permitted to accuse anybody for maiestas or for “Jewish living.”  Many who had been sycophants were condemned to death, among whom was Seras [Lacuna] [Footnote:  The name is suspicious and possibly a corrupt reading.] the philosopher.  Now, as a quite extraordinary disturbance arose from the fact that everybody was accusing everybody else, Fronto, the consul, is said to have remarked that it was bad to have an emperor under whom no one could do anything, but worse to have one under whom any one could do everything.  Nerva, on hearing this, prohibited the future recurrence of such scenes.  But Nerva, as a result of old age and sickness (which was always making him vomit his food), was rather weak.

[Sidenote:—­2—­] He also forbade gold statues being made in his honor.  He paid back to such as under Domitian had been causelessly deprived of their property all that was still found in the imperial treasury.  To the very poor Romans he granted allotments of land worth in the aggregate fifteen hundred myriads, and put certain senators in charge of their purchase and distribution.  When he ran short of funds he sold many robes and plate, both silver and gold, besides furniture, both his own and what belonged to the imperial residence, many fields and houses,—­in fact, everything save what was quite necessary.  He did not, however, haggle over the prices of them, and in this very point benefited many persons.  He abolished many sacrifices, many horse-races, and some other spectacles, in an attempt to reduce expenses as far as possible.  In the senate he took oath that he would not cause the death of any of the senators and he kept his pledge in spite of plots.  And he did nothing without the advice of prominent men.  Among his various laws were those prohibiting any one from being made a eunuch and from marrying one’s niece.  When consul he did not hesitate to take as his colleague Verginius Rufus, though the latter had been frequently saluted as emperor. [Footnote:  Compare Book Sixty-three, chapter 25 of Dio, and also Tacitus, Historiae I, 9.] [Sidenote:  A.D. 97 (a.u. 850)] Upon his monument was inscribed when he died:  “Having conquered Vindex he ascribed the credit of victory not to himself but to his country.” [Footnote:  Compare also Pliny’s Letters, Book Six, number 10.]

[Sidenote:—­3—­] Nerva ruled so well that he once remarked:  “I have done nothing that could prevent me from laying down the imperial office and returning to private life in safety.”  When Crassus Calpurnius, a grandson of the famous Crassi, formed a plot with some others against him, he made them sit beside him at a spectacle—­they were still ignorant of the fact that they had been informed upon—­and gave them some swords, nominally to look at and see if they were sharp (as was often done), but really by way of showing that he did not care if he died that moment where he was.