Tacitus, the histories

fe

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

JUL 5 '349

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 Vltellian 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

HostiUa on the Tartaro.
Valens dawdles northward with three prae-
torian 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 ViteUian army.

A 2

Summary of Chief Events

A.D. 69.

November.

December.

17-

18.
19.

20.

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.
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 Vitelllans at Narnia.
Antonius marches as far as Ocriculum, send-
ing Cerialis forward to Rome with 1,000

cavalry.
Vitellius, wishing to abdicate, is prevented

by troops and mob.
They besiege Flavius Sabinus in the Capitol.
Capitol stormed. Temple of Jupiter burnt.
Sabinus caught and killed.
L. Vitellius takes Tarracina.
Cerialis defeated outside Rome.

Summary of Chief Events f

A.D. 69.

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 osten-
sibly 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 eightBatavian cohorts at Mainz march oflE
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.

6 Summary of Chief Events

A.D. 6g.

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, Nervli, 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.

A.D. 70.

Summer.

Autumn.

Summary of Chief 'Events 7

The Remi, also loyal, summon a Gallic Coun cll,
which votes for peace, but the Treviri and
Lingones hold out under Classicus, Tutor,
and Valentinus.
The Roman mutineers return to their allegi-
ance.

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.

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 {Oxjord Classical
Texts). Departures from it are mentioned in the notes.

BOOK III

Antonius' Advance

On the Flavian side the generals concerted their i
plans for the war with greater loyalty and greater
success. They had met at Poetovio ^ at the head-
quarters of the Third legion, where they debated
whether they should block the passage of the Panno-
nian Alps and wait until their whole strength came
up to reinforce them, or whether they should take
a bolder line, assume the offensive, and strike for Italy.
Those who were in favour of waiting for reinforce-
ments and prolonging the war dwelt on the strength
and reputation of the German legions, and pointed
out that the flower of the British army had lately
arrived in Rome with Vitellius ; ^ their own forces
were numerically inferior and had recently suffered
defeat ; moreover, conquered troops, however bold
their language, never show the same courage. On the
other hand, if they occupied the Alps, Mucianus would
soon arrive with the forces from the East. Besides,
Vespasian still ^ commanded the sea, and could count
on the support of the fleets * and of the provinces,

> Petau.

- i. e. the detachments 8,000 strong from the army in Britain
(see ii. 57).

' i. e. still, after parting with the force which he had sent
forward under Mucianus (see ii. 82, 83).

* Of Pontus, Syria, and Egypt.

10 Book III. Chapters i-s

where he could still raise material for a sort of second
war. A salutary delay would bring them fresh forces
without in any way prejudicing their present position.
2 In answer to these arguments Antonius Primus,^
who had done more than any one else to stir up the
war, stoutly maintained that prompt action would
save them and ruin Vitellius. ' Their victory,' he said,
' has not served to inspirit but to enervate them. The
men are not held in readiness in camp, but are loitering
in towns all over Italy. No one but their hosts has
any call to fear them. The more unruly and ferocious
they showed themselves before, the greater the greed
with which they now indulge in unwonted draughts
of pleasure. The circus, the theatre, and the charms
of the capital have ruined their hardness and their
health. But if we give them time to train for war they
will regain their energy. It is not far to Germany,
whence they draw their main strength. Britain is
only separated by a narrow channel. Close at hand
they have Gaul and Spain, from the provinces of
which they can get men, horses, and subsidies. Then
again, they can rely on Italy itself and all the re-
sources of the capital, while, if they want to take the
offensive, they have two fleets ^ and full command
of the Illyrian Sea.^ Besides, what good to us are
the ramparts of the mountains ? Why should we
drag on the war into another summer ? Where can
we get funds and supplies in the meanwhile ? No, let
us seize our opportunity. The Pannonian legions are
' See ii. 86. ' Of Misenum aud Ravenna. ^ Adriatic.

Antonius Advance

1 1

burning to rise in revenge. They were not defeated
but deceived. 1 The Moesian army has not yet lost
a man. If you count not legions but men, our forces
are superior both in numbers and in character. The
very shame of our defeat - makes for good discipline.
And even then our cavalry was not beaten. For though
we lost the day, they shattered the enemy's line.^
And what was the force that broke through the
Vitellians ? Two regiments of cavalry from Pannonia
andMoesia. What have we now ? Sixteen regiments.
Will not their combined forces, as they roar and thunder
down upon the enemy, burying them in clouds of
dust, overwhelm these horses and horsemen that have
forgotten how to fight ? I have given you my plan,
and, unless I am stopped, I will put it in operation.
Some of you have not yet burnt your boats.* Well,
you can keep back the legions. Give me the auxiliaries
in light marching order. They will be enough for me.
You will soon hear that the door of Italy is open and
the power of Vitellius shaken. You will be glad enough
to follow in the footsteps of my victory.'

All this and much else of the same tenor Antonius 3
poured out with flashing eyes, raising his voice so as
to reach the centurions and some of the soldiers,
who had gathered round to share in their deliberations.^
His truculent tone carried away even the more cautious

* See ii. 42. * At Bedriacum. ^Seeii. 41.

* i.e. not yet declared finally against Vitellius.

* These were usually confined to the legates, camp-prefects,
tribunes, and senior centurions.

1 2 Book III. Chapters ^-T

and far-seeing, while the rest of the crowd were filled
with contempt for the cowardice of the other generals,
and cheered their one and only leader to the echo.
He had already established his reputation at the
original meeting, when Vespasian's letter ^ was read.
Most of the generals had then taken an ambiguous
line, intending to interpret their language in the light
of subsequent events. But Antonius seemed to have
taken the field without any disguise, and this carried
more weight with the men, who saw that he must
share their disgrace or their glory.
4 Next to Antonius in influence stood Cornelius
Fuscus, the imperial agent.^ He, too, always attacked
Vitellius in no mild terms, and had left himself no
hope in case of failure. Tampius Flavianus ^ was a man
whose disposition and advanced years inclined him to
dilatory measures, and he soon began to earn the dislike
and suspicion of the soldiers, who felt he had not
forgotten his kinship with Vitellius. Besides this, when
the legions first rose, he had fled to Italy and subse-
quently returned of his own free will, which looked
like meditating treachery .* Having once given up his
province and returned to Italy, he was out of the reach
of danger, but the passion for revolution had induced
him to resume his title and meddle in the civil war.
It was Cornelius Fuscus who had persuaded him to

' See ii. 82. ^ In Pannonia (see ii. 86).

' Military governor of Pannonia (see ii. 86).
* i.e. they suspected that he wanted to alienate the troops
from Vespasian.

Antonius^ Advance 13

this — not that he needed his assistance, but because he
felt that, especially at the outset of the rising, the
prestige of an ex-consul would be a valuable asset to
the party.

In order to make their march across into Italy safe 5
and effective, letters were sent to Aponius Saturninus i
to bring the Moesian army up as quickly as possible.
To prevent the exposure of the defenceless provinces
to the attacks of foreign tribes, the chiefs of the Sarma-
tian Iazyges,2 who formed the government of the tribe,
were enlisted in the service. They also offered their
tribal force, consisting entirely of cavalry, but were
excused from this contribution for fear that the civil
war might give opportunity for a foreign invasion,
or that an offer of higher pay from the enemy might
tempt them to sacrifice their duty and their honour.^
Sido and Italicus, two princes of the Suebi,* were
allowed to join Vespasian's side. They had long
acknowledged Roman sovereignty', and companionship
in arms ^ was likely to strengthen the loyalty of the
tribe. Some auxiliaries were stationed on the flank
towards Raetia, where hostilities were expected, since

* Military governor of Moesia (see i. 79, &c.).

' They occupied part of Hungary between the Danube and
the Theiss.

* They took the chiefs as a pledge of peace and kept them
safely apart from their tribal force.

* Tiberius' son, Drusus, had in a.d. 19 settled the Suebi
north of the Danube between the rivers March and Waag.

' Reading commilitio (Meiser). The word commissior in the
Medicean manuscript gives no sense.

T4 Book III. Chapters s-7

the imperial agent Porcius Septiminus,^ remained
incorruptibly loyal to Vitellius. Sextilius Felix was
therefore dispatched with Aurius' Horse ^ and eight
cohorts of auxiliary infantry, together with the
native levies of Noricum, to hold the line of the
river Aenus,^ which forms the frontier of Raetia and
Noricum, Neither side provoked a battle : the fortune
of the rival parties was decided elsewhere.
6 Meanwhile, at the head of a picked band of auxiliaries
and part of the cavalry, Antonius hurried off to invade
Italy. He took with him an energetic soldier named
Arrius Varus, who had made his reputation while
serving under Corbulo in his Armenian victories. He
was supposed to have sought a private interview with
Nero, at which he maligned Corbulo's character. His
infamous treachery brought him the emperor's favour
and a post as senior centurion. This ill-gotten prize
delighted him now, but ultimately proved his ruin.'*

After occupying Aquileia,^ Antonius and Varus
found a ready welcome at Opitergium and Altinum ^
and all the other towns in the neighbourhood. At
Altinum a garrison was left behind to guard their
communications against the fleet at Ravenna, for the
news of its desertion had not as yet arrived. Pressing
forward, they won Patavium and Ateste ^ for the party.

' This being a small province the procurator was sole
governor.

" A squadron of Spanish horse, called after some governor
of the province where it was raised. ^ The Inn.

* Probably under Domitian, who married Corbulo's daughter.

' See ii. 46. * Oderzo and Altino,

Antoniiis^ Advance i y

At the latter place they learnt that three cohorts of
Vitellius' auxiliary infantry and a regiment of cavalry,
known as Sebosus' Horse,- were established at Forum
Alieni,3 where they had constructed a bridge.* The
report added that they were off their guard, so this
seemed a good opportunity to attack them. They
accordingly rushed the position at dawn, and cut down
many of the men without their weapons. Orders had
been given that, after a few had been killed, the rest
should be terrorized into desertion. Some surrendered
at once, but the majority succeeded in destroying the
bridge, and thus checked the enemy's pursuit. The
first bout had gone in the Flavians' favour.

When the news spread to Poetovio, the Seventh 7
Galbian and the Thirteenth Gemina hurried in high
spirits to Patavium under the command of Vedius
Aquila. At Patavium they were given a few days'
rest, during which Minicius Justus, the camp-prefect
of the Seventh legion, who endeavoured to enforce
a standard of discipline too severe for civil war, had
to be rescued from the fury of his troops and sent to
Vespasian. Antonius conceived that his party would
gain in prestige, if they showed approval of Galba's
government, and stood for the revival of his cause.
So he gave orders that all the statues of Galba, which
had been thrown down during the civil war, should
be replaced for worship throughout the country towns.

' Este.

^ A Gallic troop called after some unknown governor.

^ (?) Legnago. ■• Over the Adige.

1 6 Book III. Chapters 7-9

This was a thing that had long been desired, and in
their ambitious imaginations it assumed an undue
importance.
8 The question then arose where they should choose
their seat of war. The best place seemed to be
Verona. The open country round it was suited for the
manoeuvres of the cavalry, in which their strength lay :
and they would gain both prestige and profit by wrest-
ing from Vitellius a strongly garrisoned town. On
the road they occupied Vicetia.^ In itself this was
a very small matter, since there was only a moderate
force in the town, but it gained considerable impor-
tance from the reflection that it was Caecina's birth-
place : the enemy's general had thus lost his native
town. But Verona was well worth while. The
inhabitants could aid the party vnth encouragement
and funds : the army was thrust midway between
Raetia and the Julian Alps,"- and had thus blocked all
passages by that route for the German armies.

This move had been made either without the
knowledge or against the orders of Vespasian. His
instructions were to suspend operations at Aquileia and
wait for the arrival of Mucianus. He had further
added this consideration, that so long as he held
Egypt and the key to the corn-supply,^ as well as the
revenue of the richest provinces,* he could reduce
Vitellius' army to submission from sheer lack of money
and provisions. Mucianus had sent letter after letter

* Vicenza. * The Brenner,

' i.e. Alexandria. * i.e. Egypt, Syria, Asia.

Anto7iius^ Advance in

with the same advice, pointing to the prospect of
a victory without bloodshed or bereavement, and using
other similar pretexts to conceal his real motive. This
was ambition. He wanted to keep all the glory of
the war to himself. However, the distance was so
great that events outran his instructions.

Antonius accordingly made a sudden sally against 9
the enemy's outposts, and after a slight skirmish, in
which they tested each other's temper, both sides
withdrew without advantage. Soon after, Caecina
entrenched a strong position between a Veronese
village called Hostilia ^ and the marshes of the river
Tartaro. Here he was safe, with the river in his
rear and the marsh to guard his flanks. Had he
added loyalty to his other advantages, he might have
employed the full strength of the Vitellian forces to
crush the enemy's two legions, before they were
reinforced by the Moesian army, or, at least, have
forced them to retire in ignominious flight and
abandon Italy. But Caecina used various pretexts
for delay, and at the outset of the war treacherously
yielded all his advantages to the enemy. While it was
open to him to rout them by force of arms, he preferred
to pester them with letters and to wait until his
intermediaries had settled the terms of his treason.
In the meantime, Aponius Saturninus arrived with
the Seventh Claudian legion,^ commanded by the
tribune** Vipstanus Messala, a distinguished member

' Ostiglia. ' From Moesia (cp. chap. 5).

' The legate Tettius Julianas had fled (see ii. 85).

1 8 Book III. Chapters g^ lo

of a famous family, and the only man who brought
any honesty to this war.i To these forces, still only
three legions and no match for the Vitellians, Caecina
addressed his letters. He criticized their rash attempt
to sustain a lost cause, and at the same time praised
the courage of the German army in the highest terms.
His allusions to Vitellius were few and casual, and he
refrained from insulting Vespasian. In fact he used
no language calculated either to seduce or to terrorize
the enemy. The Flavian generals made no attempt
to explain away their former defeat. They proudly
championed Vespasian, showing their loyalty to the
cause, their confidence in the army, and their hostile
prejudice 2 against Vitellius. To the tribunes and
centurions they held out the hope of retaining all the
favours they had won from Vitellius, and they urged
Caecina himself in plain terms to desert. These letters

' He also wrote a history of the period, which Tacitus found
useful (see ii. loi, note i). He is one of the characters in the
Dialogue on Oratory, and many passages show that Tacitus
admired him greatly, both for his character and his eloquence.

* The text here is doubtful. There seems to be no exact
parallel to the absolute use of praesumpsere. In the Medicean
MS. the whole passage, from revirescere at the end of chap. 7
down to inimici here, has been transposed to the beginning of
chap. 5, where it stands between the second and third syllables
of the word Saturnino. Thus in M praesumpsere stands
immediately after partes. It is possible that the word partes
may belong to this passage as well as to the end of chap. 7.
Praesumpsere partes would mean ' they look their own cause
for granted' (cp. Quintilian xi. i. 27). The addition of tU
inimici would add the sense of ' hostile prejudice '.

Antonius^ Advance i 9

were both read before a meeting of the Flavian army,
and served to increase their confidence, for while
Caecina wrote mildly and seemed afraid of offending
Vespasian, their own generals had answered con-
temptuously and scoffed at Vitellius.

When the two other legions arrived, the Third ^ 10
commanded by Dillius Aponianus, and the Eighth
by Numisius Lupus, Antonius decided to entrench
Verona and make a demonstration in force. It so
happened that the Galbian legion, who had been told
off to work in the trenches facing the enemy, catching
sight of some of their allies' cavalry in the distance,
took them for the enemy, and fell into a ground-
less panic. Suspecting treachery, they seized their
arms and visited their fury on Tampius Flavianus."^
They could prove no charge against him, but he had
long been unpopular, and a blind impulse made them
clamour for his head. He was Vitellius' kinsman, they
howled ; he had betrayed Otho ; he had embezzled
their donative. They would listen to no defence,
although he implored them with outstretched hands,
grovelling for the most part flat upon the ground,
his clothes all torn, his face and chest shaken with
sobs. This only served to inflame the soldiers' anger.
His very excess of terror seemed to prove his guilt.
Aponius ^ tried to address them, but his voice was
drowned in their shouts. The others, too, were con-
temptuously howled down. They would give no one
a hearing except Antonius, who had the power of

* GalHca. ' See chap. 4, note 3. ' Saturiiiaub.

B 2

2 0 Book III. Chapters 10-12

authority as well as the arts of eloquence necessary
to quiet a mob. When the riot grew worse, and they
began to pass from insulting speeches to murderous
violence, he gave orders that Flavianus should be put
in chains. Feeling that this was a farce,i the soldiers
broke through the guards round the general's quar-
ters, prepared to resort to extremities. Whereupon
Antonius, drawing his sword, bared his breast and
vowed that he would die either by their hands or his
own. Whenever he saw a soldier whom he knew or
could recognize by his decorations, he called on him
by name to come to the rescue. At last he turned
towards the standards and the gods of war,'-^ and
prayed incessantly that they would rather inspire the
enemy's army with this mad spirit of mutiny. At last
the riot died away and at nightfall they all dispersed
to their tents. Flavianus left that same night, and
on his way met letters from Vespasian, which delivered
him from danger.
II The infection seemed to spread among the legions.
They next attacked Aponius Saturninus, who was in
command of the Moesian army. This fresh disturbance
was caused by the circulation of a letter, which
Saturninus was supposed to have written to Vitellius,
and it was the more alarming since it broke out not
when they were tired by their labours but in the

' We have seen this trick before (cp. i. 45).

" Mars, Belloiia, Victoria, Favor, &c., whose images were
wrought in niudiillioii on the bliafts of the standards, which
themselves too were held sacred.

Antonius^ Advance ii

middle of the day. Once the soldiers had vied with
each other in courage and discipline : now they were
rivals in ribaldry and riot. They were determined
that the fury with which they denounced Aponius
should not fall short of their outcry against Flavianus.
The Moesian legions remembered that they had helped
the Pannonian army to take their revenge ; while the
Pannonian troops, feeling that their comrades' mutiny
acquitted them of blame, were glad enough to repeat
the crime. They invaded the country house in which
Saturninus was living. He escaped, however, aided
not so much by the efforts of Antonius, Aponianus, and
Messala, who did everything in their power to rescue
him, but rather by the security of his hiding-place,
for he concealed himself in the furnace of some dis-
used baths. Eventually he gave up his lictors and
retired to Patavium. The departure of both the
consular governors left Antonius in supreme command
of the two armies. His colleagues ^ deferred to him
and the men gave him enthusiastic support. It was
even supposed by some that he had cunningly promoted
both outbreaks, to secure for himself the full profit
of the war.

Dissension in Vitellius' Camp

2 Vitellius' party was equally a prey to disquiet, and 12
there the dissension was the more fatal, since it was
aroused not by the men's suspicions but by the

^ i.e. Vedius, Dillius, Numisius, Vipstanus Messala.

* The narrative is now resumed from the end of Book II.

2 2 Book III. Chapters J2, i^

treachery of the generals. The sailors of the fleet at
Ravenna were mostly drawn from the provinces of
Dalmatia and Pannonia, which were both held for
Vespasian, and while they were still wavering, the
admiral, Lucilius Bassus, decided them in favour of
the Flavian party. Choosing the night-time for their
treason, the conspirators assembled at head-quarters
without the knowledge of the other sailors. Bassus,
who was either ashamed or uncertain of their success,
awaited developments in his house. Amid great dis-
turbance the ships' captains attacked the images of
Vitellius and cut down the few men who offered any
resistance. The rest of the fleet were glad enough of
a change, and their sympathies soon came round to
Vespasian. Then Lucilius appeared and publicly
claimed responsibility. The fleet appointed Cornelius
Fuscus ^ as their admiral, and he came hurrying on
to the scene. Bassus was put under honourable arrest
and conveyed with an escort of Liburnian cruisers ^
to Atria,^ where he was imprisoned by Vibennius
Rufinus, who commanded a regiment of auxiliary horse
in garrison there. However, he was soon set free on
the intervention of Hormus, one of the emperor's
freedmen. For he, too, ranked as a general.
13 When the news that the navy had gone over became
known, Caecina, carefully selecting a moment when the
camp was deserted, and the men had all gone to their
various duties, summoned to head-quarters the senior
centurions and a few of the soldiers. He then proceeded
^ See ii. 86. * See ii. 16, note 3. ' Atri.

Dissemion in Vitellius* Camp 23

to praise the spirit and the strength of Vespasian's
party : ' they themselves had been deserted by the
fleet ; they were cramped for supplies ; Spain and Gaul
were against them ; Rome could not be trusted.' In
every way he exaggerated the weakness of Vitellius'
position. Eventually, when some of his accomplices
had given the cue and the rest were dumbfoundered
by his change of front, he made them all swear allegiance
to Vespasian. Immediately the portraits ^ of Vitellius
were torn down and messengers dispatched to Antonius.
However, when the treason got abroad in the camp,
and the men returning to head-quarters saw Vespasian's
name on the standards and Vitellius' portraits scattered
on the ground, at first there was an ominous silence :
then with one voice they all vented their feelings.
Had the pride of the German army sunk so low that
without a battle and without a blow they should
let their hands be shackled and render up their arms ?
What had they against them ? None but defeated
troops. The only sound legions of Otho's army, the
First and the Fourteenth, Vespasian had not got, and
even those they had routed and cut to pieces on that
same field. And all for what \ That these thousands
of fighting men should be handed over like a drove
of slaves to Antonius, the convict ! ^ ' Eight legions,
forsooth, are to follow the lead of one miserable fleet.
Such is the pleasure of Bassus and Caecina. They have
robbed the emperor of his home, his estate, and all
his wealth, and now they want to take away his troops.
' i. e. the medallions on the standards. * See ii. 86.

24 Book III. Chapters is-i^

We have never lost a man nor shed a drop of blood.
The very Flavians will despise us. What answer can
we give when they question us about our victory or
our defeat ? '
14 Thus they shouted one and all as their indignation
urged them. Led by the Fifth legion, they replaced
the portraits of Vitellius and put Caecina in irons.
They selected Fabius Fabullus, commanding the Fifth
legion, and the camp-prefect, Casslus Longus, to lead
them. Some marines who arrived at this point from
three Liburnian cruisers,^ quite innocent and unaware
of what had happened, were promptly butchered.
Then the men deserted their camp, broke down the
bridge,^ and marched back to Hostilia, and thence to
Cremona to join the two legions, the First Italian and
Twenty-first Rapax, which Caecina had sent ahead ^
with some of the cavalry to occupy Cremona.

The Engagement near Cremona

I^ When Antonius heard of this he determined to
attack the enemy while they were still at variance and
their forces divided. The Vitellian generals would
soon recover their authority and the troops their
discipline, and confidence would come if the two
divisions were allowed to join. He guessed also that
Fabius Valens had already started from Rome and
would hasten his march when he heard of Caecina's

' See ii. 16, note 3.

" Over the Tartaro (chap. 9). ' See ii, 100.

The En vag^ement near Cremona 25-

trcachcr)'. Valens was loyal to Vitcllius and an ex-
perienced soldier. There was good reason, besides,
to fear an attack on the side of Raetia from an immense
force of German irregulars. Vitellius had already
summoned auxiliaries from Britain, Gaul, and Spain
in sufficient numbers to blight their chances utterly,
had not Antonius in fear of this verj' prospect fore-
stalled the victor)' by hurriedly forcing an engagement.
In two days he marched his whole force from \'erona
to Bedriacum.^ On the next day^ he left his legions
behind to fortify the camp, and sent out his auxiliary
infantr}' into territory belonging to Cremona, to taste
the joys of plundering their compatriots under pretext
of collecting supplies. To secure greater freedom for
their depredations, he himself advanced at the head
of four thousand cavalry eight miles along the road
from Bedriacum. The scouts, as is usual, turned their
attention further afield.

About eleven in the morning a mounted scout 16
galloped up with the news that the enemy were at
hand ; there was a small body in advance of the rest,
but the noise of an army in movement could be heard
over the country-side. While Antonius was debating
what he ought to do, Arrius \'arus, who was greedy to
distinguish himself, galloped out with the keenest of
the troopers and charged the Vitellians, inflicting only
slight loss ; for, on the arrival of reinforcements, the
tables were turned and those who had been hottest
in pursuit were now hindmost in the rout. Their

' About thirty-three miles. ' October 27.

26 Book III. Chapters 16-18

haste had no sanction from Antonius, who had foreseen
what would happen. Encouraging his men to engage
with brave hearts, he drew off the cavalry on to each
flank and left a free passage in the centre to receive
Varus and his troopers. Orders were sent to the legions
to arm and signals were displayed to the foraging
party, summoning them to cease plundering and join
the battle by the quickest possible path. Meanwhile
Varus came plunging in terror into the middle of their
ranks, spreading confusion among them. The fresh
troops were swept back along with the wounded, them-
selves sharing the panic and sorely embarrassed by the
narrowness of the road.
17 In all the confusion of the rout Antonius never for
a moment forgot what befitted a determined general
and a brave soldier. Staying the panic-stricken, check-
ing the fugitives, wherever the light was thickest,
wherever he saw a gleam of hope, he schemed, he
fought, he shouted, always conspicuous to his own
men and a mark for the enemy. At last, in the heat
of his impatience, he thrust through with a lance a
standard-bearer, who was in full flight, then seized
the standard and turned it against the enemy. Where-
upon for very shame a few of his troopers, not more
than a hundred, made a stand. The nature of the
ground helped them. The road there was narrower ;
a stream barred their way, and the bridge was broken ;
its depth was uncertain and the steep banks checked
their flight. Thus necessity or chance restored their
fallen fortunes. Forming in close order, they received

■The Engagement near Cremona 27

the Vitellians' reckless and disordered charge, and at
once flung them into confusion. Antonius pressed
hard on the fugitives and cut down all who blocked his
path. The others followed each his inclination, rifling
the dead, capturing prisoners, seizing arms and horses.
Meanwhile, summoned by their shouts of triumph,
those who had just now been in full flight across the
fields came hurrying back to share the victory.

Four miles from Cremona they saw the standards of l8
the Rapax and Italian legions gleaming in the sun.
They had marched out thus far under cover of their
cavalry's original success. When fortune turned
against them, they neither opened their ranks to
receive the routed troops nor marched out to attack
the enemy, who were wearied with fighting and their
long pursuit. While all went well the Vitellians did
not miss their general, but in the hour of danger they
realized their loss. The victorious cavalry came
charging into their wavering line, and at the same time
Vipstanus Messala arrived with the Moesian auxiliaries
and a good number of men from the legions, who had
kept up with the pace of their forced march.^ These
combined forces broke the opposing column, and
the proximity of Cremona's sheltering walls gave the
Vitellians more hope of refuge and less stomach for
resistance.

' They would be more heavily laden than the Moesian
auxiliaries.

2 8 Book III. Chapters 18-20

The Fate of Cremona

Antonius did not follow up his advantage. He
realized that, although the issue had been successful,
the battle had long been doubtful, and had cost the
troopers and their horses many wounds and much

19 hard fighting. As evening fell, the whole strength of
the Flavian army arrived. They had marched among
heaps of corpses, and the still reeking traces of slaughter,
and now, feeling that the war was over, they clamoured
to advance at once on Cremona and either receive its
submission or take it by storm. This sounded well for
public utterance, but each man in his heart was thinking,
' We could easily rush a city on the plain. In a night-
assault men are just as brave and have a better chance
of plunder. If we wait for day it will be all peace and
petitions, and what shall we get for our wounds and
our labours ? A reputation for mercy ! There 's no
money in that. All the wealth of Cremona will find
its way into the officers' pockets. Storm a city, and
the plunder goes to the soldiers : if it surrenders, the
generals get it.' They refused to listen to their cen-
turions and tribunes and drowned their voices in a
rattle of arms, swearing they would break their orders

20 unless they were led out. Antonius then went round
among the companies, where his authoritative bearing
obtained silence. He assured them that he had no
wish to rob them of the glory and the reward they so
well deserved. ' But,' he said, ' an army and a general
have different functions. It is right that soldiers

The Fate of Cremona 29

should be greedy for battle, but the general often does
more good not by temerity but by foresight, delibera-
tion, and delay. I have done all I could to aid your
victory with my sword : now I will serve you by the
general's proper arts of calculation and strategy. The
risks that face us are obvious. It is night ; we know
nothing of the lie of the city ; the enemy are behind
the walls ; everything favours an ambush. Even if
the gates were open, we cannot safely enter except
by day and after due reconnoitring. Are you going
to begin storming the town when you cannot possibly
see where the ground is level and how high the walls
are ? How do you know whether to assault it with
engines and showers of missiles, or with penthouses
and shelters } ' ^ Then he turned to individuals, asking
one after another whether they had brought hatchets
and pick-axes and other implements for storming
a town. When they answered no, ' Well,' he said,
' could any troops possibly break through walls or under-
mine them with nothing but swords and javelins ?
Suppose it proves necessary to construct a mound and
to shelter ourselves with mantlets and fascines,^ are we
going to stand idle like a lot of helpless idiots, gaping
at the height of the enemy's towers and ramparts ?
Why not rather wait one night till our siege-train
arrives and then carry the victory by force ? ' So saying,
lie sent the camp-followers and servants with the
freshest of the troopers back to Bedriacum to bring
up supplies and whatever else was wanted.

* See ii. 21.

^o Book III. Chapters 21, 22

21 The soldiers indeed chafed at this and mutiny
seemed imminent, when some of the mounted scouts,
who had ridden right up to the walls, captured a few
stragglers from Cremona, and learnt from them that
six Vitellian legions and the whole Hostilia army had
that very day covered thirty miles, and, hearing of
their comrades' defeat, were already arming for battle
and would be on them immediately. This alarming news
cured their obstinate deafness to the general's advice.
He ordered the Thirteenth legion to take up their posi-
tion on the raised Postumian high-road. In touch with
them on the left wing in the open country were the
Seventh Galbian, beside whom stood the Seventh
Claudian, so placed that their front was protected
by a ditch. On the right wing were the Eighth,
drawn up along an open cross-road, and next to them
the Third, distributed among some thick clumps of
trees. Such, at any rate, was the order of the eagles
and standards. In the darkness the soldiers were con-
fused and took their places at random. The band of
Guards 1 was next to the Third, and the auxiliaries
on the wings, while the cavalry were disposed in support
round the flanks and the rear. Sido and Italicus with
their picked band of Suebi - fought in the front line.

22 For the Vitellians the right course was to rest at
Cremona and recuperate their strength with food and
a night's rest, and then on the next day to crush and

' i.e. the band of Otho's old Guards whom Vilellius liad
disbanded and Vespasian rc-cnlistcd (see ii. 67, 82).
* See chap. 5.

The Fate of Cremona 51

rout the Flavians when they were stiff with cold and
weak from hunger. But they had no general ; ^ they
had no plan. Though it was nearly nine at night
they flung themselves upon the Flavians, who were
standing steady in their places to receive them. In
their fury and the darkness the Vitellian line was so
disordered that one can hardly venture to describe
the disposition of their troops. However, it has been
stated that the Fourth Macedonian legion were on
the right flank ; in the centre were the Fifth and
Fifteenth with the detachments of the Ninth, the
Second and the Twentieth from Britain ; the Six-
teenth, the Twenty-second, and the First formed the
left wing. The men of the Rapax and Italian legions ^
were distributed among all the companies."^ The
cavalry and auxiliaries picked their own position. All
night the battle raged with varying fortune, never de-
cided, always savagely contested. Disaster threatened
now one side, now the other. Courage, strength were
of little use : their eyes could not even see in front of
them. Both sides were armed alike ; the watchwords,
constantly demanded, soon became known ; the
standards were all in confusion, as they were captured
and carried off from one band to another. The
Seventh legion, raised recently by Galba, suffered most
severely. Six of the senior centurions fell and several

' Caecina was under arrest, Valcns still on his way from
Rome (sec chaps. 14, 15). ' XXI and I.

* Because they had already bullcrcd heavy losses earlier in
the day (see chap. i8).

3 2 Book III. Chapters 22-24

standards were lost. They nearly lost their eagle too,
but it was rescued by the bravery of the senior cen-
turion, named Atilius Verus, who after great slaughter
of the enemy fell finally himself.
23 Antonius had meanwhile called up the Guards to
reinforce his wavering line. Taking up the fight, they
repulsed the enemy, only to be repulsed in their turn.
For the Vitellian artillery, which had at first been
scattered all along the line, and had been discharged
upon the bushes without hurting the enemy, was now
massed upon the high-road, and swept the open space
in front. One immense engine in particular, which
belonged to the Fifteenth, mowed down the Flavian
line with huge stones. The slaughter thus caused
would have been enormous, had not two of the
Flavian soldiers performed a memorable exploit.
Concealing their identity by snatching up shields from
among the enemy's dead,i they cut the ropes which
suspended the weights of the engine. They fell
immediately, riddled with wounds, and so their
names have perished. But of their deed there is no
doubt.

Fortune had favoured neither side when, as the
night wore on, the moon rose and threw a deceptive
glamour over the field of battle. Shining from behind
the Flavians the moon was in their favour. It magni-
fied the shadows of their men and horses so that the
enemy took the shadow for the substance, and their

* These shields would have Vitelliub' name on them, and
thus conceal their identity.

The Fate of Cremona 3 3

missiles were misdirected and fell short. The Vitellians,
on the other hand, had the moon shining full on them
and were an easy mark for the Flavians, shooting as
it were out of cover.^

Thus being enabled to recognize his own men, 24
and to be recognized by them, Antonius appealed to
some by taunting their honour, to many by words of
praise and encouragement, to all by promising hope
of reward. He asked the Pannonian legions why they
had drawn their swords again. Here on this field they
could regain their glory and wipe out the stain of
their former disgrace,^ Then turning to the Moesian
troops, who were the chief promoters of the war,^
he told them it was no good challenging the Vitellians
with verbal threats, if they could not bear to face
them and their blows. Thus he addressed each legion
as he reached it. To the Third he spoke at greater
length, reminding them of their victories both old
and new. Had they not under Mark Antony defeated
the Parthians * and the Armenians under Corbulo .^ ^
Had they not but lately crushed the Sarmatians ? ^
Then he turned in fury on the Guards. ' Peasants that
you are,' he shouted, ' have you another emperor,
another camp waiting to shelter you, if you are de-
feated ? There in the enemy's line are your standards

* Dio asserts that the moon was ' black and bloody, and
gave off other fearsome hues '.

* i. e. at the hrst battle of Bedriacum (see ii. 43).

* Seeii. 85. * 36 B.C. *a.d. 63.
" i.e. the Rlioxolani (cp. i. 79).

3 4 ^ook III. Chapters 24-26

and your arms : defeat means death and — no, you have
drained disgrace already to the dregs.'

These words roused cheers on all sides, and the
Third, following the Syrian custom,^ saluted the rising
25 sun. Thus arose a casual rumour — or possibly it was
suggested by the general's ingenuity — that Mucianus
had arrived, and that the two armies were cheering
each other. On they pressed, feeling they had been
reinforced. The Vitellian line was more ragged now,
for, having no general to marshal them, their ranks now
filled, now thinned, with each alternation of courage
and fear. As soon as Antonius saw them waver, he
kept thrusting at them in massed column. The line
bent and then broke, and the inextricable confusion
of wagons and siege-engines prevented their rallying.
The victorious troops scattered along the cross-road in
headlong pursuit.

The slaughter was marked by one peculiar horror.
A son killed his father. I give the facts and names
on the authority of Vipstanus Messala.^ One Julius
Mansuetus, a Spaniard who had joined the legion
Rapax, had left a young son at home. This boy subse-
quently grew up and enlisted in the Seventh legion,
raised by Galba.^ Chance now sent his father in his
way, and he felled him to the ground. While he was
ransacking the dying man, they recognized each other.
Flinging his arms round the now lifeless corpse, in

* They had served recently in Syria under Corbulo (see
above).

* An eyewitness (see p. i8, note 2). * In Spain.

The Fate of Cremona 3f

a piteous voice he implored his father's spirit to be
appeased and not to turn against him as a parricide.
The crime was his country's, he cried ; what share
had a single soldier in these civil wars ? Meanwhile he
lifted the body and began to dig a grave and perform
the last rites for his father. Those who were nearest
noticed this ; then the story began to spread, till there
ran through the army astonishment and many com-
plaints and curses against this wicked war. Yet they
never ceased busily killing and plundering friends
and relatives and brothers ; and while they talked of
the crime they were committing it themselves.

When they reached Cremona a fresh task of vast 26
difficulty awaited them. During the war with Otho 1
the German army had entrenched their camp round the
walls of Cremona and then erected a rampart round
the camp ; and these fortifications had been further
strengthened. The sight of them brought the victors
to a halt, and their generals were uncertain what
instructions to give. The troops had had no rest for
a day and a night. To storm the town at once would
be an arduous and, in the absence of reserves, a perilous
task. On the other hand, a retreat to Bedriacum
would involve the intolerable fatigue of a long march,
and destroy the value of their victory. Again, it would
be dangerous to entrench themselves so close to the
lines of the enemy, who might at any minute sally
forth and rout them while they were dispersed and
digging trenches. The chief anxiety lay in the temper

* i. e. at the time of the first battle of Bedriacum in April.

C 2

$6 Book III. Chapters 26-2^

of the men, who were much more ready to face danger
than delay. To them discretion was disagreeable
and hazard spelt hope. Their thirst for plunder out-
weighed all fears of wounds and bloodshed.
27 Antonius also inclined to this view and gave orders
for them to surround the rampart. At first they stood
back and delivered volleys of arrows and stones,
suffering themselves the severer loss, for a storm of
missiles rained down from the walls. Antonius then told
off each legion to assault a different point of the ram-
part or one of the gates, hoping that by thus separating
them he could distinguish the cowards from the brave
and inflame them with a spirit of honourable rivalry.
The Third and Seventh took the position nearest the
road to Bedriacum ; the Eighth and Seventh Claudian
assaulted the right-hand side of the rampart ; the
Thirteenth swept up to the Brixian Gate.i A brief
delay was caused while some fetched mattocks and
pickaxes from the fields, and others hooks and ladders.
Then holding their shields above their heads in close
' tortoise ' formation,^ they advanced under the ram-
part. Both sides employed Roman tactics. The
Vitellians rolled down huge masses of stones, and, as
the sheltering cover of shields parted and wavered,
they thrust at it with lances and poles, until at last

^ i. e. the gate giving on to the road to Brescia.

^ In this famous formation the front-rank men kept close
together and covered their bodies with long, concave shields,
while the others, holding flat shields over their heads and
pressing them one against another, formed a protecting roof.
They could thus approach ihc walls under cover.

The Fate of Cremona 37

the whole structure was broken up and they mowed
down the torn and bleeding soldiers beneath with
terrible slaughter.

The men would certainly have hesitated, had not
the generals, realizing that they were really too tired
to respond to any other form of encouragement,
pointed significantly to Cremona. Whether this was 28
Hormus's idea, as Messala 1 records, or whether we
should rather follow Caius Pliny, who accuses Antonius,
it is not easy to determine. This one may say, that,
however abominable the crime, yet in committing it
neither Antonius nor Hormus belied the reputation
of their lives. After this neither wounds nor bloodshed
could stay the Flavian troops. They demolished the
rampart, shook the gates, climbed up on each other's
shoulders, or over the re-formed ' tortoise ', and
snatched away the enemy's weapons or caught hold
of them by the arms. Thus the wounded and un-
wounded, the half-dead and the dying, all came rolling
down and perished together by every imaginable kind
of death.

The fight raged thickest round the Third and 29
Seventh legions, and the general, Antonius, came up
with a picked band of auxiliaries to support their
assault. The Vitellians, finding themselves unable to
resist the attack of troops thus stubbornly vying wdth
each other, and seeing their missiles all glide off the
shelter of shields, at last sent their engine of war
crashing down upon their heads. For the moment it

' Cp. ii. loi, note i.

38 Book III. Chapters 2p-si

scattered and crushed beneath it the men on whom
it fell, but it dragged with it some of the battlements
and the top of the rampart. At the same moment
one of the towers on the rampart gave way under
a shower of stones. While the men of the Seventh
struggled up to the breach in close column,^ the
Third hewed down the gate with hatchets and swords.
All the authorities 2 agree that Caius Volusius of the
Third legion was the first man in. Emerging on the
top of the rampart, he hurled down those who barred
his path, and from this conspicuous position waved
his hand and shouted that the camp was taken. The
others poured through, while the Vitellians in panic
flung themselves down from the rampart, and the
whole space between the camp and the walls became
a seething scene of carnage.
30 Here, again, was a new type of task for the Flavians.
Here were high walls, stone battlements, iron-barred
gates, and soldiers hurling javelins. The citizens of
Cremona were numerous and devoted to the cause of
Vitellius, and half Italy had gathered there for the
Fair which fell just at that time. Their numbers were
a help to the defenders, but the prospect of plundering
them offered an incentive to their assailants. Antonius
ordered his men to bring fire and apply it to the most
beautiful of the buildings outside the walls, hoping
that the loss of their property might induce the citi-
zens to turn traitor. The houses that stood nearest to

* For the term (cuneus) here used, see note on ii. 42.

* Cp, ii. loi, note i.

The Fate of Cremona 39

the walls and overtopped them he crowded with his
bravest troops, who dislodged the defenders with
showers of beams and tiles and flaming torches. Mean- 3I
while, some of the legionaries began to advance in
' tortoise ' formation,^ while others kept up a steady
fire of javelins and stones.

Gradually the spirit of the Vitellians ebbed. The
higher their rank, the more easily they gave way to
misfortune. For they were afraid that if Cremona too ^
was demolished, there would be no hope of pardon ; the
victors' fury would fall not on the common poor but on
the tribunes and centurions, whom it would pay to kill.
The common soldiers felt safe in their obscurity, and,
careless of the future, continued to offer resistance.
They roamed the streets or hid themselves in houses,
and though they had given up the war, refused even
so to sue for peace. Meanwhile the tribunes and
centurions did away with the name and portraits of
Vitellius.3 They released Caecina, who was still in
irons,* and begged his help in pleading their cause.
When he turned from them in haughty contempt they
besought him with tears. It was, indeed, the last of
evils that all these brave men should invoke a traitor's
aid. They then hung veils and fillets ^ out on the
walls, and when Antonius had given the order to cease

* See p. 36, note 2.

^ As well as the buildings outside the walls.
' i. e. tore them off the standards and shields, and broke the
statues at head-quarters.

* See chap. 14. * Cp. i. 66.

40 Book III. Chapters si-3S

firing, they carried out their standards and eagles,
followed by a miserable column of disarmed soldiers,
dejectedly hanging their heads. The victors had at
first crowded round, heaping insults on them and
threatening violence, but when they found that the
vanquished had lost all their proud spirit, and turned
their cheeks with servile endurance to every indignity,
they gradually began to recollect that these were the
men who had made such a moderate use of their
victory at Bedriacum.^ But when the crowd parted,
and Caecina advanced in his consular robes, attended
by his lictors in full state, their indignation broke into
flame. They charged him with insolence and cruelty,
and — so hateful is crime — they even flung his treachery
in his teeth.2 Antonius restrained them and sent
Caecina under escort to Vespasian.
32 Meanwhile the citizens of Cremona suffered sorely
from the violence of the troops, and only the entreaties
of their generals could withhold them from a general
massacre. Antonius summoned a mass meeting and
delivered a eulogy upon his victorious army, promising
mercy to the vanquished and speaking of Cremona in
ambiguous terms. Besides their natural passion for
plunder, there was an old grudge which urged them
to sack Cremona. The town was believed to have
given assistance to the Vitellian cause before this in
the war with Otho ; ^ and again, when the Thirteenth

* Cp. ii. 45-

* i. e. even though it was in their own interest.

* Cp. ii. 70.

The Fate of Cremona 41

had been left behind to build an amphitheatre,^ the
populace had shown its town-bred impertinence by
assailing them with insolent ridicule. Other causes
increased this bad feeling : it was here that Caecina
had given his show of gladiators : ^ the town had
become for a second time the theatre of the war :
the citizens had conveyed food to the Vitellians during
the battle : some women had been killed, whose
enthusiasm for the cause had led them to take part in
the fight. Besides all this, the Fair had filled the rich
city with an even greater display of wealth than usual.
All eyes were now centred on Antonius, whose fame
and good fortune overshadowed all the other generals.
It so happened that he hurried off to the baths to
wash off the stains of blood. Finding fault with the
temperature of the water, he received the answer,
' It will not be long before it is hot,' and this phrase
was caught up. The attendant's words were repeated,
and brought all the odium on Antonius, who was thus
believed to have given the signal to set fire to Cremona,
which was already in flames.-

Thus forty thousand soldiers burst into the town 33
with a yet larger crowd of servants and sutlers, even
more depraved than the soldiers in their readiness for
cruelty and lust. Without any respect for age or for

* Cp. ii. 67.

^ The words were either attributed wrongly to Antonius or
were supposed to be spoken in answer to his question, ' Are
the furnaces not lit ? ' In either case they were taken to
apply not to the heating of the baths but to the burning of
the town.

42 Book III. Chapters SS-ST

authority they added rape to murder and murder to
rape. Aged men and decrepit old women, who were
worthless as booty, were hustled off to make sport for
them. If some grown girl or a handsome youth fell
into their clutches, they would be torn to pieces in
the struggle for possession, while the plunderers were
left to cut each other's throats. Whoever carried off
money or any of the solid gold offerings in the temples
was liable to be cut to pieces, if he met another stronger
than himself. Some, disdaining easy finds, hunted for
hidden hoards, and dug out buried treasure, flogging
and torturing the householders. They held torches in
their hands and, having once secured their prize, would
fling them wantonly into an empty house or some
dismantled temple. Composed as the army was of
citizens, allies, and foreign troops, differing widely in
language and customs, the objects of the soldiers' greed
differed also. But while their views of what was right
might vary, they all agreed in thinking nothing wrong.
Cremona lasted them four days. While all other
buildings sacred and secular sank in the flames, only
the temple of Mefitis outside the walls was left standing,
saved either by its position or the power of the pre-
siding deity.^
34 Such was the end of Cremona two hundred and
eighty-six years after its foundation. It had been
originally built in the consulship of Tiberius Sem-
pronius and Publius Cornelius, while Hannibal was

'i.e. the goddess of malaria, who reigned in terror by the
swampy banks of the Po.

The Fate of Cremona 43

threatening to invade Italy, to serve as a bulwark
against the Gauls beyond the Po,^ and to resist any
other power that might break in over the Alps. And
so it grew and flourished, aided by its large number
of settlers, its conveniently situated rivers,^ the fertility
of its territory, and its connexion through alliance
and intermarriage with other communities. Foreign
invasions had left it untouched only to become the
victim of civil war. Antonius, ashamed of his crime,
and realizing his growing disfavour, proclaimed that
no citizen of Cremona was to be kept as a prisoner of
war ; and, indeed, the unanimous feeling in Italy
against buying such slaves had already frustrated the
soldiers' hope of profit. So they began to kill their
captives, whose relatives and friends, when this became
known, covertly bought their release. After a while,
the rest of the inhabitants returned, and the squares
and temples were rebuilt by the munificence of the
burghers and under Vespasian's direct patronage.

However, the soil was so foully infected by the reek 35
of blood that it was impossible for the Flavians to
encamp for long on the ruins of this buried city. They
advanced along the road to the third milestone, and
mustered the Vltellians, still straggling and panic-
stricken, each under his own standard. The defeated
legions were then distributed through Illyricum, for
the civil war was still in progress and their fidelity

^ Cremona was founded in 218 B.C. as a Latin colony,
together with Placentia, to keep the Gallic tribes of North
Italy in check. ^ The Po, Adda, and Oglio.

44 ^ook III. Chapters if-.? 7

could not be relied on. Thcv then dispatched courier?

to carry the news to Britain and the Spanish provinces.

To Gaul they sent an officer named Julius Calenus, to

Germany Alpinius Montanus, who had commanded

an auxiliary cohort. Montanus was a Treviran and

Calenus an Aeduan ; both had fought for Vitellius

and thus served to advertise Vespasian's victory. At

the same time garrisons were sent to hold the passes

of the Alps, for fear that Germany might rise in support

of Vitellius.

Vitellius

o5 When Caecina had left Rome,i Vitellius, after an
interval of a few days, sent Fabius Valens hurrying
to the front, and then proceeded to drown his cares
in self-indulgence. He neither made any provision
for the war, nor tried to increase the efficiency of his
troops either by haranguing or by drilling them. He
did not keep himself in the public eye, but retired into
the pleasant shade of his gardens, regarding past,
present, and future with equal indifference, like one
of those listless animals which lie sluggish and torpid
so long as you supply them with food. While he thus
loitered languid and indolent in the woods of
Aricia,- he received the startling news of Lucilius
Bassus' treachery and the disaffection of the fleet at
Ravenna.^ Soon afterwards he heard with mixed
feelings of distress and satisfaction that Caecina
had deserted him and had been imprisoned by the

' The story returns again to ii. loi. ' La Riccia.

' See chap. 12.

I

Vitellius 4 y

army. On his insensate nature joy had more effect
than trouble. He returned in triumph to Rome and
at a crowded meeting praised the devotion of the
troops in extravagant terms. He gave orders for the
imprisonment of Publilius Sabinus, the prefect of the
Guards, on the ground of his intimacy with Caecina,
and appointed Alfenus Varus ^ in his place.

He next delivered a pompous and elaborate speech 37
in the senate, where he was loaded with far-fetched
compliments by the members. Lucius Vitellius rose
to propose a harsh sentence against Caecina. The
rest of the house inveighed with assumed indignation
against the consul who had betrayed his country, the
general who had betrayed his commander-in-chief, the
friend who had betrayed his benefactor to whom he
owed all his riches and distinction. But their pro-
testations of sympathy with Vitellius really voiced
their personal vexation.- None of the speeches con-
tained any criticism of the Flavian generals. They
threw the blame on the misguided and impolitic action
of the armies, and with cautious circumlocution
avoided all direct mention of Vespasian. Caecina's
consulship ^ had still one day to run, and Rosius
Regulus actually made humble petition for this one
day's office, Vitellius' offer and his acceptance exciting
universal derision. Thus he entered and abdicated
his office on the same day, the last of October. Men
who were learned in constitutional history pointed out

' Hitherto camp-prefect (cp. ii. 29).

' Against Caecina for his inefticiency. * Cp. i. 77.

^6 Book III. Chapters ^7, ^S

that no one before had ever been elected to fill a
vacancy without the passing of a bill or some act of
deprivation, although there was precedent for the one
day consulship in the case of Caninius Rebilus when
Caius Caesar was dictator and the civil war necessi-
tated prompt rewards.!
38 It was at this time that the news of the death of
Junius Blaesus ^ gave rise to much talk. I give the
story as I find it. When Vitellius was lying seriously
ill at his house in the Servilian Park, he noticed that
a neighbouring mansion was brilliantly illuminated at
night. On asking the reason, he was told that Caecina
Tuscus 3 was giving a large dinner-party, at which
Junius Blaesus was the chief guest. He further received
an exaggerated account of their extravagance and
dissipation. Some of his informants even made spe-
cific charges against Tuscus and others, but especially
accused Blaesus for spending his days in revelry while

^ This was in 45 B.C., when Caesar was carrying on the
government with a high hand and small regard for precedent.
Holding an election on the last day of the year, he was told
that the consul was dead : there was no one to preside. So
he promptly announced that Caninius was consul till the
next morning. ' So no one,' says Cicero, ' breakfasted during
his consulship. However, there was no crime either, and his
vigilance was such that he never closed an eye during his
whole term of office.'

» Cp. ii. 59.

' This man had been prefect of Egypt, and had built special
baths for Nero, who was expected to visit Alexandria. But he
committed the indiscretion of washing in them first, for which
Nero had banished him.

Vitelltus 47

his emperor lay ill. There are people who keep a sharp
eye on every sign of an emperor's displeasure. They
soon made sure that Vitellius was furious and that
Blaesus' ruin would be an easy task, so they cast
Lucius Vitellius for the part of common informer.
He had a mean and jealous dislike for Blaesus, whose
spotless reputation far outshone his own, which was
tainted with every kind of infamy. Bursting into the
emperor's apartment, he caught up Vitellius' young
son in his arms and fell at his feet. When asked the
reason of this excitement, he said it was due to no
anxiety for himself ; all his suit and all his prayers
were for his brother and his brother's children. Their
fears of Vespasian were idle : between him and
Vitellius lay all the legions of Germany, all those
brave and loyal provinces, and an immeasurable space
of land and sea. ' It is here in Rome,' he cried, 'in
the bosom of our household that we have an enemy
to fear, one who boasts the Junii and Antonii as his
ancestors, one who shows himself affable and munificent
to the troops, posing as a descendant of imperial
stock.i It is to him that Rome's attention turns, while
you. Sire, careless who is friend or foe, cherish in your
bosom a rival, who sits feasting at his table and watches
his emperor in pain. You must requite his unseason-
able gaiety with a night of deadly sorrow, in which he

* Both the Junii and Antonii could claim as an ancestor
Augustus' sister Octavia ; and the Junii were also connected
with M. Junius Silanus, Augustus' great-great-grandson, whom
Nero had put out of the way.

48 Book III. Chapters 38-41

may both know and feel that Vitellius lives and is his
emperor, and, if anything should happen, has a son
to be his heir.'

39 Vitellius hesitated anxiously between his criminal
desires and his fear that, if he deferred Blaesus' death,
he might hasten his own ruin, or by giving official
orders for it might raise a storm of indignation. He
decided to proceed by poison. The suspicion against
him he confirmed by going to see Blaesus and showing
obvious satisfaction. Moreover, he was heard to make
the savage boast that he had, to quote his own words,
' feasted his eyes on his enemy's deathbed.'

Blaesus, besides his distinguished origin and refined
character , was steadfastly loyal. Even before the decline
of Vitellius' cause he had been canvassed by Caecina
and other party leaders, who were turning against the
emperor, and had met them with a persistent refusal.
He was a man of quiet and blameless life, with no
ambition for the principate or, indeed, for any sudden
distinction, but he could not escape the danger of
being considered worthy of it.

40 Meanwhile Fabius Valens, encumbered by a long
train of harlots and eunuchs, was conducting a leisurely
advance, most unlike a march to the front, when
couriers arrived post-haste with the news that Lucilius
Bassus had surrendered the Ravenna fleet.^ If he had
hurried forward on liis march he might have been in
time to save Caecina's faltering loyalty, or to have
joined the legions before the critical engagement was

' See chap. 12.

Fitellius 49

fought. Many, indeed, advised him to avoid Ravenna
and to make his way by obscure by-roads to Hostilia
or Cremona. Others wanted him to send to Rome
for the Guards and to break through the enemy's
lines with a strong force. Valens himself, with helpless
indecision, let the time for action go by while he took
advice ; and then rejecting the advice he was offered,
chose the middle course, which is always the worst in a
crisis, and thus failed both in courage and in caution.

He vnrote to Vitellius demanding reinforcements, 4I
and there arrived three cohorts of Guards and a
regiment of cavalry from Britain, too many to slip
through unobserved and too few to force a passage.
But even in such a crisis as this Valens' reputation
was as unsavoury as ever. He was still believed to use
violence in the pursuit of illicit pleasures, and to betray
the confidence of his hosts by seducing their wives
and families. He had money and authority to help
him, and the feverish impatience of one whose star
is on the wane. At last the arrival of the reinforce-
ments revealed the perversity of his strategy. He had
too few men to assume the offensive, even if they had
been unquestionably loyal, and their loyalty was under
grave suspicion. However, their sense of decency and
respect for the general restrained them for a while,
though such ties are soon broken when troops are
disinclined for danger and indifferent to disgrace.^
Fearing trouble, he sent the Guards forward to

' They had already incurred the disgrace of betraying first
Galba, then Otho.

5"© Book III. Chapters 41-43

Ariminum ^ with the cavalry to secure the rear.
Valens himself, with a few companions, whose loyalty
had survived misfortune, turned off into Umbria and
thence to Etruria, where he learnt the result of the
battle of Cremona. Thereupon he formed a plan,
which was far from cowardly and might have had
alarming consequences, if it had succeeded. He was
to seize ships and cross to some point on the coast
of Narbonnese Gaul, whence he could rouse the
provinces of Gaul and the native German tribes, and
thus raise forces for a fresh outbreak of war.
42 Valens' departure having dispirited the troops at
Ariminum, Cornelius Fuscus ^ advanced his force and,
stationing Liburnian^ cruisers along the adjoining coast,
invested the town by land and sea. The Flavians
thus occupied the Umbrian plain and the sea-board
of Picenum ; and the Apennines now divided Italy
between Vitellius and Vespasian.

Valens, embarking from the Bay of Pisa, was either
becalmed on a slow sea or caught by an unfavourable
wind and had to put in at the harbour of Hercules
Monoecus.^ Stationed in the neighbourhood was
Marius Maturus, the Governor of the Maritime
Alps,5 who had remained loyal to Vitellius, and,
though surrounded by enemies, had so far been
faithful to his oath of allegiance. He gave Valens
a friendly welcome and strongly advised him not to
venture rashly into Narbonnese Gaul. This alarmed

' Rimini.

* Now admiral of the Ravenna fleet (see chap. 12).

* See ii. 16, note 3. * Monaco. ' See ii. 12.

Vitellius <) I

Valens, who found also that his companions' loyalty
was yielding to their fears. For Valerius Paulinus, 43
the imperial agent in the province, was an energetic
soldier who had been friendly with Vespasian in old
days, and had lately sworn all the surrounding com-
munities to his cause. Having summoned to his flag
all the Guards discharged by Vitellius,^ who needed
no persuasion to resume the war, he was now
holding the colony of Forum Julii,^ the key to the
command of the sea. His influence carried the more
weight since Forum Julii was his native town and,
having once been an officer in the Guards, he was
respected by the men. Besides this, the inhabitants
supported their fellow citizen, and in the hope of
future aggrandizement rendered enthusiastic service
to the party. When the news of these efficient pre-
parations, somewhat exaggerated by rumour, came to
the ears of the Vitellians, who were already in some
doubt, Fabius Valens returned to the ships with four
men of the Body Guard, three of his friends and three
centurions, while Maturus and the rest preferred to
remain and swear allegiance to Vespasian. As for
Valens, though he felt safer at sea than among the
cities on the coast, he was still full of doubts for the
future, since he was certain what he had to avoid but
quite uncertain whom he could trust. Eventually
a gale drove him upon the Stoechades,^ some islands
belonging to Marseilles, and there he was overtaken
by the cruisers which Paulinus had sent in pursuit.
* Cp. ii. 67. ' Frejus. * lies d'Hyeres.

D2

5-2 Book III. Chapters 44-4^

The State of the Provinces

44 With the capture of Valens the tide had now fully
turned in favour of Vespasian. The movement had
been begun in Spain by the First legion Adjutrix}
whose reverence for Otho's memory made them hate
Vitellius. They carried the Tenth and the Sixth2 ^jth
them. The provinces of Gaul soon followed suit.
Britain was bound to his cause by the favour felt for
one who had been sent there by Claudius in command
of the Second legion, and had fought with great
distinction in the war. But the adherence of the
province was to some extent opposed by the other
legions, in which many of the centurions and soldiers
had been promoted by Vitellius. They were used to
their emperor and felt some doubt about the change.

45 This quarrel between the legions and the constant
rumours of civil war, encouraged the Britons to take
heart. Their chief instigator was one Venutius. He
was of a ferocious disposition and hated the name of
Rome, but his strongest motive was a private quarrel
with Queen Cartimandua, a member of a powerful
family, who ruled the Brigantes.3 Her authority had
lately increased, since she had betrayed King Caratacus
into the hands of the Romans, and was thus considered
to have provided Claudius Caesar with material for
his triumph.* Thus she had grown rich, and virith

' The marines (see ii. 67, i. 6). = X Gemina, VI Victrix.
3 They occupied a large district of the north of England, from
the Trent to the Tyne.
* As a matter of fact his triumph took place in 44. Caratacus

The State of the Provinces y 3

prosperity came demoralization. She threw over
Venutius, who was her husband, and gave her hand
and kingdom to his squire, Vellocatus. This crime
soon proved the ruin of her house. The people sup-
ported her husband : she defended her lover vdth
passionate ferocity. Venutius therefore summoned
assistance and, aided by the simultaneous revolt of
the Brigantes, brought Cartimandua into dire straits.
She petitioned for troops from Rome. Our auxiliaries,
both horse and foot, then fought several engagements
with varying success, but eventually rescued the queen.
Thus the kingdom was left in the hands of Venutius
and the war in ours.

Almost simultaneously a disturbance broke out in 46
Germany, where the inefficiency of the generals, the
disaffection of the troops, the strength of the enemy,
and the treachery of our allies all combined to bring
the Roman government into serious danger. The
causes and history of this protracted struggle — for such
it proved — ^we must leave to a later chapter. 1 Amongst
the Dacians ^ also there was trouble. They could never
be trusted, and now that the army was moved from
Moesia they were no longer under the restraint of fear.
At first they remained quiet and awaited developments.
But when they saw Italy in the flames of war, and
found the whole empire divided into hostile camps,

was brought to Rome in 51. Perhaps Tacitus regards this in
itself as a ' triumph ', or else he makes a venial mistake.

' The rebellion on the Rhine is described in Books IV and V.

' In Rouniania,

f4 ^ook III. Chapters ^6-48

they fell upon the winter-quarters of the auxiliary
infantry and cavalry and began to occupy both banks
of the Danube. They were on the point of storming
the Roman camp as well, when Mucianus, who knew
of the victory at Cremona, sent the Sixth legion '■
against them. For the empire was in danger of a double
foreign invasion, if the Dacians and the Germans had
broken in from opposite directions. But here, as so
often, Rome's good fortune saved her by bringing
Mucianus on the scene with the forces of the East
just at the moment when we had settled matters at
Cremona. Fonteius Agrippa, who had for the last
year been proconsul in Asia, was transferred to the
government of Moesia. His forces were strengthened
by a draft from the defeated Vitellian army, for in
the interest of peace it seemed prudent to distribute
these troops over the provinces and to keep their hands
tied by a foreign war.
47 The other peoples soon made their voices heard.
Pontus^ had suddenly risen in a general rebellion at
the instigation of a foreign menial, who was in com-
mand of what had once been the royal fleet. He was
one of Polemo's freedmen, by name Anicetus, who had
formerly been influential and resented the change
which had converted the kingdom into a province
of the Roman empire. He accordingly enlisted the

* Ferrata. Cp. ii. 8^.

^ This little kingdom west of Trebizond was left to Rome by
Polemo II, A.D. 63. Nero made it a Roman province under
the name of Pontus Polemoniacus.

The State of the Provinces yf

maritime tribes of Pontus in Vitellius' service, attracting
all the neediest ruffians with promises of plunder.
At the head of no mean force he suddenly fell upon
Trapezus,! an ancient and famous city, founded by
Greek settlers on the frontier of the Pontic kingdom.
There he cut to pieces the auxiliaries, who had once
formed the king's Body Guard, and, after receiving
the Roman franchise, had adopted our ensigns and
equipment, while still retaining all the inefficiency
and insubordination of Greek troops. Anicetus also
set fire to the fleet ^ and thus enjoyed complete
mastery of the sea, since Mucianus had moved the
pick of his cruisers and all his troops to Byzantium.
The sea was overrun by natives too, who had hurriedly
built themselves boats. These, which they call ' arb \^
are broad-bottomed boats with low sides, built without
any brass or iron rivets. In a rough sea, as the waves
rise higher and higher, the height of the sides is raised
by the addition of planks which, in the end, enclose
the whole boat under a sort of roof. They are thus
left to toss up and down on the waves. They have
bows at both ends and the paddles can be used on either
side, since it is as easy and as safe to row in one
direction as in the other.

This state of things attracting Vespasian's attention, 48
he was obliged to send out a picked force of detach-

^ Trebizond.

* Mucianus had ' ordered the fleet to move from Pontus to
Byzantium ' (ii. 83). This leads some editors to change the
text, and others to suppose that a few ships were left behind.

' Literally, arched boats. Tacitus describes somewhat
similar crait in Germania, 44.

f6 Book TIL Chapters 48-^0

ments from the legions under Virdius Geminus,
a soldier of tried experience. He attacked the enemy
while they were dispersed in all directions in quest of
plunder, and drove them back to their ships. He then
had some Liburnian cruisers hurriedly constructed
and ran Anicetus to ground in the mouth of the
river Chobus,! where he had taken refuge with the
King of the Sedochezi tribe, whose alliance he had
purchased by bribes. At first, indeed, the king en-
deavoured to protect his petitioner by using threats of
violence, but he soon saw that it was a choice between
making war or being paid for his treachery. The
barbarian's sense of honour was unequal to this strain.
He came to terms, surrendered Anicetus and the other
fugitives, and thus put an end to ' the slaves' war '.

This victory delighted Vespasian : everything was
succeeding beyond his hopes : and to crown all the
news of the battle of Cremona now reached him in
Egypt. He hurried forward all the faster towards
Alexandria with the object of bringing starvation -
upon Vitellius' defeated troops and the inhabitants of
Rome, who were alreadyfeeling the pinch of diminished
imports. For he was at the same time making prepara-
tions for an invasion of the adjacent province of Africa ^
by land and sea. By cutting off their corn supply he
hoped to reduce the enemy to famine and disunion.

* The Khopi, which flows from the Caucasus into the Euxine.
' Cp. chap. 8.

' Africa came next to Egypt in importance as a Roman
granary (cp. i. 73).

Antonius* Advance from Cremona 5-7

Antonius' xA.dvance from Cremona

Thus 1 a world-wide convulsion marked the passing 49
of the imperial power into new hands. Meanwhile,
after Cremona, the behaviour of Antonius Primus was
not so blameless as before. He had settled the war,
he felt ; the rest would be plain sailing. Or, perhaps,
in such a nature as his success only brought to light his
greed and arrogance and all his other dormant vices.
While harrying Italy like a conquered country, he
courted the goodwill of his troops and used every
word and every action to pave his way to power. He
allowed his men to appoint centurions themselves in
place of those who had fallen, and thus gave them
a taste for insubordination ; for their choice fell on
the most turbulent spirits. The generals no longer
commanded the men, but were dragged at the heels
of their caprices. This revolutionary system, utterly
fatal to good discipline, was exploited by Antonius for
his own profit."^ Of Mucianus' approach he had no
fears, and thus made a mistake even more fatal than
despising Vespasian.^

His advance, however, continued. As winter was 50
at hand* and the Po had inundated the meadows, his
column marched unencumbered by heavy baggage.

^ The narrative is here resiuned from the end of chap. 35.

* Would-be centurions doubtless bribed him to influence the
soldiers in their favour.

' Vespasian was too big to mind being despised ; Mucianus
was not, and eventually retaliated (cp. iv. 11).

* November.

5*8 Book III. Chapters jo, f/

The main body of the victorious legions was left
behind at Verona, together with such of the soldiers
as were incapacitated by wounds or old age, and many
besides who were still in good condition. Having
already broken the back of the campaign, Antonius
felt strong enough with his auxiliary horse and foot
and some picked detachments from the legions. The
Eleventh ^ had voluntarily joined the advance. They
had held back at first, but, seeing Antonius' success, were
distressed to think they had had no share in it. The
column was also accompanied by a force of six thousand
Dalmatian troops, which had been recently raised.
The ex-consul, Pompeius Silvanus,^ commanded the
column, but the actual control was in the hands of
a general named Annius Bassus. Silvanus was quite
ineffective as a general, and wasted every chance of
action in talking about it. Bassus, while showing all
due respect, managed him completely, and was always
ready vnxh. quiet efficiency to do anything that had
to be done. Their force was further increased by
enlisting the best of the marines from the Ravenna
fleet, who were clamouring for service in the legions.
The vacancies in the fleet were filled by Dalmatians.
The army and its generals halted at Fanum
Fortunae,^ still hesitating what policy to adopt, for
they had heard that the Guards were on the move from
Rome, and supposed that the Apennines were held
by troops. And they had fears of their own. Supplies

* From Dalmatia (see ii. ii, 67).

' Governor of Dalmatia (qi. ii. S6). ' Fano.

Jntomus* Jdvance from Cremona 5"9

were scarce in a district devastated by war. The men
were mutinous and demanded ' shoe-money '}■ as they
called the donative, with alarming insistence. No
provision had been made either for money or for
stores. The precipitate greed of the soldiers made
further difficulties, for they each looted what might
have served for them all.

I find among the best authorities evidence which 5^
shows how wickedly careless were the victorious army
of all considerations of right and wrong. They tell
how a trooper professed that he had killed his brother
in the last battle, and demanded a reward from his
generals. The dictates of humanity forbade them to
remunerate such a murder, but in the interests of
civil war they dared not punish it. They had put
him off with the plea that they could not at the moment
reward his service adequately. And there the story
stops. However, a similar crime had occurred in
earlier civil wars. In the battle which Pompeius
Strabo fought against Cinna at the Janiculum,^ one of
his soldiers killed his own brother and then, realizing
what he had done, committed suicide. This is recorded
by Sisenna.3 Our ancestors, it seems, had a livelier
sense than we have both of the glory of good deeds

^ Apparently soldiers' slang. Probably at some period an
ofiicer had bribed his men under the pretence of making
special grants for the purchase of nails for their shoes.

» 87 B.C.

* L. Cornelius Sisenna, who died 67 B.C. in Pompey's war
against the pirates, wrote a history of his own time, dealing
in particular with Sulla's wars.

6o Book III. Chapters ri-ys

and the shame of bad.^ These and other such in-
stances from past history may be appropriately cited,
whenever the subject seems to demand either an
example of good conduct or some consolation for
a crime.
22 Antonius and his fellow generals decided to send the
cavalry ahead to explore the whole of Umbria, and to
see whether any of the Apennines were accessible by
a gentler route ; to summon the eagles and standards ^
and all the troops at Verona,^ and to fill the Po and the
sea wdth provision ships. Some of the generals con-
tinually suggested obstacles. Antonius had grown too
big for his place, and they had surer hopes of reward
from Mucianus. He was distressed that victory had
come so soon, and felt that, if he was not present when
Rome was taken, he would lose his share in the war
and its glory. So he kept on writing to Antonius and
Varus in ambiguous terms, sometimes urging them to
' press forward on their path ', sometimes expatiating
on ' the manifold value of delay '. He thus managed
to arrange that he could disclaim responsibility in case
of a reverse, or acknowledge their policy as his own if
it succeeded. To Plotius Grypus, whom Vespasian
had lately raised to senatorial rank and put in command
of a legion, and to his other trusty friends he sent
less ambiguous instructions, and they all wrote back
criticizing the haste vidth which Antonius and Varus

* This or some similar incident seems to have become
a respected commonplace of history and poetry (cp. chap. 25).
^ i. e. the main body of the legions. ' See chap. 50.

Antonius^ Advayice from Cremona 61

acted. This was just what Mucianus wanted. He
forwarded the letters to Vespasian with the result that
Antonius' plans and exploits were not appreciated as
highly as Antonius had hoped. This he took very ill 53
and threw the blame on Mucianus, whose charges he
conceived had cheapened his exploits. Being little
accustomed to control his tongue or to obey orders,
he was most unguarded in his conversation and com-
posed a letter to Vespasian in presumptuous language
which ill befitted a subject, making various covert
charges against Mucianus. ' It was I,' he wrote, ' who
brought the legions of Pannonia into the field : ^ it was
my stimulus which stirred up the ofiicers in Moesia : ^
it was by my persistence that we broke through the
Alps, seized hold of Italy and cut off the German and
Raetian auxiliaries.^ When Vitellius' legions were all
scattered and disunited, it was I who flung the cavalry
on them like a whirlwind, and then pressed home the
attack with the infantry all day and all night. That
victory is my greatest achievement and it is entirely
my own. As for the mishap at Cremona, that was the
fault of the war. In old days the civil wars cost the
country far more damage and involved the destruction
of more than one town. It is not with couriers and
dispatches that I serve my master, but with my sword
in my hand. Nor can it be said that I have interfered
with the glory of the men who have meanwhile settled

1 See ii. 86.

' i.e. Aponius, Vipstanus Messala, Dillius, and Numisius
(see ii. 85, iii. 9, 10). * Cp. chap. 8.

62. Book III. Chapters T3-TT

matters in Dacia.^ What peace in Moesia is to them,
the safety and welfare of Italy are to me. It was my
encouragement which brought the provinces of Gaul
and of Spain, the strongest parts of the whole world,
over to Vespasian's side. But my labours will prove
useless, if the reward for the dangers I have run is
to fall to the man who was not there to share them.'
All this reached the ears of Mucianus and a serious
quarrel resulted. Antonius kept it up in a frank spirit
of dislike, while Mucianus showed a cunning which
was far more implacable.

ViTELLius' Measures of Defence

54 After the crushing defeat at Cremona Vitellius
stupidly suppressed the news of the disaster, thus
postponing not the danger itself but only his precau-
tions against it. Had he admitted the facts and sought
advice, hope and strength were still left to him :
his pretension that all went well only made matters
worse. He was himself extraordinarily silent about the
war, and in Rome all discussion of the subject was
forbidden. This only increased the number of people
who, if permitted, would have told the truth, but in
the face of this prohibition spread grossly exaggerated
rumours. Nor were the Flavian leaders slow to foster
these rumours. Whenever they captured Vitellian
spies they escorted them round the camp to show them
the strength of the winning army, and sent them back

^ i. e. Mucianus and his officers (see chap. 46).

Vitellius' 'Measures of Defence 6^

again. Vitellius cross-examined each of them in private
and then had them murdered. A centurion named
Julius Agrestis, after many interviews, in which he
endeavoured in vain to fire Vitellius' courage, at last
with heroic persistence induced the emperor to send
him to inspect the enemy's forces and discover what
had really happened at Cremona. He made no attempt
to deceive Antonius by concealing the object of his
mission, but openly avowed the emperor's instructions,
stated his intentions and demanded to be shown every-
thing. He was given guides, who showed him the
field of battle, the ruins of Cremona and the captured
legions. Back went Agrestis to Vitellius. Finding that
the emperor disbelieved his report and even suggested
that he had been bribed, he said, 'You want some
certain evidence and, since you have no further use
for me either alive or dead, I will give you evidence
that you can believe.' And he was as good as his
word. He went straight from the emperor's presence
and committed suicide. Some say he was killed by
order of Vitellius, but they give the same account of
his heroic devotion.^

Vitellius was like a man roused from sleep. He 55
dispatched Julius Priscus and Alfenus Varus ^ with
fourteen cohorts of Guards and all his available
cavalry to hold the Apennines. A legion levied from

^ This incident was probably another historical common-
place. See the story from Plutarch (ii. 46, p. 155, note i),
which is also told by Suetonius and Dio.

* The prefects of the Guards (cp. ii. 92).

54 Book III. Chapters S7, S^

the marines ^ was sent after them. This large army of
picked men and horses, if there had been any general
to lead it, was strong enough to have even taken the
offensive. His other cohorts '^ were given to his brother,
Lucius Vitellius, for the protection of the city. The
emperor himself gave up none of his habitual luxuries,
but, feeling nervous and depressed, he hurried on the
elections and nominated consuls for several years in
advance. He lavished special charters ^ on allied com-
munities and extended Latin rights * to foreign towns :
he remitted taxation here, granted immunities there.
In fact, he took no thought for the future, and did
his best to cripple the empire. However, the mob
accepted these munificent grants with open mouths.
Fools paid money for them, but wise men held them
invalid, since they could be neither given nor received
without a revolution. At last he yielded to the
demands of the army and joined the camp at
Mevania,^ where they had taken up their position.
A long train of senators followed him, many moved
by their ambition, but most by their fears. Here he

' At Jlisenum. (Leg. II Adjutrix.) The Ravenna marines
were on the Flavian side (see chap. 50).

^ i. e. the rest of the Guards (2), with the city garrison (4),
and police (7) (cp. ii. 93).

' i.e. granting them special privileges denied to other com-
munities in the same province.

* A sort of 'half-way house to Roman citizenship'. Full
commercial rights were included but not those of intermarriage.
It was possible for individual citizens in a Latin town to obtain
the full rights of a Roman. ' Bevagna.

Vitellius^ Measures of Defence 6y

was still undecided and at the mercy of treacherous
advice.

During one of his speeches a portent occurred. 56
A cloud of ill-omened birds ^ flew over his head and
its density obscured the daylight. To this was added
another omen of disaster. A bull broke from the altar,
scattered the utensils for the ceremony, and escaped
so far away that it had to be killed instead of being
sacrificed according to the proper ritual. But the chief
portent was Vitellius himself. He was ignorant of
soldiering, incapable of forethought : knew nothing of
drill or scouting, or how far operations should be pressed
forward or protracted. He always had to ask some one
else. At every fresh piece of news his expression and
gait betrayed his alarm. And then he would get drunk.
At last he found camp life too tedious, and on learning
of a mutiny in the fleet at Misenum 2 he returned to
Rome. Every fresh blow terrified him, but of the
real crisis he seemed insensible. For it was open to
him to cross the Apennines and with his full strength
unimpaired to attack the enemy while they were worn
out with cold and hunger. But by breaking up his
forces he sent his keenest soldiers, stubbornly loyal to
the last, to be killed or taken prisoner. The more
experienced of his centurions disapproved of this
policy and would have told him the truth, if they had
been consulted. But the emperor's intimates refused

1 Dio makes them vultures and the scene a sacrifice : they
scattered the victims and nearly knocked Vitellius off his
pulpit. * Described in the following chapter.

66 Book III. Chapters f<f-x<?

them admittance. He had, indeed, formed a habit
of regarding wholesome advice as unpleasant, and
refusing to listen to any that was not agreeable, and
in the long run fatal.
57 In civil war individual enterprise counts for much.
The mutiny of the fleet at Misenum had been
engineered by Claudius Faventinus, a centurion whom
Galba had dismissed in disgrace. To obtain his object
he had forged a letter from Vespasian promising rewards
for treachery. The admiral, Claudius Apollinaris,! was
neither a staunch loyalist nor an enthusiastic traitor.
Accordingly Apinius Tiro, an ex-praetor, who happened
to be at Minturnae,2 offered to take the lead of the
rebels. They proceeded to win over the colonies and
country towns. Puteoli in particular was strong for
Vespasian, while Capua remained loyal to Vitellius,
for they dragged their local jealousies into the civil
war. To pacify the excited troops Vitellius chose
Claudius Julianus, who had lately been in command
of the fleet at Misenum and had allowed lax discipline.
To support him he was given one cohort of the city
garrison and the force of gladiators already serving
under him. The two parties encamped close to one
another, and it was not long before Julianus came over
to Vespasian's side. They then joined forces and
occupied Tarracina,^ which owed its strength more to

^ He had succeeded Bassus (ill. 12).
' Near the mouth of the Liris.

' Horace's ' Anxur perched on gleaming rocks '. It lay near
the Pontine marshes on the Appian way.

Fitellius* Measures of Defence 67

its walls and situation than to the character of its new
garrison.

When news of this reached Vitellius, he left part of 58
his force at Narnia ^ with the prefects of the Guard,^
and sent his brother Lucius with six regiments of
Guards and five hundred horse to cope with the
threatened outbreak in Campania. His own nervous
depression was somewhat relieved by the enthusiasm
of the troops and of the populace, who clamoured
loudly for arms. For he dignified this poor-spirited
mob, which would never dare to do anything but
shout, by the specious titles of ' the army ' or ' his
legions '. His friends were all untrustworthy in pro-
portion to their eminence ; but on the advice of his
freedmen he held a levy for conscription and swore in
all who gave their names. As their numbers were too
great, he gave the task of selection to the two consuls.
From each of the senators he levied a fixed number
of slaves and a weight of silver. The knights offered
money and personal service, while even freedmen
volunteered similar assistance. Indeed, protestations
of loyalty prompted by fear, had gradually changed
into real sympathy. People began to feel pity, not
perhaps so much for Vitellius as for the throne and
its misfortunes. He himself by his looks, his voice, his
tears made ceaseless demands upon their compassion,
promising rewards lavishly and, as men do when they
are frightened, beyond all limits. He had hitherto

^ Narni. ^ Priscus and Varus (see chap. 55).

£2

(58 Book HI. Chapters sS-6o

refused the title of Caesar,^ but he now expressed
a wish for it. He had a superstitious respect for the
name, and in moments of terror one listens as much
to gossip as to sound advice. However, while a rash
and ill-conceived undertaking may prosper at the
outset, in time it always begins to flag. Gradually
the senators and knights deserted him. At first they
hesitated and waited till his back was turned, but soon
they ceased to care and openly showed their disrespect.
At last Vitellius grew ashamed of the failure of his
efforts and excused them from the services which they
refused to render.

The Passage of the Apennines
59 The occupation of Mevania ^ had terrified Italy with
the prospect of a revival of the war, but Vitellius'
cowardly retreat^ sensibly strengthened the popularity
of the Flavian party. The Samnites, Pelignians, and
Marsians were now induced to rise. They were
jealous of Campania for stealing a march on them,
and the change of masters, as so often happens, made
them perform all their military duties with the utmost
alacrity. But in crossing the Apennines Antonius'
army suffered severely from the rough December
weather. Though they met with no opposition, they
found it hard enough to struggle through the snow,
and realized what danger they would have had to
face if Vitellius had not happened to turn back. Cer-
tainly chance helped the Flavian generals quite as often
' i. 62, ii. 62. * See chap. 55. * See chap. 56.

The Passages of the Apennines 6^

as their own strategy. Here they came across Petilius
Cerialis,'- who had been enabled by his knowledge of
the country to elude Vitellius' outposts, disguised as a
peasant. As he was a near relative of Vespasian and
a distinguished soldier he was given a place on the staff.
Several authorities say that Flavius Sabinus and
Domitian 2 were also afforded facilities for escape, and
that Antonius sent messengers who contrived by various
devices to get through to them, and made arrange-
ments for an interview and safe conduct. Sabinus,
however, pleaded that his health was unequal to the
fatigue of such a bold step. Domitian was quite ready
to venture, but although the guards to whom Vitellius
had entrusted him, promised that they would share
his flight, he was afraid they might be laying a trap
for him. As a matter of fact, Vitellius was too anxious
for the safety of his own relatives to plot any harm
against Domitian.

Arrived at Carsulae ^ the Flavian generals took a 6o
few days' rest and awaited the arrival of the main
legionary force.* The place suited them admirably
for an encampment. It commanded a wide view,
and with so many prosperous towns in the rear their
supplies were safe. The Vitellians too, were only ten
miles away, and they had hopes of negotiating treason

' A distinguished officer, who successfully crushed the rebel-
lion on the Rhine (Book IV), and became governor of Britain
in 71.

' Vespasian's brother and younger son were both in Rome,
the former still holding the office of city prefect (cp. i. 46),

' Casigliano. * From Verona (see chap. 52).

70 Book III. Chapters 60-62

with them. The soldiers chafed at this delay, prefering
victory to peace. They did not even want to wait for
their own legions, for there would be more plunder
than danger to share with them. Antonius accordingly
summoned a meeting of the men and explained to
them that Vitellius still had troops at his command.
Reflection might make them waver, despair would
steel their hearts. In civil war, he told them, the
first steps may be left to chance, nothing but careful
strategy can win the final victory. The fleet at
Misenum and the richest districts of Campania had
already deserted Vitellius, and in the whole world
nothing was left to him now except the country
between Narnia and Tarracina. The battle of Cre-
mona had brought them credit enough, and the
destruction of the town more than enough discredit.
Their desire must be not to take Rome but to save it.
They would gain richer rewards and far more glory
if they could show that they had saved the senate
and people of Rome without shedding a drop of blood.
Such considerations as these calmed their excitement,
and it was not long before the legions arrived.
61 Alarmed at the repute of this augmented army,
Vitellius' Guards began to waver. There was no one
to encourage them to fight, while many urged them to
desert, being eager to hand over their companies or
squadrons to the enemy and by such a gift to secure
the victor's gratitude for the future. These also let
the Flavians know that the next camp at Interamna ^

;%r — Ng!j
umkAwr

The Passage of the Apennines 71

had a garrison of four hundred cavalry. Varus was
promptly sent off with a light inarching force, and
the few who offered resistance were killed. The
majority threw away their arms and begged for quarter.
Some escaped to the main camp ^ and spread universal
panic by exaggerating the strength and prowess of the
enemy, in order to mitigate the disgrace of losing the
fort. In the Vitellian camp all offences went un-
punished : desertion met with sure reward. Their
loyalty soon gave way and a competition in treachery
began. Tribunes and centurions deserted daily, but
not the common soldiers, who had grown stubbornly
faithful to Vitellius. At last, however, Priscus and
Alfenus 2 abandoned the camp and returned to Vitel-
lius, thus finally releasing all the others from any
obligation to blush for their treachery.

About the same time Fabius Valens ^ was executed 62
in his prison at Urbinum, and his head was exhibited
to Vitellius' Guards to show them that further hope
was vain. For they cherished a belief that Valens had
made his way into Germany, and was there mustering
his old force and fresh troops as well. This evidence
of his death threw them into despair. The Flavian
army was vastly inspirited by it and regarded Valens'
death as the end of the war.

Valens had been born at Anagnia of an equestrian
family. He was a man of loose morality, not with-
out intellectual gifts, who by indulging in frivolity

^ At Narnia.

* The two prefects of the guard. ' See chap. 43.

72 Book 111 Chapters 62-6^

posed as a wit. In Nero's time he had acted in
a harlequinade at the Juvenalian Games.^ At first
he pleaded compulsion, but afterward she acted volun-
tarily, and his performances were rather clever than
respectable. Rising to the command of a legion,
he supported Verginius 2 and then defamed his
character. He murdered Fonteius Capito,^ whose
loyalty he had undermined — or perhaps because he
had failed to do so. He betrayed Galba and remained
faithful to Vitellius, a merit to which the treachery
of others served as a foil.
63 Now that their hopes were crushed on all sides, the
Vitellians prepared to go over to the enemy. But even
at this crisis they saved their honour by marching
down with their standards and colours to the plains
below Narnia, where the Flavian army was drawn up
in full armour ready for battle in two deep lines
on either side of the road. The Vitellians marched
in between and were surrounded. Antonius then
spoke to them kindly and told them to remain, some
at Narnia and some at Interamna. He also left behind
some of the victorious legions, which were strong
enough to quell any outbreak but would not molest
them so long as they remained quiet.

^ Properly a festival to celebrate the first cutting of the
beard. Nero forced high officials and their wives to take part
in unseemly performances (ii. 62), and the festivities became
a public scandal, culminating in Nero's own appearance as
a lyrist. ^ See i. 7, S.

The Abdication of Vitellius 77,

The Abdication of Vitellius and the Burning
OF THE Capitol

During these days Antonius and Varus kept sending
messages to Vitellius, in which they offered him his
life, a gift of money, and the choice of a safe retreat
in Campania, if he would stop the war and surrender
himself and his children to Vespasian. Mucianus
wrote him letters to the same effect. Vitellius usually
took these offers seriously and talked about the number
of slaves he would have and the choice of a seaside
place. He had sunk, indeed, into such mental torpor
that, if other people had not remembered that he was
an emperor, he was certainly beginning to forget it
himself. However, it was to Flavius Sabinus, the 64
City Prefect, that the leading men at Rome addressed
themselves. They urged him secretly not to lose all
share in the glory of victory. They pointed out that
the City Garrison was under his own command, and
that he could count on the police and their own
bands of slaves, to say nothing of the good fortune of
the party and all the advantage that victory gives.
He must not leave all the glory to Antonius and Varus.
Vitellius had nothing left but a few regiments of
guards, who were seriously alarmed at the bad news
which came from every quarter. As for the populace,
their feelings soon changed, and if he put himself at
their head, they would be just as loud in their flattery
of Vespasian. Vitellius himself could not even cope

74 ^ook III. Chapters 64-66

with success, and disaster had positively paralysed him.
The credit of ending the war would go to the man who
seized the city. It was eminently fitting that Sabinus
should secure the throne for his brother, and that
Vespasian should hold him higher than any one
else.
05 Age had enfeebled Sabinus, and he showed no
alacrity to listen to such talk as this. Some people
covertly insinuated that he was jealous of his brother's
success and was trying to delay its realization. Flavins
Sabinus was the elder brother and, while they were
both private persons, he had been the richer and more
influential. It was also believed that he had been
chary in helping Vespasian to recover his financial
position, and had taken a mortgage on his house and
estates. Consequently, though they remained openly
friendly, there were suspicions of a secret enmity
between them. The more charitable explanation is
that Sabinus's gentle nature shrank from the idea of
bloodshed and massacre, and that this was his reason
for so constantly discussing with Vitellius the prospects
of peace and a capitulation on terms. After several
interviews at his house they finally came to a settle-
ment— so the report went — at the Temple of Apollo.^
To the actual conversation there were only two wit-
nesses, Cluvius Rufus"^ and Silius Italicus,^ but the
expression of their faces was watched from a distance.

> On the Palatine. " See i. 8.

' A friend of Vitellius and the author of the historical epic
on the second Punic War.

The abdication oj Vitellius 75-

Vitellius was said to look abject and demoralized :
Sabinus showed less sign of pride than of pity.

Had Vitellius found it no harder to persuade his 66
friends than to make his own renunciation, Vespasian's
army might have marched into Rome without blood-
shed. But as it was, each of his friends in proportion
to his loyalty persisted in refusing terms of peace.
They pointed to the danger and disgrace. Would
their conqueror keep his promises any longer than he
liked .' However great Vespasian's self-confidence, he
could not allow Vitellius to live in private. Nor would
the losers acquiesce : their very pity would be a menace.^
' Of course,' they said, ' you are an old man. You
have done with fortune, good or bad. But what sort
of repute or position would your son Germanicus ^
enjoy? At present they are promising you money and
a household, and the pleasant shores of Campania.
But when once Vespasian has seized the throne, neither
he nor his friends nor even his army will feel their
safety assured until the rival claimant is dead. They
imprisoned Fabius Valens and meant to make use of
him if a crisis occurred, but they found him too great
an incubus. You may be sure that Antonius and Fuscus
and that typical representative of the party, Mucianus,
will have no choice but to kill you. Julius Caesar did
not let Pompey live unmolested, nor Augustus An tony .^

' This apparently means that, if Vitellius were spared, pity
for his position would inspire his supporters to make further
trouble.

' See ii. 59.

' Two good points, but both untrue.

76 Book III. Chapters 66-6H

Do you suppose that Vespasian's is a loftier disposition ?
Why, he was one of your father's dependants,^ when
your father was Claudius's colleague.^ No, think of
your father's censorship, his three consulships,- and all
the honour your great house has won. You must not
disgrace them. Despair, at least, should nerve your
courage. The troops are steadfast ; you still enjoy
the people's favour. Indeed, nothing worse can happen
to you than what we are eager to face of our own free
will. If we are defeated, we must die ; if we surrender,
we must die. All that matters is whether we breathe
our last amid mockery and insult or bravely and with
honour.'
67 But Vitellius was deaf to all courageous counsel.
His mind was obsessed with pity for his wife and
children, and an anxious fear that obstinate resistance
might make the conqueror merciless towards them.
He had also a mother,^ very old and infirm, but she
had opportunely died a few days before and thus fore-
stalled the ruin of her house. All she had got out of
her son's principate was sorrow and a good name.
On December 17 he heard the news that the legion
and the Guards at Narnia had deserted him and
surrendered to the enemy. He at once put on mourn-
ing and left the palace, surrounded by his sorrowful
household. His small son was carried in a little litter,
as though this had been his funeral. The populace

* This too is probably hyperbole, but Vespasian may have
owed his command in Germany to the influence of Vitellius'
father. ' See i. 52, p. 69, note 2. ' See ii. 64, 89.

The Abdication of Vttellius jj

uttered untimely flatteries : the soldiers kept an
ominous silence.

On that day there was no one so indifferent to the 68
tragedy of human life as to be unmoved by this
spectacle. A Roman emperor, yesterday master of the
inhabited world, had left the seat of his authority,
and was now passing through the streets of the city,
through the crowding populace, quitting the throne.
Such a sight had never been seen or heard of before.
The dictator, Caesar, had been the victim of sudden
violence ; Caligula of a secret conspiracy. Nero's had
been a stealthy flight to some obscure country house
under cover of night. Piso and Galba might almost
be said to have fallen on the field of battle. But here
was Vitellius — before the assembly of his own people,
his own soldiers around him, with women even looking
on — uttering a few sentences suitable to his miserable
situation. He said it was in the interest of peace and
of his country that he now resigned. He begged them
only to retain his memory in their hearts and to take
pity on his brother, his wife, and his little innocent
children. As he said this, he held out his son to them
and commended him, now to individuals, now to the
whole assembly. At last tears choked his voice. Turn-
ing to the consul, Caecilius Simplex,^ who was standing
by, he unstrapped his sword and offered to surrender
it as a symbol of his power over the life and death of
his subjects. The consul refused. The people in the
assembly shouted ' No '. So he left them with the

* See ii. 60.

78 Book III. Chapters 68, 69

intention of depositing the regalia in the Temple of
Concord and then going to his brother's house. But
he was faced with a still louder uproar. They refused
to let him enter a private house, and shouted to him
to return to the palace. They blocked every other
way and only left the road leading into the Via Sacra
open.i ]sjot knowing what else to do, Vitellius returned
to the palace.
5q a rumour of his abdication had preceded him, and
Flavius Sabinus had sent written instructions to the
Guards' ^ officers to keep the men in hand. Thus the
whole empire seemed to have fallen into Vespasian's
lap. The chief senators, the majority of the knights,
and the whole of the city garrison and the police came
flocking to the house of Flavius Sabinus. There they
heard the news of the popular enthusiasm for Vitellius
and the threatening attitude of the German Guards.^
But Sabinus had gone too far to draw back, and when
he showed hesitation, they all began to urge him to
fight, each being afraid for his own safety if the Vitel-
lians were to fall on them when they were disunited
and consequently weaker. However, as so often
happens on these occasions, every one offered to give

^ i. e. the way back from the Forum to the Palace.

^ Including the city garrison and police.

^ In chap. 78 we find three cohorts of Guards still faithful
to Vitellius, and, as it appears from ii. 93, 94 that men from
the legions of Germany had been enlisted in the Guards, the
term Germanicae cohortes seems to refer to these three cohorts,
in which perhaps the majority were men from the German
army.

The Abdication of Fitellius 7 9

advice but few to share the danger. While Sabinus'
Body Guard were marching down by the Fundane
reservoir 1 they were attacked by some of the most
determined Vitellians. The surprise was unpremedi-
tated, but the Vitellians got the best of an unimportant
skirmish. In the panic Sabinus chose what was at the
moment the safest course, and occupied the summit
of the Capitol,^ where his troops were joined by a few
senators and knights. It is not easy to record their
names, since after Vespasian's victory crowds of people
claimed credit for this service to the party. There
were even some women who endured the siege, the
most famous of them being Verulana Gratilla, who
had neither children nor relatives to attract her, but
only her love of danger.^

The Vitellians, who were investing them, kept a
half-hearted watch, and Sabinus was thus enabled to
send for his own children and his nephew Domitian
at dead of night, dispatching a courier by an unguarded
route to tell the Flavian generals that he and his men
were under siege, and would be in great straits unless
they were rescued. All night, indeed, he was quite
unmolested, and could have escaped with perfect safety.
The Vitellian troops could face danger with spirit, but
were much too careless in the task of keeping guard ;

* Said to be on the Quirinal.

^ Either the whole hill, or, if the expression is exact, the
south-west summit.

* This seems to have led her later into the paths of con-
spiracy, for she is said to have been banished by Domitian
for her friendship with Arulenus Rusticus.

8o Book III. Chapters 69-71

besides which a sudden storm of chilly rain interfered
with their sight and hearing.
70 At daybreak, before the two sides commenced
hostilities, Sabinus sent Cornelius Martialis, who had
been a senior centurion, to Vitellius with instructions
to complain that the conditions were being violated ;
that he had evidently made a mere empty show of
abdication, meant to deceive a number of eminent
gentlemen. Else why had he gone from the meeting
to his brother's house, which caught the eye from
a conspicuous position overlooking the Forum, and not
rather to his wife's on the Aventine. That was the
proper course for a private citizen, anxious to avoid
all pretension to supreme authority. But no, Vitellius
had returned to the palace, the very stronghold of
imperial majesty. From there he had launched a
column of armed men, who had strewn with innocent
dead the most crowded quarter of Rome, and even
laid violent hands upon the Capitol. As for Sabinus
himself, the messenger was to say, he was only a civilian,
a mere member of the senate. While the issue was
being decided between Vespasian and Vitellius by the
engagement of legions, the capture of towns, the
capitulation of cohorts ; even when the provinces of
Spain, of Germany, of Britain, had risen in revolt ;
he, though Vespasian's brother, had still remained
faithful to his allegiance, until Vitellius, unasked,
began to invite him to a conference. Peace and union,
he was to remind him, serve the interest of the losers,
and only the reputation of the winners. If Vitellius

The Abdication of Fits Hi us 8 1

regretted their compact, he ought not to take arms
against Sabinus, whom he had treacherously deceived,
and against Vespasian's son, who was still a mere boy.
What was the good of killing one youth and one old
man ? He ought rather to march out against the legions
and fight for the empire on the field. The result of
the battle would decide all other questions.

Greatly alarmed, Vitellius replied with a few words
in which he tried to excuse himself and throw the
blame on his soldiers. ' I am too unassuming,' he said,
' to cope with their overpowering impatience.' He
then warned Martialis to make his way out of the
house by a secret passage, for fear that the soldiers
should kill him as an ambassador of the peace to which
they were so hostile. Vitellius himself was not in a
position to issue orders or prohibitions ; no longer an
emperor, merely an excuse for war.

Martialis had hardly returned to the Capitol when 71
the furious soldiery arrived. They had no general to
lead them : each was a law to himself. Their column
marched at full speed through the Forum and past
the temples overlooking it. Then in battle order they
advanced up the steep hill in front of them, until they
reached the lowest gates of the fortress on the Capitol.
In old days there was a series of colonnades at the side
of this slope, on the right as you go up. Emerging on
to the roof of these, the besieged overwhelmed the
Vitellians with showers of stones and tiles. The
attacking party carried nothing but swords, and it
seemed a long business to send for siege-engines and

8 2 Book III. Chapters 71, 72

missiles. So they flung torches into the nearest ^
colonnade and, following in the wake of the flames,
would have burst through the burnt gates of the
Capitol, if Sabinus had not torn down all the available
statues — the monuments of our ancestors' glory — and
built a sort of barricade on the very threshold. They
then tried to attack the Capitol by two opposite
approaches, one near the ' Grove of Refuge ' ^ and the
other by the hundred steps which lead up to the
Tarpeian Rock. This double assault came as a surprise.
That by the Refuge was the closer and more vigorous.
Nothing could stop the Vitellians, who climbed up
by some contiguous houses built on to the side of the
hill, which in the days of prolonged peace had been
raised to such a height that their roofs were level with
the floor of the Capitol. It is uncertain whether the
buildings at this point were fired by the assailants or —
as tradition prefers — by the besieged in trying to
dislodge their enemies who had struggled up so far.
The fire spread to the colonnades adjoining the temples,
and then the ' eagles ' ^ supporting the roof, which
were made of very old wood, caught the flames and fed
them. And so the Capitol, with its doors fast shut,
undefended and unplundered, was burnt to the ground.
72 Since the foundation of the city no such deplorable
and horrible disaster had ever befallen the people of

^ Prominentem seems to mean the one ihat projected
towards them.
" The space lying between the two peaks of the Capitoline.
' A technical term for the beams of the pediment.

The Abdication of Vitellius 8 3

Rome. It was no case of foreign invasion. Had our
own wickedness allowed, the country might have been
enjoying the blessings of a benign Providence ; and
yet here was the seat of Jupiter Almighty — the temple
solemnly founded by our ancestors as the pledge of
their imperial greatness, on which not even Porsenna,!
when Rome surrendered, nor the Gauls, when they
took it, had ever dared to lay rash hands — being brought
utterly to ruin by the mad folly of two rival emperors ! 2
The Capitol had been burnt before in civil war,^ but
that was the crime of private persons. Now it had
been openly assaulted by the people of Rome and
openly burnt by them. And what was the cause of
war t what the recompense for such a disaster ? Were
we fighting for our country ?

King Tarquinius Priscus had vowed to build this
temple in the Sabine war, and had laid the foundations
on a scale that suited rather his hope of the city's
future greatness than the still moderate fortunes of the
Roman people. Later Servius Tullius, with the aid
of Rome's allies, and Tarquinius Superbus, with the
spoils of the Volscians after the capture of Suessa
Pometia,* continued the building. But the glory of
completing it was reserved for the days of freedom.
After the expulsion of the kings, Horatius Pulvillus,

• ' Lars Porsenna of Clusium,' 507 B. c.
- ' Burning the Capitol ' was a proverb of utter iniquity.
' In the war between Sulla and Marius, 83 B. c.
' The capital town of the Volscians. This early history is
told in the first book of Livy.

F 2

84 Book III. Chapters 72-74

in his second consulship ^ dedicated this monument on
such a magnificent scale, that in later days, with all
her boundless wealth, Rome has been able to embellish
but never to enlarge it. After an interval of four
hundred and fifteen years, in the consulship of Lucius
Scipio andCaius Norbanus,^ it was burnt and rebuilt on
the same site. Sulla after his victory undertook the task
of restoring it, but did not dedicate it. This only was
lacking to justify his title of ' Fortune's Favourite '.^
Much as the emperors did to it, the name of Lutatius
Catulus * still remained upon it up to the time of
Vitellius.^ This was the temple that was now ablaze.
y^ The besieged suffered more panic than their assail-
ants. The Vitellian soldiers lacked neither resource
nor steadiness in moments of crisis. But on the other
side the troops were terrified, the general ^ inert, and
apparently so paralysed that he was practically deaf
and dumb. He neither adopted others' plans nor
formed any of his own, but only drifted about from
place to place, attracted by the shouts of the enemy,
contradicting all his own orders. The result was what
always happens in a hopeless disaster : everybody gave
orders and nobody obeyed them. At last they threw
away their weapons and began to peer round for

» 507 B.C.

- 83 B.C. The interval is really 425 years.

^ This, according to Pliny, was Sulla's own saying.

* Consul in 69 B. c. lie took the title of Capitolinus.

^ On the monument which details his exploits Augustus says
that he restored the Capitol at immense co^t without inscribing
his name on it. * Flavins Sabinus.

The Abdication of Fife I litis 8 f

a way of escape or some means of hiding. Then the
Vitellians came bursting in, and with fire and sword
made one red havoc. A few good soldiers dared to
show fight and were cut to pieces. Of these the most
notable were Cornelius Martialis,^ Aemilius Paccnsis,^
Casperius Niger, and Didius Scaeva. Flavius Sabinus,
who stood unarmed and making no attempt to escape,
was surrounded together with the consul Quintius
Atticus,^ whose empty title made him a marked man,
as well as his personal vanity, which had led him to
distribute manifestoes full of compliments to Vespasian
and insults against Vitellius. The rest escaped by
various means. Some disguised themselves as slaves :
some were sheltered by faithful dependants : some hid
among the baggage. Others again caught the Vitellians'
password, by which they recognized each other, and
actually went about demanding it and giving it when
challenged, thus escaping under a cloak of effrontery.

When the enemy first broke in, Domitian had taken 74
refuge with the sacristan, and was enabled by the
ingenuity of a freedman to escape among a crowd of
worshippers in a linen dress,* and to take refuge near
the Velabrum with Cornelius Primus, one of his father's
dependants. When his father came to the throne,
Domitian pulled down the sacristan's lodging and

* Cp. chap. 70. * Cp. i. 20, 87 ; ii. 12.

* Consul for November and December. His colleague,
Caecilius Simplex, was on the other side (see chap. 68).

* The dress of the worshippers of the Egyptian goddess Isis,
who considered woollen clothes unclean.

8 (J Book III. Chapters 74-76

built a little chapel to Jupiter the Saviour with an
altar, on which his adventures were depicted in marble
relief. Later, when he became emperor, he dedicated
a huge temple to Jupiter the Guardian with a statue
of himself in the lap of the god.

Sabinus and Atticus were loaded with chains and
taken to Vitellius, who received them without any
language or looks of disfavour, much to the chagrin
of those who wanted to see them punished with death
and themselves rewarded for their successful labours.
When those who stood nearest started an outcry, the
dregs of the populace soon began to demand Sabinus'
execution with mingled threats and flatteries. Vitellius
came out on to the steps of the palace prepared to
plead for him : but they forced him to desist. Sabinus
was stabbed and riddled with wounds : his head was
cut off and the trunk dragged away to the Ladder
75 of Sighs.i Such was the end of a man who certainly
merits no contempt. He had served his country
for thirty-five years, and won credit both as civilian
and soldier. His integrity and fairness were beyond
criticism. He talked too much about himself, but this
is the one charge which rumour could hint against
him in the seven years when he was Governor of
Moesia, and the twelve years during which he was
Prefect of the City. At the end of his life some thought
he showed a lack of enterprise, but many believed him

* A flight of steps leading down from the Capitol to the
Forum. On them the bodies of criminals were exposed after
execution.

The Abdication of Vitellius 8 7

a moderate man, who was anxious to save his fellow
citizens from bloodshed. In this, at any rate, all
would agree, that before Vespasian became emperor
the reputation of his house rested on Sabinus. It is
said that Mucianus was delighted to hear of his murder,
and many people maintained that it served the
interests of peace by putting an end to the jealousy
of two rivals, one of whom was the emperor's brother,
while the other posed as his partner in the empire.^

When the people further demanded the execution
of the consul, Vitellius withstood them. He had for-
given Atticus, and felt that he owed him a favour,
for, when asked who had set lire to the Capitol, Atticus
had taken the blame on himself, by which avowal —
or was it a well-timed falsehood .'' — he had fixed all
the guilt and odium on himself and exonerated the
Vitellian party.

The Taking of Tarracina

About this same time Lucius Vitellius,^ who had 76
pitched his camp at the Temple of Feronia,^ made
every effort to destroy Tarracina, where he had shut
up the gladiators and sailors, who would not venture
to leave the shelter of the walls or to face death in
the open. The gladiators were commanded, as we
have already seen,* by Julianus, and the sailors by

1

Mucianus. '^ See chap. 58.

* An Italian goddess of freedom. The temple is mentioned
in Horace's Journey to Brundisium, where Anxur = Tarracina,
which was three miles from the temple. * Chap. 57.

88 Book III. Chapters 76-78

Apollinaris, men whose dissolute inefficiency better
suited gladiators than general officers. They set no
watch, and made no attempt to repair the weak places
in the walls. Day and night they idled loosely ; the
soldiers were dispatched in all directions to find them
luxuries ; that beautiful coast rang with their revelry ;
and they only spoke of war in their cups. A few days
earlier, Apinius Tiro 1 had started on his mission, and,
by rigorously requisitioning gifts of money in all the
country towns, was winning more unpopularity than
assistance for the cause.
77 Ii^ the meantime, one of Vergilius Capito's slaves
deserted to Lucius Vitellius, and promised that, if he
were provided with men, he would put the abandoned
castle into their hands. Accordingly, at dead of night
he established a few lightly armed cohorts on the top
of the hills which overlooked the enemy. Thence the
soldiers came charging down more to butchery than
battle. They cut down their victims standing helpless
and unarmed or hunting for their weapons, or perhaps
newly startled from their sleep — all in a bewildering
confusion of darkness, panic, bugle-calls, and savage
cries. A few of the gladiators resisted and sold their
lives dearly. The rest rushed to the ships ; and there
the same panic and confusion reigned, for the villagers
were all mixed up with the troops, and the Vitellians
slaughtered them too, without distinction. Just as the

* He was in command of the rebels from the fleet at Mise-
num, and engaged in bringing over the country-towns (see
chap. 57).

The Tahing of Tarracina 89

first uproar began, six Liburnian cruisers slipped away
with the admiral Apollinaris on board. The rest
were either captured on the beach or overweighted
and sunk by the crowds that clambered over them.
Julianus was taken to Lucius Vitellius, who had him
flogged till he bled and then killed before his tj^.
Some writers have accused Lucius Vitellius' wife,
Triaria,! of putting on a soldier's sword, and with
insolent cruelty showing herself among the horrors
of the captured town. Lucius himself sent a laurel-
wreath to his brother in token of his success, and
inquired whether he wished him to return at once
or to continue reducing Campania. This delay
saved not only Vespasian's party but Rome as well.
Had he marched on the city while his men were
fresh from their victory, with the flush of success
added to their natural intrepidity, there would have
been a tremendous struggle, which must have in-
volved the city's destruction. Lucius Vitellius, too,
for all his evil repute, was a man of action. Good
men owe their power to their virtues ; but he was
one of that worst sort whose vices are their only
virtue.

The Sack of Rome and the end of Vitellius

While things ^ w^ent thus on Vitellius' side, the 78
Flavian army after leaving Narnia spent the days of

* Cp. chaps. 63 and 64.

* The narrative is continued from chap. 63.

90 Book III. Chapters 78-80

the Saturnalian holiday! quietly at Ocriculum.2 The
object of this disastrous delay was to wait for
Mucianus, Antonius has been suspected of delaying
treacherously after receivirtg a secret communication
from Vitellius, offering him as the price of treason the
consulship, his young daughter, and a rich dowry.
Others hold that this story was invented to gratify
Mucianus. Many consider that the policy of all the
Flavian generals was rather to threaten the city than
to attack it. They realized that Vitellius had lost the
best cohorts of his Guards, and now that all his forces
were cut off they expected he would abdicate. But
this prospect was spoilt first by Sabinus' precipitation
and then by his cowardice, for, after very rashly taking
arms, he failed to defend against three cohorts of
Guards the strongly fortified castle on the Capitol,
which ought to have been impregnable even to a large
army. However, it is not easy to assign to any one
man the blame which they all share. Even Mucianus
helped to delay the victors' advance by the ambiguity
of his dispatches, and Antonius was also to blame
for his untimely compliance with instructions — or else
for trying to throw the responsibility ^ on Mucianus.
The other generals thought the war was over, and thus
rendered its final scene all the more appalling. Petilius
Cerialis was sent forward with a thousand cavalry to

* December 17-23. « Otricoli.

^ i. e. for the delay which gave time for the burning of tlie
Capitol. The fact that he tried to shift the responsibility
seemed to argue an uncomfortable conscience.

The Sack of Rome 91

make his way by cross-roads through the Sabine
country, and enter the city by the Salarian road.^
But even he failed to make sufficient haste, and at last
the news of the siege of the Capitol brought them all
at once to their senses.

Marching up the Flaminian road, it was already deep ^g
night when Antonius reached ' The Red Rocks '.^
His help had come too late. There he heard that
Sabinus had been killed, and the Capitol burnt ; the
city was in panic ; everything looked black ; even
the populace and the slaves were arming for Vitellius.
Petilius Cerialis, too, had been defeated in a cavalry
engagement. He had pushed on without caution,
thinking the enemy already beaten, and the Vitellians
with a mixed force of horse and foot had caught him
unawares. The engagement had taken place near the
city among farm buildings and gardens and winding
lanes, with which the Vitellians were familiar, while
the Flavians were terrified by their ignorance. Besides,
the troopers were not all of one mind ; some of them
belonged to the force which had recently surrendered
at Narnia, and were waiting to see which side won.
Julius Flavianus, who commanded a regiment of
cavalry, was taken prisoner. The rest fell into a dis-
graceful panic and fled, but the pursuit was not con-
tinued beyond Fidenae.

This success served to increase the popular excite- 8o
ment. The city rabble now took arms. A few had
service-shields : most of them snatched up any weapons

' i. e. through the Colline Gate. " Grotta Rosa.

92 Book III. Chapters 80-82

they could find and clamoured to be given the sign
for battle. Vitellius expressed his gratitude to them
and bade them sally forth to protect the city. He then
summoned a meeting of the senate, at which envoys
were appointed to go to the two armies and urge them
in the name of public welfare to accept peace. The
fortunes of the envoys varied. Those who approached
Petilius Cerialis found themselves in dire danger, for
the soldiers indignantly refused their terms. The
praetor, Arulenus Rusticus,^ was wounded. Apart
from the wrong done to a praetor and an envoy, the
man's own acknowledged worth made this seem all the
more scandalous. His companions were flogged, and
the lictor nearest to him was killed for venturing to
make a way through the crowd. Indeed, if the guard
provided by the general had not intervened, a Roman
envoy, the sanctity of whose person even foreign
nations respect, might have been vdckedly murdered
in the mad rage of civil strife under the very walls
of Rome. Those who went to Antonius met with
a more reasonable reception ; not that the soldiers
were less violent, but the general had more authorit}\
81 A knight named Musonius Rufus had attached him-
self to the envoys. He was a student of philosophy
and an enthusiastic advocate of Stoicism. He mingled
with the armed soldiers offering them advice and dis-
coursing on the advantages of peace and the perils
of war. This amused many of them and bored still

' A well-known member of the Stoic opposition, executed
by Domitian's order, a. d. 94.

The Sack of Rome 93

more. Some, indeed, wanted to maul him and kick
him out, but the advice of the more sober spirits and
the threats of others persuaded him to cut short his
ill-timed lecture. The Vestal Virgins, too, came in
procession to bring Antonius a letter from Vitellius,
in which he demanded one day's postponement of
the final crisis, saying that everything could easily be
settled, if only they would grant this respite. Antonius
sent the Virgins away with all respect, and wrote in
answer to Vitellius that the murder of Sabinus and the
burning of the Capitol had broken off all negotiations.
However, he summoned the legions to a meeting and o2
endeavoured to mollify them, proposing that they
should pitch their camp near the Mulvian Bridge and
enter the city on the following day. His motive for
delay was a fear that the troops, when once their blood
was up after a skirmish, would have no respect for
civilians or senators, or even for the temples and
shrines of the gods. But they suspected every post-
ponement as a hindrance to their victory. Moreover,
some colours which were seen glittering along the hills,
gave the impression of a hostile force, although none
but peaceful citizens accompanied them.

The attack was made in three columns. One
advanced from its original position on the Flaminian
road, one kept near the bank of the Tiber, and the
third approached the Colline Gate along the Salarian
road. The cavalry rode into the mob and scattered
them. But the Vitellian troops faced the enemy,
themselves, too, in three separate divisions. Again

94 Book IIL Chapters 82-84

and again they engaged before the walls with varying
success. But the Flavians had the advantage of being
well led and thus more often won success. Only one
of the attacking parties suffered at all severely, that
which had made its way along narrow, greasy lanes
to Sallust's Gardens ^ on the left side of the city.
Standing on the garden walls, the Vitellians hurled
stones and javelins down upon them and held them
back until late in the day. But at last the cavalry
forced an entrance by the Colline Gate and took the
defenders in the rear. Then the opposing forces met
on the Martian Plain itself. Fortune favoured the
Flavians and the sense of victories won. The Vitellians
charged in sheer despair, but, though driven back, they
gathered again in the city.
8^ The people came and watched the fighting, cheering
and applauding now one side, now the other, like
spectators at a gladiatorial contest. Whenever one
side gave ground, and the soldiers began to hide in
shops or seek refuge in some private house, they
clamoured for them to be dragged out and killed, and
thus got the greater part of the plunder for themselves :
for while the soldiers were busy with the bloody work
of massacre, the spoil fell to the crowd. The scene
throughout the city was hideous and terrible : on the
one side fighting and wounded men, on the other
baths and restaurants : here lay heaps of bleeding
dead, and close at hand were harlots and their com-
panions— all the vice and licence of luxurious peace,
* The historian. They now belonged to the emperor.

The Sack of Rome 95*

and all the crime and horror of a captured town.
One might well have thought the city mad with fury
and mad with pleasure at the same time. Armies
had fought in the city before this, twice when Sulla
mastered Rome,i once under Cinna.^ Nor were there
less horrors then. What was now so inhuman was the
people's indiflEerence. Not for one minute did they
interrupt the life of pleasure. The fighting was a
new amusement for their holiday.^ Caring nothing
for either party, they enjoyed themselves in riotous
dissipation and took a frank pleasure in their country's
disaster.

The storming of the Guards' camp was the most 84
troublesome task. It was still held by some of the
bravest as a forlorn hope, which made the victors all
the more eager to take it, especially those who had
originally served in the Guards. They employed against
it every means ever devised for the storming of the
most strongly fortified towns, a ' tortoise ',* artillery,
earthworks, firebrands. This, they cried, was the
crown of all the toil and danger they had undergone
in all their battles. They had restored the city to the
senate and people of Rome, and their Temples to the
gods : the soldier's pride is his camp, it is his country
and his home. If they could not regain it at once,
they must spend the night in fighting. The Vitellians,
for their part, had numbers and fortune against them,
but by marring their enemy's victory, by postponing

^ 88 and 82 B.C. « 87 B.C.

■ The Saturnalia. * See chap. 27, note 2.

$>d Book III. Chapters 84-86

peace, by fouling houses and altars with their blood,
they embraced the last consolations that the conquered
can enjoy. Many lay more dead than alive on the
towers and ramparts of the walls and there expired.
When the gates were torn down, the remainder faced
the conquerors in a body. And there they fell, every
man of them facing the enemy with all his wounds
in front. Even as they died they took care to make
an honourable end.

When the city was taken, Vitellius left the Palace
by a back way and was carried in a litter to his wife's
house on the Aventine. If he could lie hid during
the day, he hoped to make his escape to his brother
and the Guards at Tarracina. But it is in the very
nature of terror that, while any course looks dangerous,
the present state of things seems worst of all. His
fickle determination soon changed and he returned to
the vast, deserted Palace, whence even the lowest of
his menials had fled, or at least avoided meeting him.
Shuddering at the solitude and hushed silence of the
place, he wandered about, trying closed doors, terrified
to find the rooms empty ; until at last, wearied with
his miserable search, he crept into some shameful
hiding-place. There Julius Placidus, an officer of the
Guards, found him and dragged him out. His hands
were tied behind his back, his clothes were torn, and
thus he was led forth — a loathly spectacle at which
many hurled insults and no one shed a single tear of
pity. The ignominy of his end killed all compassion.
On the way a soldier of the German army either

The Sack of Rome 97

aimed an angry blow at him, or tried to put him out
of his shame, or meant, perhaps, to strike the officer
in command ; at any rate, he cut off the officer's ear
and was immediately stabbed. With the points of 85
their swords they made Vitellius hold up his head and
face their insults, forcing him again and again to
watch his own statues hurtling down, or to look at
the Rostra and the spot where Galba had been killed.
At last he was dragged along to the Ladder of Sighs,i
where the body of Flavius Sabinus had lain. One
saying of his which was recorded had a ring of true
nobility. When some officer flung reproaches at him,
he answered, ' And yet I was once your emperor.'
After that he fell under a shower of wounds, and when
he was dead the mob abused him as loudly as they
had flattered him in his lifetime — and with as little
reason.

Vitellius' home was at Luceria.^ He was in his 86
fifty-seventh year, and had won the consulship,
priesthoods, and a name and position among Rome's
greatest men, all of which he owed to no efforts of
his own, but solely to his father's eminence.^ Those
who offered him the throne had not yet learnt to
know him ; and yet his slothful cowardice won from
his soldiers an enthusiasm which the best of generals
have rarely evoked. Still he had the qualities of
candour and generosity, which without moderation are

* Cp. p. 86, note i.

* The words are uncertain. There is probably a lacuna.

* Cp. vol. i, p. 69, note 2.

98 Book III. Chapter 86

liable to prove disastrous. He had few friends, though
he bought many, thinking to keep them, not by showing
moral stamina, but by giving liberal presents. It was
indubitably good for the country that Vitellius should
be beaten. But those who betrayed him to Vespasian
can hardly make a merit of their perfidy, for they were
the very men who had deserted Galba for Vitellius.

The day was already sinking into evening. The
magistrates and senators had fled in terror from the
city, or were still in hiding at dependants' houses : it
was therefore impossible to call a meeting of the senate.
When all fear of violence was at an end, Domitian
came out^ and presented himself to the generals of
his party. The crowds of soldiers at once hailed him
as Caesar, and marched ofT, still in full armour, to escort
him to his father's house.

' He had taken refuge with a humble friend (see chap. 74).

BOOK IV

Rome after the Fall of Vitellius
(January — July, a. d. 70)

The death of Vitellius ended the war without in- i
augurating peace. The victors remained under arms,
and the defeated Vitellians were hunted through the
city with implacable hatred, and butchered promis-
cuously wherever they were found. The streets were
choked with corpses ; squares and temples ran with
blood. Soon the riot knew no restraint ; they began
to hunt for those who were in hiding and to drag them
out. All who were tall and of youthful appearance,
whether soldiers or civilians, were cut down indis-
criminately.i While their rage was fresh they sated
their savage cravings with blood ; then suddenly the
instinct of greed prevailed. On the pretext of hunting
for hidden enemies, they would leave no door unopened
and regard no privacy. Thus they began to rifle
private houses or else made resistance an excuse for
murder. There were plenty of needy citizens, too,
and of rascally slaves, who were perfectly ready to
betray wealthy householders : others were indicated
by their friends. From all sides came cries of mourning

' Because they were taken for members of Vitellius' German
auxiliary cohorts.

G2

TOO Book IF. Cl)apt(rs /-?

and misery. Rome was like a captured city. People
even longed to have the insolent soldiery of Otho and
Vitellius back again, much as they had been hated.
The Flavian generals, who had fanned the flame of
civil war with such energy, were incapable of using
their victory temperately. In riot and disorder the
worst characters take the lead ; peace and quiet call
for the highest qualities.
2 Domitian having secured the title and the official
residence of a Caesar,^ did not as yet busy himself wdth
serious matters, but in his character of emperor's son
devoted himself to dissolute intrigues. Arrius Varus 2
took command of the Guards, but the supreme authority
rested with Antonius Primus. He removed money and
slaves from the emperor's house as though he were
plundering Cremona. The other generals, from excess
of modesty or lack of spirit, shared neither the dis-
tinctions of the war nor the profits of peace.

People in Rome were now so nervous and so resigned
to despotism that they demanded that Lucius Vitellius
and his force of Guards should be surprised on their
way back from Tarracina,^ and the last sparks of the
war stamped out. Some cavalry were sent forward
to Aricia, while the column of the legions halted short
of Bovillae.^ Vitellius, however, lost no time in sur-
rendering himself and his Guards to the conqueror's

' Cp. iii. 86 sub fin. ^ Cp. iii. 6. ' See iii. 76.

' These three towns are all on the Appian Way, Bovillae
ten miles from Rome, Aricia sixteen, Tarracina fifty-nine, on
the coast.

Rome after the Fall of Fit el It us i oi

discretion, and the men flung away their unlucky
swords more in anger than in fear. The long line of
prisoners filed through the city between ranks of armed
guards. None looked like begging for mercy. With
sad, set faces they remained sternly indifferent to the
applause or the mockery of the ribald crowd. A few
tried to break away, but were surrounded and over-
powered. The rest were put in prison. Not one of
them gave vent to any unseemly complaint. Through
all their misfortunes they preserved their reputation
for courage. Lucius Vitellius was then executed. He
was as weak as his brother, though during the principate
he showed himself less indolent. Without sharing his
brother's success, he was carried away on the flood of
his disaster.

At this time Lucilius Bassus ^ was sent off with a 3
force of light horse to quell the disquiet in Campania,
which was caused more by the mutual jealousy of the
townships than by any opposition to the emperor,
The sight of the soldiers restored order. The
smaller colonies were pardoned, but at Capua the
Third legion 2 was left in winter quarters and some of
the leading families fined.^ Tarracina, on the other
hand, received no relief. It is always easier to requite
an injury than a service : gratitude is a burden, but
revenge is found to pay. Their only consolation was
that one of Vergilius Capito's slaves, who had, as we

' Cp. iii. 12. ' Gallica.

' Capua had adhered lo ViltUiub. Tarracina had been held
lor Vespasian (cp. iii. 57;.

102 Booh IF. Chapters s, 4

have seen,i betrayed the town, was hanged on the
gallows with the very rings 2 on his fingers which
Vitellius had given him to wear.

At Rome the senate decreed to Vespasian all the
usual prerogatives of the principate.^ They were now
happy and confident. Seeing that the civil war had
broken out in the provinces of Gaul and Spain, and
after causing a rebellion first in Germany and then
in Illyricum, had spread to Egypt, Judaea, SyTia,^ and
in fact to all the provinces and armies of the empire,
they felt that the world had been purged as by fire
and that all was now over. Their satisfaction was still
further enhanced by a letter from Vespasian, which
at first sight seemed to be phrased as if the war was still
going on. Still his tone was that of an emperor, though
he spoke of himself as a simple citizen and gave his
country all the glory. The senate for its part showed
no lack of deference. They decreed that Vespasian him-
self should be consul with Titus for his colleague, and
on Domitian they conferred the praetorship with the
powers of a consul.^
4 Alucianus had also addressed a letter to the senate

^ See iii. 77.

^ The insignia of equestrian rank (cp. i. 13).

' The chief of these were the powers of tribune, pro-consul,
and censor, and the title of Augustus (cp. i. 47. ii. 55).

* Vindex had risen in Gaul ; Galba in Spain ; Vitellius
in Germany ; Anlonius Primus in the Danube provinces
(lUyricuin) ; Vespasian and Mucianus in Judaea, Syria,
and Egypt.

- This was necessary in the absence of Vespasian and Titus.

Ro?7ie after the Fall of Ft tell ins 103

which gave rise to a good deal of talk.^ If he were a
private citizen, why adopt the official tone ? He could
have expressed the same opinions a few days later from
his place in the House. Besides, his attack on Vitellius
came too late to prove his independence, and what
seemed particularly humiliating for the country and
insulting to the emperor was his boast that he had
held the empire in the hollow of his hand, and had
given it to Vespasian. However, they concealed their
ill-will and made a great show of flattery, decreeing
to Mucianus in the most complimentary terms full
triumphal honours, which were really given him for
his success against his fellow countrymen, though they
trumped up an expedition to Sarmatia as a pretext."^
On Antonius Primus they conferred the insignia of the
consulship, and those of the praetorship on Cornelius
Fuscus and Arrius Varus. Then came the turn of the
gods : it was decided to restore the Capitol. These
proposals were all moved by the consul-designate,
Valerius Asiaticus.-^ The others signified assent by
smiling and holding up their hands, though a few, who
were particularly distinguished, or especially practised
in the art of flattery, delivered set speeches. When it
came to the turn of Helvidius Priscus, the praetor-
designate, he expressed himself in terms which, while
doing honour to a good emperor, were perfectly frank

* See vol. i, p. 163, note 4.

' A triumph could, of course, be held only for victories over
a foreign enemy. Here the pretext was the repulse of ihe
Dacians (iii. 46).

' Vitellius' son-in-law (cp. i, 59).

104 ^ook IF, Chapters 4-7

and honest.^ The senate showed their keen approval,
and it was this day which first won for him great
disfavour and great distinction.
5 Since I have had occasion to malce a second allusion 2
to a man whom I shall often have to mention again ^
it may be well to give here a brief account of his char-
acter and ideals, and of his fortune in life. Helvidius
Priscus came from the country town of Cluviae.* His
father had been a senior centurion in the army. From
his early youth Helvidius devoted his great intellectual
powers to the higher studies, not as many people do,
with the idea of using a philosopher's reputation as
a cloak for indolence,^ but rather to fortify himself
against the caprice of fortune when he entered public
life. He became a follower of that school of philosophy^
which holds that honesty is the one good thing in life
and sin the only evil, while power and rank and other
such external things, not being qualities of character,
are neither good nor bad. He had risen no higher than
the rank of quaestor when Paetus Thrasea chose him
for his son-in-law,' and of Thrasea 's virtues he absorbed
none so much as his independence. As citizen, senator,
husband, son-in-law, friend, in every sphere of life he
was thoroughly consistent, always showing contempt

^ In the text some words seem to be missing here, but
the general sense is clear. ' Cp. ii. 91.

^ If Tacitus ever told the story of his banishment and
death, his version has been lost with the rest of his history of
Vespasian's reign.

* In Samnium. * i.e. shirking the dulieb of public life.

" i.e. the Stoic. 'Seeii. 91.

Rome after the Fall of Vitelliiis i of

for money, stubborn persistence in the right, and
courage in the face of danger. Some people thought 6
him too ambitious, for even with philosophers the
passion for fame is often their last rag of infirmity.
After Thrasea's fall Helvidius was banished, but he
returned to Rome under Galba and proceeded to
prosecute Eprius Marcellus,i who had informed against
his father-in-law. This attempt to secure a revenge,
as bold as it was just, divided the senate into two
parties, for the fall of Marcellus would involve the
ruin of a whole army of similar offenders. At first
the struggle was full of recrimination, as the famous
speeches on either side testify ; but after a while,
finding that Galba's attitude was doubtful and that
many of the senators begged him to desist, Helvidius •
dropped the prosecution. On his action in this matter
men's comments varied with their character, some
praising his moderation, others asking what had become
of his tenacity.

To return to the senate : at the same meeting at
which they voted powers to Vespasian they also decided
to send a deputation to address him. This gave rise
to a sharp dispute between Helvidius Priscus and Eprius
Marcellus. The former thought the members of the
deputation ought to be nominated by magistrates
acting under oath ; Marcellus demanded their selection
by lot. The consul-designate had already spoken in
favour of the latter method, but Marcellus' motive 7
was personal vanity, for he was afraid that if others

' Cp. ii. iz.

io6 Book IF. Chapters 7, <?

were chosen he would seem slighted. Their exchange
of views gradually grew into a formal and acrimonious
debate. Helvidius inquired why it was that Marcellus
was so afraid of the magistrates' judgement, seeing that
he himself had great advantages of wealth and of
eloquence over many others. Could it be the memory
of his misdeeds that so oppressed him ? The fall of
the lot could not discern character : but the whole
point of submitting people to the vote and to scrutiny
by the senate was to get at the truth about each man's
life and reputation. In the interest of the country,
and out of respect to Vespasian, it was important that
he should be met by men whom the senate considered
beyond reproach, men who would give the emperor
a taste for honest language. Vespasian had been
a friend of Thrasea, Soranus, and Sentius,^ and even
though there might be no need to punish their
prosecutors, still it would be wrong to put them
forward. Moreover, the senate's selection would be
a sort of hint to the emperor whom to approve and
whom to avoid. ' Good friends are the most effective
instruments of good government. Marcellus ought to
be content with having driven Nero to destroy so
many innocent people. Let him enjoy the impunity
and the profit he has won from that, and leave
Vespasian to more honest advisers.'

' Soranus, like Thrasea, was a Stoic who opposed the govern-
ment mainly on moral grounds. The slory of their end is told
in the Annals, Book XVI. Sentius was presumably another
member of iheir party.

Rome after the Fall of Vhellius 107

Marcellus replied that the opinion which was being 8
impugned was not his own. The consul-designate had
already advised them to follow the established prece-
dent, which was that deputations should be chosen by-
lot, so that there should be no room for intrigue or
personal animosity. Nothing had happened to justify
them in setting aside such an ancient system. Why
turn a compliment to the emperor into a slight upon
some one else ? Anybody could do homage. What
they had to avoid was the possibility that some people's
obstinacy might irritate the emperor at the outset of
his reign, while his intentions were undecided and he
was still busy watching faces and listening to what was
said. ' I have not forgotten,' he went on, ' the days
of my youth or the constitution which our fathers and
grandfathers established.^ But while admiring a distant
past, I support the existing state of things. I pray
for good emperors, but I take them as they come.
As for Thrasea, it was not my speech but the senate's
verdict which did for him. Nero took a savage delight
in farces like that trial, and, really, the friendship of
such an emperor cost me as much anxiety as banishment
did to others. In fine, Helvidius may be as brave and
as firm as any Brutus or Cato ; I am but a senator
and we are all slaves together. Besides, I advise my
friend not to try and get an upper hand with our
emperor or to force his tuition on a man of ripe years,^
who wears the insignia of a triumph and is the father

* He refers to Augustus' regularization of the principate.

* Fil'ty-iiinc.

io8 Book IV. Chapters 8-ii

of two grown sons. Bad rulers like absolute sovereignty,
and even the best of them must set some limit to their
subjects' independence.'

This heated interchange of arguments found sup-
porters for both views. The party which wanted the
deputies chosen by lot eventually prevailed, since even
the moderates were anxious to observe the precedent,
and all the most prominent members tended to vote
with them, for fear of encountering ill-feeling if they
were selected.
9 This dispute was followed by another. The Praetors,
who in those days administered the Treasury,^ com-
plained of the spread of poverty in the country and
demanded some restriction of expenditure. The
consul-designate said that, as the undertaking would
be so vast and the remedy so difficult, he was
in favour of leaving it for the emperor. Helvidius
maintained that it ought to be settled by the senate's
decision. When the consuls began to take each
senator's opinion, Vulcacius Tertullinus, one of the
tribunes, interposed his veto, on the ground that they
could not decide such an important question in the
emperor's absence. Helvidius had previously moved
that the Capitol should be restored at the public cost,
and with the assistance of Vespasian. The moderates
all passed over this suggestion in silence and soon

^ The administration of this office was changed several times
in the first century of the empire. Here we have a reversion to
Augustus' second plan. Trajan restored Augustus' original
plan — also adopted by Nero — of a{)poinling special Treasury
oflicials from ihc ex-praetors.

Rome after the Fall of Fit el (ins 109

forgot it, but there were others who took care to
remember it.i

It was at this time that Musonius Rufus 2 brought lo
an action against Publius Celer on the ground that
it was only by perjury that he had secured the con-
viction of Soranus Barea.^ It was felt that this trial
restarted the hue and cry against professional accusers.
But the defendant was a rascal of no importance who
could not be sheltered, and, moreover, Barea's memory
was sacred. Celer had set up as a teacher of philosophy
and then committed perjury against his pupil Barea,
thus treacherously violating the very principles of
friendship which he professed to teach. The case was
put down for the next day's meeting.^ But now that
a taste for revenge was aroused, people were all agog
to see not so much Musonius and Publius as Priscus
and Marcellus and the rest in court.

Thus the senate quarrelled ; the defeated party ii
nursed their grievances ; the winners had no power
to enforce their will ; law was in abeyance and the
emperor absent. This state of things continued until
Mucianus arrived in Rome and took everything into
his own hands. This shattered the supremacy of
Antonius and Varus, for, though Mucianus tried to
show a friendly face towards them, he was not very

' His offence lay in assigning to the emperor a merely
secondary position.

■ His ill-timed advocacy of Stoicism is mentioned iii. 8i.

^ Described in the Annals, xvi. 32.

* The description of this is postponed to chap. 40. Celer
was convicted.

no Book IV. Chapters u, 12

successful in concealing his dislike. But the people
of Rome, having acquired great skill in detecting
strained relations, had already transferred their allegi-
ance. Mucianus was now the sole object of their
flattering attentions. And he lived up to them. He
surrounded himself with an armed escort, and kept
changing his house and gardens. His display, his
public appearances, the night-watch that guarded him,
all showed that he had adopted the style of an emperor
while forgoing the title. The greatest alarm was
aroused by his execution of Calpurnius Galerianus,
a son of Caius Piso.^ He had attempted no treachery,
but his distinguished name and handsome presence had
made the youth a subject of common talk, and the
country was full of turbulent spirits who delighted in
revolutionary rumours and idly talked of his coming
to the throne. Mucianus gave orders that he should
be arrested by a body of soldiers, and to avoid a con-
spicuous execution in the heart of the city, they
marched him forty miles along the Appian road, where
they severed his veins and let him bleed to death.
Julius Priscus, who had commanded the Guards under
Vitellius, committed suicide, more from shame than
of necessity. Alfenus Varus survived the disgrace of
his cowardice.- Asiaticus,^ who was a freedman, paid
for his malign influence by dying the death of a slave*

' C. Piso had conspired against Nero, A. D. 65.

^ They had both abandoned their camp at Narnia(cp.iii.6i).

^Cp.ii.57.

* i. e. he was crucified.

Revolt of Civilis and the Batavi

III

The Revolt of Civilis and the Batavi

The growing rumour of a reverse in Germany ^ had 12
not as yet caused any alarm in Rome. People alluded
to the loss of armies, the capture of the legions' winter
quarters, the defection of the Gallic provinces as
matters of indifference. I must now go back and
explain the origin of this war, and of the widespread
rebellion of foreign and allied tribes which now broke
into flame.

The Batavi were once a tribe of the Chatti,2 living
on the further bank of the Rhine. But an outbreak of
civil war had driven them across the river, where
they settled in a still unoccupied district on the frontier
of Gaul and also in the neighbouring island, enclosed
on one side by the ocean and on the other three sides
by the Rhine.^ There they fared better than most
tribes who ally themselves to a stronger power. Their
resources are still intact, and they have only to con-
tribute men and arms for the imperial army.* After

* Cp. iii. 46.

^ One of the greatest and most warlike of the German tribes
living in the modern Hessen-Nassau and Waldeck. Tacitus
describes them at length in his Germania.

' i.e. a stretch of land about sixty miles in length, from
N>'mwegen to the Hook of Holland, enclosed by the diverging
mouths of the Rhine, the northern of which is now called the
Lek, the southern the Waal (in Tacitus' time Vahalis). The
name Betuwe is still applied to the eastern part of this island.

* In the GernwMia Tacitus says that, like weapons, they are
kept exclusively for use in war, and are spared the indignity
of taxation.

112 Book IF. Chapters 12-14

a long training in the German wars, they still further
increased their reputation in Britain, where their troops
had been sent, commanded according to an ancient
custom by some of the noblest chiefs. There still
remained behind in their own country a picked troop
of horsemen with a peculiar knack of swimming, which
enabled them to make a practice i of crossing the
Rhine with unbroken ranks without losing control
of their horses or their weapons.
13 Of their chieftains two outshone the rest. These
were Julius Paulus and Julius Civilis, both of royal
stock. Paulus had been executed by Fonteius Capito
on a false charge of rebellion.^ On the same occasion
Civilis was sent in chains to Nero. Galba, however,
set him free, and under Vitellius he again ran great
risk of his life, when the army clamoured for his
execution.3 This gave him a motive for hating Rome,
and our misfortunes fed his hopes. He was, indeed,
far cleverer than most barbarians, and professed to be
a second Sertorlus or Hannibal, because they all three
had the same physical defect.^ He was afraid that if
he openly rebelled against the Roman people they
would treat him as an enemy, and march on him at
once, so he pretended to be a keen supporter of Ves-
pasian's party. This much was true, that Antonius

^ Some such word as peritus or exercitus must be supplied at
the end of this chapter.

* Probably during the revolt of Vindex. Capito governed
Lower Germany.

* Cp. i. 59. * Tlie loss of an eye.

Revolt of Civ His and the Batavi 113

Primus had written instructing him to divert the
auxiliaries whom Vitellius had summoned, and to
delay the legions on the pretence of a rising in Germany.
Moreover, Hordeonius Flaccus ^ had given him the
same advice in person, for Flaccus was inclined to
support Vespasian and anxious for the safety of
Rome, which was threatened with utter disaster, if the
war were to break out afresh and all these thousands
of troops come pouring into Italy.

Having thus made up his mind to rebel, Civilis 14
concealed in the meantime his ulterior design, and
while intending to guide his ultimate policy by future
events, proceeded to initiate the rising as follows.
The young Batavians were by Vitellius' orders being
pressed for service, and this burden was being rendered
even more irksome than it need have been by the greed
and depravity of the recruiting officers. They took to
enrolling elderly men and invalids so as to get bribes
for excusing them : or, as most of the Batavi are tall
and good-looking in their youth, they would seize the
handsomest boys for immoral purposes. This caused
bad feeling ; an agitation was organized, and they
were persuaded to refuse service. Accordingly, on the
pretext of giving a banquet, Civilis summoned the chief
nobles and the most determined of the tribesmen to
a sacred grove. Then, when he saw them excited by
their revelry and the late hour of the night, he began
to speak of the glorious past of the Batavi and to
enumerate the wrongs they had suffered, the injustice
' Governor of Upper Germany.

H

114 -^^^^ I^- Chapters 14, is

and extortion and all the evils of their slavery. ' We
are no longer treated,' he said, ' as we used to be, like
allies, but like menials and slaves. Why, we are never
even visited by an imperial Governor ^ — irksome though
the insolence of his staflf would be. We are given over
to prefects and centurions ; and when these subordi-
nates have had their fill of extortion and of bloodshed,
they promptly find some one to replace them, and then
there are new pockets to fill and new pretexts for
plunder. Now conscription is upon us : children are
to be torn from parents, brother from brother, never,
probably, to meet again. And yet the fortunes of
Rome were never more depressed. Their cantonments
contain nothing but loot and a lot of old men. Lift
up your eyes and look at them. There is nothing to
fear from legions that only exist on paper.2 And we
are strong. We have infantry and cavalry : the Ger-
mans are our kinsmen : the Gauls share our ambition.
Even the Romans will be grateful if we go to war.^
If we fail, we can claim credit for supporting Ves-
pasian : if we succeed, there will be no one to call us to
account.'
15 His speech was received with great approval, and he
at once bound them all to union, using the barbarous
ceremonies and strange oaths of his countr}\ They

* As a subordinate division of Lower Germany the Batavian
district would be administered by ' prefects ' subordinate to
the imperial legate.

' Vitellius had reduced the strengtli of the legions (cp. ii. 94).

' Because it would weaken the position ol \'iiellius.

Revolt of Civilis and the Batavi 1 1 f

then sent to the Canninefates to join their enterprise.
This tribe inhabits part of the Island,^ and though
inferior in numbers to the Batavi, they are of the same
race and language and the same courageous spirit.
Civilis next sent secret messages to vsdn over the Bata-
vian troops, which after serving as Roman auxiliaries in
Britain had been sent, as we have already seen,"'^ to
Germany and were now stationed at Mainz.^

One of the Canninefates, Brinno by name, was a man
of distinguished family and stubborn courage. His
father had often ventured acts of hostility, and had
with complete impunity shown his contempt for
Caligula's farcical expedition.* To belong to such
a family of rebels was in itself a recommendation. He
was accordingly placed on a shield, swung up on the
shoulders of his friends, and thus elected leader after
the fashion of the tribe. Summoning to his aid the
Frisii 5 — a tribe from beyond the Rhine — he fell upon
two cohorts of auxiliaries whose camp lay close to the
neighbouring shore.^ The attack was unexpected,
and the troops, even if they had foreseen it, were not
strong enough to oflEer resistance : so the camp was
taken and looted. They then fell on the Roman camp-

^ They Uved north of the Batavi, between the Zuider Zee
and the North Sea. * ii. 29. ' Mogontiacum.

* Caligula's only trophy had been helmetfuls of stones and
shells from the sea-shore of Germany.

* Living in Friesland, north-east of the Zuider Zee.

' Reading applicaia (Andresen) instead of occupata, which
gives no sense. Tl>e camp was probably somewhere near
Katwyk,

H2

ii6 Book IF. Chapters if-u

followers and traders, who had gone oflF in all directions as
if peace were assured. Finding the forts now threatened
with destruction, the Roman officers set fire to them,
as they had no means of defence. All the troops with
their standards and colours retired in a body to the
upper end of the island, led by Aquilius, a senior
centurion. But they were an army in name only,
not in strength, for Vitellius had withdrawn all the
efficient soldiers and had replaced them by a useless
mob. who had been drawn from the neighbouring
Neriian andGerman\-illages and were only embarrassed
by their armour.^
1 6 Civilis thought it best to proceed by guile, and
actually ventured to blame the Roman officers for
abandoning the forts. He could, he told them, with
the cohort under his command, suppress the outbreak
of the Canninefates without their assistance : they
could all go back to their winter-quarters. However,
it was plain that some treachery underlay his advice —
it would be easier to crush the cohorts if they were
separated — and also that Civilis, not Brinno, was at
the head of this war. Evidence of this gradually
leaked out, as the Germans loved war too well to keep

^ The Nervii were a Gallic tribe li\-ing on the Sambre, with
settlements at Cambray, Tournay, Bavay. Ritter's alteration
of Gernuitwrum to Cugemorum is verj- probably right. They
Uved about a dozen miles west of Vetera, and are thus a likely
recruiting-ground. They were of German origin, so if Got'
manorum is right, the reference will still be to them and the
Timgri and other German Settlements on the east of the
Rhine.

Revolt of Civilis and the Batavi 117

the secret for long. Finding his artifice unsuccessful,
Civilis tried force instead, forming the Canninefates,
Frisii and Batavi into three separate columns.'^ The
Roman line faced them in position near the Rhine
bank.2 They had brought their ships there after the
burning of the forts, and these were now turned with
their prows towards the enemy. Soon after the
engagement began a Tungrian cohort deserted to
Civilis, and the Romans were so startled by this
unexpected treachery that they were cut to pieces
by their allies and their enemies combined. Similar
treachery occurred in the fleet. Some of the rowers,
who were Batavians, feigning clumsiness tried to
impede the sailors and marines in the performance of
their functions, and after a while openly resisted them
and turned the ships' sterns towards the enemy's bank.
Finally, they killed the pilots and centurions who
refused to join them, and thus all the twenty-four
ships of the flotilla either deserted to the enemy or
were captured by them.

This victory made Civilis immediately famous and 17
proved subsequently very useful. Having now got the
ships and the weapons which they needed, he and his

* See ii. 42, note. Here, however, it is not improbable that
the word cuneus means a V-shaped formation. Tacitus' phrase
in Germ. 6 is generally taken to mean that the Germans fought
in wedge-formation. The separation of the three tribes in
three columns was also typical of German tactics. The pre-
sence of kinsmen stimulated courage.

* Presumably at the eastern end of the island, near either
Nymwegen or Arnheim.

ii8 Book IF. Chapters 17 , i8

followers were enthusiastically proclaimed as champions
oflibertythroughoutGermanyandGaul. TheGerman
provinces immediately sent envoys with offers of help,
while Civilis endeavoured by diplomacy and by bribery
to secure an alliance with the Gauls. He sent back
the auxiliary officers whom he had taken prisoner, each
to his own tribe, and offered the cohorts the choice
of either going home or remaining with him. Those
who remained were given an honourable position in
his army : and those who went home received presents
out of the Roman spoil. At the same time Civilis
talked to them confidentially and reminded them of
the miseries they had endured for all these years, in
which they had disguised their wretched slavery under
the name of peace, ' The Batavi,' he would say, ' were
excused from taxation, and yet they have taken arms
against the common tyrant. In the first engagement
the Romans were routed and beaten. What if Gaul
throws off the yoke ? What forces are there left in
Italy ? It is with the blood of provincials that their
provinces are won. Don't think of the defeat of
Vindex. Why, it was the Batavian cavalry which
trampled on the Aedui and Arverni,^ and there were
Belgic auxiliaries in Verginius' force. The truth is
that Gaul succumbed to her own armies. But now we
are all united in one party, fortified, moreover, by the
military discipline which prevails in Roman camps :

^ The Aedui lived in Bourgogne and Nivernois, between the
Loire and the Saone ; the Arverni in Auvergne, north-west of
the Cevennes. Both had joined Vindex.

Revolt of Civilis and the Batavi 1 1 9

and we have on our side the veterans before whom
Otho's legions lately bit the dust. Let Syria and Asia
play the slave : the East is used to tyrants : but there
are many still living in Gaul who were born before
the days of tribute.^ Indeed, it is only the other day -
that Quintilius Varus was killed, when slavery was
driven out of Germany, and they brought into the
field not the Emperor Vitellius but Caesar Augustus
himself. Why, liberty is the natural prerogative even
of dumb animals : courage is the peculiar attribute
of man. Heaven helps the brave. Come, then, fall
upon them while your hands are free and theirs are
tied, while you are fresh and they are weary. Some
of them are for Vespasian, others for Vitellius ; now
is your chance to crush both parties at once.'

Civilis thus had his eye on Gaul and Germany and iS
aspired, had his project prospered, to become king of
two countries, one pre-eminent in wealth and the
other in military strength.

The Mutiny of the Batavian Cohorts

Hordeonius Flaccus at first furthered Civilis'
schemes by shutting his eyes to them. But when
messengers kept arriving in panic with news that
a camp had been stormed, cohorts wiped out, and not
a Roman left in the Batavian Island, he instructed

* ' Many ' must be an exaggeration, since Augustus' census
of Gaul took place 27 B.C., ninety-five years ago.
" Sixty years ago, to be exact.

I20 Bonk IF. Chapters i8 , ig

Munius Lupercus, who commanded the two legions ^
in winter-quarters,2 to march against the enemy.
Lupercus lost no time in crossing the river,^ taking the
legions whom he had with him, some Ubii * who were
close at hand, and the Treviran cavalry who were
stationed not far away. To this force he added a
regiment of Batavian cavalry, who, though their loyalty
had long ago succumbed, still concealed the fact, because
they hoped their desertion would fetch a higher price,
if they actually betrayed the Romans on the field.
Civilis set the standards of the defeated cohorts ^
round him in a ring to keep their fresh honours before
the eyes of his men, and to terrify the enemy by remind-
ing them of their disaster. He also gave orders that
his own mother and sisters and all the wives and small
children of his soldiers should be stationed in the rear
to spur them to victory or shame them if they were
beaten.6 When his line raised their battle-cry, the
men singing and the women shrieking, the legions and
their auxiliaries replied with a comparatively feeble
cheer, for their left wing had been exposed by the
desertion of the Batavian cavalry, who promptly
turned against us. However, despite the confusion, the

* V Alaudae and XV Primigenia, both depleted.
' At Vetera. » Waal.

* They lived round their chief town, known since A. D. 50
as Colonia Agrippinensis, now Cologne (cp. i. 56, note).

* See chap. 16.

' This was a German custom. We read in the Germania
that in battle ' they keep their dearest close at hand, where
the women's cries and the wailing of their babies can be heard '.

Mutiny of the Bat avian Cohorts

121

legionaries gripped their swords and kept their places.
Then the Ubian and Treviran auxiliaries broke in
shameful flight and went wandering all over the
country. The Germans pressed hard on their heels
and meanwhile the legions could make good their
escape into the camp, which was called ' Castra
Vetera '.^ Claudius Labeo, who commanded the
Batavian cavalry, had opposed Civilis as a rival in
some petty municipal dispute. Civilis was afraid that,
if he killed him, he might offend his countrymen,
while if he spared him his presence would give rise to
dissension ; so he sent him off by sea to the Frisii.

It was at this time that the cohorts of Batavians and I9
Canninefates, on their way to Rome under orders
from Vitellius, received the message which Civilis had
sent to them.2 They promptly fell into a ferment
of unruly insolence and demanded a special grant as
payment for their journey, double pay, and an increase
in the number of their cavalry .3 Although all these
things had been promised by Vitellius they had no
hope of obtaining them, but wanted an excuse for
rebellion. Flaccus made many concessions, but the
only result was that they redoubled their vigour and
demanded what they felt sure he would refuse. Paying
no further heed to him they made for Lower Germany,

^ This means, of course, simply The Old Camp, but, as
Tacitus treats Vetera as a proper name, it has been kept in
the translation. It was probably on the Rhine near Xanten
and Fiirstenberg, some sixty-six miles north of Cologne.

^ Cp. i. 59 ; ii. 97 ; iv. 15.

^ VMio got better pay for lighter service.

122 Book IF. Chapters 19, 20

to join Civilis. Flaccus summoned the tribunes and
centurions and debated with them whether he should
use force to punish this defiance of authority. After
a while he gave way to his natural cowardice and the
fears of his subordinates, who were distressed by the
thought that the loyalty of the auxiliaries was doubtful
and that the legions had been recruited by a hurried
levy. It was decided, therefore, to keep the soldiers in
camp.i However, he soon changed his mind when he
found himself criticized by the very men whose advice
he had taken. He now seemed bent on pursuit, and
wrote to Herennius Gallus in command of the First
legion, who was holding Bonn, telling him to bar the
path of the Batavians, and promising that he and his
army would follow hard upon their heels. The rebels
might certainly have been crushed had Flaccus and
Gallus each advanced their forces from opposite
direction? and thus surrounded them. But Flaccus
soon gave up the idea, and wrote another letter to
Gallus, warning him to let the rebels pass undisturbed.
This gave rise to a suspicion that the generals were
purposely promoting the war ; and all the disasters
which had already occurred or were feared in the future,
were attributed not to the soldiers' inefficiency or
the strength of the enemy, but to the treachery of the
generals.
20 On nearing the camp at Bonn, the Batavians sent
forward a messenger to explain their intentions to
Herennius Gallus. Against the Romans, for whom
* i. e. at Mainz, Bonn, Novaesium and Vetera.

Mutiny of the Batavian Cohorts \ 2 3

they had fought so often, they had no wish to make
war : but they were worn out after a long and
unprofitable term of service and wanted to go home
and rest. If no one opposed them they would march
peaceably by ; but if hostility was offered they would
find a passage at the point of the sword. Gallus
hesitated, but his men induced him to risk an engage-
ment. Three thousand legionaries, some hastily
recruited Belgic auxiliaries, and a mob of peasants and
camp-followers, who were as cowardly in action as
they were boastful before it, came pouring out simul-
taneously from all the gates, hoping with their superior
numbers to surround the Batavians. But these were
experienced veterans. They formed up into columns
in deep formation that defied assault on front, flank,
or rear. They thus pierced our thinner line. The
Belgae giving way, the legion was driven back and ran
in terror to reach the trench and the gates of the
camp. It was there that we suffered the heaviest
losses. The trenches were filled with dead, who were
not all killed by the blows of the enemy, for many were
stifled in the press or perished on each other's swords.
The victorious cohorts avoided Cologne and marched
on without attempting any further hostilities. For
the battle at Bonn they continued to excuse them-
selves. They had asked for peace, they said, and when
peace was persistently refused, had merely acted in
self-defence.

* See p. 117, note i.

124 Book IF. Chapters 21-2^

Thf. Siege of Vetera

21 After the arrival of these veteran cohorts Civilis was
now at the head of a respectable army. But being
still uncertain of his plans, and engaged in reckoning
up the Roman forces, he made all who were with him
swear allegiance to Vespasian, and sent envoys to the
two legions, who after their defeat in the former
engagement ^ had retired into Vetera, asking them to
take the same oath. The answer came back that they
never followed the advice either of a traitor or of an
enemy : Vitellius was their emperor, and they would
keep their allegiance and their arms for him so long as
they had breath in their bodies. A Batavian deserter
need not try to decide the destiny of Rome ; he should
rather expect the punishment he richly deserved.
When this was reported to Civilis he flew into a passion,
and called the whole Batavian people to take arms.
They were joined by the Bructeri and Tencteri,^ and
Germany was summoned to come and share the
plunder and the glory.

22 Threatened with this gathering storm, Munius
Lupercus and Numisius Rufus, who were in command
of the two legions, proceeded to strengthen the ram-
parts and walls. They pulled down the buildings
near the military camp, which had grown into a small
town during the long years of peace, fearing that the

» Chap. 18.

" The Bructeri lived between the Lippe and the Upper Ems,
the Tencteri along the eastern bank of the Rhine, between its
tributaries the Ruhr and the Sieg, i.e. opposite Cologne.

The Siege of Vetera 1 2 f

enemy might make use of them. But they omitted
to provide a sufficient store of provisions for the
camp, and authorized the soldiers to make up the
deficiency by looting, with the result that what might
have supplied their needs for a long time was consumed
in a few days. Meanwhile Civilis advanced, himself
holding the centre wdth the flower of the Batavi :
on both banks of the Rhine he massed large bands of
Germans to strike terror into the enemy : the cavalry
galloped through the fields, while the ships were
simultaneously moved up the stream. Here could be
seen the colours of veteran Roman cohorts, there the
figures of beasts which the Germans had brought from
their woods and groves, as their tribes do when they
go to battle. It seemed both a civil and a savage war
at once ; and this strange confusion astounded the
besieged. The hopes of the assailants rose when they
saw the circumference of the ramparts, for there were
barely five thousand Roman soldiers to defend a camp
which had been laid out to hold two legions.^ However,
a large number of camp-followers had collected there
on the break-up of peace, and remained to give what
assistance they could to the military operations.

The camp was built partly on the gentle slope of 23
a hill and partly on the level ground. Augustus had
believed that it would serve as a base of operations
and a check upon the German tribes : as for their
actually coming to assault our legions, such a disaster

* i.e. about 12,000 men. The bulk of the Fifth aiid a detach-
ment ol the Fifteentli liad gone to Italy.

126 Book IF. chapters 2^, 24

never occurred to him. Consequently no trouble had
been taken in choosing the site or erecting defences : the
strength of the troops had always seemed sufficient.

The Batavians and the Germans from across the
Rhine ^ now formed up tribe by tribe — the separation
was designed to show their individual prowess — and
opened fire from a distance. Finding that most of their
missiles fell harmlessly on to the turrets and pinnacles
of the walls, and that they were being wounded by
stones hurled from above, they charged with a wild
shout and surged up to the rampart, some using
scaling-ladders, others climbing over their comrades
who had formed a ' tortoise '. But no sooner had some
of them begun to scale the wall, than they were hurled
down by the besieged, who thrust at them with sword
and shield, and buried under a shower of stakes and
javelins. The Germans are always impetuous at tlie
beginning of an action and over-confident when
they are winning ; and on this occasion their greed
for plunder even steeled them to face difiiculties.
They actually attempted to use siege-engines, with
which they were quite unfamiliar. But though they
had no skill themselves, some of the deserters and
prisoners showed them how to build a sort of bridge
or platform of timber, on to which they fitted wheels
and rolled it forward. Thus some of them stood on
this platform and fought as though from a mound,
while others, concealed inside, tried to undermine the
walls. However, stones hurled from catapults soon
i. e. l-'risii, Brucleri, Teiicleii, 6iC.

The Siege of Vetera 127

destroyed this rude engine. Then they began to get
ready hurdles and mantlets, but the besieged shot
blazing spears on to them from engines, and even
attacked the assailants themselves with fire-darts. At
last they gave up all hope of an assault and resolved
to try a waiting policy, being well aware that the
camp contained only a few days' provisions and a
large number of non-combatants. They hoped that
famine would breed treason, and counted, besides, on
the wavering loyalty of the slaves and the usual hazards
of war to aid them.

Meanwhile, Flaccus,! who had received news of the 24
siege of Vetera, dispatched a party to recruit auxiliaries
in Gaul, and gave Dillius Vocula, in command of the
Twenty-second, a force of picked soldiers from his
two legions .2 Vocula was to hurry by forced marches
along the bank of the Rhine, while Flaccus himself
was to approach by water, since he was in bad health
and unpopular with his men. Indeed, they grumbled
openly that he had let the Batavian cohorts get away
from Mainz, had connived at Civilis' schemes, and
invited the Germans to join the alliance. Vespasian,
they said, owed his rise more to Flaccus than to all
the assistance of Antonius Primus or of Mucianus, for
overt hatred and hostility can be openly crushed, but
treachery and deceit cannot be detected, much less
parried. While Civilis took the field himself and
arranged his own fighting line, Hordeonius lay on
a couch in his bedroom and gave whatever orders

^ At Maiiu. - His other legion was IV Macedonica.

128 Book 11^. Chapters 2^-26

best suited the enemy's convenience. Why should all
these companies of brave soldiers be commanded by
one miserable old invalid ? Let them rather kill the
traitor and free their brave hearts and good hopes
from the incubus of such an evil omen. Having
worked on each other's feelings by these complaints,
they vi^ere still further incensed by the arrival of a letter
from Vespasian. As this could not be concealed, Flaccus
read it before a meeting of the soldiers, and the mes-
sengers who brought it were sent to Vitellius in chains.
25 With feelings thus appeased the army marched on
to Bonn, the head-quarters of the First legion. There
the men were still more indignant with Flaccus, on
whom they laid the blame of their recent defeat.^
It was by his orders, they argued, that they had taken
the field against the Batavians on the understanding
that the legions from Mainz were in pursuit. But no
reinforcements had arrived and his treachery was
responsible for their losses. The facts, moreover, were
unknown to the other armies, nor was any report sent
to their emperor, although this treacherous outbreak
could have been nipped in the bud by the combined
aid of all the provinces. In answer Flaccus read out
to the army copies of all the letters which he had
sent from time to time all over Gaul and Britain
and Spain to ask for assistance, and introduced tlic
disastrous practice of having all letters delivered to
the standard-bearers of the legions, who read them
to the soldiers before the general had seen them.
' Cp. chap. 20.

The Siege of Vetera 129

He then gave orders that one of the mutineers should
be put in irons, more by way of vindicating his
authority than because one man was especially to
blame. Leaving Bonn, the army moved on to Cologne,
where they were joined by large numbers of Gallic
auxiliaries, who at first zealously supported the Roman
cause : later, when the Germans prospered, most of
the tribes took arms against us, actuated by hopes of
liberty and an ambition to establish an empire of their
own when once they had shaken off the yoke.

Meanwhile the army's indignation steadily increased.
The imprisonment of a single soldier was not enough
to terrify them, and, indeed, the prisoner actually
accused the general of complicity in crime, alleging
that he himself had carried messages between Flaccus
and Civilis. ' It is because I can testify to the truth,'
he said, ' that Flaccus wants to get rid of me on a false
charge.' Thereupon Vocula, with admirable self-
possession, mounted the tribunal and, in spite of the
man's protestations, ordered him to be seized and led
away to prison. This alarmed the disaffected, while
the better sort obeyed him promptly. The army then
unanimously demanded that Vocula should lead them,
and Flaccus accordingly resigned the chief command
to him. However, there was much to exasperate their 26
disaffection. They were short both of pay and of
provisions : the Gauls refused either to enlist or to
pay tribute : drought, usually unknown in that
climate, made the Rhine almost too low for navigation,
and thus hampered their commissariat : patrols had

64«-18-2

130 Book IF. Chapters 26- iH

to be posted at intervals all along the bank to prevent
the Germans fording the river : and in consequence
of all this they had less food and more mouths to eat it.
To the ignorant the lowness of the river seemed in
itself an evil omen, as though the ancient bulwarks
of the empire were now failing them. In peace they
would have called it bad luck or the course of nature :
now it was ' fate ' and ' the anger of heaven '.

On entering Novaesium^ they were joined by the
Sixteenth legion. Herennius Gallus ^ now shared
with \'ocula the responsibility of command. As they
could not venture out against the enemy, they en-
camped ... at a place called Gelduba,^ where the
soldiers were trained in deploying, in fortification
and entrenchment, and in various other military
manoeuvres. To inspire their courage with the further
incentive of plunder, Vocula led out part of the force
against the neighbouring tribe of the Cugerni,'' who
had accepted Civilis' offers of alliance. The rest of
the troops were left behind with Herennius Gallus,^
27 and it happened that a corn-ship with a full cargo,
which had run aground close to the camp, was towed
over by the Germans to their own bank. This was
more than Gallus could tolerate, so he sent a cohort
to the rescue. The number of the Germans soon in-

^ Neuss.

* He commanded the First legion, which had joined the
main column at Bonn.

' Gellep. Some words are lost, perhaps giving the distance
from Novaesium.

* See p. 116, note i. * At Gelduba.

The Siege of Vetera 131

creased : both sides gradually gathered reinforcements
and a regular battle was fought, with the result that
the Germans towed off the ship, inflicting heavy losses.
The defeated troops followed what had now become
their regular custom, and threw the blame not on their
own inefiiciency but on their commanding-officer's
bad faith. They dragged him from his quarters, tore
his uniform and flogged him, bidding him tell them
how much he had got for betraying the army, and
who were his accomplices. Then their indignation
recoiled on Hordeonius Flaccus : he was the real
criminal : Gal) us was only his tool. At last their
threats so terrified Gallus that he, too, charged Flaccus
with treason. He was put in irons until the arrival
of Vocula, who at once set him free, and on the next
day had the ringleaders of the riot executed. The army
showed, indeed, a strange contrast in its equal readiness
to mutiny and to submit to punishment. The common
soldiers' loyalty to Vitellius was beyond question,^
while the higher ranks inclined towards Vespasian.
Thus we find a succession of outbreaks and penalties ;
an alternation of insubordination with obedience to
discipline ; for the troops could be punished though
not controlled.

Meanwhile the whole of Germany was ready to 28
worship Civilis, sending him vast reinforcements and
ratifying the alliance with hostages from their noblest
families. He gave orders that the country of the
Ubii and Treviri was to be laid waste by their nearest
* Cp. hi. 61.
I 2

132 Book IF, Chapters 28-^0

neighbours, and sent another party across the Maas
to harass the Menapii and Morini ^ and other frontier
tribes of Gaul. In both quarters they plundered freely,
and were especially savage towards the Ubii, because
they were a tribe of German origin who had renounced
their fatherland and adopted the name of Agrippi-
nenses.2 A Ubian cohort was cut to pieces at the
village of Marcodurum,^ where they were off their
guard, trusting to their distance from the Rhine. The
Ubii did not take this quietly, nor hesitate to seek
reprisals from the Germans, which they did at first
with impunity. In the end, however, the Germans
proved too much for them, and throughout the war
the Ubii were always more conspicuous for good faith
than good fortune. Their collapse strengthened
Civilis' position, and emboldened by success, he now
vigorously pressed on the blockade of the legions at
Vetera, and redoubled his vigilance to prevent any
message creeping through from the relieving army.
The Batavians were told off to look after the engines
and siege-works : the Germans, who clamoured for
battle, were sent to demolish the rampart and renew
the fight directly they were beaten off. There were
so many of them that their losses mattered little.
29 Nightfall did not see the end of their task. They
built huge fires of wood all round the ramparts and

* The Menapii lived between the Maas and the Scheldt ;
the Morini on the coast in the neighbourhood of Boulogne.
They were a proverb for ' the back of beyond '.

- See i. 56, note. ' Diiren.

The Siege of Vetera 133

sat drinking by them ; then, as the wine warmed their
hearts, one by one they dashed into the fight with
blind courage. In the darkness their missiles were
ineffective, but the barbarian troops were clearly
visible to the Romans, and any one whose daring or
bright ornaments made him conspicuous at once
became a mark for their aim. At last Civilis saw their
mistake, and gave orders to extinguish the fires and
plunge the whole scene into a confusion of darkness and
the din of arms. Discordant shouts now arose : every-
thing was vague and uncertain : no one could see to
strike or to parry. Wherever a shout was heard, they
would wheel round and lunge in that direction.
Valour was useless : chance and chaos ruled supreme :
and the bravest soldier often fell under a coward's bolt.
The Germans fought with blind fury. The Roman
troops were more familiar with danger ; they hurled
down iron-clamped stakes and heavy stones with sure
effect. Wherever the sound of some one climbing or
the clang of a scaling-ladder betrayed the presence
of the enemy, they thrust them back with their shields
and followed them with a shower of javelins. Many
appeared on top of the walls, and these they stabbed
with their short swords. And so the night wore on.
Day dawned upon new methods of attack. The 3^
Batavians had built a wooden tower of two stories
and moved it up to the Head-quarters Gate,^ which
was the most accessible spot. However, our soldiers,
by using strong poles and hurling wooden beams, soon
* i. e. the gate on to the street leading to Head-quarters.

134 Booh IF. Chapters ^0-^2

battered it to pieces, with great loss of life to those
who were standing on it. While they were still dis-
mayed at this, we made a sudden and successful sally.
Meanwhile the legionaries, with remarkable skill and
ingenuity, invented still further contrivances. The one
which caused most terror was a crane with a movable
arm suspended over their assailants' heads : this arm
was suddenly lowered, snatched up one or more of
the enemy into the air before his fellows' eyes, and, as
the heavy end was swung round, tossed him into the
middle of the camp. Civilis now gave up hope of
storming the camp and renewed a leisurely blockade,
trying all the time by messages and offers of reward
to undermine the loyalty of the legions.

The Relief of Vetera

31 Such was the course of events in Germany up to the
date of the battle of Cremona.^ News of this arrived
by letter from Antonius Primus, who enclosed a copy
of Caecina's edict,^ and Alpinius Montanus,^ who com-
manded one of the defeated auxiliary cohorts, came in
person to confess that his party had been beaten.
The troops were variously affected by the news. The
Gallic auxiliaries, who had no feelings of affection or
dislike to either party and served without sentiment,

* The end of October, A. D. 69 (see iii. 30-34).
" Caecina, as consul, had probably while at Cremona issued
a manifesto in favour of joining the Flavian party.
' Cp. iii. 35.

The Relief of Vetera 135-

promptly took the advice of their officers and deserted
Vitellius. The veterans hesitated ; under pressure
from Flaccus and their officers they eventually took
the oath of allegiance, but it was clear from their faces
that their hearts were not in it, and while repeating
the rest of the formula they boggled at the name of
Vespasian, either muttering it under their breath or
more often omitting it altogether. Their suspicions 32
were further inflamed when Antonius' letter to Civilis
was read out before the meeting ; it seemed to address
Civilis as a member of the Flavian party, and to argue
hostility to the German army. The news was next
brought to the camp at Gelduba, where it gave rise
to the same comments and the same scenes. Montanus
was sent to carry instructions to Civilis that he was
to cease from hostilities and not to make war on Rome
under a false pretext ; if it was to help Vespasian that
he had taken arms, he had now achieved his object.
Civilis at first replied in guarded terms. Then, as he
saw that Montanus was an impetuous person who
would welcome a revolution, he began to complain
of all the dangers he had endured in the service of
Rome for the last twenty-live years. ' A fine reward
I have received,' he cried, ' for all my labours — my
brother's execution,^ my own imprisonment,^ and the
bloodthirsty clamours of this army, from which I claim
satisfaction by natural right since they have sought
my destruction. As for you Trevirans and all the rest
that have the souls of slaves, what reward do you hope
• See chap. 13.

1^6 Book 11^. Chapters ^2-^^

to gain for shedding your blood so often in the cause
of Rome, except the thankless task of military service,
endless taxation^ and the rods and axes of these capri-
cious tyrants ? Look at me ! I have only a single
cohort under my command, and yet with the Cannine-
fates and Batavi, a mere fraction of the Gallic peoples,
I am engaged in destroying their great useless camp
and besieging them with famine and the sword. In
short, our venture will either end in freedom or, if
we are beaten, we shall be no worse off than before.'
Having thus inflamed Montanus he told him to take
back a milder answer and dismissed him. On his return
Montanus pretended that his errand had been fruitless,
and said nothing about the rest of the interview : but
it soon came to light.
33 Retaining a portion of his force, Civilis sent the
veteran cohorts with the most efficient of the German
troops against Vocula and his army.^ He gave the
command to Julius Maximus and his nephew Claudius
Victor. After rushing the winter-quarters of a cavalry
regiment at Asciburgium ^ on their way, they fell
upon the Roman camp and so completely surprised
it that Vocula had no time to address his army or to
form it for battle. The only precaution he could
take in the general panic was to mass the legionaries
in the centre with the auxiliaries scattered on either
flank. Our cavalry charged, but found the enemy in
good order ready to receive them, and came flying
back on to their own infantry. What followed was
* At Gelduba (chap. 26 . '■' Asberg.

The Relief of Vetera 137

more of a massacre than a battle. The Nervian cohorts,
either from panic or treachery, left our flanks exposed ;
thus the legions had to bear the brunt. They had
already lost their standards and were being cut down
in the trenches, when a fresh reinforcement suddenly
changed the fortune of the fight. Some Basque
auxiliaries,! originally levied by Galba, who had now
been summoned to the rescue, on nearing the camp
heard the sound of fighting, and while the enemy were
occupied, came charging in on their rear. This caused
more consternation than their numbers warranted,
the enemy taking them for the whole Roman force,
either from Novaesium or from Mainz. This mistake
encouraged the Roman troops : their confidence in
others brought confidence in themselves. The best
of the Batavians, at least of their infantry, fell. The
cavalry made off with the standards and prisoners
taken in the earlier stage of the battle. Though our
losses that day were numerically larger, they were
unimportant, whereas the Germans lost their best
troops.

On both sides the generals deserved defeat, and 34
failed to make good use of their success. Their fault was
the same. Had Civihs furnished the attacking column
with more troops, they could never have been sur-
rounded by such a small force, and having stormed the
camp would have destroyed it. Vocula, on the other

^ From the north-east frontier of the Tarragona division of
Spain, of which Galba had been governor. Hordeonius ex-
plained (chap. 25) that he had summoned aid from Spain.

138 Book IF. Chapters 34, SS

hand, had not even set scouts to warn him of the
enemy's approach, and consequently no sooner sallied
out than he was beaten. Then, when he had won the
victory, he showed great lack of confidence, and wasted
day after day before moving against the enemy. If
he had made haste to follow up his success and struck
at the enemy at once, he might have raised the siege
of Vetera at one blow.

Meanwhile Civilis had been playing upon the feelings
of the besieged by pretending that the Romans had
been defeated and success had favoured his arms.
The captured standards and colours were carried round
the walls and the prisoners also displayed. One of
these did a famous deed of heroism. Shouting at the
top of his voice, he revealed the truth. The Germans
at once struck him dead, which only served to confirm
his information. Soon, too, the besieged saw signs of
harried fields and the smoke of burning farms, and began
to realize that a victorious army was approaching.
When he was in sight of the camp Vocula ordered his
men to plant the standards and construct a trench and
rampart round them : they were to deposit all their
baggage there and fight unencumbered. This made
them shout at the general to give them the signal ;
and they had learnt to use threats too. Without even
taking time to form their line they started the battle,
all tired as they were, and in disorder. Civilis was
ready waiting for them, trusting quite as much to their
mistakes as to the merits of his own men. The Romans
fought with varying fortune. All the most mutinous

The Relief of Vetera 139

proved cowards : some, however, remembered their
recent victory and stuck to their plac^*, cutting down
the enemy, and encouraging thenioelves and their
neighbours. When the battle was thus renewed, they
waved their hands and signalled to the besieged not
to lose their opportunity. These were watching all
that happened from the walls, and now came bursting
out at every gate. It chanced that at this point
Civilis' horse fell and threw him ; both armies believed
the rumour that he had been wounded and killed.
This caused immense consternation to his army and
immense encouragement to ours. However, Vocula
failed to pursue them when they fled, and merely set
about strengthening the rampart and turrets, appar-
ently in fear of another blockade. His frequent failure
to make use of his victory gives colour to the suspicion
that he preferred war.l

What chiefly distressed our troops was the lack of 35
supplies. The baggage-train of the legions was sent
to Novaesium with a crowd of non-combatants to
fetch provisions thence by land, the enemy being now
masters of the river. The first convoy got through

' Mr. Henderson calls this sentence ' a veritable master-
piece of improbability ', and finds it ' hard to speak calmly
of such a judgement'. He has to confess that a military
motive for Vocula's inaction is hard to find. Tacitus, feeling
the same, offers a merely human motive. Soldiers of fortune
often prefer war to final victory, and in these days the dangers
of peace were only equalled by its ennui. Besides, Tacitus'
explanation lends itself to an epigram which he would doubtless
not have exchanged for the tedium of tactical truth.

140 Book IV. Chapters 3^-37

safely, while Civilis was recovering from his fall. But
when he heard that a second foraging-party had been
sent to Novaesium under guard of several cohorts, and
that they were proceeding on their way with their
arms piled in the wagons as if it was a time of perfect
peace, few keeping to the standards and all wandering
at will, he sent some men forward to hold the bridges
and any places where the road was narrow, and then
formed up and attacked. The battle was fought on
a long straggling line, and the issue was still doubtful
when nightfall broke it off. The cohorts made their
way through to Gelduba, where the camp remained
as it was,i garrisoned by the soldiers who had been
left behind there. It was obvious what dangers the
convoy would have to face on the return journey ;
they would be heavily laden and had already lost their
nerve. Vocula ^ accordingly added to his force a
thousand picked men from the Fifth and Fifteenth
legions who had been at Vetera during the siege, all
tough soldiers with a grievance against their generals.
Against his orders, more than the thousand started
with him, openly complaining on the march that they
would not put up with famine and the treachery of
their generals any longer. On the other hand, those
who stayed behind grumbled that they were left to
their fate now that part of the garrison had been
removed. Thus there was a double mutiny, one party

' Cp. chap. 26.

^ Having strengthened the defences of Vetera, he was now
going back to Gelduba.

The Relief of Vetera 141

calling Vocula back, the others refusing to return to
camp.

Meanwhile Civil is laid siege to Vetera . Vocula retired 36
to Gelduba, and thence to Novaesium, shortly after-
wards winning a cavalry skirmish just outside Novae-
sium. The Roman soldiers, however, alike in success
and in failure, were as eager as ever to make an end
of their generals. Now that their numbers were
swelled by the arrival of the detachments from the
Fifth and the Fifteenth 1 they demanded their donative,
having learnt that money had arrived from Vitellius.
Without further delay Flaccus gave it to them in
Vespasian's name, and this did more than anything
else to promote mutiny. They indulged in wild
dissipation and met every night in drinking-parties,
at which they revived their old grudge against
Hordeonius Flaccus. None of the officers ventured to
interfere with them — the darkness somehow obscured
their sense of duty — and at last they dragged Flaccus
out of bed and murdered him. They were preparing
to do the same with Vocula, but he narrowly escaped in
the darkness, disguised as a slave. When the excitement 37
subsided, their fears returned, and they sent letters
round by centurions to all the Gallic communities, ask-
ing for reinforcements and money for the soldiers' pay.

Without a leader a mob is always rash, timorous, and

inactive. On the approach of Civilis they hurriedly

snatched up their arms, and then immediately dropped

them and took to flight. Misfortune now bred disunion,

' From the Vetera garrison.

142 Book IF. Chapters S7-39

and the army of the Upper Rhine ^ dissociated itself
from the rest. However, they set up the statues of
Vitellius again in the camp and in the neighbouring
Belgic villages, although by now Vitellius was dead.^
Soon the soldiers of the First, Fourth, and Twenty-
second repented of their folly and rejoined Vocula.
He made them take a second oath of allegiance to
Vespasian and led them off to raise the siege of Mainz.
The besieging army, a combined force of Chatti,^
Usipi, and Mattiaci,* had already retired, having got
sufficient loot and suffered some loss. Our troops
surprised them while they were scattered along the
road, and immediately attacked. Moreover, the
Treviri had built a rampart and breastwork all along
their frontier and fought the Germans again and again
with hea\'y loss to both sides. Before long, however,
they rebelled, and thus sullied their great services
to the Roman people.

Rome and the Empire under Vespasian

38 During these events Vespasian took up his second
consulship and Titus his first, both in absence.^ Rome
was depressed and beset by manifold anxieties. Apart

^ i.e. the troops which Flaccus at Mainz had put under
Vocula for the rehef of Vetera (chap. 24).
^ It was therefore later than December 21. ^ Cp. chap. 12.

* The Usipi lived on the east bank of the Rhine between
the Sieg and the Lahn ; the Mattiaci between the Lahn and
the Main, round Wiesbaden.

* We now reach the year A. d. 70. Vespasian had already
been consul under Claudius in 51.

The Empire under Vespasian 143

from the real miseries of the moment, it was plunged
into a groundless panic on the rumour of a rebellion
in Africa, where Lucius Piso was supposed to be
plotting a revolution. Piso, who was governor of
the province, was far from being a firebrand. But the
severity of the winter delayed the corn-ships, and the
common people, accustomed to buy their bread day
by day, whose interest in politics was confined to the
corn-supply, soon began to believe their fears that
the coast of Africa was being blockaded and supplies
withheld. The Vitellians, who were still under the
sway of party spirit, fostered this rumour, and even
the victorious party were not entirely displeased at it,
for none of their victories in the civil war had satisfied
their greed, and even foreign wars fell far short of
their ambition.

On the first of January the senate was convened by 39
the Urban Praetor,^ Julius Frontinus, and passed votes
of thanks and congratulation to the generals, armies,
and foreign princes.^ Tettius Julianus,^ who had left
his legion when it went over to Vespasian, was deprived
of his praetorship, which was conferred upon Plotius
Grypus.^ Hormus ^ was raised to equestrian rank.
Frontinus then resigned his praetorship and Caesar
Domitian succeeded him. His name now stood at the
head of all dispatches and edicts, but the real authority

^ In the absence of both consuls.

* i.e. Sohaemus, Antiochus, and Agrippa (cp. ii. 8i).
» Cp.ii.85. *■ Cp. iii. 52.

* Vespasian's freedman (cp. iii. 12, 28.)

144- Book IV. Chapters sp^ 40

lay with Mucianus, although Domitian, following the
promptings of his friends and of his own desires,
frequently asserted his independence. But Mucianus'
chief cause of anxiety lay in Antonius Primus and Arrius
Varus, The fame of their exploits was still fresh ; the
soldiers worshipped them ; and they were popular in
Rome, because they had used no violence off the field
of battle. It was even hinted that Antonius had urged
Crassus Scribonianus ^ to seize the throne. He was
a man who owed his distinction to famous ancestors
and to his brother's memory, and Antonius could
promise him adequate support for a conspiracy. How-
ever, Scribonianus refused. He had a terror of all
risks, and would hardly have been seduced even by the
certainty of success. Being unable to crush Antonius
openly, Mucianus showered compliments on him in
the senate and embarrassed him with promises, hinting
at the governorship of Nearer Spain, which the depar-
ture of Cluvius Rufus 2 had left vacant. Meanwhile
he lavished military commands on Antonius' friends.
Then, having filled his empty head with ambitious
hopes, he destroyed his influence at one stroke by
moving the Seventh legion,^ which was passionately
attached to Antonius, into winter-quarters. The
Third, who were similarly devoted to Arrius Varus,

* The elder brother of Galba's adopted son Piso.

" See ii. 65. He must by now have ceased to be absentee
governor.

^ It was to the command of this legion that Galba promoted
Antonius (see ii. 86).

The Empire under Vespasian 147

were sent back to Syria/ and part of the army was
taken out to the war in Germany. Thus, on the
removal of the disturbing factors, the city could resume
its normal life under the old regime of law and civil
government.

On the day of his first appearance in the senate 40
Domitian spoke a few moderate sentences regretting
the absence of his father and brother. His behaviour
was most proper, and, as his character was still an un-
known quantity, his blushes were taken for signs of
modesty .2 He moved from the chair that all Galba's
honours should be restored, to which Curtius Montanus
proposed an amendment that some respect should also
be paid to the memory of Piso. The senate approved
both proposals, though nothing was done about Piso.
Next, various commissions were appointed by lot to
restore the spoils of war to the owners ; to examine
and affix the bronze tablets of laws, which in course
of time had dropped off the walls ; to revise the list
of public holidays, which in these days of flattery had
been disgracefully tampered with ; and to introduce
some economy into public expenditure. Tettius
Julianus was restored to his praetorship as soon as it
was discovered that he had taken refuge with Vespasian :
but Grypus was allowed to retain his rank.^ It was
then decided to resume the hearing of the case of

* Varus had served under Corbulo in Syria.

^ In his life of Agrlcola Tacitus speaks of Domitian' red
face as ' his natural bulwark against shame'.

* See chap. 39.

o4a-l«-2 V

14*^ Booh ir. Chapters 40-42

Musonius Rufus against Publius Celer ^ Publius was
convicted and the shade of Soranus satisfied. This
strict verdict made the day memorable in the annals of
Rome, and credit was also due to private enterprise,
for everybody felt that Musonius had done his duty
in bringing the action. On the other hand, Demetrius,
a professor of Cynic philosophy, earned discredit for
defending an obvious criminal 2 more for ostentatious
motives than from honest conviction. As for Publius,
courage and fluency alike failed him at the critical
moment. This trial was the signal for further reprisals
against prosecutors. Junius Mauricus ^ accordingly
petitioned Domitian that the senate might be allowed
access to the minutes of the imperial cabinet, in order
to find out who had applied for leave to bring a prose-
cution and against whom. The answer was that on
such a question as this the emperor must be consulted.
41 Accordingly, at the instigation of its leading members,
the senate framed an oath in these words, ' I call heaven
to witness that I have never countenanced any action
prejudicial to any man's civil status, nor have I derived
any profit or any office from the misfortune of any
Roman citizen.' The magistrates vied with each other
in their haste to take this oath, and the other members

* See chap. 10.

* i. e. Publius Celer. As this Demetrius was present with
Thrasea at the end, holding high philosojjhical discourse with
him (^«M.xvi.34),heseems to have been a Cynic in the modern
sense as well.

* AnotherStoic malcontent, brother of the Arulenus Rusticus
mentioned in iii. So.

The Empire under Vespasian 147

did the same, when called upon to speak. Those who
had a guilty conscience were alarmed, and managed to
alter the wording of the oath by various devices. The
house meanwhile applauded every sign of scruple, and
protested against each case of perjury. This kind
of informal censure fell most severely on Sariolenus
Vocula, Nonius Attianus, and Cestius Severus, who were
notorious as habitual informers under Nero. Against
Sariolenus there was also a fresh charge of having con-
tinued his practices with Vitellius. The members
went on shaking their fists at him until he left the
house. They next turned on Paccius Africanus,
trying to hound him out in the same way. He was
supposed to have suggested to Nero the murder of
the two brothers Scribonius,^ who were famous for
their friendship and their wealth. Africanus dared not
admit his guilt, though he could not very well deny it.
So he swung round on Vibius Crispus,^ who was pes-
tering him with questions, and tried to turn the tables
by implicating him in the charges which he could not
rebut, thus shifting the odium on to his accomplice.

On this occasion Vipstanus Messala "^ gained a great 42
reputation, both for dutiful affection and for eloquence,
by venturing to intercede for his brother Aquilius
Regulus,* although he had not attained the senatorial
age.^ Regulus had fallen into great disfavour for having

^ According to Dio they were two devoted and inseparable
brothers. They became governors, one of Upper and the other
of Lower Germany, and, being weahhy, were forced by Nero
to commit suicide. * Cp. ii. 10.

' Cp. iii. 9. * Cp. i. 48, note i. * Twenty-five.

K 2

148 Book IV. Chapter 42

brought about the ruin of the noble families of the
Crassi and of Orfitus. It was supposed that, though
quite a young man, he had voluntarily undertaken the
prosecution, not to escape any danger which was
threatening him, but from purely ambitious motives.
Crassus' wife, Sulpicia Praetextata, and his four sons
were anxious to secure revenge if the senate would
grant a trial. Messala therefore made no attempt to
defend the case or the accused, but tried to shelter
his brother, and had already won over some of the
senators. Curtius Montanus now attacked him in
a savage speech, and even went so far as to charge
Regulus with having given money to Piso's murderer
after Galba's death, and with having bitten Piso's
head.i ' That,' said he, ' Nero certainly did not compel
you to do. You purchased neither position nor safety
by that savage piece of cruelty. We may put up with
the pleas of those wretches who prefer to ruin others
rather than endanger their own lives. But your
father's banishment had guaranteed your security.
His property had been divided amongst his creditors.^
You were not of an age to stand for office. Nero had
nothing either to hope or to fear from you. Your
talents were as yet untried and you had never exerted
them in any man's defence, yet your lust for blood,
your insatiable ambition, led you to stain your young
hands in the blood of Rome's nobility. At one swoop

^ Piso was a brother of Regulus' victim. He was therefore
glad to see hiin incapable of reprisal.

- i.e. there was no property left to tempt Nero.

The Empire under Vespasian 149

you caused the ruin of innocent youths, of old and
distinguished statesmen, of high-born ladies ; and out
of the country's disaster you secured for yourself the
spoils of two ex-consuls,i stuffed seven million sesterces
into your purse, and shone with the reflected glory
of a priesthood. You would blame Nero's lack of
enterprise because he took one household at a time,
thus causing unnecessary fatigue to himself and his
informers, when he might have ruined the whole
senate at a single word. Why, gentlemen, you must
indeed keep and preserve to yourselves a counsellor of
such ready resource. Let each generation have its
good examples : and as our old men follow Eprius
Marcellus or Vibius Crispus, let the rising generation
emulate Regulus. Villany finds followers even when
it fails. What if it flourish and prosper ? If we
hesitate to touch a mere ex-quaestor, shall we be any
bolder when he has been praetor and consul ? Or do
you suppose that the race of tyrants came to an end
in Nero ? That is what the people believed who
outlived Tiberius or Caligula, and meanwhile there
arose one more infamous and more bloody still.^ We
are not afraid of Vespasian. We trust his years and
his natural moderation. But a good precedent outlives
a good sovereign. Gentlemen, we are growing effete :
we are no longer that senate which, after Nero had
been killed, clamoured for the punishment of all
informers and their menials according to our ancestors'

^ i. e. the money and other rewards won by prosecuting
Crassus and Orfitus. * Nero,

lyo Book IV. Chapters ^2-4^

rigorous prescription. The best chance comes on the
day after the death of a bad emperor.'

43 The senate listened to Montanus's speech with such
sympathy that Helvidius began to hope that it might
be possible to get a verdict even against Marcellus.
Beginning with a eulogy of Cluvius Rufus, who,
though quite as rich and as eloquent as Marcellus,
had never brought any one into trouble under Nero,
he went on to attack Marcellus, both by contrasting
him with Rufus and by pressing home the charge
against him. Feeling that the house was warming to
this rhetoric, Marcellus got up as though to leave,
exclaiming, ' I am off, Helvidius : I leave you your
senate : you can tyrannize over it under Caesar's nose.'
Vibius Crispus followed Marcellus, and, though both
were angry, their expressions were very different.
Marcellus marched out with flashing eyes, Crispus
with a smile on his face. Eventually their friends
went and brought them back. Thus the struggle grew
more and more heated between a well-meaning majority
and a small but powerful minority ; and since they
were both animated by irreconcilable hatred, the day
was spent in vain recriminations.

44 At the next sitting Domitian opened by recom-
mending them to forget their grievances and grudges
and the unavoidable exigences of the recent past.
Mucianus then at great length moved a motion in
favour of the prosecutors, issuing a mild warning,
almost in terms of entreaty, to those who wanted to
revive actions which had been begun and dropped.

The Empire under Vespasian i y i

Seeing that their attempt at independence was being
thwarted, the senate gave it up. However, that it
might not seem as if the senate's opinion had been
flouted and complete impunity granted for all crimes
committed under Nero, Mucianus forced Octavius
Sagitta and Antistius Sosianus, who had returned from
exile, to go back to the islands to which they had been
confined. Octavius had committed adultery with
Pontia Postumina, and, on her refusal to marry him,
had murdered her in a fit of jealous fury. Sosianus
was an unprincipled scoundrel who had been the ruin
of many.l The senate had found them both guilty,
and passed a heavy sentence of exile, nor had their
penalty been remitted, although others were allowed
to return. However, this failed to allay the ill-feeling
against Mucianus, for Sosianus and Sagitta, whether
they returned or not, were of no importance, whereas
people were afraid of the professional prosecutors, who
were men of wealth and ability and experts in crime.

Unanimity was gradually restored in the senate by 45
the holding of a trial according to ancient precedent,
before a court of the whole house. A senator named
Manlius Patruitus complained that he had been beaten
before a mob of people in the colony of Siena by order
of the local magistrates. Nor had the affront stopped
there. They had held a mock funeral before his eyes,
and had accompanied their dirges and lamentations
with gross insults levelled at the whole senate. The

* He had recited some libellous verses on Nero and been
condenined for treason.

lyi Book IF. Chapters 4s, 4<^

accused were summoned ; their case was tried ; they
were convicted and punished. A further decree of
the senate was passed admonishing the commons of
Siena to pay more respect to the laws. About the same
time Antonius Flamma was prosecuted by Cyrene for
extortion, and exiled for the inhumanity of his
conduct.
46 Meanwhile, a mutiny almost broke out among the
soldiers. The men who had been discharged by Vitel-
lius 1 came together again in support of Vespasian, and
demanded re-admission. They were joined by the
selected legionaries who had also been led to hope for
service in the Guards, and they now demanded the pay
they had been promised. Even the Vitellians 2 alone
could not have been dispersed without serious blood-
shed, but it would require immense sums of money
to retain the services of such a large number of men.
Mucianus accordingly entered the barracks to make
a careful estimate of each man's term of service. He
formed up the victorious troops with their own arms and
distinctive decorations, each company a few paces from
the next. Then the Vitellians who had surrendered,
as we have described, at Bovillae,^ and all the other
soldiers who had been hunted down in the city and
its neighbourhood, were marched out almost entirely
without arms or uniforms. Mucianus then had them

* Cp. ii. 67.

^ i. e. those who had surrendered at Narnia and Bovillae, as
distinct from those who had been discharged after Galba's
death. ^ Q^^p. 2.

The Empire under Vespasian 1^3 *

sorted out, and drew up in separate corps the troops
of the German army, of the British army, and of any
others that were in Rome. Their first glance at the
scene astounded them. Facing them they saw what
looked like a fighting front bristling with weapons,
while they were caught in a trap, defenceless and foul
with dirt. As soon as they began to be sorted out
a panic seized them. The German troops in particular
were terrified at their isolation, and felt they were
being told off for slaughter. They embraced their
comrades and clung upon their necks, asking for one
last kiss, begging not to be left alone, crying out, ' Our
cause is the same as yours, why should our fate be
different \ ' They appealed now to Mucianus, now to
the absent emperor, and lastly to the powers of Heaven,
until Mucianus came to the rescue of their imaginary
terrors by calling them all ' sworn servants of one
emperor ', for he found that the victorious army was
joining in and seconding their tears with cheering.
On that day the matter ended there. A few days later,
when Domitian addressed them, they received him
with renewed confidence, refused his offer of lands,
and begged for enlistment and their pay instead. This
was only a petition, but one that could not be refused :
so they were admitted to the Guards. Subsequently,
those who had grown old and completed the regular
term of service ^ were honourably discharged. Others
were dismissed for misbehaviour, but one by one at

' i.e. those who were either over fifty or had served in the
Guards sixteen or in a legion twenty years,

I y4 Book IF. Chapters 4(^-49

different times, which is always the safest method of
weakening any kind of conspiracy.

47 To return to the senate ; a bill was now passed
that a loan of sixty million sesterces should be raised
from private individuals and administered by Pompeius
Silvanus, This may have been a financial necessity,
or they may have wanted it to seem so. At any rate
the necessity soon ceased to exist, or else they gave up
the pretence. Domitian then carried a proposal that
the consulships conferred by Vitellius should be can-
celled, and that a state funeral should be held in honour
of Flavius Sabinus.i Both proposals are striking evi-
dence of the fickleness of human fortune, which so
often makes the first last and the last first.

48 It was about this time that Lucius Piso,^ the pro-
consul of Africa, was killed. To give a true explanation
of this murder we must go back and take a brief survey
of certain matters which are closely connected with
the reasons for such crimes. Under the sainted
Augustus and Tiberius the pro-consul of Africa had
in his command one legion and some auxiliaries with
which to guard the frontier of the empire.^ Caligula,
who was restless by nature and harboured suspicions

^ See iii. 74. - See chap. 38.

* Africa was peculiar in that the pro-consul, who governed
it for the senate, commanded an army. All the other pro-
\'inces demanding military protection were under imperial
control. Caligula, without withdrawing the province from
the senate, in some degree regularized the anomaly by trans-
ferring this command to a ' legate ' of his own, technically
inferior to the civil governor.

The Empire under Vespasian iff

of the then pro-consul, Marcus Silanus, withdrew the
legion from his command and put it under a legate
whom he sent out for the purpose. As each had an
equal amount of patronage and their functions over-
lapped, Caligula thus caused a state of friction which
was further aggravated by regrettable quarrels. The
greater permanence of his tenure ^ gradually streng-
thened the legate's position, and perhaps an inferior
is always anxious to vie with his betters. The most
eminent governors, on the other hand, were more
careful of their comfort than of their authority.

At the present time the legion in Africa was com- 49
manded by Valerius Festus,^ an extravagant young
man, immoderately ambitious, whose kinship with
Vitellius had given him some anxiety. He had frequent
interviews with Piso, and it is impossible to tell whether
he tempted Piso to rebel or resisted Piso's temptations.
No one was present at their interviews, which were
held in private, and after Piso's death most people
were inclined to sympathize with his murderer.
Beyond doubt the province and the garrison were
unfavourable to Vespasian. Besides, some of the
Vitellian refugees from Rome pointed out to Piso that
the Gallic provinces were wavering. Germany was
ready to rebel, and he himself was in danger ; ' and,'
they added, ' if you earn suspicion in peace your safest

' Whereas the pro-consul's appointment was for one year
only, the emf)eror's legate retained his post at the emperor's
pleasure, and was usually given several years.

» Cp. ii.98.

1^6 Book I J^. Chapters 4g- so

course is war.' Meanwhile, Claudius Sagitta, who
commanded Petra's Horse,^ made a good crossing and
outstripped the centurion Papirius, who had been sent
out by Mucianus and was commissioned, so Sagitta
affirmed, to assassinate Piso. Sagitta further stated
that Galerianus,2 Piso's cousin and son-in-law, had
already been murdered, and told him that while his
one hope lay in taking a bold step, there were two
courses open to him : he might either take up arms
on the spot, or he might prefer to sail to Gaul and
offer to lead the Vitellian armies. This made no im-
pression on Piso. When the centurion whom Mucianus
had sent arrived at the gates of Carthage, he kept on
shouting all sorts of congratulations to Piso on becom-
ing emperor. The people he met, who were astounded
at this unexpected miracle, were instructed to take
up the cry. With a crowd's usual credulity, they
rushed into the forum calling on Piso to appear, and
as they had a passion for flattery and took no interest
in the truth, they proceeded to fill the whole place
with a confused noise of cheering. Piso, however,
either at a hint from Sagitta, or from his natural good
sense, would not show himself in public or give way
to the excitement of the crowd. He examined the
centurion, and learnt that his object was to trump up
a charge against him and then kill him.^ He accordingly
had the man executed more from indignation against

* See i. 70. * See chap. 11.

' i. e. he hoped that Piso would accept the story with alacrity
and thus commit liimself.

The Empire under Vespasian 157

the assassin than in any hope of saving his life ; for he
found that the man had been one of the murderers
of Clodius Macer,! and after staining his hand in the
blood of a military officer was now proposing to turn
it against a civil governor. Piso then reprimanded
the Carthaginians in an edict which clearly showed
his anxiety, and refrained from performing even the
routine of his office, shutting himself up in his house,
for fear that he might by accident provide some
pretext for further demonstrations.

When the news of the popular excitement and the 50
centurion's execution reached the ears of Festus, con-
siderably exaggerated and with the usual admixture of
falsehood, he at once sent off a party of horsemen to
murder Piso. Riding at full speed, they reached the
governor's house in the twilight of early dawn and
broke in with drawn swords. As Festus had mainly
chosen Carthaginian auxiliaries and Moors to do the
murder, most of them did not know Piso by sight.
However, near his bedroom they happened on a slave
and asked him where Piso was and what he looked like.
In answer the slave told them a heroic lie and said he
was Piso, whereupon they immediately cut him down.
However, Piso himself was killed very soon after, for
there was one man among them who knew him, and
that was Baebius Massa, one of the imperial agents
in Africa, who was already a danger to all the best
men in Rome. His name will recur again and again
in this narrative, as one of the causes of the troubles

1 Cp. i. 7.

I f 8 Book IV. Chapters yo-^2

which beset us later on.^ Festus had been waiting at
Adrumetum ^ to see how things went, and he now
hastened to rejoin his legion. He had the camp-
prefect, Caetronius Pisanus, put in irons, alleging that
he was one of Piso's accomplices, though his real
motive was personal dislike. He then punished some
of the soldiers and centurions and rewarded others ;
in neither case for their deserts, but because he wanted
it to be thought that he had stamped out a war. His
next task was to settle the differences between Oea and
Lepcis.^ These had had a trivial origin in thefts of
fruit and cattle by the peasants, but they were now
trying to settle them in open warfare. Oea, being
inferior in numbers, had called in the aid of the Gara-
mantes,^ an invincible tribe, who were always a fruitful
source of damage to their neighbours. Thus the people
of Lepcis were in great straits. Their fields had been
wasted far and wide, and they had fled in terror under
shelter of their walls, when the Roman auxiliaries,
both horse and foot, arrived on the scene. They
routed the Garamantes and recovered all the booty,
except what the nomads had already sold among the
inaccessible hut-settlements of the far interior.
2 1 After the battle of Cremona and the arrival of good

* Under Domitian he became one of the most notorious
and dreaded of informers. His name doubtless recurred in
the lost books of the Histories. But the only other extant
mention of him by Tacitus is in the life of Agricola (chap. 45).

* On the coast between Carthage and Thapsus.
' Tripoli and Lebda.

* Further inland ; probably the modern Fezzan.

The Empire under Vespasiayi 1 5-9

news from every quarter, Vespasian now heard of
Vitellius' death. A large number of people of all
classes, who were as lucky as they were adventurous,
successfully braved the winter seas on purpose to bring
him the news.^ There also arrived envoys from King
Vologaesus offering the services of forty thousand
Parthian cavalry.- It was, indeed, a proud and fortu-
nate situation to be courted with such splendid offers of
assistance, and to need none of them. Vologaesus was
duly thanked and instructed to send his envoys to the
senate and to understand that peace had been made.
Vespasian now devoted his attention to the affairs of
Italy and the Capitol, and received an unfavourable
report of Domitian, who seemed to be trespassing
beyond the natural sphere of an emperor's youthful
son. He accordingly handed over the flower of his
army to Titus, who was to finish of? the war with the
Jews.^

It is said that before his departure Tilus had a long 52
talk with his father and begged him not to be rash
and lose his temper at these incriminating reports,
but to meet his son in a forgiving and unprejudiced
spirit, ' Neither legions nor fleets,' he is reported to
have said, ' are such sure bulwarks of the throne as
a number of children. Time, chance and often, too,
ambition and misunderstanding weaken, alienate or
extinguish friendship : a man's own blood cannot be
severed from him ; and above all is this the case with

' Vespasian was still at Alexandria.

* Cp. ii. 82, note. ' C|). ii. 4 and Book V.

i6o Book IF. Chapters yj, ^'3

a sovereign, for, while others enjoy his good fortune,
his misfortunes only concern his nearest kin. Nor
again are brothers likely to remain good friends unless
their father sets them an example.' These words had
the effect of making Vespasian rather delighted at
Titus' goodness of heart than inclined to forgive
Domitian. ' You may ease your mind,' he said to
Titus, ' It is now your duty to increase the prestige of
Rome on the field : I will concern myself with peace
at home.' Though the weather was still very rough,
Vespasian at once launched his fastest corn-ships with
a full cargo. For the city was on the verge of famine.^
Indeed, there were not supplies for more than ten days
in the public granaries at the moment when Vespasian's
convoy brought relief.
53 The task of restoring the Capitol- was entrusted
to Lucius Vestinus, who, though only a knight, yet
in reputation and influence could rank with the highest.
He summoned all the soothsayers,^ and they recom-
mended that the ruins of the former temple should
be carried away to the marshes * and a new temple
erected on the same site : the gods were unwilling,
they said, that the original form of the building should
be changed. On the 2lst of June, a day of bright sun-

' It had been Vespasian's original plan to starve Rome out
by holding the granaries of Egypt and Africa. See iii. 48.

^ Cp. iii. 71.

^ Probably from Etruria, where certain families were credited
with the requisite knowledge and skill. Claudius had estab-
lished a College of Soothsayers in Rome. They ranked lower
than the Augurs. « At Ostia.

The Empire under Vespasian 1 6 1

shine, the whole consecrated area of the temple was
decorated with chaplets and garlands. In marched
soldiers, all men with names of good omen, carrying
branches of lucky trees : ^ then came the Vestal Virgins
accompanied by boys and girls, each of whom had father
and mother alive,^ and they cleansed it all by sprinkling
fresh water from a spring or river.^ Next, while the
high priest, Plautius Aelianus, dictated the proper
formulae, Helvidius Priscus, the praetor, first conse-
crated the site by a solemn sacrifice * of a pig, a sheep
and an ox, and then duly offering the entrails on an
altar of turf, he prayed to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva,
as the guardian deities of the empire, to prosper the
enterprise, and by divine grace to bring to completion
this house of theirs which human piety had here begun.
He then took hold of the chaplets to which the ropes
holding the foundation-stone were attached. At the
same moment the other magistrates and the priests and
senators and knights and large numbers of the popu-
lace in joyous excitement with one great effort dragged
the huge stone into its place. On every side gifts of
gold and silver were flung into the foundations, and

' Their names would suggest prosperity and success, e.g.
Salvius, Victor, Valerius, and they would carry branches of
oak, laurel, myrtle, or beech.

* This too was ' lucky ' and a common ritualistic require-
ment.

' The ' holy water ' must come from certain streams of
special sanctity, such as the Tiber or its tributary, the Almo.
The water would be sprinkled from the ' lucky ' branches.

* To the god Mars.

i62 Book IF. Chapters S3-SS

blocks of virgin ore unscathed by any furnace, just
as they had come from the womb of the earth. For
the soothsayers had given out that the building must
not be desecrated by the use of stone or gold that
had been put to any other purpose. The height of the
roof was raised. This was the only change that religious
scruples would allow, and it was felt to be the only
point in which the former temple lacked grandeur.

The Loss of Germany

54 Meanwhile,^ the news of Vitellius' death had spread
through Gaul and Germany and redoubled the vigour
of the war. Civilis now dropped all pretence and
hurled himself upon the Roman Empire. The Vitel-
lian legions felt that even foreign slavery was preferable
to owning Vespasian's sovereignty. The Gauls too
had taken heart. A rumour had been spread that our
winter camps in Moesia and Pannonia were being
blockaded by Sarmatians and Dacians : ^ similar stories
were fabricated about Britain : the Gauls began to
think that the fortune of the Roman arms was the
same all the world over. But above all, the burning of
the Capitol led them to believe that the empire was
coming to an end. ' Once in old days the Gauls had
captured Rome, but her empire had stood firm since
Jupiter's high-place was left unscathed. But now,

' Tacitus here resumes the thread of his narrative of the
rebellion on the Rhine, interrupted at the end of chap. 37,
and goes back from July to January, a.d. 70.

' Cp.iii.46.

The Loss of Germany 1(^3

so the Druids ^ with superstitious folly kept dinning
into their ears, lliis fatal fire was a sign of Heaven's
anger, and meant that the Transalpine tribes were
destined now to rule the world.' It was also persistently
rumoured that the Gallic chieftains, whom Otho had
sent to work against Vitellius,- had agreed, before they
parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles
in an unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not
fail the cause of the Gallic freedom.

Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus ^ 55
nothing had leaked out to arouse suspicions of a con-
spiracy, but when he had been assassinated, negotiations
passed between Civilis and Classicus,* who commanded
the Trcviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line
and his stock was famous both in peace and war. It
was his boast that his family had given Rome more
enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran,
the other a Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed
by Vitellius to watch the bank of the Rliine.^ Sabinus'

' Tlie danger of Druidism was always before the eyes of the
emperors. Augustus had forbidden Roman citizens to adopt
it. Claudius had tried to stamp it out in Gaul and in Britain,
yet they appear again here to preach a fanatic nationahsni.
However, this seems to be their last appearance as leaders of
revolt.

' Probably they were in Rome, and were sent back to their
homes to intrigue against Vitellius' rising power.

' See cliap. 36. * Cp. ii. 14.

* i. e. he was to prevent any incursions from Germany along
the frontier of his canton, between Biiigen and Coblenz.

L 2

T 6^ Book IF. Chapters S'T~T7

natural vanity was further inflamed by spurious pre-
tensions of high birth, for he alleged that his great-
grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius
Caesar during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had
committed adultery. These four tested the temper of
the rest in private interviews, and having bound to
the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they held
a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general
feeling in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs.
A few of the Ubii and Tungri, indeed, attended, but
the Treviri and Lingonians were the backbone of the
conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that
Rome was distracted by internal quarrels ; legions
had been cut to pieces, Italy devastated, the city was
on the point of being taken, while all her armies were
occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when
liberty had taken firm root, they could discuss together
what limit each tribe should set to its exercise of power.
c6 All this was no sooner spoken than applauded.
About the remnant of Vitellius' army they were in
some doubt. Many held that they ought to be killed
as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained
with the blood of their generals. However, the idea
of sparing them carried the day. To destroy all hope
of pardon would only steel their obstinacy : it was
much better to seduce them into alliance : only the
generals need be killed ; a guilty conscience and the
hope of pardon would soon bring the rest flocking over

The Loss of Germany 16^

to their flag. Such was the tenor of their first meeting.
Agitators were sent all over Gaul to stir up war. The
conspirators themselves feigned loyalty to Vocula,
hoping to catch him off his guard.i There were, indeed,
traitors who reported all this to Vocula, but he was
not strong enough to crush the conspiracy, his legions
being short-handed and unreliable. Between suspected
troops on one side and secret enemies on the other, it
seemed his best course under the circumstances to
dissemble, as they were doing, and thus use their own
weapons against them. So he marched down the river
to Cologne. There he found Claudius Labeo, who
after being taken prisoner, as described above,^ and
relegated to the Frisii, had bribed his guards and escaped
to Cologne. He promised that if Vocula would pro-
vide him with troops, he would go to the Batavi and
win back the better part of their community to the
Roman alliance. He was given a small force of horse
and foot. Without venturing any attempt upon the
Batavi, he attracted a few of the Nervii and Baetasii ^
to his standard, and proceeded to harass the Cannine-
fates and Marsaci ^ more by stealth than open warfare.

Lured by the treachery of the Gauls,Vocula marched 57
out against his enemy .* Not far from Vetera, Classicus
and Tutor rode forward ^ on a pretext of scouting,

> At Mainz. « Chap. i8.

' These tribes lived between the Maas and the Scheldt, and
the Marsaci were round the mouth of the Scheldt.

* Civilis, again besieging Vetera (chap. 36).

* i. e. from the rest of Vocula's force, which they had not yet
deserted.

1 66 Book IF. Chapters ^7, S'^

and ratified their compact with the German leader?.
Thev were now for the first time separated from the
legions, and entrenched themselves in a camp of their
own. At this, Vocula loudly protested that Rome was
not as yet so shattered by civil war as to earn the
contempt of tribes like the Treviri and Lingones.
She could still rely on loyal provinces and victorious
armies, on the good fortune of the empire and the
avenging hand of God. Thus it was that in former days
Sacrovir and the Aedui,^ more lately Vindex and the
Gallic provinces had each been crushed at a single
battle. Now, again, these treaty-breakers must expect
to face the same powers of Providence and Destiny.
The sainted Julius and the sainted Augustus had under-
stood these people better : it was Galba's reduction
of the tribute ^ that had clothed them in enmity and
pride. ' They are our enemies to-day because their
yoke is easy : when they have been stripped and plun-
dered they will be our friends.' After these spirited
words, seeing that Classicus and Tutor still persisted
in their treachery, he turned back and retired to
Novaesium, while the Gauls encamped a couple of
miles away. Thither the centurions and soldiers
flocked to sell their souls. This was, indeed, an unheard

^ The Aedui, one of the most powerful of the Gallic tribes,
Hving between the Saone and the Loire had revolted in A. D. 21,
and held out for a short time at their chief to\vn (Autun).

^ This had only been granted to a few tribes who|^had helped
in crushing Vindex (see i. 8 and 51). The Treviri and
Lingones had been punished. But it is a good rhetorical
point.

The Loss of Germany \6j

of villainy that Roman soldiers should swear allegiance
to a foreign power, and oflFer as a pledge for this heinous
crime either to kill or imprison their generals. Though
many urged Vocula to escape, he felt that he must make
a bold stand, so he summoned a meeting and spoke
somewhat as follows : — 'Never before have I addressed 5^
you with such feelings of anxiety for you, or with such
indifference to my own fate. That plans are being
laid for my destruction I am glad enough to hear :
in such a parlous case as this I look for death as the
end of all my troubles. It is for you that I feel shame
and pity. It is not that a field of battle awaits you, for
that would only accord with the laws of warfare and
the just rights of combatants, but because Classicus
hopes that with your hands he can make war upon the
Roman people, and flourishes before you an oath of
allegiance to the Empire of All Gaul. What though
fortune and courage have deserted us for the moment,
have we not glorious examples in the past ? How
often have not Roman soldiers chosen to die rather
than be driven from their post \ Often have our allies
endured the destruction of their cities and given
themselves and their wives and children to the flames,
without any other reward for such an end save the
name of honourable men. At this very moment
Roman troops are enduring famine and siege at Vetera,
and neither threats nor promises can move them, while
we, besides arms and men and fine fortifications, have
supplies enough to last through any length of war.
Money, too — the other day there was enough even

1 58 Book IF. Chapters s^, 99

for a donative, and whether you choose to say that it
was given you by Vespasian or by Vitellius, at any rate
you got it from a Roman Emperor. After all the
engagements you have won, after routing the enemy
at Gelduba, at Vetera, it would be shameful enough
to shirk battle, but you have your trenches and your
walls, and there are ways of gaining time until armies
come flocking from the neighbouring provinces to your
rescue. Granted that you dislike me ; well, there are
others to lead you, whether legate, tribune, centurion,
and even private soldier. But do not let this portent
be trumpeted over the whole world, that Civilis and
Classicus are going to invade Italy with you in their
train. Suppose the Germans and Gauls lead the way
to the walls of Rome, will you turn your arms upon
your fatherland ? The mere thought of such a crime
is horrible. Will you stand sentry for the Treviran
Tutor .? Shall a Batavian give you the signal for
battle ? Will you swell the ranks of German hordes ?
And what will be the issue of your crime, when the
Roman legions take the field against you } Desertion
upon desertion, treachery upon treachery ! You will
be drifting miserably between the old allegiance and
the new, with the curse of Heaven on your heads.
Almighty Jupiter, whom we have worshipped at
triumph after triumph for eight hundred and twenty
years ; and Quirinus, Father of our Rome, if it be not
your pleasure that under my command this camp be
kept clean from the stain of dishonour, grant at the
least, I humbly beseech ye, that it never be defiled with

The Loss of Germany \6<)

the pollution of a Tutor or a Classicus ; and to these
soldiers of Rome give either innocence of heart or
a speedy repentance before the harm is done.'

The speech was variously received, with feelings ^g
fluctuating between hope, fear, and shame. Vocula
withdrew and began to prepare for his end, but his
freedmen and slaves prevented him from forestalling
by his own hand a dreadful death. As it was, Classicus
dispatched Aemilius Longinus, a deserter from the
First legion, who quickly murdered him. For Heren-
nius and Numisius imprisonment was thought suffi-
cient. Classicus then assumed the uniform and
insignia of a Roman general, and thus entered the
camp. Hardened though he was to every kind of
crime, words failed him,i and he could only read out
the oath. Those who were present swore allegiance
to the Empire of All Gaul. He then gave high pro-
motion to Vocula's assassin, and rewarded the others
each according to the villainy of his service.

The command was now divided between Tutor and
Classicus. Tutor at the head of a strong force besieged
Cologne and forced the inhabitants and all the soldiers
on the Upper Rhine to take the same oath of allegiance.
At Mainz he killed the officers and drove away the
camp-prefect, who had refused to swear. Classicus
ordered all the greatest scoundrels among the deserters
to go to Vetera and offer pardon to the besieged if they
would yield to circumstances : otherwise there was
no hope for them : they should suffer famine and sword
' His presumption took away his breath.

I70 Book IF. Chapters yc)-6i

and every extremity. The messengers further cited
their own example.

60 Torn by a conflict of loyalty and liunger, the besieged
vacillated between honour and disgrace. While they
hesitated, all their sources of food, both usual and un-
usual, began to fail them. They had eaten their mules
and horses and all the other animals which, though
foul and unclean, their straits had forced into use.
At last they took to grubbing up the shrubs and roots
and the grass that grew between the stones, and
became a very pattern of endurance in wretchedness,
until at last they soiled their glory by a shameful end.
Envoys were sent to Civilis begging him to save their
lives. Even then he refused to receive their petition
until they had sworn allegiance to All Gaul. He then
negotiated for the plunder of the camp and sent
guards, some to secure the money, servants and
baggage, and others to conduct the men themselves
out of the camp with empty hands. About five miles
down the road their line was surprised by an ambush
of Germans. The bravest fell on the spot ; many
were cut down in flight ; the rest got back to camp.
Civilis, indeed, complained that the Germans had
criminally broken faith and rebuked them for it. There
is no evidence to show whether this was a pretence or
whether he was really unable to restrain his savage troops.
The camp was plundered and burnt, and all who had
survived the battle were devoured by the flames.

61 When Civilis first took up arms against Rome he
made a vow, such as is common with barbarians, to

The Loss of Germany 171

let his ruddled hair ^ grow wild ; now that he had at
last accomplished the destruction of the legions he
had it cut. It is said also that he put up some of the
prisoners for his little son to shoot in sport with javelins
and arrows. However that may be, he did not himself
swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did he force any of the
Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose
with the Gauls about the empire, his fame would give
him an advantage. Munius Lupercus, one of the
Roman commanding-ofhcers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who
wielded a wide-spread authority.^ It is an ancient
custom in Germany to credit a number of women
with prophetic powers, and with the growth of super-
stition these develop into goddesses. At this moment
\^eleda's influence was at its height, for she had
prophesied the success of the Germans and the destruc-
tion of the Roman army.^ However, Lupercus was
killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and
officers who had been born in Gaul were detained as
a security for good faith. The winter camps of the
legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry were
all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of
those at Mainz and Vindonissa.^

* i. e. artificially reddened according to a Gallic custom.

* Cp. chap. 69.

' Under Vespasian she inspired another rebellion and was
brought as a captive to Rome, where she aroused much polite
curiosity. * Windisch,

172 Booh IF. Chapters 62, 6^

62 The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who
had surrendered with it now received orders to migrate
from their quarters at Novaesium to Trier, and a date
was fixed by which they had to leave their camp. They
spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties,
the cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the
massacre at Vetera, the better sort covered with
shame at their disgrace. ' What sort of a march would
this be ? Whom would they have to lead them ?
Everything would be decided by the will of those
into whose hands they had put their lives.' Others,
again, were quite indiflFerent to the disgrace, and
simply stowed all their money and most cherished
possessions about their persons, while many got their
armour ready and buckled on their swords, as if for
battle. While they were still busy with these pre-
parations the hour struck for their departure, and it
proved more bitter than they had expected. Inside
the trenches their disgrace was not so noticeable. The
open country and the light of day revealed their depth
of shame. The emperors' medallions had been torn
downi and their standards desecrated, while Gallic
ensigns glittered all around them. They marched in
silence, like a long funeral procession, led by Claudius
Sanctus,2 a man whose sinister appearance — he had lost
one eye — ^was only surpassed by his weakness of intel-
lect. Their disgrace was doubled when they were
joined by the First legion, who had left their camp at

* From the standards.

" Claudius the Holy ; Incus a non lucendo.

The Loss of Germany 173

Bonn. The famous news of their capture had spread,
and all the people who shortly before had trembled
at the very name of Rome, now came flocking out from
fields and houses, and scattered far and wide in trans-
ports of joy at this unwonted sight. Their insulting
glee was too much for ' The Picenum Horse '.^ Defy-
ing all Sanctus' threats and promises, they turned off
to Mainz, and coming by chance upon Longinus,
the man who killed Vocula, they slew him with
a shower of javelins and thus made a beginning
of future amends. The legions, without changing
their route, came and camped before the walls of
Trier,

Highly elated by their success, Civilis and Classicus 63
debated whether they should allow their troops to
sack Cologne. Their natural savagery and lust for
plunder inclined them to destroy the town, but policy
forbade ; and they felt that in inaugurating a new
empire a reputation for clemency would be an asset.
Civilis was also moved by the memory of a past service,
for at the beginning of the outbreak his son had been
arrested in Cologne, and they had kept him in honour-
able custody. However, the tribes across the Rhine
were jealous of this rich and rising community, and
held that the war could only be ended either by throw-
ing the settlement open to all Germans without
distinction or by destroying it and thereby dispersing

' An auxiliary squadron of Italian horse, originally raised,
we may suppose, by a provincial governor who was a native
ot Picenum.

174 ^ook IV. Chapters 64, 6s

64 the Ubii together with its other inhabitants.^ Accord-
ingly the Tencteri,2 their nearest neighbours across
the Rhine, dispatched a deputation to lay a message
before a public meeting of the town. This was de-
livered by the haughtiest of the delegates in some such
terms as these :— ' We give thanks to the national gods
of Germany and above all others, to the god of war,
that you are again incorporate in the German nation
and the German name, and we congratulate you that
you will now at last become free members of a free
community. Until to-day the Romans had closed to
us the roads and rivers, and almost the very air of
heaven, to prevent all intercourse between us ; or else
they offered a still fouler insult to born warriors, that
we should meet under supervision, unarmed and almost
naked,3 and should pay for the privilege. Now, that
our friendly alliance may be ratified for all eternity,
we demand of you that you pull down those bulwarks
of slavery, the walls of your town, for even wild beasts
lose their spirit if you keep them caged : that you put
to the sword every Roman on your soil, since tyrants
are incompatible with freedom ; that all the property
of those killed form a common stock and no one be

* The Ubii were distrusted as having taken the name
Agrippinenses and become in some degree Romanized. The
town was strongly walled, and Germans from outside only
admitted on payment and under Roman supervision.

* See chap. 21.

' Not, of course, to be taken literally. ' The Germans do no
business public or private except in full armour,' says Tacitus
in the Gennania. So to them ' unarmed ' meant ' unclothed ".

The Loss of Germany 175-

allowed to conceal anything or to secure any private
advantage. It must also be open both for us and for
you to live on either river-bank, as our forefathers
could in earlier days. As daylight is the natural
heritage of all mankind, so the land of the world is
free to all brave men. Resume again the customs and
manners of your own country and throw off those
luxurious habits which enslave Rome's subjects far
more effectively than Roman arms. Then, grown
simple and uncorrupt, you will forget your past slavery
and either know none but equals or hold empire over
others.'

The townspeople took time to consider these pro- 65
posals, and, feeling that their apprehensions for the
future forbade them to assent, while their present
circumstances forbade them to return a plain negative,
they answered as follows : ' We have seized our first
opportunity of freedom with more haste than prudence,
because we wanted to join hands with you and all
our other German kinsmen. As for our town-walls,
seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them
than to pull them down. All the foreigners from Italy
or the provinces who lived on our soil have either
perished in the war or fled to their own homes. As
for the original settlers ^, who are united to us by ties
of marriage, they and their offspring regard this as
their home, and we do not think you are so unreason-

' i.e. the veterans whom Agrippina had seal out to her
birthplace in a.d, 50.

176 Book IF. Chapters 6^-6?

able as to ask us to kill our parents and brothers and
children. All taxes and commercial restrictions we
remit. We grant you free entry without supervision,
but you must come in daylight and unarmed, while
these ties which are still strange and new are growing
into a long-established custom. As arbitrators we will
appoint Civilis and Veleda, and we will ratify our
compact in their presence.'

Thus the Tencteri were pacified. A deputation was
sent with presents to Civilis and Veleda, and obtained
all that the people of Cologne desired. They were
not, however, allowed to approach and speak to
Veleda or even to see her, but were kept at a distance
to inspire in them the greater awe. She herself lived
at the top of a high tower, and one of her relatives
was appointed to carry all the questions and answers
like a mediator between God and man.
66 Now that he had gained the accession of Cologne,
Civilis determined to win over the neighbouring com-
munities or to declare war in case of opposition. He
reduced the Sunuci ^ and formed their fighting
strength into cohorts, but then found his advance
barred by Claudius Labeo - at the head of a hastily-
recruited band of Baetasii, Tungri, and Nervii.2 He
had secured tlie bridge over the Maas and relied on
the strength of his position. A skirmish in the narrow
defile proved indecisive, until the Germans swam
across and took Labeo in the rear. At this point

* Wcbt oi the Ubii, between the Rocr and the Maas.
' See chap. 56,

The Loss of Germany 177

Civilis by a bold move — or possibly by arrangement —
rode into the lines of the Tungri and called out in
a loud voice, ' Our object in taking up arms is not to
secure empire for the Batavi and Treviri over other
tribes. We are far from any such arrogance. Take
us as allies. I am come to join you ; whether as general
or as private it is for you to choose.' This had a great
effect on the common soldiers, vpho began to sheathe
their swords. Then two of their chieftains, Campanus
and Juvenalis, surrendered the entire tribe. Labeo
escaped before he was surrounded. Civilis also received
the allegiance of the Baetasii and Nervii, and added
their forces to his own. His power was now immense,
for all the Gallic communities were either terrified or
ready to offer willing support.

In the meantime, Julius Sabinus,^ who had destroyed 67
every memorial of the Roman alliance,- assumed the
title of Caesar and proceeded to hurry a large unwieldy
horde of his tribesmen against the Sequani,^ a neigh-
bouring community, faithful to Rome. The Sequani
accepted battle : the good cause prospered : the
Lingones were routed. Sabinus fled the field with the
same rash haste with which he had plunged into
battle. Wishing to spread a rumour of his death, he
took refuge in a house and set fire to it, and was thus
supposed to have perished by his own act. We shall,
however, relate in due course the devices by which

' Cp. chap. 55.

-e.g. the inscriptions recording the terms of alliance granted
to the Lingones by Rome. ' Round Vesontio (Besan^on).

»«.18.2 M

1/8 Book IF. Chapters 67, 68

he lay in hiding and prolonged his life for nine more
years, and allude also to the loyalty of his friends and
the memorable example set by his wife Epponina.^

The Ebb-tide of Revolt

This success on the part of the Sequani checked the
rising flood. The Gallic communities gradually came
to their senses and began to remember their obligations
as allies. In this movement the Remi - took the lead.
They circulated a notice throughout Gaul, summoning
a meeting of delegates to consider whether liberty or
68 peace was the preferable alternative. At Rome, how-
ever, all these disasters were exaggerated, and Mucianus
began to feel anxious. He had already appointed
Annius Gallus and Petilius Cerialis to the chief com-
mand, and distinguished officers as they were, he was
afraid the conduct of such a war might be too much
for them. Moreover, he could not leave Rome without
government, but he was afraid of Domitian's unbridled
passions, while, as we have already seen,^ he suspected
Antonius Primus and Arrius Varus. Varus, as com-
manding the Guards, still had the chief power and
influence in his hands. Mucianus accordingly displaced
him, but, as a compensation, made him Director of

' The story, which Tacitus presumably told in the lost part
of his History, dealing with the end of Vespasian's reign, is
mentioned both by Plutarch and Dio. Sabinus and his wife
lived for nine years in an underground cave, where two sons
were born to them. They were eventually discovered and
executed. ' Round Reims. 'Chap. 39.

The Ebb-tide of Revolt 17^

the Corn-supply. As he had also to placate Domitian,
who was inclined to support Varus, he appointed to the
command of the Guards Arrecinus Clemens, who was
connected with Vespasian's family ^ and very friendly
with Domitian. He also impressed it upon Domitian
that Clemens' father had filled this command with
great distinction under Caligula : that his name and
his character would both find favour with the troops,
and that, although he was a member of the senate,^
he was quite able to fill both positions. He then chose
his staff, some as being the most eminent men in the
country, others as recommended by private influence.
Thus both Domitian and Mucianus made ready to
start, but with very different feelings. Domitian was
full of the sanguine haste of youth, while Mucianus
kept devising delays to check this enthusiasm. He was
afraid that if Domitian once seized control of an army,
his youthful self-assurance and his bad advisers would
lead him into action prejudicial both to peace and
war. Three victorious legions, the Eighth, Eleventh,
and Thirteenth ; ^ the Twenty-first — one of Vitellius'
legions — and the Second, which had been newly
enrolled, all started for the front, some by way of the
Poenine and Cottian * Alps, others over the Graian

* His sister was Titus's first wife.

' Augustus had made it a rule that the paejectiis praetorio
should come from the equestrian order.

^ The text is here uncertain, and some historians maintain
that the third of these legions was not XIII Gemina but
VII Claudia (v. Henderson, Civil War, &c., p. 291).

* Great St. Bernard and Mt. Gene\Te.

M 2

i8o Booh IV. Chapters 68-70

Alps.i The Fourteenth was also summoned from
Britain, and the Sixth and First from Spain.

The rumour that this force was on its way, combined
with the present temper of the Gauls, inclined them
to adopt a sober policy. Their delegates now met in
the territory of the Remi, where they found the
representatives of the Treviri awaiting them. One of
these, Julius Valentinus, who was the keenest instigator
of a hostile policy, delivered a set speech, in which
he heaped spiteful aspersions on the Roman people,
making all the charges which are usually brought
against great empires. He was a clever agitator, whose
mad rhetoric made him popular with the crowd.
69 However, Julius Auspex, a chieftain of the Remi,
enlarged upon the power of Rome and the blessings
of peace. 'Any coward can begin a war,' he said,
' but it is the brave who run the risks of its conduct :
and here are the legions already upon us.' Thus he
restrained them, awakening a sense of duty in all the
sager breasts, and appeahng to the fears of the younger
men. So, while applauding Valentinus' courage, they
followed the advice of Auspex. The fact that in
Vindex's rising the Treviri and Lingones sided with
Verginius is known to have told against them in Gaul.
Many, too, were held back by tribal jealousy. They
wanted to know where the head-quarters of the war
would be, to whom were they to look for aus'pices and
orders, and, if all went well, which town would be
chosen as the seat of government. Thus dissension
^ Little St. Bernard.

The Ebb-tide of Revolt 1 8 i

preceded victory. They angrily magnified, some their

great connexions, others their wealth and strength,

others their antiquity, until they grew tired of discussing

the future and voted for the existing state of things.

Letters were written to the Treviri in the name of

All Gaul, bidding them cease hostilities, suggesting,

however, that pardon might be obtained, and that

many were ready to plead their cause if they showed

repentance. Valentinus opposed this mandate and

made his tribesmen offer a deaf ear to it. He was

always less anxious to organize a campaign than to

make speeches on every possible occasion.

The result was that neither the Treviri nor the 70

Lingones nor the other rebel tribes behaved as if

aware of the serious risks they were undertaking. Even

the leaders did not act in concert. Civilis wandered

over the wilds of the Belgic country, trying to catch

or expel Claudius Labeo. Classicus ordinarily took liis

ease, apparently enjoying the fruits of empire. Even

Tutor seemed in no hurry to garrison the Upper

Rhine and block the Alpine passes. In the meantime,

the Twenty-first legion made its way down from

Vindonissa, while Sextilius Felix ^ advanced through

Raetia with some auxiliary cohorts. These were

joined by the ' Picked Horse V^ a force that had been

raised by Vitellius and then deserted to Vespasian.

This was commanded by Civilis' nephew, Julius

Briganticus,3 for uncle and nephew hated each other

* See iii. 5. ' i.e. not. raised in any one locality.

' Cp. ii. 22.

i82 Book IV. Chapters 70, 7i

with all the aggravated bitterness of near relatives.
Tutor swelled his force of Treviri with fresh levies
from the Vangiones, Triboci, and Caeracates,i and
a stiffening of Roman veterans, both horse and foot,
who had either been bribed or intimidated. These
first cut up an auxiliary cohort sent forward by Sextilius
Felix, but on the advance of the Roman army with
its generals they loyally deserted to their old flag, and
were followed by the Triboci, Vangiones, and Caera-
cates. Tutor, followed by his Treviri, avoided Mainz
and fell back on Bingium,- relying on his position
there, as he had broken down the bridge over the
river Nava. However, Sextilius' cohorts followed
him up ; some traitor showed them a ford ; Tutor
was routed. This disaster was a crushing blow to the
Treviri. The rank and file dropped their weapons
and took to the fields, while some of their chieftains,
hoping it might be thought that they had been the
first to lay down arms, took refuge among tribes who
had never repudiated the Roman alliance. The legions
which had been moved, as we saw above,^ from
Novaesium and Bonn to Trier, now administered to
themselves the oath of allegiance to Vespasian, This
happened in Valentinus' absence. When he arrived
in furious excitement, ready to spread universal

^ The Triboci were in Lower Alsace ; the Vangiones north
of them in the district of Worms ; the Caeracates probably
to the north a^-ain, in the district between Mainz and the
N'ahc (Nava).

■ Binj^un. " Chap. Oj.

The Ebb-tide of Revolt 1 8 3

ruin and confusion, the legions withdrew into the
friendly territory of the Mediomatrici.i Valentinus
and Tutor then led the Treviri forcibly back into
the field, but first they killed the two Roman officers,
Herennius and Numisius.- By diminishing the
hope of pardon they tried to cement their bond of
crime.

Such was the position when Petilius Cerialis reached 71
Mainz. His arrival roused high hopes. He was him-
self thirsting for battle, and being always better at
despising his enemy than at taking precautions, he
fired his men by delivering a spirited harangue, promis-
ing that directly there was a chance of getting into
touch with the enemy he would engage without delay.
He dismissed the Gallic recruits to their homes with
a message that the legions were enough for his task :
the allies could resume their peaceful occupations,
feeling assured that the war was practically ended,
now that Roman troops had taken it in hand. This
action rendered the Gauls all the more tractable.
They made less difficulty about the war-tax, now that
they had got their men back again, while his disdain
only sharpened their sense of duty. On the other
side, when Civilis and Classicus heard of Tutor's defeat,
the destruction of the Treviri, and the universal success
of the Roman arms, they fell into a panic, hastily
mobilized their own scattered forces, and kept sending
messages to Valentinus not to risk a decisive battle.
This only hastened Cerialis' movements. He sent
' Round Melz, ' See chap. 59,

184 Book IF. Chapters 71., 72

guides to the legions stationed in the country of the
Mediomatrici to lead them by the shortest route on
the enemy's rear. Then, assembling all the troops to
be found in Mainz ^ together with his own force, he
marched in three days to Rigodulum.^ Here, on a
spot protected by the mountains on one side and the
Moselle on the other, V'alentinus had already taken
his stand with a large force of Treviri. His camp had
been strengthened with trenches and stone barricades,
but these fortifications had no terrors for the Roman
general. He ordered the infantry to force the position
in front, while the cavalry were to ascend the hill.
Valentinus' hurriedly assembled forces filled him with
contempt, for he knew that whatever advantage their
position might give them, the superior morale of his
men would outweigh it, A short delay was necessary
while the cavalry climbed the liill, exposed to the
enemy's fire. But when the fight began, the Treviri
tumbled headlong down the hill like a house falling.
Some of our cavalry, who had ridden round by an
easier gradient, captured several Belgic chieftains,
including their general, Valentinus.
72 On the next day Cerialis entered Trier. The troops
clamoured greedily for its destruction. ' It was the
native town of Classicus and of Tutor : these were
the men who had wickedly entrapped and slaughtered
the legions. Its guilt was far worse than that of
Cremona, which had been wiped off the face of Italy

^ Tlie other detachments of legions IV and XXII.
^ Riol.

The Ebb-tide of Revolt 185-

for causing the victors a single night's delay. Was the
chief seat of the rebellion to be left standing untouched
on the German frontier, glorying in the spoil of Roman
armies and the blood of Roman generals ? ^ The plunder
could go to the Imperial Treasury. It would be
enough for them to see the rebel town in smoking
ruins ; that would be some compensation for the
destruction of so many camps.' Cerialis was afraid
of soiling his reputation if it was said that he gave
his men a taste for cruelty and riot, so he suppressed
their indignation. They obeyed him, too, for now
that civil war was done with, there was less insub-
ordination on foreign service. Their thoughts were
now distracted by the pitiful plight of the legions
who had been summoned from the country of the
Mediomatrici.- Miserably conscious of their guilt,
they stood with eyes rooted to the ground. When the
armies met, they raised no cheer : they had no answer
for those who offered comfort and encouragement ;
they skulked in their tents, shunning the light of day.
It was not fear of punishment so much as the shame
of their disgrace which thus overwhelmed them. Even
the victorious army showed their bevdlderment :
hardly venturing to make an audible petition, they
craved pardon for them with silent tears. At length
Cerialis soothed their alarm. He insisted that all
disasters due to dissension between officers and men,
or to the enemy's guile, were to be regarded as ' acts

* Hordeonius Flaccus, Vocula, Hereaaius, and Numisius.
^ Legions I and XVI.

I 8 d Book IF. Chapters 72-74

of destiny '. They were to count this as their first
day of service and sworn allegiance.^ Neither he
nor the emperor would remember past misdeeds.
He then gave them quarters in his own camp, and
sent round orders that no one in the heat of any
quarrel should taunt a fellow soldier with mutiny or
defeat.
73 Cerialis next summoned the Treviri and Lingo nes,
and addressed them as follows : ' Unpractised as I am
in public speaking, for it is only on the field that I have
asserted the superiority of Rome, yet since words have
so much weight with you, and since you distinguish
good and bad not by the light of facts but by what
agitators tell you, I have decided to make a few remarks,
which, as the war is practically over, are likely to be
more profitable to the audience than to ourselves.
Roman generals and officers originally set foot in your
country and the rest of Gaul from no motives of
ambition, but at the call of your ancestors, who were
worn almost to ruin by dissension. The Germans
whom one party summoned to their aid had forced
the yoke of slavery on allies and enemies alike. You
know how often we fought against the Cimbri and
the Teutons, with what infinite pains and with what
striking success our armies have undertaken German
wars. All that is notorious. And to-day it is not to
protect Italy that we have occupied the Rhine, but
to prevent some second Ariovistus making himself

^ Theyha,d,ab ii matter oi fact, changed tlicir allegiance no
Icbb liiaii six times since the outbreak of the civil war.

The Ebb-tide of Revolt i 8 7

master of All Gaul.^ Do you imagine that Civilis
and his Batavi and the other tribes across the Rhine
care any more about you than their ancestors cared
about your fathers and grandfathers ? The Germans
have always had the same motives for trespassing into
Gaul — their greed for gain and their desire to change
homes with you. They wanted to leave their marshes
and deserts, and to make themselves masters of this
magnificently fertile soil and of you who live on it.
Of course they use specious pretexts and talk about
liberty. No one has ever wanted to enslave others
and play the tyrant without making use of the very same
phrases.

'Tyranny and warfare were always rife throughout 74
the length and breadth of Gaul, until you accepted
Roman government. Often as we have been provoked,
we have never imposed upon you any burden by right
of conquest, except what was necessary to maintain
peace. Tribes cannot be kept quiet without troops.
You cannot have troops without pay ; and you cannot
raise pay without taxation. In every other respect
you are treated as our equals. You frequently com-
mand our legions yourselves : you govern this and
other provinces yourselves. We have no exclusive
privileges. Though you live so far away, you enjoy
the blessings of a good emperor no less than we do,

* Ariovistus, king of the Suebi, summoned to aid one Gallic
confederacy against another, formed the ambition of conquer-
ing Gaul, bul wa= dckalcd by Julius Caesar near Besanjon
^.Vcbonlio) in 58 B.C.

I 8 8 Book IF. Chapters 74-76

whereas the tyrant only oppresses his nearest neigh-
bours. You must put up with luxury and greed in
your masters, just as you put up with bad crops or
excessive rain, or any other natural disaster. Vice
will last as long as mankind. But these evils are not
continual. There are intervals of good government,
which make up for them. You cannot surely hope
that the tyranny of Tutor and Classicus would mean
milder government, or that they will need less taxation
for the armies they will have to raise to keep the Ger-
mans and Britons at bay. For if the Romans were
driven out — which Heaven forbid — what could ensue
save a universal state of intertribal warfare ? During
eight hundred years, by good fortune and good organ-
ization, the structure of empire has been consolidated.
It cannot be pulled down without destroying those
who do it. And it is you who would run the greatest
risk of all, since you have gold and rich resources,
which are the prime causes of war. You must learn,
then, to love and foster peace and the city of Rome
in which you, the vanquished, have the same rights
as your conquerors. You have tried both conditions.
Take warning, then, that submission and safety are
better than rebellion and ruin.' By such words as
these he quieted and reassured his audience, who had
been afraid of more rigorous measures.
75 While the victors were occupying Trier, Civilis and
Classicus sent a letter to Cerialis, the gist of which was
that Vespasian was dead, though the news was being
suppressed : Rome <ind Italy were cxliausted by civil

The Ebh-tide of Revolt 189

war : Mucianus and Domitian were mere names with no
power behind them : if Cerialis desired to be emperor
of All Gaul, they would be satisfied with their own
territory : but if he should prefer battle, that, too,
they would not deny him. Cerialis made no answer
to Civilis and Classicus, but sent the letter and its
bearer to Domitian.

The enemy now approached Trier from every quarter
in detached bands, and Cerialis was much criticized
for allowing them to unite, when he might have cut
them off one by one. The Roman army now threw
a trench and rampart round their camp, for they had
rashly settled in it without seeing to the fortifications.
In the German camp different opinions were being 76
keenly debated. Civilis contended that they should
wait for the tribes from across the Rhine, whose
arrival would spread a panic sufficient to crush the
enfeebled forces of the Romans. The Gauls, he
urged, were simply a prey for the winning side and,
as it was, the Belgae, who were their sole strength,
had declared for him or were at least sympathetic.
Tutor maintained that delay only strengthened the
Roman force, since their armies were converging from
every quarter. ' They have brought one legion across
from Britain, others have been summoned from Spain,
or are on their way from Italy .1 Nor are they raw
recruits, but experienced veterans, while the Germans,
on whose aid we rely, are subject to no discipline or
control, but do whatever they like. You can only

* See chap. 68,

1 90 Book IJ^. Chapters 7^, 77

bribe them with presents of money, and the Romans
have the advantage of us there : besides, however keen
to fight, a man always prefers peace to danger, so long
as the pay is the same. But if we engage them at once,
Cerialis has nothing but the remnants of the German
army,i who have sworn allegiance to the Gallic Empire.
The very fact that they have just won an unexpected
victory over Valentinus' undisciplined bands 2 serves
to confirm them and their general in imprudence.
They will venture out again and will fall, not into the
hands of an inexperienced boy, who knows more about
making speeches than war, but into the hands of Civilis
and Classicus, at the sight of whom they will recall
their fears and their flights and their famine, and re-
member how often they have had to beg their lives
from their captors. Nor, again, is it any liking for the
Romans that keeps back the Treviri and Lingones :
they will fly to arms again, when once their fears are
dispelled.' Classicus finally settled the difference of
opinion by declaring for Tutor's policy, and they
promptly proceeded to carry it out.
77 The Ubii and Lingones were placed in the centre,
the Batavian cohorts on the right, and on the left the
Bructeri and Tencteri. Advancing, some by the hills
and some by the path between the road and the river,^

* Tutor erred. Cerialis had also the Twenty-first from
Vindonissa, Felix's auxiliary cohorts, and the troops he had
found at Mainz (see chaps. 70 and 71).

* He suppresses his own defeat at Bingen (chap. 70).

^ The I ONTO lay on the right bank of the Moselle ; the Roman

The Ehb-t'ide of Revolt 1 9 1

they took us completely by surprise. So sudden was
their onslaught that Cerialis, who had not spent the
night in camp, was still in bed when he heard almost
simultaneously that the fighting had begun and that
the day was lost. He cursed the messengers for their
cowardice until he saw the whole extent of the disaster
with his own eyes. The camp had been forced, the
cavalry routed, and the bridge over the Moselle,
leading to the outskirts of the town, which lay between
him and his army,^ was held by the enemy. But
confusion had no terrors for Cerialis. Seizing hold
on fugitives, flinging himself without any armour into
the thick of the fire, he succeeded by his inspired
imprudence and the assistance of the braver men in
retaking the bridge. Leaving a picked band to hold
it, he hurried back to the camp, where he found that
the companies of the legions which had surrendered
at Bonn and Novaesium ^ were all broken up, few men
were left at their posts, and the eagles were all but
surrounded by the enemy. He turned on them in
blazing anger, ' It is not Flaccus or Vocula that you
are deserting. There is no " treason " about me.
I have done nothing to be ashamed of, except that
I was rash enough to believe that you had forgotten
your Gallic ties and awakened to the memory of your
Roman allegiance. Am I to be numbered with

camp on the left bank between the river and the hills. There
was only one bridge.

' The Sixteenth had its permanent camp at Novaesium, the
First at Bonn. Both surrendered ai Novaesium (cp. chap. 59).

192 Book IF. Chapters 77-79

Numisius and Herennius ? ^ Then you can say that
all your generals have fallen either by your hands or
the enemy's. Go and tell the news to Vespasian,
or rather, to Civilis and Classicus — they are nearer at
hand — that you have deserted your general on the
field of battle. There will yet come legions who will
not leave me unavenged or you unpunished.'
78 All he said was true, and the other officers heaped
the same reproaches on their heads. The men were
drawn up in cohorts and companies, since it was
impossible to deploy with the enemy swarming
round them, and, the fight being inside the rampart,
the tents and baggage were a serious encumbrance.
Tutor and Classicus and Civilis, each at his post,
were busy rallying their forces, appealing to the Gauls
to fight for freedom, the Batavians for glory, and the
Germans for plunder. Everything, indeed, went well
for the enemy until the Twenty-first legion, who had
rallied in a clearer space than any of the others, first
sustained their charge and then repulsed them. Then,
by divine providence, on the very point of victory
the enemy suddenly lost their nerve and turned tail.
They themselves attributed their panic to the appear-
ance of the Roman auxiliaries, who, after being scattered
by the first charge, formed again on the hill-tops and
were taken for fresh reinforcements. However, what
really cost the Gauls their victory was that they let
their enemy alone and indulged in ignoble squabbles
over the spoil. Thus after Cerialis' carelessness had
' See chaps. 59 and 70.

The Ebb-tide of Revolt 193

almost caused disaster, his pluck now saved the day,
and he followed up his success by capturing the
enemy's camp and destroying it before nightfall.

Cerialis' troops were allowed short respite. Cologne 79
was clamouring for help and offering to surrender
Civilis' wife and sister and Classicus' daughter, who
had been left behind there as pledges of the alliance.
In the meantime the inhabitants had massacred all
the stray Germans to be found in the town. They
were now alarmed at this, and had good reason to
implore aid before the enemy should recover their
strength and bethink themselves of victory, or at any
rate of revenge. Indeed, Civilis already had designs
on Cologne, and he was still formidable, for the
most warlike of his cohorts, composed of Chauci and
Frisii,^ was still in full force at Tolbiacum,^ within
the territory of Cologne. However, he changed his
plans on receiving the bitter news that this force had
been entrapped and destroyed by the inhabitants of
Cologne. They had entertained them at a lavish
banquet, drugged them with wine, shut the doors
upon them and burned the place to the ground. At
the same moment Cerialis came by forced marches to
the relief of Cologne. A further anxiety haunted
Civilis. He was afraid that the Fourteenth legion, in
conjunction with the fleet from Britain,^ might harry

* The Frisii occupied part of Friesland ; the Chauci lay east
of them, between the Ems and Weser. * Zulpich.

' A small flotilla on guard in the Channel. It probably now
transported the Fourteenth and landed them at Boulogne.

M8-ie-a jj

19+ Book IF, Chapters 79-81

the Batavian coast. However, Fabius Priscus, who was
in command, led his troops inland into the country
of the Nervii and Tungri, who surrendered to him.
The Canninefates ^ made an unprovoked attack upon
the fleet and sank or captured the greater number
of the ships. They also defeated a band of Nervian
volunteers who had been recruited in the Roman
interest. Classicus secured a further success against
an advance-guard of cavalry which Cerialis had sent
forward to Novaesium. These repeated checks, though
unimportant in themselves, served to dim the lustre
of the recent Roman victory.'^

Events in Rome and in the East

80 It was about this time that Mucianus gave orders
for the murder of Vitellius' son,^ on the plea that
dissension would continue until all the seeds of war
were stamped out. He also refused to allow Antonius
Primus to go out on Domitian's staff, being alarmed
at his popularity among the troops and at the man's
own vanity, which would brook no equal, much less
a superior. Antonius accordingly went to join Ves-
pasian, whose reception, though not hostile, proved
a disappointment. The emperor was drawn two ways.
On the one side were Antonius' services : it was
undeniable that his generalship had ended the war.
In the other scale were Mucianus' letters. Besides

' Cp. chap. 15.

^ The narrative is resumed from this point in v. 14.

* Cp. ii. 59.

Events in Rome and in the East ipy

which, every one else seemed ready to rake up the
scandals of his past life and inveigh against his vanity
and bad temper. Antonius himself did his best to
provoke hostility by expatiating to excess on his
services, decrying the other generals as incompetent
cowards, and stigmatizing Caecina as a prisoner who
had surrendered. Thus without any open breach
of friendship he gradually declined lower and lower
in the emperor's favour.

During the months which Vespasian spent at Alex- 8l
andria waiting for the regular season of the summer
winds 1 to ensure a safe voyage, there occurred many
miraculous events manifesting the goodwill of Heaven
and the special favour of Providence towards him. At
Alexandria a poor workman who was well known to
have a disease of the eye, acting on the advice of
Serapis, whom this superstitious people worship as
their chief god, fell at Vespasian's feet demanding with
sobs a cure for his blindness, and imploring that the
emperor would deign to moisten his eyes and eyeballs
with the spittle from his mouth. Another man with
a maimed hand, also inspired by Serapis, besought
Vespasian to imprint his footmark on it. At first
Vespasian laughed at them and refused. But they
insisted. Half fearing to be thought a fool, half stirred
to hopes by their petition and by the flattery of his
courtiers, he eventually told the doctors to form an
opinion whether such cases of blindness and deformity

* During June and July before the Etesian winds (cp, ii. 98)
began to blow from the north-west.

N 2

1^6 Book IF. Chapters S 1-8:^

could be remedied by human aid. The doctors talked
round the question, saying that in the one case the
power of sight was not extinct and would return, if
certain impediments were removed ; in the other case
the limbs were distorted and could be set right again
by the application of an effective remedy : this might
be the will of Heaven and the emperor had perhaps
been chosen as the divine instrument. They added
that he would gain all the credit, if the cure were
successful, while, if it failed, the ridicule would fall
on the unfortunate patients. This convinced Vespasian
that there were no limits to his destiny : nothing now
seemed incredible. To the great excitement of the
bystanders, he stepped forward with a smile on his
face and did as the men desired him. Immediately
the hand recovered its functions and daylight shone
once more in the blind man's eyes. Those who were
present still attest both miracles to-day,^ when there
is nothing to gain by lying.
82 This occurrence deepened Vespasian's desire to visit
the holy-place and consult Serapis about the fortunes
of the empire. He gave orders that no one else was
to be allowed in the temple, and then went in. While
absorbed in his devotions, he suddenly saw behind him
an Egyptian noble, named Basilides, whom he knew
to be lying ill several days' journey from Alexandria.
He inquired of the priests whether Basilides had
entered the temple that day. He inquired of every one
he met whether he had been seen in the city. Even-
* Circa A. D. 108.

Events in Rome and in the East i()7

tually he sent some horsemen, who discovered that
at the time Basilides was eighty miles away. Vespasian
therefore took what he had seen for a divine apparition,
and guessed the meaning of the oracle from the name
' Basilides '.1

The origins of the god Serapis are not given in any 83
Roman authorities. The high-priests of Egj-pt give
the following account : King Ptolemy, who was the
first of the Macedonians to put the power of Egypt
on a firm footing,^ was engaged in building walls and
temples, and instituting religious cults for his newly
founded city of Alexandria, when there appeared to
him in his sleep a young man of striking beauty and
supernatural stature, who warned him to send his
most faithful friends to Pontus to fetch his image.
After adding that this would bring luck to the king-
dom, and that its resting-place would grow great
and famous, he appeared to be taken up into heaven
in a sheet of flame. Impressed by this miraculous
prophecy, Ptolemy revealed his vision to the priests
of Egypt, who are used to interpreting such things.
As they had but little knowledge of Pontus or of
foreign cults, he consulted an Athenian named
Timotheus, a member of the Eumolpid clan,^ whom
he had brought over from Eleusis to be overseer of

^ Meaning ' king's son ', and therefore portending sove-
reignty.

^ i.e. Ptolemy Soter, who founded the dynasty of the
Lagidae, and reigned 306-283 B.C.

' They inherited the priesthood of Demeter at Eleusis and
suppHed the hierophants who conducted the mysteries.

198 Book IF. Chapters 8 s^'^i 4

religious ceremonies, and asked him what worship and
what god could possibly be meant. Timotheus found
some people who had travelled in Pontus and learnt
from them, that near a town called Sinope there was
a temple, which had long been famous in the neigh-
bourhood as the seat of Jupiter-Pluto,^ and near it
there also stood a female figure, which was commonly-
called Proserpine. Ptolemy was like most despots,
easily terrified at first, but liable, when his panic was
over, to think more of his pleasures than of his religious
duties. The incident was gradually forgotten, and
other thoughts occupied his mind until the vision was
repeated in a more terrible and impressive form than
before, and he was threatened with death and the
destruction of his kingdom if he failed to fulfil his
instructions. He at once gave orders that represen-
tatives should be sent with presents to King Scydro-
themis, who was then reigning at Sinope, and on their
departure he instructed them to consult the oracle of
Apollo at Delphi. They made a successful voyage and
received a clear answer from the oracle : they were
to go and bring back the image of Apollo's father
but leave his sister's behind.
84 On their arrival at Sinope they laid their presents,
their petition, and their king's instructions before
Scydrothemis. He was in some perplexity. He was
afraid of the god and yet alarmed by the threats of
his subjects, who opposed the project : then, again,
he often felt tempted by the envoys' presents and
* i. e. the sovereign god of the underworld.

Events in Rome and in the East 199

promises. Three years passed. Ptolemy's zeal never
abated for a moment. He persisted in his petition,
and kept sending more and more distinguished envoys,
more ships, more gold. Then a threatening vision ap-
peared to Scydrothemis, bidding him no longer thwart
the god's design. When he still hesitated, he was
beset by every kind of disease and disaster : the gods
were plainly angry and their hand was heavier upon
him every day. He summoned an assembly and laid
before it the divine commands, his own and Ptolemy's
visions, and the troubles with which they were visited.
The king found the people unfavourable. They were
jealous of Egypt and fearful of their own future. So
they surged angrily round the temple. The story now
grows stranger still. The god himself, it says, embarked
unaided on one of the ships that lay beached on the
shore, and by a miracle accomplished the long sea-
journey and landed at Alexandria within three days.
A temple worthy of so important a city was then built
in the quarter called Rhacotis, on the site of an ancient
temple of Serapis and Isis.i This is the most widely
accepted account of the god's origin and arrival. Some
people, I am well aware, maintain that the god was
brought from the Syrian town of Seleucia during the

* It is evident from these words that the worship of Serapis
was ancient in Egypt. It seems to be suggested that the
arrival of this statue from Pontus did not originate but in-
vigorated the cult of Serapis. Pluto, Dis, Serapis, are all
names for a god of the underworld. Jupiter seems added
vaguely to give more power to the title. We cannot expect
accurate theology from an amateur antiquarian.

2 0O Book IF. Chapters 84-86

reign of Ptolemy, the third of that name.i Others,
again, say it was this same Ptolemy, but make the
place of origin the famous town of Memphis,^ once
the bulwark of ancient Egypt. Many take the god
for Aesculapius, because he cures disease : others for
Osiris, the oldest of the local gods ; some, again, for
Jupiter, as being the sovereign lord of the world.
But the majority of people, either judging by what are
clearly attributes of the god or by an ingenious process
of conjecture, identify him with Pluto.
85 Domitian and Mucianus were now on their way to
the Alps.3 Before reaching the mountains they received
the good news of the victory over the Treviri, the
truth of which was fully attested by the presence of
their leader Valentinus. His courage was in no way
crushed and his face still bore witness to the proud
spirit he had shown. He was allowed a hearing,
merely to see what he was made of, and condemned
to death. At his execution some one cast it in his
teeth that his country was conquered, to which he
replied, ' Then I am reconciled to death.'

Mucianus now gave utterance to an idea which he
had long cherished, though he pretended it was a
sudden inspiration. This was that, since by Heaven's
grace the forces of the enemy had been broken, it would
ill befit Domitian, now that the war was practically

' Ptolemy Euergetes, 247-222 B.C.

* According to Eustathius there was a Mount Sinopium
near Memphis. This suggests an origin for the title Sinopitis,
applied to Serapis, and a cause for the invention of the romantic
story about Sinope in Pontus. ' Cp. chap. 68.

Events in Rome and in the East 201

over, to stand in the way of the other generals to whom
the credit belonged. Were the fortunes of the empire
or the safety of Gaul at stake, it would be right that
a Caesar should take the field ; the Canninefates and
Batavi might be left to minor generals. So Domitian
was to stay at Lugdunum and there show them the
power and majesty of the throne at close quarters.
By abstaining from trifling risks he would be ready
to cope with any greater crisis.

The ruse was detected, but it could not be unmasked. 86
That was part of the courtier's policy.^ Thus they
proceeded to Lugdunum. From there Domitian is
supposed to have sent messengers to Cerialis to test his
loyalty, and to ask whether the general would transfer
his army and his allegiance to him, should he present
himself in person. Whether Domitian's idea was to plan
war against his father or to acquire support against
his brother, cannot be decided, for Cerialis parried
his proposal with a salutary snub and treated it as
a boy's day-dream. Realizing that older men despised
his youth, Domitian gave up even those functions of
government which he had hitherto performed. Aping
bashfulness and simple tastes, he hid his feelings under
a cloak of impenetrable reserve, professing literary
tastes and a passion for poetry. Thus he concealed
his real self and withdrew from all rivalry with his
brother, whose gentler and altogether different nature
he perversely misconstrued.

' i.e. Mucianus was too cunning to give Domitian any
excuse for declaring his suspicions.

BOOK V

The Conquest of Judaea

I Early in this same year i Titus Caesar had been
entrusted by his father with the task of completing
the reduction of Judaea.- While he and his father
were both still private citizens, Titus had distinguished
himself as a soldier, and his reputation for efficiency
was steadily increasing, while the provinces and armies
vied with one another in their enthusiasm for him.
Wishing to seem independent of his good fortune, he
always showed dignity and energy in the field. His
affability called forth devotion. He constantly helped
in the trenches and could mingle with his soldiers on
the march without compromising his dignity as general.
Three legions awaited him in Judaea, the Fifth, Tenth,
and Fifteenth, all veterans from his father's army.
These were reinforced by the Twelfth from Syria and
by detachments of the Twenty-second and the Third,^
brought over from Alexandria. This force was accom-
panied by twenty auxiliary cohorts and eight regiments
of auxiliary cavalry besides the Kings Agrippa and
Sohaemus, King Antiochus' irregulars,^ a strong force
of Arabs, who had a neighbourly hatred for the Jews,
and a crowd of persons who had come from Rome and
the rest of Italy, each tempted by the hope of securing

^ A.D. 70. 2 Seeii.4; iv. 51.

* XXII Deiotariana and III C)rei.aica. * Cp. ii. 4.

The Conquest of Judaea 203

the first place in the prince's still unoccupied affections.
With this force Titus entered the enemy's country at
the head of his column, sending out scouts in all
directions, and holding himself ready to fight. He
pitched his camp not far from Jerusalem.

Since I am coming now to describe the last days 2
of this famous city, it may not seem out of place to
recount here its early history. It is said that the Jews
are refugees from Crete,i who settled on the confines
of Libya at the time when Saturn was forcibly deposed
by Jupiter. The evidence for this is sought in the
name. Ida is a famous mountain in Crete inhabited
by the Idaei,"'^ whose name became lengthened into
the foreign form Judaei. Others say that in the reign
of Isis the superfluous population of Egypt, under the
leadership of Hierosolymus and Juda, discharged itself
upon the neighbouring districts, while there are many
who think the Jews an Ethiopian stock, driven to
migrate by their fear and dislike of King Cepheus.^
Another tradition makes them Assyrian refugees,* who,

' Tfiere seems little to recommend Tacitus' theory of the
identity of tlie Idaei and Judaei, though it has been suggested
that the Cherethites of 2. Sam. viii. 18 and Ezek. xxv. 16 are
Cretans, migrated into the neighbourhood of the Philistines.
The Jewish Sabbath (Saturn's day) seems also to have suggested
connexion with Saturn and Crete.

^ Elsewhere the Idaei figure as supernatural genii in atten-
dance on either Jupiter or Saturn.

' Ethiopian here means Phoenician. Tradition made
Cepheus, the father of Andromeda, king of Joppa.

* From Damascus, said Justin, where Abraham was one of
their kings, and Trogus Pompeius adds that the name of

2 04 Book V. Chapters 2-4

lacking lands of their own, occupied a district of Egypt,
and later took to building cities of their own and
tilling Hebrew territory and the frontier-land of Syria.
Yet another version assigns to the Jews an illustrious
origin as the descendants of the Solymi — a tribe famous
in Homer ^ — who founded the city and called it
Hierosolyma after their own name.-
3 Most authorities agree that a foul and disfiguring
disease once broke out in Egypt, and that King
Bocchoris,^ on approaching the oracle of Ammon and
inquiring for a remedy, was told to purge his kingdom
of the plague and to transport all who suffered from
it into some other country, for they had earned the
disfavour of Heaven. A motley crowd was thus
collected and abandoned in the desert. While all the
other outcasts lay idly lamenting, one of them, named
Moses, advised them not to look for help to gods or
men, since both had deserted them, but to trust
rather in themselves and accept as divine the guidance
of the first being by whose aid they should get out
of their present plight. They agreed, and set out
blindly to march wherever chance might lead them.

Abraham was honourably remembered at Damascus. These
are variants of the Biblical migration of Abraham.

1 //. vi. 184 ; Od. v. 282.

* Another piece of fanciful philology, based on a misin-
terpretation of a Greek transliteration of the name Jerusalem.
The Solymi are traditionally placed in Lycia. Both Juvenal
and Martial use Solymus as equivalent to Judaeus.

' The only known King Bocchoris belongs to the eighth
century B.C., whereas the E.\odus is traditionally placed not
later than the sixteenth.

The Conquest of Judaea 20 f

Their worst distress came from lack of water. When
they were already at death's door and lying prostrate
all over the plain, it so happened that a drove of wild
asses moved away from their pasture to a rock densely
covered with trees. Guessing the truth from the
grassy nature of the ground, Moses followed and dis-
closed an ample flow of water.^ This saved them.
Continuing their march for six successive days, on the
seventh they routed the natives and gained possession
of the country. There they consecrated their city
and their temple.

To ensure his future hold over the people, Moses
introduced a new cult, which was the opposite of all
other religions. All that we hold sacred they held
profane, and allowed practices which we abominate.
They dedicated in a shrine an image of the animal ^
whose guidance had put an end to their wandering
and thirst. They killed a ram, apparently as an insult
to Ammon, and also sacrificed a bull, because the
Egyptians worship the bull Apis.^ Pigs are subject
to leprosy ; so they abstain from pork in memory
of their misfortune and the foul plague with which
they were once infected. Their frequent fasts * bear

^ See Exod. xvii.

" i. e. an ass. The idea that this animal was sacred to the
Jews was so prevalent among ' the Gentiles ' that Josephus
takes the trouble to refute it.

^ Cp. Lev. xvi. 3, ' a young bullock for a sin offering, and
a ram for a burnt offering.' Tacitus' reasons are of course
errors due to the prevalent confusion of Jewish and Egyptian
history. * Cp. Luke xviii. 12, ' I fast tvvice a week,'

2o6 Book V. Chapters 4, s

witness to the long famine they once endured, and,
in token of the corn they carried off, Jewish bread
is to this day made without leaven. They are said
to have devoted the seventh day to rest, because that
day brought an end to their troubles.^ Later, finding
idleness alluring, they gave up the seventh year as well
to sloth.2 Others maintain that they do this in honour
of Saturn ; ^ either because their religious principles
are derived from the Idaei, who are supposed to have
been driven out with Saturn and become the ancestors
of the Jewish people ; or else because, of the seven
constellations which govern the lives of men, the star
of Saturn moves in the topmost orbit and exercises
peculiar influence, and also because most of the heavenly
bodies move round * their courses in multiples of seven.
5 Whatever their origin, these rites are sanctioned
by their antiquity. Their other customs are impious
and abominable, and owe their prevalence to their
depravity. For all the most worthless rascals, renounc-
ing their national cults, were always sending money
to swell the sum of offerings and tribute.^ This is
one cause of Jewish prosperity. Another is that they

* Cp. Deut. V. 15.

'^ Cp. Lev. XXV. 4, ' ... in the seventh year shall be a sabbath
of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto the Lord : thou
shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.'

^ The seventh day being named after Cronos or Saturn (cp.
chap. 2, note i). * Reading conmumt (Wolfflin).

' This refers to proselytes, who, like Jews resident abroad,
contributed annually to the Temple treasury. They numbered
at this time about four millions. Romans naturally regarded
this diversion of funds with disfavour.

The Conquest of Judaea 207

are obstinately loyal to each other, and always ready
to show compassion, whereas they feel nothing but
hatred and enmity for the rest of the world. ^ They
eat and sleep separately. Though immoderate in
sexual indulgence, they refrain from all intercourse
with foreign women : among themselves anything is
allowed.^ They have introduced circumcision to
distinguish themselves from other people. Those who
are converted to their customs adopt the same practice,
and the first lessons they learn are to despise the gods,^
to renounce their country, and to think nothing of
their parents, children, and brethren. However, they
take steps to increase their numbers. They count it
a crime to kill any of their later-born children,* and
they believe that the souls of those who die in battle
or under persecution are immortal.^ Thus they think

^ Jewish exclusiveness always roused Roman indignation,
and ' hatred of the human race ' was the usual charge against
Christians (see Ann. xv. 44).

^ The strict regulations of Deut. xxii. &c. give a strange irony
to this slander. Most of these libels originated in Alexandria.

^ ' A people,' says the elder Pliny, ' distinguished by their
contemptuous atheism.'

^ Agnail, as used here and in Germ. 19 means a child
born after the father has made his will and therein specified
the number of his children. The mere birth of such a child
invahdated any earlier will that the father had made, but the
fact of its birth might be concealed by making away with the
baby. This crime seems to have been not uncommon, but
there is no evidence that ' exposure of infants ' was permitted.

' Josephus also alludes to this belief that the corruption of
disease chained the soul to the buried body, while violent
death freed it to live for ever in the air and protect posterity.

2o8 Book V. Chapters j-, 6

much of having children and nothing of facing death.
They prefer to bury and not burn their dead.^ In
this, as in their burial rites, and in their belief in an
underworld, they conform to Egyptian custom. Their
ideas of heaven are quite different. The Egyptians
worship most of their gods as animals, or in shapes
half animal and half human. The Jews acknowledge
one god only, of whom they have a purely spiritual
conception. They think it impious to make images
of gods in human shape out of perishable materials.
Their god is almighty and inimitable, without begin-
ning and without end. They therefore set up no
statues in their temples, nor even in their cities,
refusing this homage both to their own kings and to
the Roman emperors. However, the fact that their
priests intoned to the flute and cymbals and wore
wrreaths of ivy, and that a golden vine was found in
their temple ^ has led some people to think that they
worship Bacchus,^ who has so enthralled the East. But
their cult would be most inappropriate. Bacchus
instituted gay and cheerful rites, but the Jewish ritual
is preposterous and morbid.

^ Under the kings cremation was an honourable form of
burial, but in Babylon the Jews came to regard fire as a sacred
element which should not be thus defiled.

^ This was over the door of the Temple. Aristobulus gave
it as a present to Pompey.

* Plutarch shared this error, which seems somehow to have
been based on a misinterpretation of the Feast of Tabernacles,
at which they were to ' take ... the fruit of goodly trees, . . .
and willows of the brook ; and . . . rejoice before the Lord
your God seven days ' (Lev. x.xiii. 40).

The Conquest of Judaea 209

The country of the Jews is bounded by Arabia on 6
the east, by Egypt on the south, and on the west by
Phoenicia and the sea. On the Syrian frontier they
have a distant view towards the north.^ Physically
they are healthy and hardy. Rain is rare ; the soil in-
fertile ; its products are of the same kind as ours with
the addition of balsam and palms. The palm is a tall
and beautiful tree, the balsam a mere shrub. When
its branches are swollen with sap they open them with
a sharp piece of stone or crockery, for the sap-vessels
shrink up at the touch of iron. The sap is used in
medicine. Lebanon, their chief mountain, stands
always deep in its eternal snow, a strange phenomenon
in such a burning climate. Here, too, the river Jordan
has its source "^ and comes pouring down, to find a home
in the sea. It flows undiminished through first one
lake, then another, and loses itself in a third.^ This
last is a lake of immense size, like a sea, though its water
has a foul taste and a most unhealthy smell, which
poisons the surrounding inhabitants. No wind can
stir waves in it : no fish or sea-birds can live there.
The sluggish water supports whatever is thrown on to
it, as if its surface were solid, while those who cannot
swim float on it as easily as those who can. Every year
at the same time the lake yields asphalt. As with other
arts, it is experience which shows how to collect it.
It is a black liquid which, when congealed with a

* Over Coele-Syria, from the range of Lebanon.
^ i. e. from Mount Hermon, nearly 9,000 feet high.
' Merom ; Genncsareth ; the Dead Sea.

1 1 o ^ook V. Chapters 6-8

sprinkling of vinegar, floats on the surface of the water.
The men who collect it take it in this state into their
hands and haul it on deck. Then without further aid
it trickles in and loads the boat until you cut off the
stream. But this you cannot do with iron or brass :
the current is turned by applying blood or a garment
stained with a woman's menstrual discharge. That is
what the old authorities say, but those who know the
district aver that floating blocks of asphalt are driven
landwards by the wind and dragged to shore by hand.
The steam out of the earth and the heat of the sun
dries them, and they are then split up with axes and
wedges, like logs or blocks of stone.
J Not far from this lake are the Plains, which they
say were once fertile and covered with large and
populous cities which were destroyed by lightning.^
Traces of the cities are said to remain, and the ground,
which looks scorched, has lost all power of production.
The plants, whether wild or artificially cultivated, are
blighted and sterile and wither into dust and ashes,
either when in leaf or flower, or when they have attained
their full growth. Without denying that at some date
famous cities were there burnt up by lightning, I am
yet inclined to think that it is the exhalation from
the lake which infects the soil and poisons the surround-
ing atmosphere. Soil and climate being equally
deleterious, the crops and fruits all rot away.

^ ' Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; and he over-
threw those cities, and all the Plain ' (Gen. xi.\. 24).

The Conquest of Judaea

21 I

The river Belus also falls into this Jewish sea.
Round its mouth is found a peculiar kind of sand
which is mixed with native soda and smelted into
glass. Small though the beach is, its product is
inexhaustible.

The greater part of the population live in scattered 8
villages, but they also have towns. Jerusalem is the
Jewish capital, and contained the temple, which was
enormously wealthy. A first line of fortifications
guarded the city, another the palace, and an inner-
most line enclosed the temple.^ None but a Jew was
allowed as far as the doors : none but the priests might
cross the threshold."^ When the East was in the hands
of the Assyrians, Medes and Persians, they regarded
the Jews as the meanest of their slaves. During the
Macedonian ascendancy ^ King Antiochus * endea-
voured to abolish their superstitions and to introduce
Greek manners and customs. But Arsaces at that
moment rebelled,^ and the Parthian war prevented
him from effecting any improvement in the character
of this grim people. Then, when Macedon waned, as
the Parthian power was not yet ripe and Rome was

* These were not concentric, but an enemy approaching
from the north-west would have to carry all three before
reaching the temple, which stood on Mount Moriah at the
eastern extremity of the city.

^ Cp. Luke i. 8-10, where Zacharias entered the temple to
burn incense, ' and the whole multitude of the people were
praying without.'

* TheSeleucids. * Antiochus Epiphanes (176-164 B.C.).
" This was really in the reign of Antiochus II (260-245 B. c).

O 2

2 12

Book V. Chapters S-io

still far away, they took kings of their ovvn.^ The
mob were fickle and drove them out. However, they
recovered their throne by force ; banished their
countrymen, sacked cities, slew their brothers, wives,
and parents, and committed all the usual kingly crimes.

■ But this only fostered the hold of the Jewish religion,
since the kings had strengthened their authority by
assuming the priesthood.

9 Cnaeus Pompeius was the first Roman to subdue
the Jews and set foot in their temple by right of
conquest.- It was then first realized that the temple
contained no image of any god : their sanctuary was
empty, their mysteries meaningless. The walls of
Jerusalem were destroyed, but the temple was left
standing. Later, during the Roman civil wars, when
the eastern provinces had come under the control
of Mark Antony, the Parthian Prince Pacorus seized
Judaea,^ and was killed by Publius Ventidius. The
Parthians were driven back over the Euphrates, and
Caius Sosius'* subdued the Jews. Antony gave the
kingdom to Herod,^ and Augustus, after his victory,
enlarged it. After Herod's death, somebody called

* Of the Hasmonean or Maccabean family.

^ 63 B. c. when he was called in to decide between Aristo-
bulus II and Hyrcanus.

^ At the in\-itation of the Maccabean Antigonus, who thus
recovered the throne.

* Ventidius and Sosius were Antony's officers. The former
was famous as having begun life as a mule-driver and risen
to be a consul and to hold the first triumph over the Parthians.

* Herod the Great, who on the return of Antigonus had fled
to Rome and chosen the winning side.

The Conquest of Judaea 213

Simon,! without awaiting the emperor's decision,
forcibly assumed the title of king. He was executed
by Quintilius Varus, who was Governor of Syria ; the
Jews were repressed and the kingdom divided between
three of Herod's sons.2 Under Tiberius all was quiet.
Caligula ordered them to put up his statue in the
temple. They preferred war to that. But Caligula's
death put an end to the rising.^ In Claudius' reign the
kings had all either died or lost most of their territory.
The emperor therefore made Judaea a province to be
governed by Roman knights or freedmen. One of
these, Antonius Felix,* indulged in every kind of
cruelty and immorality, wielding a king's authority
with all the instincts of a slave. He had married
Drusilla, a granddaughter of Antony and Cleopatra,
so that he was Antony's grandson-in-law, while
Claudius was Antony's grandson.^

The Jews endured such oppression patiently until 10
the time of Gessius Florus,^ under whom war broke
out. Cestius Gallus, the Governor of Syria, tried to
crush it, but met with more reverses than victories.
He died, either in the natural course or perhaps of
disgust, and Nero sent out Vespasian, who, in a couple
of campaigns,' thanks to his reputation, good fortune,
and able subordinates, had the whole of the country

^ One of Herod's slaves.

2 Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. ^ A.D. 40.

* A freedman, Procurator of Judaea, a.d. 52-60 (cp. Acts
xxiv).

* Claudius' mother, Antonia, was the daughter of Antony's
first marriage. " A. D. 64-66. ' a. d. 67 and 68.

2 14 Book V. Chapters 10-12

districts and all the towns except Jerusalem under the
heel of his victorious army. The next year^ was taken
up with civil war, and passed quietly enough as far
as the Jews were concerned. But peace once restored
in Italy, foreign troubles began again with feelings
embittered on our side by the thought that the Jews
were the only people who had not given in. At the
same time it seemed best to leave Titus at the head
of the army to meet the eventualities of the new reign,
whether good or bad.
II Thus, as we have already seen,2 Titus pitched his
camp before the walls of Jerusalem and proceeded to
display his legions in battle order. The Jews formed
up at the foot of their own walls, ready, if successful, to
venture further, but assured of their retreat in case
of reverse. A body of cavalry and some light-armed
foot were sent forward, and fought an indecisive en-
gagement, from which the enemy eventually retired.
During the next few days a series of skirmishes took
place in front of the gates, and at last continual losses
drove the Jews behind their walls. The Romans then
determined to take it by storm. It seemed undigni-
fied to sit and wait for the enemy to starve, and the
men all clamoured for the risks, some being really
brave, while many others were wild and greedy for
plunder. Titus himself had the vision of Rome with
all her wealth and pleasures before his eyes, and felt
that their enjoyment was postponed unless Jerusalem
fell at once. The city, however, stands high and is
' A. D. 69. * Chap. I.

The Conquest of Judaea 21 f

fortified with works strong enough to protect a city
standing on the plain. Two enormous hills 1 were
surrounded by walls ingeniously built so as to project
or slope inwards and thus leave the flanks of an
attacking party exposed to fire. The rocks were
jagged at the top. The towers, where the rising
ground helped, were sixty feet high, and in the hollows
as much as a hundred and twenty. They are a wonder-
ful sight and seem from a distance to be all of equal
height. Within this runs another line of fortification
surrounding the palace, and on a conspicuous height
stands the Antonia, a castle named by Herod in honour
of Mark Antony.

The temple was built like a citadel with walls of 12
its own, on which more care and labour had been
spent than on any of the others. Even the cloisters
surrounding the temple formed a splendid rampart.
There was a never-failing spring of water,^ catacombs
hollowed out of the hills, and pools or cisterns for
holding the rain-water. Its original builders had
foreseen that the peculiarities of Jewish life would
lead to frequent wars, consequently everything was
ready for the longest of sieges. Besides this, when
Pompey took the city, bitter experience taught them

* Jerusalem stands on a rock which rises into three main
hills, Zion (south), Acra (north), and Moriah (east). It is not
clear to which two of these Tacitus alludes ; probably Zion
and Moriah.

^ Of this no traces remain, and the tradition may have been
based on the metaphorical prophecy that a fount of living
water would issue from the Sanctuary.

21 6 Book V. Chapters 12, i^

several lessons, and in the days of Claudius they had
taken advantage of his avarice to buy rights of forti-
fication, and built walls in peace-time as though war
were imminent. Their numbers were now swelled by
floods of human refuse and unfortunate refugees from
other towns.i All the most desperate characters in
the country had taken refuge there, which did not
conduce to unity. They had three armies, each with
its own general. The outermost and largest line of
wall was held by Simon ; the central city by John, and
the temple by Eleazar.- John and Simon were stronger
than Eleazar in numbers and equipment, but he had
the advantage of a strong position. Their relations
mainly consisted of fighting, treachery, and arson :
a large quantity of corn was burnt. Eventually, under
pretext of offering a sacrifice, John sent a party of
men to massacre Eleazar and his troops, and by this
means gained possession of the temple.^ Thus Jerusa-
lem was divided into two hostile parties, but on the
approach of the Romans the necessities of foreign
warfare reconciled their differences.
13 Various portents had occurred at this time, but so
sunk in superstition are the Jews and so opposed
to all religious practices that they think it wicked

M. e. the Galilean towns captured by Vespasian in a.d. 67
and 68.

' Simon was a bandit from the east of Jordan ; John of
Gischala headed a party of refugees from Galilee ; Eleazar
was the leader of the Jewish war-party, and related to the
high priests.

* They submitted to John's authority and were not killed.

The Conquest of Judaea 217

to avert the threatened evil by sacrifices i or vows.
Embattled armies were seen to meet in the sky with
flashing arms, and the temple shone with sudden fire
from heaven. The doors of the shrine suddenly
opened, a supernatural voice was heard calling the
gods out, and at once there began a mighty movement
of departure. Few took alarm at all this. Most people
held the belief that, according to the ancient priestly
writings, this was the moment at which the East was
fated to prevail : they would now start forth from
Judaea and conquer the world.^ This enigmatic
prophecy really applied to Vespasian and Titus. But
men are blinded by their hopes. The Jews took to
themselves the promised destiny, and even defeat
could not convince them of the truth. The number
of the besieged, men and women of every age, is
stated to have reached six hundred thousand. There
were arms for all who could carry them, and far more
were ready to fight than would be expected from their
total numbers. The women were as determined as
the men : if they were forced to leave their homes
they had more to fear in life than in death.

Such was the city and such the people with which

^ ' Ye shall not . . . use enchantments, nor practise augury '
(Lev. xix. 26).

^ e. g. ' And in the days of those kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed, nor
shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people ; but
it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms '
(Dan. ii. 44). The Jews were looking for Messiah : the Romans
thought of Vespasian.

21 8 Book V. Chapters 1^-16

Titus was faced. As the nature of the ground forbade
a sudden assault, he determined to employ siege-works
and penthouse shelters. The work was accordingly
divided among the legions, and there was a truce
to fighting until they had got ready every means
of storming a town that had ever been devised by
experience or inventive ingenuity.

The End of the German Revolt

14 After the severe reverse at Trier ^ Civilis recruited
his army in Germany, and pitched his camp near
Vetera. The position was a safe one, and he hoped to
inspirit his native troops with the memory of their
former victories there.^ Cerialis followed in his foot-
steps, with forces now doubled by the arrival of the
Second,^ Thirteenth, and Fourteenth legions, besides
auxiliary troops, both horse and foot,* who had long
received their summons and came hurrying on the
news of victory. Neither general was dilatory, but
a vast plain lay between them. It was by nature
swampy, and Civilis had built a dam projecting into
the Rhine, which stemmed the current and flooded
the adjacent fields. The treacherous nature of the
ground, where the shallows were hard to find, told
against our men, who were heavily armed and afraid

* iv. 78. ^ Cp. iv. 28, i2>i 35- * Adiutrix.

* Before this Cerialis had five legions, I, IV, XVI, XXI, and
XXII, but of these only XXI was in full force, so these new
reinforcements may have doubled his army. The auxiliaries
had been called out by Hordeonius Flaccus (iv. 24).

The End of the German Revolt 219

of swimming. The Germans, on the other hand, were
used to rivers, lightly armed, and tall enough to keep
their heads above water.

Provoked by the Batavi, the bravest of our troops 15
opened the engagement at once, but soon fell into
a panic when their arms and horses began to sink in
the deep marshes. The Germans, who knew the fords,
came leaping across them, often leaving our front alone
and running round to the flanks or the rear. It was
not like an infantry engagement at close quarters, but
more like a naval battle. The men floundered about
in the water or, finding firm foothold, strove with
all their might for possession of it. Thus, wounded
and whole, those who could swim and those who could
not, struggled helplessly with each other and perished
all alike. However, considering the confusion, our loss
was less than might have been expected, for the Ger-
mans, not daring to venture out of the marsh, withdrew
to their camp. The result of this engagement gave
each of the generals a different motive for hastening
on a decisive battle. Civilis wanted to follow up his
success, Cerialis to wipe out his disgrace. Success
stimulated the pride of the Germans ; the Romans
thrilled with shame. The natives spent the night
singing uproariously, while our men muttered angry
threats.

At daybreak Cerialis formed up his cavalry and the ID
auxiliary cohorts on his front, with the legions behind
them, while he himself held a picked body in reserve
for emergencies. Civilis did not deploy his line, but

220 Book V. Chapters 16-iH

halted them in columns,^ with the Batavi and Cugerni 2
on his right, and the forces from across the Rhine ^
near the river on the left. Neither general followed
the usual custom of haranguing the whole army.
They rode along and addressed their various divisions
in turn. Cerialis spoke of the ancient glory of the
Roman name and of all their victories old and
new. He urged them ' to blot out for ever
their treacherous and cowardly enemy whom they
had already beaten. They had to punish not to
fight them. They had just fought against superior
numbers and had yet routed the Germans, and, more-
over, the pick of their troops. This remnant had their
hearts full of panic and all their wounds behind them.'
He then gave special encouragement to each of the
legions, calling the Fourteenth the conquerors of
Britain,* reminding the Sixth that the influence of
their example had set Galba on the throne,^ and telling
the Second that in the coming fight they would for
the first time dedicate their new colours and their
new eagle to Rome's service.*' Then riding along to
the German army,' he pointed with his hand and bade
them recover their own river-bank and their own
camp ^ at the enemy's expense. They all cheered with
hearts the lighter for his words. Some longed for

^ Perhaps ' in wedge-formation ' (see p. 117, note i).
^ Cp. iv. 26. ^ Bructeri, Tencteri, &c. (cp. iv. 23).

* Cp. ii. II. * Cp. iii. 44.

° The\' had been newly enrolled (see iv. 68).
' i. e. the Roman army of occupation which had joined the
Gauls and come over again. * Vetera.

The End of the German Revolt 221

battle after a long spell of quiet : others were weary
of war and pined for peace, hoping that the future
would bring them rest and recompense.

Nor was there silence in Civilis' lines. As he formed 1/
them up he appealed to the spot as evidence of their
valour. The Germans and Batavians were standing,
he told them, ' on the field of their glory, trampling the
charred bones of Roman soldiers under foot. Wherever
the Romans turned their eyes they saw nothing but
menacing reminders of surrender and defeat. They
must not be alarmed by that sudden change of fortune
in the battle at Trier. It was their own victory which
hampered the Germans there : they had dropped
their weapons and filled their hands with loot. Since
then everything had gone in their favour and against
the Romans. He had taken every possible precaution,
as befitted a cunning general. They themselves were
familiar with these soaking plains, but the swamps
would be a deadly trap for the enemy. They had the
Rhine and the gods of Germany before their eyes, and
in the might of these they must go to battle, remember-
ing their wives and parents and their fatherland. This
day would either gild the glory of their ancestors or
earn the execration of posterity.' They applauded his
words according to their custom by dancing and clash-
ing their arms, and then opened the battle with showers
of stones and leaden balls and other missiles, trying to
lure on our men, who had not yet entered the marsh.

Their missiles exhausted, the enemy warmed to their i8
work and made an angry charge. Thanb to their

222 Book V. Chapters 18-20

great height and their very long spears they could
thrust from some distance at our men, who were
floundering and slipping about in the marsh. While
this went on, a column 1 of Batavi swam across from
the dam which, as we described above,- had been built
out into the Rhine. This started a panic and the
line of our auxiliaries began to be driven back. Then
the legions took up the fight and equalized matters
by staying the enemy's wild charge. Meanwhile
a Batavian deserter approached Cerialis, avowing that
he could take the enemy in the rear if the cavalry
were sent round the edge of the swamp : the ground
was solid there, and the Cugerni, whose task it was
to keep watch, were off their guard. Two squadrons
of horse were sent with the deserter, and succeeded
in outflanking the unsuspecting enemy. The legions
in front, when the din told them what had happened,
redoubled their efforts. The Germans were beaten
and fled to the Rhine. This day might have brought
the war to an end, had the Roman fleet 3 arrived in
time. As it was, even the cavalry were prevented from
pursuit by a sudden downpour of rain shortly before
nightfall.
19 On the next day the Fourteenth legion were sent
to join Annius Gallus ^ in Upper Germany, and their
place in Cerialis' army was filled by the Tenth from
Spain. Civilis was reinforced by the Chauci.5 Feeling

^ See p. 220, note i. * Chap. 14.

^ Stationed in the Rhine (see chap. 21).

* Cp. iv. 68. » Cp. iv. 79.

The End of the German Revolt 223

that he was not strong enough to hold the Batavian
capital,! he took whatever was portable with him,
burnt everything else, and retired into the island. He
knew that the Romans had not enough ships to build
a bridge, and that they had no other means of getting
across. He also destroyed the mole built by Drusus
Germanicus.2 As the bed of the Rhine here falls
towards Gaul, his removal of all obstacles gave it free
course ; the river was practically diverted, and the
channel between the Germans and the island became
so small and dry as to form no barrier between them.
Tutor and Classicus also crossed the Rhine,^ together
with a hundred and thirteen town-councillors from
Trier, among whom was Alpinius Montanus, who, as
we have already seen,* had been sent by Antonius
Primus into Gaul. He was accompanied by his brother.
By arousing sympathy and by offering presents, the
others, too, were all busy raising reinforcements among
these eagerly adventurous tribes.

The war was far from being over. Dividing his 20
forces, Civilis suddenly made a simultaneous attack on
all four Roman garrisons — the Tenth at Arenacum, the
Second at Batavodurum, and the auxiliary horse and

1 } Cleves.

^ This mole, begun by Drusus in A. D. 9, was built out from
the left bank of the Rhine near Cleves. It turned most of the
water into the Lek, thus making the island easily accessible
from the Roman side and barring access from the north.
Civilis now reversed this position. His friends were now on
the north. The swollen Waal would be an obstacle to the
Romans. ^ i.e. the Waal. " See iii. 35.

2 24 ^ooh V. Chapters 20-22

foot at Grinnes and at Vada.i Civilis himself, Verax
his nephew, Classicus and Tutor each led one of the
attacking parties. They could not hope all to be
successful, but reckoned that, if they made several
ventures, fortune would probably favour one or the
other. Besides, Cerialis, they supposed, was off his
guard ; on receiving news from several places at once
he would hurry from one garrison to another, and
might be cut off on his way. The party told off
against the Tenth considered it no light task to storm
a legion, so they fell on the soldiers, who had come
outside to cut timber, and killed the camp-prefect,
five senior centurions, and a handful of the men. The
rest defended themselves in the trenches. Mean-
while another party of Germans endeavoured to break
the bridge - which had been begun at Batavodurum,
but nightfall put an end to the battle before it was won.
21 The attack on Grinnes and Vada proved more
formidable. Civilis led the assault on Vada, Classicus
"\^on Grinnes. Nothing could stop them. The bravest
of the defenders had fallen, among them, command-
ing a cavalry squadron, Briganticus, whom we have
seen already, as a faithful ally of Rome and a
bitter enemy of his uncle Civilis.3 However, when
Cerialis came to the rescue with a picked troop of
horse, the tables were turned, and the Germans were

* These places cannot be certainly identified. They must
have lain on the south of the Waal, probably east and west of
Nymwegen.

' Across the now swollen Waal. ' See iv. 70.

The End of the German Revolt 225-

driven headlong into the river. WTiile Civilis was
trying to stop the rout he was recognized, and finding
himself a target, he left his horse and swam across the
river. \'erax escaped in the same way, while some
boats put in to fetch Tutor and Classicus.

Even now the Roman fleet had not joined the army.
They had, indeed, received orders, but fear held them
back, and the rowers were employed on various duties
elsewhere. It must be admitted, also, that Cerialis did
not give them time enough to carry out his orders.
He was a man of sudden resolves and brilliant successes.
Even when his strategy had failed, good luck always
came to his rescue. Thus neither he nor his army
cared much about discipline. A few days later, again,
he narrowly escaped being taken prisoner and did not
escape disgrace. He had gone to Novaesium and Bonn 22
to inspect the winter quarters that were being built
for his legions, and was returning with the fleet.^
The Germans noticed that his escort - straggled, and
that watch was carelessly kept at night. So theyplanned
a surprise. Choosing a night black with clouds they
slipped down stream and made their way unmolested
into the camp.^ For the first onslaught they called
cunning to their aid. They cut the tent-ropes and
slaughtered the soldiers as they struggled under their
own canvas. Another party fell on the ships, threw

* Which he had found on his way.
' ilarchuig along the bank.

* Pitched oil the left bank somewhere between Novaesium
and Vetera. The German aisailants were jirobably Tem-tcri.

2 2 (J Book V. Chapters 22, 2^

hawsers aboard, and towed them off. Having surprised
the camp in dead silence, when once the carnage
began they added to the panic by making the whole
place ring with shouts. Awakened by their wounds
the Romans hunted for weapons and rushed along the
streets,! some few in uniform, most of them with their
clothes wrapped round their arms and a drawn sword
in their hand. The general, who was half-asleep and
almost naked, was only saved by the enemy's mistake.
His flag-ship being easily distinguishable, they carried
it off, thinking he was there. But Cerialis had been
spending the night elsewhere ; as most people believed,
carrying on an intrigue with a Ubian woman named
Claudia Sacrata. The sentries sheltered their guilt
under the general's disgrace, pretending that they had
orders to keep quiet and not disturb him : so they
had dispensed with the bugle-call and the challenge
on rounds, and dropped off to sleep themselves. In
full daylight the enemy sailed off with their captive
vessels and towed the flag-ship up the Lippe as an
offering to Veleda."^
23 Civilis was now seized with a desire to make a naval
display. He manned all the available biremes and all
the ships with single banks of oars, and added to this
fleet an immense number of small craft. These carry
thirty or forty men apiece and are rigged like Illyrian
cruisers.3 The small craft he had captured * were

* Dividing the different portions of the camp.
' Cp, iv. 61. » Cp. ii. 16.

* See chap. 22 and iv, 16 and 79. But the ships captured

The End of the German Revolt 227

worked with bright, parti-coloured plaids, which served
as sails and made a fine show. He chose for review
the miniature sea of water where the Rhine comes
pouring down to the ocean through the mouth of the
Maas.i His reason for the demonstration — apart from
Batavian vanity — ^was to scare away the provision-
convoys that were already on their way from Gaul.
Cerialis, who was less alarmed than astonished, at once
formed up a fleet. Though inferior in numbers, he
had the advantage of larger ships, experienced rowers,
and clever pilots. The Romans had the stream with
them, the Germans the wind. So they sailed past
each other, and after trying a few shots with light
missiles they parted. Civilis without more ado retired
across the Rhine.- Cerialis vigorously laid waste the
island of the Batavi, and employed the common device
of leaving Civilis's houses and fields untouched.^ They
were now well into autumn. The heavy equinoctial
rains had set the river in flood and thus turned the
marshy, low-lying island into a sort of lake. Neither
fleet nor provision-convoys had arrived, and their
camp on the flat plain began to be washed away by
the force of the current.

by Civilis were not small craft. Perhaps luntres is here repeated
from the preceding sentence by mistake for naves or puppes.

* The de Noord channel carries the combined waters of the
Maas and the Waal into the Lek a few miles above Rotterdam.
From the point of this confluence to the sea the Lek takes the
name of Maas.

' Into the country of the Frisii up toward the Zuyder Zee.

^ To make his party suspect that he was in league with the
Romans.

P 2

228 Book V. Chapters 24-26

24 Civilis afterwards claimed that at this point the
Germans could have crushed the Roman legions and
wanted to do so, but that he had cunningly dissuaded
them. Nor does this seem far from true, since his
surrender followed in a few days' time. Cerialis had
been sending secret messages, promising the Batavians
peace and Civilis pardon, urging Veleda and her
relatives 1 to change the fortune of a war that had
only brought disaster after disaster, by doing a timely
service to Rome.2 ' The Treviri,' he reminded them,
' had been slaughtered ; the allegiance of the Ubii
recovered ; the Batavians robbed of their home. By
supporting Civilis they had gained nothing but blood-
shed, banishment, and bereavement. He was a fugitive
exile, a burden to those who harboured him. Besides,
they had earned blame enough by crossing the Rhine
so often : if they took any further steps, — from the
one side they might expect insult and injury, from
the other vengeance and the wrath of heaven.'

25 Thus Cerialis mingled threats and promises. The
loyalty of the tribes across the Rhine was shaken, and
murmurs began to make themselves heard among the
Batavi. ' How much further is our ruin to go ? ' they
asked. ' One tribe cannot free the whole world from
the yoke. What good have we done by slaughtering
and burning Roman legions except to bring out others,
larger and stronger ? If it was to help Vespasian
that we have fought so vigorously, ^^espasian is master
of the world. If we are challenging Rome — what an

' Cp. iv. 65. ■ i. e. by betraying Civilis to ihem.

The En fi of the German Revolt 229

infinitesimal fraction of the human race we Batavian?
are ! We must remember what burdens Raetia and
Noricum and all Rome's other allies bear. From us
they levy no tribute, only our manhood and our men.i
That is next door to freedom. And, after all, if we
have to choose our masters, it is less disgrace to put
up with Roman emperors than with German priest-
esses.' Thus the common people : the chieftains used
more violent language. ' It was Civilis' lunacy that
had driven them to war. He wanted to remedy his
private troubles ^ by ruining his country. The Bata-
vians had incurred the wrath of heaven by blockading
Roman legions, murdering Roman officers, and plung-
ing into a war which was useful for one of them and
deadly for the rest. Now they had reached the limit,
unless they came to their senses and openly showed
their repentance by punishing the culprit.'

Civilis was well aware of their changed feelings and 26
determined to forestall them. He was tired of hard-
ship, and he felt, besides, that desire to live which so
often weakens the resolution of the bravest spirits.
He demanded an interview. The bridge over the
river Nabalia ^ was broken down in the middle, and
the two generals advanced on to the broken ends.
Civilis began as follows : ' If I were defending myself
before one of Vitellius' officers, I could expect neither

* Tacitus remarks in the Germania (chap. 29) that the
Batavi do not suffer the indignity of paying tribute, but,
^ like armour and weapons are reserved for use in war.'

^ Cp. iv. 13. ^ Perhaps the Neue Yssel, near Arnliem.

230 Book V. Chapter 26

pardon for my conduct nor credence for my words.
Between him and me there has been nothing but
hatred. He began the quarrel, I fostered it. Towards
Vespasian I have from the beginning shown respect.
When he was a private citizen, we were known
as friends. Antonius Primus was aware of this when
he WTote urging me to take up arms to prevent the
legions from Germany and the Gallic levies from
crossing the Alps.i The instructions which Antonius
gave in his letter Hordeonius Flaccus ratified by word
of mouth. I raised the standard in Germania, as did
Mucianus in Syria, Aponius in Moesia, Flavianus in
Pannonia . . .'

[The rest is lost.]
1 Cp. iv. 13, 32.

INDEX OF NAMES

[The references are to the chapters of the Latin text as given
in the margin. The Roman numerals denote the book.]

Abraham, v 2 n. 4.

Actium, i I.

Acts of the Apostles, v 9 n. 4.

Adriatic, iii 2.

Adrumetum, iv 50.

Adua, ii 40 n. 2.

Aedui, i 51, 64 ; ii 61 ;

iii 35 ; iv 17, 57.
Aegialus, i 37.
Aelianus, Plautius, iv 53.
Aenus (Inn), iii 5.
Aerias, ii 3.
Aesculapius, iv 84.
Africa, i 7, 11, 37, 49> 1°>

13, 76, 78; ii 58» 97;

iii 48 ; IV 38, 48-50.
Africanus, Paccius, iv 41.
Agrestis, Julius, iii 54.
Agricola, Tacitus' Life of,

i I n. 2, 49n. I ; iv 40 n. 2,

50 n. I.
Agrippa (of Peraea), ii 5 n. 4,

81 ; iv 39; V I.
Agrippa (Augustus' son-in-
law), i 15.
Agrippa, Fonteius, iii 46.
Agrippa, Vipsanius, i 31 n. i .
Agrippina, i 56 n. i ; iv 65

n. I.
Albanians, 16.
Albingaunum (Albenga), ii

15.
Albintimilium (Ventimiglia),
ii 13.

Albinus, Lucceius, ii 58, 59.
Alexander, Tiberius, i n ;

ii 74, 79.
Alexandria, i 31 ; ii 79 ;

iii 48 ; iv 81-4 ; v i.
AUia, ii 91.
Allobroges, i 65, 65.
Alpinus, Julius, i 68.
Alps, i 23, 66, 89; ii 11, 12,

17, 20, 32 ; iii 34, 35, 42,

53> 55> 7o> 85 ; v 26.
Altinum (Altino), iii 6.
Ammon, v 3, 4.
Anagnia (Anagni), iii 62.
Andresen, ii 4 n. 2 (p. 114) ;

iv 15 n. 6.
Anicetus, iii 47, 48.
Antigonus, v 9 n. 3.
Antioch, ii 79, 80, 82.
Antiochus Epiphanes, v 8.
Antiochus (of Commagene),

ii 5 n. 4, 81 ; iv 39 ;

V I.

Antipolis (Antibes), ii 15.

Antonia, The, v 11.

Antonii, iii 38.

Antoninus, Arrius, i 77.

Antonius Primus, ii 86 ;
iii 2,6, 7,9-11, 13, 15-17,
19, 20, 23-32, 34, 49,
52-4, 59, 60, 63, 64, 66,
78-82 ; iv 2, 4, II, 13, 24,
31, 32, 39, 68, 80 ; V 19,
26.

2 3 2

Index of 'Names

Antony, ii 6 ; iii 24, 66 ;

V 9, II.

Apennines, iii 42, 50, 52, 55,

56, 59-
Apis, V 4.

Apollinaris, Claudius, iii 57,

76, 77-
Apollo, i 27 ; iii 65 ; iv

83..
Aponianus, Dillius, iii 10, n.
Aponius Saturninus, i 79 ;

ii 85, 96; iii 5, 9-1 1 ;

V 26.

Appian Road, iv 11.
Apronianus, Vipstanus, i 76.
Aquila, Vedius, ii 44 ; iii 7.
Aquileia, ii 3 n. 2, 46, 85;

iii 6, 8.
Aquilius, iv 15.
Aquinum (Aquino), i 88;

ii 63.
Aquinus, Cornelius, i 7.
Aquitania, i 76.
Arabia, v 6.
Arabs, v i.
Arar (Saone), ii 59.
Archelaus, v 9 n. 2.
Arda, ii 40.
Arenacum, v 20.
Argius, i 49.
Aricia (La Riccia), iii 36 ;

iv 2.
Ariminum (Rimini), iii 41,

42.
Ariovistus, iv 37.
Aristobulus, v 5 n. 2 (p. 208).
Arruntius, ii 65.
Arsaces, v 8.
Arsacids, i 40.
Arverni, iv 17.
Asciburgium (Asberg), iv 33.
Asia, i 10 ; ii 2, 6, 8, 9, 81,

83 ; iii 46 ; iv 17.
Asiaticus (Gallic chieftain),

ii 94.

' Asiaticus (Vitellius' freed-
man), ii 57, 95 ; iv 11.
Asiaticus, Valerius, i 59 ;

iv 4.
Asprenas, Calpurnius, ii 9.
Assyrians, v 8.
, Ateste (Este), iii 6.
' Atria (Atri), iii 12.

Attianus, Nonius, iv 41.
I Atticus, Julius, i 35.
Atticus, Quintius, iii 73-5.
Augustus, i ir, 15, 18, 50,
89, 90 ; ii 76 ; iii 66 ;
iv 17, 28, 48, 57 ; V 9.
Aurius' Horse, iii 5.
Auspex, Julius, iv 69.
Aventicum (Avenches), i 68.
Aventine, iii 70, 84.

Babylon, v 5 n. i (p. 208).
Bacchus, v 5.
Baetasii, iv 56, 66.
Baetica, i 53, 78 ; ii 97 n. 5.
Barea Soranus, iv 7, 10, 40.
Basilides (Egvptian noble),

iv 82.
Basilides (Carmelite Priest),

ii 78.
Basques, iv 33.
Bassus, Annius, iii 50.
Bassus, Lucilius, ii 100, loi ;

iii 12, 13, 36, 40 ; iv 3.
Batavians or Batavi, i 59,

64 ; ii 17, 22, 27, 28, 43,

66, 69, 97 ; iv 12, 14-25,

28, 30, Z^, Z2» 56, 58, 61,

66, 73» 77-9. 85 ; v 15-20,

23-5.
Bedriacum, ii 23, 39, 44, 45,

49. 50. 57. 66, 70, 86;

in 15, 20, 25, 27, 31.
Belgae, iv 37, 70, 71, 76.
Belgic auxiliaries, iv 17, 20.
Belgica, i 12, 58, 59.
Belius, V 7.

Index of Names

27,%

Benignus, Orfidius, ii 43, 45.
Berenice, ii 2, 81 .
Berytus (Beyrut), ii 81.
Bingium (Bingen), iv 70.
Blaesus, Junius, i 59 ; ii 59 ;

iii 38, 39-
Blaesus, PediuS; i 77.
Boadicea, i 37 n. i (p. 53) ;

ii II n. 2 (p. 120), 32 n. 2.
Bocchoris v 3.
Boii, ii 61.

Bolanus, Vettius, ii 65, 97.
Bonn, iv 19, 20, 25, 62, 70,

77 ; V 22.
Bononia (Bologna), ii 53 ;

67, 71,
Bovillae, iv 2, 46.
Brescia, iii 27.
Brigantes, iii 45.
Briganticus, Julius, ii 22 ;

iv 70 ; V 21.
Britain, i 2, 6, 9, 52, 59, 61 ;

ii II, 27, 32, 37, 57, 65,

66, 86, 97, 100 ; iii 2, 22,

IS> 35. 4i> 44. 70; iv 12,

15. 25, 54, 68, 76, 79;

V 16.
British auxiliaries, i 43, 70.
Britons, iii 45 ; iv 74.
Brixellum (Brescello), ii 33,

39. 5i» 54.
Brixian Gate, iii 27.
Bructeri, iv 21, 61, 77 ; v 16,

18.
Brundisium (Brindisi), ii 83.
Brutus, iv 8.
Burdo, Julius, i 58.
Byzantium, ii 83 ; iii 47.

Caecina, Alienus, i 52, 53.
61, 67, 68, 70, 89 ; ii 11,
17-27, 30, 31, 41, 43. 51.
55. 56. 59. 67. 70. 7i» 77.
92. 93. 95. 99-101 ; »" 8.

9. 13-15. 3I' 32, 36, 37.

40 ; iv 31, 80.
Caecina, Licinius, ii 53.
Caecina Tuscus, iii 38.
Caelius, Roscius, i 60.
Caeracates, iv 70.
Caesar, Julius, i 42, 50, 67

n. I, 86, 90 ; iii 37, 66,

68 ; iv 55, 57, 73 n. 2.
Caesarea, ii 79.
Caesariensis (Mauretania),

ii 58, 59-
Caetronius Pisanus, iv 50.

Calabria, ii 83.
Calenus, Julius, iii 35.
Caligula, i 16, 48, 89 ; ii 76 ;
iii 68 ; iv 42, 48, 68 ; v 9.
Calvia Crispinilla, i 73.
Camerinus, Scribonianus, ii

72-
Caraillus Scribonianus, 1 89 ;

ii 75-
Campania, i 2, 23 ; in 58-60,

63, 66, 77 ; iv 3.
Campanus, iv 66.
Camurius, i 41.
Canninefates, iv 15, 16, 19,

32, 56, 79, 85.
Capito, Fonteius. i 7, 8, 37,

52, 58 ; iii 62 ; iv 13.
Capito, Vergilius, iii 77 ;

iv 3.
Capitol, i 2, 33, 39, 40, 47.

71 ; ii 89 ;; iii 69-72, 75,

78. 81 ; iv 4, 9, 53, 54.
Capitoline Square, i 86.
Cappadocia, i 78 ; ii 6, 81.
Capua, iii 57 ; iv 3.
Caratacus, iii 45.
Carmel, Mt., ii 78.
Carsulae (Casigliano), iii 60.
Carthage, i 76 ; iv 49, 50.
Cartimandua, iii 45.
Cams, Julius, i 42.
Caspian Pass, i 6.

234

Index of Names

Cassius, ii 6.

Cassius Longus, iii 14.

Cato, iv 8.

Catulus, Lutatius, i 15 n. 2 ;

iii 72.
Celer, Egnatius, iv 10, 40.
Celsus, Marius, i 14, 31, 39,

45. 7i.77»87,9o; ii 23-5,

^3^ 39. 40, 44, 60.
Cepheus, v 2.
Ceres, ii 55- . .
Cerialis, Petilius, iii 59 ;

78-80 ; iv 68, 71-9, 86 ;

V 14-24.

Cerialis, Turullius, ii 22.

Certus, Quintius, ii 16.

Chatti, iv 12, 37.

Chauci, iv 79 ; v 19.

Chobus (Khopi), iii 48.

Cicero, ii 84 n. i ; iii 37 n. i.

Cilo, Betuus, i 37.

Cimbri, iv 73.

Cinna, iii 51, 83.

Cinyras, ii 3.

Civilis, i 59 ; iv 13. 14,
16-19, 21, 22, 24-6,
28-30, 32-7, 54, 55' 58,
60, 61, 63, 65, 66, 70, 71,
73. 75-9 ; V 14-17. 19-26.

Classicus, ii 14 ; iv 55, 57-9,
63. 70-9 ; V 19-21.

Claudia Sacrata, v 22.

Claudius (Emperor), i 10,
16, 48, 52, 77, 89 ; ii 48,

75. 76; iii 44. 45. 66;

V 9.

Clemens, Arrecinus, iv 68.
Clemens, Suedius, i 87 ;

ii 12.
Cleopatra, v 9.
Cluviae, iv 5.
Cocceianus, Salvius, ii 48.
Coelius, Roscius, i 60.
Coenus, ii 54.
Colline Gate, iii 78, 82.

Cologne, i 56, 57 ; iv 20, 25,
28 ;iv 55, 56, 59, 63-6, 79.

Comitia Curiata, i 15 n. i.

Concord, Temple of, iii 68.

Corbulo, ii 76 ; iii 6, 24.

Cordus, Julius, i 76.

Corinth, ii i.

Cornelius, Publius, iii 34.

Corsica, ii 16.

Cossus, Claudius, i 69.

Costa, Pedanius, ii 71.

Cottian Alps (Mt. Cenis),
i 61, 87 ; iv 68.

Crassi, ii 72 ; iv 42.

Crassus (the Triumvir), i 15.

Crassus, M. Licinius, i 14.

Crassus,M.Licinius (his son),
i 48 ; iv 42.

Cremera, ii 91.

Cremona, ii 17, 22-4, 67, 70,
100 ; iii 14, 15, 18, 19, 21,
22, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33,
34, 40, 41, 46, 48, 49, $z>
54, 60, 72 ; iv 2, 31, 51.

Crescens, i 76.

Crete, v 2.

Crispina, i 47.

Crispinilla, Calvia, i 73.

Crispinus (a centurion), i 58.

Crispinus, Varius, i 80.

Crispus, Vibius, ii 10 ; iv

41-3-
Cugerni, iv 16 n. i, 26;

V 16, 18.
Ciirtius, Lake, i 41 ; ii 55.
Cynic philosophy, iv 40.
Cyprus, ii 2.
Cyrene, iv 45.
Cythnus, ii 8, 9.

Dacia, i 2 ; iii 46, 53 ; iv

4 n- 2, 54.
Dalmatia, i 76, 89 n. 3 ; ii

11,32, 86;^ ni 12, 50.
Damascus, v 2 n. 4.

Index of Names

235-

Daniel, Book of, v 13 n, 2.

Danube, iii 46.

Danube Provinces, v. Illy-
ricum.

Dead Sea, v 6 n. 3.

Delphi, iv 83.

Demetrius, iv 40.

Densus, Sempronius, i 43.

Deuteronomy, v 5 n. 2.

Dexter, Subrius, i 31.

Die Cassius, i 74 n. 3 ; ii 44
n. 5, 72 n. 2 ; iii 23 n. i
(P-'33). 54n. i,56n. i; iv
41 n. 1,67 n. I (p. 178).

Divodurum (Metz), i 63.

Dolabella, Cornelius, i 88 ;
ii 63, 64.

Domitian, i i ; iii 59, 69,
74, 86; iv 2, 3, 39, 40,
43-7. 51. 52, 68, 75, 80,
85, 86.

Druids, iv 54.

Drusilla, v 9.

Drusus, iii 5 n. 4 ; v 19.

Dyrrachium (Durazzo), ii 83.

Egypt, i II, 70, 76; ii 6,9,
74, 76, 82 ; iii 8, 48 ;
iv 3» 83, 84 ; v 2, 3, 6.

Eleazar, v 12.

Eleusis, iv 83.

Emerita (Merida), i 78.

Epiphanes, ii 25.

Eporedia (Ivrea), i 70.

Epponina, iv 67.

Etesian Winds, ii 98 ; iv 81
n. I.

Etruria, i 86 ; iii 41.

Eumolpid clan, iv 83.

Euphrates, v 9.

Exodus, Book of, v 3 n. i.

Ezekiel, Book of, v 2 n. i.

Fabii, ii 91 n. 2.
Fabullus, Fabius, iii 14.

Fanum Fortunae (Fano),

iii 50.
Faustus, Annius, ii 10.
Faventinus, Claudius, iii 57.
Felix, Antonius, v 9.
Felix, Sextilius, iii 5 ; iv 70.
Ferentium (Ferento), ii 50.
Feronia, Temple of, iii 76.
Festus (praefeclus cohortis),

ii 59-
Festus, Valerius, ii 98 ;

iv 49, 50.
Fidenae, iii 79.
Firmus, Plotius, i 46, 82 ;

ii 46, 49.
Flaccus, Hordeonius, i 9, 52,

54,56; ii57, 97; ivi3, 18,

19, 24, 25, 27, 31, 36, 55,

77 ; V 26.
Flaminian Road, i 86 ; ii 64 ;

iii 79, 82.
Flamma, Antonius, iv 45.
Flavianus, Julius, iii 79.
Flavianus, Tampius, ii 86 ;

iii 4, 10, II ; V 26.
Flavius Sabinus (Vespasian's

brother), i 46 ; ii 55, 63,

99 ; iii 59, 64, 65, 68-71,

73-5,78,79,81,85; iv47.
Flavius Sabinus (consul

A.D. 69), i77; 1136,41.
Flavus, ii 94.
Florus, Gessius, v 10.
Florus, Sulpicius, i 43.
Forum Alieni (? Legnago),

iii 6.
Forum Julii (Fr^jus), ii 14 ;

iii 43-
Frisii, iv 15, i6, 18, 56, 79.
Frontinus, Julius, iv 39.
Fronto, Julius, i 20 ; ii 26.
Fulvus, Aurelius, i 79.
Fundane reservoir, iii 69.
Fuscus, Cornelius, ii 86 ;

iii 4, 12, 42, 66 ; iv4.

7.16

Index of Names

Galatia, ii 9.

Galba, i i, 5-16, 18, 19,
21-4,26, 27,29-56,64,65,
67, 71-4, 77. 87,88; ii I,
6,9-11, 23,31, 55,58, 71,
76, 86, 88, 92, 97, loi ;
iii 7, 22, 25, 57, 62, 68, 85,

86 ; iv 6, 13, 33, 40, 42,
57 ; V 16.

Galeria, ii 60, 64.

Galerianus, Calpurnius, iv
II, 49.

Gallus, Annius, 18?; ii 11,
23, S3^ 44 ; iv 68 ; v 19.

Gallus, Cestius, v 10.

Gallus, Herennius, iv 19, 20,
26, 27, 59>.7o, 77-

Gallus, Rubrius, ii 51, 99.

Garamantes, iv 50.

Garutianus, Trebonius, i 7.

Gaul, 12,8,37,51, 61-3,87,
89; ii 6, II, 29, 32, 57,
61, 86, 94, 98 ; iii 2, 13,
15. 35» 41, 44, 53; iv 3.

12; 14, 17, 18, 24-6, 28,

3i> 32, 37> 49» 54, 67-9,
71. 73-6, 77, 85 ; V 19,

Gaul, Lyons division of, i 59 ;

ii 59'
Gaul, Narbonese, i 48, 76,

87 ; ii 12, 14, 15, 28, 32 ;
iii 41, 42.

Gauls, i 51, 64, 67, 70 ; ii 68,
69,93; iii 34, 72; iv 25,
54, 57, 58, 61, 62, 71, 73,
76, 78 ; v 26.

Gelduba (Gellep), iv 26, 32,

25^ 36, 58.
Geminus, Ducenius, i 14.
Geminus, Virdius, iii 48.
Genesis, Book of, v 7 n. i.
Gennesareth, v 6 n. 3.
Germania, Tacitus'; iii 47

n. 3 ; iv 12 n. 2, 4, 16 r. i.

18 n. 5, 64n. 3; v 5 n.4,
25 n. I.
Germanicus (Title of Vitel-
lius), i 62 ; ii 64.
j Germanicus (Vitellius' son),
I ii 59 ; iii 66.
Germans, i 52, 61, 68, 70,
84; ii 22, 32, 35, 93;
i iii 15, 46, 53; iv 14-16,
18, 22, 24-7, 29, 33, 34,
37. 57. 58, 60, 61, 63, 65,
66, 73-5, 78, 79 ; V 14-25.
Germany, 1 7, 9, 12, 37, 49,

50, 52. 52>, 55. 61, 73;
11 16, 17, 22, 69, 93, 97 ;
iii 2, 35, 41, 46, 62, 70;

iv 3. 15, 17-19. 21, 23,
28, 31, 41, 49, 54, 63, 64,
70, 72, 76 ; v 14, 17.

Germany, Legionary and
auxiliary troops of, i 8, 19,
26, 31, 67, 70, 74, 77; ii
22, 23, 55, 57, 58, 60, 75,
77. 80, 99 ; iii i, 8, 9, 13,
26, 38, 69, 84 ; iv 32, 46,
76 ; V 16, 26.

Geta, ii 72.

Graian Alps (Little St.
Bernard), ii 66 ; iv 15, 68.

Gratilla, Verulana, iii 69.

Gratus, Julius, ii 26.

Grinnes, v 20.

Grotius, ii 86 n. 2.

Grypus, Plotius, iii 52 ;
iv 39, 40.

Hadrian, i 58 n. 2.
Haemus.Mt. (Balkans), ii 85.
Hannibal, iii 34 ; iv 13.
Hardy, E. G., ii 19 n. i,

40 n. 2.
Helvetii, i 67, 69, 70.
Henderson, B. W., ii 19 n. i,

20 n. 2, 40 n. 2 ; iv 34 n. i,

68 n. 3 (p. 179).

Index nf Names

2? 7

Hercules Monoecus, iii 42.
Hermon, Mt., v 6 n. 2.
Herod (the Great), v 9, 11.
Herod Agrippa I, ii 2 n. 2.
Herod Agrippa II, ii 2 n. 2,

5 n.4, 81 ; V I.
Herod Antipas, v 9 n. 2.
Herod Philip, v 9 n. 2.
Hesychius, ii 3 n. 3.
Hierosolyma, ii 2.
Hierosolymus, ii 2.
Hilarus, ii 65.
Hispalis (Seville), i 78.
Histria, ii 72.
Homer, v 2.

Horatius Codes, i 86 n. 2.
Hordeonius Flaccus, v.

Flaccus.
Hormus, iii 12, 28 ; iv 39.
Hostilia (Ostiglia), ii 100 ;

iii 9, 14, 21, 40.

lazyges, iii 5.

Icelus, i 13,33.37^6; ii95.

Ida, Idaei, v 2, 4.

lilyrian Sea (Adriatic), iii 2.

Illyricum, i 2, 6, 9, 76 ;
ii 60, 74, 86; iii 35 ; iv 3.

Illyricum, troops ol, i 31 ;
ii 60, 85, 86.

Interamna, Interamnium
(Terni), ii 64 ; iii 61, 63.

Isis, iii 74 n. 4 ; iv 84 ; v 2.

Italicus, Silius, iii 65.

Italicus (Suebian prince),
iii 5, 21.

Italy, i 2, 9, II, 50, 61,
62, 70, 84 ; ii 6, 8, 12, 17,
20, 21, 27, 28, 32, 56, 62,
66, 83, 90 ; iii i, 2, 4-6,
9, 30, 34, 42, 46, 49, 53»
59; IV 5, 13, 17, 51, 55,
58, 65, 72, 73, 75, 76;
V 1, 10.

Jerusalem, ii 4 ; v i, 8, 9,

11-13.
Jewish Army (Roman), i 76 ;

ii 79, 81.
Jews, i 10 ; ii 4, 78 ; iv 51 ;

V I, 2, 4, 5, 7-11, 12.
John (of Gischala), v 12.
Jordan, v 6.

Josephus, V 3 n. 2, 5 n. 5.
Juba, ii 58.

Juda, V 2.

Judaea, ii i, 5, 6, 73, 76, 78,
79, 82 ; iv 3 ; V I, 8, 9,
, 13-

I Julian Alps (Brenner), iii
8.
Julian family, i 16 ; ii 48,

95-
Julianus, Claudius, iii 57,

76, 77.

Julianus, Tettius, i 79 ; ii
85 ; iv 39, 40.

Julius Caesar, v. Caesar.

Junii, iii 38.

Juno, i 86 ; iv 53.

Jupiter, iii 72, 74 ; iv 53,
i 54, 58, 83, 84 ; V 2.
i Jupiter-Pluto, iv 83.

Justin, V 2 n. 4.

Justus, Minicius, iii 7.

Juvenal, ii 62 n. 2 (p. 170),

V 2 n. 2 (p. 204).
Juvenalian Games, iii 62.
Juvenalis (Tungrian chief),

iv 66.

I Labeo, Claudius, iv 18, 56,
j 66, 70.

j Laco, Cornelius, i 6, 13, 14,
19, 26, 33, 39, 46.

Ladder of Sighs, iii 74, 85,

Laecanius, i 41.

Latin rights, iii 55.
i Lebanon, v 6.

238

Index of Karnes

Legions.
I, German, i 55, 57 ; ii 100 ;
iii 22 ; iv 19, 25, 37, 57,
59, 62, 70, 72, 77.

I Adiutrix, i 6, 31, 36 ;
ii II, 17, 22, 23, 43, 67,
86 ; iii 13, 44 ; iv 68.

I, Italian, i 59, 64, 74 ;
ii 41, 100 ; iii 14, 18, 22.

II Adiutrix, iii 55, 67 ;
iv 68 ; V 14, 16, 20.

II Augusta, iii 22, 44.

III Augusta, i 7 n. 4, II ;
ii 97 ; iv 49-.

Ill Cyrenaic, vi.

III GalHc, i 79 ; ii 74, 85,
96 ; iii 10, 21, 24, 27, 29 ;

iv 3, 39-

IV Macedonian, i 18, 55,
56 ; ii 89, 100 ; iii 22 ;
iv 37.

IV Scythian, i 76 n. 2
(p. 92).

V Alaudae, \_S5> 61 ; ii 43.
68, 100 ; iii 14, 22 ; iv

3,S, 36.

V Macedonian, i 76 n. i
(p. 92) ; V I.

VI Ferrata, i 76 n. 2 (p. 92) ;
ii 83 ; iii 46.

VI Victrix, i 16 ; iii 44 ;
iv 68, 76 ; V 16.

VII Claudian, ii 85 ; iii 9,
21, 27 ; iv 68 n. 3
(p. 179).

VII Galbian, i 6; ii 11,
67, 86 ; iii 7, 10, 21, 22,
25, 27, 29 ; iv 39.

VIII Augusta, ii 85 ; iii 10,
21, 27 ; iv 68.

IX Spanish, iii 22.

X Fretensis, i 76 n. i
(p. 92); V I.

X Gemina, ii 58 ; iii 44 ;
iv 76 ; V 19, 20.

XI Claudian, ii 11, 67 ; iii
50 ; iv 68.

XII Fulminata, v i.

XIII Gemina, ii 11, 24,
43» 44, 67, 86 ; iii i, 7,
21, 27, 32 ; iv 68; v 14.

XIV Gemina, i 59, 64 ;
ii II, 27, 32, 43, 54, 66,
68, 86 ; iii 13 ; iv 68, 76,
79 ; V 14, 16, 19.

XV ApoUinaris, i 76 n. i
(p. 92); V I.

XV Primigenia, i4i, 55; ii
100; iii 22, 23; iv35, 36.

XVI Gallic, i 55 ; ii 100 ;
iii 22 ; iv 26, 57, 62, 70,

^72, 77-

XX Valeria Victrix, i 60 ;
iii 22.

XXI Rapax, i 61, 67 ; ii
43, 100 ; iii 14, 18, 22,

^ 2S ; iv 68, 70, 78.

XXII Deiotariana, v i.
XXII Primigenia, i 18, 55,

56 ; ii 100 ; iii 22 ; iv

24, 37-
Lepcis (Lebda), iv 50.
Leuci, i 64.
Leviticus, Book of, v 4 n. 3,

I ; V 3 n. 3 (p. 208) ; V 13

n. I.
Liburnian Cruisers, ii 16, 35 ;

iii 12, 14, 42, 43, 47, 48,

77 ; V 23.
Libya, v 2.

Licinianus, Piso, v. Piso.
Liguria, ii 13, 14, 15,
Lingones, i 53, 54, 57, 59,

64, 78; ii 27; iv 55, 57,
.67, 69, 70, 73, 76, 77.
Lippe, the, v 22.
Livy, iii 72 n. 4.
Locus Castorum. ii 24.
Longinus, Acmilius, iv 59,

62.

Index of Names

239

Longinus, Pompeius, i 31.

Loiigus, Cassius, iii 14.

Lucania, ii 83.

Luceria, iii 86.

Lucus (Luc-en -Diois), i 66.

Lugdunum (Lyons), i 51,

59> 64, 65, 74 ; ii 59, 65 ;

iv 85, 86.
Luke, Gospel of, v 4 n.4,

8 n. 2.
Lupercus, Munius, iv 18,

22, 61.
Lupus, Numisius, i 79 ; iii

10.
Lusitania, i 13, 21, 70 ;

ii 97 n.5.
Lusones, 178 n. 2.
Lutatian house, i 15.

Maas, the, iv 28, 66 ; v 23.
Macedonians, iv 83 ; v 8.
Maccr, Clodius, i 7, 11, 37,

73 ; ii 97 ; iv 19.
Macer, Martius, ii 23, 35,

36, 71-
Magnus (Piso's brother),

i 48.
Mainz, iv 15, 24, 25, 2,2,, 2,1 >

59, 61, 62, 70, 71.
Malaria, iii 33 n. i.
ManHus Patruitus, iv 45.
Mansuetus, Juhus, iii 25.
Marcellus, Claudius, i 15.
Marcellus, Cornelius, i 37.
Marcellus, Eprius, ii 53, 95 ;

iv6, 7,8, 10,42,43.
Marcellus, Romilius, i 56, 59.
Marcodurum (Diiren), iv 28.
Mariccus, ii 61.
Marinus, Valerius, ii 71.
Marius, Caius, ii 38.
Marius Celsus, v. Celsus.
Marsaci, iv 56.
Marseilles, iii 43.

Marsi, iii 59.

Martial, v 2 n. 2 (p. 204).

Martialis, Cornelius, iii 70,

71, 73-
Martialis, Julius, i 28, 82.
Martian Plain, i 86 ; ii 95 ;

iii 82.
Massa, Baebius, iv 50.
Mattiaci, iv 37.
Maturus, Marius, ii 12 ;

iii 42, 43.
Mauretania, in; ii 58, 59.
Mauricus, Junius, iv 40.
Maximus, Julius, iv 33.
Maximus, T-ebellius, i 60 ;

1165.
Medes, i 40 n. 2 ; v 8.
Mediolanum (Milan), i 70.
Mediomatrici, i 63 ; iv7o-2.
Mefitis, iii Z2f
Meiser, ii 50 n. 6 ; iii 5 n. 5.
Mela, Annaeus, ii 86 n. 2.
Memphis, iv 84.
Merom, v 6 n. 3.
Messala, Vipstanus, ii loi

n.i ; iii 9, 11, 18, 25, 28 ;

iv 42.
Messiah, v 13 n. 2.
Mevania (Bevagna), iii 55.
Minerva, i 86 n. i ; iv 53.
Minturnae, iii 57.
Misenum, Fleet at, ii 9, 100 ;

iii 56, 57> 60.
Moesia, i 76, 79 ; ii 32, 46,

74, 83, 85 ; iii 46, 53, 75 ;

IV 54 ; V 26.
Moesia, Troops of, ii 32, 44,

85, 86; iii 2, 5, 9, 11, 18,

24.
Mogontiacum, v. Mainz.
Monoecus (Monaco), iii 42.
Montanus, Alpinius, iii 35 ;

iv 31, 32 ; V 19.
Montanus, Curtius, iv 40, 42,

43.

240

Index of Names

Moriah,Mt.,v8u. i, 11 n.i.

Morini, iv 28.

Moschus, i 87.

Moselle, the, iv 71, 77.

Moses, V 3, 4.

Mucianus, i 10, 76 ; ii 4, 5,
7, ^^, 76-84, 95 ; iii I, 8,
25, 46, 47, 49> 52, 53> 63,
66, 75, 78 ; iv 4, II, 24,
39, 44, 46, 49, 68, 75, 80,
85 ; V 26.

Mulvian Bridge, i 87 ; ii 89 ;
iii 82.

Mummia, i 15 n. 2.

Murcus, Statius, i 43.

Mutina, i 50; 1152,54.

Nabalia, the, v 26.
Narbonese Gaul, v Gaul.
Narnia (Narni), iii 58, 60,

63, 67, 78, 79.
Naso, Antonius, i 20.
Nava (Nahe), iv 70.
Nero, i 2, 4-10, 13, 16, 20-3,

25, 30, 46, 48, 49. 5i> S3»

65, 70, 72, 73» 76-8, 89,
90; ii 5, 8-1 1, 27, 54, 58,

66. 71, 72, 76, 86, 95 ;
iii 6, 62, 68 ; iv 7, 8, 13,
41,42-4; v 10.

Nerva, i i.

Nervii, iv 15, 33, 56, 66, 79.
Niger, Casperius, iii 73.
Norbanus, iii 72.
Noricum, i 11, 70 ; iii 5 ;

V 25.
Novaesium (Neuss), iv 26,

2,3, 2,S, 36, S7> 62, 70, 77,

79 ; v 22.
Novaria (Novara), 1 70.
Novellas, Antonius, i 87 ;

ii 12.
Numisius Lupus, i 79 ;

iii 10.

Numisius Rufus, iv 22, 59,

70, 77-
Nymphidius Sabinus, v.
Sabinus.

Ocriculum (Otricoli), iii 78.

Oea (Tripoli), iv 50.

Onions, J. T., ii 23 n. i.

Onomastus, i 25, 27.

Opitergium (Oderzo), iii 6.

Orfitus, Cornelius, iv 42.

Osiris, iv 84.

Ostia, i 80 ; ii 63.

Otho, i I, 13, 21, 22, 24,
26-36, 39-47> 5°> 64,
70-90 ; ii I, 6, 7, II, 13,
14, 16-18, 21, 23, 25, 26,

28, 30, 31, 33, 36, 38-60,
63, 65, 76, 85, 86, 95, loi ;
iii 10,32,44; IV 17, 54.

Pacarius, Decimus, ii 16.
Pacensis, Aemilius, i 20, 87 ;

ii 12 ; iii 73.
Pacorus (Viceroy of Media

Atropene), i 40.
Pacorus (Parthian king), v 9.
Paetus, Thrasea, ii 53 n. i,

91 ; iv 5-8.
Palace of the Caesars, i 17,

29. 32» 35» 39» 47> 72, 80,
82 ; iii 67, 68, 70, 74, 84.

Pamphylia, ii 9.

Pannonia, i 76 ; ii 32, 86 ;

iii 4, 12 ; iv 54; v 26.
Pannonia, Troops of, i 26,

67 ; ii II, 14, 17, 85, 86;

iii 2, II, 24.
Pannonian (Julian) Alps, ii

98 ; iii I.
Paphos, ii 2»
Papirius, iv 49.
Parthians, i 2 ; ii 6, 83 ;

iii 24 ; iv 51 ; v 8, 9.

Index of Names

24]

Patavium (Padua), ii 100 ;

iii 6, 7, II.
Patrobius, i 49 ; ii 95.
Patruitus, Manlius, iv 45.
Paul, Saint, ii 2 n. 2.
Paulinus, Suetonius, i 87,
90 ; ii 23-6, 31, 33, 37,

39, 40, 44, 60.
Paulinus, Valerius, iii 43.
Paulus, Julius, iv 13.
Pedanius Costa, ii 71.
Pennine Alps (Great St.

Bernard), i 70, 87 ; iv 68.
Persians, v 8.
Perusia (Perugia), i 50.
Petilius Cerialis, v. Cerialis.
Petra's Horse, i 70 ; iv 49.
Petronia, ii 64.
Petronius Arbiter, ii 88 n. 2.
Pharsalia, i 50 ; ii 38.
Philippi, i 50 ; ii 38.
Philo, i II n. 2.
Phoenicia, v 6.
Picenum, iii 42.
Picenum Horse, iv 62.
Picked Horse, iv 70,
Pisa, Bay of, iii 42.
Piso, Caius, iv 11.
Piso, Lucius, iv 38, 48-50.
Piso Licinianus, i 14 » ^S*

17-19, 21, 29, 30, 34, 39.

43. 44. 47. 48; iii 68;

iv 40, 42.
Placentia (Piacenza), ii 17-

20, 23, 24, 32, 36, 49.
Placidus, Julius, iii 84.
Plautus, Rubellius, i 14.
Pliny (the elder), ii loi n. i ;

iii 28 ; v 5 n. 3.
Pliny (the younger), i 48

n. I ; ii II n. 6.
Plutarch, i 27 n. i, 43 "• i>

74 n. 3; ii37n. 3,38n.2,

40 n. 2, 44 n- 5. 46 n. i, 3,

7on.2(p. 178); iii 54 n. I ;

iv67n. I (p. 178); V3n.3

(p. 208).
Pluto, iv 83.
Po, the, i 70 ; ii 11, 17, 19,

20, 22, 23, 32, 34, 39, 40,

43. 44 ; iii 34. 5°. 52-
Poetovio (Petau), iii i .
Polemo, ii 2 n. 2 ; iii 47.
Pollio, Asinius, ii 59.
Polyclitus, i 37 ; ii 95.
Pompeius (Pompey), i 15,

50 ; ii 6, 38; iii 66 ; v 9, 12.
Pontia Postumina, iv 44.
Pontus, ii 6, 8, 81, 83 ; iii 47;

iv 83.
Poppaea Sabina, i 13, 22, 78.
Porcius Septirainus, iii 5.
Porsenna, iii 72.
Postumian Road, ii 24, 41 ;

iii 21.
Primus, Antonius, v. An-

tonius.
Primus, Cornelius, iii 74.
Priscus, Fabius, iv 79.
Priscus, Helvidius, ii 91 ;

iv 4, 10, 43, 53.
Priscus, Julius, ii 92 ; iii 55,

61 ; iv II.
Priscus, Tarquinius, iii 72.
Proculus, Barbius, i 25.
Proculus, Cocceius, i 24.
Proculus, Licinius, i 46, 83,

87 ; ii 33. 39. 40, 44, 60.
Propinquus, Pompeius, i 12,

58-
Proserpme, iv 83.

Ptolemy, Soter, iv 83, 84.

Ptolemy, Euergetes, iv 84.

Ptolemy (Otho's astrologer),

i 22.

Pudens, Maevius, i 24.

Pulvillus, Horatius, iii 72

Puteoli (Pozzuoli), iii 57.

Pyrenees, i 23.

Pyrrhicus, Claudius, ii i6.

242

Index of Names

Quintilian, i 90 n. 4 ; iii 9,

n. 2 (p. 18).
Quirinal, iii 69.
Quirinus, iv 58.

Raetia, i 11, 68 ; ii 98 ; iii 5,

8, 15 ; iv 70; V 25.
Raetia, Troops of, i 59, 67,

68 ; iii 53.
Raetian Alps (Arlberg), i 70.
Ravenna, Fleet at, ii 100 ;

iii 6, 12, 36, 40, 50.
Rebilus, Caninius, iii 37.
Receptus, Nonius, i 56, 59.
Red Rocks, iii 79.
Regium Lepidum (Reggio),

ii 50.
Regulus, Aquilius, i 48 n. i ;

iv 42.
Regulus, Rosius, iii 37.
Remi, iv 67-9.
Repentinus, Calpunius, i 56,

59-
Rhacotis, iv 84.

Rhine, the, i 51 ; ii 32 ;
iii 12, 16, 22, 23, 26, 55,

59.64, 73; iv 14, 15' 17-

19, 23, 24, 28, 63, 76 ; V

16, 25.
Rhoxolani, i 79.
Rigodulum (Riol), iv 71.
Romulus, ii 95.
Roscius Caelius, i 60.
Rufinus, Vivennius, iii 12.
Rufinus (Gallic chieftain),

ii94.
Rufus, Cadius, i 77.
Rufus, Cluvius, i 8, 76 ;

ii 37 n- 3, 58, 65, loi n. i ;

iii 65 ; iv 39, 43.
Rufus, Musonius, iii 81 ;

iv 10, 40.
Rufus, Numisius, iv 22, 59,

70. 77-

Rufus, Verginius, v. Vergi-

nius.
Rusticus, Arulenus, iii 69

n. 3, 80.

Sabinus, Caelius, i 77.
Sabinus, Calvisius, i 48.
Sabinus, Domitius, i 31.
Sabinus, Flavius, v. Flavius.
Sabinus, Julius, iv 55, 67.
Sabinus, Nymphidius, i 5,

6, 25, 37.'
Sabinus, Obultronius, i 37.
Sabinus, Publilius, ii 93

iii 36.
Sacrata, Claudia, v 22.
Sacrovir, iv 57.
Saevinus (?) Proculus, i 77
Sagitta, Claudius, iv 49.
Sagitta, Octavius, iv 44.
Salarian Road, iii 78, 83.
Sahi, i 89 n. 3.
Sallust's Gardens, iii 82.
Salonina, ii 20.
Salvius Titianus, i 75, 77,

90; ii 23. 33. 39. 40, 44.

60.
Samnites, iii 59.
Samuel, Book of, v 21 n. i.
Sanctus, Claudius, iv 62.
Sardinia, ii 16.
Sarmatians, i 2, 79 ; iii 5,

24 ; iv 4, 54.
Saturn, i 27 ; v 24.
Saturnalian holiday, iii 78.
Saturninus, v. Aponius, Vi-

tellius.
Scaeva, Didius, iii 73.
Scipio {praejectus cohortis),

ii 59-
Scipio, L. (consul, B.C. 83),

iii 72.

Scribonia, i 14.

Scribonianus, Camillus, 89

ii 75-

Index of Names

243

Scribonianus Camerinus, ii

72.
Scribonianus Crassus, i 15,

47 ; iv 39-
Scribonius, iv 41.
Scydrothemis, iv 83, 84.
Sebosus' Horse, iii 6.
Secundus, Vibius, ii 10 n. i.
Sedochezi, iii 48.
Seleucia, iv 84.
Seleucids, v 8.
Seleucus (soothsayer), ii 78.
Sempronius, Tiberius, iii 34.
Sempronius Densus, i 43.
Sentius, iv 7.

Septiminus, Porcius, iii 5.
Sequani, i 51 ; iv 67.
Serapis, iv 81, 84.
Serenus, AmuUius, i 31.
Sertorius, iv 13.
Servian family, ii 48.
Servilian Park, iii 38.
Servius Tullius, iii 72.
Severus, Cestius, iv 41.
Severus, Cetrius, i 31.
Severus, Claudius, i 68.
Sextilia, i 75 ; ii 64, 89 ;

iii 67.
Shoe-money, iii 50.
Sido, iii 5, 21.
Siena, iv 45.

Sighs, Ladder of, iii 74, 85.
Silanus, M. Junius, iii 38

n. I.
Silanus, M. Junius M.f., iv

48.
Silius' Horse, i 70 ; ii 17.
Silius Italicus, iii 65.
Silvanus, Pompeius, ii 86 ;

iii 50 ; iv 47,
Simon (Herod's slave), v 9.
Simon (Jewish leader), v 12.
Simplex, Caecilius, ii 60 ;

iii 68.
Sinope, iv 83, 84.

Sinuessa Spa, i 72.
Sisenna, L. Cornelius, iii 51.
Sisenna (centurion), ii 8.
Sohaemus, ii 81 ; iv 39 ;

V I.

Solymi, v 2.

Soranus, Barea, iv 7, 10, 40.

Sosianus, Antistius, iv 44.

Sosius, v 9.

Sostratus, ii 4.

Spain, i 6, 8, 22, 37, 49, 62,

76 ; ii 32, 58, 65, 67, 86,

97 ; iii 2, 13, 15, 25, 35,

44, 53, 70 ; IV 3, 25, 39,

68, 76 ; v 19.
Spurinna, Vestricius, ii 11,

18, 19, 23, 36.
Stoechades (lies d'Hyeres),

iii 43.
Stoics, iii 81 ; iv 5.
Strabo, Pompeius, iii 51.
Suebi, i 2 ; iii 5, 21.
Suessa Pometia, iii 72.
Suetonius (the historian),

i 13 n. I, 52 n. I, 74 n. 3;

ii 32 n. 2 (p. 142), 59 n. 3,

7on.3 ; iii 54 n. i.
Suetonius Paulinus, v. Pau-

linus.
Sulla, ii 38 ; iii 72, 83.
Sulpicia Praetextata, iv 42.
Sulpician house, i 15.
Sunuci, iv 66.
Syria, i 10 ; ii 2, 5, 6, 9, 73,

74, 76, 78-81 ; iv 3, 17,

39, 84 ; V 2, 6, 9, 10, 26.
Syria, Troops of, i 10, 76 ;

ii8, 74,80; iv39 ; v i.

Tamiras, ii 3.
Tampius, v. Flavianus.
Tarentum, ii 83.
Tarpeian Rock, iii 71.
Tarquinius Priscus, iii 72.
Tarquinius Superbus, iii 72.

Q 2

24 +

Index of Names

Tarracina (Anxur), iii 57,
60, 76, 77, 84 ; iv 2, 3.

Tarragona, ii 97 n. 5 ; iv 33
n. I.

Tartaro, the, iii 9, 14.

Tatius, ii 95.

Taurus' Horse, i 59.

Taurus, Antonius, i 20.

Tencteri, iv 21, 64, 65, 77 ;

V 16.
Terentius, i 41.
TertuUinus, Vulcacius, iv 9.
Tettius, V. Julianus.
Teutons, iv 73.

Thrace, i 11, 68.

Tiber, i 86 ;] ii 93 ; iii 82 ;

iv IZ n. 3 (p. 161).
Tiberius, i 15, 16, 27, 89;

ii 65, 76, 95 ; iv 42, 48 ;

V9.
Ticinum (Pavia), ii 17, 27,

30, 68, 88.
Tigellinus, i 24, 72.
Timotheus, iv 83.
Tingitana, ii 58, 59.
Tiridates, ii 82 n. 2.
Tiro, Apinius, iii 57, 76.
Titianus, Salvius, i 75, 77,

90; ii 23, 2>2» 39» 40,

44, 60.
Titus, i I, 10 ; ii 1, 4-6, 74,

79. 82 ; iv 3, 38, 51, 52 ;

V I, 10, II, 13.
Tolbiacum (Ziilpich), iv 79.
Trachalus, Galerius, i 90 ;

ii 60.
Trajan, i i ; iv 9 n. i.
Transalpine tribes, iv 54.
Transpadane district, i 70.
Trapezus (Trebizond), iii 47.
Trebelhus Maximus, i 60 ;

ii 65.
Treviri, Trier, i 53, 57, 63 ;

ii 14, 28 ; iii 35 ; iv 18,

a8, 32, 37» 55. 57. 58, 62,

66, 68-76, 85 ; V 14, 17

19, 24.
Triaria, ii 63, 64 ; iii 77.
Triboci, iv 70.
Trogus Pompeius, v 2 n. 4.
Tungri, ii 14, 15, 28 ; iv 16

55. 66, 79.
Turin, ii 66.
Turpiiianus, Petronius, i 6,

37-
TuruUius CeriaUs, ii 22.
Tuscus, Caecina, iii 38.
Tutor, iv 55, 57-9, 70-2, 74,

76, 78 ; V 19-21.
Twin Brethren, ii 24.

Ubii, iv 18, 28, 55, 63, 77 ;

V 22, 24 {see also Cologne).
Umbria, iii 41, 42, 52.
Umbricius, i 27.
Urbicus, Petronius, i 70.
Urbinum, iii 62.

Usipi, iv 37.

Vada, V 20, 21.

Valens, Donatius, i 56, 59.

Valens, Fabius, i 7, 52, 57,
61, 62, 64, 66, 74 ; ii 14,
24, 27, 29-31, 41, 43, 51,
54-6, 59, 67, 70, 71, 77,
92. 93. 95. 99. 100 ; iii 15,
36, 40-4, 62, 66.

Valens, Manlius, i 64.

Valentinus, iv 68-71, 76, 85.

Vangiones, iv 70.

Varro, Cingonius, i 6, 37.

Varus, Alfenus, ii 29, 43 ;
iii 36, 55,61 ; iv 11.

Varus, Arrius, iii 6, 16, 52,
6i, 63, 64 ; iv I, 4, II,

39. 68.
Varus, Plancius, ii 63.
Varus, Quintihus, iv 17 ;

V 9- ^

Vatican Quarter, ii 93.

Index of Names

245-

Vatinius, i 37.
Velabrum, i 27 ; iii 74.
Veleda, iv 61, 65 ; v 22,

24-

Vellocatus, iii 45.
Ventidius, v 9.
Venus, ii 2.
Venutius, iii 45.
Verania, i 47.
Verax, v 20, 21.
Vercellae (Vercelli), i 70.
Vergilio, Atilius, i 41.
Verginius Rufus, i 8, 9, 52,

53, 77 ; ii 49, 51, 68, 71 :

iii 62 : iv 17, 6q.
Verona, ii 23 ; iii 8, 10, 15,

5°' 52-
Verulana Gratilla, iii 69.
Verus, Atilius, iii 22.
Vespasian, i i, 10, 46, 50,

76; ii I, 4, 5, 7, 67, 73,

74, 76, 78-87, 96-9 ; iii I,
3. 7-13. 34, 37, 38, 42-4,
48,49,52,53, 57,59,63-6,
69, 70, 73. 75. 77, 78, 86 ;
iv 3-9, 13, 14, 17, 21, 24,
27, 31, 32, 36-40, 42, 46,
49, 51, 52, 54, 58, 68, 70,

75, 77, 80-2 ; V i, 10, 13,
25, 26.

Vesta, Temple of, i 43.
Vestal Virgins, i 2 n. i ;

iii 81 ; iv 53.
Vestinus, iv 53.
Vetera, iv 18, 21, 35, 36,

57, 58, 62; V 14.
Vettius Bolanus, ii 65, 97.
Veturius, i 25.
Vibius Crispus, ii 10 ; iv

41-3-
Vicetia (Vicenza), iii 8.

Victor. Claudius, iv i^.

Victory, Statue of, i 86.

Vienne, i 65, 66, 77 ; ii 29,

66.
Vindex, Julius, i 6, 8, 16, 51,

53, 65, 70, 89 ; ii 94 ;

iv 17, 57, 69.
Vindonissa (Windisch), i 61

n. 5, 67 n. 2 ; iv 61, 70.
Vinius, Titus, i i, 6, 11-14,

32-4, 37, 39, 42, 44, 47.
48,72 ; 1195.

Vipsanian arcade, i 31.

Vitellius, i i, 9, 14, 44, 50,
52, 56-64, 67-70i 73-7,
84, 85, 90 ; ii I, 6, 7, 14,
16, 17, 21, 27, 30-2, 38,

42, 43. 47, 48, 52-77.
80-101 ; iii 1-5, 8-15, 31,

35-44, 47, 48, 53-75,
78-81, 84-86 ; iv I, 3, 4,
II, 13-15, I7i 19, 21, 24,
27, 31, 36, 37, 41, 46, 47,
49, 51, 54, 55» 58, 70,
80 ; V 26.

Vitellius, Lucius (his father),
19; iii 66,86.

Vitellius,Lucius (hisbrother),
i 88 ; ii 54, 63 ; iii 37, 38,
55. 58, 76, 77 ; iv 2.

Vitellius Saturninus, i 82,

Vocetius, i 68.

Vocontii, i 66.

Vocula, Dillius, iv 24-7,
33-7, 56-9, 62, 77.

Vocula, Sariolenus, iv 41.

Volaginius, ii 75.

Vologaesus, i 40 ; ii 82 n. a;
ivfi.

Volusius, iii 29.

Vopiscus, Pompeius, i 77.

Wolfflin, V 4 n. 4 (p. 206).
Zion, V II n. I.

OXFORD : HORACE HART
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY