“Ah, Sejanus, thou art as necessary to me as the blood that runs through my veins. Thy words throb with the pulsation of my thoughts. Truly, thou divinest my ideas before they are moulded into phrases. We will teach the Julian family that there is still left one of the Claudian blood. The surviving twin shall be called the little Tiberius.” “Forget not, O mighty Tiberius, that away from Rome thou wilt be untrammelled to revel in dissipation. City gossip will not be heard at Capri.” “Are the pleasures of Rhodes to be enjoyed?” “Ay! Even more! Sestus Gallus knows how to contrive new pleasures. He was disgraced by the Divine Augustus. Even thou didst once reprimand him in the Senate for his openly lascivious life. Now thou canst repay him by taking him with thee.” “Send for him. Send also for the poet, Asellius Sabinus. His witty and unseemly verse will enliven the evenings there. Make known to him that my liberality will be no less than when I, under the spell of Bacchus, presented him with two hundred thousand sesterces for his poem called ‘The Dispute between the Truffle and the Fig-pecker, and the Oyster and the Thrush.’” “Titus Priscus would be a good addition to thy new household.” “Ha, ha! Priscus, who is ashamed to show his face in Rome? Ay, send for him! Capri will tremble with our orgies!” Sejanus had never before seen the emperor so contented. Now was the opportunity for which he had waited. On the crest of this happy wave he floated his great and ambitious desire. He stood before the emperor, who had thrown himself on a couch, and said: “Before thou leavest the city, I would crave of thee a favor, O mighty Tiberius. Thou hast been lavish in bestowing upon me honors and distinctions. True, I am a descendant of a Roman knight and have little family record, still I am a supplicant before thee. Accustomed I have been to the kindness of the Divine Augustus, and subsequently to thy numerous decisions in my favor. Therefore would I rather address my hopes and prayers to princes than to gods. Never have I sought the glare of honors. Watching and toiling, like one of the common soldiers, for thy safety has been my choice. However, what has been most glorious for me has been attained,--that is, to be thought worthy of alliance with thee. Hence the foundation for my present hopes; since the Divine Augustus, in the disposal of his daughter, had considered even some of the Roman knights. Therefore I beg thee, O noble Tiberius, if a husband is sought for Livilla, that thou wouldst remember thy friend, who would seek no other advantage than the high honor of such an alliance.”