Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - The Roman Emperors in Marble - 2. Tiberius
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42 ROMAN DA YS.
The system of Tiberius was simple. When all are
suspected by all, society is seized by that crippling terror
which is the shield of tyrants. Denunciation is the Medusa
head he holds forth for his protection. Through all
classes of the community, in every home, the monster’s
polypus arms and feelers grope. In the crowd of auda-
cious denouncers, stand men with the noblest of names
:
a Caius Gracchus, a Porcius Cato ! One suspects an
eavesdropper in every mortal, a snare in every word, a
purpose in every laugh. A father has reason to suspect
his son, a husband his wife. A single picture from this
time. The knight Titius Sabinus still dares to show re-
spect for the widow and children of Germanicus, although
they are objects of the prince’s hate. One day Titius
meets in the street the senator Latiaris, who salutes him
and begins a talk upon indifferent themes, at last press-
ing the hand of Titius and whispering his appreciation of
friendship steadfast in time of trouble. A few days after,
they meet in the street again. The senator invites him to
his house, leads him up to his own bedchamber, where no
listeners can overhear them, and speaks out his abhorrence
of Caisar, who is heaping crime upon crime. His guest
relieves his heart in similar words—he has so long borne
a mute and therefore doubly heavy grief. Immediately
after, an act of accusation against Titius Sabinus, signed
by Latiaris, Porcius Cato and two other senators is in
the hands of Tiberius. The act relates how according to
agreement among the four councillors, Latiaris caught
Titius in the street and decoyed him into an ambush ;
how the place chosen for their talk, by the appearance of
privacy, inspired Titius with confidence, and how the host
had arranged for Porcius Cato and the other two fathers
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