at a signal given on a trumpet he was first to break ground with a mattock and to carry off a basketful of earth upon his shoulders. He also prepared for an expedition to the Caspian Gates, after enrolling a new legion of raw recruits of Italian birth, each six feet tall," which he called the phalanx of Alexander the Great.” I have brought together these acts of his, some of which are beyond criticism, while others are even deserving of no slight praise, to separate them from his shameful and criminal deeds, of which I shall proceed now to give an account. XX. Having gained some knowledge of music in addition to the rest of his early education, as soon as he became emperor he sent for Terpnus, the greatest master of the lyre in those days, and after listening to him sing after dinner for many successive days until late at night, he little by little began to practise himself, neglecting none of the exercises which artists of that kind are in the habit of following, to preserve or strengthen their voices. For he used to lie upon his back and hold a leaden plate on his chest, purge himself by the syringe and by vomiting, and deny himself fruits and all foods injurious to the voice. Finally encouraged by his progress, although his voice was weak and husky, he began to long to appear on the stage, and every now and then in the presence of his intimate friends he would quote a Greek proverb meaning " Hidden music counts for nothing.' "b And he made his début at Naples, where he did not cease singing until he had finished the number which he had begun, even though the theatre was shaken by a sudden earthquake shock. In the same city he sang frequently 115 veret nomon. Ibidem saepius et per complures cantavit dies; sumpto etiam ad reficiendam vocem brevi tempore, impatiens secreti a balineis in theatrum transiit mediaque in orchestra frequente populo epulatus, si paulum subbibisset, aliquid se sufferti1 3 tinniturum Graeco sermone promisit. Captus autem modulatis Alexandrinorum laudationibus, qui de novo commeatu Neapolim confluxerant, plures Alexandria evocavit. Neque eo segnius adulescentulos equestris ordinis et quinque amplius milia e plebe robustissimae iuventutis undique elegit, qui divisi in factiones plausuum genera condiscerent-bombos et imbrices et testas vocabant--operamque navarent cantanti sibi, insignes pinguissima coma et excellentissimo cultu, puris 2 ac sine anulo laevis, quorum duces quadringena milia sestertia 4 merebant. XXI. Cum magni aestimaret cantare etiam Romae, Neroneum agona ante praestitutam diem revocavit flagitantibusque cunctis caelestem vocem respondit quidem in hortis se copiam volentibus facturum, sed adiuvante vulgi preces etiam statione militum, quae tunc excubabat, repraesentaturum se pollicitus est libens; ac sine mora nomen suum in albo profitentium citharoedorum iussit ascribi sorticulaque in urnam cum ceteris demissa intravit ordine suo, simul praefecti 1 sufferti, first Venetian ed.; sufferi, MG; the other mss. have sufferri. 2 puris, P2 (Bentley); pueris, MX8; pueri, Gr. a Literally, "full-packed," i.e. full of sound, sonorous. The first seems to have derived its name from the sound, which was like the humming of bees, the second and third and for several successive days. Even when he took a short time to rest his voice, he could not keep out of sight but went to the theatre after bathing and dined in the orchestra with the people all about him, promising them in Greek, that when he had wetted his whistle a bit, he would ring out something good and loud.a He was greatly taken too with the rhythmic applause of some Alexandrians, who had flocked to Naples from a fleet that had lately arrived, and summoned more men from Alexandria. Not content with that, he selected some young men of the order of knights and more than five thousand sturdy young commoners, to be divided into groups and learn the Alexandrian styles of applause (they called them "the bees," "the roof-tiles," and "the bricks"), and to ply them vigorously whenever he sang. These men were noticeable for their thick hair and fine apparel; their left hands were bare and without rings, and the leaders were paid four hundred thousand sesterces each. XXI. Considering it of great importance to appear in Rome as well, he repeated the contest of the Neronia before the appointed time, and when there was a general call for his “divine voice,” he replied that if any wished to hear him, he would favour them in the gardens; but when the guard of soldiers which was then on duty seconded the entreaties of the people, he gladly agreed to appear at once. So without delay he had his name added to the list of the lyreplayers who entered the contest, and casting his own lot into the urn with the rest, he came forward in his turn, attended by the prefects of the Guard carryfrom clapping with the hands rounded or hollowed, like rooftiles, or flat, like bricks or flat tiles. See chap. xii. 3. praetorii citharam sustinentes, post tribuni militum 2 iuxtaque amicorum intimi. Utque constitit, peracto principio, Niobam1 se cantaturum per Cluvium Rufum consularem pronuntiavit et in horam fere decimam perseveravit coronamque eam et reliquam certaminis partem in annum sequentem distulit, ut saepius canendi occasio esset. Quod cum tardum videretur, non cessavit identidem se publicare. Dubitavit etiam an privatis spectaculis operam inter scaenicos daret quodam praetorum sestertium decies offerente. 3 Tragoedias quoque cantavit personatus heroum deorumque, item heroidum ac dearum, personis effectis ad similitudinem oris sui et feminae, prout quamque diligeret. Inter cetera cantavit Canacen parturientem, Oresten matricidam, Oedipodem 2 excaecatum, Herculem insanum. In qua fabula fama est tirunculum militem positum ad custodiam aditus, cum eum ornari ac vinciri catenis, sicut argumentum postulabat, videret, accurrisse ferendae opis gratia. XXII. Equorum studio vel praecipue ab ineunte aetate flagravit plurimusque illi sermo, quanquam vetaretur, de circensibus erat; et quondam tractum prasinum 3 agitatorem inter condiscipulos querens, obiurgante paedagogo, de Hectore se loqui ementitus 3 1 Nioba, G; Nioban, MT; Niobem, X. 2 ędipodě, G; the other mss. have Oedipoden. 3 prasinum, ; prasim, LST; prasū, P; prasiniū, G. a Probably asking for the favourable attention of the audience; cf. Dio, 61. 20 and chap. xxiii. 3. That is, those given by the magistrates; under the ances ing his lyre, and followed by the tribunes of the soldiers and his intimate friends. Having taken his place and finished his preliminary speech," he announced through the ex-consul Cluvius Rufus that “he would sing Niobe"; and he kept at it until late in the afternoon, putting off the award of the prize for that event and postponing the rest of the contest to the next year, to have an excuse for singing oftener. But since even that seemed too long to wait, he did not cease to appear in public from time to time. He even thought of taking part in private performb among the professional actors, when one of the praetors offered him a million sesterces. He also put on the mask and sang tragedies representing gods and heroes and even heroines and goddesses, having the masks fashioned in the likeness of his own features or those of the women of whom he chanced to be enamoured. Among other themes he sang "Canace in Labor," "Orestes the Matricide," "The Blinding of Oedipus" and the "Frenzy of Hercules." At the last named performance they say that a young recruit, seeing the emperor in mean attire and bound with chains, as the subject required, rushed forward to lend him aid. So.c XXII. From his earliest years he had a special passion for horses and talked constantly about the games in the Circus, though he was forbidden to do Once when he was lamenting with his fellow pupils the fate of a charioteer of the "Greens," a who was dragged by his horses, and his preceptor scolded him, he told a lie and pretended that he was Empire all but the emperor were privati, regardless of their official positions. By his guardian and teachers. a See note on Calig. Iv. 2. |