§68Corpore fuit amplo atque robusto, statura quae iustam excederet; latus ab umeris et pectore, ceteris quoque membris usque ad imos pedes aequalis et congruens;
He was of a large and robust frame, with a stature that exceeded the ordinary; broad in the shoulders and chest, and in his other limbs also, down to the soles of his feet, symmetrical and well-proportioned.
sinistra manu agiliore ac ualidiore, articulis ita firmis, ut recens et integrum malum digito terebraret, caput pueri uel etiam adulescentis talitro uulneraret.
His left hand was more agile and stronger, with joints so firm that he could bore through a fresh and sound apple with his finger, and wound the head of a boy or even a young man with a fillip.
colore erat candido, capillo pone occipitium summissiore ut ceruicem etiam obtegeret, quod gentile in illo uidebatur;
His complexion was fair, and his hair was kept rather long at the back of his head so as to cover his neck, which in him seemed a family trait.
facie honesta, in qua tamen crebri et subiti tumores, cum praegrandibus oculis et qui, quod mirum esset, noctu etiam et in tenebris uiderent, sed ad breue et cum primum e somno patuissent; deinde rursum hebescebant.
His face was handsome, but in it there were frequent and sudden swellings, with very large eyes, which, what was surprising, could see even at night and in the darkness, but only for a short time and when they had first opened from sleep; thereafter they grew dim again.
incedebat ceruice rigida et obstipa, adducto fere uultu, plerumque tacitus, nullo aut rarissimo etiam cum proximis sermone eoque tardissimo, nec sine molli quadam digitorum gesticulatione.
He walked with a stiff and bent neck, usually with a stern expression, mostly silent, speaking not at all or very rarely even with his closest associates, and then very slowly, and not without a certain soft gesticulation of his fingers.
quae omnia ingrata atque arrogantiae plena et animaduertit Augustus in eo et excusare temptauit saepe apud senatum ac populum professus naturae uitia esse, non animi.
All of these disagreeable traits, full of arrogance, Augustus noticed in him, and often attempted to excuse before the Senate and the people, declaring that they were defects of his nature, not of his mind.
ualitudine prosperrima usus est, tempore quidem principatus paene toto prope inlaesa, quamuis a tricesimo aetatis anno arbitratu eam suo rexerit sine adiumento consilioue medicorum.
He enjoyed excellent health, which was almost unimpaired during nearly the whole time of his principate, although from the thirtieth year of his age he managed it according to his own judgment without the aid or advice of physicians.
§69Circa deos ac religiones neglegentior, quippe addictus mathematicae plenusque persuasionis cuncta fato agi, tonitrua tamen praeter modum expauescebat et turbatiore caelo numquam non coronam lauream capite gestauit, quod fulmine afflari negetur id genus frondis.
He was rather neglectful of the gods and religions, being addicted to astrology and full of the conviction that all things are ruled by fate, yet he was terrified of thunder beyond measure, and whenever the sky was troubled he never failed to wear a laurel crown on his head, because that kind of foliage is said to be unaffected by lightning.
§70Artes liberales utriusque generis studiosissime coluit.
He cultivated most zealously the liberal arts of both kinds.
in oratione Latina secutus est Coruinum Messalam, quem senem adulescens obseruarat.
In Latin oratory, he followed Corvinus Messala, whom he had observed as an old man when he was a youth.
sed adfectatione et morositate nimia obscurabat stilum, ut aliquanto ex tempore quam a cura praestantior haberetur.
But through too much affectation and fastidiousness, he obscured his style, so that he was considered somewhat better at speaking offhand than with preparation.
composuit et carmen lyricum, cuius est titulus 'conquestio de morte L. Caesaris. ' fecit et Graeca poemata imitatus Euphorionem et Rhianum et Parthenium, quibus poetis admodum delectatus scripta omnium et imagines publicis bibliothecis inter ueteres et praecipuos auctores dedicauit; et ob hoc plerique eruditorum certatim ad eum multa de his ediderunt.
He also composed a lyric poem, the title of which is 'Lament on the Death of Lucius Caesar.' He also wrote Greek poems in imitation of Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenium, in which poets he took great delight, and dedicated their writings and portraits in the public libraries among the ancient and chief authors; and on this account, many of the learned vied with one another in publishing many works about them for him.
maxime tamen curauit notitiam historiae fabularis usque ad ineptias atque derisum; nam et grammaticos, quod genus hominum praecipue, ut diximus, appetebat, eius modi fere quaestionibus experiebatur: 'quae mater Hecubae, quod Achilli nomen inter uirgines fuisset, quid Sirenes cantare sint solitae. ' et quo primum die post excessum Augusti curiam intrauit, quasi pietati simul ac religioni satis facturus Minonis exemplo ture quidem ac uino uerum sine tibicine supplicauit, ut ille olim in morte filii.
He cared most, however, for a knowledge of fabulous history, even to the point of silliness and ridicule; for he would test the grammarians, a class of men whom, as we have said, he especially sought after, with questions of this sort: 'Who was the mother of Hecuba? What was the name of Achilles among the maidens? What were the Sirens accustomed to sing?' And on the first day he entered the Senate house after the death of Augustus, as if to satisfy both piety and religion, he made an offering of incense and wine after the example of Minos, but without a flute-player, just as Minos had done of old upon the death of his son.
§71sermone Graeco quamquam alioqui promptus et facilis, non tamen usque quaque usus est abstinuitque maxime in senatu; adeo quidem, ut monopolium nominaturus ueniam prius postularet, quod sibi uerbo peregrino utendum esset.
Although otherwise ready and fluent in the Greek language, he did not use it everywhere, and abstained from it especially in the Senate; indeed, to such an degree that when he was about to name 'monopoly,' he first asked pardon because he had to use a foreign word.
atque etiam cum in quodam decreto patrum ἔμβλημα recitaretur, commutandam censuit uocem et pro peregrina nostratem requirendam aut, si non reperiretur, uel pluribus et per ambitum uerborum rem enuntiandam.
And also when the word 'emblema' was read in a certain decree of the fathers, he proposed that the word should be changed, and that a native word should be sought instead of the foreign one, or, if none could be found, that the thing should be expressed by more words and a circumlocution.
militem quoque Graece testimonium interrogatum nisi Latine respondere uetuit.
He also forbade a soldier who was interrogated in Greek as a witness to answer except in Latin.