[-19-] Among these men put on trial at this time Domitius Afer encountered danger from an unexpected source and secured his preservation in a still more remarkable way. Gaius was incensed against him (if for no other reason) because in the reign of Tiberius he had accused a woman who was related to the emperor's mother Agrippina. Later the woman had met Afer and as she saw that out of embarrassment he stood aside from her path she called to him and said (referring to the matter): "Never mind, Domitius: it wasn't you, but Agamemnon, that caused me these troubles." [13] Just about this time Afer had set up an image of the emperor and had placed upon it an inscription showing that Gaius in his twenty-seventh year was already consul for the second time. This vexed the latter, who felt that undue notice was being given to his youth and his transgression of the law. So for this action, for which Afer had looked to be honored, he brought him before the senate and read a long speech against him. Gaius always maintained that he surpassed all living orators, and knowing that his adversary was an extremely gifted speaker he strove on this occasion to excel him. He would certainly have put Afer to death, if the latter had entered into the least competition with him. As it was, the man made no answer or defence, but pretended to be astonished and overcome by the cleverness of Gaius, and repeating the accusation point by point he praised it as though he were some listener and not on trial. When opportunity was given him to speak, he took to supplicating and bewailing his lot; finally he threw himself on the earth and lying there prostrate he besought his accuser, apparently fearing him as an orator rather than as Cæsar. In this way the latter when he saw and heard what I have described was melted, for he thought that he had really overwhelmed Domitius by the eloquence of his address. For this reason, then, and on account of Callistus the freedman, whom he was wont to honor and whose favor Domitius had courted, he ceased his anger. And when Callistus later blamed him for having accused the man in the first place, the emperor answered: "It would not have been right for me to hide such a speech." So Domitius was saved by being convicted of no longer being a skillful speaker. On the other hand Lucius Annæus Seneca, who was superior in wisdom to all the Romans of his day and to many other great men, came very near being ruined, though he had done no wrong and there was no suspicion of such a thing, but just because he pled a case well in the senate while his sovereign was present. Gaius ordered him to be put to death, but let him go because he believed what one of his female associates said, that Seneca had a bad case of consumption and would die before a great while.