care not to harm each other. This went on until they were cut down by
outside force. [Somewhat later the Fucinian Lake caved in and Narcissus
was severely criticised for it. He presided over the undertaking, and
it was thought that after spending a great deal less than he had
received[15] he had then purposely contrived the collapse, in order that
his villainy might go undetected.]

[A.D. 52-53]

About Narcissus there is a story of how openly, he used to make sport of
Claudius. One day when the latter was holding court the Bithynians raised
a great outcry against Junius Cilo, their governor, because, as
they asserted, he had taken very considerable bribes. Claudius not
understanding on account of their noise asked the bystanders what they
were saying. Thereupon, instead of telling him the truth, Narcissus said:
"They are expressing their gratitude to Junius." Claudius, believing him,
rejoined: "Why, he shall have charge of them two years more!"

Agrippina often attended her husband in public, when he was transacting
ordinary business, or when he was hearing ambassadors; she sat upon a
separate platform. This was surely one of the most remarkable sights of
the time.

On one occasion when a certain orator, Julius Gallicus, was pleading a
case, Claudius grew vexed and ordered that he be cast into the Tiber,
near the banks of which he chanced to be holding court. Domitius Afer,
who as an advocate had the greatest ability of his contemporaries, made
a very neat joke on this. A man whom Gallicus had disappointed came to
Domitius for assistance, whereupon the latter said to him: "And who told
you I could swim better than he can?"

  Later Claudius fell sick, and Nero entered the senate to promise a
  horse-race in case Claudius should regain his health. Agrippina was
  leaving no stone unturned to make him popular with the masses and to
  cause him to be regarded as the only natural successor to the imperial
  throne. Hence it was that she selected the equestrian contest, on which
  they doted especially, for Nero to promise in the event of Claudius's
  recovery (an outcome against which she sincerely prayed).--Again, after
  instigating a riot over the sale of bread she persuaded Claudius to make
  known to the populace by public bulletin and to write to the senate
  that, if he should die, Nero was fully capable of administering public
  interests. In consequence of this he became a power and his name was on
  everybody's lips, whereas in regard to Britannicus numbers did not know
  of his existence and all others regarded him as idiotic and epileptic;
  for this was the declaration that Agrippina gave out.--Well, Claudius
  became convalescent and Nero conducted the horse-race in a sumptuous
  manner; now, too, he married Octavia, a new circumstance to cause him a
  feeling of manly dignity.

  [A.D. 53-54]

  Nothing seemed to satisfy Agrippina, though all rights
  which Livia had possessed were bestowed upon her also and a number of
  additional honors had been decreed. She, wielding equal power with
  Claudius, desired to have his title outright; and once, when a blaze had
  spread over the city to a considerable distance, she accompanied him in
  the work of rescue.

  [A.D. 54 (a. u. 807)]

[-34-] Claudius was irritated by Agrippina's actions, of which he now
began to  become aware, and sought to find his son Britannicus. The boy,
however, was purposely kept out of his sight by the empress most of the
time, for she was doing everything conceivable to secure the right of
succession for Nero, since he was her own son by her former husband
Domitius. Claudius, who displayed his affection whenever he met
Britannicus, was not disposed to endure her behavior and made
preparations to put an end to her power, to register his son among the
iuvenes, and appoint him as heir to the empire.

This news alarmed Agrippina, who decided to anticipate the emperor's
project by poisoning him. Since, however, by reason of the great quantity
of wine he was forever drinking and his general habits of life, which all
emperors adopt for their protection, he could not easily be harmed, she
sent for a drug-woman named Lucusta, a recent captive renowned for the
desired skill, and obtaining from her a poison whose effect was sure she
put it in one of the vegetables called[16] mushrooms. Then she herself
ate of the others in the dish but made her husband eat the one which had
the poison; for it was the largest and finest of them. The victim of this
plot was carried out of the banquet apparently quite overcome by strong
drink, but that had happened many times before. During the night the
poison took effect and he passed away, without having been able to say
or hear a word. It was the thirteenth of October, and he had lived
sixty-three years, two months, and thirteen days, having been emperor
thirteen years, eight months and twenty days. Agrippina's rapid vengeance
had been aided by the fact that before her attempt she had despatched
Narcissus to Campania, feigning that he needed to take the waters there
for his gout. Had he been present, she would never have done the deed,
such extreme care did he take of his master. His death followed hard upon
that of Claudius, and he left behind him a reputation for power unequaled
by any man of that age. His property amounted to more than ten thousand
myriads, and cities and kings were dependent upon him. Even when he was
on the point of being slain, he managed to execute a brilliant coup. He
had charge of the correspondence of Claudius and had in his possession
letters containing secret information against Agrippina and others: all
of these he burned before his death.

  And he was slain beside the tomb of Messalina,--a coincidence
  manifestly intended by chance, to satisfy her vengeance.

[-35-] In such fashion did Claudius meet his end. It seemed that
indications of this event were given in advance by the comet star, which
was seen over a wide expanse of territory, by the shower of blood, by the
bolt that descended upon the standards of the Pretorians, by the
opening of its own accord of the temple of Jupiter Victor, by the
swarming of bees in the camp, and by the fact that one representative of
each political office died. The emperor received the state burial and
all the other honors obtained by Augustus. Agrippina and Nero feigned
sorrow for the man whom they had killed, and elevated to heaven him
whom they had carried out in a state of collapse from the banquet. On
this point Lucius Junius Gallic, brother of Seneca, was the author of a
most witty saying. Seneca himself had composed a work that he called
Gourdification,--a word made on the analogy of "deification"; and his
brother is credited with expressing a great deal in one short sentence.
For whereas the public executioners were accustomed to drag the bodies
of those killed in prison to the Forum with large hooks, and thence
hauled them to the river, he said that Claudius must have been raised to
heaven with a hook. Nero has also left us a remark not unworthy of
record. He declared mushrooms to be the food of the gods, because
Claudius by means of a mushroom had become a god.


[Footnote:1 A reference to Book Forty-four, chapter 26 (the Return of the
"Party of the Peiræus").]

[Footnote 2: Adopting Canter's emendation. [Greek: eithismenou] for the
unintelligible [Greek: ois men oute] of the MSS.]

[Footnote 3: The drinking of warm water ranked among the ancients as a
luxurious practice. (Compare the end of chapter 14, Book Fifty-seven, and
the end of chapter 11, Book Fifty-nine.)]

[Footnote 4: An emendation by Leunclavius, based on Suetonius, Life of
Claudius, chapter 24 (fin.).]

[Footnote 5: A small gap in the MS. is here filled according to Oddey.]

[Footnote 6: A line of Homer's occurring in the Iliad once (XXIV, 369)
and in the Odyssey twice (XVI, 72, and XXI, 133).]

[Footnote 7: Because monopolies of selling them had been conceded for
huge sums to avaricious tradesmen.]

[Footnote 8: This is an error. Mithridates of Bosporus is the person
actually meant.]

[Footnotes 9: These two quotations are to be found in Kock (_Fragmenta
Comicorum Græcorum_) Vol. III, p. 499. They are Nos. 487 and 488 of
the [Greek: Adespota Opoteras]. Kock sees no reason for assigning them
specifically to the New Comedy (as Meineke has done).]

[Footnote 10: For a further discussion of this isolated statement (from
Suidas) see Mommsen, _Staatsrecht_, III, p. 912, note 1.]

[Footnote 11: From an examination of Suetonius, Life of Claudius, chapter
25, it seems likely that Dio wrote "cities" (plural), referring to all
the Italian towns.]

[Footnote 12: "Of charioteers" is undoubtedly the sense.]

[Footnote 13: The same _locus Fucinus_ that is presently mentioned
again.]

[Footnote 14: "Hail, emperor, we about to die salute thee."]

[Footnote 15: This verb is a mere conjecture by one of the editors. The
MS. reading, "he had hoped," is, of course, corrupt.]

[Footnote 16: Dio probably says "called" here because the Greek word he
uses for "mushrooms" has many other meanings, such as snuff of a wick,
scab, knob, etc.]