having tried to destroy the descendants of Germanicus, in order to
usurp their place: but he himself is forced to admit in another passage
(Annals iv., 59) that virtually a little court of freedmen and
dependents gathered about Nero, the leader of the sons of Germanicus,
urging him on against Tiberius and Sejanus, and begging him to act
quickly. "This," they said, "is the will of the people, the desire of
the armies. Nor would Sejanus, who was even then making light of the
patience of the old man and of the dilatoriness of the youth, have
dared to resist him." From such speeches it is only a short step to
plans for rebellion and conspiracy. In all probability the blame for
this later and more bitter dissension must, as usually happens, be
divided between the two factions. The party of Agrippina, emboldened
by its good fortune and by the weakness of Tiberius, was, after the
death of Drusus, conscious of its own supremacy. Its members had only
a single aim; even before it was possible they wished to see Nero, the
first-born son of Germanicus, in the position of Tiberius. They
therefore took up again their struggles and intrigues against Tiberius,
and attempted to incite Nero against the emperor. But this time
Sejanus was blocking their pathway. The death of Drusus had even
further increased the trust and affection which the emperor had for his
assistant, and he was henceforth the only confidant and the only friend
of the emperor; a war without quarter between him and Agrippina, her
sons and the party of Germanicus, was inevitable. And Sejanus opened
the action by attempting to exclude from the magistracy and from office
all the friends of Agrippina and all the members of the opposing
faction. At this time it was difficult to arrive at any of the more
important offices without being recommended to the senate by the
emperor, against whose choice the senate no longer dared to rebel;
since the emperor was held responsible for the conduct of the
government, it was only just that he should be allowed to select his