Meanwhile the diaries were steadily written up; every case of apparent persecution was faithfully recorded. Nor were the obscenities scribbled on the walls or slily hinted at by the popular actors omitted from the record, and of such there was a plentiful supply, for though Tiberius had never been popular, and though his appearance in the streets of Rome had terrified rather than pleased, the commonalty was insulted by his absence. Undisguised contempt for the applause of the multitude stirs a bitterer hatred than active oppression, for so strange are the freaks of vanity that there are a large number of human beings who are happier in being harried and driven than in not attracting notice. XVIII The Retirement at Capreæ The life of a public man at Rome was conducted on lines which must have rendered the transaction even of private business a matter of difficulty, and must have caused serious inconvenience to one upon whom the burden fell of conducting the correspondence of the whole Empire. The Emperor, equally with other men of eminence, was expected to live largely in public; his day began with the dawn, when the crowd of private clients and public courtiers assembled to greet him in the hall of his house; the procession to the Senate House or the Forum followed, when the great man was expected to recognize acquaintances whom he met, and even to submit to being kissed by them, a practice which Tiberius had the courage to forbid in his own case. After the business of the Curia or the Courts was finished, the same solemn procession restored the Emperor to his house. A respite was allowed in the noonday heat; then followed the visits of friends, and the great meal of the day, which might be in itself of the nature of a public function, and an occasion for the informal transaction of business; after a short period of relaxation the secretaries came, and letters were written till late into the night. On the numerous occasions on which there was a public holiday the Emperor was expected to take part in the shows and processions, and a holiday for others was a hard day’s work for the chief of the State. To escape unnecessary inroads upon his time, and to secure for himself a fair portion of leisure, Tiberius decided to live away from Rome, where it seemed to him that his presence was no longer indispensable. The state of his health also suggested retirement. In spite of a somewhat strict self-imposed regimen, Tiberius seems to have suffered from a form of eczema, which disfigured his countenance, and practically made it impossible for him to appear in public. The Romans were particularly sensitive on the subject of their personal appearance, and the Roman mob was by no means considerate of the feelings of those who were afflicted with any deformity. The tall figure of the Emperor was now bowed with age, his once handsome face disfigured with blotches and sores and the unguents used as palliatives