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7Sejanus was disturbed by all this, and much more disturbed when from one of his statues there at first burst forth smoke, and then, when the head was removed so that the trouble might be investigated, a huge serpent leapt up; then, when a new head was straightway placed upon the statue, and Sejanus was about to offer sacrifice to himself on account of the omen 2(for he was wont to include himself in such sacrifices), a rope was discovered coiled about the neck of the statue. Again, there was the behaviour of a statue of Fortune, which had belonged, they say, to Tullius, one of the former kings of Rome, but was at this time kept by Sejanus at his house and was a source of great pride to him: 3he himself saw this statue turn its back to him while he was sacrificing and later others who went out with them. These incidents aroused the suspicions of the people; but since they did not know the intentions of Tiberius, and, besides, had to take into consideration his caprice and the instability of human affairs, they were steering a middle course. 4Privately they kept a sharp eye to their own safety, but publicly they paid court to him, the more so as Tiberius had made both Sejanus and his son priests along with Gaius. So they gave him the proconsular power, and also voted that the consuls of each year should be instructed to emulate him in their conduct of the office. 5As for Tiberius, though he honoured him with the priesthoods, yet he did not send for him; instead, when Sejanus requested permission to go to Campania, pleading as an excuse that his betrothed was ill, the emperor directed him to remain where he was, because he himself was going to arrive in Rome almost immediately.
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