ia against the will of Augustus had kept
the empire for him, he took such action[1] that he might appear to have
received it not from her (with whom he was on very bad terms), but under
compulsion from the senators through surpassing them in excellence. Again
I have heard that when he saw that people were cool toward him he waited
and delayed in order that they in the hope of his voluntarily resigning
the empire might no adopt rebellious measures until he had secured an
unshakable control of the government. Still, I do not record these
stories as the true causes of his delay, but rather his usual disposition
and the disturbance among the soldiers. He sent some one from Nola and
had Agrippa killed at once. Yet he declared this had not been done by
his orders and he threatened the perpetrator of the deed. Instead of
punishing him, however, he allowed men to invent versions of the affair
some to the effect that Augustus had put him out of the way just before
his death, others that the centurion who was guarding him slew him on his
own responsibility for some revolutionary dealings, others that Livia and
not Tiberius had ordered his death.

[-4-] This rival, then, he had removed from the scene immediately, but
there remained Germanicus, whom he feared mightily. The soldiers in
Pannonia had risen as soon as they learned of the demise of Augustus.
They gathered in one fort and having strengthened it they took many steps
toward rebellion. Among other things they attempted to kill their leader,
Junius Blaesus, and arrested and tortured his slaves. In general, what
they wanted was to have the period of service extend over not more than
sixteen years, and they demanded that they should receive a denarius per
day and be given at once his prizes that were in the camp. In case they
did not obtain their demands they threatened to make the province revolt
and to march upon Rome. Indeed, they were at this time with difficulty
won over by the persuasions of Blaesus to send envoys to Tiberius at Rome
in regard to these matters. For they hoped during this change in
the government to accomplish the utmost of their desires either by
frightening the emperor into it or by giving the power to some one else.
Subsequently, when Drusus came upon them with the Pretorians, they were
thrown into tumult once more because no definite answer was returned
them. Some of his followers they wounded and they put a guard around him
in the night to prevent his