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59He did so many other cruel and savage deeds under the guise of strictness and improvement of the public morals, but in reality rather to gratify his natural instincts, that some resorted to verses to express their detestation of the present ills and a warning against those to come:
“Cruel and merciless man, shall I briefly say all I would utter?
Hang me if even your dam for you affection can feel.
You are no knight. Why so? The hundred thousands are lacking;
If you ask the whole tale, you were an exile at Rhodes.
You, O Caesar, have altered the golden ages of Saturn;
For while you are alive, iron they ever will be.
Nothing for wine cares this fellow, since now ‘tis for blood he is thirsting;
This he as greedily quaffs as before wine without water.
2Look, son of Rome, upon Sulla, for himself not for you blest and happy,
Marius too, if you will, but after capturing Rome;
Hands of an Antony see, rousing the strife of the people,
Hands stained with blood not once, dripping again and again;
Then say: Rome is no more! He ever has reigned with great bloodshed,
Whoso made himself king, coming from banishment home.”
These at first he wished to be taken as the work of those who were impatient of his reforms, voicing not so much their real feelings as their anger and vexation; and he used to say from time to time: “Let them hate me, provided they respect my conduct.” Later he himself proved them only too true and unerring.
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