a year previous he had been declared emperor he did nothing unusual, except to give the Pretorians twenty-five denarii, and this he continued to do every year thereafter.  Some of the praetors, however, of their own free will and not by any decree publicly celebrated that day and also the birthday of Messalina.  Not all of them did this, but as many as chose.  This shows what freedom they had.  You may see how really moderate Claudius was in all such matters from the fact that when a son was born to him,—­called at that time Claudius Tiberius Germanicus but later also Britannicus,—­he did not make the occasion in any way conspicuous and would not allow him to be named Augustus nor Messalina Augusta.

[-13-]He was constantly arranging gladiatorial games, taking a degree of pleasure in them that aroused criticism.  Very few beasts were destroyed, but a great many human beings, some of whom fought with one another whereas others were devoured by animals.  The emperor hated vehemently the freed slaves who in the reigns of Tiberius and Gaius had conspired against their masters, as well as those who extorted blackmail from people or had borne false witness against any persons.  The majority of these he got rid of in the manner mentioned, though some of them he punished by other methods.  A great many he delivered up to the vengeance of their masters.  So great did the number become of those who died a public death that the statue of Augustus, erected on the scene, was turned to face in another direction, both to prevent its being thought that he was viewing the slaughter and to avoid having the statue always covered up.  For this act Claudius was well laughed at when people reflected how he sated himself with the sights that he did not think proper for even the inanimate bronze to behold.  It might be noted particularly that he used to delight greatly even at lunch time in watching those who were incidentally cut down in the middle of the spectacle.  Yet a lion that had been trained to eat men and on this account greatly pleased the crowd he ordered killed on the principle that it was not fitting for Romans to gaze on such a sight.  He received abundant praise, however, for appearing in the people’s midst at the spectacle, for giving them all they wanted, and for his employing a herald so very little and announcing most events by notices written on boards.

[-14-] After he had become accustomed, then, to feast his fill on blood and slaughter, he had recourse more readily to other kinds of killings.  The Caesarians and Messalina were really responsible for this.  Whenever they desired to obtain any one’s death, they would terrify him, with the result that they would be allowed to do everything they chose.  Often, when in a moment of sudden alarm his momentary terror had led him to order some one’s death, afterward, when he recovered and came to his senses, he would search for the man and on learning what had happened would be grieved and repent.  He began