.002 posthac et Vedios, et cetera equitum Romanorum prævalida nomina, referre nihil attinuerit; cum Claudins libertos, quos rei familiari præfecerat, sibique et legibus adæquaverit."

61. Retulit deinde immunitate Cois tribuenda :' e maltaque super antiquitate eorum' memoravit: Argivos, vel Coeum Latonæ parentem, vetustissimos insulæ cultores: mox adventu Esculapiis artem medendi inlatam, maximeque inter posteros ejus celebrem fuisse,' nomina singulorum referens, et quibus quisque ætatibus viguissent. Quinetiam dixit Xenophontem, cujus scientia

ipse uteretur, eadem familia ortum : precibusque ejus dandum, ut omni tributo vacui in posterum Coi, sacram et tantum Dei ministram' insulam colerent.' Neque dubium habetur, multa eorumdem in populum Romanum merita" sociasque victorias" potuisse tradi. Sed Claudius facilitate solita, quod uni concesserat, nullis extrinsecus adjumentis velavit.

62. At Byzantii, data dicendi copia, cum 'magnitus dinem onerum' apud senatum deprecarentur, cuncta repetivere; orsi a foedere, quod nobiscum icerant, qua tempestate bellavimus adversus regem Macedonum, cui, ut degeneri, Pseudophilippi" vocabulum impositum.' Mist sas posthac copias in Antiochum, Persen, Aristonicum, et piratico bello" adjutum Antonium,' memo rabant; quæque Sullæ, aut Lucullo, aut Pompeio obtulissent,' Mox recentia in Cæsares merita," quando ea loca insiderent, quæ transmeantibus terra marique du cibus exercitibusque, simul vehendo commeatu* opportuna forent.'

63. Namque arctissimo inter Europam Asiamque die

Eadem familia] The family of Esculapius, from whom Hippocrates himself was said to be the 14th.

Dei ministram] And dedicated only to the service of Esculapius.

In p. R. merita] Of these before in A. iv, 14.

"Sociasque victorias] For the alliance of the Coans with Lucullus, see Plut. Lucull. p. 493. To praise this would have been worthy of a prince: but Claudius had a bad custom of displaying his foreign erudition.

Byzantii] Byzantium, now Constantinople. There are a good many coins ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΩΝ, with young tunnies. P Pseudophilippi] This was Andriscus, a man of the lowest class, who falsely called himself Philip, the son of Perseus; and was subdued by MetelJus, and taken prisoner, A.u.c. 606. They commenced their harangue from this alliance, which was indeed later in time, but higher in merit, since it subjected Macedonia intirely to the Roman power. See Florus, ii, 14.

4 Missas posthac] They then mentioned the forces, &c.

In Antiochum] Antiochus III.

king of Syria, conquered by L. Corn. Scipio Asiaticus A.v.c, 564, Florus, ii, 8. Of him mention is made above, A. iii, 62. 2016 Persen] Of bin see ch. 38. diz Aristonicum] See A. iv, 55.

" Piratico bello] Pompey, A.u.c. 687, destroyed a horde of pirates set afloat by Mithridates and dispersed over the sea. Flor. iii, 6. But we must not confound with Antony the triumvir, that Antony, who took care of the maritime coasts, before, the superintendence of the piratic war was committed to Pompey. This is the person, of whom Sallust writes, as he always does, in an admirable manner Frag. Hist. iii, 15. M. Antonius perdundæ pecuniæ genitus, va cuusque curis, nisi instantibus.' See also Asconius and Cic. Verr. iv...

Recentia in Casares merita] In the Thracian war, of which in A. iv, 47. and the Bosphoran war, of which above in ch, 15.

* Vehendo commeatu] So the ancient writers often said for vehendo commeatui.

vortio," Byzantium in extrema Europa posuere Græci, quibus Pythium Apollinem consulentibus, ubi conderent urbem,' redditum oraculum est, quærerent sedem, cæcorum terris adversam.' Ea ambage Chalcedonii* monstrabantur, quod priores illuc advecti, prævisa locorum utilitate, pejora legissent. Quippe Byzantium fertili solo foecundoque mari, quia vis piscium innumera" Ponto erampens, et obliquis subter undas saxis exterrita, omisso alterius littoris flexu, hos ad portus defertur. Unde primo quæstuosi et opulenti; post magnitudine onerum urgente, finem aut modum' orabant, adnitentel Principe, qui Thracio Bosphoranoque bello recens fes sos, juvandosque' retulit. Ita tributa in quinquennium

remissa.

64. [a.u.c. 807. J.c. 54.] M. Asinio, Manio Acilio consulibus, mutationem rerum in deterius portendi, cognitum est crebris prodigiis. Signa ac tentoria militum igne coelesti arsere: fastigio Capitolii examen apium insedit: biformes hominum partus: et suis foetum editum, cui accipitrum ungues inessent. Numerabatur inter ostenta deminutus omnium magistratuum numerus, quæstore, ædili, tribuno, ac prætore et consule, paucos intra menses defunctis. Sed in præcipuo pavore Agrippina vocem Claudii, quam temulentus jecerat, fatale sibi, ut conjugum flagitia ferret, dein puniret,' metuens, agere et celerare statuit, perdita prius Domitia Lepida, muliebribus causis: quia Lepida, minore Antonia' genita,

Inter Europam Asiamque divortio] Now the Strait of Constantinople.

Chalcedonii] Chalcedon, which was formerly a very famous city, is now a village called Kadi Cui.

a Vis piscium innumera] Of pelamides, or young tunnies.

Ponto erumpens] Pontus is now the Black Sea.

Obliquis subter undas suxis] Slanting and glistening.

d Thracio Bosphoranoque] A. iv, 46. xii, 15.

e Munio Acilio coss.] M. Asinius Marcellus and Manius Acilius Aviola were consuls A.v.c. 807. j.c. 54. Of Acilius, see in A. iii, 41.

f Crebris prodigiis] Plin. ii, 25. In nostro vero ævo circa veneficium,

quo Claudius Cæsar imperium reliquit Domitio Neroui: ac deinde principatu ejus, assiduum prope ac sævum [sidus, cometes].' Suetonius in Claud. 46, mentions tactum de cœlo monumentum Drusi patris.'

Examen apium] So Mss. Flor. Reg. and the best edd. In others арит. But Pliny also says, xvii, 27. Centrinas, genus culicum, fucis apium similes ignavia malitiaque.'

Biformes] I should rather understand biformes of various forms of men and animals, than of two-headed parts of men and animals, of which in A. xv, 47.

Minore Antonia] Rather majore, as we learn from Suet. Ner. 5. See also St. C. 32.

k

[A.U.G. 807 avunculo Augusto, Agrippinæ sobrina prior, ac Cneii, mariti ejus, soror, parem sibi claritudinem credebat nec forma, ætas, opes multum distabant; et utraque impudica, infamis, vinolenta," haud minus vitiis æmula bantur, quam si qua ex fortuna prospera acceperant. Enimvero certamen acerrimum, amita potius, an mater, apud Neronem prævaleret: nam Lepida blandimentis et largitionibus juvenilem animum" devinciebat; truci contra ac minaci Agrippina, quæ filio dare imperium," tolerare imperitantem nequibat.

65. Ceterum objecta sunt, quod conjugium Principis devotionibus petivisset, quodque, parum coercitis per Calabriam servorum agminibus," pacem Italiæ turbaret.' Ob hæc mors indicta, multum adversante Narcisso, qui, Agrippinam magis magisque suspectans, promsisse inter proximos ferebatur, certam sibi perniciem,' seu Britannicus

k Agrippinæ sobrina prior] This is clear from the genealogy of the Casars for there are four individuals up to Agrippina; Octavia, Antonia the younger, Germanicus, and Agrippina but there are only three up to Domitia Lepida; Octavia, Antonia the elder, and Domitia Lepida. See St. C. 25. 93.

Cneii-soror] Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus, husband of Agrippina, was brother to Domitia Lepida. See St. C. 34. 25.

Vinolenta] Rather violenta. n Juvenilem animum] Of Nero. • Dare imperium] Huet well explains it Agrippina filio dare imperium quibat, eum tolerare imperitantem nequibat.'

:

a Devotionibus petivisset] Not that she had sought marriage with Claudius by imprecations and incantations; but that she wished by them to destroy Agrippina, the wife of Claudius: for such is the necessary meaning of the Latin words, and so Tacitus in many places.

P Servorum agminibus] In this state of Domitia Lepida's affairs, and the great luxury of the city, we may estimate the great numbers of slaves by the case of C. Cæcilius Claudius Isidorus, a man by no means high in the state, and who had lost much by

the civil war; and yet seventy years before had bequeathed servorum quatuor millia centum sedecim, juga boun tria millia sexcenta, reliqui pecoris cc. quinquaginta septem millia: in numerato HS DC.' £500,000. Plin. xxxiii, 10.

4 Perniciem] This speech of Narcissus is altered and disordered, and after all declared inexplicable by the commentators. It is certainly difficult and rugged, but its obvious meaning seems to be this. Narcissus complains of certain destruction to himself, whether Britannicus or Nero be emperor: however, he was bound to Claudius Cæsar by ties of gratitude, and would sacrifice his life to him. Messalina and Silius had been convicted by his own counsel and instigation. Should Nero seize the sovereignty, the crimes of his mother might bring forward the same catastrophe; and if Britannicus succeeded to the empire, with that prince he had no claim of merit, on account of the punishment of Messa lina and the artifices of his step-mother Agrippina, who plans the ruin of the imperial house. To suffer this in si lence were a more flagitious crime than to have connived at the vices of the

former empress, which are now renewed by Agrippina. Her adulterous commerce with Pallas is too well

rerum, seu Nero potiretur. Verum ita de se meritum Cæsarem, ut vitam usui ejus impenderet. Convictam Messalinam et Silium. Pares iterum accusandi causas esse, si Nero imperitaret. Britannico successore, nullum Principi meritum ac novercæ insidiis domum omnem convelli, majore flagitio, quam si impudicitiam prioris conjugis reticuisset: quamquam ne impudicitiam quidem nunc abesse, Pallante adultero: ne quis ambigat, decus, pudorem, corpus, cuncta regno viliora habere.' Hæc atque talia dictitans, amplecti Britannicum : robur aetatis quam maturrimum' precari: modo ad Deos, modo ad ipsum tendere manus, ، adolesceret, patris inimicos depelleret; matris etiam interfectores ulcisceretur.'"

66. In tanta mole curarum, Claudius valetudine adversa corripitur, refovendisque viribus mollitie coeli et salubritate aquarum, Sinuessam pergit. Tum Agrippina, sceleris olim certa, et oblatæ occasionis propera, nec ministrorum egens, de genere veneni consultavit: ne repentino et præcipiti facinus proderetur; si lentum et tabidum delegisset, ne admotus supremis Claudius, et dolo intellecto, ad amorem filii rediret. Exquisitum aliquid' placebat, quod turbaret mentem, et mortem differret.' Deligitur artifex talium, vocabulo Locusta,' nuper veneficii damnata, et diu inter instrumenta regni" habita. Ejus mulieris ingenio paratum virus, cujus minister e spadonibus fuit Halotus," inferre epulas, et explorare gustu

solitus.

67. Adeoque cuncta mox pernotuere, ut temporum illorum scriptores prodiderint, infusum delectabili cibo bole

known; and it is equally known, that her modesty, ber fame, her honor, and her person are all subservient to her ambition.

Ulcisceretur] Inimicos, sc. A grippina, Pallas, Nero. Mairis, sc. Messalina. He hoped by his death to save the throne of Claudius and the life of Britannicus.

Sinuessam pergit] Sinuessa, formerly called by the Greeks Sinope, the farthest city of Latium. Plin. iii, 5. § 9. Ruins of this place are still to be seen near a castle of the name of Torre di Monte Dragone. Pliny, xxxi, 2. speaks of the waters of Sinu