He used to complain aloud of the state of the times, because it was not rendered
					remarkable by any public calamities; for, while the reign of Augustus had been
					made memorable to posterity by the disaster of Varus, AUGUSTUS, c. xxiii. and that of Tiberius by the fall of the theatre at Fidenae, TIBERIUS , c.
						xl. his was likely to pass into oblivion, from an uninterrupted
					series of prosperity. And, at times, he wished for some terrible slaughter of
					his troops, a famine, a pestilence, conflagrations, or an earthquake. Even in the midst of his diversions, while gaming or feasting, this savage
					ferocity, both in his language and actions, never forsook him. Persons were
					often put to the torture in his presence, whilst he was dining or carousing. A
					soldier, who was an adept in the art of beheading, used at such times to take
					off the heads of prisoners, who were brought in for that purpose. At Puteoli , at the dedication of the bridge which
					he planned, as already mentioned, See before, c.
						xix. he invited a number of people to come to him from the shore, and
					then suddenly threw them headlong into the sea; thrusting down with poles and
					oars those who, to save themselves, had got hold of the rudders of the ships. At
						 Rome , in a public feast, a slave
					having stolen some thin plates of silver with which the couches were inlaid, he
					delivered him immediately to an executioner, with orders to cut off his hands,
					and lead him round the guests, with them hanging from his neck before his
					breast, and a label, signifying the cause of his punishment. A gladiator, who
					was practising with him, and voluntarily threw himself at his feet, he stabbed
					with a poniard, and then ran about with a palm branch in his hand, after the
					manner of those who are victorious in the games. When a victim was to be offered
					upon an altar, he, clad in the habit of the Popae. Popae were persons who, at public
						sacrifices, led the victim to the altar. They had their clothes tucked up,
						and were naked to the waist. The victim was led with a slack rope, that it
						might not seem to be brought by force, which was reckoned a bad omen. For
						the same reason, it was allowed to stand loose before the altar, and it was
						thought a very unfavourable sign if it got away. and holding the axe
					aloft for a while, at last, instead of the animal, slaughtered an officer who
					attended to cut up the sacrifice. And at a sumptuous entertainment, he fell
					suddenly into a violent fit of laughter, and upon the consuls, who reclined next
					to him, respectfully asking him the occasion, "Nothing," replied he, "but that,
					upon a single nod of mine, you might both have your throats cut." Among many other jests, this was one: As he stood by the statue of Jupiter , he asked Apelles, the tragedian,
					which of them he thought was biggest? Upon his demurring about it, he lashed him
					most severely, now and then commending his voice whilst he entreated for mercy,
					as being well modulated even when he was venting his grief. As often as he
					kissed the neck of his wife or mistress, hewould say, "So beautiful a throat
					must be cut whenever Tplease;" and now and then he would threaten to put his
					dear Caesonia to the torture, that he pnight discover why he loved her so
					passionately. In his behaviour towards men of almost all ages, he discovered a degree of
					jealousy and malignity equal to that of his cruelty and pride. He so demolished
					and dispersed the statues of several illustrious persons, which had been removed
					by Augustus, for want of room, from the court of the Capitol into the Campus Martius , that it was impossible to set
					them up again with their inscriptions entire. And for the future, he forbad any
					statue whatever to be erected without his knowledge and leave. He had thoughts,
					too, of suppressing Homer's poems: "For why," said he, "may not I do what Plato
					has done before me, who excluded him from his commonvealth?" Plato de Repub. xi.; and Cicero and Tull . xlviii. He was likewise very
					near banishing the writings and the busts of Virgil and Livy from all libraries: censuring one of them as a
					man of no genius and very little learning and the other as " a verbose and
					careless historian. He often talked of the lawyers as if he intended to abolish
					their profession. "By Hercules!" he would say, "I shall put it out of their
					power to answer any questions in law, otherwise than by referring to me!" He took from the noblest persons in the city the ancient marks of distinction
					used by their families; as the collar from Torquatus; The
						collar of gold taken from the gigantic Gaul who was killed in single combat
						by Titus Manlius , called afterwards
						Torquatus, was worn by the lineal male descendants of the Manlian family.
						But that illustrious race becoming extinct, the badge of honour, as well as
						the cognomen of Torquatus, was revived by Augustus, in the person of Caius
						Nonius Asprenas, who perhaps claimed descent by the female line from the
						family of Manlius. from Cincinnatus the curl of hair; Cincinnatus signifies one who has curled
						or crisped hair, from which Livy informs us that Lucius Quintus derived his
						cognomen. But of what badge of distinction Caligula deprived the family of
						the Cincinnati , unless the natural
						feature was hereditary, and he had them all shaved—a practice we find
						mentioned just below—history does not inform us, nor are we able to
						conjecture. and from Cneius Pompey the surname of the Great,
					belonging to that ancient family. Ptolemy, mentioned before, whom he invited
					from his kingdom, and received with great honours, he suddenly put to death, for
					no other reason, but because he observed that upon entering the theatre, at a
					public exhibition, he attracted the eyes of all the spectators by the splendour
					of his purple robe. As often as he met with handsome men, who had fine heads of
					hair, he would order the back of their heads to be shaved, to make them appear
					ridiculous. There was one Esius Proculus, the son of a centurion of the first
					rank, who, for his great stature and fine proportions, was called the Colossal.
					Him he ordered to be dragged from his seat in the arena, and matched with a
					gladiator in light armour, and afterwards with another completely armed; and
					upon his worsting them both, commanded him forthwith to be bound, to be led
					clothed in rags up and down the streets of the city, and, after being exhibited
					in that plight to the women, to be then butchered. There was no man of so abject
					or mean condition whose excellency in any kind he did not envy. The Rex
					Nemorensis The priest of Diana Nemorensis obtained and
						held his office by his prowess in arms, having to slay his competitors, and
						offer human sacrifices, and was called Rex from his reigning paramount in
						the adjacent forest. The temple of this goddess of the chase stood among the
						deep woods which clothe the declivities of the Alban Mount, at a short
						distance from Rome-nemus signifying a grove. Julius Caesar had a residence
						there. See his Life, c. lxxi. The venerable woods are still standing, and
						among them chestnut-trees, which, from their enormous girth and vast
						apparent age, we may suppose to have survived from the era of the Caesars.
						The melancholy and sequestered lake of Nemi, deep set in a hollow of the
						surrounding woods, with the village on its brink, still preserves the name
						of Nemi. having many years enjoyed the honour of the priesthood, he
					procured a still stronger antagonist to oppose him. One Porius, who fought in a
					chariot, An Essedarian was one who fought from an Esseda,
						the light carriage described in a former note, p. 258. having been
					victorious in an exhibition, and in his joy given freedom to a slave, was
					applauded so vehemently that Caligula rose in such haste from his seat that,
					treading upon the hem of his toga, he tumbled down the steps, full of
					indignation, and crying out, "A people who are masters of the world, pay greater
					respect to a gladiator for a trifle, than to princes admitted amongst the gods,
					or to my own majesty here present amongst them."