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Notes Display Latin text | Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb Book XI Chapter 27: Fall of Messalina. Marriage with Silius[AD 48] | Next chapter Return to index Previous chapter |
I am well aware that it will seem a fable that any persons in the world could have been so obtuse in a city which knows everything and hides nothing, much more, that these persons should have been a emperor's consul-elect [Note 1] and the wife [Note 2]; that, on an appointed day, before witnesses duly summoned, they should have come together as if for the purpose of legitimate marriage; that she should have listened to the words of the bridegroom's friends, should have sacrificed to the gods, have taken her place among a company of guests, have lavished her kisses and caresses, and passed the night in the freedom which marriage permits. But this is no story to excite wonder; I do but relate what I have heard and what our fathers have recorded. Note 1: consul-elect = Silius Event: Fall of Messalina |