Latin Stories: A GCSE Reader (Second Edition)

Key revised 14.07.2017. With warm thanks to Maureen Brookes

Answer Key: Section 1

Passage 1
Menelaus was king of Sparta. Helen was his wife, and Agamemnon his brother. Helen was very
beautiful. Priam was king of Troy. His son, Paris by name, sailed to Greece. Then he arrived in
Sparta. When he saw Helen, he immediately loved her. Helen also loved Paris. They decided to
run away. Paris said ‘Come, Helen! We shall sail to Troy at once.’ Then they hurried to the ship
and quickly departed. Paris was happy. Menelaus however, when he found out these things, was
very angry. He wanted to punish Paris. When Agamemnon heard the news, he was also very
angry. The brothers wanted to capture Troy and set Helen free. Agamemnon collected many
soldiers and many ships. At last a thousand ships, on account of one very beautiful woman,
sailed from Greece to Troy.

Passage 2
Long ago the king of Alba Longa had two sons. Numitor was the elder; and so, after the death of
his father, he ought to have been king. Amulius however, who had many soldiers, drove his
brother out. And so Amulius was now king. He decided to kill the sons of Numitor; his daughter
however he made a Vestal Virgin. ‘In this way’ he said ‘the girl will never have sons.’ The girl’s
name was Rhea Silvia. Although she was a Vestal Virgin, she soon gave birth to twin sons,
whom she called Romulus and Remus. When Amulius found out about the babies, he asked
angrily ‘Who is the father?’ Rhea Silvia said ‘Mars is the father of the boys.’ Because Amulius
did not believe these words, he was even angrier. He ordered some slaves to throw the boys into
the river. The slaves however left the babies near the bank of the Tiber. Then a she-wolf, who
had come down from the mountain, found the babies there and fed them with her own milk; soon
a shepherd who lived in that place saved Romulus and Remus.

Passage 3
Romulus: Hello, Remus, brother and friend!
Remus: Hello, Romulus, brother and friend! We have conquered Amulius at last; I am
very happy.
Romulus: Yes, Remus; the battle was long and difficult, but now we can build a new
city.
Remus: Certainly. But where will the city stand? What name will it have?
Romulus: Remus, we must build the city on the Palatine. Because I am stronger and
 cleverer than you, the city will have my name: it will be called ‘Rome’.
Remus: No, Romulus! I am stronger, I am cleverer. We shall build the city on the
Aventine; it will be called ‘Reme’.
Romulus: The gods will decide this: they will send an omen to the chosen brother.
The brothers stand on the two hills: Romulus on the Palatine, Remus on the
Aventine. The gods send two omens: six vultures to Remus, then twelve to
Romulus.
Remus: The gods have chosen me! They sent the first omen to me!
Romulus: No, brother! My omen was bigger and better.
The brothers fight violently. Romulus angrily kills Remus.
Romulus: Thus it has been decided, brother. The city will be called ‘Rome’.

Passage 4
The Romans wanted to rule Britain. Roman soldiers, because they were strong, were able to
conquer the greater part of Britain. The Romans built roads and bridges in Britain; they gave
laws and olive oil to the Britons. Some chieftains of the Britons wanted to drink Italian wine and
have Roman customs. Many Britons however did not want to learn Latin, nor to work for the
Romans. They even fought against the Romans; many were killed.
Once certain Britons were harvesting corn. ‘Work!’ the Romans shouted to the Britons. ‘We are
tired. We do not want to work. We want to sleep’ said the Britons ‘Give us peace!’ ‘No, work!
Give us corn!’ the Romans shouted. Suddenly a Roman tax collector arrived. ‘Give me money!’
he said. ‘We do not have money’ the Britons said. ‘You Romans have taken our money: you are
not just.’ ‘Life is not just’ the tax collector replied.

Passage 5
Cicero loved the Roman citizens and wanted to save Rome. Catiline however did not love the
Roman citizens; he desired power and money for himself. And so Catiline wanted to kill Cicero.
Cicero therefore was afraid of Catiline. Catiline called his friends to him. ‘I want to kill Cicero’
he said ‘Surely you can help me?’ ‘We can help you’ they said. And so the conspirators looked
for Cicero. Cicero’s slaves however were guarding him in his house. The slaves fought against
the conspirators and saved their master. Cicero therefore was able to escape from the
conspirators. Afterwards Cicero delivered a long and famous speech against Catiline. The
Romans therefore praised Cicero. Catiline fled from Rome; Cicero received glory. Thus words
are often able to conquer violence.

Passage 6
Caesar and Brutus at first were friends. Many citizens however were afraid of Caesar. ‘Caesar
wants to be king’ they said. Cassius especially did not like Caesar. And so Cassius spoke
persuasive words to Brutus. Brutus praised Cassius’ plan. And so they decided to kill Caesar.
Once Caesar was dining with a friend. The friends were talking about death. ‘In what way do
you want to die?’ asked his friend. ‘Suddenly’ said Caesar. Afterwards, in a dream, Caesar’s
wife saw him dead. A soothsayer had warned Caesar himself about the danger. Therefore Caesar
and his wife were afraid. Caesar however went to the senate-house with Brutus. Several senators
surrounded him there. Casca first wounded Caesar. Then Brutus, who had been his friend,
approached him holding a dagger. Caesar asked ‘You too, Brutus?’ Then the conspirators killed
him.

Passage 7
After Brutus killed Caesar, many Roman leaders fought about power; at last Octavian and
Antony were victorious. Antony married Octavia, the sister of Octavian. Antony however loved
another woman: this was Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. Anthony therefore lived in Egypt with
Cleopatra. Then he divorced Octavia. Finally Octavian fought against Antony and Cleopatra in a
great battle. Octavian won. And so he was now emperor of the Romans. He stopped wars
between Roman citizens. Octavian received a new name: he was now called ‘Augustus’, because
he wanted to be revered. Virgil and Horace, excellent poets, praised Augustus because he had
stopped the wars. At last there was peace everywhere.

Passage 8
Mary and Joseph lived in Galilee. Mary loved Joseph, and Joseph loved Mary. Mary however
was a virgin. Once she was in her house; suddenly an angel appeared. The angel said to her ‘You
must not be afraid, Mary. You will have a son. His name will be Jesus.’ Mary said ‘Behold the
maidservant of God!’ Then the angel departed. Afterwards Augustus made a decree: because the
Romans were holding a census, everyone had to return to their ancestral place. Joseph therefore
made a journey with Mary into Judea, because Bethlehem was his ancestral place. There Mary
gave birth to a son. She wrapped him in swaddling-clothes and put him into a manger, because
there wasn’t a place for them in the inn. And there were in that country shepherds in the fields,
guarding their sheep by night. An angel stood near them; the shepherds were afraid. The angel
said to them ‘You must not be afraid: today the Lord has been born. This will be a sign for you:
you will find him wrapped in swaddling-clothes and lying in a manger.’

Passage 9
The king had ordered Hercules to kill the Hydra. Hercules asked for help because the Hydra, a
huge monster, had many heads. And so a friend, Iolaus by name, gave him help. Hercules and
Iolaus approached the place where the Hydra lived. At last they found the Hydra. The monster
was shouting loudly. Hercules and his friend, although they were terrified, fought against the
Hydra. When Hercules cut off one head, another head grew. And so Hercules, although he
fought bravely, was not able to kill the Hydra. Then however he made a plan. After he cut off
one head, Iolaus immediately burned the place where the head had been. And so a new head was
not able to grow. Hercules at last overpowered the monster. He dipped arrows into the blood of
the Hydra, because the blood was poisonous. The arrows afterwards were useful in many
dangers.

Passage 10
Once a crow took some meat. She carried the meat into the branches of a tree. This meat was
very good. The crow was holding it in her mouth. A fox was also walking among the trees. She
caught sight of the crow and the meat. And so she desired the meat for herself. The fox stood
under the tree where the crow was sitting. She called to the crow: ‘Crow, you are very beautiful.
You can do very many things. You ought to be a queen. You lack only one thing: you cannot
sing. If you sing, you will be a queen.’ The crow wanted to be a queen; and so she tried to sing.
The meat therefore immediately fell from the crow’s mouth to the ground. The fox immediately
took the meat. The crow was sad, because she had been stupid. The fox said ‘If you learn to be
wise, you will be a good queen.’ Then she laughed with a loud voice.

Passage 11
Caesar was leading his soldiers to Spain. They were making a journey through the mountains;
suddenly they caught sight of some buildings. They soon arrived at a village. The village was
very small, and all the people who lived there were poor. Caesar and his soldiers argued about
the village. ‘Perhaps’ one of the soldiers said ‘men even in this village often fight because each
wants to be king. How stupid they are!’ Then the rest of the soldiers laughed. Caesar however
said ‘They do indeed fight but they are not stupid. For I prefer to be first in a very small village
than second in Rome.’ All those who heard this opinion kept the words of their leader in their
mind. Caesar afterwards conquered many enemies in war. Finally he was indeed first in Rome.

Passage 12
Diogenes was a famous and wise philosopher. He had neither a house nor money. He lived in a
barrel. Therefore many people used to praise him, because he desired few things; many however
said ‘Diogenes is mad’. Once Alexander the Great, a fierce soldier who was even more famous
than Diogenes, came to the city where the philosopher lived. Many people ran to Alexander.
They praised him in a loud voice, because he was a powerful king. Diogenes however remained
in his barrel. Alexander, who had heard about the philosopher, wanted to see Diogenes. And so
he himself sought Diogenes. At last he found him sitting in the sun. Diogenes did not get up
when he saw Alexander. Alexander however said ‘I want to give you a gift? What therefore do
you want?’ ‘I want one small gift’ Diogenes replied. ‘I will give it to you’ said Alexander. Then
Diogenes said ‘Go away! For you are standing in the sun.’

Passage 13
The first contest was between four ships. Their names were: Pristis, Chimaera, Centaur and
Scylla. The sailors of the Chimaera were working well. This ship therefore was in the lead. But
the Scylla, sailing behind the Chimaera, was approaching her. Then however the helmsman of
the Chimaera caught sight of some rocks and was afraid. And so he sailed far off from them. The
captain of this ship was angry, because the way had been made longer. And so the Scylla was
able to sail between the rocks and the Chimaera. Suddenly the Scylla was in the lead. Therefore
the captain of the Chimaera, now very angry, threw the helmsman into the sea; he however,
because he was holding onto a rock, did not perish. In this way the slower ship beat the faster
ship. And so the Pristis and the Centaur were now sailing behind the Scylla. The Centaur was
also sailing near the rocks. But the helmsman of the Centaur was not able to escape the rocks; the
ship was destroyed. The Pristis was for a short time approaching the Scylla; the Scylla however,
the faster and stronger of the two ships, finally won.
Passage 14
Pygmalion was a young man who loved no women. However a very beautiful statue, more
beautiful than all women, was made by him. The young man used to kiss the statue secretly,
although it was hard and cold. He even used to buy gifts for the statue. Once many citizens
gathered in the temple of Venus, where the goddess was worshipped. Pygmalion also went to the
temple. He sacrificed a heifer to the goddess. ‘You’ he said ‘are the goddess of love. In return for
my gift, give me a wife similar to my statue!’ When Pygmalion returned home, he approached
the statue. He touched it: it was warm and soft. It was alive; it was no longer a statue but a
woman! Pygmalion both touched the woman and was touched by her. The young man married
the woman. Pygmalion and his wife were very happy. Paphos, their daughter, gave her name to a
city.

Passage 15
Augustine was a young man who lived in Africa. Alypius was his friend. Augustine and Alypius
loved to read books and to argue about books. Augustine however was not happy. Although he
had read many books and had argued with wise men, he was troubled. He wanted to understand
many things; he was able to understand nothing. Once Augustine and Alypius were arguing in
the garden. Augustine was sad because he understood nothing said by Alypius; Alypius at last
left the garden.
Augustine was sitting alone under a tree. Suddenly he heard the voice of either a boy or a girl.
‘Pick it up, read!’ the voice said ‘Pick it up, read!’ Perhaps they were words which children were
saying in a game. Augustine however, when he heard the voice, stood up and picked up the book
left behind by Alypius. There were many letters in the book. Augustine caught sight of a letter
written by Paul to the Romans. When he had read the letter he was very happy. ‘Now’ he
shouted ‘I understand everything.’

Passage 16
The Greeks and Trojans were fighting for ten years. Priam was king of the Trojans; Hector was
his son. Priam and his wife, named Hecuba, were standing on the wall of the city. They watched
Hector standing in front of the wall. They caught sight of Achilles, the bravest of the Greeks,
about to attack Hector. Achilles was running towards Hector. Hector was terrified; and so he fled
round the walls of the city. Achilles however chased the fleeing Hector. They ran three times
around the walls. Suddenly the goddess Minerva, who supported the Greeks, appeared to Hector.
She had changed her appearance. ‘I’ she said ‘am Deiphobus, your brother. I will give you help.’
Because Hector believed these words, he attacked Achilles. The goddess however immediately
went away. Hector, deceived by the cruel goddess, was now alone. Achilles, helped by the
powerful goddess, was standing about to kill Hector. And so Hector, the bravest of the Trojans,
was killed by Achilles with his parents watching.

Passage 17
Socrates was an old man who lived in Athens. He was always disputing with the citizens. And so
many people did not like him. ‘The young men of this city are evil because of Socrates’ they
often said; ‘for Socrates teaches young men dangerous things. He does not respect the gods of
the city but has his own gods.’ The citizens therefore wanted to punish Socrates. And so he was
condemned. Socrates was in prison awaiting death. A friend, Crito by name, visited him. Crito
asked ‘Why do you not escape, Socrates? You are innocent: no young man is evil because of
you. Your friends want to give you help. If you do not accept help, many people after your death
will say about me “Crito is wicked because he did not give help to his friend.” Everyone
therefore will criticise me.’ ‘I will never escape, Crito’ said Socrates ‘because we ought never to
do evil. The laws of this city have given me many good things. Through my whole life they have
protected me. Because I live in this city, I must obey the city’s laws.’ And so Socrates decided to
remain in prison; afterwards he died there.

Passage 18
Some prisoners once lived in a cave. They had never seen the sun. They could not turn their
heads, because they had been fastened in chains. And so they could see nothing that was behind
their backs. There was behind the prisoners a great fire. Between the fire and the prisoners, men
were walking, carrying statues of human beings and animals. The prisoners therefore, seeing the
shadows of the statues, believed that they were real. That prisoner who knew most things about
the shadows was loved and praised by the rest. Once however one captive, when his chains were
broken, was set free. He looked at the fire. Then he went out of the cave and saw real human
beings, real animals. Finally he even looked at the sun itself. And so he found out that true things
are more beautiful than shadows. Then he went back into the cave. He told the other prisoners
everything; they however believed that he was stupid. He often told this story; at last the others
angrily killed him.

Passage 19
The Greeks were fighting against the Trojans for ten years, because Paris the son of Priam had
once captured Helen the wife of Menelaus. The Greeks however were not able to conquer the
Trojans. At last they captured a Trojan prophet. ‘You will never conquer the Trojans’ the prophet
said ‘nor set Helen free, because you do not have Philoctetes and the bow of Hercules.’ Certain
Greeks, who could not understand these words, asked: ‘Who is Philoctetes? Where is the bow?’
The prophet however said ‘Philoctetes himself, whose father was a friend of Hercules, has that
bow. The bow was the gift of Hercules.’ Then a certain old man said to the rest of the Greeks:
‘Philoctetes sailed with us from Greece. However because he had a dreadful wound he was
always shouting. And so our leaders cruelly left him on an island. Philoctetes therefore blames
us. He will never give help to the Greeks. He will not give the bow to us. If however we do not
have the bow, we cannot conquer the Trojans. The matter is very difficult.’

Passage 20
Ulysses and Neoptolemus sailed to the island where Philoctetes had been left. After they arrived,
Ulysses stayed near the ship; Neoptolemus approached the cave of Philoctetes. ‘Hello!’ he
called. ‘Hello!’ a voice replied ‘who is it?’ Neoptolemus said that he was the son of Achilles;
‘but I believe the Greeks are wicked’ he said ‘because they cruelly left Philoctetes on this
island.’ ‘I am Philoctetes’ the voice said ‘look, I have the bow of Hercules!’ Philoctetes came out
of the cave and showed the bow to Neoptolemus. Then Philoctetes slept; Neoptolemus
meanwhile was looking after the bow. Then Ulysses arrived at the cave. He ordered
Neoptolemus to give him the bow, and Philoctetes to sail to Troy. Philoctetes was very sad; he
shouted that he had lost both his friends and the bow. Then Hecules appeared to them from
heaven. He ordered the unhappy Philoctetes to sail to Troy, so that his wound could be healed;
‘In this way, Greeks,’ he said ‘you will be able to capture the city with the bow.

Passage 21
The Greeks at last captured the city of Troy. When the city had been destroyed, Aeneas and the
Trojans who survived departed in ships. They sailed across the sea to look for a new land. Juno
however sent a great storm, because she did not like the Trojans. When the ships had been
wrecked, the Trojans came to Africa. Then Aeneas decided to explore the new land. He found
seven stags which he killed in order to give food to his people. Then the Trojans found many
people building a city. They also, led by their queen Dido, had recently arrived in Africa; the
new city was Carthage. Dido, who had already heard about the fame of the Trojans, received
them with many gifts. Dido was so beautiful that Aeneas loved her; Aeneas was so handsome
that Dido loved him. The Trojans praised the new city. Aeneas however, ordered by the gods,
had to build his own city in another land. And so he was not able to stay in Africa with Dido.
Aeneas and the Trojans left Africa, making for Italy. Dido was so sad that she killed herself.

Passage 22
Romulus was king of the Romans. The Romans, although brave, were however few. Romulus
therefore was looking for women from other towns so that the Romans would have wives and
these women would produce Roman children. And so the Romans held games and invited the
Sabines so that they could seize the Sabine women. The Sabines trusted the Romans and came to
Rome in order to watch the games. The Romans looked at the Sabine women in order to choose
the most beautiful from them. Then they captured them.
Afterwards Romulus, defending these deeds, said ‘We took the women in order to give benefits
to them. We married them so that they would be Roman women. Romans are brave soldiers,
kind husbands and excellent men. And so a Roman wife has a better life than a Sabine wife.’
Even the Sabine women themselves, now Roman women, said that they were content. They
therefore decided to stay in Rome so that their children would be Romans.

Passage 23
Calidorus was a Greek young man and Pseudolus was his slave. Calidorus loved a prostitute.
Ballio however, the master of this girl, had promised that he would sell her to a Macedonian
soldier: they had decided a price of five minas. And so Calidorus and Pseudolus made a plan to
set the prostitute free; Ballio however heard about the plan.
Harpax, the slave of the Macedonian soldier, was approaching the house of Ballio with money in
order to receive the prostitute. Pseudolus however met Harpax and said that he was the slave of
Ballio. He ordered Harpax to hand over the money to him. Harpax was unwilling to do this, but
handed over a letter with the seal of the Macedonian soldier and waited in an inn. Pseudolus left
quickly; then he asked a friend of Calidorus to give him a slave and some money. To this slave
he gave the soldier’s letter. The slave, carrying the letter and the money, arrived at Ballio’s
house. Ballio therefore handed over the girl to him. Ballio was happy because he believed that he
had beaten Pseudolus. Soon however Harpax himself arrived. Ballio believed that Harpax was a
friend of Pseudolus; Harpax however said that he had handed over the letter to Pseudolus. Ballio
now understood everything. He was very angry, because he had been beaten by Pseudolus.

Passage 24
The lion was the king of the animals. Now however he was ill and near to death. All the animals
therefore visited him, except the fox. And so the wolf, because he was an enemy of the fox, made
this plan against her: he said to the lion that the fox had dishonoured him. ‘Because you, lion, are
our king’ he said ‘the fox ought to have visited you.’ The fox however arrived when the wolf
was saying these words. The lion was very angry and roared loudly at the fox. The terrified fox,
in order to defend herself, said to the lion ‘I am late because I was making a journey through all
lands in order to look for a cure for you. When I had asked all the doctors, I finally found one
cure.’ The lion immediately ordered the fox to teach him about this cure. The fox therefore
replied ‘You must kill a wolf and wear its hide like a cloak.’ And so the lion, believing the fox,
killed the wolf.
And so he who makes a plan against another, often also makes a plan against himself.

Passage 25
Alcestis was the wife of king Admetus. Apollo was a friend of the king. And so, when Admetus
was about to die, the god persuaded the Fates to accept the life of another man in return for his
life. The father of Admetus, although he was an old man, was unwilling to die for his son.
Alcestis however loved Admetus so much that she decided to die for her husband.
When Alcestis had died, Hecules, who was making a journey through that place, approached the
house of Admetus. Admetus, although he was very sad, did not want to send a guest away. He
therefore invited Hercules to stay with him. Since Admetus was crying, Hercules did not want to
do this. Admetus however falsely said that a slave-woman had died. And so Hercules stayed with
the king, but he did not know why the slaves of Admetus were so sad. At last, when he had asked
a slave, he found at that not a slave-woman of Admetus but his wife had perished. And so he
understood how kind Admetus had been. For Admetus, although his wife had died, had invited
him to stay with him. Hercules therefore fought with Death in order to bring Alcestis back.
Finally he restored his wife to Admetus.

Passage 26
Aristagoras was the governor of Miletus. At that time the citizens of Naxos, because they had
been driven out of their own island, arrived in Miletus. And so they asked the governor to fight
against Naxos. Aristagoras decided to fight so that he could be ruler of Naxos himself. He
therefore persuaded the Persians to send him many soldiers and many ships. Megabates was
leading the Persian soldiers; they all sailed to Naxos. However when Megabytes caught sight of
one ship with no soldiers guarding it, he was angry and ordered the captain to be tied up.
Aristagoras, who was a friend of the captain, asked Megabates to set him free. Megabates
however refused to do this. And so Aristagoras himself freed the man who had been tied up.
Now Megabates, even angrier, sent messengers into the city to warn the citizens of Naxos about
the danger. Aristagoras therefore, although he fought bravely, was beaten.

Passage 27
Nero had such great hatred towards Seneca that he decided to kill him. And so he ordered a
soldier to announce this to him. The soldier however, because he did not want to bring such
dreadful news, sent another soldier instead of himself. This soldier, when he had made the
journey to Seneca’s house, entered it. When the soldier’s sad news had been heard by everyone,
Seneca asked the slaves to bring his will; the soldier however forbade this. Then Seneca said he
was going to leave to his friends a very good and very beautiful gift: the model of his own life.
For he hoped that his friends from the model of his life would understand how they could live
well. ‘Nero has already killed his mother and his brother;’ he said ‘now he is also killing his
tutor.’ Then he killed himself.

Passage 28
Sulla was fighting against Scipio. Sulla was terrified because Scipio had many soldiers. And so
Sulla made a plan. He invited Scipio to a discussion; he said that he wanted to speak about terms
of peace. But he ordered his own soldiers, during the leaders’ discussion, to persuade Scipio’s
soldiers with gifts and words to support Sulla. Sulla in the discussion said very many things to
Scipio so that his soldiers would have enough time. After a few days the soldiers of Sulla
approached Scipio’s camp; Scipio’s soldiers came out of the camp in order to greet their new
friends. Scipio therefore was left alone in the camp; Sulla was able to capture him easily. And so
Carbo, on account of such tricks, said that both a lion and a fox lived in Sulla’s breast; ‘But’ he
said ‘I fear the fox more.’

Passage 29
Arminius and Segestes were leading the Germans. Arminius wanted to attack the Romans,
Segestes to be their ally. Therefore they were rivals. Arminius however loved the daughter of
Segestes and married her. But this girl, although she was now the wife of Arminius, was forced
to remain with her father.
Soon the Germans who supported Arminius were fighting against Segestes. Segestes therefore
sent his son to the Romans to seek help. And so the Romans came to help Segestes. Arminius
was conquered by the Romans. Segestes willingly made a treaty with the Romans. His daughter
however was sent by the Romans to Italy, so that Arminius would be punished. Arminius
therefore, very angry, said to the Germans: ‘Segestes stole one woman from me, but I have
already overcome many enemies, and soon when he has been conquered I shall punish him.’

Passage 30
Nero was a very cruel Roman emperor. While Nero was emperor, the city of Rome was burned
in a very great fire. The flames were so fierce that many blocks of flats were set on fire and many
people perished. Some men, who said they had been ordered to do this, even threw firebrands
deliberately. Nero is said to have sung while fire was consuming the city. After the fire, the
terrified Romans kept asking who had done there dreadful things.
Many now believed that Nero had ordered the firebrands to be thrown. Soon Nero built a very
big house for himself in the part of the city destroyed by the flames, so that he could welcome
friends and hold dinner-parties. When they found out that this new house was being built, even
more people were accusing the emperor. Nero therefore wanted to blame others; he accused
certain Christians, who were captured by his soldiers. A Roman senator, Tacitus by name, wrote
about these things in order to teach how wicked the emperors were.