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21Tiberius now approached the capital and sojourned in its environs; but he did not go inside the walls, although he was but four miles away, and bestowed in marriage the remaining daughters of Germanicus and also Julia, the daughter of Drusus. 2Hence the city, on its part, did not hold any festival in honour of their marriages, but everything went on as usual, even the senate convening and deciding judicial cases. For Tiberius made an important point of their assembling as often as it was fitting for them to meet, and insisted on their not arriving later or departing earlier than the time appointed. 3He also sent to the consuls many injunctions on this head, and once ordered certain statements to be read aloud by them. He took the same course also in regard to some other matters—just as if he could not write directly to the senate! He did, however, send in to that body not only the documents given him by the informers, but also the confessions which Macro had obtained from people under torture, so that nothing was left to them except the vote of condemnation. 4About this time, however, a certain Vibullius Agrippa, a knight, swallowed poison from a ring and died in the senate-house itself; and Nerva, who could no longer endure the emperor’s society, starved himself to death, chiefly because Tiberius had reaffirmed the laws on contracts enacted by Caesar, which were sure to result in great loss of confidence and financial confusion, and although Tiberius repeatedly urged him to eat something, he would make no reply. 5Thereupon Tiberius modified his decision regarding loans and gave one hundred million sesterces to the public treasury, with the provision that this money should be lent out by the senators for three years without interest to such as asked for it; and he further commanded that the most notorious of those who were bringing accusations against others should be put to death in a single day. 6And when a man who had been a centurion desired to lodge information against someone, he forbade anyone who had served in the army to do this, although he allowed the knights and senators to do so.
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