Caligula's imitation of a crazy foreign king almost led to disaster — famine and the riots that always follow famine. Imagine how the officials in charge of the city's grain supply must have felt. They faced being stoned by mobs, burned alive, or killed by Caligula himself. They were brilliant to hide how serious the crisis really was. They were absolutely right to do this. Some diseases must be treated without the patient knowing what's wrong. Many people have died simply from learning their diagnosis.
his imitation of a crazy outlandish and misproud king very nearly ended in ruin, famine, and the general revolution which follows famine. What must then have been the feelings of those who had the charge of supplying the city with corn, who were in danger of stoning, of fire and sword, of Gaius himself? With consummate art they concealed the vast internal evil by which the state was menaced, and were quite right in so doing; for some diseases must be cured without the patient's knowledge: many have died through discovering what was the matter with them.