Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24)

by Publius Cornelius Tacitus

  61 1 While men of high distinction were thus endangered, it raises a blush to record how a certain Mariccus, a common Boian, dared to take a hand in Fortune’s game, and, pretending the authority of heaven, to challenge the Roman arms. And this liberator of the Gallic provinces, this god — for he had given himself that honour — after collecting eight thousand men, was already plundering the Aeduan cantons nearest him, when that most important state, with the best of its youth and the cohorts which Vitellius gave, dispersed the fanatic crowd. Mariccus was taken prisoner in the battle. Later, when he was exposed to the beasts and the animals did not rend him, the stupid rabble believed him inviolable, until he was executed before the eyes of Vitellius.

  62 1 No other severe measures were taken against the rebels; there were no further confiscations. The wills of those who fell in Otho’s ranks were allowed to stand, and if the soldiers died intestate, the law took its regular course. In fact, if Vitellius had only moderated his luxurious mode of life, there would have been no occasion to fear his avarice. But his passion for elaborate banquets was shameful and insatiate. Dainties to tempt his palate were constantly brought from Rome and all Italy, while the roads from both the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas hummed with hurrying vehicles. The preparation of banquets for him ruined the leading citizens of the communities through which he passed; the communities themselves were devastated; and his soldiers lost their energy and their valour as they became accustomed to pleasure and learned to despise their leader. Vitellius sent a proclamation to Rome in advance of his arrival, deferring the title Augustus and declining the name Caesar, although he rejected none of an emperor’s powers. The astrologers were banished from Italy; strict measures were taken to prevent Roman knights from degrading themselves in gladiatorial schools and the arena. Former emperors had driven knights to such actions by money or more often by force; and most municipal towns and colonies were in the habit of rivalling the emperors in bribing the worst of their young men to take up these disgraceful pursuits.

  63 1 But Vitellius was moved to greater arrogance and cruelty by the arrival of his brother and by the cunning approaches of his teachers in the imperial art; he ordered the execution of Dolabella, whose banishment by Otho to the colony of Aquinum we have previously related. Dolabella, on hearing of Otho’s death, had entered Rome. For this he was accused before the city-prefect, Flavius Sabinus, by Plancius Varus, an ex-praetor, one of Dolabella’s most intimate friends. To the charge of escaping from custody and offering himself as leader to the defeated party Varus added that Dolabella had tampered with the cohort stationed at Ostia, but being unable to present any proofs for his grave charges, he repented of his action and sought pardon for his friend — too late, for the outrage had been done. While Flavius Sabinus was hesitating — for the matter was serious — Triaria, the wife of Lucius Vitellius, violent beyond her sex, frightened Sabinus from any attempt to secure a reputation for clemency at the expense of the emperor. Sabinus was by nature gentle, but ready to change his decision when alarmed, and now being afraid for himself when the danger was another’s, and wishing to avoid seeming to have helped him, he precipitated Dolabella’s fall.

  64 1 So Vitellius, who not only feared but also hated Dolabella, because Dolabella had married his former wife, Petronia, summoned him by letter, directing him to avoid the crowded Flaminian Road and go to Interamnium, where he ordered that he should be killed. The executioner thought the journey too long; at a tavern on the way he struck Dolabella to the ground and cut his throat, to the great discredit of the new principate, of whose character this was regarded as the first indication. The bold nature of Triaria was made odious by comparison with an example of modesty within her own family, for the Emperor’s wife Galeria never took a hand in such horrors, while Sextilia,º the mother of the two Vitellii, showed herself a woman of the same high character, an example of ancient ways. Indeed it was said that when she received the first letter from her son, she declared that she had borne a Vitellius, not a Germanicus. And never later was she moved to joy by the allurements of fortune or by popular favour: it was only the misfortunes of her house that she felt.

  65 1 After Vitellius left Lugdunum, he was overtaken by Cluvius Rufus, who had left Spain. Rufus had an air of joy and congratulation, but in his heart he was anxious, for he knew that charges had been laid against him. Hilarus, one of the imperial freedmen, had denounced him, claiming that when Rufus had heard of the elevation of Vitellius and of Otho, he had made an attempt to gain power and possession of the Spanish provinces for himself, and for that reason had not prefixed the name of any emperor to his public documents; moreover, Hilarus interpreted some parts of his public speeches as derogatory to Vitellius and calculated to win popularity for himself. The influence of Cluvius was strong enough to move Vitellius so far as to order the punishment of his own freedman. Cluvius was added to the emperor’s train but not deprived of his province of Spain; he continued to govern it from a distance, after the precedent of Lucius Arruntius. But the emperor Tiberius had kept Arruntius with him because he was afraid of him; Vitellius had no fear of Cluvius. Trebellius Maximus did not receive the same honour. He had fled from Britain to escape the resentment of his army; Vettius Bolanus, one of the suite of Vitellius, was sent out in his place.

  66 1 Vitellius found cause for anxiety in the spirit of the defeated legions, which was by no means conquered. Scattered about Italy and mingling with the victorious troops, their talk was constantly hostile; the soldiers of the Fourteenth legion were particularly bold, declaring that they never had been defeated, for in the battle at Bedriacum it was only some veterans who had been beaten; the strength of the legion had not been there at all. Vitellius decided to send them back to Britain, from which Nero had withdrawn them, and in the meantime to have the Batavian cohorts camp with them, because the Batavians had had a difference of long standing with the Fourteenth. Peace did not last long among armed men who hated one another so violently. At Turin a Batavian charged a workman with being a thief, while a legionary defended the workman as his host; thereupon their fellow-soldiers rallied to the support of each and matters soon passed from words to blows. In fact there would have been a bloody battle if two Praetorian cohorts had not taken the side of the soldiers of the Fourteenth and inspired them with courage while they frightened the Batavians. Vitellius directed that the Batavians, as being trustworthy, should join his train, while the Fourteenth was to be conducted over the Graian Alps by a circuitous route to avoid Vienna, for the people of Vienna also gave him alarm. On the night in which the legion set out, the soldiers left fires burning everywhere, and a part of the colony of the Taurini was consumed; but the loss, like most of the misfortunes of war, was obscured by the greater disasters that befell other cities. After the Fourteenth had descended the Alps, the most mutinous were for advancing on Vienna, but they were restrained by the common action of the better soldiers, and the legion was got over to Britain.

  67 1 The next alarm of Vitellius arose from the praetorian cohorts. At first they had been kept apart; later the offer of an honourable discharge was employed to soothe their feelings, and they started to turn their arms over to their tribunes, until the report that Vespasian had begun war became common; then they resumed their service and formed the backbone of the Flavian party. The First legion of marines was sent to Spain to have their savage temper softened by peace and quiet; the Eleventh and Seventh legions were sent back to winter quarters, while the members of the Thirteenth were ordered to build amphitheatres, for Caecina was preparing to exhibit gladiators at Cremona, Valens at Bononia. Vitellius was never so absorbed in serious business that he forgot his pleasures.

  68 1 The conquered party Vitellius had thus succeeded in scattering without an outbreak. But among the victors a mutiny broke out; the mutiny originated in sport; only, the number of the slain aggravated the unpopularity of Vitellius. The emperor was dining at Ticinum, and Verginius was his guest. According to the character of their commanders, legati and tr
ibuni either imitate their strictness or find pleasure in extravagant dinners; and in the same way the soldiers exhibit devotion or licence. In the army of Vitellius complete disorder and drunkenness prevailed — things which belong rather to night revels and bacchanalian routs than to the discipline appropriate to an armed camp. So it happened that two soldiers, one from the Fifth legion and the other a Gallic auxiliary, in sport challenged each other to a wrestling match. When the legionary was thrown and the Gaul began to mock him, the crowd of spectators that had gathered took sides and the legionaries suddenly started to kill the auxiliaries, and in fact two cohorts were wiped out. The remedy for this disturbance was a second riot. A cloud of dust and arms were seen in the distance. A general cry was at once raised that the Fourteenth legion was retracing its steps and coming to fight; but in fact it was the rear-guard, and when they were recognized the general panic ceased. In the meantime the soldiers accused a slave of Verginius who happened to be passing with being an assassin of Vitellius; they rushed to the dinner, demanding that Verginius be put to death. Even Vitellius, who was timid and ready to entertain any suspicion, had no doubt of his innocence. Still it was with difficulty that the troops were kept from insisting on the execution of this ex-consul who had once been their own general. In fact no man was endangered by every riot so often as Verginius. Admiration for him and his reputation continued unimpaired; but the troops hated him, for he had despised their offer.

  69 1 The next day Vitellius first received the delegation from the senate, which he had directed to wait for him here; then he went to the camp and took occasion to praise the loyal devotion of the soldiers. This action made the auxiliaries complain that the legionaries were allowed to enjoy such impunity and to display such impudence. Then, to keep the Batavian cohorts from undertaking some bold deed of vengeance, he sent them back to Germany, for the Fates were already preparing the sources from which both civil and foreign war was to spring. The Gallic auxiliaries were dismissed to their homes. Their number was enormous, for at the very outbreak of the rebellion they had been taken into the army as part of the empty parade of war. Furthermore, that the resources of the empire, which had been impaired by donatives, might be sufficient for the needs of the state, Vitellius ordered that the legionary and auxiliary troops should be reduced and forbade further recruiting, besides offering discharges freely. This policy was destructive to the state and unpopular with the soldiers, for the same tasks were now distributed among fewer men, so that dangers and toil fell more often on the individual. Their strength also was corrupted by luxury in contrast to the ancient discipline and maxims of our forefathers, in whose day valour formed a better foundation for the Roman state than money.

  70 1 Vitellius next turned aside to Cremona, and after witnessing the exhibition of gladiators provided by Caecina, conceived a desire to tread the plains of Bedriacum and to see with his own eyes the traces of his recent victory. It was a revolting and ghastly sight: not forty days had passed since the battle, and on every side were mutilated corpses, severed limbs, rotting bodies of men and horses, the ground soaked with filth and gore, trees overthrown and crops trampled down in appalling devastation. No less barbarous was the sight presented by that part of the road which the people of Cremona strewed with laurel and roses, while they erected altars and slew victims as if they were greeting an eastern king; but their present joy was later the cause of their ruin. Valens and Caecina attended Vitellius and explained the scene of the battle; they showed that at this point the legions had rushed to the attack; there the cavalry had charged; and there the auxiliary forces had surrounded the foe. Tribunes too and prefects, each extolling his own deeds, mingled truth with falsehood or at least with exaggeration of the truth. The common soldiers also with shouts of joy turned from the road, recognized the stretches over which the battle had raged, and looked with wonder on the heaps of arms and the piles of bodies. Some among them were moved to tears and pity by the vicissitudes of fortune on which they gazed. But Vitellius never turned away his eyes or showed horror at the sight of so many citizens deprived of the rites of burial. Indeed he was filled with joy, and, ignorant of his own fate which was so near, he offered sacrifice to the local divinities.

  71 1 Thereafter at Bononia Fabius Valens presented his gladiatorial exhibition for which the equipment had been brought from Rome. As Vitellius drew nearer to the capital, his train exhibited the greater corruption; actors, crowds of eunuchs, and every other kind of creature that belonged to Nero’s court mixed with his soldiers. For Vitellius cherished great admiration for Nero himself, whom he had been in the habit of accompanying on his singing tours, not under compulsion, as so many honourable men were forced to do, but because he was the slave and chattel of luxury and gluttony. To secure free months in which to honour Valens and Caecina with consulships, he shortened the terms of others and passed over Marcus Macer in silence as having been a leader of Otho’s party. He put off the consulship of Valerius Marinus, who had been selected by Galba, not because of any offence, but because Marinus was of a mild nature and would put up with the injury. Pedanius Costa was omitted from the list; he was unpopular with the emperor because he had dared to move against Nero and to urge Verginius to action, although other reasons were alleged. Vitellius received the usual thanks, for the habit of servility was well established.

  72 1 A deception, which had a lively success at first, prevailed for only a few days. A man appeared who gave himself out at Scribonianus Camerinus, alleging that he had remained concealed in Istria during Nero’s reign, for there the ancient Crassi still possessed clients, lands, and popularity. He accordingly associated with himself, to develop this comedy, a company made up of the dregs of mankind; the credulous common people and some of the soldiers, either deceived by the falsehood or led on by a desire for trouble, were rapidly rallying about him, when he was dragged before Vitellius and questioned as to his identity. No faith was put in his answers; and after he had been recognized by his master as a runaway slave, Geta by name, he suffered the punishment usually inflicted on slaves.

  73 1 The degree to which the insolent pride of Vitellius increased after couriers arrived from Syria and Judea and reported that the East had sworn allegiance to him is almost past belief. For although the grounds for the gossip were as yet vague and uncertain, rumour had much to say of Vespasian, and his name frequently excited Vitellius. But now both emperor and army, believing that they had no rival, broke out into cruelty, lust, and rapine, equalling all the excesses of barbarians.

  74 1 As for Vespasian, he now began to reflect on the possibilities of war and armed combat and to review the strength of the forces near and far. His own soldiers were so ready that when he administered the oath and made vows for the success of Vitellius, they listened in complete silence. The sentiments of Mucianus were not hostile to him and indeed were favourable to Titus; Tiberius Alexander, the prefect of Egypt, had already cast his lost with his side; he could count on the loyalty of the Third legion, which had been transferred from Syria to Moesia; and he had hopes that the legions in Illyricum would follow the Third. There was reason for this expectation, for all the eastern forces had been fired with rage over the arrogance of the soldiers of Vitellius who came to them, because though savage in appearance and barbarous in speech, they constantly mocked at all the others as their inferiors. But a war of such scope can never be undertaken without hesitation; and Vespasian, at one moment inspired with hope, would at time ponder over the obstacles — what could that day be on which he should entrust his sixty years and his two young sons to the fortune of war? He reflected that private plans allow one to advance or retreat and permit the individual to take that measure of Fortune’s gifts that he will; but when a man aims at the imperial power, there is no mean between the heights and the abyss.

  75 1 He pictured to himself the strength of the army from Germany, which as a soldier he well understood. He realized that his own legions were untried in civil war, and that there was more discontent than
strength in the ranks of the defeated. In time of discord the fidelity of an army is uncertain and danger may come from individuals. “For what will cohorts and squadrons avail me,” he asked himself, “if some one or two assassins go red-handed to demand the reward which my opponents will always be ready to pay? Thus Scribonianus was killed under Claudius; thus his assassin Volaginius won advancement from the lowest to the highest rank. It is easier to move whole armies than to avoid individuals.”

  76 1 While he was hesitating, moved by such fears as these, his mind was confirmed by his officers and friends and especially by Mucianus, who first had long private conversations with him and then spoke openly before the rest: “All who are debating high emprises ought to consider whether their purpose is useful to the state, glorious for themselves, easy of accomplishment, or at least not difficult. At the same time they must take into account the character of their adviser. Is he ready to share the risks involved as well as to give advice? If Fortune favours the undertaking, who is the man for whom the highest honour is sought? I call you, Vespasian, to the throne. How advantageous to the state, how glorious for you this may prove, are questions which depend, after the gods, on your own acts. Have no fear that I may appear to flatter you. It is rather a disgrace than a glory to be chosen emperor after Vitellius. It is not against the keen mind of the deified Augustus, nor the cautious nature of the aged Tiberius, nor against the long-established imperial house of even a Gaius or a Claudius, or, if you like, of a Nero, that we are rising. You respected the ancestry even of Galba. But to remain longer inactive and to leave the state to corruption and ruin would appear nothing but sloth and cowardice on your part, even if subservience should prove as safe for you as it certainly would be disgraceful. The time is already past and gone when you could seem to have no desires for supreme power. Your only refuge is the throne. Have you forgotten the murder of Corbulo? He was of more splendid family than I am, I grant you, but Nero also was superior to Vitellius in point of noble birth. Anyone who is feared is noble enough in the eyes of the man who fears him. Moreover you have proof in the case of Vitellius himself that an army can make an emperor, for Vitellius owes his elevation to no campaigns or reputation as a soldier, but solely to men’s hatred of Galba. Even Otho, who owed his defeat, not to his rival’s skill as general or to the force of the opposing army, but to his own hasty despair, Vitellius has already made seem a great emperor whom men regret; and in the meantime he is scattering his legions, disarming his cohorts, and every day sowing new seeds of war. All the enthusiasm and courage that his soldiers ever had is being dissipated in taverns, in debauches, and in imitation of their emperor. You have in Syria, Judea, and Egypt nine legions at their full strength, not worn out by fighting, not infected by mutiny, but troops who have gained strength by experience and proved themselves victorious over a foreign foe. You have strong fleets, cavalry, and cohorts, princes wholly loyal to you, and an experience greater than all others.