The Historians' History of the World 06

Such was the scorn which might be flung upon the head of a national divinity, even though he were the adoptive father of the ruler of the state; nor perhaps was the new and upstart deity much more cavalierly treated than might sometimes be the lot of the established denizens of Olympus. It is true that Nero at a later period thought fit to degrade his parent from these excessive honours, and even demolished the unfinished works of his temple on the Cælian Hill; but there is no reason to suppose that Seneca reserved his spite until this catastrophe, or that the prince evinced any marks of displeasure at the unrestrained laughter with which doubtless his satire was greeted.

While the memory of the deceased emperor was thus ruthlessly torn in pieces, the writer had been careful to exalt in terms the most extravagant the anticipated glories of his successor; and the vain, thoughtless heir perceived not that the mockery of his sire was the deepest of insults to himself. Of the figure, accomplishments, and character of Nero we shall speak more particularly hereafter; enough that he was young, that he was not ungraceful in appearance, that he had some talents, and, above all, the talent of exhibiting them.

With such qualifications the new occupant of a throne could never want for flatterers. To sing them, the sage of the rugged countenance mounts gaily on the wings of poetry, and sports in lines of mellifluous mellowness, such as might grace the erotic lyre of the most callow votary of the Muses. At last, he says, in mercy to his wretchedness, the life-thread of the stolid Claudius had been severed by the fatal shears. But Lachesis, at that moment, had taken in her hands another skein of dazzling whiteness, and as it glided nimbly through her fingers, the common wool of life was changed into a precious tissue—a golden age untwined from the spindle. The sisters ply their work in gladness, and glory in their blessed task; and far, far away stretches the glittering thread, beyond the years of Nestor and Tithonus. Phœbus stands by their side, and sings to them as they spin—Phœbus the god of song and the god of prophecy. “Stay not, oh stay not, gentle sisters; he shall transcend the limits of human life; he shall be like me in face, like me in beauty; neither in song nor in eloquence behind me. He shall restore a blissful age to wearied men, and break again the long silence of the Laws. Yes, as when Lucifer drives the stars before him, and morning dissipates the clouds, the bright sun gazes on the world, and starts his chariot on its daily race,—so Cæsar breaks upon the earth; such is the Nero whom Rome now beholds—beams his bright countenance with tempered rays, and glistens his fair neck beneath its floating curls.”f

FOOTNOTES

[8] [It may be stated, once for all, that the view of Tiberius here presented has not gone unchallenged. Tarvern

in particular champions the emperor against his ancient and modern detractors. It is urged that Tiberius was really a sternly moral man, with a high standard of duty, whose want of tact and sociability alone made him unpopular. His letters and addresses to the senate are said to show great dignity and wisdom; and it is claimed that from his youth up his habits were regular and his life simple and frugal. All this may be true of the early years of Tiberius, but the balance of opinion strongly supports the belief that in his later years the emperor showed a different spirit. Perhaps disease or senility may have produced the change.]

[9] [Full details of the German campaign have been given in Chapter XXX. A brief résumé is given here for added clearness.]

[10] [Tacitusd however, speaks of the

legatus Mœsiæ A.D. 14, so it would seem that Mœsia became a Roman province in the reign of Augustus.]

[11] [This is the number as stated by Tacitus; Suetonius says twenty thousand.]

[12] Augustus was so taken with the charms of this island, that he gave lands in exchange for it to the people of Naples to whom it belonged. Dion,j

LII, 43.

[13] Writers differ as to her age. Tacitus merely says extrema ætate. Plinyk (XIV, 8) makes her eighty-two, Dionj (LVIII, 1) eighty-six years old. This last seems to be the more correct, as her son Tiberius was now seventy years of age.

[14] According to Josephus,h Antonia, the widow of his brother Drusus, wrote him a full account of Sejanus’ proceedings, and sent it by a trusty slave named Pallas.