previous he had been declared emperor he did nothing unusual, except to
give the Pretorians twenty-five denarii, and this he continued to do
every year thereafter. Some of the praetors, however, of their own free
will and not by any decree publicly celebrated that day and also the
birthday of Messalina. Not all of them did this, but as many as chose.
This shows what freedom they had. You may see how really moderate
Claudius was in all such matters from the fact that when a son was born
to him,--called at that time Claudius Tiberius Germanicus but later also
_Britannicus_,--he did not make the occasion in any way conspicuous and
would not allow him to be named Augustus nor Messalina Augusta.

[-13-]He was constantly arranging gladiatorial games, taking a degree of
pleasure in them that aroused criticism. Very few beasts were destroyed,
but a great many human beings, some of whom fought with one another
whereas others were devoured by animals. The emperor hated vehemently
the freed slaves who in the reigns of Tiberius and Gaius had conspired
against their masters, as well as those who extorted blackmail from
people or had borne false witness against any persons. The majority of
these he got rid of in the manner mentioned, though some of them he
punished by other methods. A great many he delivered up to the vengeance
of their masters. So great did the number become of those who died a
public death that the statue of Augustus, erected on the scene, was
turned to face in another direction, both to prevent its being thought
that _he_ was viewing the slaughter and to avoid having the statue
always covered up. For this act Claudius was well laughed at when people
reflected how he sated himself with the sights that he did not think
proper for even the inanimate bronze to behold. It might be noted
particularly that he used to delight greatly even at lunch time in
watching those who were incidentally cut down in the middle of the
spectacle. Yet a lion that had been trained to eat men and on this
account greatly pleased the crowd he ordered killed on the principle
that it was not fitting for Romans to gaze on such a sight. He received
abundant praise, however, for appearing in the people's midst at the
spectacle, for giving them all they wanted, and for his employing a
herald so very little and announcing most events by notices written on
boards.

[-14-] After he had become accustomed, then, to feast his fill on blood
and slaught