conducted the horse-race in a sumptuous
manner; now, too, he married Octavia, a new circumstance to cause him a
feeling of manly dignity.

[A.D. 53-54]

Nothing seemed to satisfy Agrippina, though all rights
which Livia had possessed were bestowed upon her also and a number of
additional honors had been decreed. She, wielding equal power with
Claudius, desired to have his title outright; and once, when a blaze had
spread over the city to a considerable distance, she accompanied him in
the work of rescue.

[A.D. 54 (a. u. 807)]

[-34-] Claudius was irritated by Agrippina's actions, of which he now
began to become aware, and sought to find his son Britannicus. The boy,
however, was purposely kept out of his sight by the empress most of the
time, for she was doing everything conceivable to secure the right of
succession for Nero, since he was her own son by her former husband
Domitius. Claudius, who displayed his affection whenever he met
Britannicus, was not disposed to endure her behavior and made
preparations to put an end to her power, to register his son among the
iuvenes, and appoint him as heir to the empire.

This news alarmed Agrippina, who decided to anticipate the emperor's
project by poisoning him. Since, however, by reason of the great quantity
of wine he was forever drinking and his general habits of life, which all
emperors adopt for their protection, he could not easily be harmed, she
sent for a drug-woman named Lucusta, a recent captive renowned for the
desired skill, and obtaining from her a poison whose effect was sure she
put it in one of the vegetables called[16] mushrooms. Then she herself
ate of the others in the dish but made her husband eat the one which had
the poison; for it was the largest and finest of them. The victim of this
plot was carried out of the banquet apparently quite overcome by strong
drink, but that had happened many times before. During the night the
poison took effect and he passed away, without having been able to say
or hear a word. It was the thirteenth of October, and he had lived
sixty-three years, two months, and thirteen days, having been emperor
thirteen years, eight months and twenty days. Agrippina's rapid vengeance
had been aided by the fact that before her attempt she had despatched
Narcissus to Campania, feigning that he needed to take the waters there
for his gout. Had he been present, she would never have done the deed,
such extreme car