“Cognōmen Caligulae, crēdō, ē ‘caliga’[1] ductum[2] est,” inquit Sextus; “nesciō autem quō modō factum sit, ut imperātōrī inderētur.”
Tum Cornēlius: “Cognōmen Caligulae ē castrēnsī[3] iocō ille trāxit. Nam in paternīs castrīs ēducātus[4] est, eumque adhūc parvulum māter manipulārī[5] habitū vestiēbat; et, ut scīs, mīlitibus gregāriīs[6] calceāmentum[7] est caliga.”
“Facile conicere possum,” inquit Cornēlia, “quantā fuerit fēstīvitāte[8] puer, cum ita vestītus esset. Nōnne mīlitēs eum maximō studiō colēbant?”[9]
“Ita profectō,” inquit pater; ac ōlim, cum inter Germānicās[10] legiōnēs sēditiō maxima coorta esset, ac māter trīstis cum fīliō parvulō ē castrīs in proximam cīvitātem abīret, quō[11] mūnītiōre locō puer habērētur, tum mīlitēs, subitō ad paenitentiam[12] versī, vehiculum manibus retinuērunt, ōrantēs nē sibi tanta invidia impōnerētur, ut ducis fīlius alibī quam[13] in castrīs suīs vidērētur tūtior.”
“Crēdō,” inquit Cornēlia, “illum saltem optimum fuisse imperātōrem, quī puer tam amābilis fuisset.”
At pater: “Haec opīniō tē multum fallit, fīlia mea. Nam postquam imperātor factus est, multa ille commīsit tam absurda et mīranda, ut plērīsque plānē furiōsus[14] vidērētur.
“Velut cum, maximīs cōpiīs coāctīs, expedītiōnem in Britanniam simulāsset, in lītore Ōceanī[15] mīlitēs īnstrūxit ballistāsque disposuit. Nēmō quid tum āctūrus esset conicere poterat; at repente mīlitibus imperāvit ut conchās legerent galeāsque[16] com-
- ↑ caliga, -ae, f., half-boot.
- ↑ ductum, derived.
- ↑ castrēnsis, -e, adj., of the camp.
- ↑ ēducō -āre -āvī, -ātus, tr., bring up.
- ↑ manipulāris, -e, adj., of the rank and file.
- ↑ gregārius, -a, -um, adj., common.
- ↑ calceāmentum, -ī, n., footwear.
- ↑ fēstīvitās, -ātis, f., charm.
- ↑ colō, -ere, coluī, cultus, tr., regard.
- ↑ Germānicās, in Germany.
- ↑ quō: purpose.
- ↑ paenitentia, -ae, f., repentance.
- ↑ quam, than.
- ↑ furiōsus, -a, -um, adj., insane.
- ↑ Ōceanī: the English Channel.
- ↑ galea, -ae, f., helmet.
