virtuous life his enemy. And whatsoever he commanded, he would not admit
of any contradiction to his inclinations; whence it was that he had
criminal conversation with his own sister; [10] from which occasion
chiefly it was also that a bitter hatred first sprang up against him
among the citizens, that sort of incest not having been known of a long
time; and so this provoked men to distrust him, and to hate him that was
guilty of it. And for any great or royal work that he ever did, which
might be for the present and for future ages, nobody can name any
such, but only the haven that he made about Rhegium and Sicily, for the
reception of the ships that brought corn from Egypt; which was indeed a
work without dispute very great in itself, and of very great advantage
to the navigation. Yet was not this work brought to perfection by him,
but was the one half of it left imperfect, by reason of his want of
application to it; the cause of which was this, that he employed his
studies about useless matters, and that by spending his money upon such
pleasures as concerned no one's benefit but his own, he could not exert
his liberality in things that were undeniably of great consequence.
Otherwise he was an excellent orator, and thoroughly acquainted with the
Greek tongue, as well as with his own country or Roman language. He was
also able, off-hand and readily, to give answers to compositions made by
others, of considerable length and accuracy. He was also more skillful
in persuading others to very great things than any one else, and this
from a natural affability of temper, which had been improved by much
exercise and pains-taking; for as he was the grandson [11] of the
brother of Tiberius, whose successor he was, this was a strong
inducement to his acquiring of learning, because Tiberius aspired after
the highest pitch of that sort of reputation; and Caius aspired after
the like glory for eloquence, being induced thereto by the letters of
his kinsman and his emperor. He was also among the first rank of his
own citizens. But the advantages he received from his learning did not
countervail the mischief he brought upon himself in the exercise of his
authority; so difficult it is for those to obtain the virtue that is
necessary for a wise man, who have the absolute power to do what they
please without control. At the first he got himself such friends as were
in all respects the most worthy, and was greatly beloved by them,
while he im