ascended the throne of the
Roman world at the mature age of fifty-six, after having won great
reputation both as a statesman and a general. He was probably the most
capable man in the empire, and in spite of all his faults, the empire was
never better administered than by him. His great misfortune and fault was
the suspicion of his nature, which made him the saddest of mankind, and
finally, a monster of cruelty.

(M1055) Like Augustus, he veiled his power as emperor by assuming the old
offices of the republic. A subservient Senate and people favored the
consolidation of the new despotism to which the world was now accustomed,
and with power, which it cheerfully acquiesced as the best government for
the times. The last remnant of popular elections was abolished, and the
Comitia was transferred from the Campus Martius to the Senate, who elected
the candidate proposed by the emperor.

(M1056) The first year of the accession of Tiberius was marked by mutinies
in the legions, which were quelled by his nephew Germanicus, whose
popularity was boundless, even as his feats had been heroic. This young
prince, on whom the hopes of the empire rested, had married Agrippina, the
daughter of Julia and Agrippa, and traced through his mother Antonia, and
grandmother Octavia, a direct descent from Julia, the sister of the
dictator. The blood of Antony also ran in his veins, as well as that of
Livia. His wife was worthy of him, and was devotedly attached to him. By
this marriage the lines of Julia and Livia were united; and by his descent
from Antony the great parties of the revolution were silenced. He was
equally the heir of Augustus and of Antonius, of Julia and of Livia; and
of all the chiefs of Roman history no one has been painted in fairer
colors. In natural ability, in military heroism, in the virtues of the
heart, in exalted rank, he had no equal. As consul, general, and governor,
he called forth universal admiration. His mind was also highly cultivated,
and he excelled in Greek and Latin verse, while his condescending and
courteous manners won both soldiers and citizens.

(M1057) Of such a man, twenty-nine years of age, Tiberius was naturally
jealous, especially since, through his wife, Germanicus was allied with
the Octavian family and through his mother, with the sister of the great
Julius; and, therefore, had higher claims than he, on the principle of
legitimacy. He was only the adopted son of Octavius, but Germanicus,
thro