PART III. The Roman Story again.
§ Caius the new God, little better than a Devil.
AFTER the sight of the goodly Godship of the Emperour shewed in little a little before, let us take him now as he is indeed, little better than a Devil. A man, the shame and confusion of men, if he may be called a man, and so far beyond the vices of any that had gone before, that he seemed to live to no other purpose than to shew, what the utmost extent of vitiousness could do in the ut∣most height of power and liberty. You would wonder, but that his defiance of the Gods doth lessen that wonder, how scornfully and despitefully he used the memory and persons of his ancestors, sisters, kindred and best friends: He charged Augustus with in∣cest, Livia with base birth, Tiberius but with what he deserved, his own mother with bastardize, and whosoever was most near and most honour to him, with some ignominy and reproach or other. But such words were curtesies in comparison of his actions. All his sisters he first deflowred, and then prostituted them to others being so deslowred. But his darling sister Drusilla, sped somewhat better, if that better were not as bad. To her he continued his affection, of love or lust whether you will, while she continued in life, and when she was dead, he made her the means of his profit as he had done be∣fore of his pleasure; she was the wife of M. Lepidus, but still the whore of her brother Cains, and after her death he made her a Goddess, whom all her life long he had made his harlot. Altars, Statues, Vowes, Festivals were ordained for her, and Livius Gemi∣nius played the knight o'th post, and swore devoutly that he saw her ascend to heaven, and conversing with the Gods. Such a Deity had the Romans never known before, but only her brother, and she troubled them as much in her heaven, as he did on the earth. For now was it impossible for any man so to behave himself, but he was intrapped on the one hand or the other, about this new found Goddess. To mourn for her death, it was criminal, because she was a Deity; and to rejoyce for her Deity was capital, because she was dead, so that betwixt this Dilemma, of piety, tears and devotion, that man was very wary indeed that suffered not inhumanity and violence. For to laugh, feast, bath, sing or dance was mortal, because the Emperours sister and darling was dead, and yet to mourn, or sorrow for her death was as deadly, because she was immortal. This last stale did he make of this his deceased sister, when she would now serve him for no other use, that both sorrow for her mortality, and joy for her being immortal did alike bring in mony to his treasures, (which were now almost drained of his many millions) either by bribes for the saving of the life of some, or by consiscation upon the death of others.
But how must he do now for another Paramor after his dear Drusilla? Why, that needeth not to breed any great difficulty, when his unbridled lust is not very curious of