§11Imperio stabilito nihil antiquius duxit quam id biduum, quo de mutando rei p. statu haesitatum erat, memoriae eximere.
With the empire established, he considered nothing more important than to erase from memory those two days in which there had been hesitation about changing the state of the republic.
omnium itaque factorum dictorumque in eo ueniam et obliuionem in perpetuum sanxit ac praestitit, tribunis modo ac centurionibus paucis e coniuratorum in Gaium numero interemptis, exempli simul causa et quod suam quoque caedem depoposcisse cognouerat.
Therefore he decreed and granted for all time a pardon and oblivion for all deeds and words in that period, with only a few tribunes and centurions from the number of the conspirators against Gaius having been executed, both for the sake of example and because he had learned that they had also demanded his own death.
conuersus hinc ad officia pietatis ius iurandum neque sanctius sibi neque crebrius instituit quam per Augustum.
Turning from here to the duties of piety, he established no oath more sacred or more frequent for himself than by Augustus.
auiae Liuiae diuinos honores et circensi pompa currum elephantorum Augustino similem decernenda curauit; parentibus inferias publicas, et hoc amplius patri circenses annuos natali die, matri carpentum, quo per circum duceretur, et cognomen Augustae ab uiua recusatum. †a fratris memoria per omnem occasionem celebratam comoediam quoque Graecam Neapolitano certamine docuit ac de sententia iudicum coronauit.
He saw to it that divine honors were decreed for his grandmother Livia, and a chariot of elephants, similar to that of Augustus, in the circus procession; for his parents public funeral rites, and furthermore for his father annual circus games on his birthday, for his mother a carriage in which she might be drawn through the circus, and the title of Augusta, which she had refused while alive. †As for his brother's memory, celebrated on every occasion, he also produced a Greek comedy at the Neapolitan contest and crowned it according to the decision of the judges.
ne Marcum quidem Antonium inhonoratum ac sine grata mentione transmisit, testatus quondam per edictum, tanto impensius petere se ut natalem patris Drusi celebrarent, quod idem esset et aui sui Antoni.
He did not pass over even Mark Antony without honor and without grateful mention, having once declared by an edict that he requested them all the more earnestly to celebrate the birthday of his father Drusus, because it was the same as that of his grandfather Antony.
Tiberio marmoreum arcum iuxta Pompei theatrum, decretum quidem olim a senatu uerum omissum, peregit.
He completed for Tiberius a marble arch near the theater of Pompey, which had indeed been decreed once by the senate but left unfinished.
Gai quoque etsi acta omnia rescidit, diem tamen necis, quamuis exordium principatus sui, uetuit inter festos referri.
Although he rescinded all the acts of Gaius, he nevertheless forbade the day of his murder, although it was the beginning of his own principate, to be entered among the holidays.
§12At in semet augendo parcus atque ciuilis praenomine Imperatoris abstinuit, nimios honores recusauit, sponsalia filiae natalemque geniti nepotis silentio ac tantum domestica religione transegit.
But in exalting himself moderate and unassuming, he abstained from the forename of Emperor, refused excessive honors, and passed over the betrothal of his daughter and the birthday of his grandson born to him in silence and only with domestic observance.
neminem exulum nisi ex senatus auctoritate restituit.
He restored none of the exiles except by the authority of the senate.
ut sibi in curiam praefectum praetori tribunosque militum secum inducere liceret utque rata essent quae procuratores sui in iudicando statuerent, precario exegit.
That he might be allowed to bring with him into the senate house the praetorian prefect and the military tribunes, and that the decisions which his procurators made in judging should be valid, he requested as a favor.
ius nundinarum in priuata praedia a consulibus petit.
He petitioned the consuls for the right to hold markets on his private estates.
cognitionibus magistratuum ut unus e consiliariis frequenter interfuit; eosdem spectacula edentis surgens et ipse cum cetera turba uoce ac manu ueneratus est.
He frequently attended the judicial inquiries of the magistrates as one of their advisers; and when they were exhibiting spectacles, he himself rose with the rest of the crowd and honored them with voice and hand.
tr(ibunis) pl(ebis) adeuntibus se pro tribunali excusauit, quod propter angustias non posset audire eos nisi stantes.
To the tribunes of the plebs who approached him before his tribunal, he excused himself because, on account of the narrowness of space, he could not hear them except while they were standing.
quare in breui spatio tantum amoris fauorisque collegit, ut cum profectum eum Ostiam perisse ex insidiis nuntiatum esset, magna consternatione populus et militem quasi proditorem et senatum quasi parricidam diris execrationibus incessere non ante destiterit, quam unus atque alter et mox plures a magistratibus in rostra producti saluum et appropinquare confirmarent.
Therefore in a short space of time he gathered so much love and favor, that when it was reported that he, having set out for Ostia, had perished by an ambush, the people in great consternation did not cease to assail both the soldier as a traitor and the senate as a parricide with terrible curses, until one and then another, and soon more, having been brought onto the rostra by the magistrates, confirmed that he was safe and approaching.
§13Nec tamen expers insidiarum usque quaque permansit, sed et a singulis et per factionem et denique ciuili bello infestatus est.
Nevertheless, he did not remain altogether free from plots, but was harassed both by individuals, and by a faction, and finally by a civil war.
e plebe homo nocte media iuxta cubiculum eius cum pugione deprehensus est; reperti et equestris ordinis duo in publico cum dolone ac uenatorio cultro praestolantes, alter ut egressum theatro, alter ut sacrificantem apud Martis aedem adoreretur.
A man of the plebs was caught in the middle of the night near his bedchamber with a dagger; there were also found two of the equestrian order waiting in public with a sword-stick and a hunting knife, the one to attack him as he left the theater, the other as he was sacrificing at the temple of Mars.
conspirauerunt autem ad res nouas Gallus Asinius et Statilius Coruinus, Pollionis ac Messalae oratorum nepotes, assumptis compluribus libertis ipsius atque seruis.
Moreover, Gallus Asinius and Statilius Corvinus, grandsons of the orators Pollio and Messala, conspired for a revolution, having taken to their side several of his own freedmen and slaves.
bellum ciuile mouit Furius Camillus Scribonianus Delmatiae legatus; uerum intra quintum diem oppressus est legionibus, quae sacramentum mutauerant, in paenitentiam religione conuersis, postquam denuntiato ad nouum imperatorem itinere casu quodam ac diuinitus neque aquila ornari neque signa conuelli mouerique potuerunt.
Furius Camillus Scribonianus, legate of Dalmatia, started a civil war; but within five days he was crushed by the legions, which, having changed their allegiance, were turned to repentance by religious awe, after, when the march to the new emperor had been ordered, by some chance and divine intervention, neither could the eagles be adorned nor the standards be pulled up and moved.
§14Consulatus super pristinum quattuor gessit; ex quibus duos primos iunctim, sequentis per interuallum quarto quemque anno, semenstrem nouissimum, bimenstris ceteros, tertium autem nouo circa principem exemplo in locum demortui suffectus.
He held four consulships in addition to his previous one; of which he held the first two consecutively, the following ones after an interval, every fourth year, the last for six months, the others for two months, but the third, by a new precedent regarding a princeps, having been substituted in place of one who had died.
ius et consul et extra honorem laboriosissime dixit, etiam suis suorumque diebus sollemnibus, nonnumquam festis quoque antiquitus et religiosis.
He administered justice most laboriously, both as consul and outside of office, even on his own solemn days and those of his family, and sometimes even on holidays of ancient origin and sacred days.
nec semper praescripta legum secutus duritiam lenitatemue multarum ex bono et aequo, perinde ut adficeretur, moderatus est; nam et iis, qui apud priuatos iudices plus petendo formula excidissent, restituit actiones et in maiore fraude conuictos legitimam poenam supergressus ad bestias condemnauit.
And not always following the prescriptions of the laws, he moderated the severity or leniency of many penalties according to what was good and fair, just as he was moved; for he both restored actions to those who, before private judges, had lost their case through the formula by asking for too much, and, exceeding the legal penalty, condemned to the wild beasts those convicted of greater fraud.