A few years later, however, secular writing also came under Augustus’s control. Around 6–8 CE, the emperor severely restricted dissent by combining the old Twelve Tables’ prohibition of defamation with the lex maiestatis or law of treason.58 Until this point, according to Tacitus, the law of treason had been limited to actions such as “betrayal of an army, inciting the common people to sedition, or generally, maladministration in public office.
