Dio's Rome, Volume 4: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English FormCassius Dio Cocceianus
History
Dio's Rome, Volume 4: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form
Cassius Dio Cocceianus
Rome -- History
[Footnote 14: The phrase yields no particular sense and is probably
corrupt, but a correction is not easy. "To state his reasons" has been
suggested; and a very slight change in the Greek produces "to eat
something" another conjecture.]
[Footnote 15: Probably from the _Bellerophon_ of Euripides.]
[Footnote 16: Compare Euripides, Phoenician Maidens, verse 393.]
[Footnote 17: Dio is in error. The date was really about ten days
earlier.]
DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY
59
The following is contained in the Fifty-ninth of Dio's Rome.
About Gaius Cæsar, called also Caligula (chapters 1-6). How the Heroüm
of Augustus was sanctified (chapter 7). How the Mauritanias began to be
governed by Romans (chapter 25). How Gaius Cæsar died (chapters 29, 30).
Duration of time, the remainder of the consulship of Gnæus Acerronius and
Pontius Nigrinus, together with three additional years, in which there
were the following magistrates here enumerated.
M. Aquilius C. F. Iulianus, and P. Nonius M. F. Asprenas. (A.D. 38 = a.
u. 791 = Second of Gaius.)
C. Cæsar Germanicus (II), L. Apronius L. F. Cæsianus. (A.D. 39 = a. u.
792 = Third of Gaius, from March 26th.)
C. Cæsar (III). (A.D. 40 = a. u. 793 = Fourth of Gaius.)
C. Cæsar (IV), Cn. Sentius Cn. F. Saturninus. (A.D. 41 = a. u. 794 =
Fifth of Gaius, to Jan. 24th.)
This last year is not counted, because most of the events in it are
recorded in the sixtieth book.
_(BOOK 59, BOISSEVAIN)_
[A.D. 37 (_a. u._ 790)]
[-1-] This, then, is the tradition about Tiberius. His successor was
Gaius, son of Germanicus and Agrippina, who was known also, as I have
stated, by the nicknames of Germanicus and Caligula. Tiberius had left
the empire partly in charge of his grandson Tiberius; but Gaius had his
will carried to the senate by Macro and caused it to be declared null
and void by the consuls and the rest (with whom he had made previous
arrangements) on the ground that the author of the document had not been
of sound mind. This was evidenced by his allowing a mere boy to rule
them, who had not yet the right even to enter the senate. Thus did Gaius
at this time separate the lad from imperial office, and later in spite of
having adopted him he slew him. Of no avail was the fact that Tiberius in
his testament, still extant, had written the same words over in a number
of ways, as if this would lend them some force, nor yet that all of it
had been at this time read aloud by Macro before the senatorial body. For
no injunction can have weight against the intentional misunderstanding or
the power of one's successors. Tiberius suffered the same treatment he
had accorded to his mother's wishes, save that he discharged none of the
obligations imposed by her will in the case of any person, whereas all
his bequests were paid to all the beneficiaries, save to his grandson.
This, of course, made it perfectly plain that the whole fault found with
the will had been invented on account of the lad. Gaius need not have
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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