DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67375#0396
310
NAPLES AND ITS ENVIRONS.
islanders; and the remembrance of it doubtless made his
successor even more hated than he would have been had
they not known Augustus.
Tiberius came to Capri, a.d. 26, and duringeleven years
he perpetrated such cruelties, and so filled the island with
horrors, that eighteen centuries and more have not
sufficed to lessen the hatred he incurred. The people
speak of him as Timberio. The wine of Capri is called
by his name, and all over the island are traces of “ that
deified beast, Tiberius.”
If one can forget his monstrosities and the terrible
sufferings that were crowded into and pressed down upon
this island during every hour of his reign, and can fix the
thoughts upon his material achievements alone, the ima-
gination is filled with scenes of rare beauty. Capri then
overflowed with everything that could minister to the
pleasure of the senses. Its sublime rocks were crowned
with twelve imperial villas, each vying with the other
in magnificence. Luxurious theatres existed, and many
other beautiful edifices were scattered here and there.
Splendid statues and ornamental objects adorned the
pleasure groves and gardens, and all were reflected in
the blue sea, with which the azure sky seemed to be ever
exchanging smiles or frowns, now exquisite in its peace,
and again magnificent in its wrath.
To complete the picture, we must fill the streets with
Romans in their flowing togas, walking with proud step
and mien, — a whole court, with ambassadors from many
nations. And now, the emperor passes, — the handsomest
man of his time in all the earth, whose beauty among
Roman emperors was second only to Augustus. Beautiful
women of the Orient are in the groves and gardens; nymphs
and bacchantes pass on their way to dance before their
masters; and everything suggests the voluptuousness which
alternates with brutal violence in the life of Tiberius.
NAPLES AND ITS ENVIRONS.
islanders; and the remembrance of it doubtless made his
successor even more hated than he would have been had
they not known Augustus.
Tiberius came to Capri, a.d. 26, and duringeleven years
he perpetrated such cruelties, and so filled the island with
horrors, that eighteen centuries and more have not
sufficed to lessen the hatred he incurred. The people
speak of him as Timberio. The wine of Capri is called
by his name, and all over the island are traces of “ that
deified beast, Tiberius.”
If one can forget his monstrosities and the terrible
sufferings that were crowded into and pressed down upon
this island during every hour of his reign, and can fix the
thoughts upon his material achievements alone, the ima-
gination is filled with scenes of rare beauty. Capri then
overflowed with everything that could minister to the
pleasure of the senses. Its sublime rocks were crowned
with twelve imperial villas, each vying with the other
in magnificence. Luxurious theatres existed, and many
other beautiful edifices were scattered here and there.
Splendid statues and ornamental objects adorned the
pleasure groves and gardens, and all were reflected in
the blue sea, with which the azure sky seemed to be ever
exchanging smiles or frowns, now exquisite in its peace,
and again magnificent in its wrath.
To complete the picture, we must fill the streets with
Romans in their flowing togas, walking with proud step
and mien, — a whole court, with ambassadors from many
nations. And now, the emperor passes, — the handsomest
man of his time in all the earth, whose beauty among
Roman emperors was second only to Augustus. Beautiful
women of the Orient are in the groves and gardens; nymphs
and bacchantes pass on their way to dance before their
masters; and everything suggests the voluptuousness which
alternates with brutal violence in the life of Tiberius.