ion, the following excerpt from "The Course of Honour" shows the strange way in which the Romans carried out their politics-"The Senate briefly fancied that the Republic might be restored, though individual members were acutely aware that would threaten their personal power. But then an odd accident intervened. Some soldiers, cheerily looting the Palace, found the last remaining adult male of the imperial family hiding behind a curtain and for a joke proclaimed him Emperor. The poor soul they seized on was Claudius" (Davis, p.147) Again, the historical significance of "The Course of Honour" has been verified by the following primary source:"Gaius left no obvious successor, and the Senate seriously debated a restoration of the Republic. But the praetorian guards had found in the palace the middle-aged uncle of Gaius, the eccentric Claudius, and soon decided that he was not too eccentric for them. Claudius was slow and pedantic, a slightly ridiculous character, but nevertheless able and conscientious" (Tacitus p. 37)"The Course of Honour" not only details Claudius and his personal traits, but Claudius' ex wife and mother of Nero, Agrippina, who is singled out as being devious, single minded and prepared to go to any lengths to ensure her sons procession to the throne, as is stated in these quotes:"She was Caligula's sister, one of the famous three- the underhand, dangerous, dark-horse candidate. (Davis, p.191)"Eventually Nero's irritation at her cloying mother-love and her dominating ambition reached the point where in the grand Claudian tradition he determined to be rid of her" (Davis, p.267)These "underhand" traits are found to be true by cross-referencing with Tacitus:"It was her ambition that this boy, the future Nero, should be wedded to the emperors daughter Octavia. Here criminal methods were necessary" (Tacitus, p.253)"Agrippina was a relentless enemy" (Tacitus, p.261)Continuing on through the generations of Ancient Rome, the boo...
