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Page 44
This, however, was a crisis which was sooner or later inevitable.
Agrippina had certainly made the mistake of attempting to treat Nero
the emperor too much as she had treated Nero the child; but that the
crisis should have been reached in this manner as the result of a
love-affair, and that it should have provoked a misunderstanding
between the mother and son that was soon to degenerate into hatred, was
most unfortunate. Agrippina, though she enjoyed great prestige, had
also many hidden enemies. Everybody knew that she represented in the
government the old aristocratic, conservative, and economical tendency
of the Claudii,--of Tiberius and of Drusus,--that she looked askance
upon the development of luxurious habits, the relaxation of morals, and
the increase of public and private expenditures. They understood that
she exerted all her influence to prevent wastefulness, the malversation
of public moneys, and in general all outlays for pleasures either in
the state or the imperial family. Her virtues and her stand against
Messalina had given her a great prestige, and the reverence which the
emperor had shown for her had for a long time obliged her enemies to
keep themselves hidden and to hold their peace. But this ceased to be
the case after the incipient discord between her and Nero had allowed
many to foresee the possibility of using Nero against her. In
proportion as Nero became attached to Acte he drew away from his
mother, and in proportion as he withdrew from his mother his
capricious, fantastic, and rebellious temper was encouraged to show
itself in its true light. The party of the new nobility, with its
modern and oriental tendencies, had for ten years been held in check by
the preponderating influence of Agrippina. But gradually, as the
exotic and anti-Roman inclinations of the emperor declared themselves,
this party again became bolder. The memories of the scandals of
Caligula and Messalina were becoming effaced by time, the rather severe
and economical government of Agrippina was showing signs of weakening,
and all minds were beginning to entertain a vague desire for something
new.
[Illustration: The Emperor Nero.]
The two parties which in the times of Augustus had rent Rome asunder
were now being realined in the imperial house and in the senate--the
party of the old nobility, which had Agrippina at its head, and the
party of the modernizing nobility, which was gathering about the
emperor and trying to claim him as its own. Tacitus clearly tells us
that the older and more respectable families of the Roman nobility were
with Agrippina; and even if he had neglected to tell us so, we might
easily have guessed it. For a moment the old, old struggle which had
been the cause of so many tragedies in the upper classes of Rome seemed
once more ready to break forth. But even though Agrippina was the soul
of the party of the old nobility, the party needed a man whom it could
oppose to Nero as a possible and better candidate for the imperial
dignity.
Agrippina, like a true Roman matron of the old type, looked upon the
family merely as an instrument of political power, and therefore
subjected her personal affections to the public interest. She began to
cast her eyes upon Britannicus, the son of Messalina, who was now
becoming a young man and who seemed to be more serious-minded than
Nero. It was even muttered that she thought of giving her own son's
place to the son of Messalina, when suddenly, in 55, Britannicus died
at a dinner at which Nero was present. Was he poisoned by Nero, as
Tacitus says? Although there is no lack of obscurities and
improbabilities in the account of Tacitus, this time the accusation, if
it is not true, is at least much more probable than the other
accusations of the same kind. It is certain that the report that
Britannicus had been poisoned was soon current at Rome, and that it was
believed; and the death of Britannicus was likewise a fatal blow to
Agrippina and her party. Tacitus tells us that the death of
Britannicus caused Agrippina great terror and unspeakable
consternation, and it is not difficult to divine the reasons. Nero now
remained the last and only survivor of the family of Augustus, and it
was therefore no longer possible to bring any effective opposition to
bear upon him by setting up some other member of the family who would
be capable of governing. The new nobility, with its modern tendencies,
now rapidly gained strength, and the influence of Agrippina declined
proportionately.
As a result of the lofty qualities of genius and character with which
she had been endowed, Agrippina had been able to hold the balance of
power in the state as long as she had succeeded in keeping the emperor
under her influence. This had been true in the cases of both Claudius
and Nero. After Nero escaped from her influence, or, rather, after he
had turned against her, her prestige and her power rapidly diminished,
and her party lost greatly in size and in power. Although personally
the emperor was youthful and weak, the dignity of his office made him
more powerful than all the members of his family, however energetic and
intelligent they might be. At this period, furthermore, Nero was
supported by an entire party which was daily increasing in strength and
in numbers, for, as always happens in eras of prosperity and peace, the
temper of the time was tending toward a milder, gentler, more liberal
government, and consequently one which would be less authoritative and
severe.
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