to the legs, skipping all the intervening parts of
the body, and wrought injury to them. There was no remedy for it except
by both drinking and rubbing on olive oil mixed with wine. This was in
the power of only a few of them to do, for the country produces neither
of these articles and the men had not provided a large supply of them
beforehand. In the midst of this trouble the barbarians also fell upon
them. For a while the enemy were defeated whenever they joined battle and
lost some places: later, however, with the disease as an ally they won
back their own possessions and drove the survivors of the expedition out
of the country. These were the first of the Romans (and I think the only
ones) who traversed so much of this part of Arabia in warfare. They had
advanced as far as the so-named Athlula, a famous locality.

[B.C. 23 (_a. u._ 731)]

[-30-] Augustus was for the eleventh time consul with Calpurnius Piso,
when he fell so sick once more as to have no hope of saving his life. He
accordingly arranged everything in the idea that he was about to die, and
gathering about him the officials and the other foremost senators and
knights he appointed no successor, though they were expecting that
Marcellus would be preferred before all for the position. After
conversing briefly with them about public matters he gave Piso the list
of the forces and the public revenues written in a book, and handed his
ring to Agrippa. The emperor became unable to do even the very simplest
things, yet a certain Antonius Musas managed to restore him to health by
means of cold baths and cold drinks. For this he received a great deal
of money from both Augustus and the senate, as well as the right to wear
gold rings,--he was a freedman,--and secured exemption from taxes for
both himself and the members of his profession, not only those then
living but also those of coming generations. But he who assumed the
powers of Fortune and Fate was destined soon after to be well worsted.
Augustus had been saved in this manner: but Marcellus, falling sick not
much later, was treated in the same way by Musas and died. Augustus gave
him a public burial with the usual eulogies, placed him in the monument
which was being built, and honored his memory by calling the theatre,
the foundations of which had already been laid by the former Caesar, the
Theatre of Marcellus. He ordered also that a gold image of the deceased,
a golden crown, and his chair of office be ca