[29] Ac primo Callistus, iam mihi circa necem G. Caesaris narratus, et Appianae cacdis molitor Narcissus fagrantissimaque eo in tempore gratia Pallas agitavere, num Messalinam secretis minis depellerent amore Silii, cuncta alia dissimulantes. dein metu ne ad perniciem ultro traherentur, desistunt, Pallas per ignaviam, Callistus prioris quoque regiae peritus et potentiam cautis quam acribus consiliis tutius haberi: perstitit Narcissus, solum id immutans ne quo sermone praesciam criminis et accusatoris faceret. ipse ad occasiones intentus, longa apud Ostiam Caesaris mora, duas paelices, quarum is corpori maxime insueverat, largitione ac promissis et uxore deiecta plus potentiae ostentando perpulit delationem subire.
29 At the outset, Callistus (whom I have already noticed in connection with the killing of Gaius Caesar), together with Narcissus, the contriver of the Appian murder, and Pallas, then in the high noon of his favour, discussed the chances of diverting Messalina from her amour with Silius by private threats, while suppressing their knowledge of all other circumstances. Then, lest failure should involve their own destruction, Pallas and Callistus desisted; Pallas, through cowardice; the other, because he had expert knowledge of the last court as well and believed power to be held more securely by cautious than by vigorous counsels. Narcissus stood firm, making only one modification of the plan: there was to be no interview to forewarn her of the accusation or of the accuser. Himself on the alert for opportunities, as the Caesar lingered long at Ostia, he induced the pair of concubines, to whose embraces Claudius was the most habituated, by gifts, promises, and demonstrations of the power which would accrue to them from the fall of the wife, to undertake the task of delation.
[30] Exim Calpurnia (id paelici nomen), ubi datum secretum, genibus Caesaris provoluta nupsisse Messalinam Silio exclamat; simul Cleopatram, quae id opperiens adstabat, an comperisset interrogat, atque illa adnuente cieri Narcissum postulat. is veniam in praeteritum petens quod ei Vettios, Plautios dissimulavisset, nec nunc adulteria obiecturum ait, ne domum servitia et ceteros fortunae paratus reposceret. frueretur immo his set redderet uxorem rumperetque tabulas nuptialis. ‘an discidium’ inquit ‘ tuum nosti? nam matrimonium Silii vidit populus et senatus et miles; ac ni propere agis, tenet urbem maritus.’
30 As the next step, Calpurnia — for so the woman was called — secured a private audience, and, falling at the Caesar’s knee, exclaimed that Messalina had wedded Silius. In the same breath, she asked Cleopatra, who was standing by ready for the question, if she had heard the news; and, on her sign of assent, requested that Narcissus should be summoned. He, entreating forgiveness for the past, in which he had kept silence to his master on the subject of Vettius, Plautius, and their like, said that not even now would he reproach the lady with her adulteries, far less reclaim the palace, the slaves, and other appurtenances of the imperial rank. No, these Silius might enjoy — but let him restore the bride and cancel the nuptial contract! “Are you aware,” he demanded, “of your divorce? For the nation, the senate, and the army, have seen the marriage of Silius; and, unless you act with speed, the new husband holds Rome!”
[31] Tum potissimumquemque amicorum vocat, primumque rei frumentariae praefectum Turranium, post Lusium Getam praetorianis impositum percontatur. quis fatentibus certatim ceteri circumstrepunt, iret in castra, firmaret praetorias cohortis, securitati ante quam vindictae consuleret. satis constat co pavore offusum Claudium ut identidem interrogaret an ipse imperii potens, an Silius privatus esset. at Messalina non alias solutior luxu, adulto autumno simulacrum vindemiae per domum celebrabat. urgeri prela, fluere lacus; et feminae pellibus accinctae adsultabant ut sacrificantes vel insanientes Bacchae; ipsa crine fluxo thyrsum quatiens, iuxtaque Silius hedera vinctus, gerere cothurnos, iacere caput, strepente circum procaci choro. ferunt Vettium Valentem lascivia in praealtam arborem conisum, interrogantibus quid aspiceret, respondisse tempestatem ab Ostia atrocem, sive coeperat ea species, seu forte lapsa vox in praesagium vertit.
31 The Caesar now summoned his principal friends; and, in the first place, examined Turranius, head of the cornº-department; then the praetorian commander Lusius Geta. They admitted the truth; and from the rest of the circle came a din of voices:—”He must visit the camp, assure the fidelity of the guards, consult his security before his vengeance.” Claudius, the fact is certain, was so bewildered by his terror that he inquired intermittently if he was himself emperor — if Silius was a private citizen. But Messalina had never given voluptuousness a freer rein. Autumn was at the full, and she was celebrating a mimic vintage through the grounds of the house. Presses were being trodden, vats flowed; while, beside them, skin-girt women were bounding like Bacchanals excited by sacrifice or delirium. She herself was there with dishevelled tresses and •waving thyrsus; at her side, Silius with an ivy crown, wearing the buskins and tossing his head, while around him rose the din of a wanton chorus. The tale runs that Vettius Valens, in some freak of humour, clambered into a tall tree, and to the question, “What did he spy?” answered: “A frightful storm over Ostia” — whether something of the kind was actually taking shape, or a chance-dropped word developed into a prophecy.
[32] Non rumor interea, sed undique nuntii incedunt, qui gnara Claudio cuncta et venire promptum ultioni adferrent. igitur Messalina Lucullianos in hortos, Silius dissimulando metu ad munia fori digrediuntur. ceteris passim dilabentibus adfuere centuriones, inditaque sunt vincla, ut quis reperiebatur in publico aut per latebras. Messalina tamen, quamquam res adversae consilium eximerent, ire obviam et aspici a marito, quod saepe subsidium habuerat,haud segniter intendit misitque ut Britannicus et Octavia in complexam patris pergerent. et Vibidiam, virginum Vestalium vetustissimam, oravit pontificis maximi auris adire, clementiam expetere. atque interim, tribus omnino comitantibus — id repente solltudinis erat — spatium urbis pedibus emensa, vehiculo, quo purgamenta hortorum eripiuntur, Ostiensem viam intrat nulla cuiusquam misericordia quia flagitiorum deformitas praevalebat.
32 In the meanwhile, not rumour only but messengers were hurrying in from all quarters, charged with the news that Claudius knew all and was on the way, hot for revenge. They parted therefore; Messalina to the Gardens of Lucullus; Silius — to dissemble his fear — to the duties of the forum. The rest were melting away by one road or other, when the centurions appeared and threw them into irons as discovered, some in the open, some in hiding. Messalina, though the catastrophe excluded thought, promptly decided for the course which had so often proved her salvation, to meet her husband and be seen by him: also, she sent word that Britannicus and Octavia were to go straight to their father’s arms. Further, she implored Vibidia, the senior Vestal Virgin, to gain the ear of the Supreme Pontiff and there plead for mercy. In the interval, with three companions in all (so complete, suddenly, was her solitude), she covered the full breadth of the city on foot, then mounted a vehicle used as a receptacle for garden refuse, and took the Ostian road, without a being to pity her, since all was outweighed by the horror of her crimes.
[33] Trepidabatur nihilo minus a Caesare: quippe Getae praetorii praefecto haud satis fidebant, ad honesta seu prava iuxta levi. ergo Narcissus, adsumptis quibus idem metus, non aliam spem incolumitatis Caesaris adfirmat quam si ius militum uno illo die in aliquem libertorum transferret, seque offert suscepturum. ac ne, dum in urbem vehitur, ad paenitentiam a L. Vitellio et Largo Caecina mutaretur, in eodem gestamine sedem poscit adsumiturque.
33 Quite equal agitation prevailed on the imperial side; as implicit confidence was not felt in the praetorian commandant Geta, who veered with equal levity to the good and to the evil. Narcissus, therefore, with the support of others who shared his alarms, stated formally that there was no hope of saving the emperor, unless, for that day only, the command of the troops was transferred to one of the freedmen; the responsibility he offered to take himself. Furthermore, that Claudius, while being conveyed to the city, should not be swayed to repentance by Lucius Vitellius and Caecina Largus, he demanded a seat in the same litter, and took his place along with them.
[34]
Crebra post haec fama fuit, inter diversas principis voces, cum modo incusaret flagitia uxoris, aliquando ad memoriam coniugii et infantiam liberorum revolveretur, non aliud prolocutum Vitellium quam •o facinus! o scelus!’ instabat quidem Narcissus aperire ambages et veri copiam facere: sed non ideo pervicit quin suspensa et quo ducerentur inclinatura responderet exemploque eius Largus Caecina uteretur. et iam erat in aspectu Messalina clamitabatque audiret Octaviae et Britannici matrem, cum obstrepere accusator, Silium et nuptias referens; simul codicillos libidinum indices tradidit, quis visus Caesaris averteret. nec multo post urbem ingredienti offerebantur communes liberi, nisi Narcissus amoveri eos iussisset. Vibidiam depellere nequivit quin multa cum invidia flagitaret ne indefensa coniunx exitio daretur. igitur auditurum principem et fore diluendi criminis facultatem respondit: iret interim virgo et sacra capesseret.
34 It was a persistent tradition later that, amid the self-contradictory remarks of the emperor, who at one moment inveighed against the profligacies of his wife, and, in the next, recurred to memories of his wedded life and to the infancy of his children, Vitellius merely ejaculated: “Ah, the crime — the villainy!” Narcissus, it is true, urged him to explain his enigma and favour them with the truth; but urgency was unavailing; Vitellius responded with incoherent phrases, capable of being turned to any sense required, and his example was copied by Caecina Largus. And now Messalina was within view. She was crying to the emperor to hear the mother of Octavia and Britannicus, when the accuser’s voice rose in opposition with the history of Silius and the bridal: at the same time, to avert the Caesar’s gaze, he handed him the memoranda exposing her debaucheries. Shortly afterwards, at the entry into Rome, the children of the union were on the point of presenting themselves, when Narcissus ordered their removal. Vibidia he could not repulse, nor prevent her from demanding in indignant terms that a wife should not be give undefended to destruction. He therefore replied that the emperor would hear her and there would be opportunities for rebutting the charge: meanwhile, the Virgin would do well to go and attend to her religious duties.
[35] Mirum inter haec silentium Claudi, Vitellius ignaro propior: omnia liberto oboediebant. patefieri domum adulteri atque illuc deduci imperatorem iubet. ac primum in vestibulo effigiem patris Silii consulto senatus abolitam demonstrat, tum quidquid avitum Neronibus et Drusis in pretium probri cessisse. incensumque et ad minas erumpentem castris infert, parata contione militum; apud quos praemonente Narcisso pauca verba fecit: nam etsi iustum dolorem pudor impediebat. continuus dehinc cohortium clamor nomina reorum et poenas flagitantium; admotusque Silius tribunali non defensionem, non moras temptavit, precatus ut mors acceleraretur. eadem constantia et inlustres equites Romani [cupido maturae necis fuit.] et Titium Proculum, custodem a Silio Messalinae datum et indicium offerentem, Vettium Valentem confessum et Pompeium Vrbicum ac Saufeium Trogum ex consciis tradi ad supplicium iubet. Decrius quoque Calpurnianus vigilum praefectus, Sulpicius Rufus ludi procurator, Iuncus Vergilianus senator eadem poena adfecti.
35 Throughout the proceedings Claudius maintained a strange silence, Vitellius wore an air of unconsciousness: all things moved at the will of the freedman. He ordered the adulterer’s mansion to be thrown open and the emperor to be conducted to it. First he pointed out in the vestibule an effigy — banned by senatorial decree — of the elder Silius; then he demonstrated how the heirlooms of the Neros and the Drusi had been requisitioned as the price of infamy. As the emperor grew hot and broke into threats, he led him to the camp, where a mass-meeting of the troops had been prearranged. After a preliminary address by Narcissus, he spoke a few words: for, just as his resentment was, shame denied it utterance. There followed one long cry from the cohorts demanding the names and punishment of the criminals. Set before the tribunal, Silius attempted neither defence nor delay, and asked for an acceleration of death. His firmness was imitated by a number of Roman knights of the higher rank. Titius Proculus, appointed by Silius as “custodian” of Messalina, and now proffering evidence, was ordered for execution, together with Vettius Valens, who confessed, and their accomplices Pompeius Urbicus and Saufeius Trogus. The same penalty was inflicted also on Decrius Calpurnianus, prefect of the city-watch; on Sulpicius Rufus, procurator of the school of gladiators; and on the senator Juncus Vergilianus.
[36] Solus Mnester cunctationem attulit, dilaniata veste clamitans aspiceret verberum notas, reminisceretur vocis, qua se obnoxium iussis Messalinae dedisset: aliis largitione aut spei magnitudine, sibi ex necessitate culpam; nec cuiquam ante pereundum fuisse si Silius rerum poteretur. commotum his et pronum ad misericordiam Caesarem perpulere liberti ne tot inlustribus viris interfectis histrioni consuleretur: sponte an coactus tam magna peccavisset, nihil referre. ne Trauli quidem Montani equitis Romani defensio recepta est. is modesta iuventa, sed corpore insigni, accitus ultro noctemque intra unam a Messalina proturbatus erat, paribus lasciviis ad cupidinem et fastidia. Suillio Caesonino et Plautio Laterano mors remittitur, huic ob patrui egregium meritum: Caesoninus vitiis protectus est, tamquam in illo foedissimo coetu passus muliebria.
36 Only Mnester caused some hesitation, as, tearing his garments, he called to Claudius to look at the imprints of the lash and remember the phrase by which he had placed him at the disposal of Messalina. “Others had sinned through a bounty of high hope; he, from need; and no man would have had to perish sooner, if Silius gained the empire.” The Caesar was affected, and leaned to mercy; but the freedmen decided him, after so many executions of the great, not to spare an actor: when the transgression was so heinous, it mattered nothing whether it was voluntary or enforced. Even the defence of the Roman knight Traulus Montanus was not admitted. A modest but remarkably handsome youth, he had within a single night received his unsought invitation and his dismissal from Messalina, who was equally capricious in her desires and her disdains. In the cases of Suillius Caesoninus and Plautius Lateranus, the death penalty was remitted. The latter was indebted to the distinguished service of his uncle: Suillius was protected by his vices, since in the proceedings of that shameful rout his part had been the reverse of masculine.
[37] Interim Messalina Lucullianis in hortis prolatare vitam, componere preces, non nulla spe et aliquando ira: tantum inter extrema superbiae gerebat. ac ni caedem eius Narcissus properavisset, verterat pernicies in accusatorem. nam Claudius domum regressus et tempestivis epulis delenitus, ubi vino incaluit, iri iubet nuntiarique miserae (hoc enim verbo usum ferunt) dicendam ad causam postera die adesset. quod ubi auditum et languescere ira, redire amor ac, si cunctarentur, propinqua nox et uxorii cubiculi memoria timebantur, prorumpit Narcissus denuntiatque centurionibus et tribuno, qui aderat, exequi caedem: ita imperatorem iubere. custos et exactor e libertis Euodus datur; isque raptim in hortos praegressus repperit fusam humi, adsidente matre Lepida, quae florenti filiae haud concors supremis eius necessitatibus ad miserationem evicta erat suadebatque ne percussorem opperiretur: transisse vitam neque aliud quam morti decus quaerendum. sed animo per libidines corrupto nihil honestum inerat; lacrimaeque et questus inriti ducebantur, cum impetu venientium pulsae fores adstititque tribunus per silentium, at libertus increpans multis et servilibus probris.
37 Meanwhile, in the Gardens of Lucullus, Messalina was fighting for life, and composing a petition; not without hope, and occasionally — so much of her insolence she had retained in her extremity — not without indignation. In fact, if Narcissus had not hastened her despatch, the ruin had all but fallen upon the head of the accuser. For Claudius, home again and soothed by an early dinner, grew a little heated with the wine, and gave instructions for someone to go and inform “the poor woman” — the exact phrase which he is stated to have used — that she must be in presence next day to plead her cause. The words were noted: his anger was beginning to cool, his love to return; and, if they waited longer, there was ground for anxiety in the approaching night with its memories of the marriage-chamber. Narcissus, accordingly, burst out of the room, and ordered the centurions and tribune in attendance to carry out the execut
ion: the instructions came from the emperor. Evodus, one of the freedmen, was commissioned to guard against escape and to see that the deed was done. Hurrying to the Gardens in advance of the rest, he discovered Messalina prone on the ground, and, seated by her side, her mother Lepida; who, estranged from her daughter during her prime, had been conquered to pity in her last necessity, and was now advising her not to await the slayer:—”Life was over and done; and all that could be attempted was decency in death.” But honour had no place in that lust-corrupted soul, and tears and lamentations were being prolonged in vain, when the door was driven in by the onrush of the new-comers, and over her stood the tribune in silence, and the freedman upbraiding her with a stream of slavish insults.
[38] Tunc primum fortunam suam introspexit ferrumque accepit, quod frustra ingulo aut pectori per trepidationem admovens ictu tribuni transigitur. corpus matri concessum. nuntiatumque Claudio epulanti perisse Messalinam, non distincto sua an aliena manu. nec ille quaesivit, poposcitque poculum et solita convivio celebravit. ne secutis quidem diebus odii gaudii, irae tristitiae, ullius denique humani adfectus signa dedit, non cum laetantis accusatores aspiceret, non cum filios maerentis. iuvitque oblivionem eius senatus censendo nomen et effigies privatis ac publicis locis demovendas. decreta Narcisso quaestoria insignia, levissimum fastidii eius, cum super Pallantem et Callistum ageret, +honesta quidem, sed ex quis deterrima orerentur [tristitiis multis].
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 272
