A law having been not long after carried by the consuls A.
						U. C. 766. for his being appointed a colleague with Augustus in the
					administration of the provinces, and in taking the census, when that was
					finished he went into Illyricum . A. U. C. 767. But being hastily recalled during his
					journey, he found Augustus alive indeed, but past all hopes of recovery, and was
					with him in private a whole day. I know, it is generally believed, that upon
						 Tiberius 's quitting the room, after
					their private conference, those who were in waiting overheard Augustus say, "Ah!
					unhappy Roman people, to be ground by the jaws of such a slow devourer!" Nor am
					I ignorant of its being reported by some, that Augustus so openly and
					undisguisedly condemned the sourness of his temper, that sometimes, upon his
					coming in, he would break off any jocular conversation in which he was engaged;
					and that he was only prevailed upon by the importunity of his wife to adopt him;
					or actuated by the ambitious view of recommending his own memory from a
					comparison with such a successor. Yet I must hold to this opinion, that a prince
					so extremely circumspect and prudent as he was, did nothing rashly, especially
					in an affair of so great importance; but that, upon weighing the vices and
					virtues of Tiberius with each other, he
					judged the latter to preponderate; and this the rather since he swore publicly,
					in an assembly of the people, that "he adopted him for the public good."
					Besides, in several of his letters, he extols him as a consummate general, and
					the only security of the Roman people. Of such declarations I subjoin the
					following instances: "Farewell, my dear Tiberius , and may success attend you, whilst you are warring
					for me and the Muses. Augustus interlards this epistle, and
						that subsequently quoted, with Greek sentences and phrases, of which this is
						one. It is so obscure, that commentators suppose that it is a mis-reading,
						but are not agreed on its drift. Farewell, my most dear, and (as I
					hope to prosper) most gallant man, and accomplished general." Again. "The
					disposition of your summer quarters? In truth, my dear Tiberius, I do not think,
					that amidst so many difficulties, and with an army so little disposed for
					action, any one could have behaved more prudently than you have done. All those
					likewise who were with you, acknowledge that this verse is applicable to you:"
						 Unus homo nobis vigilando restituit
								rem. A verse in which the word in italics is
								substituted for cunctando , quoted
								from Ennius, who applied it to Fabius Maximus. 
					 One man by vigilance restored the state. 
					"Whenever," he says, "any thing happens that requires more than ordinary
					consideration, or I am out of humour upon any occasion, I still, by Hercules ! long for my dear Tiberius ; and those lines of Homer frequently
					occur to my thoughts:" τούτου γ' ἑσπομένοιο καὶ ἐκ πυρὸς ἄμφω νοστήσαιμεν, ἐπεὶ περίοιδε νοῆσαι. Il. 10.246-247 Diomede is speaking of Ulysses , where he asks that he may accompany him as a
							spy into the Trojan camp. 
					 Bold from his prudence, I could ev'n aspire To dare with him the burning rage of fire. "When I hear and
					read that you are much impaired by the continued fatigues you undergo, may the
					gods confound me if my whole frame does not tremble! So I beg you to spare
					yourself, lest, if we should hear of your being ill, the news prove fatal both
					to me and your mother, and the Roman people should be in peril for the safety of
					the empire. It matters nothing whether I be well or no, if you be not well. I
					pray heaven preserve you for us, and bless you with health both now and ever, if
					the gods have any regard for the Roman people." He did not make the death of Augustus public, until he had taken off young
					Agrippa. He was slain by a tribune who commanded his guard, upon reading a
					written order for that purpose: respecting which order, it was then a doubt,
					whether Augustus left it in his last moments, to prevent any occasion of public
					disturbance after his decease, or Livia 
					issued it, in the name of Augustus; and whether with the knowledge of Tiberius or not. When the tribune came to
					inform him that he had executed his command, he replied, "I commanded you no
					such thing, and you must answer for it to the senate;" avoiding, as it seems,
					the odium of the act for that time. And the affair was soon buried in
					silence. Having summoned the senate to meet by virtue of his tribunitian authority, and
					begun a mournful speech, he drew a deep sigh, as if unable to support himself
					under his affliction; and wishing that not his voice only, but his very breath
					of life, might fail him, gave his speech to his son Drusus to read. Augustus's
					will was then brought in, and read by a freedman; none of the witnesses to it
					being admitted, but such as were of the senatorian order, the rest owning their
					hand-writing without doors. The will began thus: " Since my ill-fortune has
					deprived me of my two sons, Caius and Lucius , let Tiberius 
					Caesar be heir to two-thirds of my estate." These words countenanced the
					suspicion of those who were of opinion, that Tiberius was appointed successor
					more out of necessity than choice, since Augustus could not refrain from
					prefacing his will in that manner. Though he made no scruple to assume and exercise immediately the imperial
					authority, by giving orders that he should be attended by the guards, who were
					the security and badge of the supreme power; yet he affected, by a most impudent
					piece of acting, to refuse it for a long time; one while sharply reprehending
					his friends who entreated him to accept it, as little knowing what a monster the
					government was; another while keeping in suspense the senate, when they implored
					him and threw themselves at his feet, by ambiguous answers, and a crafty kind of
					dissimulation; insomuch that some were out of patience, and one cried out,
					during the confusion, "Either let him accept it, or decline it at once;" and a
					second told him to his face, "Others are slow to perform what they promise, but
					you are slow to promise what you actually perform." At last, as if forced to it,
					and complaining of the miserable and burdensome service imposed upon him, he
					accepted the government; not, however, without giving hopes of his resigning it
					some time or other. The exact words he used were these: "Until the time shall
					come, when ye may think it reasonable to give some rest to my old age." The cause of his long demur was fear of the dangers which threatened him on all
					hands; insomuch that he said, "I have got a wolf by the ears." For a slave of
					Agrippa's, Clemens by name, had drawn
					together a considerable force to revenge his master's death; Lucius Scribonius
					Libo, a senator of the first distinction, was secretly fomenting a rebellion;
					and the troops both in Illyricum and
						 Germany were mutinous. Both armies
					insisted upon high demands, particularly that their pay should be made equal to
					that of the pretorian guards. The army in Germany absolutely refused to acknowledge a prince who was not
					their own choice; and urged, with all possible importunity, Germanicus, Tiberius had
						adopted Germanicus. See before, c. xv. See also CALIGULA, c. i. who
					commanded them, to take the government on himself, though he obstinately refused
					it. It was Tiberius's apprehension from this quarter, which made him request the
					senate to assign him some part only in the administration, such as they should
					judge proper, since no man could be sufficient for the whole, without one or
					more to assist him. He pretended likewise to be in a bad state of health, that
					Germanicus might the more patiently wait in hopes of speedily succeeding him, or
					at least of being admitted to be a colleague of the government. When the
					mutinies in the armies were suppressed, he got Clemens into his hands by
					stratagem. That he might not begin his reign by an act of severity, he did not
					call Libo to an account before the senate until his second year, being content,
					in the mean time, with taking proper precautions for his own security. For upon
					Libo's attending a sacrifice amongst the high-priests, instead of the usual
					knife, he ordered one of lead to be given him; and when he desired a private
					conference with him, he would not grant his request, but on condition that his
					son Drusus should be present; and as they walked together, he held him fast by
					the right hand, under the pretence of leaning upon him, until the conversation
					was over.