(465)
I. Titus, who had the same cognomen with his father,
was the darling and delight of mankind; so much did
the natural genius, address, or good fortune he possessed
tend to conciliate the favour of all. This was,
indeed, extremely difficult, after he became emperor,
as before that time, and even during the reign of
his father, he lay under public odium and censure.
He was born upon the third of the calends of January,
[30th Dec.] in the year remarkable for the death of
Caius [776], near the Septizonium [777], in a mean
house, and a very small and dark room, which still
exists, and is shown to the curious.
II. He was educated in the palace with Britannicus,
and instructed in the same branches of learning, and
under the same masters. During this time, they
say, that a physiognomist being introduced by Narcissus,
the freedman of Claudius, to examine the features
of Britannicus [778], positively affirmed that he
would never become emperor, but that Titus, who stood
by, would. They were so familiar, that Titus
being next him at table, is thought to have tasted
of the fatal potion which put an end to Britannicus’s
life, and to have contracted from it a distemper which
hung about him a long time. In remembrance of
all these circumstances, he afterwards erected a golden
statue of him in the Palatium, and dedicated to him
an equestrian statue of ivory; attending it in the
Circensian procession, in which it is still carried
to this day.
(466) III. While yet a boy, he was remarkable
for his noble endowments both of body and mind; and
as he advanced in years, they became still more conspicuous.
He had a fine person, combining an equal mixture of
majesty and grace; was very strong, though not tall,
and somewhat corpulent. Gifted with an excellent
memory, and a capacity for all the arts of peace and
war; he was a perfect master of the use of arms and
riding; very ready in the Latin and Greek tongues,
both in verse and prose; and such was the facility
he possessed in both, that he would harangue and versify
extempore. Nor was he unacquainted with music,
but could both sing and play upon the harp sweetly
and scientifically. I have likewise been informed
by many persons, that he was remarkably quick in writing
short-hand, would in merriment and jest engage with
his secretaries in the imitation of any hand-writing
he saw, and often say, “that he was admirably
qualified for forgery.”
IV. He filled with distinction the rank of a
military tribune both in Germany and Britain, in which
he conducted himself with the utmost activity, and
no less modesty and reputation; as appears evident
from the great number of statues, with honourable
inscriptions, erected to him in various parts of both
those provinces. After serving in the wars, he
frequented the courts of law, but with less assiduity
than applause. About the same time, he married
