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3Tiberius now found an opportunity to attack Gallus, who had married the former wife of Tiberius and had spoken his mind so freely regarding the empire. He was now paying court to Sejanus, either sincerely, because he believed this minister would become emperor, or out of fear of Tiberius, 2or perhaps by way of a plot to make Sejanus irksome to the emperor himself and so cause his ruin; at any rate he proposed the greater and the more important part of the honours voted to him and strove to be one of the envoys. Tiberius, accordingly, sent a message about Gallus to the senate, declaring among other things that this man was jealous of the emperor’s friendship for Sejanus, in spite of the fact that Gallus himself had Syriacus as his friend. 3He did not make this known to Gallus, but instead entertained him in a most hospitable manner. Thus this man had a most remarkable experience, one that never happened to anyone else: on one and the same day he was banqueted at the house of Tiberius, pledging him in the cup of friendship, and was condemned in the senate, so that a praetor was sent to bind him and lead him away to execution. 4Yet Tiberius, after acting in this manner, did not permit his victim to die, in spite of the other’s desire for death as soon as he learned of the decree. Instead, in order to make his lot as cruel as possible, he bade Gallus be of good cheer and instructed the senate that he should be guarded without bonds until he himself should reach the city; his object, as I said, was to make the prisoner suffer as long as possible both from the loss of his civic rights and from terror. 5And so it came to pass; for he was kept under the eyes of the consuls of each year, except when Tiberius held the office, in which case he was guarded by the praetors; and this was done, not to prevent his escape, but to prevent his death. He had no companion or servant with him, spoke to no one, and saw no one, except when he was compelled to take food. 6And the food was of such quality and amount as neither to afford him any satisfaction or strength nor yet to allow him to die. This was, in fact, the most terrible part of his punishment. Tiberius did the same thing in the case of several others. For instance, he imprisoned one of his companions, and then, when there was talk about executing him, he said: “I have not yet made my peace with him.” 7Another man he tortured very severely, and then, on ascertaining that the victim had been unjustly accused, he caused him to be killed with all speed, declaring that he had been too terribly outraged to live with honour. Syriacus, who had neither committed nor been charged with any wrong, but was renowned for his culture, was slain merely because Tiberius declared he was a friend of Gallus.
8Sejanus brought false accusation also against Drusus through the medium of the latter’s wife. For by maintaining illicit relations with the wives of nearly all the distinguished men, he learned what their husbands were saying and doing; and he furthermore made them accessories to his crimes by promising to marry them. When, now, Tiberius merely sent Drusus to Rome, Sejanus, fearing that he might change his mind, persuaded Cassius to propose some action against him.
9After exalting Sejanus to a high pinnacle of glory and making him a member of his family by his alliance with Julia, the daughter of Drusus, Tiberius later killed him.
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