Tiberius (Suetonius)

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	Tiberius Author: Suetonius	Translator: Alexander Thomson
57	Saeua ac lenta natura ne in puero quidem latuit ; quam Theodorus Gadareus rhetoricae praeceptor et perspexisse primus sagaciter et assimilasse aptissime uisus est , subinde in obiurgando appellans eum πηλὸν αἵματι πεφυραμένον , id est lutum a sanguine maceratum . sed aliquanto magis in principe eluxit , etiam inter initia cum adhuc fauorem hominum moderationis simulatione captaret . scurram , qui praetereunte funere clare mortuo mandarat , ut nuntiaret Augusto nondum reddi legata quae plebei reliquisset , adtractum ad se recipere debitum ducique ad supplicium imperauit et patri suo uerum referre . nec multo post in senatu Pompeio cuidam equiti R . quiddam perneganti , dum uincula minatur , affirmauit fore ut ex Pompeio Pompeianus fieret , acerba cauillatione simul hominis nomen incessens ueteremque partium fortunam .	His cruel and sullen temper appeared when he was still a boy; which Theodorus of Gadara, his master in rhetoric, first discovered, and expressed by a very opposite simile, calling him sometimes, when he chid him, "Mud mixed with blood." But his disposition shewed itself still more clearly on his attaining the imperial power, and even in the beginning of his administration, when he was endeavouring to gain the popular favour, by affecting moderation. Upon a funeral passing by, a wag called out to the dead man, "Tell Augustus, that the legacies he bequeathed to the people are not yet paid." The man being brought before him, he ordered that he should receive what was due to him, and then be led to execution, that he might deliver the message to his father himself. Not long afterwards, when one Pompey, a Roman knight, persisted in his opposition to something he proposed in the senate, he threatened to put him in prison, and told him, "Of a Pompey I shall make a Pompeian of you;" by a bitter kind of pun playing upon the man's name, and the ill-fortune of his party.
58	sub idem tempus consulente praetore an iudicia maiestatis cogi iuberet , exercendas esse leges respondit et atrocissime exercuit . statuae quidam Augusti caput dempserat , ut alterius imponeret ; acta res in senatu et , quia ambigebatur , per tormenta quaesita est . damnato reo paulatim genus calumniae eo processit , ut haec quoque capitalia essent : circa Augusti simulacrum seruum cecidisse , uestimenta mutasse , nummo uel anulo effigiem impressam latrinae aut lupanari intulisse , dictum ullum factumue eius existimatione aliqua laesisse . perit denique et is , qui honorem in colonia sua eodem die decerni sibi passus est , quo decreti et Augusto olim erant .	About the same time, when the praetor consulted him, whether it was his pleasure that the tribunals should take cognizance of accusations of treason, he replied, "The laws ought to be put in execution;" and he did put them in execution most severely. Some person had taken off the head of Augustus from one of his statues, and replaced it by another. The matter was brought before the senate, and because the case was not clear, the witnesses were put to the torture. The party accused being found guilty, and condemned, this kind of proceeding was carried so far, that it became capital for a man to beat his slave, or change his clothes, near the statue of Augustus; to carry his head stamped upon the coin, or cut in the stone of a ring, into a necessary house, or the stews; or to reflect upon anything that had been either said or done by him. In fine, a person was condemned to death, for suffering some honours to be decreed to him in the colony where he lived, upon the same day on which they had formerly been decreed to Augustus.
59	Multa praeterea specie grauitatis ac morum corrigendorum , sed et magis naturae optemperans , ita saeue et atrociter factitauit , ut nonnulli uersiculis quoque et praesentia exprobrarent et futura denuntiarent mala : Asper et immitis , breuiter uis omnia dicam ? dispeream , si te mater amare potest . Non es eques ; quare ? non sunt tibi milia centum ; omnia si quaeras , et Rhodus exilium est . Aurea mutasti Saturni saecula , Caesar : incolumi nam te ferrea semper erunt . Fastidit uinum , quia iam sitit iste cruorem : tam bibit hunc auide , quam bibit ante merum . Aspice felicem sibi , non tibi , Romule , Sullam et Marium , si uis , aspice , sed reducem , nec non Antoni ciuilia bella mouentis non semel infectas aspice caede manus , et dic : Roma perit ! regnauit sanguine multo , ad regnum quisquis uenit ab exilio . quae primo , quasi ab impatientibus remediorum ac non tam ex animi sententia quam bile et stomacho fingerentur , uolebat accipi dicebatque identidem : ' oderint , dum probent .' dein uera plane certaque esse ipse fecit fidem .	He was besides guilty of many barbarous actions, under the pretence of strictness and reformation of manners, but more to gratify his own savage disposition. Some verses were published, which displayed the present calamities of his reign, and anticipated the future. Asper et immitis, breviter vis omnia dicam? Dispeream si te mater amare potest. Non es eques, quare? non sunt tibi millia centum? Omnia si quaras, et Rhodos exsilium est. Aurea mutasti Saturni saecula, Caesar: Incolumi nam te, ferrea semper erunt. Fastidit vinum, quia jam sitit iste cruorem: Tam bibit hunc avide, quam bibit ante merum. Adspice felicem sibi, non tibi, Romule, Sullam: Et Marium, si vis, adspice, sed reducem. Nec non Antoni civilia bella moventis Nec semel infectas adspice cada manus, Et dic, Roma perit: regnabit sanguine multo, Ad regnum quisquis venit ab exsilio. Obdurate wretch! too fierce, too fell to move The least kind yearnings of a mother's love! No knight thou art, as having no estate; Long suffered'st thou in Rhodes an exile's fate, No more the happy Golden Age we see; The Iron's come, and sure to last with thee. Instead of wine he thirsted for before, He wallows now in floods of human gore. Reflect, ye Romans, on the dreadful times, Made such by Marius, and by Sylla's crimes. Reflect how Antony's ambitious rage Twice scar'd with horror a distracted age. And say, Alas! Rome's blood in streams will flow, When banish'd miscreants rule this world below. At first he would have it understood, that these satirical verses were drawn forth by the resentment of those who were impatient under the discipline of reformation, rather than that they spoke,their real sentiments; and he would frequently say, "Let them hate me, so long as they do but approve my conduct." At length, however, his behaviour showed that he was sensible they were too well founded.
60	In paucis diebus quam Capreas attigit piscatori , qui sibi secretum agenti grandem mullum inopinanter obtulerat , perfricari eodem pisce faciem iussit , territus quod is a tergo insulae per aspera et deuia erepsisset ad se ; gratulanti autem inter poenam , quod non et lucustam , quam praegrandem ceperat , obtulisset , lucusta quoque lacerari os imperauit . militem praetorianum ob subreptum e uiridiario pauonem capite puniit . in quodam itinere lectica , qua uehebatur , uepribus impedita exploratorem uiae , primarum cohortium centurionem , stratum humi paene ad necem uerberauit .	A few days after his arrival at Capri, a fisherman coming up to him unexpectedly, when he was desirous of privacy, and presenting him with a large mullet, he ordered the man's face to be scrubbed with the fish; being terrified with the thought of his having been able to creep upon him from the back of the island, over such rugged and steep rocks. The man, while undergoing the punishment, expressing his joy that he had not likewise offered him a large crab which he had also taken, he ordered his face to be farther lacerated with its claws. He put to death one of the pretorian guards, for having stolen a peacock out of his orchard. In one of his journeys, his litter being obstructed by some bushes, he ordered the officer whose duty it was to ride on and examine the road, a centurion of the first cohorts, to be laid on his face upon the ground, and scourged almost to death.
61	mox in omne genus crudelitatis erupit numquam deficiente materia , cum primo matris , deinde nepotum et nurus , postremo Seiani familiares atque etiam notos persequeretur ; post cuius interitum uel saeuissimus extitit . quo maxime apparuit , non tam ipsum ab Seiano concitari solitum , quam Seianum quaerenti occasiones sumministrasse ; etsi commentario , quem de uita sua summatim breuiterque composuit , ausus est scribere Seianum se punisse , quod comperisset furere aduersus liberos Germanici filii sui ; quorum ipse alterum suspecto iam , alterum oppresso demum Seiano interemit . Singillatim crudeliter facta eius exequi longum est ; genera , uelut exemplaria saeuitiae , enumerare sat erit . nullus a poena hominum cessauit dies , ne religiosus quidem ac sacer ; animaduersum in quosdam ineunte anno nouo . accusati damnatique multi cum liberis atque etiam a liberis suis . interdictum ne capite damnatos propinqui lugerent . decreta accusatoribus praecipua praemia , nonnumquam et testibus . nemini delatorum fides abrogata . omne crimen pro capitali receptum , etiam paucorum simpliciumque uerborum . obiectum est poetae , quod in tragoedia Agamemnonem probris lacessisset ; obiectum et historico , quod Brutum Cassiumque ultimos Romanorum dixisset ; animaduersum statim in auctores scriptaque abolita , quamuis probarentur ante aliquot annos etiam Augusto audiente recitata . quibusdam custodiae traditis non modo studendi solacium ademptum , sed etiam sermonis et conloqui usus . citati ad causam dicendam partim se domi uulnerauerunt certi damnationis et ad uexationem ignominiamque uitandam , partim in media curia uenenum hauserunt ; et tamen conligatis uulneribus ac semianimes palpitantesque adhuc in carcerem rapti . nemo punitorum non in Gemonias abiectus uncoque tractus , uiginti uno die abiecti tractique , inter eos feminae et pueri . immaturae puellae , quia more tradito nefas esset uirgines strangulari , uitiatae prius a carnifice , dein strangulatae . mori uolentibus uis adhibita uiuendi . nam mortem adeo leue supplicium putabat , ut cum audisset unum e reis , Carnulum nomine , anticipasse eam , exclamauerit : ' Carnulus me euasit .' et in recognoscendis custodiis precanti cuidam poenae maturitatem respondit : ' nondum tecum in gratiam redii .' annalibus suis uir consularis inseruit , frequenti quodam conuiuio , cui et ipse affuerit , interrogatum eum subito et clare a quodam nano astante mensae inter copreas , cur Paconius maiestatis reus tam diu uiueret , statim quidem petulantiam linguae obiurgasse , ceterum post paucos dies scripsisse senatui , ut de poena Paconi quam primum statueret .	Soon afterwards, he abandoned himself to every species of cruelty, never wanting occasions of one kind or another, to serve as a pretext. He first fell upon the friends and acquaintances of his mother, then those of his grandsons, and his daughter-in-law, and lastly those of Sejanus; after whose death he became cruel in the extreme. From this it appeared, that he had not been so much instigated by Sejanus, as supplied with occasions of gratifying his savage temper, when he wanted them. Though in a short memoir which he composed of his own life, he had the effrontery to write, "I have punished Sejanus, because I found him bent upon the destruction of the children of my son Germanicus," one of these he put to death, when he began to suspect Sejanus; and another, after he was taken off. It would be tedious to relate all the numerous instances of his cruelty: suffice it to give a few examples, in their different kinds. Not a day passed without the punishment of some person or other, not excepting holidays, or those appropriated to the worship of the gods. Some were tried even on NewYear's-Day. Of many who were condemned, their wives and children shared the same fate; and for those who Were sentenced to death, the relations were forbid to put on mourning. Considerable rewards were voted for the prosecutors, and sometimes for the witnesses also. The information of any person, without exception, was taken; and all offences were capital, even speaking a few words, though without any ill intention. A poet was charged with abusing Agamemnon; and a historian, for calling Brutus and Cassius " the last of the Romans." The two authors were immediately called to account, and their writings suppressed; though they had been well received some years before, and read in the hearing of Augustus. Some, who were thrown into prison, were not only denied the solace of study, but debarred from all company and conversation. Many persons, when summoned to trial, stabbed themselves at home, to avoid the distress and ignominy of a public condemnation, which they were certain would ensue. Others took poison in the senate-house. The wounds were bound up, and all who had not expired, were carried, half-dead, and panting for life, to prison. Those who were put to death, were thrown down the Gemonian stairs, and then dragged into the Tiber. In one day, twenty were treated in this manner; and amongst them women and boys. Because, according to an ancient custom, it was not lawful to strangle virgins, the young girls were first deflowered by the executioner, and afterwards strangled. Those who were desirous to die, were forced to live. For he thought death so slight a punishment, that upon hearing that Carnulius, one of the accused, who was under prosecution, had killed himself," he exclaimed, "Carnulius has escaped me." In calling over his prisoners, when one of them requested the favour of a speedy death, he replied, " You are not yet restored to favour." A man of consular rank writes in his annals, that at table, where he himself was present with a large company, he was suddenly asked aloud by a dwarf who stood by amongst the buffoons, why Paconius, who was under prosecution for treason, lived so long. Tiberius immediately reprimanded him for his pertness; but wrote to the senate a few days after, to proceed without delay to the punishment of Paconius.
62	Auxit intenditque saeuitiam exacerbatus indicio de morte filii sui Drusi . quem cum morbo et intemperantia perisse existimaret , ut tandem ueneno interemptum fraude Liuillae uxoris atque Seiani cognouit , neque tormentis neque supplicio cuiusquam pepercit , soli huic cognitioni adeo per totos dies deditus et intentus , ut Rhodiensem hospitem , quem familiaribus litteris Romam euocarat , aduenisse sibi nuntiatum torqueri sine mora iusserit , quasi aliquis ex necessariis quaestioni adesset , deinde errore detecto et occidi , ne uulgaret iniuriam . carnificinae eius ostenditur locus Capreis , unde damnatos post longa et exquisita tormenta praecipitari coram se in mare iubebat , excipiente classiariorum manu et contis atque remis elidente cadauera , ne cui residui spiritus quicquam inesset . excogitauerat autem inter genera cruciatus etiam , ut larga meri potione per fallaciam oneratos , repente ueretris deligatis , fidicularum simul urinaeque tormento distenderet . quod nisi eum et mors praeuenisset et Thrasyllus consulto , ut aiunt , differre quaedam spe longioris uitae compulisset , plures aliquanto necaturus ac ne reliquis quidem nepotibus parsurus creditur , cum et Gaium suspectum haberet et Tiberium ut ex adulterio conceptum aspernaretur . nec abhorret a uero ; namque identidem felicem Priamum uocabat , quod superstes omnium suorum extitisset .	Exasperated by information he received respect ing the death of his son Drusus, he carried his cruelty still farther. He imagined that he had died of a disease occasioned by his intemperance; but finding that he had been poisoned by the contrivance of his wife Livilla, and Sejanus, he spared no one from torture and death. He was so entirely occupied with the examination of this affair, for whole days together, that, upon being informed that the person in whose house he had lodged at Rhodes, and whom he had by a friendly letter invited to Rome, was arrived, he ordered him immediately to be put to the torture, as a party concerned in the enquiry. Upon finding his mistake, he commanded him to be put to death, that he might not publish the injury done him. The place of execution is still shown at Capri, where he ordered those who were condemned to die, after long and exquisite tortures, to be thrown, before his eyes, from a precipice into the sea. There a party of soldiers belonging to the fleet waited for them, and broke their bones with poles and oars, lest they should have any life left in them. Had not death prevented him, and Thrasyllus, designedly, as some say, prevailed with him to defer some of his cruelties, in hopes of longer life, it is believed that he would have destroyed many more; and not have spared even the rest of his grand-children: for he was jealous of Caius, and hated Tiberius as having been conceived in adultery. This conjecture is indeed highly probable; for he used often to say, "Happy Priam, who survived all his children!"
63	Quam inter haec non modo inuisus ac detestabilis , sed praetrepidus quoque atque etiam contumeliis obnoxius uixerit , multa indicia sunt . haruspices secreto ac sine testibus consuli uetuit . uicina uero urbi oracula etiam disicere conatus est , sed maiestate Praenestinarum sortium territus destitit , cum obsignatas deuectasque Romam non repperisset in arca nisi relata rursus ad templum . unum et alterum consulares oblatis prouinciis non ausus a se dimittere usque eo detinuit , donec successores post aliquot annos praesentibus daret , cum interim manente officii titulo etiam delegaret plurima assidue , quae illi per legatos et adiutores suos exequenda curarent .	Amidst these enormities, in how much fear and apprehension, as well as odium and detestation, he lived, is evident from many indications. He forbade the soothsayers to be consulted in private, and without some witnesses being present. He attempted to suppress the oracles in the neighbourhood of the city; but being terrified by the divine authority of the Praenestine Lots, he abandoned the design. For though they were sealed up in a box, and carried to Rome, yet they were not to be found in it until it was returned to the temple. More than one person of consular rank, appointed governors of provinces, he never ventured to dismiss to their respective destinations, but kept them until several years after, when he nominated their successors, while they still remained present with him. In the meantime they bore the title of their office; and he frequently gave them orders, which they took care to have executed by their deputies and assistants.
64	nurum ac nepotes numquam aliter post damnationem quam catenatos obsutaque lectica loco mouit , prohibitis per militem obuiis ac uiatoribus respicere usquam uel consistere .	He never removed his daughter-in-law or grandsons, after their condemnation, to any place, but in fetters and in a covered litter, with a guard to hinder all who met them on the road, and travellers, from stopping to gaze at them.
65	Seianum res nouas molientem , quamuis iam et natalem eius publice celebrari et imagines aureas coli passim uideret , uix tandem et astu magis ac dolo quam principali auctoritate subuertit . nam primo , ut a se per speciem honoris dimitteret , collegam sibi assumpsit in quinto consulatu , quem longo interuallo absens ob id ipsum susceperat . deinde spe affinitatis ac tribuniciae potestatis deceptum inopinantem criminatus est pudenda miserandaque oratione , cum inter alia patres conscriptos precaretur , mitterent alterum e consulibus , qui se senem et solum in conspectum eorum cum aliquo militari praesidio perduceret . sic quoque diffidens tumultumque metuens Drusum nepotem , quem uinculis adhuc Romae continebat , solui , si res posceret , ducemque constitui praeceperat . aptatis etiam nauibus ad quascumque legiones meditabatur fugam , speculabundus ex altissima rupe identidem signa , quae , ne nuntii morarentur , tolli procul , ut quidque factum foret , mandauerat . uerum et oppressa coniuratione Seiani nihilo securior aut constantior per nouem proximos menses non egressus est uilla , quae uocatur Ionis .	After Sejanus had plotted against him, though he saw that his birth-day was solemnly kept by the public, and divine honours paid to golden images of him in every quarter, yet it was with difficulty at last, and more by artifice than his imperial power, that he accomplished his death. In the first place, to remove him from about his person, under the pretext of doing him honour, he made him his colleague in his fifth consulship; which, although then absent from the city, he took upon him for that purpose, long after his preceding consulship. Then, having flattered him with the hope of an alliance by marriage with one of his own kindred, and the prospect of the tribunitian authority, he suddenly, while Sejanus little expected it, charged him with treason, in an abject and pitiful address to the senate; in which, among other things, he begged them "to send one of the consuls, to conduct himself, a poor solitary old man, with a guard of soldiers, into their presence." Still distrustful, however, and apprehensive of an insurrection, he ordered his grandson, Drusus, whom he still kept in confinement at Rome, to be set at liberty, and if occasion required, to head the troops. He had likewise ships in readiness to transport him to any of the legions to which he might consider it expedient to make his escape. Meanwhile, he was upon the watch, from the summit of a lofty cliff, for the signals which he had ordered to be made if any thing occurred, lest the messengers should be tardy. Even when he had quite foiled the conspiracy of Sejanus, he was still haunted as much as ever with fears and apprehensions, insomuch that he never once stirred out of the Villa Jovis for nine months after.
66	Vrebant insuper anxiam mentem uaria undique conuicia , nullo non damnatorum omne probri genus coram uel per libellos in orchestra positos ingerente . quibus quidem diuersissime adficiebatur , modo ut prae pudore ignota et celata cuncta cuperet , nonnumquam eadem contemneret et proferret ultro atque uulgaret . quin et Artabani Parthorum regis laceratus est litteris parricidia et caedes et ignauiam et luxuriam obicientis monentisque , ut uoluntaria morte maximo iustissimoque ciuium odio quam primum satis faceret .	To the extreme anxiety of mind which he now experienced, he had the mortification to find superadded the most poignant reproaches from all quarters. Those who were condemned to die, heaped upon him the most opprobrious language in his presence, or by hand-bills scattered in the senators' seats in the theatre. These produced different effects: sometimes he wished, out of shame, to have all smothered and concealed; at other times he would disregard what was said, and publish it himself. To this accumulation of scandal and open sarcasm, there is to be subjoined a letter from Artabanus, king of the Parthians, in which he upbraids him with his parricides, murders, cowardice, and lewdness, and advises him to satisfy the furious rage of his own people, which he had so justly excited, by putting an end to his life without delay.
67	postremo semet ipse pertaesus , tali epistulae principio tantum non summam malorum suorum professus est : ' quid scribam uobis , p . c ., aut quo modo scribam , aut quid omnino non scribam hoc tempore , dii me deaeque peius perdant quam cotidie perire sentio , si scio .' Existimant quidam praescisse haec eum peritia futurorum ac multo ante , quanta se quandoque acerbitas et infamia maneret , prospexisse ; ideoque , ut imperium inierit , et patris patriae appellationem et ne in acta sua iuraretur obstinatissime recusasse , ne mox maiore dedecore impar tantis honoribus inueniretur . quod sane ex oratione eius , quam de utraque re habuit , colligi potest ; uel cum ait : similem se semper sui futurum nec umquam mutaturum mores suos , quam diu sanae mentis fuisset ; sed exempli causa cauendum esse , ne se senatus in acta cuiusquam obligaret , quia aliquo casu mutari posset . et rursus : ' Si quando autem ,' inquit , ' de moribus meis deuotoque uobis animo dubitaueritis ,— quod prius quam eueniat , opto ut me supremus dies huic mutatae uestrae de me opinioni eripiat — nihil honoris adiciet mihi patria appellatio , uobis autem exprobrabit aut temeritatem delati mihi eius cognominis aut inconstantiam contrarii de me iudicii .'	At last, being quite weary with himself, he acknowledged his extreme misery, in a letter to the senate, which begun thus: "What to write to you, Conscript Fathers, or how to write, or what not to write at this time, may all the gods and goddesses pour upon my head a more terrible vengeance than that under which I feel myself daily sinking, if I can tell." Some are of opinion that he had a foreknowledge of those things, from his skill in the science of divination, and perceived long before what misery and infamy would at last come upon him; and that for this reason, at the beginning of his reign, he had absolutely refused the title of the " Father of his Country," and the proposal of the senate to swear to his acts; lest he should afterwards, to his greater shame, be found unequal to such extraordinary honours. This, indeed, may be justly inferred from the speeches which he made upon both those occasions; as when he says, " I shall ever be the same, and shall never change my conduct, so long as I retain my senses; but to avoid giving a bad precedent to posterity, the senate ought to beware of binding themselves to the acts of any person whatever, who might by some accident or other be induced to alter them." And again: " If ye should at any time entertain a jealousy of my conduct, and my entire affection for you, which heaven prevent by putting a period to my days, rather than I should live to see such an alteration in your opinion of me, the title of Father will add no honour to me, but be a reproach to you, for your rashness in conferring it upon me, or inconsistency in altering your opinion of me."
68	Corpore fuit amplo atque robusto , statura quae iustam excederet ; latus ab umeris et pectore , ceteris quoque membris usque ad imos pedes aequalis et congruens ; sinistra manu agiliore ac ualidiore , articulis ita firmis , ut recens et integrum malum digito terebraret , caput pueri uel etiam adulescentis talitro uulneraret . colore erat candido , capillo pone occipitium summissiore ut ceruicem etiam obtegeret , quod gentile in illo uidebatur ; facie honesta , in qua tamen crebri et subiti tumores , cum praegrandibus oculis et qui , quod mirum esset , noctu etiam et in tenebris uiderent , sed ad breue et cum primum e somno patuissent ; deinde rursum hebescebant . incedebat ceruice rigida et obstipa , adducto fere uultu , plerumque tacitus , nullo aut rarissimo etiam cum proximis sermone eoque tardissimo , nec sine molli quadam digitorum gesticulatione . quae omnia ingrata atque arrogantiae plena et animaduertit Augustus in eo et excusare temptauit saepe apud senatum ac populum professus naturae uitia esse , non animi . ualitudine prosperrima usus est , tempore quidem principatus paene toto prope inlaesa , quamuis a tricesimo aetatis anno arbitratu eam suo rexerit sine adiumento consilioue medicorum .	In person he was large and robust; of a stature somewhat above the common size; broad in the shoulders and chest, and proportionable in the rest of his frame. He used his left hand more readily and with more force than his right; and his joints were so strong, that he could bore a fresh, sound apple through with his finger, and wound the head of a boy, or even a young man, with a fillip. He was of a fair complexion, and wore his hair so long behind, that it covered his neck, which was observed to be a mark of distinction affected by the family. He had a handsome face, but it was often full of pimples. His eyes, which were large, had a wonderful faculty of seeing in the night-time, and in the dark, for a short time only, and immediately after awaking from sleep; but they soon grew dim again. He walked with his neck stiff and upright; generally with a frowning countenance, being for the most part silent: when he spoke to those about him, it was very slowly, and usually accompanied with a slight gesticulation of his fingers. All which, being repulsive habits and signs of arrogance, were remarked by Augustus, who often endeavoured to excuse them to the senate and people, declaring that "they were natural defects, which proceeded from no viciousness of mind." He enjoyed a good state of health, without interruption, almost during the whole period of his rule; though, from the thirtieth year of his age, he treated himself according to his own discretion, without any medical assistance.
69	Circa deos ac religiones neglegentior , quippe addictus mathematicae plenusque persuasionis cuncta fato agi , tonitrua tamen praeter modum expauescebat et turbatiore caelo numquam non coronam lauream capite gestauit , quod fulmine afflari negetur id genus frondis .	In regard to the gods, and matters of religion, he discovered much indifference; being greatly addicted to astrology, and fully persuaded that all things were governed by fate. Yet he was extremely afraid of lightning, and when the sky was in a disturbed state, always wore a laurel crown on his head; because it is supposed that the leaf of that tree is never touched by the lightning.
70	Artes liberales utriusque generis studiosissime coluit . in oratione Latina secutus est Coruinum Messalam , quem senem adulescens obseruarat . sed adfectatione et morositate nimia obscurabat stilum , ut aliquanto ex tempore quam a cura praestantior haberetur . composuit et carmen lyricum , cuius est titulus ' conquestio de morte L . Caesaris .' fecit et Graeca poemata imitatus Euphorionem et Rhianum et Parthenium , quibus poetis admodum delectatus scripta omnium et imagines publicis bibliothecis inter ueteres et praecipuos auctores dedicauit ; et ob hoc plerique eruditorum certatim ad eum multa de his ediderunt . maxime tamen curauit notitiam historiae fabularis usque ad ineptias atque derisum ; nam et grammaticos , quod genus hominum praecipue , ut diximus , appetebat , eius modi fere quaestionibus experiebatur : ' quae mater Hecubae , quod Achilli nomen inter uirgines fuisset , quid Sirenes cantare sint solitae .' et quo primum die post excessum Augusti curiam intrauit , quasi pietati simul ac religioni satis facturus Minonis exemplo ture quidem ac uino uerum sine tibicine supplicauit , ut ille olim in morte filii .	He applied himself with great diligence to the liberal arts, both Greek and Latin. In his Latin style, he affected to imitate the Messala Corvinus, a venerable man, to whom he had paid much respect in his own early years. But he rendered his style obscure by excessive affectation and abstruseness, so that he was thought to speak better extempore, than in a premeditated discourse. He composed likewise a lyric ode, under the title of " A Lamentation upon the Death of Lucius Caesar; " and also some Greek poems, in imitation of Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenius. These poets he greatly admired, and placed their works and statues in the public libraries, amongst the eminent authors of antiquity. On this account, most of the learned men of the time vied with each other in publishing observations upon them, which they addressed to him. His principal study, however, was the history of the fabulous ages, inquiring even into its trifling details in a ridiculous manner; for he used to try the grammarians, a class of men which, as I have already observed, he much affected, with such questions as these: "Who was Hecuba's mother? What name did Achilles assume among the virgins? What was it that the Sirens used to sing?" And the first day that he entered the senate-house, after the death of Augustus, as if he intended to pay respect at once to his father's memory and to the gods, he made an offering of frankincense and wine, but without any music, in imitation of Minos, upon the death of his son.