§72Bis omnino toto secessus tempore Romam redire conatus, semel triremi usque ad proximos naumachiae hortos subuectus est disposita statione per ripas Tiberis, quae obuiam prodeuntis submoueret, iterum Appia usque ad septimum lapidem;
Having attempted to return to Rome only twice in all during the entire time of his retirement, he was once carried in a trireme as far as the gardens near the naumachia, with a guard stationed along the banks of the Tiber to keep back those who came out to meet him, and a second time along the Appian Way as far as the seventh milestone; but having only looked at, and not approached, the walls of the city, he returned, at first for an uncertain cause, and afterwards terrified by a portent.
sed prospectis modo nec aditis urbis moenibus rediit, primo incertum qua de causa, postea ostento territus. erat ei in oblectamentis serpens draco, quem ex consuetudine manu sua cibaturus cum consumptum a formicis inuenisset, monitus est ut uim multitudinis caueret.
He had among his amusements a pet serpent, which, when he was about to feed it with his own hand according to custom, having found it devoured by ants, he was warned to beware of the power of the multitude.
rediens ergo propere Campaniam Asturae in languorem incidit, quo paulum leuatus Cerceios pertendit.
Returning therefore in haste to Campania, he fell into an illness at Astura, from which having slightly recovered, he proceeded to Cerceii.
ac ne quam suspicionem infirmitatis daret, castrensibus ludis non tantum interfuit, sed etiam missum in harenam aprum iaculis desuper petit; statimque latere conuulso et, ut exaestuarat, afflatus aura in grauiorem recidit morbum.
And so that he might not give any suspicion of weakness, he not only attended the military games, but even attacked with javelins from above a wild boar that had been let into the arena; and immediately, his side having been wrenched and, as he was overheated, being struck by a draft of wind, he fell back into a more serious illness.
sustentauit tamen aliquamdiu, quamuis Misenum usque deuectus nihil ex ordine cotidiano praetermitteret, ne conuiuia quidem aut ceteras uoluptates partim intemperantia partim dissimulatione.
He bore up, however, for some time, although, having been carried as far as Misenum, he omitted nothing of his daily routine, not even banquets or other pleasures, partly through intemperance, partly through dissimulation.
nam Chariclen medicum, quod commeatu afuturus e conuiuio egrediens manum sibi osculandi causa apprehendisset, existimans temptatas ab eo uenas, remanere ac recumbere hortatus est cenamque protraxit.
For, thinking that his pulse had been felt by the physician Charicles—who, when about to leave because of a furlough, had grasped his hand as he left the banquet to kiss it—he urged him to remain and take his place again, and prolonged the dinner.
nec abstinuit consuetudine quin tunc quoque instans in medio triclinio astante lictore singulos ualere dicentis appellaret.
Nor did he depart from his custom, even then standing in the middle of the dining room with a lictor by him, and addressing one by one those who were saying farewell.
§73interim cum in actis senatus legisset dimissos ac ne auditos quidem quosdam reos, de quibus strictim et nihil aliud quam nominatos ab indice scripserat, pro contempto se habitum fremens repetere Capreas quoquo modo destinauit, non temere quicquam nisi ex tuto ausurus.
Meanwhile, when he had read in the proceedings of the senate that certain accused persons had been dismissed without even being heard, concerning whom he had written briefly, and nothing other than that they had been named by an informer, complaining that he was held in contempt, he resolved by all means to return to Capri, not about to venture anything rashly except from a position of safety.
sed tempestatibus et ingrauescente ui morbi retentus paulo post obiit in uilla Lucullana octauo et septuagesimo aetatis anno, tertio et uicesimo imperii, XVII. Kal. Ap. Cn. Acerronio Proculo C. Pontio Nigrino conss.
But detained by storms and the increasing severity of his illness, he died shortly after in the Lucullan villa, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, the twenty-third of his reign, on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of April, in the consulship of Cnaeus Acerronius Proculus and Gaius Pontius Nigrinus.
Sunt qui putent uenenum ei a Gaio datum lentum atque tabificum; alii, in remissione fortuitae febris cibum desideranti negatum; nonnulli, puluinum iniectum, cum extractum sibi deficienti anulum mox resipiscens requisisset.
There are some who think that a slow and wasting poison was given to him by Gaius; others, that when he desired food during a temporary remission of a fever, it was denied him; some, that a pillow was thrown over him, when, having recovered consciousness, he asked for his ring which had been taken from him while he was fainting.
Seneca eum scribit intellecta defectione exemptum anulum quasi alicui traditurum parumper tenuisse, dein rursus aptasse digito et compressa sinistra manu iacuisse diu immobilem; subito uocatis ministris ac nemine respondente consurrexisse nec procul a lectulo deficientibus uiribus concidisse.
Seneca writes that he, having perceived his failing strength, held the ring he had taken off for a little while as if about to deliver it to someone, then fitted it back onto his finger, and lay for a long time motionless with his left hand clenched; suddenly, having called his attendants and no one responding, he got up, and, his strength failing him, collapsed not far from his couch.
§74Supremo natali suo Apollinem Temenitem et amplitudinis et artis eximiae, aduectum Syracusis ut in bibliotheca templi noui poneretur, uiderat per quietem affirmantem sibi non posse se ab ipso dedicari.
On his last birthday, he had seen in his sleep the Temenite Apollo, a statue of exceptional size and craftsmanship, which had been brought from Syracuse to be placed in the library of the new temple, affirming to him that he could not be dedicated by him.
et ante paucos quam obiret dies, turris Phari terrae motu Capreis concidit.
And a few days before he died, the lighthouse tower at Capri fell by an earthquake.
ac Miseni cinis e fauilla et carbonibus ad calficiendum triclinium inlatis, extinctus iam et diu frigidus, exarsit repente prima uespera atque in multam noctem pertinaciter luxit.
And at Misenum, the ashes from the embers and charcoal brought in to warm the dining room, which were already extinguished and cold for a long time, suddenly flared up in the early evening and shone persistently far into the night.
§75Morte eius ita laetatus est populus, ut ad primum nuntium discurrentes pars: 'Tiberium in Tiberim!' clamitarent, pars Terram matrem deosque Manes orarent, ne mortuo sedem ullam nisi inter impios darent, alii uncum et Gemonias cadaueri minarentur, exacerbati super memoriam pristinae crudelitatis etiam recenti atrocitate.
The people so rejoiced at his death that, running about at the first news, some cried out: 'Tiberius to the Tiber!', some prayed to Mother Earth and the Manes gods not to give the dead man any place except among the wicked, and others threatened the corpse with the hook and the Gemonian stairs, exasperated by the memory of his former cruelty and also by a recent atrocity.
nam cum senatus consulto cautum esset, ut poena damnatorum in decimum semper diem differretur, forte accidit ut quorundam supplicii dies is esset, quo nuntiatum de Tiberio erat.
For since it had been provided by a decree of the senate that the punishment of condemned persons should always be deferred to the tenth day, it happened by chance that the day of execution for certain persons was the very day on which the news of Tiberius' death was received.
hos implorantis hominum fidem, quia absente adhuc Gaio nemo extabat qui adiri interpellarique posset, custodes, ne quid aduersus constitutum facerent, strangulauerunt abieceruntque in Gemonias.
These imploring the protection of men, since, Gaius being still absent, there was no one who could be approached or appealed to, the guards, lest they should do anything contrary to what was established, strangled them and cast them out onto the Gemonian stairs.
creuit igitur inuidia, quasi etiam post mortem tyranni saeuitia permanente.
Therefore the hatred grew, as if the cruelty of the tyrant still persisted even after his death.
corpus ut moueri a Miseno coepit, conclamantibus plerisque Atellam potius deferendum et in amphitheatro semiustilandum, Romam per milites deportatum est crematumque publico funere.
When the body began to be moved from Misenum, with many crying out that it should rather be carried to Atella and half-burnt in the amphitheatre, it was conveyed to Rome by the soldiers and cremated with a public funeral.
§76Testamentum duplex ante biennium fecerat, alterum sua, alterum liberti manu, sed eodem exemplo, obsignaueratque etiam humillimorum signis.
He had made a double testament two years before, one in his own hand, the other in that of a freedman, but with the same content, and had sealed it with the seals of even the humblest.
eo testamento heredes aequis partibus reliquit Gaium ex Germanico et Tiberium ex Druso nepotes substituitque in uicem; dedit et legata plerisque, inter quos uirginibus Vestalibus, sed et militibus uniuersis plebeique Romanae uiritim atque etiam separatim uicorum magistris.
By this testament he left as heirs in equal parts his grandsons, Gaius, son of Germanicus, and Tiberius, son of Drusus, and substituted them in turn; he also gave legacies to many, among whom were the Vestal virgins, but also to all the soldiers and to the Roman plebeians individually, and even separately to the masters of the districts.