Now that the Julian and Claudian houses are
extinct, by the plan of adoption the best man will always be
discovered. Royal birth is the gift of fortune, and is but valued as
such. In adoption we can use a free judgement, and if we wish to
choose well, the voice of the country points the way. Think of Nero,
swollen with the pride of his long line of royal ancestry. It was not
Vindex with a powerless province at his back, nor I with a single
legion that freed Rome's shoulders of that burden: it was his own
cruelty and profligacy. And that was before there was any precedent
for the conviction of an emperor.
'We have been called to the throne by the swords of those who thought
us worthy. Our high state will not escape the eye of envy. You may be
sure of that. But there is no reason for you to feel alarm because in
this world-wide upheaval a couple of legions have not yet settled
down. I myself did not succeed to a safe and peaceful throne, and,
when once the news of your adoption is spread, I shall cease to be
charged with my advanced age, which is now the only fault they find in
me. The rascals will always miss Nero: you and I have got to see that
good citizens do not miss him too.
'A longer sermon would ill befit the time and I have fulfilled my
purpose, if I have done right in choosing you. The soundest and
easiest criterion of right and wrong policy is to consider what you
would have approved or condemned in another emperor.
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