"Oderint dum me tuant"(They can hate me as long as they fear me) is a verse from the tragedy "Atreus", by the poet Lucius Accius. It was picked up by Caligula who had a pretty good sense of humour for a boy that age.
Uncle Tiberius had a variant: "oderint dum probent" (They can hate me as long as they obey me).
While we're on Suetonius, who is the source of the above quotes, ole Tiberius also said "Saepe lupum auribus teneo" (I often hold the wolf by the ears).
Does someone knows what kind of wolf he was talking about?