he would break off any jocular conversation in which he was engaged; and
that he was only prevailed upon by the (207) importunity of his wife to
adopt him; or actuated by the ambitious view of recommending his own
memory from a comparison with such a successor. Yet I must hold to this
opinion, that a prince so extremely circumspect and prudent as he was,
did nothing rashly, especially in an affair of so great importance; but
that, upon weighing the vices and virtues of Tiberius with each other, he
judged the latter to preponderate; and this the rather since he swore
publicly, in an assembly of the people, that "he adopted him for the
public good." Besides, in several of his letters, he extols him as a
consummate general, and the only security of the Roman people. Of such
declarations I subjoin the following instances: "Farewell, my dear
Tiberius, and may success attend you, whilst you are warring for me and
the Muses [326]. Farewell, my most dear, and (as I hope to prosper) most
gallant man, and accomplished general." Again. "The disposition of your
summer quarters? In truth, my dear Tiberius, I do not think, that amidst
so many difficulties, and with an army so little disposed for action, any
one could have behaved more prudently than you have done. All those
likewise who were with you, acknowledge that this verse is applicable to
you:"

Unus homo nobis _vigilando_ restituit rem. [327]
One man by vigilance restored the state.

"Whenever," he says, "anything happens that requires more than ordinary
consideration, or I am out of humour upon any occasion, I still, by
Hercules! long for my dear Tiberius; and those lines of Homer frequently
occur to my thoughts:"

Toutou d' espomenoio kai ek pyros aithomenoio