a loud cry at the horse-race on the birthday of Diadumenianus, which
fell on the fourteenth of September: they uttered many lamentations,
asserting that they alone of all mankind were destitute of a leader,
destitute of a king; and they invoked the name of Jupiter, declaring
that he alone should be their leader and uttering aloud these words: "As
a master thou wert angry, as a father take pity on us." Nor would they
pay any heed at first to either the equestrian or the senatorial order
[lacuna] and commending the emperor and the Cæsar to the extent of
[lacuna] in Greek saying: "Ah, what a glorious day is to-day! What noble
kings!" and desiring that the others also should share their opinion.
But they stretched out their arms toward the sky and exclaimed:
"[lacuna]. this is the Roman Augustus: having him we have all!" So true
it is that among mankind respect is a distinct characteristic of the
better element and contempt a characteristic of the worse. For these two
now regarded Macrinus and Diadumenianus as henceforth absolutely
non-existent and trampled upon their claims as though they were already
dead. This was one great reason why his soldiers despised him, and paid
no heed to what was done to win their favor. Another still more
important cause lay in the frequent and extraordinary insolence shown
toward him by the Pergamenians, who were deprived of what they had
formerly received from Tarautas; and for this conduct he imposed upon
them public sentence of loss of citizenship. [Sidenote:--21--] The
attitude of the soldiers is straightway to be described. At this time
Macrinus neither sent to the senate, as they were demanding, nor
published otherwise any document of the informers, saying either truly
or falsely (to avoid a great disturbance) that none such had been found
in the royal residence. For Tarautas had either destroyed the majority
of those containing any accusation or had returned them to the senders
themselves, as I have stated, [Footnote: The passage to which Dio refers
is lost.] to the end that no proof of his baseness should be left. But