d, Memmius Regulus, to betroth her to him so that
he might not break the law in taking her without a betrothal. But almost
in a trice he had driven her away, too.

Meantime he granted to Soaimus the land of the Arabian Ituraeans, to Cotys
Lesser Armenia and later parts of Arabia, to Rhoemetalces the possessions
of Cotys, and to Polemon son of Polemon his ancestral domain,--all these
upon the vote of the senate. The ceremony took place in the Forum, where
he sat upon the rostra in a chair between the consuls; some say he used
silken awnings. Soon after he caught sight of a lot of mud in an alley
and ordered that it be cast into the toga of Flavius Vespasian, who was
aedile at the time and had charge of keeping alleys clean. This event was
regarded at the moment as of no particular importance, but later, when
Vespasian, who took charge of a state in confusion and turmoil, had
reduced the same to order, it seemed to have been due to some divine
prompting and to have signified that Gaius had entrusted the city to him
unconditionally for its amelioration.

[A.D. 39 (_a. u._ 792)]

[-13-] He now became consul again, and though he prevented the priest
of Jupiter from taking the oath in the senate (for at this time they
regularly did so privately, as in the days of Tiberius), he himself both
when he entered upon office and when he relinquished it took the oath
like the rest upon the rostra, which had been made larger than before.
Thirty days was the duration of his tenure (whereas he let his colleague
Lucius Apronius hold office for six months), and his successor was
Sanguinius Maximus, praefectus urbi. During this and the following period
numbers of the foremost men perished in fulfillment of a sentence of
condemnation (for many who had been released from prison were punished
for the very reasons that had led to their imprisonment by Tiberius),
and many others in gladiatorial combats. There was nothing happening but
slaughter. The emperor no longer made any concessions to the populace,
opposing instead absolutely everything it wished, and consequently the
people, too, resisted all his desires. The talk and actions usual at such
a juncture with an angry ruler on one side and a hostile folk on the
other were plainly in evidence. The contest between them, however, was
not an equal one. The people could do nothing outside of discussion and
showing their feelings by their demeanor, whereas Gaius dragged many of
his opponents away