Agrippa to Dacia and Deccius Triccianus [Footnote: _Ælius Deccius
Triccianus_.] to Pannonia. The former had been a slave acting as master
of wardrobe for some woman and for this cause [Footnote: It is hard to
see why, unless in the age of Severus slaves were forbidden to have
charge of women's attire.] had been tried by Severus, although at the
time he was attached to the fiscus; he had then been driven out to an
island for betraying some interest, was subsequently restored, together
with the rest, by Tarautas, had taken charge of his decisions and
letters, and finally had been degraded to the position of senator, with
ex-consular rank, because he had admitted overgrown lads into the army.
Triccianus served in the rank and file of the Pannonian contingent, had
once been porter to the governor of that country, and was at this time
commanding the Alban legion.

[Sidenote:--14--] These were some of the grounds that led many persons
to find fault with him. Another was his elevation of Adventus. Adventus
had drawn pay as one of the spies and detectives, had left his position
there and served among the letter-carriers, had later been appointed
cubicularius, and still later was advanced to a position as procurator.
Now although old age prevented him from seeing, lack of education from
reading, and want of experience from being able to accomplish anything,
the emperor made him senator, fellow-consul, and prefect of the city.
This upstart had dared to say to the soldiers after the death of
Caracalla: "The sovereignty properly belongs to me, since I am elder
than Macrinus: but inasmuch as I am extremely old, I make way for him."
His behavior was regarded as nonsensical, as was also that of Macrinus,
in granting the greatest dignity of the senate to such a man, who could
not when consul carry on a plain conversation with anybody in the
senate, and consequently on the day of elections pretended to be sick.
Hence, before long Macrinus assigned the direction of the city to Marius