er.

Both these men had long been in the service of Agrippina and of
Nero. Seneca was now over fifty years of age. He was very highly
distinguished as a scholar and rhetorician while he lived, and his
numerous writings have given him great celebrity since, in every
age. He commenced his career in Rome as a public advocate in the
Forum, during the reign of Caligula. After Caligula's death he
incurred the displeasure of Claudius in the first year of that
emperor's reign, and he was banished to the island of Corsica, where
he remained in neglect and obscurity for about eight years. When at
length Messalina was put to death, and the emperor married
Agrippina, Seneca was pardoned and recalled through Agrippina's
influence, and after that he devoted himself very faithfully to the
service of the empress and of her son. Agrippina appointed him
Nero's preceptor, and gave him the direction of all the studies
which her son pursued in qualifying himself for the duties of a
public orator; and now that she was about attempting to advance her
son to the supreme command, she intended to make the philosopher his
principal secretary and minister of state.

Burrus was the commander of the life-guards, or as the office was
called in those days, prefect of the praetorium. The life-guards, or
body-guards, whose duty consisted exclusively in attending upon,
escorting and protecting the emperor, consisted of ten cohorts, each
containing about a thousand men. The soldiers designated for this
service were of course selected from the whole army, and as no
expense was spared in providing them with arms, accoutrements and
other appointments, they formed the finest body of troops in the
world. They received double pay, and enjoyed special privileges; and
every arrangement was made to secure their entire subserviency to
the will, and attachment to the person, of the reigning emperor. Of
course such a corps would be regarded by all the other divisions of
the army as entirely superior in rank and consideration, to the
ordinary service; and the general who commanded them would take
precedence of every other military commander, being second only
to the emperor himself. Agrippina had contrived to raise Burrus
to this post through her influence with Claudius. He was a friend
to her interests before, and he became still more devoted to
her after receiving such an appointment through her
instrumentality,--Agrippina now depended upon Burrus to carry
the P