Accordingly he attacked Caius Silius and Titius Sabinus. The
friendship of Germanicus was fatal to both. As for Silius, his having
commanded a great army for seven years, and won in
Germany the distinctions of a triumph for his
success in the war with Sacrovir,
would make his downfall all the more tremendous and so spread greater terror
among others. Many thought that he had provoked further displeasure by his
own presumption and his extravagant boasts that his troops had been
steadfastly loyal, while other armies were falling into mutiny, and that
Tiberius's throne could not have lasted had his legions too been bent on
revolution. All this the emperor regarded as undermining his own power,
which seemed to be unequal to the burden of such an obligation. For benefits
received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when
that possibility is far exceeded, they are repaid with hatred instead of
gratitude.