--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero…" description: "\"“I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png" --- # I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus… ![“I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot", or "That Claudius", or "Claudius the Stammerer", or…” quote by Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png) > ““I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot", or "That Claudius", or "Claudius the Stammerer", or "Clau-Clau-Claudius" or at best as "Poor Uncle Claudius", am now about to write this strange history of my life; starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the "golden predicament" from which I have never since become disentangled.”” [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator introduces himself with a parade of self‑deprecating nicknames, setting a tone of irony and self‑awareness about his chaotic life. **In simple terms:** A self‑mocking introduction that hints at a convoluted personal history. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and humor in storytelling. Themes identity humor history Mood wry reflective Type literary historical When to use this quote - biography - historical fiction - self‑reflection Key Concepts self‑deprecation personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - What does self‑mockery reveal about power? - Can humor mask vulnerability? A Different Perspective The exaggerated titles may obscure serious themes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friends And Relatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-relatives/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) ## Related quotes > [For although Claudius had been accused of gambling and drunkenness, not only were no worse sins laid to his charge, but he had successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-although-claudius-had-been-accused-of-gambling-and-drunkenness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish 'I, Claudius' had never ended back in 1976. That was the best TV show the world has ever seen - apart from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-wallace/i-wish-i-claudius-had-never-ended-back-in-1976-that-was-the-best-tv/) [Gregg Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-wallace/) > [ “After a war of about 40 years, undertaken by the most stupid \[Claudius\], maintained by the most dissolute \[Nero\], and terminated by the most… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/after-a-war-of-about-40-years-undertaken-by-the-most-stupid-claudius/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Say not always what you know, but always know what you say." - Claudius”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudius/say-not-always-what-you-know-but-always-know-what-you-say-claudius/) [Claudius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudius/) > [ As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he \[ Claudius \] expelled them \[the Jews\] from Rome ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suetonius/as-the-jews-were-making-constant-disturbances-at-the-instigation-of/) [Suetonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suetonius/) > [But there's the paradox of fiction - why do you cry when a fake character dies? It's the basis of art. You engage with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gruber/but-there-s-the-paradox-of-fiction-why-do-you-cry-when-a-fake/) [Michael Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gruber/) > [“The woman knows from living with the abusive man that there are no simple answers. Friends say: “He’s mean.” But she knows many ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/the-woman-knows-from-living-with-the-abusive-man-that-there-are-no/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [Life is precious Life is a god sent gift and it is your duty to live it to the full. You might face several…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaile-stewart/life-is-precious-life-is-a-god-sent-gift-and-it-is-your-duty-to-live/) [Kaile Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaile-stewart/) > [The advice would be the same for any kind of fiction. Keep writing, and keep sending things out, not to friends and relatives, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-advice-would-be-the-same-for-any-kind-of-fiction-keep-writing-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [“People are not controlled by some internal calculator that crudely motivates them to maximize their reproductive success. Instead, people form deep, lifelong emotional attachments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/people-are-not-controlled-by-some-internal-calculator-that-crudely/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [It is rare that we use our thinking faculty as resolutely as an irishman his spade. To please our friends and relatives we turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-rare-that-we-use-our-thinking-faculty-as-resolutely-as-an/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Friends say: “He’s mean.” But she knows many ways in which he has been good to her. Friends say: “He treats you that way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/friends-say-he-s-mean-but-she-knows-many-ways-in-which-he-has-been/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“We are a rotating cast of aspects of self that are shown to one person, or in one setting, and hidden in another. Memorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-haskell/we-are-a-rotating-cast-of-aspects-of-self-that-are-shown-to-one/) [Molly Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-haskell/) > [Our dad hugged us and kissed us so much that some friends and relatives complained that he was going to turn us into sissies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-emanuel/our-dad-hugged-us-and-kissed-us-so-much-that-some-friends-and/) [Ezekiel Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-emanuel/) > [“Business succeed when friends and relatives pays their bills promptly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdulazeez-henry-musa/business-succeed-when-friends-and-relatives-pays-their-bills-promptly/) [Abdulazeez Henry Musa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdulazeez-henry-musa/) ## More by Robert Graves > [The poet's first rule must be never to bore his readers; and his best way of keeping this rule is never to bore himself-which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-poet-s-first-rule-must-be-never-to-bore-his-readers-and-his-best/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [She told me that all the girls in Annezin prayed every night for the war to end and for the English to go away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/she-told-me-that-all-the-girls-in-annezin-prayed-every-night-for-the/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“As quick as boiled asparagus!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/as-quick-as-boiled-asparagus/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“Children born of fairy stock Never need for shirt or frock Never want for food or fire Always get their heart's desire Jingle pockets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/children-born-of-fairy-stock-never-need-for-shirt-or-frock-never-want/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [To know only one thing well is to have a barbaric mind: civilization implies the graceful relation of all varieties of experience to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/to-know-only-one-thing-well-is-to-have-a-barbaric-mind-civilization/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Before an attack, the platoon pools all its available cash and the survivors divide it up afterwards. Those who are killed can't complain, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/before-an-attack-the-platoon-pools-all-its-available-cash-and-the/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“To resist the social pressure now put even on one's leisure time, requires a tougher upbringing and a more obstinate willfulness about going one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/to-resist-the-social-pressure-now-put-even-on-one-s-leisure-time/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“The child alone a poet is: Spring and Fairyland are his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-child-alone-a-poet-is-spring-and-fairyland-are-his/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [The art of poetry consists in taking the poem through draft after draft, without losing its inspirational magic: he removes everything irrelevant or distracting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/the-art-of-poetry-consists-in-taking-the-poem-through-draft-after/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Entrance and exit wounds aresilvered clean, The track aches only when the rain reminds. The one-legged man forgets his leg of wood. The one-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/entrance-and-exit-wounds-aresilvered-clean-the-track-aches-only-when/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [What we now call "finance" is, I hold, an intellectual perversion of what began as warm human love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/what-we-now-call-finance-is-i-hold-an-intellectual-perversion-of-what/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [“Manticor in Arabia (The manticors of the montaines Mighte feed them on thy braines.--Skelton.) Thick and scented daisies spread Where with surface dull like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/manticor-in-arabia-the-manticors-of-the-montaines-mighte-feed-them-on/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [As you are woman, so be lovely: As you are lovely, so be various, Merciful as constant, constant as various, So be mine, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/as-you-are-woman-so-be-lovely-as-you-are-lovely-so-be-various/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Philosophy is antipoetic. Philosophize about mankind and you brush aside individual uniqueness, which a poet cannot do without self-damage. Unless, for a start, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/philosophy-is-antipoetic-philosophize-about-mankind-and-you-brush/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Abstract reason, formerly the servant of practical human reasons, has everywhere become its master, and denies poetry any excuse for existence. Though philosophers like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/abstract-reason-formerly-the-servant-of-practical-human-reasons-has/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) [Explore all 166 Robert Graves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) ## More Long ago quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [There must be a technique for meeting pain. There must be a technique of endurance based on the power of the soul to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-stannard-baker/there-must-be-a-technique-for-meeting-pain-there-must-be-a-technique/) [Ray Stannard Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-stannard-baker/) > [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Up until 1986, the top marginal rate, the top statutory rate was 50 percent. Now it's 35 percent. And all the pressure is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bartlett/up-until-1986-the-top-marginal-rate-the-top-statutory-rate-was-50/) [Bruce Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bartlett/) > [“We ought to live each day as though it were our last day here below. But if I did, alas, I know it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-hein/we-ought-to-live-each-day-as-though-it-were-our-last-day-here-below/) [Piet Hein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-hein/) > [I was landscaping not too long ago, so I'm extremely grateful for the people supporting me in wrestling. Not that landscaping is terrible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-riddle/i-was-landscaping-not-too-long-ago-so-i-m-extremely-grateful-for-the/) [Matt Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-riddle/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [“Waiting for Vengeance' Well, what is this? What am I coming to? And beyond that, what am I gonna do? Now there’s blankness Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/waiting-for-vengeance-well-what-is-this-what-am-i-coming-to-and/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“We were putting into these gomers our fear of death, but who knew if they feared death? Perhaps they welcomed death like a dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-shem/we-were-putting-into-these-gomers-our-fear-of-death-but-who-knew-if/) [Samuel Shem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-shem/) > [“...The devil had long ago taken a shine to Tert Card, filled him like a cream horn with itch and irritation. His middle name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-annie-proulx-author/the-devil-had-long-ago-taken-a-shine-to-tert-card-filled-him-like-a/) E. Annie Proulx (Author > [So here is my story, may it bring Some smiles and a tear or so, It happened once upon a time, Far away, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/so-here-is-my-story-may-it-bring-some-smiles-and-a-tear-or-so-it/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-puzo/he-had-long-ago-learned-that-society-imposes-insults-that-must-be/) [Mario Puzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-puzo/) [Browse all 2,059 Long ago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as \"Claudius the Idiot\", or \"That Claudius\", or \"Claudius the Stammerer\", or \"Clau-Clau-Claudius\" or at best as \"Poor Uncle Claudius\", am now about to write this strange history of my life; starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the \"golden predicament\" from which I have never since become disentangled.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Graves" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanicus-this-that-and-the-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Long ago" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanicus-this-that-and-the-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72c/robert-graves-2410_long-ago_i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanic_2864693.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with…” — Robert Graves", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Graves", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanicus-this-that-and-the-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/i-tiberius-claudius-drusus-nero-germanicus-this-that-and-the-other/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```