To their inferiors—who loved them most—they were cold and demanding and arrogant, impressing upon them the mighty superiority of the family, making each man believe that a mere condescending word from the Caesares was a favor equal to a favor for the gods, themselves. The powerful, then, advanced the fortunes of the family, for the powerful love sycophants; the equals wished to reward them for their kindness; the inferiors wished only to serve ones so noble and so above ordinary mankind.
