cuous by giving free
rein to all his desires without fear of retribution. His behavior began to
be absolutely insensate, as is shown, for instance, by his punishing a
certain knight, Antonius, as a seller of poisons and by further burning
the poisons publicly. He took great credit for this action as well as for
prosecuting some persons who had tampered with wills; but other people
only laughed to see him punishing his own acts in the persons of others.]

[Sidenote:--8--] His secret acts of licentiousness were many, both at home
and throughout the City, by night and by day. He used to frequent the
taverns and wandered about everywhere like a private person. Any number of
beatings and insults took place in this connection and the evil spread to
the theatres, so that those who worked as dancers and who had charge of
the horses paid no attention either to praetors or to consuls. They were
disorderly themselves and led others to be the same, while Nero not only
did not restrain them even by words, but stirred them up all the more. He
delighted in their actions and used to be secretly conveyed in a litter
into the theatres, where unseen by the rest he watched the proceedings.
Indeed, he forbade the soldiers who had usually been in attendance at all
public gatherings to appear there any longer. The reason he assigned was
that they ought not to superintend anything but strictly military affairs,
but his true purpose was to afford those who wished to raise a disturbance
the amplest scope. He made use of the same excuse in reference to his not
allowing any soldier to attend his mother, saying that no one except the
emperor ought to be guarded by them. In this way he displayed his enmity
toward the masses, and as for his mother he was already openly at variance
with her. Everything that they said to each other, or that the imperial
pair did each day, was reported outside the palace, yet it did not all
reach the public and hence conjectures were made to supply missing details
and different versions arose. What was conceivable as happening, in view
of the baseness and lewdness of the pair, was noised abroad as having
already taken place, and reports possessing some credibility were believed
as true. The populace, seeing Agrippina now for the first time without
Pretorians, took care not to fall in with her even by accident; and if any
one did chance to meet her he would hastily get out of the way without
saying a word.

[Sidenote:--9