The Soldiers and Officers Mourn Him

At once the assembled spearmen and bodyguards tore their clothes and threw themselves on the ground, striking their heads and crying out in lament and sorrow. They called on their imperial lord and master, or rather, like true children, on their father, while their tribunes and centurions called him their preserver, protector, and benefactor. The rest of the soldiers also came in respectful order to mourn, like a flock, the loss of their good shepherd. Meanwhile the people ran wildly through the city. Some expressed the inward sorrow of their hearts with loud cries; others seemed stunned with grief. Each mourned the event as a disaster that had happened to himself, and they bewailed his death as though they felt they had been robbed of a blessing shared by all.