To the extreme anxiety of mind which he now experienced, he had the mortification
					to find superadded the most poignant reproaches from all quarters. Those who
					were condemned to die, heaped upon him the most opprobrious language in his
					presence, or by hand-bills scattered in the senators' seats in the theatre.
					These produced different effects: sometimes he wished, out of shame, to have all
					smothered and concealed; at other times he would disregard what was said, and
					publish it himself. To this accumulation of scandal and open sarcasm, there is
					to be subjoined a letter from Artabanus, king of the Parthians, in which he
					upbraids him with his parricides, murders, cowardice, and lewdness, and advises
					him to satisfy the furious rage of his own people, which he had so justly
					excited, by putting an end to his life without delay. At last, being quite weary with himself, he acknowledged his extreme misery, in a
					letter to the senate, which begun thus: "What to write to you, Conscript
					Fathers, or how to write, or what not to write at this time, may all the gods
					and goddesses pour upon my head a more terrible vengeance than that under which
					I feel myself daily sinking, if I can tell." Some are of opinion that he had a
					foreknowledge of those things, from his skill in the science of divination, and
					perceived long before what misery and infamy would at last come upon him; and
					that for this reason, at the beginning of his reign, he had absolutely refused
					the title of the " Father of his Country," and the proposal of the senate to
					swear to his acts; lest he should afterwards, to his greater shame, be found
					unequal to such extraordinary honours. This, indeed, may be justly inferred from
					the speeches which he made upon both those occasions; as when he says, " I shall
					ever be the same, and shall never change my conduct, so long as I retain my
					senses; but to avoid giving a bad precedent to posterity, the senate ought to
					beware of binding themselves to the acts of any person whatever, who might by
					some accident or other be induced to alter them." And again: " If ye should at
					any time entertain a jealousy of my conduct, and my entire affection for you,
					which heaven prevent by putting a period to my days, rather than I should live
					to see such an alteration in your opinion of me, the title of Father will add no
					honour to me, but be a reproach to you, for your rashness in conferring it upon
					me, or inconsistency in altering your opinion of me." In person he was large and robust; of a stature somewhat above the common size;
					broad in the shoulders and chest, and proportionable in the rest of his frame.
					He used his left hand more readily and with more force than his right; and his
					joints were so strong, that he could bore a fresh, sound apple through with his
					finger, and wound the head of a boy, or even a young man, with a fillip. He was
					of a fair complexion, and wore his hair so long behind, that it covered his
					neck, which was observed to be a mark of distinction affected by the family. He
					had a handsome face, but it was often full of pimples. His eyes, which were
					large, had a wonderful faculty of seeing in the night-time, and in the dark, for
					a short time only, and immediately after awaking from sleep; but they soon grew
					dim again. He walked with his neck stiff and upright; generally with a frowning
					countenance, being for the most part silent: when he spoke to those about him,
					it was very slowly, and usually accompanied with a slight gesticulation of his
					fingers. All which, being repulsive habits and signs of arrogance, were remarked
					by Augustus, who often endeavoured to excuse them to the senate and people,
					declaring that "they were natural defects, which proceeded from no viciousness
					of mind." He enjoyed a good state of health, without interruption, almost during
					the whole period of his rule; though, from the thirtieth year of his age, he
					treated himself according to his own discretion, without any medical
					assistance. In regard to the gods, and matters of religion, he discovered much indifference;
					being greatly addicted to astrology, and fully persuaded that all things were
					governed by fate. Yet he was extremely afraid of lightning, and when the sky was
					in a disturbed state, always wore a laurel crown on his head; because it is
					supposed that the leaf of that tree is never touched by the lightning. He applied himself with great diligence to the liberal arts, both Greek and
					Latin. In his Latin style, he affected to imitate the Messala Corvinus, He is mentioned before in the Life of AUGUSTUS, c. lviii,
						and also by Horace, Cicero, and Tacitus. a venerable man, to whom he
					had paid much respect in his own early years. But he rendered his style obscure
					by excessive affectation and abstruseness, so that he was thought to speak
					better extempore, than in a premeditated discourse. He composed likewise a lyric
					ode, under the title of " A Lamentation upon the Death of Lucius Caesar; " and
					also some Greek poems, in imitation of Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenius. Obscure Greek poets, whose writings were either full of
						fabulous stories, or of an amatory kind. These poets he greatly
					admired, and placed their works and statues in the public libraries, amongst the
					eminent authors of antiquity. On this account, most of the learned men of the
					time vied with each other in publishing observations upon them, which they
					addressed to him. His principal study, however, was the history of the fabulous
					ages, inquiring even into its trifling details in a ridiculous manner; for he
					used to try the grammarians, a class of men which, as I have already observed,
					he much affected, with such questions as these: "Who was Hecuba's mother? What
					name did Achilles assume among the virgins? What was it that the Sirens used to
					sing?" And the first day that he entered the senate-house, after the death of
					Augustus, as if he intended to pay respect at once to his father's memory and to
					the gods, he made an offering of frankincense and wine, but without any music,
					in imitation of Minos, upon the death of his son.