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[37]
This matter sorely grieved Cherea, as having been the cause, as far
as he could, or the instrument, of those miseries to men, which seemed
worthy of consolation to Caius himself; on which account he said to Clement
and to Papinius, (of whom Clement was general of the army, and Papinius
was a tribune,) "To be sure, O Clement, we have no way failed in our
guarding the emperor; for as to those that have made conspiracies against
his government, some have been slain by our care and pains, and some have
been by us tortured, and this to such a degree, that he hath himself pitied
them. How great then is our virtue in submitting to conduct his armies!"
Clement held his peace, but showed the shame he was under in obeying Caius's
orders, both by his eyes and his blushing countenance, while he thought
it by no means right to accuse the emperor in express words, lest their
own safety should be endangered thereby. Upon which Cherea took courage,
and spake to him without fear of the dangers that were before him, and
discoursed largely of the sore calamities under which the city and the
government then labored, and said, "We may indeed pretend in words
that Caius is the person unto whom the cause of such miseries ought to
be imputed; but, in the opinion of such as are able to judge uprightly,
it is I, O Clement! and this Papinius, and before us thou thyself, who
bring these tortures upon the Romans, and upon all mankind. It is not done
by our being subservient to the commands of Caius, but it is done by our
own consent; for whereas it is in our power to put an end to the life of
this man, who hath so terribly injured the citizens and his subjects, we
are his guard in mischief, and his executioners instead of his soldiers,
and are the instruments of his cruelty. We bear these weapons, not for
our liberty, not for the Roman government, but only for his preservation,
who hath enslaved both their bodies and their minds; and we are every day
polluted with the blood that we shed, and the torments we inflict upon
others; and this we do, till somebody becomes Caius's instrument in bringing
the like miseries upon ourselves. Nor does he thus employ us because he
hath a kindness for us, but rather because he hath a suspicion of us, as
also because when abundance more have been killed, (for Caius will set
no bounds to his wrath, since he aims to do all, not out of regard to justice,
but to his own pleasure,) we shall also ourselves be exposed to his cruelty;
whereas we ought to be the means of confirming the security and liberty
of all, and at the same time to resolve to free ourselves from dangers."
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