Germanicus and Agrippina had three sons and three daughters: of the
sons, two had been murdered in the reign of Tiberius; the youngest only,
Caius, survived. Caius was not born on the banks of the Rhine; but, as
Suetonius satisfactorily proves, at Antium, and thence he was sent out
to his father’s camp: so that the history of his childhood is indeed
connected with this neighbourhood. After the death of his father, he got
into the power of his adoptive grandfather Tiberius; and this old man,
who, after all had never lost his judgment, very soon recognised in him
the monster which he really was; nor did he make any secret of it. Caius
could not hide from himself that his life was in danger, and it may be
that fear had very early made him mad; but his madness was so malignant
and wicked as to leave no doubt of the utter baseness of his nature. He
saved his life by the greatest servility towards Tiberius and those who
were in power, which, as matters stood, was the most sensible thing that
he could have done. Afterwards he attached himself to Macro, and with
his aid he rid himself of Tiberius. He had been little seen in public.
He was a handsome young man, very like his father, and he was in his
twenty-sixth year: the memory of his father, and his own good looks, got
for him a most favourable reception; so that no one was so
enthusiastically welcomed as he was. The nickname of Caligula, like that
of Caracalla, has passed into common use; but neither of them is to be
met with in ancient writers instead of the real name: no contemporary
called the son of Septimius Severus, Caracalla. The name of Caligula was
only given him by the soldiers when a child; his real name was Caius
Cæsar, and the former one is beneath the dignity of history. All who had
seen much of Caius at the court of Tiberius, perceived a deep cunning in
him, and foreboded the worst wickedness: yet they were but very few. His
first acts were, on the contrary, such as to give the public at large
great hopes of him. The illusion, however, very soon vanished. Suetonius
is very explicit with regard to him: he is a writer who has little of
the antique about him, and he indulges in anecdotes and details, being
quite unable to impart method and unity to his work; so that his
biographies are rambling performances, and contain numberless
repetitions. He is a man of shrewd judgment but a bad writer; one sees
in him an age in which the classical in arrangement and style is waning
fast.
Caligula was really a madman. The worst human depravity would not
account for all the things which he has done: his true nature is
expressed in the words “abortion of dirt and fire,”[40]—a shocking
combination of obscenity and cruelty. Juvenal is reproached with having
chiefly undertaken in his writings to describe depravity; yet indelicate
as he was, his disgust was excited, and he did not dwell on it with
pleasure. Suetonius, on the other hand, was without doubt infected with
the profligacy of his time. Suetonius himself is uncertain what to
believe of Caligula’s insanity, whether it was mere satanic malignity or
the satanic malignity of madness; but he mentions a circumstance which
is decisive, namely, that he scarcely ever slept, which is a sure
symptom. Sleep is given to us yet more to keep up the powers of the
intellect, and the elasticity of the mind, than for the strengthening of
the body. It is now twenty years since Christian VII. of Denmark died, a
prince whose state was well governed for a long time, so that his
madness was little noticed, but who under other circumstances would have
shown himself a Caligula: he also was afflicted with sleeplessness, and
was often seen for whole nights walking up and down in his room. Some
Asiatic princes also have been insane, among the Mahommedans and
Persians but especially among the Tartars. In Caligula’s day, moreover,
there were no means, and, above all, no religious ones, for the
treatment of insanity.
There was at that time at Rome the most absolute military despotism.
For, owing to the Prætorians, it was quite impossible to undertake
anything against the Cæsar: they were well paid and kept, and would have
cut down senate and people, if they had set themselves against the
emperor; so that the condition of the empire was like that of a place
which is taken by the most ruthless barbarians. In the first years of
his reign, the emperor wasted in the most senseless way a treasure of
one hundred and thirty millions of dollars which Tiberius had left; this
hoard being exhausted he extorted money by confiscations, and this also
was squandered again. During the reign of Tiberius, there had been peace
with the Germans for twenty years, ever since the recall of Germanicus;
Caligula, however, wishing for once to enjoy the pleasure of a campaign,
marched to the German frontier, and there he waged war like a madman.
Yet this was the least evil which Rome suffered. He also undertook some
gigantic structures: near Puzzuoli, a dyke may still be traced, which he
quite uselessly and absurdly built across the harbour, to throw a bridge
across it. He caused himself to be worshipped as a god.
Whilst now the empire was goaded into despair for nearly four years, the
Prætorian officers, some of whom had every day to appear before him,
when he would mock and ill treat them, formed a conspiracy, and he was
slain to the great joy of the senate and people.
The mad idea was now taken up of restoring the republic, and especially
by the consuls whom Caligula had appointed. They called the senate
together; shame and disgrace were denounced against Caligula; and during
the first hours people talked with great spirit and enthusiasm. But they
were soon at a loss how to arrange matters; and still more so when it
was known that the Prætorians would not hear of any other ruler than a
monarch. Claudius, who in a tumult had hid himself, was drawn from his
hiding-place by the Prætorians, and dragged into the camp; and there,
after having passed the night in fear of death, he was proclaimed
emperor. The _cohortes urbanæ_ declared for the republic; but they were
not able to stand against the power of the Prætorians, By the following
morning already, people were glad that Claudius was emperor.