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20As for the consuls, Domitius held office for the whole year (for he was the husband of Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus), but the rest only so long as pleased Tiberius. Some he would choose for a longer period and some for a shorter; some he removed before the end of the appointed term, and others he allowed to hold office beyond their time. 2He would even appoint a man for the whole year and then depose him, setting up another and still another in his place; and sometimes, after choosing certain substitutes for third place, he would then cause others to become consul ahead of them in place of the second set. 3These irregularities in the case of the consuls occurred throughout practically his whole reign. Of the candidates for the other offices, he selected as many as he wished and referred them to the senate, some with his recommendation, in which event they were chosen unanimously, but in the case of others conditioning their selection upon the merit of their claims, upon mutual agreement, or upon the lot. 4After that the candidates went before the people or before the plebs, according as they belonged to the one or the other, and were duly elected; this was done in order to conform to time-honoured precedent, just as is done to -day, so as to produce the semblance of a valid election. In case there was ever a deficiency of candidates, or in case they became involved in irreconcilable strife, a smaller number were chosen. 5Thus, in the following year, when Servius Galba (who later became emperor) and Lucius Cornelius held the title of consuls, there were only fifteen praetors; and this situation continued for many years, so that sometimes sixteen and sometimes one or two fewer were chosen.
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