. History of Nero . ^ Theyvrere sent, it was said, by Csesonia, the wifeof the mnrdered man. Csesonia had an infantdaughter at this time, and she remained her-self with the child, in a retired apartment ofthe palace wdiile these things were transpir-ing. Distracted with grief and terror at thotidings that she heard, she clung to her babe,and made the arrangements for the intermentof the body of her hnsband without leavingits cradle. She imagined perhaps that therewas no reason for supposing that she or thechild were in any immediate danger, and ac ] Death of Caligula. Cassonia and her c
. History of Nero . ^ Theyvrere sent, it was said, by Csesonia, the wifeof the mnrdered man. Csesonia had an infantdaughter at this time, and she remained her-self with the child, in a retired apartment ofthe palace wdiile these things were transpir-ing. Distracted with grief and terror at thotidings that she heard, she clung to her babe,and made the arrangements for the intermentof the body of her hnsband without leavingits cradle. She imagined perhaps that therewas no reason for supposing that she or thechild were in any immediate danger, and ac ] Death of Caligula. Cassonia and her child. They are CiESONIA. cordingly she took no measures toward ef-fecting an escape. If so, she did not under-stand the terrible frenzy to ^\^hich the con-spirators had been aroused, and for which thelong series of cruelties and indignities whichtliey had endured from her husband had pre-pared them. For at midnis^ht one of thembroke into her apartment, stabbed the motherin her chair, and taking the innocent infantfrom its cradle, killed it by beating its headagainst the wall. 54 ISTeeo. [ Supposed necessity for destroying the child. Atrocious as this deed may seem, it was notaltooetlier wanton and malisTnant crueltywhich prompted it. The conspirators in-tended by the assassination of Caligula notmerely to wreak their vengeance on a singleman, but to bring to an end a hated race oftyrants ; and they justified the murder of thewife and child by the plea that stern politicalnecessity required them to exterminate theline, in order that no successor might subse-quently arise to re-establish tlie p
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectemperors, bookyear188
