Chapter VII: Book II: Vespasian and the East (3)

[357] The word _trahebat_ may here mean 'began to plunder',
but this seems less likely.

[358] This punishment seems to have been reserved,
appropriately enough, for those who stirred up popular
sedition.

[359] From Vitellius' point of view the Othonians were rebels,
since he had been declared emperor before Otho: or else as
rebels against Galba.

[360] Cp. i. 22.

[361] i.e. as gladiators. Juvenal says this is what the
spendthrifts come to: and also that they would do it for
money, without any Nero to compel them. On the whole the
bankrupt rich preferred 'knock-about comedy' to the very real
dangers of a combat.

[362] i. 88.

[363] Cp. i. 80.

[364] Terni.

[365] Cp. i. 62.

[366] See chap. 58.

[367] i.e. the property, not of Vitellius personally, but of
the imperial household.

[368] He would entertain some natural doubt as to who _was_
emperor. The incriminating suggestion is that he meant to
insert his own name.

[369] In the _Annals_ Tacitus mentions Tiberius' habit of
appointing provincial governors without any intention of
allowing them to leave Rome. See _Ann._ i. 80, vi. 27.

[370] See i. 60.

[371] See chap. 43.

[372] See i. 59, 64, ii. 27.

[373] _Augusta Taurinorum_.

[374] Little St. Bernard.

[375] See i. 65. The legions there might make common cause
with them.

[376] They had suffered once already (see i. 65, 66).

[377] This meant about £200 to every man who had done sixteen
years' service.

[378] i.e. the Eleventh to Dalmatia, the Seventh to Pannonia.

[379] Literally, enjoy dinner-parties beginning at an early
hour, i.e. before two o'clock. This was considered 'fast'.

[380] The word here used by Tacitus, _pervigilia_, properly
denotes all-night religious festivals. But--like Irish
wakes--such festivals tended to deteriorate, and the word
acquired a sinister sense.

[381] See i. 6 and 8.

[382] Because they had seized one of Verginius' slaves, as
described in the last chapter.

[383] The revolt of Civilis described in Book IV. His force
included Roman legionaries as well as Batavians, Gauls, and
Germans.

[384] The word 'rex' had still an 'unroman' sound.

[385] Cremona was sacked and burnt in the following October
(cp. iii. 32 f.).

[386] Literally, the tribunes of the legions and the prefects
of the auxiliaries.

[387] A friend told Plutarch that he had seen on this
battle-field a pile of corpses so high that they reached the
pediment of an ancient temple which stood there.

[388] Suetonius attributes to him the remark, 'A dead enemy
smells good, a dead Roman better.'

[389] Their names are given i. 77.

[390] Dio tells us that he and his father were murdered by
Nero's slave Helios. He was probably related to M. Licinius
Crassus Frugi, who was convicted of treason against Nero (see
note 79), and to Piso, Galba's adopted successor.

THE REVOLT OF VESPASIAN

When once his couriers brought news from Syria and Judaea that the 73 East had sworn allegiance to him, Vitellius' vanity and indolence reached a pitch which is almost incredible. For already, though the rumours were still vague and unreliable, Vespasian's name was in everybody's mouth, and the mention of him often roused Vitellius to alarm. Still, he and his army seemed to reck of no rival: they at once broke out into the unbridled cruelty, debauchery and oppression of some outlandish court.

Vespasian, on the other hand, was meditating war and reckoning all 74 his forces both distant and near at hand. He had so much attached his troops to himself, that when he dictated to them the oath of allegiance and prayed that 'all might be well' with Vitellius, they listened in silence. Mucianus' feelings were not hostile to him, and were strongly sympathetic to Titus. Tiberius Alexander,[392] the Governor of Egypt, had made common cause with him. The Third legion,[393] since it had crossed from Syria into Moesia, he could reckon as his own, and there was good hope that the other legions of Illyria would follow its lead.[394] The whole army, indeed, was incensed at the arrogance of Vitellius' soldiers: truculent in appearance and rough of tongue, they scoffed at all the other troops as their inferiors. But a war of such magnitude demands delay. High as were his hopes, Vespasian often calculated his risks. He realized that it would be a critical day for him when he committed his sixty summers and his two young sons to the chances of war. In his private ambitions a man may feel his way and take less or more from fortune's hands according as he feels inclined, but when one covets a throne there is no alternative between the zenith of success and headlong ruin. Moreover, he always kept in view the strength of the German army, 75 which, as a soldier, he realized. His own legions, he knew, had no experience of civil war, while Vitellius' troops were fresh from victory: and the defeated party were richer in grievances than in troops. Civil strife had undermined the loyalty of the troops: there was danger in each single man. What would be the good of all his horse and foot, if one or two traitors should seek the reward the enemy offered and assassinate him then and there? It was thus that Scribonianus[395] had been killed in Claudius' reign, and his murderer, Volaginius, raised from a common soldier to the highest rank. It is easier to move men in the mass than to take precautions against them singly.

These anxieties made Vespasian hesitate. Meanwhile the other 76 generals and his friends continued to encourage him. At last Mucianus after several private interviews went so far as to address him in public. 'Everybody,' he said, 'who plans some great exploit is bound to consider whether his enterprise serves both the public interest and his own reputation, and whether it is easily practicable or, at any rate, not impossible. He must also weigh the advice which he gets. Are those who offer it ready to run the risk themselves? And, if fortune favours, who gains the glory? I myself, Vespasian, call you to the throne. How much that may benefit the country and make you famous it lies with you--under Providence--to decide. You need not be afraid that I may seem to flatter you. It is more of an insult than a compliment to be chosen to succeed Vitellius. It is not against the powerful intellect of the sainted Augustus that we are in revolt; not against the cautious prudence of the old Tiberius; nor even against a long-established imperial family like that of Caligula, Claudius or Nero. You even gave way to Galba's ancient lineage. To remain inactive any longer, to leave your country to ruin and disgrace, that would be sheer sloth and cowardice, even if such slavery were as safe for you as it would be dishonourable. The time is long past when you could be merely _suspected_ of ambition: the throne is now your only refuge. Have you forgotten Corbulo's murder?[396] He was a man of better family than we, I admit, but so was Nero more nobly born than Vitellius. A man who is feared always seems illustrious enough to those who fear him. That an army can make an emperor Vitellius himself has proved. He had neither experience nor military reputation, but merely rose on Galba's unpopularity. Even Otho fell not by the strategy or strength of his opponent, but by his own precipitate despair. And to-day he seems a great and desirable emperor, when Vitellius is disbanding his legions, disarming his Guards, and daily sowing fresh seeds of civil war. Why, any spirit or enthusiasm which his army had is being dissipated in drunken debauches: for they imitate their master. But you, in Judaea, in Syria, in Egypt, you have nine fresh legions. War has not weakened nor mutiny demoralized them. The men are trained to discipline and have already won a foreign war.[397] Besides these, you can rely on the strength of your fleet,[398] and of your auxiliaries both horse and foot, on the faithful allegiance of foreign princes,[399] and on your own unparalleled experience.

'For ourselves I make but one claim. Let us not rank below Valens 77 and Caecina. Nor must you despise my help because you do not encounter my rivalry. I prefer myself to Vitellius and you to myself. Your house has received the insignia of a triumph.[400] You have two young sons, one of whom is already old enough to fill the throne, and in his first years of service made a name for himself in the German army.[401] It would be absurd for me not to give way to one whose son I should adopt, were I emperor myself. Apart from this, we shall stand on a different footing in success and in failure, for if we succeed I shall have such honour as you grant me: of the risk and the dangers we shall share the burden equally. Or rather, do what is better still. Dispose your armies yourself and leave me the conduct of the war, and the uncertainties of battle.

'At this moment the defeated are far more strictly disciplined than their conquerors. Indignation, hatred, the passion for revenge, all serve to steel our courage. Theirs is dulled by pride and mutiny. The course of the war will soon bring to light the hidden weakness of their party, and reopen all its festering sores. I rely on your vigilance, your economy, your wisdom, and still more on the indolence, ignorance, and cruelty of Vitellius. Above all, our cause is far safer in war than in peace, for those who plan rebellion have rebelled already.'

At the end of Mucianus' speech the others all pressed round with 78 new confidence, offering their encouragement and quoting the answers of soothsayers and the movements of the stars. Nor was Vespasian uninfluenced by superstition. In later days, when he was master of the world, he made no secret of keeping a soothsayer called Seleucus to help him by his advice and prophecy. Early omens began to recur to his memory. A tall and conspicuous cypress on his estate had once suddenly collapsed: on the next day it had risen again on the same spot to grow taller and broader than ever. The soothsayers had agreed that this was an omen of great success, and augured the height of fame for the still youthful Vespasian. At first his triumphal honours, his consulship, and the name he won by his Jewish victory seemed to have fulfilled the promise of this omen. But having achieved all this, he began to believe that it portended his rise to the throne.

On the frontier of Judaea and Syria[402] lies a hill called Carmel. A god of the same name is there worshipped according to ancient ritual. There is no image or temple: only an altar where they reverently worship. Once when Vespasian was sacrificing on this altar, brooding on his secret ambition, the priest, Basilides, after a minute inspection of the omens said to him: 'Whatever it is which you have in mind, Vespasian, whether it is to build a house or to enlarge your estate, or to increase the number of your slaves, there is granted to you a great habitation, vast acres, and a multitude of men.' Rumour had immediately seized on this riddle and now began to solve it. Nothing was more talked of, especially in Vespasian's presence: such conversation is the food of hope.

Having come to a definite decision they departed, Mucianus to Antioch, Vespasian to Caesarea. The former is the capital of Syria, the latter of Judaea.[403]

The first offer of the throne to Vespasian was made at Alexandria, 79 where Tiberius Alexander with great promptitude administered the oath of allegiance to his troops on the first of July. This was usually celebrated as his day of accession, although it was not until the third that the Jewish army took the oath in his presence. So eager was their enthusiasm that they would not even wait for the arrival of Titus, who was on his way back from Syria, where he had been conducting the negotiations between his father and Mucianus.

What happened was all due to the impulse of the soldiers: there was no set speech, no formal assembly of the troops. They were still 80 discussing the time and the place, and trying to decide the hardest point of all, who should speak first, and while their minds were still busy with hopes and fears, reasons and chances, Vespasian happened to come out of his quarters. A few of the soldiers, forming up in the usual way to salute their general, saluted him as emperor. The others promptly rushed up calling him Caesar and Augustus, and heaping on him all the imperial titles. Their fears at once gave way to confidence. Vespasian himself, unchanged by the change of fortune, showed no sign of vanity or arrogance. As soon as he had recovered from the dazzling shock of his sudden elevation, he addressed them in simple soldier fashion, and received a shower of congratulations from every quarter. Mucianus, who had been waiting for this, administered the oath of allegiance to his eager troops, and then entered the theatre at Antioch, where the Greeks ordinarily hold their debates. There, as the fawning crowd came flocking in, he addressed them in their own tongue. For he could speak elegant Greek, and had the art of making the most of all he said or did. What most served to inflame the excitement of the province and of the army, was his statement that Vitellius had determined to transfer the German legions to peaceful service in the rich province of Syria, and to send the Syrian legions to endure the toil and rigours of a winter in Germany. The provincials were accustomed to the soldiers' company and liked to have them quartered there, and many were bound to them by ties of intimacy and kinship, while the soldiers in their long term of service had come to know and love their old camp like a home.

Before the 15th of July the whole of Syria had sworn allegiance. 81 The party also gained the support of Sohaemus,[404] with all the resources of his kingdom and a considerable force, and of Antiochus,[404] the richest of the subject princes, who owed his importance to his ancestral treasures. Before long Agrippa, too, received a secret summons from his friends at home, and leaving Rome[405] without the knowledge of Vitellius, sailed as fast as he could to join Vespasian. His sister Berenice[406] showed equal enthusiasm for the cause. She was then in the flower of her youth and beauty, and her munificent gifts to Vespasian quite won the old man's heart. Indeed, every province on the seaboard as far as Asia and Achaia, and inland to Pontus and Armenia swore allegiance to Vespasian, but their governors were without troops, for as yet no legions had been assigned to Cappadocia.[407]

A meeting was held at Berytus[408] to discuss the general situation. To this came Mucianus with all his officers and the most distinguished of his centurions and soldiers, besides the elite of the Jewish army in full uniform. All these cavalry and infantry, and the pageant of the subject princes, vying with each other in splendour, gave the meeting an air of imperial grandeur.

The first step was to levy new troops and to recall the veterans 82 to the standards. Some of the strongest towns were told off to manufacture arms. New gold and silver were coined at Antioch. All these works were promptly carried out, each in the proper place, by competent officials. Vespasian came and inspected them himself, encouraging good work by his praises and rousing the inefficient rather by example than compulsion, always more ready to see the merits than the faults of his friends. Many were rewarded by receiving commands in the auxiliary forces or posts as imperial agents.[409] Still more were raised to senatorial rank. They were mostly men of distinction who soon rose high, and with others success atoned for any lack of merit. A donation for the troops had been mentioned by Mucianus in his first speech, but in very guarded terms. Even Vespasian offered for the civil war a lower figure than others gave in time of peace, for he had set his face with admirable firmness against largess to the soldiers, and his army was none the worse for it. Envoys were dispatched to Parthia and Armenia to secure that the legions, while engaged in the civil war, should not be exposed to attack in the rear.[410] It was arranged that Titus should carry on the war in Judaea, while Vespasian held the keys of Egypt.[411] Against Vitellius it seemed sufficient to send a part of their forces under the command of Mucianus. He would have Vespasian's name behind him and the irresistible force of destiny. Letters were written to all the armies and their generals with instructions that they should try to win over those of the Guards who were hostile to Vitellius by promising them renewal of service.

Meanwhile, Mucianus, who acted the part more of a partner than a 83 subordinate, moved forward without the encumbrance of baggage, neither marching so slowly as to look like holding back, nor so rapidly as not to allow time for rumours to spread. He realized that his force was small, and that the less people saw the more they would believe of it. However, he had a solid column following in support, composed of the Sixth legion and some picked detachments numbering 13,000 men.[412] He had ordered the fleet to move from Pontus to Byzantium, for he was half-minded to leave Moesia and with his whole force to hold Dyrrachium, at the same time using his fleet to dominate the Italian sea. He would thus secure Greece and Asia in his rear, which would otherwise be at the mercy of Vitellius, unless furnished with troops. Vitellius also would himself be in doubt what points of the Italian coast to defend, if Mucianus with his ships threatened both Brundisium and Tarentum and the whole coastline of Calabria and Lucania.

Thus the provinces rang from end to end with the preparations for 84 ships, soldiers and arms. But the heaviest burden was the raising of money. 'Funds,' said Mucianus, 'are the sinews of war,'[413] and in his investigations he cared for neither justice nor equity, but solely for the amount of the sum. Informers abounded, and pounced on every rich man as their prey. This intolerable oppression, excused by the necessities of war, was allowed to continue even in peace. It was not so much that Vespasian at the beginning of his reign had made up his mind to maintain unjust decisions, but fortune spoilt him; he had learnt in a bad school and made a bold use of his lessons. Mucianus also contributed from his private means, of which he was generous, as he hoped to get a high rate of interest out of the country. Others followed his example, but very few had his opportunity of recovering their money.

In the meantime Vespasian's progress was accelerated by the 85 enthusiasm with which the Illyrian army[414] espoused his cause. The Third set the example to the other legions of Moesia, the Eighth and the Seventh Claudian, both strongly attached to Otho, although they had not been present at the battle. On their arrival at Aquileia[415] they had mobbed the couriers who brought the news of Otho's fall, and torn to pieces the standards bearing Vitellius' name, finally looting the camp-chest and dividing the money among themselves. These were hostile acts. Alarmed at what they had done they began to reflect that, while their conduct needed excuse before Vitellius, they could make a merit of it with Vespasian. Accordingly, the three Moesian legions addressed letters to the Pannonian army,[416] inviting their co-operation, and meanwhile prepared to meet refusal with force.

Aponius Saturninus, the Governor of Moesia, took this opportunity to attempt an abominable crime. He sent a centurion to murder Tettius Julianus,[417] who commanded the Seventh legion, alleging the interests of his party as a cloak for a personal quarrel. Julianus heard of his danger and, taking some guides who knew the country, escaped into the wilds of Moesia and got as far as Mount Haemus.[418] After that he meddled no more in civil war. Starting to join Vespasian, he prolonged his journey by various expedients, retarding or hastening his pace according to the nature of the news he received.

In Pannonia the Thirteenth legion and the Seventh Galbian had not 86 forgotten their feelings after the battle of Bedriacum. They lost no time in joining Vespasian's cause, being chiefly instigated by Antonius Primus. This man was a criminal who had been convicted of fraud[419] during Nero's reign. Among the many evils of the war was his recovery of senatorial rank. Galba gave him command of the Seventh legion, and he was believed to have written repeatedly to Otho offering his services as general to the party. But, as Otho took no notice of him, he was without employment in the war. When Vitellius' cause began to decline, he joined Vespasian and proved an acquisition. He was a man of great physical energy and a ready tongue; an artist in calumny, invaluable in riots and sedition. Light-fingered and free-handed, he was intolerable in peace, but by no means contemptible in war. The union of the Moesian and Pannonian armies soon attracted the troops in Dalmatia to the cause. Tampius Flavianus and Pompeius Silvanus, the two ex-consuls who governed respectively Pannonia and Dalmatia,[420] were wealthy old gentlemen who had no thought of rising. But the imperial agent in Pannonia, Cornelius Fuscus, was a vigorous young man of good family. In his early youth a desire to make money[421] had led him to resign his senatorial rank. He had headed the townsmen of his colony in declaring for Galba, and his services had won him a position as imperial agent.[422] Then he joined Vespasian's party, giving a keen stimulus to the war; for, being attracted more by danger itself than by its prizes, he always disliked what was certain and long established, preferring everything that was new and dangerous and doubtful. So the Vespasian party used all their efforts to fan every spark of discontent throughout the empire. Letters were sent to the Fourteenth in Britain and to the First in Spain,[423] since both these legions had stood for Otho against Vitellius. In Gaul, too, letters were scattered broadcast. All in an instant the war was in full flame. The armies of Illyricum openly revolted, and all the others were ready to follow the first sign of success.

FOOTNOTES:

[391] i.e. he was crucified.

[392] See note 30.

[393] Cp. i. 79.

[394] This hope was fulfilled (chap. 85).

[395] See i. 89.

[396] Under Nero, after brilliant service in Armenia and
Parthia. Nero was jealous and afraid of him. So is Vitellius
jealous of Vespasian.

[397] Against the Jews.

[398] From the Pontus. Cp. ii. 83.

[399] See note 216; and cp. chap. 81.

[400] For his victories in Britain under the auspices of
Claudius, who nominally shared with him the command of the
expedition, A.D. 43.

[401] Titus, who was now thirty, had served as _Tribunus
militum_ under his father in Germany and in Britain.

[402] More exactly of Galilee and Phoenicia.

[403] This is of course from the Roman point of view. Caesarea
was the seat of the procurator. That Jerusalem was the
national capital Tacitus recognizes in Book V.

[404] See note 216.

[405] He had started for Rome with Titus (chap. 1), and
continued his journey when Titus turned back.

[406] See note 205.

[407] Cappadocia was under a procurator of equestrian rank
until Vespasian some years later was forced to send out troops
and a military governor.

[408] Beyrut.

[409] _Procuratio_ covers the governorship of an imperial
province such as Judaea, the post of financial agent in an
imperial province where there was a military governor
(_legatus Caesaris_), and the position of collector of
imperial taxes in a senatorial province. _Praefectura_, may
mean either a command in the auxiliary infantry or the
governorship of certain imperial provinces. Here the former
seems the more probable sense.

[410] They would treat with Vologaeses, king of Parthia, and
Tiridates of Armenia, and keep an eye on them. This they did
with such success that Vologaeses offered Vespasian 40,000
cavalry.

[411] Alexandria and Pelusium.

[412] i.e. besides the Sixth Ferrata he had detachments from
the other two legions in Syria, and from the three in Judaea.
Cp. notes 163 and 164.

[413] Borrowing this platitude from Cicero, who got it from
the Greek.

[414] i.e. the legions in Moesia, Pannonia, and Dalmatia (cp.
note 3).

[415] Cp. note 286.

[416] XIII Gemina and VII Galbiana (see below).

[417] See i. 79.

[418] The Balkan range.

[419] He was concerned in the forgery of a will: see _Ann._
xiv. 40, where he is called 'a man of ready daring'.

[420] These were imperial provinces, each governed by a
_legatus Caesaris_ and a _procurator_, the former a military,
the latter a financial officer.

[421] Reading _quaestus cupidine_ (Grotius). The reading of
the Medicean manuscript is _quietis cupidine_. But Fuscus, as
the sequel shows, had little taste for a quiet life. It is
more likely that his motives were mercenary, since both law
and custom still imposed some restrictions upon a senator's
participation in 'business'. In the _Annals_ (xvi. 17) Tacitus
says that Annaeus Mela abstained from seeking public office,
because he 'hoped to find a shorter road to wealth' by
entering, as Fuscus did, the imperial civil service. The
statement that Fuscus loved danger better than money does not
imply any rooted antipathy to the latter.

[422] i.e. in Pannonia.

[423] Cp. chaps. 66 and 67.

VITELLIUS IN ROME

While[424] Vespasian and his generals were showing such activity 87 in the provinces, Vitellius grew more contemptible and indolent every day. Halting at every town or country house that offered any attractions, he made his way to Rome with a heavy marching column of sixty thousand troops, demoralized by loose discipline, and an even greater number of menials as well as those camp-followers who are more troublesome than any slaves. Besides these he had the vast retinue of his generals and friends, which not even the strictest discipline could have kept under control. This mob was further encumbered by senators and knights, who came from Rome to meet him, some from fear, some from servility; and gradually all the others followed, so as not to be left behind by themselves. There flocked in, too, a crowd of low-bred buffoons, actors and chariot-drivers, who had gained Vitellius' acquaintance by various dishonest services. He delighted in such discreditable connexions. To furnish supplies for this host not only were the colonies and country towns laid under contribution, but the farmers as well. The crops were just ripe and the fields were ravaged like an enemy's country.

Many murderous affrays took place among the soldiers, for after 88 the mutiny at Ticinum[425] there were ceaseless quarrels between the legions and the auxiliaries. They only united to harry the villagers. The worst bloodshed took place at the seventh milestone from Rome. Here Vitellius had ready-cooked food served to each of the soldiers, as is done with gladiators in training, and the common people flocked out from Rome and wandered all over the camp. Some of these visitors indulged in a cockney practical joke,[426] and stole some of the soldiers' swords, quietly cutting their belts while their attention was diverted. Then they kept asking them, 'Have you got your sword on?' The troops were not used to being laughed at, and refused to tolerate it. They charged the defenceless crowd. Amongst others the father of one of the soldiers was killed while in his son's company. When it was discovered who he was, and the news spread, they shed no more innocent blood. Still there was some panic in the city as the first soldiers arrived and began to roam the streets. They mostly made for the Forum, anxious to see the spot where Galba had fallen.[427] They themselves were a sufficiently alarming sight with their rough skin coats and long pikes. Unused to towns, they failed to pick their way in the crowd; or they would slip on the greasy streets, or collide with some one and tumble down, whereupon they took to abuse and before long to violence. Their officers, too, terrified the city by sweeping along the streets with their bands of armed men.

After crossing the Mulvian bridge, Vitellius himself had been 89 riding on a conspicuous horse, wearing his sword and general's uniform, with the senate and people trooping in front of him. However, as this looked too much like an entry into a captured city, his friends persuaded him to change into civilian dress and walk on foot. At the head of his column were carried the eagles of four legions, surrounded by the colours belonging to the detachments of four other legions.[428] Next came the standards of twelve regiments of auxiliary horse, then the files of infantry and the cavalry behind them. Then came thirty-four cohorts of auxiliaries, arranged according to their nationality or the nature of their weapons. In front of the eagles came the camp prefects and tribunes, and the senior centurions,[429] all dressed in white. The other centurions marched each at the head of his company, glittering with their armour and decorations. Gaily, too, shone the soldiers' medals[430] and their chains of honour. It was a noble spectacle, an army worthy of a better emperor. Thus Vitellius entered the Capitol, where he embraced his mother and conferred on her the title of Augusta.

On the following day Vitellius delivered a grandiloquent eulogy on 90 his own merits. He might have been addressing the senate and people of some other state, for he extolled his own industry and self-control, although each member of his audience had seen his infamy for himself, and the whole of Italy had witnessed during his march the shameful spectacle of his sloth and luxury. However, the thoughtless crowd could not discriminate between truth and falsehood. They had learnt the usual flatteries by heart and chimed in with loud shouts of applause. They insisted in the face of his protests that he should take the title of Augustus. But neither his refusal nor their insistence made much difference.[431]

In Rome nothing passes without comment, and it was regarded as a 91 fatal omen that Vitellius took office as high priest, and issued his encyclical on public worship on the 18th of July, which, as the anniversary of the disasters on the Cremera and the Allia,[432] had long been considered an unlucky day. But his ignorance of all civil and religious precedent was only equalled by the incapacity of his freedmen and friends. He seemed to live in a society of drunkards. However, at the consular elections he canvassed for his candidates like a common citizen.[433] In everything he courted the favour of the lowest classes, attending performances in the theatre and backing his favourite at the races. This would undoubtedly have made him popular had his motives been good, but the memory of his former life made his conduct seem cheap and discreditable. He constantly attended the senate, even when the debates were on trivial matters. It once happened that Helvidius Priscus,[434] then praetor-elect, opposed Vitellius' policy. At first the emperor showed annoyance, but was content to appeal to the tribunes of the people to come to the rescue of his slighted authority. Afterwards, when his friends, fearing that his resentment might be deep-seated, tried to smooth matters, he replied that there was nothing strange in two senators disagreeing on a question of public policy: he himself had often opposed even such a man as Thrasea. Most people laughed at the impudence of this comparison; others were gratified that he had selected Thrasea, and not some court favourite, as an example of real distinction.[435]

Vitellius had given the command of the Guards to Publilius 92 Sabinus, who had commanded an auxiliary cohort,[436] and Julius Priscus, hitherto only a centurion. Priscus owed his rise to Valens' support, Sabinus to that of Caecina. The rivalry between Valens and Caecina left Vitellius no authority at all. They managed the government between them. They had long felt the strain of mutual dislike. During the war they had concealed it. Lately it had been fanned by dishonest friends and by life in the city, which so easily breeds quarrels. They were constant rivals, comparing their respective popularity, the number of their retinue, the size of the crowds that came to wait upon them. Meanwhile Vitellius let his favour alternate between them, for personal influence is not to be trusted beyond a certain limit. Meanwhile, they both feared and despised the emperor himself, who thus veered between sudden brusqueness and unseasonable flattery. However, they were not in the least deterred from seizing on the houses, gardens, and funds in the emperor's patronage, while the crowd of miserable and needy nobles, whom Galba had recalled from exile with their children, derived no assistance from the emperor's liberality. He earned the approval both of the upper classes and of the people by granting to the restored full rights over their freedmen.[437] But the freed slaves with characteristic meanness did all they could to invalidate the edict. They would hide their money with some obscure friend or in a rich patron's safe. Some, indeed, had passed into the imperial household and become more influential than their masters.

As for the soldiers, the Guards' barracks were crowded, and the 93 overflow spread through the city, finding shelter in colonnades and temples. They ceased to recognize any head-quarters, to go on guard, or to keep themselves in training, but fell victims to the attractions of city life and its unmentionable vices, until they deteriorated both physically and morally through idleness and debauchery. A number of them even imperilled their lives by settling in the pestilent Vatican quarter, thus increasing the rate of mortality. They were close to the Tiber, and the Germans and Gauls, who were peculiarly liable to disease and could ill stand the heat, ruined their constitutions by their immoderate use of the river.[438] Moreover, the generals, either for bribes or to earn popularity, tampered with the rules of the service, enrolling sixteen regiments of Guards[439] and four for the city garrison, each composed of a thousand men. In enlisting these troops Valens put himself forward as superior to Caecina, whose life he claimed to have saved. It is true, indeed, that his arrival had consolidated the party, and by his successful engagement he had silenced the current criticism of their slow marching. Besides which the whole of the army of Lower Germany was attached to Valens, and this is said to be the reason why Caecina's loyalty first wavered.

Whatever indulgence Vitellius showed to his generals, he allowed 94 still more licence to the troops. Each man chose his service. However unfit, he might enlist in the Guards, if he preferred it. On the other hand, good soldiers were allowed, if they wished, to remain in the legions or the auxiliary cavalry. Many wished to do this who suffered from ill health and complained of the climate. However, the best soldiers were thus withdrawn from the legions and from the cavalry; and the Guards were robbed of their prestige when twenty thousand men were thus not so much selected for service with them as drafted at random from the whole army.

While Vitellius was addressing the troops, they demanded the execution of three Gallic chieftains, Asiaticus, Flavus, and Rufinus, on the ground that they had fought for Vindex.[440] Vitellius never checked these outcries. For, apart from the innate cowardice of his nature, he knew that his donation to the soldiers was nearly due, and that he had no money for it; so he freely granted all their other demands. The imperial freedmen were forced to contribute a sort of tax, proportionate to the number of their slaves. Meanwhile, his one serious occupation was extravagance. He built stables for chariot-drivers, filled the arena with gorgeous shows of gladiators and wild beasts, and fooled away his money as though he had more than he wanted.

Moreover, Valens and Caecina celebrated Vitellius' birthday[441] 95 by holding gladiatorial shows in every quarter of Rome on a scale of magnificence hitherto unknown. Vitellius then gratified the rabble and scandalized all decent people by building altars in the Martian Plain, and holding a funeral service in honour of Nero. Victims were killed and burnt in public: the torch was applied by the Augustales, members of the college which Tiberius Caesar had founded in honour of the Julian family, just as Romulus similarly commemorated King Tatius.

It was not yet four months since Vitellius' victory, and yet his freedman Asiaticus was as bad as a Polyclitus or a Patrobius,[442] or any of the favourites whose names were hated in earlier days. At this court no one strove to rise by honesty or capacity. There was only one road to power. By lavish banquets, costly profusion, and feats of gastronomy, you had to try and satisfy Vitellius' insatiable gluttony. He himself, without thought for the morrow, was well content to enjoy the present. It is believed that he squandered nine hundred million sesterces[443] in these brief months. Truly it shows Rome's greatness and misfortune, that she endured Otho and Vitellius both in the same year, and suffered humiliation of every kind at the hands of men like Vinius and Fabius,[444] Icelus and Asiaticus, until at last they gave way to Mucianus and Marcellus--a change of men but not of manners.

The first news of rebellion which reached Vitellius came from 96 Aponius Saturninus,[445] who, before himself going over to Vespasian's side, wrote to announce the desertion of the Third legion. But a sudden crisis makes a man nervous: Aponius did not tell the whole story. So the emperor's flattering friends began to explain it all away: what was the defection of a single legion, while the loyalty of the other armies remained unshaken? Vitellius himself used the same language to the soldiers. He accused the men, who had been recently discharged from the Guards,[446] of spreading false rumours, and kept assuring them there was no fear of civil war. All mention of Vespasian was suppressed, and soldiers were sent round the city to frighten people into silence, which, of course, did more than anything else to make them talk.

Vitellius, nevertheless, sent for reinforcements from Germany, 97 Britain, and the Spanish provinces, though with a lack of urgency which was intended to conceal his straits. The provinces and their governors showed the same want of enthusiasm. Hordeonius Flaccus,[447] who had suspicions of the Batavi, was distracted with a war of his own,[448] while Vettius Bolanus[449] never had Britain under complete control: nor was the loyally of either beyond doubt. The Spanish provinces, where there was at the time no consular governor,[450] were equally slow. The three officers in command of the legions held an equal authority, and if Vitellius' cause had prospered, would have each outbid the other for his favour: but they all shared the resolve to leave his misfortunes alone. In Africa the legion and auxiliaries enlisted by Clodius Macer, and subsequently disbanded by Galba,[451] took service again at Vitellius' orders, and at the same time all the young men of the province eagerly enlisted. Vitellius had been an honest and popular pro-consul in Africa, while Vespasian had been distrusted and disliked. The provincials took this as an earnest of their reigns; but experience proved them wrong.

The military legate Valerius Festus[452] at first loyally seconded 98 the enthusiasm of the province. After a while he began to waver. In his official letters and edicts he still acknowledged Vitellius, while in secret communication with Vespasian and ready to support whichever party proved successful. In Raetia and the Gallic provinces some centurions and men carrying letters and edicts from Vespasian were taken prisoners and sent to Vitellius, who had them executed. But most of these envoys escaped capture either by their own ingenuity or the loyal help of friends. Thus, while Vitellius' plans were known, Vespasian's were for the most part still a secret. This was partly due to Vitellius' negligence, but also to the fact that the garrisons on the Pannonian Alps stopped all messengers. By sea, too, the Etesian[453] winds from the north-west favoured ships sailing eastward, but hindered the voyage from the East.

Terrified at last by the imminence of invasion and the alarming 99 news that reached him from all quarters, Vitellius instructed Caecina and Valens to prepare for war. Caecina was sent on ahead, Valens, who was just recovering from a serious illness, being delayed by his weak state of health. Great, indeed, was the change in the appearance of the German army as it marched out of Rome. There was neither energy in their muscles nor fire in their hearts. Slowly the column straggled on, their horses spiritless, their arms neglected. The men grumbled at the sun, the dust, the weather, and were as ready to quarrel as they were unwilling to work. To these disadvantages were added Caecina's inveterate self-seeking and his newly-acquired indolence. An overdose of success had made him slack and self-indulgent, or, if he was plotting treachery, this may have been one of his devices for demoralizing the army. It has often been believed that it was Flavius Sabinus[454] who, using Rubrius Gallus as his agent, tampered with Caecina's loyalty by promising that, if he came over, Vespasian would ratify any conditions. It may have occurred also to Caecina to remember his quarrels and rivalry with Valens, and to consider that, as he did not stand first with Vitellius, he had better acquire credit and influence with the new emperor.

After taking an affectionate and respectful farewell of Vitellius, 100 Caecina dispatched a body of cavalry to occupy Cremona. He soon followed with the detachments of the First, Fourth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth legions in the van. The centre was composed of the Fifth and Twenty-second, and in the rear of the column came the Twenty-first Rapax and the First Italian legion, with detachments from the three legions of Britain and a select force of auxiliaries. When Caecina had started, Valens wrote instructions to the legions belonging to his old command[455] to await him on the march, saying that he and Caecina had arranged this. Caecina, however, took advantage of being on the spot, and pretended that this plan had been altered so as to enable them to meet the first outbreak of the war with their full strength. So some legions were hurried forward to Cremona[456] and part of the force was directed upon Hostilia.[457] Caecina himself turned aside to Ravenna on the pretext of giving instructions to the fleet. Thence he proceeded to Patavium[458] to secure secrecy for his treacherous designs. For Lucilius Bassus, whom Vitellius, from a prefect of auxiliary cavalry had raised to the supreme command of the two fleets at Ravenna and Misenum, felt aggrieved at not being immediately given the praefecture of the Guards, and sought in dastardly treachery the remedy for his unjustifiable annoyance. It can never be known whether he influenced Caecina or whether one was as dishonest as the other. There is seldom much to choose between rascals. The historians[459] 101 who compiled the records of this war in the days of the Flavian dynasty were led by flattery into adducing as the causes of the rebellion patriotism and the interests of peace. We cannot think them right. Apart from the innate disloyalty of the rebels and the loss of character after Galba's betrayal, they seem to have been led by jealousy and rivalry into sacrificing Vitellius himself for fear that they might lose the first place in his favour. Thus when Caecina joined his army,[460] he used every device to undermine the staunch fidelity of the centurions and soldiers to Vitellius. Bassus found the same task less difficult, for the fleet remembered that they had lately been in Otho's service, and were therefore already on the brink of rebellion.

FOOTNOTES:

[424] The narrative is here resumed from chap. 72.

[425] See chap. 68.

[426] The word 'cockney' may perhaps be admitted here to
express that which is characteristic of the metropolitan
masses. Similarly Petronius speaks of a man as 'a fountain of
cockney humour' (_urbanitatis vernaculae fontem_).

[427] They were cast for the part of Galba's avengers.

[428] Only detachments of these latter four were present, so
they had not got their eagles.

[429] Under the empire there were six tribunes to each legion,
and they took command on the march and on the field, acting
under the orders of the _legatus legionis_. The ten centurions
of the _pilani_ or front rank each commanded his cohort.

[430] See note 107.

[431] The end was so near.

[432] At Cremera, near Veii, the Fabii died like heroes, 477 B.C.,
and on the Allia the Gauls won their victory over Rome,
390 B.C. The day was called Alliensis, and no work was to be
done on it (Livy, vi. 1).

[433] See chap. 71. At this time the emperor had in theory
only the right of nominating candidates for the consulships,
but it was obviously unnecessary for him to do more. The
alliteration in this sentence is Tacitus'.

[434] See iv. 4 f.

[435] Thrasea, Helvidius' father-in-law, was an honoured
member of the Stoic opposition who had been executed by Nero
A.D. 66. Here Vitellius is posing as an ordinary senator. If
he had opposed so distinguished a man as Thrasea, why should
not Helvidius oppose him? Thrasea's end gives the remark a
slightly sinister tone.

[436] See note 346.

[437] A patron apparently could claim support from his
freedmen if he was in want, as these restored exiles certainly
were, since their property had been confiscated and was
irrecoverable. In exile they had of course lost their rights.

[438] This probably includes bathing as well as drinking.

[439] Since Tiberius there had been only nine, and Vespasian
restored that number.

[440] See i. 6.

[441] Probably September 24. He was 54.

[442] Cp. i. 37, 49.

[443] About nine million pounds. Not to be taken too literally.

[444] Valens.

[445] Governor of Moesia (see chap. 85).

[446] See chap. 67.

[447] He had been left to guard the Rhine.

[448] See chap. 57. The revolt of Civilis was soon to break out.

[449] See chap. 65.

[450] Cluvius Rufus was governing the Tarragona division from
Rome (chap. 65). Lusitania was under a praetorian legate.
Baetica was a senatorial province with no troops.

[451] See i. 7 and 11.

[452] He had succeeded Clodius Macer in command of the Third
Augusta, and in virtue of that command governed Numidia (see
i. 7).

[453] These 'annual' winds blew steadily and gently from July
20 for a month.

[454] Vespasian's brother.

[455] In Lower Germany.

[456] Only two legions went to Cremona (see iii. 14).

[457] Ostiglia.

[458] Padua.

[459] e.g. Cluvius Rufus (cp. i. 8), the elder Pliny (cp. iii. 28),
and Vipstanus Messala (cp. iii, 9, 25, 28).

[460] i.e. at Hostilia, coming back from Padua.

Oxford: Horace Hart, Printer to the University

* * * * *

TACITUS

THE HISTORIES

TRANSLATED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY W. HAMILTON FYFE FELLOW OF MERTON COLLEGE

IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II

OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1912

HENRY FROWDE PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK TORONTO AND MELBOURNE

SUMMARY OF CHIEF EVENTS

I. THE FIGHT FOR THE THRONE

A.D. 69.

_September_

Antonius surprises a Vitellian detachment at Forum Alieni.

At Padua the Pannonian legions arrive.

He fortifies Verona. The Moesian legions arrive.

Caecina holds Cremona with Legs. I Italica and XXI Rapax and
cavalry.

He encamps with the rest of his force near Hostilia on the
Tartaro.

Valens dawdles northward with three praetorian cohorts.

_October_

The fleet at Ravenna declares for Vespasian.

Caecina attempts treachery and is imprisoned by his army, which
starts on a forced march to Cremona.

Antonius starts from Verona to intercept them.

27. Second Battle of Bedriacum. Legs. I Italica and XXI Rapax sally
from Cremona and are driven back by Antonius.

The six legions from Hostilia reach Cremona.

The united Vitellian army makes a night sally from Cremona and
is defeated.

28. Sack of Cremona.

Surrender of Vitellian army.

_November_

Valens, having reached Ariminum, flies to Monaco, and is captured
in the Stoechades Islands.

Spain, Gaul, and Britain declare for Vespasian.

Antonius advances via Ariminum to Fanum Fortunae.

Vitellius holds the Apennines at Mevania with fourteen praetorian
cohorts, a new legion of marines, and cavalry.

Mutiny of the fleet at Misenum. Tarracina seized.

Vitellius returns to Rome with seven cohorts and part of the
cavalry.

The remaining cohorts are moved back from Mevania to Narnia.

L. Vitellius with six cohorts and cavalry besieges Tarracina.

_December_

Antonius crosses the Apennines and halts at Carsulae.

Varus wins a cavalry skirmish at Interamna.

Valens beheaded at Urbino: his head flung into camp at Narnia.

Surrender of Vitellians at Narnia.

Antonius marches as far as Ocriculum, sending Cerialis forward
to Rome with 1,000 cavalry.

17. Vitellius, wishing to abdicate, is prevented by troops and mob.

18. They besiege Flavius Sabinus in the Capitol.

19. Capitol stormed. Temple of Jupiter burnt.

Sabinus caught and killed.

L. Vitellius takes Tarracina.

20. Cerialis defeated outside Rome.

20. Antonius makes a forced march along Via Flaminia.

21. Capture of Rome. Murder of Vitellius. Domitian installed as
'Caesar'.

A.D. 70.

_January_

L. Vitellius surrenders in Campania. Mucianus arrives in Rome
as regent.

II. THE REBELLION ON THE RHINE

A.D. 69.

_Autumn_

Revolt of Civilis and Batavians, at first ostensibly in support
of Vespasian.

Revolt supported by Canninefates, Frisii, Marsaci, Cugerni.

Civilis routs Gallic auxiliaries and captures the Rhine flotilla
in 'The Island'.

Munius Lupercus advances from Vetera with remnant of Legs. V
Alaudae and XV Primigenia, supported by Ubian, Treviran, and
Batavian auxiliaries.

Civilis drives him back into Vetera.

The eight Batavian cohorts at Mainz march off to join Civilis,
and defeat Leg. I Germanica at Bonn.

Bructeri and Tencteri join revolt.

Civilis blockades Vetera.

Vocula advances to relieve Vetera with detachments of Legs. IV
Macedonica, XXII Primigenia, and I Germanica.

Vocula encamps at Gelduba. Flaccus makes head-quarters at
Novaesium.

Civilis' assault on Vetera repulsed.

Vocula with difficulty repulses attack on Gelduba.

Relief of Vetera. Vocula then retires to Novaesium.

Civilis takes Gelduba and wins skirmish outside Novaesium.

Mutiny in Novaesium. Flaccus murdered.

Civilis renews blockade of Vetera.

Chatti, Mattiaci, and Usipi threaten Mainz.

Vocula relieves Mainz and winters there.

A.D. 70.

_January_ (?)

Revolt of Gallic tribes, Ubii, Tungri, Treviri, Lingones, headed
by Classicus, Tutor, and Sabinus.

Vocula advances to save Vetera, but is driven back to Novaesium
by mutiny of Gallic auxiliaries, and there murdered.

His army swears allegiance to 'Empire of Gaul'.

Tutor takes Cologne and Mainz.

Vetera surrenders to Classicus. Garrison massacred.

The Baetasii, Nervii, and Tungri join revolt.

_Spring_

Mucianus and Domitian start from Rome with reinforcements.

Cerialis, with Legs. XXI Rapax and II Adjutrix, is to operate on
Lower Rhine.

Annius Gallus, with Legs. VII Claudia, VIII Augusta, XI Claudia,
is to operate on Upper Rhine.

The Sequani, still loyal, defeat Sabinus and Lingones.

The Remi, also loyal, summon a Gallic Council, which votes for
peace, but the Treviri and Lingones hold out under Classicus,
Tutor, and Valentinus.

The Roman mutineers return to their allegiance.

_Summer_

Sextilius Felix routs Tutor near Bingen. Cerialis defeats
Valentinus and occupies Trier.

The Germans surprise the Romans in Trier, but Cerialis drives
them out and storms their camp.

Massacre of Germans at Cologne. Cohort of Chauci and Frisii
entrapped and burnt.

Leg. XIV Gemina arrives from Britain and receives submission of
Nervii and Tungri.

Legs. I Adjutrix and VI Victrix arrive from Spain.

_Autumn_

Civilis defeats Cerialis near Vetera, but is routed on the next
day and retires into The Island.

Hard fighting on the Waal.

Germans capture Roman flotilla.

Civilis retires northwards over the Rhine.

Cerialis occupies The Island.

Civilis makes overtures of peace.

NOTE

The text followed is that of C.D. Fisher _(Oxford Classical Texts)_. Departures from it are mentioned in the notes.