Legatio Ad Gaium

But you pitied them, you paid more attention to feelings of compassion than to the express commands of Caius. "Make your pretext of the harvest, but you yourself shall soon find that you have brought on your own head a punishment which cannot be averted by any pretexts or excuses. Blame the necessity for collecting the crops, and for making adequate provision for my armies, for even if a complete scarcity were to oppress Judaea, still are there not vast regions on its borders of great fertility and productiveness, sufficient and able to supply all necessary food, and to make up for the deficiency of one district?

But why do I speak in this way before acting? And why is there no one who anticipates my intentions? He who delays shall first find out that he is receiving the wages of his delay by suffering in his own person. I will say no more, but I shall not forget the matter."

And after a brief interval, he dictated to one of his secretaries an answer to Petronius, praising him in appearance for his prudence, and for his careful and accurate consideration of the future, for he was very careful with respect to the governors of the provinces, seeing that they had at all times great facilities for making innovations or revolutions, especially if they happened to be in districts of importance, and in command of powerful armies such as was on the Euphrates for the protection of Syria.

Therefore, being very civil to him in words and in his letters, he concealed his anger till a favourable opportunity, though he was very much exasperated; but at the end of the letter, after having mentioned every other subject, he desired him not to be so anxious about anything as about the speedy erection and dedication of the statue, for that by this time the harvest must have been able to be got in, whether the excuse was originally an honest and true or only a plausible one.

However a short time afterwards King Agrippa arrived in Rome, according to custom, to pay his respects to Caius, and he knew absolutely nothing either of what Petronius had written in his letter, or of what Caius had written in his first or second epistle, but by his irregular motions and agitations, and by the excitement which shone

and when he felt sure that he had done absolutely nothing, he conjectured, as was natural, that it was some one else with whom he was offended. But again, when he saw that he looked morosely at him, and that he kept his eyes continually fixed on him, and on no one else who was ever present, he began to be alarmed, and though he often thought of putting the question to him, he restrained himself, reflecting in this manner: "Perhaps by doing so I may draw down on myself the threats which as it is are destined for others, by bringing upon myself a suspicion of being a busybody, and a rash and audacious man."

Therefore, when Caius saw that he was in a state of great alarm and perplexity, for he was very acute at comprehending a man’s inmost designs and feelings from his outward appearance and expression of countenance, he said, "You are embarrassed, O Agrippa. I will relieve you from your perplexity.

Though you have lived with me for such a length of time, are you yet ignorant that I speak not only with my voice, but also with my eyes, intimating everything, to say the least of it, as much in one way as in the other?

Your loyal and excellent fellow citizens, the only nation of men upon the whole face of the earth by whom Caius is not esteemed to be a god, appear now to be even desiring to plot my death in their obstinate disobedience, for when I commanded my statue in the character of Jupiter to be erected in their temple, they raised the whole of their people, and quitted the city and the whole country in a body, under pretence of addressing a petition to me, but in reality being determined to act in a manner contrary to the commands which I had imposed upon them."

And when he was about to add other charges against them Agrippa fell into such a state of grief that he changed into all sorts of colours, becoming at the same moment bloodshot, and pale, and livid,

for he was all over agitation and trembling from the top of his head down to his feet, and a quivering and shaking seized upon and disordered all

Therefore Caius was exasperated still more against our nation, and cherished a more furious anger against us than before, "For," said he, "if Agrippa, who is my most intimate and dearest friend, and one bound to me by so many benefits, is so completely under the influence of his national customs that he cannot bear even to hear a word against them, but faints away to such a degree as to be near dying, what must one expect will be the feelings of others who have no motive or influence to draw them the other way?"

Agrippa, then, during all that day and the greater portion of the next day, lay in a state of profound stupor, being completely unconscious of everything that passed; but about evening he raised his head a little, and for a short time opened, though with difficulty, his languid eyes, and with dim and indistinct vision looked upon the people who surrounded him, though he was not as yet able to distinguish clearly between their several forms and features;