that he went and spake to every one of the soldiers, and prayed them to take care of his preservation, and made himself great inquiry about him, lest he should have been slain. And for Clement, he let Minucianus go when he was brought to him, and, with many other of the senators, affirmed the action was right, and commended the virtue of those that contrived it, and had courage enough to execute it; and said, that" tyrants do indeed please themselves and look big for "a while, upon having the power to act unjustly; but do not however go happily out of the world, because they are "hated by the virtuous; and that Caius, together with all his unhappiness, was become a conspirator against himself, be"fore these other men who attacked him did so; and by be"coming intolerable, in setting aside the wise provision the "laws had made, taught his dearest friends to treat him as "an enemy; insomuch, that although in common discourse "these conspirators were those that slew Caius, yet that, in reality, he lies now dead as perishing by his ownself."

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20. Now by this time the people in the theatre were arisen from their seats, and those that were within made a very great disturbance; the cause of which was this, that the spectators were too hasty in getting away. There was also one Alcyon, a physician, who hurried away, as if it were to cure those that were wounded, and under that pretence, he sent those that were with him to fetch what things were necessary for the healing those wounded persons, but in reality to get them clear of the present dangers they were in. Now the senate, during this interval had met, and the people also assembled together in the accustomed form, and were both employed in searching after the murderers of Caius. The people did it very zealously, but the senate in appearance only; for there was present Valerius of Asia, one that had been consul; this man went to the people, as they were in disorder, and very uneasy that they could not yet discover who they were that had murdered the emperor; he was then earnestly asked by them all," Who it was that had done it?" He replied, "I wish I had been the man." The consuls * also published an edict, wherein they accused Caius, and gave order to the people then got together, and to the soldiers to go home, and gave the people hopes of the abatement of the oppressions they lay under; and promised the soldiers, if they lay quiet as they used to do, and would not go abroad to do mischief unjustly, that they would bestow rewards upon them; for there was reason to fear lest the city might suf

*These consuls are named in the war of the Jews, B. II. ch. xi. sect. 1. Vol. IV. Sentius Saturninus, and Pomponius Secundus, as Spanheim notes here. The speech of the former of them is set down in the next chapter, sect. 2.

fer harm by their wild and ungovernable behaviour, if they should once betake themselves to spoil the citizens or plunder the temples. And now the whole multitude of the senators were assembled together, and especially those that had conspired to take away the life of Caius, who put on at this time an air of great assurance, and appeared with great magnanimity, as if the administration of the public affairs were already devolved upon them.

CHAP. II.

How the senators determined to restore the democracy; but the soldiers were for preserving the monarchy. Concerning the slaughter of Caius's wife and daughter. A character of Caius's morals.

1. W HEN the public affairs were in this posture, Claudius was on the sudden hurried away out of his house; for the soldiers had a meeting together, and when they had debated about what was to be done, they saw that a democracy was incapable of managing such a vast weight of public affairs; and that if it should be set up, it would not be for their advantage; and in case any one of those already in the government should obtain the supreme power, it would in all respects be to their grief, if they were not assisting to him in that advancement; that it would therefore be right for them while the public affairs were unsettled, to choose Claudius emperor, who was uncle to the deceased Caius, and of a superior dignity and worth to every one of those that were assembled together in the senate, both on account of the virtues of his ancestors, and of the learning he had acquired in his education, and who, if once settled in the empire, would reward them according to their deserts, and bestow largesses upon them. These were their consultations, and they exécuted the same immediately. Claudius was therefore seized upon suddenly by the soldiery. But Cneas Sentius Saturninus, although he understood that Claudius was seized, and that he intended to claim the government, unwillingly indeed in appearance, but in reality by his own free consent, stood up in the senate, and, without being dismayed, made an exhortatory oration to them, and such an one indeed as was fit for men of freedom and generosity, and spake thus :

2. «

Although it be a thing incredible, O Romans, be"cause of the great length of time, that so unexpected an " event hath happened, yet are we now in possession of li"berty. How long indeed this will last is uncertain, and liés "at the disposal of the gods, whose grant it is; yet such it

is as is sufficient to make us rejoice, and be happy for the present, although we may soon be deprived of it; for one "hour is sufficient to those that are exercised in virtue, where"in we may live with a mind accountable only to ourselves, " in our own country, now free, and governed by such laws as this country once flourished under. As for myself, I "cannot remember our former time of liberty, as being born "after it was gone; but I am beyond measure filled with

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joy at the thoughts of our present freedom. I also esteem. "those, that were born and brought up in that our former "liberty, happy men, and that those men are worthy of no "less esteem than the gods themselves, who have given us a "taste of it in this age; and I heartily wish, that this quiet enjoyment of it, which we have at present, might continue "to all ages. However, this single day may suffice for our "youth, as well as for us that are in years. It will seem an age to our old men, if they might die during its happy "duration: it may also be for the instruction of the younger "sort, what kind of virtue those men, from whose loins we "are derived, were exercised in. As for ourselves, our "business is, during the space of time, to live virtuously, "than which nothing can be more to our advantage; which course of virtue it is alone than can preserve our liberty; "for, as to our ancient state, I have heard of it by the rela❝tions of others, but as to our later state, during my life-time, "I have known it by experience, and learned thereby what "mischiefs tyrannies have brought upon this commonwealth,

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ઃઃ

discouraging all virtue, and depriving persons of magnani"mity of their liberty, and proving the teachers of flattery "and slavish fear, because it leaves the public administration not to be governed by wise laws, but by the humour of "those that govern. For since Julius Cæsar took it into his "head to dissolve our democracy, and, by overbearing the regular system of our laws, to bring disorders into our ad"ministration, and to get above right and justice, and to be

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a slave to his own inclinations, there is no kind of misery "but what hath tended to the subversion of this city; while "all those that have succeeded him have striven one with "another to overthrow the ancient laws of their country, "and have left it destitute of such citizens as were of gene"rous principles; because they thought it tended to their safety to have vicious men to converse withal, and not only to break the spirits of those that were best esteemed for "their virtue, but to resolve upon their utter destruction. "Of all which emperors, who have been many in number, "and who laid upon us insufferable hardships during the "times of their government, this Caius, who hath been slain

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"to day, hath brought more terrible calamities upon us than "did all the rest, not only by exercising his ungoverned rage upon his fellow-citizens, but also upon his kindred "and friends, and alike upon all others, and by inflicting "still greater miseries upon them, as punishments, which they never deserved, he being equally furious against men, "and against the gods. For tyrants are not content to gain "their sweet pleasure, and this by acting injuriously, and in "the vexation they bring both upon men's estates, and their "wives; but they look upon that to be their principal advantage, when they can utterly overthrow the entire fami"lies of their enemies; while all lovers of liberty are the "enemies of tyranny. Nor can those that patiently endure "what miseries they bring on them, gain their friendship; "for as they are conscious of the abundant mischiefs they "have brought on these men, and how magnanimously they "have borne their hard fortunes, they cannot but be sensi"ble what evils they have done, and thence only depend on "security from what they are suspicious of, if it may be in "their power to take them quite out of the world. Since "then we are now gotten clear of such great misfortunes, and "are only accountable to one another (which form of government affords us the best assurance of our present concord, "and promises us the best security from evil designs, and "will be most for our own glory in settling the city in good "order,) you ought, every one of you in particular, to make "provision for his own, and, in general, for the public uti"lity; or, on the contrary, they may declare their dissent to "such things as have been proposed, and this without any "hazard of danger to come upon them; because they have now no lord set over them, who, without fear of punishment, could do mischief to the city, and had an uncon"troulable power to take off those that freely declared their ❝ opinions. Nor has any thing so much contributed to "this increase of tyranny of late as sloth, and a timorous "forbearance of contradicting the emperor's will; while men had an over-great inclination to the sweetness of peace, and had learned to live like slaves, and as many of "us as either heard of intolerable calamities that happened "at a distance from us, or saw the miseries that were near us, out of the dread of dying virtuously, endured a death joined with the utmost infamy. We ought then, in the "first place, to decree the greatest honours we are able to "those that have taken off the tyrant, especially to Cherea "Cassius; for this one man, with the assistance of the gods, "hath, by his counsel and by his actions, been the procurer "of our liberty. Nor ought we to forget him now we have

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recovered our liberty, who, under the foregoing tyranny, "took counsel before-hand, and before-hand hazarded him"self for our liberties; but ought to decree him proper honours, and thereby freely declare, that be from the be"ginning acted with our approbation. And certainly it is a very excellent thing, and what becomes freemen, to requite their benefactors, as this man hath been a benefactor to us all, though not at all like Cassius and Brutus, "who slew Caius Julius [Cæsar;] for those men laid the foun"dations of sedition and civil wars in our city, but this man, "together with his slaughter of the tyrant, hath set our city "free from all those sad miseries which arose from the ty"ranny."*

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3. And this was the purport of Sentius's oration, which was received with pleasure by the senators, and by as many of the equestrian order as were present. And now one Trebellius Maximus rose up hastily, and took off Sentius's finger a ring, which had a stone, with the image of Caius engraved upon it, and which, in his zeal in speaking, and his earnestness in doing what he was about, as it was supposed, he had forgotten to take off himself. This sculpture was broken immediately. But, as it was now far in the night, Cherea demanded of the consuls the watch-word, who gave him this word, Liberty. These facts were the subjects of admiration to themselves, and almost incredible: for it was an hundred years since the democracy had been laid aside, when this giving the watch-word returned to the consuls; for, before the city was subject to tyrants, they were the commanders of the soldiers. But, when Cherea had received that watchword, he delivered it to those who were on the senate's side, which were four regiments, who esteemed the government without emperors to be preferable to tyranny. So these went away with their tribunes. The people also now departed very joyful, full of hope and courage, as having recovered their former democracy, and were no longer under an emperor; and Cherea was in very great esteem with them.

4. And now Cherea was very uneasy that Caius's daughter and wife were still alive, and that all his family did not perish with him, since whosoever was left of them must be left

In this oration of Sentius Saturninus, we may see the great value virtuous men put upon public liberty, and the sad misery they underwent, while they were tyrannized over by such emperors as Caius. See Josephus's own short but pithy reflection at the end of the chapter: "So difficult," says he, "it is "for those to obtain the virtue that is necessary to a wise man, who have the "absolute power to do what they please, without controul."

+ Hence we learn that, in the opinion of Saturninus, the sovereign authority of the consuls and senate had been taken away just 100 years before the death of Caius, A. D. 41, or on the 60th year before the Christian era, when the firs triumvirate began under Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus.