His death and his subsequent deification were said to have been intimated by divers manifest prodigies. As he was finishing the census amidst a great crowd of people in the Field of Mars, an eagle flew about him several times, and then directed its course to a neighbouring temple, where it sat down upon the name of Agrippa, and at the first letter. Upon observing this, he ordered Tiberius to put up the vows, which it is usual to make on such occasions, for the succeeding lustrum. For he declared he would not meddle with what it was probable he should never accomplish, though the tables were ready drawn for it. About that same time, the first letter of his name, in an inscription upon a statue of him, was struck out by lightning; which was interpreted as a presage that he would live only a hundred days longer: which number the letter C stands for, and that he would be placed amongst the gods; as Æsar, which is the remaining part of the word Cæsar, signifies, in the Tuscan language, a god. Being therefore about despatching Tiberius to Illyricum, and designing to go with him as far as Beneventum, but being detained by several persons who applied to him upon account of causes they had depending, he cried out, which was afterwards regarded as an omen of his death, “Not all the business that can occur shall detain me at Rome one moment longer”; and setting out upon his journey, he went as far as Astura; whence, contrary to his custom, he put to sea in the night time, upon the occasion of a favourable wind.
His sickness was occasioned by diarrhoea; notwithstanding which, he went round the coast of Campania and the adjacent islands, and spent four days in that of Capreæ; where he gave himself up entirely to his ease; behaving, at the same time, to those about him with the utmost good nature and complaisance. As he happened to sail by the Bay of Puteoli, the passengers and mariners aboard a ship of Alexandria just then arrived, clad all in white, with crowns upon their heads, loaded him with praises and joyful acclamations, crying out, “By you we live, by you we sail, by you enjoy our liberty and our fortunes.” At which being greatly pleased, he distributed to each of his friends that attended him forty gold pieces, requiring from them an assurance by oath not to employ the sum given them any other way than in the purchase of Alexandrian goods. And during several days after, he distributed togæ and pallia, upon condition that the Romans should use the Grecian, and the Grecians the Roman dress and language. He likewise constantly attended to see the boys perform their exercises, according to an ancient custom still continued at Capreæ. He gave them likewise an entertainment in his presence, and not only permitted but required from them the utmost freedom in jesting, and scrambling for fruit, victuals, and other things which he threw amongst them. In a word, he indulged himself in all the ways of amusement he could contrive. Soon after, passing over to Naples, though at that time greatly disordered by the frequent returns of his disease, he continued a spectator to the end of some solemn games which were performed every five years in honour of him, and came with Tiberius to the place intended. But on his return, his disorder increasing, he stopped at Nola, sent for Tiberius back again, and had a long discourse with him in private; after which he gave no further attention to business of any importance.
Upon the day of his death, he now and then inquired if there was any disturbance in the town about him; and calling for a mirror, he ordered his hair to be combed, and his falling cheeks to be adjusted. Then asking his friends that were admitted into the room, “Do ye think that I have acted my part in life well?” he immediately subjoined,
Ἐι δὲ παν ἔχει καλως, τῳ παιγνίῳ
Δότε κρότον, καὶ πάντες ὑμεῖς μετὰ χαρας κτυπήσατε.
“If all be right, with joy your voices raise
In loud applauses to the actor’s praise.”
After which, having dismissed them all, whilst he was inquiring of some that were just come from Rome, concerning Drusus’ daughter who was in a bad state of health, he expired amidst the kisses of Livia, and with these words: “Livia, live mindful of our marriage, and farewell!” dying a very easy death, and such as he himself had always wished for. For as often as he heard that any person had died quickly and without pain, he wished for himself and his friends the like ευθανασια (an easy death), for that was the word he made use of. He discovered but one symptom before his death of his being delirious, which was this: he was all on a sudden much frightened, and complained that he was carried away by forty men. But this was rather a presage, than any delirium; for precisely that number of soldiers carried out his corpse.
He expired [Suetonius continues] in the same room in which his father Octavius had died, when the two Sextuses, Pompeius and Apuleius, were consuls, upon the fourteenth of the calends of September [Aug. 19 A.D., 14 according to the revised calendar], at the ninth hour of the day, wanting only five-and-thirty days of seventy-six years of age. His remains were carried by the magistrates of the municipia[6] and colonies, from Nola to Bovillæ, and in the night time because of the season of the year. During the intervals, the body lay in some court, or great temple, of each town. At Bovillæ it was met by the equestrian order who carried it to the city, and deposited it in the porch of his own house. The senate proceeded with so much zeal in the arrangement of his funeral, and paying honour to his memory, that, amongst several other proposals, some were for having the funeral procession made through the triumphal gate, preceded by the image of Victory, which is in the senate house, and the children of the first quality, of both sexes, singing the funeral ditty. Others moved that on the day of the funeral they should lay aside their gold rings, and wear rings of iron; and others, that his bones should be collected by the priests of the superior orders. One likewise proposed to transfer the name of Augustus to September, because he was born in the latter, but died in the former. Another moved that the whole period of time, from his birth to his death, should be called the Augustan age, and be inserted in the calendar under that title. But at last it was judged proper to be moderate in the honours to be paid to his memory. Two funeral orations were pronounced in his praise, one before the temple of Julius, by Tiberius; and the other before the rostra, under the old shops, by Drusus, Tiberius’ son. The body was then carried upon the shoulders of senators into the Field of Mars, and there burned. A man of prætorian rank affirmed upon oath that he saw his spirit ascend into heaven. The most distinguished persons of the equestrian order, bare-footed, and with their tunics loose, gathered up his relics, and deposited them in the mausoleum, which had been built in his sixth consulship, betwixt the Flaminian way and the bank of the Tiber, at which time likewise he gave the woods and walks about it for the use of the people.
He had made a will a year and four months before his death, upon the third of the nones of April, in the consulship of Lucius Plancus and C. Silius. It consisted of two skins of parchment, written partly in his hand, and partly by his freedmen Polybius and Hilarion. It had been committed to the custody of the vestal virgins, by whom it was now produced, with three other volumes, all sealed up as well as the will, which were every one read in the senate. He appointed for his first heirs, Tiberius for two thirds of his estate, and Livia for the other third, whom he likewise desired to assume his name. The heirs substituted in their room, in case of death, were Drusus, Tiberius’ son, for a third part, and Germanicus with his three sons for the rest. Next to them were his relations and several of his friends.