en sycophants were condemned to death, among whom was Seras
[Lacuna] [Footnote: The name is suspicious and possibly a corrupt
reading.] the philosopher. Now, as a quite extraordinary disturbance arose
from the fact that everybody was accusing everybody else, Fronto, the
consul, is said to have remarked that it was bad to have an emperor under
whom no one could do anything, but worse to have one under whom any one
could do everything. Nerva, on hearing this, prohibited the future
recurrence of such scenes. But Nerva, as a result of old age and sickness
(which was always making him vomit his food), was rather weak.

[Sidenote:--2--] He also forbade gold statues being made in his honor. He
paid back to such as under Domitian had been causelessly deprived of their
property all that was still found in the imperial treasury. To the very
poor Romans he granted allotments of land worth in the aggregate fifteen
hundred myriads, and put certain senators in charge of their purchase and
distribution. When he ran short of funds he sold many robes and plate,
both silver and gold, besides furniture, both his own and what belonged to
the imperial residence, many fields and houses,--in fact, everything save
what was quite necessary. He did not, however, haggle over the prices of
them, and in this very point benefited many persons. He abolished many
sacrifices, many horse-races, and some other spectacles, in an attempt to
reduce expenses as far as possible. In the senate he took oath that he
would not cause the death of any of the senators and he kept his pledge in
spite of plots. And he did nothing without the advice of prominent men.
Among his various laws were those prohibiting any one from being made a
eunuch and from marrying one's niece. When consul he did not hesitate to
take as his colleague Verginius Rufus, though the latter had been
frequently saluted as emperor. [Footnote: Compare Book Sixty-three,
chapter 25 of Dio, and also Tacitus, _Historiae_ I, 9.] [Sidenote:
A.D. 97 (a.u. 850)] Upon his monument was inscribed when he died: "Having
conquered Vindex he ascribed the credit of victory not to himself but to
his country." [Footnote: Compare also Pliny's Letters, Book Six, number
10.]

[Sidenote:--3--] Nerva ruled so well that he once remarked: "I have done
nothing that could prevent me from laying down the imperial office and
returning to private life in safety." When Crassus Calpurnius, a grandson
of the famous Crassi, formed