use he pled a case well in the senate while his
sovereign was present. Gaius ordered him to be put to death, but let
him go because he believed what one of his female associates said, that
Seneca had a bad case of consumption and would die before a great while.

[-20-] Directly he appointed Domitius consul and removed those who held
the office at the time: this he did because they had not proclaimed a
thanksgiving on the occasion of his birthday (the praetors had held a
horse-race and had slaughtered some beasts, but that happened every year)
whereas they had celebrated a festival to commemorate the victory of
Augustus over Antony. In order to find an accusation against them he
chose to figure as a descendant of Antony rather than of Augustus. He had
beforehand told those who shared his secrets that whichever the consuls
did they would certainly get into trouble, whether they offered sacrifice
as a mark of joy over Antony's disaster or whether they went without
sacrificing on such an occasion as the victory of Augustus. It was for
these reasons, then, that he summarily dismissed these officials and
broke to pieces their fasces. One of them took it so much to heart that
he killed himself.

Domitius was chosen as the emperor's colleague nominally by the people
but actually by Gaius himself. The latter had, to be sure, restored
the elections to the populace, but they had become rather lax in the
performance of their duties because for a long time now they had enjoyed
none of the privileges of freemen; and as a rule no more office-seekers
presented themselves than were needed to fill vacant places, or if ever
there was an excessive number the outcome had been all arranged among
themselves. Thus the appearance of a democracy was preserved but none of
the proper results was secured; and this led Gaius himself to abolish the
elections again. After this things went on precisely as in the reign of
Tiberius. Sometimes fifteen praetors were chosen and again one more or
less, as it might happen.

Such was the action he took regarding the elections. In general he
maintained a malignant and suspicious attitude toward quite everything
that went on, as witness his banishing Carrina Secundus the orator
because the latter had delivered in a gymnasium a speech against tyrants.
Also, when Lucius Piso, son of Plancina and Gnaeus Piso, chanced to
become governor of Africa, the emperor feared that pride might lead him
to revolt, particularl