At a banquet a few nights later he suddenly burst into a most extraordinary howl of laughter. Nobody knew what the joke was. The two Consuls, who sat next to him, asked whether they might be graciously permitted to share in it. At this Caligula laughed even louder, the tears starting from his eyes. “No,” he choked, “that’s just the point. It’s a joke that you wouldn’t think at all funny. I was laughing to think that with one nod of my head I could have both your throats cut on the spot.”
