Page 65 of Agrippa

– And how would you do that?

– It would be very hard. You are so well guarded, both at home and when you appear in public. A direct attack would be almost impossible. The assassin would have to be a traitor, either someone in your household who could administer poison, or more likely one of your Praetorian Guards, who is armed and can get close enough to you without arousing suspicion. It would be a suicide mission, but it could be done. If a man is prepared to die, he cannot really be stopped.

– That is what I thought. The question is, could you find me such a man?

I looked from him to Livia and laughed.

– What is this? You want me to arrange your assassination?

I remember very clearly the words of Livia, who spoke next.

– Do you think you could you find one of Augustus’s guards who would be prepared to testify in court that he had been approached by Murena and Caepio and bribed to kill him?

It gives me no pride to record that I went along with their scheme, which I have always suspected was Livia’s brainchild. I can excuse my actions only on the grounds that Augustus genuinely believed his authority was in peril, that he felt it was necessary for him to make an example of the senators who had openly challenged him, and that – in the words of the old saying – if you strike at the king, you must be sure not to miss.

They had struck. They had missed. And now they had to pay the price.

It is a law of Nature.

So if I feel no pride, I feel no great shame either.

The next morning, I summoned the commander of the guard, swore him to secrecy and told him what Augustus required. He was not at all shocked, but promised to see what he could do. That afternoon, he returned with a centurion named Marcus Castricius.

He was the perfect man for the task, a soldier with twenty years’ service behind him, who had fought at Philippi and who obeyed orders without question. He did not look like a conspirator, but rather the epitome of an honest and reliable citizen, who might plausibly be horrified at being approached to betray his commander. I took him to see Livia, now restored to her position as Augustus’s most trusted confidante, and she coached him in what he had to say.

He signed a deposition full of convincing details of meetings and conversations, stating that he had been offered thirty thousand sesterces by Murena and Caepio to murder Augustus. This sum, I believe, was later paid to him by Livia as a reward.

Augustus, using his powers as tribune, promptly issued warrants for both senators on a charge of treason.

The following night, under the cloak of darkness – for we were not sure of the extent of their popularity and wanted to prevent a demonstration – we set out to arrest them. I had given orders for all the city’s gates to be locked and the sentries forbidden to allow anyone in or out. The commander of the Praetorian Guard was dispatched to arrest Caepio. I took twenty men to seize Murena from his house on the Esquiline Hill.

The sky was moonless. We crept through the streets by torchlight and quietly secured the entrances. When everyone was in position, I smashed down the front door and stormed inside at the head of a raiding party.

We went from room to room, searching for Murena, but it was soon clear he was not at home. I had the household assemble in the atrium and threatened them with torture if they did not reveal their master’s whereabouts. Terrified, they swore they did not know. They had not seen him since early in the afternoon, when he had been visited by his sister, Terentia, and had left in a hurry soon afterwards.

I returned to Augustus’s house, where we were quickly joined by the commander of the Praetorians, who had also returned from his mission empty-handed. We later discovered that Caepio had been smuggled out of the city concealed in a pine coffin.

On learning that Terentia must have warned her brother, Augustus sent soldiers to bring her and Maecenas to him, despite the lateness of the hour. They arrived in a state of some anxiety. Maecenas confessed at once that he had disclosed the existence of the arrest warrant to Terentia, and after a few unconvincing denials, she finally confirmed she had alerted Murena.

It was some years since she had ceased to be Augustus’s mistress. Whatever affection he might once have felt for her was long gone. He informed her that he never wished to see her again. As for Maecenas, he coldly reprimanded him for his indiscretion and told him to get out of his sight. For several years thereafter, he lost his access to Augustus, although, being Maecenas, he eventually wheedled his way back into favour.

As for Livia, she could barely conceal her delight. I suspected at the time that she had deliberately let slip the plan to Maecenas, knowing he could deny his wife nothing and was almost bound to warn her. In this way Livia both damaged a rival and took her revenge on the woman who had been her husband’s lover. But naturally I could never prove it, and the truth is lost in time.

Murena and Caepio were tried for treason in absentia. As a gesture to Livia, Augustus allowed the nineteen-year-old Tiberius to act as one of the senatorial prosecutors. He put in a competent performance, not that it mattered. Castricius’s evidence was damning, and the jury had been hand-picked by Augustus. Both the accused were found guilty and sentenced to death. A reward was posted, and in due course they were discovered – Murena hiding on his family estate, Caepio trying to board a ship at Ostia – and executed on the spot.

There were no protests from their fellow senators. They had seen the ruthlessness with which Augustus was prepared to act. Although there were to be occasional plots and frequent grumbles against him in the future – for such is politics – he never again faced a serious challenge.

As for me, my loyalty during the crisis drew me closer to Augustus than ever before. He showed me his will, in which I was named as the man he wished to control his provinces until a successor was chosen. The bulk of his estate would pass to Tiberius, on the assumption that I would hand over power to him in due course. Yet he was still not reconciled to the prospect.

– I pity poor Rome being ground between those slow jaws! But I fear with Marcellus gone, there may be no escaping it – at least as things stand. I suppose I could divorce Livia and remarry, in the hope of producing a son with a younger wife. Sadly, I have consulted any number of soothsayers, and my horoscope is always the same. Like my adopted father, it appears that I am doomed never to have a male heir. In any case, I am too reliant on Livia to divorce her. Three wives are enough for any man.

He stared at me. I met his gaze. The silence lengthened as we contemplated the problem. Finally I spoke.

– There is always Julia, of course.

– Yes, there is always Julia.

– If she had a boy, he would be your grandson.