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who foretold to me the attempt. But now it is not for us to break our oath; let us be content with the present circumstances.”

t78AUGUSTUS.

78Exc. Salmas.: Octavius reigned 7 years, 2 days. One day before he was born, his mother saw how her entrails were snatched away and carried up to heaven; and on the night he was born, his father saw that the sun rose from the womb of his wife. And a certain Nigidius, a senator and astrologer, when his father arrived later, asked the reason, and he said that a son had been born to him; and that one cried out, “Oh, what have you done? You have begotten a master for us.” And while the child was being reared in the country, an eagle, swooping down, took a loaf of bread from his hands, and returning again, placed it back into his hands. And Cicero saw him in a dream, while he was still among the boys, bound with a golden chain and holding a whip, being let down from heaven onto the Capitol. And when he was about to die, a thunderbolt, striking his statue, obliterated the first letter of his name, and the seers predicted that he would die. 2. This man, while honoring the learned, drove out the stargazers, uttering this oracle: Do not cast the vast measures of the earth into your mind, nor, having collected the rules, measure with the measure of the sun; it is borne on by the counsel of the eternal father, not on account of you; the starry procession was not brought forth for your sake. 3. Livia, daughter of Drusus, was the wife of a certain Nero, from whom she also had a son, Tiberius; then, when she was six months pregnant, Nero her husband was forced, either by the first Caesar or by Octavius, to give her to him, as a father would. So when she gave birth three months after the wedding, he sent what was born to its father, Nero. And from this arose the proverb that is spoken, “For the fortunate, even three-month babies.” 4. This man was so loved by all that someone even commanded his heirs to offer a sacrifice because he was leaving Augustus alive. But being unfortunate in his marriage and the things that had turned out concerning his children, he would cry out: Would that I had remained unmarried and died childless. And he was zealous about correct spelling, so much so that he sent a replacement for one of the magistrates because, in writing a letter to him, he had made a mistake in correct spelling. 5. Once, when he was judging and had condemned many to death, a certain Maecenas, a wise man loved by him, unable to approach him because of the crowd, wrote on a tablet, “Arise, executioner,” and having sealed it, threw it into his lap. Having read this, he stood up and ordered the sentences to be stayed. Once, when one of those who had served with him in the army asked for his presence at the senate house, he said that he was busy, but would allow one of his friends to go and fulfill the need; and he, becoming angry, said, “But as for me, whenever you needed my help, I did not send another in my place.” Caesar therefore blushed and went with him and assisted him. 6. And he was mad for other men’s wives, to the point that their husbands even assisted in the defilement. For whenever one of the senators came to him who had a beautiful wife, he would send his own ring to him and demand that he put his wife in the covered litter, and after sealing it again, send the ring back; and thus receiving the woman in the litter, he would behave wantonly, seal it, and send her back. Once, at least, he ordered someone to send his wife to him. And he, unable to refuse, was lamenting. But Athenodorus the Alexandrian, whom Caesar always had as a wise housemate and teacher, came up, and having learned the reason, asked to be put into the litter himself, and after it was sealed

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προειπόντα ἐμοὶ τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν. Νῦν δὲ οὐ πρὸς ἡμῶν ἐπιορκεῖν· τὰ παρόντα στέργωμεν.»

t78AUGUSTUS.

78Exc. Salmas.: Ὀκταύϊος ἐβασίλευσε ἔτη ζʹ, ἡμέρας βʹ. Ἡμέρας μιᾶς πρὸ τεχθῆναι τοῦτον, εἶδεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ, ὡς τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτῆς ἐξαρπαγέντα εἰς οὐρανὸν ἐφέρετο· καὶ ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ᾗ ἐγεννήθη εἶδεν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐκ τῶν κόλπων τῆς αὐτοῦ γυναικὸς ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ἥλιος. Νιγίδιος δέ τις βουλευτὴς ἀστρολόγος, βραδύτερον προελθόντος τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ἠρώτησε τὴν αἰτίαν, ὁ δὲ ἔφη υἱὸν αὐτῷ τεχθῆναι· κἀκεῖνος, «Ὢ τί ἐποίησας; δεσπότην ἡμῖν ἐγέννησας,» ἀνεβόησε. Τρεφομένου δὲ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐν ἀγρῷ, ἀετὸς καταπτὰς ἄρτον ἐκ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀφείλετο, καὶ ἐπανελθὼν πάλιν αὐτὸν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἀπέθετο. Ἐν παισὶ δὲ τελοῦντα εἶδε καθ' ὕπνους αὐτὸν Κικέρων χρυσῇ ἁλύσει δεδεμένον, καὶ μάστιγα κρατοῦντα ἐν τῷ Καπιτωλίῳ χαλασθῆναι οὐρανόθεν. Ἐν δὴ τῷ μέλλειν αὐτὸν τελευτᾶν, κεραυνὸς ἐμπεσὼν εἰς τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ τὸ πρῶτον γράμμα τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ ἠφάνισε, καὶ προεῖπον οἱ μάντεις ὅτι ἀποθανεῖται. 2. Οὗτος τοὺς λογίους τιμῶν μετεωρολέσχας ἀπήλαυνε, τόδε τὸ λόγιον προφερόμενος· Μήτι πελώρια μέτρα γύης ὑπὸ σὴν φρένα βάλλου, μηδὲ μέτρει μέτρῳ ἠελίου κανόνας συναθροίσας· ἀϊδίου βουλῇ φέρεται πατρὸς, οὐχ ἕνεκεν σοῦ· ἀστέριον προπόλευμα σέθεν χάριν οὐκ ἐλοχεύθη. 3. ∆ρούσου θυγάτηρ Λιουία γαμετὴ ἦν Νέρωνός τι νος, ἐξ οὗ καὶ παῖδα Τιβέριον εἶχεν· εἶτα ςʹ μηνῶν ἐγγύου οὔσης, ἠναγκάσθη Νέρων ὁ ταύτης ἀνὴρ, εἴτε ὑπὸ τοῦ πρώτου Καίσαρος, εἴτε ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὀκταυίου, ἐκδοῦναι αὐτὴν αὐτῷ, ὡς πατήρ. Τεκούσης οὖν μετὰ τρεῖς μῆνας τοῦ γάμου, τὸ μὲν τεχθὲν Νέρωνι τῷ πατρὶ ἀπέπεμψεν. Ἐντεῦθεν δὲ αἴτιος γέγονε τοῦ λέγεσθαι παροιμίαν, «τοῖς εὐτυχοῦσι καὶ τρίμηνα παιδία.» 4. Οὗτος τοσοῦτον ὑπὸ πάντων ἠγαπᾶτο, ὥστε καί τις ἐκέλευσε τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ κληρονόμοις θῦσαι, ὅτι ζῶντα τὸν Σεβαστὸν καταλείπει. ∆υστυχήσας δὲ περὶ γάμον καὶ τὰ εἰς παῖδας ἐκβεβηκότα, ἐβόα· Αἴθ' ὤφελον ἄγαμός τ' ἔμεναι ἄγονός τ' ἀπολέσθαι. Περὶ δὲ ὀρθογραφίαν ἐσπουδάκει, ὥστε καὶ διάδοχόν τινι τῶν ἀρχόντων ἔπεμψεν, ὅτι αὐτῷ ἐπιστέλλων τῆς ὀρθῶς ἐχούσης ἐσφάλη γραφῆς. 5. Τούτου ποτὲ δικάζοντος, καὶ πολλῶν θάνατον καταψηφισαμένου, Μηκήνας τις ἀνὴρ σοφὸς ἀγαπώμενος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, μὴ δυνάμενος ἐντυχεῖν αὐτῷ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος, ἔγραψεν ἐν χάρτῃ «ἀνάστηθι, δήμιε,» καὶ σημηνάμενος ἔρριψεν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ. Ὅπερ ἀναγνοὺς ἐκεῖνος ἀνέστη, καὶ ἐκέλευσεν ἀργῆσαι τὰ κριθέντα. Τινός ποτε τῶν συστρατευσαμένων αὐτῷ δεηθέντος τῆς εἰς τὸ βουλευτήριον αὐτοῦ παρουσίας, εἶπεν αὐτὸς μὲν ἀσχολεῖσθαι, ἐπιτρέψαι δέ τινι τῶν φίλων παραγενέσθαι καὶ τὴν χρείαν πληρῶσαι· καὶ ὃς ὀργισθεὶς ἔφη, «Ἐγὼ μέν τοι ὁσάκις τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπικουρίας ἐδεήθης, οὐκ ἄλλον ἀντ' ἐμοῦ ἔπεμψα.» Ἐρυθριάσας οὖν ὁ Καῖσαρ καὶ συναπῆλθε καὶ συνέπραξε. 6. Μανιώδης δὲ ἦν περὶ τὰς ἀλλοτρίας γυναῖκας, ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας αὐτῶν ἐξυπηρετεῖν τῷ μιάσματι Ἡνίκα γὰρ ἤρχετό τις τῶν βουλευτῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡραίαν ἔχων γυναῖκα, ἔπεμπε πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν οἰκεῖον δακτύλιον, καὶ ἠξίου ἐμβαλεῖν τὴν γαμετὴν ἐν τῷ καταστέγῳ φορείῳ, καὶ κατασημηνάμενον αὖθις τὸν δακτύλιον ἀντιπέμψαι· καὶ οὕτως δεχόμενος τὴν γυναῖκα ἐν τῷ φορείῳ ἀσελγαίνων ἐσφράγιζε καὶ ἀνταπέστελλε. Ποτὲ γοῦν ἐκέλευσέ τινι τὴν ὁμευνέτιν αὐτῷ πέμψαι. Ὁ δὲ μὴ δυνάμενος ἀντειπεῖν, ἀπωδύρετο. Ἐπιστὰς δὲ ὁ Ἀθηνόδωρος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεὺς, ὃν ὡς σοφὸν ἀεὶ σύνοικον καὶ διδάσκαλον ἔσχεν ὁ Καῖσαρ, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν μαθὼν, ἑαυτὸν ᾔτησεν ἐμβαλεῖν τῷ φορείῳ, καὶ κατασημηνάμενον