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13Tiberius, now, began to treat more harshly those who were accused of any crime, and he became angry with his son Drusus, who was most licentious and cruel (so cruel, in fact, that the sharpest swords were called Drusian after him), and he often rebuked him both privately and publicly. 2Once he said to him outright in the presence of many witnesses: “While I am alive you shall commit no deed of violence or insolence; and if you dare to try, not after I am dead, either.” 3For Tiberius lived a very temperate life for a time, and would not allow any one else to indulge in licentiousness, but punished many for it. And yet once, when the senators desired to have a penalty imposed by law upon those who were guilty of lewd living, he would make no such provision, explaining that it is better to correct them privately in some way or other than to inflict any public punishment upon them. 4For under existing conditions, he said, there was a chance that some of them would restrain themselves through fear of disgrace, in the endeavour to escape detection; but if the law should once be overcome by human nature, no one would pay any heed to it. 5Not a few men, also, were wearing a great deal of purple clothing, though this had formerly been forbidden; yet he neither rebuked nor fined any of them, but when a rain came up during a certain festival, he himself put on a dark woollen cloak. After that none of them longer dared assume any different kind of garb.
6Such was Tiberius’ behaviour in all matters as long as Germanicus lived; but after his death he changed his course in many respects. Perhaps he had been at heart from the first what he later showed himself to be, and had been merely shamming while Germanicus was alive, because he saw his rival lying in wait for the sovereignty; or perhaps he was excellent by nature, but drifted into vice when deprived of his rival.
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