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14While he was thus occupied, various men formed plots against him, notably Gnaeus Cornelius, a son of the daughter of Pompey the Great. Augustus was consequently in great perplexity for some time, since he neither wished to put the plotters to death, inasmuch as he saw that no greater safety would accrue to him by their destruction, nor to let them go, for fear this might induce others to conspire against him. 2While he was in doubt what to do and was finding it impossible either to be free from apprehension by day or from restlessness by night, Livia one day said to him: “What means this, husband? Why is it that you do not sleep?”
And Augustus answered: “What man, wife, could even for a moment forget his cares, who always has so many enemies and is so constantly the object of plots on the part of one set of men or another? 3Do you not see how many are attacking both me and our sovereignty? And not even the punishment of those who are brought to justice serves to check them; nay, quite the opposite is the result—those who are left are as eager to accomplish their own destruction also as if they were striving for some honourable thing.”
4Then Livia, hearing this, said: “That you should be the object of plotting is neither remarkable nor contrary to human nature. For you do a great many things, possessing so large an empire as you do, and naturally cause grief to not a few. A ruler can not, of course, please everybody; nay, it is inevitable that even a king whose rule is altogether upright should make many men his enemies. 5For those who wish to do wrong are far more numerous than those who do right, and it is impossible to satisfy their desires. Even among such as possess a certain excellence, some covet many great rewards which they can not obtain, and some chafe because they are less honoured than others; hence both these classes find fault with the ruler. 6Therefore it is impossible to avoid meeting with mischief, either at the hands of these or, in addition, at the hands of those who attack, not you personally, but the monarchy. For if you were a private citizen, no one would willingly have done you any harm, unless he had previously received some injury; but all men covet the office of ruler and the good things that office affords, and those who already possess some power covet much more than those who are lacking in this respect. 7It is, indeed, the way of men who are wicked and have very little sense to do so; in fact, it is implanted in their nature, just like any other instinct, and it is impossible either by persuasion or by compulsion to destroy such instincts in some of them; for there is no law and no fear stronger than the instincts implanted by nature. 8Reflect on this, therefore, and do not be vexed at the shortcomings of the other sort of men, but as for your own person and your sovereignty, keep close guard of them, that we may hold the throne securely, not by the strictness of the punishments you inflict upon individuals, but by the strictness with which you guard it.”
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