Augustus saw everything depending on him alone. He controlled the fate of individuals and entire nations. Yet he thought his happiest day would be when he gave up all that power. He knew from experience how much work went into that glory that reached every corner of the world. He knew how much hidden worry came with it. He had been forced to fight wars to defend his position — first against fellow Romans, then against his political partners, and finally against his own family. He had spilled blood on both sea and land. He had marched his armies through Macedonia, Sicily, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and almost every country in the world. When his troops grew tired of killing Romans, he pointed them toward foreign enemies instead.
He, who saw everything depending upon himself alone, who swayed the fortunes of men and of nations, thought that his happiest day would be that on which he laid aside his greatness. He knew by experience how much labour was involved in that glory that shone through all lands, and how much secret anxiety was concealed within it: he had been forced to assert his rights by war, first with his countrymen, next with his colleagues, and lastly with his own relations, and had shed blood both by sea and by land: after marching his troops under arms through Macedonia, Sicily, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and almost all the countries of the world, when they were weary with slaughtering Romans he had directed them against a foreign foe.