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 REESE LIBRARY 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 i Accessions No.,A^_33/__ Shelf No,__*7_ 
 8— ' ^t/y%^ — ^ 
 
BIBLIOTHECA CLASSICA. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 GEORGE LONG, M.A. 
 
 POEMEELY FELLOW OF TEINITY COLLEGE, CAMBEIDaE. 
 
 THE ANNALS OF TACITUS, 
 
 WITH A COMMENTARY 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. PERGIVAL FROST, M.A. 
 
 I,AT£ FELLOW OP ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WHITTAKER & CO., AVE MARIA LANE ; 
 
 GEORGE BELL, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 1872. 
 
2^Z3/ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 An editor of Tacitus is not mucli troubled by the task of collation. 
 For the text of the first six books of the Annals there is but one autho- 
 rity. The Codex Mediceus prior was discovered by Arcimboldus in the 
 Abbey of Corvey, in Westphalia, and placed by him in the hands of 
 Leo X. On the death of that Pope the manuscript was deposited in the 
 library of the Medici at Florence. It contains the first six books of the 
 Annals (as at present arranged). The exact date of the Codex is uncer- 
 tain ; the ninth, tenth, or eleventh centuries are assigned as the period of 
 its transcription. Eitter (see his preface) puts it in the ninth century ; 
 others, with greater probability, in the eleventh. 
 
 The Codex Mediceus alter contains the Annals from the eleventh book 
 to the end of the sixteenth, and the five books of the History. It is 
 written in the Lombard character, and in many places, where the writing 
 is very faint, the gaps have been restored by another hand ; not always 
 accurately. At the end of one of the books there is a note appended : 
 *' Ego Sallustius legi et emendavi Eomae felix Olibrio et Probino V. C. 
 Cons, in foro Martis controversias declamans Oratori Endelechio. Rursus 
 Constantinupoli recognovi Caesario et Attico Conss." This was of course 
 reproduced from an older MS., from which the Codex Mediceus was tran- 
 scribed. The date of this Codex Mediceus alter may have been also of 
 the eleventh century. There are three other codices found in the Floren- 
 tine Library, one containing the Annals from the eleventh book to the end, 
 and the first two books of the History ; the other two the same books of 
 the Annals and the whole of the History now extant. They all are 
 assigned to the fifteenth century. Beside these there are the Codex 
 Farnesianus, containing the Annals from the eleventh to the sixteenth 
 books, and the whole of the History; the date of which is supposed to be 
 the fifteenth century ; the Codex Budensis ; the Codex Gudianus ; the 
 Codex Genuenis ; the Codices Vaticani, Oxonienses, &c. But all these 
 have no independent authority, being copies of the Mediceus alter, or 
 copies of a copy. 
 
 Some account will naturally be looked for of the principle on which I 
 have settled the spelling of the text. On examining it in the most 
 
Yi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cursory manner, the reader -will observe an absence of uniformity : the 
 same words are not always written in tbe same way. This is intentioi.al ; 
 not the result of mere oversight. As far as I can judge, the Roraan 
 writers themselves did not practise uniformity. In the majority of woi^ds, 
 of course, there is only one way of spelling them rightly ; but in otliers 
 the usage does not appear to have been constant : it oscillated bet"\veen 
 two, or sometimes more forms. This is a fact settled beyond disj)ate. 
 For instance, in the new Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, 'imperiam' 
 occurs three times, 'inperium' six. This variety of spelling in the 
 inscriptions is borne out by a similar variety in the best manuscripts ; 
 and, as Professor Munro observes (Introd. to Lucret. Not. 1), the " sole 
 relic of Latin yet disinterred from Herculaneum contains this verse, 
 
 * Utraque soleranis iterum revocaverat orbes.'" Consequently, I have not 
 made a point of being more consistent than the Roman writers themsijlves 
 appear to have been. Some words, as before remarked, can only be 
 spelled coiTectly in one way; and where this is the case, I have so 
 spelled them, in spite of the manuscripts. If I found ' coelum ' in a 
 MS., I should still write it ' caelum,' because the former is due to a false 
 derivation ; and, as far as I know, it is always * caelum ' in the inserip- 
 tions and MSS. beyond a certain date. In the text, therefore, * caelum,' 
 
 * maestus,' * silva,' * cetera,' are always so printed. But in cases where 
 the usage fluctuates, I have followed the MS. in its fluctuations ; and so, 
 not unfrequently within a few lines of the text, the same word will be 
 found difi'erently spelled; the explanation being that the differeniie is 
 that existing in the MS. 
 
 Whenever the forms ' aput,' ' aliquit,' ' aliut,* ' quicquit,' ' illut,' and 
 the like, occur in the MS. for ' apud,' *aliquid,' *aliud,' 'quicquid,' 
 ' illud,* &c., I have so printed them ; whenever these latter forms occur, 
 I have printed thein. This interchange of * t ' and ' d ' is very common. 
 Quintilian remarks (Institutes of Oratory, i. 4. 16), that on old buildings 
 at Rome * Alexanter ' and ' Cassantra ' were found. 
 
 In L 2 I have printed * exsuto ' for * exuto.' The Medic. Cod. Drior 
 always so writes the word. * Ex ' and * exs ' were used by old w^riters ([uite 
 indiscriminately. In the Monum. Ancyran. there occur ' sexsiens ' and 
 
 * sexiens ;' and in the epitaphs on the Scipios, * saxsum ' is found fo:: the 
 usual *saxum ;' and on a Gallic coin, * Vercingetorixs.' So ' exsto ' and 
 
 * exto ' are found indifierently. Where, consequently, the MS. has ' ex- 
 sutus,' I retain it ; if exutus ' is the reading, I retain that. 
 
 In i. 2 I keep * reliqus ' for * reliquus.' The old Latins had the 
 forms 'equos,' 'equs,' 'ecus,' for instance, but 'equus' not until 
 later. Such varieties as 'reUnquont,' 'relinqunt,' 'relincunt,' 'sequon- 
 tur,' 'secuntur,' Mocuntur' occur in good MSS. for the more usual 
 
 * relinquunt,' * sequuntur,' * loquuntur.' Originally * reliquus ' was used 
 as a four-svllable word (Lucret. i. ^60 ; Plant. Asin. ii. 4. 36), but 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 afterwards it "became a trisyllable, and then could no doubt be written 
 'reliquus,' 'reliqus,' or 'relicus.' So * promiscuus,' ' promisqus,' * pro- 
 miscus.' 
 
 In i. 4 I print ' omnis ' for * omnes/ with the Cod. Med. ; so ' levis, ' 
 iii. 39 ; * brevis,' ii. 6 ; * memoris,' ii. 14 ; * fetialis,' iii. 64, and 
 elsewhere. I have simply in this point followed the MS. Varro (De 
 Ling. Lat. viii. 66) says, " Sine reprehensione vulgo alii dicunt in 
 singulari hac ovi et avi, alii hac ove et ave ; in multitudinis hae puppis 
 Testis, et hae puppes restes." In the fragment of a very old MS. of 
 Virgil, the date of which may be somewhere within the first three cen- 
 turies after Christ, there are ' putris ' and * messis,' but * messes ' in the 
 accusative. (See Munro's Lucret. Introd. Not. 1, whence I have drawn 
 the above remarks.) ' Scipionis,' in ii. 33, I do not retain, because 
 there is, as far as I know, no corroborative evidence of the existence of 
 this form of the word. ' Sonoris,' 'doloris,' *maioris' are found; but 
 as * e ' and * i ' are often interchanged in the Cod. Med. I have not fol- 
 lowed it in reading ' Scipionis.' In i. 69 I read 'laudis,* because *lau- 
 dium ' is found elsewhere. 
 
 In i. 5 the Cod. Med. has *conscis' for 'consciis.' As the genitives 
 singular of substantives in * ium ' were almost always written with one * i,' 
 and the dative plural is also found similarly spelled (e. g. " ut interessent 
 consilis publicis," in the Marm. Ancyr.), I have followed the MS. in such 
 cases, writing * conscis ' for * consciis,' * is ' for ' iis,' &c. 
 
 Ini. 35 the Med. Cod. reads *im pectus' for 'in pectus,' the preposition 
 cohering intimately with its substantive, and the ' n ' being assimilated 
 to the initial consonant. So *im Macronem,' vi. 43; 'im melius,' xii. 33; 
 *impenatibus,'xii. 2; *sup pellibus,' xiv. 38; *im modum,' xiv. 30; 4m 
 mucronem,' xv. 54. I cannot understand how a transcriber would so 
 write, unless he found these forms in the MS. he copied from. They do 
 not occur systematically enough to render them apparently intended to 
 carry out a preconceived theory, and yet are found too often to make them 
 probably due to mere blundering. Similarly in Greek inscriptions cis r^/x 
 TToXw is not uncommon for cis ttjv ttoXlv, and i/x TroA-et for iv TroAei. Never- 
 theless I have lacked the courage necessary to print these forms, although 
 my own impression is that they are correct. 
 
 In i. 31 I have retained ' vicessima.' There are three forms occurring, 
 *vicesimus,' 'vicensimus,' 'vicessimus.' With reference to the last form, 
 Quintilian remarks that in the time of Cicero, and somewhat later, the 
 letter * s,* as often as it occurred between two long vowels, or followed a 
 long vowel, was doubled, as ^ caussae,' 'cassus,' 'divissiones' (Instit. of 
 Orat. i. 7. § 20). There was no difference of pronunciation corresponding to 
 the difference of spelling, 'causa' and 'caussa' being identical in sound. 
 So 'obbrutesco' or 'obrutesco,' 'opportunus ' or 'oportunus.' Servius 
 says (Aen. i. 616), that in *applicat ' only one *p ' is sounded. I have 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 similarly retained tlie double ' s ' wliere the MS. gives it in *accu5 3ator' 
 (often), in 'lussisse' (i. 71), 'omississet' (ii. 85). 
 
 In i. 58 I have retained * incolomitatem ' for 'incolumitatem.' The 
 interchange of 'o' and 'u' is common in inscriptions. For instance, 
 
 * nontiata ' (* nunciata '), * quomque' ('quumque'), 'aequom ' (' aequum '), 
 *rei poplicae ' (' reipublicae '), all occur in the Tiburtine Insciiption. 
 Again, 'consentiont' ('consentiunt'), 'filios' ('filius'), 'Luciom' ('Lucium'), 
 
 * mortuos' ('mortuus'), are all found in the epitaphs on the Scipios. In the 
 Columna Eostrata, * Duilios ' ('Duilius'), * consol' ('consul'), 'o])idom' 
 (* oppidum ') occur, with other instances elsewhere. 
 
 In i. 61 I have retained ' elabsi.' Lucretius (v. 489) has *elab&a,'and 
 (vi. 92) 'praescribta ;' and Yirgil (Georg. i. 200), *sublabsa.' This use of 
 
 * b ' for ' p,' as Professor Munro observes, seems to have become, more 
 common in the silver age, as 'script us' is always written with *p' in 
 the new Corpus Inscrip. Latin. 
 
 In iii. 23 the Cod. Med. has * aqua adque igni' for 'aqua atqucj igni.' 
 This form is often found in the best MSS., and in inscriptions. I have 
 therefore left it so, not without some misgivings as to the propriety of 
 doing so. 
 
 In xi. 18 the Cod. Med. alter has 'tracxere,' and in 19, 'aucximus.' I 
 have left the words in that form wherever they so occur. So Lucret. 
 (iii. 1044), 'restincxit ' — ' ex,' 'x ' being pronounced exactly alike ; the 
 reduplication of the consonant making no difference in the sound. 
 
 In i. 17, and iii. 54, the Cod. Med. has ' ad Hercule ;' in iii. 69, ' ad 
 Cornelius ;' in iii. 72, ' ad Pompei ' — in all these cases ' ad ' being the 
 reading for the usual ' at.' Quintilian (Instit. of Orat. i. 7. 5) observes 
 that there had been a distinction observed by many, that 'ad,' "when a 
 preposition, should take the letter ' d,' but, when a conjunction, the 
 letter 't.' It is a fair inference, I think, that Quintilian himself 
 disregarded this distinction, and wrote ' ad ' or ' at ' indiscriminately. 
 I think, probably, I should have been right in leaving these readings as 
 they are found ; but in an edition for general use it may not bo wise 
 to introduce a great number of forms to which the reader has beon un- 
 accustomed : a principle which will account for my reluctance to follow 
 the MS. always, in printing, for instance, ' at quot ' (i. 74) for ' ad quod,' 
 and such forms as ' inquid,' ' velud,' &c., which 7nay nevertheh^ss be 
 correct. 
 
 In i. 79, and elsewhere, I have retained 'permities*" where the MS. 
 gives it. These forms, 'permities,' ' permitiabilis,' &c., occur in the 
 best manuscripts, and must have been in use by the Romans. These 
 forms have been objected to on the ground that no sufficient expla]iation 
 of them has been offered by any one, no probable derivation for them 
 suggested. I should think it an adequate reply, that we are not bound to 
 give any such explanation or derivation. The question is one of fact : 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 were they or were they not in usel If they were, they require no 
 accounting for, except as a matter of curiosity. To take a parallel case 
 in our own language. There is no douht whatever as to the proper spelling 
 of the word ' diocese ;' nevertheless for years it appeared in a daily 
 paper in the form of * diocess.' So we continually find 'syren' for 
 
 * siren ' in newspapers and books. If an editor of any work were to 
 reproduce these words as he had reason to believe the original composer 
 wrote them, I cannot see that he would be doing wrong, or in the least 
 bound to supply derivations for the inaccurate forms * diocess ' or 
 
 * syren.' 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 The praenomen of Tacitus is uncertain. In tlie Codex Mediceus, the 
 sole authority for the first six books, he is styled P. Cornelius Tacitus in 
 the margin, and in the subscriptions of the first three books — " fi^iit P. 
 CorneliLib.i.(ii.iii.)." Apollinaris Sidonius (iv. 14 and 22) calls him Caius. 
 Consequently we must be content to know that in calling him Cornelius 
 Tacitus we are correct ; and that in calling him any thing more we may 
 go wrong. His father was apparently procurator of Belgica : Pliny the 
 elder (N, H. vii. 16) says, " Ipsi non pridem vidimus eadem fere omnia 
 in filio Cornell Taciti Equitis Romani Belgicae Galliae rationes procurantis." 
 Pliny the younger (Epist. vi. 20) speaks of himself as being in his eighteenth 
 year when the famous eruption of Vesuvius took place, a.d. 79 ; elscAv^here 
 (vii. 20) he describes himself and Tacitus as nearly contemporaries : 
 " aetate propemodum aequales : equidem adulescentulus cum tu iam fama 
 gloriaque floreres." Pliny the younger was consequently born in a.d. 61 
 or 62, and Tacitus would probably be his senior by something lik(i five 
 years. This would make him born about a.d. 56 or 57. Interamna, now 
 Terni, claims the honour of being the birth-place of Tacitus, and his 
 remains were supposed to be deposited in some one of the tumuli which 
 formerly existed near that town, until they were disturbed by some 
 fanatic who regarded the illustrious historian as thus fittingly punished 
 for his account of Christianity. When Tacitus grew towards manhood, 
 his desire was to distinguish himself as an orator at the bar, and with 
 a view to this he became a close attendant on Marcus Aper and Julius 
 Secundus, at that period the great ornaments of the Forum (Dialog, de 
 Orat. 2), and no doubt profited by his connexion with them, for Pliny 
 (Epp. ii. 1.) speaks of his eloquence : "(Yerginius Rufus) laudatus i3st a 
 consule Cornelio Tacito. Nam hie supremus felicitati eius cumulus access! t, 
 laudator eloquentissimus." It was not long before Tacitus looked round 
 for a wife ; and he was successful in obtaining for himself the daughter of 
 Cn. Julius Agricola, subsequently legatus of Britain. The betrothal took 
 place in the year 77 a.d., in the consulship of Agricola, and the marriage 
 probably shortly after the expiration of his magistracy. Cf. Agricola 9 : 
 " Consul egregiae turn spei filiam iuveni mihi despondit ac post consulftum 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xi 
 
 coUocavit, et statim Britanniae praepositus est." At the period of his 
 marriage, then, Tacitus was about twenty-two. He, no doubt, was a man 
 of some note subsequently to this, and began the usual career of office. 
 His first magistracy was held under Vespasian, the second probably under 
 Titus. In the History (i. 1) he gives some account of his gradual rise to 
 honours : " Dignitatem nostram a Yespasiano inchoatam, a Tito auctam, 
 a Domitiano longius provectam non abnuerim." Titus was princeps for a 
 short time only, from the latter half of a.d. 79 to the latter part of a.d. 81. 
 Within that period Tacitus was probably tribunus plebis or aedilis ; if ho 
 were the former in a.d. 80, and one whole year elapsed between the quaes- 
 torship and tribunate, as in the case of his father-in-law Agricola (Agric. 6, 
 " Mox inter quaesturam ac tribunatum plebis, atque etiam ipsura tribunatus 
 annum"), Tacitus would have been quaestor in the year a.d. 78 ; or if two 
 whole years elapsed, then in a.d. 77. He may have been aedilis on this 
 supposition a.d. 82 or 83, but at all events he was praetor in the year 
 a.d. 88. In the Annals (xi. 11) he speaks of himself as present at the 
 ludi saeculares celebrated by Domitian while discharging that office : "lis- 
 que intentius adfui sacerdotio quindecimvirali praeditus ac tunc praetor." 
 This was in the year a.d. 88. Shortly afterwards Tacitus left Rome ac- 
 companied by his wife. At all events they were both absent at the period 
 of the death of Agricola, in the year a.d. 93, and Tacitus represents his 
 absence from Rome to have been of four years' duration : " JSTobis tarn 
 longae absentiae conditione ante quadriennium amissus es " (Agric. 45), 
 although we may give a different meaning to these words. The cause of 
 his absence is unknown ; that he was banished by Domitian is improbable, 
 I think, for he speaks of the honours he received under that princeps, and 
 gives no hint of different treatment. He may, of coiu-se, have been 
 during this period engaged in the government of some province, or, on the 
 other hand, he may have retired from Rome and political life, to avoid 
 the dangers of eminence under the later years of Domitian, or the guilt of 
 complicity with his enormities. Whether he returned to Rome before 
 the death of Domitian seems to me uncertain. From his expression in the 
 Agricola, 45, "Mox nostrae duxere Helvidium in carcerem manus, nos 
 Maurici Rusticique visus, nos innocenti sanguine Senecio perfudit," it has 
 been inferred that Tacitus himself was present at these scenes. If so, as 
 Helvidius Priscus the younger was put to death under Domitian, a.d. 93 
 or 94, Tacitus must have returned immediately after the death of his 
 father-in-law. But possibly in the words above quoted Tacitus may have 
 been speaking rhetorically, and alluding to the conduct of the Senate of 
 which he was a member, rather than his own personal share in the pro- 
 ceedings. Nevertheless I think the presumption is that he was really 
 himself present. If so, then, as the motives which influenced him to 
 leave the city after his praetorship, on the ground of avoiding danger 
 under Domitian, would still be in force, I am inclined to suppose that the 
 
xii LITE OF TACITUS. 
 
 cause of his four years' a"bsence was his appointment to a proA ncial 
 goveninient. 
 
 However this may be, he was at Rome in the year 97 a.d., and ■wjs ap- 
 pointed consul suffectus with iN'erva on the death of T. Yirginius ]' ufus, 
 whose funeral oratio was pronounced by Tacitus (Plin. Epp. ii. 1, cioted 
 above). Nerva died a.d. 98, and during the short period between the 
 close of the year 96 a.d. and the early spring of 98 a.d., Tacitus is umally 
 supposed to have written the Agricola, because in the third chapter of 
 that Biogi'aphy he speaks of Nerva Caesar without the prefix of iOivus 
 elsewhere used (H. i. 1). But I think the form of the sentence — 
 "l^erva Caesar res olim dissociabiles miscuerit principatum ac libertatem 
 augeatque quotidie felicitatem imperii IsTerva Traianus" — combined v/ith a 
 remark elsewhere (Agric. 44) : "sicuti durare in hac beatissimi saeculi luce 
 ac principem Traianum videre, quod augurio votisque apud nostras aures 
 ominabatur" — conveys to the reader a clear impression that the worlj: was 
 composed under Trajan. It was, without any doubt, under that Emperor 
 that the Germania saw the light. He says (in c. 37), " Sexcentesimum 
 et quadragesimum annum urbs nostra agebat cum primum Cimbrorum 
 audita sunt arma, Caecilio Metello ac Papirio Carbone consulibus : ex quo 
 si ad alterum Imperatoris Traiani consulatum computemus, ducenti ferme 
 et decem anni colliguntur." The date of Trajan's second consulate is 98 
 A.D. ; and that is the date of the writing of the Germania. The History 
 was also composed under Trajan, as may be inferred from a passage ah'eady 
 alluded to in the work itself (i. 1): "Quod si vita suppeditet principatum 
 divi ^Nervae et imperium Traiani, uberiorem securioremque materiam, 
 senectuti seposui, rara temporum fehcitate ubi sentire quae velis, et quae 
 sentias dicere licet." From the presence of the epithet 'Divus* iii the 
 mention of Nerva, and its absence in that of Trajan, there can be lio c oubt 
 that Nerva was already dead, and Trajan yet living. The work begins 
 with the second consulate of Galba, in the year 69 a.d., and extenis to 
 the death of Domitian, 96 a.d., and is said by Jerome (In Comment, ad 
 Zachariam, c. 14) to have consisted of fourteen books; for he speaks cf the 
 whole narrative composed by Tacitus, from the death of Augustus to that 
 of Domitian, as embracing thirty books : allowing sixteen of these fo i- the 
 Annals, the remainder must have made up the History. Meamrhile 
 Tacitus did not altogether discontinue his forensic occupations. Marius 
 Priscus (Plin. Ep. ii. 11), proconsul of Africa, was accused by the provin- 
 cials of mal-administration; of banishing a Roman knight, and putting 
 several of his friends to death; and of strangling another Roman knight, 
 in consideration of receiving 300,000, and 700,000 serterces, as the price 
 of the crime, from those at whose instances these murders were committed. 
 Priscus demanded to be tried by judices, and not by the Senate. I»liny 
 the younger and Tacitus on behalf of the Afri, for whom they wero ap- 
 pointed to plead, resisted the demand of Priscus. In the year 100 a.d. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xiii 
 
 the cause was heard before the Senate; and ultimately Priscus was fined 
 700,000 sesterces, and banished from Italy ; the Senate declaring that 
 Pliny and Tacitus had discharged their duty faithfully. Priscus, however, 
 did not seem much the worse for his condemnation, for he is the Marius 
 of whom Juvenal speaks (i. 49) : "Exul ab octava Marius bibit et fruitur 
 Dis iratis : at tu, victrix Provincia, ploras." Tacitus pursued his literary 
 employment after the completion of the History. He proposed to give a nar- 
 rative of the earlier Empire, from the death of Augustus to the close of ]N'ero's 
 rule; so presenting a continuous recital of events, from the beginning of 
 the principatus of Tiberius to the death of Domitian, with the trifling ex- 
 ception perhaps of that very small period which elapsed between the death 
 of Nero and the beginning of the second consulship of Galba (H. i. 1). The 
 Annals, the title by which this second historical work is known, was written 
 after the History; for Tacitus speaks (xi. 11) of certain computations as fully 
 detailed in those books which contained the events ofDomitian's reign,aUud> 
 ing clearly to the History. The time at which the Annals were composed may 
 be pretty nearly ascertained from a passage in ii. 61 : "Exin ventum Ele- 
 phantinen ac Syenen claustra olim Romani imperii, quod nunc rubrum ad 
 mare patescit." It was Trajan who in his expedition to the East, in the years 
 114, 115 A.D., extended the frontier of the Empire (Eutrop. viii. 3). The 
 Annals, then, could not have been written before the year 115 a.d. There 
 is no proof, as far as I am aware, that the term Annals w^as originally 
 appKed especially to this portion of the writings of Tacitus. In the 
 Codex Mediceus the only heading is "ab excessu divi Augusti," and in the 
 Codex Mediceus alter, as I gather (see Orelli's Introduction to the Annals), 
 the books are numbered from xi. to xxi. uninterruptedly; the last five being 
 the books of the History. Tacitus himself in the Annals (iii. 65, iv. 32, 
 xiii. 21) no doubt speaks of them under that name : " Quod praecipuum 
 munus annalium reor, ne virtutes sileantur utque pravis dictis factisque 
 ex posteritate et infamia metus sit ; " again, " JS'emo annales nostros cum 
 scriptura eorum contenderit, qui veteres populi Romani res composuere;" 
 and lastly, " Cum ex dignitate populi Eomani repertum sit res inlustres an- 
 nalibus, talia diurnis actis mandare. " But he uses the word elsewhere : * * Quod 
 si vatum, annaKum ad testimonia vocentur, plures sibi ac locupletiores esse" 
 (iv. 43); "Graecorum annalibus ignotus" (ii. 88); "miles nun tios introitus 
 aperta secreta velut in annales referebat." Clearly the term in these 
 passages does not seem to be used in distinction to 'Historia;' but in the 
 sense of historical composition generally. I believe Tertullian (in Apol. adv. 
 Gent. 16) is the only authority for the designation of the narrative from 
 Galba's second consulate by the title of Histories, as distinguished from 
 the term Annals applied to the earlier portion of the entire work: " banc," 
 he writes, "Cornelius Tacitus suspicionem eiusmodi inseruit. Is enim 
 in quinta Historiarum suarum bellum ludaicum exorsus," &c. I think it, 
 consequently, very doubtful whether Tacitus made any distinction of title 
 
xiv LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 between the two portions successively composed; and possibly he tei:aed 
 the work neither * annales' nor * historiae,' but simply "ab excessu Divi 
 Augusti :" the probability nevertheless being that if any specific title was 
 employed, it was * annales ' for the entire work. 
 
 Besides the works already mentioned, Tacitus had formed the ider. of 
 writing others: the principatus of Nerva, and Trajan (H. i. 1), and a life 
 of Augustus (Ann. iil 24) are spoken of as the occupation of future years : 
 whether he wrote them or was prevented by death from doing so, is a 
 point of which we must be content to be ignorant. The Annals, a^ we 
 have seen, could not have been written much before the close of Trajan's 
 life (a.d. 117); but whether Tacitus survived that Emperor or not is also 
 unknown. The Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus (a.d. 275) professed 
 to deduce his pedigree from the illustrious historian — whether rightly or 
 wrongly there is no evidence to show. 
 
 There is a work usually ascribed to Tacitus, a Dialogus de Oratoribus. 
 It was composed a.d. 75 : " sextam iam felicis huius principatus stjitio- 
 nem qua Vespasianus rem publicam fovet" (c. 17). At this date 
 Tacitus would be something under twenty, and the writer of the Dialc»gue 
 was, according to his own account, a very young man (c. 2, &c.). It is 
 assigned to him by the Codices IN'eapolitani and Yaticani (" C. Cornel. 
 Taciti dialogus de Oratoribus feliciter incipit "). To the objection "hat 
 the style is not like that of Tacitus in his acknowledged writings, it is an 
 easy reply, that the style of a young man at eighteen, and the same man 
 at sixty-eight, are not generally the same. I think we may acquiesce 
 contentedly in the general belief until something arises to disprove it : at 
 present there is nothing. 
 
 It will naturally be a matter of interest to ascertain from what source 
 Tacitus drew his information with reference to the events he describes. 
 First, " oral tradition " furnished him with details in sundry cases. Cf. 
 iii. 16: "Audire me memini ex senioribus visum saepius inter manus 
 Pisonis libellum quem ipse non vulgaverit." The date of Piso's trial was 
 about A.D. 20. Tacitus himself was born probably about a.d. 56. As 
 there is a space between these epochs of something more than thirty 
 years only, our autho? might easily have conversed with many who lived 
 under Tiberius and were acquainted with the details of his reign. For 
 instance (iii 65), he tells us, "Memoriae proditur Tiberium quotiens 
 curia egrederetur Graecis verbis in hunc modum eloqui soHtum." Another 
 tradition is spoken of in iv. 10 : " I^on omiserim eorundem tempoium 
 rumorem, validum adeo ut nondum exolescat ;" and iv. 57 : " Traditur 
 etiam matris inpotentia extrusum." So (xi. 27) of later events : " Nihil 
 compositum miraculi causa, verum audita scriptaque senioribus tradam." 
 Other passages are doubtful ; for instance, vi. 20, vi. 23, xiv. 9, H. i. 41, 
 where such phrases as " sunt qui tradiderint," " crebrior fama tradidit," 
 leave it uncertain whether Tacitus is speaking of oral or written tradition. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xv 
 
 Further, Tacitus consulted, to use a modern phrase, files of newspapers. 
 *' ^on apud auctores rerum," he writes (iii. 3), " non diurna actorum 
 scriptura reperio," &c. He is here speaking of the " Acta diurna populi 
 Romani." ThesQ contained notices of meetings, deaths, marriages, trials, 
 and, in short, of any events of public interest. Cf. xiii. 31 : " Nisi 
 cui libeat laudandis fundamentis et trabibus quis molem amphitheatri 
 apud campum Martis Caesar exstruxerat, volumina implere, cum ex digni- 
 tate populi Romani repertum sit res inlustres annalibus, talia diumis urbis 
 actis mandare /' and xvi. 22 : *' Diurna populi Romani per provincias per 
 exercitus curatius leguntur ut noscatur quid Thrasea non fecerit." Cf. 
 xii. 24 : *^ Quos tunc Claudius terminos posuerit facile cognitu et publicis 
 actis perscriptum." 
 
 Again, Tacitus drew information from the official record of the pro- 
 ceedings in the Senate. In xv. 74 he says, " Reperio in Commentariis 
 Senatus," &c. These were drawn up by some authorized officer. Cf. 
 V. 4 : " Fuit in senatu lunius Rusticus componendis patrum actis 
 delectus." For some reason, as Mpperdey observes, these official records 
 were apparently not available foD a portion of the reign of Tiberius ; at 
 all events, Tacitus writes (ii. 88^ " Reperio apud scriptores senatoresque 
 eorundem temporum ... lectas in senatu litteras." This cannot refer to 
 the Commentarii Senatus, because all such records must be, from the nature 
 of the case, contemporaneous, and the words * eorundem temporum ' 
 would be altogether meaningless. Consequently, Tacitus must be speak- 
 ing of senators who had composed memoirs, and whose presence in the 
 Senate at the time would be a guarantee for the accuracy of their narra- 
 tives, or, at all events, for their acquaintance with the matters discussed 
 in their memoirs. However this may be, these Commentarii Senatus 
 would be a sufficient authority for a very large number of facts ; and no 
 doubt they constituted the chief source of the writer's information. 
 
 Tacitus also consulted previous writers ; for instance (i. 0^), " Tradit 
 C. Plinius Germanicorum bellorum scriptor;" (xiii. 20) "Plinius et 
 Cluvius nihil dubitatum de fide praefecti referunt." The former of these 
 wrote a history of his own times, from the point where Aufidius Bassus 
 left oS (cf. XV. 3, and H. iii. 28) ; the latter, apparently, a history of 
 the Empire under Nero, Galba, and Otho. In the same chapter Fabius 
 Rusticus is mentioned as a writer of the history of Nero's reign. Tacitus 
 also uses such phrases as " inter auctores constat," "tradunt temporis eius 
 auctores," " celeberrimos auctores habeo," &c., without giving any names. 
 Amongst these may have been Cn. Lentulus Gaetulicus, quoted by 
 Suetonius (Calig. 8) as an authority on the question of the place of 
 Caligula's birth ; Aufidius Bassus (see above) ; the elder Seneca (Sueton. 
 Tib. 73) ; Servilius Nonianus (Quint, x. 1. 102) ; Velleius Pater- 
 culus, &c. 
 
 Besides these, Tacitus had recourse to more private sources of informa- 
 
xvi LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 tion. Agrippina (the motlier of Nero) compiled memoirs touching her 
 own life and adventures. Cf. iv. 53: "Id repperi in commeiitariis 
 Agrippinae filiae quae N^eronis principis mater, vitam suam et casus si.orum 
 posteris memoravit." Again, in xv. 16, he says, " Contraque prooiderit 
 Corbulo Parthos inopes copiarum et pabulo attrito relicturos oppuj^natio- 
 nem," referring no doubt to some memoirs compiled by Corbulo C'?i the 
 subject of his campaigns in the East ; as Pliny (N. H. v. 20) speaks of 
 him as an authority consulted by himself with reference to the sources of 
 the Euphrates. Probably there were in existence many such histories : 
 Tiberius wrote a brief narrative of his own life. This is mentioned by 
 Suetonius (Tiber. 61): " commentario quem de vita sua summatim 
 breviterque composuit." So too Claudius, on a more extensive scale, 
 "composuit et de vita sua octo volumina" (Suet. Claud. 41). From 
 all these sources enumerated above Tacitus probably drew his ma- 
 terials. 
 
 A few remarks may be appended as to the style of our historian. 
 Tacitus is a very picturesque writer. For instance, a storm is thus 
 described (ii. 23): " Primo placidum aequor millenavium remis strepere 
 aut velis impelli : mox atro nubium globo effusa grando, simul variis 
 undique procellis incerti fluctus prospectum adimere, regimen imptjdire : 
 milesque pavidus et cassuum maris ignarus dum turbat nautas vel intem- 
 pestive iuvat, officia prudentium corrumpebat. Omne dehinc caelum et 
 mare omne in austrum cessit, qui tumidis Germaniae terris, prolundis 
 amnibus, immenso nubium tractu validus et rigore vicini septentrionis 
 horridior rapuit disiecitque naves in aperta Oceani aut insulas saxis 
 abruptis vel per occulta vada infestas." So, also, when Germanicus visits 
 the scene of the slaughter of Yarns and his troops (i. 61) : " Incodunt 
 maestos locos visuque ac memoria deformes : prima Vari castra lato 
 ambitu et dimensis principiis trium legionum manus ostentabant : dein 
 semiruto vallo,humili fossa accisae iam reliquiae consedisse intellegebantur : 
 medio campi albentia ossa, ut fugerant, ut restiterant,disiectavelagg3rata. 
 Adiacebant fragmina telorum equorumque artus, simul truncis arborum 
 antefixa ora. Lucis propinquisbarbarae arae, aput quas tribunos ac primorum 
 ordinum centuriones mactaverant. Et cladis eius superstites, pugnam aut 
 vincula elabsi referebant hie cecidisse legates, iUic raptas aquilas : ubi 
 primum vulnus Varo adactum, ubi infelici dextera et suo ictu mortem 
 invenerit : quo tribunali contionatus Arminius, quot patibula captivis, 
 quae scrobes, utque signis et aquilisper superbiam inluserit." 
 
 Again, the effects produced by the fall of a theatre are thus described : 
 "Et illi quidem quos principium stragis in mortem adflixerat, uttalisorte 
 cruciatum effugere. Miserandi magis quos abrupta parte corporis nordum 
 vita deseruerat; qui per diem visu, per noctem ululatibus et gemitu 
 coniuges aut liberos noscebant. Iam ceteri fama exciti, hie fratrem pro- 
 pinquum ille, alius parentes lamentari. Etiam quorum diversa de causa 
 
> 
 
 LIFE OF TACITUS. xvii 
 
 amici aiit hecessarii aberant, pavere tamen, neque duiu comperto quos ilia 
 vis perculisset, latior ex incerto luetus." 
 
 The landing of Agrippina in Italy with the ashes of Germanicus is 
 described thus : " Postquam duobus cum liberis, feralem urnaui tenens, 
 egressa navi defixit oculos, idem omnium gemitus, neque discerneres 
 proximos, alienos, virorum feminarumve planctus, nisi quod comitatum 
 Agrippinae longo maerore fessum obvii et recentes in doloreanteibant." 
 
 The state of the Eoman streets under Nero after nightfall is drawn in 
 a single touch : "In modum captivitatis nox agebatur." So again, xi. 23 : 
 "An parum quod Veneti et Insubres curiam inruperint nisi coetus 
 alienigenarum velut captivitas inferatiir V* 
 
 Here is a description of the wretched state of the Roman world under 
 Galba and the three succeeding emperors (H. i. 2) : " Haustae aut obrutae 
 urbes : fecundissima Campaniae ora et urbs incendiis vastata, consumptis 
 antiquissimis delubris : ipso Capitolio civium manibus incenso, pollutae 
 caerimoniae : magna adulteria, plenum exsiliismare,infecti caedibus scopuli." 
 
 Tacitus was a thoughtful writer ; and his works abound in the results 
 of his though tfulness. They are full of sententious expressions and 
 maxims, the product of the author's talent for generalization. A few of 
 these are subjoined. H. iv. 26, " Quod in pace fors, seu natura, tunc 
 fatum et ira Dei vocabatur ;" H. ii. 1, "Inclinatis ad credendum animis 
 loco ominum etiam fortuita;" Germ. 21, " Periculosiores sunt inimicitiae 
 iuxta libertatem ;" H. iv. 64, " Hand facile libertas et domini miscentur;" 
 vi. 42, "Paucorum dominatio regiae libidini propior est;" xv. 53, 
 " Nisi si cupido dominandi cunctis afifectibus flagrantior est ;" H. i. 83, 
 "Non posse principatum scelere quaesitum subita modestia et prisca 
 gravitate retineri ;" H. iv. 7, " NuUum mains boni imperii instrumentum 
 quam bonos amicos esse ;" H. ii. 92, " Nee unquam satis fida potentia 
 ubi nimia est;" H. iv. 74, "Vitia erunt donee homines, sed neque 
 haec continua et meliorum interventu pensantur ;" H. i. 7, " Servorum 
 manus subitis avidae et tamquam apud senem festinantes ;" xiii. 19, 
 " Nihil rerum mortalium tarn instabile ac fluxum quam fama potentiae non 
 sua vi nixae ;" xv. 68, " Facetiae quae ubi multum ex vero traxere acrem 
 sui memoriam relinquunt ;" iii. 9, " Pavidis consilia in incerto sunt ;" 
 H. i. 15, "Assentatio erga Principem quemcunque sine affectu pera- 
 gitur;" Germ. 19, " Corrumpere et corrumpi saeculum vocatur ;" vi. 17, 
 " Acribus, ut ferme talia, initiis, incurioso fine ;" iv. 65, " Qui mos 
 vulgo fortuita ad culpam trahentes ;" xv. 21, "Initia magistratuum 
 nostrorum meliora ferme, finis inclinat ;" H. iii. 58, " Largus promissis 
 et quae natura trepidantium est immodicus," and "In metu consilia pru- 
 dentium et vulgi rumor iuxta audiuntur," and " Omnia inconsulti impetus 
 coepta, initiis valida spatio languescunt ;" H. iv. 1, " In turbas et discordias 
 pessimo cuique plurima vis: pax et quies bonis artibus indigent." 
 
 Tacitus aims at brevity^ and generally succeeds in attaining it, and not 
 
 b 
 
xviii LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 seldom becomes obscure in the successful effort ; consequently 4;lie cli.e to 
 his meaning sometimes is to be obtained not so much from his actual words, 
 as from tlie idea, so far as it can be ascertained, which filled his r.iind 
 as he wrote. For instances of this cf. xi. 15, "sed benignitati,'' &c.; 
 xii. 47, " visui tamen," &c. ; H. ii. 23, " diffisas paucitati," &c. 
 From this love of brevity there are perpetually occurring instances of 
 zeugma (cf ii. 58, iv. 49, vi. 24, &c.). 
 
 There stiU remains for consideration an important question : Teiiitus 
 may be picturesque in narrative, forcible in expression, profound in re- 
 flection — but is he also trustworthy 1 Is a statement credible because he 
 makes it 1 Are we to believe his assertions because they are his 1 Now 
 an author may be unworthy of credit for more reasons than one. He may 
 be a deliberate falsifier, and make assertions he knows to be untrue ; or, 
 again, he may write uncritically, consulting his authorities without any 
 attempt to discriminate between their respective values as evidence; or he 
 may write heedlessly, consulting good authorities, but consulting them 
 carelessly ; or, lastly, he may write under the influence of prepossessions 
 which blind his vision and warp his judgment. Now, I suppose no one 
 could reasonably regard Tacitus as a deliberate falsifier of history, or 
 accuse him of writing what he knows to be untrue ; nevertheless I think 
 that he sometimes makes assertions which, although he may not /c?iow 
 them to he false, yet he does not know to be true, but notwithstanding he 
 puts them forward because they help to fill in effectively the picture he 
 is drawing — he falls a victim, in short, to word-painting. An instance of 
 this may be seen in his account of an incident in the campaigrs of 
 Germanicus in Germany \ When the Eoman general in his march 
 eastward reached the Weser, he found a body of Germans assembh d to 
 oppose him on the right bank of the river. Arminius their leader de- 
 manded a parley with Flavins his brother, then serving in the Eoman f 3rce. 
 It was granted ; and a conference ensues between the two brothers. The dia- 
 logue is reported in detail ; and at last Flavins, losing his self-command, 
 calls for his arms and horse, and is with difficulty withheld from plung- 
 ing into the stream and hastening across to chastise his insolent brother. 
 This is the account of our historian ; he never apparently thought it necessary 
 to learn the width of the river in order to ascertain whether such dialogue 
 were possible. It is not given to any but those cast in the superhuman 
 mould of heroes to converse across wide streams ; or swim through them 
 armed and accoutred to attack an adversary on the distant bank : but Tacitus 
 had liis picture in hand, and his colours must be effective at the expanse 
 •of reality. Another instance of this wordr-painting occurs in the narra- 
 tive of the same campaigns^. On the return from their expedition across 
 the Weser of a large portion of tlie forces of Germanicus by sea to the 
 
 1 ii. 9, 10. 2 ii. 23. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xix 
 
 mouth of the Ems, a storm caught the vessels which conveyed his troops. 
 This was a great opportunity for an effective description of a storm at sea, 
 and of the wreck of a large flotilla ; and the historian is equal to the 
 occasion. His account runs thus : " At first the placid waters re-echoed 
 with the oars of a thousand ships, or were driven onwards by their sails ; 
 before long hail poured from out a black mass of clouds ; the waves, 
 veering fitfully before the shifting blasts, prevented all out-look and 
 hindered the due management of the ship ; and the soldiery, terror-stricken, 
 and unacquainted with the disasters of the sea, while they throw the 
 sailors into confusion, or render ill-timed help, interfered fatally with the 
 duties of the more experienced crew. Then the whole sky and ocean was 
 concentrated in a south wind, which, strengthened by a vast trail of clouds 
 from the deep rivers in the swollen lands of Germany, and rendered all 
 the wilder by the icy cold of the neighbouring pole, swept off and hurled 
 the ships into the open sea, or to islands perilous with jagged rocks, or 
 hidden shoals. After barely avoiding these with great difficulty, when 
 the tide changed and set in the same direction as the wind, their anchors 
 parted, and they could not bale out the deluge which burst in ; horses, 
 cattle, baggage, even their arms are thrown overboard to lighten the hulls, 
 which were dripping with water pouring through the sides and the waves 
 which buried them from above." This strikes one irresistibly as the 
 writing of an author who sits down with the intention of describing a 
 •storm " on general principles," without any attempt to inquire whether 
 the circumstances of the particular case warranted such description. In 
 itself the exactness of the narrative in such matters is of no great import- 
 ance, but want of exactness in one point unfortunately suggests similar 
 want of exactness generally. 
 
 Or, as before remarked, a writer may consult all authorities without 
 discrimination, or assert facts on evidence which, from the circumstances 
 of the case, is entirely unworthy of credit. This latter is what Tacitus 
 does, I think, occasionally. For instance, in his account^ of the treat- 
 ment of Agrippina the elder by Tiberius, he states the authority on 
 which his statements rest. He quotes the memoirs of Agrippina the 
 younger : " Id ego a scriptoribus annalium non traditum repperi in com- 
 mentariis Agrippinae filiae quae JSTeronis principis mater vitam suam et 
 casus suorum posteris meraoravit." The daughter must, one would sup- 
 pose, have learned the circumstances and conversations here given from 
 the mother. Agrippina the elder, " pervicax irae et morbo corporis impli- 
 cata," was not very likely to give an unbiassed account of the interview 
 between herself and Tiberius. It may be said, of course, that the 
 mention of the source whence the information here given was derived by 
 the historian is sufficient to set the reader on his guard. And so it is 
 
 3 iv. 53. 
 
 b2 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 eufl&cient; but this was not apparently the reason why Tacitus mentioned 
 the origin of the anecdote. On the contrary, no intimation whateA^jr is 
 given that the account was viewed by him with suspicion ; no suggc ^tion 
 made that it might have been too highly coloured by her known violence 
 of feeling. One can hardly, therefore, doubt that Tacitus would at other 
 times also consult the same and similar memoirs composed by individuals 
 naturally under the warping influence uf prejudice and hostility. Any 
 fact mentioned in them, any statement — no matter how * ex parte ' — would, 
 I fear, be transferred to the page of the historian, if it gave piquancy to 
 the narrative, without any careful sifting to ascertain the credibility or 
 incredibility of the story. 
 
 Again, an author may consult trustworthy documents, but consult them 
 carelessly, and give their scope and bearing inaccurately. 'Now it 
 happens that Tacitus, in various parts of his annals, quotes or refers to 
 certain Senatus consulta. It will be worth while to examine one o]* two 
 of these quotations, to ascertain whether he has given accurately or not 
 the bearing of the Senatus consulta spoken of in his narrative, t nder 
 the year a.d. 47*, we are told that Claudius "lege lata saevitiam credi- 
 torum,coercuit ne in mortem parentum pecunias filiis familiarum faenori 
 darent." This can only mean, as far as the words go, that post-obits 
 were forbidden; the usurers were restrained from lending money to 
 young men, to be repaid on their succession to their father's estate. Now 
 this Senatus consultum is preserved in the Digest*, and runs as follows : . 
 " Cum inter ceteras sceleris causas Macedo, quas illi natura administribat, 
 etiam aes alienum adhibuisset et saepe materiam peccandi malis moiibus 
 praestaret, qui pecuniam ne quid amplius diceretur incertis nomiribus 
 crederet, placere ne cui qui filiofamilias mutuam pecunias dedisset etiani 
 post mortem parentis eius cuius in potestate fuisset, actio petitioque 
 daretur ut scirent qui pessimo exemplo faenerarent nullius posse filii- 
 familias bonum nomen exspectata patris morte fieri." From this wo 
 learn that the real object of the Senatus consultum Macedonianum was 
 to prevent all lending of money to sons who were still in the pow(!r of 
 their fathers, by refusing the creditor the right of enforcing at la^' the 
 repayment of any debt so incurred, even after the death of the debtor's 
 father, and his own consequent succession to the whole or a portion of his 
 paternal inheritance. To express the object of this enactment as Tacntus 
 has done, as intended simply to forbid post-obits, is most certainly 
 inaccurate. 
 
 Again, under the proceedings of a.d. 53 «, Tacitus cites the Senatus 
 consultum Claudianum. His account of it is as follows : " Inter (luae 
 refert ad Patres de poena feminarum quae servis coniungerentur : statui- 
 turque ut ignaro domino ad id prolapsae in servitute, sin consensisset pro 
 libertis haberentur." According to this account, the Senatus consultum 
 * ^' 13. » 14, tit. 6. 6 jtii. 53. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xxi 
 
 provided for two classes of union between a free woman and a slave : 
 the one, where the slave's master was not cognizant of the transaction ; 
 and the other, where he was cognizant, and gave his consent. In the 
 first case, the woman became a slave — no doubt the slave of her 
 paramour's master; in the second, she was placed on the footing of a 
 freed woman. 
 
 Is this an accurate account of the matter 1 "With this compare Gaius '' : 
 "Ecce enim ex senatus consulto Claudiano poterat civis Romana quae 
 alieno servo, volente domino eius, coierit ipsa ex pactione libera perma- 
 nere sed servum procreare : nam quod inter eam et dominum istius servi 
 convenerit, ex senatus consulto ratum esse iubetur ;" and® "Item si qua 
 mulier civis Romana praegnas ex senatus consulto Claudiano ancilla facta 
 sit ob id quod alieno servo invito et denuntiante domino eius coierit, 
 complures distinguunt et existimant, siquidem ex iustis nuptiis con- 
 ceperit, civem Romanum ex ea nasci : si vero volgo conceperit, servum 
 nasci eius cuius mater facta est ancilla;" and* "Item feminae liberae 
 ex senatus consulto Claudiano ancillae fiunt eorum dominorum quibus 
 invitis et denuntiantibus nihilominus cum servis eorum coierint." From 
 these passages, it results that by the Senatus consultum Claudianum, if 
 a free woman cohabited with a slave against the wish of his master, and 
 after notice from him that he would not permit it, then the woman 
 became a slave. If the cohabitation took place with the consent of the 
 slave's master, the woman might by especial compact with the master 
 remain free ; but any child born in consequence of the intercourse would 
 be a slave. The cohabitation of a free woman with a slave, either without 
 the master's knowledge, or without notice on his part of prohibition 
 (' denuntiatio'), was not touched by the Senatus consultum, for it was 
 already provided for by the Lex Aelia Sentia, which declared that the 
 issue of a free woman and a slave was of servile condition \ 
 
 Clearly Tacitus does not describe the matter correctly. He represents 
 the reduction of the free woman to slavery as taking place where there 
 was ignorance on the master's part : it only took place, we see from the 
 passages of Gaius quoted above, when the master refused his consent, and 
 gave prohibitory notice. On the other hand, if the master gave formal 
 consent, the woman retained her freedom. As far as I know, if the 
 cohabitation took place simply without the master's knowledge, the 
 woman remained free, but the child became a slave by the provision of 
 the Lex Aelia Sentia. It does not follow from any thing here said 
 that the text of Tacitus, " pro libertis haberentur," is incorrect. From 
 Paulus ^ it appears that under some circumstances (not stated) a free 
 woman was reduced by the Senatus consultum in question to the con- 
 dition of a 'libcrta.' The reading, therefore, is probably verbally correct ; 
 
 7 i. 84. 8 i. 91. 9 i. 160. 
 
 1 i. 86. 2 S. B. iv. tit. 10. 
 
xxu 
 
 LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 but it also proves how very confusedly and inaccurately the Seiutus 
 consultum is quoted by Tacitus. 
 
 Lastly, an author may write under the influence of prepossessioii in 
 favour of or against some one or more of his characters, and so view € ^ery 
 thing connected with them through a coloured medium. If the w:iter 
 has a special affection for any individual dealt with in his narrative, 
 failings will be extenuated, and every possible allowance made for all 
 shortcomings ; virtues will be made the most of ; and if he is a soldior in 
 command, successes will be amplified, and the results of his campaigns 
 announced with a flourish of trumpets. On the other hand, if tlie actor 
 is not a favourite of the writer, his policy is depreciated, his motives im- 
 pugned, and his conduct generally scrutinized with hostile eyes ; apparent 
 excellencies disallowed, and doubtful failings transferred unhesitatingly 
 into the domain of ascertained vices. Now with Tacitus, Germanicus the 
 younger is a favourite. Let us examine the account of the concluding 
 operations of the admired hero in Germany. After crossing the Weser* 
 at various points in the face of the enemy, and driving them back, 
 he advances until he finds the confederate Germans posted in the depths 
 of a sacred grove. After a progress in disguise through the camp to test 
 the feelings of his troops, a cheering dream, and a stirring address, a battle 
 ensues : from early noon to nightfall the combat rages ; over a spacs *6f 
 ten miles the ground was thickly strewn with the dead. To commemorate 
 the signal victory a trophy was erected, and an inscription attached 
 to it containing a detailed list of the vanquished tribes. The Germans 
 themselves were utterly disheartened, and on the point of retiring across 
 the Elbe *. But suddenly the scene changes : the erection of the in- 
 scription with its vaunting list roused the lately cowed forces of the 
 enemy to fury ; they rush to arms once more, and throw aside all re- 
 collection of their crushing defeat. After a vigorous attack on the Eoman 
 legions, in which noble and commoner, old and young vie with each 
 other in impetuous bravery, they select a new position, a plain surrounded 
 by woods and morasses. Here Germanicus again attacks them : once more 
 the ground is covered with the bodies of the slain : the Eoman soldiers 
 are urged to take no captives, to refuse quarter and exterminate the foe. 
 But in spite of the utter overthrow, at nightfall the victorious legions 
 are recalled ; no word is said of any pursuit of the ^broken enemy, no 
 mention of any request on their part for peace. One tribe indeed, the 
 Angrivarii, hastily offered to capitulate, and Germanicus found it conve- 
 nient to regard their surrender as a general acknowledgment of defeat by 
 their countrymen at large. • 
 
 Germanicus now withdraws his forces, some by land, some by nea. 
 These latter on their passage were tossed by storms, and many vessels 
 
 ^ "• 12. -J ii. 19. 
 
LIFFOF TACITUS. xxiii 
 
 were wrecked. The news of this disaster roused the Germans — so little 
 were they affected by their late apparently hopeless defeat — once more to 
 begin hostilities. Germanicus, however, promptly takes measures to repress 
 the rising, and organizes an invasion of the country of the Marsi and 
 Chatti. After gaining certain successes in these operations, he once more 
 withdraws Ijis legions into winter-quarters. His reflections are pleasant*. 
 The enemy was really now wavering : counsels of submission were in the 
 ascendant : one year more, and the victory would be complete . But the 
 one year more was not to be granted him. He was presently recalled 
 from the scene of his operations. Now it is evident that this account of 
 the war, full, as Tacitus describes it, of glorious, yet vague and unfruitful 
 successes — successes passed over almost in silence by Dion Cassius — is 
 little more than a fancy picture, highly coloured and elaborately wrought, 
 to do honour to one who ranked high in the historian's estimation, and 
 was foremost amongst the darlings of the Roman people *. Again, 
 as Germanicus was the idol of the people of Rome, and Tacitus shared in 
 this idolatry, so Tiberius was their detestation, and this feeling was also 
 shared by the historian. Tiberius was ungenial, awkward, and morose, 
 perverse in temper, and obstinately bent on his own way, even when he 
 gained nothing by it. This temperament made him unpopular, more than 
 his cruelties : these the citizens would have borne, as they bore them from 
 other rulers ; but they could not endure his ungeniality and perverseness : 
 * hoc nocuit Lamiarum caede madenti :' and the result was that, especially 
 in all his relations with Germanicus and his family, he was judged with- 
 out discrimination, and with unreasoning suspicion accused of the darkest 
 machinations. 
 
 Tiberius was popularly supposed to have formed deliberate plans for the 
 humiliation of Germanicus, and finally to have compassed his death. Tacitus, 
 sharing in this belief, or unwilling to forego the opportunity of blackening 
 the character of the Prince ps, ' his favourite aversion,' begins to assume 
 the badness of the motives of Tiberius at a very early period of the story. 
 For the removal of Germanicus from his command on tlie Rhine he can 
 see only one motive : it was done 'per invidiam.' And yet the policy 
 advocated by Tiberius was not unreasonable or unsound ^ : " the war had 
 been chequered with grave disasters, as well as distinguished by great 
 successes : better cesults, with fewer drawbacks, might be obtained by a 
 policy of craft : the nations of Germany might well be left to the 
 disintegrating results of mutual jealousies ; a method of dealing with 
 those barbarous tribes in previous instances not unfruitful in the happiest 
 results." All this appears to me only evidence of the prudence of Tiberius 
 in declining to continue a war so barren in useful results and wasteful of 
 the resources of the Empire. Nor, after all, could one well blame Tiberius 
 if, in addition to these motives, he was influenced by the consideration 
 » u. 26. 6 ii. 41. 7 ii. 26. 
 
xxiv . LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 m 
 
 that it would be politic to remove from his command at so favoural»le a 
 juncture one whom his troops had already offered to place on the Imiperial 
 throne. At all events, Tiberius herein did nothing more than carr) out 
 the policy of Augustus, his professed model. One may, ther;fore, 
 reasonably doubt whether Tacitus was not influenced by his feelings v/hen 
 he concluded his account with the remark that Germanicus was perJectly 
 aware " fingi ea, seque per invidiam parto iam decori abstrahi." 
 
 After the removal of Germanicus from his command on the EhiiKi, he 
 was despatched on a mission of importance to the East. Archelaus the 
 king of Cappadocia had just died, and his kingdom was annexed to the 
 Empire : the people of Commagene and of certain portions of Cilicia were 
 anxious for a Roman in preference to a native government. To ariange 
 these and other matters of importance Tiberius thought it necessary, or 
 pretended to do so, to send Germanicus with especial powers. But the 
 Emperor took the precaution of removing from the government of KSyria, 
 Creticus Silanus, who was connected by marriage with Germanicus, and 
 had placed in command of that province Cnaeus Piso, a man of turbulent 
 and haughty character. The object of this manoeuvre was to check, by 
 the counteracting influence of Piso, the possible ambition of Germanicus^. 
 Such at least was the clear belief of Piso himself, and Tacitus beyond 
 doubt, I think, intends to leave on the mind of his readers an impression 
 that such was really the case: "Permissae Germanico provinciae quae mari 
 dividuntur, maiusque imperium quoquo adiisset, quam his qui sorte aut 
 missu principis obtinerent. Sed Tiberius demoverat Syria Creticum Si- 
 lanurti per adfinitatem conexum Germanico .... praefeceratque Cn. Piso- 
 nemr But Tiberius would hardly have selected such an instrumen* for 
 his purpose : he would scarcely have chosen a man who treated the Impe- 
 rial family with undisguised contempt; one, of whom the historian observes 
 that " vix Tiberio concedere : liberos eius ut multum infra despectare." 
 And besides, what proof is there of any scheme at all of the kind ? Piso 
 himself had clearly received no distinct intimation of any such purpose : 
 he believed Tiberius to have such purpose, but it was only a conjecture of 
 his own : " nee dubium habebat se delectum qui Syriae imponeretu:: ad 
 spes Germanici eoercendas." Others however thought they knew riore 
 of the arrangement than Piso himself: *'credidere quidam data et a Tilerio 
 occulta mandata :" and this belief Tacitus cannot lesist mentioning, 
 although it is inconsistent with his previous remark. But in truth all 
 these suggestions of a crooked policy on the part of Tiberius seem altogether 
 unnecessary. Piso is described by him elsewhere as ' adiutor Germaiiico 
 datus '.* This arrangement might be intended to reproduce, with a neces- 
 sary difference, that made by Augustus in the case of Caius Caesar, when 
 entrusted with the command of Armenia. Sulpicius Quirinius, then pro- 
 
 • u. 43. » iii. 12. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xxv 
 
 bably proconsul of Syria, was appointed 'rector^' to the young Caesar. For 
 Germanicus was provided not a * rector,' liis age being advanced enough 
 to render such aid unnecessary, but an ' adiutor :' in both cases the officer 
 already in command of Syria might be selected, and especially in the second 
 instance this was likely to be so, as Tiberius professed to take his pre- 
 decessor as his model in policy. 
 
 Piso was not long in showing the course of action which he intended 
 to carry out, whatever his motives may have been. To some extent 
 Germanicus appears to have incurred his anger personally, by a refusal to 
 grant a pardon to a convicted forger^ But other acts of Piso cannot be 
 sufficiently explained by the existence of any such feeling. The lan- 
 guage of Tacitus runs thus : " Postquam Syriam ac legion es attigit, 
 largitione, ambitu, infimos manipularium iuvando, cum veteres centurio- 
 nes, severos tribunos demoveret locaque eorum clientibus suis vel deter- 
 rimo cuique attribueret, desidiam in castris, licentiam in urbibus, vagum 
 ac lascivientem per agros militem sineret ; eo usque corruptionis provectus 
 est ut sermone vulgi parens legionum haberetur : nee Plancina se intra 
 decora feminis tenebat, sed exercitio equitum decursibus cohortium inter- 
 esse." I do not see how these acts of Piso could be any part of a 
 scheme dictated by Tiberius to disgrace Germanicus. Rather, consider- 
 ing the natural character of Piso, scarcely deigning to regard Tiberius as 
 superior to himself, and looking down with contempt on the Imperial 
 family, one would be inclined to suppose that Piso had formed a vague 
 plan of seizing the throne for himself. 
 
 On the return of Germanicus from a tour in Egypt, he found his 
 arrangements in the army and towns of Syria overruled or entirely 
 altered by Piso. The anger of Germanicus at this display of insolence 
 seems to have determined Piso to leave Syria at once ; but he abandoned 
 his plan in consequence of the failing health of the young Caesar : " dein 
 Piso abire Syria statuit, mox adversa Germanici valitudine detentus 
 .... opperiens aegritudinem quae rursum Germanico acciderat^." This 
 language appears to me altogether inconsistent with any notion of poison, 
 and to imply beyond question that the ill-health of Germanicus occurring 
 unexpectedly caused a hasty alteration in the plans of Piso. Imme- 
 diately afterwards, however, the idea of poison is introduced, and the 
 language of Tacitus hints, or rather states plainly, that Germanicus him- 
 self entertained a belief that he was being poisoned : " saevam vim 
 morbi augebat persuasio veneni a Pisone accepti ;" but, as a sort of cor- 
 roborative evidence, he mentions that there were found beneath the 
 flooring and in the walls of Piso's house, bones, charms, and all the usual 
 machinery of incantation. Poison hardly requires to be supplemented by 
 witchcraft. The body of Germanicus, after his death, was exposed to 
 
 1 iii. 48. » ii. 55. » H. 69. 
 
ixvi LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 view, stripped of its clothing, in the forum at Antiocli. Whether i fc did 
 or did not display signs of poison, was a disputed point : each man 
 imported into the investigation his own preconceived theory. If he 
 believed Germanicus to have been poisoned, he traced the mail:s of 
 poison in the body ; if he did not start with the belief, he saw noi. ling. 
 The charge against Piso, as regards the administration of poison, rests 
 upon a foundation altogether insufficient ; much less, so far, is there any 
 evidence against Tiberius. 
 
 The suspicions of the Emperor's connivance in the death of Ger- 
 manicus seem to have been increased by the obstinacy with T7hich 
 Tiberius kept out of sight after the arrival of the corpse at Rome. But 
 whatever proof there might be herein of his perverse temper, one- can 
 hardly suppose that Tiberius was afraid, as was suggested, of being unable 
 to conceal his real feelings ; and besides, satisfaction at the death of any 
 one does not imply necessarily any complicity in his murder. 
 
 On the return of Piso to Eome, he was formally accused by Fulcinius 
 Trio, Servaeus, and others*, and explicitly charged with the murde-r of 
 Germanicus. The only evidence mentioned by Tacitus as adduced to 
 support the charge, was a story that in a banquet given by Germanicus, 
 Piso had, with his own hands, poisoned the viands at table ^. This was 
 justly considered to be incredible. Pliny the elder (N. H. xi. 71) men- 
 tions that Vitellius, in his speech, inferred the administration of pcison 
 to Germanicus from the fact that his heart would not burn. But the 
 presence of disease would, it was believed, produce the same eflect : 
 consequently the charge fell to the ground. Piso however, feeling his 
 condemnation under the circumstances inevitable, anticipated his sen- 
 tence by suicide. 
 
 Tacitus, however, could not stop here : there was no proof whatever, 
 according to his own showing, of guilt on the part of Piso, or of com- 
 plicity on the part of Tiberius. But there was once in existence a vf gue 
 rumour as to the nature of Piso's death, to the effect that it was not 
 suicide, but inflicted on him by the Emperor's orders: " audire," he 
 says, "me memini ex senioribus visum saepius inter manus Pisonis 
 libellum quem ipse non vulgaverit, sed amicos eius dictitavisse litt(3ras 
 Tiberii et mandata in Germanicum contineri ; ac destinatum promere apud 
 patres principemque arguere ni elusus a Seiano per vana promissa foi-et : 
 nee ilium sponte extinctum, verum immisso percussore^" 
 
 Tacitus certainly does not profess to vouch for the accuracy of this 
 account: "quorum neutrum adseveraverim ;" but I think Dean Merivale 
 is perfectly right in asserting ' that, in spite of this disclaimer, Tacitus 
 intends his readers to believe the report. And this introduction of mere 
 rumour, unfavourable to a personage he dislikes, whilst verbally protesting 
 
 * iii. 13. « iii. 14. 6 m X6. 
 
 7 History of the Romans under the Empire, c . 42. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xxvii 
 
 against its acceptance on his authority, seems to me to show an animus 
 which materially injures his character for impartiality, and therefore the 
 credibility of his narrative. 
 
 A few words may not be out of place with reference to some minor 
 peculiarities of the style of Tacitus. 
 
 He has many poetical words and constructions. For instance, * expe- 
 rientia ' (i. 4) in the sense of ' usus ;' * festinare ' with an accusative 
 (' caedem' &c., i. 6) ; *capax,* i. 13, in the sense of 'capable of,' 'fitted 
 for;' 'solari' (i. 14); 'deripere' (i. 20); 'ciere nomina' (i. 20); 
 
 * desolari ' (i. 30) ; ' lymphatus ' (i. 32, found also in Livy and the 
 elder Pliny) ; ' ardescere ' (i. 32) ; * dehinc ' (i. 34) ; ' indiscretus ' 
 (i. 35, also in the elder Pliny) ; * degener ' (i. 40) ; ' inausus ' and 
 
 * intemeratus ' (i. 42) ; ' temerare ' (i. 53) ; ' inoffensus ' (i. 56, also 
 in later prose writers) ; * evictus ' (i. 57) ; ' maestus ' (applied to places 
 and things, i. 61); 'operari' (absolutely in the sense of sacrificing, i. 
 64) ; ' pervigU ' (i. 65) ; * resultare ' (also in the silver age prose 
 writers, i, 65) ; ' lapsare * (i. 65) ; * prensare ' (i. 68) ; ' praetemptare ' 
 (i. 73) ; 'notescere' (i. 73) ; 'gestamen' (ii. 2) ; 'di penetrales' (ii. 10) ; 
 
 * densere' (ii, 14, also in the elder Pliny) ; ' truculentia ' (ii. 24) ; 'secun- 
 dare ' (ii. 24) ; ' recludere ' (ii. 25) ; ' dedignari ' (ii. 34) ; ' ausum ' as a 
 substantive (ii. 39) ; ' vanescere ' (ii. 40) ; ' despcctare ' (ii. 43) ; ' suescere ' 
 (ii. 44) ; ' properanter ' (ii. 55, but also in Sallust) ; ' penetrabilis ' (ii. 61, 
 also in very late writers); 'impatiens' with a genitive (ii. 64, but also 
 in later prose) ; * placitum ' as adjective (ii. Q6, but also in Sallust) ; 
 ' feralis ' (ii. 75) ; ' silentia ' in the plural (ii. 82) ; ' eburnus ' (ii. 83) ; 
 
 * nescius ' in the sense of ' unable ' (iii. 1) ; * honorus ' (iii, 5) ; ' asperare ' 
 (iii. 12); 'radere'for 'eradere' (iii. 17); 'revolvere' (to reflect upon, 
 iii. 18) ; 'aeternum' (adverbially used, iii. 26) ; 'fatiscere' (iii. 38) ; 'recep- 
 tare ' (iii. 60) ; ' inviolabilis ' (iii. 62) ; ' arcere ' with infinitive (iii. 72) ; 
 'prolicere' (iii. 73); * insenescere ' (iv. 6, and late prose); ' origo ' (as 
 the founder of a race, iv. 9) ; ' cura ' (elaborate work, iv. 11) ; ' rependere ' 
 (metaphorically used, iv. 35) ; 'abrumpere ' {' spem,' iv. 50) ; *nutare ' (to 
 totter, iv. 55); ' adsimulare ' (iv. 59); *valescere' (iv. 61); 'resolvi' 
 (iv. 67); 'verbere' (iv. 9); * circumfluus ' (vi. 37); 'flere' (for 'deflere' 
 vi. 10); ' exspes ' (vi. 24); 'evincire' (vi. 42)«; 'didere' (xii. 1); 'in- 
 custoditus ' (xii. 4) ; 'poenas expendere ' (xii. 19) ; *partire ' (xii. 30, but 
 once in Sallust) ; 'raptare' (to plunder, xii. 54) ; 'innumerus ' (xii. 56) ; 
 
 * demissus ' (sprung from, xii. 58) ; ' rapi ' (for * diripi,' xiii. 2) ; ' recli- 
 nis ' (xiii. 16) ; -' refugus ' (xiii. 40, also in late prose) ; ' livere ' (to envy, 
 xiii. 42); 'exercere' ('solum,' xiii. 54); 'ramale' (xiii. 58, but also in 
 Seneca) ; 'gravare* (to increase, xiv. 12) ; 'pavescere' with an accusative 
 (xiv. 30, only in Silius) ; ' abitus ' (xiv. 37, in the sense of 'outlet'); 
 ' gravescere ' (xiv. 51); ' aegrescere ' (xv. 25, but also in Pliny); 'sub- 
 vectare' (xv. 43) ; 'flammare' (xv. 44); 'promere' with an ablative (xv. 
 
XXVIU 
 
 LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 64); 'tenuare' (but also in Seneca and Quintilian, xv. 63) ; 'mc sare' 
 (xv. 69) ; * conjectare erat ' (xvi. 34). 
 
 Tacitus also has adjectives for adverbs; as ' subitus irrupit,' '])ergit 
 properus,' 'occulti laetabantur,' and the like : a usage which may be re- 
 garded as far commoner in the poets than in prose writers, although it is 
 of course found not unfrequently in the latter. 
 
 He often has "Greek accusatives of respect," as H. i. 85, " animuia vul- 
 tumque conversis ; " i. 50, " frontem ac tergum vallo, latera concatdibus 
 munitus ;" li. 13, "contectus umeros ferina pelle ;" vi. 9, " clari genus ;" 
 XV. 64, "frigid us iam artus." 
 
 He uses the infinitive after many adjectives and verbs, sutjli as 
 
 * certus,' * properus,' ' impellere,' &c. This is noticed in another para- 
 graph. 
 
 Tacitus uses the following words and constructions, which appear, as a 
 rule, only in writers of the silver age : — ' Suspectare ' in the sense of ' to 
 suspect' (i. 5) ; * curatissimus,' elaborate (i. 13); 'adstrepere' (i. 18); 
 ' cumulare in aliquem ' (i. 21) ; ' invidere ' with an ablative (i. 22) ; 
 
 * obtendere ' in the sense of alleging in excuse (i. 26) ; ' epistulae ' of one 
 letter (i. 30); * excusatum esse' (i. 47); 'praesumere' (except in the 
 poets, i. 48) ; * indulgere' (' aliquid alicui,' i. 52) ; ' conterminus * (i. 60, 
 but found in Ovid); 'inquies' (i. 65, but once in Sallust) ; 'oberrare' (i. 65, 
 but in Horace) ; * ambire ' (in the sense of investing, surrounding, i. 68, 
 but in Virgil); 'diffamare' (to asperse, i. 72); 'perinde quani si' 
 (i. 73) ; 'curulis' (sub. 'sella,' i. 75) ; * matrimonium ' for a wife (ii. 13) ; 
 
 * oppetere ' (absolutely for to die, ii. 24, but previously in Viigil) ; 
 'favorabilis ' (ii. 36) ; 'inconcussus' (ii. 43) ; 'firmator' (ii. 46) ; ' sponte* 
 followed by a genitive (ii. 59) ; ' insolescere ' (ii. 63, but also in Sallust) ; 
 
 * sacrificalis ' (ii. 69); * praeliator ' (ii. 73); ' excedere' absolutely tc' die 
 (ii. 75) ; ' inauditus ' without a judicial hearing (ii. 77) ; * militaris ' as a 
 substantive (iii. 1); 'probatio' (iii. 7); *nullo' for 'nulla re' (iii. 15); 
 interfectrix (iii. 17) ; 'permovere' ('invidiam' &c., iii. 23) ; 'improsper' 
 (iii. 24); 'adeo non ' in the sense of 'nedum ' (iii. 34); ' consortium ' (iii. 34); 
 'iutus' (iii. 35); 'praesidens' (iii. 40); 'praeminere' (iii. 56); 'progcmer' 
 (iii. 75) ; 'intectus' (uncovered, iv. 1) ; * impenetrabilis ' (not to be over- 
 come,iv. 12); 'incuriosus'^iv. 23); 'permitiabilis' (iv.34); 'suffugium'(iv.47, 
 but inOvid 'denuce ' 119); *manualis'(iv. 51); 'devotiones' (iv. 52); ' inter- 
 stinctus' (iv. 57); ' enimvero ' (but, ii. 64) ; 'praeceps ' as an adverb (iv. 62, 
 and in Ammianus xxix. 1); 'appellitare' (iv. 65) ; 'obiectus' (iv. 67, but in 
 the Augustan poets) ; 'percolere' (iv. 68, but in Plautus) ; 'eniti' absolutely 
 Ho bring forth' (v. 1, but previously in Virgil, Aen. iii. 327) ; 'gravari' with 
 an accusative (v. 8, but found in the poets); 'marcidus' (vi. 4, but in Ovid of 
 flowers) ; ' intellectus ' (subst., vi. 36); ' distinctus ' (subst., vi. 28, only in 
 Statins besides); 'ambigere' followed by accusative and infinitive (vi. 28); 
 
 * inardescere ' (vi. 32, but already in the poets) ; ' auxiliator ' (vi. 37) ; 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xxix 
 
 *iiidividuus' (an inseparable friend, &c., vi. 10) ; ' prodigentia ' (vi. 14) ; 
 
 * adventare ' with, accusative (vi. 44) ; ' cupitor ' (xii. 7) ; ' adductus ' 
 (severe, xii. 7) ; * dehonestamentum ' (xii. 14, but once in a fragment of 
 SaUust) ; * inclarescere ' (xii. 37) ; ' conversatio * (xii. 49) ; ' effluvium ' 
 (xii. 57); 'regere' (used absolutely, ii. 12); * imitamentum ' (xiii. 4); 
 
 * incutere ' (to hurl, xiii. 39) ; * mansitare ' (xiii. 44) ; * velamentum ' 
 (metaphorically used, xiii. 47); 'phonasci' (xiv. 15); 'tremor terrae ' 
 (xiv. 27); 'rebellatio ' (xiv. 31); ' emptitare ' (xiv. 41); 'indubius' 
 (xiv. 45) ; * antecellere ' with an accusative (xiv. 55) ; ' adusque ' (xiv. 58, 
 but found in poetry) ; 'evalescere ' (xiv. 58, except in poetry) ; * profugus * 
 with a genitive (xv. 1); * subvectus ' (xv. 4); * transmit tere ' (to pass 
 over, XV. 31); ' meditamentum ' (xv. 35); ' placamentum ' (xv. 44); 
 'restrictus' (severe, xv. 48); * adcurrere ' with an accusative (xv. 53); 
 ' imaginari ' (xv. 69) ; * indutus ' (subst., xvi. 4) ; * celebritas ' (frequency, 
 xvi. 29, and in the elder Pliny); ' dissociatio ' (xvi. 34); 'queritari' 
 (xvi. 34). 
 
 The following words and constructions are peculiar to Tacitus, or at all 
 events are found only in him : — 'Regnatrix' (i. 4); 'adcrescere ' with dative 
 (i. 19); 'provisu' (i. 27); 'languescere' of the moon under eclipse (i. 28 : 
 so 'hebescere'); centurionatus (i. 44); 'pretium esse' (i. 57); 'antehabere.' 
 (i. 58); 'coepta' ('luce,'i. Q5) ; * superstagnare ' (i. 79); ' nihil reliqui 
 facere quominus' for 'quin' (i. 21, cf. v. 5, xiii. 14, xiv. 39); and on the 
 other hand 'quin'for 'quominus' (xiv. 29); 'dedecus adire' (i. 39); 
 
 * iacere odia' to sow the seeds of hatred (i. 69) ; 'stagnare' used transitively 
 (i. 76); 'abstrahere' with a dative (ii. 26); 'iustis locis' (ii. 5); 'ute- 
 rus ' (pro alveo, ii. 6) ; ' suggredi ' (ii. 12) ; 'colligere hastas ' (in the sense 
 of drawing back the spears, ii. 21); 'superurgere' (ii. 23); 'quinqui- 
 plicari ' (ii. 36); 'incessus* in the sense of 'onset' (ii. 55); 'Areum 
 indicium' for 'Areopagus' (ii. 55); 'adnexus' for 'vicinus' (ii. 64); 
 ' vertere in se' (ii. 64); 'praelegere' to skirt (ii. 79); 'adpugnare' 
 (ii. 81); 'gnarus' passively used (iii. 6); ' modum adicere ' (iii. 6); 
 ' imperator ' used adjectively (iii. 6); 'distrahere fama'like our pulling 
 a man to pieces (iii. 10) ; ' contrectare oculis ' (iii. 12) ; ' sanctor' (iii. 26); 
 'subversor' (iii. 28); ' adcumulator ' (iii. 30);^ ' irreverentia ' (iii. 31); 
 ' dedecorus ' (but also in Plautus, iii. 32) ; ' postulare ' with ablat. of the 
 charge (iii. 38); 'incusare' with infinitive (iii. 38) ; ' exstimulator' (iii. 40); 
 'gladiatura ' (iii. 43) ; ' cruppeUarius ' (iii. 43) ; ' cunctatum (est) ' passively 
 used (iii. 46); 'tnturbidus' (iii. 52); 'advertere' to punish (iii. 52) 
 
 ' adipisci ' with a genitive (iii. 55) ; ' praeminere ' with accusative (iii. 56) 
 ' postscribere ' (iii. 64); ' propolluere ' (iii. 66); ' conclamari ' (to be saluted 
 iii. 74) ; 'veno dari' (iv. 1); 'super id quod' (iv. 11); ' perstimulare 
 (iv. 12); 'in mains audiri ' (iv. 23); ' dispergere rumorem ' (iv. 24) 
 ' obstringere ' (without an accusative, iv. 31) ; 'pervigere' (iv. 34) ; 'sisti 
 (of a temple, iv. 37) ; ' multum superque * (iv 39) ; ' rescriptu ' (iv. 40) 
 
XXX LIFE OF TACITUS. 
 
 * perrumpere * (with an accusative of a person, iv. 40) ; * transcendeiv, ' (of 
 a narrative, iv. 56, and of a river, iv. 44, with * fossas,' howe^' 3r, in 
 Caesar, B. C. iii. 46) ; 'proripere se' with a dative (iv. 45) ; 'capossere 
 noctem' (iv. 48) ; ' properus' with infinitive (iv. 52) ; ' praescribi ' i:. the 
 sense of * obtendi ' (iv. 52) ; ' condemnator ' (iv. 66, also in Tertullian) ; 
 
 * subsidium ' as a harbour of refuge (iv. 67) ; ' antire ' with a dative (^^ 3); 
 *incusare in aliquem' (v. 7) ; * satis collocare,' to write enough (vi. 27) ; 
 *urgej'i' (' criminum,* vi. 29); * genticus ' (iii. 43) ; * infensare ' (vi. 34) ; 
 ' abscessus ' (absence, vi. 38) ; ' incelebratus ' (but once in a fragme nt of 
 Sallust, vL 7) ; ' provivere ' (vi. 25) ; * negotium dare ' followed by an 
 infinitive (vi. 12); 'advectare ' (vi. 13); 'continuus ' (for a constant friend, 
 vi. 26) ; * situs ' (founded, vi. 41) ; ' pro visor ' (in the sense of one who fore- 
 sees, xii. 4) ; * emercari ' (xii. 1 4, but the passive in Ammianus Mircel- 
 linus, xxi. 6) ; * praecellere * (with a dative, in the sense of commanding 
 xii. 15); 'vimentum' (xii. 16); 'id auctoritatis ' (xii. 18) ; ' triumphari 
 (used personally, xii. 19) ; * coeptare arma ' (xii. 32) ; ' praeiacere ' (with an 
 accusative, xii. 36); ' divortium ' (in the sense of a strait, xii. 63); 'properato 
 (xiii. 1) ; ' abnuere quin' (xiii. 14) ; * professorius ' (xiii. 14) ; 'praerigere 
 (xiii. 35); ' escensus' (xiii. 39); ' negotiosus dies ' (opposed to 'dies festus, 
 xiii. 41); 'aemulatus' (xiii. 46); 'provolutus' ('ad libita,' xiv. 2) 
 
 ' hactenus ne ' (xiv. 7) ; ' obiectus ' (in the concrete, xiv. 8) ; ' perpetrare 
 ut ' (xii. 58); 'accusare ' (followed by an accusative and infinitive, xiv. 18) 
 'impertire aures' (xiv. 21) ; 'diffamare ' (with accusative of adjective, xiv, 
 22) ; ' prohibere quin' (xiv. 29) ; ' concertator ' (xiv. 29) ; 'tei-ga praebere 
 (xiv. 37); ' praeumbrare (xiv. 47); ' patrator ' (xiv. 62, and once in Avienus) 
 'ambedere' (xv. 5); 'egenus' with an ablative (xv. 12); 'contra dare 
 (xv. 13); ' sellisternia ' (xv. 44); ' deprecabundus ' (xv. 53); 'stagnum 
 (a bath, XV. 64); 'sesquiplaga' (xv. 67); 'profligator' (xvi. 18); 'perornare 
 (xvi. 26). 
 
 A construction very usual in Tacitus is a genitive of a substantive and 
 gerundive in agreement with it, to express the object or purpose. Cf. i. 3, 
 " abolendae infamiae ;" ii. 59, " Aegyptum proficiscitur cognosceiidae 
 antiquitatis." Cf. also iii. 7, 9, 27, 41. 
 
 The dative of the gerundive is found after adjectives, such as 
 'idoneus,' ' opportunus,' ' callidus,' 'inhabilis,' 'intentus,' 'facilis;' 
 or with verbs, to express ' purpose ' or ' object.' • Cf. H. iii. 32, 
 "balineas abluendo cruori propere petit;" ii. 21, xiii. 29, &c. Some- 
 times the gerund is so found. Cf. xv. 16, " testificando misisset," and 
 iii. 1 7,* " restaurando sufficeret." 
 
 The perfect participle passive is very frequently used absolutely, in the 
 ablative, without any substantive: ' addito,' ' adiecto,' ' certato,' 'cre- 
 dito,' 'edito,' ' disceptato,' ' intellecto,' 'praedicto,' 'proviso,' 'quaesito,' 
 ' repetito,' ' non distincto,' ' properato,' ' pensitato,' aU occur in Tacitus 
 for the first time. 
 
LIFE OF TACITUS. xxxi 
 
 He has often simple accusatives after verbs of motion, where other 
 writers would add a preposition : * Aegyptiun proficiscitur,' ' Aventinum 
 defertur/ ' campos propinquabant.' 
 
 Also after compound verbs (without any preposition) : * accedere,' 
 *accurrere/ '.assidere,' 'adventare/ * appellere,' ' advolvi,' * involare/ &c. 
 
 After passive verbs : ' quidquam imbui,' * falsa exterreri/ ' pleraque 
 argui.' 
 
 The dative is a favourite case in such phrases as ' esse derisui,' * inri- 
 sui,' 'metui/ ^despectui,' ' ostentui/ ' usui,' ' obtentui.' 
 
 It is also commonly employed to take the place of an accusative with 
 the preposition *in' and 'ad,' in such phrases as 'centurionem morti 
 deposcere ;' and after adjectives, * facilis,' * inhabilis,' &c. Also it is 
 used after substantives, instead of a genitive, as 'suffugium hiemi,' 
 
 * subsidia dominationi,' * minister bello,' &c. 
 
 Tacitus uses an ablative of locality very frequently, as 'Aegypto,' 
 'Armenia,' 'Britannia,' 'Syria;' and not only in the case of proper 
 names, as ' campo aut litore,' ' campis,' ' suggestu,' ' balineis,' ' tumulo,' 
 ' medio.' 
 
 Also of the mode : ' catervis concurrere,' ' clamore et impetu circum- 
 fundi.' 
 
 A genitive often follows a neuter adjective, as 'extremo paludis,' 
 *certo anni,' 'laeva maris,' ' pauca campestrium,' 'in prominenti litoris,' 
 ' post multum vulnerum.' 
 
 The genitive is used after adjectives to point out the sphere of their 
 operation, as ' incertus,' ' laetus,' 'ferox,' ' turbidus,' 'aeger,' 'fidens,' 
 'ingens,' 'validus,' 'promptus,' 'captus,' 'diversus,' all with 'animi.' Simi- 
 larly ' securus potentiae,' 'trepidus admirationis et metus,' ' modicus volnp- 
 tatum,' 'immodicus laetitiae,' 'nimius sermonis,' 'inglorius militiae,' 'sper- 
 nendus morum,' ' diversus morum,' ' atrox odii,' 'procax otii,' and others. 
 
 Tacitus uses the infinitive where the earlier classical writers adopt some 
 other construction ; for instance, after ' niti,' ' impellere,' ' perpellere, 
 
 * subigere,' ' adigere,' ' orare,' ' scribere,' ' monere,' ' admonere,' ' hortari, 
 'suadere,' ' persuadere,' ' praecipere,' 'imperare,' 'nuntiare,' 'inducere, 
 ' illicere,' ' deposcere,' ' exposcere,' ' certare,' ' pangere,' ' componere, 
 ' negotium dare,' ' flagrare,' 'merere.' Also with the adjectives 'certus, 
 
 ' properus,' ' f actus,' ' manifestus,' 'peritus,' 'eruditus,' 'facilis,' 'exer- 
 citus.' 
 
 The future infinitive (omitting ' esse ') is found after ' sperari ' (' spera- 
 bantur secuturae '), ' haberi,' ' incusari.' 
 
 Other peculiarities of words or constructions are pointed out in various 
 places in the notes. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 In i. ^9, for gratis read grates 
 
 In i. 7^, for accusator read accussator 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXOESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER I. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. State of the Roman empire before Augustus. 2. His policy. 3. Suc- 
 cessors to himself marked out by Augustus. 4. Position of affairs under 
 Augustus. His estimate of possible successors. 5. Illness of Augustus. Con- 
 cealment of his death. Succession of Tiberius. 6. Murder of Postumus Agrippa. 
 V. Readiness at Rome to accept Tiberius as Emperor. His pretended reluctance. 
 8. Will of Augustus, and honours paid him, 9, 10. Different Views as to the 
 merits of Augustus. 11. Continued reluctance .of Tiberius to accept power. 
 Resources of the empire. 12, 13. Resentment of Tiberius against Asinius, 
 Arruntius, Haterius, Scaurus. 14. The flattery of Livia by the Senate. 15. Ac- 
 count of the Comitia. The Ludi Augustales established. 16. Mutiny of the 
 legions in Pannonia. 17. Seditious harangues of Percennius. 18. Frantic 
 conduct of the soldiery, 19. Deputation to the Emperor. 20. Fresh outburst of 
 the mutiny. 21 — ^23. Futile efforts of Blaesus and others to arrest it. 24. Drusus 
 sent by Tiberius to quell the mutiny. 26. He reads despatches from Tiberius. 
 26. Drusus puts off a settlement of the soldiers' demand. 27. Fresh uproar. 
 Danger of Lentulus. 28. Eclipse of the moon. Adroit conduct of Drusus. 
 29. Return of the solc'iers to their duty. 30. Death of the ringleaders. The 
 legions return to winter quarters. 31. Mutiny of the legions in Germany. 
 32. Ill-treatment of the centurions. 33, 34. Arrival of Caesar Germanicus. 
 35. The legions offer him the empire. 36. Plans for putting an end to the 
 mutiny. 37. Lull in the sedition. 38. Disturbance raised by the Yexillarii 
 checked. 39. Fresh outbreak of two legions. 40, 41. Germanicus sends away his 
 wife and child. 42, 43. Address of Germanicus to his army. 44. Rerulsion of 
 feeling amongst the soldiery. 45. Disturbances still continued by 5th and 21st 
 legions at Vetera. 46. Alarm at Rome. 47. Proposed visit of Tiberius to the 
 troops. 48. Plans of Germanicus to put down the revolt. 49. The ringleaders put 
 to death by their fellow-soldiers. 50, 51. Slaughter of the Marsi and other tribes. 
 52. Envy of Tiberius at the success of Germanicus. 53. Death of Julia and 
 
 B 
 
2 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 Sempronlus Gracclius. 54. Institution of Sodales Augustales. Factions at: longst 
 the pantomimists. 55 — 57. Attack on the Chatti. Arminius. Segestes. -58. Ad- 
 dress of Segestes. 59, 60. Arminius induces the Cheiusci and other tribes lo take 
 ■up arms. 61, 62. Eelics of the legions of Yarns. 63 — 68. Operations : gainst 
 Arminius. Defeat of the Germans. 69. Spirited conduct of Agrippina The 
 jealousy of Tiberius aroused by it. 70. Eetum of the legions of Genriinicus. 
 71. Surrender of Segimerus. 72 — 74. The affected moderation of Tiberius. Accu- 
 sations under the Lex Maiestatis. 75. Liberality of Tiberius. 76. Flooling of 
 the Tiber. Gladiatorial shows of Drusus. 77. Check put to the licence of the 
 theatre. 78. Temple to Augustus. The Centesima Tax. 79. Proposals to pre- 
 vent the inundations of the Tiber. 80. Policy of Tiberius with reference t;o pro- 
 vincial governors. 81. Uncertainty about the Comitia Consularia. 
 The events of this book extend over the years A.C. 14 and 15, or A.U.O. 767- 768. 
 
 1 . Urbem Romam a principio reges liabuere ; libertatem ei3 con- 
 sulatum L. Brutus instituit. dictaturae ad tempus sumebantur; 
 neque decemviralis potestas ultra biennium^ neque tribunorum 
 militum consulare ius diu valuit. non Cinnae, non Bullae longa 
 dominatio ; et Pompei Crassique potentia cito in Caesarem^ Ijepidi 
 atque Antonii arma in Augustum cessere_, qui cuncta discordiis 
 civilibus fessa nomine principis sub imperium accepit. sed veteris 
 
 1. Urhem] The opening sentence here ultra Menniwrn] The Decemvirs took 
 
 forms a hexameter. Rycke says Tacitus office in 451 a.c, and were reap])ointed 
 
 wrote in this way, because Sallust did so in 450 a.c. At the expiration of tliis last 
 
 before him: a very foolish reason, if it year they refused to resign or eppoint 
 
 were true. One would rather think it successors, and were not ejected until 
 
 accidental, as it probably was ; or did seven months of the year 449 AC. had 
 
 the Translators of our Bible wish to elapsed. As their authority d d not 
 
 rival both Sallust and Tacitus, when continue during the whole of tho third 
 
 they wrote, " Husbands, love your wives, year, Tacitus, counting by yearly periods, 
 
 and be not bitter against them" ? would naturally say 'non ultra bieinium.' 
 
 Uhertatem] By ' libertas ' Tacitus This seems to me a better explanation 
 
 means security from the arbitrary ca- than Walther's, that their government 
 
 prices of Tarquinius, the freedom enjoyed in the third year was not reallf 'po- 
 
 in a state where the laws are supreme, testas,' constitutional nile, but mere 
 
 and not the will of one man. Juvenal despotism. 
 
 conveys the same idea when he speaks dominatio'] This is originally tl e irre- 
 
 of " legvm prima securis" (viii. 268). sponsible power vested in the master of 
 
 ad tern/pus] In vi. 11 Tacitus has " in the house ('domus') . It is used here ap- 
 
 tempus deligebatur qui ius redderet," propriately for the lawless usurpations of 
 
 and therefore seems to use the expres- Cinna, who, with Marius as his colleague, 
 
 sions convertibly. So xiii. 22, " Plautus nominated himself by his own aui hority 
 
 ad praesens silentio transmissus est," to the consulate for the year 86 A.c, and 
 
 and yet xv. 44, " repressaque in praesens retained office during the next two years, 
 
 exitiabilis superstitio." In H. i. 44 the and of Sulla, who held the dictatorship 
 
 two forms are combined, "munimentum from 82 A.c. to 79 a.c. 
 
 ad praesens in posterumultionem." This in Augustum cessere] Not 'yielded 
 
 form, ' ad praesens,' is said to be almost to Augustus,' which would rati er be 
 
 peculiar to the silver age of Latinity. 'Augusto,' but 'were merged in or 
 
 Tho sense is ' for a time,' the dictator- transferred to Augustus.' Cf. H. i. 11, 
 
 ship not being a yearly office, or for a "provinciae in pretium belli cessurae 
 
 stated time, but for such a period, not ex- erant." 
 
 ceoding six months, as should turn out 'princi'pis] ' Princeps senatus " was 
 
 to be requisite. the title originally given to the f rst of 
 
AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 a 
 
 populi Romani prospera vel adversa claris scriptoribus memorata 
 sunt j temporibusque August! dicendis non defuere decora ingenia, 
 donee gliscente adulatione deterrerentur. Tiberii Gaique et Claudii 
 ac Neronis res florentibus ipsis ob metum falsae, postquam occi- 
 derant, recentibus odiis compositae sunt, inde consilium mibi 
 pauca de Augusto et extrema tradere, mox Tiberii principatum et 
 cetera, sine ira et studio, quorum causas procul habeo. 
 
 2. Postquam Bruto et Cassio caesis nulla iam publica arma, 
 Pompeius aput Siciliam oppressus exsutoque Lepido, interfecto 
 
 the living censorii. Cf. Liv. xxvii. 11. 
 The holder of it was generally, although 
 not necessarily (cf. A. Gell. xiv. 7) called 
 on by the presiding magistrate to express 
 his opinion on the matter in hand. It 
 was a constitutional appellation, and 
 therefore adopted by Augustus, who 
 was careful to retain the forms of 
 liberty when the reality had passed 
 away. So i. 9, "non regno tamen, neque 
 dictatura, sed principis nomine constitu- 
 tam rem pubhcam." Under the guise 
 of being merely 'princeps senatus,' 
 Augustus contrived to bring under his 
 absolute control all the powers of the 
 state. 
 
 Claris scriptoribus'] In other writers 
 this would probably have been ' a claris 
 scriptoribus.' Tacitus, however, often 
 omits the preposition. Cf. xiv. 8, "re- 
 spicit Anicetum trierarcho et centurione 
 comitatum." He uses, moreover, the da- 
 tive, instead of the ablative and prepo- 
 sition. Cf. xiv. 18, " agros regi Apioni 
 quondam habitos." This construction is 
 most usual after participles (cf. xi. 29), 
 but is also found with finite verbs. Cf. xii. 
 54, "cui pars provinciae habebatur," and 
 xiii. 20, " provecta nox erat et Neroni per 
 vinolentiam trahebatur." It is conse- 
 quently difficult to say whether above 
 
 * scriptoribus ' is the dative or ablative. 
 
 deterrerentur] Lipsius proposed to read 
 
 * detererentur,' because in H. ii. 76 Taci- 
 tus has " si quid ardoris ac ferociae miles 
 habuit, popinis . . . deteritur." But 
 Tacitus does not apparently intend to 
 say that genius decayed, but that it was 
 intimidated. 
 
 falsae'] 'Falsified,' 'made deceptive.' 
 Cf. i. 7, " tanto magis falsi ac festinantes, 
 vultuque composite," and xvi. 32, "falsos 
 et amicitiae fallaces." It has a passive 
 meaning in H. ii. 17, "adesse omnem 
 Caecinae exercitum trepidi ac falsi nun- 
 tiarent." 
 
 procul haheo] Cf. H. i. 1, " Mihi Galba, 
 
 B 
 
 Otho, Yitellius nee beneficio nee iniuria 
 cogniti." 
 
 2. Postquarn] For the omission after 
 'postquam' of the verb of existence, cf. 
 xii. 35 and vi. 33. After this particle 
 Tacitus uses the indicative mood (xiv. 
 44, ii. 65, &c.) : otherwise the verb could 
 hardly be omitted. For the subjunctive 
 ' sit ' or ' esset ' can be understood appa- 
 rently in three cases only. (1) When 
 there are two clauses joined by a con- 
 junction, and the verb of existence can 
 be supplied from the other verb, as H. 
 iv. 34, "tentaverat interim Civilis obses- 
 sorum animos tamquam apud Romanes 
 res, et suis victoria provenisset," and i. 65, 
 "quum aput Eomanos invalidi ignes, 
 interruptae voces, atque ipsi adiacerent 
 vallo." (2) If the particle has two or 
 more verbs depending on it, without a 
 conjunction, as i. 9, " quod idem dies ac- 
 cepti quondam imperii princeps et vitae 
 supremus : quod Nolae . . . vitam fini- 
 visset," which is very much akin to the 
 first case. (3) If the subjunctive is the 
 oratio obliqua of the indicative, as II. 
 iii. 56, " quis ordo agminis, quae cura 
 explorandi alios rogitans." For two 
 passages which violate these usages see 
 on i. 7. 
 
 publica arma] After the battle of 
 Philippi, 42 A.c, the contest was no longer 
 between a commonwealth and aspirers to 
 supreme power, but between rival claim- 
 ants of empire : whichever gained the day, 
 the republic was equally extinguished. 
 
 Pompeius] Sextus Pompeius, the son 
 of Pompeius Magnus, was defeated by 
 M. Agrippa, 36 a.c, between Mylae and 
 Naulochus. He fled into Asia, and was 
 put to death by Titius, a lieutenant of 
 Antonius. 
 
 exsutoque Lepido] * Stripped of his 
 forces.' Cf. Suet. Octav. 16, " M. Lepidum 
 superbientem XX. legionum fiducia spo- 
 liavit exercitu, supplicemque concessa 
 vita Circeios in perpetuum relegavit.'* 
 
 2 
 
4 
 
 COENELII TACITI 
 
 Antonio ne lulianis quidem partibus nisi Caesar dux reliqus^ posito 
 triumviri nomine consulem se ferens et ad tuendam plebc n tri- 
 bunicio iure contentum, ubi militem donis^ populum annona, cunc- 
 tos dulcedine otii pellexit, insurgere paulatim^ munia sfnatus 
 magistratuum legum in se trabere^ nullo adversante, cum farocis- 
 simi per acies aut proscriptione cecidissent, ceteri nobilium^ (^uanto 
 quis servitio promptior^ opibus et honoribus extollerentur ac novis 
 ex rebus aucti tuta et praesentia quam Vetera et periculosa mallent. 
 neque provinciae ilium rerum statum abnuebant, suspecto senatus 
 populique imperio ob certamina potentium et avaritiam magistra- 
 tuum^ invalido legum auxilio_, quae vi^ ambitu^ postremo pecunia 
 turbabantur. 
 
 3. Ceterum Augustus subsidia dominationi Claudium Marcellum 
 sororis filium admodum adulescentem pontificatu et curuli aedilitate^ 
 
 ' Exsuto ' is for * exuto.' The old writers 
 used ' exs' or 'ex' indifferently : as 'Alex- 
 ander' or 'Alexsander,' and in the 
 Marm. Aneyr. we find ' sexsiens.' There- 
 fore I follow the Cod. Med., rather than 
 adopt one invariable form. 
 
 posito'} So. ' deposito.' Cf. xv. 2, " ipse 
 positis adversus Hjrcanos discordiis 
 vires intimas molemque belli ciet." 
 
 tribwnicio iwre contentum] Augustus 
 was not actually made tribune of the 
 plebs; he had been raised to patri- 
 cian rank, and could hardly with pro- 
 priety have been invested with an office 
 belonging solely to members of the plebs. 
 But there were bestowed on him the 
 -privileges and rights of that magistracy. 
 By this he obtained the power of re- 
 jecting any legislative enactment dis- 
 tasteful to him, in virtue of the 'veto.' 
 It also secured the inviolability of his 
 person, and gave him the tribune's power 
 of reheving a plebeian from any oppres- 
 sive use of authority by any other 
 magistrate. The tribime also was the 
 general defender of the plebs, and thus 
 Augustus, by virtue of his tribunitian 
 office, came naturally to be looked on 
 as the great champion of the popular 
 element in the state. The various 
 rights thus acquired by the Emperor 
 were so important, that Tacitus says 
 (iii. 56), "id summi fastigii vocabulum 
 Augustus repperit ne regis aut dicta- 
 toris nomen adsumeret, ac tamen ap- 
 pellatione aliqua cetera imperia prae- 
 mineret." 
 
 anno^d] Augustus arranged for the 
 importation of com to Rome from Egypt 
 
 and other countries (Suet. Aug. 18, 
 " Aegyptum in provinciae forman :^edac- 
 tamut feraciorem habilioremque annonae 
 urbicae redderet"), and made largesses 
 of it to the popidace at a cheap rate or 
 gratuitously (Suet. Aug. 41). 
 
 servitio promptior] Tacitus has various 
 constructions with this adjective : xv. 25, 
 " promptus in pavorem ;" vi. 48, '' promp- 
 tus adversum insontes." In other ^Titers 
 it is usually followed by ' ad ' ^vith an 
 accusative. 
 
 opihus} An instrumental ablative: 
 ' were raised from their former oosition 
 by having influence and wealth b' "stowed 
 on them.' Cf. i. 3, " Marcellum pontifi- 
 catu et curuli aedilitate . , . extulit." 
 Also iv. 17, " adulescentium anim )s prae- 
 maturis honoribus ad superbiari extol- 
 leret." 
 
 potentiuTn] Sulla, Marius, C Julius 
 Caesar, Cn. Pompeius. The prodncials 
 suffered from these contests carried on 
 under the pretence of supporting the 
 cause of the Senate, or the peo])le, and 
 they looked with distaste on such names. 
 
 3. subsidia domiTiationi} Cf. B . iv. 52, 
 "non legiones non classes perinde firma 
 imperii monumenta quam numeium li- 
 berorum." For the dative after a sub- 
 stantive, cf. ii. 33, " postulavit modum 
 argento, supellectili, familiae." Also ii. 
 60, " dona templis," and xv. 49, "initium 
 coniurationi." 
 
 admodum adulescentem] Accoiding to 
 Propertius (iii. 18. 11) he seems co have 
 been in his twentieth year when he was 
 aedile, and to have died while holding 
 that office : 
 
AB EXCBSSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. L 5 
 
 M. Agrippam ignobilem loco, bonum militia et victoriae socium, 
 geminatis consulatibus extulit, mox defuncto Marcello generum 
 sumpsit ; Tiberium Neronem et Claudium Drusum privignos im- 
 peratoriis nominibus auxit, integra etiam turn domo sua. nam 
 genitos Agrippa Gaium ac Lucium in familiam Caesarum indux- 
 erat_, necdum posita puerili praetexta principes iuventutis appel- 
 lari_,\destinare consules specie recusantis flagrantissime cupiverat.j 
 ut Agrippa vita concessit_, Lucium Caesarem euntem ad Hispanien- 
 sis exercituSj Gaium remeantem Armenia et vulnere invalidum 
 mors fato propera vel novercae Liviae dolus abstulit, Drusoque 
 pridem extincto Nero solus e privignis erat, illuc cuncta vergere : 
 filius, collega imperii, consors tribuniciae potestatis adsumitur om- 
 nisque per exercitus ostentatur, non obscuris, ut antea, matris arti- 
 bus, sed palam bortatu. nam senem Augustum devinxerat adeo, 
 uti nepotem unicum, Agrippam Postumum, in insulam Planasiam 
 proieceritj rudem sane bonarum artium et robore corporis stolide 
 
 " Quid genus aut virtus aut optima power of their father, who was still alive. 
 
 profuit illi There are silver coins extant commemo- 
 
 Mater, et amplexum Caesaris esse rating these honours, with the inscrip- 
 
 focos ? tion, " C. L. Caesares, Avgvsti F. Cos. 
 
 Aut modo tarn pleno fluitantia vela Desig. Prin. Ivvent." 
 
 theatre, principes iuventutis^ See Smith's Diet. 
 
 Et per matemas omnia gesta ma- of Antiquities under ' Equites.' 
 
 nus ? destina/re~\ I have retained the read- 
 
 Occidit, et misero steterat vigesimus ing of the Cod. Med., because it is the 
 
 annus." , reading ; and is in itself less probable 
 
 than * destinari.' Elsewhere Tacitus joins 
 
 geminatis consulatibus'] M. Agrippa a passive and an active infinitive. H. 
 
 was consul in two successive years, 28 iv, 28, " vastari Ubios Treverosque, et 
 
 and 27 a.c, a distinction usually re- Mosam amnem transire iubet." It is 
 
 served for tlie Emperors. He was con- true that in the Marm. Ancyr. the form 
 
 sul for the first time 37 a.c. is " Senatus Populusque Romanus, ]post- 
 
 generuni] Julia, daughter of Angus- quam utrumque consul ipse in forum 
 
 tus, by his wife Scribonia, married first deduxi, annum quintum et decimum 
 
 Marcellus, son of Octavia (sister of Au- agentis consules designavit ;" but a 
 
 gustus) , then M. Vipsanius Agrippa, and writer of the period of Tacitus might 
 
 lastly Tiberius. easily speak of the act as proceeding 
 
 iw/peratoriis'] Cf. iii. 74, " Tiberius from the Emperor. 
 
 Blaeso tribuit ut imperator a legionibus illuc cuncta verge^-e] That is, the tide 
 
 salutaretur prisco erga duces honore. of favour set in the direction of Nero ; 
 
 Concessit quibusdam et Augustus id vo- he was the centre towards which every 
 
 cabulura," Tiberius obtained this honour thing converged. 
 
 for successes over the Germans. proiecerif] For the sequence of tenses, 
 induxeraf] Agrippa had a third son, Patter quotes ii. 81, " adeoque commove- 
 M. Agrippa Caesar Postumus, adopted rat ut signifer legionis sextae signum ad 
 by Augustus at the same time as Tibe- eum transtulerit." Cf also iii. 24, iv. 51. 
 rius, but afterwards disinherited and The perfect is sometimes used instead of 
 banished to Planasia. He was adopted the more usual imperfect, because the 
 by ' adrogatio ' as * sui iuris ' after his fact is represented as in some sort con- 
 father's death, whereas the other two tinuing to the present time, or perhaps 
 were adopted by ' mancipatio ' (" per assem rather in order to give prominency to the 
 etlibram," Suet. Aug. 64), as being in the idea of the actual occurrence of the event. 
 
6 COENELII TACITI 
 
 ferocem^ nuUius tamen flagitii conpertum. athercule Grermaiucum 
 Druso ortum octo aput Rhenum legionibus inposuit adsciriqii 3 per 
 adoptionem a Tiberio iussit, quamquam esset in domo Tiberii filius 
 iuvenis, sed quo pluribus munimeiitis insisteret. bellum ea tem- 
 pestate nuUura nisi adversus Germanos supererat^ abolendae magis 
 infamiae ob amissum cum Quintilio Yaro exercitum quam cu])idine 
 proferendi imperii aut dignum ob praemium. domi res tranq:-.illae, 
 eadem magistratuum vocabula; iuniores post Actiacam victoriam, 
 etiam senes plerique inter bella civium nati : quotus quisqu(3 reli- 
 quus qui rem publicam vidisset ? 
 
 4. Igitur verso civitatis statu nibil usquam prisci et integri 
 moris : omnis exsuta aequalitate iussa principis aspectare, nulla in 
 praesens formidine^ dum Augustus aetate validus seque et domum 
 
 The imperfect would not so distinctly 
 assert the actual occurrence, although it 
 would of course imply it. There seems 
 to be the same difference of meaning be- 
 tween the imperfect and the perfect in 
 Latin (in this combination) as between 
 &(m with an infinitive and 8}<Tr^ followed 
 by an indicative in Greek. 
 
 flagitii] Cf. Liv.vii. 4, "iuvenemnullius 
 probri compertum," 
 
 at hercule] A common form. Cf. i. 26, 
 iii. 54, H. i. 84 and elsewhere, as well as 
 frequently in other writers. It expresses 
 the astonishment of Tacitus at the ap- 
 parently inconsistent policy of Augustus, 
 who removed his grandson, Agrippa Pos- 
 tumu's, to gratify Livia, and yet distin- 
 guished by marks of favour Germanicus, 
 who might prove a dangerous rival to 
 Tiberius. 
 
 essef] Tacitus uses the subjunctive 
 after ' quamquam ' oftener than the indi- 
 cative. Cf. i. 24, iv. 67, xii. 14. For the 
 indicative cf. xii. 11 and 31. ' Quamvis ' 
 is followed by a subjunctive in Tacitus, 
 as it is in Cicero. It is not easy to say 
 whence the difference of moods (for 
 
 * quamquam ' as a rule is followed by an 
 indicative in the Latin writers) arose. 
 Perhaps originally ' quamvis ' was used 
 to express a view put forward specula- 
 tively, rather as a matter of possibility 
 than a matter of fact : to express the 
 latter view ' quamquam' was employed. 
 
 * Quamquam fortis erat, in fugam se con- 
 tulit,' would, on this supposition, mean 
 that the man ran away, although he was 
 actually a brave man ; ' quamvis fortis 
 esset ' would rather imply, in spite of any 
 bravery which might and perhaps did 
 
 exist in the man, he ran away ; he fled, 
 bravery (possibly inherent) notwith- 
 standing. In the former case the bravery 
 is viewed as undoubtedly existing in the 
 man ; in the latter it is viewed -without 
 any sharply defi.ned reference to the man 
 concerned. If this be so, one would 
 expect strict accuracy to be disre garded 
 in actual usage. 
 
 aholendae tnagis infamiae] For the 
 case see note on ii. 59, Tinder 'cognos- 
 cendae antiquitatis.' 
 
 quotus qwisque] Cf. De Oratoril; us Dia- 
 logus, c. 29, "quotum quemque in veneris 
 qui domi quidquam aliud loquatur .? " 
 The subjunctive ('vidisset') is usel natu- 
 rally, because no person is definitely 
 meant, but the clause describes tlie cha- 
 racter of a class generally. Nd given 
 person who had actually seen a con- 
 stitutional government is conten: plated, 
 but any person who from age o; other 
 circumstances could have had the oppor- 
 tunity of seeing the republic. 
 
 4. seque et domum] Tacitus freiiuently 
 uses this combination of particles. H. 
 iii. 63, " seque et liberos sues Vesoasiano 
 permisisset." Agric. 18, "seque et arma 
 et equos regunt." Livy too has it, but 
 it is not usual in Cicero. On the other 
 hand, Cicero and Livy have 'ei; . . . 
 que' in a distributive sense. Cic. Tusc. 
 iii. 3, " at et morbi pemiciosiorcs plu- 
 resque sunt animi quam corporis." 
 Liv. iv. 2, "id et singulis universisque 
 semper honori fuisse." Tacitus usually 
 does not combine ' et ' and * que ' thus, 
 but cf. xii. 7, " et iuventutem . . legio- 
 nesque ipsas." 
 

 ^' 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 et pacem sustentavit. postquam provecta iam senectus aegro et 
 corpore fatigabatur aderatque finis et spes novae, pauci bona liber- 
 tatis in cassum disserere, plures bellum pavescere, alii cupere^ 
 pars multo maxima inminentis dominos variis rumoribus differe- 
 bant : trucem Agrippam et ignominia accensum non aetate neque 
 rerum experientia tantae moli parem, Tiberium Neronem maturum 
 annis, spectatnm bello, set vetere atque insita Claudiae familiae 
 superbia_, multaque indicia saevitiae, quamqnam premantur, erum- 
 pere. bunc et prima ab infantia eductum in domo regnatrice ; 
 congestos iuveni consulatus, triumpbos ; ne iis quidem annis, qui- 
 bus Ehodi specie secessus exnlem egerit, aliquid quam iram et 
 simulationem et secretas libidines meditatum. accedere matrem 
 muliebri inpotentia : serviendum feminae duobusque insuper adu- 
 lescentibus_, qui rem publicam interim premant, quandoque dis- 
 trahant. 
 
 5. Haec atque talia agitantibus gravescere valitudo Augusti, et 
 
 Miaegro et corpore] 'Et ' is here equivalent from a passage in the Bell. Gall. viii. 1, 
 
 to 'etiam.' Cf. Germ. 31, " et aliis Ger- "non esse autem alicui civitati sortem 
 
 manorumpopulisusurpatum apudChattos incommodi recusandam, si tali mora reli- 
 
 in consensum vertit." quae se possent rindicare in libertatem," 
 
 superhia] Cf. Suet. Tib. 2, "notissi- where the exact sense is 'any given state' 
 
 mum est Claudios omnes optimates as- picked out for distinction's sake, as op- 
 
 sertoresque unicos dignitatis ac potentiae posed to all the rest, which is very much 
 
 patriciorum semper fmsse, atque adversus the same virtually as the sense conveyed 
 
 plebem adeo violentos ac contuhaaces ut by ' cuiquam.' Cf. Cic. de Invent, i. 54, 
 
 ne capitis quidem quisquam reus apud " quod nobis hoc primis acciderit nee 
 
 populum mutare vestem aut deprecari alicui umquam." I know of no other in- 
 
 sustinuerit." stance of ' aliquis ' followed by ' quam.' 
 
 exulem egerif] The only difficulty about inpotentia] The word is an exact ren- 
 
 this reading is that 'agere exulem ' would dering of d/cpareta, implying an absence 
 
 rather mean ' to play the exile ' than ' to of all power over self, an incapacity for. 
 
 be an exile.' But I do not think this self-restraint. Cf. iv. 57, xii. 57. Below, 
 
 very material. The words appear to the two youths are Drusus the son, and 
 
 imply rather, that under the guise of Germanicus the adopted son, of Tiberius, 
 voluntary retirement, the character Ti- quandoque] 'At some time or other,' 
 
 berius really filled was that of an exile ; 'sooner or later.' Cf. vi. 20, "et tu, Galba, 
 
 and this might naturally be expressed by quandoque degustabis imperium." Suet. 
 
 ' exulem agere,' as opposed to ' specie se- Julius Caesar 35, "ne quandoque violen- 
 
 cessus.' If ' exul ' be read, then ' egerit ' tiorem praesidem nacta novarum rerum 
 
 is used absolutely, as in iii. 48, " Tiberium materia esset." The word is sometimes 
 
 quoque Ehodi agentem coluerit." In all used for ' quandocumque.' Cf. i. 6, " ne 
 
 such cases it seems to me safer to follow cunctaretur Agrippam morte adficere, 
 
 the manuscripts closely, if possible. quandoque ipse supremum diem explevis- 
 
 aliquid] The usual expression would set." Cf. also iv. 38, and Herat, de Arte 
 
 have been ' aliud quicquam quam . . .' Poet. 359. So 'quisque' is used for 'qui- 
 
 Generally speaking, ' aliquis ' is some one cumque.' Cf. Liv. xxv. 29, " quo quisque 
 
 term of a series, picked out by the speaker terra quisque mari venerit, nostra tropaea 
 
 with more or less precision : 'quisquam' ostendat." 
 
 one of a series not so picked out. ' Non 5. agitantibus] This is almost certainly 
 
 aliquis,' therefore, strictly conveys a ne- an ablative. Cf. i. 29, "orantibus rursum 
 
 gation of one term only, ' non quisquam ' idem Blaesus et L. Apronius mittuntur," 
 
 a negation of all the terms ; but how and Agric. 18, " famam auxit, aestimanti- 
 
 these run into each other is clearly seen bus quanta futuri spe tarn magna tacu- 
 
8 
 
 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. 767. 
 
 quidam scelus uxoris suspectabant. quippe rumor inceseerat, 
 paucos ante menses Augustum, electis conscis et comite uno Fabio 
 Maximo_, Planasiam vectum ad visendum Agrippam ; multas illic 
 utrimque lacrimas et signa caritatis spemque ex eo fore ut iuyenis 
 penatibus avi redderetur : quod Maximum uxori Marciae aperuisse, 
 illam Liviae. gnarum id Caesari; neque multo post exiyincto 
 MaximOj dubium an quaesita morte_, auditos in funere eius Marciae 
 gemitus semet incusantis^ quod causa exitii marito fuisset. ui<3um- 
 que se ea res babuitjVixdum ingressus Illyricum Tiberius properis 
 matris litteris accitur ; neque satis conpertum est^ spirantem ibdliuc 
 Augustum aput urbem Nolam an exanimem reppererit. acribus 
 namque custodiis domum et vias saepserat Livia, laetique interdum 
 nuntii vulgabantur^ donee provisis quae tempus monebat simul 
 excessisse Augustum et rerum potiri Neronem fama eadem tidit. 
 
 isset." Similarly Caesar, Bell. Gall. iv. 12, 
 "celeriter nostros perturbaverunt. Rursus 
 resistentibus ad pedes desiluerunt." The 
 subject may be om.itted in this way, wben 
 it can be easily supplied from a preceding 
 substantive, as in vi. 16, " veniam a prin- 
 cipe petivere, et concedente annus in pos- 
 terum sexque menses dati." Also xiv. 53, 
 
 " tempus sermoni orat, et accepto ita in- 
 cipit." And also if the subject if< * men 
 generally,' as in Liv. ii. 23, " sciscitantibus 
 unde ille habitus." Cf. Tacitus xiii. 7, 
 XV. 51. 
 
 Marciae] She was cousin of Augus- 
 tus, as will be seen from the aDnexed 
 table : — 
 
 C. lulius Caesar 
 
 C. lulius Caesar Dictator 
 
 luiia m. M. Atiua Balbus 
 
 Atia m. C. Octavius 
 
 Octavia 
 
 1 
 
 Atia (Minor) m. Marcius Philippus 
 
 Octavius (Caesar Augustus) 
 
 Marcia. 
 
 gnarvm] Tacitus uses this word ac- 
 tively, as H. ii. 29, " gnarus civilibus bel- 
 lis plus militibus quam ducibus licere ;" 
 and passively, as i. 63, " inpaludem gnaram 
 vincentibus." This use seems peculiar to 
 Tacitus, although other writers use *igna- 
 rus ' passively. Cf. Sail. Jug. 52, " regie 
 hostibus ignara." 
 
 dubium] For the absolute use of * du- 
 bium,' ' incertum,' and the like, cf. xiv. 7, 
 " quos statim acciverat, incertum an et 
 anteignaros," andxi. 18 and 22. Also Suet. 
 C. Julius Caesar 57, " in obeundis expedi- 
 tionibus dubium cautior an audentior." 
 It is equivalent to *haud scio an,' and 
 * est ' is omitted. 
 
 utcumque] This word is used in two 
 senses. It means * in whatever way :' 
 
 vi. 8, "utcumque res casura erat." Cf. also 
 Liv. xxxii. 3, " utcumque seu iniunc :a seu 
 suscepta foret militia, et eam exhaustam 
 esse." Besides this it is used like an ad- 
 verb, in the sense of ' somehow or other.' 
 Cf. xii. 51, " sed coniux gravida primam 
 utcumque fugam toleravit," she made 
 shift to endure it somehow or other. 
 Cf. also ii. 14, " primam utcumque uciem 
 hastatam,ceteris praeusta aut brevia tela." 
 In the latter sense it does not seem to be 
 found in Cicero, but occurs in Livy, Pliny, 
 and latter writers. Cf. Liv. xxix. 15, " quae 
 dubiis in rebus utcumque tolerata essent." 
 spirantem] Suetonius (Tib. 21) speaks 
 positively, " iam quidem affectum sed 
 tamen spirantem adhuc Augustum rep- 
 perit." 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 9 
 
 6. Primum facinus novi principatus fuit Postumi Agrippae 
 caede^^ quein ignarum inermumque quamvis firmatus animo cen- 
 turio aegre confecit. nihil de ea re Tiberius aput senatum disse- 
 ruit : patris iussa simalabat^ quibus praescripsisset tribune cus- 
 todiae adposito_, ne cunctaretur Agrippam morte adficere, quando- 
 que ipse supremum diem explevisset. multa sine dubio saevaque 
 Augustus de moribus adulescentis questus_, ut exilium eius senatua 
 consulto sanciretur perfecerat : ceterum in nullius umquam suorum 
 necem duravit^ neque mortem nepoti pro securitate privigni inlatam 
 credibile erat. propius vero Tiberium ac Liviam, ilium metu, liano 
 novercalibus odiis, suspecti et invisi iuvenis caedem festinavisse. 
 nuntianti centurioni^ ut mos militiae^ factum esse quod imperasset, 
 neque imperasse sese et rationem facti reddendam aput senatum 
 respondit. quod postquam Sallustius Crispus particeps secretorum 
 (is ad tribunum miserat codicillos) comperit_, metuens ne reus sub- 
 deretur, iuxta periculoso ficta seu vera promeret^ monuit Liviam 
 ne arcana domus, ne consilia amicorum^ ministeria militum vul- 
 garentur_, neve Tiberius vim principatus resblveret cuncta ad sena- 
 tum vocando : eam condicionem esse imperandi^ ut non alitor ratio 
 cpnstet quam si uni reddatur. 
 "^ 7. At Romae ruere in servitium consules patres eques. quanto 
 quis inlustrior^ tanto magis falsi ac festinantes^ vultuque com- 
 positOj ne laeti excessu principis neu tristiores primordio^ lacrimas 
 
 / , ■ * > -i -. 
 
 " ' / ■ 
 
 6. 'praescri'^sisse(\ The subjunctive is participle of existence being omitted, 
 due to the oratio obliqua really : it re- Cf. iii. 60, "libero ut quondam quid fir- 
 presents the matter as it was stated on maretmutaretve." Cf. also Liv. xxviii. 36, 
 the authority of Tiberius. The indicative "incerto prae tenebris quid aut peterent 
 would have made the statement the as- aut vitarent," and 28, " haud cuiquam 
 sertion of the historian. Tacitus dis- dubio quin hostium essent." 
 tinctly accuses Tiberius of the murder, ratio conste^ ' The accounts could only 
 but Suetonius observes that it was doubt- balance, if they were rendered to one 
 ful whether Augustus had really left an person throughout.' It is a metaphor 
 order to despatch Agrippa, or Livia had from book-keeping, at which the Eomans 
 commanded it, with or without the con- were expert, where the receipts and ex- 
 nivance of her son. penditure balance duly, if the accounts 
 
 duravif] Cf. xiv. 1, " usque ad caedem are correct. Facciolati quotes Plin. Epist. 
 
 eius duratura filii odia." Tacitus, as here, ii. 4, " liberalitas ita temperanda est 
 
 uses the word personally in xii. 40, "ut ne nimia profusione inarescat ; sed tem- 
 
 maior laus compositis, vel si duravissent peranda in aliis : in te vero facile ratio 
 
 venia iustior tribueretur." Sometimes it constabit etiamsi modum excesseris." 
 has a transitive meaning, as the passive 7. ne laeW] Here ' essent' of course 
 
 occurs in H. iv. 59, "nee illi quamquam ad is understood, and this violates the pre- 
 
 omne facinus durato, verba ultra suppedi- valent usage of Tacitus. See note on 
 
 tavere." ch. 2 above, under 'postquam.' A sec cad 
 
 novercalibus^ For Agrippa had been passage is H. i. 85, "arduus rerum om- 
 
 adopted by Augustus at the same time nium modus ne contumax silentium, ne 
 
 as Tiberius, and was therefore stepson suspecta libertas." The subjunctive is 
 
 of Livia, the wife of Augustus. omitted also after ' tamquam' in G. 39, and 
 
 periculoso'] An ablative absolute, the 'dum'in vi.26. Just below the Cod. Med. 
 
10 
 
 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. '67. 
 
 gaudium questus adulationem miscebant. Sex. Pompeius et Sex. 
 Apuleius consules primi in verba Tiberii Oaesaris iuravere, a])ut- 
 que eos Seius Strabo et C. TurraniuSj ille praetoriarum cohor :Luni 
 praefectus, bic annonae ; mox senatus milesque et populus. ^Fani 
 Tiberius cuncta per consules incipiebat, tamquam vetere re publica 
 et ambiguus imperandi : ne edictum quidem^ quo patres in curiam 
 vocabat^nisi tribuniciae potestatis praescriptione posuit sub Augusto 
 acceptae. verba edicti fuere pauca et sensil permodesto : de bono-! 
 ribus parentis consulturunij neque abscedere a corpore idque unum 
 ex publicis muneribus usurpare. sed defuncto Augusto sigaum 
 praetoriis cohortibus ut imperator dederat ; excubiae arma ce tera 
 aulae; miles in forum, miles iii curiam comitabatur. litteras ad 
 exercitus tamquam adepto principatu misit_, nusquam cunctabun- 
 dus nisi cum in senatu loqueretur. causa praecipua ex formidine, 
 ne GermanicuSj in cuius manu tot legiones, immensa socioruni 
 
 has * adulatione,' tlie * m' no doubt having 
 been lost before 'miscebant.' The words 
 evidently run in pairs. 
 
 iuravere] The Consuls began the 
 ceremony by swearing to obey the com- 
 mands of Tiberius, just as the soldiers 
 took the oath of obedience to their gene- 
 ral. ^ /x^u ireiQapx^d'^i'V koX iroiT]<Teiv rh 
 TrpocrTaTTdfievoy (Polyb. vi. 21). The 
 form ' in verba ' is no doubt used, because 
 the general, or some person in his name, 
 dictated the oath, and the soldiers re- 
 peated it after him. 
 
 imperandi] Tacitus is fond of employing 
 genitives after adjectives, to express the 
 locality of the action indicated. The 
 genitive denotes origin or source, and 
 is therefore the natural case to use to 
 express the locality of the feeling con- 
 veyed by the adjective, locality and origin 
 being closely connected. ' Ferox,' ' immo- 
 dicus,' ' promptus,' ' anxius,' ' incertus,' are 
 continually joined with 'animi.' Cf. H. 
 iii. 43, " ambiguus futuri." 
 
 praescriptione] The tribuni plebis 
 had the right of convoking the Senate, 
 as well as the Consuls and Praetors. The 
 edict whereby Tiberius summoned the 
 Fathers, began with his name and official 
 designation as tribunus plebis, or rather 
 as possessed of the tribunitial power. 
 
 ahscedere] The pronoun ' se ' is 
 omitted before * abscedere ;' an omission 
 not unusual in other writers before the 
 future infinitive, but rare before the pre- 
 sent : not, however, uncommon in Tacitus. 
 Cf iv. 52, "imaginem veram, caelesti san- 
 gtune ortam intellegere," so. ' se intelle- 
 
 gere.' Cf. also xiv. 48, xv. 17. For 
 the meaning cf. iii. 5, " ipsum quippe 
 asperrimo hie mis Ticinum usque pro- 
 gressum, neque abscedentem a coipore 
 simul urbem intravisse." The body of 
 Augustus was escorted from Nola b}' the 
 Decuriones of the municipal towns and 
 colonies to Bovillae, and thence to E^ome 
 by the Equites (Suet. Aug. 100), and 
 attended by Tiberius. 
 
 idque unum] Tiberius undertook 
 to convene the Senate to discuss the 
 question of showing honour to the re- 
 mains of Augustus. As the right of con- 
 voking the Fathers belonged to ceitain 
 magistracies, it was ' munus publicum.,' 
 which *non abscedere a corpore' cjuld 
 hardly be. 
 
 cetera, aulae] ' All the other para- 
 phernalia of a court,' lictors, laurt lied 
 fasces, and other imperial appendage;. 
 
 adepto] The passive sense of the 
 word is not uncommon. Cf. Sail. Jug. 
 107, Suet. Tib. 38. Elsewhere Tacitus 
 uses it actively, as xi. 14. Similarly 
 ' commentus ' and ' pactus ' are used in 
 both senses. 
 
 in cuius tnanu] A curious instance 
 of zeugma, for the words only suit ex- 
 actly two out of the three clauses they 
 are constructed with. Cf. ii. 58, "daium 
 id non modo precibus Artabani sed et am 
 contumeliae Pisonis ;" i. 17, " bine 
 vestem arma tentoria (emi), hinc saovi- 
 tiam centui-ionum . . . redirai." H. v. 
 22, " utque ad fallendum silentio (age- 
 bant), sic coepta caede cuncta clamoribus 
 miscebant." 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 11 
 
 auxilia^ mirus aput populum favor, habere imperium quam ex- 
 pectare mallet, dabat et fainae_, ut vocatus electusque potius a re 
 publica videretur quam per uxorium ambitum et senili adoptione 
 inrepsisse. postea cognitum est ad introspiciendas etiam procerum 
 voluntates inductam dubitationem : nam verba vultus in crimen 
 detprquens recondebat. 
 
 y^8. Nihil prime senatus die agi passus nisi de supremis Augusti, 1 
 I cuius testamentum inlatum per virgines Yestae Tiberium et Liviam 
 heredes habuit, Livia in familiam luliam nomenque Augustum 
 adsumebatur;' in spem secundam nepotes pronepotesque, tertio 
 gradu primores civitatis scripserat, plerosque invisos sibi, sed iac- 
 tantia gloriaque ad posteros. legata non ultra civilem modum, nisi 
 quod populo et plebi quadringenties tricies quinquies_, praetoriarum ' ^* 
 coliortium militibus singula nummum milia_, legionariis aut cohor- 
 
 adoptione] If tliere were intended 
 to be any difference of meaning conveyed 
 by the variation of construction, the ab- 
 lative would probably be used to express 
 more direct agency than the accusa- 
 tive and preposition. But Tacitus so 
 continually alters his constructions, 
 that it appears to be done for mere 
 variety's sai:e. Cf. Agric. 41, " exercitus 
 temeritate aut per ignaviam ducum 
 amissi ;" iv. 51, " nox aliis in audaciam, 
 aliis ad formidinem oportuna;" ii. 70, " ea 
 haud minus ira quam per metum accepta." 
 inductarn] Cf. Suet. J^ero 11, "inducta 
 est et Afranii togata quae incendium in- 
 Bcribitur." This may be the metaphor 
 here, stage-like, and therefore assumed. 
 Or it may be a simile from colouring, or 
 overlaying with varnish. 
 
 8. 'per virgines Vestae'] Cf. Suet. Jul. 
 83, " testamentum demandaverat virgini 
 Vestali maximae." Wills were some- 
 times deposited with friends, sometimes 
 in temples for security. 
 
 heredes^ According to Suetonius (Aug. 
 101), Tiberius was left two-thirds ("ex 
 parte dimidia et sextante"), and Livia 
 the remaining third. Failing these ('in 
 spem secundam'), Drusus the son of 
 Tiberius was left one-third, and Ger- 
 manicus and his children two-thirds. It 
 was usual to name ' heredes secundo 
 gradu,' in case of failure of the persons 
 named in the first instance. 
 
 nomenque Ax(,gustvmi] Cf. ii. 52, "Furio 
 nomini partum decus militiae." Livia re- 
 ceived the title of Augusta. It occurs 
 in various inscriptions, and on coins. As 
 the name of Augusta was a new one, 
 * Augustae,' the reading of the Cod. Med., 
 
 can hardly be right. 'Augustum' is an 
 adjective. So in the Marm. Ancyr. iv. 21, 
 "forumque Augustum," and Suet. Aug. 
 100, " saeculum Augustum." 
 
 civilem moduin^ Cf. Suet. Jid. 75, 
 "laceratam existimationem suam civili 
 animo tulit," and Tib. 10, " genus vitae 
 civile," and Juv. v. 112, " poscimus ut 
 cenes civiliter." ' Civilis modus ' here 
 means the bounds usually observed by a 
 citizen, as distinguished from any thing 
 especially suited to the Emperor's pecu- 
 liar eminence. 
 
 populo et plehi'] Suetonius says 
 " legavit populo Romano quadringenties, 
 tribubus tricies quinquies sestertium." 
 The former sum would be paid into the 
 treasury; the latter to the members of the 
 thirty-five tribes individually. Probably 
 the poorer members only of these tribes 
 would accept the largess, so that 'plebi ' 
 is used to express this, rather than ' tri- 
 bubus,' which would strictly embrace 
 every Roman citizen, of whatever rank. 
 Cf. xiii. 31, " plebeique congiarium quad- 
 ringeni nummi viiitim dati, et sester- 
 tium quadringenties aerario inlatum est." 
 The opposition here between ' populus ' 
 and ' plebs ' is not the old one between 
 burghers and plebeians, but between the 
 Roman state as a whole, and the poorer 
 individuals amongst the populace. Cf. H. 
 ii. 88, "et effusa plebes se castris mis- 
 cuerat." H. ii. 92, " gratum primoribus 
 civitatis etiam plebes adprobavit," where 
 ' plebes ' is used to express the lower 
 orders generally. 
 
 legionariis aut cohortihus^ I do not 
 see any great difficulty about ' aut,' 
 although nearly all the commentators do. 
 
12 COENELn TACITI [a.u.c. 767. 
 
 tibus civ'um Romanorum trecenos nummos viritim dedit. turn 
 consultatum de Jbonoribus; ex quis m^xime insignes visi^ ut pDrta 
 triumpliali duceretur fuiius_, Gallus Asinius^ ut legum lataL'um 
 tituli_, victarum ab eo gentium vocabula anteferrentur, L. Arrnntina 
 censuere. addebat Messalla Valerius renovandum per annos sa- 
 cramentum in nomen Tiberii; interrogatusque a Tiberio nuni se 
 mandante earn sententiam prompsisset_, sponte dixisse respoiidit^ 
 neque in iis quae ad rem publicam pertinerent consilio nisi suo 
 usurum_, vel cum periculo offensionis : ea sola species adulandi 
 Bupererat. conclamant patres corpus ad rogum umeris senatorum 
 ferendum. remisit Caesar adroganti moderatione_, populunique 
 edicto monuit ne^ ut quondam nimiis studiis funus divi lulii tur- 
 
 Angustus left 300 sesterces to every rather awkward ; but after writint- ' ut 
 
 soldier enrolled either in some entire porta triumpliali duceretur funus/ Taci- 
 
 legion serving together, or in some tus probably modified the clause, to give 
 
 cohort detached on separate duty. Cf. the names of the proposers of the honours 
 
 iii. 41, " excita cohorte quae Lugduni mentioned. 
 
 praesidium agitabat;" xiii. 8, "additisco- ^orta triumpliali'] This would ap- 
 
 hortibus alisque quae apud Cappadociam pear to be somewhere between the CajDitol 
 
 hiemabant." Whether there may not have and the Tiber, a space less than a ([uar- 
 
 been also cohorts unattached, as it were, ter of a mile, and near the Porta Car- 
 
 not belonging to any legion at all, I can- mentalis and Flumentana. Orelli says 
 
 not say. For this use of ' aut ' in a dis- it was between these two, but I do not 
 
 tributive sense, or to distinguish, as know that he has any authority for say- 
 
 Walther puts it, the species from the ing so. 
 
 genus, there are many instances in sponte dixisse] See note on ch. 7 for 
 
 Tacitus. Cf. i. 64, " quadragesimum id the omission of the pronoun, 
 
 stipendium Caecina parendi aut imperi- remisit] This could mean * refused,' 
 
 tandi habebat," where the genus service 'declined to accept,' 'let them off this 
 
 is subdivided into its species of command duty.' Cf. i. 10, " quamquam fas sit 
 
 and obedience. So also ii. 55, " insignem privata odia publicis utilitatibus remit- 
 
 utrumque perfidia in nos aut fide." H. tere." H. iii. 5, "remissum id munus." 
 
 iv. 71, " Rigodulum montibus aut Mosella But Suetonius (Aug. 100) distinctly as- 
 
 amne saeptum." Tacitus omits altogether serts this proposal to have beencairied 
 
 the money left by Augustus to the ' co- out, " senatorum umeris delatus in < am- 
 
 hortes urbanae,' to each man of which, pum, crematusque." The word, therefore, 
 
 according to Suetonius (Aug. 101) and seems rather to mean 'gave it up to tl em, 
 
 Dio Cassius (Ivi. 32), 500 sesterces were 'let them have their way, and do as ihey 
 
 left. Dio himself omits what Taci- pleased.' Cf. Suet. Claud. 35, " sero enim 
 
 tus records, the legacy to the tribes, ac vix remisit ne feminae pi-aetextat que 
 
 This looks as though there were contra- pueri et puellae contrectarentur." Tibe- 
 
 dictory accounts afloat as to the real rius let the senators know that they m; ght 
 
 contents of the will. Ritter's explana- carry out their proposal or not ; it was 
 
 tion can hardly, I think, be correct, viz. all one to him. His conduct was a com- 
 
 that Tacitus did not regard a legacy to bination of moderation and supercilious- 
 
 the four or five thousand men belonging ness : the former, because he sho .ved 
 
 to the 'cohortes urbanae' as 'extra civilem no eagerness for the display of unu^iual 
 
 modum,' as the amount would not be honours to Augustus; the latter, because 
 
 large, only something like 20,000i., more he let the senators know that it was quite 
 
 or less; for it seems as muCh 'ultra civilem a matter of indifference to him whether 
 
 modum ' as the legacy to the Praetorians, this proposal was cai-ried out or not. 
 
 although the amount was less. turbassent] Cf. Suet. Jul. 84. The 
 
 visi] As Orelli correctly explains, funeral pile was suddenly fired by Iwo 
 
 "populo de hisce decretis turn sermoci- armed men, and the bystanders thiew 
 
 nanti," although the next sentence is on broken forms, sticks, dresses, &c. 
 
A.D. U.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 13 
 
 bassent_, ita Augustum in foro potius quam in campo Martis, sede 
 destinata, cremari vellent. ^^ie funeris milites velut praesidio 
 stetere_, multum inridentibuS qui ipsi viderant quique a parentibus 
 acceperant diem ilium crudi adhuc servitii et libertatis inprospere 
 repetitaGj cum occisus dictator Caesar aliis pessimum_, aliis pulcher- 
 rimum facinus videretur : nunc senem principem^ longa potentia, 
 provisis etiam heredum in rem publicam opibus, auxilio scilicet 
 militari tuendum, ut sepultura eius quieta foret. 
 
 9. Multus hinc ipso de Augusto sermo, plerisque vana miranti- 
 bus_, quod idem dies accepti quondam imperii princeps et vitae 
 supremus^ quod Nolae in domo.et cubiculo in quo pater eius 
 Octavius vitam finivisset. numerus etiam consulatuum celebra- 
 batur_, quo Yalerium Corvum et C. Marium simul aequaverat^ 
 continuata per septem et triginta annos tribunicia potestas, nomen 
 imperatoris semel atque vicies partum aliaque honorum multi- 
 plicata aut nova, at apud prudentes vita eius varie extollebatur 
 arguebaturve. lii pietate erga parentem et necessitudine rei 
 
 ci'udi'] 'Crudus' is used for what time 2 a. c. 
 
 ia * raw ' (cf . Suet. Nero 37, " crudam imperatoris'] The Emperor for the 
 
 camemet quidquid daretur mandere"), time being, as generalissimo of the forces 
 
 and so of a wound still fresh and un- of the empire, possessed the 'imperium;' 
 
 healed. The slavery established by C. but on any great victory being obtained, 
 
 Julius Caesar had not had time to become the title was assumed especially, as an 
 
 indurated : the sore still bled, and was extraordinary honour . The Emperor 
 
 not skinned over. was equally saluted Imperator, whether 
 
 provisis'] ' Eesources for his succes- the victory was gained by himself per- 
 
 sors in their contest against a repub- sonally or by his generals, 
 
 lican government having been secured.' necessitudine] Lipsius observes that 
 
 Augustus took good care that his sue- -the word is equivalent to ' necessitate.' 
 
 cessors should not enter on a conflict, if And the words can often be interchanged, 
 
 there was to be one, without resources at Cf. Cic. pro Sulla 1, " si nostram accu- 
 
 their back. satione sua necessitatem familiaritatem- 
 
 9. accepti] Augustus died on the 19th que violasset," where ' necessitiidinem ' 
 
 of August. On the 22nd of September, might have been used. On the other 
 
 43 A.c, he was made consul with Q. hand. Sail. Cat. 61, " necessitudo etiam 
 
 Pedius, for Velleius Paterculus says (ii. timidos fortes facit," might have been 
 
 65), "consulatuminiit Caesar X.Kal.Octo- * necessitas ' &c. Still Tacitus may use the 
 
 bris." Dio Cassius (Ivi. 30) however agrees words differently. Cf. iv. 20, " quartam 
 
 with Tacitus, and makes the election take accusatoribus secundum necessitudinem 
 
 place on the anniversary of his death, legis, cetera liberis concessit ;" xii. 9, 
 
 viz. August 19th; and Suetonius (Aug. "super priorem necessitudinem sponsus 
 
 31) gives the same account. Perhaps iam et gener ;" xii. 30, " proximos per 
 
 the earlier date is that on which the campos vagi, necessitudinem pugnae at- 
 
 remnant of the Senate left at Rome on tulere;" xii. 46, " coniunctionom fratrum 
 
 the entrance of Augustus agreed to ac priorem aetate Pharasmanem et cetera 
 
 nominate him to the vacant office. See necessitudinumnominareferens ;" xv. 36, 
 
 Merivale's "Romans imder the Empire," "inprivatisnecessitudinibus proximapig- 
 
 c. 26. nora praevalerent." On the other hand, 
 
 aequaverat] Valerius Corvus was i. 19, " necessitate expressa quae per 
 
 consul for the sixth time 299 A.c, and modestiam non obtinuissent ;" i. 30, "in- 
 
 Caius Marius for the seventh time 86 a.c. minentem necessitatem spontepraevenit." 
 
 Augustus was consul for the thirteenth In these instances ' necessitudo' seems 
 
 *o"- 
 
14 COKNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 1^7. 
 
 publicae_, in qua nullus tunc legibus locus, ad arma civilia aci um, 
 quae neque parari possent neque liaberi per bonas artes. r:ulta 
 Antonio^ dum interfectores patris ulcisceretur, multa Lepido )on- 
 cessisse. postquam bic socordia senuerit, ille per libidines pes sum 
 datus sit, non aliud discordantis patriae remedium fuisse quaia ut 
 ab uno regeretur. non regno tamen neque dictatura, sed principis 
 nomine constitutam rem publicam; mari Oceano aut amriibus 
 longinquis saeptum imperium ; legiones, provincias, classes, cuiicta 
 inter se conexa ; ius aput cives, modestiam aput socios ; urbem 
 ipsam magnifico ornatu; pauca admodum vi tractata, quo ceteris 
 quies esset. 
 
 10. Dicebatur contra : pietatem erga parentem et tempora rei 
 publicae obtentui sumpta : ceterum cupidine dominandi conc^itos 
 per largitionem veteranos, paratum ab adulescente privato exer- 
 citum, corruptas consulis legiones, simulatam Pompeianarum 
 gratiam partium ; mox ubi decreto patrum fasces et i^s praet oris 
 invaserit, caesis Hirtio et Pansa, sive hostis illos, seu Pansam 
 venenum vulneri adfusum, sui milites Hirtium et macbinator doli 
 Caesar abstulerat, utriusque copias occupavisse ; extortum invito 
 
 rather a tie or cliain than compulsion, to this party, as having blockaded D. 
 which is the force of ' necessitas.' If so, Bmtus at Mutina, and endeavoured to 
 the genitive ' rei publicae ' here is a sub- expel him from Cisalpine Gaul, the pro- 
 jective one, the tie imposed on him by vince given him by C. Julius Caesar and 
 the state: in 'necessitate rei publicae' confirmed to him by the Senate (Suet, 
 it would be an objective one, the force August. 10). Octavianus was appo uted 
 brought to bear on the state. — In xii. to the command of the army agiinst 
 30, the sense would rather be the en- Antonius, with the title and insign a of 
 tanglement which a battle would force on Propraetor, and was sent with the con- 
 them, than the necessity of fighting. suls Hirtius and Pansa to force Ant(iniua 
 
 ornatu] Augustus so beautified the to raise the siege of Mutina. Cf. Cic. 
 
 city that he boasted of having left in Philipp. v. 16, " Senatui placere C. Cs.esa- 
 
 marble what he found only in brick. He rem pontificem pro praetore, senate )rem 
 
 built a forum, a temple to Apollo on the esse sententiamquelocopraetoriodici're." 
 Palatine, and to luppiter Tonans on the sui milites] Cf. Cic. pro Sest. 68, 
 
 Capitol, and to Mars Ultor, a basilica in " nunc sui cives e civitate eiecertnt." 
 
 the name of his grandsons, and a theatre Epist. ad Attic, ix. 12, " ilium ulciscentur 
 
 in that of Marcellus. mores sui." In such cases ' suus' of course 
 
 10. tempora] ' Exigencies.' Cf. Cic. ad is not strictly reflexive, for it refers to the 
 
 Fam. ii. 18, " tempora rei publicae qualia subject of the verb, and not its object. 
 
 futura sint quis scit ? " It can only be used in this way in the 
 
 consuUs] In a.c. 44, after the year of sense of * his own,' as distinguished em- 
 
 C. Julius Caesar's death, M. Antonius was phatically from what belongs to others, 
 consul. While he was collecting forces ahstulerat] As a general rule in the 
 
 to attack D. Brutus, two of his legions, oratio obliqua, the dependent verb?, if 
 
 Quarta and Martia, went over to Angus- in the subjunctive, represent the vjOw.<< 
 
 tus (Cic. Philipp. iii. 8 — 10). of those whose sentiments are bnng 
 
 Pompeianarum] Pompeius Magnus had stated ; if in the indicative, they are 
 
 been the ostensible champion of the representations of the writer's or narra- 
 
 Senate and Optimates. Octavianus tor's own views. But this rule does not 
 
 joined this party on his first appearance always hold good, apparently. Cf. i. 46, 
 
 at/Rome. Antonius was natui-ally hostile " civitas incusare Tiberium quod dum 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 15 
 
 senatu consulatum_, armaque quae in Antonmin acceperit contra rem 
 publicam versa; proscriptionem civium, divisiones agrorum, ne 
 ipsis quidem qui fecere laudatas. sane Cassii et Brutorum exitus 
 paternis inimicitiis datos, quamquam fas sit privata odia publicis 
 utilitatibus remittere : sed Pompeium imagine pacis_, sed Lepidum 
 specie amicitiae deceptos; post Antonium^ Tarentino Brundisinoque 
 foedere et nuptiis sororis inlectum_, subdolae adfinitatis poenas 
 morte exsolvisse. pacem sine dubio post haec, verum cruentam : 
 Lollianas Yarianasque clades^interfectos Romae Varrones^ Egnatios^ 
 lulos. nee domesticis abstinebatur: abducta Neroni uxor et con- 
 sulti per ludibrium pontifices an concepto necdum edito partu rite 
 nuberet ; Q. Tedii et Vedii Pollionis luxus ; postremo Livia gravis 
 
 patres et plebem ludificetur, dissideat 
 interim miles," and compare " oravit ut 
 maneret in castello dum Caesar consu- 
 litur," where there seems no difference 
 in the meaning. After ' dura ' Tacitus 
 generally uses the present indicative : 
 xiv. 58, XV. 45, 59, et saepius. Also after 
 relatives the indicative is often found. 
 Cf. i. 39, " venisse qui irrita facerent quae 
 per seditionem expresserant ;" ii. 36, 
 " censuit ut legionum legati qui ante prae- 
 turamea militia fungebantur 3" iv. 56, "L. 
 Sullam testem adferebant . . . omnis qui 
 adstabant detraxisse corpori tegmina." 
 There are raany other instances. It looks 
 from these last passages as though the 
 indicative is used where the clause is vir- 
 tually a definition or resolution of some 
 single woixl, or put quite abstractedly. 
 In the last sentence quoted, 'qui adsta- 
 bant ' is merely a resolution of ' ad- 
 Btantes.' This principle would explain 
 at once why it is after relatives chiefly 
 that the indicative is found, where the 
 subjunctive would naturally occur ; for 
 the definition is put forward in an ab- 
 stract way, irrespective of any one's 
 views or representations. In the pas- 
 sages here, it is not easy to apply this 
 principle to the occurrence of the indica- 
 tive mood, with ' sive . . . seu,' between the 
 subjunctives 'invaserit' and '-acceperit.' 
 Possibly, if Tacitus had worded the clause 
 differently, so as to use a relative, ' e quibus 
 alterum venenum vulneri adfusum, alte- 
 rum sui milites abstulerant,' the sen- 
 tence would have been explicable as 
 above ; and Tacitus may have retained 
 the same turn, although the matter is 
 put forward in the shape of two hypo- 
 thetical alternatives. I think the expla- 
 nation of the frequent occurrence of the 
 indicative after ' dum ' lies in the general 
 
 use of the present tense after it, in a 
 past narrative ; or rather both are due 
 alike to the desire to put the fact vividly 
 before the reader and to give the exact 
 words of the speaker, in the wish for the 
 utmost possible liveliness of expression. 
 It is the same principle which explains 
 so many irregularities in Thucydides. 
 These remarks may be applied to the 
 words ' qui fecere ' just below. 
 
 imagine pads'] After the reconcilia- 
 tion of Octavianus and Antonius, Sex- 
 tus Pompeius by his cruisers cut off the 
 com supplies of Rome. At last, after a 
 conference at Misenum, 39 A.c, he was 
 reconciled to his opponents, and received 
 Sardinia, Corsica, and the province of 
 Achaia. On the ground of his allowing 
 piracy in the Mediterranean, they quar- 
 relled with him, and Pompeius was 
 defeated near Mylae. 
 
 foedere] At Tarentum, on the occa- 
 sion of war with Sextus Pompeius, 
 Antonius and Octavianus entered into 
 mutual engagements, the latter to help 
 Antonius in his war against the Par- 
 thians, and Antonius to reinforce the fleet 
 of Octavianus. After the capture of 
 Perusia and the death of Fid via, Anto- 
 nius and Octavianus came to an under- 
 standing and re-divided the provinces 
 between them, the former taking the 
 eastern and the latter the western, and 
 holding Italy in common. The reconci- 
 liation was cemented by the marriage of 
 Antonius with Octavia, the sister of his 
 colleague. 
 
 Varrones, &c.] Varro Murena and M. 
 Egnatius were put to death by Augustus 
 (Suet. Aug. 19). lulus Antonius was 
 commanded to kill himself, by reason of 
 his adultery wit^i Julia. 
 
 Tedii] The sreading of the Cod. 
 
16 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. IQI, 
 
 in rem publicam materj gravis domui Caesarum noverca. liliil ' 
 deorum lionoribus relictunij cum se templis et effigie numinurtj per 
 flamines et sacerdotes coli vellet.lAneTiberium quidem caritatf) aut 
 rei publicae cura successorem adscitum_, sed quoniam adrogaiitiam 
 saevitiamque eius introspexerit^ comparatione deterrima sibi 
 gloriam quaesivisse. etenim Augustus paucis ante annis_, cum 
 Tiberio tribuniciam potestatem a patribus rursum postularet^ 
 quamquam bonora oratione^ quaedam de babitu cultuque et in- 
 stitutis eius iecerat^ quae velut excusando exprobraret. ^ cetorum 
 sepultura more perfecta templum et caelestes religiones decer- 
 nuntur. 
 
 11. Yersae inde adTiberium preces. et illevaria edisserebat de 
 magnitudine imperii^ sua modestia. solam divi Augusti mentem 
 tantae molis capacem : se in partem curarum ab illo vocatum 
 experiendo didicisse quam arduum_, quam subiectum fortuna e r_g - 
 gendi cuncta onus, proinde in civitate tot inlustribus yiris subnixaT 
 non ad unum omnia deferrent : plures facilius munia rei publicae 
 sociatis laboribus exsecuturos. plus in oratione tali dignitatis 
 quam fidei erat ; Tiberioque etiam in rebus quas non occuleret^ 
 
 Med. is 'nuberetque tedii.' I have fol- deterrima\ 'Bj a very miscMevous 
 
 lowed the usual correction, 'Q. Tedius/ comparison.' Cf. Suet. Tib. 21, "Aagus- 
 
 although no sucb person is known, for tumexpugnatumprecibus uxoris (Tiberii) 
 
 want of any tbing better. Draeger bas adoptionem non abnuisse, vel c^tiam 
 
 * Q. Pedii,' and Nipperdey ' quae edito.' ambitione tactum ut tali successore 
 
 Eitter ' Gai Matii' originally, but ' Q. desiderabilior ipse quandoquefieret." 
 
 Pedii' in bis latest edition (1864). Yedius de hahitu cultuque, &c.] 'Deportment 
 
 Pollio fattened his lampreys on live slaves, and dress and habits of life.' 'Cultus' 
 
 vellet] There is some difficulty in and 'habitus' are joined together in ii. 59. 
 
 this. During his lifetime Augustus re- The latter is used for bodily characreris- 
 
 fused divine honours in Rome, and tics. Cf. Agric. 11, "habitus corparum 
 
 only allowed the provincials to erect varii, namque rutilae Caledoniam hal itan- 
 
 temples to him in conjunction with the tium comae." 'Cultus' is used for cress, 
 
 name of Rome. Cf. Suet. Aug. 52, food, and generally ' way of living.' Cf. 
 
 "templa . . . in nulla provincia nisi com- Suet. Jul. 45, "cultu notabilem ferunt, 
 
 muni suo Romaeque nomine. Nam in usum enim lato clavo," and Caesar B. G. 
 
 urbe quidem pertinacissime abstinuit hoc vi. 19, " funera sunt pro cultu Gallorum 
 
 'honore." So Inscrip. Latin, n. 606, " Romae magnifica." Suetonius does not give a very 
 
 ET AvGVSTO Caesari Divi F. Patri Pa- favourable portraiture of the personal ap- 
 
 TRiAE." It was only after his death that pearance of Tiberius : " incedebat cervice 
 
 a flamen and priests were appointed at rigida et obstipa, adducto fere vultu . . . 
 
 Rome; and besides, Augustus could hardly quae omnia ingrata" &c. (Tib. 68). 
 
 be blamed for what was done to honour 11. quam arduum] For the omission \ i 
 
 him after his death. But apparently the of the verb of existence, see note on ' ne "^ 
 
 worship of Augustus while still living laeti,' c. 7. 
 
 had begun in Italy, and in the provincial occuleref] The subjunctive is used 
 
 towns there may well have been flamens because the idea is general : no parti<3ular 
 
 and priests appointed before his death, instances are in the writer's mind, but 
 
 At all events, there are flamens mentioned the statement is that whenever any thing 
 
 in inscriptions as existing at Pompeii, Pisa, occurred which Tiberius had not any 
 
 Praeneste, and elsewhere, and these may wish to conceal, he still displayed the 
 
 have been appointed during his lifetime. same hesitation and ambiguity of sp<?ech. 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 17 
 
 • 
 
 seu natura sive adsuetu'dine^ suspensa semper et obscura verba : 
 tunc vero nitenti, ut sensus suos penitus abderet, in incertum et 
 ambiguum magis implicabantur. at patres, quibus unus metus si 
 intellegere viderentur, in questus lacrimas vota effundi ; ad deos, ad 
 effigiem Augusti^ ad genua ipsius manus^ tendere, cum proferri 
 libellum recitarique iussit. opes publicae continebantur, quantum 
 civium sociorumque in armis, quot classes, regna, provinciae, 
 tributa aut vectigalia, et necessitates ac largitiones. quae cuncta 
 sua manu perscripserat Augustus addideratque consilium coercendi 
 intra terminos imperii, incertum metu an per invidiam. / 
 
 12. Inter quae senatu ad infimas obtestationes procumbente, 
 dixit forte Tiberius se ut non toti rei publicae parem, ita quae- 
 
 For a rather curious extension of this 
 principle, see a passage xv. 46, and the 
 note on it. ^\^ 
 
 libellum'] Cf. Suet. Aug. 101, "de 
 tribus voluminibus unomandata de funere 
 suo complexus est ; altero indicem reruni 
 a se gestarum quern vellet incidi in aeneis 
 tabulis quae ante Mausoleum statueren- 
 tur; tertio breviarium totius imperii, 
 quantum militum sub signis ubique esset, 
 quantum pecuniae in aerario et fisco et 
 vectigaliorum residuis." 
 
 tributa] This is not an easy passage ; 
 for it is not clear what ' tributa' here are, 
 and what ' vectigalia.' The'tributum' 
 was originally paid in Italy by Eoman 
 citizens ; being a land or house tax, and 
 also a tax on movables. The 'tributum' 
 was given up after the conquest of Mace- 
 donia, 167 A.c, but, according to Plu- 
 tarch (Aemil. Paul. 38), re-imposed in 
 the consulship of Hirtius and Pansa. 
 This however was apparently only tem- 
 porarily, and under the early empire 
 it does not seem to have been paid : at 
 least Pliny (H. N. xxxvii. 17) speaks of 
 it as obsolete. Dr. Merivale (History of 
 the Romans under the Empire, c. 52) 
 supposes, nevertheless, the property tax 
 on movables to have been retained, but 
 he quotes no authority for this view, 
 and I do not know that he has any. 
 However this may be, it is clear, I think, 
 that certain taxes were levied in the pro- 
 vinces, to which the name of ' tributa ' 
 was given. Suetonius (Claud. 25) says, 
 "Iliensibus tributa in perpetuum remi- 
 sit," and (Vespasian 16) " auxisse tributa 
 provinciis." Cf. also Domitian 12. Taci- 
 tus has (xiii. 50) " quippo sublatis por- 
 toriis sequens ut tributorum abolitio ex- 
 postularetur." Since just before he spoke 
 
 of Nero's financial scheme as " pulcherri- 
 mum donum generi mortalium," I believe 
 the reference is to the taxation of the 
 whole Eoman world, and mainly there- 
 fore to the taxation of the provinces. 
 In these latter, every one who pos- 
 sessed land paid a tenth of his grain 
 produce ; but this seems to have been in 
 most cases changed by Augustus for a 
 fixed rent-charge upon the estimated 
 value of the land. Those who had no 
 land (in the provinces) paid on their 
 personal effects ; and in the case of 
 labourers and slaves, a poll tax was 
 levied, and paid by their employers or 
 masters. It seems to me that these 
 direct taxes paid in money are here styled 
 'tributa.' Indirect imposts, such as 
 'portoria' (cf. xiii. 50, "vectigalia omitti 
 iubet," followed by " sublatis portoriis 
 sequens," &c.) , 'scriptura,' &c., and tithes 
 (' decumae') when paid in kind, are termed 
 'vectigalia.' I am aware that there are 
 assertions made in this note which many 
 will question, but the subject is a difficult 
 one, and opinions vary greatly on the 
 matter. 
 
 necessitates ac largitiones] ''Sec^s. 
 sar y disbu rggmepts jjid- bmiTTViftg ' " The 
 former woul<I~Thclude alLthq payments 
 for the troops, public works, and civil 
 list ; the latter the expenditure on the 
 com distributed amongst the poorer in- 
 habitants, and largesses of various kinds, 
 as ' congiarii,' ' viscerationes,' &c. For 
 ' necessitates,' in the sense above, cf. xiii. 
 50, "ut ratio quaestuum et necessitas 
 erogationum inter se congruerent." 
 
 12. Inter quae]^ For the position of 
 'quae' cf i. 15, 75, ii. 13. Also 'post 
 quae' (i. 13), ' adversus quae' (iii. 59), 'ob 
 quae' (ii. 30). 
 
18 CORNELII TACITI [a.u. ;. 767. , 
 
 cumque pars sibi mandaretur, eius tutelam suscepturum. turn 
 Asinius Gallus 'interrogo^ iiiquit_, ^ Caesar_, quam partem rei 
 publicae mandari tibi velis/ perculsus inprovisa interrOiL'atione 
 paulum reticuit: dein collecto animo respondit nequaqut^m de- 
 corum pudori suo legere aliquit aut evitare ex eo, cui in uIli^^ersum 
 excusari mallet, rursum Gallus (etenim vultu offensionem con- 
 iectaverat) non idcirco interrogatum ait^ ut divider et quae S(3parari 
 nequirent^ sed et sua confessione argueretur^ unum esse risi pub- 
 licae corpus atque unius animo regendum. addidit laudem de 
 Augusto Tiberiumque ipsum victoriarum suarum quaeque in toga 
 per tot annos egregie fecisset admonuit. nee idep iram eius 
 lenivitj pridem invisus_, tamquam ducta in matrimonium Yipsania 
 M. Agrippae filia_, quae quondam Tiberii uxor fuerat_, plu« quam 
 civilia agitaret Pollionisque Asinii patris ferociam retineret. 
 '^13. Post quae L. Arruntius baut multum discrepans a Galli 
 oratione perinde ofFendit_, quamquam Tiberio nulla vetus in 
 Arruntium ira : sed divitem_, promptum^ artibus egregiis et pari 
 fama publice^ suspectabat. quippe Augustus supremis ser- 
 monibus cum tractaret, quinam adipisci principem locum sufFec- 
 y%Vivi abnuerent aut inpares vellent vel idem possent cuperentque, 
 /M\ Lepiduin dixerat capacem sed aspernantem_, Galium ^sinium 
 
 cm excusc^i] There does not seem to lias 'M.,' that is, Marcus Lepidus. As two 
 
 be any other undoubted instance of the Lepidi are mentioned in Tacitus, it is not 
 
 construction of ' excusari ' with a dative easy to decide where Marcus Le}»idus and 
 
 of the thing. Nipperdey quotes Plin. where Manius Lepidus is intended, for 
 
 Panegyr. 57, "iamexcusatushonoribuset the authority of the MSS. is scarcely 
 
 expletus," but this may be the ablative, any thing in such a case. Marc^us Lepi- 
 
 a construction which occurs elsewhere, dus was consul a.d. 6, and Manius 
 
 as well as the ablative with the prepo- Lepidus a.d. 11. In iii. 22 Manius 
 
 sition ' ab.' Lepidus is written at length in the 
 
 suarum] Gallus reminded Tiberius of Codex Mediceus. Assuming tJiis to be 
 
 his successes in the field and services in correct, perhaps we can arrive at some 
 
 the state, to show that he was as able to probable conclusion as to the proper 
 
 govern the Koman empire as Augustus reading in other places, F]-om this 
 
 had been. Of course the successes here passage it is a fair inference, perhaps, 
 
 mentioned are those of Tiberius, not of that this Lepidus was an oratoi- of some 
 
 Gallus. power ; if so, Manius Lepidus ^yould be 
 
 13. 'pa/ri fama] * Possessed of excellent the reading in iii. 11 and 50, and perhaps 
 
 qualities and corresponding repute in iv. 20 and vi. 27. Tacitus speaks highly 
 
 his public capacity.' L. Axruntius was of him in this last passage, which cer- 
 
 consul in a.d. 6. For this use of tainly makes it probable that in i. 13 
 
 * publico ' of. Suet. Tib. 37, " Cyzicenis he is also meant : perhaps too in iv. 56. 
 
 publico libertatem ademit." H. i, 51, In iii. 32 Marcus Lepidus seeins to be 
 
 " publice donates in ignominiam exercitus intended, as he is described by Sextus 
 
 iactabant," Pompeius as " socors, inops, et niaioribus 
 
 suffecturi] Used absolutely: 'likely to suis dedecorus;" and even the Senate 
 
 prove competent.' Cf. Cic. Philipp. ii. 7, only regard him as ' mitis ' rather than 
 
 " nee scriba sufficere, nee tabulae nomina ' ignavus,' a lukewarm praise wh ch would 
 
 iUorum capere potuerunt." hardly suit Manius Lepidus, of whom 
 
 M\ Lepidum] The Codex Mediceus Tacitus speaks so highly. lu iii. 35 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 19 
 
 avidum et minorem, L. Arruntium non indignum et, si casus 
 daretur, ausurum. de prioribus consentitur, pro Arruntio quidam 
 Cn/Pisonem tradidere; omnesque praeter Lepidum variis mox 
 criminibus struente Tiberio circumventi sunt, etiam Q. Haterius 
 et Mamercus Scaurus suspicacem animum perstrinxere, Haterius 
 cum dixisset ^quousque patieris, Caesar^ non adesse caput rei 
 publicae ? ^, Scaurus quia dixerat, spem esse ex eo non inritas fore 
 senatus preces^ quod relationi consuluin iure'tribuniciae px)testatis 
 non intercessisset. in Haterium statim invectus est; Scaurum, 
 cui inplacabilius irascebatur, silentio tramisit. fessusque clamore 
 omnium^ expostulatione singulorum flexit paulatim_, non ut fate- 
 retur suscipi a se imperium^, sed ut negare et rogari desineret. 
 constat Haterium_, cum deprecandi causa Palatium introisset am- 
 bulantisque Tiberii genua advolveretur_, prope a militibus inter- 
 fectum, quia Tiberius casu an manibus eius inpeditus prociderat. 
 neque tamen periculo talis viri mitigatus est, donee Haterius 
 Augustam oraret eiusque curatissimis precibus protegeretur. 
 
 M. Lcpidus apparently is a different expressed, no doubt these words were in 
 person from the M. Lepidus of iii. 32, the writer's mind, and influenced the 
 and must therefore be Manius. From form of the expression. Cf. ii. 67, "fugam 
 the fact of Marcus Lepidus being spoken temptans anficto crimine interficitur ;" ii. 
 of in iii. 32 as poor, he is probably 42, xiv. 7, xv. 69. The same form occurs 
 - meant in ii. 48 and iii. 72. To put the in Cicero de Finibus ii.'32, "quum Si- 
 matter clearly, the following passages monides an alius quis artem memoriae 
 relate to Manius Lepidus : i. 13, iii. 11, polliceretur." Cf. also Ad Fam. vii. 9. 2. 
 iii. 35, iii. 50, iv. 20, iv. 56, vi. 27. Mar- ora/ref] Tacitus clearly might have 
 cus Lepidus is spoken of in ii. 48, iii. 32, said ' orabat,' and the question is why 
 iii. 72, vi. 40 (see the note there). The he wrote 'oraret' in preference. He 
 substance of this note is taken from Nip- uses the indicative in many passages, 
 perdey. such as i. 5, "nuntii vulgabantur, donee 
 
 relationi consulurn] If Tiberius had excessisse Augustum fama eadem tulit." 
 
 really chosen to stop the proposal Germ. 37, "inde otium donee occasione 
 
 brought forward by the Consuls for discordiae nostrae etiam Gallias adfecta- 
 
 lodging the government in his hands, vere." Cf. also Germ. 46, H. iv. QQ. This^ 
 
 he might have done so by interposing is in accordance with the usual practice to 
 
 the veto he possessed by virtue of his use the indicative after ' donee ' to convey 
 
 tribunitial power. That he did not take the expression of some actual fact. Of 
 
 this decisive measure, was a proof that course there is no difiiculty in the use of 
 
 he was only pretending reluctance, the subjunctive after 'donee' to express 
 
 There is no distinct mention of the Con- the contemplated occurrence of a future 
 
 suls having brought forward such a mea- contingency. But Tacitus employs the 
 
 sure, but it is clear that they must have subjunctive in cases which cannot be 
 
 done so. ranked under this head easily. Cf. Germ. 
 
 flexif] Cf. iv. 37, " Quorum rumore 1, " Danubius plures adit donee in Pon- 
 
 arguebatur in ambitionem flexisse." Also ticum erumpat." A. ii. 6, " Rhenus Ger- 
 
 vi. 15, " flexit ad graviora." maniam praevehitur donee Oceanomisce- 
 
 genua] For the case cf. vi. 64, xv. 71, atur." Germ. 35, "gentium lateribus ob- 
 
 H. iv. 81 ; but on the other hand, see i. tenditur donee in Chattos usque sinuetur." 
 
 23, " singulorum pedibus advolutus." Cf. also xii. 40, xiii. 13, Germ. 31. With 
 
 an] This is a very common idiom in Ta- these compare Liv. xlv. 7, " progredi prao 
 
 citus, where ' an ' is used as if ' incertum * turba occurrentium non poterat doneo 
 
 or ' dubium ' had preceded. Although not consul lictores misisset." These passages 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 COENELII TACITI 
 
 [A.U.C. 767. 
 
 14. Multa patrum et in Augustam adulatio. alii parentc^n, alii 
 matrem patriae appellandam, plerique ut no mini Caesaris sdscri- 
 beretur ''luliae filius^ censebant. ille moderandos femiaarum 
 honores dictitans eademque se temperantia usurum in iis quae 
 sibi tribuerentuFj ceterum anxius invidia et muliebre fastigium in 
 deminutionem sui accipiens ne lictorem quidem ei decerni passus 
 est aramque adoptionis et alia buiusce modi probibiiit. at Ger- 
 manico Caesari proconsular e imperium petivit_, missique legati 
 qui deferrent^ simul maestitiam eius ob excessum Augusti sola- 
 rentur. quo minus idem pro Druso postularetur, ea causa quod 
 designatus consul Drusus praesensque erat. candidates praeturae 
 duodecim nominavit^ numerum ab Augusto traditum ; et bortante 
 senatu ut augerst^ iure iurando obstrinxit se non excessurum. 
 
 15. Tumprimum e campo comitia ad patres translata sunt : nam 
 
 seera to me only explicable on the sup- 
 position that the event is rather looked 
 at from the standing-point of the actor 
 himself, and so to his conception repre- 
 sented as a future contingency. In the 
 passage from the Germ. 1, the Danube 
 seems to be regarded as a person con- 
 templating his future course to the end, 
 and the other passages seem to depend 
 on a somewhat similar explanation. In 
 Livy, as quoted above, the underlying 
 idea seems to be that the man felt he 
 must wait until lictors were sent. In 
 the text the notion perhaps is that 
 Tiberius persisted in his obduracy, feel- 
 ing that he should drive Haterius to 
 some extreme course. The event which 
 occurred as it were "cast its shadow 
 before," and is expressed by Tacitus as 
 though Tiberius were viewing it gradually 
 arising. 
 
 14. appellandam] The gerundive is 
 frequently used after 'censere.' Cf. iii. 
 17, "nomen Pisonis radendum fastis cen- 
 suit, pars ut filio concederetur." Cf. also 
 iv. 20, " partem bonorum publicandam, 
 pars ut liberis relinqueretur censuerat." 
 
 inviclAa] ' Invidia ' here does not mean 
 the odium he feared that he might be 
 subjected to : a sense the word often has, 
 as ii. 72, " invidiam et adrogantiam effu- 
 gerat," and Cic. ad Attic, ii. 9, "non 
 enim poterimus uUa esse in invidia, 
 spoliati opibus :" but a grudging feeling, 
 as Hor. Epist. i. 2. 58, "Invidia Siculi 
 non invenere tyranni Mains tormentum." 
 In this sense Cicero uses 'invidentia' 
 sometimes. Tiberius was afraid the 
 honours paid to Augusta would over- 
 
 shadow his own reputation. 
 
 a/ramque adoptionis'] That is, the altar 
 raised to commemorate the adoption of 
 Augusta into the Julian family. See c. 8. 
 
 proconsula/re imperium] According to 
 Dio (Ivi. 25), Germanicus was sent a.d. 
 11 to the Ehine with the ' proconsulare 
 imperium,' although he was not consul 
 until A.D. 12. Tiberius perhaps obtained 
 a renewal of this power in a.d. 14. 
 As it could only be exercised without 
 the city, it was useless to bestow it on 
 Drusus. This seems more lik<jly than 
 that the 'proconsulare imperium per- 
 petuujn ' granted to the Emperoi s should 
 he intended, which could be held within 
 the city. See Eitter's note, 
 
 se] The pronoun is the subject of 'ex- 
 cessurum,' probably, for cf. iv. 11, " iure 
 iurando obstringeret e re publica id esse." 
 
 15. translata] C. Julius Caesar divided 
 with the people, assembled in the Co- 
 mitia, the appointment of the annual 
 magistrates : they chose half, and he 
 nominated the remainder. The selec- 
 tion of consuls he retained in his own 
 hands. Augustus continued this prac- 
 tice, and restricted himself to the nomi- 
 nation of half the magistrates. Later 
 on, he gave his nominees letters of re- 
 commendation. Tiberius transfeiTed 
 his nominations and recommendations, 
 addressing them to the Senate instead 
 of the people ; but the Comitia still 
 apparently met and formally ratified 
 the choice of the Senate, for at the end 
 of this book (i. 81) Tacitus speaks of 
 the 'comitia consularia' as still held. 
 Therefore, as Dr. Merivale (in ch 44 of his 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCBSSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 21 
 
 ad earn diem^ etsi potissima arbitrio principis, quaedam tamen 
 studiis tribuum fiebant. neque populus ademptum ius questus est 
 nisi inani rumore^ et senatus largitionibus ac precibus sordidis 
 exsolutus libens tenuity moderante Tiberio ne plures quam quattuor 
 candidates c6nimendaret_, sine repulsa et ambitu designandos. inter 
 quae tribuni plebei petivere, ut proprio sumptu ederent ludos qui de 
 nomine Augusti fastis additi Augustales vocarentur. sed decreta 
 pecunia ex aerario, utque per circum triumpbali veste uterentur : 
 curru vebi haut permissum. mox celebratio annua ad praetorem 
 translata_, cui inter cives et peregrines iurisdictio evenisset. 
 
 16. Hie rerum urbanarum status erat^ cum Pannonicas legiones 
 seditio incessit^ nullis nevis causis^ nisi quod mutatus princeps 
 licentiam turbarum et ex civili belle spem praemiorum estendebat. 
 castris aestivis tres simul legiones babebantur^ praesidente lunio 
 BlaesOj qui fine Augusti et initiis Tiberii auditis eb iustitium aut 
 gaudium intermiserat selita munia. eo principle lascivire miles^ 
 discordarCj pessimi cuiusque sermonibus praebere aures^ denique 
 luxum et etium cupere_, disciplinam et laborem aspernari. erat in 
 castris Percennius quidam^ dux olim theatralium operarum^ dein 
 
 " History under the Eomans ") observes, the later games as merely an authorized 
 
 the process henceforward was, the ap- continuation of the former, 
 
 pointment of all magistrates (below the utque] This depends on * decretum,' 
 
 rank of consuls) partly in accordance supplied from 'decreta.' Cf. xiv. 12, " de- 
 
 with the Emperor's nomination, partly cemuntur supplicationes, utque Quiu- 
 
 by free selection, and subsequent to quatrus ludis annuls celebrarentur." 
 
 this, the ratification of the choice by vehi] The Praetors, while superin- 
 
 the formal sanction of the Comitia. tending the Ludi Circenses, wore the 
 
 inani rumore] That is, * in mere idle triumphal robe, and drove in chariots 
 
 talk :' the complaints never took any from the Capitol and through the forum 
 
 serious form. to the Circus Maximus. This was 
 
 lihens tenuif] ' Gladly accepted the denied to the tribunes, to prevent their 
 
 arrangement.' Below, for ' moderante ' being put on the same footing with the 
 
 of. ii. 29, "ita moderans ne lenire neve higher magistrates. 
 
 asperare videretur." Tiberius restricted evenisset] A commoner word in this 
 himself to nominating four candidates sense is ' obvenire.' Cf. iii. 33, " cui pre- 
 fer the praetorship. vincia obvenisset." Also iv. 56, Agric. 6, 
 
 Augustales] These games were held and Caesar, B. C. i. 6. 
 
 on the 12th of October. There were in 16. aut gaudium] There were two 
 
 the lifetime of Augustus games cele- distinct reasons for the cessation from 
 
 brated in honour of his birthday, held military duties, the 'iustitium' pro- 
 
 on the 23rd of September (Avgvsti claimed on account of the death of 
 
 natalis Ivdi circ. IX. Kal. Oct.). The Augustus (just as Caligula ordered a 
 
 tribunes of the commons seem to have * iustitium ' on the death of his sister 
 
 proposed the establishment of new Drusilla), and the rejoicings at the ac- 
 
 games, to be solemnized every year, cession of the new Emperor. The words 
 
 without any reference to the old birth- do not imply that Tacitus did not 
 
 day games, as the dates are different, know which was the real cause, but 
 
 Dio Cassius (liv. 34) speaks of the that they both existed, and combined 
 
 Augustalia as having first been cele- to produce the total i-esult. See note 
 
 brated 11 a.c. ; but he appears to be con- on ' aut ' in i. 8. 
 
 fusing the two sets, unless he regarded (ypera/rum] These were bodies of 
 
22 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.^i. 767. 
 
 gregarius miles_, procax lingua et miscere coetus Mstrionali studio 
 doctus. is inperitos animos et quaenam post Augustum iiiilitiae 
 condicio ambigentes inpellere paulatim nocturnis conloqii is aut 
 flexo in vesperam die et dilapsis melioribus deterrimum qii3mque 
 congregare. 
 
 17. Postremo promptis iam et aliis seditionis ministris velut 
 contionabundus interrogabat^ cur paucis centurionibus, pauciori- 
 bus tribunis in modum servorum oboedirent. quando siusuros 
 exposcere remedia^ nisi novum et nutantem adhuc principem 
 precibus vel armis adirent ? satis per tot annos ignavia peccatum, 
 quod tricena aut quadragena stipendia senes et plerique tiuncato 
 ex vulneribus corpore tolerent. ne dimissis quidem fineiu esse 
 militiaOj sed aput vexillum tendentes alio vocabulo eosdem 
 
 claqueurs engaged in the interests of tio recta the verb would have boon in the 
 
 different actors, to applaud them, and second person ; and this, acco)"ding to 
 
 counteract the manoeuvres of their rivals Madvig, settles the mood in tte oratio 
 
 or opponents. Cf. Plin. Epist. vii. 24, obliqua. 
 
 " alienissimi homines in honorem Quad- tricena] The usual term of se rvice up 
 
 ratillae . . . per adulationis oflB.cium in to this time had been twenty joars for 
 
 theatrum cursitabant, exsultabant, plau- the legionary troops and sixteeii for the 
 
 debant, mirabantur . . . qui nunc exi- Praetorians. In few instances cnly, one 
 
 guissima legata theatralis operae corol- would suppose, could thirty or forty 
 
 larium accipient ab herede qui non spec- years' service have been exacted without 
 
 tabat." Cf. i. 77, Suet. Tib. 37, Plant, discharge. 
 
 Amphit. Prolog. 64. For ' operae ' in the tendentes'] ' Encamped.' Cf. xiii. 36, 
 
 sense of bands of workmen, cf. Cic. ad H. i. 31, &c. 
 
 Attic, iv. 3. 3, "qui erant mecum facile alio vocabulo] Thatisas * vexillarii,'or 
 
 operas aditu prohibuerunt." 'vexilla veteranorum :' veterans who 
 
 miscere] A favourite word of Tacitus, after a certain length of service w< ;re, until 
 
 Cf. Agric. 15, " vim et contumelias mis- their full discharge, retained under a flag 
 
 cere," to introduce violence and insults (* vexillum ') free from the usual military 
 
 into the dispute. H. i. 38, "miscentur duties, but called into service on especial 
 
 auxiliaribus galeis scutisque," confusedly emergency. Cf. i. 36, " exauctc rari qui 
 
 armed with the helmet and shield of sena dena (stipendia) fecissent ac retineri 
 
 auxiliary troops. H. iv. 68, "turbidis sub vexillo, inmunes nisi pro )ulsandi 
 
 miscendis seditiouibus." The sense is hostis." There would be a number of 
 
 therefore * to breed uproar and disorder in these attached to each legion (per iiaps not 
 
 assemblies, with all the partisanship of a exceeding 500, iii. 21), and they might act 
 
 theatrical quarrel.' He could stir up a independently, or several ' vexilla ' be 
 
 meeting into strife by the exercise of united, H. ii. 83. But all ' vexil a ' were 
 
 the arts of the claqueur acquired by not ' vexillarii ' in this sense. The word 
 
 practice in the theatre. denotes a body of troops detacLcd from 
 
 17. ausv/ros] In the oratio recta this their own legions, and serving apart when 
 
 would have been ' audebimus.' Cf. Agric. occasion required. So Caesar, 3. G. vi. 
 
 15, "quantulum enim transisse mili- 36, " complures erant in castris ex legio- 
 
 tum :" here the oratio recta would have nibus aegri relicti, ex quibus qui hoc 
 
 'transivit.' A. ii. 2, "ubi illam gloriam spatio dierum convaluerant circiter tre- 
 
 trucidantium Crassum :" in the oratio centi sub vexillo una mittuntur." Cf. such 
 
 recta this would be ' ilia gloria erat.' A. phrases as Vexillum tironum,' ii. 78 ; 'equi- 
 
 xiii. 43, " cur enim neminem alium delec- tum,' H. ii. 11; and 'delectorum,' xv. 26. 
 
 turn ?" On the, other hand cf. xiii. 49, " cur In Agric. 18 there is " contractis Ligionum 
 
 enimtamleviaconsectaretur ?" i. 19, " cur vexillis." I think when Tacitus uses the 
 
 contra morem obsequii vim meditentur ? " word with the simple addition of the num- 
 
 In this second set of passages, in the ora- bor of the legion or the word * legionum ' 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 23 
 
 labores perferre. ac siquis tot casus vita superaverit, trahi adJbuc 
 diversas in terras^ ubi per nomen agrorum uligines paludum vel 
 inculta montium accipiant. enimvero militiam ipsam gravem, in- 
 fructuosam : denis in diem assibus animam et corpus aestimari : 
 hinc vestem arma tentoria^ hinc saevitiam centurionum et vacationes 
 munerum redimi. ad bercule verbera et vulnera, duram biemem, 
 exercitas aestates, bellum atrox aut sterilem pacem sempi- 
 terna. nee aliut levamentum quam si certis sub legibus militia 
 iniretur, ut singulos denarios mererent^ sextus decumus stipendii 
 annus finem adferret^ ne ultra sub vexillis tenerentur^ set isdem in 
 castris praemium pecunia solveretur. an praetorias cohortes_, quae 
 binos denarios acceperint^ quae post sedecim annos penatibus suis 
 reddantur, plus periculorum suscipere ? non obtrectari a se urba- 
 nas excubias : sibi tamen aput horridas gentes e contubemiis 
 hostem aspici. 
 
 alone, as in tlie passage last quoted, lie 
 means the ' vexillarii ' or * vexilla veterano- 
 rum.' If he does not intend these, he adds 
 a phrase like ' tironum. * or the like, to 
 show that he means only separate bodies 
 detached under a flag on service. 
 
 denis in ddem assihus'] Originally the 
 pay of the soldier was 2 obols a day, 
 or the third of a denarius (equivalent to 
 a drachma), or 3^ ases a day. C. Julius 
 Caesar doubled this (Suet. Jul. 26), and 
 apparently Augustus raised it to a de- 
 narius or 10 ases. The soldier's dress was 
 by a law introduced by Caius Gracchus 
 provided free of cost, but stoppages for 
 dress, &c., seem, from this passage, still 
 to have been made. 
 
 redimi^ With the first clause ' emi ' 
 is to be supplied. Orelli quotes a very 
 similar instance of zeugma from xv. 11, 
 "peditum siquis integer longinqua et avia 
 (petivere), vulnerati castra repetivere." 
 Below, 'ad' is for 'at.' See the Intro- 
 duction for the spelling. 
 
 singulos denarios^ Originally the de- 
 narius contained 10 ases, but in the 
 second Punic war, 2l7A.c.,the as was made 
 an ounce in weight, and 16 of these went 
 to a denarius. But Pliny says (Hist. Nat. 
 xxxiii. 3) " denarium in militari stipendio 
 semper pro X. assibus datum." The ex- 
 planation of this passage seems to be as 
 follows : — The soldiers claimed a denarius 
 a day, or 16 ases, according to the value 
 of the denarius after 217 A.c. or there- 
 abouts. The soldiers (Suet. Dom. 7) seem 
 to have received at this time 9 aurei a 
 year : these are equivalent to 225 denarii 
 
 or 3600 ases, and give 10 ases a day as 
 the pay — 10 ases, that is, of the smaller 
 value, of which 16 made a denarius. In 
 this way a soldier's pay, reckoned at 10 
 ases a day, was only equivalent to five- 
 eighths of a denarius, and so virtually he 
 was mulcted of three-eighths of his pay, 
 according to the old reckoning. The only 
 two ways of correcting the loss would 
 have been either to pay him 16 ases a 
 day, or retain weightier ases of the old 
 standard. From the observation of Pliny 
 quoted above, the demand of the legions 
 does not seem to have been complied with. 
 Of course his remark cannot mean that 
 10 ases, when a soldier's pay was con- 
 cerned, were allowed to count for a de- 
 narius or 16 ases, for in that case the 
 troops would have had no ground for 
 complaint. If I imderstand his words, 
 he intends to say that when the soldier 
 had earned 10 ases, he was considered 
 to have obtained the denarius he was 
 entitled to — a pleasant fiction, as it was 
 really not 10 ases but 16 which were 
 required to make up the denarius. 
 
 isdem in castris^ The soldiers wished 
 to be paid in the camp where they were, 
 on receiving their discharge. 
 
 hinos denarios'] This is not very clear. 
 Dio (liii. 11) says the Praetorians re- 
 ceived double the pay of the legionaries. 
 If these last received 10 ases a day, the 
 Praetorians did not receive 2 denarii, but 
 only 20 ases, unless the speaker was 
 thinking of the practice of reckoning the 
 denarius as representing 10 ases instead 
 of 16. 
 
24 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 767. 
 
 18. Adstrepebat vulgus, diver sis incitamentis, hi verl)3rum 
 notas, illi canitiem^ plurimi detrita tegmina et nudum corpus 
 exprobrantes. postremo eo furoris venere^ ut tres legiones mis- 
 cere in unam agitaverint. depulsi aemulatione^ quia suae qii sque 
 legioni eum honorem quaerebant^ alio vertunt atque una tres 
 aquilas et signa cobortium locant ; simul congerunt caespite;^ ex- 
 struunt tribunal, quo magis conspicua sedes foret. properaiitibus 
 Blaesus advenit, increpabatque ac retinebat singulos_, claniitans 
 ^ mea potius caede imbuite manus : leviore flagitio legatum rinter- 
 ficietis quam ab imperatore desciscitis. aut incolumis fidem legio- 
 num retinebo, aut iugulatus paenitentiam adcelerabo/ 
 
 19. Aggerabatur nibilo minus caespes iamque pectori eius usque 
 adcreverat_, cum tandem pervicacia victi inceptum omisere. Blaesus 
 multa dicendi arte non per seditionem et turbas desideria militum 
 ad Caesarem ferenda ait, neque veteres ab imperatoribus priscis 
 neque ipsos a divo Augusto tam nova petivisse ; et parum in 
 tempore incipientes principis curas onerari. si tamen tender ent 
 
 18. Adstrepebaf] This word is not used tlie 'vexilla' liere mentioned aie tlie 
 
 by the writers of the best age, but is com- standards of the three maniples in the 
 
 naon in Tacitus : xi. 17, H. ii. 90. It oc- cohort, then, as far as one can sea, the 
 
 curs in an active sense H. iv. 49. maniples ivould he distinguished, ar:d this 
 
 eum honoreni] That is, each of the would be at variance with the inference 
 
 three legions wished its own name, eagle, to be drawn from the previous cl luses, 
 
 &c., to be given to the united force; and " discedere in manipulos iubet ; sic melius 
 
 as none of the three would give way, the audituros responsum ;" for these words 
 
 scheme fell to the ground. clearly imply that the soldiers rtsfused 
 
 signa cohortium] There is some diffi- to arrange themselves in maniples. I 
 culty here. Are the * signa cohortium ' think the difficulty may be obviattid by 
 the same as the 'vexilla' of ch. 20, and supposing the 've£illa' of the maniples 
 the 'vexilla' of ch. 34? Caesar, B. G. to be carried forward not separately, 
 ii. 25, says "quartae cohortis . . . signi- but together. Then the soldiers cf the 
 feroque interfecto, signo amisso, " which three maniples, arranging themseh es in 
 certainly seems to indicate that the any order chance suggested, would still, 
 cohort had a standard of its own, dis- although the maniples were not kept 
 tinct from the eagle of the legion to distinct, yet in the aggregate form one 
 which it belonged, and the ensigns of single cohort. This seems to me a better 
 the maniples into which it was divided, solution than supposing ' vexilla ' to be 
 Under the later Emperors this seems to used for ' signa,' and to mean the stand- 
 have been the case beyond doubt, and ards of the cohorts. Possibly, the ivhole 
 therefore we may, I think, assume that proceeding being a hasty and disorderly 
 such was the case under Tiberius. The one, the ' signa cohortium ' for some rea- 
 standards of the maniples were appa- son may not have been at hand foi' use, 
 rently termed 'vexilla,' since Tacitus in and the grouping the 'vexilla' of the 
 c. 20 says " manipuli vexilla con veil unt." maniples together a sudden expedient. 
 It may be observed, however, that 19. pectori] For the dative cf. i. 74, 
 * vexillum' was also the flag of any "saevitiae principis adrepit." Also xiv. 
 detachment of troops from a legion, 53. 
 
 whence in H. ii. 18 we find "cohortes imperatoHbtis priscis'] ' Grenerals of the 
 
 et mille vexillarios . . . correptis signis old-fashioned stamp.' Cf. ii. 32, " in 
 
 vexillisque." But a difficulty is pre- P. Marcium more prisco advertere." Be- 
 
 sented by i. 34, " vexilla praeferri (iubet) low, 'incipientes curas ' is ' the Emperors' 
 
 ut id saltern discerneret cohortes." If burdens at the beginning of his reiga.' 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUaUSTI LIB. I. 25 
 
 in pace temptare quae ne civilmm quidem bellorum victores ex- 
 postulaverint^ cur contra morem obsequii, contra fas disciplinae 
 vim meditentur? decemerent legates seque coram mandata darent. 
 adclamavere ut filius Blaesi tribunus legatione ea fungeretur pete- 
 retque militibus missionem ab sedecim annis : cetera mandaturos, 
 ubi prima provenissent. profecto iuvene modicum otium : sed 
 superbire miles^ quod filius legati orator publicae causae satis osten- 
 deret necessitate expressa quae per modestiam non obtinuissent. 
 
 20. Interea manipuli ante coeptam seditionem Nauportum missi 
 ob itinera et pontes et alios usus, postquam turbatum in castris 
 accepere^ vexilla convellunt direptisque proximis vicis ipsoque 
 NauportOj quod municipii instar erat_, retinentis centuriones inrisu 
 et contumeliis, postremo verberibus insectantur^ praecipua in 
 Aufidienum Rufum praefectum castrorum ira, quern dereptum 
 vebiculo sarcinis gravant aguntque prime in agmine, per ludibrium 
 rogitantes an tarn immensa onera^ tam longa itinera libenter fer- 
 ret, quippe Rufus diu manipularis, dein centurio^ mox castris 
 praefectus^ antiquam duramque militiam revocabat_, vetus operis ac 
 laboris et eo inmitior^ quia toleraverat. 
 
 meditentur'] For the tense, in tlie would give their other instructions ' &c. 
 
 oratio obliqua, cf. ii. 5, "at si mare intre- Of course the infinitive is the natural 
 
 tur;" XV. 62, "habeat;" H.iv. 75, "si Ce- mood after 'adclamare,' but the idea 
 
 rialis velit," followed by 'mallet.' In all of 'ordering' is easily connected with 
 
 these cases of course the imperfect might this. 
 
 have been used. But Tacitus seems to 20. municipii'] Cf. H. i. 67, "direptua 
 
 have used the present designedly. The im- longa pace in modum municipii extruc- 
 
 perfect would represent the idea as exist- tus locus." Also H. iv. 22. Perhaps, as 
 
 ing entirely in the mind of the speaker, a Nipperdey remarks, the word ' munici- 
 
 pui-e hypothesis. The present implies that pium' is used because of the number of 
 
 the matter is put forward as more or less Eoman citizens resident there. Or, 
 
 likely to happen. I think in iv. 75 the rather, the exact idea is ' like an Italian 
 
 present ' velit ' is used to hint that in the town,' for the place is not compared to 
 
 speaker's mind that is what Cerialis is a ' colonia.' 
 
 most likely aiming at, whereas the second vehiculo] The dative case. Cf. xiii. 57, 
 alternative is put forward more problema- " tegmina corpori derepta iniciunt." 
 tically. In the text ' meditentur ' is used munipularis] Cf. ii. 55, "infimos ma- 
 because Grermanicus iutends to imply that nipularium." The word is used for a sol- 
 violence is what they seem really bent on ; dier in the ranks. See the next chapter, 
 whereas 'meditarentur' would be a simple vetus] The Codex Mediceus has 'in- 
 hypothesis, without any indication of the tus.' I have followed Lipsius in printing 
 probability of its being verified. It is ' vetus.' Cf. vi. 12, " scientiae caerimoni- 
 something of the principle which seems arumque vetus." Also vi. 44, H. iv. 20 
 to originate such change of mood as is and 76. 
 
 found in Thucydides (iii. 22) : irapavTaxo^ 9^^<^ toleraverat] One charm of Taci- 
 
 <ppvKToifs owcos aa-acp^ TO. a-rj/xelaT^s (ppvKTCo- tus' writings lies in the sagacity of the 
 
 piai ^ KOI fi^ $or)do7eu. remarks with which he often closes his 
 
 mkndaturos] This depends on ' ad- paragraphs. Cf. the last sentences of 
 
 clamavere,' repeated in a slightly dif- H. i. 10, 22, 38. As for the remark here, 
 
 ferent sense : ' they shouted out a demand it does not seem necessarily true that 
 
 that .... and shouted out that they sufiering breeds compassion : it may do 
 
26 COBNELn TACITI [a.u.c. '^^"7, 
 
 21. Horum adventu redintegratur seditio^ et vagi circumi' 3cta 
 populabantur. Blaesus paucos_, maxime praeda onustos, ad ter- 
 rorem ceterorum adfici verberibus^ claudi carcere iubet; Jiam 
 etiam turn legato a centurionibus et optimo quoque manipulaj-Lum 
 parebatur. illi obniti trabentibus^ prensare circumstantium geiiua^ 
 ciere modo nomina smgulorum, modo centuriam quisque cuius 
 manipularis erat_, cobortem, legionem, eadem omnibus inmiiLere 
 clamitantes. simul probra in legatum cumulant^ caelum ac deos 
 obtestantur, nibil reliqui faciunt quo minus invidiam misericor- 
 diam metum et iras permoverent. adcurritur ab universis, et 
 carcere effracto solvunt vincula desertoresque ac rerum capital ium 
 
 K;^damnatos sibi iam miscent. 
 
 22. Flagrantior inde vis^ plures seditioni duces, et Yibulesnus 
 quidam gregarius miles, ante tribunal Blaesi adlevatus circum- 
 stantium umeris, aput turbatos et quid pararet intentos * vos 
 quidem' inquit 'bis innocentibus et miserrimis lucem et spiritum 
 reddidistis : sed quis fratri meo vitam, quis fratrem mihi reddit ? 
 quem missum ad vos a Germanico exercitu de communibus com- 
 modis nocte proxima iugulavit per gladiatores suos, quos in 
 exitium militum habet atque armat. responde_, Blaese, ubi ca- 
 daver abieceris : ne bostes quidem sepultura invident. cum 
 
 so occasionally, and may also do just the join them in their lawless proceedings, 
 opposite. The cruellest slave overseer is a companionship they would have de- 
 said to be one who has been a slave him- spised before. Cf. Germ. 46, " cetera iam 
 self. Archbishop Whately observes that fabulosa," at this point fable begins, 
 when Sterne remarks of a negro slave, 22. gladiatores silos'] Cf.xiii.31,"E'iixit 
 that she had suffered oppression and Caesar ne quis magistratus aut proeura- 
 had learnt mercy, it would have been tor, qui provinciam obtineret, spectacu- 
 more true to have said, although she Ium gladiatorum aut ferarom aut ([uod 
 had suffered much oppression. Long- aliud ludicrum ederet." 
 continued oppression tends to brutalize uhi] One would have expected S[uo ' 
 the victim, and breeds reckless morose- here. "Walther, with the penetration of a 
 ness, which seeks for revenge directly or commentator who sees peculiar beau- y in 
 indirectly. A short course of suffering every expression of the writer, disco rers 
 does produce compassion, for by reason * ubi 'to be ' rnvidiosius dictum.' Bui the 
 of its brevity the mind has not time to expression is equivalent to ' ubi cadaver 
 harden. abiectum iacet ? ' Cf. Suet. Nero 48, 
 
 21. pennoverenf] Emesti proposes to "abiecti in via cadaveris." Transjate, 
 
 read ' permoveant.' But the sequence of * where is the body you have tossed 
 
 tenses is common enough, for ' faciunt ' aside ? ' 
 
 is merely the historical present, and really sepultv^ra'] Cf. Grerm. 33, "ne specta- 
 
 describes a past event, and the construe- culo quidem proelii invidere." 0]elli 
 
 tion is the same as if a past verb had quotes Lucan vii. 798, "invidet igne 
 
 preceded. Cf. ii. 22, "bellum Stertinio rogi." Plin. Epist. ii. 10.2, "quousque 
 
 mandat ni deditionem properavissent." et tibi et nobis invidebis, tibi maxima 
 
 Cf. Liv. vii. 37, " cum vidisset hostes, laude, nobis voluptate ? " The usual 
 
 milites ad castra oppugnanda ducit." construction is an accusative of the thing 
 
 iam miscent] The soldiers went to and dative of the person. Horace, Sat. 
 
 such lengths that at last from that point ii. 6. 84, has " neque illi Sepositi ciceris 
 
 (' iam ') they did not object to let deserters nee longae invidit avenae." 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 27 
 
 osculis, cum lacrimis dolorem meum implevero^ me quoque tru- 
 cidari iube^ dum interfectos nullum ob scelus, sed quia utilitati 
 legionum consulebamus^ lii sepeliant.^ 
 
 23. Incendebat haec fletu et pectus atque os manibus verberans. 
 mox disiectis quorum per umeros sustinebatur^ praeceps et singu- 
 lorum pedibus advolutus tantum consternationis invidiaeque con- 
 civitj ut pars militum gladiatores qui e servitio Blaesi erant, pars 
 ceteram eiusdem familiam vincirent, alii ad quaerendum corpus 
 effunderentur. ac ni propere neque corpus ullum reperiri_, et 
 servos adhibitis cruciatibus abnuere caedem^ neque illi fuisse 
 umquam fratrem pernotuisset^ baud multum ab exitio legati 
 aberant. tribunes tamen ac praefectum castrorum extrusere^ sar- 
 cinae fugientium direptae, et centurio Lucilius interficitur, cui 
 militaribus facetiis vocabulum ^ cedo alteram^ indiderant^ quia 
 fracta vite in tergo militis alteram clara voce ac rursus aliam 
 poscebat. ceteros latebrae texere^ uno retento Clemente lulio, 
 qui perferendis militum mandatis babebatur idoneus ob promptum 
 ingenium. quin ipsae inter se legiones octava et quinta decuma 
 ferrum parabant_, dum centurionem cognomento Sirpicum ilia 
 morti deposcit_, quintadecumani tuentur_, ni miles nonanus preces 
 et adversum aspernantis minas interiecisset. 
 
 24. Haec audita quamquam abstrusum et tristissima quaeque 
 maxime occultantem Tiberium perpulere ut Drusum filium cum 
 primoribus civitatis duabusque praetoriis cohortibus mitteret, 
 nullis satis certis mandatis^ ex re consulturum. et cobortes delecto 
 milite supra solitum firmatae. additur magna pars praetoriani 
 equitis et robora Germanorum^ qui tum custodes imperatori ade- 
 rant ; simul praetorii praefectus Aelius Seianus_, coUega Straboni 
 patri suo datus^ magna aput Tiberium auctoritate^ rector iuveni 
 
 23. Incendebat haec] ' He kindled these tice vitem, Si lentus pigra muniret castra 
 
 remarks with tears.' The words formed dolabra"), with which he punished the 
 
 a kind of fuel, and his tears added the men. See the woodcut in Smith's Diet, 
 
 necessary heat to set them in a glow, of Antiq. of a centurion with the vine- 
 
 Cf. i. 69, " accendebat haec onerabatque switch in his hand. 
 
 Seianus." Also ii. 82. Sirpicum] * Sirpe ' is laserwort. Was 
 
 ni . . . aherant] A common form in Sirpicus a nickname, because he used 
 
 Tacitus. See below at the end of this laserwort for a switch, or was it the man's 
 
 chapter, and cf. i. 35, " ferrum deferebat name ? ' Cognomentum ' proves nothing, 
 
 in pectus ni proximi prensam dextram vi for it is used either for a real name or a 
 
 adtinuissent." Also ii, 10, 63, &c. Of nickname. Probably the name was given 
 
 course the expression is elliptical, ' haud in joke. 
 
 multum aberant, vel certe haud mtdtum 24. custodes] This was a body-guard of 
 
 abfuissent ni ' &c. Germans, chiefly Batavians, dismissed by 
 
 fracta vite] The vine-switch was the Augustus after the defeat of Varus, but 
 
 mark of the centurion's rank (cf. Juv. viii. apparently resumed by him. 
 
 247, " Nodosam post haec frangebat ver- iuveni] See note on * dominationi,' c. 3. 
 
28 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 767. 
 
 et ceteris periculorum praemiorumque ostentator. Druso pro oin- 
 quanti quasi per officium obviae fuere legiones^ non laetat?, ut 
 adsolet, neque insignibus fulgentes_, sed inluvie deformi et viitu, 
 quamquain maestitiam imitarentur^ contumaciae propiores. 
 
 25. Postquam vallum introitj portas stationibus firmantj globos 
 armatorum certis castrorum locis opperiri iubent : ceteri tribunal 
 ingenti agmine circumveniunt. stabat Drusus silentium manu 
 poscens. illi quotiens oculos ad multitudinem rettulerant^ vocibus 
 truculentis strepere^ rursum viso Caesare trepidare ; murmui- in- 
 certum^ atrox clamor et repent e quies ; diver sis animorum motibus 
 pavebant terrebantque. tandem interrupto tumultu litteras patris 
 recitat, in quis perscriptum erat^ praecipuam ipsi fortissimarum 
 legionum curam^ quibuscum plurima bella toleravisset ; ubi pri- 
 mum a luctu requiesset animus^ acturum aput patres de postulatis 
 eorum; misisse interim filium^ ut sine cunctatione concederet (juae 
 statim tribui possent ; cetera senatui servanda^ quem neque gratiae 
 neque severitatis expertem haberi par esset. 
 
 26. Responsum est a contionCj man data Clementi centurioni ([uae 
 perferret. is orditur de missione a sedecim annis^ de praemiis 
 finitae militiaCj ut denarius diurnum stipendium foret^ ne veterani 
 sub vexillo haberentur. ad ea Drusus cum arbitrium senatus et 
 patris obtenderet^ clamore turbatur. cur venisset neque augendis 
 militum stipendiis neque adlevandis laboribus, denique nulla bene 
 faciendi licentia? at hercule verbera et necem cunctis permitti. 
 Tiberium olim nomine Angus ti desideria legionum frustrari soli- 
 tum : easdem artes Drusum rettulisse. numquamne nisi ad se 
 
 ostentator] Sejanus was to point out soldier's ornaments, arms, &c. If stind- 
 
 to the troops sent from Eome the dangers ards ' had been meant, Tacitus w Duld 
 
 of failure in their duties, and the re- probably have written 'insignibus effal- 
 
 wards to be granted if they discharged gentibus.' 
 
 those duties faithfully. This appears to 25. gratiae] * Indulgent considerat ion.' 
 
 be the meaning, as ' ceteri ' would more The Senate, Grermanicus said, ought to be 
 
 naturally, I think, be the rest of the consulted whether the demands of the 
 
 detachment sent from Rorae, than the soldiers were to be acceded to or refused, 
 
 soldiers in revolt. and would no doubt consider the question 
 
 insignibus] Cf. xv. 29, " inde eques, in- without erring on the side of excessive 
 
 signibus patiiis, hinc agmina legionum severity or leniency. 
 
 stetere fulgentibus aquilis signisque," and 26. rettulisse] 'Had brought up again,' 
 
 H. i. 38, " non praetorianus aut legiona- * brought into use.' 
 
 rius insignibus suis distingueretur," and nisi ad se, &c.] This is the reading of 
 
 H. iv. 29, " audacia aut insignibus ef- the Codex Mediceus, which Lipsius alters 
 
 fulgens." See also Caesar, B. G. ii. 21, to * ad se nisi,' a more natural reading ; 
 
 " ut non modo ad insignia accommodanda but the question is whether Tacitus may 
 
 Bed etiam ad galeas induendas . . . tem- not have written the other. As Walt her 
 
 pus defuerit." From these passages, it is, suggests, the particle may qualify 'ad 
 
 I think, certain that Tacitus does not by se :' ' were they the only troops to wliom 
 
 'insignia' mean the standards, but all a thesonsof households, not the heads, vere 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 29 
 
 filios familiarum venturos ? novum id plane quod imperator sola 
 militis commoda ad senatum reiciat. eundem ergo senatum con- 
 sulendum, quotiens supplicia aut proelia indicantur : an praemia 
 fiub dominis^ poenas sine arbitro esse ? 
 
 27. Postremo deserunt tribunal, ut quis praetorianorum militum 
 amicorumve Caesaris occurreret, manus intentantes, causam dis- 
 cordiae et initium armorum, maxime infensi Cn. Lentulo_, quod is 
 ante alios aetate et gloria belli firmare Drusum credebatur et ilia 
 militiae flagitia primus aspernari. nee multo post digredientem 
 cum Caesare ac provisu periculi biberna castra repetentem cir- 
 cumsistunt, rogitantes quo pergeret_, ad imperatorem an ad patres, 
 ut illic quoque commodis legionum adversaretur ; simul ingruunt, 
 saxa iaciunt. iamque lapidis ictu cruentus et exitii certus adcursu 
 multitudinis quae cum Druso advenerat protectus est. 
 
 28. Noctem minacem et in scelus erupturam fors lenivit : nam 
 luna claro repente caelo visa languescere. id miles rationis 
 ignarus omen praesentium accepit, suis laboribus defectionem 
 sideris adsimulans, prospereque cessura quae pergerent, si fulgor 
 et claritudo deae redderetur. igitur aeris sono_, tubarum cor- 
 nuumque concentu strepere ; prout splendidior obscuriorve, laetari 
 aut maerere ; et postquam ortae nubes offecere visui creditumque 
 conditam tenebris, ut sunt mobiles ad superstition em perculsae 
 
 sent ; subordinates, themselves in the Div. i. 53, " si luna defecisset in signo 
 
 power of their fathers, not principals.' Leonis." 
 
 As a matter of fact, the assertion was no adsimulans'] The Codex Mediceus has 
 
 doubt wrong, but the soldiers would pro- ' a ' before ' suis,' and ' ac ' written in the 
 
 bablj not have a very accurate know- margin. I have followed most of the 
 
 ledge of history, especially in their angry comnaentators in omitting it, but if ' ac ' 
 
 mood. be retained, the construction is * accepit, 
 
 27. occv/rreref] This is a subjunctive of ignarus rationis ac adsimulans ' &c. 
 indefinite frequency, like the Greek op- prospereque] This depends on some 
 tative. Cf. ii. 2, " quotiens per uxbes in- verb of assertion, supplied from ' adsimu- 
 cederet." lans.' Cf. ii. 45, "fugacem Maroboduum 
 
 causam discordiae'] This is an accusa- appellans . . . ac mox per dona et largi- 
 
 tive of apposition, not to a particular tiones petivisse foedus." 
 
 word, but to the entire sentence. Cf. i. pergerent'] Walther makes the verb 
 
 49, " cupido involat eundi in hostem, active, which seems quite unnecessary. I 
 
 piaculum furoris." Also ii. 64, and H. i. do not see why it should not be ' what 
 
 44, " omnes conquiri et interfici iussit . . . was going on.' Although I admit that I 
 
 munimentum ad praesens, in posterum can give no instance of ' pergere ' being 
 
 ultionem." 8o in Greek, 'EKevrjv ktoli/wixcv used of things, yet I would rather sup- 
 
 M€V€\€ii> \iv7]v TriKpdv, Eurip. Orest. pose it to be so employed here than alter 
 
 1105. Cf. also Here. Fur. 59. the text. 
 
 periculi] The genitive is of course an strepere] Cf. Juv. vi. 441, " iam nemo 
 
 objective one, but in xii. 6 there is a sub- tubas, nemo aera fatiget : Una laboranti 
 
 jective one after 'provisu:' "provisu poterit succurrere limae," and Liv. xxvi. 
 
 deum vidua iungeretur principi." 5, " cum aeris crepitu qualis in defectu 
 
 28. languescere] The moon was eclipsed, lunae silenti nocte cieri solet." 
 The usual word is ' deficere,' as Cic. de 
 
30 . CORNELn TACITI [a.u.c. '^67. 
 
 semel mentes, sibi aeternum laborem portendi^, sua facinora £ rev- 
 sari deos lamentantur. utendum inclinatione ea Caesar et luae 
 casus obtulerat in sapientiam vertenda ratus circumiri ten:3ria 
 iubetj accitur centurio Clemens et si alii bonis artibus grati in 
 vulgus. ii vigiliis^ stationibuSj custodiis portarum se inserunt, s])eni 
 offerunt^ metum intendunt. ^ quousque filium imperatoris obsic-obi- 
 mus ? quis certaminum finis ? Percennione et Yibuleno sacraicien- 
 tum dicturi sumus ? Percennius et Yibulenus stipendia militibus, 
 agros emeritis largientur ? denique pro Neronibus et Drusis im- 
 perium populi Romani capessent? quia potius^ ut novissimi in 
 culpam, ita primi ad paenitentiam sumus ? tarda sunt quae in com- 
 mune expostulantur : privatam gratiam statim mereare^ stjitim 
 recipias/ commotis per baec mentibus et inter se suspectis, 
 tironem a veterano^ legionem a legione dissociant. turn re dire 
 paulatim amor obsequii : omittunt portas, signa unum in locum 
 principio seditionis congregata suas in sedes referunt. 
 
 29. Drusus orto die et vocata contione^ quamquam rudis dicendi^ 
 nobilitate ingenita incusat priora, probat praesentia; negat se 
 terrore et minis vinci : flexes ad modestiam si videat, si supplices 
 audiat, scripturum patri ut placatus legionum preces exciperet. 
 orantibus rursum idem Blaesus et L. Apronius_, eques Eomanus 
 e cohorte Drusi, lustusque Catonius^ primi ordinis centurio, ad Ti- 
 berium mittuntur. certatum inde sententiis, cum alii opperiendos 
 legates atque interim comitate permulcendum militem censerent, 
 
 vigiliis, &C.'] 'Patrols, and sentries.' formin'ris.' 
 
 These words are constantly joined. Cf. i. 29. exciperef] Perhaps Tacitus aiay 
 
 32, xi. 18, xiii. 35. Those sentries who hare had a reason for the imperfect teuse. 
 
 were on duty at the gates were ' custo- It may be used because the result is t ) be 
 
 diae portarum,' and were therefore a represented as quite uncertain, and is put 
 
 subdivision of the general term ' sta- forward without any expression of oro- 
 
 tiones.' bability as to the result. The present 
 
 novissimi] This can hardly mean that subjunctive would have expressed too 
 
 the whole Pannonian army was the last much of a probability that the demf nds 
 
 in a series of revolted troops, for they of the troops might be complied with, 
 
 began the disturbance at once on the orantihus'] See note on i. 5. 
 
 death of Augustus, and the insubordina- e cohorte] Cf. vi. 9, " quern Druso fra- 
 
 tion of the German legions was subse- tri percarum in cohortem suam trjins- 
 
 quent in point of time. As below Taci- tulerat." Also Suet. Jul. 42, Juv. iii. 48, 
 
 tus says the younger soldiers were by Catul. x. 10. The ' cohors ' was the staff 
 
 these representations detached from the and personal following of the magistKites 
 
 veterans, perhaps the * novissimi ' are the and generals. 
 
 yoimger troops on duty as sentries, &c. primi ordinis'] That is, the first cen- 
 
 (for the veterans would probably be turionof the first maniple of the 'triarii,' 
 
 exempt from these services), who were to whose care the eagle of the legion "^vas 
 
 drawn on by the older troops, and at first entrusted, Juv. xiv. 197. He is also called 
 
 had no share in the disturbances. * primipilus ' and ' primus pilus.' Al'ter 
 
 merea/re] This form in * re ' seems more honourable discharge he was ternied 
 
 usually employed than the alternative 'primipilaris.' 
 
\ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. i. 31 
 
 alii fortioribus remediis agendum : nihil in vulgo modiciu4 ; terrere, 
 ni paveant ; ubi pertimuerint, inpune contemni : dum stifperstitio 
 urgeat_, adiciendos ex duce metus sublatis seditionis auqtoribus. 
 promptum ad asperiora ingenium Druso erat : vocatos Vitlplenum 
 et Percennium interfici iubet. tradunt plerique intra tabermiculum 
 ducis obrutos, alii corpora extra vallum abiecta ostentui. \ 
 
 30. Turn ut quisque praecipuus turbator conquisiti^ et par^, 
 extra castra palantes_, a centurionibus aut praetoriarum coliortium 
 
 V militibus caesi ; quosdam ipsi manipuli documentum fidei tradidere. 
 auxerat militum curas praematura biemps imbribus continuis adeo- 
 que saevis, ut non egredi tentoria_, congregari inter se_, vix tutari 
 signa possent, quae turbine atque unda raptabantur. durabat et 
 formido caelestis irae^ nee frustra adversus impios hebescere sidera, 
 mere tempestates : non aliut malorum levamentum quam si linque- 
 rent castra infausta temerataque et soluti piaculo suis quisque 
 hibernis redderentur. primum octava, dein quinta decuma legio 
 rediere : nonanus opperiendas Tiberii epistulas clamitaverat, mox 
 desolatus aliorum discessione inminentem necessitatem sponte 
 praevenit. et Drusus non expectato legatorum regressu^ quia 
 praesentia satis considerant^ in urbem rediit. 
 
 y^^ 31. Isdem ferme diebus isdem causis Germanicae legiones tur- 
 batae_, quanto plures^ tanto violentius^ et magna spe fore ut Ger- 
 manicus Caesar imperium alterius pati nequiret daretque se legioni- 
 bus vi sua cuncta tracturis. duo aput ripam Ebeni exercitus erant : 
 cui nomen superiori, sub C. Silio legato^ inferiorem A. Caecina 
 curabat. regimen summae rei penes Germanicum^ agendo Gallia- 
 rum censui tum intentum. sed quibus Silius moderabatur, mente 
 ambigua fortunam seditionis alienae speculabantur : inferioris 
 exercitiis miles in rabiem prolapsus est, orto ab unetvicesimanis 
 quintanisque initio, et tractis prima quoque ac vicessima legionibus : 
 nam isdem aestivis in finibus Ubiorum babebantur per otium aut 
 levia munia. igitur audito fine Augusti vernacula multitudo nuper 
 
 ad asperiora] Cf.i. 76, " Drusus quam- inopia Egerio inditum nomen." 
 
 qnam vili sanguine nimis gaudens." Dio censui] Eutropius (vi. 17) says tliat 
 
 calls him ufidraTos (Ivii. 13). Caesar " Galliae tributi nomine annuum 
 
 SO. egredi tentoria] Cf. iii. 30, " praetu- imperavit sestertium quadringenties." 
 
 ramegressa;" xvi. 10, H. iv. 51. So 'eva- As this money payment would be an 
 
 dere ' with an accusative, xii. 35, on the assessment on property, a census would 
 
 same principle, as the words are equiva- from time to time have to be taken, 
 
 lent to ' transire ' or ' relinquere.' So vernacula multitudo'] After the defeat 
 
 * exire,' vi. 49 ; * eniti,' ii. 20. of Yarns, Augustus enrolled recruits 
 
 31. superiori] For the attraction cf. from the rabble of the city (^k rov 
 Virg. Georg, iv. 271, " cui nomen amello acmKov ox^ov, Dio Ivii. 5). Suetonius, 
 fecere agricolae." Liv. i. 34, "nato ab August. 25, tells us " libertino militc bia 
 
32 VI y CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. ! 67. 
 
 acto in U/tbe dilectUj lasciviae sueta_, laborum intolerans^ imj) ere 
 ceterorum rudes animos : venisse tempus quo veterani matu-am 
 missionfemj iuvenes largiora stipendia_, cuncti modum miseriaium 
 exposcy^rent saevitiamque centurionum ulciscerentur. non iinus 
 
 . haec, n.t Pannonicas inter legiones Peroennius, nee aput trepidas 
 
 \militi|/m. aures alios validiores exercitus respicientium, sed multa 
 
 ^editionis ora vocesque : sua in manu sitam rem Romanam^ suis 
 
 ^Victoriis augeri rem publicam^ in suum cognomentum ads(nsci 
 imperatores. 
 
 32. Nee legatus obviam ibat : quippe plurium vaecordia con- 
 stantiam exemerat. repente lympbati destrictis gladiis in centuri- 
 ones invadunt : ea vetustissima milifcaribus odiis materies et saevi- 
 endi principium. prostrates verberibus mulcant^ sexageni singulos, 
 ut numerum centurionum adaequarent : tum convulses laniatosque 
 et partim exanimos ante vallum aut in amnem E,lienum proiciunt. 
 Septimius cum perfugisset ad tribunal pedibusque Caecinae~advol- 
 veretur, eo usque flagitatus est, donee ad exitium dederefcur. 
 Cassius Chaerea, mox caede Gai Caesaris memoriam aput postesros 
 adeptus, tum adulescens et animi ferox, inter obstantes et armatos 
 ferro viam patefecit. non tribunus ultra, non castrorum praefectus 
 ius obtinuit : vigilias, stationes, et si qua alia praesens usus in- 
 dixerat, ipsi partiebantur. id militares animos altius coniectantibus 
 praecipuum indicium magni atque inplacabilis motus, quod ne(|ue 
 disiecti nee paucorum instinctu, set pariter ardescerent, pariter 
 silerent, tanta aequalitate et constantia, ut regi crederes. 
 
 33. Interea Germanico per Gallias, ut diximus, census accipic^nti 
 excessisse Augustum adfertur. neptem eius Agrippinam in mafcri- 
 monio pluresque ex ea liberos babebat, ipse Druso fratre Tiberii 
 genitus_, Augustae nepos, sed anxius occultis in se patrui aviae(|ue 
 odiis, quorum causae acriores, quia iniquae. quippe Drusi magna 
 apudpopulum Romanum memoria, credebaturque, si rerum potitus 
 foretj libertatem redditurus; unde in Germanicum favor et spes 
 
 usus est . . . iterum ad tutelam Rheni tcDj/ virh tov TepinaviKov uvo/xdC^To. 
 
 fluminis." This 'vemacula multitudo ' 32. sexageni singulos'] There v^ere 
 
 would therefore be partly, at all events, sixty centurions in a legion, and there- 
 
 although not perhaps entirely of freed- fore from every ' centuria ' sixty men were 
 
 man's rank. told oflF to inflict chastisement, witL an 
 
 in swwm cognomentum] That is, Grer- odd desire for numerical proprieties, 
 
 manicus was the name adopted by the ius obtinuit] 'Maintained his auiho- 
 
 commanders of these legions, namely by rity.' 
 
 Drusus the brother of Tiberius, and 33. rerum] Tacitus joins 'potiri' with 
 
 Germanicus Caesar. Tiberius himself a genitive, as here and elsewhere (i\. 3, 
 
 was occasionally called Germanicus. Cf. xiii. 21, &c.), and with the accusative, 
 
 Die Ivii. 8, etrrt S' 8t€ koX repfiaviKhs iK xi. 10, as well as with the ablative. 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. ' U 
 
 eadem. nam iuveni civile ingenium, mira comitas et diversa ab 
 Tiberii sermone vultu, adrogantibus et obscuris. acceJebanfc 
 muliebres offensiones novercalibus Liviae in Agrippinam stimulis, 
 at que ipsa Agrippina paulo commotior, nisi quod castitate et ipariti 
 amore quamvis indomitum animum in bonum vertebat. L 
 
 34. Sed Germanicus quanto summae spei propior, tanto impen- 
 sius pro Tiberio niti, seque et proximos et Belgarum civitatfd in 
 verba eius adigit. debinc audito legionum tumultu raptim Vro-<^ 
 fectus obvias extra castra babuit^ deiectis in terram oculis ^iut 
 paenitentia. postquam vallum iniit, dissoni questus audiri coepere. 
 et quidam prensa manu eius per speciem exosculandi inseruerunt 
 digitos, ut vacua dentibus ora contingeret ; alii curvata senio mem- 
 bra ostendebant. adsistentem contionem, quia permixta videbatur, 
 
 V discedere in manipulos iubet : sic melius audituros responsum ; 
 
 /vexilla praeferri, ut id saltem discerneret cobortes : tarde obtempe- 
 ravere. tunc a veneratione Augusti orsus flexit ad victorias trium- 
 pbosque Tiberii, praecipuis laudibus celebrans quae aput Germanias 
 illis cum legionibus pulcherrima fecisset. Italiae inde consensum, 
 Galliarum fidem extollit ; nil nsquam turbidum aut discors. silentio 
 haec vel murmur e modico audita sunt. 
 
 35. Ut seditionem attigit, ubi modestia militaris, ubi veteris dis- 
 
 novercaUbus2 Livia was the step- 34. sic meUus] 'They replied that 
 
 mother of Julia, the mother of Agrippina, they should hear more conveniently as 
 
 and Tiberius had adopted Germanicus. they were,' not separated into maniples. 
 
 In either point of view Li\da might be Hereupon Germanicus ordered the ' vexr 
 
 the great step-mother of Agrippina. ilia ' to be advanced, the standards, that 
 
 nisi quod] The words qualify a clause is, of the three maniples contained in 
 
 understood rather than the remark actu- every cohort : if the maniples were not 
 
 ally made, and refer to a thought passing to be kept distinct, at least in this way 
 
 through the writer's mind. Agrippina the cohorts would be separated. See 
 
 was of an excitable temperament : this the note on i. 18, under ' signa cohor-, 
 
 might have led her into dangerous ex- tium.' 
 
 cesses, if it had not been turned into a a veneratione] Is the genitive after 
 
 good channel, rather than a bad one. this a subjective one, 'the venerable 
 
 Cf. xiv, 14, "subegit donis ingentibus, character of Augustus,' or an objective 
 
 nisi quod merces ab eo qui inhere potest one, ' the regard shown to him ' ? In 
 
 vim necessitatis adfert :" he induced xv. 74 ' veneratio ' has the latter sense. In 
 
 them by large presents, except that xii. 42 the meaning is just as ambiguous 
 
 * presents ' is hardly the word to use as here. In H. i. 10, " Titum filium ad 
 
 when the giver may use force. Cf. also venerationem cultumque eius miserat," 
 
 Agric. 6, "vixeruntque mira concordia the word is clearly used for reverence 
 
 per mutuam caritatem et invicem se shown. In H. iv. 65, "arcebantur as- 
 
 anteponendo, nisi quod in bona uxore pectu quo venerationis plus inesset," 
 
 tanto maior laus quanto in mala plus the word seems rather to mean venera- 
 
 calpae est," where the idea to which ble character. It is an open question 
 
 ' nisi quod ' refers seems to be that there therefore, so far, what Tacitus means 
 
 was an equality of merit between Agri- here. Probably, I think, ' respect shown 
 
 cola and his wife, an idea then qualified to ' is the sense : Germanicus spoke re- 
 
 by * nisi quod ' &c. spectfully of Augustus. 
 
I 
 
 34 ^ / CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 767. 
 
 cipliiia(3 decus_, quonam tribunos, quo centuriones exegissent^ I'Ogi- 
 tans, nudant universi corpora, cicatrices ex vulneribus, verb (rum 
 notas exprobrant; mox indiscretis vocibus pretia vacationuni, an- 
 gustias stipendiij duritiam operum ac propriis nominibus inc jsant 
 vallu:ii, fossas, pabuli materiae lignorum adgestus, et si qua alia 
 ex tecessitate aut adversus otium castrorum quaeruntur. atrccissi- 
 mu^^ veteranorum clamor oriebatur, qui tricena aut supra stipt^ndia 
 uunerantes, mederetur fessis, neu mortem in isdem laboribuB, sed 
 finein tam exercitae militiae neque inopem requiem orabant. fuere 
 etiam qui legatam a divo Augusto pecuniam reposcerent, fuustis 
 in Germanicum ominibus ; et si vellet imperium, promptos csten- 
 tavere. tum vero, quasi scelere oontaminaretuTj praeceps tribunali 
 desiluit. opposuerunt abeunti arma, minitantes ni regrederetur ; 
 at ille moriturum potius quam fidem exsueret clamitans, ferrum a 
 latere diripuit elatumque deferebat in pectus, ni proximi prensam 
 dextram vi adtinuissent. extrema et conglobata inter se pars con- 
 tionis ac, vix credibile dictu, quidam singuli propius incedcjntes, 
 feriret hortabantur ; et miles nomine Calusidius strictum obtulit 
 gladium, addito acutiorem esse, saevum id malique moris etiam - 
 furentibus visum, ac spatium fuit quo Caesar rh amicis in taber- 
 naculum raperetur. 
 
 35. materiae UgiMriirn]Cf.'Plin.xvi. 40, protnptos] The pronoun 'se'istobe 
 
 " comus non potest videri materies prop- supplied: "onjissio plane intolembilis," 
 
 ter exilitatem, sed lignum." 'Materies' says Walther ; but perhaps not more so 
 
 (or * materia ') is building timber. Cf. than the omission of the pronoun before 
 
 Liv. ii. 7, " delata confestim materia the infinitive mood. Cf. iv. 59, " ex stimu- 
 
 oninis . . . et domus aedificata." 'Ligna' latur ut erectum et fidentem animi os- 
 
 are logs for fire- wood or making smaller tenderet." And possibly, after all, it 
 
 things : for the passage of PUny quoted is hardly necessary to understand * se.' 
 
 above goes on, "(sed lignum) non alio Some of the most forward demanded the 
 
 paene quam ad radios rotarum utile." payment of the legacy, and poinied out 
 
 quaeruntur] The word seems to be to Germanicus all around men re ady to 
 taken in a rather different sense in the support him, beyond and above them-^- 
 two clauses. In the first part of the sen- selves. Below, with reference to a read- 
 tence the meaning is * are collected ;' in ing ' im pectus ' in the MS. for ' in 
 the second, ' are invented ;' including all pectus ' see the Introduction, on tht; ortho- 
 duties which are imposed on the soldiery graphy of Tacitus. 
 
 in order to prevent the effects of continued incedentes'] ' Accedere ' would be more 
 
 idleness. The word might be used in usual in this sense; but Tacitus else- 
 
 exactly the same force throughout, 'what- where employs the word with the same 
 
 ever the soldiers are set to collect, either meaning. Cf. iv. 47, " propius iiiceden- 
 
 because they are wanted really, or to give tes," and xv. 13. Sometimes it is used 
 
 employment.' to express a haughtiness of gaix. Cf. 
 
 nevb mortem] The construction is xiv. 53, "talis hortosexstruit,et per haeo 
 
 altered from 'orabant ut mederetur' to a suburbana incedit." For other instances 
 
 simple accusative, 'mortem.' Something Forcellini may be consulted. ' 
 
 notunlikethisoccursini. 52, "quod . . . addito] Cf. i. 46, "cognito qii fuis- 
 
 quaesivisset, belhoa quoque Germanici set exitus." Also i. 49, QQ, 75, ii. 28, 
 
 gloria angebatur." Cf. also iv. 24. iii. 2. 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 35 
 
 • 
 
 36. Consultatum ibi de remedio; etenim nuntiabatur parari 
 legates qui superiorem exercitum ad causam eandem traherent : 
 destinatum excidio Ubiorum oppidum, imbutasque praeda manus 
 in direptionem G-alliarum erupturas. augebat metum gnarus Ro- 
 manae seditionis et^ si omitteretur ripa^ invasurus hostis ; at si 
 auxilia et socii adversum abscedentis legiones armarentur, civile 
 bellum suscipi. periculosa severitas_, flagitiosa largitio ; seu nibil 
 militi sive omnia concederentur, in ancipitt res publica. igitur vo- 
 lutatis inter se rationibus placitum ut epistulae nomine principis 
 scriberentur : missionem dari vicena stipendia meritis, e:^auctorari 
 qui sena dena fecissent ac retineri sub vexillo ceterorum inmunes 
 nisi propulsandi liostis_, legata quae petiverant exsolvi duplicarique. 
 
 37. Sensit miles in tempus conficta statimque flagitavit. missio 
 per tribunos maturatur^ largitio differebatur in biberna cuiusque. 
 non abscessere quintani unetvicessimanique, donee isdem in aesti- 
 vis contracta ex viatico amicorum ipsiusque Caesaris pecunia per- 
 solveretur. primam ac vicessimam legiones Caecina legatus in 
 civitatem Ubiorum reduxit^ turpi agmine_, cum fisci de imperatore 
 rapti inter signa interque aquilas veberentur, Germanicus supe- 
 riorem ad exercitum profectus secundam et tertiam decumam et 
 sextam decumam legiones nihil cunctatas sacramento adigit. 
 quartadecimani paulum dubitaverant : pecunia et missio quamvis 
 non flagitantibus oblata est. 
 
 36. Ubiorum oppidum] This was the equally, but tlie 5tli and 21st were those 
 ' Colonia Agrippinensis ' of a later date. which absolutely made the demand, and 
 
 auxiUa et socii'] Tacitus seems to then all were treated alike. 
 
 mean the allied troops already serving inter signa] Soldiers were allowed to 
 
 in the army, and the allies now at home, deposit money for safe custody amongst 
 
 who might be employed if necessary. the standards. Domitian (Suet. Domit. 
 
 suscipi] This might have been ' fore 7, " nee plusquam mille nummos a quo- 
 
 ut susciperetur,' but Tacitus seems to quam ad signa deponi") limited the 
 
 , use the present to express the imminency amount to be so deposited to a thousand 
 
 of the war under the supposed circum- sestertii for each soldier. The money 
 
 stances : ' war was at once begun,' * was for the payment of the soldiers and 
 
 as good as begun directly.' other purposes was also kept ' inter 
 
 exauctorari] ' To be released from the signa ' in bags (' fiscus ') : of any dona- 
 military oath,' but, as the next words tive bestowed on the soldiers, half was 
 show, this was not equivalent to an en- retained and similarly kept. One object 
 tire discharge ('missio'). of this was to retain a hold on the 
 
 37. differebatur] A common use of the soldier — ^his money was a kind of host- 
 imperfect to express unrealized intention, age for his remaining at his post. Cf. 
 It was proposed to defer the payment Veget. ii. 20, " divinitus institutum est 
 of the largess until the troops reached cum milites publica sustinerentur annona 
 their respective winter quarters. But ex donative quod consequebantur pars 
 the 5th and 21st legions would not be dimidia ipsis servaretur ne inutiliter se 
 put off, and refused to leave until the absumerent et deposit! memores signa 
 a,motmt was fully paid (' persolveretur ') . non desererent." 
 
 It is clear that all the legions were paid 
 
 D 2 
 
\ 
 
 I 
 
 36 Z' CORNELII TACITI [a.u.o. 767. 
 
 S8ri At in Chaucis coeptavere seditionem praesidium agitiintes 
 vestillarii discordium legionum et praesenti duorum militum sup- 
 plicio paulum repress! sunt, iusserat id M\ Ennius castiorum 
 praefectuSj bono magis exemplo quam concesso iure. deinde mtu- 
 mescente motu profugus repertusque_, postquam intutae latebrae, 
 praesidium ab audacia mutuatur : non praefectum ab iis^ sed Ger- 
 manicum ducem, sed Tiberium imperatorem violari. simul exter- 
 ritis qui obstiterant^ rap turn vexillum ad ripam vertit, et si quis 
 agmine decessisset, pro desertore fore clamitans, reduxit in hiberna 
 turbidos et nihil ausos. 
 
 39. Interea legati ab senatu regressum iam aput aram Ubiorum 
 Germanicum adeunt. duae ibi legiones, prima atque vicensima, 
 veteranique nuper missi sub vexillo biemabant. pavidos et con- 
 scientia vaecordes intrat metus, venisse patrum iussu qui inrita 
 facerent quae per seditionem expresserant. utque mos vulgo 
 quam vis falsis reum subdere, Munatium Plancum consulatu func- 
 tum, principem legationis^ auctorem senatus consul ti incusant ; et 
 nocte concubia vexillum in domo Germanici situm flagitare occi- 
 piunt, concursuque ad ianuam facto moliuntur fores^ extractum 
 cubili Caesarem tradere vexillum intento mortis metu subigunt. 
 
 38. vexillarW] Tlie veteran soldiers quarrwis falsis] That is, every offence, 
 were clearly in the summer camp on the no matter how imaginary it may be, 
 Rhine (i. 35). The troops here men- must be fathered on some definite author, 
 tioned seem to have been detachments Vague accusation of some indefinite per- 
 from the legions, on separate duty, and son will not satisfy a crowd. They must 
 thei*efore serving ' sub vexillo,' but not localize their suspicions. 
 
 in the same position as those described vexilhim] Is this the * vexillum '- 
 
 in c. 17 as " sub vexillo tendentes." See mentioned previously ? Lipsius ^ays it 
 
 the note on g. 17. is not, but the ensign put forth by the 
 
 bono magis exemplo] Ennius supplied Imperator as the signal for engagement. 
 
 a good precedent for others to follow Cf. Caesar, B. G. ii. 20, " Caesari omnia 
 
 under similar circumstances, but his act nno tempore erant agenda : ve xillum 
 
 was scarcely legitimate. It was no part proponendum quod erat insigne (;um ad 
 
 of the duty of the 'praefectus castrorum' arma concurri oporteret." But I do not 
 
 to punish the soldiery : it was his especial understand what the soldiers r(;quired 
 
 business to see to the construction and the 'vexillum' for in this sense. They 
 
 internal organization of the camp. would hardly want it to give a legiti- 
 
 et nihil atLSos] Cf. Juv. i. 74, ** pro- mate air to their proceedings. I think 
 
 bitas laudatur, et (and yet) alget." Cf. the 'vexillum' is that of the veterans 
 
 i. 13, " Galium Asinium avidum et mino- lately discharged. Perhaps they liad not 
 
 rem." actually received it, although it was pro- 
 
 39. missi] The simplest construction mised. At all events, they might feel 
 is ' hiemabant sub vexillo.' At all events, more secure of the arrangement being 
 
 * hiemabant ' alone, without any expla- really carried out, if they could keep the 
 natory adjunct, strikes one as rather /vexillum* amongst them. It was a 
 bare. Others take it as equivalent to kind of guarantee that they would not be 
 
 * missi ea lege ut sub vexillo essent ;' but cheated. This is in substance 1 he ex-' 
 the former construction seems to me the planation of Walther. If the great cause 
 best. * of alarm, as he suggests, refers to the 
 
 expressercmt] For the mood see the recall of their discharge, and not the 
 note on * abstulerat ' in c. 10. withdrawal of the largess, it would ex- 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 37 
 
 mox vagi per vias obvios habuere legates, audita consternatione 
 ad Germanicum tendentes. ingerunt contuinelias, caedem parant, 
 Planco maxime, quern dignitas fuga impediverat ; neque aliud 
 periclitanti subsidium quam castra primae legionis. illic signa et 
 aquilam amplexus religione sese tutabatur, ac ni aquilifer Calpui'- 
 nius vim extremam arcuisset, rarum etiam inter hostes, legatus 
 populi Romani Romanis in castris sanguine suo altaria deum com- 
 maculavisset. luce demum, postquam dux et miles et facta 
 noscebantur_, ingressus castra Germanicus perduci ad se Plancum 
 imperat recepitque in tribunal, tum fatalem increpans rabiem, 
 neque militum sed deum ira resurgere, cur venerint legati aperit ; 
 ius legationis atque ipsius Planci gravem et immeritum casum, 
 simul quantum dedecoris adierit legio, facunde miseratur, atto- 
 nitaque magis quam quieta contione legates praesidio auxiliarium 
 equitum dimittit. 
 
 40. Eo in metu arguere Germanicum omnes, quod non ad supe- 
 riorem exercitum pergeret, ubi obsequia et contra rebellis auxilium : 
 satis superque missione et pecunia et moUibus consul tis peccatum. 
 vel si vilis ipsi salus, cur filium parvulum, cur gravidam coniugem 
 inter furentes et omnis bumani iuris violatores baberet ? illos 
 saltem avo et rei publicae redderet. diu cunctatus aspernantem 
 uxorem, cum se divo Augusto ortam neque degenerem ad pericula 
 testaretur, postremo uterum eius et communem filium multo cum 
 fletu complexus, ut abiret perpulit. incedebat muliebre et mise- 
 rabile agmen_, profuga ducis uxor, parvulum sinu filium gerens, 
 lamentantes circum amicorum coniuges, quae simul trabebantur, 
 nee minus tristes qui manebant. 
 
 41. Non florentis Caesaris neque suis in castris, set velut in 
 
 plain why the veterans chiefly were the note on the subject on c. 2, under 
 
 concerned in it. * postquam.' 
 
 alta/ria deurn] In the * principia ' of aspemantern] In ii. 66 Tacitus uses 
 
 the camp, the standards, altars of the * cunctatus ' in the usual way as a neuter 
 
 gods, and images of the Emperors were verb. Valerius Flaccus (ii. 93) has " alter- 
 
 placed. Cf. H. iii. 10, " conversus ad signa nos aegro cunctantem poplite gressus," 
 
 et bellorum deos . . . orabat j" and iv. 2, but this is a very rare if not solitary in- 
 
 " colique per theatra et fora effigies eius stance. No doubt therefore the word is 
 
 interque principia legionum sineret." employed in a neuter sense here, and 
 
 resv/rgere] This depends on ' dicens,* the accusative is governed by * perpulit,' 
 
 or similar word, supplied from 'incre- and the construction is 'perpidit uxo- 
 
 pans.' rem aspernantem . . . postremo com- 
 
 40. vel si] In the oratio recta the plexus' &c., the change of case being 
 
 form of the sentence would be * si . . . of course due to the change of subject, 
 
 est,' the point being assumed as true, and one participle referring to the object, and 
 
 not a mere hypothetical contingency, the other to the subject of the verb. The 
 
 Consequently, in the oratio obliqua, the son here mentioned is Caligula, 
 
 verb of existence can be omitted. See 41. suis in castris'] The pronoun from 
 
88 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. ", 67. 
 
 urbe victa facies gemitusque ac planctus etiam militum aures 
 oraque advertere : progrediuntur contuberniis. quis ille flebilis 
 sonus ? quod tain triste ? feminas inlustres ; non centurioneni ad 
 tutelam^ non militem, nihil imperatoriae uxoris aut comit.'itus 
 soliti : pergere ad Treveros et extemae fidei. pudor inde et niise- 
 
 ratio et patris Agrippae^ Augusti avi memoria, socer Drusus^ ipsa 
 insigni fecunditate^ praeclara pudicitia; iam infans in castris 
 
 its position is empliatic : ' a camp that who spent that year entirely at ]lome, 
 seemed to belong to him.' Cf. Agric. whither he returned for that office 
 10, "iugis etiam et montibus inseri velut from Germany. One woxild hardly sup- 
 in suo." pose that his wife would stay behind, as 
 
 q^lod'] 'Qui' is used sometimes for there would be no reason to prevent her 
 
 *quis' or 'qualis.' Phaedr. i. 13. 6, " O qui accompanying Germanicus to Rome at 
 
 tuarum, Corve, pennarum est nitor ! " In the close of the year a.d. 11, as of course 
 
 this sense it seems, as far as I know, to there might have been if her child had 
 
 be joined with a substantive, and not been bom early in the year a.d. 12, 
 
 with an adjective. If so, 'triste' must instead of so late as August. Lipsius 
 
 be regarded as a noun, although the use speaks of her as 'tumida etvicina partus' 
 
 of ' tam ' makes this somewhat doubtful, at the close of a.d. 11, which I do not 
 
 Cf. i. 42, "quod nomen huic coetui see that he has any right to as3ume, 
 
 dabo ?" unless at least he can prove the August 
 
 feminas'] This depends on some date of the birth of Caligula to be incor- 
 
 verb like ' disserebant,' easily supplied rect or doubtful. Moreover, if Caligula 
 
 from the general turn of the sentence : were bom in Germany, he must have 
 
 * they kept repeating that the ladies (in been subsequently brought to Eom(3, and 
 
 this plight) were high bom : there was carried back to Germany within a few 
 
 no centurion ' &c. months, for Suetonius quotes a letter of 
 
 extemae fdei] A genitive of quality, Augustus to Agrippina, in whic;h he 
 
 depending on the notion of ' race,' ' men,' writes, " puerum Caium XY. Kal. Innii si 
 
 inferred from the word ' Treveri ' just Dii volent ut ducerent Talarius et Asel- 
 
 preceding. This is the more easily done, lius heri cum his constitui. . . . Yalebis 
 
 because 'Treveros' here implies some- mea Agrippina et dabis operam ut 
 
 thing of quality: 'men who were only valens pervenias ad Germanicum tiium." 
 
 Treveri.' This seems to be extremely improbable, 
 
 in castris genitus] Suetonius (Calig. as Suetonius himself remarks : "nonpo- 
 8) tells us that Caligula was born at tuisse ibi nasci Caium quo prope bimulus 
 Antium. Plinius Secundus and Athe- demum perductus ab Urbe sit." Hueto- 
 naeus agree with Tacitus. Both ac^ nius declares (Calig. 8) that he found in 
 counts cannot be correct, and I believe the 'Acta publica' a record of the birth 
 Tacitus to be wrong ; although I do not of Caligula at Antium, which he s not 
 of course as a rule set the authority of likely to have confounded with another 
 Suetonius above that of our historian, son of Germanicus, also a Caius, torn a 
 Suetonius professes to have carefully in- year before at Tibur, as he says. I believe 
 Vestigated the point, knowing it to be this to be correct, and if Caligule, were 
 bne about which a great variety of carried, as he undoubtedly was, to Ger- 
 tradition existed. That Caligula was many while quite an infant, a belief may 
 bom at Tibur he dismisses at once, as a easily have sprung up that he wan bom 
 barefaced assertion of Cn. Lentulus Gae- there. I cannot conceive that after the 
 tulicus, made for the mete sake of flat- careful investigation Suetonius represents 
 tering the Emperor, That Caligula was himself to have made, he was entirely mis- 
 bom in Germany was the common be- taken. It seems to me more likeh;^ that 
 lief, as is evident from the lines quoted Tacitus took up the prevalent belief of the 
 by Suetonius, "In castris natus, patriis birth of Caligula in Germany, and that as 
 nutritus in armis, lam designati Prin- it did not occur to him that it was incor- 
 cipis omen erat." Now Caligula Was bom rect, he did not investigate the truth of 
 A.D. 12, on the last day of August, in the the generally received account. Of (!ourse 
 consulship of his father Germanicus, if an objection be raised that thert^ is no 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 89 
 
 genitus, in contubernio legionum eductus, quern militari vocabulo 
 Caligulam appellabant, quia plerumque ad concilianda vulgi studia 
 eo tegmine pedum induebatur. sed niliil aeque flexit quam invidia 
 in Treveros : orant obsistunt_, rediret maneret^ pars Agrippinae 
 occursantes_, plurimi ad Germanicum regressi. isque ut erat recens 
 dolore et ira^ aput circumfusos ita coepit. 
 
 42. 'Non mihi uxor aut filius patre et re publica cariores sunt, 
 sed ilium quidem sua maiestas_, imperium Romanum ceteri exer- 
 citus defendent. coniugem et liberos meos, quos pro gloria vestra 
 libens ad exitium offerrem, nunc procul a furentibus summoveo, ut 
 quidquid istut sceleris imminet_, meo tantum sanguine pietur, neve 
 occisus Augusti pronepos, interfecta Tiberii nurus nocentiores vos 
 faciat. quid enim per hos dies inausum intemeratumve vobis ? 
 quod nomen buic coetui dabo ? militesne appellem, qui filium im- 
 peratoris vestri vallo et armis circumsedistis ? an cives, quibus tarn 
 proiecta senatus auctoritas ? bostium quoque ius et sacra legationis 
 et fas gentium rupistis. divus lulius seditionem exercitus verbo 
 uno compescuit, Quirites vocando qui sacramentum eius detracta- 
 bant : divus Augustus vultu et aspectu Actiacas legiones exterruit : 
 nos ut nondum eosdem, ita ex illis ortos si Hispaniae Syriaeve 
 miles aspernaretur, tamen mirum et indignum erat. primane et 
 
 proof that Caligula was bom in his at Placentia 49 a.c, and a second time 
 
 father's consiilship, the whole reasoning before Rome 47 A.c.> between the battles 
 
 falls to the ground, and nothing can be of Pharsalia and Thapsus. Cf. Suet, 
 
 said either one way or the other. C. Julius Caesar 70. 
 
 eo tegmine] Cf. Juv. xvi. 24, " ofien- exterruW] Cf. Suet. August. 17, " ab 
 
 dere tot caligas, tot milia clavorum.*' Actio cum Samum insulam in hibema 
 
 recens ira] A different construction se recepisset, turbatus nuntiis de sedi- 
 
 occurs in iii. 1, "recentes in dolore," tione militum praemia et missionem pos- 
 
 although it may be doubtful whether the centium quos ex omni numero Brundisium 
 
 words should be joined so. Tacitus often praemiserat, repetit Italiam." 
 uses the construction with an ablative. erat] Cf. xv. 6, "Paetus cui satis 
 
 Cf. XT. 59, "stipendiis recentes." H. ad gloriam erat si proximus haberetur 
 
 iii. 77, " recens victoria." despiciebat gesta." Also H. i. 16, " si im- 
 
 42. quidquid istuf] Cf. ii. 38, "non mensum imperii corpus stare ac librari 
 enim preces sunt istuc." Also Plant, sine rectore posset, dignus eram a quo 
 Curcul. i. 1. 32, " quid istuc verbi est." res publica inciperet." I suppose the 
 For a similar turn cf. xiv. 43, "quicquid statement of the second clause is some- 
 hoc in nobis auctoritatis est." times regarded as substantially true in 
 
 hostiu/m quoque ius] The right which itself, and not merely as true imder the 
 
 even enemies may claim of having their hypothesis of the first clause. This is 
 
 ambassadors respected and secure from the explanation, I think, of H. i. 16. In 
 
 harm. This Plancus had not obtained other cases, perhaps, although the affir- 
 
 (i. 39). * Ius gentium' is opposed to * ius mation ('mirum, indignum &c. erat') is 
 
 civile,' the former being the principles of only made under the hypothesis in the 
 
 law which must be common to all nations first clause (' si ' &c.), yet the hypothesis 
 
 which have law, the latter peculiar to when once put forward is viewed rather 
 
 some particular community. as a realized fact than a mere supposi- 
 
 Qu^irites vocando] This occurred twice, tion in the writer's mind. This accounts 
 
■40 CORNELII TACITI [a.xj.c. 767. 
 
 vicessima legiones^ ilia signis a Tiberio acceptis, tu tot proeliorum 
 socia, tot praemiis aucta_, egregiam duci vestro gratiam ref(3 rtis ? 
 hunc ego nuntium patri^ laeta omnia aliis e provinciis aud^enti, 
 feram ? ipsius tirones, ipsius veteranos non missione, non pecunia 
 satiatos ; hie tantum interfici centuriones^ eici tribunos, includi 
 legatos, infecta sanguine castra flumina^ meque precariam animam 
 inter infensos trahere. 
 
 43. ^ Cur enim primo contionis die ferrum illud^ quod pectori meo 
 iniSgere parabam^ detraxistis^ o inprovidi amici ? melius et aman- 
 tius ille qui gladium offerebat. cecidissem certe nondum tot flagi- 
 tiorum exercitui meoconscius; legissetis ducem, qui meam quidem 
 mortem inpunitam sineret_, Yari tamen et trium legionum ulcis- 
 ceretur. neque enim di sinant ut Belgarum quamquam offeren- 
 tium decus istut et claritudo sit, subvenisse Romano nomini, 
 compressisse Germaniae populos. tua, dive Auguste_, caelo 
 recepta mens_, tua, pater Druse, imago, tui memoria isdem istis 
 cum militibus quos iam pudor et gloria intrat, eluant banc 
 maculam irasque civiles in exitium hostibus vertant. vos quoque, 
 quorum alia nunc ora, alia pectora contueor, si legates senatui, 
 obsequium imperatori, si mibi coniugem et filium redditis, disce- 
 dite a contactu ac dividite turbidos : id stabile ad paenitentiam, id 
 fidei vinculum erit.^ 
 
 44. Supplices ad baec et vera exprobrari fatentes orabant 
 puniret noxios, ignosceret lapsis et duceret in bostem : revocaietur 
 coniux, rediret legionum alumnus neve opses Gallis tradercstur. 
 reditum Agrippinae excusavit ob imminentem partum et hieniem ; 
 venturum filium : cetera ipsi exsequerentur. discurrunt mutati et 
 
 for XV. 6, and the passage in the text, tos servosque publicae rei ;" i\. 38 
 
 IfPaetuswas ranked second, that — which "melius Augustum qui speraverit." 
 
 was his real position — was quite enough. Also H. i. 84. 
 
 So in the text, ' if the soldiers of Spain imago'] Not apparently the -visible 
 
 and Syria rejected us with contempt, such image of Drusus, placed, like the busts of 
 
 conduct realized, (although in thought the Emperors, 'inter signa.' Joined with 
 
 only) , as actually displayed was strange ' mens ' and ' memoria ' it is taken meta- 
 
 indeed.' phorically — Drusus was present to their 
 
 43. Cur enim] The force of 'enim' imaginations. 
 
 IS not very clear here. It seems to heme maculam] The mutiny of the 
 
 refer to a thought not expressed, but soldiers, as the next words, ' irasque civi- 
 
 underlying the previous sentence. Ger- les,' seem to show. 
 
 manicus feels that he has been brought alia] Other than they were, different, 
 
 to his present pitiable condition by the Cf. Cic. ad Fam. xi. 2, " nee quidciuam 
 
 ill-timed interference of his friends. ' You aliud libertate communi quaesisse." 
 
 have brought me,' he says, ' to this ; for 44. excusavit] ' Made excuses for her 
 
 why else did you drag the sword from return,' i. e. ' quod non rediret.' I'or a 
 
 me ? ' different sense of the word see note on 
 
 melius et amxintius] For the ellipse of i. 59. 
 * agere ' cf. Agric. 19, " nihil per liber- 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. 
 
 seditiosissimum quemque vinctos traliunt ad legatum legioA^^'^ ' 
 primae C. Caetronium, qui iudicium et poenas de singulis inliunC'/v 
 modum exercuit. stabant pro contione legiones destrictis gladiie : ' , 
 reus in suggestu per tribunum ostendebatur : si nocentem adclj»rj]4 
 maverant_, praeceps datus trucidabatur. et gaudebat caedibus^^ — 
 miles, tamquam semet absolveret; nee Caesar arcebat, quando 
 nuUo ipsius iussu penes eosdem saevitia facti et invidia erat. secuti 
 exemplum veterani baud multo post in Eaetiam mittuntur, specie 
 defendendae provinciae ob imminentis Suebos, ceterum ut avelle- 
 rentur castris trucibus adhuc non minus asperitate remedii quam 
 sceleris memoria. centurionatum inde egit. citatus ab imperatore 
 nomen, ordinem, patriam, numerum stipendiorum, quae strenue in 
 proeliis fecisset, et cui erant dona militaria, edebat. si tribuni, si 
 legio industriam innocentiamque adprobaverant, retinebat ordinem : 
 ubi avaritiam aut crudelitatem consensu obiectavissent, solvebatur 
 inilitia. 
 
 ' 45. Sic cdmpositis praesentibus baut minor moles supererat ob 
 ferociam quintae et unetvicesimae legionum, sexagesimum aput 
 lapidem (loco Vetera nomen est) hibernantium. nam primi seditio- 
 nem coeptaverant : atrocissimum quodque facinus borum manibus 
 patratum; nee poena commilitonum exterriti nee paenitentia con- 
 
 (( 
 
 mnctos\ For tlie plural df. H. iv. 2$, occurs in the same meaning in ii. 22, 
 
 optimus quisque iussis paruere." Also " laudatis pro contione victoribus." 
 
 H. iv. 27, iv. 25, H. ii. 44. In Cicero cefthi/wri(yMitwm\ The word here can 
 
 ' quisque ' usually takes the singidar. only mean an election of centurions, or 
 
 •pro contione] ' Contio ' is used in a review of the list of centurions. ITie 
 
 various senses. (1) For an assembly : iv. phrase is like ' agere delectum ' or ' cen- 
 
 40, " vel in senatu vel in contione non sum.' It occurs elsewhere in the sense 
 
 reticebo;" xi. 35, "parata contione mili- of the ofl&ce of a centurion, 
 
 tum, apud quos . . . pauca verba fecit." fecissef] There seems a change of 
 
 This seems the meaning of the phrase tense from the subjunctive (' fecisset ') to 
 
 'pro contione' in Sail. Jug. 8, " laudatum the indicative (' erant '), because the first 
 
 magnifice pro contione lugurt ham in prae- is an indefinite expression, 'whatever he 
 
 torium abduxit." (2) For the harangue might have done j' the second a definite 
 
 made before an assembly: cf. iv. 34, one, the honours each was distinctly 
 
 "Bruti contiones falsa quidem in Angus- known to possess. The 'gifts' are col- 
 
 tum probra, sed multa cum acerbitate lars, chaplets, trappings, &c. Cf. Juv. 
 
 habent." H. iii. 3, " hanc sui famam ea xvi. 60, "ut la«ti phaleris omnes et tor- 
 
 statim contione commoverat." (3) The quibus omnes." 
 
 place from which the address was deli- ohiectavissenf] The change of mood 
 
 vered, rostra, tribunal, &c. : cfCic.de Fin. appears to point out that the objections 
 
 ii. § 74, "iam cum magistratum inieris et were far less numerous than the appro- 
 
 in contionem ascenderis." This is the vals : the indicative denoting the usual 
 
 senseof 'pro contione' in the text. In the course, the subjunctive the exceptional 
 
 campfthere was a tribunal erected, of turf, and rarer. There is the same union of 
 
 or sometimes of stone if the camp were a 'si' and ' ubi' in iv. 17, with an indica> 
 
 permanent one, at the 'principia,' whence tive mood. 
 
 addresses were made by the general to 45. Vetera] Sc. ' castra.' This is said 
 
 his troops : the words therefore mean ' in to be Birten, near Xanten, on the left 
 
 front of the tribunal.' The same phrase bank of the Rhine. 
 
42 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 767. 
 
 versiiras retinebant. igitur Caesar arma classem socios deirittere 
 Rheno parat, si imperium detreotetur^ bello certaturus. 
 
 46. At Romae nondum cognito, qui fuisset exitus in Illyi^co, et 
 legionum Germanicarum motu audito, trepida civitas im^usare 
 Tiberium quod, dum patres et plebem, invalida et inermia, ciincta- 
 tione ficta ludificetur, dissideat interim miles neque duorum £.iules- 
 centium nondum adulta auctoritate comprimi queat. ire ipsum et 
 opponere maiestatem imperatoriam debuisse cessuris, ubi .'rinci- 
 pem longa experientia eundemque severita,tis et munificentiae 
 summum vidissent. an Augustum fessa aetate totiens in Germanias 
 commeare potuisse : Tiberium vigentem annis sedere in senatu, 
 verba patrum cavillantem ? satis prospectum urbanae servituti : 
 militaribus animis adhibenda fomenta, ut ferre pacem velint. 
 
 47. Inmotum adversus eos sermones fixumque Tiberio fait non 
 omittere caput rerum neque se remque publicam in cassum dare, 
 multa quippe et diversa angebant : validior per Germaniam exerci- 
 tus, propior aput Pannoniam; ille GaUiarum opibus subnixus, 
 hie Italiae imminens: quos igitur anteferret? ac ne postpositi con- 
 tumelia incenderentur. at per filios pariter adiri maiestate salva, 
 cui maior e longinquo reverentia. simul adulescentibus excusatum 
 
 46. cognito] See i. 35, imder * addito.' in cassum] So the MS. for * casiun.' 
 invalida] For the neuter cf. Virg. Quintilian (i. 7. 20) says that in (Cicero's 
 
 Aen. iv. 569, "varium et mntabile semper time and rather later, if 's' oocurred 
 
 femina ;" and Eel. iii. 80, " triste lupus between two long vowels, or after a long 
 
 stabulis." For the apposition cf. xvi, 8, vowel, it was doubled, as ' ciusssue,' 
 
 " praeficeretque rationibus et libellis et ' cassus,' ' divissiones.' In ii. 23, 25, the 
 
 epistulis libertos, inania simul et falsa." MS. has 'cassuum' and 'cassibus.' So 
 
 Also Agric. 18, " sparsi per provinciam 'vicessimus' is found for 'vicesimus.* 
 
 numeripraesumptailliusanniquies, tarda As these forms occur more thai once, 
 
 et contraria bellum inchoaturo." I retain them. In i. 71 there is • inlus- 
 
 surmnum] 'Supreme in the matter sisse,' and in ii. 85 'omississet.' The 
 
 of severity and liberality.' As before pronunciation was the same, vihether 
 
 observed, Tacitus uses the genitive case there was one ' s ' or two. See a note 
 
 after adjectives, to denote the sphere of on ii. 5, under * oportunum.' 
 
 the quality displayed. quos igitur] Nipperdey quotes, some 
 
 totiens] Cf. Suet. Aug. 20, " reliqua passages where * quis ' is put for ' uter :' 
 bella per legates administravit, ut tamen Cic. ad Attic, xvi. 14; Caesar, B. G. v. 44; 
 quibusdam Pannonicis atque Germanicis Pers. ii. 19 ; Juv. viii. 195. The ejplana- 
 aut interveniret aut non longe abesset." tion probably is that the idea of a choice 
 Dio (liv. 20) speaks of Augustus visiting between two and no more is not pro- 
 Germany after the defeat of Lollius, minently brought forward: if it be. 'uter' 
 and at a subsequent period (Iv. 6). must be used. 
 
 47. Inmotum] The adjectives here ac ne postpositi] The word ' metue- 
 seem to be used substantively, com- bat' or the like is easily supplied from 
 paring xv. 5, " Yologesi vetus et penitus the general turn of the passage. Cf H, 
 infixum erat arma Bomana vitandi," iii. 46, " ni Mucianus sextam legrionem 
 where the genitive * vitandi ' depends on opposuisset, Cremonensis victoriae gna- 
 the adjective and participle, used so en- rus, et ne externa moles utrimque in- 
 tirely like substantives as to be con- grueret." 
 
 structed like them. 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 43 
 
 quaedam ad patrem reicere, resistentisque Germanico aut Druso 
 posse a se mitigari vel infringi : quod aliut subsidium, si impera- 
 torem sprevissent ? ceterum ut iam iamque itui'us legit comites, 
 conquisivit impedimenta, adornavit naves : mox hiemem aut 
 negotia varie causatus primo prudentes, dein vulgum, diutissime 
 provincias fefellit. 
 
 48. At Germanicus, quamquam contracto exercitu et parata in 
 defectores ultione, dandum adbuc spatium ratus, si recenti exemplo 
 sibi ipsi consulerent, praemittit litteras ad Caecinam, venire se > 
 valida manu ac, ni supplicium in malos praesumant, usurum pro- 
 misca caede. eas Caecina aquiliferis signiferisque et quod maxime 
 castrorum sincerum erat occulte recitat, utque cunctos infamiae, 
 se ipsos morti eximant hortatur : nam in pace causas et merita 
 spectari : ubi bellum ingruat, innocentes ac noxios iuxta cadere. 
 illi temptatis quos idoneos rebantur_, postquam maiorem legionum 
 partem in officio vident, de sententia legati statuunt tempus, quo 
 foedissimum quemque et seditioni promptum ferro invadant. 
 tunc signo inter se dato inrumpunt contubernia, trucidant ignaros, 
 nuUo nisi consciis noscente quod caedis initium_, quis finis. 
 
 49. Diversa omnium, quae umquam accidere, civilium armorum 
 facies. non proelio, non adversis e castris, sed isdem e cubilibus, 
 quos simul vescentis dies, simul quietos nox babuerat, discedunt 
 in partes, ingerunt tela, clamor vulnera sanguis palam, causa in 
 occulto ; cetera fors regit, et quidam bonorum caesi, postquam 
 intellectoin quos saeviretur pessimi quoque arma rapuerant. neque 
 legatus aut tribunus moderator adfuit : permissa vulgo licentia 
 atque ultio et satietas. mox ingressus. castra Germanicus, non 
 medicinam illut plurimis cum lacrimis sed cladem appellans, cre- 
 mari corpora iubet. 
 
 Truces etiam turn animos cupido involat eundi in bostem, 
 piaculum furoris; nee alitor posse placari commilitonum manes, 
 
 48. si . . . consulerenf] Cf. Plaut. secret, knew whether there wonld be 
 
 Cist. i. 3. 37, " operam servus dat, si any end at all to the slaughter, 
 
 possiet meretricem illam invenire." Liv. 49. intellecto'] See the note on i. 35, 
 
 xxxi. 9, "ad collegium pontificum refeire under ' addito.' 
 
 consul iussus, si posset recte votum illut^ For the neuter of the pronoun 
 
 suscipi." instead of the gender required by the 
 
 quis Jmis^ Emesti proposes * qui substantive cf. ii. 38, " non enim precea 
 
 finis,' but the difierent clauses are not sunt istut, sed efflagitatio." Also iv. 19, 
 
 quite the same in meaning. It is ' quod " quasi aut Varro consul, aut illut res 
 
 initium' because there really had been a publica esset." Also Agric. 43, "sive 
 
 beginning, only no one knew quite of cura illud sive inquisitio erat." 
 
 what kind it was ; but * quis finis ' because piacuhtm, furoris'] See note on * causam 
 
 no cme, except those who were in the discordiae,' i. 27. 
 
44 CORNELn TACITI [A.tj.c . 767. 
 
 quam si pectoribus impiis honesta vulnera accepissent. s£'<juitur 
 ardorem militum Caesar iunctoque ponte tramittit duodecini milia 
 e legioiiibus_, sex et viginti socias cohortis^ octo equituni alas, 
 quarum ea seditione intemerata modestia fuit. 
 
 50. Laeti neque procul Germani agitabant, dam iustitio ob 
 amissum Augustum, post discordiis attinemur. at Eomanus 
 agmine propero silvam Caesiam limitemque a Tiberio coeptum 
 scindit, castra in limite locat, frontem ac tergum vallo, latera 
 concaedibus munitus. inde saltus obscuros permeat consult^atque 
 ex duobus itineribus breve et soli turn sequatur an inpeditius et 
 intemptatum eoque hostibus incautum. delecta longiore via cetera 
 adcelerantur : etenim attulerant exploratores festam earn Germanis 
 noctem ac soUemnibus epulis ludicram. Caecina cum expeditis 
 cohortibus praeire et obstantia silvarum amoliri iubetur : legiones 
 modico intervallo sequuntur. iuvit nox sideribus inlustris, ven- 
 tumque ad vicos Marsorum et circumdatae stationes stratis etiam 
 tum per cubilia propterque mensas, nullo metu, non antepositis 
 vigiliis: adeo cuncta incuria disiecta erant, neque belli timor, ac 
 ne pax quidem nisi languida et soluta inter temulentos. 
 
 iunctoque ponte] He threw a bridge in his front and rear, and protected his 
 
 across the Rhine near Vetera, and entered flanks by felled trees, as C. Julius 
 
 the district across the river with half Caesar did (B. G. iii. 29) : " silvas caedere 
 
 his forces. For ' pontem iungere * cf. xiii. instituit, et ne quis inennibus impru- 
 
 7, "pontes per amnemEuphratemiungi." dentibusque militibus ab latere impetus 
 
 50. limitemque] This barrier is said fieri posset, omnem earn materiani quae 
 to have been near Dorsten, and the ' saltus erat caesa ad hostem coUocabat et pro 
 obscuri ' mentioned afterwards are the vallo ad utrumque latus exstruebat." I 
 Haardt range between the Lippe and the do not know whether Tacitus means to 
 Ruhr. As to the exact meaning of the imply that the * camp ' was entirely con- 
 passage, I am not very clear : for it is tained within the limits of the I arrier 
 not obvious what is the sense of ' scindit.' or embankment; but I am indued to 
 In H. iv. 28 Tacitus says "Transrhe- think, with Gronovius, that he does not : 
 nanos proelium poscentis ad scindendum for one would suppose the barrier un- 
 vallum ire detrusosque redintegrare cer- likely to be wide enough, 
 tamen iubet," where the meaning ap- incautvm] 'Undefended.' Nipyerdey 
 parently is ' to force their way through, quotes Liv. xxv. 38, " quod neglexeris 
 i.e. over the rampart,' not literally 'to incautum atque apertum habeas." 
 cut a hole through it.' Probably this ohsta/ntia silvarum] Cf. i. 53, "in 
 is the sense here. Germanicus did. not prominenti litoris ;" xii. 56, "coUes mon- 
 actually cut a hole through the 'limes :' tiumque edita." Also H. iii. 42. 
 nor indeed from the words ' propero ag- Ma/rsortuni] These people seem to 
 mine ' do I suppose he really had literally have once been settled in Westphalia, 
 to cut down trees in order to efiect a between Miinster and Paderbom, but 
 passage, although he cut them down to they withdrew farther into the interior, 
 fortify his flanks with. * Scindere limi- and occupied the country between the 
 tem ' is then very much equivalent to the Lippe and the Ruhr, 
 phrase of Yelleius Paterculus (ii. 120), ne pax quidem] There was not 
 " penetrat interius, aperit limites, vastat only an absence of all precautions usual 
 agros." Germanicus pitched his camp in war, but not even the tranquillity 
 on the * limes,' with a ditch and rampart of a substantial peace : or if there was 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 45 
 
 51. Caesar avidas legiones, quo latior populatio foret, quattuor 
 in cuneos dispertit; quinquaginta milium spatium ferro flammisque 
 pervastat. non sexus, non aetas miserationem attulit : profana 
 simul et sacra et celeberrimum illis gentibus templum quod Tam- 
 fanae vocabant solo aequantur. sine vulnere milites, qui semi- 
 somnos, inermos aut palantis ceciderant. excivit ea caedes Bruc- 
 teros, Tubantes, Usipetes ; saltusque per quos exercitui regressus 
 insedere. quod gnarum duci incessitque itineri et proelio. pars 
 equitum et auxiliariae cohortes ducebant, mox prima legio, et 
 mediis impedimentis sinistrum latus unetvicesimani, dextrum 
 quintani clausere, vicesima legio terga firmavit^ post ceteri socio- 
 rum. sed hostes, donee agmen per saltus porrigeretur, immoti, 
 dein latera et frontem modice adsultantes, tota vi novissimos in- 
 currere. turbabanturque densis Germanorum catervis levis cohortes, 
 cum Caesar advectus ad vicesimanos voce magna hoc illut tempus 
 oblitterandae seditionis clamitabat : pergerent, properarent culpam 
 in decus vertere. exarsere animis unoque impetu perruptum hos- 
 tem redigunt in aperta caeduntque : simul primi agminis copiae 
 evasere silvas castraque communivere. quietum inde iter, fidensque 
 recentibus ac priorum oblitus miles in hibernis locatur. 
 
 52. Nuntiata ea Tiberium laetitia curaque adfecere : gaudebat 
 oppressam seditionem, sed quod largiendis pecuniis et missione 
 festinata favorem militum quaesivisset, bellica quoque Germanici 
 
 peace, it was at best only an indolent, tioned below, " post ceteri sociorum." 
 slovenly peace, the sort of peace you mediis'] An ablative absolute. Cf. 
 
 might find amongst sluggards and sots : xii. 13, "praecipua religione Herculi;" 
 
 a torpor rather than a peace. xiv. 37, "difficili efiiigio ;" xv. 32, Also 
 
 51. templvmi] Tacitus says in the Ovid's Fast. vi. 247, "Aspicit instantes 
 
 Germania (c. 9) that the deities of the mediis sex lucibus idus Ilia dies." 
 Germans are not confined within walls, adsultantes] Used with a dative in 
 
 nor fashioned into any mortal shapes : Agric. 26, " velocissimos equitum pedi- 
 
 that the people hallow groves and woods, tumque adsultare tergis pugnantium 
 
 and call by the name of gods that secrecy iubet." It is constructed with an accusa- 
 
 which is seen by reverence only. In ii. tive like similar verbs, * accedere,' ' ad- 
 
 12 a wood is spoken of as sacred to volvi,' &c. 
 
 Hercules. Here 'templum' probably novissimos incwrrere] Cf. ii. 17, "vali- 
 
 means only a consecrated spot. One dissimos equitum incurrere latus" (but 
 
 account of the name is, that it is equi- ii. 16, " ut proeliantibus Romanis desuper 
 
 valent to the Lord of the Wood (fane, incurrerent," as in Liv. xxviii. 15, " pedi- 
 
 tan). tum signa comubus incucurrerunt ")., 
 
 itineri] Germanicus advanced, equally This accusative without a preposition is 
 
 fit for marching and fighting : the ar- unusual, but Tacitus constructs many 
 
 rangement of his troops was equally compound verbs in a similar way, as 
 
 adapted for either emergency. Cf. xiii. * incedere,' ' adventare,' * accurrere,' * in- 
 
 40, "qui viae pariter et pugnae com- sultare,' &c. 
 posuerat exercitum." 52. quaesivisset] What is the subject 
 
 auxiliariae cohortes] ' Some auxiliary of this verb, Tiberius or Germanicus ? 
 
 cohorts/ not all, for the rest are men- If I understand Nipperdey's note, he 
 
46 CORNELTI TACITI [a..u.o 767. 
 
 gloria angebatur. rettulit tamen ad senatum de rebus ^estis 
 multaque de virtute eius memoravitj magis in speciem verbis ador- 
 nata quam ut penitus sentire crederetur. paucioribus Drus im et 
 finem Illyrici motus laudavit, sed intentior et fida orafcione. 
 cunctaque quae Germanicus indulseratj servavit etiam apui] Pan- 
 nonicos exercitus. 
 
 53. Eodem anno lulia supremum diem obiit^ ob impudicitiam 
 olim a patre Augusto Pandateria insula,, njox oppido Reginorum, 
 qui Siculum fretum accolunt, clausa. fuerat in matrimonio Tiberii 
 florentibus Gaio et Lucio Oaesaribus spreveratque ut imparem; 
 nee alia tarn intima Tiberio causa cur Rhodum abscederet. im- 
 perium adeptus extorrem, infamem et post interfectum Postumum 
 Agrippam omnis spei egenam inopia ac tabe longa peremit^ obscu- 
 ram fore necem longinquitate exilii ratus. par causa saeviiiae in 
 Sempronium Gracchum^ qui familia nobili, sellers ingenio et prave 
 facundus, eandem luliam iii matrimonio Marci Agrippae temera- 
 verat. nee is libidini finis ; traditam Tiberio pervicax adulte]' con- 
 tumacia et odiis in maritum accendebat; litteraeque quas lulia 
 patri Augusto cum insectatione Tiberii scripsit a Graccho compo- 
 sitae credebantur. igitur amotus Cercinam^ Africi maris insulam, 
 quattuordecim annis exilium toleravit, tunc milites ad ceedem 
 
 makes Tiberius the subject, but gives a 53. im/parem] 'No match foi' her.' 
 
 very forced explanation, to the effect Cf. H. ii. 50, "matemum genus impar." 
 
 that the Emperor was forced to ratify the Liv. vi. 34, " quod iuncta impari esset." 
 
 concessions made by Germanicus in his The ' Claudia gens ' was a noble oae, but 
 
 name. I think Germanicus is the sub» the 'lulia gens' traced its descent from 
 
 ject, for this change of subjects is not lulus, and now that the Caesars were 
 
 rare. — It is not easy to say why Tacitus emperors naturally occupied a f osition 
 
 changed from the gerundive to the pas- above all others. 
 
 si ve participle. Does ' largiendis pecuxdis ' longinquitate] Some refer this to the 
 imply that Germanicus gave money to length of time during which Julia had 
 the soldiery with the distinct object of been exiled, for she was banished 2 a.c. 
 courting popularity, for he paid them But Tacitus seems to employ both sub- 
 twice the amount of the legacy ; while stantive and adjective only of d.stance 
 * missione festinata ' only implies that in point of locality. Cf. iii. 5, 34, vi. 14, 
 the discharge — to which the soldiers had Agric. 19. Tacitus uses ' longinquos 
 a right — less directly tended to increase saltus ' (iv. 27) of the defiles near Brun- 
 his favour in the eyes of the troops ? disium and the adjacent towns. Here 
 Perhaps Tacitus, after all, only altered therefore I think it is the distance of 
 the form for variety's sake. Julia's place of banishment (Rh(^gium) 
 
 intentior] ' With more of sincerity,' from Rome which is intended, not the 
 
 ' with more warmth.' length of time her exile had continued. 
 
 quae Germcmicus indulseraf] Cf. ii. Below, in ' quattuordecim samii ' one 
 
 38, "sive indulserint largitionem, sive would rather have expected ' anno s,' but 
 
 abnuerint ;" xi. 20, " insignia tamen Draeger quotes Cic. de Div. i. 19, " multis 
 
 triumphi indulsit Caesar." The word saeculis verum fuisse id oraculum," and 
 
 is eqxiivalent to 'concedere,' and con- de Offic. iii. 2, "triginta annis vixisse 
 
 structed therefore similarly. Cf. Suet. Panaetium." 
 Oct. 41, Claud. 24. 
 
A.D. 14.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 47 
 
 missi invenere in prominenti litoris, niliil laetum opperientem. 
 quorum adventu breve tempus petivit_, ut suprema mandata uxori 
 Alliariae per litteras daret, cervicemque percussoribus obtulit, 
 constantia mortis baud indignus Sempronio nomine : vita degene- 
 raverat. quidam non Roma eos mibtes, sed ab L. Asprenate pro 
 consule Africae missos tradidere auctore Tiberio^ qui famam caedis 
 posse in Asprenatem verti frustra speraverat. 
 
 54. Idem annus novas caerimonias accepit addito sodalium 
 Augustalium sacerdotio^ ut quondam T. Tatius retinendis Sabi- 
 norum sacris sodales Titios instituerat. sorte ducti e primoribus 
 civitatis unus et viginti : Tiberius Drususque et Claudius et Ger- 
 manicus adiciuntur. ludos Augustales tunc primum coeptos tur- 
 bavit discordia ex certamine bistrionum. indulserat ei ludicro 
 Augustus^ dum Maecenati obtemperat effuso in amorem Bathylli ; 
 neque ipse abhorrebat talibus studiis, et civile rebatur mis- 
 ceri voluptatibus vulgi. alia Tiberio morum via ; sed populum 
 per tot annos molliter babitum nondum audebat ad duriora 
 vert ere. 
 
 55. Druso Caesare C. Norbano consulibus decernitur Germanico 
 triumpbus manente bello ; quod quamquam in aestatem summa 
 ope parabat, initio veris et repentino in Chattos excursu praecepit. 
 nam spes incesserat dissidere bostem in Arminium ac Segestem, 
 insignem utrumque perfidia in nos aut JBde. Arminius turbator 
 
 in prominenti litoris'] See note on i. 50, the games in honour of Augustus existed 
 
 under 'obstantia silvarum.' before they were formally established in 
 
 vita degeneraveraf] * Vita ' is the his memory by the Senate, 
 nominative case, comparing De Orato- ei ludAcro] I. e. the representations 
 ribus 27, " a qua vel magis degeneravi- given by the Pantomimi, for ' histriones,' 
 mus quam ab eloquentia ;" and xiv. 21, as often, is equivalent to * pantomimi j' 
 " quemquam ad theatrales artes degene- indeed the word itself means originally 
 ravisse." The preposition seems else- dancers, and was long used in that 
 where always added. The later poets sense. Augustus took away from the 
 have a dative ; and the accusative is magistrate the * ius virgarum ' as re- 
 found in Ovid and Propertius, if the gards actors (Suet. August. 45). 
 readings are correct. 55. praecepit^ Although Germanicua 
 
 speraverat^ This indicative represents was making great preparations for a 
 
 the view of Tacitus, supposing the ac- summer campaign, he took time by the 
 
 count just mentioned to be correct : forelock, and made a foray upon the 
 
 * who in that case had in vain hoped ' Chatti. The ' et ' after ' veris ' might of 
 
 &c. course be omitted, but * initio veris ' is 
 
 54. Titios] In H. ii. 95 Tacitus gives opposed to * in aestatem,' and ' repentino 
 
 a somewhat different account : that Ro. excursu' to 'bellum.' Nipperdey quotes 
 
 mulus established this ' sacerdotium ' in Caesar, B. G. vi. 37, " hoc ipso tempore 
 
 honour of Titua Tatius. There is not et casu Germani equites interveniunt." 
 
 any great discrepancy necessarily be- There seems no reason at all why the 
 
 tween the two accounts, as Titus Titius temporal and modal object should not 
 
 may have first established them, and at any time be co-ordinately stated by 
 
 Romulus subsequently have connected means of a connecting particle, 
 
 them with his late colleague; just as perjidia'] Arminius with Segimerus, 
 
48 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 768. 
 
 G-ermaniae^ Segestes parari rebellionem saepe alias et supremo 
 convivio, post quod in arma itum, aperuit suasitque Yaro ut se et 
 Arminium et ceteros proceres vinciret : nihil ausuram pl'^bem 
 principibus amotis, atque ipsi tempus fore^ quo crimina et inn oxios 
 discerneret. sed Yarns fato et vi Armini cecidit : Segestes quam- 
 quam consensu gentis in bellum tractus discors manebat, auctis 
 privatim odiis, quod Arminius filiam eius alii pactam rapuerat^ 
 gener invisus inimici soceri; quaeque aput Concordes vincula 
 caritatis, incitamenta irarum aput infensos erant. 
 
 56. Igitur G-ermanicus quattuor legiones, quinque auxiliarium 
 milia et tumultuarias catervas Germanorum cis Rhenum colentium 
 Caecinae tradit j totidem legiones_, duplicem sociorum numerum 
 ipse ducit, positoque castello super vestigia paterni praesidii in 
 monte Tauno expeditum exercitum in Cbattos rapit_, L. Apronio 
 ad munitiones viarum et fluminum relicto. nam (rarum illi caelo) 
 siccitate et amnibus modicis inoffensum iter properaverat_, im- 
 bresque et fluminum auctus regredienti metuebatur. sed Ohattis 
 adeo inprovisus advenit, ut quod imbecillum aetate ac sexu statim 
 captum aut trucidatum sit. inventus flumen Adranam nando tra- 
 miseratj Romanosque pontem coeptantis arcebant. dein tormen- 
 
 amusing Yarus with a pretence of friend- putting to death the soldiers qnai'tered 
 
 ship, arranged for the revolt of the amongst them, proceeded to attack Yarns 
 
 distant members of their confederacy, when entangled in the Teutoburg wood. 
 
 On the departure of Yarus to repress filiam eius^ The pedigrees will be 
 
 the revolt, they remained behind, and understood from the following tabLi : — 
 
 Segimerus (i. 60) Segestes (i. 57, 70). 
 
 Flavins (ii. 9) Arminius (i. 57) Thusnelda Seginmndus 
 
 m. dau. of Catumems (xi. 16) m. Thusnelda. (i. 57). 
 
 Flavins Italicus (xi. 16). 
 
 .soceri] This must be the genitive observes that the Tungri were the first 
 case, I think: 'the hated son-in-law of a German tribe who crossed the Ehine. 
 father (independently of that) an enemy.' The (left) bank was also, he adds, oc- 
 Arminius and Segestes had long been oupied by Yangiones, Triboci, and Ne- 
 on bad terms with each other: the ill- metes, of undoubted German origin 
 feeling was intensified now that they (Germ. 28), although the Triboci v^ould 
 were connected with each other by seem to Ixave been more probably of 
 family ties. This seems a better ex- Keltic than Teutonic origin, ' tre ' being 
 planation than others proposed : that a Keltic word for ' place,' and one of 
 * soceri ' means the fathers of Arminius their towns given by Ptolemy, BpevK^- 
 and Thusnelda, or that it means Segestes /xayos, being Keltic in name, 
 and his wife, just as * fratres ' is put for paterni praesidii'] Cf. Dio liv. 33, 
 a brother and sister. Sxttc rhv Apovarov cKcTTe ^ o re Aovirics koI 
 
 56. cis Rhenum] Cf. Suet. Aug. 21, 6 'EKlcrcov avfip-iyvwrai <ppovpi6u ri <T(pi<riv 
 
 "Ubios et Sygambros dedentes se tra- iiriTux^aai koX erepov iv Xdrrois nap' 
 
 duxit in Galliam." Tacitus (Germ. 2) aitr^ r^ 'P-fjuep. 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 49 
 
 tis sagittisque pulsi, temptatis frustra condicionibus pacis, cum 
 quidam ad Germanicum perfugissent, reliqui omissis pagis vicisque 
 in silvas disperguntur. Caegar incenso Mattio (id genti caput) 
 aperta populatus vertit ad Bhenum, non ausp hoste terg^, abeun- 
 tium lacessere, quod illi moris^ quotiens astu magis quam per 
 formidinem cessit. fuerat animus Cheruscis iuvare Chattos, sed 
 exterruit Caecina hue illuc ferens arn^a; et ^arsps congredi 
 ausos prospero proelio cohibuit. 
 
 57. Neque multo post legati a Segeste yenerunt ai^xilium orantes 
 adversus vim popularium, a quis circumsedebatur, validiore aput 
 eos Ai-minio^ quoniam bellum suadebat : nam barbaris_, quanto quis 
 audacia promptus, tanto magis fidus rebusque motis potior babetur. 
 addiderat Segestes legatis filium_, nomine Segimundum : sed 
 iuvenis conscientia cunctabatur. quippe anno quo Germaniae 
 descivere sacerdos aput aram Ubiorum creatus ruperat vittas, pro- 
 fugus ad rebelles. adductus tamen in spem clementiae Romanae 
 pertulit patris mandata benigneque exceptus cum praesidio Gal- 
 licam in ripam missus est. Germanico pretium fuit convertere 
 agmen^ pugnatumque in obsidentis^ et ereptus Segestes magna 
 cum propinquorum et clientium manu. inerant feminae nobiles, 
 inter quas uxor Arminii eademque filia Segestis, mariti magis 
 quam parentis animo, neque victa in lacrimas neque voce supplex, 
 compressis intra sinum manibus gravidum uterum intuens. fere- 
 
 pagis vicisqtLe] * Pagus ' is a large Upper and Lower Germany on the left 
 
 area of coTintry. The Suebi had a hun- bank of the Rhine, but Germany across 
 
 dred, the Helvetii four only, so that the the Rhine. The plural is used ap- 
 
 term is probably used loosely. * Vicus ' parently as equivalent to ' the various 
 
 is a village, or single collection of dwell- peoples of Germania.' Cf. ii. 73. So 
 
 ings grouped together. Agric. 15, " sic Germanias excussisse 
 
 moris'] Cf. Germ. 13, Agric. 3& and iugum, et flumine non Oceano defendi," 
 
 42, H. i. 15. 'Ut mos est,' ' in more est,' where ' Germanias ' seems used in the 
 
 are used by the Augustan writers. same way as in the present passage. The 
 
 57. promptus'] Cf i. 68, " quanto in- revolt spoken of took place a.d. 9. 
 
 opina, tanto maiora offunduntiir." Also ruperat vittas] He had torn oflf his 
 
 iii. 46, " quanto pecunia dites et volup- sacred fillets, to show that he abandoned 
 
 tatibus opulentos, tanto magis imbelles his priestly office. Apparently it was a 
 
 Aeduos esse evincite." Also H. ii. 99. Roman priesthood he held. 
 
 For a positive in both clauses cf. iv. 67, pretium fuif] ' It was well worth Ger- 
 
 and for a comparative and positive com- manicus' while to' &c. The act was a 
 
 bined in one clause cf. ii. 5. ' In what- reward in itself; it paid, to use a familiar 
 
 ever proportion any one was ready in expression. Cf. ii. 35, " res non referrem 
 
 daring, in that proportion more than nisi pretium foret noscere," and H. iii. 8. 
 
 he would have been otherwise he was neque victa in lacrimas^ So Cod. Med. 
 
 trusted.' Liv. i. 25 has the same form : Elsewhere 'evicta' occurs. Cf. xi. 37, 
 
 " eo maiore cum gaudio, quo prope " ad miserationem evicta," and H. ii. 64, 
 
 metum res fuerat." "in gaudium evicta." 
 
 Germaniae^ Not the two provinces of 
 
 E 
 
50 COENELII TACITI [a.tj.c 768. 
 
 bantur et spolia Yarianae cladis, plerisque eorum qui turn in dedi- 
 tionem veniebant praedae data : simul Segestes ipse, ingen 5 visu 
 et memoria bonae societatis inpavidus. 
 
 68. Yerba eius in bunc modum fuere : ^non bic mibi primus 
 erga populum Romanum fidei et constantiae dies, ex quo h divo 
 Augusto civitate donatus sum, amicos inimicosque ex vestris utiH- 
 tatibus delegi, neque odio patriae (quippe proditores etiam iis quos 
 anteponunt invisi sunt), verum quia Romanis Germanisque idem 
 conducere et pacem quam bellum probabam. ergo raptorem filiae 
 meae, violatorem foederis vestri, Arminium aput Yarum, qm tum 
 exercitui praesidebat, reum feci, dilatus segnitia ducis^ quia 
 parum praesidii in legibus erat, ut me et Arminium et couscios 
 vinciret flagitavi : testis ilia nox mibi utinam potius novissima ! 
 quae secuta sunt, defleri magis quam defendi possunt : ceterum et 
 inieci catenas Arminio et a factione eius iniectas perpessus sum. 
 atque ubi primum tui copia, Vetera novis et quieta turbidis ante- 
 babeo, neque ob praemium, sed ut me perfidia exsolvam, simul 
 genti Grermanorum idoneus conciliator, si paenitentiam quam per- 
 mitiem maluerit. pro iuventa et err ore filii veniam precor : filiam 
 necessitate hue adductam fateor. tuum erit consultare, iitrum 
 praevaleat, quod ex Arminio concepit an quod ex me genita est.' 
 Caesar dementi responso liberis propinquisque eius incolomitatem, 
 ipsi sedem vetere in provincia pollicetur. exercitum reduxit 
 nomenque imperatoris auctore Tiberio accepit. Arminii uxor 
 virilis sexus stirpem edidit : educatus Ravennae puer quo mox 
 ludibrio conflictatus sit, in tempore memorabo. 
 
 59. Fama dediti benigneque except! Segestis vulgata, ui qui- 
 
 58. condMcere] The infinitive de- nius ' — this would entail on hor the 
 
 pends on 'probabam,' or rather on some punishment he deserved — 'or her birth 
 
 word supplied from it, like 'credebam,' from me:' that would secure lor her 
 
 * rebar,' or the like. ' Probare ' is used for the indulgence my faithfulness merits. 
 *to come to a satisfactory conclusion' in vetere in proi'incia] What is tlie 've- 
 
 Germ. 13, " antequam civitas suffecturum tus provincia?' 'Provincia Cisrbmana,' 
 
 probaverit ;" but the usual sense is 'to Lipsius says: but where is 'pr(wincia 
 
 give satisfactory proof.' nova ? ' asks Walther. But perhaj s there 
 
 quam helium] For the omission of was not necessarily a 'provincia nova' 
 
 'potius' of. iii. 17, 32, iv. 61, xiii. 6, because 'vetus' is used: it might convey 
 
 Germ. 6. rather the idea of 'long pacified, 8(?ttled.' 
 
 tui copia] *As soon as I had an op- Or the Germany across the Rhine may 
 
 portunity of making overtures to you.' be the contrast, for although it vas not 
 
 Cf. Liv. iv. 18, "ni copia pugnae fiat," really a province, the Romans had some 
 
 and Cic. de Orat. iii. 33, "facere civibus footing in it, and had built forts here 
 
 omnibus consilii sui copiam." and there. 
 
 utrum praevaleat] ' Which fact has in tempore] In the lost books, if at all. 
 most influence, her marriage to Armi- 59. ^^t quibusque] Cf. Agric. 18.. " qui- 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 51 
 
 busque bellum invitis aut cupientibus erat, spe vel dolore accipitur. 
 Arminium super insitam violentiam rapta uxor, subiectus servitio 
 uxoris uterus vaecordera agebant, volitabatque per Cheruscoa, arma 
 in Segestem, arma in Caesarem poscens. neque probris tempera- 
 bat : egregium patrem, magnum imperatorem, fortem exercitum, 
 quorum tot manusunam mulierculam avexerint. sibi tres legiones, 
 totidem legates procubuisse ; non enim se proditione neque adver- 
 sus feminas gravidas, sed palam adversus armatos bellum tractare. 
 cerni adhuc Germanorum in lucis signa Romana, quae dis patriis 
 suspenderit. coleret Segestes vietam ripam, redderet filio sacer- 
 dotium bominum : Germanos numquam satis excusaturos, quod inter 
 Albim et Rbenum virgas et secures et togam viderint. aliis gen- 
 tibus ignorantia imperi Romani inexperta esse supplicia, nescia 
 tributa; quae quoniam exsuerint inritusque discesserit ille inter 
 numina dicatus Augustus, ille delectus Tiberius, ne inperitum 
 adulescentulum, ne seditiosum exercitum pavescerent. si patriam 
 parentes antiqua mallent quam dominos et colonias novas, Alumi- 
 nium potius gloriae ac libertatis quam Segestem flagitiosae servi- 
 tutis ducem sequerentur. 
 
 60. Conciti per haec non mode Cberusci sed conterminae gentes, 
 tractusque in partis Inguiomerus Arminii patruus, veteri aput 
 Romanes auctoritate; undo maior Caesari metus. et ne bellum 
 mole una ingrueret, Caecinam cum quadraginta coliortibus Ro- 
 manis distrabendo bosti per Bructeros ad flumen Amisiam mittit, 
 equitem Pedo praefectus finibus Frisiorum ducit. ipse inpositas 
 navibus quattuor legiones per lacus vexit ; simulque pedes eques 
 classis aput praedictum amnem convenere. Chauci cum auxilia 
 pollicerentur in commilitium adsciti sunt. Bructeros sua urentis 
 
 bus bellum volentibus erat." Cf. Thucyd. oourSe did not exist there, but to the 
 
 vi. 46, Kal Ty liiiv NiKia iTpoadexo/^^''V ^'' old state of things generally, when there 
 
 Tcb iropo TWf 'Eyea-Taicov : H. iii. 43, Sail, were no colonies at all. 
 
 Jug. 84, 100, and Liv. xxi. 50. 60. finihus'] ' By the territories,' 
 
 hominum] 'Hominum' is here used through them. Cf. i. 8, "ut porta trium- 
 
 contemptuously of Augustus or Tiberius : phali duceretur funus ;" i. 63, " litore 
 
 'priests of mere men, not really gods.' Oceani pefcore Rhenum." 'Terra,' 'mari,' 
 
 nescia] For the passive meaning cf. 'flumine,' are continually used in this 
 
 xvi. 14. So ' ignarus ' is used passively locative sense. 
 
 ii. 13, iii. 69, &c. Cf. Plaut. Capt. ii. 2. 15, per lacus'] These lakes are now ab- 
 
 " si quid nescivi, id nescium tradam sorbed in the Zuyder Zee. Drusus, the 
 
 tibi." father of Germanicus, dug a canal from 
 
 discesserit] ' Had retreated (baffled the Rhine, below the separation of the 
 
 from the contest).' 'Delectus' in the Rhine and Waal near Amheim, to the 
 
 next clause is apparently ' chosen to bo Yssel near Doesburg. These were the 
 
 his successor.' 'fossae Drusianae' or 'Drusinae' (Suet. 
 
 colonias novas] The new colonies are Claud. 1). 
 not opposed to old colonies, which of 
 
 E 2 
 
52 COENELII TACITI [a.tj.c. 768. 
 
 expedita cum manu L. Stertinius missu Germanici fudit ; inte rque 
 caedem et praedam repperit undevicesimae legionis aquilam cum 
 Varo amissam. ductum inde agmen ad ultimos Bructercrum^ 
 quantumque Amisiam et Lupiam amnes inter vastatum^ liaud pro- 
 cul Teutoburgiensi saltu^ in quo reliquiae Yari legionumque inse- 
 pultae dicebantur. 
 
 61. Igitur cupido Caesarem invadit solvendi suprema milifcibus 
 ducique, permoto ad miserationem omni qui aderat exercitu ob 
 propinquos_, amicos, denique ob casus bellorum et sortem bominum. 
 praemisso Oaecina^ ut occulta saltuum scrutaretur pontesque et 
 aggeres umido paludum et fallacibus campis imponeret, inccjdunt 
 maestos locos visuque ac memoria deformis. prima Yari castra 
 lato ambitu et dimensis principiis trium legionum manus ostenta- 
 bant; dein semiruto vallo, bumili fossa accisae iam reliquiae con- 
 sedisse intellegebantur : medio campi albentia ossa^ ut fugorant, 
 ut restiterant, disiecta vel aggerata. adiacebant fragmina telorum 
 equorumque artus^ simul truncis arborum antefixa ora. lucis pro- 
 pinquis barbarae arae, aput quas tribunes ac primorum ordinum 
 centuriones mactaverant. et cladis eius superstites, pugnam aut 
 vincula elabsi_, referebant bic cecidisse legates^ illic raptas aquilas ; 
 ubi primum vulnus Yaro adactum^ ubi infelici dextera et suo ictu 
 mortem invenerit; quo tribunali contionatus Arminius^ quot patibula 
 captivis^ quae scrobes_, utque signis et aquilis per superbiam inluserit. 
 
 62. Igitur Romanus qui aderat exercitus sextum post cladis 
 annum trium legionum ossa^ nullo noscente alienas reliquias an 
 suorum humo tegeret, omnes ut coniunctos, ut consanguineoSj 
 
 amnes inter] For the position of the already half crumbling, and the sliallow 
 
 preposition after two substantives cf. iv. trench ' &c. But the first explaaation 
 
 8, " dis et patria coram ;" xv. 61, " Pop- is the best. The shallow trencli and 
 
 paea et Tigellino coram." See a note on half-crumbling rampart were those of 
 
 iii. 1. the second intrenchment. The first, 
 
 61. visuque ac memoria'] See note on made before the defeat, was a regular 
 
 i. 4 for the combination of particles. camp ; the second was an imperfect camp, 
 
 semiruto] Certainly not in the sense in which the Romans tried to defend 
 of * raised to half the proper height,' themselves after the losses they had sus- 
 as Walther translates. The only pecu- tained : this is clear from the words 
 liarity is, that the trench is described as * prima castra ' and ' dein.' 
 originally shallow, and the rampart as invenerit] This would naturallj after 
 having been reduced to a crumbling 'referebant' have been * in venisset;' but 
 state. Perhaps Tacitus means only to the perfect is used because Tacitus re- 
 imply that the rampart, so soon crum- produces as near as possible the exact 
 bling away after its erection, must have words of the narrator : * he tells them 
 been feebly made, and the work of shat- where he found.' Below, * sciobes ' 
 tered troops. Or possibly the adjective seems to mean pits for burying alive 
 may be only descriptive, and no part some of the soldiers of Varus. Cf. 
 of the proof afibrded by the state of Germ. 12, "corpore infames coeno ac 
 the rampart : * then from the rampart palude iniecta insuper crate mergirat." 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 63 
 
 aucta in hostem ira, maesti simul et infensi condebant; primum 
 extruendo tumulo caespitem Caesar posuit, gratissimo munere in 
 defunctos et praesentibus doloris socius. quod Tiberio haut pro- 
 batum, sen cuncta Germanici in deterius trabenti, sive exercitum 
 imagine caesorum insepultorumque tardatum ad proelia et formi- 
 dolosiorem hostium credebat; neque imperatorem auguratu et 
 vetustissimis caerimoniis praeditum adtrectare feralia debuisse. 
 
 63. Sed Germanicus cedentem in avia Arminium secutus, ubi 
 primum copia fuit, evehi equites campumque, quem bostis insede- 
 rat, eripi iubet. Arminius colligi suos et propinquare silvis 
 monitos vertit repente : mox signum prorumpendi dedit iis quos 
 per saltus occultaverat. tunc nova acie turbatus equesj missaeque 
 subsidiariae cobortes et fugientium agmine impulsae auxerant con- 
 sternationem ; trudebanturque in paludem gnaram vincentibus, 
 iniquam nesciis, ni Caesar productas legiones instruxisset : inde 
 bostibus terror, fiducia militi ; et manibus aequis abscessum. mox 
 reducto ad Amisiam exercitu legiones classe, ut advexerat, reportat ; 
 pars equitum litore Oceani petere Rbenum iussa ; Caecina, qui suum 
 militem ducebat, monitus, quamquam notis itineribus regredere- 
 tur, pontes longos quam maturrime superaro; angustus is trames 
 vastas inter paludes et quondam a L; Domitio aggeratus ; cetera 
 Umosa, tenacia gravi caeno aut rivis incerta erant j circum silvae 
 
 62. formidolosiorem hostium] * More constructed with an infinitive, instead of 
 inclined to be afraid of the enemy :' a with ' ut ' followed by the subjunctive 
 sense found in Terence (Eunuch, iv. 6. mood. 'Hortari,' 'praeciperej' ' postu- 
 18, " num formidolosus, obsecro, es ? " fol- lare,' 'imperare,' are all so used: espe- 
 lowed by " peregrinus est, minu' potens cially 'monere' is so; cf. xii. 46, xiii. 37, 
 quam tu" &c.) and Columella (vi. 2. &c. Of course these instances are to be 
 14, "boves nee auditu nee visu pavidi distinguished from those where the sense 
 nee ad ingredienda flumina aut pontes of * monere ' and similar words is to warn 
 formidolosi"). The usual meaning is a person of a fact, as in Virg. Georg. i. 
 * terrifying :' i. 76, xi. 19, Agric. 7, and 464, " sol caecos instare tumultus saepe 
 elsewhere. The sense here can hardly nlonet," where * monere ' takes the usual 
 be ' and the army of the enemy more construction of verbs of assertion, 
 terrible,' because ' exercitum Eomanum,' legiones'] The four legions Germanicus 
 or something of the kind, would have brought by sea : Caecina's four returned 
 been required in the first clause. by land ; and of the other four, two re- 
 
 63. eripi] Gronovius makes this a turned partly by land. 
 
 technical word adopted from the Circus, L. Domitio] This was the grand- 
 quoting Silius xvi. 423, " Tene, Astur, father of the Emperor Nero. Suetonius 
 certante feret quisqiiam aequore palmam speaks of him (Nero 4), "non minus 
 Erepto ?" and an old inscription on a cha- aurigandi arte in adolescentia clarus, 
 rioteer Diodes (Gruter, p. 337), " ERiPviT quam deinde omamentis triumphalibus 
 ET viciT." But this does not seem to me ex Germanico bello." Cf. iv. 44, "post 
 at all necessary. The enemy was to bo exercitu fiumen Albim transcendit. Ion- 
 driven pellmell from the plain they had gius penetrata Germania quam quisquam 
 occupied. priorum." See the note on this last 
 
 colUgi] In Tacitus, words of advis- passage, 
 ing, warning, and the like, are often 
 
54 . COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c 768. 
 
 paulatim adclives, quas turn Arminius implevit^ compendiis "S' amin 
 et cito agmine onustura sarcinis armisque militem cum ante^^enis- 
 set. Caecinae dubitanti, quonam modo ruptos vetastate ]:ontes 
 reponeret simulque propulsaret hostem, castra metari iri loco 
 placuit^ ut opus et alii proelium inciperent. 
 
 64. Barbari perfringere stationes seque inferre munitoribiis nisi 
 lacessunt, circumgrediuntur^ occursant : miscetur operantiuia bel- 
 lantiumque clamor, et cuncta pariter Romanis adversa_, locus 
 uligine profunda^ idem ad gradum instabilis^ procedentibus lubri- 
 cus, corpora gravia loricis ; neque librare pila inter undas pote- 
 rant. contra Cheruscis sueta aput paludes proelia_, procera 
 membra^ hastae ingentes ad vulnera facienda quamvis procul. nox 
 demum inclinantis iam legiones adversae pugnae exemit. Germani 
 ob prospera indefessi, ne tum quidem sumpta quiete, quantum 
 aquarum circum surgentibus iugis oritur vertere in subiecta_, niersa- 
 que humo et obruto quod effectum operis duplicatus militi labor, 
 quadragesimum id stipendium Caecina parendi aut imperitandi 
 habebat, secundarum ambiguarumque rerum sciens eoque interritus. 
 igitur futura volvens non aliut repperit quam ut hostem silvis 
 coerceret, donee saucii quantumque gravioris agminis anteirent; 
 nam medio montium et paludum porrigebatur planities_, quae 
 tenuem aciem pateretur. deliguntur legiones quinta dextro lateri, 
 unetvicesima in laevum^ primani ducendum ad agmen^ vicen^ima- 
 nus adversum secuturos. 
 
 65. ISTox per diversa inquies^ cum barbari festis epulis^ laeto 
 cantu aut truci sonore subiecta vallium ac resultantis saltus com- 
 plerent_, aput Romanes invalidi ignes_, interruptae voces, atque ipsi 
 passim adiacerent vallo, oberrarent tentoriis, insomnes magis ([uam 
 pervigiles. ducemque terruit dira quies : nam Quintilium Y;irum 
 sanguine oblitum et paludibus emersum cernere et audire visus 
 est velut vocantem, non tamen obsecutus et manum intendentis 
 reppulisse. coepta luce missae in latera legiones, metu an con- 
 tumaciam locum deseruere, capto propere campo umentia ultra, 
 neque tamen Arminius quamquam libero incursu statim prorupit : 
 
 in loco'] On tlie spot where he was. 65. invalidi ignes] For the ellipse of 
 Cf. iv. 47, xiii. 41. the verb see a note on c. 2. The watch- 
 opus et alii'] Cf. Liv. iii. 37, " virgis fires burnt low and feebly, the men having 
 caedi, alii securi subici," and H. iii. 27. no heart to keep them burning briskly. 
 
 Q4i. volvens] Cf. iii. 38, " bellum adver- reppulisse] The construction, I 1 hink, 
 
 BUS nos volverat." H. i. 54, " mox eadem is, * non tamen visus est obsecutus f uisse, 
 
 acrius volvens." The full phrase occurs et reppulisse ' &c. ' Intendentis ' refers 
 
 H. i. 30, " comissationes et feminarum to Varus, who seemed to put forward his 
 
 coetus volvit animo." hand to draw Caecina towards himijelf. 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I, 56^ 
 
 sed ut liaesere caeno fossisque impedimenta, turbati circum milites, 
 incertus signorum ordo, utque tali in tempore sibi quisque properus 
 et lentae adversum imperia aures, inrumpere Germanos iubet, 
 clamitans ' en Yarns eodemque iterum fato vinctae legiones !^ 
 simul liaec et cum delectis scindit agmen equisqne maxime vulnera 
 ingerit. ilii sanguine suo et lubrico paludum lapsantes excussis rec- 
 toribus disicere obvios, proterere iacentes. plurimus circa aquilas 
 labor, quae neque ferri adversum ingruentia tela neque figi limosa 
 liumo poterant. Caecina dum sustentat aciem, suffosso equo 
 delapsus circumveniebatur, ni prima legio sese opposuisset. iuvit 
 liostium aviditas omissa caede praedam sectantium; enisaeque 
 legiones vesperascente die in aperta et solida. neque is miseria- 
 rum finis, struendum vallum, petendus agger, amissa magna ex 
 parte per quae egeritur bumus aut exciditur caespes ; non tentoria 
 manipulis, non fomenta sauciisj infectos caeno aut cruore oibos 
 dividentes funestas tenebras et tot bominum milibus unum iam 
 reliquum diem lamentabantur. 
 
 QQ. Forte equus abruptis vinculis vagus et clamore territus 
 quosdam occurrentium obturbavit. tanta inde consternatio in- 
 rupisse Germanos credentium, ut cuncti ruerent ad portas, quarum 
 decumana maxime petebatur, aversa bosti et fugientibus tutior. 
 Caecina comperto vanam esse formidinem, cum tamen neque 
 auctoritate neque precibus, ne manu quidem ob sister e aut retinere 
 militem quiret, proiectus in limine portae miseratione demum, quia 
 per corpus legati eundum erat, clausit viam : simul tribuni et 
 centuriones falsum pavorem esse docuerunt. 
 
 67. Tunc contract OS in principia iussosque dicta cum silentio 
 accipere temporis ac necessitatis monet. unam in armis salutem, 
 sed ea consilio temperanda manendumque intra vallum, donee 
 expugnandi bostes spe propius succederent ', mox undique erum- 
 pendum : ilia eruptione ad Ebenum perveniri. quod si fugerentj 
 pluris silvas, profundas magis paludes, saevitiam bostium superesse; 
 at victoribus decus gloriam. quae domi cara, quae in castris 
 bonesta, memorat; reticuit de adversis. equos debinc, orsus a 
 
 utque tali in tempore] The * ut ' is not scalas iussit." Also Caesar, B. G. ii. 20, 
 
 a repetition of the 'ut' with 'haesere,' "qui paulo longius aggeris petendi causa 
 
 but qualifies 'tali in tempore.' Cf. H. processorant." 
 
 iii. 71, "ut in multa pace." Agrio. 11, 67. pervenirf\ This is not of course to 
 
 " ut inter barbaros." be translated like a future, but strictly 
 
 petendus agger'] ' Agger ' is here used as a present, to give vivacity to the re. 
 
 for any material employed in raising a Tnark : ' by that sally they at once force 
 
 rampart. Cf. ii. 81, "peti aggerem, erigi their way to the Ehme.' 
 
56 . CORNELII TACITI [a.d.c. 768- 
 
 suis, legatorum tribunorumque nulla ambitione fortissimo cinque 
 bellatori tradit, ut hi, mox pedes in bostem invaderent. 
 
 68. Haut minus inquies Germanus spe_, cupidine et di^'^rsis 
 ducum sententiis agebat, Arminio sinerent egredi egresso ^que 
 rursum per umida et impedita circumvenirent suadente, atrociora 
 Inguiomero et laeta barbaris, ut vallum armis ambirent : promptam 
 expugnationem, plures captivos, incorruptam praedam fore, igitur 
 orta die proruunt fossas, iniciunt crates, summa valli prensant, raro 
 super milite et quasi ob metum defixo. postquam baesere nmni- 
 mentis, datur cobortibus signum cornuaque ac tubae concimiere. 
 exin clamore et impetu tergis Germanorum circumfunduntur, 
 exprobrantes non bie silyas nee paludes, sed acquis locis aequos 
 deos. bosti facile excidium et paucos ac semermos cogitanti sonus 
 tubarum, fulgor armorum, quanto inopina, tanto maiora offundun- 
 tur, cadebantque, ut rebus secundis avidi, ita adversis incauti. 
 Arminius integer, Inguiomerus post grave vulnus pugnam dese- 
 ruere : vulgus trucidatum est, donee ira et dies permansit. nocte 
 demum reversae legiones, quamvis plus vulnerum, eadem cibo- 
 rum egestas fatigaret, vim sanitatem copias, cuncta in victoria 
 habuere. 
 
 '' 69. Pervaserat interim cireumventi exercitus fama et infesto 
 Germanorum agmine Gallias peti, ac ni Agrippina inpositum 
 Rbeno pontem solvi probibuisset, erant qui id flagitium formidine 
 auderent. sed femina ingens animi munia ducis per eos dies induit, 
 militibusque, ut quis inops aut saucius, vestem et fomenta dilargita 
 est. tradit C. Plinius, Germanicorum bellorum scriptor, stetisse 
 
 nulla arhbitione] 'Ainbitio' means k valent to a simple indicative imperfect ; 
 
 hunting after popularity, a desire to gain and the construction is like i. 35, "de- 
 
 nndue influence ; and then, by an easy ferebat . . . ni dextram attinuisscmt." 
 
 transition, it stands for partiality. Cf. H. Where th6 bridge here mentioned was 
 
 i. 1, " sed ainbitionem scriptoris facile is not clear. Lipsius says ' apud Tre veri,' 
 
 adverseris." For the first meaning given because Agrippina on leaving her hus- 
 
 above cf. Agric. 40, " magnos viros per band took refuge amongst that people, 
 
 ambitionem aestimare," to appraise great and therefore the bridge must be tbere, 
 
 men by their own efforts to gain popu- which is not a convincing argument. In 
 
 larity. i. 49 Tacitus says " sequitur ardorem 
 
 68. proruunt fossas'] They fill up the militum Caesar iimctoque ponte tra- 
 trenches by breaking down the sides of mittit" &c. This was at 'Vetera,' and I 
 the ditch, equivalent to what is else- suppose it, in the absence of any ceitain 
 where termed ' aggere explere,' or more information, to be the bridge spoki^n of 
 usually ' complere.' here. 
 
 quomto inopina] See note on i. 57, G. Plinius] Pliny the elder wrote a 
 
 under ' promptus.' history of the various wars carried on 
 
 69. auderent] As 'erant qui' inva- by the Komans against the Germans, 
 riably, as far as I know, takes the sub- It was in twenty books : " bellorum Ger- 
 junctive, 'erant qui auderent' is equi- maniae viginti (libros scripsit) quibua 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 57 
 
 aput principium pontis^ laudis et gratis reversis legionibus haben- 
 tem. > id Tiberii animum altius penetravit : non enim simplices 
 eas curas, nee adversus externos studia militum quaeri. nihil 
 relictum imperatoribus, ubi femina manipulos intervisat, signa 
 adeat, largitionem temptet, tamquam parum ambitiose filium ducis 
 gregali babitu circumferat Caesaremque Caligulam appellari velit. 
 potiorem iam aput exercitus Agrippinam quam legates, quam 
 duces; conpressam a muliere seditionem_, cui nomen principis 
 obsistere non quiverit. accendebat baec onerabatque Seianus_, 
 peritia morum Tiberii odia in longum iaciens, quae reconderet 
 auctaque promeret. 
 
 70. At Germanicus legionum, quas navibus vexerat, secundam 
 et quartam decumam itinere terrestri P. Vitellio ducendas tradit, 
 quo levior classis vadoso mari innaret vel reciproco sideret. 
 Vitellius primum iter sicca humo aut modice adlabente aestu 
 quietum habuit : mox inpulsu aquilonis, simul sidere aequinoctii, 
 quo maxime tumescit Oceanus, rapi agique agmen. et opplebantur 
 terrae : eadem freto litori campis facies, neque discerni poterant 
 incerta ab solidis, brevia a profundis. sternuntur fluctibus, hau- 
 riuntur gurgitibus ; iumenta, sarcinae, corpora exanima interfluunt, 
 occursant. permiscentur inter se manipuli, modo pectore modo 
 ore tenus extantes, aliquando subtracto solo disiecti aut obruti. 
 non vox et mutui bortatus iuvabant adversante unda ; nihil strenuus 
 ab ignavo, sapiens ab inprudenti, consilia a casu difFerre : cuncta 
 pari violentia involvebantur. tandem Vitellius in editiora enisus 
 eodem agmen subduxit. pernoctavere sine utensilibus, sine igni, 
 magna pars nudo aut mulcato corpore, baud minus miserabiles 
 
 omnia quae cum Germanis gessim.us bella 70. reciproco] Orelli quotes Plin. v. 
 
 collegit. Inclioavit cum in Germania 4, *' sinus duarum Syrtium vadoso ac 
 
 militaret " (Pliny, Epp. iii. 5). reciproco mari diros," but here the sense 
 
 sinvpUces'] ' Meaningless,' ' objectless.' may be ' a sea with a swell sometimes 
 
 Tiberius thought this care for the soldiery one way, sometimes another,' for there 
 
 meant something ; it was not done merely are not tides in all parts of the Mediter- 
 
 out of kindness, but to further some end. ranean. However this may be, cf. Plin. 
 
 Cf. Germ. 22, " in conviviis consultant ii. 99, " (maris) paribus intervallis re- 
 
 tamquam nullo magis tempore aut ad ciproci." On the shallow water the ves- 
 
 simplices cogitationes pateat animus, aut sels would float more easily, or at the 
 
 ad magnas incalescat." Below, ' studia ' ebb tide take the ground less heavily, 
 
 is supplied from ii. 5, iii. 12, H. i; 23, 64. extantes] Cf. Catull. Ixiv. 15, " nutri- 
 
 odia in longum iaciens] ' Throwing in cum tenus extantes e gurgite cano." 
 
 the seed of hatred for a distant harvest.' subduxif] The usual compound for 
 
 Or perhaps laying a foundation of hatred leading up hill. Cf Sail. Jug. 103, " cunc- 
 
 for a distant moment to complete. Com- tos in collem subducit." So xv. 43, 
 
 pare the phrase 'iacere fundamenta.' "naves quae frumentum Tiberi subvec- 
 
 Tiberius is the subject of the following tassent," a river of course sloping up- 
 
 verbs, 'reconderet' and 'promeret.' wards, from its mouth to its source. . 
 
58 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 768. 
 
 quam quos hostis circumsidet : quippe illic etiam honestae ir.ortis 
 vLsnSj his inglorium exitium. lux reddidit terram, penetratum- 
 que ad amnem [YisurginJ quo Caesar classe contenderat. im- 
 positae dein legiones^ yagante fama submersas; nee fides s.dutis^ 
 antequam Caesarem exercitumque reducem videre. 
 
 71. lam Stertinius, ad accipiendum in deditionem Seginierum 
 fratrem Segestis praemissus, ipsum et filium eius in civitatem 
 Ubiorum perduxerat. data utrique venia_, facile Segimero^ cunc- 
 tantius filio^ quia Quinctilii Vari corpus inlussisse dicebatur. cete- 
 rum ad supplenda exercitus damna certavere Galliae Hispaniae 
 Italia_, quod cuique promptum^ arma equos aurum ofi'erentes. 
 quorum laudato studio Germanicus^ armis modo et equis ad bellum 
 sumptisj propria pecunia militem iuvit. utque cladis memoriam 
 etiam comitate leniret^ circumire saucios, facta singulorum extol- 
 lere; vulnera intuens alium spe^ alium gloria, cunctos adloqaio et 
 cura sibique et proelio firmabat. 
 ! 72. Decreta eo anno triumpbalia insignia A. Caecinae, L. Apro- 
 nio^ C. Silio ob res cum Germanico gestas. nomen patris patriae 
 Tiberius_, a populo saepius ingestum_, repudiavit ; neque in act a sua 
 iurari quam quam censente senatu permisit^ cuncta mortalium in- 
 certa^ quantoque plus ^deptus foret, tanto se magis in lubrico c^ 
 '^ dictitans. non tamen ideo faciebat fidem civilis animi; nam legem 
 
 etiam honestae] What does 'etiam' the actual triumph was their privilege, 
 
 mean here ? I think Tacitus says that the legati in command were allowed only 
 
 in that case ('ilMc') there is a chance of the empty insignia. They appeared in 
 
 death, not simply free from any disgrace, public — whether once or more I <io not 
 
 but actually ('etiam') honourable. It know — in a gold-embroidered dress 
 
 might be the former (i. e. not absolutely ('toga picta') and flowered tunic (' tunica 
 
 disgraceful), and yet not the latter (i.e. palmeata'), and a crown of laurel, 
 
 perfectly honourable), but it was both. in acta sua iurari'] This practice was 
 
 Visv/rgin] This is clearly a mistake, first begun by the triumvirs (' rei publicae 
 
 as Germanicus and Vitellius could not constituendae '). So Dio Cassiutj says 
 
 reach the Weser in their march from the (xlvii. 18), ai/Tol re d>fxo<rav Kal robs 
 
 Ems to the Ehine. The river is supposed &\Aov5 SipKwcrav ^efiaia vofxielv ttc^i'tc; to v-k 
 
 to be the Ilunse in Groningen. 'Yisurgin' iKeivov (C. Julius Caesar) yei/S/j.e.'a, Kal 
 
 was no doubt a gloss, and crept into the yvi/ iirl traai ro7s rh Kparos ael Xaxov<TLV 
 
 text. &c. Subsequently the oath was an- 
 
 71. adloquio] The word is especially nually renewed to the Emperor for the 
 used of any consolatory address. Cf. time being. Cf. Dio Cass. Ivii. 8, ou5' onep 
 Hor. Epod. xiii. 18, " deformis aegrimo- eVt re r(f Avyovcntf Sevpo ael iv rfj irpcaTr) 
 niae dulcibus adloquiis," on which pas- rod erovs vi^-^p^ ««^ f'^i toIs 6,\\cis ro7s 
 sage Orelli quotes Varro, L. L. vi. 57, i^-er' eKelvov &p^a(Tij/, ini re ro7s rh Kpdros 
 " adlocutum mulieres ire aiunt, cum eunt ael exovatu e| avdyKr]s yiyuerai, rd re 
 ad aliquem locutum consolandi causa." irpax^^vra vir' avruu koI ra TrpaxdrjaSaeya 
 Cf. H. iii. 36, "non adloquio exercitioque virh rSiv ael ^dvrcay opKois rial fie^aiovadai. 
 militem firmare." So Catullus (xxxviii.) ovSe rovro rd ye irpiara e(p' eavrif^' irepi- 
 uses ' adlocutio :' " qua solatus es adlocu- eTSe yevS/uLeyov. Kairoi eTri ra7s rod Au- 
 tione." yovarov -rpd^ecn rovs re &K\ovs ndyras 
 
 72. insignia] As under the Emperors S)pKov koI avrhs &fxyve. 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 60 
 
 maiestatis reduxerat, cui nomen aput veteres idem, sed alia in 
 itidicium venieBant, si quis proditione exercitum aut plebem 
 seditionibuSj denique male gesta re publica maiestatem populi 
 Romani minuisset : facta arguebantur, dicta inpune erant. primus 
 Augustus cognitionem de famosis libellis specie legis eius tractavit, 
 commotus Cassii Severi libidine, qua viros feminasque irdustres 
 procacibus scriptis diffamaverat; miox Tiberius, consultante Pom- 
 peio Macro praetore, an indicia maiestatis redderentur, exercendas 
 leges esse respondit. hunc quoque asperavere carmina incertis 
 auctoribus vulgata in saevitiam superbiamque eius et discordem 
 cum matre animum. 
 
 \\ 73. Hand pigebit referre in Falanio et Rubrio, modicis equiti- 
 bus Romanis, praetemptata crimina, ut quibus initiis, quanta Tiberii 
 
 maiestatis'] See Dr. Smith's Diet, of 
 Antiquities, and Dr. Meri vale's History of 
 the Romans under the Emperors, c. 44. 
 
 primus Atigustus'] In a passage of 
 Cicero (Ad Fam. iii. 11) Sulla is said, 
 according to one reading of the text, to 
 have applied his ' lex maiestatis ' to pre- 
 vent libellous words ; but the passage 
 (see Schiitz's note) is clearly corrupt, and 
 cannot therefore be quoted in contradic- 
 tion to Tacitus. These words do not 
 however imply that no provision had 
 been made before the time of Augustus 
 for the punishment of libellous words or 
 writings. It is clear that there had 
 been such provision made. By a law of 
 the Twelve Tables, severe punishment 
 was inflicted on all who composed ' famosi 
 libelli ' against any one. So Cicero 
 informs us (De Repub. iv. 10), "nostrae 
 contra duodecim Tabulae cum perpaucas 
 res capite sanxissent, in his hanc quoque 
 sanciendam putaverunt, si quis acti- 
 tavisset sive carmen condidisset, quod 
 infamiam faceret flagitiumve alteri pre- 
 caretur." And Aulus Gellius tells us a 
 story of % fine inflicted on a daughter of 
 the blind Appius Claudius for 'voces 
 petulantiores.' The author of the article 
 on ' libellus ' in Dr. Smith's Dictionary of 
 Greek and Roman Antiquities, supposes 
 the law spoken of above to have been 
 in abeyance during the latter part of 
 the republic ; but I think he misap- 
 prehends the meaning of the passage 
 above in Tacitus. I imagine it to imply 
 that until the time of Augustus the ' lex 
 maiestatis ' did not apply to libellous 
 words or writings : these were taken cog- 
 nizance of in other ways. They would 
 fall, probably, under the designation of 
 
 ' iniuriae,' and so redress be obtained 
 imder that head. For the fact men- 
 tioned by Tacitus cf. Hor. Epist. ii. 1. 148, 
 " saevus apertam In rabiem coepit verti 
 iocus, et per honestas Ire domes impune 
 minax. Doluere cruento Dente lacessiti : 
 fuit intactis quoque cura Conditione 
 super communi : quin etiam lex Poe- 
 naque lata, malo quae nollet carmine 
 quemquam Describi." Also Sueton. Au- 
 gust. 55, "censuit cognoscendum posthac 
 de iis qui libellos aut carmina ad in- 
 famiam cuiuspiam sub alieno nomine 
 edant." So Dio Cass. Ivi. 27, /xadwv '6ti 
 fii^Kia &.rra i(\>' v&pei rivwu avyypdcpoiTO 
 . . . 6/cerj/a KaT€(t>M^e Kal rwv avvdiVTwv 
 auTO. €K6\a<Te rivds. 
 
 Cassii Severi'] Cf. iv. 21, and Dialog, 
 de Orat. 26. 
 
 redderentur] Suetonius, detailing this 
 incident (Tib. 58), says, " consulente 
 Praetore an indicia maiestatis cogi iube- 
 ret," where ' cogi ' refers to the process 
 of impanelling a jury. The sense here 
 appears therefore to be, " whether trials 
 for ' maiestas ' should be held." 
 
 carmina] A specimen of these verses 
 is given by Suetonius (Tib. 59) : 
 
 "Asper et immitis, breviter vis omnia 
 dicam ? 
 Dispeream si te mater amare potest. 
 Aurea mutasti Satumi sa^cula, Cae- 
 sar : 
 Incolumi nam te ferrea semper 
 erunt. 
 Fastidit vinum, quia iam sitit iste 
 cruorem : 
 Tarn bibit himc avide quam bibit 
 ante merum." 
 
60 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 768. 
 
 arte gravissimum exitium inrepserit, dein repressum sit, poslremo 
 arserit cunctaque corripuerit, noscatur. Falanio obiciebat accusa- 
 tor, quod inter cultores Ailgusti, qui per omnes domos in modum 
 coUegiorum habebantur^ Oassium quendam mimiim corpoie in- 
 famem adscivisset, quodque venditis liortis statuam Augusti simul 
 mancipasset; Rubrib crimini dabatiir violatum periurio rninien 
 Augusti. quae ubi Tiberio notuerej scripsit consulibus non ideo 
 decretum patri suo caelum, ut in perrrtitiem cirium is hono]* ver- 
 teretur. Cassium histrionem solitum inter alios eiusdem artis 
 interesse ludis, quos mater sua in memoriam Augusti sacrasset ; 
 nee contra religiones fieri, quod effigies eius, ut alia numinum 
 simulacra, venditionibus hortorum et domuum accedant. ius 
 iuranduni perinde aestimandum quam si loyem fefellisset : deoriim >^ 
 iniurias dis curae. -y^ 
 
 X^ 74. Nee multo post Granium IVtarcelluni praetorem Bittyniae 
 quaestor ipsius Caepio Crispinus maiestatis postulavit, subscribente 
 Romano Hispone : qui formam vitae iniit, quam postea celebrem 
 
 73. dein repressum sif\ This seems were praetorian. Into the imperial pro- 
 tome to refer only to the reign of Tibe- vinces 'consulares' or 'praetorii' were 
 rius. Lipsius makes ' dein ' point to the sent at discretion ; into the senatorial, 
 times of Vespasian and Titus, and ' pos- * consulares ' into Africa and Asia, and 
 tremo ' to those of Domitian. But as the * praetorii ' into the others. But it does 
 Annals end with Nero; as Walther re- not follow that these last were ever called 
 marks, ' noscatur ' would be without praetors of the provinces : they were 
 meaning. No doubt Titus did repress not, as far as we know, but all indis- 
 the evil, but it does not follow that Taci- cririiinately termed proconsuls, ajid the 
 tus refers to this; Cf. iii. 56, " Tiberius imperial governors were called pioprae- 
 fama moderationis parta, quod ingruen- tors. Pliny the yoimger alwayj^ calls 
 tis accusatores repreSserat mittit litte- his predecessors proconsuls, not pro- 
 ras " &c. praetorsj or praetors (Epist. X. 109) . For 
 
 cultores Augusti] These had probably instances of the above distinction of title 
 
 nothing to do with the Sddales Augustales cf. i. 53, ii, 52, iii. 21, ii. 66, v. 73. 
 
 mentioned in c: 54; Each richer house Emesti endeavours to prove (not, I think, 
 
 apparently had a ' collegium,' consisting successfully) that ' praetor ' is uf ed by 
 
 of the members of the house and others, Tacitus generally for a provincial gover- 
 
 as this passage shows, to keep on foot nor. Either there is a slip on the part of 
 
 the worship of Augustus. Lipsius thinks the historian — I do not suppose Tacitus 
 
 the members forming the association wasinfalHble — orthecopyist; oj possibly 
 
 (' collegium ') met at different houses in there were changes in the arrangement 
 
 turn. It is impossible to say which view of the provinces beyond what "vs e are 
 
 is correct. aware of, and Bithynia may at this period 
 
 sacrasset] Cf. Dio Ivi. 46, v Aiovia have been an imperial province, and 
 
 ISlav Si} Tiva iravi\yvpiv avr^ iirl rpels Granius Marcellus have governed Bithy- 
 
 rj/xepas eV rtfJ IloAoT/y ivol'na-ev. nia with an exceptional title, and have 
 
 74. praetorem] There is some difl&culty been 'praetor' by especial arrangement, 
 here. In xvi. 18 there is a proconshl of instead of 'pro praetore.' 
 
 Bithynia mentioned. In the division of suhscrihente] It was usual for some 
 
 the provinces under Augustus, Bithynia friend or friends of the ' accusator ' who 
 
 was assigned to the Senate. Of these set on foot a prosecution, to sign the 
 
 senatorial provinces two were procon- indictment after the 'accusator,' by way 
 
 sular, Africa and Asia (within the Halys of countenance, 
 
 and Taurus) ; but Bithynia and the rest qui formam] The relative refers to 
 
m). 15.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 
 
 61 
 
 miseriae temporum et audaciae hominum fecerunt. nam egens, 
 ignotus^ inquies, dum occultis libellis saevitiae principis adrepit, 
 mox clarissimo cuique periculum facessit^ potentiam aput unum, 
 odium apud omnis adeptus dedit exemplum_, quod secuti ex 
 pauperibus divites_, ex contemptis metueiidi permitiem aliis ac 
 postremum sibi invenere. sed Marcellum insimulabat sinistros de 
 Tiberio sermones babuisse, inevitabile crimen^ cum ex moribus 
 principis foedissima quaeque deligeret accussator obiectaretque 
 reo. nam quia vera erant, etiam dicta credebantur. addidit Hispo 
 statuam Marcelli altius quam Caesarum sitam, et alia in statua 
 amputato capite Angus ti effigiem Tiberii inditam. ad quod exarsit 
 adeo, ut rupta taciturnitate proclamaret se quo que in ea causa 
 laturum sententiam pal am et iuratum_, quo ceteris eadem neces- 
 sitas fieret. manebant etiam turn vestigia morientis libertatis. 
 igitur On. Piso ^ quo ^ in quit ^ loco censebis_, Caesar ? si primus, 
 habebo quod sequar: si post omnis, vereor ne imprudens dis- 
 sentiam.^ permotus bis, quantoque incautius efFerverat, paenitentia 
 patiens tulit absolvi reum criminibus maiestatis : de pecuniis 
 repetundis ad reciperatores itum est. 
 
 75. Nee patrum cognitionibus satiatus iudiciis adsidebat in cornu 
 tribunalis, ne praetorem curuli depelleret; multaque eo coram 
 adversus ambitum et potentium preces constituta. set dum veritati 
 consulitur, libertas corrumpebatur. inter quae Pius Aurelius 
 
 Crispinus, not Hispo. Waltlier quotes 
 Cic. pro Arcliia 10, " Sulla cum Hispa- 
 nos et Gallos donaret, credo hunc pe- 
 tentem repudiasset, quern (SuUam) nos" 
 &c. 
 
 adrepit^ * Wound liimself into.' Cf. 
 iii. 50, " non virorum animis sed mulier- 
 cularum adrepit."- 
 
 seci] The particle here is resumptive : 
 * but to return.' Cf. xiii. 57, " sed bellum 
 Hermunduris prosperum;" iii. 62. Cic. 
 de Orat. iii. 12, " equidem quum audio 
 socrum meam Laeliam ;" then, after a 
 parenthesis, " sed eam sic audio " &c. 
 
 reciperatores^ Granius Marcellus was 
 tried for two offences : for ' maiestas ' 
 and ' repetundae.' On the first charge 
 he was acquitted by the senators be- 
 fore whom he was prosecuted : " acta 
 res in senatu " (Stiet. Tiber. 58). On 
 the other charge, that of * repetundae,' 
 he was tried in the usual way, by ' indi- 
 ces ' or ' reciperatores.' Cf. Pliny, 
 Epist. ii. 11, " Marius I*riscus accusanti- 
 bus Afris quibus Proconsid praefuit 
 
 omissa defensione indices petiit " (he 
 wished to be tried in the usual way for 
 'repetundae'). Afterwards, "excessisse 
 Priscuni immanitate et saeyitia crimina 
 quibus dari indices possent, cum ob 
 innocentes condemnandos interficiendos 
 etiam pecunias accepissent." His ofiences 
 were too heinous for ' indices ' to be 
 appointed to try, and Prisons was to be 
 reserved for trial by the Senate. Sue- 
 tonius says Marcellus was condemned, 
 but he probably confounds the two pro- 
 secutions. 
 
 75. curuW] For the absolute use of 
 ' curulis' for 'sella curulis,' cf. H. ii. 59, 
 "Valentem et Caecinam pro contione 
 laudatos curuli suae circumposuit." 
 
 veritati] While the presence of Tibe- 
 rius was some aid towards eliciting truth 
 in judicial processes, the freedom of the 
 judges was gradually curtailed ; for they 
 did not venture always to follow their 
 own views in the presence of the ' Pi-in- 
 ceps.' 
 
62 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 768. 
 
 senator questus mole publicae viae ductuque aquarum labe- actas 
 aedis suas^ auxilium patrum invocabat. resistentibus aerarii prae- 
 toribus subvenit Caesar pretiumque aedium Aurelio tribuir., ero- 
 gandae per honesta pecuniae cupiens_, quam virtutem diu retinuit, 
 cum ceteras exsueret. Propertio Celeri praetorio^ veniam oi'dinis 
 ob paupertatem petenti^ decies sestertium largitus est_, satis con- 
 perto paternas ei angustias esse, temptantis eadem alios probare 
 causam senatui iussit_, cupidine severitatis in iis etiam quae rite 
 faceret acerbus. unde ceteri silentium et paupertatem confessioni 
 et beneficio praeposuere. 
 
 76. Eodem anno continuis imbribus auctus Tiberis plana urbis 
 staofnaverat ; relabentem secuta est aedificiorum et bominum 
 strages. igitur consult Asinius Gallus ut libri Sibyllini adirentur. 
 renuit Tiberius, perinde divina bumanaque obtegens; sed ]-eme- 
 dium coercendi fluminis Ateio Capitoni et L. Arruntio manda- 
 tum. Acbaiam ac Macedoniam onera deprecantis levari in prae- 
 sens proconsulari imperio tradique Caesari placuit. edendis gla- 
 
 moZe publicae viae] ' By tlie massive Macedonia. It would seem to have been 
 
 character of the public road.' The mas- made into a province by C. Julius Caesar 
 
 sively constructed road, and the weight (cf. Cic. ad Famil. vi. 6), and with 
 
 of the aqueduct, made a downward pres- Macedonia made up the whole of (rreece. 
 
 sure heavy enough to affect the founda- Achaia was given by Tiberius tc' Pop- 
 
 tions of the house. paeus Sabinus, the legatus of Moesia (v. 
 
 aerarii praetorihus'] Cf. H. iv. 9. The 10). It was restored by Claudius to the 
 
 management of the ' aerarium ' had been Senate (Suet. Claud. 25, " proAincias 
 
 transferred by Augustus from the quaes- Achaiam et Macedoniam quas Tiberius 
 
 tors to praetors (Suet. August. 36). ad curam suam transtulerat senatui 
 
 Claudius restored it to the quaestors, but reddidit "). Nero abolished the province 
 
 Nero again re -transferred it. of Achaia, but Vespasian re-established 
 
 veniam ordinis'] 'Ordo' is especially it (Suet. Nero 24, Vesp. 8). Corinth 
 
 used for the senatorial body either in was the residence of the goveri or of 
 
 provincial towns (cf. xiii. 48, H. ii. 52) Achaia, and it may be noticed that when 
 
 or at Eome (xiii. 11 and 32. Cf. Liv. (Acts of the Apostles xviii. 12) Grallio 
 
 viii. 18). Celer was excused his sena- is spoken of as audvyraros or procoESul of 
 
 torial duties : he was allowed to relin- Achaia, the term is precisely cc rrect, 
 
 quish his position as senator on the because the date a.d. 53 is under Clau- 
 
 ground of want of means. dius, who restored the province io the 
 
 76. ohtegens'] 'Enveloping in obscu- Senate. Achaia was so called because of 
 
 rity,' throwing a veil over them, and "PcciJ.a7oi ix^ipcixrapro "EAArji/as 5i' 'AxatMi/ 
 
 refusino" to let them come out into broad r6Te Tov'EWrfviKov 'irpoe(rTT]K6TO)y(Favisan. 
 
 daylight. vii. 16). 
 
 Achaiam ac Macedoniam'] The Roman proconsulari imperio] There may have 
 
 province of Achaia was far more ex- been several reasons why the procoisular 
 
 tensive than Achaia proper. It embraced or senatorial provinces were more bur- 
 
 the whole of the Peloponnesus, and a densome to the people governed than the 
 
 great part of Northern Greece, with the imperial. The legati of the Caesar often 
 
 islands. Originally it had no provincial held their governments for several jears, 
 
 governor of its own apparently, for whereas the proconsuls were chsnged 
 
 Plutarch (Cim. 2) says that in the time yearly ; and so, having less time to make 
 
 of Lucullus the Romans had not begun their fortunes in, would make them the 
 
 to send praetors into Greece, and that more rapidly by extortion and rapine, 
 
 disputes were referred to the governor of Caesar, too, naturally chose men of some 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 63 
 
 diatoribus, quos Germanici fratris ac suo nomine obtulerat, 
 Drusus praesedit, quamquam vili sanguine nimis gaudens ; quod in 
 vulgus formidolosum et pater arguisse dicebatur. cur abstinuerit 
 spectaculo ipse, varie trahebant ; alii taedio coetus_, quidam tristitia 
 ingenii et metu conparationis, quia Augustus comiter interfuisset. 
 non crediderim ad ostentandam saevitiam movendasque populi off en - 
 siones concessam filio niateriem_, quamquam id quoque dictum est. 
 77. At theatri licentia, proximo priore anno coepta, gravius 
 tum erupit, occisis non modo e plebe set militibus et centurione, 
 vulnerato tribuno praetoriae cohortis, dum probra in magistratus 
 et dissensionem vulgi probibent. actum de ea seditione apud 
 patres dicebanturque sententiae, ut praetoribus ius virgarum in 
 histriones esset. intercessit Haterius Agrippa tribunus plebei 
 increpitusque est Asinii Galli oratione, silente Tiberio, qui ea 
 simulacra libertatis senatui praebebat. valuit tamen intercession 
 quia divus Augustus immunes verberum bistriones quondam re- 
 sponderat, neque fas Tiberio infringere dicta eius. de modo lucaris 
 et adversus lasciviam fautorum multa decernuntur ; ex quis maxime 
 insignia, ne domes pantomimorum senator introiret, ne egredien- 
 tes in publicum equites Romani cingerent aut alibi quam in tbeatro 
 spectarentur, et spectantium immodestiam exilio multandi potestas 
 praetoribus lieret. "* 
 
 cbaracter, as lie would sufifer in reputation could certainly have been little doubt here 
 
 more or less from their misconduct. He without ' priore,' but there was no harm 
 
 would also be more likely to call ra- in making doubly sure. 
 
 pacious governors to account than the p'l'aetoriae cohortis^ Cf. xiii. 24, " fine 
 
 Senate, who would have some sympathy anni static cohortis adsidere ludis solita 
 
 with the culprits. Probably the proconsul demovetur, quo maior species libertati 
 
 would have a larger staff around him, esset." 
 
 and this would extend the area of ex- ius virgarum] ' Histriones,' as one 
 
 tortion. may gather from Livy (vii. 2), were not 
 
 fratris'] The Drusus here mentioned contained in the tribes, nor allowed to 
 
 is the son of Tiberius ; and as the Empe- serve in the army. If so, they were not, 
 
 ror had adopted Germanicus, the son of I suppose, Roman citizens, but strangers, 
 
 Germanicus Drusus, the Drusus and Ger- or slaves, or freedmen (either ' Latini 
 
 manicus here mentioned were brothers. luniani' or 'dediticii,' for some freedmen 
 
 This Drusus is described by Dio as so were ' cives Romani ') . If so, the ' ius 
 
 bloodthirsty, that daggers of an especial virgarum ' was no infringement of a citi- 
 
 sharpness were called by his name (to zen's right. Suetonius (Aug. 45) says 
 
 o|uTOTo Tajj/ Ik^&jj/ Apovcriaua dx' avTov " coercitionem in histiiones magistratibus 
 
 KATj^^jj/at, Dio Ivii. 13). in omni tempore et loco lege vetere 
 
 trahebant] Cf. iii. 37, " utrumque in permissam ademit, praeterquam ludis et 
 
 laudem Drusi trahebatur." Also iv. 64, scaena." If a ' civis' became a ' histrio,' 
 
 xiii. 47. I suppose he forfeited his privileges, and 
 
 77. proximo priore] As * proximus ' the ' civera Romanum verberare nefas ' no 
 
 means ' next,' and leaves it uncertain longer protected him. 
 
 whether next before or after, a second et spectantium] For ' et ' after ' ne ' 
 
 adjective is sometimes added. Cf. Cic. de cf. iii. 51, " ne decreta patrum ante diem 
 
 Nat. Deorum ii. 20, "huic autem proxi- decimum ad aerarium deferrentur idque 
 
 mum inferiorem orbem tenet." There vitae spatium damnatis prorogaretur." 
 
64 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 768. 
 
 78. Templum ut in colonia Tarraconensi strueretur Aucusto 
 petentibus Hispanis permissum^ datumque in onines proviiicias 
 exemplum. centessimam rerum venalium post bella civilia institu- 
 tam deprecante populo edixit Tiberius militare aerarium eo sub- 
 sidio nitij simul imparem oneri rem publicam_, nisi vicesimo 
 militiae anno veterani dimitterentur. ita proximae seditionis male 
 consulta_, quibus sedecim stipendiorum finem expresserant^ al)olita 
 in posterum. 
 
 79. Actum deinde in senatu ab Arruntio et Ateio^ an ob niode- 
 randas Tiberis exundationes verterentur flumina et lacus^ per quos 
 augescit ; auditaeque municipiorum et coloniarum legationes_, oran- 
 tibus Florentinis^ ne Clanis solito alveo demotus in amnem Arnum 
 transferretur idque ipsis permitiem adferret. congruentia bis 
 Interamnates disseruere : pessum ituros fecundissimos Italiae cam- 
 pos, si amnis Nar (id enim parabatur) in rivos diductus siiper- 
 stagnavisset. nee Reatini silebant, Yelinum lacum, qua in Narem 
 effunditur, obstrui recusantes^ quippe in adiacentia erupturum; 
 optume rebus mortalium consuluisse naturam^ quae sua ora flami- 
 nibus, sues cursus utque originem, ita fines dederit ; spectandas 
 etiam religiones sociorum^ qui sacra et lucos et aras patriis amni- 
 
 As ' ne ' is equivalent to * ut non,' the south, and is so level that the waters 
 
 combination is very simple. would flow almost indifferently inro the 
 
 78. centessimarn] Cf. ii. 42, " regnum Tiber or the Amus. It formed a great 
 in provinciam redactum est, fructibusque lake near Clusium, now the Lago di 
 eius levari posse centesimae vectigal pro- Chiusi. Its waters are now carried off 
 fessus Caesar ducentesimam in poste- by artificial channels partly into the 
 rum statuit." From this it seems that Lake of Chiusi, partly towards the Amo, 
 Tiberius did eventually lessen the impost, which they join near Arezzo. It is 
 Dio Cassius (Iviii. 16) makes Tiberius thought, I believe, by some writers, that 
 renew the ' centesima,' and speaks of originally part of the waters of the -'^jmo, 
 Caligula abolishing it again ; but Sue- diverging from the main stream, flowed 
 tonius says Caligula (c. 16) remitted the through the Val di Chiana intc the 
 * ducentesima.' If both are correct, the Clanis. The difference of level thei efore 
 latter Emperor first altered the tax to must have been very small, and so the 
 one-half the former amount, and then operation contemplated here would not 
 abolished it altogether. be a very difiicult one. The AmuH has 
 
 vicesimo^ Emphatic, the twentieth, always been subject to violent inunda- 
 
 and not the sixteenth year, as the troops tions, flooding the low country through 
 
 had wanted. Of course the dismissal of which it flows, and if the volume cf the 
 
 veterans, and the enlistment of recruits river had been increased by the accession 
 
 to fill their places, involved some expense of the Clanis, the danger would of coui'se 
 
 in the way of pensions, &c. have been aggravated. Pliny (N. H. v. 9) 
 
 Jmem] ' A sixteen years' service dis- speaks of the Tiber as receiving forty -two 
 
 charge :' an end (of service) arising from, tributaries below its junction with the 
 
 connected with sixteen years of cam- Clanis. 
 
 paigning. Reatini] Cf. Cic. ad Attic, iv. 15, 
 
 79. Clanis'] This is one of the prin- " Ileatini me ad sua refiin] duxerunt, ut 
 cipal tributaries of the Tiber, into which agerem causam contra Interamnates apud 
 river it falls a few miles below Tuder. consulem et decern, legates quod lacus 
 It drains the Val di Chiana, which ex- Velinus a Manio Curio omissus interciso 
 tends for some thirty miles from north to monte in Narem defluit." 
 
A.D. 15.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. I. 65 
 
 bus dicaverint : quin ipsum Tiberim nolle prorsus accolis fluviis 
 orbatum minore gloria fluere. seu preces coloniarum seu difficul- 
 tas operum sive superstitio valuit^ ut in sententiam Pisonis con- 
 cederetur, qui nil mutandum censuerat. 
 
 80. Prorogatur Poppaeo Sabino provincia Moesia^ additis 
 Acliaia ac Macedonia, id quoque morum Tiberii fuit_, continuare 
 imperia ac plerosque ad finem vitae in isdem exercitibus aut 
 iurisdictionibus babere. causae varie traduntur : alii taedio novae 
 curae semel placita pro aeternis servavisse,, quidam invidia, ne 
 plures fruerentur ; sunt qui existiment, ut callidum eius ingenium, 
 ita anxium indicium ; neque enim eminentis virtutes sectabatur^ et 
 rursum vitia oderat : ex optimis periculum sibi^ a pessimis dedecus 
 publicum metuebat. qua haesitatione postremo eo provectus est, 
 ut mandaverit quibusdam provincias, quos egredi urbe non erat 
 passurus. 
 
 81. De comitiis consularibus^ quae turn primum illo principe ac 
 deinceps fuere, vix quicquam firmare ausim : adeo diversa non modo 
 aput auctores sed in ipsius orationibus reperiuntur. modo sub- 
 tractis candidatorum nominibus originem cuiusque et vitam et 
 stipendia descripsit, ut qui forent intellegeretur : aliquando ea 
 quoque significatione subtracta candidates bortatus, ne ambitu 
 comitia turbarent, suam ad id curam poUicitus est. plerumque 
 eos tantum aput se professes disseruit_, quorum nomina consulibus 
 edidissetj posse et alios profiteri_, si gratiae aut meritis confide- 
 rent: speciosa verbis, re inania aut subdola, quantoque maiore 
 libertatis imagine tegebantur, tanto eruptura ad infensius servitium. 
 
 80. causae varie] Suetonius (Tib. 41) peror in the Senate : more usually how- 
 puts it down to carelessness and dis- ever they were written communications, 
 regard for the pubKc weal ; Dio to the and read to the senators by a Quaestor, 
 difficulty of finding proper successors. Instances of these occur in iii. 53, 54, 
 Tiberius himself assigned this as the and xvi. 7. In the latter case a ' senatus 
 reason: " incusabat egregium quemque consultum' was pas sed in accordance with 
 et regendis exercitibus idoneum abnuere the suggestion contained in the ' oratio :' 
 id munus, seque ea necessitudine ad pre- in fact, no doubt, the suggestions of 
 ces agi" (vi. 27) ; but Tacitus adds, the the 'oratio,' even when most general. 
 Emperor forgets that Arruntius had been would virtually amount to a command, 
 detained from his province of Spain for professos'] ' Given in their names as 
 nine years past. Tiberius seems to have candidates.' Cf. Sail. Cat. 18, "consula- 
 been naturally a dawdler, unable to make tum petere, quod intra legitimes dies 
 up his mind. Cf. also Dio Iviii. 19, profiteri nequiverit." 
 
 Aajxlav irpSiraKai ttj (TTpaTia TrpocrTci^as ad infensius servitiuni] The slavery 
 
 Kartlxet/ iu rfj 'Piv/xp, tovto 5e Ka\ i(f>' was worse, because the appearance of 
 
 erepwj/ iroXKuv tiroUi. liberty blinded men's eyes, until they 
 
 81. tum primum] See the note on c. failed to see the power of their chains. 
 
 15, on the change made by Tiberius in They were less likely to make an effort 
 
 the elections. for their liberation than if the reality of 
 
 in ipsius orationihus] These were their enslavement were brought home to 
 
 sometimes delivered orally by the Em- them in its naked truth. 
 
COENELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER II. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. Disturbances in Paxthia. 2. Unpopularity of Vonones. 3. Deposition of 
 Vonones. 4. His retirement to Armenia. 5. Preparations by Grermaricus for 
 a decisive attack on the Germans. 6. A fleet built. 7. Attack on the Chatti. 
 8. Voyage tbrougb the Fossa Drusiana to the Amisia. 9. Conference t)etween 
 Arminius and Flavius. 10. Altercation between them. 11. The V'isurgis 
 reached. Operations of the Batavi. 12, 13. Germanicus ascertains i;he real 
 feelings of his troops. 14. Dream of Germanicus. Address to his soldiers. 
 15. Address of Arminius to his followers. 16, 17. Defeat of the Germans. 
 18. Erection of a trophy. 19. Rally of the defeated Germans. 20, 21 Defeat 
 of the barbarians. 22. Their surrender. 23, 24. Disastrous return of the Roman 
 troops. 25. Renewed attack on the Germans. 26. Recall of Gemanicus. 
 27 — 31. Impeachment of Libo Drusus. His death by his own hands. 32. Resolu- 
 tions in the Senate with reference to the affair of Libo. Banishmen; of the 
 astrologers. 33. Discussion in the Senate on the increase of luxury. 3-J'. Piso's 
 assertion of freedom. 35. Suspension of public business. Views of Fiso and 
 Gallus. 36. Gallus proposes a new scheme for the Comitia. 37, 38. Rejection 
 of the claim for relief preferred by Hortalus. 39. Plot of Clemens. 40. His 
 death. 41. Dedication of sundry new buildings. Triumph of Geinianicus. 
 42. Death of Archelaus at Rome. 43. Mission of Germanicus to the East, 
 44. and of Drusus to Illyricum. 45, 46. Struggle between Arminius and Maro- 
 boduus. Defeat of the latter. 47. Twelve cities of Asia destroyed by ar earth- 
 quake. 48. Liberality of Tiberius. 49. Dedication of sundry temples. t)0. Pro- 
 secution of Varilia. 51. Contest for the office of Pi-aetor. 52. Defeat of Tacfari- 
 nas in Africa by Camillus. 53, 54. Travels of Germanicus in Greece and Asia 
 Minor. 55. Insulting conduct of Piso towards Germanicus. 56. Settlement of 
 Armenian affairs by Germanicus. 57. Insolence of Piso. 58. Removal of Vonones 
 from Syria. 59. Visit of Germanicus to Egypt. 60. Visit to Canopus and 
 Thebes. 61. The statue of Menmon and the Pyramids and Syene. 62. Quarrels 
 
AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IL 
 
 67 
 
 amongst the Germans fomented by Drusus. 63. Surrender of Maroboduus to the 
 Komans, and of Catualda. 64, 65. Proceedings of Ehescuporis in Thrace. 66. On 
 being summoned to Rome, he puts Cotys to death. 67. He is condemned and 
 slain. 68. Attempted escape and death of Yonones. 69. Failing health of Ger- 
 manicus. 70. Anger of Germanicus against Piso. 71, 72. Last moments of 
 Germanicus. 73. His funeral. His fancied resemblance to Alexander the Great. 
 74. Appointment of Sentius to Syria. 75. Departure of Agrippina for Rome. 
 76, 77. Different plans suggested to Piso in consequence. 78. Measures adopted 
 by Piso. 79. Meets the ships of Agrippina. 80. Piso is driven into Celenderis 
 by Sentius. 81. Piso is offered a safe voyage to Rome. 82. Grief at Rome for 
 the death of Germanicus. 83. Honours granted in his memory. 84. Livia, 
 the wife of Drusus, bears twins. 85. Measures to repress female profligacy. 
 86. Appointment of a Yestal Virgin. 87. Price of corn fixed. Refusal by Tibe- 
 rius of new honours. 88. Death of Arminius. 
 
 1. Sisenna Statilio Tauro L. Libone consulibus mota orientis 
 regna provinciaeque Romanae^ initio apud Parthos orto^ qui petitum 
 Roma acceptumque regem, quamvis gentis Arsacidarum^ ut ex- 
 ternum aspernabantur. is fuit Yonones, obses Augusto datus a 
 Pkraate. nam Phraates quamquam depulisset exercitus ducesque 
 Romanes, cuncta venerantium officia ad Augustum verterat par- 
 temque prolis firmandae amicitiae miserat, baud perinde nostri 
 metu quam fidei popularium diffisus. 
 
 2. Post finem Pbraatis et sequentium regum ob internas caedes 
 venere in urbem legati a primoribus Parthis, qui Yononem vetus- 
 tissimum liberorum eius accirent, magnificum id sibi credidit 
 Caesar auxitque opibus. et accepere barbari laetantes, ut ferme 
 ad nova imperia. mox subiit pudor degeneravisse Partbos : pe- 
 
 1. Tauro'] Tacitus usually gives two 
 names only to any one he mentions 
 (unless he chances to be extremely Avell 
 known, or very little), and consequently 
 some of the e(itors erase ' Tauro.' But as 
 in xi. 33 three names occur, and I cannot 
 admit Ritter's solution (see his note), I 
 have followed the MS. 
 
 depulisset] Phraates (IY.),36a.c., had 
 defeated Oppius Statianus, the lieutenant 
 of M. Antonius, and compelled Antonius 
 himself to withdraw. Dio xlix. 25 j Plu- 
 tarch, Anton. 38. 
 
 officia] Dio Cassius (liv. 8) mentions 
 that Phraates returned to Augustus the 
 standards previously taken from the 
 Roman armies, and the captives. This 
 is also mentioned in the Mon. Ancyr. v. 
 40, "Parthos trium exercituum Romano- 
 rum spolia et signa reddere mihi coegi." 
 For ' partemque prolis ' &c., cf. Mon. 
 Ancyr. vi. " (Ad me rex) Parthorum 
 Phratis Orodis filius filios sues nepo(tes- 
 
 que omnis misit) in Italiam non bello 
 superatus, sed amicitiam nostram per 
 (liberorum) suorum pignora petens." 
 For the expression * ofi&cia venerantium * 
 cf. Agric. 4, " ab inlecebris peccantium." 
 Also Dialog, do Orat. 6, " vulgata dicen- 
 tium gaudia." There are other instances 
 in c. 13, 20, 28, 41 of the same dialogue. 
 
 firmandae amicitiae] For the genitive 
 cf. ii. 59, iii. 9, iii. 41. It is of common 
 occurrence in Tacitus, and seems to be 
 an extension of the genitive of quality, 
 or an instance of the employment of the 
 genitive to express generally * connexion 
 with.* The Parthian king had sent a 
 portion of his family to Rome, in con- 
 nexion with his policy of consolidating 
 friendship between himself and the 
 ' Princeps.' 
 
 2. sequentium regum] These were 
 Phraataces and Orodes II. (Joseph. Antiq. 
 xviii. 2. 4). Below, the Caesar is of 
 course Augustus. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 . COENELH TACITI [a.u.c- 769. 
 
 tifcmn alio ex orbe regem, hostium artibus infectum; iam inter 
 provincias Romanas solium Arsacidarum haberi darique. ub' illam 
 ^loriam trucidantium Crassum, exturbantium Antonium, si man- 
 cipinm Caesaris^ tot per annos servitutem perpessura, I'artbis 
 imperitet ? accendebat dedignantes et ipse diversus a mjuiorum 
 institutis, raro venatu^ segni equorum cura; quotiens per urbes 
 incederet, lecticae gestamine fastuque erga patrias epulas. inri- 
 debantur et Graeci comites ac vilissima utensilium anulo clausa. 
 Bed prompti aditus, obvia comitas^ ignotae Partbis virtutes, nova 
 yitia; et quia ipsorum moribus aliena, perinde odium pravis et 
 hones tis. 
 
 3. Igitur Artabanus Arsacidarum e sanguine aput Dabas adult us 
 excitur, primoque congressu fusus reparat vires regnoque potitur. 
 victo Yononi perfugium Armenia fuit^ vacua tunc interque Partbo- 
 rum et Romanas opes infida ob scelus Antonii, qui Artavasdeu 
 regem Armeniorum specie amicitiae inlectum, dein catenis onera- 
 tum^ postremo interfecerat. eius filius Artaxias^ memoria patris 
 nobis infensus^ Arsacidarum vi seque regnumque tutatus est. 
 occiso Artaxia per dolum propinquorum, datus a Caesare Armeniis 
 Tigranes deductusque in regnum a Tiberio Nerone. nee Tigrani 
 diuturnum imperium fuit neque liberis eius^ quamquam scciatis 
 inore externo in matrimonium regnumque. 
 
 uhi illam gloriam] See note on c. 17 vade Media, and then deserted hira 
 
 for the accusative case after a relative, and returned to Armenia. In revenge, 
 
 anulo clausa'] The Parthian followed Antonius invaded Armenia 34 a.:., and 
 
 the usual Roman custom of sealing inveigling Artavasdes into his camp, 
 
 every thing to prevent the slaves pur- seized him. He remained in ca])tivity 
 
 loining it. Cic. ad Fam. xvi. 26, "sicut until 30 A.c, when he was put to death 
 
 dim matrem nostram facere memini, quae by Cleopatra. Cf. Veil. ii. 82, *' Anto- 
 
 lagenas etiam inanes cpsignabat ne di- nius reversus in Amieniam eius Arta- 
 
 cerentur inanes aliquae fuisse quae vasden fraude deceptum catenis, 3ed ne 
 
 furtim essent exsiccatae." Persius vi. quid honori deesset aureis vinxit;" and 
 
 17, "et signiun in vapida naso teti- Dio li. 5, rhv 'Apueviop (nroKTcivaca rrju 
 
 gisse lagena." Cf. also Hor. Epist. ii. 2. /ce^aA^j/ avrov r^ M-f^hai ws Kal i'ttikov- 
 
 134, Juv. xiv. 132. All this seemed to pi]<rovri (r<pi<n tia rovro ^irefi\pev. 
 
 magnificent orientals a paltry economy. seque regnumque'] This is a somewhat 
 
 morihus] The MS. has ' maioribus,' unusual instance of ' qiie . . . que ' in 
 
 suggested probably by *a maiorum insti- prose. Cf. Sail. Jug. 21, "ita seque illisque 
 
 tutis ' a few lines back. There would dignum fore," and Catil. 9, " sequf; rem- 
 
 be no force in 'ipsorum' if 'maioribus' publicamque curabant." The commonest 
 
 were the reading, for there would be no use of it is in enumerations with the 
 
 meaning in any distinction between the pronoun 'qui.' Cf. Liv. xxiv. 19, "captivi 
 
 ancestors of Vonones and those of the quique Campanorum, qui que Hannibalis 
 
 other Parthians, but great meaning in a militum erant Romam missi." For 
 
 contrast between his personal habits and * nobis infensus ' cf. Dio li. 16, t^ 'ApToi^Ti 
 
 theirs. rovs aSeA^ovs Kaiirep air-fjirayTi ovk eirefi- 
 
 3. oh scelus Antonii] When M. Antonius y^ev '6ti tovs viroA^iipdeyras 'Punalov.: ivr^ 
 
 was carrying on war against the Par- 'Apfievla aireKrSvei. 
 
 thians, Artavasdes induced him to in- sociatis] This is in accordance with 
 
!b. IG.] AB EXCESSU DWl AUGUSTI LIB. II. 
 
 69 
 
 4. Dein iussu August! inpositus Artavasdes et non sine clade 
 nostra delectus, turn Gains Caesar componendae Armeniae deli- 
 gitur. is Ariobarzanen, origine Medum, ob insignem corporis 
 formam et praeclarum animum volentibus Armeniis praefecit. 
 Ariobarzane morte fortuita absumpto stirpem eius liaud toleravere ; 
 temptatoque feminae imperio^ cni nomen Erato^ eaque brevi pulsa, 
 incerti solutique et magis sine domino quam in libertate profugum 
 Vononen in regnum accipiunt. sed ubi minitari Artabanus et 
 parum subsidii in Armeniis, vel_, si nostra vi defenderetur, bellum 
 adversus Partlios sumendum erat, rector Syriae Creticus Silanus 
 excitum custodia circumdat, manente luxu et regio nomine, quod 
 ludibrium ut effugere agitaverit Yonones, in loco reddemus. 
 
 5. Ceterum Tiberio haud ingratum accidit turbari res orientis, 
 ut ea specie Germanicum suetis legionibus abstraheret novisque 
 provinciis impositum dolo simul et casibus obiectaret. at ille, 
 quanto acriora in eum studia militum et aversa patrui voluntas, 
 celerandae victoriae intentior, tractare proeliorum vias et quae sibi 
 
 oriental fasliioii. Tlxe cMldren, daughters 
 and sons, married each other, probably 
 to restrict the claims upon the crown : 
 Cleopatra, for instance, married her 
 brother Ptolemy. 
 
 4, Gaius Caesar] For the whole pas- 
 sage here, cf. Mar. Ancyr. v. " (Arme)- 
 niam (ma)iorem interfecto rege eius 
 Artax(ia cu)m posse (m provinciam fa- 
 cere) ma(lui maiorum) nostrorum exem- 
 plo reg(nu)m id (ad Tigranem Artavasdis 
 filium nepo)tem Tigranis regis per (Ti. 
 Ne) ro (nem qui tu) m e (rat privignus mens 
 transferre. Ea)n(de)m gentem postea 
 i(nsur)gentem et rebellantem d(oniitam) 
 per Gaium filium meum regi Ari(obar- 
 z)a(ni regis Medorum Artavasdis filio re- 
 gen) dam tradidi et post e(ius) m(ort)em 
 filio eius Artavasdi quo (interfecto Tigra) - 
 ne(m), qui erat ex regio genere Arme- 
 niorum. oriundas, in id reg(num misi)." 
 Cf. i. 3, " Gaium remoantem Armenia et 
 vulnere invalidum mors fato propera 
 » . . . abstulit." This Gaius Ciiesarwas 
 the son of Agrippa and Julia. 
 
 Erato'] After the death of Tigranes, the 
 younger son of the Tigranes previously 
 mentioned, his sister and widow Erato 
 abdicated the crown, and Guins Caesar 
 appointed Ariobarzanes: his son and suc- 
 cessor Artavasdes was unable to retain his 
 throne, and Erato regained her power, 
 but only for a short time. There is a 
 bronze medal extant "vvith portraits of 
 Tigranes and Erato, and the inscription. 
 
 BA5IAET2 MEFAS NE02 TIFPANHS, and 
 EPATn BA5IAEn2 TIFPANOY AAEA*H, 
 which explains why Tacitus says ' liberia 
 eius' in ch. 3. Cf. Visconti, Icono- 
 graphie Grecque iii. p, 305, a reference 
 I take from Orelli. 
 
 uhi minitari] For the liistoric infini- 
 tive after 'ubi,' 'postquam,' *ut,' followed 
 by a finite verb, cf. iii. 26, "at postquam 
 exui aequalitas, et pro modestia ac pudore 
 ambitio et vis incedebat ;" xii. 51, H. iiii >/* 
 10 and 31. Sometimes the finite verb ''^ 
 occurs in the first clause, and the histo- 
 rical infinitive in the second, introduced 
 by ' cum,' ' donee,' &c. : iv. 50, " et in- 
 gruebat nox nimbo atrox, cum Sabinus 
 circumire;" vi. 44, xiii. 57, H. iii. 31. 
 
 Creticus Silanus] He belonged to the 
 lunii Silani, but passed by adoption into 
 the family of the Caecilii Metelli. He 
 is therefore spoken of as Q. Caeciliua 
 Metellus Creticus M. f. Silanus (Inscrip. 
 Lat. n. 6021). He was consul a.d. 7, 
 and legatus pro praetore of Syria a.d. 
 11. He sent for Yonones ('excitum'), 
 and kept him from causing the Romans 
 trouble with the Parthians. 
 
 5. tractare] ' To review the various 
 methods of fighting battles,' 'the different 
 circumstances under which battles could 
 be fought.' G«rmanicu?., from the past 
 events of the war, endeavoured to ascer- 
 tain what line of warfare was likely 
 to prove most advantageous to the 
 Romans. 
 
70 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 tertium iam annum belligeranti saeva vel prospera evenissent. 
 fundi Germanos acie et iustis locis, iuvari silvis, paludibus, brevi 
 aestate et praematura hieme; suum militem baud perinde vulaeri- 
 bus quam spatiis itinerum, damno armorum adfici; fessas Giillias 
 ininistrandis equis; longum impedimentorum agmen oportimum 
 ad insidias, defensantibus iniquum. at si mare intretur^ promp- 
 tam ipsis possessionem et bostibus ignotam, simul bellum ma- 
 turius incipi legionesque et commeatus pariter vebi; integrum 
 equitem equosque per ora et alveos fluminum media in Germania 
 fore. 
 
 6. Igitur hue intendit, missis ad census Galliarum P. Yiuellio 
 et C. Antio. SiHus et Anteius et Caecina fabricandae classi ])rae- 
 ponuntur. mille naves sufficere visae properataeque, aliae brevis, 
 angusta puppi proraque et lato utero^ quo facilius fluctus tolera- 
 rent; quaedam planae carinis, ut sine noxa siderent; plures 
 adpositis utrimque gubernaculis^ converso ut repente rendgio 
 hinc vel illinc adpellerent; multae pontibus stratae, super 
 quas tormenta veberentur^ simul aptae ferendis equis aut com- 
 meatui; velis babiles^ citae remis augebantur alacritate militum 
 in speciem ac terrorem. insula Batavorum in quam convenirent 
 praedicta_, ob faciles adpulsus accipiendisque copiis et transmitten- 
 dum ad bellum oportuna. nam Rhenus uno alveo continuus aut 
 modicas insulas circumveniens aput principium agri Batavi velut 
 in duos amnes dividitur^ servatque nomen et violentiam cursus, 
 qua Germaniam praevebitur^ donee Oceano misceatur: ad (xal- 
 
 tertium iam annurri] Germanicus was 6. adpellerent'] Cf. Hor. Sat. i. 5, 'hue 
 
 appointed to the command on the Rhine appelle." Suet. Titus 5, " Puteolos oi era- 
 
 A.D. 13^ the year after his consulship: ria nave appulisset." The word means 
 
 the war broke out the following year, * to bring a ship to land.' 
 
 A.D. 14; and from this to the year A. D. 16 augehantur] '"Were made still laore 
 
 are three years, on the Roman inclusive showy and alarming.' Cf. Agric. 35, 
 
 system of calculation. " Britannorum acies in speciem simiil ac 
 
 iv^tis locis] ' Justus amnis ' is a river terrorem editioribus locis constiterat." 
 
 neither unnaturally swollen nor dried up : Germ. 38, " in altitudinem quandari et 
 
 * iustus exercitus,' a duly equipped army, terrorem adituri belli compti." 
 
 opposed to a force hastily raised and ill- insula Batavorwrn] This island lies 
 
 armed. Here ' iustus locus ' means a place between the main branch of the Rhine 
 
 fitted for a regular engagement, a fair where it divides at Burginatium, the 
 
 Btand-up fight, — an orthodox battle-field. Yahalis (Waal), and the Mosa (Maas), 
 
 oportunum] So the MS. for 'oppor- after the Vahalis flows into it. It is 
 
 tunum.' Servius observes on Virg. boundedontheleft bythe sea (H. iv. 12). 
 
 Aen. i. 616, that 'applicat' is sounded It was about 100 miles long (Pliny, N. H. 
 
 as though there were one *p' only. In iv. 29), and the greatest breadth about 
 
 Lucretius the MSS. have 'oportunus* 25. Traces of the name still remain 
 
 as a reading wherever the word occurs, in Betuwe, the district between the 
 
 See Munro's Lucret. iii. 545. Rhine, Waal, and Lek. 
 
 intretwr] For the tense see note i. 19, praevehitur'] See note on xiv. 23. 
 
 on * vim meditentur.' misceatur] The mood has been ex- 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIjB. JA . r 7lV^ 
 
 licam ripam Jatior et placidior adfluens — verso cognomento , ■: 
 Yahalem accolae dicunt, — mox id quoque vocabulum mutai.Mosa'^Ay 
 flumine eiusque inmenso ore eundem in Oceanum effunditur. '' *rr a * 
 
 7. Sed Caesar^ dum adiguntur naves, Silium legatum cum ex- **' ^ 
 pedita manu inruptionem in Chattos facere iubet : ipse audito 
 castellmn Lupiae flumini adpositum obsideri_, sex legiones eo duxit. 
 neque Silio ob subitos imbres aliut actum quam ut mcdicam 
 praedam et Arpi principis Chattorum coniugem filiamque raperet, 
 neque Caesari copiam pugnae opsessores fecere, ad famam adven- 
 
 tus eius dilapsi : tumulum. tamen nuper Yarianis legionibus struc- 
 tum et veterem aram Druso sitam disiecerant. restituit aram 
 bonorique patris princeps ipse cum legionibus decucurrit; tumu- 
 lum iterare baud visum, et cuncta inter castellum Alisonem ac 
 Rhenum novis limitibus aggeribusque permunita. 
 
 8. lamque classis advenerat, cum praemisso commeatu et dis- 
 tributis in legiones ac socios navibus fossam, cui Drusianae nomen, 
 ingressus precatusque Drusum patrem ut se eadem ausum libens 
 placatusque exemplo ac memoria consiliorum atque operum iuvaret, 
 lacus inde et Oceanum usque ad Amisiam flumen secunda navi- 
 gatione pervebitur. classis Amisiae relicta laevo amne, erratum- 
 plained in a previous note (see i. 13, retaken by the Germans after the disaster 
 under 'oraret'). of Varus (Veil. ii. 120). It is supposed 
 
 adfluens] For the adjectival forms to be Elsen near Paderbom, at the con- 
 
 'latior' and 'placidior,' cf. Virg. Georg. fluence of the Alme and Lippe. 
 iv. 373, " in mare purpureum violentior limitibus aggeribusque] What is the 
 
 effluit amnis." exact diflference between the two? Taci- 
 
 7. Lupiae] Cf. Dio liv. 33, Ssffre rhu tus speaks (Germ. 29) of a 'limes' ex- 
 
 Apovcov aPTiKara<l>poi'i)(rai'TaaifT(Ji}i/, iKelre tending from the E/hine near Cologne 
 
 ^ 8 T6 Aovirias Koi 6 *E\i(roov (rvfifxlypvpTai to the Mons Taunus, traces of which, I 
 
 ^povpi6u T» aipiciv iiriTcix'KTai Koi erepov believe, still exist. In H. ii. 24, 42, 
 
 iv Xdrrois Trap' avT^ rtf "Piivcf. See the 'agger viae' is a high causeway, like a 
 
 note at the end of the chapter on 'Aliso.' railway embankment. In H. iv. 21 
 
 tumulum] Cf. i. 62. * limes ' is used for a road at right angles 
 
 Druso] * In honour of Drusus.* Cf. iv. to the highway, leading across the fields. 
 
 55j " aede Aug-usto ibi sita." Of course In H. iii. 25 'limitem viae' occurs in the 
 
 the phrase could just as well mean same meaning as 'agger viae' in the pre - 
 
 'founded by Drusus' as far as the words ceding chapter. The words therefore 
 
 are concerned, for in vi. 41 there is mean very much the same thing. Per- 
 
 " Macedouibus sitae," where the dative haps 'limes' conveys the notion of a 
 
 is clearly put for the ablative with a rampart stretching for a great distance 
 
 preposition. Cf. also ii. 50, 57, vi. 41, as a boundary-line : ' agger ' is merely a 
 
 xiv. 44. mound thrown up over and above the 
 
 decucurrit] Cf. Suet. Claud. 1, "cete- regular 'limes' at points requirin^g extra 
 
 rum exercitus honorarium ei tumulum works, 
 excitavit : circa quem deinceps state die 8. Drusianae] Cf. i. 60. 
 quotannis miles decurreret." Virg. Aen. Amisiae] Either the passage is unin- 
 
 xi. 188, " Ter circum accensos cincti ful- telligible, or Amisia must be the name, 
 
 gentibus armis Decurrere rogos." Aliso not of the river, but of a place on the left 
 
 was built by Drusus, B.C. 11, at the con- bank of the river. Ptolemaeus, ii. 11. 28, 
 
 fluence of the Eliso and Luppia (Dio liv. epeaks of a village 'A^uao-eza. The mean- 
 
 33, although he calls it 'EKiawp) . It was ing of the passage seems tolerably clear. 
 
72 ; COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 que in eo quod non subvexit. transposuit rDilitem dexti'is in 
 terras iturum; ita plures dies efl&ciendis pontibus absumpt; . et 
 eques quidem ac legiones prima aestuaria^ nondum adcret^oente 
 unda^ intrepidi transiere : postremum auxiliorum agmen Bats^Tique 
 in parte ea^ dum insultant aquis artemque nandi ostentant^ turbati 
 et quidam bausti sunt, metanti castra Caesari Angrivarlorum 
 defectio a tergo nuntiatur : missus ilico Stertinius cum equ ite et 
 armatura levi igne et caedibus perfidiam ultus est. 
 
 9. Mumen Yisurgis Romanes Cberuscosque interfluebat. eius 
 in ripa cum ceteris primoribus Arminius adstitit, quaesitoque an 
 Caesar venisset^ postquam adesse responsum est^ ut liceret cum 
 fratre conloqui oravit. erat is in exercitu cognomento Flavus, 
 insignis fide et amisso per yulnus oculo paucis ante annis duce 
 Tiberio. tum permissu * * progressusque salutatur ab Arminio; qui 
 amotis stipatoribus^ ut sagittarii nostra pro ripa dispositi abscede- 
 rent postulate et postquam digressi^ unde ea deformitas oris inter- 
 rogat fratrem. illo locum et proelium referentCj quodnam ]3rae- 
 mium recepisset exquirit. Flavus aucta stipendia^ torquein et 
 eoronam aliaque militaria dona memorat, inridente Arminio vilia 
 servitii pretia. 
 
 10. Exin diversi ordiuntur^ bic magnitudinem Romanam_, opes 
 Caesaris et victis graves poenas_, in deditionem venienti paratam 
 clementiam ; neque coniugem et filium eius bostiliter baberi : ille 
 fas patriae^ libertatem avitam^ penetralis Germaniae deos^ mairem 
 
 ' Laevo amne ' must be taken, in the liorum agmine.' 
 
 usual way, for the left bank of the river, Angrivariorum]T!here is some di&Gnlty 
 i. e. the western. Germanicus landed about this. The Angrivarii were s( ttled 
 his soldiers on the left bank of the river, mainly between the Weser and the Elbe, 
 This was a strategical error: he ought betweenthe greater Chauci and the Suebi. 
 to have carried his troops some distance But it is clear from c. 9 that Germanicus 
 up the river ('subvexit'), and landed had not yet crossed the Weser. Possibly 
 them on the right bank. In order some of the Angrivarii lay farther west 
 to convey across the river, as he did than the main body of the tribe, ard so 
 ('transposiiit'), the troops destined to they might be in the rear of the Romans, 
 operate on the right bank, he required who were now close to the Weser. 
 bridges : if he had taken his ships to the 10. diversi] The two men began in 
 right bank, he might have spared him- different strains. Cf. ii. 73, "diversi in- 
 self the trouble and risk, terpretabantur." The word is projjerly 
 
 pontihus'] The plural does not seem to used of place. Cf. xvi. 30, " steteruntque 
 
 imply necessariVy the existence of more diversi." 
 
 bridges than one, for Cic. ad Fam. x. 23 filium eius] The son of Arminius, with. 
 uses 'pontes,' and in X. 18 'pontem' of the his mother, was detained at Ravcnma 
 same bridge. But here there may really (i. 58) . Just below, translate ' fas pa- 
 have been several bridges, either parallel triae ' ' the sacred claims of fatherland.' 
 or extending over the whole space in penetralis Oermaniae deos] Cf. Ci(^ de 
 discontinuous portions. Nat. Deor. ii. 27, "Dii Penates, etiam 
 
 in parte ea] Sc. *in postremo auxi- penetrales a poetis vocantur." Tliese 
 
) 
 
 A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 73 
 
 precum sociam ; ne propinquorum et adfinium, denique gentis suae 
 desertor et proditor quam imperator esse mallet, paulatim inde 
 ad iurgia prolapsi quo minus pugnam consererent ne flumine quidem 
 interiecto coliibebantur, ni Stertinius adcurrens plenum irae arma- 
 que et equum poscentem Flayum adtinuisset. cernebatur contra 
 minitabundus Arminius proeliumque denuntians; nam pleraque 
 Latino sermone interiaciebat^ ut qui Romanis in castris ductor 
 popularium meruisset. V- 
 
 1 1 . Postero die Germanorum acies trans Yisurgim stetit. Caesar 
 nisi pontibus praesidiisque inpositis dare in discrimen legiones 
 hand imperatorium ratus^ equitem vado tramittit. praefuere Ster- 
 tinius et e numero primipilarium Aemilius^ distantibus locis invecti, 
 ut bostem diducerent. qua celerrimus amnis^ Cbariovalda dux 
 Batavorum erupit. eum Cherusci fugam simulantes in planitiem 
 saltibus circumiectam traxere : dein coorti et undique ejffusi trudunt 
 adversos, instant cedentibus collectosque in orbem pars congressi, 
 quidam eminus proturbant. Chariovalda diu sustentata bostium 
 saevitia^ bortatus sues ut ingruentes catervas globo perfringe- 
 rent, atque ipse densissimos inrumpens, congestis telis et suf- 
 fosso equo labitur, ac multi nobilium circa : ceteros vis sua 
 aut equites cum Stertinio Aemilioque subvenientes periculo 
 exemere. 
 
 12. Caesar transgressus Yisurgim indicio perfugae cognoscit 
 delectum ab Arminio locum pugnae ; convenisse et alias nationes 
 in silvam Herculi sacram ausurosque nocturnam castrorum op- 
 pugnationem. babita indici fides et cernebantur ignes^ suggressi- 
 
 gods, -worsliipped in the secret groves, the gods of Eome on either of two prin- 
 
 were to the whole nation what the ' Di ciples — similarity of name, or similarity 
 
 Penates ' were to each separate family. of offices and attributes. If Tacitus 
 
 meruisset] ' Merere ' is used absolutely had given us the Teutonic or Keltic 
 
 for * to serve in war.' Cic. pro Muren. 5, equivalents to the Roman names, he 
 
 "qui si adulescens patre suo imperatore would have saved us considerable trouble, 
 
 non meruisset." Also Liv. xxi. 4, The Scandinavian deity always repre- 
 
 11. pWmipiZan wm] 'Primipilaris' stands sented with a club, distinguished for 
 
 to 'primipilus' in the same relation strength, the enemy of the giants, and 
 
 as 'consularis' to 'consul.' So iv. 72. the destroyer of every thing noxious, was 
 
 In xiii. 36 this word is replaced by Thor: he may perhaps have been the 
 
 ' primipilo honore perfunctus.' Those equivalent of Hercules. On the other 
 
 who had been ' primipili ' ranked as hand, the equivalence may be one of 
 
 ' equites ' (Mart. vi. 58. 10, " et referes name, and Hercules a Latinized render- 
 
 pili praemia clarus eques"). ing of a name compounded of *Heer,' 
 
 perfringerenf] So Bezzenberger for war, and 'Keule,' a club. In Germ. 9 
 
 'fringerent,' the reading of the MS. Cf. Tacitus gives the names of the gods 
 
 i. 64, "perfringere stationes." Cf. also mainly worshipped by the Germans, and 
 
 H. ii. 21, " perfringendis obruendisque in some of the cases the equivalence 
 
 hostibus." seems clearly one of attributes. Perhaps 
 
 12. Herculi sacram] Tacitus might therefore it is more likely to be so in this 
 
 have identified the Teutonic deities with case. 
 
74 COKNELn TACITI [a.u.c. ^69. 
 
 que propius speculatores audiri fremitum equomm inmensique et 
 inconditi agminis murmur attulere. igitur propinquo sunimae 
 rei discrimine explorandos militum animos ratus, quonam id nodo 
 incorruptum foret_, secum agitabat. tribunes et centuriones lieta 
 saepius quam comperta nuntiare^ libertorum servilia ingenia, 
 amicis inesse adulationem; si contio vocetur^ illic quoque oiuae 
 pauci incipiant reliquos adstrepere. penitus noscendas meiites, 
 cum secreti et incustoditi inter militaris cibos spem aut mccum 
 proferrent. 
 
 13. Nocte coepta egressus augurali per occulta et vigil ibus 
 ignara_, comite uno, contectus umeros ferina pelle^ adit castrorum 
 vias, adsistit tabernaculis fruiturque fama sui^ cum Mc nobilitatem 
 ducis^ decorem alius, plurimi patientiam^ comitatem, per seria per 
 iocos eundem animum laudibus ferrent reddendamque gratiam in 
 acie faterentur, simul perfidos et ruptores pacis ultioni et gloriae 
 mactandos. inter quae unus Lostium, Latinae linguae sciens, acto 
 ad vallum equo voce magna coniuges et agros et stipendii in dies, 
 donee bellaretur, sestertios centenos, si quis transfugisset, Arminii 
 nomine pollicetur. incendit ea contumelia legionum iras : veniret 
 dies, daretur pugiia; sumpturum militem G-ermanorum agros, 
 tracturum coniuges; accipere omen et matrimonia ac pecuiiias 
 hostium praedae destinare. tertia ferme vigilia adsultatum est 
 castris sine coniectu teli, postquam crebras pro munimentis cohor- 
 tes et nihil remissilm sensere. 
 
 14. Nox eadem lactam Germanico quietem tulit, viditque se 
 operatum et sanguine sacri respersa praetexta pulcliriorem aliam 
 manibus aviae Augustae accepisse. auctus omine, addicenti]}us 
 auspiciis, vocat contionem et quae sapientia praevisa aptaque in- 
 minenti pugnae disserit. non campos modo militi Komano ad 
 
 13. auguraWl This was a space on operatum] This is the technical 
 the right hand of the 'praetorium' or word for 'sacrificing.' Cf. Hor. Carni. 
 general's tent, set apart for taking the iii. 14.6, " prodeat iustis operata sacris." 
 auspices. It extended to the 'via prin- Virg. Georg. i. 339, " sacra refer Cereri 
 cipalis.' Cf. XV. 30. laetis operatus in herbis. " Also Propert. 
 
 ferina 'pelle] Germanicus, to avoid ii. 33. 2, Tibull. ii. 5. 95. This partici- 
 
 recognition, no doubt, assumed the dress pie seems always used without reference 
 
 commonly worn by the auxiliary German to time, or at all events to be emplo;red 
 
 troops serving in the Eoman army. where a present wouJd be more natnral. 
 
 'matrimonia'] Cf. Suet. C. Julius Caesar ' Operari ' is used in a different sense in 
 
 51, " Caesarem ne provincialibus quidem iii. 43 and H. v. 20. 
 
 matrimoniis abstinuisse." -praevisa] 1 have retained the reading 
 
 14. quietem] Cf. i. 65, " ducemqne of the MS., although in iv. 25 and H. v. 
 tenuit dira quies." ' Quies ' is also used 17 the word used is 'provisa ;' but a writer 
 for 'sleep' in xi. 4, xii. 13, xvi. 1. This sometimes vaiies his expressions: *liad 
 use of the word is poetical. been foreseen by his sagacity.' 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 75 
 
 proelium bonos, sed si ratio adsit^ silvas et saltus ; nee enim in- 
 mensa barbarorum scuta, enormis liastas inter truncos arborum 
 et enata humo virgulta perinde haberi quam pila et gladios et 
 haerentia corpori tegmina. denserent ictus, ora mucronibus quae- 
 rerent : non loricam Germano, non galeam, ne scuta quidem ferro 
 nervove firmata, sed viminum textus vel tenuis et fucatas colore 
 tabulas ; primam utcumque aciem hastatam, ceteris praeusta aut 
 brevia tela, iam corpus ut visu torvum et ad brevem impetuni 
 validum, sic nulla vulnerum patientia : sine pudore flagitii, sine 
 cura ducum abire, fugere, pavidos adversis, inter secunda non 
 divini, non bumani iuris memoris. si taedio viarum ac maris 
 finem cupiant, hac acie parari : propiorem iam Albim quam Rbenum 
 neque bellum ultra, modo se, patris patruique vestigia premen- 
 tem, isdem in terris victorem sisterent. 
 
 15. Orationem ducis secutus militum ardor, signumque pugnae 
 datum, nee Arminius aut ceteri Germanorum proceres omittebant 
 sues quisque testari, hos esse Romanes Yariani exercitus fugacis- 
 simos, qui ne bellum tolerarent, seditionem induerint; quorum 
 pars onusta vulneribus terga, pars fluctibus et procellis fractos 
 artus infensis rursum bostibus, adversis dis obiciant, nulla boni 
 
 enormis liastas'] There is some doubt iron. A lance -head, broad at tbe lower 
 
 as to wbat kind of weapons Tacitus is extremity, and tapering to a point, is 
 
 speaking of. In H. v. 18 lie says "im- 4 inches long, and 2 inches wide, and of 
 
 mensis corporibus et praelongis hastis the weight of 3 oz. In the text the 
 
 fluitantem labantemque militem eminus 'tela' were many of them only of wood, 
 
 fodiebant." In Germ. 6, "rari gladiis without any iron, as they are spoken of 
 
 aut maioribus lanceis utuntur : hastas as ' praeusta.' 
 
 vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas gerunt utcumque] The first line carried spears, 
 
 angusto et brevi ferro, sed ita acri et ad however that was managed ; spears at all 
 
 usum habili ut eodem telo prout ratio events it had, of one sort or another. Cf. 
 
 poscit vel cominus vel eminus pugnent." i. 5 and note on the word. 
 
 Apparently what are termed * hastae ' in ad hrevem impetum] Cf. Grerm. 4, 
 
 the text are called ' lanceae ' in this last " magna corpora et tantum ad impetuni 
 
 passage, from the adjective 'enormis' valida." 
 
 being added to express their great size. patris patruique] Drusus and Tiberius, 
 
 The ' brevia tela ' in the present descrip- although in i. 42 the latter is called, 
 
 tion are the 'hastae' or frameae' of the 'pater,' but that was by adoption. 
 
 Germania, as ' telum ' occurs in both 15. fugacissimos] They were the most 
 
 passages alike. The word ' framea ' is runaway portion of the army of Varus, 
 
 no doubt the Teutonic ' pfrieme,' an awl because those who were not so expert in 
 
 or bodkin. Heads of these supposed flight had been put to the sword. (Cf. 
 
 * frameae ' have been found, and also of Agric. 34, " hi ceterorum Britannorum 
 
 the 'lanceae,' and are given in Estorflf's fugacissimi ideoque tarn diu snperstites.") 
 
 " Heidnischer Alterthiimer." One is This was the reason whv their backs, not 
 
 7 inches long by half an inch wide ; bodies, were covered with scars. They 
 
 another 6 inches long and 1^ inches wide, were hit as they were running away, 
 
 and of the weight of 6 oz. ; a third is and therefore ' obiciant terga ' is used, 
 
 7 inches long, 2§ inches broad, and 13 oz. although they could not properly be said 
 
 in weight. The ends are not pointed, but * obicere terga rursum hostib'JS.' 
 rounded, and wider than the rest of the 
 
76- ' CORNELII TAOITI [a.u.c 769. 
 
 spe. classem quippe et avia Oceani quaesita^ ne quis venier tibus 
 occurreret_, ne pulsos premeret : sed ubi miscuerint manus^ Lnane 
 victis ventorum remorumve subsidium. meminissent modo s.vari- 
 tiae, crudelitatis, superbiae : aliut sibi reliquum quam tonere 
 libertatem aut mori ante servitium ? 
 
 16. Sic accensos et proelium poscentes in campum, cui Idista- 
 viso nomen^ deducunt. is medius inter Visurgim et colltBs^ ut 
 ripae fluminis cednnt aut prominentia montium resistunt, inaequa- 
 liter sinuatur. pone tergum insurgebat silva, editis in {Jtum 
 ramis et pura bumo inter arborum truncos. campum et ])rinia 
 silvarum barbara acies tenuit : soli Cberusci iuga insedere^ ut 
 proeliantibus Romanis desuper incurrerent. noster exercitus 
 sic incessit : auxiliares Galli Germanique in fronte^ post quos 
 pedites sagittarii; dein quattuor legiones et cum duabus prae- 
 toriis cobortibus ac delecto equite Caesar ; exim totidem aliae 
 legiones et levis armatura cum equite sagittario ceteraeque 
 sociorum cohortes. intentus paratusque miles^ ut or do agminis in 
 aciem adsisteret. 
 
 17. Yisis Cheruscorum catervis^ quae per ferociam proruperant, 
 validissimos equitum incurrere latus^ Stertinium cum ceteris 
 turmis circumgredi tergaque invadere iubet, ipse in tempore ad- 
 
 meminissent'] Cf. ii. 45, "meminissent the hills prevent the extension of the 
 
 modo tot proeliorum." The imperative of plain eastward by jutting out and form- 
 
 the oratio recta becomes in the oratio ing a barrier. ' Colles ' and * monte^ ' are 
 
 obliqua the imperfect subjunctive : for the same range. 
 
 instance, i. 19, " decernerent legatos, seque praetoriis cohortihus'] So belov^, ii. 
 
 coram mandata darent." As'memini'is 20. Ritter makes these out to be the 
 
 a present perfect, the proper tense in the cohorts in attendance on the general, 
 
 oratio obliqua is the pluperfect subjunc- Cf. Cic. ad Fam. x. 30, "Antoniua 
 
 tive. eduxit . . . cohortes praetorias duas, 
 
 16. Idisiaviso] Nipperdey remarks that unam suam, alteram Silani." He 
 
 this is probably the nominative case, for explains the mention of two co]iorta 
 
 the attracted dative is chiefly used by by the fact that Silius and Caocina 
 
 Tacitus with adjectives, as in ii. 8, " fos- had now joined their forces, and taere- 
 
 Bam cui Drusianae nomen," and in other fore two cohorts were on guard. This 
 
 cases the nominative is generally found seems objectionable, because at this 
 
 (i. 45, ii. 4, 80). Grimm supposes the period of the Eoman history the i)rae- 
 
 word to mean ' the bright meadow,' from torian cohorts would, in the absence of 
 
 •idista,' the superlative of *id,' shining, any explanation, naturally bo supposed 
 
 and ' wiese,' a meadow. to refer to the praetorian guard. No 
 
 ripae] This must, I think, be the nomi- doubt two cohorts of these had been sent 
 native case plural, as ' ripae fluminis ' and from Rome. Elsewhere a ' cohors ur- 
 'prominentia montium' correspond. The bana' is spoken of as quartered at Lug- 
 plain on the eastern side of the Visur- dunum (iii. 41, H. i. 64). 
 gis vai'ies in width : in some places the ordo agminis] The Romans martihed 
 banks of the river fall back as it were, with their forces so aiTanged, thai- on 
 and trend westward, and consequently halting the line of battle would at once' 
 allow the space between the river and be formed, without any further m(jve* 
 the hills to widen out : in other places ments. 
 
i 
 
 L.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 77 
 
 futurus. interea pulcherrimum augurium, octo aquilae petere 
 silvas et intrare visae imperatorem advertere. exclamat irent, 
 sequerentur Eomanas aves, propria legionum numina. simul 
 pedestris acies infertur et praemissus eques postremos ac latera 
 impulit. mirumque dictu^ duo hostium agmina diversa fuga^ qui 
 silvam tenuerant, in aperta, qui campis adstiterant, in silvam 
 ruebant. medii inter hos Cherusci collibus detrudebantur, inter 
 quos insignis Arminius manu voce vulnere sustentabat pugnam. 
 incubueratque sagittariis^ ilia rupturus_, ni Raetorum Yindelico- 
 rumque et Gallicae cobortes signa obiecissent. nisu tamen corporis 
 et impetu equi pervasit, oblitus faciem suo cruore, ne nosceretur. 
 quidam adgnitum a Cbaucis inter auxilia Eomana agentibus emis- 
 sumque tradiderunt. virtus sen fraus eadem Inguiomero effugium 
 dedit : ceteri passim trucidati. et plerosque tranare Yisurgim 
 conantes iniecta tela aut vis fluminis^ postremo moles ruentium 
 et incidentes ripae operuere. quidam turpi fuga in summa arbo- 
 rum nisi ramisque se occultantes admotis sagittariis per ludibrium 
 figebantur, alios prorutae arbores adflixere. 
 
 18. Magna ea victoria neque cruenta nobis fuit. quinta ab 
 bora diei ad noctem caesi bostes decem milia passuum cadaveribus 
 atque armis opplevere_, repertis inter spolia eorum catenis^ quas in 
 Romanos ut non dubio eventu portaverant. miles in loco proelii 
 Tiberium imperatorem salutavit struxitque aggerem et in modum 
 tropaeorum arma subscriptis victarum gentium nominibus im- 
 posuit. 
 
 19. Hand perinde Germanos vulnera_, luctus^ excidia quam ea 
 species dolore et ira adfecit. qui modo abire sedibus^ trans Albim 
 concedere parabant_, pugnam volunt, arma rapiunt; plebes pri- 
 mores^ inventus senes agmen Romanum repente incursant^ turbant. 
 postremo deligunt locum fiumine et silvis clausum^ arta intus 
 
 17. advertere] Cf. i. 41, "gemitus ac 34, "ipsumqumetiamOceanum ilia temp- 
 
 planctus etiam militum aures oraque tavimus," and H. v. 18, " solidum ilia, et 
 
 advertere." Just the opposite construe- Gugemos parum intentos." 
 
 tion is found xii. 51, " Zenobiam ... 18. imperatorem] In the old sense of 
 
 advertere pastores." Below, for * campis ' the word, Tiberius was saluted Imperator, 
 
 without a preposition, see note on iii. 61, not Germanicus, because the Emperor 
 
 under ' Dole.' was by virtue of his position generalis- 
 
 insignis] Cf. H. iii. 17, " consilio manu simo of the forces, and the generals in 
 
 voce insignis hosti." command were only his lieutenants. 
 
 ilia rupturus] For the construction 19. locum fiumine] The river could 
 
 cf. H. iii. 19, "ruptui-i imperium ni du- hardly have been the Weser, but some 
 
 cantur;" and with 'si' following, i. 36, tributary apparently of the Elbe. The 
 
 " si omitteretur ripa invasurus hostis." description of the locality is not easy to 
 
 For the ablative' ilia ' (sc. 'via') cf. Germ, follow. As far as I can understand the 
 
78 
 
 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 planitie et umida : silvas quoque profunda palus ambibat^ nisi quod 
 latus unum Angrivarii lato aggere extulerant^ quo a Clieruscis 
 dirimerentur. hie pedes adstitit : equitem propinquis lucis tesere, 
 ut ingressis silvam legionibus a tergo foret. 
 
 20. Nihil ex bis Caesari incognitum: consilia locos_, prompta 
 occulta noverat astusque bostium in permitiem ipsis veri(3bat. 
 Seio Tuberoni legato tradit equitem campumque ; peditum aciem 
 ita instruxit^ ut pars aequo in silvam aditu incederet_, pars obiectum 
 aggerem eniteretur; quod arduum sibi^ cetera legatis permisit. 
 quibus plana evenerant_, facile inrupere : quis inpugnandus agger, 
 ut si murum succederent, gravibus superne ictibus conflictabantur. 
 sensit dux inparem comminus pugnam remotisque paulum legioni- 
 bus funditores libritoresque excutere tela et proturbare bostem 
 iubet. missae e tormentis bastae, quantoque conspicui magis 
 
 passage, the following is not far from the 
 trutli — 
 
 Hf\ 
 
 
 The arrow -teaded lines (1) and (2) mark 
 the direction of the Eoman attack. 
 Apparently the Germans intended the 
 Eomans to approach by (2) alone, so 
 that after their march across the plain 
 to assault the portion of the woods 
 nearest the river, the German cavalry 
 (' equitem propinquis lucis texere ut in- 
 gressis silvam legionibus a tergo foret ') 
 might fall on their rear. But the Roman 
 general did not fall into the trap laid 
 for him. He made two approaches, one 
 by (2) {' pars aequo in silvam aditu, qui- 
 bus plana evenerant') ; one by (1) to 
 assault the rampart. After forcing this, 
 both divisions advanced on the woods 
 near the river, and drove the Germans be- 
 fore them, who had a marsh only to fall 
 back on. In the rear of the Romans the 
 river lay, and the hills ('montes'). The 
 * campus ' is about the same as the ' plani- 
 ties ' or the lower end of it. I imagine 
 the Germans were partly stationed in 
 the woods on the lower side of the plain, 
 
 supposing themselves to be securcjd in 
 their rear by the ' agger,' on which they 
 did not contemplate any attack by the 
 Romans from without. 
 
 20. permitiem] So the Cod. Med. 
 continually. There is, I believe, abun- 
 dant evidence from MSS. and inscrip- 
 tions that this form of the word was in 
 use amongst the Romans (cf. Munro'a 
 Lucret. Note I. on i. 451), and thertifore 
 I retain it. 
 
 eniteretur] For the case cf. H. i. 
 23, "cum Pyrenaeum et Alpes et im- 
 mensa viarum spatia aegre sub armis 
 eniterentur." It is used differently x-^ i. 5, 
 " dum per angustias aditus et ingruentem 
 multitudinem enituntur." 
 
 murum succederent] ' Succedere " is 
 variously constructed : with a dat i ve, 
 Aen. ii. 478, " succedunt tecto ;" with an 
 accusative and preposition, Liv. ix. 27, 
 "eques in pugnam succedit;" and as 
 here, with an accusative only. Cf. jlIso 
 Liv. xxxviii, 9, " cum succedens murum 
 parum proficeret." The construction 
 with the accusative and preposition 
 seems the most usual. 
 
 funditores lihritoresque] These are 
 mentioned together in xiii. 39, where !^ee 
 the note. It seems to me impossible to 
 decide whether 'librator' or 'libritor' is 
 the proper form : the latter is foimd also 
 in xiii. 39, and in its favour is Caesar, 
 B. G. vii. 81, "fundis librilibus sudi- 
 busque Gallos perterrent." On the other 
 hand, Tacitus has, H. iii. 23, "libramenta 
 tormentorum." Probably the orthogra- 
 phy was unsettled. 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 79 
 
 propugnatores, tanto pluribus vulneribus deiecti. primus Caesar 
 cum praetoriis cohortibus capto vallo dedit impetum in silvas • 
 conlato illic gradu certatum. hostem a tergo palus, Romanes 
 flumen aut monies claudebant : utrisque necessitas in loco^ spes in 
 virtute, salus ex victoria. 
 
 21. Nee minor Germanis animus^ sed genere pugnae et armorum 
 superabantur, cum ingens multitude artis locis praelongas bastas 
 non protenderet^ non coUigeret^ neque adsultibus et velocitate 
 corporum uteretur^ coacta stabile ad proelium ; contra miles, cui 
 scutum pectori adpressum et insidens capulo manus, latos barbaro- 
 rum artus, nuda ora foderet yiamque strage bostium aperiret, in- 
 prompto iam Arminio ob continua pericula, sive ilium recens 
 acceptum vulnus tardaverat. quin et Inguiomerum, tota volitan- 
 tem acie_, fortuna magis quam virtus deserebat. et Germanicus 
 quo magis adgnosceretur, detraxerat tegimen capiti orabatque in- 
 sisterent caedibus : nil opus captivis, solam internicionem gentis 
 finem bello fore, iam que sero diei subducit ex acie legionem 
 faciendis castris : ceterae ad noctem cruore bostium satiatae sunt, 
 equites ambigue certavere. 
 
 22. Laudatis pro contione victoribus Caesar congeriem armorum 
 struxit, superb o cum titulo : debellatis inter Rhenum Albimque 
 nationibus exercitum Tiberii Caesaris ea monimenta Marti et lovi 
 et Augusto sacravisse. de se nihil addidit, metu invidiae an ratus 
 conscientiam facti satis esse, mox bellum in Angrivarios Stertinio 
 mandate ni deditionem properavissent. atque illi supplices nihil 
 abnuendo veniam omnium accepere. 
 
 23. Sed aestate iam adulta legionum aliae itinere terrestri in 
 hibernacula remissae; plures Caesar classi inpositas per flumen 
 
 dedit impetum'] * Facere impetum ' is had intended to convey that meaning, 
 
 common. * Dare impetum * occurs Liv. 22. an ratus] For this idiom see note 
 
 ii. 19, in the same meaning. on i. 13. 
 
 21. colligeret] The sense is evidently, mandat] In this construction the 
 
 from the use of * protenderet,' 'di^wthem imperfect is usual, but the present is of 
 
 in,' when once extended. There is no course historical, and virtually a past 
 
 other instance, as far as I know, of this tense, 
 
 meaning. 23. aestate iam adulta] Servius, onVirg. 
 
 ambigue] Although * ambigue agere * is Georg. i. 43, says " anni quattuor stmt 
 
 used H. iii. 35 in the sense of ' wavering tempera, divisa in temos menses. AntU 
 
 iu allegiance,' the sense here can only qui ipsorum temporum talem faciimt dis- 
 
 be 'the cavalry fought with doubtful cretionem ut prime mense veris novum 
 
 success.' The previous words speak of dicatur ver, secundo adultum., tertio 
 
 the issue of the fight, and these words, praeceps, sicut etiam Sallustius dicit 
 
 one would suppose, must have reference ubique nova aestas, adulta, praeceps." 
 
 to the result of the contest, and not the Cf. xi. 31, " adulto autumno ;" H. iii. 23, 
 
 feeling of the troops in it. Tacitus would "adulta nocte;" and xiii. 36, "donee ver 
 
 hardly have written so obscurely, if he adolesceret." 
 
80 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. '69. 
 
 Amisiam Oceano invexit. ac primo placidum aequormillenavium 
 remis strepere aut velis inpelU : mox atro nubium globo erusa 
 grando_, simul variis undique procellis incerti fluctus prospecr;um 
 adimere, regimen inpedire; milesque pavidus et cassuum maris 
 ignarus dum turbat nautas vel intempestive iuvat^ officia pruden- 
 tium corrumpebat. omne debinc caelum et mare omne in austrum 
 cessit, qui tumidis Germaniae terris^ profundis amnibus, immenso 
 nubium tractu validus et rigore vicini septentrionis borridior rapuit 
 disiecitque naves in aperta Oceani aut insulas saxis abruptis vel 
 per occulta vada infestas. quibus paulum aegreque vitatis_, post- 
 quam mutabat aestus eodemque quo ventus ferebat, non adbaei*ere 
 ancboris^ non exbaurire inrumpentis undas poterant : equi_, iumenta^ 
 sarcinae, etiam arma praecipitantur, quo levarentur alvei^ manantes 
 per latera et fluctu superurgente. 
 
 24. Quanto violentior cetero mari Oceanus et truculentia caeli 
 praestat Germania^ tantum ilia clades novitate et magnitudine 
 excessit, bostilibus circum litoribus aut ita vasto et profundo^ 
 ut credatur novissimum ac sine terris mare, pars navium haas- 
 tae sunt^ plures aput insulas longius sitas eiectae; milesc[ue 
 nullo illic bominum cultu fame absumptus_, nisi quos corpora 
 equorum eodem elisa toleraverant. sola Germanici triremis 
 
 cassutmi] See tlie Introduction for tlie manantes'] * Soaking, dripping (witli 
 
 spelling. Below, 'officia' &c., translate water forcing its way) through the sides, 
 
 * interfered with the duties of the prac- and the wave breaking over the decks.' 
 tised seamen.' 24. excessif] Cf. Li v. xxxiii. 35, " ne in 
 
 in austrum cessW] At first the winds altercationem excederet res," and Agiic. 
 
 blew from various quarters ('variis 42, " obsequiumque ac modestiam eo 
 
 undique procellis ') ; then they all seemed laudis excedere." The word seems u^ed 
 
 to blow from one direction, and united in these instances absolutely, in the 
 
 their violence in one tremendous blast sense of passing the usual limits, 
 
 from the south : they ' fell under the vasto et pro/undo j There is not any 
 
 sway of, were merged in that wind' word understood, nor is 'mari' to be 
 
 ('cessere'). Cf. i. 1, "Lepidi atque An- supplied from 'mare.' The adjectives 
 
 tonii arma in Augustum cessere." are put absolutely, very much as i. (!1, 
 
 tumidis'] Not 'mountainous,' but "humido paludum;" vi. 49, "lubriciim 
 
 ' swollen, pufied out with moisture.' Cf. iuventae." 
 
 Virg. Georg. ii. 324. This and the fol- insulas] Islands perhaps along tne 
 
 lowing ablative seem put absolutely, and western coast of Holstein and Norway, 
 
 * tractu ' to be governed by ' validus ' as and the Orkneys and Shetlands. But all 
 the instrument : ' which, as the lands of this passage seems written for efiect, and 
 Germany are swollen with moisture and the incidents may be due rather to the 
 the rivers deep, gathering strength from imagination of Tacitus than to reality. 
 
 a long tract of clouds,' &c. toleraverant] 'Tolerare aliquem' is 
 
 m,utahat] For the intransitive sense put for ' vitam tolerare alicuius.' Draegtsr 
 
 cf. xii. 29, " diutumitate in superbiam quotes Caesar, Bell. Civ. iii. 49, "cog- 
 
 mutans." ' Ferebat ' is probably transi- noscebant equos eorum tolerari," and 
 
 tive, ' bore them,' i. e. the ships. It Pliny, N. H. xxxvii. 47, " octona milia 
 
 might also be used as it is in the equitum sua pecunia toleravisse." He 
 
 common phrase ' via fert ad urbem,' but also observes that ' adpellere terram ' 
 
 this is less likely, I think. below occurs nowhere but here. 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 81 
 
 Chaucorum terrain adpulit ; quern per omnes illos dies noctesque 
 aput scopulos et prominentis oras^ cum se tanti exitii reum clami- 
 taret, vix cohibuere amici quo minus eodem mari oppeteret. 
 tandem relabente aestu et secundante vento claudae naves raro 
 remigio aut intentis vestibus^ et quaedam a validioribus tractae, 
 revertere; quas raptim refectas misit ut scrutarentur insulas. 
 collecti ea cura plerique : multos Angrivarii nuper in fidem accepti 
 redemptos ab interioribus reddidere ; quidam in Britanniam rapti 
 et remissi a regulis. ut quia ex longinquo re venerate miracula 
 narrabant^, vim turbinum et inauditas volucres_, monstra maris^ 
 ambiguas hominum et beluarum formas^ visa sive ex metu cre- 
 dita. 
 
 25. Sed fama classis amissae ut Germanos ad spem belli^ ita 
 Caesarfim ad coercendum erexit. C. Silio cum triginta peditum^ 
 tribus equitum milibus ire in Cbattos imperat ; ipse maioribus 
 copiis Marsos inrumpit^ quorum dux Mallovendus nuper in dedi- 
 tionem acceptus propinquo luco defossam Yarianae legionis aquiiam 
 modico praesidio servari indicat. missa extemplo manus quae 
 bostem a fronte eliceret^ alii qui terga circumgressi recluderent 
 humum ; et utris que adfuit fort una. eo promptior Caesar pergit 
 introrsus, populatur, excindit non ausum congredi bostem aut^ 
 sicubi restiterat^ statim pulsum nee umquam magis^ ut ex captivis 
 cognitum est^ paventem. quippe invictos et nullis cassibus supera- 
 biles Romanes praedicabant_, qui perdita classe^ amissis armis, 
 post constrata equorum virorumque corporibus litora eadem vir- 
 tute^ pari ferocia et velut aucti numero inrupissent. 
 
 26. Reductus inde in biberna miles^ laetus animi quod adversa 
 maris expeditione prospera pensavisset. addidit munificentiam 
 Caesar^ quantum quis damni professus erat exsolvendo. nee 
 dubium habebatur labare hostes petendaeque pacis consilia sumere, 
 et si proxima aestas adiceretur, posse bellum patrari. sed crebris 
 epistulis Tiberius monebat rediret ad decretum triumpbum : satis 
 
 scopulos] It does not seem necessary proverb, one need scarcely expect to 
 
 to explain this to mean elevations in the verify each single report brought home 
 
 line of coast, because there are no rocks by these distant wanderers, 
 
 between the Ems and the Weser : it is 25. aquiiam] In i. 60 the eagle of the 
 
 simpler to suppose that Tacitus was not 19th legion is spoken of as having been 
 
 possessed of any very accurate know- recovered, and here a second eagle. The 
 
 ledge of the locality. third was recovered in the reign of 
 
 inauditas] Lipsius objects to this, Claudius (Dio Ix. 8), but the incident 
 
 that they could not have seen unheard- is not found in Tacitus, as the portion 
 
 of birds, because they do not exist there, of the work where it would occur (a.d. 
 
 But as Tacitus uses the word 'miracula,' 41) is lost, 
 and travellers' tales have passed into a 
 
 a 
 
82 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c . 769. 
 
 iam eventuum^ satis casuum. prospera illi et magna pi oelia : 
 eorum quoque meminisset quae venti et fluctus_, nulla duels culpa, 
 gravia tamen et saeva damna intulissent. se novies £. divo 
 Augusto in Germaniam missum plura consilio quam vi periecisse. 
 sic Sugambros in deditionem acceptos_, sic Suebos regemqi: e Ma- 
 roboduum pace obstrictum. posse et Cheruscos ceterasque rebel- 
 lium gentes, quoniam E-omanae ultioni consul turn esset, iriternis 
 discordiis relinqui. precante Germanico annum efficiendis c-oeptis, 
 acrius modestiam eius adgreditur alterum consulatum offerendo, 
 cuius munia praesens obiret. simul adnectebat, si foret adbuc 
 bellandum, relinqueret materiem Drusi fratris gloriae, qui nuUo 
 tum alio hoste non nisi aput Germanias adsequi nomen impera- 
 torium et deportare lauream posset, baud cunctatus est ultra 
 GermanicuSj quamquam fingi ea seque per invidiam parto iam 
 decori abstrabi intellegeret. 
 
 27. Sub idem tempus e familia Scriboniorum Libo Drusus de- 
 fertur molii'i res novas, eius negotii initium, ordinem, fineni cura- 
 tius disseram, quia tum primum reperta sunt quae per tot annos 
 rem publicam exedere. Firmius Catus senator, ex intima Ijibonis 
 amicitia, iuvenem inprovidum et facilem inanibus ad Chaldaeorum 
 promissa, magorum sacra, somniorum etiam interpretes impulit, 
 
 26. se novies a divo Augusto in Germa- Eatisbon. Tiberius was sent across tbe 
 nicmi TnissuTn] This can hardly imply Danube to attack the Marcomani. But the 
 that Tiberius was sent on nine distinct attention of the Romans was called else- 
 occasions to conduct a war in Germany, where. Maroboduus remained neutral in 
 He was in Germany in 16 a.c. (Dio liv. the Dalmatian and Pannonian war. The 
 20), again in 9, 8, 7 a.c. (Dio Iv. 2 &c.), Suebi of Tacitus, it is to be cbserved, 
 and in a.d. 4 (Dio Ir. 13), in A. D. 6 (Diolv. are not the Suevi of Caesar (B. (r. iv. 1 — 
 28) and 10, and 11 a.d. (Dio Ivi. 23, 25). 17) : these last are the Chatti oi' Tacitus 
 This I take from Walther, and I can only probably. 
 
 imagine the number ('novies') to be made adnectehaf] This verb is constructed 
 
 up by Tiberius returning to Rome during with an infinitive in iv. 28, "adi.ectebat- 
 
 his command, reckoning his return as an que Caecilium Comutum praetorium 
 
 additional mission. I do not suppose ministravisse pecuniam." There is no 
 
 Tiberius was talking quite at random. other instance, I believe, of either of 
 
 Su^amhros^ Cf. Suet. Augustus 21, these constructions. 
 
 " Ubios et Sugambros dedentes se tra- Drusi fratris^ The son of Tiberius, 
 
 duxit in Galliam atque in proximis who was brother to Germanicus, because 
 
 Rheno agris collocavit." (Cf. also Tib. 9, the latter had been adopted by Tiberius, 
 
 xii. 39.) The * Suebi ' were not a single deportare laureanv] The triumphant 
 
 tribe, but an aggregate of many, in- general carried to the Capitol his laurel 
 
 eluding the Semnones, Langobardi, Mar- wreath, and laid it on the knee of Jupiter, 
 
 comani, and others (Germ. 38 — 45), tribes Cf. Suet. Nero 13, "ob quae Imperator 
 
 probably as much Sclavonic as Teutonic, consalutatus, laurea in Capitoliuin lata" 
 
 About A.D. 7, under Maroboduus, a por- &c. 
 
 tion of the Suebi, viz. the Marcomani, 27. facilem inanibus'] For the dative 
 
 ci'ossed the Erzgebirge, and, expelling cf. v. 11, "facilis capessendis inimici- 
 
 the Keltic Boii from Bohemia, established tiis." 
 a kingdom along the Danube almost to 
 
A.D. 16.] AB BXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 83 
 
 dum proavum Pompeium_, amitam Scriboniam^ quae quondam 
 August! coniunx fuerat^ consobrinos Caesares^ plenam imaginibus 
 domum ostentat^ bortaturque ad luxum et aes alienum, socius libi- 
 dinum et necessitatum_, quo pluribus indiciis inligaret. 
 
 28. Ut satis testium et qui servi eadem noscerent repperit, 
 aditum ad principem postulate demonstrato crimine et reo per 
 Flaccum Yescularium equitem Romanum, cui propior cum Tiberio 
 usus erat. Caesar indicium baud aspernatus congressus abnuit : 
 posse enim eodem Flacco internuntio sermones commeare. atque 
 interim Libonem ornat praetura, convictibus adhibet^ non vultu 
 alienatus^ non verbis commotior (adeo iram condiderat) ; cunctaque 
 eius dicta factaque^ cum probibere posset^ scire malebat^ donee 
 lunius quidam_, temptatus ut infernas umbras carminibus eliceret, 
 ad Fulcinium Trionem indicium detulit. celebre inter accussa- 
 tores Trionis ingenium erat avidumque famae malae. statim cor- 
 ripit reum, adit consules, cognitionem senatus poscit. et vocantur 
 patres^ addito consultandum super re magna et atroci. 
 
 29. Libo interim veste mutata cum primoribus feminis circumire 
 
 proavum] The following table, -which passage, will render this more intelli- 
 I copy from Nipperdey's note on this gible : — 
 
 L. Scribonius Libo (consul 34 a.c.) (L. Libo ?) Scribonia m. Augustus 
 
 Scribonia m. Sex. Pompeius (Cn. Magni fil.) Jiilia 
 
 (Dio xlviii. 16) | 
 
 j' Gains Caesar 
 1^ Lucius Caesar. 
 Pompeia m. M. Livius Drusus Libo (consul 15 a.c.) 
 
 L. Scribonius Libo (ii. 1, 29) M. Drusus Libo (ii. 27). 
 
 Hence Pompeius Magnus was great- Libo (consul in 15 A.c.) was : if the son 
 
 grandfather ('proavus') to M. Drusus of L. Scribonius Libo (consul in 34 a.c), 
 
 Libo here mentioned. Scribonia, the then he must have married his niece, 
 
 wife of Augustus, was aunt to Scribonia, which is improbable. JNipperdey sup- 
 
 the wife of Sextus Pompeius, great- poses him to be the son of another L. 
 
 aunt to Pompeia, and great -great -aunt Libo, brother of this last ; so that the 
 
 to M. Drusus Libo here mentioned : elder Scribonia would be his aunt, 
 or otherwise was sister of Libo the necessitatwni] 'Debts.' Cf. i. 11, "tri* 
 
 elder, and therefore aunt to M. Li- buta aut vectigalia, et necessitates ac lar- 
 
 vius Drusus Libo (see the end of the gitiones." He had been useful to Libo 
 
 note), and great-aunt to the M. Drusus in raising money for his extravagances. 
 Libo here spoken of. Also Scribonia 29. veste tnutata] Persons who were 
 
 the younger and Julia were cousins, and accused generally laid aside their usual 
 
 Gaius and Lucius Caesar and the L. dress, and put on mourning. Cf. Liv. vi. 
 
 Libo here were second cousins once 20, " ut in tanto discrimine non et proximi 
 
 removed. It is uncertain, as I under- vestcm mutarent." When Cicero was 
 
 stand itj whose son M. Livius Drusus attacked by the bill of Clodius, he and 
 
 G 2 
 
84 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 domos_, orare adfines, vocem adversum pericula poscere, abnuenti- 
 bus cunctis^ cum diversa praetenderent^ eadem formidine. die 
 senatus metu et aegritudine fessus^ sive^ ut tradidere qiLidam, 
 simulato morbo, lectica delatus ad fores curiae innisusque fratri et 
 manus ac supplices voces ad Tiberium tendens immoto eius vultu 
 excipitur. mox libellos et auctores recitat Caesar ita iiiod(?rans, 
 ne lenire neve asperare crimina videretur. 
 
 30. Accesserant praeter Trionem et Catum accusatores Fonteius 
 Agrippa et C. Vibius, certabantque cui ius perorandi in reum 
 daretur, donee Yibius^ quia nee ipsi inter se concederent et Libo 
 sine patrono introisset^ singillatim se crimina obiecturuni pro- 
 fessus, protulit libellos vaecordes adeo, ut consultaverit Libo, an 
 habiturus foret opes quis viam Appiam Brundisium usque pecunia 
 operiret. inerant et alia buiusce modi stolida vana, si mollius 
 acciperes_, miseranda. uni tamen libello manu Libonis nominibus 
 Caesarum aut senatorum additas atroces vel occultas notas accu- 
 sator arguebat. negante reo adgnoscentes servos per tormenta 
 interrogari placuit. et quia vetere senatus consulto quaestio in 
 caput domini probibebatur, caUidus et novi iuris repertor Tiberius 
 
 his friends amongst the Senate and then a speech at the close of the exami- 
 
 Eqnites adopted this mode of exciting nation, now each charge was brought 
 
 commiseration (Plutarch, Cicero 13; forward singly, and the 'reus' expected 
 
 Post Bed. ad Quirit. 3). to ajiswer this particular charge before 
 
 tendens] Apparently this word only the next point was opened. FroniSueto- 
 
 suits 'manus,' but it can hardly be so, nius, Nero 15, there seems to hare been 
 
 as 'voces' is nearest to 'tendens,' and a formal establishment of the plan here 
 
 therefore the word sidted to ' voces ' suggested : " in cognoscendo morem eum 
 
 might be applied to both, but not one tenuit ut continuis actionibus )missis, 
 
 suited only to 'manus.' Orelli quotes sigillatim quaeque per vices ageiet." 
 
 Virg. Aen. iii. 176, "tendoque supinas Ad libellos] JSTot as before, 'an indictment,' 
 
 caelum cum voce manus," but this is but 'papers' belonging to Lib^, from 
 
 hardly to the point, as 'tendo' does not the words below, ' imi tamen libello ' &c. 
 
 apply at all to ' cum voce.' But cf. H. nni tamen Uhello] The other papers 
 
 i. 63, " quaeque alia placamenta hostilis contained foolish remarks : in the one in 
 
 irae non quidem in bello sed pro pace question there were marks not fooKsh, 
 
 tendebantur," where 'tendere' is used but criminal. This dative, as well as 
 
 generally of any suppliant display, and ' nominibus,' seems to depend on ' addi- 
 
 may eaaly be extended to include sup- tas :' ' to one paper — to the names of the 
 
 pliant expressions. Caesars — were aflfixed ' &c. 
 
 libellos] The accusation. Cf. Juv. vi. atroces] Apparently 'threatening,* 
 
 243, " si rea non est, Componunt ipsae per showing the existence of malignant 
 
 se, formantque libellos." feelings on the part of Libo — (r, adds 
 
 ne ... videretur] Not ' so governing his Tacitus, these marks perhaps were mys- 
 
 mianner that he did not appear ' &c., for terious hieroglyphics : no one could tell 
 
 that would be ' ut non,' as denoting a what they meant. 
 
 purpose ; but ' governing his manner with vetere senatus consulto] Cf. Gic. pro 
 
 a view to not appearing.' Milone 22, "maiores nostri in dDminum 
 
 30. perorandi] Tacitus means, that de servo quaeri noluerunt." Cf. also Pro 
 
 instead of having the evidence given Bosc. Amerin. 41, and Pro Deiot. 1. 
 
 throughout to the whole indictment, and novi iuris] Dio Cassius however says 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCBSSU DrVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 85 
 
 mancipari singulos actori publico iubet, scilicet ut in Libonem ex 
 servis salvo senatus consulto quaereretur. ob quae posterum 
 diem reus petivit domumque digressus extremas preces P. Quirinio 
 propinquo suo ad principem mandavit. 
 
 31. Responsum est ut senatum rogaret. cingebatur interim 
 milite domus^ strepebant etiam in vestibulo_, ut audiri, ut aspici 
 possent^ cum Libo ipsis quas in novissimam voluptatem adbibuerat 
 epulis excruciatus vocare percussorem_, prensare servorum dextras, 
 inserere gladium. atque illis, dum trepidant, dum refugiunt, ever- 
 tentibus adpositum cum mensa lumen, feralibus iam sibi tenebris 
 duos ictus in viscera derexit. ad gemitum conlabentis adcurrere 
 liberti, et caede visa miles abstitit. accusatio tamen aput patres 
 adseveratione eadem peracta, iuravitque Tiberius petiturum se 
 vitam quamvis nocenti, nisi voluntariam mortem properavisset. 
 
 32. Bona inter accussatores dividuntur, et praeturae extra ordi- 
 nem datae iis qui senatorii ordinis erant. tunc Cotta Messalinus, 
 
 (Iv. 5, Sti 5' ouK ^hu t)v SovXov fcarcb inserere gladium] To put a sword into 
 
 SeffTTOTOv fiaaavi(TQr\yai iKe\ev(T(Vf dadvis tlie hands of the slaves to induce them 
 
 &j/ XP^'iC' roiovTov rii/hs yeyrjTai, r^ 5rj/A0- to despatch him. 
 
 (xicj} avrhv ^ Kal eavrep Trnrpd(rKeadai 'dircos cwm mensa] The MS. has simply 
 
 ah\6Tpios Tov Kpivojxivov &v e|eTa^TjTai) 'mensa,' which can hardly be right, as 
 
 that Augustus is to be credited with I can find no instance of an ablative 
 
 this. He ordered slaves under these without a preposition after ' adpositum.' 
 
 circumstances to be sold to the state or I have taken Ritter's suggestion of 'cum 
 
 himself, and so they ceased to belong to mensa,' on the ground that ' cum ' might 
 
 their original owners. easily have slipped out after ' adpositum.' 
 
 actori 'p'^hlico] It does not seem clear ^letiturum,] See note on ii. 73, imder 
 
 what the functions of the 'actor publi- ' adsecuturum.' 
 
 cus ' were. In iii. 67 Tacitus says " ser- 32. exi/ra ordinem] Praetorships were 
 
 vos quoque .... actor publicus acce- given to these men prematurely, without 
 
 perat," and Pliny the younger (Epist. regard to their having fulfilled the usual 
 
 vii. 18) writes, " agrum ex meis .... legal requirements. They would not 
 
 actori publico mancipavi." The remark be necessarily all praetors in the same 
 
 of Lipsius is "publicus est sive servus year, but it is not clear from the de- 
 
 sive libertus qui res rationesque rei scription whether they were included in 
 
 publicae administrabat." Suetonius in the number of twelve fixed by Tiberius 
 
 Domit. 2 speaks of 'actor summarum.' (i. 44'), although, as he took an oath not 
 
 Probably the ' actor publicus ' had the to exceed that number, they probably 
 
 care of slaves and property belonging to were, and not mere supernumeraries, 
 
 the state, and kept all accounts — I OoUa MessaUnus] He was son of 
 
 suppose the accounts connected with the great orator Messala Corvinus, and 
 
 them. brother of the Messala Valerius of i. 8, 
 
 P. Quirinio] His name was Publius and is the " magni Messalae lippa pro- 
 
 Sulpicius Quirinius. So the Inscription page " of Persius (ii. 72, where see the 
 
 n. 3693 in Orelli, and the Praenestine Scholiast). He was adopted by Aurelius 
 
 Fasti. See Orelli's note. The combina- Cotta, was apparently father of the M. 
 
 tion of two gentile names is singular, and Aurelius of iii. 2 (see Nipperdey's note), 
 
 Hitter and others in consequence read and perhaps grandfather of the Valerius 
 
 * Quirino.' Cf. iii. 48 for some account of Messala of xiii. 34, but it does not seem 
 
 him. certain. He is mentioned in iv. 20. v. 3, 
 
 31. vocare] See the note in ii. 4 on vi. 5, xii. 22. 
 ' ubi minitari.' 
 
86 
 
 CORNELII TAOITI 
 
 [A.U.C. 769. 
 
 ne imago Libonis exsequias posterorum comitaretur^ censuk, Cn. 
 LentuluSj ne quis Scribonius cognomen turn Drusi adsurc eret. 
 supplicationum dies Pomponii Flacci sententia constituti. dona 
 lovi, Marti, Concordiae, utque iduum Septembrium dies, quo se 
 Libo interfecerat, dies festus haberetur, L. P. et Gallus Asinias et 
 Papius Mutilus et L. Apronius decrevere ; quorum auctoritates 
 adulationesque rettuli, ut sciretur vetus id in re publica malum, 
 facta et de matbematicis magisque Italia pellendis senatus con- 
 sulta ; quorum e numero L. Pituanius saxo delectus est, in P. 
 Marcium consules extra portam Esquilinam, cum classicum canere 
 iussissent, more prisco advertere. 
 
 Cn. Lentuhbs] This was Cn. Cor- 
 nelius Lentulus, who was consul 18 a.c. 
 He was sent by Augustus against the 
 Daci, sometimes (iv. 44) called Getae 
 (Pliny N. H. iv. 25, and Hor. Carm. iii. 8. 
 18, "occidit Daci Cotisonis agmen," com- 
 pared with Suetonius, Aug. 63, " Cotisoni 
 Getarum regi"), and reduced them to 
 subjection (Flor. iv. 12, 18, and Marm. 
 Ancyr. v.) . He is the same man whose 
 name occurs i. 27, but not the same as 
 Lentulus the Augur in iii. 59, where see 
 the note. Supposing Cn. Lentulus to 
 have been the age required by the Lex 
 Annalis (43 years) when he gained the 
 consulship, or near it, he must have been 
 about 85 years old at his death (" senec- 
 tutis extremae," iv. 29). 
 
 cognomentuTn Drusi] The father of 
 the M. Drusus Libo of ii. 27 was adopted 
 by M. Livius Drusus the father of 
 Livia, wife of Augustus and mother of 
 the Emperor Tiberius. So Nipperdey, 
 on the authority, as I understand, of 
 Veil. Paterc. ii. 71, 75, which accounts 
 for the introduction of the name Drusus 
 into the family of Libo. For a similar 
 prohibition against using a particular 
 name in a family, cf. Li v. vi. 20, "gentis 
 Manliae decreto cautum est ne quis 
 deinde M. Manlius vocaretur." 
 
 Pow/ponius Flaccus] He was consul 
 A.D. 17, and legatus pro praetore of 
 Moesia in a.d. 19 (ii. QQ), and of Syria, 
 where he died a.d. 34 (vi. 27). 
 
 L. P.] The MS. has merely L. P. A 
 Lucius Piso is mentioned just below, and 
 perhaps he maybe intended; but as it is 
 Impossible to say, I have left the reading 
 as it is. If there were three people 
 mentioned, one would have expected ' L., 
 P. et Gallua Asinii.' 
 
 auctoritates] An * auctoritas senatus ' 
 was an immature 'senatus consultum/ 
 
 proposed and not carried, a reco3*d of it 
 being however kept. Cf. Liv. iv. 57, "si 
 quis intercedat senatus consulto, auctori- 
 tate se fore contentum." But here the 
 'auctoritates' are not 'auctoritates se- 
 natus,' but the 'auctoritates' of these 
 particular men. Cicero (ad Fam. viii. 8) 
 writes, " senatus consultum qucd tibi 
 misi factum est, auctoritatesque prae- 
 scriptae " (if this reading be correct), 
 where ' auctoritates ' must be, as Schiitz 
 and others take it, the names of those 
 senators who ' scribendo affueruntj,' i. e. 
 were witnesses to the drawing up of the 
 * senatus consultum.' In the passage 
 in the text, ' auctoritates ' doe s not 
 mean the names of those who were so 
 present, but apparently the proposals 
 they made : and the fact that such pro- 
 posals were made by these men is 
 conveyed by 'decrevere.' In iv. 20 
 'censere' is so used. The proposals 
 made were not unnaturally called ' auc- 
 toritates,' because if they were carried, the 
 result would be ' senatus auctoritates,' 
 and finally ' senatus consulta.' 
 
 de mathematicis] The same 8,s the 
 Chaldaei mentioned in c. 27. Cf. Aul. 
 Gell. i. 9, "vulgus quos gentilicio e omine 
 Chaldaeos dicere oportet, matherc aticos 
 dicit." Cf H. i. 22, "urgentibus etiam 
 mathematicis dura novos motus vt cla- 
 rum Othoni annum observatione si'lerum 
 afl&rmant." Cf. Suetonius, Vitell. 3 ; Juv. 
 xiv. 248. 
 
 saxo] Sc. ' Tarpeio.' So iv. 29, '' robur 
 et saxum aut parricidarum poenas mini- 
 tantium." 
 
 classiciom] Cf. Plutarch, C. Gracch. 
 C. 3, Trdrpiov itrriu jjfxlv ei tis e^ajr d'lKrju 
 OauariKTjv /j.^ viraKovei, rovrov Trphs ras 
 dvpas ectidiu i\66ura (TaXmyKT^v avaKaXflar- 
 Oai rfj (rdXtriyyi koX /j.^ irpSTepop iiricpfpeiu 
 iprjcpoy avTcf rovs ^iKaards. "What tlie old 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. H. 87 
 
 33. Proximo senatus die multa in luxum civitatis dicta a Q. 
 Haterio consulari, Octavio Frontone praetura functo ; decretumque 
 ne vasa auro solida ministrandis cibis fierent, ne vestis serica viros 
 foedaret. excessit Fronto ac postulavit modum argento, supellec- 
 tilij familiae : erat quippe adhuc frequens senatoribus, si quit e re 
 publica crederent, loco sententiae promere. contra Gallus Asinius 
 disseruit : auctu imperii adolevisse etiam privatas opes, idque non 
 novum_, sed e vetustissimis moribus : aliam apud Fabricios, aliam 
 aput Scipiones pecuniam ; et cuncta ad rem publicam referri, qua 
 tenui angustas civium domes, postquam eo magnificentiae venerit, 
 gliscere singulos. neque in fargilia et argento quaeque ad usum 
 parentur nimium aliquit aut modicum nisi ex fortuna possi- 
 dentis, distinctos senatus et equitum census, non quia diversi 
 natura, sed ut locis ordinibus dignatiouibus antistent, et aliis quae 
 
 fashion of pmiisliinent was is described are only relative : what is too mucli for 
 
 by Suetonius, Nero 49, "nudi hominis one may not be too much for another, and 
 
 cervicem inseri furcae, corpus virgis ad what is too much for any one at a certain 
 
 necem caedi." time, may be moderate for the same 
 
 33. Q. Haterio consulari] Q. Haterius person at another period. The sense is 
 
 is said to have been 'consul suffectus' not 'there is not any thing excessive,' 
 
 in the year 9 a.c, but I do not know on for that would rather be ' nee nimium 
 
 what authority this is stated. He was a quicquam,' but a certain thing, conceived 
 
 great orator ("suis temporibus oratoris in the mind, is not either moderate or 
 
 celeberrimi," Senec. Epist. xl. 10). excessive: for 'non aliquit' is used to 
 
 vestis serica] A dress of silk, transpa- negative some certain individual idea : 
 
 rent enough to show the limbs through, the negative is true for that one par. 
 
 The commentators quote Senec. de Ben. ticular notion : * non quicquam' negatives 
 
 vii. 9. 5, "video sericas vestes si vestes all possible ideas together, 
 
 vocandae sunt in quibus nihil est quo census'] For the equestrian census cf. 
 
 defendi aut corpus aut denique pudor Juv. i. 105, " sed quinque tabemae quad- 
 
 possit : quibus sumptis mulier parum ringenta parant." Augustus, according 
 
 liquido nudam se non esse iurabit." The to Dio Cassius (liv. 17), fixed the sena- 
 
 raw material seems to have been pro- torial census at 400,000 sesterces, the 
 
 duced in Cos, and there made up into same as a knight's fortune, but afterwards 
 
 fabrics. At least Aristotle (H. A. v. 19) doubled it, and at last made it 1,200,000 
 
 speaks of silk from cocoons being wound (Suet. Aug. 41), or, as Dio says, is 
 
 on bobbins, and that would be done, ircuTe koX ^Xkoci fxvpidSas "Trpo-ffyaye, which 
 
 I suppose, where the cocoons are pro- last amount tallies with that of Tacitus, 
 
 duced. Under the Emperors a direct for in i. 75 'decies sestertium' were 
 
 traffic was opened probably with Central given to Propertius Celer, who claimed 
 
 Asia. Virgil seems to have fancied that exemption jfrom the duties of a senator 
 
 the raw silk was found on trees, in a on the ground of poverty. Cf. ii 37. 
 
 thin fleece; or perhaps he means that After 'distinctos' 'a plebe' or 'a ceteris' 
 
 the young worms were placed on trees is to be supplied, not ' inter se.' 
 
 to spin their cocoons, which wap very locis ordinihus] The senators and 
 
 likely the case (Georg. ii. 121). Dr. knights had separate places assigned 
 
 Smith's Diet, of Antiquities may bo them in the theatre (and at a later 
 
 consulted Tinder ' Sericum.' period, xv. 32, in the Circus). The Lex 
 
 excessit] Sc. ' relationem.' Cf. ii. 38, Roscia, 67 a.c, assigned fourteen rows 
 
 and the note there. Or rather it is used to the latter body. Cf. Juv. iii. 159, " sic 
 
 absolutely, as in ii. 24: 'went beyond libitum vano qui nos distinxit Othoni." 
 
 this.' For Gallus Asinius cf. iv. 20. The reading of the MS., ' italisque,' is 
 
 nimium aUquit] Excess or moderation unintelligible, for which I have adopted 
 
88 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 ad requiem animi aut salubritatem corporum parentur^ nisL forte 
 clarissimo cuique plures curas, maiora pericula subeunda^ cleleni- 
 mentis curarum et periculorum carendum esse, facilem ads<3iisuin 
 G-allo sub nominibus bonestis confessio vitiorum et sinQ^litudo 
 audientium dedit. adiecerat et Tiberius non id tempus ceiisurae 
 nee, si quit in moribus labaret, defuturum corrigendi auctoiv^m. 
 
 34. Inter quae L. Piso ambitum fori, corrupta indicia, sacyvitiam 
 oratorum accusationes minitantium increpans, abire se et cedere 
 urbe, victurum in aliquo abdito et longinquo rure testabatur; 
 simul curiam relinquebat. commotus est Tiberius, et quamquam 
 mitibus verbis Pisonem permulsisset, propinquos quoque eius im- 
 pnlit ut abeuntem auctoritate vel precibus tenerent. hand minus 
 liberi doloris documentum idem Piso mox dedit vocata in ins 
 Urgulania, quam supra leges amicitia Augustae extulerat. iiec aut 
 Urgulania obtemperavit, in domum Caesaris spreto Pisone vecta, 
 aut ille abscessit, quamquam Augusta se violari et imminui que- 
 reretur. Tiberius bactenus indulgere matri civile ratus, ut se 
 iturum ad praetoris tribunal, adfuturum Urgulaniae dicer et, pro- 
 cessit Palatio, procul sequi iussis militibus. spectabatur occur- 
 sante populo compositus ore et sermonibus variis tempus atque 
 iter ducens, donee propinquis Pisonem frustra coercentibus deferri 
 Augusta pecuniam, quae petebatur, iuberet. isque finis rei, ex 
 
 the suggestion of Grotius, ' et aliis.' Tlie empliasis to tlie remark : ' lie vo>n ed that, 
 
 whole construction is perhaps a little in- for his part, he was leaving the city 
 
 volved ; but it is not necessary to take there and then.' The imperfect ' relin- 
 
 *ut' first in the sense of as,' and then of quebat' just below implies thai: he did 
 
 *in order that,' as Bitter proposes ; but not carry out his threat, 
 
 it is ' in order that ' simply, and * et ' is abscessif] Piso meeting TJigulania 
 
 * and,' not ' also :' ' not because they are suromoned her ' in ius,' ' into cc urt,' on 
 
 . . . but in order that they may be the ground of having a claim against her 
 
 distinguished above others in . . . and for money. Paying no regard to the 
 
 in every thing else ' &c. * Nisi forte ' summons, she entered the pala ce, and 
 
 followed by the infinitive is peculiar. Cf. Piso followed her, and refused to abstain 
 
 H. i. 17, " honorificum id militibus fore from pressing his claim. For Urgulania 
 
 quorum favorem, ut largitione et ambitu see iv. 22. 
 
 male adquiri, ita per bonas artes haut hactenus] Tiberius considered himself 
 
 spernendum." Nipperdey quotes Liv. ii. to be doing no more than any private 
 
 13, "prae se ferre quemadmodum si non citizen might do, in offering to advocate 
 dedatur obses pro rupto foedus se habi- Urgulania' s cause before the l^raetor. 
 turum" &c. In Greek the two clauses, In doing this, he claimed no ospecial 
 ' subeunda . . . carendum,' would be right as Princeps. 
 
 more distinctly marked by yueV and 5e. adfuturum] 'Adesse ' is used especially 
 
 34. dbire se\ One would have expected of rendering legal aid. Cf. Cic. ad Attic. 
 
 a future here rather than a present. But i. 1, "rogavit me Caecilius ut sidessera 
 
 the present is sometimes found. Cf. xiv. contra Satrium." Suet. August. 56, " ad- 
 
 14, " ratusque dedecus molliri si plures fait et clientibus sicut Scutario cuidam 
 foedasset." Agric. 9, "revocatusestcomi- qui postulabatur iniuriarum," and Hor, 
 tante opinione Britanniam ei provinciam Sat. i. 9. 38. 
 
 dari." Here it is used apparently to give 
 
/. 
 
 my. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI UJ^ll. ^^^ 
 
 qua neque Piso inglorius et Caesar maiore faml Tuit. Wriim'^ 
 Urgulaniae potentia adeo nimia civitati erat, ut ^testis in' causa ^ 
 quadam, quae aput senatum tractabatur, venire dedignaretm-/ > ' 
 missus est praetor qui domi interrogaret, cum virgines YestalespA ^ 
 foro et iudicio audiri, quotiens testimonium dicerent, vetus in©al->' 
 fuerit. 
 
 35. Ees eo anno prolatas haud referrem, ni pretium foret Cn. 
 Pisonis et Asinii Galli super eo negotio diversas sententias noscere. 
 Piso, quamquam afuturum se dixerat Caesar, ob id magis agendas 
 censebat, ut absente principe senatum et equites posse sua munia 
 sustinere decorum rei publicae foret. Callus, quia speciem liber- 
 tatis Piso praeceperat, nihil satis inlustre aut ex dignitate populi 
 Eomani nisi coram et sub oculis Caesaris, eoque conventum Italiae 
 et ei adfluentis provincias praesentiae eius servanda dicebat. au- 
 diente baec Tiberio ac silente magnis utrimque contentionibus 
 acta, sed res dilatae. 
 
 36. Et certamen Gallo adversus Caesarem exortum est. np-" 
 censuit in quinquennium magis tratuum comitia bpT-^-^^a, utque 
 legionum legati, qui ante praeturam ea mili^'^ iungebantur, iam 
 
 35. prolatas'] The sittings of the ls»^' 
 courts and Senate were adv'^'^^^^- 
 Tiberius had no doubt annoiT'^^ed his ab- 
 sence, or probable absence, and a 'iusti- 
 tium' was proposed m consequence. Cf. 
 Cic. ad Attic, t^^- 5, " ecce meanx stidtam 
 verecundiarfi qni legari noluerim ante 
 res prolatas." Plant. Capt. i. 1. 10, " ubi 
 I'es prolatae sunt, cum rus homines eunt." 
 
 Cn. Piso] Cn. Calpumius Piso was 
 a * triumvir monetalis ' under Augustus, 
 and son of Cn. Piso, who was consul in 
 23 A.c. He was legatus pro praetore of 
 Hispania Citerior (iii. 12, 13), and also 
 of Syria (ii. 43). 
 
 senatum et equites] The ' indices ' were 
 at this period selected from the Senate, 
 Equites, aerarian tribunes, and duce- 
 narii for less important causes. Cf. 
 Suet. August. 32. 
 
 36. iam turn] Immediately on their 
 appointment as 'legati legionum.' There 
 is considerable difficulty about this pas- 
 sage. There were about twenty-five 
 legions on foot at this period of Roman 
 history. Of the 'legati' of these, some 
 would have already been praetors (cf. 
 Suet. Vespas. 2, 4) : others had not (for 
 instances of this cf. vi. 30, xiv. 28, xv. 28). 
 Tiberius, if I understand the passage, 
 was to select twelve persons for each 
 
 jrear, or sixty for the whole period of 
 five years, and nominate them for elec- 
 tion to the Praetorship ; and these twelve 
 for each year, or sixty in all, were to be 
 appointed by the Senate, and subse- 
 quently, I imagine, by the Comitia (i. 81), 
 at intervals of five years, as a matter of 
 course (" sine repidsa et ambitu desig- 
 nandi," i. 15). Those legati who had not 
 yet been praetors were to be included in 
 this list of candidates, and as of course 
 they would not nearly exhaust the num- 
 ber to be nominated by the Princeps, he 
 would add to them other candidates, not 
 ' legati legionum,' to make the tale of 
 men complete. I do not see clearly why 
 Gallus made the proposal here detailed. 
 Perhaps he thought in this way to 
 secure to the Princeps the entire disposal 
 of the Praetorship, as the ' legati legio- 
 num' were entirely appointed by him. 
 But virtually Tiberius possessed this 
 before (i. 15). However, the scheme thus 
 put forward appeared /to Tiberius a 
 dangerous one (see the note just below 
 on 'temptari'). He professed however, 
 with his usual dissimulation, to regard 
 it as an increase of his influence thus to 
 have the control of the praetoi-ian ap- 
 pointments entirely placed in his own 
 hands : but the plan api)eared to him, 
 
90 . COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 turn praetores destinarentur, princeps duodecim candidatos m an- 
 nos singulos nominaret. hail dubium erat earn sententiam fv.tius 
 penetrare et arcana imperii temptari. Tiberius tamen, c^uasi 
 augeretur potestas eius^ disseruit : grave moderationi suae tot 
 eligere, tot differre. vix per singulos annos offensiones vltari, 
 quamvis repulsam propinqua spes soletur : quantum odii for(3 ab 
 iis qui ultra quinquennium proiciantur. unde prospici posse c[uae 
 cuique tam longo temporis spatio mens_, domus^ fortuna ? super- 
 bire homines etiam annua designatione : quid si bonorem per 
 quinquennium agitent? quinquiplicari prorsus magistratus^ sub- 
 verti leges, quae sua spatia exercendae candidatorum industriae 
 quaerendisque aut potiundis, bonoribus statuerint. favorabili in 
 speciem oratione vim imperii tenuit. 
 
 37. Censusque quorundam senatorum iuvit. quo magis mirum 
 fuit_, quod preces Marci Hortali, nobilis iuvenis, in paupertate 
 manifesta superbius accepisset. nepos erat oratoris Hortensii, 
 I'nlectus a divo Augusto liberalitate decies sestertii ducere uxorem, 
 susciptjx V. i^>,eros, ne clarissima familia extingueretur. igitur quat- 
 tuor nlns ante i\^^j^ curiae adstantibus, loco sententiae_, cum in 
 
 from the language here used by Tacitus, quinquiplicmq The magistrates were 
 to have a decided tendency to lessen his not, .f course, increased fivefold in 
 power instead of increasing it. I sup- number, o.f. each one gave himself the 
 pose this was so, because the choice of airs of a magi^frate durino- the whole 
 candidates for the Praetorship by Tibe- five years. This is the meaning too of 
 rius was thereby restricted. The scheme the previous expression, ' honorem agi- 
 compelled him to nominate all ' legati tare,' where 'animo' must be supplied, 
 legionum ' to the Praetorship : he might favoraUW] Cf xii. 36, H. ii. 07. The 
 wish to have a larger area allowed him word is passive : 'viewed with favour,' 
 for selection. But as he appointed the ' worthy of approval.' 
 * legati ' himself, I do not see that the 37. inlectus . . . ducere'] For the con- 
 restriction was a serious one. Vitellius struction here with ' inlectus ' cf W. 12, 
 _(H. iii. 55) endeavoured to secure himself " proximi inliciebantur pravis sermoi ibus 
 in power by appointing at one stroke tumidos spiritus perstimulare." So with 
 consuls for many years to come. 'imperare' (ii. 25), 'perpellere' (xii. 50), 
 
 hau dubium] For ' hand dubium,' as 'subigere' (xiv. 26), and manv ether 
 
 often in the MS. verbs. 
 
 temptari] Perhaps this means that the decies sestertii] The amount of a 
 
 Emperor's policy ('arcana') would be senator's qualification. See note on ii . 33. 
 
 disclosed more openly than before. At The gx-andfather of Marcus Hortalus was 
 
 present he was able to keep men in sus- Q. Hortensius, the great orator (Cicoro's 
 
 pense, but if the elections were decided rival) : the father was also named Q. 
 
 for five years to come, those who were Hortensius, and was put to death by 
 
 appointed would feel less dependent on Antonius after the battle of Philippi 
 
 the Emperor's favour, as already secure (Plutarch, Brut. 28). Hortensius Corbio 
 
 of office, and those who were rejected was also a grandson of Q. Hortensius 
 
 for so many years in advance would be the elder (Valer. Max. iii. 5). 
 
 the more bitter against him. By ' arcana ' in Palatio] Cf Suet. Aug. 29, " Tom. 
 
 Tacitus means the state-craft required to plum Apollinis in ea parte Palatinae 
 
 blind men to the actual policy of their domus excitavit .... addita portions 
 
 rulers. Cf. ii. 59. cum bibliotheca Latina Graecaque, quo 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. ^1 
 
 Palatio senatus haberetur, modo Hortensii inter oratores sitam 
 imaginem modo August! intuens, ad hunc modum coepit : ' patres 
 conscripti, hos, quorum numerum et pueritiam videtis, non sponto 
 sustuli, sed quia princeps monebat ; simul maiores mei meruerant 
 ut posteros baberent. nam ego, qui non pecuniam, non studia 
 populi neque eloquentiam, gentile domus nostrae bonum, varietate 
 temporum accipere vel parare potuissem, satis babebam, si tenues 
 res meae nee mibi pudori nee cuiquam oneri forent. iussus ab 
 imperatore uxorem duxi. en stirps et progenies tot consulum, tot 
 dictatorum. nee ad invidiam ista, sed conciliandae misericordiae 
 refero. adsequentur florente te, Caesar, quos dederis bonores : 
 interim Q. Hortensii pronepotes, divi Augusti alumnos ab inopia 
 defende.' 
 
 38. Inclinatio senatus incitamentum Tiberio fuit quo promtius 
 adversaretur, bis ferme verbis usus : ' si quantum pauperum est 
 venire buc et liberis suis petere pecunias coeperint, singuU num- 
 quam exsatiabuntur, res publica deficiet. nee sane ideo a maiori^ 
 bus concessum est egredi abquando relationem et Qn^^ ^^ ^o"^" 
 mune conducat loco sententiae proferre, ut pri'^''^ negotia et res 
 familiares nostras bic augeamus, cum inv^'^^'^ senatus et principum, 
 sive indulserint largitionem sive a^x^Lierint. non enim preces sunt 
 
 loco iam senior saepe cfiasm. senattun I think tlie second future indicative, not 
 
 habuit." the perfect subjunctive. Cf. xiv. 59, " sed 
 
 imaginem] T2ie Senate met when Au- Plautum ea non movere, sive nullam opem 
 
 gustus was growing old in the Palatine providebat inermis atque exsul, seu taedio 
 
 Library, which was ornamented with the ambiguae spei;" iii. 3, " seu valetudine 
 
 likenesses of illustrious men on round praepediebatur, seu victus luctu animus 
 
 shields. Cf. ii. 83. magnitudinem mali perferre visu non tole- 
 
 tot consulnm'] There was a Lucius ravit;" vi. 9, "causa oflfensionis Vistilio 
 
 Hortensius consul 108 a.c, a Quintus fuit, seu composuerat quaedam in C. 
 
 Hortensius 69 a.c. But there is no reason Caesarem ut impudicum, sive ficto habita 
 
 why he may not have counted in the fides." Germ. 34, "sive adiit Hercules 
 
 number the consulates of the families seu quidqiiid ubique magnificum est in 
 
 with which the Hortensii were connected claritatem eius referre consensimus." 
 
 by marriage at different times. De Oratoribus 6, " sive accuratam medita- 
 
 38. quantum, pait^erum] Cf. Catullus tamque profert orationem . . . sive novam 
 
 iii. 2, " et quantum est hominum ve- et recentem curam . . . adtulerit." In 
 
 nustiorum." Below, * egredi relationem ' iv. 60 there is a subjunctive, " seu loque- 
 
 is to * wander beyond the exact measure retur seu taceret iuvenis crimen ex 
 
 under discussion.' A senator, when silentio, ex voce." I think Nipperdey 
 
 called on to speak, was allowed to in- rightly views this as being a subjunctive 
 
 troduce into his speech remarks on (like an optative in Greek) of indefinite 
 
 subjects not connected intimately with frequency. So also in De Oratoribus 28, 
 
 the matter under debate. Cf. ii. 33, " quae disciplina ac severitas eo pertine- 
 
 iii. 33, 34, iv. 74, xiii. 49. I think ' loco bat ut sincera et intcgra et nullis pra- 
 
 sententiae' means *on the opportunity vitatibus detorta uniuscuiusque natura 
 
 presented by being asked for his opinion.' toto statim pectore adriperet artes 
 
 So in xiv. 42. honcstas, et sive ad rem militarem sive 
 
 sive indulserinf] What tense is this ? ad iuris scientiam sive ad eloquential 
 
92 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 769. 
 
 istut^ sed efflagitatio_, intempestiva quidem et inprovisa^ cum aliis 
 de rebus convenerint patres^ consurgere et numero atque aetate 
 liberum suorum urgere modestiani senatus, eandem vim in me 
 transmittere ac velut perfringere aerarium^ quod si am^bitione 
 exliauserimus_, per scelera supplendum erit. dedit tibi^ Hcrtale, 
 divus Augustus pecuniam, sed non conpellatus nee ea lege ut . 
 semper daretur. languescet alioqui industria, intendetur socordia, 
 si nullus ex se metus aut spes^ et securi omnes aliena subsidia ex- 
 pectabunt_, sibi ignavi,, nobis graves/ baec atque talia^ quamquam 
 cum adsensu audita ab iis^ quibus omnia principum^ bonesta atque 
 inbonesta^ laudare mos est^ plures per silentium aut occultum 
 murmur excepere. sensitque Tiberius ; et cum paulum reticuisset^ 
 Hortalo se respondisse ait : ceterum si patribus videretur, daturum 
 liberis eius ducena sestertia singulis^ qui sexus virilis essent. 
 egere alii grates : siluit Hortalus^ pavore an avitae nobilitatis 
 etiam inter angustias fortunae retinens. neque miseratus est 
 
 Bttidixii^ ^'nclinasset, id solum ageret, id is virtually reflexive, but not quite gram- 
 
 umversum Jiau_;^p>^^" Here the whole matically so: for instance, Caesar, B. G. 
 
 latter part of the sentt.w,p,jgjj^,jgpejj(jgjj^ce i. 51, "eomulieresimposueruntquae . . . 
 
 on eo pertmebat, and <- nresses the milites . . . implorabant ne se in servi- 
 
 object of the training in questioix viewed tutem Eomanis traderent." Hore of 
 
 subjectively by the mind of the traineio. course 'se' refers to the subject not of 
 
 non jpreces sunt istuf] See on i. 49. ti.. verb in its ovm clause, ' traderent,' 
 
 urgere modestiam] ' To bear hardly on but to that of the verb in the piimary 
 
 the delicacy of the Senate.' The Senate clause, ' impo^uerunt ;' and this subject 
 
 would scarcely like to refuse the request is virtually regardod as running tlii'ouo-h 
 
 from a delicacy of feeling towards their the whole sentence, so that even in the 
 
 fellow- senator. This urgency of per- subsidiary portions of it, the reflexive 
 
 suasion is the *vis eadem' of the next pronouns are used with reference to it 
 
 clause. and not the grammatical subject oi those 
 
 ex se] 'From a man's own self.' clauses themselves. So too Hor. Sat. 
 
 Nipperdey quotes Cic. de Fin. i. 20, ii. 1. 49, " grande malum Thurius, i,i quid 
 
 "amicitiae efiectrices sunt voluptatum se iudice certes." Similarly (r^els is used 
 
 tam amicis quam sibi," and Senec. Epist. in Greek. Cf. Thucyd. vi. 42, irpovrefirpav 
 
 V. 12. 14, " desiderat propriam et longam rpels i^avs elaro/jL^vas a'hives cr<pus ruiy 
 
 executionem quemadmodum populo dis- ir6\ea}v di^ovrai. In this chapter of our 
 
 serendum quid sibi aput populum per- author, just above ' nullus ex se metus,' 
 
 mittendum, quid populo aput se." So the there is a use of the reflexive possessive 
 
 possessive reflexive pronoun is used to pronoun worth noticing : the passage 
 
 express what especially belongs to a runs, "efflagitatio (est) consurgere et 
 
 man's own self, as distinguished from numero atque aetate liberum suorum 
 
 what belongs to others. Cf. Cic. ad urgere modestiam senatus." Here there 
 
 Fam, vi. 7. 4, " cum plurima ad alieni is no subject actually expressed, but it is 
 
 sensus coniecturam, nonad suum iudicium virtually present, in the form of * a man,' 
 
 scribantur." Ibid. xiv. 12, "Octavius 'anyone:' 'that a man should get up 
 
 quem sui Caesarem salutabant, Philip- and by dwelling on the number ard age 
 
 pus non." Ibid. ix. 12. 2, "ilium idcis- of his children' &c. 
 
 centur mores sui." Caes. B. G. vii. 81, retinens] Cf. v. 11, xvi. 5, Cic. ad Q. 
 " suus cuique erat locus definitus." In Fr. i. 2 for instances of a genitive after 
 these passages 'sui' and 'suus' are this word. So " tolerans laborum corpus " 
 not truly reflexive. There is another (iv. 1), "obtegens sui" (ibid.), "in- 
 common use of ' sui ' where the pronoun tellegens imminentium" (v. 9), "tern- 
 
A.D. 16.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 93 
 
 posthac Tiberius^ quamvis domus Hortensii pudendam ad inopiam 
 delaberetur. 
 
 39. Eodem anno mancipii unius audacia, ni mature subventum 
 foret, discordiis armisque civilibus rem publicam perculisset. 
 Postumi Agrippae servus, nomine Clemens^ conperto fine August! 
 pergere in insulam Planasiam et fraude aut vi rap turn Agrippam 
 ferre ad exercitus Germanicos non servili animo concepit. ansa 
 eius inpedivit tarditas onerariae navis ; atque interim patrata caede 
 ad maiora et magis praecipitia conversus furatur cineres vectusque 
 Cosam Etruriae promunturium ignotis locis sese abdit, donee 
 crinem barbamque promitteret : nam aetate et forma baut dissimili 
 in dominum erat. tum per idoneos et secreti eius socios crebrescit 
 vivere Agrippam, occultis primum sermonibus, ut vetita solent, 
 mox vago rumore aput inperitissimi cuiusque promptas aures aut 
 rursum aput turbidos eoque nova cupientes. atque ipse adiro 
 municipia obscure diei, neque propalam aspici neque diutius isdem 
 locis, sed quia Veritas visu et mora, falsa festinatione et incertis 
 valescunt, relinquebat famam aut praeveniebat. 
 
 40. Vulgabatur interim per Italiam servatum munere deum 
 Agrippam, credebatur Romae ; iamque Ostiam invectum multitudo 
 ingens, iam in urbe clandestini coetus celebrabant, cum Tiberium 
 
 perantior potestatis" (xiii. 46). It is exist, consisting of walls of polygonal 
 
 only when a participle has lost its own blocks of limestone, fortified by square 
 
 participial force, and acquired that of an towers at intervals. It is called ' Cosae ' 
 
 adjective, that it is constructed with a by Yirgil (Aen. x. 167). Probably from 
 
 genitive case, instead of that required by the expression ' ignotis locis ' here, Ta- 
 
 the verb of which it is a part. citus includes the Mens Argentarius in 
 
 39. pergere] This infinitive after *con- the term ' Cosa.' 
 
 cepit animo ' supplies a good example of in dominurn] This is a singular ex- 
 
 the real nature of that mood. The in- pression. The preposition serves to 
 
 finitive here is really used substantively, introduce the standard of measurement, 
 
 as the object of ' concepit,' just as in as it were : ' of form not unlike, taking 
 
 Greek the infinitive with the article can his master as the standard,' i. e. not 
 
 always be so used. Of course, although without some resemblance to his master, 
 
 this is true, the infinitive difiers from Orelli quotes a very similar passage, 
 
 a noun in one respect : it cannot be Apul. Metam. x. 30, " puella vultu ho- 
 
 followed by a genitive case, as a sub- nesta, in dea© lunonis speciem similis." 
 
 stantivo would, but requires an accu- Below, for 'obscuro diei' cf. H. iv. 50, 
 
 sative of its own subject. It is im- " obscuro adhuc coeptae lucis." H. 
 
 possible to say ' video esse tui,' but ii. 14, " obscurum noctis." 
 
 'esse te.' relinquehat famam] He either left the 
 
 Cosam] A town in Southern Etruria places he visited before people had time 
 
 near the Mons Argentarius. A Roman to analyse and sift his pretensions, or ho 
 
 colony was established here 273 a.c. arrived before the report of him reached 
 
 (Liv. Epit. xi v.), and after the losses su 8- the locality to set the inhabitants in- 
 
 tained in the second Punic war, 1000 quiring who he was. 
 
 new colonists were sent 196 a.c. (Liv. 40. celehrahant] The word is used in 
 
 xxxiii. 24) . It seems to have fallen into rather difierent senses in the two 
 
 ruins early, perhaps in the third or fourth clauses. At Ostia the crowd flocked 
 
 century after Christ J and these ruins still round him bodily (for this meaning cf. 
 
94 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 770. 
 
 anceps cura distraliere^ vine militum servum suum coercerob an 
 inanem credulitatem tempore ipso vanescere sineret : modo lihil 
 spernendum^ modo non omnia metuenda ambiguus pudorii? ac 
 metus reputabat. postremo dat negotimn Sallustio Crispo. ille 
 e clientibus duos (quidam milites fuisse tradunt) deligit fibque 
 hortatuTj simulata conscientia adeant^ offerant pecuniam^ fidem 
 atque pericula polliceantur. exsequuntur ut iussum erat. dein 
 speculati noctem incustoditam^ accepta idonea manu^ vin(3tum 
 clauso ore in Palatium traxere. percontanti Tiberio^ quo raodo 
 Agrippa factus essetj respondisse fertur ' quo modo tu Caesar/ ut 
 ederet socios subigi non potuit. nee Tiberius poenam eius palam 
 ausuSj in secreta Palatii parte interfici iussit corpusque clam 
 auferri. et quamquam multi e domo principis equitesque ac sena- 
 tores sustentasse opibus^ iuvisse consiliis dicerentur_, baud quae- 
 situm. 
 
 41. Fine anni arcus propter aedem Saturni ob recepta signa 
 cum Yaro amissa ductu Germanici_, auspiciis Tiberii^ et aedes 
 Fortis Fortunae Tiberim iuxta in hortis^ quos Caesar dictator 
 populo Romano legaverat, sacrarium genti luliae effigiesque divo 
 Augusto aput Bovillas dicantur. 
 
 C. Caelio L. Pomponio consulibus Germanicus Caesar a. d. 
 
 Cic. pro Muren. 34, " a quibus si domus treasury. Close to it was tlie arch here 
 
 nostra celebratur ") ; at Rome the secret mentioned. 
 
 assemblies made kun their subject of dis- Fortis Fortunae] *Fors Fortuna/ the 
 
 cussion and plots. name being a repetition of the same idea, 
 
 suuni] On the death of Agrippa, had a temple founded in her honour by 
 
 his property and slaves passed into the Servius Tullius (Varro, L. L. vi. 17), and 
 
 hands of Tiberius. Below, for Sallustiua Sp. Carvilius built a new temple near the 
 
 Crispus cf. iii. 30. He is the Sallustius old one (Liv. x. 46). 
 
 Crispus of Horace, Carm. ii. 2. in hortis'] Cf. Her. Sat. i. 9. 18, " i rans 
 
 fidem atque pericula] ' Fidelity and Tiberim longe cubat is prope Cae saris 
 
 bold deeds.' They undertook to be hortos." They were left to the people by 
 
 faithful, and accepted all risks in his the Dictator Caesar, 
 
 service. aput Bovillas] Bovillae was or the 
 
 quo modo tu Caesar] This is appa- Via Appia, about ten miles from Eome. 
 
 rently an answer dictated by sheer It was colonized from Alba Longa (cf. 
 
 eflBrontery and recklessness: he was, he Inscrip. Lat. 119, 2252, "Albani Longani 
 
 said, turned into Agrippa with as much Bovillenses"). Afterwards, as one of the 
 
 reason as Tiberius was turned into a thirty cities which formed the Latin 
 
 Caesar : one was just as great a fraud as League, it took part in the sacrifices on 
 
 the other. the Alban Mount (Cic. pro Plane. 9). 
 
 nee Tiberius] That is, * et Tiberius non It has been suggested that the especial 
 
 poenam' &c., as in i. 30, "et Drusus non connexion with Bovillae maintained by 
 
 oxpectato legatorum regressu ... in the Julian family was owing to iheir 
 
 lu-bem rediit." Cf. xii. 7, "nee Claudius connexion with Alba Longa. Thei-e is 
 
 ultra expectato . . . se praebet." an inscription illustrating the erecticm of 
 
 41. aedem Satu/rni] This Temple of the 'sacrarium' mentioned here (n. 1287) : 
 
 Saturn was close to the broad end of the " Vediovei fratrei genteiles Ivliei." 
 
 Forum Romanum, south of the Temple C. Caslio] There is some doubt here 
 
 of Concord. It was used as the public as to the true name of this consul. Dio 
 
A.D. 17.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTPLIB. II. 95 
 
 YII. K. lunias triumphavit de Cheruscis Chattlsque et Angrivariis 
 quaeque aliae nationes usque ad Albim colunt. vecta spolia, cap- 
 tivi, simulacra montium, fluminum, proeliorum; bellumque_, quia 
 conficere prohibitus erat, pro confecto accipiebatur. augebat in- 
 tuentium visus eximia ipsius species currusque quinque liberis 
 onustus. sed suberat occulta formido reputantibus baud pro- 
 sperum in Druso patre eius favorem vulgi, avunculura eiusdem 
 Marcellum flagrantibus plebis studiis intra iuventam ereptum, 
 breves et infaustos populi Eomani amores. 
 
 42. Ceterum Tiberius nomine Germanici trecenos plebi sester- 
 tios viritim dedit seque collegam consulatui eius destinavit. nee 
 ideo sincerae caritatis fidem adsecutus amoliri iuvenem specie 
 honoris statuit struxitque causas aut forte oblatas arripuit. rex 
 Arcbelaus quinquagesimum annum Cappadocia potiebatur, invisus 
 Tiberioj quod eum RLodi agentem nuUo officio coluisset. nee id 
 Arcbelaus per superbiam omiserat, sed ab intimis Augusti monitus, 
 quia florente Gaio Caesare missoque ad res orientis intuta Tiberii 
 
 speaks (Ivii. IV) of Caius Caecilius (with have been called Caius Caecilius Metellus 
 Lucius Flaccus) as consul in this year Nepos Caelianus. But this rule was often 
 (a.d. 17), and he is so described in an violated: for instance, when Caius Plinius 
 inscription (Inscr. Lat. n. 6444). Other Secundus adopted his nephew Caecilius, 
 inscriptions however make him C. Caelius the latter was called Caius Plinius Cae- 
 C. f. Eufus (n. 6442 and 7419 d $). He cilius Secundus. I am not aware of any 
 is spoken of in the index of Dio Ivii. as evidence whatever for adoption in the 
 Nepos or Rufus. Supposing his name case of C. Caehus Rufus, but it might 
 to have been C. Caelius Eufus, if he explain the variety of name, as Nip- 
 were adopted by a Caecilius Metellus perdey, if I understand him, suggests. 
 Nepos (for Nepos is a name of the Caecilii (wunculum eiusdem Marcellum] This 
 Metelli), he would, I suppose, properly will be seen from the annexed table : — 
 
 Caius Octavius 
 
 Octavia m. (1) C. Marcellus (2) M. Antoniua C. Octavius (Augustus) 
 
 M. Marcellus. Antonia m. Drusus, br. of Julia 
 
 I Tiberius | 
 
 Germanicus. Agrippina 
 
 m. Germanicua. 
 
 Hence, M. Marcellus and Antonia were gem amoliri." Also H. i. 13, H. iii. 75. 
 half-brother and sister, with the same Archelcms] Great-grandson of Ar- 
 
 mother Octavia, but diflPerent fathers; chelaus, the ablest of the generals of 
 
 and M. Marcellus was uncle (by the half- Mithridates. Antonius gave him Cappa- 
 
 blood) of Germanicus. docia 36 A.c. (Dio xlix. 30). Augustus 
 
 amores, &c.] * The darlings of the left him in possession of his kingdom on 
 
 Roman people.' So Catull. vi. 16, " volo the defeat of Antonius, with whom he 
 
 te ac tuos amores Ad caelum Icpido vo- sided, and added part of Cilicia and 
 
 care versu." Lesser Armenia. Tiberius defended him 
 
 42. amoUri] Cf. i. 50, " obstantia sil- when accused by his own subjects (Suet, 
 
 varum amoliri iubetuxj" xiv. 59, "coniu- Tib. 8). 
 
96 CORNBLII TACITI [a.u.c. ',70. 
 
 amicitia credebatur. ut versa Caesarum subole imperium ade])tus 
 est^ elicit Arclielauni matris litteris^ quae non dissimulatis filii 
 offensionibus clementiani offerebat, si ad precandum veniret. ille 
 ignarus doli vel, si intellegere credere tur, vim metuens in ur])em 
 properat; exceptusque immiti a principe et mox accusatu? in 
 senatUj non ob crimina quae fingebantur, set angore^ simul ftssus 
 senio et quia regibus aequa^ nedum infima insolita sunt^ finem 
 vitae spent e an fato implevit. regnum in provinciam redactum 
 estj fructibusque eius levari posse centesimae vectigal professus 
 Caesar ducentesimam in posterum statuit. per idem tempus An- 
 tiocho Coniniagenorum_, Pbilopatore Cilicum regibus defunctis 
 turbabantur nationes_, plerisque Romanum, aliis regium imperium 
 cupientibus ; et provinciae Syria atque Iudaea_, fessae oneribus, de- 
 minutionem tributi orabant. 
 
 43. Igitur baec et de Armenia quae supra memoravi aput 
 patres disseruit^ nee posse motum orientem nisi Germanici sapien- 
 tia conponi : nam suam aetatem vergere^ Drusi nondum satis ado- 
 levisse. tunc decreto patrum permissae Germanico provinciae 
 quae mari dividuntur, maiusque imperium, quoquo adisset_, quam 
 iis qui sorte aut missu principis obtinerent. sed Tiberius demo- 
 verat Syria Creticum Silanum, per adfinitatem conexum Germanico, 
 quia Silani filia Neroni vetustissimo liberorum eius pacta (3rat, 
 praefeceratque On. Pisonem, ingenio violentum et obsequii igna- 
 
 versa Caesarum subole] Cf. iii. 36, and his successor was the Philopator II. 
 
 " abolitas leges et funditus versas;" of the text. Cilicia Aspera was attached 
 
 vi. 46, " versaeque Artabani res." So to the Eoman province of Cilicia by 
 
 Yirg. Aen. i. 20, " Tyrias olim quae ver- Vespasian. Nipperdey points out that 
 
 teret arces." Below, for 'aequa' cf. the construction found here, 'Antiocho 
 
 vi. 25, " Agrippina aequi impatiens." Commagenorum, Philopatore Cilicum re- 
 
 sponte an fato'] Cf. ii. 22. There seems gibus,' is usual in Tacitus. Cf. ii. 53, 
 
 to be running in the writer's mind the " namque ei avunculus Augustus, avus 
 
 idea of doubt, uncertainty, and the sen- Antonius erant." H. ii. 31, " Caeciaa ut 
 
 tence is equivalent to ' sponte an fato foedum ac maculosum, ille ut tumidum 
 
 incertum.' ac vanum inridebant j" iii. 62, "ille An- 
 
 centesimae] Cf. i. 78. tiocho, hie Mithridate pulsis." 
 
 Antiocho] Tor * Commagene ' see ii. 43. mari] The sea is the Medii erra- 
 
 56. This Antiochus was the third of nean, and Germanicus had Asia, and 
 
 that name, the son of the Antiochus II. Egypt, and perhaps Africa assigned him. 
 
 put to death by Augustus 29 a.c. (Dio He was to be the superior of all the 
 
 Iii. 43), and father of Antiochus IV. proconsular or pro-praetorian governors 
 
 (xiii. 7), to whom Commagene was re- of the senatorial and imperial provinces 
 
 stored a.d. 38. respectively. 
 
 Philopatore] Tarcondimotus, king of Creticum Silcmum] His full name 
 
 Cilicia Aspera, was a supporter of Cn. was Q. Caecilius Metellus Creticus (M. f.) 
 
 Pompeius against C. Julius Caesar. He Silanus (Lat. Inscr. n. 6021), having 
 
 was killed at the battle of Aotium (Dio been adopted from the lunii Silani into 
 
 1.34). His eldest son, Philopator I., was the family of the Caecilii Metelli. He 
 
 deprived of his throne, and Tarcondimotus, was consul a.d. 7, and legatus pro prae- 
 
 his brother, obtained the kingdom 20 a.c, tore of Syria from a.d. 11. 
 
A.D. 17.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. ^7 
 
 rum, insita ferocia a patre Pisone, qui civili bello resurgentes in 
 Africa partes acerrimo ministerio adversus Caesarem iuvit_, mox 
 Brutum et Cassium secutus, concesso reditu petitione honorum 
 abstinuit_, donee ultro ambiretur delatum ab Augusto consulatum 
 accipere. sed praeter paternos spiritus uxoris quoque Plancinae 
 nobilitate et opibus accendebatur ; vix Tiberio concedere, liberos 
 eius ut multum infra despectare. nee dubium babebat se delec- 
 tum_, qui Syriae imponeretur ad spes Germanici coercendas. cre- 
 didere quidam data et a Tiberio occulta mandata ; et Plancinam 
 baud dubie Augusta monuit aemulatione muliebri Agrippinam 
 insectandi. divisa nam que et discors aula erat tacitis in Drusum 
 aut Germanicum studiis. Tiberius ut proprium et sui sanguinis 
 Drusum fovebat : Germanico alienatio patrui amorem aput ceteros 
 auxerat, et quia claritudine materni generis anteibat, avum M. 
 Antonium, avunculum Augustum ferens. contra Druso proavus 
 eques Romanus Pomponius Atticus dedecere Claudiorum imagines 
 
 ultro'] Tlie word means, of course, 'to Munatia Plancina by Dio (Iviii. 22), and 
 
 a point beyond,' after the analogy of alio,' was probably daughter of L. Munatius 
 
 'citro,' &c. Tacitus, in his use of it, con- Plancus, consul 42 a.c. and 36 a.c, censor, 
 
 trasts this further point with one less imperator (iterum), VII. vir epulonum, 
 
 remote, often with the idea added that conqueror of the Raeti, and leader of a 
 
 this latter is the more naturally to be colony to Lugdunum (Lat. Inscr. n. 590) . 
 
 expected. Some instances will make She was sister to the L. Munatius Plancus 
 
 this clear : vi, 30, " dum Lentido Gaetu- of 4- 39, who was consul a.d. 13. 
 
 lico periculum facessit, ultro damnatur," insectandt] The genitire depends, I 
 
 he not only failed to succeed in his attempt think, on 'monuit,' in the sense of 'ad- 
 
 to procure the condemnation of another, monuit,' and with the same construction, 
 
 but he was himself accused and con- ' Admonere ' takes a genitive in i. 12, and 
 
 victed ; vi. 31, " non despectum id ultro- * monere ' in i. 67 ; and although in those 
 
 que potentiam habet," it is not only passages the reminding is of something 
 
 not despised, but going beyond that already done, and here of something to 
 
 mere negative condition, it actually be done, I do not see that it makes any 
 
 brings power with it. Agric. 19, " emere difference. 
 
 ultro" &c., instead of selling com, the (wunculum] ' Great -imcle ' or grand - 
 
 natural arrangement, they reverse this mother's brother. The table will show 
 
 and buy it. Cf. H. i. 32, iv. 79. this :— 
 
 Plancinae nobilitate] She is called 
 
 Augustus, brother of Octavia who m. M. Antonius 
 
 Antonia m. Drusus Claudius Nero 
 
 Germanicus. Livia or Drusilla m. Drusus, son of Tiberius. 
 
 "Whence Augustus is great -uncle of Ger- proavus] The table is as follows : — 
 manicus. 
 
 T. Pomponius Atticus 
 
 Pomponia m. M. Agrippa 
 
 Vipsania Agrippina m. Tiberius 
 
 Drusus. 
 
98 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.<!. 770. 
 
 videbatur : et coniunx Germanici Agrippina fecunditate ao fama 
 Liviam uxorem Drusi praecellebat. sed fratres egregie Concordes 
 et proximorum certaminibus inconcussi. 
 
 44. Nee multo post Drusus in lUyricum missus est, ut snosceret 
 militiae studiaque exercitus pararet; simul iuvenem urban o luxu 
 lascivientem melius in castris baberi Tiberius seque tutioiom re- 
 batur utroque filio legiones obtinente. sed Suebi praetend(3bantur 
 auxilium adversus Cberuscos orantes; nam discessu Romanorum 
 ac vacui externo metu gentis adsuetudine et turn aemidatione 
 gloriae arma in se verterant. vis nationum, virtus ducium in 
 aequo; set Maroboduum regis nomen invisum aput poj)ulares, 
 Arminium pro libertate bellantem favor habebat. 
 
 45. Igitur non modo Cberusci sociique eorum, vetus i\.rminii 
 miles, sumpsere bellum, sed e regno etiam Marobodui Suebae 
 gentes, Semnones ac Langobardi, defecere ad eum. quibus additis 
 praepoUebat, ni Inguiomerus cum manu clientium ad Marol)oduum 
 perfugisset, non aliam ob causam quam quia fratris filio iuveni 
 patruus senex parere dedignabatur. deriguntur acies, pari utrim- 
 que spe, nee, ut olim aput Germanos, vagis incursibus aut disiectas 
 per catervas : quippe longa adversum nos militia insueverant sequi 
 signa, subsidiis firmari, dicta imperatorum accipere. ac tunc Ar- 
 minius equo conlustrans cuncta, ut quosque advectus erafc, reci- 
 peratam libertatem, trucidatas legiones, spolia adhuc et tela 
 Komanis derepta in manibus multorum ostentabat ; contra fugacem 
 Maroboduum appellans, proeliorum expertem, Hercyniae latebris 
 defensum ; ac mox per dona et legationes petivisse foedus, pro- 
 ditorem patriae, satellitem Caesaris, baud minus infensis animis 
 
 44. ac vacui'] * On the withdrawal of have received their new name from the 
 the Romans, and their own consequent length of their beards : more likely, I 
 freedom from the dread of foreign com- think, from a word * bard ' (compare 
 plications.' For the ablative see iii. 24, 'halbert'), the weapon they carried, 
 imder ' potentia ;' and for the combina- They occupied a district between Liine- 
 tion of cases cf. ii. 23, " manantes per burg and Magdeburg, but were removed 
 latera et fluctu superurgente." by Tiberius eastward of the Elbe near the 
 
 hahebaf] A more usual form would be Havel. After exterminating the Heruli, 
 
 'Arminius bellantium favorem habebat.' they settled in Pannonia, and in a.d. 568 
 
 45. Semnones ac Langohardi] The crossed the Julian Alps and took posses- 
 Semnones apparently extended from the sion of the plains of Northern Ii aly. 
 Riesengebirge to Frankfort on the Oder, iuveni] Cf. ii. 88, " septem et tri- 
 and Potsdam, occupying part of Mark ginta annos vitae, duodecim ]3otentiae 
 Brandenburg, Saxony, Silesia, and An- explevit." 
 
 halt. They are described by Tacitus as a^ mox, &c.] The infinitive depends 
 
 the oldest and noblest of the Suebi on a verb of assertion, supplied ffom ' ap- 
 
 (Germ. 39) . The Langobardi were few pellans.' Cf. i. 28, " suis laboribus de- 
 
 in numbers: they were said to have come fectionem sideris adsimulans, ])rospere- 
 
 from Scandinavia as the Winili, and to que oessura quae pergeront." 
 
A.D. 17.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 99 
 
 exturbandum quam Yarum Quintilium interfecerint. meminissent 
 modo tot proeliorum, quorum eventu et ad postremum eiectis 
 Eomanis satis probatum^ penes utros summa belli fuerit. 
 
 46. Neque Maroboduus iactantia sui aut probris in hostem 
 abstinebat, sed Inguiomerum tenens illo in corpore decus omne 
 Cheruscorum, illius consiliis gesta quae prospere ceciderint testa- 
 batur : vaecordem Arminium et rerum nescium alienam gloriam in 
 se trahere^ quoniam tres vacuas legiones et ducem fraudis ignarum 
 perfidia deceperit, magna cum clade Germaniae et ignominia sua, 
 cum coniunXj cum filius eius servitium adhuc tolerent. at se 
 duodecim legionibus petitum duce Tiberio inlibatam Germanorum 
 gloriam servavisse, mox condicionibus aequis discessum; neque 
 paenitere quod ipsorum in manu sit_, integrum adversum Romanos 
 bellum an pacem incruentam malint. his vocibus instinctos exer- 
 citus propriae quoque causae stimulabant, cum a Cberuscis Lango- 
 bardisque pro antiquo decore aut recente libertate et contra au- 
 gendae dominationi certaretur. non alias maiore mole concursum 
 neque ambiguo magis eventu, fusis utrimque dextris cornibus ; 
 sperabaturque rursum pugna, ni Maroboduus castra in coUes sub- 
 duxisset. id signum perculsi fuit; et transfugiis paulatim nudatus 
 in Marcomanos concessit misitque legates ad Tiberium oraturos 
 auxilia. responsum est non iure eum adversus Cheruscos arma 
 Romana invocare, qui pugnantis in eundem hostem Romanos nulla 
 
 /e iuvisset. missus tamen Drusus, ut rettulimus, paci firmator. 
 47. Eodem anno duodecim celebres Asiae urbes conlapsae noc- 
 tumo motu terrae, quo inprovisior graviorque pestis fuit. neque » 
 solitum in tali casu effugium subveniebat in aperta prorumpendi, 
 quia diductis terris hauriebantur. sedlsse inmensos montes, visa in 
 
 46. vacuas legiones'] This can hardly recente libertate'] Cf. ii. 45, " e regno 
 
 be 'deprived of their leader,' for he is etiam Marobodui Suebae gentes, Sem- 
 
 mentioned directly after. It must mean, nones ac Langobardi, defecere ad eum." 
 
 I think, ' skeleton regiments.' Probably transfugiis] Cf. H. ii. 34, iii. 61. So 
 
 some of the men were detached on con- * eflFugia ' (iii. 42, xii. 31) and ' diffugia ' 
 
 voy duty, to guard isolated forts, &c. (H. i. 39) are used in the plural. Below, 
 
 (Dio Ivi. 19) ; or it might be ' careless,' for * paci firmator ' cf. i. 24, under ' rector 
 
 * unwary.' iuveni.' 
 
 neque paenitere] They had good cause 47. duodecim urhes] On a stone dug 
 
 for satisfaction that they retained in up at Puteoli in a.d. 1693, erected in 
 
 their own hands the power of choosing honour of Tiberius, there are fourteen 
 
 between a war with forces imdiminished names, the additional ones being Cibyra 
 
 or a bloodless peace. If they determined and Ephesus. The earthquake at the 
 
 to fight, their forces were unimpaired ; if former place is mentioned iv. 13, and 
 
 they wished for peace, the Romans would that at the latter may have been 
 
 at once grant it to so formidable an mentioned in the last portion of the 
 
 enemy, and avoid the risk of an imsuc- fifth book, and have occurred about 
 
 cessful contest. a.d. 30. 
 
 H 2 
 
^ 
 
 100 COENELII TACITI [a.u.o. 770. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 jsT arduo quae plana fuerint^ effulsisse inter ruinam ignes memDrant. 
 
 f asperrima in Sardianos lues plurimum in eosdem niiseri(!ordiae 
 
 traxit : nam centies sestertium pollicitus Caesar, et quantum 
 aerario aut fisco pendebant, in quinquennium remisit. Magnetes 
 a Sipylo proximi damno ac remedio habiti. Temnios, Philadel- 
 plienos_, Aegeatas, Apollonidenses, quique Mosteni aut Maccdones 
 Hyrcani vocantur, et Hierocaesariam, Myrinam, Cymen, Tmolum 
 levari idem in tempus tributis mittique ex senatu placuit qui prae- 
 sentia spectaret refoveretque. delectus est M. Aletus e praetoriis, 
 ne consulari obtinente Asiam aemulatio inter pares et ex eo im- (. 
 pedimentum oreretur. "^ 
 
 ^ 48. Magnificam in publicum largitionem auxit Caesar baud ^ 
 minus grata liberalitate, quod bona Aemiliae Musae, locupletis 
 intestatae, petita in fiscum, Aemilio Lepido, cuius e domo vide- 
 batur, et Pantulei divitis equitis Romani bereditatem, quamquam 
 y^"^ ipse beres in parte legeretur, tradidit M. Servilio, quern prioribus 
 neque suspectis tabulis scriptum compererat, nobilitatem uti-iusque 
 pecunia iuvandam praefatus. neque bereditatem cuiusquam adiit 
 nisi cum amicitia meruisset : ignotos et aliis infensos eoque prin- 
 cipem nuncupa^tes procul arcebat. ceterum ut bonestam inno- 
 
 Magnetes a Sipylo'] This Magnesia was under a special arrangement. Cf. i. 74. 
 
 under Mount Sipylus, and was so distin- ' M. Aletus ' must apparently bo wrong : 
 
 guished from the Magnesia by the river it is not a Roman name. Orelli gives 
 
 Maeander. Cf. Liv. xxxvii. 44. The 'Aletius,' if I imderstand him, from an 
 
 Aegae here mentioned was an Aeolian inscription (see his note) ; Nipperdey, 
 
 <;ity near Cume and Temnos. * Ateius.' I leave it as I find it. 
 
 Apollonidenses'] The MS. has 'Apollo- 48. inpuhlicum] Cf. " laetum in pub- 
 
 niensis,' but the town spoken of is licumrata," xii. 8. The sense is liberality 
 
 Apollonis, equidistant from Pergamum connected with the state : the liberality 
 
 and Sardis. There is an Apollonia in was not shown to the state, of course, but 
 
 Mysia, from which is formed ApoUoniates really by the state, or Tibeiius as its 
 
 or Apolloniensis. organ. 
 
 Mosteni aut Macedones] The people are petita] By the law of the Twelve 
 
 quite distinct, and the use of * aut ' is cu- Tables, if a freedmau died intestate, and 
 
 rious. See the note on i. 8. * Sive' would -without ' sui heredes,' the 'patronus ' took 
 
 of course imply that the people were the the property. This would be eqiially true 
 
 same ; * aut ' does not : * those who are in the case of a ' liberta.' Perhaps, as 
 
 called Mosteni, or, on the other hand, if Lipsius suggests, the patron of Aemilia 
 
 not that (those other inhabitants of the Musa and his children being dead, and 
 
 Hyrcanian plain, the) Macedones Hyr- there being no other ' patronus,' the 
 
 cani.' This Hyrcania was a town in property was claimed for the 'fiscus.' 
 
 Lydia, so called, it is said, because a M. Servilio] M. Servilius was consul 
 
 colony of Hyrcani was settled there by a.d. 3 (cf. iii. 22), and father cf the M. 
 
 the Persians. A body of Macedonians Servilius Nonianus of vi. 31. Marius 
 
 afterwards settled there. Mosterd was Nepos was praetor, and appjirently a 
 
 also a town in the Hyrcanian plain. spendthrift (Senec. de Benef. ii. 7. 2). 
 
 consulari] As before noticed, the pro- Q. Vitellius was uncle of the Emperor 
 
 vinces of Asia and Africa were always Vitellius, and quaestor of Augustus (Suet, 
 
 governed by proconsuls selected from the Vitell. 1 and 2). 
 ' viri consulares,' and in this respect were 
 
A.D. 17.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. JOl 
 
 centium paupertatem levavit, ita prodigos et ob flagitia egentes, 
 Vibidium Varronem_, Marium Nepotem, Appium Appianum, Cor- 
 nelium Sullam, Q. Yitellium movit senatu aut sponte cedere pas- 
 m sus est. 
 
 \^49. Isdem temporibus deum aedes vetustate aut igni abolitas 
 coeptasque ab Augusto dedicavit Libero Liberaeque et Cereri 
 iuxta circum maximum, quas A. Postumius dictator voverat, eo- 
 demque in loco aedem Florae ab Lucio et Marco Publiciis aedilibus 
 constitutam, et lano templum, quod aput forum holitorium C. 
 Duilius struxerat, qui primus rem Romanam prospere mari gessit 
 triumpbumque navalem de Poenis meruit. Spei aedes a Germanico 
 sacratur : banc A. Atilius voverat eodem bello. 
 f- 50. Adolescebat interea lex maiestatis. et Appuleiam Varillam, 
 sororis Augusti neptem, quia probrosis sermonibus divum Augus- 
 tum ac Tiberium et matrem eius inlusisset Caesarique conexa 
 adulterio teneretur, maiestatis delator arcessebat. de adulterio 
 satis caveri lege lulia visum : maiestatis crimen distingui Caesar 
 postulavit damnarique_, si qua de Augusto inreligiose dixisset : in 
 se iacta nolle ad cognitionem vocari. interrogatus a consule, quid 
 de iis censeret quae de matre eius locuta secus argueretur, reticuit ; 
 dein proximo senatus die illius quoque nomine oravit, ne cui verba 
 in eam quoquo modo habita crimini forent. liberavitque Appu- 
 leiam lege maiestatis : adulterii graviorem poenam deprecatus, ut 
 
 49. quas'] Lipsius corrects this to Publicius Malleolus were plebeian aediles 
 
 *quam,' because it was only a single 241 a.c. (Ovid's Fasti, v. 287). 
 
 temple to the three divinities joined to- forum hoUtorium] This is added to 
 
 gether. But possibly the temple was distinguish it from the temple erected 
 
 divided in some way so that each division by Numa at the bottom of the Argiletum, 
 
 might be termed 'aedes,' and the whole Liv. i. 19. 
 
 be spoken of as 'temples.' Livy speaks A. Atilius] This was A. Atiliua 
 of it as a single temple only (iii. 55) : "ad Calatinus, who was consul 258 a.c. and 
 aedem Cereris Liberi Liberaeque." The 254 a.c. He celebrated a triumph over 
 last deity is Proserpine : Orelli's Inscript. the Carthaginians in 257 a.c. 
 n. 2361, " Libero et Cereri et Corae sa- 50. sororis] This will be plain from 
 cratae apud Aegynam." A. Postumius the table, which I transcribe from Nip- 
 vowed this temple before the battle of perdey : — 
 the Lake Regillus. Lucius and Marcus 
 
 Octavia, sister of Augustus, m. C. Marcellus 
 
 Claudia Pulchra or Marcella the younger m. Sextus Apuleiua 
 
 I (consul 29 A.c.) 
 Sextus Appuleius 
 I and Appuleia, called Varilla 
 
 from her mother's second 
 husband Quintilius Varus 
 (iv. 66). 
 
 graviorem poenam] ' The Lex lulia, tery of half their dowry and one-third of 
 17 A.c, deprived women convicted of adul - their property, with ' relegatio in insulam.' 
 
102 CORNELH TACITI [a.u.c. 770. 
 
 exemplo maiorum propinquis suis ultra ducentesimum laoidem 
 removeretur suasit. adultero Manlio Italia atque Africa interdic- 
 tum est. 
 ^ 61. De praetore in locum Yipstani Galli_, quein mors absiulerat, 
 subrogando certamen incessit. Germanicus atque Drusus (nam 
 etiam tum Romae erant) Hater ium Agrippam propinquur: Ger- 
 manici fovebant : contra plerique nitebantur, ut numerus liberorum 
 in candidatis praepolleret^ quod lex iubebat. laetabatur Tiberius, 
 cum inter filios eius et leges senatus disceptaret. victa est sine 
 dubio lex, sed neque statim et paucis suffragiis, quo modo etiam 
 cum valerent leges vincebantur. 
 
 52. Eodemanno coeptum in Africa bellum, ducebostiumTacfari- 
 nate. is natione Numida, in castrisRomanis auxiliaria stipendia me- 
 ritus, mox deserter, vagos primum et latrociniis suetos ad pi'aedam 
 et raptus congregare, dein more militiae per vexilla et turmas com- 
 ponere, postremo non inconditae turbae sed Musulamiorum dux ba- 
 
 As the ptmisliinent here recommended 51. nam etimn turn] Tiberius, (;. 44, had 
 
 was cleariyless severe than this, and con- determined to send Drusus to Illyricum, 
 
 sisted only in removal to a distance from and Germanicus to the East, (rermani- 
 
 Rome exceeding two hundred miles, the cus clearly had not left Rome, but Dru- 
 
 sense of the words 'graviorem' &c. must sus, from the language of Tacitus (ii. 44), 
 
 be 'advising them not to inflict the heavier one would have supposed to have left 
 
 penalty fixed by the Lex lulia, but to be already. However, these words, ' etiam 
 
 contented with a less severe one.' tirm Romae erant,' seem to show that he 
 
 exemplo maiorum,'] Cf. Liv. xxxix. had not, and that some delay had oc- 
 
 18, " mulieres damnatas cognatis aut in curred. The two, Drusus and (jermani- 
 
 quorum laanu essent tradebant ut ipsi cus, were even at the period of i he death 
 
 in private animadverterent in eas." Cf. of Gallus still in Rome. For 'etiam tum' 
 
 xiii. 32. For the case of 'propinquis cf. ii. 52, "nidlo etiam tum urbiumcultu." 
 
 suis' see a note i. 1, under ' claris scrip- propinquum, Germxinici] This will be 
 
 toribus.' seen from the annexed table : — 
 
 Octavia (sister of Augustus) m. C. Marcellus C. Octavius (Augustus) 
 
 Marcella (maior) m. M. Yipsanius Agrippa Julia m. M. Yipsanius Agrippa 
 
 Yipsania ^ Agrippina m. Germanicus. 
 
 Haterius Agrippa (ii. 51). 
 
 lex] The Lex Papia Poppaea, about ferred to one who had fewer. Cf. xv. 19. 
 18 A.c, which enacted that a candidate Haterius Agrippa was tribunus plebis in 
 who had several children should be pre- a.d. 15 (i. 77), and consul a.d. 22. 
 
 ^ There is no proof of the existence marriage) were second cousins once re- 
 of this lady, but Suetonius (August. 63) moved. Or again, as M. Agrippa was the 
 says " Agrippa alteram Marcellarum ha- husband both of Marcella Major and 
 bebat, et ex ea liberos." Supposing there- Julia, the aforesaid two ladies were half- 
 fore the above stem to represent the actual sisters. Haterius Agrippa was nephew 
 facts in this respect, Yipsania and Agrip- (by the half-blood) to Germanicus 
 pina were second cousins, and therefore through his marriage with Agrippina. 
 Haterius Agrippa and Germanicus (by 
 
A.D. 17.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 103 
 
 beri. valida ea gens et solitudinibus Africae propinqua^ nuUo etiam 
 turn urbium cultu^ cepit arma Maurosque accolas in bellum traxit : 
 dux et bis, Mazippa. divisusque exercitus, ut Tacfarinas lectos viros 
 et Romanuni in modum armatos castris attineret, disciplina et 
 imperiis suesceret_, Mazippa levi cum copia incendia et caedes et 
 terrorem circumferret. conpulerantque Cinitbios_, baud spernen- 
 dam nationem, in eadem, cum Furius Camillus pro consule Africae 
 legionem et quod sub signis sociorum in unum conductos ad bostem 
 duxit, modicam manum, si multitudinem Numidarum atque Mau- 
 rorum spectares ; sed nibil aeque cavebatur quam ne bellum metu 
 eluderent : spe victoriae inducti sunt ut vincerentur. igitur legio 
 medio, leves cobortes duaeque alae in cornibus locantur. nee 
 Tacfarinas pugnam detrectavit. fusi Numidae, multosque post 
 annos Furio nomini partum decus mibtiae. nam post ilium recipe- 
 ratorem urbis filiumque eius Camillum penes alias familias impe- 
 ratoria laus fuerat; atque bic quem memoramus beUorum expers 
 babebatur. eo pronior Tiberius res gestas aput senatum cele- 
 bravit ; et decrevere patres triumpbalia insignia, quod Camillo ob 
 modestiam vitae impune fuit. 
 
 53. Sequens annus Tiberium tertio, Germanicum iterum con- 
 sules babuit. sed eum bonorem Germanicus iniit aput urbem 
 Acbaiae Nicopolim, quo venerat per Illyricam oram, viso fratre 
 Druso in Delmatia agente, Hadriatici ac mox lonii maris ad- 
 versam navigationem perpessus. igitur paucos dies insumpsit 
 
 52. dux et Tiis] * These had also a leader, post illwni] There was a Lucius Furius 
 
 Mazippa.' Tacfarinas was the leader of Camillus who was consul 338 a.c, and 
 
 the original band and the Musulamii. again 325 A.c, and triumphed in 338 A.c. j 
 
 These, with such of the Mauri as dwelt but he is usually made the grandson 
 
 near and joined them, had another leader of the great Camillus, and different 
 
 as well, Mazippa. Consequently the sense from the L. Furiiis Camillus who was 
 
 appears to be, not ' these also, as well as consul in 349 a.c, but never triumphed, 
 
 the others, had Mazippa for their leader,' Triumphs were celebrated by members 
 
 but ' these had also Mazippa for their of other families belonging to the ' Furia 
 
 leader.' gens :' by P. Furius Philus 223 a.c, and 
 
 suesceref] The word is used actively, L. Furius Purpureo 200 a.c 
 and the ablatives express the instru- 53. tertio] Varro in Gell. x. 1 says, 
 mentality employed : 'by discipline and "aliud est quarto praetorem fieri et quar- 
 the exercise of authority, he gradually tum, quod quarto locum adsignificat ac 
 broke them in to their duty.' In Hor. tres ante factos, quartum tempus ad- 
 Sat, i. 4. 105, 'insuesco' is used actively, significat et ter ante factum." But tho 
 If the word were used in a neuter sense, usage must have been uncertain, as the 
 the dative would have been employed, as story is told us there that Cicero evaded 
 in ii. 44. the question whether ' tertio ' or ' tertium 
 
 Oinithii'] These people lived near consul ' were correct, by suggesting that 
 
 the lesser Syrtis (Ptolemaeus iv. 3. 22). ' tert. consul' should be written. : 
 
 The Camillus here mentioned was M. Achaiae] Achaia is used here in its 
 
 Furius P. f. P. n, Camillus, who was wider sense, for Nicopolis is in Epirus. 
 
 consul A.D. 8. See note on Achaia in i. 76. 
 
104 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c 771. 
 
 reficiendae classi; simul sinus Actiaca victoria inclatos et saoratas 
 ab Augusto manubias castraque Antonii cum recordatione maiorum 
 suorum adiit. namque ei^ ut memoravi, avunculus Augustus, 
 avus Antonius erant, magnaque illic imago tristium laetonimque. 
 hinc ventum Athenas, foederique sociae et vetustae urbis datum 
 ut uno lictore uteretur. excepere Graeci quaesitissimis bonoribus, 
 Vetera suorum facta dictaque praeferentes, quo plus dignationis 
 adulatio baberet. 
 
 54. Petita inde Euboea tramisit Lesbum, ubi Agrippina novis- 
 simo partu luliam edidit. tum extrema Asiae Perintbum(i[ue ac 
 Byzantium, Tbracias urbes, mox Propontidis angustias et os Pon- 
 ticum intrat, cupidine veteres locos et fama celebrates noscendi; 
 pariterque provincias internis certaminibus aut magistiatuum 
 iniuriis fessas refovebat. atque ilium in regressu sacra Samothra- 
 cum visere nitentem obvii aquilones depulere. igitur adito Ilio 
 quaeque ibi varietate fortunae et nostri origine veneranda, relegit 
 Asiam adpellitque Colopbona, ut Clarii Apollinis oraculo uteretur. 
 non femina illic, ut aput Delpbos, sed certis e familiis et ferme 
 Mileto accitus sacerdos numerum mode consultantium et iiomina 
 audit ; tum in specum degressus, bausta fontis arcani aqua, igna- 
 rus plerumque litterarum et carminum edit responsa versibus 
 compositis super rebus quas quis mente concepit. et ferebatur 
 Germanico per ambages, ut mos oraculis, maturum exitium 
 cecinisse. 
 
 55. At On. Piso, quo properantius destinata inciperet, civitatem 
 Atbeniensium turbido incessu exterritam oratione saeva increpat, 
 oblique Germanicum perstringens, quod contra decus Pomani 
 nominis non Athenienses tot cladibus exstinctos, sed conluviem 
 
 manuhias] Cf. Suet. Aug. 18, " quo to regard Germanicus as superioi' to them 
 
 Actiacae victoriae memoria celebratior all. 
 
 et in posterum esset urbem Nicopolim 54. extrema Asiae^ That is, * the niar- 
 
 apud Actium condidit ludosque illic gin, the outskirts of Asia,' which Ger- 
 
 quinquennales instituit, et locum cas- manicus traversed before reachirg Perin- 
 
 trorum quibus fuerat usus exornatum thus, afterwards Heraclea in Thjrace. 
 
 navalibus spoliis Neptuno ac Marti con- magistratuum, iniuriis] For an ex- 
 
 secravit." planation of this cf. iv. 45, and the note 
 
 praeferentes'] This can only, I think, there, 
 
 mean that the Greeks brought forward sacra] The Cabeiria. For these see 
 
 and made the most of the illustrious Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities, 
 
 deeds and sayings (may it include varietate fortunae] ' By reason of the 
 
 * writings ' ?) of their famous country- reverse in its fortunes.' 
 
 men of old, to enhance their own great- 55. oblique perstringens] Tliis is a 
 
 ness as their modem representatives, and favourite expression of Tacitus. Cf. v. 2 
 
 so give additional value to their flattery and 11. 
 
 of Germanicus. No doubt they extolled conlvA)iem] Demosthenes complains 
 
 theii* own ancestors, and then professed bitterly of the lavish way in which 
 
A.D. 18.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 105 
 
 illam nationum comitate nimia coluisset : hos enim esse Mithridatis 
 ad versus Sullam, Antonii adversus divum Augustum socios. 
 etiam vetera obiectabat, quae in Macedones inprospere, violenter 
 in sues fecissent, offensus urbi propria quoque ira, quia Tbeopbilum 
 quendam Areo iudicio falsi damnatum precibus suis non concede- 
 rent. exim navigatione celeri per Cycladas et compendia maris 
 adsequitur Germanicum aput insulam Ilh.odum_, hand nescium 
 quibus insectationibus petitus foret : sed tanta mansuetudine 
 agebat^ ut, cum orta tempestas raperet in abrupta possetque in- 
 teritus inimici ad casum referri^ miserit triremis quarum subsidio 
 discrimini eximeretur. neque tamen mitigatus Piso, et vix diei 
 moram perpessus linquit Germanicum praevenitque. et postquam 
 Syriam ac legiones attigit^ largitione, ambitu, infimos manipula- 
 irium iuvando, cum veteres centuriones, severos tribunes demoveret 
 locaque eorum clientibus suis vel deterrimo cuique attribueret^ 
 desidiam in castris, licentiam in urbibus^ vagum ac lascivientem 
 per agros militem sineret, eo usque corruptionis provectus est, ut 
 sermone vulgi parens legionum baberetur. nee Plancina se intra 
 decora feminis tenebat, sed exercitio equitum, decursibus cobor- 
 tium interesse, in Agrippinam, in Germanicum contumelias iacere, 
 quibusdam etiam bonorum militum ad mala obsequia promptis, 
 quod baud invito inperatore ea fie!ri occultus rumor incedebat. 
 nota baec Germanico, sed praeverti ad Armenios instantior cura 
 fuit. 
 
 56. Ambigua gens ea antiquitus bominum ingeniis et situ terra- 
 rum, quoniam nostris provinciis late praetenta penitus ad Medos 
 porrigitur; maximisque imperiis interiecti et saepius discordes 
 
 the Athenians of his own day bestowed mony observed at funerals, 
 the franchise : vvv Se <pQ6povs dvOpdiroiv praeverti] Cf. iv. 32, " si quando ad 
 
 Ti/jL^v &<nrep &\\ov Tov twv uviwv Xafi- interna praeverterent." Cf. Plant. Capt. 
 
 fiduoures 7rotei(r0e iroKiras {Uepl (rvvTa^iws, ii. 3. 100, "ei rei primum praevorti volo," 
 
 § 27) . and Eudens iii. 2. 27, " obsecro hoc prae- 
 
 Areo iudicio] This expression for the vortere ergo." Here the meaning is that 
 
 Areiopagus occurs nowhere else : it is to reach Armenia was the first object of 
 
 equivalent to ' Arei pagi iudicio.' Below, Germanicus. 
 
 for 'compendia maris' cf. xii. 28, "pro- 56. hominum ingeniis] The Armenians 
 
 pioribus compendiis ierant," and Plin. are said by Herodotus to be of Phrygian 
 
 N. H. V. 5, " compendium viae quatridui origin (vii. 73), and by Tacitus (vi. 34) to 
 
 deprehensum est." have claimed Thessalian kindred. Really 
 
 decursihus] These formed part of the they were members of the Aryan family, 
 
 usual training of the soldiers. Cf. Suet, and their language one of the Indo- 
 
 Galba 6, " insignis quod campestrem de- European group. Their extraction would 
 
 cursionem scuto moderatus, etiam ad to some extent explain their love of in- 
 
 essedum Imperatoris per viginti passuum dependence, and their constant variance 
 
 milia cucurrit." Cf. also Suet. Nero 7. (' discordes ') with the two empires of 
 
 This was of course different from the Rome and Parthia between which they 
 
 'decursus' mentioned in ii. 7, a eei*e- lay. 
 
106 COENELII TACITI [a.u.^. 771. 
 
 sunt, adversus Romanos odio et in Parthum invidia. reg3m ilia 
 tempestate non habebant, amoto Yonone : sed favor naticnis in- 
 clinabat in Zenonem, Polemonis regis Pontici filium, (jaod is 
 prima ab infantia instituta et cultum Armeniorum aenmlatus, 
 venatu epulis et quae alia barbari celebrant, proceres plebemque 
 iuxta devinxerat. igitur Germanicus in urbe Artaxata, adproban- 
 tibus nobilibus, circumfusa multitudine, insigne regium capiti eius 
 imposuit. ceteri venerantes regem Artaxiam consalutavere, quod 
 illi vocabulum indiderant ex nomine urbis. at Cappadoces in 
 formam provinciae redacti Q. Yeranium legatum accepere ; et 
 quaedam ex regiis tributis deminuta, quo mitius Romanum impe- 
 rium speraretur. Commagenis Q. Servaeus praeponitur, turn 
 primum ad ius praetoris translatis. 
 
 57. Cunctaque socialia prospere composita non ideo laetunf 
 Germanicum babebant ob superbiam Pisonis, qui iussus partem 
 legionum ipse aut per filium in Armeniam ducere utrumque neg- 
 lexerat. Cyrri demum aput biberna decumae legionis convenere, 
 firmato vultu, Piso adversus metum, Germanicus, ne minari crede- 
 retur; et erat, ut rettuli, clementior. sed amici accendendis 
 offensionibus callidi intendere vera, adgerere falsa ipsumoue et , 
 Plancinam et filios variis modis criminari. postremo paucis fami- 
 liarium adhibitis sermo coeptus a Caesare, qualem ira et dissimu- 
 latio gignit, responsum a Pisone precibus contumacibus ; disces- 
 serantque apertis odiis. post quae rarus in tribunali Caesaris 
 Piso, et si quando adsideret, atrox ac dissentire manifestus. vox 
 
 amoto Vonone] For Yonones cf. ii. 1. to the son of Antiochus TV., but again 
 
 Polemonis'] Polemo, the son of the in a.d. 73 made a province, 
 
 orator Zeno, was allowed to occupy the 57. Cyrr{] Cyrrus is a town o ? Syria 
 
 throne of Armenia by Octavianus and about eighty miles n.e. of Antiocl. The 
 
 Antonius, 35 a.c. (Dio xlix. 33, 44) . Po- modem village of Corns is supposed to 
 
 lemo had a son also called Zeno, of whom be on the same site as Cyrrus. 
 
 Tacitus is speaking (Strabo xii. 3. 29, p. fiUos] One on the spot (iii. 16), and 
 
 555.) the other no doubt at Eome. 
 
 in wrhe Artaxata] Tacitus seems to qualem ira] The sort of conveisation 
 
 waver between a feminine singular form which accompanies smothered anger 
 
 and a neuter plural. For the former cf. not bursting into open quarrel, but cold 
 
 vi. 33 : the latter and more usual form and void of all heartiness, 
 
 occurs xii. 51, xiii. 39 and 41, xiv. 23. discesserant] This is the reading of 
 
 There is the same variety in the name the MS., and seems defensible. Tacitus 
 
 * Tigranocerta.' Cf. xv. 5 and 6 for dif- speaks as already having in vie^v the 
 
 ferent forms. incident mentioned in the next sentence. 
 
 ad ius praetoris] The Commageni They had already separated with cpenly 
 w^ere attached to Syria, governed by a avowed animosity, and this was followed 
 legatus pro praetore, or with *ius by the circumstances next recorded, 
 praetoris.' Cf. i. 74. Commagene was dissentire] The infinitive occurs after 
 a part of Syria, bounded on the north 'manifestus' in Dialog, de Orat. 16, "ipse 
 by Amanus, east by the Euphrates, and satis est iamdudum manifestus in con- 
 west by Cilicia ; in a.d. 38 it was given trarium accingi." 
 
Id. 18.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. 
 
 quoque eius audita est in convivioj cum aput regenrJfabataeorhm "^ '^, 
 coronae aureae magno pondere Caesari et Agrippinae, leves Pisohi'^^/ 
 et ceteris offerrentur_, principis Komani_, non Parthi regis filio cas •< 
 epulas dari; abiecitque simul coronam et multa in luxum addidit/A. 
 quae Germanico quamquam acerba tolerabantur tamen. 
 
 58. Inter quae ab rege Parthorum Artabano legati venere. 
 miserat amicitiam ac foedus memoraturos, et cupere renovari dex- 
 tras, daturumque honori Germanici ut ripam Euphratis accederet : 
 petere interim ne Vonones in Syria baberetur neu proceres gen- 
 tium propinquis nuntiis ad discordias traberet. ad ea Germanicus 
 de societate Romanorum Parthorumque magnifice, de adventu 
 regis et cultu sui cum decore ac modestia respondit. Vonones 
 Pompeiopolim Ciliciae maritimam urbem amotus est. datum id 
 non modo precibus Artabani sed contumeliae Pisonis, cui gratissi- 
 mus erat ob plurima officia et dona^ quibus Plancinam devinxerat. 
 
 59. M. Silano L. Norbano consulibus Germanicus Aegyptum 
 proficiscitur cognoscendae antiquitatis. sed cura provinciae prae- 
 tendebatur^ levavitque apertis borreis pretia frugum multaque in 
 vulgus grata usurpavit ; sine milite incedere^ pedibus intectis et 
 pari cum Graecis amictu^ P. Scipionis aemulatione, quem eadem 
 factitavisse aput Siciliam, quamvis flagrante adbuc Poenorum 
 bello, accepimus. Tiberius cultu habi tuque eius lenibus verbis 
 perstricto, acerrime increpuit quod contra instituta Augusti non 
 sponte principis Alexandriam introisset. nam Augustus inter alia 
 dominationis arcana^ vetitis nisi permissu ingredi senatoribus aut 
 
 58. etc'wpere\ This depends on 'memo - 
 raturos/ with a change in the construc- 
 tion from a substantive to a verb. 
 The envoys mentioned the league formed 
 between Augustus and Phraates (ii. 1), 
 and that he was desirous, &c. 
 
 ut . . . accederet] The subject of the 
 verb is the Parthian king, as is clear 
 from the words below, 'de adventu regis.* 
 
 PompeiopoliTn] Formerly ' Soli :' 
 
 named Pompeiopolis by Cn. Pompeius 
 Magnus, in the Mithridatic war. 
 
 59. M. Silano'] M. Junius Silanus and 
 L. Norbanus Balbus were the two con- 
 suls who gave their names to the Lex 
 lunia Norbana, by which the status of 
 a Latinus was given in some cases to 
 slaves manumitted without the requisite 
 formalities. 
 
 cognoscendae antiquitatis] Tliis geni- 
 tive is common in Tacitus. Cf. ii. 1, and 
 the note on ' firmandae amicitiae.' 
 
 pretia frugum] Germanicus, while 
 visiting Alexandria, took measures for 
 bringing down the price of wheat. He 
 ordered the public granaries where wheat 
 was stored for the use of Rome to be 
 thrown open, and the contents sold to 
 the people of Alexandria, which of 
 course, by increasing the supply, di- 
 minished the price. Egypt was one of 
 the chief granaries of Rome (cf. St. Paul's 
 wheat-ship of Alexandria), C. Julius 
 Caesar was afraid to make Egypt a pro- 
 vince, lest under an ambitious ruler it 
 should be the nucleus of a revolt, and 
 so conferred it on Cleopatra and her 
 brother. 
 
 pedibus intectis] Germanicus wore 
 sandals, not shoes ('calcei'), so that the 
 greater part of the foot Avas exposed; 
 and the ' pallium ' instead of the ' toga.' 
 
 sponte principis] See note on xii. 42. 
 
108 CORNELII TACITI [a.tj.c. 772. 
 
 equitibus Romanis inlustribus, seposuit Aegyptum, m fame 
 urgueret Italiam^ quisquis earn provinciam claustraque teuTae ac 
 maris quamvis levi praesidio adversum ingentes exercitus inse- 
 disset. 
 
 60. Sed Germanicus nondum comperto profectionem eam incu- 
 sari Nilo subvehebatur, orsus oppido a Canopo. condidere id 
 Spartani ob sepultam illic rectorem navis Oanopum^ qua tempes- 
 tate Menelaus Graeciam rep et ens diver sum ad mare terramque 
 Libyam deiectus. inde proximum amnis os dicatum Herculi, quem 
 indigenae ortum aput se et antiquissimum perhibent eos(][ue qui 
 postea pari virtute fuerint in cognomentum eius adscitos ; mox visit 
 veterum Thebarum magna vestigia, et manebant structis moli- 
 bus litterae Aegyptiae, priorem opulentiam complexae ; iussusque e 
 senioribus sacerdotum patrium sermonem interpretari^ referebat 
 habitasse quondam septingenta milia aetate militari^ atque eo cum 
 exercitu regem Rbamsen Libya Aetbiopia Medisque et Per sis et 
 Bactriano ac Scytba potitum quasque terras Suri Armeniique et 
 contigui Cappadoces colunt^ inde Bitbynum^ bine Lycium ad mare 
 imperio tenuisse. legebantur et indicta gentibus tributa, pondus 
 argenti et auri, numerus armorum equorumque et dona templis 
 ebur atque odores_, quasque copias frumenti et omnium utensilium 
 quaeque natio penderet, baud minus magnifica quam nunc vi Par- 
 thorum aut potentia Romana iubentur. 
 
 inlustrihus'] These were the * equites,' attack from the land or water : not the 
 
 classed separately by Augustus. They barriers presented by its land and sea 
 
 possessed a senator's property, and must fronts, but against any approach from 
 
 have been 'ingenui' up to their grand- these points. Similarly H.iii. 83, ' Foro- 
 
 fathers. They wore the laticlave. The iuliensis colonia ' is called ' claustra 
 
 'tribuni plebis' and senators might be maris.' 
 
 chosen from them, and at the close of 60. oppido a CoMopo'] For tiie posi- 
 
 office they might remain, if they wished, tion of the preposition, see note on 
 
 in the Senate. Cf. xi. 4, xvi. 17, Suet. iii. 1. 
 
 August. 40. inde proxim/mn amnis os"] The Canopic 
 
 seposvAf] In H. i. 11 Augustus is said mouth, or the Heracleotic, the most 
 
 " domi retinere Aegyptum," to have kept westerly of all the mouths. The^e words 
 
 it in his own hands. This seems the sense depend on ' visit.' 
 
 nearly of ' seposuit ' here : Egypt was Bhamsen'] There was a Kameses 11. 
 
 put on one side, and kept apart from all about 1300 B.C., who captured Ketesh, 
 
 other provinces, and treated differently. the city of the Hittites ; and a more illus- 
 
 cluustraque] In H. ii. 82 Tacitus trious king still, Rameses III., about 
 
 speaks of 'claustra Aegypti.' Cf. Hirt. B. 1200 B.C., who gained naval victories in 
 
 Alex. 26, " tota Aegyptus maritime ac- the Mediterranean. The tablet of Kar- 
 
 cessu Pharo, pedestri Pelusio velut claus- nak gives an exact account of his con- 
 
 tris munita existimatur." Lucan x. 509, quests, the amount of tribute imposed 
 
 " tiim claustrum pelagi cepit Pharon." on the conquered nations, and other par- 
 
 The sense appears to be ' the barriers it ticulars. He is apparently identical with 
 
 presents with reference to the land and the Sesostris of Herodotus, 
 sea:' the difficulties it opposed to any 
 
A.D. 
 
 19. 
 
 EX( 
 
 rsu DIVI AUGUST! LIB. II. 
 
 109 
 
 61. Ceterum Germanicus aliis quoque miraculis intendit ani- 
 mum, quorum praecipua fuere Memnonis saxea effigies^ ubi radiis 
 solis icta est^ vocalem sonum reddens, disiectasque inter et vix 
 pervias arenas instar montium eductae pyramides certamine et 
 opibus regum, lacusque efFossa bumo, superfluentis Nili recepta- 
 cula ; atque alibi angustiae et profunda altitude, nullis inquiren- 
 tium spatiis penetrabilis. exin ventum Elephantinen ac Syenen, 
 claustra olim Romani imperii, quod nunc rubrum ad mare patescit. 
 
 62. Dum ea aestas Germanico plures per provincias transigitur, 
 baud leve decus Drusus quaesivit inliciens Germanos ad discordias 
 utque fracto iam Maroboduo usque in exitium insisteretur. erat 
 inter Gotones nobilis iuvenis nomine Catualda, profugus olim vi 
 Marobodui et tunc dubiis rebus eius ultionem ausus. is valida 
 manu fines Marcomanorum ingreditur corruptisque primoribus ad 
 societatem inrumpit regiam castellumque iuxta situm. veteres 
 
 61. vocalem sonum] Cf. Juv. xv. 5, 
 " dimidio magicae resonant ubi Memnone 
 chordae." Strabo, xvii. 1. 46, declares 
 that he heard it. In the reign of Do- 
 mitian, T. Petronius Secundus heard it 
 also, and was sufficiently inspired to 
 write the following distich : ^dey^ao 
 AaroiSa ahv yap /jLfpos w5e KoidriTai Mf/nvcov, 
 OLKTlaiv fiaWSixepos irvpivais (Lat. Inscr. n. 
 5305). 
 
 lacusque] Lake Moeris. Cf. Herod, ii. 
 140. 
 
 angustiae] This is the narrow bed of 
 the Nile in Upper Egypt. The river is 
 pent up within a rocky valley, leaving 
 scarcely any margin on either side. In 
 Herod, ii. 28 something similar is related 
 about the marvellous depth of the river, 
 but this the writer himself explains to 
 be due, in his opinion, to the existence 
 of strong eddies, which prevented the 
 sounding-cords from sinking. 
 
 penetrabilis] This adjective, whether 
 in its passive meaning as here, or its 
 active (Virg. Georg. i. 93, " Boreae pene- 
 trabile frigus), is only found in the poets 
 or late prose writers. Below, Elephan- 
 tine is an island in the Nile opposite 
 Syene, and just below the second cata- 
 ract. It is here the river becomes navi- 
 gable. 
 
 ruhrum ad mare] That is, the mare 
 Erythraeum. Cf. Pomponius Mela iii. 
 8, "rubrum mare Graeci . . . 'EpvOpitv 
 QaKaaffav appellant . . duosque itei-um 
 sinus aperit. Persicus vocatur dictis 
 rcgionibus propior, Arabicus ulterior." 
 Also Plin. N. H. vi. 28. It was Trajan who 
 
 extended the frontiers of the Roman 
 empire to this point. Cf. Eutrop. viii. 3, 
 " usque ad Indiae fines et mare rubrum 
 accessit." 
 
 62. utque . . . insisteretur] This de- 
 pends on some participle supplied from 
 ' inliciens,' such as * monens ' or the like. 
 Something of the same sort occurs H. iii. 
 46, " Cremonensis victoriae gnarus ac ne 
 externa moles utrimque ingrueret." 
 
 inter Gotones] The Gotones (Gothones, 
 Guttones) originally seem to have occu- 
 pied the banks of the Lower Vistula. In 
 the third centuiy they first appear under 
 the name of Goths in Thrace and Dacia. 
 They were signally defeated in Mace- 
 donia A.D. 269, by Claudius. In a.d. 272 
 Aurelian ceded Dacia to them. Por- 
 tions of them settled also in Maesia, and 
 it was for them that Ulphilas made his 
 translation of the Gospels into Maeso- 
 gothic. After the capture of Rome by 
 Alaric (about A.D. 400), his successor 
 Ataulph founded the splendid Gothic 
 kingdom in Spain, and Theodoric the 
 Ostrogoth defeated Odoacer, the king 
 of the Heruli, and assumed the title of 
 King of Italy. The Gotones are not to 
 be confounded with the Gothini, a 
 people near the head waters of the 
 Marus (March), in Upper Silesia and 
 Moravia, who were a Keltic people 
 (Germ. 4-3). Below, 'regiam' is 'Boihe- 
 mum,' the name having been originally 
 given to the place by the Keltic Boii, 
 who were displaced by the Marcomani. 
 Cf. Germ. 28; Livy v. 34. 
 
no COKNELII TACITI [A.u.r. 772. 
 
 illic Sueborum praedae et nostris e provinciis lixae ac negotiitores 
 reperti, quos ius commercii, dein cupido augendi pecuniani, pos- 
 tremum oblivio patriae suis quemque ab sedibus hostilem in agrum 
 transtulerat. 
 
 63. Maroboduo undique deserto non aliut subsidium quam mise- 
 ricordia Caesaris fuit. transgressus Danuvium^, qua Noricam pro- 
 vinciam praefluit, scripsit Tiberio non ut profugus aut supplex, 
 sed ex memoria prioris fortunae : nam multis nationibus clarissi- 
 mum quondam regem ad se vocantibus Romanam amicitiam prae- 
 tulisse. responsum a Caesare tutam ei bonoratamque sedem in 
 Italia fore, si maneret : sin rebus eius aliut conduceret, abiturum 
 fide qua venisset. ceterum aput senatum disseruit non Pbilippum 
 Atheniensibus, non Pyrrum aut Antiochum populo Romano per- 
 inde metuendos fuisse. extat oratio, qua magnitudinem viri_, vio- 
 lentiam subiectarum ei gentium et quam propinquus Italiae liostis, 
 suaque in destruendo eo consilia extulit. et Maroboduus quidem 
 Ravennae habitus, ne si quando insolescerent Suebi, quasi redi- 
 turus in regnum ostentabatur : sed non excessit Italia per duode- 
 viginti annos consenuitque multum imminuta claritate ob nimiam 
 vivendi cupidinem. idem Catualdae casus neque aliut perfugium. 
 pulsus baud multo post Hermundurorum opibus et Yibilio duce, 
 receptusque Forum lulium, Narbonensis Galliae coloniam, mit- 
 titur. barbari utrumque comitati ne quietas provincias immixti 
 turbarent, Danuvium ultra inter flumina Marum et Cusum locan- 
 tur, dato rege Yannio gentis Quadorum, 
 
 64. Simul nuntiato regem Artaxian Armeniis a Germanico 
 
 datum, decrevere patres ut Germanicus atque Drusus ovantes 
 
 urbem introirent. structi et arcus circum latera templi JVIartis 
 
 / 63. extulif] Sc. ' in valgus,' brought Hermunduri] These people dwjjlt be- 
 
 into notice. Cf. vi. 9, " repertus erat tween the Sudetes mountains and the 
 
 qui efferret quae omnes animo agitabant,' ' Roman rampart, bounding the Decu mates 
 
 andCic. deOrat.i. 24, "petamqueavobis, agri. They appear first in the time of 
 
 inquit, ne has meas ineptias efferatis." Domitius Ahenobarbus, who gave them 
 
 ne si quando'] This is the reading of settlements between the Maine and the 
 
 the MS., and T think may be correct. Danube. 
 
 Cf. xiii. 57, "neque extingui poterant, Forum luUum] Tacitus uses various 
 
 non si imbres caderent, non si fluvia- forms in speaking of this place. In iv. 5 
 
 libus aquis aut quo alio humore." So it is " oppidum Foroiuliense ;" H. ii. 14, 
 
 here, 'lest they should grow unruly, if "colonia Foroiuliensis." Plinius (iii. 5) 
 
 they ever felt disposed.' For * insoles- speaks of it as " Forum lulii Octavano- 
 
 cere* cf. ii. 75 and H. ii. 7. rum, colonia." Below, the Cusus i« sup- 
 
 oh nimiam, &c.] The old king did posed to be the Waag. The Quadi were 
 
 not carry out the principle afterwards settled in Moravia and north-western 
 
 expressed by Juvenal (viii. 83) : " Sum- Hungary. For Yibilius and Vannius, 
 
 mum crede nefas animam praeferre pu- cf. xii. 29. 
 
 dori, Et propter vitara vivendi perdere 64. Martis TJltoris] This temple; was 
 
 causas." vowed by Augustus in the war against 
 
A.D. 19.] AB EXCBSSU DIYI AUGUST! LIB. II. Ill 
 
 Ultoris cum effigie Caesarum^ laetiore Tiberio, quia pacem sapientia 
 firuiaverat_, quam si bellum per acies confecisset. igitur Rbescu- 
 porim quoque, Thraeciae regem, astu adgreditur. omnem earn 
 nationem Rhoemetalces tenuerat ; quo defuncto Augustus partem 
 Thraecum Rhescuporidi fratri eius, partem filio Cotyi permisit. in 
 ea divisione arva et urbes et vicina Graecis Cotyi^ quod incultum, 
 ferox, adnexum bostibus, Rhescuporidi cessit : ipsorumque regum 
 ingenia, illi mite et amoenum^ buic atrox, avidum et societatis in- 
 patiens erat. sed primo subdola concordia egere : mox Rbescu- 
 poris egredi fines, vertere in se Cotyi data et resistenti vim facere, 
 cunctanter sub Augusto, quem auctorem utriusque regni, si sper- 
 .neretur, vindicem metuebat. enimvero audita mutatione principis 
 inmittere latronum globos, excindere castella, causas bello. 
 
 65. Nibil aeque Tiberium anxium babebat quam ne conposita 
 turbarentur. deligit centurionem, qui nuntiaret regibus ne armis 
 disceptarent ; statimque a Cotye dimissa sunt quae paraverat 
 auxilia. Rhescuporis ficta modestia postulat eundem in locum 
 coiretur : posse de controversiis conloquio transigi. nee diu dubi- 
 tatum de tempore, loco, dein condicionibus, cum alter facilitate, 
 alter fraude cuncta inter se concederent acciperentque. Rbescu- 
 poris sanciendo, ut dictitabat, foederi convivium adicit, tractaque 
 in multam noctem laetitia per epulas ac vinolentiam incautum 
 Cotyn et, postquam dolum intellexerat, sacra regni, eiusdem fami- 
 liae deos et hospitalis mensas obtestantem catenis onerat. Tbrae- 
 ciaque omni potitus scribsit ad Tiberium structas sibi insidias, 
 praeventum insidiatorem ; simul bellum adversus Basternas Scy- 
 tbasque praetendens novis peditum et equitum copiis sese firma- 
 
 Brutus and Cassius, just before tlie clearly 'but.' Draeger says this sense is 
 
 battle of Philippi. It stood in the Forum found only in Florus (ii. 7) and Apuleius. 
 
 Augusti. It was used after its completion Below, for ' causas bello ' see note on 
 
 for the meetings of the Senate, whenever i. 27. 
 
 the questions of war and triumphs were 65. sacra regnf\ * The sacred rights 
 
 considered. Generals took their depar- attaching to kingship.' He appealed to 
 
 ture from it for war, and brought to it the other's sense of the * divinity which 
 
 the insignia of their triumphs. hedges in a king.' The ' sanctitas regni,' 
 
 vertere in se] Cf. Liv. xxi. 53, "occasio as Suetonius calls it (C. Julius Caesar 6). 
 
 in se unum vertendae gloriae." Suetonius Bastemae^ Otherwise called Peucini 
 
 (Vesp. 4) uses * convertere in se,' and (Germ. 46) . They were settled at first 
 
 'vertere ad se' is also found. probably between the Theiss and the 
 
 enimvero'] Tacitus uses this word March, and spread towards the Lower 
 
 peculiarly. Cf. iv. 60, " enimvero Tibe- Danube. They crossed the river, and* 
 
 rius torvus aut falsum renidens vultu;" were driven back by M. Crassus. They 
 
 vi. 25, "enimvero Tiberius foedissimis were distinguished from their neighboi.rs 
 
 criminationibus exarsit." So also vi. by their height, bravery, and pride. Plut. 
 
 35, xii. 64, Germ. 44. From these pas- Paul. Aemii. 4. 
 sages the meaning of 'enimvero' is 
 
 "O^" """ ^*WW^— ^Q 
 
112 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.(.772. 
 
 bat. molliter rescriptum, si fraus abesset^ posse eum innooentiae 
 fidere; ceterum neque se neque senatum nisi cognita causa ius et 
 iniuriam discreturos : proinde tradito Cotye veniret transfeiretque 
 invidiam criminis. 
 
 Q6. Eas litteras Latinius Pandusa pro praetore Moesiao cum 
 militibus, quis Cotys traderetur, in Thraciam misit. Rhesciiporis 
 inter metum et iram cunctatus maluit patrati quam incept i faci- 
 noris reus esse : occidi Cotyn iubet mortemque sponte sumptam 
 ementitur. nee tamen Caesar placitas semel artes mutavit, sed de- 
 functo Pandusa_, quem sibi infensum Rliescuporis arguebat^ Pompo- 
 nium Flaccum, veterem stipendiis et arta cum rege amicitia eoque 
 accommodatiorem ad fallendum, ob id maxime Moesiae praefecit. • 
 
 67. Flaccus in Tbraciam transgressus per ingentia promissa 
 quamvis ambiguum et scelera sua reputantem perpulit ut praesidia 
 Romana intraret. circumdata hinc regi specie bonoris valida 
 manus, tribunique et centuriones monendo, suadendo, et ([uanto 
 longius abscedebatur, apertiore custodia^ postremo gnarum neces- 
 sitatis in urbem traxere. accussatus in senatu ab uxore Cotyis 
 damnatur^ ut procul regno teneretur. Tbraecia in Rboemetalcen 
 filium, quem paternis consiliis adversatum constabat, inque liberos 
 Cotyis dividitur; iisque nondum adultis Trebellienus Rufus prae- 
 tm'a functus datur^ qui regnum interim tractaret, exemplo quo 
 maiores M. Lepidum Ptolemaei liberis tutorem in Aegyptum mise- 
 rant. Rbescuporis Alexandriam devectus at que illic fugam temp- 
 tans an ficto crimine interficitur. 
 
 68. Per idem tempus Yonones, quem amotum in Ciliciam 
 memoravi, corruptis custodibus effugere ad Armenios, inde in 
 Albanos Heniochosque et consanguineum sibi regem Scytliarum 
 
 transferretque] Rhescuporis was to shift tem;" H. i. 13, "potentia principatus 
 to the shoulders of Cotys the odium of divisa in T. Vinium consulem, Cornelium 
 the charge made. He was to prove that Laconem praetorii praefectum ;" H. 
 the accusation brought against Cotys, of iv. 58, " curam delectus in consules par- 
 having meditated treachery, was really titur." 
 time. M. Lepidum] This was M. Aomilius 
 
 66. Latinius Pandusa] Poppaeus Sa- Lepidus, consul a.c. 187 and 175, and 
 binus was legatus pro praetore of Maesia appointed guardian to the children of 
 in A.D. 15 (i. 80), and also of Achaia and Ptolemaeus Epiphanes. 
 
 Macedonia. He was still in command of 68. in Alhanos] Yonones fled to the 
 
 the latter provinces in a.d. 31 (v. 10), Armenians, and thence made his way 
 
 but was replaced in Maesia, it seems, by amongst the Albani and Heniochi. where 
 
 Pandusa. * in ' seems to be used because he, made 
 
 67. in Rhoemetalcen] For the use of his way deep into them, as it weie. Of 
 *in' after verbs of dividing, distributing, course *in' is not strictly the preposi- 
 and the like, cf. ii. 8, " distributis in tion for ' consanguineum regem,' but the 
 legiones ac socios navibus ;" i. 55, " dis- zeugma does not seem to present any 
 sidere hostem in Anuiniuni ac Seges- difficulty. The Heniochi were settled 
 
11 
 
 A.D. 19.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. 11. 113 
 
 conatus est. specie venandi omissis maritimis locis avia saltuum 
 petiit, mox pernicitate equi ad amnem Pyramum contendit, cuius 
 pontes accolae ruperant audita regis fuga; neque vado penetrari 
 poterat. igitur in ripa fluminis a Yibio Frontone praefecto equi- 
 tum vincitur; mox Remmius evocatus, priori custodiae regis ad- 
 positus, quasi per iram gladio eum transigit. unde maior fides 
 
 I ■ conscientia sceleris et metu indicii mortem Yononi inlatam. 
 
 I H 69. At Germanicus Aegypto remeans cuncta, quae aput legiones 
 " aut urbes iusserat^ abolita vel in contrarium versa cognoscit. liinc 
 graves in Pisonem contumeliae^ nee minus acerba quae ab illo in 
 Caesarem intentabantur. dein Piso abire Suria statuit. mox 
 adversa Germanici valetudine detentus^ ubi recreatum accepit 
 votaque pro incolumitate solvebantur_, admotas hostias, sacrificalem 
 apparatum, festam Antiochensium plebem per lictores proturbat. 
 tum Seleuciam degreditur, opperiens aegritudinem^ quae rursum 
 Germanico acciderat. saevam vim morbi augebat persuasio veneni 
 a Pisone accepti ; et reperiebantur solo ac parietibus erutae huma- 
 
 [— norum corporum reliquiae^ carmina et devotiones et nomen Ger- 
 manici plumbeis tabulis insculptum^ semusti cineres ac tabe obliti 
 aliaque malefica^ quis creditur animas numinibus infernis sa- 
 crari. simul missi a Pisone incusabantur ut valetudinis adversa 
 rimantes. 
 
 70. Ea Germanico liaud minus ira quam per metum accepta. 
 si limen obsideretur, si efi'undendus spiritus sub oculis inimicorum 
 foret_, quid deinde miserrimae coniugi, quid infantibus liberis even- 
 turum ? lenta videri veneficia : festinare et. urgere^ ut provinciam, 
 
 on tlie shores of tlie Euxme, some little affording some colouring to the report of 
 
 distance east of Trapezus. poison. The two things seemed all of a 
 
 praefecto eqwiturri] Cf. Suet. August, piece, and to suggest foul play on the 
 
 38, "non tribimatum modo legionum sed part of Piso. For the meaning of ' et ' 
 
 et praefecturas alarum dedit." cf. H. v. 22, " Cerialis alibi noctem 
 
 69. Aegyjpto] This simple ablative in egerat, ut plerique credidere, et vigiles," 
 
 the meaning of ' from ' is not common -, &c. The morsels of human remains, and 
 
 but Tacitus has it i. 3, "remeantem Ar- other things found in the walls of Piso's 
 
 menia ;" iii. 11, " rediens lUyrico J " xiii. house, pointed to the employment of 
 
 35, " Syria transmotae legiones," and magical rites. One would have thought 
 
 elsewhere. I imagine the reason of the them useless, if Piso had determined to 
 
 *o 
 
 construction to be that the words used in adopt the quicker method of poison, 
 these sentences naturally convey the tabe~\ Tacitus elsewhere uses ' tabum ' 
 sense of going from, and as Tacitus in the sense of ' gore ' (H. ii. 70, H. iii. 35) ; 
 would use 'abire' (see below 'abire whereas 'tabes' means 'a wasting dis- 
 Suiia ') with a simple ablative he ease.' Cf. i. 53, xi. 6, &c. But I have 
 adopts the same construction with these not ventured to alter the reading, 
 equivalent verbs. Below, the Seleucia 70. eventurum] Sc. 'esse.' This con- 
 is Seleucia Pieria on the coast near struction with a relative has been noticed 
 Antioch. before. See note i. 17, on 'quando ausuros.' 
 et reperiebantur] ' And certainly there The ' infant children ' here are Julia, 
 were found.' Tacitus mentions this as bom the year before (ii. 54.), and Cali« 
 
 I 
 
114 CORNELII TACITI [a.u. ). 772. 
 
 ut legiones solus liabeat. sed non usque eo defectum Gev.^mam- 
 cum, neque praemia caedis aput interfectorem mansura. coinponit 
 epistulas^ quis amicitiam ei renuntiabat : addunt plerique iussum 
 provincia decedere. nee Piso moratus ultra navis solvit, uiodera- 
 baturque cursui_, quo propius regrederetur^ si mors Grei-manici 
 Suriam aperuisset. 
 
 71. Caesar paulisper ad spem erectus, dein fesso corpore, ubi 
 finis aderat_, adsistentes amicos in hunc modum adloquitur ; ' si 
 fato concederem, iustus mihi dolor etiam adversus deos esset, quod 
 me parentibus liberis patriae intra iuventam praematm-o exitu 
 raperent : nunc scelere Pisonis et Plancinae interceptus ultimas 
 preces pectoribus vestris relinquo : referatis patri ac fratri, quibus 
 acerbitatibus dilaceratus, quibus insidiis circumventus misei'rimam 
 vitam pessima morte finierim. si quos spes meae, si quos i)ropin- 
 quus sanguis, etiam quos invidia erga viventem movebat, inlacri- 
 mabunt quondam flbrentem et tot bellorum superstitem niuliebri 
 fraude cecidisse. erit vobis locus querendi aput senatum, invo- 
 candi leges, non boc praecipuum amicorum munus est, prosequi 
 defunctum ignavo questu, sed quae voluerit meminisse, quae man- 
 daverit exsequi. flebunt Germanicum etiam ignoti: vindicabitis 
 vos, si me potius quam fortunam meam fovebatis. osi;endite 
 populo Romano divi Augusti neptem eandemque coniugem meam, 
 numerate sex liberos. misericordia cum accusantibus erit, iingen- 
 tibusque scelesta mandata aut non credent homines aut non ignos- 
 cent.^ iuravere amici, dextram morientis contingentes, spiritum 
 ante quam ultionem amissuros. 
 
 72. Tum ad uxorem versus per memoriam sui, per communes 
 liberos oravit, exsueret ferociam, saevienti fortunae submitteret 
 
 gnla (Suet. Calig. 10), then about seven Drusus are meant, so that the relation- 
 years old. There were only two children ships are those of adoption. Germanicus 
 with Germanicus (iii. 1). had a brother Claudius, but f i-om his 
 
 o'enuntiahaf] Cf. Cic. in Verr. iv. 36, utter insignificance he could hardly be 
 
 " iste vehementer Sthenio infensus hos- intended. 
 
 pitium eirenuntiat, domo eius emigrat." prosequi] Cf. Agric. 46, "ab infirmo 
 
 Cf. Suet. Calig. 3, "ne tunc quidem idtra desiderio et muliebribus lamentis ad con- 
 
 progressus quam ut et amicitiam ei more templationem virtutum tuarum voces : 
 
 maiorum renuntiaret." admiratione te potius et immcrtalibus 
 
 propius'] Cf. iv. 5, " haud procul ac- laudibus etsi natura suppeditet, aomulatu 
 
 cirentur;" vi. 26, "quanto propius mala decorabimus." Below, the 'sex liberos' 
 
 rei publicae viseret." The idea is, 'that are Nero, Drusus, Gains (Caligula), 
 
 being at a nearer point, he might return Agrippina, Drusilla (the ' quinque liberis ' 
 
 thence, might have the less distance of ii. 41), and Julia (ii. 54), or Livilla 
 
 to return.' (Suet. Calig. 7) . 
 
 71. parentibus] i.e. Antonia his 72. ferociam] Cf. vi. 25, " aequi impa- 
 
 mother, and his adopted father Tiberius, tiens, dominandi avida, virilibus curis 
 
 Below by 'patri ac fratri,' Tiberius and feminarum vitia exsuerat." 
 
II 
 
 A.D. 19.] AB BXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 115 
 
 animum, neu regressa in urbem aemulatione potentiae validiores 
 inritaret. liaec palam et alia secreto_, per quae ostendere crede- 
 batur metum ex Tiberio. neque multo post extinguitur_, ingenti 
 luctu provinciae et circumiacentium populorum. indoluere exterae 
 nationes regesque : tanta illi comitas in socios^ mansuetudo in 
 bostis ; visuque et auditu iuxta venerabilis, cum magnitudinem et 
 gravitatem summae fortunae retineret^ invidiam et adrogantiam 
 effugerat. 
 
 73. Funus sine imaginibus et pompa per laudes ac memoriam 
 virtutum eius celebre fuit. et erant qui formam, aetatem^ genus 
 mortis^ ob propinquitatem etiam locorum_, in quibus interiit, magni 
 Alexandri fatis adaequarent. nam utrumque corpore decoro^ 
 genere insigni^ baud multum triginta annos egressum^ suorum 
 insidiis externas inter gentes occidisse : sed bunc mitem erga 
 amicos^ modicum voluptatum, uno matrimonio, certis liberis egisse^ 
 neque minus proeHatorem^ etiam si temeritas afuerit praepeditus- 
 que sit perculsas tot victoriis Germanias servitio premere. quod 
 si solus arbiter rerum^ si iure et nomine regio fuisset, tanto 
 promptius adsecuturum gloriam militiae_, quantum dementia^ tem- 
 perantia^ ceteris bonis artibus praestitisset. corpus antequam 
 cremaretur nudatum in foro Antiocbensium, qui locus sepulturae 
 destinabatur, praetuleritne veneficii signa, parum constitit; nam 
 ut quis misericordia in Germanicum et praesumpta suspicione aut 
 favore in Pisonem pronior^ diversi interpretabantur. 
 
 74. Consultatum inde inter legates quique alii senatorum ade- 
 rant, quisnam Suriae praeficeretur. et ceteris modice nisis_, inter 
 Yibium Marsum et On. Sentium diu quaesitum : dein Marsus 
 
 73. formam] The sentence is irregular : " se honestius periturum dixisset." 
 
 it wavers between the idea of comparing sepulturae] He was not actually buried 
 
 the form, age, &c., of Germanicus with there, for his ashes were placed in the 
 
 those of Alexander, and that of compar- tomb of Augustus at Rome (iii. 4) . A 
 
 ing Germanicus with the Macedonian cenotaph was erected to him at Antioch 
 
 king in respect of his form, &c. The ("ubi crematus,"ii. 83), and 'sepidtura* 
 
 words 'ob propinquitatem etiam locorum' here is equivalent to these last words, 
 
 seem put in loosely, without exactly fit- veneficii signa] Cf. Suet. Calig. 1, 
 
 ting the construction of the rest of the " obiit non sine suspicione veneni. Nam 
 
 sentence : ' they compared his contour, praeter livores qui toto corpore erant, et 
 
 age, &c., to those of Alexander, and all spumas quae per os fluebant cremati 
 
 the more they were inclined to do this, quoque cor inter ossa incorruptum reper- 
 
 on account of the vicinity of the locality turn est, cuius ea natura existimatur ut 
 
 where he died.' tinctum veneno igne confici nequeat." 
 
 adsecuturum] Sc. * fuisse.' Cf. ii. 31, 74. ViMvmi Ma/rsum] He was consul 
 
 "iuravitque Tiberius petiturum se vi- suffectus 17 a.d., proconsul of Africa, 
 
 tarn ;" iii. 22, "neque enim cessurum nisi and legatus pro praetore of Syria (xi. 10) 
 
 damnandi officio;" iv. 18, ".neque man- in 47 a.d. Cn. Sentius Satuminus was 
 
 Burum Tiberio imperiura si iis quoque consul suffectus a.d. 4. Below, P. Vitel- 
 
 legionibus cupido novandi fuisset j" xi. 3, lius was the uncle of A. Vitellius, after- 
 
 I 2 
 
116 COENELII TAOITI [a.u.o. 772. 
 
 seniori et acrius tendenti Sentio concessit, isque infameni vene- 
 ficiis ea in provincia et Plancinae percaram, nomine Martiijam^ in 
 urbem misit^ postulantibus Yitellio ac Yeranio ceterisque qui 
 crimina et accussationem tamquam adversus receptos iaia reos 
 instruebant. 
 
 75. At Agrippina, quamquam defessa luctu et corpore aegro, 
 omnium tamen quae ultionem morarentur intolerans^ a?cendit 
 classem cum cineribus Germanici et liberis^ miserantibus cunctis^ 
 quod femina nobilitate princeps, pulcberrimo modo matiimonio 
 inter venerantes gratantisque aspici solita^ tunc feralis reliquias 
 sinu ferret, incerta ultionis_, anxia sui et infelici fecunditate fctrtunae 
 totiens obnoxia. Pisonem interim aput Coum insulam iiuntius 
 adsequitur excessisse Germanicum. quo intemperanter accepto 
 caedit victimas, adit templa, neque ipse gaudium moderans et 
 magis insolescente Plancina, quae luctum amissae sororis turn 
 primum laeto cultu mutavit. 
 
 76. Adfluebant centuriones monebantque prompta illi legionum 
 studia : repeteret provinciam non iure ablatam et vacuam. igitur 
 quid agendum consultanti M. Piso filius properandum in urbem 
 censebat : nihil adhuc inexpiabile admissum, neque suspiciones 
 inbecillas aut inania famae pertimescenda. discordiam erga Ger- 
 manicum odio fortasse dignam_, non poena; et ademptione provin- 
 ciae satis factum inimicis. quod si regrederetur, obsistente Sentio 
 civile bellum incipi ; nee duraturos in partibus centuriones mili- 
 tesque, aput quos recens imperatoris sui memoria et penitus mfixus 
 in Caesares amor praevaleret. 
 
 wards emperor. He served in Germany luctum] See Lipsius' Excursus on 
 
 (i. 70). tMs subject. If, as he says, women wore 
 
 receptos iam reos'] ' As thougli already white robes in mourning, I'lancina 
 
 officially entered on the list for trial.' adopted, in sign of festivity, (Coloured 
 
 Notice was given of intended prosecu- garments, and her usual ornaments of 
 
 tions, and when they were officially gold, &c. 
 
 allowed, the accused were said to be 76. consultanti] The dative may de- 
 
 'recepti rei.' pend on 'properandum,' or what is more 
 
 75. infeUci] Unhappy tmder the cir- likely, it is put loosely to express the per- 
 cumstances, because her large family all son for whose benefit the advice of Piso 
 the more exposed her to casualties : her (the son) was given. Cf. xi. 3, " consul- 
 children were the source of anxiety to tanti .... liberum mortis arbir.rium ei 
 the widowed mother. permisit :" to him, when consuliing, he 
 
 (vput Coum insulam] ' Cous ' is gene- expressed an opinion that unrestricted 
 
 rally an adjective, but cf. Liv. xxxvii. 16 choice of death should be allowed him. 
 
 for its use as a substantive. There are Orelli quotes Cic. ad Fam. ix. 2, 4, " tibi 
 
 two forms in Greek Kws and K(Ja>s. Below, igitur hoc censeo." Cf. also Viig. Aen. 
 
 'excessisse' is put absolutely for 'to i. 102. 
 
 have died,' a use only found in late praevaleret] Not ' would prevail,' but 
 
 writers. Cf. i. 5., Suet. August. 5., Vale- merely ' exerted a stronger influence,' the 
 
 rius Flaccus, i. 826., Plin. N. H. vii. 13. mood being due to the oratio obhqua. 
 
A.D. 19.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. 11. 117 
 
 77. Contra Domitius Celer, ex intima eius amicitia_, disseruit 
 utendum eventu: Pisonem^ non Sentium Suriae praepositum ; 
 huic fasces et ius praetoris^ huic legiones datas. si quid hostile 
 ingruat_, quern iustius arma oppositurum] quam qui legati auctori- 
 tatem et propria mandata acceperit ? relinquendum etiam rumori- 
 bus tempus quo senescant : plerumque innocentes recenti invidiae 
 inpares. at si teneat exercitum^ augeat vires, multa, quae provi- 
 deri non possint, fortuito in melius casura. ' an festinamus cum 
 Germanici cineribus adpellere, ut te inauditum et indefensum 
 planctus Agrippinae ac vulgus imperitum prime rumore rapiant ? 
 est tibi Augustae conscientia, est Caesaris favor, sed in occulto ; 
 et perisse Germanicum nulli iactantius maerent quam qui maxime 
 laetantur.^ 
 
 78. Haud magna mole Piso, promptus ferocibus, in sententiam 
 trahitur missisque ad Tiberium epistulis incusat Germanicum luxus 
 et superbiae ; seque pulsum, ut locus rebus novis patefieret, curam 
 exercitus eadem fide qua tenuerit repetivisse. simul Domitium 
 inpositum triremi vitare litorum oram praeterque insulas lato mari 
 pergere in Suriam iubet. concurrentes desertores per manipulos 
 conponit, armat lixas traiectisque in continentem navibus vexillum 
 tironum in Suriam euntium intercipit, regulis Cilicum ut se auxi- 
 liis iuvarent scribit, taud ignavo ad ministeria belli iuvene Pisone, 
 quamquam suscipiendum bellum abnuisset. 
 
 79. Igitur Oram Lyciae ac Pamphjliae praelegentes, obviis 
 navibus quae Agrippinam vetebant, utrimque infensi arma primo 
 expediere : dein mutua formidine non ultra iurgium processum 
 est, Marsusque Yibius nuntiavit Pisoni Romam ad dicendam 
 causam veniret. ille eludens respondit adluturum, ubi praetor, 
 
 77. propria mandata] ' Special orders.' 78. lato mari] 'Across tlie wide ex- 
 Tiberius had appointed Piso ' legatus,' panseof sea j' not close to the line of coast, 
 and given him especial instructions. vexillum, tironv/m] See note on i. 38. 
 
 rapiant] * Sweep you away to ruin.' Below the ' reguli Cilicum ' would be the 
 
 Below, 'Augustae conscientia' means native princes still left in possession of 
 
 'the consciousness on the part of Au- parts of Cilicia. There was a native 
 
 gusta of implication' in the schemes dynasty at Olbe in the Taurus, and 
 
 against Agrippina and Germanicus. Cf. probably Cilicia Trachea remained under 
 
 ii. 43, "Plancinam haud dubie Augusta the power of the family of Archelaus 
 
 monuit aemulatione muliebri Agrippinam after his death. There was also a 
 
 insectandi." king in the Amanus (ii. 42). 
 
 nulli] Tacitus uses the plural ' nulli ' 79. eludens] Piso treated the sum- 
 
 substantively also in H. ii. 20, " modum mens of Marsus as entirely unauthorized, 
 
 fortunae a nullis magis exigere quam and also affected to believe that the trial 
 
 quos in aequo viderunt." It is of rare on the charge of poisoning Germanicus 
 
 occurrence. Cf., however, Virg. Georg. would go on in the customary manner, 
 
 ii. 10, " nullis hominumcogentibus." Hirt. No doubt the friends of Germanicus ex- 
 
 B. G. viii. 45, "nullis adversus Romanes pected a special trial, as he was connected 
 
 auxilia denegabant." with Tiberius j and in fact (iii. 12) " id 
 
118 COENELII TACITI [a.uxv 772. 
 
 qui de veneficiis quaereret^ reo atque accusatoribus diem prodixis- 
 set. interim Domitius Laodiciam urbem Suriae adpulsus cum 
 liiberna sextae legionis peteret, quod earn maxime novis coisiliis 
 idoneam rebatur_, a Pacuvio legato praevenitur. id Sentius l^isoni 
 per litteras aperit monetque ne castra corruptoribus, ne provi aciam 
 bello temptet. quosque Grermanici memores aut inimicis eius ad- 
 versos cognoveratj contraMt^ magnitudinem imperatoris identidem. 
 ingerens et rem publicam armis peti ; ducitque validam mar um et 
 proelio paratami. 
 
 80. Nee Piso, quamquam coepta secus cadebant, omisit tutis- 
 sima e praeseiitibus_, sed castellum Ciliciae m.uiiitum admodum^ 
 cui nomen Celendris^ occupat ; nam admixtis desertoribus et tirone 
 nuper intercepto suisque et Plancinae servitiis auxilia CiUcum^ 
 quae reguli miserant^ in numerum legionis composuerat. Caesaris- 
 que se legatum testabatur provincia, quam is dedisset_, arceri non a 
 legionibus (earum quippe accitu venire), sed a Sentio privatum 
 odium falsis criminibus tegente. consisterent in acie, non pagna- 
 turis militibus, ubi Pisonem ab ipsis parentem quondam appella- 
 tum, si iure ageretur, potiorem, si armis, non invalidum vidissent. 
 tum pro munimentis castelli manipulos explicat, colle arduo et 
 derupto ; nam cetera mari cinguntur. contra veterani ordinibus 
 ac subsidiis instructi : bine militum, inde locorum asperita?, sed 
 non animus, non spes, ne tela quidem nisi agrestia aut subitum in 
 usum properata. ut venere in manus, non ultra dubitatum 
 quam dum Romanae cobortes in aequum eniterentur: vertunt 
 terga Cilices seque castello claudunt. 
 
 81. Interim Piso classem baud proeul opperientem adpugnare 
 
 Germanico super leges praestitit quod in iv. 13), and sometimes after (H. ii. 78, 
 
 curia potius quam in foro, aput senatum H. iv. 5) . Celendris was on the coast. 
 
 quam aput indices de morte eius anqui- It is now * Gulnar.' 
 
 rebatur." "When the praetor was ofl&cially in niimerum legionis] 'To make up the 
 
 informed of an intended accusation (no- number of men required for a l(?gion.' 
 
 men deferri) he fixed a time for the trial In H. i. 87 * in numeros legionis' laeans, 
 
 (often on the tenth day from that where- ' to form the various subdivisions of a 
 
 on he first received the information), legion.' Below for the case of ' ordiiiibus,' 
 
 This was ' diem prodicere:' cf. Liv. ii. 61. cf. iii. 28. 
 
 imperatoris] This must be, I think, inde locorum asperitas] Piso's iroops 
 
 Tiberius, as no explanation is added to had all the advantage of position, being 
 
 show that it is used in a restricted mean- drawn up on a steep and rugged hill : 
 
 ing, and the presence of the words ' rem but there was not much else in his favoiu', 
 
 publicam' naturally suggests the Emperor for his troops were raw: on the other 
 
 on the throne. Sentius \Nished to point side was a bristling line ('asperitas') of 
 
 out the atrocity of entering on a hostile disciplined soldiers. 
 
 demonstration against Tiberius and the in aeqvAim eniterentur] 'Struggled 
 
 state. up to a level with the forces of Pis >,' for 
 
 80. admodum] Tacitus sometimes put they had to force their way up the hill 
 
 this adverb before the adjective (i. 3, on which their opponents stood. 
 
A.D. 19.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 
 
 119 
 
 frustra temptavit ; regressusque et pro muris, modo semet adflic- 
 I . tando_, modo singulos nomine ciens, praemiis vocans, seditionem 
 ■ ' coeptabat_, adeoque commoverat, ut signifer legionis sextae signum 
 ad eum transtulerit. tum Sentius occanere cornua tubasque et 
 peti aggerem_, erigi scalas iussit^ ac promptissimum quemque suc- 
 cedere^ alios tormentis hastas saxa et faces ingerere. tandem 
 victa pertinacia Piso oravit ut traditis armis maneret in castello, 
 dum Caesar^ cui Syriam permitteret^ consulitur. non receptae con- 
 diciones_, nee aliut quam naves et tutum in urbem iter concessum 
 est. 
 
 82. At Romae_, postquam Germanici valetudo percrebuit cunc- 
 taque ut ex longinquo aucta in deterius adferebantur^ dolor ira^ et 
 erumpebant questus. ideo nimirum in extremas terras relegatum, 
 ideo Pisoni permissam provinciam ; hoc egisse secretes Augustae 
 cum Plancina sermones. vera prorsus de Druso seniores locutos : 
 displicere regnantibus civilia filiorum ingenia^ neque ob aliut inter- 
 ceptos, quam quia populum Romanum aequo iure complecti red- 
 dita libertate agitaverint. hos vulgi sermones audita mors adeo 
 incendit^ ut ante e dictum magistratuum_, ante senatus consultum 
 sumpto iustitio desererentur fora^ clauderentur domus. passim 
 silentia et gemitus^ nihil compositum in ostentationem ; et quam- 
 quam neque insignibus lugentium abstinerent^ altius animis maere- 
 bant. forte negotiatores, vivente adbuc Germanico Suria egressi^ 
 
 81. pro mv/ris] In xiv. 25, *' proelium 
 pro muris ausi erant," tlie sense must be 
 * in front of the walls, and outside them.' 
 In xiv. 30, "stabat pro litore diversa 
 acies," the sense is ' on the edge of the 
 shore.' Cf. xv. 3, " pro ripa." Here the 
 meaning seems to be 'in front, on the 
 walls,' standing on the edge of them. 
 In the previous chapter, on the other 
 hand, ' pro munimentis ' seems to be 
 'in front of the outworks, and outside 
 them.' 
 
 peti aggerem] Cf. i. 65. The sense is 
 clearly, that earth was to be fetched to 
 fill up the ditch, and so enable the 
 stormers to cross it. 
 
 82. percrehuW] So. xii. 6., xv. 19 : on 
 the other hand 'percrebrui' vi. 20., H. ii. 
 26. 
 
 hoc egisse] 'This was the meaning, 
 the aim of those private conferences.* 
 Cf. Juv. V. 156, " hoc agit ut doleas." 
 
 vera prorsus] Cf. i. 33, and Suet. Claud. 
 1, " nee dissimulasse umquam pristinum 
 se rei publicae statum quandoque posset 
 restiturumj undo oxistimo nonnuUos 
 
 tradere ausos suspectum eum Augusto 
 revocatumque ex provincia, et quia cunc- 
 taretur interceptum veneno." 
 
 neque insignibus] Here the sense is, 
 I think, ' although they did not also with- 
 hold outward signs of grief, their sorrow 
 was deeper than their outward manifes- 
 tation necessarily implied.' They were 
 genuinely sorry, and besides that, they did 
 not abstain from showing it outwardly. 
 ' Neque ' is equal to ' et non,' and ' et * 
 means ' also ' with reference to something 
 to be mentioned subsequently, but al- 
 ready in the yrriter's mind. Cf. iii. 17, 
 " patris quippo iussa neo potuisse filium 
 detrectare," where the sense is perhaps, 
 ' the son, besides other reasons, might 
 not,' &c., although it is possible that ' esse ' 
 may be understood after ' iussa,' and 
 ' nee ' merely connect ' potuisse ' with it. 
 So iii. 29, " sed neque tum fuisse dubi- 
 taverim qui inluderent," ' then as well as 
 now.' H. iv. 34, " Vocula neo adventum 
 hostium exploravit," Yocula too, on hia 
 part, &c. 
 
120 COENELII TACITI [a.tj.c. 772. 
 
 laetiora de valetudine eius attulere. statim credita^ statim 7ulgata 
 sunt : ut quisque obvius, quamvis leviter audita in alios a1 que illi 
 in plures cumulata gaudio transferunt. cursant per urbeni, moli- 
 untur templorum fores ; iuvat credulitatem nox et prompti or inter 
 tenebras adfirmatio. nee obstitit falsis Tiberius^ donee tempore 
 ac spatio vanescerent : et populus quasi rursum ereptum acrius 
 doluit. 
 
 83. HonoreSj ut quis amore in Germanicum aut ingenio yalidus, 
 reperti decretique : ut nomen eius Saliari carmine caneretur ; 
 sedes curules sacerdotum Augustalium locis superque eas qaerceae 
 coronae statuerentur ; ludos circenses eburna efl&gies praeirot, neve 
 quis flamen aut augur in locum Germanici nisi gentis luliae crea- 
 retur. arcus additi Romae et aput ripam E-beni et in monte Suriae 
 Amano, cum inscriptione rerum gestarum ac mortem ob rem pub- 
 licam obisse ; sepulchrum Antiocbiae^ ubi crematus^ tribunal Epi- 
 daphnae, quo in loco vitam finierat. statuarum locorumve in quis 
 colerentur baud facile quis numerum inierit. cum censeretur cli- 
 peus auro et magnitudine insignis inter auctores eloquentiae^ adse- 
 
 illi] The pronoun refers to ' alios,' ' and jpraeiref\ The image of Ger manicns 
 those others.' Tacitus naturally regards was to be carried in procession amongst 
 those to whom the news was first told, those of the gods, before the commence- 
 as remote, compared with those who told ment of the games. Germanicus was 
 it ; and with reference to this view, he flamen Augustalis, Lat. Insci-ipt. n. 
 uses ' illi.' This is the explanation of the 3064. His successor was his adopted 
 fact that 'hie' and 'ille' are sometimes brother Drusus. (n. 211), and thtn Nero 
 used for the remoter and nearer respec- (n. 663). 
 
 tively, instead of vice versa, because the in monte Suriae Amano] The ^\.manus 
 
 writer's mental view is the reverse of was a range of hills stretching fi'om the 
 
 that conveyed by his actual words. Taurus down the east side of tlie Gulf 
 
 Cf. Liv. XXX. 30, "melior tutiorque est of Issus, and also extending from the 
 
 certa pax quam sperata victoria : haec same point of the Taurus eastv'ard to 
 
 in tua, ilia in deorum manu est," where the Euphrates. 
 
 'haec' is used for the remoter 'pax,' ohisse^ This infinitive depends on ' in- 
 
 because it is foremost in the writer's scriptione,' or some word supplied from 
 
 mind. Cf. also Liv. xxiv, 29, " et mitten- it : ' with a record of his exploits, and a 
 
 tibus et missis ea laeta expeditio fuit. statement that he died,' &c. 
 
 Nam et illis (missis) quod iam diu cupie- tribunal Epidajphnae^ Some kind of 
 
 bant . . . et hi (mittentes)," &c. raised stand, with an inscription pro- 
 
 83. 8aUa/ri carmine'] Augustus seems bably, enumerating his titles, honours, 
 
 first to have been honoured by the inser- &c. Epidaphne was a suburb of An- 
 
 tion of his name in the Carmen Saliare. tioch. 
 
 Only a few lines and some detached clipeus] That is a shield, enclosing a 
 
 words are preserved. See Dr. Donaldson's portrait of Germanicus. Livy (xxv. 39) 
 
 Varronianus, p. 197, and Dr. Smith's Die- speaks of a silver shield, with a liseness 
 
 tionary of Antiquities. of Hasdrubal embossed on it. For the 
 
 querceae coronae'] A curule chair with practice, cf. Pliny, N. H. xxxv. 3. Orelli 
 
 an oak garland over it was to bo placed mentions that n3.any representations of 
 
 for Germanicus wherever the ' sacerdotes such 'clypei' are extant, and refers to 
 
 Augustales' met, as he belonged to their Eckhel, vi. p. 103, for a coin of Augustus 
 
 ' collegium.' An oak garland was given with one on it, and to Visconti, Ii^onog. 
 
 for the preservation of a citizen's life. Rom. Tab. xii., for a portrait of Cicero 
 
R 
 
 Ef^ 
 
 ^^l 
 
 (/. 
 
 'jj, 
 
 S. 
 
 ^. 
 
 A.D. 19.] AB EXOESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. 
 
 :^^A 
 
 
 veravit Tiberius solitum paremque ceteris dicaturum : i 
 eloquentiam fortuna discerni_, et satis inlustre, si veteres inter scrr 
 tores haberetur. equester ordo cuneum Germanici appellavit qui 
 iuniorum dicebatur, instituitque uti turmae idibus luliis imaginem 
 eius sequerentur. pleraque manent : quaedam statim omissa sunt 
 aut vetustas oblitteravit. 
 
 84. Ceterum recenti adliuc maestitia soror Germanici Livia, 
 nupta Druso, duos virilis sexus simul enixa est. quod rarum lae- 
 tumque etiam modicis penatibus tanto gaudio principem adfecit, 
 ut non temperaverit quin iactaret aput patres^ nulli ante Romano- 
 rum eiusdem fastigii viro geminam stirpem editam ; nam cuncta^ 
 etiam fortuita, ad gloriam vertebat. sed populo tali in tempore 
 id quoque dolorem tulit, tamquam auctus liberis Drusus domum 
 Germanici magis urgueret. 
 
 85. Eodem anno gravibus senatus decretis libido feminarum 
 coercita cautumque^ ne quaestum corpore faceret cui avus aut 
 pater aut maritus eques Romanus fuisset. nam Yistilia praetoria 
 familia genita licentiam stupri aput aediles vulgaverat, more inter 
 veteres recepto^ qui satis poenarum adversum inpudicas in ipsa 
 professione flagitii credebant. exacta et a Titidio Labeone Yistiliae 
 marito^ cur in uxore delicti manifesta ultionem legis omississet. 
 
 A 
 
 y. 
 
 ^; 
 
 > 
 
 enclosed in a shield. In this sense some 
 of the grammarians say the word is 
 nenter (clipenm), but this is clearly not 
 so always. Below, for 'auctores eloquen- 
 tiae, cf. ii. 37. 
 
 cuneum Germanici'] This passage ia 
 not easy to understand. Some make 
 the ' cuneus iuniorum ' refer to the ' ludi 
 Troici,' an interpretation refuted by the 
 words 'equester ordo.' Draeger, if I 
 comprehend his meaning, divides the 
 ' equites ' into two divisions, * iuniores,' 
 the younger men (all under 45, I sup- 
 pose), and ' seniores ' or elders. But I do 
 not see any proof of the use of the word 
 * cuneus ' to denote a division of the kind 
 mentioned. But probably as Marquardt, 
 Orelli, Nipperdey, and others suppose, 
 the ' quattuordecim ordines ' set apart 
 for the Equites in the theatre formed 
 two * eunei,' one for the younger, and the 
 other for the elder members of the body. 
 Compare Suet. Dom. 4, " quinquagenas 
 tesseras in singulos cuneos equestris ac 
 senatorii ordinis pronuntiavit." 
 
 idihus luliis] The ' travectio ' of the 
 knights took place on the 15th of July 
 every year. They marched, on horse- 
 back, from the Temple of Honour to the 
 
 Capitol. The image of Germanicus 
 served for a standard, followed by all 
 the knights. Cf, v. 4, " quorum imagines 
 pro vexillis secuti forent duces impera- 
 toresque deligerent." 
 
 84. dvx>s virilis sexus] Germanicus, who 
 died A.D. 23 (iv. 15), and Tiberius, put 
 to death by Caligula (Suet. Cal. 15, 23). 
 
 auctus liheris] Cf. Agric. 6, "auctus 
 est ibi filia." Cic. ad Attic, i. 2, " filiolo 
 me auctum scito." 
 
 85. Vistilia praetoria farmlia] Perhaps 
 she was the daughter of the praetor Sex. 
 Vestilius in vi. 9. 
 
 exacta] I do not see that this is neces- 
 sarily wrong. It is clear that ' exactae 
 sunt rationes ultionia omissae ' would be 
 right, and perhaps, especially as there 
 might be several reasons, 'exacta cur 
 omississet ' is only a varied expression of 
 the same idea. At all events it does not 
 seem more strange than the plural in 
 such phrases as aHvaTo. ia-ri in Greek. 
 
 ultionem legis] That is, of the Lex lulia 
 do Adulteriis, by which a husband was 
 required to separate from the wife taken 
 in adultery. He alone had the right to 
 bring her to trial within sixty days. 
 
122 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c . 772. 
 
 at que illo praetendente sexaginta dies ad consultandum date s nec- 
 dum praeterisse, satis visum de Yistilia statuere; eaque in ir sulam 
 Seriphon abdita est. actum et de sacris Aegyptiis ludaicisque 
 pellendis factumque patrum consultum, ut quattuor milia liloertini 
 generis ea superstitione infecta^ quis idonea aetas, in insulain Sar- 
 dinian! veherentur^ coercendis illic latrociniis et, si ob gra-v:.tatem 
 caeli interissent, vile damnum ; ceteri cederent Italia_, nisi certam 
 ante diem profanes ritus exsuissent. 
 
 86. Post quae rettulit Caesar capiendam virginem in locum 
 Occiae, quae septem et quinquaginta per annos summa sanctimonia 
 Yestalibus sacris praesederat; egitque grates Fonteio Agrippae 
 et Domitio Pollioni, quod offerendo filias de oflB.cio in rem publi- 
 cam certarent. praelata est Pollionis filia, non ob aliut quara quod 
 mater eius in eodem coniugio manebat; nam Agrippa discidio 
 domum imminuerat. et Caesar quamvis posthabitam deci(;s ses- 
 tertii dote solatus est. 
 
 87. Saevitiam annonae incusante plebe statuit frumento pre- 
 tium, quod emptor penderet, binosque nummos se additurum 
 negotiatoribus in singulos modios. neque tamen ob ea pjirentis 
 patriae delatum et antea vocabulum adsumpsitj acerbeque incre- 
 puit eos, qui divinas occupationes ipsumque dominum dixerant. 
 
 necdutn] Perhaps 'datos' is put for it is found in Mommsen's Inscript. regni 
 
 'datos esse,' and then 'necdum' is cor- Neapolitani 26 times, and in tie Fasti 
 
 rectly used. Others take 'necdum' for Capitol. Triumph. See the note in Pro- 
 
 'nondum,' and compare H. i. 31, "in- fessor Munro's Lucret. i. 313. 
 
 cipiens adhuc et necdum adulta;" and 87. hinosque mimmos] In 73 a..c. the 
 
 possibly this may be the right explana- price of the * modius ' or 2 ga lions of 
 
 tion, in a writer of the silver age. wheat was fixed at 4 sesterces, or 10 
 
 de sacris Aegyptiis'] The worship of ases, a peck. ("Ex senatus consulto 
 
 Isis. Her temples were notoriously the et ex lege Terentia et Cassia frumen- 
 
 haunts of vice. Cf. Juv. vi. 489, " aut taria pretium constitutum frumento im- 
 
 apud Isiacae potius sacraria lenae;" also perato in modios singulos, H.S. iiii. Cic. 
 
 Juv. ix. 22, Ovid's Art. Amat. i. 77. Verr. iii. 70). About the same number 
 
 86. capiendam] 'Capere' isthetechni- of years after our Lord, ia the elder 
 
 cal word for the appointment of a vestal Pliny's time (N. H. xviii. 10), fine ■^vheaten 
 
 virgin. Cf. xv. 22, and Aul. Gell. i. 12. bread flour was 48 ases a modi as, or 3 
 
 13, " capi virgo propterea dici videtur, denarii (for the denarius then was equiva- 
 
 quia pontificis maximi manu prensa ab lent to 16 ases). At this date therefore 
 
 eo parente in cuius potestate est, veluti a peck of flour cost about 2 shillings, a 
 
 bello capta abducitur." bushel 8, and a quarter 64 shillings. 
 
 PolUonis filia] According to Lach- Assuming the price of wheat to be f 
 
 mann, when a long vowel is followed that of flour (see Elliott's Home Apo- 
 
 by *1V one '1' is omitted before an 'i' calypt. part i. ch. 3), wheat would be in 
 
 (not being the mark of a case) ; so mille, Pliny's time about 40 shillings a (juarter. 
 
 milia; stilla, stilicidium. Consequently In the scarcity of the second Punic war, 
 
 'Polionis,' the reading of the Cod. Med. Polybins says wheat was 15 denarii a 
 
 here would be correct. The Greek form * medimnus,' or 6 modii, or 2J d?narii a 
 
 is nwXto)*', but nevertheless as a matter peck, or about 53 shillings a quaiter. 
 
 of fact ' Pollio ' seems to have prevailed dominum'] The correlative of ' domi- 
 
 over the other form 'Polio.' At all events nus' was ' servus,' the latter being the 
 
I 
 
 A.D. 19.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. II. 
 
 123 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 unde angusta et lubrica oratio sub principe, qui libertatem metue- 
 bat_, adulationem oderat. 
 
 88. Eeperio aput scriptores senatoresque eorundem temporum 
 Adgandestrii principis Cbattorum lectas in senatu litteras, quibus 
 mortem Arminii promittebat^ si patrandae neci venenum mittere- 
 tur ; responsumque esse non fraude neque occultis, sed palam et 
 armatum populum Eomanum bostes sues ulcisci. qua gloria 
 aequabat S3 Tiberius priscis imperatoribus, qui venenum. in Pyr- 
 rum regem vetuerant prodiderantque. ceterum Arminius absce- 
 dentibus Romanis et pulso Maroboduo regnum adfectans libertatem 
 popularium adversam babuit, petitusque armis cum varia fortuna 
 certaret, dolo propinquorum cecidit : liberator bau dubie Ger- 
 maniae et qui non primordia populi Romani, sicut alii reges duces- 
 que^ sed florentissimum imperium lacessierit^ proeliis ambiguus, 
 bello non victus. septem et triginta annos vitae, duodecim poten- 
 tiae explevit, caniturque adbuc barbaras aput gentes^ Graecorum 
 annalibus ignotus, qui sua tantum mirantur, Romanis baud perinde 
 Celebris, dum vetera extollimus recentium incuriosi. 
 
 absolute property of Ms master, wlio pos- 
 sessed the ownership as though the slave 
 were a chattel. The corresponding Greek 
 term was Sea-TrSTTjs. Cf. Eur. Hippol. 88, 
 &va^, deovs yap SecrirSras Ka\i7v xpec^i/. 
 
 88. scriptores senatoresque] ' Certain 
 writers, and those senators,' who might 
 therefore be likely to be well informed. 
 
 priscis imperatorihiis] The allusion 
 
 seems to be to C. Fabricius, consul 
 287 A. c. 
 
 haud perind.e Celebris'] ' Not so famous 
 as he should be.' So Germ. 5, "possessione 
 et usu haud perinde adficiuntur." Agric. 
 10, " mare ne ventis quidem perinde ad- 
 toUi." For the masculine form ' Celebris ' 
 cf. xiii. 47., xiv. 19. So '-— "^ ' ' 
 'salubris' are found. 
 
 acris,' 'equestris.' 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXOESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBBE III. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. Progress of Agrippina towards Eome. 2. Her reception in Italy. 3. Ab- 
 sence of Tiberius, Antonia, and Augusta from the funeral procession, 4. Grief 
 in tbe city on the day of the burial of Germanicus. 5. Eemarks of the populace 
 on the absence of pomp at the ceremony. 6. Notice issued by Tiberius on the 
 subject. 7. Drusus visits the lUyrican legions. 8. Piso visits Drusus. 9. and 
 returns to Rome. 10, 11. Impeachment of Piso. 12. Speech of Tiberius there- 
 upon. 13. Statement of charge against Piso. 14. Weakness of the rlefence. 
 15. Plancina abandons her husband. Death of Piso. 16. His letter to Tiberius. 
 17, 18. Acquittal of Piso's son, and of Plancina. Proposals for disgracing Piso's 
 memory. 19. Bestowal of priestly oflSces on Vitellius and others. Ovation of 
 Drusus. Death of Vipsania. 20. Renewal of hostilities by Tacfarinas. 21. His 
 defeat by Apronius. 22, 23. Impeachment of Lepida, and her condemnation. 
 24. Silanus allowed to return to Rome. 25. Lex Papia Poppaea. Increase of 
 * delatores.' 26 — ^28. Digression on the subject of laws. 29. Marriage of Nero and 
 Julia. 30. Death of L. Volusius and Sallustius Crispus. 31. Corbulo's complaint 
 of want of respect shown him by the young L. Sulla. 32. Disturbances raised 
 by Tacfarinas. Lepidus proconsul of Asia. 33. Caecina proposes to forbid the 
 rulers of provinces taking their wives. 34. V. Messalinus opposes it. 35. Blaesus 
 proconsul of Africa. 36. Repression of an abuse in the matter of the imperial 
 statues. 37. Condemnation of Aequus and Cursor. 38. Impeachment of Cordus. 
 Disturbances in Thrace, 39. repressed by Yelleius. 40. Rising in Gaul. 
 41. The Andecavi and Turoni crushed by Aviola. 42. Death of Florus. 43. Dis- 
 turbances amongst the Aedui raised by Sacrovir. 44. Exaggerated rumours 
 at Rome in consequence. 45, 46. Operations of Silius. Death of Sacrovir. 
 47. Tiberius talks of visiting Gaul. 48. Death of Quirinus. 49 — 51. Impeach- 
 ment and death of Lutorius. 52. Proposal by the Aediles to restrain the spread 
 of luxury. 53, 54. Letter of Tiberius thereon to the Senate. 55. Remarks on 
 the rise of luxury. 56, 57. Bestowal of the ' tribunicia potestas ' on I'rusus. 
 
AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 
 
 125 
 
 t 
 
 58. The Flamen Dialis claims a province. 59. The question deferred by Tiberius. 
 Offence at the pride of Drusus. 60 — 63. Examination of the claims of Grecian 
 states to establish 'asyla.' 64. Sickness of Augusta. 65. Prevailing syco- 
 phancy of the times. 66 — 68. Impeachment and condemnation of Silanus. 
 69. Flattery of Dolabella. 70. Impeachment of Cordus and others. 71. Dis- 
 cussion on Fortuna Equestris. Settlement of the claim of the Flamen Dialis. 
 72. The embellishment of the Basilica Pauli. Promised rebuilding of the Theatre 
 of Pompeius by Tiberius. 73. Arrogance of Tacfarinas. 74. Operations of 
 Blaesus against him. 75. Deaths of Saloninus and others. 76. Death of Junia 
 and her funeral. 
 
 1. Nihil intermissa navigatione liiberm maris Agrippina Corey- 
 ram insulam advehitur^ litora Calabriae contra sitam. illic paucos 
 dies eonponendo animo insumit, violenta luetu et neseia tolerandi. 
 interim adventu eius andito intimus quisque amicorum et plerique 
 militaresj ut quique sub Germanico stipendia fecerant^ multique 
 etiam ignoti vicinis e municipiis_, pars officium in principem rati, 
 plures illos secuti, mere ad oppidum Brundisium, quod naviganti 
 celerrimum fidissimumque adpulsu erat. atque ubi primum ex 
 alto visa classis, complentur non modo portus et proxima maris, 
 sed moenia ac tecta, quaque longissime prospectari poterat, mae- 
 
 1. Utora Calabriae contra sitam] For 
 the position of the preposition after its 
 substantive followed by a dependent ge- 
 nitive, cf. xiii. 15, "cubiculum Caesaris 
 iuxta," and xiv. 9, " viam Miseni propter." 
 Sometimes the preposition comes be- 
 tween the two substantives instead of 
 after both, as iii. 72, " omatum ad urbis ;" 
 iv. 5, "initio ab Suriae." This seems a 
 poetical usage. Cf. Yirg. Aen. vii. 234, 
 " fata per Aeneae. " The preposition 
 is also placed by Tacitus after two co- 
 ordinate substantives, as i. 60, " quan- 
 tumque Amisiam et Lupiam amnes inter 
 vastatum," and iv. 8, "disque et patria 
 coram." This is also poetical. Cf. Yirg. 
 Aen. iii. 75, " oras et litora circum," and 
 Georg. ii. 344, " frigusque caloremqiie 
 inter." Also the preposition is found 
 between two substantives, where the se- 
 cond is in apposition to the first, as ii. 
 60, " oppido a Canopo ;" iv. 43, " mon- 
 tem apud Erycum." This is poetical. Cf. 
 Virg. Aen. viii. 292, "rege sub Evandro." 
 Ovid, Met. xi. 156, " iudice sub Tmolo." 
 Again, the preposition is found between 
 a substantive and an attributive adjec- 
 tive, as iii. 10, " iudice ab uno ;" xii. 56, 
 " lacu in ipso." Also between two co- 
 ordinate substantives, as iv. 5, " Misc- 
 num apud et Ravennam," and H. iii. 19, 
 " cumulos super et recentia caede ves- 
 
 tigia." And lastly, after a simple sub- 
 stantive, as i. 65, " umentia ultra ;" iv. 
 48, "lucem intra;" and xii. 21, "rostra 
 iuxta." The last three forms are found 
 in prose writers, Livy, Caesar, Cicero, 
 Suetonius, &c., but not so frequently as 
 in Tacitus. 
 
 plerique] ' Many,' not ' most,' as the 
 word generally means. Tacitus often 
 uses it in the former sense. Cf. iv. 9, 
 " plerisque additis ut ferme amat pos- 
 terior adulatio." Also xiii. 25, " milites 
 sibi et plerosque gladiatores circum- 
 dedit." This sense of the word seems 
 chiefly to occur in writers of the silver 
 age. The next word, ' militaiis,' is used 
 substantively, as also in xiv. 33, " omis- 
 sis castellis praesidiisque militarium." 
 In II. ii. 75 the full phrase occurs, 
 " robur notum viro militari." This use 
 of * militaris ' is only found in the silver 
 age. 
 
 proxima maris] This might of course 
 naean ' the nearest portions of the sea,' 
 as in iii. 73, " intima Africae" is 'the 
 interior of Africa;' and in H. iii. 42 
 "proxima litorum" is 'the nearer por- 
 tions of the shores.' Here, however, the 
 sense is probably ' the parts of the land 
 adjacent to the sea,' so that ' proxima ' is 
 used substantively for ' neighbourhood.' 
 Cf. II. V. 16, "propiora fluminis." 
 
126 COENELII TACITI [a.u.j. 773. 
 
 rentium turba et rogitantium inter se_, silentione an voce aliqua 
 egredientem exciperent. neque satis constabat quid pro tempore 
 foret_, cum classis paulatim successit, non alacri^ ut adsolet^ remigio_, 
 sed cunctis ad tristitiam compositis. postquam duobus cum liberis^ 
 feralem urnam tenens^ egressa navi defixit oculos,, idem omnium 
 gemitus ; neque discerneres proximos alienos^ virorum iemina- 
 rumve planctus^ nisi quod comitatum Agrippinae longo riaerore 
 fessum obvii et recentes in dolore anteibant. 
 
 2. Miserat duas praetorias cobortes Caesar, addito ut magis- 
 tratus Calabriae Apulique et Campani suprema erga meiaoriam 
 filii sui munera fungerentur. igitur tribunorum centurionumque 
 umeris cineres portabantur; praecedebant incompta signa, versi 
 fasces j atque ubi colonias transgrederentur, atrata plebes, trabeati 
 equites pro opibus loci vestem odores aliaque funerum sollemnia 
 cremabant. etiam quorum diversa oppida, tamen obvii et victimas 
 atque aras dis manibus statuentes lacrimis et conclamationibus 
 dolorem testabantur. Drusus Tarracinam progressus est cum 
 Claudio fratre liberisque Germanici, qui in urbe fuerant. consules 
 M. Valerius et M. Aurelius (iam enim magistratum occeperant) et 
 
 duohus cum liberis] Agrippina had distinction is not observed in H. iii. 13, 
 
 given birth to a daughter at Lesbos (ii. " ceteris per militiae munera dispersis," 
 
 54) after her departure from E-ome. The and raay be disregarded here. Or per- 
 
 other child was Caius, afterwards Empe- haps 'munera' is used designedly, be- 
 
 ror (Suet. Calig. 10) . The rest of Agrip- cause * raunia ' would possibly s;eem to 
 
 pina's family had remained in the city. imply that this duty was usually allotted 
 
 defixit oculos'] This is a little obscure, to the magistrates of Calabria, a^^ one of 
 
 The sense can hardly be ' fixed the gaze their regular functions, which ol" course 
 
 (of all) on herself,' in the absence of any was not the case. The accusatr'^e after 
 
 genitive ('omnium,' 'civium,' or the like), * fungi ' is not peculiar to Tacitus : it oc- 
 
 The usual interpretation is the best: curs in Terence, Plautus, Suetonius, and 
 
 * fixed her eyes on the ground,' although even Cicero. 
 
 as far as I can find, ' in terram' or 'solo ' incompta signa] These were tha stan- 
 
 is always added. dards of the praetorian cohorts, not bur- 
 
 in dolore] These words, I think, are nished up as usual, but in slovenl}- guise, 
 to be constructed with 'recentes,' so The 'fasces 'were no doubt those of the late 
 that 'recentes in dolore' answers to Germanicus carried in reversed position. 
 ' longo maerore fessum.' The distinctive uhi] For the mood after 'ubi' cf. 
 force of the two words 'maeror' and Agric. 9, "ubi conventus ac iudicia pos- 
 'dolor'is conveyed by Cicero, ad Attic, cerent." The subjunctive of course 
 xii. 28, "maerorem minui, dolorem nee answers here to the Greek optative of 
 potui nee si possem vellem." Tacitus indefinite frequency, 
 has elsewhere ' recens ' without a prepo- trabeati] Not, as Lipsius coi'rectly 
 sition, as i. 41, " recens dolore et ira ;" but observes, because the 'trabea' was a 
 the sense is perhaps rather ' fresh, un- mourning dress, for it was not ; but sim- 
 tired, in the midst of their grief,' instead ply because it was the state dress of the 
 of ' in the fresh impulse of grief.' knights, and they were to appear in full 
 
 2. mamera] Tacitus generally uses uniform. Below 'diversa oppida' is 
 
 ' munia ' in the nominative and accusa- ' towns distant from, out of the foute.' 
 
 tive plural when the sense is that of Cf. ii. 60, " diversum ad mare." iii. 59, 
 
 * duties,' 'functions,' and 'munera' when "diverse terrarum." 
 it is that of ' gifts,' ' ofierings.' But the 
 
A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 
 
 127 
 
 senatus ac magna pars populi viam conplevere, disiecti et ut cuique 
 libitum flentes; aberat quippe adulatio, gnaris omnibus laetam 
 Tiberio Germanici mortem male dissimulari. 
 
 3. Tiberius atque Augusta publico abstinuere_, inferius maiestate 
 sua rati, si palam lamentarentur, an ne omnium oculis vultum 
 eorum scrutantibus falsi intellegerentur. matrem Antoniam non 
 aput auctores rerum, non diurna actorum scriptura reperio ullo 
 insigni ofl&cio functam_, cum super Agrippinam et Drusum et 
 Claudium ceteri quoque consanguinei nominatim perscripti sint, 
 sen valetudine praepediebatur, sen victus luctu animus magnitudi- 
 nem mali perferre visu non toleravit. facilius crediderim Tiberio 
 et Augusta, qui domo non excedebant, cobibitam, ut par maeror 
 et matris exemplo avia quoque et patruus attineri viderentur. 
 
 4. Dies, quo reliquiae tumulo Augusti inferebantur, modo per 
 silentium vastus, modo ploratibus inquies; plena urbis itinera, 
 conlucentes per campum Martis faces, illic miles cum armis, sine 
 insignibus magistratus, populus per tribus concidisse rem pub- 
 licam, nihil spei reliquum clamitabant, promptius apertiusque 
 quam ut meminisse imperitantium crederes. nihil tamen Tiberium 
 magis penetravit quam studia bominum accensa in Agrippinam, 
 cum decus patriae, solum Augusti sanguinem, unicum antiquitatis 
 specimen appellarent versique ad caelum ac deos integram illi 
 subolem ac superstitem iniquorum precarentur. 
 
 3. diurna actorum scriptura'] These 
 publications are spoken of as * diurna 
 urbis acta' (xiii. 31), and 'diurna po- 
 ptdi Romani ' (xvi. 22) . They contained 
 the news of the day, particulars of new 
 buildings recently erected (xiii. 31), the 
 doings of prominent citizens (xvi. 22), 
 births, deaths, marriages, proceedings in 
 the law courts, and similar intelligence. 
 
 par maeror] Either 'videretur' can 
 be supplied, or 'esset,' in accordance 
 with the principle spoken of in a pre- 
 vious note. See in c. 2 the note on 
 * postquam.' 
 
 4. vastus] 'Dreary.' Cf. Liv. v. 53, 
 " res ipsa cogit vastam incendiis ruinis- 
 que relinquere urbem," and xxviii. 11, 
 "agrum vastum ac desertum habere." 
 Cf. also Sail. Jug. 52, "mens vastus ab 
 natura et humano cultu." From the 
 notion of size connected with desolate, 
 waste places, the word is used for ' huge,' 
 'vast' in our sense. Cf. Phaedrus i. 5, 
 " cervus vasti corporis." Ovid, Fast. ii. 
 322, " ut possit vastas exseruisse manus." 
 
 It is often used of the sea, apparently 
 with the combined idea of size and waste. 
 Cf. Caes. B. Gr. iii. 12, "vasto et aperto 
 mari." Cf. Agric. 10, and ii. 24. 
 
 populus per triius] Every Roman citi- 
 zen, whether patrician or plebeian, was in- 
 cluded in some one of the thirty-five local 
 tribes. The whole population therefore, 
 it would seem, was marshalled in order 
 by their several tribes to attend the 
 funeral of Germanicus. The words can 
 scarcely mean only that the whole people 
 attended, so as to make up the full tale 
 of tribes, without any regard to arrange- 
 ment or order. 
 
 antiquitatis] ' Of the old-fashioned 
 excellence.' Cf. Cic. pro Rabir. 10, " P. 
 Rutilius qui documentum fuit hominibus 
 nostris virtutis, antiquitatis, prudentiae." 
 Below, ' iniquorum ' is masculine : ' their 
 enemies.* Cf. xiv. 3, "quem adeo ini- 
 quum," &c.; xiv. 52, " oblectamentis prin- 
 cipis palam iniquum;" xii. 21, "iniquus 
 Thraseae." 
 
128 COENELII TACITI [a.u.l 773. 
 
 5. Fuere qui public! funeris pompam requirerent compaiarent- 
 que quae in Drusum patrem Germanici honora et m&.^nifica 
 Augustus fecisset. ipsum quippe asperrimo hiemis Ticinuni usque 
 progressum neque abscedentem a corpore simul urbem intravisse ; 
 circumfusas lecto Claudiorum luliorumque imagines; dc^fletum 
 in forOj laudatum pro rostris^ cuncta a maioribus reperta aiit quae 
 posteri invenerint cumulata : at Germanico ne solitos quidem et 
 cuicumque nobili debitos bonores contigisse. sane corpus ob 
 longinquitatem itinerum externis terris quoquo mode crematum : 
 sed tanto plura decora mox tribui par fuisse^ quanto prima fors 
 negavisset. non fratrem, nisi unius diei via_, non patruum saltern 
 porta tonus obvium. ubi ilia veterum instituta, praepositam toro 
 effigiem^ meditata ad memoriam virtutis carmina et laudationes^ et 
 lacrimas vel doloris imitamenta ? 
 
 6. Gnarum id Tiberio fuit; utque premeret vulgi serraones_, 
 monuit edicto multos inlustrium Romanorum ob rem publicam 
 obisse, neminem tarn flagranti desiderio celeb ratum. idc|ue et 
 sibi et cunctis egregium_, si modus adiceretur. non enim oadem 
 decora principibus viris et imperatori populo^ quae modicis domi- 
 bus aut civitatibus. convenisse recenti dolori luctum et ex maerore 
 solacia ; sed referendum iam animum ad firmitudinem_, ut quondam 
 divus lulius amissa unica filia, ut divus Augustus ereptis nepoti- 
 
 5. asperrimo hierms] Cf. vi. 27, " ex- ii. 84, " nostrae landationes qtiibiis in foro 
 
 tremo anni ;" H. V. 18, " extremo paludis j" utimur." The Greek funeral sjieeclies 
 
 iii. 59, "diverse terrarum." Sometimes were rather panegyrics on the state to 
 
 a preposition is added. Cf. i. 53, " in which the dead belonged than personal 
 
 prominenti litoris;" iv. 74, "in proximo eulogiums on individuals. 
 
 Campaniae." According to Draeger this fratrern] That is, Drusus, the son of 
 
 last is unclassical, and rare even in the Tiberius, the adopted father of Gei-mani- 
 
 silverage. cus. The uncle was Tiberius himself, who 
 
 luliorwrnque] Emesti wants to sub- is sometimes called ' patruus,' and some- 
 
 stitute ' Liviorumque ' — ^but thisisemen- times (as ii. 71) 'pater' of Germaaicus. 
 
 dation running mad — on the ground that praepositam] This was an image of 
 
 Drusus was not a member of the ' lulia wax, placed on the top of the funeral 
 
 gens ' even by adoption. But (iii. 76) at bier, the corpse being of course con- 
 
 the funeral of Junia, wife of C. Cassius, cealed below. This seems to hav(3 been 
 
 the images of twenty illustrious families first done at the funeral of Augustus, 
 
 were carried in procession ; so that pro- Cf. Dio Ivi. 34, iv ourp (a couch) to 
 
 bably a very small amount of connexion fxev (rw/xa Kdrco irov iv dijKr) avviKiKoviTTo' 
 
 furnished an excuse for a large display et/ccbi' Se 5^ ris ahrov Krjpivr] iv iiriviKiq. 
 
 of images. As Augustus was connected a-ToKfj i^e(l)aivero. 
 
 with the ' Claudia gens,' it is most likely 6. Gnarum'] Cf. i. 51. 
 
 that he would send the images of his own unica fiUa] This was Julia, married to 
 
 ' gens ' to do honour to Drusus. C. Pompeius, to cement the political union 
 
 laudatum] The technical word used formed between him and her father. She 
 
 for a funeral eulogium was * laudatio.' died in childbirth, to the intense regret 
 
 This was delivered as the funeral pro- of her husband (Plutarch, Pompeius), and 
 
 cession stopped in its route before the her father also. Cicero speaks of th] s, Ad 
 
 'rostra' in the Forum. Cf.Cic.de Orat. Q. Fr. iii. 1. 9, "ad eas ego se litteras 
 
A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 129 
 
 bus abstruserint tristitiam. nil opus vetustioribus exemplis, quo- 
 tiens populus Romanus clades exercituunij interitum ducum, 
 funditus amissas nobiles familias constanter tulerit. principes 
 mortales^ rem publicam aeternam esse, proin repeterent sollem- 
 nia, et quia ludorum Megalesium spectaculum suberat, etiam 
 voluptates resumerent. 
 
 7. Turn exsuto iustitio reditum ad muniaj et Drusus Illyricos ad 
 exercitus profectus est, erectis omnium animis petendae e Pisone 
 ultionis et crebro questu, quod vagus interim per amoena Asiae 
 atque Achaiae adroganti et subdola mora scelerum probationes 
 subverteret. nam vulgatum erat missam, ut dixi, a On. Sentio 
 famosam veneficiis Martinam subita morte Brundisii extinctam^ 
 venenumque nodo crinium eius occultatum, nee ulla in corpore 
 signa sumpti exitii reperta. 
 
 8. At Piso praemisso in urbem filio datisque mandatis per quae 
 principem molliret ad Drusum pergit, quem baud fratris interitu 
 trucem quam remote aemulo aequiorem sibi sperabat. Tiberias 
 quo integrum indicium ostentaret, exceptum comiter iuvenem 
 sueta erga filios familiarum nobiles liberalitate auget. Drusus 
 Pisoni, si vera forent quae iacerentur, praecipuum in dolore suum 
 locum respondit : sed malle falsa et inania nee cuiquam mortem 
 Germanici exitiosam esse, baec palam et vitato omni secrete; 
 neque dubitabantur praescripta ei a Tiberio, cum incallidus alioqui 
 et facilis iuventa senilibus tum artibus uteretur. 
 
 9. Piso Delmatico mari tramisso relictisque aput Anconam 
 navibus per Picenum ac mox Flaminiam viam adsequitur legionem, 
 quae e Pannonia in urbem, dein praesidio Africae ducebatur : 
 eaque res agitata rumoribus, ut in agmine atque itinere crebro se 
 
 nihil rescripsi negratulandi quidem causa, 7. petendae e Pisone ultionis'] Cf. ii. 59. 
 
 propter eius luctum." Orelli quotes Senec. 8. haud fratris interitu trucem] For the 
 
 de Consolat. ad Marciam xiv. 3, "C. Cae- omission of ' tam' cf. v. 6, "ne memo- 
 
 sar cum Britanniam i)eragraret . . audiit riam nostri per maerorem quam laeti 
 
 decessisse filiam publica secum fata du- retineatis." Orelli quotes Liv. xxvi. 31, 
 
 centem . . . tamen intra tertium diem "non quid ego fecerim in disquisitionem 
 
 imperatoria obiit munia et tam cito do- venit quam quid isti pati debuerint." 
 
 lorem vicit quam omnia solebat." Cf. duhitahantur] For the personal use of 
 
 also Suet. Aug. 65, "aliquantopatientius the verb, instead of the more natural 
 
 mortem quam dedecora suorum tulit." impersonal construction, cf. i. 61, " ac- 
 
 Megalesivm spectaculum suherat] Livy cisae iam reliquiae consedisse intellege- 
 
 (xxix.l4) says the Megalesia were fixed bantur;" and xv. 6, "adventare Caesen- 
 
 for the 12th of April (prid. idus). Ovid nius Paetus audiebatur." 
 
 (Fasti iv. 179) tells us they were cele- 9. ut] ' How.' Cf. H. i. 79, " mirum 
 
 brated on the 4th of April. No doubt dictu ut sit omnis Sarmatarum virtus 
 
 their celebration had been put forward velut extra ipsos ;" also i. 61, " refere- 
 
 to the earlier date. See Dr. Smith's Diet, bant . . . utque signis et aquilis per 
 
 of Antiquities. superbiam illuserit j" H. i. 37, " auditisno 
 
 K 
 
f.^' 
 
 130 COENELII TACITI [a.u.:. 773. 
 
 militibus ostentavisset. ab Narnia^ vitandae suspicionis i^n quia 
 pavidis consilia in incerto suut_, Nare ac mox Tiberi devectus auxit 
 vulgi iraSj quia navem tumulo Caesarum adpulerat dieque et ripa 
 frequenti^ magno clientium agmine ipse^ feminarum cc>mitatu 
 Plancina et vultu alacres incessere. fuit inter inritamenta invidiae 
 domus foro imminens festa ornatu conviviumque et epulae et 
 celebritate loci nihil occultum. 
 
 10. Postera die Fulcinius Trio Pisonem aput consules postu- 
 lavit. contra Vitellius ac Yeranius ceterique Germanicuia comi- 
 
 // tati tendebant^ nullas esse partis Trioni; neque se accussatores, 
 ,j^ sed rerum indices et testes mandata Germanici perlaturos. ille 
 / dimissa eius causae del^tione, ut priorem vitam accusaret obtinuit, 
 petitumque est a principe cognitionem exciperet. quod ne reus 
 quidem abnuebat, studia populi et patrum metuens : cont]*a Tibe- 
 rium spernendis rumoribus validum et conscientiae matris innexum 
 esse; veraque aut in deterius credita iudice ab uno facilius dis- 
 cerni, odium et invidiam apud multos valere. baud fallebat Tibe- 
 rium moles cognitionis quaque ipse fama distraberetur. igitur 
 paucis familiarium adhibitis minas accusantium et Line preces 
 audit integramque causam ad senatum remittit. 
 
 11. Atque interim Drusus rediens Illyrico^ quamquam patres 
 censuissent ob receptum Maroboduum et res priore aestate gestas 
 ut ovans iniret^ prolate bonore urbem intravit. post quae reo L. 
 Arruntium^ P. Yinicium, Asinium Galium^ Aeserninum Marcellum^ 
 
 nt postulentur." In other writers it xii. 35, and the note there, 
 
 is more usually found after ' videre/ until 10. distraheretur] Cf. i. 4, "dominoa 
 
 the silver age. variis rumoribus differebant ;" and iii. 12, 
 
 tumulo Caesarum'] This was the mau- " differrique etiam per extemos tamquam 
 
 soleum built by Augustus, 27 a.c, in the veneno interceptus esset." The sense ap- 
 
 middle of the Campus Martins, between pears therefore to be, 'with what various 
 
 the Pincian Hill and the river. interpretations his own conduct was being 
 
 dieque et ripa frequenti] ' Both in discussed on all sides.' 
 
 broad daylight, and when the bank was 11. Illyrico'] For the case, cf. ii. 69, and 
 
 crowded.' I do not see any force in Wal- the note there on 'Aegypto.' Below, 
 
 ther's objection that in this sense 'fre- L. Arruntius was consul a.d. 6, and son 
 
 quenti ripa ' would have been the order, of L. Arruntius, consul 22 a.c. According 
 
 He translates it, ' at an hour of the day to Dio (Iviii. 27) he killed himself in the 
 
 when the bank was usually crowded,' so year a.d. 37. 
 
 that the adjective qualifies both substan- P. Vinicium'] The MS. has * fulnicium,' 
 
 tives, which of course it may easily do; from which Nipperdey elicits *P. Vini- 
 
 but it is awkward, I think, to combine cius.' There is a L. Vinicius amongst 
 
 * dies frequens,' in the sense of ' the the various readings in Suet. Aug. 64. 
 
 usually crowded period of the day,' and There is a M. Vinicius in vi. 15, but P. 
 
 'ripa frequens,' 'an actually crowded Vinicius is nearer to' fulnicius.' The 'gens 
 
 bank ;' for the mention of the last fact Vinicia' was an illustrious one. It sprang 
 
 makes the notice of the first super- from Cales (vi. 15), the founder of the 
 
 fluous. Below, 'nihil occultum' is equi- family being a Roman knight. M. Vini- 
 
 valent to ' quod nihil occultum orat ;' cf, cius had two sons, Publius Vinicius and 
 
A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 131 
 
 Sex. Pompeium patronos petenti iisque diversa excusantibus M^. 
 
 I * Lepidus et L. Piso et Livineius Regulus adfuere, adrecta omni 
 civitate, quanta fides amicis Germanici, quae fiducia reo; satin 
 cohiberet ac premeret sensus suos Tiberius, hand alias inten- 
 tior populus plus sibi in principem occultae vocis aut suspicacis 
 silentii permisit. 
 
 12. Die senatus Caesar orationem habuit meditate tempera- 
 mento. patris sui legatum at que amicum Pisonem fuisse adiuto- 
 
 I |l remque Germanico datum a se auctore senatu rebus aput orientem 
 administrandis. illic contumacia et certaminibus asperasset iuve- 
 nem exituque eius laetatus esset, an scelere extinxisset, integris 
 animis diiudicandum. ^ nam si legatus officii terminos^ obsequium 
 erga imperatorem exsuit eiusdemque morte et luctu meo laetatus p^^ 
 est, odero seponamque a domo mea et privatas inimicitias non vi 
 principis ulciscar : sin facinus in cuiuscumque mortalium nece vin- 
 dicandum detegitur^ vos vero et liberos Germanici et nos parentes 
 iustis solaciis adficiterifeimulque illud reputate, turbide et sedi- o»^ 
 tiose tractaverit exercitus Piso^ quaesita sint per ambitionem <^^^ 
 studia militum^ armis repetita provincia, an falsa haec in mains ^iX^ 
 vulgaverint accusatores^ quorum ego nimiis studiis iure suscenseo. 
 nam quo pertinuit nudare corpus et contrectandum vulgi oculis t» "vt, "i 
 permittere differrique etiam per externos tamquam veneno inter- 
 ceptus esset, si incerta adhuc ista et scrutanda sunt ? defleo equi- 
 dem filium meum semperque deflebo : sed neque reum probibeo quo ^\^ 
 minus cuncta proferat, quibus innocentia eius sublevari aut^ si qua-'^ 
 fuit iniquitas Germanici_, coargui possit_, vosque oro ne, quia dolori c- o 
 meo causa conexa est^ obiecta crimina pro adprobatis accipiatis. ^,.^ wv< 
 si quos propinquus sanguis aut fides sua patronos dedit_, quantum 
 
 L. Vinicius, consul snffectus 33 A.c. The consul in the year 36 A.c. 
 
 son of the former was M. Vinicius, consul excusantibus'] This combination of par- 
 
 Buffectus 19 A.c. ; his grandson P. Vini- ticiples in different cases is not common, 
 
 eius, consul A.D. 2 ; and his great -grand- although it is found in other writers as 
 
 son M. Vinicius, consul A.D. 30 and 45 (vi. well, Cf. H. i. 45, " vinciri iussum et 
 
 15). L. Vinicius had a son L. Vinicius, maiores poenas daturum adfirmans prae- 
 
 consul suffectus 5 a.c. The question lies senti exitio subtraxit ;" ii. 23, " quo leva- 
 
 here between P. Vinicius (consul a.d. 2), rentur alvei manantes per latera et fluctu 
 
 or L. Vinicius (consul 5 A.c), and in the superurgente." Nipperdey quotes Sail, 
 
 absence of any decisive argument I have Jug. 98, " ipse paulatim disperses milites 
 
 printed 'P. Vinicium' as nearer in form neque minus hostibus conturbatis in 
 
 to 'fulnicium' than ' L. Vinicium.' I take unum contrahit." 
 
 this note from Nipperdey. — Aeseminus 12. legatum] He had been governor 
 
 Marcellus was son of M. Claudius Mar- of Hispania Citerior after his consulate, 
 
 cellus Aeseminus, consul 22 a.c, and a Cf. iii. 13, "ambitiose avareque habitam 
 
 daughter of AsiniusPoUio (Suet. Aug. 43) . Hispaniam." Hispania Ulterior was not 
 
 Sextus Pompeius (i. 7) was consul a.d. 14, an imperial province, 
 and perhaps son of Sextus Pompeius, 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c . 773. 
 
 quisque eloquentia et cura valet^ iuvate periclitantem : ad eundem 
 laborem^ eandem constantiam accusatores hortor. id solum Ger- 
 manico super leges praestiterimus^ quod in curia potius qiiam in 
 foro, aput senatum quam aput indices de morte eius anqiiiritur : 
 cetera pari modestia tractentur. nemo Drusi lacrimas^ nemo 
 maestitiam meam spectet, nee si qua in nos adversa finguntur/ 
 
 13. Exim biduum criminibus obiciendis statuitur utqae sex 
 dierum spatio interiecto reus per triduum defenderetur. turn Ful- 
 cinius Vetera et inania orditur, ambitiose avareque habitam His- 
 paniam ; quod neque convictum noxa6 reo, si recentia purgaret^ 
 neque defensum absolutioni erat, si teneretur maioribus flagitiis. 
 post quem Servaeus et Yeranius et Yitellius consimili studio^ et 
 
 super leges] Tlie duty of trying per- 
 sons accused of murder or poisoning 
 would devolve in ordinary cases on the 
 proper court, that of the * quaestores 
 parricidii,' appointed for the trial of such 
 offences. These 'quaestiones perpetuae' 
 were held in one of the basilicas adjoin- 
 ing the Forum. 
 
 pari modestia] The trial of Piso would 
 be conducted pretty nearly as if Germa- 
 nicus had been a private citizen : no alte- 
 ration, or trifling ones only, would be made 
 in the usual routine observed in similar 
 cases. The moderation displayed in all 
 other particulars would match (' pari ') 
 that displayed already in refusing to 
 make any alteration in the arrangements 
 for the trial, except in the locality. 
 
 13. utquesex dierum, spatio, &c.] For the 
 combination here of the forms 'biduum 
 statuitur criminibus obiciendis ' and ' ut 
 . - . defenderetur,' cf. iii. 63, "figere 
 aera sacrandam ad memoriam neu specie 
 religionis in ambitionem delaberentur ;" 
 iv. 9, " de reddenda re publica utque con- 
 sules seu quis alius regimen suscipe- 
 rent." Cf. Liv. xxi. 18, "legates in Afri- 
 cam mittunt ad percunctandos Cartha- 
 ginienses . . . et si faterentur ut indi- 
 cerent populo Carthaginiensi bellum." 
 The period mentioned here as allowed to 
 the accusers and accused, was, I imagine, 
 specially fixed by the Senate for the 
 occasion. Originally a trial seems to 
 have been prolonged as long as those 
 who were concerned in it found neces- 
 sary. So at least Tacitus, or the author 
 of the work De Oratoribus, asserts : 
 "transeo ad formam et consuetudinem 
 veterum iudiciorum, quae etsi nunc ap- 
 tior exstiterit, eloquentiam tamen illud 
 forum magis exercebat, in quo nemo intra 
 
 paucissimas horas perorare cogebatur et 
 liberae comperendinationes erant, et mo- 
 dum dicendi sibi quisque sumebat et nu- 
 merus neque dierum neque patronorum 
 finiebatur" (c. 38). Cn. Pompeius how- 
 ever, when sole consul, 52 A.c.,iii the law 
 ' de ambitu ' abridged this Kce nee, and 
 enacted that the examination of wit- 
 nesses should last not longer ttian three 
 days, and that then the accuser and ac- 
 cused should make their speecht3s on the 
 fourth day, two hours being allowed for 
 the former, and three for tho latter. 
 From the language of Tacitus in the 
 Dialogue, probably the same restrictions 
 were introduced into other trials than 
 those 'de ambitu,' as he says "primus 
 tertio consulatu Cn. Pompeius astrinxit, 
 imposuitque veluti fraenos eloq lentiae," 
 which words certainly seem to imply 
 more than an arrangement coiifined to 
 one species of trial. Pliny the younger 
 however speaks of a different amount 
 of time allowed, for he says (Epist. 
 iv. 9), "nam cum ex lege accu^ator sex 
 horas, novem reus accepisset," and " lege 
 cautum . . . ut sex horae accusatori 
 novem vero reo darentur." As the time 
 granted to Piso and his accuser was so 
 exceptionally long, I suppose i~ to have 
 been so arranged in consequence of the 
 importance of the trial. Below, 'quod 
 neque convictum,' &c., is '^vhich, if 
 proved, would involve the accused in no 
 guilt ; and if answered, would not lead 
 to his acquittal.' 
 
 S&rvaeus] Q. Servaeus had been prae- 
 tor (vi. 7), legatus pro praetore of Com- 
 magene (ii. 56), and once was on the staff 
 of Germanicus (' comes,' vi. 7) . He was 
 rewarded for his zeal in behalf of Ger- 
 manicus with the *sacerdotium' (iii. 19), 
 
I 
 
 A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 133 
 
 multa eloquentia Vitellius^ obiecere odio Germanici et rerum 
 novarum studio Pisonem vulgus militum per licentiam et sociorum 
 iniurias eo usque coiirupisse_, ut parens legionum a deterrimis 
 appellaretur ; contra in optimum quemque_, maxime in comites et 
 amicos Germanici saevisse ; postremo ipsum devotionibus et j^js\^^ 
 vene;ao peremisse; sacra hinc et immolationes nefandas ipsius 
 atque Plancinae^ petitam armis rem publicam, utque reus agi 
 posset^ acie victum. 
 
 14. Defensio in ceteris trepidavit; nam neque ambitionem 
 militarem neque provinciam pessimo cuique obnoxiam^ ne contume- 
 lias quidem adversum imperatorem infitiari poterat : solum veneni 
 crimen visus est diluisse, quod ne accusatores quidem satis firma- 
 bant, in convivio Germanici, cum super eum Piso discumberet, in- 
 fectos manibus eius cibos arguentes. quippe absurdum videbatur 
 inter aliena servitia et tot adstantium visu, ipso Germanico coram, 
 id ausum; offerebatque familiam reus et ministros in tormenta 
 flagitabat. sed indices per diversa inplacabiles erant, Caesar ob 
 bellum provinciae inlatum, senatus numquam satis credito sine 
 fraude Germanicum interisse. * * scripsissent expostulantes, 
 quod baud minus Tiberius quam Piso abnuere. simul populi ante 
 curiam voces audiebantur : non temperatures manibus, si patrum 
 sententias evasisset. efl&giesque Pisonis traxerant in Gemonias ac 
 divellebant, ni iussu principis protectae repositaeque forent. igitur 
 
 He was afterwards accused of complicity of so many bystanders.' For some re- 
 
 witli Sejanus (vi. 7). Yeranius was lega- marks on the use of the ablative case by 
 
 tus of Cappadocia (ii. 56), consul in A.D. Tacitus, see the notes on iii. 24 and 
 
 49, legatus of Britain (Agric. 14) , and 28. Below, * oflFerebatque familiam reus ' 
 
 died within a year of his appointment, is ' the accused offered his slaves for 
 
 Vitellius (Publius) served under Germa- examination under torture.' In return 
 
 nicus in his German campaigns (i. 70), for this, he demanded to have the at- 
 
 like his two partners in the accusation tendants of Germanicus similarly exa- 
 
 of Piso received the ' sacerdotium' in re- mined. 
 
 cognition of his services, and put an end scripsissenf] The passage is hopelessly 
 to his life by suicide, when accused of corrupt. Below, ' manibus ' is the da- 
 giving up the keys of the treasury of tive. Cf. Liv. xxviii. 44, "temperando 
 which he was in charge, to further the linguae juvenis senem vicero ;" Tac. xiii. 
 schemes of Sejanus (v. 8). 3, "nemo temperare risui;" with a dif- 
 petitam ormts] Cf. ii. 80. ferent construction, " ab excidio civi- 
 
 14. ohnoxiam] Cf. ii. 75, "fortunae tatis temperavere " (H. i. 63). 
 toties obnoxia," and xiv. 40, " orbitate et divellebcmt'} This is the reading of the 
 
 pecunia insidiis obnoxius." The idea of MS., and is no doubt correct. The 
 
 course is originally that of being liable people had dragged off Piso's statue, and 
 
 to punishment for some offence. Cf. were on the point of chopping it in pieces. 
 
 Plant. Trucul. iv. 3. 61, "ego me tibi when they were prevented from carrying 
 
 obnoxium esse fateor, culpae compotem." out their purpose. * Devellebant ' would 
 
 The word easily passes from this sense to mean that the people dragged the statue 
 
 the meaning it has in the above passages : from the pedestal ; but this would not 
 
 * given up to,' ' exposed to.' suit after * traxerant, ' as it must have 
 
 tot adstantium visu] * Under the eyes preceded that operation. For this demo- 
 
134 
 
 COENELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. 773. 
 
 inditus lecticae et a tribuno praetoriae coliortis deductus est, vario 
 rumore, custos saluti an mortis exactor sequeretur. 
 
 ]5. Eadem Plancinae invidia^ maior gratia; eoque ambiguum 
 habebatur quantum Caesari in eam liceret. atque ipsa_, donee :nediae 
 Pisoni spes^ sociam se cuiuscumque fortunae et^ si ita ferret, comi- 
 tem exitii promittebat : ut secretis Augustae precibus veniam ob- 
 tinuit^ paulatim segregari a marito, dividere defensionem coepit. 
 quod reus postquam sibi exitiabile intellegit_, an adhuc experiretur 
 dubitanSj bortantibus filiis durat mentem senatumque rursum in- 
 greditur ; redintegratamque accusationem^ infensas patrum voces, 
 adversa et saeva cuncta perpessus, nullo magis exterritus est quam 
 
 ; quod Tiberium sine miseratione, sine ira, obstinatum clausumque 
 vidit, ne quo adfectu perrumperetur. relatus domum, tamquam 
 defensionem in posterum meditaretur, pauca conscribit obsignat- 
 que et liberto tradit ; tum solita curando corpori exsequitur. dein 
 multam post noctem, egressa cubiculo uxore, operiri fores iussit ; 
 et coepta luce perfosso iugulo, iacente bumi gladio, repertus est. 
 
 /^ 16. Audire me memini ex senioribus visum saepius inter manus 
 Pisonis libellum, quem ipse non vulgaverit ; sed amicos eius dicti- \, 
 tavisse, literas Tiberii et mandata in Germanicum contineri, ^oj^i 
 destinatum promere aput patres principemque arguere, ni elusus a 
 Seiano per vana promissa foret ; nee ilium sponte exti actum, 
 verum inmisso percussore. quorum neutrum adseveraverim : neque 
 
 lition of a statue, cf. Juv. x. 58, " descen- 
 dunt statuae restemque sequuntur : Ipsas 
 deinde rotas bigarum impacta securis 
 Caedit et immeritis franguntur crura ca- 
 ballis." 
 
 custos saluW] Cf. i. 3, " subsidia domi- 
 nationi," and i. 24, "rector iuveni." 
 
 15. donee meddae Pisoni spes'] Whilst 
 Piso's expectations were evenly balanced : 
 wbilst he fluctuated between hopes and 
 fears. 
 
 si ita ferref] For the same imper- 
 sonal use, cf. H. ii. 44, " hos certe nondum 
 victos et, si ita ferret, honestius in acie 
 peritxiros." The full phrase would be 
 * res,' ' occasio,' or the like. Cf. Cio. ad 
 Fam. X. 21, "neo depugnare si occasio 
 tulerit paratior fuit quisquam." 
 
 nullo'] This use of * millo ' for ' nulla 
 re' is quite late. It occurs in Seneca 
 (cf. De Benef. ii. 25. 1, " nullo magis 
 Caesarem Augustum demeruit") and 
 Quintilian (cf. ii. 16. 12, "deus nullo 
 magis hominem separavit a ceteris ani- 
 malibus quam dicendi faciiltato"). 
 
 curando corpori] Cf Hor, E])ist. i. 4. 
 15, "me pinguem et nitidum bene cu- 
 rata cute vises ;" and ibid. 2. 29, " in cute 
 curanda plus aequo operata iuventa." 
 
 16. Audire me memini] This use of the 
 present infinitive after 'memini' is usual, 
 and seems to me a result of the fact that 
 the Latin infinitive is, like the Greek, a 
 verbal noxm, and is so far regarded as 
 such as to lose, in the present expres- 
 sion, all trace of time. Unless t his were 
 so, ' audivisse ' would have been the right 
 tense to point out time anterior to that 
 of the principal verb ' memini.' As it is, 
 the meaning is ' I remember (the) hear- 
 ing.' This fact that the infinitive is a 
 verbal noun of course explains why the 
 latter of two verbs is in the infinitive 
 mood ; the verb in that particiular in- 
 flection being virtually a substantive, 
 can be made (in the accusative (;ase) the 
 object of the first verb : thus ' video te 
 esse,' *I see your existence.' Cf. the 
 note on i. 39, under * porgere.' 
 
■L.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. ] 35 
 
 tamen occulere debui narratum ab iis qui nostram ad iuventam 
 duraverunt. Caesar flexo in maestitiam ore suam invidiam tali 
 morte qnaesitam aput senatum * * crebrisque interrogationibus 
 exquirit, qualem Piso diem supremum noctemque exegisset. atque 
 illo pleraque sapienter, quaedam inconsi^ltius respondente^ recitat 
 vJ^odicillos a Pisone in bunc ferme modum composites : ^ conspira- *y^ 
 tione inimicorum et invidia falsi criminis oppressus, quatenus veri- 
 tati et innocentiae meae nusquam locus est, deos inmortales testgr 
 vixisse m.6, Caesar, cum fide adversum te_, neque alia in matrem 
 tuam pietate ; vosque oro liberis meis consulatis, ex quibus Cn. 
 Piso qualicumque fortunae meae non est adiunctus, cum omne boo 
 tempus in urbe egerit, M. Piso repetere Syriam dehortatus est. 
 atque utinam ego potius filio iuveni quam ille patri seni cessisset. 
 eo inpensius precor ne meae pravitatis poenas innoxius luat. per 
 quinque et quadraginta annorum obsequium, per collegium consu- 
 latus quondam divo Augusto parenti tuo probatus et tibi amicus 
 nee quicquam post haec rogaturus salutem infelicis filii rogo.' de 
 Plancina nihil addidit. 
 
 17. Post quae Tiberius adulescentem crimine civilis belli pur- 
 gavit, patris quippe iussa nee potuisse filium detrectare, simul 
 nobilitatem domus, etiam ipsius quoquo mode meriti gravem 
 casum miseratus. pro Plancina cum pudore et flagitio disseruit, 
 matris preces obtendens, in quam optimi cuiusque secreti questus _ 
 magis ardescebant. id ergo fas aviae, interfectricem nepotis ad- 
 spicere, adloqui, eri p ere "senat ui . quod.pro omnibus civibus leges 
 obtineant, uni Germanico non contigisse. Vitellii et Yeranii voce 
 defletum Caesarem, ab imperatore et Augusta defensam Planci- 
 nam. proinde venena et artes tarn feliciter expertas verteret in 
 
 nostrwm ad iuventam] Piso's death 
 took place a.d. 20. Tacitus was bom 
 about A.D. 53. There was therefore an 
 interval of about thirty years between 
 the two events. Suppose any one was 
 twenty years old at the former date, he 
 would be about fifty at the birth of 
 Tacitus ; and if Taoitus heard the circum- 
 stance told when he was twenty, the nar- 
 rator would be only seventy. 
 
 exquimf] These questions were asked, 
 some suggest, of Piso's son ; but the text 
 is incomplete, and nothing is certain. 
 
 per collegium consulatus] He was 
 consul 7 A.c. with Tiberius. 
 
 17. nee potuisse'] This does not seem 
 to be put for ' ne potuisse quidem.' The 
 construction may be ' patris quippe iussa 
 
 esse, nee potuisse,' &o., or * nee ' is equi- 
 valent to ' et non,' and the sense will be, 
 * the son, besides other possible reasons, 
 had not been able.' The first explanation, 
 I think, is the best. See note on ii. 82, 
 under * neque insignibus.' 
 
 cwm pudore et flagitio] Tiberius felt 
 shame personally: he was conscious of 
 doing a disgraceful act, and the act was 
 thought disgraceful by those before whom 
 it was done, and really was so : ' with a 
 sense of shame, and real disgrace.' 
 
 proinde] 'Accordingly, as a fitting 
 conclusion, she had better turn.' The 
 MS. has* perinde,' 'equally.' 'Proinde' 
 is used in the sense of 'equally' in 
 Lucret. iv. 999, " proinde quasi ignotas 
 facies atque ora tuautur," and Plautus, 
 
136 
 
 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 [a.u.o. 773. 
 
 1^ 
 
 Agrippinam_, in liberos eius^ egregiamque aviam ac patruuiu san 
 guine miserrimae domus exsatiaret. biduum super liac imagihe 
 cognitionis absamptum, urguente Tiberio liberos Pisonis niitrem 
 uti tuerentur. et cum accusatores ac testes certatim perorarent 
 respondente nullo^ miseratio quam invidia augebatur. primus sen- 
 tentiam rogatus Aurelius Cotta consul (nam referente Caesare 
 magistratus eo etiam munere fungebantur) nomen Pisonis raden- 
 dum fastis censuit, partem bonorum publican dam, pars lit Cn. 
 Pisoni filio concederetur isque praenomen mutaret ; M. Piso exsuta 
 dignitate et accepto quinquagies sestertio in decem annos relega- 
 retur, concessa Plancinae incolumitate ob preces Augustae. 
 
 1 8. Multa ex ea sententia mitigata sunt a principe : ne nomen 
 Pisonis fastis eximeretur_, quando M. Antonii_, qui bellum patriae 
 fecissetj luli Antonii^ qui domum Augusti violasset, manerent. 
 et M. Pisonem ignominiae exemit concessitque ei paterna bona, 
 satis firmus^ ut saepe memoravi, adversum pecuniam et tum pudore 
 absolutae Plancinae placabilior. atque idem, cum Valerius Mes- 
 salinus signum aureum in aede Martis Ultoris, Caecina Soverus 
 
 Trin. iii. 2. 33, " ubi proinde ac merere 
 summas habeo gratias." Cf. also Sail. 
 Jug. 4. But Tacitus generally uses 
 
 * perinde ' in tMs sense : xiii. 49, " ce- 
 tera per onmes imperii partes perinde 
 egregia quam si," &c. ; but 'proinde' in 
 the sense of ' accordingly :' cf. i. 11, 
 "proinde non ad unum omnia defer- 
 rent;" ii. 65, '^ proinde tradito Cotye ve- 
 niret." I have therefore altered ' perinde ' 
 into ' proinde ' in the text. 
 
 sv/per hac imagine] This is probably 
 the true reading, but * super haec ' seems 
 to have been first written in the MS., 
 and then to have been corrected. Gene- 
 rally in Tacitus 'super' with an accu- 
 sative means ' besides,' or ' beyond,' or 
 
 * above ' (cf. iii. 14, " super eum discum- 
 beret "), and ' super ' with an ablative, 
 
 * concerning,' ' about.' But Suet., Jul. 87, 
 has ' super cenam ' in the sense of ' over 
 supper,' as we should say ; and possibly 
 the sense might be here a sort of local 
 one : ' the time was wasted over these 
 proceedings.' 
 
 miseratio quamx invidia'] Cf. iii. 32, 
 " honori quam ignominiae." Walther 
 says the sense is not the same as if 
 
 * potius ' were inserted, for the words 
 mean that it was not the odium that 
 was increased, but rather compassion; 
 whereas with ' potius ' it would imply 
 that both were increased, but compassion 
 
 the more of the two. This is haidly the 
 case, and a better explanation would be 
 that * augebatur ' itself has the Ibrce of 
 a comparative. Cf. i. 58, " pacem quam 
 bellum probabam." 
 
 eo etiam, m,unere] The opportunity of 
 giving their opinion, when asked, which 
 the consuls did not enjoy when they had 
 themselves to introduce the measure to 
 be discussed. The consuls seem, as a 
 rule, to have asked the ' consules desig- 
 nati ' first; but I should be inclined to 
 suppose that no magistrate actuary hold- 
 ing office was asked his opinion (Cic. ad 
 Quintum Fratrem, ii. 1, 2. Tacit. H. iv. 
 41) . Under the Empire, when the ' Prin- 
 ceps ' introduced the measure, the magis- 
 trates were asked their opinions, as this 
 passage seems to prove. 
 
 pars ut concederetv/r] Cf. note cn i. 14, 
 under * appellandam.' This Piso seems 
 to have assumed the praenouien of 
 Lucius in the place of his original one. 
 He was consul a.d. 27, and proconsid of 
 Africa under Claudius (Dio lix. 20). 
 
 18. domwm Augv^ti] lulus Ajitonius 
 was the son of M. Antonius. He married 
 Marcella, daughter of Octavia (Plutarch, 
 Anton. 87), and was guilty of adultery 
 with Julia, the daughter of Au{,^ustus, 
 on which account he was put to death 
 (iv. 44). 
 
^^ 
 
 K7 
 
 ,tACA,AXJt^ /• 
 
 d 
 
 A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 137 
 
 IA.D. 'ZU.J £^1 
 aram intioiii 
 
 ^ 
 
 aram nitioni statuendam censuissent^ proliibuit, ob externas ea 
 victorias sacrari dictitans, domestica mala tristitia operienda." 
 addiderat Messalinus Tiberio et Augustae et Antoniae et Agrip- 
 pinae Drusoque ob vindictam Germanici grates agendas omiserat- 
 que Claudii mentionem. ' et Messalinum quidem L. Asprenas 
 senatu coram percontatus est an prudens praeterisset ; ac turn 
 demum nomen Claudii adscriptum est. milii_, quanto plura recen- 
 tium sen veterum revolvo_, tanto magis ludibria rerum mortaliiim 
 cunctis in negotiis obversantur. quippe fama spe veneratione 
 potius omnes destinabantur imperio quam quern futurum principem 
 
 rtuna in occulto tenebat. 
 
 19. Faucis post diebus Caesar auctor senatui fuit Yitellio atque 
 Veranio et ServaQO sacerdotia tribuendi: Fulcinib suffragium ad 
 honores pollicitus monuit ne facundiam violentia praecipitaret. is 
 finis fuit ulciscenda Germanici morte, non modo apud illos homines 
 qui tum agebant,, etiam secutis temporibus vario rumore iactata. 
 adeo maxima quaeque ambigua sunt_, dum alii quoquo modo audita 
 pro conpertis habent^ alii vera in contrarium vertunt, et gliscit 
 titrumque posteritate. at Drusus urbe egressus repetendis aus- 
 
 ultioni'] The genitive would be per- 
 haps more usual here, as i. 14, " aram 
 adoptionisj" but cf. ii. 7, "aram Druso 
 sitam," for the dative: so that ' ultioni ' 
 is the dative of the indirect object after 
 * statuendam.' 
 
 Claudius'] The brother of Germani- 
 cus, afterwards Emperor. He was the 
 victim of a complication of diseases, and 
 the butt of his family (Suet. Claud. 3). 
 Tacitus does not seem to have been able 
 to decide whether fate or chance deter- 
 mined the course of human affairs. Cf. 
 vi. 22, " mihi haec ac talia audienti in in- 
 certo indicium est, fatone res mortalium 
 et necessitate immutabili an forte vol- 
 vantur." In iv. 20, " unde dubitare cogor, 
 fato et sorte nascendi, ut cetera, ita prin- 
 cipura inclinatio in hos, offensio in illos, 
 an sit aliquid in nostris consiliis," &c., 
 he seems to incline to a belief in the 
 existence of a limited amount of free will 
 in human agency. 
 
 19. suffragium] Cf. i. 15. 
 
 ulciscenda Qerraa/aici morte] Cf. xiv. 
 4, " sive explenda simulatione, seu peri- 
 turae matris supremus aspectus quam- 
 vis ferum animum retinebat." One would 
 rather suppose these passages to be con- 
 structed on the same principle. In the 
 latter sentence the ablative is clearly, I 
 think, an instrumental one. Nero's con- 
 
 duct, just detailed, was caused by the 
 necessity of carrying out to the full 
 his hypocrisy. Perhaps the passage in 
 the text is to be similarly explained. 
 This was the limit of the proceedings 
 rendered necessary by the desire to 
 avenge the death of Germanicus. This 
 was the end assigned to the proceedings 
 by the course of vengeance for his death 
 which had been entered on. 
 
 etiam] For the omission of ' sed,' cf. 
 iv. 35, "quorum non modo libertas, etiam 
 libido impunita." H. ii. 27, " nee solum 
 apud Caecinam, Fabii quoque Valentis 
 copiae." 
 
 repetendis auspiciis] Drusus, on his 
 return from Illyricum, instead of re- 
 maining outside the walls of Eome, en- 
 tered the city on account of his brother's 
 death. This deprived him of the ' impe- 
 rium ' (cf. Liv. xxvi. 9, quoted by Lipsius, 
 "Q. Fulvio ne minueretur imperium si 
 in urbem venisset, decemit senatus ") ; 
 consequently of the power of celebrating 
 the ovation voted to him by the Senate. 
 To recover the 'imperium' he retook the 
 auspices. The exact day is fixed by 
 an inscription (Inscript. Lat. n. 6443), 
 " M. Valerius Messala M. Aur(elius) V. 
 K. lun. Drusus triumphavit ex Ill(y- 
 rico)." 
 
138 CORNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 773. 
 
 piciis, mox ovans introiit. paucosque post dies Yipsania iiiater 
 eius excessit, una omnium Agrippae liberorum miti obitu. nam 
 ceteros manifestum ferro vel creditum est veneno aut fame: ex- 
 tinctos. 
 
 20. Eodem anno Tacfarinas, quem priore aestate pulsiim a 
 Camillo memoravi, bellum in Africa renovate vagis primum ]:opu- 
 lationibus et ob pernicitatem inultis^ dein vicos exscindere, trEihere 
 graves praedas ; postremo hand procul Pagyda flumine cobortem 
 Romanam circumsedit. praeerat castello Decrius impiger rianu, 
 
 ^ — exercitus militia et illam obsidionem flagitii ratus. is coboitatus 
 milites ut copiam pugnae in aperto facerent, aciem pro castris in- 
 struit. primoque impetu pulsa cohorte promptus inter tela cccur- 
 sat fugientibus, increpat signiferos quod inconditis aut desertoribus 
 miles Romanus terga daret ; simul excepta vulnera et quamquam 
 transfosso oculo adversum os in bostem intendit^ neque proelium 
 omisit^ donee desertus suis caderet. 
 
 21. Quae postquam L. Apronio (nam Camillo successerat) com- 
 perta, magis dedecore suorum quam gloria hostis anxius, rare ea 
 tempestate et e vetere memoria facinore decumum quemque igno- 
 miniosae cobortis sorte ductos fusti necat. tantumque soveri- 
 tate profectum_, ut vexillum veteranorum, non amplius quingenti 
 numero, easdem Tacfarinatis copias praesidium cui Tbala nomen 
 adgressas fuderint. quo proelio Rufus Helvius gregarius miles 
 seryati civis decus rettulit donatusque est ab Apronio torquibus et 
 basta. Caesar addidit civicam coronam^ quod non eam quoque 
 Apronius iure proconsulis tribuisset^ questus magis quam offensus. 
 
 ceieros\ Yipsania "was danghter of M. a constmction not xmnsual vritli Tacitns, 
 
 Agrippa, by his first wife Pomponia, as has been remarked before, or t he ab- 
 
 daughter of Pomponius Atticus. His lative with the preposition omitt 3d : an 
 
 other children by Julia were Grains and omission often occurring in our J.uthor, 
 
 Lucius Agrippa (i. 3), Postumus (i. 6), and not unknown elsewhere. Eraeger 
 
 Agrippina (vi. 25), and Julia (iv. 71). quotes Caesar, B. C. i. 15, "magnr, parte 
 
 Julia is spoken of as having simply died militum deseritur." 
 
 in exile, but probably her end was has- 21. L. A']proTn,io\ He was one of the 
 
 tened by sorrow and privation. At all generals under Germanicus in his Grer- 
 
 events, her end was such as to justify man campaigns (i. 29), and received in 
 
 Tacitus in speaking of her as dying "non recognition of his services the 'insignia 
 
 miti obitu." triumphaha' (i. 72). He was proconsul 
 
 20. flagitii ratus] Draeger quotes fix)m of Africa (as here stated) . He is men- 
 Li vy (xxi. 41)' a similar construction, tioned again iii. 64, iv. 13, 22, and vi. 30. 
 " tutelae nostrae duximus." vexillwm veteranorum] See note on i. 
 
 excepta vulner a] This seems to depend 17. The site of ' Thala ' mention Dd be- 
 on 'intendit :' *he turns in the direction low is unknown. It is described ly Sal- 
 of the enemy the wounds he had re- lust as a large and opulent town, where 
 ceived, and his full face, although his eye Jugurtha's treasures were stored, £ nd his 
 was pierced.' children educated (Jug. 75). 
 
 suis] This may be either the dative, iwre proconsulis'] Originally the; civic. 
 
A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 
 
 .39 
 
 sed Tacfarinas perculsis Numidis et obsidia aspemantibus spargit 
 belluni_, ubi instaretur, cedens ac rursum in terga remeans. et dum 
 ea ratio barbaro fuit, inritum fessumque Romanum impune ludifi- 
 cabatur : postquam deflexit ad maritimos locos, inligatus praeda 
 stativis castris adhaerebat, missu patris Apronius Caesianus cum 
 equite et coliortibus auxiliariis, quis velocissimos legionum addide- 
 rat_, prosperam adversum Numidas pugnam facit pellitque in 
 deserta. 
 
 22. At Romae Lepida, cui super Aemiliorum decus L. Sulla et 
 Cn. Pompeius proavi erant, defertur simulavisse partum ex P. Qui- 
 rinio divite atque orbo. adiciebantur adulteria, venena quaesi- 
 tumque per Chaldaeos in domum Caesaris, defendente ream Manio 
 Lepido fratre. Quirinius post dictum repudium adbuc infensus 
 quamvis infami ac nocenti miserationem addiderat. baud facile 
 quis dispexerit ilia in cognitione mentem principis : adeo vertit ac 
 miscuit irae et clementiae signa. deprecatus prime senatum ne 
 maiestatis crimina tractarentur_, mox M. Servilium e consularibus 
 aliosque testes inlexit ad proferenda quae velut reicere voluerat. 
 idemque servos Lepidae, cum militari custodia baberentur, trans- 
 tulit ad consules neque per tormenta interrogari passus est de iis 
 
 crown was given "by the citizen whose 
 life had been preserved, after due verifi- 
 cation of the claim. Under the empire, 
 however, it was bestowed by the Em- 
 peror or his delegate. Cf. xv. 12, " si 
 servati civis corona imperatoria manu 
 tribueretur." Tiberius professed to dis- 
 like a reference to himself in the matter. 
 Cf. Suet. Tiber. 32, "corripuit consulares 
 praepositos exercitibus quod non de re- 
 bus gestis senatui scriberent quodque 
 de tribuendis quibusdam militaribus do- 
 nis ad se referrent, quasi non omnium 
 tribuendorum ipsi ius haberent." This 
 Rufus Helvius seems to have been sur- 
 named Civica from this gift of the ' civica 
 corona.' There is an inscription found 
 near Tivoli (Murat. 476. 11), "M. Hel- 
 vius M. f. Cam. (Camilia tribu) Rufus 
 Civica prim (us) pil(us) balneum muni- 
 cipibus et incolis dedit." The 'hasta* 
 mentioned above is the ' hasta pura,' a 
 spear without a head. 
 
 'missu paiyris'} Here the apodosis be- 
 gins, for ' adhaerebat' depends as well 
 as * deflexit ' on 'postquam,' although the 
 connecting particle is omitted. This 
 L. Apronius Caesianus was subsequently 
 legatus pro praetore of Gcrmania In- 
 ferior (iv. 73), and consul a.d. 39. 
 
 22. Lepido] Lepida was granddaugh- 
 ter of Faustus Sulla, and Pompeia, the 
 son and daughter respectively of the Dic- 
 tator Sulla and Pompeius Magnus. Her 
 mother Cornelia married an Aemiliua 
 Lepidus. 
 
 vertif] * Yertere ' is used intransi- 
 tively in vi. 6, 46, xi. 28, 37, Germ. 31; 
 but here, 1 think, it is taken actively, 
 and governs ' signa :' 'he shifted about 
 and combined the outward symptoms of 
 anger and clemency :' at one time he 
 seemed angry, at another disposed to 
 clemency. ^^ 
 
 velut reicere volueraf] ' He had wished, 
 as he pretended, to reject.' Cf. i. 10 for a 
 nearly similar use of ' velut :' " quae velut 
 excusando exprobraret." 
 
 militari custodia] In the praetorian 
 camp, probably. St. Paul was similarly 
 guarded, being chained to a soldier to 
 whose care he was committed. 
 
 ad consules] To be kept in the city 
 prison apparently. The meaning can 
 hardly be that the consuls were to keep 
 the men in their own houses, as in vi. 3, 
 " Gallius custoditur domibus magistra- 
 tuum," for that was reserved for crimi- 
 nals of eminence. 
 
I 
 
 140 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 773. 
 
 quae ad domum suam pertinerent. exemit etiam Drusum con- 
 sulem designatum dicendae primo loco sententiae ; quod alii civile 
 rebantur_, ne ceteris adsentiendi necessitas fieret, quidam ad ^aevi- 
 tiam trahebant : neque enim cessurum nisi damnandi officio. 
 
 23. Lepida ludorum diebus^ qui cognitionem intervenorant, 
 theatrum cum claris feminis ingressa^ lamentatione flebili maiores 
 sues ciens ipsumque Pompeium^ cuius ea monimenta et adst antes 
 imagines visebantur_, tantum misericordiae permovit, ut effusi in 
 lacrimas saeva et detestanda Quirinio clamitarent^ cuius senectae 
 atque orbitati et obscurissimae domui destinata quondam uxor L. 
 Caesari ac divo Augusto nurus dederetur. dein tormentis servo- 
 rum patefacta sunt flagitia itumque in sententiam Rubelli Blandi, 
 a quo aqua adque igni arcebatur. liuic Drusus adsensit^ quam- 
 quam alii mitius censuissent. mox Scauro, qui filiam ex ea genue- 
 TSbtj datum ne bona publicarentur. tum demum aperuit Tiberius 
 conpertum sibi etiam ex P. Quirinii servis veneno eum a Lopida 
 petitum. 
 
 24. Inlustrium domuum adversa (etenim liaud multum distanti 
 tempore Calpurnii Pisonem, Aemilii Lepidam amiserant) solacio 
 adfecit D. Silanus luniae familiae redditus. casum eius paucis 
 repetam. ut valida divo Augusto in rem publicam fortuna, ita 
 domi inprospera fuit ob inpudicitiam filiae ac neptis^ quas urbe 
 depulit adulterosque earum morte aut fuga punivit. nam culpam 
 inter viros ac feminas vulgatam gravi nomine laesarum religionum 
 
 neque enim] The meaning is, that if Tibur (vi. 27) who gave instruction in 
 Tiberius had wished for an acquittal, he rhetoric at Rome, and son of (). Ru- 
 would have taken good care to appro- bellius Blandus, ' triumvir montitalis * 
 priate all the credit to be gained by tmder Augustus. He was quaestor, tri- 
 Drusus voting for it. His refusal to bunus plebis, praetor, consul (su:fectus 
 allow Drusus to give his opinion first, in the latter half of the year 20 a.d.), 
 could only arise from his not liking to proconsul, and pontifex. See Nipper- 
 expose Drusus or himself to the odium dey's note. Tacitus speaks of tim as 
 of being the first to propose a sentence * consularis ' in iii. 51. He married 
 of condemnation. For the omission of Julia, the daughter of Drusus, and for- 
 'foisse,' cf. ii. 31, "iuravitque Tiberius merly wife of Nero, one of the chil- 
 petiturum se vitam quamvis nocenti." dren of Grermanicus (vi. 27), and is 
 
 23. ea monimenta] This was the stone spoken of as one of the * progene ri ' of 
 
 theatre built by Cn. Pompeius, 55 A.c, in Tiberius, vi. 45. His son was the Rubel- 
 
 the Campus Martius, holding about 40,000 lius Plautus mentioned in xiii. 19. IJelow, 
 
 spectators. For the use of ' monimenta' * adque ' is for * atque.' This form is not 
 
 for public buildings, cf. Hor. Carm. i. unusual in writers of the age of Taci- 
 
 2. 15, " monimenta regis templaque tus, and is found in Lucretius and Virgil. 
 
 Yestae." See Munro, Lucret. ii. 881. 
 
 nurus] Augustus had adopted Lucius 24. in rem puhlicam] ' Strong against 
 
 Caesar (i. 3) , and therefore Lepida would the republic,' as contrasted with the im- 
 
 have been his daughter-in-law. perial fortunes. Cf. i. 8, " provisis etiam 
 
 RuhelU Blan&i] Blandus was the heredum in rem publicam opibus." 
 grandson of Blandus, a Roman knight of 
 
Ld. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 
 
 141 
 
 ac violatao maiestatis appellando clementiam maiorum suasque 
 ipse leges egrediebatur. sed aliorum exitus, simul cetera illius 
 aetatis memorabo, si effectis in quae tendi plures ad curas vitam 
 produxero. D. Silanus in nepti Augusti adulter,, quamquam non 
 ultra foret saevitum quam ut amicitia Caesaris probiberetur^ exi- 
 lium sibi demonstrari intellexit, nee nisi Tiberio imperitante depre- 
 cari senatum ac principem ausus est M. Silani fratris potentia, qui 
 per insignem nobilitatem et eloquentiam praecellebat. sed Tibe- 
 rius gratis agenti Silano patribus coram respondit se quoque 
 laetari^ quod frater eius e peregrinatione longinqua revertisset 
 idque iure licitum^ quia non senatus consulto^ non lege pulsus 
 
 suasque ipse leges'] The Lex lulia, 
 passed in B.C. 17, ' de adulteriis coercen- 
 dis,' enacted that an adulteress should 
 lose half her marriage portion, and one- 
 third of her property", and be banished to 
 some island. There was no penalty of 
 death attached to the crime until the 
 time of Constantino apparently. 
 
 tendi] So the MS., without any redu- 
 plication. In Propert. iii. 8. 37, "ten- 
 disti retia lecto " is the reading of many 
 MSS. for the usual 'nexisti.' Below, 
 'nepti Augusti' is Julia the younger, 
 daughter of Julia the elder and M. 
 Agrippa. The Marcus Silanus subse- 
 quently mentioned, was consul, a.d. 19 
 (ii. 59), father-in-law of Caligula (vi. 20), 
 and imder that Emperor proconsul of 
 Africa (H. iv. 48). 
 
 potentia] This is virtually an instru- 
 mental ablative ; not exactly a direct 
 one, but rather one expressing the state 
 of things under which, or in consequence 
 of the existence of which, something is 
 done. There is really a distinction be- 
 tween these two varieties of the instru- 
 mental ablative. To take a simple in- 
 stance : ' interfectus est gladio ' implies 
 that the sword was the direct instrument 
 of death. But when Tacitus says (i. 70) 
 *' mox inpulsu aquilonis simul sidere aequi- 
 noctii, rapi agique agmen," it is clear that, 
 although in the first clause the north 
 wind was the direct instrument of the 
 disaster spoken of, the second clause 
 only describes a state of things under 
 which the disaster arose, or in conse- 
 quence of the existence of which the dis- 
 aster was able to ensue, or was aggra- 
 vated : at all events the instrumentality 
 is much less direct in the second case 
 than in the first. So in ii. 75, "pul- 
 cherrimo matrimonio inter venerantes 
 gratantisque aspici solita." Cf. xii. 10, 
 
 " non se foederis ignaros nee defectione 
 a familia Arsacidarum venire ;" xiv, 30, 
 " dein cohortationibus ducis et se ipsi 
 stimulantes . . . inferunt signa." I have 
 taken these instances from Nipperdey, 
 although I do not know what his expla- 
 nation is. He quotes from Sail. Cat. 6, 
 " vel aetate vel curae similitudine patres 
 appellabantur . ' ' 
 
 quia non senatus consulto] Agrippa 
 Postumus underwent * exilium ' because 
 Augustus induced the Senate to pass a 
 * senatus consultum ' inflicting that pe- 
 nalty upon him (i. 6) . Or again, any one 
 might undergo ' exilium ' as the result of 
 his condemnation for some ofience for 
 which that was the penalty. Or the 
 Princeps by his own authority removed 
 an obnoxious citizen to a distance (' rele- 
 gatio' or ' deportatio'). Lipsius quotes 
 Ovid (Trist. ii. 131) to illustrate these 
 various methods : " Nee mea decreto dam- 
 nasti facta senatus, Nee mea selecto 
 iudice iussa fuga est. Tristibus invectus 
 verbis, ita principe dignum, Ultus es 
 ofiensas ut decet ipse tuas." But there 
 is a point I am not clear about. In xiii. 
 44 Octavius Sagitta is condemned " sen- 
 tentia patrum et lege de sicariis," and 
 in H. iv. 44 is spoken of " gravi sena- 
 tus consulto damnatus." There would 
 be no difficulty, if, on the condemnation 
 of any senator by his fellow-senators for 
 an ofience against any specific law, such 
 as the Lex Cornelia de Sicariis, a formal 
 ' senatus consultum' was required to em- 
 body the result and enforce the penalty ; 
 but as this is improbable, one must sup- 
 pose the Lex Cornelia de Sicariis to have 
 been modified in some way by a ' se- 
 natus consultum' subsequently passed. 
 However this mav be, Silanus had not 
 been driven from Rome by a ' senatus 
 consultum,' or any *lex.' I should 
 
142 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 773. 
 
 foret : sibi tamen adversus eum integras parentis sui offen?iones, 
 neque reditu Silani dissoluta quae Augustus voluisset. fuit 
 posthac in urbe neque honores adeptus est. 
 
 25. Relatum deinde de moderanda Papia Poppaea, quam senior 
 Augustus post lulias rogationes incitandis caelibum poenis et 
 augendo aerario sanxerat. nee ideo coniugia et educationes libe- 
 rum frequentabantur^ praevalida orbitate : ceterum multitudo 
 periclitantium gliscebat^ cum omnis domus delatorum interpreta- 
 tionibus subverteretur^ utque antebac flagitiis, ita tunc l(3gibus 
 laborabatur. ea res admonet ut de principiis iuris^ et * ([uibus 
 modis ad banc multitudinem infinitam ac varietatem leguia per- 
 ventum sit_, altius disseram. 
 
 26. Yetustissimi mortalium^ nulla adbuc mala libidine, sine 
 probro, scelere eoque sine poena aut coercitionibus agebant. 
 neque praemiis opus erat^ cum bonesta suopte ingenio pete- 
 rentur; et ubi nihil contra morem cuperent, nihil per nietum 
 vetabantur. at postquam exsui aequalitas et pro modestia ac 
 pudore ambitio et vis incedebat^ provenere dominationes mul- 
 tosque aput populos aeternum mansere. quidam statim^ aut 
 postquam regum pertaesum^ leges maluerunt. eae primo rudi- 
 
 gather from i. 6, tliat a person miglit gets to tell us exactly when these bright 
 
 be banished by a 'senatus consultum' ages were, or what proof there is of their 
 
 without any specific criminal act being having ever existed. Forthisuseof *inge- 
 
 alleged against him, but the matter is nium,' cf. vi. 41, " locorumque in^-enio ;" 
 
 doubtful. xii. 30, "suone an servitii ingenio ;" xvi. 
 
 25. incitcmdis caelihwm ^oenis~] 'For 20, "nootium suarum ingenia." Cicero 
 
 giving more vigour to the infliction of and Caesar do not seem to use the word 
 
 penalties on the unmarried, and enrich- in this sense. 
 
 ing the treasury.' Cf. iii. 28, and the aeternum] Used adverbially, as in xii. 
 
 note there. 28, " cum quis aeternum discoi dant." 
 
 delatorwm interpretationibus] 'By the So 'immensum,' iii. 30; 'falsum,' iv. 60. 
 
 interpretations put on the clauses of the Cf. Virg. Aen. vi. 617, " sedet aekmum- 
 
 law by the informers.' It is almost im- que sedebit." 
 
 possible apparently to frame a law the leges] ' A constitutional government,* 
 
 clauses of which shall not be open to a as opposed to the arbitrary rule of the 
 
 variety of meanings. This judges are kings. Cf. below, " Eomulus ut libitum 
 
 continually lamenting ; but any one who imperitaverat," and Juv. viii. 268, ** legum 
 
 tries will soon find how difl&cult it is to prima securis." The passage below, just 
 
 make even a short sentence which shall quoted, " Romulus ut libitum imperita- 
 
 mean one thing only beyond doubt, es- verat," can hardly be taken quite as ab- 
 
 pecially when minds of great acumen are solutely as it is written. Of course at 
 
 bent, if possible, on finding two meanings first, on the founding of Rome, or any 
 
 in the words. new community, there would be. as a 
 
 26. suopte ingenio] ' Things honourable rule, no code of laws ready made to start 
 
 in their own nature.' * Ingeniujn ' here with, but as need arose, laws would be 
 
 must be a description of the aims sought passed to meet the emergency, and these 
 
 after, not of the seekers, as if the sense would grow into a body of laws more or 
 
 were, 'were sought by a natural tendency less complete. Cf. Pomponius de Orig. 
 
 on the part of the searchers :' that would luris Digest, i. 2. 1, " initio civitatis nos- 
 
 require, I think, ' peterent.' Tacitus for- trao populus sine lege oerta, sino iure 
 
A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 143 
 
 bus hominum animis simplices erant; maximeque fama cele- 
 bravit Cretensium, quas Minos^ Spartanorum_, quas Lycurgus, ac 
 mox Atheniensibus quaesitiores iam et plures Solo perscripsit. 
 nobis Romulus^, ut libitum^ imperitaverat : dein Numa religionibus 
 et divino iure populum devinxit, repertaque quaedam a Tullo et 
 Anco. sed praecipuus Servius Tullius sanctor legum fuit^ quis 
 etiam reges obtemperarent. 
 
 27. Pulso Tarquinio adversum patrum factiones multa populus 
 paravit tuendae libertatis et firmandae concordiae ; creatique de- 
 cemviri et accitis quae usquam egregia compositae duodecim 
 tabulae^ finis ae'qui iuris. nam secutae leges etsi aliquando in 
 maleficos ex delicto, saepius tamen dissensione ordinum et apis- 
 cendi inlicitos bonores aut pellendi claros viros aliaque ob prava 
 per vim latae sunt, bine Graccbi et Saturnmi turbatores plebis, 
 nee minor largitor nomine senatus Drusus ; corrupti spe aut inlusi 
 
 certo primum agere instituit, omniaque 
 manu a regibus gubemabantur. Postea 
 . . . Romulus leges quasdam et ipse cu- 
 riatas ad populum tulit, tulerunt et se- 
 quentes reges." These laws passed by 
 the kings, 'regiae leges,' form.ed the *ius 
 •civile Papinianum,' edited by Granius 
 Flaccus about the time of Augustus. 
 There is an allusion to these in xii. 8, 
 "addidit Claudius sacra ex legibus Tulli 
 
 regis. 
 
 27. finis aequi iuris] Emesti makes 
 this to be the crowning-point, the per- 
 fect development of all impartial law. 
 But from the following words, * nam se- 
 cutae,' &c., 'finis' would more probably 
 refer to some epoch of time. The Twelve 
 Tables were the last efibrt of impartial 
 legislation: after that, the motives for 
 the enactment of the various laws passed 
 were not those arising from a desire to 
 meet the wants and improve the condition 
 of the difierent orders in the state, but 
 were of a less pure character, prompted 
 by a wish of one order to secure advan- 
 tages for itself at the expense of another. 
 For the genitive in 'tuendae libertatis,' 
 and 'apiscendi ' a little below, cf. ii. 59. 
 
 latae sunf] The Agrarian laws woxdd 
 be instances of enactments passed * dis- 
 sensione ordinum,' and the Lex Valeria 
 Horatia, 449 a.c. (Liv. iii. 55), by which it 
 was ordained that the whole body of the 
 people should be bound by the * scita ' of 
 the Comitia Tributa. The Lex Sextia 
 Licinia, 366 a.c, for throwing open the 
 consulate to the 'plebs* would be an 
 instance of a law passed ' apiscendi inli- 
 
 citos honores.' By the words ' pellendi 
 claros viros' Tacitus cannot, I think, 
 mean that laws were passed for the ex- 
 press purpose of banishing any citizen 
 by name, for otherwise he could hardly 
 have added just below, 'iamque non 
 mode in commune,' &c., clearly implying 
 that no instance had occurred of this 
 until after Pompeius' law to restore to 
 the tribunes their powers. He means, I 
 suppose, that laws were passed in the 
 hope of driving illustrious citizens into 
 voluntary banishment, in anger and dis- 
 gust. The instances quoted by the com- 
 mentators of * pellendi claros viros ' are 
 Camillus, Metellus Numidicus, &c. : but 
 I cannot find that the words * leges latae 
 sunt ' are applicable in these cases. 
 
 corrupti spe} The hope of obtaining 
 the franchise, which the Lex Livia of 
 Drusus, 91 A.c, proposed to confer on 
 the allies. The only way of baffling the 
 plans of ambitious tribunes was by gain- 
 ing over one of their colleagues to inter- 
 pose his veto, and so prevent the success 
 of the measure proposed. This Drusus 
 was a great boon -giver : he gave (in 
 conjunction with the Equites), the * indi- 
 cia' to the Senate, and gave the sena- 
 torial dignity to 300 of the Equites : 
 to the allies he proposed to give the 
 * civitas,' to the needy citizens of Rome 
 a share in the ' ager publicus.' Cf. Liv. 
 Epit. 70, " senatus cum impotentiam 
 equestris ordinis in iudiciis exercendis 
 ferre nollet, omni vi eniti coepit ut ad se 
 iudiciatransferret, sustinente causamoius 
 M. Livio Druso tribuno plebis qui ut 
 
144 CORNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 773. 
 
 per intercessionem socii. ac ne bello quidem Italico_, mox civili 
 omissum quin multa et diversa sciscerentur, donee L. Sulls, dic- 
 tator abolitis vel conversis prioribus^ cum plura addidisset_, otium 
 eius rei baud in longum paravit^ statim turbidis Lepidi roga'ioni- 
 bus, neque multo post tribunis reddita licentia quoquo vtjUent 
 populum agitandi. iamque non modo in commune^ sed in singu- 
 los homines latae quaestiones, et corruptissima re publica plu- 
 rimae leges. 
 
 28. Turn Cn. Pompeius tertium consul corrigendis moribus 
 delectus et gravior remediis quam delicta erant suarumque legum 
 auctor idem ac subversor, quae armis tuebatur^ armis amisit. exin 
 continua per viginti annos discordia^ non mos, non ius ; deterrima 
 quaeque inpune ac multa bonesta exitio fuere. sexto demum con- 
 sulatu Caesar Augustus, potentiae securuSj quae triumviratu iusserat 
 
 vires sibi acquireret pemiciosa spe lar- his own law. Also after renewing and 
 
 gitionum plebem concitavit," and ibid, confirming an enactment passed at 
 
 71, " socios et Italicos populos spe civi- the instance of the consuls, 5J? a.c, 
 
 tatis Romanae sollicitavit, iisque adiu- which prevented a cnrule magistrate 
 
 vantibus per vim legibus agrariis frumen- from taking the command of a province 
 
 tariisqnelatisiudiciariamqnoquepertulit until the expiration of five years from 
 
 ut aequa parte indicia penes senatum et the close of his ofl&ce, he retained his 
 
 equestrem ordinem essent." There is a own proconsular appointment, and had 
 
 remark of Drusus himself extant, that he it prolonged for five years naoro (Dio 
 
 had given so much away that there was xl. 56). 
 
 nothing left for any one else to bestow, i/riumviratu] ' In his triumvirato.' So 
 
 unless it were ' caenum aut caelum,' ' proconsulatu' (H.i. 48), ' Galbae i)rinci- 
 
 Lepidx] This was Aemilius Lepidus, patu' (iv. 6). The usual form would have 
 
 who was consul 78 a.c. He endeavoured been ' in triumviratu,' &c. It is quite 
 
 to prevent Sulla's burial with public true that Tacitus often omits a pieposi- 
 
 honours, and proposed to repeal all the tion where other writers insert one : for 
 
 Dictator's laws. He proclaimed there- instance, 'insultare,' 'accurrere,' 'adven- 
 
 storation of the powers of the Tribunate, tare ' are so constructed. But alt aough 
 
 greatly curtailed by Sulla, who deprived this is true, it is not an explanation of 
 
 the tribunes of the right to propose mea- the fact : he would not probably omit a 
 
 sures in the Comitia Tributa, and of their preposition, unless he did so in a<?cord- 
 
 old veto on the legislation of the Curiae, ance with some principle of grammar, 
 
 The powers of the office were entirely re- which he applied correctly or incorrectly 
 
 stored by Cn, Pompeius (Liv. Epit, 97). to the case in point. Clearly, I :hink, 
 
 in singulos~\ These would not be 'leges' with the verbs mentioned above he omit- 
 in the proper sense, but' privilegia,' enact- ted a preposition because he believed 
 ments having reference to single indi- one superfluous, seeing that it already 
 vidualsonly. These were forbidden by the existed in the compound verb, and it 
 Twelve Tables, Cf, Cic, de Domo sua 17, seemed to him that ' incurrere ' was equi- 
 " vetant leges sacratae, vetant XII. ta- valent in itself to ' currere in,' and he 
 bulae leges privatis hominibus irrogari, therefore at once wrote a simple accu- 
 id est enim privilegium." sative after the verb, governing it l)y the 
 
 28. subversor] Cn, Pompeius, amongst preposition inherent therein. Similarly 
 
 his judicial reforms, forbade addresses I imagine him to have omitted the pre- 
 
 to be made, or evidence to character to position, and to have written 'princi- 
 
 be given by any person during a trial, patu,' because he believed the case alone 
 
 in favour of the accused. In the trial to have the same force as 'in p:'inci- 
 
 of T, Munatius Plancus he endeavoured patu,' In a note on ' potentia' in iii. 24, 
 
 to do this before the jury, and so broke I have shown that Tacitus pushed for- 
 
A.D. 20.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 145 
 
 abolevit deditque iura, quis pace et principe uteremur. acriora ex 
 60 vincla, inditi custodes, et lege Papia Poppaea praemiis inducti, 
 ut^ si a privilegiis parentum cessaretur, velut parens omnium 
 populus vacantia teneret. sed altius penetrabant urbemque et 
 Italiam et quod usquam civium corripuerant, multorumque excisi 
 status, et terror omnibus intentabatur, ni Tiberius statuendo 
 remedio quinque consularium, quinque e praetoriis, totidem o 
 cetero senatu sorte duxisset, aput quos exsoluti plerique legis 
 nexus modicum in praesens levamentum fuere. 
 
 29. Per idem tempus Neronem e liberis Germanici^ iam in- 
 
 ward the lines of the instrumental abla- 
 tive, and extended it from cases of the 
 direct instrument to cases of an indi- 
 rect instrument, until it was used to 
 express all those circumstances the ex- 
 istence of which enabled the result spe- 
 cified to follow. In the same way, I be- 
 lieve, being something of a philosophical 
 grammarian, he considered such words as 
 'principatus,* 'proconsulatus,' 'triumvi- 
 ratus ' to be expressions of * time,' and ac- 
 cordingly constructed them in the simple 
 ablative, as he would have written 'proxi- 
 mo die,' 'superiore nocte,' and the like. 
 Similarly Livy, i. 3, has 'morte Aeneae.' 
 But there are other instances of ablatives 
 used by Tacitus without a preposition, 
 which do not come within this class : such 
 as ' catervis ' (iv. 51) , * in troops ;' ' veterani 
 ordinibus ac subsidiis instructi ' (ii. 80), 
 
 * catervis et cuneis concurrebant ' (H, ii. 
 42) . Now these appear to me instances of 
 a ' modal ' ablative : * catervis ' is equiva- 
 lent clearly to ' catervatim ;' so ' cuneis ' 
 is for ' cuneatim.' These ablatives then 
 are used to express the particular mode 
 of the action spoken of. In other au- 
 thors in this modal ablative the sub- 
 stantive is very generally accompanied 
 by an adjective : cf. such common in- 
 stances as * magno clamore irruit,' &c. 
 Tacitus adopted the same form of expres- 
 sion without the addition of any adjec- 
 tive. It may be a question how far these 
 last varieties, I mean an ablative of time 
 and one of mode, are really different. I 
 am inclined to think that ' time when ' is 
 put in the ablative because it expresses a 
 certain mode, and that this temporal ab- 
 lative is only a subdivision of the larger 
 
 * modal ' ablative. It may occur to the 
 reader that an ablative of * place where ' 
 is also a modal one ; but that ablative 
 appears to be really different in kind. 
 In Latin, as in Sanskrit, there was once 
 
 a locative case, ending in' *ij' and in 
 process of time this was confounded 
 with the genitive of the first declen- 
 sion (compare the old form ' aulai ' for 
 *aulae') and the second, and with the 
 ablative of the third. One would sup- 
 pose that as the instrument in the en- 
 larged sense I have given it in iii. 24, and 
 the time or temporal mode of an action 
 are sometimes very near akin to each 
 other, in many cases the ablative might 
 be viewed as an instrumental one or a 
 modal one of time at pleasure, and it 
 may therefore be often hard to deter- 
 mine under which head to rank it. And 
 this is actually the case. In H. ii. 5, 
 " exitu demum Neronis positis odiis in 
 medium consuluere," 'exitu' may either 
 be an ablative of time, like ' triumviratu,' 
 or one of the indirect instrument, like 
 ' potentia ' in iii. 24 ; either meaning ' on 
 the death of Nero,' or ' in consequence of 
 the death of Nero.' 
 
 pace et principe'] This is an ablative 
 absolute : ' while there was peace and a 
 princeps.' 
 
 vacantia teneref] Bachelors were placed 
 by the Lex Papia et Poppaea on an un- 
 favourable footing compared with the 
 rest of the citizens. They could not take 
 an 'hereditas' or 'legatum' (unless they 
 married within a hundred days). The 
 gift became ' caductun,' and in case of no 
 other claimant appearing, lapsed to the 
 'aerarium.' For a discussion on the 
 enactments of the Lex Papia et Poppaea, 
 see the excursus of Lipsius on iii. 25. 
 
 exsoUtti plerique] The informers, by 
 straining the meaning of the various 
 clauses of the law, had brought many 
 under its grasp who were never intended 
 to be touched by its enactments. The 
 commissioners, by fixing the real mean- 
 ing of these clauses, remedied the mis- 
 chief which had arisen. 
 
146 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 774. 
 
 gressum iuventam, cx)mmendavit patribus, utque munere oapes- 
 sendi vigintiviratus solveretur et quinquennio maturius quaiii per 
 leges quaesturam peteret_, non sine inrisu audientium postrlavit. 
 praetendebat sibi atque fratri decreta eadem petente August-: . sed 
 neque turn fuisse dubitaverim^ qui eius modi preces occulti inlu- 
 derent : ac tamen initia fastigii Caesaribus erant magisque in 
 oculis vetus mos, et privignis cum vitrico levior necessitudo quam 
 avo adversum nepotem. additur pontificatus et quo primum die 
 forum ingressus est congiarium plebi admodum laetae_, quod Ger- 
 manici stirpem iam puberem aspiciebat. auctum debinc gaadium 
 nuptiis Neronis et luliae Drusi filiae. utque baec secundo rumore, 
 ita adversis animis acceptum, quod filio Claudii socer Seianus 
 destinaretur. poUuisse nobilitatem familiae videbatur suspectum- 
 que iam nimiae spei Seianum ultra extulisse. 
 
 30. Fine anni concessere vita insignes viri L. Yolusius et 
 Sallustius Crispus. Yolusio vetus familia neque tamen praeturam 
 egressa : ipse consulatum intulit, censoria etiam potestate legendis 
 equitum decuriis functus, opumque, quis domus ilia inmensum 
 viguit_, primus adcumulator. Crispum equestri ortum loco Gr. 
 Sallustius, rerum Romanarum florentissimus auctor, sororis ne- 
 potem in nomen adscivit. atque ille, quamquam prompto ad 
 
 29. matiM'ius] The age at wliich any one Ides of June : " VII. Idus Inn. Nero to- 
 
 miglit become a candidate for the quaes- (gam) sumpsit, cong. d." The Julia men- 
 
 torship was twenty-four. Nero was to tioned below was the daughter of Drusus, 
 
 be allowed to obtain the office at the age the son of Tiberius. There was another 
 
 of nineteen. At this time the whole Julia, daughter of Germanicus, and sister 
 
 movement was premature, for Nero was of Nero, 
 
 probably somewhere about fourteen years ultra extulisse] ' To have carried beyond 
 
 old. About this age the Roman boy reasonable limits.' There is certainly no 
 
 usually assumed the ' toga virilis,' and reason for reading * ultro ' here, as some 
 
 on the occasion of doing so he was es- of the editors do, in the sense of ' to have 
 
 corted to the Forum by his friends in taken the initiative in raising' 'sejanus, 
 
 procession, to celebrate his entry into who was already on his own side inclined 
 
 public life. Suetonius (Calig. 1) calls to aspire too high. 
 
 this ceremony * tirocinium fori.' A place 30. ipse consulatum intuUf] Q. Vo- 
 
 amongst the ' vigintiviri ' was generally lusius Satuminus was consul suffectus 
 
 a preliminary to the enjoyment of the 12 A.c, proconsul of Africa subsecjuently, 
 
 greater offices (Dio Ix. 5) . See Dr. Smith's and legatus pro praetore of Syria. His 
 
 Dictionary of Antiquities sub voce. son is mentioned in xii. 22, xiii. 30, 
 
 pontificatus'] There is an inscription xiv. 56. 
 
 (Orell. Lat. Inscrip. n. 2366), "Neroni decuHis'] The Roman Equites were 
 
 Caesari Germanioi Caesaris . . . flamini divided into 'turmae,' and each of these 
 
 Augustali, sodali Augustali, sodali Titio, into three decuries. The censors held 
 
 fratri Arvali fetiali." These honours of an inspection of the whole body in the 
 
 course are not 'pontificatus,' and I do Forum, and each knight was summoned 
 
 not suppose that Tacitus confounded by name. If the censors thought the 
 
 them. knight unworthy of his position, they 
 
 quo primum dde] This, from an in- struck his name off the roll (Li^ . xxxix. 
 
 scrip tion still remaining (Inscript. Lat. 44). 
 
 n. 6i43), was the seventh day before the intnensum] Cf. iii. 26, iv. 27. 
 
A.D. 21.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 147 
 
 capessendos honores aditu_, Maecenatem aemulatus sine dignitate 
 senatoria multos triumphalium consulariumque poteutia anteiit, 
 diversus a veterum instituto per cultum et munditias copiaque et 
 affluentia luxu propior. suberat tamen vigor animi ingentibus ne- 
 gotiis par, eo acrior_, quo somnum et inertiam magis ostentabat. 
 igitur incolumi Maecenate proximus, mox praecipuus cui secreta 
 imperatorum inniterentur et interficiendi Postumi Agrippae con- 
 scius, aetate provecta speciem magis in amicitia principis quam 
 vim tenuit. idque et Maecenati acciderat, fato potentiae raro 
 sempiternae, an satias capit aut illos, cum omnia tribuerunt, aut 
 hos, cum iam nihil reliquum est quod cupiant. 
 
 31. Sequitur Tiberi quartus, Drusi secundus consulatus, patris 
 atque filii coUegio insignis. nam biennio ante Germanici cum 
 Tiberio idem honor neque patruo laetus neque natura tam conexus 
 fuerat. eius anni principio Tiberius quasi firmandae valetudini in 
 Campaniam concessit, longam et continuam absentiam paulatim 
 meditans, sive ut amoto patre Drusus munia consulatus solus im- 
 pleret. ac forte parva res magnum ad certamen progressa praebuit 
 iuveni materiem apiscendi favoris. Domitius Corbulo praetura 
 functus de L. Sulla nobili iuvene questus est aput senatum, quod 
 sibi inter spectacula gladiatorum loco non decessisset. pro Cor- 
 bulone aetas, patrius mos, studia seniorum erant : contra Ma- 
 mercus Scaurus et L. Arruntius aliique Bullae propinqui nite- 
 bantur. certabantque orationibus et memorabantur exempla 
 maiorum, qui iuventutis inreverentiam gravibus decretis nota- 
 vissent, donee Drusus apta temperandis animis disseruit ; et satis- 
 factum Corbuloni per Mamercum, qui patruus simul ac vitricus 
 
 lucDu propior] Cf. Agric. 6, "uti longe Tiberius and Drusus. 
 
 a luxuria, ita famae propior." ' Luxu' is Domitius Corhulo] Not apparently 
 
 the old dative, for other instances of the same as the Corbulo who occupied a 
 
 which see i. 10, iii. 20, 33, vi. 23, xii. 5, prominent position at a later date, and 
 
 &c. was put to death by Nero. Cf. xi. 18, 
 
 31. hiennio'] Tiberius was consul with H. ii. 76. The Corbulo mentioned here 
 
 Grermanicus a.d, 18, and with Drusus had been praetor, and was therefore 
 
 A.D. 21. Perhaps Tacitus may have no longer young, and the death of the 
 
 need 'biennium' as expressing the time younger Corbulo was nearly fifty years 
 
 which elapsed between the last day of later. 
 
 the former and the first day of the latter loco] * Had not given up his seat ' to 
 
 consulship, which would be exactly two Corbulo, as the elder in years and an 
 
 years. ex-magistrate. Cf. Juv. xiii. 54, " Crede- 
 
 natura] The meaning apparently is bant hoc grande nefas et morte piandum, 
 
 that the tie of uncle and nephew, or Si iuvenis vetulo non assurrexerat et si 
 
 father and adopted son (the bond be- Barbate cuicumque puer." 
 
 tween Tiberius and Germanicus), is not patruus] M. Scaurus and L. Cornelius 
 
 so close as that between a father and his Sulla (the father of the young Sulla here, 
 
 son, the relationship existing between and consul, 5 a.c), were half-brothers on 
 
 L 2 
 
148 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 774. 
 
 Sullae et oratorum ea aetate uberrimus erat. idem Corbulo plurima 
 per Italiam itinera fraude mancipum et incuria magistrutuum 
 interrupta et inpervia clamitando, exsecutionem eius negotii Libens 
 suscepit; quod baud perinde publice usui babitum quam exitiosum 
 multis, quorum in pecuniam atque famam damnationibus et basta 
 saeviebat. 
 
 32. Neque multo post missis ad senatum litteris Tiberius motam 
 rursum Africam incursu Tacfarinatis docuit, iudicioque patrum 
 debgendum pro consule gnarum miKtiae^ corpore validum et bello 
 suffecturum. quod initium Sex. Pompeius agitandi adversus 
 Marcum Lepidum odii nanctus, ut socordem, inopem et maioribus 
 suis dedecorum eoque etiam Asiae sorte depellendum incusavit, 
 adverso senatu, qui Lepidum mitem magis quam ignavum, patemas 
 ei angustias et nobibtatem sine probro actam bonori quam igno- 
 miniae babendam ducebat. igitur missus in Asiam, et de Africa 
 decretum ut Caesar legeret cui mandanda foret. 
 
 33. Inter quae Severus Caecina censuit ne quem magistratum, 
 cui provincia obvenisset^ uxor comitaretur, multum ante repetito 
 concordem sibi coniugem et sex partus enixam^ seque quae in 
 pubUcum statueret domi servavisse, cobibita intra ItaUam, quam- 
 quam ipse pluris per provincias quadraginta stipendia expkvisset. 
 baut enim frustra placitum oUm ne feminae in socios aut gentes 
 extemas traberentur: inesse muberum comitatui quae pacem luxu, 
 bellum formidine morentiir et Romanum agmen ad simibtiidinem 
 barbari incesaus convertant. non inbecillum tantum et iiLparem 
 
 the mother's side, and Scaums seems to 32. Marcwm Lepidum] See note on i. 
 
 have married Sextia (vi. 29), the vsddow 13 for the praenomen of LepiduK. 
 
 of Sulla. Asiue sorte] The provinces of .A.sia and 
 
 fraude tna/ndpurn] ' Manceps * was Afiica were usually assigned by ] ot to the 
 
 any one who farmed any portion of the two oldest consulars. As Afirica was to 
 
 taxes, or undertook any work for the be especially arranged for, Lepidiis would 
 
 public. These men, no doubt, contracted naturally, as senior consular, liave ob- 
 
 for the repair of the roads, and receiving tained Asia as a matter of course, 
 
 the public money, put it into their pockets, *Sors' is used here for the province it- 
 
 and failed to carry out their contract self, although there was in this^ case no 
 
 honestly. Similar knavery is not un- allotment in the proper senst) of the 
 
 known in modem times. word. Cicero uses * sors ' for the pro- 
 
 quorum in pecuniam] The knavish vince itself, although in that particular 
 
 contractors were forced to disgorge their case there had been a previous allotment 
 
 ill-gotten gains, and their property was in the usual way. Cf. Pro P anc. 27, 
 
 sold by auction to enable them to pay; "numquam ex urbe abfuit nisi sorte." 
 
 also,the magistratus, or curatoresviarum 33. multum ante repetito] 'Having 
 
 (Suet. August. 37), who had received previously stated at great length.' Just 
 
 money from the treasury for road repairs, below, * domi servavisse ' is ' to have 
 
 and not applied it properly, had to kept in his own case.' Cf. Ter. Adelphi 
 
 refund (Dio lix. 15). If they became iii. 60, "domi habuitunde discer<?t;" also 
 
 'infames,' as they probably did, they Eurip. Troad. 648, tJ)!/ Se row 5»5oo-/faAoi' 
 
 would lose the suffragium and honores. oXkoOcu ^ixovaa xpv^'^^^ 4^7]pKovv ifxoi. 
 
A.D. 21.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 
 
 149 
 
 It 
 
 laboribus sexum, sed si liceutia adsit, saevum, ambitiosum, potes- 
 tatis avidum ; incedere inter milites, habere ad manum centuriones ; 
 praesedisse nuper feminam exercitio cohortium, decursu legionum. 
 cogitarent ipsi^ quotiens repetundarum aliqui arguerentur^ plura 
 uxoribus obiectari; his statim adbaerescere deterrimum quemque 
 provincialium^ ab Ms negotia suscipi, transigi ; duorum egressus 
 coli, duo esse praetoria, pervicacibus magis et inpotentibus mulie- 
 rum iussis, quae Oppiis quondam aliisque legibus constrictae^ nunc 
 vinclis exsolutis domos^ fora, iam et exercitus regerent. 
 
 34. Paucorum baec adsensu audita: plures obturbabant^ neque 
 relatum de negotio neque Caecinam dignum tantae rei censorem. 
 mox Valerius Messalinus, cui parens Messalla ineratque imago 
 paternae facundiae_, respondit multa duritiae veterum melius et 
 laetius mutata; neque enim^ ut olim^ adsidere urbem bellis aut 
 provincias hostilis esse, et pauca feminarum necessitatibus con- 
 cedi^ quae ne coniugum quidem penates, adeo socios non onerent; 
 cetera promisca cum marito^ necuUum in eo pacis impedimentum. 
 bella plane accinctis obeunda: sed revertentibus post laborem 
 quod bonestius quam uxorium levamentum? at quasdam in ambi- 
 tionem aut avaritiam prolapsas. quid? ipsorum magistratuum 
 nonne plerosque variis libidinibus obnoxios ? non tamen ideo nemi- 
 nem in provinciam mitti. corruptos saepe pravitatibus uxorum 
 
 muper feminarn] Cf. ii. 55. For tlie 
 dative * decursu ' cf. iii. 30, under 
 
 * luxu/ 
 
 duo esse praetoria] There was a double 
 govemment-liouse. Praetorium, from 
 meaning a general's tent in the field, 
 naturally passes into the sense of a go- 
 vernor' s re sidence or establishment . For 
 
 * inpotentibus' cf. v. 1, and xiv. 31. 
 
 Oppiis^ There seems to have been only 
 one Lex Oppia, passed 215 a.c. by C. 
 Oppius, tribune of the plebs (Liv. xxxiv. 
 1), forbidding any woman to have more 
 than half an ounce of gold, or wear a 
 dress of difierent colours, or drive in a 
 carriage in the city or any town except 
 for sacrificial purposes. Perhaps the 
 plural is used, although there is only one 
 law, because, as Draeger suggests, there 
 were often several paragraphs in each 
 law. Cf. xii. 60, xv. 20. 
 
 34. neque relatum] Sc. ' esse,' for ' ob- 
 turbabant ' is equivalent to * obturbantes 
 clamitabant.' For the practice here pre- 
 supposed cf. ii. 38, xiii. 49. 
 
 Valerius Messalinus] He is the same 
 man who is spoken of in i. 8 as Mes- 
 
 salla. In the index to book Iv. of Dio 
 Cassius he is described as M. OvaXipios 
 M. vlhs MetrcaAos ^ 'M.iffaaXtvos. He bore 
 these names indiscriminately, generally 
 however being called Messala or Mes- 
 salla in the inscriptions, but Messalinus 
 in the Mar. Ancyr. (iii. 29.) See also iii. 
 18. He was son of Messala Corvinus 
 the orator, and consul 3 a.c. 
 
 dwritiae] This is the genitive. Cf. iii. 
 55, " nostra quoque aetas multa laudis et 
 artium imitanda posteris tulit." Below, 
 for * melius ' see note on xiv. 43. 
 
 quod JvonesUus] That is, * quod leva- 
 mentum honestius.' Cf. xiii. 31, " quod 
 aliud ludicrum ederet." 
 
 at quasdam] 'At * is used here, like 
 * at enim,' to introduce an adversary's 
 objection : ' but you will say.' Cf. Cic. 
 ad Fam. ix. 6, " at in perturbata re pub- 
 lica vivimus : quis negat ? Sed hoc vide- 
 rint ii qui nulla sibi subsidia ad omnes 
 vitae casus paraverunt," For ' at enim' 
 cf. iv. 40, "at enim Augustus filiam 
 suam equiti Romano tradere meditatus 
 est : mirum horoulo," &c. 
 
150 CORNELII TACITI [a.u..\ 774. 
 
 maritos : nmn ergo omnis caelibes integros ? placuisse qii Dndam 
 Oppias leges, sic temporibus rei publicae postulantibus : re- lissum 
 aliquit postea et mitigatum, quia expedient, frustra r ostram 
 ignaviam alia ad vocabula transferri: nam viri in eo culpam^ si 
 femina modum excedat. porro ob unius aut alterius inbccillum 
 animum male eripi maritis consortia rerum secundarum aclversa- 
 rmnque. simul sexmn natura invalidum deseri et exponi suo 
 luxu, cupidinibus alienis. vix praesenti custodia manere inlaesa 
 coniugia: quid fore^ si per plures annos in modum discidii obli- 
 terentur? sic obviam irent iis quae alibi peccarentur, ut flagitio- 
 rum urbis meminissent. addidit pauca Drusus de matiimonio 
 suo ; nam principibus adeunda saepius longinqua imperii, quo- 
 tiens divum Angus tum in occidentem atque orientem meavisse 
 comite Livia ! se quoque in lUyricum profectum et, si ita coiiducat, 
 alias ad gentes iturum, baud semper aequo animo, si ab uxore 
 carissima et tot communium liberorum parente divelleretur. sic 
 Caecinae sententia elusa. 
 
 35. Et proximi senatus die Tiberius per litteras, castigatis 
 oblique patribus quod cuncta curarum ad principem reicerent, 
 M^. Lepidum et lunium Blaesum <iiominavit_, ex quis pro consule 
 Africae legeretur. tum audita amborum verba, intentius excu- 
 sante se Lepido, cum valetudinem corporis, aetatem liberum, 
 nubilem filiam obtenderet, intellegereturque etiam quod silebat, 
 avunculum esse Seiani Blaesum atque eo praevalidum. respondit 
 Blaesus specie recusantis, sed neque eadem adseveratione, et con- 
 sensu adulantium baut iutus est, 
 
 36. Exim promptum quod multorum intimis questibus tege- 
 batur. incedebat enim deterrimo cuique licentia impune probra et 
 invidiam in bonos excitandi arrepta imagine Caesaris; libertique 
 etiam ac servi patrono vel domino, cum voces, cum manus inten- 
 tarent, ultro metuebantur. igitur C. Cestius senator disseruit 
 
 nostram ignoA}iam] The real fault lay 35. cuncta cwrarum] Cf. xiv. 60, '' cuncta 
 
 in the indolence of the men ; they were scelerum;" H.v.lO, " cuncta camporum." 
 
 too slothful to restrain the vagaries of M\ Lepidum] Cf. i. 13 for the praeno- 
 
 their wives. Tt was idle in them to nhift men. Q. Junius Blaesus was legatus pro 
 
 the blame to women, and call it by some praetore cf Pannonia (i. 16), and consul 
 
 •^ther name. suflfectus with Ser. Cornelius Ijentulus 
 
 ^ sic ohviam irenf] While they reme- Maluginensis. Cf. also iii. 72, 74. 
 
 died offences elsewhere, they must not consensu adulanUum] Blaesus was not 
 
 forget the enormities at home. ' Sic,' supported by the unanimous voice of his 
 
 or * ita,' and * ut ' are often used in this flatterers, as he would have been, if he 
 
 restrictive sense. Cf. Cic. ad Fam. xvi. had really meant the refusal he f rofessed 
 
 1, ** nos ita te desideramus ut amemus, to give. 
 
 amor ut valentem videamus hortatur; 36. C. Cestiv^'] Caius Cestiu? Callus 
 
 desiderium ut quam primum." (Dio Iviii. 25) was consul a.d. 35 (vi. 31), 
 
I 
 
 A.D. 21.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 151 
 
 principes quidem instar deorum esse, sed neque a dis nisi iustas 
 1 1 supplicum preces audiri, neque quemquam in Capitolium aliave 
 urbis templa perfugere, ut eo subsidio ad flagitia utatur. abolitas 
 leges et funditus versas, ubi in foro, in limine curiae ab Annia 
 Eufilla, quam fraudis sub iudice damnavisset, probra sibi et minae 
 intendantur, neque ipse audeat ius experiri ob eflfigiem imperatoris 
 oppositam. bau dissimilia alii et quidam atrociora circumstrepe- 
 I bant, preoabanturque Drusum daret ultionis exemplum, donee 
 accitam convictamque attineri publica custodia iussit. 
 
 37. Et Considius Aequus et Caelius Cursor equites Romani, 
 quod fictis maiestatis criminibus Magium Caecilianum praetorem 
 petivissent, auctore principe ac decreto senatus puniti. utrumque 
 in laudem Drusi trabebatur : ab eo in urbe, inter coetus et sermones 
 hominum obversante, secreta patris mitigari. neque luxus in 
 iuvene adeo displicebat : hue potius intenderet, diem aedificatio- 
 nibus, noctem conviviis trahere, quam solus et nullis voluptatibus 
 avocatus maestam vigilantiam et malas curas exerceret. 
 
 38. Non enim Tiberius, non accusatores fatiscebant. et An- 
 cbarius Prisons Caesium Cordum pro consule Cretae postulaverat 
 repetundis, addito maiestatis crimine, quod tum omnium accusa- 
 tionum complementum erat. Caesar Antistium Yeterem e pri- 
 moribus Macedoniae, absolutum adulterii, increpitis iudicibus ad 
 dicendam maiestatis causam retraxit, ut turbidum et Rhescupo- 
 ridis consiliis permixtum, qua tempestate Cotye [fratre] inter- 
 
 and afterwards legatns pro praetore of exactly only to the latter clause, 'trahere 
 
 Syria (H. v. 10, xv. 25) . noctem,' and * insumere ' or a similar 
 
 damncuvisset'] ' Whose condemnation word is to be supplied with ' diem aedi- 
 
 he had effected on the charge he brought ficationibus.' If Drusus was a great 
 
 against her.' The commentators quote builder, he was unHke his father, who 
 
 Cic. Div. in Caecil. § 30, "ego hoc uno " modicus privatis aedificationibus ne 
 
 crimine ilium condenmem necesse est," publico quidem nisi duo opera struxit" 
 
 and Suet. Tib. 8, " Fannium . . . reum (vi. 45). 
 
 maiestatis apud indices fecit et condem- S8. repetundis^ This is an imusual con- 
 
 navit." Below, *ius experiri' means *to struction, either the genitive, or the ab- 
 
 endeavour to put his right into force,' to lative with ' de,' being usual. But Sueto- 
 
 carry out the sentence of the court ; and nius (Otho 2) has ' damnatus repetundis,* 
 
 *convictara' does not mean 'convicted and elsewhere 'postulari crimine' occurs, 
 
 ft of fraud, ' for that she was already, but The ablative in this constniction is an 
 
 convicted of abuse and threats against instrumental one : the offence mentioned 
 
 Cestius. This was the foreshadowing of was the handle for the accusation, 
 
 the rights of sanctuary, used ia after ages Antistium Veterem] This was appa- 
 
 for the perversion of justice no doubt in rently some Macedonian of rank, who 
 
 many cases, but also often, as Hallam had obtained the Roman citizenship, and 
 
 remarks ("Middle Ages" ii. 366), as a adopted a Roman name in consequence, 
 
 shield for innocence. fraiyre] From ii. 64 it seems that 
 
 37. trahere] This can only be a kind Cotys was the son of Rhoemetalces, and 
 
 of opoxegetical infinitive, added loosely therefore nephew to Rhescuporis. Either 
 
 to explain the meaning of * hue inten- * fratre ' is a gloss which has crept into 
 
 deret.' The word is of coiirse suited the text, or the word is used loosely to 
 
152 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c 774. 
 
 fecto bellum adversus nos volverat. igitur aqua et igni nter- 
 dictum reo, adpositumque ut teneretur insula neque Maceconiae 
 neque Threciae opportuna. nam Thraecia diviso imperio in }ilhoe- 
 metalcen et liberos Cotyis/quis ob infantiam tutor erat Trebelli- 
 enus Rufus, insolentia nostri discors agebat neque minus Rboe- 
 metalcen quam Trebellienum incusans popularium iniurias inultas 
 sinere. Coelaletae Odrusaeque et Dii^ validae nationes, arma 
 cepere^ ducibus diversis et paribus inter se per ignobilitatem ; 
 quae causa fuit ne in bellum atrox coalescerent. pars turbant 
 praesentia, alii montem Haemum transgrediuntur^ ut remotes 
 populos concirent; plurimi ac maxime compositi regem urbemque 
 Pbilippopolim, a Macedone Philippo sitam^ circumsidunt. 
 
 39. Quae ubi cognita P. Yellaeo (is proximum exercitum prae- 
 sidebat), alarios equites ac levis cobortium mittit in eos qui prae- 
 dabundi aut adsumendis auxiliis vagabantur, ipse robur peditum 
 ad exsolvendum obsidium ducit. simulque cuncta prospere acta, 
 caesis populatoribus et dissensione orta aput obsidentes regisque 
 opportuna eruptione et adventu legionis. neque aciem aut proe- 
 lium dici decuerit, in quo semermi ac palantes trucidati sunt sine 
 nostro sanguine. 
 
 40. Eodem anno Gralliarum civitates ob magnitudinem aeris 
 alieni rebellionem coeptavere, cuius exstimulator acerrimus inter 
 Treveros lulius Florus_, apud Aeduos lulius Sacrovir. nobilitas 
 ambobus et maiorum bona facta, eoque Romana civitas olim data, 
 
 express the relationsliip between nephew of. i. 58, xii. 37, H. iy. 74. The army was 
 
 and uncle, just as it is employed to ex- that of Moesia, in the government of 
 
 press that between cousins sometimes, which P. Vellaeus had succeeded Pom- 
 
 In xi. 9 Gotarzes and Bardanes are de- ponius Flaccus, as legatus pro praetore 
 
 scribed as * fratres,' although it appears (ii. 66) . 
 
 from Josephus (Antiq. i. 20) that they alamos equites ac levis cohortium] 
 
 were nephew and uncle, although pos- These were the cavalry (Liv. xl. 40) and 
 
 sibly there Tacitus was misinformed, infantry of the allies : * robur peditum,* 
 
 while here the true connexion has been the legionary soldiers. Cf. xii. 31, " quam- 
 
 given previously. Below, * insolentia quam sine robore legionum sociales co- 
 
 nostri ' is ' from want of habituation to pias ducebat." 
 our rule.' Cf. vi. 10. eruptione'] An ablative of the instru- 
 
 inciisans'] The construction is 'agebat ment depending on * prospere acta :' this 
 
 discors et incusans,' where * discors ' and eruption was one of the elements in the 
 
 ' incusans ' correspond, and the latter successful conduct of the campaign, 
 word is followed by an infinitive as equi- 40. aeris alieni'] The provincials, in 
 
 valent to * inter accusandum dictitabat.' order to pay the heavy tribute imposed on 
 
 Below, * Dii ' is the emendation of Lip- them, were driven to the necessity of bor- 
 
 sius for * alii.' rowing from the Roman money -Itiuders : 
 
 turhant praesentia] These words are cf. Sail. Catil. 40. Dio Cassius (Ixii. 2) 
 
 opposed to * montem transgrediuntur,' speaks of a revolt in Britain as caused by 
 
 and mean therefore * they harass the a sudden calling in by Seneca of x'^'«s 
 
 country in their immediate locality.' /xvpidSas drachmae. 
 
 39. exercitum] For a different case 
 
I 
 
 A.D. 21.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 153 
 
 cum id rarum nee nisi virtuti pretium esset. ii secretis conlo- 
 quiis, ferocissimo quoque adsumpto aut quibus ob egestatem ac 
 metum ex flagitiis maxima peccandi necessitudo_, componunt 
 Floras Belgas, Sacrovir propiores Gallos concire. igitur per con- 
 ciliabula et coetus seditiosa disserebant de continuatione tribu- 
 torum, gravitate faenoris, saevitia ac superbia praesidentium ; et 
 discordare militem audito Germanici exitio. egregium resumendae 
 libertati tempus, si ipsi florentes^ quam inops Italia, quam inbellis 
 urbana plebes, nihil validum in exercitibus nisi quod externum, 
 cogitarent. 
 
 41. Haut ferme uUa civitas intacta seminibus eius motus fuit: 
 sed erupere primi Andecavi ac Turoni. quorum Andecavos Acilius 
 Aviola legatus, excita coborte quae Lugduni praesidium agitabat, 
 coercuit. Turoni legionario milite, quem Yisellius Yarro infe- 
 rioris Germaniae legatus miserat, oppressi eodem Aviola duce 
 et quibusdam Galliarum primoribus, qui tulere auxilium, quo dis- 
 simularent defectionem magisque in tempore efferrent. spectatus 
 et Sacrovir intecto capite pugnam pro Romanis ciens, ostentandae, 
 ut ferebat, virtutis : sed captivi, ne incesseretur telis, adgnos- 
 cendum se praebuisse arguebant. consultus super eo Tiberius 
 aSpernatus est indicium aluitque dubitatione bellum. 
 
 42. Interim Florus insistere destinatis, pellicere alam equitum, 
 quae conscripta e Treveris militia disciplinaque nostra babebatur, 
 ut caesis negotiatoribus Romanis bellum inciperet; paucique 
 
 convponv/nf] ' They arrange.' Cf. Liv. 
 xl. 40, " cum sumina concordia quos di- 
 mitterent quosque retinerent milites com- 
 posuemnt." 
 
 conciliabula] Cf. Liv. vii. 15, " nnn- 
 dinas et conciliabula obire soliti erant." 
 As * stabulum ' comes from ' stare,' so 
 * conciliabnlum ' comes from ' concOiare,' 
 and would be * a place for uniting people, 
 schemes,' &c. 
 
 msi quod externvm] This is not in- 
 tended to imply that the only soldiers 
 worth any thing in the legions were those 
 of foreign extraction. The legions, espe- 
 cially when long stationed at the same 
 post, as many of them were, were re- 
 cruited, I imagine, in the first instance 
 and as far as possible, with men of Roman 
 origin, whose families had settled in the 
 particidar locality, and then with pro- 
 vincials carefully selected. Cf. xiii. 7, " iu- 
 ventutem proximas per provincias quae- 
 sitam supplendis orientis legionibus." 
 The praetorian cohorts were recruited 
 
 from Etruria, Umbria, Latium, and the 
 old Eoman colonies (iv. 5). The auxi- 
 liary troops of the allies were not 
 legionary troops, although sometimes 
 drilled and armed like legionary sol- 
 diers. Cf. iii. 42, " alam equitum," &c. 
 
 41. AciUus Aviola] Legatus pro prae- 
 tore of Gallia Lugdunensis. He was per- 
 haps the father of the M'. Acilius Aviola 
 who was consul in a.d. 54 (xii. 64). He 
 was proconsul of Asia a.d. 38. There 
 were no legions stationed in Gallia Lug- 
 dunensis, but the legions of the Rhine 
 were sufiicient for its protection (cf. iv. 
 5, " praecipuum robur Rhenum iuxta com- 
 mune in Germanos Gallosque subsidium, 
 octo legiones erant"). A cohort only was 
 stationed here and there, at Lugdunum, 
 for instance (cf. H. i. 64). 
 
 efferrenf] ' Bring it out openly.' Cf. 
 vi. 9, " qui efierret quae omnes animo 
 agitabant." 
 
 42. negoUatorihiis'] The Roman money- 
 lenders penetrated every where, and in 
 
154 COKNELH TACITI [a.u.c. 774. 
 
 equitum corrupti^ plures in officio mansere. aliut vulgus ol:aera- 
 torum aut clientium arma cepit; petebantque saltus quibus ii3men 
 Ardueima^ cum legiones utroque ab exercitu, quas Yisellius et 
 C. Silius adversis itineribus obiecerant, arcuerunt. praemissusque 
 cum delecta manu lulius Indus e civitate eadem_, discors Floro et 
 ob id navandae operae avidior^ inconditam multitudinem adhuc 
 disiecit. Florus incertis latebris victores frustratus_, postremo 
 visis militibus qui effugia insederant^ sua manu cecidit. isque 
 Treverici tumultus finis. 
 
 43. Aput Aeduos maior moles exorta^ quanto civitas opulentior 
 et comprimendi procul praesidium. Augustodunum caput gentis 
 armatis cobortibus Sacrovir occupaverat et nobilissimam (lallia- 
 rum subolem, liberalibus studiis ibi operatam, ut eo pignore 
 parentes propinquosque eorum adiungeret; simul arma occulte 
 fabricata iuventuti dispertit. quadraginta milia fuere, quinta sui 
 parte legionariis armis^ ceteri cum venabulis et cultris qu aequo 
 alia venantibus tela sunt, adduntur e servitiis gladiaturae de- 
 stinati^ quibus more gentico continuum ferri tegimen: cruppella- 
 rios vocant, inferendis ictibus inbabiles, accipiendis inpenetrabiles. 
 augebantur eae copiae vicinarum civitatum ut nondum apertfi con- 
 sensione, ita viritim promptis studiis, et certamine ducum Itoma- 
 norum, quos inter ambigebatur utroque bellum sibi poscente. 
 mox Varro invaUdus senecta vigenti Silio concessit. 
 
 Graul found a large scope for their trade, people inltabiting it ; but the acjective 
 
 To kill them would, of course, be an easy here could only distinguish certain por- 
 
 way of getting rid of the debt. tions of Gaul from others less illustrious, 
 
 aUut vulgus^ ' The rest, forming the which is not required here, as the illus- 
 
 common herd,' not of course implying trious families would not be confmed to 
 
 that those previously mentioned were of certain parts of the country, out be 
 
 the same character, for they were not, spread more or less thickly o^ er the 
 
 but, on the contrary, leading men. Cf. H. whole. For * operatam ' cf. Ovid, Art. 
 
 iv. 56, "legatis tantum legionum inter- A mat, iii. 411, "operataque doctis Cura 
 
 fectis, ceterum vulgus facile acces- vigil Musis nomen inertis habet." 
 
 summ." crv,ppellcurios^ Thierry connects this 
 
 ohaeratorum] .Amongst the Gauls a word (Histoire des Gaulois iii. 27{)) with 
 
 debtor was often compelled to render the Gaelic *crup,' "reserrer et aussi 
 
 his creditor bodily service. Orgetorix rendre impotent; crupach et crioplach, 
 
 (Caesar, B. G. i. 4) was attended to the perclus, manchot." 
 
 court of justice by his clients and debtors, viritim] The various states did not 
 and by their aid secured himself against as yet show their approval of the move- 
 trial, ment on foot, by sending troops, Vut any 
 
 43. AitgustodAinum] This is the Bi- one who chose to volunteer aid Tras al- 
 
 bracte of Caesar (B. G. i. 23), now lowed to do so. The progress of the 
 
 * Autun.' Below, the MS. has *nobi- conspiracy was farther arrested by the 
 
 lissimarum,' which can hardly be correct, rivalry between the two Eoman generals, 
 
 in the sense of ' the youthful members of Yarro on the Lower Ehine, and Silius 
 
 the noblest famihes in Gaul.' It is of on the Upper. Below, for * ambigebatur ' 
 
 course often immaterial whether one cf. iv. 55, H. i. 24. 
 speaks of a country personified, or the 
 
A.D. 21.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 155 
 
 44. At Eomae non Treveros modo et Aeduos, sed quattuor et 
 sexaginta Galliaruin civitates descivisse, adsumptos in societatem 
 Germanos, dubias Hispanias, cuncta, ut mos famae, in mains cre- 
 dita. optumns qnisqne rei pnblicae cura maerebat : multi odio 
 praesentinm et cupidine mutationis suis quoqne periculis laetaban- 
 tnr, increpabantque Tiberium^ quod in tanto rerum motu libellis 
 accusatorum insumeret operam. an et Sacrovirum maiestatis 
 crimine reum in senatu fore ? extitisse tandem viros, qui cruentas 
 epistulas armis cobiberent. miseram pacem vel bello bene mutari. 
 tanto inpensius in securitatem conpositus^ neque loco neque vultu 
 mutato, sed ut solitum per illos dies egit_, altitudine animi^ an 
 conpererat modica esse et vulgatis leviora. 
 
 45. Interim Silius cum legionibus duabus incedens, praemissa 
 auxiliari manu vastat Sequanorum pagos^ qui finium extremi et 
 Aeduis contermini sociique in armis erant. mox Augustodunum 
 petit propero agmine, certantibus inter se signiferis, fremente 
 etiam gregario milite^ ne suetam requiem, ne spatia noctium oppe- 
 riretur : viderent modo adversos et aspicerentur ; id satis ad vic- 
 toriam. duodecimum apud lapidem Sacrovir copiaeque paten tibus 
 locis apparuere. in fronte statuerat ferrates, in cornibus cobortes, 
 a tergo semermos. ipse inter primores equo insigni adire, memo- 
 rare veteres Gallorum glorias quaeque Romanis adversa intulis- 
 sent ; quam decora victoribus libertas, quanto intolerantior servitus 
 iterum victis. 
 
 46. Non din baec nee apud laetos : etenim propinquabat legio- 
 num acies, inconditique ac militiae nescii oppidani neque oculis 
 neque auribus satis conpetebant. contra Silius, etsi praesumpta 
 
 44. cruentas epistulas'] These were intolerantior] For tlus passive use of 
 apparently the letters written by Tibe- the word cf. xi. 10, " regreditur ingens 
 rius to the Senate, recommending the gloria atque eo ferocior et subiectis in- 
 condemnation of those whom the infer- tolerantior." Aul. Gell. xiii. 8, "nihil 
 mers assailed. fieri posse indignius neque intoleran- 
 
 altitnidine animi] Livy (iv. 6) joins tins." Suetonius, Tib. 51, " acerbitate et 
 
 'altitudinemanimi' with 'modestia' and intolerantia morum." Elsewhere Tacitus 
 
 'aequitas,' in the sense of 'loftiness of uses the word actively. Cf. ii. 75, "om- 
 
 mind.* Sallust however (Jugurtha 95) nium quae ultionem morarentur into- 
 
 describes Sulla as 'callidus,' and possess- lerans." Also H. iv. 80, and Cic. pro 
 
 ing "ad simulanda negotia altitude in- Cluent. 40, ** quis eum cum ilia su- 
 
 genii incredibilis," where the sense is of perbia atqae intolerantia ferre potu- 
 
 course ' depth of mind,' ' impenetrabi- isset ? " 
 
 lity,' and this is no doubt the sense here. 46. conpetehant] Cf H. iii. 73, " dux 
 
 Cf. H. iv. 86, " simplicitatis ac modestiae segnis non lingua, non auribus compe- 
 
 imagine in altitudinem conditus." tere." So in a fragment of Sallust, 
 
 45. finium, extremi] ' Those cantons quoted by Nonius, there is " neque 
 of the Sequani which lie at the edge of animo neque auribus aut lingua compe- 
 their lands ;' only this portion of their tere." The townspeople had not the 
 territory was laid waste. undisturbed use of their eyes or ears j 
 
156 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 774. 
 
 spes hortandi causas exemerat, clamitabat tameiij pudendmn ipsis 
 quod Germaniarum victores adversum Gallos tamquam in hostem 
 ducerentur. ^una nuper coliors rebellem Turonum^ una als; Tre- 
 verum^ paucae huius ipsius exercitus turmae profligavere Se^qua- 
 nos. quanto pecunia dites et voluptatibus opulentos^ tanto magis 
 inbelles Aednos evincite et fugientibus consulite/ ingens ad ea 
 clamor, et circumfudit eques frontemque pedites invasere ; nee 
 cunctatum apud latera. paulum morae attulere ferrati restantibus 
 lamminis adversum pila et gladios ; set miles correptis securibus 
 et dolabris, ut si murum perrumperet, caedere tegmina et corpora; 
 quidam trudibus aut furcis inertem molem prosternere, iacf^ntes- 
 que nullo ad resurgendum nisu quasi exanimes linquebantur. 
 Sacrovir primo Augustodunum, dein metu deditionis in -villam 
 propinquam cum fidissimis pergit. illic sua manu, reliqui mutuis 
 ictibus occidere : incensa super villa omnes cremavit. 
 
 47. Tum demum Tiberius ortum patratumque bellum senatu 
 scripsit ; neque dempsit aut addidit vero, sed fide ac virtute lega- 
 tes, se consiliis superfuisse. simul causas, cur non ipse_, non 
 Drusus profecti ad id bellum forent, adiunxit, magnitudinem im- 
 perii extoUens, neque decorum principibus, si una alterave civitas 
 turbet, omissa urbe, unde in omnia regimen ; nunc quia non metu 
 ducatur, iturum, ut praesentia spectaret comp oner et que. decre- 
 vere patres vota pro reditu eius supplicationesque et alia decora, 
 solus Dolabella Cornelius, dum anteire ceteros parat, absurdam in 
 adulationem progressus, censuit ut ovans e Campania urbem in- 
 troiret. igitur secutae Caesaris litterae, quibus se non tam va(3uum 
 gloria praedicabat, ut post ferocissimas gentes perdomitas, tot 
 receptos in iuventa aut spretos triumphos, iam senior peregrina- 
 tionis suburbanae inane praemium peteret. 
 
 they could not bear the aspect of the were, pushing them on in their headlong 
 
 legions undismayed, nor yet the sounds, course with your spears, &c. ? 
 
 fugientibus consuUte] Cf. H. iii. 82, 47. superfuisse] ' Had shown liis su- 
 
 " ne asperatus proelio miles non populo, periority,' * had excelled.' Cf. Agiic. 44, 
 
 non senatui consuleret." This would lead "gratia oris supererat." A. Gellius (i. 
 
 one to suppose the meaning to be ' spare 22) quotes a passage from Cicero, "nee 
 
 the fugitives,' let them escape, as scarcely vero scientia iuris maioribus suis Q. 
 
 worth killing. The Aedui were to be ut- Aelius Tubero defuit, doctrina etis.m su- 
 
 terly routed, and that would be enough, perfoit." 
 
 and it woidd then be more judicious to neque decoT^rn] Sc. 'proficisci in bel- 
 
 let them off with their lires. Still the lum.' For C. Dolabella see iii. 69. 
 
 advice seems a little unexpected after peregrinationis suhu/rhanae] * Of a mere 
 
 the previous sentence, 'inbelles Aeduos jaunt in the neighbourhood of the city,' 
 
 evincite.' Can the words be ironical, in where ' suburbanus ' is contrasted with 
 
 the sense of ' give the fugitives a lift in regions at the extremity of the e:npire. 
 
 their flight,' by pursuing them, and, as it Cf. xiii. 43, "brevius visum suburbana 
 
A.D. 21.] AB EXCBSSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 157 
 
 48. Sub idem tempus^ ut mors Sulpicii Quirini pubHcis exse- 
 quiis frequentaretur, petivit a senatu. niliil ad veterem et patri- 
 ciam Sulpiciorum familiam Quirinius pertinuit_, ortus aput muni- 
 cipium Lanuvium : sed impiger militiae et acribus ministeriis 
 
 1 1 consulatum sub divo Augusto^ mox expugnatis per Ciliciam Homo- 
 nadensium castellis insignia triumpbi adeptus, datusque rector 
 Gaio Caesari Armeniam optinenti Tiberium quoque Rbodi agentem 
 coluerat. quod tunc patefecit in senatu^ laudatis in se officiis et 
 incusato M. Lollio, quern auctorem Gaio Caesari pravitatis et dis- 
 cordiarum arguebat. sed ceteris taut laeta memoria Quirini erat 
 ob intenta_, ut memoravi^ Lepidae pericula sordidamque et prae- 
 potentem senectam. 
 
 49. Fine anni C. Lutorium Priscum equitem Romanum_, post 
 celebre carmen, quo Germanici suprema defleverat, pecunia dona- 
 tum a Caesare, corripuit delator, obiectans aegro Druso compo- 
 suisse quod, si extinctus foret, maiore praemio vulgaretur. id 
 Lutorius in domo P. Petronii, socru eius Vitellia coram multisque 
 inlustribus feminis, per vaniloquentiam legerat. ut delator extitit, 
 ceteris ad dicendum testimonium exterritis, sola Yitellia nihil se 
 audivisse adseveravit. sed arguentibus ad permitiem plus fidei 
 fuit, sententiaque Haterii Agrippae consuHs designati indictum 
 reo ultimum supplicium. 
 
 50. Contra M\ Lepidus in bunc modum exorsus est : ^ si, patres 
 conscripti, unum id spectamus, quam nefaria voce Lutorius Prisons 
 mentem suam et aures bominum poUuerit, neque career neque 
 laqueus, ne serviles quidem cruciatus in eum suffecerint. sin fla- 
 gitia et facinora sine modo sunt, suppliciis ac remediis principis 
 moderatio maiorumque et vestra exempla temperant, et vana a 
 scelestis, dicta a maleficiis diflPerunt, est locus sententiae, per quam 
 
 crimina incipi," wliere 'suburbana' is op- daughter was Lollia Patdina (xii. 1). He 
 
 posed to 'provincia Asia,' although most poisoned himself (Pliny ix. § 118). 
 
 of the editors read * urbana.' 49. P. Pet^onii] He was the father 
 
 4S. Sulpicii Quirini'] This is the Cyre- of P. Petronius Turpilianus (xir. 29), 
 
 nius of St. Luke's Gospel (eh. ii.), who was and father of Petronia, the wife of Vitel- 
 
 legatus pro praetore of Syria. He was lius, afterwards emperor (H. ii. 64), and 
 
 consul 12 A.C., and proconsid of Asia, consul suffectus a.d. 19. He is said by 
 
 The Homonadenses occupied a rugged Nipperdey, on the evidence, I believe, of 
 
 and mountainous district of the Taurus coins, to have been proconsul of Asia, 
 
 in Cilicia (Strabo xii. 6). and legatus pro praetore of Syria 39 — 42 
 
 M.Lollio] He was legatus pro praetore a.d. 
 
 of Galatia, consul in the year 21 a.c, 50. est locus'] These words begin the 
 
 legatus pro praetore of Germany (i. 10). apodosis to the sentence, and * sin' is to 
 
 He was attached to Caius Caesar (grand- be repeated with ' temperant ' and * diffe- 
 
 son of Augustus) on his mission to runt:' 'but if, although enormities, yet 
 
 the East (Suet. Tib. 12). His grand- the moderation of the prince . . . then 
 

 158 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 775. 
 
 neque liuic delictum impune sit et nos clementiae simul ac scjveri- 
 tatis non paeniteat. saepe audivi principem nostrum conqui^ren- 
 tem^ si quis sumpta morte misericordiam eius praevenisset. vita 
 Lutorii in integro est^ qui neque servatus in periculum rei puhlicae 
 neque interfectus in exemplum ibit. studia illi, ut plena vae- 
 cordiae, ita inania et fluxa sunt ; nee quicquam grave ac seriiim ex 
 eo metuas^ qui suorum ipse flagitiorum proditor non viroruni ani- 
 mis sed muliercularum adrepit. cedat tamen urbe et bonis ainissis 
 aqua et igni arceatur : quod perinde censeo ac si lege maiestatis 
 teneretur/ 
 
 51. Solus Lepido Rubellius Blandus e consularibus adsensit: 
 ceteri sententiam Agrippae secuti, ductusque in carcerem Pi'iscus 
 ac statim exanimatus. id Tiberius solitis sibi ambagibus apud 
 senatum incusavit^ cum extoUeret pietatem quamvis modicas prin- 
 cipis iniurias acriter ulciscentium, deprecaretur tam praecipitis 
 verborum poenas ; laudaret Lepidum^ neque Agrippam argiieret. 
 igitur factum senatus consultum, ne decreta patrum ante decnmum 
 diem ad aerarium deferrentur idque vitae spatium damnatis pro- 
 rogaretur. sed non senatui libertas ad paenitendum erat, neque 
 Tiberius interiectu temporis mitigabatur. 
 
 52. C. Sulpicius D. Haterius consules sequuntur, intur'oidus 
 externis rebus annus, domi suspecta severitate adversum luxum, 
 qui inmensum proruperat ad cuncta quis pecunia prodigitur. sed 
 alia sumptuum_, quamvis graviora, dissimulatis plerumque pretiis 
 occultabantur ; ventris et ganeae paratus adsiduis sermonibuj^ vul- 
 gati fecerant curam, ne princeps antiquae parsimoniae darius 
 
 there is a place.' This wotild be more under the old constitution, were some- 
 
 clearly conveyed in Greek by the use of times law, and under the emperois the 
 
 fjLiv and §€. main sources of law. All the decrees 
 
 m mte^ro est] Tiberius before had com- of the Senate were entered at the 
 
 plained that his intended exercise of cle- * aerarium.' Cf. Liv. xxxix. 4, " quid ab 
 
 mency had been prevented by the suicide eo posse quemquam aequi expectai'e qui 
 
 of the individual concerned. Now this per infrequentiam furtim factum sc natus 
 
 was not the case : the life of Lutorius consultum ad aerarium detulerit?" For 
 
 was not yet taken. a similar practice in the case of fin(5S im- 
 
 quod perinde censeo] 'Which I think posed by the tribunes, cf. xiii. 28, "neve 
 qtdte the same as bringing him under multam ab iis dictam quaestores fierarii 
 the Lex Maiestatis.' The eflfect would in publicas tabulas ante quattuor menses 
 be the same as if a charge were brought referrent." The C. Sulpicius below, is 0. 
 under the Lex Maiestatis, where the Sulpicius Gralba, the brother of tho Em- 
 penalty would be death. peror Gralba (Suet. Galba 3). 
 
 51. decreta patrum] There is a dis- 52. anUquae parsimoniae] Cf Suet, 
 
 tinction between the words used here for Tib. 34, " et ut parsimoniam putlicam 
 
 the enactraents of the Senate. A * de- exemplo quoque iuvaret, solennibus ipse 
 
 cretum ' seems to be a decision limited oenis pridiana saepe ao semesa obsonia 
 
 to a particular occasion and set of cir. apposuit, dimidiatumque aprum." 
 cumstances, whereas 'consulta,' even 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 159 
 
 adverteret. nam incipiente 0. Bibulo ceteri quoque aediles 
 disseruerant, sperni sumptuariam legem vetitaque utensilium 
 pretia augeri in dies, nee mediocribus remediis sisti posse, et 
 consul ti patres integrum id negotium ad principem distulerant. 
 sed Tiberius saepe apud se pensitato, an coerceri tam profusae 
 cupidines possent, num coercitio plus damni in rem publicam fer- 
 ret, quam indecorum adtrectare quod non obtineret, vel retentum 
 ignominiam et infamiam virorum inlustrium posceret, postremo lit- 
 teras ad senatum composuit, quarum sententia in hunc modum fuit. 
 53. ^ Ceteris forsitan in rebus, patres conscripti, magis expediat 
 me coram interrogari et dicere quid e re publica censeam : in hac 
 relatione subtrabi oculos.meos melius fuit, ne denotantibus vobis 
 ora ac metum singulorum, qui pudendi luxus arguerentur, ipse 
 etiam viderem eos ac velut deprenderem. quod si mecum ante viri 
 strenui, aediles, consilium babuissent, nescio an suasurus fuerim 
 omittere potius praevalida et adulta vitia quam boc adsequi, ut 
 palam fieret quibus flagitiis impares essemus. sed illi quidem 
 officio functi sunt, ut ceteros quoque magistratus sua munia im- 
 plore velim : mibi autem neque bonestum silere neque proloqui 
 expeditum, quia non aedilis aut praetoris aut consulis partis sus- 
 tineo. mains aliquid et excelsius a principe postulatur ; et cum 
 recte factorum sibi quisque gratiam trabant, unius invidia ab 
 omnibus peccatur. quid enim primum probibere et priscum ad 
 morem recidere adgrediar? villarumne infinita spatia? familia- 
 rum numerum et nationes ? argenti et auri pondus ? aeris tabu- 
 
 adverteref] Tacitus uses this verb in 
 tlie sense of * animadvertere.' Cf. ii. 32, 
 iv. 35. 
 
 sv/nvptua/riam legem] Aulus Gellius 
 speaks of this (ii. 24. 14), "postremo 
 lex lulia ad populum pervenit, Caesare 
 Augusto imperante qua profestis quidem 
 diebus ducenti finiuntur : kalendis idubus 
 nonis et aliis quibusdam festis trecenti, 
 nuptiis autem et repotiis sestertii mille." 
 
 distuleranf] * Had put off until (the 
 return of) the princeps.' So Livy xli. 8, 
 " legati Sardorum qui ad novos magis- 
 tratus dilati erant." 'Reicere' is also 
 used in this sense. 
 
 53. suhtrahi] Cf. Agric. 45, " Nero 
 tamen subtraxit oculos, iussitque scelera 
 non spectavit : praecipua sub Domitiano 
 miseriamm pars erat videre et aspici, cum 
 suspiria nostra subscriberentur, cum de- 
 notandis tot hominum palloribus," &c. 
 
 quihus flagitiis'] ' What enormities we 
 were unable to repress,' *no match for.' 
 
 Cf. H. i. 18, " cui non iam pares sumus." 
 unius invidda] Every one claims the 
 merit of what is done rightly, and so the 
 Emperor gained no credit, and yet he 
 was blamed exclusively if any thing went 
 wrong. 
 
 infinita ^atia] Horace satirized this 
 mania for building huge piles, Od. ii. 15, 
 " lam pauca aratro iugera regiae Moles 
 relinquent." Cf. also Juv. xiv. 86, " Aedi- 
 ficator erat Cetronius, et modo curvo 
 Litore Caietae, summa nunc Tiburis arce, 
 Nunc Praenestinis in montibus alta para- 
 bat Culmina villarum." Cf. Sail. Catil. 
 12, "villas in urbium modum exaedi- 
 ficatas." 
 
 farmUarum] Cf. xiv. 44, " nationes in 
 familiis habemus, quibus diversi ritus, 
 externa sacra aut nulla sunt." Tacitus 
 in xiv. 43 speaks of a man as having 400 
 slaves, and Pliny (xxxiii. § 135) gives 
 some one above 4000, and in Athenaeus 
 (vi. 104) we read of 10,000 or even 20,000 
 
160 COENELn TACITI [^.u.ci 775. 
 
 larumque miracula? promiscas viris et feminis vestes atqu'3 ilia 
 feminarum propria, quis lapidum causa pecuniae nostrae a i ex- 
 ternas aut hostilis gentes transferuntur ? 
 
 54. Nee ignore in conviviis et circulis incusari ista et niodum 
 posci : set si quis legem sanciat_, poenas indicate idem illi civitatem 
 verti, splendidissimo cuique exitium parari, neminem criminis ex- 
 pertem clamitabunt. atqui ne corporis quidem morbos veteres et 
 diu auctos nisi per dura et aspera coerceas : corruptus simul et 
 corruptor, aeger et flagrans animus haut levioribus remediis restin- 
 guendus est quam libidinibus ardescit. tot a maioribus repertae 
 leges, tot quas diyus Augustus tulit, illae oblivione, hae, quod fla- 
 gitiosius est, contemptu abolitae securiorem luxum fecere. nam si 
 velis quod nondum vetitum est, timeas ne vetere : at si prohibita 
 impune transcenderis, neque metus ultra neque pudor est. cur 
 ergo olim parsimonia poUebat ? quia sibi quisque moderabatur, 
 quia unius urbis cives eramus; ne inritamenta quidem eadem 
 intra Italiam dominantibus. externis victoriis aliena, civilibus 
 etiam nostra consumere didicimus. quantulum istud est de quo 
 aediles admonent ! quam, si cetera respicias, in levi habendum ! 
 at bercule nemo refert, quod Italia externae opis indiget, quod 
 vita populi Eomani per incerta maris et tempestatum cotidie vol- 
 vitur. ac nisi provinciarum copiae et dominis et servitiis et agris 
 subvenerint, nostra nos scilicet nemora nostraeque villae tuebun- 
 tur. banc, patres conscripti, curam sustinet princeps; baec 
 omissa funditus rem publicam trabet. reliquis intra animum 
 medendum est : nos pudor, pauperes necessitas, divites satias in 
 melius mutet. aut si quis ex magistratibus tantam industriam ac 
 severitatem poUicetur, ut ire obviam queat, hunc ego et laido et 
 exonerari laborum meorum partem fateor : sin accusare vitia 
 
 being possessed. For 'promiscas vestes' plaint tliat the raising of com in Italy 
 
 of. ii. 33, " ne vestis serica viros foe- was ceasing, nor is it hard to see the 
 
 daret." reason of this. Large tracts ol' public 
 
 54. Augustus tulif] There was a Lex land had fallen into the hands of the 
 Oppia (iii. 33), and besides, a Lex Orchia more powerful citizens, and wldle the 
 181 A.c, forbidding more than a certain master lived at Rome in extravagance, 
 numberof guests to be present at a feast; the lands were tilled by slaves. Slave 
 aLexFannia, 161 A.c, limiting the amount labour is not thrifty, and consequently 
 of money to be spent. The Lex lulia of large numbers of slaves were rt^quired, 
 Augustus is mentioned in c. 52. These until the owners became alarmed, and 
 laws were disregarded, as sumptuary laws to lessen their apprehension, i.nd ex- 
 always are and will be : legislation is use- pense as well, large tracts were con- 
 less against the advancing luxury of a verted into pasture. Italy thus gradu- 
 society ever growing wealthier and more ally became dependent on foreiga coun- 
 eager to prove its wealth by outward tries for her com supplies, and if any 
 show and ostentation. enemy could gain command of the seas, 
 
 externae opis'] It had long been a com- Rome was in danger of starvation. 
 

 JIT/ 
 
 
 K> 161> rv ^ 
 
 11 
 
 A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. 
 
 volunt, dein^ cum gloriam eius rei adepti sunt, simultates facIuii^T » 
 ac mihi reliuquunt, credite, patres conscripti, me quoque noii csse ^ , 
 offensionum avidum ; quas cum graves et plerumque iniquas pro 
 re publica suscipiam, inanes et inritas neque mihi aut vobis usui 
 futuras iure deprecor/ 
 
 65. Auditis Caesaris litteris remissa aedilibus talis cura; luxus- 
 que mensae, a fine Actiaci belli ad ea arma, quis Servius Galba 
 rerum adeptus est, per annos centum profusis sumptibus exerciti 
 paulatim exolevere. causas eius mutationis quaerere libet. dites 
 olim familiae nobilium aut claritudine insignes studio magnifi- . •-[' 
 centiae prolabebantur. nam etiam turn plebem socios regna '^^"^^ 
 colere et coli licitum ; ut quisque opibus domo paratu speciosus, 
 per nomen et clientelas inlustrior habebatur. postquam caedibus 
 saevitum et magnitude famae exitio erat, ceteri ad sapientiora 
 convertere. simul novi homines e municipiis et coloniis atque 
 etiam provinciis in senatum crebro adsumpti domesticam parsi- 
 moniam intulerunt, et quamquam fortuna vel industria plerique 
 pecuniosam ad senectam pervenirent, mansit tamen prior animus, 
 sed praecipuus adstricti moris auctor Yespasianus fuit, antique ipse 
 
 55. remissa] The aediles were excused spoken of as a plain matter of fact. 
 
 frona this business, it was not required Here * quamquam pervenirent ' does not 
 
 of them, they were allowed to drop the actually state quite so much. It does 
 
 subject. Cf. H. iii. 5, ** remissum id not have in view, as it were, any given 
 
 munus." individuals who reached old age, although 
 
 rerum] Cf. vi. 45, " nihil abnuentem it does not deny the existence of such, 
 
 dum dominatiohis apisceretur," The but it only states it in a hypothetical 
 
 usual construction is with an accusative, sort of way : ' in spite of the arrival ' is 
 
 Cf. i. 13, iii. 24. an abstract proposition rather than an as- 
 
 per nomen] The sense is a little un- sertion about certain individuals clearly 
 
 certain : 'in proportion to the show each before the writer's mind. In the same 
 
 man made, he was thought all the more way, pretty nearly, the several use of 
 
 famous by reason of the repute and * quamquam ' and ' quamvis,' with an in- 
 
 clients he secured by it.' The mam ^cative and subjunctive mood respec- 
 
 who made a show secured celebrity and tively, might be explained. * Quamvis * 
 
 clients by it, and then these still farther seems to put the exception introduced 
 
 heightened his repute. This is one ex- by it hypothetically, without reference 
 
 planation. I do not know whether 'per to a distinctly viewed actual occurrence. 
 
 nomen ' might be ' throughout his gens,' 'Quamquam,' on the other hand, intro- 
 
 as contrasted with the clients. The de- duces an exception viewed- as existing 
 
 finition of a 'gens' is a body of persons in fact, and not merely in the writer's 
 
 of the same name (there were of course thought. I do not mean to say that this 
 
 other requisites), and 'nomen Latinum,' distinction is observed always, for lan- 
 
 &c., are common expressions. guage is not as exact in practice as in 
 
 quamquam . . . 'pervenirent] 'Quam- theory, just as the actual use of 'quam* 
 
 ^ quam ' is followed by a subjunctive in i. with a subjunctive does not always square 
 
 ^ft 3, 4, 24, ii. 1, Germ. 35, 38, &c., and by with its theoretical force of causality, 
 
 ^■the indicative in i. 55, &c. There is, more or less remote. Few English writers 
 
 ^ft theoretically at all events, a distinction are quite exact in their language, and 
 
 B in the meaning in the two cases. In i. probably Latin authors did not invari- 
 
 65, " quod quamquam in aestatem summa ably keep close to orthodox usages any 
 
 .ope parabat," &c., the prep'aration is more than other people. 
 
162 CORNELII TACITI [a.u c. 775. 
 
 cultu victuque. obsequium inde in principem et aemulandi amor 
 validior quam poena ex legibus et metus. nisi fort; rebus 
 cunctis ioest quidam velut orbis, ut quern ad modum teriporum 
 vices^ ita morum vertantur; nee omnia aput priores meliora, 
 sed nostra quoque aetas multa laudis et artium imitanda poste- 
 ris tulit. verum haec nobis in maiores certamina ex honesto 
 maneant. 
 ^ 56i Tiberius fama moderationis parta, quod ingruentis accussa- 
 tores represserat, mittit litteras ad senatum, quis potestatem tri- 
 buniciam Druso petebat. id summi fastigii vocabulum Augustus 
 repperit, ne regis aut dictatoris nomen adsumeret ac tameu appel- 
 latione aliqua cetera imperia praemineret. Marcum deinde' Agrip- 
 pam socium eius potestatis, quo defuncto Tiberium Neronem 
 delegit_, ne successor in incerto foret. sic cobiberi pravas aliorum 
 spes rebatur ; simul modestiae Neronis et suae magnitudini fide- 
 bat, quo tunc exemplo Tiberius Drusum summae rei {idmovit, 
 cum incolumi Germanico integrum inter duos indicium tonuisset. 
 sed principio litterarum veneratus deos^ ut consilia sua rei pub- 
 licae prosperarent, modica de moribus adulescentis neque in 
 falsum aucta rettulit. esse illi coniugem et tres liberos eamque 
 aetatem^ qua ipse quondam a divo Augusto ad capessendum lioc 
 munus vocatus sit. neque nunc propere, sed per octo annos 
 capto experimento, compressis seditionibus^compositisbellis^ triupi-- \ 
 phalem et bis consulem noti laboris participem sumi. _^^,a f^^'^^^'^^'^^ 
 67. Praeceperant animis orationem patres, quo quaesitior adu- 
 
 multcb laudis] For the genitive of. reserved for the plebeians, evon if there 
 
 Hor. Od. iii. 9, " Multi Lydia nominis Ro- had been no objection to niaking the 
 
 mana vigui clarior Ilia ;" and ibid. i. 36, plebs the instrument of gdvemment. 
 
 " Neumulti Damalis meri Bassum Threicia Of course, with the ' potestas oribunicia,' 
 
 vincat amystide." Cf. alsoCic. ad Fam. the Emperor was able to interpose his 
 
 ix. 26, " homo non multi cibi sed multi veto on any measure distasteful to him, 
 
 ioci." and he was invested with a kind of ima- 
 
 venmi haec] The reading of the MS., ginary charm as the champion of the 
 *haec nobis maiores certamina,' seems popular rights, and his person was in- 
 unintelligible. I suggested ' in maiores,' violable. On any one who re sisted him 
 as the preposition might easily slip out in the discharge of his duty he could 
 from the contiguity of the ' m ' in the inflict imprisonment, and even death 
 following word, and found that Lipsius (Liv. Epit. 48. 55. 59), and e;o the Em- 
 had proposed this long since. For the peror became virtually almost despotic, 
 sense of 'in' here, viz. 'with reference by holding this power, 
 'to,' cf. xii. 6, "nova nobis in fratrum eamque aetatem] Tiberius was born 
 filias coniugia;" and iv. 11, "insita in 42 a.c, and obtained the 'potestas tri- 
 extraneos cunctatione." bunioia' 6a.c.; consequently Drusus was 
 
 56. Augustus repperit] Augustus, as in his thirty-sixth year. 
 
 Dr. Merivale observes (Hist, of Romans 57. praeceperant] The senators were 
 
 under the Empire, ch. xxxi.) could hardly not taken by surprise ; they had foreseen 
 
 have been elected tribune of the plebs, as the coming speech, and discussed before- 
 
 he was a patrician, and that office was hand the 'proper steps to tako in conse- 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 163 
 
 latio fuit. nee tamen repertum nisi ut eflBgies principum^ aras 
 deuni_, templa et arcus aliaque solita censerent_, nisi quod M. Silanus 
 ex contumelia consulatus honorem principibus petivit dixitque pro 
 sententia, ut publicis privatisve monimentis ad memoriam tem- 
 porum non consulum nomina praescriberentur, sed eorum qui tri- 
 buniciam potestatem gererent. at Q. Haterius cum eius diei sena- 
 tus consulta aui'eis litteris figenda in curia censuisset, deridiculo 
 fuit senex foedissimae adulationis tantum infamia usurus. 
 
 58. Inter quae provincia Africa lunio Blaeso prorogata, Servius 
 Maluginensis flamen Dialis ut Asiam sorte haberet postulavit,,,jL>4^ 
 frustra^vulgatum dictitans non licere Dialibus egredi Italia, neque * 
 aliut ius suum quam Martialium Quirinaliumque flaminum : porro, 
 
 si hi duxissent provincias, cur Dialibus id vetitum ? nulla de eo 
 populi scita, non in libris caerimoniarum reperiri. saepe ponti- 
 fices Dialia sacra fecisse, si flamen valitudine aut munere publico 
 fmpediretur. duobus et septuaginta annis post Cornelii Merulae 
 caedem neminem suffectum, neque tamen cessavisse religiones. 
 quod si per tot annos possit non creari nullo sacrorum damno, 
 quanto facilius afuturum ad unius anni proconsulare imperium? 
 privatis olim simultatibus effectum, ut a pontificibus maximis 
 ire in provincias probiberentur : nunc deum munere summum 
 pontificum etiam summum bominum esse, non aemulatione, non 
 odio aut privatis adfectionibus obnoxium. 
 
 59. Ad versus quae cum augur Lentulus aliique varie dissere- 
 
 qnenoe. The speech was read in the The flamenship remained vacant until 
 
 Senate by one of the quaestors. Cf. xvi. Servius Maluginensis (Dio liv. 36) was 
 
 27, " oratio principis per quaestorem eius consecrated 11 a.c, and during the in- 
 
 audita est." terval the duties were discharged by the 
 
 infamia tisurus] The old man made Pontifex Maximus. Tacitus makes this 
 
 himself ridiculous by his proposal, be- interval only 72 years, and consequently 
 
 cause his advanced age precluded the some of the editors read * quinque ' (v) 
 
 chance of his reaping any reward for his instead of ' duobus ' (ii), but I have left 
 
 flattery. He was too old to reap any the text as it is, supposing there may be 
 
 crop of honours to set off against the some unknown explanation of the calcu- 
 
 infamy of his flattery. lation. 
 
 58. Asiam sorte haberet'] See note on aemulatione] In xv. 38 there is * ob- 
 
 iii. 32, on * Asiae sorte.' noxia urbe artis itineribus,' where ' ob- 
 
 diixissent provincias] Sc. 'sorte,' 'had noxia' is used absolutely, 'liable to 
 
 drawn the provinces ' by lot. This seems damage or fire.' Perhaps the reading 
 
 a better explanation than that which may be right here : ' not under undue in- 
 
 makes the sense to be ' had ruled pro- fluence, arising from a spirit of rivalry 
 
 vinces,' although Tacitus used the word or hatred or individual partialities.' Of 
 
 elsewhere in much this meaning. Cf. course, usually the dative follows ' ob- 
 
 Agric. 6, "ludoa et inania honoris duxit." noxius.' Cf. ii. 75, xvi. 6. 
 
 Cornelii M&rulae] Merula -^as chosen 59. aiigurLentulua] This is the Cn. Cor- 
 
 consul suffectus after CLnna'e pxpulsion, nelius Lentulus who was consul in the 
 
 and on the restoration of the Marian year 14 A.c. He was remarkable for his 
 
 party killed himself 87 a.c. (Yellei ii, 22). wealth, avarice, and general feebleness of 
 
 ' jtf 2 
 
]64(-^-^'^ COBNELII TACITI [a.vm. 775. 
 
 Y^jf'^Tentf eo d ectirg um est ut pontificis maximi sententiam cpperi- 
 
 \})^ rentur. Tiberius dilata notione de iure flamiiiis_, decretas )b tri- 
 
 ^ buniciam Drusi potestatem caerimonias temperavit, noniinatim 
 
 arguens insolentiam sententiae aureasque litteras contra j >atriug/ 
 
 morem. recitatae et Drusi epistulae quamquam ad moclestiam 
 
 flexae pro superbissimis accipiuntur, hue decidisse cuncta^ ut 
 
 ne iuvenis quidem tanto honor e accepto adiret urbis deos^ in- 
 
 grederetur senatum, auspicia saltern gentile aput solum incnperet. 
 
 y bellum scilicet aut diverso terrarum distineri^ litora et lacus 
 
 i(y/^ Campaniae cum maxime peragrantem. sic imbui rectorem gene- 
 
 '" ris bumani^ id primum e paternis consiliis discere. sane gravare- 
 
 tur aspectum civium senex imperator fessamque aetatem et actos 
 
 labores praetenderet : Druso quod nisi ex adrogantia impedi- 
 
 mentum ? 
 
 60. Sed Tiberius, vim principatus sibi firmans_, imaginem anti- 
 quitatis senatui praebebat, postulata provinciarum ad disquisi- 
 tionem patrum mittendo. crebrescebat enim Graecas pei' urbes 
 licentia atque inpunitas asyla statuendi; conplebantur templa 
 pessimis servitiorum ; eodem subsidio obaerati adversiim creditores 
 suspectique capitalium criminum receptabantur. nee uUum satis 
 validum imperium erat coercendis seditionibus populi, flagitia 
 hominum ut caerimonias deum protegentis. igitur placitum ut 
 mitterent civitates iura atque legates, et quaedam quod falso 
 usurpaverant sponte omisere^ multae vetustis superstitionibus aut 
 meritis in populum Romanum fidebant. magnaque eins diei 
 species fuit, quo senatus maiorum beneficia, sociorum pacta_, regum 
 etiam qui ante vim Romanum valuerant decreta ipsorumque 
 
 mind, and was very "slow of utterance graret.* Cf. iv. 27, "Coeptantem cum 
 
 (Senec. de Benef . ii. 27) . Suetonius says maxime conjurationem disiecit.' Also H. 
 
 Tiberius drove him to commit suicide, i. 29. For a very similar ellipse m Greek, 
 
 that he might enjoy his enormous wealth cf. Thucyd. vi. 57, airipicKiin us irpos- 
 
 (quater millies sestertiimi, or more than ireo-tJvres koX As h.v fidXiara 5t' op-^rjs (Trpoa- 
 
 three millions sterling). ireaoiev). 
 
 Twtione] Cf.vi. 12, "igitur time quoque 60. postulata provinciarum] It was 
 
 notioni quindecemvirum is liber subici- the old privilege of the Senators to take 
 
 tur." Also Cic. ad Attic, xi. 20, " quod cognizance of representations from the 
 
 ipsum est suspectum notionem eius dif- provinces (xiii. 4), and to give audience 
 
 ferri." So Tacitus uses * noscere ' for to embassies from them. Polyldus men- 
 
 *cognoscere' (xii. 60). 'Notio' is used tions this vi. 13, rcoy irapaycyoucvwv ets 
 
 especially of the scrutiny of the censors. "Piafi-nv irpeafieioiv us S4ov iarlv cKda-rois 
 
 Cf. Cic. pro Sest. 25, " censoria notio est XP^*^^"* 'f«* ^^ 5eov airoKpiBrivcu, irdvra 
 
 gravissimum iudicium." ravra x^^pK^'^ai Siit. r^s <TvyK\-f}rov. 
 
 hellumi scilicet] 'Esse' is to be sup- iura] 'The grounds for the right 
 
 plied, ' surely there must be war some- claimed ;* they were to send all docu- 
 
 where.' ' Cum maxime,' is an elliptical ments, records, &c., on which tliey made 
 
 expression, and the full expression would their claims rest. 
 be: 'peragrantem cum maxime pera- 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 165 
 
 numlnum religiones introspexit^ libero, ut quondam^ quid firmaret 
 mutaretve. 
 
 ^'61. Primi omnium Ephesii adiere, memorantes non, ut vulgus 
 crederet, Dianam atque Apollinem Delo genitos : esse aput se 
 Cenclireum amnem^ lucum Ortygiam_, ubi Latonam partu gravidam 
 et oleae, quae turn etiam maneat, adnisam edidisse ea numina, 
 deorumque monitu sacratum nemus. atque ipsum illic Apolli- 
 nem post interfectos Cyclopas lovis iram vitavisse. mox Liberum 
 patrem, bello victorem, supplicibus Amazonum, quae aram inside- 
 rantj ignovisse. auctam hinc concessu Herculis, cum Lydia 
 poteretur, caerimoniam templo, neque Persarum dicione .demi- 
 nutum ius ; post Macedonas, dein nos servavisse. 
 
 62. Proximi hos Magnetos L. Scipionis et L. Sullae constitutis 
 nitebantur, quorum ille Antiocbo, bic Mitbridate pulsis fidem 
 atque virtutem Magnetum decoravere, uti Dianae Leucopbryenae 
 perfugium inviolabile foret. Apbrodisienses postbac et Stratoni^ 
 
 61. Dianarn] The Amazons are said milar altogetlier at first sight, but really 
 
 to have dedicated a statue of Artemis explicable in a different way. For in- 
 
 on the shore at Ephesus (Callim. in Dian. stance i. 60, " equitem finibus Frisiorum 
 
 238). This Asiatic Artemis was dressed ducit;" H. iii. 82, "porta CoUina inru* 
 
 in an Amazonian costume, with many perant;" xiii. 54, " iuventutem saltibua 
 
 bi'easts, and is apparently not much con- aut paludibus inbellem aetatem per lacus 
 
 nected with the Hellenic Artemis. admovere ripae." These all seem to be 
 
 Delo'] ' In Delos.' Cf. iv. 21, " Saxo instances of the ablative of instrumen- 
 
 Seripho ;" xiv. 20, " theatro ;" xvi. 5, " se- tality, not so direct as in the sentence 
 
 dilibusj" H. v. 5, "templo;" 0. 13, "tu- 'hostem gladio interfecit,' but still very 
 
 mulo." Sometimes two words are joined distinctly instrumental ablatives. The 
 
 co-ordinately in this construction, iv. 74, cavalry was marched forward, and it was 
 
 " campo aut litore ;" xiv. 61, " foro ac the district of the Frisii which furnished 
 
 templis." Sometimes two in dependence, the route for the march (i, 60), and so 
 
 xiv. 10, "tumulomatris;" xv. 37, "crepi- in the other sentences. In iv. 5, "novem 
 
 dinibus stagni j" 0. 37, " antiquariorum praetoriae cohortes Etruria ferme Um- 
 
 bibliothecis ;" or a single word with a re- briaque delectae," the ablative may be 
 
 lative clause added, xii. 36, " campo qui either due to this principle, or simply 
 
 castra praeiacet;" H. iv. 84, "loco cui governed by the preposition in * delectae/ 
 
 nomen Phacotis." I have before pointed 'chosen /row Etruria.* 
 
 out that Tacitus is somewhat of a philoso- 62. Leucophryenae'] So called from 
 
 phical grammarian, extending a principle AfvK6<ppvs, near the Maeander. Strabo 
 
 over instances not hitherto generally em- (xiv. 1. 40) speaks of this Magnesian 
 
 braced by it. So here I believe the ex- temple as far superior to that of Ephesus 
 
 planation of these ablatives to be that in the skill and" decoration lavished on 
 
 they are extensions of the usual ablative the ariK6s, although inferior to it in point 
 
 of locality. This ablative is usually con. of ske. 
 
 fined to names of towns, islands, &o., but Aphrodisienaes, Sao.'] Aphrodisias was 
 
 Tacitus, I imagine, saw no reason why in Caria, now Greira or Dsoheyra. Stra- 
 
 the same principle should not just as toniceia was a town of Caria (said now 
 
 well be made to embrace all localities, to be Eskihissar). There are inscrip- 
 
 whether of proper names or not. As tions still extant which speak of the 
 
 * Athenis ' meant 'at or in Athene,' so worship of Jupiter and Hecate in the last 
 
 * foro ' could as well mean * at or in the city. Corp. Insor. Gr. n. 2715 [A<bs toD 
 forum.' These ablatives are to be distin- 11] avtitu (piov koI) 'EkcIttjs, and 2770 rod 
 guished, I think, from- others, not diaai- IIo \_uafieplov Atbs »coi] t^s 'Ekottjs. There 
 
166 CORNELII TACITI [a.t}.:. 775. 
 
 censes dictatoris Caesaris ob vetusta in partis merita et recens 
 divi Augusti decretum adtulere, laudati quod Parthorum inrup- 
 tionem nihil mutata in populum Romanum constantia pertiiLissent. 
 sed Aphrodisiensium civitas Veneris, Stratonicensium lovis et 
 Triviae religionem tuebantur. altius Hierocaesarienses ex])osuerej 
 Persicam aput se Dianam, delubrum rege Cyro dicatum ; et memo- 
 rabantur Perpennae, Isaurici multaque alia imperatorum iiomina, 
 qui non modo templo sed duobus milibus passuum eandem sancti- 
 tatem tribuerant. exim Cyprii tribus delubris_, quorum \etustis- 
 fiimum Papbiae Veneri auctor Aerias_, post filius eius Amatbus 
 Veneri Amatbusiae et lovi Salaminio Teucer, Telamonis patris 
 ira profugus, posuissent. 
 
 63. Auditae aUarum quoque civitatium legationes. quorum 
 copia fessi patres, et quia studiis certabatur, consulibus permisere, 
 ut perspecto iure, et si qua iniquitas involveretur, rem iiitegram 
 rursum ad senatum referrent. consules super eas civitates, quas 
 memoravi,, aput Pergamum Aesculapii conpertum asylum rettule- 
 runt : ceteros obscuris ob vetustatem initiis niti. nam Zniyrnaeos 
 oraculum Apollinis, cuius imperio Stratonicidi Veneri tempi um 
 dicaverintj Tenios eiusdem carmen referre, quo sacrare Neptuni 
 effigiem aedemque iussi sint. propiora Sardianos : Alexandri 
 victoris id donum. neque minus Milesios Dareo rege niti; set 
 
 was also a temple to Jupiter under a dif- P. Servilius was consul in tie year 48 
 
 ferent name, cf. Strabo, xiv. 2, 25, iyyvsde a.c, and proconsul of Asia 4*5 a.c. (Cic. 
 
 T'^s irSKfws rh rov Xpvffaopfws Aih? Koiuhv ad Fam. xiii. 68.) Hierocaesarea was a 
 
 irdvTcov Kapcev. There is also an inscrip- town of Lydia. 
 
 tion (n. 2715), in which reference is made tHius deluhris] The case C'ependa on 
 
 apparently to * divi Augusti decretum:' some phrase 'ius asyli postxda verunt,' or 
 
 <K •jToAAtDv Kol fi^y6.Ko}v Koi avvcx^v kiv- the like, easily supplied from the con- 
 
 hvvwv fTfa-coffdai <£v Kal ra hpa &(rvKa Kal text. Below, for * patris ira profugus,' 
 
 iK€Tai Kal tepaavyK\-f]TosS6ynaTi^€\^$aa- cf. Hor. Carm. i. 7.21, "Teucer Sala- 
 
 rov Kalaapos /cai] ttjs twv Kvpiuv "Pufiaiiav mina patremque quum fugeret," &c. 
 
 alwpiov apxvs iiroiiiffavro Trpo<pave7s ivap- 63. studiis certahatur] This seems to 
 
 76tos. There is also extant the decree mean that there were parties amongst 
 
 of the Senate confirming the privileges the senators favourable or hostile to the 
 
 granted by Caesar, the Dictator, to the claims of the various states ; ;ind so with 
 
 people of Aphrodisias. (Corp. Inscript. all the intrigues and diverse interests 
 
 Graec. n. 2737, found at Aphrodisias, at it was impossible to arrive at any satis- 
 
 the beginning of the last century.) factory settlement. The matter was 
 
 quod Parthorum inrupUonem] They therefore referred to the Sene te. 
 
 had resisted with great pertinacity and Stratonicidi Venen] Cf. Corp. Inscrip. 
 
 final success a siege of their town by Graec. n. 3137, « fia(n\€vs .2(\fvK6s . . . 
 
 Labienus, the Parthian leader, who sub- a^iw<Tas a-rroSf^aa-Bai to tc Uphu ttjs liTpa- 
 
 dued Cilicia and the continental cities roviKidos 'A^poStTTjj &(Tv\oy f'lvai Kal rr-v 
 
 of Asia, except Stratoniceia, in the year ir6\iv iifiiav Upav koX 6.<rv\ov. Eis mother's 
 
 40 A.c. (Dio. xlviii. 26). name was 'S.TpaTovlKi), and perhaps this 
 
 Perpennae, IsavHci^ Marcus Perpenna may have suggested the erection of a 
 
 was consul 130 a.c, and defeated Aris- temple to Aphrodite under this parti- 
 
 tonicus at Stratoniceia (Eutrop. iv. 20). cular designation. 
 
 i 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 167 
 
 cultus numinum utrisque Dianam aut Apollinem venerandi^ 
 petere et Cretenses simulacro divi Augusti. factaque senatus 
 consulta, quis multo cum honore modus tamen praescribebatur, 
 iussique ipsis in templis figere aera sacrandam ad memoriam, neu 
 specie religionis in ambitionem delaberentur. 
 
 64. Sub idem tempus luliae Augustae valitudo atrox neces- P' 
 situdinem principi fecit festinati in urbem reditus, sincera adhuc 
 inter matrem filiumque concordia sive occultis odiis. neque enim 
 multo ante, cum liaud procul theatro Marcelli effigiem divo 
 Augusto lulia dicaret, Tiberi nomen suo postscripserat, idque ille 
 credebatur ut inferius maiestate principis gravi et dissimulata 
 offensione abdidisse, set tum supplicia dis ludique magni ab 
 senatu decernuntur, quos pontifices et augures et quindecimviri 
 septemviris simul et sodalibus Augustalibus ederent. censuerat 
 L. Apronius ut fetialis quoque iis ludis praesiderent. contra dixit 
 Caesar, distincto sacerdotiorum iure et repetitis exemplis : neque 
 enim umquam fetialibus lioc maiestatis fuisse. ideo Augustales 
 adiectos, quia proprium eius domus sacerdotium esset, pro qua 
 vota persolverentur. 
 
 65. Exequi sententias liaud institui nisi insignes per honestum 
 aut notabili dedecore, quod praecipuum munus annalium reor, ne 
 virtutes sileantur, utque pravis dictis factisque ex posteritate et 
 
 cultus'] ' But tlie worsliip of the ginal number two, to ten, and from ten 
 
 deities in each case was (connected to fifteen. Their main duty was to con- 
 
 with the religious worship) of Diana or suit the Sibylline books (Liv. vii. 27), to 
 
 Apollo.' Cf. for the gerund ii. 47, celebrate the games of Apollo (Liv. x. 8) , 
 
 "neque solitum in tali casu effigium and the secidar games (Tacit. Ann. xi. 
 
 subveniebat in aperta prorumpendi." 11). The ' Septemviri,' or ' Epulones,' 
 
 The double genitive, of course, presents were originally three in number, ap- 
 
 no difficulty. . pointed to manage for the pontifices the 
 
 neu] This depends on some word like ' epulum lovis ' and the other banquets 
 
 * naoniti ' repeated from * iussi.' given in honour of the gods (Cic. de 
 
 64. theatro Marcelli] This theatre Orat. iii. 19), "pontifices tres viros epu- 
 
 was in the lowest part of the Campus lones esse voluerunt cum essent ipsi a 
 
 Martins, between the Capitoline and the Numa ut etiam illud ludorum epulare 
 
 Tiber, not very far distant from the Porta sacrificium facerent instituti." Their 
 
 Carmentalis and the Forum Olitorium. number was increased to seven. The four 
 
 The erection of the statue is mentioned bodies here mentioned, * pontifices, au- 
 
 in the Fasti Praenestini, under ix. Kal. gures, quindecimviri, septemviri,' formed 
 
 Mai. the four great religious corporations at 
 
 suppUcm] In the sense of supplica- 'Rome (Dioliii. 1), ras rfo-aapas hpaxrvuas, 
 
 tiones. Cf. Sallust, Catil. 9, " in suppli- and Suet. Aug. 100, ' SEbcerdotes sum- 
 
 cLis deonmi magnifici ;" Jug. 55, "dis morum collegiorum.' For the case of 
 
 immortalibus supplicia decemere." Cf. septemviris, cf. the note on iii. 66, 
 
 also Liv. xxii. 57, " precibus suppliciis under ' simul.' 
 decs possent placare." 65. exequi] Cf. iv. 4, " quod mihi 
 
 qvdndedmviri] These were the same quoque exequendum reor quae tunc Ro- 
 
 as the 'decemviri sacrisfaciundis.' Their mana copia in armis." Also xii. 68, 
 
 number had been increased from the ori- " vetera facunde exocutus." 
 
168 " CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 775; 
 
 infamia metus sit. ceterum tempora ilia adeo infecta et adulitione 
 sordida fuere, ut non modo primores civitatis, quibus clnrituda 
 sua obsequiis protegenda erat^ sed omnes consulares, magnfi, pars 
 eorum qui praetura functi multique etiam pedarii senatores certa- 
 tim exsurgerent foedaque et nimia censerent. memoriae proditur 
 Tiberium, quotiens curia egrederetur, Graecis verbis in bunc 
 modum eloqui solitum ^ o bomines ad servitutem paratos ! ' scilicet 
 etiam ilium, qui libertatem publicam nollet, tam proiectae scTvien- 
 tium patientiae taedebat. 
 
 66. Paulatim debinc ab indecoris ad infesta transgrediebantur. 
 C. Silanum pro consule Asiae, repetundarum a sociis postulatum, 
 Mamercus Scaurus e consularibus, lunius Otbo praetor, Bruttedius 
 Niger aedilis simul corripiunt obiectantque violatum Augusti 
 numen, spretam Tiberii maiestatem, Mamercus antiqua exempla 
 iaciens, L. Cottam a Scipione Africano, Servium Galbam a Catone 
 censorio, P. Rutilium a M. Scauro accusatos. videlicet Scipio et 
 
 jpedarii senatores] Who these were pleader, but a profligate liver (vi. 29) and 
 seems to me difficoilt to ascertain, as the was accused twice of maiestas (vi. 9 
 opinions not only of modem scholars, but and 29), and finally committed suicide, 
 even of the Romaiis themselves in later in company with his wife Sextia. lunius 
 times differed. In Aulus Gellius iii. 18, Otho was probably the father of the 
 GaiusBassus defines them to be those who lunius Otho, * tribunus plebis,' in vi. 47. 
 had not enjoyed a curule office, and gives L, Cotta was consul in the yoar 144 
 as a reason that they went to the curia a.c, and accused by Scipio Africanus of 
 on foot (pedibus itare), whereas curule repetundae (Cic. pro Mur. 28). Servius 
 magistrates drove thither. The latter Sulpicius Galba was^ consul 144 a.c. with 
 assertion I do not believe. Cicero (Epist. L. Cotta. He was a great orator ('tem- 
 ad Att. i. 26. 5),, says, **raptim in earn porum suonmi eloquentissimus ' Suet. 
 sententiam pedarii cucurrerunt ;" and Galba 3)% He was accused of having 
 ' pedibus ire ' is a usual phrase, in the put 30,000 of the Lusitani, when pro- 
 account of the proceedings of the Senate praetor of Hispania, to death. I'. Ruti- 
 (xiv. 49). I think the words of Tacitus lius Rufus, while legatus to Q. Mucins 
 here favour the definition of Bass as, Scaevola in Asia (94 a.c), incuned the 
 which distinguishes the * pedarii sena- hostility of the Publioani, who were then 
 tores ' from the ' consulares,' and * prae- not only the farmers of the revenue, but 
 tura functi.* Probably these 'pedarii' in their capacity of 'eqmtes,' oi'ten nts) 
 were not asked to state their opinion, doubt ' indices ' in criminal trials. On his 
 but merely voted silently by joining the return he was accused and convicted 
 party whose views they wished to sup- of repetundae, and sent into banishment 
 port. Cicero ad Attic, i. 19. 7 seems to (Liv. Epit. 70). He had been con- 
 make a distinction, not unfavourable to sul in A.c. 105. M. Aemilius Scaurus 
 this view, when he says, " Senatus con- was consul in the year 115 a.c, and 
 sultum summa pedariorum voluntate, censor in 109 a.c. Sallust describes 
 nullius nostrum auctoritate factum." him (lug. 15) as " impiger, factiosus, 
 66. C. Silanum] C. lunius Silanus, avidus potentiae, honoris, divitiarum, 
 flamen martialis, was consul in the year ceterum vitia sua callide occultans." 
 10 A.D. He was banished with his sister simul] For the prepositional use of 
 Torquata (iii. 69). Mamercus Scaurus 'simul,' cf. iv, 55, "Laodicenis ac Ma- 
 is supposed to have been consul suffec- gnetibus simul ac SabinoCalvisio."' It is 
 tus in the year a.d. 21, from an inscrip- found elsewhere only in the poets as far 
 tion (Lat. Inscrip. n. 7419) in conjunction as I know, 
 with Cn. TremelUus. He was an eloquent 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 169 
 
 Cato talia ulciscebantur, aut ille Scaurus, quern proavum suum^ 
 obprobrium maiorum Mamercus infami opera debonestabat. lunio 
 Othoni litterarium ludum exercere vetus ars fait : mox Seiani 
 potentia senator obscura initia impudentibus ausis propoUuebat. 
 Bruttedium artibus bonestis copiosum et, si rectum iter pergeret, 
 ad clarissima quaeque iturum festinatio exstimulabat, dum aequalis, 
 dein superiores^ postremo suasmet ipse spes anteire parat : quod 
 multos etiam bonos pessum dedit, qui spretis quae tarda cum 
 securitate, praematura vel cum exitio properant. 
 
 67. Auxere numerum accussatorum Gellius Publicola et M. 
 Paconius, ille quaestor Silani^ bic legatus. nee dubium babebatur 
 saevitiae captarumque pecuniarum teneri reum : sed multa adgere- 
 bantur etiam insontibus periculosa^ cum super tot senatores ad- 
 versos facundissimis totius Asiae eoque ad accussandum delectis 
 responderet solus et orandi nescius^ proprio in metu, qui exercitam 
 quoque eloquentiam debilitat, non temperante Tiberio quin pre- 
 meret voce vultu, eo quod ipse creberrime interrogabat, neque 
 refellere aut eludere dabatur, ac saepe etiam confitendum erat, ne 
 frustra quaesivisset. Servos quoque Silani, ut tormentis interro- 
 gentur, actor publicus mancipio acceperat. et ne quis necessa- 
 riorum iuvaret periclitantem^ maiestatis crimina subdebantur, 
 vinclum et necessitas silendi. igitur petito paucorum dierum 
 interiectu defensionem sui deseruit^ ausis ad Caesarem codicillis, 
 quibus invidiam et preces miscuerat. 
 
 propollv^haf] * Disgraced even his the MS., and I don't see that it need 
 obscure origin by shameless acts of be altered into * interrogarentur.' The 
 effrontery.' His conduct was bad enough historical writers are not always parti- 
 te bring shame even on one who had no eular about the sequence of tenses, be- 
 pride of birth to maintain. Something cause it is usually possible to use a 
 similar is the use of * provixisse ' in vi. present tense in a narrative of past 
 25, " spe sustentatam provixisse reor," events for the sake of the picturesque- 
 * lived on and on, beyond the term one ness, and the remainder of the sentence 
 might have expected.' So ' propolluere ' can always be modelled to suit either the 
 might be, I suppose, to go great lengths actual present used, or the past tense, to 
 in polluting. He was forced to go great which it is equivalent in force. Cf. Liv. i. 
 lengths, because no ordinary amount of 42, " ne . . . talis adversus se Tarquinii 
 villainy would have disgraced one who liberum esset, duas filias iuvenibus regiis 
 started in lifp sp low down in the social rungit.' This fact is sufficient to explain 
 scale. a present tense in the dependent clause, 
 
 67. proprio in metu\ * Jn fear which as here, although the main verb is in 
 
 touched him personally.' the past tense. 
 
 ne frustra quaesivissef] ' Lest Tiberius actor publicus'] Cf. ii. 30. 
 should appear to have put his questions ausis] For the passive force, cf. Liv. 
 to no purpose.' The Emperor showed xxxix. 8, " pleraque per vim audebantur." 
 his bias by his questions, and Silanus Virgil uses 'ausus' actively and pas- 
 was afraid to assert his innocence, lest sively in the same line (vi. 624) " Ausi 
 he should appear to thwart the manifest omnes inmane nefas, ausoque potiti." 
 purpose of the questioner. inviMam] 'Invidia'is used for *re- 
 
 interrogenjtur'] This is the reading of proach/ an attempt to make any one 
 
170 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 775. 
 
 68. Tiberius quae in Silanum parabat^ quo excusatius sub ex- 
 emplo acciperentur, libellos divi August! de Voleso Messala tdus- 
 dem Asiae pro consule factum que in eum senatus consul turn 
 recitari iubet. turn L. Pisonem sententiam rogat. ille multum 
 de dementia principis praefatus aqua atque igni Silano inteTdi- 
 cendum censuit ipsumque in insulam Gyarum relegandum. eadem 
 ceteris nisi quod Cn. Lentulus separanda Silani materna bona, 
 quippe t alia parente geniti, reddendaque filio dixit_, adnnente 
 Tiberio. 
 
 ^'^^9. At Cornelius Dolabella dum adulationem longius sequitur, 
 increpitis C. Silani moribus addidit, ne quis vita probrosus et 
 opertus infamia provinciam sortiretur, idque princeps diiudicaret. 
 nam a legibus delicta puniri : quanto fore mitius in ipsos, melius 
 in socioSj provideri ne peccaretur? adversum quae dissoruit 
 Caesar : non quidem sibi ignara quae de Silano vulgabantur, 
 sed non ex rumore statuendum. multos in provinciis contra 
 quam spes aut metus de illis fuerit egisse : excitari quosdam ad 
 meliora magnitudine rerum, bebescere alios, neque posse prin- 
 cipem sua scientia cuncta complecti, neque expedire ut ambi- 
 tione aliena trabatur. ideo leges in facta constitui, quia futura 
 in incerto sint. sic a maioribus institutum, ut, si antissent de- 
 licta, poenae sequerentur. ne verterent sapienter reperta et 
 semper placita : satis onerum principibus, satis etiam potentiae. 
 minui iura, quotiens gliscat potestas, nee utendum imperio, ubi 
 legibus agi possit. quanto rarior aput Tiberium popular itas, 
 
 odious. Cf. iv. 53, " invidiam et preces 69. Cornelius Dolahella] He was con» 
 
 orditur; " xvi. 10, " immobilem se pre- sul a.d. 10. Cf. Lat. Inscrip. 2365, "P. 
 
 cibuset invidiaejuxta ostendit." Cf. also Comelio Dolabellae cos. vii viro epaloni 
 
 XV. 19, xi. 34, Sodali Titiensi leg. pro pr. divi Au^usti 
 
 68. Voleso Messala] He was consul 5 et Ti. Caesaris Augusti civitates Hupe- 
 
 A.D. Below, for * Gyarum,' cf. Juv. i. 73, rioris provinciae Hlyrici." He was pro- 
 
 " aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere consul of Africa a.d. 24 (iv. 23). 
 
 dignum." It was one of the Cyclades, alegihus] The propositionis, of course, 
 
 and a common place of banishment from unusual. Perhaps the laws are personi- 
 
 Bx)me. fied and regarded as agents, not mere 
 
 quippe alia pa/rente geniW] These instruments. Nipperdey quotes Sonec. 
 
 words seem unintelligible as they stand, Contr. xxiv. 1, " ferrum a lege mihi tra- 
 
 but I have left them in the text, because ditum." 
 
 there may be some explanation of them minui iura"] ' Individual rights ans en- 
 unknown to us. Walther takes 'alia' croached on whenever the power of one 
 in the sense of ' dissimili ' (cf. i. 43, becomes overgrown.' Or, perhaps, ' the 
 "quorum alia nunc ora, alia pectora con- rules of law are weakened, whenever,' 
 tueor"); but this is hardly likely, where &c. There does not seem any distinction 
 the meaning would be so ambiguous, here between * potestas' and* imperium,' 
 Perhaps Silanus, as some imagine, had a as there is generally when the words are 
 stepmother after the death or divorce- used in juxtaposition ; Tacitus is mcsrely 
 ment of his own true mother. varying his language as much as he can. 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 171 
 
 tanto laetioribus animls accepta. atque ille prudens moderandi, 
 si propria ira non impelleretur, addidit insulam Gyarum immitem 
 et sine cultu hominum esse : darent luniae familiae et viro 
 quondam ordinis eiusdem^ ut Cytlinum potius concederet. id 
 sororem quoque Silani Torquatam, priscae sanctimoniae virginem, 
 expetere. in hanc sententiam facta discessio. 
 
 70. Post auditi Cyrenenses^ et accusante Anchario Prisco 
 Caesius Cordus repetundarum damnatur. L. Ennium equitem 
 Romanum, maiestatis postulatum quod effigiem principis promis- 
 cum ad usum argenti vertisset^ recipi Caesar inter reos vetuif^ 
 palani aspernante Ateio Capitone quasi per libertatem. nonenim 
 debere eripi patribus vim statuendi neque tantum maleficium im- 
 pune Habendum, sane lentus in suo dolore esset : rei publicao 
 iniurlas ne largiretur. intellexit baec Tiberius, ut erant magis 
 quam ut dicebantur_, perstititque intercedere. Capito insignitior 
 infamia fuit, quod bumani divinique iuris sciens egregium publicum 
 et bonas domi artes delionestavisset. • 
 
 71 . Incessit dein religio, quonam in templo locandumforet donum, 
 quod pro valetudine Augustae equites Romani voverant equestri 
 Fortunae : nam etsi delubra eius deae multa in urbe, nullum tamen 
 tali cognomento erat. repertum est aedem esse aput Antium quae 
 sic nuncuparetur, cunctasque caerimonias Italicis in oppidis templa- 
 que et numinum effigies iuris atqiie imperii Romani esse, ita donum 
 aput Antium statuitur. et quoniam de religionibus tractabatur, 
 dilatum nuper responsum adversus Servium Maluginensem flami- 
 nem Dialem prompsit Caesar recitavitque decretum pontificum, 
 
 prudens] Cf. H. ii. 25, " doli pru- "verba centurio saevitiae plena tanquam 
 
 dens;" and Agric. 19, "animorum pro- egregium adiecerat." The sense here is 
 
 vinciae prudens." 'public excellence' as opposed to pri- 
 
 ordinis eiusdem'] * Belonging to the vate worth : Capito has been a good and 
 same body as themselves.' ' Ordo ' is distinguished citizen, as well as privately 
 used of the Senatorial body especially in respectable. Similarly xiv. 38, "bonum 
 provincial towns. Cf. xiii. 48, "quo ordo, publicum." Cf. Liv. ii. 1, "pessimo pub- 
 plebs miserat." The Torquata mentioned lico id facturus fuerit;" and in iv. 44, 
 below was a Vestal virgin. Orelli quotes "malum publicum" is used, 
 an inscription (Gruter, p. 25. 10), " lu- 71. equestri Fortunae] Livy says (xl. 
 niae C. Silani f. Torquatae sacerdoti Ves- 40, xlii. 3) that Q. Fulvius, when pro- 
 tali annis Ixiii. ;" and p. 310. 3, where consul in Spain, vowed a temple to For- 
 she is ' vir. Vest, maximae.' tuna Equestris, and dedicated it 173 
 
 70. rei puhlicae] This genitive depends A.c. This, in the time of Tiberius, must 
 on ' iniurias ;' ' the wrongs done to the have gone to ruin, for Tacitus says it was 
 state.' He was not to make a present only at Antium that a temple of the 
 of to the doers ; they were not to be kind was then existing. I do not, how- 
 allowed to get off scot free, after wrong- ever, see that it follows that he did not 
 ing the state. even know of the existence of such a 
 
 egregium puhUcuin] * Egregium ' is temple at Eome at some former period. 
 here used as a substantive. Cf. vi. 24, 
 
 \ 
 
172 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 775: 
 
 quotiens valitudo adversa flaminem Dialem incessisset ut ponti&cis 
 maximi arbitrio plus quam binoctium abesset_, dum ne diebus pu- 
 blic! sacrificii neu saepius quam bis eundem in annum ; quae prin- 
 cipe Augusto constituta satis ostendebant annuam absentiam et 
 provinciarum administrationem Dialibus non concedi. memora- 
 baturque L. Metelli pontificis maximi exemplum^ qui Aulum 
 Postumium flaminem attinuisset. ita sors Asiae in eum qui con-- 
 sularium Maluginensi proximus erat conlata. 
 
 72. Isdem diebus Lepidus ab senatu petivit ut basilicam Pauli, 
 Aemilia monimenta, propria pecunia firmaret ornaretque. orat 
 etiam tum in more publica munificentia ; nee Augustus arcuerat 
 Taurum^ Pbilippum, Balbum bostiles exsuvias aut exundantis 
 opes ornatum ad urbis et posterum gloriam conferre. quo tum 
 exemplo Lepidus, quamquam pecuniae modicus, avitum decus 
 recoluit. at Pompei tbeatrum igne fortuito haustum Caesar ex- 
 tructurum pollicitus est, eo quod nemo e familia restaurando 
 
 incessissef] There seems no necessity before, when he was not allowed to be 
 
 to alter the text, as most of the editors away under any circumstances more than 
 
 do. The flamen dialis, if ill, and there- one night. 
 
 fore desirous of remaining away more 72. basilicam PauW] This basilica waa 
 than the two nights he was permitted built (Liv. xl. 51) 179 a.c. by M. Aemi- 
 to be absent, must obtain special leave lius Lepidus and M. Fulvius Nobilior, 
 from the Pontifex Maximus. Under the the censors behind the novae argenta- 
 ordinary circumstances, the flamen must riae, on the north-east side of the foriim. 
 return after two nights' absence ; and Paulus Aemilius seems to have rebuilt, it 
 this power of absenting himself was in Cicero's time (Cic. ad Attic, iv. 16). 
 limited to twice in the year, and to times For the plural ' monimenta,' cf. iii. 23, 
 when no public sacrifices had to be iv. 7. The Lepidus here mentioned is 
 offered. Walther objects that a flamen probably the Marcus Aemilius Lepidus 
 could not be prevented from being ill spoken of in ii. 48, iii. 32, vi. 40. ICis 
 more than twice a year, which is true, parentage will be seen from the follow- 
 but after all he would be better off than ing table : — 
 
 M. Aemilius Lepidus (consul 78 a.c.) 
 L. Aemilius Paulus (consul 50 a.c.) 
 L. Aemilius Paulus (consul 34 a.c.) m. Cornelia d. of P. Cornelius Scipio. 
 
 L. Aemilius Paulus m. lulia, grand-dau. of Augustus. M. Aemilius Lepidus 
 
 (consul A.D. 1). (consul A.D. 6). 
 
 publica munificentia"] Cf. Hor. Carm. sicut a Marcio Philippo aedes Herculis et 
 
 ii. 15. 18, " oppida publico sumptu iu- Musarum ... a Comelio Balbo theatruni, 
 
 bentes et deorum templa novo decorare a Statilio Tauro amphitheatrum." 
 
 saxo." extructurum pollicitus esf] This resto- 
 
 omatum ad urbis'] Cf. Suet. Aug. 29, ration was begun (iv. 7) , but not carried 
 
 " principes viros saepe hortatus est ut pro out by Tiberius, but by Claudius : " ludos 
 
 facultate quisque monumentis vel novis dedicationis Pompeiani theatri quod com- 
 
 vel refectis et excultis urbem adoma- bustum restituerat commisit" (Suet. 
 
 I'ent. Multaque a multis exstructa sunt, Claud. 21). 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESStJ DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 173 
 
 sufficerefc, manente tamen nomine Pompei. simul laudibus Seia- 
 num extulit_, tamquam labore vigilantiaque eius tanta vis unum 
 intra damnum stetisset. et censuere patres effigiem Seiano, quae 
 aput theatrum Pompei locaretur. neque multo post Caesar, cum 
 lunium Blaesum pro consule Africae triumplii insignibus attolleret, 
 dare id se dixit honori Seiani, cuius ille avunculus erat. ac tamen 
 res Blaesi dignae decore tali fuere. 
 
 73. Nam Tacfarinas, quamquam saepius depulsus, reparatis per 
 intima Africae auxiliis hue adrogantiae venerat, ut legates ad 
 Tiberium mitteret sedemque ultro sibi at que exercitui suo postu- 
 laret, aut bellum inexplicabile minitaretur. non alias magis sua 
 populique Romani contumelia indoluisse Caesarem ferunt, quam 
 quod deserter et praedo bostium more ageret. ne Spartaco quidem 
 post tot consularium exercituum clades inultam Italiam urenti, 
 quamquam Sertorii atque Mithridatis ingentibus bellis labaret res 
 publica, datum ut pacto in fidem acciperetur ; nedum pulcherrimo 
 populi Romani fastigio latro Tacfarinas pace et concessione agro- 
 rum redimeretur. dat negotium Blaeso, ceteros quidem ad spem 
 proliceret arma sine noxa ponendi, ipsius autem ducis quoquo 
 mode poteretur. et recepti ea venia plerique. mox adversum 
 artes Tacfarinatis baud dissimili modo belligeratum. 
 
 74. Nam quia ille robore exercitus inpar, furandi melior, pluris 
 per globes incursaret eluderetque et insidias simul temptaret, tres 
 incessus, totidem agmina parantur. ex quis Cornelius Scipio 
 legatus praefuit qua praedatio in Leptitanos et suffugia Garaman- 
 tum; alio latere, ne Cirtensium pagi impune traberentur, pro- 
 priam manum Blaesus filius duxit. medio cum delectis, castella et 
 munitiones idoneis locis inponens, dux ipse arta et infensa bosti- 
 bus cuncta fecerat, quia, quoquo inclinarent, pars aliqua militis 
 Romani in ore in latere et saepe a tergo erat ; multique eo modo 
 caesi aut circumventi. tunc tripertitum exercitum plures in manus 
 dispergit praeponitque centuriones virtutis expertae. nee, ut mos 
 fuerat, acta aestate retrabit copias aut in bibernaculis veteris pro- 
 
 74. Cornelius 8cip%o'] P. Cornelius Len- tory bands of Tacfarinas harried the 
 
 tulus Scipio was probably son of the P. lands of the Leptitani, the inhabitants of 
 
 Cornelius Lentulus Scipio, who was con- the lesser Leptis, and then took refuge 
 
 sul suffectus A.D. 2. He was himself amongst the Garamantes, who occupied 
 
 consul suffectus, in soine unknown year, what is now Fezzan, in the great Sahara, 
 
 praetor aerarii, legatus of the 9th legion, The 'old province ' mentioned below is 
 
 pontifex, and fetialis (so Borghesi). He that formed out of the territory of Car- 
 
 is mentioned xi. 2, xii. 53. He may have thage, as distinguished from New Africa, 
 
 been the father of the P. Scipio (xiii. 25) the province erected out of Numidia after 
 
 who was consul a.d. 56. its conquest by C. Julius Caesar (Dio 
 
 suffugia Garamantum] These preda- xliii. 9). 
 
174 / COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 775. 
 
 vinciae componit, sed ut in limine belli dispositis castellis per 
 expedites et solitudinum gnaros mutantem mapalia Tacfarinatem 
 proturbabat^ donee fratre eius cap to regressus est, properantius 
 tamen quam ex utilitate sociorum, relictis per quos resurgeret bel- 
 lum. sed Tiberius pro confecto interpretatus id quoque lUaeso 
 tribuit ut imperator a legionibus salutaretur prisco erga duces 
 honore, qui bene gesta re publica gaudio et impetu victoris exer- 
 citus conclamabantur ; erantque plures simul imperatores nee super 
 ceterorum aequalitatem. concessit quibusdam et Augustus id 
 vocabulum_, ac tunc Tiberius Blaeso postremum. 
 
 76. Obiere eo anno viri inlustres Asinius Saloninus_, IVIarco 
 Agrippa et Pollione Asinio avis, fratre Druso insignis Caesarique 
 progener destinatus, et Capito Ateius, de quo memoravi, principem 
 in civitate locum studiis civilibus adsecutus, sed avo centurione 
 Sullano, patre praetorio. consulatum ei adceleraverat Augustus, ut 
 Labeonem Antistium isdem artibus praecellentem dignatione eius 
 magistratus anteiret. namque ilia aetas duo pacis decora simul 
 tulit : sed Labeo incorrupta libertate, et ob id fama celebratior, 
 Capitonis obsequium dominantibus magis probabatur. illi, (^uod 
 praeturam intra stetit, commendatio ex iniuria, buic, quod con- 
 sulatum adeptus est, odium ex invidia oriebatur. 
 
 76. Et lunia sexagesimo quarto post Pliilippensem aciem anno 
 
 75. fratre Druso] Dnisus, the son of with, her is seen from the subjoined table 
 Tiberius, by Vipsania. The relationship (from Lipsius) : — 
 
 Asinius Pollio M. Vipsanus Agrippa. 
 
 Asinius Gallus Saloninus (i. 12) m. Vipsania. 
 
 c. Asinius Pollio (iv. 1). c. Asinius Saloninus (iii. 75). 
 
 Consequently Drusus and Asinius Saloninus •were half-brothers. 
 
 consulat^(m] He was consul suffectus matical, declared that it was perfectly 
 A.D. 5 with C. Vibius Postumus. He is good Latin, or would become so, in con- 
 mentioned as consul in an inscription, sequence of its use by Tiberius ; wiere- 
 Grut. 897. 9. upon Pomponius remarked that Tiborius 
 
 Capitonis ohseqmum] It was Capito could enfranchise a man but not a word, 
 
 who, when some expression in a speech (Suet, de lUust. Gram. 22.) 
 of Tiberius was found fault with by 76. Iv/nia'] The table is subjoined : — 
 M. Pomponius Marcellus as ungram- 
 
 Servilia (sister of M. Cato) m. (1) D. lunius Brutus. 
 
 M. Brutus. 
 
 And (2) D. lunius Silanus (consul 62 a.c). 
 
 lunia. 
 
 Consequently lunia and M. Brutus were half-brothers and sisters, and niece and 
 nephew of M. Cato. 
 
A.D. 22.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. III. 175 
 
 supremum diem explevit, Catone avunculo genita, C. Cassii uxor, 
 M. Bruti soror. testamentum eius multo apud vulgum rumore 
 fuit, quia in magnis opibus, cum ferme cunctos proceres cum 
 honore nom.inavisset, Caesarem omisit. quod civiliter acceptum, 
 neque prohibuit quo minus laudatione pro rostris ceterisque sol- 
 lemnibus funus cohonestaretur. viginti clarissimarum familiarum 
 imagines antelatae sunt, Manlii, Quinctii aliaque eiusdem nobili- 
 tatis noTpiua. sed praefulgebant Cassius atque Brutus eo ipso, 
 quod effigies eorum non visebantur. 
 
 Catone oAJunculo'] This is equivalent ManlW] Titus ManKus Torquatus 
 
 to * ita genita ut Cato avunculus esset.' transferred his son, by adoption, to D. 
 
 Cf. xii. 64, " Lepida minora Antonia lunius Silanus, who married Servilia, as 
 
 genita avunculo Augusto." above shown. (Cic. de Fin. i. 7.) 
 
COENELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER lY. 
 
 CONTEKTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. Influence of Sejanus on Tiberius. 2. Sejanug concentrates the troops at 
 Eome in the praetorian camp. 3. His schemes against Drusus. 4. Drusus 
 (Germanicus' son) assumes the toga virilis. Tiberius pretends to be on the 
 point of visiting the provinces. 5. Enumeration of the legions of the empire. 
 6. Description of the civil government. 7. Dislike of Drusus to Sejanus. 
 8. Drusus poisoned. 9. His funeral. 10. Statement of the ruinour as to the 
 cause of his death. 11. Its refutation. 12. Schemes of Sejanus against the sons 
 of Germanicus. 13. Close attention of Tiberius to business, 14. Embassies from 
 Greece. Expulsion of actors from Italy. 15. Death of one of the children of 
 Drusus, and of Lucilius Longus. 16. Legislation with reference to the Flamen 
 Dialis and other matters. 17. Yows for the safety of Nero and Drusus, joined to 
 those for the Emperor. 18. Sejanus attacks Silius and Sabinus, friends of 
 Germanicus. 19. Death of Silius, 20. and banishment of his wife Sosia. 
 21. Calpumius Piso and Cassius Severus. 22, Death of Plautius Silvanus. 
 23 — 25. Final defeat of Tacfarinas by Dolabella. 26. Eefusal of the triumphalia 
 to Dolabella. Presents to Ptolemaeus. 27. A servile disturbance in Italy 
 crushed. 28 — 30. Impeachment of Vibius Serenus by his son. 31. Pardon of C. 
 Cominius. Conviction of Suillius. 32, 33. Apology of Tacitus for the subject- 
 matter of his narrative. 34, 35. Impeachment of C. Cordus for praising Brutus 
 and Cassius. His defence and death. 36. The Cyziceni deprived of liberty. 
 37, 38. Rejection by Tiberius of a proposed erection of a temple in his honour 
 by the Hispani, 39. Sejanus asks Livia in marriage. 40. Refusal of Tiberius. 
 41. Sejanus advises the Emperor to retire from Rome, 42. Trial of Votionus 
 Montanus, 43. Embassies from Greek states. 44. DeathofLentulus and others. 
 45. Murder of L. Piso in Spain. 46. Disturbances amongst the Thracians. 
 47 — 51. Their defeat by Sabiuus, and surrender. 52. Condemnation of Claudia 
 Pulchra. 53. Request of Agrippina for a husband refused. 54. Schemes of 
 Sejanus against her. 55, 56. Rivalry amongst Greek states with reference to 
 
AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 177 
 
 the erection of a temple to Tiberius. Selection of Smyrna. 57, 58. Withdrawal of 
 Tiberius to Campania. 59. His life saved by Sejanus. 60. Sejanus schemes 
 against Nero. 61. Death of Agrippa and Haterius. 62, 63. Fate of an amphi- 
 theatre at JPidenae. 64, 65. Destructive fire at Rome. 66. Varus accused. 
 67. Retirement of Tiberius to Capua. 68 — 70. Condemnation of Titius Sabinus. 
 71. Death of Jvilia. 72. Rising of the Frisii. 73. Want of skill in repressing 
 it shown by Apronius. 74. Sycophancy of the Senate. 72. Marriage of Agrip- 
 pina the younger to Cn. Domitius. 
 
 1. C. Asinio C. Antistio consulibus nonus Tiberio annus erat 
 compositae rei publicae, florentis domus (nam Germanici mortem 
 inter prospera ducebat), cum repente turbare fortuna coepitj 
 saevire ipse aut saevientibus vires praebere. initium et causa penes 
 Aelium Seianum cobortibus praetoriis praefectum, cuius de potei^ia 
 supra memoravi : nunc originem_, mores^ et quo facinore domina- 
 tionem raptum ieritj expediam. genitus Yulsiniis patre Seio Stra- 
 bone equite Romano, et prima iuventa Caium Caesarem divi 
 Augusti nepotem sectatus, non sine rumore Apicio diviti et pro- 
 digo stuprum veno dedisse, mox Tiberium variis artibus devinxit, 
 adeo ut obscurum adversum alios sibi uni incautum intectumque 
 efficeretj non tam sollertia (quippe isdem artibus victus est) quam 
 deum ira in rem Romanam, cuius pari exitio viguit ceciditque. 
 corpus illi laborum toleranS;, animus audax sui obtegens, in alios 
 criminator j iuxta adulatio et superbia; palam compositus pudor, 
 intus summa apiscendi libido, eiusque causa modo largitio et luxus, 
 saepius industria ac vigilantia, baud minus noxiae, quotiens 
 parando regno finguntur. 
 
 2; Vim praefecturae modicam antea intendit, dispersas per 
 
 1. Asinius Pollio was son of Asinius isdem artibus] Seianus, however wily, 
 
 Gallus (i. 12, 13, &c.) , and after his con- was at last no match for the superior wili- 
 
 sulship proconsul of Asia. Caius Antis- n^ss of Tiberius. He was in fact hoist by 
 
 tins Vetus was son of Caius Antistius his own petard. The rise and fall of Seia- 
 
 Vetus, who was consul 6 A.c, and brother nus were alike ruinous to the state : his 
 
 of L. Antistius Vetus, who was consul rise, because he put out of his path what- 
 
 sufiectus iL.D. 28. He was apparently ever obstructed him ; and his fall, because 
 
 father of the C. Antistius Vetus, consul it left Tiberius without a minister and 
 
 A.D. 50 (xii. 25). without restraint (vi. 51). 
 
 raptum ierit] This is a favourite form sui ohtegens'] The participle in Latin 
 
 with Tacitus. He uses " perditum ire " ceases to govern an accusative case, 
 
 (iv. 66); "illusum ire" (xiii. 17); "ultum when it loses its own participial force, 
 
 ire" (iv. 73; vi. 36; xii. 45; xv. 1). Be- and acquires the meaning of an adjec- 
 
 low, ' veno dare ' only occurs in one other tive. For instance, ' patiens * is either 
 
 place (xiv. 15), "posito veno inritamenta a true participle referring to one single 
 
 luxus." 'Venum dare' is the usual form act, or an adjective denoting the per- 
 
 (xvi. 31). manent possession of the quality indi- 
 
 Apicio'] This is the famous glutton, cated. So here 'obtegens' has passed 
 
 Marcus Gavius Apicius, who committed into an adjective, 'fond of concealing,' 
 
 suicide (Dio. Ivii. 19), 3tj 5iaK6<nai Ka\ and so governs a genitive case. In i. 76, 
 
 irevT-fiKovra fivpidSes (i.e. £80,000) exj ire- it is followed by an accusative, "perinde 
 
 pteiej', from fear of possible starvation, divina humanaque obtegens." 
 
 N 
 
178 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 776. 
 
 urbem cohortes una in castra conducendo, ut simul imperia acci- 
 perent^ numeroque et robore et visu inter se fiducia ipsis^ m cete- 
 ros metus crearetur. praetendebat lascivire militem diductiLOi ; si 
 quid subitum ingruat, maiore auxilio pariter subveniri ; et se^^erius 
 acturos, si vallum statuatur procul urbis inlecebris. ut pevrfecta 
 sunt castra, inrepere paulatim militares animos adeundo_, appel- 
 lando ; simul centuriones ac tribunes ipse deligere. neque sena- 
 torio ambitu abstinebat clientes suos honoribus aut proA^nciis 
 ornandi, facili Tiberio at que ita prono, ut socium laborum non 
 modo in sermonibus_, sed apud patres et populum celebraret colique 
 per tbeatra et fora effigies eius interque principia legionum 
 sifieret. 
 
 3. Ceterum plena Caesarum domus_, iuvenis filius, nepotes adulti 
 moram cupitis adferebant ; et quia vi tot simul corripere iuLutum, 
 dolus intervalla scelerum poscebat ; placuit tamen occultior via et 
 a Druso incipere_, in quem recenti ira ferebatur. nam Drusus in- 
 patiens aemuli et animo commotior orto forte iurgio intenderat 
 Seiano manus et contra tendentis os verberaverat. igitur cuncta 
 temptanti promptissimum visum ad uxorem eius Liviam conver- 
 tere, quae soror Germanici, formae initio aetatis indecorae, mox 
 pulchritudine praecellebat. banc ut amore incensus adulterio 
 pellexit, et postquam primi flagitii potitus est (neque femina amissa 
 
 2. crearetibr] I take this word as tlie liimself popular with the soldiers, but 
 
 nearest approach to the 'credetur,' or also amongst the Senators. Cf. Dio.lviii.4, 
 
 *crederetur' of the MS. Of * crederetur ' rwv &ov\exn5>v rh fikv €V€pye<riais rh 5^ 
 
 I can see no probable interpretation what- i\Tri<ri rh Se Koi (pSfiep TrposiTroi-i)(To.To. 
 
 ever. For 'dispersas' cf. Suet. Aug. 49, interque principia] Cf. i. 61. 
 
 "neque tamen umquam plures quam tres 3. plena Caesarum domus] There was 
 
 cohortes in urbe passus est easque sine Drusus, the son of Tiberius (iuvenis filius), 
 
 castris." The rest were quartered in the and the sons of Germanicus (adopted 
 
 neighbouring towns. Cf. Suet. Tiber. 37. son of Tiberius), Nero, Drusus, Caligula 
 
 pariter'] * In conjunction.' Before, those (nepotes adulti), and Tiberius and Ger- 
 
 only who were near the particular spot manicus, so«s of Drusus (the son of 
 
 where help was wanted, could render Tiberius) (ii. 84; vi. 46). 
 
 it at once, and others farther off at placuit tamen] Sejanus felt it to be 
 
 successive intervals, so that the troops unsafe to proceed openly, and to adopt 
 
 were frittered away into small detach- treachery would be tedious, and require 
 
 ments, arriving separately. The word time. Still he chose this lattei' way as 
 
 'procul' below does not express any the least objectionable on tho whole, 
 
 great distance, for the Praetorian camp 'Tamen' has reference to a clause not 
 
 was near the Porta Nomentana, at the really expressed, but existing in the 
 
 North East angle of the walls of Aure- writer's mind ; ' he felt doubt, was un- 
 
 lianus (Suet. Nero. 48), or between the decided at first which to adopt:' how- 
 
 Porta Collina and Viminalis, outside the ever, at last, he determined on the less 
 
 agger Servii Tullii. open course. 
 
 senatorio amhitu] The genitive 'or- adulterio pellexit] Not 'he beguiled 
 
 nandi,' of course depends on 'ambitu,' the her into an intrigue,' but 'he brought 
 
 ambition connected with, shown by, the her over to his interests thrcugh the 
 
 promotion of his partisans to honours, medium of an intrigue.' Cf. i. 2, " cunctos 
 
 Sejanus endeavoured not only to make dulcedine otii pellexit." For the con- 
 
A.D. 23.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 179 
 
 pudicitia alia abnuerit), ad coniugii spem, consortium regni et 
 necem mariti impulit. atque illa^ cui avunculus Augustus, socer 
 Tiberius, ex Druso liberi, seque ac maiores et posteros munici- 
 pali adultero foedabat, ut pro bonestis et praesentibus flagitiosa et 
 incerta exspectaret. sumitur in conscientiam Eudemus, amicus 
 ac medicus Liviae, specie artis frequens secretis. pellit domo 
 Seianus uxorem Apicatam, ex qua tres liberos genuerat, ne paelici 
 suspectaretur. sed magnitudo facinoris metum, prolationes, di- 
 versa interdum consilia adferebat. 
 
 4. Interim anni principio Drusus ex Germanic! liberis togam 
 virilem sumpsit, quaeque fratri eius Neroni decreverat senatus 
 repetita. addidit orationem Caesar, multa cum laude filii sui, quod 
 patria benivolentia in fratris liberos foret. nam Drusus, quam- 
 quam arduum sit eodem loci potentiam et concordiam esse, aequus 
 adulescentibus aut certe non adversus habebatur. exin vetus et 
 saepe simulatum proficiscendi in provincias consilium refertur. 
 multitudinem veteranorum praetexebat imperator et dilectibus 
 supplendos exercitus : nam voluntarium militem deesse, ac si sup- 
 peditet, non eadem virtute ac modestia agere, quia plerumque 
 inopes ac vagi sponte militiam sumant. percensuitque cursim 
 numerum legionum et quas provincias tutarentur. quod mihi 
 quoque exequendum reor, quae tunc Eomana copia in armis, qui 
 socii reges, quanto sit angustius imperitatum. 
 
 5. Italiam utroque mari duae classes, Misenum aput et Eaven- 
 nam, proximumque G^Uiae litus rostratae naves praesidebant, quas 
 Actiaca victoria captas Augustus in oppidum Foroiuliense iniserat 
 valido cum remige. sed praecipuum robur Kbenum iuxta, com- 
 
 struction in the other meaning of. xi. 19, tive or the future perfect ? The former 
 *' Chaucos ad deditionem pellicerent." I think, after the fashion of * dixerim/ 
 
 abnuerit^ Is this the perfect subjunc- * crediderim,' &o. 
 
 avunculusli That is great uncle : thus 
 
 Octavia minor, sister of Augustus, m. M. Antonius. 
 
 I 
 Antonia minor. 
 
 1. 
 Livia. 
 
 paelici] This is probably the dative Cf. Corp. Inacrip. Graec. n. 3612, with 
 
 of the remote object, as 'suspectus' is Boeckh's note. 
 
 often used with a dative. Cf. Cic. in quanto sit angustius imperitatum] Ta- 
 
 Catil. i. 7, " si me meis civibus iniuria citus no doubt compKments Trajan, who 
 
 tam suspectum et graviter infensum vide- by his campaigns from a.d. 14, had 
 
 rem." It might of course be the dative enlarged the boundaries of the Roman 
 
 after the passive participle instead of Empire. He made Dacia a Roman pro- 
 
 the ablative, a construction common in vince after defeating Decebalus (Die. 
 
 Tacitus. Ixviii. 6 — 14), and in the East pushed 
 
 4. quaeque repetita] Cf. iii. 29. He forward the limits of the Empire to the 
 
 was also made 'pontifex' apparently. Mare Rubrum. Cf. ii. 61. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 CORNELII TACITI [a.tj.c. 776. 
 
 mune in Germanos Gallosque subsidium, octo legiones erant. 
 Hispaniae recens perdomitae tribus habebantur. Mauros lu ba rex 
 acceperat donum populi Romani. cetera Africae per duas legiones 
 parique numero Aegyptus^ debinc initio ab Suriae usque ad flumen 
 EupbrateUj quantum ingenti terrarum sinu ambitur, quattuor 
 legionibus coercita, accolis Hibero Albanoque et aliis regibiis, qui 
 magnitudine nostra proteguntur adversum externa imperia. et 
 Tbraeciam Rboemetalces ac liberi Cotyis, ripamque I)anuvii 
 legionum duae in Pannonia, duae in Moesia attinebant^ t otidem 
 aput Delmatiam locatis, quae positu regionis a tergo illis^ ac si 
 repentinum auxilium Italia posceret, baud procul accirentur, 
 quamquam insideret urbem proprius miles, tres urbanae, novem 
 praetoriae cobortes, Etruria ferme Umbriaque delectae aut vetere 
 Latio et coloniis antiquitus Romanis. et aput idonea provinciarum 
 sociae triremes alaeque et auxilia cobortium, neque multo socus in 
 iis virium : sed persequi incertum fuit, cum ex usu temporis buc 
 illuc mearent, gliscerent numero et aliquando minuerentur. 
 
 5. recens perdomitae'] The Hispani had old colonies mentioned directly after- 
 been often defeated under Augustus, 25 wards, if the words are equivalent to 
 A.C., and 24 A.C., but not completely sub- coloniae civium Romanorum, would be 
 dued until 20 a.c. Cf. Liv. xxviii. 12, those placed in conquered towns near 
 ** prima Romanis inita provinciarum, quae Rome at an early period of her history; 
 quidem continentis sint, postrema om- if they are equivalent to coloniEe populi 
 nium nostra demum aetate ductu auspi- Romani, they might include all i hose co- 
 cioque Augusti Caesaris perdomita est." lonies established after the conquest of 
 Cf. also Hor. Carm. ii. 6, 2; iii. 18, 22; Latium in different parts of Italy. Pro- 
 iv. 14, 4. bably the latter are meant, as the former 
 
 luharex] He was son of the Juba, were very few in number. Ortlli says 
 
 king of Mauretania, defeated by C. Julius these * coloniae antiquitus Romanae' are 
 
 Caesar (Suet. C. Julius Caesar, 25). His distinguished from those towns of Gallia 
 
 son Ptolemaeus, who succeeded him, was Transpadana, which obtained the lus 
 
 put to death by Caligula. (Suet. Calig. Latii by the Lex Pompeia, 89 a.c, and the 
 
 26, 35). military colonies established elsewhere 
 
 per duas legiones] On the occasion of in the provinces. I do not, liowever, 
 
 the war with *Tacfarina,s, a legion (the suppose that the former could in any 
 
 eighth) was transferred from Pannonia way be viewed tis 'coloniae.' The num- 
 
 (hence 'duae in Pannonia,' instead of the ber of the Praetorian and Urban cohorts 
 
 usual three) to Africa. Cf. iii. 9. The here spoken of was afterwards increased; 
 
 legions here mentioned are 25 in number, the former appear as sixteen in number, 
 
 Supposing them to be at their full com- and the latter here spoken of as four 
 
 plement, to contain 6100 foot soldiers, under Vitellius (H. ii. 93). There were 
 
 with a cavalry force of 776 attached to four also in the time of Tib<?rius, as 
 
 them, the total amount would be in round although three only seem to have been 
 
 numbers 170,000 men. Besides these stationed in the city, there was a fourth 
 
 there were auxiliary troops stationed in (or thirteenth) at Lugdunum (cf. iii. 41), 
 
 the provinces, about equal in strength to as is, I believe, attested by inscriptions 
 
 the legionaries (neque multo secus in iis found at that place, 
 
 virium), so that the forces of the Roman incertum fuit] In this kind ofexprea- 
 
 Empire would be about 340,000 men. sion Tacitus generally uses 'fuerit.' Cf. 
 
 vetere Latio] This means all towns iv. 32, "non tamen siue usu fuerit;" and 
 
 which possessed the lus Latii before the 33, "haec conquiri tradique in :em fue- 
 
 enactment of the Lex lulia, 90 a.c. The rit." Also xiv. 56, and elsewhere. 
 
A.D. 23.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 181 
 
 6. Congruens crediderim recensere ceteras quoque rei pablicae 
 partes, quibus modis ad earn diem habitae sint, quoniam Tiberio 
 mutati in deterius principatus initium ille annus attulit. iam 
 primum publica negotia et privatorum maxima aput patres tracta- 
 bantur, dabaturque primoribus disserere et in adulationem lapses 
 cohibebat ipse ; mandabatque honores, nobilitatem maiorum, cla- 
 ritudinem militiae, inlustres domi artes spectando, ut satis con- 
 staret non alios potiores fuisse. sua consulibus, sua praetoribus 
 species ; minorum quoque magistratuum exercita potestas ; leges- 
 que, si maiestatis quaestio eximeretur, bono in usu. at frumenta 
 et pecuniae vectigales, cetera publicorum fructuum societatibus 
 equitum Romanorum agitabantur. res suas Caesar spectatissimo 
 cuique, quibusdam ignotis ex fama mandabat, semelque adsumpti 
 tenebantur prorsus sine modo, cum plerique isdem negotiis inse- 
 nescerent. plebes acri quidem annona fatigabatur, sed niilla in eo 
 culpa ex principe : quin infecunditati terrarum aut asperis maris 
 obviam iit, quantum impendio diligentiaque poterat. et ne pro- 
 vinciae novis oneribus turbarentur utque Vetera sine avaritia aut 
 crudelitate magistratuum tolerarent, providebat : corporum ver- 
 bera, ademptiones bonorum aberant. 
 
 7. Rari per Italiam Caesaris agri, modesta servitia, intra paucos 
 libertos domus ; ac si quando cum privatis disceptaret, forum et 
 ius. Quae cuncta non quidem comi via_, sed horridus ac plerumque 
 formidatuSj retinebat tamen, donee morte Drusi verterentur : nam 
 dum superfuit, mansere, quia Seianus incipiente adhuc potentia 
 bonis consiliis notescere volebat, et ultor metuebatur non occultus 
 odii, set crebro querens incolumi filio adiutorem imperii alium 
 vocari. et quantum superesse ut collega dicatur ? primas domi- 
 nandi spes in arduo : ubi sis ingressus, adesse studia et ministros. 
 exstructa iam sponte praefecti castra^ datos in manum milites; 
 
 6. frumenta, ^c] The tithes of com in the Imperial provinces was managed 
 
 paid by those who occupied the ager pub- by procuratores (corresponding to quaes - 
 
 licus. The 'pecuniae rectigales ' would tors in the senatorial provinces), as well 
 
 be probably the scriptura, portorium, as their patrimonium. For the length 
 
 tributum levied on the ' census * of the of time during which Tiberius retained 
 
 provincials, and, in short, any tax paid in his officers in their posts, cf. i. 80. Below, 
 
 money; and ' cetera publicorum finictuuna' for 'asperis maris' cf. ii. 26, "ad versa 
 
 would be income derived from mines, maris." 
 
 salt-works, and the like, belonging to the 7. modesta servitia'] From the context 
 
 state. These were farmed by the com- this must, I think, refer not to the cha- 
 
 paniesof Equites, and 'agere' or 'agitare' racter of the slaves, as Emesti and 
 
 was the word often employed to express others suppose, but to their number, for 
 
 this, as in Suet. Vesp. 1, " publicum qua- 'rari' and 'paucos' both have reference 
 
 dragesimae in Asia egit." to this : the sense is therefore * slaves 
 
 res situs'] The 'fiscus' of the Caesars moderate in number.' 
 
182 CORNEUI TACrn [a.u.c. 776. 
 
 cemi effigiem eius in monimentis Cn. Pompei ; communes il i cum 
 familia Drusorum fore nepotes : precandam post haec modtistiam, 
 ut contentus esset. neque raro neque apud paucos talia iaciebat, 
 et secreta quoque eius corrupta uxore prodebantur. 
 
 8. Igitur Seianus maturandum ratus deligit venenuEi, quo 
 paulatim inrepente fortuitus morbus adsimularetur. Id Druso 
 datum per Lygdum spadonem^ ut octo post annos cognitum est. 
 ceterum Tiberius per omnes valitudinis eius dies, nullo metu an 
 ut firmitudinem animi ostentaret, etiam defuncto necdum sapulto, 
 curiam ingressus est. consulesque sede vulgari per speciem maes- 
 titiae sedentes honoris locique admonuit, et effusum in lacrimas 
 senatum victo gemitu simul oratione continua erexit: non quidem 
 sibi ignarum posse argui, quod tarn recenti dolore subierit oculos 
 senatus: vix propinquorum adloquia tolerari, vix diem aspici a 
 plerisque lugentium. neque illos inbecillitatis damnandos: se 
 tamen fortiora solacia e complexu rei publicae petivisse. imsera- 
 tusque Augustae extremam senectam, rudem adhuc nepoi^um et 
 vergentem aetatem suam, ut Germanici liberi, unica praesentium 
 malorum levamenta, inducerentur petivit. egressi consules firmatos 
 adloquio adulescentulos deductosque ante Caesarem stiituunt. 
 quibus adprensis ' patres conscripti, hos^ inquit ' orbatos parente 
 tradidi patruo ipsorum precatusque sum, quamquam esset illi 
 propria suboles, ne secus quam suum sanguinem foveret, attolleret, 
 sibique et posteris conformaret. erepto Druso preces ad vcs con- 
 verto disque et patria coram obtestor : Augusti pronepot(3s, cla- 
 rissimis maioribus genitos, suscipite, regite, vestram meamque 
 vicem explete. hi vobis, Nero et Druse, parentum loco, ita, nati 
 estis, ut bona malaque vestra ad rem publicam pertineant.' 
 
 9. Magno ea fletu et mox precationibus faustis audita. ; ac si 
 
 cemi effigiem eius] His statue was 8. sede vulgaH'] The ConsTils! usually 
 
 to be placed in the theatre of Pompeius, sat on an elevated seat in their curulo 
 
 then rebuilding. Cf. iii. 72. - chairs. Orelli quotes Lucan v. 15, " ut 
 
 communes] Cf. iii. 29, " adversis animis primum moestum tenuere silentif i coetum, 
 
 acceptxun quod filio Claudii socer Seia- Lentulus e celsa sublimis sede profa- 
 
 nus destinaretur ;" and Suet. Claud. 27, -tur." Below, for 'rudem adhuc aepotum 
 
 **Dmsum (fiUum Claudius) impuberem aetatem;' cf. iv. 3, the note on 'plena 
 
 ami sit cum ei ante paucos dies fib'am Caesarum domus.' 
 Seiani despondisset." attolleret'] Cf. iii. 72, " cum lunium 
 
 'precwnd€urn\ 'Moderation on his part Blaesum triumphi insignibus attolleret ; " 
 
 was aU that was left to pray for.' Cf. andH.iv. 59, "ceterospraemiisattolhte," 
 
 xii. 65, "robur aetatis quam maturri- the sense is therefore, 'advuDce them 
 
 mum precari." Others, comparing xv. to honours.' Apparently, belc'W, only 
 
 17, " optimam fortunam orandam," trans- Nero and Drusus are addressed (so Suet, 
 
 late, 'moderation (as a kind of goddess) Tib. 54), because Caligula was, I suppose, 
 
 must bo prayed to.' But this seems thought to have no chance of £.ttaining 
 
 fanciful. the principatus. 
 
A.D. 23.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 183 
 
 modum orationi posuisset, misericordia sui gloriaque animos au- 
 dientium impleverat : ad vana et totiens inrisa revolutus, de red- 
 denda re publica utque consules seu quis alius regimen susciperent, 
 vero quoque et honesto fidem dempsit. memoriae Drusi eadem 
 quae in Germanicum decernuntur^ plerisque additis^ ut ferme 
 amat posterior adulatio. funus imaginum pompa maxime inlustre 
 fuitj cum origo luliae gentis Aeneas omnesque Albanorum reges 
 et conditor urbis Romulus, post Sabina nobilitas, Attus Clausus 
 ceteraeque Claudiorum effigies longo ordine spectarentur. 
 
 10. In tradenda morte Drusi quae plurimis maximeque fidis 
 auctoribus memorata sunt rettuli : set non omiserim eorundem 
 temporum rumorem, validum adeo ut nondum exolescat. corrupta 
 ad scelus Livia Seianum Lygdi quoque spadonis animum stupro 
 vinxisse, quod is Lygdus aetate atque forma earns domino interque 
 primores ministros erat ; deinde iuter conscios ubi locus veneficii 
 tempusque conposita sint, eo audaciae provectum, ut verteret et 
 occulto indicio Drusum veneni in patrem arguens moneret Tibe- 
 riunij vitandam potionem quae prima ei aput filium epulanti offer- 
 retur. ea fraude captum senem, postquam convivium inierat_, ex- 
 ceptum poculum Druso tradidisse; atque illo ignaro et iuvenilifcer 
 liauriente auctam suspicionem, tamquam metu et pudore sibimet 
 inrogaret mortem quam patri struxerat. 
 
 11. Haec vulgo iactata, super id quod nullo auctore certo fir- 
 mantur, prompte refutaveris. quis enim mediocri prudentia, nedum 
 Tiberius tantis rebus exercitus, inaudito filio exitium offerret, 
 idque sua manu et nullo ad paenitendum regressu ? quin potius 
 ministrum veneni excruciaret, auctorem exquireret, insita denique 
 etiam in extraneos cunctatione et mora adversum unicum et nul- 
 lius ante flagitii conpertum uteretur ? sed quia Seianus facinorum 
 omnium reporter babebatur, ex nimia caritate in eum Caesaris et 
 ceterorum in utrumque odio quamvis fabulosa et immania crede- 
 
 9. impleveraf] Cf. i. 42, " si morum et name does not seem tmlikely to be ge- 
 indignum erat," and the note there. nuine, although most ofthe editors enclose 
 
 guae in Qermcmicum] Cf. ii. 83. Frag- the word in brackets as a gloss. Cf. xii. 
 
 ments of the Senatus Consultum are to 49, for a similar repetition, although the 
 
 be foimd in the Corp. Lat. Inscrip. n. 5381. distance is certainly greater in that case 
 
 For the variation from the dative to the than this. For the ablative * ea fraude ' 
 
 accusative with a preposition, cf. xii. 55, below, see note on ' potentia,' iii. 24. 
 
 "vim cultoribns et plerumque in mer- ut verier ef\ 'That he (Seianus) quite 
 
 catores et navicularios audebant." shifted the look of things,' 'turned the 
 
 Sahina nohilitas^ Cf. Suet. Tib. 1, matter quite round,' so that Drusus, in- 
 
 " patricia gens Claudia orta est ex Re- stead of being the victim, was made to 
 
 gillis, oppido Sabinorum." Cf. xi. 24. appear a schemer against the life of 
 
 10. is Lyydus'] The repetition of the another. 
 
184 
 
 COENELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. 776. 
 
 bantur, atrociore semper fama erga dominantium exitus. or do 
 alioqui sceleris per Apicatam Seiani proditus^ tormentis Eideini 
 ac Lygdi patefactus est. neque quisquam scriptor tarn infsnsus 
 extitit, ut Tiberio obiectaret, cum omnia alia conquirerent inten- 
 derentque. mibi tradendi arguendique rumoris causa fuit, ui claro 
 sub exemplo falsas auditiones depellerem peteremque ab iis, 
 quorum in manus cura nostra venerit, ne divulgata atque incredi- 
 bilia avide accepta veris neque in miraculum corruptis antebabeant. 
 12. Ceterum laudante filium pro rostris Tiberio senatus popu- 
 lusque habitum ac voces dolentum simulatione magis quam libens 
 induebat, domumque Germanici revirescere occulti laetabantur. 
 quod principium favoris et mater Agrippina spem male tegens 
 permitiem adceleravere. nam Seianus ubi videt mortem Drusi 
 
 11. erga dominantium exitus'] 'With 
 reference to the last moments of their 
 rulers.' For * erga,' in this sense, cf. iv. 
 74, "anxii erga Seianum;" iv. 20, "ea 
 prima Tiberio erga pecuniam alienam 
 diligentia fuit." H. i. 20, "isdemerga 
 aliena sumptibtis." 
 
 alioqui'] 'Besides.' Cf. xi. 6, "pul- 
 cherrimam alioquin et bonarum artium 
 principem sordidis ministeriis foedari." 
 
 Apicatam, Seiani] For the ellipse of 
 'iLxorem,' cf. Virg. Aen. iii. 319, "Hec- 
 toris Andromache," and Ovid. Heroid. vii. 
 193. There is an ellipse of 'filiam' in 
 xii. 1, " Lolliam Paulinam M. Lollii 
 consularis." 
 
 intenderentque] * And pointed them,' 
 or 'drew them to a head.' Cf. ii. 38, 
 "languescet alioqui industria, intendetur 
 socordia." 
 
 quorum in manus cura nostra venerit] 
 In any writing, say a letter, the author 
 may have to speak of some train of 
 thought, viewed as attended by certain 
 results or purposes (these last being of 
 course expressed in subsidiary clauses), 
 as having occurred to him before he 
 began to write, while nevertheless the 
 results or purposes are still future, 
 and have not at the period of writing 
 been fulfilled. In doing this he may 
 regard the whole train of thought, in- 
 cluding the results or purposes contained 
 in subsidiary clauses, as altogether in 
 the past, and complete before the period 
 of writing. If he does this he will write 
 consistently: what is past in his con- 
 templation, although not actually, as 
 yet, realized, will be so described, but 
 historically ; and the subsidiary clauses 
 will be in the imperfect or pluperfect 
 subjunctive, according to circumstances. 
 
 So Cicero writes (Epist. ad. Attic, v. 16. 
 1), " Etsi in ipso itinere et via discedebant 
 publicanorum tabellarii et eramus in cur- 
 su, tamen suscipiendum aliquid putavi 
 spatii, ne me immemorem tui pvtares.'" 
 Or, on the other hand, the writ(!r may 
 be inconsistent ; he may begin by speak- 
 ing of his thoughts or feelings liistori- 
 cally in the past, and end by viewing the 
 results or purposes conveyed in subsi- 
 diary clauses as still unaccomplished, and 
 as he views them at the moment cf writ- 
 ing. And this is a very natural con- 
 fusion, and one Tacitus falls into, in the 
 passage in the text. He begins by telling 
 us, as a narrative of the past, the object 
 he had in view in writing, before he 
 wrote : he ends by writing of the future 
 dependent circurastances as he could 
 only do while regarding the matte r from 
 the standing-point of the present, or in 
 other words, as it appeared to him 
 while actually writing, and no longer as 
 a portion of thought entirely past. This is 
 the reason why we find ' quorum in ma- 
 nus cura nostra venerit,' instead of ' venis- 
 set,' and ' antehabeant,* instead of 'ante- 
 haberent.' One or two passages, where 
 a change of tense, at first sight some- 
 what like this, is found, such as (i. 76) 
 " cur abstinuerit spectaculo ipso varie 
 trahebant," and H. i. 34, " multi arbitra- 
 bantur compositum auctumque rumorem 
 mixtis iam Othonianis qui ad evocandum 
 Galbam laeta false vulgaverint," are to 
 be referred to the same principle us that 
 spoken of in i. 61, under ' invenerit.' 
 
 12. quod principium] For the union 
 of 'principium' and 'Agrippina male 
 tegens ' as joint causes, cf. Thucyd. vi. 
 46, tovt6 re irpwrov avTeKfKpovKei Kal oi 
 'PTjyiyoi ovK iGeh-fjcTavTes ^varpareveiy. 
 
A.D. 23.1 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LffinP?". ^ 
 
 inultam interfectoribus, sine maerore publico esAe^^rox'sQltact&i, "V" 
 
 
 et quia prima provenerant, volutare secum, quoMi^«gp^ ^^^ y> 
 manici liberos perverteret, quorum non dubia suct^J^^pjhneaue* ^ 
 spargi venerium in tres poterat, egregia custodum fide e^^^pajdrcfe 
 Agrippinae inpenetrabili. igitur contumaciam eius insectari, veins' 
 Augustae odium, recentem Liviae conscientiam exagitare, ut 
 superbam fecunditate, subnixam popularibus studiis inhiare domi-. 
 nationi apud Caesarem arguerent. atque haec callidis criminato- 
 ribus, inter quos delegerat lulium Postumum, per adulterium 
 Mutiliae Priscae inter intimos aviae et consiliis suis peridoneum, 
 quia Prisca in animo Augustae valida anum suapte natura poten- 
 tiae anxiam insociabilem nurui efficiebat. Agrippinae quoque 
 proximi inliciebantur pravis sermonibus tumidos spiritus per- 
 stimulare. 
 
 13. At Tiberius nihil intermissa rerum cura, negotia pro solaciig 
 accipiens, ius civium, preces sociorum tractabat ; factaque auctore 
 eo senatus consulta, ut civitati Cibyraticae aput Asiam, Aegiensi 
 apud Achaiam, motu terrae labefactis, subveniretur remissione 
 tributi in triennium. et Yibius Serenus pro consule ulterioris 
 Hispaniae, de vi publica damnatus, ob atrocitatem morum in 
 insulam Amorgum deportatur. Carsidius Sacerdos, reus tamquam 
 frumento hostem Tacfarinatem iuvisset, absolvitur^ eiusdemque 
 
 atque haec] It is not clear wliat case ticular district so called, and not tlie 
 
 or gender * haec ' is, whether neuter ac- Roman province, which embraced a great 
 
 cusative, or feminine singular. I think part of the Peloponnese and Northern 
 
 Lipsius and Ritter are right in supposing Greece. 
 
 it to be the latter, and to refer to Livia pro consule ulterioris Hispaniae'] For 
 who is also the subject of * delegerat.' Hispania Citerior was an Imperial pro- 
 * Aviae ' and * anus ' are Augusta, and the vince, and was governed by a ' legatus 
 verb of existence is understood after pro praetore.' Cf. iii. 12 and 13. 
 'valida.' Livia was daughter-in-law of oh atrocitatem morum] The reading of 
 Tiberius, and therefore grand- daughter- the MS. is ' temporum.' If this were the 
 in-law of Augusta. ' Nurui,* of course, true reading, the meaning must be either 
 is grand-daughter-in-law, which Agrip- that owing to the exceptionally disturbed 
 pina was, in reference to Augusta, for state of things, some alleviation was 
 Germanicus, her husband, was grandson permitted in the severity of the punish - 
 of Augusta. The sense then is, ' and the ment fixed by the ' Lex lulia de vi pub- 
 latter (Livia) . . . amongst whom she had lica ' under Augustus (but the penalty 
 chosen . . . one of her (Livia) grand- fixed by the ' lex ' was ' aquae et ignis 
 mother's especial friends . . . made this interdictio,' and this was less severe 
 old woman (Augusta) . . to her grand- than * deportatio ;*) or that the disturbed 
 daughter-in-law' (Agrippina). state of afiairs required some especially 
 
 13. 'Aegiensi'] Aegium was in the severe punishment, viz. * deportatio.' 
 district of Achaia on the coast, near the There does not, however, seem to have 
 mouth of the river Selinus. It rose to been any thing in the state of affairs at 
 importance after the destruction of He- this time to warrant any such idea. Pro- 
 lice by an earthquake (373 a. c). Vostitza, bably the 'temporum' arose from a 
 on the site of Aegium, itself again suf- repetition by mistake of the last syllable 
 fered greatly from the same visitation in of 'atrocitatem,' and then a correction 
 18J9. Achaia is here probably the par- easily produced 'temporum.' 
 
186 COENBLII TACITI [a.u.c. 776. 
 
 criminis C. Gracclius. hunc comitem exilii admodum infantem pater 
 Sempronius in insulam Cercinam tulerat. illic adultus inte^" ex- 
 torres et liberalium artium nescios^ mox per Africam ac Siciliam 
 mutando sordidas merces sustentabatur ; neque tamen eiFugit 
 magnae fortunae pericula. ac ni Aelius Lamia et L. Apronius^ qui 
 Africam obtinuerant, insontem protexissent, claritudine infausti 
 generis et paternis adversis fbret abstractus. 
 
 14. Is quoque annus legationes Grraecarum civitatium habuit, 
 Samiis lunonis^ Cois Aesculapii delubro vetustum asyli ius ut 
 firmaretur petentibus. Samii decreto Ampliictyonum nitebantur, 
 quis praecipuum fuit rerum omnium indicium, qua tempo state 
 Graeci conditis per Asiam urbibus ora maris potiebantur. neque 
 dispar apud Coos antiquitas, et accedebat meritum ex loco : nam 
 cives Romanos templo Aesculapii induxerant, cum iussu regis 
 Mithridatis apud cunctas Asiae insulas et urbes trucidarentur. 
 variis debinc et saepius inritis praetorum questibus, postremo 
 Caesar de inmodestia bistrionum rettulit : multa ab iis in publicum 
 seditiose, foeda per domes temptari; Oscum quondam ludicrum, 
 levissimae apud vulgum oblectationis, eo flagitiorum et virium 
 venisse, ut auctoritate patrum coercendum sit. pulsi tum bis- 
 triones Italia. 
 
 15. Idem annus alio quoque luctu Caesarem adficit, alterum ex 
 geminis Drusi liberis extinguendo, neque minus morte amicji. is 
 fuit Lucilius Longus, omnium illi tristium laetorumque socius 
 unusque e senatoribus Rbodii secessus comes, ita quamquam novo 
 bomini censorium funus, effigiem apud forum Augusti publica 
 pecunia patres decrevere, aput quos etiam tum cuncta tracta- 
 bantur, adeo ut procurator Asiae Lucilius Capito accusante pro- 
 vincia causam dixerit, magna cum adseveratione principis, non se 
 
 pater Sempronius'] This was Tiberius Oscum, quondam ludicrum,'] Thes(! were 
 
 Sempronius Gracchus, the lover of Julia, the fabulae Atellanae, for which see Dr. 
 
 the wife of M. Agrippa (i. 53). There Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Boman 
 
 are coins extant (Eckhel. v. 304) yrith Antiquities. Cf. Sueton. Tib. 37, " caede 
 
 the inscription Ti. Sempro. Graccus iiiivir in theatre per discordiam admissa, ciapita 
 
 (monetalis) q. desig. The son Caius Grac- factionumet histriones propter quos dissi- 
 
 chus was ' praetor' in a.d. 33 (vi. 16). debatur relegavit." These ' histriones ' 
 
 Aelius Lamia] L. Aelius Lamia was were pantomimi. Cf. Dio. Ivii. 21. tovs 
 
 Consul A.D. 3. He was proconsul of hh 6px'ho"''<''-s . . e^ijKacriOTi cTTdacisijyeipoy. 
 
 Africa (iv. 13) and 'legatus pro praetore' 15. geminis Drusi liheris] Cf. ii. 8-4. 
 
 of Syria some time after a.d. 19 (ii. 74), censorium, funus] A funei^l su(3h as 
 
 and 'praefectus urbis' apparently from that accorded to a censor who died 
 
 A.D. 32 (vi. 11). during the term of oflBice : no doubt a 
 
 14. Is quoque a/nnus'] Cf. iii. 60. The magnificent one, but in what the magni- 
 
 massacre by Mithridates, spoken of be- ficence consisted is not, as far as I am 
 
 low, was in the year 88 A.c. (Of. Cio. aware, known, 
 
 do Imperio Cn. Pompeii, 3). non se ius] 'Lucilius Capito,' although 
 
A.D. 23.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 187 
 
 ius nisi in servitia et pecunias familiares dedisse : quod si vim 
 praetoris usurpasset manibusque militum usus foret, spreta in eo 
 mandata sua : audirent socios. ita reus cognito negotio damnatur. 
 ob quam ultionem, et quia priore anno in C. Silanum vindicatum 
 erat, decrevere Asiae urbes templum Tiberio matrique eius ac 
 senatui. et permissum statuere; egitque Nero grates ea causa 
 patribus atque avo, laetas inter audientimn adfectiones, qui recenti 
 memoria Germanici ilium aspici, ilium audiri rebantur. aderantque 
 iuveni modestia ac forma principe viro digna^ notis in eum Seiani 
 odiis ob periculum gratiora. 
 
 16. Sub idem tempus de flamine Diali in locum Servi Malu- 
 ginensis defuncti legendo, simul roganda nova lege disseruit Cae- 
 sar, nam patricios confarreatis parentibus genitos tres simulj no- 
 minari, ex quis unus legeretur, vetusto more; neque adesse^ ut 
 olim, eam copiam^ omissa confarreandi adsuetudine aut intpr pau- 
 cos retenta. pluresque eius rei causas adferebat^ potissimam 
 
 * procurator' of the Emperor, possessed ceremonies observed were disliked and 
 in consequence no authority except over shunned ; and, lastly, people avoided it 
 the slaves and property of Tiberius, for fear that if they were so married, 
 Capito, however, employed soldiers, and they might find their children, by ap- 
 acted as though he possessed the usual pointment to the office, released from 
 
 . authority of provincial governors, such as the rights which the father exercised 
 
 proconsuls, propraetors, &c. («s /cat apxh*' over them by virtue of the ' patria po- 
 
 Ixw f Trpa^ei/, Dio Ivii. 23) . testas.' One would have thought this 
 
 statuere] The verb, I think, is in the last contingency hardly near enough 
 
 infinitive mood. Cf. iv. 48, " iisque per- to influence those who had, as yet, 
 
 missum vastare, urere, trahere praedas." got no farther than the point where 
 
 Also Grerm. 7, " ne verberare quidem nisi they had to select a form of marriage ; 
 
 sacerdotibus permissum," unless it was that the area of choice to 
 
 16. confa/rreatis parentibus] In a mar- the office was very limited indeed. Servius 
 
 riage by confarreatio, certain formulae on Aen. iv. 374, mentions what may 
 
 were used before ten witnesses, and illustrate the' ipsiuscaeremoniaedifficul- 
 
 some ceremony gone through in which tates.' He says, " mos fuit flamini ac 
 
 * panis farreus ' was used. Cf. Gains i. flaminicae ut per farreationem in nuptias 
 § 112, " farreo in m.anum convenivmt convenirent, sellas duas iugatas ovili 
 per quoddam genus sacrificii in quo far- pelle superiniecta poni eius ovis quae 
 reus panis adhibetur." The ' flamines hostia fuisset, et ibi nubentes velatis capi- 
 maiores,' that is, Diales, Maxtiales, Quiri- tibus in confarreatione flamen ac flami- 
 nales, were always married in accordance nica residerent." If these words describe 
 with this form ; but it had fallen into the marriage of a ' flamen ' with the vir- 
 general disuse, and marriages were ef- gin who was to be 'flaminica' by the 
 fected by ' coemptio ' and ' usus.' rite of ' confarreatio,' I suppose the 
 
 pluresque eius rei] It is not quite same ceremony always took place in 
 certain what ' eius rei ' and ' ipsius caeri- every marriage by * confarreatio ' between 
 moniae ' refer to, whether to the disuse others as well. Possibly Tacitus may 
 of marriage by * confarreatio,' or to the also have in view the limitation imposed 
 difficulty of obtaining candidates for the on those who so man-ied, in the way of di- 
 office of flamen Dialis. But as the words vorce ; as a marriage of this kind could 
 *eius rei' so closely follow 'omissa con- only be dissolved by ' difiarreatio;' so 
 farreandi jwisuetudine,' I think they must that his words embrace all the difficul- 
 refer to it and not to the previous clause : ties connected with the rite itself, or 
 first, all men and women alike were flowing from it, with the additional in- 
 careless about the matter; then the convenieucoof the release of tho' flamen' 
 
188 
 
 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 775-776. 
 
 penes incuriam virorum feminarumque : accedere ipsius caerimoniae 
 difficultates, quae consulto vitarentur, et auoniam exiret e iure ])atrio 
 qui id flaminium apisceretur quaeque in manum flaminis coDveni- 
 ret. ita medendum senatus decreto aut lege^ sicut Augustus quae- 
 dam ex horrida ilia antiquitate ad praesentem usum flexisset. igitur 
 tractatis religionibus placitum institute flaminum nihil demiitari: 
 sed lata lex^ qua flaminica Dialis sacrorum causa in potestate viri, 
 cetera promisco feminarum iure ageret. et filius Maluginensis patri 
 suffectus. utque glisceret dignatio sacerdotum atque ipsis pronaptior 
 animus foretadcapessendas caerimonias^ decretumCorneliaevirgini, 
 quae in locum Scantiae capiebatur, sestertium vicies, et quotiens 
 Augusta theatmm introisset^ ut sedes inter Yestalium consideret. 
 
 17. Cornelio Cethego Visellio Varrone consulibus pontifices 
 eorumque exemplo ceteri sacerdotes, cum pro incolumitate prin- 
 cipis vota susciperent^ Neronem quoque et Drusum isdem dis 
 
 or 'flaminica' fromtlie ' patria potestas.' 
 Here 'quoniam' is put for 'quod,' 'be- 
 cause.' Draeger compares Suet. C. lulius 
 Caesar 74, " interrogatusque cur repu- 
 diasset uxorem, quoniam, inquit, meos 
 tam. suspicione quam crimine iudico ca- 
 rere oportere." A marriage 'per con- 
 farreationem' was necessarily' cum con- 
 ventione,' or, in other words, the woman 
 so married passed into the husband's 
 ' familia,' and so became in the relation 
 of a daughter to him (' in manum conve- 
 nit ') . She would so pass in other mar- 
 riages, those by ' coemptio,' for example, 
 or 'usus' in certain instances ; but that 
 does not affect the point, except so far as 
 this, that the grievance, whatever it 
 might amount to, of this 'conventio in 
 manum ' with reference to the husband, 
 would not be necessarily at all confined to 
 the ' flaminica.' The matter was settled 
 by a compromise, as stated below : " fla- 
 minica Dialis sacrorum causa in potes- 
 tate viri, cetera promisco feminarum 
 jure ageret ;" that is to say, she was to 
 be so far in ' manu viri ' as to enable her 
 to perform all rites, which could only be 
 performed by one who was so circum- 
 stanced ; but in other matters she was to 
 be on the same footing as other women, 
 i. e., I suppose, there was not, as a mat- 
 ter of necessity, to be 'conventio' (cf. 
 Gains i. § 136, " cum enim haec quod ad 
 sacra tantum videatur in manu esse, quod 
 vero ad cetera perinde habeatur atque 
 si in manum non convenisset,") as there 
 had been up to this period, by reason of 
 her marriage ' per confarreationem.' She 
 
 might remain still under the power of 
 her father ; if not in his, she would have 
 to all intents and purposes a legal exist- 
 ence independent of her husband. 
 
 penes incuriam] ' Penes ' is generally 
 restricted to persons, but not always. 
 Cf. Hor. de Arte Poet. 71, " Si volet usus 
 quem penes arbitrium est et ius et r orma 
 loquendi." 
 
 sicut Augustus quaedani] Nipperdey 
 instances a Lex lunia Norbana, passed 
 about A.D. 17, enacting that if a Roman 
 citizen had manumitted a slave without 
 required formalities, the transaction 
 should not always be void ; but the per- 
 son so manumitted should have the 
 ' Latinitas ;' and also a Lex Peti onia, 
 forbidding a master to make his slaves 
 fight with wild beasts. 
 
 ccupiehatur] This was the technical 
 word. Cf. Aul. Cell. i. 12, "qri de 
 Vestali virgine capienda scripserunt ;" 
 and "capi autem virgo prop teres dici 
 videtur, quia pontificis maximi manu 
 prehensa ab eo parente in cuius potes- 
 tate est veluti bello capta abducifcur." 
 For the words below, ' ut sedes inter 
 Vestalium consideret,' cf. Suet. Aug. 44, 
 " solis virginibus Yestalibus locuia in 
 theatre separatim et contra praetoris 
 tribunal dedit." 
 
 17. Visellio Va/rrone'] Lucius YiselHus 
 Varro was son of the C. Viselhus Varro, 
 who was ' consxd suffectus ' a.d. 12 (iii. 
 41). He was " curator riparum et alvei 
 Tiberis" (Gruter, 197. 3). 
 
 vota susciperent] This was on the 
 third of January. Cf. Plut. Cic. 2, rjixeptj. 
 
A.D. 24.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 189 
 
 commendavere, non tarn caritate iuvenum quam adulatione^ quae 
 moribus corruptis perinde anceps, si nulla et ubi nimia est. nam 
 Tiberius baud umquam domui Germanici mitis, turn vero aequari 
 adulescentes senectae suae inpatienter indoluit; accitosque ponti- 
 fices percontatus est, num id precibus Agrippinae aut minis tri- 
 buissent. et illi quidem, quam quam abnuerent, modice perstricti; 
 etenim pars magna e propinquis ipsius aut primores civitatis erant: 
 ceterum in senatu oratione monuit in posterum_, ne quis mobiles 
 adulescentium animos praematuris bonoribus ad superbiam extol- 
 leret. instabat quippe Seianus incusabatque diductam civitatem ut 
 civili bello ; esse qui se partium Agrippinae vocent_, ac ni resis- 
 tatur, fore pluris ; neque aliut gliscentis discordiae remedium quam 
 si unus alterve maxime prompti subverterentur. 
 
 18. Qua causa C. Silium et Titium Sabinum adgreditur. amicitia 
 Germanici permitiosa utrique, Silio et quod ingentis exercitus 
 septem per annos moderator partisque apud Germaniam trium- 
 pbalibus Sacroviriani belli victor, quanto maiore mole procideret, 
 plus formidinis in alios dispergebatur. credebant plerique auctam 
 offensionem ipsius intemperantia, immodice iactantis suum militem 
 in obsequio duravisse, cum alii ad seditiones prolaberentur ; neque 
 mansurum Tiberio imperium, si iis quoque legionibus cupido 
 novandi fuisset. destrui per baec fortunam suam Caesar inpa- 
 remque tanto merito rebatur. nam beneficia eo usque laeta sunt, 
 
 rpiTT] rS>v i/ecoj/ KoKavZSiv iv ^ vvv ol quod plus formidinis in alios disperge- 
 
 &pXovres iijxoi'Tai Koi dvovaiv vtrep rod batur quanto (Silius) raajore/ &c. Below, 
 
 7iytix6vos. for ' man surum ' (fuisse), cf. note on ii. 73. 
 
 subverterentur] It is not quite clear destrwi] The remarks of Silius tended 
 
 why there is a change of tense from the to depreciate the fortune of Tiberius, and 
 
 present ' vocent,' to the imperfect * sub- represent it as quite unequal to reward 
 
 verterentur.' Perhaps it may only be such distinguished services (' merito ') as 
 
 the chance variation often found in his- those claimed by Silius. They made the 
 
 torical narratives, where the present and rise of Tiberius due, not to his own 
 
 past tenses are used convertibly. Or, merit, so much as to the management 
 
 possibly, it may be intentional, and the and forbearance of the other, 
 
 imperfect may be used to show that the n-am beneficia] This is a very true 
 
 remedy suggested is put forward merely remark of Tacitus. Thucydides long be- 
 
 hypothetically, without implying that fore (ii. 40) had remarked that one who 
 
 there was a likelihood of its being ap- confers a favour, is more fond of recalling 
 
 plied in the present case. The following it than one who receives it; because the 
 
 words, however, ar« a little against this receiver looks on the matter as a debt, 
 
 view, although the ruin of the men and he is not easy imder the burden. So 
 
 named might not necessarily follow the Aristotle (Ethics ix. 7), ol fihv (tuep-yexT?- 
 
 attack on them. Oevres) 6<p€i\ovai,ro7s bei^evepyerais) ocpfi- 
 
 18. C. Silium] He was consul in A.D. Xerai. KaOdirfp oZv eVi tSiv Zaviiwv ol fxkf 
 
 13, and 'legatus pro praetore' of Ger- 6<pei\ovuT€i ^ovKovrai /lij dvai oTs 6<pei- 
 
 mania Superior A.D. 14 (i. 31), and father \ov(tiv,&c. Of course, if the person obliged 
 
 of the famous C Silius of xi. 13, &c. is quite aware that he can at any mo- 
 
 Silio et qu^d] The construction is ment pay off his debt, he will not really 
 
 * (hoc) et (also) Silio permitiosum (erat) feel the burden a serious one, and he can 
 
190 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 776. 
 
 dum videntur exsolvi posse : ubi multum antevenere^ pro gi-atia 
 odium redditur. 
 
 19. Erat uxor Silio Sosia Galla, caritate Agrippinae invisa prin- 
 cipi. lios corripi dilato ad tempus Sabino placitum, inmissiisque 
 Varro consul, qui paternas inimicitias obtendens odiis Seiani per 
 dedecus suum gratificabatur. precante reo brevem moram^ dum 
 accusator consulatu abiret, adversatus est Caesar : solitum quippe 
 magistratibus diem privatis dicere : nee infringendum consulis ius, 
 cuius vigiliis niteretur ne quod res publica detrimentum caperet. 
 proprium id Tiberio fuit scelera nuper reperta priscis verbis obte- 
 gere. igitur multa adseveratione^ quasi aut legibus cum Silio age- 
 retur aut Yarro consul aut illut res publica esset^ coguntur patres. 
 silente reo, vel si defensionem coeptaret, non occultaute cuius ira 
 premeretur, conscientia belli Sacrovir diu dissimulatus, victoria per 
 avaritiam foedata, et uxor Sosia arguebantur. nee dubie repe- 
 tundarum criminibus baerebant, sed cuncta quaestione maiestatis 
 exercita, et Silius imminentem damnationem voluntario fine prae- 
 vertit. 
 
 20. Saevitum tamen in bona, non ut stipendiariis pecuniae red- 
 derentur, quorum nemo repetebat, sed liberalitas Augusti a-valsa, 
 conputatis singillatim quae fisco petebantur. ea prima Tiberio 
 erga pecuniam alienam diligentia fuit. Sosia in exilium peilitur 
 Asinii Galli sententia, qui partem bonorum publicandam, pais ut 
 
 get rid of it at any moment, and lie sets uxor Sosia] The charges against Silius 
 off against the feeling of indebtedness were three : first, that having an 
 the actual gain derived from the benefit understanding with Sacrovir, he con- 
 conferred. But if he is conscious that nived at acts of hostility on the part 
 the favour is greater than he can ever of Sacrovir, or failed to repress them 
 repay, he feels like a man in debt to an with any vigour ; secondly, that he had 
 amount he cannot discharge, and may used his victory over Sacrovir (iii. 44) 
 easily conceive an aversion to him who shamefully ; and thirdly, that he had 
 has brought him into this position of allowed his wife to conduct herself with 
 inferiority not momentary, but lasting; impropriety in the province (cf. iii, 33). 
 as Seneca observes (Epist.xix. 11), "leve 20. liheraUtas] The sums bestowed 
 aes alienum debitorem facit, grave ini- by Augustus on Silius, possibly at dif- 
 micum." ferent times, were reckoned, and the 
 
 19. paternas inimicitias'] Cf. iii. 43, amount recovered from his property for 
 
 "mox Varro invalidus senecta vigenti the 'fiscus.' These proceedings against 
 
 Silio concessit." the property of those who died by their 
 
 multa adseveratione] 'With repeated own hands were unusual. Cf. vi. 29, 
 protestations (of the urgency of the case, "damnati publicatis bonis sepultura pro- 
 Ac.).' Cf. ii. 31, "accusatio tamen aput hibebantur; tamen eorum qui de se sta- 
 patres adseveratione eadem peracta." tuebant humabantur corpora, mane bant 
 
 aut Va/rro consul] ' Or Varro were testamenta." 
 
 consul in any thing but the name, or the Asinii OalU] C. Gallus Asinius was 
 
 state of affairs could be really viewed as triumvir monetalis under Augustus, 
 
 a Commonwealth.' For ' illut ' cf. i. 49, consul 8 a.c, and proconsul of Asia. 
 
 " non medicinam illut plurimis cum la- He was accused of adultery with Af,'rip. 
 
 crimis sed cladem appellans." pina, and died of hunger (vi. 23, 25). 
 
A.D. 24.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 191 
 
 liberis relinqueretur censuerat. contra M\ Lepidus quartam accu- 
 satoribus secundum necessitudinem legis, cetera liberis concessit, 
 liunc ego Lepidum temporibus illis gravem et sapientem virum 
 fuisse comperior: nam pleraque ab saevis adulationibus aliorum in 
 melius flexit. neque tamen temperamenti egebat_, cum aequabili 
 auctoritate et gratia aput Tiberium viguerit. unde dubitare cogor, 
 fato et sorte nascendi, ut cetera, ita principum inclinatio in hos, 
 offensio in illos, an sit aliquid in nostris consiliis liceatque inter 
 abruptam contumaciam et deforme obsequium pergere iter ambi- 
 tione ac periculis vacuum, at Messalinus Cotta baud minus claris 
 maioribus, sed animo diversus, censuit cavendum senatus consulto_, 
 ut quamquam insontes magistratus et culpae alienae nescii provin- 
 cialibus uxorum criminibus proinde quam suis plecterentur. 
 
 21. Actum dehinc de Calpurnio Pisone, nobili ac feroci viro. is 
 namque, ut rettuli, cessurum se urbe ob factiones accussatorum in 
 senatu clamitaverat et spreta potentia Augustae trahere in ius 
 Urgulaniam domoque principis excire ausus erat. quae in praesens 
 Tiberius civiliter babuit: sed in animo revolvente iras_, etiam si 
 impetus offensionis languerat, memoria valebat. Pisonem Q. 
 Granius secreti sermonis incusavit adversum maiestatem babiti, 
 adiecitque in domo eius venenum esse eumque gladio accinctum 
 introire curiam, quod ut atrocius vero tramissum : ceterorum, 
 quae multa cumulabantur, receptus est reus, neque peractus ob 
 mortem oportunam. relatum et de Cassio Severe exule, qui sor- 
 
 M. Papius Mutiltis was consul suffec- assigned by Tacitus. I suppose TJlpian 
 
 tus A.D. 9 with Q. Poppaeus Secundus, confounded Cotta et Messallawith Cotta 
 
 and the two gave to the Lex Papia Pop- Messalinus. 
 
 paea its name. For L. Apronius, see iii. proinde quam] The commentators 
 
 21. generally alter this into 'perinde,' not 
 
 necessitudinem legis'] The law was perhaps doing so wisely. Cf. Lucret. iii. 
 
 no doubt the Lex lulia de majestate. 1035, on " dedit terrae, proinde ac famul 
 
 For the payment of the informers, cf. infimus esset." Plant. Trucul. ii. 3, 3, 
 
 vi. 47 and xvi. 33. A fixed sum appears " si proinde amentur mulieres diu quam 
 
 to have been given to them by the Lex lavantj" Trin. i. 2, 27, "edepol proinde 
 
 Papia. Cf. Suet. Nero 11, "praemia ut bene vivitur, diu vivitur." 
 
 delatorum Papiae legis ad quartas rede- 21. ut rettuW] Cf. ii. 34. This waa 
 
 git," although the exact meaning of this Lucius Calpumius Piso (brother of Cn. 
 
 passage is doubtful. Piso). Seeii. 32. 
 
 senatus consulto'] A 'senatus consul. gladio accinctuni] Cf. xi. 22, "Cn. 
 
 turn ' to the same effect is mentioned by Nonius ferro accinctus reperitur in coe- 
 
 Ulpian (Digest, i. 16, 4, 2), "proficisci tu salutantum principem." To wear a 
 
 proconsulem melius quidem est sine sword in the city was forbidden by the 
 
 uxore, sed et cum uxore potest, dum- Lex Plotia de vi publica and subsequent 
 
 mode sciat senatum Cotta et Messalla laws. 
 
 consulibus censuisse futurum ut si quid de Cassio Severo] Cf. i. 72, and Quint, 
 
 uxores eorum qui ad officia proficis- x. i. 116, " et ingenii plurimum est in eo 
 
 cuntur deliquerint, ab ipsis ratio et et acerbitas mira . . . sed plus stomacho 
 
 vindicta exigatur." The date here given quam consilio dedit." 
 is A.D. 20, or four years before the date 
 
192 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 11Q, 
 
 didae originis^ maleficae vitae, sed orandi validus_, per immcMiicas 
 inimicitias ut iudicio iurati senatus Cretam amoveretur effecorat; 
 atque illic eadem actitando recentia veteraque odia advertit , bo- 
 nis que exsutus^ inter die to igni atque aqua^ saxo Seripho con- 
 senuit. 
 
 22. Per idem tempus Plautius Silvanus praetor incertis causis 
 Aproniam coniugem in praeceps iecit, tractusque ad Caesarem ab 
 L. Apronio socero turbata mente respondit^ tamquam ipse sc^mno 
 gravis atque eo ignarus, et uxor sponte mortem sumpsisset. non 
 cunctanter Tiberius pergit in domum, visit cubiculum^ in quo reluc- 
 tantis et impulsae vestigia cernebantur. refer t ad senatum, datis- 
 que iudicibus Urgulania Silvani avia pugionem nepoti misit. quod 
 perinde creditum quasi principis monitu ob amicitiam Augastae 
 cum Urgulania.' reus frustra temptato ferro venas praebuit exsol- 
 vendas. mox Numantina, prior uxor eius, accusata iniecisse car- 
 minibus et veneficiis vaecordiam marito^ insons iudicatur. 
 
 iurati senatus] Cf. i. 74, " proclama- the Urgulania here mentioned. Brothers 
 
 ret se quoque in ea causa laturum sen- of the Plautius Silvanus of the text were 
 
 tentiam palam et iuratum." Also Liv. probably A. Plautius, consul suJFectus 
 
 XXX. 40, "patres iurati (ita enim conve- a.d. 29, and Q. Plautius, consul inA.D. 36 
 
 nerat) censuerunt uti consules provincias (vi, 40) . 
 
 inter se compararent." This oath was tamquam] For the omission of the 
 
 intended to give more solemnity to the verb after 'tamquam' cf. Grerm. 39, "eo- 
 
 decision arrived at, que omnis superstitio respicit tanquam 
 
 advertit] 'Brought on himself.' Cf. inde initia gentis." See a note on i. 11, on 
 
 Plin. Epist. ix. 26, " omnes advertit quod the omission of the subjunctive of ' esse,' 
 
 eminet et exstat." This Cassius Severus datisque iudicibus] The senate under 
 
 is mentioned in the Dialogue de Oi^to- the emperors had entrusted to them the 
 
 ribus, c. 19, " quem primum adfirmant trial of all criminals in their own body, 
 
 flexisse ab ilia vetere atque directa di- But it does not follow that the trial 
 
 cendi via ;" and again, c. 26, " primus itself took place in the curia. It would 
 
 enim contempto ordine rerum, omissa appear not always to have done so 
 
 modestia ac pudore verborum, non pug- from iii. 12, "id solum Germanic© super 
 
 nat sed rixatur." leges, praestiterimus quod in curia ])otius 
 
 22. in praeceps iecit] Cf, vi, 49, "iacto quam in foro, aput senatum potius quam 
 
 in praeceps corpore." In vi, 17, "praeceps aput indices de morte eius anquiri- 
 
 dare " is used. There was a M. Plautius tur," Trials often took place in the 
 
 Silvanus consul 2 a.c, and one of the senate (cf. H. iv. 44) j but I imagine 
 
 legati of Tiberius in the lUyrian war, that under Tiberius at all events, while 
 
 and mentioned in an inscription (Grut. indices for the trial were selected from 
 
 452) : " M, Plautius M. f. A, n. Silvanus the senators, yet the case was tried under 
 
 Cos. vii. vir Epulonum. Huic Senatus the presidency of the praetor, as at cer- 
 
 triumphalia ornamenta decrevit ob res tain periods in republican days, wh(*n the 
 
 in Illyrico bene gestas, Lartia Cn, f. indices consisted of senators only, 
 
 uxor. A, Plautius M, f. Urgulanius vix, Nu/mantina] She was daughter of 
 
 ann. ix." Probably the Plautius Silvanus Q. Fabius Maximus Africanus, consul 
 
 of this passage was his son, and Urgu- 10 a.c. Borghesi points out that ^he is 
 
 lania must have been the mother of the mentioned in an inscription as subse- 
 
 first mentioned M. Plautius Silvanus. quently marrying Sex Apuleius : " ( apud 
 
 She was a friend of Livia or Augusta Morator. 1133, 9). (Sex) Apuleio Sex, f, 
 
 Hi, 34, iv. 21). The wife of Claudius Gal(eria tribu). Sex n. Sex pron. Fabia 
 
 (the Emperor) was a Plautia Urgula- Numantina nato ultimo gentis suae " 
 nilla, and apparently granddaughter of 
 
A.D. 24.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 193 
 
 23. Is demum annus populum Romanum longo adversum Numi- 
 dam Tacfarinatem bello absolvit. nam priores duces ubi impe- 
 trando ti'iumplialium insigni sufl&cere res suas crediderant^ hostem 
 omittebant ; iamque tres laureatae in urbe statuae et adhuc rap- 
 tabat Africam Tacfarinas, auctus Maurorum auxiliis_, qui, Ptole- 
 maeo lubae filio iuventa incurioso libertos regios et servilia imperia 
 bello mutaverant. erat illi praedarum receptor ac socius populandi 
 rex Garamantum, non ut cum exercitu incederet, sed missis levibus 
 copiis, quae ex longinquo in mains audiebantur ; ipsaque e pro- 
 vincial ut quis fortuna inops, moribus turbidus, promptius ruebant, 
 quia Caesar post res a Blaeso gestas, quasi nullis iam in Africa 
 hostibus, reportari nonam legionem iusserat, nee pro consule eius 
 anni P. Dolabella retinere ausus erat, iussa principis magis quam 
 incerta belli metuens. 
 
 24. Igitur Tacfarinas disperso rumore rem Bomanam aliis 
 quoque ab nationibus lacerari eoque paulatim Africa decedere, ac 
 posse reliquos circumveniri, si cuncti quibus libertas servitio potior 
 incubuissent, auget vires positisque castris Thubuscum oppidum 
 circumsidet. at Dolabella contracto quod erat militum, terrore 
 nominis Romani et quia Numidae peditum aciem ferre nequeunt, 
 primo sui incessu solvit obsidium locorumque opportuna per- 
 munivit; simul principes Musulamiorum defectionem coeptantes 
 securi percutit. dein quia pluribus adversum Tacfarinatem expe- 
 ditionibus cognitum, non gravi nee uno incursu consectandum 
 hostem vagum, excito cum popularibus rege Ptolemaeo quattuor 
 agmina parat, quae legatis aut tribunis data; et praedatorias 
 manus delecti Maurorum duxere : ipse consultor aderat omnibus. 
 
 25. Nee multo post adfertur Numidas aput castellum semirutum^ 
 ab ipsis quondam incensum, cui nomen Auzea, positis mapalibus 
 
 23. tres lav/reatae] Those of Foriua under Tacfarinas. 
 
 Camillus (ii. 52), L. Aproniua (iii.21),and audiehantv/r] * Heard of. ' Cf. Grerm. 
 
 lunius Blaesus (iii. 72). These laurelled 37, "cum primum Cimbrorum arma 
 
 statues were common. Agricola had one audita sunt;" and 41, " flumen inclutum 
 
 erected in his honour : Agric. 40, " igitur et notum olim : nunc tantum auditur." 
 
 triumphalia omamenta et inlustris sta- 24. primo sui incessu] Cf. ii. 13, 
 
 tuae honorem et quicquid pro triumpho " ftniturque fama sui ;" vi. 7, " pars ad 
 
 datur, decemi in senatu iubet." This subsidium sui ;" xv. 36, " non longam sui 
 
 war against Tacfarinas began A.D. 17. absentiam." The Thubuscum here men- 
 
 Cf. ii. 52, " eodem anno caeptum in Africa tioned is, I suppose, the Thubursica of 
 
 bellum duce Tacfarinate." Ptolemaeus (iv. 3. 29), near Lambaesa and 
 
 Uhertos regios] These people had chafed Mens Aurasius. Auzea (Auza, or Auzia) 
 
 under the rule of Ptolemaeus, being dis- is in Mauretania Caesariensis, at the foot 
 
 inclined to submit to the authority of of the Montes Graraphi. Its site is said 
 
 his freedmen and slaves, and hankering to be marked by a heap of ruins, called 
 
 after the more congenial atmosphere of Sour Guzlan, or Sour-el-Rezlan, south of 
 
 war. They consequently took service Hamza. 
 
194 . . COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 777. 
 
 consedisse, fisos loco, quia vastis circum saltibus claudebatur. turn 
 expeditae coliortes alaeque, quam in partem ducerentur ig]:arae, 
 cito agmine rapiuntur. simulque coeptus dies et concentu ;}uba- 
 rum ac truci clamore aderant semisonmos in barbaros, praepriditis 
 Numidarum equis aut di versos pastus pererrantibus. ab Romanis 
 confertus pedes, dispositae turmae, cuncta proelio provisa: bos- 
 tibus contra omnium nesciis non arma, non ordo, non consilium, 
 sed pecorum modo trahi, occidi, capi. infensus miles mernoria 
 laborum et adversum eludentis optatae totiens pugnae se quisque 
 ultione et sanguine explebant. differtur per manipulos, Tacfari- 
 natem omnes, notum tot proeliis, consectentur : non nisi duce 
 interfecto requiem belli fore, at ille deiectis circum stipatoribus 
 vinctoque iam filio et effusis undique Romanis, ruendo in tela cap- 
 tivitatem baud inulta morte effugit isque finis armis inpositus. 
 
 26. Dolabellae petenti abnuit triumpbalia Tiberius, Seiano tri- 
 buens, ne Blaesi avunculi eius laus obsolesceret. sed neque Blaesus 
 ideo inlustrior, et buic negatus honor gloriam intendit : quippe 
 minore exercitu insignis captives, caedem ducis bellique confecti 
 famam deportarat. sequebantur et Garamantum legati, raro in 
 urbe visi, quos Tacfarinate caeso perculsa gens et culpae nescia ad 
 satis faciendum populo Romano miserat. cognitis debinc Ptole- 
 maei per id bellum studiis repetitus ex vetusto more bonos, mis- 
 susque e senatoribus qui scipionem eburnum, togam pictam, 
 antiqua patrum munera, daret regemque et socium atque andcum 
 appellaret. 
 
 27. Eadem aestate mota per Italiam servilis belli semina fors 
 oppressit. auctor tumultus T. Curtisius, quondam praetoriae 
 cobortis miles, prime coetibus clandestinis aput Brundisium et cir- 
 
 25. simulque coeptus dies ef] Cf. i. light troops to help Tacfarinas : l»ut the 
 65, " simul haec, et cum deiectis scindit nation perhaps felt that it was his act, 
 agmen." not theirs, and that no blame attached to 
 
 trahi, occidi, ca/[n] For this * asyndeton ' themselves. They were not, therefore, 
 
 cf. iv. 49, "unde saxa, hastae, ignes pro- oppressed by any feeling of wrong- doing, 
 
 pinquum iam in hostem iacerentur, pollui Or perhaps ' culpae nescia ' might imply 
 
 cuncta sanie, odore, contactu." that they were unaccustomed to be under 
 
 optatae totiens pugnae'} This depends a cloud, unused to lie under suspicion of 
 
 on ' memoria :' * from the recollection of having broken their allegiance to Rome, 
 
 their labours, and the wish they had so and so hastened to remove the unco mfort- 
 
 often expressed with reference to their able feeling by speedy reparation. Below, 
 
 baffling foe, to meet him in open bat- * more honos, missusque ' is Doederlein's 
 
 tie.' emendation for the 'more omissusque ' of 
 
 26. ne Blaesi'] Cf. iii. 72. the MS. Livy (xxx. 15) enunaerat3s the 
 et culpae nescia] This is the reading presents made to a king, " Masinissam 
 
 of the MS., and although it is difficult, aurea corona, aurea patera, sella curuli 
 it may be unnecessary to alter it. The ebumea et scipione ebarneo, toga picta 
 king of the Garamantos had sent some et palmari tunica donat." 
 
A.D. 24.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 195 
 
 cumiecta oppida, mox positis propalam libellis ad libertatem voca- 
 bat agrestia per longinquos saltus et ferocia servitia_, cum velut 
 munere deum tres biremes adpulere ad usus commeantium illo 
 mari. et erat isdem regionibus Cutius Lupus quaestor, cui pro- 
 vincia vetere ex more calles evenerat: is disposita classiariorum 
 copia coeptantem cum maxime coniurationem disiecit. missusque 
 a Caesare propere Staius tribunus cum valida manu ducem ipsum 
 et proximos audacia in urbem traxit_, iam trepidam ob multitu- 
 dinem familiarumj quae gliscebat inmensum, minor e in dies plebe 
 ingenua. 
 
 28. Isdem consulibus miseriarum ac saevitiae exemplum atrox, 
 reus pater, accussator filius (nomen utrique Yibius Serenus) in sena- 
 tum inducti sunt, ab exilio retractus inluvieque ac squalore obsitus 
 et tum catena vinctus pater orante filio : praeparatus adulescens 
 multis munditiis, alacri vultu, structas principi insidias, missos 
 in Galliam concitores belli index idem et testis dicebat, adnecte- 
 batque Caecilium Cornutum praetorium ministravisse pecuniam ; 
 qui taedio curarum, et quia periculum pro exitio babebatur, 
 mortem in se festinavit. at contra reus nihil infracto animo 
 obversus in filium quatere vincla, vocare ultores deos, ut sibi 
 quidem redderent exilium, ubi procul tali more ageret, filium 
 autem quandoque supplicia sequerentur. adseverabatque inno- 
 centem Cornutum et falsa exterritum; idque facile intellectu, si 
 
 27. longinquos] 'Remote,' 'distant;' libertate et ob idfama oelebratior: Capi- 
 not, I think, simply ' large.' tonis obsequium dominantibus magis 
 
 calles] The readang seems correct. Cf. probabatur." This supplying 'erat' 
 
 Suet. 0. Julius Caesar 19, "opera op- from the verb in the second clause is 
 
 timatibus data est ut provinciae fufcnris akin to the principle explained in the 
 
 consulibus minimi negotii, id est sUvae note to i. 2, imder * postquam.' 
 
 callesque decemerentur." The duty of CaeciUum Comutum] I take from Nip- 
 
 the 'quaestor' would be, no doubt, to perdey's note an inscription (Momms. 
 
 collect the rents due from those who I. R. N. 6804), where he is mentioned : 
 
 grazed their cattle on these retired pas- "L. Asprenas, P. Viriasius Naso tr. pi. 
 
 ture-lands, stretching, it seems, fix)m M. Caecilius Comutus, L. Volusenus 
 
 behind Ganxpania to the Adriatic coast. Catidus, P. Licinius Stolo curatores locor. 
 
 cum maxime] Cf. a note on this idiom publicor. iudicandor. ex s. c. ex privat. 
 
 in iii. 59. Below, ' tribunus ' is not, of in publicum restituerunt." 
 
 course, ' tribunus plebis,' but tribune of falsa exterritwrn] The reading of the 
 
 a praetorian cohort. MS. is perhaps correct. 'Exterritus' is 
 
 28. retractus] 'Erat' must be sup- equivalent to' metuens,' and constructed, 
 plied after these participles. This seems therefore, in the same way. So ' horrere' 
 the best construction, although others governs an accusative. Cf. Cio. ad Attic, 
 are possible. Cf. i. 55, " Arminiua, tur- ix. 2, " ingrati animi crimen horreo.** 
 bator Grermaniae, Segestes parari rebel- Or, a little differently, ' falsa ' may be 
 lionem saepe alias .... aperuitj" xv. 45, used as a sort of accusative of respect; 
 ** ille libertus cuicumque flagitio promp- * with reference to matters destitute of 
 tus, hio Graeca dootrina ore tenus exer- any foimdation.' Cf. vi. 5, " quae cuncta 
 citus, animum bonis artibus non in- a primoribus civitatis revinoebatur," and 
 duerat ;" iii. 75, " sed Labeo incorrupta " arguitur pleraque." 
 
 o2 
 
196 ; COENELn TACITI [a.u.c. 777. 
 
 proderentur alii : non emm se caedem principis et res novas^ uno 
 socio cogitasse. 
 
 29. Turn accussator Cn. Leiitulum ot Seium Tuberonem noniinat, 
 magno pudore Oaesaris, cum primores cintatis, intimi ipsius tjnici, 
 Lentulus senectutis extremae_, Tubero defecto corpore, tuEDultus 
 hostilis et turbandae rei publicae accerserentur. sed hi quidem 
 statim exempti : in patrem ex servis quaesitum^ et quaestio ad versa 
 accusatori fuit. qui scelere vaecors, simul vulgi rumore territus, 
 robur et saxum aut parricidarum poenas minitantium, cessit urbe. 
 ac retractus Ravenna exsequi accusationem adigitur^ non occul- 
 tante Tiberio vetus odium adversum exulem Serenum. nam post 
 damnatum Libonem missis ad Caesarem litteris exprobraverat suum 
 tantum studium sine fructu fuisse_, addideratque quaedam c;ontu- 
 macius quam tutum aput aures superbas et offensioni proniores. 
 ea Caesar octo post annos rettulit^ medium tempus varie arguens^ 
 etiam si tormenta pervicacia servorum contra evenissent. 
 
 30. Dictis dein sententiis ut Serenus more maiorum puniretur, 
 quo moUiret invidiam, intercessit. Gallus Asinius cum Gyai-o aut 
 Donusa claudendum censeret, id quoque aspernatus est, egenam 
 aquae utramque insulam referens dandosque vitae usus cui vita 
 concederetur. ita Serenus Amorgum reportatur. et quia Cor- 
 nutus sua manu ceciderat, actum de praemiis accusatorum abo- 
 lendis, si quis maiestatis postulatus ante perfectum iudiciiim se 
 ipse vita privavisset. ibaturque in eam sententiam, ni durius con- 
 
 29. Cn. Lentulwrri] See on iv. 44. (him during) tlie intermediate space 
 
 rohur] ' The prison,' ' robur Tullia- various charges.' 
 
 num,' built by Ancus Martins, and en- 30. intercessit} Sc. iure tribuniciae 
 
 larged by Servius Tullius, close to the potestatis. 
 
 Scalae Gemoniae. The 'saxum' is the et quia Comutus~\ One does not see 
 
 * saxum Tarpeium.' Of. Sail. Cat. 55, easily how the fact of Comutus commit- 
 
 "Est locus in carcere quod Tullianum ting suicide could really have any bear- 
 
 adpellatur . . . Eum muniunt undique pa- ing on the question whether inJ brmers 
 
 rietes atque insuper camera lapideis for- should be rewarded for the evidence they 
 
 nicibus vincta, sed incultu tenebris odore gave. If the informer deserved reward 
 
 foeda atque terribilis eius facies est." at all, he deserved it just as much 
 
 parricida/rum poenas'] Cf. Juv. xiii. whether the person accused died by his 
 
 213, " cuius supplicio non debuit una pa- own hand or the sentence of the law ; 
 
 rari Simla, nee serpens unus, nee culleus and if he deserved none, but rather 
 
 unus." Cf. also Cic. pro Rose. Amer. punishment, he deserved this irdepen- 
 
 25. A particular account of the punish- dently of the fate of the criminal. Tacitus 
 
 ment is given by Modestinus, Dig. xlviii. seems to be unreasonable in blaming 
 
 9. 9," poena parricidii more maiorum haeo Tiberius for resisting this proposed abo- 
 
 instituta est ut parricida virgis san- lition of rewards to the informers. It 
 
 guineis verberatus deinde culleo insuatur might be right, or it might be wrong, for 
 
 cum cane, gallo gallinaceo, et vipora, et these rewards to be given ; but the reason 
 
 simia; deinde in mare profundum culleus which led to the proposal for theij: aboli- 
 
 iactetur." tion was absurd. 
 
 varie a/rgufinsl "Bringing against 
 
 x-;*! 
 
A.D. 24.] A.B EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 197 
 
 traque morem suum palam pro accussatoribus Caesar inritas leges^ 
 rem publicam in praecipiti conquestus esset : subverterent potius 
 iura quam custodes eorum amoverent. sic delatores, genus homi- 
 num publico exitio repertum et ne poenis quidem satis umquam 
 coercitum, per praemia eliciebantur. 
 
 31. His tarn adsiduis tamque maestis modica laetitia intericitur^ 
 quod C. Cominium equitem Romanum, probrosi in se carminis 
 convictum^ Caesar precibus fratris, qui senator erat, concessit, 
 quo magis mirum habebatur gnarum meliorum, et quae fama 
 clementiam sequeretur, tristiora malle. neque enim socordia pec- 
 cabat; nee occultum est, quando ex veritate, quando adumbrata 
 laetitia facta imperatorum celebrentur. quin ipse, conpositus alias 
 et velut eluctantium verborum/solutius promptiusque eloquebatur, 
 quotiens subveniret. at P. Suillium quaestorem quondam Ger- 
 manici, cum Italia arceretur convictus pecuniam ob rem iudican- 
 dam cepisse, amovendum in insulam censuit, tanta contentione 
 animi, ut iure iurando obstringeret e re publica id esse, quod 
 aspere acceptum ad praesens mox in laudem vertit regresso 
 Suillio; quern vidit sequens aetas praepotentem, venalem et 
 Claudii principis amicitia diu prospere, numquam bene usum. 
 eadem poena in Catum Firmium senatorem statuitur, tamquam 
 falsis maiestatis criminibus sororem petivisset. Catus, ut rettuli, 
 Libonem inlexerat insidiis, deinde indicio perculerat. eius operae 
 memor Tiberius, sed alia praetendens, exilium deprecatus est : quo 
 minus senatu pelleretur non obstitit. 
 
 32. Pleraque eorum, quae rettuli quaeque referam, parva for- 
 sitan et levia memoratu videri non nescius sum : sed nemo annales 
 nostros cum scriptura eorum contenderit, qui veteres populi 
 Romani res conposuere. ingentia illi bella, expugnationes urbium, 
 fuses captosque reges, aut si quando ad interna praeverterent, 
 discordias consulum adversum tribunes, agrarias frumentariasque 
 
 31. fratris] THs brother was probably Yestilia (Plin. N. H. vii. 4). For his fate, 
 
 Cominius Proculus, who was proconsul cf. xiii. 42, 43. 
 
 of Cyprus under Claudius. His coins are ohstringeref] For the omission of the 
 
 still extant. pronoun after this verb, cf. i. 14, " iure 
 
 verborum] A genitive of quality. Cf. iurando obstrinxit se non excessurum." 
 
 Agricol. 9, "provinciae splendidaein pri- ut rettuli] Cf. ii. 27. 
 
 mis dignitatis;" H. iv. 49, "Valerius 32. p^aeverterenf] * turned their atten- 
 
 Festus sumptuosae iuventutis ;" iv. 29, tion by preference.' The dep>onent form 
 
 "Lentulus senectutis extremae." is more usual in this sense. Cf. Hor. Sat. 
 
 P. SuilUwrn] P. Suillius Rufus was i. 3. 38, " illuc praevertamur." Plautus, 
 
 * consul suflfectus ' a..d. 46. He was half- Mil. Glor. iv. 2. 102, " iamisti rei praever- 
 
 brother to Domitius Corbulo (iii. 31), and temur." 
 Caesonia, wife of Caligula, by his mother 
 
198 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 778. 
 
 legeSj plebis et optimatium certamina libero egressu memora oant : 
 nobis in arto et inglorius labor ; immota quippe ant modice laces- 
 sita paXj maestae urbis res et princeps proferendi imperi incutiosus 
 erat. non tamen sine usu fuerit introspicere ilia prime aspectu 
 levia, ex quis magnarum saepe rerum motus oriuntur. 
 
 33. Nam cunctas nationes et urbes populus aut primores aut 
 singuli regunt : delecta ex iis et consociata rei publicae forma 
 laudari facilius quam evenire, vel si evenit, baud diuturna esse 
 potest, igitur ut olim plebe valida, vel cum patres poUerent^ nos- 
 cenda vulgi natura et quibus modis temperanter baberetur, sena- 
 tusque et optimatium ingenia qui maxime perdidicerant^ callidi 
 temporum et sapientes credebantur, sic converse statu neqiie alia 
 re Romana quam si unus imperitet^ haec conquiri tradique in rem 
 fuerit, quia pauci prudentia honesta ab deterioribus, utilia ab noxiis 
 discernuntj plures aliorum eventis docentur. ceterum ut profu- 
 tura, ita minimum oblectationis adferunt. nam situs gentium, 
 varietates proeliorum, clari ducum exitus retinent ac redintegrant 
 legentium animum : nos saeva iussa, continuas accusationes, fal- 
 laces amicitias, permitiem innocentium et easdem exitii causas con- 
 iungimus, obvia rerum similitudine et satietate. turn quod antiquis 
 scrip toribus rarus obtrectator, neque refert cuiusquam Punicas 
 Romanasve acies laetius extuleris : at multorum, qui Tibeiio re- 
 
 Uhero egressu] ' With free scope.' The tive : an assertion I do not understand, 
 
 meaning seems fixed by the words *in They are, I think, in the noninative 
 
 arto.' Tacitus was confined within a case; and the construction is 'ut . . . 
 
 narrow area of petty events : the older noscenda vulgi natura (erat) efc (erat 
 
 historians had a wide field to career noscendum) quibus, &c., iique qui . . . 
 
 through of great and stirring events. perdidicerant . . callidi . . credel)antur.* 
 
 33. cunctas nationes'] Tacitus here, For * callidus ' with a genitive cf. H. 
 
 as Archbishop Whately remarks in his ii. 31. Forcellini quotes ColunKilla vii. 
 
 editionof Bacon's Essays, was misled by 7 for the same construction, \^hich, I 
 
 experience. He had observed that states believe, is the only other instance;, 
 
 were governed by monarchies, oligar- quami si unus imperitet] The govern - 
 
 chies or democracies, and that forms of ment of Eome was nominally, Tacitus 
 
 government, compounded in any way of means probably, carried on with the 
 
 these, were either impracticable alto- old machinery of consuls, senate, &c. 
 
 gether, or unable to continue long. Con- The liberty, however, was only seeming, 
 
 sequently he assumed as an axiom that and the state was really entirely under 
 
 no government of the kind could possibly the control of the Emperor alone. It 
 
 last. Thelongcontinuanceof theform of was a despotism to all intents and pur- 
 
 govemment established in this country poses. Cf. iv. 20, " quasi Yarro consul, 
 
 proves his error. Perhaps in the words aut illut res publica esset." 
 
 'consociata rei publicae forma' Tacitus turn qtiod] The 'quod' may be correct, 
 
 was thinking of a passage in Cic. do although some editors alter or omit it. 
 
 Eepub. i. 29, "quartum quoddam genus The sentence gives an additional reason 
 
 rei publicae maxime probandum esse why the narrative of Tacitus would be 
 
 censeo, quod est ex his quae prima dixi displeasing : it would ofiend living repre- 
 
 moderatum et permixtum tribus. sentatives of some of the chf.racters 
 
 noscenda vulgi natura] In what case are mentioned in it. 
 
 these words ? Nipperdey says in the abla- Eomanasve] Nipperdey reads Roma- 
 
A.D. 25.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 199 
 
 gente poenam vel infamias subiere, poster! manent. utque fami- 
 liae ipsae iam extinctae sint, reperies qui ob similitudinem morum 
 aliena malefacta sibi obiectari putent. etiam gloria ac virtus 
 infeusos babet, ut nimis ex propinquo diversa arguens. sed ad 
 inceptum redeo. 
 
 34. Cornelio Cosso Asinio Agrippa consulibus Cremutius Cordus 
 postulatur, novo ac tunc primum audito crimine, quod editis anna- 
 libus laudatoque M. Bruto C. Cassium Romanorum ultimum dix- 
 isset. accusabant Satrius Secundus et Pinarius Natta^ Seiani 
 clientes. id permitiabile reo, et Caesar truci vultu defensionem 
 accipiens^ quam Cremutius_, relinquendae vitae certus_, in bunc 
 modum exorsus est : " verba mea, patres conscripti, arguuntur : 
 adeo factorum innocens sum. sed neque baec in principem aut 
 principis parentem, quos lex maiestatis amplectitur : Brutum et 
 Cassium laudavisse dicor_, quorum res gestas cum plurimi compo- 
 suerint, nemo sine bonore memoravit. Titus Livius^ eloquentiae 
 ac fidei praeclarus in primis^ Cn. Pompeium tantis laudibus tulit,^ 
 ut Pompeianum eum Augustus appellaret; neque id amicitiae 
 eorum offecit. Scipionem^ Afranium^ bunc ipsum Cassium^ bunc 
 
 nasne. In xiv. 51 the reading is " incer- to his deatli — a work read by Angnstna 
 
 turn valetudine aut veneno ;'* and vi. 23, himself (Dio Cass. Ivii. 24; Suet. August. 
 
 " sponte vel necessitate incertum habe- 35) . A similar charge was brought against 
 
 batur." If these passages are correct, Arulenus Eusticus and Herennius Senecio 
 
 there would be no difficulty about the under Domitian : " legimus cum Aruleno 
 
 use of ' ve ' here. But in any case the Rustico Paetus Thrasea, Herennio Se- 
 
 reading, I think, may stand, if the sense necioni Priscus Helvidius laudati essent 
 
 be not, * it makes no diflference to any capitale foisse " Agric. 2. 
 one whether you extol the Punic or reUnquendae vitae certusl For the gem- 
 
 Roman armies the more highly,' but tive cf. xii. 66, "sceleris olim certa;" 
 
 'whether you extol too highly any and Yirg. Aen. iv. 54, "iamcertuseundi." 
 
 armies, whether they may be those of Below, 'praeclarus eloquentiae ac fidei' 
 
 Carthage or Rome.' is a construction found nowhere else. 
 
 diversa arguens] The virtues of con- Draeger says ' fides ' is * impartiality,' 
 
 temporaries are more reproachful than ** sine ira et studio " i. 1. 
 the virtues of antiquity, because we can Scipionem] This was Q.CaeciliusMetel- 
 
 always naake ourselves believe that times lus Pius Scipio, consul in the year 52 a.c. 
 
 are altered, and there was more scope and father-in-law of Cn. Pompeius. He 
 
 then for excellence than now. But if our was killed at Hippo 47 a.c. (Bell. Afric. 
 
 contemporaries, or those who are nearly 96). Afranius was the Lucius Afranius 
 
 so, display great virtues, it is a reproof who was consid 60 a.c, and afterwards 
 
 to us, because, their circumstances being legatus of Cn. Pompeius in Spain, and 
 
 similar to our own, the defect must be died at the same time as Scipio. Asinius 
 
 in us, not in the times. Pollio wrote a history of the civil war 
 
 34. ComeUo Cosso'] Cossus Cornelius (Suet, de Illust. Gram. 10). He is the 
 
 Lentulus was the son of Cn. Cornelius Pollio addressed by Horace in ii. 1, and 
 
 Cossus Lentulus, who was constd 1 a.c. spoken of by Virgil, Eclog. iii. 84 : " Pollio 
 
 and brother of the Lentulus Gaetulicus amat nostram, quamvis sit rustica, mu- 
 
 of iv. 42. Asinius Agrippa was son of sam. Pollio et ipse facit nova carmina." 
 
 Asinius Gallus. Messalla Corvinus (father of Messalla 
 
 editis annalihus] Cordus had written Valerius i, 8) the orator, also seems to 
 
 a history of the career of Augustus up have written a history of the civil war. 
 
200 COENELn TACITI [a.u.c. 778. 
 
 Brutum nusquam latrones et parricidas, quae nuiic vocabula inpo- 
 nuntur, saepe ut insignis viros nominat. Asinii PoUionis soripta 
 egregiam eorundem memoriam tradunt ; Messalla Corvinus :jiipe- 
 ratorem suum Cassmm praedicabat : et uterque opibusque atque 
 honoribus perviguere. Marci Ciceronis libro^ quo Catonem caelo 
 aequavit, quid aliud dictator Caesar quam rescripta oratione, velut 
 apud iudices, respondit ? Antonii epistulae, Bruti contiones falsa 
 quidem in Augustum probra^ set multa cum acerbitate habent; 
 carmina Bibaculi et CatuUi referta contumeliis Caesarum leguntur : 
 sed ipse divus lulius^ ipse divus Augustus et tulere ista et reli- 
 quere, baud facile dixerim, moderatione magis an sapientia. nam- 
 que spreta exsolescunt : si irascare, adgnita videntur/' 
 
 35. ^^ Non attingo Graecos, quorum non modo libertas^ etiam 
 libido impunita; aut si quis advertit, dictis dicta ultus est. sed 
 maxdme solutum et sine obtrectatore fuit prodere de iis, quos mors 
 odio aut gratiae exemisset. num enim armatis Cassio et Bruto ac 
 Pbilippenses campos optinentibus belli civilis causa populum per 
 contiones incendo? an illi quidem septuagesimum ante s^nnum 
 peremti, quo modo imaginibus suis noscuntur, quas ne victor qui- 
 dem abolevit, sic partem memoriae aput scriptores retinent ? 
 suum cuique decus posteritas rependit ; nee derunt, si darrmatio 
 ingruit qui non modo Cassii et Bruti set etiam mei meminerint/^ 
 egressus dein senatu vitam abstinentia finivit. libros per e^ediles 
 cremandos censuere patres : et manserunt occultati et editi. quo 
 magis socordiam eorum inridere libet, qui praesenti potentia cre- 
 
 opibiLsque atque honoribtis'] Cf. iv. 3, denied. Walther quotes Cic, de Leg. ii. 
 
 " seque ac maiores et posteros." See the 2, " numqtiid duas babetis pati-ias, an 
 
 note on i. 4, under 'seque et domum.' est una ilia patria communis ? " Or is it 
 
 * Perviguere ' is * flourished to the end of rather the case that they naturally retain 
 
 their lives.' The word occurs nowhere else, a portion of the recollection accorded 
 
 rescripta oratione'] This of course refers them in the pages of writers r' ' The 
 
 to the * Anticato ' in two books, composed Emperor does not obliterate theii- busts : 
 
 by Caesar in reply to Cicero's work on so historians do not blot out their cha- 
 
 Cato (Suet. C. Julius Caesar 56). racters fi:t)m their works. Just below, 
 
 set multa'] Kritz suggests * et,' but * septuagesimum ' is not intended to be 
 
 the sense is clear : the works in question an accui-ate computation j for ths battle 
 
 were abusive ; falsely no doubt (quidem) of Phihppi was 42 a.c, and tlie date 
 
 but still abusive and fnll of rancour. M. here 25 a.d. 
 
 Furius Bibaculus, of Cremona, was a et manserunt] I do not see that the 
 
 poet of small repute, whose verses were reading need be altered to 'set.' The 
 
 fall of rancour and turgidity. Cf. Hor. sense is, * and yet in spite of that, they 
 
 Sat. i. 10. 36, and ii. 5. 41. He was a remained.' See the note on i. 3S under 
 
 contemporary of Catullus. Specimens of * et nihil ausos.' These writings sur- 
 
 his writings are to be found in Suet, de vived at all events to Caligula s time, 
 
 must. Gram. 11. Cf. Suet. CaUg. 16, "Titi Labieni, Cordi 
 
 35. an illi] After num, * an ' implies Cremutii, Cassii Severi scripta senatus 
 
 that the second alternative is the true consultis abolita requiri et osse in 
 
 statement and the former one is virtually manibus lectitarique permisit." 
 
A.D. 25.] AB EXOESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 201 
 
 dunt extingui posse etiam sequentis aevi memoriam. nam contra 
 punitis ingeniis gliscit auctoritas, neque aliut externi reges aut qui 
 eadem saevitia usi sunt, nisi dedecus sibi atque illis gloriam 
 peperere. 
 
 36. Ceterum postulandis reis tarn continuus annus fuit, ut 
 feriarum Latinarum diebus praefectum urbis Drusum, auspicandi 
 gratia tribunal ingressum, adierit Calpumius Salvianus in Sextum 
 Marium : quod a Caesare palam increpitum causa exilii Salviano 
 fuit. obiecta publico Cyzicenis incuria caerimoniarum divi Augusti, 
 additis violentiae criminibus adversum cives Romanes, et amisere 
 libertatem, quam bello Mitkridatis meruerant, circumsessi nee 
 minus sua const antia quam praesidio LucuUi pulso rege. at Fon- 
 teius Capito, qui pro consule Asiam curaverat^ absolvitur, con- 
 perto ficta in eum crimina per Yibium Serenum. neque tamen id 
 Sereno noxae fuit, quem odium publicum tutiorem faciebat. nam 
 ut quis destrictior accusator, velut sacrosanctus erat : leves igno- 
 biles poenis adficiebantur. 
 
 37. Per idem tempus Hispania ulterior missis ad senatum legatis 
 oravit, ut exemplo Asiae delubrum Tiberio matrique eius ^exstrue- 
 ret. qua occasione Caesar, validus alioqui spernendis honoribus 
 
 36. praefechi/m urhis] When on tlie changed from 'Cyziceni' to 'rex.' But 
 
 *reriae Latinae' the consuls were ab- the reflexive pronoTui is used, because 
 
 sent at the Alban mount, their place mentally the ' Cyziceni ' are regarded as 
 
 was supplied by the praefectus urbis. still the subject of the whole sentence. 
 
 Whether the substitute, however, could althoughgrammatically they have ceased 
 
 convene a meeting of the senate was a to be so. This is of very common occur- 
 
 matter of dispute. Cf. Aul. Gell. xiv. 8. rence. In any sentence of the form ' he 
 
 In other respects, however, he took their asked the men to help him,' a Latin author 
 
 functions upon him (vi. 11) . The posses- would invariably write, "petiit ex ho- 
 
 sion of this office by Drusus is attested minibus ut sibi auxiliarentur," although 
 
 by an inscription (Or. n, 667) : " Druso the subject of the latter verb is 'homines/ 
 
 Caesa(ri) (Germa)nici Caesaris (f. Ti.) to which ' sibi ' does not refer. 
 Aug. n. divi Aug. (pron.) praefecto Fonteius Capito^ Caius Fonteius, C. f. 
 
 nrbi." C. n. Capito, was consul in a.d. 12 with 
 
 auspicandi ] * For the purpose of Germanicus. His father was consul suf- 
 
 inaugurating his office.' It was usual fectus 33 a.c. 
 
 for a magistrate on the first day of office destrictior] More pressing or ma- 
 te discharge some function of the post nacing. A metaphor apparently from a 
 he held, by way of inaugurating it. sword drawn from the scabbard, and 
 Some trifling matter was generally se- ready for use. The word is only found 
 lected for this purpose. Cf. Suet. Nero in late writers in this sense. Cf. Valer. 
 7, " auspicatus est et iuris dictionem Max. viii. 2. 2, " ex arnica obsequenti 
 praefectus urbi Sacro Latinanim, cele- subito destrict^m faeneratricem agere 
 berrimis patronis non tralaticias, ut coepit." It is used also by Pliny the 
 assolet, et breves sed maximas plurimas- younger (Epist. ix. 21. 4). 
 que postulationes certatim ingerentibus." 37. exemplo Asiae] Cf. iv. 15. For 
 For ' Sextus Marius ' cf. vi. 19 ; and * alioqui ' (' in other instances,' ' putting 
 below, for ' publico ' see a note on i. 13. this out of the reckoning ') cf. H. iii.» 32, 
 
 siui constantia'] Strictly, ' sua ' should " ditem alioqui colouiam maiore opum 
 
 have been * eorum,' for by the introduc- specie complebat." 
 tion of * pulso rege ' the subject has been ■ . 
 
202 , COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 778. 
 
 et respondendum ratus iis quorum rumore arguebatur in arr.bi- 
 tionem flexisse, huiusce modi orationem coepit : " scio^ patres con- 
 scriptij constantiam meam a plerisque desideratam, quod Awiae 
 civitatibus nuper idem istud petentibus non sim adversatus. i^cgo 
 et prioris silentii defensionem^ et quid in futurum statuerim_, sirnul 
 aperiam. cum divus Augustus sibi atque urbi Romae templum 
 apud Pergamum sisti non probibuisset^ qui omnia facta dictaque 
 eius vice legis observem, placitum iam exemplum promptius se- 
 cutus sum, quia cultui meo veneratio senatus adiungebafcur. 
 ceterum ut semel recepisse veniam babuerit, ita omnes per provin- 
 cias efl&gie numinum sacrari ambitiosum, superbum ; et vanescet 
 Augusti honor, si promiscis adulationibus vulgatur/^ 
 
 38. ^^Ego me, patres conscripti, mortalem esse et hominum officia 
 fungi satisque habere, si locum principem impleam, et vos tester et 
 meminisse posteros volo ; qui satis superque memoriae meae tri- 
 buent, ut maioribus meis dignum, rerum vestrarum providum, 
 constantem in periculis, oflfensionum pro utihtate pubhca non pfivi- 
 dum credant. haec mihi in animis vestris templa, hae pulcherrimae 
 effigies et mansurae. nam quae saxo struuntur, si indicium poste- 
 rorum in odium vertit, pro sepulchris spernuntur. proinde socios 
 cives et deos ipsos precor, hos ut mihi ad finem usque vitae quiet am 
 et intelligentem humani divinique iuris mentem duint, illos ut, 
 quandoque concessero, cum laude et bonis recordationibus facta 
 atque famam nominis mei prosequantur/' perstititque posthac 
 secretis etiam sermonibus aspernari talem sui cultum. quod ahi 
 modestiam, multi, quia diffideret, quidam ut degeneris animi inter- 
 pretabantur. optumos quippe mortalium altissima cupere : sic 
 Herculem et Liberum apud Graecos, Quirinum apud nos deam 
 numero additos : melius Augustum qui speraverit. cetera princi- 
 
 sihi atque v/rhi Romae] Cf. note on i. cessarily treated with insult, but they 
 
 10, under 'vellet.' There is an inscription are at all events a sujEcient contrast to 
 
 (Or. n. 606) , Romae et Avgvsto Caesaki temples to make the remark true. The 
 
 Divi F. Patri Patriae. shrines would be allowed to fall into 
 
 38. fungi] For the accusative after decay, and so far, resemble old tombs. 
 
 this verb cf. iii. 2, "ut munera fun- Orelli quotes Ovid. Heroid. iii. 98, 'at 
 
 gerentur." It is also similarly con- mea pro nullo pondere verba caduiit." 
 
 Btructed in Suetonius (August. 35. 45) Below for 'quandoque,' see note on the 
 
 and Terence (Heauton. i. 1. 14). word, i. 4. 
 
 ut credanf] This is a little awkward meUv^'] 'Better' than whom, or what? 
 
 from its extreme brevity. * Ut credant ' The sense appears tp be that Augustxia 
 
 is explanatory of ' tribuent,' or rather had acted more wisely in hoping for 
 
 depends on words supplied mentally, immortality than Tiberius in discounte- 
 
 " Satis superque memoriae meao tri- nanciug the offers to erect a temple for 
 
 buent si tan turn tribuant ut credant." his worship. This was viewed by many 
 
 pro sepulchris'] 'Are spumed as so as a proof of self-distrust, as a conviction 
 
 many graves.' Not that graves are ne- in his own breast of his unworthinesK of 
 
A.D. 25.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 203 
 
 pibus statim adesse: unum insatiabiliter parandum^ prosperam 
 sui memoriam j nam contemptu famae contemni virtutes. 
 
 39. At Seianus nimia fortuna socors et muliebri insuper cu- 
 pidine incensus, promissum matrimonmin flagitante Livia, com- 
 ponit ad Caesarem codicillos : moris quippe turn erat quamquam 
 praesentem scrip to adire. eius talis forma fuit : benivolentia patris 
 August! et mox plurimis Tiberii iudiciis ita insuevisse, ut spes 
 votaque sua non prius ad deos quam ad principum aures conferret. 
 neque fulgorem honorum umquam precatum : excubias ac labores, 
 ut unum e militibus, pro incolumitate imperatoris malle. ac tamen 
 quod pulcherrimum adeptum, ut coniunctione Caesaris dignus 
 crederetur : hinc initium spei. et quoniam audiverit Augustum in 
 conlocanda filia non nihil etiam de equitibus Romanis consulta- 
 visse^ ita, si maritus Liviae quaereretur, haberet in animo amicum 
 sola necessitudinis gloria usurum. non enim exsuere inposita 
 munia : satis aestimare firmari domum adversum iniquaa Agrip- 
 pinae offensiones, idque liberorum causa ; nam sibi multum super- 
 que vitae fore, quod tali cum principe explevisset. 
 
 40. Ad ea Tiberius laudata pietate Seiani suisque in eum bene- 
 ficiis modice percursis, cum tempus tamquam ad integram con- 
 sultationem petivisset, adiunxit : ceteris mortalibus in eo stare 
 consilia, quid sibi conducere putent; principum diversam esse 
 sortem, quibus praecipua rerum ad famam derigenda. ideo se non 
 illuc decurrere quod promptum rescriptu, posse ipsam Liviam 
 
 the honour offered him. Some believed thing as * satis existimare :' at least, I 
 
 that Tiberius felt himself worthy of the can find no undoubted instance of the 
 
 honour, but declined it from genuine use of ' aestimare ' in the sense of * think- 
 
 modesty ; others, that he declined it be- ing.' Tacitus always, I think, uses the 
 
 cause, however much he might wish for word in the sense of valuing, rating, ap- 
 
 it, he felt that he had no fair claim to it praising: cf. Agric. 40, "magnos viros 
 
 (quia diffideret) ; others, lastly, believed per ambitionem aestimare :" i.e., 'to value 
 
 that he cared nothing whatever for it; them.' So Germ. 6, "inuniversum aesti- 
 
 if so, it proved, in their opinion, his mean- manti," to one who forms his estimate 
 
 ness of spirit (degeneris animi). For the frona a view of the whole matter ; xiii.42, 
 
 ellipse of the verb 'egisse' or the like, "an gravius aestimandum;" vi. 8, "non 
 
 cf. i. 43. est nostrum aestimare quem supra cete- 
 
 39. iudiciis'] Cf. Agric. 43, "satis con- ros et quibus de causis extollasj" xiii. 17, 
 
 stabat lecto testamento Agricolae .... " antiquas fratrum discordias et insocia- 
 
 laetatum eum esse velut honore iudicio- bile regnum aestimantes ;" H. i. 16, "nos 
 
 que." Below, for 'coniunctione Caesaris,' bello et ab aestimantibus asciti;" and in 
 
 cf. iii. 29, "filio Claudii socer Seianus the same chapter, "nosci a principibus 
 
 destinaretur." fortuitum nee ultra aestimatur." The 
 
 de equitibus Romanis'] Cf. Suet. Tib. sense here therefore is, that Sejanus 
 
 63, "hoc quoque defuncto ac diu etiam 'valued at its full worth' the security 
 
 ex equestri ordine circumspectis con- obtained for his family by the proposed 
 
 ditionibus Tiberium privignum suum arrangement : he gave the proper value 
 
 elegit." to it, and so to say, ' did not want more 
 
 satis aestimare] This is not the same for his money.' 
 
204 • CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 778. 
 
 statuere, nubendum post Drusum an in penatibus isdem toleran- 
 dum baberet j esse illi matrem et ariam^ propiora consilia. sim- 
 plicius acturum, de inimicitiis primum Agrippinae, quas lc>nge 
 acrius arsnras_, si matrimonium Li viae velut in partes doraum 
 Caesarum distraxisset. sic quoque erumpere aemulationem ibmi- 
 narum, eaque discordia nepotes suos convelli : quid si intendatur 
 certamen tali coniugio ? ^^ falleris enim^ Seiane^ si te mansiirum 
 in eodem ordine putas^ et Liviam^ quae C. Caesari, mox Druso 
 nupta fueritj ea mente acturam, ut cum equite Romano senescat. 
 ego ut sinam^ credisne passuros qui fratrem eius_, qui patrem niaio- 
 resque nostros in summis imperiis videre ? vis tu quidem istum 
 intra locum sistere : sed illi magistratus et primores, qui te invitum 
 perrumpunt omnibusque de rebus consulunt, excessisse iam pridem 
 equestre fastigium longeque antisse patris mei amicitias non oc- 
 culti ferunt perque invidiam tui me quoque incusant. at enim 
 Augustus filiam suam equiti Romano tradere meditatus est. mi rum 
 bercule, si cum in omnis curas distraheretur immensumque attolli 
 provideret quem coniunctione tali super alios extulisset^ 0. Pro- 
 culeium et quosdam in sermonibus babuit insigni tranquillitate 
 vitae, nuUis rei publicae negotiis permixtos. sed si dubitatione 
 Augusti movemur, quanto validius est quod Marco Agrippae, mox 
 mihi conlocavit ? atque ego baec pro amicitia non occultavi : 
 ceterum neque tuis neque Liviae destinatis adversabor. ipse tpid 
 intra animum volutaverim^ quibus adbuc necessitudinibus imnis- 
 cere te mihi parem, omittam ad praesens referre : id tanfcum 
 aperiam, nihil esse tarn excelsum^ quod non virtutes istae tuusque 
 in me animus mereantur^ datoque tempore vel in senatu vel in 
 contione non reticebo.^^ 
 
 40, nuhendum haberef] For this use of convulsa principis domus." 
 'habere' with the gerundive of. xiv. 44, patris mei amicitias'] Sejanus out- 
 
 " si nunc primum statuendum habere- stripped the other friends of Tiberius 
 
 mus;" De Oratoribus 31, "sive apud adopted by father Augustus. Sejanus had 
 
 timentes dicendum habuerit ;" H. i. 15. gained an eminence, not reached by any of 
 
 Below, * propiora consilia ' is * advice Augustus' favourites, such as Agrippa, 
 
 nearer (to her) ' than himself. Of course Maecenas, &o. *'Non occulti ferunt" is 
 
 with 'acturum' 'se' is to be supplied. 'bear with no disguised feelings,' i.e. 
 
 matrern] Livia's mother was An- * openly show their arrogance.' 
 tonia minor, and her grandmother was Proculeium] Caius Proculeius was 
 
 Livia Augusta. brother of Varro Murena (i. 10), and 
 
 sic quoque] Even so, as it was. The Terentia, the wife of Maecenas. He is 
 
 grandsons spoken of below are the sons the Proculeius of Horace, Od. ii. 2, 5, 
 
 of DrusuB and Germanicus, the former "vivet extento Proculeius aevo Notus in 
 
 his own son, the latter his son by adop- fratres animi paterni." Below, for 'in- 
 
 tion. Livia's brother was Germanicus, miscere,' Draeger aptly quotes Liv. iv. 4, 
 
 and her father the elder Drusus. For "ne adfinitatibus, nepropinquitatibu.s in- 
 
 * convelli' of. xii. 1, " Caedo Messalinae misoeajmur cavent, ne sooietur sanguis." 
 
A.D. 25.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 205 
 
 41. Eursum Seianus, noniam de matrimonio, sedaltius metuens, 
 tacita suspicionum_, vulgi rumorem, ingruentem invidiam depre- 
 catur. ac ne adsiduos in domum coetus arcendo infringeret poten- 
 tiam aut receptando facultatem criminantibus praeberet, hue flexit, 
 ut Tiberium ad vitam procul Roma amoenis locis degendam im- 
 pelleret. multa quippe providebat : sua in manu aditus littera^ 
 rumque magna ex parte se arbitrum fore, cum per milites com- 
 mearent; mox Oaesarem vergente iam senecta secretoque loci 
 moUitum munia imperii facilius tramissurum; et minui sibi iur. 
 vidiam adempta salutantum turba, sublatisque inanibus veranf 
 potentiam augeri. igitur paulatim negotia urbis, populi adcursus, 
 multitudinem adfluentium increpat, extollens laudibus quietem et 
 solitudinem, quis abesse taedia et offensiones ac praecipua rerum 
 maxime agitari. - 
 
 42. Ac forte babita per illos dies de Votieno Montano, Celebris 
 ingenii viro, cognitio cunctantem iam Tiberium perpulit ut vitandos 
 crederet patrum coetus vocesque, quae plerumque verae et graves 
 coram ingerebantur. nam postulate Yotieno ob contumelias in 
 Caesarem dictas, testis Aemilius e militaribus viris dum studio 
 probandi cuncta refert et quamquam inter obstrepentes magna 
 adseveratione nititur, audivit Tiberius probra quis per occultum 
 lacerabatur_, adeoque perculsus est, ut se vel statim vel in cogni- 
 tione purgaturum clamitaret precibusque proximorum, adulatione 
 
 41. receptando'] Tacitus is very fond * he increased in real power.' Of course 
 
 of frequentatives : lie uses "despectare " the present ' augere' is no harder task to 
 
 (ii. 43) ; "advectare" (vi. 13); " susfec- xmderstand than 'minui,' as there is a 
 
 tare " (i. 5) ; " appellitare " (iv. 65) ; " naan- blending of a general maxim with a par- 
 
 sitare" (xiii. 44); "emptitare" (xiv. 41); ticular application to himself by the 
 
 "queritari" (xvi. 34) ; "convectare" (H. plotter. But the construction is exces- 
 
 iii. 27); "subvectare" (xv. 43) ; "recur- sively awkward, and in H. iii. 45, Taci- 
 
 sare" (H. ii. 78); "redemptare" (H. iii. tus writes "auxerat potentiam," not 
 
 34). Most of these are found either in 'potentia.' 
 
 Tacitus alone, or in late writers. Tnaximey * The most important con- 
 vergence iam senecta'] In ii. 43, Ta- cems chiefly would be discussed.' The 
 citus uses the phrase "suam aetatem 'princeps' would be secured from petty 
 vergere" in the sense clearly of age, interruptions, and be able to reserve 
 life waning, drawing towards its close, himself for important business only. 
 Here therefore the meaning is, 'his old 42. de Votieno Montano] An orator, 
 age advancing to its end.' Tiberius had mentioned by Seneca (Controv. xxviii. 17), 
 not only reached old age, but was ad- who finds fault with him for destroying 
 vanced even in that : he had reached the the effect of his speeches by repetition : 
 last stage of existence, and was no longer "sententias suas repetendo corrumpit : 
 in the beginning even of that, but well dum non est contentus unam rem semel 
 on. bene dicere, efl&cit ne bene dixerit." 
 
 veram potentiam augeri] 'Vera poten- in cognitione] Not apparently the trial 
 
 tia augere' is the reading of the MS., but of Votienus, for that was going on, and 
 
 it seems difficult to suppose that Tacitus could scarcely be opposed therefore to 
 
 wrote thus. Sometimes 'augere' is used 'statim.' If so, 'cognitio' would be, 
 
 as a neuter verb, and the sense would be not exactly a formal trial, for the Emperor 
 
 ^ 
 
206 . COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. '^78. 
 
 omnium aegre componeret animum. et Yotienus quidem m?ies- 
 tatis poenis adfectus est : Caesar obiectam sibi adversus reos iiicle- 
 mentiam eo pervicacius amplexus^ Aquiliam adulterii delatam (3mn 
 Yario Ligure^ quamquam Lentulus Gaetulicus consul desigratus 
 lege lulia damnasset,, exiKo punivit Apidiumque Merulam^ quc)i in 
 acta divi Augusti non iuraverat, albo senatorio erasit. 
 
 43. Auditae dehinc Lacedaemoniorum et Messeniorum lega- 
 tiones de iure templi Dianae Limnatidis^ quod suis a maioribus 
 suaque in terra dicatum Lacedaemonii firmabant annalium menioria 
 vatumque carminibus^ sed Macedonis Pbilippi, cum quo bellassent, 
 armis ademptum ac post C. Caesaris et M. Antonii sententia red- 
 ditum. contra Messenii veterem inter Herculis posteros divi- 
 sionem Peloponnesi protulere^ suoque regi Dentheliatem agrum^ in 
 quo id delubrum^ cessisse ; monimentaque eius rei sculpta saxis et 
 aere prisco manere. quod si vatum^ annalium ad testimonia vocen- 
 tur_, plures sibi ac locupletioris esse; neque Philippum potentia sed 
 ex vero statuisse : idem regis Antigenic idem imperatoris Mummii 
 indicium ; sic Milesios permisso publico arbitrio, postremo Atidium 
 Geminum praetorem Acbaiae decrevisse. ita secundum Messenios 
 datum, et Segestani aedem Yeneris montem aput Erycum^ vetus- 
 
 would not be literally arraigned in court, /xedoplois iarrl rrjs re AaKcoyiKrjs koI rrjs 
 
 but only I suppose morally or virtually. Mea-ffrjvias. The * Philippus ' below was 
 
 The word therefore can only mean an the father of Alexander the Great. See 
 
 investigation, or inquiry, into the circum- Thirl wall' a History of Greece, ch. 46, 
 
 stances mentioned by the witness. sub finem. 
 
 exilio pumivW] The punishment fixed regi DentheUatem] This is the reading 
 
 by the Lex Julia was deprivation of half of Lipsius for 'recident heliatem' ia the 
 
 the marriage * dos,' and one third of the Cod. Mod. Denthalii, or Delthanii, here 
 
 propertyof the woman convicted, and *re- mentioned, was a city on the confir.es of 
 
 legatio ' to some island. See Dr. Smith's Messenia and Laconia. 
 
 Diet, of Ant. 'Exilium' therefore must locmpletioris] * More credible.' Cf. Cio. 
 
 have been more severe than 'relegatio,' de Ofl&c. iii. 2, "accedit eodem testis 
 
 It deprived the person exiled of citizen- locuples Posidonius," and Liv. ix. 9, 
 
 ship, and therefore put an end to such *' Samnitibus sponsores nos sumus, rei 
 
 relationships as could only exist between satis locupletea," i.e., * solvent,' as it 
 
 citizens. On. Cornelius Lentulus Gaetu- were, able to make good our guarantee, 
 
 licus was son of Cn. Cornelius Lentulus The Antigonua here is the Antigx)nus 
 
 Cossus (consul 1 A.c), who obtained that Doson, who played a conspicuous part in 
 
 cognomen for successes in AMoa over thewar ofCleomenes. See Plutarch, Cleo- 
 
 the Gaetuli, and bequeathed it to his son menes, passim, and Thirlwall's History 
 
 (Veil. Patero. ii. 116). He vs^s appa- of Greece, ch. 62. 'Mummiua' waw the 
 
 rently brother of the Cossus Oorneliua deatyoyer of Corinth, 146 a.o. 
 
 in iv. 34. py,h)ice] The Lacedaemonians and 
 
 in acta divi AugusW] Tiberius seems Messenians had officially, ag St ates, 
 
 to have enforced an annual repetition of submitted the question to the arbitra- 
 
 the oath to respect the acta of Augustus tion of the Milesians. For < publico,* of. 
 
 (Dio Cass. Ivii. 8). iii. 31, *' quod baud perinde publice usui 
 
 43. Limnatidis'] Cf. Strabo viii. 4, 9, habitum quam exitiosum multia." So© 
 
 t5 5^ iv Aifivais Trjs 'Aprf'/tiSoj Up6y, iv also the, n^te on \. ^3, 
 
A.D. 25.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 207 
 
 tate dilapsam^ restaurari postulavere, nota memorantes de origine 
 eius et laeta Tiberio. suscepit curam libens ut consanguineus. 
 tunc tractatae Massiliensium preces probatmnque P. Rutilii exem- 
 plum; namque eum legibus pulsum civem sibi Zmyrnaei addide- 
 rant. quo iure Vulcatius Moscbus exul in Massilienses receptus 
 bona sua rei publicae eorum ut patriae reliquerat. 
 
 44. Obiere eo anno viri nobiles Cn. Lentulus et L. Domitius. 
 Lentulo super consulatum et triumpbalia de Getis gloriae fuerat 
 bene tolerata paupertas^ dein magnae opes innocenter paratae et 
 modeste babitae. Domitium decorayit pater civili bello maris 
 potens^ donee Antonii partibus^ mox Caesaris misceretur. avus 
 Pbarsalica acie pro optumatibus ceciderat. ipse delectus cui minor 
 Antonia, Octavia genita^ in matrimonium daretur^ post exercitu 
 flumen Albim transcendit^ longius penetrata Germania quam quis- 
 quam priorum, easque ob res insignia triumpbi adeptus est. obiit 
 et L. Antonius, multa claritudine generis, sed inprospera. nam 
 patre eius lulo Antonio ob adulterium luliae morte punito bunc 
 admodum adulescentulum, sororis nepotem, seposuit Augustus in 
 civitatem Massiliensem, ubi specie studiorum nomen exilii tege- 
 retur. babitus tamen supremis bonor, ossaque tumulo Octaviorum 
 inlata per decretum senatus. 
 
 origine] Cf. Virg. v. 759. sins, and after their death retained com- 
 
 exem/plurri] * The precedent furnished mand of the fleet, which subsequently 
 
 by P. Rutilius was regarded as sufficient.' he handed over, increased in number, to 
 
 For Rutilius cf. iii. 66. Antonius, on the entire defeat of the 
 
 44. Cn. Lentulus et L. Domitius] Cn. republican party. 
 Cornelius, L. f., Lentulus was consul 18 minor Antonio] This was the younger 
 
 A.c. He was sent against the Daci, and daughter of Marcus Antonius and Oc- 
 
 crossing the Ister forced them to sub- tavia, the sister of Augustus. But Taci- 
 
 mit to the Roman yoke (Suet. Aug. 63, tus in this matter differs from Suetonius, 
 
 Marm. Ancyr. v. 47). Their king was who makes her married to Drusus, the 
 
 Cotiso (cf. "Cotisoni Getarum regi," Suet, father of Germanicus, and gives Antonia 
 
 Aug. 63, and "occidit Daci Cotisonis maior, the elder sister, to a Domitius 
 
 agmen," Hor. Carm. iii. 8). The names (Nero 5 and Calig. 1), the grandfather 
 
 * Daci ' and * Getae ' are used indiscrimi- of the Emperor Nero. Suetonius appears 
 
 nately. Cf. Plin. N. II. iv. 25. Lentulus to be more correct than Tacitus, for ho 
 
 lived to a great age (iv. 29), and if he is virtually corroborated by Dio Cassius 
 
 were the usual age on attaining the (xlviii. 54), who speaks of the betrothal 
 
 consulate, he must have been considera- of a daughter of Antonius and Octavia 
 
 bly over eighty years old at this time, to Domitius, at a time (37 A.c.) before 
 
 L. Domitius Cn. f. L. n. Ahenobarbus the younger daughter, according to the 
 
 was consul 16 a.c, and proconsul of commentators, was born. Plutarch (An- 
 
 Africa 12 A.c. (Inscr. Lat. n. 3693). He ton. 35) corroborates Suetonius, I think, 
 
 married Antonia (maior) and was the to some extent. 
 
 father of Cn. Domitius, and grandfather sororis nepotem] Lucius Antonius was 
 
 of the Emperor Nero (Suet. Nero 2. 4. 5). the son of lulus Antonius (i. 10) and 
 
 pater civili hello mxvris potens] Cf. grandson of Marcus Antonius and Fulvia. 
 
 Suet. Nero 3, where it is mentioned that His mother was Marcella (maior) , daugh- 
 
 Cn. Domitius, on his condemnation under ter of Octavia, the sister of Augustus, 
 
 the Lex Pedia, joined Brutus and Cas- who was married to lulus Antonius. 
 
208 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 778—779. 
 
 45. Isdem consulibus facinus atrox in citeriore Hispania adrais- 
 smn a quodam agresti nationis Termestinae. is ;^raetorem provin- 
 ciae L. Pisonem^ pace incuriosum, ex inproviso in itinere adc^rtus 
 uno vulnere in mortem adfecit; ac pernicitate equi profugus, p Dst- 
 quam saltuosos locos attigerat, dimisso equo per derupta et avia 
 sequentis frustratus est. neque diu fefellit : nam prenso ductoque 
 per proximos pagos equo_, cuius foret cognitum. et repertus cum 
 tormentis ' edere conscios adigeretur, voce magna sermone pa trio 
 frustra se interrogari clamitavit : adsisterent socii ac spectarent ; 
 nuUam vim tantam doloris fore^ ut veritatem eliceret. idenique 
 cum postero ad quaestionem retralieretur_, eo nisu proripuit se cus- 
 todibus saxoque caput adflixit, ut statim exanimaretur. sed Piso 
 Termestiuorum dolo caesus habetur ; quippe pecunias e publico 
 interceptas acrius quam ut tolerarent barbari cogebat. 
 
 46. Lentulo Gaetulico C. Calvisio consulibus decreta triumpbi 
 insignia Poppaeo Sabino contusis Tbraecum gentibus, qui mon- 
 tium editis incultu atque eo ferocius agitabant. causa motus 
 super hominum ingenium^ quod pati dilectus et validissimum 
 quemque militiae nostrae dare aspernabantur^ ne regibus quidem 
 parere nisi ex libidine soliti_, aut si mitterent auxilia^ sues duct ores 
 praeficere nee nisi adversum accolas belligerare. ac tum rumor 
 incesserat fore ut disiecti aliisque nationibus permixti diversas in 
 terras traberentur. sed antequam arma inciperent, misere legates 
 amicitiam obsequiumque memoraturos, et mansura haec^ si nullo 
 novo onere temptarentur : sin ut victis servitium indiceretur_, efese 
 sibi ferrum et iuventutem et promptum libertati aut ad moi'tem 
 
 45. Termestinae] The town was Ter- proximis magistratum gesserant. Aperte 
 
 mes (now Tiertnes), Plin. N. H. iii. 3. fatebantur itaque sine nlla ignotninia 
 
 L. Piso was ' legatus pro praetore ' of suis humeris pecunias popuKs rettule- 
 
 Hispania Citerior. runt," and ad Fam. iii. 8. 5, "ut le^arem 
 
 e publico] Sums due to the exchequer miseriis perditas civitates et pei'ditas 
 
 of the Termestini, money which ought to maxime per magistratus sues." Perhaps 
 
 have been paid in, were kept back either the Lucius Piso here was son of the 
 
 by private individuals or by the local Lucius Piso vi. 10. Borghesi suggests that 
 
 magistrates. Piso endeavoured to make he was the 'maior iuvenum' of Horace, 
 
 the delinquents pay these sums up, and so Ars Poet. 366. 
 
 he incurred their hatred ; whereupon they 46. Lentulo Gaetulico'] See iv. 42. 
 
 put a stop to his unwelcome proceedings Caius Calvisius Sabinus is mentioned in 
 
 by murdering him. For the supposition vi. 9, H. i. 48. Caius Poppaeus Q. f. Q. n. 
 
 above made that the local magistrates Sabinus was consul a.d. 9, and ' legatus 
 
 may have .been concerned in the pro praetore' of Moesia a.d. 15 (i. 80) 
 
 embezzlement, cf. ii. 54, " pariterque with Achaia and Macedonia. Cf. v. 10, 
 
 provincias intemis certaminibus aut vi. 39, xiii. 45. 
 
 magistratuum iniuriis fessas refovebat," incultu] This is the reading of the 
 
 comparedwithCic. adAttic. vi. 2. 5, "mira MS., and may be, I think, right. See 
 
 erant in civitatibus ipsorum furta Grae- the note on iii. 28, under ' triumviratu.' 
 
 corum quae magistratus sui fecerant: Uhertati] For similar variations in the 
 
 quaesivi ipse de lis qui annis decern structure of different clauses, cf. xii. 55, 
 
A.D. 26.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 209 
 
 animum. simul casteUa rupibus indita conlatosque illuc parentes 
 et coniuges ostentabant bellumque impeditum arduum cruentum 
 minitabantur. 
 
 47. At Sabinus, donee exercitus in unum conduceret_, datis 
 mitibus responsis, postquam Pomponius Labeo e Moesia cum 
 legione_, rex B-hoemetalces cum auxiliis popularium, qui fidem non 
 mutaverant, venere, addita praesenti copia ad hostem pergit com- 
 positum iam per angustias saltuum. quidam audentius apertis in 
 collibus visebantur^ quos dux Romanus acie suggressus haud aegre 
 pepulit, sanguine barbarorum modico ob propinqua suffugia. mox 
 castris in loco communitis valida manu montem occupat, angus- 
 tum et aequali dorso continuum usque ad proximum castellum, 
 quod magna vis armata aut incondita tuebatur. simul in fero- 
 cissimos, qui ante vallum more gentis cum carminibus et tripudiis 
 persultabant, mittit delectos sagittariorum. ii dum eminus gras- 
 sabantur, crebra et inulta vulnera fecere : propius incedentes 
 eruptione subita turbati sunt receptique subsidio Sugambrae co- 
 hortis, quam Romanus promptam ad pericula nee minus cantuum 
 et armorum tumultu trueem baud procul instruxerat. 
 . 48. Translata dehinc castra hostem propter, relictis aput priora 
 munimenta Tbrecibus, quos nobis adfuisse memoravi. iisque 
 permissum vastare, urere_, trahere praedas, dum populatio lucem 
 intra sisteretur noctemque in castris tutam et vigilem capesserent. 
 id prime servatum : mox versi in luxum et raptis opulenti omit- 
 tere stationes, lascivia epularum aut somno et vino procumbere. 
 igitur bostes incuria eorum conperta duo agmina parant. quorum 
 altero populatores invaderentur, alii castra Eomana adpugnarent, 
 non spe capiendi_, sed ut clamore, telis suo quisque periculo in- 
 tentus sonorem alterius proelii non acciperet. tenebrae insuper 
 delectae augendam ad formidinem. sed qui vallum legionum temp- 
 tabant, facile pelluntur; Threcum auxilia repentino ineursu 
 
 tt 
 
 vim cultoribus et oppidanis ac plenun- For the use of * aut,' cf. i. 8. 
 
 que in mercatores et navicularios aude- 48. lascivia epularum] See iii. 24, 
 
 bant;" xii.29, " subsidio victis et terrorem and the note there on ' potentia.' 
 
 advorsus victores." altero . . . alii] I can find no other 
 
 47. Pomponius Labeo'] Cf. vi. 29. He instance of this sequence. I suppose 
 
 was ' legatus pro praetore * of Moesia for the explanation is that the second band 
 
 eight years after his praetorship (Dio (alii) is regarded simply as different from 
 
 Iviii. 24). Below * cum legione ' is 'with the first (altero), without taking into 
 
 a legion,* for Moesia had two, iv. 5. account the fact that there were but two 
 
 aut incondita] The force was partly bands in all. Below, 'adpugnare' seems 
 
 furnished with arms, partly unequipped, a word peculiar to Tacitus. It occurs 
 
 and unfit for taking part in an engage- ii. 81 and xv. 13, 
 ment, but useful for incidental purposes. 
 
210 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 779. 
 
 territa, cum pars munitionibus adiacerent_, plures extra palarf itur, 
 tanto infensius caesi, quanto perfugae et proditores ferre arrr.a ad 
 suum patriaeque servitium incusabantur. 
 
 49. Postera die Sabinus exercitum aequo loco ostendit, si bar- 
 bari successu noctis alacres proelium auderent. et postquau] cas- 
 tello aut coniunctis tumulis non degrediebantur, obsidium (;oepit 
 per praesidia_, quae opportune iam muniebat; dein fossam lori- 
 camque contexens quattuor milia passuum ambitu amplexus est; 
 turn paulatim, ut aquam pabulumque eriperet, contrahere claustra 
 artaque circumdare ; et struebatur agger, unde saxa hastae ignes 
 propinquum iam in bostem iacerentur. sed nihil aequo quam 
 sitis fatigabat_, cum ingens multitude bellatorum inbellium uno 
 reliquo fonte uterentur; simul equi armenta, ut mos barbaris, 
 iuxta clausa, egestate pabuli exanimari; adiacere corpora homi- 
 num, quos vulnera, quos sitis peremerat; pollui cuncta sanie, 
 odore, contactu. rebusque turbatis malum extremum disc>ordia 
 accessit, bis deditionem, aliis mortem et mutuos inter se ictas 
 parantibus. et erant qui non inultum exitium sed eruptionem 
 suaderent, neque ignobiles, quamvis diversi sententiis. 
 
 50. Yerum e ducibus Dinis, provectus senecta et longo usu vim 
 atque clementiam Romanam edoctus_, ponenda arma_, unum &.dflic- 
 tis id remedium disserebat, primusque se cum coniuge et liberis 
 victori permisit : secuti aetate aut sexu inbecilli et quibus maior 
 vitae quam gloriae cupido. at inventus Tarsam inter et Turesim 
 distrabebatur. utrique destinatum cum libertate occidere, sed 
 Tarsa properum finem, abrumpendas pariter spes ac metus (?lami- 
 tans^ dedit exemplum demisso in pectus ferro ; nee defueie qui 
 
 49. si . . . auderenf\ For tins use of for ' nihil aeque quam/ cf. H. ii. 20. 11. 
 
 * si,' * to see if/ ' to try whether/ cf. 52 ; also Suet. August. 64, " nihil aeque 
 
 xii. 28, " Pomponius cum legionibus op- laboravit quam ut imitarentur chiro- 
 
 periebatur, si Chatti cupidine ulciscendi graphum suum." Claud, 35, " nihil aeque 
 
 casum pugnae praeberent." Also xv. quam timidus ac diffidens fait." Plin. 
 
 13, " propius incedens si ea temeritate N. H. ix. 23, " illustribus noctibug aeque 
 
 hostem in praelium eliceret." Cf. also H. quam die cernunt." This construction 
 
 i. 31 and iii. 52. is only found in the silver age. 
 
 iami muniehat'] ' Which he was already neque ignohiles . . . sententiis] ' Nor 
 
 fortifying in suitable localities.' The were these without glory, althoug-h they 
 
 sense, I think, is that Sabinus had proposed a different course.' They de- 
 
 already begun these forts (praesidia) in clined the plan of mutual slaughier, but 
 
 commanding positions, before he endea- the cause was not cowardice, but a 
 
 voured to bring the enemy down from the desire, not ignominious, to sell their 
 
 heights ; but probably he left them un- lives as dearly as possible. I do not 
 
 completed imtil he ascertained the sue- see why the words need be rt^garded 
 
 cess of his manoeuvres. When these as spurious ; although the commentators 
 
 failed to dislodge the foe, he completed generally enclose them in bracket s. 
 the works and began a blockade. Bolow, 
 
A.D. 26.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 211 
 
 eodem modo oppeterent. Turesis sua cum manu noctem oppe- 
 ritur_, liaud nescio duce nostro ; igitur firmatae stationes densio- 
 ribus globis. et ingruebat nox nimbo atrox^ hostisque clamore 
 turbido, modo per vastum silentium^ incertos obsessores effecerat, 
 cum Sabinus circumire, bortari ne ad ambigua sonitus aut simu- 
 lationem quietis cassum insidiantibus aperireiit_, sed sua quisque 
 munia servarent immoti telisque non in falsum iactis. 
 
 61. Interea barbari catervis decurrentes nunc in vallum 
 manualia saxa^ praeustas sudes, decisa robora iacere^ nunc vir- 
 gultis et cratibus et corporibus exanimis complere fossas^ quidam 
 pontis et scalas ante fabricati inferre propugnaculis eaque pren- 
 sare, detrabere et adversum resistentis comminus niti. miles 
 contra deturbare telis_, pellere umbonibus_, muralia pila^ congestas 
 lapidum moles provolvere. bis partae victoriae spes et^ si cedant, 
 insignitius flagitium, illis extrema iam salus et adsistentes pie- 
 risque matres et coniuges earumque lamenta addunt animos. nox 
 aliis in audaciam, aliis ad formidinem oportuna; incerti ictus, 
 vulnera inprovisa; suorum atque bostium ignoratio et montis 
 anfractu repercussae velut a tergo voces adeo cuncta miscuerant, 
 ut quaedam munimenta Romani quasi perrupta omiserint. neque 
 tamen pervasere bostes nisi admodum pauci : ceteros, deiecto 
 promptissimo quoque aut saucio, adpetente iam luce trusere in 
 summa castelli, ubi tandem coacta deditio. et proxima sponte 
 incolarum recepta : reliquis, quo minus vi aut obsidio subige- 
 rentur, praematura montis Haemi et saeva hiemps subvenit. 
 
 62. At Bomae commota principis domo, ut series futuri in 
 Agrippinam exitii inciperet, Claudia Pulchra sobrina eius postu- 
 
 50, modo'] For tlie omission of 'modo' ad formidinetn] For the cliange from 
 with the first clause, cf. vi. 32. Similarly * in ' to ' ad ' in adjacent clauses, cf. i. 28, 
 H. ii. 22, " his . . nirsus illis exitiabile." " ut novissimi in culpam, ita primi ad 
 
 immoti, ^c] Of course the change of paenitentiam." Conversely in H. ii. 44, 
 
 case in the two participles is the result " ad iram saepius quam in formidinem 
 
 of a change of subject. Cf. vi. 35, " prae- stimulabantur.." 
 
 latus equo et fortissimis satellitum pro- 52. sobrina eius'] The relationship, 
 
 tegentibus saucium." as it is supposed by Borghesi to have 
 
 51. catervis] See note on iii. 28, under existed, will be seen from the following 
 * triumviratu.' The 'vallum,' just below, table : — 
 
 is the ' lorica ' of ch. 49. 
 
 Octavia, sister of Augustus. 
 
 I 
 M. Valerius Messala Barbatus Appianus m. Marcella 
 
 (consul 12 A.c), before adoption, Appius (the elder). 
 
 Claudius Pulcher. Julia m. 
 
 M. Agrippa. 
 
 Claudia Pulchra. Agrippina. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. '79. 
 
 latur accusante Domitio Afro, is recens praetura^ modicus dig- 
 nationis et quoquo facinore properus clarescere, crimen imp idi- 
 citiae, adulterum Furnium, veneficia in principem et devoti(mes 
 obiectabat. Agrippina semper atrox, tum et periculo propinqiiae 
 accensa_, pergit ad Tiberium ac forte sacrificantem patri repp(3rit. 
 quo initio invidiae non eiusdem ait mac tare divo Angus to victimas 
 et posteros eius insectari. non in eflSgies mutas divinum spiritum 
 transfusum : sed imaginem veram^ caelesti sanguine ortam_, intel- 
 legere discrimen^ suscipere sordes. frustra Pulchram praescribi, 
 cui sola exitii causa sit quod Agrippinam stulte prorsus ad cultum 
 delegeritj oblita Sosiae ob eadem adflictae. audita baec raram 
 occulti pectoris vocem elicuere^ correptamque Grraeco versu ad- 
 monuit non ideo laedi^ quia non regnaret. Pulcbra et Furnius 
 damnantur. Afer primoribus oratorum additus^ divulgato ingenio 
 et secuta adseveratione Caesaris^ qua suo iure disertum eum 
 appellavit. mox capessendis accussationibus aut reos tutando 
 prosperiore eloquentiae quam morum fama fuit^ nisi quod a etas 
 extrema multum etiam eloquentiae dempsit^ dum fessa mente retinet 
 silentii inpatientiam. 
 
 53. At Agrippina pervicax irae et morbo corporis implicata, 
 cum viseret eam Caesar^ profusis diu ac per silentium lacrimis, 
 mox invidiam et preces orditur : subveniret solitudini^ daret ma- 
 ritum I habilem adhuc iuventam sibi, neque aliut probis quam ex 
 
 Hence Claudia Pulclira was second cousin pina's assumption of a mourning robe, on 
 (sobrina) of Agrippina. Below, Domitius the accusation of Claudia Pulclira. The 
 Afer was consul suffectus a.d. 39, He omission of the pronoun ' se' before 'in- 
 died in the year a.d. 59 (xiv. 19). Quin- telligere' makes no difficulty. Cf. x v. 7, 
 tilian speaks of him, with Julius Afri- "non ea imperatoris habere mar data 
 canus, as the greatest orator he knew Corbulo." Similarly it is omitted with a 
 personally (x. 1. 48) . For ' recens prae- perfect infinitive. Cf. xiv. 48, " cum 
 tura ' cf. i. 41. Ostorius nihil audivisse pro testimonio 
 
 modicus dignationis] Cf. ii. 73. The dixisset." It is common, of com'se, with 
 
 construction just below, of an infinitive a future infinitive (i. 7 ; i. 8 : i. 35, &c.) . 
 after 'properus,' occurs nowhere else. praescrihi] Cf. xi. 16, "frustra Armi- 
 
 quo initio invidiae] 'Taking advan- nium praescribi;" and H. iii. 13, "prae- 
 
 tage of which starting-point for re- scriptum Vespasiani uomen." Pulchra 
 
 proach.' Agrippina seized on the oppor- was only put forward to cloak the design 
 
 tunity of reproaching Tiberius with his against Agrippina. She was not the real 
 
 inconsistency, in sacrificing to Augustus, object of attack. For the remark of 
 
 and yet persecuting his descendants Tiberius, cf. Suet. Tib. 53, "Nt-rum 
 
 generally, and herself, his grand-daugh- Agrippinam . . manu apprehendit Grri^eco- 
 
 ter, in particular. For the sense of ' in- que versu si non dominaris, inquit, filiola, 
 
 vidia ' cf. iii. 67, " quibus invidiam et iniuriam te accipere existimas." 
 preces miscuerat," and the note there. suo iure disertumi] 'Eloquent beyond 
 
 sed imaginem veram] ' But she her- question.' No one could dispute Afer's 
 
 self, the true representative, sprung from claim to eloquence, his title to it waB be- 
 
 heavenly blood, understood her danger, yond cavil ; he had as much right to it as 
 
 and accepted her humiliation.' There a man has to his own estate, as it were, 
 may be perhaps an allusion to Agrip- 
 
A.D. 26.] AB EXOESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 213 
 
 matrimonio solacium ; esse in civitate * * * Germanici coniugem 
 ac liberos eius recipere dignarentur. sed Caesar non ignarus, 
 quantum ex republica peteretur, ne tamen offensionis aut metus 
 manifestus foret, sine response quamquam instantem reliquit. id 
 ego a scriptoribus annalium non traditum repperi in commentariis 
 Agrippinae filiae^ quae Neronis principis mater vitam suam et 
 casus suorum posteris memoravit. 
 
 64. Ceterum Seianus maerentem et inprovidam altius perculit^ 
 immissis qui per speciem amicitiae monerent paratum ei venenum, 
 vitandas soceri epulas. atque ilia simulationum nescia^ cum prop- 
 ter discumberet, non vultu aut sermone flecti, nullos attingere 
 cibos, donee advertit Tiberius, forte an quia audiverat ; idque quo 
 acrius experiretur, poma, ut erant adposita, laudans nurui sua 
 manu tradidit. aucta ex eo suspicio Agrippinae, et intacta ore 
 servis tramisit. nee tamen Tiberii vox coram secuta, sed obversus 
 ad matrem non mirum ait, si quit severius in eam statuisset, a qua 
 veneficii insimularetur. inde rumor parari exitium, neque id im- 
 peratorem palam audere, secretum ad perpetrandum quaeri. 
 
 55. Sed Caesar quo famam averteret, adesse frequens senatui 
 legatosque Asiae, ambigentes quanam in civitate templum statue- 
 retur, pluris per dies audivit. undecim urbes certabant, pari 
 ambitione, viribus diver sae. neque multum distantia inter se 
 memorabant de vetustate generis, studio in populum Romanum 
 per bella Persi et Aristonici aliorumque regum. verum Hypae- 
 peni Trallianique Laodicenis ac Magnetibus simul tramissi ut 
 parum validi; ne Ilienses quidem, cum parentem urbis Romae 
 
 53. ex republica] Agrippina's request quae coram habentur;" De Oratoribus, 
 to be married was equivalent to claiming 36, " cum testimonia coram et praesentes 
 a large portion of imperial power. Her dicere cogerentui*." 
 
 busband, from her position, would be 55. templum.'] Cf. iv. 15. 
 looked on as a candidate for the throne Persi] The usual form is ' Persei,' but 
 after the death of Tiberius. * Persi ' is found in Sail. Hist. Fr. i. 8. 
 repperi in comm,entariis Agrippinae.] He was defeated by Aemilius Paullus at 
 These memoirs are included in the list of Pydna, 168 a.c. Aristonicus, son of Eu- 
 authors consulted by Pliny the Elder, in menes II, took possession of Asia, which 
 the Index to N. H. lib. vii. Memoirs by had been bequeathed to the Eoman 
 Domitius Corbulo are quoted xv. 16, and people by king Attains. After defeat - 
 mentioned by Pliny, N. H. Index to ing P. Licinius Crassus, he was con- 
 Lib, vii. quered by M. Perpema, 130 a.c. (Liv. 
 
 54. iniltu.] There is some little ambi- Epit. lib. lix). 
 
 guity as to whose looks are intended ; Hypaepeni] Hypaepa was a small 
 
 but most probably those of Agrippina. town in Lydia, about 40 miles from 
 
 She could not be induced to alter her Ephesus. Tralles is in Caria, on a tribu- 
 
 gloomy aspect or change the style of her tary of the Maeander. The ' Magnetos ' 
 
 conversation. She could not be won are, I suppose, the " Magnetes " of iii. 62, 
 
 over from her determined look of angry near the Maeander, not the " Magnetos a 
 
 suspicion, and from sullen remarks. Sipylo " of ii. 47. 
 coram] Cf. vi. 8, "spectamus porro 
 
214 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 779. 
 
 Troiam referrent^ nisi antiquitatis gloria pollebant. paulum ad- 
 dubitatum^ quod Alicarnasii mille et ducentos per annos imllo 
 motu terrae nutavisse sedes suas vivoque in saxo fundamenta 
 templi adseyeraverant. Pergamenos (eo ipso nitebantur) aede 
 Augnsto ibi sita satis adeptos creditum. Epbesii Milesiiquo^ bi 
 Apollinis_, illi Dianae caerimonia occupavisse civitates visi. ita 
 Sardianos inter Zmyrnaeosque deliberatum. Sardiani decretum 
 Etruriae recitavere ut consanguinei : nam Tyrrhenum Lydunique 
 Atye rege genitos ob multitudinem divisisse gentem ; Lyduni pa- 
 triis in terris resedisse, Tyrrbeno datum novas ut conderet sedes; 
 et duoum e nominibus indita vocabula illis per Asiam, bis in 
 ItaHa ; auctamque adbuc Lydorum opulentiam missis in Graeciam 
 populis, cui mox a Pelope nomen. simul litteras imperatorum et 
 iota nobiscum foedera bello Macedonum ubertatemque fluminum 
 suorum_, temperiem caeli ac dites circum terras memorabant. 
 
 66. At Zmyrnaei repetita vetustate, seu Tantalus love ortus 
 illos, sive Theseus divina et ipse stirpe, sive una Amazonum con- 
 didissetj transcendere ad ea quis maxime fidebant in populum 
 Romanum officiis, missa navali copia non modo externa ad l)ella, 
 sed quae in Italia tolerabantur ; seque primes templum urbis 
 Romae statuisse_, M. Porcio consule, magnis quidem iam populi 
 Romani rebus_, nondum tamen ad summum elatis, stante adbuc 
 Punicaurbe et validis per Asiamregibus. simul L. Sullam testem 
 adferebant, gravissimo in discrimine exercitus ob asperitatem 
 biemis et penuriani vestis, cum id Zmyrnam in contionem nun- 
 
 eo ijpso'] These words seem to refer to Their language appears to have aflBnities 
 
 what follows : "aedeAugusto ibi sita" with the Norse, a Scandinavian branch 
 
 (iv. 37). The Pergameri relied on the of the Indo- Germanic group. What was 
 
 fact of their having a temple already in the nature of the ' decretum Etruriae ' 
 
 their city : this was an argument, in here alluded to, is entirely imknown. 
 
 their view, for having another. The hello Macedmium] That is, th(} war 
 
 senate thought just the reverse. For against Perses. The rivers praised by 
 
 the parenthesis refemng to what is to the Sardians were the Pactolus (" Lydia 
 
 be stated subsequently, cf. xii. 42, '* aetate Pactoli tinget arata liquor," Propert. i, 6. 
 
 extrema (adeo incertae sunt potentium 32), and Hyllus, both tributaries v? the 
 
 res) accusatione corripitur." Hermus (" auro turbidus Hermus," Virg. 
 
 Tyrrhenum Lydumque] This is the Georg. ii. 137). 
 
 usual account of the classical authors, 56. quis . . . officiis] For the agree- 
 
 being found in Herodotus (i. 94), and ment of the substantive with the i-elative, 
 
 something like a score of writei'S besides, and not the antecedent, cf. Cic. ad (^uint. 
 
 and it is accepted by Mr, F. Newman Fratr. ii. 3, " de iis quae in Sestium appa- 
 
 (" Regal Rome," p. 100), and others, rabantur crimina." Nipperdey t[uotes 
 
 Another theory makes the Etruscans a Hor. Sat. i. 10. 16, "illi scripta quibus 
 
 mixed people, composed, in the main, of comoedia prisca viris est." Cf also 
 
 Pelasgi, but intermixed -with the Rasena, Terence, Andr. Pi-olog. 5, " ut populo pla- 
 
 the dominant element, who descended cerent quas fecisset fabulas." M. Por- 
 
 from the Rhaetian mountains (Liv. v. 33. cius M. F. Cato was consul 195 A.c. 
 See Donaldson's Varron, eh. i, § 14, &c.). 
 
A.D. 26.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. lY. 215 
 
 tiatum foret^ omnes qui adstabant detraxisse corpori tegmina 
 nostrisque legionibus misisse. ita rogati sententiam patres Zmyr- 
 naeos praetulere. censuitque Yibius Marsus, ut M.\ Lepido^ cui 
 ea provincia obvenerat_, super uumerum legaretur^ qui templi curam 
 susciperet. et quia Lepidus ipse deligere per modestiam ab- 
 nuebat, Valerius ISTaso e praetoriis sorte missus est. 
 
 57. Inter quae diu meditato prolatoque saepius consilio 
 tandem Caesar in Campaniam, specie dedicandi templa apud 
 Capuam lovi^ apud Nolam Augusto^ sed certus procul urbe 
 degere. causam abscessus quamquam secutus plurimos auc- 
 torum ad Seiani artes rettuli^ quia tamen caede eius patrata sex 
 postea annos pari secreto coniunxit^ plerumque permoveor, num 
 ad ipsum referri verius sit^ saevitiam ac libidinem cum factis pro- 
 meret^ locis occul tan tern, erant qui crederent in senectute coi'poris 
 quoque habitum pudori fuisse : quippe illi praegracilis et incurva 
 proceritas, nudus capillo vertex, ulcerosa facies ac plerumque 
 medicaminibus interstincta ; et Rhodi secreto vitare coetus, recon- 
 dere voluptates insuerat. traditur etiam matris inpotentia ex- 
 trusum_, quam dominationis sociam aspernabatur neque depellere 
 poterat, cum dominationem ipsam donum eius accepisset. nam 
 dubitaverat Augustus Germanicum, sororis nepotem et cunctis 
 laudatum, rei Romanae imponere, sed precibus uxoris evictus 
 Tiberio Germanicum, sibi Tiberium adscivit. idque Augusta 
 exprobrabat_, reposcebat. 
 
 58. Profectio arto comitatu fait : unus senator consulatu func- 
 tus, Cocceius Nerva, cui legum peritia, eques Romanus praeter 
 Seianum ex inlustribus Curtius Atticus, ceteri liberalibus studiis 
 praediti, ferme Graeci, quorum sermonibus levaretur. ferebant 
 
 super numemrn] An extra *legatus' Liv. xli. 3, "tunc demum nuntius ad ter- 
 
 beyond the usual number was to be given tiam legionem revocandam ;" and Sail, 
 
 to Lepidus, whose duty it would be to Jug. 100, " dein Marius, ut coeperat, in 
 
 attend to the erection of the temple, hiberna." 
 
 They were usually nominated by the coniunxW] 'Passed six years in suc- 
 
 consul or praetor under whom they cession,' without a break, 
 
 served, and the appointment seems to sororis nepotem] Germanicus was the 
 
 have been ratified by the emperor (Dio. son of Drusus Germanicus, brother of 
 
 liii. 14) . Their number varied ; but three Tiberius, by Antonia, daughter of Octavia, 
 
 seems to have been the usual number for who was the sister of Augustus, 
 
 the consular governors of provinces (Dio. 58. Cocceius Nerva] M. Cocceius m. f. 
 
 I.e.): as the proconsul of Asia was Nerva was consul suffectus, a.d. 22. He 
 
 always a ' consularis ' (i. 74), he would was curator aquarum publicarum from 
 
 generally have three ' legati.' a.d. 24 to a.d. 33, when he died (vi. 26) . He 
 
 57. in Campaniam'] Sc. ' iit,' ' conces- was grandfather of the Emperor Nerva. 
 sit,' or the like. For the omission of the ex inlustribus'] Cf. ii. 59. 
 verb cf. xiv. 8, "anxia Agrippina quod ferme Oraeci] Cf. Suet. Tib. 56, "con- 
 nemo a filio, ne Agerinus quidem j" also, victores Graeculos quibus vel maxitne 
 
216 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 779. 
 
 periti caelestium iis motibus siderum excessisse Roma Tiber lum, 
 ut reditus illi negaretur. unde exitii causa multis fuit propc rum 
 finem vitae coniectantibus vulgantibusque ; neque enim tarn in- 
 credibilem. casum. providebant^ ut undecim per annos libens patria 
 careret. mox patuit breve confinium artis et falsi^ veraque (juam. 
 obscuris tegerentur. nam in urbem non regressurum baud forte 
 dictum: ceterorum nescii egere, cum propinquo rure aut litore et 
 saepe moenia urbis adsidens extremam senectam compleverit. 
 
 59. Ac forte illis diebus oblatum Caesari anceps periculum 
 auxit vana rumoris praebuitque ipsi materiem cur amicitiae con- 
 stantiaeque Seiani magis fideret. vescebantur in villa cui vocabu- 
 lum Speluncae_, mare Amuclanum inter et Fundanos moates, 
 nativo in specu. eius os lapsis repente saxis obruit quosdam 
 ministros : bine metus in omnes et fuga eorum qui convivium cele- 
 brabant. Seianus genu vultuque et manibus super Caesarem 
 suspensus opposuit sese incidentibus^ atque babitu tali repe^rtus 
 est a militibus qui subsidio venerant. maior ex eo^ et quamquam 
 exitiosa suaderet^ ut non sui anxius^ cum fide audiebatur. adsi- 
 mulabatque iudicis partes adversum Germanici stirpem^ subditis 
 qui accusatorum nomina sustinerent maximeque insectarentur 
 Neronem proximum successioni et, quamquam modesta iuve;nta, 
 plerumque tamen quid in praesentiarum conduceret oblitum, dum 
 
 >> 
 
 acquiescebat." With these Greeks lie dis- adsideret." 
 cussed knotty points of history, mytho- 59. Speluncae] What case is this ? 
 logy, &c., "nam et grammaticos eius- perhaps the genitive is the most pro- 
 modi quaestionibus experiebatur, quae bable. In i. 31, ii. 8, H. ii. 43, iii. 6, 
 mater Hecubae, quod Achilli nomen in- Germ. 34, the dative is used with an 
 ter virgines fuisset, quid Sirenes cantare adjective, "cui nomen superiori," &c. 
 sint soliti." Subsequently Greeks be- For a genitive, cf. H. iv. 18, " castre, qui- 
 came so popular and numerous as to ex- bus veterum nomen est ;" xiv. 50, " qui- 
 cite the indignation of Roman writers, bus nomen codicillorum est." So in sv. 37, 
 Cf. Juv. iii. 60, "non possum ferre, Qui- "nomen Pythagorae fuit," Pythagorae 
 rites, Graecam urbem." is most likely the genitive. Posnibly, 
 
 artis et falsi] * The narrowness of the speluncae is the nominative plural, ' the 
 
 boundary line separating the results of caves,' Cf. ii. 16, and the note there on 
 
 their art, and absolute falsehood.' They Idistaviso. 
 
 predicted his non-retum, aud so far they iudicis'] Sejanus suborned people to 
 
 were right, but that prediction was accuse the family of Germanicus, in the 
 
 always apparently just on the point of presence of himself and Tiberius. He, 
 
 being falsified by Tibeiius' constant ap- when consulted by the Emperor, as- 
 
 proach to the city. Bumed a judicial attitude, as though 
 
 propinquo rure] An ablative of lo- only anxious to arrive at the truth, 
 
 cality: 'in the country close by, or on in praesentiarum] Apparently this is 
 
 the shore, and often settling near the a condensed expression for 'in praesen- 
 
 walls.' For the construction of ' adsi- tia rerum.' It occurs in Cornel. ISTep. 
 
 dens,' cf. vi. 43, "adsidendo castellum Hann. 6, "exhaustis jam patriae fucul- 
 
 in quod pecuniam et paelices Artabanus tatibus in praesentiarum cupivit be Hum 
 
 contulerat." Elsewhere with a different componere." Cato (de Eebus Rusiicis, 
 
 case, as in H. ii. 22, "iisdem castris 144, 4), also uses it. 
 
REfiVf 
 
 A.D. 26.1 AB BXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB.,IVt>. ^XT'Sj, 
 
 a libertis et clientibus^ apiscendae potentiae properis/exstimulatui? o 
 ut erectum et fidentem animi ostenderet : velle id populum Boma- ** 
 num, cupere exercitus, neque ausurum contra Seianum, qui^nu]a.^T A 
 patientiam senis et segnitiam iuvenis iuxta insultet. ^^** ^ 
 
 60. Haec at que talia audienti niliil quidem pravae cogitationis^ 
 sed interdum voces procedebant contumaces et inconsultae^ quas 
 adpositi custodes exceptas auctasque cum deferrent neque Neroni 
 defendere daretur^ diversae insuper sollicitudinum formae orie- 
 bantur. nam alius occursum eius vitare^ quidam salutatione reddita 
 statim averti_, plerique inceptum sermonem abrumpere, insisten- 
 tibus contra inridentibusque qui Seiano fautores aderant. enimvero 
 Tiberius torvus aut falsum renidens vultu : seu loqueretur seu 
 taceret iuvenis^ crimen ex silentio, ex voce, nenox quidem secura, 
 cum uxor vigilias somnos suspiria matri Liviae atque ilia Seiano 
 patefaceret ; qui fratrem quoque Neronis Drusum traxit in partes^ 
 spe obiecta principis loci^ si priorem aetate et iam labefactum 
 demovisset. atrox Drusi ingenium super cupidinem potentiae et 
 solita fratribus odia accendebatur invidia^ quod mater Agrippina 
 promptior Neroni erat. neque tamen Seianus ita Drusum fovebat, 
 ut non in eum quoque semina futuri exitii meditaretur^ gnarus 
 praeferocem et insidiis magis oportunum. 
 
 61. Fine anni excessere insignis viri Asinius Agrippa^ claris 
 maioribus quam vetustis vitaque non degener, et Q. Haterius, 
 familia senatoria, eloquentiae^ qua ad vixit^ celebratae : monimenta 
 ingeni eius baud perinde retinentur. scilicet impetu magis quam 
 
 apiscendae potentiae properis] Cf. xii. 
 66, "oblatae occasionis propera." 
 
 ausurutn] For this absolute use of 
 *audeo,' cf. H. v. 11, "rebus secundis 
 longius ausuiij" and H. ii. 25, "unde 
 rursus ausi." 
 
 insultef] This verb is found with an 
 accusative in a fragment of Sallust : 
 "multos tamen ab adulescentia bonos 
 insultaverat." In xi. 28, the reading is 
 doubtful. 
 
 60. insv/per'] The sentence is ellip- 
 tical : while the particular circumstances 
 were going on — themselves of course 
 a ground for alarm — other causes for 
 apprehension sprung up, 
 
 falswrn renidens] For the neuter of 
 the adjective, cf. Hor. Carm. iii. 26, 67, 
 " perfidum ridens." For the subjunctive 
 with seu . . seu, cf ii. 38, and the note 
 there. Below, * uxor ' is Julia, the daughter 
 of Drusus, son of Tiberius, afterwards put 
 to death by Claudius (Suet. Claud. 29), 
 
 solita fratribus odia'] Tacitus does not 
 seem to have much belief in family affec- 
 tion. Cf. H. iv. 70, "ut ferme acerrima 
 proximorum odia sunt ;" and xv. 2, 
 " contra vetera fratrum odia." 
 
 promptior Neroni] More inclined to fa- 
 vour Nero, readier to oblige him. This 
 is expressed in xiii. 8, by the preposition 
 'in' followed by an accusative, "studia 
 eonim in Corbulonem promptiora erant:" 
 Cf. also xii. 1, " ipse hue modo, modo illuc 
 promptus." 
 
 61. qua ad] This is for 'quoad,' and 
 is also the reading of the MS. in vi. 51. 
 It occurs frequently in inscriptions. 
 
 liaud perinde] What Haterius wrote 
 was not valued so much as his eloquence 
 while he lived. Cf. ii. 63, "non Pyrr- 
 hum aut Antiochum populo Romano 
 perinde metuendos fuisse ;" also H. iv. 
 62, "intra vallum deformitas haud pe- 
 rinde notabilis." 
 
218 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 780. 
 
 cura vigebat; utque aliorum meditatio et labor in posterum va.es- 
 cit^ sic Haterii canorum illut et profluens cum ipso simul extinctum 
 est. 
 
 62. M. Licinio L. Calpurnio consulibus ingentium bellorum 
 cladem aequavit malum inprovisum : eius initium simul et finis 
 exstitit. nam coepto apud Fidenam ampbitheatro Atilius quidam 
 libertini generis_, quo spectaculum gladiatorum celebraret^ neque 
 fundamenta per solidum subdidit_, neque firmis nexibus ligneam 
 compagem superstruxit, ut qui non abundantia pecuniae nee 
 municipali ambitione^ sed in sordidam mercedem id negotium 
 quaesivisset. adfluxere avidi talium, imperitante Tiberio procul 
 voluptatibus babiti^ virile ac muliebre secus, omnis aetas^ ob pro- 
 pinquitatem loci eflfusius ; unde gravior pestis fuit, conferta mole^ 
 dein convulsa^ dum ruit intus aut in exteriora efFunditur inmen- 
 samque vim mortalium^ spectaculo intentos aut qui circum adsta- 
 bant_, praeceps trabit atque operit. et illi quidem^ quos principium 
 stragis in mortem adflixerat_, ut tali sorte^ cruciatum effugere : niise- 
 randi magis quos abrupta parte corporis nondum vita deseruerat ; 
 qui per diem visu^ per noctem ululatibus et gemitu coniuges aut 
 liberos noscebant. iam ceteri fama exciti^ bic fratrem_, propinqaum 
 ille^ alius parentes lamentari. etiam quorum diversa de causa amici 
 
 62. M. Licinio] M. Licinius Crassus, sex, — every age of them — flocked in.' 
 
 son of M. Licinins Crassus, who was Cf. H. v. 13, " multitudinem obsessorum 
 
 consul 14 A.C., and father of Piso Li- omnia aetatis, virile ac muliebre secus 
 
 cinianus, adopted by Galba (H. i. 14). sex centa milia fuisse accepimus." Liv. 
 
 L. Calpurnius is supposed to be the same xxvi. 47, " Liberorum capitum virile secus, 
 
 as the Cn. Piso the younger, who ad decem milia capta." Sail. Hist. ii. fr. 
 
 changed his praenomen after the death 29, " concurrentium undique virile et 
 
 of his father (iii. 17). If so, he was muliebre secus." 
 
 proconsul of Africa under Claudius (Dio praeceps] Used here adverbially . Cf. 
 
 lix. 20). vi. 17, "eversio rei familiaris dignitatem 
 
 coepto] This, probably, is the dative ac famam praeceps dabat." 
 
 governed by * subdidit,' rather than the noscehant] The meaning appears to be 
 
 ablative absolute. ' Fidena ' is more a little obscure. The maimed sufferers, 
 
 generally plural in form. Cf. H. iii. 79, in whom life was still left, endeavoui:ed to 
 
 Suet. Calig. 31. Sometimes, however, it discover their relations amongst tie by- 
 
 is'singular as here. Cf. Virg. Aen. vi. 773. standers, by noticing the various faces 
 
 It was near the confluence of the Tiber in view, and by night, when it was too 
 
 and Anio. It was quite a small place in dark for this, they uttered cries and 
 
 the time of Horace (Eppi. 11. 8), and groans in the hope of attracting the 
 
 Juvenal (x. 100) . attention of their kin. Some make ' qui 
 
 in sordidam mercedem] The correctness . . . noscebant' refer to the relatives, 
 
 of this emendation for ' in sordida mer- themselves uninjured, of the victims, who 
 
 cede ' seems highly probable, comparing endeavoured to discover their friends by 
 
 xi. 6, " in nullius mercedem negotia recognizing their features in the day- 
 
 agantur." time, or their voices by night, as they 
 
 virile ac m^uUehre secus] These words uttered groans and shrieks. Bufc the 
 
 are in opposition to "omnis aotas," or other interpretation is more likely to be 
 
 rather 'omnis aetas ' is added to complete the real one. 
 the description: 'the male and female 
 
A.D. 27.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 219 
 
 aut necessarii aberant, pavere tamen; nequedum comperto quos 
 ilia vis perculisset, latior ex incerto metus. 
 
 63. Ut coepere dimoveri obruta, concursus ad exanimos com- 
 plectentium, osculantium ; et saepe certamen^ si confusior facies^ 
 sed par forma aut aetas errorem adgnoscentibus fecerat. quin- 
 quaginta homimiin railia eo casu debilitata vel obtrita sunt ; cau- 
 tumque in posterum senatus consulto, ne quis gladiatorium munus 
 ederet_, cui minor quadringentorum milium res^ neve amphitbea- 
 trum imponeretur nisi solo firmitatis spectatae. Atilius in exilium 
 actus est. ceterum sub recent em cladem patuere procerum domus^ 
 fomenta et medici passim praebiti^ fuitque urbs per illos dies quam- 
 quam maesta facie veterum institutis similis_, qui magna post 
 proelia saucios largitione et cura sustentabant. 
 
 64. Nondum ea clades exsoleverat_, cum ignis violentia urbem 
 ultra solitum adfecit, deusto monte Caelioj feralemque annum 
 ferebant et ominibus adversis susceptum principi consilium absen- 
 tiae, qui mos vulgo, fortuita ad culpam trabentes^ ni Caesar obviam 
 isset tribuendo pecunias ex modo detrimenti. actaeque ei gratis 
 apud senatum ab inlustribus famaque apud populum, quia sine 
 ambitione aut proximorum precibus ignotos etiam et ultro accitos 
 munificentia iuverat. adduntur sententiae ut mens Caelius in pos- 
 terum Augustus appellaretur^ quando cunctis circum flagrantibus 
 
 63. sed par forma] This is tlie reading 50,000 should be killed or injured by the 
 
 of the MS., and ' sed' is not quite easy to fall is not easy to believe, 
 
 understand. After * facies ' I think * erat ' minor quad/ring entorum milium, res] 
 
 is to be supplied, and the idea is that This was a knight's fortune. ("Sedquin- 
 
 while the bruised and distorted features que tabemae quadringenta parant," Juv. 
 
 made recognition almost impossible, and i. 105) . No one therefore below a knight 
 
 so far unattempted, yet similarity of form in fortune was to be allowed to exhibit 
 
 or age led to rival claims and consequent shows, lest he should be tempted to make 
 
 conflicts. The faces were so maimed and them a matter of commercial profit, 
 
 altered that if they had been the only 64. tribuendo pecunias'] According to 
 
 guides, no attempts at identification would Suetonius (Tib. 48) this was one of the 
 
 have been made : butin some cases, resem- two instances of public liberality shown 
 
 blances of form, &c., induced people to be- by Tiberius. The other was in the great 
 
 lieve they saw their relatives, and so rival money panic a.d. 33 (vi. 17). 
 
 claims were put forward. These clauses sine ambitione] ' Without partiality.' 
 
 in Greek would have been expressed by Tiberius did not endeavour to make capi- 
 
 fi4v and 5e, and the sense would be ren- tal out of his liberality, by especially 
 
 dered clearer by translating * although befriending those who were the likeliest 
 
 .... yet similarity of form,' &c. to make some return for it. The ' am- 
 
 quinquaginta hominum, m,ilia] Sue- bitio ' is the ' ambitio ' of Tiberius, that 
 
 tonius (Tib. 40) says that more than shown by him, not that of which he was 
 
 20,000 were killed outright (periei'ant) : the object. It is not very clear who are 
 
 maimed were 30,000 more. This account meant by ' proximorum.' Probably by it 
 
 gives one an idea of the size of the is meant those who were near the person 
 
 ancient theatres. — That built by Scaurus of Tiberius, intimate with him, and likely 
 
 58 A.c, held 80,000 spectators : the stone therefore to have influence in behalf of 
 
 theatre of Cn. Pompeius (55 A.c.) held any suitors whoso claims they might 
 
 40,000 (Pliny, N. H. xxxvi. 24). But that support. 
 
220 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 780. 
 
 sola Tiberii effigies/ sita in domo lunii senatoris, inviolata mail sis- 
 set, evenisse id olim Olaudiae Quintae^ eiusque statuam vim ignium 
 bis elapsam maiores apud aedem matris deum consecravisse. sanc- 
 tos acceptosque numinibus Claudios et augendam caerimoniain 
 locOj in quo tantum in principem honorem di ostenierent. 
 
 65. Hand fuerit absurdum tradere montem eum antiquitus 
 Querquetulanum cognomento fuisse, quod talis silvae freqaens 
 fecundusque erat, mox Oaelium appellitatum a Caele Vibenna, 
 qui dux gentis Etruscae cum auxilium f appellatum tauisset, 
 sedem eam acceperat a Tarquinio Prisco_, seu quis alius regum 
 dedit : nam scriptores in eo dissentiunt. cetera non ambigua 
 suntj magnas eas copias per plana etiam ac foro propinqua liabi- 
 tavisse, unde Tuscum vicum e vocabulo advenarum dictum. 
 
 66. Sed ut studia procerum et largitio principis adversum casus 
 solacium tulerant^ ita accussatorum maior in dies et infestior vis 
 sine levamento grassabatur; corripueratque Yarum Quintilium, 
 divitem et Caesari propinquum^ Domitius Afer^ Claudiae Pulchrae 
 
 Claudiae Quintae] This was tlie Clau- Hor. Carm. iii. 6. 33, " non his iuventus 
 
 dia wlio dragged witliout lielp up the orta parentibus infecit aequor," i. e. 
 
 Tiber the ship which conveyed the image " iuyentns ea quae infecit aequor non his 
 
 of Cybele from Pessinus to Rome (Ovid, parentibus orta erat. 
 
 Fasti, iv. 305). She was afterwards 65. silvae frequens] This is the only in- 
 
 apparently worshipped as a kind of half- stance Draeger says of this construction, 
 
 goddess. Lat. Inscr. n. 2403, " Matri Below, ' appellitatum ' is a word only 
 
 deum et Navisalviae Q. Nunnius Telephus found in the silver age. 
 
 mag(ister) col(legii) culto(rum) eius d. a Caele Vibenna'] Yarro says (L, L. v. 
 
 s. dd." The occurrence mentioned in § 46) that Caelius Vibennus aided llomu- 
 
 the text happened 11 a.c, and 3 a.d. the lus against Tatius. Livy (i. 30) puts 
 
 image of Claudia Quinta entirely escaping him in the reign of Tullus Host ilius ; 
 
 destruction by the flames (Val. Max. i. 8. Cicero (De Eepub. ii. 18), of -Vncus 
 
 11). Martins. For the name Tuscus ^cus, 
 
 elapsam] The sentence is ambiguous. Livy (ii. 14) gives a different origir . He 
 
 As far as the words are concerned, the says that a part of Porsenna's army, 
 
 sense might be, that the Romans conse- after the defeat by the Cumani, took 
 
 crated her statue, because it had twice refuge in Rome, and had this district 
 
 previously escaped the flames : of course assigned them for residence, 
 
 the meaning really is, that they conse- 66. Caesari propinquurn] He was son 
 
 crated a statue which twice subsequently of Quintilius Varus (i. 3) and of Claudia 
 
 escaped burning. The participle * elap- Pulchra, for whose connexion with the 
 
 sam ' has its proper force, and refers to house of Caesar, see iv. 52. To this 
 
 what is past, but the point of reference Varus Quintilius himself was betiothed 
 
 is not the time to which * sacravisse ' a daughter of Germanicus. Orelli c^uotes 
 
 refers, but the period when Tacitus Sen. Controv. iii. 10 for this, "Varus 
 
 wrote : the statue had already twice Quintilius tunc Germanici gener et prae- 
 
 been saved, not when the Romans conse- textatus. Quum multa dixisset (Cestius) 
 
 crated it, but when the historian wrote, novissime adiecit rem quam omnes im- 
 
 As Draeger points out, there is an inter- probavimus : ista negligentia pater tuus 
 
 change here of attribute and predicate, exercitum perdidit." Below, for 'parto 
 
 and the meaning would have been more nuper praemio,' cf. iv. 20. This was the 
 
 clearly expressed by writing, "eiusque money given to Domitius Afer for his 
 
 statuam a maioribus consecratam bis accusation against Claudia Pulchra. 
 vim ignium elapsam esse." He compares 
 
A.D. 27.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 221 
 
 matris eius condemnatory nuUo mirante quod diu egens et parto 
 nuper praemio male usus plura ad flagitia accingeretur. P. Do- 
 labellam socium delationis extitisse miraculo erat, quia claris 
 maioribus et Varo conexus suam ipse nobilitatem, suum sangui- 
 nem perditum ibat. restitit tamen senatus et opperiendum im- 
 peratorem censuit, quod unum urgentium malorum sujffugium 
 in tempus erat. 
 
 67. At Caesar dedicatis per Campaniam templis, quamquam 
 edicto monuisset ne quis quietem eius inrumperet^ concursusque 
 oppidanorum disposito milite probiberentur, perosus tamen muni- 
 cipia et colonias omniaque in continenti sita^ Capreas se in insulam 
 abdidit_, trium milium freto ab extremis Surrentini promunturii 
 diiunctam. solitudinem eius placuisse maxime crediderim^ quo- 
 niam inportuosum circa mare et vix modicis navigiis pauca subsi- 
 dia; neque adpulerit quisquam nisi gnaro custode. caeli temperies 
 hieme mitis obiectu mentis, quo saeva ventorum arcentur; aestas 
 in favonium obversa et aperto circum pelago peramoena; pro- 
 spectabatque pulcberrimum sinum, antequam Vesuvius mens ar- 
 descens faciem loci verteret. Graecos ea tenuisse Capreasque 
 Telebois babitatas fama tradit. sed tum Tiberius duodecim vil- 
 larum nominibus et molibus insederat, quanto intentus olim 
 publicas ad curas, tanto occultiores in luxus et malum otium reso- 
 lutus. manebat quippe suspicionum et credendi temeritas, quam 
 Seianus augere etiam in urbe suetus acrius turbabat non iam occul- 
 tis adversum Agrippinam et Neronem insidiis. quis additus miles 
 nuntios, introitus, aperta secreta velut in annales referebat, ultro- 
 que struebantur qui monerent perfugere ad Germaniae exercitus 
 vel celeberrimo fori effigiem divi Augusti amplecti populumque ac 
 
 67. ne quis quietem eius] This would rally from February to May. This Taci- 
 
 have been more usually expressed by tus expresses by saying that the summer 
 
 * ne qiiis quietem suam ' (cf. note on ii. faced the west breeze. 
 38, xmder ' si nullis'). Of course *eius' nominibus'] It is not very clear what 
 
 is the more strictly correct of the two, case this is. In ii. 16, Tacitus has the 
 
 but usage is in favour of * suam.' accusative after this verb, ' soli Cherusci 
 
 Draeger quotes another instance from iuga insedere.' Perhaps the accusative 
 
 H. ii. 9, "fidem suorum quondam mili- is understood, and 'nominibus,' and 'mo- 
 
 tum invocans ut enm in Suria aut libus ' are instrumental ablatives. * Tibe- 
 
 Aegypto sisterent, orabat." rius had occupied (the whole island) with 
 
 obiectu montis] The mountains are the names and vast structures of his 
 
 apparently those of the island itself, and villas.' These villas, I suppose, from 
 
 from the northern winds (saeva vento- the way in which Tacitus speaks of them, 
 
 rum) which would be the least genial, the had demesnes attached to them, and so 
 
 island would be sheltered, if this ridge entirely filled up the island. Wherever 
 
 was at the northern part of the island, you went, you were in the grounds of 
 
 In summer the island caught the western some villa or other, 
 breeze, which seems to have blown gone- celeberrimo fori] * In the most crowded 
 
222 ■ CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 781. 
 
 senatum auxilio vocare. eaque spreta ab illis^ velut pararent^ obi- 
 ciebantur. 
 
 68. lunio Silano et Silio Nerva consulibus foedum anni pi-inci- 
 pium incessit tracto in carcerem inlustri equite Romano, Tito 
 Sabino, ob amicitiam Germanici: neque enim omiserat coniugem 
 liberosque eius percolere, sectator domi, comes in publico, po^t tot 
 clientes unus eoque apud bonos laudatus et gravis iniquis. hunc 
 Latinius Latiaris, Porcius Cato, Petilius Rufus, M. Opsins praetura 
 functi adgredinntnr, cupidine consnlatus, ad qnem non nisi per 
 Seianum aditus; neque Seiani voluntas nisi scelere quaerebatur. 
 compositum inter ipsos ut Latiaris, qui modico usu Sabinum con- 
 tingebat, strueret dolum, ceteri testes adessent, deinde accusa- 
 tionem inciperent. igitur Latiaris iacere fortuitos primum sermones, 
 mox laudare constantiam, quod non, ut ceteri, florentis domus 
 amicus adflictam deseruisset; simul bonora de Germanico, Agrip- 
 pinam miserans, disserebat. et postquam Sabinus, ut sunt molles 
 in calamitate mortalium animi, effudit lacrimas, iunxit questus, 
 audentius iam onerat Seianum, saevitiam, superbiam, spes eius. ne 
 in Tiberium quidem convicio abstinet; iique sermones, tamquam 
 vetita miscuissent, speciem artae amicitiae fecere. ac iam ultro 
 Sabinus quaerere Latiarem, ventitare domum, dolores sues quasi 
 ad fidissimum deferre. 
 
 69. Consultant quos memoravi, quonam modo ea plurium auditu 
 
 part of the forum.' Others take the but it is less common when two names 
 
 words to mean, *at the hour when the are given as in xiv. 29, xv. 23. Per- 
 
 forum was most crowded,' like ayopa haps the Appius lunius Silanus here is 
 
 ■KKiiQovffa, but I do not think they are the son of the Caius lunius Silanus of 
 
 right ; ' forum celeberrimum ' might be, iii. 66. For his subsequent caree?* cf. vi. 
 
 no doubt, the time when the * forum ' 9, xi. 29. The other consul was Ir'ublius 
 
 was crowded, but 'celeberrimum fori' Siiius Nerva, apparently the father of 
 
 could hardly mean any thing but the most the Siiius Nerva in xv. 48. 
 crowded part of the 'forum.' Below, Petilius Rufus] The Cod. Med. haa 
 
 ' eaque spreta,' &c. means, that although * Petitius,' not a usual Roman name, 
 
 the plans suggested were rejected by although it occurs in inscriptions. The 
 
 those to whom they were offered, yet emendation is due to Lipsius. lie may 
 
 they were made subjects of accusation have been father or grandfather of the 
 
 as thousrh they had been really enter- Q. Petilius Rufus, who was consul in 
 
 tained and acted on. a.d. 83. M. Opsius Navius, as Borghesi 
 
 68. lunio Silcmo et SiUo Nerva con- points out from an inscription (Graec. 
 
 sulihus'] The insertion of 'et' between Inscrip. n. 5793), was 'praetor i)raefec- 
 
 the names of the consuls is not unusual tus frumenti dandi, aedilis, quae.stor ' of 
 
 in Tacitus. It is found De Oratoribus Pontus and Bithynia, and a ' dijcemvir 
 
 17, V. 1, xiv. 29, XV. 23. In Agric. 44 litibus iudicandis.' 
 
 there is * Collega Priscoque consulibus.' tatuquam vetita miscuissent^ This is 
 
 It seems to be natural to have a con- a curious phrase, meaning that the men 
 
 necting particle when single names only spoken of had joined in illicit schemes ; 
 
 are given, as in De Oratoribus 17, and there was the tie of common guilt to 
 
 V. 1 (and this is often found in Cicero), unite them. 
 
A.D. 28.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 223 
 
 acciperentur. nam loco in quern coibatur servanda solitudinis 
 facies ; et si pone fores adsisterent, metus visus, sonitus aut forte 
 ortae suspicionis erant. tectum inter et laquearia tres senatores, > 
 hand minus turpi latebra quam detestanda fraude^ sese abstru- r^ 
 dunt, foraminibus et rimis aurem admovent. interea Latiaris v 
 repertum in publico Sabinum_, velut recens cognita narraturus, 
 domum et in cubiculum trabit; praeteritaque et instantia_, quorum 
 adfatim copia^ ac novos t err ores cumulat. eadem ille et diutius, 
 quanto maesta^ ubi semel prorupere^ difficilius reticentur. Prope- 
 rata inde accusatio, missisque ad Caesarem litteris ordinem fraudis 
 suumque ipsi dedecus narravere. non alias magis anxia et pavens 
 civitas, egens adversum proximos congressus, conloquia; notae 
 ignotaeque aures vitari; etiam muta at que inanima, tectum et 
 parietes circumspectabantur. 
 
 70. Sed Caesar sollemnia incipientis anni kalendis lanuariis 
 epistula precatus vertit in Sabinum^ corruptos quosdam liberto- 
 rum et petitum se arguens^ ultionemque baud obscure poscebat. 
 nee mora quin decerneretur ; et trabebatur damnatus, quantum 
 obducta veste et adstrictis faucibus niti poterat_, clamitans sic 
 inchoari annum, bas Seiano victimas cadere. quo intendisset 
 oculos, quo verba acciderent, fuga vastitas, deseri itinera fora. et 
 quidam regrediebantur ostentabantque se rursum, id ipsum pa- 
 ventes quod timuissent. quem enin diem vacuum poena, ubi inter 
 sacra et vota_, quo tempore verbis etiam profanis abstineri mos 
 esset, vincla et laqueus inducantur? non prudentem Tiberium 
 
 69. tnetus^ * Their dread was (the rwv vlwv KaXavBuv 4v § vvv ol &pxovTes 
 possibility) of being seen, heard, or sus- ei/xorrat koI Qvovaiv virlp tov rjyf/xSvos. 
 picion arising.' * Metus ' is the nomina- The two stated days in the month for 
 tive plural (cf. vi. 18, iv. 71), and ' visus,' the meeting of the senate were the 
 &c., are the genitive singular. Below, for Kalends and Ides (Suet. August. 35), 
 * diutius ' * at greater length, ' cf. vi. 27 and probably Tacitus means that the 
 and 49. letter was read on the Kalends, and 
 
 egens] ' Bare,' ' scanty.' All inter- written previously, 
 
 course was confined to necessary com- non prudenteni] Surely it could not 
 
 munications : people went into no topics be that Tiberius had incurred so much 
 
 not absolutely required : they said just odium quite unintentionally. No, it could 
 
 what they had to say and no more. not be th<it : his deliberate aim had 
 
 70. Tcalendis lanuariis'] Good wishes been, &c. I think it is unnecessary to 
 were interchanged by the Roraans on the alter 'prudentem' into 'imprudentem,' 
 first day of January (Plin. N. H. xxviii. § as Lipsius and others do. The words 
 22, "primum anni incipientis diem laetis suggest a possible explanation of the 
 precationibus invicem faustum omina- conduct of Tiberius, that it was not 
 mur"), and new year presents given intentional: this however in the next 
 (' strena,' Suet. August. 57; Tib. 34). words is set aside as impossible, and 
 Good wishes for the safety of the Prin- the only real explanation is added, that 
 ceps (iv. 17) were made on the third of Tiberius was acting on a deliberately 
 January. Plutarch, Cic. 2, Tjfifpq. Tpirri formed scheme. 
 
224 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. !'81. 
 
 tantam invidiam adisse; quaesitum meditatumque, ne quid iinpe- 
 dire credatur quo minus novi magistratus^ quo modo delubia et 
 altaria, sic carcerem recludant. secutae insuper litterae gi-ates 
 agentis, quod hominem infensum rei publicae punivissent, adiocto 
 ^ipedam sibi vitam, suspectas inimicorum insidias^ nullo nominatim 
 conpellato; neque tamen dubitabatur in Neronem et Agrippinam 
 intendi. 
 
 71. Ni mibi destinatum foret suum quae que in annum referre^ 
 avebat animus antire statimque memorare exitus, quos Latmius 
 atque Opsins ceterique flagitii eius repertores babuere, non modo 
 postquam Gains Caesar rerum potitus est^ sed incolumi Tiberio, 
 qui scelerum ministros ut perverti ab aliis nolebat^ ita plerumque 
 satiatus et oblatis in eandem operam recentibus veteres et prae- 
 graves adflixit: verum has atque alias sontium poenas in tempore 
 trademus. tum censuit Asinius Gallus^ cuius liberorum Agrip- 
 pina matertera erat^ petendum a principe ut metus sues seiiatui 
 fateretur amoverique sineret. nullam aequo Tiberius, ut rebatur, 
 ex virtutibus suis quam dissimulationem diligebat: eo aegrius 
 accepit recludi quae premeret. sed mitigavit Seianus, non Galli 
 amore, verum ut cunctationes principis opperiretur, gnarus lentum 
 in meditando_, ubi prorupisset, tristibus dictis atrocia facta con- 
 iungere. 
 
 Per idem tempus lulia mortem obiit, quam neptem Augustus 
 convictam adult erii damnaverat_, proieceratque in insulam Trime- 
 rum, baud procul Apulis litoribus. illic viginti annis exilium 
 toleravit Augustae ope sustentata_, quae florentes privignos cum 
 per occultum subvertisset, misericordiam erga adflictos palam 
 ostentabat. 
 
 72. Eodem anno Frisii, transrbenanus populus, pacem exuere, 
 nostra magis avaritia quam obsequii inpatientes. tribiitum 
 
 71. avehaf] For the use of the indica- ut rehatK/r] 'No one of his virtuas, as 
 
 tive here, Draeger quotes Cic. de Offic. he deemed them.' Tiberius fancied some 
 
 ii. 19. 67, " admonebat me res ut hoc of his qualities to be • actually virtues ; 
 
 quoque loco intermissionem eloquentiae they struck other people in a diferent 
 
 . . . deplorarem, ni vererer ne de me light. For * opperiretur ' (the emenda- 
 
 ipso aliquid viderer queri." For the tion of Gronoviusfor 'aperirentur') cf. ii. 
 
 death of Latinius cf. vi. 4. 69, " opperiens aegritudiriem." Sejanus 
 
 matertera eraf] Agrippina and Vip- did not wish to hurry Tiberius : he knew 
 
 sania, wife of Asinius Gallus (after her that delay in him only led to scjverer 
 
 divorce from Tiberius), were half-sis- results; the longer Tiberius brooded over 
 
 ters, both being daughters of Vipsanius any thing, the more deadly his anger 
 
 Agrippa, but Vipsania had not the same was when it did burst forth. The ' lulia' 
 
 mother as Agrippina, who was the below is the younger of that name, 
 
 daughter of Julia (the daughter of Au- daughter of the elder Julia, 
 gustus). 
 
A.D. 28.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 225 
 
 iis Drusus iusserat modicum pro angustia rerum^ ut in usus militares 
 coria boum penderent, non intenta cuiusquam cura quae firmitudo, 
 quae mensura, donee Olennius e primipilaribus regendis Frisiis 
 inpositus terga urorum delegit^ quorum ad formam acciperentur. 
 id aliis quoque nationibus arduum apud Germanos difiicilius tole- 
 rabatur_, quis ingentium beluarum feraces saltus, modica domi 
 armenta sunt, ac prime boves ipsos_, mox agros, postremo corpora 
 coniugum aut liberorum servitio tradebant. bine ira et questus, 
 et postquam non subveniebat^ remedium ex bello. rapti qui tribute 
 aderant milites et patibulo adfixi : Olennius infensos fuga prae- 
 venit, receptus casteUo, cui nomen Flevum et baud spernenda 
 illic civium sociorumque manus litora Oceani praesidebat. 
 
 73. Quod ubi L. Apronio inferioris Germaniae pro praetore 
 cognitum, vexilla legionum e superiore provincia peditumque et 
 equitum auxiliarium delectos accivit ac simul utrumque exercitum 
 Rheno devectum Frisiis intulit, solute iam castelli obsidio et ad 
 sua tutanda degressis rebellibus. igitur proxima aestuaria agge- 
 ribus et pontibus traducendo graviori agmini firmat. atque inte- 
 rim repertis vadis alam Canninefatem et quod peditum Germano- 
 
 72. iis Drusus iusserat^ The construe- appointed to collect it. 'Flevum' was 
 
 tion is the same as that with ' imperare :' a fort placed where the Canal of Drusus 
 
 an accusative of the thing ordered, and (the Yssel) enters the lakes which now 
 
 a dative of the person. Tacitus uses form the Zuyder Zee. Cf. Pompon. Mela 
 
 ' iubere ' with a dative only xiii. 15 and iii. 2. 8, " ad dextram . . . iam non 
 
 40. The Drusus here mentioned was the amnis sed ingens lacus, ubi campos im- 
 
 brother of Tiberius. plevit, Flevo dicitur." Plin. N. H. iv. 15, 
 
 terga urorutn] For * terga/ cf. xv. 44, " Helium ac Flevum : ita appellantur 
 
 H. ii. 88. ostia in quae eflFasus Rhenus ab Septem- 
 
 modica] As the herds of the Frisii con- trione in lacus," &c. 
 
 sisted of small cattle, they cotdd not easily 73. vexilla legionum] See a note on 
 
 provide hides equal in size to those this point, i. 17. For L. Apronius cf. 
 
 of the larger breed of *uri' roaming iii. 21. 
 
 in the forests. Tacitus speaks of the degressis'] ' Having abandoned it.' Cf. 
 
 small growth of the cattle in Grermany ii. 69 and iv. 74. Others alter it into 
 
 (Germ. 5) . They were no doubt dwarfed ' digressis,' * having dispersed in different 
 
 by the severity of the climate, much directions,' unnecessarily, 
 
 colder then than now. Some corrobora- alam Canninefatem] The Canninefates 
 
 tion of this is afforded by the fact, that occupied part of the island of the Batavi 
 
 whenever the bones of oxen or sheep (H. iv. 15 ; Plin. iv. 29). Their cavalry 
 
 have been discovered in England, as they formed the ' alam Canninefatem,' the 
 
 often have in large quantities, they appear ' alarius eques,' or the ' turmae so- 
 
 to have belonged to animals much less ciales,' spoken of in this chapter. The 
 
 than ours at present. ' alarius eques ' is to be distinguished 
 
 suhveniehat] The subject of this is from the 'equites legionum,' a body of 
 
 'Olennius.' Application was probably 300, or perhaps 120 at this period, 
 
 made to him by those who thought the attached to each legion. These ' alarii 
 
 fault not his perhaps, but that of his equites ' are often mentioned : iii. 39, 
 
 agents ; but he gave them no redress. xii. 27, xiii. 35, xv. 10. The grove of 
 
 trihuto aderant] ' Were present for the Baduhenna is supposed to be the modem 
 
 tribute,' to aid or protect the agents Holtpade in West Friesland, but nothing 
 
 Q 
 
226 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. "81. 
 
 rum inter nostros merebat circumgredi terga liostmm iubet, qui 
 iam acie compositi pellunt turmas sociales equitesque legionum 
 subsidio missos. tum tres leves cohortes ac rursum duae^ dein 
 tempore interiecto alarius eques inmissus : satis validi, si ^^mul 
 incubuissent^ per intervallum adventantes neque constaDtiam 
 addiderant turbatis et pavore fugientium auferebantur. Cethego 
 Labeoni legato quintae legionis quod reliquum auxiliorum tradit. 
 atque ille dubia suorum re in anceps tractus missis nuntiis vim 
 legionum inplorabat. prorumpunt quintani ante alios et acri 
 pugna hoste pulso recipiunt cohortis alasque fessas vulneribus. 
 neque dux Romanus ultum iit aut corpora bumavit, quam([uam 
 multi tribunorum praefectorumque et insignes centuriones ceci- 
 dissent. mox compertum a transfugis nongentos Romanorum 
 apud lucum quem Baduhennae vocant pugna in posterum ext pacta 
 confectos^ et aliam quadringentorum manum occupata Cruptoricis 
 quondam stipendiari villa, postquam proditio metuebatur, mutuis 
 ictibus procubuisse. 
 
 74. Clarum inde inter Germanos Frisium nomen, dissimulante 
 Tiberio damna, ne cui bellum permitteret. neque senatus in eo 
 cura, an imperii extrema debonestarentur : pavor internus occu- 
 paverat animos, cui remedium adulatione quaerebatur. ita qaam- 
 quam diversis super rebus consulerentur, aram clementiae, aram 
 amicitiae effigiesque circum Caesaris ac Seiani censuere_, crebrisque 
 precibus efflagitabant visendi sui copiam facerent. non illi tamen 
 in urbem aut propinqua urbi degressi sunt : satis visum omi ttere 
 insulam et in proximo Campaniae aspici. eo venire patres, eques, 
 magna pars plebis, anxii erga Seianum, cuius durior congressus, 
 atque eo per ambitum et socio tate consiliorum parabatur. satis 
 constabat auctam ei adrogantiam foedum illud in propatulo servi- 
 tium spectanti; quippe Romae sueti discursus, et magnitudine 
 
 can be asserted about it. If Grimm be People had to pay court to the favourites 
 
 right in connecting it with ' badu,' a or attendants of Sejanus, to gain admit- 
 
 battle, it may have been a grove for tance (per ambitum), and all who were 
 
 sacrifices to be offered in during war. admitted were expected to be ready to 
 
 74. clementiae] The genitive probably, abet his schemes (societate consiliorum) . 
 
 Cf. i. 14, "aram adoptiotiis." Below, the Below, 'male alacres' means 'foolishly 
 
 union of plural and singular in ' patres, eager.' Cf. Ovid, Art. Amat. iii. 699, 
 
 eques,' is found elsewhere. Cf. i. 7, " Coniugis ad timidas aliquis mah; sedu- 
 
 "consules, patres, eques." So H. iii. 29, lus aures, Auditos nemoris detulit ore 
 
 " Septimani . . tertianus ; " H. iii. 59, sonos." The words themselves might 
 
 *' Samnis Paelignusque et Marsi." imply, ' not eager enough ;' but the 
 
 dv/rior congressus] ' An interview with sense is clearly not this. These people 
 
 whom was harder to obtain :' there were were eager to obtain that which turned 
 
 more difficulties in the way than if an out to their ovra ruin, 
 inteiview was required with Tiberius. 
 
A.D. 28.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. IV. 227 
 
 urbis incertum quod quisque ad negotium pergat : ibi campo aut 
 litore iacentes nuUo discrimine noctem ac diem iuxta gratiam aut 
 fastus ianitorum perpetiebantur, donee id quoque vetitum : et 
 revenere in urbem trepidi, quos non sermone, non visu dignatus 
 erat^ quidam male alacres^ quibus infaustae amicitiae gravis exitus 
 imminebat. 
 
 75. Ceterum Tiberius neptem Agrippinam Grermanico ortam 
 cum coram Cn. Domitio tradidisset, in urbe celebrari nuptias 
 iussit. in Domitio super vetustatem generis propinquum Caesa- 
 ribus sanguinem delegerat; nam is aviam Octaviam et per earn 
 Augustum avunculum praeferebat. 
 
 75. neptem] Germanicus was the was granddaugliter of Tiberius, 
 
 adopted son of Tiberius, and conse- avicum . . . cwuncuVvtm] This will be 
 
 quently his daughter Agrippina, after- seen from the table subjoined : — 
 wards wife of the Emperor Claudius, 
 
 M. Antonius m. Octavia, sister of C. Octavianus (Augustus) 
 
 I 
 L. Domitius m. Antonia major 
 
 Cn. Domitius. 
 
 Hence Cn. Domitius was great-nephew 5) as "omni parte vitae detestabilem." 
 
 of Augustus. He was the son of that 'Avunculus' is used for great-uncle in 
 
 L. Domitius mentioned in iv. 44. He ii. 44, 53, iv. 3, xii. 64 ; just as * amita ' 
 
 was father of Nero, and is briefly yet is used for great -aunt in ii. 27. 
 effectually described by Suetonius (Nero 
 
 Q 2 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER V. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. Death of Livia. 2. Tiberius moderates tlie honours offered to her 
 memory. 3. Increase of the power of Sejanus. Accusation against Agrippina 
 and Nero. 4. Their popularity. 5. Persistence of Tiberius. 6. Fragmentary- 
 speech of a friend of Sejanus, and 7. his death. 8. Impeachment of Vitellius 
 and Secundus. 9. Execution of the children of Sejanus. 10. Proceedings of a 
 Pseudo-Drusus. 11. Quarrel between the two consuls. 
 
 1. Rubellio et Fufio consulibus^ quorum utrique Geminus cog- 
 nomentum erat^ lulia Augusta mortem obiit, aetate extrema, 
 nobilitatis per Claudiam familiam et adoptione Liviorum luliorum- 
 que clarissimae. primum ei matrimonium. et liberi fuere cum 
 Tiberio Nerone, qui bello Perusino profugus_, pace inter Sex. 
 
 1. aetate extrema'] According to Dio tato in earn matemo avo." The adoptive 
 
 Cassius she was 86 (Iviii. 2). Pliny father of this Drusus Claudianus was 
 
 makes her 82 only (N. H. xiv. 6) ; but probably M. Livius Drusus, tribunus 
 
 the discrepancy can easily be removed plebis in the year 91 a.c. His real 
 
 by altering Ixxxii. in the text of Pliny, father, Borghesi suggests, was either 
 
 who is clearly wrong, into Ixxxvi. Tibe- Appius Claudius, tribunus militum in the 
 
 rius died a.d. 37, in the 78th year of year 87 a.c. (Appian, B.C. i. 68; Plutarch, 
 
 his age, and was bom at the close of the Sull. 29), or Claudius Pulcher, legatus 
 
 year 42 A.c. Livia died a.d. 29, and if or praetor 73 a.c. (Liv.Epit. 95; Plutarch, 
 
 she was only 82 years old, she must have Crass. 9 ; Ores. v. 24), both sons of C. 
 
 been bom in 54 a.c, or could only have Claudius Pulcher, consul 130 a.c. The 
 
 been about 12 years old when Tiberius mother of Tiberius was admitted by 
 
 was bom. Augustus into the lulia gens (i. 8), 
 
 adoptione'] Tiberius' grandfather, "Livia in familiam luliam nomenque 
 
 Livius Drusus Claudianus, was adopted Augustum adsumebatur." 
 
 into the Livia gens. Cf Suet. Tib. 3, hello Perusino] This was in the year 
 
 "insertus est et Liviorum familiae adop- 40 a.c, when C. Octavianus (Au^s- 
 
AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. Y. 229 
 
 Pompeium ac triumviros pacta in urbem rediit. exin Caesar 
 cupidine formae aufert marito, incertum an invitam, adeo prope- 
 rus ut ne spatio quidem ad enitendum dato penatibus suis gravi- 
 dam induxerit. nullam posthac subolem edidit, sed sanguini 
 August! per coniunctionem Agrippinae et Germanici adnexa 
 communes pronepotes babuit. sanctitate domus priscum ad 
 morem^ comis ultra quam antiquis feminis probatum, mater in- 
 potens^ uxor facilis et cum artibus mariti, simulatione filii bene 
 composita. funus eius modicum, testamentum diu inritum fuit. 
 laudata est pro rostris a Gaio Caesare pronepote, qui mox rerum 
 potitus est. 
 
 2. At Tiberius, quod supremis in matrem officiis defuisset, nibil 
 mutata amoenitate vitae, magnitudinem negotiorum per litteras 
 excusavit, bonoresque memoriae eius ab senatu large decretos 
 quasi per modestiam imminuit, paucis admodum receptis et addito 
 ne caelestis religio decerneretur. sic ipsam maluisse. quin et 
 parte eiusdem epistulae increpuit amicitias muliebres, Fufium con- 
 sulem oblique perstringens. is gratia Augustae floruerat, aptus 
 alliciendis feminarum animis, dicax idem et Tiberium acerbis 
 facetiis inridere solitus, quarum apud praepotentes in longum 
 memoria est. 
 
 3. Ceterum ex eo praerupta iam et urgens dominatio; nam 
 
 tus) compelled L. Antonius, brother of August. 14). 
 
 the triumvir, to shut himself up in communes pronepotes'] This will be 
 
 Perusia, and finally to surrender (Suet, understood from the subjoined stem : — • 
 
 Livia Augustus 
 
 I I 
 
 Nero Drusus Claudius Julia (m. Agrippa) 
 
 Germanicus. Agrippina. 
 
 On the union of Germanicus and was carried into eflfect, and the legacies 
 
 Agrippina, their offspring were alike paid by Caligula (Suet. Cal. 16). 
 
 great-grandchildren of Augustus and 2. excusavif] In the sense of pleading 
 
 Livia. Caius Caesar, the son of Ger- any thing in excuse. Cf. iii. 11, "iisque 
 
 manicus, through his father's adoption di versa excusantibus." 
 
 by Tiberius, became Livia' s great -grand- ne caelestis religio decerneretur] Divine 
 
 son (pronepos). honours however were paid her after- 
 
 composita] This is a gladiatorial wards, by order of Claudius, her grand- 
 word: 'well-matched,' 'well-paired.' son (Suet. Claud. 2). Her statue was 
 Cf. Hor. Sat. i. 7. 19, 20, " Par pugnat uti placed in the temple erected to Augus- 
 non compositus melius cum Bitho Bac- tus, and certain rites appointed to be 
 chius," and the famous remark of Seneca performed by the Vestal Yirgins, and 
 (de Providentia 2) that " vir fortis cum women were to swear by her name 
 mala fortuna compositus" was a sight for (Dio Ix. 5) . 
 the Deity to look at. 3. urgens] Oppressive, overbearing, 
 
 diu inritum] The will of Livia, long overriding all opposition. Orelli quotes 
 
 suppressed by Tiberius (Suet. Tib, 51), (Cic. Tusc. iii. 25) " opinio magni prae- 
 
230 CORNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 732. 
 
 incolumi Augusta erat adhuc perfugium^ quia Tiberio inveterat im 
 erga matrem obsequium, neque Seianus audebat auctoritati jDa- 
 rentis antire : tunc velut frenis exsoluti proruperuiit_, missae([ue 
 in Agrippinam ac Neronem litterae, quas pridem adlatas et cohi- 
 bitas ab Augusta credidit vulgus ; baud enim multum post mortem 
 eius recitatae sunt, verba inerant quaesita asperitate : sed non 
 arma, non rerum novarum studium^ amores iuvenum et inpudici- 
 tiam nepoti obiectabat. in nurum ne id quidem confingere ausus, 
 adrogantiam oris et contumacem animum incusavit, magno senatus 
 pavore ac silentio^ donee pauci, quis nulla ex bonesto spes (et 
 publica mala singulis in occasionem gratiae trabuntur)^ ut refer- 
 retur postulavere^ promptissimo Cotta Messalino cum ati'oci 
 sententia. sed aliis a primoribus maximeque a magistratibus 
 trepidabatur : quippe Tiberius etsi infense invectus cetera am- 
 bigua reliquerat. 
 
 4. Fuit in senatu lunius E-usticus^ conponendis patrum actis 
 delectus a Caesare, eoque meditationis eius introspicere creditus. 
 is fatali quodam motu (neque enim ante specimen constantiae 
 dederat) seu prava soUertia^ dum imminentium oblitus incerta 
 pavet^ inserere se dubitantibus ac monere consules ne relation em 
 inciperent ; disserebatque brevibus momentis summa verti ; posse 
 quandoque Germanici exitium paenitentiae esse seni. simul po]3U- 
 lus effigies Agrippinae ac Neronis gerens circumsistit curiam 
 faustisque in Caesarem ominibus falsas litteras et principe invito 
 exitium domui eius intendi clamitat. ita nihil triste illo die 
 patratum. ferebantur etiam sub nominibus consularium fictae in 
 Seianum sententiae^ exercentibus plerisque per occultum atque eo 
 
 sentis atque urgentis mali." Cf. xv. 10, ceedings of the senate were first pub- 
 
 "adversus urgentes casus j" xv. 55, lished by C. Julius Caesar (Suet. C.Julius 
 
 "urgens periculum." Caesar 20), but this was forbidden by 
 
 antire] ' To outgo, outstrip.' Sejanus Augustus (Suet. Aug. 36) . A rec 3rd, 
 
 did not venture to overpower the influ- however, was still kept, and some scsna- 
 
 ence of Augusta by his own. There is no tor was appointed to compile them, ur der 
 
 other instance of this construction with the title of * ab actis senatus,' or * cura- 
 
 * antire.' Below, ' haud multum post ' tor actorum senatus.' 
 
 occurs, xii. 4. Elsewhere, * haud midto.' hrevihus momentis] The most im- 
 
 singuUs] This is a dativus commodi. portant events are decided by slight in~ 
 
 Cf. iii. 53, " cum recte factorum sibi quis- fluences ; great events spring from little 
 
 que gratiam trahant." Although the causes. The commentators quote Cic. 
 
 construction is here a passive one, 'sin- Philip.v. 10, "minimis momentis maxiniae 
 
 gulis ' corresponds to ' sibi.' Below, the inclinationes temporum fiunt," and JAv. 
 
 * magistratus ' specially were alarmed, iii. 27, "puncto saepe temporis maxi- 
 because they did not know whether to marum rerum momenta verti." Below, 
 bring forward a motion on the subject ' faustis ' is an emendation for ' fesi is.' 
 or not. Cf. X. 35, " faustis in Gormanicum omini- 
 
 ^ 4. patrum actis] These are called in bus." Inxii. 69,thereis 'festisvocibas,' 
 X-xv. 72 * commentarii senatus.' The pro- but that was on a joyous occasion. 
 
A.D. 29.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. Y. 231 
 
 procacius libidinem ingeniorum. undo illi ira violentior et materies 
 criminandi : spretum dolorem principis ab senatu, descivisse popu- 
 lum j audiri iam et legi novas contiones^ nova patrum consulta ; 
 quid reliquum nisi ut caperent ferrum et, quorum imagines pro 
 vexillis secuti forent, duces imperatoresque deligerent ? 
 ^ 5. Igifur Caesar repetitis adversum nepotem et nurum probris 
 increpitaque per edictum plebe, questus aput patres quod fraude 
 unius senatoris imperatoria maiestas elusa publico foret, integra 
 tamen sibi cuncta postulavit. nee ultra deliberatum quo minus 
 non quidem extrema decemerent (id enim vetitum), sed paratos 
 ad ultionem vi principis impediri testarentur. 
 
 6 Quattuor et quadraginta orationes super ea re babitae, 
 
 ex quis ob metum paucae, plures adsuetudine ^ mibi pudo- 
 
 rem aut Seiano invidiam adlaturum censui. versa est fortuna, 
 et ille quidem, qui collegam et generum adsciverat, sibi ignoscit : 
 ceteri,' quem per dedecora fovere, cum scelere insectantur. 
 miserius sit ob amicitiam accusari an amicum accusare, baud 
 discreverim. non crudelitatem, non clementiam cuiusquam ex- 
 periar, sed liber et mibi ipsi probatus antibo periculum. vos 
 obtestor ne memoriam nostri per maerorem quam laeti retineatis, 
 adiciendo me quo que iis qui fine egregio publica mala efiugerunt.^ 
 
 7. Tunc singulos, ut cuique adsistere, adloqui animus erat, 
 
 Ubidinemingeniorum'] 'The ribald play ing portion of a.d. 29, the whole of a.d. 
 
 of their wits.' The people chose to 30, and by far the greater part of a.d. 31, 
 
 attribute to certain senators remarks of during which Tiberius and Sejanus were 
 
 various kinds. They designedly put consuls (and several others consules 
 
 them into the mouths of some of the suffecti), are lost. The chapter is a 
 
 leading men, aware of course that they* portion of the address made by some 
 
 were not really uttered by them, but friend of Sejanus to his acquaintances at 
 
 palming off as theirs their own fancies home, apparently (" Hber et ipsi mihi 
 
 and witticisms. probatus antibo periculum"). 
 
 ilU] That is, Sejanus. ille] Tiberius, who had made Sejanus 
 
 5. integra ta/men] The force of 'tamen' his partner in the consulate, a.d. 31 
 is a little obscure. Tiberius complained (cf. vi. 8, " tui consulatus socium"). 
 that the imperial majesty had been Zonaras (xi. 2, quoted by Nipperdey) 
 treated with contempt ; still, in spite of says that Sejanus was married to Julia, 
 that, he was inclined to put aside any daughter of Drusus (son of Tiberius), 
 feeling of annoyance which might have but she (vi. 27) had married Nero, and 
 arisen from the circumstance, and treat then Rubellius Blandus. However, if it 
 the matter entirely on its own naerits, were so, then Sejanus was not indeed 
 uninfluenced by those displays of feeling, son-in-law of Tiberius, but grandson -in- 
 Below, ' nee ultra deliberatum ' would law (progener) . If, however, * gener ' is 
 more usually be followed by ' quin ' used in its strict sense, Sejanus, although 
 than by ' quo minus.' But cf. H. ii. 45, at first refused, when he solicited per- 
 " nee dubitatum quo minus pacemconce- mission to marry Livilla, the widow of 
 derent ;" xiii. 14, " abstinere quo minus Drusus, must have afterwards been 
 testaretur." allowed, at all events, to be betrothed to 
 
 6. sv,per ea re] There is of course a her, if the marriage never actually took 
 gap here in the narrative. The remain- place. 
 
232 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 784. 
 
 retinens aut dimittens partem diei absumpsit^ multoque adJmc 
 coetu et cunctis intrepidum vultum eius spectantibus, cum sn]:er- 
 esse tempus novissimis crederent^ gladio quem sinu abdiderat in- 
 cubuit. neque Caesar uUis criminibns aut probris defuncTum 
 insectatus est, cum in Blaesum multa foedaque incusavisset. 
 
 8. Relatum inde de P. Vitellio et Pomponio Secundo. ilium 
 indices arguebant claustra aerarii, cui praefectus erat, et niili- 
 tarem pecuniam rebus novis obtulisse ; huic a Considio praei ura 
 functo obiectabatur Aelii G-alli amicitia, qui punito Seiano in 
 bortos Pomponii quasi fidissimum ad subsidium perfugisset. neque 
 aliud periclitantibus auxilii quam in fratrum constantia fuit, qui 
 vades exstitere. mox crebris prolationibus spem ac metum iuxta 
 gravatus Vitellius petito per speciem studiorum scalpro le^em 
 ictum venis intulit vitamque aegritudine animi finivit. at Pom- 
 ponius multa morum elegantia et ingenio inlustri, dum adversam 
 fortunam aequus tolerat, Tiberio superstes fait. 
 
 9. Placitum posthac, ut in reliquos Seiani liberos adverteretur, 
 vanescente quamquam plebis ira ac plerisque per priora supplicia 
 lenitis. igitur portantur in carcerem, filius imminentium intelle- 
 gens, puella adeo nescia, ut crebro interrogaret, quod ob delictum 
 et quo traberetur; neque facturam ultra, et posse se puerili yer- 
 
 7. superesse] ' They fancied the mo- a.d. 34. Ho was brother to the Quiiitug 
 ment for the closing scene was still far Pomponins Secundus of vi. 18, and siii. 
 distant.' 43. Publius was a man of great rep ita- 
 
 in Blaesuin] ' Had nttered many un- tion. Cf. De Oratoribus 13, " ne not tris 
 
 grounded accusations against Blaesus.' quidem temporibus Secundus Pomponins 
 
 There seem to be no instances of the Afro Domitio vel dignitate yitae vel ])er- 
 
 same construction, but Livy i. 51, " haec petuitate famae cesserit. " Quintilian 
 
 Aricinus in regem Eomanorum increpans (x. 1. 98) speaks of him as the nrst 
 
 ex concilio abiit." For Blaesus see iii. 35. writer of all he had seen. He is probably 
 
 8. P. Vitellio et Pomponio Secundo] the Pomponius of xii. 27, but then? is 
 The first was uncle of the Emperor some doubt about the reading there. 
 Vitellius (i. 70, iii. 10). With respect aerarii] Sc. ' militaris.' Augustus had 
 to Publius Pomponius Secundus, there established a military treasury (Suet, 
 seems to be some little difficulty. Dio August. 49), superintended by three 
 (lix. 6) speaks of a Quintus Pomponius praefects of praetorian rank, who l.eld 
 as released by Caligula from prison, office for three years (Dio Cass. Iv. 25). 
 where he had been confined seven years AeUi Galli] Borghesi conjectures liim 
 after his consulate. Tacitus says of to have been the eldest son of Sejanus 
 the Pomponius here that he possessed (iv. 3, vi. 30), and Sejanus himself to 
 "multa morum elegantia" and an "in- have been adopted by Aelius Gallm^, a 
 genium inlustre." In xi. 13 he says Roman knight and praefect of Egjpt, 
 " Publium Pomponium consularem (is 24 A.c. (Dio liii. 29). 
 
 carmina scaenae dabat)." I imagine 9. adverteretur] Cf. i. 32, iii. 52. 
 therefore that Dio makes a blunder, and gtwij/igwam] For this use of 'quamquam' 
 
 Quintus ought to be Publius. If so, the cf. vi. 30, "haec mira quamquam," and 
 
 Pomponius here mentioned must have xiv. 21, " quia redditi quamquam scaeiae 
 
 been consul seven years before a.d. pantomimi certaminibus sacris prohibe- 
 
 37 — 41, or in some year from a.d. 30 to bantur." 
 
A.D. 31.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. V. 233 
 
 bere moneri. tradunt temporis eius auctores, quia triumvirali 
 supplicio adfici virginem inauditum liabebatur^ a carnifice laqueum 
 iuxta conpressam; exim oblisis faucibus id aetatis corpora in 
 Gemonias abieota. 
 
 10. Per idem tempus Asia atque Acbaia exterritae sunt acri 
 magis quam diuturno rumor e, Drusum German ici filium apud 
 Cycladas insulas, mox in continenti visum, et erat iuvenis hau 
 dispari aetate, quibusdam Caesaris libertis velut agnitus; per 
 dolumque comitantibus alliciebantur ignari fama nominis et 
 promptis Graecorum animis ad nova et mira : quippe elapsum 
 custodiae pergere ad paternos exercitus^ Aegyptum aut Syriam 
 invasurum, fingebant simul credebantque. iam iuventutis con- 
 cursu, iam publicis studiis frequentabatur, laetus praesentibus et 
 inanium spe^ cum auditum id Poppaeo Sabino : is Macedoniae tum 
 intentus Achaiam quoque curabat. igitur quo vera seu falsa 
 antiretj Toronaeum Tbermaeumque sinum praefestinans^ mox 
 Euboeam Aegaei maris insulam et Piraeum Atticae orae^ dein 
 Corintbiense litus angustiasque Isthmi evadit; marique alio 
 Nicopolim Romanam coloniam ingressus_, ibi demum cognoscit 
 sollertius interrogatum_, quisnam foret_, dixisse M. Silano genitum, 
 et multis sectatorum dilapsis ascendisse navem tamquam Italiam 
 peteret. scripsitque baec Tiberio^ neque nos originem finemve 
 eius rei ultra comperimus. 
 
 11. Exitu anni diu aucta discordia consulum erupit. nam Trio^ 
 facilis capessendis inimicitiis et foro exercitus, ut segnem Regulum 
 
 triumvirali suppUcio^ The ' triuin- came to pass, 
 
 viri capitales' appointed about 292 a.c. Poppaeo Sabino'] Cf. iv. 46, and for 
 
 (Liv. Epit. 11). They received informa- the provinces here mentioned, cf. i. 80. 
 
 tion respecting capital offences (Plant. Below, for Nicopolim cf. ii. 53. 
 
 Anl. iii. 2. 2), preserved the peace, en- evadit^ The principle on which verbs 
 
 forced the payment of fines, were respon- such as this (and 'egredior,' * elabor,' &c.) 
 
 sible for the due care of prisons, and govern an accusative has been men- 
 
 carried out the sentence of the law tioned. Cf. ii. 20. The M. Silanus here 
 
 (Sail. Catil. 55 ; Liv. xxv. 1 ; Hor. Epod. is the same as the one mentioned in ii. 
 
 4. 11). For 'in Gemonias ' cf. iii. 14. 59, iii. 24, vi. 20 (ii. 28). 
 
 10. agnitus] 'Kecognized by certain 11. consulum] These were L. Ful- 
 
 freedmen of Caesar, and while they ac- cinius Trio and P. Memmius Regulus 
 
 companied him.' For the construction (see vi. 41), consules suffecti A.l>. 31. 
 
 of ' comitantibus ' cf. xiv. 53, " tempus This Memmius Regulus was an eminent 
 
 sermoni orat et accepto ita incipit;" man. He was legatus pro praetore of 
 
 vi. 16, " veniam a principe petivere et Maesia, a.d. 36, after Poppaeus Sabinus. 
 
 concedente annus," &c. He was the husband of Lollia Paulina 
 
 ad paternos exercitus] Cf. ii. 55, and (xii. 22), whom Caligula took from him. 
 
 following chapters. He died in a.d. 62. He was the father 
 
 inanium spe] ' With the hoj)e of re- of the Memmius Regulus in xv. 23, who 
 
 suits unsupported by reality :' he found was consul a.d. 63. 
 hopes of obtaining results which never 
 
234 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. V. 
 
 ad opprimendos Seiani ministros oblique perstrinxerat : ille^ lisi 
 lacesseretur^ modestiae retinenSj non modo rettudit coUegam, & ed 
 ut noxium coniurationis ad disquisitionem trahebat. multisi^^ue 
 patrum orantibus ponerent odia in permitiem itura, mansere in- 
 fensi ac minitantes, donee magistratu abirent. 
 
 noxivm. coniurationis] This use of Digest. Cf. Ulpian, Dig. 29. 5. 3, § 12, 
 * noxius ' with a genitive is rare, and " facinoris noxius." Livy (vii. 20) has 
 seems indeed only to be found in the " Faliscos eodem noxios crimine." 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBEE YI. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. Debauchery of Tiberius. 2. Vindictive proceedings against the memories 
 of Sejanus and Livia. Intrusive flattery of Togonius Gallus. 3. Punishment of 
 Junius Gallio. Sextius Paconianus. 4, Latinius Latiaris. Haterius Agrippa 
 attacks the consuls of the previous year. 5. Impeachment of Cotta Messalinus. 
 6. The inward uneasiness of Tiberius. 7. Caecilianus and others condemned. 
 8 — 10. Defence and acquittal of M. Terentius. Wholesale accusations. Death 
 of L. Piso. 11. Account of the praefectura urbis. 12. The Sibylline books. 
 13. Disturbances at Eome from the high price of wheat. 14. Condemnation of 
 Geminius and others on a charge of conspiracy. 15. Betrothal of the daughters 
 of Germanicus. 16, 17. Financial crisis. 18, 19. Kenewal of impeachments. 20. 
 Marriage of Caius Caesar. 21. Thrasyllus the astrologer. 22. Eemarks on fatality. 
 23. Death of Asinius Gallus and Drusus. 24. Animosity of Tiberius against 
 Drusus after death. 25. Death of Agrippina the elder. 26, 27. Death of Cocceius 
 Nerva and others. 28. Appearance of the Phoenix in Egypt. 29. Death of 
 Labeo and Scaurus. 30. Gaetulicus. 31. Embassy from Parthia. 32. Tiberius 
 sends back Phraates. Yitellius appointed to the command of the East. 33 — 35. 
 Invasion of Armenia by the Parthians. 36. Flight of Artabanus, and 37. esta- 
 blishment of Tiridates on the Parthian throne, 38. Death of Fulcinius Trio and 
 Gronius Martianus. 39, 40. Death of Poppaeus Sabinus and others. 41. Out- 
 break of the Clitae repressed. 42. Honours paid to Tiridates on his accession. 
 43, 44. His subsequent expulsion, and the restoration of Artabanus. 45. Fire at 
 Eome. 46. Tiberius reviews his possible successors. 47. Accusation of Acutia 
 and Albucilla. 48. Death of Arruntius, and 49. Sextus Papinius. 50. Tiberius 
 endeavours to conceal his own failing health. His death. 51. Summary of 
 his personal history. 
 
 1. On. Domitius et Camillus Scribonianus consulatum inierant, 
 cum Caesar tramisso quod Capreas et Surrentum interluit freto 
 
 1. Cn. Domitius] Cf. iv. 75. M, (consul a.d. 6), and adopted by M. 
 Furius, M. f. P. n. Camillus Arruntius Furius Camillus. His adopted father 
 Scribonianus, was son of L. Arruntius was proconsul of Africa a.d. 17 (ii. 52). 
 
236 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. \8b. 
 
 Campaniam praelegebat^ ambiguus an urbem intraret, seUj C[uia 
 contra destinaverat^ speciem venturi simulans. et saepe in pro- 
 pinqua degressus_, aditis iuxta Tiberim bortis, saxa rursur: et 
 solitudinem maris repetiit^ pudore scelerum et libidinum, qui bus 
 adeo indomitis exarserat^ ut more regio pubem ingenuam strpris 
 pollueret. nee formam tantum et decora corpora^ set in bis mo- 
 destam pueritiam^ in aliis imagines maiorum incitamentum cupi- 
 dinis babebat. tuncque primum ignota antea vocabula reperta 
 sunt sellariorum et psintriarum ex foeditate loci ac multiplici pa- 
 tientia; praepositique servi^ qui co?iquirerent pertraberent_, dona 
 in promptos, minas adversum abnuentes^ et si retinerent propin- 
 quus aut parens^ vim raptus suaque ipsi Kbita velut in captos 
 exercebant. 
 
 2. At Romae principio anni, quasi recens cognitis Liviae fla- 
 gitiis ac non pridem etiam punitis^ atroces sententiae dicebantur^ 
 in effigies quoque ac memoriam eius^ et bona Seiani ablata aerario 
 ut in fiscum cogerentur^ tamquam referret. Scipiones baeo et 
 Silani et Cassii isdem ferme aut paulum inmutatis verbis^ adse- 
 veratione multa censebant^ cum repente Togonius Gallus^ dum 
 ignobilitatem suam magnis nominibus inserit^ per deridiculum 
 auditur. nam principem orabat deligere senatores, ex quis viginti 
 sorte ducti et ferro accincti^ quo ti ens curiam inisset^ salutem eius 
 defenderent. crediderat nimirum epistulae subsidio sibi altei-um 
 ex consulibus poscentis^ ut tutus a Capreis urbem peteret. Tibe- 
 rius tamen^ ludibria seriis permiscere solitus^ egit gratis benivo- 
 lentiae patrum: sed quos omitti posse_, quos deligi? semperne 
 eosdem an subinde alios? et honoribus perfunctos an iuve^ies. 
 
 The Camillus here mentioned, subse- distinction was little more than a nomi- 
 
 qnent to his consulship, took the name nal one. For the ' illustriores ' here 
 
 of Scribonianus, possibly by a second spoken of just below, of. iii. 74, iy. 68, 
 
 adoption. He was legatus of Dalmatia, vi. 15. 
 
 and engaged in an unsuccessful attempt deligere] Cf. xi. 32, " Vibidiam 
 
 against Claudius (xii. 52 ; Suet. Claud, oravit pontificis maximi aures audire." 
 
 13). He was father of the Furius Scri- Also xiii. 13, " Orabantque cavere in- 
 
 bonianus in xii. 52. sidias mulieris." Tacitus continually 
 
 dona] This is governed by some verb uses the infinitive, where other writers 
 
 to be understood from 'exercebant,' this employ the subjunctive with 'ut :' with 
 
 last word being only suited exactly to 'illicere' (ii. 37, iv. 12), 'admonere' (vi. 
 
 * vim raptus,' to which it stands nearest. 7), 'perpellere' (vi. 33), 'inducere' 
 
 2. tamqicam referret]' As if it made any (xii. 9), 'impellere' (xiv. 60). Below, 
 
 real diflference.' It made none, because ' honoribus perfuncti ' might mean ' con- 
 
 the ' fiscus ' was not the emperor's privy sulares,' ' those who had run thrcugh 
 
 purse, but the treasury of his portion of the full course of honours ; ' but, from 
 
 the provinces, and, like the * aerarium,' its opposition to ' iuvenes,' it probably 
 
 applied to the administration of the only means those who had completed 
 
 empire. As the princeps exercised a any magistracy, 
 general control over the whole state, the 
 
A.D. 32.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 237 
 
 privates an e magistratibus ? quam deinde speciem fore sumen- 
 tium in limine curiae gladios? neque sibi vitam tanti, si armis 
 tegenda foret. baec adversus Togonium verbis moderans_, neque 
 ut ultra abolitionem sententiae suaderet. 
 
 3. At lunium Gallionem, qui censuerat ut praetoriani actis 
 stipendiis ius apiscerentm^ in quattuordecim ordinibus sedendi, 
 violenter increpuit_, velut coram rogitans^ quid illi cum militibus, 
 quos neque dicta imperatoris neque praemia nisi ab imperatore 
 accipere par esset. repperisse prorsus quod divus Augustus non 
 providerit: an potius discordiam et seditionem a satellite Seiani 
 quaesitam, qua rudes animos nomine honoris ad corrumpendum 
 militiae morem propelleret ? hoc pretium Gallio meditatae adula- 
 tionis tulit_, statim curia^ deinde Italia exactus; et quia incusa- 
 batur facile tolieraturus exilium delecta Lesbo, insula nobili et 
 amoena^ retrahitur in urbem custoditurque domibus magistratuum. 
 isdem litteris Caesar Sextium Paconianum praetorium perculit 
 magno patrum gaudio, audacem, maleficura^ omnium secreta 
 rimantem delectumque ab Seiano cuius ope dolus C. Caesari 
 pararetur. quod postquam patefactum_, prorupere concepta pri- 
 dem odia, et summum supplicium decernebatur^ ni professus 
 indicium foret. 
 
 4. Ut vero Latinium Latiarem ingressus est^ accussator ac 
 reus iuxta invisi gratissimum spectaculum praebebantur. Latiaris, 
 
 neque uf\ ' And not in sucli a fashion the emperor at Rome for the time being; 
 
 as to advise anything beyond,' &.c. The so that 'imperator' is employed in two 
 
 insertion of ' ut ' seems the best plan to senses, first for any military commander, 
 
 make sense ; and the word may easily and then for the emperor especially, 
 
 have been omitted before * ultra.' The But the sentence is awkward, and the 
 
 construction is, of course, " haec dixit word ' imperatoris ' is probably a gloss. 
 
 verbis moderans neque ita loquens ut," repperisse'] This is of course ironical : 
 
 &c. * he had discovered, forsooth, what the 
 
 3. At lunium Gallionem] He was an late Emperor Augustus had failed to see.' 
 orator. Tacitus de Oratoribus (26) Below, ' incusabatur toleraturus esse ' 
 speaks of " tinnitus Gallionis." He is an ujacommon form. Similar con- 
 adopted M. Annaeus Novatus, one of structions, with kindred verbs, are ' lo- 
 the sons of the elder Seneca, and this cuta (esse) argueretur' (ii. 50). 
 last was the Gallio of the Acts of the 4. ingressus est] This is hardly the 
 Apostles, xviii. 12 (xv. 73). same as 'adgressus est.' Tacitus has 
 
 ordinibus'] The fourteen lowest rows ' ingredi defensionem,' and ' ingredi lon- 
 
 of the cavea (the orchestra being re- ginquamprofectionem," ingredi pericula,' 
 
 served for the senators) were appro- ' ingredi crimina' occur in other writers, 
 
 priated to the use of the equites by Perhaps here the sense is ' he began 
 
 Roscius Otho, 67 a.c. with (the case of) Latinius Latiaris,' 
 
 dicta imperatoris] If the reading be with a sense, of course, of the movement 
 
 correct, the meaning is, * the order issued being a hostile one. 
 
 by a general in command.' Cf. ii. 45, praebebantur] I do not see any reason 
 
 "dicta imperatoris accipere." All for altering this either to ' praebebatur ' 
 
 orders usually given by a commander at or ' praebebant.' The subject of the verb 
 
 the head of troops ought to issue from is ' accusator ac reus,' * the accuser and 
 
238 COENELII TAOITI [a.u.c. ^85. 
 
 ut rettiili, praecipuus olim circumveniendi Titii Sabini et tiinc 
 luendae poenae primus fuit. inter quae Haterius Agrippa con- 
 sules anni prioris invasit^ cur mutua accusatione intenta nunc 
 silerent: metum prorsus et noxiam conscientiae pro foeclere 
 liaberi; at non patribus reticenda quae audivissent. Regulus 
 manere tempus ultionis, seque coram principe exsecuturum; Trio 
 aemulationem inter coUegas et si qua discordes iecissent m(3lius 
 obliterari respondit. urguente Agrippa Sanquinius Maximus e 
 consularibus oravit senatum^ ne curas imperatoris conquisitis in- 
 super acerbitatibus augerent: sufficere ipsum statuendis remediis. 
 sic Regulo salus et Trioni dilatio exitii quaesita. Haterius ^nvi- 
 sior fuit^ quia somno aut libidinosis vigiliis marcidus et ob segni- 
 tiam quamvis crudelem principem non metuens inlustribus yiris 
 permitiem inter ganeam ac stupra meditabatur. 
 
 5. Exim Cotta Messalinus, saevissimae cuiusque sententiae 
 auctor eoque inveterata invidia, ubi primum facultas data, arguitur 
 pleraque : Gaiam Caesarem quasi incertae virilitatis, et cum die 
 natali Augustae inter sacerdotes epularetur, novendialem earn 
 cenam dixisse: querensque de potentia M'. Lepidi ac L. Arruntii, 
 
 accused were put forward as a welcome Gaiam Caesarem] ' Had spoken of 
 
 spectacle.' Gaia Caesar with, a feminine praenotnen, 
 
 ut rettuW] Cf. iv. 68. For Haterius as of doubtful sex.' Cf. Suetonius, Calig. 
 
 Agrippa cf. ii. 51. 36, " pudicitiae neque suae neque alienae 
 
 metum, &c.] The consuls in office pepercit." For this use of a feminine 
 
 brought various charges against each name, by way of sarcasm, in the case of 
 
 other : now, each was afraid to attack a man, cf. Cic. de Oratore, ii. 68, " Cum 
 
 the other, for fear of a counter-attack Opimius festive homini Egilio qui vide- 
 
 upon himself. They were also tongue- retur moUior dixisset : quid tu, Egilia 
 
 bound by the condemnatory feeling mea?" and Hor. Sat. i. 8. 39, "Inlius 
 
 arising from the consciousness of guilt et fragilis Pediatia." 
 
 ('noxiam conscientiae'); but the senators novendialem, earn cenam] The gist of 
 
 ought n&t to pass over in silence these Cotta's joke is not very clear. The 
 
 accusations they had listened to, but to * cena novendialis ' was given nine days 
 
 insist on having them sifted. * Noxia after the death of the person in whose 
 
 conscientiae ' is a curious expression, honour it was celebrated. The banquet 
 
 and would have been more naturally spoken of by Tacitus as taking place on 
 
 expressed by ' conscientiam noxae.' the birthday of Augusta was, no dcubt, 
 
 Sanquinius Maximus] Borghesi points a part of the religious honours paid to 
 
 out that his grandfather probably was her memory, as more than mortal 
 
 the Q. Sanquinius who was quaestor, ('Diva'). True, Tiberius had prevented 
 
 tribunus plebis, praetor, proconsul, and the according of many such honours 
 
 his father, M. Sanquinius, a triumvir when proposed (v. 2), but very likely 
 
 monetalis. The Sanquinius of the text this mark of respect was nevertht^lesa 
 
 was consul suffectus a.d. 39, and prae- paid her on the recurrence of her birth- 
 
 fectus urbi at the time of his death in day. Cotta contemptuously styled it 
 
 A.D. 47. He was legatus pro praetore of a ' usual post-mortem feast,' and so 
 
 Germania Inferior (xi. 18). Below, for brought down Livia to a level witli all 
 
 ' dilatio exitii ' cf. vi. 38. other women of only mortal claims. 
 
 5. arguitur pleraque] Cf. iv. 28, under This seems to me a better explanation 
 
 ' falsa exterritus.' than that which supposes this feast to 
 
A.D. 32.] AB EXCBSSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 239 
 
 cum quibus ob rem pecuniariam disceptabat, addidisse : ^ illos 
 quidem senatus, me autem tuebitur Tiberiolus meus.' quae cuncta 
 a primoribus civitatis revincebatur, iisque instantibus ad impera- 
 torem provocavit. nee multo post Htterae adferuntur^ quibus in 
 modum defensionis, repetito inter se atque Cottam amicitiae prin- 
 cipio crebrisque eius officiis commemoratisj ne verba prave detorta 
 neu convivalium fabularum simplicitas in crimen duceretur pos- 
 tulavit. 
 
 6. Insigne visum est earum Caesaris litterarum initium; nam 
 bis verbis exorsus est : ' quid scribam vobis^ patres conscripti, aut 
 quo modo scribam aut quid omnino non scribam hoc tempore, di 
 mie deaeque peius perdant quam perire me cotidie sentio, si scio.^ 
 adeo facinora atque flagitia sua ipsi quoque in supplicium verte- 
 rant. neque frustra praestantissimus sapientiae firmare solitus 
 est, si recludantur tyrannorum mentes, posse aspici laniatus et 
 ictus, quando ut corpora verberibus, ita saevitia, libidine, malis 
 consultis animus dilaceretur. quippe Tiberium non fortuna, non 
 solitudines protegebant quin tormenta pectoris suasque ipse 
 poenas fateretur. 
 
 7. Tum facta patribus potestate statuendi de Caeciliano sena- 
 tore, qui plurima adversum Cottam prompserat, placitum eandem 
 poenam inrogari quam in Aruseium et Sanquinium, accusatores 
 L. Arruntii; quo non aliud bonorificentius Cottae evenit, qui 
 nobilis quidem, set egens ob luxum, per flagitia infamis, sanc- 
 tissimis Arruntii artibus dignitate ultionis aequabatur. 
 
 Q. Servaeus postbac et Minucius Thermus inducti, Servaeus 
 praetura functus et quondam Germanici comes, Minucius equestri 
 loco, modeste babita Seiani amicitia; unde illis maior miseratio. 
 contra Tiberius praecipuos ad scelera increpans admonuit X3. Ces- 
 tium patrem dicere senatui quae sibi scripsisset, suscepitque Cestius 
 
 have taken place during the lifetime of senatmn/ which is easily supplied from 
 Augusta, and Cotta to have implied that the context, where senators are men- 
 she had already, as it were, one foot in tioned (' facta patribus,' &c.) . Or pos- 
 the grave, and was as good as dead, and sibly it may be ' in scaenam,' the word 
 ready for the * funeral baked meats.' being often used of putting a drama on 
 For L. Axruntius cf. iii. 11. the stage. Cf. Cic. pro Gael. 15, " Sed 
 
 6. si recludantur'] Tacitus, I think, quid ego, indices, ita gravem personam 
 refers to Plato, Gorg. 534, e, 'O 'Pa5<£. induxi ? " 
 
 HavQvs Qearai kKaarov r^v y\ivxhv ovk ^l^ws patrem] Cf. iii. 36, " C. Cestius Se- 
 
 oTov (cniv, dAAck TroK\6.Kis rov ficydKov nator disseruit." Ruperti cannot be 
 
 ^a(ri\eu5 €iri\afi6fjLevos, fj &\\ov 8tou ovu right in making ' pater ' here equivalent 
 
 $aai\4(os fiSwdarovKare'idet/ ovSfvvyifshv to 'senator.' It must be * C. Cestius 
 
 T^s ypvxvs, aWa Siajj.efiaa-Tiyufj.ei'Tqv Kal the father,' although no son is men- 
 
 ovXSiv fxiffT^v inrh iiriopKiwu Kal aSiKias. tioned ; yet there may have been one. 
 
 7. inducti] The ellipse is perhaps * in . 
 
240 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 785. 
 
 accusationem. quod maxime exitiabile tulere ilia tempora^ (;am 
 primores senatus infimas etiam delafciones exercerent, alii propa- 
 lam_, multi per occultum; neque discerneres alienos a coniunotis, 
 amicos ab ignotis, quid repens aut vetustate obscurum : periiide 
 in forOj in convivio, quaqua de re locuti incusabantur_, ut quis pcae- 
 venire et reum destinare properat, pars ad subsidium sui^ plures 
 infecti quasi valitudine et contactu. sed Minucius et Servaeus 
 damnati indicibus accessere. tractique sunt in casum eundem 
 lulius Africanus e Santonis Gallica civitate_, Seius Quadratus : 
 originem non repperi. neque sum ignarus a plerisque scriptoribus 
 omissa multorum pericula et poenas, dum copia fatiscunt aut^ 
 quae ipsis nimia et maesta fuerant, ne pari taedio lectures adfice- 
 rent verentur: nobis pleraque digna cognitu obvenere, quamqiiam 
 ab aliis incelebrata. 
 
 8. Nam ea tempestate, qua Seiani amicitiam ceteri falso exue- 
 rant, ausus est eques Romanus M. Terentius^ ob id reus, ampkcti, 
 ad bunc modum apud senatum ordiendo : ^fortunae quidem meae 
 fortasse minus expediat adgnoscere crimen quam abnuere : sed 
 utcumque casura res est, fatebor et fuisse me Seiano amicum, et 
 ut essem expetisse, et postquam adeptus eram laetatum. videi'am 
 coUegam patris regendis praetoriis cobortibus, mox urbis et niili- 
 tiae munia siijiul obeuntem. illius propinqui et adfines honoribus 
 augebantur ; ut quisque Seiano intimus, ita ad Caesaris amicitiam 
 validus : contra quibus infensus esset, metu ac sordibus confli(;ta- 
 bantur. nee quemquam exemplo adsumo : cunctos, qui novissimi 
 consilii expertes fuimus, meo unius discrimine defendam. non 
 enim Seianum Yulsiniensem, set Claudiae et luliae domus parti3m, 
 quas adfinitate occupaverat, tuum, Caesar, generum, tui consule;tus 
 socium, tua officia in re publica capessentem colebamus. non est 
 
 repens] Cf. xi. 24, " Libertinorum been unable to leaxn any thing of the 
 
 filiis magistratus mandari non, ut pie- extraction of Seius Quadratus. Tiiere 
 
 rique falluntur repens." Also xv. 68 ; is nothing unusual in the asynd<3ton 
 
 H. i. 23 ; H. iv. 25. * Repens ' is used here : with proper names the conjunc- 
 
 of that which suddenly appears, * recens' tion is often omitted. Cf. H. i. 13, "in 
 
 of that which has the gloss still on it. T. Vinium consulem, Cornelium Lacoaem 
 
 indicihus accessere] * Joined the ranks praetorii praefectum." Also vi. 15, " L. 
 
 of the informers:' they saved themselves Cassium M. Vinicium legit." 
 by volunteering evidence against others. pleraque] 'Very many incidents. Cf. 
 
 lulius Africanus was perhaps the father iii. 1, "plerique militares." So xiii 25, 
 
 of the orator lulius Africanus mentioned H. i. 86, H. iv. 84. Below, * incelebrata ' 
 
 by Tacitus, de Oratoribus 5, and by is a word only found, Draeger says, (slse- 
 
 Quintilian, x. 1. 118, as " concitatior, where in a fragment of Sallust. 
 sed in cura verborum nimius et com- 8. patris] Cf. i. 24, " simul praei orii 
 
 positione nonnunquam longior." praefectus Aelius Seianus collega Stra- 
 
 originem non repperi] Tacitus had boni patri suo datus." 
 
A.D. 32.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. YI. 241 
 
 nostrum aestimare quern supra ceteros et quibus de causis extol- 
 las: tibi summum rerum iudicium di dedere, nobis obsequii gloria 
 relicta est. spectamus porro quae coram liabentur^ cui ex te opes 
 honores^ quis plurima iuvandi nocendive potentia, quae Seiano 
 fuisse nemo negaverit. abditos principis sensus, et si quid occul- 
 tius parat, exquirere inlicitum_, anceps : nee ideo adsequare. ne, 
 patres conscripti, ultimum Seiani diem, sed sedecim annos cogita- 
 veritis. etiam Satrium atque Pomponium venerabamur ; libertis 
 quoque ac ianitoribus eius notescere pro magnifico accipiebatur. 
 quid ergo ? indistincta baec defensio et promisca dabitur ? immo 
 iustis terminis dividatur. insidiae in rem publicam, consilia caedis 
 adversum imperatorem puniantur: de amicitia et ofl&ciis idem finis 
 et te, Caesar, et nos absolvent.^ 
 
 9. Constantia orationis, et quia repertus erat qui efferret quae 
 omnes animo agitabant, eo usque potuere, ut . accusatores eius, 
 additis quae ante deliquerant, exilio aut morte multarentur. 
 
 Secutae dehinc Tiberii litterae in Sex. Vistilium praetorium, 
 quem Druso fratri percarum in coliortem suam transtulerat. 
 causa ofiensionis Yistilio fuit, seu composuerat quaedam in C. 
 Caesarem ut impudicum, sive fie to habita fides, atque ob id 
 convictu principis probibitus cum senili manu ferrum tempta- 
 visset, obligat venas ; precatusque per codicillos, immiti rescripto 
 venas resolvit. acervatim ex eo Annius PoUio, Appius Silanus 
 Scauro Mamerco simul ac Sabino Calvisio maiestatis postulantur, 
 et Vinicianus Pollioni patri adiciebatur, clari genus et quidam 
 
 quis plurima, &c.] It seems more has " sire quod amoto Carataco minus 
 
 likely this * quis ' is the dative and intenta apud nos militia fuit ; sive hostes 
 
 'potentia' the nominative, than that . . . exarsere." Walther suggests that 
 
 *quis' is the nominative and 'potentia' the form with 'quod' assumes the fact 
 
 the ablative, which is Nipperdey's stated to exist, and only implies a doubt 
 
 view. whether it is an adequate explanation of 
 
 nee ideo adsequare] ' Nor would you, the phenomenon in question ; the form 
 
 one whit the more, attain to it.' To en- without ' quod ' leaves the fact itself 
 
 deavour to pry into the emperor's secret hypothetical, as well as its applicability 
 
 counsels would be unlawful and unsuc- to the question in hand, 
 
 cessful. Below, for Satrius cf. iv. 34. Anniits Pollio'] He was consul suflfec- 
 
 Pomponius was probably some creature tus a.d. 20, son of 0. Annius Pollio, 
 
 of Sejanus, not one of the Pomponii men- a triumvir monetalis under Augustus, 
 
 tioned ii. 32, iv. 47, &c. and father of M. Annius Vinicianus (xv. 
 
 idem finis'] Terentius means to say, 28), who joined in a conspiracy against 
 
 that so far as friendship and respect Claudius, a.d. 42, and put himself to 
 
 went, the same rules must apply to Tibe- death (Dio Ix. 15). Perhaps he was 
 
 rius and all others. As far as his friend- also grandfather of the Annius Pollio of 
 
 ship went, theirs must go : when his xv. 56, 71, xvi. 30. For Appius Silanus, 
 
 stopped, theirs must stop too. cf. iv. 68, and for M. Aemilius Scaurus, 
 
 9. in cohort<em sv/i/m] Sc. amicorum. iii. 23. 
 
 Cf. i. 29. claH genus] The accusative is a Greek 
 
 seu composuerat^ In xii. 38, Tacitus one of respect. Cf. H. iv. 81, "alius 
 
 R 
 
242 CORNELH TACITI [a.u.c. rSo. 
 
 smnmis honoribus. contremuerantque patres (nam quotus qui s que 
 adfinitatis aut amicitiae tot inlustrium virorum expers erat?), ni 
 Celsus urbanae cobortis tribunus, turn inter indices^ Appiuni et 
 Calvisium discrimini exemisset. Caesar Pollionis ac Yini-:iani 
 Scaurique causam, ut ipse cum senatu nosceret^ distulit^ datis 
 quibusdam in Scaurum tristibus notis. 
 
 10. Ne feminae quidem exortes periculi. quia occupandae rei 
 publicae argui non poterant, ob lacrimas incusabantur : necataque 
 est anus Yitia, Fufii Gemini mater, quod filii necem flevisset. ha6c 
 aput senatum : nee secus aput principem Yescularius Flaccus ac 
 lulius Marinus ad mortem aguntur, e vetustissimis familiarium, 
 Rbodum secuti et aput Capreas individui, Yescularius insidifirum 
 in Libonem internuntius ; Marino participe Seianus Curtium 
 Atticum oppresserat. quo laetius acceptum sua exempla in con- 
 sul tores recidisse. 
 
 Per idem tempus L. Piso pontifex, rarum in tanta claritudine, 
 fato obiit, nullius servilis sententiae sponte auctor, et quotiens ' 
 necessitas ingrueret, sapienter moderans. patrem ei censorium 
 fuisse memoravi; aetas ad octogesimum annum processit; decus 
 triumphale in Thraecia meruerat. sed praecipua ex eo gloria, 
 quod praefectus urbi recens continuam potestatem et insolentia 
 parendi graviorem mire temperavit. 
 
 11. Namque antea, profectis domo regibus ac mox magistrati- 
 bus, ne urbs sine imperio foret, in tempus deligebatur qui ius 
 redderet ac subitis mederetur; feruntque ab Romulo Dentrem 
 Romulium, post ab Tullo Hostilio Numam Marcium et ab Tar- 
 quinio Superbo Spurium Lucretium inpositos. dein consules 
 mandabant; duratque simulacrum, quotiens ob ferias Latinas 
 
 manum aeger ;" and Grenn. 17, " nudae whicli had existed from the days of the 
 
 bracchia ac lacertos." kings. The magistrate in question was 
 
 10. Fufii Gemini] Cf. v. 1 and 2. originally appointed, during the ahsence 
 
 svxi exempla] * The precedent set by of the king on the frontiers, to take 
 
 themselves.' The reader may consult charge of the city. After the creation 
 
 the note on the reflexive pronoun in i. 10. of praetors he was appointed annually to 
 
 L. Piso] L. Calpumius L. f. Piso was celebrate the feriae Latinae. Augustus 
 
 consul 15 A.c, and son of L. Calpumius made the office permanent, and it was 
 
 Piso Caesoninus, consul in 58 A.c, father- part of the duty of the holder to super- 
 
 in-law of Caius Julius Caesar, and censor intend the city police, not always, as we 
 
 A.c. 50, with Appius Claudius Pulcher know, a very popular office, 
 
 (although Tacitus does not mention this 11. Numam Marcium] Numa's caugh- 
 
 fact in the extant books). For his sue- ter Pompilia married Marcius, and had 
 
 cesses in Thrace cf. Liv. Epit. 128 ; Veil, by him a son, afterwards the king Ancus 
 
 ii. 98. Marcius (Plutarch, Num. 21). For Spu- 
 
 recens contimumi] These words are to rius Lucretius cf. Liv. i. 59. 
 
 be joined : * only lately made continuous.' maiidahant] Sc. their power. I'or in- 
 
 It was Augustus who re-established the stances of this cf. Liv. iii. 3 and 9. 
 old office of custos or praefectus urbi. 
 
A.D. 32.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. YI. 243 
 
 praeficitur qui consulare munus usurpet. ceterum Augustus bellis 
 civilibus Cilnium Maecenatem equestris ordinis cunctis apud Eo- 
 mam atque Italiam praeposuit : mox rerum potitus ob magnitudi- 
 nem populi ac tarda legum auxilia sumpsit e consularibus qui 
 coerceret servitia et quod civium audacia turbidum, nisi vim 
 metuat. primusque Messalla Corvinus earn potestatem et paucos 
 intra dies finem accepit^ quasi nescius exercendi; turn Taurus 
 Statilius, quamquam provecta aetate, egregie toleravit ; dein Piso 
 viginti per annos pariter probatus^ publico funere ex decreto 
 senatus celebratus est. 
 
 12. Relatum inde ad patres a Quintiliano tribuno plebei de 
 libro Sibullae, quern Caninius Gallus quindecimvir recipi inter 
 ceteros eiusdem vatis et ea de re senatus consultum postulaverat. 
 quo per discessionem facto misit litteras Caesar, modice tribunum 
 increpans ignarum antiqui moris ob iuventam. Gallo exprobrabat, 
 quod scientiae caerimoniarumque vetus incerto auctore, ante sen- 
 tentiam coUegii, non, ut adsolet, lecto per magistros aestimatoque 
 carmine, apud infrequentem senatum egisset. simul commonefecit, 
 
 Taurus Statilius] T. Statilius Taurus, consultum was either made ' per disces- 
 
 a ' novus homo ' (Yell. ii. 27), was consul sionem,' "si consentiretur ; aut si res 
 
 suffectus 37 A.C., and for the second dubia esset per singulorum sententias 
 
 time 26 a.c. Probably his grandsons exquisitas." I do not feel sure that I 
 
 were the T. Statilius Taurus, consul 11 understand the words ' si consentiretur ;* 
 
 A.D., and T. Statilius Siseima Taurus, they seem contrasted with ' si res dubia 
 
 consul 16 A.D. His great-grandsons were esset,' and mean, I suppose, therefore, 
 
 M. Statilius Taurus, consul a.d. 44 (xii. if there could be no doubt about the 
 
 59), and Taurus Statilius Corvinus, con- relative numbers of those who voted for 
 
 sul A.D. 45. and those who voted against the pro- 
 
 viginti per annos] There seems an posed measure. If there was a doubt 
 
 error or looseness in the reckoning here, about it, then the result was ascertained 
 
 From Suetonius (Tib. 42), it is clear that by counting votes, * per singulorum sen- 
 
 the appointment of Piso could not have tentias exquisitas.' The decision as to 
 
 been made until the accession of Tibe- the method employed was left apparently 
 
 rius (postea princeps in ipsa publicorum to the consul, as Tacitus says, xiv. 49, 
 
 morum correctione cum Pomponio Flacco, "postquam discessionem consul per- 
 
 et L. Pisone noctem continuumque bi- miserat." 
 
 duum, epulando potandoque consumpsit, vetus] For the genitive, cf. i. 20, 
 
 quorum alteri praefecturam urbis con- * vetus operis ac laboris,' and vi. 44, 
 
 festim dedit). This was in a.d. 14, and 'vetus regnandi.' 
 
 Piso died in A.D, 32, which does not allow per magistros] The president of a col- 
 
 of twenty years. However I think Tacitus legium of augurs, priests, &c., was called 
 
 is here speaking in round numbers. * magister.' The only difl&culty here is 
 
 12. Caninius Galhis] There was a to explain why the plural is used. Per- 
 
 L. Caninius Gallus, consul suffectus in haps the office of * magister ' was taken in 
 
 37 A.c, His son was probably the Gallus rotation, and so all who had * passed the 
 
 of the text, who was a triumvir mone- chair ' were styled ' magistri,' as well as 
 
 talis and consul suffectus 2 a.c, the actual occupier of the post at a given 
 
 per discessionem] Cf. Suet. Tiber. 31, time. Or possibly the * magistri ' of 
 
 " cum senatus consultum per disces- several colleges were called in to assist 
 
 sionem forte fieret, transeuntem eum in with their advice. Or finally, the sense 
 
 alteram partem . . . nemo est secutus," may be 'the magister' for the time 
 
 Aulus Gellius (xiv. 7) says that a senatus being. 
 
 K 2 
 
244 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. '^86. 
 
 quia multavana sub nomine celebri vulgabantur_, sanxisse August um^ 
 quern intra diem ad praetorem urbanum deferrentur neque hal)ere 
 privatim liceret. quod a maioribus quoque decretum erat DOst 
 exustum sociali bello Capitolium, quaesitis Samo, Ilio, Erytliris^ 
 per Africam etiam ac Siciliam et Italicas colonias, carminibus 
 Sibullae, una sen plures fuere, datoque sacerdotibus negotio, 
 quantum bumana ope potuissent, vera discernere. igitur tunc 
 quoque notioni quindecimvirum is liber subicitur. 
 
 13. Isdem consulibus gravitate annonae iuxta seditionem ventum_, 
 multaque et plures per dies in tbeatro licentius efflagitata C[uam 
 solitum adversum imperatorem. quis commotus incusavit magis- 
 tratus patresque^ quod non publica auctoritate populum coercuis- 
 sent, addiditque quibus ex provinciis et quanto maiorem ([uam 
 Augustus rei frumentariae copiam advectaret. ita castigandae 
 plebi compositum senatus consul tum prisca severitate^ neque 
 segnius consules edixere. silentium ipsius non civile^ ut credi- 
 deratj sed in superbiam accipiebatur. 
 
 14. Fine anni Geminius, Celsus, Pompeius^ equites Romani, 
 cecidere coniurationis crimine ; ex quis Geminius prodigentia opum 
 ac moUitia vitae amicus Seiano^ nibil ad seriura. et Julius Celsus 
 tribunus in vinclis laxatam catenam et circumdatam in diversum 
 tendens suam ipse cervicem perfregit. at Rubric Fabato^ tam- 
 
 neque habere] ' Neque ' here is equiva- ship of L. Scipio and C. Norbaniis, the 
 
 lent to * et ne,' and Ernesti proposes, date of the civil war between Snl a and 
 
 therefore, to write 'neve,' Draeger Marius, not of the social war which ended 
 
 quotes Liv. V. 53, "nee id mirati sitis," 88 a. c. One can only suppose Tacitus 
 
 and xxi. 43, " nee existimaritis." But to have made a slip — not an impossible 
 
 these are not in the Oratio obliqua. But thing. Nipperdey encloses the obnoxious 
 
 'neque' seems intelligible, if 'neque , . . words in brackets, but I think lacitus 
 
 liceret' is regarded as so closely united would hardly have written 'post exus- 
 
 with the previous clause, as with it to tum Capitolium ' without annexing any 
 
 form a single notion, ' within what date to guide his readers, 
 
 day they should be brought to the city Italicas colonias] Not of course the 
 
 praetor, and consequently be no longer coloniae Italici iuris, but the Greek colo- 
 
 retained in private hands.' If Tacitus nies in Southern Italy. For 'notioni' 
 
 had intended the clauses to represent cf. iii. 59. 
 
 two separate items of legislation, I think 13. et plures per dies] These words 
 
 he woidd have written ' neve,' but they are added parenthetically, ' and that too 
 
 really only represent one. Augustus did for several days.' Nipperdey quotes 
 
 not settle first within what period these Cic. pro Rose. Amerin. 28, " Aeniam 
 
 prophecies should be laid before the neque multo ita post, ad hunc locum." 
 
 praetor, and second, that they should not in superbiam accipiebatur] Cf.xii. 43,"ia 
 
 remain in private hands, but simply fixed prodigium accipiebatur." Another form 
 
 a date within which they must be brought occursvi.8, "promagnifico accipiel)atur." 
 
 to the magistrate, and so consequently 14. nihil ad serium^ ' But there was 
 
 not remain any longer in individual nothing between them tending to any 
 
 keeping. serious result.' Greminius had not 
 
 sociali bello] In H. iii. 72, Tacitus shared in any of Sejanus' plots : they 
 
 writes, " arserat et ante Capitolium civili were only boon companions, 
 bello." This was 83 a.c, in the consul- 
 
A.D. 38.] AB EXOESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 245 
 
 quam desperatis rebus Romanis Parthorum ad misericordiam 
 fugeret, custodes additi. sane is repertus aput fretum Siciliae 
 retractusque per centurionem nuUas probabiles causas longinquae 
 peregrinationis adferebat : mansit tamen incolumis^ oblivione ma- 
 gis quam dementia. 
 
 15. Ser. Gralba L. Sulla consulibus din quaesito quos neptibus 
 suis maritos destinaret Caesar^ postquam instabat virginum aetas, 
 L. Cassium, M. Yinicium legit. Vinicio oppidanum genus : Cali- 
 bus ortus, patre atque avo consularibus^ cetera equestri familia 
 erat, mitis ingenio et comptae facundiae. Oassius plebeii Romae 
 generis, verum antiqui honoratique, et severa patris disciplina 
 eductus facilitate saepius quam industria commendabatur. buic 
 Drusillam, Yinicio luliam Germanico genitas coniungit superque 
 ea re senatui scribit, levi cum bonore iuvenum. dein redditis ab- 
 sentiae causis admodum vagis flexit ad graviora et offensiones ob 
 rem publicam coeptas, utque Macro praefectus tribunorumque et 
 centurionum pauci secum introirent, quotiens curiam ingrederetur, 
 petivit. factoque large et sine praescriptione generis aut numeri 
 senatus consulto ne tecta quidem urbis, adeo publicum consilium 
 numquam adiit, deviis plerumque itineribus ambiens patriam et 
 declinans. 
 
 16. Interea magna vis accusatorum in eos inrupit, qui pecunias 
 faenore auctitabant adversum legem dictatoris Caesaris, qua de 
 
 15. Ser. Oalba] The stepmotlier of and of any number of them. 
 Galba was Livia Ocellina, and on his ambiens] The reading of the MS. is 
 adoption by her he took the name of * ambigens,' which can hardly be correct. 
 Livius, the cognomen of Ocella, and There seems to be no instance of the 
 changed his praenomen to Lucius, and word having any meaning at all like the 
 retained this designation to the period sense required here : ' skirting,' ' going 
 of his ascending the throne (Suet. Galba, round.' I have therefore followed the 
 4). L. Sulla is probably the same as mass of editors in adopting * ambiens.' 
 the one mentioned iii. 31. He was 16. legem dictatoris Caesaris] It is not 
 perhaps son of L. Cornelius Sulla, and known what law is referred to. It can 
 brother of Faustus Cornelius Sulla, con- hardly be the ' lulia lex de faenore ' men- 
 sul suffectus A.D. 33. From their name tioned by Suetonius (C.Julius Caesar, 42), 
 (Felix), they were no doubt descendants to the effect that properties should be 
 of the Dictator. For M. Vinicius cf iii. valued at what they were worth before 
 11. L. Cassius L. f. L. n. Longinus the civil war, and any interest paid de- 
 was consul A.D. 30. He was put to ducted from the amount of the debt. It 
 death by Caligula while proconsul of must rather be some enactment limiting 
 Asia, A.D. 41 (Suet. Calig. 57). His the amount of money to be lent by the 
 brother, Caius Cassius, was consul suf- dealers, and consequently the amount of 
 fectus in the same year. land they might enter into the posses- 
 
 praefectits'} Sc. * praetorii.' eion of (possidendi) , if the loan (secured, 
 
 generis aut numeri'] There was no as it often would be, on land) , or interest 
 
 limitation to any particular class : the of the loan, were not paid. But the 
 
 guard might consist of any rank, cen- matter is uncertain. 
 
 rions, tribunes, or common soldiers. 
 
246 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 786. 
 
 modo credendi possidendique intra Italiam cavetur, omissam clim^ 
 quia privato usui bonum publicum postponitur. sane vetus urbi 
 faenebre malum et seditionum discordiarumque creberrima causa, 
 eoque cohibebatur antiquis quoque et minus corruptis moribus. 
 nam primo duodecim tabulis sanctum, ne quis unciario facnore 
 amplius exerceret, cum antea ex libidine locupletium agitar(3tur; 
 dein rogatione tribunicia ad semuncias redactum, postremo vetita 
 versura. multisque plebis scitis obviam itum fraudibus, quae 
 totiens repressae miras per artes rursum oriebantur. sed turn 
 Graccbus praetor, cui ea quaestio evenerat, multitudine pericli- 
 tantium subactus rettulit ad senatum, trepidique patres (neque 
 enim quisquam tali culpa vacuus) veniam a principe petivero ; et 
 concedente annus in posterum sexque menses dati, quis secundum 
 iussa legis rationes familiar es quis que componerent. 
 
 17. Hinc inopia rei nummariae, commoto simul omnium aere 
 alieno, et quia tot damnatis bonisque eorum divenditis signatum 
 argentum fisco vel aerario attinebatur. ad hoc senatus praescrip- 
 serat, duas quisque faenoris partes in agris per Italiam conlocaret. 
 
 duodecim tabuUs] Livy (vii. 16) speaks vetita versura] Cf. Liv. vii, 42, " in- 
 
 of a * rogatio de unoiario faenore ' as venio apud quosdam L. Genucium tri- 
 
 passed by Duelius and Maenius. But bunum plebis tulisse ad populum ne 
 
 the law of the twelve tables may bave faenerare liceret." Consequently 'ver- 
 
 fallen into disuse, or even been abro- sura' bere is not used in its technical 
 
 gated, and have been subsequently en- sense of ' borrowing money to pay off 
 
 forced, or re-made. old debts,' but for borrowing generally, 
 
 unciario faenore'] This would naturally under any circumstances, 
 mean one per cent per annum ; an uncia, 17. commoto simul] These wei e two 
 or the twelfth part of an as, for the loan reasons for the scarcity of money : first, 
 of 100 ases per month, or one per cent per all creditors wanted their debts paid off 
 annum. If Tacitus had known T;he mean- at once; and, secondly, quite indepen- 
 ing of the phrase in the twelve tables to dently of this, coin accumulated in the 
 have been other than his readers would treasuries from the sale of the eff(}cts of 
 naturally suppose it to be from the state the many persons condemned at the 
 of things in their own day, one would period, whose property was confi seated, 
 think he would have been careful to add There is, as far as I can see, no con- 
 some explanation, and so prevent mis- nexion whatever between the two 
 take. I cannot help believing that one causes here given for the scarcity of 
 per cent per annum is meant ; and money ; for I do not understand how the 
 although it seems ridiculous that such a treasuries would be filled with specie by 
 rate should be thought high, yet it was, the mere fact that numbers became 
 perhaps, equally ridiculous to forbid insolvent, which appears to be Draeger's 
 usury altogether. Another interpretation view of the matter. The treasury would 
 is, that the rate intended is one-twelfth have no claim upon the estates oJ" such 
 per annum of the capital, or 8^ per cent, persons. 
 
 for which I can see no authority. For ad hoc] 'With a view to this (com- 
 
 the phrase * faenus agitare,' cf. Germ. 26, plication).' 
 
 I* Faenus agitare et in usuras extendere, duos quisque faenoris partes] Sue- 
 
 ignotum." tonius (Tiber. 48) says, " cum per S(matus 
 
 ad sem,uncias] This was done in the consultum sanxisset ut faeneratores duag 
 
 consulship of Manlius Torquatus and patrimonii partes in solo collocarent, 
 
 Caius Plautius, 347 a.c. (Liv. vii. 27). debitores totidem aeris alieni Btatim 
 
A.D. 33.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 247 
 
 sed creditores in solidum appellabant, nee decorum appellatis 
 minuere fidem. ita primo concursatio et preces, dein strepere 
 praetoris tribunal^ eaque quae remedio quaesita, venditio et emptio, 
 in contrarium mutari, quia faeneratores omnem pecuniam mer- 
 candis agris condiderant. copiam vendendi secuta vilitate, quanto 
 quis obaeratior, aegrius distrahebant, multique fortunis provol- 
 vebantiir; eversio rei familiaris dignitatem ac famam praeceps 
 dabat, donee tulit opem Caesar disposito per mensas milies 
 sestertio factaque mutuandi eopia sine usuris per triennium, si 
 debitor populo in duplum praediis cavisset. sie refeeta fides^ et 
 paulatim privati quoque ereditores reperti. neque emptio agrorum 
 exercita ad formam senatus eonsulti, acribus^ ut ferme talia^ initiis, 
 incurioso fine. 
 
 18. Dein redeunt priores metus postulate maiestatis Considio 
 Proeulo_, qui nuUo pavore diem natalem celebrans raptus in curiam 
 pariterque damnatus interfectusque^ et sorori eius Sanciae aqua 
 atque igni interdictum aceusante Q. Pomponio. is moribus inquies 
 baee et buiusee modi a se faetitari praetendebat^ ut parta apud 
 principem gratia periculis Pomponii Secundi fratris mederetur. 
 etiam in Pompeiam Maerinam exilium statuitur^ cuius maritum 
 Argolicum^ soeerum Laeonem e primoribus Acbaeorum Caesar 
 
 solverent." Clearly * faenus ' in tliis aim of the enactment, but * had locked 
 passage of Tacitus means ' money lent at up their money in their coffers, for the 
 interest,' capital so employed. Cf. xiv, purchase of land, in readiness for effect- 
 55, " horti et faenus et villae." The idea ing a purchase.' T^hey got their money 
 seems to be that the debtor should pay in as they best could, and then hoarded 
 two-thirds of his debt at once, and the it to be ready for an advantageous pur- 
 creditor should then invest all such chase when the market was glutted, and 
 moneys in land. If this had been carried refused to lend it to any applicant, 
 out, it would have prevented to some aegrius distrahebant] ' Distrahere * 
 extent the necessity of large money pay- means ' to sell in various lots.' Cf. 
 ments. If B has to pay A two-thirds of Suetonius, Yesp. 16, " coemendo quao- 
 his debt, and A at once invests the pro- dam tantum ut pluris postea distra- 
 ceeds in land belonging to B, no actual heret." The more deeply these unfor- 
 coin need pass in the transaction ; just tunate people were involved in debt, the 
 as in the case of 'settling day' on the more reluctantly they were driven to 
 English Stock Exchange, balances are dispose of their lands : the more they 
 struck, and the differences only are paid, owed, the more of course they had to 
 Or even if A invested in land not be- sell, and therefore the more they lost ; 
 longing to B, he would be compelled to and the more against the grain the 
 pay for it ; and so money would circulate, whole transaction became, 
 and not be locked up or kept in the in dv^him] ' If the debtor had given 
 hands of the usurers. security to the people to twice the 
 
 in soUdum'] ' Made a demand (on amount by mortgaging land.' The 
 
 their debtors) for the whole amount.' state advanced money without interest, 
 
 Cf. Cic. pro Rabir. Post. § 46, " Qt but of course wanted some security for 
 
 solidum suum cuique solvatur." the loan ; and a good margin was left, 
 
 condiderant^ This cannot of course even supposing a further considerable 
 
 mean, ' had locked up their money in the depreciation ensued in the value of land, 
 
 purchase of lands/ for that was the very 18. Q. Pomponio^ Cf. v. 8. 
 
248 COENELII TAOITI [a.u.c. 7^6. 
 
 adflixerat. pater quoque inlustris eques Romanus ac frater prae- 
 torius_, cum damnatio ins tare t, se ipsi interfecere. datum erat 
 criminij quod TheopliaiierL Mytilenaeum proavum eorum (^n. 
 Magnus inter intimos habuisset^ quodque defuncto Theopbmi 
 caelestes honores Graeca adulatio tribuerat. 
 
 19. Post quos Sex. Marius Hispaniarum ditissimus defertur 
 incestasse filiam et saxo Tarpeio deicitur. ac ne dubium habere- 
 tur magnitudinem pecuniae malo vertisse aurariasque eius, quam- 
 quam publicarentur_, sibimet Tiberius seposuit. inritatusque siip- 
 pliciis cunctos, qui carcere attinebantur accusati societatis cum 
 SeianOj necari iubet. iacuit inmensa strages, omnis sexus^ omnis 
 aetas, inlustres ignobiles, dispersi aut aggerati. neque propin- 
 quis aut amicis adsistere_, inlacrimare_, ne yisere quidem diutius 
 dabatur, sed circumiecti custodes et in maerorem cuiusque intenti 
 corpora putrefacta adsectabantur, dum in Tiberim traberentur^ 
 ubi fluitantia aut ripis adpulsa non cremare quisquam^ non con- 
 tingere. interciderat sortis bumanae commercium vi metus, 
 quantumque saevitia glisceret^ miseratio arcebatur. 
 
 20. Sub idem tempus 0. Caesar, discedenti Capreas avo 
 comes, Claudiam, M. Silani filiam, coniugio accepit, immanem 
 animum subdola modestia tegens, non damnatione matris, non 
 exitio fratrum rupta voce; qualem diem Tiberius induisset, pari 
 
 TheopTianen Mytilenaeum] Theo- tudinem pecuniae,' and the subject of 
 
 plianes was a great friend of Cn. Pom- ' publicarentur,' whicli strictly ought to 
 
 peius (Strabo, xiii. 2, 3), and had the be 'pecunia aurariaeque,' is ' aurariae.' 
 
 civil as given him (Cic. pro Arch. 10). interciderat] 'The usual intercha age 
 
 His son, Pompeius Macer, was made of sympathy, which has its sphere ir. all 
 
 procurator of Asia by Augustus, and that befalls hiunanity.' Usually the lot 
 
 entrusted with the arrangement of the of any given raan is felt more or les s to 
 
 various public libraries (Suet. C. Julius concern and interest all around Lim. 
 
 Caesar, 56), and was an intimate friend of "Nihil humani a me alienum puto," is 
 
 Tiberius. This man's son was ' inlustris the expression of this sympathetic feel- 
 
 eques Romanus' (ii. 59), and his grand- ing. Under Tiberius, at the time spoken 
 
 son (frater praetorius) was praetor (i. 72) of, every one was wrapped up in a selfish 
 
 in the year a.d. 15, and his grand- isolation. 
 
 daughter the Pompeia Macrina of the 20. Claudiam] Her name was Iiinia 
 text. But if the ' pater inlustris eques Claudia, or Claudilla (Suet. Calig. 12) . 
 Romanus ' be identical with the pro- She died shortly after her marriage., in 
 curator of Asia, which I do not see to child-birth (vi. 45, and Suet. Calig. 12). 
 be necessary, but which some common- For M. Silanus cf. ii. 59. 
 tators assume, then Strabo is incorrect exitio fratrum] ' Of her brothers.' Kero 
 probably, and the Pompeius Macer men- was put to death in the island of Pontia, 
 tioned by him (p. 618, Cas.) was not son, and Drusus in the Palatium (Suetonius, 
 but grandson of Theophanes. There Tib. 54) . Consequently ' exilio,' the read- 
 are coins extant (I find on reference to ing of the MS., can hardly be correct, 
 Eckh. D. N. ii. 504) with Q(0(pdvr]s 6i6s and * exitio' is probably right. 
 MvT {i\r)val(i}v). qualem diem] ' Whatever character for 
 
 19. aurariasque] If the reading be the day he had put on.* Tacitus speaks 
 
 correct, these words follow * magni- of the temper, whether good or bad, of 
 
A.D. 33.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 249 
 
 habitu, liaud multumdistantibus verbis, unde mox scitum Pas- 
 sieni oratoris dictum percrebruit^ neque meliorem umquam servuin 
 neque deteriorem dominum fuisse. 
 
 Non omiserim praesagium Tiberii de Servio Galba tuna consule ; 
 quern accitum et diversis sermonibus pertemptatum postremo 
 Graecis verbis in banc sententiam adlocutus, ^ et tu, Galba, quan- 
 doque degustabis imperium/ seram ac brevem potentiam signi- 
 ficans, scientia Chaldaeorum artis, cuius apiscendae otium aput 
 Rliodum_, magistrum Thrasullum habuit, peritiam eius hoc modo 
 expertus. 
 
 21. Quotiens super tali negotio consultaret, edita domus parte 
 ac liberti unius conscientia utebatur. is litterarum ignarus, cor- 
 pore valido, per avia ac derupta (nam saxis domus imminet) praei- 
 bat eum, cuius artem experiri Tiberius statuisset, et regredientem, 
 si vanitatis aut fraudum suspitio incesserat_, in subiectum mare 
 praecipitabatj ne index arcani exsisteret. igitur Thrasullus isdem 
 rupibus inductus postquam percunctantem commoverat, imperium 
 ipsi et futura soUerter patefaciens, interrogatur an suam quoque 
 genitalem horam comperisset, quem tum annum, qualem diem 
 baberet. ille positus siderum ac spatia dimensus baerere primo, 
 dein pavescere, et quantum introspiceret, magis ac magis trepidus 
 admirationis et metus, postremo exclamat ambiguum sibi ac prope 
 ultimum discrimen instare. tum complexus eum Tiberius prae- 
 scium periculorum et incolumem fore gratatur, quaeque dixerat 
 oracli vice accipiens inter intimos amicorum tenet. 
 
 22. Sed mibi haec ac talia audienti in incerto indicium est, 
 fatone res mortalium et necessitate immutabili an forte volvantur. 
 quippe sapientissimos veterum quique sectam eorum aemulantur 
 diversos reperias, ac multis insitam opinionem non initia nostri, 
 
 the emperor, as a dress or cloak assumed uses ' an ' after ' quaerere, rogitare, con- 
 
 at pleasure. sulere,' and similar verbs. 
 
 Passieni oratoris] C. Passienus Oris- adymirationis] The genitive depends on 
 
 pus was consul twice (Plin. N. H. xvi. * trepidus, ' to show the sphere of the 
 
 44-), the second time A. D. 44. He mar- perturbation displayed by the astrologer, 
 
 tied Domitia (Quint, vi.l. 50; Tacit, xiii. 'in all the excitement of wonder and 
 
 19), Nero's aunt, and then Agrippina, alarm.* - Cf. i. 20, "vetus operis," and 
 
 Nero's mother (Suet. Nero, 6). the note there. 
 
 'praesagium Tiberii'] Suetonius (Galba, praescium . . . gratatur] that is, * prae- 
 
 4), makes Augustus utter the prophecy, scium periculorum esse et incolumem fore 
 
 Koi ah TiKvov Trjs a.pxn^ rj/xaiv irapaTpu^rj, gratatur.' The construction of ' gra- 
 
 and represents Tiberius, on hearing of tatur ' with the infinitive is peculiar, but 
 
 this, as replying that it would be long is easily explained by the fact of the 
 
 after his death, and so he was not con- sentence virtually being equivalent to 
 
 cemed about it. ' inter gratandum exclamat esse prae- 
 
 21. interrogatur an] Cf. xv.61. Tacitus scium,' &c. 
 
Xi-I 
 
 250 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 7! 6. 
 
 non finem, non denique homines dis curae ; ideo creberrima et 
 tristia in bonos, laeta apud deteriores esse, contra alii fatum 
 quidem congruere rebus putant, sed non e vagis stellis, ver«:ni 
 apud principia et nexus naturalium causarum; ac tamen election Em 
 vitae nobis relinquunt^ quam ubi elegeris, certum imminentium 
 ordinem. neque mala vel bona quae Yulgus putet : multos, qm 
 conflictari adversis videantur, beatos, at plerosque quamquam 
 magnas per opes miserrimos^ si illi gravem fortunam constanter 
 tolerent, hi prospera inconsulte utantur. ceterum plurimis mor- 
 talium non eximitur quin primo cuiusque ortu ventura desti- 
 nentur^ sed quaedam secus quam dicta sint cadere^ fallaciis ignara 
 dicentium : ita corrumpi fidem artis, cuius clara documenta et 
 antiqua aetas et nostra tulerit. quippe a filio eiusdem ThrasiJli 
 praedictum Neronis imperium in tempore memorabitur, ne nunc 
 incepto longius abierim. 
 
 23. Isdem consulibus Asinii Galli mors vulgatur^ quern eges- 
 ate cibi peremptum hau dubium^ sponte vel necessitate^ incertnm 
 habebatur. consultusque Caesar an sepeliri sineret, non erubuit 
 permittere ultroque incusare casus, qui reum abstulissent, ante- 
 quam coram convinceretur : scilicet medio triennio defueiat 
 
 22. et tristia] I do not see any neces- compromise, aaid will not beax logical 
 
 sity for altering the reading : ' Troubles attack. 
 
 also (as well as the joys one would na- non eximitur] Those are the con- 
 turally assign them), fall to the lot of sistent fatalists, in whose view every La- 
 the good.' cident of a life is irrevocably fixed at its 
 
 alii fatum, &c.] These of course are beginning. The subject of ' eximitur ' is 
 
 the Stoics, the first-mentioned class being 'quin. . . destinentur,' 'the notion that 
 
 the Epicureans. The exact meaning of . . . cannot be eradicated.' 
 
 the words is a little obscure : the sense ignara] For the passive meaning cf. 
 
 appears to be, ' fate is in harmony with xii. 11, and note on i. 51, under ' gnarma.* 
 
 our circumstances,' that is, fate influ- 23. vel necessitate] See note on iv. ;>3, 
 
 ences our lives, and modifies them ; not under ' Romanasve.' 
 
 so far as to compel an acceptance of a non erubuit permittere] From the 
 thorough-going necessitarian theory, but words ' ultroque incusare casus,' it is 
 still to a great extent, without however clear that Tiberius was not anxious to 
 entirely removing the element of free .hush up the death of Gallus : he was not 
 will. Chrysippus distinguished between disinclined to have it known that Gallus 
 'predisposing' and 'determinant' causes was under his displeasure, and woiild 
 {pvK avToreXri rovrSov alriav, aWa itpo- have been brought into court, unless his 
 KarapriK^v fiSvov ivoielro ri}v Elfiapfxftrqi/, premature death had baulked the e^n- 
 as Plutarch says, De Repug. Stoic, peror of his prey. I think the meaniag 
 xlvii.), and these latter were in the is that Tiberius felt no qualms of con- 
 human will. But this is hardly logical, science at having the subject discussed 
 However, it would seem to be not unlike before him ; he felt no shame at having 
 the statement of Tacitus, that we can permission to bury Gallus asked of him, 
 choose our life, and then a sequence of and no shame in granting it. Mcst 
 cause and eflfect steps in, and the in- rulers would have blushed at the bare 
 cidents of life are moulded by a power mention of the subject, have b©3n 
 without the man, which ho cannot resist, anxious to hide it away, and have the 
 But of course this is something of a man buried privately. 
 
A.D. 33.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. YI. 251 
 
 tempus subeundi iudicium consulari seni^ tot consul arium parent! . 
 Drusus deinde exstinguitur, cum se miserandis alimentis, mandendo 
 e cubili tomento^ nonum ad diem detinuisset. tradidere quidam 
 praescriptum fuisse Macroni^ si arma ab Seiano temptarentur, 
 exstractum custodiae iuvenem (nam in Palatio attinebatur) ducem 
 populo imponere. mox^ quia rumor incedebat fore ut nuru ac 
 nepoti conciliaretur Caesar^ saevitiam quam paenitentiam maluit. 
 
 24. Quin et invectus in defunctum probra corporis, exitiabilem 
 in suos_, infensum rei publicae animum obiecit recitarique factorum 
 dictorumque eius descripta per dies iussit, quo non aliut atrocius 
 visum : adstitisse tot per annos qui vultum, gemitus, occultum 
 etiam murmur exciperent, et potuisse avum audire, legere_, in 
 publicum promere vix fides, nisi quod Attii centurionis et Didymi 
 liberti epistulae servorum nomina praeferebant, ut quis egredientem 
 cubiculo Drusum pulsaverat, exterruerat. etiam sua verba centurio 
 saevitiae plena, tamquam egregium, vocesque deficientis adiecerat, 
 quis prime alienationem mentis simulans quasi per dementiam 
 funesta Tiberio, mox, ubi exspes vitae fuit, meditatas composi- 
 tasque diras inprecabatur, ut quem ad modum nurum filiumque 
 fratris et nepotes domumque omnem caedibus complevisset, ita 
 poenas nomini generique maiorum et posteris exsolveret. obtur- 
 babant quidem patres specie detestandi : sed penetrabat pavor et 
 admiratio, callidum olim et tegendis sceleribus obscurum hue con- 
 fidentiae venisse, ut tamquam dimotis parietibus ostenderet nepo- 
 tem sub verbere centurionis, inter servorum ictus, extrema vitae 
 alimenta frustra orantem. 
 
 25. Nondum is dolor exoleverat, cum de Agrippina auditum, 
 quam interfecto Seiano spe sustentatam provixisse reor, et post- 
 quam nihil de saevitia remittebatur, voluntate exstinctam, nisi si 
 
 tot consularium parenti] Galhis was some word like ' necavisset ' is to be sup- 
 consul himself 8 a.c, and father of C. plied. Drusus was not literally correct 
 Asinius PoUio, consul in a.d. 23 (iv. i.), in speaking of the death of Agrippina 
 of M. Asinius Agrippa, consul in a.d. 25 (nurus), for it had not yet taken place 
 (iv. 34) , and of Ser. Asinius Celer, con- (see the next chapter) . 
 sul suffectus in some year unknown (Plin. extrema vitae alimenta'] ' The barest 
 N. H. ix. 17). support of life.' 'Extrema alimenta' 
 
 nuru ac nepoti'] *Nuru' is the dative, means that sustenance which came last 
 
 Cf. iii. 30. Agrippina was the wife of in the various kinds of food capable of 
 
 Germanicus, the adopted son of Tiberius, supporting life. It stood the very lowest 
 
 and Drusus, her son, a grandson of Tibe- in the scale, and any thing short of it 
 
 rius. The emperor chose to be guilty of would not prolong existence. 
 cruelty rather than by showing leniency 25. nisi si] Cf. xv. 53, " quamvis ab- 
 
 run the chance of being sorry for it surdum videretur Pisonem notum amore 
 
 afterwards. uxoris alii matrimonio se obstrinxisse, 
 
 24. complevisset] With the first clause, nisi si cupido dominandi cunctis adfec- 
 
 * nurum filiumque fratris et nepotes,' tibus flagrantior est." German. 2, " quis 
 
252 .. COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 78(.. 
 
 negatis alimentis adsimulatus est finis^ qui videretur sponte sumj- 
 tus. enimvero Tiberius foedissimis criminationibus exarsit^ impc- 
 dicitiam arguens et Asinium Galium adulterum, eiusque morte ad 
 taedium vitae conpulsam. sed Agrippina aequi inpatiens_, doml- 
 nandi avida, virilibus curis feminarum vitia exuerat. eodem die 
 defunctam, quo biennio ante Seianus poenas luisset^ memoriaeque 
 id prodendum addidit Caesar, iactavitque quod non laqu(30 
 strangulata neque in Gemonias proiecta foret. actae ob id gratis 
 decretumque ut quintum decumum kal. Novembris, utriusque 
 necis die, per omnis annos donum lovi sacraretur. 
 
 26. Hand multo post Cocceius Nerva, continuus principis, 
 omnis divini bumanique iuris sciens, integro statu, corpore inlaeso, 
 moriendi consilium cepit. quod ut Tiberio cognitum, adsidere, 
 causas requirere, addere preces, fateri postremo grave conscientiae, 
 grave famae suae, si proximus amicorum nuUis moriendi rationibus 
 vitam fugeret. aversatus sermonem Nerva abstinentiam cibi 
 coniunxit. ferebant gnari cogitationum eius, quanto propius mala 
 
 Germaniam peteret nisi si patria sit ? " mean that Agrippina liad cxired herself 
 
 Agric. 32, " quern contractum ex diver- of the vices generally existing in women, 
 
 sissimis gentibus ut secimdae res tenent, but had put them aside, kept them aloof, 
 
 ita adversae dissolvent nisi si Gallos . . . and never given way to them. As she 
 
 licet dominationi alienae sanguinem con- was a woman, they might, in the course 
 
 modent, diutius tamen hostes quam of things, have been looked for ; but s he 
 
 servos fide et adfectu teneri putatis." escaped them. 
 
 In all these instances 'nisi si' seems gii,mtum dec wmwm] An elliptical phrase 
 
 used to express a mere statement of for the usual ' ante diem,' &c ; itself, it 
 
 the possibility of the hypothesis put for- would seem, an elliptical or colloquial 
 
 ward being the true one. It certainly expression for ' die quinto decumo aute 
 
 appears to be equivalent to ' unless pos- kalendas.' One would fancy that the 
 
 sibly,' 'unless by any chance it should preposition having slipped out of its 
 
 be true that.' In the passage from the place in common usage, the phrase was 
 
 Germ. 2, " nisi si patria sit," the sense is altered instinctively into the form ueu- 
 
 ' unless possibly the fact of its being ally found, ' ante diem quintum decse- 
 
 a man's fatherland might draw him nium kalendas,' the word ' diem' being 
 
 thither;' while 'nisi patria sit' would attracted into the accusative from its 
 
 imply that if it were a man's fatherland, proximity to the preposition although 
 
 that would certainly be a sufficient mo- ' ante ' really governs ' kalendas.' For 
 
 tive, whereas the other form implies the same construction, cf. vi. 50, xv. -^-1. 
 
 only that it migltt he a sufficient motive, Another form still is found in xii. 6!9, 
 
 or on the other hand, it might not. " tertium ante Idus Octobris." 
 
 Walther quotes a passage from Thucy- 26. continuus principis] The adjective 
 
 dides, i. 17, iirpdxdv Se ott' avruv ovSev is used substantively, ' an uninterrupted 
 
 fpyou a^ioXoyov €t fi^ ftri Tvphs ir^pio'iKovs, friend,' and so is followed by a geni- 
 
 which is of an exactly similar kind. tive. 
 
 exueraf] Cf. Agric. 9, "tristitiam et coniunxW] Cf. iv. 57, " sex postea 
 
 adrogantiam et avaritiam exuerat." annos pari secreto coniunxit." Com- 
 
 Clearly from this passage the use of paring this passage, the sense appears 
 
 ' exuere ' does not imply that Agricola to be, 'he persisted in abstinence frcm 
 
 ever possessed the vices mentioned, only food.' Another interpretation might 
 
 that he had kept them off, waived them perhaps be, * turning away from the 
 
 away, put them aside, instead of putting conversation (of Tiberius) , he followed \ip 
 
 them on. So here Tacitus does not this (mark of dislike) by abstaining from 
 
A.D. 33.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI L] 
 
 rei publicae viseret^ ira et metu, dum integer, 
 
 honestum finem voluisse. '^f^n ys. * 
 
 Ceterum Agrippinae permities, quod vix credibile, Plaifti^|l^ 
 traxit. nupta olim Cn. Pisoni et palam laeta morte Genn^»»«(y — ' 
 cum Piso caderet, precibus Augustae nee minus inimicitiis Agrip- 
 pinae defensa erat. ut odium et gratia desiere, ius valuit; peti- 
 taque criminibus hand ignotis, sua manu sera magis quam inmerita 
 supplicia persolvit. 
 
 27. Tot luctibus funesta civitate pars maeroris fuit, quod lulia 
 Drusi filia, quondam Neronis uxor, denupsit in domum Rubellii 
 Blandi, cuius avum Tiburtem equitem Romanum plerique memi- 
 nerant. extremo anni mors Aelii Lamiae funere censorio celebrata, 
 qui administrandae Suriae imagine tandem exsolutus urbi prae- 
 fuerat. genus illi decorum, vivida senectus; et non permissa 
 provincia dignationem addiderat. exin Flacco Pomponio Syriae 
 pro praetore defuncto recitantur Caesaris litterae, quis incusabat 
 egregium quemque et regendis exercitibus idoneum abnuere id 
 munus, seque ea necessitudine ad preces cogi, per quas consula- 
 rium aliqui capessere provincias adigerentur, oblitus Arruntium, • 
 ne in Hispaniam pergeret, decumum iam annum attineri. obiit 
 eodem anno et M\ Lepidus, de cuius moderatione atque sapientia 
 in prioribus libris satis conlocavi. neque nobilitas diutius demon- 
 stranda est : quippe Aemilium genus fecundum bonorum civium, 
 et qui eadem familia corruptis moribus, inlustri tamen fortuna 
 egere. 
 
 28. Paulo Fabio L. Yitellio consulibus post longum saeculorum 
 
 food.' But the first way is the better, I a compound like ' decedere,' * degredi/ 
 
 think, altogether. &c. For Rubellius Blandus cf. iii. 29. 
 
 27. lulia] The daughter of Drusus, the funere censorio] Cf. iv. 15. 
 
 son of Tiberius, by Livilla, and formerly wrhi praefuerat] He had been ap- 
 
 the wife of Nero Germanicus, the eldest pointed praefectus urbis in succession to 
 
 son of Germanicus (iii. 29). Juvenal L. Piso (vi. 10). He seems to have 
 
 speaks of Eubellius Blandus (viii. 39), been appointed after Sentius (ii. 74) to 
 
 " tecum est mihi sermo, Rubelli Blande : the command of Syria until a.d. 32. He 
 
 tumes altos Drusorum stemmate, tan- never visited his province. Cf. 1. 80. 
 
 quam feceris ipse aliquid propter quod Below, * Hispania ' is * Hispania citerior,' 
 
 nobilis esses, ut te conciperet quae san- for * Hispania ulterior ' was a senatorial 
 
 guine fulget luli, non quae ventoso con- province, 
 
 ducta sub aggere texit." satis conlocavi] There is no other 
 
 denupsit] The word does not neces- instance, I believe, of this absolute use of 
 
 sarily imply any idea of marriage into a * conlocare.' Cicero uses ' ponere ' in the 
 
 lower social grade : it is rather * married same way. Ad Fam. i. 9. 7, " quamobrem 
 
 away from her position ;' in this case ut paulo ante posui, si essent omnia 
 
 Julia did marry beneath her, but the mihi solutissima." One might say in 
 
 verb does not necessarily say as much. English, 'about whose moderation and 
 
 Cf. Suet. Nero, 29, " cui otiam sicut wisdom I have put enough.' 
 
 ipsi Sporus ita ipse denupsit." It is 28. Paulo Fabio] Paulus Fabius Per- 
 
254 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 7S'\ 
 
 ambitum avis phoenix in Aegyptnm venit praebuitque materiel n 
 doctissimis indigenarum et Graecorum multa super eo miraculo 
 disserendi. de quibus congruunt et plura ambigua, sed cognitu 
 non absurda promere libet. sacrum Soli id animal et ore ax; 
 distinctu pinnarum a ceteris avibus diversum consentiunt qui 
 formam eius effinxere : de numero annorum varia traduntiir. 
 maxime vulgatum quingentorum spatium : sunt qui adseverent 
 mille quadringentos sexaginta unum interici^ prioresque elites 
 Sesoside primum, post Amaside dominantibus, dein Ptolemaeo^ qui 
 ex Macedonibus tertius regnavit, in civitatem cui Heliopolis nomon 
 advolavisse, multo ceterarum volucrum comitatu novam faciem 
 mirantium. sed antiquitas quidem obscura : inter Ptolemaeum 
 ac Tiberium minus ducenti quinquaginta anni fuerunt. unde non 
 nulli falsum hunc pboenicem neque Arabuni e terris credidere, 
 nihilque usurpavisse ex iis^ quae vetus memoria firmavit. confecto 
 quippe annorum numero^ ubi mors propinquet, suis in tenis 
 struere nidum eique vim genitalem adfundere, ex qua fetum oriri ; 
 et primam adulto curam sepeliendi patris, neque id temere, S(;d 
 sublato murrae pondere temptatoque per longum iter, ubi par 
 oneri, par meatui sit, subire patrium corpus inque Solis arain 
 
 sicus, son of Paulus Fabius Maximus, of the Phoenix. It was about tbe size 
 consul 11 A.c. of an eagle, purple all over its body, ex- 
 mille quudringentos sexaginta unum\ cept the throat, "which was golden, a:id 
 The old Egyptian year consisted of 365 had rose-coloured feathers in an aztuo- 
 days, consequently every year the reckon- coloured tail, with a crest on its head, 
 ing got six hours too fast, as the year Sesoside primum] Assuming this to 
 reallyconsistsofSGSJdays. In 1460 years be the correct reading, it is not at all 
 there are 8760 hours gained, or 365 clear who is meant. There is a Setlii, 
 days, or one year ; consequently in 1461 or Sethos, king of Egypt, whose sup- 
 calendar years there would really be posed date is 1320 a.c, of the nine- 
 only 1460 exact years. This period was teenth dynasty. There is also a Sesostiis 
 called the Sothiac year, and the re- spoken of by Herodotus, and suppossd 
 appearance of the Phoenix is no doubt to be identical with Rameses III. of the 
 connected with this ; and the deri- twentieth dynasty, about 1300 ac. 
 vation of the name of the bird from Lastly, there is a Sesertesen III., of the 
 'fenech,' an Egyptian word signifying twelfth dynasty, 1986 a.c. This last 
 * a secular period,' would be probable, would suit very well, as the date of 
 Perhaps the shorter period of 500 years Amasis is from 570 to 526 a.c, and 
 is only a rough statement for one-third there would thus be an interval of about 
 of the Sothiac period of 1461 years. 1461 years. From Amasis to Tiberius 
 Pliny himself (N. H. x. 2) observes, that would be something over 500 years, so 
 according to Manilius there was some that this interval would only suit tlie 
 connexion between the life of the bird lesser interval of 500 years. Ptolemy 
 and the cycle of the great year. He (Euergetes) died 222 a.c, and from this 
 puts the appearance of the bird two date to the accession of Tiberius, a.d. 14, 
 years later, a.d. 36, in the consulship of are between 230 and 240 years. I fear, 
 Q. Plautius and Sextus Papinius, and therefore, Ptolemy's bird must have 
 says it was brought to Rome a.d. 47, been an impostor, and that the datas 
 under Claudius, and exhibited ; but it cannot in any way be made to tally, 
 was generally considered an impostor. Solis ararri] The altar of the sun at 
 He gives a very circumstantial account Heliopolis. 
 
A.D. 34.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. YI. 255 
 
 perferre atque adolere. liaec incerta et fabulosis aucta : ceterum 
 aspici aliquando in Aegypto earn volucrem non ambigitur. 
 
 29. At Romae caede continua Pomponius Labeo, quern prae- 
 ftiisse Moesiae rettuli, per abruptas venas sanguinem effudit; 
 aemulataque est coniunx Paxaea. nam promptas eius modi 
 mortes metus carnificis faciebat, et quia damnati publicatis bonis 
 sepultura prohibebantur, eorum qui de se statuebant bumabantur 
 corpora_, manebant testamenta^ pretium festinandi. sed Caesar 
 missis ad senatum litteris disseruit morem fuisse maioribus, quo- 
 tiens dirimerent amicitias_, interdicere domo eumque finem gratiae 
 ponere : id se repetivisse in Labeone,, atque illum_, quia male ad- 
 ministratae provinciae aliorumque criminum urgebatur^ culpam 
 invidia velavisse, frustra conterrita uxore^ quam etsi nocentem 
 periculi tamen expertem fuisse. Mamercus dein Scaurus rursum 
 postulatur, insignis nobilitate et orandis causis, vita probrosus. 
 nihil bunc amicitia Seiani, sed labefecit baud minus validum ad 
 exitia Macronis odium^ qui easdem artes occultius exercebat; 
 detuleratque argumentum tragoediae a Scauro scriptae^ additis 
 versibus qui in Tiberium flecterentur : verum ab Servilio et 
 Cornelio accusatoribus adulterium Liviae_, magorum sacra obiecta- 
 bantur. Scaurus, nt dignum veteribus Aemiliis, damnationem 
 anteit, bortante Sextia uxore, quae incitamentum mortis et par- 
 ticeps fuit. 
 
 30. Ac tamen accusatores, si facultas incideret, poenis adficie- 
 bantur, ut Servilius Corneliusque perdito Scauro famosi, quia 
 pecuniam a Yario Ligure omittendae delationis ceperant, in insulas 
 interdicto igni atque aqua demoti sunt, et Abudius Ruso functus 
 aedilitate dum Lentulo Gaetulico, sub quo legioni praefuerat, 
 periculum facessit_, quod is Seiani filium generum destinasset, 
 ultro damnatur atque urbe exigitur. Gaetulicus ea tempestate 
 
 29. rettuli] Cf. iv. 47. morte quaesitam." 
 
 urgehatur] The construction here with argwmentum] Dion Cassius (Iviii. 24) 
 
 the genitive seems to arise from the says that Scaurus got by his writing 
 
 meaning of ' urgeri,' being equivalent to into a worse plight than the hero of hia 
 
 that of ' accusari,' * argui,' and similar own tragedy (•n-ofli^/ioTt SfiuoTepcfi ou 
 
 verbs. avpeypa-^^ irepifirearev) . The name of 
 
 culpam invidia velavisse] ' Had the play was Atreus, and the allusion 
 
 cloaked over his guilt by involving seems to have been to the line in the 
 
 Tiberius in all the odium (arising from Phoenissae of Euripides, rhs tS>v Kpa- 
 
 the manner of his death).' Labeo was rovvruv afj.adias <p4piiv XP^^^- Below, 
 
 guilty of maladministration, and by Livia is the wife of Drusus, the sou of 
 
 committing suicide had raised a feeling Tiberius. 
 
 of dislike against the emperor, and so 30. ultro] Cf. vi. 31, " ultroque po- 
 
 drawn oflf attention from his own mis- tentiam habet." Ruso had the tables 
 
 deeds. Cf. iii. 16, " suam invidiam tali turned upon him : so far from success- 
 
256 , CORNELII TACITI [a.tj.c. 787. 
 
 superioris Grermaniae legiones curabat mirumque amorem adse- 
 cutus erat, effusae clementiae^ modicus severitate et proximo 
 quoque exercitui per L. Apronium socerum non ingratus. uiide 
 fama constans ausum mittere ad Caesarem litteras^ adfinitat(?m 
 sibi cum Seiano liau sponte sed consilio Tiberii coeptam; peril] de 
 se quam Tiberium falli potuisse, neque errorem eundem illi sine 
 fraude, aliis exitio habendum, sibi fidem integram et, si nullis 
 insidiis peteretur_, mansuram; successorem non aliter quam indi- 
 cium mortis accepturum. firmarent velut foedus, quo princeps 
 ceterarum rerum poteretur, ipse provinciam retineret. baec, mira 
 quamquam, fidem ex eo trabebant, quod unus omnium Seiani 
 adfinium incolumis multaque gratia man sit, reputante TibtTio 
 publicum sibi odium, extremam aetatem magisque fama quam vi 
 stare res suas. 
 
 31. C. Cestio M. Servilio consulibus nobiles Partbi in urbem 
 venere, ignaro rege Artabano. is metu Germanici fidus Roraanis, 
 aequabilis in sues, mox superbiam in nos, saevitiam in populares 
 sumpsit, fretus bellis, quae secunda adversum circumiectas 
 nationes exercuerat, et senectutem Tiberii ut inermem despiciens 
 avidusque Armeniae, cui defuncto rege Artaxia Arsacen liberorum 
 suorum veterrimum inposuit, addita contumelia et missis qui 
 gazam a Yonone relictam in Syria Ciliciaque reposcerent; simul 
 veteres Persarum ac Macedonum terminos, seque invasurum pos- 
 sessa primum Gyro et post Alexandro per vaniloquentiam ac 
 minas iaciebat. sed Partbis mittendi secretes nuntios validissi- 
 mus auctor fuit Sinnaces, insigni familia ac perinde opibus, et 
 proximus buic Abdus ademptae virilitatis. non despectum id 
 apud barbaros ultroque potentiam babet. ii adscitis et aliis ]3ri- 
 moribus, quia neminem gentis Arsacidarum summae rei inporere 
 poterant, interfectis ab Artabano plerisque aut nondum adultis, 
 Pbraaten regis Pbraatis filium Eoma poscebant : nomine tantum 
 et auctore opus, ut sponte Gaesaris, ut genus Arsacis ripam ajDud 
 Euphratis cerneretur. 
 
 fully accusing Gaetulicus, lie fell himself was an orator and historian (xiv. 19 ; De 
 
 a victim. This force of 'ultro' has Oratoribus, 23 ; Quint, x. 1, 102). He 
 
 been mentioned before. wrote a history of the early empire. 
 
 proximo quoque exercitui] Sc. Ger- terminos] This is governed by the 
 
 maniae Inferioris. Cf. iv. 73. sense of ' iaciebat,' which is equivf lent 
 
 mira qiuimquani] Cf . v. 9. Lentulus to ' inter iactandum, non sine iactai ione 
 
 outlived Tiberius, and was put to death sibi vindicabat.' 
 
 by Caligula (Dio. lix. 22). He was le- ut sponte Caesaris] There does not 
 
 gatus pro praetore of Lower Germany seem any great diflBculty in the rea ling 
 
 for ten years. of the MS. *Ut sponte' refers to'auc- 
 
 31. M.ServiUo'] M. Servilius Nonianus tore,' *ut . . cerneretur' to 'nomine.' 
 
A.D. 35.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 257 
 
 32. Cupitum id Tiberio : omat Pliraaten accingitque paternum 
 ad fastigiuin, destinata retinens, consiliis et astu res externas 
 molirij arma procul habere, interea cognitis insidiis Artabanus 
 tardari metu^ mo do cupidine vindictae inardescere. et barbaris 
 cunctatio servilis, statim exequi regium videtur : valuit tamen 
 utilitasj ut Abdum specie amicitiae vocatum ad epulas lento 
 veneno inligaret, Sinnacen dissimulatione ac donis, simul per 
 negotia moraretur. et Phraates aput Syriam dum omisso cultu 
 Romano, cui per tot annos insueverat, instituta Parthorum in- 
 sumit, patriis moribus impar morbo absumptus est. sed non 
 Tiberius omisit incepta : Tiridatem sanguinis eiusdem aemulum 
 ArtabanOj reciperandaeque Armeniae Hiberum Mitbridaten deligit 
 conciliatque fratri Pharasmani, qui gentile imperium obtinebat ; et 
 cunctis quae apud orientem parabantur L. Yitellium praefecit. 
 eo de bomine ban sum ignarus sinistram in urbe famam, pleraque 
 foeda memorari, ceterum regendis provinciis prisca virtute egit. 
 unde regressus et formidine C. Caesaris, familiaritate Claudii 
 turpe in servitium mutatus exemplar aput posteros adulatorii 
 dedecoris habetur, cesseruntque prima postremis, et bona iuventae 
 senectus flagitiosa obliteravit. 
 
 33. At ex regulis prior Mitbridates Pbarasmanem perpulit dolo 
 et vi conatus sues iuvare, repertique corruptores ministros Arsacis 
 multo auro ad scelus cogunt; simul Hiberi magnis copiis Ar- 
 meniam inrumpunt et urbe Artaxata potiuntur. quae postquam 
 Artabano cogDita, filium Oroden ultorem parat; dat Partborum 
 copias, mittit qui auxilia mercede facerent : contra Pharasmanes 
 adiungere Albanos, accire Sarmatas, quorum sceptucbi utrimque 
 donis acceptis more gentico diversa induere. sed Hiberi locorum 
 potentes Caspia via Sarmatam in Armenios raptim effundunt. at 
 
 Two things only were necessary, a sup- seems necessary. .The Tiridates below 
 porter, and the prestige of a name, to was a grandson of Phraates IV. (vi. 37) . 
 make the plan successful. If Caesar ap- regendis provinciis] This is the da- 
 proved the scheme, the first want would tive, put rather loosely, to express the 
 be secured : if a scion of the ' Arsacidae ' indirect object : * but for the government 
 were forthcoming, the second condition of his provinces, he conducted himself 
 would be satisfied. With * sponte Cae- with old-fashioned virtue.' This L. Vi- 
 saris' can easily be understood 'res tellius was the consul of the previous 
 fieret,' or 'aliquis constitueretur,' or year (vi. 34). 
 similar words, supplied virtually from 33. Artaxata] Cf. ii. 59. 
 * cemeretur.' sceptuchi] A name given by Xeno- 
 
 32. destinata] For an instance of the phon (Cyrop. vii. 3. 16) to the grandees 
 
 policy here ascribed to Tiberius, cf. i. at the Persian court; here the chieftains 
 
 64, 66. by whom the Sarmatae were governed 
 
 insumit] * Takes upon him,' as a sort under their kings (Strabo, xi. 2. 13) . 
 of burdensome appendage. Most of the Caspia via] This is the pass de- 
 editors alter it to * sumit,' but it hardly scribed in H. i. 6, as Claustra Caspia- 
 
 8 
 
258 CORNELII TACITI [i.u.c. 788. 
 
 qui Parthis adventabant^ facile arcebantur, cum alios incesFus 
 hostis clausisset, unum reliquum mare inter et extremes Alba- 
 norum montes aestas impediret, quia flatibus etesiarum implentur 
 vada : bibernus auster revolvit fluctus pulsoque introrsus freto 
 brevia litorum nudantur. 
 
 34. Interim Oroden sociorum inopem auctus auxilio Pba- 
 rasmanes vocare ad pugnam et detrectantem incessere^ adequitare 
 castrisj infensare pabula; ac saepe in modum obsidii stationibus 
 cingebat, donee Parthi contumeliarum insolentes circiimsisterent 
 regem, poscerent proelium. atque illis sola in equite vis : Pbaras- 
 manes et pedite valebat. nam Hiberi Albanique saltuosos locos 
 incolentes duritiae patientiaeque magis insuevere; feruntque se 
 Tliessalis ortos^ qua tempestate laso post avectam Medeam geni- 
 tosque ex ea liberos inanem mox regiam Aeetae vacuosque Colcbos 
 repetivit. multaque de nomine eius et oraclum Phrixi celebrant ; 
 nee quisquam ariete sacrificaverit^ credito vexisse Pbrixum, sive 
 id animal sen navis insigne fait, ceterum directa utrimque acie 
 Partbus imperium orientis, claritudinem Arsacidarum contraque 
 ignobilem Hiberum, mercennario milite disserebat; Pbarasmanes 
 integros semet a Partbico dominatu, quanto maiora peterent, plus 
 decoris victores aut_, si terga darent, flagitii atque periculi laturos ; 
 simul horridam suorum aciem, picta auro Medorum agmina^ bine 
 viros, inde praedam ostendere, 
 
 35. Enimvero apud Sarmatas non una vox ducis : se quisque 
 stimulant ne pugnam per sagittas sinerent ; impetu et comminus 
 
 rum, and elsewhere as the Caspian multaque de no'tnine wzs] Cf. i. 15, 
 Gates (Suet. Nero, 19). There are two "ludos quide nomine Augusti fastis ad- 
 passes across the Caucasian mountains, diti Augustales vocarentur," Th(! sense 
 one by the centre of the chain, now the here seems to be, therefore, ' they quote 
 pass of Dariel ; the other between the many places as named after him.' This 
 eastern extremity of the chain and the is what Strabo says (xi. 4. 8) : * that 
 Caspian Sea, near Derbend. Here Taci- Jason's visit to Hiberia, Albania, and 
 tua is speaking of the first -mentioned parts of Armenia, is attested by remains 
 pass, and this is more properly called bearing his name ' (ws fiaprvpei rd re 
 Portae Caucasiae. Cf. Plin. N. H.vi. 11, 'laaSuia Koi &\\a xnroiJivi]nara TrAetoo). 
 "portae Caucasiae, magno errore multis Medorum agm,ina] That is, of thePar- 
 Caspiae dictae, ingens naturae opus thians,whomhe speaks of contemptuously 
 montibus interruptis repente, ubi fores by the name of Medes, because they re- 
 obditae ferratis trabibus, subter medias sembled them in their dress. Tlie com- 
 amne diri odoris fluente, citraque in rupe mentators quote Justinus, xli. 2, " Ves- 
 castello, quod vocatur Cumania, commu- tis olim (Parthis) sui moris : postoa 
 nito ad arcendas transitu gentes innu- quam accessere opes, ut Medis, pe^rlucida 
 meras ... ex adverse maxima Harmastis, ac fluida." 
 
 oppidi Hiberum." Zh. sinerenf] The verb is similarly con- 
 
 34. infensare'] This word occurs xiii. structed elsewhere : cf. ii. 55, "cumdesi- 
 
 37, 41, and I believe in no other writer. diamincastris,licentiaminurbibu3 sine- 
 
 Below, 'inanem' is * left without a mas- ret;" xiii. 25, "qui rixarum initia modica 
 
 ter.' et quasi privata sinerent ;" H. v. 5, " nulla 
 
A.D. 35.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 259 
 
 praeveniendum. variae hinc bellantium species, cum Parthus 
 sequi vel fugere pari arte suetus distralieret turmas_, spatium 
 ictibus quaereret, Sarmatae omisso arcu, quo brevius valent, contis 
 gladiisque ruerent; modo equestris proelii more frontis et tergi 
 vices, aliquando ut conserta acies corporibus et pulsu armorum 
 pellerent pellerentur. iamque et Albani Hiberique prensare, 
 detrudere, ancipitem pugnam bostibus facere, quos super eques 
 et propioribus vulneribus pedites adflictabant. inter quae Pbaras- 
 manes Orodesque, dum strenuis adsunt aut dubitantibus sub- 
 veniunt, conspicui eoque gnari, clamore telis equis concurrunt, 
 instantius Pbarasmanes ; nam vulnus per galeam adegit. nee 
 iterare valuit, praelatus equo et fortissimis satellitum protegenti- 
 bus saucium : fama tamen occisi falso credita exterruit Partbos 
 victoriamque concessere. 
 
 36. Mox Artabanus tota mole regni ultum iit. peritia locorum 
 ab Hiberis melius pugnatum; nee ideo abscedebat, ni contractis 
 legionibus Yitellius et subdito rumore, tamquam Mesopotamiam 
 invasurus, metum Romani belli fecisset. tum omissa Armenia 
 versaeque Artabani res, inliciente Yitellio desererent regem saevum 
 in pace et adversis proeliorum exitiosum. igitur Sinnaces, quem 
 antea infensum memoravi, patrem Abdagaesen aliosque occultos 
 consilii et tunc continuis cladibus promptiores ad defectionem 
 trahit, adfluentibus paulatim qui metu magis quam benivolentia 
 subiecti repertis auctoribus sustulerant animum. nee iam aliud 
 Artabano reliquum quam si qui externorum corpori custodes 
 aderant, suis quisque sedibus extorres, quis neque boni intellectus 
 neque mali cura, sed mercede aluntur minis tri sceleribus. bis 
 adsumptis in longinqua et contermina Scytbiae fugam maturavit, 
 spe auxilii, quia Hyrcanis Carmaniisque per adfinitatem innexus 
 
 simulacra iirbibus suis nedum templis ix. 168, " haec super e vallo prospectant 
 
 sinunt ;" Virg. Georg. iv. 47, " neu propius Troes." By 'quos,' Tacitus means the 
 
 tectis sine taxum." Partliians, not the Albani and Hiberi. 
 
 quo hrevius valenf] The Sarmatae 36. tamqtiam Mesopotamiam invasurus'} 
 
 cannot shoot so far as the Parthians : For the future participle with 'tamquam,' 
 
 their bows will not carry so far. cf. xii. 49, " tamquam recuperaturus Ar- 
 
 frontis et tergi vices'] For the omis- meniam." For a perfect participle, cf. H. 
 
 sion of 'essent,* see note on i. 2. The i. 48, "tamquam scyphum aureum fura- 
 
 Sarmatae sometimes manoeuvred like tus." In the same way, * quasi' (ii. 63), 
 
 cavalry, facing, then retreating, and so 'velut' (H. iv. 71), 'ut* (i. 47), are 
 
 on, whereas an infantry line is com- used, 
 
 paratively stationary. Hyrcanis'] Hyrcania was at the south- 
 
 quos super] * Whom from above, the east comer of the Caspian Sea, bounded 
 
 horsemen.' This seems to be the sense on the east by the Oxus, west by the 
 
 of * super,' so that ' super eques ' and Mens Coronus, and south by the Montes 
 
 ' propioribus vulneribus pedites ' balance. Sariphi. Carmania was on the northern 
 
 This use of ' super ' is poetical. Cf. Virg. shores of the Persian Gulf, bounded by 
 
 s 2 
 
260 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 788, 789. 
 
 erat : at que interim posse Parthos absentium aequos, praesentilus 
 mobiles, ad paenitentiam mutari. 
 
 37. At Yitellius profugo Artabano et flexis ad novum regom 
 popularium animis, bortatus Tiridaten parata capessere, robur 
 legionum sociorumque ripam ad Eupbratis ducit. sacrificantibus, 
 cum bic more Romano suovetauriHa daret, ille equum placarido 
 amni adornasset, nuntiavere accolae Eupbraten nulla imbrium vi 
 sponte et inmensum attolli, simul albentibus spumis in moclum 
 diadematis sinuare orbes, auspicium prosperi transgressas. 
 quidam callidius interpretabantur, initia conatus secunda neque 
 diuturna, quia eorum quae terra caelove portenderentur certior 
 fides, fluminum instabilis natura simul ostenderet ominaraperetque. 
 sed ponte navibus effecto tramissoque exercitu primus Ornospades 
 multis equitum milibus in castra venit, exul quondam et Tiberio, 
 cum Delmaticum bellum conficeret, baud inglorius auxiliator 
 eoque civitate Romana donatus, mox repetita amicitia regis multo 
 apud eum bonore, praefectus campis qui Bupbrate et l^gre 
 inclutis amnibus circumflui Mesopotamiae nomen accepei-unt. 
 neque multo post Sinnaces auget copias, et columen partium 
 Abdagaeses gazam et paratus regies adicit. Vitellius ostentasse 
 Romana arma satis ratus monet Tiridaten primoresque, bunc, 
 Pbraatis avi et altoris Caesaris quae utrubique pulcbra meminerit, 
 illos, obsequium in regem, reverentiam in nos, decus quisque 
 suum et fidem retinerent. exim cum legionibus in S^riam 
 remeavit. 
 .38. Quae duabus aestatibus gesta coniunxi, quo requiesceret 
 animus' a domesticis malis ; non enim Tiberium, quam<:^uam 
 triennio post caedem Seiani, quae ceteros moUire solent, tempus^ 
 
 Persia on the west, Gedrosia and Dran- Ornospades had been an exile, but was 
 
 giana on the east, and by Ariana and afterwards reconciled to his sovereign, 
 
 Parthia on the north. Below, ' absen- and appointed to the government of 
 
 tium aequos' is 'judging the absent Mesopotamia. 
 
 with kindly feeling.' There is no other qiuie utruhique] Vitellius bade Tiri- 
 
 instance, Draeger says, of the same con- dates remember all the glorious incidents 
 
 struction of ' aequus ' in this meaning. connected with his grandfather Pliraates 
 
 37. doA-ei] Offered : an unusual word and the Roman Emperor Augustus. 
 
 in connexion with sacrifices. The wor- Whatever there was deserving imita- 
 
 ship of rivers was common amongst the tion in them he was to recall, and not 
 
 Persians, and, no doubt, amongst others to dim their excellencies by any un- 
 
 (Herod. i. 138) . The Roman general was worthy conduct on his own part, 
 
 actually engaged in offering (imperf.) 38. triennio^ Sejanus was put to 
 
 the sacrifice : the Parthian had previously death on the 15th day before the kalends 
 
 got the horse ready for sacrificing (the of November (vi. 25), or 18th of Octo- 
 
 pluperf.). ber, a.d. 31. The 'triennium' would 
 
 regis'} That is, the Parthian king, include any time in a.d. 35, up to 18th 
 
A.D. 35, 36.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 261 
 
 preces satias mitigabant, quin incerta vel abolita pro gravissimis 
 et recentibus puniret. eo inetu Fulcinius Trio, ingruentis accu- 
 satores bau perpessus, supremis tabulis multa et atrocia in 
 Macronem ac praecipuos libertorum Caesaris conposuit, ipsi 
 fluxam senio men tern et continue abscessu velut exilium ob- 
 iectando. quae ab heredibus occultata recitari Tiberius iussit, 
 patientiam libertatis alienae ostentans et contemptor suae in- 
 famiae, an scelerum Seiani diu nescius mox quoquo modo dicta 
 vulgari malebat veritatisque, cui adulatio officit, per probra 
 saltern gnarus fieri, isdem diebus Granius Marcianus senator, a 
 C. Graccbo maiestatis postulatus, vim vitae suae attulit, Tariusque 
 Gratianus praetura functus lege eadem extremum ad supplicium 
 damnatus. 
 
 • 39. Nee dispares Trebellieni Eufi et Sextii Paconiani exitus : 
 nam Trebellienus sua manu cecidit, Paconianus in carcere ob 
 carmina illic in principem factitata strangulatus est. baec 
 Tiberius non mari, ut olim, divisus neque per longinquos nuntios 
 accipiebat, sed urbem iuxta, eodem ut die vel noctis interiectu 
 litteris consulum rescriberet, quasi aspiciens undantem per domes 
 sanguinem aut manus carnificum. fine anni Poppaeus Sabinus 
 concessit vita, modicus originis, principum amicitia consulatum ac 
 triumphale decus adeptus maximisque provinciis per quattuor et 
 viginti annos inpositus, nullam ob eximiam artem, sed quod par 
 negotiis neque supra erat. 
 
 40. Quintus Plautius Sex. Papinius consules sequuntur. eo 
 anno * * * neque quod L. Aruseius morte adfecti forent, ad- 
 suetudine malorum ut atrox advertebatur, sed exterruit quod 
 Yibulenus Agrippa eques B-omanus, cum perorassent accusatores, 
 in ipsa curia depromptum sinu venenum bausit, prolapsusque ac 
 moribundus festinatis lictorum manibus in carcerem raptus est, 
 faucesque iam exanimis laqueo vexatae. ne Tigranes quidem, 
 
 of October, and the four years would only 40. Sex. Papinius'] There is an inscrip- 
 
 be complete in October. See Nipperdey's tion to " Sexto Papinio Q. f. Allieno, tr. mil. 
 
 note. q(uaestori) leg. (legionis) Ti. Caesaris 
 
 continuo abscessu] This is really an Aug., tr. pi. pr(aetori) leg. Ti. Caesaris 
 
 instrumental ablative: *a state which, Aug.,propr(aetore) cos.xv. vir sacr. fac." 
 
 by reason of his uninterrupted absence, vexatae] Perhaps the reason of the 
 
 was equivalent to exile.' Below, Tarius indecent haste was to secure his pro- 
 
 Gratianus was son of L. Tarius Rufus, perty, by confiscation, to the exche- 
 
 who was consul sujBTectus 16 a.c, a posi- quer. In the case of those who des- 
 
 tion to which he attained in spite of his patched themselves, their effects were 
 
 low birth, by his military ability (Plin. allowed to remain undisturbed. Possibly 
 
 N. H. xviii. 6). also it was done to secure to the in- 
 
 39. mart] The strait between Ca- formers their blood-money, 
 
 preae and the mainland. Tigranes] This Tigranes seems to 
 
262 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 789. 
 
 Armenia quondam potitus ac tunc reus^ nomine regio supplicia 
 civium effugit. at C. Gralba consularis et duo Blaesi voluntaiio 
 exitu cecidere, Galba tristibus Caesaris litteris provinciam sortiri 
 proliibitus; Blaesis sacerdotia^ integra eorum domo destinata, 
 convulsa distulerat, tunc ut vacua contulit in alios, quod signum 
 mortis intellexere et exsecuti sunt, et Aemilia Lepida, quam 
 iuveni Druso nuptam rettuli, crebris criminibus maritum insectata, 
 quamquam intestabilis, tamen impunita agebat, dum superf'uit 
 pater Lepidus : post a delatoribus corripitur ob servum adulterum, 
 nee dubitabatur de flagitio : ergo omissa defensione finem vitae 
 sibi posuit. 
 
 41. Per idem tempus Clitarum natio Cappadoci Arcbelao 
 subiecta, quia nostrum in modum deferre census, pati tributa 
 adigebatur, in iuga Tauri mentis abscessit locorumque ingenio 
 sese contra imbelles regis copias tutabatur, donee M. Trebellius 
 legatus, a Yitellio praeside Syriae cum quattuor milibus legio- 
 nariorum et delectis auxiliis missus, duos collis, quos baibari 
 insederant (minori Cadra, alteri Davara nomen est), operibus 
 circumdedit et erumpere ausos ferro, ceteros siti ad deditionem 
 coegit. 
 
 At Tiridates volentibus Partbis Nicepborium et Antbemu,siada 
 ceterasque urbes, quae Macedonibus sitae Graeca vocabula 
 usurpant, Halumque et Artemitam Partbica oppida recepit, cer- 
 tantibus gaudio qui Artabanum Scythas inter eductum ob saevitiam 
 exsecrati come Tiridatis ingenium Romanas per artes sperabant. 
 
 have been the son of Alexander (son of mentioned in ii. 42, 56, for he died many 
 
 Herod the Great), by the daughter of years before the date of the present 
 
 Archelaus, king of Cappadocia (ii. 42). events. 
 
 See Joseph. Antiq. xviii. 5. 4. The C. ferro] Here some word can be supplied 
 
 Galba, mentioned below, was brother of from ' ad deditionem coegit,' such as 
 
 the Emperor Galba (Suet. Galb. 3.) ' trucidavit,' ' cecidit,' or the like. 
 
 convulsa djistvlerat] Tiberius had pro- Macedonibus] Apparently this is the 
 
 mised the sacred offices to the Blaesi, dative case, in the sense of the instru- 
 
 while their house was prosperous, and mental ablative, a use very common in 
 
 Sejanus, with whom they were connected, Tacitus. Cf. ii. 50, xv. 28, H. i. 7. 
 
 in favour: on the ruin of their house 'Sitae' is for' conditae,' a usage jieculiar 
 
 ('domo convulsa'), these offices were to Tacitus, iii. 38, "urbemque Philip, 
 
 withheld, and then bestowed on others. popolim a Macedone Philippo sitam." 
 
 rettuU] This must have been in a Nicephorium is in Mesopotamia, at the 
 
 portion of the fifth book of the Annals, junction of the Billicha with the l^uphra- 
 
 now lost. The Drusus here mentioned tes. Anthemusias, Anthemusia, or 
 
 was the son of G«rmanicus, who married Anthemus, was also in Mesopotamia, 
 
 the daughter of Marcus Aemilius Lepi- between Edessa and the Euphrates. Arte- 
 
 dus, consul 6 a.d. mita was in Assyria, east of the Tigris, 
 
 41. Clitarum natio] The Clitae were and about 60 miles east from Seleucia 
 
 a tribe of Cilicia Trachea. Archelaus, of on the Tigris (Strabo, xvi. 1. 17) . Halus 
 
 course, was not the king of Cappadocia is only mentioned by Tacitus. 
 
A.D. 36.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. YI. 263 
 
 42. Plurimum adulationis Seleucenses induere^ ci vitas potens, 
 saepta muris neque in barbarum. corrupta, sed conditoris Seleuci 
 retinens. trecenti opibus aut sapientia delecti ut senatus, sua 
 populo vis. et quoties Concordes agunt, spernitur Partkus : ubi 
 dissensere, dum sibi quisque contra aemulos subsidium vocant, 
 accitus in partem adversum omnes valescit. id nuper acciderat 
 Artabano regnante, qui plebem primoribus tradidit ex suo usu : 
 nam populi imperium iuxta libertatem, paucorum dominatio 
 regiae libidini propior est. turn adventantem Tiridaten extollunt 
 veterum regum honoribus et quos recens aetas largius invenit ; 
 simul probra in Artabanum fundebant^ materna origine Arsaciden, 
 cetera degenerem. Tiridates rem Seleucensem populo permittit. 
 mox consultanSj quonam die sollemnia regni capesseret. litteras 
 Phraatis et Hieronis, qui validissimas praefecturas optinebant, 
 accipit, brevem moram precantium. placitumque opperiri viros 
 praepoUentis, atque interim Ctesiphon sedes imperii petita : sed 
 ubi diem ex die prolatabant, multis coram et adprobantibus 
 Surena patrio more Tiridaten insigni regio evinxit. 
 
 43. Ac si statim interiora ceterasque nationes petivisset, 
 oppressa cunctantium dubitatio et omnes in unum cedebant : 
 adsidendo castellum^ in quod pecuniam et paelices Artabanus 
 contulerat, dedit spatium exsuendi pacta, nam Phraates et 
 Hiero et si qui alii delectum capiendo diademati diem baut con- 
 celebraverant, pars metu, quidam invidia in Abdagaesen^ qui tum 
 
 42. in harharurn] That is, tls rh fidp- seems an unusual expression. ' Concele- 
 Papov. Cf. H. V. 2, " aucto in barbarum brare 'is often used (as 'celebrare' is also), 
 cognomento ludaeos vocitari." in the sense of ' to visit in crowds.' * Con- 
 
 opihus aut sapientia] For this ablative celebrare fiinus,' ' oonvivium,' and the 
 
 (in the sense of, * by reason of their in- like, are found, and are intelligible 
 
 fluence or wasdom'), see note on iii. 24. enough. Also, ' concelebrare diemmero' 
 
 Nipperdey quotes Cic. de Fin. i. 13, is ' to mark a day by festivity and indulg- 
 
 " gubematoris ars utilitate non arte ence in wine.' But the meaning here 
 
 laudatur," and also de Fin. ii. 26, " si appears to be akin to the former rather 
 
 fructibus et emolumentis et utilitatibus than the latter sense. Tacitus can 
 
 amicitias colemus." hardly imply that Phraates and others 
 
 iuxta libertaterri] Cf Germ. 30, "velo- had not marked the day as a holiday, 
 
 citas iuxta formidinem, cunctatio pro- but that they had not chosen to attend 
 
 pior constantiae est." on the day appointed for the corona- 
 
 /Swrena] The Surena was a dignitary tion. Below, for the dative of the ge- 
 
 at the Parthian Court, ranking next to rundive and substantive * reddendae 
 
 the king. dominationi,' to express the aim or pur- 
 
 evinxif] 'Evincire' is the word spe- pose, cf.ii. 21, "subducitexacie legionem 
 
 cially used in this connexion. Cf. xi. 4, faciendis castris ;" H. iii. 57, " lulianum, 
 
 " Claudium spicea corona evinctum ;" XV. permulcendis militum animis delegit;' 
 
 2, "diademate caput Tiridatis evinxit;" H. iii. 20, " balineas abluendo cruori pro- 
 
 and H. iv. 53, " spatium omne evinctum pere petit." This use is found mainly, if 
 
 vittis coronisque." not entirely, in late writers. Tacitus 
 
 43. diem haut concelebraveranf} This employs this construction after many 
 
264 COKNELTI TACITI [a.u.c. 789, 7i'0. 
 
 aula et novo rege potiebatur, ad Artabanum vertere; isque in 
 Hyrcanis repertus est, inluvie obsitus et alimenta arcu expedieas. 
 ac primo tamquam dolus pararetur territus, ubi data fides lod- 
 dendae dominationi venisse, adlevatur animum et quae repenrina 
 mutatio exquirit. turn Hiero pueritiam Tiridatis increpat, necjue 
 penes Arsaciden imperium, sed inane nomen apud inbellem ex- 
 terna mollitia, vim in Abdagaesis domo. 
 
 44. Sensit vetus regnandi falsos in amore odia non fingere. 
 nee ultra moratus, quam dum Scytharum auxilia conciret, pergit 
 properus et praeveniens inimicorum astus, amicorum paenitentiam ; 
 neque exsuerat paedorem, ut vulgum miseratione advert(3ret. 
 non fraus, non preces, nihil omissum quo ambiguos inliceret, 
 prompti firmarentur. iamque multa manu propinqua Seleuciae 
 adventabat, cum Tiridates simul fama atque ipso Artabano per- 
 culsus distrabi consiliis, iret contra an bellum cunctatione tractaret. 
 quibus proelium et festinati casus placebant, disiectos et longin- 
 quitate itineris fessos ne animo quidem satis ad obsequium 
 coaluisse disserunt, proditores nuper hostesque eius, quem rm-sum 
 foveant. verum Abdagaeses regrediendum in Mesopotainiam 
 censebat, ut amne obiecto, Armeniis interim Elymaeisque et 
 ceteris a tergo excitis, aucti copiis socialibus et quas dux Eo- 
 manus misisset fortunam temptarent. ea sententia valuit, quia 
 plurima auctoritas penes Abdagaesen et Tiridates ignavus ad 
 pericula erat. sed fugae specie discessum; ac principio a gente 
 Arabum facto ceteri domes abeunt vel in castra Artabani, donee 
 Tiridates cum paucis in Syriam revectus pudore proditionis omnes 
 exsolvit. 
 
 45. Idem annus gravi igne urbem adficit, deusta parte circi, 
 quae Aventino contigua, ipsoque Aventino ; quod damnum Caesar 
 ad gloriam vertit exsolutis domuum et insularum pretiis. milies 
 
 adjectives, as : 'idoneus' (i. 23) ^ *acer' recentia veteraque odia advertit." 
 
 (H.ir. 1); ' inliabilis ' (iii. 43) ; 'impene- propinqua Seleuciae] This is the 
 
 trabilis ' (iii. 43). Below, for the omis- accusative, of course governed by the pre - 
 
 sion of * esset' after * mutatio,' see note position in * adventabat.' This use of 
 
 i. 2, under * postquam.' compounded verbs is common in Tacitus : 
 
 44. /aZsos m amore] The love, I think, is 'advolvi' (i. 13), * adsidere ' (iv. 58, vi. 
 
 the love which the applicants professed 43) are similarly constructed, 
 
 to have for Artabanus. The crafty old pudore] Cf. H. iii. 61, " Pris^cus et 
 
 king thought their hatred against Tiri- Alfenus ad Yitellium regressi, pudore 
 
 dates was a good deal more genuine than proditionis cunctos exsolverent." When 
 
 their love for himself. a man is untrue to himself, and abandons 
 
 adverteret] ' Might draw over to him- his own cause, his adherents need hardly 
 
 self.' Cf. i; 41, " gemitusque ac planctus feel ashamed if they abandon him too. 
 
 etiam militum aures oraque advertere," 45. insulamm] An ' insula ' was a 
 
 and iv. 21, " atque illiceadem actitando detached dwelling, unconnected by party 
 
A.D. 36, 37.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. VI. 265 
 
 sestertium in munificent ia conlocatum, tanto acceptius in vulgum, 
 quanto modicus privatis aedificationibus ne publice quidem nisi 
 duo opera struxit, templum Augusto et scenam Pompeiani theatri ; 
 eaque perfecta, contemptu ambitionis an per senectutem, hau 
 dedicavit. sed aestimando cuiusque detrimento quattuor pro- 
 generi Caesaris, Cn. Domitius, Cassius Longinus, M. Yinicius, 
 Rubellius Blandus delecti additusque nominatione consulum P. 
 Petronius. et pro ingenio cuiusque quaesiti decretique in prin- 
 cipem honores ; quos omiserit receperitve, in incerto fuit ob pro- 
 pinquum vitae finem. neque enim multo post supremi Tiberio 
 consules, Cn. Acerronius C. Pontius, magistratum occepere, nimia 
 iam potentia Macronis, qui gratiam C. Caesaris numquam sibi 
 neglectam acrius in dies fovebat impuleratque post mortem 
 Claudiae, quam nuptam ei rettuli, uxorem suam Enniam imitando 
 amorem iuvenem inlicere pactoque matrimonii vincire, nihil ab- 
 nuentem, dum dominationis apisceretur; nam etsi commotus in- 
 genio simulationum tamen falsa in sinu avi perdidicerat. 
 
 46. Gnarum hoc principi, eoque dubitavit de tradenda re pu- 
 blica, primum inter nepotes, quorum Druso genitus sanguine et 
 caritate propior, sed nondum pubertatem ingressus, Germanici 
 filio robur iuventae, vulgi studia, eaque aput avum odii causa, 
 etiam de Claudio agitanti, quod is conposita aetate bonarum 
 artium cupiens erat, imminuta mens eius obstitit. sin extra 
 domum successor quaereretur, ne memoria Augusti, ne nomen 
 Caesarum in ludibria et contumelias verterent metuebat : quippe 
 illi non perinde curae gratia praesentium quam in posteros am- 
 bitio. mox incertus animi, fesso corpore, consilium, cui impar 
 
 walls witli any other building. Gene- adeptua est" occurs where the expla- 
 
 rally it is used for a block containing nation is the same. Suetonius makes 
 
 several apartments or shops, let out to Ennia more sinned against than sinning, 
 
 different tenants, in flats or otherwise. " Enniam Naeviam, Mj^cronis uxorem, sol- 
 
 quattuor progeneri] Domitius married licitavit ad stuprum, pollicitus et matri- 
 
 Agrippina (iv. 75) ; Longinus, Drusilla; monium suumsi potitus imperio fuisset" 
 
 Vinicius, Julia ; all daughters of Ger- (Calig. 12) . Dion Cassius (Iviii. 28) 
 
 manicus. Rubellius Blandus married agrees with Tacitus. There does not 
 
 Julia, daughter of Drusus, and grand- seem to have been much to* choose be- 
 
 daughter of Tiberius (vi. 27). tween the two, and it is not always easy 
 
 Cn. Acerronius^ Cn. Acerronius Pro- to decide which is the seducer and which 
 
 cuius was proconsul of Achaia. Caius the victim. 
 
 Petronius Pontius Nigrinus was, accord- 46. conposita aetate] Claudius was 
 
 ing to Borghesi, the adopted son of C. bom 10 A.c, and was therefore 46 years 
 
 Petronius Umbrinus, who was consul old now (Suet. Claud. 2). Suetonius 
 
 suffectus A.D. 25. (Claud. 3) says that Claudius devoted 
 
 apiscerttur] The genitive, only found, considerable time and attention to lite- 
 
 I believe, here, is to be explained by the rature, and published early specimens of 
 
 fact that ' apisci' is equivalent in mean- his writings ; but in spite of this, could 
 
 ing to ' potiri.' So in iii. 55, " rerum not make people think well of him. 
 
266 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.'c. 79). 
 
 erat^ fato permisit, iactis tamen vocibus per quas intellegeretur 
 providus futurorum; namque Macroni non abdita ambage occi- 
 dentem ab eo deseri^ orientem spectari exprobravit. et 0. 
 Caesari, forte orto sermone L. Sullam inridenti, oirinia Sullae vitia 
 et nullam eiusdem virtutem babiturum praedixit. simul crebris 
 cum lacrimis minorem ex nepotibus conplexus, truci alterius vultu, 
 ^'occides tunc tu^^ inquit ^^ et te alius/^ sed gravescente vaii- 
 tudine nihil e libidinibus omittebat^ in patientia firmitudinem 
 simulans solitusque eludere medicorum artes atque eos, qui post 
 tricesimum aetatis annum ad internoscenda corpori suo utilia vel 
 noxia alieni consilii indigerent. 
 
 47. Interim Romae futuris etiam post Tiberium caedibus semina 
 iaciebantur. Laelius Balbus Acutiam, P. Yitellii quondam uxo- 
 rem, maiestatis postulaverat ; qua damnata cum praemium accu- 
 satori decerneretur^ lunius Otbo tribunus plebei intercessit^ unde 
 illis odia, mox Othoni exitium. dein multorum amoribus famosa 
 Albucilla, cui matrimonium cum Satrio Secundo coniurationis 
 indice fuerat, defertur inpietatis in principem ; conectebantur ut 
 conscii et adulteri eius Cn. Domitius, Vibius Marsus, L. Arruntius. 
 de claritudine Domitii supra memoravi; Marsus quoque vetustis 
 honoribus et inlustris studiis erat. sed testium interrogationi, 
 tormentis servorum Macronem praesedisse commentarii ad sena- 
 tum missi ferebant, nullaeque in eos imperatoris litterae suspi(,'io- 
 nem dabant, invalido ac fortasse ignaro ficta pleraque ob ini- 
 micitias Macronis notas in Arruntium. 
 
 48. Igitur Domitius defensionem meditans_, Marsus tamqnam 
 inediam destinavisset, produxere vitam : Arruntius_, cunctationem 
 et moras suadentibus amicis, non eadem omnibus decora re- 
 spondit : sibi satis aetatis, neque aliud paenitendum quam quod 
 
 non ahdita ambage] ' With no hidden Balbus, because the latter was baulked 
 
 circumlocution.' Here was no beating of his expected remuneration for his 
 
 about the bush, Tiberius spoke out his attack on Acutia. 
 
 thoughts undisguisedly to Macro. coniurationis'\ The conspiracy of Se- 
 
 minorem] That is, Tiberius, son of janus to get rid of Tiberius, and place 
 
 Drusus (by Livia, sister of Germanicus), himself on the throne. 
 
 and grandson of Tiberius. He was put comni'jntarii] The documents for- 
 
 to death by Caligula immediately after warded to the senate with the details 
 
 his accession to the throne. and results of the examination of wit- 
 in. patientia] ' In the midst of his nesses, spoke of the investigation as con- 
 
 suffei-ing.' ducted under the presidency of Macro, 
 
 47. Laelius Balbus] Perhaps the son acting on his own responsibility, or at 
 
 of D. Laelius Balbus, who was consul all events without any authority from 
 
 6 A.c. and quindecemvir Bacris faciundis the senate. 
 
 17 A.c. 48. aliud paeniteivdum] Dra«ger re- 
 
 unde UUs odia] That is, Otho and marks that this is a use. of 'paeniten- 
 
A.D. 37.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. YI. 267 
 
 inter ludibria et pericula anxiam senectam toleravisset_, diu Seiano, 
 nunc Macroni, semper alicui potentium invisus, non culpa^ sed ut 
 flagitiorum inpatiens. sane paucos et supremos principis dies 
 posse vitari : quem ad modum evasurum imminentis iuventam ? 
 an, cum Tiberius post tantam rerum experientiam \d domina- 
 tionis convulsus et mutatus sit, C. Caesarem vix finita pueritia, 
 ignarum omnium aut pessimis innutritum, meliora capessiturum 
 Macrone duce ? qui ut deterior ad opprimendum Seianum delec- 
 tus plura per scelera rem publicam conflictavisset. prospectare 
 iam se acrius servitium, eoque fugere simul acta et instantia. haec 
 vatis in modum dictitans venas resolvit. documento sequentia 
 erunt bene Arruntium morte usum. Albucilla inrito ictu ab 
 semet vulnerata iussu senatus in carcerem fertur. stuprorum eius 
 ministri, Carsidius Sacerdos praetorius ut in insulam deportaretur, 
 Pontius Fregellanus amitteret ordinem senatorium, et eaedem 
 poenae in Laelium Balbum decernuntur, id quidem a laetantibus, 
 quia Balbus truci eloquentia babebatur, promptus adversum in- 
 sontes. 
 
 49. Isdem diebus Sex. Papinius consulari familia repentinum et 
 informem exitum delegit, iacto in praeceps corpore. causa ad 
 matrem referebatur, quae pridem repudiata adsentationibus atque 
 luxu perpulisset iuvenem ad ea quorum effugium non nisi morte 
 inveniret. igitur accusata in senatu, quamquam genua patrum 
 advolveretur luctumque communem et magis inbecillum tali super 
 casu feminarum animum aliaque in eundem dolorem maesta et 
 miseranda diu ferret, urbe tamen in decem annos probibita est, 
 
 . dmiec minor filius lubricum iuventae exiret. 
 
 -^^v\ 50. Iam Tiberium corpus, iam vires, nondum dissimulatio de- 
 serebat : idem animi rigor ; sermone ac vultu intentus quaesita 
 
 dum' not found in Cicero. He uses tlie naturally weaker power of a woman to 
 
 the gerundive in an impersonal sense bear up against sorrow. Below, ' ferret * 
 
 only. Sallust, however, and Livy em- is equivalent to ' proferret,' ' dissereret,' 
 
 ploy it personally. Cf. Sail. Jug. 85, or the like. 
 
 "num id paenitendum est ?" and Liv. i. lubricum iuventae'] Cf xiii. 2, " quo 
 
 35, " sub hand paenitendo magistro." facilius lubricam principis aetatem, si 
 
 ut in insulam deportaretur'] This de- virtutem aspemaretur, voluptatibus con- 
 
 pends on 'decemitur,' supplied from cessisretinerent;" and xiv. 56, "lubricum 
 
 * decemuntur,' and taken of course im- adulescentiae." 
 
 personally. 50. intentus] The conversation of Tibe- 
 
 49. consulari famiUa'] He must have rius was as vigorous, and his expression as 
 
 been apparently son of Sextus Papinius firmly set as ever. There was no ram- 
 
 Allenius, consid 36 a.d. (vi. 40). bling talk nor wandering looks, such as 
 
 luctv/mque communem] 'Grief felt equal- one might expect to find in a man sink- 
 
 ly by all,' the grief all feel at the loss of a ing into his grave. For ' in villa ' below, 
 
 son, increased in this particular case by cf. Phaed. ii. 5, " Caesar Tiberius cum 
 
.268 COKNELII TACITI La.u.c. 790. 
 
 , interdum comitate quamvis manifestam defectionem tegebat. 
 mutatisque saepius locis tandem apud promunturium Miseni con- 
 sedit in villa, cui L. Lucullus quondam dominus. illic eum adpro- 
 pinquare supremis tali modo compertum. erat medicus arte 
 . insignis, nomine Charicles, non quidem regere valitudines principis 
 solitus, consilii tamen copiam praebere. is velut propria ad 
 negotia digrediens et per speciem officii manum complexus pulsum- 
 venarum attigit. neque fefellit : nam Tiberius, incertum an 
 offensus tantoque magis iram premens, instaurari epulas iubet 
 discumbitque ultra solitum, quasi honori abeuntis amici tribuei'et. 
 Charicles tamen labi spiritum nee ultra biduum duraturum ]\la- 
 croni firmavit. inde cuncta conloquiis inter praesentes, nuntiis 
 apud legates et exercitus festinabantur. septimum decimum kal. 
 Aprilis interclusa anima creditus est mortalitatem explevisse; et 
 multo gratantum concursu ad capienda imperii primordia C. 
 Caesar egrediebatur, cum repente adfertur redire Tiberio vocem 
 ac visus vocarique qui recreandae defectioni cibum adferrent. 
 pavor hinc in omnes, et ceteri passim dispergi, se quisque maes- 
 tum aut nescium fingere; Caesar in silentium fixus a summa spe 
 novissima expectabat. Macro intrepidus opprimi senem iniectu 
 multae vestis iubet discedique ab limine, sic Tiberius finivit, 
 octavo et septuagesimo aetatis anno. 
 
 51. Pater ei Nero et utrimque origo gentis Claudiae, quamquam 
 mater in Liviam et mox luliam familiam adoptionibus transierit. 
 casus prima ab infantia ancipites ; nam proscriptum patrem exul 
 secutus, ubi domum Augusti privignus introiit, multis aemalis 
 conflictatus est, dum Marcellus et Agrippa, mox Gains Luciusque 
 
 petens Neapolim in Misenensem villam works of Seneca (the younger). Dion 
 
 venisset suam quae monte summo posita Cassius makes his death to have occurred 
 
 Luculli manu." on the 26th of March, Tacitus on the 16th 
 
 per speciem oJjUcii^ Cf. Suet. Tib. 72, (Iviii. 28). The secrecy and mysterious- 
 
 " Chariclem medicum quod manum sibi ness in which the old man shrouded his 
 
 osculandi causa apprehendisset." ' OflB.- movements in lifetime seem to liave 
 
 cium ' here is therefore ' a complimentary extended to his last moments. These 
 
 leave-taking.' variations in the accounts of even im- 
 
 finivit^ ' Died.' Compare the sense of portant events described years after 
 
 TeAcuTov in Greek. There is no other their occurrence, will not surprise any 
 
 example of the absolute use of this verb one who remembers the extreme diffi- 
 
 in this meaning, There is some difference culty of arriving at certainty in the 
 
 of details with resj)ect to the manner details of any event narrated by con- 
 
 and date of the death of Tiberius. Sue- temporaneous writers, 
 
 tonius (Calig. 12) speaks of a belief in an 51. Pater ei Nero'] This was Tib. (^lau- 
 
 attempt by poison before the final cata- dius Nero. The mother of Tibei-ius, 
 
 strophe. Seneca is said by Suetonius LiviaDrusilla (afterwards Julia Augusta), 
 
 (Tib. 73) to have left on record that he passed into the Livia Familia, by the 
 
 died of natural exhaustion. This account, adoption into it of her father, Livius 
 
 however, is not found in tho existing Drusus Claudianus. Cf. v. 1. 
 
A.D. 37.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. YL 269 
 
 Caesares viguere ; etiam frater eius Drusus prosperiore civium 
 amore erat. sed maxime in lubrico egit accepta in matrimonium 
 lulia, inpudicitiam uxoris tolerans aut declinans. dein Rhodo 
 regressus vacuos principis penates duodecim annis, mox rei 
 Romanae arbitrium tpibus ferme et viginti obtinuit. morum 
 quoque tempora illi diversa : egregium vita famaque^ quaad 
 privatus vel in imperiis sub Augusto fuit; occultum ac subdolum 
 fingendis virtutibus^ donee Germanicus ac Drusus superfuere ; 
 idem inter bona malaque mixtus incolumi matre; intestabilis 
 saevitia, sed obtectis libidinibus^ dum Seianum dilexit timuitve : 
 postremo in scelera simul ac dedecora prorupit^ postquam remote 
 pudore et metu suo tantum ingenio utebatur. H^ 
 
 egregium] Sc. ' tempus :' 'it was a is the sou of Tiberius, 
 period of excellence.' The Drusus below 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER XI. 
 
 . CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1 — 3. Impeachment and death of Valerius Asiaticus. 4. Death of the 
 Petrae. 5. Demand for the adoption of the Lex Cincia, and 6, 7. Discussion 
 thereon. 8 — 10. Intestine broils amongst the Parthians. 11. The ludi saecu- 
 lares celebrated. 12. Messalina enamoured of C. Silius. 13. Legislation of 
 Claudius. 14. Theories of the origin of letters. Letter added to the alphabet 
 by Claudius. 15. Enactment with reference to the haruspices. 16. Italicus 
 made king over the Cherusci. 17. His subsequent vicissitudes of fortune. 18. 
 Eebellion of the Chauci, under Gannascus, repressed by Corbulo. 19. Settle- 
 ment of the Frisii. Death of Gannascus. 20. Corbulo retreats by the command 
 of Claudius. He obtains the insignia of triumph, also granted to Curtius Rufus. 
 21. Account of Rufus. 22. Death of Nonius. Remarks on the quaestorsliip. 
 23 — 25. Claim of the Gauls to the jus honorum discussed and granted. A 
 census taken. 26, 27. Messalina married to C. Silius. 28. Dismay at court. 
 29, 30. The conveyal of the truth to Claudius. 31. Dismay of the emperor. 
 Messalina engaged in Bacchanalian orgies. 32. Alarm of the guilty pair. 33. 
 Narcissus urges on Claudius, and 34. frustrates the devices of Messalina. 
 35, 36. He leads Claudius to the camp. Punishment of Proculus and ethers. 
 37, 38. Last moments of Messalina. 
 
 1. * * nam Yalerium Asiaticum, bis consulem, fuisse quondam 
 adulterum eius credidit ; pariterque liortis inhians^ qups illo a 
 Lucullo coeptos insigni magnificentia extoUebat^ Suillium accu- 
 
 1. Valeriwn Asiaticum] He was con- eius] Apparently of Poppaea Sabina, 
 
 sul, for the second time, a.d. 46, and daughter of Poppaeus Sabinus (vi. 39). 
 
 consul suflfectus in some year unknown. The subject of 'credidit' is Messalina, 
 
 He was also praefectua urbi (Inscrip. the wife of Claudius. 
 
 Graec. n. 2587). extollehat] 'Impi-oved.' Cf. xiii. 21, 
 
AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XL 271 
 
 sandis utrisque immittit. adiungitur Sosibius Britannici educator, 
 qui per speciem benevolentiae moneret Claudium caveri vim 
 atque opes principibus infensas : praecipuum auctorem Asiaticum 
 interficiendi G. Caesaris non extimuisse contione in populi Ro- 
 mani fateri gloriamque facinoris ultro petere; clarum ex eo in 
 urbe, didita per provincias fama parare iter ad Germanicos 
 exercitus, quando genitus Viennae multisque et validis pro- 
 pinquitatibus subnixus turbare gentiles nationes promptum 
 haberet. at Claudius nihil ultra scrutatus citis cum militibus 
 tamquam opprimendo bello Crispinum praetorii praefectum 
 misit, a quo repertus est apud Baias vinclisque inditis in urbem 
 raptus. 
 
 2. Neque data senatus copia : intra cubiculum auditur, Messa- 
 lina coram et Suillio corruptionem militum, quos pecunia et stupro 
 in omni flagitio obstrictos arguebat, exin adulterium Poppaeae 
 ac postremum mollitiam corporis obiectante. ad quod victo 
 silentio prorupit reus et " interroga '' inquit, " Suilli, filios tuos : 
 
 *' Baiarmn suaruin piscinas extollebat." only be used where there could be no 
 
 These gardens were a favourite resort of ambiguity, and the 'Caesar' would at 
 
 Messalina. Cf. xi. 32, " Messalina Lucul- once be understood to be the reigning 
 
 lianos in hortos, Silius ad munia fori princeps, and the natural subject of the 
 
 digrediuntur." The 'gardens' of the narrative. So iv. 6, where 'Caesar,' of 
 
 wealthy nobles were most luxurious re- course, is the Caesar on the throne 
 
 treats, containing trees, woods, some- (Tiberius) ; cf. xi. 2. Or it can be used as 
 
 times with boars and deer, walking and a brief designation of a Caesar already 
 
 driving avenues, fountains, statues, &c. particularized, as in vi. 50, Gr. Caesar is 
 
 To express this, the plural 'horti' is used mentioned first, and then spoken of by 
 
 generally, 'hortus' being, as a rule, a the single name ' Caesar.' Here, conse- 
 
 kitchen-garden. The Britannicus men- quently, the praenomen could not be 
 
 tioned below is the son of Claudius. omitted, as Eitter justly argues. Below, 
 
 caven] This is the reading of the MS., 'didita' is a Virgilian and Lucretian 
 
 and may be correct. It is not quite the word : only found in prose here, Draeger 
 
 same, of course, as 'cavendam esse.' says. 
 
 Tacitus uses ' monere ' with an infinitive, 2. in omni flagitio'] This is not the 
 
 not as other writers do, in the sense of same as 'in omne flagitium,' the sense of 
 
 warning or reminding of a fact, but in which would be ' bound to the committal 
 
 the sense of warning to do or leave un- of any enormity he wanted done.' The 
 
 done something. Cf. xii. 46, "monet meaning here is rather 'bound to him 
 
 Radamistum obpugnationem celerare." throughout a practice of every enormity.' 
 
 Here, then, Tacitus might have written, In short, the ' flagitium ' was not pro- 
 
 * monet cavere vim;' and I do not see spective, but already practised, and so, 
 why the same idea might not be turned by fellowship in crime, the soldiers were 
 passively : ' he warns him that violence said to have becom^e the tools of Asia- 
 be guarded against ;' he warns him, that ticus. 
 
 is, so to arrange that there may be no victo silentio'] ' His resolve to be silent 
 
 room for violence. * Cavendam esse * being overcome.' Asiaticus had pre- 
 
 would be, ' he warns him, as a fact, that viously determined to keep silent, but he 
 
 violence ought to be guarded against.' could not maintain his resolution. Cf. 
 
 C. Caesaris] The Cod. Med. has only iv. 8, 'victo gemitu.' Below, for 'Vitel- 
 
 * Cesaris.' It is clear, I think, that Hum,' cf. vi. 28 ; and for ' Scipionem,' cf. 
 
 * Caesaris ' without a praenomen could iii. 74. 
 
272 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 80). 
 
 virum esse me fatebuntur/'' ingressusque defensionem, commoca 
 maiorem in modum Claudio_, Messalinae quoque lacrimas excivit. 
 quibus abluendis cubiculo egrediens monet Vitellium ne elabi 
 reum sineret : ipsa ad perniciein Poppaeae festinat^ subditis <^ui 
 terrore carceris ad voluntariam mortem propellerent, adeo ignaro 
 Caesare^ ut paucos post dies epulantem apud se maritum eius 
 Scipionem percontaretur, cur sine uxore discubuisset^ atque ille 
 functam fato responderet. 
 
 3. Sed consul tanti super absolutione Asiatici flens Yitellius^ cc»m- 
 memorata vetustate amicitiae utque Antoniam principis matrem 
 pariter observavissent^ dein percursis Asiatici in rem publicam 
 officiis recentique adversus Britanniam militia, quaeque alia conci- 
 liandae misericordiae videbantur, liberum mortis arbitrium ei 
 permisit ; et secuta sunt Claudii verba in eandem clementiam. 
 hortantibus debinc quibusdam inediam et lenem exitum, remittere 
 beneficium Asiaticus ait ; et usurpatis quibus insueverat exercita- 
 tionibus, lauto corpore, bilare epulatus_, cum se bonestius calliditate 
 Tiberii vel impetu 0. Caesaris periturum dixisset, quam quod 
 fraude muliebri et inpudico Vitellii ore caderet, venas exsolvit, 
 viso tamen ante rogo iussoque transferri partem in aliam, ne 
 opacitas arborum vapore ignis minueretur ; tantum illi securilatis 
 novissimae fuit. 
 
 4. Yocantur post haec patreSj pergitque Suillius addere reos 
 equites Romanes inlustres,, quibus Petra cognomentum. at causa 
 
 3. consuUanW] This dative is easy to their kind suggestion.' Cf. i. 8, " renii- 
 
 explain. It depends on ' permisit,' in sit Caesar adroganti moderatione." 
 
 the sense of permittendum suasit,' for, perituruni] Sc. 'fuisse. ' Cf. ii. 31, 
 
 of course, *ei' is Asiaticus, and not "petiturum se vitam quamvis nocenti, 
 
 merely a repetition of * consultanti ' after nisi voluntariam mortem properavisset." 
 
 a long parenthesis. Or, which is much secv/ritatis novissimae] 'Of all absence 
 
 the same thing, it is governed by the of concern at the close of life.' Cf. xvi. 
 
 general notion of * reply' in the following 11, " ne vitam proximo libertatem actam, 
 
 words : cf. ii. 76, " igitur quid agendum novissimo servitio foedaret." 
 
 consul tanti M. Piso properandum in 4. inlustres'] Cf. ii. 59. 
 
 urbem censebat." quibus Petra cognomentum] Tacitus 
 
 Antoniam] This was Antonia minor, had probably been unable to ascertain the 
 
 the wife of the elder Drusus, and the gentile name of these knights. But one 
 
 m.other of Claudius. would have expected their names, to be 
 
 conciUandae misericordiae] This is entered at full length in the ' acta sena- 
 
 the genitive case, depending on * esse ' tus.' For some reason or other, it seems 
 
 understood. Cf. Sail. Catil. 6, " quod as though Tacitus had not been able to 
 
 initio conservandae libertatis atque au- consult them, or, at all events, had con- 
 
 gendae reipublicae fuerat;" also Catil. suited them without success, atid he 
 
 46, " impunitatem perdundae reipublicae must have derived his information from 
 
 credebat;" andJugurth. 88, "quae post- some other source. See Orelli'f, note, 
 
 quam gloriosa modo neque belli patrandi The two words ' ut ' and * verum ' intro- 
 
 cognovit." duce the real and the assigned cause of the 
 
 remittere] ' He said that he declined accusation. The real grievance was that 
 
A.D. 47.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XL 273 
 
 necis ex eo, quod domum suam Mnesteris et Poppaeae congres- 
 sibus praebuissent. verum nocturnae quietis species alteri 
 obiecta, tamquam vidisset Claudium spicea corona evinctum, 
 spicis retro conversis, eaque imagine gravitatem annonae dixisset. 
 quidam pampineam coronam albentibus foliis visam atque ita 
 interpretatum tradidere, vergente autumno mortem principis 
 ostendi. illud hand ambigitur, qualicumque insomnio ipsi 
 fratrique perniciem adlatam. sestertium quindecies et insignia 
 praeturae Crispino decreta. adiecit Yitellius sestertium decies 
 Sosibio^ quod Britannicum praeceptis, Claudium consiliis iuvaret. 
 rogatus sententiam et Scipio, '^ cum idem '' inquit '^ de admissis 
 Poppaeae sentiam quod omnes, putate me idem dicere quod 
 omnes^^' eleganti temperamento inter coniugalem amorem et 
 senatoriam necessitatem. 
 
 5. Continuus inde et saevus accusandis reis Suillius multique 
 audaciae eius aemuli ; nam cuncta legum et magistratuum munia 
 in se trahens princeps materiam praedandi patefecerat. nee quic- 
 quam publicae mercis tam venale fuit quam advocatorum perfidia, 
 adeo ut Samius^ insignis eques Romanus^ quadringentis num- 
 morum milibus Suillio datis et cognita praevaricatione ferro in 
 domo eius incubuerit. igitur incipiente C. Silio consule desig- 
 nate, cuius de potentia et exitio in tempore memorabo, consurgunt 
 patres legemque Cinciam flagitant, qua cavetur ailtiquitus, ne 
 quis ob causam orandam pecuniam donumve accipiat. 
 
 the brothers had allowed Mnester and dually absorbed the functions of all the 
 
 Poppaea to meet at their house; the magistrates, and become the depository 
 
 ostensible complaint was that one of of all power. This opened to the band 
 
 them had interpreted a dream in a sense of informers an opportunity of preying 
 
 unfavourable to the Emperor's policy or upon their fellow-citizens, because they 
 
 health. had to work on the fears and dislikes of 
 
 eleganti temperamento] * A well-turned one man only, and there were no checks 
 compromise.' Scipio might have stood or counterchecks which might otherwise 
 up boldly for his wife, and declared his have arisen from the opposing jurisdiction 
 belief in her innocence ; or, on the other of the various magistrates (' tribuni pie- 
 hand, he might have entirely succumbed bis,' for instance). 
 
 to the necessity of his position as a sena- C Silio consule designato'] Apparently 
 
 tor, and have pronounced distinctly for he was * consul designatus ' for Novem- 
 
 his wife's condemnation. He did neither ber and December of the next year, a.d. 
 
 one nor the other, but hit upon an ambi- 48 ; for in that year his consulate is 
 
 guous phrase, which might equally well spoken of as ' propinquus ' (xii. 28), just 
 
 imply that he did, or did not, believe in before his death in October, 
 her guilt. * He agreed with other people :' legemque Oinciam] This was a ' pie- 
 
 his words could easily imply that he did biscitum ' passed when M. Cincius Ali- 
 
 not think <7iej/ believed Poppaea guilty mentus was' tribunusplebis,' 204 a.c. In 
 
 in their hearts ; or his words could the time of Augustus this was confirmed 
 
 equally well bear exactly the opposite bya'senatusconsultum' (xiii. 42, " repe- 
 
 interpretation. titum credebatur senatus consultum poe- 
 
 5. praedaTidi] The princeps had gra- naque Cinciao legis :" Dio Cass. liv. 18). 
 
274 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 80). 
 
 6. Deinde obstrepentibus iis, quibus ea contumelia parabati r, 
 discors Suillio Silius acriter incubuit^ veterum oratorum exem]:la 
 referens^ qui famam et posteros praemia eloquentiae cogitavisseiit. 
 pulcherrimam alioquin et bonarum artium principem sordidis iiii- 
 nisteriis foedari ; ne fidem quidem integram manere, ubi magjii- 
 tudo quaestuum spectetur. quod si in nuUius mercedem negdtia 
 eantj pauciora fore : "nunc iiiimicitias_, accusationes, odia et iniui-ias 
 foveri, ut quo modo vis morborum pretia medentibus, sic fori tabes 
 pecuniam advocatis ferat. meminissent Asiiiii_, Messalae ac 
 recentiorum Arruntii et Aesernini : ad summa provectos incor- 
 rupta vita et facundia. talia dicente consule designator consen- 
 tientibus aliis^ parabatur sententia^ qua lege repetundarum tene- 
 rentur, cum Suillius et Cossutianus et ceteri, qui non indicium, 
 quippe in manifestos, sed poenam statui videbant, circumsistunt 
 Caesarem, ante acta deprecantes. 
 
 7. Et postquam annuity agere incipiunt : quern ilium tanta su]3er- 
 bia esse, ut aeternitatem famae spe praesumat ? usui et rebus 
 subsidium praeparari, ne quis inopia advocatorum potentibus ob- 
 noxius sit. neque tamen eloquentiam gratuito contingere : onaitti 
 curas familiares, ut quis se alienis negotiis intendat. multos mi- 
 litia, quosdam exercendo agros tolerare vitam ; nihil a quoquam 
 expeti, nisi cuius fructus ante providerit. facile Asinium et JMes- 
 sallam, inter Antonium et Augustum bellorum praemiis refei'tos, 
 aut ditium familiarum beredes Aeserninos et Arruntios masTLium 
 
 6. negotia eanf] TMs is tlie reading and his party really thouglit th.ero was 
 
 of J. F. Gronovius, and is very near the any probability of a law of the kind being 
 
 readingof the MS., 'negotiant.' Draeger passed, or they only meant that if the 
 
 compares V, 1, " odia in permitiem itura," Cincia Lex were put in force (for it had 
 
 and xii. 68, "ire in melius valitudinem never been repealed, although disused), 
 
 principis." they would be subject to pains and jDenal- 
 
 Asinii^ This is C. Asinius PoUio ties, 
 
 (iv. 34) . For M. Messala Corvinus, cf. 7. quern illv/m'] Cf. xii. 36, " av(;bant- 
 
 vi. 11; for Arruntius, iii. 11, and for que visere quis ille tot per annos opes 
 
 Aeseminus, iii. 11. Cossutianus Capito" nostras sprevisset." Similarly, xiv. 22, 
 
 was accused of ' repetundae ' by the Cili- " hunc ilium numine deum de^tinari 
 
 cians, and condemned (xiii. 33). He was credebant." 
 
 restored to the senate by the influence of usui et rehus^ 'For the interests of 
 
 his father-in-law, Tigellinus (xiv. 48), society and the purposes of actual life.' 
 
 and afterwards accused Paetus Thrasea A distinction is made between tho mere 
 
 (xvi. 21). Cf. Juv. viii. 92, " quam ful- abstract desire of glory and the practical 
 
 mine iusto et Capito et Numitor ruerint uses for which the oratory of the advo- 
 
 damnante senatu." cate was cultivated. 
 
 ante acta deprecantes'] ' Imploring in- providerit] Not ' has foreseen ;' that 
 
 demnity for the past,' They begged would be 'praeviderit;' but 'has aranged 
 
 apparently that the law might not be for.' Nothing is to be required frcm any 
 
 retrospective in its enactments. I do man but that for which he has arranged 
 
 not quite understand whether Suillius to secure an adequate return. 
 
A.D. 47.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XL 275 
 
 animum induisse. prompta sibi exempla, quantis mercedibus 
 P. Clodius aut C. Curio contionari soliti sint. se modicos senatores, 
 quieta re publica nulla nisi pacis emolumenta petere. cogitaret 
 plebem, qua toga enilesceret : sublatis studiorum pretiis etiam 
 studia peritura. ut minus decora liaec_, ita baud frustra dicta 
 princeps ratus^ capiendis pecuniis modum fecit usque ad dena ses- 
 tertia, quern egressi repetundarum tenerentur. 
 
 8. Sub idem tempus Mitbridates^ quem imperitasse Armeniis ius- 
 suque Gai Caesaris vinctum memoravi^ monente Claudio in regnum 
 remeavit, fisus Pbarasmanis opibus. is rex Hiberis idemque Mi- 
 tbridatis frater nuntiabat discordare Partbos summaque imperii 
 ambigua, minora sine cura baberi. nam Gotarzes inter pleraque 
 saeva necem fratri Artabano coniugique ac filio eius paraverat, 
 unde metus in ceteros, et accivere Yardanen. ille_, ut erat magnis 
 ausis promptus, biduo tria milia stadiorum invadit ignarumque et 
 exterritum Gotarzen proturbat ; neque cunctatur quin proximas 
 praefecturas corripiat, solis Seleucensibus dominationem eius ab- 
 nuentibus. in quos, ut patris sui quoque defectores, ira magis 
 quam ex usu praesenti accensus, inplicatur obsidione urbis validae 
 et munimentis obiecti amnis muroque et commeatibus firmatae. 
 interim Gotarzes Dabarum Hyrcanorumque opibus auctus bellum 
 renovat, coactusque Yardanes omittere Seleuciam Bactrianos apud 
 campos castra contulit. 
 
 9. Tunc distractis orientis viribus et quonam inclinarent incertis, 
 casus Mitbridati datus est occupandi Armeniam^ vi militis Po- 
 
 quantis mercedibus] For instance, banus III. 
 
 P. Clodius received a bribe from Catilina, invadit] * Makes an attacking march 
 
 " ut turpissime praevaricaretur " (Cic. de over three thousand stadia.' ' Invadere ' 
 
 Harusp. resp. c. 20) ; and C. Curio re- here is used absolutely, and * tria milia ' 
 
 ceived a vast amount of money from is an accusative of space, or a cognate 
 
 C. Julius Caesar to defend his interests accusative like * ire viam.' The distance 
 
 (Suet. C. Julius Caes. 29). traversed was enormous, 375 Eoman miles 
 
 qiM toga enitesceref] ' He must think in two days and, of course, two nights, 
 
 of the inferior orders, how they were to Pliny speaks of Tiberius as having tra- 
 
 gain distinction in the gown of peace.' veiled 200 miles in a day and night (N. H. 
 
 ' Qua ' is put for ' quo modo,' ' quo pacto.' vii. 20) . 
 
 For the use of ' enitescere ' here, cf. xii. obiecti amnis] Seleucia was situated 
 
 58. Below, * teneri ' takes the construe- on the Tigris, which is the river here 
 
 tion of ' damnari,' to which it is equiva- spoken of. The Dahae were a nomad 
 
 lent in meaning. So in the Digests, Quin- race on the steppes east of the Caspian 
 
 tilian, and Cicero (de Leg. iii. 13). Sea. Bactriana was north of the Mons 
 
 8. swmmaque imperii] * The great in- Paropamisus, or Hindu Kush, and south 
 
 terests of the kingdom (the possession of of Sogdiana. 
 
 the throne, &c.) were in a state of uncer- 9. vi m,ilitis] 'With a force of Roman 
 
 tainty.' Gotarzes, Artabanus, and Var- soldiery (fit) to raze to the ground,' &c. 
 
 danes seem to have been all brothers For the construction, cf. H, i. 85, "ea 
 
 (' fratri Artabano,' ch. 8 ; * Gotarzes ©ratio ad perstringendos mulcendosque 
 
 fratri patefecit,'ch. 9), and sons of Arta- militvim animos." The ablative *vi' is 
 
 T 2 
 
276 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 803. 
 
 mani ad excindenda castellomm ardua, simul Hibero exerci'u 
 canipos persultante. nee enim restitere Armenii, fuso qui proeliiim 
 ausus erat Demonacte praefecto. paululum cunctationis attidit 
 rex minoris Armeniae Cotys, versis illuc 'quibusdam procerum; 
 dein litteris Caesaris coercitus, et cuncta in Mitbridaten fluxere, 
 quamquam atrociorem quam novo regno conduceret. at Paitbi 
 imperatores cum pugnam pararent^ foedus repente iaciunt cognitis 
 popularium insidiis^ quas Gotarzes fratri patefecit; congressique 
 primo cunctanter, dein complexi dextras apud altaria deum pepi- 
 gere fraudem inimicorum ulcisci atque ipsi inter se conced(3re. 
 potiorque Yardanes visus retinendo regno : at Gotarzes, ne quid 
 aemulationis exsisteret, penitus in Hyrcaniam abiit. regressoque 
 Vardani deditur Seleucia septimo post defectionem anno, non sine 
 dedecore Partborum, quos una civitas tarn diu eluserat. 
 
 10. Exin validissimas praefecturas in visit; et reciperare Arme- 
 nian! avebat,ni a Yibio Marso, Syriae legato, bellum minitante cobi- 
 bitus foret. atque interim Gotarzes paenitentia concessi regni et 
 vocante nobiUtate, cui in pace durius servitium est, contrabit 
 copias. et buic contra itum ad amnem Erinden ; in cuius trans- 
 gressu multum certato pervicit Vardanes, prosperisque proeliis 
 medias nationes subegit ad flumen Sinden, quod Dabas Ariosque 
 disterminat. ibi modus rebus secundis positus : nam Partbi 
 quamquam victores longinquam militiam aspernabantur. igitur 
 exstructis monimentis, quibus opes suas testabatur nee cuiquam 
 ante Arsacidarum tributa iUis de gentibus parta, regreditui* in- 
 gens gloria atque eo ferocior et subiectis intolerantior ; qui dolo 
 ante conposito ineautum venationique intent um interfecere, pri- 
 mam intra iuventam, sed claritudine paucos inter senum regrm, si 
 perinde amorem inter populares quam metum apud bostes qnaesi- 
 visset. nece Vardanis turbatae Partborum res inter ambii^ruos, 
 quis in regnum aceiperetur. multi ad Gotarzen incHnabant. qui- 
 dam ad Meberdaten prolem Phraatis, obsidio nobis datum : dein 
 
 really an instrumental one. The Roman league,' *made proposals for one,' equi- 
 
 troops were partly, at all events, the valent to "sermoneadefoedereiuiigendo 
 
 means whereby ho was able to seize on iaciunt." 
 
 Armenia. 10. 'pciucos inief^ ' Of celebrity such as 
 
 Parthi imperatores] Vardanes and few of even the long-lived kings attained 
 
 Gotarzes. ^ to.' Orelli compares Liv. xxii. 7, " inter 
 
 repente iaciunf] Tacitus is fond of paucas'memorata populi Romani clades," 
 
 this word ' iacere.' Cf xv. 50, " dum see- and xxxviii. 15, " inter paucas riunitae 
 
 lera principis inter se aut inter amicos urbes." Below, *obsidium ' occurs only 
 
 iaciunt;" vi. 31, "veteres Persarum ac here, in the sense of the position of one 
 
 Macedonum terminos iaciebat." Here the who is * obses.' 
 sense is, I think, * threw out talk of a 
 
A.D. 47.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XL 277 
 
 praevaluit Gotarzes. potitusque regiam per saevitiam ac luxum 
 adegit Parthos mittere ad principem Romanum occultas preces, 
 quis permitti Meherdaten patrium ad fastigium orabant. 
 
 ] 1. Isdem consulibus ludi seculares octingentesimo post Romam 
 conditam, quarto et sexagesimo quam Augustus ediderat spectati 
 sunt, utriusque principis rationes praetermitto, satis narratas 
 libris quibus res imperatoris Domitiani composui. nam is quoque 
 edidit ludos saeculares iisque intentius adfui sacerdotio quinde- 
 cimvirali praeditus ac tunc praetor, quod non iactantia refero, 
 sed quia collegio quindecimvirum antiquitus ea cura et magistratus 
 potissimum exsequebantur officia caerimoniarum. sedente Clau- 
 dio circensibus ludis, cum pueri nobiles equis ludicrum Troiae 
 inirent interque eos Britannicus imperatore genitus et L. Domi- 
 tius adoptione mox in imperium et cognomentum Neronis adscitus, 
 favor plebis acrior in Domitium loco praesagii acceptus est. vulga- 
 batui'que adfuisse infantiae eius dracones in modum custodum, 
 
 mittere] Tlie infinitive after ' adigere ' Ist celebration, 509 a.c. (instituted by 
 is common in Tacitus (iv. 29, 45, &c.). P. Valerius Publicola). 
 
 Another compound of the same verb* 2nd „ 449 a.c. 
 
 * agere,' viz., 'cogere,' generally takes the 3rd „ 249 a.c. 
 infinitive. 4th „ 149 a.c. 
 
 permitti] For the construction with If Claudius reckoned the games as pro. 
 
 * orare,' cf. Suet. Nero,' 47, " vel Aegypti perly celebrated every 100th year, then 
 praefecturam concedi sibi oraret." The they were due in a.d. 52 or a.u.c. 805, and 
 phrase is equivalent to " orabant ut Me- possibly he might have looked on them as 
 herdates sibi permitteretur (concedere- really to be celebrated by even centuries, 
 tur) quem patrium ad fastigium extoUe- or have thought the reckoning should be 
 rent." ' They entreated that Meherdates computed from the founding of Kome. 
 should be granted to them to hold the The last celebration was in the reign of 
 position belonging to his ancestors.' PhiUppus, in the 1000th year, as was 
 
 Meherdaten] Cf. xii. 10, from whence generally supposed, since the founding of 
 
 it appears that Meherdates was son of the city. For an account of the games, 
 
 Vonones, and grandson (prolem) of see Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Antiqui- 
 
 Phi-aates. ties. 
 
 11. utriusque principis rationes] The et magistratus] That is, the praetor 
 
 calculation of Augustus would appear to was especially charged with the celebra- 
 
 be as follows, according to Censorinus tion of the games. Tacitus was, there- 
 
 (de Die natali, xvii. 11) : — fore, present in a double capacity, as a 
 
 1st celebration of the Ludi member of the quindecimviral college, 
 
 Saeculares . . . 456 a.c. and also as praetor. The quindecimviri 
 
 2nd ..... 346 a.c. naturally were concerned, because they 
 
 3rd ..... 236 a.c. had the care of the Sibylline books, in 
 
 4th ..... 126 A.c. accordance with the directions in which 
 
 5th 17 A.c. these games were celebrated. Cf. Hor. 
 
 Here the celebrations recur at ihe close Carm. Saecul. 70, " quindecim Diana pre- 
 
 of 110 years (the last being one year ces virorum cxiret." 
 
 short), as Horace says, " Certus unde- ludicrum Troiae] Cf. Virg. Aen. v. 
 
 nos decies per annos, orbis ut cantus, 553 ; Suet: Aug. 43, and Dr. Smith's Dic- 
 
 referatque ludos " (Carm. Saec). tionary of Antiquities. L. Domitius was 
 
 Another computation is given by Yale- the son of Cn. Domitius and Agrippina 
 
 rius Antias, the old annalist, as fol- the younger, 
 lows : — 
 
278 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 80('. 
 
 fabulosa et externis miraculis adsimilata : nam ipse, haudquaquam 
 sui detractor, unam omnino anguem in cubiculo visam narrare 
 solitus est. 
 
 12. Yerum inclinatio populi supererat ex memoria Germanic i, 
 cuius ilia reliqua suboles virilis; et matri Agrippinae miseratio auge- 
 batur ob saevitiam Messalinae, quae semper infesta et tunc coni- 
 motior, quo minus strueret crimina et accusatores novo et furori 
 proximo amore distinebatur. nam in C. Silium, iuventutis Eo- 
 manae pulcherrimum, ita exarserat, ut luniam Silanam, nobilem 
 feminam, matrimonio eius exturbaret vacuoque adultero poteretur, 
 neque Silius flagitii aut periculi nescius erat : sed certo, si abnue- 
 ret, exitio et non nulla fallendi spe, simul magnis praemiis, opperiri 
 futura et praesentibus frui pro solacio babebat. ilia non furtim, 
 sed multo comitatu ventitare domum, egressibus adhaerescere, 
 largiri opes, bonores, postremo, velut translata iam fortuna, servi 
 liberti paratus principis apud adulterum visebantur. 
 
 13. At Claudius matrimonii sui ignarus et munia censoria usur- 
 pans, tbeatralem populi lasciviam severis edictis increpuit, quod in 
 P. Pomponium consularem (is carmina scaenae dabat) inque feminas 
 inlustres probra iecerat. et lege lata saevitiam creditorum coer- 
 cuit, ne in mortem parentum pecunias filiis familiarum faenori 
 darent. fontesque aquarum Simbruinis collibus deductos urbi 
 intulit. ac novas litterarum formas addidit vulgavitque, com- 
 
 12. Germanici] Germanicus (the patrum quidem mortem." The ' lex ' was 
 yoxmger) was the father of Agrippina the the 'senatus consultum Macedonian am.' 
 younger, and grandfather of Nero, who is By this, lending on ' post-obits ' was for- 
 the ' suboles virilis ' mentioned just below, bidden. No usurer was to lend money 
 
 distinehatu/r'] ' "Was distracted (from to sons, to be repaid after their accession 
 
 any idea of bringing forward a criminal to their father's property, 
 
 accusation).' Cf. xiv. 25, " quae facilius Simbruinis collibus'] These hillH are 
 
 proveniebant quia Parthi Hyrcano bello about 40 miles east of Eome, near Subla- 
 
 distinebantur ;" H. iv. 55, " omnis exer- queum. One aqueduct was begun by 
 
 citus suis quemque bellis distineri." Caligula, and finished by Claudius. I'^was 
 
 13. matrimonii sui] Cf. Juv. x. 342, about 46 miles long, and was supplied 
 " dedecus ille domi sciet ultimus." Clau- by two fountains, about 40 miles from 
 dius was ignorant of the position of his Eome. Besides this, Claudius also built 
 own married life ; he did not know how the AnienNovus, by which a portion of the 
 faithless his wife had proved, or her in- river Anio was brought to Rome. Ii: was 
 trigue with C. Silius. Similarly H. i. about 60 miles long. " Claudiae a quae 
 29, " amicorum libertorumque usque ad gelidos et uberes fontes, quorum alteri 
 culpam ignarus." Claudius was censor Caeruleo, alteri Curtio et Albudino nomen 
 with L. Vitellius : the office had been est, simulque rivum Anienis Novi lapideo 
 suspended since 22 A. c, when L. Muna- opere in urbem perduxit" (Suet. Claud, 
 tins Plancus and Paullus Aemilius Lepi- 20). The cost of all this, accordiag to 
 dus were censors (Suet. Claud. 16). Pliny (xxxvi. 15), was" quinquagiesquin- 
 
 in mortem jcurentum'] Cf. Suet. Vesp. quies et quingenties," not far from half 
 
 11, " auctor senatui fuit decernendi ne a million of money. 
 
 filiorum familias faeneratoribus exigendi novas littera/rum formas] Claudius in- 
 
 orediti ius iinquam esset, hoc est ne post troduced three symbols. An in-\erted 
 
A.D. 47.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 279 
 
 perto Graecam quoque litteraturam non simul coeptam absolu- 
 tamque. 
 
 14. Primi per figuras animalium Aegjptii sensus mentis effinge- 
 bant — ea antiquissima monimenta memoriae liumanae inpressa 
 saxis cernuntur — et litterarum semet inventores perhibent ; inde 
 Pboenicas, quia mari praepollebant, intulisse Graeciae gloriamque 
 adeptos_, tamquam reppererint quae acceperant. quippe fama est 
 Cadmum classe Phoenicum vectum rudibus adbuc Graecorum. 
 populis artis eius auctorem fuisse. quidam Cecropem Atbenien- 
 sem vel Liuum Tbebanum et temporibus Troianis Palamedem 
 Argivum memorant sedecim litterarum formas_, mox alios ac prae- 
 cipuum Simoniden ceteras repperisse. at in Italia Etrusci ab 
 Corintbio Demarato, Aborigines Arcade ab Evandro didicerunt ; 
 et formae litteris Latinis quae veterrimis Graecorum. sed nobis 
 quoque paucae primum fuere^ deinde additae sunt, quo exemplo 
 Claudius tres litteras adiecit, quae usui imperitante eo, post ob- 
 literataOj aspiciuntur etiam nunc in aere publicandis plebi SCtis 
 per fora ac temp la fixo. 
 
 (ki)j ' digamma,' for use in such words as added four, 0, E, *, X, and Simonides the 
 
 * vulgus,' or ' servus,' whicli were written remaining four, Z, H, "V, £1. The assertion 
 
 * uulgtis,' and ' seruus,' so that the same of the Egyptians that the Phoenicians 
 letter 'u' had two entirely different borrowed their letters from them, is with- 
 sounds. The ' digamma ' was, therefore, out foundation. 
 
 really useful in such cases. The second Aborigines'] It is apparently impos- 
 
 was an antisigma, )(, to represent 'ps.' sible to say whether the Etruscans ob- 
 
 And the third, I , possibly to represent a tained their alphabet from the Phoeni- 
 
 Bound midway between *i' and 'u.' cians (or Asia), or from the Greeks. Lanzi 
 
 Quintilian (i. 4. 7) , remarks that there is and Miiller believe the latter, Bruni and 
 
 a certain sound of a letter between 'u' Sharpe the former. The fact that their 
 
 and ' i ;' for we do not pronounce * opti- writing ran from right to left proves 
 
 mum ' like ' opimum.' Of the use of the nothing ; for the Greeks originally wrote 
 
 first of these, the ' digamma,' there are in the same manner. However, if the 
 
 many instances in Latin inscriptions. Etrusci were really, as seems probable, 
 
 The symbol 1 , for the sound between ' i ' a tribe who descended from the Rhaetian 
 
 and 'u,' seems to have been borrowed Alps, and conquered the Pelasgic inhabi- 
 
 from the old Oscan alphabet. See Do- tants of the low country which they en- 
 
 naldson's Varronianus, iii. § 4. Below, tered, they most likely received their al- 
 
 for the sense of ' litteraturam ' (the alpha- phabet from the Greek settlers along the 
 
 bet), cf. Cic. Orat. Partit. c. 7, "ilia (litte- western and southern shores of Italy, 
 
 ratura) constat ex notis litterarum et ex paucae primum fuere'] The old Latin 
 
 eo in quo imprimuntur illae notae." alphabet consisted of the sixteen Kad- 
 
 14. inde Phoenicas] That the Phoeni- mean letters ; or, according to Dr. Donald- 
 
 cians introduced letters into Greece was son (Varronianus vii. § 1), of nineteen, 
 
 the general opinion of the classical wri- viz., the aforesaid sixteen and the voca- 
 
 ters. Herodotus (v. 57) , and Pliny (N .H. lized consonants ' i ' and ' u,' and ' x ' (sh) . 
 
 vii. 56), both assert this. One need only Below, *usui' is not quite equivalent to 
 
 compare the names of the Greek letters, 'in usu,' 'in actual use;' but rather, 
 
 Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, &c., with the '(adopted) for convenience,' 'invented 
 
 Hebrew Aleph, Beth, Gimmel, Daleth, with a view to usefulness.' 
 
 &c., to see the certainty of the Semitic plebi Seas'] The reading of the Codex 
 
 origin of the Greek alphabet. Pliny re- Mediceus is ' plebiscitis.' A plebiscitum 
 
 marks that Palamedes, in the Trojan war, was properly an enactment passed by 
 
280 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8("0. 
 
 15. Rettulit deinde ad senatum super coUegio haruspicum_, ne 
 vetustissima Italiae disciplina per desidiam exolesceret : saepe 
 adversis rei publicae temporibus accitos, quorum monitu redinte- 
 gratas caerimonias et in posteruin rectius habitas ; primoresc[ue 
 Etruriae sponte aut patrum Romanorum inpulsu retinuisse scion- 
 tiam et in familias propagasse j quod nunc segnius fieri publica 
 circa bonas artes socordia, et quia externae superstitiones vale- 
 scant : et laeta quidem in praesens omnia, sed benignitati deum 
 gratiam referendam, ne ritus sacrorum inter ambigua culti per 
 prospera obliterarentur. factum ex eo senatus consultum, viderent 
 pontifices quae retinenda firmandaque haruspicum. 
 
 16. Eodem anno Cheruscorum gens regem Roma petivit, amissis 
 per interna bella nobilibus et uno reliquo stirpis regiae, qui apud 
 urbem habebatur nomine Italicus. paternum huic genus e Flavo 
 fratre Arminii, mater ex Catumero principe Cbattorum erat ; ipse 
 forma decorus et armis equisque in patrium nostrumque morem 
 exercitus. igitur Caesar auctum pecunia, additis stipatoribus, 
 hortatur gentile decus magno animo capessere : ilium primum 
 Romae ortum nee obsidem, sed civem ire externum ad imperium. 
 ac prime laetus Germanis adventus, atque eo quod nuUis discordiis 
 imbutus pari in omnes studio ageret celebrari, coli, modo comi- 
 tatem et temperantiam, nuUi invisa, saepius vinulentiam ac libi- 
 dines, grata barbaris, usurpans. iamque apud proximos, iam lon- 
 gius clarescere, cum potentiam eius suspectantes qui faction ibus 
 floruerant discedunt ad conterminos populos ac testificantur adimi 
 veterem Germaniae libertatem et Romanas opes insurgere. adeo 
 
 the Comitia Tributa on the rogation of tur." The sentence is elliptical, and ' qui 
 
 a Tribune, and not binding on the P^ - prohibuissent ' is easily supplied from the 
 
 tricii until after the passing of the Lex general sense of the passage ; and in xii. 
 
 Hortensia, 286 a.c. Under the emperors 47, ' prohibendo,' or similar word, 
 
 there were no * plebiscita,' properly so 16. equisqiie^ Cf. Germ. 6, ' ' equi 
 
 called, and as it is unlikely that Tacitus non forma non velocitate conspicui : sed 
 
 would have used the word as convertible nee variare gyros in morem nostrum do- 
 
 with ' leges,' the reading is probably cor- centur. In rectum aut uno flexu dextros 
 
 rupt, and I have adopted the emendation agunt, ita coniuncto orbe ut nemo poste- 
 
 of Grotius, who for ' plebiscitis ' reads rior sit." 
 
 * plebi SCtis ' (' senatus consultis '). Cf. gentile decus] ' The glory attached to 
 
 xii. 53, " fixum est aere publico senatus his tribe ' (the Cherusci). Cf. vi. 32, " qui 
 
 consultum." gentile imperium obtinebat." Tacitus 
 
 15. circa honas a/rtes] For the use observes elsewhere (Germ. 36), that the 
 of * circa,' cf. Germ. 28, " circa affecta- Cherusci, once regarded as all thsit was 
 tionem Germanicae originis ultro am- good, were at a later period looked on as 
 bitiosi ;" xi. 29, "circa Caesaris necem indolent and foolish, 
 narratus." This is a use of the word grata harharis] Cf. Grerm. 22, ' diem 
 found mainly, if not entirely, in the silver noctemque continuare potando, nu Hi pro- 
 age, brum. Crebrae ut inter vinolentos rixae, 
 
 ne ritus sacrorurn] Cf. xii. 47, " visui raro conviciis, saepius caede et viilneri- 
 
 tamen consuluit, ne coram interficeren- bus transiguntur." 
 
A.D. 47.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 281 
 
 neminem isdem in terris ortum^ qui principem locum impleat, nisi 
 exploratoris Flavi progenies super cunctos attoUatur? frustra 
 Arminium praescribi : cuius si filius hostili in solo adultus in 
 regnum venisset, posse extimesci, infectum alimonio, servitio, 
 cultu, omnibus externis : at si paterna Italico mens esset^ non 
 alium infensius arma contra patriam ac deos penates quam paren- 
 tem eius exercuisse. 
 
 17. His atque talibus magnas copias coegere ; nee pauciores 
 Italicum sequebantur. non enim inrupisse ad invites, sed accitum 
 memorabat, quando nobilitate ceteros anteiret : virtutem experi- 
 rentur, an dignum se patruo Arminio, avo Catumero praeberet. 
 nee patrem rubori, quod fidem adversus Romanes volentibus Ger- 
 manis sumptam numquam omisisset. false libertatis vocabulum 
 obtendi ab iis, qui privatim degeneres, in publicum exitiosi, nihil 
 spei nisi per discordias babeant. adstrepebat buic alacre vulgus ; 
 et magno inter barbaros proelio victor rex, dein secunda fortuna 
 ad superbiam prolapsus pulsusque ac rursus Langobardorum 
 opibus refectus, per laeta per adversa res Cheruscas adflictabat. 
 
 18. Per idem tempus Chauci, nulla dissensione domi, et morte 
 Sanquinii alacres, dum Oorbulo adventat, inferiorem Germaniam 
 incursavere duce Gannasco, qui natione Caninefas, auxiliaris et 
 diu meritus, post transfuga, levibus navigiis praedabundus Gal- 
 lorum maxime oram vastabat, non ignaras dites et inbelles esse, 
 at Corbulo provinciam ingressus magna cum cura et mox gloria, 
 cui principium ilia militia fait, triremes alveo Elieni, ceteras na- 
 vium, ut quaeque babiles, per aestuaria et fossas adegit; Hntri- 
 
 frustra Arminium praescribi'] * The burg and Hanover. The Weser divided 
 
 name of Arminius was put forward to very Lhem into Maiores on the west of the 
 
 little purpose.' Italicus was put forward river, and Minores on the east. They 
 
 as the nephew of the German hero Armi- were subdued by Tiberius (Veil. Pat. ii. 
 
 nius, and so possessing a claim on the 106)) and after remaining faithful for a 
 
 favourable consideration of his coimtry- considerable period, rose against tho 
 
 men. According to these malcontents it Romans. Gabinius Secimdus gained 
 
 was an idle boast. If he were the son some successes against them (Suet, 
 
 of Arminius, instead of being only his Claud. 24), and after the war with Cor- 
 
 nephew, his patriotism would have been bulo, they joined Civilis (H. iv. 79) . After- 
 
 worn away by his contact with Roman w;ards they were members of the Saxon 
 
 habits and ideas. And his father, Flavus, Confederacy. Pliny (N. H. xvi. 1. 2) 
 
 had been an admitted traitor to his speaks of them as a half-drowned race, 
 
 country. which may be true of the dwellers in the 
 
 17. magno inter ha/rharos] ' Great fen portion of the district. In Beowulf 
 considering it was amongst barbarians.' they are apparently mentioned under the 
 This would generally be expressed by ' ut name of Hocingas. 
 
 inter barbaros.' cui] Sc * gloriae.' This campaign laid 
 
 18. Chauci] These people were neigh- the foundation of his reputation. He 
 hours of the Frisii on the east, and lived was put to death by Nero, H. ii. 76. 
 between the Ems and the Elbe, in Olden- per aestv,a/ria et fossas^ These are the 
 
282 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8 )0. 
 
 busque hostium depressis et exturbato Gannasco, ubi praesertia 
 satis composita sunt^ legiones operum et laboris ignavas, popijla- 
 tionibus laetantes, veterem ad morem reduxit, ne quis agniine 
 decederet nee pugnam nisi iussus iniret. stationes, vigiliae, diu^-na 
 noctarnaque munia in armis agitabantur. feruntque militesm, 
 quia vallum non accinctus^ atque alium_, quia pugione tantum 
 accinctus foderet, morte punitos. quae nimia et incertum an 
 false iacta originem tamen e severitate ducis traxere ; inten- 
 tumque et magnis delictis inexorabilem scias_, cui tan turn asperi- 
 tatis etiam adversus levia credebatur. 
 
 19. Ceterum is terror milites hostesque in diversum adfecit : nos 
 virtutem auximus^ barbari ferociam infregere. et natio Frisioram, 
 post rebellionem clade L. Apronii coeptam infensa aut male fida^ 
 datis obsidibus consedit apud agros a Oorbulone descriptos : 
 idem senatum_, magistratus_, leges inposuit. ac ne iussa exuerent, 
 praesidium immunivit^ missis qui maiores Chaucos ad deditionem 
 pellicerent_, simul Gannascum dole adgrederentur. nee inritae aut 
 degeneres insidiae fuere adversus transfugam et violatorem fidei. 
 sed caede eius motae Cbaucorum mentes^ et Corbulo semina 
 rebellionis praebebat^ ut laeta apud plerosque_, ita apud quosdam 
 sinistra fama. cur bostem conciret ? adversa in rem publi(3am 
 casura : sin prospere egisset^ formidolosum paci virum insignem 
 et ignavo principi praegravem. igitur Claudius adeo novam in 
 Germanias vim probibuit, ut referri praesidia cis Rbenum iuberet. 
 
 20. lam castra in hostili solo molienti Corbuloni eae littorae 
 redduntur. ille re subita^ quamquam multa simul offunderentur, 
 metus ex imperatore, contemptio ex barbaris, ludibrium apud 
 socios, nihil aliud prolocutus quam beatos quondam duces Ro- 
 manes, signum receptui dedit. ut tamen miles otium exueret, 
 inter Mosam Rbenumque trium et viginti milium spatio fossam 
 
 shallow waters now forming the Zuyder (Ix. 30), adds, is S-fiKoomu '6ti to7;; /xef 
 
 Tiee, and the fossae Drusianae. Cf. aKivBvyws audpayadi^fcrdai i^rjv, avrhs S* 
 
 ii. 8. Oird rod avTOKpdropos Sia Thv <pd6voy 4i/e- 
 
 laboris ignavas] The construction of iroUtrQ-n. 
 
 * ignavus ' is akin to that with ' impiger ' fossam perduxW] This canal ran from 
 
 (iii. 48), ' segnis ' (xiv. 33), ' praecipuus' the Maas, near the mouth of the river, to 
 
 (vi. 4). So Horace, "integer vitae see- the northern branch of the Rhine, near 
 
 lerisque purus" (Carm. ii. 10). Leyden. It was parallel to the coast, and 
 
 stationes, vigiUae] Cf. i. 28, for the still, I believe, forms a principal drain of 
 
 difference between these words. the district between Leyden and the? vil- 
 
 19. clade L. Apronii] Cf. iv. 72. lage of Sluys, on the Maas. The length 
 immunivit'] ' Fortified amongst them.' assigned to this work by Tacitus, 
 
 The verb seems used in the sense of three -and-twenty miles, corresponds very 
 
 fVretx'C^*"- Draeger compares 'ince- nearly with the himdred and seveiity 
 
 nare' (Suet. Tib. 39). stadia of Dio Cassius (Ix. 30). ' Vitaren- 
 
 20. heatos quondani] As Dio Cassius tur' is the emendation of Yertranius for 
 
A.D. 47.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 283 
 
 perduxit_, qua incerta Oceani vitarentur. insignia tamen triumpti 
 indulsit Caesar, quamvis bellum negavisset. 
 
 Nee multo post Curtius Rufus eundem honorem adipiscitur, 
 qui in agro Mattiaco recluserat specus quaerendis venis argenti. 
 undo tenuis fructus nee in longum fuit. At legionibus eum damno 
 labor, eflPodere rivos, quaeque in aperto gravia, bumum infra 
 moliri. quis subaetus miles, et quia plures per provincias similia 
 tolerabantur, eomponit occultas litteras nomine exercituum, pre- 
 eantium imperatorem ut, quibus permissurus esset exereitus, 
 triumphalia ante tribueret. 
 
 21. De origine Curtii Rufi, quem gladiatore genitum quidam 
 prodidere, neque falsa prompserim et vera exequi pudet. post- 
 quam adolevit, seetator quaestoris cui Africa optigerat, dum in 
 oppido Adrumeto vacuis per medium diei porticibus secretus agi- 
 tat, oblata ei species muliebris ultra modum bumanum et audita 
 est vox " tu es, Rufe, qui in banc provinciam pro eonsule venies.^' 
 tali omine in spem sublatus degressusque in urbem largitione 
 amicorum, simul aeri ingenio quaesturam et mox nobiles inter 
 candidates praeturam principis suffragio assequitur, cum bisce 
 verbis Tiberius dedecus natalium eius velavisset : '^ Curtius Rufus 
 videtur mibi ex se natus.^' longa post baec senecta, et adversus 
 superiores tristi adulatione, adrogans minoribus, inter pares difii- 
 cilis, consulare imperium, triumpbi insignia ae postremo Africam 
 obtinuit ; at que ibi defunctus fatale praesagium implevit. 
 
 ' vetarentur,' tlie reading of the Cod. draining the mines, wluch I do not think 
 
 Med. right. 
 
 in agro Mattiaco] The Mattiaci were 21. seetator] Cf, Plin. Ep. vii. 27, 
 
 settled in the duchy of Nassau, near " Tenuis adhuc et obscurus obtinenti 
 
 Wiesbaden, between the Main, Lahn, and Africam comes haeserat." 
 
 Ehine. Adrumeto] Adrumetum was a town of 
 
 effodere rivos] The ' rivi' are, I think, Africa Propria, on the Sinus Neapolitanus. 
 
 the canal excavated by Corbulo's troops. It was a Phoenician colony (Sail. Jug. 
 
 and 'quaeque .... moliri* are 19), and was made a 'colonia' by Tra- 
 
 the underground works of the forces jan. It was the great export town for 
 
 under Curtius Rufus, ' legatus pro the wheat of Byzacium. 
 
 praetore ' of Germania Superior. In this natalium] Cf. Agric. 6, " splendidis 
 
 way 'legionibus' embrace those of both natalibus ortam." 
 
 armies, not, as the editors generally ex se natus] * To have been the archi- 
 
 consider, those of Rufus only. The ob- tect of his own fortxme.' Any distinc- 
 
 jection to * et fodere quaeque ' (of the tion Rufus may have had was due to 
 
 MS.), is that Tacitus does not seem to himself, and not to his ancestors, who 
 
 use this combination in a distributive were not of the kind to lend distinction 
 
 sense, although he uses * quae . . et ' to any descendant. 
 
 often. Cicero (Tusc. iii. 3) has " at et tristi adulatione] In iv. 20, Tacitus 
 
 morbi perniciosiores pluresque sunt animi speaks of" saevae adulationes ;" and from 
 
 quam corporis," and possibly Tacitus these two passages, the meaning seems 
 
 may have so written ; but I have adopted to be in both, an ill-boding, ruthless 
 
 * effodere ' as more probable. Emesti flattery, making ruin and distress to 
 
 makes ' rivos ' mean the trenches cut for others. 
 
284 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 800-301. 
 
 22. Interea Romae^ nullis palam neque cognitis mox caiisis, 
 Cn. Nonius eques Romanus ferro accinctus reperitur in coetu s.alu- 
 tantum principem. nam postquam tormentis dilaniabatur, cle se 
 non infiilatus conscios non edidit^ incertum an occultans. 
 
 Isdem consulibus P. Dolabella censuit spectaculum gladiatorum 
 per omnes annos celebrandum pecunia eorum qui quaesturam adi- 
 piscerentur. apud maiores virtutis id praemium fuerat, cunctisque 
 civium, si bonis artibus fiderent^ licitum petere magistratus ; uc ne 
 aetas quidem distinguebatur, quin prima iuventa consulatum et 
 dictaturas inirent. sed quaestores regibus etiam tum imperanti- 
 bus instituti sunt, quod lex curiata ostendit ab L. Bruto repetita. 
 mansitque consulibus potestas deligendi, donee eum quoqut) lio- 
 norem populus mandaret. creatique primum Valerius Potitus et 
 Aemilius Mamercus sexagesimo tertio anno post Tarquinios ex- 
 actos, ut rem militarem comitarentur. dein gliscentibus negotiis 
 duo additi, qui Romae curarent ; mox duplicatus numerus, stipen- 
 diaria iam Italia et accedentibus provinciarum vectigalibus. post 
 lege Sullae viginti creati supplendo senatui, cui iudicia tradi- 
 derat. et quamquam equites iudicia reciperavissent, quaestura 
 tamen ex dignitate candidatorum aut facilitate tribuentium 
 
 22. adi'piscerentur\ This enactment the people, without presentation hy the 
 
 was repealed by Nero (xiii. 5, "ne desig- consuls, and probably, therefore, in the 
 
 natis quaestoribus edendi gladiatores * comitia tributa,' or ' centuriata/ These 
 
 necessitas esset"), and came again into quaestors, however, were 'quaestores 
 
 force under Domitian. Cf. Suet. Domit. parricidii,' not ' quaestores classici,' and, 
 
 4, " quaestoriis muneribus quae olim as far as I understand Tacitus, he seems 
 
 omissa revocaverat semper interfuit." to have confused the two. In 421 a.c. 
 
 For P. Dolabella, cf. iii, 47. four quaestors were appointed (' <|uaes- 
 
 ne aetas quidern] It appears from this tores classici '), two remaining at Rome, 
 
 passage that until the Lex Villia of L. as before ('urbani'), and two attimding 
 
 Villius Tappulus, 180 A.c, any one could the consuls on their military expeditions, 
 
 be a candidate for any office after com- According to Livy (iv. 43), the military 
 
 pleting his 27th year. This Lex Villia quaestors were the latest chosen, ' ' prae- 
 
 fixed 30 years of age for the quaestor- ter duos urbanos quaestores duo qui 
 
 ship, 33 for the tribunate, 36 for the consulibus ad ministeria belli praesto 
 
 aedileship, 39 for the praetorship, and essent ;" whereas Tacitus reverses the 
 
 42 or 43 for the consulship. matter, making the original two quaes - 
 
 lex curiata'] A Lex Curiata was re- tors 'militares,' and the additioral two 
 
 quired in order to bestow on the kings, ' urbani.' Perhaps, as Emesti suggests, 
 
 and afterwards on dictators, consuls, at first the quaestors combined ci\dl and 
 
 &c., the 'imperium.' This was passed military duties, and then, on the in- 
 
 at the ' comitia curiata ' as the assembly crease of the latter, two more were ap- 
 
 of the old 'populus,' or burghers, in pointed, who might be said either to 
 
 which no plebeian had the right of have been created for civil or nsilitary 
 
 voting. functions. It was about 266 a.c. that 
 
 populus mandaret] Tacitus implies the number was increased to eight 
 
 in this account that the consuls at first (*mox duplicatus numerus'). Sulla ap- 
 
 presented the new quaestors to the pointed twenty to enlarge the number 
 
 * curiae ' for appointment, and that from of senators, for all quaestors became 
 
 447 A.c. the quaestors were elected by members of that body. 
 
A.D. 47-48.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 285 
 
 gratuito concedebatur, donee sententia Dolabellae velut venun- 
 daretur. 
 
 23. A. Yitellio L. Yipstano consulibus cum de supplendo senatu 
 agitaretur primoresque Galliae^ quae comata appellatur, foedera 
 et civitatem Romanam pridem adsecuti^ ius adipiscendorum in 
 urbe bonorum expeterent, multus ea super re variusque rumor, 
 et studiis diversis apud principem certabatur adseverantium non 
 adeo aegram Italiam ut senatum suppeditare urbi suae nequiret. 
 suffecisse olim indigenas consanguineis populis^ nee paenitere 
 veteris rei publicae. quin adhuc memorari exempla quae priscis 
 moribus ad virtutem et gloriam Romana indoles prodiderit. an 
 parum quod Yeneti et Insubres euriam inruperint_, nisi eoetus 
 alienigenarum velut eaptivitas inferatur? quem ultra bonorem 
 residuis nobilium, aut si quis pauper e Latio senator foret ? opple- 
 turos omnia divites illos, quorum avi proavique bostilium nationum 
 duces exercitus nostros ferro vique ceciderint, divum lulium apud 
 Alesiam obsederint. recentia haec : quid si memoria eorum ore- 
 
 gratuito] The quaestor was bestowed 
 either in accordance with the claims of 
 the candidates, or the promptings of 
 good nature on the part of the electors 
 (' tribuentium,' the people, and the senate 
 under the emperors), without any autho- 
 rized expense being inflicted on the suc- 
 cessful candidates. 
 
 23. A. Vitellio'] This was the son of 
 L. Vitellius, and the future emperor. 
 L. Vipstanus Publicola was perhaps 
 father of C. Vipstanus Apronianus, con- 
 sul 59 A.D. 
 
 comata] I. e., Transalpine Gaul, as 
 distinguished from X^isal pine or * togata.' 
 
 foedera et civitatem] The 'civitas' 
 had been long before given to indi- 
 viduals in the Gallic states, in return for 
 eminent services to Rome ; and when 
 Augustus visited Gaul (cf. Suet. Aug. 47 ; 
 Dio liv. 25), he bestowed it (though 
 without the * suiTragium et honores ') on- 
 the leading men of several states ; but it 
 had not been given to the entire popu- 
 lation of the towns. 
 
 suffecisse] * In the olden times, the 
 native inhabitants were amply suffi- 
 cient, although the peoples round them 
 were of kindred blood.' The words 
 * consanguineis populis * are a sort of 
 ablative absolute. Cf xii. 13, " praeci- 
 puareligione Herculis ;" xiv, 37, "difficili 
 effugio." 
 
 inruperint] C. Julius Caesar (49 a.c.) 
 
 bestowed the * civitas ' on the Transpa- 
 dani (all between the Po and the Alps). 
 Cf. Dio Cass. xli. 36, nal to7s FaXdrais 
 Toils cvTos rS)v "AXireojv vircprhv 'HpiSavhv 
 oiKovai T^v voXireiay uTe Koi &p^a5 avruv 
 aircScoKev. 
 
 velut eaptivitas] This seems an in- 
 correctly worded sentence. Comparing 
 xii. 51, "ut morte honesta contumeliis 
 captivitatis eximeretur," the word has a 
 passive meaning, not an active one : it 
 expresses the being taken captive (or 
 being in a state of captivity), not 
 the act of taking captive. It is the state 
 of the Romans invaded by a horde of 
 foreigners, which is represented by ' eap- 
 tivitas;' but as the sentence stands, it 
 is * eoetus alienigenarum' who are made 
 a 'eaptivitas.' Orelli explains 'eaptivi- 
 tas ' to be equivalent to ' a horde of men 
 conquered in war, and made a prey 
 of by the Romans ;' but I do not think 
 he is right, and I believe rather that 
 Tacitus wrote confusedly. Ancient 
 authors were not probably any more 
 exempt than modem writers from occa- 
 sional haziness in the use of words and 
 turns of expression. 
 
 Alesia was a town 
 
 For the siege, cf. 
 
 68-90. C. Julius 
 
 Alesia, and many 
 
 apud Alesiam] 
 
 of the Mandubii. 
 
 Caesar, B. G. vii. 
 
 Caesar blockaded 
 
 Galli came to relieve the town and coin« 
 pel him to raise the siege. 
 
286' - COENELH TACITI [a.u.c. .'01. 
 
 retur^ qui Capitolio et ara Romana manibus eorundem per se f^atis 
 * * * * ? fruerentur sane vocabulo civitatis : insignia pati'um, 
 decora magistratuum ne vulgarent. 
 
 24. His atque talibus hand permotus princeps et statim contra 
 disseruit et vocato senatu ita exorsus est : " maiores mei, quorum 
 antiquissimus Clausus origine Sabina simul in civitatem Romariam 
 et in familias patriciorum adscitus est_, bortantur uti paribus con- 
 siliis in re publica capessenda, transferendo buc quod usqaam 
 egregium fuerit. neque enim ignoro lulios Alba_, Coruncanios 
 Camerio^ Porcios Tusculo^ et ne vetera scrutemur_, Etruria Luca- 
 niaque et omni Italia in senatum accitos^ postremo ipsam ad Alpes 
 promotam, ut non modo singuli viritim^ sed terrae^ gentes in 
 c nomen nostrum coalescerent. tulic solida domi quies et adversus 
 externa floruimus, cum Transpadani in civitatem recepti cum 
 specie deductarum per orbem terrae legionum additis provincia- 
 lium validissimis fesso imperio subventum est. num paeiiitet 
 Balbos ex Hispania nee minus insignes viros e Gallia Narbonensi 
 transivisse ? manent posteri eorum nee amore in banc pati'iam 
 nobis concedunt. quid aliud exitio Lacedaemoniis et Atbenie-nsi- 
 bus fuit_, quamquam armis pollerent, nisi quod victos pro alieni- 
 genis arcebant? at conditor nostri Romulus tantum sapientia 
 •valuit^ ut plerosque populos eodem die hostes, dein cives babuerit. 
 ad venae in nos regnaverunt : libertinorum filiis magistratus man- 
 dari non, ut plerique falluntur, repens, sed priori populo factita- 
 
 24, Clausus'] Cf. iv. 9, Suet. Tiber. 1, Balbos'] Cf. xii. 60, and Cic. pro 
 
 " Patricia gens Claudia orta est ex Regillis Balbo, c. 2, &c. Below, * in nos rogna- 
 
 oppido Sabinorum. Inde Romam recens verunt,' as Draeger observes, is modelled 
 
 conditam cum magiia-^ .qlientum manu after the form ' dominari in aliqueia.' 
 
 commigravit auctore Tito T§,tio consftrte- ^ libertinorum filiis], Cf. Suet. Claud. 
 
 Romuli : vel quod magis constat, Atta 24, " Appium Caecum censorem liberti- 
 
 Claudio gentis principe post reges exac- norum filios in senatum allegisse do- 
 
 tos sexto fere anno a patribus in patri- cuit, ignarus temporibus Appii et dein- 
 
 cios cooptata." ceps aliquamdiu libertines dictos non 
 
 Camerio] Camerium, or Cameria, was ipsos qui manumitterentur sed ingenues 
 
 a town of Latium, colonized from Alba ex his procreates." Claudius quoted 
 
 Longa. It was destroyed 502 a.c, for this fact to justify his own besto^val of 
 
 espousing the cause of the banished the ' laticlave ' on a 'libertini filio.' The 
 
 Tarquin. The cognomen of Camerinus effect of the measure of Appius Claudius 
 
 was borne by one of the families of the was, that his colleague was so ashamed 
 
 'gens Sulpicia.' There was a Ser. Sul- that he resigned his oflSce (cf. Liv. x. 20). 
 
 picius Camerinus consul 500 a.c. Ti. Still in 303 a.c, Cn. Flavins, 'patre 
 
 Coruncanius was dictator 24^6 A.c. libertine,' was made cuxule aedile. 
 
 deductarum] ' Deducere ' is the tech- C. Julius Caesar admitted into the senate 
 
 nical word for planting colonies; and the sons of freedmen; but 'priori pcpulo' 
 
 the allusion apparently is to the esta- would refer to an earlier date than this, 
 
 blishment of these colonies of military as the custom was not unknown, as we 
 
 occupation in different parts of the have seen, long before, 
 Koman empire. 
 
A.D. 48.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 287 
 
 turn est. at cum Senonibus pugnavimus : scilicet Vulsci et Aequi 
 numquam adversam nobis aciem instruxere. capti a Gallis sumus : 
 sed et Tuscis obsides dedimus et Samnitium iugum subimus. 
 ac tameiij si cuncta bella recenseas, nullum breviore spatio quam 
 adversus Gallos confectum : continua inde ac fida pax. iam 
 moribus artibus adfinitatibus nostris mixti aurum et opes suas 
 inferant potius quam separati babeant. omnia, patres conscripti, 
 quae nunc vetustissima creduntur, nova fuere : plebei magistratus 
 post patricios_, Latini post plebeios_, ceterarum Italiae gentium post 
 Latinos, inveterascet hoc quoque, et quod bodie exemplis tuemur, 
 inter exempla erit.^' 
 
 25. Orationem principis secuto patrum consulto primi Aedui 
 senatorum in urbe ius adepti sunt. datum id foederi antiquo_, 
 et quia soli Gallorum fraternitatis nomen cum populo Romano 
 usurpant. 
 
 Isdem diebus in numerum patriciorum adscivit Caesar vetustis- 
 simum quemque e senatu aut quibus clari parentes fuerant_, paucis 
 iam reliquis familiarum, quas Romulus maiorum et L. Brutus 
 minorum gentium appellaverant, exbaustis etiam quas dictator 
 Caesar lege Cassia et princeps Augustus lege Saenia sublegere; 
 
 at cum Senonihus] This is the state- those, namely, who had filled some 
 
 ment of a supposed objection : ' but some magistracy at home, and so obtained 
 
 one will say, we have met the Senones in the franchise of Rome, a preference 
 
 battle as enemies;' and the reply is given was given to those who belonged to the 
 
 by ' scilicet,' &c., ' well, yes, of course Aedui. This compliment was paid them 
 
 we have ; but then we met the Yulsci in return for their old connexion with 
 
 and Aequi too in the same way, and yet Rome. They had long before had the 
 
 they were admitted to the citizenship : name of ' fratres ' given them. Cf. Cic. 
 
 why not the Senones? And as for the ad Fam. vii. 10, 4, " fratres nostri Hedui," 
 
 fact of the Gauls having taken Rome, and Caesar, B. G. i. 33, " Haeduos fratres 
 
 why, for the matter of that, Porsenna consanguineosque saepe numero a se- 
 
 and C. Pontius, at the Caudine Forks, natu appellatos." 
 
 defeated us.' tninoruim, gentium] Livy (i. 35), says, 
 
 hreviore spatio] Tacitus is speaking that the hundred senators appointed by 
 
 of Gallia Comata or Transalpina, the con- Tarquinius Priscus (from the Luceres), 
 
 quest of which occupied C. Julius Caesar were called by this name. Those appointed 
 
 for about eight years, from 58 a.c. to 51 by Lucius Brutus were 'conscripti' (Livy, 
 
 A.c. ii. 1). Tacitus perhaps combined under 
 
 25. primi Aedui] The words of Taci- one head those appointed by Tarquinius 
 
 tus do not imply, I imagine, that the and Brutus, as alike distinguished from 
 
 Aedui alone obtained the right of aspir- the old Rhamnenses and Titienses of 
 
 ing to senatorial honours at Rome. This Romulus, and termed them * minorum 
 
 right was sought for all the peoples of gentium.' 
 
 Gallia Comata, judging from the Ian- lege Cassia] This law was passed 
 
 guage of Claudius himself (" iam comatae apparently by the direction of Caesar, 
 
 Galliae causa agenda est, in qua si quis about 45 a.c, by C. Cassius (cf. Dio 
 
 hoc intuetur quod bello per decern annos Cass, xliii. 47), its object being to fill up 
 
 exercuerunt divum lulium") ; but there vacancies in the senate. The Lex Saenia 
 
 would only be a limited number of va- was most likely passed about 29 a.c, 
 
 cancies in the senatorial body, and from with the same object (cf. Dion. Cass. lii. 
 
 aJl the eligible candidates, consisting of 42), 
 
288 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c.801,. 
 
 laetaque haec in rem publicam munia multo gaudio censoris 
 inibantur. famosos probris quonam modo senatu depelkv?et 
 anxius, mitem et recens repertam quam ex severitate prisca ratio- 
 nem adhibuit^ monendo secum quisque de se consul taret peter et- 
 que ius exuendi ordinis : facilem eius rei veniam. et motos senatu 
 excusatosque simul propositurum_, ut iudicium censorum ac pudor 
 sponte cedentium permixti ignominiam mollirent. ob ea A'ip- 
 stanus consul rettulit patrem senatus appellandum esse Claudium : 
 quippe promiscum patris patriae cognomentum ; nova in rem 
 publicam merita non usitatis vocabulis bonoranda. sed ipse cohi- 
 buit consulem ut nimium adsentantem. condiditque lustrum, 
 quo censa sunt civium LYIIII. LXXXIIII. LXXII. isque illi iinis 
 
 recens repertcunv] Sc. by Augustus, cf. i/xol eKaaroi irepl ruu ael irapSvTcev t^ 
 
 Suet. August. 35, " quosdam (e senatori- Seovra yLaXiara etirelv, exoyi^vcp '6ri iyyv- 
 
 bus) ad excusandi se verecundiam com- raro ttjs ^vixTtaaris yyu>ixr]s twv aKrjOws 
 
 pulit." Aex^eVroji/ ouras itpTjrai. And this was 
 
 permixti] This is altogether unusual, clearly the plan of Tacitus : if he knew 
 
 for as ' pudor ' and ' indicium ' are im- what was said actually, he put it down, 
 
 personal, the neuter * permixta * would if not, what might have been said, 
 
 be the common form. The speech of Claudius runs as fol- 
 
 civium'] The number of citizens given lows : — 
 here is 5,984,072, i. e., quinquagies no- " Eqvidem primam omnivm illam cogi- 
 vies centena octoginta quattuor milia tationem hominvm qva(m) maxime pri- 
 septuaginta dao. This is, of course, the mam occvrsvram mihi provideo deprecor 
 number of Roman citizens all over the ne qvasi novam istam rem introdvci 
 world, not of the inhabitants at Rome, exhorrescatis sed ilia potivs cogitetis 
 of military age, between 17 and 60. qvam mvlta in hac civitate novata sint 
 Assuming the proportion of men of this e(t) qvidem statim ab origine vrbis nos- 
 age to be one quarter of the whole, this trae in qvod (i. e. qvot) formas statvs- 
 would give a Roman population of about que res p. nostra didvcta sit. Qvondam 
 24,000,000. Calculating in the same reges hanc tenvere vrbem, nee tamen 
 manner, the numbers about 35 years be- domesticis svcc(es)oribus earn tradere 
 fore were something like 17,000,000, and contigit svpervenere alieni et qvidem 
 the increase was no doubt due to a con- ext(er)ni vt Nvma Romvlo svccesserit 
 siderable extent to the rapid extension ex Sabinis veniens vicinvs q(vi)dem sed 
 of the boon of citizenship beginning to tvnc externvs vt Anco Marcio Pi-iscvs 
 be lavishly given by the Roman empe- Tarqvinivs (is) propter temeratvm san- 
 rors. With regard to the argument by gvinem qvod patre Demaratho C(())rin- 
 which Claudius supported his proposed thio natvs erat et Tarqviniensi inatre 
 extension of this privilege, a fragment of generosa sed inopi vt qvae tali marito 
 his speech on the occasion was found A. D. necesse habverit svccvmbere cvm domi 
 1529, at Lyon, inscribed on a brazen tab- repelleretur a gerendis honoribus post- 
 let. The contents of this are given by Lip- qvam Romam migravit regnvm adeptvs 
 sius, and the comparison of what Claudius est hvic qvoqve et filio nepoti ve eivs nam 
 did say with what Tacitus represents et hoc inter avctores discrepat insertva 
 him as saying, is of interest, because it Servivs Tvllivs si nostros seqvimvr cap- 
 shows that the historian did not profess to tiva natvs Ocresia si Tvscos Caeli qvon- 
 confine himself to an exact account of dam Vivennae sodalis fidelissimvs cmnis- 
 the speeches really made by his person- queeivs casvs comes postqvamvaria for- 
 ages. Thucydides, at the beginning of tvna exactvs cvm omnibvs reliqvis Cae- 
 his History of the Peloponnesian war, lian (i) exercitvs Etrvria excessit montem 
 explains his views on this point (i. 22), Caelivm occvpavit et a dvce svo Caelio 
 Xa\€irhv r^v aKpi&eiav avr^v rS>v Aex^eV- ita appellitatvs mvtatoqve nomine nam 
 rtav Siafivrjixoveva-ai ^j', ws 5' tt.i/ 456kovv Tvsce Mastama ei nomen erat ita 
 
A.D. 48.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XL 
 
 289 
 
 inscitiae erga domum suam fuit. haud multo post flagitia uxoris 
 noscere ac punire adactus, ut deinde ardesceret in nuptias 
 incestas. 
 
 26. lam Messalina facilitate adulteriorum in fastidium versa 
 ad LQcognitas libidines profluebat, cum abrumpi dissimulationem 
 etiam Silius, sive fatali vaecordia an imminentium periculorum 
 remedium ipsa pericula ratus, urgebat : quippe non eo ventum^ ut 
 
 appellatva est vt dixi et regnvm 
 sumina cvm rei p. vtilitate optinvit 
 deinde postqvam Tarqvini Svperbi mores 
 (m)visi civitati nostrae esse coepervnt 
 qva ipsivs qya filiomn e(ivs) nempe 
 pertaesvm est mentes regni et ad con- 
 svles annvos inag(is)tratvs administratio 
 rei p. translata est Qvid nvnc comme- 
 morem dictatvrae hoc ipso consvlari 
 (imp)erivm valentivs repertvm apvd 
 maiores nostros qvo in a(s)perioribu8 
 bellis avt in civili motv difficiliore vte- 
 rentv(r) avt in avxilivm plebis creates 
 tribvnos plebei qvid a con(8)vlibvs ad 
 decemviros translatvm imperivm solvto- 
 que po(st)ea decemvirali regno ad con- 
 svles rvsvs (i. e. rursus) reditvm qvid 
 in (pl)vris distribvtvm consvlare impe- 
 rivm tribvnosqve mi(litvm) consvlari 
 imperio appellatos qvi seni et saepe 
 octoni crearentvr qvid commvnicatos 
 postremo cvm plebe honores non imperii 
 solvm sed sacerdotiorvm qvoqve iam si 
 narrem bella a qvibvs coeperint maiores 
 nostri et qvo processerimvs vereor ne 
 nim(i)o insolentior esse videaret qvae- 
 sisse iactationem gloriae prolati imperi 
 vltra oceanvm sed Uloc potivs revertar 
 civitat(e)m." 
 
 Col. II. 
 **isi ... sane novo .... diws Avg 
 . . . no . . i . . set patrws . . Ti Caesar 
 omnem florem vbiqve coloniarvm ac 
 navnicipiorvm bonorvm scilicet virorvm 
 et locvpletivm in hac cvria esse volvit 
 qvid ergo non Italicvs senator provin- 
 ciali potior est iam vobis cvm banc par- 
 tem censvrae meae adprobare coepero 
 qvid de ea re sentiam rebvs ostendam 
 sed ne provinciales qvidem si modo 
 omare cvriam poterint reiciendos pvto 
 omatissima ecce colonia valentissimaqve 
 Viennensivm qvam longo iam tempore 
 Senatores hvic cvriae confert ex qva 
 colonia inter pavcos eqvestris ordinis 
 omamentvm L. Vestinvm familiarissime 
 diligo et hodieqve in rebvs meis detineo 
 cvivs liberi frvantvr qvaeso prime sacer- 
 dotiorvm gradv post modo cvm annis 
 promotvri dignitatis svae incrementa vt 
 
 dirvm nomen latronis nomen taceam et 
 odi illvd palaestricvm prodigivm qvod 
 ante in domvm consvlatviia intvlit qvam 
 colonia sva solidvm civitatis Eomanae 
 beneficivm consecvta est idem de fratre 
 eivs possvm dicere miserabili qvidem in- 
 dignissimoqve hoc casv vt vobis vtilis 
 senator esse non possit. tempvs est 
 jam Ti. Caesar Grermanice detegere te 
 patribvs conscriptis qvo tendat oratio tva 
 iam enim ad extremes fines Galliae Nar- 
 bonensis venisti. 
 
 "Tot ecce insignes iwenes qvot in- 
 tveor non magis svnt paenitendi sena- 
 tores quam paenitet Persicvm nobilissi- 
 mvm virvm amicvm mevm inter ima- 
 gines maiorvm svorvm Allobrogici 
 nomen legere qvod si haec ita esse con- 
 sentitis qvid vltra desideratis qvam vt 
 vobis digito demonstrem solvm ipsvm 
 vltra fines provinciae Narbonensis iam 
 vobis senatores mittere qvando ex Lvg- 
 dvno habere nos nostri ordinis viros non 
 paenitet timide qvidem P. C. egressvs 
 adsvetos familiares qve vobis provincia- 
 rvm terminos svm sed destricte iam 
 Comatae Galliae cavsa agenda est in 
 qva si qvis hoc intvetvr qvod bello per 
 decem annos exercvervnt divom Ivlivm 
 idem opponat centvm annorvm immobi- 
 lem fidem obseqvivmqve mvltis trepidia 
 rebvs nostris plvsqvam expertvm illi 
 patri meo Drvso Grermaniam svbigenti 
 tvtam qviete sva secvramqve a tergo 
 pacem praestitervnt et qvidem cvm aid- 
 censvs novo tvm opere et inadsveto 
 Gallis ad bellvm avocatvs esset qvod 
 opvs qvam ardwm sit nobis nvnc cvm 
 maxime qvamvis nihil vltra qvam vt 
 pvblice notae sint facvltates nostrae 
 exqviratvr nimis magno experimento 
 cognoscimvs." 
 
 26. sive .... an] Cf. xiv. 59, " sed 
 Plautnm eanon movere sive nullam opem 
 providebat .... seu taedio ambiguae 
 spei, an amore coniugis." 
 
 non eo ventitm] Cf. xv. 27, " nee enim 
 adhnc eo ventnm ut certamine extreme 
 opus esset." Silius meant to say that 
 there were other ways of securing their 
 
 U 
 
290 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8)1. 
 
 senectam principis opperiretur. insontibus innoxia consilia^flagi- 
 tiis manifestis subsidium ab audacia petendmn. adesse conscios 
 paria metuentes. se caelibem, orbum^ nuptiis et adoptando i>ri- 
 tannico paratum. mansuram. eandem Messalinae potentiam, adclita 
 securitate, si praevenirent Claudium, ut insidiis iiicautum_, ita irae 
 properum. segniter eae voces acceptae, non amore in maritum, 
 sed ne Silius summa adeptus spemeret adulteram scelusque inter 
 ancipitia probatum veris mox pretiis aestitnaret. nomen tamen 
 matrimonii concupivit ob magnitudinem infamiae, cuius apud pro- 
 digos novissima voluptas est. nee ultra expectato quam dum 
 sacrificii gratia Claudius Ostiam proficisceretur^ cuncta nuptiarum 
 soUemnia celebrat. 
 
 27. Haud sum ignarus fabulosum visum iri tantum uUis 
 mortalium securitatis fuisse in civitate omnium gnara et nihil 
 reticentCj nedum consulem designatum cum uxore principis, prae- 
 dicta die, adbibitis qui obsignarent, velut suscipiendorum libero- 
 rum causa convenisse, atque illam audisse auspicum verba, subisse, 
 
 end than by waiting for the Emperor's retur." According to this, ther<3 was 
 
 death, which might be long in coming, clearly a story current that Clandius 
 
 There were other schemes possible : had been induced to allow a sham mar- 
 
 their ingenuity was not at so low an ebb riage to take place, with all due formali- 
 
 as to leave them without any plan but ties, between Messalina and Sib us, in 
 
 that. Silius felt the danger of the posi- order to transfer to him the danger 
 
 tion in which Messalina and he were which was said to threaten himself as 
 
 placed, and wished to secure themselves the husband of Messalina. Suetonius 
 
 by despatching Claudius. Messalina, treats this as a device of Messalina ; but 
 
 however, was not so eager, for reasons it may possibly have been a distorted 
 
 stated \>y Tacitus, to carry out his representation of a fact, that CLiudiua 
 
 scheme, and yet was anxious to have the really did arrange the marriage, pcsrhaps 
 
 pleasure of perpetrating an act of enor- intending it to be a matter of form only, 
 
 mity of unprecedented effrontery j so Messalina may have converted it into a 
 
 great, indeed, that it is difficult to be- reality, and then her conduct may easily 
 
 lieve it. That the Emperor's wife, have been turned by the displaced freed- 
 
 during his lifetime, undivorced, should men, her former paramours, into a cause 
 
 have not only dared to contract a formal for accusation. 
 
 marriage, but have found others to take insontihus innoxia consilia] ' The 
 
 part in such a scheme, appears almost guiltless only could form plans "vs ithout 
 
 incredible. And yet all writers concur crime.' Below, in * irae properum,' 
 
 in their account of it. Nevertheless, if ' irae ' is the genitive case. Cf. :sii. 66, 
 
 the narrative was originally derived " oblatae occasionis propera." 
 from the memoirs of Agrippina (cf. Taci- nee ultra expectato'] Cf. xii. 7,. " neo 
 
 tus, iv. 53), the successful rival of Mes- Claudius ultra expectato obvius," &c. 
 salina, the account of the matter may 27. ohsignarenf] Cf. Suet. Claud. 26, 
 
 well be exaggerated, and, in some de- "dote inter auspices consignata," and 
 
 tails, simply xmtrue. Suetonius (Claud. 28, " tabellas dotis ipse consignaverit." 
 29), says, "nam illud ouMiem fidem ex- si^bisse] The text seems doubtful. If 
 
 cesserit quod nuptiis quas Messalina it be correct, either * subisse ' has some 
 
 cum adviltero Silio fecerat tabellas dotis technical meaning, perhaps eqiiivalent to 
 
 et ipse consignaverit, inductus quasi de * in manu viri convenisse,' of which 
 
 indu stria simularentur ad avertendum there is no proof, or it must be equiva- 
 
 transferendumque i^ericulum quod immi- lent to * sustinuisse,' 'ventured to,' 
 
 nere ipsi per quaedam ostenta portende- although 'subisse audisse' in the sense 
 
A.D. 48.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 291 
 
 sacrificasse apud deos; discubitum inter convivas, oscula com- 
 plexus, noctem denique actam licentia coniugali, sed nihil com- 
 positum miraculi causa, verum audita scriptaque senioribus 
 tradam. 
 
 28. Igitur domus principis inhorruerat, maximeque quos penes 
 potentia et, si res verterentur, formido, non iam secretis conlo- 
 quiis, sed aperte fremere, dum bistrio cubiculum principis exsul- 
 taverit, dedecus quidem inlatum, sed excidium procul afuisse : 
 nunc iuvenem nobilem dignitate, forma, vi mentis ac propinquo 
 consulatu maiorem ad spem adcingi; nee enim occultum, quid 
 post tale matrimonium superesset. subibat sine dubio metus 
 reputantes hebetem Claudium et uxori devinctum multasque 
 mortes iussu Messalinae patratas : rursus ipsa facilitas imperatoris 
 fiduciam dabat, si atrocitate criminis praevaluissent, posse opprimi 
 damnatam ante quam ream ; sed in eo discrimen verti, si defensio 
 audiretur, utque clausae aures etiam confitenti forent. 
 
 29. Ac prime Callistus, iam mibi circa necem C. Caesaris nar- 
 ratus, et Appianae caedis molitor Narcissus flagrantissimaque eo 
 in tempore gratia Pallas agitavere, num Messalinam secretis 
 minis depellerent amore Silii, cuncta alia dissimulantes. dein 
 metu, ne ad perniciem ultro traberentur, desistunt, Pallas per 
 ignaviam, Callistus prioris quoque regiae peritus et potentiam 
 cautis quam acribus consiliis tutius baberi: perstitit Narcissus, 
 ut solum id immutans, ne quo sermone praesciam criminis et 
 
 of * had the eflFrontery to hear,' would be, so have been talked over by her persua- 
 I imagine, an nngrammatioal continua- sive tongue. The more atrocious the 
 tion ; for as the time of the two verba is charge against her, the less chance there 
 contemporaneous, * audire ' would be re- would be of this happening, 
 quired. No doubt the text is corrupt : utque clausae, ^c] Tacitus has ear- 
 perhaps * audisse * is a gloss. ried his extreme brevity to the verge of 
 
 ddscuhitvm] Cf. Juv. ii. 119, "sig- obscurity here. 'Discrimen* only ap- 
 
 natae tabulae : dictum feliciter, ingens plies to the first clause, and some word 
 
 cena sedet, gremio jacuit nova uupta has to be supplied for it, to suit the 
 
 marito." second part of the sentence. * The dan- 
 
 28. exsultaverW] This reading may, I ger was the possibility of her defence 
 
 think, be correct. 'E^opx^'icOai to. dit6p. being heard, and the point to aim at was 
 
 pTjTtt is used by Lucian for 'to dance that his ears should be closed even 
 
 out,' 'betray secrets,' and Tacitus may against her admission of guilt.' 
 have used * exultare ' in the same mean- 29. Appianae caedis] Appius Silanus 
 
 ing, as appropriate to the profession of fell a victim to the scheme devised 
 
 the ' histrio Mnester.* He had betrayed by Narcissus and Messalina, who pre- 
 
 the secrets of the Imperial bed-chamber, tended to have dreamed simultaneously 
 
 by his intrigues with Messalina. that he offered violence to Claudius. On 
 
 atrocitate criminis'] * By the enor- his appearance shortly after, as though 
 
 mity of the charge brought against Mes- this were a corroboration of the dream, 
 
 salina.' In the case of a less heinous he was put to death, 
 charge, Claudius would have allowed his ut solum] Narcissus stood his ground, 
 
 wife an opportunity of self-defence, and so far at least as he could be said to do 
 
 u 2 
 
292 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 801. 
 
 accusatoris faceret : ipse ad occasiones intentus, longa a})ud 
 Ostiam Caesaris mora^ duas pelices^ quarum is corpori maxjme 
 insueveratj largitione ac promissis et uxore deiecta plus poteri uiae 
 ostentando perpulit delationem subire. 
 
 30. Exim Calpurnia (id pelici nomen), ubi datum secret um, 
 genibus Caesaris provoluta nupsisse Messalinam Silio exclamat; 
 simul Cleopatram, quae idem opperiens adstabat, an compe- 
 risset interrogate atque ilia annuente cieri Narcissum postulat. 
 is veniam in praeteritum petens, quod cis Yettios, Plautios dis- 
 simulavisset, nee nunc adulteria obiecturum ait, ne domum servitia 
 et ceteros fortunae paratus reposceret. frueretur immo bis, et 
 redderet uxorem rumperetque tabulas nuptiales. ' an discidium ' 
 inquit 'tuum nosti? nam matrimonium Silii vidit populus et 
 senatus et. miles ; ac ni propere agis, tenet urbem maritus/ 
 
 31 . Tum potissimos amicorum vocat, primumque rei frumenta- 
 riae praefectum Turranium, post Lusium Getam praetorianis in])osi- 
 tum percunctatur. quis fatentibus certatim ceteri circumstrepunt, 
 iret in castra, firmaret praetorias cobortes, securitati ante quam 
 vindictae consuleret. satis constat eo pavore offusum Claudium, ut 
 identidem interrogaret, an ipse imperii potens, an Silius privatus 
 asset, at Messalina non alias solutior luxu, adulto autumno simu- 
 lacrum vindemiae per domum celebrabat. urgeri prela, fluere 
 lacus ; et feminae pellibus accinctae adsultabant ut sacrificantes vel 
 
 so, while making one solitary alteration, tlie circular area, and Silius, distinctly 
 
 Another way of expressing this would outside, so far be contrasted with them, 
 
 be, " ita perstitit ut solum id immutaret." The same meaning would have been con- 
 
 The use of * ut ' bere seems to me very veyed more naturally by ' cis Silium.' 
 like that in Horace, Sat. i. 6. 78, " ves- ne . . . reposceret] * Much less did 
 
 tem servosque sequentes, in magno ut he want him to demand back.' For 
 
 populo si quis vidisset," i. e. so far as one * ne,' in the sense of * nedum,' cf. Sail, 
 
 can be seen in a large concourse of Catil. 11, " quippe secundae res supien- 
 
 people. tium animos fatigant, ne illi corruptis 
 
 30. genibus 'provoluta] So. xii. 18, xiv. moribus victoriae temperarent ; " Liv. 
 
 61. The usual construction is * ad,' with iii. 52, "novam inexpertamque earn po- 
 
 an accusative ; * advolvi ' occurs with a testatem eripuere patribus nostris, ne 
 
 dative in i. 23. nunc dulcedine semel capti ferant doside- 
 
 cis Vettios] Vettius and Plautius (xi. rium." Also Cic. ad Fam. ix. 26, " me 
 
 35, 36) were lovers of Messalina. In all vero nihil istorum ne iuvenem qnidem 
 
 cases up to their amours with her, Kar- movit unquam ne nunc senem." Below, 
 
 cissus had made no sign ; when the Em- * an discidium tuum nosti ' is * or can 
 
 press's intrigues went beyond them, and it be, that you acquiesce in your sever- 
 
 extended to men like Silius, he could no ance (from Messalina)?' Narcissns had 
 
 longer hold his peace. The only difficulty previously assumed ignorance of the 
 
 is that Vettius and Plautus are included marriage on the part of Claudius, now he 
 
 in those whose amours were kept secret ; indicates that there might be, not igno- 
 
 but perhaps if we suppose Tacitus to ranee, but connivance or acquiescence, 
 have had a circle in his thoughts, Vettius 31. adulto autwm/iw] Cf. ii. 23, and 
 
 and Plautius as the circumference, might the note there, 
 be spoken of as themselves included in pellibus'] Cf. Eurip. Bacch. iii., ffnK- 
 
A.D. 48.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 293 
 
 insanientes Bacchae; ipsa crine fluxo thjrsum quatiens, iuxtaque 
 Silius hedera vinctus, gerere cothurnos, iacere caput, strepente 
 circum procaci choro. ferunt Vettium Valentem lascivia in praeal- 
 tam arborem conisum, interrogantibus quid aspiceret, respondisse 
 tempestatem ab Ostia atrocem, sive coeperat ea species, seu forte 
 lapsa vox in praesagium vertit. 
 
 32. Non rumor interea, sed undique nuntii incedunt, qui gnara 
 Claudio cuncta et venire promptum ultioni adferrent. igitur 
 Messalina Lucullianos in hortos, Silius dissimulando metu ad 
 munia fori digrediuntur. ceteris passim dilabentibus adfuere cen- 
 turiones, inditaque sunt vincla, ut quis reperiebatur in publico aut 
 per latebras. Messalina tamen, quamquam res adversae consilium 
 eximerent, ire obviam et aspici a marito, quod saepe subsidium 
 habuerat, baud segniter intendit misitque ut Britannicus et 
 Octavia in complexum patris pergerent. et Yibidiam, virginum 
 Yestalium vetustissimam, oravit pontificis maximi aures adire, 
 clementiam expetere. atque interim, tribus omnino comitantibus 
 (id repente soKtudinis erat) spatium urbis pedibus emensa, vebi- 
 culo, quo purgamenta hortorum excipiuntur, Ostiensem viam 
 intrat, nulla cuiusquam misericordia, quia flagitiorum deformitas 
 praevalebat. 
 
 33. Trepidabatur nibilo minus a Caesare : quippe Getae prae- 
 torii praefecto Laud satis fidebant, ad bonesta seu prava iuxta levi. 
 ergo Narcissus, adsumptis quibus idem metus, non aliam spem 
 incolumitatis Caesaris adfirmat, quam si ius militum uno illo die 
 in aliquem libertorum transferret, seque offert suscepturum. ac 
 ne, dum in urbem revebitur, ad paenitentiam a L. Yitellio et 
 Largo Caecina mutaretur, in eodem gestamine sedem poscit as- 
 sumitque. . 
 
 rwyr'iv5vThv€$pl5wv,(rr€<p4r€\evKorplxoy construction seems peculiar to Tacitus, 
 
 •wKoKafiuiv fiaWois. Below, for * hedera as far as I know. 
 
 vinctus,' cf. Eurip. Bacch. 702, iirX S^eOeyro pontificis maadmi'] Sc. of Claudius 
 
 Kiaaivovs <rr€(pduovs dpvos re fffilKaKOS himself, cf. iii. 58. Below, ' vehiculo quo 
 
 T* avBiffip6pov. purgamenta,' &c., is a vehicle used to 
 
 sive coeperat] 'Whether symptoms cart away garden refuse, leaves, worth- 
 
 of the kind had really begun to show less vegetables, and the like, 
 
 themselves.' 33. ius miUtuin] That is, the com- 
 
 32. d/issimula/ndo metu] f In a state mand of the Praetorian guard. Cf. H. 
 
 of fear requiring concealment,' nearly ii. 92, "reversis ab exsilio iura liberto- 
 
 equivalent to * for the sake of concealing rum concessisset," i. e. ' the rights 
 
 his fear.' Cf. xiv. 4, " sive explenda usually exercised over fi«edmen by their 
 
 simulatione," and iii. 19, " ulciscenda late masters.' 
 
 Germanici morte." Of course, ' metu ' et La/rgo Caecina] The reading of the 
 
 might be the dative for * metui,' as Taci- Cod. Med. is p. Largo Caecina : but his 
 
 tus often uses that form (cf. xiv. 4, "ut 'praenomen' was Caius (Diolx. 10). He 
 
 occultando facinori nox adhiberetur ") ; was consul a.d. 42 with Claudius, 
 
 but it ia probably^ the ablatiye, Thia in eoiUm gestamine] In xiv. 4, and 
 
294 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8(1: 
 
 34. Crebra post liaec fama fuit^ inter diversas principis vo(;es, 
 cum modo incusaret flagitia uxoris^ aliquando ad memoriam CDn- 
 iugii et infantium liberorum revolveretur, non aliud prolocuttim 
 Vitellium quam ' o facinus ! o scelus '/ instabat quidem Narcissus 
 aperire ambages et veri copiam facere : sed non ideo pervicit^ qtiin 
 suspensa et quo ducerentur inclinatura responderet exemploque 
 eius Largus Caecina uteretur. et iam erat in aspectu Messalina 
 clamitabatque audiret Octaviae et Britannici matrem^ cum obstre- 
 peret accusator, Silium et. nuptias referens ; simul codicillos libi- 
 dinum indices tradidit, quis visus Caesaris averteret. nee multo 
 post urbem ingredienti oiferebantur communes liberie nisi Nar- 
 cissus amoveri eos iussisset. Yibidiam depellere nequivit, quin 
 multa cum invidia flagitaret^ ne indefensa coniux exitio daretur. 
 igitur auditurum principem et fore diluendi criminis facultatem 
 respondit : iret interim virgo et sacra capesseret. 
 
 35. Mirum inter liaec silentium Claudii, Yitellius ignaro propior : 
 omnia liberto obediebant. patefieri domum adulteri at que illuc 
 deduci imperatorem iubet. ac primum in vestibulo effigiem patris 
 Silii consulto senatus abolitam demonstrate turn quidquid avitum 
 Neronibus et Drusis in pretium probri cessisse. incensumque et 
 ad minas erumpentem castris infert^ parata contione militum ; apud 
 quos praemonente Narcisso pauca verba fecit : nam etsi iustum 
 dolorem pudor impediebat. continuus dehinc coliortium clamor 
 nomina reorum et poenas flagitantium ; admotusque Silius tribu- 
 nali non defensionem^ non moras temptavit^ precatus ut mors 
 acceleraretur. eadem constantia et illustres equites Romani 
 [cupido maturae necis fuit] . Et Titium Proculum, custodem a Silio 
 Messalinae datum et indicium offerentem^ Yettium Yalentem c on- 
 fessum et Pompeium Urbicum ac Saufeium Trogum ex consciis 
 
 XV. 57, Tacitus uses * gestamen sellae * been noticed already, 
 
 for a sedan chair ; but as four people are 35. patris 8ilif\ Cf. iv. 19. B(;low, 
 
 spoken of as travelling together, one 'Neronibus et Drusis,' because (]lau- 
 
 would suppose a carriage of some kind dius was grandson of Tib. Claudius Nero, 
 
 to be intended. and Li via, daughter of Marcus Livius 
 
 34. aperire ambages] ' To unfold these Drusus Claudianus. 
 enigmatical utterances,' to commit him- in pretium prohri cessisse'] * Had gone 
 self to something more definite and de- to swell the profits of the crime ' of 
 cided. Vitellius confined himself judi- Silius, Cf. H. i. 11, " provinciae in pre- 
 ciously to vague remarks, which might tium belli cessxirae erant." 
 imply any thing — detestation of Messa- praenionente Na/rcisso] Narcissus gave 
 lina's crime, or the conduct of Narcissus a short address to the soldiers, suggest- 
 in betraying her. Vitellius was a trim- ing them the proper line to pursue under 
 mer. the circumstances, and then Claudius 
 
 multa cwm invidia] ' With many re- made his speech. Cf. xii. 69, " monente 
 
 preaches.' This use of 'invidia' has praefectofaustis vocibusexceptusinlitur 
 
A.D. 48.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 295 
 
 tradi ad supplicium iubet. Decius quoque Calpumianus vigilum 
 praefectus, Sulpicius Rufus ludi procurator, luncus Yergilianus 
 senator eadem poena adfecti. 
 
 36. Solus Mnester cunctationem attulit, dilaniata veste clamitans 
 aspiceret verberum notas, reminisceretur vocis, qua se obnoxium 
 iussis Messalinae dedisset : aliis largitione aut spei magnitudine, 
 sibi ex necessitate culpam ; nee cuiquam ante pereundum fuisse, 
 si Silius rerum poteretur. commotum bis et pronum ad miseri- 
 cordiam Caesarem perpulere liberti ne tot illustribus viris inter- 
 fectis bistrioni consuleretur : sponte an coactus tarn magna pecca- 
 visset^ nibil referre. ne Trauli quidem Montani equitis Romani 
 defensio recepta est. is modesta iuventa, sed corpore insigni, 
 accitus ultro noctemque intra unam a Messalina proturbatus erat, 
 paribus lasciviis ad cupidinem et fastidia. Suillio Caesonino et 
 Plautio Laterano mors remittitur, buic ob patrui egregium meri- 
 tum : Caesoninus vitiis protectus est, tamquam in illo foedissimo 
 coetu passus muliebria. 
 
 37. Interim Messalina Lucullianis in bortis prolatare vitam, 
 componere preces, nonniiUa spe et aliquando ira: tantum inter 
 extrema superbiae gerebat. ac ni caedem eius Narcissus prope- 
 ravisset, verterat pernicies in accusatorem. nam Claudius domum 
 regressus et tempestivis epulis delenitus, ubi vino incaluit, iri 
 iubet nuntiarique miserae (hoc enim verbo usum ferunt) dicendam 
 ad causam postero die adesset. quod ubi auditum et languescere 
 ira, redire amor ac, si cunctarentur, propinqua nox et uxorii 
 cubiculi memoria timebantur, prorumpit Narcissus denuntiatque 
 centurionibus et tribuno, qui aderat, exequi caedem : ita impera- 
 torem iubere. custos et exactor e libertis Euodus datur. isque 
 raptim in hortos praegressus repperit fusam bumi, assidente 
 
 lecticae." Clatidius was too good a KiKiXevcrixivos. 
 
 speaker to require actual prompting. patrui'] That is, Aulus Plautius, the 
 
 vigilum] Not the Praetorians, bat a conqueror of Britain. Cf. Agric. 14. 
 
 body of police, consisting of seven co- 37. verterat] For the inti-ansitive 
 
 horts, whose duty it was to guard the sense, cf. vi. 19, " ne dubium haberetur 
 
 city from fires, robberies, &c. magnitudinem pecuniae malo vertisse." 
 
 hidi procurator] ' The manager of a Also ii. 20 ; iv. 81, Ac. 
 
 gladiatorial school,' not the * manager of uhi auditum] For the combination of 
 
 games,' which would require * ludorum.' finite and infinite verbs, cf. ii. 4, " ubi 
 
 Cf. xiii. 22, " cura ludorum quia Caesare minitari Artabanus et parum subsidii 
 
 parabantur Arruntio Stellae permit- in Armeniis erat." Also xii. 51, " ubi 
 
 tuntur." quati uterus et viscera vibrantur :" iii. 
 
 36." qua se ohnoxivm] Cf. Dio Cass. 26, " postquam exui aequalitas et pro 
 
 Ix. 22, (IrrSi'Tos avrtf rod K\avBiov irdi/S' modestia et pudore ambitio ot vis ince- 
 
 S<ra i.v irposTOTTTjTat vir6 rr}s Mf(r<Ta\lur)s debat." 
 ■Koiiiv (TvvTiV avry ws KoL rovro vir' fKfivou 
 
296 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XI. 
 
 matre Lepida, quae florenti fiHae haud concors supremis e us 
 necessitatibus ad miserationein evicta erat suadebatque ne p(3r- 
 cussorem opperiretur: transisse vitam neque aliud quam HK^rti 
 decus quaerendum. sed animo per libidines corrupto nihil hones- 
 turn inerat ; lacrimaeque et questus inriti ducebantur, cum impetu 
 venientium pulsae fores astititque tribunus per silentium, at 
 libertus increpans multis et servilibus probris. 
 
 38. Tunc primum fortunam suam introspexit ferrumque accepit, 
 quod frustra iugulo aut pectori per trepidationem admovens ictu 
 tribuni transigitur. corpus matri concessum. nuntiatum(|ue 
 Claudio epulanti perisse Messalinam, non distincto sua an aliena 
 manu. nee ille quaesivit_, poposcitque poculum et solita convivio 
 celebravit. ne secutis quidem diebus odii gaudii^ irae tristitiae, 
 ullius denique humani affectus signa dedit^ non cum laetantes 
 accusatores aspioeret, non cum filios maerentes. iuvitque obli- 
 vionem eius senatus censendo nomen et effigies privatis ac publicis 
 locis demovendas. decreta Narcisso quaestoria insignia, levissi- 
 mum fastidii eius, cum supra Pallantem et Callistum ageret. 
 [honesta quidem, sed ex quis deterrima orerentur tristitiis multis.] 
 
 Tnatre Lepida] L. Domitia Lepida Britannicus, and daughter Octavia (cf. 
 
 was daughter of L. Domitius Aheno- xii. 2). So * fratres/ of a brother and 
 
 barbus by Antonia Majfar (Suetonius — sister, in xii. 4. 
 
 Minor ^ Taoitus says), and so grand- levissimum fastidii eius] Cf. xii. 28,' 
 
 daughter of the triumvir M. Antonius " decretusque Pomponio triumphalis lio- 
 
 and Octavia. She was also sister to nos, naodica pars famae eius apud pos- 
 
 Cn. Domitius, the father of Nero. Her teres." * The most trifling element in his 
 
 husband was Messala Barbatus (Suet, haughty pride.' He was haughty 
 
 Claud. 26), son of M. Valerius Messala enough to despise or think very littlo of 
 
 Barbatus Appianus, consul 12 a.c. such honours,, 
 
 88. filios r^erentes'] That is, her soft 
 
COENELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER XIT. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1, 2. Claudius contemplates marriage. 3. Agrippina selected. Her schemes, 
 4. against Silanus. 5 — 7. Approval of the marriage by the Senate. 8. Death 
 of Silanus. Annaeus Seneca recalled from exile. 9. Betrothal of Octavia to 
 Nero. 10. Parthians request Meherdates for their king. 11. Cassius ordered 
 to conduct him to the Euphrates. 12, 13. Counter-schemes of Acbarus and 
 Izates. 14. Surrender of Meherdates to Gotarzes. Succession of Vonones and 
 Vologeses to the throne. 15 — '21. Attempt of Mithridates to regain Pontus. 
 Is defeated and conveyed to Rome. 22. Lollia banished from Italy. 23. Augu- 
 rium Salutis. The Pomeriuin enlarged. 24. Historical notices of the Pomerium. 
 25. Adoption of Nero by Claudius. 26. Neglect of Britannicus. 27,28. Foimd- 
 ing of Colonia Agrippinensis. Defeat of the Chatti. 29,30. Expulsion of Van- 
 nius from his kingdom. 31, 32. Ostorius checks disturbances amongst the Iceni 
 and others. 33 — 35. Defeat of Caratacus. 36. Caratacus taken to Rome, and, 
 37. pardoned. 38, 39. Further disturbances in Britain. Death of Ostorius. 
 40. Didiua succeeds him. Rivalry of Venutius and Cartimandua. 41. Nero 
 assumes the ' toga virilis.* Slights put on Britannicus. 42. Burrus made Prefect 
 of the Praetorian guard. Pride of Agrippina. 43. Prodigies at Rome. Scarcity 
 of wheat. 44 — 47. War between the Armenians and Hiberians. Mithridates 
 put to death by Radamistus. 48. Consequent proceedings of Quadratus. 
 49. Pelignus. 50. Invasion of Armenia by the Parthians. 51. Flight of Rada- 
 mistus. 52. Banishment of Furius Scribonianus, 53. Enactments with refe- 
 rence to free women cohabiting with slaves. Honours decreed to Pallas. 54. 
 Rivalry of Felix and Ventidius in Judaea. 55. Disturbances in Oilicia. 56, 57. 
 Lccount of the Lacus Fucinus. 58. Nero marries Octavia. 59. Death of 
 Statilius Taurus. 60. Increase of the powers of the Procuratores. 61. The 
 people of Cos exempted from taxation. 62, 63. Also the Byzantines. Notice 
 of their city. 64. Prodigies at Rome. Alarm of Agrippina. 65. Lepida con- 
 demned. Opposition of Narcissus. 66, 67. Claudius poisoned. 68. Nero 
 assumes the reins of government. 69. Funeral of Claudius. 
 
298 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 801-80i. 
 
 1. Caede Messalinae convulsa principis domns, orto apud liber - 
 tos certamine, quis deligeret uxorem Claudio, caelibis vitae 
 intolerant! et coniugum imperiis obnoxio. nee minore ambit a 
 feminae exarserant : suam quaeque nobilitatem formam opes con- 
 tendere ac digna tanto matrimonio ostentare. sed maxinie 
 ambigebatur inter Lolliam Paulinam M. LolHi consularis et 
 luliam Agrippinam Grermanico genitam : buic Pallas, illi Callistus 
 fan tores aderant; at Aelia Paetina e familia Tuberonum Narcisso 
 fovebatur. ipse buc modo_, modo illuc, ut quemque suadentium 
 audierat, promptus, discordantes in consilium vocat ac promere 
 sententiam et adicere rationes iubet. 
 
 2. Narcissus vetus matrimonium, familiam communem (nam 
 Antonia ex Paetina erat), nihil in penatibus eius novum disse- 
 rebat, si sueta coniux rediret, baudquaquam novercalibus odiis 
 visura Britannicum et Octaviam, proxima suis pignora. Callistus 
 inprobatam longo discidio, ac si rursum assumeretur, eo ipso 
 superbam ; longeque rectius Lolliam induci, quando nullos liberos 
 genuisset, vacuam aemulatione et privignis parentis loco futuram. 
 at Pallas id maxime in Agrippina laudare, quod Germanici 
 nepotem secum traberet, dignum prorsus imperatoria fortima, 
 stirpem nobilem, et familiae Claudiae quae posteros coniungeret, 
 ne femina expertae fecunditatis, integra iuventa^ claritudinem 
 Caesarum aliam in domum ferret. 
 
 3. Praevaluere baec adiuta Agrippinae inlecebris, quae ad eum 
 per specieni necessitudinis crebro ventitando pellicit patruum, ut 
 praelata ceteris et nondum uxor potentia uxoria iam uteretnr. 
 
 1. M. LolUi'] 'Filiam' can easily be may have used the word, as including 
 supplied irova. 'genitam' in the next herself, children, &c. Antonia was ])e- 
 clause, but in truth it is hardly neces- trothed first to Cn. Pompeius Magnis, 
 sary to do so. Cf. iv. 11, " Apicatam and then to Faustus Sulla (Suet. Claud. 
 Sejani (uxorem)." Draeger quotes Cic. 27). 
 
 de Deo. i. 46, Caeciliam Metelli (filiam). quae coniwngeret~\ I do not see any 
 
 Of course, the ellipse can only be per- reason for altering the text here. I'he 
 
 missible when from the circumstances no construction is " et ne femina . . . quae 
 
 ambiguity can arise. Lollia Paulina was coniungeret posteros ferret," &c. Thore 
 
 the grand -daughter of M. Lollius (iii. is an inversion of clauses very much Lke 
 
 48), consul 21 a.c. and daughter of M. this in vi. 7, "aut quae ipsis nimia et 
 
 Lollius, consul suffectus in some year ma^sta fuerant ne pari taedio lectures 
 
 unknown. adficerent verentur." *Et ne' is 'and 
 
 2, vetus .matrimonium] Claudius mar- there was the fear (to be taken* into ac- 
 ried first Plautia Urgulanilla, and then count) lest, &c,' Claudius, a member of 
 Aelia Paetina, both of whom he divorced, the Claudia gens, was brother of Gar- 
 the latter on very trivial grounds (Suet, manicus, and Agrippina was the daugh- 
 Claud. 26). ter of the same Giermanicus : if ttey 
 
 famiUam commv/nem] ' Familia ' is married, in their children the two lines 
 used of one daughter Antonia. Perhaps would converge. 
 as this daughter was married, Tacitus 
 
A.D. 48-49.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 299 
 
 nam nbi sui matrimonii certa fuit_, struere maiora nnptiasque 
 Domitii, quem ex Cn. Alienobarbo genuerat, et Octaviae Caesaris 
 filiae moliri; quod sine scelere perpetrari non poterat_, quia L. 
 Silano desponderat Octaviam Caesar, iuvenemque et alia clarum 
 insigni triumplialium et gladiator ii muneris magnificentia pro- 
 tulerat ad studia vulgi. sed nihil arduum videbatur in animo 
 principis, cui non indicium, non odium erat nisi indita et iussa. 
 
 4. Igitur VitelHus, nomine censoris serviles fallacias obtegens 
 ingruentiumque dominationum pro visor, quo gratiam Agrippinae 
 pararet, consiliis eius implicari, ferre crimina in Silanum, cuius 
 sane decora et procax soror, lunia Calvina, baud multum ante 
 Yitellii nurus fuerat. hinc initium accusationis, fratrumque non 
 incestum, sed incustoditum amorem ad infamiam traxit. et prae- 
 bebat Caesar aures, accipiendis adversus generum suspicionibus 
 caritate iiliae promptior. at Silanus insidiarum nescius ac forte 
 eo anno praetor, repente per edictum Vitellii ordine senatorio 
 movetur, quamquam lecto pridem senatu lustroque condjto. simul 
 aflfinitatem Claudius diremit, adactusque Silanus eiurare magis- 
 tratum, et reliquus praeturae dies in Eprium Marcellum conlatus 
 est. 
 
 5. C. Pompeio Q. Yeranio consulibus pactum inter Claudium et 
 Agrippinam matrimonium iam fama, iam amore inlicito firmaba- 
 tur; necdum celebrare soUemnia nuptiarum audebant, nuUo 
 exemplo deductae in domum patrui fratris filiae : quin et incestum 
 
 3. alia cla/rwm] For the accnsative and sister towards each other. 
 
 cf. iv. 28, vi. 5, and Germ. 17. L. lunius fratrumque] Cf. xi. 38, and the note 
 Silanus was son of Appius Silanus (iv. there. Facciolati quotes Paulus in Dig. 
 68, Suet. Claud. 29) and Aemilia Lepida, x. 2. 38, " Lucius et Titia fratres eman- 
 daughter of L. Aemilius Paulus and cipati." So 'reges' is used for a king 
 lulia, grand-daughter of Augustus. He and queen, a royal pair, 
 was yet quite young (nondum puber) in Eprium Ma/rcellurn] Eprius Mar- 
 when the triumphalia were giren him cellus was a notorious 'delator.' He 
 (Suet. Claud. 24). Below 'protulerat' was twice consul suflfectus (for the 
 is equivalent to ' extulerat.' second time 74 a.d.), augur, curio maxi- 
 
 4. VitelUi nurus] lunia Calvina pro- mus, sodalis Augustalis, praetor pere- 
 "bably married L. Vitellius, consul suffec- grinus, proconsul of Asia (Lat. Inscrip. 
 tus A.D. 48. For Suetonius (Vitell. 6) n. 5425). See xiii. 33, xvi. 22 ; H. ii. 53, 
 mentions the wives of A. Vitellius (the H. iv. 7, 43. 
 
 Emperor) without any allusion to lunia 5. C. Pompeio] This was C. Pompeius 
 
 Calvina. Below, in ' hinc initium accu- Gallus. For Veranius, cf. ii. 56. 
 
 sationis,* the meaning is that the fact firmahatnr] The marriage was already 
 
 that Silanus had a sister, was pressed cemented by popular rumour and by 
 
 into service, and made the starting-point unlawful endearments. People said the 
 
 cf the accusation against him. That marriage was complete, and the endear- 
 
 Calvina had been once daughter-in-law ments which passed between them prave 
 
 of Vitellius, is mentioned to explain why colour to the report, as they were only 
 
 Vitellius had had unusual opportunities such as befitted a married pair, 
 
 of observing the conduct of the brother incestum] This depends on ' metue- 
 
300 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 802. 
 
 aCj si spemeretur, ne in malum publicum erumperet metuebatui . 
 nee ante omissa cunctatio quam Yitellius suis artibus id perpo- 
 trandum sumpsit. percontatusque Caesarem an iussis populi, an 
 auctoritati senatus cederet^ ubi ille unum se civium et consensui 
 imparem respondit, opperiri intra palatium iubet. ipse curiam 
 ingreditur, summamque rem publicam agi obtestans veniam 
 dicendi ante alios exposcit orditurque : gravissimos principis 
 labores^ quis orbem terrae capessat, egere adminiculis^ ut domes- 
 tica cura vacuus in commune consulat. quod porro honestius 
 censoriae mentis levamentum quam assumere coniugem, prosperis 
 dubiisque sociam, cui cogitationes intimas, cui parvos liberos 
 tradat^ non luxui aut voluptatibus adsuefactus, sed qui prima ab 
 iuventa legibus obtemperavisset. 
 
 6. Postquam haec favorabili oratione praemisit multaque patrum 
 assentatio sequebatur, capto rursus initio^ quando maritandum 
 principem cuncti suaderentj deligi oportere feminam nobilitate 
 puerperiis • sanctimonia insignem. nee diu anquirendum quin 
 Agrippina claritudine generis anteiret : datum ab ea fecunditatis 
 experimentum et congruere artes bonestas. id vero egregium, 
 quod provisu deum vidua iungeretur principi sua tantum matri- 
 monia experto. audivisse a parentibus^ vidisse ipsos abripi 
 coniuges ad libita Caesarum : procul id a praesenti modestia. 
 statueretur immo documentum^ quo uxorem imperator acciperet. 
 at enim nova nobis in fratrum filias coniugia: sed aliis gentibus 
 soUemnia^ neque lege ulla probibita ; et sobrinarum diu ignorata 
 
 batur,' or some word suggested by it, had been content with his own wives, 
 
 such as * videbatur,' or the like. and not carried oflf those of other people. 
 
 censoriae mentis^ Claudius was censor statueretur twvmo] * Nay it would be 
 at this time, and Vitellitis alludes to this advisable to establish a precedent in ac- 
 faot : * a mind equal to his position as cordance with which every future em- 
 censor.* The expression could without peror might receive his bride.' The 
 impropriety have been used if Claudius marriage of Claudius was to be a pattern 
 had not been censor. Cf. Plin. Epist. for all future bridals, — a model for all 
 iii. 20. 6, " audiebat Senatus gravitate emperors in after days, of a sober choice 
 censoria." of a partner, instead of a lustful abduc- 
 
 6. praemisit .... sequehatu/rl The tion of other men's wives. An addition 
 
 change of tense is easily explained : the suggested by diflferent editors of * a i-e- 
 
 gpeech of Vitellius was a single address, publica, a Senatu, &c.,' seems to lae 
 
 the flattery of the senators was expressed entirely unnecessary. Below, for * in 
 
 in many successive remarks or demon- fratrum filias coniugia,' cf. xii. 25, 
 
 strations. " adoptio in Domitium festinatur," ii. 48, 
 
 nee diu anquirendum] The construe- " magnificam in publicum largitionem ." 
 
 tion is after the model of * non dubitari The accusative with the preposition in 
 
 poterat quin.' * There was no long in- these instances points out the sphere of 
 
 quiry needed to remove any doubt of the action. The marriages spoken of in 
 
 Agrippina' s surpassing the others in no- the text had nieces in view; they were 
 
 bility of descent.' Below, the words affected by it. ' 
 
 * principi sua,' &c., imply that Claudius sohrinarvm] Properly * sobrini' are 
 
A.D. 49.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 301 
 
 tempore addito percrebuisse. morem accommodari prout con- 
 ducat, et fore hoc quoque in iis quae mox usurpentur. 
 
 7. Haud defuere qui certatim, si cunctaretur Caesar, vi acturos 
 testificantes erumpereut curia, conglobatur promisca multitudo 
 popuhunque Romanum eadem orare clamitat. nee Claudius ultra 
 exspectato obvius apud forum praebet se gratantibus, senatumque 
 ingressus decretum postulate quo iustae inter patruos fratrumque 
 filias nuptiae etiam in posterum statuerentur. nee tamen repertus 
 est nisi unus talis matrimonii cupitor_, T. Alledius Severus eques 
 RomanuSj quem plerique , Agrippinae gratia inpulsum ferebant. 
 versa ex eo civitas et cuncta feminae obediebant, non per lasci- 
 viam, ut Messalina, rebus Romanis inludenti. adductum et quasi 
 virile servitium : palam severitas ac saepius superbia ; nihil domi 
 inpudicum, nisi dominationi expediret. cupido auri immensa 
 obtentum liabebat_, quasi subsidium regno pararetur. 
 
 8. Die nuptiarum Silanus mortem sibi conscivit, sive eo usque 
 spem vitae produxerat, seu delecto die augendam ad invidiam. 
 Calvina soror eius Italia pulsa est. addidit Claudius sacra ex 
 legibus TuUi regis piaculaque apud lucum Dianae per pontifices 
 danda, irridentibus cunctis, quod poenae procurationesque incesti 
 id temporis exquirerentur. at Agrippina_, ne malis tantum faci- 
 noribus notesceret, veniam exilii pro Annaeo Seneca, simul prae- 
 turam impetrat, laetimi in publicum rata ob claritudinem studiorum 
 eius, utque Domitii pueritia tali magistro adolesceret et consiliis 
 eiusdem ad spem dominationis uterentur, quia Seneca fidus in 
 
 * qui ex fratribus patruelibns ant conso- tus." The idea is that of a bow tightly 
 
 brinis aut amitinis propagantur,' i.e. strung. 
 
 second consins. It seems here to be 8. Die nv/ptiarum] Clandins and Agrip- 
 
 nsed for cousins generally, whether first pina were married very early in the 
 
 or second. A marriage of this kind is year. Cf. Suet. Claud. 29, " Silanus 
 
 mentioned by Livy, xlii. 34, " cum pri- abdicare se praetura ante quartum Kal. 
 
 mum in aetatem veni, pater mihi uxorem Ian. morique initio anni coactus est die 
 
 fratris sui filiam dedit." It is, however, ipso Claudii et Agrippinae nuptiarum. " 
 
 a curious popular idea, that although ex legibus TulW] Lipsius supposes 
 
 first cousins may marry,' second cousins these rites to be the same as those 
 
 may not legally do so. directed by Tullus Hostilius to expiate 
 
 7. nuptiae'] Although Claudius legalized the murder of the sister of Horatius. 
 
 marriages between an uncle and his niece But one does not quite see why the ex- 
 
 by the father's side, he forbade them be- piation of incest should be the same as 
 
 tween an uncle and his niece by the mo- that of murder. The grove of Diana is 
 
 ther's side ; and this distinction was in probably that of Aricia. These expia- 
 
 forceso late as the time of Gains (i. § 62). tory rites were very ill timed, just at a 
 
 adductum] ' Drawn tight,' 'stringent.' moment when Claudius himself had been 
 
 Cf. iii. 7, "adductius quam civili bello guilty of an incestuous marriage with 
 
 inaperitabats," and xiv. 4, " modo fami- his niece, 
 
 liaritate iuvenili Nero et rursus adduc- veniam exilii] Annaeus Seneca had 
 
302 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 80^;. 
 
 Aorippinam memoria beneficii et infensus Claudio dolore iniuriae 
 credebatur. 
 
 9. Placitmn dehinc non ultra cunctari, sed designatum consulem 
 Memmium PoUionem ingentibus promissis inducunt sententiaia 
 expromere, qua oraretur Claudius despondere Octaviam Domitio ; 
 quod aetati utriusque non absurdum et maiora patefacturum erat. 
 Pollio baud disparibus verbis ac nuper Yitellius censet ; despon- 
 deturque Octavia, ac super priorem necessitudinem sponsus iam 
 et gener Domitius aequari Britannico studiis matris, arte eorum 
 quis ob accusatam Messalinam ultio ex-filio timebatur. 
 
 10. Per idem tempus legati Partborum ad expetendum^ ut 
 rettuli, Meberdaten missi senatum ingrediuntur mandataque in 
 hunc modum incipiunt : non se foederis ignaros nee defectione a 
 familia Arsacidarum venire, sed et filium Yononis, nepotem 
 Phraatis accedere adversus dominationem Gotarzis nobilit^iti 
 plebique iuxta intolerandam. iam fratres, iam propinquos, iam 
 longius sites caedibus exbaustos; adici coniuges gravidas, liberos 
 parvos, dum socors domi, bellis infaustus ignaviam saevitia tegat. 
 veterem sibi ac publice coeptam nobiscum amicitiam, et subve- 
 niendum sociis virium aemulis cedentibusque per reverentiam. 
 ideo regum obsides liberos dari ut, si domestici imperii taedeat, 
 sit regressus ad principem patresque, quorum moribus assuefactus 
 rex melior adscisceretur. 
 
 11. Ubi haec atque talia dissertavere, incipit orationem Caesar 
 de fastigio Romano Partborumque obsequiis : seque divo Augusto 
 
 been banished by Messalina, on the alleged but Tacitus is only following the analogy 
 
 ground of adultery with lulia, niece of of similar verbs. See note on * inlect us 
 
 Claudius (Dio, Iv. 8. : cf. xiii. 42). ducere,' ii. 37. 
 
 9. Memmium Pollioneni] He was consul priorem necessitudinem] Claudius was 
 
 suflfectus in a.d. 49, with Q. Aelius Maxi- already Nero's stepfather, and also his 
 
 mus. There is, I believe, no other in- great-uncle, as will be seen by the tm- 
 
 stance of the infinitive after * inducere,' nexed table : — 
 
 Drusus 
 
 I i 
 
 Germanicus m. Agrippina. Claudius. 
 
 Agrippina. 
 
 Nero. 
 
 10. ut rettuU] Cf. xi. 10. Below, for of the Arsacidae, that they were actually 
 
 ' defectione,' cf. iii. 24, and the note on then making application to a scion of 
 
 'potentia.' that house. Below, 'longius sitos,' 
 
 sed et filium Vononisi ' but even ap- those who were less nearly connect ed 
 
 plied to the son ofVonones.' The Par- with him, neither 'fratres' nor *pro- 
 
 thians represented that they were so far pinqui.' 
 from intending to secede from the family 
 
A.D. 49.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 803 
 
 adaequabat, petitum ab eo regem referens, omissa Tiberii memoria, 
 quamquam is quoque miserat. addidit praecepta (etenim aderat 
 Meberdates), ut non dominationem et servos, sed rectorem et 
 cives cogitaret, clenieiitiamque ac iustitiam, quanto ignota bar- 
 baris, tanto laetiora capesseret. hinc versus ad legates extollit 
 laudibus alumnum urbis, spectatae ad id modestiae : ac tamen 
 ferenda regum ingenia, neque usui crebras mutationes. rem 
 Eomanam buc satietate gloriae provectam, iit externis quoque 
 gentibus quiet em velit. datum postbac C. Cassio, qui Suriae 
 praeerat, deducere iuvenem ripam ad Eiipbratis. 
 
 12. Ea tempestate Cassius ceteros praeminebat peritia legum: 
 nam militares artes per otinm ignotae, industriosque aut ignavos 
 pax in aequo tenet, ac tamen quantum sine bello dabatur, revo- 
 care priscum morem, exercitare legiones, cura provisu perinde 
 agere ac si bostis ingrueret : ita dignum maioribus suis et familia 
 Cassia ratus per illas quoque gentes celebrata. igitur excitis 
 quorum de sententia petitus rex, positisque castris apud Zeugma, 
 unde maxime pervius amnis, postquam inlustres Partbi rexque 
 Arabum Acbarus advenerat, monet Meberdaten, barbarorum 
 impetus acres cunctatione languescere aut in perfidiam mutari: 
 ita urgueret coepta. quod spretum fraude Acbari, qui iuvenem 
 ignarum et summam fortunam in luxu ratum multos per dies 
 attinuit apud oppidum Edessam. et vocante Carene promptasque 
 res ostentante, si citi advenissent, non comminus Mesopotamiam, 
 sed flexu Armeniam petivit, id temporis inportunam, quia biemps 
 occipiebat. 
 
 13. Exim nivibus et montibus fessi, postquam campos propin- 
 quabant, copiis Carenis adiunguntur, tramissoque amne Tigri 
 
 11. is quoque miserat'] Cf. vi. 31, 32. Zeugma] A town on the Euphrates, 
 ad id] So. temporis ; cf. xii. 38, " pros- about 72 miles below Samosata (Plin. 
 
 peris ad id rebus eius mox ambiguis." N. H, v. 21). Below, * Edessa ' was a 
 
 C Cassio] C. Cassius Longinus was town of Osrhoene, in the north of Meso- 
 
 consul suffectus a.d. 30. He seems to potamia. Pliny (N. H. v. 24) speaks of 
 
 have succeeded Yibius Marsus as legatus it as in Arabia, which tallies with the 
 
 pro praetore of Syria. Cf. xi. 10. designation here given to Acbarus, as 
 
 12. ceteros praeminebat] ¥oT the accnsa.- 'rex Arabum.' The name Acbarus, or 
 tive after praeminere, cf. iii. 56, xii. 33, Abgarus, was the local title of the kings 
 XV. 34. Below, for the use of * aut in of Edessa, and so common to them all. 
 industriosque aut ignavos,' cf. i. 8, comminus] ' Forthwith,' * at once.' 
 ii. 47, and the notes there. Servius so translates the word in Virg. 
 
 celebrata] Cassius (afterwards one of Georg. i. 104, " iacto qui semine com- 
 
 the conspirators against C. Julius Caesar) minus arva insequitur," and adds that 
 
 rescued the remnant of the army of Cras- it is so used generally in Cisalpine Gaul, 
 
 sus from destruction, and secured to the where * vade ad eum sed comminus ' is a 
 
 Eomans the possession of Syria. Cf. common form of expression. 
 
 Veil. Paterc. ii. 46. 13. cwmpos propinqu^a/nt] For the 
 
304 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 802. 
 
 permeant Adiabenos, quorum rex Izates societatem Meherdatis 
 palam induerat, in Gotarzen per occulta et magis fida inclinabat. 
 sed capta in transitu urbs Nines, vetustissima sedes Assyriae, et 
 castellum insigne fama, quod postremo inter Darium atque Alex- 
 andrum proelio Persarum illic opes conciderant. interea Gotarzes 
 apud montem cui nomen Sanbulos vota dis loci suscipiebat, prae- 
 cipua religione Herculi, qui tempore state per quietem monet 
 sacerdotes, ut templum iuxta equos venatui adomatos sistant. 
 equi ubi pbaretras telis onustas accepere, per saltus vagi nocte 
 demum vacuis pbaretris multo cum anbelitu redeunt. rursum 
 deus, qua silvas pererraverit, nocturno visu demonstrate repe- 
 riunturque fusae passim ferae. 
 
 14. Ceterum Gotarzes, nondum satis aucto exercitu, flumine 
 Corma pro munimento uti, et quamquam per insectationes et 
 nuntios ad proelium vocaretur, nectere moras, locos mutare et 
 missis corruptoribus exuendam ad fidem hostes emercari. ex 
 quia Izates Adiabenus, mox Acbarus Arabum cum exercitu 
 abscedunt, levitate gentili, et quia experimentis cognitum est bar- 
 baros malle Roma petere reges quam habere, at Meberdates 
 yalidis auxiliis nudatus, ceterorum proditione suspecta, quod unum 
 reliquum, rem in casum dare proelioque experiri statuit. nee 
 detrectavit pugnam Gotarzes deminutis hostibus ferox; concur- 
 sumque magna caede et ambiguo eventu, donee Carenem profli- 
 gatis obversis longius evectum integer a tergo globus circum- 
 veniret. tum omni spe perdita Melierdates, promissa Parracis 
 paterni clientis secutus, dole eius vincitur traditurque victori. 
 atque ille non propinquum neque Arsacis de gente, sed alienige- 
 nam et Romanum increpans, auribus decisis vivere iubet, ostentui 
 
 accusative, the commentators quote a " aram Druso sitam," 'in honour of 
 
 fragment of Sallust (iv. 20), "tumvero Dmsus, ' of course. Here the dative 
 
 Bithyni propinquantes iam amnem Tar- follows * religione,' without any parti- 
 
 tanium." The usual construction is the ciple, which is easily supplied mentally : 
 
 dative. Cf. xv. 39, i. 63, H. ii. 71, &o. * the chief worship being paid to 
 
 Below, * Adiabene ' is in Assyria, imme- Hercules.' 
 
 diately east of the Tigris. 14. emerecun] This is a word peculiar 
 
 et castelhim] This was apparently to Tacitus. Cf. xii. 45, xiii. 44, xvi. 1. 
 some fort erected as a memorial per- It occurs, however, with a passive mean- 
 haps of the victory gained by Alex- ing in Ammianus Marcellinus (xxi. 6). 
 ander over Darius, at Gaugamela. The prqfligatis ohversis'] This combination 
 insertion of * et,' or some connecting of participles is curious. * Obvtjrsi ' is 
 particle, is necessary, because Ninus used of course substantively. Below, 
 could hardly be termed a fort, nor was * non propinquum . . . increpons ' is 
 it on the spot of the battle. equivalent to * eum non propinquum esse 
 
 'praeci/pua religione HercuW] An abla- inter increpandum dicens . , . sed 
 
 tivo absolute. For the dative, cf. ii. 9, alienigenam . . . increpans.' 
 
A.D. 49.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 305 
 
 clementiae suae et in nos dehonestamento. dein Gotarzes morbo 
 obiit_, accitusque in regnum Vonones Medos turn praesidens. nulla 
 huic prospera aut adversa quis memoraretur : brevi et inglorio 
 imperio perfunctus est^ resque Parthorum in filium eius Vologesen 
 translatae. 
 
 15. At Mithridates Bosporanus amissis opibus vagus, postquam 
 Didium ducem Romanum roburque exercitus abisse cognoverat, 
 relictos in novo regno Cotyn iuventa rudem et paucas cohortium 
 cum lulio Aquila equite Romano, spretis utrisque concire nationes, 
 illicere perfugas; postremo exercitu coacto regem Dandaridarum 
 exturbat imperioque eius potitur. quae ubi cognita et iam iamque 
 Bosporum invasurus babebatur, diffisi propriis viribus Aquila et 
 Cotys, quia Zorsines Siracorum rex bostilia resumpserat, extemas 
 
 .et ipsi gratias quaesivere missis legatis ad Eunonen, qui Aorsorum 
 genti praecellebat. nee fuit in arduo societas potentiam Romanam 
 adversus rebellem Mitbridaten ostentantibus. igitur pepigere, 
 equestribus proeliis Eunones certaret, obsidia urbium Romani 
 capesserent. 
 
 16. Tunc composite agmine incedunt, cuius frontem et terga 
 Aorsi, media cobortes et Bosporani tutabantur nostris in armis. 
 sic pulsus hostis, ventumque Sozam, oppidum Dandaricae, quod 
 desertum a Mitbridate ob ambiguos popularium animos optineri 
 relicto ibi praesidio visum, exim in Siracos pergunt, et trans- 
 gressi amnem Pandam circumveniunt urbem Uspen, editam loco 
 et moenibus ac fossis munitam, nisi quod moenia non saxo sed 
 cratibus et vimentis ac media bumo adversum irrumpentes inva- 
 
 Medos turn 'praesidens'] Cf. iii. 39 and Didium] A. Didius Gallus was consul 
 
 the note there. sulSectus in some year unknown (he is 
 
 Vologesen] This was the first of the called 'consularis' in Agric. 14), and 
 
 five kings of the Arsacidae, who bore ' legatus pro praetore' of Britain, xii. 40. 
 
 the name of Vologeses, or Yologesus. Below, the Dandaridae and other tribes 
 
 Both forms occur. On Parthian coins I are situated along the Palus Maeotis 
 
 find it stated (see Nipperdey's note) that and the Tanais. See Dr. Smith's Dic- 
 
 the genitive is 60X0700-01; or 'OXayda-ov. tionary of Geography. 
 
 Tacitus has 'Vologesi,' xiii. 37, and H. praecellebat] ' Governed,' a sense not 
 
 iv. 51; 'Vologeso' in xiii. 7, and H. iv. found, as far as I know, elsewhere, but 
 
 51^ and ' Yologaesum' in H. i. 40. Pliny, not unnaturally springing from its usual 
 
 N. H. vi. 30, has ' Yologesus.' ' Yolo- meaning of * excelling.' 
 
 geses ' occiu^ xii. 50, xv. 1, &c. 16. nostris in armis] That is, the 
 
 15. Mithridates Bosporanus] This is Bosporani were equipped like Roman 
 
 a different man froui the Armenian troops, not ia the accoutrements of their 
 
 Mithridates of xi. 8. He was descended countrymen, 
 
 from Mithridates the Great, and obtained nisi qv/)d] Cf. i. 33, and the note 
 
 the kingdom of the Bosporus from there. Below, ' saxo,' * cratibus,' &c., 
 
 Claudius (Dio Ix. 8). are ablatives of quality or material. 
 
 X 
 
306 COENELII TAOITI [a.u.c. f02. 
 
 lida erant ; eductaeque altius turres facibus atque hastis turbal:aiit 
 obsessos. ac ni proelium nox diremisset^ coepta patrataque 
 expugnatio eundem intra diem foret. 
 
 17. Postero misere legatos_, yeniam liberis corporibus orai]^;es : 
 servitii decern milia offerebant. quod aspernati sunt victores, 
 quia trucidare deditos saevum^ tantam multitudinem custodia cin- 
 gere arduum^ ut belli po tins iure caderent;* datum que militibus, 
 qui scalis evaserant, signum caedis. excidio Uspensium metus 
 ceteris iniectus, nihil tutum ratis^ cum arma, munimenta^ impediti 
 vel eminentes loci amnesque et urbes iuxta perrumperentur. 
 igitur Zorsines, diu pensitato Mifcbridatisne rebus extremis an 
 patrio regno consuleret, postquam praevaluit gentilis utilitas, 
 datis obsidibus apud effigiem Oaesaris procubuit, magna gloria 
 exercitus Romani, quem incruentum et victorem tridui itinera 
 afuisse ab amne Tanai constitit. sed in regressu dispar fortuna 
 fuit, quia navium quasdam (quippe mari remeabant) in litora Tau- 
 rorum delatas circumvenere barbari^ praefecto cobortis et plerisque 
 auxiliarium interfectis. 
 
 18. Interea Mitbridates nullo in armis subsidio consultat^ cuius 
 misericordiam experiretur. frater Cotys^ proditor olim_, deinde 
 bostiSj metuebatur : Romanorum nemo id auctoritatis aderjit^ ut 
 promissa eius magni penderentur. ad Eunonen convertit. pro- 
 priis odiis 7ion infensum et recens coniuncta nobiscum amicitia 
 validum. igitur cultu vultuque quam maxime ad praesenteni for- 
 tunam comparato regiam ingreditur genibusque eius provolutus 
 ^^ Mitbridates '^ inquit ^^ terra marique Romanis per tot annos 
 
 17. ut helU potius iure] Ernesti erases occurrence. Cf. i. 77, " licentia erupit 
 
 *ut,' and makes 'caderent' an impera- occisis non modo e plebe sed miliiibus ;" 
 
 tive, but this is unnecessary: the sense and iv. 34, " quod editis annalibus lauda- 
 
 is, * so that they must fall,' and the toque M. Bruto C. Cassium Eomanorum 
 
 words really depend on some word like ultimum dixisset ;" iv. 55, " aucxamque 
 
 * statuerunt,' suggested by the turn adhuc Lydorum opulentiam missis in 
 
 'quod aspernati sunt victores.' Graeciam populis." Also vi. 45, "annus 
 
 apud effigiem Caesaris] Cf. xv. 24, gravi igne urbem adficit deusta parte 
 
 'iturum ad signa et effigies principis.' Circi." So xv. 45, Agric. 14; I[. i. 63. 
 
 Cf. Suet. Calig. 14, " aquilas et signa Eo- This is called an Aoristic use of ihe per- 
 
 mana Caesarumque imagines adoravit." feet participle, the object being not to 
 
 interfectis'] This use of a perfect par- compare the events introduced by it apd 
 
 ticiple is to be noticed. The sense usually the main verb in point of time between 
 
 would be * several . . . having previously themselves, but to indicate th;it both 
 
 been killed :' here the meaning is not the events are past compared y^ith the 
 
 apparently that the barbarians sur- time of narrative. 
 
 rounded the Romans, having first killed 18. id auctoritatis] This expression is 
 
 some of them, but that they surrounded formed on the model of 'id temporis' 
 
 them, * killing some in the process.' In and * id aetatis.' Below, for ' genibus 
 
 fact, the participial phrase points out a provolutus,' cf. xi. 30, and tlae note 
 
 contemporaneous rather than a previous there. 
 
A.D. 49.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 307 
 
 quaesitus sponte adsum : utere, ut voles^ prole magni Acliaemeiiis, 
 quod mihi solum hostes non abstulerunfc.'^ 
 
 19. At Eunones claritudine viri, mutatione rerum et prece liaud 
 degeneri permotus^ adlevat supplicem laudatque quod gentem Aor- 
 sorum_, quod suam dextram petendae veniae delegerit. simul legatos 
 litterasque ad Caesarem in liunc modum mittit: populi Romani 
 imperatoribuSj magnarum nationum regibus primam ex similitu- 
 dine fortunae amicitiam^ sibi et Claudio etiam communionein 
 victoriae esse. bellorum egregios fines^ quotiens ignoscendo 
 transigatur : sic Zorsini victo nihil ereptum. pro Mitbridate, 
 quando grayius mereretur^ non potentiam neque regnum precari, 
 sed ne triumpbaretur neve poenas capite expenderet. 
 
 20. At Claudius^ quamquam nobilitatibus externis mitis^ dubi- 
 tavit tamen, accipere captivum pacto salutis an repetere armis 
 rectius foret. bine dolor iniuriarum et libido vindictae adigebat : 
 sed disserebatur contra suspici bellum avio itinere, inportuoso 
 mari ; ad hoc reges feroces/vagos populos, solum frugum egenum, 
 taedium ex mora, pericula ex properantia, modicam victoribus 
 laudem ac multum infamiae, si pellerentur. quin arriperet oblata 
 et servaret exulem, cui inopi quanto longiorem vitam, tanto plus 
 supplicii fore, bis permotus scripsit Eunoni, meritum quidem no- 
 vissima exempla Mitbridatem, nee sibi vim ad exequendum deesse : 
 verum ita maioribus placitum_, quanta pervicacia in bostem, tanta 
 beneficentia adversus supplices utendum: nam triumpbos de 
 populis regnisque integris acquiri. 
 
 21. Traditus postbac Mitbridates vectusque Romam per lunium 
 Cilonem_, procuratorem Ponti_, ferocius quam pro fortuua disse- 
 
 prole magni Achaemenis] Achaemenes " paenitentia mitis." Nipperdej quotes 
 
 was the great -grandfatlier of Cyrus the Liry, xxi. 20, 21, " ne illi quidem ipse 
 
 Great (Herod, vii. 11). Mitbridates the satis mitem gentem fore." 
 
 Great (from whom Mithridates Bos- hinc dolor'] 'On this side . . . urged 
 
 poranus was descended, xii. 15) claimed him on.' ' Hinc ' corresponds to ' contra.' 
 
 descent on the father's side from Cyrus integris'] 'not ah^ady impaired.' 
 
 and Darius, the founders of the Per- Mithridates had already been driven ' 
 
 sian kingdom, and on the mother's, from his kingdora by his brother Cotys, 
 
 from Alexander the Great and Nicator and to triumph over one who was pre- 
 
 Seleucus (Justinus xxxviii. 7, a refe- viously half conquered, would be no 
 
 rence I borrow from Orelli). glory to the Roman arms. 
 
 19. transigatur] The word is used 21. per lunium Cilonem] Cilo was 
 absolutely and impersonally. Cf. ii. 65, indebted to Narcissus for a prolongation 
 "posse de controversiis conloquio tran- of his procuratorship (Dio Cas. Ix. 33). 
 sigi," and Germ. 19, "cum spe votoque The Bithyni clamoured against him at 
 uxoris semel transigitur." The use is a the tribunal of Claudius, for maladminis- 
 late one, belonging to the silver age. tration, and when Claudius, who was 
 
 20. nobilitatibus externis m,itis] For unable for the uproar to hear, inquired 
 the dative after the adjective, cf. xi. 21, the purport of their remarks, Narcissus 
 ** arrogans minoribus," and Agrio. 16, told him that the Bithynians were pass- 
 
 X 2 
 
308 ... COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8('2 
 
 ruisse apud Caesarem ferebatur, elataque vox eius in vulgum his ce 
 verbis " non sum remissus ad te^ sed reversus : vel si non crecis, 
 dimitte et quaere/' vultu quoque interrito permansit, cum ros 3ra 
 iuxta custodibus circumdatus visui populo praeberetur. consularia 
 insignia Ciloni_, Aquilae praetoria decernuntur. 
 
 22. Isdem consulibus atrox odii Agrippina ac Lolliae infe]isa, 
 quod secum de matrimonio principis certavisset, molitur criniina 
 et accusatorem, qui obiceret Cbaldaeos, magos inter rogatum que 
 Apollinis Clarii simulacrum super nuptiis imperatoris. exim 
 Claudius inaudita rea multa de claritudine eius apud senatum 
 praefatus^ sorore L. Volusii genitam, maiorem ei patruum (>ot- 
 tam Messalinum esse Memmio quondam Regulo nuptam (nam 
 de C. Caesaris nuptiis consulto' reticebat), addidit permitiosa in 
 rem publicam consilia et materiem sceleri detrabendam : proin 
 publicatis bonis cederet Italia, ita quinquagies sestertium ex 
 opibus inmensis exuli relictum. et Calpurnia illustris femina 
 pervertitur, quia formam eius laudaverat princeps_, nulla libidine^ 
 sed fortuito sermone^ unde ira Agrippinae citra ultima stetit. in 
 Lolliam mittitur tribunus, a quo ad mortem adigeretur. damnatus 
 et lege repetundarum Cadius Rufus accusantibus Bithynis. 
 
 23. Gralliae Narbonensi ob egregiam in patres reverentiam 
 datum^ ut senatoribus eius provinciae non exquisita principis sen- 
 tentia^ iure quo Sicilia habere tur, res suas invisere liceret.' Itu- 
 
 ing a vote of thanks to Cilo, whereupon &c., to the amount of something like 
 
 Claudius gave him two years more of 325,000L (quadringenties H.S.). 
 
 office. This Mithridates was put to death citra ultima] As Claudius had only 
 
 by Galba, for taking part in the con- praised the beauty of Calpurnia inci- 
 
 spiracy of Nymphidius (Plut, Galb. 15). dentally, Agrippina was satisfied .vith a 
 
 22. atrox odii] This is the only in- vengeance which stopped short of ex- 
 stance of a genitive after * atrox.' For treme measures. Therefore Calpumia's 
 an explanation of the construction, cf. life was spared. Below, Cadius Rufus 
 i. 7, and the note on 'imperandi.' was proconsul of Bithynia and Pontus. 
 
 Apollinis Clarii simulacrum] Cf. ii. 54. Cf. i. 74. 
 
 L. Volusii] L. Volusius Satuminus, 23. liceret] Any senator of Gallia 
 
 consul suffectus in the year a,d. 3, was Narbonensis was to be allowed to visit 
 
 son of L, Volusius Satuminus, consul the province to look after his in':erests 
 
 suJBectus 12 a.c. (iii. 30) . He lived to a without especial leave from the Emperor, 
 
 great age, with an unblemished cha- just as the senators were allo-w ed to 
 
 racter, anddied A.D. 57 (xiii. 30). Below, visit Sicily. Cf. Dio Cass. Hi. 42, 
 
 for ' Cotta Messalinus,' cf. ii. 32 ; and for vpoaaTrelin iraari rots fiovXeiovcri ix^ e/c- 
 
 * Memmius Regulus,' cf. V. 11. SrjfjLelv e^w Trjs 'IraXlas ti,v fi^ avrSs rivi 
 
 ex opihus inmensis] Lollia Paulina KeKevar) fi koI ^Trnpi-^ri koX tovto koI 
 inherited her wealth from her grand- Sevpo dei (pvXdcrcrerai, irX^v yap or: ey re 
 father, Marcus Lollius, infamous for his rr^u 2t/ceAtaj/ koI (s t^v TaKariav rrjv irepl 
 rapacity during his proconsular govern- Hdp^osva ovSafiocre a\\6(re jSoi/Aein^ airo- 
 ment in the East, Pliny (N. H. ix. 58) SrjfjLrja-ai c^eariv. The reason of i he ex- 
 speaks of having seen her covered with ceptions was the propinquity and tran- 
 emeralds and pearls, in rings, necklaces, quillity of the two countries. 
 
A.D. 49.] AB EXCBSSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 309 
 
 raeique et ludaei defunctis regibus, Sohaemo atque Agrippa^, 
 provinciae Suriae additi. Salutis augurium quinque et xx. annis 
 omissum repeti ac deinde continuari placitum. et pomerium 
 urbis auxit Caesar, more prisco, quo iis qui protulere imperium 
 etiam terminos urbis propagare datur. nee tamen duces Romani, 
 quamquam magnis nationibus subactis, usurpaverant, nisi L. Sulla 
 et divTis Augustus. 
 
 24. Begum in eo ambitio vel gloria varie vulgata : sed initium 
 condendi, et quod pomerium Bomulus posuerit, noscere baud 
 absurdum reor. igitur a foro boario, ubi aereum tauri simulacrum 
 aspicimus, quia id genus animalium aratro subditur, sulcus desig- 
 nandi oppidi coeptus, ut magnam Herculis aram amplecteretur ; 
 inde certis spatiis interiecti lapides per ima mentis Palatini ad 
 aram Consi, mox curias veteres, tum ad sacellum Larum; forum- 
 
 SoTiaemo atque Agrvppa] Sohaemus fines observafcum." Of course, this does 
 
 obtained his kingdom of Itnraea, in the not imply that the Aventine was not 
 
 North of Palestine, from Caligula (Dio occupied at a very early period. For the 
 
 lix. 12). The Herod is Herod Agrippa, fact here mentioned cf. Inscrip. Lat. 
 
 the elder son of Aristobulus, and grand- n. 710, " Ti. Claudivs .... auctis popvli 
 
 son of Herod the Great, whose death is re- Romani finibvs pomerivm ampliavit 
 
 corded in the Acts of the AjK)stles, xi. 21. terminavitque." Caius Jidius Caesar also 
 
 Suriae addiW] Judaea had been ap- enlarged, or intended to enlarge, the 
 
 pended to Syria so early as a.d. 5, by Pomerium. Cf. Dio Cass, xliii. 50; Cic. 
 
 Augustus, but Caligula had giren ad Attic, xiii. 20. 1. 
 
 Agrippa two tetrarchies, and Claudius 24. a'foro hoario] This forum was be- 
 had increased hia dominions until he tween the Palatine and the Tiber. Pro- 
 possessed nearly as much as Herod the pertius derives the name from the oxen 
 Great (Joseph. Antiq. xix, 5). of Hercules, stolen by Cacus (v. 9. 19), 
 
 salutis augurium] This was a kind of " Arvaque mugitu sancite boaria longo. 
 
 augury to ascertain whether it was per- Nobile erunt Romae pascua vestra fo- 
 
 missible to pray for the prosperity of the rum.'* The statue of the ox mentioned 
 
 Roman people, (vyiftav ry S^/iy anriffai, here was brought from Aegina (Plin. 
 
 Dio xxxvii. 24.) It could only be done N. H. xxxiv. 5). 
 
 in time of peace, when no enemy ad aram Const] This was at the 
 was in the field against Rome. It was southern extremity of the Palatine. It 
 taken under Augustus, 29 a.c. (Dio li. was in honour of Census that the Con- 
 20) , and there is no further mention of sualia were celebrated at Rome on the 
 it until the year a.d. 49, between which 21st of August. Cf. Ovid, Fasti, iii. 199. 
 dates there are 76 years. To bring the See Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities, 
 reading to tally with this, it is generally mox curias veteres] These were pro- 
 altered to Ixx., but even then it is a year bably near the subsequent site of 
 wrong. If the reading be correct, the the arch of Constantine. These curiae 
 date would be a.d. 14, at the beginning were the buildings in which the religious 
 of the reign of Tiberius, and although rites were performed which helped to 
 Tacitus does not mention it as having bind together the members of the thirty 
 been taken then, perhaps it was. At all curiae. Those built by Romulus were 
 events I do not think it wise to alter the called veteres, because, on their even- 
 text, when the matter is uncertain. tually being too small for use, others 
 
 pomerium urbis auxit] Claudius en- were built, which were termed curiae 
 
 closed theAventine within the Pomerium. novae (Ovid, Fast. ii. 615). The Sacel- 
 
 Cf A. G«llius xiii. 14, " Aventinum antea lum Larum was at the top of the Via 
 
 extra pomerium exclusum post auctore Sacra. The route here described simply 
 
 divo Claudio receptum et intra pomerii enclosed the Palatine Hill. 
 
310 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 803. 
 
 que Eomanmn et Capitolium non a Romulo, sed a Tito Tafcio 
 additum urbi credidere. mox pro fortuna pomerium auctuin. et 
 quos turn Claudius terminos posuerit, facile cognitu et publicis 
 actis perscriptum. 
 
 25. C. Antistio M. Suillio consulibus adoptio in Domitium t:ic- 
 toritate Pallantis festinatur, qui obstrictus Agrippinae ut corici- 
 liator nuptiarum et mox stupro eius iuligatus^ stimulabat Claud ium 
 consuleret rei publicae, Britannici pueritiam robore circumdaret : 
 sic apud divum Augustum, quamquam nepotibus subnixum^ 
 viguisse privignos ; a Tiberio super propriam stirpem G^rmani- 
 cum adsumptum : se quo que accingeret iuvene partem curarum 
 capessituro. his evictus biennio maiorem natu Domitium filio 
 anteponit, habita apud senatum oratione eundemi in quein a 
 liberto acceperat modum. adnotabant periti nullam antebac 
 adoptionem inter patricios Claudios reperiri, eosque ab .itto 
 Clause continues duravisse. 
 
 26. Ceterum actae principi grates, quaesitiore in Domitium 
 adulatione ; rogataque lex qua in familiam Claudiam et nomen 
 Neronis transiret. augetur et Agrippina cognomento Augustae. , 
 quibus patratis nemo adeo expers misericordiae fuit, quem non 
 
 25. C. Antistio M. SuilUo consuUhiis'] three years and two months older. One 
 
 C. Antistius Vetus was probably son of would suppose ' biennium ' to be -wrong, 
 
 C. Antistius Vetus, consul A..D. 23 (iv. 1), and ' triennium' to be the correct read- 
 
 and grandson of C. Antistius Vetus, con- ing. Suetonius says that Britannicus ' 
 
 sul 6 A.c. The C. Antistius in the was bom in his second consulate, vvhich 
 
 text was consul for the second time in would apparently put the date to42 a.d,, 
 
 this year, and must have been therefore although how he can say ' vigesirr o im- 
 
 previously consul suffectus. M. Suillius perii die, inque secundo consulatu " I do 
 
 Nerullinus was son of P. Suillius Rufus not understand. Dio Cassius, however 
 
 (cf. iv. 31 and xi. 2), and brother of (Ix. 12), puts the birth in the f^econd 
 
 Suillius Caesoninus (cf. xi. 36) . He was year of his reign ; and if there were 
 
 proconsul of Asia under Vespasian. both accounts afloat, perhaips Tacitus 
 
 robore circumdaret^ ' Surround with here confused them, and is inconfdstent 
 
 additional support.' The position of the with himself. 
 
 young Britannicus was to be strength- patricios Claudios'] Cf. Suet. Tib. 1, 
 
 ened by the adoption of Domitius, who " Patricia gens Claudia (fuit enim et alia 
 
 was senior in point of years. plebeia nee potentia minor nee digiiitate) 
 
 hiennio'] Suetonius (Claud. 27) says orta est ex Eegillis." 
 
 that Britannicus was bom on the 26. lex] The Lex Cuiiata necessary 
 
 twentieth day after the accession of for 'adrogatio,' which originally could 
 
 Claudius to the throne (January 24), only be efiected by the vote of the ' popu- 
 
 that is, in the middle of February 41 lus ' in the comitia curiata, who d ecided 
 
 A.D. Nero was bom in December, 37 whether * adrogatio ' should be allowed 
 
 A.D. (Suet. Nero, 6), whence in 53 a.d. or not. Nero was * sui iuris,' as his 
 
 Tacitus speaks of him as " sedecim annos father, Domitius, was dead, and there- 
 
 natus," (xii- 58), and in 54 a.d. "vix fore 'adrogatio' was the proper word, 
 
 septendecim annos egressum," (xiii. 6). not 'adoptio,' except in its widei sense. 
 
 Tacitus also (xiii. 15) in 55 a.d. speaks Cf. H. i. 15, " si te privatus lege curiata 
 
 of Britannicus as completing his four- apud pontifices ut moris est adopt arem." 
 teenth year. Consequently Nero was 
 
A.D. 50.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 311 
 
 Britannici fortuna maerore afficeret. desolatus paulatim etiam 
 servilibus ministeriis perintempestiva novercae officia in ludibria 
 vertebat, intellegens falsi, neque enim segnem ei fuisse indolem 
 ferunt, sive verum, seu periculis commendatus retinuit famam sine 
 experimento. 
 
 27. Sed Agrippina quo vim snam sociis quoque nationibus 
 ostentaret^ in oppidum Ubiorum, in quo genita erat^ veteranos 
 coloniamque deduci impetrat^ cui nomen inditum e vocabulo 
 ipsius. ac forte acciderat ut earn gentem Rheno transgressam 
 avus Agrippa in fidem acciperet. 
 
 Isdem temporibus in superiore Grermania trepidatum adventu 
 Chattorum latrocinia agitantium. dein 1 * * Pomponius legatus 
 auxiliares Vangionas ac Nemetas, addito equite alario, monitos ut 
 anteirent populatores vel dil apsis inprovisi circumfunderentur. 
 et secuta consilium ducis industria militum^ divisique in duo 
 agmina, qui laevum iter petiverant, recens reverses praedaque 
 per luxum uses et somno graves circumvenere. aucta laetitia, 
 quod quosdam e clade Yariana quadragensimum post annum 
 servitio exemerant. 
 
 28. At qui dextris et propioribus compendiis ierant, obvio 
 bosti et aciem auso plus cladis faciunt^ et praeda famaque onusti 
 ad montem Taunum revertuntur^ ubi Pomponius cum legionibus 
 opperiebatur^ si Chatti cupidine ulciscendi casum pugnae praebe- 
 
 ■ 
 
 vertehaf] This can scarcely be a neuter her its name, ' Colonia Claudia Augusta 
 
 verb here, although Tacitus uses it as Agrippinensium.' The construction here 
 
 such elsewhere (vi. 46, " ne memoria formed after * impetrat ' occurs nowhere 
 
 Augusti, ne nomen Caesarum in ludibria else. 
 
 et contumelias verterent." As Kitter Chattorv/ni] The Chatti occupied the 
 observes, Britannicus was not an object of district between the Main and the 
 ridicule, but pity from his position ; and I sources of the Elison (Alme) and Vi- 
 de not see how 'intellegens falsi' is ap- surgis (Weser), and from the Westerwald, 
 propriate, if the sense of the passage is in the west, to Franconia. 'Hessen' is the 
 * he was made to look ridiculous.' His modem form of ' Chatti.' They are pro- 
 perception of the hypocrisy of the whole bably the Suevi of Caesar. Cf. Germ, 
 proceeding would be a reason for his 30, and Dr. Latham's note in his edition 
 turning them into ridicule, but no reason of the Germania. Below, the Vangiones 
 why he should be ridiculed by others, and Nemetes were situated on the Rhine, 
 Tacitus has 'peridoneus' (iv. 12), *per- about Worms and Spires, 
 simplex' (xv. 15), '*pervigiP(i. 65). Agrip- 28. ad montem Taunum] This range 
 pina no doubt deprived him of the of hills stretches from the Rhine to 
 attendance of slaves, under pretence of Homburg. The Cherusci occupied pro- 
 herself performing some of their duties bably the district stretching from the 
 as a proof of her great affection. Weser to the Elbe, and from Mons Meli- 
 
 27. coloniamque deduct] In Germ. 28, bocus on the north to the Sudeti on the 
 
 Tacitus seems to imply that the founder south, or Luneburg, Brunswick, Magde- 
 
 of the colony was Vipsanius Agrippa. burg, &o. 
 
 If so, the colony was no doubt recon- si . . . praelerent] See note (iv. 59) on 
 
 stituted by Agrippina, and received from ' si . . . audcrent.' 
 
312 ^■' .^.<30RNELII TACITI [a.u.c. <S03. 
 
 rent, illi metu, ne hinc Romanus_, inde Cherusci, cum quis aejer- 
 num discordant, circumgrederentur^, legates in urbem et obsides 
 misere; decretusque Pomponio triumplialis honos, modica pars 
 famae eius apud posteros, in quis carminum gloria praecellit. 
 
 29. Per idem tempus Vannius Suevis a Druso Caesare in])osi- 
 tus pellitur regno_, prima imperii aetate clarus acceptusque popu- 
 laribus, mox diutumitate in superbiam mutans et odio accolarum, 
 simul domesticis discordiis circumventus. auctores fuere Yibilius 
 Hermundurorum rex et Yangio ac Sido sorore Yannii geniti. nee 
 Claudius, quamquam saepe oratus, arma certantibus barbaris 
 interposuit, tutum Yannio perfugium promittens, si pelleretur; 
 scripsitque Palpelio Histro, qui Pannoniam praesidebat, legionem 
 ipsaque e provincia lecta auxilia pro ripa componeret, subsidio 
 victis et terrorem adversus victores, ne fortuna elati nostram 
 quoque pacem turbarent. nam vis innumera Lugii aliaeque gentes 
 adventabant, fama ditis regni, quod Yannius triginta per annos 
 praedationibus et vectigalibus auxerat. ipsi manus propria pe- 
 dites, eques e Sarmatis lazy gibus erat, impar multitudini bostium, 
 eoque castellis sese defensare bellumque ducere statuerat. 
 
 30. Sed lazyges obsidionis impatientes et proximos per (?am- 
 pos vagi necessitudinem pugnae attulere, quia Lugius Herraun- 
 durusque illic ingruerant. igitur degressus castellis Yannius 
 fundi tur proelio, quamquam rebus adversis laudatus, quod et 
 pugnam manu capessiit et corpore adverso vulnera excepit. cete- 
 rum ad classem in Danuvio opperientem perfugit; secuti mox 
 clientes et acceptis agris in Pannonia locati sunt, regnum Yangio 
 ac Sido inter se partivere, egregia adversus nos fide, subiectis, 
 suone an servitii ingenio, dum adipiscerentur dominationis, niulta 
 caritate, et maiore odio, postquam adepti sunt. 
 
 29. Vannius'] Cf. ii. 63. vonicrace. Below, the Sarmatae la zygea 
 
 mutans] For the intransitive use of were between the Danube and Theiss, 
 
 * mutare,' cf. ii. 23, * mutabat aestus.' where these rivers are parallel tc' each 
 
 Palpeldo Histro] According to an in- other, 
 
 scription (Inscrip. Lat. n. 693), Sextus 30. servitii ingenio] Yangio and Sido, 
 
 Palpelius Hister was legatus of Pan- either altered in character or remaining 
 
 nonia under Claudius, proconsul, prae- the same, became less popular emong 
 
 tor, tribunus plebis, quaestor, decemvir their subjects, in accordance with the 
 
 stlitibus iudicandis, tribunus militum result always found in the case of those 
 
 legionis xiv. He was consul suflfectus in who are ruled like slaves by despots, 
 
 some year unknown (Plin, N. H. x 16) . People of this sort always like their 
 
 Below, the * ripa ' is that of the Danube, rulers while they are gaining power, 
 
 Lugii] This people lived between the and dislike them when they ha^ve ob- 
 
 Oder and Vistula, in Silesia and Western tained it, with natural fickleness. The 
 
 Poland. If they are the same as the dative ' subjectis ' depends on ' multa 
 
 Lekhs of later writers they were a Sla- caritate,' equivalent to ' carissimi.' 
 
^fj^s-^ 
 
 A.D. 50.1 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIbIxIeC^. '313<)^ 
 
 31. At in Britannia P. Ostorium pro praetore tutbidae ^es-^ 
 excepere, effusis in agrum sociorum hostibus eo yiolenti^jauo^^^ 
 novum ducem exercitu ignoto et coepta hieme iturum obvi^?tt^/5ii^ , 
 rebantur. ille gnarus primis eventibus metum aut fiduciam gi^fii|L!l!I_^ 
 citas cohortes rapit, et caesis qui restiterant_, disiectos consectatus, 
 
 ne rursus conglobarentur infensaque et infida pax non duci^ non 
 militi requiem permitteret^ detrahere arma suspectis cunctaque 
 castris Aufonam inter et Sabrinam fluvios cohibere parat. quod 
 primi Iceni abnuere^ valida gens nee proeliis contusi^ quia socie- 
 tatem nostram volentes accesserant. hisque auctoribus circum- 
 iectae nationes locum pugnae delegere, saeptum agresti aggere et 
 aditu angusto, ne pervius equiti foret. ea munimenta dux Eoma- 
 nus_, quamquam sine robore legionum sociales copias ducebat, 
 perrumpere aggreditur et distributis cohortibus turmas quoque 
 peditum ad munia accingit. tunc dato signo perfringunt agge- 
 rem suisque claustris impeditos turbant. atque illi conscientia 
 rebellionis et obsaeptis elBPugiis multa et clara facinora fecere, qua 
 pugna filius legati M. Ostorius servati civis decus meruit. 
 
 32. Ceterum clade Icenorum compositi qui bellum inter et 
 pacem dubitabant ; et ductus inde Ganges ' exercitus. vastati 
 agri, praedae passim actae^ non ausis aciem bostibus^ vel si ex 
 occulto carpere agmen temptarent_, punito dolo. iamque ventum 
 baud procul mari quod Hiberniam insulam aspectat^ cum ortae 
 apud Brigantas discordiae retraxere ducem^ destinationis certum, 
 
 31. P. Ostorium] P. Ostorius Scapula ditum ' depends on ' munia.' Ostorius 
 
 (consul suflfectus a.d. 46) succeeded disnaounted his cavalry, and kept them 
 
 Aulus Plautius (Agric. 14) . The legatus in hand to perform infantry duties when 
 
 of Britain was apparently a * consularis ' needed, 
 
 as a rule. facinora] The word is used here 
 
 Aufonam] The Gloucestershire Avon simply for ' a bold deed.' Cf. iii. 21, 
 
 ^Nuld suit the passage, and Camden's " raro ea tempestate et e vetere raemoria 
 
 em&^dation of Aufonam instead of An- facinore." Below for M. Ostorius, cf. 
 
 tonam, the reading of the MS., is pro- xiv. 48. He was put to death by Nero 
 
 bably correct. (xvi. 15). 
 
 Iceni] It is not at all clear why the 32. inde Cangos] This is the reading 
 
 fortifications of Ostorius, near the Se- of the MS., but I doubt whether it 
 
 vem and Avon, should rouse the anger ought not to be ' in Decangos.' How- 
 
 or alarm of the Iceni. It seems pos- ever, cf. xii. 51, " Hiberos ad patrium 
 
 sible that the Silures, in spite of their regnum pervadit," although the words 
 
 remote position in South Wales, were * ad patrium regnum ' may be supposed 
 
 connected by descent with the Trino- to make the omission of 'ad' with 'Hi- 
 
 bantes, or in dependence on them. Ca- beros ' less singular. In Curtius tho 
 
 ractacus is spoken of by Dion Cassius preposition is certainly omitted (ix. 31), 
 
 (Ix. 20) as son of Cimobelin, king of the " inde Praestos proven tum est," quoted 
 
 Trinobantes ; which would seem to indi- by Nipperdey. The locality of the 
 
 cate some connexion between the inha- ' Cangi ' is unknown, 
 
 bitants of the east and west. a{pud Brigantas] This tribe occupied 
 
 peditum ad munia] The genitive ' pe- the district between the Humber and 
 
314 COENELn TACITI [a.tt.c. M03. 
 
 ne nova moliretur nisi prioribus firmatis. et Brigantes quidem^ 
 paucis qui arma coeptabant interfectis, in reliquos data V(?nia^ 
 resedere : Silurum gens non atrocitate, non dementia mutabatur, 
 quin bellum exerceret castrisque legionum premenda foret. id 
 quo promptius veniret, colonia Camulodunum valida veteranc ::um. 
 manu deducitur in agros captivos^ subsidium adversus rebelles et 
 inbuendis sociis ad officia legum. 
 
 33. Itum inde in Siluras, super propriam ferociam Carataci 
 viribus confisos, queni multa ambigua, multa prospera extuleTant_, 
 ut ceteros Britannorum imperatores praemineret. sed turn astu 
 locorum fraude prior^ vi militum inferior^ transfert bellura in 
 OrdovicaSj additisque qui pacem nostram metuebant^ novissimum 
 casum experitur^ sumpto ad proelium loco^ ut aditus, abscessus^ 
 cuncta nobis inportuna et suis in melius essent^ bine montibus 
 arduisj et si qua clementer accedi poterant, in modum valli saxa 
 praestruit. et praefluebat amnis vado incerto, catervaeque arma- 
 torum pro munimentis constiterant. 
 
 34. Ad boc gentium ductores circumire, bortari^ firmare 
 animos minuendo metu, accendenda spe aliisque belli incitamen- 
 tis : enimvero Caratacus hue illuc volitans ilium diem, illam 
 aciem testabatur aut reciperandae libertatis aut servitutis aeternae 
 
 the Tyne. Below, for ' in reliquos data ing rather to localities of tlie west and 
 
 venia,' cf. i. 78, " datumque in onines north, or Wales and Scotland. Camulo- 
 
 provincias exemplmn ;" xii. 35, " plus dunum, or Camalodunum (Plin. N^. H. 
 
 vulnerum in nos et pleraeque caedes ii. 75), is said to derive its name from 
 
 oriebantux." The idea of course is that Camiilus, a Keltic war-god. 
 
 the pardon, the example, &c., extended 33. Carataci^ So the MS. Catarsitacus 
 
 to (embraced) the rest, the provinces, in xii. 36, and Dio Cassius Ix. 20. The 
 
 &c. The ' Silures ' are supposed to have form in the text approaches neai est to 
 
 occupied Hereford, Monmouth, Glamor- the Keltic ' Caxatauc,' or ' Karaduc .' 
 
 gan, Brecknock, and Radnor. astu] It is a little difficult to deter- 
 
 td] What ' id ' means is not quite mine whether * locorum ' depends on 
 
 clear. Apparently the words ' castris le- 'astu' or on 'fraude.' Tacitus has 
 
 gionum,' &c., suggested the general idea ' astus oppugnationum ' (xii. 45) ; but 
 
 of repressive force, succours, help, or the * astu ' can more easily stand alone, I 
 
 like ; and ' id ' refers to this : * that this think, than ' fraude.' Yirgil has ' fraude 
 
 repressive force might arrive the more loci,' and Curtius 'locorum fraude.' For 
 
 quickly.' the chiasmus in 'locorum fraude vi 
 
 Camulodunum] This was probably militum,' cf, xii. 1, "ipse hue modo, 
 Maldon, near Colchester, a long way modo illuc." Below, the Ordovices were 
 certainly from the Silures, in South settled in North Wales. 
 Wales. But if there was the relation pacem nostram] ' Peace with us,' fol- 
 spoken of in a note on the previous lowed by the usual train of iniposts, 
 chapter between the two peoples, the taxes, and various burdens, 
 distance is not so important. Besides, montibus arduis] The construction 
 as Dr. Latham (Dr. Smith's Dictionary here is confused. The sentence should 
 of Geography, under ' Colonia ') suggests, have been " hinc montibus arduis. illinc 
 Tacitus may have had imperfect ideas of si qua clementer accedi poterant, n mo- 
 the eastern counties, his knowledge de- dum valli saxis munitis." But the par- 
 rived from his father, Agricola, extend- ticipial turn in the second clause is 
 
A.D. 50.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 315 
 
 initimn fore ; vocabatque nomina maiorum, qui dictatorem Caesa- 
 rem pepulissent, quorum virtute vacui a securibus et tributis 
 intemerata coniugum et liberorum corpora retinerent. baec atque 
 talia dicenti adstrepere vulgus, gentili quisque religione obstringi, 
 non telis, non vulneribus cessuros. 
 
 35. Obstupefecit ea alacritas ducem E-omanum ; simul obiectus 
 amnis, additum vallum, inminentia iuga_, nibil nisi atrox et pro- 
 pugnatoribus frequens terrebat. sed miles proelium poscere, 
 cuncta virtute expugnabilia clamitare; praefectique et tribuni 
 paria disserentes ardorem exercitus intendebant. tum Ostorius, 
 circumspectis quae inpenetrabilia quaeque pervia, ducit infensos 
 amnemque baud difficulter evadit. ubi ventum ad aggerem, dum 
 missilibus certabatur, plus vulnerum in nos et pleraeque caedes 
 oriebantur : postquam facta testudine rudes et informes saxorum 
 con pages distractae par que comminus acies, decedere barbari in 
 iuga montium. sed eo quoque irrupere ferentarius gravisque 
 miles, illi telis adsultantes, bi conferto gradu, turbatis contra 
 Britannorum ordinibus, apud quos nulla loricarum galearumve 
 tegmina; et si auxiliaribus resisterent, gladiis ac pilis legiona- 
 riorum, si hue verterent, spathis et bastis auxiHarium sternebantur. 
 clara ea victoria fiiit, captaque uxor et filia Carataci fratresque in 
 deditionem accepti. 
 
 36. Ipse, ut ferme intuta sunt adversa, cum fidem Cartiman- 
 duae reginae Brigantum petivisset, vinctus ac victoribus traditus 
 est, nono post anno quam bellum in Britannia coeptum. unde 
 
 abandoned, and a finite verb employed tbreatening,' equivalent to 'quod nihil 
 
 instead. So Thucyd. viii. 45, ws ot fiev . . . erat.' Cf. iii. 9, " fait inter inrita- 
 
 Xtot aualaxwToi iUv, irXovcridnaroi ovr^s menta invidiae . . . et celebritate loci 
 
 rdv 'Y.\\T)V(av, iiriKovpia Se o/x.a>s (raC^/xeyoi nihil occultum." 
 
 a^iovai, &c., where a^iovvres ought to amnemque Jiaud difficulter evadif] 
 
 follow. Ovid (Metam. iii. 19) has the same con- 
 
 34. religione'] The readinj^ of the MS. struction, ' vada Cephisi evaserat.' Va- 
 is 'religioni,' which I think possibly rious spots have been selected for the 
 may be right, although I have not re- siteof this decisive battle. Coxall Knoll, 
 tainod it. Pliny has ' obstringere alteri on the Teme, near Leintwardine, seems 
 fidem suam,' and perhaps the sense here to have as good a claim as any othqr 
 may be, that each man was pledged to place j but nothing can be definitely 
 the particular superstition of his race, fixed. 
 
 regarding that superstition as a kind of 36. nono post anno] Aulus Plautius 
 
 personified goddess, to whom he de- began the conquest of Britain a.d. 43 
 
 voted himself. Nipperdey considers ' re- (Dio Ix. 19) ; and Tacitus has reached 
 
 ligioni' to be ablative, on the strength the year a.d. 50 in his narrative. But 
 
 of an inscription (Lat. Inscript. n. 737), in ch. 40, as Ritter observes, the his- 
 
 " Veteranis qui militaverunt in legioni I torian tells us that he has compressed 
 
 adiutrice." into one narrative the events of several 
 
 35. nihil nisi atrox] * The fact that years, and then resumes the proper chro- 
 there was nothing except what was nological arrangements. Consequently, 
 
316 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. S03, 
 
 fama eius evecta insulas et proximas provincias pervagata per 
 Italiam quoque celebrabatur avebantque visere, quis ille toi} per 
 annos opes nostras sprevisset. ne Romae quidem ignobile Caiutaci 
 nomen erat ; et Caesar dum suum decus extoUit, addidit glc' :iaiii 
 victo. vocatus quippe ut ad insigne spectaculum populus : stestere 
 inarmis praetoriae cohortes campoqui castrapraeiacet. tuncince- 
 dentibus regiis clientelis pbalerae torques quaeque bellis externis 
 quaesiverat traducta, mox fratres et coniux et filia^ postremo 
 ipse ostentatus. ceterorum preces degeneres fuere ex metu. at 
 non Caratacus aut vultu demisso aut verbis misericordiam requi- 
 rens, ubi tribunali astitit, in hunc niodum locutus est. 
 
 37. ^ Si quanta nobilitas et fortuna milii fuit^ tanta rerum pros- 
 perarum moderatio fuisset, amicus potius in banc urbem (][uam 
 captus venissem, neque dedignatus esses, claris maioribus ortum, 
 pluribus gentibus inperitantem foedere pacem accipere. praesens 
 sors mea ut mibi informis, sic tibi magnifica est. habui equos 
 viros, arma opes : quid mirum_, si haec invitus amisi ? nam si vos 
 omnibus imperitare vultis_, sequitur ut omnes servitutem accipiant ? 
 si statim deditus traderer, neque mea fortuna neque tua gloria 
 inclaruisset ; et supplicium mei oblivio sequeretur : at si incolumem 
 servaveris, aeternum exemplar clementiae ero.^ ad ea Caesar 
 veniam ipsique et coniugi et fratribus tribuit. atque illi vinclis 
 absoluti Agrippinam quoque, baud procul alio suggestu con- 
 lie may liere be speaking of what hap- stead of the possessive agreeing- with 
 pened a.d. 51. Below, 'praeiacere' the substantive) both objectively and 
 with an accusative occurs nowhere else ; subjectively. The words here, ' s uppli- 
 but is found with a dative in Pliny, N. H. cium mei,' are an instance of the jbrmer 
 iv. 24, " vastum mare praeiacens Asiae." sense, in which indeed the genitive of 
 
 at non Caratacus^ The negative ' non ' the pronoun is usually found in the 
 only, of course, applies to ' aut vultu . . . earlier writers. For the latter meaning, 
 requirens ; ' but Caratacus, not asking not common except in late writers, cf. ii. 
 for compassion either by downcast look 13, "std fama frui;" ii. 54, "nostri origine 
 or words. Cf. xiv. 58, "nee milites aut veneranda;" iv. 24, " primo sui incessu ;" 
 animo validos aut animo promptos ad vi. 22, " initia nostri ;" xv. 36, "nonlon- 
 spes novas transisse." gam sui absentiam." Some passages 
 
 37. traderer'] This could have been usually quoted as examples of this con- 
 'traditus essem.' One explanation of structionseem to me different in ki ad. In 
 such imperfects as the one found here iii. 67, " defensionem sui;" in vi. 7, "ad 
 is, that although the act is passed, its subsidium sui," and in xv. 9, "hunc sui 
 results are regarded as continuing up to finem," are rather instances of quasi 
 the present moment. But here, perhaps, objective genitives, the sense being the 
 the idea is rather, ' if having at the be- defence or aid applied to himself as the 
 ginning of the war been betrayed, I object — the termination put to his o'wn 
 were now being put into your power,' existence — rather than the defence or 
 Nipperdey reads ' traherer,' which I do aid supplied hy himself, and the end put 
 not think necessary. (to his life) by his own hand. Of course 
 
 supplicium mei] Tacitus uses the in such phrases as " quinta sui ])arte," 
 genitive of the personal pronoun (in- iii. 43, "summa sui parte," xiv. 6, and the 
 
A.D. 50.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 317 
 
 spicuam^ isdem quibus principem laudibus gratibusque venerati 
 sunt, novum sane et moribus veterum insolitum, feminam signis 
 Eomanis praesidere : ipsa semet parti a maioribus suis imperii 
 sociam ferebat. 
 
 38. Yocati postbac patres multa et magnifica super captivitate 
 Carataci disseruere, neque minus id clarum quam quod Sypbacem 
 P. Scipio, Person L. Paulus^ et si qui alii vinctos reges populo 
 Romano ostendere. censentur Ostorio triumphi insignia^ pros- 
 peris ad id rebus eius, mox ambiguis_, sive amoto CaTataco_, quasi 
 debellatum foret, minus intenta apud nos militia fuit^ sive hostes 
 miseratione tanti regis acrius ad ultionem exarsere. praefectum 
 castrorum et legionarias cohortes extruendis apud Siluras praesi- 
 diis relictas circumfundunt. ac ni cito nuntiis et casteHis proxi- 
 mis subventum foret copiarum obsidioni, obcubuissent ; praefectus 
 tamen et octo centuriones ac promptissimus quisque e manipulis 
 cecidere. nee multo post pabulantis nostros ipsos missasque ad 
 subsidium turmas profligant. 
 
 39. Tum Ostorius cohortes expeditas exposuit ; nee ideo fugam 
 sistebat^ ni legiones proelium excepissent : earum robore aequata 
 pugna, dein nobis pro meliore fuit. efifugere hostes tenui damno_, 
 quia inclinabat dies. crebra hinc proelia^ et saepius in modum 
 latrocinii per saltus per paludes^ ut cuique sors aut virtus, temere 
 proviso, ob iram ob praedam, iussu et aliquando ignaris ducibus, 
 ac praecipua Silurum pervicacia. quos accendebat vulgata inpe- 
 ratoris Romani vox, ut quondam Sygambri excisi aut in Gallias 
 
 like, the idea being 'self ' ('entire self ), Tacitus joins together co-ordinately, 
 
 no other construction would be admis- 'through the agency of messages des- 
 
 sible. Below, * gratibus ' occurs no- patched and the nearest stations. Most 
 
 where else. of the editors read ' ex castellis,' which 
 
 38. Syphacem] This was 201 a.c. is very much simpler ; but I have !pre- 
 
 Livy (xxx. 45) says that Syphax died at ferred to retain the reading of the MS. 
 
 Tibur before the triumph, but adds that nostros ipsos, ^c] ' Our men them- 
 
 Polybius makes the king actually led selves, as well as the squadrons sent to 
 
 in the procession. Perses was led in aid them.' 
 
 triumph by Aemilius Paullus 167 a.c. 39. exposuif] ' Exponere ' is often used 
 
 (Liv. xlv. 40). for disembarking troops. Here that 
 
 ad i<r\ Cf. xii. 11, for a note on this meaning is out of the question. Cicero, 
 
 expression. Divinat. in Caecil. 8, says, " Vitam in 
 
 nuntiis^ For the absolute use of the oculis conspectuque onmium exponere ;" 
 
 word here, cf. xiii. 9, " uterque ad Volo- and t his suggests that the force is 
 
 gesen regem nuntiis monebant." The ' brought into action,' ' turned out his 
 
 reading ' nuntiis et castellis 'proximis ' is troops,' as we should say. 
 
 a little diflScult. There were two things pro meliore] * Was in our favour.' 
 
 which helped to bring succour — the pos- Draeger compares Livy's phrases, " pro 
 
 sibility of sending messages, which might haud dubia expectare victoriam, pro 
 
 have been impossible, and the proximity victis esse." 
 of fortified stations. These two reasons 
 
318 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 803-304. 
 
 traiecti forentj ita Silurum nomen penitus extinguendum. ipitur 
 duas auxiliares coliortes avaritia praefectorum incautius populaates 
 intercepere ; spoliaque et captives largiendo ceteras quoque na- 
 tiones ad defectionem trahebant, cum taedio curarum f(33sus 
 Ostorius concessit vita, laetis hostibus, tamquam ducem baud 
 spernendmn etsi non proelium, at certe bellum absumpsisset. 
 
 40. At Caesar cognita morte legati_, ne provincia sine rectore 
 foretj A. Didium suffecit, is propere vectus non tamen int(3gras 
 res invenit_, adversa interim legionis pugna, cui Manlius Yalens 
 praeerat, auctaque est apud liostes eius rei fama, quo venientem 
 ducem exterrerent, atque illo augente audita,, ut maior laus com- 
 positi vel, si duravissent, venia iustior tribueretur. Silur(3s id 
 quoque damnum intulerant, lateque persultabant, donee adcursu 
 Didii pellerentur. sed post captum Caratacum praecipuus scien- 
 tia rei militaris Yenutius, e Brigantum civitate, ut supra memo- 
 ravi, fidusque diu et Romanis armis defensus, cum Cartimanduam 
 reginam matrimonio teneret ; mox orto discidio et statim bello 
 etiam adversus nos hostilia induerat. sed prime tantum inter 
 ipsos certabatur, callidisque Cartimandua artibus fratrem ac pro- 
 pinquos Yenutii intercepit. inde accensi bostis, stimulante igno- 
 minia, ne feminae imperio subderentur, valida et lecta armis 
 
 tamqua/m ducem haud spemendum] atque (faraa aucta est) illo augente;/ &c., 
 
 * On the ground that, if not a battle, yet so that ' apud hostes ' and ' illo augente,' 
 
 at all events the war had carried off no &c., are awkwardly opposed to each 
 
 despicable general.' For ' tamquam ' in other : ' the reports of the even^ were 
 
 the above sense, cf. H. i. 48j,."tam- increased by the enemy . . . aud by 
 
 quam scyphum aureum in convivio the general magnifying,' &c. 
 
 Claudii furatus ; " xvi. 13, " equitum se- compositi] The nominative ])lural : 
 
 natorumque interitus ... minus flebiles, 'if they were reduced to peace; they 
 
 tamquam communi mortalitate saevitiam might be a source of greater jjraise.' 
 
 principis praevenirent ;" xiii. 43, " inter-- 'Laus' might have been 'laudi;' but 
 
 cessit princeps tamquam satis expleta cf. Germ. 13, "nee rubor inter comites 
 
 ultione." In all these passages th^ aspici." 
 
 meaning of * tamquam ' is 'on the feminae] The Britons did not object 
 
 ground that,' 'ujider the view that:' to be ruled by women. Cf. Agiic. 16, 
 
 the usual force being 'just as if.' Cf. "neque enim sexum in imperii s dis- 
 
 Cic. ad Famil. xii. 9, "tamquam Asia cemunt ;" and xiv. 35, " solitum Britannis 
 
 clausa sit." Yery similarly 'quasi' is feminarvim ductu bellare." There must 
 
 found, Cf. xii. 47, " arcanum habetur have been some especial motive at work 
 
 quasi multo cruore sacratum," and xiii. in this case. Perhaps the reason was 
 
 18, " pecunias quasi in subsidium corri- that the Britons did not choose to be 
 
 piens," on the ground of its being neces- coerced into submitting to a woman's 
 
 sary for her security; and 'velut,' xi. rule in preference to that of Venutius, 
 
 27, " velut suscipiendorum liberorum who might have won their confidtmce by 
 
 causa." his military *skill. 
 
 40. Manlius Valens'] He was legatus of lecta a/rmis] Cf. H. iii. 55, " tot milia 
 
 the legio Italica a.d. 70 (H. i. 64), and armatorum lecta equisvirisque," 'choice 
 
 consul A.D. 96. Just below, in ' auctaque troops in the matter of their arms,' 
 
 est,' &c., the construction appears to be, * choicely equipped.' 
 ' auctaque est apud hostes eius rei fama, 
 
A.D. 50-51.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB." XII. 319 
 
 iuventus regnum eius invadunt. quod nobis praevisum, et 
 missae auxilio cohortes acre proelium fecere, cuius initio ambiguo 
 finis laetior fait, neque dispari eventu pugnatum a legione^ cui 
 Caesius Nasica praeerat ; nam Didius, senectute gravis et multa 
 copia honorum, per ministros agere et arcere hostem satis habe- 
 bat. baec, quamquam a duobus pro praetoribus plures per annos 
 gesta, coniunxi, ne divisa baud perinde ad memoriam sui valerent : 
 ad temporum ordinem redeo. 
 
 41. Ti. Claudio quintum Servio Cornelio Orfito consulibus 
 virilis toga Neroni maturata_, quo capessendae rei publicae babilis 
 videretur. et Caesar adulationibus senatus libens cessit^ ut vice- 
 simo aetatis anno consulatum Nero iniret atque interim designatus 
 proconsulare imperium extra urbem baberet ac princeps iuventu- 
 tis appellaretur. additum nomine eius donativum militi, congia- 
 rium plebei. et ludicro circensium_, quod acquirendis vulgi 
 studiis edebatuTj Britannicus in praetexta, Nero triumpbali veste 
 travecti sunt, spectaret populus bunc decore imperatorio^ ilium 
 puerili babitu, ac proinde fortunam utriusque praesumeret. simul 
 qui centurionum tribunorumque sortem Britannici miserabantur, 
 remoti fictis causis et alii per speciem bonoris ; etiam bbertorum 
 si quis incorrupta fide^ depelHtur tali occasione. obvii inter se 
 Nero Britannicum nomine, ille Domitium salutavere. quod ut 
 discordiae initium Agrippina multo questu ad maritum defert : 
 sperni quippe adoptionem, quaeque censuerint patres_, iusserit 
 populus, intra penates abrogari; ac nisi pravitas tam infensa 
 
 41. Servio Cornelio Orfito^ For the de- difference between tlie two youtlis, and 
 
 signation of the consul by three names, from that infer their future destinies.' 
 
 of. ii. 1, and the note there. The display of the two boys in their 
 
 maturata] Nero was now in his four- contrasted positions was meant to give 
 
 teenth year, having been bom a.d. 37. the cue to the thoughts to be enter- 
 
 The usual age for taking the toga virilis tained about them. Below, for * et alii,' 
 
 was properly on the completion of the cf. i. 63, " ut opus et alii praelium in- 
 
 seven teenth year ; but under the Caesars ciperent:" the general form would be 
 
 apparently during the fifteenth. At least, * alii . . . alii.' 
 
 in the Mai-m. Aucyr. (ii. 44) Augustus tali occasione'] * On an opportunity 
 
 seems to imply that he introduced his like the following.* Tacitus gives one 
 
 sons into the fonim while they were in instance as a specimen of the rest. Below, 
 
 their fifteenth year, "filios meos ... of course, the meaning is that Nero sa- 
 
 senatus populusque B-omanus, annum, luted Britannicus by that name, and 
 
 quintum decimum agentis consules de- Britannicus saluted Nero by the name 
 
 signavit." of Domitius. 
 
 specta/ref] Some of the editors insert iusserit populus'] Cf. xii. 26. Below, 
 
 ' ut,' but it is not perhaps necessary to ' eruptura ' is the neuter plural, appa- 
 
 do so. The words are intended to con- rently, otherwise 'erupturam' would be 
 
 vey the intention with which the ar- required, to correspond with 'adoptio- 
 
 rangement spoken of was made. * Let nem :' ' every thing would break out.' 
 the Roman people,' they said, * see the 
 
320 . V CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 834. 
 
 docentium arceatur, eruptura in publicam pemiciem. commobus 
 liis quasi criminibus optimum, quemque educatorem filii exilic ► ac 
 morte afficit datosque a noverca custodiae eius inponit. 
 
 42. Nondum tamen summa moliri Agrippina audebat, ni piae- 
 toriarum cohortium cura exolverentur Lusius Geta et Ruirius 
 Crispinus, quos Messalinae memores et liberis eius devinctos 
 credebat. igitur distrahi cohortes ambitu duorum et^ si ab uno 
 regerentur, intentiorem fore disciplinam adseverante uxore, trans- 
 fertur regimen cohortium ad Burrum Afranium, egregiae miliuaris 
 famae, gnarum tamen cuius sponte praeficeretur. suum quoque 
 fastigium Agrippina extollere altius : carpento Capitolium ingi'edi, 
 qiii bonos sacerdotibus et sacris antiquitus concessus venerationem 
 augebat feminae, quam imperatore genitam, sororem eius qui 
 rerum potitus sit et coniugem et matrem fuisse, unicum ad liunc 
 -diem exemplum est. inter quae praecipuus propugnator eius 
 Vitellius, validissima gratia, aetate extrema (adeo incertae sunt 
 potentium res) accusatione corripitur, deferente lunio Lupo sena- 
 tore. is crimina maiestatis et cupidinem imperii obiectabat ; prae- 
 buissetque aures Caesar, nisi Agrippinae minis magis quam 
 precibus mutatus esset, ut accusatori aqua at que igni interdiceret. 
 bactenus Yitellius voluerat. 
 
 43. Multa eo anno prodigia evenere. insessum diris a^ibus 
 Capitolium, crebris terrae motibus prorutae domus, ac dum latins 
 metuitur, trepidatione vulgi invalidus quisque obtriti; frugum 
 quoque egestas et orta ex eo fames in prodigium accipiebatur. 
 
 exiUo ac morte] So the MS., althougli privilege before (Dio Ix. 22). For a 
 
 in iii. 24 Tacitus has " adnlterosque wood-cut of this carpentum, see Dr. 
 
 eomm morte aut fuga puuivit," and in Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities. The 
 
 vi. 9, " ut accusatores exilio aut morte * sacra ' mentioned below seem to be the 
 
 multarentur." But perhaps the text is * sacred vessels, or images,' &o., which 
 
 correct : the methods of punishment were carried to the capitol at certain 
 
 were exile and death, the former in times of the year. Cf. Yarro, L. L. v. 
 
 some cases, the latter in others. § 47, " qua sacra quotquot mensibus 
 
 42. cuius sfponte] Cf. ii. 59, "sponte prin- feruntur in arcem." 
 cipis ;" also iv. 7 and 51, vi. 31, xiii. 39 imperatore genitam'] Agrippina was 
 
 and 42, H. iii. 16, H. iv. 19. Lucan has the daughter of Germanicus, an * Impe- 
 
 the same construction ; but it is not rator,' in the old sense of a victorious 
 
 found in the Augustan writers, who use general in command of an army, sister 
 
 * sponte ' either with a possessive pro- of Caligula, wife of Claudius, and mother 
 
 noun or alone. of Nero. It could hardly be said of her, 
 
 carpento'] The carpentum was a two- as of Archedice, that she was one, ^ 
 
 wheeled carriage, rectangular in shape, iraTpSs re koI avdphs aSfXcp&v r odaa 
 
 with an arched or sloping top. In the rvpawoov TralScuv t' ovk ijp9T} vovv ej draff- 
 
 case in question, Agrippina' s carpentum daKirjy. (Thucyd. vi. 59.) 
 was richly decorated, and the head is liactenus] ' To this extent ony had 
 
 supported at the four comers by carya- Vitellius wished (Lupus to be punished).' 
 
 tides. Messalina had enjoyed the same Cf. xiv. 3. 51, " hactenus respondisse." 
 
A.D. 51.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 321 
 
 nee occulti tantum questus^ sed iura reddentem Claudlum circum- 
 vasere clamoribus turbidis^ pulsumque in extremam fori partem 
 vi urguebant^ donee militum globo infensos perrupit. quindeeim 
 dierum alimenta urbi, non amplius, superfuisse eonstitit^ mag- 
 naque deum benignitate et modestia biemis rebus extremis sub- 
 ventum. at bereule olim Italia legionibus longinquas in pro- 
 vineias eommeatus portabat, nee nune infeeunditate laboratur. 
 sed Airicam potius et Aegyptum exereemus^ navibusque et 
 casibus vita populi Romani permissa est. 
 
 44. Eodem anno bellum inter Armenios Hiberosque exortum 
 Partbis quoque ac Romanis gravissimorum inter se motuum eausa 
 fuit. genti Parthorum Yologeses imperitabat^ materna origine ex 
 peliee Graeca, concessu fratrum regnum adeptus; Hiberos Pba- 
 rasmanes vetusta possessionem Armenios frater eius Mitbridates 
 optinebat opibus nostris. erat Pbarasmanis filius nomine Ra- 
 damistus^ deeora proeeritate^ vi corporis insignis et patrias artes 
 edoctus^ claraque inter aeeolas fama. is modieum Hiberiae 
 regnum seneeta patris detineri feroeius crebriusque iactabat^ 
 quam ut eupidinem occultaret. igitur Pbarasmanes iuvenem poten- 
 tiae promptum et studio popularium aceinctum^ vergentibus iam 
 aiinis suis metuens, aliam ad spem trahere et Armeniam ostentare, 
 pulsis Parthis datam Mitbridati a semet memorando : sed vim 
 differendam et potiorem dolum, quo ineautum opprimerent. ita 
 Radamistus simulata adversus patrem diseordia tamquam novereae 
 odiis impar pergit ad patruum, multaque ab eo comitate in 
 speeiem liberum eultus primores Armeniorum ad res novas illicit^ 
 ignaro et ornante insuper Mitbridate. 
 
 45. Reeonciliationis specie assumpta regressusque ad patrem, 
 quae fraude confici potuerint, prompta nuntiat, cetera armis ex- 
 
 43. ^^ira reddentem] Clauditis devoted 44. fratruvi] Tiridates (xii. 50) and 
 
 himself with extreme assiduity to judi- Pacorus (xv. 2). For Pharasmanes and 
 
 cial duties, giving up to them even his Mithridates, cf. vi. 32, xi. 8. 
 
 holidays, and allowing himself, on leav- potentiae promptum] For the dative 
 
 ing the bench, to be dragged back by with 'promptus,' cf. i. 48, "seditioni 
 
 eager suitors (cf. Suet. Claud. 14, 15). promptum;" iv. 46, "promptum liber- 
 
 Below, 'modestia hiemis' occurs no- tati;" and xi. 32, xv. 45. Elsewhere it 
 
 where else. is followed by * ad ' (xvi. 14), and by * in' 
 
 infeeunditate] The real cause has been (xv. 25). Some editions have 'promp- 
 
 spoken of before. It was the gradual tae,' which is nearer the reading of 
 
 increase of slave culture, and the mass- the Cod. Med. (prompte), and perhaps 
 
 1 ing of land in huge farms under pasture right. 
 
 instead of the plough. For the idea, in speeiem lib erum] * After the fashion 
 
 * navibusque,' &c., cf. iii. 54, " at Her- of children.' Eadamistus was treated 
 
 cule nemo refert quod vita populi R. with the kindness shown by a father to 
 
 per incerta maris et tempestatum cotidie his children, 
 volvitur." 
 
322 , COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 304. 
 
 equenda. interim Pharasmanes belli causas confingit : proeianti 
 sibi adversus regem Albanorum et Romanos auxilio vocanti 
 fratrem adversatum, eamque iniuriam excidio ipsius ultum ituium ; 
 simul magnas copias filio tradidit. ille irruptione subita terr.tum 
 exutumque campis Mithridaten compulit in castellum Gorneas, 
 tutum loco ac praesidio militum_, quis Oaelius Pollio praefcjctus, 
 centurio Casperius praeerat. nibil tarn ignarum barbaris quam 
 macbinamenta et astus oppugnationum : at nobis ea pars m Jitiae 
 maxime gnara est. ita Radamistus frustra vel cum damno temptatis 
 munitionibus obsidium incipit ; et cum vis neglegeretuPj avaritiam 
 praefecti emercatur^ obtestante Casperio ne socius rex, n(3 Ar- 
 menia donum populi Romani scelere et pecunia verter(mtur. 
 postremo quia multitudinem bostium Pollio, iussa patris Radamis- 
 tus obtendebant, pactus indutias abscedit, ut, nisi Pbarasmanem 
 bello absterruisset, Ummidium Quadratum praesidem Syriae 
 doceret quo in statu Armenia foret. 
 
 46. Digressu centurionis velut custode exsolutus praefectus 
 bortari Mitbridaten ad sanciendum foedus, coniunctionem fratrum 
 ac priorem aetate Pbarasmanen et cetera necessitudinum nomina 
 referens, quod filiam eius in matrimonio baberet, quod ipse Ra- 
 damisto socer esset : non abnuere pacem Hiberos quamquam in 
 tempore validiores ; et satis cognitam Armeniorum perfidiam, nee 
 aliud subsidii quam castellum commeatu egenum : ne duoitaret 
 armis incruentas condiciones malle. cunctante ad ea Mitliridate 
 et suspectis praefecti consiliis, quod pelicem regiam polluerat 
 inque omnem libidinem venalis babebatur, Casperius inteiim ad 
 Pbarasmanen pervadit, utque Hiberi obsidio decedant expostulat. 
 
 45. exutumque camxtis] It is not ne- pro praetore of Lusitania nnder Tiberius, 
 
 cessaryto alter 'campis' into 'castris.' of Illyricum under Claudius, find then 
 
 ' Exuere sedibus' occurs in xiii. 39. of Syria, in succession apparertly to C. 
 
 Below, ','Gomeae' is identified by D' An- Cassius (xii. 11). He died in a.d. 60 
 
 ville with ' Khorien,' in the northern (xiv. 26) . These and other offices held 
 
 part of Armenia, by Ummidius are detailed in Lat. Inscrip. 
 
 verterentur] That is, * everterentur.' n. 3128. 
 
 Cf. ii. 42, "versa Caesarum subole;" 46. in tempore'] Here the sense is, 'at 
 
 iii. 54, "idem illi civitatem verti clami- that moment.' More usually it would be 
 
 tabnnt." ' at a favourable time.' Below, for ' egenus' 
 
 pactus] The subject of this clause is with an ablative cf. xv. 12. Iii both in- 
 
 Casperius. The arrangement was, that stances it is joined with ' commeatus.* 
 
 the centurion should endeavour to dis- Elsewhere the genitive is alwnys found 
 
 suade Pharasmanes from continuing the (i. 53, iv. 30, xv. 3, &c.). 
 
 war, and, failing that, should report the armis] A rare construction with 
 
 state of affairs to the governor of Syria, 'malle.' Gronovius quotes a similar one 
 
 Ummidium Quadratum] C. Ummidius from Appuleius (Apologia, p. 83), "per- 
 
 C. f. Durmius Quadratus was consul suf- suaserat idem Pontianus matii suae ut 
 
 feotus in some year unknown, legatus me aliis omnibus mallet." 
 
A.D. 51.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 323 
 
 ille propalam incerta et saepius molliora respondens^ secretis 
 nuntiis monet Radamistum obpugnationem quoquo modo celerare. 
 augetur flagitii merces, et Pollio occulta corruptione inpellit 
 militeSj ut pacem flagitarent seque praesidium omissuros minita- 
 rentur. qua necessitate Mithridates diem locumque foederi 
 accepit castelloque egreditur. 
 
 47. Ac primo Radamistus in amplexus eius effusus simulare 
 obsequium^ socerum ac parentem appellare ; adicit ius iurandum, 
 non ferrOj non veneno vim allaturum. simul in lucum propin- 
 quum traliit_, provisum illic sacrificium imperatum dictitans, ut dis 
 testibus pax firmaretur. mos est regibus_, quotiens in societatem 
 coeantj implicare dextras pollicesque inter se vincire nodoque 
 praestringere : mox ubi sanguis in artus se extremes suffuderit, 
 levi ictu cruorem eliciunt atque invicem lambunt. id foedus 
 arcanum habetur quasi mutuo cruore sacratum. sed tunc qui ea 
 vincla admovebat^ decidisse simulans genua Mitbridatis invadit 
 ipsumque prosternit ; simulque concursu plurium iniciuntur ca- 
 tenae, ac compede, quod dedecorum barbaris, trabebatur; mox 
 quia vulgus dure imperio ]iabitum_, probra ac verbera intentabat. 
 et erant contra qui tantam fortunae commutationem miserarentur ; 
 secutaque cum parvis liberis coniux cuncta lamentatione com- 
 plebat. diversis et contectis vebiculis abduntur, dum Pharas- 
 manis iussa exquirerentur. illi cupido regni fratre et filia potior 
 animusque sceleribus paratus; visui tamen consuluit^ ne coram 
 interficeret. et Radamistus, quasi iuris iurandi memor_, non ferrum, 
 non venenum in sororem et patruum expromit, sed proiectos in 
 bumum et veste multa gravique opertos necat. filii quoque 
 Mithridatis, quod caedibus parentum iUacrimaYcrant, trucidati 
 sunt. 
 
 48. At Quadratus cognoscens proditum Mitbridaten et regnum 
 ab interfectoribus optineri, vocat consilium, docet acta et an 
 ulcisceretur consultat. paucis decus publicum curae, plures tuta 
 disserunt : omne scelus externum cum laetitia habendum ; semina 
 
 47. sacrificium imperatvm] 'Thesacri- camunum ex centurionibus, &c.," where 
 
 fice enjoined ' by custom when alliances see the note. The * visus ' is that of Pha- 
 
 are concluded between royal person- rasmanes, and the sense is not 'he con - 
 
 ages. I do not see that Pflugk's emen- suited appearances.' Below, for * ne 
 
 dation 'sacrificii paratum' is necessary, coram interficeret,' cf. xi. 15, and the 
 
 visui tamen consuliuf] ' Pharasmanes note there, 
 
 spared his victims the additional pain 48. habendum] For this use of ' habere,' 
 
 of seeing their enemy looking on at cf. iv. 21, " quae in praesens Tiberius 
 
 their death ; he refrained from showing civiliter habuit." So Sallust (Cat. 51), 
 
 himself.' Cf. xv. 61, " voci tamen et ad- "multi eas gravius aequo habuere." 
 spectui pepercit intromisitque ad Sene- 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 804—805. 
 
 etiam odiorum iacienda, ut saepe principes Romani eanc.em 
 Armeniam specie largitionis turbandis barbarorum animis pi-ae- 
 buerint : poteretur Eadamistus male partis, dum invisus infamis^ 
 quando id magis ex usu quam si cum gloria adeptus foret. in 
 banc sententiam itum. ne tamen adnuisse facinori viderentnr et 
 diversa Caesar iuberet, missi ad Pbarasmanen nuntii, ut absce- 
 deret a finibus Armeniis filiumque abstraberet. 
 
 49. Erat Cappadociae procurator lulius Pelignus, ignavia aiiimi 
 et deridiculo corporis iuxta despiciendus, sed Claudio perquam 
 familiaris, cum privatus olim conversatione scurrarum iners otium 
 oblectaret. is Pelignus auxiliis provincialium contractis tamc[uam 
 recuperaturus Armeniam, dum socios magis quam bostes praedatur, 
 abscessu suorum et incursantibus barbaris praesidii egens ad 
 Radamistum venit; donisque eius evictus ultro regium insigne 
 sumere cohortatur sumentique adest auctor et satelles. quod ubi 
 turpi fama divulgatum, ne ceteri quoque ex Peligno coniectarentur, 
 Helvidius Priscus legatiis cum legione mittitur, rebus turbidis 
 pro tempore ut consuleret. igitur propere montem Taurum 
 transgressus moderatione plura quam vi composuerat, cum redire 
 in Syriam iubetur, ne initium belli adversus Partbos existeret. 
 
 50. Nam Yologeses casum invadendae Armeniae obvenisse 
 ratus, quam a maioribus suis possessam externus rex flagitio 
 optineret, contrabit copias fratremque Tiridaten deduceie in 
 
 adeptus foref] For * adeptus,' Nip- the sense of the passage, 
 perdey suggests * depulsus.' Certainly 49. conversatione] This is a word 
 the passage is any thing but clear. Quad- of late use. It occurs also in Grema. 
 ratus put before the council this ques- 40, " satiatam conversatione moitalium 
 tion: was the treachery of Eadamistus deam." Claudius was fond of low com- 
 to be punished ? His own opinion was, pany. Cf. Suet. Claud. 5, " abie^ta spe 
 that Eadamistus might be left in posses- dignitatis ad otium concessit, modo in 
 sion of the kingdom he had obtained, hortis et suburbana dome, modo ia Cam- 
 covered, as he would be, with infamy, paniae secessu delitescens, atque ex con- 
 This would be a policy more useful to tubemio sordidissimorum honnnam su- 
 the Romans than the infliction of instant per veterem segnitia« notam ebrietatis 
 punishment. This is intelligible ; but quoque et aleae infamiam subiit." 
 Tacitus does not make the latter alter- coniectarentur] * Lest all others; should 
 native to be punishment, but he com- be judged of by Pelignus.' Pelignus was 
 pares the advantage to Roman interests not to be regarded as a type of all 
 of Radamistus, in his present degraded other Roman generals. The Holvidius 
 position, with the much less advantage Priscus mentioned here cannoi appa- 
 he would have conferred if he had gained rently be the famous son-in-law of Paetus 
 his power honestly. In that case, as Thrasea (xvi. 28). This latter H3lvidius 
 far as one can see, he would have been Priscus was quaestor under Nero (Schol. 
 of no use at all. Either the reading is Juv. v. 36), and praetor designatus a.d. 
 wrong, or Tacitus wrote confusedly, 69 (H. ii. 61). As the Helvidius Priscus 
 which I think is not unlikely; being mis- in the text is already legatus of t. legion, 
 led by the words * dum invisus infamis ' he must, one would suppose, ha v'e been 
 tostat«thealtemativesuggestedbytbem, 'quaestor' at all events before Nero's 
 instead of the alternative required by accession. 
 
A.D. 51—52.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 325 
 
 regnum parat^ ne qua pars domus sine imperio ageret. incessu 
 Parthorum sine acie pulsi Hiberi^ urbesque Armeniorum Artaxata 
 et Tigranocerta iugum accepere. deinde atrox hiemps sen parum 
 provisi commeatus et orta ex utroque tabes perpellunt Vologesen 
 omittere praesentia. vacuamque rursus Armeniam Radamistus 
 invasitj truculentior quam antea, tamquam adversus defectores et 
 in tempore rebellaturos. atque illi^ quamvis servitio sueti^ patien- 
 tiam abrumpunt armisque regiam circumveniunt. 
 
 61. Nee aliud Radamisto subsidium fuit quam pernicitas equo- 
 rum^ quis seque et coniugem abstulit^ sed coniux gravida primam 
 utcumque fugam ob metum hostilem et mariti caritatem toleravit ; 
 post festinatione continua, ubi quati uterus et viscera vibrantur, 
 orare ut morte bonesta contumeliis captivitatis eximeretur. ille 
 prime amplecti adlevare adhortari, modo virtutem admirans, 
 mode timore aeger, ne quis relicta poteretur. postremo violentia 
 amoris et facinorum non rudis destringit acinacen vulneratamque 
 ripam ad Araxis traliit_, flumini tradit^ ut corpus etiam auferretur : 
 ipse praeceps Hiberos ad patrium regnum pervadit. interim 
 Zenobiam (id mulieri nomen) placida illuvie spirantem ac vitae 
 manifestam advertere pastores^ et dignitate formae baud dege- 
 nerem reputantes obligant vulnus, agrestia medicamina adbibent 
 cognitoque nomine et casu in urbem Artaxata ferunt; unde 
 publica cura deducta ad Tiridaten comiterque excepta cultu regie 
 habita est. 
 
 50. in tempore] 'At a favourable op- placida illuvie] ' In the motionless 
 portunity.' For a different meaning of dead water.' By 'illuvies' apparently is 
 this expression, see the note on xii. 46. intended the shallow, sedgy, or muddy 
 
 51. utcumque'] ' As well as she could.* water at the sides of a river, where the 
 Cf. ii. 14, and the note there. current is less strong than in the centre 
 
 uM quati] For the union of moods in of the stream, although there is no other 
 
 this clause see note on ii. 4, under ' ubi instance of this meaning. Below, for the 
 
 minitari.' genitive after 'manifestam,' cf. ii. 85, 
 
 pervadit] The verb does not appa- xiii. 26, xiii. 23. Plautus has the same 
 
 rently govern Hiberos ; but a preposi- construction (True. i. 2. 36), and Sallust 
 
 tion seems understood, or rather *the (Catil. 52, sub finem) . Dryden imitates 
 
 preposition 'ad' governs both 'Hiberos,' this construction in Absalom and Achito- 
 
 and 'patrium regnum,' and the more phel, 1. 204, "Now manifest of crimes," 
 
 naturally because Tacitus continually and Palamon and Aroite, i. 623, " Calisto 
 
 puts the preposition after its case, as there stood, manifest of shame." 
 
 just before 'ripam ad Araxis,' Halm dignitate formae] ' And from the dig - 
 
 compares iv. 67, " Capreas se in insulam nity of her mien, thinking her to be of 
 
 abdidit," but ' Capreae ' being the name no ignoble birth.' ' Dignitate ' is an 
 
 of an island makes all the difference, instrumental ablative, giving the cause 
 
 Tacitus might have written ' Capreas se of the supposition formed by the shep- 
 
 abdidit,' but would hardly have said herds, and 'degenerem' is used abso- 
 
 * Hiberos pervadit,' unless * ad patrium lutely, as vi. 42, " matema origine Arsa- 
 
 regnum * had followed. ciden, cetera degenerem." 
 
326 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. <S05. 
 
 52. Fausto Sulla Salvio Otlione consulibus Furius Scribonuuius 
 in exilium agitur, quasi finem principis per Chaldaeos scrutare i^ur. 
 adnectebat'ur crimini Yibia mater eius, ut casus prioris (mam 
 relegata erat) inpatiens. pater Scriboniani Camillus arma per 
 Delmatiam moverat ; idque ad clementiami trahebat Caesar, c^iod 
 stirpem bostilem iterum conservaret. neque tamen exuli Icraga 
 posthac vita fuit : morte fortuita an per venenum extinctus esset^ 
 ut quisque credidit, vulgavere. de mathematicis Italia pellendis 
 factum senatus consultum atrox et inritum. laudati .dehinc 
 oratione principis qui ob angustias familiares ordine senatorio 
 sponte cederent, motique qui remanendo inpudentiam paupertati 
 adicerent. 
 
 53. Inter quae refert ad patres de poena feminarum quae servis 
 coniungerentur ; statuiturque, ut ignaro domino ad id prolapsae 
 in servitute, sin consensisset, pro libertis haberentur. Pallanti, 
 
 52. Fausto Sulla] Faustus Cornelius sent of his master, remained free her- 
 Sulla Felix was son of Faustus Cornelius self, but tliat her child was a ^lave ; 
 Sulla (consul suffectus a.d. 31), and son- for the senatus consultum gave validity 
 in-law of Claudius (Suet. Claud. 27). to the compact between the woma a and 
 L. Salvius Otho Titianus was brother of the owner of the slave (nam quod inter 
 the Emperor Otho. eam et dominum istius servi oonv3nerit 
 
 iterum conservaref] * A second time' ex senatus consulto ratumesse iubetur). 
 
 is spoken of, because Furius Scribonianus Elsewhere (i. § 160) he says that a free 
 
 had not been involved in his father's woman, if she persist in uniting terself 
 
 punishment (see the note on vi. 1), when with a slave against the express rafusal 
 
 he was put to death (H. ii. 75; Suet, of the slave's master to sanction t (in- 
 
 Claud. 13; and the note on vi. 1). vitis et denuntiantibus), becomes tlereby 
 
 morte fortuita'] A compressed sentence, the slave (ancilla) of the master. From 
 
 equivalent to ' utrum morte . . . ex- this it appears that the womaii was 
 
 tinctus esset incertum ; nam alii morte only brought into a servile condicion if 
 
 . . . extinctum esse, alii per venenum the 'master of the slave with whom 
 
 ut quisque credidit, vulgavere.' Cf. xiv. she cohabited expressly forbado the 
 
 9, " aspexeritne matrem exanimem Nero union (denuntiantibus). If the master 
 
 et formam corporis eius laudaverit, sunt were ignorant of the union, the sena- 
 
 qui tradiderint, sunt qui abnuant," i. e. tus consultum apparently did not apply, 
 
 aspexeritne . . . incertum est, nam sunt and the woman would, I suppose, remain 
 
 qui tradiderint, &c.' free, although by a clause in the Lex 
 
 cederent] Cf. xi. 25. Aelia Sentia the children of such union 
 
 53. in servitute] The enactments of would be slaves, provided the mother 
 the Senatus consultum Claudianum, as knew the man vrith whom she coha- 
 here stated by Tacitus, related to two bited to be a slave (Gains i. § 86), 
 cases : that of women (free bom) who a point which she could scarcelj' avoid 
 cohabited with a slave without the know- knowing. It would appear fron. what 
 ledge of the slave's master, and that of has been said that Tacitus has "N^'ritten 
 those women who were so united with ' ignaro domino ' as including al. cases 
 the master's consent : in the former case except those of * consent ;' whereas there 
 they would become the slaves of the were really three cases, ' an actual con- 
 master, in the latter they were to be in sent,' * an actual forbidding,' and ' igno- 
 the position of freedwomen. This is the ranee :' in the first the woman retained 
 account of Tacitus. A fuller one is given her freedom, in the second she lost it, 
 by Gaius. He says (i. § 84) that by the and to the third the senatus consultum 
 S. C. Claudianum a civis llomana, if she did not apply, and therefore the woman 
 cohabited with a slave, with the con- retained her freedom. A difficulty is 
 
A.D. 52.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 327 
 
 quern repertorem eius relationis ediderat Caesar, praetoria insig- 
 nia et centies quinquagies sestertium censuit consul designatus 
 Barea Soranus. additum a Scipione Cornelio grates publico 
 agendas, quod regibus Ai'cadiae ortus veterrimam nobilitatem 
 Usui publico postponeret seque inter ministros principis haberi 
 sineret. adseveravit Claudius contentum lionore Pallantem intra 
 priorem paupertatem subsistere. et fixum est aere publico senatus 
 consultum, quo libertinus sestertii ter milieus possessor antiquae 
 parsimoniae laudibus cumulabatur. 
 
 54. At non frater eius, cognomento Felix, pari moderatione 
 agebat, iam pridem ludaeae inpositus et cuncta malefacta sibi 
 inpune ratus tanta potentia subnixo. sane praebuerant ludaei 
 speciem motus orta seditione, postquam . . . cognita caede eius 
 baud obtemperatum esset, manebat metus ne quis principum 
 eadem imperitaret. atque interim Felix intempestivis remediis 
 delicta accendebat, aemulo ad deterrima Yentidio Cumano, cui 
 pars provinciae babebatur, ita divisis ut huic Galilaeorum natio, 
 Felici Samaritae parerent, discordes olim et tum contemptu 
 regentium minus coercitis odiis. igitur raptare inter se, immit- 
 tere latronum globes, componere insidias et aliquando proeliis 
 congredi, spoliaque et praedas ad procuratores referre. hi que 
 primo laetari, mox gliscente permitie cum arma militum interie- 
 cissent, caesi milites; arsissetque bello provincia, ni Quadratus 
 
 made by the words 'pro libertis,' be- regibus Arcadiae ortus^ The only 
 
 cause Gaius (i. § 84) says that in the ground for this claim was doubtless the 
 
 case of consent on the part of the fact that Pallas bore the same name as 
 
 master (volente domino, i. e. sin con- the old Arcadian king. Cf. Virg. viii. 
 
 sensisset), the woman remained free 51, "Arcades his oris genus a Pallante 
 
 (libera, non liberta) . It is stated how- profectum . . . posuere in montibus 
 
 ever in Dr. Smith's Diet, of Antiquities urbem Pallantis proavi de nomine Pal- 
 
 (under senatus consultum) that from a lanteum." Below, for ' aere publico,* 
 
 passage of Paulus (S. K. iv. tit. 10) it cf. xi. 14, sub finem. 
 
 appears that in certain circumstances, sestertii ter miliens'] This sum was 
 
 which he does not detail, a woman was about two and a half milHons. Pallas 
 
 reduced by the Senatus consultum and Narcissus were the two men of whom 
 
 ClaudianTun to the condition of a freed- it was said wittily, that if they would 
 
 woman. And consequently the reading take Claudius into partnership, their 
 
 * pro hbertis' is no doubt correct, but it master's fortune would be made, 
 
 shows the account of Tacitus to be less 54. cognomento Felix'] This was An- 
 
 exact than it might be. Suetonius tonius Felix, a compound of cruelty and 
 
 (Vesp. 11) goes wrong altogether appa- lust (H. v. 9). He is the Felix of the 
 
 rently, for he connects Vespasian with Acts of the Apostles (xxiii. 24). 
 
 the senatus consultum, and represents cognita caede eiiis] This seems to refer 
 
 it enacting that whatever woman co- to the attempt of Caius Caesar to place 
 
 habited with a slave must herself — under his image in the Jewish temple : this was 
 
 all circumstances, for no exception is resisted, and even after his death, the 
 
 mentioned — become a slave also. Jews did not quite settle down, because 
 
 consul designatus] I. e. consul elect for they feared a repetition of the attempt. 
 
 the latter half of this same year. For ita divisis] Sc, provincialibus, or lu- 
 
 Scipio Cornelius, cf. iii. 74, xi. 2. 4. daeis, easily suppKed from 'provinciae.' 
 
328 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. ^05. 
 
 Syriae rector subvenisset. nee diu adversus ludaeos, qii. in 
 necem militum proruperant, dubitatum quin capite poenas luerent: 
 Cumanus et Felix cunctationem adferebant^ quia Claudius cfyasis 
 rebellionis auditis ius statuendi etiam de procuratoribus dedi^rat. 
 sed Quadratus Felicem inter iudices ostentavit^ receptum in 
 tribunal, quo studia accusantium deterrerentur ; damnatusque 
 flagitiorum quae duo deliquerant Cumanus^ et quies provinciae 
 reddita. 
 
 55. Nee multo post agrestium Cilicum nationes_, quibus Clita- 
 rum cognomentum, saepe et alias commotae, tunc Troxpbore duce 
 montes asperos castris cepere at que inde decursu in litora aut 
 urbes vim cultoribus et oppidanis ac plerumque in mercatorcjs et 
 navicularios audebant. obsessaque civitas Anemuriensis, et missi 
 e Syria in subsidium equites cum praefecto Curtio Severe turban- 
 tur, quod duri circum loci peditibusque ad pugnam idonei equestre 
 proelium baud patiebantur. dein rex eius orae Antiocbus bla.ndi- 
 mentis adversum plebem, fraude in ducem cum barbarorum copias 
 dissociasset, Troxobore paucisque primoribus interfectis ceteros 
 dementia composuit. 
 
 56. Sub idem tempus inter lacum Fucinum amnemque Lirim 
 perrupto monte, quo magnificentia operis a pluribus viseretur, lacu 
 
 adversus ludaeosl 'Witli reference to ment.' 
 
 the Jews.' Cf. i. 65, " lentae adversum in Tnercatores'] For the change o f con- 
 
 imperia aures ;" xv. 63, " adversus prae- struction from the dative to the ac cusa- 
 
 sentem formidinem moUitus." The use tive, with a preposition, cf. iv. 9, "me- 
 
 of the preposition arises from the writer moriae Drusi eadem quae in Germaidcum 
 
 having mentally in view two opposing decernuntur ;" iv. 2, " fiducia ipsis in 
 
 forces marshalled against each other, ceteros metus ;" xiii. 21, "ultioncm in 
 
 Hence such phrases as ' firmus,' or * in- delatores et praemia amicis obtriuit." 
 
 victus adversus pecuniam' (iii. 18), For a change from one preposition to 
 
 'gratiam' (xv. 21), are naturally em- another see xii. 20, "quanta pervicacia 
 
 ployed. in hostem, tanta beneficientia adversus 
 
 ius statuendi'} Claudius, after hearing supplices utendum," and in this pi'esent 
 
 an account of the insurrection and the chapter "blandimentis adversum pi ebem, 
 
 causes which led to it, had given Quad- fraude in ducem." Below, the civitas 
 
 ratus authority to look into the conduct Anemuriensis (now Anamur), was tho 
 
 of the two procuratores, and inflict pun- most southern point of Cilicia and Asia 
 
 ishment on one or both if they deserved Minor. 
 
 it. Quadratus was thereby placed in a Antiochus'] This was Antiochns IV. 
 
 difficulty. Both were to blame, but (son of the Antiochus of ii. 42), king of 
 
 Felix was too powerfully supported by Commagene. He was deprived of his 
 
 the influence of Pallas at Rome to be kingdom (given him by Caligula) by 
 
 called to account. By the device of Vespasian, and lived in obscurit;y at 
 
 putting him on the judicial bench instead Eome (Dio Cass. Iii. 8, Ix. 8). 
 
 of in the prisoners' dock, Cumanus was 56. perrupto monte'] The Fuoinc s i^ a 
 
 made the sole delinquent, and he was ac- large lake (now the Lago di Cela»p), 
 
 cordingly convicted and punished. some thirty miles in circumference, "yyjtj^ 
 
 55. Clitarum'] Cf. vi. 41. Below ' cas- no visible outlet. To carry olF the 
 
 tris * seems the ablative case : * occupied waters, Claudius excavated a tcmnel, 
 
 the rough mountains with an encamp- nearly three milea in length fror\ it to 
 
A.D. 52.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 329 
 
 in ipso navale proelium adomatur, ut quondam Augustus structo 
 circa Tiberim stagno, sed levibus navigiis et minore copia ediderat. 
 Claudius triremes quadriremesque et undeviginti hominum milia 
 armavit, cincto ratibus ambitu, ne vaga efifugia forent, ac tamen 
 spatium amplexus ad vim remigii^ gubernantium artes^ impetus 
 navium et proelio solita. in ratibus praetoriarum cobortium mani- 
 puli turmaeque adstiterant^ antepositis propugnaculis, ex quis cata- 
 pultae ballistaeque tenderentur. reHqua lacus classiarii tectis 
 navibus obtinebant. ripas et colles m.0Jiti\unque edita in modum 
 tbeatri multitude innumera complevit, proximis e municipiis et alii 
 urbe ex ipsa, visendi cupidine aut oflScio in principem. ipse insigni 
 paludamento, neque procul Agrippina cblamyde aurata, praesedere. 
 pugnatum quamquam inter sontes fortium virorum animo, ac post 
 multum vulnerum occidioni exempti sunt. 
 
 6 7 . Sed perfecto spectaculo apertum aquarum iter, incuria operis 
 manifesta fuit, baud satis depressi ad lacus ima vel media, eoque, 
 tempore interiecto, altius effossi specus, et contrabendae rursus mul- 
 titudini gladiatorum spectaculum editur, inditis pontibus pedestrem 
 ad pugnam. quin et convivium effluvio lacus adpositum magna 
 formidine cunctos adfecit, quia vis aquarum prorumpens proxima 
 trabebat, convulsis ulterioribus aut fragore et sonitu exterritis. 
 
 the valley of tlie Liris, occupying thirty having been on the right side of the river, 
 
 thousand men eleven years in the work Brotier suggests that Tacitns himself 
 
 (Suet. Claud, 20). lived across the Tiber (in theregio trans- 
 
 structo circa Tiherim] The Cod. Med. tiberina), and naturally spoke of the 
 
 has * cis Tiberim,' which appears to right side as * cis Tiberim.' 
 be wrong. The Marm. Ancyr. (iv. 43) chlamyde aurata] Pliny (N. H. xxxiii. 
 
 has ** navalis proeli spectaculum populo § 63) speaks of Agrippina as " indutam 
 
 dedi trans Tiberim, in quo loco nunc paludamento auro textili sine alia ma- 
 
 nemus est Caesarum cavato (solo in) teria." Dio (1. 33) says Agrippina x^«,"w5i 
 
 longitudinem mille et octingentos pedes, Siaxpvcrtp iKocrfxiiTo. The two garments 
 
 in latitudinem (pedum mille et) ducen- were almost identical. 
 (tum)quotrigintarostratae naves triremes 57. ad lacus ima vel media'] I believe 
 
 (et birem)es pluris autem minores inter this to mean 'to the lowest, or (even) 
 
 seconflixerunt." Suetonius (Aug. 43) says, middle point of the lake in depth.' No 
 
 " navale proelium circa Tiberim cavato doubt this was a disgracefully careless 
 
 solo," which leaves the matter uncertain, oversight, but that is just the ' incuria 
 
 but as Mr. Cookesley points out (Ex- operis ' alluded to by Tacitus. Others 
 
 planatory Index to the Map of Ancient translate ' to the lowest point, or (what 
 
 Rome, p. 109), in Tib. 72 he speaks of is the same thing usually) the depth of 
 
 Tiberius as coming, in spite of his fears, the lake in the middle.' The objection 
 
 " ad proximos Naumachiaehortos," which to which is that the lowest point is not 
 
 could hardly allow one to suppose the necessarily in the middle ; and, what is 
 
 gardens to be on the left bank in the more fatal, ' ima ' and ' media ' ought 
 
 Campus Martins. Unfortunately there both to be measures of the same kind ; 
 
 is a diversity between the older and more whereas in the view spoken of, 'ima' is 
 
 recent copies of the Marm. Ancyr. ; and in a measure of depth, and 'media' is a 
 
 the former the words ' trans Tiberim ' measure of horizontal extension, 
 are not found. However the balance of convulsis ulteriorihus'] ' All that was 
 
 evidence is in favour of the Naumachia farther off being violently shaken. The 
 
330 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. ^06. 
 
 simul Agrippina trepidatione principis usa ministrum operis Na::cis- 
 sum incusat cupidinis ac praedarum. nee ille reticet^ inpoten^iam 
 muliebrem nimiasque spes eius arguens. 
 
 58. D. lunio Q. Haterio consulibus sedecim annos natus I> ero 
 Octaviam. Caesaris filiam in matrimonium accepit. utque studiis 
 honestis et eloquentiae gloria enitesceret, causa lliensium suscespta 
 Romanum Troia demissum et luliae stirpis auctorem Aeneam alia- 
 que kaud procul fabulis Vetera facunde executus perpetra:; ut 
 Ilienses omni publico munere solverentur. eodem oratore Bono- 
 niensi coloniae igni baustae subventum centies sestertii largitione. 
 redditur Rhodiis Hbertas, adempta saepe aut firmata, prout bellis 
 externis meruerant aut domi seditione deliquerant; tributurique 
 Apamensibus terrae motu convolsis in quinquennium remissum. 
 
 59. At Claudius saevissima quaeque promere adigebatur eiutdem 
 Agrippinae artibus, quae Statilium Taurum opibus inlustrem hortis 
 eius inbians pervertit accusante Tarquitio Prisco. legatus is l-^auri 
 Africam imperio proconsulari regentis, postquam revenerant, pauca 
 repetundarum crimina, ceterum magicas superstitiones obiectabat. 
 nee ille diutius falsum accusatorem, indignas sordes perpessuS; vim 
 vitae suae attulit ante sententiam senatus. Tarquitius tamen curia 
 exactus est, quod patres odio delatoris contra ambitum Agrippinae 
 pervicere. 
 
 60. Eodem anno saepius audita vox principis, parem vim rcrum 
 babendam a procuratoribus suis iudieatarum ac si ipse statuisset. 
 aC ne fortuito prolapsus videretur, senatus quo que consulto cautum 
 
 subject of ' convTilsis ' seems to include (Plin. N. H. iii. 20) . It was found ed by 
 
 the tables, dishes, couches, in fact every the Tuscans, and became a Roman (-olony 
 
 thing connected with the feast, the 189 A.c. (Liv. xxxvii. 57). It seems to 
 
 guests included, and the subject of *ex- have been especially connected with the 
 
 territis ' is confined to the last. Antonian family (Suet. Aug. 17). 
 
 68. D. Junto] Decius lunius Silanus It was here that Octavianus, Ant onius, 
 
 Torquatus was brother of L. Silanus and Lepidus arranged the terms (^f the 
 
 (xii. 3) and M. Silanus (xiii. 1). He was second triumvirate. Below, Aparaea is 
 
 put to death by Nero (xv. 35). Q. Hate- a town of Phrygia, near Celaenae, built 
 
 rius Antoninus was son of D. Haterius by Antiochus Soter, and so called after 
 
 Agrippa (ii. 51) . his mother Apama. PKny says (N. H. 
 
 deniissurti] This is a poetical word for v. 29) it was at the foot of Mens Siignia, 
 
 *ortum,' found only in poetry. Cf. and surrounded by the Marsyas, Oorima, 
 
 Virg. i. 288, " lulius a magno demissum and Orga, affluents of the Maeandor. It 
 
 nomen lulo;" and Hor. Sat. ii. 5. 63, " ab is supposed to be the modem Denair. 
 
 alto demissum genus Aenea." 59. Statilium Taurum] Cf. vi. 11, and 
 
 perpetrat] There is, I believe, no other the note on the family, 
 
 instance of the construction found here, curia exactus'] Tarquitius does not 
 
 viz., * perpetrare ut ;' but there is * per- seem to have been per^aanently the worse 
 
 petrare ne ' in xiv. 11. Below, Bononi- for his expulsion. He was proconsul of 
 
 ensis Colonia was a town of Cispadane Bithynia afterwards, and condemr ed on 
 
 Gaul, on the Ehenus, at the foot of the a charge of repetundae (xiv. 46). 
 Apennines, originally called Felsina 
 
A.D. 53.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 331 
 
 plenius quam antea et uberius. nam divus Augustus apud eques- 
 tres_, qui Aegypto praesiderent, lege agi decretaque eorum perinde 
 haberi iusserat^ ac si magistratus Romani constituissent ; mox alias 
 per provincias et in urbe pleraque concessa sunt, quae olim a prae- 
 toribus noscebantur. Claudius omne ius tradidit, de quo totiens 
 seditione aut armis certatum, cum Semproniis rogationibus equester 
 ordo in possessione iudiciorum locaretur, aut rursum Serviliae leges 
 senatui iudicia redderent, Mariusque et Sulla olim de eo vel prae- 
 cipue bellarent. sed tunc ordinum diver sa studia, et quae yicerant 
 publico valebant. C. Oppius et Cornelius Balbus primi Caesaris 
 opibus potuere condiciones pacis et arbitria belli tractare. Matios 
 posthac et Yedios et cetera equitum Romanorum praevalida nomina 
 referre nihil attinuerit, cum Claudius libertos, quos rei familiari 
 praefeceratj sibique et legibus adaequaverit. 
 
 61. Rettulit dein de inmunitate Cois tribuenda_, multaque super 
 antiquitate eorum memoravit : Argivos vel Coeum Latonae paren- 
 tem vetustissimos insulae cultores ; mox adventu Aesculapii artem 
 medendi inlatam maximeque inter posteros eius celebrem fuisse. 
 
 60. pleraque concessa] Sc. procnra- 
 toribus, the managers of the ' fiscus ' 
 ('libertos quos rei familiari praefecerat ') 
 and the emperor's property; not the 
 governors of the provinces, who were 
 often entitled procuratores ; in the case, 
 for instance, of Judsea, Thrace, and other 
 districts. 
 
 Semproniis rogationibus'] The Lex ludi- 
 ciaria of Caius Sempronius Gracchus, 
 123 A.C., took the iudicia from the Senate 
 and transferred them to the Equites. 
 The Lex Servilia, of Caepio, 106 a.c, re- 
 stored them to the Senate. Cicero, how- 
 ever (in Verrem i. 13), says they were 
 given to the Senate by Sulla about 80 a.c. 
 I do not know that any one can do more 
 than ofier possible reconciliations of the 
 apparent discrepancy. The Lex Servilia 
 of Caepio, as already stated, restored 
 the 'iudicia' to the Senate, but may not 
 have excluded the * equites :' if so, Sulla 
 may then have expressly removed the 
 latter. Or the Lex. Servilia of Caepio 
 may have been repealed shortly after its 
 enactment by the Lex Servilia Glaucia, 
 but I do not know that any proof of this 
 can be given ; if it were, then the lan- 
 guage of Cicero is natural. The Lex 
 Servilia Glaucia, j)assed in 100 A.c, 
 only referred to * repetundae : ' by its 
 provisions 450 judices were appointed 
 annually; and senators were expressly 
 excluded from the panel. It is difficult. 
 
 therefore, to see what Tacitus means by 
 speaking of the ' Serviliae leges ' as both 
 restoring the * iudicia ' to the Senate. 
 Either he did not know accurately what 
 he wrote about — I have, I think, shown 
 elsewhere that Tacitus did not always 
 possess accui-ate knowledge about legal 
 matters — or the words ' Serviliae leges ' 
 are equivalent to Lex Servilia (of 
 Caepio) ; the plural being used for one 
 law, as elsewhere, apparently, * Oppiae 
 leges ' only means Oppia Lex (iii. 33) . 
 
 g^^ae vicerant] 'Quae' is the accusa- 
 tive. Cf. xiv. 14, "ne utraque perrin- 
 ceret." Below, C. Oppius was a friend of 
 C. Julius Caesar, who wrote a book to 
 prove that Cleopatra falsely ascribed her 
 child to him (Suet. C. Julius Caes. 52). 
 Cornelius Balbus (of Gades) was the 
 man for whom Cicero delivered a speech 
 which is extant. He was consul suffectus 
 in the year 40 a.c. C. Ma tins was a 
 friend of C. Julius Caesar, and then of 
 Augustus. He was the writer of Cic. ad 
 Fam. xi. 28. For Vedius Pollio, cf. i. 10. 
 
 61. Argivos] Cos, if the traditional 
 account be correct, was colonized from 
 Epidaurus. This last city was esta- 
 blished originally it seems by lonians 
 from Attica, and subsequently taken 
 possession of by the Dorians, after the 
 return of the Heracleidae. Epidaurus 
 and Cos were equally connected with the 
 worship of Aesculapius. 
 
332 COBNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 806—807. 
 
 nomina singulorum referens et quibus quisque aetatibus viguis ^ent. 
 quin etiam dixit Xenopboiitein, cuius scientia ipse uteretur, e£,dem 
 familia ortum^ precibusque eius dandum, ut omni tribute vaoui in 
 posterum Coi sacram et tantum dei ministram insulam colcsrent. 
 neque dubium habetur multa eorundem in populum Kom.inuni 
 merita sociasque victorias potuisse tradi : set Claudius^ facilitate 
 solita quod uni concesserat^ nullis extrinsecus adiumentis velavit. 
 
 62. At Byzantii data dicendi copia^ cum magnitudinem orerum 
 apud senatum deprecarentur^ cuncta repetivere. orsi a foedere 
 quod nobiscum icerant^ qua tempestate bellavimus adversus regem 
 Macedonum, cui ut degeneri Pseudopbilippi vocabulum inpositum, 
 niissas posthac copias in Antioclium^ Person^ Aristonicum^ et pira- 
 tico bello adiutum Antonium memorabant^ quaeque Sullao aut 
 Lucullo aut Pompeio obtulissent, mox recentia in Caesares merita, 
 quando ea loca insiderent_, quae transmeantibus terra marique du- 
 cibus exercitibusque, simul vebendo commeatu opportuna forent. 
 
 63. Namque artissimo inter Europam Asiamque divortio Byzan- 
 tium in extrema Europa posuere Graeci, quibus Pythium Apollinem 
 consulentibus, ubi conderent urbem_, redditum oraculum est, quae- 
 rerent sedem caecorum terris adversam. ea ambage Chalcedonii 
 monstrabantur, quod priores illuc advecti, praevisa locorum utili- 
 tate, peiora legissent. quippe Byzantium fertili solo, fecundo mari, 
 quia vis piscium inmensa, Pontum erumpens et obliquis subter un- 
 
 referens] This participle agrees with supposed to have been founded by the 
 
 the subject of ' memoravit.' Nipperdey Megarians 667 A.c. 
 
 quotes Cic. de Nat. Deor. i. 7, " mihi vero, erumpens'] For the case here governed 
 
 inquit, Cotta videtur. Sed ut hio qui in- by ' erumpere, ' cf. Virg. Aen. i. 580, 
 
 tervenit (me intuens) ne ignoret," &o. " iamdudum erumpere nubem ardubant." 
 
 62. cui ut degtneri] This was Andris- Similarly Tacitus constructs : ' exire, 
 cus, a man of low birth, who pretended egredi, elabi,' &c. Pliny speaks of the 
 to be the son of Perses. His preten- great exodus of j&sh from the Pontus 
 sions to the crown of Macedonia were (N. H. ix. 20), "Est in Euripo Thracii 
 put an end to by Q.CaeciliusMetellus, who Bosphori . . saxum miri candoris, a vado 
 defeated him and took him prisoner, 148 ad summa perlucens, iuxta Chalc(;donem 
 A.c. (Liy. Epit. xlix.) in latere Asiae. Huius adspectu i^epente 
 
 posthac] So. * memorabant ;' for An- territi semper adversum Byzantii pro- 
 
 tiochus, king of Syria, was defeated by montorium . . . praecipiti petiint ag- 
 
 M'. Acilius Glabrio in 190 a.c. ; Perses by mine. Itaque omnis captura Byzantii est, 
 
 Aemilius Paullus, in 168 A.c. ; and Aris- magna Chalcedonis penuria mile pas- 
 
 tonicus, king of Pergamum, by Per- suum medii interfluentis Euripi." The 
 
 porna, in 130 A.c. (Liv. xxxvi., xliv.). fish here spoken of are tunnies, which 
 
 Below, Tacitus probably alludes to spawned in the shallows of tho Palua 
 
 Marcus Antonius Creticus, the son of Maeotis (Strabo vii. p. 320),andniadefor 
 
 M. Antonius the orator, and father of the Aegean Sea. The rocks are sv pposed 
 
 the Triumvir, who was charged with to jut out from the Asiatic shore, at some 
 
 the care of the maritime coasts at the angle more or less acute, I suppose. For 
 
 beginning of the Piratical War, So the abundance of fish at Byzant: um, cf. 
 
 Lipsius. Hor. Sat. ii. 4. 66 -, Juv. iv. 72. 
 
 63. Oraeci] Byzantium is generally 
 
A.D. 53—54.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 333 
 
 das saxis exterrita, omisso alterius litoris flexu hos ad portus 
 defertur. unde primo quaestuosi et opulenti ; post magnitudine 
 onerum urguente finem aut modum orabant^ adnitente principe, qui 
 Thraecio Bosporanoque bello recens fessos iuvandosque rettulit. 
 ita tributa in quinquennium remissa. 
 
 64. M. Asinio M\ Acilio consulibus mutationem rerum in deterius 
 portendi cognitum est crebris prodigiis. signa ac tentoria militum 
 igni caelesti arsere. fastigio Capitolii examen apium insedit. bi- 
 formes hominum partus et sui§ fetum editum, cui accipitrum ungues 
 inessent. numerabatur inter ostenta deminutus omnium magistra- 
 tuum numeruSj quaestore^ aedili^ tribuno ac praetore et consule 
 paucos intra menses defunctis. sed in praecipuo pavore Agrippina^ 
 vocem Claudii^ quam temulentus iecerat, fatale sibi ut coniugum 
 flagitia ferret, dein puniret, metuens, agere et celerare statuit_, per- 
 dita prius Domitia Lepida muliebribus causis, quia Lepida minore 
 Antonia genita, avunculo Augusto, Agrippinae sobrina prior ac 
 
 Thraecio Bosporanoque hello'] Cf. iv. shapes. Below, in * inessent ' the mood 
 
 46, and xii. 15. is not easy to explain. Perhaps it is 
 
 64. M. Asinio] M. Asinius Marcellus due to the oratio obliqua, the whole sen- 
 was great-grandson of the orator Asinius tence in the writer's mind depending 
 Pollio (xiv. 40), and perhaps son of the on 'dicebant,' or the like. This is rather 
 M. Asinius Agrippa, cf. iv. 34. He awkward here, after the finite verb 
 was convicted of taking part in a forgery ' insedit ' in the previous clause, but it 
 of a will, but spared for his ancestor's is certainly better than to take 'fetum' 
 sake. Acilius Aviola was quaestor, tri- as a nominative neuter, for which there 
 bunus plebis, legatus of Asturia, pro- is no authority, to say nothing of the 
 consul of Asia in 65 A.D., and Curator difficulty of explaining the subjunctive 
 Aquarum 74 — 95 a.d. See Nipperdey's mood. 
 
 note. He was probably son of the Acilius minore Antonia] The descent of this 
 
 Aviola of iii. 41. lady will be seen from the annexed 
 
 hiformes] There was a combination in table : — 
 these births of the human and bestial 
 
 M. Antonius m. Octavia, sister to Augustus. 
 
 Antonia Minor m. L. Domitius. 
 I 
 
 Lepida Domitia. Gnaeus Domitius. 
 
 Hence Lepida Domitia was grand- But Suetonius (Calig. i.) makes An- 
 niece of Augustus. For ' avunculus/ tonia Major the mother of Lepida 
 in the sense of great uncle, cf. ii. 43. Domitia by Domitius. 
 
 Then Antonia Minor m. Drusus, brother of Tiberius. 
 GennLous 
 Agrippina m. Gnaeus Domitius. 
 
 Hence Lepida Domitia was to Agrip- she was also Agrippina' s sister-in-law, 
 
 pina first cousin once removed. This is whose first husband was Gnaeus Domi- 
 
 expressed by ' sobrina prior,' Where so- tius, and therefore aunt to Nero (amita) . 
 brina is the ablative case. Of course, 
 
334 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. ^07. 
 
 Gnaei mariti eius soror, parem sibi claritudiuem credebat. nee 
 forma aetas opes multum distabant; et utraque inpudica, infamis^ 
 violenta, baud minus vitiis aemulabantur^ quam si qua ex foi juna 
 prospera acceperant. enimvero certamen acerrimum_, amita potius 
 an mater apud Neronem praevaleret : nam Lepida blandime^ntis 
 ac largitionibus iuvenilem animum devinciebat^ truci contra ac 
 minaci Agrippina, quae filio dare imperium, tolerare imperitaatem 
 nequibat. 
 
 65. Ceterum obiecta sunt, quod coniugem principis devotionibus 
 petivisset quodque parum coercitis per Calabriam servorum agmi- 
 nibus pacem Italiae turbaret. ob baec mors indicta, multum ad- 
 versante Narcisso, qui Agrippinam magis magisque suspectans 
 prompsisse inter proximos ferebatur certam sibi perniciem, seu 
 Britannicus rerum seu Nero poteretur ; verum ita de se meritum 
 Caesarem, ut vitam usui eius inpenderet. convictam Messalinam 
 et Silium ; pares iterum accusandi causas esse ; si Nero imperitaret, 
 Britannico successore, nullum principi meritum : at novercae in- 
 sidiis domum omnem convelli, maiore flagitio quam si inpudicitiam 
 prioris coniugis reticuisset. quamquam ne inpudicitiam quidem 
 nunc abesse Pallante adultero, ne quis ambigat dec us pudorem 
 corpus, cuncta regno viliora habere, baec atque talia dictitans 
 amplecti Britannicum, robur aetatis quam maturrimum precari, 
 modo ad deos, modo ad ipsum tendere manus, adolesceret, patris 
 inimicos depelleret, matris etiam interfectores ulcisceretur. 
 
 66. In tanta mole curarum valetudine adversa corripitur, refo- 
 vendisque viribus mollitia caeli et salubritate aquarum Sinuessam 
 pergit. tum Agrippina, sceleris olim certa et oblatae occasionis 
 
 65. pares iterum] This is a difficult have no claim tipon Ids gratitude for 
 
 passage. The sense, I think, is as follows : services rendered. 
 
 Narcissus had already procured the con- habere'] The pronoun ' earn ' is omit- 
 
 demnation of Messalina and Silius ; ted. It is not unusual for Tacii us to 
 
 Agrippina was equally open to accusa- omit the reflexive pronoun before the 
 
 tion (' pares iterum,' &c.) . Whether, after infinitive, future (i. 8, 35), present (i. 
 
 the death of Claudius, Nero or Britan- 7, xiii. 4, xv. 17), or past (xiv. 48), but 
 
 nicus succeeded, Narcissus would be the ellipse of ' earn ' is, I think, a solitary 
 
 equally without claim on the reigning instance. 
 
 prince (' nullum principi meritum ') . If 66. valetucUne adversa] Claudits had 
 
 Nero succeeded, then Narcissus would an attack of gout (Dio Cass. Ix. 34), for 
 
 be out of favour, by reason of the enmity which the warm baths of Sinuessa, on the 
 
 between himself and Agrippina : if coast of Campania, were beneficial. 
 
 Britannicus, he would equally dislike oblatae occasionis propera] Cf. iv. 59, 
 
 Narcissus, as the accuser of his mother " apiscendae potentiae properis," und xi. 
 
 Messalina. The construction * nullum 26, " ita viae properam." Below, the use 
 
 principi meritum ' is peculiar, but per- of ' vooabulum ' for a personal ns me is 
 
 haps the case is a dativus commodi, * he not usual, except in the poets aid the 
 
 would have no service to plead with silver age. Cf. Ovid. Fast. iii. 511 ; Plin. 
 
 reference to the reigning prince,' would N. H. iii. 11. It is very comn on in 
 
A.D. 54.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 335 
 
 propera nee ministrorum egens, de genere veneni consultavit^ ne 
 repentino et praecipiti facinus proderetur ; si lentam et tabidum 
 delegisset, ne admotus supremis Claudius et dolo intellecto ad amo- 
 rem filii rediret. exquisitum aliquid placebat, quod turbaret men- 
 tem et mortem differret. deligitur artifex talium vocabulo Locusta^ 
 nuper veneficii damnata et diu inter instrumenta regni habita. 
 eius mulieris ingenio paratum yirus^ cuius minister e spadonibus 
 fuit Halotus^ inferre epulas et explorare gustu solitus. 
 
 G7. Adeoque cuncta mox pernotuere, ut temporum illorum 
 scriptores prodiderint infusum delectabili cibo boleto venenum, 
 nee vim medicaminis statim intellectam, socordiane Claudii an 
 vinolentia; simul soluta alvus subvenisse videbatur. igitur 
 exterrita Agrippina^ et quando ultima timebantur^ spreta praesen- 
 tium invidia, provisam iam sibi Xenophontis medici conscientiam 
 adhibet. ille tamquam nisus evomentis adiuvaret, pinnam rapido 
 veneno inlitam faueibus eius demisisse creditur, baud ignarus 
 summa scelera incipi cum periculo_, peragi cum praemio. 
 
 68. Yocabatur interim senatus votaque pro incolumitate prin- 
 cipis consules et sacerdotes nuncupabant^ cum iam exanimis 
 vestibus et fomentis obtegeretur^ dum q^uae res forent firmando 
 Neronis imperio componuntur. iam primum Agrippina, velut 
 dolore evicta et solacia conquirens^ tenere amplexu Britannicum, 
 veram paterni oris efiigiem appellare ac variis artibus demorari^ 
 ne eubiculo egrederetur. Antoniam quoque et Octaviam sorores 
 eius attinuit^ et cunctos aditus custodiis clauserat, crebroque 
 vulgabat ire in melius valitudinem principis, quo miles bona in 
 spe ageret tempusque prosperum ex monitis Cbaldaeorum ad- 
 ventaret. 
 
 69. Tune medio diei tertium ante Idus Octobris, foribus palatii 
 repente diductis^ comitante Burro Nero egreditur ad cobortem^ 
 
 Tacitus (xii. 27, 62, xiii. 12, &c.). Locnsta holeto] Cf. Juv. v. 147, " boletus do- 
 
 (xiii. 15) was a famous poisoner (Juv. i. mino sed quales Claudius edit, ante 
 
 71, Suet. Nero, 33). She was put to ilium uxoris post quern nil amplius edit." 
 
 death by Galba (Dio Cass. Ixiv. 3). Also Juv. vi. 620 ; Martial i. 21. 4. 
 
 explorare gustu] The office of taster socordiane Claudii] This seems to 
 
 (praegustator) had existed in the palace mean that from the slowness of Claudius' 
 
 from the days of Augustus. Such officers circulation, or the torpid action of the 
 
 are mentioned in inscriptions. Cf. Suet, internal organs, the poison was unable 
 
 Claud. 44, " quidam tradunt epulanti in to do its work with due rapidity : the 
 
 arce cum sacerdotibus per Halotum poison was not found to be quickly 
 
 spadonem." effective (nee vim medicaminis statim 
 
 67. temporum illoru/m scrvptores.] Such intellectam) , 
 
 as Servilius Nonianus (xiv. 19), Aufidius 68. Antoniam] This lady was half- 
 
 Bassus (Quint. X. 1. 103), Fabius Rus- sister to Britannicus, her mother being 
 
 ticus (xv. 61). Aelia Petina (Suet. Claud. 27). 
 
836 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XII. 
 
 quae more militiae excubiis adest. ibi monente praefecto far stis 
 vocibus exceptus inditur lecticae. dubitavisse quosdam ferint^ 
 respectantes rogitantesque ubi Britannicus esset : mox nuUo in 
 diversum auctore quae offerebantur secuti sunt. illatusque 
 castris Nero et congruentia tempori praefatus, promisso donativo 
 ad exemplum paternae largitionis, imperator consalutatur. sen- 
 tentiam militum secuta patrum consul ta^ nee dubitatum est apud 
 provincias. caelestesque bonores Claudio decernuntur et funeris 
 sollemne perinde ac divo Augusto celebratur, aemulante Agrip- 
 pina proaviae Liviae magnificentiam. testamentum tamen liaud 
 recitatum, ne antepositus filio privignus iniuria et invidia animos 
 vulgi turbaret. 
 
 69. paternae largitionis'] Cf. Suet, counts were given of the event, and 
 
 Claudius 10, ** promisitque singulis Tacitus does not appear to liave given a 
 
 quina dena H. S. primus Caesarum consistent one. 
 
 fidem militis etiam praenaio pigneratus." patrum consulta'] Tliis is supposed 
 
 In the account of the poisoning of by some of the commentators to imply 
 
 Claudius there is a want of clearness, that the Senate formally conferred the 
 
 Agrippina determined to administer a ' imperium ' on Nero, just as originally 
 
 poison of slow efficacy, and yet she is a Lex Curiata de imperio was necessary 
 
 represented as astonished because the to confer military command oa the 
 
 effect was not at once (statim) notice- Roman magistrates. It may be so, but 
 
 able. From its nature it could not have I do not know that it must refer to that 
 
 been so, one would suppose. Suetonius only, especially as the plural (corsulta) 
 
 (Claud. 44) mentions that various ac- is used. 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER XIII. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 1. Death of Silanus and Narcissus. 2. Notice of Burma and Seneca. 3. Funeral 
 speech by Nero over Claudius. 4. Favourable beginning of Nero's reign. 5. 
 Arrogance of Aginppina. 6. Eumoured disturbances in Parthia. 7. Consequent 
 arrangements made by Nero. 8. Appointment of Domitius Corbulo. 9. Volo- 
 geses delivers hostages. Eivalry between Corbulo and Quadratus. 10, 11. 
 Moderation of Nero. 12, 13. Nero's love for Acte. Agrippina's consequent 
 tactics. 14. Removal of Pallas from his post. 15 — 17. Nero poisons Britannicus. 
 18. Anger of Agrippina. Slights put on her by Nero. 19 — 22. Accusation of 
 Agrippina. Failure and punishment of her accusers. 23. Pallas and Burrus 
 accused. Their acquittal. 24. Enactment with reference to the theatres. 
 Lustration of the city. 25. Nero's nocturnal freaks. Death of Montanus. Ex- 
 pulsion of the histriones from Italy. 26, 27. Discussion on the case of ill-con- 
 ducted ft^edmen. 28. Limitation of the powers of tribunes and aediles. 29. 
 Notices of the management of the aerarium. 30. Condexnnation of Laenas and 
 others. 31. Amphitheatre erected. Financial notices. 32. Enactment with 
 reference to freedmen. Pomponia Graecina condemned for superstition. 33. Celer 
 and others accused. 34. Liberality of Nero. 35. Disturbances in Parthia. 36. 
 Defeat of Paccius Orfitus. 37. HostUe operations of Tiridates. 38. A conference 
 proposed. 39. Corbulo takes sundry forts in Armenia. 40, 41. Artaxata burnt 
 to the ground. 42, 43. Suillius condemned. 44. Crime of Octavius Sagitta. 
 45. Poppaea Sabina's amour with Nero. 46. Removal of her husband Otho. 47. 
 Cornelius Sulla banished. 48. Embassy from Puteoli. 49. Paetus Thrasea. 50, 
 51. Financial schemes of Nero. 52. Camerinus and Silvanus acquitted. 53. 
 Engineering works undertaken in Germany. 54. Embassy of the Frisii to Rome. 
 55, 56. Misfortunes of the Ampsivarii. 57. Defeat of the Chatti by the Hermun- 
 duri. Conflagrat'on of the Civitas Ubiomm. 58. Notice of the Ficus Ruminalis. 
 
 Z 
 
338 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 807. 
 
 1. Prima novo principatu mors lunii Silani proconsulis Asiae 
 ignaro Nerone per dolum Agrippinae paratur, non quia ingenii ^ io- 
 lentia exitium inritaverat, segnis et dominationibus aliis fastidious, 
 adeo ut Gaius Caesar pecudem auream eum appellare solitus sit : 
 verum Agrippina fratri eius L. Silano necem molita ultorem me- 
 tuebat, crebra vulgi fama anteponendum esse vixdum pueritiam 
 egresso Neroni et imperium per scelus adepto virum aetate com- 
 posita, insontem, nobilem et, quod tunc spectaretur, e Caesai'um 
 posteris. quippe et Silanus divi Augusti abnepos erat. liaec 
 causa necis. ministri fuere P. Celer eques Romanus et Helius 
 libertus, rei familiari principis in Asia impositi. ab bis proconsuli 
 venenum inter epulas datum est apertius quam ut fallerent. nee 
 minus properato Narcissus Claudii libertus, de cuius iurgiis adver- 
 sus Agrippinam rettuli, aspera custodia et necessitate extrema ad 
 mortem agitur, invito principe, cuius abditis adbuc vitiis per avari- 
 tiam ac prodigentiam mire congruebat. 
 
 2. Ibaturque in caedes, nisi Afranius Burrus et Annaeus Seneca 
 obviam issent. hi rectores imperatoriae iuventae et, rarura in 
 societate potentiae, Concordes, diversa arte ex aequo poUebant, 
 Burrus militaribus curis et severitate morum, Seneca praeceptis 
 eloquentiae et comitate bonesta, iuvantes in vicem, quo facilius lu- 
 
 1. lunii Silant] M. Junius Silanus, nexion was what you would natitrally 
 
 brother of L. Junius Silanus, was consul expect to find taken into account j it was 
 
 A.D. 46. For his father, Appius Junius the kind of thing, under the circuna- 
 
 Silanus, of. iv. 68, xii. 37. stances, that would be regarded. 
 
 quod tunc spectcvretur] The sense does ahnepos^ M. Junius Silanus wan bom 
 
 not seem to be quite the same as if in the year in which Augustus died (Plin. 
 
 ' spectabatur ' had been used. That N. H. vii. 11), and was therefore about 
 
 would only state as a fact, that regard forty years old. His connexion with 
 
 was had to the connexion of Silanus Augustus is shown by the ainexed 
 
 with the family of the Caesars. Tacitus table : — 
 rather intends to say, that this con- 
 Augustus. 
 
 I. 
 Julia m. Vipsanius Agrippa. 
 
 Jtilia m. L. Aemilius Paullus. 
 
 Aenulia Lepida m. Appius Junius Silanus. 
 
 i 
 Marcus Junius Silanus. 
 
 This makes the Silanus spoken of great-great-grandson of Augustus. 
 
 rei famiUari'] P. Celer and Helius peculiar to Tacitus. With 'ex aequo' 
 
 were * procuratores ' (xii. 60) of the pri- compare 'ex facili,' *ex adfluenli,' 'ex 
 
 vatc property of Nero. Below, ' pro- improvise,' * ex composito,' ' ex prae- 
 
 perato* as an adverb occurs nowhere parato,' 'ex tuto,' 'ex vano,' *ex inspe- 
 
 else. rate,' in Livy. Cicero has 'ex impro- 
 
 2. rarum] For this use of 'rarum,' viso* and 'ex occulto.' 
 
 cf. i. 39, i. 56, vi. 10, a use, I believe, iuvantes ^ in. vicem], Cf. xiv. ]7, "in 
 
A.D. 54.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 339 
 
 bricam principis aetatem_, si virtutem aspernaretur_, voluptatibus 
 concessis retinerent. certamen utrique unum erat contra ferociam 
 Agrippinae, quae cunctis malae dominationis cupidinibus flagrans 
 habebat in partibus PaUantem^ quo auctore Claudius nuptiis inces- 
 tis et adoptione exitiosa semet perverterat. sed neque Neroni in- 
 fra servos ingenium, et Pallas tristi adrogantia modum liberti 
 egressus taedium sui moverat. propalam tamen omnes in earn 
 honores cumulabantur, signumque more militiae petenti tribune 
 dedit " optimae matris.^^ decreti et a senatu duo lictores, flami- 
 nium Claudiale^ simul Claudio censorium funus et mox conse- 
 cratio. 
 
 3. Die funeris laudationem eius princeps exorsus est, dum anti- 
 quitatem generis, consulatus ac triumpbos maiorum enumerabat, 
 intentus ipse et ceteri; liberalium quoque artium commemoratio 
 et nihil regente eo triste rei publicae ab externis accidisse pronis 
 animis audita : postquam ad providentiam sapientiamque flexit, 
 nemo risui temperare, quamquam oratio a Seneca composita mul- 
 tum cultus praeferret, ut fuit illi viro ingenium amoenum et teni- 
 poris eius auribus accommodatum. adnotabant seniores, quibus 
 otiosum est Vetera et praesentia contendere, primum ex iis qui 
 rerum potiti essent Neronem alienae facundiae eguisse. nam dic- 
 tator Caesar summis oratoribus aemulus ; et Augusto prompta ac 
 
 vicemi ncessentes j" H. ii. 47, " experti sessed hj the early emperors, as given 
 
 in vicem lunius, ego et fortuna". Simi- by Tacitus and Suetonius. Augustus 
 
 laxly, H. ii. 42, " noscentes inter se." possessed an eloquence, " prompta ao 
 
 trihuno] Sc. of the cohort on guard profluens." According to Suetonius (Aug. 
 
 at the palace; cf. xii. 69, "ad cohortem 86),it was "elegans et temperata, vitatis 
 
 quae more militae excubiis adest." Be- sententiarum ineptiis atque concinnitate 
 
 low, instead of the genitive * optimae et reconditorum verborum foetoribus, 
 
 matris,' Suetonius (Nero, 9) has an praecipuamque curam duxit sensum 
 
 accusative, " signum excubanti tribune animi quam apertissime exprimere . . ." 
 
 dedit optimam matrem." He went straight to the mark, apparently 
 
 3. consulatus'] Suetonius (Tib. 1) avoiding all prettinesses of diction, and 
 
 gives a summary of the honours of the trying to express his meaning in plain 
 
 patrician Claudia gens : twenty-eight words. Tiberius, again, weighed ■ his 
 
 consulships, five dictatorships, seven words, and expressed his meaning for- 
 
 censorships, seven triumphs, and two cibly, unless he was purposely obscure, 
 
 ovations. According to Suetonius (Tib. 70), ho 
 
 ingenium amoenuni] Quintilian's re- was a follower of Corvinus Messalla, but 
 
 mark on Seneca (x. 1) is, that his writ- obscured his style by affectation and a 
 
 ings abound in agreeable faults (* dul- sort of suUenness, so that his extempore 
 
 cibus vitiis'). Tacitus virtually agrees efforts were better than his elaborated 
 
 with him by attributing to Seneca a speeches. Of Caligula, the same author 
 
 pleasant style ('amoenum'), suited to says (Calig. 53) that he was eloquent 
 
 the taste of the day in favour of extreme and fluent ; and Claudius (Claud. 41) 
 
 polish and finish. was rather a trifling than an inelegant 
 
 Augusto prompta ac profiuens"] It may writer, which agrees with the judgment 
 
 be not uninteresting to compare the de- of Tacitus, 
 scription of the powers of speaking pos- 
 
 z 2 
 
340 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 807. 
 
 profluens quae deceret principem eloquentia fuit. Tiberius arl em 
 quoque callebat, qua verba expenderet^ turn validus sensibus aut 
 consulto arabiguus. etiam C. Caesaris turbata mens vim dici.iidi 
 non corrupit. nee in Claudio,, quotiens meditata dissererer i:ur, 
 elegantiam requireres. Nero puerilibus statim annis vividum ani- 
 mum in alia detorsit : caelare_, pingere, cantus aut regimen equorum 
 exercere ; et aliquando carminibus pangendis inesse sibi elementa 
 doctrinae ostendebat. « 
 
 4. Ceterum peractis tristitiae imitamentis curiam ingressns et 
 de auctoritate patrum et consensu militum praefatus^ consilia sibi 
 et exempla capessendi egregie imperii memoravit^ neque iuventam 
 armis civilibus aut domesticis discordiis inbutam ; nulla odia, nullas 
 iniurias nee cupidinem ultionis afferre. tum form am futuri prin- 
 cipatus praescripsit, ea maxime declinans_, quorum recens flagrabat 
 invidia. non enim se negotiorum omnium iudicem fore^ ut clausis 
 unam intra domum accusatoribus et reis paucorum potentia gras- 
 saretur; nihil inpenatibus suis venale aut ambitioni pervium; dis- 
 cretam domum et rem publicam. teneret antiqua munia senatus, 
 consulum tribunalibus Italia et publicae provinciae assisterent : 
 
 tv/m validus] The force of * turn ' is liad the jurisdictio, and were STi})reme 
 not very clear here. Perhaps it is * then judges in all suits in Eome. Bui: this 
 (when he did so weigh his words) , strong portion of their functions was trans- 
 in the opinion he conveyed, or designedly ferred to the praetors ; the consuls, how- 
 obscure.' ever, appear still to have exercised 
 
 4. auctoritate patrum] Cf. xii. 69. some judicial functions, although not 
 
 Below, for * exempla,' cf. Suet. (Nero, perhaps regularly or systemati-.^ally ; 
 
 10), " ex Augusti praesoripto impera- and to this Tacitus refers in xiii. 28, 
 
 turum se professus." ^ 'prohibiti tribuni ius praetorum ei con- 
 
 antiqua munia senatus] The duties sulum praeripere aut vocare ex Italia 
 
 of the senate under the republic (' an- cum quibus lege agi posset.' As these 
 
 tiqua ') were to receive foreign envoys, words, * consulum tribunalibus Italia 
 
 to conduct wars when once resolved on et publicae provinciae adsisterent,' stand 
 
 by themselves and the people, to assign between ' antiqua munia senatus, and 
 
 the provinces to the consuls and praetors, * illi patrum aditum praeberent,' it would 
 
 to give or refuse the honours of a triumph, perhaps not be unreasonable to sn ppose 
 
 to impose laws and contributions (cf. Cio. that they are in some way connected 
 
 in Vatin. 15, " Eripueras senatui pro- with the clauses preceding and following 
 
 vinciae decemendae potestatem impera- them. If so, the meaning would be that 
 
 toris deligendi indicium, aerarii dispen- the consuls were to be applied to by all 
 
 sationem, quae nunquam sibi populus who wished to have their requirements 
 
 Romanus appetivit"), to have supreme brought under the notice of the senate, 
 
 superintendence in all matters of reli- Cf. ii. 35, *' Piso censebat et absents 
 
 gion, to receive complaints from sub- principe senatum . . . posse sua munia 
 
 ject or allied nations, and to settle dis- sustinere decorum rei publicae fore : 
 
 putes which arose amongst the municipia Gallus, nihil satis illustre aut ex digni- 
 
 and colonies of Italy (Liv. ix. 20) . Nero tate populi Romani nisi coram et sub 
 
 could hardly have meant seriously to oculis Caesaris, eoque conventum Italiae 
 
 allow the senate to exercise these powers et ei adfluentis provincias praesentiae 
 
 as in the old republican days. eius servanda dicebat." If Nero meant 
 
 consulum tribunalibus] This seems that consuls were henceforward i o dis- 
 
 a little obscure. The consuls originally charge their duties instead of the prin- 
 
A.D. 54.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 341 
 
 illi patrum aditum praeberent^ se mandatis exercitibus consul- 
 turum. 
 
 5. Nee defuit fides^ multaque arbitrio senatus eonstituta sunt : 
 ne quis ad eausam orandam mercede aut donis emeretur, ne desig- 
 natis quaestoribus edendi gladiatores neeessitas esset. quod qui- 
 dem adversante Agrippina, tamquam aeta Claudii subverterentur, 
 obtinuere patres^ qui in Palatium ob id voeabantur^ ut astaret 
 additis a tergo foribus velo disereta, quod visum areeret, auditus 
 non adimeret. quin et legatis Armeniorum eausam gentis apud 
 Neronem orantibus escendere suggestum imperatoris et praesidere 
 simul parabat, nisi eeteris pavore defixis Seneea admonuisset,, 
 venienti matri oeeurreret. ita speeie pietatis obviam itum de- 
 deeori. 
 
 6. Fine anni turbidis rumoribus prorupisse rursum Partlios et 
 rapi Armeniam allatum est, pulso Radamisto, qui saepe regni eius 
 potitus, dein profugus, tum quoque bellum deseruerat. igitur in 
 urbe sermonum avida, quem ad modum princeps vix septemdecini 
 annos egressus suscipere eam molem aut propulsare posset, quod 
 subsidium in eo qui a femina regeretur, num proelia quoque et ob- 
 pugnationes urbium et cetera belli per magistros administrari pos- 
 sent, anquirebant. contra alii melius evenisse disserunt, quam si 
 invalidus senecta et ignavia Claudius militiae ad labores vocaretur, 
 
 ceps, lie intended to do in reality wliat ' aditus,' the reading of the Cod. Med. 
 Tiberius did in pretence. Cf. 1. 7, " cuncta 6. tum quoque helium] Nipperdey 
 
 Tiberius per consules incipiebat tamquam transposes the words, and places * quoque' 
 
 vetere republica." after ' bellum.' Perhaps this is not re- 
 
 puhlicae provinciae] These are the quired. Eadamistus had often gained 
 
 provinces allotted in the division by Au- possession of Armenia, and then re- 
 
 gustus (subject to occasional alterations) tired, abandoning the war. The same 
 
 to the senate, as distinguished from the had just occurred at the time in ques- 
 
 imperial provinces. tion, as well as at other periods ('quoque') • 
 
 5. -Me quis] Cf. xi. 5. Afterwards, vix septemdecim annos] Cf. xii. 25. 
 
 however, Nero seems to have recurred Below, in ' octavo decimo aetatis anno 
 
 to the legislation of Claudius. Cf. Suet. Cn. Pompeius,' there is some confu- 
 
 (Nero, 17) " ut litigatores pro patrociniis sion. Pompeius was twenty .three years 
 
 certam iustamque mercedem . . . daret." old when he levied troops in Picenum on 
 
 ut astaret] A new door was opened, his own account, and made himself a 
 
 so that Agrippina could enter unob- general in the service of Sulla (Plutarch, 
 
 served and take up her position behind Pompeius, 6) . This was in the year Si 
 
 the assembled senators, being concealed A.c, and Pompeius was bom 107 a.c. 
 
 from them by a curtain hanging between But he served under his father against 
 
 them and the door. Cinna, when * he was very young ' (Plu- 
 
 auditus] The plural is used appa- tarch), about the year 88 a.c. This 
 
 rently in the sense of * the hearing of Tacitus seems, from his way of speak- 
 
 the various communications.' The sena- ing, to have confounded with his levying 
 
 tors, if they had been seen at all, would troops three, four, or five years later, 
 
 have been seen once for all, but their Octavianus was bom in the year 63 a.c. 
 
 remarks from time to time were heard, and C. Julius Caesar was assassinated 
 
 This is an emendation ©f Lipsius for 41 A-c. 
 
342 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 807. 
 
 servilibus iussis obtemperaturus. Burrum tamen et Seii('3ain 
 multarum rerum experientia cognitos ; et imperatori quanturc. ad 
 .robur deesse^ cum octavo decimo aetatis anno Cn. Pompeius, iiono 
 decimo Caesar Octavianus civilia bella sustinuerint ? pleraqiie in 
 summa fortuna auspiciis et consiliis quam telis et manibus geri. 
 daturum plane documentum^ honestis an secus amicis uteret ur, si 
 ducem amota invidia egregium^ quam si pecuniosum et gratia sub- 
 nixum per ambitum deligeret. 
 
 7. Haec atque talia vulgantibus, Nero et iuventutem proximas 
 per provincias quaesitam supplendis orientis legionibus admovere 
 legionesque ipsas propius Armeniam coUocari iubet^ duosque vete- 
 res reges Agrippam et Antiocbum expedire copias^ quis Partborum 
 fines ultro intrarent^ simul pontes per amnem Eupbraten iungi ; 
 et minorem Armeniam Aristobulo_, regionem Sopbenen Sobaemo 
 cum insignibus regiis mandat. exortusque in tempore aemulus 
 Yologeso fiKus Yardanis ; et abscessere Armenia Partbi^ tamquam 
 differrent bellum. 
 
 8. Sed apud senatum omnia in mains celebrata sunt sententiis 
 eorum, qui suppHcationes et diebus supplicationum vestem principi 
 triumpbalem_, utque ovans urbem iniret, effigiesque eius pari mag- 
 nitudine ac Martis Ultoris eodem in templo censuere_, praeter sue- 
 tam adulationem laeti_, quod Domitium Corbulonem retinendae 
 Armeniae praeposuerat videbaturque locus virtutibus patel'actus. 
 copiae orientis ita dividuntur, ut pars auxiliarium cum duabus 
 legionibus apud provinciam Suriam et legatum eius Quadratum 
 Ummidium remaneret, par civium sociorumque numerus Corbuloni 
 esset_, additis cobortibus absque, quae in Cappadocia biemabant. 
 Bocii reges, prout bello conduceret, parere iussi : sed studia eorum 
 
 consiliis quam tens'] * Magis ' is to be chus,' cf. xii. 25. 
 
 supplied. Cf. iii. 17, and ir. 61, and just minorem Armeniam'] Armenia Minor 
 
 below, * quam si pecuniosum, &c.' was that portion of Armenia wljich lay 
 
 per amhitu7n] 'As the result of in- west of the Euphrates. The division 
 
 trigue.' The ' ambitus,' of course, was was made in the year 190 a.c, when the 
 
 the court paid to the emperor, not by country shook off the yoke of the Seleu- 
 
 him. cidae. 'Sophene' lay east of the Eu- 
 
 7. et iuventutem] For the combination phrates, north of the Mons Masius. 
 
 * et ' . . . * que,' cf. i. 4, under * se que et Below, I have retained the reading of 
 
 domum.' the MS., 'Vologeso filius Vardanis.' 
 
 admovere] For the union of the This was a son (unknown, I believe) of 
 
 active and passive voices here, cf. H. iv. the Vardanes mentioned in xi. S — 10. 
 
 23, " vastari Ubios et alia manu Mosam 8. utque ovans urbem iniret] Cf. xiii. 
 
 amnem transire iubet." 44, " ingentibus donis adulteri im, mox 
 
 Agrippam] This was Herod Agrippa ut omitteret maritum, emercatur." 
 
 the younger, son of the elder Agrippa parere iu^si] * Ordered to obey ' either 
 
 (xii. 23), and father of the Aristobulus Ummidius or Corbulo, as should seem 
 
 mentioned a little below. For * Antic- best for the end in view. 
 
A.D. 54.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 343 
 
 in Corbulonem promptiora erant. qui ut instaret famae, quae in 
 novis coeptis validissima est, itinere propere confecto apud Aegeas 
 civitatem Ciliciae obvium Quadra turn habuit, illuc progressum, ne, 
 si ad accipiendas copias Syriam intravisset Corbulo, omnium ora 
 in se verteret corpore ingens, verbis magnificis et super experien- 
 tiam sapientiamque etiam specie inanium validus. 
 
 9. Ceterum uterque ad Yologesem regem nuntiis monebant, 
 pacem quam bellum mallet datisque obsidibus solitam prioribus 
 reverentiam in populum Romanum continuaret. et Yologeses^ 
 quo bellum ex commodo pararet, an ut aemulationis suspectos per 
 nomen obsidum amoveret, tradit nobilissimos ex familia Arsaci- 
 darum. accepitque eos centurio Insteius ab Ummidio missus, 
 forte priore de causa adito rege. quod postquam Corbuloni cog- 
 nitum est, ire praefectum cobortis Arrium Yarum et reciperare 
 obsides iubet. bine ortum inter praefectum et centurionem iur- 
 gium ne diutius externis spectaculo esset, arbitrium rei obsidibus 
 legatisque, qui eos ducebant, permissum. atque illi recentem 
 gloria, et inclinatione quadam etiam bostium, Corbulonem praetu- 
 lere. undo discordia inter duces, querente Ummidio praerepta 
 quae suis consiliis patravisset, testante contra Corbulone non prius 
 conversum regem ad offerendos obsides quam ipse dux bello de- 
 lectus spes eius ad metum mutaret. Nero quo conponeret diversos, 
 sic evulgari iussit : ob res a Quadrate et Corbulone prospere gestas 
 laurum fascibus imperatoriis addi. quae in alios consules egressa 
 coniuncxi. 
 
 10. Eodem anno Caesar ejffigiem Cn. Domitiopatri et consularia 
 
 ut instaret famae] Cf. Agric. 18, probably, praefect of a cohort of auxiliary 
 
 "non ignarus instandum famae." The allies. Such, at least, seems a fair in- 
 
 insertion of this word is due to Haase. ference from xii. 17, sub finem, (although 
 
 apud Aegeas'] Aegae, or Aegeae, is the reading is not quite certain), H. ii. 
 
 on the north side of the Gulf of Issus, 15. 59. 
 
 now Ayas Kala, or Kalassy. inclinatione quadani] ' And with a 
 
 specie inanium] ' By the outward prepossession influencing even enemies.' 
 
 show attending qualities really value- The feeling in favour of Corbulo was 
 
 less.' Corbulo had certain qualities not strong enough to overcome the fact that 
 
 really worth any thing, but nevertheless he was an enemy. For the co-ordina- 
 
 attractive and imposing, a taking man- tion of 'recentem' and 'inclinatione 
 
 ner, showy presence, and the like. quadam,' cf. xiii. 15, " turbatus his Nero 
 
 9. priore de causa] * On some pre- et propinquo die." 
 
 vious errand.' The centurion had been fascibus imperatoriis] That is, to 
 
 already sent on some other business, the fasces of the emperor at Rome, 
 
 and was therefore on the spot, and ready The emperor was attended by twelve 
 
 at once to take charge of the hostages, lictors always from the time of Au- 
 
 Below, Arrius Varus is mentioned in gustus (Dio liv. 10) , and their rods were 
 
 H. iii. 6, as having obtained promotion wreathed with laurel on the occasion of 
 
 from Nero, in return for detraction from any victory in the field. 
 Corbulo' s merits. He was at this time, 
 
344 . COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 807-808. 
 
 insignia Asconio Labeoni, quo tutore usus erat, petivit a seiiatii ; 
 sibique statuas argent o vel auro solidas adversus offerentes pro- 
 bibuit. et quamquam censuissent patres, ut principium anni 
 inciperet mense Decembri^ quo ortus erat Nero^- veterem reli- 
 gionem kalendarum lanuariarum incboando anno retinuit. neque 
 recepti sunt inter reos Carinas Celer senator^ servo accusante, aut 
 lulius Densus equester, cui favor in Britannicum crimini dabatur. 
 
 11. Claudio Nerone L. Antistio consuHbus cum in acta prin- 
 cipum iurarent magistratus^ in sua acta collegam Antistium iurare 
 probibuit, magnis patrum laudibus^ ut iuvenilis animus l(3vium 
 quoque rerum gloria sublatus maiores continuaret. secutaque 
 lenitas in Plautium Lateranum^ quem ob adulterium Messalinae 
 ordine demotum reddidit senatui, clementiam suam obstringens 
 crebris orationibus^ quas Seneca^ testificando quam bonesta prae- 
 ciperet, vel iactandi ingenii^ voce principis vulgabat. 
 
 12. Ceterum infracta paulatim potentia matris delapso Xerone 
 in amorem libertae, cui vocabulum Acte fuit, simul assumptis in 
 conscientiam M. Otbone et Claudio Senecione, adulesccntulis 
 decoris, quorum Otbo familia consulari, Senecio liberto Caesaris 
 patre genitus. ignara matre, dein frustra obnitente^ penitus in- 
 repserat per luxum et ambigua secreta^ ne senioribus quidem 
 principis amicis adversantibus^ muliercula nulla cuiusquam iniuria 
 cupidines principis explente^ quando uxore ab Octavia^ nobili 
 
 10. quo ortus erat Nero'] Cf. Suet, mentioned (the future emperor) was 
 Nero, 6, " Nero natus est Antii duode- consul sufifectus 33 A.D., and proconsul 
 vicesimo kalendas lanuarias, tantum of Africa (Suet. Otho, 1). Belo\^', * Cae- 
 quod exoriente sole." saris ' is of course Nero. No doubt, from 
 
 11. L. Antistio'] L. Antistius Vetus his name, Senecio's father had been 
 was probably son of the L. Antistius manumitted by Claudius, and so was his 
 Vetus, consul sufifectus 28 a.d. He was libertus, and therefore the libcrtus of 
 
 . father-in-law of EubelHua Plautus (xiv. Nero, the adopted son of Claudius, after 
 
 58), and proconsul of Asia in the year, the death of the latter, 
 
 probably, 64 a.d. (xvi. 10). Below, inrepserat] The subject is Acte, 
 
 * principum ' includes all the ' principes ' the words from ' simul ' to * f,'enitus ' 
 from Augustus. being virtually parenthetical. She had 
 
 maiores continuaret] ' He might add wormed herself into the emperor's good 
 
 greater eflforts.' The senators hoped graces by companionship with him in 
 
 that Nero would be encouraged by the his luxurious feasts ('luxus'), and by 
 
 popularity obtained in trifling matters joining him in the indulgence of secret 
 
 to gird himself up to greater attempts, vice. * Ambigua secreta ' means, I think, 
 
 Below, 'obstringens' is 'pledging,' 'secret practices of doubtful morality,' 
 
 * solemnly guaranteeing.' Cf iv. 21, " ut or ' secret vice.' 
 
 lure iurando obstringeret id e republica explente] This ablative clause gives 
 
 esse." the reason of the connivance on the 
 
 iactandi ingenii] Cf. ii. 59, under part of the senators. They oflbred no 
 
 ' cognoscendae antiquitatis.' opposition, because Nero's amour with 
 
 12. familia consulari] L. Salonius Acte prevented worse indulgences. 
 Otho, the father of the M. Otho here ' 
 
A.D. 54— 55.]AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 345 
 
 quidem et probitatis spectatae, fato quod^m, an quia praevalent 
 inlicita, abhorrebat ; metuebaturque ne in stupra feminarum in- 
 lustrium prorumperet, si ilia libidine proliiberetur. 
 
 ] 3. Sed Agrippina libertam aemulam, nurum ancillam aliaque 
 eundem in modum muliebriter fremere. neque paenitentiam filii 
 aufc satietatem opperiri^ quantoque foediora exprobrabat, acrius 
 accendere, donee vi amoris subactus exsueret obsequium in matrem 
 seque Senecae permitteret^ ex cuius familiaribus Annaeus Serenus 
 simulatione amoris adversus eandem libertam primas adulescentis 
 cupidines velaverat praebueratque nomen^ ut quae princeps furtim 
 mulierculae tribuebat^ ille palam largiretur. tum Agrippina versis 
 artibus per blandimenta iuvenem adgredi^ suum potius cubiculum 
 ac sinum offerre contegendis quae prima aetas et summa fortuna 
 expeterent ; quin et fatebatur intempestivam severitatem et suarum 
 opum, quae baud procul imperatoriis aberant, copias tradebat^ ut 
 nimia nuper coercendo filio, ita rursum intemperanter demissa. 
 quae mutatio neque Neronem fefellit^ et proximi amicorum metue- 
 bant orabantque cavere insidias mulieris semper atrocis^ turn et 
 falsae. forte illis diebus Caesar inspecto ornatu, quo principum 
 coniuges ac parentes effulserant^ deligit vestem et gemmas misitque 
 donum matri nulla parsimonia^ cum praecipua et cupita aliis prior 
 deferret. sed Agrippina non bis instrui cultus suos^ sed ceteris 
 arceri proclamat et dividere filium, quae cuncta ex ipsa haberet. 
 
 14.' Nee defuere qui in deterius referrent. et Nero infensus iis, 
 
 quibus superbia muliebris innitebatur, demovet Pallantem cura 
 
 rerum, quis a Claudio impositus velut arbitrium regni agebat; 
 
 . ferebaturque degrediente eo magna prosequentium multitudine 
 
 non absurde dixisse^ ire Pallantem ut eiuraret. sane pepigerat 
 
 13. nurum ancillam] Nero was disposed in ttiese robes and jewels, but a bint tbat 
 
 to marry Acte (Suet. Nero, 28). Acte the rest were not intended for ber. By 
 
 was a ' liberta,' and tberefore not * an- giving ber some, witbout any real care 
 
 cilia ;' but Agrippina used tbe term con- for ber use of tbem, Nero proved tbat 
 
 temptuously. Below, Annaeus Serenus sbe was to be debarred from baving 
 
 was praefectus vigilum. Cf. Plin. N. H. wbat remained. 
 
 xxii. 23, "fungi familias nuper intere- 14. arbitrium regni] Cf.H. iv. 21, " per- 
 
 mere et tota convivia Annaeum Serenum fuga Batavus arbitrium rerum Eoma- 
 
 praefectum Neronis vigilum et tribunes narum ne ageret." Tbe sense is, ' acted 
 
 et centuriones." as tbougb every tbing in tbe kingdom 
 
 cubiculum, ac sinum] * Her own cbam- was at bis disposal.' 
 
 ber and private retreat,' * tbe privacy of ut eiuraret] Cf. xii. 4, " adactus Sila- 
 
 ber own apartment.' * Sinus' is used in nus eiurare magistratum." Nero spoke 
 
 mucb tbe same way. Germ. 29, " sinus of Pallas as relinquisbing a tbrone ; tbe 
 
 imperii et pars provinciae babentur," *a allusion being to a consul wbo at tbe 
 
 nook of tbe empire.' close of bis magistracy, laid down office 
 
 non his instrui] Nero's aim was, witb an asseveration that be had served 
 
 .Agrippina declared, not ber adornment tbe state well. Pallas made a special 
 
346 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 808. 
 
 Pallas ne cuius facti in praeteritum interrogaretur pares que rat ones 
 cum re publica haberet. praeceps posthac Agrippina rue]* 3 ad 
 terroreili et minas, neque principis auribus abstinere quo Diinus 
 testaretur adultum iam esseBritannicum, veram dignamque stirpem 
 suscipiendo patris imperio, quod insitus et adoptivus per iniurias 
 matris exerceret. non abnuere se quin cuncta infelicis clomus 
 mala patefierent, suae in primis nuptiae, suum veneficium : id solum 
 dis et sibi pro visum quod viveret privignus. ituram cum illo in 
 castra ; audiretur liinc Germanici filia^ inde debilis rursus Burrus 
 et exul Seneca^ trunca scilicet manu et professoria lingua generis 
 humani regimen expostulantes. simul intendere manus_, aggerere 
 probra, consecratum Claudium, infernos Silanorum manes in^ocare 
 et tot inrita facinora. 
 
 15. Turbatus bis Nero et propinquo die^ quo quartum decimum 
 aetatis annum Britannicus explebat^ volutare secum modo matris 
 violentiam, modo ipsius indolem, levi quidem experimento nuper 
 cognitam^ quo tamen favorem late quaesivisset. festis Saturno 
 diebus inter alia aequalium ludicra regnum lusu sortientium 
 evenerat ea sors Neroni. igitm^ ceteris diversa nee ruborem 
 allatura : ubi Britannico iussit exurgeret progressusque in 
 medium cantum aliquem inciperet, inrisum ex eo sperans pueri 
 sobrios quoque convictus, nedum temulentos ignorantis, ilk; con- 
 s tauter exorsus est carmen^ quo evolutum eum sede patria rebus - 
 que summis significabatur. unde orta miseratio manifestior, quia 
 dissimulationem nox et lascivia exemerat. Nero intellecta invidia 
 odium intendit; urguentibusque Agrippinae minis, quia nullum 
 crimen neque iubere caedem fratris palam audebat, occulta moli- 
 
 bargain that no inquiry should be made regnum lusu sortientium] TLis was 
 into bis past conduct ; his accounts with a game where one was king, a ad the 
 the state were to be regarded as duly other players had to do whatever the 
 squared up and past, without any fur- king commanded them. As in crying 
 ther inquiry to follow (' pares rationes,' forfeits, no doubt the king bade his sub- 
 Ac). So Dig. 40. 4. 22, *ei parem jects do something ridiculous, alarxp^v 
 rationem adscripsit.* Pallas was a ra- rtirfpl avrov a.uafioriaai,yviJ.vhv opx'fio'aa-dai, 
 tionibus Claudii (Suet. Claud. 28). or the like (Lucian, Saturn. 3). Below, 
 
 inde dehilis ritrsus'] ' On the other for the dative after * iubere,' cf. xiii. 40, 
 
 side again the crippled Burrus.' *Inde' " quibus iusserat nt resisterent.' The 
 
 is opposed to * hinc,' and ' rursus ' is used construction is very rare in other -writers, 
 apparently because Agrippina would be nullum crim^en neque iubere caederri] 
 
 heard first, and then Burrus. For this co-ordination of a substantive 
 
 15. quaesivissef] The subjunctive is and an infinitive, cf. vi. 12, " quem Ca- 
 used because the clause expresses part of ninius Gallus quindecemvir recipi . . . 
 Nero's thoughts, and does not introduce et de ea re senatus consultum postula- 
 mere additional circumstances virtually verat ;" iv. 3, " placuit tamen o<!Cultior 
 supplied by Tacitus himself. The mood, via et a Druso incipere." Belcw, for 
 therefore, is that of the ' oratio obliqua.* * pensi habere,' cf. Dialogua d€! Orat. 
 
A.D. 55.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 347 
 
 tur pararique venerium iubet_, ministro Pollione lulio praetoriae 
 coliortis tribunOj cuius cura attinebatur damnata veneficii nomine 
 Locusta multa scelerum fama. nam ut proximus quisque Britan- 
 nico neque fas neque fidem pen si liaberet^ olim provisum erat. 
 primum venenum ab ipsis educatoribus accepit^ tramisitque exso- 
 luta alvo parum validum, sive tern peramen turn inerat ne statim 
 saeviret. sed Nero lenti sceleris inpatiens minitari tribuno, iubere 
 supplicium veneficae, quod, dum rumorem respiciunt, dum parant 
 defensiones_, securitatem morarentur. promittentibus dein tarn 
 praecipitem necem quam si ferro urgueretur, cubiculum Caesaris 
 iuxta decoquitur virus cognitis antea venenis rapidum. 
 
 16. Mos babebatur principum liberos cum ceteris idem aetatis 
 nobilibus sedentes vesci in aspectu propinquorum propria et par- 
 ciore mensa. illic epulante Britannico, quia cibos potusque eius 
 delectus ex ministris gustu explorabat, ne omitteretur institutum 
 aut utriusque morte proderetur scelus_, talis dolus repertus est. 
 innoxia adhuc ac praecalida et libata gustu potio traditur Britan- 
 nico ; dein, postquam fervore aspernabatur, frigida in aqua adfun- 
 ditur venenum, quod ita cunctos eius artus pervasit, ut vox pariter 
 et spiritus raperentur. trepidatur a circumsedentibus, diffugiunt 
 inprudentes ; at quibus altior intellectus, resistunt defixi et 
 Neronem intuentes. ille ut erat reclinis et nescio similis, solitum 
 ita ait per comitialem morbum, quo prima ab infantia afflictaretur 
 Britannicus, et redituros paulatim visus sensusque. at Agrippinae 
 is pavor, ea consternatio mentis, quam vis vultu premeretur, emi- 
 cuit^ ut perinde ignaram fuisse atque Octaviam sororem Britannici 
 constiterit : quippe sibi supremum auxilium ereptum et parricidii 
 exemplum intellegebat. Octavia quoque, quamvis rudibus annis, 
 dolorem, caritatem, omnis affectus abscondere didicerat. ita post 
 breve silentium repetita convivii laetitia. 
 
 29, " nee qnisquain in tota domo pensi 16. idem aetatis] Cf. v. 9, " id aetatis 
 
 habet ;" H. i. 46, " neque moduna oneris corpora." Below, for the csase of ' fer- 
 
 quisquam neque genus quaestus pensi vore,' cf. ii. 24, and the note there on 
 
 habebat." In other writers it generally * potentia.' 
 
 follows ' nihil/ or * nee quidquam.' Cf. frigida in aqua] The sense is not. 
 
 Sail. Cat. 5 ; Suet. Domit. 12. ' poison is poured into cold water,' but 
 
 dum parant defensiones] For the ' poison is poured into (the cup) in cold 
 
 indicative mood in the * oratio obliqua,' water.' The poison was already mixed 
 
 see a note on i. 10, under ' abstxilerat.' with the cold water, and so poured into 
 
 cognitis antea venenis] According to the goblet containing the hot potion. 
 Suetonius (Nero, 33), the poison was circumsedentibus] By the joungnohlea, 
 tried on a kid, and, after further prepa- who, as usual with children, were not re- 
 ration, on a young pig, until it appeared dining at table, like Nero and the grown- 
 Bufficiently deadly and rapid in its up sharers in the feast, but sitting at 
 operation. .table. Cf. Suet. Claud. 32, " cum pueris 
 
348 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 808. 
 
 17. Nox eadem necem Britannici et rogum coniuncxit^ pi'oviso 
 ante funebri paratu^ qui modicus fuit. in campo tamen .)Iartis 
 sepultus est adeo turbidis imbribus, ut vulgus iram deum poi'tendi 
 crediderit ad versus f acinus, cui plerique tamen bominum ignosce- 
 bant, antiquas fratrum discordias et insociabile regnum aesti- 
 mantes. tradunt plerique eorum temporum scriptores, crebris 
 ante exitium diebus illusum isse pueritiae Britannici Neron(?m_, ut 
 iam non praematura neque saeva mors videri queat, quamvis inter 
 sacra mensae, ne tempore quidem ad complexum sororum dato, 
 ante oculos inimici properata sit in ilium sup re mum Claudiorum 
 sanguinem, stupro prius quam veneno pollutum. festinationem 
 exequiarum edicto Caesar defendit, id a maioribus institutum 
 referens, subtrabere oculis acerba funera neque laudationibus aut 
 pompa detinere. ceterum et sibi amisso fratris auxilio reliquas 
 spes in re publica sitas, et tanto magis fovendum patribus populo- 
 que principem, qui unus superesset e familia summum ad fastigium 
 genita. 
 
 18. Exin largitione potissimos amicorum auxit. nee defuere qui 
 arguerent viros gravitatem adseverantes, quod domes villas id 
 temporis quasi praedam divisissent. alii neeessitatem adhibitam 
 credebant a principe, sceleris sibi conscio et veniam sperante, si 
 largitionibus validissimum quemque obstrincxisset. at matris ira 
 nulla munificentia leniri, sed amplecti Octaviam, crebra cum amicis 
 seer eta Habere, super ingenitam avaritiam undique pecunias quasi 
 in subsidium corripiens, tribunes et centuriones comiter excipere, 
 nomina et virtutes nobilium, qui etiam tum supererant, in bonore 
 habere, quasi quaereret ducem et partes, cognitum id Neroni, 
 excubiasque militares, quae ut coniugi imperatoris olim, tum ut 
 matri servabantur, et Germanos nuper eundem in bonorem 
 custodes additos degredi iubet. ac ne coetu salutantium fre- 
 
 puellisque nobilibus qui more veteri ad netf funus acerbum." 
 
 fulcra lectorum sedentes vescerentur." 18. gravitatem adseverantes] * ^Putting 
 
 17. in campo tamen Martis^ In the forward a persistent claim to i)liiloso- 
 
 mausoleum built by Augustus (Tumulus pbical gravity.* The allusion is to Se- 
 
 Augusti, iii. 4) in the Campus Martins. neca and Burrus. For the use of *vali- 
 
 id a maiorihus^ For ' id ' used in this dissimum,' just below, cf. vi. 31, xii. 42. 
 
 way, cf. H. iv. 33, "id solum ut in tu- ut matri'] The repetition of 'ut' is 
 
 multu monuit subsignano milite medio awkward, the first being used in the 
 
 firmare." sense of * quemadmodum,' and the se- 
 
 acerha funera'] * Acerbua ' is applied cond in the sense of ' tamquam,' ' which, 
 
 continually to premature death, as cor- as they were formerly assigned her when 
 
 responding to unripe, and therefore sour the emperor's wife, so now were con- 
 
 fruit. Cf. Ovid's Fasti, iv. 647, " et tinned to her, as being the present em- 
 
 pecus ante diem foetus edobat acerbos," peror's mother.* 
 
 and Juv. xi. 44, " non praematuri cineres - ' 
 
A.D. 55.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIIL 349 
 
 quentaretur, separat doinum matremque transfert in earn quae 
 Antoniae fuerat, quotiens ipse illuc ventitaret^ saeptus turba 
 centurionum et post breve osculum digrediens. 
 
 19. Nihil rerum mortalium tarn instabile ac fluxum est quam 
 fama potentiae non sua vi nixae. statim relictum Agrippinae 
 limen : nemo solari^ nemo adire praeter paucas feminas^ amore an 
 odio incertas. ex quibus erat lunia Silana^ quam matrimonio C. 
 Sili a Messalina depulsam supra rettuli^ insignis genere forma 
 lascivia, et Agrippinae diu percara^ mox occultis inter eas offen- 
 sionibus_, quia Sextium Africanum nobilem iuvenem a nuptiis 
 Silanae deterruerat Agrippina_, inpudicam et vergentem annis 
 dictitans^ non ut Africanum sibi seponeret, sed ne opibus et 
 orbitate Silanae maritus poteretur. ilia spe ultionis oblata parat 
 accusatores ex clientibus suis, Iturium et Calvisium^ non vetera et 
 saepius iam audita deferens^ quod Britannici mortem lugeret aut 
 Octaviae iniurias evulgaret_, sed destinavisse earn Rubellium Plau- 
 tum^ per "maternam originem pari ac Nero gradu a divo Augusto, 
 ad res novas extollere coniugioque eius et iam imperio rem 
 publicam rursus invadere. baec Iturius et Calvisius Atimeto, 
 Domitiae Neronis amitae liberto, aperiunt. qui laetus oblatis 
 
 quae Antoniae fueraf] This is * Anto- is the Antonia minor of Suetonius, who 
 
 nia maior ' probably, as Tacitus adds married Drusus (the father of Germani- 
 
 * minor' (iv. 44, xii. 64) when he speaks cus), and was therefore Kero's great- 
 
 of the younger Antonia. But, as before grandmother. 
 
 said, Tacitus is incorrect in the matter 19. lunia Silana'] Cf. xi. 12. Perhaps 
 
 of these ladies ; and really it was Anto- she was sister of Marcus and Lucius 
 
 nia maior who made the connexion Silanus (xiii. 1). 
 
 ascribed by the historian to the younger pari ac Nero gradu'] The annexed 
 
 sister. Probably, therefore, the Antonia, table will show this : — 
 although intended to be the elder, really , 
 
 Augustus. Augustus, 
 
 (step-son) Tiberius. Julia. 
 
 Drusua. Agrippina (the elder). 
 
 Julia m. Eubellius Blandus. Agrippina (the younger). 
 
 I I 
 
 Eubellius Plautus. Kero. 
 
 Therefore Augustus was great-great- state.' Cf i. 10, " fasces et ius praetoris 
 
 grandfather both of Eubellius Plautus invaserit." 
 
 and Nero. Domitiae Neronis amitae] This is 
 
 et iam . . . invadere] ' And at once shown as follows : — 
 (thereupon) to make a dash at the 
 
 Lucius Domitius Aenobarbus m. Antonia. 
 
 I 
 
 Gnaeus Domitius m. Agrippina (the younger) Domitia Domitia Lepida. 
 
 The Domitia mentioned here married to death by Nero (Suet. Nero, 34 ; Dio 
 Crispus Passienus (vi. 20), and was put Ixi. 17). 
 
350 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. S08. 
 
 (quippe inter Agrippinam et Domitiam infensa aemulatio (3xer- 
 cebatur) Paridem histrionem, libertum et ipsum Domitiae, 
 impulit ire propere crimenque atrociter deferre. 
 
 20. Provecta nox erat et Neroni per vinulentiam trahebatur, 
 cum ingreditur Paris, solitus alioquin id temporis laxus principis 
 intendere, sed tunc compositus ad maestitiam, expositoque iiidicii 
 ordine ita audientem exterret, ut non tantum matrem Plautumque 
 interficere, sed Burrum etiam demovere praefectura destinaret 
 tamquam Agrippinae gratia provectum et vicem reddentem. 
 Fabius Rusticus auctor est, scriptos esse ad Caecinam Tuscum 
 codicillos, mandata ei praetoriarum cobortium cura, sed ope 
 Senecae dignationem Burro retentam : Plinius et Cluvius nihil 
 dubitatum de fide praefecti referunt; sane Fabius inclinat ad 
 laudes Senecae, cuius amicitia floruit, nos consensum auctorum 
 secuturi, quae diversa prodiderint sub nominibus ipsorum trade- 
 mus. Nero trepidus et interficiendae matris avidus non prius 
 differri potuit quam Burrus necem eius promitteret, si facinoris 
 coargueretur : sed cuicumque, nedum parenti defensionem tribuen- 
 dam : nee accusatores adesse, sed vocem unius ex inimica domo 
 adferri: refutare tenebras et vigilatam convivio noctem omniaque 
 temeritati et inscitiae propiora. 
 
 21. Sic lenito principis metu et luce orta itur ad Agrippinam, 
 ut nosceret obiecta dissolveretque vel poenam lueret. Burrus iis 
 mandatis Seneca coram fungebatur ; aderant et ex libertis arbitri 
 sermonis. deinde a Burro, postquam crimina et auctores exposuit, 
 minaciter actum, et Agrippina ferociae memor ^non lairor' 
 inquit ' Silanam, numquam edito partu, matrum afiectus ignotos 
 habere ; neque enim perinde a parentibus liberi quam ab inpudica 
 
 20. Caecinam Tuscum] Caecina Tuscua spoke of him too favourably, 
 was the son of Nero's nurse, and after- differri] * To be put off.' CI', ii. 36, 
 ■wards praefect of Egypt. He was "tot differre." Below, for 'nedtim pa- 
 banished for having baths constructed for renti,' cf. xiii. 37, under * nedum veteri.' 
 Nero on his projected visit to Egypt refutare] 'Refutare' possibly means 
 (Suet. Nero, 35). Pliny (the elder) wrote ' to throw cold water into a boiling ves- 
 a History of the Empire from the point sel,' and so generally to check, calm 
 where Aufidius Bassus left off, about down ; and this meaning would suit here, 
 the time of Claudius perhaps (preface to The courtiers of Nero represented to 
 N. H.). Cluvius is perhaps the Cluvius him that the darkness and the disorder 
 Rufus of H. i. 8, H. iii. 65, H. iv. 43; arising from the dissipations of t he night 
 so at least Lipsius thinks, but it seems threw cold water on any scheme for the 
 to me very doubtful. Fabius Rusticus murder of Agrippina ; the time and cir- 
 seems to have begun his narrative with cumstances were unsuited to the carry- 
 the reign of Claudius, as he gives an ing out of any such course. The close 
 account of Britain (Agric. 10) . He of a drunken debauch was not adapted 
 showed in his writings partiality for to plan and complete so grave an under^ 
 Seneca; or Tacitus himself, disliking taking, 
 that . philosopher, fancied that Fabiua 
 
A.D. 55.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 351 
 
 adulter! mutantur. nee si Iturius et Calvisius adesis omnibus 
 fortunis novissimam suscipiendae accusationis operam anui repen- 
 dunt, ideo ant milii infamia parricidii aut Caesari conscientia 
 subeunda est. nam Domitiae inimicitiis gratia s agerem, si 
 benivolentia mecum in Neronem meum certaret : nunc per con- 
 cubinum Atimetum et histrionem Paridem quasi scaenae fabulas 
 componit. Baiarum suarum piscinas extollebat^ cum meis consiliis 
 adoptio et proconsulare ius et designatio consulatus et cetera 
 apiscendo imperio praepararentur. aut exsistat qui cobortes 
 in urbe temptatas, qui provinciarum fidem labefactatam_, denique 
 servos vel bbertos ad scelus corruptos arguat. vivere ego 
 Britannico potiente rerum poteram? ac si Plautus aut quis 
 alius rem publicam iudicaturus obtinuerit^ desunt scilicet mibi 
 accusatoreSj qui non verba impatientia caritatis aliquando incauta, 
 sed ea crimina obiciant^ quibus nisi a filio absolvi non possim.^ 
 com metis qui aderant ultroque spiritus eius mitigantibus, col- 
 loquium filii exposcitj ubi nibil pro innocentia^ quasi diffideret, nee 
 beneficiis, quasi exprobraret^ disseruit^ sed ultionem in delatores et 
 praemia amicis obtinuit. 
 
 22. Praefectura annonae Faenio Kufo^ cura ludorum, qui a 
 Caesare parabantur^ Arruntio Stellae^ Aegyptus C. Balbillo per- 
 mittuntur. Syria P. Anteio destinata^ sed variis mox artibus 
 elusus, ad postremum in urbe retentus est. at Silana in exilium 
 acta. Calvisius quoque et Iturius relegantur; de Atimeto suppli- 
 
 21. infamia pa/rricidii] 'The dis- could not have lived in safety nnder 
 
 graceful charge of son-murder.' With Britannicus, her step-son, who would 
 
 * conscientia ' must be repeated ' parri- have punished her for former wrongs 
 
 cidii/ in the sense of * slaying a mother.' done him, so, if Plautus or any other 
 
 extollehat] Cf. xi. 1, " quos " (hortos) were raised to the throne by the death 
 
 " ille a Lucullo coeptos insigni magnifi- of Nero, she would most certainly have 
 
 centia extollebat." 'Extollere' seems been accused of crimes which could only 
 
 an odd word to use in connexion with hope for indulgence from a son. It was 
 
 fish-pond, but it appears to convey the impolitic, therefore, and suicidal for 
 
 idea of raising high banks and lofty Agrippina to endeavour to compass her 
 
 structures round them. Below, * aut son's death : her only hope of security 
 
 existat ' means, ' or if it be not as I say, lay in her son's continuance on the 
 
 let some one come forward.' Cf. xv. 5, throne. He would pardon crimes, the 
 
 " omitteret potius obsidionem aut " (if he fruits of which he reaped: no one else 
 
 did not) " se quoque in agro hostili could pardon them. The words ' desunt 
 
 castra positurum." Cic. de Fin. iv. 26, scilicet,' &c., are ironical. 
 
 " cur igitur cum de re conveniat non 22. C. Balhillo^ So the MS. ; but in 
 
 malumus usitate loqui ? aut doceat pa- several inscriptions he is called Tiberius 
 
 ratiorem me ad contemnendam pecu- (Graec. Inscript. 4699, 4730). See Nip- 
 
 niam fore." perdey's note. He is mentioned appa- 
 
 iudicaturiLs'] ' If Plautus or any one rently by Pliny (N. H. xix. preface), as 
 
 else were in possession of the state, with having made the voyage from the Sicilian 
 
 the duty of sitting in judgment on me.' Straits to Alexandria in something less 
 
 Agrippina' s argument is, that as she than six days. 
 
 I 
 
352 COHNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 808—809. 
 
 cium sumptunij validiore apud libidines principis Paride qua: 21 ut 
 poena adficeretur. Plautus adpraesens silentio transmissus est. 
 
 23. Deferuntur dehinc consensisse Pallas ac Burrus^ ut Corne- 
 lius Sulla claritudine generis et adfinitate Claudii^ cui per nuptias 
 Antoniae gener erat, ad imperium vocaretur. eius accusationis 
 auctor extitit Paetus quidam, exercendis apud aerarium sectioriibus 
 famosus et turn vanitatis manifestus. nee tarn grata Pallantis 
 innocentia quam gravis superbia fuit : quippe nominatis libertis 
 eius, quos conscios baberet, respondit nihil umquam se dond nisi 
 nutu aut manu significasse, vel si plura demonstranda essent, scripto 
 usum_, ne vocem consociaret. Burrus quamvis reus inter indices 
 sententiam dixit. exiliumque accusatori inrogatum et tabulae 
 exustae sunt, quibus oblitterata aerarii nomina retrabebat. 
 
 24. Fine anni static cobortis adsidere ludis solita demoyetur, 
 quo maior species libertatis esset, utque miles tbeatrali licentiae 
 non permixtus incorruptior ageret et plebes daret experimentum, 
 an amotis custodibus modestiam retineret. urbem princeps lus- 
 travit ex response baruspicum^ quod lovis ac Minervae aedes de 
 caelo tactae erant. 
 
 25. Q. Yolusio P. Scipione consulibus otium foris, foeda domi 
 lascivia, qua Nero itinera urbis et lupanaria et deverticula veste 
 servili in dissimulationem sui compositus pererrabat_, comitantibus 
 qui raperent venditioni exposita et obviis vulnera inferrent, adver- 
 sus ignaros adeo, ut ipse quoque exciperet ictus et ore praeferret. 
 deinde ubi Caesarem esse qui grassaretur pernotuit augebanturque 
 
 23. sectionihus] The goods of all whose probably. Cf. Suet. Aug. 32, " tabulas 
 
 property was confiscated were sold by veterum aerarii debitorum vel prae- 
 
 the prefects of the treasury. Paetus cipuam calumniandi materiam exussit." 
 
 made it his business to buy such goods, Others supposed the words to nnjan that 
 
 as well as the property of all who, being Paetus revived debts which had been 
 
 in debt to the state, had distraints levied already paid and crossed out of the 
 
 on their effects, by the sale of which books. But I do not quite see how 
 
 their debts were paid. Below, for the burning the records of these d(!bts did 
 
 sense of 'vanitatis ' (' falsehood'), cf. vi. any good ; for if they were really paid, 
 
 21, " si vanitatis aut frauduna suspicio I suppose the books would retain traces 
 
 incesserat ;" H. iv. 81, " famam vanitatis of the fact, unless we imagine the keepers 
 
 metuore." This seems to have been the of the books to have neglected their 
 
 original force of the word. It occurs duty, and the debtors to have lost their 
 
 Agric. 18, and iii. 73, in its derived sense receipts, 
 
 of boastfulness. 25. Q. Volusio'] Q, Yolusius Saturninus 
 
 nomina retrahehat] Paetus seems to was son of L. Yolusius Saturninus, prae- 
 
 have kept a list of persons indebted to fectus urbi, who died a.d. 57 (xiii. 30). 
 
 the state, whose debts, of old standing. For his grandfather, cf. iii. 30. 
 
 barred virtually, as it were, by a statute aiigehanturque] The change of tense 
 
 of limitation, had not been paid. Paetus is made because the fact of Nero's indul- 
 
 Was intending to endeavour to recover gence in such amusements---a stadowing 
 
 these from the debtors, or their heirs forth of the Mohawks' pranks at a later 
 
A.D. 55-56.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 353 
 
 iniuriae adversus viros feminasque insignes, et quidam permissa 
 semel licentia sub nomine Neronis inulti propriis cum globis 
 eadem exercebant, in modum captivitatis nox agebatur; luliusque 
 Montanus senatorii ordinis, sed qui nondum bonorem capessisset, 
 congressus forte per tenebras cum principe, quia vi attemptantem 
 acriter reppulerat, deinde adgnitum oraverat_, quasi exprobrasset, 
 mori adactus est. Nero turn metuentior in posterum milites sibi 
 et plerosque gladiatores circumdedit^ qui rixarum initia modica et 
 quasi privata sinerent : si a laesis validius ageretur^ arma in- 
 ferebant. ludicram quoque licentiam et fautores bistrionum 
 velut in proelia convertit inpunitate et praemiis atque ipse 
 occultus et plerumque coram prospectans, donee discordi populo 
 et gravioris motus terrore non aliud remedium repertum est, 
 quam ut histriones Italia J)ellerentur milesque tbeatro rursum 
 adsideret. 
 
 26. Per idem tempus actum in senatu de fraudibus libertorum, 
 efflagitatumque ut adversus male meritos revocandae libertatis ius 
 patronis daretur. nee deerant qui censerent, sed consules rela- 
 tionem incipere non ausi ignaro principe, perscripsere tamen ei 
 consensum senatus. ille an auctor constitutionis- fieret ut inter 
 paucos et sententiae diversos, quibusdam coalitam libertate inre- 
 verentiam eo prorupisse frementibus, vine an aequo cum patronis 
 iure agerent, sententiam eorum consultarent ac verberibus manus 
 ultro intenderent, impulere vel poenam suam dissuadentes. quid 
 enim aliud laeso patrono concessum quam ut centesimum ultra 
 lapidem in oram Campaniae libertum releget ? ceteras actiones 
 
 date — became known once for all ; where- emendation. I tMnk, however, there is 
 
 as the assaults on the unhappy citizens no difl&culty in supposing some word 
 
 were of constant occurrence. So xii. 6, like ' dubius ' to be omitted before ' an 
 
 " postquam haec favorabili oratione prae- ... fieret,' as in ii. 14, " finem vitae 
 
 misit, multaque patrum assentatio se- sponte an fato implevit." 'Sententiae' 
 
 quebatur." is the genitive depending on ' diversos,' 
 
 senatorii ordinis'] Cf. Suet. Aug. 38, ' different m opinion.' Cf. xiv. 19, " mo- 
 
 " liberis senatorum quo celerius rei pub- rum diversus." Also, 'vel poenam suam 
 
 licae adsuescerent protinus a virili toga dissuadentes ' seems to be ' even those 
 
 latum clavum induere et curiae interesse who did not advise the infliction of the 
 
 permisit." Hence Suetonius (Nero, 26) punishment legally to be placed in their 
 
 says, "a quodam laticlavio prope ad hands.' Those who did not want the 
 
 necem caesus est." * ius revocandae libertatis ' to be given 
 
 histriones^ These were 'mimi,' or them, still thought something ought to 
 
 pantomimic dancers (i. 54), Other be done to check the acknowledged evil, 
 
 actors were allowed to remain, under Beyond this the passage is inexplicable, 
 the surveillance of a military guard, ut centesimum ultra lapidem] So 
 
 formerly appointed by Augustus to keep Lipsius for ' vicesimum :' for the juris- 
 
 order in the theatres. diction of the praefectus urbi extended 
 
 26. ille an auctor] This passage is to this distance from Rome (Dig. i. 12. 
 
 corriipt, beyond the reach of conjectural 1, § 4). 
 
 A a 
 
354 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 809. 
 
 promiscas et pares esse, tribuendum aliquod telum quod Hperni 
 nequeat. nee grave manu missis per idem obsequium rethiendi 
 libertatem, per quod adsecuti sint : at criminum manifestos inerito 
 ad servitutem retrahi, ut metu coerceantur quos beneficia non 
 mutavissent. 
 
 27. Disserebatur contra : paucorum culpam ipsis exitiosaia esse 
 debere, nihil universorum iuri derogandum; quippe late fusum 
 id corpus, bine plerumque tribus, decurias, ministeria niagis- 
 tratibus et sacerdotibus^ cobortes etiam in urbe conscriptas; et 
 plurimis equitum, plerisque senatoribus non aliunde originem 
 trahi : si separarentur libertini, manifestam fore penuriam inge- 
 nuorum. non frustra maiores, cum dignitatem ordinum divide- 
 rent_, libertatem in communi posuisse. quin et manu mittendi 
 duas species institutas, ut relinqueretur paenitentiae aut novo 
 beneficio locus, quos vindicta patronus non liberaverit_, velut 
 vinclo servitutis attineri. dispiceret quisque merita tardeque 
 concederet quod datum non adimeretur. haec sententia valuit, 
 scripsitque Caesar senatui_, privatim expenderent causam liber- 
 torum, quotiens a patronis arguerentur : in commune nihil dero- 
 garent. nee multo post ereptus amitae libertus Paris quasi iure 
 civili^ non sine infamia principis, cuius iussu perpetratum inge- 
 nuitatis indicium erat. 
 
 28. Manebat nihilo minus quaedam imago rei publicae.^ nam 
 
 promiscas et pares esse'] That is, freed- manu m^ittendi duas species] The 
 
 men were on a footing of perfect equality formal way of manumission was by the 
 
 with their former masters: there were vindicta, 'census,' or 'testamentum.' 
 
 no means of coercing them more than Another 'inter amicos' consisted of a 
 
 other people. Translate, ' other courses declaration from the master i a some 
 
 of redress were equally shared by all way (by writing or invitation to table) 
 
 citizens alike.' There was the same of his wish that the slave should be 
 
 opportunity of obtaining redress from a free. This was revocable, not confer- 
 
 freedman as from any other, and no ring strictly legal freedom ; but eventu- 
 
 more. ally such persons, by the Lex lunia 
 
 retinendi'] This depends on ' grave ' Norbana, received the ' Latinitas.' 
 
 nsed substantively, ' there was no hard- privatim'] ' Individually.' Etich case 
 
 ship in retaining.' Cf. xv. 5, " Vologesi was to be discussed on its merits, with- 
 
 vetus et penitus infixum erat arma Ro- out legislation affecting the condition of 
 
 mana vitandi." the whole class. 
 
 27. trihus] The city tribes especially ingenuitatis iudicium,] The decision 
 
 must have been very extensively leavened on the point, whether Paris waH * inge- 
 
 with freedmen J and from this class mainly nuns' or not, was made by the direction 
 
 were taken the scribae, (who were divided of Nei-o, Paris had been manumitted 
 
 into <decuriae,' and attached to the byDomitia, and so became her 'hbertus.' 
 
 various magistrates), Hctores, viatores. He then claimed to be * ingenuus,' and it 
 
 and similar officers. From them also was decided judicially that his claim was 
 
 were recruited the three urbanae co- good. Domitia had to repay the sum of 
 
 hortes, and the seven companies of money paid her by Paris for manumis- 
 
 * vigiles,' or city police. sion. 
 
A.D. 56.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 355 
 
 inter Yibullium praetorem et plebei tribunum Antistium ortum 
 certamen, quod inmodestos fautores bistrionum et a praetore in 
 vincla ductos tribunus omitti iussisset. conprobavere patres, 
 incusata Antistii licentia. sinxul probibiti tribuni ius praetorum 
 et consulum praeripere aut vocare ex Itaba cum quibus lege agi 
 posset, addidit L. Piso designatus consul, ne quid intra domum 
 pro potestate adverterent, neve multam ab iis dictam quaestores 
 aerarii in publicas tabulas ante quattuor menses referrent ; medio 
 temporis contra dicere liceret, deque eo consules statuerent. 
 cobibita artius et aedilium potestas statutumque quantum curules, 
 quantum plebei pignoris caper ent vel poenae inrogarent. et 
 Helvidius Priscus tribunus plebei adversus Obultronium Sabinum 
 aerarii quaestorem contentiones proprias exercuit, tamquam ius 
 bastae adversus inopes inclementer augeret. dein princeps curam 
 tabularum publicarum a quaestoribus ad praefectos transtulit. 
 
 29. Varie babita ac saepe mutata eius rei forma, nam Augustus 
 senatui permisit deligere praefectos ; deinde ambitu sujffragiorum 
 suspecto, sorte ducebantur ex numero praetorum qui praeessent. 
 neque id diu mansit^ quia sors deerrabat ad parum idoneos. tunc 
 Claudius quaestores rursum imposuit, iisque, ne metu offensionum 
 segnius consulerent, extra ordinem bonores promisit : sed deerat 
 robur aetatis eum primum magistratum capessentibus. igitur 
 Nero praetura porfunctos et experientia probates delegit. 
 
 30. Damnatus isdem consulibus Vipsanius Laenas ob Sardiniam 
 provinciam avare babitam. absolutus Cestius Proculus repetun- 
 darum_, Cretensibus accusantibus. Clodius Quirinalis^ quod prae- 
 
 28. conprobavere] The senate ap- day and night to admit all applicants, 
 
 proved of the praetor's act, and rated were not to be allowed to decide any 
 
 the tribune for his interference. matter at home, but only in open court. 
 
 vocare ex Italia'] I do not think there pignoris] ' To what amoimt they 
 
 is any allusion here to the distinction might distrain or inflict a fine.' 
 
 (A. Gell. xiii. 12) between the tribune's tamquam ius hastae] The property of 
 
 right of seizing any person accused and those persons who were indebted to the 
 
 taking him before a magistrate, and this state was sold to defray the debt. Sa- 
 
 absence of any power to summon them binus was accused of having shown un- 
 
 into court. The meaning appears simply necessary harshness in the discharge of 
 
 to be, that the tribunes were not allowed his functions. 
 
 to cite to Rome for judicial process any 29. extra ordinem Tionores] The ' quaes- 
 
 one whose case could be heard in his tores aerarii' under Claudius held their 
 
 own provincial town. Below, L. Cal- office for three years, and were at the 
 
 pumius Piso was son of L. Calpurnius expiration of their magistracy at once 
 
 Piso, consul suffectus a.d. 27 (iv. 62). eligible for the praetorship (Dion Cass. 
 
 He was ' curator aquarum,' and * frater Ix. 24) , 
 
 Arvalis.' primu/m magistratum] That is the 
 
 ne qvAd intra domum, ^c] The tri- quaestorship, the first office any citizen 
 
 bunes, although their houses were open was able to hold. 
 
 A a 2 
 
356 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 809— »10. 
 
 fectus remigum^ qui Eavennae haberentur_, velut infimam natiojium 
 Italiam luxuria saevitiaque afflictavisset, veneno damnatioiiem 
 anteiit. Caninius Eebilus^ ex primoribus peritia legum et peciiaiae 
 magnitudine, cruciatus aegrae senectae emisso per venas sangiiine 
 eflfugit, baud creditus sufficere ad constantiam sumendae mcrtis, 
 ob libidines muliebriter infamis. at L. Yolusius egregia fama 
 concessit, cui tres et nonaginta anni spatium vivendi praecipuae- 
 que opes bonis artibus inoffensa tot imperatorum malitia 
 fuerunt. 
 
 31. Nerone iterum L. Pisone consulibus pauca memoria digna 
 evenere, nisi cui libeat laudandis fundamentis et trabibus, quis 
 molem ampbitbeatri apud campum Martis Caesar extruxerat, 
 volumina implore, cum ex dignitate populi Romani repertum sit 
 res illustres annalibus, talia diurnis urbis actis mandare. ceterum 
 coloniae Capua atque Nuceria additis veteranis firmatae sunt, 
 plebeique congiarium quadringeni nummi yiritim dati, et sester- 
 tium quadringenties aerario inlatum est ad retinendam populi 
 fidem. vectigal quoque quintae et vicesimae venalium manci- 
 piorum remissum, specie magis quam vi, quia cum venditor 
 pendere iuberetur, in partem pretii emptoribus accrescebat. 
 edixit Caesar, ne quis magistratus aut procurator qui provinciam 
 optineret spectaculum gladiatorum aut ferarum aut quod aliud 
 ludicrum ederet. nam ante non minus tali largitione quam cor- 
 
 30. Caninius Rebihis] So Lipsins, for excheqner from wMcli tlie disbnrsGments 
 G. Aminius Rebius of the MS. There for the imperial provinces were pro- 
 was a C. Caninius Eebilus consul snffectus vided. 
 
 45 A.c. and also 12 a.c. The latter may quintae et vicesimae] Augustus had 
 
 have been the father of the Eebilus here levied a tax of two per cent, on the 
 
 mentioned. sale of slaves (Dion Cass. Iv. 31; . At 
 
 concessit] So iv. 38, " at quandoque some later period, perhaps undei- Cali- 
 
 concessero cum laude et bonis recorda- gula, it was apparently doubled, as Nero 
 
 tionibus facta atque famam nominis remitted a four per cent. duty. ii.s the 
 
 mei prosequantur." The full expression buyers of slaves were usually Eomans, 
 
 occurs (iii. 30), "concessere vita insignes and the sellers foreigners, the reduction 
 
 viri." Below, ' inofiensa tot,' &c. implies would be hailed as a substantial boon. 
 
 that L. Volusius contrived to escape No doubt, however, the price would be 
 
 collision with successive emperors of ill proportionately enhanced, and, as al- 
 
 character. ways, come just as much as before out 
 
 31. aerario inlatum] Tacitus appears of the buyer's pocket. 
 
 to mean, that the emperor paid over from tali Iwrgitione] By the lavish expen- 
 
 the fiscus to the aerarium a sum of about diture on games, which was viitually 
 
 £320,000, to supply the deficiency of re- bribery, to secure for the giver imraunity 
 
 ceipts to meet the expenditure. This from impeachment and condemnation for 
 
 sum was necessary, it seems, to make his maladnunistration of his province, 
 
 both ends meet. After all, this would People would be reluctant to take harsh 
 
 amount to little more than a shifting of measures against a man who had made 
 
 accounts, because the 'fiscus' was not himself popular by the magnificeace of 
 
 the emperor's privy purse only, but the his shows. 
 
A.I). 56-57.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 357 
 
 ripiendis pecuniis subiectos affligebant, dum quae libidine deli- 
 querant, ambitu propugnant. 
 
 32. Factum et senatus consul turn ultioni iuxta e't securitati, ut 
 si quis a suis servis interfectus esset, ii quoque^ qui testamento 
 manu rnissi sub eodem tecto mansissent, inter servos supplicia 
 penderent. redditur ordini Lurius Yarius consularis, avaritiae 
 criminibus olim perculsus. et Pomponia Graecina insignis femina^ 
 PlautiOj qui ovans se de Britannis rettulit, nupta ac superstitionis 
 externae rea, mariti iudicio permissa. isque prisco institute pro- 
 pinquis coram de capite famaque coniugis cognovit et insontem 
 nuntiavit. longa huic Pomponiae aetas et continua tristitia fuit. 
 nam post luliam Drusi filiam dolo Messalinae interfectam per 
 quadraginta annos non cultu nisi lugubri^ non animo nisi maesto 
 egit; idque illi imperitante Claudio inpune, mox ad gloriam 
 vertit. 
 
 33. Idem annus plures reos habuit, quorum P. Celerem accu- 
 sante Asia^ quia absolvere nequibat Caesar^ traxit, senecta donee 
 mortem obiret; nam Celer interfecto, ut memoravi, Silano pro 
 consule magnitudine sceleris cetera flagitia obtegebat. Cossu- 
 tianum Capitonem Cilices detulerant maculosum foedumque et 
 idem ius audaciae in provincia ratum quod in urbe exercuerat ; 
 sed pervicaci accusatione conflictatus postremo defensionem 
 omisit ac lege repetundarum damnatus est. pro Eprio Marcello, 
 a quo Lycii res repetebant^ eo usque ambitus praevaluit^ ut 
 
 propugnanf] For the accusative with ' refer? e se ad urbem,' &c. 
 
 this verb, of. xv. 13, "nee aliud quam superstitionis externae rea] Perhaps 
 
 munimenta propugnant." It occurs also she was accused of being a convert to 
 
 in Suetonius, and other writers of the Christianity. Tacitus speaks of it as 
 
 silver age. * exitiabilis superstitio ' (xv. 44) ; but, 
 
 32. senatus consultum] This was the on the other hand, ' externae super- 
 
 * senatus consultum Neronianum,' or stitiones' (xi. 15) seems to embrace 
 
 * Pisonianum,' named after the consuls of other forms of religious cult. 
 
 the year. There were other clauses in nam post luUam] This Julia was 
 
 the 8. consultum, as " ut occisa uxore granddaughter of Tiberius, and Tiberius 
 
 etiam de familia viri quaestio habeatur married Vipsania Agrippiua, who was 
 
 idemque ut iuxta uxoris familiam obser- granddaughter of Pomponius Atticus. 
 
 vetur si vir dicatur occisus" (Paul. Consequently Pomponia Graecina and 
 
 Sent. Receptae iii. 5, § 5). Julia were no doubt connected with 
 
 Lurius Varius'] He mu^t have been each other. As Julia was put to death 
 
 consul suffectus in some year, but when about 43 a.d., the forty years here spoken 
 
 is not known. Below, Pomponia Grae- of must have been reckoned to the time 
 
 cina was probably daughter qf P. Pom- of the death of Pomponia. 
 ponius Graecinus, consul suffectus a.d. 16. 33. traxit^ ' Let P. Celer drag on ;* 
 
 se . . . rettulif] Cf. Virg. Geor. iv. put off his accusation. 
 180, " at fessae multa referunt se nocte CossuHxnum Capitonern] Cf. Juv. 
 
 minoresj" Aen. vii. 286, "ecce autem viii. 92, "quam fulmine iusto, et Capito 
 
 Inachiis sese referebat ab Argis." This et Numitor ruerint damnante senatu 
 
 is a little different from such phrases as piratae Cilicum." 
 
358 CORNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 810—811. 
 
 quidam accusatorum eius exilio multarentifr^ tamquam insonti 
 periculum fecissent. 
 
 34. Nerone tertium consule simul init consulatum Yalerius 
 Messala, cuius proavum, oratorem Corvinum, divo Augiisto, 
 abavo Neronis, coUegam in eo magistratu fuisse pauci iam senum 
 meminerant. sed nobili familiae honor auctus est oblatis in 
 singulos annos quingenis sestertiis, quibus Messala paupertatem 
 innoxiam sustentaret. Aurelio quoque Cottae et Haterio Antonino 
 annuam pecuniam statuit princeps, quamvis per luxum avitas 
 opes dissipassent. 
 
 Eius anni principio moUibus adhuc initiis prolatatum inter 
 Pai'thos Romanosque de obtinenda Armenia bellum ac-riter 
 sumitur, quia nee Vologeses sinebat fratrem Tiridaten dati a se 
 regni expertem esse aut alienae id potentiae donum babeTe, et 
 Corbulo dignum magnitudine populi Romani rebatur parta olim a 
 Lucullo Pompeioque recipere. ad boc Armenii ambigua fide 
 utraque arma invitabant, situ terrarum_, similitudine morum 
 Partbis propiores conubiisque permixti ac libertate ignota illuo 
 magis ad servitium inclinantes. 
 
 35. Sed Corbuloni plus molis adversus ignaviam militum (][uani 
 contra perfidiam hostium erat : quippe Syria transmotae legiones, 
 pace Tonga segnes, munia Romanorum aegerrime tolerabant. satis 
 constitit fuisse in eo exercitu veteranos, qui non stationem^ non 
 vigilias inissent^ vallum fossamque quasi nova et mira viserent, 
 sine galeis, sine loricis, nitidi et quaestuosi^ militia per o])pida 
 expleta. igitur dimissis quibus senectus aut valitudo adv^ersa 
 eratj supplementum petivit. et babiti per Galatiam Cap])ado- 
 ciamque dilectus, adiectaque ex Germania legio cum equitibus 
 alariis et peditatu cobortium. retentusque omnis exercitus sub 
 pellibus, quamvis bieme saeva adeo, ut obducta glacie nisi effossa 
 bumus tentoriis locum non praeberet. ambusti multorum artus 
 vi frigoris et quidam inter excubias exanimati sunt, adnotatusque 
 
 34. oratorem Corvinum] M. Valerius Uluc] To the Partliians, and ' iid ser- 
 
 Messala Corvinus was consul with Au- vitium ' is epexegetical : * in that direc- 
 
 gustus 31 A.c, his son consul 3 a.c, his tion,' i. e. ' towards slavery.' 
 
 grandson consul a.d. 20, and his great- 35. quaestuosi] Cf. xii. 63, " quaes- 
 
 grandson was the Valerius Messala here tuosi et opulenti." Translate, * spruce 
 
 mentioned. and well to do,' bearing about them 
 
 sesterUis] Of course these must be marks of having thriven in point of 
 
 * sestertia,' not ' sestertii ;' and the wealth. Having spent their lives in 
 
 amount of the annual pension allowed towns, they had enjoyed many oppor- 
 
 to Messala would amount to about tunities of making money. 
 
 £4000. Below, for Aurelius Cotta, cf. ii. adnotatusque miles] This personal use 
 
 32 ; and for Haterius Antonius, xii. 58. of * adnotari ' is to be noticed. So 
 
A.D. 57-58.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 359 
 
 miles^ qui fascem lignorum gestabat, ita praeriguisse maiius_, ut 
 oneri adhaerentes truncis brachiis decidei^ent. ipse cultu levi, 
 capite intecto, in agmine, in laboribus frequens adesse, laudem 
 strenuis^ solacium invalidis, exemplum omnibus ostendere. debinc 
 quia duritiam caeli militiaeque multi abnuebant deserebantque, 
 remedium severitate quaesitum est. nee enim, ut in aliis exer- 
 citibus, primum alterumque delictum venia prosequebatur, sed 
 qui signa reliquerat_, statim capite poenas luebat. idque usu 
 salubre et misericordia melius apparuit : quippe pauciores ilia 
 castra deseruere quam ea in quibus ignoscebatur. 
 
 36. Interim Corbulo legionibus intra castra babitis^ donee ver 
 adolesceret^ dispositisque per idoneos locos cobortibus auxiliariis^ 
 ne pugnam priores auderent praedicit : curam praesidiorum Paccio 
 Orfito primi pili bonore perfuncto mandat. is quamquam incautos 
 barbaros et bene gerendae rei casum offerri scripserat, tenere se 
 munimentis et maiores copias opperiri iubetur. sed rupto impe- 
 rio^ postquam paucae e proximis castellis turmae advenerant 
 pugnamque imperitia poscebant, congressus cum boste funditur. 
 et damno eius exterriti qui subsidium ferre debuerant_, sua quisque 
 in castra trepida fuga rediere. quod graviter Corbulo accepit 
 increpitumque Paccium et praefectos militesque tendere extra 
 vallum iussit; inque ea contumelia detenti nee nisi precibus 
 universi exercitus exoluti sunt. 
 
 37. At Tiridates super proprias clientelas ope Yologesi fratris 
 adiutuSj non furtim iam sed palam bello infensare Armeniam, 
 quosque fidos nobis rebatur^ depopulari, et si copiae contra duce- 
 rentur_, eludere bucque et illuc volitans plura fama quam pugna 
 exterrere. igitur Corbulo quaesito din proelio frustra babitus et 
 exemplo bostium circumferre bellum coactus^ dispertit vires^ ut 
 legati praefectique diversos locos pariter invaderent ; simul regem 
 Antiocbum monet proximas sibi praefecturas petere. nam Pbaras- 
 manes interfecto filio Radamisto quasi proditore_, quo fidem in nos 
 
 " additur scripsisse, secnturae speraban- phrase occnrs in Ammiamis only, acord- 
 
 tur, ariete credito vixisse Phrixum," all ing to Draeger. ' Frustra habere ' is 
 
 in Tacitus. Below, ' praerigere ' occurs found in the Argumentum Acrostichum 
 
 nowhere else. to the Amphitryo of Plautus. 
 
 36. tendere extra vallum] This was a legati praefectiq^ie'] The former of 
 recognized form of disgrace. Cf. Lir. these were the general's lieutenants in 
 X. 4, " cohortes quae signa amiserant command of detached bodies of troops ; 
 extra vallum sine tentoriis destitutas the latter commanded the auxiliary 
 invenit." For the absolute use of * ten- troops, twelve to each legion. Below, 
 dere,' cf. i. 17. for ' Antiochus,' cf. xii, 55. 
 
 37. fnistra liahitus] Cf. xiii. 51. The 
 
360 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 811. 
 
 testaretur, vetas adversus Armenios odium promptius exercobat. 
 tuncque primum illecti Moschi, gens ante alias socia Eomanis^ 
 avia Armeniae incursavit. ita consilia Tiridati in contreirium 
 vertebantj mittebatque oratores qui suo Parthorumque ncmine 
 expostularent^ cur datis nuper obsidibus redintegrataque am]"citia, 
 quae novis quoque beneficiis locum aperiret^ vetere Armeniae pos- 
 sessione depelleretur. ideo nondum ipsum Vologesen commotum, 
 quia causa quam vi agere mallent : sin perstaretur in bello_, non 
 defore Arsacidis virtutem fortunamque saepius iam clade Eomana 
 expertam. ad ea CorbulOj satis comperto Vologesen defecfcione 
 Hyrcaniae attineri_, suadet Tiridati precibus Caesarem adgredi : 
 posse illi regnum stabile et res incruentas contingere, si omissa 
 spe longinqua et sera praesentem potioremque sequeretur. 
 
 38. Placitum debinCj quia commeantibus in vicem nuntiis niliil 
 in summam pacis proficiebatur^ colloquio ipsorum tempus lo- 
 cumque destinari. mille equitum praesidium Tiridates adforo sibi 
 dicebat: quantum Corbuloni cuiusque generis militum assisteret, 
 non statuere^ dum positis loricis et galeis in faciem pacis veniretur, 
 cuicumque mortalium^ nedum veteri et provido duci, barl)arae 
 astutiae patuissent : ideo artum inde numerum finiri et hinc 
 maiorem afferri^ ut dolus pararetur; nam equiti sagittarum usu 
 exercito si detecta corpora obicerentur_, niliil profuturam multi- 
 tudinem. dissimulato tamen intellectu rectius de iis quae in 
 publicum consulerentur totis exercitibus coram dissertaturos re- 
 spondit. locumque delegit, cuius pars altera colles (srant 
 clementer adsurgentes accipiendis peditum ordinibus, pars in 
 planitiem porrigebatur ad explicandas equitum turmas. dieque 
 
 Moschi] So Kitter, for * Insoclii.' The &c.), cf. xii. 55, " Cilicum natione« . . . 
 
 'Mosclii' are mentioned by Pliny (N, H. commotae," and xiv. 31, " commotis ad 
 
 vi, 4) in this locality, and by Mela (iii. rebellationem Trinobantibus." 
 
 59) . Below, ' incursavit ' agrees with 38. nedum veteri] ' Much more; to a 
 
 ' gens.' A similar construction occurs veteran and far-sighted general.' For 
 
 H. i. 61, " electi cum aquilae quintae this use of ' nedum,' cf. xiii. 20, above, 
 
 legionis et cohortibus alisque ad quad- " cuicumque nedum parenti defensionem 
 
 raginta milia armatorum data ;" also tribuendam ;" also xv. 59, " etiam. 
 
 H. i. 8,6, " quod campus Martins et via fortes viros subitis terreri, nedum ille 
 
 Flaminia iter belli esset obstructum." scaenicus . . . arma contra cieret ;" and 
 
 Orelli quotes Caesar (B. C. ii. 19), " Car- H. iii. 66, "Fabium Yalentem praegra- 
 
 monenses, quae est longe firmissima vem fuisse, nedum Primus ac Fuscus 
 
 totius provinciae civitas, cohortes eiecit ullam nisi occidendi licentiam babt-ant." 
 
 portasque praeclusit." Generally speaking, ' nedum ' is used 
 
 ideo nondum, ^c] Vologeses had not after a negative in the first clause. ' Ne- 
 
 yet stirred in the matter, because he and dum ' sometimes is translated by ' much 
 
 Tiridates wished to rely on the justice of more,' sometimes by ' much less.' The 
 
 their cause rather than on force. For general rendering to serve for all pas- 
 
 this use of * commoveri ' with persons sages would be * not to say.' 
 
 rather than things (bellum, tumultua, ad explicandas equitum turmas] Cf. 
 
A.D. 58.] AE EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 361 
 
 pacto prior Corbulo socias cohortes et auxilia regum pro cor- 
 nibus^ medio sextam legionem constituit^ cui accita per noctem 
 aliis ex castris tria milia tertianorum permiscuerat, una cum 
 aquila^ quasi eadem legio spectaretur. Tiridates vergente iam die 
 procul adstititj undo videri magis quam audiri posset, ita sine 
 congressu dux Romanus abscedere militem" sua quemque in castra 
 iubet. 
 
 39. Rex sive fraudem suspectans, quia plura simul in loca 
 ibatur^ sive ut commeatus nostros Pontico mari et Trapezunte 
 oppido adventantes interciperet, propere discedit. sed neque 
 commeatibus vim facere potuit_, quia per montes ducebantur 
 praesidiis nostris insessos_, et Corbulo, ne inritum bellum tra- 
 heretur utque Armenios ad sua defendenda cogeret, excindere 
 parat castella, sibique quod validissimum in ea praefectura, cogno- 
 mento Yolandum, sumit ; minora Cornelio Flacco legato et 
 Insteio Capitoni castrorum praefecto mandat. tum circum- 
 spectis munimentis et quae expugnationi idonea provisis_, hortatur 
 milites ut bostem vagum neque paci aut proelio paratum, sed 
 perfidiam et ignaviam fuga confitentem exsuerent sedibus glo- 
 riaeque pariter et praedae consulerent. tum quadripertito exercita 
 bos in testudinem conglobatos subruendo vallo inducit_, alios scalas 
 moenibus admovere, multos tormentis faces et bastas incutere 
 iubet. libritoribus funditoribusque attributus locus, undo eminus 
 glandes torquerent, ne qua pars subsidium laborantibus ferret 
 pari undique motu. tantus inde ardor certantis exercitus fuit, ut 
 intra tertiam diei partem nudati propugnatoribus muri, obices 
 portarum subversi, capta escensu munimenta omnesque puberes 
 trucidati sint, nuUo milite amisso, paucis admodum vulneratis. 
 
 ii. 6, " accipiendisque copiis et trans- here, at a distance ('emintis'), tlie for- 
 
 mittendum ad bellum oportuna." I do mer seems perhaps the likelier of the 
 
 not see any difference in meaning in the two. 
 
 two clauses ; but possibly the use of %>a/ri undique motu'] ' When there was 
 
 * porrigi,' a verb of extension, naturally confusion on every side alike.' It is not 
 
 suggested ' ad,' with an accusative. at all necessary to alter this to ' metu.' 
 
 39. in ea praefectura] That is, in the Below, * obices portarum ' is not ' the 
 
 praefectura where he happened to be. bars of the gates,' for * subversi ' would 
 
 Armenia was divided into 120 praefec- not suit that, but ' the barriers presented 
 
 turae (Plin. N. H. vi. 10). Below, Cor- by the gates ;' the gates were the ' obices.' 
 
 nelius Flaccus was probably legatus Cf. Virg. Georg. iv. 422, " intus se vasti 
 
 legionis. ♦ Proteus tegit obice saxi." In H. iii. 30, 
 
 libritoribus] Lipsius thinks these Tacitus speaks of * ferrati obices por- 
 
 were men who hurled darts or stones by tarum.' The next clause famishes the 
 
 means of engines. Others think they only use of ' escensus ' in the Latin 
 
 hurled thorn with their own hands, writers. 
 From the position of the 'libritores' 
 
362 COEKELII TACITI [a.u.c. 311. 
 
 et inbelle vulgus sub corona venundatum^ reliqua praeda vic- 
 toribus cessit. pari fortuna legatus acpraefectus usi sunt, tribiisque 
 una die castellis expugnatis cetera terrore et alia sponte incokrum 
 in deditionem veniebant. unde orta fiducia caput gentis Artnxata 
 aggrediendi. nee tamen proximo itinere ductae legiones, quae 
 si amnem Araxen, qui-moenia alluit, ponte transgrederentur, sub 
 ictum dabantur : procul et latioribus vadis transiere. 
 
 40. At Tiridates pudore et metu, ne, si concessisset obsidioni, 
 nihil opis in ipso videretur, si probiberet, inpeditis locis seqiie et 
 equestres copias inligaret, statuit postremo ostendere aciem et 
 dato die proelium incipere vel simulatione fugae locum iraudi 
 parare. igitur repente agmen Romanum circumfundit, non ignaro 
 duce nostro, qui viae pariter et pugnae composuerat exercitum. 
 latere dextro tertia legio, sinistro sexta incedebat_, mediis decu- 
 manorum delectis ; recepta inter or dines impedimenta, et tergum 
 mille equites tuebantur, quibus iusserat ut instantibus comminus 
 resisterent, refuges non sequerentur. in cornibus pedes Sagitta- 
 rius et cetera manus equitum ibat, productiore cornu sinistro per 
 ima collium, ut, si hostis intravisset, fronte simul et sinu excipe- 
 retur. adsultare ex diverse Tiridates, non usque ad ictum teli, 
 sed tum minitans, tum specie trepidantis, si laxare ordines et 
 diversos consectari posset, ubi nihil temeritate solutum, nee 
 amplius quam decurio equitum audentius progressus et sagittis 
 confixus ceteros ad obsequium exemplo firmaverat, propinquis 
 iam tenebris abscessit. 
 
 41. Et Corbulo castra in loco metatus, an expeditis logic nibus 
 nocte Artaxata pergeret obsidioque circumdaret agitavit; con- 
 cessisse illuc Tiridaten ratus. dein postquam exploratores attulere 
 longinquum regis iter et Medi an Albani peterentur incertum, 
 lucem opp oritur, praemissa levi armatura, quae muros interim 
 ambiret oppugnationemque eminus inciperet. sed oppidani portis 
 sponte patefactis se suaque E-omanis permisere, quod salutem 
 ipsis tulit : Artaxatis ignis inmissus deletaque et solo aequata sunt, 
 quia nee teneri sine valido praesidio ob magnitudinem moenium, 
 
 40. concessisset ohsidioni] ' Had failed diverse ' is ' from a different quarter,' 
 
 to break the blockade.' Tiridates was opposite, in front. 
 
 reluctant to let it be seen that he was nee omipUus gtwx-m] Cf. xv. 13, " nee 
 
 unable to give the blockaded garrison aliud quam munimenta propugnabant," 
 
 any aid. Below, *dato die' is, 'when a where, after 'aliud,' some wox'd, ' age- 
 
 favourable day presented itself.' Cf. iv. bant ' or the like, is understood. 
 
 40, " dato tempore." 41. quia nee teneri] The sentence is 
 
 sinu] The comer, as it were, of the not quite grammatical, for tUere is 
 
 army, the extreme flank. Below, ' ex nothing for ' teneri ' to depend upon. 
 
A.D. 58.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 363 
 
 nee id nobis virium erat, quod firmando praesidio et capessendo 
 bello divideretur, vel si integra et incustodita relinquerentur, nuUa 
 in eo utilitas aut gloria quod capta essent. adicitur miraculum 
 velut numine ob latum : nam cuncta extra tectis ac portis tenus sole 
 illustria fuere ; quod moenibus cingebatur, repente ita atra nube 
 coopertum fulgoribusque discretum est, ut quasi infensantibus 
 deis exitio tradi crederetur. ob baec consalutatus imperator Nero, 
 et senatus consulto supplicationes liabitae_, statuaeque et arcus 
 et continui consulatus principi, utque inter festos referretur dies, 
 quo patrata victoria, quo nuntiata, quo relatum de ea esset, aliaque 
 in eandemformam decernuntur, adeo modum egressa, ut C. Cassius 
 de ceteris honoribus adsensus, si pro benignitate fortunae dis grates 
 agerentur, ne totum quidem annum supplicationibus sujficere dis- 
 seruerit, edque oportere dividi sacros et negotiosos dies, quis 
 divina colerent et humana non impedirent. 
 
 42. Variis deinde casibus iactatus et multorum odia meritus 
 reus, baud tamen sine invidia Senecae damnatur. is fuit P. 
 Suillius, imperitante Claudio terribilis ac venalis et mutatione 
 temporum non quantum inimici cuperent demissus quique se 
 nocentem videri quam supplicem mallet, eius opprimendi gratia 
 repetitum credebatur senatus consultum poenaque Cinciae legis 
 adversum eos qui pretio causas oravissent. nee Suillius questu 
 aut exprobratione abstinebat, praeter ferociam animi extrema 
 senecta liber et Senecam inerepans infensum amicis Claudii, sub 
 quo iustissimum exilium pertulisset. simul studiis inertibus et 
 iuvenum inperitiae suetum livere iis, qui vividam et incorruptam 
 eloquentiam tuendis civibus exercerent. se quaestorem Germa- 
 nici, ilium domus eius adulterum fuisse. an gravius aestimandum 
 sponte litigatoris praemium bonestae operae assequi, quam cor- 
 
 Probably Tacitus intended to write * nee senatus consultum was passed, confirm- 
 yires dividi poterant,' but altered the ing tbe Lex Cincia. Or the senatus con- 
 form into ' nee id virium erat,' &c. sultum may be the one by which, ac- 
 
 tectis ac portis tenus] The reetding of cording to Dion (liv. 18), the same Lex 
 
 the MS. is 'tectis actenus.' I think a was confirmed in the time of Augustus, 
 
 word has dropped out after ' ac,' and I I am inclined to think the former is in- 
 
 adopt the suggestion of Weissenborn to tended, as there had been legislation on 
 
 insert ' portis.' Below, ' negotiosos ' is the subject after the time of Augustus 
 
 used for ' profestos,' and occurs, I be- (xi. 7), and the reference is more likely 
 
 lieve, in this sense nowhere else. to be made to the latest enactment on 
 
 42. P. Suillius'] Cf. 31. Below, the the subject, 
 words * senatus consul tura" poenaque adulterum fuisse] According to Dion 
 
 Cinciae legis ' present some difficulty. Cassius (Ixi. 10), Seneca had an intrigue 
 
 In xiii. 5, Tacitus says, "multa arbitrio not only with Julia, daughter of Ger- 
 
 senatus constituta sunt : ne quis ad manicus, but, after his return from 
 
 causam orandam mercede aut donis banishment, with Agrippina. 
 emeretur," which may imply that a 
 
364 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 811. 
 
 rumpere cubicula principum feminarum ? qua sapientia, q libus 
 philosopliorum praeceptis intra quadrieniiiiini regiae amicitiae ter 
 milies sestertium paravisset ? Romae testamenta et orbos velut 
 indagine eius capi, Italiam et provincias inmenso faenore ]is;iriri : 
 at sibi labore quaesitam et modicam pecuniam esse, ci-imen, 
 periculum, omnia potius toleraturum quam veterem ac dicendo 
 partam dignationem subitae felicitati submitteret. 
 
 43. Nee deerant qui haec isdem verbis aut versa in deterius 
 Senecae deferrent. repertique accusatores direptos socios, cum 
 Suillius provinciam Asiam regeret^ ac publicae pecuniae pecula- 
 tum detulerunt. mox quia inquisitionem annuam impetraverant^ 
 brevius visum suburbana crimina incipi^ quorum obvii testes 
 erant. ii acerbitate accusationis Q. Pomponium ad necessitatem 
 belli civilis detrusum_, luliam Drusi filiam Sabinamque Poppaeam 
 ad mortem actas et Yalerium Asiaticum, Lusium Saturninum, 
 Cornelium Lupum circumventos^ iam equitum Bomanorum agmina 
 damnata omnemque Claudii saevitiam Suillio obiectabant. ille 
 nihil ex his sponte susceptum^ sed principi paruisse defendebat, 
 
 paravisset'] Cf. i. 17, and tlie note on for misconduct in the city, not in its 
 * ausuros.' . From the subjunctive mood, vicinity only. But ' suburbanus ' is op- 
 one would suppose Seneca to have been posed to * longinquus,' as Plin. Epist. 
 present, so that the * oratio directa ' viii. 24, " quo magis nitendum ne in Ion- 
 would have been ' paravisti.' But from ginqua provincia quam suburbana . . . hu- 
 the next chapter it will be seen that manior, melior, peritior fuisse videaris," 
 Seneca was not present, and the ' oratio i. e. in Bithynia, rather than in Achaia. 
 directa' would be 'paravit.' But, as In iii. 47, Tiberius contrasts ' suburbanae 
 Nipperdey observes, there are many ex- peregrinationis ' in Campania with his 
 ceptions to the rule mentioned in the warfare in barbarous countries, 
 note to i. 17. Perhaps ' cur consectaretur,' helU civiUs'] Suetonius (Claud. 13) 
 in xiii. 49, may also be an exception, speaks of an insurrection made by 
 although I do not think it .clear that it Furius Camillus Scribonianus, the go- 
 is. Below, for 'orbos,' cf. H. i. 73; vernor of Dalmatia, but suppressed 
 Dialog, de Orat. 6 ; Juv. iii. 129. Suil- within a few days. Perhaps (^uintua 
 lius would not allow his own hardly won Pomponius (for whom cf. v. 81) left 
 position to be overridden by Seneca's Rome, intending to join him. For Sa- 
 fortune acquired by a few lucky hits. bina Poppaea and Valerius Asiaticus, cf. 
 
 43. inquisitionem annuamh] The ac- xi. 1, 2, &c. Lucius Satiiminus was 
 
 cusers of Suillius, intending at first to consiil sufiectus in some year under 
 
 enter on a prosecution for ill government Tiberius (see Nipperdey' s note). Cor- 
 
 in Asia, obtained leave for a year's in- nelius Lupus was consul suflfectus 42 a. d., 
 
 terval, to get together the requisite wit- and proconsul of Crete and Cyrene. 
 nesses (cf. xiii. hi, " poscebatque tempus agmina damnata'] Cf. Suet. Claud. 29, 
 
 evocandorum testium"). Finding this "in quinque et triginta senatores tre- 
 
 too long to wait, and being anxiains to centosque amplius equites Eomanos 
 
 proceed more expeditiously, they aoan- animadvertit." 
 
 doned the prosecution on that point, and defendehat] * Maintained in defence.' 
 
 cast about for charges nearer home Cf. Cic. in Verrem, iii. 90, " quod nemo 
 
 (* suburbana '). I think Walther is right nisi improbus fecerit, id aliorum exemplo 
 
 in defending ' suburbana,' which Ernesti se fecisse defendat ;" and de Fin. iii. 21, 
 
 altered into * urbana ; ' because the " gravissimeque et verissime defenditur 
 
 charges brought against Suillius were numquam aequitatem ab utilitar.e posse 
 
A.D. 58.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 365 
 
 donee earn orationem Caesar cokibuit, compertum sibi referens 
 ex commentariis patris sui nullam cuiusquam accusationem ab eo 
 coactam. turn iussa Messalinae praetendi et labare defensio : 
 cur enim neminem alium delectum qui saevienti impudicae vocem 
 praeberet ? puniendos rerum atrocium ministros, ubi pretia 
 scelerum adepti scelera ipsa aliis delegent. igitur adempta bono- 
 rum parte (nam filio et nepti pars concedebatur eximebanturque 
 etiam quae testamento matris aut aviae acceperant) in insulas 
 Baleares peUitur^ non in ipso discrimine, non post damnationem 
 fractus amino ; ferebaturque copiosa et molli vita secretum illud 
 toleravisse. filium eius Nerullinum aggressis accusatoribus per 
 invidiam patris et crimina repetundarum^ intercessit princeps 
 tamquam satis expleta ultione. 
 
 44. Per idem tempus Octavius Sagitta plebei tribunus, Pontiae 
 mulieris nuptae amore vaecors, ingentibus donis adulterium et 
 mox_, ut omitteret maritum, emercatur^ suum matrimonium pro- 
 mittens ac nuptias eius pactus. sed ubi mulier vacua fuit_, 
 nectere moras, adversam patris voluntatem causari repertaque 
 spe ditioris coniugis promissa exuere. Octavius contra modo 
 conqueri modo minitari, famam perditam, pecuniam exhaustam 
 obtestans, denique salutem, quae sola reliqua esset_, arbitrio eius 
 permittens. ac postquam spernebatur, noctem unam ad solacium 
 poscit, qua delenitus modum in posterum adhiberefc. statuitur 
 nox, et Pontia consciae ancillae custodiam cubiculi mandat. 
 ille uno cum liberto ferrum veste occultum infert. tum, ut 
 adsolet in amore et ira, iurgia preces_, exprobratio satisfactio et 
 pars tenebrarum libidini seposita ; et quasi incensus nihil metuen- 
 tem ferro transverberat et accurrentem ancillam vulnere absterret 
 cubiculoque prorumpit. postera die manifesta caedes, hand am- 
 biguus percussor; quippe mansitasse una convincebatur, sed 
 
 seiungi." Below, 'ex commentariis pa- * set aside' (from other purposes) 'in the 
 
 tris ' is * from his father's private memo- way of enjoyment,' so that the ablative 
 
 randa.' Cf. H. iv. 40, "ut common- would be an instrumental one. Below, 
 
 tariorum principalium potestatem se- for ' et quastim census,' the reading of 
 
 natui faceret." the MS., Gronovius suggests * et quasi 
 
 per invidiam'] ' Through the medium incensus,' which I have adopted. For 
 
 of his father's unpopularity.' The ac- the force of ' quasi ' here, ' as being,' not 
 
 cusers of Nerullinus thought the ill- * as though,' for there was no pretence 
 
 repute under which his father lay would in the matter, cf. xii. 47, " quasi mutuo 
 
 make their work all the easier. cruore sacratum." 
 
 44. libidini'] Cf. xiii. 54, "militum cubiculoque 'prorumpit] So xv. 40; 
 
 Usui sepositos ;" and xiv. 54, " quod tem- H. iv. 34 ; Virg. Aen. vii. 459. For 
 
 poris hortorum aut villarum curae se- some explanation of the construction, see 
 
 ponitur." If ' libidine,' the i-eading of the note on iii. 28, under ' triumviratu.' 
 the MS,, be correct, the sense would be 
 
366 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 811. 
 
 libertus sy.um illud facinus profiteri^ se patroni iniurias iltum 
 esse, commoveratque quosdam magnitudine exempli, doneo an- 
 cilla ex vulnere refecta verum aperuit. postulatusque apucl con- 
 sales a patre interfectae, postquam tribunatu abierat, sen^entia 
 patrum et lege de sicariis condemnatur. 
 
 45. Non minus insignis eo anno inpudicitia magnorura rei 
 publicae malorum initium fecit, erat in civitate Sabina Poppaea, 
 T. OUio patre genita, sed nomen avi materni sumpserat, illustri 
 memoria Poppaei Sabini, consularis et triumpbali decore pi-aeful- 
 gentis ; nam OUium honoribus nondum functum amicitia Seiani 
 pervertit. buic mulieri cuncta alia fuere praeter honestum ani- 
 mum. quippe mater eius, aetatis suae feminas pulcbritudine 
 supergressa, gloriam pariter et formam dederat ; opes claritudini 
 generis sufficiebant. sermo comis nee absurdum ingenium : mo- 
 destiam praeferre et lascivia uti: rarus in publicum egressus, 
 idque velata parte oris_, ne satiaret aspectum, vel quia sic decebat. 
 famae numquam pepercit, maritos et adulteros non distinguens; 
 neque affectui suo aut alieno obnoxia, unde utilitas ostenderetur, 
 illuc libidinem transferebat. igitur agentem earn in matrimonio 
 Rufri Crispini equitis Romani_, ex quo filium genu erat, Otbo 
 pellexit iuventa ac luxu et quia flagrantissimus in amicitia Nero- 
 nis habebatur : nee mora quin adulterio matrimonium iungeretur. 
 
 46. Otbo sive amore incautus laudare formam elegantiamque 
 uxoris apud principem, sive ut accenderet ac, si eadem femina 
 poterentur, id quoque vinculum potentiam ei adiceret. saepe 
 auditus est consurgens e convivio Oaesaris, seque ire ad illam 
 sibi concessam dictitans nobilitatem, pulcbritudinem, vota omnium 
 et gaudia felicium. bis atque talibus inritamentis non longa 
 cunctatio interponitur. sed accepto aditu Poppaea primum per 
 
 lege de sicariis'] The * Lex Cornelia de (H. i. 13) gives rather a difFereni; account 
 
 sicariis et veneficis ' passed 82 A.c. For of the circumstances connected with 
 
 some remarks on this passage, cf. iii. 24. Poppaea ; but his latest narrative, that of 
 
 45. i/riumphali decore] Cf. iv, 46. the Annals, is corroborated by Suetonius 
 
 nee absurdum ingenium] Cf. Sail. (Otho, 3). 
 
 Catil. 25, "verum ingenium eius haud 46. seque ire ad illam] "^rhe con- 
 
 absurdum :" ' there was no lack of plea- junction * que' here unites the two par- 
 
 santrj in her.' Cf. xiii. 14, " non ab- ticiples, * consurgens ' and * dictitans,' 
 
 surde dixisse," i.e. 'wittily, pleasantly.' and ' illam' agrees with * nobilitatem.' 
 
 neque affectui suo] The negative only Of course the expression, ' he was heard 
 influences the first clause here : * and rising and saying,' is equivalent to 
 uninfluenced by genuine feeling in her- * auditus est inter consurgendum die- 
 self or others, she transferred,' &c. Be- titans.' Below, 'his atque talibas inrita- 
 low, for Rufius Crispinus, cf. xi. 1. The mentis' is the ablative of 'instrumen- 
 son here mentioned was drowned by the tality.' The result of this rousing of 
 order of Nero (Suet. Nero, 35). Tacitus Nero's passions led to prompt action. 
 
A.D. 58.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 367 
 
 blandimenta et artes valescere, imparem cupidini se et forma 
 Neronis captam simulans ; mox acri iam principis amore ad 
 superb iam vertens, si ultra unam alteram que noctem attineretur, 
 nuptam esse se dictitans, neo posse matrimonium amittere, devinc- 
 tam Otlioiii per genus vitae, quod nemo adaequaret : ilium animo 
 et cultu magnificum ; ibi se summa fortuna digna visere : at Ne- 
 ronem, pelice ancilla et adsuetudine Actes devinctum^ nibil e 
 contubemio servili nisi abiectum et sordidum traxisse. deicitur 
 familiaritate sueta^ post congressu et comitatu Otlio, et ad postre- 
 mum^ ne in urbe aemulatus ageret, provinciae Lusitaniae prae- 
 ficitur ; ubi usque ad civilia arma non ex prior e infamia sed integre 
 sancteque egit, procax otii et potestatis temperantior. 
 
 47. Hactenus Nero flagitiis et sceleribus velamenta quaesivit. 
 suspectabat maxime Cornelium Sullam_, socors ingenium eius in 
 contrarium trabens callidumque et simulatorem interpretando. 
 quem metum G-raptus ex libertis Caesaris, usu et senecta Tiberio 
 abusque domum principum edoctus, tali mendacio intendit. pons 
 Mulvius in eo tempore Celebris nocturnis inlecebris erat; venti- 
 tabatque illuc Nero^ quo solutius urbem extra lasciviret. igitur 
 regredienti per viam Flaminiam compositas insidias fatoque evita- 
 tas_, quoniam diverse itinere Sallustianos in bortos remeaverit^ auc- 
 toremque eius doli Sullam ementitur, quia forte redeuntibus 
 ministris principis quidam per iuvenalem licentiam^ quae tunc 
 passim exercebatur^ inanem metum fecerant. neque servorum 
 quisquam neque clientium Sullae adgnitus, maximeque despecta 
 et nullius ausi capax natura eius a crimine abhorrebat : perinde 
 tamen quasi convictus esset, cedere patria et Massiliensium 
 moenibus coerceri iubetur. 
 
 48. Isdem consulibus auditae Puteolanorum legationes, quas 
 
 e contubemio'] The word is used pur- gave way to dissolute habits, 
 posely, as Lipsius remarks, for " non 47. pons Mulvius'] This bridge was 
 
 nuptiae cum servis sed contubemium." about two miles from Rome. By it the 
 
 aemulatus ageret] * Agere ami cum ' Via Flaminia crossed the Tiber. It was 
 
 occurs H. i. 30, ' agere senatorem ' xvi. built by M. Aemilius Scaurus 109 a.c. 
 
 28. But these instances are clearly It was here that the ambassadors of the 
 
 different from the use of an abstract Allobroges were seized by Cicero at the 
 
 substantive like ' aemulatus,' instead of time of the Catilinarian conspiracy (Cic. 
 
 a concrete. I believe * aemulatus ' to be Cat. iii.) . The gardens of Sallust were 
 
 a participle, and ' ageret ' to be used near the Via Salaria and the Porta Col- 
 
 absolutely. Cf. iii. 19, "homines qui lina (cf. H. iii. 82). 
 
 turn agebantj" also xv. 74, and in this abhorrebat] 'Was inconsistent with 
 
 same sentence just below. Below, * pro- such a charge.' From the unadventurous 
 
 cax otii ' is the only instance of this character of Sulla, he was altogether un- 
 
 construction, the sense of course being likely to have planned such a scheme, 
 that Otho, when there was little to do, 
 
368 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 811. 
 
 diversas ordo plebs ad senatum miserant^ illi vim multitudin: s, Li 
 magistratuum et primi cuiusque avaritiam increpantes. oaque 
 seditio ad saxa et minas ignium progressa ne necem et arma pro- 
 liceret, C. Cassius adbibendo remedio delectus, quia sevematem 
 eius non tolerabant, precante ipso ad Scribonios fratres ea cura 
 transfertur, data cohorte praetoria^ cuius terrore et paucorum 
 supplicio rediit oppidanis concordia. 
 
 49. Non referrem vnlgarissimum senatus consultum^ quo 
 civitati Syracusanorum egredi numerum edendis gladiatoribus 
 finitum permittebatur, nisi Paetas Tlirasea contra dixisset prae- 
 buissetque materiem obtrectatoribus arguendae sententiae. cur 
 enim, si rem publicam egere libertate senatoria crederet^ tarn levia 
 consectaretur ? quin de bello aut pace, de yectigalibus et legibus, 
 quibusque aliis res Komana continetur, suaderet dissuaderetye ? 
 licere patribus, quotiens ius dicendae sententiae accepissent. quae 
 vellent expromere relationemque in ea postulare. an solum (3men- 
 datione dignum, ne Syracusis spectacula largius ederentur : cetera 
 per omnes imperii partes perinde egregia, quam si non Nero sed 
 Tlirasea regimen eorum teneret ? quod si summa dissimulatione 
 transmitterentur, quanto magis inanibus abstinendum ? Tlirasea 
 contra, rationem poscentibus amicis, non praesentium ignarum 
 respondebat eius modi consulta corrigere, sed patrum honori dare, 
 ut manifestum fieret magnarum rerum curam non dissimulaturos, 
 qui animum etiam levissimis adverterent. 
 
 60. Eodem anno crebris populi flagitationibus, inmodc^stiam 
 publicanorum arguentis, dubitavit Nero, an cuncta vectigalia 
 omitti iuberet idque pulcherrimum donum generi mortalium daret. 
 
 48. ordo] Sc. * senatorius.' Cf. H. ii. xiii. 21, xv. 21. 
 
 52, " ordo Mutinensis." 50. vectigalia omitti iuheref] These 
 
 Scribonios fratres] Rufus and Pro- ' vectigalia,' just below termed * por- 
 
 CTilus. They were legati pro praetore of toria,' are custom-dues, and therefore 
 
 Germania Inferior and Superior, and put elements of indirect taxation. To these 
 
 to death by Nero (H. iv. 41 ; Dion Ixiii. are opposed * tributa,' or direct taxes, 
 
 17) in the year 67 A.D. such as land-tax or property-tax. The 
 
 49. vulga/rissimvm] ' A most common- former coxdd only be remitted by an 
 place decree.' Cf. xvi. 22, " qui vul- increase in the latter, which does not 
 garibus quoque patrum consultis semet appear to have been intended, at least 
 fautorem aut adversarium ostenderet." no hint of the kind is given here; 
 Below, 'imperii partes,' I think, means and it is certainly startling to find a 
 'the various departments of govern- thorough-going system of freo trade 
 ment,' not ' the different parts (geo- proposed 1800 years before Mr. C'obden's 
 graphically) of the empire.' day. To have remitted universally all 
 
 perinde . . . quam si] Cf. i. 73, "perinde taxation of an indirect character, with- 
 
 aestimandum quam si Jovem fefellis- out any provision for sustaining the 
 
 set." ' Perinde quam' often occurs for credit of the state, could only have 
 
 'perinde ac' Cf. iv. 20, vi. 30, xi. 10, been the act of a person destitute of any 
 
A.D. 58.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 369 
 
 sed impetum eius, multum prius laudata magnitudine animi, atti- 
 nuere senatores^ dissolutionem imperii docendOj si fructus quibus 
 res publica sustineretur deminuerentur : quippe sublatis portoriis 
 sequens ut tributorum abolitio expostularetur. plerasque vecti- 
 galium societates a consulibus et tribunis plebis constitutas acri 
 etiam turn populi Romani libertate; reliqua mox ita provisa^ ut 
 ratio quaestuum et necessitas erogationum inter se congrueret. 
 temperandas plane publicanorum cupidines^ ne per tot annos sine 
 querella tolerata novis acerbitatibus ad invidiam verterent. 
 
 61. Ergo edixit princeps^ ut leges cuiusque publici, occultae ad 
 id tempus^ proscriberentur ; omissas petitiones non ultra annum 
 resumerent ; Romae praetor_, per provincias qui pro praetore aut 
 consule essent iura adversus publicanos extra ordinem redderent ; 
 militibus immunitas servaretur_, nisi in iis quae veno exercerent ; 
 aliaque admodum aequa^ quae brevi servata^ dein frustra liabita 
 sunt, manet tamen abolitio quadragesimae quinquagesimaeque et 
 quae alia exactionibus illicitis nomina publicani invenerant. tem- 
 perata apud transmarinas provincias frumenti subvectio et ne 
 censibus negotiatorum naves adscriberentur tributumque pro illis 
 penderent constitutum. 
 
 financial skill ; a scheme so visionary as first of all the causes in tlie list. This, 
 
 to make one doubt the truth of the his- of course, was intended to secure for the 
 
 torian's account. It is difficult to see plaintiff in such cases a speedy adjudi- 
 
 how a bankrupt empire can be any es- cation on their suits. Another view is 
 
 pecially valuable arrangement for man- that the praetor was directed to decide 
 
 kind. A state where no one pays any these suits himself, and not refer them 
 
 thing is as yet Utopian. Perhaps, as to a judex. But I do not think this is 
 
 Dr. Merivale (History of the Romans the meaning. 
 
 under the Empire, ch. lii.) suggests, the qtbae veno exercerenf] The soldiers 
 
 proposal may only have been to remit were to have exemption from the claims 
 
 the 'portoria' in Italy and the Eoman of the publicani for taxes, unless they 
 
 colonies, which had been abolished by engaged in trade (' veno exercere'), 
 
 Metellus Nepos, but reimposed under Then, very properly, the privilege was 
 
 C. Julius Caesar. withdrawn, and they were on the same 
 
 societates] These were companies of footing as other people. 
 Romkn knights, in partnership for the quadragesimae] These duties of two 
 
 farming of the various taxes which and a half and two per cent, were appa- 
 
 made up the revenue of the state. Cf iv. 6. rently some unauthorized exactions im- 
 
 51. cuiusque puUici'] ' Of each tax.' posed by the publicani to swell their 
 
 Cf Horace, Epist. i. 1. 77, " pars homi- profits. They were not, from the Ian- 
 
 num gestit conducere publica ;" Suet, guage used (' quae alia exactionibus 
 
 Calig. 40, "ut tenorentur publico qui illicitis'), any part of the taxes levied by 
 
 meretricium fecissent ;" Plautus, Trucul. the emperor or senate, and cannot there- 
 
 i. 2. 47, " ilia, non ego, habuit publicum." fore be the tax of two and a half per 
 
 petitiones'] The publicani were pro- cent, on the amount sued for in civil 
 
 hibited from calling in taxes which had actions, or that on eatables in the city 
 
 remained outstanding more than a year. (Suet. Calig. 40). Below, 'negotiatorum' 
 
 extra ordinem redderent] Suits against are the provincial corn-dealers, for the 
 
 the publicani were to take precedence of * ti'ibutum ' would not be levied on 
 
 all other proceedings, and be decided Roman citizens. 
 
 B b 
 
370 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 811. 
 
 52. Reos ex provincia Africa^ qui proconsulare imperiurt. illic 
 habuerant, Sulpicium Camerinum et Pomponium Silvanum s 3Sol- 
 vit Caesar, Camerinuin adversus privates et paucos, sae\itiae 
 magis quam captarum pecuniarum crimina obicientes. Silvanum 
 magna vis accusatorum circumsteterat poscebatque tempus evo- 
 candorura testium : reus ilico defendi postulabat. valuitque 
 pecuniosa orbitate et senecta, quam ultra vitam eorum produxit, 
 quorum ambitu evaserat. 
 
 63. Quietae ad id tempus res in Germania fuerant, ingenio 
 ducum, qui pervulgatis triumpbi insignibus mains ex eo «iecus 
 sperabant, si pacem continuavissent. Paulinus Pompeius et L. 
 Vetus ea tempestate exercitui praeerant. ne tamen segnem 
 militem attinerent, ille incboatum ante tres et sexaginta annos 
 a Druso aggerem coercendo Rbeno absolvit, Vetus Mosellam 
 atque Ararim facta inter utrumque fossa conectere parabut, ut 
 copiae per mare, dein Rbodano et Arare subvectae per earn 
 fossam, mox fluvio Mosella in Rbenum, exim Oceanum decurre- 
 rent, sublatisque itineris dijficultatibus navigabilia inter se occi- 
 dentis septentrionisque litora fierent. invidit operi Aelius Gracilis 
 Belgicae legatus, deterrendo Yeterem ne legiones alienae provin- 
 ciae inferret studiaque Galliarum affectaret, ' formidolosu m id 
 imperatori dictitans, quo plerumque probibentur conatus honesti. 
 
 54. Ceterum continuo exercituum otio fama incessit ercptum 
 ius legatis ducendi in bostem. eoque Frisii iuventutem saltibus 
 aut paludibus, inbellem aetatem perlacus admovere ripae agrosque 
 
 52. Pomponium Sil/va/num,'\ This ouglit, arrived ; but probably he is reckoning 
 perhaps, to be * Pompeium Silvanum,' np to the beginning of the conimands 
 for there was a consul suffectus of this held by Pompeius and Yetus The 
 name a.d. 45. In H. ii. 86, iv. 47, the scheme was intended to secure water 
 reading of the MSS. seems also to be communication between the JMediter- 
 * Pompeius Silvanus.' ranean Sea (' mare ') and the (German 
 
 quorum, aTtihitu evaserat] * By whose Ocean ('Oceanum') without "massing 
 interested efforts he had escaped.' Sil- through the straits of Gibraltar, 
 vanus was old, childless, and rich ; the formidolosumr\ ' A dangeroug pro- 
 legacy-hunters, therefore, exerted them- ceeding with reference to an emperor.' 
 selves to obtain his acquittal, in the hope Gracilis represented such an undoL'taking 
 of obtaining a recognition of their ser- as too magnificent for any private man 
 vices in his will. They succeeded, but to undertake, and likely to endanger the 
 lost their pains ; for Silvanus was un- general who ventured on it, y^ith an 
 reasonable enough to outlive them. emperor who looked suspicioush' on all 
 
 53. Paulinus Pompeius] He was father- honourable enterprise. The datire, ' im- 
 in-law or brother-in-law to Seneca (xv. peratori,' seems used in the s?nse of 
 18), and Vetus was legatus of Upper 'with reference to,' 'viewed in :'elation 
 Germany, and subsequently proconsul to.' There is a similar instance, Germ, 
 of Asia (xvi. 10). 6, "in universum aestimanti plus penes 
 
 ante tres et sexaginta annos] Drusus peditem roboris." Cf. also H. iv. 17 j 
 died in Germany 9 a.c, or sixty-six years H. r. 11 ; Livy xxxvii. 58. 
 before the date at which Tacitus has 54. saltihus aut pahidihus] The 'lakes* 
 
A.D. 58.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 371 
 
 vacuos et militum usui sepositos insedere, auctore Yerrito et 
 Malorige, qui nationem earn regebant, in quantum Germani reg- 
 nantur. iamque fixerant domos, semina arvis intulerant utque 
 patrium solum exercebant, cum Dubius Avitus, accepta a Paulino 
 provincia^ minitando vim Romanam, nisi ab seeder ent Frisii ve teres 
 in locos aut novam sedem a Caesare inpetrarent, perpulit Verritum 
 et Malorigem preces suscipere. profectique Romam dum aliis 
 curis intentum Neronem opperiuntur, inter ea quae barbaris 
 ostentantur intravere Pompei tbeatrum, quo magnitudinem populi 
 viserent. illic per otium (neque enim ludicris ignari oblectaban- 
 tur) dum consessum caveae, discrimina ordinum^ quis eques, ubi 
 senatus percunctantur^ advertere quosdam cultu externo in sedibus 
 senatorum; et quinam forent rogitantes, postquam audiverant 
 earum gentium legatis id bonoris datum^ quae virtute et amicitia 
 Bomana praecellerent, nuUos mortalium armis aut fide ante Ger- 
 manos esse exclamant degrediunturque et inter patres considunt. 
 quod comiter a visentibus exceptum^ quasi impetus antiqui et 
 bona aemulatione. Nero civitate Romana ambos donavit, Frisios 
 decedere agris iussit. atque illis aspernantibus auxiliaris eques 
 ■ repente immissus necessitatem attulit^ captis caesisve qui pervica- 
 cius res titer ant. 
 
 55. Eosdem agros Ampsivarii occupavere, validior gens non 
 modo sua copia_, sed adiacentium populorum miseratione, quia 
 pulsa a Cbaucis et sedis inopes tutum exilium orabant. aderatque 
 iis clarus per illas gentes et nobis quoque fidus, nomine Boiocalus, 
 vinctum se rebellione Cberusca iussu Arminii referens, mox Tibe- 
 rio^ Germanico ducibus stipendia meruisse, et quinquaginta anno- 
 rum obsequio id quoque adiungere, quod gentem suam dicioni 
 nostrae subiceret. quotam partem campi iacere^ in quam pecora 
 
 now forming the Zuyder Zee. Tlie'bank' impetus antiqui] 'As arising from 
 
 is that of the Rhine. old-fashioned impulse and praiseworthy 
 
 in quantum Germani regnantur] Cf. rivalry.' These Germans were * crea- 
 
 Germ. 7, " nee regibus infinita aut libera tures of impulse,' acting on the spur of 
 
 potestas, et duces exemplo potius quam the moment. Tacitus calls it * old- 
 
 imperio, .... admiratione praesunt." fashioned' because such impulses are 
 
 Caesar (B. G.v. 27) makes Ambiorix, king restrained by civilization, and would 
 
 oftheEburones, remark that the power of only be displayed by people still free 
 
 the people over him was as great as his from artificial restraints. For the va- 
 
 over them ; and this was no doubt, at riety of case, cf. xv. 38, " fessa aetate 
 
 least, as applicable to the Germans aut rudis pueritiae." Draeger quotes 
 
 across the Rhine. For the personal use Nep. 14. 3, " hominem maximi corporis 
 
 of ' regnor ' in prose, cf. Germ. 25, 43 ; terribilique facie." 
 
 H. i. 16; Pomponius Mela ii. 2. 6, "Rhe- 55. quotam partem campi] 'How 
 
 so regnata quondam pars Thraciae." small the fraction of the plain was into 
 
 It is often so used by the poets. which the soldiers now and then turned 
 
 B b 2 
 
372 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. Sll. 
 
 et armenta militum aliquando transmitterentur ? servarent ^ane 
 receptos gregibus inter hominum famanij modo ne vastitatem et 
 solitudinem mallent quam amicos populos. Chainavorum C[iioii- 
 dam ea- arva^ mox Tubantum et post Usiponim fuisse. Sicuti 
 caelum deis^ ita terras generi inortalium datas ; quaeque vacjuae^ 
 eas publicas esse, solem deinde suspiciens et cetera sidera vocans 
 quasi coram interrogabat, vellentne contueri inane solum: potius 
 mare superfunderent adversus terrarum crept ores. 
 
 56. Et commotus his Avitus : patienda meliorum imperia ; id 
 dis quos inplorarent placitum, ut arbitrium penes Romanes 
 maneret, quid darent quid adimerent^ neque alios indices quam se 
 ipsos paterentur. haec in publicum Ampsivariis respondit, ipsi 
 Boiocalo ob memoriam amicitiae daturum agros. quod ille ut f irodi- 
 tionis pretium aspernatus addidit " deesse nobis terra uhi yiyiiiiius, 
 in qua moriamur_, non potest :'^ atque ita infensis utrimque animis 
 discessum. illi Bructeros, Tencteros^ ulteriores etiam nationes 
 socias bello vocabant : Avitus scripto ad Curtilium Manciam supe- 
 rioris exercitus legatum, ut Rlienum transgressus arm a a tergo 
 ostenderetj ipse legiones in agrum Tencterum induxit^ excidium 
 minitans, ni causam suam dissociarent. igitur absistentibiis Ms 
 pari metu exterriti Bructeri; et ceteris quoque aliena pericula 
 defendentibus sola Ampsivariorum gens retro ad Usipos et 
 Tubantes concessit, quorum terris exacti cum Chattos, dein 
 Cheruscos petissent^ errore longo hospites, egeni_, hostes^ in 
 alieno quod iuventutis erat caeduntur^ inbellis aetas in prf.edam 
 divisa est. 
 
 57. Eadem aestate inter Hermunduros Chattosque certatum 
 
 their cattle to graze. Surely the Eomans session of their territory. Th(! Usipi 
 
 might let them survive ('servarent') were expelled by the Suevi from their 
 
 intermingled with their flocks, near the abodes, and settled near the Luppia 
 
 haunts of men; only let them not pre- (Lippe), Sieg, and Lahn in succession, 
 
 fer, &c.' The Ampsivarii vrished to The Tubantes are not mentioned, in the 
 
 obtain leave to occupy a part of the Germania, but they seem to have dwelt 
 
 lands in question, on the same footing, near the Luppia. 
 
 as it were, with the flocks and herds of 56. socias helhl^ These words are to 
 
 the Eoman soldiers, where they would be taken together. Below, Curtilius 
 
 be at all events within sound of human Mancia was consul suffectus in some 
 
 voices, and not be driven into trackless year unknown. 
 
 wilds. This seems to be the sense, and defendentihus'] * Fighting shy of, 
 
 I do not quite see the necessity of alter- (wacding ofi" from themselves) dangers 
 
 ing the text into * quo tantam . . . re- which really concerned others ; only. ' 
 
 ceptus . . . famem.' Cf. xv. 38, "nee quisquam dcjfendere 
 
 Chamavorum] The Chamavi dwelt audebat (ignem)." 
 
 south-east of the Frisii, between them 57. Hermunduros'] The Hennunduri 
 
 and the Dulgibini (Germ. 34). They occupied the tract between the Sudetes 
 
 drove out the Bructeri, and took pos- mountains and the Eoman wall which 
 
A.D. 58.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIII. 373 
 
 magno proelio, dum flumen gignendo sale fecundum et contermi- 
 num vi trahunt, super libidinem cuncta armis agendi religione 
 insita, eos maxime locos propinquare caelo precesque mortalium a 
 deis nusquam propius audiri. inde indulgentia numinum illo in 
 amne illisque silvis salem provenire, non ut alias apud gentes 
 eluvie maris arescente unda, sed super ardentem arborum struem 
 fusa ex contrariis inter se elementis, igne atque aquis^ concretum. 
 sed bellum Hermunduris prosperum, Cliattis exitiosius fuit_, quia 
 victores diversam aciem Marti ac Mercurio sacravere^ quo voto 
 equi viri_, cuncta victa occidioni dantur. et minae quidem hostiles 
 in ipsos vertebant. sed civitas Ubiorum socia nobis malo inpro- 
 viso afflicta est. nam ignes terra editi villas arva vices passim 
 corripiebant ferebanturque in ipsa conditae nuper coloniae moenia. 
 neque extingui poterant^ non si imbres caderent, non si fluviali- 
 bus aquis aut quo alio humore^ donee inopia remediorum et ira 
 cladis agrestis quidam eminus saxa iacere, dein resistentibus 
 flammis propius suggressi ictu fustium aliisque verberibus ut feras 
 absterrebant : postremo tegraina corpori derepta iniciunt, quanto 
 magis profana et usu polluta^ tanto magis oppressura ignes. 
 
 58. Eodem anno Ruminalem arborem in comitio^ quae octin- 
 
 bounded tlie Agri Deciimates. They with certain Roman godsj whether he 
 
 were probably a branch of the Suevi. was guided by similarity of name or 
 
 Tacitus speaks of them (Germ. 41) as similarity of attribute. In the identi- 
 
 firm allies of the Romans ; but they fication here in this particular case, 
 
 joined the Marcomani in their great war Tacitus was probably guided by simi- 
 
 against the Romans a.d. 167. The river larity of attributes. Mars probably re- 
 
 here mentioned is supposed to be the presents the Teutonic deity Tyr, the 
 
 Werra. bravest of the gods, who alone is repre- 
 
 propinqiutre caelo] These words are sented in the Edda as venturing to put 
 
 ambiguous : they might have a literal his hand in the wolf's mouth ; and so 
 
 meaning, implying that the locality the old name for Tuesday, viz. Tyrsdag, 
 
 mentioned is the loftiest in the neigh- would be the' dies Martis' of the Romans, 
 
 bourhood ; and consequently those who Mercurius was no doubt Wodan, the in- 
 
 make the river the Saale refer the de- venter of magic and all the arts. The 
 
 scription to Sonnenberg. But it seems identity of the two is expressly asserted, 
 
 more likely that the sense is ' near to Paulus Diaconus (De gestis Langobar- 
 
 heaven,' i. e. * especially favoured by the dorum, i. 9) says, " Wodan sane quem 
 
 gods.' adiecta littera Gwodan dixerunt ipse est 
 
 eluvie] *From the cast -up froth of qui apud Romanes Mercurius dicitur." 
 
 the sea, when the water dries, but,' &c. Not, of courae, that such late evidence 
 
 Orelli quotes Pliny (N. H. xxxi. § 74), is worth much. Below, Ubiorum is the 
 
 " aliud genus ex aquis maris sponte gig- suggestion of Heinsius, for * uibonum ' 
 
 nitur, spuma in extremis litoribus ao the reading of the Cod. Med. 
 
 scopulis relicta : hie omnis sole den- non si fluvialihus aquis] Sc. " non si 
 
 satur," and (xxxi, § 82), " Galliae Ger- quis fluvialibus aquis extinguere co- 
 
 maniaeque ai'dentibus lignis aquam sal- naretur, extingui poterant." Cf. ii. 63, 
 
 sam infundunt." "ne si quando insolescerent Suebi." 
 
 Marti] It is not certain, as before 58. Ruminalem arhorem] Cf. Virg. 
 
 remarked (cf. 1. 12), on what principle Aen. viii. 631. 'Ruminalis' is cou- 
 
 Tacitua identified the Teutonic deities nected with Romulus, and both with 
 
374 
 
 CORNELII TACITI. 
 
 gentos et quadraginta ante annos Remi Romnlique infariliam 
 texerat_, mortuis ramalibus et arescente trunco deminutam 3ro- 
 digii loco habitum est^ donee in novos fetus revivesceret. 
 
 *ruma,' an ndder. With tliis is con- birth of Romulus would be about 830 
 
 nected the Lithuanian 'raumu,' an years, but probably Tacitus followed 
 
 udder : and this gives a slight colour some other tradition as to the s ge at 
 
 to the theory that the old inhabitants which Romulus founded the city. The 
 
 of the Italian peninsula belonged to the ' septingentos ' of the MS. must be 
 
 Lithuanic branch of the Aryan race. wrong. 
 quadraginta] From a.d. 58 to the 
 
COENELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER XIY. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1. Nero plans the murder of Agrippina. 2. His mother's schemes for averting 
 it. 3. Proposal of Anicetus. 4 — 6. Failure of the plan. 7. Alarm of Nero. He 
 consults Burrus and Seneca. 8. Murder of Agrippina. 9. Her burial. 10. Re- 
 morse of Nero. 11. He sends a despatch to the senate accusing Agrippina. 12. 
 Flattery of the senators. Paetus Thrasea. 13. Nero enters Rome. His de- 
 bauchery. 14. Exhibits himself as a charioteer. 15. The Juvenalia established. 
 16. He composes verses. 17. Riot at a gladiatorial show. 18. Blaesus con- 
 demned. Strabo acquitted. 19. Death of Domitius Afer and M. Servilius. 
 20, 21. Establishment of the qiiinquennale ludicrum. Nero gains the prize of 
 eloquence. 22. Rubellius Plautus banished. 23 — 26. Operations of Corbulo. 
 He is appointed to the command of Syria. 27. Earthquake at Laodicea. Puteoli 
 and other places made colonies. 28. Arrangement of the comitia praetoria. 
 Vibius condenmed. 29, 30. Disaster in Britain. Invasion of Mona by Suetonius. 
 31. Rising of the Iceni. 32. They storm Camulodunimi. 33. Londinium and 
 Verulamium sacked. 34 — 37. Defeat and death of Boadicea. 38. Intrigue of 
 Classicianus against Suetonius. 39. llklission of Polyclitus. Turpilianus succeeds 
 Suetonius. 40, 41. Condemnation of Fabianus and his associates for forgery. 42. 
 Murder of Pedanius Secundus by his own slaves. 43 — 45. Discussion on their 
 punishment. 46. Condemnation of Tarquitius Priscus. The census taken in 
 Gaul. 47. Death of Memmius Regulus. 48. Antistius accused of treason. 
 49. He is defended by Thrasea. 50. Banishment of Fabricius Veiento from 
 Italy. 51. Death of Burrus. His successors. 52 — 54. Peril of Seneca. His 
 appeal to Nero. 55, 56. Nero's reply. 57 — 59. Tigellinus accuses Rufus Fenius 
 and others. 60. Nero divorces Octavia, and marries Poppaea. 61. Octavia 
 recalled. 62 — 64. Her death. 65. Nero removes Doryphorus and Pallas by 
 poison. Conspiracy of Piso. 
 
376 CORNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 812. 
 
 1. Gaio Yipstano 0. Fonteio consulibus diu meditatum ^?celus 
 non ultra Nero distulit^ vetustate imperii coalita audacia eu fla- 
 grantior in dies am ore Poppaeae, quae sibi matrimonium et disci- 
 dium Octaviae incolumi Agrippina liaud sperans, crebris criiaina- 
 tionibus^ aliquando per facetias incusaret principem et puj)illum 
 vocaretj qui iussis alienis obnoxius non modo imperii sed libertatis 
 etiam indigeret. cur enim differri nuptias suas ? formam scilicet 
 displicere et triumpbales avos^ an fecunditatem et verum aninium ? 
 timeri ne uxor saltern iniurias patrum_, iram populi ad^^ersus 
 superbiam avaritiamque matris aperiat. quod si nurum Agrippina 
 non nisi filio infestam ferre posset^ redderetur ipsa Otbonis coniu- 
 gio : ituram quoquo terrarum, ubi audiret potius contumelias im- 
 peratoris quam viseret periculis eius inmixta. baec atquo talia 
 lacrimis et arte adulterae penetrantia nemo prohibebat, cupienti- 
 bus cunctis infringi potentiam matris et credente nullo usque ad 
 caedem eius duratura filii odia. 
 
 2. Tradit Cluvius ardore retinendae Agrippinam potentiae eo 
 usque provectam, ut medio diei_, cum id temporis Nero per vinum 
 et epulas incalesceret^ offerret se saepius temulento comptam et 
 incest o paratam. iamque lasciva oscula et praenuntias flagitii 
 blanditias adnotantibus proximis, Senecam contra muliebren inle- 
 cebras subsidium a femina petivisse^ inmissamque Acten lib€ rtam, 
 quae simul suo periculo et infamia Neronis anxia deferret pervul- 
 gatum esse incestum gloriante matre^ nee toleraturos milites pro- 
 fani principis imperium. Fabius Rusticus non Agrippinse sed 
 Neroni cupitum id memorat eiusdemque libertae astu disiectum. 
 sed quae Cluvius, eadem ceteri quoque auctores prodidere, et 
 fama hue inclinat^ seu concepit animo tantum inmanitatis iv.gr ip- 
 
 1. C.Vipstano'] Caius Vipstanus Apro- naturally made the most of this ; and 
 
 nianus was proconsul of Africa a.d. 69. her ' triumphal grandfathers,' like Fal- 
 
 C. Fonteius Capito was probably son of staff's rogues in buckram, gr(;w and 
 
 C. Fonteius Capito, consul a.d. 12 (iv. multiplied to meet the requirements of 
 
 36). Below, for the participle * coalita,' the case. 
 
 cf. xiii. 26, H. iv. 55. *It only occurs in 2. Agrippinam] For the displa cement 
 
 late writers. of the words from their natural order, 
 
 incusa/ref] ' Quae ' in this sentence is cf. i. 67, " donee expugnandi hostes spe 
 
 causal, assigning the reason for Nero's propius succederent ;" ii. 35, "audiente 
 
 proceeding at once with his intended haec Tiberio ac silente magnis ui;rimque 
 
 crime : ' inasmuch as she assailed the contentionibus acta." 
 
 emperor,' &c. Cf. H. iii. 33, "utque famia hue inclinaf] No dorbt the 
 
 exercitu vario linguis, moribus, cui cives, people were ready to believe evei y thing 
 
 socii, extemi interessent." that was bad of Agrippina, and would 
 
 triitmphales cuvos] Her grandfather fasten the hateful charge on hei rather 
 
 (on the mother's side), Poppaeus Sabinus, than on Nero. Agrippina, one would 
 
 is mentioned as having received the imagine, however unblushing, could 
 
 honours of a triumph (xiii. 45). Poppaea scarcely have had the eflfronterj to be- 
 
A.D. 59.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 377 
 
 pina, seu credibilior novae libidinis meditatio in ea visa est, quae 
 puellaribus annis stuprum cum Lepido spe dominationis admiserat, 
 pari cupidine usque ad libita Pallantis provoluta et exercita ad 
 omne flagitium patrui nuptiis. 
 
 3. Igitur Nero vitare secretes eius congressus, abscedentem in 
 hortos aut Tusculanum vel Antiatem in agrum laudare, quod otium 
 capesseret. postremo, ubicumque liaberetur, praegravem ratus 
 interficere constituit, hactenus consultans, veneno an ferro vel 
 qua alia vi. placuitque prime venenum. sed inter epulas prin- 
 cipis si daretur, referri ad casum non poterat tali iam Britannici 
 exitio ; et ministros temptare arduum videbatur mulieris usu sce- 
 lerum adversus insidias intentae ; atque ipsa praesumendo remedia 
 munierat corpus, ferrum et caedes quonam mode occultaretur, 
 nemo reperiebat ; et ne quis illi tanto facinori delectus iussa sper- 
 neret metuebant. optulit ingenium Anicetus libertus, classi apud 
 Misenum praefectus et pueritiae Neronis educator ac mutuis odiis 
 Agrippinae invisus. ergo navem posse componi docet, cuius pars 
 ipso in mari per artem soluta effunderet ignaram : nihil tam capax 
 fortuitorum quam mare ; et si naufragio intercepta sit, quem adeo 
 iniquum, ut sceleri adsignet quod venti et fluctus deliquerint ? 
 additurum principem defunctae templum et aras et cetera osten- 
 tandae pietati. 
 
 tray her guilty overtures to the eyes of Syria haberetur ;" ii. 63, " Maroboduus 
 her attendants ; and the matter could Ravennae habitus." Below, for ' vel 
 have been hardly more than one of sus- qua alia vi,' cf. H. ii. 41, " incertum 
 picion or surmise. The discrepancy, too, fuit insidias an proditionem vel aliquod 
 in the accounts, some attributing the honestum consilium coeptaverint." Ta- 
 first advance to the mother, others to citus sepai-ates his possible causes of 
 the son, tends to make the charge death into two divisions. The first em- 
 doubtful, and one may charitably regard braced poison only ; the second, the 
 it as at least * unproven ;' and perhaps sword, or any other method the caso 
 irphs rhv rpoirhu avruy iirXdffdr} (Dion admitted of j so that poison is singly 
 Cass. Ixi. 11). opposed to all other possible ways of 
 
 cu7n Lepido] This was M. Aemilius death. I think perhaps in H. ii. 41, the 
 
 Lepidus, who married Drusilla, sister of explanation is, that the possible views 
 
 Caligula. He was put to death by that of the tribunes' conduct are separated 
 
 emperor (Suet. Calig. 24 ; Dio. lix. 22). into two sets, one embracing a trea- 
 
 3. vel Antiatem in agrum] For the cherous attack on Caecina, the other 
 
 use of * vel ' in connexion with ' aut,' cf. their views with reference to their own 
 
 Dialog, de Oratoribus, 28, " nee aut tibi party ; and these last are subdivided 
 
 ipsi aut huic Secundo vel huic Apro into two divisions also, the one contem- 
 
 ignotas;" Cic. de Orat. i. 12, "quis plating a surrender of their troops, the 
 
 enim nescit maximam vim existere ora- other some more honourable arrange- 
 
 Joris in hominum mentibus vel ad iram ment for themselves and their soldiers, 
 
 aut ad odium aut dolorem incitandis, vel cetera ostentandae pietati] Cf. H. iii. 
 
 ab hisce iisdem permotionibus ad leni- 20, "cetera expugnandis urbibus," and 
 
 tatem misericordiamque revocandia ? " in the same chapter, "oopias ceteraque 
 
 haheietv/r] Cf. ii. 58, " ne Vonones in usui adlaturos." 
 
378 CORNELTI TACITI [a.u.c. 812. 
 
 4. Placuit sollertia, tempore etiam iuta^ quando Quinquatruum 
 festos dies apud Baias frequentabafc. illuc matrem elicit, fereudas 
 parentium iracundias et placandum animum dictitans, quo rumorem 
 reconciliationis efficeret acciperetque Agrippina, facili femiii£;;L^uni 
 crediilitate ad gaudia. venientem deliinc obvius in litora {nam. 
 Antio adventabat) excepit manu et complexu ducitque Baulos. id 
 villae nomen est quae promunturium Misenum inter et Baianum 
 lacum flexo mari alluitur. stabat inter alias navis ornatior, Gam- 
 quam id quoque honori matris daretur : quippe sueverat triremi 
 et classiariorum remigio vebi. ac turn invitata ad epulas erat, ut 
 occultando facinori nox adhiberetur. satis constitit . extitisse 
 proditorem, et Agrippinam auditis insidiis, an crederet ambiguam, 
 gestamine sella e Baulos pervectam. ibi blandimentum -subleA^avit 
 metum : comiter excepta superque ipsum collocata. iam pluiibus 
 sermonibus, modo familiaritate iuvenili Nero et rursus adduotus, 
 quasi seria consociaret, tracto in longum convictu, prosequitur 
 abeuntem, artius oculis et pectori baerens, sive explenda simu- 
 latione_, seu periturae matris supremus aspectus quamvis ferum 
 animum retinebat. 
 
 5. Noctem sideribus illustrem et placido mari quietam quasi 
 convincendum ad scelus di praebuere. nee multum erat progressa 
 navis, duobus e numero familiarium Agrippinam comitantibu^;, ex 
 Quis Crepereius Gallus baud procul gubernaculis astabat, Acer- 
 ronia super pedes cubitantis reclinis paenitentiam filii et recupe- 
 ratam matris gratiam per gaudium memorabat, cum dato signo 
 mere tectum loci multo plumbo grave ; pressusque Crepereius et 
 statim exanimatus est. Agrippina et Acerronia eminentibus lecti 
 parietibus ac forte validioribus quam ut oneri cederent proteotae 
 sunt, nee dissolutio navigii sequebatur, turbatis omnibus et quod 
 
 4. Quinquatruum festos dies'] Quin- this seems a late usage of tlie Trord. 
 
 quatrus, or Quinquatria, was a festival Cf. Suet. Tib. Aug. 72, "ex secessibus 
 
 in honour of Minerva on the 19th of praecipue frequentavit maritima." 
 
 March and four following days (Ovid. Baianum lacum'] The same as * Lucri- 
 
 Fast. iii. 809). num lacum' in the next chapter. The 
 
 frequentahat] Cf. Cic. de Invent, i. 27, next words, * flexo mari,' seem to mean 
 
 " publicum esto quod civitas universa ' a curving shore,' the sea made a sweep 
 
 aliqua de causa frequentat, ut ludi dies inland. 
 
 festus bellum ; " Ovid Metam, iv. 37, adductus] Cf. note on xii. 7. 
 
 " dura cessant aliae commentaque sacra sive explenda simulatione] An in- 
 
 frequentant." The word would naturally strumental ablative apparently. Nero 
 
 be used in this sense with a plural sub- clung to his mother, was induced to do 
 
 ject, but it would be an easy step to so, by reason of the pretence he was 
 
 employ it with a singular subject, when going through of aflPection for her. See 
 
 that subject was one of many similarly note on iii. 19, under * ulciscenda morte.' 
 engaged or repeated the act often. But 
 
A.D. 59.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 379 
 
 plerique ignari etiam conscios impediebant. visum dehinc remi- 
 gibus unum in latus inclinare atque ita navem submergere : sed 
 neque ipsis promptus in rem subitam consensus^ et alii contra 
 nitentes dedere facultatem lenioris in mare iactus. verum Acer- 
 ronia inprudentia^ dnm se Agrippinam esse utque subveniretur 
 matri principis clamitat, contis et remis et quae fors optulerat 
 navalibus telis conficitur : Agrippina silens eoque minus agnita 
 (unum tamen vulnus umero excepit) nando^ deinde occursu 
 lenunculorum Lucrinum in lacum vecta villae suae infertur. 
 
 6, Illic reputans ideo se fallacibus litteris accita met bonore 
 praecipuo babitam_, quodque litus iuxta^ non ventis acta^ non 
 saxis inpulsa navis summa sui parte veluti terrestre macbinamen- 
 tum concidisset^ observans etiam Acerroniae necem^ simul suum 
 vulnus aspiciens, solum insidiarum remedium esse, si non intelle- 
 gerentur; misitque libertum Agerinum, qui nuntiaret filio benig- 
 nitate deum et fortuna eius evasisse gravem casum; orare ut 
 quamvis periculo matris exterritus visendi curam differret; sibi 
 ad praesens quiete opus. atque interim securitate simulata 
 medicamina vulneri et fomenta corpori adhibet; testamentum 
 Acerroniae requiri bonaque obsignari iubet, id tantum non per 
 simulationem. 
 
 7. At Neroni nuntios patrati facinoris opperienti adfertur, 
 evasisse ictu levi sauciam et bactenus adito discrimine, ne auctor 
 dubitaretur. tum pavore exanimis et iam iamque adfore obtestans 
 
 5. inprudentia dum, ^"cJ] Tacitus * sensit.' An instance of sometliing not 
 continually puts conjunctions in this very dissimilar occurs in xy. 5, "aliae 
 position, ' donee,' ' quanquam,' * siqui- pro Suria paratae ultro irrumpere : 
 dem,' * quasi,' and others being so used ; sibi inbecillum equitem." Also i. 49, 
 and possibly this may be the case here, * cupido involat . . . nee alitor posse pla- 
 as the commentators all think. But I cari manes," &c. 
 
 do not see the necessity of the view ; id tantum non] This was sya act on 
 
 and 'inprudentia conficitur' can very Agrippina' s part not suggested by dis- 
 
 well be taken in conjunction. Acerronia simulated feeling, but a genuine expres- 
 
 is despatched by reason of her witless- sion of her anxiety to secure the property 
 
 ness or thoughtlessness in giving out of Acerronia for herself. Tacitus (xiii. 
 
 that she was Agrippina, supposing this 7) speaks of her, " cupido auri inmensa." 
 the best way to secure her own safety, 7. ne auctor duhitaretur'] ' Hactenus ' 
 
 whereas it did just the opposite, and followed by * ne ' in the sense of * ut non ' 
 
 was the cause of her death. is said to be found nowhere but here ; 
 
 utque subveniretur] ' Clamitat ' is but I do not know that the force of ' ne ' 
 
 used in two senses : in the first clause here is necessarily ' ut non.' The sense 
 
 • she cries out * is equivalent to * she is not exactly, * having undergone a risk 
 
 exclaims aloud' the fact of her being just so far as to make it quite certain 
 
 Agrippina ; in the second, it is equiva- who the instigator was,' but rather, * the 
 
 lent to ' she utters a request ' that some- risk having been undergone at the point 
 
 thing should be done. it had ' for fear (apparently) of there 
 
 6. remedium esse] This is possibly being any doubt, &c. The remark is 
 correct, depending on some word like somewhat ironical : the attempt was 
 
380 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 812. 
 
 vindictae properam, sive servitia armaret vel militem accenderet, 
 sive ad senatum et populum pervaderet^ naufragium et vuli.us et 
 interfectos amicos obiciendo : quod contra subsidium sibi ':* nisi 
 quid Burrus et Seneca expedirent ; quos statim acciverat, inceTtum 
 an et ante ignaros. igitur longum utriusque silentium, ne inriti 
 dissuaderent, an eo descensum credebant^ ut, nisi praeveniretur 
 Agrippina^ pereundum Neroni esset. post Seneca bactenus 
 promptiuSj respiceret Burrum ac sciscitaretur an militi imperanda 
 caedes esset. ille praetorianos toti Caesarum domui obsirictos 
 memoresque Germanici nibil adversus progeniem eius atrox 
 ausuros respondit : perpetraret Anicetus promissa. qui nihil 
 cunctatus poscit summam sceleris. ad earn vocem Nero illo sibi 
 die dari imperium auctoremque tanti muneris libertum profitetur : 
 iret propere duceretque promptissimos ad iussa. ipse audito 
 venisse missu Agrippinae nuntium Agerinum, scaenam ultro 
 criminis parat^ gladiumque, dum mandata perfert_, abicit inter 
 pedes eius, turn quasi deprehenso vincla inici iubet, ut exitium 
 principis molitam matrem et pudore deprebensi sceleris sponte 
 mortem sumpsisse confingeret. ' » 
 
 managed witli the very aim, as it seemed, Nero watcli tlie expression of Barrus's 
 of betraying the prime mover in it, and face, and ask him distinctly whether the 
 doing nothing further. If those who soldiers could safely be ordered to put 
 carried out the plan had wished to betray Agrippina to death. Probably J3urrus, 
 the author of it, they could not have by his looks, conveyed tolerably clearly 
 succeeded better than they did. The his conviction that the step would be a 
 personal use of * dubitare,' except in dangerous oue. For the mood ' respi- 
 this passage, seems confined to the poets, ceret,' cf. xiv. 8, " respicit Anicetum ac 
 an et ante igna/ros] The 'et' is a si ad visendum venisset, refotaia nun- 
 little puzzling. The obvious meaning, tiaret," and * perpetraret ' just below. 
 
 * whether they were ignorant of it before With ' promptius,' ' egit * or the like is 
 as well as then,' cannot be the true one ; understood, cf. i. 43, " melius et aman- 
 if they were ignorant of the deed when tins ille qui gladium offerret." Below, 
 summoned by Nero, they were of course ' summam sceleris' is the chief direction 
 ignorant of it before. But * et ' joins of the crime. Cf. H. i. 87, " summa ex- 
 
 * statim ' and ' ante ignaros,' and * incer- peditionis Antonio Novello .... per- 
 tum an' is introduced because it was missa," H. iv. 25, "Flaccus summam 
 not quite certain whether Burrus and rerum ei per mis sit." 
 
 Seneca were ignorant or not. The sense scaenam ultro'] The general force of 
 
 therefore is ' whom he summoned at * ultro ' in Tacitus has been spoken of 
 
 once, and up to that moment in igno- before. Here the idea appears to be 
 
 ranee of what had occurred, although it that Nero, instead of giving Ag-erinus 
 
 may be doubtful whether they were so any opportunity of bringing a charge 
 
 or not.' against him directly or indirectly, turns 
 
 respiceret Burrum] Possibly the text the tables upon him, and gets the start, 
 
 is correct, and it is unnecessary to insert as it were, by accusing Tiim. True, 
 
 * ut ' or read ' respicere.' The subject of Agerinus simply came to announce the 
 
 * respiceret' and ' sciscitaretur ' is Nero, safety of Agrippina (Suet. Nero, 34), 
 and these verbs are in the oblique impe- but Nero, in his perturbation of mind, 
 rative mood. So far (as the following « might easily feel that he came to rc- 
 step) Seneca took the lead ; he bade proach and accuse him. 
 
A.D. 59.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 381 
 
 8. Interim vulgato Agrippinae periculo^ quasi casu evenisset, 
 ut quisque acceperat, decurrere ad litus. hi molium obiectus, hi 
 proximas scaphas scandere ; alii, quantum corpus sinebat, vadere 
 in mare : quidam manus protendere; questibus, votisj clamore 
 diversa rogitantium aut incerta respondentium omnis ora com- 
 pleri : adfluere ingens multitude cum luminibus, atque ubi inco- 
 lumem esse pernotuit, ut ad gratandum sese expedire, donee 
 aspectu armati et minitantis agminis disiecti sunt. Anicetus 
 villam statione circumdat refractaque ianua obvios servorum 
 abripit, donee ad fores cubiculi veniret; cui pauci adstabant^ 
 ceteris terrore inrumpentium exterritis. cubiculo modicum lumen 
 inerat et ancillarum una, magis ac magis anxia Agrippina, quod 
 nemo a filio ac ne Agerinus quidem : aliam fore laetae rei faciem ; 
 nunc solitudinem ac repentinos strepitus et extremi mali indicia, 
 abeunte dehinc ancilla ^ tu quoque me deseris ^ prolocuta respicit 
 Anicetum^ trierarcho Herculeio et Obarito centurione classiario 
 comitatum, ac, si ad visendum venisset, refotam nuntiaret : sin 
 facinus patraturus, nihil se de filio credere : non imperatum par- 
 ricidium. circumsistunt lectum percussores et prior trierarchus 
 fusti caput eius adflixit. iam in mortem centurioni ferrum destrin- 
 genti protendens uterum Wentrem feri' exclamavit multisque 
 vulneribus confecta est. 
 
 9. Haec consensu produntur. aspexeritne matrem exanimem 
 Nero et formam corporis eius laudaverit, sunt qui tradiderint, 
 sunt qui abnuant. cremata est nocte eadem convivali lecto et 
 exequiis vilibus : neque, dum Nero rerum potiebatur, congesta aut 
 clausa humus, mox domesticorum cura levem tumulum accepit, 
 
 8. hi molium oMectus'} Cf. Strabo v. ritne . . . incertum est ' and ' aspexisse 
 
 4, 6 Si AoKp7uos K6\7ros irKarvv^rai fxexp^ sunt qui tradiderint.' Cf. xii. 52, " morte 
 
 Batwv x'l'A'^^' elpySfifPos airh tt)s e|<w fortuita an per venenum extinctus esset, 
 
 6a\dTT7]s oKTaarrabiq} rh /j.r}KOi irXdros Zk ut quisque credidit vulgavere." 
 ajxa^iTov TrXaTeias, o (paaii^ 'HpaK\4a 5to- sunt qui ahnuant] Perhaps the 
 
 Xioaai ras fiovs eKavvovra ras TrjpvSuov. change of tense, compared with ' tradi- 
 
 Below, for the ellipse in ' nemo a filio ' derint,' is intentional : * some have ex- 
 
 (sc. 'veniret'), cf. iv. 57, "tandem pressed their belief in writing, others 
 
 Caesar in Campaniam." are still found to deny it.* Or, perhaps, 
 
 aliam fore laetae rei faderri] This is * sunt qui abnuant ' is used without any 
 
 an emendation of Heinisch for the * fore distinct reference to time at all : ' some 
 
 lateret faciem' of the MS. It is evident deny it.' So, apparently, H. i. 15, "et 
 
 that there must be something in the mihi egregium erat . . . adsciscere, et . . . 
 
 first clause to contrast with ' solitu- adiecisse," where the first verb seems 
 
 dinem,' &c., and the above reading used without any reference to particular 
 
 supplies this. Below, ' iam in mortem ' time ; the act is shown in itself without 
 
 is an emendation for ' nam morte,' the consideration of its being present or 
 
 reading of the Cod. Med. past. 
 
 9. aspexeritne] The construction is hardly congesta aut clausa humus'] No earth- 
 regular J it is a combination of * aspexe- mound was raised over the remains of 
 
382 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 812. 
 
 viam Miseni propter et villam Caesaris dictatoris,, quae subioctos 
 sinus editissima prospectat. accenso rogo libertus eius cogno- 
 mento Mnester ipse se ferro transegit, incertum caritate in patro- 
 nam an metu exitii. hunc sui finem multos ante annos crediderat 
 Agrippina contenipseratque. nam consulenti super Nerone re- 
 sponderant Chaldaei fore ut imperaret matremque occideret; 
 atque ilia ' occidat ' inquit_, ^ dum imperet/ 
 
 10. Sed a Caesare perfecto demum scelere magnitude eius 
 intellecta est. reliquo noctis mode per silentium defixus^ saepius 
 pavore exurgens et mentis inops lucem opperiebatur tamquam 
 exitium allaturarn. atque eum auctore Burro prima centurionum 
 tribunorumque adulatio ad spem firmavit^ prensantium manum 
 gratantiumque quod discrimen inprovisum et matris facinus 
 evasisset. amici debinc adire templa, et coepto exemplo prcxima 
 Campaniae municipia victimis et legationibus laetitiam testari : 
 ipse di versa simulatione maestus et quasi incolumitati suae infonsus 
 ac morti parentis inlacrimans. quia tamen non, ut bominum 
 vultus^ ita locorum facies mutantur_, obversabaturque maris illius 
 et litorum gravis aspectus (et erant qui crederent sonitum tubae 
 collibus circum editis planctusque tumulo matris audiri)_, Nea])olim 
 concessit litterasque ad senatum misit_, quarum summa erat reper- 
 tum cum ferro percussorem Agerinum, ex intimis Agrip]3inae 
 libertis^ et luisse eam poenam conscientia^ qua scelus paravisset. 
 
 11. Adiciebat crimina longius repetita^ quod consortium inperii 
 iuraturasque in feminae verba praetorias cobortes idemque dedecus 
 senatus et populi speravisset^ ac postquam frustra habits sit^ 
 
 Agrippina (congesta humus), nor was that his mother had contrived his assas- 
 
 any stone or monument erected over her sination, and on the discovery of her 
 
 ashes (clausa humus). scheme had laid violent hands upoa her- 
 
 10. diver sa simulatione] Nero's hypo- self, in consequence of her consciousness 
 
 crisy was just the opposite of that prac- of her guilt in planning the crime. But 
 
 tised by the centurions and tribunes, the sentence is a little inaccurate appa- 
 
 They pretended a joy they did not really rently. * Conscientia' is the ' reciorse- 
 
 feel, probably detesting Nero in their ful feeling of guilt,' but it canr.ot be 
 
 hearts ; he concealed the delight he felt, strictly correct to add, ' qua scelus para- 
 
 and pretended a grief which had no visset,' for Agrippina did not feel this 
 
 existence. remorse while planning the scheme, only 
 
 turmdo] I scarcely think a preposi- after the attempt had been made?, un- 
 
 tion need be added, as it is by some of successfully, to carry it into execution, 
 
 the editors. Tacitus often dispenses In fact * conscientia ' is used in a c ouble 
 
 with a preposition, where it would sense, as 'remorse,' and the 'guilt' 
 
 usually be found in describing localities, which caused it. 
 
 Cf. Dialog, de Orat. 13, " statuarque 11. frustra habita sW] So Miiretus 
 
 tumulo non maestus." ' Campo,' 'litore,' for 'frustra ablata sit,' the reading of 
 
 ' suggestu ' are all so used. the Cod. Med. Cf. xiii. 37, for the f hrase 
 
 et hdsse earn, poenam] ' Eam ' is and the note there. Below, ' donati- 
 
 Agrippina. Nero declared to the Senate vum ' and ' congiarium ' were given to 
 
A.D. 59.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 383 
 
 infensa militi patribusque et plebi dissuasisset donativum et con- 
 giarium periculaque viris inlustribus instruxisset. quanto suo 
 labore perpetratum, ne irrumperet curiam, ne gentibus externis 
 responsa daret. temporum quoque Claudianorum obliqua insec- 
 tatione cuncta eius dominationis flagitia in mati'ein transtulit, 
 publica fortuna extinctam referens. namque et naufragium narra- 
 bat*: quod fortuitum fuisse, quis adeo bebes inveniretur ut cre- 
 deret? aut a muliere naufraga mis sum cum telo unum qui 
 cobortes et classes imperatoris perfringeret ? ergo non iam Nero, 
 cuius inmanitas omnium questus anteibat, sed Seneca adverso 
 rumore erat, quod oratione tali confessionem scripsisset. 
 
 12. Miro tamen certamine procerum decernuntur supplicationes 
 apud omnia pulvinaria, utque Quinquatrus, quibus apertae insidiae 
 assent, ludis annuis celebrarentur ; aureum Minervae simulacrum 
 in curia et iuxta principis imago statuerentur ; dies natalis Agrip- 
 pinae inter nefastos esset. Tbrasea Paetus silentio vel brevi 
 adsensu priores adulationes transmittere solitus exiit tum senatu, 
 ac sibi causam periculi fecit, ceteris libertatis initium non praebuit. 
 prodigia quoque crebra et inrita intercessere. anguem enixa 
 mulier, et alia in concubitu mariti fulmine exanimata : iam sol 
 repente obscuratus et tactae de caelo quattuordecim urbis regiones. 
 quae adeo sine cura deum eveniebant, ut multos post annos Nero 
 imperium et scelera continuaverit. ceterum quo gravaret invidiam 
 matris eaque demota auctam lenitatem suam testificaretur, feminas 
 illustres luniam et Calpurniam, praetura functos Yalerium Capi- 
 
 the soldiers (xii. 41), and the people her removal by a more successful ar- 
 
 respectively (xiii. 31) . rangement. Thus ' namque ' refers to 
 
 instruxisset'] The more usual word is ' extinctam ;' and the idea conveyed by 
 
 * struere,' but cf. Liv. xxiii. 35, " instru- ' extinctam' embraced the immature as 
 
 endae fraudi aliquanto intentior." Be- well as the successful attempt to get rid 
 
 low for ' perpetratum ne,' &c., cf. xii. 58 of Agrippina. Of course ' quod fortui- 
 
 and the note. turn,' &c., are the words of Tacitus, not 
 
 namque et naufragium'] There is of Nero, 
 
 some little difficulty in * namque ' here ; 12. utque] For the construction, cf. i. 
 
 for Agrippina escaped the shipwreck or 15, and the note under ' utque.' 
 
 what is called so. But the train of sine cura deum] For all the prodigies 
 
 thought in Nero's mind was this: her enumerated happened without the slight - 
 
 actual death was a public boon, and due est connexion with any divine interposi- 
 
 to the good fortune of Rome ; her ship- tion ; the Gods had nothing to do with 
 
 wreck, although not successful, was still them ; nothing whatever resulted. Nero 
 
 due to the same good fortune, although went on just as before for years. Below, 
 
 thwarted ; the intention had been good, for lunia cf. xii. 4, and for Calpumia 
 
 although the execution had failed. Nero xii. 22. 
 
 seems to regard the good fortune of praetura] This is the emendation cf 
 
 Rome as having tried to get rid of Lipsius for ' praefectura.' There were 
 
 Agrippina by shipwreck, and after fail- many ' praefecturae,' such as 'annonae, 
 
 ure in this scheme, as having planned urbis, Aegypti,' &c., and Tacitus would 
 
384 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8J2. 
 
 tonem et Licinium Gabolum sedibus patriis reddidit, ab Agrippiaa 
 olim pulsos. etiam Lolliae Paulinae cineres reportari sepulcrum- 
 que extrui permisit ; quosque ipse nuper relegaverat, Iturium et 
 Calvisium poena exolvit. nam Silana fato functa erat, longin(|uo 
 ab exilio Tarentum regressa labante iam Agrippina, cuius iniiiii- 
 citiis conciderat_, vel tandem mitigata. 
 
 13. * * * * cunctari in oppidis Campaniae, quonam modo 
 urbem ingrederetur, an obsequium senatus, an studia plebis repe- 
 riret anxius : contra deterrimus quisque, quorum non alia regia 
 fecundior extitit, in visum Agrippinae nomen et morte eius 
 accensum populi favorem disserunt : iret intrepidus et venera- 
 tionem sui coram experireter ; simul praegredi exposcunt. et 
 promptiora quam promiserant inveniunt, obvias tribus, festo ciiltu 
 senatum, coniugum ac liberorum agmina per sexum et aetatem 
 disposita, extructos, qua incederet, spectaculorum gradus, (][uo 
 modo triumpbi visuntur. liinc superbus ac publici servitii victor 
 Capitolium adiit, grates exolvit, seque in omnes libidines ejffudit, 
 quas male coercitas qualiscumque matris reverentia tardaverat. 
 
 14. Vetus illi cupido erat curriculo quadrigarum insistere, nee 
 minus foedum studium citbara ludicrum in modum canere. con- 
 certare equis regium et antiquis ducibus factitatum memorabat, 
 idque vatum laudibus celebre et deorum honori datum, enimvero 
 cantus Apollini sacros, talique ornatu astare non modo Gra(3cis 
 in urbibus sed Romana apud templa numen praecipuum et 
 praescium. nee iam sisti poterat, cum Senecae ac Burro visim, 
 ne utraque pervinceret, alterum concedere. clausumque valle 
 Yaticana spatium in quo equos regeret, baud promisee spectaculo. 
 mox ultro vocari populus Romanus laudibus que extoUere, ut est 
 vulgus cupiens voluptatum et, si eodem princeps trahat, laetum. 
 ceterum evulgatus pudor non satietatem, ut rebantur, sed incita- 
 
 scarcely liave used the word indefinitely. 14. utraque pervinceref] I think 
 
 Below, for Itnrius, Calvisius and Silana, ' utraque ' is in the accusative case 
 
 cf. xiii. 19. plural. Cf. xii. 60, " quae vicf rant 
 
 13. spectaculorum gradus] These were publico valebant." The construction is 
 
 wooden erections temporarily raised for only an extension of the very common 
 
 the accommodation of spectators. Livy form vikuv 'OAu/tirio, which is itse .f an 
 
 uses the word in the same meaning, extension of the principle of a cogTiate 
 
 " ubi spectacula quisque sibi facerent" accusative, the substantive cogna:e in 
 
 (i. 35). With the adulation Nero found meaning with the verb being replaced 
 
 on his return to Rome, the tongues of by an equivalent word. For instance, 
 
 the people were busy. Papers were pla- viKcii/ v'iktiv becomes vikuu 'OXvfiiria, be- 
 
 carded about the city, with such notices cause v(kt]v is replaced by the specific 
 
 as the following': Nepwj/ 'Opeo-T???, 'AAk- 'OKi/xiria. Below, for the present * mclliri,' 
 
 fiaiiov fjLT}TpoKr6voi, Neovvfx4>oi/ Ndpcou iSiav cf. ii. 34, and the note there. 
 fjL7]T€p' air^KTfLPev (Suet. Nero 39). 
 
A.D. 69.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 385 
 
 mentum attulit. ratusque dedecus molliri_, si plures foedasset_, 
 nobilium familiarum posteros egestate venales in scaenam deduxit : 
 quos fato perfunctos ne nominatim tradam, maioribus eorum tri- 
 buendum puto : nam et eius flagitium est^ qui pecuniam ob delicta 
 potius dedit quam ne delinquerent. notos quoque equites Ro- 
 manos operas arenae promittere subegit donis ingentibus^ nisi 
 quod merces ab eo qui iubere potest vim necessitas adfert. 
 
 15. Ne tamen adhuc publico theatro dehonestaretur^ instituit 
 ludos iuvenalium vocabulo, in quos passim nomina data, non 
 nobilitas cuiquam, non aetas aut acti bonores impedimento^ quo 
 minus Graeci Latinive histrionis artem exercerent usque ad gestus 
 modosque baud viriles. quin et feminae illustres deformia medi- 
 tari : extructaque apud nemus, quod navali stagno circumposuit 
 Augustus^ conventicula et cauponae et posita veno irritamenta 
 luxui. dabanturque stipes, quas boni necessitate^, intemperantes 
 gloria consumerent. inde gliscere flagitia et infamia, nee uUa 
 moribus olim corruptis plus libidinum circumdedit quam ilia con- 
 luvies. vix artibus bonestis pudor retinetur, nedum inter certa- 
 mina vitiorum pudicitia aut modestia aut quicquam probi moris 
 reservaretur. jiostremus ipse scaenam incedit, multa cura temp- 
 tans citharam et praemeditans assistentibus pbonascis. adcesserat 
 cobors militum, centuriones tribunique et maerens Burrus ac lau- 
 dans. tuncque primum conscripti sunt equites Romani in cogno- 
 mentum Augustianorum, aetate ac rob ore conspicui, et pars 
 
 nam et eius flagitium esf] The force of were prepared, and the names of volun- 
 
 * et ' is a little obscure. The clause gives teers for the new games entered in 
 
 a second reason why the names of the dis- them. 
 
 graced nobles should be passed over in modosque'] One of the illustrious ladies 
 silence, over and above a tender regard was Aelia Catella, who danced at those 
 for their ancestors' reputation. The games, although at the ripe age of eighty- 
 fault was not entirely their own ; it was (Dion Cass. Ixi. 19). Below, for ' navali 
 shared by Nero. Tacitus would not stagno ;' cf. xii. 56, and the note there. 
 ' name names,' for after all the disgrace gloria'] Some spent the coins given 
 was not altogether voluntary. them, because they could hot keep them 
 
 nisi quod merces, Scc] Cf. i. 33. The (necessitate) : others spent them with 
 
 clause is added to apologize, as it were, vain-glorious boasting of the Emperor's 
 
 for the use of a word, ' donis,' scarcely liberality (gloria) : they thought it a fine 
 
 applicable under the circumstances. thing to have received them. 
 
 15. publico theatro] Nero had a assistentibus pJionascis] This last word 
 
 theatre of his own beyond the Tiber, is an emendation for ' facies,' suggested 
 
 where he practised before an audience of by the account of Suetonius (Nero 25), 
 
 people, before he ventured to appear in "conservandaevocis gratia neque milites 
 
 the Theatrum Pompeianum (Plin. N. H. unquam nisi absens aut alio verba pro- 
 
 xxxvii. 2). nuntiante appellaret, neque quidquam 
 
 nomina data] Those citizens who en- serio iocove egerit nisi adstante phonasco 
 
 tered their names on the lists made of all qui moneret parceret arteriis ac sudarium 
 
 who were inclined to join a new Colonia, ad os applicaret." 
 were said ' nomina dare.' So here lists Attgustiajnorum] Cf. Suet. Nero, 20, 
 
 C C 
 
386 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 81i-813. 
 
 ingenio procaces^ alii in spe potentiae. ii dies ac noctes plausibus 
 personare formam principis vocemque deum vocabulis appelluntes ; 
 quasi per virtutem clari honoratique agere. 
 
 16. Ne tamen ludicrae tantum imperatoris artes notes(3ereiit, 
 carminum quoque studium adfectavit^ contractis quibus aliqua 
 pangendi facultas nee dum insignis erat. hi cenati coiisidere 
 simul^ et adlatos vel ibidem repertos versus conectere atque ipsius 
 verba quoquo modo prolata supplere. quod species ipsa car- 
 minum docet^ non impetu et instinctu nee ore uno fluens. etiam 
 sapientiae doctoribus tempus impertiebat post epulas^ ut qufie con- 
 traria adseverant tum discordia erueretur. nee deerant qui ore 
 vultuque tristi inter oblectamenta regia spectari cuperent. 
 
 17. Sub idem tempus levi initio atrox caedes orta inter colonos 
 Nucerinos Pompeianosque gladiatorio spectaculo, quod Li^ineius 
 Regulus^ quem motum senatu rettuli, edebat. quippe oppidana 
 lascivia in vicem incessentes probra_, dein saxa, postremo ferrum 
 sumpserOj validiore Pompeianorum plebe^ apud quos spectaculum 
 edebatur. ergo deportati sunt in urbem multi e Nucerinis trunco 
 per vulnera corpore^ ac plerique liberorum aut parentum mortes 
 deflebant. cuius rei indicium princeps senatui, senatus consulibus 
 permisit. et rursus re ad patres relata, proHbiti publice in decern 
 annos eius modi coetu Pompeiani^ collegiaque quae contra leges 
 
 " adulescentulos equestris ordinis et of the present tense, * adseverant.' 
 
 quinque amplius milia e plebe robiis- 17. Livineius Regulus'] The ire is a 
 
 tissimae iuventutis nndique elegit, qui Livineius Regulus mentioned ia iii. 11, 
 
 divisi in factiones plausuum genera con- either the same as the one here, or his 
 
 discerent operamque navarent cantanti father, but no account of his removal 
 
 sibi." These are called in c. 25, Augus- from the senate. 
 
 tiani. Below, 'personare' is used abso- in vicem incessentes'] Cf. xiii. 2, and 
 
 lutely ; cf. xvi. 4, "etplebs . . . perso- the note there. With 'probn/ under- 
 
 nabat certis modis." stand * iecere ' or similar word, us * sump- 
 
 deum vocabulis'] Dion Cassius (Ixi. 20) sere,' is only suited to ' suxa ' and 
 
 explains this, koI ^v aKOveiv ttws avrcbv ' ferrum.' 
 
 XcySvTuu, 6 KaXhs Kalirap, 6 'Attc^AAwi/ 6 publice] Cf. i. 13, and the rote there 
 AijyovcrTos €?y ws Ilvdios. under " pari fama;" also cf. iv. 36, "ob- 
 16. hi cenati] The reading of the iecta publice Cjzicenis incuria caerimo- 
 MS. is "necdum insignis aetatis nati." niarum;" also iii. 31, "quod haud pe- 
 The emendation ' cenati' is suggested by rinde publice usui habitum." The whole 
 * post epulas' occurring a few lines after- town of Pompeii was forbidden to cele- 
 wards ; but I have no particular faith in brate gladiatorial shows, 
 the genuineness of the reading given in collegiaque] Sometimes * collegia,* or 
 the text. corporate bodies, were established spe- 
 lt* quae contraria] The reading of the cially by legal authority. Cf. Liv. x. 50, 
 Mediceus Codex is " ut quae contraria " ludi Capitolini fierent . . . coUegiumque 
 adseverant tum discordiae rueretur." ad eam rem M. Furius dictator consti- 
 Translate ' in order that the discrepan- tueret." Others were formed volun- 
 cies of the opposite assertions they make, tarily by individuals under some general 
 might instantly ('turn') be dragged to legal authorization. Often, however, 
 light.' There is no difl&culty in the use they were constituted without any r; 
 
 i 
 
A.D. 59-60.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 387 
 
 instituerant dissoluta ; Livineius et qui alii seditionem conciverant 
 exilio multati sunt. 
 
 18. Motus senatu et Pedius Blaesus accusantibus Cyrenensibus 
 violatum ab eo tbesaurum Aesculapii dilectumque militarem pretio 
 et ambitione corruptum. idem Cyrenenses reum agebant Acilium 
 Strabonem, praetoria potestate usum et missum disceptatorem a 
 Claudio agrorum^ quos regis Apionis quondam avitos et populo 
 Romano cum regno relictos proximus quisque possessor invase- 
 rant^ diutinaque licentia et iniuria quasi iure et aequo nitebantur. 
 igitur abiudicatis agris orta ad versus iudicem invidia ; et senatus 
 ignota sibi esse mandata Claudii et consulendum principem res- 
 pondit. Nero probata Strabonis sententia_, se nihilo minus sub- 
 venire sociis et usurpata concedere rescripsit. 
 
 19. Sequuntur virorum illustrium mortes_, Domitii Afri et 
 M. Servilii_, qui summis bonoribus et multa eloquentia viguerant, 
 ille orando causas^ Servilius diu foro, mox tradendis rebus Roma- 
 nis Celebris et elegantia vitae^ quam clariorem effecit^ ut par 
 ingenio, it a morum di versus. 
 
 20. Nerone quartum Cornelio Cosso consulibus quinquennale 
 
 gard to such legal authorization, and Cf. H. i. 2, " urbs inoendiis vastata con- 
 
 occasionally such were suppressed as sumptis antiquissimis delubris." So H. 
 
 not ' legitima.' Publius Clodius, in his i. 20, " decuma parte ... relicta ; " vi. 
 
 tribunate, restored such 'collegia' which 45, "deusta parte Circi." The construc- 
 
 had been suppressed by the senate, and tion here with ' accusantibus' (an accu- 
 
 formed numberless others. Cio. in sative and infinitive, 'thesaurum viola- 
 
 Pison. 4, "nova ex omni faece urbis et turn esse') occurs nowhere else, 
 servitio concitata." Compare Cic. ad Apionis^ Cf. Liv. Epit. 70, "Ptole- 
 
 Attic. iii. 15, 4; Dio xxxviii. 15; Cio. maeus Cyrenarum rex, cui cognomentum 
 
 pro Sest. 15, "nomine collegiorum cum Apioni fait, mortuus heredem populum 
 
 vicatim homines conscriberentur decu- R. reliquit, et eius regni civitates senatus 
 
 riarentur, ad vim, ad manus, ad caedem, liberas esse iussit." This was 96 a.c, 
 
 ad direptionem incitarentur." Many of so that something like a century and a 
 
 these 'collegia' which were not ' legi. half had elapsed. * Possessor ' is not of 
 
 tima ' were suppressed by C. Julius course ' an owner,' but * occupier.' The 
 
 Caesar (Suet. C. Julius Caesar, 42), and ownership of the 'ager publicus' lay in 
 
 by Augustus (Suet. August. 32), " plu- the State,- the occupiers to whom it was 
 
 rimae factiones titulo collegii novi ad let, although * possessores/ were not 
 
 nullius non facinoris societatem coibant owners. 
 
 . . . collegia praeter antiqua et legitima 19. Domitii Afri'] Cf. iv. 52 ; for M. 
 
 dissolvit." Servilius, cf. vi. 31. 
 
 18. Pedius Blaesus] He was afterwards clariorem] More illustrious than the 
 
 restored (H. i. 77). Just below, ' accu- life of Domitius, of whom Tacitus says 
 
 santibus' is used aoristically, as Draeger (iv. 52), "prosperioro eloquentiae quam 
 
 points out. He compares (xi. 35) "prae- morum fama fuit." 
 
 monente Narcisso," (xii. 69) " monente 20. Cornelio Cosso] Cossus Cornelius 
 
 Narcisso." The action conveyed in the Lentulus was son of the consul of the 
 
 participial clauses in these instances same name of the year a.d. 25 (iv. 34). 
 
 was really completed before that of the Below, for ' ad morem Graeci certa- 
 
 main verb began. Just the opposite minis,' cf. Suet. Nero, 12, " instituit 
 
 use of the past participle to describe certamen . . . more Graeco triplex musi- 
 
 contemporaneous action occurs often, cum gymnicum equestre." 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 8 l3. 
 
 ludicrum Romae institutum est ad morem Graeci certaminis, v.?ria 
 fama, ut cuncta ferme nova, quippe erant qui Gnaeum quoc[ue 
 Pompeium incusatum a senioribus ferreiit_, quod mansuram tlieatri 
 sedem posuisset. nam antea subitariis gradibus et scaena in tem- 
 pus structa ludos edi solitos, vel si vetustiora repetas, stantem 
 populum spectavisse, ne, si consideret theatro, dies totos ignavia 
 continuaret. spectaculorum quidem antiquitas servaretur, c[uo- 
 tiens praetor sederet, nulla cuiquam civium necessitate certatidi. 
 ceterum abolitos paulatim patrios mores fundi tus everti per accitam 
 lasciviam, ut quod usquam corrumpi et corrumpere queat, in iirbe 
 visatur, degeneretque studiis externis inventus, gymnasia et otia 
 et turpes amores exercendo, principe et senatu auctoribus, qui non 
 modo licentiam vitiis permiserint, sed vim adhibeant, iit proceres 
 Romani specie orationum et carminum scaena polluantur. cpid 
 superesse, nisi ut corpora quoque nudent et caestus adsumant 
 easque pugnas pro militia et armis meditentur? an iustii:iam 
 augurii et decurias equitum egregium iudicandi munus expletiiros, 
 si fractos sonos et dulcedinem vocum perite audissent? noctes 
 quoque dedecori adiectas, ne quod tempus pudori relinquatur, sed 
 coetu promisee, quod perditissimus quisque per diem concupiverit, 
 per tenebras audeat. 
 
 21. Pluribus ipsa licentia placebat, ac tamen honesta nomina 
 praetendebant. maiores quoque non abhorruisse spectaculc rum 
 oblectamentis pro fortuna quae tum erat, eoque a Tuscis acoitos 
 
 stanteni] Cf. Liv. Epit. 48, " cum turn,' as a kind of explanation. " Explere 
 locatum a censoribus theatrum extru- decurias equitum" is 'to fill up tlie de- 
 eretur P. Comelio auctore tamquam curies of knights' for judicial puri)0ses; 
 inutile et nociturum publicis moribus and that the allusion is to this in con- 
 ex senatus consulto destructum est, veyed by 'egregium iudicandi munus,' 
 populusque aliquamdiu stans ludos spec- not of course quite correctly, for the 
 tavit." decuries of knights are not themselves 
 
 ne, si consideret theatro^ The reading the ' munus,' or duty, but only dis- 
 
 of the Codex Medic, is *' si consideret . . . charged it. I doubt whether ' decurias 
 
 ne," which is unintelligible. The Codex equitum ' could be the subject of ' exple- 
 
 Agricolae has the reading in the text. turos,' as being equivalent to 'equites,' 
 
 sederet] * Sat in state at the games.' and so constructed with a participle in 
 
 Cf. Juv. xi. 195, " praeda caballorum the masculine, 
 
 praetor sedet." 21. a Tuscis accitos'] Cf. Liv. vii. 2, 
 
 iustitiam augurii'] This is very near " C. Sulpicio Petico, C. Licinio Stolone 
 the reading of the Codex Medic. — "ius- pestilentia fait, et cum vis mor'oi nee 
 titia augurii." The sense can only be, humanis consiliis nee ope divina leva- 
 *the requirements of augury,' all that retur, victis superstitione animis ludi 
 was necessary to make an augury valid, quoque scsenici inter alia caelestis irae 
 the legitimate ceremonies of the art ; placamina instituti dicuntur : sir e ear- 
 but the phrase is certainly suspicious, mine ullo sine imitandorum carminum 
 The subject of ' expleturos ' is ' proceres actu ludiones ex Etruria acciti aii tibi- 
 Komanos,' and ' egregium iudicandi mu- cinis modes saltantes haud indecoros 
 nus' is in apposition to 'decurias equi- motus more Tusco dabant." 
 
A.D. 60.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 389 
 
 liistriones, a Thuriis equorum certamina; et possessa Achaia 
 Asiaque ludos curatius editos, nee quemquam Eomae lionesto loco 
 ortum ad theatrales artes degeneravisse^ ducentis iam annis a 
 L. Mummii triumpliOj qui primus id genus spectaculi in urbe 
 praebuerit. sed et consultum parsimoniae_, quod perpetua sedes 
 theatro locata sit potius^ quam immenso sumptu singulos per annos 
 consurgeret ac strueretur. nee perinde magistratus rem familia- 
 rem exhausturos aut populo efflagitandi Graeca eertamina a magi- 
 stratibus causam fore_, eum eo sumptu res publica fungatur. ora- 
 torum ae vatum victorias ineitamentum ingeniis allaturas; nee 
 cuiquam iudici grave aures studiis bonestis et voluptatibus eon- 
 cessis impertire. laetitiae magis quam lasciviae dari paucas totius 
 quinquennii noctes^ quibus tanta luce ignium nihil illicitum oceul- 
 tari queat. sane nullo insigni dehonestamento id spectaeulum 
 transit, ae ne modica quidem studia plebis exarsere^ quia redditi 
 quamquam scaenae pantomimi certaminibus sacris probibebantur. 
 eloquentiae primas nemo tulit^ sed victorem esse Caesarem pro- 
 nun tiatum. Graeci amictus_, quis per eos dies plerique ineesserant^ 
 tum exoleverant. 
 
 22. Inter quae et sidus cometes effulsit, de quo vulgi opinio est 
 tamquam mutationem regis portendat. igitur quasi iam depulso 
 Nerone, quisnam deligeretur anquirebant. et omnium ore Rubel- 
 lius Plautus eelebratur^ cui nobilitas per matrem ex lulia familia. 
 ipse placita maiorum colebat^ habitu severo, CEista et secreta domo, 
 quantoque metu occultior^ tanto plus famae adeptus. auxit rumo- 
 rem pari vanitate orta interpretatio fulguris. nam quia discum- 
 bentis Neronis apud Simbruina stagna_, cui Sublaqueum nomen 
 
 possessa Achaia Asiaque] In 146 a.c. laid aside, 
 and 129 a.c. by L. Mummius and M'. 22. 'mutationem regis] If the reading 
 
 Aquillius respectively. The shows of is correct, * regis ' is not to be taken to 
 
 L. Mummius were plays and theatrical refer to Nero particularly, for the name 
 
 performances. Below, the phrase ' aures of * rex ' was never used to designate 
 
 impertire,' Draeger says, occurs nowhere the Caesars ; but the expression must be 
 
 else. a general one : the people always re- 
 
 redditi qtutrnquant scaenae pantomimi'] gard such phenomenon as indicating a 
 
 They had been driven from Italy four change of kings, and so they applied 
 
 years before (xiii. 25). this usual belief to the case in point — 
 
 eloquentiae primas] Sc. * partes.' Cf. that of Nero. 
 Hor. Sat. i. 9. 45, "posset qui ferre cui nobilitas per matrem] See note 
 
 secundas." on Rubellius Plautus, xiii. 19. Below, 
 
 tutn exoleverant] ' Had at once be- after ' apud Simbruina stagna,' ' cui ' 
 
 come obsolete.' The pluperfect appa- follows, because the words naturally 
 
 rently is used to convey the idea of the suggest the idea of a house near the 
 
 immediate and universal disuse of the pools, and the relative is constructed 
 
 Greek dress. There was no interval of accordingly. These lakes are made by 
 
 partial use : the moment the games were the Anio (Plin. N. H. iii. 12) . 
 over, and almost before, the dress was 
 
390 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c 813. 
 
 est, ictae dapes mensaque disiecta erat, idque finibus Tiburtum 
 accideratj unde paterna Plauto origo, bunc ilium numine deuc: des- 
 tinari credebant, fovebantque multi, quibus nova et ancipitia praeco- 
 lere avida et pier um que fallax ambitio est. ergo permotus biH Nero 
 componit ad Plautum litteras, consuleret quieti urbis seque prava 
 diffamantibus subtraberet: esse illi per Asiam avitos agros, in 
 quibus tuta et inturbida iuventa frueretur. ita illuc cum coniuge 
 Antistia et paucis familiarium concessit. 
 
 Isdem diebus nimia luxus cupido infamiam et periculum Neroni 
 tulit, quia fontem aquae Marciae ad urbem deductae nando inces- 
 serat : videbaturque potus sacros et caerimoniam loci corpore loto 
 polluisse. secutaque anceps valitudo iram deum affirmavit. 
 
 23. At Corbulo post deleta Artaxata utendum recenti terrore 
 ratus ad occupanda Tigranocerta, quibus excisis metum bostium 
 intenderet vel, si pepercisset, clementiae famam adipiscoretur, 
 illuc pergit, non infenso exercitu, ne spem veniae auferret, neque 
 tamen remissa cura, gnarus facilem mutatu gentem, ut segnem ad 
 pericula, ita infidam ad occasiones. barbari, pro ingenio quisque, 
 alii preces offerre_, quidam deserere vices et in avia digredi; ac 
 fuere qui se speluncis et carissima secum abderent. igitur dux 
 Romanus diversis artibus_, misericordia adversus supplices_, celeri- 
 tate adversus profugos, inmitis iis qui latebras insederant, ora et 
 exitus specuum sarmentis virgultisque completes igni exurit. 
 atque ilium fines sues praegredientem incursavere Mardi, latro- 
 
 hunc illurn] This is equivalent to participial construction was impossible, 
 
 'liunc ilium esse qui destinaretur.' Cf. Hence, ' quibus excisis' and 'quibus (the 
 
 xii. 36, " avebantque visere quis ille tot dative) si pepercisset ' are conn acted by 
 
 per annos opes nostras sprevisset." ' vel ;' and, for brevity's sake, ' quibus ' 
 
 prava diffamantihus'] In xv. 49, Taci- is omitted in the second clause, 
 tus has " probroso carmine diffamatus ;" praegredientem] ' Marching fast.' So 
 
 and the usual construction of the active ii. 6, " qua Grermaniam praevcjhitur ; " 
 
 is with a personal object. Of this accu- ii. 63, " qua Noricam provinciam prae- 
 
 sative of an adjective there is no other fluit ;" xv. 15, " is castra praefluebat." 
 
 instance. Below, ' inturbida ' is peculiar In all these instances 'prae' has the 
 
 to Tacitus (iii. 52; H. iii. 39). sense of 'praeter.' The interchange is 
 
 fontem aquae Marciae'] This aqueduct not unnatural, for a stream may easily 
 
 was constructed by Q. Marcius Rex be regarded as either flowing past its 
 
 (about 144A.C.). It was brought from banks or flowing in front of ihem, by 
 
 Sublaqueum, for a distance of about sixty anyone who stands on the edi^e. The 
 
 miles, partly underground and partly on ' Mardi ' here mentioned seeni to have 
 
 arches. The spring which supplied the been settled south-west of the Caspian 
 
 water rose in the remote hills of the sea, but at a considerable distance from 
 
 Peligni. (Plin. N. H. xxxi. 3, xxxvi. 24). it, or they would not have bee a able to 
 
 23. quibus excisis, SfcT] The participle attack Corbulo on his march from Ar- 
 
 * excisis ' is replaced in the alternative taxata to Tigranocerta. The Mardi were 
 
 clause by the conditional turn, ' si peper- widely spread. They were found on the 
 
 cisset.' As the latter verb in the active eastern shoi'es of the Euxine (Plin. N, H. 
 
 governs a dative, a continuation of the vi. 5). 
 
A.D. 60.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 391 
 
 ciniis exerciti contraque irrumpentem montibus defensi : quos 
 Corbulo inmissis Hiberis vastavit hostilemque audaciam externo 
 sanguine ultus est. 
 
 24. Ipse exercitusque ut nuUis ex proelio damnis, ita per 
 inopiam et labores fatiscebant, carne pecudum propulsare famem 
 adacti. ad boc penuria aquae, fervida aestas_, longinqua itinera 
 sola ducis patientia mitigabantur, eadem pluraque gregario milite 
 tolerantis. ventum debinc in locos cultos demessaeque segetes, 
 et ex duobus castellis, in quae confugerant Armenii, alteram 
 impetu captum ; qui primam vim depulerant, obsidione coguntur. 
 unde in regionem Tauraunitium transgressus inprovisum pericu- 
 lum vitavit. nam baud procul tentorio eius non ignobilis barbarus 
 cum telo repertus ordinem insidiarum seque auctorem et socios 
 per tormenta edidit, convictique et puniti sunt qui specie amicitiae 
 dolum parabant. nee multo post legati Tigranocerta missi patere 
 moenia afferunt, intentos popularis ad iussa : simul bospitale 
 donum, coronam auream, tradebant. accepitque cum bonore, nee 
 quicquam urbi detractum, quo promptius obsequium integri reti- 
 nerent. 
 
 25. At praesidium Legerda, quod ferox inventus clauserat, non 
 sine certamine expugnatum est : nam et proelium pro muris ausi 
 erant et pulsi intra munimenta aggeris demum et irrumpentium 
 armis cessere. quae facilius proveniebant, quia Partbi Hyrcano 
 bello distinebantur. miserantque Hyrcani ad principem Eomanum 
 societatem oratum, attineri a se Yologesen pro pignore amicitiae 
 ostentantes. eos regredientes Corbulo_, ne Eupbraten transgressi 
 bostium custodiis circumvenirentur, dato praesidio ad litora maris 
 rubri deduxit, unde vitatis Partborum finibus patrias in sedes 
 remeavere. 
 
 24. came pecudum] Cf. Caesar, B. G. There is a Legerda mentioned in Ptole- 
 vii. 17, "usque eo ut complures dies maeus, v. 13. 19, wliere, however, there 
 milites frumento caruerint et pecore e are many other readings, 
 longinquioribus vicis adacto extremam aggeris demum] This apparently de- 
 famem sustentarent." The * inopia ' here pends on ' armis,' a word strictly appro- 
 was the absence of bread. priate only to ' irrumpentium :' ' yielded 
 
 Tigranocerta missi] * Sent from Ti- to the attacks delivered by means of a 
 
 granocerta.' So xv. 4, " occupaverat rampart and to the arms of the troops 
 
 Tigranocertam ;" and xv. 5, " a Tigra- who burst in.' I should be inclined, 
 
 nocerta distantem." On the other hand, however, to read * aggeribus.' 
 
 in the previous chapter (xiv. 23), "ad maris ruhri] The Hyrcanian ambas- 
 
 occupanda Tigranocerta." See ii. 56, sadors, Walther says, were conveyed to 
 
 under " in urbe Artaxata." Tigranocerta Syria, and thence to the shores of the 
 
 was in Armenia Major, near its southern Persian Gulf, or Indian Ocean ; thence 
 
 frontier (Plin. N. H. v. 10). they sailed up the Araxes or some other 
 
 25. Legerda] The MS. has " legerat." river; which was a much more convo-- 
 
392 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 813. 
 
 26. Quin et Tiridaten per Medos extrema Armeniae intraiLtem, 
 praemisso cum auxiliis Yerulano legato, atque ipse legionibus citis, 
 abire procul ac spem belli omittere subegit ; quosque nobis aversos 
 animis cognoverat, caedibus et incendiis perpopulatus, p:sses- 
 sionem Armeniae usurpabat_, cum advenit Tigranes a Neronie ad 
 capessendum imperium delectus, Cappadocum ex nobilitate, regis 
 Ai'clielai nepos, sed quod diu obses apud urbem fuerat, usque ad 
 servilem patientiam demissus. nee consensu acceptus, durante 
 apud quosdam favore Arsacidarum. at plerique superbiam Par- 
 tborum perosi datum a Romanis regem malebant. additum et 
 praesidium mille legionarii, tres sociorum cobortes duaeque 
 equitum alae, et quo facilius novum regnum tueretur, pars Arme- 
 niae, ut cuique finitima, Pharasmani Polemonique et Aristobulo 
 atque Antiocbo parere iussae sunt. Corbulo in Syriam abscessit, 
 morte Ummidii legati vacuam ac sibi permissam. 
 
 27. Eodem anno ex inlustribus Asiae urbibus Laodicea tremore 
 terrae prolapsa, nullo a nobis remedio, propriis opibus revaluit. 
 at in Italia vetus oppidum Puteoli ius coloniae et cognomentum a 
 
 nient route than overland through the ambassadors went above the Euphrates, 
 wild regions near the Caspian sea. I through Iberia to the Caspian. This I 
 transcribe his note in the hope that the believe to be the true reading aad ex- 
 reader will be more fortunate than my- planation. 
 
 self, and understand it. No other com- 26. legionihus citis] 'With the jegions 
 
 mentator I have seen offers any real in light marching order.' Cf. xi. 1 ; 
 
 explanation of the words as they stand, xii. 31. 
 
 The Hyrcani dwelt on the shores of the aversos animis'] So Bekker for the 
 
 Caspian, and a journey from the ' mare reading of the MS., " ab re aninis." 
 rubrum' to the Caspium would have regis Archelai nepos] Tacitus seems 
 
 taken them through the territories cf to have confused different persons here, 
 
 the people they wished to avoid. Lipsius as will be seen from the annexed table : — 
 reads * maris sui,' and observes that the 
 
 Herod the Great m. Mariamne. 
 
 , I 
 Alexander m. daughter of Archelaus (King of Cappadocia, ii. 42) . 
 
 Alexander. Tigranes (vi. 40). 
 
 Tigranes (xiv. 26). 
 
 The younger Tigranes was thus great- reading 'Pharasmani Polemonique,' is the 
 
 grandson (' pronepos ') of Archelaus ; the emendation of T. F. Gronovius, for ' pars 
 
 elder Tigranes was grandson (' nepos ') nipulique ' in the Cod. Med. 
 
 of that king. 27. Laodicea'] This was in Phrygia, 
 
 Pharasmani, Scc] These kings re- in the south-west corner, near thf junc- 
 
 spectively governed the Hiberi (xii. 44), tion of the Asopus and Caprus with the 
 
 Pontus (H. iii. 47), the Lesser Armenia Lycus (Plin. N. H. v. 29). Below, 'tre- 
 
 (xiii. 7) . Aristobulus was son of Herod more terrae ' is an expression only found 
 
 Agrippa, king of Chalcis (Joseph. Antiq. in writers of the silver age. 
 
 XX. 8) and Commagene (xii. 55). The ius coloniae] Puteoli had long been 
 
A.D. 60.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 393 
 
 Nerone apiscuntur. veterani Tarentum et Antium adscript! non 
 tamen infrequentiae locorum subvenere^ dilapsis pluribus in pro- 
 vincias in quibus stipendia expleverant : neque coniugiis susci- 
 piendis neque alendis liberis sueti orbas sine posteris domos 
 relinquebant. non enim, ut olim, universae legiones deducebantur 
 cum tribunis et centurionibus et sui cuiusque ordinis militibus^ ut 
 consensu et caritate rem publicam efficerent, sed ignoti inter se, 
 diversis manipulis, sine rectore, sine affectibus mutuis^ quasi ex 
 alio genere mortalium repente in unum collecti, numerus magis 
 quam colonia. 
 
 28. Comitia praetorum arbitrio senatus baberi solita^ quoniam 
 acriore ambitu exarserant, princeps composuit^ tris, qui supra 
 numerum petebant^ legioni praeficiendo. auxitque patrum hono- 
 rem statuendo ut, qui a privatis iudicibus ad senatum provocavis- 
 sent, eiusdem pecuniae periculum facerent cuius si qui imperatorem 
 appellavere ; nam antea vacuum id solutumque poena fuerat. fine 
 anni Yibius Secundus eques Romanus accusantibus Mauris repe- 
 tundarum damnatur atque Italia exigitur^ne graviore poena affice- 
 retur, Yibii Crispi fratris opibus enisus. 
 
 a Eoman colony; from 194 a.c. (Liv. this appointment, a candidate for the 
 
 xxxiv. 45), when three hundred citizens praetorship. The proposal, however, 
 
 were settled there. Augustus a second fell to the ground ; otherwise it woiild 
 
 time established a colony there, and Nero have explained the selection especially 
 
 must therefore have only recruited what of a legatio legionis for the candidates 
 
 had probablybecome a languishing settle- above the required number. Tacitus 
 
 ment, and styled it probably Colonia is here speaking of an arrangement 
 
 Neronia (or Claudia) Augusta. Under in one single year ; but I should gather 
 
 Vespasian it became Colonia Flavia Au- from the language of Suetonius (Nero, 
 
 gusta. Below, 'Tarentum' and 'Antium' 15), "candidates qxd supra numerum 
 
 were both old * Coloniae,' the former essent in solatium dilationis ac moi'ae 
 
 being established 122 a.c. (Veil. Paterc. legionibus praepo^t," that the arrange- 
 
 i. 15), and Antium 467 a.c. (Lav. iii. 1). ment was made several times, or else 1 
 
 sui cuiusque ordinis^ Here * suus do not understand why the subjunctive 
 
 quisque ' is regarded as a single word, " essent " is used. 
 
 and constructed accordingly. Madvig eiusdem pecuniae'] The penalty for 
 
 quotes from the Tabula Heracleensis (v. frivolous appeal was fixed at one-third 
 
 92), " quae stipendia in castris inve pro- of the sum in dispute between the liti- 
 
 vincia maiorem partem sui cuiusve anni gants. Orelli quotes Julius Paulus Re- 
 
 fecerit." Cic. Acad. ii. 19, " in sensibus cept. Sent. v. 33. 7, for this. The ' privati 
 
 sui cuiusque generis ; " Liv. xxxiii. 46, indices ' are the ' iudices ' in civil actions. 
 " pecunia quae in stipendium Romanis accusa/ntihus Mauris] Ptolemaeus, son 
 
 suo quoque anno pendereturj" Suet, of Juba, the last king of Mauretania, 
 
 August. 40, "concessit rursus ut sui was put to death by Caligula (Suet, 
 
 cuiusque mensis (frumentum) acci- Calig. 26), and Mauretania formed into 
 
 peret." a province. Claudius subdivided it. 
 
 28. arhitrio senatus'] Cf. i. 15. The Below, 'Vibius Crispus' was an orator 
 
 three superfluous candidates were ap- ^Quint. v. 13, 48 ; and x. 1. 119). Juvenal 
 
 pointed legati legionis. Under Tiberius (iv. 81) describes him as possessing 
 
 (ii. 36), a proposal had been made that "mite ingenium," and more of a courtier 
 
 a legatus legionis should immediately on than an outspoken patriot, 
 his appointment become, by virtue of 
 
o 
 
 94 COHNELII TACITI [a.u.c. i 14. 
 
 29. Caesennio Paeto et Petronio Turpiliano consulibus gravis 
 clades in Britannia accepta_, in qua neque A. Didius legatus . ut 
 memoravi, nisi parta retinuerat^ et successor Veranius mo(Hcis 
 excursibus Siluras populatus quin ultra bellum proferret morte 
 prohibitus est^ magna, dum vixit, severitatis fama, supr(3mis 
 testamenti verbis ambitionis manifestus : quippe multa in Noro- 
 nem adulatione addidit subiecturum ei provinciam fuisse, si bieimio 
 proximo vixisset. sed turn Paulinus Suetonius obtinebat Britan- 
 nos, scientia militiae et rumore populi_, qui neminem sine aeiaulo 
 sinit, Corbulonis concertator, receptaeque Armeniae decus aequare 
 domitis perduellibus cupiens. igitur Monam insulam, incolis 
 validam et receptaculum perfugarum, adgredi parat, navesque 
 fabricatur piano alveo adversus breve et incertum. sic pedes; 
 equites vado secuti aut altiores inter undas adnantes equis 
 tramisere. 
 
 30. Stabat pro litore diversa acies, densa armis virisque_, inter- 
 cursantibus feminis ; in modum Furiarum veste ferali, crinibus 
 deiectis faces praeferebant ; Druidaeque circum, preces diras sub- 
 latis ad caelum manibus fundentes novitate aspectus perculere 
 militemj ut quasi haerentibus membris immobile corpus vulneribus 
 praeberent. dein cohortationibus ducis et se ipsi stimulantes, ne 
 muliebre et fanaticum agmen pavescerent, inferunt signa stern iint- 
 que obvios et igni suo involvunt. praesidium postliac inpositum 
 victis excisique luci saevis superstitionibus sacri : nam cruore (3ap- 
 tivo adolere aras et bominum fibris consulere deos fas habebant. 
 baec agenti Suetonio repentina defectio provinciae nuntiatur. 
 
 29. Caesennio Paeto'] The MS, has way of explanation. The sense is ' his 
 
 " Cesonio Paeto." In xv. 6, there is a last words, as conveyed by his will.' 
 
 Caesennius Paetus mentioned, who was Below, ' concertator ' is found nov^here 
 
 'consularis,' whom Dion Cassius (Ixii. 20) else. The *Mona' here mentioned is 
 
 calls AovKiov KaKTcvviov TLairov, and an Anglesey. 
 
 inscription (Gruter, 64. 9) so spells the adversus hreve et incertum] Foi- this 
 
 name of the consul apparently of this use of an adjective substantively, cf. vi. 
 
 year (a.d. 61). For * et,' used here to 24, "tamquam egregium;" iv. 61, "sic 
 
 connect the names of the consuls, cf. Haterii canorum illut et profluens." Cf. 
 
 iv. 68. also xiii. 46, xiv. 56, xv. 34. 
 
 parta retinuerat] Cf.Agric. 14, "Didius 30. agmen pavescerent] Soini. 59, H. 
 
 Gallus parta a prioribus continuit paucis iv. 7. The same construction occurs else- 
 
 admodum castellis in ulteriora promotis where only in Silius xvi. 127. Suetonius, 
 
 per quae fama aucti officii quaereretur." however, has " tonitrua et fulgur^i ex- 
 
 For A. Didius (an emendation of Lipsius pavescebat" (August. 90). 
 
 for 'hauitus'), cf. xii. 15; and for Ve- adolere aras] Cf. vi. 28, "subirc pa- 
 
 ranius, ii. 56. xii. 5. trium corpus inque Solis aram peiferre 
 
 supremis testamenti verbis] In vi. 38, atque adolere." Also H. ii. 3, " preijibus 
 
 Tacitus speaks of "supremis tabulis." et igne puro altaria adolentur." With 
 
 In the same meaning he uses * supremis these compare Lucret. iv. 1237, " adolent 
 
 verbis,' and ' testamenti ' is added by altaria donis," and Virg. Aeneid. vii. 71, 
 
A.D. 61.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 395 
 
 31. Rex Icenorum Prasutagns, longa opulentia clarus, Caesarem 
 heredem duasque filias scripserat, tali obsequio ratus regnumque 
 et domum suam procul iniuria fore, quod contra vertit, adeo ut 
 regnum per centuriones, domus per servos velut capta vasta- 
 rentur. iam primum uxor eius Boudicca verberibus afFecta et 
 filiae stupro violatae sunt : praecipui quique Icenorum, quasi 
 cunctam regionem muneri accepissent, avitis bonis exuuntur, et 
 propinqui regis inter mancipia habebantur. qua contumelia et 
 metu graviorum, quando in formam provinciae cesserant, rapiunt 
 arma_, commotis ad rebellationem Trinobantibus et qui alii nondum 
 servitio fracti resumere libertatem occultis coniurationibus pepi- 
 gerant_, acerrimo in veteranos odio. quippe in coloniam Camulo- 
 dunum recens deducti pellebant domibus, exturbabant agris, 
 captives, servos appellando, foventibus inpotentiam veteranorum 
 militibus similitudine vitae et spe eiusdem licentiae. ad boc tem- 
 plum divo Claudio constitutum quasi arx aeternae dominationis 
 aspiciebatur, delectique sacerdotes specie religionis omnis fortunas 
 effundebant. nee arduum videbatur excindere coloniam nullis 
 munimentis saeptam; quod ducibus nostris parum provisum erat, 
 dum amoenitati prius quam usui consulitur. 
 
 32. Inter quae nulla palam causa delapsum Camuloduni simu- 
 lacrum Yictoriae ac retro conversum_, quasi cederet hostibus. et 
 feminae in furorem turbatae adesse exitium canebant, externosque 
 fremitus in curia eorum auditos ; consonuisse ululatibus theatrum 
 visamque speciem in aestuario Tamesae subversae coloniae : iam 
 
 " castis adolet dum altaria donis." The a soldier's esprit de corps to regard with 
 
 sense appears to be, ' to make any thing favour whatever the veterans did. The 
 
 reek with the smell of burnt sacrifice.' ablative is a causal one. 
 
 (' olere,' 'odor/ <o(,ciu, being connected). delectique sacerdotes'] These were ap- 
 
 The idea that ' adolere ' is equivalent to parently Britons who had been induced 
 
 'augere,' as 'adolescere' is to ' crescere,' to accept the office of flamines, &c., in 
 
 is incorrect. For the fact here intimated, connexion with the worship of Claudius, 
 
 cf. i. 61, " baxbarae arae apud quas tri- These had wasted the wealth of their 
 
 bunos ac primorum ordinum centuriones countrymen in providing victims for 
 
 mactaverant." sacrifice and other requirements of the 
 
 31. per centuriones'] The centurions cult they had undertaken. On the plea 
 were the military officials of the ' legatus' of religion, these priests had impo- 
 — the slaves, the ministers of the ' pro- verished their countrymen by their ex- 
 curator.' Cf. Agric. 15, "binos inponi, actions. 
 
 e quibus legatus in sanguinem, procu- 32. in curia eorum] The * curia ' was 
 
 rator in bona saeviret . . . alterius ma- the chamber for the meeting of the * de- 
 
 nus centuriones, alterius servos vim et curiones,' or provincial senate, existing 
 
 contumelias miscere." at Camulodunum, as a Roman colonia. 
 
 accepissent] The subject of this verb in aestuario Tamesae] Tacitus seems 
 
 is, of course, * centuriones et servi.' here to give a wide interpretation to 
 
 similitudine vitae] ' By reason of the the estuary of the Thames. Perhaps 
 
 resemblance of their own life to that of the whole indentation, as Dr. Merivale 
 
 the veterans.' They were influenced by (Hist, of the Romans under the Empire, 
 
396 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. lU, 
 
 Oceanus cruento aspecfcu dilabente aestu liumaiiorum corpc'-um 
 effigies relictae_, ut Britannis ad spem^ ita veteranis ad mczum 
 traliebantur. sed quia procul Suetonius aberat, petivere a Oato 
 Deciano procuratore auxilium. ille baud amplius quam duceiitos 
 sine iustis armis misit; et inerat modica militum manus. tutela 
 templi freti^ et impedientibus qui occulti rebellionis conscii con silia 
 turbabant, neque fossam aut vallum praeduxerunt, neque niotis 
 senibus et feminis inventus sola restitit : quasi media pace incauti 
 multitudine barbarorum circumveniuntur. et cetera quidem 
 impetu direpta aut incensa sunt : templum, in quo se miles con- 
 globaverat^ biduo obsessum expugnatumque. et victor Britaimus 
 Petilio Ceriali legato legionis nonae in subsidium advent anti 
 obvius fudit legionem^ et quod peditum interfecit : Cerialis cum 
 equitibus evasit in castra et munimentis defensus est. qua clade 
 et odiis provinciae, quam avaritia in bellum egerat^ trepidus pro- 
 curator Catus in Galliam transiit. 
 
 33. At Suetonius mira constantia medios inter bostes Londinium 
 perrexit, cognomento quidem coloniae non insigne, sed copia 
 negotiatorum et commeatuum maxime celebre. ibi ambiguus an 
 illam sedem bello deligeret^ circumspecta infrequentia militis, 
 satisque magnis documentis temeritatem Petilii coercitam, unius 
 oppidi damno servare universa statuit. neque fletu et lacrimis 
 auxilium eius orantium flexus est quin daret profectionis sigrum 
 et comitantes in partem agminis acciperet : si quos inbellis sexus 
 aut fessa aetas vel loci dulcedo attinuerat^ ab boste oppressi sunt, 
 eadem clades municipio Yerulamio fuit, quia barbari omissis (!as- 
 tellis praesidiisque militarium^ quod uberrimum spolianti et del'en- 
 dentibus intutum, laeti praeda et aliorum segnes petebant. ad 
 
 ch. li.) suggests, of the coast from the of Vespasian's generals (H. iii. 59), and 
 
 North Foreland to Landguard Point conducted the war in Germany against 
 
 may have been comprised in it. Or, Cirilis (H. v. 14). 
 
 comparing Dio (Ixii. 1), olKiai re Tives /udiHe^ionem] At Wormingford, about 
 4v Ty Ta^((r<f, irorayitf ecpvdpoi eapauro, six miles north of Colchester, there is a 
 perhaps the colonia may be not the very large tumulus ; and from this fact 
 Colonia Camulodunum, but simply * a the battle in which Cerealis was de- 
 colony.' The appearance in the water feated is supposed to have been foi:ght 
 was thought to be the same as that near that spot. 
 
 which would be presented by any Roman 33. satisque magnis documentis'] This 
 
 colony. clause depends on some word suggested 
 
 occulti . . . turhahanf] Cf. iii. 29, " qui by ' circumspecta,' such as ' intelligens,' 
 
 eiusmodi preces occulti inluderentj" iv. or the like. Suetonius observed that 
 
 12, " occulti laetabantur." the rashness of Cerealis had been so 
 
 Petilio Ceriali] Q. Petilius Cerialis heavily punished, that it was a c ear 
 
 was subsequently legatus of Britain, warning for others to avoid the same 
 
 (Agric. 8). He was consul suffectus fault, 
 
 twice (a.d. 70 and 74). He was one aliorum segnes] 'Indolent in all else.' 
 
A.D. 61.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 397 
 
 septuaginta milia civium et sociorum iis quae memoravi locis 
 cecidisse constitit. neque enim capere aut venundare aliutve 
 quod belli commercium, sed caedes patibula ignes cruces_, tam- 
 quam reddituri supplicium ac praerepta interim ultione festina- 
 bant. 
 
 34. lam Suetonio quarta decuma legio cum vexillariis vice- 
 simanis et e proximis auxiliares, decem ferme milia armatorum 
 erant, cum omittere cunctationem et congredi acio parat. deligit- 
 que locum artis faucibus et a tergo silva clausum^ satis cognito 
 nihil liostium nisi in fronte et apertam planitiem esse^ sine metu 
 insidiarum. igitur legionarius frequens ordinibus^ levis circum 
 armatura, conglobatus pro cornibus eques astitit. at Britannorum 
 copiae passim per catervas et turmas exultabant^ quanta non alias 
 multitude, et animo adeo feroci, ut coniuges quoque testes victoriae 
 secum traberent plaustrisque inponerent, quae super extremum 
 ambitum campi posuerant. 
 
 35. Boudicca curru filias prae se vebens, ut quamque nationem 
 accesserat, solitum quidem Britannis feminarum ductu bellare 
 testabatur, sed tunc non ut tantis maioribus ortam regnum et 
 opes, verum ut unam e vulgo libertatem amissam, confectum 
 verberibus corpus, contrectatam filiarum pudicitiam ulcisci. eo 
 provectas Romanorum cupidines, ut non corpora, ne senectam 
 quidem aut virginitatem inpollutam relinquant. adesse tamen 
 
 Cf. xvi. 14, "occasionum baud segnis." as Orelli and Nipperdey suppose, a mere 
 
 The Britons were eager for plunder, detachment of the 20th Legion, serving 
 
 and too indolent to undertake any mili- under a ' vexillum,' but the veterans of 
 
 tary operations which required time that corps technically so called, 
 
 and labour, such as storming entrench- 35. feminarum ductu bellare] Cf. Agric. 
 
 ments, &c. 16, " Boudicca duce, neque enim sexum 
 
 tamquam reddituri] * Under the idea inimperiis discemunt." 
 
 of having sooner or later to undergo sed tunc] As Nipperdey observes 
 
 punishment.* The Britons knew their ' tunc' here is used because the time to 
 
 time was short and were anxious to make which it refers is viewed from the stand- 
 
 the most of it, and do all the mischief point of the historian, and not from that 
 
 they could. This is, I think, the sense, of the speaker. Boudicca would have 
 
 from the next clause, ' praerepta in- said ' nunc,' and this ought to have been 
 
 terim ultione.' Others take it ' as about retained in the ' Oratio Obliqua ;' as it 
 
 to inflict on the enemy a retaliatory actually is in xi. 30, " nunc adulterium 
 
 punishment,' comparing Liv. xxiv. 20, obiecturum ait." But * turn' or * tunc' is 
 
 " nanno baud multo minorem quam ad far more general. Cf. iii. 61, " quae turn 
 
 Beneventum acceperat reddidit hosti etiam maneat;" vi. 21, "quem turn 
 
 cladem." But the use of ' supplicium' annum, qualem diem haberet ;" xvi. 3, 
 
 appears to alter the matter, and ' reddere " se que tunc primum elusum admirans." 
 
 supplicium' is formed after the model of Nipperdey quotes Sail. Jug. 81, 83, 102 ; 
 
 ' dare poenas.' Liv. xxx. 42, xxxvi. 12 ; Tusc. v. 12 ; in 
 
 34. vexillariis] Cf. i. 17, and the Verr. Act ii. 4, 29. Below, with ' reg- 
 
 note there. If the view there stated be num et opes ' supply ' amissas.' 
 correct, these * vexillarii ' would not be, 
 
398 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 314. 
 
 deos iustae vindictae : cecidisse legionem quae proelium ausa sit ; 
 ceteros castris occultari aut fugam circumspicere. ne strepitum 
 quidem et clamorem tot milium, nedum impetus et manus p(3rla- 
 turos. si copias armatorum_, si causas belli secum expendeient, 
 vincendum ilia acie vel cadendum esse, id mulieri destinai urn : 
 viverent viri et servirent. 
 
 36. Ne Suetonius quidem in tanto discrimine silebat. qnam- 
 quam confideret virtuti, tamen exhortationes et preces miscc^bat, 
 ut spernerent sonores barbarorum et inanes minas : plus illic 
 feminarum quam iuventutis aspici. inbelles inermes cessuros 
 statim_, ubi ferrum virtutemque vincentium totiens fusi agno vis- 
 sent, etiam in multis legionibus paucos, qui proelia profligarent : 
 gloriaeque eorum accessurum quod modica manus universi exer- 
 citus famam adipiscerentur. conferti tantum et pilis emissis post 
 umbonibus et gladiis stragem caedemque continuarent, praedae 
 inmemores : parta victoria cuncta ipsis cessura. is ardor verba 
 ducis sequebatur_, ita se ad intorquenda pila expedierat vetus miles 
 et multa proeliorum experientia, ut certus eventus Suetonius 
 daret pugnae signum. 
 
 37. Ac primum legio gradu inmota et angustias loci pro muni- 
 mento retinens, postquam propius suggressus hostis certo iactu 
 tela exbauserat, velut cuneo erupit. idem auxiliarium impetus : 
 et eques protentis bastis perfringit quod obvium et validum (}rat. 
 ceteri terga praebuere, difficili effugio, quia circumiecta vebicula 
 saepserant abitus. et miles ne mulierum quidem neci temperabat, 
 
 vel cadendum essel Cf. xiii. 41, "vel si Keltic bards, i. 447, &c. 
 
 integra et incustodita relinquerentur." profligarent'] ' Broke the back,' as it 
 
 H. i. 21, " oblivione vel gloria." Of were, of the battles ; so far gained them, 
 
 course in these passages * aut' would that the main struggle was over, and 
 
 have been usual. the rest was comparatively easy "<vork. 
 
 36. sonores harharorum'] 'Sonor' is Cf. Florus, ii. 15, "primo tempore com- 
 
 mainly a poetical word, but Tacitus uses missum bellum, profligatum secmdo, 
 
 it in i. 65, and iv. 48. The sounds here tertio vero confectum." 
 
 spoken of were not merely irregular out- et pilis emissis, ^c] In this sentence 
 
 cries, but probably included songs. Cf. * post ' is really superfluous. Translate, 
 
 Dion Cass. Ixii. 12, ol fihtf fidpfiapoi Kpavyf} * in serried ranks, and when their ja^■elins 
 
 T6 iroWfj Kol ^5a7s airdXrjTiKais xf^^M^ "O'. were launched, then with the bosses of 
 
 In the Germania (3) Tacitus says the their shields and swords . . .' 
 
 Germans had songs, " quem Barditum 37. propius suggressus] The enemy 
 
 vocant," which they sang on entering into having advanced up towards the works, 
 
 battle, to inflame their courage. The had exhausted the pila of the Romans, 
 
 word for the writers of such songs in the The Britons, during their approach, had 
 
 Germanic tongues was ' scop,' and in the received amongst their ranks all the 
 
 Scandinavian 'scald.' * Barditus,' on pila the Eomans hurled with imetTing 
 
 the other hand, is said to be of Keltic aim ; having no further weapons of the 
 
 origin. The custom was common to kind left, the legion burst out of their 
 
 both races. Lucan speaks of these works. 
 
A.D. 61.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 399 
 
 confixaque telis etiam iumenta corporum cumulum auxerant. clara 
 et antiquis victoriis par ea die laus parta : quippe sunt qui paulo 
 minus quam octoginta milia Britannorum cecidisse tradant, mili- 
 tum quadringentis ferme interfectis nee multo amplius vulneratis. 
 Boudicca vitam veneno finivit. et Poenius Postumus praefectus 
 castrorum secundae legionis, cognitis quartadecumanorum vice- 
 simanorumque prosperis rebus, quia pari gloria legionem suam 
 fraudaverat abnueratque contra ritum militiae iussa ducis, se ipse 
 gladio transegit. 
 
 38. Contractus deinde omnis exercitus sub pellibus habitus est 
 ad reliqua belli perpetranda. auxitque copias Caesar missis ex 
 Germania duobus legionariorum milibus, octo auxiliarium coliorti- 
 bus ac mille equitibus, quorum adventu nonani legionario milite 
 suppleti sunt, cobortes alaeque noyis bibernaculis locatae, quod- 
 que nationum ambiguum aut adversum fuerat igni at que ferro 
 vastatur. sed nihil aequo quam fames affligebat serendis frugibus 
 incuriosos, et omni aetate ad bellum versa_, dum nostros commeatus 
 sibi destinant. gentesque praeferoces tardius ad pacem inclinant, 
 quia lulius Classicianus successor Cato missus et Suetonio discors 
 bonum publicum privatis simultatibus impediebat disperseratque 
 novum legatum opperiendum esse, sine bostili ira et superbia vic- 
 toris clementer deditis consulturum. simul in urbem mandabat, 
 nullum proeliorum finem expectarent, nisi succederetur Suetonio, 
 cuius adversa pravitati ipsius, prospera ad fortunam referebat. 
 
 auxe'rant'] The reason for the use of necessary. Tacitus seems to imply that, 
 
 the pluperfect here is not ohrious. It in spite of the devastation of their lands 
 
 seems to be giving a reason for the great by fire and sword, they were not much 
 
 slaughter of women even : they were un- influenced by it — not nearly so much as 
 
 able to fly in time, because, on attempt- by famine — and, besides, from another 
 
 ing to do so, they found that the slaugh- reason immediately assigned, they were 
 
 tered cattle had already blocked up the less disposed to submit than they might 
 
 outlets by which otherwise they might otherwise have been : the idea set afloat 
 
 have escaped. by Julius Classicianus, inducing them to 
 
 38. serendis fnxgihus] The dative after hang back, forthechanceof making better 
 
 ' incuriosus ' occurs only in H. ii. 17, terms with the successor of Suetonius. 
 
 " melioribus incuriosos." The usual disperserat] Sc. ' rumorem,' as iv. 42, 
 
 construction is with a genitive. Walther " disperse rumore." The word is used 
 
 makes the sense difierent, according as as here absolutely, H. ii. 1, " vulgus dis- 
 
 a dative or genitive is used : ' serendis perserat accitum in adoptionem." 
 
 frugibus incuriosus ' would be, * careless manddbat] ' Sent a communication.' 
 
 whether crops were sown or not ;' * se- Cf. Suet. Calig. 25, " tradunt mandasse 
 
 rendarum frugum incuriosus,' ' careless ad Pisonem," 
 
 in the sowing of the crops.' I doubt pravitati ipsius'] For the change from 
 
 whether there is any thing in this. the dative to the accusative, with a pre- 
 
 gentesque praeferoces'] The coDJunc- position, in the next clause, cf. iv. 46, 
 
 tion * que ' is a little difficult to under- " promptum libertati aut ad mortem 
 
 stand here. Nipperdey supposes a la- animum." These changes are very com- 
 
 cuna, which does not appear absolutely mon in Tacitus. 
 
400 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. SU. 
 
 39. Igitur ad spectandum Britanniae statum missus est e libfrtis 
 Polyclitus_, magna Neronis spe posse aactoritate eius non niodo 
 inter legatum procuratoremque concordiam gigni, sed et rebeslles 
 barbarorum animos pace conponi. nee defuit Polyclitus quo 
 minus ingenti agmine Italiae Galliaeque gravis, postquam C)3ea- 
 num transmiserat_, militibus quoque nostris terribilis incedoret. 
 sed bostibus irrisui fuit, apud quos flagrante etiam tum liber- 
 tate nondum cognita libertinorum potentia erat; mirabanturque 
 c[ uod dux et exercitus tanti belli confector servitiis obedirent. 
 cuncta tamen ad imperatorem in mollius relata ; detentusque rebus 
 gerundis Suetonius, quod post paucas naves in litore remigiumque 
 in iis amiserat, tamquam durante bello, trader e exercitum Petronio 
 Turpiliano, qui iam consulatu abierat, iubetur. is non inritato 
 hoste neque lacessitus bonestum pacis nomen segni otio im- 
 posuit, 
 
 40. Eodem anno Romae insignia scelera, alterum senatoris, ser- 
 vili alterum audacia, admissa sunt. Domitius Balbus erat prae- 
 torius, simul longa senecta, simul orbitate et pecunia insidiis 
 obnoxius. ei propinquus Valerius Fabianus, capes sendis hoiiori- 
 bus des{inatus, subdidit testamentum ascitis Vinicio • Rufino et 
 Terentio Lentino equitibus Romanis. illi Antonium Primum et 
 Asinium Marcellum sociaverant. Antonius audacia promptus, 
 Marcellus Asinio PoUione proavo clarus neque morum spernendus 
 habebatur, nisi quod paupertatem praecipuum malorum credebat. 
 igitur Fabianus tabulas iis quos memoravi et aliis minus illus- 
 tribus obsignat. quod apud patres convictum, et Fabianus Anto- 
 niusque cum Rufino et Terentio lege Cornelia damnantur. l^Iar- 
 cellum memoria maiorum et preces Caesaris poenae magis qiiam 
 infamiae exemere. 
 
 39. detentusque rehus gerundis'] ' Still morum spernend/us] The genitire is 
 kept in his command to discharge its not elsewhere, I believe, found after 
 duties.' Suetonius was not removed at * spernendus ; ' but the constructicm is 
 once, but allowed to retain his com- one constantly occurring in Tacitus, 
 mand ; shortly after, however, on a with adjectives. Cf. i. 7, and the note 
 trifling reverse befalliug him, he re- on " imperandi." 
 
 ceived orders to retire in favour of Tur- iis quos memoravi'] An instrunn^ntal 
 
 pilianus, Cf. Agric. 9, " minus trien- ablative. Fabianus was enabled to sign 
 
 nium in ea legatione detentus." the forged will in due form by the fact 
 
 40. senatoris'] Cf. xiii. 25, and the of his friends serving as witnesses, 
 note on " senatorii ordinis." Below, * An- lege Cornelia] The Lex Cornelia de 
 tonius Primus ' was a zealous supporter Falso passed about 81 a.c. The puaish- 
 of Vespasian (H. ii. 86). His recovery ment in the law was probably "iiter- 
 of his senatorial rank is there spoken of dictio aquae et ignis ; " but undei' the 
 as one of the evils of the war. For empire, " deportatio in insulam " (Digest. 
 * Asinius Marcellus,' cf. xii. 64. xlviii. 10, 11). 
 
A.D. 61 .] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUaUSTI LIB. XIY. 401 
 
 41. Perculit is dies Pompeium quoque Aelianum^ iuve- 
 nem quaestorium, tamquam flagitiorum Fabiani gnarum^ 
 eique Italia et Hispania, in qua ortus erat, interdictum est. 
 pari ignominia Valerius Ponticus afficitur, quod reos_, ne 
 apud praefectum urbis arguerentur^ ad praetorem detulisset, 
 interim specie legum_, mox praevaricando ultionem elusurus. 
 additur senatus consulto, qui talem operam emptitasset vendi- 
 dissetve, perinde poena teneretur ac- si publico iudicio calumniae 
 condemnatus. i2v ?;-.% 
 
 42. Hand multo post praefectum " urbis Pedanium Secundum 
 servus ipsius interfecit, sen negata libertate, cui pretium pepigerat^ 
 sive amore exoleti incensus et dominum aemulum non tolerans. 
 
 41, ad praetorem] That one of the prae- interim" premant quandoque distrahant." 
 
 tors who took cases of 'falsum,' .... senatus consulto] This is the Senatus 
 
 forgery being amongst those crimes for Consultum Tiirpilianum, by which pe- 
 
 which there were peipetuae quaestionos. nalties were inflicted on any prosecutor 
 
 The powers of the praefectus urbi, who collusively abandoned a charge once 
 
 originally limited on his first appoint- brought forward before a court of justice, 
 
 ment by Augustus, had gradually en- 'Calumniari' in the Digest (xlviii. 16. 1) 
 
 larged, until he completely overshadowed is defined, "falsa crimina intenderej" 
 
 the praetors in judicial importance. ' praevaricari,' is " vera crimina abscon- 
 
 There was no appeal from his sentence dere ;" ' tergiversari,' " in universum ab 
 
 except to the emperor : from the deci- accusatione desistere." 
 
 sion of the praetor there was an appeal calumniae] This genitive depends on 
 
 to him. The obscure point here, of ' condemnatus,' not on * iudicio.' It 
 
 which, as far as I can find, no clear was possible to be guilty of calumnia 
 
 explanation is given by any commen- in civil as well as criminal proceedings, 
 
 tator, is why there was a greater oppor- In civil actions the ' actor' seems to 
 
 tunity of collusion on the part of the have been mulcted of one-tenth of the 
 
 accuser in the praetor's court than in value of the object of the suit (Gains, 
 
 that of the praefectus urbi. The iv. 175). In a 'publicum indicium' 
 
 cases at this period brought under the (one where the ofience was prosecuted 
 
 cognizance of the praetor were, perhaps, under a special lex), the penalty was 
 
 generally trivial in character, and the fixed by the Lex Remmia, and is by 
 
 penalties inflicted in his court might be some writers thought to have consisted 
 
 less severe than those assigned by the in branding the forehead of the man 
 
 praefectus urbi ; but the penalty in this convicted of it with a 'k' ('kalunania') 
 
 case was fixed by the law. Perhaps a pro- (cf. Cic. Eosc. Amerin. 20) ; but this is 
 
 secution before the praetor might create uncertain. In later periods the penalty 
 
 less notice, and therefore present better was exile (' relegatio in insulam ') or loss 
 
 opportunities of collusion and a fraudu- of rank (Paul, Sentent. Eecept, v. 4. 11), 
 
 lent dropping of the prosecution alto- 42. cui pretium pepigerat] From his 
 
 gether. Or if the cause were tried by 'peculium,' which though in law the 
 
 the praetor, it might be protracted by property of the master, by usage was 
 
 appeal from his decision, and so increase that of the slave, and an arrangement 
 
 the chance of an ultimate defeat of justice, was sometimes made that the slave 
 
 At the same time the proceeding would should purchase his freedom with this 
 
 have the veil of law thrown over it 'peculium' when it reached a certain 
 
 (' species legum ') ; there would be no sum. Cf. Senec. Ep. 80, " peculium 
 
 appearance of running counter to them, suum quod comparaverunt ventre frau- 
 
 as the praetor was the oflBcer in whose dato, pro capite numerant ;" Plant, 
 
 hands such jurisdiction had been ori- Aulcil. v. 1. 15, " ubi id est aurum P 
 
 ginally vested. in area apud me : nunc volo manu me 
 
 interim] Cf. i. 4, " qui rem publicam emitti." . ; 
 
 D d 
 
402 
 
 CORNELII TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. 814 
 
 ceterum cum vetere ex more famillam omnem, quae sub eodem 
 tecto mansitaverat^ ad supplicium agi oporteret^ concursu ilebis^ 
 quae tot innoxios protegebat^ usque ad seditionem ventuin est 
 senatusque .... in quo ipso erant studia nimiam se\erita- 
 tem aspernantiumj pluribus nihil mutandum censentibus. ex quis 
 C. Cassius sententiae loco in tunc modum disseruit : 
 
 43. ' Saepe numero, patres conscripti, in hoc or dine iuterfui, 
 cum contra instituta et leges maiorum nova senatus decreta pos- 
 tularentur; neque sum adversatus, non quia dubitarem, super 
 omnibus negotiis melius at que rectius olim pro visum et quae 
 converterentur deterius mutari_, sed ne nimio amore antiqui moris 
 studium meum ex t oiler e viderer. simul quidquid hoc in nobis 
 auctoritatis est^ crebris contradictionibus destruendum non existi- 
 mabam^ ut maneret integrum, si quando res publica consiliis 
 eguisset. quod bodie venit, consulari viro domi suae interfecto 
 per insidias serviles, quas nemo prohibuit aut ^rodidit quamvis 
 nondum concusso senatus consulto, quod supplicium toti familiae 
 minitabatur. decernite bercule inpunitatem, ut quem dignitas 
 
 vetere ex 'moTe\ Lipsius refers in 
 illustration of this to Cic. ad Fam, iv. 
 12, where Sulpicius writes, "ego tamen 
 ad tabemaculum eius perrexi ; inveni 
 duos libertos et pauculos seirvos ; reliquos 
 aiebant profugisse metu perterritos quod 
 dominus eorum ante tabernaculum inter- 
 fectus esset." For the Senatus Consul- 
 turn Silanianum, passed under Augustus, 
 see the Dictionary of Antiquities. Below, 
 after * senatusque,' there is evidently a 
 gap. 
 
 43. deteriios mutcuri'] The Cod. Flor. 
 has simply 'deterius mutari,' but in 
 iv. 6, Tacitus writes, "mutati in de- 
 terius principatus." So in iv. 20, " in 
 melius mutet ; " but on the other hand 
 (iii. 34), "melius et laetius mutata." It 
 is singular that both forms should occur 
 with both words, ' deterius ' and ' melius ' 
 unless we suppose both forms admissible. 
 I have therefore left the readings as I 
 find them. Of course here the sense is, 
 'changed in a worse sort of way,' rather 
 than • changed for the worse.' 
 
 consulari viro'] Cf. vi. 11, " sumpsit 
 e consularibus qui servitia coerceret et 
 quod civium audacia turbidum nisi vim 
 metuat." For the sense of *venit' 
 Nipperdey quotes Cic. pro. Balbo, 21, 
 "cum paucis annis post hanc civitatis 
 donationem acerrima de civitate quaestio 
 venisset." It seems unnecessary to 
 alter the reading to * evenit.' 
 
 ut quem dignitas sua dfendaf~\ This 
 passage can hardly be quite sound in 
 the Cod. Flor., where the reading is, " ut 
 quem . . . defendat cui praefectis urbis 
 non profuit." 'Profuit' ought clearly 
 to be 'profuerit,' as the matter is put 
 indefinitely, and not with reference to 
 any individual instance. But ■v^ ith this 
 alteration, I think the passaije may 
 stand. It is of course peculiar, for the 
 turn of the sentence, from the expression 
 of the final purpose with ' ut ' (ironically 
 of course) to the interrogative 'quem, 
 &c.' is very singular. Translate, 'by 
 all means decree absolute impunity, in 
 order, forsooth, that — ^why, whom is his 
 own dignity to protect, if the praefect of 
 the city has proved utterly r seless ? ' 
 Tacitus might have written ' decernite 
 Hercule inpunitatem, ut eum dignitas 
 sua defendat cui,' &c., or 'decernite 
 Hercule inpunitatem ; at quem dignitas 
 sua defendet cui,' &c. Another explana- 
 tion would be, that 'quem' is put in- 
 definitely, not interrogatively : ' that his 
 own dignity may protect any one, whom 
 the praefect,* &c. But the objection to 
 this appears to me that 'quem' and 
 'cui' are used just afterwards inter- 
 rogatively ; but this may not be a serious 
 objection in the eyes of every one. Nip- 
 perdey quotes Liv. xliv. 39, " wine ulla 
 sede vagi dimicassemus ut quo victores 
 nos reciperemus ; " and Cic. pro Font. 
 
A.D. 61.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 403 
 
 sua defendat^ cui praefectus urbis non profuerit ? quern numerus 
 servorum tuebitur, cum Pedanium Secundum quadringenti non 
 protexerint ? cui familia opem ferat, quae ne in metu quidem 
 pericula nostra advertit ? an, ut quidam fingere non erubescunt, 
 iniurias suas ultus est interfector, quia de paterna pecunia transe- 
 gerat aut avitum mancipium detrabebatur ? pronuntiemus ultro 
 dominum iure caesum videri. 
 
 44. Libet argumenta conquirere in eo quod sapientioribus 
 deliberatum est ? sed et si nunc primum statuendum baberemus, 
 creditisne servum interficiendi domini animum insumpsisse_, ut 
 non vox minax excideret_, nihil per temeritatem proloqueretur ? 
 sane consilium occuluit, telum inter ignaros paravit : num ex- 
 cubias transiret, cubiculi fores recluderet, lumen inferret_, caedem 
 patraret omnibus nesciis ? multa sceleris indicia praeveniunt : 
 servi si prodant, possumus singuli inter plures, tuti inter anxios, 
 postremo, si pereundum sit_, non inulti inter nocentes agere. 
 suspecta maioribus nostris fuerunt ingenia servorum, etiam cum 
 in agris aut domibus isdem nascerentur caritatemque dominorum 
 statim acciperent. postquam vero nationes in familiis habemus, 
 quibus diversi ritus, externa sacra aut nulla sunt, coUuviem istam 
 non nisi metu coercueris. at quidam insontes peribunt. nam et 
 ex fuso exercitu cum decumus quisque fusti feritur, etiam strenui 
 sortiuntur. babet aliquid ex iniquo omne magnum exemplum, 
 quod contra singulos utilitate publica rependitur.'' 
 
 45. Sententiae Cassii ut nemo unus contra ire ausus est, ita 
 dissonae voces respondebant numerum aut aetatem aut sexum ac 
 
 14, "tos tamen cum Grallis iurare ma- insumpsisse] * To take upon liimself.' 
 
 litis, quid ut secuti esse videamini." Cf. vi. 32, " instituta Parthorum in- 
 
 transegerai^ The subject of the verb is sumit." 
 'interfector,' and the passage is ironi- num excuhias transiref] Lipsius quotes 
 
 cal : because the slave had legally no Silius, i. 66, *' saepe etiam famuli tur- 
 
 f at her or ancestor, and therefore no bato ad limina somno expavere trucem 
 
 rights of inheritance. Translate, ' had per vasta silentia vocem." The great 
 
 settled some money account belonging Romans, one would suppose, lived and 
 
 to his father, or was losing an ancestral slept in constant fear of an outbreak 
 
 slave.' amongst their crowds of often cruelly 
 
 44. sa/pientiorihus] ' By our wiser an- treated slaves, 
 cestors,' who had already discussed and Tiam et] These words are used ellip- 
 settled the matter. The case is probably tically, with reference to a clause ira- 
 the dative. The answer to this ques- plied. Translate, 'but you will say, 
 tion is omitted : the reply * no ' is too the guiltless will perish : (true, but 
 obvious to need insertion. The speaker there is nothing unprecedented in this 
 then proceeds to show that even if the confusion of the innocent with the guilty) 
 matter had not been already decided, for in an army too,' &c. ' Nam et ' 
 and had started up for discussion now would be ' et quidem,' or * quidem ' in 
 for the first time, there could really be Cicero, as de Fin, i. § 35, " at magnum 
 no doubt of the true line to take in periculum adiit; In oculis quidem ex- 
 legislation, ercitus." 
 
 D d 2 
 
404 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 814, 815. 
 
 plurimorum indubiam innocentiam miserantium : praevaluit tamen 
 pars quae supplicium decernebat. sed obtemperari non poterat, 
 conglobata multitudine et saxa ac faces minante. tiun (Jaesar 
 populum edicto increpuit atque omne iter, quo damnati ad pcenam 
 ducebantur_, militaribus praesidiis saepsit. censuerat Cingonius 
 Yarro ut liberti quoque, qui sub eodem tecto fuissent, Italia 
 deportarentur. id a principe prohibitum est, ne mos antiquus, 
 queru misericordia non minuerat, per saevitiam incenderetur. 
 
 46. Damnatus isdem consuUbus Tarquitius Prisons repetundarum 
 Bitbynis interrogantibus, magno patrum gaudio, qui accusatum 
 ab eo Statilium Taurum pro consule ipsius meminerant. census 
 per Gallias a Q. Volusio et Sextio AJfricano Trebellioque Maximo 
 acti sunt, aemulis inter se per nobilitatem Yolusio atque Africano : 
 Trebellium dum uterque dedignatur supra tulere. 
 
 47. Eo anno mortem obit Memmius Eegulus, auctoritate con- 
 stantia fama, in quantum praeumbrante imperatoris fastigio datur, 
 clarus, adeo ut Nero aeger valetudine, et adulantibus circum qui 
 finem imperio adesse dicebant, si quid fato pateretur, respondent 
 habere subsidium rem publicam. rogantibus debinc in quo potis- 
 simum, addiderat in Memmio Regulo. vixit tamen post baec 
 Regulus, quiete defensus et quia nova generis claritudine neque 
 invidiosis opibus erat. gymnasium eo anno dedicatum a Nerone 
 praebitumque oleum equiti ac senatui Graeca facilitate. 
 
 48. P. Mario L. Asinio consulibus Antistius praetor, quem in 
 tribunatu plebis licenter egisse memoravi, probrosa adv^ersus 
 principem carmina factitavit vulgavitque celebri convivio, dum 
 
 45. Cingonius Varro] He was consul to become their superior;' but 'raised 
 designatus a.d. 69, and was put to death him to an eminence above themselves.' 
 in that year by Galba, (H. i. 6). Below, It is equivalent to * supra se extiilere." 
 for the omission of the preposition in 47. Memmius Regulus^ Cf. v. 11. 
 
 * Italia deportarentur,' see a note on Below, ' praeumbrare ' occurs nowhere 
 
 * triumviratu ' in iii. 28. else. Tacitus has * obumbrare,' II. ii. 32. 
 
 mos antiquus . . . incenderetur^ So et adulantihus^ The * et ' would more 
 
 the Cod. Med. Cf. i. 23, " incendebat haec usually be omitted ; but for its insertion 
 
 fletu ; " ii. 82, " hos vulgi sermones audita cf. xiv. 48, " id egregio sub principe et 
 
 mors adeo incendit." I think possibly, nulla necessitate obstricto senatui sta- 
 
 therefore, the reading may be correct, tuendum disseruit ;" xv. 12, "interritus 
 
 and I have therefore retained it. et parte copiarum apud Syriam relicta." 
 
 46. Statilium Taurvm] Cf. xii. 59. Grceca facilitate'] 'With thc! good- 
 Below for Q. Volusius, cf xiii. 25, and natured liberality'. shown by the Greeks 
 for Sextius Africanus cf. xiii. 19. Tre- (xmder similar circumstances).' The 
 bellius Maximus was consul suflfectus Gymnasiarch, whose office was one of 
 A.D. 58, or A.D, 62, with Seneca (cf. xiv. the regular liturgies at Athens, provided 
 53, 'tantumhonorum'),legatus of Britain the frequenters of the gymnasium with 
 A.D. 64 (Agric. 16). oil, and i)erhaps dust. 
 
 sv/pra tulere'] This surely does not 48. memoravi] Cf. xiii. 28. 
 mean, as Orelli makes it, ' allowed him 
 
A.D. 61, 62.] AB EXOESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 405 
 
 apud Ostorium Scapulam epulatur. exim a Cossutiano Capitone, 
 qui nuper senatorium ordinem precibus Tigillini soceri sui rece- 
 perat, inaiestatis delatus est. turn primum revocata ea lex, cre- 
 debaturque baud perinde exitium Antistio quam imperatori 
 gloriam quaeri, ut condemnatus a senatu intercessione tribunicia 
 morti eximeretur. et cum Ostorius niliil audivisse pro testimonio 
 dixisset, adversis testibus creditum; censuitque Junius Marullus 
 consul designatus adimendam reo praeturam necandumque more 
 maiorum. ceteris inde assentientibus, Paetus Tbrasea, multo cum 
 lionore Caesaris et acerrime increpito Antistio, non quidquid 
 nocens reus pati mereretur, id egregio sub principe et nulla 
 necessitate obstricto senatui statuendum disseruit : carnificem et 
 laqueum pridem aboHta, et esse poenas legibus constitutas, quibus 
 sine iudicum saevitia et temporum infamia supplicia decernerentur. 
 quin in insula publicatis bonis, quo longius sontem vitam traxisset, 
 eo privatim miseriorem et publicae clementiae maximum exemplum 
 futurum. 
 
 49. Libertas Tbraseae servitium aliorum rupit, et postquam 
 discessionem consul permiserat, pedibus in sententiam eius iere, 
 paucis exceptis, in quibus adulatione promptissimus fuit A. Yitel- 
 lius, optimum quemque iurgio lacessens et respondenti reticens, 
 ut pavida ingenia solent. at consules perficere decretum senatus 
 non ausi de consensu scripsere Caesari. ille inter pudorem et 
 iram cunctatus, postremo rescripsit : nulla iniuria provocatum 
 Antistium gravissimas in principem contumelias dixisse; earum 
 ultionem a patribus postulatam, et pro magnitudine delicti poenam 
 statui par fuisse. ceterum se, qui severitatem decernentium 
 impediturus fuerit, moderationem non prohibere : statuerent ut 
 vellent, datam et absolvendi licentiam. his atque talibus recitatis 
 et offensione manifesta, non ideo aut consules mutavere relationem 
 aut Thrasea decessit sententia ceterive quae probaverant deseruere, 
 pars, ne principem obiecisse invidiae viderentur, plures numero 
 tuti, Thrasea sueta firmitudine animi et ne gloria intercideret. 
 
 50. Hand dispari crimine Fabricius Yeiento conflictatus est, 
 
 intercessione trihunicia] The emperors stniction occurs in Livy and Ovid. Of. 
 
 possessed the tribunitial power pcrma- Liv. xxiii. 12, " nunc interroganti sena- 
 
 nently. Cf. iii. 56, "id (potestatem tori paeniteatne me adhuc suscepti 
 
 tribuniciam) summi fastigii vocabulura adversus Romanes belli si reticeam." 
 
 Augustus repperit ne regis aut dicta- Also iii. 41, "negantem se privato reti- 
 
 toris nomen adsumeret ac tamen appel- cere." Ovid Metam. iii. 357, " nee 
 
 latione aliqua cetera imperia prae- reticere loquenti nee prior ipsa loqui 
 
 mineret." didicit." 
 
 49. respondenti reticens'] This con- 50. Fabricius Veiento'] This is the 
 
406 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 815. 
 
 quod multa et probrosa in patres et sacerdotes composuisK 3t iis 
 libris quibus nomen codicillorum dederat. adiciebat Talius Ge- 
 minus accusator venditata ab eo munera principis et adipiscen- 
 dorum honorum ius. quae causa Neroni fuit suscipiendi iijdicii, 
 convictumque Yeientonem Italia depulit et libros exuri iussit, 
 conquisitos lectitatosque^ donee cum periculo parabantur : mox 
 licentia babendi oblivionem attulit. 
 
 51. Sed gravescentibus in dies publicis malis subsidia niinue- 
 bantur^ concessitque vita Burrus, incertum valetudine an veneno. 
 valetudo ex eo coniectabatur_, quod in se tumescentibus paulatim 
 faucibus et impedito meatu spiritum finiebat. plures iussu Neronis, 
 quasi remedium adhiberetur, inlitum palatum eius noxio medi- 
 camine adseverabant, et Burrum intellecto scelere^ cum ad yisen- 
 dum eum princeps venisset, aspectum eius ayersatum sciscdtanti 
 bactenus respondisse : ^ ego me bene babeo.' civitati grande 
 desiderium eius mansit per memoriam virtutis et successorum 
 alterius segnem innocentiam, alterius flagrantissima flagitia. quippe 
 Caesar duos praetoriis cobortibus imposuerat, Faenium Rufum ex 
 vulgi favor e^ quia rem frumentariam sine quaestu tractabat, Sofo- 
 nium Tigillinum, voter em inpudicitiam at que infamiam in eo 
 secutus. atque illi pro cognitis moribus fuere, validior Tigillinus 
 in animo principis et intimis libidinibus adsumptus; prcspera 
 populi et mibtum fama Rufus^ quod apud Neronem adv(?rsum 
 experiebatur. 
 
 man who when praetor introduced at Burrus' throat became swollen, and 
 
 the games in the circus a team of dogs gradually closed. Of course as the 
 
 instead of horses (Dion Ixi. 6) . He was swelling was internal, the sides of the 
 
 a flatterer of Domitian (Juv. iv. 123). throat gradually approached eacl other. 
 
 The reading of the Cod. Med. is ' uegento.' (in se) . 
 
 codicillorvm] Fabricius Veiento had hactenus respondisse] See note on xii. 
 
 it seems published certain books, pur- 42, under * hactenus.' Below, tlie plu- 
 
 porting to be the last wills and testa- perfect ' imposuerat ' is used witli refer- 
 
 ments of various people. Into these he ence, not to the death of Burrus, for the 
 
 introduced sarcastic remarks about the appointments spoken of were subse- 
 
 emperor or the emperor's friends and quent to that, but to the time of the 
 
 connexions. This way of delivering one's expression of the regret at the bad cha- 
 
 mind was not uncommon under the em- racter of his successors, 
 
 perors : it was a safe way generally, for Sofonium Tigillinutn] He is described 
 
 the man was dead before his sentiments by Tacitus elsewhere (H. i. 72) in un- 
 
 were made known. Cf. vi. 38, " supre- pleasant colours : " obscuris paren- 
 
 mis tabulis multa et atrocia in Macro- tibus, foeda pueritia, impudica .senecta 
 
 nem composuit." Suetonius speaks of this praefecturam vigilum et praetorii et alia 
 
 (August. 56), "de inhibenda testamen- praemia virtutimi quia velocins erat 
 
 torum licentia ne Senatus quidquam con- vitiis adeptus, crudelitatem mox, deinde 
 
 stitueret intercessit." avaritiam et virilia sc^lera exercuit cor- 
 
 51. incertum valetudine an veneno] rupto ad omne facinus Nerone." Dion 
 
 Suetonius (Nero, 35) ascribes his death makes him the most infamous man of his 
 
 to poison, as well as Dion (Ixii. 13). time: aaeXyeia re Koi fxiaicpovia -rrduTas 
 
 in se tumescentibus] The tonsils of tovs kuO" ^avrhv virepapavTa (Ixii. 13). 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 407 
 
 62. Mors Burri infregifc Senecae potentiam^ quia nee bonis 
 artibus idem virium erat altero velut duce amoto, et Nero ad 
 deteriores inclinabat. hi variis criminationibus Senecam adori- 
 untur, tamquam ingentes et privatum modum evectas opes adhuc 
 augeret, quodque studia civium in se verteret, hortorum quo que 
 amoenitate et villarum magnificentia quasi principem supergre- 
 deretur. obiciebant etiam eloquentiae laudem uni sibi asciscere 
 et carmina crebrius factitare_, postquam Neroni amor eorum venis- 
 set. nam oblectamentis principis palam iniquum detractare vim 
 eius equos regentis^ illudere voces, quotiens caneret. quem ad 
 finem nihil in re publica clarum fore quod non ab illo reperiri 
 credatur? certe finitam Neronis pueritiam et robur iuventae 
 adesse : exueret magistrum, satis amplis doctoribus instructus 
 maioribus suis. ^ 
 
 63. At Seneca criminantium non ignarus, prodentibus iis quibus / 
 aliqua honesti cura, et familiaritatem eius magis aspernante 
 Caesare, tempus sermoni orat et accepto ita incipit : ^ quartus 
 decumus annus est, Caesar, ex quo spei tuae admotus sum, octa- 
 vus, ut imperium obtines : medio temporis tantum honorum atque 
 opum in me cumulasti, ut nihil felicitati meae desit nisi moderatio 
 eius. utar magnis exemphs, nee meae fortunae sed tuae. abavus 
 
 52. opes adhuc aiigeret] Cf. xiii. 42, others entertain of you'? I think the 
 "qua sapientia quibus philosophorum latter, because Seneca would scarcely 
 praeceptis intra quadriennium regiae have reminded Nero of any ambitious 
 amicitiae ter milies sestertium para vis- views if he had entertained them, and 
 set ?" This makes his fortune about two besides Nero, at the time spoken of, was 
 millions and a half. Cf. also Seneca de far too young to have any views at all. 
 Vita Beata, 17, where Seneca's enemies ut imperium ohtines] 'Ut' here is 
 are represented as asking, "cur trans equivalent to 'ex quo.' This meaning 
 mare possides ? cur plura quam nosti ? occurs nowhere else in Tacitus, but is 
 Turpiter aut tarn neglegens es ut non found in other writers generally with a 
 noveris pauculos servos, aut tarn luxu- past tense, as Horat. Epod. vii. 17, 
 riosus ut plures habeas quam quorum " acerba fata Romanes agunt scelusque 
 notitiae memoria sufficiat." Seneca's fratemae necis ut immerentis fluxit in 
 gardens are mentioned by Juvenal, x. 16, terram Remi sacer nepotibus cruor ;" but 
 " magnos Senecae praedivitis hortos." also with a present, Ovid Epist. ex Ponto 
 
 quasi -principem supergrederetur'] Ta- i. 9. 5, " nee quicquam ad nostras per- 
 
 citus often puts his particles far on in venit acerbius aures ut sumus in Ponto." 
 
 the sentence. Cf. i. 63, "compendiis abavitstuws] So Lipsius for the 'atavus' 
 
 viarum et cito agmine onustum sarcinis of Cod. Med. This is made clear by the 
 
 armisque militem cum antevenisset." So annexed stem — 
 
 xii. 54, 55. For'ut' bo placed cf. xii. Augustus. 
 
 49. For ' donee ' and * dum,' xiii. 33, xiv. | 
 
 5. For ' si,' xiv. 3. 58. For * si quidem,' Julia m. M. Agrippa. 
 
 Germ. 30. | 
 
 quem ad finem'] ' How long ? ' not * for Agrippina. 
 
 what purpose ? ' So Cic. Catil. i. 1, " quem | 
 
 ad finem sese eflfrenata jactabit audacia." Agrippina. 
 
 53. spei tuae admotus'] Is this 'the | 
 hopes yon entertain,' or ' the hopes Nero. 
 
408 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 815. 
 
 tuus Augustus M. Agrippae Mytilenense secretum, C. Maeoenati 
 urbe in ipsa velut peregrinum otium permisit ; quorum alter bel- 
 lorum socius, alter Eomae pluribus laboribus iactatus ampin qui- 
 dem, sed pro ingentibus meritis praemia acceperant. ego quid 
 aliud munificentiae adhibere potui quam studia, ut sic dixeriin, in 
 umbra educata^ et quibus claritudo venit, quod iuventae tuae rudi- 
 I mentis affuisse videor^ grande huius rei pretium. at tu gratiam 
 immensam_, innumeram pecuniam circumdedisti, adeo ut pl(vrum- 
 que intra me ipse volvam : egone, equestri et provinciali loco 
 ortus^ proceribus civitatis adnumeror ? inter nobiles et longa 
 decora praeferentes novitas mea enituit? ubi est animus ille 
 modicis contentus ? talis bortos extruit et per haec suburbana 
 incedit et tantis agrorum spatiis^ tarn lato faenore exuberat ? una 
 defensio occurrit^ quod muneribus tuis obniti non debui. 
 
 64. Sed uterque mensuram inplevimus_, et tu, quantum princeps 
 tribuere amico posset, et ego, quantum amicus a principe acci- 
 pere : cetera invidiam augent. quae quidem, ut omnia moitalia, 
 infra tuam magnitudinem iacent, sed mihi incumbunt, mibi subve- 
 niendum est. quo modo in militia aut via fessus adminiculum 
 orarem, ita in hoc itinere vitae senex et levissimis quoque curis 
 inpar, cum opes meas ultra sustinere non possim, praesidium peto. 
 iube per procuratores tuos administrari, in tuam fortunam rocipi. 
 nee me in paupertatem ipse detrudam, sed traditis quorum fulgore 
 praestringor, quod temporis bortorum aut villarum cm-ae sepo- 
 nitur, in animum revocabo. superest tibi robur et tot per annos 
 visum fastigii regimen : possumus seniores amici quietem i-epo- 
 
 Augustus, therefore, was great-great- burden too heavy for any other shoulders, 
 
 grandfather (abavns) to Nero. I do not see any necessity for altei-ing 
 
 Mytilenense secretum] Cf. Suet. Aug. the reading to ' iacet' and * inci.mbit.' 
 
 66, " Cum ille (M. Agrippa) ex levi Below, ' iube per procuratores ' is the 
 
 rigoris suspieione et quod Marcellus sibi reading of Eitter for the ' iuuero pro- 
 
 anteferretur, Mytilenas se relictis omni- curatores ' of the Cod. Med. 
 
 bus contulisset." in animum revocaho'] * I will recall 
 
 m^unijicentiae] 'What service have I (from those objects) to spend on self- 
 been able to render ? ' Perhaps Tacitus improvement.' 
 
 uses the word because * ingentibus visv/m] Tacitus seems to employ this 
 meritis ' occurs just before : they dis- word, because he takes in the period 
 played great services, lavished all their before Nero's actual accession to the 
 powers in their zeal for Augustus. What throne, during which he was a spec- 
 similar boon, asks Seneca, could I lavish tator of the administration of Claudius, 
 on you ? so becoming acquainted with the secrets 
 
 64. infra tuam magnitudinem iacent'] of the empire. 
 
 Seneca means, I think, that honours, gifts, quietem reposcere'] I have adopted 
 
 &c., added to what already were bestowed this reading for the * quietem respoadere' 
 
 on him, although they fell below the Em- of the Med. Cod., which is clearly cor- 
 
 peror's exalted position, and might ap- rupt. ' Quiete respondere,' seems to in- 
 
 pear to him trifling, would yet prove a troduce an idea extraneous to tho pas- 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCBSSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 409 
 
 scere. lioc quo que in tuam gloriam cedet_, eos ad summa vexisse 
 qui et modica tolerarent.^ 
 
 55. Ad quae Nero sic ferme respondit ei : ^ quod meditatae 
 orationi tuae statim occurram, id primum tui muneris liabeo, qui 
 me non tantum praevisa sed subita expedire docuisti. abavus 
 meus Augustus Agrippae et Maecenati usurpare otium post labores 
 coiicessit_, sed in ea ipse aetate_, cuius auctoritas tueretur quidquid 
 illud et qualecumque tribuisset; ac tamen neutrum datis a se 
 praemiis exuit. belli et periculis meruerant; in iis enim iuventa 
 Augusti versata est. nee mibi tela et manus tuae defuissent in 
 armis agenti : sed quod praesens condicio poscebat^ ratione con- 
 silio praeceptis pueritiam^ dein iuventam meam fovisti. et tua 
 quidem erga me munera, dum vita suppetet_, aeterna erunt : quae 
 a me babes, horti et faenus et villae, casibus obnoxia sunt, ac 
 licet multa videantur, plerique baudquaquam artibus tuis pares 
 plura tenuerunt, nisi forte aut te Yitellio ter consuli aut me Claudio 
 postponis, et quantum Volusio longa parsimonia quaesivit, tantum 
 in te mea liberalitas explere non potest, pudet referre libertines, 
 qui ditiores spectantur : undo etiam mibi rubori est quod prae- 
 cipuus caritate nondum omnes fortuna antecellis. 
 
 56. Verum et tibi valida aetas rebusque et fructui rerum suf- 
 ficiens, et nos prima inperii spatia ingredimur : quin, si qua in 
 parte lubricum adulescentiae nostrae declinat, revocas ornatumque 
 robur subsidio inpensius regis ? non tua moderatio, si reddideris 
 
 sage, as it could only mean, *to answer lius, the father of the Emperor Vitellius. 
 
 yoiu.' summons in retirement,' * to answer He was consul a.d. 34, 43, and 47. This 
 
 all calls upon us, while remaining in a clause ' nisi forte,' &c., appears to be out 
 
 retired position;' and even then the of its place in the Cod. Med., for it occurs 
 
 wording would be strange. Seneca means after ' inperii spatia ingredimur.' Haase 
 
 that the vigour of Nero's age, enabled inserts it here. Spengel and others, 
 
 liis friends to do what they were anxious after ' fortuna antecellis.' 
 
 to do, viz., as their years advanced, to re- omnes fortuna antecellis] Cf. H.ii. 3, 
 
 tire from active life into the shade. " ne honore null© regiuna genus pere- 
 
 55. in ea ipse aetate] Augustus allowed grinam stirpem antecelleret." This con- 
 his ministers to retire from oflBce, and struction is only found in late writers, 
 left them in the enjoyment of their Cicero uses the word absolutely or con- 
 wealth and honours ; and yet his age structs it with a dative, 
 and authority were such that he might, 56. rebusque et fructui rerum] * For 
 if he wished it, have recalled all he had business and the enjoyment of the ad- 
 previously given. Nero was not old or vantages accruing to you from the pro- 
 strong enough to recall Seneca's wealth; per discharge of the business.' Seneca 
 it would have been too high-handed a was still young enough to be useful to 
 proceeding for him to attempt. ' Tueri ' the Emperor, and to enjoy such recom- 
 here is used for * to keep a tight hand pense as would arise from so doing, 
 on,' ' to retain in his grasp.' This, I ornatumque rohur] ' Direct with 
 think, must be the sense of the word and greater earnestness than before my ro- 
 passage, or else ' tamen' in the next buster years, adorned by your support.' - 
 clause is meaningless. Seneca had guided and formed the ear- 
 
 Yitellio ter consuli] This is L. Vitcl- lier period of Nero's life ; he was now to 
 
410 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 315. 
 
 pecuniam, nee quies, si reliqueris principein, sed mea avaritia, 
 meae crudelitatis metus in ore omnium versabitur. quod si maxime 
 continentia tua laudetur, non tamen sapienti viro decorum fL.erit_, 
 unde amico infamiam paret, inde gloriam sibi recipere/ his adicit 
 complexum et oscula_, factus natura et consuetudine exercitus 
 velare odium fallacibus blanditiis. Seneca, qui finis omnium cum 
 dominante sermonum, grates agit : sed instituta prioris potentiae 
 commutat, prohibet coetus salutantium, vitat comitantis, rarus 
 per urbem, quasi valetudine infensa aut sapientiae studiis domi 
 adtineretur. 
 
 57. Perculso Seneca promptum fait Rufum Faenium inmiimere 
 Agrippinae amicitiam in eo criminantibus. validiorque in dies 
 Tigillinus et malas artes, quibus solis pollebat, gratiores ratus, si 
 principem societate scelerum obstringeret, metus eius rimatur; 
 conpertoque Plautum et Sullam maxime timeri, Plautum in Asiam, 
 Sullam in Galliam Narbonensem nuper amotos, nobilitatem eorum 
 et propinquos huic orientis, ilK Germaniae exercitus commemorat. 
 non se, ut Burrum, diversas spes, sed solam incolumitatem Neronis 
 spectare ; cui caveri utcumque ab urbanis insidiis praesenti OjDera : 
 longinquos motus quonam modo comprimi posse ? erectas Gallias 
 ad nomen dictatorium, nee minus suspectos Asiae populos clari- 
 tudine avi Drusi. Sullam inopem, unde praecipuam audaeiain, et 
 simulatorem segnitiae, dum temeritati locum reperiret. Plautum 
 magnis opibus ne fingere quidem cupidinem otii, sed veterum 
 Eromanorum imitamenta praeferre, assumpta etiam Stoicorum 
 adrogantia sectaque, quae turbidos et negotiorum adpetentes 
 faciat. nee ultra mora. Sulla sexto die pervectis Massiliani 
 
 direct and aid tlie Emperor in his ad- could be taken someliow or other.' 
 
 vancing years. ' Robur ' means here, For * utcumque,' see note on i. 5. Be- 
 
 ' matured character.' low, in ' quonam modo comprimi posse,' 
 
 veloA'e odiurri]^ This, I believe, is a of. i. 17, 'ausuros,' and the note there, 
 solitary instance of an infinitive, follow- nee minus suspectos'] The Grallic 
 
 ing either * factus ' or ' exercitus.' tribes were in a state of expectancy (' sus- 
 
 57. Ptautumet Sullo/m^ Cf. xiv. 22, and pectos' is the suggestion of Lipsiiis for 
 
 xiii. 47. tlie reading of the Cod. Med. * suspenses'), 
 
 diversas spes] This seems to mean due to Sulla's descent from the Great Die- 
 that Burrus had been rendered less tator Sulla, and the various races of Asia 
 devoted to Nero by his regard for Agrip- were equally under suspicion, as lik ely to 
 pina. He was drawn two ways, between be led away by the illustrious birth of 
 his attachment to the Emperor and the Plautus, who was the grandson of the 
 Emperor's mother. Cf. xiii. 20, "Bur- younger Drusus, the son of Tiberius ; his 
 rum etiam demovere praefectura desti- mother being Julia, the daughter of this 
 naret tamquam Agrippinae gratia pro- Drusus. ' Claritudine ' is the ablative of 
 -vectnm et vicem reddentem." the instrument ; the lustre attacl od to 
 
 caveri utcumque] ' For whose safety, Drusus, made it. likely that the Asiatics 
 
 by exertions on the spot, precaution would favour his descendant. 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 411 
 
 percussoribus ante metum et rumorem interficitur, cum epulandi 
 causa discumberet. perlatum caput eius inlusit Nero tamquam 
 praematura canitie deforme. 
 
 58. Plauto parari necem non perinde occultum fuit, quia pluri- 
 bus salus eius curabatur_, et spatium itineris ac maris tempusque 
 interiectum moverat famam; vulgoque fingebant petitum ab eo 
 Corbulonem^ magnis turn exercitibus praesidentem et, clari atque 
 insontes d interficerentur, praecipuum ad pericula. quin et Asiara 
 favore iuvenis arma cepisse, nee milites ad scelus missos aut 
 numero validos aut animo promptos, postquam iussa efficere 
 nequiverint, ad spes novas transisse. vana baec more famae 
 credentium otio augebantur; ceterum libertus Plauti celeritate 
 ventorum praevenit centurionem et mandata L. Antistii soceri 
 attulit : effugeret segnem mortem ; otium suffugium et magni 
 nominis miseratione reperturum. bonos, consociaturum audaces : 
 nullum interim subsidium aspernandum. si sexaginta milites (tot 
 enim adveniebant) propulisset, dum refertur nuntius Neroni, dum 
 manus alia permeat, multa secutura quae adusque bellum evales- 
 cerent. denique aut salutem tali consilio quaeri, aut nihil gravius 
 audenti quam ignavo patiendum esse. 
 
 59. Sed Plautum ea non movere, sive nullam opem providebat 
 inermis atque exul, seu taedio ambiguae spei, an amore coniugis 
 et liberorum, quibus placabiliorem fore principem rebatur nulla 
 sollicitudine turbatum. sunt qui alios a socero nuntios venisse 
 ferant, tamquam niliil atrox immineret ; doctoresque sapientiae, 
 Coeranum Graeci, Musonium Tusci generis, constantiam oppe- 
 riendae mortis pro incerta et trepida vita suasisse. repertus est 
 certe per medium diei nudus exercitando corpori. talem eum 
 
 58. petitum ah eo Corhulonem] ' That adusque helluyn} ' Adusqne ' is only 
 
 he was making his way to Corbulo,' then fonnd in the poets (and late prose). Cf. 
 
 legatus propraetore of Syria. Hor. Sat. i. 5. 96 ; Virg. Aen. xi. 262. 
 
 nee milites'] This is put for ' et milites In xiii. 47, and xv. 37, Tacitus has 
 
 ad scelus missos non aut numero,' &c. 'abusque.' 
 
 The negative only extends to the earlier 59. an am/yre'] For ' sive . . . an,' cf. 
 
 portion of the sentence, not to the whole, xi. 26, " sive fatali vaecordia an . . . 
 
 See xii. 36, for a similar instance. ratus." Below, ' Coeranus' is mentioned 
 
 credentium otio] ' By the absence of in the index to the second book of Pliny's 
 
 occupation on the part of those who be- Natural History as amongst the foreign 
 
 lieved the story.' The people had nothing writers consulted. C. Musonius Rufus 
 
 to do, and so they spent their leisure was bom at Vulsinii, of equestrian rank, 
 
 time in adding a little to the story that and a stoic (H. iii. 81) , 
 
 was afloat. talem] ' Naked,' the commentators 
 
 otium, suffugium] This is corrupt, and say. Perhaps it is ; but I do not feel 
 
 no emendation I have seen is the least quite certain. Why should it not refer 
 
 probable. I therefore leave it as it to the main character as deduced from 
 
 stands. ' the traits already given previously ? 
 
412 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 815. 
 
 centurio trucidavit coram Pelagone spadone^ quern Nero centurioni 
 et manipulo, quasi satellitibus ministrum regium, praeposcerat. 
 caput interfecti relatum ; cuius aspectu (ipsa principis verba refe- 
 ram) 'cur/ inquit Nero, *^* * *^ et posito metu nuptias Pop- 
 paeae ob eius modi terrores dilatas maturare parat Octaviamque 
 coniugem amoliri, quamvis modeste ageret, nomine patiis et 
 studiis populi gravem. sed ad senatum litteras misit de caede 
 Sullae Plan ti que haud confessus, verum utriusque turbidum inge- 
 nium esse, et sibi incolumitafcem rei publicae magna cura haberi. 
 decretae eo nomine supplicationes, utque Sulla et Plautus senatu 
 moverentur, gravioribus tamen ludibriis quam malis. 
 
 60. Igitur accepto patrum consulto, postquam cuncta scelerum 
 suorum pro egregiis accipi videt, exturbat Octaviam, sterilem 
 dictitans ; exim Poppaeae coniungitur. ea diu paelex et adulteri 
 Neronis, mox mariti potens, quondam ex ministris Octaviao im- 
 pulit servilem ei amorem obicere. destinaturque reus cognomento 
 Eucaerus, natione Alexandrinus, canere per tibias doctus. actae 
 ob id de ancillis quaestiones, et vi tormentorum victis quibusdam 
 si falsa annuerent, plures perstitere sanctitatem dominae tueri ; ex 
 quibus una instanti Tigillino castiora esse muliebria Octaviae re- 
 spondit quam os eius. movetur tamen prime civilis discidii specie 
 
 * Such was tlie character of the man the state was attended to by himself 
 whom a centurion slew,' &c. Below, with the greatest care.' ' Sibi ' is the 
 the word ' manipulus,' as there were dative after * haberi,' equivalent to ' a 
 only sixty soldiers (c. 58), is generally se,' as often elsewhere in Tacitus; or, 
 supposed to be used for a small detach- possibly, it is used here as from the 
 ment : so Yarro, L. L. v. § 88, " mani- equivalence of * magna cura haberi ' to 
 pulos exercitus minimas manus quae ' magnae curae esse.' The opposite, 
 unum sequuntuj* signum." But that * sine cura haberi ' occurs H. i. 79. 
 passage need only imply, as far as I 60. cuncta scelerum siMruni] Cf. iii. 
 Tinderstand it, that the ' manipulus ' was 35, " quod cuncta curarum ad principem 
 the smallest division of a legion which reicerent." So H. v. 10, " cuncta cam- 
 had a flag of its own, meaning that * the porum." 
 
 century ' had none, which I suppose may per tibias'] The ablative would be the 
 
 have been true at the time in question, usual case. Cf. H. v. 5, " tibia tympa- 
 
 However this may be, ' manipularis ' is nisque concinebant ; " but ' per tibias ' 
 
 often used for ' a soldier in the ranks ' seems a possible expression, 
 
 (i. 20) ; and so in like manner, probably, si falsa annuerent~\ This depends on 
 
 * manipulus ' is used for any small body the idea conveyed by * tormentorum ' 
 of troops, in addition to its more tech- rather than the word itself: 'the force 
 nical meaning of two centuries. of torments, administered to see i;' they 
 
 nomine 'patris'] Octavia was the would confess what was false.' ' Si,' in 
 
 daughter of Claudius. She was a stand- the sense of ' to try whether,' is not un- 
 
 ing memento of the crimes of Nero's common. Cf. xii. 28, and the nc»te on 
 
 mother, and of the fact that Nero was iv. 59, under ' si auderent.' 
 only stepson of the late emperor ; and a movetur . . . civilis discidii specie] * She 
 
 contrast to him in character, for Claudius is removed (xiv. 32) under the guise of 
 
 has apparently been treated with too an ordinary divorce,' a divorce such us was 
 
 little respect by historians. commonly arranged amongst citizens. 
 
 sibi incolumitatem] * The safety of Below, ' his quamquam,' &c., is corrupt. 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XIV. 413 
 
 domumque Burri^ praedia Plautij infausta dona_, accipit : mox in 
 Campaniam pulsa est addita militari custodia. inde crebri questus 
 nee occulti per vulgum, cui minor sapientia, ex mediocritate for- 
 tunae pauciora pericula sunt, his quamquam Nero paenitentia 
 flagitii^ coniugem revocavit Octaviam. 
 
 61. Exim laeti Capitolium scandunt deosque tandem venerantur. 
 effigies Poppaeae proruunt, Octaviae imagines gestant umeris, 
 spargunt floribus foroque ac templis statuunt. itur etiam in 
 principis laudes repetitum venerantium. iamque et Palatium 
 multitudine et clamoribus complebant_, cum emissi militum globi 
 verberibus et intento ferro turbatos disiecere. mutataque quae 
 per seditionem verterant, et Poppaeae honos repositus est. quae 
 semper odio_, tum et metu atrox^ ne aut vulgi acrior vis ingrueret 
 aut Nero inclinatione populi mutaretur, provoluta genibus eius^ 
 non eo loci res suas agi, ut de matrimonio certet, quamquam id 
 sibi vita potius, sed vitam ipsam in extremum adductam a clien- 
 telis et servitiis Octaviae^ quae plebis sibi nomen indiderint^ ea in 
 pace ausi quae vix bello evenirent. arma ilia adversus principem 
 sumpta ; ducem tantum defuissCj qui motis rebus facile reperiretur_, 
 
 . omitteret modo Campaniam et in urbem ipsa pergeret^ ad cuius 
 nutum absentis tumultus cierentur. quod alioquin suum delic- 
 tum ? quam cuiusquam offensionem ? an quia veram progeniem 
 penatibus Caesarum datura sit, malle populum Romanum tibicinis 
 Aegyptii subolem imperatorio fastigio induci ? denique^ si id 
 rebus conducat, libens quam coactus acciret dominam^ vel consu- 
 leret securitati iusta ultione. et modicis remediis primes motus 
 consedisse : at si desperent uxorem Neronis fore Octaviam^ illi 
 maritum daturos. 
 
 62. Varius sermo et ad metum atque iram accommodatus ter- 
 
 61. tdndeni] There had been little genitive after * laudes.' 
 
 enough of late to thank the gods for ; ausi] The masculine is used, although 
 
 every thing had been full of glooua and * servitia ' precedes, because this last is 
 
 horrors : now the people thought some- equivalent to ' servi.' So iv. 48, " Thrae- 
 
 thing had occurred for which praise was cum auxilia territa . . . tanto impensius 
 
 to be offered to the gods. caesi." Similarly H. i. 31, " Germanica 
 
 repetitum venerantium] This may be vexilla diu nutavere . . . quod eos . . . 
 
 correct possibly, I think. The genitive praemissos . . . Galba refovebat." 
 
 depends on ' laudes,' and ' repetitum ' is quod alioquin suum delictum^] ' What 
 
 a substantive (found in Nonius i. n. 325, offence had she committed except in this 
 
 according to Forcellini) . * There are matter of Octavia ? ' The people had no 
 
 raised praises of the Emperor on the fault to find with Poppaea, beyond the 
 
 part of those who hailed with worshipful fact that in their eyes she was the rival 
 
 delight the recall of Octavia.' ' Venerari ' of Octavia ; that was the head and front 
 
 seems used for ' cum veneratione pro- of her offending. 
 
 sequi,' or something of the kind. Of 62. ad metum atque iram] ' To rouse 
 
 course there is no diflSculty in the double Nero's alarm and anger.' Below, ' pa- 
 
414 CORNELH TACITI [a.u.c. 815. 
 
 ruit simul audientem et accendit. sed parum valebat suspit\o in 
 servo et quaestionibus ancillarum elusa erat. ergo confessicnem 
 alicnius quaeri placet, cui rerum quoque novarum crimen affin- 
 geretur. et visus idoneus maternae necis patrator Anicetus, 
 classi apud Misenum, ut memoravi, praefectus, levi post admissum 
 scelus gratia, dein graviore odio, quia malorum facinorum ministri 
 quasi exprobrantes aspiciuntur. igitur accitum eum Caesar 
 operae prioris admonet : solum incolumitati principis adversus 
 insidiantem matrem subvenisse ; locum baud minoris gi'atiae 
 ins tare, si coniugem infensam depelleret. nee manu aut telo 
 opus : fateretur Octaviae adulterium. occulta quidem ad praesens 
 sed magna ei praemia et secessus amoenos promittit, vel, si iiega- 
 visset, necem intentat. ille insita vaecordia et facilitate priorum 
 flagitiorum, plura etiam quam iussum erat fingit fateturque apud 
 amicos, quos velut consilio adbibuerat princeps. tum in Sardi- 
 nian! pellitur, ubi non inops exilium toleravit et fato obiit. 
 
 63. At Nero praefectum in spem sociandae classis corruptum^ 
 et incusatae panlo ante sterilitatis oblitus, abactos partus con- 
 scientia libidinum, eaque sibi comperta edicto memorat insulaque 
 Pandataria Octaviam claudit. non alia exul visentium oculos 
 maiore misericordia affecit. meminerant adhuc quidam Agrip- 
 pinae a Tiberio, recentior luliae memoria obversabatur a Claudio 
 pulsae : sed illis robur aetatis adfuerat ; laeta aliqua viderant et 
 praesentem saevitiam melioris olim fortunae recordatione ad leva- 
 bant, buic primum nuptiarum dies loco funeris fuit, deductae in 
 domum in qua niliil nisi luctuosum baberet, erepto per venenum 
 patre et statim fratre; tum ancilla domina validior et Pof>paea 
 non nisi in perniciem uxoris nupta, postremo crimen omni exitio 
 gravius. 
 
 64. Ac puella vicesimo aetatis anno inter centuriones et milites^ 
 
 trator ' occurs nowhere else, except once Pandataria] An island off the coast 
 
 in Fl. Avienus. of Campania, in the bay of Puteoli. It 
 
 63. in spem sociandae classis"] Cf. H. was frequently in use as a place of 
 
 iv. 42, " accusationem subisse iuvenis banishment for members of the imperial 
 
 admodum nee depellendi periculi sed in family. Julia was banished thither by 
 
 spem potentiae videbatur;" Liv. xxi, 45, her father Augustus (i. 53), and ilgrip- 
 
 " praemia pronuntiat quorum in spem pina by Tiberius (Suet. Tib. 53). The 
 
 pugnaront." The sense is, 'corrupted, 'Julia' mentioned below was the daugh- 
 
 so that there might be a hope of uniting ter of Germanicus (xii. 8 j xiii. 42) . 
 
 the fleet with them in their conspiracy patre et statim fratre] That is, Olau- 
 
 against Nero.' The object of tampering dius and Britannicus. 
 
 with Aoicetus was, that he in tum might 64. vicesimo aetatis anno] Octavia 
 
 tamper with the sailors. Octavia enter- seems to have been older than Britan- 
 
 tained hope of gaining over the fleet, and nicus (Suet, Claud. 27) . In the year 
 
 with a view to realize the hope Ani- a.d. 55 Britannicus was not quite four- 
 
 cetus had been corrupted. teen (xiii. 15). In the year now reached 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XIY. 415 
 
 praesagio malorum iam vita exempta, nondum tamen morte ad- 
 quiescebat. paucis dehinc interiectis diebus mori iubetur, cum 
 iam viduam se et tantum sororem testaretur communesque Ger- 
 manicos et postremo Agrippinae nomen cieret, qua incolumi 
 infelix quidem matrimonium sed sine exitio pertulisset. restrin- 
 gitur vinclis venaeque eius per omnes artus exsolvuntur ; et quia 
 pressus pavore sanguis tardius labebatur^ praefervidi balnei vapore 
 enecatur. additurque atrocior saevitia^ quod caput amputatum 
 latumque in urbem Poppaea vidit. dona ob baec templis decreta 
 quern ad finem memorabimus ? quicumque casus temporum illo- 
 rum nobis vel aliis auctoribus noscent, praesumptum habeant, 
 quotiens fugas et caedes iussit princeps^ totiens grates deis actas, 
 quaeque rerum secundarum olim^ tum publicae cladis insignia 
 fuisse. neque tamen silebimus, si quod senatus consultum adula- 
 tione novum aut patientia postremum fuit. 
 
 65. Eodem anno libertorum potissimos veneno interfecisse cre- 
 ditus est, Dorypborum quasi adversatum nuptiis Poppaeae, Pal- 
 lantem_, quod inmensam pecuniam longa senecta detineret. Ro- 
 manus secretis criminafcionibus incusaverat Senecam ut 0. Pisonis 
 socium, sed validius a Seneca eodem crimine perculsus est. unde 
 Pisoni timer et orta insidiarum in Neronem magna moles et 
 
 mprospera. 
 
 "by Tacitus (a.d. 62) lie would Lave been 
 twenty-one. Tacitus is speaking in 
 round numbers apparently. 
 
 vita exempta] Elsewhere Tacitus has 
 the dative (cf. iv. 35 ; xii. 56 ; H. iii. 10). 
 But be may bave said ' vita eximi,' for 
 otber wi-iters use tbe ablative with ' ex,' 
 and Tacitus accordingly is likely to bave 
 written tbe ablative without tbe pre- 
 position (cf. iii. 28). Below, Octavia 
 calls herself sister of Nero (tantum soro- 
 rem testaretur) because Nero had been 
 adopted by Claudius her father, and so 
 became her brother by adoption. 
 
 communesque Oermanicos] Drusus 
 Germanicus was father of Claudius, and 
 therefore grandfather of Octavia. He 
 was also father of Germanicus, grand- 
 father of Agrippina the younger, and 
 greatgrandfather of Nero ; and Ger- 
 manicus was also, of course, imcle of 
 
 Octavia. 
 
 quern ad finem] The phrase may have 
 the same meaning as in xiv. 52 ; or here 
 rather it is, ' to what purpose ? ' What 
 was the use, Tacitus asks, of mentioning 
 such incidents as those alluded to j they 
 might be taken for granted. 
 
 65. interfecisse creditus est] So xiii. 
 30, "baud creditus sufficere ;" vi. 34, 
 " ariete credito vexisse Phryxum ;" H. i. 
 78, " creditus est . . . agitavisse." For a 
 different construction, cf. iv. 55, " Per- 
 gamenos . . . satis adeptos creditum." 
 
 detineret] If a freedman died pos- 
 sessed of above 100,000 sestertii, and 
 had fewer than three children, the pa- 
 tronus, by the Lex Papia Poppaea, 
 shared equally with the children. Nero 
 was anxious to come into his property, 
 and thought Pallas unreasonably dila- 
 tory. Belo-^,.£aB-C-Eisp, cf. xv. 48. 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER XV. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1, 2. Tkreatening attitude of Vologeses. 3. Arrangements of Corbulo for 
 the defence of Syria. 4. Siege of Tigranocerta by the Parthians. 5. Vologeses 
 concludes a truce. 6 — 8. Movements of Caesennius Paetus, the new governor of 
 Armenia. 9 — 11. The Parthians operate against Paetus. 12. Corbulo marches 
 into Armenia. 13 — 15. Vologeses forces Paetus to capitulate. 16. Corbulo 
 enters Armenia. 17. Eetires to Syria. 18. Trophies erected at Eome over the 
 Parthians. Financial arrangements. 19. Enactment against fictitious adop- 
 tions. 20 — 21. Impeachment of Claudius Timarchus — Paetus Thraesea. 22. 
 Earthquake at Pompeii. 23. Birth of a daughter to Nero — its death. 24 Em- 
 bassy from Parthia. 25. Corbulo appointed to the conduct of the war. 2(5 — 27. 
 Corbulo' s operations in Armenia. 28—31. His treatment of Tiridates. 32. The 
 Ins Latii granted to the maritime Alps. Seats in the circus assigned i;o the 
 Equites. 33. Nero appears on the stage. 34. Fall of a theatre — Vaiinius. 
 35. Death of Torquatus Silanus. 36. Nero plans a journey to the East. 37. 
 Nero's debauchery. 38 — 41. Great conflagration at Eome. 42. Nero rebuilds 
 his palace. 43. Eome rebuilt. 44. The Christians accused of firing the city. 
 45. Nero plunders the provinces. 46. Outbreak of Gladiators at Praeneste — loss of 
 the fleet at Misenum. 47. Prodigies. 48. Conspiracy of Piso. 51. Epicharis. 52. 
 Delayof the attempt on Nero's life. 53. Change of Plan. 54. Information of the 
 plot given to Milichus. 55, 56. Natalis betrays the conspirators. 57. Fir^nness 
 of Epicharis. 58. Investigation before Nero. 59. Death of Piso. 60 — 64. Death 
 of Lateranus and Seneca. 65. Eeport of the intended elevation of Seneca to the 
 throne. 66. Betrayal of Eufus. 67 — 71. Deaths of Subrius Flavius, Lucanus, 
 and others. 72. Honours conferred on Tigillinus and others. 73. Nero pub- 
 lishes the evidence of the conspiracy — Junius Gallio. 74. Honours voted :o the 
 Gods for Nero's delivery from danger. 
 
AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 417 
 
 1. Interea rex Parthorum Vologeses cognitis Corbulonis rebus 
 regemque alienigenam Tigranen Armeniae impositum, simul fratre 
 Tiridate pulso spretum Arsacidarum fasti gium ire ultum volens, 
 magnitudine rursum Romana et continui foederis reverentia di- 
 versas ad curas trabebatur^ cunctator ingenio et defectione Hyrca- 
 norum^ gentis validae, multisque ex ep/bellis illigatus. atque 
 ilium ambiguum novus insuper nuntius contumeliae extimulat : 
 quippe egressus Armenia Tigranes Adiabenos, conterminam na- 
 tionem^ latius ac diutius quam per latrocinia vastaverat_, idque 
 primores gentium aegre tolerabant : eo contemptionis descensum, 
 ut ne duce quidem Romano ineursarentur^ sed temeritate obsidis 
 tot per annos inter mancipia habiti. - aecendebat dolorem eorum 
 Monobazus_, quern penes Adiabenum regimen_, quod praesidium 
 aut unde peteret rogitans. iam de Armenia concessum, proxima 
 trahi ; et nisi defendant Partlii_, leviiis servitium apud Romanos 
 deditis quam captis esse. Tiridates qupque; regni profugus per 
 silentium aut modice querendo gravior erat : non enim ignavia 
 magna imperia contineri; virorum armorumque faciendum cer- 
 tamen ; id in summa fortuna aequius quod validius ; et sua retinere 
 privatae domus, de alienis certare regiam laudem esse. 
 
 2. Igitur commotus bis Yologeses concilium vocat et proximum 
 sibi Tiridaten constituit atque ita orditur : ' bunc ego eodem 
 mecum patre genitum, cum mihi per aetatem summo nomine con- 
 cessisset, in possessionem Armeniae deduxi, qui tertius potentiae 
 gradus habetur : nam Medos Pacorus ante ceperat. videbarque 
 contra vetera fratrum odia et certamina familiae nostrae penates 
 rite composuisse. probibent Romani et pacem numquam ipsis 
 prospere lacessitam nunc quo que in exitium suum abrumpunt. 
 non ibo infitias. aequitate quam sanguine, causa quam armis 
 retinere parta maioribus malueram. si cunctatione deli qui, virtute 
 
 interea] The narrative is resumed of an elder Monobazus, the predecessor 
 
 from xiv. 26. of Izates on the throne (Joseph, Antiq. 
 
 alienigenam] Cf.xiv. 26, where Tigranes Jud. xx. 2). Below, for ' trahi,' cf. iii. 74, 
 
 is said to be of Cappadocian birth. The " ne Cirtensium pagi impune traheren- 
 
 * nninterrupted treaty' spoken of below tur," and H. ii. 61, "pagos trahebat." 
 seems to have begun under Phraates, gravior erat] ' Produced a still greater 
 
 who in the year 20 A.c. restored to eflfect ' on his brother Vologeses. 
 Augustus the standards taken from 2. summo nomine] Tiridates resigned 
 
 Crassus. Below in * proxima trahi ' the to his brother, as senior in age, all claim 
 
 verb has the same meaning as in iii. 74, to the Parthian throne : he retired from 
 
 " ne Cirtensium pagi impune traheren- the loftiest title, that of king (summo 
 
 tur," and H. ii. 61, " proximos Aeduorum nomine) . 
 
 vices trahebat." malueram] For the mood Nipperdey 
 
 Monohazus] He was brother of Izates, quotes Cic. ad Attic, ii. 19. 3, " equidem 
 
 king of the Adiabeni (xii. 13.), and son malueram silentio transire," and ad 
 
 E e 
 
418 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c 815. 
 
 corrigam. vestra quidem vis et gloria in integro est^ rddita 
 modestiae fama^ quae neque summis mortalium spernenda ost et 
 a dis aestimatur/ simul diademate caput Tiridatis eviiicxit; 
 promptam equitum manum^ quae regem ex more sectatur, Monesi 
 nobili viro tradidit, adiectis Adiabenorum auxiliis, Inanda^dtque 
 Tigranen Armenia exturbare, dum ipse positis adversus Hyrcanos 
 discordiis vires intimas molemque belli ciet^ provinciis Romanis 
 mini tans. 
 
 3. Quae ubi Corbuloni certis nuntiis audita sunt, legiones duas 
 cum Yerulano Severo et Vettio Bolano subsidium Tigrani mittit, 
 occulto praecepto, compositius cuncta quam festinantius agerent : 
 quippe bellum habere quam gerere malebat. scripseratque (^aesari 
 proprio duce opus esse_, qui Armeniam defenderet : Syriam in- 
 gruente Yologese acriore in discrimine esse, atque interim reliquas 
 legiones pro ripa Eupbratis locat, tumultuariam provincialium 
 manum armat, bos tiles ingressus praesidiis intercipit. et quia 
 egena aquarum regie est, castella fontibus inposita ; quosdam rivos 
 congestu barenae abdidit. 
 
 4. Ea dum a Corbulone tuendae Sjrriae parantur, acto raptim 
 agmine Moneses, ut famam sui praeiret, non ideo nescium aut 
 incautum Tigranen offendit. occupaverat Tigranocertam, urbem 
 copia defensorum et magnitudine moenium validam. ad hoc 
 Nicephorius amnis hand spernenda latitudine partem murorum 
 ambit et ducta ingens fossa, qua fluvio diffidebatur. inerantque 
 milites et provisi ante commeatus, quorum subvectu pauci avidius 
 
 Famil. vii. 3. 6, " haec tecum coram dedit. Cernis adhuc titulos : hunc ipse 
 
 malueram. : sed quia longius fiebat, volui vocantibus armis induit, huno regi 
 
 per litteras eadem." The explanation rapuit thoraca Britanno." Tacitus 
 
 perhaps is that up to the moment of speaks differently of his military quali- 
 
 taking a different course he had felt a ties : " eadem inertia erga hosten, similis 
 
 distinct preference for the one spoken petulantia castrorum nisi quod innocens 
 
 of : the preference being anterior to the Bolanus, et nullis delictis invisus, cari- 
 
 act eventually carried out, the pluper- tatom paraverat loco auctoritatis." 
 
 feet is naturally used : the preference helium habere] Corbulo was not un- 
 
 being a positive fact, the indicative is willing to have a war on hand, but had 
 
 adopted. Of course the subjunctive no great wish to be actively engaged in 
 
 could also be employed, as in Suet. it. Ho enjoyed the sort of presi ige con- 
 
 Vesp. 8, " maluissem allium aboluisses." nected with the command of troops in 
 
 For the words * causa quam armis,' cf. time of warfare, and that wa^ all he 
 
 xiii. 37, " quia causa quam vi agere mal- cared for. 
 
 lent." 4. tuendae Syriae parantur'] The da- 
 
 3. VetUo Bolanol M. Vettius Bolanus tive of the gerundive after * pa rare' is, 
 
 was consul suffectus in some year un- I believe, found nowhere else. Below, 
 
 known, and in A.D. 69 and 70 legatus for 'ambit,' cf. i. 68, "ut vallum armis 
 
 pro praetore of Britain (H. ii. 65, 97, ambirent :" and Germ. 1, " cetera Oceanus 
 
 Agric. 8, 16). Statins (Silv. v. 2, 142) ambit." 
 
 gives him a great character: " vigiles inerantque milites'] Cf. xiv. 26, " ad- 
 
 speculas castellaque longe adspicis ? ille ditum et praesidiura mille Ijgionarii 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 419 
 
 progress! et repentinis liostibus circumventi ira magis quam metu 
 ceteros accenderant. sed Partho ad exsequendas obsidiones nulla 
 commimis audacia : raris sagittis neque clauses exterret et semct 
 frustratur. Adiabeni cum promovere scalas et machinamenta in- 
 ciperentj facile detrusi, mox erumpentibus nostris caeduntur. 
 
 5. Corbulo tamen, quam vis secundis rebus suis, moderandum 
 fortunae ratus misit ad Vologesen qui expostularent vim provin- 
 ciae illatam : socium amicumque regem, coliortes Romanas cir- 
 cumsideri. omitteret potius obsidionem, aut se quoque in agro 
 tostili castra positurum. Casperius centurio in earn legationem 
 delectus apud oppidum Nisibin, septem et triginta milibus passuum 
 a Tigranocerta distantem_, adit regem et mandata ferociter edidit. 
 Vologesi vetus et penitus infixum erat arma Komana vitandi, nee 
 praesentia prospere fluebant. inritum obsidium^ tutus manu et 
 copiis Tigranes, fugati qui expugnationem sumpserant_, missae in 
 Armeniam legiones, et aliae pro Suria paratae ultro irrumpere; 
 sibi inbecillum equitem pabuli inopia : nam exorta vis locustarum 
 ambederat quicquid herbidum aut frondosum. igitur metu 
 abstruso mitiora obtendens^ missurum ad imperatorem Romanum 
 legates super petenda Armenia et firmanda pace respondet. 
 Monesen omittere Tigranocertam iubet^ ipse retro concedit. 
 
 6. Haec plures ut formidine regis et Corbulonis minis patrata 
 ac magnifica extollebant : alii occulte pepigisse interpretabantur, 
 ut omisso utrimque bello et abeunte Vologese Tigranes quoque 
 Armenia abscederet. cur enim exercitum Romanum a Tigrano- 
 certis deduct um ? cur deserta per otium quae bello defenderant ? 
 an melius hibernavisse in extrema Cappadocia^ raptim erectis 
 tuguriis, quam in sede regni modo retenti ? dilata prorsus arma, 
 ut Vologeses cum alio quam cum Corbulone certaret, Corbulo 
 meritae tot per annos gloriae non ultra periculum faceret. nam, 
 ut rettuli, proprium ducem tuendae Armeniae poposcerat, et ad- 
 ventare Caesennius Paetus audiebatur. iamque aderat, copiis ita 
 divisis, ut quarta et duodecuma legiones addita quinta, quae 
 
 tres socioram coliortes, duaeque equitum all kinds." The town was proof against 
 
 alae." assault or blockade. 
 
 5. vitcmdt] The genitive depends on amhederaf] This is a very rare word, 
 
 'vetus et penitus infixum' used sub- It occurs only in the Digest, 41. 1.38, 
 
 stantively ; 'an old established and " flumen agrum ambcdit." The par- 
 
 resolutely determined policy of avoiding ticiple, however, is found in Virg. Aenoid. 
 
 the Roman arms.' Cf. xiii. 26, " nee iii. 257., v. 752. 
 
 grave manumissis per idem obsequium 6. quae defenderanf] For the iudica- 
 
 retinendi libertatem." Below, * manu tive mood here in the oratio obliqua see 
 
 et copiis' is "by soldiery and stores of the note on i. 10, under 'abstulerat.' 
 
 E e 2 
 
420 CORNELII TACITI [a.u..]. 815. 
 
 recens e Moesis excita erat, simul Pontica et Galatarum Cappa- 
 documque auxilia Paeto oboedirent, tertia et sexta et documa 
 legiones priorque Syriae miles apud Corbulonem mai](3reiit; 
 cetera ex rerum usu sociarent partirenturve. sed neque Corbulo 
 aemuli patiens, et Paetus, cui satis ad gloriam erat_, si proximus 
 haberetur^ despiciebat gesta, nihil caedis aut praedae, usiirpatas 
 nomine tenus urbium expugnationes dictitans. se tributa a(3 leges 
 et pro umbra regis Romanum ius victis impositurum. 
 
 7. Sub idem tempus legati Yologesis, quos ad principem missos 
 memoravij revertere inriti, bellumque propalam sumptum a Partbis. 
 nee Paetus detrectavit^ sed duabus legionibus_, quarum quartam 
 Funisulanus Yettonianus eo in tempore_, duodecumam Calavius 
 Sabinus regebant, Armeniam intrat tristi omine. nam in trans - 
 gressu EuphratiSj quem ponte tramittebant, nulla palam causa 
 turbatus equus^ qui consularia insignia gestabat_, retro evasit. 
 hostiaque^ quae .muniebantur bibernaculis adsistens, semifacta 
 opera fuga perrupit seque vallo extulit. et pila militum arsere, 
 magis insignivprodigio, quia Partbus bostis missilibus telis decertat. 
 
 8. Ceterum Paetus spretis ominibus, necdum satis firmatis 
 liibernaculis, nullo rei frumentariae provisu, rapit exercitum trans 
 montem Taurum reciperandis^ ut ferebat_, Tigranocertis vastandis- 
 que regionibus_, quas Corbulo integras omisisset. et capta quae- 
 dam castella, gloriaeque et praedae nonnihil partum, si aut gloriam 
 cum modo aut praedam cum cura babuisset. longinquis itiiieribus 
 percursando quae obtineri nequibant, corrupto qui captus erat 
 
 priorque Syriae miles'] By this is murali . vallari . classica . aurea hastis . 
 meant apparently the auxiliary force in puris . iiii. vexillis iiii. patron o D.D." 
 Syria, over and above the legionary Below, for 'regebant' in the plural, cf. 
 troops. Below, for ' cui satis ad gloriam iii. 62, " quorum ille Antiocho hi(3 Mithri- 
 erat,' cf. . i. 42, and the note there dates pulsis fidem atque virtutem Mag- 
 under 'erat.' ; Below, 'usurpatas nomine netum decora vere ;" xii. 41, " Britan- 
 tenus,' &c., means that the stormings nicus in praetexta, Nero triumph aliveste 
 of cities existed only in name : the travecti sunt." 
 
 reality was absent : there was the bare consularia insignia"] Lipsius quotes 
 
 capture, but no practical result in the Dionys. Hal. Ant. Rom. x. 24 (speaking 
 
 way of plunder. of L. Quinctius the dictator), ws Se 
 
 7. Funisulamus Vettonianus] He is iyyhs -nv 'Ittttovs re avrcf (paXdpois KfKoa- 
 
 mentioned in an inscription (Inscript. fnqfxcvovs evvpeneai -npoartyov /cot irtXeKfis 
 
 Lat. n. 5431, " L. Funisulano, L. f. Ani- ufxa Ta7s ^d^Sois . . . effdrJTois re a\ovpye7s 
 
 ensi tribu), Vettoniano trib . mil , leg . koI to, 6.\\a irapaaiiixa, ols irpSrepov v) tS)v 
 
 vi . vict . quaestori provinciae Siciliae ^affiXewv eKeK6(rfi'i)ro apxh> irpoar^ueyKav. 
 trib . pleb . praet . leg . leg. iiii . Scythic. 8. percursando] Cf. xiv. 31, "ox turba- 
 
 praef . aerar . Satumi . curator! . viae . bant agris captives servos app?llando." 
 
 Aemiliae . cos . vii . vir . Epulonum . leg . The gerund is not, as Draeger says, equi- 
 
 pro pr . provinc . Delmatiae . item . pro- valent to a present participle, bt t has its 
 
 vine . Pannoniae . item . Moesiae Supe- proper force : it was by means of this 
 
 rioris . donate . bello Dacico coronis iiii. hasty traversing of the country, that he 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 421 
 
 commeatu et instante iam hieme, reduxifc exercitum conposuitque 
 ad Caesarem litteras quasi confecto bello, verbis magnificis, rerum 
 vacuas. 
 
 9. Interim Corbulo numquam neglectam Eupbratis ripam cre- 
 brioribus praesidiis insedit ; et ne ponti iniciendo impedimentum 
 bostiles turmae afFerrent (iam enim subiectis campis magna specie 
 volitabant), naves magnitudine praestantes et conexas trabibus ac 
 turribus auctas agit per amnem catapultisque et balistis proturbat 
 barbaros_, in quos saxa et bastae longius permeabant^ quam ut 
 contrario sagittaram iactu adaequarentur. dein pons continuatus 
 collesque adversi per socias cohortes, post legionum castris occu- 
 pantur, tanta celeritate et ostentatione virium_, ut Partbi omisso 
 paratu invadendae Syriae spem omnem in Armeniam verterent, 
 ubi Paetus imminentium nescius quintam legionem procul in 
 Ponto babebat_, reliquas promiscis militum commeatibus infirma- 
 verat, donee adventare Yologesen magno et infenso agmine 
 audit um. 
 
 10. Accitur legio duodecuma^ et unde famam aucti exercitus 
 speraverat, prodita infrequentia, qua tamen retineri castra et eludi 
 Partbus tractu belli poterat^ si Paeto aut in suis aut in alienis 
 consiliis constantia fuisset : verum ubi a viris militaribus adversus 
 urguentes casus firmatus erat, rursus^ ne alienae sententiae indigens 
 videretur, in diversa ac deteriora transibat. et tunc relictis hi- 
 bernis non fossam neque vallum sibi^ sed corpora et arma in 
 bostem data clamitans, duxit legiones quasi proelio certaturus. 
 deinde amisso centurione et paucis militibus^ quos visendis hostium 
 copiis praemiserat, trepidus remeavit. et quia minus acriter 
 Yologeses institerat, vana rursus fiducia tria milia delecti peditis 
 proximo Tauri iugo imposuit, quo transitum regis arcerent ; alares 
 quoque Pannonios^ robur equitatus^ in parte campi locat. coniux 
 ac filius castello^ cui Arsamosata nomen est^ abditi, data in prae- 
 sidium cohorte ac disperse milite^ qui in uno habitus vagum 
 bostem promptiiis sustentavisset. et aegre compulsum ferunt_, ut 
 
 was able on the approach of winter to stones. Below, ' commeatibas ' is * fur- 
 
 march his army back. A slower pro- loughs.' Cf. Liv. xxxiii. 29, " argentum 
 
 gross would have kept him too long, in zonis habentes in commeatibus erant." 
 
 Below, for the genitive after ' vaccuus,' 10. relictis hihernis'} Paetus was at 
 
 cf. Sail. Jug. 90, " frugum vaccuus." If Randeia, on the river Arsanias (Dio 
 
 Draeger is right, these are the only in- Ixii. 21), a tributary of the Euphrates 
 
 stances of this construction in prose (Plin. N. H. v. 20) . Below, ' Arsamosata ' 
 
 writers. or * Armosata ' was a town of Armenia 
 
 9. catapultisque et halistis'\ The first Maior, close to the Euphrates (Pli. 
 
 of these machines hurled spears, espe- N. H. vi. 10). 
 cially the falarica and trifax ; the latter 
 
422 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.o. 815. 
 
 instantem Corbuloni fateretur. nee a Corbulone properatuiii, quo 
 gliscentibus periculis etiam subsidii laus augeretur. e:j:pediri 
 tamen itineri singula milia ex tribus legionibus et alarios octin- 
 gentos, parem numerum e coliortibus iussit. 
 
 11. At Vologeses_, quamvis obsessa a Paeto itinera hinc pc^ditatu 
 inde equite accepisset, nibil mutato consilio, sed vi ac minis alares 
 exterruit, legionaries obtrivit_, uno tantum centurione Ta'quitio 
 Crescente turrim, in qua praesidium agitabat, defender*? auso 
 factaque saepius eruptione et caesis qui barbarorum propius sug- 
 grediebantur, donee ignium iaetu cireumveniretur. pedioum si 
 quis integer longinqua et avia^ vulnerati eastra repetivere, virtu- 
 tem regis_, saevitiam et eopias gentium, euneta metu extollontes, 
 faeili credulitate eorum qui eadem pavebant. ne dux quidem 
 obniti adversis_, sed euneta militiae munia deseruerat_, missis iterum 
 ad Corbulonem preeibus, veniret propere, signa et aquilas et no- 
 men reliquum infelieis exereitus tueretur : se fidem interim, donee 
 vita subpeditet, retenturos. 
 
 12. lUe interritus et parte copiarum apud Suriam relieta, ut 
 munimenta Eupbrati inposita retinerentur, qua proximum et eom- 
 meatibus non egenum, regionem Commagenam, exim Cappadoeiam, 
 inde Armenios petivit. eomitabantur exereitum praeter alis sueta 
 bello magna vis eamelorum onusta frumenti, ut simul bostem 
 famemque depelleret. primum e pereulsis Paeeium primi pili 
 eenturionem obvium habuit, dein plerosque militum; quos diversas 
 fugae eausas obtendentes redire ad signa et elementiam Paeti 
 experiri monebat : se nisi vietoribus immitem esse, siraul suas 
 legiones adire, bortari, priorum admonere, novam gloriam osten- 
 dere. non vices aut oppida Armeniorum, sed eastra Romana 
 duasque in iis legiones pretium laboris peti. si singulis manipu- 
 laribus praeeipua servati eivis eorona imperatoria manu tribueretur, 
 quod illud et quantum deeus, ubi par eorum numerus aspiceretur, 
 
 instantem] Sc 'hostem' easily supplied ac minis usus alares e?;terruit.' There 
 
 from the precediag clause, or ' Volo- is consequently not the slightest neces- 
 
 gesen,' from ' minus acriter Vologeses sity for expunging ' sed.' Below, with 
 
 institerat.' Haase puts the marks of a ' longinqua et avia ' supply ' potivere ' 
 
 lacunar between ' sustentavisset ' and from * repetivere,' which only suits the 
 
 * et aegre,' without any necessity I second clause, 
 
 think. 12. qua proximuni] Sc. erat. Cf. H. 
 
 parem numerum e coJi/)rtihus'] Appa- iii. 16, " ut qua cuique proximum praelio 
 
 rently three thousand (not only eight occurreret." 
 
 hundred). These soldiers of course are onusta frumenti'] The same ccmstruc- 
 
 the auxiliary troops of the allies, not tion occurs in Plautus, Aulul. iv. 2. 4, 
 
 the legionary soldiers. " audio aulam onustam auri :" but in v. 
 
 11. sed vi ac minis'] The construction 1. 2, "aulam onustam auro." 
 
 is virtually * nihil mutato auxilio sed vi aspiceretur] ' When an equal lumber 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 423 
 
 qui adtulissent salutem et qui accepissent ! his atquo talibus iu 
 commune alacres (et erant quos pericula fratrum aut propinquorum 
 propriis stimulis incenderent) continuum diu noctuque iter pro- 
 perabant. 
 
 ] 3. Eoque intentius Yologeses premere obsessos_, modo vallum 
 legionum, modo castellum, quo inbellis aetas defendebatur, adpug- 
 nare, propius incedens quam mos Par this, si ea temeritate hostem 
 in proelium eliceret. at illi vix contuberniis extracti, nee aliud 
 quam munimenta propugnabant, pars iussu ducis, et alii propria 
 ignavia aut Corbulonem opperientes, ac vis si ingrueret, provisis 
 exemplis cladis Caudinae Numantinaeque ; neqiie eandem vim 
 Samnitibus Italico populo aut Poenis, Romani imperii aemulis. 
 validam quoque et laudatam antiquitatem, quotiens fortuna contra 
 daret_, saluti consuluisse. qua desperatione exercitus dux subactus 
 primas tamen literas ad Vologesen non supplices, sed in modum 
 querentis composuit, quod pro Armeniis semper Romanae dicionis 
 aut subiectis regi, quem imperator delegisset, hostilia faceret : 
 pacem ex aequo utilem ; ne praesentia tantum spectaret. ipsum 
 adversus duas legiones totis regni viribus advenisse : at Romanis 
 orbem terrarum reliquum, quo bellum iuvarent. 
 
 14. Ad ea Vologeses nihil pro causa, sed opperiendos sibi 
 fratres Pacorum ac Tiridaten rescribsit, ilium locum tempusque 
 consilio destinatum, quid de Armenia cernerent; adiecisse deos 
 
 gained it, an equality I mean to say, in aut Poenis] As ' Samnitibus ' refers 
 
 the numbers of those who brought de- to * cladis Caudinae,' it is clear that 
 
 liverance and those who received it.' ' Poenis ' must, if correct, refer to 'cladis 
 
 The sentence is quite intelligible, al- Numantinae.' Walther suggests, and I 
 
 though the exact expression is inac- think with some reason, that the Nu- 
 
 curate, for those who were rescued mantine war was a sort of offshoot from 
 
 formed no part really of those who the struggle with Carthage, and is 
 
 would obtain the crown for delivering viewed as forming an episode in the 
 
 their comrades from danger. Below, Punic war, or rather a concluding piece 
 
 * diu noctuque ' occurs, H. ii. 5. So winding up the performance. Below, for 
 Sallust (Jug, 38, 44). In H, iii. 76, 'contra daret,' cf, H. i, 65, " si fortuna 
 "noctu dieque" occurs, contra daret." 
 
 13. si eliceref] For this form of ' si,' 14. ilium locimi] Wherever and when- 
 
 * to see if,' cf. i. 48. Below in ' muni- ever Vologeses and his brothers were 
 menta propugnabant,' the accusative is together, there and then would be the 
 unusual. But cf. xiii. 31, " quae libidine proper place and time for coming to 
 deliquerant ambitu propugnant." Suet, some decision about Armenia, ' Cemere ' 
 C. Julius Caesar, 23, " propuguaturos ab- here is for ' decemere,' an archaistic and 
 sentiam suam." poetical use of the word. Cf. Cic de Leg. 
 
 cladis Caitdinae Numantinaeque] This iii. 3. "quodoumque sonatus creverit 
 
 is an emendation for the reading of the agunto;" and Virg. xii. 109. Below, 
 
 Cod, Med. " caudi nenu antineque." The 'dignum' is constructed substantively 
 
 reference of course is to the disaster at like "vetus acpenitus infixum" inxv. 5, 
 
 the Caudine Forks, 321 a.c, and to the 'grave, lubricum,' &c. Cf. Cic. ad Attic, 
 
 treaty of Numantia, 137 a.c, which the viii. 15. " Suscipe curam et cogitationem 
 
 Senate refused to ratify. dignissimam vii'tutis tuae." 
 
424 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 815. 
 
 dignum Arsacidarum^ simul ut de legionibus E,omanis statue rent, 
 missi posthac Paeto nuntii et regis colloquium petitum^ qui /asa- 
 cen praefectum equitatus ire iussit. turn Paetus Lucullos, Pom- 
 peios et si qua Caesares optinendae donandaeve Armeniae egcrant^ 
 Yasaces imaginem retinendi largiendive penes nos, vim j^enes 
 Parthos memorat. et multum in vicem disceptato, Monobazus 
 Adiabenus in diem posterum testis iis quae pepigissent adhibetur. 
 placuitque liberari obsidio legiones et decedere omnem militem 
 finibus Armeniorum castellaque et commeatus Parthis tradi, qui- 
 bus perpetratis copia Vologesi fieret mittendi ad Neronem legatos. 
 
 15. Interim flumini Arsaniae (is castra praefluebat) pontem 
 imposuit, specie sibi illud iter expedientis^ sed Partlii quasi docu- 
 mentum victoriae iusserant ; namque iis usui fuit^ nostri per diver- 
 sum iere. addidit rumor sub iugum missas legiones et alia ex 
 rebus infaustis, quorum simulacrum ab Armeniis usurpatum est. 
 namque et munimenta ingressi sunt^ antequam agmen Romanum 
 excederet, et circumstetere vias^ captiva olim mancipia aut iumenta 
 adgnoscentes abstrabentesque. raptae etiam vestes, retenta arma, 
 pavido milite et concedente^ ne qua proelii causa existeret. Yolo- 
 geses armis et corporibus caesorum aggeratis_, quo cladem nostram 
 testaretur, visu fugientium legionum abstinuio. fama modera- 
 tionis quaerebatur, postquam superbiam expleverat. flumeii Ar- 
 saniam elepbanto insidens, proximus quisque regem vi equorum 
 perrupere, quia rumor incesserat pontem cessurum oneri dolo 
 fabricantium : sed qui ingredi ausi sunt^ validum et fidum intel- 
 lexere. 
 
 16. Ceterum obsessis adeo suppeditavisse rem frumentjiriam 
 constitit^ ut borreis ignem inicerent, contraque prodiderit Corbulo 
 
 Luculhs, Sfc."] Cf. Liv. Epit. 98, " L. (r<pi(riv Srt kpcIttwv avrwu ^v. 
 
 Lucullus in Armenia Mithridatem, et- quorum siinulacrwm] *A Yery near 
 
 Tigranem , . . fudit" (69 A.c), and Epit. resemblance to which.' The Eomans 
 
 101, " Cn. Pompeius Tigranem in dedi- were not actually sent under the yoke : 
 
 tionem accepit eique ademptis Syria they were spared that indignity; but 
 
 Phoenice Cilicia regnum Armeniae re- there was a very near approach to it : 
 
 stituit " {Q^ A.c). What the Caesars had they underwent indignities almost as 
 
 done will be seen from ii. 3, vi. 31, xi. 8, humiliating ; and these are detailed in 
 
 xii. 44, &o. the following clauses. 
 
 15. praefluebat'] The accusative with proximus quisque regem] Cf. Liv, viii. 
 
 this verb occurs only in Horace iv. 14. 26, 32, "qui proximi tribunal forte steterant." 
 
 and the elder Pliny, N. H. iii. 16. The 'Prope' is used in the same construction, 
 
 Arsanias was an affluent of the Euphrates Plant. Bacch. v. 1. 18, "prope me nescio 
 
 (Plin. V. 20, vi. 31). It is supposed to quis loquitur." 
 
 be the modem Arsen. For the passage 16. prodiderit Corhulo] In his writings, 
 
 cf. Dion Cass. Ixii. 21, 6 Udpdos a(prJK€u (as the tense shows). Pliny refers to his 
 
 avrovs TrpoBLo/jLoXr^crdiJ.evos Iva rhv iroraixht/ memoirs, in the list of authors coe suited 
 
 avTtp 'Apaavluv (€v^w(riu . . . Tvo, iydii^rjTai for the 5th and 6th books of his Natural 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 425 
 
 Parthos inopes copiarum et pabulo attrito relicturos oppugna- 
 tionenij neque se plus tridui itinere afuisse. adicit iure iurando 
 Paeti cautiim apud signa, adstantibus iis quos testificando rex 
 misissetj neminem Romanum Armeniam ingressurum, donee re- 
 ferrentur litterae Neronis^ an paci annueret. quae ut augendae 
 infamiae composita^ sic reliqua non in obscure babeutur, una die 
 quadraginta milium spatium emensum esse Paetum_, desertis passim 
 sauciis_, neque minus deformem illam fugientium trepidationem 
 quam si terga in acie vertissent. Corbulo cum suis copiis aput 
 ripam Euphratis obvius non eam speciem insignium et armorum 
 praetulit, ut diversitatem exprobraret. maesti manipuli ac vicem 
 commilitonum miserantes ne lacrimis quidem temperare ; vix prae 
 fletu usurpata consalutatio. decesserat certamen virtutis et 
 ambitio gloriae felicium hominum affectus : sola misericordia 
 valebat^ et apud minor es magis. 
 
 17. Ducum inter se brevie sermo secutus est^ hoc conquerente 
 iam inritum laborem^ potuisse bellum fuga Partborum finiri : ille 
 integra utrique cuncta respondit : converterent aquilas et iuncti 
 invaderent Armeniam abscessu Yologesis infirmatam. non ea 
 imperatoris habere mandata Corbulo : periculo legionum commo- 
 tum e provincia egressum ; quando in incerto habeantur Parthorum 
 conatus, Suriam repetiturum : sic quoque optimam Fortunam 
 orandam, ut pedes confectus spatiis itinerum alacrem et facilitate 
 camporum praevenientem equitem adsequeretur. exin Paetus 
 per Cappadociam hibernavit : at Vologesis ad Corbulonem missi 
 nuntii^ detraheret castelia trans Euphraten amnemque, ut olim, 
 medium faceret. ille Armeniam quoque diversis praesidiis vacuam 
 
 History, and in v. 20, in his account of even if he started at once (sic quoque) 
 
 the Euphrates. his weary legions would scarcely be able 
 
 pahulo attrito'] ' With their fodder to reach Syria in time to check the Par- 
 
 almost exhausted.' Cf. H. i. 10, " attritis thian cavalry (in case they invaded 
 
 opibus ;" and H. ii. 56, "attritis Italiae Syria). He speaks of the march of the 
 
 rebus." For the ellipse of ' fuisse ' with two armies as a kind of race, each being 
 
 'relicturos' see ii. 73, and the note anxious to get into Syria, by different 
 
 there under * adsecuturum.' Below, for routes, before the other. Others take 
 
 the reason why the oath was taken ' equitem ' to be the cavalry of Corbulo : 
 
 * apud signa,' cf. i. 39. but I do not see why Corbulo's horsemen 
 
 apud minores'] This seems contrasted might not have been restrained to keep 
 
 with * ducum,' immediately following, pace with his infantry then as well as 
 
 and means consequently * the soldiers of at any other time. 
 
 lower rank.' In xv. 20, 'minorum' is diversis praesidiis'] ' Hostile garrisons,' 
 
 similarly employed, " praevalidi provin- ' garrisons of the opposite party,' i. e. of 
 
 cialium et opibus nimiis ad iniurias Tiridates and his supporters against 
 
 minorum elati." Tigranes. Cf. Juv. xiii. 136, " Si decies 
 
 17. equitem] The cavalry, I think, of laetis diversa parte tabellis ;" Suet, 
 
 the Parthiaus. Corbulo was afraid that Jul, 29, " consules e parte diversa." So 
 
426 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c 815. 
 
 fieri expostulabat. et postremo concessit rex; dirutaque quae 
 Euphraten ultra communiverat Corbulo_, et Armenii sine ai'bitro 
 relicti sunt. 
 
 18. At Romae tropaea de Parthis arcusque medio Capitolini 
 mentis sistebantur_, decreta ab senatu integro adbuc bello neque 
 turn omissa_, dum aSpectui consulitur spreta conscientia. qnin et 
 dissimulandis rerum externarum curis Nero frumentum })lebis 
 vetustate corruptum in Tiberim iecit, quo securitatem annonae 
 sustentaret. cuius pretio nihil additum est, quamvis ducentas 
 ferme naves portu in ipso violentia tempestatis et centum alias 
 Tiberi subvectas fortuitus ignis absumpsisset. tris dein consulares, 
 L. Pisonem, Dncenium Geminum, Pompeium Paulinum vectiga- 
 libus publicis praeposuit_, cum insectatione priorum principum, qui 
 gravitate sumptuum iustos reditus anteissent : se annuum sexcen- 
 ties sestertium rei publicae largiri. 
 
 19. Percrebuerat ea tempestate pravissimus mos, cum propin- 
 quis comitiis aut sorte provinciarum plerique orbi fictis adoptioni- 
 bus adsciscerent filios, praeturasque et provincias inter patres 
 sortiti statim emitterent manu quos adoptaverant. magna cum 
 invidia senatum adeunt, ius naturae, labores educandi adversus 
 fraudem et artes et brevitatem adoptionis enumerant. satis pretii 
 esse orbis quod multa securitate, nullis oneribus gratiam bonores 
 cuncta prompta et obvia haberent. sibi promissa legum diu ex- 
 spectata in ludibrium verti, quando quis sine sollicitudine parens, 
 sine luctu orbus longa patrum vota repente adaequaret. factum 
 
 Tacitus uses ' ex diverse ' H. ii. 75, and consul suffectus in some year unknown, 
 
 ii. 5 and 73. Below, 'sine arbitro' is For Pompeius Paulinus, cf. xiii. 5o. He 
 
 ' without any one to interfere with them.' too was consul suffectus. 
 
 Cf. xvi. 11, " mortem sine arbitro per-' 19. pravissimus mas'] In this m ay the 
 
 mittens;" and Cic. de Off. iii. 31, "re- object of the Lex Papia Poppaea was 
 
 metis arbitris ad se adulescentem iussit eluded ; a law which directed the claims 
 
 venire." of candidates to be weighed to some 
 
 18. securitatem annonae sustentaref] extent by the number of children they 
 
 * Keep up an easy feeling with reference had. Of course below ' inter pat]'es ' is 
 
 to the com market.' Nero threw away ' amongst those who were really fathers.' 
 
 a quantity of spoilt wheat, in order to This is clearly the sense from the next 
 
 make the lower orders suppose that there woi"ds ' senatum adeunt,' and from 
 
 must be abundance, if he threw away ' longa patrum vota ' farther on. 
 
 so much. emitterent manu'] * Released them ' 
 
 portu in ipso] Sc. ' Ostia.'jBelow, 'qui from the 'patria potestas,' by ' emanci- 
 
 gravitate,' &c., is 'who by the extrava- patio,' an act involving a triple sale 
 
 gance of their expenditure had out- of the son by the father, and a double 
 
 stripped the regular income of the manumission by the purchaser ; a fourth 
 
 State.' sale to the parent, and a final mariumis- 
 
 L. Pisonem"] Cf. xiii. 28. ' Ducenius sion by him. See Dr. Smith's Diet, of 
 
 Geminus was praefectus urbi under Antiquities, under ' Emancipatio.' Below, 
 
 Galba (H. i. 14), and must have been for 'magna cum invidia,' cf. iv. 53. 
 
A.D. 62.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 427 
 
 ex eo senatus consultuiu, ne simulata adoptio in uUa pai'te 
 muueris public! iuvaret ac ne usurpandis quidem hereditatibus 
 prodesset. 
 
 20. Exim Claudius Timarchus Cretensis reus agitur ceteris 
 criminibus, ut solent praevalidi provincialium et opibus nimiis ad 
 iniurias minorum elati : una vox eius usque ad contumeliam 
 senatus penetraverat^ quod dictitasset in sua pdtestate situm, an 
 pro consulibus qui Cretam obtinuissent grates agerentur. quam 
 occasiouem Paetus Tlirasea ad bonum publicum vertens_, postquam 
 de reo censuerat provincia Greta depellendum_, haec addidit : ' usu 
 probatum est^ patres conscripti, leges egregias, exempla lionesta 
 apud bonos ex delictis aliorum gigni. sic oratorum licentia 
 Ginciam rogationem, candidatorum ambitus lulias leges^ magis- 
 tratuum avaritia Galpurnia scita pepererunt; nam culpa quam 
 poena tempore prior, emendari quam peccare posterius est. ergo 
 adversus novam provincialium superbiam dignum fide constantia- 
 que Romana capiamus consilium, quo tutelae sociorum nihil 
 derogetur, nobis opinio decedat, qualis quisque babeatur, alibi 
 quam in civium iudicio esse, 
 
 21. Olim quidem non modo praetor aut consul sed privati etiam 
 mittebantur, qui provincias viserent et quid de cuiusque oljsequio 
 videretur referrent, trepidabantque gentes de aestimatione singu- 
 lorum: at nunc colimus externos et adulamur, et quo modo ad 
 nutum alicuius grates, ita promptius accusatio decernitur. decer- 
 naturque et maneat provincialibus potentjam suam tali modo 
 ostentandi : sed laus falsa et precibus expressa perinde cohibeatur 
 
 20. penetraveraf] * Had gone so far as Calpurnia de repetuudis was a ' scitiim,' 
 
 to insult the Senate.' The expressions being proposed by L. Calpni-nius Piso, 
 
 used by Timarchus are spoken of as so 149 a.c, a Tribunus plebis. Although 
 
 many arrows or shafts, and one of them Tacitus says * scita/ there was only 
 
 had struck so deep as to fix a stigma on one. 
 
 the Senate. 21. singulorurti] These are either indi- 
 
 rogationein] Tacitus does not use vidual Romans who after travelling 
 
 ' rogatio ' here in its distinctive sense, a.s with a libera legatio, reported at home 
 
 in any way distinguished from 'lex,' or the condition of the provinces, or per- 
 
 * scitum.' Properly ' rogatio ' was any sons sent on special missions to bring 
 
 measure proposed to a body possessed home such reports. The genitive is a 
 
 of legislative authority, and was there- subjective one : ' the report given by 
 
 fore an incipient ' lex ' or ' plebiscitum,' individuals.' 
 
 as the case might bo. As a matter of ostentandi} The genitive seems to me 
 
 fact the ' Cincia rogatio ' (xi. 5) was unintelligible. Tacitus uses a genitive 
 
 really a ' plebiscitum,' a law passed after adjectives put substantively, as in 
 
 A.c. 204 in the comitia tributa, on the xiii. 26, and elsewhere. See note on xv. 
 
 rogation of a Tribunus, M. Cincius Ali- 5, and also note on ii. 43, under ' insec- 
 
 mentus. The Julian Leges embraced a tandi.' But there is nothing of the kind 
 
 lex de ambitu, passed in the time of here. I believe some word to have 
 
 Augustus (Suet. August. 34). The Lex dropped out. The reading of the Cod. 
 
428 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 815 816. 
 
 quam nialitia_, quam crudelitas. plura saepe peccantur dum 
 demeremur quam dum offendimus. quaedam immo virtuten odio 
 sunt, severitas obstinata, invictus adversum gratiam animus. 
 . inde initia magistratuum nostrorum meliora ferme et finis inclinat, 
 dum in modum candidatorum suffragia conquirimus ; quae si 
 arceantur, aequabilius atque constantius provinciae regentur. nam 
 ut metu repetuiidarum infracta avaritia est_, ita vetita gratiarum 
 actione ambitio coliibetur/ 
 
 22. Magno adsensu celebrata sententia, non tamen senatus con- 
 sultum perfici potuit, abnuentibus consulibus ea de re relatum. 
 mox auctore principe sanxere, ne quis ad concilium sociorum 
 referret agendas apud senatum pro praetoribus prove consulibus 
 grates, neu quis ea legatione fungeretur. 
 
 Isdem consulibus gymnasium ictu fulminis conflagravit, effi- 
 giesque in eo Neronis ad informe aes liquefacta. et motu terrae 
 celebre Campaniae oppidum Pompei magna ex parte proruit. 
 defunctaque virgo Vestalis Laelia, in cuius locum Cornelia ex 
 familia Cossorum capta est. 
 
 23. Memmio Regulo et Verginio Rufo consulibus natam sibi ex 
 Poppaea filiam Nero ultra mortale gaudium accepit appellavitque 
 Augugtam, dato et Poppaeae eodem cognomentoi locus puer- 
 perio colonia Antium fuit, ubi ipse generatus erat. iam senatus 
 uterum Poppaeae commendaverat dis votaque publico susceperat, 
 quae multiplicata exsolutaque. et additae supplicationes tem- 
 plumque Fecunditati et certamen ad exemplar Actiacae religionis 
 
 Med. is ' optentandi,' one inaccuracy at celebrem Campaniae urbem . . . conse- 
 
 all events. disse terrae motu . . . audivimus. 
 
 22. ea de re relatum] Tacitus uses a Nonis Februariis hie fuit motus llegulo 
 
 substantive, ' relatus,' in Germ. 3, " car- et Verginio consulibus." 
 
 mina quorum relatu," and H. i. 30, 23. Memmio Regulo] C. Memmiiis Ee- 
 
 " neque enim virtutum relatu in com- gulus, son, no doubt, of the P. Memmius 
 
 paratione Othonis opus est ;" both times Regulus, consul suffectus a.d. 31 (v. 11). 
 
 in the ablative case. But it does not L. Verginius Rufus was again apparently 
 
 follow that he would therefore use an consul suffectus a.d. 69, and a.d. 97, in 
 
 accusative of the same word. I believe which year ho died (Plin. Epist. ii. 1). 
 
 the construction is, ' de ea re relatum generatus eraf] ' Was born :' a solitary 
 
 esse' (a verb). Cf. iii. 34, " plures instance according to Draeger. For the 
 
 obturbabant neque relatum de negotio vows mentioned in the next sentence, 
 
 neque Caecinam dignum tantae rei cen- cf. Fr. Arv. tab. xvii. b. xii. k. Februar. 
 
 sorem." " (in capi)tolio vota soluta quae suscepe- 
 
 propraetorihus'] That is, 'legati pro (rant pr)o partu et incolumitate Pop- 
 
 praetoro/ as distinguished from the ' pro- paeae." 
 
 consules ' of the senatorial provinces. Actiacae religionis'] Cf. Suet. Aug. 
 
 Below, for ' capta est,' cf. ii. 86. 18, " quoque Actiacae victoriae memoria 
 
 oppidum Pompei] Tacitus does not celebratior et in posterum esset urbem 
 
 agree with Seneca in the date of this Nicopolim apud Actium condidi ., lu- 
 
 event. Seneca (Nat. Quaest. vi. 1) puts dosque illic quinquennales constituit." 
 
 it in the following year, "Pompeios What these games were Dion Cass, tells 
 
A.D. 62-63.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 429 
 
 decretum, utque Fortunarum eflBgies aureae in solio Capitolini 
 lovis locarentur, ludicrum circense ut luliae genti apud Bo villas, 
 ita Claudiae Domitiaeque apud Antium ederetur. quae fluxa 
 fuere, quartum intra mensem defuncta infante, rursusque exortae 
 adulationes censentium honorem divae et pulvinar aedemque et 
 sacerdotem. at que ipse ut laetitiae, ita maeroris inmodicus egit. 
 adnotatum est, omni senatu Antium sub recentem partum effuso, 
 Thraseam proliibitum inmoto animo praenuntiam imminentis 
 caedis contumeliam excepisse. secutam deliinc vocem Caesaris 
 ferunt, qua reconciliatum se Thraseae apud Senecam iactaverit, ac 
 Senecam Caesari gratulatuni: unde gloria egregiis viris et peri- 
 cula gliscebant. 
 
 24. Inter quae veris principio legati Parthorum mandata regis 
 Yologesis litterasque in eandem formam attulere : se priora et 
 totiens iactata super optinenda Armenia nunc omittere, quoniam 
 di, quamvis potentium populorum arbitri, possessionem Parthis 
 non sine ignominia Romana tradidissent. nuper clausum Tigra- 
 nen ; post Paetum legionesque cum opprimere posset, incolumes 
 dimisisse. satis adprobatam vim ; datum et lenitatis experimen- 
 tum. nee recusaturum Tiridaten accipiendo* diademati in urbem 
 venire, nisi sacerdotii religione attineretur. iturum ad signa et 
 effigies principis, ubi legionibus coram regnum auspicaretur. 
 
 25. Talibus Yologesis litteris, quia Paetus di versa tamquam 
 rebus integris scribebat, interrogatus centurio, qui cum legatis 
 advenerat, quo in statu Armenia esset, omnes inde Romanes 
 excessisse respondit. tum intellecto barbarorum inrisu qui pete- 
 rent quod eripuerant, consuluit inter primores civitatis Nero, 
 bellum anceps an pax inbonesta placeret. nee dubitatum de 
 bello. et Corbulo militum atque liostium tot per annos gnarus ge- 
 rendae rei praeficitur, ne cuius alterius inscitia rursum peccaretur, 
 quia Paeti piguerat. igitur inriti remittuntur, cum donis tamen, 
 
 us (li. 1), ayciixi re riva Kal fxovaiKhu near the standards in the camp. Cf. ir. 
 
 Kol yv/xviKhu tinro5poiJ.ias re irefTerTipiKhv 2, H. ii. 29. Compare Suet. Tib. 48, 
 
 Uphv Karedii^ep "Aktiu avrhv irpoffa- " solae nullam Seiani imaginem inter 
 
 yop€v(ras. signa coluissent." 
 
 aj.ud Bovillas] Cf. ii. 41, " sacrarium 25. cuius alterius] * Of any second 
 
 genti luliae effigiesque divo Augusto person.' Paetus and his successor being 
 
 aput Bovillas dicantur." i-egarded as a pair, in which case ' alter,' 
 
 24. quamvis potentium] * No matter not ' alius,' is naturally used. Nipperdey 
 how powerful.' For 'quamvis ' in this quotes Agric. v., "quae cuncta etsi con- 
 sense (equivalent to ' quantum vis '), cf. siliis duotuque alterius agebantur;" 
 xvi. 16, " quamvis honestos civium Suet. Nero, 24. " ne cuius alterius hiero- 
 exitus;" and H. i. 26, " consilii quamvis nicarum memoria aut vestigium extaret 
 egregii . . . inimicus." usquam; " H. ii. 90, " tamquam apud 
 
 effigies principis] These were placed alterius civitatis senatum populumque." 
 
430 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 816. 
 
 unde spes fieret non frustra eadem oraturum Tiridaten_, si pieces 
 ipse attulisset. Syriaeque exsecutio Cestio,, copiae militares (Jor- 
 buloni permissae et quinta decuma legio ducente Mario CeJso e 
 Pannonia adiectaest. scribitur tetrarchis ac regibus praefectisque 
 et procuratoribus et qui praetorum finitimas provincias regel)ant, 
 iussis Corbulonis obsequi_, in tantum ferme modum aucta potestate, 
 quern populus Romanus On. Pompeio bellum piraticum gesture 
 dederat. regressum Paetum, cum graviora metueret^ facetiis 
 insectari satis habuit Caesar, his ferme verbis : ignoscere se 
 statim, ne tam promptus in pavorem longiore sollicitudine 
 aegresceret. 
 
 26. At Oorbulo quarta et duodecuma legionibus^ quae fortissimo 
 quoque amisso et ceteris exterritis parum habiles proelio yide- 
 bantur, in Syriam translatis, sextam inde ac tertiam legiones, 
 integrum militem et crebris ac prosperis laboribus exercitum^ in 
 Armeniam ducit. addiditque legionem quintam_, quae per Pontum 
 agens expers cladis fuerat^ simul quintadecumanos recens adductos 
 et vexilla delectorum ex Illyrico et Aegypto_, quodque alarum 
 cohortiumque, et auxilia regum in unum conducta apud Melitenen, 
 qua tramittere Euphraten parabat. tum lustratum rite exercitum 
 ad contionem vocat orditurque magnifica de auspiciis imperatoris 
 rebusque a se gestis, adversa in inscitiam Paeti declinans, multa 
 auctoritate^ quae viro militari pro facundia erat. 
 
 27. Mox iter L. Lucullo quondam penetratum, apertis quae 
 
 Syriaeque exsecutio^ Cf. i. 11, " plures pMcal reasons — -might include all go- 
 
 facilius munia rei publicae sociatis la- vernors, except those of Asia and Ai rica, 
 
 boribus exsecuturos." The expression who were always ' consulares.' Cf. i. 
 
 seems only a brief one for * Syriaeque 74, and the note there, 
 
 administrandae munerum exsecutio.' quern . . . dederat] The expressi-m is 
 
 * Cestius ' is an emendation for ' citio,' a little curious : * increasing his power 
 
 of the Cod. Med. Cestius Callus was to about the same limit which the Eoman 
 
 logatus pro praetore of Syria at the out- people had assigned to Pompeius,' gi ving 
 
 break of the Jewish war. Corbulo as great powers as had been 
 
 praefectisque] These are the com- given to Pompeius. 
 
 manders of the allied ' cohortos * (H. v. 26. vexilla delectorum] See noto on 
 
 10) and 'alae' (xv. 26), "quodque i. 17, for an explanation of this. Below, 
 
 alarum cohortiumque." The ' procu- for * aiixilia regum,' cf. xiii. 7. 
 
 ratores ' are not those of the ' rei pri- declinans] Orelli quotes Sail. Hist, 
 
 vatae ' of Nero, but the governors of the ii. Fr. 37, " ad hoc rumoribus advor^a in 
 
 lessor provinces, Cappadocia for instance pravitatem, secunda in casum, fortuuam 
 
 (xii. 49). in temeritatem doclinando cormimpe- 
 
 et qui praetorum] These, I suppose, bant." The sense is the same as in 
 
 would be legati pro praetore of ira- xiv. 38, "adversa pravitati prosperi ad 
 
 perial provinces, such as Cilicia, Galatia; fortunam referebat." 
 
 and the proconsular governors of sena- 27. L. Lucullo] In the MithrMatic 
 
 torial provinces, such as Bithynia, who war. Cf. Plutarch, Lucullus, 24, &c. 
 
 had been praetors before their appoint- * Penetrare iter' is only found liero. 
 
 mont. The words — except for geogra- The accusative is a cognate one, after 
 
A.D. 63.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 431 
 
 vetustas obsaepserat, pergit. et venientes Tiridatis Vologesisque 
 de pace legates baud aspernatus, adiungit iis centuriones cum 
 mandatis non inmitibus : nee enim adbuc eo ventum^ ut certamine 
 extremo opus esset. multa Romanis secunda, quaedam Partbis 
 evenisse, documento adversus superbiam. proinde et Tiridati 
 conducere intactum vastatioiiibus regnum done accipere, et Volo- 
 gesen meUus societate Romana quam damnia mutuis genti Par- 
 tborum consulturum. scire quantum intus discordiarum quamque 
 indomitas et praeferoces nationes regeret : contra imperatori suo 
 immotam ubique pacem et unum id bellum esse, simul consiUo 
 terrorem adicere, et megistanas Armenios^ qui primi a nobis defe- 
 cerant, pelHt sedibus, castella eorum excindit, plana edita, vaHdos 
 invalidosque pari metu complet. 
 
 28. Non infensum nee cum bostili odio Corbulonis nomen etiam 
 barbaris babebatur, eoque consilium eius fidum credebant. ergo 
 Vologeses neque atrox in summam^ et quibusdam praefecturis 
 indutias petit : Tiridates locum diemque coUoquio poscit. tempus 
 propinquum, locus_, in quo nuper obsessae cum Paeto legiones 
 erant, barbaris delectus est ob memoriam laetioris sibi rei, Cor- 
 buloni non vitatus, ut dissimilitude fortunae gloriam augeret. 
 neque infamia Paeti angebatur, quod eo maxime patuit, quia filio 
 eius tribune ducere manipulos atque operire reliquias malae 
 pugnae imperavit. die pacta Tiberius Alexander_, inlustris eques 
 Remanus, minister bello datus^ et Vinicianus Annius, gener Cer- 
 
 the model of ' pergere iter, ire viam,' and an item in the distress was a palpi- 
 Ac. tation of the heart, &c. 
 
 pellit sedihus'] Tacitus often joins the 28. atrox in swrnmain] Cf. H. ii. 16, 
 historic infinitive with a finite verb. See " Corsicam prope adflixit Decumi Pacarii 
 note on ii. 4, under * ubi minitari.' This temeritas tanta mole belli nihil in sum- 
 transition seems found sometimes when mam profutura ipsi exitiosa." So xiii. 
 a general statement is first made, and 38, " nihil in summam pacis proficie- 
 the items which form it are then sub- batur." The sense is, that Vologeses 
 joined. Here Corbulo adopted a general did not give a surly answer with refer- 
 policy of intimidation, and the steps in ence to the whole question at issue, 
 it are then detailed. So H. iii. 10, " ubi Tiberius Alexander'] A Jew, pro- 
 crudescere seditio," — a general state- curator of Judaea after Cuspius Fadus 
 ment, — and then "et a conviciis ad (Joseph. Ant. Jud. xx. 5). He was 
 tela transibant," — the specific incident praefect of Egypt 69 a.d. (H. i. 11). 
 in the process. Elsewhere the infinitive For * inlustris eques Romanus/ cf. 
 expi-esses something which is capable of ii. 59. 
 
 being viewed as consisting of successive Vinicianus Annius] So Rycke for the 
 
 acts : the finite verb follows when this Vinianus Annius of the MS. He was 
 
 is no longer the case. So ii. 4, " ubi probably the son of M. Annius Vinicianus 
 
 minitari Artabanus et parum subsidii in (vi. 9), and brother of Annius Pollio (xv. 
 
 Armeniis erat." Cf. iii. 26. I confess xii. 56, 71). He was sent to Eome under 
 
 51, seems to fall imder neither head quite pretence of escorting Tiridates, but 
 
 satisfactorily. Perhaps the sense is, that really as a hostage to Nero for his 
 
 Agnppina's body was generally shaken, father-in-law's conduct (Dio. Ixii. 23). 
 
432 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 816-817. 
 
 bulonis, nondum senatoria aetate sed pro legato quintae le^^ioni 
 inpositus, in castra Tiridatis veiiere_, honore eius ac ne metueret 
 insidias tali pignore; viceni deliinc equites adsumpti. et viso 
 Corbulone rex prior equo desiluit; nee cunctatus Corbulo, sed 
 pedes uterque dexteras miscuere. 
 
 29. Exin Romanus laudat iuvenem omissis praecipitibus tiita et 
 salutaria capessentem. ille de nobilitate generis multum prae- 
 fatus_, cetera temperanter adiungit : iturum quippe Romam latu- 
 rumque novum Caesari decus^ non adversis Parthorum rebus 
 supplicem Arsaciden. turn placuit Tiridaten ponere apud eflBg'iem 
 Caesaris insigne regium nee nisi manu Neronis resumere ; et; col- 
 loquium osculo finitum. dein paucis diebus interiectis, magna 
 utrimque specie, inde eques compositus per turmas et insignibus 
 patriis_, bine agmina legionum stetere fulgentibus aquilis signisque 
 et simulacris deum in modum templi : medio tribunal sedem cjuru- 
 lem et sedes effigiem Neronis sustinebat. ad quam progr(3ssus 
 TiridateSj caesis ex more victimis, sublatum capiti diadema ima- 
 gini subiecit, magnis apud cunctos animorum motibus, quos auge- 
 bat insita adhuc oculis exercituum Romanorum caedes aut obnidio. 
 at nunc versos casus : iturum Tiridaten ostentui gontibus, quanto 
 minus quam captivum ? 
 
 30. Addidit gloriae Corbulo comitatem epulasque ; et rogil ante 
 rege causas, quotiens novum aliquit adverterat, ut initia vigiliarum 
 per centurionem nuntiari, convivium bucina dimitti et structam 
 ante augurale aram subdita face accendi_, cuncta in mains attol- 
 lens admiratione prisci moris affecit. postero die spatium oiavit, 
 quo tantum itineris adi turns fratres ante matremque vis(?ret : 
 obsidem interea filiam tradit litterasque supplices ad Neroneia. 
 
 31. Et digressus Pacorum apud Medos, Vologesen Ecbauanis 
 repperit, non incuriosum fratris : quippe et propriis nuntiis a Cor- 
 bulone petierat, ne quam imaginem servitii Tiridates perferret neu 
 
 Augustus fixed tlie senatorial age at 25 of tlie sentence. The object of the altar 
 
 (Dio Hi. 20). here spoken of was, I suppose, as Lipsius 
 
 29. insignihus] For the case, cf. iii. says, to receive the oflferings made to the 
 
 24. Below, ' capiti ' is the reading of gods at the beginning of the feast. See 
 
 the MS., for which the editors have his note on the passage. For ' augu- 
 
 printed ' capite,' on the ground that the rale,' cf. ii. 13. 
 
 dative after * sublatum ' could only be 31. Ecbatanis] A city of southern 
 
 used of some person ; but I think it may Media, near the Orontes range. The 
 
 be right, after the analogy of "parte genuine form is probably Agbatana. 
 
 iam decori abstrahi " (ii. 26), and "ex- The name is derived by Bochart from 
 
 tractum custodiae iuvenem " (vi. 23). 'agbatha,' ' many coloured ' (cf. Berod. 
 
 80. affecW] The subject of course is i. 98, where he speaks of the colours of 
 
 Corbulo, and 'regem' is understood the seven ramparts) . Others connect it 
 
 from * rogitante rege ' at the beginning with ' achmetha/ and through the He- 
 
A.D. 63-64.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 433 
 
 ferrum traderet aut complexu provincias optinentium arceretur 
 foribusve eorum adsisteret^ tantusque ei Romae quantus consulibus 
 honor esset. scilicet externae superbiae sueto non inerat notitia 
 iiostri_, apud quos vis imperii valet, inania tramittuntur. 
 
 32. Bodem anno Caesar nationes Alpium maritiroarum in ius 
 Latii transtulit. equitum Romanorum locos sedilibus plebis ante- 
 posuit apud circum ; nam que ad eam diem indiscreti inibant_, quia 
 lex Roscia nihil nisi de quattuordecim ordinibus sancxit. spec- 
 tacula gladiatorum idem annus habuit pari magnificentia ac priora : 
 sed feminarum illustrium senatorumque plures per arenam foedati 
 sunt. 
 
 33. C. Laecanio M. Licinio consulibus acriore in dies cupidine 
 adigebatur Nero promiscuas scaenas frequentandi. nam adhuc 
 per domum aut bortos cecinerat luvenalibus ludis, quos ut parum 
 celebres et tantae voci angustos spernebat. non tamen Romae 
 incipere ausus Neapolim quasi Graecam urbem delegit : inde 
 initium fore, ut transgressus in Achaiam insignesque et antiquitus 
 sacras coronas adeptus maiore fama studia civium eliceret. ergo 
 contractum oppidanorum volgus, et quos e proximis coloniis et 
 municipiis eius rei fama acciverat, quique Oaesarem per honorem 
 aut varies usus sectantur, etiam militum manipuli, tbeatrum Nea- 
 politanorum complent. 
 
 34. Illic, plerique ut arbitrabantur, triste, ut ipse, providum 
 potius et secundis numinibus evenit : nam egresso qui adfuerat 
 
 brew make it to be 'a collection of province under a procurator (H. ii. 12) . 
 
 dwellings.' Others suppose it to mean The * ius Latii ' was the New Latinitas, 
 
 * treasure city.' Haraadan is generally by which any magistrate in the town 
 
 supposed to occupy the site of this Ecba- possessing it, by virtue of having held 
 
 tana. oj0&ce therein, obtained the * civitas.' 
 
 complexu provincias optinentium] Tiri- apud circum] Claudius (Suet. Claud, 
 
 dates was not to be prevented from offer- 21) assigned distinctive seats to the 
 
 ing and receiving the salutations usual senators at the circus. Nero now gave 
 
 between equals amongst the Romans, separate places to the knights : " loca 
 
 He was not to be treated slightingly, as equiti secreta a ceteris tribuit " (Suet, 
 
 though unworthy of civility from the Nero, 11). The arrangements of the 
 
 provincial rulers. Suetonius tells us Lex Eoscia (67 a.c.) were applicable 
 
 (Nero, 37) that Nero never condescended to the theatre only, not to the circus, 
 
 to kiss any one on arrival or departure. 33. M. Licinio] M. Licinius Crassus 
 
 Cf. Suet. Tib. 10, "paucosque admodum was the son of the M. Licinius Crassus 
 
 in digressu osculatus." Besides this, of iv. 62, and brother apparently of 
 
 Tiridates was not to be kept waiting for Piso Licinianus, Pompeius Magnus, and 
 
 an interview. Crassus Scribonianus (H. i. 48). Below, 
 
 32. Alpium maritimarum] These were 'promiscuas scaenas' is 'stages acces- 
 
 the mountain range along the coast of sible to all;' theatres where any one 
 
 Liguria, from Genua to the river Varus, could be present as a * spectator.' 
 
 where the mountains turn north and Nero's performances had hitherto been 
 
 extend to the Cottian Alps. The Alps private. 
 
 Maritimae under the empire formed a luvenalibus ludis] Cf. xiv. 15. 
 
 F f 
 
434 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c 817. 
 
 populo vacuum et sine ullius noxa tlieatrum collapsum est. ergo 
 per conpositos cantus grates dis atque ipsam recentis casus brtu- 
 nam celebrans petiturusque maris Hadriae traiectus apud "Bene- 
 ventum interim consedit_, ubi gladiatorium munus a Yatiuio C(3lebre 
 edebatur. Yatinius inter foedissima eius aulae ostenta fuit^ sutri- 
 nae tabernae alumnus, corpore detorto, facetiis scurrilibus, primo 
 in contumelias assumptus; debinc optimi cuiusque criminatione 
 eo usque valuit_, ut gratia_, pecunia, vi nocendi etiam malos prae- 
 mineret. 
 
 35. Bins munus frequentanti Neroni ne inter voluptates quidem 
 a sceleribus cessabatur. isdem quippe illis diebus Torcpatus 
 Silanus mori adigitur, quia super luniae familiae claritudinem 
 divum Augustum atavum ferebat. iussi accusatores obicere pro- 
 digum largitionibus_> neque aliam spem quam in rebus no vis esse. 
 quin non ignobiles habere, quos ab epistulis et libellis et rationi- 
 bus appellet, nomina summae curae et meditamenta. turn intimus 
 quisque libertorum vincti abreptique. et cum damnatio instaret, 
 braccbiorum venas Torquatus inter scidit. secutaque Neronis 
 oratio ex more, quamvis sontem et defensioni merito diffisum vic- 
 turum tamen fuisse, si clementiam iudicis exspectasset. 
 
 36. Nee multo post, omissa in praesens Acbaia (causae in in- 
 certo fuere) urbem revisit, provincias orientis, maxime Aegyptum, 
 
 34. in contumelias as^umptus] It is Orat. 11. He is the man alluded to by 
 
 not quite clear whether this means that Juvenal (v. 46), "tu Beneventani sutoris 
 
 Vatinius was a butt for others, a recipient nomen habentem siccabis ^calicem na- 
 
 of insults and cuflfs, or a scurrilous jester sorum quattuor." 
 
 upon others. But comparing " Livia in 35. Torquatus Silanus'] Consul a.d. 
 
 familiam luliam nomenque Augustae 53. Probably he was brother to Marcus 
 
 adsumebatur" (i. 8), and similar pas- and Lucius Junius Silanus mentioned in 
 
 sages, the former is probably the sense, xiii. 1. If so, the following table will 
 
 For Vatinius, cf. H. i. 37, Dialog, de show his relationship to Augustus : — 
 
 Augustus. 
 
 I. 
 Julia m. M. Agrippa. 
 
 I 
 Julia. 
 
 Aemilia Lepida m. App. Junius Silanus. 
 
 I 
 Torquatus Silanus. 
 
 He was thus great-great-grandson of Au- find Bitter has made the same emen- 
 
 gustus, so that ' abavum ' would be the dation. The same charge was l^rought 
 
 proper reading, not 'atavum.' But as against the nephew of this Torquatus 
 
 there is, I believe, no absolute proof of (xvi. 8), " tamquam disponeret iam im- 
 
 his relationship to Marcus and Lucius perii curas praeficeretque ration ibus et 
 
 Junius Silanus, I leave the text as I libellis et epistolis libertos." A man 
 
 find it. who did this could only be aping the 
 
 quin non ignohiles'] So I read for the arrangement of a court (' summa curae '), 
 
 * qui ne innobiles ' of the Cod. Med. I and consequently aspiring to a crown. 
 
A.D. 64.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 435 
 
 secretis imaginationibus agitans. dehinc edicto testificatus non 
 longam sui absentiam et cuncta in re publica perinde immota ac 
 prospera fore, super ea profectione adiit Capitolium. illic vene- 
 ratus deos, cum Vestae quoque templum inisset, repente cunctos 
 per artus tremens, seu numine exterrente, seu facinorum recor- 
 datione numquam timore vacuus, deseruit inceptum, cunctas sibi 
 curas amore patriae leviores dictitans. vidisse maestos civium 
 vultus, audire secretas querimonias, quod tan turn itineris aditurus 
 esset, cuius ne medicos quidem egressus tolerarent, sueti adversum 
 fortuita aspectu principis refoveri. ergo ut in privatis necessi- 
 tudinibus proxima pignora praevalerent, ita populum Romanum 
 vim plurimam habere parendumque retinenti. baec atque talia 
 plebi volentia fuere, voluptatum cupidine et, quae praecipua cura 
 est, rei frumentariae angustias, si abesset, metuenti. senatus et 
 primores in incerto erant, procul an coram atrocior baberetur : 
 dehinc, quae natura magnis timoribus, deterius credebant quod 
 evenerat. 
 
 37. Ipse quo fidem acquireret nihil usquam perinde laetum 
 sibi, publicis locis struere convivia totaque urbe quasi dome uti. 
 et celeberrimae luxu famaque epulae fuere, quas a Tigillino 
 paratas ut exemplum referam, ne saepius eadem prodigentia nar- 
 randa sit. igitur in stagno Agrippae fabricatus est ratem, cui 
 superpositum convivium navium aliarum tractu moveretur. naves 
 auro et ebore distinctae, remigesque exoleti per aetates et scien- 
 tiam libidinum componebantur. volucres et feras diversis e terris 
 et animalia maris Oceano abusque petiverat. crepidinibus stagni 
 lupanaria astabant illustribus feminis completa : et contra scorta 
 visebantur nudis corporibus. iam gestus motusque obsceni; et 
 postquam tenebrae incedebant, quantum iuxta nemoris et cir- 
 cumiecta tecta consonare cantu et luminibus clarescere. ipse per 
 licita atque inlicita foedatus nihil flagitii reliquerat quo corruptior 
 
 36. imaginationibus] A rare word, people, if Nero remained at Eome, 
 
 Draeger says it only occurs elsewliere in thought it would have been better if he 
 
 the elder Pliny. had gone away, and vice versA. 
 
 volentia'] Cf. H. iii. 52, " Muciano 37. in stagno Agrippae] This was 
 
 volentia rescripsere." probably in the gardens of Agrippa's 
 
 cupidine . . . et metuenti] For the house, near the Pantheon, erected by 
 
 co-ordination of the substantive and him in the Campus Martins, 
 
 adjective, cf. ii. 1, "haud perinde nostri crepidinibus] For the use of the simple 
 
 metu quam fidei popularium diffisus ;" iv. ablative instead of an ablative with a pre- 
 
 72, " Frisii . . . nostra magis avaritia position, cf. iii. 61, and the note there on 
 
 quaui obseqvui inpatientes." Below, Delo. Below, * clarescere ' is only found, 
 
 ' deterius credebant,' &c., means that except metaphorically, in writers of the 
 
 that which did happen seemed the worst silver age. 
 thing which could have happened. The 
 
 F f2 
 
436 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 817. 
 
 ageret, nisi paucos post dies uni ex illo contaminatorum grege 
 (nomen Pythagorae fait) in modum soUemnium coniugiorum 
 denupsisset. inditum imperatori flammeum, visi auspices,, dos et 
 genialis torus et faces nuptiales, cuncta denique spectata quae 
 etiam in femina nox operit. 
 
 38. Sequitur clades, forte an dolo principis incertmn (nam 
 utrumque auctores prodidere), sed omnibus quae liuic urbi per 
 violentiam ignium acciderunt gravior atque atrocior. initinm in 
 ea parte circi ortum^ quae Palatino Oaelioque montibus contigua 
 estj ubi per tabernas^ quibus id mercimonium inerat quo flamma 
 alitur^ simul coeptus ignis et statim validus ac vento citus longi- 
 tudinem circi corripuit. neque enim domus munimentis saeptae 
 vel templa muris cincta aut quid aliud morae interiacebat. impetu 
 pervagatum incendium plana primum^ deinde in edita assurgens 
 et rursus inferiora populando, anteiit remedia velocitate mali et 
 obnoxia urbe artis itineribus bucque et illuc flexis atque enormibus 
 vicisj qualis vetus Roma fuit. ad hoc lamenta paventium femina- 
 rum^ fessa aut rudis pueritiae aetas^ quique sibi quique aliis con- 
 sulebant^ dum trabunt invalidos aut opperiuntur, pars mora, pars 
 festinans^ cuncta impediebant. et saepe^ dum in tergum respec- 
 tant, lateribus aut fronte circumveniebantur^ vel si in proxima 
 evaserant, illis quoque igni correptis^ etiam quae longinqua credi- 
 derant in eodem casu reperiebantur. postremo, quid viiarent 
 quid peterent ambigui^ complere vias^ sterni per agros; quidam 
 
 nomen Pythagorae fuif\ ' Pythagorae ' tiguous to the Palatine and Caelian hills, 
 
 is the genitive probably. Cf. ii. 16, and except rather vaguely to indicate the 
 
 the note under ' Idistaviso.' Perhaps in point of the building where tJie fire 
 
 the expression ' contaminatorum grege,' began. 
 
 Tacitus was thinking of the words of obnoxia urhe'] * The city being at its 
 
 Horace, " contaminatorum cum grege naercy by reason of its crowded, lanes, 
 
 turpium morbo virorum." (Car. i. and its streets winding hither and thither, 
 
 37. 9, 10). and destitute of all regularity.' After 
 
 38. an dolo principis] Dion Cassius 'obnoxia,' supply 'incendio,' from' incen- 
 
 (Ixii. IV) and Suetonius (Nero, 38) have dium,' the subject of the sentence, 
 
 no doubt about the Emperor's handy- For the irregularity of Rome, cf. Liv. v. 
 
 work in the conflagration. The former 55 (after the destruction of the city by 
 
 seems to attribute it to a childish desire the Gauls), " festinatio curam exemit 
 
 to rival Priam, who saw Troy in flames, vices dirigendi . . . formaque urbis sit 
 
 Suetonius represents Nero as desirous occupatae magis quam divisae similis." 
 
 to get rid of the narrow winding streets, fessa aut rudis pueritiae aetas^ The 
 
 and rebuild the city more splendidly Cod. Med. has ' aetate ' after ' fessa ;' 
 
 than before. but this must be a blunder. Tacitus 
 
 in ea parte circi'] Tacitus seems to (xiv. 33) speaks of * fessa aetas ' meaning 
 
 mean the eastern end of the Circus the aged ; and in i. 46, has " Augustum 
 
 Maximus, abutting on the valley between fessa aetate." The sense is, ' the weary 
 
 the Palatine and Caelian hills. The years of the aged, or the inexperienced 
 
 Circus could scarcely be said to be con- life of childhood.' 
 
A.D. 64.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XY. 437 
 
 amissis omnibus fortunis diurni quoque victus, alii caritate suorum, 
 quos eripere nequiverant, quamvis patente effugio interiere. nee 
 quisquam defendere audebat, crebris multorum minis restinguere 
 probibentium, et quia alii palam faces iaciebant atque esse sibi 
 auctorem vociferabantur, sive ut raptus licentius exercerent seu 
 iussu. 
 
 39. Eo in tempore Nero Antii agens non ante in urbem regres- 
 sus est quam domui eius_, qua Palatium et Maecenatis bortos 
 continuaverat, ignis propinquaret. neque tamen sisti potuit, quin 
 et Palatium et domus et cuncta circum baurirentur. sed solacium 
 populo exturbato ac profugo campum Martis ac monumenta 
 Agrippae, bortos quin etiam sues patefecit et subitaria aedificia 
 extruxit quae multitudinem inopem acciperent ; subvectaque 
 utensilia ab Ostia et propinquis municipiis, pretiumque frumenti 
 minutum usque ad temos nummos. quae quamquam popularia in 
 irritum cadebant^ quia pervaserat rumor ipso tempore flagrantis 
 urbis inisse eum domesticam scaenam et cecinisse Troianum exci- 
 dium^ praesentia mala vetustis cladibus adsimulantem. 
 
 40. Sexto demum die apud imas Esquilias finis incendio factus, 
 prorutis per inmensum aedificiis, ut continuae violentiae campus 
 et velut vacuum caelum occurreret. necdum positus metus^ et 
 rediit baud levius rursum grassatus ignis patulis magis urbis locis, 
 eoque strages bominum minor : delubra deum et portions amoeni- 
 tati dicatae latins procidere. plusque infamiae id incendium 
 babuit^ quia praediis Tigillini Aemilianis proruperat ; videbaturque 
 
 diurni quoque victusl This genitive a quarter. This seems about one-fourth 
 
 depends on ' fortunis,' repeated in a of the average price in the time of Pliny 
 
 slightly different meaning: 'losing all the elder (N. H. xviii. 10). Martial (xii. 
 
 their fortune, even the means of ac- 77) says, " modius datur aere quaterno," 
 
 quiring daily food.' giving it as an instance of extraordinary 
 
 39. continuaveraf] Cf. Suefc. Nero, cheapness. A modius for four asses, or 
 
 31, " domum a Palatio Esquilias usque sixteen asses a bushel ; that is, 128 
 
 fecit: quam primo Tran si toriam, mox in- asses, or 51^ sesterces, or 8s. 4:d. a 
 
 cendio absumptam restitutamque auream quarter, is marvellously cheap, if Martial 
 
 nominavit." There was probably a sort is really speaking literally — about one- 
 
 of viaduct spanning the Velia^ with a sixth of the price of wheat at this date 
 
 carriage-way beneath. From this via- (Sept. 1870). 
 
 duct the flames seem to have spread, 40. rediit] This second fire lasted 
 
 and to have destroyed to some extent three days : so an inscription (Gmit. 61, 
 
 the building on the Palatine. Below, 3) states, " quando urbs per novem dies 
 
 the 'monumenta Agrippae' are the Pan- arsit Neronianis temporibus." It broke 
 
 theon. Thermae, Saepta Julia, Portions out in the Aemilian Gardens of Tigil- 
 
 Argonautarum, Portions Vipsania, &c. linus, under the Pincian Hill, at the out- 
 
 usque ad temos nimimos'] Three ses- skirts of the city, 
 terces the modius, or quarter-bushel, or praediis TigilUni AemiUcmis'] The 
 
 twelve sesterces a bushel, and therefore * Aemiliana ' were buildings outside the 
 
 ninety-six sesterces or sixteen shillings gates of Rome, in the Campus MaiUus 
 
438 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 817. 
 
 Nero condendae urbis novae et cognomento suo appelLmdae 
 gloriam quaerere. quippe in regiones quattuordecim Eoma divi- 
 dituFj quarum quattuor integrae manebant, tres solo tenus 
 deiectae : septem reliquis pauca tectorum vestigia supertjrant, 
 lacera et semusta. 
 
 41. Domuum et insularum et templorum^ quae amissa sunt, 
 numerum inire baud promptum fuerit : sed vetustissima religione, 
 quod Servius Tullius Lunae, et magna ara fanumque, quae prae- 
 senti Herculi Areas Evander sacraverat_, aedesque Statoris lovis 
 vota Romulo Numaeque regia et delubrum Yestae cum Pena.tibus 
 populi Romani exusta ; iam opes tot victoriis quaesitae et Grae- 
 carum artium decom, exin monumenta ingeniorum antiqua et 
 incorrupta : quamvis in tanta resurgentis urbis pulcbritudine multa 
 seniores meminerint^ quae reparari nequibant. fuere qui adno- 
 tarent XIIII Kal. Sextiles principium incendii buius ortum, et 
 quo Senones captam urbem inflammaverint. alii eo usque cura 
 progressi sunt_, ut totidem annos mensesque et dies inter utraque 
 incendia numerent. 
 
 42. Ceterum Nero usus est patriae ruinis extruxitque domum, 
 in qua baud perinde gemmae et aurum miraculo essent, solita 
 pridem et luxu volgata^ quam arva et stagna et in modum s<)litu- 
 dinum bine silvae inde aperta spatia et prospectus^ magistris et 
 macbinatoribus Severo et Oelere^ quibus ingenium et audacia erat, 
 etiam quae natura denegavisset^ per artem temp tare et viribus 
 principis illudere. nam que ab lacu Averno navigabilem fcssam 
 
 apparently. Cf. Yarro, R. R. iii. 2, tent in their elaborate calculations.' 
 
 " eorum aedificia qui habitant extra Por- The point of the coincidence discovered 
 
 tam Flumentanam aut in Aemilianis." by the curious seems to have been, as 
 
 quattuor integrae] The four regions Grotefend ingeniously suggests, th at the 
 
 which entirely escaped injury were pro- interval spoken of was made uj) of a 
 
 bably the Porta Capena, the Esquilina, certain number of years, the same num- 
 
 the Alta Semita, and the Transtiberina. ber of months, and again the samo num- 
 
 The three wholly destroyed were the ber of days. Thus, from July 19, 300 a.c, 
 
 Isis and Serapis, the Palatium, and the the date ofthe Gallic fire, and July 3 9, a.d. 
 
 Circus Maximus. 64, are exactly 453 years ; and 417 years, 
 
 41. Servius Tullius Lunde~\ There 417 months, and 417 days make this period 
 
 appears, as far as I can find, to be no within about 38 days. For if x represent 
 
 mention of any temple of Luna dedicated the required number of days, then x 
 
 by this king. He dedicated a temple to months will contain ^^ x days, and a? 
 
 Juno (Liv. i. 45) ; and Livy (xl. 2) speaks years will contain 365 x days. The equa- 
 
 of a temple of Lima on the Aventine. tion, therefore, is a; + ^ a? + 365 x =z 453 
 
 Ritter supposes Tacitus to have possibly x 365, and the solution to this equation 
 
 confounded the two ; and all that can gives a value of 417^75 nearly to x. 
 
 be said is, that it may be so or may not. 42. illudere'] Cf. H. ii. 94, " tamquam 
 
 eo usque cura] The usual form would in summa abundantia pecuniae illu- 
 
 have been ' eo usque curae.' Cf. iv. dere." The architects ' used thet Em- 
 
 14, *'eo flagitiorum et virium venisse.' peror's money in mere wantonness, 
 
 The sense of course is, ' to such an ex- made sport of it, as it were.' Suetonius 
 
A.D. 64.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 439 
 
 usque ad ostia Tiberina depressuros promiserant, squalenti litore 
 aut per montes adversos. neque enim aliut umidum gignendis 
 aquis occurrit quam Pomptinae paludes : cetera abrupta aut 
 arentia_, ac si perrumpi possent, intolerandus labor nee satis 
 causae. Nero tamen, ut erat incredib ilium cupitor, effodere 
 proxima Averno iuga conisus est, manentque vestigia irritae spei. 
 43. Ceterum urbis quae domui supererant non, ut post Gallica 
 incendia,, nulla distinctione nee passim erecta, sed dimensis vico- 
 rum ordinibus et latis viarum spatiis cohibitaque aedificiorum 
 altitudine ac patefactis areis additisque porticibus quae frontem 
 insularum protegerent. eas portions Nero sua pecunia extruc- 
 turum purgatasque areas dominis traditurnm poUicitus est. addi- 
 dit praemia pro cuiusque ordine et rei familiaris copiis, finivitque 
 tempus intra quod effectis domibus aut insulis apiscerentur. ruderi 
 accipiendo Ostienses paludes destinabat, utique naves, quae fru- 
 mentum Tiberi subvectavissent, onustae rudere decurrerent, aedi- 
 ficiaque ipsa certa sui parte sine trabibus saxo Gabino Albanove 
 
 (Nero, 31) gives an account of the Golden Erigitur species stagna Neronis erant." 
 House: "tanta laxitas ut porticus tri- squalenti litore] * Along a waste, neg- 
 
 plices miliarias haberet : item stagnum lected shore.' 
 
 maris instar, circum saeptum aedificiis gignendis aquis] There was no supply- 
 ad urbium speciem : rura insuper arvis of water to fill the channel or make it 
 atque vinetis et pascuis silvisque varia, navigable. The length of this canal 
 cum multitudine omnis generis pecudum was some 160 miles, and wide enough 
 ac ferarum." Of the three porticoes, it for two quinqueremes to pass (Suet, 
 would seem one extended from the old Nero, 31). 
 
 house of Augustus, on the Palatine, or 43. ceterwm urbis, ^c] * But those 
 
 perhaps the bridge of Caligula over the parts of the city which were not occupied 
 
 Velabrum, across the Via Sacra to the by- the house.' Draeger quotes Liv. xxi. 
 
 Esquiline ; and a second from the same 4^ « id quod gerendis rebus superesset.'* 
 starting-point to the Caelian Hill ; and aedificiorum altitudine] Augustus 
 
 the extremities of these were, I suppose, had limited the height of houses at 
 
 formed by a third portico. The extreme Eome to seventy feet (Strabo, v. 3, 7, 
 
 points of the two former galleries would or p. 235). Juvenal (iii. 269) speaks 
 
 be the baths of Titus and the portico of of the height of the buildings as in- 
 
 Claudius, near his unfinished temple on creasing the dangers of the streets : 
 
 the Mons Caelius, which Nero entirely "quod spatium tectis sublimibus, undo 
 
 destroyed (Suet. Vesp. 9) j Martial fixes cerebrum Testa ferit." 
 them so (Spectac. 2) : — apiscerentur] Nero fixed a limit of 
 
 " Hie ubi miramur velocia munera ther- time, within which the houses or blocks 
 
 jj^g^ were to be finished, to enable the builder 
 
 Abstulerat miseris tecta superbus ager, to claim the reward. The whole recon- 
 
 Claudia difi'usas ubi porticus explicat struction of the city seems to have been 
 
 umbras completed before Nero's death, which 
 
 Ultima pars aulae deficientis erat." followed in a month short of four years. 
 
 , - .-11. This would look as if the destruction 
 
 A pond or lake occupied what was ^^^ ^^^ ^een quite so great as is repre- 
 
 afterwards the site of the Colosseum, gented. 
 
 So Martial (Spectac. 2) :— ^^ -^^^^ naves] This clause depends on 
 
 " Hie ubi conspicui venerabilis amphi- some verb like ' imperabat,' supplied 
 
 theatri from ' destinabat.' 
 
440 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c 817. 
 
 solidarentur^ quod is lapis ignibus impervius est; iam aqua priva- 
 torum licentia intercepta quo largior et pluribus locis in pub icum 
 flueretj custodes^ et subsidia reprimendis ignibus in pro]:atulo 
 quisque haberet ; nee communione parietum, sed propriis quaeque 
 muris ambirentur. ea ex utilitate accepta decorem quoque novae 
 urbi attulere. erant tamen qui crederent^ veterem illam formam 
 salubritati magis conduxisse, quoniam angustiae itinerum et 
 altitude tectorum non perinde solis vapore perrumperentiir : at 
 nunc patulam latitudinem et nulla umbra defensam graviore aestu 
 ardescere. 
 
 44. Et liaec quidem bumanis consiliis providebantur. mox 
 petita a dis piacula aditique Sibyllae libri, ex quibus supplioatum 
 Volcano et Cereri Proserpinaeque, ac propitiata luno per niatro- 
 nas, primum in Capitolio_, deinde apud proximum niare_, unde 
 bausta aqua templum et simulacrum deae perspersum est; et 
 sellisternia ac pervigilia celebravere feminae quibus mariti erant. 
 sed non ope bumanaj non largitionibus principis aut deum placa- 
 mentis decedebat infamia quin iussum incendium crederetur. 
 ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos et quaesitissimis poenis 
 affecit^ quos per flagitia invisos vulgus Cbristianos appellabat. 
 
 quisque haberef] If the text be cor- iii. 12, " sacra lavaturas mane petebat 
 rect, tbe meaning ought to be, that each aquas ;" and Lucan. i. 600, " et lotam 
 .citizen should have firemen or water- parvo revocant Almone Cybebem." ' So 
 men (slaves, of course), and buckets the Argive maidens washed the image of 
 ready in case of fire. But I do not see Pallas. Cf. Callim. Hymnus in Lava- 
 how this arrangement of every house crum Palladis, beginning ocraai Konpo- 
 (every large house, I suppose, it can x^^'' "'""^ "naXXciBos, e|tTe iraaai. Cf. Burip. 
 only mean) having certain slaves told Iphig. in Taur. kclkuvo (rh jSpeVas) vixl/ai, 
 ofi" to prevent fire would increase the (Tov Oiy6vTos &s, ipS). Spanheim quotes 
 public supply of water, which had been Amobius (lib. vii. p. 237, ed. Batav.), 
 lessened by the encroachments of indi- " lavatio Deum matris est hodie. Sor- 
 viduals. This could only have been descunt enim Divi et ad sordes abluendas 
 efiectually prevented by the appointment lavantibus aquis opus atque aiitiqua 
 of public watermen, whose duty it would cineris frictione." The washing of the 
 be to see that the supplies of water were goddess was, of course, emblematical of 
 not interfered with, I can hardly think the purity required in her worshippers, 
 the text sound, unless we suppose it a Below, ' sellisternia ' is for the goddesses 
 very strong case of zeugma, and the what * lectistemia ' were for the gods, 
 sense to be, that there were to be public Women sat at meals on ' sellae,' the men 
 firemen, and each person besides was to only reclining on couches. This an-ange- 
 have buckets and other requisite aids ment was adopted in the solemn feasts 
 against fire. These public firemen, or to the deities (Val. Max. ii. 1, § 2). 
 rather watermen, are called ' castellarii ' per fiagitia invisos] This is a very 
 and ' aquarii ' in various inscriptions, different account from that given by the 
 (Orelli quotes Lat. Inscript. n. 2899 and friend of Tacitus, the younger Pliny, 
 3203). who speaks of the early Christifns as 
 
 44. simulacrum deae perspersum esf] professing a morality unusually pure. 
 
 For this custom of washing the images Clearly Tacitus did not take the t 'ouble 
 
 of the varj^s goddesses, cf. Ovid. Fast, to inquire into the matter, but accepted 
 
 iv. 136, " tota lavanda dea est," and the popular account or misrepresentation 
 
A.D. 64.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 
 
 441 
 
 auctor nominis eius Christus Tiberio imperitante per procuratorem 
 Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus erat ; repressaque in praesens 
 exitiabilis superstitio rursum erumpebat^ non modo per ludaeam, 
 originem eius mali_, sed per urbem etiam_, quo cuncta undique 
 atrocia aut pudenda confluunt celebranturque. igitur primum 
 correpti qui fatebantur^ deinde indicio eorum multitude ingens 
 baud perinde in crimine incendii quam odio humani generis con- 
 victi sunt, et pereuntibus addita ludibria_, ut ferarum tergis con- 
 tecti laniatu canupa inter irent aut crucibus affixi, aut flammandi, 
 atque ubi defecisset dies, in usum nocturni luminis urerentur. 
 bortos sues ei spectaculo Nero obtulerat et circense ludicrum 
 edebat^ babitu aurigae permixtus plebi vel curriculo insistens. 
 
 of the character of the new sect, coloured 
 as it was apparently by the reminis- 
 cences of the terrilvle Jewish war. 
 Knowing that the religion of the Naza- 
 renes would not be content with sharing 
 the honours paid to the old gods of the 
 heathen world, but would insist on their 
 utter abolition, he at once looked on 
 them as deadly innovators, and believed, 
 without investigation, the worst said 
 against them. But there still remains 
 to be explained the sudden enmity felt 
 against the Christians in Nero's time. 
 It is clear that the profession of Chris- 
 tianity at Rome had been unattended 
 with any danger at the period in ques- 
 tion. St. Paul, as an instance of this, 
 was allowed to dwell two years in his 
 own hired dwelling, extending Chris- 
 tianity even amongst the members of 
 the imperial household. This toleration 
 of the new faith was only a continuance 
 of an indulgence notoriously granted 
 previously, as the story in Tertullian 
 (Apol. 5), whether it be true or false, 
 shows, and illustrated by the course 
 adopted by Nero when Pomponia Grae- 
 cina was accused of adherence to a 
 foreign superstition (Tac. Ann. xiii. 32). 
 To find the members of this sect all at 
 once denounced as guilty of the most 
 heinous oflfences, and actuated by a 
 blind hatred towards their fellow-men 
 (* odio humani generis ') is a little sur- 
 prising ; for there was certainly nothing 
 in their conduct to account for such 
 virulent animosity against them. In- 
 deed they appear, as Dr. Merivale ob- 
 serves (History of the Romans under 
 the Empire, ch. liv.), to have filled no 
 largo space in Roman eyes. I can only 
 acquiesce in the explanation, suggested 
 by Gibbon, that the Christians and Jews 
 
 were regarded as very much the same, 
 and the hatred felt against the latter 
 was consequently bestowed in full mea- 
 sure on the former. Tiberius had 
 removed four thousand turbulent Jew- 
 ish fanatics to Sardinia (ii. 85), and 
 Claudius expelled the whole nation from 
 Rome. Suetonius remarks (Claud. 25), 
 " ludaeos impulsore Chresto assidue 
 tumultuantes Roma expulit ;" and a 
 confusion between the Jews, with their 
 false Christs, and the Christians with 
 their real Christ, was not unnatural. 
 Tacitus certainly speaks of both in the 
 same language, the words, ' odio generis 
 humani ' being paralleled by " adversus 
 omnes alios hostile odium" (H. v. 5). 
 It may be added, that the information 
 given by Tacitus in the following pas- 
 sage may have been derived by him from 
 the official notice which, as a matter of 
 course, would be sent to Rome by the 
 procurator of Judaea. 
 
 qui fatebantur\ The admission, appa- 
 rently, was that of belonging to the sect of 
 Christians, not of fixing the city. For the 
 construction below, ' in crimine convicti,' 
 cf. Suet. Claud. 14, " in maiore fraude 
 convictis ad bestias condemnavit." Orelli 
 quotes Cic. de luven, ii. § 32, " osten- 
 dere si in pari ante peccato convictus 
 sit," and pro Sulla, § 83, "quotiens quis- 
 que est in hoc scelere convictus." 
 
 autflammandi^ The nominative case ; 
 the construction being * interirent aut 
 crucibus affixi aut flammandi.' But the 
 construction is very awkward, for 'in- 
 terirent flammandi ' ought to mean that 
 the burning was subsequent to the 
 death, whereas the sense must be that 
 burning was one form of death. Cf. 
 Juv. i. 155, " taeda lucebis in ilia qua 
 stantes ardent qui fixo gutture fumant." 
 
442 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 817-818. 
 
 unde quamquam adversus sontes et novissima exempla m3ritos 
 miseratio oriebatur^ tamquam non utilitate publica sed in saevitiam 
 unius absumerentur. 
 
 45. Interea conferendis pecuniis pervastata Italia^ prov'nciae 
 eversae sociique populi et quae civitatium liberae vocantur. inque 
 earn praedam etiam dii cessere^ spoliatis in urbe templis egestoque 
 auro_, quod triumphis^ quod votis omnis populi Romani aetas 
 prospere aut in metu sacraverat. enimvero per Asiam atque 
 Achaiam non dona tantum sed simulacra numinum abripiebantur 
 missis in eas provincias Acrato ac Secundo Carinate. ille libertus 
 cuicumque flagitio promptus_, hie Graeca doctrina ore tenus exer- 
 citus animum bonis artibus non induerat. ferebatur Seneca^ quo 
 invidiam sacrilegii a semet averteret, longinqui ruris secessum 
 oravisse, et postquam non concedebatur, ficta valetudine, quasi 
 aeger nervis^ cubiculum non egressus. tradidere quidam venenum 
 ei per libertum ipsius^ cui nomen Cleonicus_, paratum iussu Neronis 
 vitatumque a Seneca proditione liberti seu propria formidine^ dum 
 persimplici victu et agrestibus pomis^ ac si sitis admonerei_, pro- 
 fluente aqua vitam tolerat. 
 
 46. Per idem tempus gladiatores apud oppidum Praeneste 
 temptata eruptione praesidio militis^ qui custos adesset, coerciti 
 sunt^ iam Spartacum et Vetera mala rumoribus ferente popiilo^ ut 
 est novarum rerum cupiens pavidusque. nee multo post olades 
 rei navalis accipitur^ non bello (quippe baud alias tam immota 
 pax), sed certum ad diem in Campaniam redire classem Nero 
 iusserat, non exceptis maris casibus. ergo gubernatores, quamvis 
 
 45. qiMie civitaUwm Uherae vocantur] ore tenus'] Cf. xvi. 32, " auctoritatem 
 
 These states were not of course entirely Stoicae sectae praeferebat, habitii et ore 
 
 free, but enjoyed certain privileges, such ad exprimendam imaginem bonesti exer- 
 
 as the election of their own magistrates, citus, ceterum animo perfidiosus." 
 
 and the use of their own code of laws. 46. qui custos adesset] In i. 62, Tacitus 
 
 There is an instance in early Eoman his- writes, " igitur Romanus qui aderat ex- 
 
 tory of this autonomy being granted after ercitus." In the latter case the relative 
 
 conquest, in the case of the Hemici (Li v. clause is a mere definition. Perhaps the 
 
 ix. 43, "suae leges redditae"). I suppose sense here is, 'the force naturally on 
 
 the * liberae civitates ' differed from the duty, as it would of course be under the 
 
 'socii,' who had foedus aequum, in this circumstances.' The use of the sabjunc- 
 
 point, that the former were made 'liberae' tive appears to arise from the meaning 
 
 after conquest by a special favour, whereas being akin to that often conveyed by 
 
 the latter need not have been in collision that mood after ' qui,' viz., 'the sort of 
 
 with Rome, or if they had, might have person or thing to do so and so.' It 
 
 come off on equal terms. Rhodes, and seems to me that the full sense is, ' the 
 
 Tarsus in Cilicia were both free states. force on guard then, and intended usually 
 
 inque earn praedam] Cf. i. 1, " ia to be on guard, for that very purpose.' 
 
 Augustum cessere,' ' and the note on the Below, Spartacus was the hero of the 
 
 passage. Servile war, 73 — 71 a.c. 
 
A.D. 64-65.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 443 
 
 saeviente pelago, a Formiis movere ; et gravi Africo, dum pro- 
 munturium Miseni superare contendunt, Cumanis litoribus inpacti 
 triremium plerasque et minora navigia passim amiserunt. 
 
 47. Fine anni volgantur prodigia, imminentium malorum nuntia. 
 vis fulgurum non alias crebrior_, et sidus cometes^ sanguine illustri 
 semper Neroni expiatum. bicipites hominum aliorumve anima- 
 lium partus abiecti in publicum aut in sacrificiis, quibus gravidas 
 hostias inmolare mos est, reperti. et in agro Placentino viam 
 propter natus vitulus, cui caput in crure esset ; secutaque barus- 
 picum interpretatio_, parari rerum humanarum aliud caput, sed non 
 fore validum neque occultum, quia in utero repressum aut iter 
 iuxta editum sit. 
 
 48. Ineunt deinde consulatum Silius ISTerva et Atticus Yestinus, 
 coepta simul et aucta coniuratione, in quam certatim nomina 
 dederant senatores eques miles, feminae etiam, cum odio Neronis, 
 tum favore in C. Pisonem. is Calpurnio genere ortus ac multas 
 insignesque familias paterna nobilitate complexus, claro apud 
 volgum rumore erat per virtutem aut species virtutibus similes, 
 namque facundiam tuendis civibus exercebat, largitionem adversum 
 amicos, et ignotis quoque comi sermone et congressu; aderant 
 etiam fortuita, corpus procerum, decora facies : sed procul gravitas 
 morum aut voluptatum parsimonia; levitati ac magnificentiae et 
 aliquando luxu indulgebat. idque pluribus probabatur, qui in 
 tanta vitiorum dulcedine summum imperium non restrictum nee 
 perseverum volunt. 
 
 49. Initium coniurationi non a cupidine ipsius fuit : nee tamen 
 
 47. caput in crure essef] The sub- an absence of all secrecy in the forth- 
 
 junctive here seems due to the * oratio coming movement. 
 
 obliqua,' the idea in the mind of Tacitus 48. Silius Nerva] A. Licinius Nerva 
 
 being that he was describing the remarks Silianus (or A. Licinius Silius Nerva) 
 
 or thoughts of others : so that ' esset ' was grandson probably of A. Licinius 
 
 is equivalent to '.ferebatur esse.' Nerva Silianus, consul a.d. 7, and son of 
 
 aut iter iuxta editum sif] This is a P. Silius Nerva, consul a.d. 28 (iv. 68). 
 curious use of ' aut.' Cf. ii. 47, " quique, C. Pisoneni] The Pisos had been a 
 
 Mosteni aut Macedones Hyrcani vo- distinguished family long before the 
 
 cantur." The sense is very nearly the establishment of the empire. Under 
 
 same as * et vicissim.' The idea of the the empire the members of the house 
 
 whole sentence is, that the prodigy became rivals of the ruling princes. One 
 
 might be looked at from two points of was condemned in the reign of Tiberius 
 
 view : the head was checked in the (iii. 15) . The present head of the family 
 
 animal's womb, so as not to issue at the was banished by Caligula (Schol. ad 
 
 usual time, but to be produced later Juv. v. 108; Suet. Calig. 37), but re- 
 
 with the leg to which it was attached ; stored by Claudius. He was a famous 
 
 this portended a want of strength in the draughts -player, we learn from the Scho- 
 
 new head of the state : or again, from Hast (" in latrunculorum usu perfectus 
 
 another point of view, the birth took et callidus"). 
 place by the road side; this indicated 
 
444 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 818. 
 
 facile memoraverim^, quis primus auctor_, cuius instinctu concitum 
 sit quod tarn multi sumpserunt. promptissimos Subrium IHavum 
 tribuuum praetoriae cohortis et Sulpicium Asprum centui-ionem 
 extitisse cons tan tia exitus docuit ; et Lucanus Annaeus Plautius- 
 que Lateranus consul designatus vivida odia intulere. Lucanum 
 propriae causae accendebant^ quod famam carminum eius pre- 
 mebat Nero probibueratque ostentare, vanus adsimulationo : La- 
 teranum consulem designatum nulla iniuria^ sed amor rei publicae 
 sociavit. at Flavins Scaevinus et Afranius Quintianas_, uterque 
 senatorii ordinis, contra famam sui principium tanti facinoris 
 capessivere. nam Scaevino dissoluta luxu mens et proinde vita 
 somno languida : Quintianus mollitia corporis infamis et a Nerone 
 probroso carmine diffamatus contumelias ultum ibat. 
 
 50. Ergo dum scelera principis et finem adesse imperio deli- 
 gendumque qui fessis rebus succurreret, inter se aut inter amicos 
 iaciunt, adgregavere Claudium Senecionem, Cervarium Proculum, 
 Yulcatium Araricum^ lulium Augurinum, Munatium Gratum, 
 Antonium Natalem, Marcium Festum^ equites • RomanoH. ex 
 quibus Senecio^ e praecipua familiaritate ISreronis_, speciem amicitiae 
 etiam tum retinens eo pluribus periculis conflictabatur ; Natalis 
 particeps ad omne secretum Pisoni erat; ceteris spes ex novis 
 rebus petebatur. adscitae sunt super Subrium et Sulpicium, de 
 quibus rettuli, militares manus, Gavins Silvanus et Statins Proxi- 
 mus tribuni cobortium praetoriarum_, Maximus Scaurus et Yenetus 
 Paulus centuriones. sed summum robur in Faenio E,ufo preefecto 
 videbatur, quem vita famaque laudatum per saevitiam inpudici- 
 tiamque Tigillinus in animo principis anteibat, fatigabatque crimi- 
 nationibus ac saepe in me tum adduxerat quasi adulterum ^\.grip- 
 pinae et desiderio eius ultioni intentum. igitur ubi coniuratis 
 praefectum quoque praetorii in partes descendisse crebro ipsius 
 sermone facta fides^ promptius iam de tempore ac loco caedis 
 agitabant. et cepisse impetum Subrius Flavus ferebatur in 
 scaena canentem Neronem adgrediendi^ aut cum ardente domo 
 
 49. famam carminum^ Another ac- simulabat iudicis partes," ' he assumed 
 count of the animosity of Lucan against the role of a judge.' So here similarly 
 Nero is that the Emperor's favour was * fruitless in the assumption (of poetic 
 lost by indiscreet acts, and then the skill) ;' the point of assumption being 
 poet began to lampoon his old friend, easily inferred from the fact that ' ear- 
 So the fragment on Lucan ascribed to minum' has preceded. For the sense of 
 Suetonius declares ; but it is quite * vanus ' here, cf. H. ii. 22, " ne inrisus 
 likely that Nero was really jealous of ac vanus iisdem castris adsideret." 
 Lucan' 8 powers. 50. ardente domo] These words are 
 
 vanus adsimulatione'] Cf. iv. 59, "ad- a little obscure, I do not thiiik that 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU MVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 445 
 
 per noctem liuc illuc cursaret incustoditus. hie occasio solitudinis, 
 ibi ipsa frequentia tanti decoris testis pulclierrimum animum 
 extimulaverant, nisi impunitatis cupido retinuisset, magnis semper 
 conatibus adversa. 
 
 51. Interim cunctantibus prolatantibusque spem ac metum 
 Epicbaris quaedam, incertum quonam modo sciscitata (neqne illi 
 ante uUa rerum bonestarum cura fuerat), accendere et arguere 
 coniuratos, ac postremum lentitudinis eorum pertaesa et in Cam- 
 pania agens primores classiariorum Misenensium labefacere et 
 conscientia illigare conisa est tali initio, erat navarcbus in ea 
 classe Yolusius Proculus, occidendae matris Neronis inter minis- 
 tros, non ex magnitudine sceleris provectus^ ut rebatur. is mulieri 
 obm cognitus^ sen recens orta amicitia^ dum merita erga Neronem 
 sua et quam in irritum cecidissent aperit adicitque questus et 
 destinationem yindictae_, si facultas oreretur^ spem dedit posse 
 inpelli et plures concibare : nee leve auxiHum in elasse, crebras 
 oeeasioneSj quia Nero multo apud Puteolos et Misenum maris usu 
 laetabatur. ergo Epiebaris plura; et omnia seelera prineipis 
 orditur, neque senatui quid manere. sed pro visum quonam modo 
 poenas eversae rei pubbcae daret ; aecingeretur modo navare 
 operam et mibtum acerrimos ducere in partes,, ac digna pretia 
 expectaret; nomina tamen coniuratorum reticuit. unde ProcuU 
 indicium inritum fuit^ quamvis ea quae audierat ad Neronem detu- 
 
 Dr. Merivale (History of tlie Romans xv. 30, "rogitante rege causas . . . 
 
 Tinder the Empire, ch. liii.) is right in admiratione prisci moris afFecit." 
 
 referring them to the great conflagra- pertaesa et in Campania agens'] For 
 
 tion of the city, in which Nero's house the 'et' which might have been omitted, 
 
 was more or less injm-ed (if I am right cf. xiv. 47, and the note there. But if 
 
 in so understanding him), and thence the sense be ' weary of their dilatoriness, 
 
 inferring that the conspiracy had been and happening to be in Campania' (so 
 
 long in agitation. I believe the mean- that the locality suggested the act) , then 
 
 ing to be that Nero's house was to be 'et' is, I think, quite natural : but Taci- 
 
 fired, and Nero himself slain in the sub- tus might have only intended to say that, 
 
 sequent confusion. Below, the reading weary of the delay, while in Campania, 
 
 * pulcherrimum animum ' seems corrupt, she tampered with the fleet : if so, other 
 
 One can hardly suppose Tacitus so to writers would have omitted the conjimc- 
 
 have described Sabrius Flavus : a man tion. Below, * erat navarchus ' is the 
 
 who was influenced by a fear of personal reading of the Cod. Gudianus ; the Cod. 
 
 risk (impunitatis cupido) could not be Med. having * erant narchus.' 
 
 said to have a very noble soul. ergo Epicharis plura] ' So Epicha- 
 
 51. cunctantibus, ^c] Instead of the ris moved farther in the matter.' 
 
 construction employed here, an ablative The next words, * neque senatui quid 
 
 absolute, followed by 'coniuratos' as the manere,' may I think be correct : ' and 
 
 object of the verb, Tacitus might have no power of obtaining redress was left 
 
 written " cunctantes prolatantesque con- to the senate.' The fathers could do 
 
 iuratos," the participles agreeing with nothing, but still the case was not hope- 
 
 the object governed by ' accendere et less ; it remained to adopt another 
 
 arguere.' Cf. xiv. 10, " perfecto demum method, that of a conspiracy and assas- 
 
 Bcelere magnitudo eius intellecta estj" sination. 
 
446 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 818. 
 
 lisset. accita quippe Epicharis et cum indice composita nuUis 
 testibus innisum facile confutavit. sed ipsa in custodia retenta 
 est_, suspectante Nerone haud falsa esse etiam quae veca non 
 probabantur. 
 
 52. Coniuratis tamen metu proditionis permotis placitum matu- 
 rare caedem apud Baias in villa Pisonis^ cuius amoenitate captus 
 Caesar crebro ventitabat balneasque et epulas inibat omissis 
 excubiis et fortunae suae mole, sed abnuit Piso_, invidiam prae- 
 tendens_, si sacra mensae dique hospitales caede qualiscumque 
 principis cruentarentur : melius apud urbem in ilia invisa et spoliis 
 civium extructa domo vel in publico patraturos quod pro re publica 
 suscepissent. haec in commune_, ceterum timore occulto, ne L. 
 Silanus eximia nobilitate disciplinaque C. Cassii, apud quern 
 educatus erat_, ad omnem claritudinem sublatus imperium inva- 
 deret^ prompte daturis qui a coniuratione integri essent quique 
 miserarentur Neronem tamquam per scelus interfectum. plerique 
 Vestini quoque consulis acre ingenium vitavisse Pisonem credi- 
 derunt, ne ad libertatem oreretur, vel delecto imperatore alio sui 
 muneris rem publicam faceret. etenim expers coniurationis erat_, 
 quamvis super eo crimine Nero vetus adversum insontem odium 
 expleverit. 
 
 53. Tandem statuere circensium ludorum die_, qui Cereri cele- 
 bratur^ exequi destinata_, quia Caesar rarus egressu domoque aut 
 hortis clausus ad ludicra circi ventitabat promptioresque aditus 
 erant laetitia spectaculi. ordinem insidiis composueraiit, ut 
 
 composita] ' Confronted.' Cf. Hor. L. Silanus] This Lucius Iiinius 
 
 Sat. i. 7. 19, " par pugnat uti non com- Silanus Torquatus was son of the M. 
 
 positus melius cum Bitho Bacchius ;" Silanus mentioned in xiii. 1, where see 
 
 and Senec. de Provid. 4, "ignominiam the note, 
 
 iudicat gladiator cum inferiore componi." prompte daturis] Unless 'cperam' 
 
 52. cuius amoenitate] The emenda- be omitted by an error of the copyist, 
 
 tion ' quo eius ' is entirely unnecessary, the sense must be, ' as all would readily 
 
 Cf. xi. 38, " ferrumque accepit quod confer it (imperium) on him.' 
 
 frustra iugulo admovens ictu tribuni ad libertatem oreretur] ' Should start 
 
 transfigitur." Also Agric. 38, "unde up (as a pioneer) to restore the old 
 
 proximo latere Britanniae lecto omni constitutional liberty, or, if another 
 
 redierat," where the sense is, 'whence Imperator were chosen, should make the 
 
 having coasted the nearer shore of government of the state (appear) a gift 
 
 Britain, it had returned to it,' the from himself:' a thing to be given to 
 
 relative belonging entirely to the first any one he chose. On pretence of com- 
 
 clause of the sentence. So Curt. iii. 1. plicity in the conspiracy, with which 
 
 22, " iamque ad urbem Ancyram ventum he was altogether unconnected, Nero 
 
 erat ubi numero copiarum inito Paphla- took the opportunity of satisfj ing an 
 
 goniam intrat." Below, * fortunae suae old grudge he bore Vestinus. 
 
 mole ' is ' the burdensome show apper- 53. ludorum die] The ' ludi cii censes * 
 
 taining to his station.' The trappings at the Cerealia seem to have been held on 
 
 of royalty waxed oppressive to Nero, and the 12th and 19th of April. See Orelh's 
 
 he liked to cast them aside now and then, note j cf, Ovid's Fasti, iv. 393, &o. 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 447 
 
 Lateranus^ quasi subsidium rei familiari oraret^ deprecabundus et 
 genibus principis accidens prosterneret incautum premeretque, 
 animi validus et corpore ingens. turn iacentem et impeditura 
 tribuni et centuriones et ceterorum, iit quisque audentiae habuisset, 
 adcurrerent trucidarentque, primas sibi partes expostulante Scae- 
 vino, qui pugionem templo Salutis in Etruria sive, ut alii tradi- 
 dere, Fortunae Ferentino in oppido detraxerat gestabatque velut 
 magno operi sacrum, interim Piso apud aedem Cereris opperi- 
 retur, unde eum praefectus Faenius et ceteri accitum ferrent in 
 castra, comitante Antonia Claudii Caesaris filia ad eliciendum 
 volgi favorem, quod C. Plinius memorat. nobis quoquo modo 
 traditum non occultare in animo fuit^ quamvis absurdum videretur 
 aut inanem ad spem Antoniam nomen et periculum commodavisse, 
 aut Pisonem notum amore uxoris alii matrimonio se obstrinxisse, 
 nisi si cupido dominandi cunctis adfectibus flagrantior est. 
 
 54. Sed mirum quam inter diversi generis ordinis^ aetatis 
 sexus^ dites pauperes taciturnitate omnia cohibita sint, donee 
 proditio coepit e domo Scaevini; qui pridie insidiarum multo 
 sermone cum Antonio Natale, dein regressus domum testamentum 
 obsignavit^ promptum vagina pugionem, de quo supra rettuli, 
 vetustate obtusum increpans, asperari saxo et in mucronem arde- 
 scere iussit eamque curam liberto Milicbo mandavit. simul 
 affluentius solito convivium initum_, servorum carissimi libertate 
 et alii pecunia donati. atque ipse maestus et magnae cogitationis 
 manifestus erat, quamvis laetitiam vagis sermonibus simularet. 
 postremo volneribus ligamenta quibusque sistitur sanguis parare 
 eundem Milichum monet, sive gnarum coniurationis et illuc usque 
 fidum, seu nescium et tunc primum arreptis suspitionibus, ut 
 plerique tradidere, de consequentibus. nam cum secum servilis 
 
 audentiae hahuissef\ A Greek con- should have made them a temporary 
 
 struction. Cf. Thucyd. i. 22, &5 ris gift of her name, and the consequent 
 
 eCvojos ^ fip-fj/xT}? exoi. danger to herself.' Piso would never 
 
 in Etruria'] These words are a gloss have married her and made her empress : 
 
 apparently, for Ferentinum is in Etruria. he was too fond of his wife for that. 
 
 There was a difference of opinion as to For ' nisi si,' see vi. 31. 
 
 the exact name of the goddess ; some 54. inter diversi generis] Sc. homines, 
 
 called her ' Salus,' others * Fortuna,' both de consequentibus] This seems to mean 
 
 probably meaning the goddess Nortia, a that, although no writer distinctly knew 
 
 Tuscan divinity. There was a temple of him to be only then for the first time 
 
 Salus on the Quirinal Hill at Rome ; but made aware of the existence of the con- 
 
 of course this was not the one, and the spiracy, yet they nearly all assumed 
 
 words ' in Etruria ' were no doubt ap- such to be the case, judging from his 
 
 pended to indicate as much. subsequent acts. I suppose they argued 
 
 inanem ad spem] ' It seemed ridiculous that if he had known of it before, he 
 
 that Antonia, for a mere barren hope, would have given information earlier. 
 
448 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.o 818. 
 
 animus praemia perfidiae reputavit simulque inmensa pecuiiia et 
 potentia obversabantur, cessit fas et salus patroni et acc-eptae 
 libertatis memoria. etenim uxoris quoque consilium adsum^Dserat 
 muliebre ac deterius : quippe ultro metum intentabat, multosque 
 astitisse libertos ac servos, qui eadem viderint; nihil profuturum 
 unius silentium; at praemia penes unum fore, qui indicio prae- 
 venisset. 
 
 55. Igitur coepta luce Miliclius in liortos Servilianos pergit ; et 
 cum foribus arceretur, magna et atrocia adferre dictitans deduc- 
 tusque ab ianitoribus ad libertum Neronis Epapbroditum, mox ab 
 eo ad Neronem, urguens periculum_, graves coniuratos et cetera 
 quae audierat coniectaverat docet. telum quoque in necem eius 
 paratum ostendit accirique reum iussit. is raptus per milites et 
 defensionem orsus, ferrum, cuius argueretur olim religione patria 
 cultum et in cubiculo habitum ac fraude liberti subreptum respon- 
 dit, tabulas testamenti saepius a se et incustodita dierum obser- 
 vatione signatas. pecunias et libertates servis et ante dono datas, 
 sed ideo tunc largius_, quia tenui iam re familiari et instantibus 
 creditoribus testamento diffideret. enimvero liberales semper 
 epulas struxisse, et vitam amoenam et duris iudicibus parum pro- 
 batam. fomenta volneribus nulla iussu suo, sed quia cetera palam 
 vana obiecisset, adiungere crimen, cuius sese pariter indicem et 
 testem faceret. adicit dictis constantiam ; incusat ultro intesta- 
 bilem et consceleratum, tanta vocis ac vultus securitate, ut labaret 
 indicium, nisi Milicbum uxor admonuisset Antonium Natalem 
 multa cum Scaevino ac secreta coUocutum et esse utros(|ue C. 
 Pisonis in times. 
 
 Emesti's interpretation is " scriptoribus tlie road to Ostia. 
 
 qui post ilia tempera vixere et scrip- incustodita dierum ohservationif\ Scae- 
 
 sere." I cannot think this to be the vinus meant by this to imply that the 
 
 meaning. fact of his having sealed his will on 
 
 ultro mettim] ' She — ^not dwelling now the particular day mentioned, proved 
 
 on the hope of reward — went in the nothing : he was always doing it, with- 
 
 opposite direction, and held before his out meaning any thing especial by it : 
 
 eyes the fear of ruin.' She might have for this purpose all days were alike, 
 
 simply ceased to endeavour to influence The Lex Aelia Sentina, passed in the 
 
 her husband by holding out the pro- time of Augustus (about a.d. 8), made 
 
 spect of gain : she did more — she endea- void any manumission effected to defraud 
 
 voured to frighten him into betraying creditors. Scae vinus, therefoi'e, was 
 
 the scheme. afraid lest any manumission directed by 
 
 55. in hortos Servilianos'] It is not his will would not be allowed to remain 
 known where these gardens were. From unmolested. But his defence was some- 
 Suet. Nero, 47, " transiit in hortos Ser- what weak, for the law applied to manu- 
 vilianos ; ubi praemissis libertorum fidis- missions made with frauduhsnt aim 
 simis Ostiam," &c., it has been inferred during the lifetime of the owner, as well 
 that they were near the Tiber, and by as by will. 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 449 
 
 56. Ergo accitur Natalis, et diversi interrogantur^ quisnam is 
 sermo^ qua de re fuisset. turn exorta suspitio, quia non congru- 
 entia responderant^ iuditaque vincla. et tormentorum aspectum 
 ac niinas non tulere : prior tamen Natalis, totius conspirationis 
 magis gnaruSj simul arguendi peritior, de Pisone primum fatetur, 
 deinde adicit Annaeum Senecam, sive internuntius inter eum 
 Pisonemque fuit^ sive ut Neronis gratiam pararet, qui infensus 
 Senecae omnes ad eum opprimendum artes conquirebat. turn 
 cognito Natalis indicio Scaevinus quoque pari inbecillitate, an 
 cuncta iam patefacta credens nee ullum silentii emolumentum, 
 edidit ceteros. ex quibus Lucanus Quintianusque et Senecio diu 
 abnuere : post promissa inpunitate corrupti, quo tarditatem ex- 
 cusarent, Lucanus Aciliam matrem suani^, Quintianus Glitium 
 Galium, Senecio Annium Pollionem, amicorum praecipuos, nomi- 
 navere. 
 
 57. Atque interim Nero recordatus Yolusii Proculi indicio 
 Epicbarim attineri ratusque muliebre corpus impar dolori tor- 
 mentis dilacerari iubet. at illam non verbera, non ignes, non ira 
 eo acrius torquentium ne a femina spernerentur_, pervicere quin 
 obiecta denegaret. sic primus quaes tionis dies contemptus. 
 poster o cum ad eosdem cruciatus retraberetur gestamine sellae 
 (nam dissolutis membris insistere nequibat), vinclo fasciae, quam 
 pectori detraxerat, in modum laquei ad arcum sellae restricto 
 indidit cervicem et corporis pondere conisa tenuem iam spiritum 
 expressit, clariore exemplo libertina mulier in tanta necessitate 
 alienos ac prope ignotos protegendo, cum ingenui et viri et 
 equites Romani senatoresque intacti tormentis carissima suorum 
 quisque pignorum proderent. non enim omittebant Lucanus 
 quoque et Senecio et Quintianus passim conscios edere, magis 
 magisque pavido Nerone, quamquam multiplicatis excubiis semet 
 saepsisset. 
 
 56. diversi] * Apart from each other.' PoUio mentioned in this chapter, is per- 
 
 Cf. Germ. 16, " colunt discreti ac diversi j" haps, the grandson of the Annio Pollio 
 
 and xvi. 30, " steteruntque diversi." Be- of vi. 9. 
 low, for 'inditaque vincla,' cf. xi. 1 and 32. 57. vinclofasciae] The * strophium.' Cf. 
 
 * Indere ' is a very favourite word of Non. p. 538 M. " Strophium est fascia 
 Tacitus ; cf. ' indere castella ' (iv. 46) ; brevis quae virginalem horrorem cohibet 
 'vocabula' (iv. 55), 'eflfigiem' (i. 74), mamillarum." Also cf. Mart. xiv. 66, 
 'custodes' (iii. 28), 'pontes' (xii. 57), CatuU. Ixiv, 65. 
 
 * flammeum ' (xv. 37) occur. ingenui et viri'] These are res- 
 
 arguendi peritior] 'More skilled in pectively opposed to 'libertina' and 
 
 selecting whom to accuse.' Natalis knew ' mulier,' so that the sense is ' free-born 
 
 what persons Nero would be glad to hear persons and men;' and 'ingenui,' al- 
 
 accused, and consequently he selected though masculine, embraces women as 
 
 his victims judiciously. The Annius well as men. 
 
 G g 
 
450 COENELII TACITI [a.u.(.818. 
 
 58. Quin et urbem^ per manipulos occupatis moenibuS;, insesso 
 etiam mari et amne^ velut in custodiam dedit. volitabantque per 
 fora^ per domes, rura quoque et proxima municipiorum jedites 
 equitesque, permixti Germanis, quibus fidebat princeps quasi ex- 
 ternis. continua bine et vincta agmina trabi ac foribus bortorum 
 adiacere. atque ubi dicendam ad causam introissent, laetatum 
 erga coniuratos, et fortuitus sermo, subiti occursus, si convivium, 
 si spectaculum simul inissent, pro crimine accipi, cum super 
 Neronis ac Tigillini saevas percunctationes Faenius quoque Rufus 
 violenter urgueret, nondum ab indicibus nominatus, et quo fidem 
 inscitiae pararet, atrox adversus socios. idem. Subrio Flavo 
 assistenti adnuentique, an inter ipsam cognitionem destringeret 
 gladium caedemque patraret, renuit infregitque impetum iam 
 manum ad capulum referentis. 
 
 59. Fuere qui prodita coniuratione, dnm auditur Milicbus, dum 
 dubitat Scaevinus_, bortarentur Pisonem pergere in castra aut 
 rostra escendere studiaque militum et populi temptare. si cona- 
 tibus eius conscii aggregarentur, secuturos etiam integros ; mag- 
 namque motae rei famam, quae plurimum in novis consiliis valeret. 
 nihil adversum baec Neroni provisum. etiam fortes viros subitis 
 terror i, nedum ille scaenicus, Tigillino scilicet cum pelicibus suis 
 comitante, arma contra cieret. multa experiendo confieri, quae 
 segnibus ardua videantur. frustra silentium et fidem in tot con- 
 sciorum animis et corporibus sperare ; cruciatui aut praemio cuncta 
 pervia esse, ventures qui ipsum quoque vincirent_, postremo 
 indigna nece afiicerent. qnanto laudabilins periturum, dum 
 amplectitur rem publicam, dum auxilia Hbertati invocat. miles 
 potius deesset et plebes desereret^ dum ipse maioribus, dum pos- 
 
 58. Germanis'] Cf. xiii. 18. These but it hardly can "be right, and ' et ' may 
 
 German guards of Nero are mentioned easily have become 'set' (or 'stjd'), fol- 
 
 in several inscriptions ; for instance, — lowing as it does ' coniuratos.* 
 
 Frisians (Lat. Inscript. n. 174), Bata- 59. dum amplectitur] This use of the 
 
 vians (n. 3538), Ubians (7420, a. pp). present indicative after 'dum' is in ac- 
 
 agmina trahi] ' Continuous troops of cordance with the usual custom of Taci- 
 
 criminals were dragged in chains.' tus. Here it occurs even in the ' oratio 
 
 laetatwm] Sc. esse. ' That any symp- obliqua.' For a similar instance, cf. 
 
 tom of pleasure should have been dis- H. v. 17, " suam illic victoriam Ger- 
 
 played towards the conspirators.' If manis obstitisse dum omissis telis praeda 
 
 any one on meeting a conspirator was manus impediunt." In the nest clause, 
 
 known to have shown any marks of however, the imperfect subjmictive is 
 
 gratification at the meeting, this was used. Cf. i. 10, and the noie under 
 
 magnified into a charge against him. * abstulerat.' 
 
 For the use of ' erga ' here, cf. iv. 11, " erga deesset] ' If there were to be a failure 
 
 exitus dominantium fama atrocior j" and any where, it would be better for it to 
 
 H. ii. 55, "erga eos decretae laudes." arise from the backwardness of the 
 
 The Cod, Med. has" sed fortuitus sermoj" soldiery and thq desertion of tJie popu- 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XY. 451 
 
 teris, si vita praeriperetur, mortem adprobaret. inmotus Ms et 
 paululum in publico versatus, post domi secretus_, animum adversum 
 suprema Jfirmabat, donee manus militum adveniret, quos Nero 
 tirones aut stipendiis recentes delegerat : nam vetus miles time- 
 batur quamquam favore inbutus. obiit abruptis braccliiorum 
 venis. testamentum foedis adversus Neronem adulationibus amori 
 uxoris dedit, quam degenerem et sola corporis forma commendatam 
 amici matrimonio abstulerat. nomen mulieris Atria Galla, priori 
 marito Domitius Silus. bic patientia, ilia inpudicitia Pisonis in^ 
 famiam propagavere. 
 
 60. Proximam necem Plautii Laterani consulis designati Nero 
 adiungit, adeo propere, ut non complecti liberoSj non illud breve 
 mortis arbitrium permitteret. raptus in locum servilibus poenis 
 sepositam manu Statii tribuni trucidatur^ plenus constantis silentii 
 nee tribuno obiciens eandem conscientiam. 
 
 Sequitur caedes Annaei Senecae, laetissima principi, non quia 
 coniurationis manifestum compererat^ sed ut ferro grassaretur, 
 quando venenum non processerat. solus quippe Natalis et bac^ 
 tenus prompsit^ missum se ad aegrotum Senecam, uti viseret 
 conquerereturque cur Pisonem aditu arceret : melius fore, si 
 amicitiam familiari congressu exercuissent. et respondisse Sene- 
 cam sermones mutuos et crebra coUoquia neutri conducere; 
 ceterum salutem suam incolumitate Pisonis inniti. baec ferre 
 Gravius Silvanus tribunus praetoriae cohortis, et an dicta Natalia 
 suaque responsa nosceret percunctari Senecam iubetur. is forte an 
 prudens ad eum diem ex Campania remeaverat quartumque apud 
 
 lace than from any want of spirit in in locum'] This was probably beyond 
 
 Piso. If he must die, he should let his the walls, through the Porta Esquilina. 
 
 death be one to satisfy what was due to It seems to have been called ' Sessorium.' 
 
 his ancestors and the opinion of pos- So the Scholiast on Hor. Epod. v. 100, 
 
 terity.' " hinc Esquilina porta Romae dicitur 
 
 Mc patientia] It is not very clear ad Sessorium ubi certus erat locus sepul- 
 
 how the want of spirit displayed by crorum ad corpora pauperum aut scele- 
 
 Silus helped to perpetuate the (Hsgrace ratorum viliumque comburenda." Cf. 
 
 of Piso. Perhaps Tacitus means, that also Hor. Sat. i. 8, 11. 
 
 owing to the former husband's passive sed ut ferro grassaretur] Nero seized 
 
 submission to his disgrace and the wife's the opportunity afforded him of putting 
 
 wantonness, the whole affair was so pe- Seneca to death by the sword on the 
 
 culiarly disgraceful that men could never ground of complicity in the plot, al- 
 
 forget it. though there was no proof of such com- 
 
 60. non illud hreve mortis a/rbitriunt] plicity; but it furnished the Emperor 
 
 * Not the usual choice of death, slight with a handle for getting rid of him. 
 
 (favour) as it was.' There is a little Below, for ' hactenus ' (' to this extent, 
 
 confusion in the expression, for it was and no further'), cf. xiv. 51, "aspectum 
 
 not the choice of death, so much as the eius aversatum sciscitanti hactenus re- 
 
 favour of being allowed to choose it, spondisse, ego me bene habeo." 
 which was a trifling one. 
 
 Gg2 
 
452 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 818. 
 
 lapidem suburbano rure substiterat. illo propinqua vespera tri- 
 bunus venit et villam globis militum saepsit ; turn ipsi cum P(3mpeia 
 Paulina uxore et amicis duobus epulanti mandata imperatoris 
 edidit. 
 
 61. Seneca missum ad se Natalem conquestumque nomine 
 Pisonis quod a visendo eo probiberetur, seque rationem valetudinis 
 et amorem quietis excusavisse respondit. cur salutem privati 
 bominis incolumitati suae anteferret, causam non babuisse; nee 
 sibi promptum in adulationes ingenium. idque nulli magis gnarum 
 quam JSTeroni, qui saepius libertatem Senecae quam servitium 
 expertus esset. ubi baec a tribuno relata sunt Poppaea et Tigil- 
 lino coram_, quod erat saevienti principi intimum consiliorum, in- 
 terrogat an Seneca voluntariam mortem pararet. tum tribunus 
 nulla pavoris signa, nibil triste in verbis eius aut vultu deprensum 
 confirmavit. ergo regredi et indicere mortem iubetur. tradit 
 Fabius Rusticus non eo quo venerat itinere reditum_, sed flexisse 
 ad Faenium praefectum_, et expositis Caesaris iussis an obtempe- 
 raret interrogavisse^ monitumque ab eo ut exequeretur^ fatal! 
 omnium ignavia. nam et Silvanus inter coniuratos erat augebatque 
 scelera, in quorum ultionem consenserat. voci tamen et aspectui 
 pepercit intromisitque ad Senecam unum ex centurionibus, qui 
 necessitatem ultimam denuntiaret. 
 
 62. Ille interritus poscit testamenti tabulas; ac denegante 
 centurione conversus ad amicos^ quando meritis eorum referre 
 
 61. excusavisse] Cf. note on v. 2. voice and aspect on Seneca.' I imagine, 
 
 qtcod erat saevienW] Poppaea and therefore, that in xii. 47/' visuiconsulnit" 
 
 Tigillinus were the Emperor's favourite has the same meaning, viz., that Pharas- 
 
 advisers when any scheme of cruelty manes forebore to show himself to his 
 
 was in agitation. victims at their execution. ] n these 
 
 fatali omnium ignavia'] * With a spirit- passages 'aspectus' and 'visas' are 
 
 lessness on the part of all, which lay on used passively, * the being seen j' not 
 
 them like a doom.' These cowardly men actively, ' the act of seeing.' 
 were the victims of fatality, and hardly 62. testamenti tahulas] It in impos- 
 
 free agents. Below, * augebatque,' &o., sible to say whether these words imply 
 
 means that Silvanus lent himself as a that Seneca had already made his will, 
 
 tool for carrying out Nero's crimes, and or only then for the first time attempted 
 
 so swelled the list of atrocities which he to make it. The form of the expression 
 
 had undertaken to assist in punishing. " seems to me to be in favour of the for- 
 
 voci tamen et aspectui pepercit] It is mer sense : if Tacitus had intended the 
 
 clear that the sense of the first clause latter, I think, perhaps, he would have 
 
 here is, that Seneca was spared the pang said 'in testamentum tabulas' That 
 
 of hearing the voice of Silvanus giving ' codicilli ' are mentioned below (c. 64) , 
 
 the order for his execution. Conse- as containing directions for his funeral, 
 
 quently it follows that the sense of the does not in itself seem to prove that there 
 
 second clause is, that Seneca was spared was no * testamentum ' (' codicilli ' being 
 
 the pain of looking on Silvanus, the in- an informal will) , for Seneca might easily 
 
 strument of his own murder. The sense have left informal directions on a subject 
 
 is, ' the tribune forebore to obtrude his not mentioned in the wiU. 
 
A.D. G5.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XY. 453 
 
 gratiam proliiberetur, quod unum iam et tamen pulclierrimum 
 habeat, imaginem vitae suae relinquere testatur^ cuius si memores 
 essent, bonarum artium famam turn constantis amicitiae la- 
 turos. simul lacrimas eorum modo sermone, modo intentior in 
 modum coercentis, ad firmitudinem revocat, rogitans ubi praecepta 
 sapientiae^ ubi tot per annos meditata ratio adversum imminentia? 
 cui enim ignaram fuisse saevitiam Neronis ? neque aliut superesse 
 post matrem fratremque interfectos quam ut educatoris praecep- 
 torisque necem adiceret. 
 
 63. Ubi baec atque talia velut in commune disseruit, complec- 
 titur uxorem^ et paululum adversus praesentem fortitudinem 
 mollitus rogat oratque temperaret dolorem aeternum suscipere, 
 sed in contemplatione vitae per virtutem actae desiderium mariti 
 solaciis bonestis toleraret. ilia contra sibi quoque destinatam 
 mortem adseverat manumque percussoris exposcit. tum Seneca 
 gloriae eius non adversus_, simul amore, ne sibi unice dilectam ad 
 iniurias relinqueret, -^ vitae ' inquit ' delenimenta monstraveram 
 tibi^ tu mortis decus mavis : non invidebo exemplo. sit buius tarn 
 fortis exitus constantia penes utrosque par^ claritudinis plus in tuo 
 fine/ post quae eodem ictu braccbia ferro exsolvunt. Seneca^ 
 quoniam senile corpus et parco victu tenuatum lenta effugia san- 
 guini praebebat, crurum quoque et poplitum venas abrumpit. 
 saevisque cruciatibus defessus^ ne dolore suo animum uxoris in- 
 fringeret atque ipse visendo eius tormenta ad inpatientiam dela- 
 beretur^ suadet in aliud cubiculum abscedere. et novissimo 
 quoque memento suppeditante eloquentia advocatis scriptoribus 
 pleraque tradidit^ quae in vulgus edita eius verbis invertere 
 supersedeo. 
 
 64. At Nero nullo in Paulinam proprio odio, ac ne glisceret 
 invidia crudelitatis_, iubet inbiberi mortem, bortantibus militibus 
 servi libertique obligant braccbia^ premunt sanguinem incertum 
 
 63. pauluhivi adversus praesentem for- 46, " placide quiescas, nosque domum 
 
 titudinem mollitus'] ' Melted for a mo- tuam ab infirmo desiderio et muliebribus 
 
 ment to a state of feeling at variance lamentis ad contemplationem virtutum 
 
 with the fortitude displayed by him at tnarum voces : admiratione te potius te 
 
 this crisis.' For the use of * adversus/ imraortalibus laudibus et si natura sup- 
 
 of. xii. 54, and the note there. peditet, aemulatione te decorabimus." 
 
 temperaret . . . suscipere'] For the invertere, (^c] ' Which already commu- 
 
 infinitive after * temperare,' cf. Plaut. nicated to the public in his own words, 
 
 Poenulus, prolog. 22, " dormire tempe- I forbear to give in altered language.' 
 
 rent ;" and 34, " voce sua tinnire tempe- The editors quote, Senec. Suas. p. 20, 
 
 rent." Also Aul. Gell. iv. 29, " dies in " tam diligentes tum auditores erant . . . 
 
 quibus rem quampiam novam. exordiri ut unius verba surripi non possent : at 
 
 temperandum est." nunc cuilibet orationes invertere tuto 
 
 in contemplatione vitae~\ Cf. Agric. licet pro suis." 
 
454 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.( . 818. 
 
 an ignarae. nam, ut est vulgus ad deteriora promptnn: , non 
 defuere qui crederent, donee inplacabilem Neronem tii merit, 
 famam sociatae cum marito mortis petivisse, deinde oblata mitiore 
 spe blandimentis yitae evictam ; cui addidit paucos postea annos, 
 laudabili in maritum memoria et ore ac membris in eum pallorem 
 albentibus, ut ostentui esset multum vitalis spiritus eg'estum. 
 Seneca interim, durante tractu et lentitudine mortis, Sfcatium 
 Annaeum, diu sibi amicitiae fide et arte medicinae probatum, orat 
 pro visum pridem venenum, quo damnati publico Atheniensium 
 iudicio extinguerentur, promeret; adlatumque bausit frustra, 
 frigidus iam artus et cluso corpore adversum vim veneni. pcstremo 
 stagnum calidae aquae introiit, respergens proximos servorum 
 addita voce, libare se liquorem iQum lovi liberatori. exim balneo 
 inlatus et vapore eius exanimatus, sine ullo funeris soUemni cre- 
 matur. ita codicillis praescripserat, cum etiam tum praedives et 
 praepotens supremis suis consuleret. 
 
 65. Fama fuit Subrium Flavum cum centurionibus occulto 
 consilio, neque tamen ignorante Seneca, destinavisse, ut post 
 occisum opera Pisonis Neronem Piso quoque interficeretui' trade- 
 returque imperium Senecae, quasi insontibus claritudine virtutum 
 ad summum fastigium delecto. quin et verba Flavi vulgabantur, 
 non referre dedecori, si citharoedus demoveretur et tragoedus 
 succederet, quia ut Nero citbara, ita Piso tragico omatu canebat. 
 
 6Q. Ceterum mditaris quoque conspiratio non ultra fefellit, 
 accensis indicibus ad prodendum Faenium Eufum, quem eundem 
 conscium et inquisitorem non tolerabant. ergo instanti minitan- 
 tique renidens Scaevinus neminem ait plura scire quam ipsum, 
 
 64. tractu] 'Owing to tlie protracted entirely guiltless of any complicity in 
 tardiness and slowness of his death.' the assassination of Nero, and on his 
 Cf. XV. 10, " tractu belli." Below, ' quo death Seneca was to be raised to the 
 damnati ' is the reading of the Codex throne. The adjective is either in the 
 Gudianus for the ' quod anti ' of the Cod. dative or ablative (without a prepo- 
 Med. sition), both constructions being familiar 
 
 frigidus iam artus'] This construction to Tacitus. See note on ii. 50. 
 
 is common in Tacitus. Cf. i. 50, " fron- referre dedecori] This dati^ e is not 
 
 tern tectus ;" ii. 13. 17 ; H. iii. 74 ; very easy to understand. It se^ms equi- 
 
 GexTn. 17. The meaning is simply, that valent to ' quod ad dedecus,' ' as for the 
 
 Seneca's already chilled body could not disgrace, it made no differeiice :' one 
 
 induce the poison to exert its influence, was as bad as the other. Some of the 
 
 for which purpose warmth is required editors alter this to 'dedecors;' but I 
 
 (calidae aquae). There is no idea of his cannot find any similar instance, for such 
 
 frame being fortified by antidote against expressions as * referre magni parvi,' &c. 
 
 poisons. Below, * stagnum ' is * a bath,' do not seem of the same i:ind, the 
 
 a meaning not found elsewhere. genitives expressing the amount of the 
 
 65. quasi insontibus] Piso was to be difierence, which is hardly tho case in. 
 slain as if the conspirators had been 'dedecoris' here. 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 455 
 
 hortaturque ultro redderet tarn bono principi vicem. non vox 
 adversum ea Faenio, non silentium, sed verba sua praepediens et 
 pavoris manifestus, ceterisque et maxime Cervario Proculo equite 
 Romano ad convincendum eum conisis^ iussu imperatoris a Cassio 
 milite^ qui ob insigne corporis robur adstabat, corripitur vinci- 
 turque. 
 
 67. Mox eorundem indicio Subrius Flavus tribunus pervertitur, 
 primo dissimilitudinem morum ad defensionem trahens, neque se 
 armatum cum inermibus et effeminatis tantum facinus consociatu- 
 rum ; dein, postquam urguebatur, confessionis gloriam amplexus. 
 interrogatusque a Nerone^ quibus causis ad oblivionem sacramenti 
 processisset, ^ oderam te '' inquit^ ^ nee quisquam tibi fidelior mili- 
 tum fuit, dum amari meruisti. odisse coepi^ postquam parricida 
 matris et uxoris^ auriga et histrio et incendiarius extitisti.^ ipsa 
 rettuli verba, quia non, ut Senecae, volgata erant, nee minus 
 nosci decebat militaris viri sensus incomptos et validos. nihil in 
 ilia coniuratione gravius aaribus Neronis accidisse constitit, qui ut 
 faciendis sceleribus promptus, ita audiendi quae faceret insolens 
 erat. poena Flavi Veianio Nigro tribuno mandatur. is proximo 
 in agro scrobem effodi iussit, quam visam Flavus ut bumilem et 
 angustam increpans, circumstantibus militibus, ^ ne hoc quidem ' 
 inquit ' ex disciplina.^ admonitusque fortiter protendere cervicem, 
 ^ utinam ' ait ^ tu tarn fortiter ferias ! ' et ille multum tremens, cum 
 vix duobus ictibus caput amputavisset, saevitiam apud Neronem 
 iactavit, sesquiplaga interfectum a se dicendo. 
 
 68. Proximum constantiae exemplum Sulpicius Asper centurio 
 praebuit, percunctanti Neroni, cur in caedem suam conspiravisset, 
 breviter respondens non alitor tot flagitiis eius subveniri potuisse. 
 tum iussam poenam subiit. nee ceteri centuriones in perpetiendis 
 suppliciis degeneravere : at non Faenio Rufo par animus, sed 
 lamentationes suas etiam in testamentum contulit. 
 
 Q^. 'postqvxim'pa/rricida, ^cJ] One may in the same meaning ('sentiments'): 
 
 wonder whether Flavus here enumerates " ecce modo heroas sensus afferre videmua 
 
 Nero's crimes in the order of atrocity: nugari solitos Graece." 
 whether in his opinion Nero's appearance 68. subvenirx] Cf. Suet. Nero, 36, 
 
 on the stage and in the circus was worse " nonnulli etiam imputarent tamquam 
 
 than the murder of his mother. Cf. alitor illi non possent nisi morto suc- 
 
 Juv. viii. 219, " nullis aconita propinquis currere dedecorato flagitiis omnibus." 
 
 miscuit, in scena nunquam cantavit The sense apparently is that Asper 
 
 Orestes, Troica non scripsit." Below, for thought he was doing Nero a kindness 
 
 the dative of the gerundive after promp- in preventing him from having any fur- 
 
 tus, cf. xii. 4, " accipiendis ad versus ther opportunity of committing crimes ; 
 
 generum suspicionibus caritate filiae he was doing him a good tum in cutting 
 
 promptior." short his career : it v/as a kindness to 
 
 sensus] Persius (i. 69) uses the word Nero himself. 
 
456 COENELII TACITI [a.u.c. 818. 
 
 Opperiebatur Nero^ ut Yestinus quoque consul in crimen ittra- 
 heretur, violentum et infensum ratus : sed ex coniuratis cmsilia 
 cum Yestino non miscuerant, quidam vetustis in eum simultafcibus, 
 plures, quia praecipitem et insociabilem credebant. ceierum 
 Neroni odium adversus Yestinum ex intima sodalitate cocrperat, 
 dum hie ignaviam principis penitus cognitam despicit_, ille ferociam 
 amici metuit^ saepe asperis facetiis inlusus, quae ubi multum ex 
 vero traxere_, acrem sui memoriam relinquunt. accesserat 2'epens 
 causa^ quod Yestinus Statiliam Messalinam matrimonio sibi iuncx- 
 erat^ baut nescius inter adulteros eius et Caesar em esse. 
 
 69. Igitur non crimine^ non accusatore exsistente, quia speciem 
 iudicis induere non poterat^ ad vim dominationis conversus Gerel- 
 lanum tribunum cum coborte militum inmittit iubetque praevenire 
 conatus consulis : occuparet velut arcem eius^ opprimeret delec- 
 tam iuventutem, quia Yestinus imminentes foro aedes decoraque 
 servitia et pari aetate babebat. cuncta eo die munia consulis 
 impleverat conviviumque celebrabat, nibil metuens an dissimu- 
 lando metu, cum ingressi milites vocari eum a tribune dixere. ille 
 nibil demoratus exsurgit et omnia simul properantur : clauditur 
 cubiculo^ praesto est medicus, abscinduntur venae^ vigens adhuc 
 balneo infertur, calida aqua mersatur, nulla edita voce qua semet 
 miseraretur. circumdati interim custodia qui simul discubuerant, 
 nee nisi provecta nocte omissi sunt, postquam pavorem eorum_, 
 ex mensa exitium opperientium, et imaginatus et inridens Nero 
 satis supplicii luisse ait pro epulis consularibus. 
 
 70. Exim Annaei Lucani caedem imperat. is profluente san- 
 guine ubi frigescere pedes manusque et paulatim ab extremis 
 
 repens causa] Cf. vi. 13, "quid liave adopted tlie emendation 'iudicis,' 
 
 repens aut vetustate obscurum." The and the meaning is, ' to put on the guise 
 
 sense is not *a reason which arose just of a judge.' As there was no accuser, 
 
 before' (which would be 'recens'), but of course the Emperor could not play 
 
 • a reason which arose suddenly.' the role of a judge. 
 
 Statiliam Messalinani] Cf. Suet. Nero, occuparet velut arcem eius'] ' He should 
 
 35, " deiude Statiliam Messalinam Tauri seize at once on what might be regarded 
 
 bis consulis ac triumphalis abneptem ashis fortress.' Thehouse of Yestinus was 
 
 (uxorem duxit), qua ut poteretur vi- a sort ofcitadel from its position. Draeger 
 
 rum eius Atticum Yestinum consulem in quotes Suet. Nero, 37, " elatus inflatusque 
 
 honore ipso trucidavit." Cf. vi. 11. tantis velut successibus," and ('ic. de 
 
 69. speciem iudicis] The reading of Orat. i. 54, "erat enim Athenis .... 
 
 the Cod. Med. is * indiciis,' which I quasi poenae aestimatio." Below, ' dis- 
 
 think can hardly be right, for if there simulando metu ' might, as Draegor says, 
 
 was no accuser there could be no evi- be the dative of the purpose, as in xii. 
 
 dence ; and if the words could mean 82, " adversus rebelles et inlouendis 
 
 that Nero was unable to give any plau- sociis ad oflBcia legum." But I think it 
 
 Bible colouring to the evidence, still they is more probably the ablative : ' pos- 
 
 could only be so used, I think, if evi- sessed with a fear which required con- 
 
 dence were actually forthcoming. I cealment.' 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XY. 457 
 
 cedere spiritum fervido adliuc et compote mentis pectore intelle- 
 git, recordatus carmen a se compositum, quo volneratum militem 
 per eius modi mortis imaginem obisse tradiderat, versus ipsos 
 rettulit, eaque illi suprema vox fuit. Senecio posthac et Quin- 
 tianus et Scaevinus non ex priore vitae moUitia, mox reliqui coniu- 
 ratorum periere, nuUo facto dictove memorando. 
 
 71. Sed compleri interim urbs funeribus, Capitolium victimis ; 
 alius filio, fratre alius aut propinquo aut amico interfectis, agere 
 grates deis, ornare lauru domum, genua ipsius advolvi et dextram 
 osculis fatigare. atque ille gaudium id credens Antonii Natalis et 
 Cervarii Proculi festinata indicia inpunitate remuneratur. Mili- 
 chus praemiis ditatus conservatoris sibi^nomen, Graeco eius rei 
 vocabulo, adsumpsit. e tribunis Gavius Silvanus^ quamvis abso- 
 lutus, sua manu cecidit; Statins Proximus veniam^ quam ab 
 imperatore acceperat, vanitate exitus corrupit^ exuti dehinc tri- 
 bunatu .... Pompeius, Cornelius Martialis^ Flavins Nepos_, 
 Statins Domitius, quasi principem non quidem odissent_, sed 
 tamen existimarentur. Novio Prisco per amicitiam Senecae, et 
 Glitio Gallo atque Annio Pollioni infamatis magis quam convictis 
 data exilia. Priscum Artoria Flaccilla coniux comitata est^ Gal- 
 ium Egnatia Maximilla^ magnis primum et integris opibus^ post 
 ademptis^ quae utraque gloriam eius auxere. pellitur et Rufrius 
 Crispinus occasione coniurationis_, sed Neroni invisus^ quod Pop- 
 
 70. carmen a se compositum] The due in Capitolia magnum cretatumque 
 passage seems to be that in the Phar- bovem." Below, the ' Graecum vocabu- 
 salia, ix. 811 : — lum ' was auT-fjp. 
 
 «ci • J. 1 -^ « «,,„^«,-,^,^,,« vcmitate exitus corrupitl 'Neutralized 
 
 "Sanaruis erant lacnmae : quaecunque ,. , • i • i j. j- , oi. 
 
 n ° • -i. ^ it by a vainglorious resolve to die. Sta- 
 
 Oram ma no VI ^^^^ ^^^ pardoned, and therefore the aim 
 
 Humor ab his largus manat cruor : era ^^ ^^ voluntary death could only be 
 
 Et' pa'iul^" nares : sudor rubet: omnia ^^rTy^oT^^""'" ^''" ^' self-inflicted 
 
 MeS: fluunt venis: totum est pro JX^ittTLull^ 
 
 vulnere corpus. ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ y^^^ ^^^^ supposed to 
 Cf. also iii. 638, 599. The words * per entertain it.' 
 eius modi mortis imaginem ' are rather quae utraque^ The two grounds on 
 curious : * by a resemblance to a death which her fame rested were first her 
 of the kind described,' i. e. ' by a death great wealth ; this made her resolution 
 resembling the one in question.' Lu- to follow him into exile, instead of re- 
 can's death took place on the last day maining at home to enjoy it, the more 
 of April. praiseworthy : and afterwards her loss of 
 
 71. ipsius"] Of Nero. This shows, I riches, which made her a still more re- 
 think, that ' domum ' is the house of markable instance of conjugal aSection, 
 Nero, the opposition being between the in clinging to her husband, although it 
 house and the owner of it. Others take had cost her her wealth. Others take 
 • domum ' to be each man's house, deco- ' utraque ' to be her love and loss of 
 rated by him with laurel. For the prac- riches. 
 
 tice, cf. Juv. X. 65, " pone domi laurus, 
 
458 COENELn TACITI [a.u.c. 818. 
 
 paeam quondam matrimonio tenuerat. Yerginium Flavvn et 
 Musonium Rufam claritudo nominis expulit : nam Verginius 
 studia iuvenum eloquentia, Musonius praeceptis sapientiae fovebat. 
 Cluvidieno Quiet o^ lulio Agrippae^' Blitio Catulino^ Petronio P]"isco, 
 lulio AltinOj velut in agmen et numerum^ Aegaei maris iiisulae 
 permittuntur. at Caedicia uxor Scaevini et Caesennius Ma:jdmus 
 Italia proliibentur^, reos fuisse se tantum poena experti. -iLcilia 
 mater Annaei Lucani sine absolutione^ sine supplicio dissimulata. 
 
 72. Quibus perpetratis Nero et contione militum babita bina 
 nummum milia viritim manipularibus divisit addiditque sine 
 pretio frumentum^ quo ante ex modo annonae utebantur. tum, 
 quasi gesta bello expositurus, vocat senatum et triumphale decua 
 Petronio Turpiliano consulari^ Cocceio Nervae praetori designate, 
 Tigillino praefecto praetorii tribuit, Tigillinum et Nerval q ita 
 extoUens^ ut super triumpbales in foro imagines apud Palfitium 
 quoque effigies eorum sisteret. consularia insignia Nympliidio, 
 .... quia nunc primum oblatus est^ pauca repetam : nam et ipse 
 pars Romanarum cladium erit. igitur matre libertina ortus^ quae 
 corpus decorum inter servos libertosque principum vulgavere t_, ex 
 G. Caesare se genitum ferebat_, quoniam forte quadam babitu 
 procerus et torvo vultu erat^ sive Gr. Caesar, scortorum quoque 
 cupiens, etiam matri eius illusit. 
 
 73. Sed Nero vocato senatu, oratione inter patres habita, edic- 
 tum apud populum et collata in libros indicia confessionesque 
 damnatorum adiuucxit. etenim crebro vulgi rumore lacerabatur, 
 
 Verginium Flavum, ^c] There is a tion (Lat. Inscript. n. 5435) as recBiving 
 
 Verginius Flavus mentioned in the Life the ' triumphalia.' 
 
 of Persius by Suetonius, as the poet's pars Romanarti/m cladium] Cf. Yirg. 
 
 instructor, Dion Cassius speaks of the Aen. ii. 4, " quaeque ipsa miserriaa vidi 
 
 banishment of Musonius Rufus (Ixii. et quorum pars magna fui." So Ten- 
 
 27). Below, ' in agmen et numerum,' is nyson in Ulysses : — 
 
 * crowded together as if to form a troop u i ^m a part of all that I have n.et ! " 
 and band. Ui. u. 80, "m numerum 
 
 legionis composuerat ;" and H. i. 87, "in 73. Sed Nero'] This is an instauce of 
 
 numeros legionis composuerat." These the resumptive force of * sed.' A di- 
 
 men formed the rank and file of the con- gression about Nymphidius had inter- 
 
 demned party. vened : the thread of the story already 
 
 Caesennius Maximus] Martial calls begun is caught up again by ' sed.' Cf. 
 
 him Caesonius j cf. Mart. vii. 4-4, " Maxi- Cic. de Orat. ii. 12, " quum audio socrum 
 
 mus ille tuus Ovidi, Caesonius hie est meam Laeliam (facilius enim mrlieres 
 
 cuius adhuc vultum vivida cera tenet, incorruptam antiquitatem conservant 
 
 Hunc Nero damnavit : sed tu damnare . . . ) sed earn sic audio, &c. ;" Cic. in 
 
 Neronem ausus as, et profugi, non tua, Catil. iii. 2, " nam turn cum ex urbe 
 
 fata sequi." Catilinam eiciebam (non enim iamA ereor 
 
 72. Petronio Turpiliano] Cf. xiv. 29. huius verbi invidiam . . . ) sed turn cum 
 
 The Cocceius Nerva here is the future ilium, &c." 
 emperor. He is mentioned in an inscrip- 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XV. 459 
 
 tamquam viros et insontes ob invidiam aut metum extincxisset. 
 ceterum coeptam adultamque et revictam coniurationem nequo 
 tunc dubitavere quibus verum noscendi cura erat, et fatentur qui 
 post interitum Neronis in urbem regressi sunt, at in senatu 
 cunctis^ ut cuique plurimum maeroris, in adulationem demissis^ 
 lunium Gallionem^ Senecae fratris morte pavidum et pro sua in- 
 columitate supplicem, increpuit Salienus Clemens^ hostem et par- 
 ricidam vocans^ donee consensu patrum deterritus est^ ne publicis 
 malis abuti ad occasionem privati odii videretur^ neu composita aut 
 obliterata mansuetudine principis novam ad saevitiam retraberet. 
 
 74. Turn indiscreta dona et grates deis decernuntur^ propri- 
 usque honos Soli^ cui est vetus aedes apud circum, in quo facinus 
 parabatur^ qui occulta coniurationis numine retexisset; utque 
 circensium Cerealium ludicrum pluribus equorum cursibus cele- 
 braretur mensisque Aprilis Neronis cognomentum acciperet^ 
 templum Saluti extrueretur eo loci_, ex quo Scaevinus ferrum 
 prompserat. ipse eum pugionem apud Capitolium sacra vit in- 
 scripsitque lovi Yindici : in praesens baud animadversum post 
 arma lulii Yindicis ad auspicium et praesagium futurae ultionis 
 trahebatur. reperio in commentariis senatus Cerialem Anicium 
 consulem designatum pro sententia dixisse^ ut templum divo 
 Neroni quam maturrime publica pecunia poneretur. quod quidem 
 ille decernebat tamquam mortale fastigium egresso et veneratio- 
 nem bominum merito, .... quorundam ad omina dolum sui 
 exitus verteretur : nam deum bonor principi non ante babetur 
 quam agere inter bomines desierit. 
 
 viros et insontes] ' The gniltless as splendid edifice -was to be erected on the 
 
 well as the guilty.' Nero was thought same site. 
 
 to have punished not only those who post arma luUi Vindicis'] Julius Yin- 
 were concerned in the conspiracy, but dex was legatus pro praetore of Gallia, 
 others who were entirely innocent, from He headed an insurrection against Nero 
 envy and fear. The people thought a.d. 68, but unsuccessfully (Suet. Nero, 
 some of those who were put to death 40; H. i. 51), being defeated by Ver- 
 io be really conspirators, but others ginius Rufus. 
 they believed to be innocent. ' Et ' is divo Neroni] This piece of flattery 
 
 * also.' Cf. i. 4, " provecta iam senectus proposed (but not carried, ' decernebat ') 
 aegro et corpore fatigabatur." by Anicius was not very happy, because, 
 
 lunium Gallioneni] This was Marcus as divine honours were only paid to the 
 
 Annaeus Novatus. On his adoption by Roman emperors after death (up to that 
 
 Junius Gallio (vi. 3) he was called L. time and long subsequently to it), the 
 
 lunius Gallio. words * Divo Neroni ' could easily be 
 
 74. indiscreta'] So Bezzenberger for twisted into an omen of the Emperor's 
 
 * decreta,' the reading of the Cod. Med. speedy death. The rest of the passage 
 Cf. i. 35, " indiscretis vocibus." after ' merito ' is altogether corrupt. For 
 
 tenvplum Saltiti] There was already the mood of 'desierit,' cf. Germ. 13, 
 
 a temple to Salus or Forttma on the " arma sumere non ante cuiquam moria 
 
 spot, for Scaevinus (xv. 53) had taken quam civitas suflfecturum probaverit." 
 his dagger from it. Perhaps a more 
 
CORNELII TACITI 
 
 AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI 
 LIBER XYI. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chap. 1 — 3. Vain searcli for treasures in Numidia. 4. Nero appears on tlie stage. 
 5. Danger of the spectators. 6. Death of Poppaea. 7—9. Deaths of Cassiiis and 
 Silanus, and 10 — 11, of L. Vetus and his family. 12. Alteration in the naiaes of 
 the months. 13. Storms in Campania. 14, 15. Deaths of Publius Anteius and 
 Ostorius Scapula. 16. Remarks of Tacitus upon the disasters he narrates. 
 17. Death of Eufrius Crispinus, and others. 18, 19. Notice of C. Petronius — hia 
 death. 20. Silia banished. 21 — 23. Impeachment of Paetus Thrasea and Barea 
 Soranus. 24. Thrasea addresses a letter to Nero. 25, 26. Deliberation of 
 Thrasea. 27. The Senate-house surrounded with troops. 28 — 31. Commence ment 
 of the impeachment. 32. Evidence of Publius Egnatius — Notice of his cha- 
 racter. 33. Attachment of Cassius Asclepiodatus to Soranus — Choice of death 
 offered to Thrasea and Soranus — Rewards given to the accusers. 34, 35. .Firm- 
 nesa of Thrasea. 
 
 1. Inlusit dehinc Neroni fortuna per vanitatem ipsius et pro- 
 missa Caeselli Bassi, qui origine Poenus, mente turbida, nocturnae 
 quietis imaginem ad spem haud dubiae rei traxit_, vectusque 
 Romam^ principis aditum emercatus_, expromit repertum in agro 
 suo specum altitudine inmensa, quo magna vis auri continer€)tur, 
 non in formam pecuniae, sed rudi et antique pondere. lateres 
 quippe praegraves iacere, astantibus parte alia columnis ; quae per 
 tantum aevi occulta augendis praesentibus bonis, ceterum, ut 
 
 1. per vanitatem ipsius] ' Through his * mente turbida ' implies that Caes<3llius 
 
 own recklessness.' Nero was carried Bassus was not far from insane, 
 
 away by hopes, the grounds of which he occulta] Sc.'esse.' Below, ' conleciura ' 
 
 did not investigate properly. Below, is the ablative case, and the subjecit of 
 
AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XYI. 461 
 
 coniectura demonstrate Dido Phoenissam Tyro profugam condita 
 Carthagine illas opes abdidisse^ ne novus populus nimia pecunia 
 lasciviretj aut reges Numidarunij et alias infensi, cupidine auri ad 
 bellum accenderentur. 
 
 2. Igitur Nero^ non auctoris, non ipslus negotii fide satis spec- 
 tata nee missis per quos nosceret an vera adferrentur^ auget ultro 
 rumorem mittitque qui velut partam praedam adveherent. dantur 
 triremes et delectum remigium iuvandae festinationi. nee aliud per 
 illos dies populus credulitate, prudentes diversa fama tulere. ac 
 forte quinquennale ludicrum secundo lustro celebrabatur^ ab ora- 
 toribusque praecipua materia in laudem principis adsumpta est. 
 non enim solitas tantum fruges nee confusum metallis aurum 
 gigni, sed nova ubertate provenire terram et obvias opes deferre 
 deos^ quaeque alia summa facundia nee minore adulatione servilia 
 fingebant^ securi de facilitate credentis. 
 
 3. Gliscebat interim luxuria spe inani^ consumebanturque 
 veteres opes quasi oblatis quas multos per annos prodigeret. quin 
 et inde iam largiebatur ; et divitiarum expectatio inter causas 
 paupertatis publicae erat. nam Bassus, efibsso agro suo latisque 
 circum arvis^ dum tunc vel ilium locum promissi specus adseverat^ 
 sequunturque non modo milites sed populus agrestium efficiendo 
 operi adsumptus^ tandem posita vaecordia^ non falsa antea somnia 
 sua seque tunc primum elusum admirans, pudorem et metum 
 morte voluntaria eJBfugit. quidam vinctum ac mox dimissum 
 tradidere ademptis bonis in locum regiae gazae. 
 
 4. Interea senatus, propinquo iam lustrali certamine, ut de- 
 
 * demonstrat ' is Caesellius Bassus . The tioned below, cf. xiy. 20. 
 
 clause ' Dido (cf. Virg. iv. 383 ; these confusum metallis aurum gigni] ' Gold 
 
 Greek accusatives were fashiouable in mixed (with other substances) is found 
 
 Quintilian's days, cf. Quint, i. 5. 63), in the mines.' ' Confusum ' seems used 
 
 . . . abdidisse ' depends on ' expromit,' absolutely, and ' metallis ' is put for ' in 
 
 or a similar word. metallis,' for which cf. iii. 61, under 
 
 et anas'] ' Even on other grounds.' * Delo.' Below, ' provenire ' is unusual : 
 
 The kings of Numidia were inclined to it is generally applied to crops. In 
 
 hostilities on other grounds, and would Plautus it is found with a personal sub- 
 
 at once seize on this additional reason. ject ; cf. Trucul. ii. 6. 35, " cum tu recte 
 
 2. velut partam] ' As though it had provenisti, cumque es aucta liberis gra- 
 
 been already secured,' and only awaited tulor." 
 
 removal. I do not see any necessity for 3. in locum regiae gazae] •' To make np 
 
 altering this to * paratara.' for the loss of the royal treasure.' The 
 
 tulere] Cf. vi. 49, " quamquam maesta treasure is called 'regia,' not because it 
 
 et miseranda diu ferret ;" XV. 46, " Vetera was intended for Nero, but as having 
 
 mala rumoribus ferente populo." The belonged to Dido. 
 
 populace credited any rumour about the 4. lustrali certamine] Cf. xvi. 2. 
 
 matter ; the thoughtful took different Below, ' ludicra deformitas ' is ' the dis- 
 
 views of the various items in the story, graceful exhibition of himself at the 
 
 For the * quinquennale ludicrum,' men- games,' in the way of singing. 
 
462 COENELII TACITI [a.xj.c. 318. 
 
 decus averteret, ofifert imperatori yictoriam cantus adic] ]que 
 facundiae coronam^ qua ludicra deformitas velaretur. sed Nero 
 nihil ambitu nee potestate senatus opus esse dictitans, se aec[aum 
 adversum aemulos et religione iudicum meritam laudem adsecutu- 
 rum, prime carmen in scaena recitat; mox flagitante vulg^D ut 
 omnia studia sua publicaret (baec enim verba dixere) ingreditur 
 tbeatrum, cunctis citbarae legibus obtemperans, ne fessus reside- 
 ret, ne sudorem nisi ea quam indutui gerebat veste detergerefc, ut 
 nulla oris aut narium excrementa viserentur. postremo fiexus 
 genu et coetum ilium manu veneratus sententias iudicum opperie- 
 batur ficto pavore. et plebs quidem urbis, bistrionum quoque 
 gestus iuvare solita, personabat certis modis plausuque composite, 
 crederes laetari, ac fortasse laetabantur per incuriam publici fla- 
 
 5. Sed qui remotis e municipiis severamque adbuc et antiqui " 
 moris retinentes Italiam, quique per longinquas provincias lascivia 
 inexperti officio legationum aut privata utilitate advenerant_, neque 
 aspectum ilium tolerare neque labori inhonesto sufficere, cum 
 manibus nesciis fatiscerent, turbarent gnaros ac saepe a militibus 
 verberarentur, qui per cuneos stabant, ne quod temporis momen- 
 tum inpari clamore aut silentio segni praeteriret. constitit ple- 
 rosque equitum, dum per angustias aditus et ingruentem multitu- 
 dinem enituntur, obtritos, et alios, dum diem noctemque sedilibus 
 continuant, morbo exitiabili correptos. quippe gravior inerat 
 metus, si spectaculo defuissent, multis palam et pluribus occultis, 
 ut nomina ac voltus, alacritatem tristitiamque coeuntium sci-uta- 
 rentur. undo tenuioribus statim inrogata supplicia, adversum 
 illustres dissimulatum ad praesens et mox redditum odium, fere- 
 bantque Yespasianum, tamquam somno coniveret, a Pboebo 
 liberto increpitum aegreque meliorum precibus obtectum, mox 
 imminentem permitiem maiore fato effugisse. 
 
 (5. Post finem ludicri Poppaea mortem obiit, fortuita mariti 
 iracundia, a quo gravida ictu calcis afflicta est. neque (3nim 
 
 5. retinentes] ' Who still kept Italy oivili bello inexpertas." 
 
 strict and up to the old standard.' The Tnorbo exitiabili] Suetonius (ITero, 23) 
 
 construction here is awkward : ' remotis speaks of the shifts to which the specta- 
 
 e municipiis ' and * retinentes ' are made tors were driven in order to escape from 
 
 to balance each other, * those who ar- the performances. Some pretended death, 
 
 rived from the distant municipia and, and were carried out like corpses. Below, 
 
 consequently, in the character of persons * redditum odium ' is ' hatred was paid 
 
 who still kept,' &c. back ' for their conduct, 
 
 lascivia inexperti] Cf. H. i, 8, " bellis maiore fato] ' A destiny reserving him 
 
 inexpertus j" and H. ii. 75, " suas logiones for greater things.' 
 
A.D. 65.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XVI. 463 
 
 venenum crediderim^ quamvis quidam scriptores tradant, 'odio 
 magis quam ex fide : quippe liberorum cupiens et amori uxoris 
 obnoxius erat. corpus non igni abolitum, ut Romanus mos, sed 
 regum externorum consuetudine difiertum odoribus conditur 
 tumuloque luliorum infertur. ductae tamen publicae exequiae, 
 laudavitque ipse apud rostra formam eius et quod divinae 
 infantis parens fuisset aliaque fortunae munera pro virtu- 
 tibus. 
 
 7. Mortem Poppaeae ut palam tristem, ita recordantibus laetara 
 ob inpudicitiam eius saevitiamque, nova insuper invidia Nero 
 complevit prohibendo C. Cassium officio exequiarum^ quod pri- 
 mum indicium mali. neque in longum dilatum est^ sed Silanus 
 additur, nullo crimine, nisi quod Cassius opibus vetustis et gra- 
 vitate morum^ Silanus claritudine generis et modesta iuventa 
 praecellebant. igitur missa ad senatum oratione removendos 
 a re publica utrosque disseruit, obiectavitque Cassio quod inter 
 imagines maiorum etiam 0. Cassi effigiem coluisset_, ita inscriptam. 
 ' duci partium ^ : quippe semina belli civilis et defectionem a 
 domo Caesarum quaesitam. ac ne memoria tantum infensi 
 nominis ad discordias uteretur, adsumpsisse L. Silanum_, 
 iuvenem genere nobilem^ animo praeruptum^ quern novis rebus 
 ostentaret. 
 
 8. Ipsum debinc Silanum increpuit isdem quibus patruum eius 
 Torquatum^ tamquam disponeret iam imperii curas praeficeretque 
 rationibus et libellis et epistulis libertos^ inania simul et falsa : nam 
 Silanus intentior metu et exitio patrui ad praecavendum exterri- 
 tus erat. inducit postbac vocabulo indicum^ qui in Lepidam, 
 
 6. conditur] This is from 'condio,* gible, in the person of L. Silanus (xr. 
 not * condo,' for were it from the latter, 52), still amongst the living. 
 
 some word would have been added 8. inania isimul'] These words are in 
 probably, as * area,' ' capulo,' or the like ; apposition to the whole sentence — ■ 
 and if it is used absolutely for ' is buried,' * charges at once trifling and false.' They 
 the next words are either a mere were not true, and would have been 
 tautology, or should have come first, quite harmless if they had been. Tor- 
 Pliny (xii. 41) says the spices used at quatus was accused of appointing freed- 
 Poppaea's funeral were more than a men to keep his accounts, compose any 
 whole year would produce in Arabia, documents, notices, &c., required by him. 
 This could only imply the burning of the and manage his correspondence : all in 
 body. But Pliny is rather given to the imitation of the Caesars, who had fiscal 
 repetition of wild stories. The ' tumulus account keepers, chancellors, and ama- 
 luliorum' is the Mausoleum (i. 8). nuenses. Below, 'inducit posthac,' &c., 
 
 7. ne memoria] Cassius (xii. 11) was means that the informers who were 
 not content with bringing up the name brought on the scene (i. 7) could scarcely 
 and memory of a man long since dead, be called informers, for their information 
 for the purpose of fostering discord ; he was fictitious, and no real information at 
 brought forward something more tan- all. 
 
464 CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 818-819. 
 
 Cassii uxorem^ Silani amitam^ incestum cum fratris filio et iiros 
 sacrorum ritus confingerent. trahebantur ut conscii Voloatius 
 Tullinus ac Marcellus Cornelius senatores et Calpurnius Fabatus 
 eques Romanus; qui appellate principe instantem damnationem 
 frustrati^ mox Neronem circa summa scelera distentum quasi 
 minor es evasere. 
 
 9. Tunc consul to senatus Cassio et Silano exilia decernuatur : 
 de Lepida Caesar statueret. deportatusque in insulam Sardiniam 
 Cassius^ et senectus eius exspectabatur. Silanus_, tamquam Naxum 
 deveheretur^ Ostiam amotus ; post municipio Apuliae^ cui nomen 
 Barium est_, clauditur. illic indignissimum casum sapienter tole- 
 rans a centurione ad caedem misso corripitur ; suadentique venas 
 abrumpere, animum quidem morti destinatum ait^ sed non remit- 
 tere percussori gloriam ministerii. at centurio quamvis inermem, 
 praevalidum tamen et irae quam timori propiorem cernens premi 
 a militibus iubet. nee omisit Silanus obniti et intendere ictus, 
 quantum manibus nudis valebat, donee a centurione volneribus 
 adversis tamquam in pugna caderet. 
 
 10. Hand minus prompte L. Yetus socrusque eius Sextia et Pol- 
 litta filia necem subiere, invisi principi tamquam vivendo expro- 
 brarent interfectum esse Rubellium Plautum, generum L. Yeteris. 
 sed initium detegendae saevitiae praebuit interversis patroni rebus 
 
 Silani amitaTn] The table will make tliis clear : — 
 C. Appius Silanus m. Aemilia Lepida. 
 
 M. Iimius Silanus. lunia Calvina (xii. 8). lunia Lepida ni. C. Cassius (xri. 8). 
 
 L. Silanus Torquatus (xvi. 8). 
 
 Marcellus Cornelius'] He was put to about 75 miles nortli of Brundisiuin. It 
 
 death by Galba, a.d. 68, in Spain, was on the Yia Appia (Hor. Sat. i. 5. 97). 
 
 (H. i. 37) . Borghesi supposes him to be It was made the capital of Apulia by the 
 
 the L. Cornelius Marcellus spoken of in Greek emperors in the middle ages, 
 
 an inscription (Mur. 693, 7) as "quaestor, 10. L. Vetus'] Cf. xiii. 11, and xiv. 58. 
 
 propraetore provinciae Siciliae, provin- Below, the MS. has Polutia, but Nip- 
 
 ciae eiusdem proconsul." perdey observes that the lady's gentile 
 
 9. consulto senatus] Cf. iii. 24, and name was Antistia (xiv. 22), and the 
 
 the note there. name here given ca.nnot be Polutia, which 
 
 senectus eius] Nero was content to is also a gentile name, and therefore he 
 
 wait for the death of Cassius, which corrects it to Pollitta, as a cognomen, 
 
 could not be far off, he thought, as he But cf. ii. 30, and the note on P. Qui- 
 
 was already an old man. (He had been rinius. 
 
 consul 35 years ago, in the year a.d. 30, interversis patroni rehus] ' Having em- 
 Dig. i. 2. 2. 47.) This seems to be the bezzled his master's property.' Cf. Suet, 
 sense, not that Nero was contented to Vitell. 7, " quorum publica vestigia in- 
 wait until Cassius should grow old and terverterat," and Plautus, Asin. ii. 1. 10, 
 die of age. " unde sumam ? quem intervortam F " and 
 
 JScwiwm] A town on the coast of Apulia, Rudens, v. 3. 44, "non hercle istoc me 
 
A.D. 65-66.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XYI. 465 
 
 ad accusandum transgrediens Fortunatus lib6rtus, adscito Claudio 
 Demiano, quern ob flagitia vinctum a Vetere Asiae pro consule 
 exsolvit Nero in praemium accusationis. quod ubi cognitum reo, 
 seque et libertum pari sorte componi, Formianos in agros digreditur. 
 illic eum milites occulta custodia circumdant. aderat filia, super 
 jngruens periculum longo dolore atrox^ ex quo percussores Plauti 
 mariti sui viderat ; cruentamque cervicem eius amplexa servabat 
 sanguinem et vestes respersas, vidua inplexa luctu continuo nee 
 ullis alimentis nisi quae mortem arcerent. turn hortante patre 
 Neapolim pergit. et quia aditu Neronis probibebatur, egressus 
 obsidens, audiret insontem neve consulatus sui quondam collegam 
 dederet liberto, modo muliebri eiulatu, aliquando sexum egressa 
 voce infensa clamitabat^ donee princeps inmobilem se precibus et 
 invidiae iuxta ostendit. 
 
 11. Ergo nuntiat patri abicere spem et uti necessitate: simul 
 adfertur parari cognitionem senatus et trucem sententiam. nee 
 defuere qui monerent magna ex parte beredem Caesarem nuncu- 
 pare atque ita nepotibus de reliquo consulere, quod aspernatus, 
 ne vitam proximo libertatem actam novissimo servitio foedaret, 
 largitur in servos quantum aderat pecuniae ; et si qua asportari 
 possent, sibi quemque deducere, tris modo lectulos ad suprema 
 retineri iubet. tunc eodem in cubioulo, eodem ferro abscindunt 
 venas^ properique et singulis vestibus ad verecundiam velati bali- 
 neis inferuntur^ pater filiam, avia neptem^ ilia utrosque intuens^ et 
 certatim precantes labenti animae celerem exitum, ut relinqueret 
 suos superstites et morituros. servavitque ordinem fortuna^ ae 
 seniores prius, turn cui prima aetas extinguuntur. accusati post 
 sepulturam decretumque ut more maiorum punirentur. et Nero 
 
 intervortes, si aliam praedam perdidi." uti necessitate] *To submit to his 
 
 For ' pari sorte componi/ below, cf. fate.' Cf. vi. 54, " documenta sequentia 
 
 XV. 51, although, of course, here, the erunt bene Arruntium morte usum." The 
 
 sense is not exactly as there ' confronted ' * grand-children' below are the children 
 
 but simply ' placed on the same footing.' of Eubellius Plautus, (xiv. 59), 
 
 inplexa] This is the only instance I relinqueret] Sc- ' anima,' says Walther. 
 
 believe of this word so used. But as I doubt ; rather I think, the subject ia 
 
 * implicari morbo, terrore,' &c., are * quisque,' which is easily inferred from 
 found, there seems no reason for altering the general sense of the passage. Below, 
 the reading. the words * cui prima aetas ' mean, of 
 
 11. nuntiat patri ahicere spem] There is course, the daughter. She was a widow, 
 
 no other instance, according to Draeger, and Walther objects that the words are 
 
 of the infinitive after * nuntiare ' (in the only applicable to a child : but she is 
 
 sense of ordering). For the same use of viewed in contrast with her aged father 
 
 * denuntiare,' cf. xi. 37, " denuntiatque and grandmother. Below, for * more 
 centurionibus et tribuno qui aderat exe- maiorum,' cf. ii. 32. 
 
 qui caedem." 
 
 H h 
 
466 COENELII TACITI [a.tt.c. 319. 
 
 intercessit, mortem sine arbitro permittens. ea caedibus perfctis 
 ludibria adiciebantur. 
 
 12. P. Gallus eques Eomanus, quod Faenio Bufo intimiis et 
 Yeteri non alienus fuerat, aqua atque igni prohibitus est. li])erto 
 et accusatori praemium operae locus in tlieatro inter via tores 
 tribunicios datur. et mensis qui Aprilem eundemque Neroiieum 
 sequebatur, Mains Claudii, Junius Germanici vocabulis mutantur^ 
 testificante Cornelio Orfito, qui id censuerat, ideo lunium mensem 
 transmissum, quia duo iam Torquati ob scelera interfecti infaus- 
 tum nomen lunium fecissent. 
 
 13. Tot facinoribus foedum annum etiam di tempestatibus et 
 morbis insignivere. vastata Campania turbine ventorumj qui 
 villas arbusta fruges passim disiecit pertulitque violentiam ad 
 vicina urbi ; in qua omne mortalium genus vis pestilentiae depo- 
 pulabatur, nulla caeli intemperie^ quae occurreret oculis. sed 
 domus corporibus exanimis^ itinera funeribus complebantur ; non 
 sexus, non aetas periculo vacua ; servitia perinde et ingenua plebes 
 raptim extingui, inter coniugum et liberorum lamenta^ qui dum 
 adsident_, dum deflent_, saepe eodem rogo cremabantur. equitum 
 senatorumque interitus^ quamvis promisci^ minus flebiles erant, 
 tamquam communi mortalitate saevitiam principis praevenirent. 
 
 Eodem anno dilectus per Galliam Narbonensem Africamque et 
 Asiam babiti sunt supplendis Illyricis legionibus^ ex quibus aetate 
 aut valetudine fessi Sacramento solvebantur. cladem Lugdunen- 
 sem quadragies sestertio solatus est princeps^ ut amissa urbi 
 reponerent; quam pecuniam Lugdunenses ante obtulerant urbis 
 casibus. 
 
 14. C. Suetonio Luccio Telesino consulibus Antistius Sosianus, 
 factitatis in Neronem carminibus probrosis exilio^ ut dixi, multatus, 
 
 12. Mains ClaudW] Tlie full name of Moesia, andDalmatia (ii. 44, iv. 5). 
 Nero was Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus ante ohtuleranf] The people of Lyon 
 Gennanicus. Below, * transmissum ' is liad sent contributions to the city on 
 'passed over' under that name : it was some previous occasion, of which nothing 
 allowed to slip out of the calendar, and is known, and in return Nero madij them 
 be replaced by a month bearing a new a present of more than £30,000 (quad- 
 title. For the two Torquati, cf. xv. 35, ragies). The calamity here alluded to 
 and xvi. 8. was a fire, which occurred (Seneca Ep. 
 
 13. corporibus exanimis'] Suetonius 91) a.d. 58, so that Nero was in no 
 tells us (Nero, 39) that the number of great haste with his assistance. Seethe 
 deaths in Rome in one autumn was note of Lipsius. 
 
 30,000 ; " pestilentia unius autumni quo 14. 0. Suetonio'] For C. Sucttoniua 
 
 triginta milia ad rationem Libitinae Paulinus, cf. xiv. 29. C. Luccius Tele- 
 
 venerunt." The Eomans appear, from sinus had a reputation for philosophy; 
 
 the expression here, to have kept a he was banished by Domitian. See 
 
 strict register of deaths. Lipsius' note. Below, for * occaKionniii 
 
 Illyricis legionihurs'} Those of Pannonia, segnis,' cf. xjy. 33, 
 
A.D. OQ.-] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XVI. 467 
 
 postquam id honoris indicibus tamque promptum ad caedes prin- 
 cipem accepit, inquies animo et occasionum hand segnis Pam- 
 menem eiusdem loci exulem et Chaldaeorum arte famosum eoque 
 multorum amicitiis innexum, similitudine fortunae sibi conciliat. 
 ventitare ad eum nuntios et consultationes non frustra ratus, simul 
 annuam pecuniam a P. Anteio ministrari cognoscit. neque nescium 
 habebat Anteium caritate Agrippinae inyisum Neroni opesque 
 eius praecipuas ad eliciendam cupidinem eamque causam multis 
 exitio esse, igitur interceptis Antei litteris, furatus etiam libeUos^ 
 quibus dies genitalis eius et eventura secretis Pammenis occulta- 
 bantur, simul repertis quae de ortu vitaque Ostorii Scapulae 
 composita erant, scribit ad principem magna se et quae incolumi- 
 tati eius conducerent adlaturum^ si brevem exilii veniam inpe- 
 travisset : quippe Anteium et Ostorium imminere rebus et sua 
 Caesarisque fata scrutari. exim missae liburnicae advebiturquo 
 propere Sosianus. ac vulgato eius indicio inter damnatos magis 
 quam inter reos Anteius Ostoriusque babebantur, adeo ut testa- 
 mentum Antei nemo obsignaret^ nisi Tigillinus auctor extitisset, 
 monito prius Anteio ne supremas tabulas moraretur. atque ille 
 bausto veneno, tarditatem eius perosus intercisis venis mortem 
 adproperavit. 
 
 15. Ostorius longinquis in agris apud finem Ligurum id tem- 
 poris erat. eo missus centurio, qui caedem eius maturaret. causa 
 festinandi ex eo oriebatur, quod Ostorius multa militari fama et 
 civicam coronam apud Britanniam meritus, ingenti vi corporis 
 armorumque scientia metum Neroni fecerat, ne invaderet pavidum 
 semper et reperta nuper coniuratione magis exterritum. igitur 
 centurio, ubi effugia villae clausit, iussa inperatoris Ostorio aperit. 
 is fortitudinem saepe adversum bostes spectatam in se vertit : et 
 quia venae quamquam interruptae parum sanguinis effundebant, 
 hactenus manu send usus ut inmotum pugionem extollerefc, 
 adpressit dextram eius iuguloque occurrit. 
 
 et consultationes] So. 'haberi,* snp- tones.' For M, Oatorius Scapula tho 
 
 plied from * ventitare.' Below, ' cari- younger, cf. xii. 31. 
 
 tate Agrippinae ' is * his love for Agrip- imminere rebus] ' Were threatening 
 
 pina,' comparing xii. 4, " caritate filiae the empire ;' were forming plans for 
 
 promptior," and xii. 51, " ob mariti seizing the imperial throne, 
 
 caritatem fagam tolerayifc." mowito prius Anteio] Tigillinus had 
 
 dies genitalis] Cf. vi. 27, " interrogatur already warned Anteius to lose no time 
 
 an suam quoque genitalem diem compe- in making his will : he next induced 
 
 risset." The sense is not ' birth day,' for some of his friends to attest it. 
 
 there could be no secrecy about that, 15. adpressit dextram, eius] ' He pressed 
 
 but the * horoscope ' of Anteius. Just the slave's hand (towards himself) and 
 
 below, ' secretis ' is * in the secret roposi- so met his throat.' Ostorius pressed 
 
 H h 2 
 
'468 . CORNELII TACITI [a.u.c, 819. 
 
 16. Btiam si bella externa et obitas pro re publica mortes tanta 
 casuum similitudine memorarem^ meque ipsum satias cepisset 
 aliorumque taedium expectarem^ quamvis bonestos civium (ixitus, 
 tristes tamen et contmuos aspernantium : at nunc patientia sc^rvilis 
 tan turn que sanguinis domi perditum fatigant animum et nia(3stitia 
 restringunt. neque aliam defensionem ab iis quibus ista noscentur 
 exegerim, quam ne oderim tarn segniter pereuntes. ira ilia 
 numinum in res Romanas fuit^ quam non^ ut in cladibus exerci- 
 tuum aut captivitate urbium, semel edito transire licet, detur hoc 
 illustrium virorum posteritati, ut quo modo exequiis a promisca 
 sepultura separantur, ita in traditione supremorum accipiant 
 babeantque propriam memoriam. 
 
 17. Paucos quippe intra dies eodem agmine Annaeus Mela, 
 Cerialis Anicius, Rufrius Crispinus, 0. Petronius ceeidere, Mela 
 et Crispinus equites Romani dignitate senatoria_, nam bic quon- 
 dam praefectus praetorii et consularibus insignibus donatus ac 
 nuper crimine coniurationis in Sardiniam exactus, accepto iussae 
 
 the hand of the slave wlio held the dag- monslv, bnt * indulgence' for the his- 
 
 ger slightly downwards, and springing, torian who detailed the event s ; and 
 
 or at all events straining, upwards, if so, I do not see that with * ne oderint ' 
 
 dashed his throat against the point. the sense could be any thing else than 
 
 16. meque ipsum . . . aliorumque'] Cf. ' my own excuse for mentioning these 
 
 ii. 3, and the note there. horrors is that I wish to prevent my 
 
 restringunf] It is not quite clear what readers from loathing these men :' which 
 
 the exact force of the word is here. In is obviously not what Tacitus means 
 
 xiv. 64, there is " restringitur vinclis to say. 
 
 venaeque eius per omnes artus exolvun- semel edito'] ' With a single recital,* 
 
 tur,*' where the sense is ' she is bound * when mention has been made once for 
 
 fast.' It might be so here: 'bind the all.' Cf. i. 46, 'cognito j' i.49, 'intoUecto/ 
 
 mind fast,' congeal it, as it were, with and often. 
 
 grief. It is used in exactly the opposite 17. Annaeus Mela] He seems to have 
 
 sense once in Plant. Capt. iii. 1.25, " sal- resembled his brothers in certaii) points, 
 
 tem si non arriderent, dentis ut restrin- In a sort of careless indiflferen ;ism he 
 
 gerent." In Lucret. ii. 406, and Ovid was, perhaps, like the Gallic who * cared 
 
 Metam. xii. 542, the reading is doubtful, for none of these things,' and in fond- 
 
 I think, consequently, that it is more ness for wealth like Seneca, the over-rich 
 
 probable that Tacitus uses the word in (praedives). See Dr. Merivale's His- 
 
 the same meaning in both passages. tory of Eome under the Empire,, ch. liii. 
 
 quam ne oderim] This is the reading Below, in the MS. the praenomen of 
 
 of the Cod. Med., and probably the true Petronius is omitted, and * ao ' connects 
 
 one. 'Defensionem' can only be 'an Petronius with Crispinus. Pliny the 
 
 excuse ' for dwelling on such wearisome elder (N. H. xxxvii. 2) speaks of a Titus 
 
 topics: the only excuse Tacitus says for Petronius "consularis moriturus invidia 
 
 BO dwelling is the fear that if he failed Neronis." So Plutarch (de discrim. am. 
 
 to notice their sufferings, it might be put et adul. c. 35) . The Scholiast, Juvenal, 
 
 down to hatred for the individuals, which vi. 638, speaks of a Publius Potronius 
 
 tempted him to hide any claim they condemned by Nero. If the man here 
 
 might have on the sympathy of the described is the same as Petronius Ar- 
 
 reader. The reading generally adopted, biter, his name would be Caius. See 
 
 'oderint,' I do not understand : 'defen- Orelli's note on xvi. 18. For 'dignitate 
 
 sionem ' cannot mean ' indulgence ' for senatoria,' cf. ii. 59. 
 the wretches who perished so pusillani- 
 
A.D. 60.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI L 
 
 mortis nuntio semet interfecit. Mela, quibus 
 
 parentibus natus, petitione bonorum abstinuerat per ambkipnem^ y^ 
 
 isularibus potentiaN^^^WaJl2fe- ^ 
 
 praeposteram, ut eques Romanus consularibus potentia^^a^»a4]2^ 
 tur ; simul adquirendae pecuniae brevius iter credebat per pracu- 
 rationes administrandis principis negotiis. idem Annaeum Luca- 
 num genuerat, grande adiumentum claritudinis. quo interfecto 
 dum rem familiarem eius acriter requirit, accusatorem concivit 
 Fabium Romanum, ex intimis Lucani am^icis. mixta inter patrem 
 filiumque coniurationis scientia fingitur, adsimilatis Lucani 
 litteris : quas inspectas Nero ferri ad eum iussit, opibus eius in- 
 bians. at Mela, quae tum promptissima mortis via, exsolvit venas, 
 scrip tis codicillis quibus grandem pecuniam in Tigillinum gene' 
 rumque eius Cossutianum Capitonem erogabat, quo cetera mane- 
 rent, additur codicillis, tamquam de iniquitate exitii querens ita 
 scripsisset, se quidem mori nullis supplicii causis, Rufrium autem 
 Crispinum et Anicium Cerialem vita frui infensos principi. quae 
 composita credebantur de Crispino, quia interfectus erat, de 
 Ceriale, ut interficeretur. neque enim multo post vim sibi attulit, 
 minore quam ceteri miseratione, quia proditam G. Caesari con- 
 iurationem ab eo meminerant. 
 
 ] 8. De C. Petronio pauca supra repetenda sunt, nam illi dies 
 per somnum, nox oJB&ciis et oblectamentis vitae transigebatur ; 
 utque alios industria, ita hunc ignavia ad famam protulerat, 
 habebaturque non ganeo et profligator, ut plerique sua baurien- 
 tium, sed erudite luxu. ac dicta factaque eius quanto solutiora 
 et quandam sui neglegentiam praeferentia, tanto gratius in spe- 
 ciem simplicitatis accipiebantur. pro consule tamen Bitbyniae et 
 mox consul vigentem se ac parem negotiis ostendit. dein revo- 
 lutus ad vitia, seu vitiorum imitatione, inter paucos familiarium 
 ISferoni adsumptus est, elegantiae arbiter, dum nihil amoenum et 
 molle affluentia putat, nisi quod ei Petronius adprobavisset. 
 
 additur codicillis'] * A remark is added nius could only have been congnl suffec- 
 
 to the (informal) will as though he had tus, for he is pot the C. Petronius 
 
 appended a complaint of the unfairness Turpilianus, who was consul in the 
 
 of his death.' This remark was bus- year 61 a.d. and put to death by Galba 
 
 pected of being a forgery of Nero, to ex- (H. i. 6), 
 
 cuse the murder of Crispinus, and pave mio Lie affluentia^ Tacitus uses 'affluere' 
 
 the way for despatching Cerialis. several times : ii. 6, " Rhenus ad Galli- 
 
 18. su/pra] ' More from the source,' cam ripam latior et placidior adfluens ;" 
 
 higher up the stream, as it were. Sal- H. iv. 25, " adfluentibus auxiliis Gallo- 
 
 lust has " supra repetere " in this sense rum;" iv. 41, " multitudinem adflu- 
 
 twice. Jug. 5. and Catil. 5. Below, for entium increpat." Hence the sense here 
 
 * proconsul Bithyniae,' cf. i. 74. Petro- seems to be, ' soft in its onward flow.' 
 
470 CORNELII TAOITI [a.u.c. 819. 
 
 unde invidia Tigillini quasi adversus aemulum et scientia volup- 
 tatum potiorem. ergo crudelitatem principis, cui ceterae libidines 
 cedebant, adgreditur, amicitiam Scaevini Petronio obiecitans, 
 corrupto ad indicium servo ademptaque defensione et maiore parte 
 familiae in vincla rapta. 
 
 19. Forte illis diebus Campaniam petiverat Caesar^ et Cumas 
 usque progressus Petronius illic attinebatur ; nee tulit ultra timo- 
 ris aut spei moras, neque tamen praeceps vitam expulit, sed 
 incisas venas^ ut libitum^ obligatas aperire rursum et alloqui 
 amicos^ non per seria aut quibus gloriam constantiae ptjteret. 
 audiebatque referentes^ nihil de inmortalitate animae et sapien- 
 tium placitis, sed ievia carmina et faciles versus, servorum alios 
 largitione^ quosdam verberibus ajffecit. iniit epulas, somno in- 
 dulsit, ut quamquam coacta mors fortuitae similis esset. ne 
 codicillis quidem, quod plerique pereuntium^ Neronem aut Tigil- 
 linimi aut quem alium potentium adulatus est : sed flagitia prin- 
 cipis sub nominibus exsoletorum feminarumque et novitatem 
 cuiusque stupri perscripsit atque obsignata misit Neroni. fregit- 
 que anulum^ ne mox usui esset ad facienda pericula. 
 
 20. Ambigenti Neroni, quonam mo do noctium suarum ingenia 
 notescerent^ offer tur Silia_, matrimonio senatoris baud ignota et 
 ipsi ad omnem libidinem adscita ac Petronio perquam familiaris. 
 agitur in exilium_, tamquam non siluisset quae viderat pertulerat- 
 que, proprio odio. at Minucium Thermum praetura functum 
 Tigillini simultatibus dedit^ quia liber tus Thermi quaedam de 
 Tigillino criminose detulerat^ quae cruciatibus tormentorum ipse, 
 patronus eius nece inmerita luere. 
 
 21. Trucidatis tot insignibus viris, ad postremum Nero virfcutem 
 ipsam excindere concupivit interfecto Tbrasea Paeto et Barea 
 SoranOj olim utrisque infensus^ et accedentibus causis in Tbraseam, 
 
 19. iniit epulas] The reading of the dislike entertained for him by Tigillinug. 
 Cod. Med. is ' et vias.' If it be correct, Below, Minucius Thermus is, perhaps, 
 it must be * showed himself abroad ' — the son of the Minucius Thermus men- 
 went into the streets — which seems an tioned in vi. 7. 
 
 unlikely remark to annex to * somno luere] I have adopted this emendation 
 
 indulsit.' for * lueret,' because Tacitus g€ nerally 
 
 20. offertv/r Silia] ' Silia occurs to uses the plural in such sentenwis. Cf. 
 him.' It strikes Nero that it must be xii. 45, " quia multitudinem hostium 
 somehow through Silia that the nature Tallio, iussa patris Ehadamistus obten- 
 of his nightly orgies was divulged. For debant ;" xv. 7, " quarum quartam 
 *ingonia,' cf. H. ii. 71, " cetero Nero- Funisulanus Yettonianus duodecumam 
 nianae aulae ingenio." Of course ' ipsi ' Calavius Sabinus regebant." But I am 
 here is Nero. not disposed to quarrel with any one 
 
 proprio odio'] * From Nero's own dis- who prefers * lueret :' * charges for the 
 like.' Thermus was a victim of the freedman himself to expiate.* 
 
A.D. 66.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XVI. 471 
 
 quod senatu egressus est^ cum de Agrippina referretur^ ut memo- 
 ravi^ quodque iuvenalium ludicro parum expectabilem operam 
 praebuerat ; eaque offensio altius penetrabat, quia idem Tbrasea 
 Patavi, unde ortus erat, ludis cetastis a Troiano Antenore insti- 
 tutis babitu tragico cecinerat. die quoque, quo praetor Antistius 
 ob probra in Neronem composita ad mortem damnabatur, mitiora 
 censuit obtinuitque ; et cum deum bonores Poppaeae decernuntur, 
 sponte absenSj funeri non interfuerat. quae obliterari non sine- 
 bat Capito Cossutianus, praeter animum ad flagitia praecipitem 
 iniquus' Tbraseae, quod auctoritate eius concidisset iuvantis Cili- 
 cum legates dum Capitonem repetundarum interrogant. 
 
 22. Quin et ilia obiectabat, principio anni vitare Thraseam 
 sollemne iusiurandum; nuncupationibus votorum non adesse, 
 quamvis quindecimyirali sacerdotio praeditum; numquam pro 
 salute principis aut caelesti voce immolavisse ; adsiduum olim et 
 indefessum, qui volgaribus quoque patrum consultis semet fau- 
 torem aut adversarium ostenderet, triennio non introisse curiam ; 
 nuperrimeque^ cum ad coercendos Silanum et Yeterem certatim 
 concurreretur, privatis potius clientium negotiis vacavisse. seces- 
 sionem iam id et partes et, si idem multi audeant, bellum esse. 
 *" ut quondam G. Caesarem ' in quit *" et M. Catonem, ita nunc te, 
 Nero, et Thraseam avida discordiarum civitas loquitur, et babet 
 sectatores vel potius satellites, qui nondum contumaciam senten- 
 tiarum sed babitum voltumque eius sectantur, rigidi et tristes, 
 quo tibi lasciviam exprobrent. huic uni incolumitas tua sine cura, 
 artes sine bonore. prosperas principis res spernit: etiamne 
 luctibus et doloribus non satiatur ? eiusdem animi est Poppaeam 
 
 21. ut meTnoravx] Cf. xir. 12 ; and propinqui lugerent." 
 
 for ' mvonalium ludicro,' cf. xiv. 15. Ca/pitonem repetunda/rum interroganf] 
 
 Below, 'expectabilem operam' is 'the Cf. xiii. 33, and Juv. viii. 92, "quam 
 
 assistance wMch had been looked for.' fulmine iusto et Capito et Numitor 
 
 The word ' expectabilis ' does not, as far ruerint damnante senatu Piratae Cili- 
 
 as I know, occur in any other classical cum." 
 
 author. 22. nuncupationibus votorum] Cf. iv. 
 
 ludis cetastis'] This is corrupt. Some 17, " pontifices eorumque exomplo ceteri 
 
 read * ludis cetariis,' which appears un- sacerdotes cum pro incolumitate prin- 
 
 likely to be correct. See, however, cipis vota susciperent." 
 
 Nipperdey's note on the passage. te . . . loquitur] Cf. Hor. Sat. i. 3. 12, 
 
 a Troiano Antenore institutis] Cf. Liv. "reges atque tetrarchas, omnia magna 
 
 i. 1 ; Virg. -(^n. i. 247. Below, ' ad mor- loquens ;" and Cic. Paradox, vi. 3, " ne 
 
 tern damnabatur' is an instance of a semper Curios et Luscinos loquamur;" 
 
 construction only found in the silver and pro Milone, § 63, "multi etiam 
 
 age. Cf. vi. 38 ; Suet. Nero, 31, " ad Catilinam atque ilia portenta loque- 
 
 opus damnari ;" Calig. 27, " ad bestias bantur." The reading of the Cod. Med. 
 
 condemnavit." The usual construction is * tenebo ' for which * te, Nero,' ia an 
 
 is ' morte, capite (or capitis) damnari ;' as emendation. 
 Calig. Tib. 61, "ne capite damnatos 
 
472 COKNELn TACITI [a.u.c. 819. 
 
 divam non credere, cuius in acta divi Augusti et divi lull non 
 iurare. spernit religioiies_, abrogat leges, diurna populi R«:mani 
 per provincias, per exercitus curatius leguntur, ut noscatur quid 
 Thrasea non fecerit. aut transeamus ad ilia instituta, si potiora 
 sunt, aut nova cupientibus auferatur dux et auctor. ista secta 
 Tuberones et Favonios, veteri quoque rei publicae ingrata 
 nomina, genuit. ut imperium evertant, libertatem praeferuiit : si 
 perverterint, libertatem ipsam adgredientur. frustra Cassium 
 amovistij si gliscere et vigere Brutorum aemulos passurus es. 
 denique nihil ipse de Tbrasea scripseris : disceptatorem seiiatum 
 nobis relinque.' extollit ira promptum Cossutiani animum Nero 
 adicitque Marcellum Bprium acri eloquentia. 
 
 23. At Baream Soranum iam sibi Ostorius Sabinus eques 
 Bomanus poposcerat reum ex proconsulatu Asiae, in qua offen- 
 siones principis auxit iustitia atque industria, et quia ])ortui 
 Ephesiorum aperiendo curam insumpserat vimque civitatis Perga- 
 menae, probibentis Acratum Caesaris libertum statuas et picturas 
 evebere, inultam omiserat. sed crimini dabatur amicitia Plauti et 
 ambitio conciliandae provinciae ad spes novas, tempus damna- 
 tioni delectum, quo Tiridates accipiendo Armeniae regno adven- 
 tabat, ut ad externa rumoribus intestinum scelus obscuraretur, an 
 ut magnitudinem imperatoriam caede insignium virorum quasi 
 regio facinore ostentaret. 
 
 24. Igitur omni civitate ad excipiendum principem spectan- 
 damque regem effusa, Tbrasea occursu probibitus non dcmisit 
 animum, sed codicillos ad Neronem composuit, requirens obiecta 
 et expurgaturum adseverans, si no tit iam criminum et copiam 
 
 Tuherones et Favonios] The reference extollW] 'Urges on,' 'raises still 
 
 is to Q. Aelius Tubero : " ille homo higher.' Cf. xvi. 24, " quo claxitudinem 
 
 eruditissimus ac Stoicus stravit pelli- principis extolleret." 
 
 culis hoedinis lectulos Punicanos (at an 23. statuas] Cf. Juv. viii. 100, "plena 
 
 entertainment given to the Roman domus tunc omnis . . . et cum Parrhasii 
 
 people by Q. Maximus) et exposuit vasa tabulis signisque Myronis Phicliacum 
 
 Samia" (Cic. pro Muraen. 36). M. vivebat ebur . . . inde Dolabellae atque 
 
 Favonius was an imitator of M. Cato ; hinc Antonius inde Sacrilegus Verres 
 
 and Plutarch (Brutus, 34) tells a story referebant navibus altis occulta spolia." 
 
 of him, that he burst rudely into a tent Also Cic. in Verrem, Act. i. § 14-, " de- 
 
 where Cassius and Brutus were sitting, lubra omnia depopulatus est : deum 
 
 and bade them listen to him, as he was denique nullum Siculis qui ei paullo 
 
 older than they were ; for which Brutus magis affabre atque antique artificio 
 
 thrust him out of the tent, with the re- factus videretur reHquit." 
 
 mark that, pretending to be a cynic, he ad externa'] * Rumours having refer- 
 
 was only a dog. Below, in * scripseris ' ence to foreign events.' There is a very 
 
 there is an allusion to the practice of similar instance in ii. 2, "laetajites ut 
 
 the emperor sending messages to the ferme ad nova imperia." 
 senate by his quaestor (xvi. 27). 
 
A.D. Q6.] AB EXCESSU DIYI AUGUSTI LIB. XVI. 473 
 
 diluendi habuisset. eos codicillos Nero properanter accepit, spe 
 exterritum Tbraseam scripsisse per quae claritudinem principis 
 extolleret suamque famam dehonestaret. quod ubi non evenit 
 vultumque et spiritus et libertatem insontis ultro extimuit, vocari 
 patres iubet. 
 
 25. Turn Tlirasea inter proximos consultavit^ temp tar etne de- 
 fensionem an sperneret. diversa consilia adferebantur. quibus 
 intrari curiam placebat, secures esse de constantia eius disserunt ; 
 nihil dicturum nisi quo gloriam augeret ; segnes et pavidos supre- 
 mis suis secretum circumdare. aspiceret populus virum morti 
 obvium, audiret senatus voces quasi ex aliquo numine supra 
 humanas : posse ipso miraculo etiam Neronem permoveri. sin 
 crudelitati insisteret, distingui certe apud posteros memoriam 
 L-onesti exitus ab ignavia per silentium pereuntium. 
 
 26. Contra qui opperiendum domui censebant, de ipso Tlirasea 
 eadem, sed ludibria et contumelias imminere : subtraberet aures 
 conviciis et probris. non solum Cossutianum aut Eprium ad 
 scelus promptos : superesse qui forsitan manus ictusque per 
 immanitatem ingesturi; etiam bonos metu sequi. detraberet 
 potius senatuij quem perornavisset, infamiam tanti flagitii, et 
 relinqueret incertum quid viso Thrasea reo decreturi patres fuerint. 
 ut Neronem flagitiorum pudor caperet, inrita spe agitari ; multoque 
 magis timendum ne in coniugem, in familiam, in cetera pignora 
 eius saeviret. proinde intemeratus, inpollutus, quorum vestigiis 
 et studiis vitam duxerit^ eorum gloria peteret finem. aderat con- 
 
 24. ultro extimuW] The tables were 26. domui'] A rarer form for * domi.* 
 turned, and instead of Thrasea, it was Orelli refers to a paper by Klotz, in the 
 Nero who trembled : not the prisoner, Dium. Antiquitatis Stud, a. 1835, p. 737, 
 but the judge. So Felix trembled before a reference which I can only copy, as 
 St. Paul. I have not the means of examining the 
 
 25. crudelitati insisteref] Cf. ii.. 21, paper. 
 
 " insisterent caedibus j" also H. ii. 46, ingesturi] An emendation of Heinsiua 
 " insistere spei." for ' augusti,' the reading of the Cod. 
 per silentium pereuntiu/m] This ex- Med., which clearly is wrong. The fear 
 plains to some extent the reason why of violence was not, perhaps, ungrounded. 
 Nero's murders excited so very little in- Cf. H. iv. 41, " nee destitifc senatus 
 dignation. They were not committed manus intentare Voculae donee curia 
 in broad daylight. As a rule, his vie- excederet." Below, *ut Neronem . . . 
 tims, quietly submitting to their fate, caperet ' depends on ' spe,' a con- 
 destroyed themselves. They perished struction only found in Latin of the 
 like cowards ('per ignaviam'), and, as silver age, and not common at any 
 Buch, their fate excited little commise- time. 
 
 ration in the public mind. Nero's eorwm gloria] ' In accordance with 
 
 alarm was excited when he thought the glorious principle of those,' &c. 
 
 Thrasea was intending to drag the This, I think, is the meaning, not * with 
 
 matter before the observation of the credit to those,' &c., in which case the 
 
 populace by demanding a regular trial. genitive would be an objective one. * The 
 
474 
 
 CORNELn TACITI 
 
 [a.u.c. 319. 
 
 silio Rusticus Arulenus, flagrans iuvenis, et cupidine laudis ^ffe- 
 rebat se intercessurum senatus consulto : nam plebi tribunus orat. 
 coliibuit spiritus eius Tbrasea, ne vana et reo non profulura, 
 intercessori exitiosa inciperet. sibi actam aetatem, et toi; per 
 aniios continuum vitae ordinem non deserendum : illi ini tium 
 magistratuum et Integra quae supersint. multum ante S(3cum 
 expenderet, quod tali in tempore capessendae rei publicae iter 
 ingrederetur. ceterum ipse, an venire in senatum deceret, medi- 
 tationi suae reliquit. 
 
 27. At postera luce duae praetoriae cobortes armatae templum 
 Genetricis Veneris insider e. aditum senatus globus togatorum 
 obsederat non occultis gladiis, dispersique per fora ac basilicas 
 cunei militares. inter quorum aspectus et minas ingressi curiam 
 senatores, et oratio principis per quaestorem eius audita est: 
 nemine nominatim compellato patres arguebat, quod publica 
 munia desererent eorumque exemplo equites Romani ad segnitiam 
 verterentur : etenim quid mirum e longinquis provinciis baud 
 veniri, cum plerique adepti consulatum et sacerdotia hortorum 
 
 glorious act' Here eulogized is suicide. 
 At the time of which Tacitus is writing 
 suicide was popular. When the Roman 
 noble found the circumstances of the 
 time insupportable, he removed himself 
 from them : e^aywy-fj was the teclmical 
 word employed to express the act. Cf. 
 Diog. Laert. vii. 1. 66, ivXSyws cpaa-lv 
 i^d^fiv eavrhv rod fiiov rhv ffo<phv Kol urrep 
 Trarpidos Koi inrep ^iXccv /c&y iv (rK\r}- 
 pOT€pa yeyriTui a\yT]56vi fi irrfpua'ea'iv ^ 
 vScrois avidrois. In this passage we see 
 how the Stoics confounded things which 
 are separate. To regard life as a thing 
 to be given up in obedience to a higher 
 call — the call of duty — is noble, and the 
 philosophy which taught this conferred 
 on the world a vast benefit; but to 
 throw life away merely to avoid pain or 
 suflfering — to lay it down simply because 
 it is a burden hard to bear, is any thing 
 but noble. It is, in fact, an Epicurean 
 act, not suited to those who theoretically 
 deny that pain or suffering is amongst 
 the principles of action. Seneca is con- 
 tinually advocating suicide. ' There is 
 nothing more contemptible,' he says 
 (Ep. 117), * than to wish for death : die 
 at once if you wish to do so.' And he 
 expresses approbation of the suicide of 
 Marcellinus, who, after suffering from 
 protracted illness, in accordance with 
 the recommendation of a Stoic, put an 
 
 end to his weary life (Ep, 77). At other 
 times, however, he seems to think: that 
 men were a little too prone to ushering 
 themselves out of existence ; and the 
 later Stoics, Epictetus and Marcus 
 Aurelius disapproved of it. See in the 
 Oxford Essays, 1858, a paper on Ancient 
 Stoicism, by Sir Alexander Grant. 
 
 Rusticus Arulenus^ He suffered for 
 his attachment to Thrasea long after- 
 wards. Cf. Agric. 2, "legimus cum 
 Aruleno Rustico Paetus Thrasea He- 
 rennio Senecioni Priscus Helvidius lau- 
 dati essent, capitale fuisse." Tjiis is 
 confirmed by Suetonius (Domit. 10) 
 "interemit . . . lunium Rusticum quod 
 PaelJ Thraseae etHelvidii Prisci laudes 
 edidisset appellassetque eos Sanctis simoa 
 viros." 
 
 27. templum Oenetricis Veneris'] The 
 temple was built by G. Julius Gaesar in 
 the Forum Julii. Orelli suggests that 
 the senate met here on this occasion to 
 remind the senators that the prisoner 
 was accused of conspiring against one 
 who, by adoption at least, belonged to 
 the great house which derived its descent 
 from Venus. * Genetrix ' is the form 
 which occurs in the best MSS. of Virgil 
 and the majority of Inscriptions in the 
 best ages. Below, for * oratio prinjipis/ 
 cf. i. 81. 
 
A.D. 66.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XVI. 475 
 
 potius amoenitati inservirent. quod velut telum corripuere accu- 
 satores. 
 
 28. Et initium faciente Cossutiano^ maiore vi Marcellus sum- 
 mam rem publicam agi clamitabat; contumacia inferiorum leni- 
 tatem imperitantis deminui. nimium mites ad earn diem patres, 
 qui Thraseam desciscentem, qui generum eius Helvidium Priscum 
 in isdem furoribus, simul Paconium Agrippinum^ paterni in prin- 
 cipes odii beredem, et Curtium Montanum detestanda carmina 
 factitantem eludere inpune sinerent. requirere se in senatu con- 
 sularem, in votis sacerdotem, in iure iurando civem^ nisi contra 
 instituta et caerimonias maiorum proditorem palam et bostem 
 Tbrasea induisset. denique agere senatorem et principis obtrec- 
 tatores protegere solitus veniret^ censeret quid corrigi aut mutari 
 vellet : facilius perlaturos singula increpantem quam nunc silen- 
 tium perferrent omnia damnantis. pacem illi per orbem terrae, 
 an victorias sine damno exercituum displicere ? ne bominem bonis 
 pubKcis maestum^ et qui fora tbeatra templa pro sobtudine babe- 
 ret^ qui minitaretur exibum suum, ambitionis pravae compotem 
 facerent. non iUi consulta baec, non magistratus aut Romanam 
 urbem videri. abrumperet vitam ab ea civitate^ cuius caritatem 
 oHm, nunc et aspectum exuisset. 
 
 29. Cum per baec atque talia Marcellus^ ut erat torvus ao 
 minax, voce voltu ocubs ardesceret, non ilia nota et crebritate 
 periculorum sueta iam senatus maestitia^ sed novus et altior pavor 
 manus et tela militum cementibus. simul ipsius Tbraseae vene- 
 rabilis species obversabatur ; et erant qui Helvidium quoque 
 miserarentur, innoxiae adfinitatis poenas daturum. quid Agrip- 
 pino obiectum nisi tristem patris fortunam ? quando et ille perinde 
 
 amoenitati inservirenf] * Made them- ing of the Cod. Med. is * ragonium ;' but 
 
 selves slaves, as it were, to their plea- cf. xvi. 33. 
 
 sure-grounds :' were so busy in en- requirere se] Cf. iii. 5, " fuere qui 
 
 joying them that they had no time for publici funeris pompam requirerent." 
 
 any thing else. Cf. xiii. 8, " ut famae pacem ilU per orhem terrae~\ Cf. Suet. 
 
 inserviret." Nero, 13, " lanum geminum clausit 
 
 28. Helvidium Priscum] He was tamquam nullo residuo bello," which 
 
 quaestor of Achaia, under Nero (Scho- is confirmed by inscriptions on coins, 
 
 liast to Juv. V. 36), and praetor desig- "pace P. R. vbiqve parta lanvm clvsit." 
 
 natus A.D. 70 (H. iii. 91). He was put 29. crebritate periculorum,] I have 
 
 to death under Vespasian (Suet.Vesp.lo). adopted the emendation of Rhenanus in 
 
 His son is mentioned in Agricola, 45. the place of ' celebritate.' I can find 
 
 paterni in principes odii] M. Paconius, no instance of this last word in the 
 
 the father of the Paconius Agrippinus sense of * frequent occurrence.' In Cic. 
 
 mentioned here was put to death by ad Famil. vii. 2, "nos hie in multitudine 
 
 Tiberius on a charge of * majestas * et celebritate iudiciorum," the last words 
 
 (Suet. Tib. 61, and xvi. 29). The read- seem to mean, 'trials attended by crowds,' 
 
476 COKNELII TACITI [a.u.c. 819. 
 
 innocens Tiberii saevitfa concidisset. enimvero Montanum pi obae 
 iuventae neque famosi carminis, quia protalerit ingenium^ extor- 
 rem agi. 
 
 • 30. Atque interim Ostorius Sabinus Sorani accusator ingre- 
 ditur orditurque de amicitia Rubellii Plauti, quodque proconsu- 
 latum Asiae Soranus pro claritate sibi potius adcommodatum 
 quam ex utilitate communi egisset, alendo seditiones civitatium. 
 Vetera haec : sed recens et quo discrimini patris filiam conecl;ebat, 
 quod pecuniam magis dilargita esset. acciderat sane pietate 
 Serviliae (id enim nomen puellae fuit), quae caritate erga paren- 
 tem, simul inprudentia aetatis, non tamen aliut consultaverat 
 quam de incolumitate domus, et an placabilis Nero^ an cognitio 
 senatus nih.il atrox adferret. igitur accita est in senatum. stete- 
 runtque diversi ante tribunal consulum grandis aevo parens, 
 contra filia intra vicesimum aetatis annum^ nuper marito Annio 
 Pollione in exilium pulso viduata desolataque, ac ne patrem 
 quidem intuens, cuius onerasse pericula videbatur. 
 
 31. Tum interrogante accusatore, an cultus dotales, an detrac- 
 tum cervici monile venum dedisset_, quo pecuniam faciendis 
 magicis sacris contraheret, primum strata bumi longoque fletu 
 et silentio, post altaria et aram complexa ^ nullos ' inquit ^ impios 
 deos, nuUas devotiones, nee aliut infelicibus precibus invocavi 
 quam ut tunc optimum patrem tu, Caesar, vos, patres, servaretis 
 incolumem. sic gemmas et vestes et dignitatis insignia dedi, quo 
 mode si sanguinem et vitam poposcissent. viderint isti, antehac 
 mihi ignoti, quo nomine sint, quas artes exerceant : nulla mihi 
 principis mentio nisi inter numina fuit. nescit tamen miserrimus 
 pater et, si crimen est, sola deliqui.^ 
 
 32. Loquentis adbuc verba excipit Soranus proclamatque non 
 illam in provinciam secum profectam, non Plauto per aetatem 
 nosci potuisse, non criminibus mariti conexam: nimiae taiitum 
 pietatis ream separarent, atque ipse quamcumque sortem subiret. 
 
 and 'celebritaspericulorum' in this sense ZO. in^reditur] Sc. Soranum. Cf. vi. 
 
 would be meaningless here. 10, " ut vero Latinium Latiareia in- 
 
 protulerit] Cf. H. iii. 37, " velut pro gressus est." 
 
 Vitellio conquerentes suum dolorem pro- 31. post altaria et aram] These two 
 
 ferebant." The guilt of Montanus lay words are joined elsewhere ; as by Pliny 
 
 in the fact that he let his talent see the (Panegyr. i.), " electus inter aras et 
 
 light of day : he did not hide it under a altaria." Virgil (Eclog. v. 65) saja, " en 
 
 bushel. * Famosi Carminis ' here is a quattuor aras : ecce daas tibi Daphni, 
 
 genitive of description, 'the author of duoque altaria Phaebo," 'Altare' was 
 
 no defamatory lampoon :' so " famosi a high altar, a larger and more (mostly 
 
 libelli," i. 72 ; Suet. Tib. 28, " famosa de structure than * ara,' and erected only 
 
 se suisque carmina." to the superior divinities. Sometimes 
 
A.D. 66.] AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XYI. 477 
 
 simul in amplexua occurrentis filiae niebat, nisi interiecti lictores 
 utrisque obstitissent. mox datus testibus locus ; et quantum mise- 
 ricordiae saevitia accusationis permoverat, tantum irae P. Egnatius 
 testis concivit. cliens hie Sorani^ et tunc emptus ad opprimendum 
 amicum, auctoritatem Stoicae sectae praeferebat_, babitu et ore ad 
 exprimendam imaginem honesti exercitus, ceterum animo perfi- 
 diosus, subdolus^ avaritiam ac libidinem occultans ; quae postquam 
 pecunia reclusa sunt, dedit exemplum praecavendi, quo modo 
 fraudibus involutes aut flagitiis commaculatos, sic specie bonarum 
 artium falsos et amicitiae fallaces. 
 
 33. Idem tamen dies et bonestum exemplum tulit Cassii Ascle- 
 piodotij qui magnitudine opum praecipuus inter Bitbynos, quo 
 obsequio florentem Soranum celebraverat, labentem non deseruit, 
 exutusque omnibus fortunis et in exilium actus, aequitate deum 
 erga bona malaque documenta. Thraseae Soranoque et Serviliae 
 datur mortis arbitrium. Helvidius et Paconius Italia depelluntur. 
 Montanus patri concessus est, praedicto ne in re publica babere- 
 tur. accusatoribus Eprio et Cossutiano quinquagies sestertium 
 singulis, Ostorio duodecies et quaestoria insignia tribuuntur. 
 
 34. Tum ad Thraseam in bortis agentem quaestor consulis 
 missus vesperascente iam die. illustrium virorum feminarumque 
 coetus frequentes egerat, maxime intentus Demetrio Cynicae 
 institutionis doctori, cum quo, ut coniectare erat intentione vultus 
 et auditis, si qua clarius proloquebantur, de natura animae et dis- 
 sociatione spiritus corporisque inquirebat, donee advenit Domitius 
 Caecilianus ex intimis amicis et ei quid senatus censuisset exposuit. 
 igitur flentes queritantesque qui aderant facessere propere Tbrasea 
 
 an * altare ' (or indeed several) was luntur] Helvidius, on his banishment, 
 
 erected on an 'ara.' So here apparently, retired to Apollonia (Schol. Juv. i. 36). 
 
 32. P. Egnatius testis^ Cf. Juv. iii. The father of Montanus was one of 
 116, " Stoicus occidit Baream delator Nero's boon companions (cf. Juv. iv. 107, 
 amicum discipulumque senex." Also H. &c.), and a gourmand, especially great 
 iv. 10, "celer professus sapientiam dein in the matter of oysters. 
 
 testis in Baream proditor corruptorque praedicto ne in re puhlica haheretur'] 
 
 amicitiae cuius se magistrum ferebat." This seems to mean that Montanus was 
 
 fraudihus involutos] * Wi-apped up in to be debarred from all the public func- 
 
 hypocrisies.' Their real characters were tions which could usually be exercised 
 
 swathed round with outside shows or by any citizen — the suffragium, honores, 
 
 deceptions. &c. Whether he remained in the city 
 
 33. aequitate deurri] The gods treated or retired to the country was, I suppose, 
 instances of good or bad conduct in left to his own choice. 
 
 exactly the same way. They showed no 34. quaestor consulis~\ ' A quaestor of 
 
 partiality for either one or the other ; in the consul.' Dion Cassius (xlviii. 43) 
 
 other words, there was no divine super- says that Appius Claudius and Caius 
 
 intendence exercised over good or bad. Norbanus (38 a.c.) were the first consuls 
 
 Helvidius et Paconius Italia depel- who had two quaestors each assigned 
 
478 AB EXCESSU DIVI AUGUSTI LIB. XVI. 
 
 neu pericula sua miscere cum sorte damnati liortatur, Arriatnque 
 temptantem mariti suprema et exemplum Arriae matris sequi 
 monet retinere vitam filiaeque communi subsidium unicum non 
 adimere. 
 
 35. Turn progressus in porticum iUic a quaestore reporitur, 
 laetitiae propior, quia Helvidium generum suum Italia tantum 
 arceri cognoverat. accepto dehinc senatus consulto Helvidium 
 et Demetrium in cubiculum inducit; porrectisque utriusque 
 bracchii venis, postquam cruorem effudit,, bumum super spargens, 
 propius vocato. quaestore ^libamus' inquit ^lovi liberatori. 
 specta, iuvenis; et omen quidem di prohibeant, ceterum in ea 
 tempora natus es^ quibus firmare animum expediat constantibus 
 exemplis.' post lentitudine exitus graves cruciatus afferente^ 
 obversis in Demetrium * * * 
 
 them : oTs irpcarois 5j5o eKarepois Tafii€7ai " Casta suo gladium cnm traderet Axria 
 
 ffvueyevovTO. Paeto 
 
 neu pericula . . . miscere'] Cf. i. 35, " neu Quem de visceribus traxerat ipsa suis, 
 
 mortem in iisdem laboribus . . . orabant." Si qua fides, vulnus quod feci non dolet. 
 
 The correct form would be * neu pericula inquit, 
 
 miscerent,' or * neo pericula miscere.' Sed quod tu facies hoc mihi, Paete, dolet." 
 But the construction is due probably to 
 
 the imperative idea running through the This Caecina Paetus was a follower of 
 
 sentence, although the /orm is absent. Scribonianus (xii. 52), and condemned 
 
 Arriae matris] Cf. Mart. i. 14 : — to die in consequence. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Ablative absolute with subject omitted, 
 
 i. 5 
 
 of locality, iii. 61 
 
 of remote instrumentality, iii. 24 
 
 of pronouns, ilia, &c., ii. 17 
 
 of motion from, ii. 69 
 
 Absurdus, xiii. 45 
 
 Acbarus, xii. 12 
 
 Accusative after exire, vi. 49 ; egredi, i. 
 
 30 j eniti, ii. 20 ; evadere, xii. 35 ; Greek 
 
 of respect, vi. 9, xv. 64 
 Acerbus, xiii. 17 
 Acerrotiius, Cn., vi. 45 
 Achaia, i. 76 
 
 Acilius Aviola, iii. 41 ; M'. xii. 64 
 Acta patrum, v. 4 
 — — diurna, iii. 3 
 Actiaca religio, xv. 23 
 Actor publicus, ii. 30 
 Ad (with reference to), xvi. 23 
 Adcrescere with dative, i. 19 
 Adductus, xii. 7 
 Adeptus used passively, i. 7 
 Adesse (of legal aid), ii. 34 
 Adjectives used substantively, i. 47 
 used absolutely, with participle 
 
 omitted, i. 6 
 Adloquium, i. 71 
 Admodum (place of), ii. 80 
 Adnotari (personal use of), xiii. 35 
 Adolere, xiv. 30 
 
 Adornment of Rome by Augustus, i. 9 
 Adpellere, ii. 6 
 Ad praesens, i. 1 
 Adrepere, i. 74 
 Adrogatio, xii. 26 
 Adrumetum, xi. 21 
 Adsidere (with accusative), iv. 58 
 Adsimulatio, xv. 49 
 Adstrepere, i. 18 
 Adsultare, i. 51 
 
 Adultery, punishment of, iv. 42 
 Adultus, ii. 23 ; of the seasons, ii. 23 
 Adusque, xiv. 58 
 Ad versus, xii. 54 
 Advertere, ii. 17 ; (for aniniadvertere), iii. 
 
 52 
 
 Aedes Saturni, ii. 41 
 
 Aegae, xiii. 8 
 
 Aegium, iv. 13 
 
 Aelius Lama, iv. 13 ; Gallus, v. 8 
 
 Aerarii praetores, i. 75 
 
 Aestimare, iv. 39 
 
 Aeternum (used adverbially), iii. 26 
 
 Affluere, xvi. 18 
 
 Afranius Lucius, iv. 34 
 
 Agere (hoc), ii. 82 ; exulem, i. 4 ; omission 
 
 of, i. 43 
 Agger, i. 66, ii. 7 
 Agrippa, M., children of, iii. 19; king of 
 
 Judaea, xii. 23 
 Alarii equites, iii. 39, iv. 73 
 Alesia, xi. 23 
 
 Aliquis quam for alius quisquam quam, i. 4 
 Alius (different), i. 43; omission of in 
 
 first clause, i. 63 
 Alpes maritimae, xv. 32 
 Altitudo (animi), iii. 44 
 Ambitio, i. 67 
 Amoliri, ii. 42 
 An without dubium or incertum, i. 13; 
 
 after interrogari, vi. 21 
 Annaeus Mela, xvi. 17 ; Serenus, xiii. 13 
 Annius Pollio, vi. 9 
 Antecellere with accusative, xiv. 55 
 Anthemusias, vi. 41 
 Antiochus (IV.), xii. 55 
 Antistius, C, xii. 25 ; L., xiii. 13 ; C. Vetus, 
 
 iv. 1 
 Antium, xiv. 27 
 Antonia Minor, iv. 44, xii. 64 
 Antonius L., iv. 44 
 Apamea, xii. 58 . 
 Aphrodisias, iii. B2 
 Apicius M. Gavius, iv. 1 
 Appellitare, iv. 65 
 Apposition (to a wliole clause), i. 27 
 Apronius L., iii. 21 
 Ara and altare, xvi. 31 
 Areum indicium, ii. 55 
 Aristonicus, iv. 55 
 Armenia Minor, xiii. 7 
 Arruntius L., iii. 11 
 Artaxata, ii. 57 
 
480 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Asiaticus Valerius, xi. 1 
 Asinius M., xii. 64 
 
 Gallus, iv. 20 
 
 Agrippa, iv. 3 
 
 PoUio, iv. 1 
 
 Asyndeton, iv. 25 
 
 At (in objections), ill. 34 
 
 At Hercule, i. 3 
 
 Atilius A., ii. 49 
 
 Atrox with genitive, xii. 22 
 
 Atterere, xv. 16 
 
 Auctoritas (senatus), ii. 32 
 
 Audere (absolute use of), iv. 60 
 
 Audire (to hear of), iv. 23 
 
 Aufona, xii. 31 
 
 Augurale, ii. 13 
 
 Augiistani, xiv. 15 
 
 Augustodunum, iii. 43 
 
 Augustus, will of, i. 8 ; divine honours paid 
 
 to, i. 10 
 Aut (=et vicissim), xv. 47 
 Auzea, iv. 24 
 
 B. 
 
 Bacheloes, position of with respect to 
 
 legacies, iii. 28 
 Baduhenna, iv. 73 
 Balista, xv. 9 
 Barium, xvi. 9 
 Basilica Pauli, iii. 72 
 Basternae, ii. 65 
 Bononiensis colonia, xii. 59 
 Brigantes, xii, 32 
 Buildings, height of, at Rome, xv. 43 
 
 C. 
 
 Caecilius Cornutus, iv. 28 
 
 Caeciua Tuscus, xiii. 20 
 
 Caeles Vibenna, iv. 65 
 
 Calles, iv. 27 
 
 Calpurnius L., iv. 62 
 
 Calumnari, xiv. 41 
 
 Camerium, xi. 24 
 
 Camillus Scribonianus, vi. 1 
 
 Camulodunura, xii. 32 
 
 Caniuius Gallus, vi. 12; Rebilus, xiii. 30 
 
 Canninefates, iv. 73 
 
 Capere (of Vestal virgins), ii. 86, iv. 16 
 
 Capito Ateius, iii. 75 
 
 Captivitas, xi. 23 
 
 Crapentum, xii. 42 
 
 Caspia Via, vi. 33 
 
 Cassia Lex, xi. 25 
 
 Cassius C, xii. 11 
 
 Cassus for casus, i. 47 
 
 Catapulta, xv. 9 
 
 Codere in, i. ], ii. 23 
 
 Census (of senators), ii. 33. 37 
 
 Centcsima, i. 78 
 
 Centurionatus, i. 44 
 
 Chamavi, xiii. 55 
 
 Chatti, xii. 27 . 
 
 Chauci, xi. 18 
 
 Cherusci, xii. 27 
 
 Christians, morality of the, xv. 44 
 
 Cincia Lex, xi. 25 
 
 Cingonius Varro, xiv. 45 
 
 Cinithii, ii. 52 
 
 Cis, xi. 70 
 
 Civilis, i. 3 
 
 Civitates liberae, xv. 45 
 
 Claudia Quinta, iv. 64 
 
 gens, origin of, xi. 24 
 
 Claudius, speech of, on giving the franchise 
 
 to Gallia Comata, xi. 25 ; poisoning of, 
 
 xii. 60 
 Clitae, vi. 41 
 ^ Cohors, i. 29 
 Collegia, xiv. 17 
 Collocare, vi. 27 
 Colonia Agrippinensis, xii. 27 
 Comitia transferred to the Senate, i. 15 
 Com peter e, iii. 46 
 Componi, v. 1, xv. 51 
 Concelebrare, vi. 43 
 Conciliabulum, iii. 40 
 Confarreatio, iv. 16 
 Congiarium, xv. 11 
 Construction after nomen, vocabuluin, &c., 
 
 iv. 59 ; change of, from preposition to a 
 
 simple case, xii. 55; irphs rh (rrjuatp6- 
 
 ixcvov, xiv. 61 
 Consus, altar of, xii. 24 
 Continuus with genitive, vi. 26 
 Contra dai'e, xv. 13 
 Contubernium, xiii, 46 
 Conversatio, xii. 49 
 Co-ordination of substantive and infinitive, 
 
 xiii. 15 
 Copia alicuius rei, i. 58 
 Corbulo, memoirs of, xv. 16 
 Cornelius Cossus, iv. 34 
 Cos, xii. 61 
 
 Cossutianus Capito, xiii. 33 
 Cotta L., iii. 66 
 Credi (used personally), xiv. 65 
 Crudus, i. 8 
 Cruppellarii, iii. 43 
 Curulis (sella omitted), i. 75 
 Custodiae, i. 28 
 
 D. 
 
 Damnaei ad, xvi. 21 
 
 Dare (of sacrificing), vi. 37 
 
 Dative for instrumental ablative, i. 1 ; after 
 substantives, i. 3 ; of attraction, (in pro- 
 per names) to the relative, i. 31; in 'u* 
 of the 4th declension, iii. 30, vi. 23. 
 
 Decliuare, xv. 26 
 
INDEX. 
 
 481 
 
 Decretum patnim, iii. 51 
 
 Decuriae equitum, iii. 29 
 
 Decurrere, ii. 7 
 
 Decursiis, ii. 53 
 
 Defendere, xiii. 43 
 
 Defensio, xvi. 16 
 
 Defigere (ocalos), iii. 1 
 
 Denubere, vi. 27 
 
 Destrictus, iv. 36 
 
 Diana Limnatis, iv. 43 
 
 Didius Gallus, xii. 15 
 
 Dies genitalis (lioroscope), xvi. 14 
 
 Diffamare, xiv. 22 
 
 Discessio, vi. 12 
 
 Dispergere (absolutely used), xiv. 38 
 
 Dissimilis (followed by * in '), ii. 39 
 
 Diu noctuqxie, xv. 12 
 
 Diversus, xv. 17 
 
 Dolabella Cornelius, iii. 69 
 
 Dorainatio, i. 1 
 
 Dominus, ii. 87 
 
 Domitia, xiii. 19 
 
 Domitius L., iv. 44 
 
 Donativum, xiv. 11 
 
 Donee (with indicative and subjunctive), 
 
 i. 13 
 Dress, change of, by persons accused, ii. 29 
 Dum with present indicative in oratio 
 
 obliqua, xv. 59 
 Durare, i. 6 
 
 E. 
 
 ECBATANA, XV. 31 
 
 Edessa, xii. 12 
 
 Efferre, ii. 63 
 
 Egredi, construction of, i. 30 
 
 Egnatius P., xvi. 32 
 
 Eiurare, xiii. 14 
 
 Ellipse of uxor, iv. 11 ; of filia, xii. 1 
 
 Emercari, xii. 14 
 
 Enitescere, xi. 7 
 
 Eniti, with accusative, ii. 20 
 
 Epidaphne, ii. 83 
 
 Eprius Marcellus, xii. 4 
 
 Equites inlustres, ii. 58 
 
 Erato, ii. 4 
 
 Erga, iv. 11 
 
 Eripi, i. 63 
 
 Erurapere, with accusative, xii. 62 
 
 Et (for etiam),i. 4, xv. 73; (and yet), i. 38 
 
 Etrusci, xi. 14 
 
 Evadere, with accusative, v. 10, xii. 35 
 
 Evenire, for obvenire, i. 15 
 
 Evincire, vi. 42 
 
 Excedere (used absolutely), ii. 24 
 
 Excusare, with a dative of the thing, 
 
 i. 11 J excusare, i. 44 
 Exilium, how inflicted, iii. 24 
 Exire, with accusative, vi. 49 
 Expectabilis, xvi. 21 
 Exponere, xii. 39 
 Exsecutio, xv. 25 
 
 Exsultare, xi. 28 
 
 Extension of the Empire by Trajan, iv. 4 
 Exterritus with accusative, iv. 28 
 ExtoUere (of fish-ponds), xiii. 21, xvi. 22 
 Exuere, vi. 25 
 
 F. 
 
 Pabbiciits Veiento, xir. 50. 
 
 Facilis with dative, ii. 27 
 
 Fasces ( impei-atoriae), xiii. 9 
 
 Fatality of the Stoics, vi. 22 
 
 Faustus Sulla, xii. 52 
 
 Favonius M., xvi. 22 
 
 Favorabilis, ii. 36 
 
 Ferre (to discuss), xvi. 2, impersonally used, 
 
 in. 15 
 Finire (to die), vi. 50 
 Finite and infinitive verbs, combination of, 
 
 xi. 37 
 Fiscus, vi. 2 
 
 Flectere (intransitively used), i. 13 
 Fonteius C, xiv. 1 
 Formidolosus, i. 62 
 Fors fortuna, ii. 41 
 Fortuna Equestris, iii. 71 
 Forum luliura, ii. 63; Boarium, xii. 24 
 Fossae Drusianae, i. 60 
 Fratres (brother and sister), xi. 38 
 Frequens with genitive, iv. 65 
 Frequentative verbs, iv. 41 
 Frustra habere, xiii. 37 
 Fucinus, xii. 31 
 Fuisse, ellipse of, with future participle, 
 
 ii. 73 
 Fungi with an accusative case, iv. 38. 
 Funisulanus Vettonianus, xv. 7 
 Funus (censorium), iv. 15 
 
 G. 
 
 Galba, S. Sulpicius, iii. 66; Servius, vi. 15 
 
 Gallia Comata, obtains the fi*anchise, xi. 25 
 
 Gallus C. Cestius, iii. 36 
 
 Genetrix Venus, xvi. 27 
 
 Genitive after vetus, i. 20; retinens, ii. 
 
 38 compertus, i. 3 ; segnis, xiv. 33 
 
 of quality, i. 41, iv. 31 
 
 of purpose, ii. 1. 59, iii. 7; after 
 
 adjectives used substantively, xv. 5 
 Ger.nan body-guards of the Emperors, i. 24, 
 
 XV. 58 
 Gerundive after censere, i. 14; after habere, 
 
 iv. 40 
 Gestamen, xi. 33 
 Gnarus, passive and active, i. 5 
 Gods, Teutonic names of, ii. 12 
 Gorneae, xii. 45 
 Grave, substantively constructed, xiii. 26 
 
 H. 
 
 Hactentjs ne, xiv. 7 
 
 I 1 
 
482 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hasta pura, iii. 21 
 
 Haterius Q., xii. 58 
 
 llelvidius Priscus, xvi. 28 
 
 Heniochi, ii. 68 
 
 Hermunduri, xiii. 57 
 
 Historic infinitive with finite verb, xv. 27 
 
 Horti Caesaris, ii. 41; Serviliani, xv. 55 
 
 Hypaepa, iv. 55 
 
 Hyrcania, vi. 36 
 
 I. 
 
 ICENI, connexion of, with Silures, xii. 31 
 
 Idistaviso, ii. 16 
 
 Ille (referring to the latter of two things 
 
 mentioned, not the former), ii. 82 
 lUudere, xv. 42 
 Illuvies, xii. 51 
 Imaginatio, xv. 36 
 Imperator, especial assumption of the name, 
 
 i. 9 
 Imperium proconsulare given to Germa- 
 
 nicus, i. 14 
 Impertire (aures), xiv. 21 
 In, omission of, with words of locality, 
 
 xiv. 10 
 Incedere, i. 35 
 Incelebratus, vi. 7 
 Incuriosus with dative, xiv. 38 
 Indicative of dependent verbs in the oratio 
 
 obliqua, i. 10 
 Inducere, i. 7 ; with infinitive, xii. 9 ; meta- 
 phor in, vi. 7 
 Indulgere (with the accusative), i. 52 
 Inexpertus, xvi. 5 
 Infensare, vi. 34 
 
 Infinitive, historic after ubi, ii. 4 ; with 
 finite verb, xv. 27 
 
 present for future, ii. 34 
 
 present after memini, iii. 16 
 
 Ingenium, iii. 26 
 
 Ingredi, vi. 4, xvi. 30 
 
 Inlicere with infinitive, ii. 37 
 
 Inlustres equites, ii. 58 
 
 Inmotum, as substantive, i. 47 
 
 Inplexus, xvi. 10 
 
 Inpotentia, i. 4 
 
 Inpraesentiarum, iv. 59 
 
 Insistere, xvi. 25 
 
 Insolentia, iii. 38 
 
 Instruere (pericula), xiv. 11 
 
 Insula (of houses), vi. 45 
 
 Insumere, xiv. 44 
 
 Intervertere, xvi. 10 
 
 Intolerans, iii. 45 
 
 Invaders (absolutely), xi. 8 
 
 Invicem, xiii. 2 
 
 Invidere, construction of, i. 22 
 
 Is (prospective use of), xiii. 18 
 
 Italy, decreased productiveness of, xii. 43 
 
 luba, iv. 5 
 
 lulius Viud,ex, xv. 74 
 
 lunius Gallio, vi. 3, xv. 73; 0th ?, iii. 
 
 66; Decius, xii. 58; Silanus, iv. 68; 
 
 Silanus M., xiii. 1 
 lurare in verba, i. 7 
 lus gentium, i. 42 ; tribunicium, i. 2 
 
 L. 
 
 Laelius Balba, vi. 47 
 Langobardi, ii. 45 
 
 Languescere (of a lunar eclipse), i. 23 
 
 Laodicea, xiv. 27 
 
 Largitiones, i. 11 
 
 Latium Vetus, iv. 5 
 
 Laudatio, iii. 5 
 
 Laurea, ii. 25 
 
 Laurelled statues, iv. 23 
 
 Legati legionum made praetors, ii. 36 
 
 Lentulus On. Cornelius Augur, iii. 59 
 
 Lentulus Cn., iv. 44 
 
 Lepida Aemilia, iii. 22 ; L. Domitia, xi. 37 
 
 Lepidus, M. and M'., i. 13 ; M. Aemilius, 
 iii. 72 ; Aemilius, iii. 27 
 
 Letters, new, invented by Claudius, xi. 13 
 
 Lex Roscia, ii. 33; Cincia, xiii. 42; Cor- 
 nelia de Sicariis, xiii. 44 
 
 Libelli (accusation), ii. 29 
 
 Libritores, xiii. 39 
 
 Licinius M., iv. 62 
 
 Limes, ii. 7 
 
 Locuples, iv. 43 
 
 Locusta, xii. 66 
 
 Lollia Paulina, wealth of, xii. 22 
 
 LoUius M., iii. 48 
 
 Longinquitas, i. 53 
 
 Loqui with accusative, xvi. 22 
 
 Lubricum (iuventae), vi. 49 
 
 Lucanus Annaeus, xv. 49 
 
 Ludi Augustales, i. 15; saeculares, xi. 11 
 
 Lugii, xii. 29 
 
 Luna, temple of, xv. 41 
 
 M. 
 
 Maois, ellipse of, xiii. 6 
 
 Magnetes a Sipulo, ii. 47 
 
 Malle, with comparative ablative, xii. 46 
 
 Mamercus Scaurus, iii. 66 
 
 Manceps, iii. 31 
 
 Mandare (absolute use of) xiv. 38 
 
 Manifestus, ii. 57 
 
 Manipularis, i. 20 
 
 Manumission, xiii. 27 
 
 Marcellus Cornelius, xvi. 7 
 
 Marcia, i. 5 
 
 aqua, xiv. 22 
 
 Mardi, xiv. 23 
 
 Mare Rubrum, ii. 61 
 
 Mars ultor, ii. 64 
 
 Marsi, i. 50 
 
 Materia, i. 35 
 
 Mathematici, ii. 32 
 
 Matrimonium (for wife), ii. 13 
 
INDEX. 
 
 48S 
 
 ]\Iattiaci, xi. 20 
 
 Mausoleum August!, iii. 9 
 
 Megalesia, iii. 6 
 
 Meramius Regulus, xv. 23 
 
 Memnon, ii. 61 
 
 Memoirs of Agrippina, iv. 53 ; of Domi- 
 
 tius Corbulo, xv. 16 
 Merere (to serve as a soldier), ii. 10 
 Messalina, marriage of with Silius, xi. 26 
 Messalinus Valerius, iii. 34 
 Miscere, i. 16 
 
 Mithridates Bosporanus, xii. 15 
 Modo, omission of, with first of two clauses, 
 
 iv. 50 
 Monere with genitive of gerund, ii. 43; 
 
 with infinitive, i. 63, xii. 46, xiii. 37 
 Mood of interrogative clauses in oratio ob- 
 
 liqua, i. 17 
 Moschi, xiii. 37 
 Mourning dress, ii. 75 
 Munera and munia, iii. 2 
 Mutare (intransitively used), ii. 23 
 
 N. 
 
 Name, double Gentile, ii. 30 
 
 Necessitas and necessitudo, i. 9; necessi- 
 tates, i. 11 
 
 Nedum, xiii, 38 
 
 Nero, birthday of, xiii. 10 
 
 Nerva, Cocceius, iv. 58; Silius, iv. 68 
 
 Nescius (passively used), i. 59 
 
 New Year's Day, wishes on, iv. 70 
 
 Ni following an indicative imperfect, i. 23 
 
 Nicephorium, vi. 41 
 
 Nisi quod, referring to a clause under- 
 stood, i. 33 ; si, vi. 25 
 
 Notio, iii. 59 
 
 Novendialis cena, vi. 5 
 
 Noxius with genitive, v. 11 
 
 NuUi used substantively, ii. 77; nullo = 
 nulla re, iii. 15 
 
 Numantina, iv. 22 
 
 O. 
 
 Oath (senatorial), iv. 21 
 
 Obnoxius, iii. 14. 58 
 
 Obstringere, with reflexive pronoun 
 
 omitted, i. 14, iv. 3 
 Omission of verb of existence, i. 2 
 Onustus with genitive, xv. 12 
 Operae, i. 16 
 Operari, ii. 13 
 Oportunus, ii. 5 
 Oppiae leges, iii. 33 
 Opsins M., iv. 68 
 Orationes principis, i. 81 
 Oratory of the early Caesars, xiii. 3 
 Ordo (senatorius), i. 75, iii. 69, xiii. 4.S 
 Otho L. Salonius, xiii. 12 
 
 I 
 
 P. 
 
 Paconitts M., xvi. 28 
 
 Paenitendus, vi. 4S 
 
 Pagus, i. 56 
 
 Palpelius Hister, xii. 29 
 
 Pandataria, xiv. 63 
 
 Papia Poppaea Lex, ii. 51 
 
 Papinius Sextus, vi. 40 
 
 Parricide, punishment of, iv. 29 
 
 Participle (Aoristic), use of, xii. 17, xiv. 
 
 18; as adjective, iv. 1 
 Passienus Crispus, vi. 20 
 Paulinus Pompeius, xiii. 53 
 Pavescere, xiv. 30 
 Peculium, xiv. 42 
 Pedarius Senator, iii. 65 
 Penes, iv. 16 
 Penetrare (iter), xv. 27 
 Percrebui and percrebrui, ii. 82 
 Perfect subjunctive, use of, i. 3 
 Perinde, ii. 88; and proinde, iii. 17; quam 
 
 si, xiii. 49 
 Perpenna M. Isauricus, iii. 62 
 Perpetrare, construction of, xii. 58 
 Perstringere, ii. 55 
 Pervigere, iv. 34 
 Petilius Cerealis, xiv. 32 
 Petronius P., iii. 49 
 Phoenix, vi. 28 
 Phonasci, xiv. 15 
 Piso L., Pontifex, vi. 10 
 Plancina Munatia, ii. 43 
 Plerique, iii. 1 
 
 Pomeriura, increase of, by Claudius, xii. 23 
 Polemo, ii. 57 
 
 Pollio, orthography of, ii. 88 
 Pompeius Cn., transgression of his own 
 
 laws, iii. 28 
 Pomponia Graecina, xiii. 32 
 Pomponius Labeo, iv. 47; Silvanus, xiii. 
 
 52 ; Secundus, v. 8 
 Pons Mulvius, xiii. 47 
 Poppaeus Sabinus, iv. 46 
 Porta triumphalis, i. 8 
 Potiri, with genitive, i. 33, iv. 3, xiii. 21 
 
 accusative, xi. 10 
 
 ~ ablative, xiii. 46, vi. 40. 43 
 
 Potius, omission of with quara, i, 58, iii. 17 
 Praeceps, adverbial use of, iv. 62 
 Praefecti, xv. 25 
 Praefectus urbi, iv. 36, vi. 10; jurisdiction 
 
 of, xiii. 26 
 Praegredi, xiv. 23 
 Praeiacere with accusative, xii. 36 
 Praerainere, xii. 12 
 Praescribi, iv. 52 
 Praetor Bithyniae, i. 74 
 Praetores aerarii, i. 75 
 Praeumbrare, xiv. 47 
 Praevaricari, xiv. 41 
 
 i 2 
 
484 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Praevertere, iv. 32 
 
 Praeverti, ii. 55 
 
 Preposition, omitted with ablative of agent, 
 i. 1 ; change of, iv. 51 ; use of witli abla- 
 tive of instrument, iii. 69 ; after its sub- 
 stantive, iii. 1 ; omission of with name 
 of people after verb of motion, xii. 32 
 
 Present tense in obliqua oratio, i. 19 
 
 Pretium esse, i. 57 
 
 Primipilaris, ii. 11 
 
 Princeps, i. 1 
 
 Privilegium, iii. 27 
 
 Pro, ii. 81 
 
 Proculeius, iv. 40 
 
 Profiteri (of candidates), i. 81 
 
 Profligare, xiv. 36 
 
 Proinde, iv. 20 
 
 Promptus, construction of, i. 2, iv. 60 
 
 Pronoun, omission of, before the infinitive, 
 xii. 65 
 
 Properato, xiii. 1 
 
 Properus with genitive, xii. 66, xi. 26 
 
 Propinquare with accusative, xii. 13 
 
 Propolluere, iii. 66 
 
 Propuguare, xiii. 31 ; with accusative, xv. 13 
 
 Proruere fossas, i. 68 
 
 Provolvi with dative, xi. 30 
 
 Proximus with accusative, xv. 15 
 
 Publice, iv. 43 
 
 Publicum (a tax), xiii. 51 
 
 Puteoli, xiv. 27 
 
 Q. 
 
 Qua ad (for quoad), iv. 60 
 
 Quadragesima, xiii. 51 
 
 Quaestors, xi. 22 ^ 
 
 Quaestuosus, xiii. 35 
 
 Quamquam, mood after, i. 3 ; and quam- 
 
 vis, iii. 55 
 Quamvis, ( = quantumvis), xv. 24 
 Quandoque, i. 4 
 Quantum with gen. plur,, ii. 38 
 Que— et, ii. 3; que — que, ii. 3 
 Quindecemviri, iii. 64 
 Quinquagesima, xiii. 51 
 Quinquatrus, xiv. 4 
 Quinta et vicesima, xiii. 31 
 Quirinius Sulpicius, ii. 30 
 Quisque with plural verb, i. 44 
 
 R. 
 
 Rationes constare, i. 6 
 
 Ileciprocum mare, i. 70 
 
 Referre with dative, xv. 65 
 
 Refutare, xiii. 20 
 
 Regnai'i, xiii. 54 
 
 Regnum (a game), xiii. 15 
 
 Relative, belonging to the first clause of a 
 
 sentence only, xv. 52 
 Relatus, xv. 22 
 
 Remittere, i. 8 
 
 Renuntiare (amicitiam), ii. 70 
 Repens, vi. 7, xv. 68 
 Requirere, xvi. 28 
 Restringere, xvi. 16 
 Reticere, with dative, xiv. 49 
 Rhamses, ii. 60 
 Robur TuUianum, iv. 29 
 Rofratio, xv. 20 
 Roicia Lex, ii. 33 
 Rubellius Blandus, iii. 23 
 Rufus Rutilius, iii. 66 
 Ruminalis arbor, xiii. 58 
 Rusticus Arulenus, xvi. 26 
 
 S. 
 
 Saliaee carmen, ii. 83 
 
 Salus, temple of, xv. 53. 73 
 
 Sanquinius Maximus, vi. 4 
 
 Saturninus Q. Volusius, iii. 30 
 
 Scaurus, M. Aemilius, iii. 66 
 
 Sceptuchi, vi. 32 
 
 Scipio P. Cornelius, iii. 74 
 
 Scipio Q. Caecilius Metellus, iv. 34 
 
 Scribonii, xiii. 48 
 
 Se, suus, not strictly reflexive, iv. 36 
 
 Sectio, xiii. 23 
 
 Sed, resumptive, i. 74, xv. 73 
 
 , omission of, after non modo, iii. 19 
 
 Segnis with genitive, xiv. 33 
 Sellisternium, xv. 44 
 Semproniae rogationes, xii. 60 
 Senatus Consultum Claudianum, xii. 53 
 
 Neronianum, xiii. 32 
 
 Turpilianum, xiv. 41 
 
 Macedonianum, xi. 13 
 
 Senones, ii. 45 
 
 Sensus (sentiment), xv. 67 
 
 Sequence of tenses, neglect of proper, iii. 67 
 
 Serica vestis, ii. 33 
 
 Servaeus Quintus, iii. 13 
 
 Serviliae leges, xii. 60 
 
 Servilius, M., ii. 48; P., iii. 62; Nonianus, 
 
 vi.31 
 Sesosis, vi. 28 
 Si, to see if, i. 4.S, iv. 49 
 Silanus C. Junius, iii. 66 
 Silius, C, iv. 18 ; Nerva, xv. 48 
 Simbruini CoUes, xi. 13 
 Sinere with accusative, vi. 35 
 Sirpicus, i. 23 
 Sobrini, xii. 6 
 
 Societates (equitum), xiii. 50 
 Sofonius Tigillinus, xiv. 51 
 Sohaemus, xii. 23 
 Soldiers, pay of, i. 17 
 Sonor, xiv. 36 
 Sors (for provincia), iii. 32 
 Spears (German), ii. 14 
 Spectacula, xiv. 13 
 Spernendus with genitive, xiv. 40 
 
INDEX. 
 
 485 
 
 Sponte, with genitive, xii. 42 
 
 Stagnum Augusti, xii. 56 ; Agrippae, xv. 37 
 
 Stationes, i. 28 
 
 Subducere, i. 70 
 
 Subscribere, i. 74 
 
 Suburbauus, iii. 47 
 
 Succedere, ii. 20 
 
 Suescere (actively used), ii. 52 
 
 Sufficere (absolute use of), i. 13 
 
 Suillius, M., xii. 25 ; P., iv. 31 
 
 Sulpicius Quirinus, iii. 48 • 
 
 Super, iii. 17 
 
 Superesse, iii. 47 
 
 Supine, after ire, iv. 1 
 
 Supra, xvi. 18 
 
 Surena, vi. 42 
 
 Suspectari with dative, iv. 3 
 
 T. 
 
 Tamfana, i. 51 
 
 Tamquam (with verb omitted), iv. 22 j in 
 
 the sense of *on the ground that/ xii. 39 ; 
 
 with future participle, vi. 36 
 Tarentum, xiv. 27 
 Taunus Mons, xii. 28 
 Taurus Statilius, vi. 11 
 Temperare, with infinitive, xv. 63 
 Tendere (to encamp), i. 17, xiii. 36 
 Tenses, confusion of, iv. 11 
 Tergiversari, xiv. 41 
 Theatre of Cn. Pompeius, iii. 23 j of Mar- 
 
 cellus, iii. 64 
 Theophanes Mytilenaeus, vi. 18 
 Thubuscum, iv. 24 
 Tiberius, Alexander, xv. 28 
 Tigranocerta, xiv. 24 
 Torquatus Silanus, xv. 35 
 Trabea, iii. 2 
 Tralles, iv. 55 
 Transfugia, ii. 46 
 Transigi, xii. 19 
 Travectio (equitum), ii. 83 
 Trebellius Maximus, xiv. 46 
 Tribunicia potestas, iii. 56 
 Tributum, i. 11, xiii. 50 
 Triumviri Capitales, v. 9 
 Tubero Q. Aelius, xvi. 22 
 
 U. 
 
 Ubi (fcr quo) i. 22 j with subjunctive, 
 
 iii. 2 
 Ultro, ii. 43, xiv. 7 
 Ummidius Quadratus, xii. 45 
 Unciarium faenus, vi. 16 
 
 Urgens, v. 2 ; urgeri with genitive, vi. 29 
 Usipi, xiii. 55 
 
 Ut (how) after dicere, iii. 9 
 Utcumque, i. 5 
 
 V. 
 
 Vacuus with genitive, xv. 8 
 
 Valens Manlius, xii. 40 
 
 Valerius Messala, xiii. 34 
 
 Variation of construction, i. 7 
 
 Vastus, iii, 4 
 
 Vectigal, i. 11, xiii. 50; vectigales pecu- 
 niae, iv. 6 
 
 Vel (with aut) xiv. 3; for aut, xiv. 35 
 
 Veneratio, i. 34 
 
 Venire (for evenire) xiv. 43 
 
 Venus Stratonicis, iii. 63; Genetrix, xvi. 
 27 
 
 Veranius, iii. 13 
 
 Verb, omission of in oblique narration, xiv. 
 6 
 
 Verginius Rufus, xv. 23 
 
 Versura, vi. 16 
 
 Vertere (for evertere), xii. 45 
 
 Vetera (castra), i. 45 
 
 Vettius Bolanus, xv. 3 
 
 Vetus with genitive, vi. 12 
 
 Vexillum, i. 17 
 
 Vibius, Marsus, ii. 74; Crispus, xiv. 28 
 
 Vicus, i. 56 
 
 Vigiliae, i. 28 ; vigiles, xi. 35 
 
 Vinci (in lacrimas), i. 57 
 
 Vinicianus Annius, xv. 28 
 
 Vinicius P., iii. 9 
 
 Vipstanus C, xiv. 1 
 
 Visellius Varro, iv." 17 
 
 Vitellius, P., V. 8 ; Q., ii. 48 
 
 Vitis (symbol of a centurion's rank), i. 23 
 
 Volesus Messala, iii. 68 
 
 Vologesus (form of name), xii. 14 
 
 Volusius, L., xii. 22 ; Q., xiii. 25 
 
 Volvere (animo omitted), i. 64 
 
 Votienus Montanus, iv. 42 
 
 W. 
 
 Washing of the images of the gods, xv. 44 
 Wheat, price of, ii. 87; under Nero, xv. 
 39 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zeugma (on the Euphrates), xii. 12 
 Zeugma, i. 7 
 
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