It was voted that he should at once become consul by the removal of Proculus and Nigrinus, who were holding office at the time, and that he should thereafter be consul annually. However, he did not accept the offer, but instead waited until the two officials completed the six months' term for which they had been appointed, and then became consul himself, taking his uncle Claudius as a colleague. The latter, who had previously been ranked among the knights and after the death of Tiberius had been sent as an envoy to Gaius in behalf of that order, now for the first time after living forty-six years became both consul and senator at once. The behavior of Gaius in these matters appeared satisfactory and to his actions corresponded the speech which he delivered in the senate-house on entering upon his consulship. In it he denounced Tiberius for each of the crimes of which he was commonly accused and made many announcements about his own line of conduct; and the senate, fearing that he might change, issued a decree that his statements should be read annually.
[-7-] Soon after, clad in the triumphal garb, he dedicated the heroüm of Augustus. Boys of the noblest families, both of whose parents had to be living, together with maidens similarly circumstanced, sang the hymn, and the senators with their wives as well as the people were banqueted. Entertainments of all sorts were given. There were exhibitions involving music, and horseraces took place on two days,--twenty heats the first day and forty [1] more the second, because the former was the emperor's birthday and the latter that of Augustus. He had a similar number of events on many other occasions, as seemed good to him. Hitherto not more than ten[2] events had been usual, but this time he finished four hundred bears together with an equal number of beasts from Libya. The boys of noble birth performed "Troy" on horseback, and six horses drew the triumphal car on which he was borne. This was an innovation.
In the races he did not give the signals to the charioteers in person, but viewed the spectacle from a front seat with his brothers and his fellow-priests of the Augustan order. He was always greatly displeased if any one was absent from the theatre or left in the middle of the performance, and so, in order that no one might have an excuse for not attending, he postponed all lawsuits and suspended all periods of mourning. Thus, women bereft of their husbands were allowed to marry even before the appointed time, unless, indeed, they were pregnant. In order to enable people to come without formality and to save them the trouble of greeting him (for previously those who met the emperor on the streets always saluted him), he forbade any one's doing this again. Those who chose might come barefoot to the spectacles. It had been from very ancient times the custom for persons to do this who held court in the summer; the practice had been frequently followed by Augustus at the summer festivals but had been abandoned by Tiberius.