1. The consulship of Gaius Asinius and Gaius Antistius saw Tiberius experiencing his ninth year of stability in the state and prosperity in his family—for Germanicus’ death he counted amongst the providential events. Then, suddenly, fortune began to run riot, and Tiberius himself to turn brutal, or to foster brutality in others. The origin and cause lay with Aelius Sejanus, prefect of the praetorian cohorts,* whose influence I mentioned above. Now I shall give an account of his origins, his character and his criminal attempt to seize absolute power.
Sejanus was born in Vulsinii, and his father was Seius Strabo, a Roman knight. In his early youth he cultivated the friendship of Gaius Caesar, grandson of the deified Augustus, and was also rumoured to have sold sexual favours to the rich and profligate Apicius.* Subsequently, by various means, he cast such a spell on Tiberius, who was inscrutable in his dealings with others, that he made him feel relaxed and off his guard only with him. This was not the result of his cleverness—it was, after all, by such qualities that Sejanus was eventually undone—but of the anger of heaven towards the Roman state, for which Sejanus’ heyday and fall were equally disastrous.
He had a physique that could endure hard work, and an enterprising spirit. Secretive about himself, he slandered others; he was a blend of sycophancy and arrogance; on the surface there was calm reserve, inside lust for supreme power (in the pursuit of which there was occasionally lavish gift-giving and extravagant living, but more often hard work and vigilance—qualities just as deadly when developed for acquiring a kingdom).
2. To the prefecture, formerly of slight importance, he gave added power by concentrating in a single camp the cohorts dispersed throughout the city.* They would thus receive their orders at the same time, and from their numbers and strength, and from the very sight of each other, they would gain self-confidence, while fear would be inspired in everyone else. Sejanus’ claim was that soldiers become unruly when they are separated, that in the event of an emergency a united response was more effective, and that they would be more disciplined if their base were established far from the city’s attractions. When the camp was completed, Sejanus little by little wormed his way into the soldiers’ favour by fraternizing with them and addressing them by name, and at the same time he took personal charge of the selection of centurions and tribunes. He did not stop short of courting the Senate, either, furnishing his supporters with offices or provinces. Tiberius accepted this, and in fact was so compliant as to hail Sejanus as his ‘partner in toil’ (and not just in informal conversation, but in addressing the Senate and the people) and to permit honours paid to the man’s statues in the theatres* and forums, and in the legionary headquarters.*
3. The imperial house, however, was full of Caesars—a son who was a young man and grown-up grandchildren*—and that was arresting Sejanus’ ambitions; and since violently sweeping away so many at once would be unsafe, a canny approach called for intervals between the crimes. Sejanus, however, decided to take an even more stealthy approach and start with Drusus, against whom he was driven by a recent angry spat. Drusus had no time for his rival, and was prone to anger. A quarrel had chanced to arise, he had raised his hand to Sejanus and then struck* him in the face when he offered resistance.
Examining all aspects of the matter, Sejanus felt the most practicable course was to turn to Drusus’ wife, Livilla,* the sister of Germanicus, who, though plain-looking in her early years, had later developed into an outstanding beauty. With a pretence of passionate love for her, he tempted her into an adulterous relationship. Having succeeded with his first criminal step—and a woman, after losing her virtue, would be unlikely to refuse other inducements—he pushed her further, to hopes of marriage and to thoughts of sharing the realm and killing her husband. She also had Augustus as her great-uncle, Tiberius as her father-in-law, and children by Drusus; and she was now bringing shame upon herself, her ancestors, and descendants by taking a small-town* lover, sacrificing an honourable and stable situation for degrading and uncertain prospects. Eudemus, friend and doctor to Livilla, was taken into their confidence, his profession being a pretext for frequent clandestine meetings. To allay his mistress’s suspicions, Sejanus removed his wife Apicata, by whom he had had three children,* from his home. But the enormity of the crime occasioned fear, postponements, and, sometimes, opposing plans of action.
4. Meanwhile, at the start of the year, one of Germanicus’ children, Drusus, took up the toga virilis, and the honours that the Senate had decreed in the case of his brother Nero were repeated for him. The emperor also made a speech that was full of praise for his own son Drusus for showing a father’s benevolence towards his brother’s children. For, difficult though it is for power and concord to live under the same roof, Drusus was sympathetic* towards the boys, or at least not hostile to them.
Next an old plan was revived, one that Tiberius had often pretended to have had, namely visiting the provinces. The reason the emperor adduced was the large number of veterans being discharged and the need to fill vacancies in the armies with troop-levies.* There was a dearth of volunteers, he claimed, and even if they were available they lacked the usual courage and discipline because, generally, it was the indigent and homeless who took up military service by choice. He then cursorily enumerated the legions and the provinces they defended. I feel that I should do that, as well, giving an account of Rome’s strength in armed forces,* of its client kings and of the comparatively restricted scope of its empire.
5. Two fleets,* based at Misenum and Ravenna, stood guard over Italy on the two seas, and the adjacent Gallic coast had the protection of warships that Augustus had captured in the victory at Actium and dispatched with strong crews to Forum Julii. But our principal military strength lay on the Rhine, where there were eight legions serving as a defensive force against the Germans and Gauls alike. The Spanish provinces, only recently subdued, were garrisoned by three. King Juba* had been given Mauretania as a gift by the Roman people; the rest of Africa was garrisoned by two legions, and Egypt by the same number. After that the huge expanse of territory lying between the start of Syria and the River Euphrates was held by four, and on its borders the Iberian, Albanian, and other kings were protected against foreign domination by our great power.*Thrace was held by Rhoemetalces* and the sons of Cotys, and the Danube bank by two legions in Pannonia and two in Moesia, and the same number stationed in Dalmatia. The latter, because of the area’s geographical position, were to the rear of the others, and could be easily brought in from close at hand in the event of Italy calling for swift assistance (although the city had its own defensive force, three urban and nine praetorian cohorts, raised mostly in Etruria and Umbria or in old Latium* and the ancient Roman colonies). At appropriate points in the provinces there were also allied triremes, cavalry squadrons, and auxiliary cohorts, with a combined strength not much different from that of the legions. But a detailed account would be unreliable as they moved about in various directions according to the needs of the moment, their numbers swelling and, sometimes, diminishing.
6. I am inclined to think it would be appropriate to review other areas of government as well, and how they were administered to that date, since that was the year that initiated the change for the worse in Tiberius’ principate. At the start of his rule, public business—and the most important items of private business—was handled in the Senate,* with leading men given the opportunity for discussion, and the emperor himself arresting any lapses into sycophancy. Tiberius would also assign offices with an eye on noble ancestry, military distinction, and outstanding attainments on the domestic front, so that there was general agreement that there were no better candidates. Consuls and praetors enjoyed the prestige that was appropriate to them; the lesser magistrates also exercised their authority; and the laws—if exception be made for the treason trials—were properly enforced.
Administration of grain-dues, indirect taxes, and all other state revenues, however, was in the hands of companies* of Roman knights. His own affairs* Tiberius entrusted to men whose qualities he knew well, and to some strangers on the basis of their reputation. Once employed, they were retained indefinitely, a number growing old in the same functions.
The common people were hard pressed by a seriously difficult grain supply, but no blame attached to the emperor who, in fact, spared no expense or effort in battling the infertility of the soil and the rigours of the sea. He also ensured that there was no distress amongst the provincials* from new burdens and, by suppressing the rapacity and cruelty of officials, that they could tolerate the old ones—there were no physical beatings or confiscations of property. The emperor’s lands in Italy were sparse, his slaves few, and his household maintained by a handful of freedmen; and if ever he had differences with private citizens, they went to court in the Forum.
7. All of this Tiberius kept up, not with good grace, but in a severe and often frightening manner—but keep it up he did, until change came with Drusus’ death. As long as Drusus lived, the status quo obtained because Sejanus, his influence still in the early stages, wanted to gain a reputation for giving good advice. There was also his fear of an avenger in the form of a man who did not hide his hatred, but often complained that, although a son still lived, another was being styled ‘assistant to the empire’. And how short a time would it be, Drusus asked himself, before that man was called ‘colleague’? Imperial ambitions encounter difficulties at first, he reasoned, but take the first step and support and helpers are on hand! Why, a camp had already been built on the prefect’s suggestion, and soldiers had been put in his hands! His statue was to be seen amongst the monuments of Gnaeus Pompey! The man would share grandsons* with the family of the Drusi! After this one simply had to pray for self-control on the man’s part so that he could rest content!
And it was not just on rare occasions and before a few people that Drusus would throw out such reflections, either; and his secrets were also being passed on, as a result of his wife’s seduction.
8. Sejanus therefore felt he should speed matters up, and he chose a poison whose gradual working would resemble some ordinary sickness. This was given to Drusus by the eunuch Lygdus (as was discovered eight years after the event). Throughout the days of Drusus’ illness, Tiberius still went into the Curia, either free from apprehension or else wishing to show strength of character, and he did so even after Drusus died but was not yet buried. The consuls, as a mark of their mourning, took ordinary seats,* but Tiberius reminded them that their seating was a sign of their office; and when the senators burst into tears he suppressed his own sobbing and at the same time raised their spirits with a smoothly flowing oration. He was not unaware that he could be criticized for subjecting himself to the eyes of the Senate when his grief was still so fresh, he said—most people in mourning can barely tolerate words of support from their own relatives, can barely stand the light of day. Nor were these individuals to be criticized for weakness, he continued—but in his case he had sought stronger consolation in the arms of the state. After an expression of lamentation for Augusta’s extreme old age, his grandsons’ immaturity, and his own declining years,* he requested that the children of Germanicus—his one solace in his current misfortune, he said—be ushered in.
The consuls left and, after reassuring the boys, brought them in and had them stand before the emperor. Tiberius took them by the hand, and said:
‘Senators: when these children lost their father, I put them in their uncle’s care. I begged him to look after them, although he had children of his own, to cherish them as though they were his own blood, to set them on their feet, and to mould their character in his own and posterity’s interests. Now that Drusus is taken, I redirect my entreaties to you, and appeal to you before the gods and our fatherland. Adopt and guide these great-grandchildren of Augustus, product of the most distinguished forefathers, and thus discharge your duty and mine together. Nero and Drusus, these men will serve as your parents. Such is your birth that any good or evil in your character must affect the state.’
9. This was received with floods of tears, and then prayers for a propitious outcome; and had Tiberius but curtailed his speech, he would certainly have left his audience full of pity for him and full of pride. Instead, he lapsed back into the fatuous topics so often ridiculed—restoring the republic, and the duty of the consuls or someone else to take over the administration—and in doing so deprived even a sincere and noble sentiment of credibility.
Drusus’ memory was honoured with the same decrees as had been passed for Germanicus, with a number of additions (as is usual with flattery repeated at a later date). The funeral was particularly remarkable for its parade of images. On view, in a long line, were Aeneas,* initiator of the Julian family, all the Alban kings, and Romulus, founder of the city of Rome; and after these came the Sabine nobles, Attus Clausus, and the rest of the effigies of the Claudii.
10. In my account of Drusus’ death I have recorded what is given by most sources, and by the most reliable ones, but I should not omit a rumour in circulation at the time, one so prevalent that it is still not fading away. After seducing Livilla into crime, Sejanus, it is alleged, also secured the eunuch Lygdus’ allegiance by means of a sexual liaison, Lygdus being dear to his master, because of his age and good looks, and one of his foremost servants. Then, when the place and time for the poisoning had been agreed upon by the conspirators, Sejanus became so bold that he altered the scenario. He secretly warned Tiberius that Drusus intended to poison his father, and advised him to avoid the first drink he would be offered when dining at his son’s house. The old man fell for this trick and, after arriving at the banquet, passed on to Drusus the cup he had been given. Drusus, in his ignorance, drained it with a young man’s gusto, thereby increasing the suspicion that, from fear and shame, he was actually inflicting on himself the death he had planned for his father.
11. This rumour gained wide circulation but, even overlooking the lack of support in any reliable source, one may reject it out of hand. For what moderately intelligent man (much less Tiberius, with his expertise in such important matters) would inflict death on his son without hearing him out, and do so with his own hand at that, leaving no possibility of a change of heart? Would he not, rather, torture the man who served the poison, and seek out the plot’s instigator? In short, in the case of his only son, till then found guilty of no wrongdoing, would he not demonstrate that characteristic hesitation and wariness that he even employed towards outsiders? But Sejanus was held to be the author of all manner of wickedness and, since Tiberius felt inordinate affection for him, while everybody else hated both men, the most implausible and monstrous stories were actually believed (and rumour is always more outrageous where the deaths of rulers are concerned).
In any case, the way the crime really progressed* was divulged by Sejanus’ wife, Apicata, and then brought out into the open by the torture of Eudemus and Lygdus. And there has appeared no writer so hostile to Tiberius as to impute the act to him, despite their penchant for raking up and throwing all other charges at him. I had my own motive for recording and criticizing the rumour. With this glaring example I wanted to dispel the fictions of hearsay, and to ask people into whose hands my book may come not to prefer widely circulated and eagerly accepted fantasies over truth uncorrupted by sensationalism.
12. When Tiberius delivered his son’s eulogy from the Rostra, the Senate and people assumed the demeanour and tones of mourning, but out of pretence rather than inclination; secretly, they were pleased at the revival of the house of Germanicus. This incipient popularity, however, and Agrippina’s failure to conceal her ambition,* only accelerated the family’s destruction.* When Sejanus saw that Drusus’ death brought no punishment to his killers, and no grief to the public, he became brazen in his criminal designs, and his early success led him to ponder ways of destroying Germanicus’ children, whose succession was now assured. Poison could not be dispensed to all three: the loyalty of their bodyguards was exceptional, and Agrippina’s virtue* unassailable. He therefore proceeded to target the woman’s wilfulness, and to work on Augusta’s long-entrenched hatred* of her, and on Livilla’s recent complicity. He prompted the two of them to criticize Agrippina in Tiberius’ presence; her pride in her fertility and her support amongst the people were giving her imperial ambitions, they were to say. And he relied on cunning informers to further his plans. These included Julius Postumus* who, because of an adulterous relationship with Mutilia Prisca,* was among the close confidants of the grandmother—Prisca had a great influence on Augusta—and so very suitable for Sejanus’ designs. Prisca kept trying to forge a rift between the old woman (who was by her very nature anxious about her own influence) and her granddaughter-in-law. Agrippina’s closest friends were also inveigled into constantly provoking her proud spirit with mischievous remarks.
13. Tiberius allowed no interruption of his official business. He took solace from his work, handling judicial cases of citizens and appeals from the provincials. Senatorial decrees were also passed on his initiative granting aid, in the form of a three-year remission of tribute, to the city-states of Cibyra in Asia, and Aegium in Achaea, both of which had suffered earthquakes. In addition, Vibius Serenus,* proconsul of Further Spain, was found guilty of public violence,* and was deported to the island of Amorgos for his barbarous conduct. Carsidius Sacerdos* was accused of aiding an enemy of the state, Tacfarinas, with grain supplies, but was acquitted, as was Gaius Gracchus* on the same charge. Gracchus’ father Sempronius had taken him, when he was a very young child, to share his banishment on the island of Cercina. There he grew up amongst exiles who had no culture, and subsequently supported himself by trafficking in cheap wares in Africa and Sicily; but he still did not avoid the pitfalls of a great background. In fact, had it not been for Aelius Lamia* and Lucius Apronius, both of whom became governors of Africa, and gave the innocent man their protection, he would have been swept to destruction by the distinction of his ill-starred family* and his father’s misfortune.
14. That year also saw embassies arrive from two Greek city-states: the people of Samos were seeking confirmation of the ancient right of asylum for their shrine of Juno, and those of Cos for their shrine of Aesculapius. The Samians based their claim on a decree of the Amphictyonies, whose judgement in all such matters was supreme in the epoch when the Greeks, who had established cities throughout Asia, controlled the sea-coast. The Coans had as much antiquity on their side, and they also had a good deed connected with the place as a further claim. For they had taken Roman citizens into the temple of Aesculapius when these were being butchered on King Mithridates’ orders throughout the islands and cities of Asia.*
Next, after various, and more often than not futile, complaints from the praetors, Tiberius finally raised the matter of the disreputable behaviour of actors;* they were, he claimed, responsible for much public disorder and their behaviour in private homes was disgraceful. The old Oscan show,* the lightest form of mass entertainment, had become so shocking, and had taken such a hold, that it had to be checked by the authority of the Senate, he said. The actors were then expelled from Italy.
15. The same year also brought fresh grief to the emperor: it took the life of one of Drusus’ twins, and—just as painful—brought the death of a friend. This was Lucilius Longus,* Tiberius’ constant companion in sadness and joy, and the only senator to have accompanied him during his retreat on Rhodes. Thus, ‘new man’ though he was, the Senate voted Longus a state funeral* and a statue in the Forum of Augustus,* at public expense. At that time all business was still handled in the Senate, so much so that Lucilius Capito,* the procurator of Asia, had to plead his case before the body when the province arraigned him. The emperor insisted that the jurisdiction he had granted Capito was limited to the imperial slaves and finances. If the man had encroached on the praetor’s authority and used military force, he said, he had in doing so disregarded his orders—and the senators should heed the provincials. The matter was accordingly investigated, and the accused found guilty. In thanks for this redress, and also because of the punishment of Gaius Silanus the previous year, the cities of Asia decreed a temple in honour of Tiberius, his mother and the Senate. Permission was granted for the building, and Nero* gave the requisite vote of thanks to the Senate and his grandfather. This aroused feelings of delight in his audience, for, with the memory of Germanicus still fresh, people felt that he was the man they were looking at, he the man they were hearing. In addition, the youth had the modesty and good looks appropriate to an emperor, and since Sejanus’ hatred of him was common knowledge, his jeopardy made these features all the more attractive.
16. At about this same time, Tiberius discussed the choice of a flamen of Jupiter to replace the late Servius Maluginensis, and about passing new legislation relating to it. The ancient custom, he explained, required the simultaneous nomination of three patricians born of parents who had been married by confarreatio,* with one of the candidates to be elected. Now, however, there was not the quantity of candidates that existed earlier, because the practice of confarreatio marriage had been discontinued, or was retained only by a few. (Tiberius put forward a number of explanations for this, the main one being lack of interest on the part of men and women alike, though another factor was the difficulties inherent in the ceremony, which led to deliberate avoidance of it. Furthermore, the man who obtained the office of flamen, and the woman who married him, left parental* jurisdiction.) This, then, should be remedied through a senatorial decree or a law,* Tiberius concluded, just as Augustus had modified certain severe elements of ancient morality to suit contemporary practice.
After a discussion of the religious implications, it was decided that the structure of the office of flamen should remain unchanged, but a law was passed by which the wife of the flamen of Jupiter would remain under her husband’s authority for religious purposes, but in all else have the same rights as other women.
Maluginensis’ son was then appointed as his father’s replacement. Further, to increase the prestige of religious officers and make them readier to perform their rites, it was decided that a grant of two million sesterces be made to the Vestal Virgin Cornelia, who was then being appointed as Scantia’s successor, and that Augusta should take her seat amongst the Vestals* whenever she entered the theatre.
17. In the consulship of Cornelius Cethegus and Visellius Varro, the pontiffs and (following their example) the other priests offered prayers* for the well-being of the emperor, but they also commended Nero and Drusus to the same gods as him. They did so, not out of affection for the young men, but from sycophancy which, in a corrupt society, is as dangerous when taken to extremes as when it is absent. For Tiberius, never well disposed towards Germanicus’ family, could not bear the boys receiving as much honour as he did in his advancing years. He summoned the pontiffs and asked them if they had done this as a concession to Agrippina’s pleas, or her threats. Despite the pontiffs’ denials, they received a reprimand, though it was mild (most were relatives of his, or leading men of the community). In the Senate, however, Tiberius made a speech with a warning for the future—no one was to encourage arrogance in the boys’ capricious spirits with premature honours. In fact, there was pressure coming from Sejanus, who was warning him that the state was divided, virtually by civil war. There were men styling themselves ‘members of Agrippina’s party’,* he said, and left unopposed their numbers would grow. And the only remedy for the growing discord, he added, was for one or two of the ringleaders to be brought down.
18. For this reason Sejanus launched an attack on Gaius Silius and Titius Sabinus. Friendship with Germanicus proved deadly to both, but in Silius’ case there was also the fact that, his fall being greater, fear would be more widely spread amongst others (for he had been the leader of a huge army for seven years, had won triumphal insignia in Germany, and had emerged victor in the war with Sacrovir). Many believed that Silius’ offence had been compounded by his own lack of judgement in making extravagant boasts about his own men remaining steadfastly loyal* while others were slipping into mutiny. Tiberius would not have remained in power, he said, if those legions had also felt the urge to revolt. Tiberius thought that his own position was being undermined by such comments, and that he was incapable of repaying a service of such magnitude. For favours are welcome only to the point where reciprocity seems possible. When they go far beyond that, hatred replaces gratitude.
19. Silius’ wife* was Sosia Galla, detested by the emperor for her affection for Agrippina. This couple, it was decided, would be the victims—Sabinus would be left aside for the moment—and the consul Varro was set upon them. Varro, with the excuse of following up his father’s quarrels,* indulged Sejanus’ hatred, to his own shame. The defendant, Silius, requested a brief moratorium until his prosecutor should leave the consulship, but Tiberius demurred. It was normal for magistrates to arraign private citizens in court, he said, and one should not infringe the rights of a consul, for it was on this officer’s vigilance that he relied to see that ‘the state suffered no harm’.* (It was Tiberius’ way to cloak recently invented crimes in old-fashioned terminology.)
It was therefore with great earnestness that the senators were convened—as though the case of Silius were based on law, and as if Varro were really a consul and this were the republic! The defendant remained silent or, if he started to defend himself, made no secret of whose resentment he was the victim. The charges presented were: Sacrovir’s guilt long concealed because of Silius’ complicity in his rebellion; Silius’ victory sullied by rapacity; and his wife being his accomplice. There was no doubt that they were caught on the extortion charges, but everything was conducted as a treason trial, and Silius pre-empted his looming conviction by suicide.
20. Nevertheless, the attack on Silius’ estate* was savage, and not in order to provide refunds for the provincial taxpayers, none of whom sought them. Gifts from Augustus were ripped out of it, and sums sought for the imperial exchequer were itemized individually. That was the first time that Tiberius paid attention to another’s finances.
Sosia was driven into exile on a motion from Asinius Gallus, who had proposed the confiscation of half of her estate, with the rest being left to her children.* A counter-proposal from Marcus Lepidus, however, saw a quarter go to the accusers, as the law required, and the rest to the children.
I am beginning to see that this Lepidus was a wise and perspicacious man in his day; for he assured a better result for many issues by steering them away from the brutal sycophancy of others. But he was not without a sense of proportion, either, since he was consistently influential with Tiberius and favoured by him. This makes me wonder whether it is, as in other matters, through fate and one’s lot at birth that emperors incline towards some people, and resent others. Or can it rather be that there is something in our own plans enabling us to trim a path between downright obstinacy and degrading sycophancy, a path free from favour-seeking and danger alike? Whatever the case, Messalinus Cotta,* whose ancestors were just as distinguished as Lepidus’, was a very different character. He proposed ensuring by senatorial decree* that magistrates, no matter how innocent and unaware of another’s wrongdoing they be, should be punished for crimes committed in the provinces by their wives just as if the crimes were their own.
21. There followed the case of Calpurnius Piso,* a nobleman and a fractious character. It was Piso who had, as I noted earlier, cried out in the Senate that he would leave the city because of the intrigues of informers, and who, in defiance of Augusta’s power, had dared to bring Urgulania to trial, summoning her from the imperial home. Tiberius treated this with an ordinary citizen’s patience for a while; but even if an offence had lost its initial impetus, in a mind that would brood on angry thoughts the memory remained strong. Piso’s accuser was Quintus Veranius, who charged him with holding a private conversation of a treasonable nature, and added that he kept poison at home and would enter the Curia wearing a sword.* The last charge was dropped as being too appalling to be true; the others were mounting in number, however, and he was listed for trial but, through a timely death, not prosecuted.
There was also discussion of the exiled Cassius Severus. He was of low birth, and led the life of a reprobate, but he was a powerful orator who, through the severe vendettas he had fomented, succeeded in having himself banished to Crete by a judgement of the Senate that was taken under oath. There, by continuing with the same activities, he brought on himself fresh antagonisms in addition to the old. He then lived to old age on the rock of Seriphos, deprived of his property and forbidden fire and water.
22. At about this same time, for reasons unknown, Plautius Silvanus,* a praetor, hurled his wife Apronia down from the upper part of his house. Haled before Tiberius by his father-in-law Lucius Apronius, Silvanus responded, with a confused air, that he had been in a deep sleep, and thus oblivious to everything. His wife’s death had been self-inflicted, he claimed. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tiberius proceeded to the house and went to see the bedroom, in which there were evident indications that the woman had resisted and been pushed. He referred the case to the Senate and, when a jury had been formed, Urgulania, Silvanus’ grandmother, sent her grandson a dagger. Because of Augusta’s friendship with Urgulania, it was believed that this was done on the emperor’s advice. The accused man failed in his attempt with the weapon, and had his veins opened. Subsequently, an earlier wife of Silvanus, Numantina, was accused of having induced insanity in her former husband by spells and sorcery, but was found not guilty.
23. That year finally released the Roman people from the long-drawn- out war against the Numidian Tacfarinas. As soon as they believed their records qualified them for triumphal honours, earlier commanders* had been leaving the enemy in peace, and by now there were three statues adorned with laurel in the city, and Tacfarinas was still pillaging Africa. He had support from Moorish auxiliaries who, finding that Juba’s son, Ptolemy, ruled with a young man’s negligence, had chosen to fight rather than accept the rule of freedmen and the orders of slaves. Serving as the receiver of Tacfarinas’ plunder, and an associate in his raids, was the king of the Garamantes. He, however, did not advance to Tacfarinas at the head of an army, but sent out light-armed units, whose numbers were exaggerated in hearsay by the distance involved. From the province itself, too, all the indigent and disorderly elements rushed to join the rebel, and the more keenly because, following Blaesus’ success, the emperor had ordered that the Ninth Legion* be brought home, as if there were no longer enemies left in Africa. Nor had the proconsul for that year, Publius Dolabella,* dared keep the legion in place, since he was more fearful of the emperor’s orders than he was of the vicissitudes of war.
24. Tacfarinas therefore spread the word that the power of Rome was being torn to shreds by other tribes as well, and that it was, for that reason, gradually withdrawing from Africa. The Romans remaining behind could be cut off, he said, if all who preferred liberty to slavery simply applied themselves to the task. In this way Tacfarinas increased his forces, and, encamping at the town of Thubursicum, he proceeded to lay siege to it. Dolabella, however, brought together all the troops under his command and, through the terror inspired by the Roman name (and also because Numidians are incapable of facing infantry in battle), he raised the siege with his first attack and fortified a number of strategic points. At the same time he beheaded some chiefs of the Musulamians* who were in the initial stages of rebellion. It was now understood, after numerous campaigns against Tacfarinas, that a roving enemy was not to be hunted down with a heavily armed force in a single assault. Dolabella accordingly called on the help of King Ptolemy and his people, and put together four columns, giving command of them to legates or tribunes. There were also raiding parties under hand-picked Moors. Dolabella himself was on hand as overall adviser.
25. Not much later, news arrived that the Numidians had pitched their huts close to a half-destroyed stronghold called Auzea, which had earlier been put to the torch by the Numidians themselves; they had confidence in the position because it was surrounded by deep forests. Then some light-armed cohorts and cavalry squadrons were hurried along by forced marches, and were kept ignorant of their destination. At daybreak, with a blast of trumpets and a fierce shout, they fell upon the barbarians, who were half-asleep, with their horses still tethered or roaming through distant pastureland. On the Roman side the infantry were in close formation and the cavalry squadrons deployed—preparations for battle were complete. The enemy, by contrast, unaware of anything, had no weapons, no order, no plan; like sheep, they were dragged off, butchered, or captured. The Roman soldiers were furious when they remembered their hardships and their frequent wish to engage an elusive enemy, and they all took their fill of bloody revenge. The word was spread amongst the companies that it was on Tacfarinas, familiar to them from their many battles, that they should concentrate their efforts—there would be no respite from war unless the leader were killed. Tacfarinas’ bodyguard was cut down around him, his son was put in irons, and Romans were pouring in from every side. Tacfarinas rushed into their weapons and escaped capture by death, which did not come without a price for the Romans. That spelled the end of the conflict.
26. Dolabella applied for triumphal honours, but Tiberius refused, out of regard for Sejanus (he did not want to see the reputation of Sejanus’ uncle Blaesus* eclipsed). However, Blaesus did not gain kudos from this, while the refusal of the honour brought renown to Dolabella who, with a smaller army, had brought home famous prisoners, the distinction of killing the leader, and the glory of terminating the war. He was also attended by ambassadors of the Garamantes, a rare sight in the city. This tribe had been shaken by the death of Tacfarinas and, aware of its own guilt, had sent the ambassadors to make amends to the Roman people. Then, when Ptolemy’s support throughout this war was recognized, an honour of some antiquity was revived for him. One of the senators was sent off to make him an award of an ivory sceptre and an embroidered toga*— gifts conferred by the Senate in days of old—and to address him with the titles king, ally, and friend.
27. That same summer the seeds of a slave war that had begun to stir in Italy were crushed by pure chance. The prime mover of the disorder was Titus Curtisius, formerly a soldier in a praetorian cohort. Starting with secret meetings in Brundisium and the neighbouring towns, and then openly posting pamphlets, Curtisius called on the fierce agricultural slaves* living in the remote countryside to strike a blow for their freedom. Then, like a gift from heaven, three biremes put in there, their commission being to serve commercial vessels in those waters. Also in that same region was Curtius Lupus, a quaestor who had been allotted the ancient post of supervisor of the pasturelands* as his sphere of responsibility. Lupus deployed a force of marines and quashed the conspiracy just as it was starting. Furthermore, Staius, a tribune, was swiftly dispatched there by Tiberius at the head of a strong detachment, and he dragged back to Rome the ringleader himself and the boldest of his partisans. The city was already in a state of alarm over its large numbers of household slaves, which were growing at an enormous rate, while the freeborn population was diminishing every day.
28. The same consulship witnessed a terrible example of suffering and cruelty. A father and son (both named Vibius Serenus*) were ushered into the Senate, the father as defendant, the son as prosecutor. The father had been dragged back from exile and, in a filthy and squalid condition, and now in irons, too, he stood facing his son’s formal charges. The young man cut a very elegant figure and had an air of enthusiasm as he gave an account, acting as informer and witness together, of a plot mounted against the emperor, and of men sent to Gaul* to foment war. He added that an ex-praetor, Caecilius Cornutus, had provided the finance. Sick with worry, and also because a prosecution was seen as tantamount to a death penalty, Cornutus accelerated his own end. The defendant, by contrast, not at all daunted, turned to his son and shook his chains. He called out to the gods of vengeance and prayed that they return him to exile to live far from behaviour like this, and that punishment eventually catch up with his son. He repeatedly declared that Cornutus was innocent, that he had panicked before a false accusation. This would be easy to understand if other names were produced, he said—for he had certainly not considered assassinating the emperor and starting a revolution with only one accomplice!
29. The accuser then put forward the names of Gnaeus Lentulus and Seius Tubero.* This caused Tiberius great embarrassment* since the men being charged with inciting an enemy uprising and fomenting revolution were leaders of the community and close friends of his. In addition, Lentulus was very old, and Tubero physically infirm. In fact, however, the two were immediately excused from appearing. In the case of Serenus the father, his slaves* were interrogated, and the interrogation went against the prosecutor. The man was now crazed with guilt, and also terrified by the rumours passing amongst the people, who were threatening him with imprisonment and the rock,* or the punishments reserved for parricides,* and so he left the city. He was brought back from Ravenna and forced to continue with the indictment, since Tiberius made no secret of his inveterate hatred for Serenus the exile. For, after the condemnation of Libo, Serenus had sent a letter of reproach to the emperor, saying that his efforts alone had been left unrewarded,* and he had added some remarks too forward to be safely confided to ears that were proud and easily offended. Tiberius brought these matters up eight years after the event, adding various complaints for the intervening period, even though torture had yielded negative results because of the slaves’ tenacity.
30. The opinions then expressed favoured Serenus being given the traditional punishment* but, in order to soften public antipathy, Tiberius used his veto. When Gallus Asinius proposed imprisonment on Gyarus or Donusa, he rejected this as well, replying that both islands were short of water, and that a man granted his life should also be provided with the necessities of life. Serenus was therefore taken back to Amorgos. Because Cornutus had died by his own hand, there was also discussion of quashing rewards for accusers if anyone prosecuted for treason committed suicide before the conclusion of the case. The voting was going in support of this view, but Tiberius protested, quite forcefully and with uncharacteristic openness, in favour of the informers. The laws would be rendered ineffectual, he said, and the state set on a precipitous course—better to destroy legislation than remove its guardians! So it was that the informers, a class of men devised for the destruction of society, and never sufficiently checked even by legal penalties, were now being given the inducement of rewards.
31. This unremitting train of depressing events saw one slightly pleasurable interval. Gaius Cominius, a Roman knight, had been found guilty of writing poetry that was insulting to the emperor, and in response to the pleas of his brother, who was a senator, Tiberius spared him. It was therefore found all the more surprising that someone who knew the better course of action, and the reputation that attended clemency, should prefer the harsher course. This failing of his was not due to stupidity; and it is not difficult to see when the pleasure with which the actions of emperors are praised is genuine and when it is insincere. In fact, Tiberius himself usually had an unnatural air, his words virtually struggling to get out, but whenever he was coming to someone’s aid his speech was freer and more articulate.
But then there was Publius Suillius,* a former quaestor of Germanicus, who was facing banishment from Italy after being convicted of accepting bribes in a court case. Tiberius expressed the opinion that the man should be removed to an island, and did so with such passion that he swore on oath that it was in the interests of the state. This was poorly viewed at the time, but it presently redounded to Tiberius’ credit after Suillius’ return. The following generation saw him as a very powerful and venal man who long used his friendship with the emperor Claudius for selfish, and never honourable, ends. The same penalty was fixed for the senator Catus Firmius* for having trumped up charges of treason against his sister. It was Catus, as I have noted, who had lured Libo into a trap, and then brought about his destruction by informing on him. Tiberius remembered the service and interceded to spare him exile, but adduced other factors for doing so. He did not object to Catus’ expulsion from the Senate.
32. I am well aware that many of the things that I have recounted, and will recount, may seem trivial and too unimportant for the historical record; but nobody should compare my Annals with the writings of those who have composed early histories of the Roman people. They, with freedom to digress, would recount the history of mighty wars, the storming of cities, or the defeat and capture of kings; and if ever they turned to internal affairs, it would be to the quarrels of consuls with the tribunes, the agricultural and grain legislation, and the struggles of the plebs and aristocracy. My area of work is restricted and without glory: peace unbroken or only weakly challenged, grim episodes in the city, and an emperor with no interest in extending the empire. Even so, it may not be without profit to examine these incidents, which initially seem trivial, but by which important events are often set in motion.
33. All nations and cities are governed by the people, by the aristocracy, or by monarchs. (A political system that is a selected blend of these is easier for one to praise than it is for it to evolve, or if it does evolve it is perforce short-lived.) Formerly, the plebs were strong or else the senators were dominant. Then one needed to have a knowledge of the nature of the proletariat and how it could be kept under control, and, in the other case, those thoroughly conversant with the temper of the Senate and the aristocrats were thought to possess political sense and wisdom. Circumstances have now changed, and the safety of the state depends entirely upon one man exercising power. Thus it will prove edifying for these apparent trivialities to be gathered together and recorded, because few have the foresight to distinguish the decent from the dishonourable, or the useful from the harmful—most people learn from the experiences of others. However, useful though such information will be, it has little entertainment value. For the topography of peoples, fluctuating battles, the famous deaths of leaders—these are what hold and refresh the minds of readers. In my case, I am presenting a series of cruel orders, endless accusations, faithless friendships, and calamities befalling innocent people, with the causes of their ruin being always the same—for I am faced with a tedious abundance of recurrent material. There is the further consideration that those who censure the authors of old are few, and nobody cares whether one accords more fulsome praise to the Carthaginian* or the Roman army. But many who suffered punishment or disgrace under Tiberius have descendants still alive; and even in cases where the families themselves have died out, one will still find those who, because of the similarity of their behaviour, believe that, when others’ misdeeds are recounted, it is they who are being pilloried. Even glory and virtue excite hostility by seemingly indicting the opposite qualities with too close a contrast. But I return to my subject.
34. In the consulship of Cornelius Cossus and Asinius Agrippa, Cremutius Cordus* was arraigned on a new charge, then heard of for the first time: publishing a history in which he praised Marcus Brutus and referred to Gaius Cassius as ‘the last of the Romans’. His accusers were Satrius Secundus and Pinarius Natta, both clients of Sejanus. This fact spelled doom for the defendant, as did the severe frown with which Tiberius heard his defence. Cremutius, who was resolved upon leaving this life, began to speak in this manner:
‘Senators: it is my words that are being put on trial—so innocent are my actions! But even these words do not apply to the emperor or the emperor’s mother, with whom the treason law* is concerned. It is said that I praised Brutus and Cassius,* whose history many have written, and of whom none has spoken unfavourably. Titus Livius,* who enjoys an outstanding reputation for his style and reliability, gave such high praise to Gnaeus Pompey that Augustus called him ‘the Pompeian’, and that had no effect on their friendship. Scipio,* Afranius,* this very Cassius and this Brutus of whom we speak he never called ‘bandits’ and ‘parricides’, terms applied to them now, and he frequently referred to them as ‘distinguished men’. The writings of Asinius Pollio* pass on to us a highly favourable account of those same men, and Messalla Corvinus* praised Cassius as his ‘commander’. And both authors kept on living lives of wealth and honour. How did Caesar, when he was dictator, respond to the book of Marcus Cicero-* in which he praised Cato to the skies? He wrote a speech refuting him, as though he were answering a case in court.
‘Antonius’ letters and Brutus’ speeches contain material insulting to Augustus, which, though untrue, is very caustic, and the poems of Bibaculus* and Catullus,* still read today, are full of abuse of the Caesars. The deified Julius and the deified Augustus themselves put up with this, and left the authors alone. Whether that was from self-restraint or wisdom on their part I should find it difficult to say. What is ignored just fades away; resentment looks like acknowledgement of the truth.
35. ‘I make no mention of the Greeks, amongst whom licence, not just freedom of expression, went unpunished; or if anyone did seek redress, he took revenge for words with words.
‘But an area that was particularly open, and free from criticism, was speaking of those whom death had removed from hatred or favour. For by telling of Cassius and Brutus under arms, and occupying the fields of Philippi, I am not inflaming the people to civil war with public speeches, am I? They were taken from us seventy years ago.* They are recognized today in their statues,* which even their conqueror did not banish, and do they not likewise also keep their memory alive, in part, in the historians? Posterity grants everybody the glory he is due. And if condemnation faces me, there will be no shortage of people to remember not just Brutus and Cassius, but me as well.’
Cremutius then left the Senate and ended his life by starvation. The senators voted that his books should be burned by the aediles, but they survived,* being hidden and then republished. This makes one all the more inclined to laugh at the stupidity of those who believe that the memories of succeeding generations can be stifled by power in the present day. Quite the reverse is true. The authority wielded by talent that is punished continues to grow, and foreign kings, or those employing the same sort of brutality, have succeeded only in bringing shame on themselves and glory on their victims.
36. That year saw a series of arraignments so constant that when Drusus,* as prefect of the city, ascended the tribunal during the days of the Latin Festival in order to take the auspices, Calpurnius Salvianus accosted him with a denunciation of Sextus Marius.* This drew a public rebuke from Tiberius and brought about Salvianus’ exile.
The people of Cyzicus* were officially impeached for neglecting the worship of the deified Augustus, and they were also charged with violence against Roman citizens. And so they lost the independence they had earned in the war with Mithridates, when they endured a siege and drove off the king, a feat due as much to their own determination as to military assistance from Lucullus. However, Fonteius Capito,* a former proconsular governor of Asia, was acquitted when it became clear that the charges brought against him were trumped up by Vibius Serenus. Even so, the affair did not damage Serenus, whom the hatred of the people served to protect. Readiness to strike made an informer almost inviolate; it was the insignificant nonentities who were punished.
37. About this same time Further Spain sent a delegation to the Senate requesting permission to follow the example of Asia and build a shrine to Tiberius and his mother. Tiberius was generally firm in refusing honours, and now felt a reply was needed for those whose rumour-mongering was accusing him with a tendency to vanity. And so, on this occasion, he proceeded with a speech along these lines:
‘I know, senators, that many have regretted a lack of consistency on my part in not denying a similar request made recently by the communities of Asia. Accordingly, I shall lay before you my defence of my earlier silence and, at the same time, the procedure I have decided to follow in future. The deified Augustus had not forbidden the establishment at Pergamum* of a temple to himself and to the city of Rome, and I regard all his actions and utterances as law. I followed that precedent, which had his approval, and did so all the more readily because in this case veneration of the Senate was actually being combined with a personal cult of myself. But while a single acceptance may be forgivable, to be worshipped throughout the provinces with a statue, like the gods, would be pretentious and arrogant; and the honour paid to Augustus will fade if it is cheapened by such indiscriminate flattery.
38. ‘I am mortal, senators, my functions are those of humans and I am satisfied if I have the highest position amongst them. I call on you to witness that, and I want posterity to remember it. The latter will show enough, and more than enough, respect to my memory if they believe me worthy of my ancestors, judicious in my stewardship of your interests, steadfast in the face of danger, and not afraid of giving offence for the good of the state. These thoughts of me in your minds will serve as my temples; these will be my finest, my enduring statues. For if posterity’s judgement turns to hatred, those made of stone are disregarded like sepulchres. So I make a prayer to the provincials and Roman citizens, and to the gods themselves. I pray that the gods grant me, till my life’s end, an easy mind that knows human and divine law, and that provincials and citizens will, when I leave this world, have only praise and happy memories of my actions and my name.’
And after this, even in his private conversations, Tiberius continued to reject such worship of his person. Some saw this as modesty, many as a lack of self-confidence, and a number of people as a sign of a degenerate spirit. The best of men, they said, had the highest aspirations. This was why amongst the Greeks Hercules and Liber, and amongst us Quirinus, had been added to the list of the gods. Augustus had done better in that he entertained hopes of immortality. Emperors immediately had everything they wanted but one thing, they said, and that had to be worked for incessantly—a happy memory of themselves amongst posterity. Despising fame meant despising virtues.
39. Now, too much good fortune had made Sejanus incautious, and he was also spurred on by a woman’s passion, for Livilla was demanding the marriage she had been promised. He therefore composed a petition to the emperor (it was at that time the custom to address him by letter even if he was present in Rome). The purport of the letter was as follows. Thanks to the kindness of Tiberius’ father Augustus, and subsequently to the many marks of Tiberius’ esteem, Sejanus had become accustomed to bringing his hopes and prayers to the ears of the emperors as readily as to the gods. He had never asked for glittering honours—he preferred vigilance and labour for the emperor’s security, like a regular soldier. He had, nevertheless, gained what was the finest thing of all, being deemed worthy of a family connection with the emperor. This was what had started him hoping, he continued, and he had also heard that Augustus, in betrothing his daughter, had given some consideration even to Roman knights.* Accordingly, if a husband was being sought for Livilla, he asked that Tiberius keep in mind his friend, whose only gain from the relationship would be the glory of it. He was not trying to slough off the duties assigned to him; he thought it enough that the family be strengthened against the unjustified resentment of Agrippina—and this for the children’s sake. For him, living out his life under such an emperor would be more than enough!
40. Tiberius’ response was to praise Sejanus’ loyalty, cursorily run through his own kindnesses to him, and ask for time to consider the question objectively. He added that other mortals’ plans depended on self-interest, but emperors were in a different position, having to direct their most important business with an eye on public opinion. Thus, he continued, he was not resorting to that response which was ready at hand, namely that Livilla could decide for herself whether she should remarry after Drusus, or carry on in the same household, and that she had a mother and grandmother to give her closer counsel. He would be more straightforward than that. First, there was the matter of Agrippina’s hostility, which would burst into much fiercer flames should Livilla’s marriage tear the house of the Caesars into two factions. Even as it was, there were outbreaks of rivalry between the women, and his grandsons were being torn apart by the conflict. What if the strife were intensified by such a match?
‘For’, he went on, ‘you are wrong, Sejanus, if you think you are going to remain at your present rank, and that Livilla, formerly married to Gaius Caesar and then Drusus, will be content to grow old with a Roman knight. Granted that I myself should allow it, do you think men who have seen her brother, her father, and our ancestors in the top positions of power are going to accept it? Yes, you want to remain within your present station. But those magistrates and dignitaries who burst in on your privacy against your will and consult you on every matter—these are spreading the word, and not discreetly, that it is quite some time since you rose above the ceiling of the equestrian rank and that you have gone far beyond my father’s friends.* And, through jealousy of you, they also criticize me.
‘Now, you say that Augustus considered giving his daughter to a Roman knight. He was distracted by many cares and foresaw the enormous advancement given to whomsoever he raised above other men by such a match. Surprising then that he mentioned Gaius Proculeius* in his conversations and certain others who were leading remarkably tranquil lives and were not involved in the affairs of state! But if we are concerned by Augustus’ hesitation, how much more important is the fact that he actually betrothed her to Marcus Agrippa,* and then to me?
‘In view of our friendship I have not concealed these reflections from you; but I shall not oppose your plans or Livilla’s. I shall for the moment refrain from mentioning what I have been mulling over in my mind, the new ties by which I intend to strengthen our relationship. This only will I state openly: there is nothing, however exalted, that your virtues and loyalty to me do not deserve, and when the moment is granted me* I shall not remain silent on that score, either in the Senate or in a public meeting.’
41. Sejanus was no longer concerned about the marriage; his dread was deeper, and he begged Tiberius to ignore the hushed suspicions, the rumour-mongering of the street and the jealousy that was threatening him. He feared he would weaken his power if he kept away the bands of regular visitors to his house, but feared also that he would be furnishing material to his accusers if he received them. He turned, therefore, to the idea of nudging Tiberius into passing his life in some attractive location far from Rome. Indeed, he saw many advantages in this. Access to Tiberius would be in his hands, and he would, by and large, have control of his correspondence, since this came and went in soldiers’ hands.* Tiberius was already in his declining years, and soon, relaxed by a secluded environment, he would be more ready to delegate some of the functions of government. In addition, the antipathy towards Sejanus himself would decrease if he got rid of the crowd of morning callers, and with the empty trappings removed his real power would be increased. He therefore proceeded, little by little, to criticize the aggravations of the city with its bustling population and crowds of visitors, while he extolled the blessings of peace and solitude, where there was nothing to upset or annoy a person, and the most important affairs of state could be given one’s close attention.
42. As it happened, the trial of Votienus Montanus,* a man of renowned intellect, was being held at that time, and it was this that convinced the wavering Tiberius that he should avoid Senate meetings and the comments there made to his face, which were usually true and usually offensive. Votienus had been arraigned for making insulting comments on the emperor and, in his eagerness to prove the case, a witness, Aemilius,* who was a soldier, went into all the details. Despite the remonstrations of the senators, Aemilius pressed ahead with great persistence, and Tiberius heard the cutting gibes with which he was being secretly assailed. He was so shaken that he cried out that he would clear his name, either then and there or in the course of the trial, and it was only after pleas from his friends, and flattery from all present, that he was able—and only with difficulty—to regain his composure. Votienus did, indeed, suffer the penalty for treason; and Tiberius clung all the more tenaciously to his policy of severity towards defendants with which he had been reproached. Aquilia, denounced for adultery with Varius Ligus,* he punished with exile even though the consul-designate Lentulus Gaetulicus* had secured her condemnation under the Julian law,* and Apidius Merula* he struck off the senatorial register for not having sworn obedience to the measures passed by the deified Augustus.*
43. Delegations from Sparta and Messene were then heard on the question of jurisdiction over the temple of Diana Limnatis. The Spartans appealed to historical records and the poetic tradition in support of their claim that the temple had been dedicated by their ancestors, and in their territory. It had been wrested from them by force of arms, they said, by Philip of Macedon,* with whom they had been at war, and was subsequently restored to them by a judgement made by Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. The Messenians countered by bringing up the old division of the Peloponnese between the descendants of Hercules, in which, they claimed, the Denthaliate territory, in which the shrine stood, had passed into the hands of their king. Monuments testifying to this still survived, engraved in stone and ancient bronze, they said. But if they were called on to adduce poets and historical records in evidence, they had more of them and more reliable ones. Philip’s decision had not been an arbitrary use of power, either, but based on fact. King Antigonus* had reached the same conclusion, and so had the commander Mummius.* The Milesians who were made official arbiters* of the case had decided likewise and, finally, so had Atidius Geminus,* governor of Achaea. The case thus went in the Messenians’ favour.
The people of Segesta then applied for renovations to their temple of Venus on Mt. Erycus, which had fallen into ruin with age. They gave the celebrated account of its origins, which pleased Tiberius, who gladly took on the responsibility for the restoration, as a family member.*
Discussion of a petition from Massilia followed, and the precedent set by Publius Rutilius* was accepted. When he was banished by law from Rome, the people of Smyrna had awarded Rutilius citizenship; and on this basis Vulcacius Moschus,* granted Massilian citizenship when he was exiled, had left his property to the state, which he regarded as his fatherland.
44. That year saw the deaths of the noblemen Gnaeus Lentulus and Lucius Domitius.* Apart from a consulship and triumphal insignia for victories over the Getae, Lentulus had the distinction of having borne straitened circumstances with dignity, and then having innocently gained, and modestly employed, a great fortune.* Domitius’ renown came from his father,* a powerful commander at sea during the civil war, until he sided with Antonius, and then Caesar. His grandfather* had fallen in the battle of Pharsalus, fighting for the aristocrats. Domitius himself had been selected to be married to the younger Antonia,* daughter of Octavia, and he later crossed the River Elbe* with an army, driving further into Germany than any of his predecessors and gaining triumphal insignia for his achievements.
Another death was that of Lucius Antonius,* member of a very illustrious but ill-starred family. His father, Iullus Antonius, received the death penalty for adultery with Julia, and Augustus then banished Lucius, who was his own sister’s grandson and still just a boy, to the city of Massilia* (where the term ‘exile’ could be masked by a façade of intellectual pursuits). Honour was accorded to his funeral, however, and his bones were, by senatorial decree, interred in the tomb of the Octavii.*
45. In the same consulship a heinous crime was committed in Nearer Spain by a peasant of the Termestine tribe. The governor of the province, Lucius Piso,* was incautious because of the peaceful conditions, and the man surprised him while he was travelling, striking him dead with a single blow. Making good his escape on a swift horse, the assassin turned the animal loose when he reached a wooded region, and then eluded his pursuers in the rugged, trackless country. But he was not long undetected. The horse was caught and led through the neighbouring villages, and its owner was thus identified. The man was found, but when he was being tortured to reveal his accomplices he cried out in a loud voice, and in his native language, that the interrogation was pointless—his associates could come and observe, he said, as there was no pain fierce enough to elicit the truth from him! The next day, when he was being brought back for further interrogation, he broke away from his guards and smashed his head on a rock, with such force that death was instantaneous. It is believed, however, that Piso’s death was plotted by the Termestines: money had been embezzled from the public purse, and Piso was trying to recover it with a rigour greater than the barbarians could bear.
46. In the consulship of Lentulus Gaetulicus and Gaius Calvisius, Poppaeus Sabinus was decreed triumphal insignia for crushing some Thracian tribes who lived uncivilized lives in the high mountains, and were all the more ferocious for it. The cause of the uprising (apart from the natural disposition of the tribesmen) was their refusal to tolerate troop conscription* and to surrender all their strongest fighters for service with us. They were not used to obeying even their own kings unless it suited them; if they did send them auxiliary troops, they would have their own leaders command them, and they would go to war only against their neighbours. At that time, too, a rumour had spread that they were to be split up and incorporated with other tribes, and then hauled off to distant lands.
Before commencing hostilities, the Thracians sent delegates to remind the Romans of their friendship and loyalty, adding that these would remain unchanged if they were not provoked by any new burden. If, however, they had slavery imposed on them as a conquered people, they had their weapons, manpower, and a spirit ready to claim freedom or face death. At the same time they pointed to their strongholds perched upon the cliff-tops, and to their parents and wives gathered there, and threatened the Romans with a war that would be difficult, rigorous, and bloody.
47. Until he could unite his army, Sabinus made conciliatory replies. However, after Pomponius Labeo* arrived from Moesia with a legion, and King Rhoemetalces came with an auxiliary force of his countrymen (those who had not changed their loyalties), he added to them the troops then at his disposal, and marched on the enemy, now deployed in some wooded gorges. Some of these, with greater bravado, showed themselves on the open hills, but the Roman general moved in on them in battle formation and chased them off without difficulty, though little barbarian blood was shed because of the proximity of places of refuge. Sabinus then established camp on the spot and, with a strong unit, occupied a narrow mountain ridge that ran, unbroken and level, as far as the nearest stronghold, which was manned by a large force of soldiers and irregulars. At the same time he sent forward an elite band of archers to tackle the boldest of these, who after the manner of their race were leaping around, singing and dancing, before their rampart. While the archers were shooting from a distance, they inflicted wounds frequently without suffering loss, but as they came closer they were thrown into chaos by a sudden charge and were rescued only by the assistance of a Sugambrian cohort. The Roman commander had deployed this cohort not far away, since the Sugambrians were ready to face danger and, because of the noise the men generated with their songs and weapons, were just as intimidating as the Thracians.
48. The camp was then moved close to the foe, but the Thracians who had come to support us (as I noted above) were left at the earlier fortification. They were given leave to plunder, burn, and haul away booty, provided that their raiding was confined to the daylight hours and that they spent the night in camp, in safety and keeping watch. The condition was initially observed; but they soon turned to self-indulgence and, enriched by their plunder, abandoned their posts for unruly feasting, or lay prostrate in a drunken stupor. The enemy, learning of their negligence, prepared two columns. The Thracian raiders were to be attacked by the one, while the other was to assault the Roman camp, not with the expectation of taking it, but so that everyone there, focusing on his own personal danger, would be insensible to the noise of the other engagement. In addition, to increase the panic, the time chosen was after dark. In fact, those attacking the legionary rampart were easily driven off, but the Thracian auxiliaries were terrified by the sudden assault. Some were lying next to the fortifications, but most were wandering about outside, and they were cut down all the more ferociously for being seen as turncoats and traitors bearing arms to enslave themselves and their fatherland.
49. The next day Sabinus paraded his army on level ground, hoping that the barbarians, elated with their success during the night, would risk an engagement. When they failed to descend from their stronghold or the adjacent heights, he proceeded with a blockade, employing the forts which he was already building at appropriate points. Next he constructed a combined trench-and-breastwork configuration with a four-mile circumference; then he gradually tightened his grip, hemming the foe into a restricted area, in order to deprive him of water and fodder. Work also began on a mound from which rocks, spears, and firebrands could be hurled at an enemy who was now in close range. But nothing caused more distress than thirst: a huge crowd of soldiers and non-combatants were limited to the use of one remaining spring. At the same time, the horses and cattle that were enclosed with them (as is the way with barbarians) were dying because of the shortage of fodder, and alongside them lay human corpses finished off by wounds or thirst. It was one foul mess of pus, stench, and disease.
50. A final misfortune was then added to the chaotic situation: dissension. Some advocated surrender; others were for death by wounds delivered to each other; and there were those who urged a sortie instead of death unavenged. It was not just the cowards who reacted against these last two suggestions. One of the leaders, Dinis, who was of advanced age and had long experience of Roman might and clemency, argued that they should lay down their arms, that this was the sole remedy for their predicament; and he was the first to surrender himself, together with his wife and children, to the victor. Those handicapped by age or sex followed, as did those who had a greater love for life than glory.
The younger warriors, however, were split between Tarsa and Turesis. Both were determined to die with their freedom, but Tarsa, crying out for a swift end, and for their hopes and fears to be quenched together, set an example by plunging a sword into his chest. And there was no shortage of men who sought death by the same means. Turesis, with his band of followers, waited for nightfall, but our commander was not ignorant of his plan, and he strengthened his outposts with more troops. Darkness fell with a terrible rainstorm, and the enemy, their wild shouting alternating with periods of desolate silence, shook the besiegers’ resolve. Then Sabinus did the rounds of his men, urging them not to let strange noises or the phoney silence fool them into giving the enemy an opportunity for his tricks. Each man should stick to his post, he told them, without moving or hurling weapons at an illusory target.
51. Meanwhile, the barbarians came charging down the hill in bands. At one moment they hurled stones, fire-hardened stakes, and severed branches at the rampart; at the next they filled the ditches with brushwood, hurdles, and corpses. Some had earlier constructed gangways and ladders, and now they brought them up to the defence-works, which they grasped and tore down, afterwards struggling hand-to-hand with the defenders. The Roman soldiers for their part pushed back the enemy with their missiles, beat them off with their shield-bosses, parried them with wall-javelins* and rolled piles of rocks onto them. Adding courage to the Roman side was the hope that victory was already theirs, and the feeling that infamy would be the more conspicuous if they gave way; in the case of the Thracians it was that this was their last chance of salvation, and for some, too, the presence of mothers and wives, and their lamentations. The night fostered daring in some, fear in others. There were blind lunges, wounds out of nowhere. And the inability to distinguish friend from foe, and the cries echoing back from the mountain gorges— seemingly coming from behind—had caused such general confusion that the Romans abandoned some of their positions, assuming them breached. In fact, of the enemy only a handful made it through. The rest, with their bravest fighters dead or wounded, the Romans pushed back into their mountain stronghold at the approach of daylight, and there they were finally compelled to surrender. Neighbouring areas were taken with the agreement of the inhabitants; the premature onset of a cruel winter in the Haemus range saved the others from being reduced by assault or siege.
52. In Rome, meanwhile, the imperial family had been shaken. The steps that would lead to Agrippina’s destruction began with the arraignment of her cousin Claudia Pulchra,* her accuser being Domitius Afer.* Afer had recently held the praetorship, had little reputation, and was in a hurry to gain celebrity by any deed. His charges against Pulchra were immorality, with Furnius her adulterer, and acts against the emperor involving poison and magical curses. Agrippina was always a formidable woman, but she was then also incensed by a relative’s danger. She went straight to Tiberius, whom she chanced to find sacrificing to his father.* This aroused her indignation; the same person should not be offering sacrifices to the deified Augustus and also persecuting his descendants, she declared. Augustus’ divine spirit had not been transferred into a stone representation of him—she was his true image, a descendant of his heavenly blood! She knew the danger she was in, she added, and was therefore adopting mourning attire. There was no point in using Pulchra as a pretext; the sole cause of her ruin was that she had foolishly chosen Agrippina as a friend, forgetting that Sosia had been brought low for the same reason.
These words drew a response from that secretive breast, a rare occurrence. Tiberius seized Agrippina and, in a line of Greek verse,* advised her that ‘because she did not rule did not mean she was being mistreated’. Pulchra and Furnius were condemned. Afer became ranked among the leading orators now that his talent had been given exposure, and a comment of the emperor followed that he had ‘a genuine fluency’. Subsequently, in taking on prosecutions or conducting defence, his eloquence earned more fulsome praise than his ethics. His later years took much away from that eloquence, for he still retained, even with a weakened mental capacity, an inability to remain silent
53. Agrippina meanwhile persisted in her anger and was also overtaken by physical illness. When Tiberius came to visit her, she long shed tears in silence, and then addressed him with angry entreaties: he should help her in her loneliness and supply a husband for her. She was still young enough,* she said, and the only solace for decent women lay in marriage*—and there were in the city <men who> would deign to accept Germanicus’ wife and children. The emperor, however, understood what the request entailed for the state, but so as not to show any resentment or fear he left her without making a reply, despite her insistence. This episode, which is not recorded by historians, I found in the journals* of her daughter Agrippina who, as mother of the emperor Nero, gave posterity an account of her life and the fortunes of her family.
54. Agrippina was now sorrowful and unwary, and Sejanus deepened her anxiety by sending men to warn her, ostensibly out of friendship, that a scheme to poison her was afoot, and that she should avoid dining with her father-in-law.* But she could not dissemble, and when she reclined next to Tiberius she did not soften her expression or tone of voice, and would not touch her food, until Tiberius noticed, by chance or because he had been told. To test matters further, he recommended some fruit when it had been served, and passed it to his daughter-in-law with his own hand. Agrippina’s suspicion was heightened by this and, without tasting it, she passed the fruit on to the slaves. However, Tiberius made no comment to her face. Instead, he turned to his mother and said that it should be no surprise if he took rather stern measures with a woman by whom he was being accused of poisoning. From this arose a rumour that her downfall was in preparation, but that the emperor did not dare to act openly, and a way of effecting it secretly was being sought.
55. To deflect such gossip, Tiberius regularly attended the Senate, and spent several days hearing deputations from Asia dispute the choice of city-state where his temple would be erected. There were eleven cities in contention, all equally ambitious, but disparate in strength. There was little difference between their arguments, which were based on the antiquity of their race, and support of the Roman people in the wars with Perses, Aristonicus, and other monarchs.* Hypaepa and Tralles, however, along with Laodicea and Magnesia, were rejected as having too weak a case; and even the people of Ilium, despite their reference to Troy as parent of the city of Rome, had no strong claim beyond a glorious antiquity. There was some momentary hesitation over Halicarnassus because its people had claimed that its site had been undisturbed by earthquakes for twelve hundred years, and that the temple’s foundations would be on natural rock. Pergamum, it was believed, had received sufficient honour because there was already a temple of Augustus situated there (the very point on which it based its claim!). Ephesus and Miletus were seen as fully occupied with the worship of Diana and Apollo respectively. Consideration was thus limited to Sardis* and Smyrna.
The people of Sardis read out a decree of the Etrurians, with whom they claimed consanguinity. For, they said, because of its great numbers, Tyrrhenus and Lydus, sons of King Atys, divided their race. Lydus had then stayed behind to settle in the land of his fathers, while Tyrrhenus was charged with founding a new settlement; and these peoples, one in Asia, and the other in Italy, were named after their leaders. The power of the Lydians was further increased when groups of colonists were sent to that area of Greece which later took its name from Pelops. The Sardians also called attention to letters from Roman commanders and treaties struck with us during the war with Macedon, as well as to the ample flow of their rivers, their temperate climate, and the rich lands around them.
56. The people of Smyrna on their side recalled their antiquity— whether they owed their foundation to Tantalus, son of Jupiter, to Theseus, also of divine stock, or to one of the Amazons—and then moved on to the points in which they had most confidence. First came their services to the Roman people, including their sending of naval forces, not only for wars abroad* but also for those endured in Italy.* Then there was their having been the first to build a temple dedicated to the city of Rome, in the consulship of Marcus Porcius,* a time when Roman power was great but had not yet reached its peak, a time when the Punic capital was still standing and there were still powerful kings in Asia. The Smyrnaeans also cited Lucius Sulla* as witness on their behalf. His army had been in very serious danger because of the severity of the winter and lack of clothing, they said, and when that announcement was made at a public meeting in Smyrna, all present had taken the outer garments from their bodies and sent them to our legions.
Thus, when asked their opinion, the senators gave Smyrna as their first choice. Vibius Marsus* moved that Marcus Lepidus, to whom that province had been allotted, should be assigned a supernumerary legate* to take responsibility for the temple. And because, from modesty, Lepidus declined to make the choice himself, one of the ex-praetors, Valerius Naso, was sent out after being selected by lot.
57. Meanwhile the emperor, who had long considered the idea and often deferred it, finally left for Campania. The pretext was his dedication of a temple to Jupiter in Capua, and one to Augustus in Nola,* but really he was determined to live away from Rome. As to the reason for his retirement, I have followed the majority of historians* in putting it down to the wiles of Sejanus. However, Tiberius lived in the same seclusion for six years in succession after his execution of Sejanus, and so I am sometimes prompted to wonder whether it would not be more correctly put down to the man himself, and a wish to conceal by his location the cruelty and lust that he was exhibiting in his behaviour. There were some who believed that, in his old age, he was also ashamed of his physical appearance, since he was of tall stature, very thin and stooped, his head devoid of hair, and his face covered with sores and streaked with ointments (at Rhodes, too, he had made a habit of avoiding company and keeping his pleasures secret). It is also reported that Tiberius was driven away by his mother’s domineering manner. He refused to have her sharing his rule,* but could not remove her because he had received that rule as a gift from her. For Augustus had considered putting Germanicus, his sister’s grandson and a man praised by everybody, at the head of the Roman state. He was, however, overcome by his wife’s entreaties, and arranged for Germanicus to be adopted by Tiberius, and Tiberius by himself. Augusta was continually casting this up, and demanding her repayment.
58. His departure took place with a limited entourage.* There was one senator, Cocceius Nerva, an ex-consul and a legal expert; another Roman knight in addition to Sejanus, Curtius Atticus, who was a leading member of the order; and the rest were men with a liberal education, mostly Greeks,* whose conversation was meant to provide him with entertainment. Astrologers claimed that Tiberius’ departure from Rome coincided with a movement of the planets that indicated there would be no return. That caused the downfall of many people, who surmised that his death was at hand and spread the word, failing to foresee the incredible circumstance that he would, for eleven years, voluntarily exile himself from his native city. The narrow line between science and error, and in what obscurity the truth is veiled, presently became clear. For the prediction that he would not return to the city* proved not untrue; but on everything else the astrologers revealed their ignorance, for, while he took up quarters in the nearby countryside or coastal districts, and often right by the city walls, he managed to reach a very ripe old age.
59. It so happened that a dangerous accident befell Tiberius at that time, increasing the idle rumours and giving him grounds for putting greater confidence in Sejanus’ friendship and loyalty. They were taking a meal in a villa called ‘The Cavern’, which was in a natural cave between the sea at Amyclae and the hills of Fundi. There was a sudden rock-slide at the mouth of the cave that buried a number of servants, precipitating universal panic and the flight of those attending the meal. Sejanus positioned himself over the emperor on his hands and both knees, setting himself against the falling stones, and such was the position in which he was found by the soldiers who came to the rescue. Sejanus’ authority grew after this, and, disastrous though his advice might be, he was listened to with confidence as being a man with no concern for himself. And he assumed the role of judge with regard to Germanicus’ children, bribing men to play the part of accusers, and to pick on Nero in particular. Nero was the next in line of succession and, though he had the modesty of youth, he often forgot what was appropriate in the present circumstances. And he was also being goaded by his freedmen and clients, all of them rushing to acquire power, to show himself bold and confident. This was what the Roman people wanted and what the armies truly desired, they told him, and Sejanus, at the moment mocking an old man’s passivity along with a young man’s indolence, would not venture to oppose him.
60. Listening to these and similar comments, Nero harboured no criminal thoughts, but occasionally trenchant and ill-considered remarks would emerge from him. Those assigned to watch him took note of these and exaggerated them in their reports, while Nero was given no chance to defend himself. So various forms of anxiety began to manifest themselves. One person would avoid meeting him; another would exchange a greeting and immediately turn away; some would break off speaking in mid-conversation—while Sejanus’ supporters who were present just stood by and laughed. As for Tiberius, he met him with a grim expression, or a false smile; and if the young Nero spoke, or if he said nothing, silence showed his guilt, and so did talking.
Even night was not safe, since his wife* disclosed his waking moments, his sleep times, and his sighs to her mother Livilla, and Livilla disclosed them to Sejanus. Sejanus had also brought Nero’s brother Drusus* over to his side, offering him hope of the supreme position if he removed his elder brother, who was already in difficulties. Apart from his lust for power, and the hatred that usually exists between brothers, Drusus had a frightful character that was further inflamed by envy over his mother Agrippina’s preference for Nero. Even so, Sejanus’ backing of Drusus was not such as to prevent him from sowing the seeds of his future destruction, too, for he knew him to be particularly headstrong, and so more easily trapped.
61. The end of the year saw the deaths of two distinguished men, Asinius Agrippa* and Quintus Haterius.* Agrippa’s ancestors were distinguished rather than ancient, and he was not their inferior in his own life. Haterius came from a senatorial family, and was celebrated for his oratory throughout his life, though the surviving literary monuments to his genius are not so highly regarded. Indeed, his success derived more from his lively delivery than the care he took; and whereas the preparation and industry of others gains them appreciation with later generations, Haterius’ resonant and flowing style died with him.
62. In the consulship of Marcus Licinius and Lucius Calpurnius an unforeseen catastrophe brought loss of life on the scale of some major wars, and no sooner had it begun than it was over. A certain Atilius, a man of freedman status, had begun work on an amphitheatre near Fidenae for the staging of a gladiatorial show, but he did not set its foundations on solid ground and did not bind the wooden superstructure securely with firm joints, either. In fact, he had sought the contract not because he possessed great wealth or had political ambitions in the town, but as a sordid commercial venture.
People flocked in, eager for such entertainment, for under Tiberius they had been deprived of their diversions. There were men and women of all ages, and the numbers were swollen by the location’s proximity to town, which made the mishap all the more catastrophic. The structure became crowded, then broke apart, collapsing inward or spreading over the area outside, and it dragged down with it, and buried, a huge mass of humanity, people engrossed in the spectacle or just standing around. Those killed in the initial destruction escaped the real agony, as far as that can be said of such a tragedy; more to be pitied were those whom life had not left after suffering some partial mutilation of their bodies. These recognized their wives and children by sight in the daylight, but at night only from the sound of their lamentations and groaning. Soon all others in the area were brought there by the news—and one found himself lamenting the loss of a brother, another a relative, and a third his parents. Even those whose friends or kinsfolk were away from home for other reasons were still terrified; and while the victims of the disaster remained unidentified the fear was more widespread because of that uncertainty.
63. When the removal of debris began, there was a rush to the dead bodies, which people embraced and kissed; and often there was a spat when features were quite indistinct but similarity of shape or age caused errors in identification. Fifty thousand people* were disabled or crushed to death in that accident; and by decree of the Senate provision was made for the future that no one with capital of less than 400,000 sesterces was to stage a gladiatorial show, and that an amphitheatre was to be built only on land of proven stability. Atilius was driven into exile. As a consequence of this disaster, however, the homes of leading citizens were thrown open, and dressings and doctors were made universally available. During those days the city, despite her mournful appearance, lived up to the tradition of the ancients who, after great battles, supported the wounded with their generosity and care.
64. The memory of that disaster had not yet faded when a raging fire* brought an exceptional amount of damage upon the city, completely consuming the Caelian Hill. It was a fateful year, people said, and the emperor had decided to remain absent despite unfavourable omens. They—as the crowd usually does—were taking chance events as being a causal factor; but then Tiberius faced the problem head-on by doling out money in proportion to losses incurred. Thanks were offered him in the Senate by distinguished members, and his reputation improved amongst the people because, without being influenced by canvassing or the entreaties of relatives, he had with his liberality assisted even people unknown to him and encouraged them to come forward. There were also proposals made that the Caelian Hill be henceforth called the Augustan Hill,* since the only thing that remained untouched, while everything went up in flames around about, was a statue of Tiberius that stood in the home of the senator Junius. That, people declared, had happened earlier to Claudia Quinta.* Her statue had on two occasions escaped a violent fire, and so their ancestors had consecrated it in the temple of the Mother of the Gods. The Claudian family was holy and dear to the gods, they said, and the spot on which heaven had shown their emperor such honour should receive additional veneration.
65. It would not be inappropriate to note that, in early times, that hill bore the name ‘Querquetulanus’* because it produced wood of that species in great abundance, and that it was only later renamed ‘Caelian’, after Caeles Vibenna. Vibenna was a leader of the Etruscan race, who had brought assistance to Rome and for that had been granted the hill as a place to settle by Tarquinius Priscus,* or another of the kings—historians are in disagreement on his identity.* The other elements of the story are not in doubt: Vibenna’s large forces also settled on the level ground there and in the district close to the Forum, the ‘Tuscan Street’ thus taking its name from the newcomers.
66. Now, while the nobility’s public spirit and the emperor’s generosity had brought relief in the case of disasters, there was no let-up in the violence of informers, which was growing and becoming more virulent each day. Domitius Afer found a victim in Quinctilius Varus,* a wealthy man related to the emperor. Afer had earlier secured a guilty verdict against Varus’ mother, Claudia Pulchra, and now no surprise was felt that, long penniless and having squandered his recently won reward, he should be preparing himself for further outrages. What was surprising was the appearance on the scene of Publius Dolabella* as a partner in the denunciation: coming from distinguished ancestors, and being related* to Varus, he was setting out to ruin his own noble class, and his own family, too. Resistance came from the Senate, however, which voted to await the emperor,* the one thing that provided some temporary shelter from the pressing troubles.
67. Tiberius had in the meantime finished dedicating the temples in Campania. He had also issued an edict advising people that his peace was not to be disturbed, and crowds of townspeople were kept at bay by soldiers stationed for that purpose. Even so, his distaste for the municipal towns, colonies, and everything lying on the mainland led him to shut himself away on the island of Capreae, which is separated from the tip of the promontory of Surrentum by a strait three miles wide. I am inclined to believe that it was the solitude that pleased him most: surrounded by the sea, the island has no harbours and barely any havens even for smaller craft, and no one could put in there without a sentry knowing about it. The climate is mild during winter because of a mountain barrier by which it is protected from savage gales, and in summer the island is delightful because it is exposed to the west wind and surrounded by open sea. In addition, it enjoyed the view of a beautiful bay, until Mt. Vesuvius’ eruptions* changed the landscape. Tradition has it that Greeks colonized the area, and that Capreae was inhabited by the Teleboans.
At this time, however, it was Tiberius who settled there, occupying twelve villas,* individual structures with their own names and, as totally as he had been engrossed with public affairs, he now similarly relaxed into private extravagances and pernicious leisure. For there still remained his excessive tendency to suspicion and credulity. This Sejanus had persistently cultivated in Rome, as well, and now he was stoking it more fiercely, his traps for Agrippina and Nero no longer kept a secret. Soldiers, assigned to the two, would take note of messages and visits they received, and all their open and private activities, as accurately as for a work of history. Men were actually given the task of advising them* to seek refuge with the armies in Germany, or to embrace the statue of the deified Augustus when the Forum was particularly crowded, and call on the people and Senate for help. Such courses of action were rejected, but they were charged with intending to accept them.
68. The year of the consulship of Junius Silanus and Silius Nerva began in an atrocious manner with a distinguished Roman knight, Titius Sabinus,* dragged off to prison for his friendship with Germanicus. For Sabinus had not given up paying his respects to the man’s wife and children, visiting their home, and accompanying them in public. Of all their clients, he was the only one who remained, and he was therefore praised by decent men and disliked by the wicked. He was pounced on by Latinius Latiaris, Porcius Cato, Petillius Rufus, and Marcus Opsius. These were ex-praetors who wanted the consulship; the only way to it was through Sejanus, and Sejanus’ favour was to be gained only by crime.
The arrangement between them was that Latiaris, who had some slight familiarity with Sabinus, should set the trap; the others would be present as witnesses; then they would begin the accusation. Latiaris, therefore, engaged Sabinus in some casual conversation, and then praised his loyalty in not, like the others, having deserted in its adversity a family with which he had been friendly when it prospered. At the same time, he referred respectfully to Germanicus and expressed pity for Agrippina.
The human heart is soft in times of misfortune, and Sabinus burst into tears. He then added some complaints and, his confidence growing, proceeded to berate Sejanus for his ruthlessness, his arrogance, and his ambitions. He did not even stop short of verbal abuse of Tiberius, and these conversations, as an exchange of illicit confidences, gave the impression of close friendship between the men. And with that Sabinus actually began to seek out Latiaris, to visit his home, and to bring to him his tales of woe as though to a most trusted friend.
69. The above-mentioned individuals now discussed how these conversations could be heard more widely. Their meeting place, they thought, had to retain the appearance of being private; and if they were standing behind doors, there was fear of their being seen, or of their making a noise, or of Sabinus simply becoming suspicious. The three senators hid themselves in a spot between the roof and the ceiling—a hiding-place whose squalor matched the vileness of the treachery— and put their ears to various chinks and cracks. Latiaris, meanwhile, found Sabinus in the street and, pretending he was going to give him some fresh news, took him into the bedroom of his home. There he piled up accounts of past and current events—and there were plenty—and added the most recent terrors. Sabinus concurred, and at greater length, for once grief breaks forth silence is more difficult.
The accusation was then speeded up. In a letter, the men briefed Tiberius on the steps in the plot and their own shameful actions. Never had the city known greater tension and panic,* with people tight-lipped even with their closest relatives. They avoided meetings and conversations, and the ears of friend and stranger alike. Even mute and lifeless objects—roofs and walls—were eyed with suspicion.
70. In a letter to the Senate on 1 January, Tiberius offered the customary prayers for the start of the year, and then turned on Sabinus, charging him with corrupting some of his freedmen and making an attempt on his life; and he was not unclear about the punishment he wanted. There was no delay* with the judgement. The condemned man was dragged off, crying out (as well as he could with clothes pulled over his head and his neck choked) that such were the new year’s celebrations, and these the sacrificial victims offered to Sejanus! And wherever he fixed his gaze, wherever his words fell, there was wholesale flight, leaving roads and forums deserted. Some indeed came back and showed themselves again, frightened of the very fact that they had shown their fear. For, they thought, what day could be free from punishment when, amid the sacrifices and prayers—a time when it was customary to avoid even profane language—chains and the noose were being brought into use? Tiberius had not exposed himself to such intense resentment unthinkingly, they reasoned. No, it was a deliberate and premeditated step, to make people realize that there was nothing to prevent the new magistrates from opening up the prison as they did the shrines and altars.
A letter followed offering thanks to the senators for having punished a man who was an enemy to the state. Tiberius added that he lived in constant anxiety, and that he suspected treachery on the part of his enemies, but he named no names. There was no doubt, however, that the reference was to Nero and Agrippina.
71. Were it not for my plan of assigning all events to their appropriate year, I would have liked to jump ahead and immediately record the ends that Latinius, Opsius, and the other architects of that piece of villainy experienced, not only after Gaius Caesar came to power, but even during Tiberius’ lifetime. (While Tiberius was loath to see the agents of his crimes brought down by others, he often became fed up with them and, when offered fresh men for the same work, he got rid of the older ones who had become repugnant to him.) But these and other punishments of the guilty parties I shall record at the appropriate point.
Asinius Gallus, to whose children Agrippina was aunt,* then expressed his opinion that the emperor be asked to divulge his fears to the Senate, and allow them to be dispelled. Tiberius prized none of what he considered to be his virtues as highly as he did his ability to dissemble, and so he was all the more annoyed at what he wanted to hide being brought into the open. Sejanus, however, calmed him down, not from any affection for Gallus, but to see how the emperor’s hesitation would turn out. He knew that he was slow in his deliberations but that, once his temper burst forth, he swiftly followed grim words with terrible action.
About this same time Julia,* Augustus’ granddaughter, died. Augustus had convicted her of adultery, passed sentence on her, and cast her away on the island of Trimetus, not far from the Apulian shoreline. There she endured twenty years of exile, helped along by support from Augusta,* who secretly contrived her stepchildren’s destruction in their heyday, and made a show of pity for them when they were brought low.
72. That same year a people beyond the Rhine, the Frisians, abandoned their peace, more through our rapacity than because they were chafing at their subjection. Drusus had levied from them a modest tribute, taking account of their straitened circumstances: their payment was to be oxhides for military use. However, nobody had paid attention to the firmness or measurements of the hides until Olennius, a man of senior centurion rank who had been appointed to govern the Frisians, chose the skin of the auroch as the yardstick of acceptability. That would even have posed a problem for any other tribes, but in the case of the Germans it was particularly difficult to tolerate in that, while they have woods teeming with huge beasts, their domestic animals are quite small. At first, they were surrendering just the oxen; then it was their lands; and finally it was their wives or children delivered into slavery. From this came rage and protests; and when no relief arrived, war was the solution. The soldiers who were there to take the tribute were kidnapped and nailed to gibbets. Olennius escaped the fury of the Frisians by flight, and was taken in at a fortress called Flevum. There a unit of no mean size, comprising citizens and allies, stood watch over the Ocean coastline.
73. When word of this reached Lucius Apronius, propraetorian governor of Lower Germany, he called in detachments of legions from the upper province, along with an elite group of auxiliary infantry and cavalry. He then shipped both armies together down the Rhine and marched with them against the Frisians. (Their siege of the fortress had by now been raised, and the rebels had left in order to defend their own territory.)
Apronius used a network of embankments and bridges in the neighbouring estuaries to provide a solid thoroughfare for transporting a more heavily armed column. Moreover, having meanwhile discovered a ford, he ordered the Canninefate cavalry, along with all the German infantry serving in our ranks, to move around to the rear of the enemy (who were already deployed for battle, and were driving back the allied squadrons and legionary cavalry sent as reinforcements). Then three cohorts of light infantry were sent into the fray, followed by two others and, after an interval, by the mounted auxiliaries. This was a strong enough force—had they attacked together. By arriving in stages, however, they had not strengthened the resolve of the disordered units and were themselves being swept back by the panic of those in retreat.
Apronius set the remainder of the auxiliaries under the command of Cethecius Labeo, legate of the Fifth Legion, and Labeo, put gravely at risk by his men’s precarious situation, dispatched a message with a plea that the entire strength of the legions be sent in. The men of the Fifth Legion charged forward ahead of the others, drove back the enemy in a fierce engagement, and rescued the cohorts and cavalry, who were exhausted from their wounds. The Roman commander did not seek retribution, nor did he bury the dead, despite the fact that numerous tribunes and prefects, and some outstanding centurions, had fallen. It was subsequently learned from deserters that nine hundred Romans had been killed in a grove they call Baduhenna, having drawn out the battle to the following day, and that another contingent of four hundred, who had occupied a villa belonging to Cruptorix, a former mercenary, had fallen by each other’s hands when it was feared that treachery was afoot.
74. After that the Frisian name enjoyed some cachet amongst the Germans, but Tiberius, to avoid entrusting the conduct of the war to anyone, hid the losses. The Senate, too, was unconcerned about an ignominious reverse on the fringes of the empire; fear within had seized their attention, and the cure for it was being sought in sycophancy. And so, although they were being consulted on other matters, the senators voted an altar* to Clemency and an altar to Friendship, with statues of the emperor and Sejanus on either side. They also, with frequent entreaties, petitioned the two men to let themselves be seen in person. The two did not, however, come into the city or its environs; they felt it enough to leave the island and be on view in the closest part of Campania. To this area came senators, knights, and large numbers of the plebs, all of them worried with regard to Sejanus, to whom access had become more difficult and had to be gained by intrigue and becoming associated with his designs. There was general agreement that his arrogance was increased when he looked upon this foul servility openly displayed. For at Rome comings and goings are the norm, and because of the city’s size it is unclear to what business each person is proceeding. There, however, lolling around on the plain or the shore, day and night alike, they experienced the favour or the disdain of the doorkeepers—until that, too, was forbidden. Then they came back to Rome. Those whom Sejanus had not graced with a conversation or a look were terrified, and some were in high spirits—unwisely, since the deadly outcome of that unlucky friendship was looming over them.
75. Tiberius, meanwhile, had personally engaged his granddaughter Agrippina* Germanicus’ daughter to Gnaeus Domitius,* and he issued orders for the marriage to be celebrated in the city. In Domitius, in addition to the antiquity of his family, Tiberius had also selected a relative of the Caesars, for the man could boast Octavia as grandmother and, through her, Augustus as a great-uncle.