188
CHARACTER OF CLAUDIUS.
of Claudius. The aged Augustus, who was very sensitive in
regard to such things, would not allow him to appear before
the public at all", and his grandmother, Livia, in particular
treated him very roughly and cruelly. The unhappy young
man felt the contempt with which he was treated very keenly;
and I am convinced that, if he had been brought up as a
private man, and treated with love, the evil part of his nature
would never have been developed, and that he himself would
have become an industrious and good-natured though weak-
minded man, whom no one could have regarded as vicious.
Among his bad features I must mention his very great
cowardice, the result of the contempt in which he was held.
He withdrew from everything, or whenever he attempted to
come forward, his timidity overcame him, and he was obliged
to retire. He sought and found full consolation in literary
pursuits. It is my sorrowful duty thus to speak of this un-
happy man, who is frequently, but unjustly, condemned as
severely as other tyrants. Livy, the historian, of whose bene-
volent heart we can judge from his work, pitied Claudius, and
endeavoured to encourage him in his literary pursuits, for
Claudius was fond of history, and Livy cheered him on in his
study of it.7 As he possessed great knowledge, Claudius
considered that he was called upon to write the history of the
civil wars, subsequent to the death of Caesar, and he wrote it
in so honest a manner, that his family was quite enraged
at him. He afterwards wrote memoirs of the reign of
Augustus, which his family allowed to pass, though they only
despised them. Hc was thoroughly honest; but his want of
judgment continually led him to do silly acts. In this man-
ner he passed his life in great obscurity. Augustus refused to
assign him any post on account of his dreadful awkwardness.
Tiberius allowed him to live, because he thought him too
insignificant a person, and even gave him the consulship. In
his several marriages, too, Claudius was unhappy;8 misfortune
pursued him in all he undertook. He was of an affectionate
disposition, and had a tender attachment to the women who
disgraced and betrayed him.
6 Sueton. Claud. 3, foΓ. 7 Sueton. Claud. 41.
8 The conduct of females at that time was of the most dissolute kind.
Augustus had exerted himself in vain to counteract their immorality, and even
the licentious Tibeiius had been zealous in opposing it. It was so bad that we
can now scarcely form a notion of it.—∙N.
BElGN OF CLAUDIUS.
189
In this manner Claudius reached his fiftieth year, when
Caligula was murdered, and he was raised to the throne. His
conduct as emperor was at first rational and good : the childish
scheme of restoring the republic was not avenged upon those
who had entertained it, and he oιdered a general abolitio
factorum dictorumque to be proclaimed.9 Only a few of the
murderers of Caligula were put to death,—a measure which
we cannot approve of, as those men had deserved well of the
Boman world; but it was a sacrifice which had to be made to
the soldiers. Claudius is the first emperor who, on his accession,
gave donations to the soldiers, or at least to the praetorians.
Even Caligula had undertaken the government without repeat-
in'1, the farce which Tiberius had acted, nor did Claudius
imitate it. He reigned for nearly fourteen years, from A.D. 41
to 54; and during the first period of his government, which
formed a refreshing Contrastto that of Caligula, he made many
good and useful regulations; if he had found an honest friend,
in whom he could have trusted, his reign might have been
happy and praiseworthy. But this was unfortunately not the
case. He had always been confined within the walls of the
palatium ; he had lived with his wives only, and had tried to
please them alone; besides them he had had no social inter-
course, except with his slaves and freedmen, as the nobles
despised him. But the unhappy prince, with his strong
natural desire to open his heart to others, had no real friend.
Had he not come to the throne, he would have remained
harmless ; but when he ascended it, he was surrounded by his
freedmen, who acted the part of friends, just as at present the
barber of Don Miguel is his confidant although in his case
there is nothing to excuse such a connexion. Claudius him-
self was a better man, and had a more cultivated mind than
Don Miguel. Many among his freedmen may not have been
altogether contemptible persons ; for Greek slaves were often
very well educated in the houses of the Romans, when they
had talent; and they were often extremely well informed.
Polybus or Polybius was probably a man of good education,
although he may have been very bad in a moral point of view
for Seneca condescended to dedicate one of his works to him.10
9 Sueton. Claud. II.
10 The Consolatw ad Polybium. Coiiipare Seneca, De morte Drusi, in fin. ∙
Sueton. Claud. 28.