that they could neither think nor speak anything decent.  “I am one of you,” he said, “it is on your account alone that I care to live, that so I may afford you much happiness.  All the treasuries are yours.”  Indeed, he said this also:  “I pray if possible to live with you, but if not, at any rate to die with you.  I do not fear death in any form, and it is my desire to end my days in warfare.  There should a man die, or nowhere!”

To the senate on the following day he made various remarks and after rising from his seat he went towards the door and said:  “Listen to a great announcement from me.  That the whole world may be glad, let all the exiles, who have been condemned on any complaint whatever in any way whatever, be restored to full rights.”  Thus did he empty the islands of exiles and grant pardon to the worst condemned criminals, but before long he had the isles full again.

[Sidenote:—­4—­] The Caesarians and the soldiers that had been with Geta were suddenly put to death to the number of twenty thousand, men and women alike, wherever in the palace any of them happened to be.  Antoninus slew also various distinguished men, among them Papinianus.

¶While the Pretorians accused Papianus (sic) and Patruinus [Footnote:  This is Valerius Patruinus.] for certain actions, Antoninus allowed the complainants to kill them, and added the following remark:  “I hold sway for your advantage and not for my own; therefore, I defer to you both as accusers and as judges.”

He rebuked the murderer of Papinianus for using an axe instead of a sword to give the finishing stroke.

He had also desired to deprive of life Cilo, his nurse and benefactor, who had served as prefect of the city during his father’s reign, whom he had also often called father.  The soldiers sent against him plundered his silver plate, his robes, his money, and everything else that belonged to him.  Cilo himself they conducted along the Sacred Way, making the palace their destination, where they prepared to give him his quietus.  He had low slippers [Footnote:  Reading [Greek:  blahytast] in the place of the Ms. [Greek:  chlhapast].  This emendation is favored by Cobet (Mnemosyne, N.S., X, p. 211) and Naber (Mnemosyne, N.S., XVI, p. 113).] on his feet, since he had chanced to be in the bath when apprehended, and wore an abbreviated tunic.  The men rent his clothing open and disfigured his face, so that the people and the soldiers stationed in the city made clamorous objections.  Therefore Antoninus, out of respect and fear for them, met the party, and, shielding Cilo with his cavalry cloak,—­he was wearing military garb,—­cried out:  “Insult not my father!  Strike not my nurse!” The tribune charged with slaying him and the soldiers in his contingent lost their lives, nominally for making plots but really for not having killed their victim.