장음표시 사용
351쪽
fect by Tiberius, viz. the temple of Augustus, and thetheatre os Pompey. He began lihewis e the aqueductfrona the neigh bourhood of Tibur, and an amphitheatrenear the Septa ; of which works, one Was completed by his successor Claudius, and the other rem ained as he testit: The walis of Syracuse, which by tength of time were much deCayed, he repatred, as he likewise did the temples of the Gods. He entertained a design to rebullit the palaceos Polyci ξnes at Samos, to finisti the temple of the Didymaean Apollo at Miletus, and to bulld a city upon the topos the Alps ; but os ali things to make a cut through the Isthmus io Achaia ; and sent a Centurion of the fit si rank
XXII. Thus sar we have spolien os him as a prinCC. What rem alias to . be s id of him, best ealis hi in ruther amonster than a man. He assumed a variety of tities, suchas Duti fui, the Son of the Camp, the Father of the Armies, and the Greatest and the Best Caesar. '' Upon hear ing soine Lings, who came to the city to pay their res pedis to him, contending amongst thenaseives at supper, about the nobienest of their birili, he exclaimed, Letthere be but one prince, one Ling. '' He was stronglyinclined to have tahen a crown immediately, and to hayeturned the imperiat digni ty into the forna of a hing lom; but being told that he far eXceeded the grande ur of hingsand princes, he begata to arrogate to himself a divine ma-
352쪽
ment as what he used . The mosi opulent persons in the City offered thenaseives as candidates for the honor of he-ing his priesis, and purcha sed ii successively at an immense price. The victims were flamingos, peacocks, bus arils, Numidicae, turhey-hens, and pheas ant-hens, ea ch sacrificedon their respective days. In the night he used constantlyto invite the moon, when fuit, to his Aembraces. In the lay-time he tali ed in private to Jupiter Capitolinus ; onem hile whis pering to hina, and another turning his ear tulit in metimes he would talli aloud, and in rati ing lan gla age. For he was over-heard to threaten the God in the following term S:
Into the land of Greece I viill transpori thee:
untii being at last prevalled ut on by the enti eaties os ille God, us ii e suid, and heing invited to live with him, homade a bridge over the temple of Augustus, by whicli bejoined the Palatiusti to the Capito u
353쪽
mother was the fruit os an incestuous Commerce, main
lained by Augustus with his daughter Julia. And notcontent with this vile reflexion upon the memory of Augustus, he forbid his victories at Actium, and iapon the Coas of Sicily, to be celebra ted, as usual; assirming thatthey had been of the most pernici ous and fatal consequence to the Roman people. He Called his grandmo ther Livia Augusta Ulysses in a woman s dress,' ' and had the indecency to reste upon her in a letter to the Senate, as of mean hirth, and descended; by the mothei 'sside, from a grandiather Who was only a member of the coiincit os state at Fundi; whereas it is certain, from au thentio documenis, that Aufidius Lingo held public of fices at Rome. His grandinother Antonia destring a private conferenco with him, he dented the request, unies s laCro, Commander of the guarda, might be presenti By a Tronis of this kind, and ill usage, he was the occa sion of her death; but, as some thin k, not without giv
on fire . . His brother Tiberius, who had no eXpectation
354쪽
taken to prevent his being pol ned by him: whercas Silanus was only afra id of being sea-sich, and of the trouble of the voyage ; and Tiberius h ad ora ly made use of a medicine for a habituat cough, which was constantly en- . Creasing upon him. As to his successor Claudius, ho
ssisters ; and at table when much company was present, he placed them every one by turias below him, whilithis wise lay above him. It is belle ved, that he deflower-ed one of them, Drusilla, before he had arrived at theage of manhood; and was tali en in her embraces by his grandinother Antonia, with whom they were educated together. When stae was after ards married to Casilus Longinus, a man os Consular rank, he took her from him, and heps her openly as his wise. In a fit os sickness, he by his will appotnted her heiress of his estate, and the empire like Nise. Aster her death, he ordei ed a Public mourning for her ; during whicli it was capital sorany person to laugh, use the bath, or sup with parenis, wise, or children. Being inconsolabie under his a filiction, he went hastily, and in the night inae, sto in the city; going through Campania to Syracuse, and then suddenly returned without maving his bearit, or trimining his hairali that time. Nor did he ever after, in matters of the greatest importance, not even in the assemblies of thepeople and soldiers, swear any otherwise, than By the
Divini ty of Drusilla. V The res h of his sisters he did notti eat with so much fondiaest or regarit; but would frequently prostitute them to his calamites. He there rethe more readily condemned them in the case of AE milius
Lepidus, as guit ty os adultery, and privy to that conspiracy against hi m. Nor did he only divulge their own
355쪽
hand-writing relative to the assair, which he procured by base and lewd means, but likewi se consecrateil to Mars the Reven ger three swords whieli had been prepared tos ab him, with an inscription, letting sortii the occasionos their consecration.
XXV. Whether in the marriage of his wives, in part-ing with them, or reta in ing them, he ad ted with greater infamy, it is dissictili to 1ay. Being at ille wedding of C. Piso uitli Livia Orestilla, he ordei ed the bride to hecarried to his own horise, but Writh in a sexu days divorcedher, and t o years after bant: ed her ; because it was
braces of her former lius baiad. Some say, that heing invited to the wedding supper, he sent a messen ger to Piso, who sat opposite to him, in these Gortis Do not pressu pon my wise, V and that he immedia tely carried heraway th him. Next da y he publicta ed a proclamation, importing, That he had got a wi se as Romulus and Augustus h ad done. V Lollia Paulina, who was mari tedio a maia os Consular rank and a generat of the army, hesuddenly called froin the province Where me was with herhumand, Upon mentiora made of her grandiMOther, asser mei ly a very beauti ful woman, and mari ted her, butsoon after parted with her ; discli arging her at the fame time frona hau ing e ver asterwardS any Commel Ce withman. He loved with a most passio nate and constant alia festion Caesonia, who was Dei ther handi me nor FOUng, and was bessides the mother of three daughters by anotherm in ; but a woman os uni, ounded luxury and lascivio uia nesse. Her he would frequently show to the soldiers,
356쪽
vise, in one and the fame day, declaring himself herhuiband, and fallier of the child of whicli me was deli. vered. He named it Julia Drusilla, and cari ying it round the temples of ali the Goddesses, laid it on the lap of Minerva ; to whom he recommended the care of bringingup and instructing her. He considered her as his ownchild for no other reason, se much as the savage crueityos her temper, which was suci, even in her infancy, that
ail this an account of the manner in Which he treated his
relations and friends ; as Ptolemy, hing Juba's son, hisco usin si or he was the granii son os M. Antony by hisdaughter Selene), and especialty Macro himself, and Enniali hewise, by whose assistance he had obtained the empire;
alt whom, for their alli ance and eminent services, he re-warded with a violent dea th. Nor was he more mild orres pedis ut in his bellavio ur towariis the Senate. Somewho h ad bornc the highesi ossices in the govern ment, hesumered to run by his chai se in their togas for severat miles together, and to attend him at supper, semetimes at thehead of his couch, so metimes at his seel, with naphitas. Others of them, after he had privately put them to deam, he would ne vertheleia continue to seud for, as is they were si ill alive, and after a sew days pretended that they had la id violent hands upon them lues. The Consuls for getling to give votice by proclamation of his birth-day, he displaced : and the governmeiat was for three daysmithout any to fili that high ossice. A Quaestor who wassaid to be concerned in a conspiracy against him, hesco urged sevcrely, having first stripped OT his cloaths, and spread them under the feet of the soldiers emploued in tiae
357쪽
Confusion occasioned by whicli, ab ove invenly Romani nights Wrere squeeZed to death, with as many mari ted Women, besides a great number of other people. Whens age-plays were ad ed, he would, to occasion a disputebet een the common alty and the Equestrian Order, scat-1er the money-ticheis so oner than uiat, that the seais asia
firmi ty. Sometimes smutting up the public granaries, hov ouid oblige the people. to starve for a while. XXVII. He evinccd tiae savage barbarity of his temperchiecty by the folio ing indications. When Catile Wasonly to be had at a high pride, for the fee ling of his Hildbeas s designed for ille diversion of the public, he ordei ed
358쪽
self to expose his life as a gladiator sor his recovery, he
livered, di essed up with sacred leaves and ribbons, to sonae boys, who mere to drive him along the streeis, demandingseom hi in the accomptishment of his vo w, untii he was thrown head-long fro in the town ranapart. Aster deform-ing many persons of honorabie rank, by branding them in the face with hot irons, he condemned them to the mines,to work in the repatring of high-ways, or to fighting mith wild beasts ; or tying them by the nech and helis, in themanner of beasis cari ying to flaughter, would sh ut them Up in C ages, or saw them afunder. Nor were ali these severities inflidi ed for crimes of great enormi ty, but forreflecting upon his public sporis for the entertain ment of the people, or because they had never Morii by his Genius. He obliged parenis to be present at the eXeCutionos their sons; and to one who eκcused himself on account of indisposition, he sent his own chair. Another he invited to his own table immediately aster the figlit, and with great Complai lance was for en gaging him in amerry jocular Conversation. The o verseer of his publicdiversions os gladiators and the hunting of wild beasis, he ordered to be beat with chains, during severat dayssuccessively, in his sight, and did not put him to dea th, untii he was offended with the stench of his putreficilbrain. He buriat alive, in the naiddie of the amphitheatre, the writer os a farce, for a s hori jocular sentence
359쪽
CAIUS CAESAR CALIGULA. 3 swas innocent, he fetched hi in back, and culting out his longue, remanded hi in to his former siluation. XXVIII. Ashing a certain person, whom he restoredio his country after a long banishment, how he used tospend his time, he, in flattery, replied, I was alwayspraying the Gods for what has happened, that Tiberius might die, and you be em peror. V He supposing fromthis, that those whom he had banisaed prayed for his
de ath likewise, sent ordei s round the isan is to have them ali put to deat h. Being very des1rous to have a Senatortoria to pieces, he employed so me persons to cali him apublic erae my, fati upon him as he en tered the house, stat, hi m with their styles, and deli ver hi in to the rest totear in pie es. Nor was he satisfied, untii he saw the members and bo eis of the mala, aster they had been
360쪽
ordereti him to be put to death; adding these words: Bleeding is necessary for one that has found no benesitfroin the use of hellebore for so long a time. V He used every tentii day to denounce in his hand-wri ting the number of prisoners appotnted for eYecution ; and this he call-ed clearing his accounts.' And having condemned severat Gauis and Greeks at one time, he exclai med in triumph, I have conquered Gallograecia. V XXX. He scarcely e ver suffered any person to be putio death, but by sight and frequently repeated strohes ;this being a well-known and constant order of his ut onthose occasions Strike so that he may feel himself die. V Having by a missa he of his nam e punished oneperson for another, he said, he had deserved as much . . He had frequently in his mouili these Words of the tra-sedian,
He would osten inveigh against ali the Senators without eXCeption, as the clients of Sirianus, and informers against his imollier and brothers, producing the memoti s. hich he had pretended to burn, and excusing the Cru-elty of Tiberius as necesiary, since it was impossibie toquestion the veracitu of such a num her of accusers. Hemas continuatly reviling the whole Equestrian Order, aspassionalely fond of adting upon the stage, and figli tingas adiators. Being in a rage at the peOple for 1 avoring a partv at the Circensian games in opposition tollim , he exclaimed, I wissi the Roman people had but one neci . V When Tetrinius the highwayiDan was 'prosecuted, he s id the prosecutors too were ali Tetrinius 'S