11. From that time Tibe'rius was joined in the government of the provinces with him, and invested with nearly the same authority. However, Augustus could not entirely forsake the administration, which habit had rendered a source of pleasure; and he still continued a watchful guardian, and showed himself, to the last, a lover of his people. 12. Finding it now, therefore, very inconvenient to come to the senate, by reason of his age, he desired to have twenty privy-counsellors assigned him for a year; and it was decreed, that whatever measures were resolved upon by them and the consuls, should have entirely the force of a law. 13. He seemed apprehensive of his approaching end, for he made his will, and delivered it to the vestal virgins. He then solemnized the census, or numbering the people, whom he found to amount to four millions one hundred and thirty-seven thousand; which shows Rome to be equal to four of the greatest cities of modern times. 14. While these ceremonies were performing, in the midst of a mighty concourse of people in the Cam'pus Mar'tius, it is said that an eagle flew round the emperor several times, and, directing its flight to a neighbouring temple, perched over the name of Agrippa: this omen was, by the augurs, conceived to portend the death of the emperor. 15. Shortly after, having accompanied Tibe'rius in his march into Illyr'ia, he was taken ill. Returning thence, he sent for Tibe'rius and his most intimate friends. A few hours before his death he ordered a looking-glass to be brought, and his hair to be adjusted with more than usual care. He then addressed his friends, whom he beheld surrounding his bed, and desired to know whether he had properly played his part in life; to which, being answered in the affirmative, he cried out with his last breath, "Then give me your applause." Thus, at the age of seventy-six, after reigning forty-four years, he expired in the arms of[Pg. 270] Liv'ia, bidding her remember their marriage and their last farewell.[4]
16. The death of the emperor caused inexpressible grief throughout the whole empire. It was, by some, supposed that his wife Liv'ia had some hand in hastening it, with a view to procure the succession more speedily for her son. However this was, she took care, for a time, to keep the important event concealed, by guarding all the passages to the palace; sometimes giving out that he was recovered, and then pretending a relapse. At length, having settled the succession to her mind, she published the emperor's death; and at the same time, the adoption of Tibe'rius to the empire. 17. The emperor's funeral was performed with great magnificence. The senators being in their places, Tibe'rius, on whom that care devolved, pronounced a consolatory oration. After this his will was read, wherein he made Tibe'rius and Liv'ia his heirs. 18. He was studious of serving his country to the very last, and the sorrow of the people seemed equal to his assiduity. It was decreed, that all the women should mourn for him a whole year. Temples were erected to him, divine honours were allowed him, and one Nume'rius At'ticus, a senator, willing to convert the adulation of the times to his own benefit, received a large sum of money for swearing that he saw him ascending into heaven; so that no doubt remained among the people concerning his divinity.
19. Such were the honours paid to Augustus, whose power began in the slaughter, and terminated in the happiness of his subjects; so that it was said of him, "that it had been good for mankind if he had never been born, or if he had never died." 20. It is possible that the cruelties exercised in his triumvirate were suggested by his colleagues. In the case of Cæsar's death, he might think that revenge was virtue. Certain it is, that severities were necessary to restore public tranquillity; for, until the Roman spirit should be eradicated, no monarchy could be secure. 21. He indulged his subjects in the appearance of a republic, while[Pg. 271] he made them really happy in the effects of a most absolute monarchy, administered with the most consummate prudence. In this last quality he seems to have excelled most monarchs; and indeed, could we separate Octavius from Augustus, he was one of the most faultless princes in history. 22. About this time our Saviour was born in Jude'a.[5]
Questions for Examination.
1. What was the general conduct of Augustus?
2. Mention some instances of his moderation?
3. What farther instance of his moderation is on record?
4. How did he most decidedly show the alteration in his disposition?
5. In what was he particularly remarkable?
6. Was he happy in domestic life?
7. What family had she, and what was the character of her son?
8. Had he no other domestic trials?
9. In what way was she punished?
10. Was the reign of Augustus of considerable length?
11. Did he associate Tiberius with him in the government?
12. By what means did he lighten the burden of government?
13. By what measure did he prepare for his approaching end?
14. What omen portended his death?
15. How did he meet his end?
16. How were the people affected by his death, and why was it for a time concealed?
17. How was his funeral celebrated?
18. What honours were decreed him?
19. Were those honours deserved?
20. What excuses may be made for his early cruelties?
21. By what means did he secure his power?
22. What remarkable event happened in his reign?
Thy acts,
Thy fame, Germanicus, will long outlive
The venomed shafts of envy; and the praise
Of patriot tongues shall follow thee in death.—Clarke.
1. Tibe'rius was fifty-six years old when he took upon him the government of the Roman empire. He had lived in a state of profound dissimulation under Augustus, and was not yet hardy enough to show himself in his real character. In the beginning of his reign nothing appeared but prudence, generosity, and[Pg. 272] clemency.[6] 2. But the successes of his nephew, German'icus, son of his late brother Dru'sus, over the Germans, first brought his natural disposition to light, and discovered the malignity of his mind without disguise. 3. He was hardly settled on his throne, when he received intelligence that the legions in Panno'nia, hearing of the death of Augustus, and desirous of novelty, had revolted; but these were soon quieted, and Percen'nius, their leader, slain. 4. A commotion in Germany was attended with much more important consequences. The legions in that part of the empire were conducted by German'icus, a youth of most admirable qualities, who had been at the late emperor's request, adopted, in order to succeed to the empire. These forces had taken the opportunity of his absence to revolt, and now began to affirm that the whole Roman empire was in their power, and that its principal grandeur was owing to the success of their arms; when German'icus returned, therefore, they unanimously resolved to choose him emperor. 5. This general was the darling of the soldiers, and almost idolized, so that he might, with very little difficulty, have raised himself to the highest dignity in the state; but his duty prevailed over his ambition; he rejected their offers with the utmost indignation, and used the most indefatigable endeavours to quell the sedition. This he effected, though with extreme hazard, by cutting off many of the principal revolters, and then by leading the troops against the Germans, who were considered as the common enemies of the empire.
6. Tiberius was as much pleased with the loyalty of German'icus, as he was distressed at his superior popularity; his success, also, immediately after, against the Germans, still more excited the emperor's envy and private disgust. He overthrew the enemy in several battles, subduing many wild and extensive countries. 7. These victories, however, only served to inflame the emperor's jealousy: and every virtue in the general now became a new cause of offence. This dislike began to appear by Tiberius's making use of every pretence to draw German'icus from the legions: but he was obliged to postpone his purpose on account of a domestic insurrection made in Italy by one Cle'mens, whom he put to death by a private execution in a secret apartment of the palace.[Pg. 273]
9. Having thus got rid of his domestic enemy, he turned his thoughts to the most specious means of bringing home German'icus from the legions in Germany. He began by procuring him a triumph for his late victories, and when writing to him to return in order to enjoy those honours which the senate had decreed; adding, that he had reaped enough of glory in a country to which he had been sent nine times, and been each time victorious; concluding, that so great a number of triumphs was sufficient; and the most signal vengeance which could be inflicted on this turbulent people was to permit them to continue their intestine divisions. 10. German'icus was met on his return, many miles from the city, by a vast multitude, who received him with marks of adoration rather than respect. The gracefulness of his person; his triumphal chariot, in which were carried his five children; and the recovered standards of the army of Va'rus, threw the people into a phrenzy of joy and admiration.[7]
11. German'icus was now appointed to a new dignity. He departed from Rome on an expedition to the east, carrying with him his wife Agrippi'na, and his children. 12. But Tibe'rius, to restrain his power, had sent Cne'ius Pi'so governor into Syr'ia. This Pi'so was a person of furious and headstrong temper, and, in every respect, fit to execute those fatal purposes for which he was designed. 13. His instructions were, to oppose German'icus upon every occasion, to excite hatred against him, and even to procure his death if an opportunity should offer. He accordingly took every opportunity of abusing German'icus; and taxed him with diminishing the Roman glory, by his peculiar protection of the Athe'nians. 14. German'icus disregarded his invectives, being more intent on executing the business of his commission, than on counteracting the private designs of Pi'so. 15. Piso, however, and his wife Planci'na, who is recorded as a woman of an implacable and cruel disposition, continued to defame him. German'icus opposed only patience and condescension to all their invectives, and, with that gentleness which was peculiar to him, repaid their resentments by courtesy. 16. He was not ignorant of their motives, and was father willing to evade than oppose their[Pg. 274] enmity. He, therefore, took a voyage into Egypt, under pretence of viewing the celebrated antiquities of that country; but, in reality, to avoid the machinations of Pi'so, and those of his wife, which were still more dangerous. 17. Upon his return he fell sick, and, whether from a mind previously alarmed, or from more apparent marks of treachery, he sent to let Pi'so know, that he broke off all further connections. Growing daily worse, his death appeared to be inevitable. 18. Finding his end approaching, he addressed his friends, who stood around his bed, to the following effect: "Had my death been natural, I might have reason to complain of being thus snatched away from all the endearments of life, at so early an age; but my complaints are aggravated, in falling the victim of Pi'so's and Planci'na's treachery. Let the emperor, therefore, I conjure you, know the manner of my death, and the tortures I suffer. Those who loved me when living—those who even envied my fortune—will feel some regret, when they hear of a soldier, who had so often escaped the rage of the enemy, falling a sacrifice to the treachery of a woman. Plead then my cause before the people—you will be heard with pity—and if my murderers should pretend to have acted by command, they will either receive no credit or no pardon." 19. As he spoke these words, he stretched forth his hand, which his weeping friends tenderly pressing, most earnestly vowed that they would lose their lives rather than their revenge. The dying prince, then turning to his wife, conjured her, by her regard to his memory, and by all the bonds of nuptial love, to submit to the necessity of the times, and to evade the resentment of her more powerful enemies by not opposing it.[8] 20. Nothing could exceed the distress of the whole empire, upon hearing of the death of German'icus, and the people of Rome seemed to set no bounds to it. 21. In this universal confusion, Pi'so seemed marked for destruction. He and his wife stood charged with the death of German'icus, by giving him a slow poison. Indeed, even the emperor himself, with his mother Liv'ia, incurred a share of the general suspicion. 22. This was soon after greatly increased by the arrival of Agrippi'na, the widow of German'icus, a woman of invincible courage, and in[Pg. 275] high esteem for her virtue. She appeared bearing the urn containing the ashes of her husband, and, attended by all her children, went to the tomb of Augustus. 23. When she approached the city, she was met by the senate and people of Rome, both with acclamations and expressions of sorrow. The veteran soldiers, who had served under German'icus, gave the sincerest testimonies of their concern. The multitude, while the ashes were depositing, regarded the ceremony in profound silence; but presently broke out into loud lamentations, crying out, The commonwealth is now no more.
24. Tibe'rius permitted the accusation of Pi'so, though he was justly supposed to be merely the instrument of his own vengeance. This general was accused before the senate of the death of German'icus, and of other crimes.
25. He put an end to his trial, which had been drawn out to a great length, by committing suicide.[9] His wife Planci'na, who was universally believed to be most culpable, escaped punishment by the interest of Liv'ia.
26. Tibe'rius, having now no object of jealousy to keep him in awe, began to pull off the mask, and appear more in his natural character than before. 27. In the beginning of his cruelties, he took into his confidence Seja'nus, a Roman knight, who found out the method of gaining his affection by the most refined degree of dissimulation, and was an overmatch for his master in his own arts.[10] It is not well known whether he was the adviser of all the cruelties that ensued; but certain it is, that from the beginning of his ministry, Tibe'rius seemed to become more fatally suspicious.
Questions for Examination.
1. What were the age and character of Tiberius on his accession?
2. What first showed him in his true colours?[Pg. 276]
3. What was the first news he heard?
4. Was there not a more formidable revolt?
5. Did Germanicus accept this dignity?
6. Did Tiberius properly appreciate this conduct?
7. Was he pleased with his success?
8. How did this appear?
9. What followed this execution?
10. How was Germanicus received?
11. How was he next employed?
12. What restraints were imposed on him?
13. What were Piso's instructions, and how did he execute them?
14. How did Germanicus act on the occasion?
15. Did Piso persevere in his base attempts?
16. Was Germanicus aware of their design?
17. What happened on his return?
18. Repeat his speech on his death-bed.
19. What farther passed on this occasion?
20. Was his untimely end lamented?
21. Who incurred the popular hatred on this occasion?
22. How was this increased?
23. What honours were paid her?
24. Was the tyrant's vile agent rewarded for his services?
25. What was the issue?
26. How did Tiberius conduct himself after this?
27. Who was his prime minister?
Some ask for envied power; which public hate
Pursues, and hurries headlong to their fate;
Down go the titles; and the statue crowned,
Is by base hands in the next river drowned.—Juvenal.
1. Seja'nus began his administration by using all his address to persuade Tiberius to retire to some agreeable retreat, remote from Rome; from this he expected many advantages, since there could be no access to the emperor but through him. 2. The emperor, either prevailed upon by his persuasions, or pursuing the natural turn of his temper, left Rome and went into Campa'nia, under pretence of dedicating temples to Ju'piter and Augustus. Growing weary, however, of places where mankind might follow him with their complaints and distresses, he withdrew himself into the delightful island of Ca'preæ; and buried in this retreat, gave himself up to abandoned pleasures, regardless of the miseries of his subjects. 3. From this time he became more cruel, and Seja'nus increased his distrusts. Secret spies and informers were placed in all parts of the city, who converted the most harmless actions into subjects of offence. 4. In consequence of this, Ne'ro and Dru'sus, the children of German'icus, were declared enemies to the state, and[Pg. 277] afterwards starved to death in prison; while Agrippi'na, their mother, was sent into banishment. Sabi'nus, Asin'ius, Gal'lus, and Syria'eus, were, upon slight pretences, condemned and executed. 5. In this manner Seja'nus proceeded, removing all who stood between him and the empire; and every day increasing his confidence with Tibe'rius, and his power with the senate. The number of his statues exceeded even those of the emperor; people swore by his fortune, in the same manner as they would have done had he been upon the throne; and he was more dreaded than even the tyrant who actually enjoyed the empire. 6. But the rapidity of his rise seemed only preparatory to the greatness of his downfall. All we know of his first disgrace with the emperor is, that Sati'rus Secun'dus was the man who had the boldness to accuse him of treason; and Anto'nia, the mother of German'icus, seconded the accusation. 7. The senate, who had long been jealous of his power, and dreaded his cruelty, immediately took this opportunity of going beyond the orders of Tibe'rius; instead of sentencing him to imprisonment, they directed his execution.[11] 8. Whilst he was conducting to his fate, the people loaded him with insult and execration; pursued him with sarcastic reproaches; and threw down his statues. He himself was strangled by the executioner.
9. His death only lighted up the emperor's rage for farther executions. Planci'na, the wife of Pi'so, and others, were put to death for being attached to Seja'nus. He began to grow weary of single executions, and gave orders that all the accused should be put to death together, without further examination. The whole city was, in consequence, filled with slaughter and mourning. 10. When one Carnu'lius killed himself, to avoid the torture, "Ah!" cried Tibe'rius, "how has that man been able to escape me!" When a prisoner had earnestly entreated that he would not defer his death: "Know," said the tyrant, "I am not sufficiently your friend to shorten your torments."[Pg. 278]
11. In this manner he lived, odious to the world, and troublesome to himself; an enemy to the lives of others, a tormentor of his own.[12] At length, in the 22d year of his reign, he began to feel the approaches of dissolution, and his appetite totally forsook him. 12. He now, therefore, found it was time to think of a successor, and fixed upon Calig'ula:[13] willing, perhaps, by the enormity of Calig'ula's conduct, with which he was well acquainted, to lessen the obloquy of his own.
13. Still, however, he seemed desirous to avoid his end; and strove, by change of place, to cut off the inquietude of his own reflections. He left his favourite island, and went upon the continent; and at last, fixed at the promontory of Mise'num.[14] There he fell into faintings, which all believed to be fatal. 14. Calig'ula supposing him actually dead, caused himself to be acknowledged by the Prætorian soldiers,[15] and went forth from the emperor's apartment amidst the applauses of the multitude; when, all of a sudden, he was informed that the emperor was likely to recover. 15. This unexpected account filled the whole court with terror and alarm; every one who had before been earnestly testifying his joy, now reassumed his pretended sorrow, and forsook the new emperor, through a feigned solicitude for the fate of the old. 16, Calig'ula seemed thunderstruck; he preserved a gloomy silence, expecting nothing but death, instead of the empire at which he aspired. 17. Marco, however, who was hardened in crimes, ordered that the dying emperor should be despatched, by smothering him with pillows; or, as some will have it, by poison. Thus died Tibe'rius in the[Pg. 279] seventy-eighth year of his age, after reigning twenty-two years.
18. It was in the eighteenth year of this emperor's reign that Christ, (after having spent two years in the public ministry, instructing the multitude in the way of salvation,) was crucified; as if the universal depravity of mankind wanted no less a sacrifice than this to reclaim them. Pi'late sent to Tibe'rius an account of Christ's passion, resurrection, and miracles, and the emperor made a report of the whole to the senate, desiring that Christ might be accounted a god by the Romans. 19. But the senate, displeased that the proposal had not come first from themselves, refused to allow of his apotheosis; alleging an ancient law, which gave them the superintendence in all matters of religion. They even went so far as to command, by an edict, that all Christians should leave the city; but Tibe'rius, by another edict, threatened death to such as should accuse them; by which means they continued unmolested during the rest of his reign.
20. The vices of Calig'ula were concealed under the appearance of virtue in the beginning of his reign. In less than eight months, however, every trace of moderation and clemency vanished; while furious passions, unexampled avarice, and capricious cruelty, reigned uncontrolled; and pride, impiety, lust, and avarice, appeared in all their native deformity.
21. Calig'ula's pride first appeared in his assuming to himself the title of ruler; which was usually granted only to kings. He would also have taken the crown and diadem, had he not been advised, that he was already superior to all the monarchs of the world. 22. Not long after he assumed divine honours, and gave himself the names of such divinities as he thought most agreeable to his nature. For this purpose he caused the heads of the statues of Jupiter, and some other gods, to be struck off, and his own to be put in their places. He frequently seated himself between Castor and Pollux, and ordered that all who came to this temple to worship should pay their adorations only to himself. 23. However, such was the extravagant inconsistency of this unaccountable idiot, that he changed his divinity as often as he changed his clothes; being at one time a male deity, at another a female; sometimes Jupiter or Mars; and not unfrequently Venus or Diana. 24. He even built and dedicated a temple to his own divinity, in which his statue of gold was every day dressed in robes similar to those which[Pg. 280] he himself wore, and worshipped by crowds of adorers. His priests were numerous; the sacrifices made to him were of the most exquisite delicacies that could be procured; and the dignity of the priesthood was sought by the most opulent men of the city. However, he admitted his wife and his horse to that honour; and to give a finishing stroke to his absurdities, became a priest to himself. 25. His method of assuming the manners of a deity was not less ridiculous; he often went out at full moon, and courted it in the style of a lover. He employed many inventions to imitate thunder, and would frequently defy Jupiter, crying out with a speech of Homer, "Do you conquer me, or I will conquer you." He frequently pretended to converse in whispers with the statue of Jupiter, and usually seemed angry at its replies, threatening to send it back into Greece, whence it came. Sometimes, however, he would assume a better temper, and seem contented that Jupiter and he should dwell together in amity.
26. Of all his vices, prodigality was the most remarkable, and that which in some measure gave rise to the rest. The luxuries of former emperors were simplicity itself when compared to those which he practised. He contrived new ways of bathing, when the richest oils and most precious perfumes were lavished with the utmost profusion. His luxuries of the table were of immense value, and even jewels, as we are told, were dissolved in his sauces. He sometimes had services of pure gold presented before his guests, instead of meat, observing that a man should be an economist or an emperor.
27. The manner in which he maintained his horse will give some idea of his domestic extravagance. He built a stable of marble, and a manger of ivory; and whenever the animal, which he called Incita'tus, was to run in the race, he placed sentinels near its stable, the night preceding, to prevent its slumbers from being broken.[16][Pg. 281]
Questions for Examination.
1. What was the first measure of Sejanus?
2. Did the emperor yield to his persuasions?
3. What consequences ensued from this measure?
4. Who were the first sufferers?
5. Did Sejanus increase his influence?
6. Was this elevation permanent?
7. To what punishment was he condemned?
8. What occurred at his execution?
9. Was this the only victim to the cruelty of Tiberius?
10. How did Tiberius aggravate his cruelties?
11. Did these cruelties long continue?
12. How did he act on this?
13. Was he resigned to his fate?
14. What followed on this?
15. How was this news received?
16. Did Caligula boldly meet the consequences?
17. How was this averted?
18. What highly remarkable event happened in this reign?
19. Was his desire gratified?
20. What was the conduct of Caligula on this occasion?
21. By what acts did he display his pride?
22. Did his arrogance carry him farther than this?
23. Under what name did he assume divine honours?
24. Of what farther absurdities was he guilty?
25. Relate other follies of his?
26. What was his principal vice?
27. Give an instance of his domestic extravagance?
For him no prayers are poured, no pæans sung,
No blessings chanted from a nation's tongue.—Brereton.
1. The impiety, however, of Calig'ula was but subordinate to his cruelties. He slew many of the senate, and afterwards cited them to appear. He cast great numbers of old and infirm men to the wild beasts, to free the state from such unserviceable citizens. He usually fed his wild beasts with the bodies of those wretches whom he condemned; and every tenth day sent off numbers of them to be thus devoured, which he jocosely called clearing his accounts. One of those who was thus exposed, crying out that he was innocent,[17] Calig'ula ordered him to be taken up, his tongue[Pg. 282] to be cut out, and then thrown into the amphitheatre as before. 2. He took delight in killing men with slow tortures, that, as he expressed it, they might feel themselves dying, being always present at such executions himself, directing the duration of the punishment, and mitigating the tortures merely to prolong them. 3. In fact, he valued himself for no quality more than his unrelenting temper, and inflexible severity, when he presided at an execution. 4. Upon one occasion, being incensed with the citizens, he wished that the Roman people had but one neck, that he might dispatch them at one blow.
5. Such insupportable and capricious cruelties produced many secret conspiracies against him; but they were for a while deferred upon account of his intended expedition against the Germans and Britons.
6. For this purpose he caused numerous levies to be made, and talked with so much resolution, that it was universally believed he would conquer all before him. 7. His march perfectly indicated the inequality of his temper; sometimes it was so rapid that the cohorts were obliged to leave their standards behind them; at other times it was so slow, that it more resembled a pompous procession than a military expedition. 8. In this disposition he would cause himself to be carried on a litter, on eight men's shoulders, and ordered all the neighbouring cities to have their streets well swept and watered, that he might not be annoyed with dust. 9 However, all these mighty preparations ended in nothing. Instead of conquering Britain, he merely gave refuge to one of its banished princes; and this he described, in his letter to the senate, as taking possession of the whole island. 10. Instead of conquering Germany, he only led his army to the seashore in Gaul: there, disposing his engines and warlike machines with great solemnity, and drawing up his men in order of battle, he went on board his galley, with which coasting along, he commanded his trumpets to sound, and the signal to be given as if for an engagement. 11. His men, who had previous orders, immediately fell to gathering the shells that lay upon the shore into their helmets, as their spoils of the conquered ocean, worthy of the palace and the capitol. 12. After this doughty expedition, calling his army together, like a general after victory, he harangued them in a pompous manner, and highly extolled their achievements; then, distributing money among them, and congratulating them upon their riches, he dismissed them, with orders to[Pg. 283] be joyful: and, that such exploits should not pass without a memorial, he ordered a lofty tower to be erected by the seaside.[18]
13. Cassius Cher'ea, a tribune of the Prætorian bands, was the person who at last freed the world from this tyrant. Besides the motives which he had in common with other men, he had received repeated insults from Calig'ula, who took all occasions of turning him into ridicule, and impeaching him with cowardice, merely because he happened to have an effeminate voice. Whenever Cher'ea came to demand the watch-word from the emperor, according to custom, he always gave him either Venus, Adonis, or some such, implying softness and effeminacy.
14. Cher'ea secretly imparted his design to several senators and knights, whom he knew to have received personal injuries from Calig'ula. While these were deliberating upon the most certain and speedy method of destroying the tyrant, an unexpected incident gave new strength to the conspiracy. 15. Pempe'dius, a senator of distinction, being accused before the emperor of having spoken of him with disrespect, the informer cited one Quintil'ia, an actress, to confirm the accusation. 16. Quintil'ia, however, was possessed of a degree of fortitude not frequently found even in the other sex. She denied the fact with obstinacy; and, being put to the torture, bore the severest tortures of the rack with unshaken constancy. 17. Indeed, so remarkable was her resolution, that though acquainted with all the particulars of the conspiracy, and although Cher'ea was the person appointed to preside at her torture, she revealed nothing; on the contrary, when she was led to the rack, she trod upon the toe of one of the conspirators, intimating at once her knowledge of their conspiracy, and her resolution not to divulge it. 18. Thus she suffered, until all her limbs were dislocated; and, in that deplorable state, was presented to the emperor, who ordered her a gratuity for what she had endured.
19. Cher'ea could no longer contain his indignation, at being thus made the instrument of a tyrant's cruelty. After several deliberations of the conspirators, it was at last resolved to attack him during the Palatine games, which[Pg. 284] lasted four days,[19] and to strike the blow when his guards should not have the opportunity to defend him. 20. The first three days of the games passed. Cher'ea began to apprehend that deferring the completion of the conspiracy might be the means of divulging it; he even dreaded that the honour of killing the tyrant might fall to the lot of some other person bolder than himself. At last he resolved to defer the execution of his plot only to the day following, when Calig'ula should pass through a private gallery, to some baths near the palace.
21. The last day of the games was more splendid than the rest; and Calig'ula seemed more sprightly and condescending than usual. He enjoyed the amusement of seeing the people scramble for the fruits and other rarities by his order thrown among them, being no way apprehensive of the plot formed for his destruction. 22. In the mean time the conspiracy began to transpire: and, had he any friends remaining, it could not have failed of being discovered. A senator who was present, asking one of his acquaintance if he had heard any thing new, and the other replying in the negative, said "you must know, that this day will be represented the death of a tyrant." The other immediately understood him, but desired him to be cautious. 23. The conspirators waited many hours with extreme anxiety; and Calig'ula seemed resolved to spend the whole day without any refreshment. So unexpected a delay exasperated Cher'ea; and, had he not been restrained, he would suddenly have perpetrated his design in the midst of all the people. 24. At that instant, while he was hesitating, Aspore'nus,[20] one of the conspirators, persuaded Calig'ula to go to the bath, and take some slight refreshment, that he might the better enjoy the rest of the entertainment. 25. The emperor, rising up, the conspirators used every precaution to keep off the throng, and to surround him themselves, under pretence of great assiduity. Upon his entering a little vaulted gallery that led to the bath, Cher'ea struck him to the ground with his dagger, crying out, "Tyrant, think upon[Pg. 285] this." The other conspirators closed in upon him; and while the emperor was resisting, and crying out that he was not yet dead, they dispatched him with thirty wounds.
26. Such was the merited death of Calig'ula, in the 29th year of his age, after a short reign of not four years. His character may be summed up in the words of Sen'eca; namely, "Nature seemed to have brought him forth, to show what mischief could be effected by the greatest vices supported by the greatest authority."
Questions for Examination.
1. Of what enormities was Caligula guilty?
2. How did he heighten his cruelties?
3. On what did he chiefly value himself?
4. What monstrous wish did he express?
5. What was the consequence of such atrocities?
6. What preparations did he make?
7. How did his disposition display itself on this occasion?
8. How did he sometimes travel?
9. What exploits did he perform?
10. Did he not make a show of some great enterprise?
11. How did it end?
12. Of what farther follies was he guilty?
13. By whom was he assassinated, and by what provocations was his fate hastened?
14. Were others made privy to the design?
15. Relate this incident.
16. Did Quintilia confirm the accusation?
17. What rendered this resolution more remarkable?
18. What was the result?
19. Was the crisis much longer deferred?
20. Was this resolution put in practice?
21. Was Caligula at all apprehensive of what was in agitation?
22. Was the secret inviolably kept?
23. How was the design nearly frustrated?
24. What induced Caligula to alter his intention?
25. Relate the manner of his death.
26. Repeat the summary of his character as given by Seneca.
Old as I am,
And withered as you see these war-worn limbs,
Trust me, they shall support the mightiest load
Injustice dares impose.—Mason's Caractacus.
1. As soon as the death of Calig'ula was made public it produced the greatest confusion. The conspirators, who only aimed at destroying a tyrant, without attending to the[Pg. 286] appointment of a successor, had all sought safety by retiring to private places. 2. Some soldiers happening to wander about the palace, discovered Clau'dius, Calig'ula's uncle, lurking in a secret place where he had hid himself. Of this person, who had hitherto been despised for his imbecility, they resolved to make an emperor: and accordingly they carried him upon their shoulders to the camp, where they proclaimed him at a time when he expected nothing but death.
3. Clau'dius was now fifty years old. The complicated diseases of his infancy had, in some measure, affected all the faculties of his mind as well as body, and he seemed, both in public and domestic life, incapable of conducting himself with propriety.[21]
4. The commencement of his reign, however, as had been the case with all the bad emperors, gave the most promising hopes. It began by an act of oblivion for all former words and actions, and by disannulling all the cruel edicts of Calig'ula. 5. He showed himself more moderate than his predecessors with regard to titles and honours. He forbade all persons, under severe penalties, to sacrifice to him, as they had done to Calig'ula. He was assiduous in hearing and examining complaints; and frequently administered justice in person with great mildness. To his solicitude for the internal advantages of the state, he added that of a watchful guardianship over the provinces. He restored Jude'a to Her'od Agrip'pa,[22] which Calig'ula had taken from Her'od Antipas, his uncle, the man who had put John the Baptist to death, and who was banished by order of the present emperor.[23]
6. He even undertook to gratify the people by foreign[Pg. 287] conquest. The Britons, who had for nearly a hundred years been left in quiet possession of their own island, began to seek the mediation of Rome, to quell their intestine commotions. 7. The principal man who desired to subject his native country to the Roman dominion, was one Ber'icus, who persuaded the emperor to make a descent upon the island, magnifying the advantages that would attend the conquest of it. 8. In pursuance of his advice, therefore, Plau'tius, the prætor, was ordered to go into Gaul, and make preparations for this great expedition. At first, indeed, his soldiers seemed backward to embark, declaring that they were unwilling to make war beyond the limits of the world; for so they judged Britain to be. However, they were at last persuaded to go, and the Britons were several times overthrown.
9. These successes soon after induced Claud'ius to go into Britain in person, under pretence that the natives were still seditious, and had not delivered up some Roman fugitives, who had taken shelter among them. 10. However, this exhibition seemed rather calculated for show than service: the time he continued in Britain, which was in all but sixteen days, was more taken up in receiving homage than extending his conquests. 11. Great rejoicings were made upon his return to Rome: the senate decreed him a splendid triumph; triumphal arches were erected to his honour, and annual games instituted to commemorate his victories. 12. In the mean time the war was vigorously prosecuted by Plau'tius, and his lieutenant Vespasian, who,[Pg. 288] according to Sueto'nius, fought thirty battles, and reduced a part of the island into the form of a Roman province.