hich the historians have made
their for him discreditable tale: the truth is, it was an heroic
effort on his part to break the boy of his vices by keeping him
under close and continuous supervision. But that is more easily
said than done, sometimes; and this Drusus presently died a
madman. He then took the youngest son of Agrippina to live with
him at Capri; that he, Tiberius, might personally do the best
with him that was to be done; for he foresaw that this youth
Caius would succeed him; his own grandson, Tiberius Gemellus,
being much younger. He foresaw, too, that Caius, once on the
throne, would murder Gemellus; which also happened. But there
was nothing to be done. Had he named his grandson his successor,
a strong regent would have been needed to carry things through
until that successor's majority, and to hold the Empire against
the partisans of Caius. There was no such strong man in sight;
so, what had to come, had to come. _Apres lui le deluge:_
Tiberius knew that. _Le deluge_ was the four years' terror of
the reign of Caius, known as Caligula; who, through no good will
of his own, but simply by reason of his bloodthirsty mania, amply
revenged the wrongs done his pedecessor. Karma put Caligula on
the throne to punish Rome.

The reign was too short, even if Caligula had troubled his head
with the provinces, for him to spoil the good work done in them
during the preceding half-cycle. He did not so trouble his head;
being too busy murdering the pillars of Roman society. Then a
gentleman who had been spending the afternoon publicly kissing
his slippers in the theater, experienced, as they say, a change
of heart, and took thought to assassinate him on the way home;
whereupon the Praetorians, let loose and having a thoroughly good
time, happened on a poor old buffer of the royal house by the
name of Claudius; and to show their sense of humor, made him
emperor _tout de suite._ The senate took a high hand, and
asserted _its_ right to make those appointments; but Claudius
and the Praetorians thought otherwise; and the senate, after
blustering, had to crawl. They besought him to allow them the
honor of appointing him.--what a difference the mere turn of a
cycle had made: from Augustus bequeathing the Empire to
Tiberius, ablest man to ablest man, and all with senatoral
ratification; to the jocular appointment by undisciplined
soldiery of a sad old laughingstock to succeed a raging maniac.

Claudius was