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whole volumes foud to the Senate, and issued proclamations commending them to the people - suci, as Quintus Metellus's On the Medsor Larger Families, and Rutilius's On the med sor Smaller Bulldings just to prove that he had been anticipaled in his recommendations by far earlier thinhers. Augustus gave ali possibi e encouragement to intellectuals: hewould politely and patiently attend readings not only of their poenas and historical works, but of their speeches and dialogues; yet objectedio being made the thenae of any work unless the author were knownas a serious and reputable writer, and osten warned the praetors notio let his name be vulgari ged by iis constant occurrence in priete
Batile of Philippi, when so ill that he decided not to leave his tent, he changed his nilad on account of a friend's dream - most fortunately, too, as it proved. The camp was captured and a party of theenemy. breahing into the tent, plunged their swords through and through his camp-bed under the impression that he was stili in it,tearing the bed-clothes to ribbons. Every spring he had a series of uglydreams, but none of the horrid visions seen in them came true:whereas what he occasionalty dreamed at ollier seasons tended to bereliable. One day, aster he had pald frequent visits to the Temple of Juppiter the Thunderer, unded by himself on the Capitoline Hill, Capitoline Iuppiter approached him in a dream with a complaint that the newcomer was stealing his worshippers. He replied: 'Ι put the Thunderer so close to your Temple because Ι had decided to give youa janitor.' When Augustus awoke, he hung a set os belli frona thegable of the new bullding to make it look like a front door. Because of another dream he used to sit in a public place once a year holdingout his hand sor the peopte to give him coppers, as though he were abeggar. 92. Augustus had absolute Lith in certain premonitory Signs: con-
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a dri getle of rai, which would ensure success and a Speedy return. Prodigies made a particularly strong impression on him. Once, when
Napies in exchange for Ischia. Fle also had a superstition against starting a j ourney on the day after a marke day, or undertising any important lask on the Nones of a month - although, in tius case, as heexplesned to Tiberius in a letter, it was merely the inlucky non-Sound of the word that affected him. 93. Augustus silowed great respect towards ali ancient and longestablished foretgn rites, but despised the rest. Once, for example, after becoming an adept in the Eleusinian Mysteries at Athens, hejudged a case in whicli the privileges of Demeter's priesis Were questioned. Since certain religiolis secreis had to be quoted in the evidelice,
he cleared the couri, dismissed his legat advisers and setiled the disputetia camera. On the other hand, during his j ourney through Egypt hewould not go out of his way, however stightly, to honour the divine Apis best: and pressed his grandson Gaius for not offering prayers to Jehovah when he visited Jerusalem. 94. At this possit it might be weli to list the omens, occurringbefore, on and after the day of Augustus's birili, fron1 whicli his future greatness and lasting good fortune could clearly be prognosticated. In ancient days part of the city wali of Velitrae had been struch byllinining and the soothsayers prophesied that a native Velitraean would one day rule the worid. Conffidence in this prediction led theciligens to declare immediate war against Rome, and to keep on
world-ruler appear in the person of Augustus.
According to Julius Marathus, a public portent warned the Romanpeopte some monilis bes ore Augustus's birili that Nature was mahlagready to provide them with a kig: and this caused the Senate such consternation that they issued a decree whicli forbade the rearing of any male child for a whole year. HoweVer, a grOup of Senators WhOSewiVeS were eXpectant prevented the decree frona being filed at the
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by Asclepias of Mendes. Augustus's mollier, Atia, with certain mar-ried women friends, once attended a solemn midnight service at the
ni ne monilis later suggested a divine paternity. Alia dreamed that herintestines were carried up to Heaven and overhung ali lands and scas; and Octavius, that the sun rose frona belween her thiglis. Augustus's birili coincided with the Senate's famous debate on the Catilinari an conspiracy, and when Octavius arrived late, because of Atia's confinement, Publius Nigidius Figulus the astrologer, hearingat what hour the child had been deli vered, cri ed otit: 'The ruter of the worid is novi born.' Εveryone belleves this story. Octavius, during a subsequent expedition through the wilder paris of Thrace, reached a grove sacred to Father Dionysus, where heconsul ted the priesis about his son's destiny. Asiter perform g certa in barbaric rites, they gave him the sanae response as Figulus; for thewine they had polired over the altar caused a pillar of flame to fhoot up far ab ove the ro of of the stiri ne - a sigia never besore granted except to Alexander the Great when he sacrificed at that very altar. That night Octavius had another dream: his son appea red in Superhuman majesty, armed with the thunderboli, sceptre, and regat ornaments of Juppiter Grea test and Best, crowned with a solar diadem, and
Gaius Drusus records that, one evening, the infant Augustus was
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Quintus Catulus, after rededicating the Capitol,λ dreamed twodreams on successive nighis. First, Juppiter Greatest and Best beckoned to one of severat nobtemen's fons who were playing near bis
When Augustus celebrated itis coming of age, the seanis of the senatorial gown whicli Caesar had allowed his to wear sphi and itfess at his seel. Some of the bystanders interpreted the accident as a sigia that the senatorial Order iiselfwould some day be brought to his
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IO3 At Apollonia, Augustus and Agrippa together visited the liouse of Theogenes the astrologer, and climbed upstairs to his observatory: they both wished to consuli him abolit their future careers. Agrippa went firsi and was prophesi ed such almost incredibiy good fortune that Augustus expected a far tess encouraging response, and feliashamed to disclose his nativi . Yet when at last, aster a deal of
hesitation, he grvdg gly supplied the information for which both Were pressing him, Theogenes rose and flung himself at his feet: and this gave Augustus so implicit a faith in the destiny awatting him that
96. Augustus eVen sore ew the successsul conclusion of his wars. At Bologna, where the army of the Triumvirs Augustus, Antony, and Lepidus was stationed, an eagle perched on Augustus's tent and
defended itself vigorousty against the converging attack of tworavens, bring ing both of them do . This augury was understood by the troops as portending a rupture between their three leaders: theoutcome of which would be obvious. On Augustus's way to Philippi, a Thessalian stopped hirn to report having been assured os victory by
Caesar's gliosi, whom he mei on a lonely road. Sacrificing one daybe re the walis of Perugia, Augustus had falled to secure a satisfactoryomen, and sent for more victinas; at this potat the enemy made asudden sortie froni the beleaguered city, and carried off the entire sacrificiat apparatus, including the carcasses. The soothsayers unani- mousty reassured i in that whatever disasters had been threatened by the omens would fati upon their present possessors; and this proved
On Hae eve of the navat batile olf Sicily, Augustus was Walhingalong the shore when a fisi, leaped frona the sea and seli at his feet. Before Actium, he was about to board his silip and give the signat for
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ass is called Nicon 'Victory ).' To commemorate the victoryAugustus set up bronge statues of Eutychus and lais ras on the campsite, which he now dedicated to Mars and Neptune. 97. NeXt, we come to Augustus's death and subsequent deification,
both of which were predicted by evident signf. While he was closinga lustrum, or fiv year period, with a purificatory ceremony in the 'crowded Campus Martius, an eagle circled around him severat times, then flew to the neariny temple and perched above the first 'A' of Agrippa's name. As soon as Augustus noticed this he ordered Tiberius, who was acting as his colleague in the Censorship, to read out theusual vows for the nexi fiv year period; because, though havingcomposed and recorded them on a tablet, he would not make himselfresponsible for vows payable after lais death. At about the fame timelighining meited the initiat letter of his name on the inscription belowone of this statues. This was interpreted to mean that he would liveonly another hundred Jays, since the remaider of the word, namelyAΕsAu, is the Etruscan for 'god' - C being the Roman numerat Ioo.
Again, when sending Tiberius off to Illyricum and planning toaccompany him as far as Benevento, Augustus got held up by a long
ur days in his villa on Capri, where he rested and amused himselfAg he had gailed through the Gulf of Puteoli, the passerigers and crew of a recently arrived Alexandrian ship had put on white robes and gariands, burned incense, and wished him the greatest of good fo tune - whicli, they said, he certainly deserved, because they owcdtheir lives to him and their liberty to sati the seas: in a word, their 'entire freedom and prosperity. Tlus incident gratified Augustus so
them promise under oath to speiad them only on AleXandrian trade goods. What was more, he made the last two or three days of his stayon Capri the occasion for distributig among other presenis, Roman
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la : and referred to his friend Masgaba, who had died there in the
attending Masgaba's tonab, he improvised this Grech line:
then asked Thrasyllus, Tiberius's astrologer, who was reclining oppo- site him and did not understand the reserence: ' hat poet wrotethat ' Thrasyllus hesitated, and Augustus capped liis own line, recitlag: With torches, look, they honour Masgabaland again asked: 'Who wrote that 3' Thrasyllus, unable to divine theauthorship, mumbled: 'Both lines are very good, whoever the poetwas.' Augustus bursi out laughing and made great fuit os Thrasyllus.
He nexi crossed over to Naples, although his stomach was weah from an intermittent recurrence of the sanie trouble, and walched anathletic competition which was held in his honour every five years. Finalty, he started off with Tiberius and said good-bye to him at BeneVento. Feeling worse ora the homeward journey, he took to hisbed at Nola, and sent messengers to recali Tiberius - now headed for Illyricum. At his arrival Augustus had a long talia with him in private, after which he attended to no surther important business. 99. On the day that he di ed, Augustus frequently inquired whetherrumours of his itiness were causing any popular disturbance. He callediar a mirror, and had his hair conabed and his lower jaw, which had
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bore the body, in stages, ali the way from Nola to Bovillae but at night, owing to the liot weather - laying it in the town hali or principat temple of every halting place. From Bovillae, a party of Romanknighis carried it to the vestibule of the Palace at Rome. The senators vied with one another in proposing posthumotis honours for Augustus. Among the motions introduced were thes ollowing: that his funerat procession should pass through the Triumphal Gate preceded by the image of Victory from the Senate House, and that boys and giris of the nobility should sing his dirge: that onthe day of his cremation iron rings should be worn instead of goldones; that his ashes should be gathered by priesis of the leadigColleges: that the name 'August' should be transferred to September, hecause Augustus h ad been born in September but had died in themonth now called August: and that the period belween his birili and death should be officialty entered in the Calendar as 'the Augustan
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honours, he was given two funerat eulogies - by Tiberius stom the recourt of Julius Caesar's Temple, and by Tiberius's son Drusus froni the original Rostrum - after whicli a party of Senators shou dered the body and took it to a pyre on the Campus Martius, where it was burned; and an ex-praetor actualty swore that he had seen Augustus's spirit soaring up to Heaven through the flames. Leading ighis, bare ot, and wearing inbelled tunics, then collected his ashesand placed them in the family Mausoleum. He had busit this himselfforty--o years previously, during liis si xth consulfhip, between the Flaminian Way and the Tiber; at the sanae time converting the neigh- bourhood into a public park. ΙΟΙ. Augustus's wili, composed on 3 April of the previous year, while Lucius Plancus and Gaius Silius were Consuis, occupied monote-books, written partly in his own hand, partly in those of his freedmen Polybius and Hilarion. The Vestal Uirgins to whose fas keeping he had entrusted these documents now produced them, asu est as three rotis, also sealed by him. Alt were opened and read in the House. It proved that he had appotnted Tiberius and Livia heir; to the bul of his estate, directing that Tiberius si ould take two-thirdsand adopi the name 'Augustus', while Livia took the rema ing thirdand adopted the nanae 'Augusta'. Is either of these two beneficiaries
could not, or would not, inherit, the heirs in the second degree wereto be Tiberius's son Drusus, entilled to one-third of the reversion: and Augustus's great-grandson Germanicus, with lais three fons,
jointly entilled to the remainder. Many of Augustus's relatives and friends figured among the heirs in the third degree. He also tesse abequest of 4oo,ooo gold pieces to the Roman commons in generat; 33 ooo to the two tribes with which he had family connexions: ten to every Praetorian guard: five to every member of the City compantes: three to every legionary soldier. These legacies were to be paid on thenail, because he had always kept enough casti for the purpose. There were Other minor bequests, sonae as large as 2Oo gold pieces, whichwere not to be setiled untii a year after his death because:
... my estate is not large: indeed, my heirs will not receive more than
sonae Ι4,OOO OOO in the last twenty years, nearly the whole of this sum, hesides what came to me frona my fallier, Dona my adoptive fallier, and Dona others, has been used to butiress the nationat economy.'
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Julia, or his grand-daughter of the fame name, their bodies must beexcluded from the Mausoleum. One of the three sesed rotis contained directions for his own funerat: another, a record of his reign, which he wished to have engraved on bronge and posted at theentrance to the Mausoleum; the third, a statement of how many serving troops were stationed in different paris of the Empire, what money reserves were held by the Public Treasury and the Prio Purse, and what revenues were due for collection. He also supplied the names of seeedmen and flave-secretaries who could furnishdetatis, under ait these heads, on demand