her royal suite or in the guard of Pretorians attending her, and the new
emperor sent her a kind message (not having yet heard what she had
said), she took courage, laid aside her longing for death, and, without
writing him any response, held some negotiations with the soldiers she
had about her, especially [lacuna] and as they were angry with Macrinus
[lacuna] as they had a pleasanter remembrance of her son, how she might
attain the imperial position, rendering herself the peer of Semiramis
and Nitocris, since she came in a way from the same regions as
they; [Footnote: Boissevain's conjecture for the succeeding sentences
(valuable, of course, only as the guess of an expert) is the following:

But when nobody would cooperate with her and letters came from Macrinus
making certain announcements at which, in view of her circumstances, she
felt herself depressed in spirits, she renounced her ambitions out of
fear that she might be deprived of the title of Augusta and be forced to
depart to her native land, and al [lacuna] drea [lacuna] wom [lacuna] ad
[lacuna] eake [lacuna] and mos [lacuna] any one behol [lacuna] she
decided to do just the reverse and submit lest she be forced eventually
to return to Rome and be there compelled by Macrinus to remain at home
for the future for appearing to be opposed to his policy. Afterwards,
however, she was intending to take measures that would enable her to get
away by ship, if possibility still offered, when he ordered her, etc.]
as [lacuna] coöperated [lacuna] and letters [lacuna] of Macrinus
[lacuna] some for which [lacuna] judgment [lacuna] fearing that she
might be deprived of the title of Augusta and to [lacuna] native country
be forced to return [lacuna] to fear [lacuna] go to Rome [lacuna]
Macrinus [lacuna] seeming to do the opposite [lacuna] how [lacuna] might
depart and he ordered her to depart from Antioch with all speed and go
whithersoever she would. [And when she heard what was said in Rome about
her son] she no longer cared to live. The cancer in her breast, which,