Plautilla and Plautius, the children of Plautianus, were temporarily allowed to live, being banished to Lipara; but in the reign of Antoninus they were destroyed, though they had been existing in great fear and wretchedness and though their life was not even blessed by a goodly store of necessities.

[Sidenote:—­7—­] The sons of Severus, Antoninus and Greta, felt as if they had got rid of a pedagogue in Plautianus, and their conduct was from this time on irresponsible.  They outraged women and abused boys, they embezzled moneys and made friends of the gladiators and charioteers, emulating each other in the similarity of their deeds and full of strife in their respective rivalries.  If one attached himself to any cause, the other would be sure to choose the opposite side.  Finally, they were pitted against each other in some kind of exercise with teams of ponies and drove with such fierce opposition that Antoninus fell out of the two-wheeled car and broke his leg. [During his son’s sickness that followed this accident Severus neglected not one of his duties, but held court and managed all affairs pertaining to his office.  For this he was praised.  But he was blamed for murdering Plautianus Quintillus. [Footnote:  This person’s name is properly M.  Plautius Quintillus.] He executed also many of the senators, some of whom had been accused before him, and made their defence and had been convicted.  But Quintillus,] a man of noblest birth, for a long term of years counted among the foremost members of the senate, standing at the gates of old age, one who lived in the country, interfered in no one’s business and did naught amiss, nevertheless became the prey of sycophants and was put out of the way.  As he was near death he called for his funeral garments, which he had long since kept in readiness.  On seeing that they had fallen to pieces through lapse of time, he said:  “Why did we delay this!” And as he perfumed the place with burning incense, he remarked:  “I offer the same prayer as Servianus offered over Hadrian.” [Footnote:  Compare Book Sixty-nine, chapter 17.]—­Besides his death there were also gladiatorial contests, in which among other features ten tigers were slaughtered at once.

[Sidenote:—­8—­] After this came the denouement of the Apronianus affair,—­a startling story even in the hearing.  He incurred censure because his nurse is said to have seen once in a vision that he should enjoy sovereignty, and because he was believed to employ some magic to this end.  He was condemned while absent in his governorship of Asia.  When the evidence taken in his case was read to us, there was found written there this statement,—­that one person in charge of the investigation had enquired who had told the dream and who had heard it, and that the man interrogated had said among other things:  “I saw a certain baldheaded senator taking a peep there.”  On hearing this we all became terror-stricken, for neither had the man spoken nor Severus written any