It was the same intention which led him once to issue a public notice to the effect that, when an emperor does not punish informers he is the cause of the existence of such a class.] [Sidenote:--2--] Though this was his behavior to all throughout the course of his reign, still he quite outdid himself in dealing dishonor and ruin to his father's and brother's friends. [To be sure, he himself posted a notice that he would ratify all the gifts made to any persons by them and by other emperors. But this was mere show.] He hated them because they did not supply all his demands, many of which were unreasonable, as also because they had been held in some honor. [Whatever had enjoyed their affection and the benefit of their influence beyond the ordinary he regarded as hostile to him.] Therefore, although he himself had a passion for a eunuch named Earinus, nevertheless, because Titus had also shown great liking for castrated persons, he carried his desire to cast reflections on his brother's character to the extent of forbidding any one thereafter in the Roman empire to be castrated. In general, he was accustomed to say that those emperors who failed to punish large numbers of men were not good, but merely fortunate. [Personally, he paid no attention to those who praised Titus for not causing a single senator's death, nor did he care that the senate frequently saw fit to pass decrees that the emperor should not be permitted to put to death any of his peers. The emperor, as he believed, was far and away superior to them and might put any one of them out of the way either on his own responsibility or with the consent of the rest; it was ridiculous to suppose that they could offer any opposition or refuse to condemn a man. Some would praise Titus, only not in Domitian's hearing; for such effrontery would be deemed as grave an offence as if they were to revile the emperor in his presence and within hearing: but [Lacuna] [Footnote: A gap must probably be construed here. Bekker (followed by Dindorf) regarded it as coming after "secretly" and consisting of but a word or two (e.g. "he hated them") but Boissevain locates it as indicated above and believes that considerably more is missing.] because he understood that they were doing this secretly [Lacuna] Then there was another thing] that resembled play-acting. Domitian pretended that he too loved his brother and mourned him. He read, with tears, the eulogies upon him [and hastened to have him enrolled among the heroes], pretending just the opposite of what he really wished. (Indeed, he abolished the horse-race on Titus's birthday). People in general were not safe whether they sympathized with his indignation or with his joy. In one case they [Footnote: Reading [Greek: emellon] (Dindorf, Boissevain).] were sure to offend his feelings and in the other to let their lack of genuineness appear.