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used in the fame Way. A guardsman once stole a peacock froni the Imperis aviary and was sentenced to death. On another occasion, during a comtry jaunt,
had the Guards' centurion, whose iask it was to choose the right path, stretched on the ground and flogged untii he nearly died. 61. Soon Tiberius broke out in every fori os crueity and neverlacked for victims: these were, first, his mother's friends and tessintimate acquaintances: thera those of Agrippina, Nero and Drusus: 4 finalty, those of Sejanus. With Sejanus out of the way his savageries increased: whicli proved that Sejanus had not, as some thought, been inciting him to commit them, but merely providing the opportunities that he demanded. Nevertheless, in Tiberius's dry, bries autobiography we find him daring to asseri that Sejanus had been killedsor persecutig Nero and Drusus: the faci being that he had himselfput Nero to death when Sejanus was atready an object os suspicion, and Drusus aster he had fallen froni power. A detailed list of Tiberius's barbarities would take a long time to compile: I shali content myself with a sew samples. Not a day, however holy, passed without an eXecution; he even desecrated New Year's Day. Many of his meia victims were accused and punished with their children - sonae actually by their children - and the relatives forbidden to go into
himself accused offlander he had written a tragedy whicli presented tang Agamemnon in a bad light and a historian had made themistahe of describing Caesar's assassis, Brutus and Cassius, as fine
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THE T ELUE CAESAR Slast of the Romans'. Both these authors were executed without delay,
and their works - though once publicly read besore Augustus, and accorded generat pratse - were called in and destroyed. Tiberius dented Hiose who escaped with a prison sentence not oesy the solaceos reading books, but the privilege of talhing to their fesso prisoners. Some of the accused, on being warned to appear in couri, seli furestat the verdict would be 'gusty' and, to avoid the humiliation os atris, stayed at home and severed an artery; yet Tiberius's menbandaged their wo ds and hurried them, half-dead, to prison. Others obeyed their summons and then drank poison in fult view of the Senate. The bodies of si executed persons were fiung on the Statis of Mourning, and dragged to the Tiber with hooks - as many as enty a day, including women and children. Tradition forbade thestrangling of virgins; so, when litile giris had been condemned to die in ilus way, the eXecutioner began by violating them. Tiberius usedio punish with life those who wished to die. He regarded death as a comparatively light affliction, and on hearing that a man named Camalus /had forestat ted his execution by sulcide, exclai med 'Camalus has got awayl' Once, during a gaol inspection, a prisonerbegged to be put out of his misery; Tiberius replied: 'No; we are notyet friends again.' An e consul has recorded in his memoirs that heattended a binquet at whicli Tiberius was suddenly asked by a lov&voiced dwars, standing among a group of jesters near the table:
tater requested the Senate to ma Ee a quick decision about Paconius's
62. On eventuatly discovering that Drusus h ad aster ali died, not asa result of his debauched habiis, but frona polson administered by his wise Liuilla in parinership with Sejanus, Tiberius grew enraged indredoubled his crueities Otii nobody was fas e from torture and deast. He spent whole days investigating the Drusus affair, whicli obsessedhim to suci, a degree that when a man whose guest he had been at odes arrived in response to his own friendly invitation, he mistookhim for an important witness in the case and had him put to the tor-
ture at once. When the truth came out he actualty executed the manto avoid publici Zing the scandal. In Capri they still show the place at the cliis top where Tiberius used to watch his victims being thrown into the sea after prolonged
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prevented them Dom urinating. Even more people would have died, it is thought, had Thrasyllus the astrologer not cleverly persuadeditam to postpone his designs by an assurance that he stili had many years of liue in hand. These victims would have included Germanicus's sole sumiving son, Gaius Caligula, and his own granssion Tiberius, whom he haled as having been bom stom adulte . The story is credibie, because he somelimes used to en' Priam for haring out- lived his entire family. 63. Muta evidence is extant, not oesy of the hatred that Tiberius eamed but of the state os terror in ich he himself lived, and the insulis heaped upon him. He sorbade anyone to consuli Soothsayers, excepi openly and with witia esses present; and even attempted tosuppress si oracles in the neighbourhood of Rome - but desisted fors ear of the miraculous power shown by the sacred Lots, whicli hebrought to Rome in a sealed inest froin the Temple of Fortune at Palestrina. They vanished and did not become visibie again untii
Tiberius had assigned provinces to certain eX-consuls whom hedistrusted; but, not daring to relax his sumeslance, detesned them in Rome for severat years untii their successors had been appotnted. Meanwhile, they relayed lais frequent instructions to their heuienanis and agenis in the provinces whicli they ossicialty govemed, yet wereunable to visit. 64. Aster exiling Agrippina and her two sons he always moved them Dom one place of confinement to another in closed litters, withtheir wrisis and ankles fetiered id a military escort to prevent allpersons mel on the road Dom even stopping to watch the litter go by, let alone glance inside. 63. Becoming aware that Sejanus's birthday was being publiclycelebrated, and that goiden statues had been raised to him every-Where, as a preliminary step to his usurpatiora of the throne, Tiberius
subterfuge rather than by the exercise of imperiat authority. First of
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ali, to delach Sejanus Dom his own immediate entourage, while pretending to hono him, Tiberius appossited his his colleague in afita consulsesp. which he assumed solely sor this purpose ten years after the so th; but did not visit Rome for his inauguration. Nen, he made Sejanus belleve that he would soon mury lato the imperisfamily and be awarded tribunicis power: and then, taking him offliis guard, sent a sitamefulla abject message to the Senate begging, among other tiaings, to be fetched into their presence under militaryescort by one of the two subsidiary Consuls - he complained that he was a poor, lonely old man whom Sejanus was plotting to assassinate. But he had taen precautions against the revolt which he feared might yet breah oui, by ordering that his grandson Drusus, who was stillative, should be released is necessary from his prison at Rome and appotnted commande in-chi es. He thought, indeed, of taking refugeat the headquarters of some provincias aro and had a navat sotilla
Εven When Sejanus's conspiracy had been suffocated Tiberius did notshow the least sign os increased confidence, but remalaed in the so- eassed Villa Io for the nexi niue monilia. 66. His uneasiness of miud was aggravated by a perpetuat stream os reproaches stom ali sides; and every one of this condemned victisset ther cursed his to his face or arranged sor a defamatory notice to be
body to hear about the incident, somelimes he laughed and deliberalely publicised it. He even had a scathing letter from Artabanus, Κingos Parthia, in which he was accused of murdering his immediate fataly, with other innocent persons, and of disgustingly obscene practices; and recommended to satis' the intense and pardonable
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68. Tiberius was strongly and heavily bulli, and above average height. His shoulders and chest were broad, and his body persectly proportioned froni top to toe. His test hand was more agile than theright, and so strong that he could poke a finger through a found newl pluched apple or into the skuli os a boy or young man. Heliad a liandsonae, fresh-complexioned face, though subject to occasiones rasiles of pimples. The letting his back hair grow down over thenape seems to have been a family habit of the Claudians. Tiberius';eyes were remarkably large and possessed the unusus power of seeingin the dark, when be sest opened them aster fleep; but this phenomenon disappeared aster a minute or two. His gait was a stus stride, with the nech poked forward, and is ever he broke his usual steria silence to address those walking with him, he spohe with great deliberation and eloquent movements of the fingers. Augustus distised these mannerisms and put them down to pride, but frequently assured both the Senate and the commons that they were physical, not morat, desecis. Tiberius ei oyed excellent health almostio the end of his reigii, although after the age of thirty he nevercalled in a doctor or asked one to send him medicine.
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on Tiberius: whenever the shy wore an ugly look he would put on a lauret wreath whicli, he supposed, would mahe him lighming-proos. o. Tiberius was deeply devoted to Greeh and Latin literature and while stili a young man, modessed his Latin oratorices style on stat ofold Messala Corvinus; but ruined it with so many affectations and pedantries that his extempore speeches were considered far bellerthan the prepared ones. He also wrote an Elin on the Death of Julius Caesar and Greek verses in the manner of his favourites Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenius, whose busis he placed in the public libraries among those of the classics - thus prompting severat scholars topubsisti rival commentaries on these poets and dedicate them to him. However, he had a particular bent for mythology and carried his researches in it to such a ridiculous polat that he would test professors of Greeli literature - whose society, as I have fready mentioned, hecultivaled above as others - by ashing them questions iste: Who was Hecuba's mollier ρ - What name did Achilles assume when he dis-guised hamself as a giri at the court of Mng Lycomedes 3' - What song did the Sirens sing ' Furthermore, on his first entrance lato the Senate after the death of Augustus he showed equat respect for thegods and for his adoptive father's memory by reviving the example set long ago by Κing Minos of Crete when informed of his sonAndrogeus's murder: he used wine and incense in his sacrifice, butdispensed with the customary flauti sis. 71. Tiberius spoke Greek fluently, but there were occasions whentie stuck to Latin, especialty officiat ones: indeed, he once apologizedio the House for the foretgn word 'monopoly', explaining that hecould find no native equivalent. And he objected to the Greek word
it appeared in a decree: is a one-word Latin equivalent could not bes und, he said, a periphrasis of severat words must serve. At another time he gave orders that a soldier who had been asked, in Greek, to
72. During the entire period of Tiberius's retirement from Romehe only twice attempted to return. On the first occasion he saged up the Tiber in a trireme as far as the pleasure grounds near Julius
Caesar's artificiat lake, hau g posted troops along both binis to
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order away anyone who came frona the City to meet him; but, aftera distant vlew of the City walis, salied bach, it is not known why. Onthe second occasion he rode up the Appian Way as far as the severithmilesione, but then retrealed because of a frightening portent. Thiswas the deassi os a pet snahe which he used to seed with his o hands. When abolit to do so as usual he found it half eaten by a s armos anis: and a soothsayer warned him: 'Beware the power of themob.' He hurried back to Campania, fell ill at Astura. yet feli strongenough to continue with liis j ourney. At Circeii he disgui sed his ill-health by attending the garrison Games, and even threwjavellas Dombis President's box at a wild boar let loose in the arena. He twisted themuscies of his side by this effori, and then aggravated his conditionby sitiing in a draught while overtieated. Neverthel ess, he resolutelywent on to Misenum Without any change in dassy routine, continuingio ei oy baiaqueis and other diversions - partly because he now neverpractised self-deniat, partly because he wanted nobody to realige howill he was. Indeed, when the physician Charicles, on leaving the dining table, Hssed his hand in farewell, Tiberius suspected a coveri attemptio feel his pulse and begged Charicles to sit down again. Then he heptthe party going untii very late, and when it ended, followed his nightly habit os standing in the naiddie of the banqueting hall, with a lictor beside him, for a personat good-night to each of the departing
73. Meanwhile he read in the Proceedium of the Senate a paragraphto the effect that sonae persons whom he had sent for triat merely as 'named by an informer' had been discliarged without a liear g. 'This is contempli' he shouted furiously, and decided to make thebest of his way bach to Capri, the only place where he feli fas e whenissuing a stern order. But bad weather and increasing sic ess delayed his voyage; and he di ed soon aster ards in a count house whichhad Once belonged to Lucullus. He was then seventy-SeVen years oldand had reigned for nearly twenty-three years. It was I 6 March, and the Constas of the year were Gnaeus Acerronius Proculus and Gaius Pontius Nigrinus. Some belleve that he had been gi ven a flow, wasting pol sola by Gaius Caligula; others that, when convalescent aster sever, hedemanded food but was refused it. According to one account, hesainted and ora regaining consciolisness asked for the seal-ring whichhad meanwhile been removed froni his test hand. Seneca writes that
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Tiberius, reali Zing how near his end was, removed the ring himself, as is as a present for sonaeone: but then clung to it awhile be re replacing it on his finger: that he aste ards lay quiet for some litile time with the fift clenched, misi summoning his servanis; and that, en no one inswered, he got out of bed, collapsed, and Hed. 4. On his last birthday Tiberius dreamed that the enormous, beauti fui statue of Apollo ich he had brought Dom Temenos, a sub b of Syracuse, to erect in the library of Augustus's Temple, came in to announce: 'Tiberius wili never dedicate mel' A few daysbe re his death the Capri lighthouse was wreched by an earlhquake. At Misenum ine dead embers of the fire which had been put into abragier to warm his dining room suddenly blazed up again, early in the evening, and continued to glow untii late that night. 5. The sest news of his death caused such joy at Rome uiat peopleran about yesing : 'To the Tiber Min Tiberiusi' and others offered prayers to Mother Farth and the lasernat Gods to give iam no homebelow excepi among the damned. There were also loud threais to
sor popular resiniment against his sinage bellaviour was nowincreased by a seest, outrage. It so happened that the Senate had decreed a ten days' stay of execution in the case of est persons se tenced to death, and Tiberius died the very day on whicli the periodos grace expired for some of them. The infortunate creatures thre themselves on the mercy of the public but, since Caligula had not yet stepped into Tiberius's shoes, no court os appeat existed; and thegaolers, afraid os acting illegat ly, carried out the sentence of stranglingstem and throwing their bodies on the Stalas of Mourning. Thus thehatred of Tiberius grew holter than ever - his crueity, it was sald, continued even aster his death - and when ine funerat procession test Misenum, the cry went up 'Tahe his to the amphitheatre at Atella lGive his oesy a half-burning. ' For Atella was the home of popularfarces, and half-burning in an amphitheatre would have been a farcical
by Wimesses of the very lowest class. In them, Gaius son os Germaniacus and Tiberius son os Drusus were named as Tiberius's co-helas; ind