Ha 1 A = Al ^ e m 1 4 S ^^= CD 2 i ^^= I> "I ^ 1 == -n ^* !^Z / a^ — ^ -E. 5 1 ^= o -1 ^^— ■< 3 = i'lM^X- MJ * # ♦ :rs7 '^yi y -• THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES r m ^ li of ifplUf. ^' ) AjiX ''^ ^ X /*-, f»,\ ifi i THE WORKS OF CORNELIUS TACITUS WITH AN ESSxVY ON lilS LIFE AND GENIUS, NOTES, SUPPLEMENTS, &c. BY ARTHUR MURPHY, ESQ. Priecipuum munus annalium leor, ne virtutes sileantur, utque pravis dictis factisque ex posteritate et infamia metus sit. Tacitus, /Vnnales, iii. s. 65. ANEWEDITIO^V, WITH THE author's LAST CORRECTIONS, JN EIGHT VOLUMES, VOL. 11. LoiiDon : PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY. I8O7. T. CiUlet, Piinttr, Wild-court. A/ V. a THE ANNALS OF TACITUS, BOOK III. VOL. II. B ^^4914 CONTENTS. BOOK III. '. AG RIP PIN A arrives at Brundushan ti'ilh the os/ics of Germanicus. Her journty to Rome : the at- ieniion paid to her hij the municipal towns : the be- haxiour of Tiberius and Livia. The funeral ceremony. VJI. Drusus once more sent into lUj/ricum. V'lli. Piso arrives at Rome: he is accused of poisoning Ger^ manicus. He pleads in his ozcn defence ; despairs of his cause, and puts himself to death, XX. Tcicfarinas renews the war in Africa, but is repulsed by Lucius Apronius. XXII. Lepida JEmilia accused of adulter)/ and poisoning : she is tried and condemned. XX V^. The la'cCj Papin Poppcfa, restrained and moderated by Tiberius. XXV^I. The origin of laws, and their changes. XXX. Death of L. Volnsius and Sallustius Crispus, two eyninent men. XXXI. Tiberius retires into Campania. XXXII. Tacfarinas raises neze com- motions in Africa. Junius Bhesus made proconsul. XXXV^II. Certain Roman hnights condemned on the law of majesty. ^'!^J^>^W\\. Commotions in Thrace. XL. A revolt of several cities in Gaul. Julius Sacrovir, and Julius Flo r us, head the insurrection : they are both defeated. XLIX. C. Littorius Priscus, a Roman knight, charged, for having written a poetn, with a breach of the law of majesty, and put to death by the senate, hi. Tiberius affects to disapprove : his ambiguous letters on the occasion. LII. Laws pro- posed to restrain the luxury of the times, hill. B 2 CONTENTS. BOOK III.. Opinion of Tiberius on that subject : the reform i\ dropt. LVI. Drusus associated to his father Tiberius in the tribunitian power. LVIII. The priest of Jupiter not allowed to he chosen governor of a province. LX. The number of sanctuaries in Greece; their rights ex- amined, and regulations made. LXVI. C. Silanus accused of extortion, and violated majesti/ : he is con- demned and banished. LXXIII. Tarfarinas sends ambassadors to Tiberius, demanding lands, or denoun- cing perpetual war. LXXIV. Bloisus stops his pro- gress, and takes his brother prisoner LXXV. The death of two eminent citizens, and their characters. LXXVI. The death of Juma, sister to M. Brutus, and widow of Cassias : her will and funeral. These transactions include three years. Years of Rome— Of Christ. Consuls. 773 20 1\I. Valerius Messata, C. Aurelius Cotta. 774 21 Tiberius, ith time ; Drusus, his son, 9d time. 775 22 D. JIaterius Agrippa, C. Su/pi- ejus Galba. THE ANNALS OF TACITUS, BOOK III. A GRIPPINA pursued her voyage without bock intermission. Neither the risjour of the winter, nor the rough navigation in that sea- son of the year, could alter her resokition. She arrived at the island of Corey ra, oppo- site to the coast of Calabria. At that place she remained a few days, to appease the agi- tations of a mind pierced to the quick, and not yet taught in the school of affliction to submit with patience. The news of her ar- rival spreading far and wide, the intimate friends of the family, and most of the officers who had served under Germanicus, with a number of strangers from the municipal townS;, some to pay their court, others car-^ ► THE ANNALS BOOK ried alonsf v.'ith the current, pressed forward III. ^ ~ ^ ^ in crowds to the city of Brand usium, the nearest and most convenient port. As soon as the ilect came in sii^ht of the harbour, the sea-coast, the walls of the city, the tops of houses, and every place that gave even a distant view, were crowded with spectators. Compassion throbbed in every breast. In the hurry of their first emotions, men knew not Avhat part to act : should they receive lier with acclamations ? or would silence best suit the occasion? Nothins: was settled. The fleet entered the harbour, not with the ala- crity usual among mariners, but with a slow and solemn sound of the oar, im})ressing cleeper melancholy on every heart. Agrippina came forth, loading two of her cliildren (nj, with the lun of Germanicus in her hand, and her eyes stcdfastly fixed upon that precious object. A general groan was heard. [Men and women, relations and strangers, all joined in one promiscuous scene of sorrow, varied only by the contrast be- tween the attendants of Agrippina, and those who now received the first impression. The former appeared with a languid air ; while 4 OF TACITUS. the latfer, yieklino- to the sensation of* the book moment, broke out witli all the vehemence ^-•'-v--^ A. U. C. of recent grief. Jt?^' 20? II. Tiberius had ordered to Brundusiuiti two praetorian cohorts. Tlie magistrates of Calabria, Apulia, and Campania, had it in command to pay every mark of honour to the memory of the emperor's son. The urn was borne on the shoulders of the centurions and tribunes, preceded by the colours, not displayed with military pomp, but drooping in disorder, with all the negligence of grief. The fasces were inverted. In the colonies through which they passed, the populace in mourning, and the knights in their purple robes, threw into the flames rich perfumes, spices and garments, with other funeral of- ferings, according to the ability of the place. iLven from distant towns the people came in crowds to meet the procession ; they pre- sented victims ; they erected altars to the gods of departed souls, and- by their lament- ations marked their sense of the public cala- Inity. Drnsus advanced as far as Terracina, accompanied by Claudius (a), the brother of Gennanicus, and the children of the deceased prince that had been left at Rome. Tiie .1^ THE ANNALS BOOK consuls, ]\Iarcus Valerius Messala, and JMar- III. cus Aurelius Cotta, who a little before had entered on their magistracy, with the whole senate, and a numerous body of citizens, went out to meet the melancholy train. The road was crowded ; no order kept, no regu- lar procession ; they walked, and wept, as inclination prompted. Flattery had no share in the business : where the court rejoiced in secret, men could not w^eep themselves into favour. Tiberius indeed dissembled, but he could not deceive. Throusfh the thin dis- guise the malignant heart was seen. III. Neither the emperor nor his mother appeared in public. They imagined, per- haps, that to be seen in a state of affliction, •might derogate from their dignity : or, the better reason was, that a number of prying eyes might unmask their inmost sentiments. It does not appear, eitlier in the historians of the time, or in the public journals, that Antonia f«J, the mother of German icus, took any part in the funeral ceremony. Agrippina, Drusus, Claudius, and the rest of the {M'ince's relations, are registered byliame ; but of Antonia no mention is made. She was probably hindered from attending by 77S. AD. 20. OF TACITUS. y vrant of health, or the sensibility of a mother book might be unequal to so severe a trial. To )^^^f^ speak my own opinion, I am inclined to be- lieve that nothing but the emperor and his mother could restrain her from the last hu- man office to her son. If all three absented themselves, equal affliction might be inferred ; and the uncle and grandmother might be supposed to find a precedent in the conduct of the mother. IV. The day on wiiich the remains of Germanic us were deposited in the tomb of Augustus, was remarkable for sorrow in va- rious shapes. A deep and mournful silence prevailed, as if Rome was become a desert ; and, at intervals, the general groan of a dis- tracted multitude broke forth at once. The streets were crowded ; tlie Field of Mars glit- tered with torches ; the soldiers were under arms ; the magistrates appeared without the ensigns of their authority ; and the people stood ranged in their several tribes. All, with one voice, despaired of the commonv/ealth ; they spoke their minds without reserve, iii the anguish of their hearts forgetting the master that reicrned over them. Nothin"' liowever, touched Tiberius so near,, as tliede- JO THE ANNALS BOOK cided affection of the people for Agrippiiia, who was styled the ornament of her country, the only blood of Augustus, and the last re- maining model of ancient manners. With hands upraised, the people invoked the gods, imploring them to protect the children of Germanicus from the malice of pernicious rnemies. V. There were at that time men of re- flection who thou<>;ht the whole of the cere- inony short of that funeral pomp which the" occasion required. The magnificence dis- played in honour of Drusus, the father of Ger- manicus, was put in contrast to the present frugality. *' Augustus, in the depth of Avinter, *' went as far as Ticinum to meet the body ; *' and, never quitting it afterwards/ entered " the city in the public procession. The bier *' was decorated with the ima<2;es of the Clau- '^ dian and the Livian families : tears were *' shed in the forum ; a funeral oration was *' delivered from the rostrum ; and every " honour, as well of ancient as of modern iii- ** vention, was ofi'ered to the memory of the ** deceased. How* different Mas the case at " present 1 Even the distinctions usually *' granted to persons of illustrious rank, were OF TACITUS. 11 *' refused to German Icus. The body was book '* committed to tiie funeral pile in a foreign " land ; that was an act of necessity ; but, *■' to compensate for the first deficiency, too " much could not be done. One day's jour- *' ney was all that a brother performed. The *^ uncle did not so much as go to the city- " c^ate. Where now the usa^e of ancient *' times r Where the bed on wdiich tlie ima^'e *' of the deceased lay in state? Where the " verses in honour of departed virtue ? Where " the funeral panegyric, and the tear that *' embalms the dead? If real tears were not *' ready to gush, where, at least, were the ** forms of grief? aud where the decency of ^' pretended sorrow }" YI. Tiberius was not ignorant of what passed. To appease the murmurs of the peo- ple, he issued a proclamation, in which it was observed, " that eminent men had at various " times fallen in the service of their coiuitrvj. '-* though none were so sincerely lamented as " Germanicus. The regret shewn on thf " present occasion, did honour to the virtue " of the people, and the imperial dignity ; " but grief must have its bounds. That " which, might be proper in private families^. VI THE ANNALS BOOK III. A.U. C. 77:?. A.D. SO. or ill petty states, would ill become ttit grandeur of a people fa J who gave laws ta the world. Recent affliction must have its course. The heart overflov.'s, and in that discharge finds its best relief. It was now time to act with fortitude. Julius Ca?sar fbj lost an only daughter ; Augustus saw his grandsons prematurely snatclied av.ay ; but their grief was inward only. They bore the stroke of affliction with silent diiinitv. If the authority of ancient times were re- quisite, conjunctures might be mentioned. in which the Roman people saw, with un- shaken constancy, the loss of their generals, the overthrow of their armies, and the de- struction of the noblest families. What- ever may be the fate of nol)le lamiiies, tht; connnon wealth Is innnortal. Let all re- sume their former occupations ; and, since the fcj Megalensian games were near at hand, let the diversions of the season as- suage the general sorrow." VII. The vacation from public business was now concluded. The people returned to their ordinary functions, and ])rusus set out for the army in Illyricum. * At Rome, in the mean time, all were impatient to see Piso OF TACITUS. 13 brou^lit to justice. That an offender of such book O t^ III maiinit ude should be suffered to roam at Iari2;e throusi;h the delio^htful regions of Asia ajid Achaia, roused the oeneral indiiiiiation. By such contumacy the law was eluded, and the evidence was growing weaker every day. The fact vvas, J\Iartina, that notorious dealer in poison, whom Sent i us, as has been men- tioned, ordered to be conveyed to Home, died suddenly at Brundusium. Poison was said to have been found in the tangles of lier hair, but no trace of suicide appeared on any part of her body. VIII. Piso, taking his measures in time, sent his son to Rome with instructions to pre- possess the emperor in his favour. lie went himself to seek an interview with Drusus; persuaded that he should find the prince not so much exasperated at the loss of a brother, as pleased Avith an event that delivered him from a rival. The son arrived at P^ome. Tiberius, to shew that nothing was prejudg- ed, gave the youth a gracious reception ; adding the presents usually bestowed on per- sons of rank on their return from the pro- vinces. Drusus saw the eider Piso, and frankly told him, that if what was rumoured 14 THE ANNALS BOOK abroad appeared to be founded in truth, the charge deman^jed his keenest resentment ; but he rather hoped to iiiid the whole unsup- ported by pr(jof, tha^ no man might deserve to suffer for the death of Germanicus. This answer was given in pubhc ; no private audi- ence was admitted. The prince, it was ge- nerally believed, liad his lesson from Tibe- rUis ; it being improbable that a young man of a free and open disposition, unhackneyed in the ways of ])usiness, could have acted with that guarded reserve, which marked the veteran in politics. IX. Pi so crossed the gulf of DalmatiaTfly, and, leaving his ships at Ancona, went for- ward to Picenum. From that place he pur- sued his journey on the Flanuninian road, and on his wa}' met a legion marching from Pannonia to Rome, in order to proceed from thence to serve in Africa. This incident was variously canvassed by the people. A crimi- nal, it was said, presumes to join the soldiers on their march, anrl even waylays them at their quarters, to curiy favour with his mi- iitary friends. Piso heard of these com- plaints, and, to avoid suspicion, or because it is the nuttire of guilt to be alujiys wavering 0P TACITUS. 15 and irresolute, at Narni lie embarked on the book Nar, and, sailing down the Tiber, landed on the Field of iVIars, near the tomb of the Ca?sars. This was another cause of popular discontent : in open day, amidst a crowd of spectators, he and his wife Plancina made their appearance ; the former surrounded by a tribe of clients, and the latter by a train of female attendants ; all with an air of gaiety, bold, erect, and confident. Piso's house overlooked the forum ; preparations were made for a smnptuous entertainment ; the scene was adorned with splendid decorations ; and, from the nature of the situation, no- thing could remain a secret. The whole was exposed to the public eye. X. Ox the following day Fulcinius Trio exhibited an accusation before the consuls. To this proceeding VitelHus, Veranius, and others, who had attended Germanicus into Asia, made strong objections ; alleging, that Trio had not so much as a colour to entitle him to the conduct of the prosecution. As to themselves, they did not mean to stand forth as accusers ; but they had the last com- iTiands of Germanicus, and to the facts with--^ in their knowledsje intended to appear as 16 THE ANNALS witnesses. Trio waved his pretensions, but still claimed a riglit to prosecute for former misdemeanors. That liberty was allowed. Application was made to the emperor, that the cause mi <:>;ht be heard before himself. The request was perfectly agreeable to the accused party, wlio was not to learn that the senate and the people were prejudiced against him. Tiberius, he knew, was firm enough to resist popular clamr)ur ; and, in conjunction with Livia, had acted an underhand part in the business. Besides this, the truth, he thought, would be better investigated be- fore a single judge, than in a mixed assem- bly, where intrigue and party violence too often prevailed. Tiberius, however, saw the importance of the cause, and felt the impu- tations fffj thrown out against himself. To avoid a situation so nice and difficult, he con- sented to hear, in the presence of a few se- lect friends, the heads of the charge, with the answers of the defendant ; and then refer- red the Avhole to the consideration of thti senate. XI. During these transactions, Drusus returned froiji lllyrirum. For the captivity of 3Iaroboduus, and the prosperous events of OF TACITUS, If the preceding summer, an ovation had been book decreed by the senate ; but he chose to post- pone that honour, and entered the city as a private man. Piso moved that Titus Arrun- tius, T. Vinicius, Asinius Gallus, ^serninus MarceUus, and Sextus Pompeius, might be assigned as advocates to defend his cause. Under different pretexts they all excused themselves ; and in their room, IMarcus Le- pidus, Lucius Piso, and Livineius Regulus,' were appointed. The whole city was big with expectation. It remained to be seen how far the friends of Germanicus would act with firmness ; what resources Piso had left ; and whether Tiberius would speak his nuud, or continue, as usual, dark and impenetrable. No juncture had ever occurred in Mhich the people were so warmly interested ; none, when in private discourse men made such bitter reflections , and none, when suspicion har- boured such gloomy apprehensions; XII. At the liext meeting of the senate, Tiberius, in a premeditated speech, explained his sentiments. "Piso,'* he observed, "had " been the friend and chosen lieutenant of " Augustus ; and was lately named with the VOL. II, c 18 THE ANNALS BOOK HI. A. U. C. 77:5. A. D. 5^0. approbation of the senate, to assist Ger- nianicus in the administration of the eastern provinces. WhetUer, in that station, he had made it his business, by arrogance and a contentious spirit, to exasperate the prince ; whether he rejoiced at his death ; and, above all, whether he was accessary to it ; were questions that called for a strict, but fair enquiry. If he, who was only se- cond in command, exceeded the limits of his commission, regardless of the duty which he owed to his superior officer ; if he beheld the death of Germanicus, and the loss which I have suffered, w^ith un- natural, with fell delight ; from that mo- ment he becomes the object of my fixed aversion, I forbid him to enter my palace ; he is my own personal enemy. But the emperor must not revenge the private quarrels of Tiberius. Should murder be brought home to him, a crime of that magnitude, which in the case of the mean- est citizen calls aloud for vengeance, is not to be forgiven ; it will be yours, con- script fathers, to administer consolation to the children of Germanicus; it Avill be yours to assuage the sorrow^s of an afflicted OF TACITUS. t9 *' father, and a grandmother overwhehned book ' ^ III. " with orief. v-*^v^^ ^ A. u. e. 773. A. D. '' In the course of the enquiry, it will be 20. '^ material to know whether Piso endea- '' voured, with a seditious spirit, to incite *' the army to a revolt. Did he trybysinis- *' ter arts to seduce the affections of the *' soldiers ? Was his sword drawn to recover ''possesion of the province? Are these ** things true, or are they the mere sugges- *' tions of the prosecutors, with intent to ** aggravate the charge? Their zeal, it must *' be owned, has been intemperate. By laying *^ the body naked at Antioch, and exposing *' it to public view, what good end could " be answered ? Why were foreign nations " alarmed with a report of poison, when the '' fact is still problematical, and remains to *' be tried ? I lament the loss of my son, and *' shall ever lament it; but, notwithstanding all my feelings, it is competent to the de-* fendant to repel the charge ; he is at liberty '^ to bring forward whatever may tei.d to esta- ^* blish his innocence, and even to arraign the *' conduct of Germanicus, if any blame can *' be imputed to him. It is not for me tg c2 ce (( 20 THE ANNALS * abridge any part of the defence. My af- * fections, it is true, are interwoven with the '^ cause : but you will not, for that reason, ' take imputations for !2;uilt, nor alles^ations * for conclusive proof. And since either the * ties of consanguinit}', or motives of friend- ' ship, have engaged able advocates to pa- * tronize the party accused, let them exert ' theirzeal, their talents, and their eloquence. ' In the same manner I exhort the prosecu- ' tors : let them act with the same constancy, * with C([ual ardour. The only distinction ' which the prerogative of the prince can grant, ' is, that the cause shall be tried in this court, ' and not in the Ibrum ; in the presence of * the senate, not before the common tribu- * nals. In all things else let the forms of * law be observed. The tears ofDrusus, ' and my own afflictions, are foreign to the ' question ; let no man regard our interest : ' throw it out of the case, and discard from ' your minds the little calumnies that may ' glance at myself." XIII. Two days were allowed to the pro- secutors to support their charge, six to pre- pare the defence, and three for hearing it. Fulcinius Trio bci^an. The sjround betook OF TACITUS. 21 was the avarice and tyranny, with whicli Piso book conducted himself, durini^ his administration "-^^^^ , A. U. C. in Spain. This was starting from a period J^^^^ too remote. Tliougli convicted on that point, ^' the defendant might still repel the present charge ; and if acquitted, he might be guilty of higher crimes. Fulcinius was followed by Ser- va^us,YeraniusandVitellius; all three exerting themselves with equal zeal, but the latter with supei'oir eloquence. The points insisted upon were — " That Piso, incited by malice to Ger- " manicus, and his own ambitious views, dif- *' fused a spirit of licentiousness through the " Roman army. lie corrupted the soldiery, *' and suffered the allies of Rome to be plun- *' dered with impunity. In consequence of *' those pernicious acts, the vile and profligate *' hailed him father of the legions. But " his conduct was hostile to all j^ood men, *^ and more directly to the friends of Germa- " nicus. To fill the measure of his iniquity, " he had recourse to magic arts, and the •' prince was destroyed by poison. Piso and '' his wife Plancina were known to have as- '' sisted in superstitious rites and impious '' sacrifices. And yet the prisoner did not " stop there : he was guilty of rebellion ; •^ he appeared in arms against the state ; 22 THE ANNALS BOOK *' and, before he could be brought to jus- *' tice as a citizen, he was conquered as an " enemy.'* XIV, The defence in every article, except that which related to the crime of poison, was weak and ineffectual. The charge of debauching the soldiers by bribery, the ra- pacity of his creatures, and the insults offer- ed to Germanicus, were stubborn facts, and could not be denied. The crime of poison- ing seemed to be sufficiently answered. It was left on weak ground by the managers of the prosecution. All they had to urge in support of that article, was a bare allegation, that Piso, at an entertainment given by Ger- manicus, being placed on a couch above the prince, had contrived with his own hai^ds to mingle poison with the victuals. An attempt of the kind, in the midst of servants not his owp, under the eye of numbers, and in the very presence of Germanicus, seemed im* probable, and indeed absurd. To refute it altocrether, Piso made a tender of his slaves to be questioned on the rack, demanding, at the same time, that the domestics of Germa^^ nicus, who waited that day at table, should undergo the like examination. But nothing OF TACITUS. 23 made an impression on the judges. For dif- book ferent reasons they were all implacable ; "-^v^ Tiberius, on account of the war levied in J^s. ' A. D. Syria : the senators, from a full persuasion ^''• that treachery had a hand in the death of Germanicus. A motion was made for the production of all letters written to the cri- minal by Tiberius and Livia. This was op- posed with vehemence, not only by Piso, but also by the emperor. The clamours of the populace, who surrounded the senate- house, were heard within doors. The cry was, if Piso escaped by the judgment of the fathers, he should die by the hands of the people. They had already seized his statues, and, in their fur}^, dragged them to the place of exe- cution called the Gemonia3 C^Jy ^^'ith intent to break them into fragments. By order of Tiberius they were rescued out of their hands. Piso was conveved home in a litter, ijuarded by a tribune of the pra::torian bands : but whether that officer was sent to protect him from the populace, or to see justice executed, was left to conjecture and vague reports, XV. Plancina, no less than her hus- band, Avas an object of public detestation ; but protected by court favour, she was L'4: THE ANiJAL$. BOOK tlioiiaht to be out of the reach of her enemies. III. What Tiberius would do Avas vuicertain. AVhile she supposed herself involved in thp fate of Piso, without a gleam of better hope, her language was that of a woman willing to share all chances with her husband, and, if he was doomed to fall, determined to perish with him. Having, in the mean time, by the interest of Livia, obtained her pardon, she began to change her tone, and pursue a separate interest. Finding himself thus aban-^ doned, Piso despaired of his cause. With- out further struggle, he intendecl to resign himself to his fate ; but, by the advice of his sons, lie re$un^ed his courage, and once more appeared before the senate. The pro- secution was renewed with vigour ; the fathers spoke in terms of acrimony ; every thing was adverse ; and the prisoner plainly saw that his fate was decided. In this distress nothing affected him so deeply as the behaviour of Tiberius, who sat in sullen silence, neither provoked to anger, nor softened by compas- sion, with his usual art stifling every emotion of the heart. Piso was ((inducted back to his hoijse. He there wrote a few lines, in ap- peal arxe preparing his defence for the en^ i>uing day, and having scaled the paper, de- OF TACITUS. 25 III. A U. C. 773. A. E 20. iivered it to one of his freedmeii. The usual book attentions to his person filled up his time till, at a late hour of the night, his wife having ^"^ left the room, he ordered the door to be made fast. In the morning he was found dead ; his throat cut, and his sword lying near him on the ground. XVI. I REMEMBER to liave heard from men advanced in years, that a bundle of pa- pers, not produced at the trial, was often seen in the hands of Piso, containing, as his friends attested, the letters of Tiberius, full of in- structions hostile to Germanic LIS. These documents would have transfeired the "uilt to the emperor ; but by the delusive promises of Sejanus, they were all suppressed. It was also confidently said that Piso did not lay violent hands on himself, but died by tiie stroke of an assassin. For the truth of these ^.ssertions I do not mean to be answerable ; I state the facts as I heard them related by men Avith whom I conversed in ni}^ youth ■ and the anecdotes of such inen maj' be deemed worthy of attention^ Tiberius attended the next meeting of the enate. He there complained, with seeming 26 THE AKNALS BOOK anxiety, that the death of Piso was intended HI. to reflect dishonour on liimself. He sent for the freedman, who had received the paper sealed up, as ah'eady stated, and enquired particularly about his master ; how he passed the last of his days ? and what happened in the course of the ni^ht ? The man answered in some instances with caution, and in others off his guard . The emperor produced Piso's letter, and read it to the senate. It was nearly in the following words; " Oppressed *•' by the malice of my enemies, and falling *' under a load of imputed guilt, without a *' friend to espouse the truth, or shelter in- *' nocence, I call the immortal gods to wit- *• ness, that to vou, C.Tsar, I have through life * ' preserved mj^ faith inviolate. For your mo- *' therl have ever felt the sincerest veneration. *' I conjure you both to take my sons under your protection. Cneius Piso is innocent. Nothing that happened in Asia can be im- puted to him, since he remained, during ** the whole time, at Rome. His brother *' jNIarcus, when I returned to the province *' of Syria, wasstrcnuousagainst the measure. '• AVould to Heaven that I had yielded to *' the advice of a young man, and that my '' authority had not silenced all opposition. OF TACITUS. 27 *' For him I offer my fervent prayers; let book ^' not the errors of tlie father brins^ down ^-*^v-^ ^ A. u.c. '' ruin on the son. If in tlie course of l'^^- A. D. ^' five-and-forty years I have been devoted ^°' to your service; if Augustas made nie his colleague in the consulship faj ; if the re- '' membrance of our early friendship can now *' avail ; by all those ties I implore your "^ mercy for my unhappy son. It is the re- *' quest of a dying lather-; the last I shall " ever make." He made no mention of Plancina. XVII. Tiberius declared his opinion, that Marcus Piso, beino; under the control of his father faj^ ought not to be answerable for the civil war. He mentioned the re«;ard due to an illustrious house, and even lamented the unhappy lot of the deceased, though brought upon him by misconduct. He spoke in favour of Plancina, but with an air of em- barrassment, conscious of his own duplicity. The intercession of his mother was a colour for the part he acted ; but thinking men were by no means satisfied. On the contrary, their hatred of Livia was more embittered than ever. They exclaimed without reserve, *' fSliall the grandmother admit to her pre- 2B THE ANNALS BOOK 111. A. U. C. 77:5. A. D. 2U ' sencc a woman stained with the blood of ' her grandson? Shall she converse in familiar freedom with a murderess ? Must she rc^ ceive to her arms an abandoned woman, and by her influence rescue her from thef vengeance of the senate ? The laws protect the meanest citizen; but in the case of Ger- manicus they have lost their visfour. Vi- tellius and Yeranius i)oured forth their elo- quence in the cause of a prince cut off by treachery, while the emperor and his mo- ther side with Plancina. That pernicious woman may now with impunity continue her trade of poisoning ; she may practise her detestable arts on the life of Agrippina and her children ; she may proceed in her iniquity, and, with the blood of an illus- trious, but \mhappy famil}'', glut the rage of a dissembling uncle and a worthless grandmother." For two days together Rome was amused with a mock-trial of Plan- cina. Tiberius, in the mean time, exhorted Piso\s sons to stand forth in defence of their nothcr. 'J'he charge was opened ; the wit- nesses Mere examined, and the orators spared leither zeal nor eloquence in support of the prosecution : no reply was made; tlie wretch- ed condition of a helpless woman began to OF TA,CITU3. 29 operate on the fecliiio;s of the fathers, and book preiiulice was melted into pity. Aurehus ^^"v-o Cotta. the consul, was the fn*st that o'ave his '"'^ vote, according to a settled rule (h) whenever '^^ the question was put by the emperor. The opinion of Cotta was, that the name of Piso should be razed out of the public registers; that part of his estate should be confiscated, and the rest granted to Cneius Piso, upon condition that he changed the family name ; and that his brother j\Iarcus, divested of all civil honours, should be con- demned to banishment for the space of tea years, with a sum, however, of fifty thousand great sesterces for his support. In deference to the solicitations of Livia, it was proposed to o;rant a free pardon to Piancina. XVIII. This sentence, in many parti- culars, was mitigated by Tiberius. The fa- uiily name, he said, ought not to be abo- lished, while that of ]\Iarc Antony, who appeared in arms against his country, as well as that of Julius Antoniusf«), who by his jntri";ues dishonoured the house of Auaiustus, subsisted still, and figured in the llonian annals, Marcus Piso was left in possession of his civil dignities and his father's fortune. 30 THE ANNALS BOOK Avarice, as has been already observed, was not the passion of Tiberius. On this occa- sion, the disgrace incurred by the partiaUty sliewn to Planciua, softened his temper, and made him the more wilhno- to extend his mercy to the son. Valerius ]\Iessalinus moved, that a golden statue might be erected in the temple of Mars the Avenger. An altar to Vengeance was proposed by Ciecina Se- verus. Both these motions were over-ruled by the emperor. The principle on which he argued was, that public monuments, how- ever proper in cases of foreign conquest, were not suited to the present juncture. Domestic calamity should be lamented, and as soon as possible consigned to oblivion. Messalinus added to his motion a vote of thanks to Tiberius and Livia, to Antonia, Agrippina, and Drusus, for their zeal in bringing to justice the enemies ofGermani- cus. The name of Claudiiis (b) was not men- tioned. Lucius Asprenas desired to know whether that omission was intended. The consequence was, that Claudius was inserted in the vote. Upon an occasion like this, it is impossible not to pause for amonient, to make ^reflection that naturallv rises out of the sub- OF TACITUS. SI ject. ^yiien we review what has been doinj^ book •^ _ ^ III. in the world, is it not evident, that in all "^"r^ transactions, whether of ancient or of modern ""l: ' A. p. date, some strange caprice of fortune turns ^• all human wisdom to a jest? In the juncture before us, Chiudius figured so little on the stage of public business, that there was scarce a man in Rome, who did not seem, by the voice of fame and the wishes of the people, designed for the sovereign power, rather than the very person, whom fate, in that instant, cherished in obscurity, to make him, at a future period, master of the Roman world. XIX. The senate, a [eiv days afterwards, on the motion to Tiberius, granted the sacer- dotal dignity of Vitellius, Veranius, and Str- vi'eus. Fulcinius Trio received a promise of the emperor's favour in his road to honours, but was at the same time admoiiished to re- strain the ardour of his genius, lest, by over- heated vehemence, he mjoht mar his elo- quence. In this manner ended the enquiry concerning the death of Germanicus ; a sub- ject which has been variously represented, not only by men of that day, but by all sub- sequent writers. It remains, to this hour, the problem of history. A cloud for ever 32 THE ANNALS III. A. U. C 773. A. D BOOK haniis over the most important transactions, whilr, on the one hand, credulity adopts^ '^'^'•^^ for fact the report of the day ; and, on the ^°- other, politicians warp and disguise the truth: between both parties two different accomits go down from age to age, and gain strength with posterity. Drusus thought it time to enjoy the honours of a public entry. For this purpose he went out of the city, and having assisted at the ceremony of the auspices, returned with the splendour of an ovation. In a few days after he lost his mother Vipsania f«J; of all the cliildren of Agrippa, the only one that died a natural death. The rest were brought to a tragic end ; some, as is well known, by the murderer's stroke ; and others, as is gene- rally believed, by poison or by famine. XX. In the same year Tacfarinas,'t]icNu^ midian chief, whom we have seen defeated by Camillus in a former campaign, once more commenced hostilities in Africa. He began by sudden incursions ; depending for his safety on tlie rapidity of his flight. Emboldened by success, he attacked several towns and vil- lages, and went off enriched with plunder. OF TACITUS. , 53 At length, at a place near (he river Pagida book faj, he hemmed in a IlDnian coliort, and held them closely besieged. Decrius, a gaK Jant and experienced ollicer, who command- ed the fort, considered the blockade as a dis- piace to the Roman arms. Havino; exhorted iiis men to face the enemy on tlie open plain, iie marched out, and formed in order of battle. At the first onset the Barbarians made an impression. The coliort gave way. Decrius braved every danger. Amidst a volley of darts, he opposed his person to stop the flight of his men ; he called aloud to the standard-bearers, chargijig them not to in- cur the slianre and infamy of yielding to an .undisciplined rabble, a vile collection of run- aways and deserters. His efforts were inef- fectual. Covered with v/ounds, and one eye pierced through, he still persisted with un- daunted valour, till at last, abandoned by Jiis troops., he died braveiv sword in hand. XXI. Lucius Apronius, who had suc- ceeded Cam ill us a;o proconsul of Africa, re- ceived the account of this defeat with indiii- jiation. The disgrace of the Roman arms touched liim more than the glory that ac- crued to the llarbarians. He resolved to ex- VOL. li. p M THE ANXAL5 BOOK piate the infamy by a dreadful punishinent, founded, indeed, upon ancient precedent, and recorded in history ; but in modern times fallen into disuse. He ordered the cohort, Avhose beliaviour had been so i^no- minious, to be decimated fa J : every man upon whom the lot fell, died under repeated bloAvs of the cudgel. The consequence of this severity was, that a body of live hun- dred veterans, stationed in garrison at Thala fbj, maintained their post against the at- tempts of Tacfarinas, and even routed the troops lately flushed with victory. In this -action Rufus llelvius, a common soldier, ob- tained the glory of saving the life of a Roman citizen, lie was rewarded by Aproniuswith a spear and collar. Tiberius ordered the civic crown to be added, observing, at the same time, that the ])roconsul had the power of granting that reward: yet he censured the omission without asperity, pleased that something was reserved for himself. Tacfiirinas, finding his Numidians unwill- ing, after their defeat, to undertake a siege, clianged his plan of operations. He chose a rovino* kind of war ; if the Romans advanced (piick in retreat, and, as soon as the pursuit OF TACITUS. So was over, Avlieeling round to liang upon the ^ook rear. By this desultory mode of skirmishing, ^]^^^^ the wily African baffled and fatigued the ^^^• lloman army, till having ravaged the country ^°* near tlie sea-coast, and loaded his men with booty, he was obliged to pitch his camp. In that situation Apronius Ca^sianus, son of the proconsul, at the head of the cavalry, the auxiliary coliorts, and a body of light in- fantry draughted from the legions, gave bat- tle to the Numidian, and, havinc^ o-ained a complete victory, obliged him to fly to his wilds and deserts. XXII. At Rome, in the mean time, a prosecution was carried on against Lepida fa J, a woman of illustrious birth, descended from the Aunilian family, and ^reat grand- daughter both to Sylla and Pompey. She was married to Publius Quirinius, a citizen of threat v,ealth, far advanced in years, but without children to inherit his estate. The wife ^vixs charged with an attempt to pass a supposititious child for his legitimate issue. Other articles were added ; such as adultery, dealing in poison, and consultations with Chaldean astrologers concernino; the fate of the imperial larnily. Her brother. Manius D 2 35 THE AXNALS HI. BOOK Lepidus, undertook lier defence. Quiriiuiis had repudiated her ; and yet, after his di- vorce, attacked lier with implacable resent- ment. This circumstance, notwithstanding the guilt and infamy of Lepida, rendered her an object of compassion. In the course of the proceeding, the real sentiments of Tibe- rius eluded all discovery. Fluctuatiiig be- tween opposite passions, he mixed and shift- ed mercy and resentment in such quick suc- cession, that wliere he would fix it was im- possible to guess. lie desired that the crime of violated majesty might be thrown out of the case, and, in a short time after, ordered Marcus Servilius, of consular rank, and the rest of the witnesses, to prove the very facts over which he pretended to draw a veil. He removed the slaves of Lepida, avIio had been placed under a military guard, to the custody (bj of the consuls ; nor would he suffer them to be examined under the torture upon any point that concerned himself or his family- He exempted Dru^us, though consul elect, from the rule, that required him to give the fust vote. This by some was considered as a true republican principle, that the fathers miii'ht iiwe their voices, free and uninflu- cnced by tlie example of the prince. Others OF TACITUS. 37 called it a stroke of sul^tle cruelty ; it being book '' ^ III. by no means probable, that Drusiis would ^^f^p^ decline to speak in order of time, if a sentence ^"^ of condemnation had not been already lixed. ^'^* XXIII. The celebration of the public games suspended the trial for some days. In that interval, Lepida, accompanied by a train of illustrious women, entered the theatre faj: in a pathetic strain she invoked her ancestors ; she called on Pompey in liis own theatre (that monument of grandeur), and addressed herself to the imai>;es of that illustrious man. Her grief made an impression ; tears gushed from the eyes of the people, and, indignation soon succeedino', bitter execrations were thrown out against Quirinins ; " a superan- " nuated dotard, sprung from a mean ex- " traction, to whom, in the decline of life, a *' noble dame, formerly intended to be the '' wife of Lucius Civsar, and, by consequence, " the grand-daughter of Augustus, wasjoin- " ed in wedlock, that lie, good man ! might " raise heirs to liis estate." Notwithstanding these clamours, the slaves of I^cpida were put to the question. Their evidence amount- ed to full proof of her guilt ; and, on the mo- tion of Rubellius Blandus, she y/as forbid 38 THE ANNALS BOOK the use of fire and water. Even Drusiis gave III. _ ^ ^Jl^'^^ his assent, though a milder sentence would J^^ have been agreeable to the wislies of a con- ~^' siderable number. By the interest of Scau- rus, her former husband, Avho had a daughter b}^ her, the confiscation of her property was remitted. At the close of the proceedi'.igs, Tiberius informed the fathers, that he harl examined the slaves of Quirinius, and their evidence left him no room to doubt of a formed design to poison her husband. XXIV. The families of the first conse- quence at Rome began to feel, with regret, that their numbers were thinned by repeated misfortunes. The Calpurnian house had lately suffered by the loss of Piso, and the iEmilian was impaired by the condemnation of Lepida. In order to make some amends, Decius Silanus was restored to the Junian family. Tlie particulars of his case seem to merit some attention. The life of Augnstus was variously che([uered : he was successful against his country, and in his family often unhappy. The intrigues of his daui^htcr f((J and grand-daughter embittered his da} s. 11^ ordered them both to depart from Rome, and punished the CbJ adulterers with death or OF TACITUS. 39 banishment. To the conunerce natural be- book IH. tween tiic sexes, that emperor gave the name of sacrilege and violated majesty ; and, under colour of this new device, forgot at once the lenit}- of former times, and even the laws enacted by himself. But the tragic issue that befel oftenders of this kind, with other memorable events of that period, shall be the subject of a distinct history, if, when tlie Avork now in hand is fmished, my life shall be protracted in health and vigour for a new undertakin2[. With regard to Silanus, who had a criminal connection with the "land-dauiihter of Au- gustus ; his offence drew npon him no greater vengeance, tlian a total exclusion from the friendship of the emperor. That exclusion, as Silanus understood it, implied a sentence of banishment. lie retired into voluntary exile, and never, till the reign of Tiberius, presumed to apply, either to the prince or senate, for permission to ret inn to his coun- try. For the favour extended to him, lie was indebted to the weight and inlluence of his In'other, ^Marcus Silanus, who added to his hi^h rank the fame of disti)ii>uis]ied elo- quence. ^larcus prevailed with the emperor, 40 THE ANNALS, EooK and, in a full mectiii"' of the senat<^, express-™ '-'"^^ ' cd his sense of the obliii^ation. Tiberius aii- A. U. C. ' , . . "^^^ swered, tliat ' ■ the return of Deeius Silaiius, ^^' " after a long absence, was an event agreeable *' to all. It was, however, no more than his ■' leo;al ri^lit. No law had abridired his li- *' berty ; lio decree of the senate was in force *"' against him. And yet it ^\as impossible for *' the prince to forget th a law made by Augustus in the decline of life, when the (hj .]u!ian institutions, were found ineffectual. The pohcy was, to enforce, by additional sanctions, tlie penal-r ties of celibacy, and th.ereby increase the revenue. iVlarriage, however, Avas not brought into llishion. To be without heirs (cj was still considered as a state that j»ave lireat ad\nnta<'es. Prosecutions Inul- tiplied, and nund)ers were every day ;\vuwii into danger Informers were tlie OF TACITUS, 41 interpreters of justice ; and chicane and ma- book lice \vroiii>lit the ruin of faniiUes. The com- ' — '-^-' ^^ , A. u. a munitv laboured, at first, under the vices of J']- the times, and, afterwards, under tiie snares 20. of law. From this reflection if we here go back to trace the origin of civil institutions, and the progress of that complex system v.hich has grown up to harass mankind, tlie digression will not be incurious, nor altoge- ther foreign to our purpose, XXVI. In the early ages of the world fa J, men led a life of innocence and simplicity. Free from irregular passions, they knew no corruption of manners ; and void of guilt, they had no need of laws. In the natural emotions of the heart they found incitements to virtue, and rewards were unnecessary. Having no inordinate desires, they coveted nothing, and pains and penalties were un- known. In process of time, when all equality was overturned, and, in the place of temperance and moderation, ambition and violence began to trample on the rights of man; then monarchy Avas established, in several r.ations unlimited, absolute, and flourishing at this hour. Some states, in- is- lation.. But the respite was but short. The fiery genius of Lepidusf^J preferred a num- ber of seditious decrees, and the tribunes ffj of the people, resuming their ancient powers, alarmed the state with tumuh, and pcjpidar commotions. The i^eneral i^ood was no loui^fer thought of: new characters appeared in the great scene of puhhc business, and new sta-- tutes were enacted. In a corrupt repubhc vice increased, and laAvs were niuUiplied. XXVIII. PoMPEY at length (a J, in his tliird consulship, was chosen to correct abuses, and introduce a reformation of maimers. His remedies were more pernicious than the mis^ chief. lie made laws, and broke them; he liad recourse to arms, and by force of arms was ruined. From that time, during a period of twenty years, the rage of civil discord threw everv tiling" into confusion. Justice was silent ; the manners nere corrupted ; vice tri- umphed with impunity, and virtue met with aure destruction. At length, Augustus (bj- A. D. OF TACITUS. 45 in ijis sixth consulship, findiiii^ himself esta- book blished without a rival, repealed the acts '-^^''^^ ^ A. U. C. passed by himself during the triumvirate, and ^'•''• Ji'ave a new svsteni. useful indeed to the pub- lie ti-anqui'iiit}, but subversive of the con- stitution ; lit only for the government of one. The chains of slavery were closely riveted (cj, and spies of state were appointed. To excite and animate the dilij^ence of those new OiFicers, the law PapiaPoppi"eaheld forth re- wards. By that law, tlie people, under the fiction of universal parent, were declared heirs to the vacant possessions of such as lived in celibacy, regardless of the privileges annexed to the paternal character. To en- force this regulation, informers were encou" ra<^ed. The s'enius of those men knew no bounds : they liarassed the city of Rome, and stretched their harpy- hands ail over Italy. Wherever they found a citizen, they found a niiui to be plundered. Numbers were ruined, and all were struck witli terror. To stop tlie progress of the mischief, Ti]>e- riiis ordered a set of conmiissioners, to be drawn, by lot ; five of consular I'arik, five pri\3torians, aud a like number from the body of the senate. Under their direction tJie Vaw was explained ; ensnaring subtleties were 46 Tin: ANNALS BOOK removed ; and the evil, though not ^.vlioll^ cured, Avas palliated for the present. XXIX. Aboi'T this time Nero, tJie eldest son of Germanie'iis, -was entering on the state of manhood. Tiberius recommended him to the favour of tlie senate, adding his request, that the young prince might be excused from serving the office of the vii>intivirate C^J, with leave, five years earlier than the time limited by law, to stand candidate for the qua:storship. As a precedent for this in- dulgence he cited the example of Augustus, who had nvade the like application for him- self and his brother Drusus. The proposal was a mockery, and, accordingly, men heard it will I derision. Even in the reign of Augustus there were, in all probability, lunn- bers who laughed, in secret, at the new way of conniianding by petition. The artifice, however, was at that time not impolitic : the grandeur c)f the Caesars was in its in- fancy, and th.e forms of the old re})ublic v/ere still remembered. ^\'illi ngard to the request made by Tiberius, it may l)e observed, that the relation between the step-father and the sons of his wife did not create so tender an. interest, ns the natural alYeclionof a grand- OF TACITUS. 4/ father for lils 2;randson. The senate not only book liranted what was asked, but added a seat in ^-'^^^^^ ^ ^ ' A. U, C tlie pontilical college. The dav, on which r^ the young prince made his first appearance in -^- the forum, was distinguished by a lars^ess to the people, wdio saw with pleasure a son of Germanicus rising to the state of manhood. His marriage with Julia fbj, the daughter of Drusus, was soon after celebrated, and diffused a general satisfaction. But another match, then in contemplation, between tlie son fcj of Claudius and a daughter of Se- janus, was received by the people vrith ever}'" mark of discontent. !Men objected, tlrat the lustre of the imperial family would be tarnished, and the ambition of Sejanus, al- ready suspected, would, when strengthened by that connection, tower above the rank of a citizen. XXX. Towards the close of the year died two men of distin^uisiied cliaracter. namely, Lucius Volusius, and Sallustius Cris- pus. The former was of an ancient family, at all times highly honoured, though never raised above the praetorian rank. The de- -ceased was the first of his house that rose to the consulship. When it was afterwards ne- 4S THE ANNALS BOOK cessarv to rc-o-ulate the classes of tlie eques- III. J r« •^^v^^ triaii order, he Avas, for that purpose, acl- A. u. c. ^ ^ 7';l- vanced to the (H"nity of censor. In tne A. D. "' '' ^- course of his time he accumulated an immo- derate fortune, and laid the foundation of that rank and splendor, in which his family- flourished after him. The ancestors of Crispus were of eques^ trian rank f^J, B}' the maternal line, he was grand nephew to Cains Sallustius, tlie ac- complished Roman historian. Being adopt- ed by that illustrious writer, he assumed the family name ; and, though the road to ho- nours lay open before him, tlie example of Maecenas was the model, on which he form- ed his conduct. Never aspiring to the rank of senator, he lived in a degree of splendor, that eclipsed the consular magistrates, and even the commanders of armies, who liad triumphed for their victories. The austerity of ancient maimers was not to his taste. In Jiis apparel and ecpiipage he was gay and costly ; in his style of living, fond of ele- gance, and even of luxury. Ihiiting in his character opposite qualities, he was at once a man of pleasure, and a statesman of con^ .summatc ability. The vigour of his mind» 6 OF TACITUS. 49 thou«;]i often relaxed in indolence, M^as such book ^ . in. as qualified him for the most arduous affairs. When occasion called^ he returned to busi- ness with an elastic spring, that shewed he gained new strength from inactivity. While Maecenas lived and flourished, Crispus acted the second character. Succeed in 2; afterwards to that minister, he took the lead in the ca- binet, the first in favour, and in all secret transactions the confidential manager. Agrip- pa Posthumus was cut off under his direc- tion. In the decline of life he retained the ap- pearance of power, without the reality ; a re- verse of fortune which had been felt by Maece- nas, and which, by some fatality, is the usual end of all who bask in the sunshine of a court* Between the prince and his favourite, weari- ness and satiety succeed to the ardour of af- fection, and both begin to wean themselves from each other ; the prince, when the power of giving is exhausted ; and the minister, when avarice has no more to crave. XXXI. The year, which we are now to a. u. c. •' 774. open, stands distinguished by thejoint consul- a. d. ship of the father and the son ; Tiberius, for the fourth time, and Drusus, the second. It VOL. II. E r 50 THE ANNALS BOOK is true that, two years before, Germanicus ' — ^- — ' shared the same honour; but their union was A U. C. '7*- not founded in sincerity and mutual esteem. A. D. *^ • 1 1 I 1 1 • 21- Tiu'ouiihout that year Tiberuis belield his colltiaii;ue witli a mahgnant eye. The tie of afliiiitv between them was not so close as the present. Tiberius had scarce entered on the office in conjunction witli Drusus, when, pre- tending to recruit his health, he removed into Campania, perhaps even then meditating that long retreat, which was afterwards his plan of life: perhaps, intending to give Drusus the ' honour of discharging*; the consular functions, without the assistance of his father. An inci- u: dent soon occurred, in itself of little moment, -'^ but by the heat of party it kindled to a flame, and afforded to the young consul an oppor- tunity to gain the popular esteem. A com- plaint was made to the senate by Domitius Corbulo, formerly one of tiie praetors, stating that Lucius Sylla, a youth of illustrious rank, had refused, in a late shew of gladiators, to give place to his superior in point of years. ^ The grave and elderly were on the side of Corbulo. They saw the rights of age in- fringed, and the example of ancient manners treated with contempt. Mamercus Scaurus OF TACITUS. 51 and Lucius Arruntius undertook the defence of book Sylla, and with the rest of his relations formed a party in his favour. A warm debate en- sued. The practice of good times was stated, and several decrees, enforcing the reverence due to age, were cited as decisive authority. Drusus, by a qualifying speech, allayed the ferment. Corbulo declaied himself satisfied with the apology made by Mamercus Scaurus, who was uncle as well as father-in-law faj to Sylla, and, besides, the most eloquent orator of his time. That business being thus ami- cably settled, the state of the public roads was made the subject of debate by the same Cor- bulo. The highways, he said, were in a bad condition throughout Italy, neglected every where, and in some places impassable. He imputed the mischief to the fraudulent prac- tices of contractors, and the inattention of the magistrates. He was desired to superintend the business ; but the advantage, whatever it was, that accrued to the pulilic, did not counterbalance the ruin of individuals, who suffered, both in reputation and fortune, by the harsh decisions of Corbulo, and the con- fiscation of their effects. E 2 52 THE ANNALS XXXII. In a short time after, the seriate received dispatches from Tiberius, with intel- ligence that Africa was again alarraed by the incursions of Tacfarinas. The occasion, the emperor said, required a proconsul of military talents, and vigour equal to the fatigues of war ; but the choice was left to the judgment of the fathers. Sextus Pompeius seized this op- portunity to launch out in a bitter invective against Marcus Lepidus, whom he styled a man void of courage, destitute of fortune, a disgrace to his ancestors, and by no means fit to be entrusted with the government of x\sia (a)^ which had then fallen to his lot. The se- nate was of a different opinion. Wjiat was called want of courage, according to them, was mildness of disposition ; his indigence was a misfortune, not a disgrace; nor could it be deemed a fair objection to a man, who, in narrow circumstances, supported tlie dignity of his ancestors, and lived in honourable po- verty, witli an unblemished character. He was therefore declared proconsul of Asia. The choice of a governor to command in Africa was, by a decree, reserved for the de- cision of the emperor. 21. OF TACITUS. 53 XXXIII. In the course of the debate, a ^^^^ motion was made by Ca^cina Severus, that ^XTu^ the governors of provinces should be no longer a.'d. accompanied by their wives. Pie prefaced the business with repeated declarations, that between him and his wife, who had brought him six children, the truest harmony sub- sisted ; and yet the law, which he now pro- posed, had ever been the rule of his own con- duct ; insomuch, that in a series of forty years^ during which time he had served as man}- cam- paigns, his wife always remained in Italy. "It '' was with good reason," he said, " that in *' former times, women were neither allowed to ** visit the allies of Home, nor to have any in- " tercourse with foreign nations. The softer '^ sex brought many inconveniences ; ui times '^ of peace they were prone to luxury, and in '^ war, easily alarmed. A female train, in the •' march of a Roman army, presented an ^' image of savage manners : it had the ap- **^ pearance of Barbarians going to battle, *' That women are by nature feeble, aiid '' soon overcome by hardship, was not the '^^ only objection : other qualities entered into ** the female character, such as pride, revenge. 54 THE ANNALS BOOK ^' and cruelty, and ambition. The love of '' power is the predominant passion of the *' sex, and in the exercise of it they knoAV no *' bound:^. They appear in the ranks ; they ^' march with the troops ; and tliey entice the '' centurions to their party. We have seen, '' in a late instance, a woman fa J reviewing *' the cohorts, and directhi2; the exercise of the '' le<2;ions. Have, we forgot, that as often as *' rapacity and extortion have been laid to the *' account of the husband, the wife has proved *' the principal offender? She no sooner en-. ** ters the province, than her party is formed. The unprincipled attend to pay their ho- mage. She becomes a politician ; she takes the lead in business, and gives a separate *' audience. The husband and the wife ap- " pear in public with their distinct train of attendants. Two (bj tribunals are esta- blished, and the female edict, dictated by '* caprice and tyranny, is sure to be obeyed. " 13y the Oppian fcj and other laws, the *^ wife was formerly restrained within due '' bounds ; at present, all decorum is laid • ' aside; women give the law in families ; they '■' preside in the tribunals of justice, and *^ ar>piie to be connnandcrs in chief," a (( <( ({ OF TACITUS. 55 XXXIV. To this speech a small number book assented ; the rest received it ^vith a murmur of disapprobation. The business, they said, was not in form before the fathers, and a question of that importance ouglit not to be drawn into debate by a self-created censor like Ca3cina. liis argument was answered by Va- lerius i\Iessalinus ; a man who derived from his father Messala fa J, the celebrated orator, no inconsiderable share of eloquence. *' The " rigour," he said, " of ancient manners has ^' taken a milder tone. The enemy is not at *' the gates of Rome, and tlie provinces have *' no hostile intentions. In favour of the ten- " dersex some concessions ought to be made, " especially since it is now known by experi- " ence that the wife, so far from beinga bur- " then to the province, is scarcely felt in the **' private oeconomy of the husband. She is no " more than a sharer in his splendour and dig- nity. In time of peace what danger from her presence? War, indeed, calls for vigour ; and '^ men should 2;o unencumbered to the field. " When the campaign is over, where can the '' general so well repose from toil and labour o J. *' as in the bosom of a wife, whose tenderness *' relieves his pain, and sweetens every care?. a a lb THE ANNALS BOOK '' But women, it has been said, are prone to III. , . . . '' avarice and ambition ; what shailbesaid of '' the magistrates ? Have they been always '' free from irregular passions ? and if not, will " it follow that men are to be no Ion 2;er trusted '' with the administration of the provinces ? " We are told, that the vices of the wife have *' their influence on the maimers of the lius- *' band: and is it therefore true, that in a '' life of celibacy we are sure of fmding un- " blemished honour? " The Oppian laws were formerly deemed " expedient: the policy of the times reqiured " them; but the manners have varied since, *' and with the manners the law has been mo^ ** dified. We strive in vain, under borrowed ^' terms, to hide our own defects : the truth is, *' if the wife exceeds the bounds of the female *' character, the blame falls on the husband, *' In two or three instances we may have seen *' that the men were weak and too uxorious ; *' and shall we for that reason take from the *' commander of armies the most endearin<; ^' comforts of marriage, the mutual joy in ** prosperity, and, in affliction, the balm that heals his sorrows ? By the restraint now ti OF TACITUS. 57 *-' proposed, the weaker sex will be left in a book *' state of destitution, the sport of their own *' caprice, and a prey to the passions of the '' profligate seducer. The presence of the " husband is scarce sufricient to guard the " sanctity of the marriage- bed: what must be *' the consequence, if they are separated, and *' as it were, divorced for a number of years ? " In that interval, the nuptial union may be " obliterated from the mind. Let us, if we " can, prevent disorder in the provinces ; but *' let us not forget the manners of the ca- *' pital." In this debate Drusus delivered his senti- ments. He touched upon the subject of his own marriage, and added, that the princes of the imperial house were liable to the frequent necessity of visiting distant provinces. Plow often did it happen that Augustus made a progress in the West, and in the East, accom- panied by Livia his wife 1 As to himself, he had commanded in Ili^'ricum, and was ready, if the state required, to serve in any part of the empire ; but he should serve witii regret, if he was to be torn from an affectionate wife; fbj, the faithful mother of all his children. 58 THE ANNALS BOOK 111 consequence of these reasonings, Ca?cina's w^-v-^^ motion fell to thecfround. A. U. C. '^ 774 A. D. 2i. XXXV. The senate at their next meeting received letters from Tiberius, in which, after complaining obliquely that the burthen of all public business was thrown on himself, he named ]\Ianius Lepidus and Junius Blassus for the proconsulship of Africa ; leaving the choice of one of them to the determination of the fathers. Both were heard : Lepidus, with a degree of earnestness, desired to be excused ; alleging the infirmities of his constitution, and the care due to his children, who, except a daughter then fit for the married state, were all of tender years. Lepidus had still a better reason, but he chose to suppress it : it was, nevertheless, well understood that Bhrsus was uncle to Sejanus, and of course had the pre- vailing hifluence. Bla^sus in his turn declined the office, but with affected coyness. Flattery knew on which side its interest lay ; and, by consequence, the slaves of power knew how to conquer such feeble reluctance. Bkvsuswas * of course appointed. XXXYL A PUBLIC grievance, which had OF TACITUS. 59 long been felt with secret discontent, was soon book after brought before the fathers. A licentious ;^;"^ spirit of defamation prevailed at Rome, and J'^^ rei'^ned without control. The vile and profli- '^' iiate launched out with virulence against the best members of society, and the statues of the Caesars were a sanctuary, where the assassins of every honest name found protection. The freedmen, and even the slaves, poured out a torrentof abuse ; and, after lifting their hands against their patrons or their masters, resorted to the same asylum, where they grew more formidable in their insolence. Caius Cestius, a member of the senate, complained of this enormity: ''Princes," he said, " represented '' the ofods ; but the sfods lent a favourable ear *' to none but the just. Neither the capitol " nor the temples were places of refuge, where " guilt might find a shelter, and even en- couragement. In a late prosecution Annia Rufilla was found guilty of manifest fraud ; *' and if such a woman might with impunity, '- in the forum, and even in the portal of the '' senate, insult him with opprobirous lan- '' guage, and even vrith meriaces ; if such con- '^ tumacy Avere permitted, ar-d tlie emperor's ^' statue gave a sanction to evil practices, in- 50 THE ANNALS *^ somuch that he could obtain no redress ; ail " good order was at an end, and the laws were '' no better than a dead letter." Others spoke to the same effect. Facts still more atrocious wei'e stated, and, with one voice, the whole assembly called on Drusus for exemplary punishment. lluftUa was cited to appear; and, being convicted, the fathers ordered her to be imprisoned in the common jail. XXXVII. Confidius^Equus and Ciclius Cursor, two Roman knights, who had pre- ferred a false charge of violated majesty against !Magius C^cilianus, then one of the pnetors, were for that offence condemned, at the desire of Tiberius. From this act of justice, as well as the sentence against Rutilla, Drusus derived no small share of popdarity . Men were will- ing to allow that, by residing at Rome, and by mixing in social meetings, he made some atonement for the dark and sullen spirit of his father. The luxurious passions of a young man were easily excused : Let him, said the people, indulge his taste for pleasure ; let him pass his day in the glare of public spectacles, and his night in social revelry, rather than live sequestered from mankind, without a joy 1 OF TACITUS. 61 to cheer him, in painful vigils and the gloom boo:k of solitude brooding over his cares, and think- ing only to engender mischief. XXXVIII. The ruin of eminent citizens had notyet appeased the rage of Tiberius and his crew of informers. An accusation was preferred byAncharius Priscus against Cassias Cordus, proconsul of Crete, for peculation and violated majesty. The last article was, at that time, the burthen of every prosecution faj. Antistius Vetus, a man of the first con- sequence in Macedonia (^(^ J, had been accused of adultery, and acquitted. This gave um- brage to Tiberius. He censured the judges, and ordered Vetus to be tried on the usual c]iari>e of violated maiestv. lie reoresented him as a man of a turbulent spirit, and an ac- complice with Rliescuporis at the time when that Barbarian having put his nephew Cot)^s to death, was on the eve of a war with Rome. Vetus fell a sacrifice. He v/as interdicted from fire and water, with an additional sen- tence, that he should be confined to some island not contiiijuous either to Macedonia orThrace. '»' Since the partition, of the latter kingdom 62 THE ANNALS BOOK between Rha:iiietalces and the sons of Cotys, to whom Trebellienus llufus was ap|)ointecl guardian, that countr}^ continued in a state of tumult and hostiht}^ to Rome. The people saw, with minds exasperated, the grievances inflicted on the natives, and, having no pros- pect of redress, accused TrebeUienus no less than Rlia'metalces. In the samejuncture the Ca:laletans, the Odrysirans, Dians, and other adjacent states, in one general revolt, had re- course to arms. They took the field under their own respective chiefs, men of no con- sideration, and all by their meanness and in- capacity reduced to one connnon level . Hence no concerted plan, no spirit of union. By one party the country was laid waste ; another passed over mount lia^mus, with a design to draw distant nations into their confederacy ; while the most numerous and best disciplined troops sat down before Philippopolis (a city founded by Philip of Macedon), and there held Rhirmetalces closely besieged. XXXIX. On the tlrst intellioence of this revolt, Publius Velleius fa J, who commanded an anny in the neighbourhood, sent a detach- ment of horse and light infantry in pursuit of OF TACITUS. 63 the insurgents, who spread themselves over book the country, either with a view to plunder, or to reinforee their numbers. lie himself marched in force to raise the siesie. He was successful in every quarter: the freebooters were put to the sword : and dissensions break- ing out amono- the besie«;ers, Rhj^metalces made a sally in the moment when the Jloman army came up to his relief. The Barbarians abandoned the place. Of these events, how- ever prosperous, there is no room to speak in the pomp of military language : a rabble of savages without discipline, and almostwithout weapons, cannot be called an army ; nor was that a battle, where the enemy was cut to pieces, without the effusion of Roman blood. XL. In the course of the same year a re- bellion broke out amono' the cities of Gaul, occasioned by the load of debt that oppressed the common people. The principal leaders of the revolt were Julius Florus and Julius Sacrovir ; the former a man of vreight amoncj the Treviri, and the hitter amonc^ the iEduans. They were both of illustrious birth. Their ancestors had deserved well of the Romans, and, for their services, received the freedom 64 THE ANNALS looK of the city, at a time when that privilege was rare, and the reward of merit only. By these incendiaries secret meetings were held; the fierce and daring Avere drawn into the league, together with such as languished in poverty, or, being conscious of their crimes, had no- thing left but to grow desperate in guilt. Florus undertook to kindle the flame of re- bellion in Bclgia ; and Sacrovir to rouse the neighbouring Gauls. The plan thus settled, they caballed in private, held frequent meet- ings, and left no topic untouched that could inflame the minds of the people. " Tributes," they said, "Avere levied with unabating ri- *' gour; usurious interest oppressed the poor, " and their haughty masters continued to lord *' it over them with pride and arrogance. By " the murder of Germanicus, disaffection was " diffused among the legions, and the oppor- " t unity to strike the blow for liberty was now ' ' arrived . R eflect on the numbers we can bring *' into the field : remember the impoverished *' state of Italy. At Home eveiy warlike priu- '' ciple is extinguished. The strength of their *' armies is mouldered away. They have no " national strength, but depend altogether on " foreijrn nations to fii>;ht their battles.'* Qt" TACITUS. 6^ XLI. A GENERAL spirit of revolt prevail- book ed ill every part of Gaal. Scarce a city was "^''^ free from coiinnotioii. The flame blazed out J"!- A. D, among the Aiidecavians and the people of "^\ Tours ; but by the diligence of Acilius Aviola CaJ, who marched from Lyons at the head of a cohort, the insurgents in the former province M'ere reduced to obedience. The same com- mander, vrith a legionaiy force, detached by Visellius Varro, from the Lower Germany, marched into the territory of Tours, and quell- ed the insurrection. In this expedition some of the principal chiefs in Gaul joined the Ro-^ man army, not with zeal for the cause, but pretending friendship, in order, with surer ef- fect, to be traitors in the end. Even Sacrovir fought with the Romans ; he was seen in the heat of action with his head uncovered, in order, as he gave out, to signalize his courage and fidelity: but in truth, as was afterwards collected from the prisoners, to avoid being aimed at by the darts of his countrymen. An account of these disturbances was transmitted to Tiberius. He doubted the intelligence, and by his indecision prolonged the war. XLI I. Junus Flqrus in the mean time, VOL. II. F 21. 66 THE ANXALS BOOK continued to exert Iiis most vigorous efibrts. III. . ^ _ ^ ^ ''■-^'^^'^' A reu'iiiicnt of lior.se, raised foniicrlv amonir A. U. C. ■ J t^ y]- tlie Treviri, but trained to the llonian A. U. discipline, liappcned to be quartered at Treves. He tampered with those troops, fn jiopes of liTi^inninp; the war ])y a general mas- sacre of Hie Kom not only the .Eduans and the Treviri, but several other cities of Gaul, to the number of sixty-four, had thrown off the yoke. Germany, it was added, had joined the league; and Spain was wavering. The rumour, as usually happens, was magnified by the credulity of the populace. Good men felt tor their country ; the g_rea*ter part, de- testing tlw present system, and wishing for nothing so much as achange, enjoyed the con- fusion, and triumphed in the coumion danger. Invective did not spare Tiberius. " In a *'diilicult and alarming crisis, he was busy *' in settling the forms of some new prosecu- **■ tion. Did he mean to proceed by v»'ay of *' infornration against Julius Sacrovir? Was 1 '21. OF TACITUS. (9 '' that chieftain to be accused of violated book III. " majesty ? The revolt plainly shewed tiiat ^-^^^ '' there still existed men of itndauiited valour, jj-^^ " who were resolved, at the point of tlie sword, " to dety his letters written in blood to tlie *' senate; and war, with all its dangers, was '' preferable to a saiiguinary peace under a *' despotic tyrant.'* Amidst tliese murmurs of discontent, Tiberius appeared with an iinrufiied temper, never once changing hi^ look, his place of abode, or his liabits of life. Is tliis to be ascribed to magn.auimity ? or did he knovv , by secret intelligence, tliat the whole was either false, or mngniiied beyond the truth ? XLV. SiLius, in the mean time, having sent before him a body of auxiliaries, marched at the head of two lesions into the territory of the Sequanians, a people at the extremity of Gaul, bordering on the ^ii-^ given up a prisoner, withdrew, with his most faithful adherents, to a villa in the neigh- bourhood, where he put an end to liis life. His followers having first set fire to the place, turned their sword^^ against themselves, and perished in one general carnage. XLVII. Tiberius, at length, thought fit to write to the senate on the subject of these commotions. In one and the same letter he gave an account of the war begun and ended. He neither magnified nor disguised the truth, but in plain terms ascribed the whole success to the valour of his officers, and the wisdom of his councils. Why he did not go in per- son, or send his son Drusus, the same letter explained his reasons : " Tlie extent and ma- '' jesty of the empire claimed his utmost care. '* It was not for the dignity of the prince, *' on the revolt of one or two cities, to re- ** linquishthe seat of government. But now, *' since he coul(} not be supposed to be under '* any kind of alarm, it was his intention to *' shew himself to the provinces, in order, by *' his presence, to allay the ferment, and '^ restore the pubhc tranquiihty." Vows for his return, and solemn festivals, with other OF TACITUS,. 73 usual ceremonies, were decreed by the senate, book Dolabella, intending to display his genius in the trade of flattery, succeeded so far as to shew his meanness and absurdity, lie pro- posed that the emperor, on his return from Campania, should enter the city with the splendour of an ovation. This occasioned a letter to the senate from Tiberius, wherein he observed, " that after conquering fierce *' and warlike nations, and having in his «' youth received and declined triuniplial honours, he was not such a novice to glory as to desire, in the evening of his days, the vain parade of a public entry, for an ex- *' cursion that was little more than a party *' of pleasure to the suburbs of Rome." XLVIII. About this time Tiberius wrote to the senate, requesting that a public funeral might be decreed to SulpiciusQuirinius faj; a man no way related to the ancient patrician family of the Sulpicii. He was born at Lanu- vium, a municipal town: he distinguished himself by his military services, had consi- derable talents for business, and was raised by Augustus to the honour of the consulship. Having afterwards stormed and taken the strong holds of the I lomopacicnsians in Cilicia, a . *' give, had he been in due form convicted ^'" " on the law of violated majesty." LI. RuBELLius Blandus, of consular rank, was the only per^onthat assented to the opinion of Lepidus. Tiie rest concurred with Agrippa. The poet was hurried away, and stran:th to a hearing'. A day more au£:ust and splendid cannot be figured to the ima- gination. ^Ve now behold a Roman senate sitting in judgment on the grants of the old republic ; discussing the treaties and conven- tions of confederate nations ; deliberating on the acts of kings, while kings were able to make a stand against the power of Rome ; and, above all, reviewing the various systems of religion, which had been for ages estab- lished in the belief of mankind. These were the important subjects ; and to give still greater dignity to the scene, the senate met, as was the practice in good times, with au- thority to enquire, and liberty to determine. 94 The annali* BOOK LXI. The case of the Ephesians was the III. ^ ^-^^-w first broui2;ht forward. It was stated in their A. U. C '^ . 775. ' behalf, that Diana and Apollo were not, as A. D. . 22. generally supposed, born in the isle of Delos,, but in the Ortygian Grove, on the banks of the river Cenchris, which flows within the territories of Ephesus. In that sacred re- cess, Latona, taking shelter under an oliv^e- tree, was delivered of those two deities. The tree was still to be seen in a flourishing state, and the grove became a consecrated spot. It was there that Apollo, after having slain the Cyclops, found a retreat from the ven- geance of Jupiter ; it was there that Bacchus, after his victories, gave a free pardon to such of the Amazons as fled for protection to the altar ; and it was there that Hercules, hav- ing conquered Lydia, established a temple, with rites and ceremonies, which neither the Persian kinos, nor the Macedonian con- queror, presumed to violate. The Romans at all times paid the strictest regard to the eanctity of the place. LXII. The ]\Iaiinesians were the next in order. They relied on the ordinances of liU- cius Scipiofr/J, confnnied and ratified by Lucius Sylla ; the former victorious over OF TACITUS. 95 Aiitiochus, and the latter over Mithritlates. b.ogk In the wars wliich were waoed under tlieir conduct, the Magnesians adhered with fide- Uty to the cause of Rome ; and, to reward their services, the temple of Diana Leuco- phryne was, by those commanders, declared a sanctuary. The people of Aphrodisium, and also of Stratonice, produced a decree of Ca^^sarthe dictator, and another of Augustus, commemorating the zeal, with v/hich those states withstood the Parthian invasion, and preserved to the last their attachment to the interest of Rome. The Aphrodisians claim- ed the temple of Venus ; the Stratoniceans v/orshipped Jupiter and Diana Trivia. The city of liieroca^sarea deduced their cere- monies from remote antiquity, aile;ht disarm the noblest talents. Tiberius 103 THE ANNALS iBooK helped to increase his difficulties. With a stern tone of voice, and a contracted brow, he pressed the defendant with sudden questions, never suffering him to pause a moment, either to repel or elude the charge. Silanus was obliged to admit several points, rather than seem to refute or baffle the enquiry of the em- peror. His very slaves, to make them com- petent witnesses, were sold by auction to the public officer ; and, to make destruction sure, Tiberius added the crime of violated majesty, that none of the prisoner's family or friends might presume to assist in the defence. Silanus desired an adjournment of a few days. In that interval, abandoning all his hopes, he sent a memorial to Tiberius, in a style sufficiently humble, but still with the spirit of a man who felt himself oppressed, and dared to speak the language of reproach, LXVIII. Tiberius remained inflexible ; but, to give the colour of precedent to hislinal sentence, he ordered the proceedings against Volcsus Messala (a) (who had also been pro- consul of Asia), with the record of Augustus, and the decree made on that occasion, to be read. Ho then collected the votes, beginning OF TACITUS. 103 M'ith Lucius Piso. That senator, after some book flourishes in praise of the emperor's clemency, conchided, that Silanus should be interdicted from fire and water, and banished to the isle of Gyarus (b). The fathers concurred in the same opinion,\vhen CneiusLentulusproposed, by way of mitigation, that the estate which de- scended to Silanus from his mother, should not be included in the c^eneral forfeiture, but vested in the grandson . Tiberius agreed to the amend- ment. The business seemed to be at an end, when Cornelius Dolabella rose to shew, that his servile spirit had not deserted him. He launched out into a sharp invective against the morals of Silanus, grafting on it a motion, that no man of dissolute manners should be eligible to the government of provinces ; and of this incapacity the emperor should be the sole judge. "When a crime is committed, the law takes cognizance of it, and inflicts the pu- nishment. But a law to prevent the oifence, " would be at once an act of mercy to bad " men, and a blessing to the provinces." LXIX. Tiberius spoke in reply : " To " the reports," he said, " which were current " to the disadvantas;e of Silanus, he was no a i i A. U. C. 775. A.D 104 THE ANNALS BOOK i< strancrer. But laws ouo;ht to have a bet-* III. ^ _ o '' ter foundation than pubUc rumour. The "d " go^'crnors of provinces liad often disap- ^^' ^' pointed the hopes, and sometimes the fears '' of mankind. By important scenes of action *' the powers of the mind al'e roused ; the *' heart expands to meet the occasion ; while, *' on the other hand, feeble spirits shrink from *' a great opportunity, and grow less by ele- *' vation. The prince can never be fully in^ *^ formed ; and it is not fit that he should see '' with the eyes of others. The arts of am- ** bitious rivals may deceive him. In human ^' affairsnothingcanbeforeseen with certainty, *' and without facts, laws can have no opera- *' tion. Till men have acted, they cannot be *' judged. It was the wisdom of our ancestors ** to keep the sword of justice in the scabbard, " till actual offences drewit forth. In asystem so just in itself, and so long established, in- novations ought not to be rashly made. The *' cares of government are a burthen to the ** sovereign, and his prerogative wants no en-? " largement. Extend his authority, and you " abridge the rights of the subject. When the ^* laws in being are suflicicnt, there is no oc- '* casion to resort to the will of the prince." ti (( OF TACITUS. W5 This was, no doubt, a cons titutioneil speech. From a man little studious of popularity, it was received with universal approbation. Ti- berius did not stop here : when his own pri- vate resentment was not provoked, he knew that moderation was the best policy : with that view he thought proper to add, that Gy arus was a dreary island, uncultivated, and inhospitable. In honour, therefore, of the Junian family, and from motives of lenity to a man who was a member of the senate, he proposed to change the place of banishment to the isle of Cythera : and this, he said, was the request of Torquata, sister to Silanus, and a vestal virgin of distinguished sanctity. The fathers complied, and a decree was passed ac- cordingly. LXX. The Cyrenians presented a charge of rapine against Cassius Cordus. Ancharius Priscus conducted the prosecution, and sen- tence of condemnation was pronounced. Lu- cius Ennius, a Roman knight, who had melted down a silver statue of the emperor, and con- verted it to domestic uses, was accused on the law of majesty. Tiberius stopt the pro- jpeedings. Against this act of lenity Ateius BOOK in. A.u. a 775. A. Do «)0 X06 THE ANNALS BOOK Capilo(^«j protested Openly; contending, with an air of ancient liberty, that " the ridit of the *' senate to hear and determine, ought not to " be retrenched ; especially when a crime of ■' that magnitude called for vindictive justice. *' The prince, in his own case, might be slow *' to resent ; but let him not be generous at the *' expcnce of the public." This language, blunt as it was, gave no offcncc to Tiberius : he saw the drift of the speech, and, disregard- ing the tone Vv'ith which it was uttered, per^ 8isted in his resolution. Capito brought dis- grace on his name. Accomplished as he was in the science of laAvs both human and divine, he possessed, besides, a number of virtues that adorned his private character ; but by this act of servile flattery he sullied the lustre of a dis- tiniiuished name. o LXXI. A QUESTION that concerned apoint of religion was the next subject of debate. The Iloman knights had vowed a statue, for the re^- covery of Livia, to fortune the equestiii- AN. In what temple this should be placed was the doubt. At Home there were various struc- tures sacred to the goddess, but none under that specific title. Upon enquiry it was found OF TACITUS. 107 III. C 115. A. D. 22. that tliere was at Antium (dJ a temple with book that particular denomination ; and it being ^ considered that the whole system of rites and ceremonies, and the several temples and images of the gods throughout Italy, w^ere subject to the supreme authority of Rome, it was re- solved that the votive present should be placed at 4-i^tium. This being a point of religious ceremony, Tiberius took the op}X)rtunity to determine the question, which had been for some time in suspense, concerning Servius Maiuginensis, the priest of Jupiter. He pro- duced and read a decree of the pontifical col- lege, whereby it appeared that the priest of Jupiter, when his heaitii required it, or when he obtained a dispensation from the supreme pontiff, might absent himself from the duties of his function two nights at most ; provided it was not during the public ceremonies, nor more than twice in the course of the year. From this regulation made by Augustus, it was evident that a j^ear's absence, and of course a proconsular government, was incom- patible with the sacerdotal function. The au- thority of Lucius Metellus (h), who, when high pontiff, would not suffer Aulus Post- humius, a priest of Jupiter, to depart from 108 THE ANNALS BOOK Rome, wa^ also cited. -It followed, that the province of Asia could not be granted to Ma- III' 77.^ ■ luginensis. It fell to the lot of the person of consular rank, who stood next in seniority. III. A. U.C A. D. LXXII. During these transactions, Mar- cus Lepidus petitioned the senate for leave to repair and decorate, at his own expence, the basilick of Paulus f aj, that noble monument of the iEmilian family. The display of pri- vate munificence in public works, which em- bellished the city, was not yet fallen into dis- use. In the reign of Augustus, without any objection from that emperor, Taurus (h)^ Philippus, and Balbus, with the spoils which they had taken from the enemy, or with the superfluity of their own immoderate Avealth, added greatly to the ornament of Rome, and, byconsequence,tothehonouroftheirfamilies. Encouraged by this example, but with a for- tune much hiferior, Lepidus revived the glory of his ancestors. The theatre of Pompey had l^en destroyed by fire ; and, the remaining branches of the family not being equal to the expence of so great a structure, Tiberius de- clared his intention to build anew edifice, with the original name, lie congratulated the se- 2 OP TACITUS. 109 nate, that the darnaoe occasioned bv the late ^^ok ' r> J III. fire, was confined to that sinde buildino-. For Y'TT^ ' ~ --^ A. U. C. this, he said, they were obhged to tlie vigilance ^'^ of Sejanus. The senate decreed a statue fcj ^^ to be placed in the theatre of Pompey, in honour of the favourite. In a short time after- wards, when triumphal ornaments were grant- ed to Junius Bla3sus, the proconsul of Africa, Tiberius made no scruple to declare, that his motive for bestowino- that hiah reward, Avas to pay a compliment to Sejanus, as the proconsul was his uncle. LXXIII. BLiEsus, however, had fairly earned his honours. Tacfarinas, often repulsed, was never defeated. He found resources in the interior parts of Africa, and returned to the conflict with new vigour. He had at lenoth the arrogance to send an embassy to Tiberius, de- manding lands for himself and his army, or nothing should make an end of the war. Tibe- rius, it is said, was upon no occasion so little master of himself. *' It was an insult to the ** imperial majesty, and the Roman name. " Shall a deserter, a wandering vagabond, pre- " sume to treat on equal terms? Even Spar- '* tacus C^iJ} though he had defeated consulai- ilO THE ANNALS lit. BOOK " armies, and spread desolation with sword " and fire through the reahiis of Italy ^ was " not allowed to negotiate terms of peace, " though the commonwealth, at that time^ " was well nigh exhausted by Sertorius (bj^ " and the iMithridatic war. Even then, no " compromise was admitted ; the dignity of *' the state was saved. And shall a flourish-* " ing empire descend so low as to compound '' witiri'acfarinas, and, bv orantins lands, be- '' come the purchaser of peace at the hands of " a freebooter and a robber ?" Stung by these reflections, Tiberias ordered Bla?sus to se- duce the followers of Tacfarinas by promises of a free pardon to all who should lay down their arms ; but as to their chief, he must strain every nerve to secure the person of that daring adventurer. LXXIV. The promised amnesty reduced the numbers of the enemy ; and Blacsus, adopting a new mode of war, turned the arts of the wily Nuinidian agahist himself. Un- equal tc the legions in a pitched battle, Tac- farinas depended altogether upon the rapidity of his motions : lie divided his men into small parties ; iie shewed himself in sudden incur- OF TACITUS. Ill sions, fled before a resfular force, and knew book , ill. wiiere to lie in ambush. The llomans ac- v^^-^ A. U. C. cordin«;ly marched in three columns, by as '"^5. many different routes. In the quarter where -■- the Africans ravaged the country near Leptis, and then fled for shelter to the Germantes, Cornelius Scipio, the proconsul's lieutenant, advanced with his division. In another quar- ter, where Cirta lay exposed to the Barbari- ans, the younger Bla3sus, the proconsul's son, commanded a second detachment. In the intermediate part of the country, the com- mander in chief marched at the head of a chosen body of troops. At all convenient places he threw up entrenchments, and ap- pointed garrisons, securing every station by a regular chain of posts. The Barbarians found themselves counter- acted on every side. Wherever they turned, the Romans were at hand, in front, in flank, and in the rear. Numbers were surrounded, and either put to the sword, or taken prisoners. To spread the alarm, the Roman army was a«;ain subdivided into smaller parties, under the command of centurions of approved va- lour and experience. iSTor was the campaign 112 THE ANNALS BOOK closed, as usual, at the end of the summer^ Instead of retiring to winter- quarters in the old provinces, Bla^sus kept the field ; he increased the numl^erof his posts and garrisons, and sent out detachments, lightly armed, with guides acquainted with the course of the country* Tacfarinas could no longer stand at baj^ He shifted his huts (a), and wandered from place to place. At length his brother was taken prisoner, and BliEsus thought it time to close the campaign. His retreat was sudden and premature. The province was still open to incursions ; and the flame of war, though sup- pressed, was not extinguished. Tiberius, how- ever, considered the enemy as completely vanquished. Besides the honours already granted to B1:t?sus, he ordered that the teions should salute him by the title of Imperator, according to the ancient custom of the Roman armies, in the prideof victory flushed with the generous ardourof warlike spirits. Inthetime of the republic, this was a frequent custom, insomuch that several, at the same time, Avith- out pre-eminence or distinction, enjoyed that military honour. It was often allowed by Au- gustus, and now by Tiberius, for the last time. With him the practice ceased altogether (b). OF TACITUS. nS LXXV. PtOME, in the course of this year, book 111* lost two iilustrious citizens: the lirst wiLSfTT^ Asinius Saloniniis frij> grandson both to JJ-^^ ]\Iarcus Agrippa and Asinius PoUio, half- -^■ brother to Drusus, and, besides, the intend- ed husband of the emperor's grand-daughter. The second was Ateius Capito fbj, already mentioned ; a n;an for his abiUties and his knowledge of the laws, of the first eminence in the state. From his birth he derived no advantaue. His orandfather was a centurion under Sylla : his father rose to the rank of praetor. Capito was, with rapid speed, ad- vanced by Augustus to the consular dignity, and, by that promotion, placed above his competitor, Antistius Labeo, who had grown into celebrity by his talents and his skill in jurisprudence. It was the peculiar felicity of that aoe to see flourishing together those two illustrious rivals, who, in peaceable times, were the ornaments of their country. The flune of Labeo fcj rose on the surest foundation ; he wa*> a strenuous asserter of civil liberty, and for that reason the favourite of the people. Capito knew liis approaches to the great, and by his flexibility became a favourite at the court of Augustus. Labeo was not suffered to rise above the pr;ctorian VOL. II, I ■ 114' THE ANNALS OF TACITUS. BOOK rank ; but that act of injustice raised liis III. •-^v-^ popularity : while, on the other liand, Ca- '^'^5. pito obtained the consulship, and with it the 22- public hatred. LXXVI. In this year also, the sixty- fourth fa) from the battle of Phinppi, Junia, niece to Cato, sister of Brutus, and the widow of Cassius, paid her debt to nature. Her will engrossed the public conversation. Possessed of immoderate riches, she left marks of her regard to almost all the eminent men at Home, without mention of Tiberius. The omission gave no umbrage to the emperor. He considered it as the exercise of a civil right, and not only suffered her funeral pane- gyric to be spoken from tlie rostrum, but allowed the last ceremonies to be performed with the usual pomp and magnificence. In the procession Avere seen the images of the most illustrious families, in number not less than twenty ; the Manhi, the Quintii, and others of equal rank. Those of Brutus and Cassius fhj were not displayed ; but for that reason they were present to every imagina- tion, and with superior lustre eclipsed tiki splendor of the day. THE ANNALS OF T A C I T U S. BOOK IV I CONTENTS BOOK IV, I. THE orlspri and character ofJEUmSejamis. II i?j/ corrupt practices he allures to his interest the arm?/ and the seiiale. III. The condition of the state, civil and inililarj/. Sejanus seduces the younger Livid, wife of the eniperor\s son IJrusus, and engages her in a plot against the life of her husband. V. The stations of the Roman fleets and legions. VI. The magistrates tind the forms of government at Roirie. VJII. Drusus poisoned, and Sejanus dspireS to the empire. Tiberius recommends the Sons of Germanicus to the care of the senate. XII. Tiberius delivers the funeral oration occasioned bij the death of Drusus. Sejanus plans the destruction of Agrippina and her sons. XIII. De^ ptdies from the provinces heard bij Tiberius. Players dnd pantomimes driven out of Italy. XV. A temple built in Asia to Tiberius, Livia, and the senate. XVL A new priest of Jupiter, and new laws to regulate the ofjice. XVII. The zeal of the pontiffs for Nero and Drusus, the sons of Germanicus, censured by Tibe' riiis. XVIII. Sejanus aims at the destruction of the friends of Germanicus. Caius Silius and Titius Sa* binus accused. Character of Mdrcus Lepidus and jMtssfiiinus Cotta. XXI. Calpurnius Piso accused for words. Judgment prevented by his death. XXIL Plautius Sylvanus throws his wrife out of the window. His defence. Tiberius visits the house to make his en' quiries. Death of Sylvanus, XXIIJ. The war in COXTENTSi BOOK IV. j4frica e)?fJed hij DolnlcUa. Tacfarhui^. the Ni(mi' dian chief, is slain. XXVI f. ^ servile war rcndi/ to break out in Jfal>/, hut cruF.hc(l in the hnd. XXVIII. Vibiiis Sereni/s accused hy his (ton son. Jlis speech on the occasion, and his banishment. Puhlins ^uiliiis condemned. Cremntius Cordns prosecuted for praisini^ JBrufifs and Cassius in an historical zioork. His defence and voluntarf/ death. Jlis book burnt hjj the puLIic officers, Tjet continued to he read. XXXVI. The citif of Cj/zicus deprived of its privileges. Tiberius- rejects the offer of divine honours from the people of Spain. His speech on that subject. XXXIX. Sejanus peti" iions the emperor for leave to marry Livia, the xzido'Ji of Drusus. The ar/ful ansicer and refusal of Tibe- rius. XLI. Sejanus resolves to withdraw Tiberius from Rome. XI J II. The right to various sanelua' ries claimed by deputies from the cities of Creech' XJJV. The death and character of Cneius Lentulus and Lucius Domitius. XLV. Lucius Piso, pnvtor of Spain, murdered by a peasant. The assassin taken. He refuses on the rack to discover his accomplices. XliVI. Poppccus Sabinus subdues the in.\/(rgents in Thrace, and obtains triumphal ornaments. JAI. Clau- dia Pulchra prosecuted for adultery, and condemned. lilll. Agrippina desires the emperors leave to marry. Tiberius hears her zcith sullcnncss, and gives no anstcer. LV. Eleven cities > of ylsia contend for the honour of building the temple to the emperor and the senate : Sijrna preferred to all the rest. LVll. Tiberius de- parts from Rome, and goes into Campania. JJc is in danger of being crushed in a cave, by the falling of the stones : Sejanus saves him at the risque of his own life. The favourite rises higher in the ajfeetion of Ti* CONTENTS. — BOOK IV. herius. LX. Sejanus suborns zcittiesses against Nero^ the eldest son of Germanic us. LXII. Jn amphitheatre at Fidenoi, being ill'Constructed, falls in, ajid crushes or kills jifttj thousand spectators. LXIV. A dreadful fire at Rome : Mount Ccelius consumed in the frames, LXVII. Tiberius withdraws from the continent to the Isle of Caprce. Sejanus bent on the destruction of Nero and Agrippina. LXVIII. Titius Sabinusy on account of his faithful attachment to Germanicus and his famibj^ ensnared bi/ I^atiaris, and his accomplices. An account of their infamous plot. Sabinus is con- demned, and executed, to the astonishment of the peo- ple, on the first of January, a day always sacred to religious ceremonies. LXXI. The death of Julia^ ^rand-daughter of Augustus. LXXII. The Frisians revolt, and are quelled mth difficulty, and considerable loss to the Romans. L1XIX.V. Agrippina the younger^ one of the children of Germanicus, married to Cneius, Domitius, zcith the approbation of Tiberius. These transactions include six years* Years of Rome — Of Christ. Consuls. rrrp QQ ^ Cuius Asinius Pollio, Cuius Antistius I Vetus. -. 01 S Sergius Cornelius Cethegus, Lucius \ ViselUus Varro. 77 '^7S 95 ^ Marcus Asinius Agrippa, Cossus " I Cornelius Ijcntulus. r-yq ^.. ^ Cornelius Lcntulus GcetulicuSy Caius \ Calvisius Sabinus. rron OT S Marcus IJcinius Crassus, Lucius I Lalpurnius Jriso. 7^1 *5S ^ Appius Junius Sila7iusy Publius S, "^ \ Nerxa. Tttii A N N A I. S OF T A C I T U S. BOOK IF. rj^HE consuls for the year^ on which we are Bot)i^ now enteriPig, were Cains Asinius, and ^^-.^.^ Caias Aiitistius. Tiberius had reigned nine ^^-c^ years. During that time a state of profound ^s.' tranquilhty prevailed at Rome, and the eiri* peror saw the imperial family flourishing with undiminished lustre. The loss of Germani* cus gave liim no regret ; on the conti-ary, he reckoned that event among the prosperous issues of his reiijn. But fortune now beran to change the scene, and a train of disasters followed. Tiberius threw off the mask: he harassed the people by acts of cruelty^ or, whicU was equally oppressive, by his 122 THE AXXALS BOOK authority cncourai^ed the tyranny of otlien A. u. 776 '^ Of this reyolution .^lius Sejanus,coninrcURler ^ jj of the prcCtorian guards, was the prime and ^^" efficient cause. The power and influence of that minister have been ah'eady mentioned. I shall here give the origin of the man, the features of liis character, and the flagitious arts, b}/^ wliicli lie aspired to the supreme power. He was born at Vulsinii f'r/J, the son of Seius Strabo H)), a Roman knight. He at- tached himself, in his early youth, to Caius Ccrsar, the grandson of Augustus. Even at that time he laboured under a suspicion of having prostituted his person to the infa- mous passions of Apicius fcj, a ricli and prodigal yoluptuar}'. By various arts he af- terwards gained an entire ascendant over the affections of Tiberius, insomuch that the temper of that prince, to the rest of man- kind dark and inscrutable, became to him alone unclouded, free, and complying. This influence, however, was not the elYect of su- perior ability ; since Sejanus, in the end, fell a victim to the policy of that very prince, wlioin lie deceived at iirst. A phLvnomenon so very extraordinary can be ascribed to no- OF TACITUS. .123^ thino* less than the wratli of the siods, inccns- book ^ _ ^ ^ IV, ed at^ainst tiie Ilonian state. Whether the ^^^'-v^*^ public sulilred most by the elevation 00^ or t-g. ' A. D» the downfal, of that pernicious minister, it is ^*- dilticult to determine. His frame of body was vigorous, robust, and })atient of labour ; his spirit, bold aiid enterprising ; in his own con- duct a profound dissembler, and to others a sharp and dangerous accuser. M'itli pride that swelled to arrogance, he had the mean- ness tliat could fawn and flatter ; and, under the outward calm of moderation, he nourish- ed in his heart the most unbounded ambi- tion. Profusion, luxury, and largesses, were often his means, but more frequently appli- cation to business, and indefatigable indus- try ; virtues that take the name of vice, when they play an underpart to inordinate passions and the lust of domination (ej. 11. The commission over the praetorian bands had been always of a limited nature. Sejanus enlarged his powers to a degree un- known before. He had the address to col- lect into one camp the whole corps of the guards, till that time quartered in various parts of Rome. Being embodied, they re- ceived their orders with submission ; habit 1£4 'THE ANNAt^ book: and constant intercoutsc established a sillrlt IV. , . . . * 'j^-'.-w of union, and, knowing- (lifir nmnbcrs, they Vts. ' orew formidable to tlieir teliow-eitizens. TJie A. D. OT. ' pretext for this measure was, that the sol- diery grew wanton in idleness, but, Avlien en- camped, they niiJ, the wile of Prusus, to his iutere.st. The princess was sister to Gerniaihcus ; and though, in her younger days, she had no elegance either of shape or feat urc, she Avas noM^ grown up in the most perfect form of regular beauty. Se- j;uuis made his advances with the ardour of 126 THE AXXAl.S BOOK a lover. Having triumphed over her honour, he found another step in guilt no dilticult matter. A woman, who has sacrificed her virtue, soon resigns every other principle. Engaged in a course of adultery, she was led by degrees to embrace the project of uiur- dering her husband, in order to many her paramour, and mount with him to the im- perial dignity. In this n?anner a woman of illustrious rank, the niece of Augustus, the daughter- in-law of Tiberius, and the mother of chil- dren b}- Drusus, disgraced herself, her an- cestors, and her posterity, by a vile connec- tion with an adulterer from a municipal town, renouncing the honovu's which she pos- sessed, for the uncertain prospect of flagi- tious grandeur. Eudcmus fcj, the confiden- tial friend and physician of the faithless wife, v> as drawn into the conspiracy. Under co- lour of his profession, this man had easy ac- cess to Livia. Sejanus listed him into his service ; and that the harmony between him- self and the adultress might be undisturbed by jealousy, he repudiated his wife Apicata, by whom he had three children. But still the mai>;nitude of the crime filled their minds OF TACITUS. 127 with terror : they fluctuated between oppo- book site counsels ; they resolved, they hesitated; delay, and doubt, and confusion followed. A. U. C. 116. A. D. i'3. IV. In the beginning of this year, Drusus, the second son of Germanic us, put on the manly robe (aj. The honours, which had been decreed to his brother Nero, were re- newed by a vote of the fathers. Tiberius, in a speech upon, the occasion, commended the tender regard with which his son protected the cliildren of Gernianicus. The truth is, Drusus (thouiih in hidi stations and anions rivals sincerity is seldom found) had acouit- ted himself towards his nephews, with ail de- cent attention, at least without hostility. Amidst these tiansactions, the old project of visiting the provinces, often intimated, but never in earnest, was revived by Tiberius. For this expedition the ostensible reasons were, the number of veterans entitled to tiieir dismission from the service, and the neces- sity of recruiting the army with effective men. Of such as voluntaiily offered, the number he said was small, and even of tliose the greatest })art were a set of distressed and profligate vagabonds, destitute of courage, and strangers to mihtary discipline, lie 12i> ^ THE ANXALS BOOK added a list of the Roman legions, specify- Y~:C^/ iiig tiie provinces where they were stationed. J7«; A review of that estimate will not be useless. ^' or unacceptable, since it will exhibit the na- tional streiio-th at that neriod, the kinirs in alliance with Rome, and the narrow limits (Oj of the empire, compared with the ex- tent to which they have been since en- larged, V. In the s^as f«; that on each side wash the coast of Italy, two fleets were stationed ; one at jMisenum, the other at Ravenna. The nfiaritime parts of Gaul, adjacent to Italy, were guarded by the large galleys, which were taken at the battle of Actium, and sent by Augustus to Forojulinm, well provided with able seamen. But the chief strength of the empire was on the Rhine f6J, consisting of eight legions, to bridle at once the Germans and the Gauls. Spain, lately subdued, was held in subjection by three legions. Juba fcj reigned in ]\Iau- ritania, deriving his title from the favour of Rome. The rest of Africa was kept in awe by two legions. A like number served in Egypt. In that vast extent of country, which stretches from Syvia to the , OF TACITUS, 129 Euphrates, bordering on the confines of Iberia, book Albania, and other states under the protection "-TTT^ ' ^ A. U. C. of the Roman arms, four legions maintained ^'^^ the rights of the empire. Thrace was go- '^• verned by Tthannetalces (d) and the sons of Cotys; The banks of the Danube were se- cured by four legions, two in Pannonia, and two in ]\I«sia. Two more were stationed in Dalmatia, in a situation, if war broke out at their back, to support the other legions ; or if a sudden emergence required their pl^esence, ready to advance by rapid marches into Italy. Rome at the same time had her own peculiar forces^ namely, three city cohorts fej and nine of the praetorian bands, raised for the most part in Etruria, JJinhr'mffJ, ancient Latium, and the colonies of the old republic. To this national strength must be added the naval armaments of the allies, placed at proper sta- tions fgj, together with their infantry and cavalry, forming, in the whole, a body of troops, not inferior in number to the Roman army. But of the foreign auxiliaries it is im- possible to speak with precision. They were shifted from place to place, with numbers now augmented;, and now reduced, as occasion re- VOL. II. K IV A. U. C. 776. A.D. 23. 130 THE ANNALS BOOK quired ; and, by consequence, an accurate estimate cannot be expected. VI. To tliis survey of the empire if we add a view of the constitution, and the manner in which the govermnent was administered by Tiberius, from the be^innins: of his reis^n to the present year, the fatal a^ra of tyranny and oppression, the enquiry will not be foreign to our purpose. In the first place, not only the affairs of state, but all questions of importance between the citizens of Rome, were referred to the wisdom of the senate. The leading members of that assembly claimed and ex- ercised full freedom of debate : and when they deviated into flattery, the prince was sure to reject the nauseous strain. In dispensing the honours of government, he had an eye to no- bility of birth, to personal merit, and to talents as well civil as military. His choice, it was generally agreetl, Avas made with judgment. The consuls and the praetors enjoyed the an- cient honours of their rankand dignity. The subordinate ma<);istrates exercised their func- tions without controul. The laws, if we ex- cept tiiose of violated majesty (a), flowed in their regular channel. Tiie tributes and duties, 11 OP TACITUS. 131 -whether of com or money, were managed by book commissioners chosen (bj from the lloman ^^"J^ knights. The revenues appropriated to the "^^^ prince were conducted by men of distinguish- *^* Cd probity, and frequently by such, as were known to Tiberius by their character only. Being once appointed, they were never re- moved. Several, it is well known, grew grey in the same employment. The people, it is true, often complained of the price of corn ; but the grievance was not imputable to the emperor. To prevent the consequences of unproductive seasons, or losses at sea, he spared neither money nor attention. In the provinces no new burtliens were imposed, and the old duties were collected without cruelty or extortion. Corporal punisinnent was never inflicted, and confiscation of men's effects was a thins? unknown. VII. In Italythe land - property of the emperor was inconsiderable. Good order pre- vailed anion"" his slaves. His freedmen were few, and his household was managed with oeconomy. In all questions of right between the emperor and individuals, the courts of justice were open, and the law decided. And K 2, 132 THE ANNALS BrioK- ^et to tliis equitable system he did not know v^-v-^ how to add a 'e eternal war against his memory, not one has gone so far as to impute to him a share in this foal transaction. The stor}^ hov/ever, such as it is, I have represented in its native colours, willing to flatter mj'self that, by so glaring an instance, I may destroj^ the credit of fa- bulous narrations c«j, and prevail with the reader, into whose hands this work may fall, not to prefer the fictions of romance, how- ever greedily swallowed by vulgar credulity, to the precision of sober history. XII. Tiberius, in a public speech, de- livered the funeral panegyric of his sonfaj. The senate and the people attended in their mourning garments ; but their grief was mere outward shew, the effect of dissimulation, not of sentiment. They rejoiced in secret, conceivinG; that from this event the house of Germanicus would be^in to flourish. Eut the dawn of happiness was soon overclouded. The exultation of the people, and the indis- cretion of Agrippina, who had not the policy to suppress the emotions of her heart, acce- ]40 THE ANNALS BOOK lerated licr own ruin, and that of her sons, fV. ^-^v^' Emboldened by success, Sejanus was ready A.U. C. •' XT 1 1 " 77(>- to SO forward in oujlt. He saw tlie murder A. D. ~ ~ -^' of Drusus pass witli impunity, and even without a sign of pubhc regret. Successful villainy inspired him with new courage. He saw that the sons of Germanicus were the presumptive heirs ofTil^erius, and for that reason began to plot their destruction. Being tlnxe in number, they could not all be taken off by poison, while a set of faithful atten- dants watched them with a vigilant eye, 2^ni\ the virtue of Agrippina was impregnable. That very virtue was, therefore, to be turned against her. Sejanus called it pride and contumacy. By repeated invectives he roused the inverate hatred of the elder Livia ; and the \'ounger of the name, so recently an accomplice in the murder of Drusus, was easily induced to join in a second conspiracy. They represented Agrippina to Tiberius as q, woman proud of her cliildren, intoxicated with popularity, and of a spirit to engage in any dangerous enterprise. The widoAv of Drusqs knew how to choose fit agents for her pur-r pose. Among her instruments of ini(|uity wa$ OF TACITUS. 141 Julius Postluinius, a man liigh in favour with ^ ook the elder Livia. lie had been for some time en<>a<2ed in an adulterous commerce with Mutilia Prisca, and, tlirough her influence, was oraciously received at court. By his subtle practices, and the whispers conveyed by Prisca, the old woman, naturally fond of poAver, and jealous of every rival, was easily inflamed against her "rand-dauohter. At the same time, such of Agrippina's atten- dants as had easy access to her presence, were instructed to choose, in conversation with their mistress, the topics most likely to exasperate a mind lierce with pride, and ready to take fire on every occasion. XIII. Meanwiiii.e, Tiberius, hoping to find in business some respite from the anxieties of his heart, attended to the administration of jiistice in all disputes be;tween tlie citizens of Eome. lie likewise heard petitions from the provinces and tlie allies. At his desire, the cities of Cibyra fa J in Asia, and ^'Egium in Achaia, which had suftered by an earthquake, were exempted from their usual tribute for three years. Vibius Serenus, proconsul of the farther Spain, was found guilty of op- pression in the course of his administr;ations to Ids officer ; and obli<>'a- tions (such is the nature of the human mind) e,re only then acknowledged, when it is in our power to requite them: jf they exceed ^^^ THE ANNALS ^{^°K all measurej to be insolvent is painful, ancl gratitude gives way to hatred. XIX. SosiA Galla, the wife of Silius, was closely connected with Agrippina, and, for that reason, detested by Tiberius. She and her husband were doomed to fall an inir mediate sacrifice. Sabinus was reserved for a future day. Against the two former, Varro, the consul, undertook the despicable part of public prosecutor. Pretending to adopt the resentments of his father, he be- came the servile agent of Sejanus. Silius re- quested that the trial might be deferred, till the consul, now turned accuser, should cease to be in office. Thouo;h the interval was short, Tiberius opposed the motion, alledg- ing, that men were frequently arraigned by the other magistrates ; and why abridge the authority of the consul .> It is his duty tq take care that the commonwealth may re- ceive no injury. Such was the state-craft of Tiberius : to crimes invented by himself he gave the old republican names, and by that artifice amused the public. The senate was summoned with regular solemnity, as if tiie proceeding was to be ac- OF TACITUS. 15] IV. A. U. C. 777. A. D. cording to law ; as if Varro was, in truth, Booii acting the part of consul, and in the reign of Tiberius the constitution still remained in vis>"our. Silius made no defence. lie broke "* feilence, indeed, at different times, but merely to shew that he saw in what quarter tlie arm of oppression was raised against him. The heads of the accusation were, that, in a dark conspiracy with Sacrovir, he concealed the machinations of that insurgent ; that his vic- tory was tarnished by cruelty, and that, with Jiis connivance, acts of rapacity and oppres- sion were committed by his wife. The last article was too avcII founded ; but the prose- cution went altogether on the crime of vio- lated majesty. Silins saw that his doom was fixed, and, to prevent final judgment, put an end to his life, XX. The law, notwithstanding, laid hold of his effects; not however to make restitu- tion to the Gauls ; for the Gauls made no claim. The whole of what the unhappy victim had received from the bounty of Au- gustus, after an exact estimate made, wa.s seized, and carried into the treasury of tlie prince. In this instance, Tiberius, for the iirst time, looked with the eye of avarice on 152 THE ANNALS / BOOK ilie property of others. On the motion of Asinius Gallus, Sosia was ordered into exile. By that senator it was further proposed, that part of her effects should be confiscated, and the remainder o'iven to her children. Manius I^pidus contended, that one fourth should go, disfaj the law directed, to the prosecu- tors, and the residue to her children. This sentence prevailed. It is but justice to the character of Lepidus (hj, to observe in this place, that, considering the times in which he lived, he appears to have been a man of abi^ lity, temperate, wise, and upright. The vio- lent measiu'es often proposed by others, al- ways the result of servile adulation, were, by his address, frequently rejected, altered, or modified, with so much cpood-sense and tem- per, that he preserved at once his credit at; court, and the esteem of the public. This happiness, so shigular and so fairly enjoyed, arrests our attention, and naturally raises an enquiry whether the favour or anti- pathy of princes, like all other sublunary contingencies, is governed by the immutal)le laws of fate (cj; aiid, by consequence, the lot of man niay be said to be determined in his natal hour. The question is intricate; III. A.D. 24. OF TACITUS. J 53 but perhaps free will and moral agency are book still so far alio Aved, that each mdividual may ^^'^]^ chalk out the line of liis own conduct, and, by steering between the opposite extremes of blunt austerity and abject meanness, pur- sue a middle course a\ ith safety and with ho- nour. Messalinus Cotta, a man equal in point of birth to Manius Lepidus, but of a very different character, moved for a decree, declarino- that all magistrates, however blame- less in their own conduct, and even ignorant of the guilt of others, should, notwithstand- ing, be responsible for the unlawful acts con^- mitted in the provinces by their wives. XXI. The business brou2;ht forward in the next place, was the charge against Cal- purnius Piso (aj, that illustrious citizen, dis- tinguished not more by the nobility of his birth, than by his unshaken virtue, who, as has been related, threatened a secession from Home, in order to find, in some remote place, a shelter from the vices of the age, and the harpies of the law. It may be remembered, likewise, that, in the cause against Urgulania, he scorned to yield to the weight and influ- euce of the emperor's mother, but cited the 34 THE ANNALS BOOK (lefeiidaut from the very palace of the prince. IV. ^ His conduct, at the time, was treated by Ti- berius as the exercise of a civil right ; but in a mind like his, that which at first made a slight impression, was sure to be embit- tered by reflection. Quintus Granius was the prosecutor of Piso. He exhibited an ac- cusation for words spoken in private against the majesty of the emperor; for keeping poison in his house ; and entering the senate wdth a concealed dai^wr. The tv/o last arti- cles, too gross to be believed, were thrown out of the case. Other allecrations were lieaped together to swell the charge ; and Piso, it was determined, was to be brought to his trial : but a natural death put an end to the prosecution. A new complaint was presented to the senate against Cassius Severus fb), a man of mean extraction, void of principle, profligate in his manners, but an orator of considerable eloquence. He had been, by a judgment, pronounced under the sanction of an oath, concemned to exile in the Isle of Crete. Per^ sisting there in his licentious practices, he rekindled the indignation of the fathers, and 3 OF TACITUS. 155 by new vices provoked new enemies. Strip- book ped of all his effects, and interdicted from ' — - — ' \ ' A. u. c. fire and water, he was removed to the Isle of J'^Z- ^ A. D. Seriphos (cj, where, in old age and misery, ^4. he languished on the rocks. XXII. About this time Plautius Silvanus, one of the prastors, impelled by some secret motive, threw his wife Apronia out of the window of her apartment, and killed her on the spot. Being immediately seized by his father-in-law, Lucius Apronius, and convey- ed to the presence of the emperor, he made answer, with an air of distraction, that, while he lay asleep, his wife committed that act of violence. Tibei'ius went directly to the house. He examined the apartment, and saw evident signs of a person who had strug- gled, but was overcome by force. He made his report to the senate, and commissioners; were appointed to enquire and pronounce their judgment. Urgulania, the grandmo- ther of Silvanus, sent a dagger to him as her best present. This, on account of her known intimacy with Livia, was supposed to pro- ceed from Tiberius. The criminal, after at- tempting, but with irresolution, to apply the tlagger to his breast, ordej-ed his veins A. U. C. 777. AD. 56 TIJE ANNALS BOOK to be openerl. In a sliort time afterwards Numantina, liis foniier wife, "vvas accused of having, by drugs and magic spells, distem- M. pared his brain. She ^yas acquitted of the change. XXIII. The war with Tacfarinas, the Xuniidiari, by whiich Rome had been long embroiled, was this year happily terminated. -The former commanders, as soon as tiieyhad laid a foundation for tlie obtaining of tri- umphal ornaments, considered their busi- ness as finished, and gave the enemy time to breathe. There were at Rome no less than three statues faj decorated with laurel, and yet Tacfarinas ravaged the province. He Vv'as reinforced by the neighbouring JMoors, ivho saw with indignation their new kini>', Ptolemy, the son of Ju])a fbj, resign, with youthful inexperience, the reins of govern- ment to his freedmcn. Tlie malcontents of that nation went over to the banners of Tac- farinas, determined to try the fortune of war, rather than tamely submit to the ty-r ranny of enfrancliised slaves. The king fcj of the Garamantes entered into a secret league v»'ith the Numidian. Not choosinsf to take the field at the head of his forces, ha OF TACITUS. 13? / ;7. A- D. 24, helped to carry on a war of depredation. Boost His dominions were a depository for all their ^^^:r^ ^ ^ A. U. C. plunder. His troops went out in detaclied parties, and, as is usual in all distant com- motions, were ma^nilied by tlie voice of fame into a prodigious arnw. Even from the fdj Roman province, all who struggled with want, or by their crimes were rendered des- perate, vrent over to Taciarinas. A recent incident encouraged the revolt. In conse- quence of the success of Eia:sus, Tiberius, thinking the v;ar at an end, ordered the ninth legion to be recalled. Dolabella, the proconsul for the year, saw the inexpeclience of the measure ; but dreading the anger of Tiberius more than tbe incursions of the enemy, he did not venture, even for tiie de- fence of the province, to detain the troops. XXIV. Tacfarinas, availing liimself of this circumstance, spread a rumour round the country, that the lloman empire being invaded on every side, Africa, by degrees. was to be evacuated, and tlie remainder of the legions might be easily cut off, if all who preferred their liberty to ignominious bond- age, would take up arms in defence of their country. He gained, by tliese artifices, a 158 THE ANNALS r BOOK new accession of strencfth, and laid sleae to VI. O -' ' o the city of Thubuscum. Dolabella, with what force lie could collect, marched to the relief of the place. The terror of the Ro- man name was on liis side, and the affair was with an enemy, who could never sustain the shock of a well-embodied infantry. lie no sooner shewed him' elf in force, than the Nu- midian abandoned the siege. Dolabella, at all convenient places, fortiiied his posts, and stationed garrisons to secure the country. Finding the iMnsulanians on the point of a revolt, he seized their chiefs, and ordered their heads to be struck off. Experience had taught him, that a regular army, en- cumbered with baggage, could give but a bad account of a wild and desultory enemy, who made war by sudden incursions, and avoided a decisive action : he therefore re- solved to vary his operations, and having called to his aid the young king Ptolemy, at the head of a large body of his subjects, he divided his army into four detached parties^, under the command of liis lieutenants, and the military tribunes. A chosen band of Moors, conducted by officers of that nation, had orders to ravage the country. The proconsul marched himself in person, ready OF TACITUS. 159 at hand to direct the motions of his army, ^^^^ IV. and give vigour to tlie enterprise. ITlPc 777. A. D. XXV^. Intelligence was brouidit soon *''■ after, that the Numidians, depending upon the advantages of a situation encompassed b3^a depth of forests, had pitched their huts near the ruins of a castle, called Auzea f^O^ which they had formerly destroyed by lire. The cavalry and light cohorts, ignorant of their destination, were sent forward vrithout delay. They made a forced march in the night, and at break of day arrived before the place. The Barbarians, scarce avrake, were alarmed on every side with warlike shouts and the clangor of trumpets. Their horses were either fastened to stakes, or let loose to wander on the pasture grounds. The Romans advanced in order of battle, their infantry in close array, and the cavalry prepared for action. The Barbarians Avere taken by surprise, no arms at hand, no or- der, no concerted measure. They were at- tacked Avitliout delay, and like a herd of cat- tle mangled, butchered, taken. Tlie Roman soldiers, fierce with resentment for all tlieir toil and fatigue, rushed v.ith fury against an enemv, who had so often fled from their 160 THE ANNALS BOOK svrord. The victorious troops were glutted ' with Nuraidiaii blood. The word was given through the ranks, that Tacfariiias w^as the proper object of their vengeance : his per- son was Avell known ; his death, and nothing less, could end the war. Tliat dariuir adven- turer saw his guards fall on every side. His son was already in fetters, and he himself hemmed in by the Romans. In despair he rushed forward, where the shower of darts was tliickest, and, selling his life at the dearest rate, had tlie glory of dying in free- dom. This event quieted the commotions in Africa. XXVI. For these services Dolabella ex- pected triumphal ornaments : but Tiberius, apprehending that Sejanus would think the lionours, granted to his vmcle Bla?3us, tar- nished by the success of a rival, refused to comply wdth the request. Bla^sus gained no addition to his tame, while that of Dolabella grew brighter j)y injustice. With an inferior army, he had taken a number of prisoners, amoni^^ whom were the leadino- chiefs of the na- tion ; and, by the death of Tacfarinas, he put an end to the war. At his return from Africa, he gave a spe^ctacle rarely seen at Home, a train A. U. C, 777. AD. DP TACITUS. 161 of ambassadors from the Garamantes ! The people of that country, conscious of their guilt, and by the death of the Numidian chief thrown into consternation, sent their deputies to ap- ^'^ pease the resentment of the emperor. The Services of king Ptolemy being stated to the senate, an ancient custom, long since fallen into disuse, was revived in honour of that monarch . The fathers sent a member of their body, to present fa J an ivory sceptre and a painted robe, the ancient gift to kings, with in- .structions, at the same time, to salute young Ptolemy, by the titles of King, Ally, and Friend of the Roman People, XXVII. During the same summer, a ser- vile war was ready to break out in Italy ; but, by a fortunate accident, the flame was soon extinguished. The incendiary, who excited the commotion, Avas formerly a soldier in the praetorian bands, by name Titus Curtisius. This man began his seditious practices in pri- vate cabals at Brundusium, and tlie adjacent ' towns. Having made his impression, he went the length of [ixing up in public places seditious libels, inviting the agrarian slaves to issue from their woods and vviids, and take up arms in rot. If. M 162 THE ANNALS. BOOK the cause of liberty. It happened, however, •^"^ that three galleys, employed in the navigation ^'^ of those seas, arrived providentially on the ^*' coast. Curtius Lupus, the qua3stor, in whose province it was, according to ancient usage, to superintend the roads faj through the forests, was, at that time, in the neighbour- hood. He ordered the mariners to be landed, and, putting himself at their head, crushed the conspiracy in the bud. Statins, a mili- tary tribune, had been, on the first alarm, dispatched by Tiberius with a strong band of soldiers. He arrived in good time, and, hav- ing seized the chief conspirators with their leader, returned to Rome with his prisoners bound in chains. The capital, at that time, was iar from being in a state of tranquillity. Men saw, with terror, a vast multitude of slaves increasing (b) beyond all proportion, while the number of freeborn citizens was visibly on the decline. XXVHI. During tliesame consulship, a scene of horror, that gave a shock to nature, and marked the cruelty of the times, was acted in the face of the world. A father pleaded for his life, whik the son stood forth OF TACITUS. 163 tv. the accuser. The name of each was Vibius book Sereiius foj. They appeared before the se- nate. The father had been banished ♦ He was now draggjed from his retreat, deformed with filth, and loaded with irons ; a spectacle of misery. The son came forward in trim apparel, ease in his mien, and alacrity in his countenance. He charged the old man with a conspiracy against the life of the etnperor, and with sending emissaries into Gaul to km- die the flame of rebellion ; and thus the son acted in a double character, at once the ac- cuser, and the witness. He added, that Ca^ci- lius Cornutus, of praetorian rank, supplied the accomplices with money. Cornutus, weary of life, and knowing that a prosecution was a prelude to destruction, laid violent hands on himself. Serenus, on the contrary, with a spirit undismayed, fixed his eye on his son, and clanking his chains, exclaimed, '* Restore '* me, just and vindictive gods ! restore me to '* my place of banishment, far from the sight " of men, who suffer such an outrage to hu- ** manity . For that parricide, may your ven- *' geance, in due time, overtake his guilt." He pronounced Cornutus an innocent man, but destitute of courage, weak, and easily alarmed. M S l64 THE ANNALS He desired that the confederates in the plot might be named, and, by a minute enquiv}-, the truth, he said, would be brouiiht to liiiht. '' For can it be, that, witli only one accom- '' plice, I should undertake to imbrue my '* hands in the blood of the emperor, and to *' overturn the government?" XXIX. The informer o'ave in the names of Cneius Lentulus and Seius Tubero. The mention of those men threw Tiberius into con- fusion. They were both of illustrious rank, both his intimate friends. That Lentulus, in the evening of his days, and Tubero drooping under bodily infirmity should be charged with meditating an insurrection in Gaul, and a con- spiracy against the state, made a deep impres- sion on his spirits. Against them no further enquiry was made. The slaves of the as^ed father were examined on the rack, and, by their testimony, every allegation was refuted. The son, overwhelmed with a sense of his guilt, and terrified by the indignation of the popu- lace, who threatened (a J the dungeon, the Tarpeian rock, and all the pains and penaltie!? of parricidC) made his escape from Rome, He M'as retaken at Ravenna, and carried back to OF TACITUS- 165 proceed in his accusation, and gratify the book spleen of Tiberius, who hated the old man, '^^'^^ and, upon this occasion, did not di.sguise his ^^^^ rancour. Vibius,-it seems, soon after the con- ~*' demnation of Libo (b), complained by letter to the emperor, that his services in that busi- ness had not been duly recompensed. The style of his remonstrance was more free and bold than can with safety be addressed to the proud ear of power, at all times sensibly alive to every expression, and easily alarmed. At the distance of eight years Tiberius shewed that he had been ruminatini^ mischief. The intermediate time, he said, though no proof could be extorted from the slaves, was passed by the prisoner in a continued series of atro^ cious crimes. XXX. The question being put, the majo- rity was for a capital punishment, according to the rigour of ancient law. Tiberius, to soften popular prejudice, opposed so harsh a sentence. Asinius Gallus moved that Serenus should be banished to the Isle of Gyarus or Doiiusa. This also was opposed by the em- peror. In those islands there was a dearth of water ; and when life is sjraated, the means of 166 THE ANNALS BOOK supporting it ought to follow. The old man was remanded to the island of Amorgos. As Cornutus had dispatched himself, a motion was made, that whenever the person accused of violated majesty, prevented judgment by a voluntary death, the informers should be en- titled to no reward (a). The fathers inclined to that opinion ; but Tiberius, in plain terms, without his usual ambiguity, shewed himself the patron of the whole race of informers. '^ The course of justice," he said, ''would be '* stopt, and, by such a decision, the common- *' wealth would be brought to the brink of *' ruin. It were better to abrogate all laws at ^' once. If we must have laws, Jet us not re- * ■ move the vigilance that gives them energy." In this manner that pernicious crew, the bane and scourge of society, who, in fact, have never been effectually restrained, were now let loose, with the wages of iniquity in view, to harass and destroy their fellow citizens. XXXI. Through the cloud of these tem- pestuous times a gleam of joy broke forth. Caius Cominius, a Roman knight, was con- victed for being author of defamatory verses against the emperor; but at the intercession of OF TACITUS. 167 his brother, a member of the senate, Tiberius book pardoned tlie offence. This act of lenity, standing in contrast to a series of evil deeds, made men wonder, that he, who knew the fair renown that waits on the virtues of humanity, sliould persevere in the practice of cruelty and oppression. Want of discernment was not amono- the faults of Tiberius ; nor was he mis- led by the applause of temporizing courtiers. Between the praise which adulation offers, and that which flows from sentiment, a mind like his could easily distinguish. His 0^1 manner marked his sense of good and evil. Though close and guarded on most occasions, even to a degree of hesitation, it was remarkable, that, when he meant a generous act, his language was fluent, clear, and unequivocal. In a matter that came on soon after, against Publius Suilius (a J, formerly qua3stor under Germanicus, and now convicted of bribery in a cause where he sat in judgment, the emperor, not content with a general sentence of banish- ment out of Italy, insisted that he ought to be confined to an island. This decision he urged in a tone of vehemence, averring, with the so- lemnity of an oath, that the interest of the 15s THE ANKALS BOOK commonwealth required it. Andyettliis pro?^ ceedino", condemned at the time, as harsh and violent, was, in a subsequent reign, allowed to be founded in justice. Suilius was recalled by Claudius. He then announced his real character; proud, imperious, corrupt and vcr iial ; high in favour with the reigning prince, and using his influence for the worst of pur- poses. Catus Firmius was, hi like manner, condemned, on a cliarge of Iraving maliciously accused his sister on the law of majesty. It vras this man, as has been related, who first deceived the unsuspecting Libo (h), and then betrayed him to his ruin. For tliat sacrifice of all truth arid honour, Tiberius was not un- grateful. To reward his services, yet pretend- ing to act with othermotives, he over-ruled the sentence of banishment, but agreed that he should be expelled the senate. XXXII. The transactions hitherto re- lated, and those which are to follow, may, I am well aware, be thought of littleimportance, and beneath the dii>inty of history. But no man, it is presumed, will think of comparing these annals with the historians of the old re- public. Those writers hud for their subject, OF TACITUS. 169 wars of the greatest iiiagiiitiule ; cities taken ^°^^^ by storm; kings overtluown, or knl in eap- J^^Jp^ tivity to Home : and >vhen from tliose scenes J'^^ of splendour they turned their attention to ^^ domestic occurrences, they had still an ample field before them ; they hud dissensions be- tween the consuls and the tribunes ; they had agrarian laws, the price of corn, and the popu- lace and patrician order iniiamed with mutual animosity. Those were objects that filled the imagination of the reader, and gave free scope to the genius of the writer. The work, in which I am engaged, lies in a narrow compass ; the labour is great, and glory there is none. A Ion"' and settled calm, scarce lifted to a tempest ; wars no sooner begun than ended ; a gloomy scene at home, and a prince without ambition, or even a wish to enlarge the bound- aries of the empire : these are the scanty ma- terials that lie before me. And yet materials like these are not to be unden'alued ; though slight in appearance, they still merit attention, since they are often the secret spring of the most important events. XXXIII. If we consider the nature of civil government, we shall lind, that, in all 170 THE ANNALS BOOK nations, the supreme authority is vested either in the people, or the nobles, or a single ruler. A constitution (a) compounded of these three simple forms, may in theory be beautiful, but can never exist in fact ; or, if it should, it will be but of short duration. At Rome, while the republic flourished, and the senate and the people gained alternate victories over each other, it was the business of the true politician, to study the manners and tempers of the mul- titude, in order to restrain within due bounds a tumultuous and discordant mass ; and, on the other hand, he who best knew the senate, and the characters of the leading members, was deemed the most accomplished statesman of his time. At present, since a violent convul- sion has overturned the old republic, and the government of Rome differs in nothing from a monarchy (b)y the objects of political know- ledge are changed, and, for that reason, such transactions as it is my business to relate, will not be without their use. Few are qualilied, by their own reflection, to mark the bounda- ries between vice and virtue. To separate the useful from that which leads to destruc- tion, is not the talent of every man. The ex- ample of others is the school of wisdom. A.D. i.'4. OF TACITUS. 171 It must however be acknowledged, that the book detail into which I am obliged to enter is in ^^-v^^ ~ A. U. C, danger, while it gives lessons of prudence, of "■^'• being dry and unentertaining. In other his- tories, the situation of countries, the events of war, and the exploits of illustrious generals, awaken curiositv, and enlaroe the imaoina- tion. We have nothing before us, but acts of despotism, continual accusations, the trea- chery of friends, the ruin of innocence, and trial after trial ending always in the same tra- gic catastrophe. These, no doubt, will give to the present work a tedious uniformity, with- out an object to enliven attention, without an incident to prevent satiety. It may be fur- ther observed, that the ancient historian is safe from the severity of criticism : whether he favours the cause of Rome or of Carthage, the reader is indifferent to both parties ; whereas the descendants of tiiose who, in the reign of Tiberius, were either put to death, or branded with infamy, are living at this hour *, and besides, if the whole race were extinct, will there not be at all times a succession of men, who,^ from congenial manners, and sym- pathy in vice, will think the tidciity of history a satire on themselves ? Even the praise due / 172 THi^ ANN-ALS BOOK to virtue is sure to give umbrage. TliP illus- trious character is brouo;ht too near to the de- ■7- pravitv of modern times. The contrast is too 2'^' strong for tender eyes. But I return from this difi;res:?ion. 777. A ••i^. A. u. c. XXXIV. During the consulship of Cor- 778. AD. nelius Cossus and Asinius Agrippa, a new, and, till that time, unlieard of crime was laid to the charge of Cremutius Cord us f^O- 1^^ had published a series of annals. In that work, after the encomium of Brutus, hestjded Cassius fbj the last of Romans. For this sen- timent a prosecution was commenced against the author bvSatrius Secundus andPinarius X^atta, both, known to be the creatures of Seja- )uis. That circunibtance was of itselfsufficient ; but the stern countenance, with whichTiberius heard the defence, was a fatal prognostic. AVith a spirit, however, prepared for the worst, and even resolved on death, Cordus spoke to the following effect. "The charge, conscript '' f:ithers, is for words only ; so irreproachable " is my conduct. And what are my words ? '*' Do they affect the emperor or Ids mother, " the only persons included in the law of ma- •'jesty? It is, liowever, my crime, that I OF TACITUS. 173 ' ' have treated tlie memory of Brutus and Gas- book " siuswith respect : and have not others done •'* the same ? In the number of v/riters, Avho " composed the lives of those eminent men, *' is there one who has not done honour to " their memory? Titus Livius, that admi- *' rable historian, not more distinguished by *' his eloquence than by his fidelity, was so " lavish in praise of Pompey, that Augustus *' called him the Pompeian : and yet the *' friendship of tiiat emperor was unalterable. *' Scipio, and Afranius, with this sameBru- " tus, and this verv Cassius, are mentioned by ** that immortal author, not indeed as fcj ruf- '' FiANS and PARRICIDES (the appellations '* now in vogue) ; but as virtuous, upright, and *' illustrious Ilomans. In the works of Asinius *' Pollio their names are decorated with every ' ' praise. Messala Corvinus boasted that Cas- *' si us was his general. And yet those tvvO " distiniiuished writers flourished in the es~ " teem of Augustus and enjoyed both wealth *' and honours. Cicero dedicated an entire volume to the memory of Cato. What was " the conduct of Coesar, the dictator? He *' contented himself with writing an answer, in fr< 174 THE ANNALS ** effect, appealing to the tribunal of the pub- " lie. The letters of ]\Taik Anthony, as well '' as the speeches of Brutus, abound with pas-s- '' sages against Augustus, false indeed, but in '' a style of bitter invective. The verses of '' Bibaculus and Catullus, though keen lam-^ *' poons on the family of the Caesars, are in *' every body's hands. Neither Julius C«sar nor Augustus shewed any resentment against •' these envenomed productions : on the con- trary, they left them to make their way in the ' world. Was this their moderation, orsuperior ' wisdom^ Perhaps it was the latter. Neglect- ed calumny soon expires : shew that you are hurt, and you give it theappearance of truth. XXXV. " From Greece I draw no prece- " dents. In that country not only liberty, but " even licentiousness was encouraged. He *' who felt the edge of satire, knew how to re- *' taliate. Words were revenged by words. *' When public characters have passed away " from the stage of life, and the applause of " friendship, as well as the malice of enemies, *' is heard no more ; it has ever been the pre*- " rogative of history to rejudge their actions. OF TACITUS. 175 *' Brutus and Cassius are not now at the bead book ** of armies : they are not encamped on the ^^''J^ ** plains of Philippi : can I assist their cause ? ^; J; ** Have I harangued the people, or incited ^ " them to take up arms? It is now more than *' sixty years since these two extraordinary *' men perished by the sword : from that time, *' they have been seen in their busts and sta- tues : those remains the very conquerors spared, and historj- has been just to their memory. Posterity allows to every man his true value and his proper honours. You may, if you will, by your judgment affect my life : but Brutus and Cassius will be still remembered, and my name may attend *' their triumph." Having thus delivered his sentiments, he left the senate, and faj by abs- tinence put an end to his days. The fathers ordered his book to be burnt by the a^diles ; but to destroy it was not in their power fbj. It was preserved in secret, and copies have been multiplied ; so vain and senseless is the attempt, by an arbitrary act, to extinguish the light of truth, and defraud pos» terity of due information. Genius thrives under oppression : persecute the author, and ie ( i ( i ii H (( 17^ THE ANNALS BOOK you enhance the value of his work. Foreisfit IV. -' ^ ^^ — > tyrants, and all who have adopted their bar- ^7s^ barous policy, have experienced this truth : *5. by proscribh\<>; talents, they recorded their own disgrace, and gave the writer a passport to immortality. XXXVI. The whole of this year was one continued series of prosecutions ; insomuch that on one of the days of the Latin festival (cij, when Drusns, in his character of pra?fect of Rome, ascended the tribunal, Calpurnius Salvianus took that opportunity to present an accusation against Sextus Alarius. A proceed- ing so irreii'ular drew down the censure of Ti- berius. Salvianus was driven into banish- ment. A complaint against the inhabitants of the city of Cyzicus Avas presented to the se- nate, charging, that the}^ had suffered the ce- remonies in honour of Augustus to fall into contempt, and had moreover offered violence to several Roman citizens. For this offence they were deprived of the privileges, Avhicli had been granted to them for their fidelity in the war with IMithridates. That monarch laid siege to their city ; but, by the fortitude of the people, not less than by the succour OF TACITUS. 177 sent by LucuUus, he was oblked to abandon book the place. Fonteiiis Capito, who had been v.^-^-^-* proconsul of Asia, was acquitted of the charge JJ^j^ alleged against him by themahce of that dar- ^5. ing accuser, Vibius Serenus (bj. And yet the author of so vile a calumny passed with impunity, lie had the curses of the people, and the protection of the emperor. Informers, in proportion as they rose in guilt, became sacred characters* If any were punished, it was only such as were mere novices in guilt, obscui^ and petty villains, who had no talents for mischief. XXXVII. Ambassadors, about this time, arrived from the further Spain, praying leave, in imitation of the people of Asia, to build a temple to the emperor and his mother. Ti- berius had strength of mind to despise the of- fering's of adulation: he knew*, hovrever, that his conduct on a former occasion had been taxed with the littleness of vain glory. To clear himself from that aspersion, he made the following speech. " I am not, conscript " tathers, now to learn that, when a similar *' petition came from Asia, I was accused of *' weakness and irresolution, for not giving a VOL. II. N J7B THE ANNALS EOOK IV. ' (icciclcd negative. The silence wliicU I ' then (jbseived, and the law which I have ' laid doM'n to myself for the future, it is my ' intention now to explain. Augustus, it is ' well known, permitted a temple to be rais- ^ ed at Pergamus, in honour of himself and ' the city of Rome. His example has ever ' been the rule of my conduct. I yielded to ' the solicitations of Asia the more willingly, ' as v,'ith the veneration oftered to myself, • that of the senate was mixed and blended. ' That single act of compliance may, per- • haps, require no apology : but to be dei- ' fied throughout the provinces, and intrude ' my own image among the statues of the ' Gods, what vrere it but vain presumption, ' the height of human arrogance ? Erect ' more altars, and the homage paid to Au- ' "ustus will be no longer an honour to his ' memory ; by promiscuous use, it will tar- • nish in the eyes of mankind, and vanish ' into nothinij;. XXXVIII. ''As to myseli^ conscript f»- *' thers, I ])retend to nothing above the con- '' dition of humanity : a mortal man, I liave *' the duties of our connnon nature' to per- *' form. liaised to a painful pre-eminence, if A.D 25. OF TACITUS. 179 '^ I sustain the arduous character imposed ^^^P^ '' upon me, the measure of my happiness is "^^"^^ "full. These are my sentiments ; I avow '"*^' '' them in your presence, and I hope they will "reach posterity. Should future ages pro- " ]iounce me not unworthy of my ancestors ; " should they think me vigilant for the public " good, in danger firm, and, for the interest " of all, ready to encounter personal animo- " sities, that character will be the bright re- " ward of all my labours. Those are the " temples which I v/ish to raise : they are the " truest temples, for they are fixed in the " heart. It is there I would be worshipped, " in the esteem and the affections of men, " that best and most lastino- monument. Piles " of stone and marble structures, when the " idol ceases to be adored, and the jads>'ment " of posterity rises to execration, are mere " charnel houses, that moulder into ruin. " I therefore now address myself to theal- " lies of the empire, to the citizens of Rome, " and to the immortal o'ods, to the gods it is " my prayer, that to the end of life they " may grant tlie blessing of an undisturbed, " a clear, a collected mind, with a just sense N 2 180 THE A>rNALS '' of laAvs bath human and divine. Of man- '' kind I request, that, when I am no more, " they will do justiee to my memory ; and, " with kind acknowledgments, record my "^ name,, and the actions of my life." In these sentiments he persisted ever after. Even in private conversation he never ceased to declaim against the abuses of reli<>;ious lionours. For this self-denial various mo- tives were assigned. Some called it modesty ; others, a sense of. his own demerit ; many imputed it to a degenerate spirit, ijisensible to all fair and honourable distinctions. The love of glory, they observed, has ever been the incentive of exalted minds. It was by this principle that Hercules and Bacchus en- rolled themselves anion"; the i^ods of Greece ; and it was thus that Romulus ^\as deified at llon).ei Augustus made a riirht estimate of things, and^ by consequence, aspired to rank himself with ancient wortliies. With regard to other gratifications, princes are in a station, where to desire, is to have. But the passion i\)r glory ought to be :n^Atiable^ The esteem of posterity it the true ambitiun of a prince. From the contempt oi lame fa J arises a contempt of virtue. OF TACITUS. 181 XXXIX. Sejanus, intoxicated with sac- book cess, and luij-iied on b}^ the iniportiuiity of the younger I.ivia fa J, who was grown im- patient for the promised marriage, thouglit lit to open the business to the emperor. All apphcati(^ns, at tliat time, even ^\ hen a per- sonal interview trKjk place, were presented to the prince in writing f/vj. The purport of the memorial was, that " the munificence of " Augustus to th.e petitioner, und the favours *' added I))' Tiberius, had ^o engrossed all *' his faculties, lliat he was now accustomed, " instead of suppUcatirjg the gods, to offer *' up his prayers to the prince. Of rank " and splendour he had never been ambitious : " a post of difiiculty, where he watched day *' and night like a common sentinel, to guard *' the life of his sovereign, was the only ho- " nour he liad ever sought. And yet a mark " of the hiirhest distijiction had been con- " ferred upon him. The emperor deemed " him worthy of an alliance with the impe- " rial house CfJ. Ills present hopes were *' built on that foundatioji. Having heard *' that Augustus {dj, when tlje marriage of " his daughter v.as in cotitemplation, doubt- *' ed, for some time, whether he should not *' give her t<-> a Roman knight ; he presumed 182 THE ANNALS to offer his humble request, that Tiberius, if a new match was designed for Livia, would graciously think of a friend, who would bear in mind a due sense of the favour conferred upon him, but never claim an exemption from the toil and, duty of his post. To shelter his family from the animosity of Agrippina was the object he had in view. He felt for his children ; but as to himself, if he died in the service of his prince, he should die content and full of years." XL. Tiberius expressed himself pleased with the style of affection which breathed through the memorial. He mentioned, in a cursory manner, the favours he had granted, but desired time for the consideration of a sub- ject so entireljMiew and unexpected. Having w^eiiihed the business, he returned tlicfolloAV- ng answer: *' In all matters of deliberation, ' self-interest is the principle by which indi- * viduals decide for themselves : with princes * it is otherwise. The opinions of the pco- * pie claim their attention, and public fame ' must direct their conduct. To the request ^ which had been made, an obvious answer ' presented itself to his pen : he might ob- THE ANNALS 183 " serve, that it was for Livia to determine, book IV. " whether she would contract another mar- ^^^ — ' A. u. c. " riao'e, or be content to remain the widow -^^ '' of Dnisiis. He mi^lit add, that she had ^- " a mother fa J and a grandmother, more '^ nearly connected than himself, and, for that " reason, fitter to be consulted. But he "' would deal openl}-, and in terms of plain " simplicity. And fn-^t, as to Agrippina; '- her resentments would break out Avith '' redoubled violence, if, by the marriage of " liivia, she saw the imperial tamily divided " into contending tactions. Ev^en at present, '' female jealousies made a scene of tumult and '* distraction. Plis grandsons were involved " in their disputes. Should the marriage be " allowed, perpetual discord might be the " consequence. " Do you imagine, Sejanus, that Livia, the '' widow first of Caius Caesar, and since of " Drusus, will act an humble part, and waste " her life in the embraces of a Roman knight ? '' Should I consent, what will be said by '* those who saw her fatlii-r, her l)rother, '' and the ancestors of our family, invested " with the highest honours of the state ! But *' it seems vou will not asi)ire above your 184 THE ANNA-LS BOOK IV. A. U. C. 778. A.D. 25. present station. Remember that the ma-^ gistrates, and the first men in Rome, who besiege your levee, and in every thing defer to yourjudgment; remember, I say , thatthey now proclaim aloud, that you have already soared above the equestrian rank, and enjoy higher authority than was ever exercised by the favourites of my father. They declaim against you with envy, and they obliquely glance at me. But Augustus, you say, had thoughts of givino- jiis daugter to one of the equestrian order. And if, overwhelm- ed by a weight of cares, yet sensible at the same time of the honour that would accrue to the favoured bridegroom, he mentioned occasionally Caius Proculeius (hj, and some others, is it not well known that they were all of moderate principles ; men who led a life of tranquillity, and took no })art in the transactions of the state ? And if Augustus had his doubts, is it for me to take a decided part } His final de- termination is the true precedent. He gave his daughter first to Agrippa, aiuj afterwards to myself. These are the reflec- tions which I thought proper to communi- cate to you. jNIy friendship is M'ithout disguise. To tl\e measures which you and OF TACITUS. 185 25. ' Livia may have concerted, no obstacle shall book ' arise from rae. But stiil there are other '^['^J^S ' ties by v/hicli I ■would bind you to myself ]J%^ ' fcj in closer union. I will not at present ' enlarge on the subject. I shall only say, ' that I know no honour to v/hich you are ' not entitled by your virtues, and your ' zeal for my interest. But v/hat I think and ' feel on this head I sliall take occasion to * explani to the senate, or, it may be, in a ' full assembly of the people." XLI. Ala mi ED by this answer, Sejanus dropped all thoughts of tlie marriage. A crowd of apprehensions rushed upon liim. He feared the penetrating eye of malicious enemies ; he dreaded the whispers of suspi- cion, and the clamours of the public. To pre- vent impressions to his disadvantage, he pre- sented a second memorial, humbly requesting that the emperor would pay no regard to the su"'i>:estions of ill desio;nin^ men. Be- tween two nice and difficult points the tavou- rite was now much embarrassed. If, for the sake of a more humble appearance, he deter- mined to avoid for the future the great con- flux of visitors, v/lio frequented his house, his 186 THE ANNALS BOOK power, in a short time, would be in its wane ; and on the other hand, by receiving snch a numerous train, he gave access to spies upon his conduct. A new expedient occurred to him. He resolved to persuade the emperor to withdraw from thv city, and lead, in some deUghtful, but remote, situation, a Vii'c of ease and sohtary pleasure. In this measure he saw many advantages. Access to the prince would depend on the minister; all letters conveyed by the soldiers would iall into his hands : and Tiberius, now in the vale ofyears, ini^ht be, when charmi^d vrith his retreat, and lulled to repose and indolence, more easily induced to resign the reins of government. In that retirement the favourite would disen- o'ao;e liimsclf from the vain parade of crowded levees ; envy would be appeased ; and in- stead of the shadow of power, he might grasp the substance. To this end, Sejanus affect- ed to disrelish the noise and bustle of the city ; the people assend)ling in crowds gave him disgust ; and the courtiers, who buzz- ed in the place, brought nothing but fatigue and vain parade. He talked of the pleasure of rural solitude, where there was nothing but pure enjoyment, no little anxieties, no te- 1 OF TACITUS. 187 dioiis languor, no intrio'ues of iactioii ; a scene book . , ^^• of tranquillity, where inu^ortant plans of ----v-w^ ^ • ^ . ^ A. u. c, policy mi2;ht be concerted at leisure. 77s. ir J Q An A. D. 25. XLII. It liappened in thisjuncturc tliat the trial of Votienus Tllontanu.s faj, a man famous for his wit and talents, was i3rouglit to a hearin"-. In the course of his business, Ti- berius, with a mind already balancing, came to a resolusion to avoid, for the future, the assembly of the fathers, where he was so often mortified by ii;rating expressions. i\Iontanus Avas accused of words injurious to the empe- ror ; ^miiius, a man iii tlie military line, was a witness against him. To establish the charge, this man went into a minute detail, from little circumstances hoping to deduce a full conviction. Though ill heard by the fathers, he persistc*i.l, in spite of noise and fre- quent interruption, to relate every circum- stance. Tiberius heard the sarcastic lan'e with wliich his character was torn and mans^led in private. He rose in a sudden transport of passion, declaring, in a premptory tone, that he would refute the calumny in that stage of the bu^isiess, or institute a judicial proceeding for the purpose. The entreaties Qf his fiieads, seconded ])y the adulation of 138 TlfE ANNA us BOOK the fathers were scarce suffiA'^ient to appease hisaiiii'er. The iud^meut usual in cases of vio- lated majesty v/as pronounced against Mon- tanusf^J. AVant of clemency was the s^eneral objection to Tiberius ; but the reproach, in- stead of mitigating, served only to enfiame that vindictive temper, With a spirit exas- perated, he took up the affair of Aquilia, con- victed of adulter}' with Varius Ligur ; and though Lentulu.s Ga^tulicus, consul elect, was of opinion that the penalties fcj of the Ju- lian law would be an adccpuite punishment, she was ordered into exile. Apidius I\Ierula had refused to swear on the acts of Augustus. For that offence Tiberius razed his nanje from the register of the senators (dj. XLIII. The dispute then depending be- tween the Lacedaemonians and the people of !Messena, concerning the temple of the Lim- iiatidian Diana fa J, was brought to a hearing before the senate. Deputies were heard from both places. On the part of the Laceda^mq- nians itwas contended, that the structure in question was built by their ancestors, witliin the territory of Sparta. For proof of the tact, they cited extracts from history, and passages of ancient poetr3^ In the >\ar with Philip of A. D^ :>5, Oi' TACITUJ5. 189 INIacedaii, they were deprived of their right book ])V force of arms ; hut the same was restored ^^ — ' A. U. C. hv Juhus Cirsar and jMark Anthony. The J"^^ t, * All ]Messenians, on the otlier hand, produced an ancient chart of Pek)ponnesus, divided among the descendants of Hercules ; by which it appeared, that tlie Denthehate tield, M liere the temple stood, fell to the lot of the king of ]\Iessena. Inscriptions, verifyino; the fact, were still to be seen in stone and tables of brass. If fragments of [)oetry and loose scraps of history were to be admitted, they had, in that kind, a fund of evidence more ample, and directly in point. It was not by an act of violence that Philip of Macedon trans- ferred the possesion from Sparta to the ]Mes- senians ; his justice dictated that decision. Since that time, several judgments, all con- spiring to the same effect, were pronounced by king Antii!;unus f/^J, by jMummius fcj, the lioman general, by the Milesians, in their ca acity of public arbitrators, and fmally by Atidius Gcminus, then praztor of Achala fdj. The Messenians carriea their pomt. The citizens of Segestum fej presented a petition, stating, that the Tempie oi Venus, 190 THE ANNALS Oil iiiOLint Erix, had mouldered away, and therefore praying leave ta build a new edilice on the same spot. Their account of the first foundation was so highly flattering to the pride of Tiberius, that, considering himself as a person related to the goddess, he under- took the care and expence of the building. A petition from the city of ^larseilles came next into debate. The fact was shortly this : Vulcatius jMoschus, banished by the laws of Home, and admitted to the freedom of the city of 3»IarseiHes, bequeathed to that repub- lic, w hicli he considered as his native country, the whole of his property. To justify this proceeding, the ]Marseillians cited the case of Publius llutilius (^/]j, an exile from Rome, and afterwards naturalized by the people of Smyrna. The authority of the precedent was admitted, and the fathers pronounced in fa- vour of the will. XLIV. In the course of the year died Cneis Lentulus (aj and Lucius Domitius, two citizens of distinimished emhiencc. The o consular dignity, and the honour of triumphal ornaments, for a com[;lete victory o\'er the GctiUians, gave lustre to the name of Lentu- IV. A. U. C. 77 S, A.D. -25. OF TACITUS. 191 las : but thv trvie glorv of his character arose book from tlie dignity vith which he supported liimself, first in luodest povcrt}', and after- wards in the possession of a splendid fortune, acquired with integrity, and enjoyed with moderation. Domitius f/ij owed mucli of his consecjuence to his ancestors. His father, diirinii the civil wars, remained master of the seas till he v/ent over to ?\Iark Anthony, and, soon after deserting his party, followed the fortunes of Augustus. His <>"randfather fell in the battle of Pharsalia, lighting for the senate. Domitius, thus descended, was deem- ed, worthv of the younger Antonia, the dauirh- ter of ]\Iark Anthony, by his wife Octavia. lie led the Iloman legions beyond the Elbe fcj, and penetrated further into Germany than any foi'mer connnander. His services were rewarded with triunipiial ornamentti. Lucius Antonius (dy, vA\o likewise died this year, must not be omitted. He was de- , scended from a line of auccbtors, highlv ho- noured, but unfortunate. 11 rs father, Julius Antonius, being put to d-.-ath for his adul- terous commerce with Julia, the son, at that time of tender }ears, and grand nephew 192 THE ANN^iLS BOOK to Augustus, was sent out of the way to the City of Marseilles, where, under the pretence of pu issuing his studies, he was detained in actual banishment. Funeral honours were paid to his memory, and his remains, by a decree of the senate, were deposited in the monument of the Octavian family, XLV. While the same consuls con- tinued in oflice, a deed of an atrocious na- ture was committed in the nethermost Spain faj by a peasant from the district of Ter- mes. Lucius Piso, the praetor of the pro- vince, in a period of profoimd peace, was travellino; throudi the countrv, unguarded, and without precaution, when a desperate ruffian attacked him on tlie road, and, at one blow, laid him dead on the spot. Trustinor to the swiftness of his horse, the assassin made towards the forest, and, there dismounting, pursued his way on foot over devious wilds and craggy steeps, eluding the vigilance and activity of the Romans. He did not, how^ever, remain long concealed. His horse was found in the woods, and being led through the neighbouring villages, the name CF TACITUS. 193 of tlie ov,'ner was soon discovered. The vil- ^op^: lain ofcourse was apprehended. On the rack, ^^"u^^ and under the most excruciating torture, he X'.i). refused to discover liis accompUces. AVith a tone of firmness, and in his own lansfuasje, " Your questions," he said, "are all in vain, *' Let my associates come; let them behold " my suiferings and my constancy ; not all " the pangs you can inflict, shall Vv're-st the " secret from me/' On the following daj^, as they were again dragging him to the rack, he broke, vrith a sudden exertion, from the hands of the executioner, and dashiiig with violence against a stone, fell and expired. The murder of Piso was not thought to be the single crime of this bold assassin: the inhabitants of Ter- mes, it was generally believed, entered into a conspiracy to cut off a man, Vviio claimed re- . stitution of the public money, which had been rescued from the collectors. Piso urged his demand Avith more rigour than suited the stubborn genius of a savage people. XLVI. Lentulus G^tulicus and Caius a.v c Calvisius succeeded to the consulship. Durirjg ad, no, their administration, triumphal ornaments were decreed to Poppa^'us Sabinus, for his vic-^ VOL. II, o 194 "fHE ANNALS BOOK torv over the people of Thrace ; a clan of frec- IV " hooters, who led a savage life on hills and rug- ged clifts, without laws, or any notion of civil policy. Rushing down from their mountains, they waged a desultory war with wild ferocity. Their motives to a revolt were strono- and powerful. They sav/ the flower of their youth carried off to recruit the Roman armies, and of course their numbers much reduced. Alen, who measured their obedience, even to their own kings, by the mere caprice of Barbarians, were not wilhn^ to submit to the Roman voke. On former occasions, when they Avere W' illing to act as auxiliaries, they gave the command of their forces to chiefs of' their own nation, under an express condition, that the}' should serve aojainst the neighbouring states onlv, aiid }iot be obliged to light the battles of Rome iii distant regions. In the present juncture an idea prevailed amongst them, that they were to be extermiirated from their native soil, and mixed with other troops in foreign nations. Before they had recourse to arms, they sent adeputationtoSabinus, stating " their former *' friendship, and the passive disposition with *' which they had heretofore submitted to the OF TAClTUSo 195 IV. ^' iloman ocnerals. They were willing' to con- book *' tiniie in the same sentiments, provided no *' new grievance gave them cause of com- plaint. But if the intention was to treat them as a vanquished people ; if the yoke *' of slavery was prepared ibr their necks, they *' abounded with men and steel, and they had *' hearts devoted to liberty or death/' Their ambassadors, after thus declaring themselves, pointed to their castles on the ridge of hills and rocks, where they had collected their' families, their parents, and their wives. If the sword must be drawn, they threatened a cam- paign big with danger, in its nature difficult, fierce, and bloody. XL VI I. S AB I NU s, wish i nor to aain sufficient time for the assembling of his army, amused them with "entle answers. Meanwhile, Pom-^ ponius Labeo, with a legion from Ma'sia,and Rha?metalces5who reigned over partof Thrace, came up with a body of his subjects, who still retained their fidelity, and formed a Junction? against the rebels. Sabinus, thus reinforced, went in quest of the enemy. The Barbarians had taken post in the woods and narrow de- files. The bold and warlike shewed them-^ o 2 196 THE ANNALS BOOK selves in force on the declivity af the hills. The Eoniaii i>;eiieral advanced in regular order of battle. The mountaineers were put to flight,, but with inconsiderable loss. The na- ture of the place favoured tlieir retreat. Sa- binus encamped on the spot deserted by the enemy, and, having raised entrenchments, marched with a strong detaclnnent to an ad- jacent lull, narrow at the top, but, by a level and continued rid2;e, extending to a strong hold where the Barbarians had collected a prodigious uitdtitude, . some provided with arms, but the gieater part no better than an undisciplined rabble , The bravest of the malcontents appeared on the outside of tlieir lines, according to the custom of Barbarians, dancing in wild dis-^ tortion, and howlincj savage son^s. The Ro- man archers advanced to attack them. Thev poured in a volley of darts, and wounded numbers witli impunity, till, having approach- ed too near, the besieged nuide a sally from the castle, and threw the Romans into dis- order. An auxiliary cohort, which had been posted to advantage, came up to support the brokeii ranks. This body of reserve consisted OF TACITUS. 197 of the Slc^mhv'musC^J, a wild ferocious peo- book pie, who, hke the Ttiraciaiis, rushed to battle "-O^ with the iiiini>led uijroar of a savai:^e war- J^; ^ I O A. D. hoop, and the hideous clangor of their ai'ins. "^' XLVIII. Sab IN us pitched a ncAv camp near the fortifications of tiie castle. In the former entrenchments he left the Thracians, who had joined tlie army under the com- mand of Rlurmetalces, with orders to ravage the country, and, as long as day-liglit lasted, to plunder, burn., and destrov ; but, durin-"- the night, to remain within their lines, taking care to station outposts and sentinels, to prevent a surprise. Tliese directions were at tlrst duly observed; but a relaxation of discipline soon took place. Knriched with booty, the men gave themselves up to riot and dissipation ; no sentinels lixed, and no guard appointed, the time was spent in carousals, and their whole camp hi}' buried in sleep and wine. Idie mountaineers, lun'ino- i>oud intelligence from their scouts, formed two separate divisions ; one to fall on the roviuii* freebooters, and the other, in the same moment, to storm the llo- iiians in their entrenchments ; not, indeed, with liopes of carrying the ^vorks. I^ut chieMy to 19^ *HE ANNAtS BOOK spread a doiibie alarm, and cause a scene of wild confusion, in which the men, amidst a volley of darts, would be intent on their own immediate danger, and none would listen to the uproar of another battle. To augment the terror, both assaults beo;an in the niu'lit. No impression was made on the legions : but the Thracian auxiliaries, stretched at ease in their entrenchments, or idly wandering about on the outside of the lines, were taken by sur- prise, and put to the sword without mercy. The slaughter raged with greater fury, as the mountaineers thought they were executing an act of venoeance on Derfidious men, -who de- serted the common cause, and fou<>ht to en- slave themselves and their country. XLIX. On the following' day Sabinus drew up iiismen on the open plain, expecting tiiat the events of the preceding nigh t v/ould encou- raii;e the Barbarians to hazard a battle. Seeing that nothingcould draw them fromtlH'ii'works, or their fastnesses on the hills, he began a re- gular siege. A numl)er of forts were thrown up, with ail c;xpedition, and a fosse, with lines of circumvallation, inclosed a space of four i:!iiles round. To cut olT all supplies of water OF TACITUS. 199 and provisions, lie advanced by degrees, and, ^^^^^ raisino- new works, formed a close blockade on ^'^aj. c. every side. From a hiij;h rampart the Romans a. p. were able to discharge a volley of stones, and darts, and firebrands. Tliirst was the chief distress of the mountaineers. A single fonn- tain was their only resource. The men who bore arms, and an infinite multitude incapa« ble of service, were involved in one general calamity. The distress was slid increased by the famine tliat ra^ed amoiu; the horses and cattle, which, without any kind of distinction, according to the custom of Barbarians, laj^ irt- termixed with the men. In one promiscuous heap w^ere to be seen the carcases of animals, and the bodies of soldiers who perished by the sword, or the anguish of thirst. Clotted gore, and stench, and contagion, filled the place. To complete tlieir misery, internal discord, that worst of evils, added to the horror of the scene. Some were for laying down their arms ; others, preferring self-desfruction, pro- posed a general massacre; while a third party thought it better to sally out, and die sword in hand, fighting in the cause of liberty ; a brave and generous coimsel, difterent^ indeed, ^00 THE ANNALS BOOK from tlie advice of their comrades, but worthy IV •^ of heroic minds. L. The expedient of surrendering at dis- cretion M'as adopted by one of the leading chiefs. His name was Dinis; a man advanced in years, and by long experience convinced as well of the clemency as the terror of tlie Ho- man name. To submit, he said, was tlieir only remedy ; and, accordingly, he threw himself, his wife, and children, on the mercy of t]ic conqueror. He was followed by the weaker sex, and all who preferred slavery to a' glorious death. Two other chiefs, by name Tarsa and Turesis, advised bolder measures. Between their opposite sentiments, the young and vigorous v.ere divided. To ftill witli foil- ing li]:jerty was the resolution of both ; but they chose different modes. Tarsa declared for immediate deatii, the end of all hopes and fears ; and, to lead tl,e way, he plunged a poignard in his breast. Numbers followed his example. Tarsesis v/as still resolved to sally out ; and, for that purpose, he waited for the advantage of the night. The Roman ge- neral received intelligence, and, accordingly. OP TACITUS. 201 IV. strengthened the guards at every post. Night book came on, anrl brought Vvith it utter darkness and tempestuous weather. ^V'i■h shouts and horrible howUngs, followed at intervals by a profound and awful silence, the Barbarians kept the besiegers in a constant alarm. 8a- binus rounded the watch, and at every post exhorted his men to be neither terrified by •savaoic bowlines , nor lulled into security by deceitful stillne.'ss. If taken by surprise, they would give to an insidious enemy every ad-^ vantai'-e. " Let each man contiiuie fixed at *' ills post; and let no darts be thrown at ran- ^' dom, and, by consequence, without effect," LI. The Barl^arians, in different divisions, came rusliiim' down from then" hills. With massy stones, witli clubs hardened by fire, and with trunks of trees, they attenipted to batter a breach in the lloman palisade ; they threw Inirdles, faggots, and dead i)odies into the trenches ; they laid bridges over the fosse, and applied f^aliiig ladders to the rampart; they grasped hold ol the works ; they endeavoured to force tlieir way, and fouglit hand to hand. The garrison drove them back with their javeljnSj beat them down with their bucklers, Z0% THE ANKALS BOOK and overwhelmed them with hiii:je heaps of IV. . . , stones. Both sides fouirJit with obstinate bravery ; the Romans to complete a victory ahnost gained ah'eady, and to avoid the dis- grace of suffering it to be wrested from them. On the part of the Barbarians, despair w-as courage ; the last struggle for life inspired them, and the shrieks of their wives and mo- thers roused them to deeds of valour. The darkness of tlie night favoured equally the coward and the brave. Blows were given at random, and where they fell was uncertain; wounds were received, no man could tell from Avhom. Friends and enemies were mixed without distinction. The shouts of the Bar- barians, reverberated from tlie nei2;hbouring hills, sounded in the ear of the llomans, as if the uproar was at their backs. Thev thought the enemy had stormed the entrenchments, and they fled from their posts. Tlie Bar- barians, however, were not able to force the works. The number tliat entered Avas incon- siderable. At the dawn of day they beheld a melanchply spectacle ; the bravest of their comrades either disabled by their w^ounds, or lying dead on the spot. Disheartened at tlie OF TACITUS. 203 26. gidit, thcv fled to their fortifications, and were book at last compelled to surrender at discretion. ^^'^^'^ A A. U. C. The people in the neighbourhood made a p|- vohmtar}^ submission . The few that still held out, were protected by the severity of the win- ter, ^rhich setting in, as is usual near ]Mount Ilicmus, with intense rigour, the Roman ge- neral could neitlier attack them in their fast-^ nesseS; nor reduce them by a siege. LII. At liomCj in the mean time, the im- perial family was thrown into a state of dis- traction. As a prelude to the fate of Agrip- pina, a prosecution was cominenced against Claudia Pulchra, lier near relation. Domitius Afer fa J was the prosecutor ; a man who had lately discharged the oitice of praetor, but had not risen to any degree of eminence or con- sideration in tlie state. Aspiiing, bold, and turbulent, he was now determined to advance himself, by any means, however ilagitiour>. The heads of his accusalion were adultery witli Furnius ; a design to poison the emperor, and the secret practice of spells and magic in- cantations. The hauglity spirit of Agrippina, but ill could brook the dancjer of her friend. She ruslied to the presence of Tiberi as . Find- 204 ' THE ANNALS jjooK ino- him in the act of offering; a sacrifice to tlie manes of Augustus, she accosted him in a tone of vehemence. " The piety," she said, "wliich *' thus employs itself in slaying; victims to the *' deceased emperor, agrees but ill "\vith the '' hatred that persecutes his posterity. Those ^' are senseless statues which you adore ; they * ' are not animated with the spiri t of Augustus. *^ His descendants are living images of him ; *' and vet even thev, whose veins arc warm '' with his celestial blood, stand trembling on *' the brink of peril. "Why is Claudia Pulchra ^' devoted to destruction ? What has she com- " mitted ? She has loved Agrippina, to excess ^' has loved her ; that is her only crime. Im- "^ provident "woman ! she might have remem- *' bered Sosia (b), undone and ruined for no '' other reason." Tiberius felt the reproach : it drew from that inscrutable breast a sudden burst of resentment. He told Agrippina, in a Greek verse, '' You are hurt, because you do '• not reign (c)." Fulchra and Finnius were both condemned. In the conduct of tiie pro- secution 1 'omitius Afer shone forllj with such a flame of eloquence, tliat he ranked at once with the most celebrated orat'jn^, and, by the .suffrage of Tiberius, was pronounced an ori-r OF TACITUS. . 205 filial genius, (le])en(lin£j on his own native book energy. From that time, he pursued the ca- reer of eloquence, sometimes engaged on the side of tlie accused, often against them, and alwa3's doing more honour to his talents, than to his moral character. As age advanced upon him, the love of Jiearing himself talk conti- nued, when the ability was gone fdj. He re- mained, Vvith decayed faculties, asuperannu-. ated orator. LIII. AcRippiNA, v.eakened by a fit of ill- ness, but still retauiing the pride of her cha- racter, received a visit irom Tiberius. She re- mained for some time fixed in silence ; tears only forced their v/ay. At length, in terms of supplication, mixed with bitter reproaches, slie desired him to consider, " that vridotv'hood *' is a state of destitution. A second marriaire '^ might assuac'e her sorrows. The season of " her youth was not entire! v passed, and for a '' woman of honour there was no resource but " in the con jujml state. There were at Home " citizensof illustrious rank, vrho would, with " pride, take the vridow and the cliildren of " Germanicus to their protection." Tiberius saw in this request a spirit of ambition, that 206 THE AN^'ALS BOOK looked proudly towards the imperial digiiit}^ v^^v'w Unwilling, notwithstanding, to discover his •779. ■ jealousy, he heard her with calm indifference, 26. ' and left her without an answer. For this anecdote, not to be found in the historians of the time, I am indebted to the vouno;er Asrip- pina faj, the mother of the emperor Nero, who, in the memoirs of her life, has related her own misfortunes and those of her fiunilv. LIV. The violence of Agrlppina's passions, and the imprudence of her conduct, exposed her to the malice of Sejanus, who now had laid the seed-plots of her destruction. He sent his agents to inform her, under a mask of friendship, that she would do well to beware of poison, and avoid eating at the emperor's table. To dissemble was not the talent of Agrippina. Invited by Tiberius, and placed tiear his person, she remained silent, pensive, TTith downcast eyes, abstaining froni every thing placed before her. Tiberius marked her beliaviour, or perhaps the hint was previously given. To put her to the test, he praised the apples that stood near him, and helped her "^"ith his own hand. Agrippina was alarmed. Without so much as tasting the fruity she gave OF TACJTUS. 20; it to the servants to be conveyed away ffijr Tiberius, always master of lumself, with seeni- ini^ inadvertence overlooked lier behaviour, but took an opportunity to sa}' privatelv to his mother, "Shoukl this vroman be treated '^ with severity, will any body wonder, vrhen *' she now imputes to me the guilt of dealing '' in poison ?" A report prevailed soon after, that the fate of Agrippina v>'as determined ; but the emperor would not venture toact witli open violence ; he knev/ that the public eye was u.pon him, anc| resolved, for that reason, to lie in wait fi:)r a clandestine murder. LV. To check the murmurs of suspicion,, and draw the public attention to other objects, Tiberius once more attended the debates of the fathers, and ""ave audience for several days to the ambassadors from different parts of Asia, all with ardour claiming a right to build-, in their respective territories, the temple al- ready mentioned. Eleven cities rivalled er^ch other, not in power and opulence, but with equal zeal contending for the preference. They stated, with little variation, the antrquity of their origin, and their fidelity to Kome, in tlie various wars with Persius ^cj. Aristonicui^ I £08 THE ANNALS BooxK Slid other eastern princes. The people of Iiyp-^>:'pes r<^ j, the Trallians, Laodiceans, and I\Iagnesians, were deemed unequal to the ex- pence, and, for that reason, thrown out of the case. The inhabitants of Ihum (c) boasted that Troy was the cradle of the Roman peo- ple, and o\\ that foundation rested their pre- tensions. The citizens of lialicamassu: fdj held the senate for some time in suspense. It was alleged on their behalf, that, during a series of twelve hundred years, they had not felt the shock of an earthquake, and they pro- mised to build an edifice on a solid rock. The city of Pero;amus made a merit of hav- ing already built a temple in honour of Au- gustus ; but that distinction was deemed suf- ficient. At Ephesus, where Diana was adored, and at ^liletus, where Apollo was worshipped, a nev/ object of veneration was deemed un-^ necessary. The question v>'as now reduced to the cities of Sardes and Smyrna. The former read a decree, in which they were acknowledged by the Etrurians as a kindred nation. By this document it appeared, that Tyrrhenus and Lydus, both sons of king Atys f cj, fmdin.g OF TACITUS. 209 their country overstocked with inhabitants, book IV. agreed to form a separation. Lydus conti- ^ /-^ luied to occupy his native territory, and 779. Tyrrhenus withdrew to settle a new colony. 2$. From that time the two nations were called by the names of their respective chiefs ; in Asia, Lydians ; Tyrrhenians in Italy. The Lydians multiplied their numbers with such increase, that they overflowed a second time. A migration passed over into Greece, and from Pelops, their leader, gave to the new territory the name of Peloponnesus. Be- sides these vouchers, the people of Sardes produced letters from some of the Roman generals, and also treaties of alliance during the wars in Macedonia. Nor did they for- get to state the number of rivers that ferti- lized their soil, the temperature of their cli- mate, and the plenty that covered the face of the country. LVI. The deputies from Smyrna C^J thought fit to grace their cause with the an- tiquity of their origin : but whether their city was founded by Tantalus, the son of Jupiter ; by Theseus, the son of a God ; or by one of the ancient Amazons, they left as a question VOL, II, I». / i^lO THE ANNALlI BOOK of curiosity ; relying more on their constant attachment to the Romans, whom they had assisted with a naval force, not only in their wars with foreign nations, but in those that involved all Italy. They thought it of mo- ment to observe, that, of all the cities in Asia, they were the first that built a temple in ho- nour of the Roman name. This they had done in the consulship of ]\Iarcus Porcius Cato (b), at a time when the republic was vmdoubtedly in a flourishing condition, but had not yet attained that meridian splen- dor, which afterwards followed the success of her arms. Carthage (c ) still subsisted, and the kings of Asia were unsubdued. For proof of still greater merit, the deputies ap- pealed to the testimony of Lucius Sylla. When the legions under that connnander, well nigh reduced to famine by the severity of the A\ inter, and distressed for want of clothing, were in danger of being destroyed, their condition was no sooner known at Smyrna, than the people, then assembled in a public convention, with one generous impulse, threw off their clothes, and sent them to supply the necessities of the Roman army. The (question was thereupon put by the senate, and the city of Smyrna prevailed. OF TaOitus. 211 Vibius Marsus moved, that, in aid to Mar- ^^^^ cus Lepidus, who had obtained the province ^^^^Tc. by lot, an officer extraordinary should be put l\ in commission, to superintend the building of the temple. The delicacy of Lepidus not permitting him to choose his coadjutor, the names of such as were of priT^torian rank were drawn by lot, and the chance fell on Va- lerius Naso. LVII. In this juncture, Tiberius, bent on the measure which he had often ruminated, and as often procrastinated, set out for Cam- pania, under the plausible pretence of dedi- cating a temple to Jupiter at Capua, and another to Augustus at Nola, but, in truth, determined never to return to Rome. Re- lying on the authority of eminent historians, I have ascribed the secret cause of this re- treat to the artifice of Sejanus fa) ; but when it is considered, that, after the downfal of that minister, Tiberius passed the six fol- lowing years in the same recluse manner, 1 am inclined to refer the whole to the work- ings of a dark and politic spirit, that wished to hide in solitude the lust and cruelty, which in his actions were too manifest to the world. At Rome tliere was a current opt- p 2 213 THE ANNALS BOOK nion, that, towards the end of life, he was un- IV. wiUing to exhibit to piibhc view a tall ema- ciated figure (bj, a body sinking under the weight of years, a bald head, a scrofulous face, and a number of blotches covered with me- dical applications (c). It is well known, that during his retreat at the Isle of Rhodes, he shunned society, and passed his time in secret gratifications. According to some writers, it was the domineering spirit (d) of his mother that drove him from Rome. To admit her to a share in the government was not in his nature : and to exclude her altoge- ther was not in his power, since it was to her that he owed his elevation. Augustus, it is certain, at one point of time, favoured Ger- manicus, the grandson of his sister, and even thought of raising him to the supreme au- thority ; but> being governed by his wife, he gave her son the preference, and left Ger- manicus to be adopted by Tiberius. With these services Livia taxed her son ; and what she had given, she considered as a de- posit liable to be resumed. LVIII. Tiberius departed from Rome with a slender retinue. In his train were Cocceius Nerva (a), a senator of consular 779. A. D. 26. OF TACITUS. 213 rank, celebrated for his legal knowledge ; Se- ^^^^ janus the favourite minister; and Curtins "^J^^^ Atticus (bj, a Roman knight. These were the only persons of rank. Tlie rest were dis- tinguished by nothing but their literature ; mostly Greeks fcj, men whose talents amus- ed him in his hours of leisure. The profess- ors of judicial astrology declared their opi- nion, that the position of the planets, under which Tiberius left the capital, made his re- turn impossible. This prediction gained credit, and the death of the emperor being, by consequence, thought near at hand, num- bers, who had been bold enough to circulate the rumour, brought on their own destruc- ' tion. That the prince should remain, during the space of eleven years, a voluntary exile from the seat of government, was an event beyond the reach of human foresight. In the end, however, the art of such, as pretend to see into futurity, was discovered to be vain and frivolous. It was seen how nearly truth and falsehood are allied, and how much the facts, which happen to be foretold, are involved in darkness. That Tiberius would return no more, was a prophecy veri- fied by the event ; the rest was altogether visionary, since we find, that, long after that time, he appeared in the neighbourhood of 214 THE ANNALS BOOK Rome, sometimes on the adjacent shore, of- ten in the suburbs, and died at last in the A. U C 779. extremity of old a^e, 26. LIX. While the reports of the astrolo^ gers were scattered abroad, an accident, which put Tiberius in danger of his life, added to the credulity of the people, but, at the same time, raised Sejanus higher than ever in the affections and esteem of his master. It hap- pened, that in a cave formed by nature, at a villa called Spelunca (a), between the Gulf of Amycleand the hills of Fond i, Tiberius was at a banquet with a party of his friends, when the stones at the entrance gave way on a sud* den, and crushed some of the attendants. The guests were alarmed, and fled for safety. Se- janus, to protect his master, fell on his knee, and with his whole force sustained the im- pending weight. In that attitude he was found by the soldiers, who came to relieve the prince. From that time the power of the minister knew no bounds. A man, who, in the moment of danger, could shew so much zeal for his master, and so little attention to himself, was heard with affection and unlimit- ed confidence. His counsels, however perni- cious, were received as the dictates of truth ^nd honour. OF TACITUS. 215 Towards the children of Gerinanicus, Se- book IV. Janus affected to act with the integrity of a judge, while in secret he was their inveterate enemy. He suborned a band of accusers ; and Nero, then presumptive heir to the em- pire, was the first devoted victim. The3'oung prince, imhaclvuej^cd in the ^viiys of men, modest in his deportment, and in his man- ners amiable, had not the prudence that knows how to temporise and bend to occa- sions. The freedmen, and others about his person, eager to grasp at power, encouraged him to act with firmness, and a spirit suited to his rank. Such behaviour, they told him, would gratify the wishes of the people ; the army desired it, and the pride of Sejanus would soon be crest-fallen, though at pre- sent he triumphed over the worn-out facul- ties of a superannuated emperor, and the careless disposition of a young and inexpe- j'ienced prince, LX. KousED by these discourses, Nero' beer was completed. OF TACITUS. 217 were held forth as bright temptations. The book spirit of contention, common between bro- ..^n-^ . A. U, C. thers, was with Drusus an additional motive ; '77a A. D. and the partiality of iVgrippina for her eldest -^s. son inflamed a young man, who was by na- ture violent and ambitious. Sejanus, in the mean time, while he seemed to cherish Dru- sus, was busily employed in schemes to un- dermine him. He knew the haughty temper of the prince, and from the violence of his passions expected to derive every advantage. LXI. Towards the end of the year died two illustrious citizens fa J, Asinius Agrippa, and Quintus Ilaterius. The former was of an honourable but not ancient family. His own character reflected lustre on his ances- tors. Ilaterius fdj was descended from a race of senators. Ilis eloquence, while he lived, was in the hiii;hest celebrity ; but his writings, published since his death, are not regarded as monuments of genius. Warm and rapid, he succeeded more through hap- piness than care. Diligence and depth of thinking, which give the last finishing to other works, and stamp their value with pos- terity, were not the talent of Haterius. His flowing period, and that harmonious cadence 213 THE ANNALS BOOK ^vhich charmed in the living orator, are now no longer heard. His page remains a dead letter, without grace or energy. A. u. c. LXII. In the next consulship, which was A.^D. that of Marcus Licinius and Lucius Calpur- nius, an unioreseen disaster, no sooner be- gun than ended, laid a scene of ruin e(pial to the havoc of the most destructive war. A man of the name of Atilius, the son of a freedman, undertook at Fidcna faj to build an amphitheatre for the exhibition of gladia- tors. The foundation was slight, and the .superstructure not sutKiciently braced ; the work of a man, Avho had neither the pride of wealth, nor the ambition to make himself of consequence in a municipal town. The profit that might probably arise from such a scheme, was all he had in view. The people, under the austerity of a rigid and unsocial government deprived of their usual diver- sions, were eager for the novelty of a public spectacle fhj ; and the place being at no great distance from Kome, a vast conHux of men and women, old and young, crowded to- gether. The consequence was, that the building, overloaded with spectators, gave way at once. A-U who were under the roof, OF TACITUS. 219 besides a prodi<>;ious multitude that stood book. j-ound the place, were crushed under the ruins. The condition of those who perished instantly, was the happiest. They escaped the pangs of death, while the maimed and lacerated lingered in torn^ent, beholding, as long as day-light lasted, their wives and chil- dren in equal agony, and, during the night, pierced to the heart b}^ their shrieks and groans, A calamity so fatal was soon known round the country. Crowds from all quar- ters went to view the melancholy scene. One lamented a brother, another his near rela- tion ; children wept for their parents, arid almost all for their friends. Such as by their avocations had been led a difterent way, were given up for lost. The real sufferers were still unknown, and, in that dreadful state of suspense, every bosom panted with doubt and fear, LXIII. The ruins were no sooner re- moved, than the crowd rushed in to examine the place. They gathered round the dead bodies j they clasped them in their arms ; they imprinted kisses, and often mistook the person. Disfigured faces, parity of age, fiad similitude of form and feature, occasion^ 220 THE ANNALS ed great confusion. Claims were made, a tender contest followed, and errors were ac- knowledged. The number of killed or maim- ed was not less than fifty thousand (a). The senate provided by a decree, that, for the fu- ture, no man, Avhose fortune was under four hundred thousand sesterces, should presume to exhibit a spectacle of gladiators, and that, till the foundation was examined, no amphi- theatre should be erected. Atilius, the builder, was condemned to banishment. The grandees of Rome displayed their humanity on this occasion : they threw open their doors ; they ordered medicines to be distri- buted, and the physicians attended with as- siduity in every quarter. The city of Rome recalled, in that juncture, an image of an- cient manners, when, after a battle bravely fought, the sick and wounded were received with open arms, and relieved by the genero- sity of their country. LXIV. While the public mind was still bleeding for the late calamity, a dreadful fire laid waste a great part of the city. Mount Caelius (a)\v2L?> reduced to ashes. The popu- lace began to murmur. The year, they said, was big with disasters, and the prince de« JO OF TACITUS. 221 parted from Rome under an evil constella- book IV. tion. Such is the logic of the multitude : what happens by chance they impute to de- sign. To appease their discontent, Tiberius ordered a distribution of money in proportion to the damage of individuals. For tiiis act of liberality, the senate passed a vote of thanks, and the people were loud in praise of munificence, so seasonably applied, and granted indiscriminately. No man had oc- casion to make interest ; it was enough that he was a sufferer. The fathers came to a re- solution, that Mount Ca^lius, wiiere a statue of Tiberius, in the house of Junius the se- nator, escaped the fury of the flames, should for the future be called Mount Augustus. A prodigy of a similar nature happened in ancient times. The statue (bj of Claudia Quinctia 'vvas saved twice from a general conflagration, and, on that account, placed and dedicated in the temple of the Mother of the Gods. The Claudian family was ever after consider- ed as peculiarly favoured by heaven, and the spot where the gods were lately so propiiiou to Tiberius, was declared to be consecrated ground. LXV. It will not perhaps be improper to 5- 2'22 THE ANNALS BOOK mention in this place, that the mount, of which we have been speaking, was, in the early ages of Rome, covered with a grove of oaks, and for that reason called Querquetu- i.ANus. It took afterwards the name of Ca> lins from Ca:^les Vibenna, an Etrurian chief, who marched at the head of his countrymen, to assist the Romans, and for that service had the spot assigned to him as a canton for himself and his people. Whether this was the act of Tarquinius Pi iscus, or some other Roman king, is not settled by the historians. Thus much is certain ; the number trans- planted was so great, that their new habita- tion extended from the mount alouir the plain beneath, as far as the spot where the forum stands at present. From those set- tlers the Tuscan Street derives its name (a). LXVI. Though the sufferings of the peo- ple, in their late distress, v.ere alleviated by the bounty of the prince, and the humanity of the o;reat, there was still an evil, aoainst which no remedy could be found. The crew of informers rose in credit everyday, and co- vered the city with consternation. Quintilius Varus (aj, the son of Claudia Pulchra, and OF TACITUS. 223 V nearly related to tlie emperor, was marked book out as a victim. His laru;e possessions tempt- <-^r--o A. u. c, ed Domitius Afer wlio had already ruined the 7so. mother. The blow now aimed at the son, 27. was no more than was expected from a man, who had lived in indigence, and, having squandered the wages of his late iniquity, was ready to find a new quarry for his avarice. But that a man like Publius Dolubella, no- bly descended, and related to Varus, should become an instrument in the destruction of his own family, was matter of wonder. The senate stopped the progress of the mischief. They resolved that the cause should stand over till the emperor's return to Rome. Pro- crastination was the only refuge of the un- happy. LXVII. Tiberius, in tlie mean time, de- dicated the two temples in Campania, which served him as a pretext for quitting the city of Rome. That business finished, he issued an edict, warning the neighbouring cities not to intrude upon his privacy. For better secu- rity, he placed a guard at proper stations, to pTCvent all access to his person. These pre- cautions, however, did not content hhii. Hating the municipal towns, weary of the co- 224 THE ANNAtS BOOK lonies, and sick of every thin* on the conti- nent, he passed over to Caprea^ fa J, a small island, separated from the promontory of Siirrentum by an arm of the sea, not more than three miles broad. Defended there from all intrusion, and delii>hted with the solitude of the place, he sequestered himself from the world, seeing, as may be imagined, many circumstances suited to his humour. Not a single port in the channel ; the stations but few, and those accessible only to small ves- sels ; no part of the island, where men could land unobserved fb) by the sentinels ; the climate inviting ; in the winter a soft and ge- nial air, under the shelter of a mountain that repels the inclemency of the winds ; in the summer, the heat allayed by the western breeze ; the sea presenting a smooth expanse, and opening a view of the bay of Naples, with a beautiful landscape on its borders : all these conspired to please the taste and genius of Tiberius. The scene, indeed, has lost much of its beauty, the fiery eruptions of Mount Vesuvius fcj having, since that time, changed the face of the country. If ^Ve may believe an old tradition, a co- lony froiB Gr(;ece was formerly settled on the 27, OF TACITtJS. 225 positc coast of Italy, and the Teleboi were ^^^^ in possession of the isle of Capreiii. Be that ^;['^J57c! as it may, Tiberius chose for his residence ^^^ twelve different villas (dj, all magnificent and well fortified. Tired of pnblic business, he now resigned himself to his favourite gratifi- cations, amidst his solitary vices still engen-* dering mischief. The habit of nourishing dark suspicions, and believing every whis- perer, still adhered to him. At Home Se- janus knew how to practise on such a temper ; but in this retreat he governed him with un- bounded influence. Having gained the ascen- dant, he thought it time to fall on Agrippina and her son Nero, not, as heretofore, with covered malice, but with open and avowed hostility. He gave them a guard, under colour of attending their persons, but in fact to be spies on their actions. Every circum- stance was noted ; their public and their private discourse, their messengers, their visitors, all were closely watched, and a journal kept of petty occurrences. The agents of Scjanus, by order of their master, advised them bptli to fly for protection to the German array, or to take sanctuary under the statue of Au* gustus in the public forum, and there . implore VOL. II. Q 226 THE ANNALS BOOK the protection of the senate and the peo- ple. The advice Avas rejected; but the pro- 780.^' ject, as if their own, and ripe for excution, A. U. C A.D 37. was imputed to them as a crime. A.U.C. LXVIII. Junius Silanus and Silius 78 f A.D. Nerva were the next consuls. The year 28. . began with a transaction of tha blackest dye. Titius Sabinusf«J, a Roman knight of higli distinctioUjWas seized with violence, and drag- ged to prison. His steady attachment to the house of Germanicus was his only crime. After the death of that unfortunate prince, he con- tinued firm to Agrippina and her children : at her house a constant visitor ; in public a sure attendant, and, of the whole number that formerly paid their court, the only friend at last. His constancy was applauded by every honest mind, and censured by the vile and profligate. Four men of praetorian rank en- tered into a conspiracy to work his ruin. Their names were Latinius Latiaris, Porcius Cato^ Petilius Ilufus, and Marcus Opsins. They had all attained the praetorian rank, and now aspired to the consulship. The road to that dignity they knew was open to none but the creatures of Sejanus, and to the favour of that minister guilt was the only recommendation. OF TACITUS. ^97 V ^v I The conspirators settled among themselves, book that Latiaris, who had some connection v/ith "^^^T^ ' A U. C. Sabinus, should undertake to lay the snare, while the rest lay in wait for evidence, de- termined, as soon as their materials were col- lected, to begin their scene of iniquity, and stand forth as witnesses. Latiaris accordingly made his approaches to Sabinus : he talked at first on trite and common topics, artfully making a transition to the fidelity of Sabinus, v>'ho did not, like others, follow the fortunes of a noble house, while fortune smiled, and, in the hour of ad- versity, sound his retreat with the rest of the sneakiu"' train. He made honourable mention of Germanicus, and spoke of Agrippina in pa- thetic terms. Sabinus, with a mind enfeebled by misfortunes, and now softened by compas- sion, burst into a flood of tears. To emotions of tenderness resentment succeeded. He talked, with indignation, of the cruelty of Sejanus, of his pride, his arrogance, and his daring ambition. The emperor himself did not escape. From this time, like men who had unbosomed their secrets to each other, Latiaris and Sabinus joined in the closest Q 2 781. A. D. 28. IV. 238 THE ANNALS BOOK union. They cultivated each other's friend- ship. Sabiniis sought the company of his new confederate ; he frequented his house, and without reserve, in the fullest confidence dis- closed his inmost thoughts. LXIX. The conspirators held it neces- sary, that the conversation of Sabinus should be heard by more than one. A place for this purpose, secure and solitary, was to be chosen. To listen behind doors, were to hazard a dis- covery ; they might be seen or overheard, or some trifling accident might give the alarm. The scene of action at lensjth was fixed. They chose the cavity between the roof of the house and the ceiling of the room. In that vile hulking hole, with an execrable de- sign, three Roman senators lay concealed, their ears applied to chinks and crannies, listening to conversation, and by fraud col- lecting evidence. To com.plete this plan of iniquity, Latiaris met Sabinus in the street, and, under pretence of communicating secret intelligence, decoyed him to the house, and to the very room where the infamous eaves- droppei's lay in ambush. In that recess Latiaris entered into conversation ; he re- called past grievances ; he stated recent cala- OF TACITUS. 229 mities, and opened a train of evils still to book come. Sabinus went over the same ground, ';^'^J^ more animated than before, and more in the ^^[; detail. When griefs, Avhich have been long ^^■ pent up, once find a vent, men love to dis- charge the load that weighs upon the heart. From the materials thus collected, the con- spirators drew up an accusation in form, and sent it to the emperor, y\ ith a memorial, to their own disgrace and infamy, setting forth the whole of their conduct. Home was never at any period so distracted with anxiety and terror. ]\Ien were afraid of knowing each other ; society was at a pause ; relations, friends, and strangers, stood at gaze ; no public meeting, no private confidence ; things inanimate had ears, and roofs and walls were deemed informers, LXX. On the calends of January, Tibe- rius dispatched at letter to the Senate, in which, after expressing, as usual in the be- ginning of the year, his prayers and vows for the commonwealth, he fell with severity on Sabinus. He charged him with a plot against his sovereign, and with corrupting, for that purpose, several of the imperial freedmen. He concluded in terms neither dark noi' am- 230 THE ANNALS BOOK bi^uous, demanclinoj ven2;eance on the offen- der. Judgment of death was pronounced accordinsjlv- Sabinus fa) was seized, and dragged through the streets to immediate execution. Muffied in his robe, his voice jalmost stifled, he presented to the gazing multitude a tragic spectacle. He cried out with what power of utterance lie could, *' Behold the bloody opening of the year! *' With victims like myself Sejanus must be ■' o'lutted !" lie continued to strnoole and throw his eyes around. Wherever he looked, to whatever side he directed his voice, the people shrunk back dismayed ; they fled, they disappeared ; the public places and the forum were abandoned ; the streets became a desert. In their confusion some returned to the same spot, as if willing to behold the horrid scene, alarmed for themselves, and dreading the crime of being terrified. The general murmur was, *' Will there " never be a day unpolluted with blood ? — - " Amidst the rites and ceremonies of a sea- " son sacred to religion, when all business is '* at a stand, and the use of profane words is " by law prohibited, we hear the clank of '■ chains ; we see the halter, and the murder OF TACITUS. 231 " of a fellow-citizen. The innovation, mon- book " strous as it is, is a deliberate act, the policy <— -v^^ ' ^ -^ A. u. c. " of Tiberius. lie means to make cruelty 'sj- A. D. *' systematic. By this unheard-of outrage, -'*• " he gives public notice to the magistrates, ** that on the first day of the year, they are '' to open, not only the temples and the " altars, but also the dungeons and the *' charnel-house." Tiberius, in a short time after, sent dispatches to the senate, com- mending the zeal of the fathers in bringing to condign punishment an enemy of the state. He added, that his life was embittered with anxiety, and the secret machinations of in- sidious enemies kept him in a constant alarm. Though he mentioned no one by name, his malice was understood to glance at Nero ancl Agrippina. LXXI. The plan of this work professes to give the transactions of the year in chro- nolooical order. If that rule did not restrain me, I should here be tempted to anticipate the time, and, to gratify indignation, relate the vengeance that overtook Latiaris fa J, Opsius, and the other actors in that horrible tragedy. vSome of them were reserved for 25^ THE ANNALS BOOK the reign of Caligula ; but, even in the pre- sent period, the sword of justice was not suffered to remain inactive. The fact was, Tiberius made it a rule to protect his instru- ments of cruelty ; but it was also in his na- ture to be satiated with the arts of flagitious men: new tools of corruption listed in his service ; and his former agents, worn out in guilt, neglected and despised, were cashiered at once, and left to the resentment of their enemies, But I forbear ; the punishment that befel the murderers of Sabinus, and other miscreants equally detestable, shall be seen in its proper place. The emperor's letter above-mentioned be- ing read in the senate, Asinius Gallus fhj, whose sons were nephews to Agrippina, moved an address, requesting the prince to reveal his secret disquietude, that the wisdom of the fa^ thers might remove all cause of complaint. Dissimulation was the darling practice of Ti- berius, and he placed it in the rank of virtues, Hating detection, and jealous of prying eyes, he was now enraged agajnst the man who seemed to have fathomed his latent meaning, iSejanus appeased his anger, not out of friend- OF TACITUS. 233 fehip to Galkis, but to leave Tiberius to the ^oqk workings of bis own gloomy temper. The '"^'^^ favourite had studied the genius of his mas- ^^*^- ter. He knew that he could think with '^^' phlegm, slow to reslove, yet gathering ran- cour, and, in the end, sure to break out with fiercer vengeance. About this time died Julia fcj, the grand- daughter of Augustus, during that prince's reign convicted of adultery, and banished to the isle of Trimetus fdj, near the coast of Apulia. At that place she languished in. exile during a space of three-and-twenty years, a wretched dependant on the bounty of Livia, who lirst cut off the grandsons of Augustus, in their day of splendor, and then made a shew of compassion for the rest of the family, who were suffered to survive in misery, LXXII. In the course of this year the Frisians, a people dwelling beyond the Rhine faj, broke out into open acts of hostility. The cause of the insurrection was not the restless spirit of a nation impatient of the yoke ; they were driven to despair by Roman jivarice. A moderate tribute, such as suited 534 THE ANNALS BOOK the poverty of the people, consisting of raw •..^y^^ hides for the use of the leiijions, had been for- A. U. C. . O ' 781. merly imposed by Drusus f/jj. To specify 28. the exact size and quality of the hide was an idea that never entered into the head of any man, till Olennius, the first centurion of a legion, being appointed governor over the Frisians, collected a quantity of the hides of forest bulls CcJ, and made them the standard both of weight and dimension. To any other nation this would have been a grievous bur- then, but was altogether impracticable in Germany, where the cattle, running wild in large tracts of forest, are of prodigious size, while the breed for domestic uses is remark- ably small. The Frisians groaned under this oppressive demand. They gave up first their cattle, next their lands ; and finally were ob- liged to see their wives and children carried into slavery by way of commutation. Discon- tent and bitter resentment filled the breasts of injured men. They applied for redress, but without effect. In despair they took up arms, they seized the tax-gatherers, and hung them upon gibbets. Olennius made his escape, lie fled for refuge to a castle known by the name of FLEvuMfr/J, at that time garrisoned by a strong party of Romans and auxiliaries, wliQ OF TACITUS. 235 were stationed in that quarter for the de- book fence of the country bordering on the Gor- man Ocean. LXXIII. Intelligence of this revolt no sooner reached Lucius Apronius, at that time propnvtorof the Lower Germany, tlian he drew together from the Upper Rhine a detachment of the legionary veterans, with the flower of the alHed horse and infantry. Ilavini>; now two armies, he sailed down the Rhine, and made a descent on the territory of the Frisians, then employed in a close blockade of Fh'vum castle. To defend their country against the invaders, the Barbarians thought proper, on the approach of the Ro- mans, to abandon tlje siege. The lestuaries in that countr}^ formed by the influx of the sea, are a grand obstacle to military operations. A[)ronius ordered bridges to be prepared, and causeways to be thrown over the marshes. Meanwhile, the fords and shallows being dis- covered, lie sent the cavalry of the Canine- fates (a) and the German infantry that served under him, with orders to pass over, and take post in the rear of the eneni}'. The Frisians, drawn up in order of battle, gave 236 THE ANNALS BOOK them a warm reception. The whole detach- ment, with the legionary horse sent to sup- port the ranks, was put to the rout. Apro- nius dispatched three Hght cohorts; two more followed, and, in a short time, the whole cavalry of the auxiliaries ; a force suf- ficient, had they made one joint attack ; but coming up in separate divisions, and at dif- ferent times, they were neither able to rally the broken ranks, nor, in the general panic, to make head against the enemy. In this distress, Cethegus Labeo, who commanded the fifth legion, received orders to advance with the remainder of the allies. That officer soon found himself pressed on every side . He sent messenger after messenger to call forth the whole strength of the army. His own legion, being the fifth, rushed for- ward to his assistance. A sharp engagement followed. The Barbarians, at length, gav^ ground; and the auxiliary cohorts, faint with fatigue, and disabled by their wounds, were rescued from the sword of the enemy. The Roman general neither pursued the fu- gitives, nor staid to bury the slain, though a number of tribunes and officers of rank, with OF TACITUS. ^37 centurions of distinguished bravery, lay dead book on the field of battle. By deserters intelli- ^^v-^ -^ A. U. C. pence was afterwards brought, that no less 7^'- than nine hundred Romans were surrounded *^" in the forest called BaduhennaT^J, and after a gallant defence, which lasted till the dawn of day, were to a man cut to pieces. Another body, consisting of no less than four hundred, threw themselves into a stron<:man- sion belonging to Cruptorix, a German chief, who had formerly served in the Roman army : but this whole party, afraid of trea- chery, and dreading nothing so much as being delivered into the hands of the enemy, turned their swords against each other, and perished by mutual slaughter. LXXIV. The name of the Frisians was, by consequence, celebrated throughout Ger- many. Tiberius, with his usual closeness, endeavoured to conceal the loss, aware that a war would call for a new commander, and that important trust he was unwilling to commit to any person whatever. As to the senate ; events that happened on the remote frontiers of the empire, made little impres- sion on that assembly. Domestic grievances 5 238 THE ANXALS BOOK Avere more interestino- : every- man trembled IV. ^ for himself, and flattery was his only re- source. Av^ith this spirit tlie fathers, at a time when matters of moment demanded their attention, made it their first business to decree an altar to Clemenc}-, and another to Friendship ; both to be decorated with the statues of Tiberius and Sejanus. They voted, at the same time, an huml^le address, requesting that the prince and his minister would condescend to shew themselves to the people of Rome. Neither of tiiem entered the city, nor even approached the suburbs. To leave their island on a saihng party, and exhibit themselves on the coast of Campania, was a sufficient favour. To enjoy that transient view, all degrees and orders of men, the senators, the Roman knights, and the populace, pressed forward in crowds. The favourite attracted the atten- tion of all, but was difficult of access. To gain admission to his presence was the work of cabal, intrigue, or connection in guilt. Sejanus felt his natural arrogance inflamed and pampered by a scene of servility so openly displayed before him. lie saw a OF TACITUS. 239 whole people crouching in bondage. At book Rome the infamy was not so visible. In a great and populous city, where all are in mo- tion, the sycophant may creep unnoticed to pay his homage. In a vast conflux, numbers are constantly passing and repassing ; but their business, their pursuits, whence they come, and whither they are going, no man knows. On the margin of the sea the case was different. ^Vithout distinction of rank, the nobles and the populace lay in the fields, or on the shore, humbly waiting', ni^jht and day, to court the smiles of the porter at the great man's gate, or to bear the insolence of slaves in office. Even that importunity was at length prohibited. The whole herd re- turned to Rome ; some, who had been honoured vrith a word or a smile, sinking into the lowest dejection of spirits ; others elate with joy, for they had seen tlie favourite, and did not then suspect how soon that fatal connection was to overwhelm them all in ruin. LXXV. The year closed with the mar- riage of Agrippina f «J, one of the daughters of Germanicus. Tiberius i^ave her away in 240 THE ANNALS person to Cneius Domitius (b), but ordered the nuptial ceremony to be performed at Home. Domitius was descended from a splendid line of ancestors, and, besides, allied to the house of C«sar. He was the grandson of Octavia, and of course grand nephew to Augustus. By this consideration Tiberius was determined in his choice. THE ANNALS OF TACITUS. BOOK V VOL. II. R CONTENTS. BOOK V. 1. THE dcatli and character of the empress IJ-cia. II. Tiberius groics more oppressive than e-cer^ and Sejanus rises to greater pozccr. III. Tiberius^ bij a letter to the senate, accuses Jgrippina and her son Nero. The po- pulace in a tumultuous maimer surround the senate- house. The fathers proceed no farther in the business, Sejanus incensed against their conduct. V. Tiberius zorites in tin angrtj style to the senate, and reserves the affair of Agrippinu for his own judgment. The apologi/ of the senate. Ill this place a cliasm of near three years : the supple- ment begins with the section marked with figures, in- stead of the Roman numeral letters. 1. Designs of Sejanus against Agrippina and Nero. 2. Violent prosecutions : Tiberius violent against all the friends of his mother. 3. Tranquillity/ through all the Roman provinces. 4. Remarkable letter from Ti- berius to the senate. 5. Agrippina and Nero voted public enemies. Both lahcn into custodiy. She is con- fined near Ilcrculaneum. A centuiion beats out her eye. She is banished to Pandataria, and Nero to Poti- tia, where he is put to death. Sejanus plots the ruin of Drusus, the second son of Germanicus. He seduces /Emilia Lepida to join him against her husband. 7. Drusus made a prisoner in the loioer part of the pa* R 2 CONTENTS. BOOK V. iace. 8. Tiberius begins to siispeet Sejatnis, lid amuses him Trith warm professions of friemhhip. 10, Popularitj/ of Sejauus : his statues erected at Rome : his hirth-daij celebrated. 1 J . Vel/eius Paterculus the historian : he is the creature of Sejanus, and sul/ics his historj/ with adulation. 13. Tiberius suspects Asi- nius Gallus and Lentulus Gaitulicus, the professed frietid of Sejanus. The stratagem by Trhich Tiberius contrives the ruin of Asinius Gallus. 15. Sejanus is loaded with honours b?/ the emperor: Livia, the widoia of Driisus, given to him in marriage. 17. Tiberius resolved to remove Sejanus to Home, and for that purpose makes him joint consul with himself. Seja- nus males his entry into Rome, and is received with demonstrations of joy, 20. TJie cruelty of Sejanus. Death of Germinius Rufus and Prisca his wife. The consulship extended by a decree to a term offiveykars. 22. Tiberius annuls the decree; he resigns the consul' ship, and makes Sejanus do the same. 23. Sejanus wishes to return to the isle of Caprece ; Tiberius ob- jects to it, and says he means to visit Rome. 24. The young Caligula raised to the honours of augur and pontiff. Sejanus is honoured with religious zcorship : Tiberius forbids such impious mockery even to himself. 26. Sejanus driven almost to despair: he forms a con- spiracy, determined at all events to seize the reins of government. Satrius Secundus betrays kirn to Anto- nia, the sister-in-law of Tiberius. Pallas, then a slave, but aftencards the favourite of the emperor "^^ Claudius, is sent by Antonia to inform against Seja- nus. 28. Bleasures of Tiberius to defeat Sejanus, "Macro sent to Rome to command the prcetorian guards. Artful proceedings against Sejanus. Jiegulusy the CONTENTS. BOOK V. C07isid, and Laco, captain of the cily cohorts^ join against Sejanus, and take him into cuslodj/ i ' the se' nate-house. 33. lie is dragged to prison; insuUs of the populace; his death. Decrees of the senate against his memory. 35. Honours decreed to Macro and L,aco, bat by them prudentl;/ rejected. 37. Junius Blcesus, uncle to Sejanus, put to death ; as also the eldest son of Sejanus. ApicatUy the first wife of Seja- 7nis, but divorced from him, discovers the particulars of the murder of Drusus bi/ her husband and the younger Z,ivia, and then puts an end to her days. 38. Death of Livia, by order of Tiberius. c»9. His opinion of Ca- ligula. 40. Acts of cruelty by Tiberius in the isle of Caprece, displayed in various instances. 4t3. From the end of this section Tacitus goes on to the end of tlie book. VI. The speech of an illustrious senator, whose name is lost: his jortitude, and manner of dying. VIII- P. Vitellius and Pompo7iius Secundus accused, but not brought to trial. ViieUAus dies broken-hearted. Pom-- ponius out-lives Tiberius. IX. A son and daughter of Sejanus, the last of his family, put to death by or* der of the senate. X. A counterfeit Drusus m Greece. The impostor detected by Poppauis Sabinus. XI. Dis* sensions between the two consuls. These transactions include three years. Years Of of Rome — Christ, Consuls. 782 29 \ L. Rubellius Geminus, C. Fusius Geminus, 783 30 \ Marcus Vinicius, L. Cassius Longinus. CONTENTS. — BOOK V. Years of Rome. Of Christ, Consuls. _„- 01 ^ Tiberius bih time, L. JEUus So ^^^ ^^ ^ janus. Ahout the middle of '\ May in the same f Cornelius Sulla, Sexteidius Catul- y ear for three ^ linus. months. j Tram the middle of 1 Afgust in the > Memmiiis Regulus, Fukinius Trio, sameyear. j THE ANNALS OF TACITUS. BOOK V. I- JJURING the consulship of RubelHus book Geininiis and Fusius (aj, who bore the same ^surname, died, in an advanced old age, the emperor's mother Livia (bj, styled Julia Au- gusta. Illustrious by her descent from the house of Claudius, she was further ennobled by adoption into the Livian and the Julian families. She was first married to Tiberius Nerofrj, and by him was the mother of two sons. Her husband, when the citv of Perusia was obliged to surrender to the arms of Au- gustus, made his escape, and wandered from place to place, till the peace between Sextus J?ompeius and the triumvirate restored him 248 THE ANNALS BOOK to his country. Enamoured of tlie graceful form and beauty of Livia, Augustus obliged her husband to resign her to his embraces. Whether she had consented to the change, is uncertain ; but the passion of the emperor was so ardent, that, without waiting till she was delivered of the fruit of her womb, he conveyed her, pregnant as she was, to his own house. By this second marriai>;e she had no issue ; but Agrippina and Germani- cus (dj being joined in wedlock, Livia be- came allied to the house of Ca?sar, and the issue of that match were the common sreat grand-children of Augustus and herself. Her domestic conduct was formed on the model of primitive manners ; but by a graceful ease, unknown to her sex in the time of the re- public, she had the address to soften the rigour of ancient virtue. A wife of amiable manners, yet a proud and imperious mother, she united in herself the opposite qualities that suited the specious arts of Augustus, and the dark dissimulation of her son. The rites of sepulture (ej Avere performed without pomp or magnificence, iler will remained for a long time unexecuted. Tlie funeral oration was delivered from the rostrnm by OF TACITUS. 249 her ^reat grandson Cains C;£Stir, afterwards book Cali;th had hitherto lain in fraud and co- vert stratagem, and, having made an expe- riment of his talents, he resolved to proceed by the same insidious arts. Agrippina con- tinued, with unal)ating spirit, to counteract liis designs ; and her two sons, Nero and Drusus, stood fair in the line of succession to the imperial dignity. The ambition of the minister required that all three should be removed. He began with Nero and Agrip- pina, well assured, that, after their destruc- tion, the impetuous temper of Drusus would lay liim open to the assault.^ of his enemies. 2jS supplement, 9. Rome, in the mean time, knew no pause from the rage of prosecutions. During the life of Li via. Tiberius felt some restraint ; but, that check removed, he now broke out with redoubled fury. The most intimate friends of his mother (aj, particularly those to whom she had recommended the care of her funeral, were devoted to destruction. In that number a man of equestrian rank, and of a distinguish- ed character, was singled out from the rest, and condemned to the hard labour of drawing water (bj in a crane. By the disgrace of an infamous punishment, the tyrant meant to spread a general terror. The cruelty of Se- janus kept pace with the exterminating fury of his master. His pride was wounded by the freedom with which the public spoke of his ambitious views. A band of informers was let loose, and by that hireling crew a civil war was Avaged against the first men in Rome. Spies were stationed iii every quarter ; the mirth of the gay, the sorrows of the wretched, the joke of iimocent sinq)licity fcj, and the wild rambling talk of men in liquor, served to swell the list of constructive crimes. Nothing was safe ; no place secure ; informers spread terror and desolation tlirough the city, and all ranks were swept away in one conxinon ruin. 782. A. D. 29. SUPPLEMENT. 257 S. While by these acts of oppression book Rome was made a scene of ruin and dismay, ^f^ every other part of the empire enjoyed the most fa J perfect tranquiUity . It was the wish of Tiberius to have no war upon his hands, and with that view, it was his pohcy to let the provinces feel the mildness of his govern- ment. He rewarded merit, but with a spar- ing hand ; to guilt he shewed himself hi- exorable ; the delinquent in a post of trust was sure to be punished with unremitting severity. He dreaded superior merit ; and though at Rome virtue was a crime, in the provinces he forgave it. To his choice of general officers and foreign magistrates, no objection could be made ; they were men of integrity, though seldom of distinguished talents. The jea- lousy of his nature would not allow him to employ the most eminent characters : and from mediocrity, though he could not hope for glory, he expected to derive the undis- turbed tranquillity of his reign. 4. Marcus Vinicius and Lucius Cassius a. u. a Longinus were the next consuls frt J. By the ad. management of Tiberius, things were now brought to the crisis, which in his heaft he VOL. II. s i I ti 258 SUPPLEMENT, BOOK Iiad lons[ desired. The fathers had avowed their intention to pass a decree against Nero and Agrippina; but tlie clemency of the prince was supposed to hold that assembly in suspense. Tiberius, however, no longer hesi- tated . vSeJanus represented to him the danger of irrcsolntion or delay. The time, he said, called for sudden exertion. '' The guilty had " thrown off the mask, and from seditious '' discourses, proceeded to acts of open re- " bellion. Tlie very senate began to waver ; private views seduced them from their duty ; the integrity of that body was no " louiier cerliiin. The soldiers tlueatened a ^* revolt, and Nero was already considered as '' the hea.d of the empire. Tiberius, indeed, '' reipned auiidst the rocks of Caprea? ; but * ' Agrippina and her son gave the law atRome.'* IntVamed by this reasoning, Tiberius sent a letter to the fathers, in substance declaring *' that his mindwcts on the rack, and various '' apprehensions, like an inward lire fZ^y, con- '' sumed his peace. He knew by certain intel- " licence, that Nero and Agrippina had form- " ed a dangerous league ; and the storm, if " not prevented, woidd ere long burst in " luin on tlicir heads." SUPPLEMENT. 259 5. The senate met in consternation. After ^^^^ a short debate, Agrippina and her son Nero ^^^f^ were declared pubUc enemies. This vote no ps. I A. D. sooner reached the ear of Tiberius, than he ^'^• sent orders to a party of the pra3torian guards to take them both into custody. The un- happy prisoners were loaded with fetters, and conveyed from place to place (^aj in a close litter, which not a ray of light could penetrate. In this manner they proceeded towards the coast of Campania. A band of soldiers guard- ed them in their progress through the country. The crowd was every where kept at a dis- tance, and the eye of compassion no where suffered to behold their misery. Agrippina was detained, for some time, in a castle near lierculaneum (hj, on the margin of the sea; while Tiberius from his island beheld, witlr maliganut joy, the place where his state- prisoner pined in bitterness of heart. But even that distressful situation could not sub- due the sph'it of Agrippina. She did not for- <'-et that she was the grand-daughter of Au- oustus, and the widow of Germanicus. Burn- in<>- with resentment, and by every insult fired with indignation, she launched out with vehe- mence against the savage cruelty of the em- s 9 260 SUPPLEMENT. peror. The centurion, who guarded iier per** son, had his private orders ; and the ferocity of his nature made him rfeady to obey. With brutal violence he raised his liand, and at a blow struck fc) out one of her eyes. She wished for the hand of death to deliver her from the ra^e of her enemies. She resolved to die by abstinence ; but even that last re- source of the wretched was denied to her. Her mouth fdj was opened against her will, and victuals were forced down her throat, in order to protract a life of misery. Such was the deep and studied malice of Tiberius : he de- stroyed numbers in his fury, and at times, with deliberate malice, refused to let others die in peace f^^. He kept them imprisoned in life, and made even his mercy the severest vengeance. To see those whom he hated in his heart, streched on the torture of the mind, invoking death, yet forced to linger in slow- consimiing pain, was the delight of that im- placable, that obdurate mind. With that envenomed malignity he chose to extend the life of Agrippina. She was removed, under the care of a centurion, to the isle of Pan- dataria, where Julia, her unfortunate mother, closed her life in the last stage of wretched- SUPPLEMEXT. 261 ncss. By confining the daughter in the same book V. place, he hoped, by a subtle stroke of malice, to load Jier with the imputation of shnilar vices, and thereby blacken a character which he saw was purity itself. Agrippina perceiv- ed the drift of his inhuman policy, and, no doubt, felt it with anguish of heart. How she endured the barbarity of lier enemies for three }^ears afterwards, we have now no means of knowino". Her death will be mentioned in due time and place (f). Nero was banished to the Isle (g) of Pontia, not far from Pandataria. About a year afterwards, the news of his death arrived at Rome, and spread a general face of mourn- ing through the city. The current report was, that a centurion, sent by Tiberius, pass- ed himself for an officer, commissioned by the senate to see immediate execution per- formed. This man displayed to view his in- struments of death, and the young prince, terrified at the sight, put an end to his life. It is said, that, of the three sons of Germani- cus, he was the only one, who by his graceful figure, and the elegance of his manners, re- called to the memory of men an image of his father. 252 SUPPLEMENT. 6. Dhusus and Caius (siirnamed Cali- gula), as soon as their brother Nero was banished, were considered by Sejanus as the two remaining props of the empire. Drusus stood nearest to the succession, and for that reason was the most obnoxious. Seduced by the arts of Sejanus, and further incited by his own inordinate ambition, that unhappy prince had joined in the conspiracy against his brother Nero ; but what he thought would contribute to hi?? elevation, became the fatal cause of his ruin. He had been at an early [period of his life contracted to Otho's (a J daughter, who was then of tender years ; but, without regarding that engage- ment, he married iEmiHa Lepida (bj, a woman of illustrious birth, but fatally bpnt on mischief, and, by her pernicious talents, able to execute the worst designs. Sejanu^ saw the use to be made of such a character. He had chosen Livia for his instrument to cut off Drusus, the son of Tiberius ; and he now resolved, by the same execrable means, to destroy the son of Germanicus. AVith this design, the grand corrupter in a short time gained the affections of the wife. In the course of hjs adulterous commerce, he instilled into her heart his own pernicious SUPPLEMENT. 263 7sr.. A. D. 30. venom, and rendered iier tlie implacable book enemy of her husband, lie promised to join "^^"^ her in the nuptial union, and with ideas of future iirandeur so dazzled her imai2;ination, that she undertook the detestable task of carrying to the ear of the emperor an accu- sation ai>:ainst her husband, who was then attending' the court in the Isle of Ca])rea.\ Instructed by her seducer, and urged on by the ardour of her own libidinous passions, she alarmed Tiberius every day with some new allegation ; she renewed, with studied artifice, all that had been imputed to Nero and Agrippina, and in their guilt, with af- fected reluctance, involved Drusus as an accomplice. She pretended, at the same lime, to plead in his behalf. His crimes, bhe hoped, would admit of some extenua- tion : but her apology served only to_ enve- nom the charge. The emperor consulted with his minister. That artful politician es- poused the cause of the young prince ; he af- fected to disbelieve all that was alleged : but the proofs in time were too strong to be resist- ed ; he yielded to the force of truth, still at- tempting to palliate, but by feeble excuses making the whole appear still more atrocious. 2G4 SUPPLEMENT. 7. Drusus, unheard and undefended, re- ceived orders to depart forthwith from the Isle of Capreae. He arrived at Rome, but not to live there in a state of security. He was pursued by the machinations of Sejanus. That artful and intriguing minister prevailed on Cassius Longinus (a), the consul, to ar- raign the character and conduct of the young prince, before the assembly of the fathers. Though high in office, this man was base enough to forget his ow^i dignity, and be- come the infamous tool of a vile and design- ing favourite. He stated to the senate, *' that the young prince, exasperated by his *' late disgrace, was pursuing violent mea- '* sures ; and, in order to cause a sudden re- *^ volution, was every day endeavouring by '' intrigue, by cabal, and popular arts, to in- '* crease the number of his partisans." These allegations were, in fact, suborned by Sejanus : but the fathers were persuaded that the whole business originated with the emperor. A vote was accordingly passed, declaring Drusus an enemy to the state. This proceeding was no sooner reported to Tiberius, than he stood astonished at the measure, but his animosity to the house of Germanicus was not to be appeased. He gave orders, by letter to the A. U. C. 783. A.D. SUPPLEMENT. 265 senate, that liis grandson should be confined book a close prisoner in the lower part (bj of the palace, with a constant guard over him, to "'733 watch his motions, to note his words, and m keep a register of every circumstance, to be in time transmitted to Capreae, for his private inspection. In that wretched condition, Drusus was left to pine in misery, till, about three years afterwards, as will be mentioned in its place (c), he closed his dismal tragedy. 8. Tiberius saw, with iav/ard satisfaction, the family of Germanic us well nigh extin- guished. The measures by which their ruin had been accomplished, gratified the malice of his heart : but what motive induced Sejanus to be so active in the business, w^s a pro- blem, which all his penetration was not able to solve. Did the minister mean to gratify the wishes of his sovereign ? or was his own private ambition at the bottom? Tiberius was thrown into a state of perplexity. His jealousy took the alarm. From that moment he resolved to keep a watchful eye (a J on the conduct of the minister. His keen dis- cernment and systematic dissimulation Avere, perhaps, never so remarkable in any period of his life, He began to nourish suspicion ; 30. 266 SUPPLEMENT. BOOK anci, in a mind like his, suspicion av as sure V. o^v^-^ never to work in vain. In the memoirs ( /?j of A. V. c. -*« his own life, which were found after his deaths A. D. ' ^ it appears that the first cause, that brought on the ruin of the favourite, was his eagerness .| to destroy the sons of Germanicus. 9. Meanwhile, Sejanus grew intoxicated with his good fortune : he saw the imperial dignity totterin"- on the head of an ai>;ed prince, and not likely to be better supported by Caligula, a young man as yet unequal to ' the cares pf empire. He thought himself near the summit of his ambition : but to ensure success, he resolved to plan his mea- .sures with care and circumspection. He ad- dressed the prince in the style of a man, who I iiad no private views, no motive but the in- terest of his sovereiiifn. Tibtrius knew that his professions were false and hollow. He resohed, however, to retaliate with the same I insidious arts. He called Sejanus his best " jnend : the fiithful minister, by whose vigi- lance the public peace was secured, and the glory of the empire fgj maintained in its iui^liest lustre. Not content with bestowmg on him the warmest commendations, he add- . t-d that the man, who rendered such eminent SUPPLEMENT. 267 services to the state, oiiobt to be, at least, the book second in rank and dii>;nitv. 10. The minister, in consequence of this exaggerated praise, })ecanic the idol of the people. The fathers passed several votes in his favour, and sent their deputies to the Isle of Caprca:, with addresses of congratula- tion (a). In the forum, in the temples, and in private houses, statues were erected to Se- janus. His ])irth-day was celebrated with religious ceremonies. The altars smoked with incense, and the city resounded with Iiis praise. Men swore by the fortune of Ti- berius and his faithful friend. Sejanus shared in all public honours with the emperor. Ap- plauded by the senate, and adored by the multitude, he was now scarce inferior to his master. 11. It was in this juncture that Velleius Paterculus (a) published his Epitome of Ro- man Affairs, from tlie foundation of the city down to his own times. The work is de- dicated to Vinicius, one of the consuls for the year. It is to be regretted that a writer of so line a genius was thrown on that evil period, *26H supplement. BOOK ill which the Romans, fonnei ly fierce with all tlie pride, and, perhaps, the excess of Hberty, were fallen into tlie opposite extreme of ab- ject slavery. The spirit of adnlation debased thel:iuman character. This elegant author cauaht the infection of the times. He saw the senators, men of consular rank, the most illustrious of the Roman knights, and, in short, a whole jx^ople, prostrate at the feet of Tiberius and his favourite. He was | carried away by the current, and hence we iind him representing the Roman glory, that work of ages, and that toil of patriots, war- riors, and legislators, resting at length upon an emperor, who lived in voluntary exile, and a minister, who had all the vices, with- out the talents, of his master. The pane- gyric bestowed upon two such characters has survived the wreck of time ; but it has survived, to be the disgrace of the author ; a monument of venal praise and servile flat- tery. The beauty of the composition, and the graces of the style, are the Avork of a rhetorician, in whose hands history forgot her genuine character, and truth has been degraded. Paterculus stands at the head of ihose, who have been willing to list in the 11 SUPPLEMENT. 269 service of corruption ; and, tlioimh the taste book ^ v. of the writer will not easily find a rival, the abject spirit of the man will be sure of hav- ing, in every age and country, a herd of imitators, as long as the leaders of party and taction shall wisli to see their ambition dis- guised, and their vices decorated with the colours and the garb of virtue. 12. That Patcrculus threw a temporary lustre round the name of his patron, there can be no room to doubt, since the varnish so well laid on, almost deceives us at the pre- sent hour. But Sejanus found a more power- ful support in his two friends fa J, Asinius Galhis and Lentulus Gaetulicus. The former, being, as has been mentioned, on bad terms with Tiberius, was the more ready to list in the faction of Sejanus. He became the zea- lous partisan of the minister, and drew to his interest the leading members of the senate GaetuHcus was, at this time, appointed to the command of the legions in the Upper Gerni^my. He owed this promotion to. the influence of Sejanus, to whose son he had offered his daughter in marriage. This he knew vvould cement a closer union between liim and his patron ; and the patron, in the 270 SUPPLEMENT. I500K meaii tiinc, was not blind to the advantages V, . . . , whicli he himself might derive from that aUiaiice. Lucius Apronius, the uncle of Gittuhcus, wa^at the iiead of the army on the Lower Rhine; and, by forming a con- nection with that family, Sejanus saw that, in fact, he should have eight legions at his beck. This was a prospect that flattered his hopes, and gave new arflour to that spirit of enterprise, whicli no\v began to hurry him on to the consummation of his wishes. Honours, dignities, all employments and places of trust, were granted at his will and pleasure, and to none but men ready to co- operate in his worst designs. The minister, « thus supported, stood but one remove from the soven^ign power ; but his elevation placed | him on the edge of a precipice, from which his fall would inevitably be sudden and ter- rible, 13. Tiberius, in the mean time, was ever on the watch. He observed ail that passed witli acute, but silent attention. Bending under the weight of yCars, and still a slave to his iewd desires, he was anxious to preserve his power to the last. AVith this view he con- tinued to act with his usual policy ; in ap~ SUPPLEMENT. 271 pearance resigned to indolence, yet making book use of his vices to shade his secret purposes. His whole attention was fixed on the conduct ofSejanus. The alliance projected between the minister and GiXitulicus (a)^ who filled a post of such importance, alarmed his fears. The active zeal of Asinins Gall us was an- other cause of suspicion. He resolved to remove a man of so much weight, and, hav- ing formed that deep design, he soon seized his opportunity to carry it into execution. \ 14. AsiNius Gallus, still persisting to exert himself in the interest of Sejanus, made a florid speech in the senate, concluding with a string of new honours to be decreed to the favourite. The motion succeeded to his wishes. He fa J was deputed by the fathers to know the emperor's pleasure. During his 1 stay at the Isle of Caprca^ Tiberius sent a I letter to the senate, representing him as a I disturber of the public peace, and in direct i terms reQuirin£:j that he should be forthwith t secured in the house of one of the consuls. I The fathers knew that delay on their part would be considered as a crime. Havincr ' offended in the case of Agrippina, and not 272 SUPPLEMENT* **^°^ daring to provoke resentment a second time^ ^"^^^ they obeyed without hesitation. A praetor 2^P was dispatched to the Isle of Capreae, to take ^' charge of the prisoner. Asiniiis, in the mean time, was ignorant of all that passed at Home. lie was well received by the emperor, a con- stant i>uest at his table, and a sharer in all his pleasures. In the gaiety of a social hour he w^as informed of the judgment pronounced against him by the senate. The first emo- tions of surprise overpowered his reason. In order to secure, b}' a voluntary death, his fortune for his children, he endeavoured to lay violent hands on himself. Tiberius dis- suaded him from his purpose, giving him at the same time strong assurances that he might safely rely on the protection of the prince and the favour of Sejanus. Asinius yielded to that advice. He was conveyed to Rome under a guard, and there, without being heard in his defence, thrown into close con- finement, shut up from the sight of his friends, and debarred from all food, ex- cept what was necessary to prolong his I life. His friend Syriacus f ^J, a man distin- guished by his talents and his eloquence, met I with a gentler punishment. His intimacy s f SUPPLEMENT. 273 with Asinius was his only crime, and for that book ]ic was put to instant death ; happy to escape v-^-w from the power of a tyrant, who, by a refine- 783. ment in cruelty, made life itself the worst tor- ^o, ture he could inflict. 15. Sejanus was now persuaded that the sovereign power was within his o;rasp. Dazzled by that glittering scene, he did not perceive that the ruin of Asinius was a blow aimed at himself. Tiberius still continued to watch the motions of the minister, weighing every circuiifstance, and brooding in silence over liis own designs. He conversed in private with Sejanus ; he perused his countenance ; he explored his secret thoughts, and from what he saw and heard drew his own conclusions. A penetrating observer of mankind, he knew tliat prosperity is the surest discoverer of the liuman heart. lie resolved, therefore, to ply Sejanus with marks of the warmest affection ; he lavished his favours on him with un- ])0unded generosity ; he praised his unre- mitting labours in the service of his prince ; and, to put him off his guard, determined to overwhehn him with a load of grandeui'. The marriage with Livia (a), the widow of his VOL. II. T 274 SUPPLEMENT. BOOK son Drusiis, which he had formerly rejected, he knew would intoxicate the vanity of the ambitious minister. With that view he gave his consent to the match, resolved by acts of kindness to prove the secrets of the heart. Tiberius did not stop here. He was aware that Sejanus, while he remained at Caprea?, "Would act with circumspection ; but, if re- moved to a distance, would most probably drop the mask. In a solitary island the fa- vourite had every thing in his power ; the praetorian guards, stationed on the spot, were under his command, and all dispatches to the prince passed through their hands. Sejanus was, by consequence, master of every thing. He could suppress or deliver what he tliought proper. The court was filled with Jiis crea- tures, all of them spies upon the actions of the prince, and all devoted to the minister. 16. Tiberius felt these disadvantages, and accordingly devised an artful plan to free himself from the embarrassment. Under co- lour' of doing lionour to his friend, but, in truth, to remove him from his presence, he proposed to make him joint consul with himbelf. The functions of that high office. SUPPLEMENT. 275 he weli knew, would require the constant re- book sidence of the magistrate at a distance from ^^^'J^ Caprece ; and the emperor from his sohtary 1%^ ro(*k, as from a watch tower, might superin- ^^' tend all his measures. There was besides another advantage, of the iirst consequence to Tiberius. While the consul passed his whole time at Rome, the praetorian guards would be weaned from their former master, and, if necessary, ]\Iacro might be dispatched to undertake the command, under a plausi- ble promise to resign, whenever the minister should be at leisure from the duties of his maoistracv, to resume his station. Macro approved of this new arrangement. With the true spirit of a court sycophant, wishing for an opportunity to creep into favour, he professed himself devoted to the service of his prince, while, in fact, he was determined, by every sinister art, to su]3plant a proud and domineering favourite. 17. Sejanus, amidst all the dignities so liberally heaped upon him, little suspected an underplot to work his ruin. Ho con- tinued, with every mark of a fawning spirit, to ingratiate himself with the emperor ; he T 2 276 StrpPLEMENf'. BOOK was the s6le fountain of court favour ; he looked down with contempt upon the young Cahgula ; and of the twin-born sons of Dru- sus, the one, Mho still survived, was too young to alarm his jealousy. He received the homage of his creatures ; he distributed presents with magnificence, and still took care to keep the prince immersed in luxury. Tiberius saw, with inward pleasure, the towering spirit of the consul elect. In- creasing honours, he had no doubt, would unprovide his mind, and, in a short time, produce the genuine features of his character. A. u. c. Igi. We enter now upon the fifth consul- 784. . , . . A=D. ship of Tiberius, with Sejanus for his col- league. While the emperor remained in his solitary island (aj, Sejanus made his entry into Rome, with the pomp of a sovereign prince taking possession of his dominions. The streets resounded with peals of joy. The senators, the Roman knights, all ranks of men pressed round the new consul with their con- gratulations. His house was crowded, his gates were besieged, and all were eager to pa}^ their court. They knew the jealousy of a man raised to sudden elevation; they dreaded SI^PPLEMENT. 277 the daiiiijer of neolect or inattention ; and all book were \viliin«; to crawl in servitude. Ihe pre- ^-^^v^*- ^ _ , ^ A. U. C. vailing opinion was, that Tiberius, worn out "^^1^ with age, and no longer equal to a weight ^^' of cares, would, for the remainder of his days, resign himself to his usual pleasures, content with the shadow of imperial gran- deur, while the administration went on in his name, though conducted by his favourite. Tiberius seemed no more than the lord of an island, while Sejanus was considered as the vicegerent of the emperor, the actual govern- or of the Rman world. In this persuasion all bowed down before him ; they depended on his smiles ; they approached his presence with a degree of respect little short of ado- ration ; his statues were set up in every .quarter ; curule chairs were decorated with gold ; victims were slain, and, in the ho- nours offered to tlie minister, the prince was only mentioned for the sake of form, in con- formity to established usage. Religious wor- ship was not yet offered to the ambitious nia- gistrate ; but the men, who blushed to go to that extreme, fell prostrate before his statues, and there poured fortii their impious vows. 19- Tiberius had regular intelligence of all that passed ; but the time was not arrived. 278 SUPPLEMENT. ■ BOOK when the secrets of that dark desi<^ninf:r mind V. . . *^ ^^^^^■^^ were to transpire. He lay in wait for further A. U. C. ^ " . "784. particulars. In the mean time, he addressed ^^' himself to Lucius Piso fa J, a man descended from a father of censorian rank,who possessed the happy art of knowing how to avoid the extremes of liberty and mean submission. Acting always with temper and with wisdom, he had recommended himself to the esteem and favour of Tiberius. He could mix in scenes of luxury, and yet retain his virtue. Being praefect of Rome, he was, by conse- quence, a confidential minister, entrusted with all the secrets of the court. Tiberius requested him, as a proof of his fidelity, to take careful notice of all that passed in the city, and to transmit to Caprea? an exact account of the proceedings in the senate, the language of the Roman knights, the dis- contents and clamours of the populace, and, above all, the cabals, intrigues, and every action of the consul. Wishing still to de- ceive by fair appearances, he took care, in his letters to the senate, to make honourable mention of Sejanus, styling him, on all occasions, the prop and guardian of the empire ; his associate in the administratioa ; his dear, his well-beloved Sejanus. SUPPLEMENT. 279 20. Encouraged by these marks of fa- book V. vour, the new consul, to make his authority ^-'^n'^ ' ' f A. U. C. felt, resolved to let fall the weight of his ^'^^ power on all, who scorned to bend before ^^' him with abject humility. lie 'began with Gei'minius Rufus CaJ on a charge of violated majesty. Rufus appeared before the senate. His defence was short, but delivered with magnanimity. " The man," he said, '^ who '' stands accused of being an enemy to the *' prince, has by his Avill made that very ^' prince equal heir with his own children." Having uttered these words, he laid the Avill on the table, and withdrew to his own house. A qui\;stor follov.ed to acquaint him with the sentence of the fathers. Rufus no sooner saw the messenger, than he drew his sword, and, plunging it in his breast, " Behold," he said, ^' how a man of honour can die : go, and re- ^' port what you have seen to the senate." He spoke, .and breathed his last. Prisca his wife was involved in the prosecution. She •appeared before the Withers, determined to -emulate the example of her husband. They bei^an to interrogate her : in that instant she drew a dagger, which she had concealed under her robe, and giving herself a mortal stab, expired on the spot. 280 SUPPLEMENT. 21. AVhile Sejanus, to gratify his ven- geance, laid waste the city of Home, Tiberius looked on with calm indifference. The de- struction of men obnoxious for their virtue, gratified his natural cruelty ; and the public detestation, he was sure, would in the end fall on the minister. The senate, in the mean time, went on in a style of abject submission. Flattery was well nigh exliausted ; but tlie members of that assenibly were determined to rack their invention for new proofs of sordid meanness. They lamented that the dignity of the consulship was lessened by the shortness of its duration, and therefore voted that Ti- berius and his colleague should continue faj in office for the space of live years. Sejanus Avas now at the pinnacle of his wishes. He saw the emperor near the verge of life, and, sure of enjoying the consular authority after the death of his master, he made no doubt of succeeding to the sovereign power. 22. In due time the decree for extendinir the consulship to a longer term w^as comnm- nicated to Tiberius. Nothing could be more opposite to his intention. lie was willing to let Sejanus, by his acts of cruelty, provoke tJie ill will of the ])eople ; but to prolong his SUPPLEMENT. 281 power was no part of his plan. He expressed book his (lishke of the measure, but in terms of <>entle reproof, determined neither to disco- ver his hidden purposes, nor to irritate the pride of his colleague by an abrupt refusal. lie observed to the senate, " that their late " decree was an infringement of the consti^ *' lution. It had been the wisdom of the '' lathers to declare, that the consulship *' should not, of necessity, last an entire *' 3^ear. By making it a quinquennial office, *' they would withhold from men of eminence '' tlie reward due to their public services, *' and the provinces would be deprived of " able governors. It was for the v isdom of ?' the senate to consider, not what would do *' honour to the prince and his deaiiy be- ?' loved colleague, but wliat would be most ''- conducive to the happiness and good order '' of the empire. That, and that only, was ^' the object which he and Sejanus had nearest to their hearts ; and, in comparison with that great object, they disregarded public honours." lie dispatched at the ,^ame time, a private letter to Sejanus, advising hhn to abdicate his office; and, to induce him to it by his own example, he sent a letter of re- 2^2 SUPPLEMENT. ^^^^^ signal ion. Sejanus felt the disappointment. Unwilling, however, to make known the wound which his pride had suffered, he com- plied with the emperor's directions, and, ab- out the middle of jMay, went out of office, soon to have a more dreadful fall. 23. On the seventh of the ides of Mdy, Cornelius Sylla and Sexteidius Catullinusff/J bucceedtd to the consulship. They were ap- pointed for three months. Tiberius con- tinued to manage appearances, still mysteri- ous, close, and impenetrable. Sejanus, on his part, was not free from anxiety. He saw a change in the affections of the emperor, and, for that reason, wished to revisit Ca- prea:. In the solitude of that place he had no doubt but he could again wind himself into favour, or, if necessary, he could there, with better advantage, pursue the road of his ambition. His ostensible reasons for de- siring to return were, the ill health of Livia, who required a change of air ; and, after a long separation, his own earnest wish to Imve an interview with his sovereign. Tiberius was not to be deceived. He returned for answer, that he also languished for a sight SUPPLEMENT. 283 of his friend ; but the service of the state book required that so able a minister should re- "^Tu main at Rome. He intended shortly to visit 2%. the capital, and should there embrace Se~ "^* janus. In his letters to the senate he had the art to blend hints of dislike with marks of affection ; and, though still equivocal, he gave some reason to think, that he was wean- ina" himself from his favourite. He mention- ed him slightly, or hinted some exception, and occasionally passed him by in silence. He talked of hhnseif as a superannuated prince, worn out with infirmities, and near his end. In his next letters he was perfectly recovered, and on the point of setting out for Rome. The people were the dupes of his fallacy, while he remained fixed in his retreat, content to reign in solitary grandeur. 24. Tiberius thought it time to unmask another battery against Sejanus. He had in- vited the young Caligula f «J to his court, and, having made him put on the manly gown, he desired that the senate would invest him with the dignities of augur and pontiff, both va- cant by the banishment of his brother Nero. Of Claudius (bj (afterward emperor) he took 284 SUPPLEMENT. V. BOOK no notice. That prince had never been adopted into the CaDsarean family. He lived at Rome neglected and despised by the court of Tiberius. Antonia, his mother, used to say, tliat nature began to mould him, but had not finished ])er work. Perception and memory were faculties which he did not want ; but judgment and elocution were witliheld from him. In his private studies he made considerable acauisitions in literature ; but in public he lost his recollection, and with it the power of thinking. When under the ope- ration of fear, he seemed torpid and insensi^ ble ; and sudden fear continued to haunt him in every stage of life, and even on the throne. No wonder that Tiberius held him in no kind of estimation; but the honours conferred upon Caligula, he knew, wouk! prove a mortal stab to the ambition of Se- janus. Still, however, to amuse the favourite with delusive hopes, he required a grant from the senate of two more pontificates, one for Sejanus, and the other for his eldest son. By this ambiguous conduct the people of Rome were held in suspense. Whether they were to expect an account of the emperor's death, or in a short time to see him in the A. U. C. 784. A. D. SUPPLEMENT^ 285 city, was a point not to be ascertained, book Meanwhile, the senate, ever prone to flat- tery, passed a vote, investing Sejanus with js^ the title of proconsul, and at the same time declaring his conduct in his magistracy a mode for the imitation of all future con- suls. 25. Sejanus began to fluctuate between hope and fear ; but the senate shewino; still the same obsequious behaviour, he flattered himself that he should be able to reach the summit of his ambition. Religious worship continued to be offered to him. It is said, that he assisted in person at the celebration of the rites, at once tlie god and the priest of his own altar. Tiberius knew the effect of superstition on the public mind. To de- prive Sejanus of that advantage, he wrote to the senate, complaining, that, in direct op- position to the principles of religion and to common sense, the worship due to the gods alone fa J was impiously transferred to mortal man. lie ordered that no such honours should be jxiid to himself, and, by conse- (juence, left Sejanus exposed to the contempt and derision of the peoph le. 286 SUPPLEMENT. A. U.C 7S4. A. D BOOK 26. At Rome it was now understood that the emperor was ahenated from tlie man, who 7S4. had been rairsed to such a hei^lit of power A. D. . 31' and grandeur. Sejanus began to open his eyes, and to see at length a reverse of for- tune, lie found that lie had been the bubble of a politic prince, who had been, during his whole life, exercised in the arts of dissimu- lation, and was grown a perfect master in the arts of deceit and cruelty. The 3'oung Ca- ligula was, in appearance, high in favour with his grandfather, and the hearts of the people were at all times ready to espouse the family of Germanicus. The disappointed minister saw, too late, the want of resolu- tion which restrained him, during" his con- .sulship, when the whole power of the state was in his own hands. In the arts of fraud lie saw that he was no match for a systema- tic politician, who planned his measures in the gloom of solitude, and never let his coun- sels transpire, till in one and the same instant they were known and felt. Sejanus resolved to retrieve his loss, and by one vigorous effort to decide the fate of empire. lie called together his friends and followers ; he paid court to such as seemed disaft^ected : he held SUPPLEMENT. 'iSf V. A. U. C. 78-1 A- 1 forth rewards and promises, and, having in- sook creased the number of his partisans, formed a bold conspiracy (a), resolved bj- any means ^f J- to seize the sovereign power. 27. A POWERFUL league was formed with astonishing rapidity, and great numbers of all descriptions, senators as well as military men, entered into the plot. Among tliese Satrius Secundus was the confidential friend and prime agent of the minister. ^Ve have seen this man let loose by Sejanus (a) against the life of Cremutius Cordus, and now we are to see him, with the arts in which he had been trained, employed against his master. AV'hatever was his motive, whether fear, or views of interest or ingratitude (for no prin- ciple of honour can be imputed to him), he resolved to betray the secret to Tiberius. For this purpose he addressed himself to Antonia, the daughter ot" Antony the triumvir, the widow of Drusiis, and the mo- ther of Germanicus. Tlie character of this illustrious woman was honoured by the court, and revered by the people. She lost her husband in the prime of lite, wlien she had f8S suppleivIekt'. BOOK still the attractions of youth and beauty ; and, thougli Augustus proposed to her se~ veral advantageous matches, she remained faithful to her first vows, and declined every overture. Her dignity Avas free from pride ; she had virtue without ostentation, and an- elevation of mind without the ambition and haughty spirit of Agrippina her daughter- in-law. She saw her ^rand-children cut off by the wicked arts of Sejanus, and in silent £:iief lamented the downfal of her family^ When jSTero was banished to the isle of Pontia, and Drusus lay confined in a dun- 2[eon, she took Calimila their brother undei* her protection, and hoped that her house w^ould prove a sanctuary for the last sur- vivinsc issue of Germanicus, Her conduct gave no umbrage to Tiberius. He respected her cliaracter, and, perhaps for that reason., was inclined, at last, to shew^ some favour to Cahi>;ula. Satrius, the conspirator, had no avenues of approach to Tiberius. He therefore made his advances to Antonia, concluding, that, by a stroke of perfidy, he might promote his in- 7 4 SUPPLEMENT. 289 terest in that quarter. Plis design was no book sooner conceived than executed. He gained access to Antonia, and made a full discovery of the whole conspiracy. That prudent wo- man heard the particulars, and, without de^ lay, sent dispatches to the emperor by one of her slaves, whose name was Pallas (h) : the same who afterwards figured in a higher cha- racter, under the emperor Claudius. 28. Tiberius was astonished, but not dis- mayed. The danger pressed ; his habitual slowness was out of season ; the time called for vigour and decisive measures. He sent Macro to Rome, with a special commission to take upon him the command of the prae- torian guards. He added full instructions for his conduct in all emeroencies. If he found that Sejanus and his party were able to stir up an insurrection, he desired that Drusus (a J should be led forth from his con- finement, and presented to the people as their leader. The son of Germanicus, he was aware, would triumph over an obscure native of Vulsinii. In the mean time, Tiberius was determined to be prepared for all possible events. He ordered the fleet, that lay at VOL. II, u 290 SUPPLEMENT. BOOK Miscnum, to assemble at the isle of Caprei^, A. u. c. with intent, if any disaster happened, to sail to some- distant coast, and put himself at the A. D. . 31. head of such of the legions as still remained faithful to their prince. In order to obtain the quickest intelligence, he ordered signals (b) to be disposed along the sea-shore, on the. whole way from Surrentum to Rome. 29- The consuls at this time were Mem- mius Regulus and Fulcinius Trio, both ap- pointed to fill the office from the middle of August to the end of the year. Trio had ren- dered himself infamous by the prosecution of liibo : he was besides known to be the tool and creature of Sejanus. Regulus was of a different mould, from his upright conduct deriving great consequence, and,, at that time, much esteemed by Tiberius. The praetorian bands, as already stated, were un- der the influence of Sejanus. With the co- horts-, that formed the city guard, the case " wasdifferent. Subject to the controul of Piso^ who was then prsefect of Rome, they had no connection with the minister. Under Piso^ Graecinus Laco was their commanding offi- cer ; a man distinguished by his military ta- lents and his firm integrity. In this posture SUPPLEMENT. 291 of affairs, Macro f«J arrived from Caprea3. book He Entered the city in a private manner, af- "^^^^f^ ter the close of day, and went directly to 2^^. Reoful us the consul. He communicated the ^^- emperor's orders. Laco was called to the meeting. They consulted together, and set- tled their plan of operations for the following day. Tiberius, in this interval of suspense, took his station on the sharp point of a rock, surveying the deep that rolled beneath, and with an anxious eye gazing at the opposite shore for the earliest intelligence. 30. The fatal day arrived, namely, the fifteenth before the calends of November. Early in the morning, by order of Regulus, a report was spread, that letters were arrived at Rome, in which the emperor signified his intention to associate Sejanus with himself in the tribunitian power. The senate was sum- inoned to meet in the temple of Apollo, near the imperial palace. Sejanus attended with- out delay. A party of the praetorians fol- lowed him. Macro met him in the vestibule of the temple. He approached the minister ^vith all demonstrations of profound respect, and taking him aside, " Be not surprised," he said, " that you have na letter from the u2 SUPPLEMENT. {( (( '^ prince : it is his pleasure to declare you his '' colleague iuthe tribunitian power ; but he thinks that a matter of so much import- ance should be communicated to the fa- *' thers by the voice of the consuls. I am " going to deliver the emperor's orders." Se- janus, elate with joy, and flushed with his new dignity, entered the senate-house. Ma- cro followed him. As soon as the consuls arrived, he delivered the letter from Tibe- rius, and immediately went forth to the pra:- tarian guards^ He informed them, that, by order of the prince, a large donative was ta be distributed among the soldiers. He add- ed, tliat, by a new commission, he himself was appointed their commanding officer, and^ if they followed him tathe camp, they would there receive the promised bounty. The lure was not thrown out in vain ; the pra^toriaa guards quitted their station. Laco, who stood near at hand, immediately surrounded the senate-house with a body of the city coJiorts,, 51. The letter to the consuls was confused., embarrassed, and with studied art drawn into length, m order toJkeep the minds of the fa- thers in suspense, while Macro gained time ta execute what had been concerted. Regulus SUPPLEMENT. 293. read the letter faj ; it began with general observations, expatiating at large on the state of the empire : a short expression gltinced at Sejanus; new matter followed ; and then, winding round with art, hints were thrown out against the minister, in a perplexed style, vague, and ambiguous. It went on in the same obscure manner, intermixing things wholly unconnected, but at each return more pointed against Sejanus, till at last the lan- guage of open invective left no room for doubt. The fathers were covered with asto- nishment. The change of men's minds, in the vicissitudes of human aifairs, was never more remarkable. Those, who a little time before congratulated Sejanus on his new dig- nities, began to shun him as they would a contagion. The conclusion of the letter was like a stroke of thunder. The emperor or- dered two senators (bj, wlio had joined in the conspiracy, to be put to death, and Sejanus to be thrown into prison. He signified, at the same time, his intention to return to Rome, and, for that purpose, desired that one of the consuls should be sent with a miUtary guard as far as Caprea.', in order to conduct an infirm old man in safety to the capital. 294 SUPPLEMENT. 32. Sejanus kept his seat like a man be- numbed, senseless, stupid with amazement. His friends deserted him on every side. He remained in confusion, pale and trembling, left in solitude, till the praetors and tribunes of the people gathered round him. Regulus caUed to him, '^ Rise, Sejanus, and follow " me." The ruined favourite looked like a statue of Despair. He gazed, but understood nothing ; he remained torpid, motionless, as if he had lost the faculty of hearing. The consul raised his arm, and, in a tone of me- nace, repeated his words no less than three times. Sejanus rose in con.sternation. The door of the senate-house was thrown open : Grascinus Laco entered, and secured his pri- soner. Regulus did not think it prudent to put the question to the assembly ; but, con- tenting himself with the voice of a single se- nator, ordered Sejanus to be loaded with irons, and in that condition, at the head of a numerous body of magistrates, conductec} him to prison. 33. The downfal of Sejanus filled the city with exultation. The populace, who wor- shipped him in the hour of prosperity, rejoicccl i SUPPLEMENT. 295 to see the sad catastrophe to whkh he ^vas book now reduced. They followed in crowds, rend- incf the air with shouts, and pouring forth a torrent of abuse and scurrilous language. The prisoner endeavoured to hide his face : but the mob delighted to see remorse and shame, and guilt and horror, in every feature of that distracted countenance. They reviled him for his acts of cruelty ; they laughed at his wild ambition ; they tore down his images, and dashed his statues (a) to pieces. He was doomed by Tiberius to suffer death on that very day ; but, as he had a powerful factioii in the senate, it was not thought adviseable, for the mere formality of a regular condemna- tion, to hazard a debate. Private orders were given to 5rIacro to dispatch him with- out delay ; but the consul, seeing the dispo- sitions of the people, and the calm neutrality of the praetorian guards, judged it best to re-assemble the fathers. They met in the temple of Concord. With one voice Sejanus was condemned to die, and the sentence was executed without dela}^ He was strangled in the prison. His body was dragged to the Gemonias, and, after every species of insult frjm the populace, at tlie end of thre^ diky^ 296 SUPPLEMENT. BOOK was thrown into the Tiber C^J' Such was the tragic end of that ambitious favourite. He fell a terrible example to all, who, in any age or country, may hereafter^endeavour by their vices to rise above their fellow citizens. 34. The execration, with which the popu- lace treated the ruined minister^ was perhaps nothing more than the variable humour of a giddy multitude fa J. In the zenith of his power Sejanus met with obsequious servility from'all orders of men ; and, had he continued to flourish in prosperity, there is too much reason to infer from the temper of the times, that the same debasement of the human cha- racter would have continued. The senate followed the example of the people. They passed a decree, by which '' it was declared *' unlawful to wear mourning apparel for the " deceased minister ; his name was ordered to be erased out of the calendar, and all public registers ; the statue of Liberty was to be '* erected Jn the forum : a day of public re^ '* joicingwas appointed, and the anniversary '' of his execution was to be celebrated with '* solemn games and public spectacles, to be ''exhibited by the sacerdotal college and the 3 ti it A. D. 31. SUPPLEMENT. 297 '' sodality of Augustan priests." I'he fathers book went still farther : that the state miii;ht never f^ again be deemed a prey for the enterprising '^^'^^ genius of every v/orthless upstart, it was de- clared, '' that for the future, no Roman eiti« '' zen should be invested with extravagant '' honours, and that pubhc oaths sliould ne- ** ver be sworn upon any name but that of *' the emperor." 35. It is fatally too true, that, Avhen the public mind has been debased b}' shame and servitude, the genuine tone of liberty, and the firmness of an independent spirit, are not easily recovered. That very senate, which, in the late decree, had shewn some signs of life, was, notwithstanding, dead to all sense of public virtue. Adulation and time-serving flattery were grown inveterate. New Iio^ nours faj were to be invented for a prince, who deserted his post, and left the seat ofem- pire, to hide himself from the world, the lord of a barren island, the shadow of an emperor. It was, however, decreed, that he should be styled " the fatherof his country, and that his '' birth-day should be celebrated with eques- " trian games, and other demonstrations of *' joy ." ^Macro and Gniscinus Laco were con- 298 SUPPLEMENT. 300K sidered as men, who deserved to stand high in the estimation of the emperor. Flattery, therefore, was to prepare her incense for those exalted characters. Besides a large sum of money, to be paid, as a reward for their services, out of the public treasury, the ensigns of pr«torian dignity were granted to Macro, and the quii^storian rank to Laco. The former was also complimented with a seat in the theatre among the senators, arid the honour of wearing a robe bordered with purple, at the celebration of the votive games. In this manner, after the dowjifal of Qne favourite, two new ones were to mount the scene. But, from, the late event, those officers had learned a lesson of prudence : they declined the honours so lavishly bestow* ed upon them. 36. Meanwhile, Tiberius was apprised of all that passed at Home. From the jutting eininence of a sharp-pointed rock he had seeu the signals along the coast, and special mes- sengers had been sent to give him the earliest information. Rome, in the mean time, was a scene of tumult and wild commotion. The praetorian guards beheld with a jealous eye the preference given to the cit}^ cohorts. En- SUPPLEMENT- (199 raged to find that no confidence was reposed book in themselves, the whole corps rushed, with licentioiis fury, into the city, and there bore doAyn all before them, committing depreda- tions in every quiulcr, and levelling houses to the ground. The populace were no less - inflamed against the creatures of Sejanus. They seized on all who had been instruments of his cruelty, and, executing the summary justice of an enraged multitude, glutted their thirst of blood. Tiberius wrote to the ma- gistrates, in the strongest terms, requiring them to quell all insurrections, and restore the public peace. The fate of Sejanus filled him with emotions of joy too strong to be concealed ; but in all other matters nothing could lay open the secret workings of that involved and gloomy spirit. He was never at any time more abstruse, dark, and unin- telligible, lie refused to see the deputies sent by the senate ; he rejected the honours which had been decreed to him ; and even ]\Iemmius Ilegulus, the consul, who had served him so faithfully, was not admitted to i his presence: hating the commerce of man- kind, he retired, with a sullen spirit, to one of his mansions, called the Villa of Jupiter 300 5Ul»PLEMENT. BOOK fa J, and there continued ruminating in soli- tude for several months. A. U. C 784. A. D. 31. 37. The (Jeputies of the senate returned to Rome, but with jio pleasing account of their expedition. The behaviour of the prince was a mystery, which no man could explain. The fathers, however, concluded, that to satisfy the vengeance of the emperor, more work re- mained on their hands. The friends, rela- tions, and followers ofSejanus, were ordered into custody. His uncle, Junius Blassus, was put to death. The charge against him can- not now be stated : but he was a man of eminence, who to consummate military ta- lents united great political wisdom : in the eyes of Tiberius, that was a sufficient crime. The eldest son of Sejanus, though too young to be engaged in his father's plot, was also doomed a sacrifice. Apicata fa J, who, as already mentioned, had been repudiated by Sejanus, was not condemned by the senate ; but the sight of her son's body, thrown into the common charnel, made life a load no longer to be endured. She drew up a me- morial, containinc: a full detail of the wricked arts, with which her husband and the younger A. U. C. 734. AD. il. aUPPLEMENT. SOI Livia brought Drusus, the emperor'^s son, to book an unthnely death. Having finished her ac- count of that black transaction, she sent it by a trusty messenger to the isle of Capreae, and put a period to her days. 38. Tiberius was still in his villa, seques- tered from the eyes of mankind ; but the de- tection of that horrible murder roused him from his lethargy. He had till then believed that Drusus died of a disorder occasioned bv his own intemperance : but being at length acquainted with that scene of villainy, he sent dispatches to the senate, demanding vengeance on all who were any way concern- ed in the murder of his son. Eudemus, the physician fa J, and Lygdus, the eunuch, were put to the rack, and with their dying breatli confessed all the particulars of that horrible tragedy. Livia, the widow of Drusus, was taken into custody. According to some his- torians, Tiberius gave her up to her mother, Antonia (bj ; and that good woman, wha thought it of the essence of virtue, that guilt of so black a dye should not remain un- punished, left her to die by famine. But this aecovmt does not seem worthy of credit. In 50£ SUPPLEMENT. £ooK the case of a murdered son, why should Tibe* V. v^^^v-**^ rius, a man by nature harsh and vindictive, '784. ' hesitate to execute the stroke of justice on a A. D. ai. woman of so abandoned a cliaracter ? It is certain that he passed several days in close enquiry into all the circumstances of that transaction ; and when the fact was proved beyond the possibility of a doubt ; when the emperor saw his own immediate issue, the only one of his family, for whom he retained a spark of affection, snatched away by the treachery of an unnatural mother ; can it be supposed that he felt any compassion for the person, who imbrued her hands in the blood of her husband, and was, besides, the sister of Germanicus ? \ 39. LiviA, the vile accomplice of Sejanus, was brought to condign punishment ; and, after duly weighing the testimony of writers who lived near the time, it may be assumed as an historical fact, that she suffered by the order of Tiberius. The man, who in the Isle of Rhodes gave strong indications of his innate cruelty, and, at that early period, was called, by his rhetorical preceptor, " a composition *^ of mud faj mixed with blood f who be- SUPPLEMENT. 303 came, in time, so hardened by repeated mur- book ders, as to set no kind of value on the lives of the most upright citizens, was not likel}^ to feel the smallest touch of compunction, \vhen revenge was prompted to strike the blow, which justice warranted. It is well known, that, in talking of the lot of Priam, he gave it as his opinion, that the Asiatic prince did not know how to form a true esti- mate of human felicity. Priam's happiness, he said, consisted in the rare event of having (b) survived all his race. Tiberius was liv- ing fast to enjoy that portion of worldly bliss. Drusus, the son of Germanicus, languished in a dungeon, condemned never again to see the light of the sun ; and if Caligula was to be spared, it was for the reason given by Ti- berius himself, who used to say, " I suffer ** that son of Germanicus to live, that he *' may be, in time, apublic calamity, and the ** fatal author of his own destruction fcj. In '* him I nourish a serpent for the people of Rome, and another Phaeton for the v/orld »i '' at large." 40. It will not be unfit to mention, in this place, a few instances of that savage cruelty, which the tyrant practised in his lone retreat ; 104 SUPPLEMENT. BOOK and which, thouc^h well authenticated, cannot ''^^^^^f^ no^V be referred to any particular year. The ^^^ place of execution fa J, where so many un- ^^* happy wretches died in misery, is still shewn amidst the rocks of Capreie. It stood on a jutting eminence ; and from that fatal spot all who incurred his displeasure were, after enduring the most exquisite torments, thrown ' headlong into the sea, where a crew of ma- riners waited to receive them, with orders, that no spark of life might remain unextin- guished, to break their limbs, and crush their maui^led bodies. Besides a number of his old friends and confidential inmates, whom he retained near his person, he drew from Home no less than twenty (^IfJ of the most eminent citizens, to be his chief advisers and to form his cabinet- council. Of these chosen favourites, if we except two or three at most, the whole num- ber was, for different reasons, put to death. Sejanus was the most distinguished victim ; a man taken into favour, at fu'st perhaps w'ith personal regard, and motives of real friend- ship ; but, as there is now room to think, con- tinued in oilice fur political reasons. By rais- SUPPLEMENT. 305 784. A.D. iiig this man to tlie summit of power, and book styling him liis associate in the administra- '^['^^^ tion, Tiberius, probably, meant to throw the odium of his worst and most oppressive deeds on the favourite minister : with his assist-* ance, perhaps, he thought that the hated house of Germanicus would 'be more easily crushed, and, in consequence of that measure, that the succession to the imperial dignity miirlit be secured for the surviving issue of his son Drusus. That point accomplished, a politic and designing prince, like Tiberius, would not be at a loss how to discard, or even ruin the minister, who had conducted his pernicious measures to the end desired It is highly probable, that, when he con- ferred the greatest honours on Sejanus, he had even then planned his destruction. While lie raised the superstructure, he was secretly emploj'cd in sapping the foundation. Such was the genius of Tiberius : by, nature subtle, dark, designing, and alv/ays mysterious, he had exercised his talents in the school of po- litics, and became, by constant practice, the great master of craft and dissimulation. What he could do by an act of power, he chose rather to accomplish by the crooked means VOL. II, X 706 SUPPLEMENT- of deceit and stratagem. There never oc- curred a juncture, in which he was not able to overwhehn Sejanus, by barely signifying his will and pleasure. An obsequious senate was ready either to pay homage to the fa- vourite, or at a blow to dispatch the man, whom they beheld with envy and secret de- testation. The charge against Sejanus was no sooner opened, than the fathers, without further enquiry, pronounced his final doom. The event shewed the nature of that as- sembly. 41. In all cases of importance, when either a real delinquent was to be brought to jus- tice, or an eminent citizen was to sufter for his talents and his virtue, we have seen that Tiberius affected still to preserve the forms of a regular constitution, and to consider the senate as the supreme court of judicature. From the decision of the fathers he hoped to borrow some decree of sanction to colour the violence of his own proceedings. This po- licy, however, was confined to persons of hiiih consideration in the state. In his so- litary island lie committed petty murders without remorse, or ceremopy. He had or- derccl a person, M'hom he suspected as an ac- SUPPLEMENT, * 307 Complice in the destruction of his son Dru- book V sus, to attend his presence in the isle of 'f^^.'V Capreae ; and it happened that he had invit- ^'^ ed, at the same time, a friend from Rhodes, ^^' on a visit of pleasure. The friend arrived first, and no sooner set his foot on shore than he was seized by the guards, and as a delin- quent hurried away, and put to the rack. Tiberius fa J heard of the mistake, but was no otherwise moved, than to say, with calm composure : *' Since you have begun with *' him, you may finish your vv^ork, and put ** the man out of his pain." Upon another occasion, when a funeral was passing by, a person of some pleasantry said to the corpse. Go, and inform Augustus, that the legacies, which he left to the common people, have not as yet been paid. Tiberius ordered the unfortunate wit to be brought before him, and, after paying him what was computed to be his share, sent him to immediate execu- tion, saying at the same time : " Go, and tell *' Augustus f /'J, that you have received your *' legacy." Not a day passed without some new proof of that sullen malignity, which he pampered . i solitude, and converted, at lenofth, into a rooted hatred of mankind. '508 SUPPLEMENT. BOOK The most common occurrences irritated bis passions, and discovered the rancour of his heart. In a few days after he arrived at Caprea^, as he was walking in a sequestered part of tl]e island, a fisherman, eager to mark his respect for the emperor, made his way over rugged steeps, and pointed rocks, to present a barbel fc) of uncommon size. Alarmed by this intrusion on his privacy, Tiberius ordered the man's face to be well rubbed with his own barbel. The astonish- ed fisherman, as soon as lie recovered from his frioht, conoratulated himself, that he had not brought with him a laro;e crab, which he had taken on the coast. Tiberius called for the crab, and with the claws, and edge of the shell, cut and mangled the poor fellow's features, till he made his countenance a v/oeful spectacle. These, it must be acknowledged, are mi- nute particulars, and may be tliought unwor- thy of the historian's pen : but, when they serve to produce strokes of character, and lay open the inward temper of the man, even such materials uvdy be allowed to merit our attention. The merciless disposition of Ti- 784. A. U. SUPPLEMENT. 309 berius, and the unrelentiiiii; cruelty, witli book which he took away the Uves of the most ' — ^^ '' A. U. C. ihustrious citizens, have been seen in a variety of tragic issues, and, perhaps, will be placed in a conspicuous hght by those smaller incidents, which the diligence of other writers has collected, and which, for that reaso!!, deserve to be here recorded. Death was considered by Tiberius as the end of human sorrow, and, consequently, as the slightest punishment that lie could inflict. Whenever the unhappy prisoner wished to die, and lay down at once his load of afflic- tion, that relief was sure to be denied: he was condemned to groan in misery. It hap- pened tlrat a man, of the name of Carvilius (d), fiudino- himself accused of some real or pretended crime, put a peri(jd to his days. Being informed of the fact, Tiberius ex- claimed, " That man has escaped from me." Upon another occasicjn, he thought ftt to make all his prisoners pass in review before him. One of them, harassed oul v^ith pain, petitioned for a speed}^ execution. " No," said Tiberius, " I have not yet made up my *' quarrel M'ith you." 42. To ;uai>e the words Sellarii (^J ^^^^ Spintri^ ; two words of the vilest import, signifying at once the place of clandestine vice, and the unna- tural experiments of infamous prostitution. Slaves were employed to provide objects of desire, w^ith full commission to allure the venal v/ith presents, and to conquer the re- luctant by threats and violence. If friends interposed in the defence of youth and inno- cence ; if a parent attempted to protect his child, ruiiian force was exercised. Compul- sion and captivity followed. Like slaves by conquest, all were at the mercy of a detest- 1 OF TACITUS. 331 aljle crew, whose business it was to pander book for the passions of their master. )r^^ 785. A.D. II. At Rome, in the mean time, the guilt ^^• of the younger Livia fa J, as if she had not been sufficiently punished, was resumed with warmth and violence. The senate thunder- ed forth decrees ai2;ainst her memory, and her very statues. The property of Sejanus was ordered to be removed from the public trea- sury C^J^ to the cofters of the prince ; as if, in either place, it would not have been equally at his disposal. TheScipios, the Silani, and the Cassii were the authors of this alteration. They proposed the measure, and enforced it with their best al^ility, but with little vari- ance either in the lanouaoe, or the argument, Tocjonius Gallus had the ill-timed ambi- tion to mix his name, however obscure and insiiiniticant, with men of the hiohest rank. He made himself ridiculous ; and malignity, for that reason, v/as willing to listen to him. lie proposed that out of a number of se- nators, chosen by the prince, twenty should be drawn by lot, to serve under arms, as a guard to Tiberius, whenever he should choose to honour the senate with hi;j presence. This 352 THE ANNALS BOOK extravagant motion sprung from the folly of a ' — — ' man, who was weak enough to believe Tc) A. U. C. -^ ^ ^ 785. that the emperor was in earnest, when he de- 32. sired, by letter, that one of the consuls should be sent to guard him on his way from Capreas to Rome. Tiberius, according to his cus- tom, mingling a vein of irony with serious business, thanked the fathers for this mark of their care. He desired to knoAv, '' who *' were to be elected into the body-guard, *' and who rejected ? Was it to be an office ' ** for life, or by rotation ? Were they to be *' draughted from the younger part of the *' senate, or to consist of such as had passed *' through the gradations of the magistracy ? ** ]\Iust they be actual magistrates, or men " in a private station ? x\nd again, av hen the *' senators, sword in hand fdj, were drawn *' up rank and file in the porch of the senate- *' house, what kind of scene would that mot- '' ley appearance present to the people ? A *' life, which must be thus defended, was not *' worth his care." In this strain of raillery he replied to Togonius, adding nothing harsh, and not a word of serious tendency to over-rule the motion. III. Junius Gallio (aj was not let off OP TACITUS. S33 :>-. on the same easy terms. lie had given his book opinion that the soldiers of the priEtorian ^-p' — ' band, having- served the requisite time, '^^- should enjoy the privilege of sitting on the fourteen rows f/> J of the theatre, appropri- ated to the IJoman knights. Against the mover of this innovation, Tiberius launched out witli vehemence, and, though absent, with all the ardour of a personal erqjostula- tion. He asked, " what business has Gallio *' to interfere with the military line ? Why " intermeddle with those, whose duty it is '' to receive their orders, and the reward of '* their service, from the emperor only ? A " new plan of pohcy, unknown to the wisdom *' of Augustus, has been broached by the su^ *• perior genius of this able statesman ! Per- '*' haps, it was the project of a man, bred in " the school of Sejaims, with a view to kindle " the flame of discord, and, under colour of " dispensing military honours, to seduce the " affections of the army, to the ruin of disci- " pline and all good order." Such were the wages earned by flattery. Gallio intended to pay his coiu't, and, for his attempt, was ex- pelled the senate, and banished out of Ita'y He retired to Lesbos ; but it being suggest- ed, that, in the cliarming scenes of that dtr 334 THE ANNALS BOOK liiihtful island, what was intended as a pu- VI. ^ . , ^ i^^v — ) nishment, would be, in fact, a pleasins: re- 785. conipence, he was brougiit back to Home, 92. and ordered into close confinement in the house of a civil maLilstrate. In the letter which directed this proceed- ing, Tiberius marked out Sextius Paconia- luis, of praetorian rank, as another victim. The fathers received, with pleasure, tlie con- demnation of a man, whom they knew to be of a bold and turbulent spirit, willing to em- bark in any scheme of iniquity, and infamous for their pernicious talent of worming him- self into the secrets of others. ^Vlien Sejanus bes^an to meditate the destruction of Cali- gula, he chose this man for his confidential ^agent. That dark conspiracy being now laid open, every breast was fired with indigna- tion ; and if the miscreant had not prevented his fate, by offering to make important dis- coveries, the senate was ready to adjudge ]iim to instant death. IV. The person, against whom he inform- ed, was the well-known Latinius Latiaris. The accuser and the accused were objects of pub- lic execration : and the spectacle, which they OF TACITUS, S3o botli Dreseiitcd, diffused a universal satisfac- book tioii. Latiaris fa J, the reader will remem- ber, was the chief in.^trument in the ruin of Sabinus. Of tlie several actors in tliat foul transaction h.e was the fu'st that paid the for-* feit of his crimes. In the course of this day's debate, llaterius Agrippa attacked the con- suls of tiie preceding year. '' After mutual " accusations, vviiy did tliey now remain si- *' lent ? Fear, and their own consciences, ■' have made them compromise all matters *' in dirspute. They are joined in bonds of *' the strictest union. But the senate heard *' their mutual accusations, and ou"ht now *•' to institute a serious encuiiry." Ile^'uhis replied, that in due time it was his intention to bring the business forward, but he waited for the presence of the emperor. Trio ob- served, that their hostilities were nothirif>' more thin the jealousy that often happens between colleagues in oiilce ; but such petty- disputes ought not to be revived. This did not satisfy Agrippa. lie still persisted, till Sanquinius Maxnnus, of consular rank, rose to allay the ferment. He entreated the fa- thers to be cautious how they nudtiplied the ( ares of the emperor. To be ingenious in framing hcw complaints, was not their pro- S:iG THE ANNALS BOOK vince. They miglit rely on the ^visdom of Ti- berius, comprehensive as they knew it to be, and equal to the task of remedying every evil. In consequence of this conciUating speech, Iiegulus remained in full security, and the ruin of Trio (bj was deferred to a'fmlher day. As to Ilatcrius Agrippa, the violence of his conduct made liini more than'cver an object of the public hatred. Too indolent for a life of business, he passed his days in sleep, and his nights in riot and debaucherv. His vices made him an enervated sluggard, and, at the same time, screened him from the crueltv of ft/ a jealous and unforgiving tyrant. And yet this man, amidst the joys of wine, and in tlie harlot's lap, had the malevolence to plan the ruin of the most illustrious citizens. V. Messa LINUS CoTTA, thc ready autlior of the most sanguinary measures, was thc next person accused. This prosecution called forth a multitude of enemies. All were eao'er to have their full blow at a man long known and de- tested. The charge against him was, that, to fix on Cains C:"esar fc/J the imputation of un- natural vices, he had called the vounii; oritice l)y the female name of Caia, and, at a ban- quet given by the poiitilfsj in honour of the OF TACITUS. 337 birtli-day of Li via, he called that feast a fbj funeral entertainment. It was furthe^' alleged, that, in a law-^uit with ]\Ianius Le- pidus, and Lucius Arruntius, he complained of the weight and influence of his adversa- ries, but said at the same time, " Let them " boast of their interest witli the senate ; " my little friend Tiberius will outweigh *' them all." In support of this charge, the first men in Rome were wiliin"' witnesses. Cotta knew how to baffle his enemies. He removed tlie cause by appeal to the emperor. Tiberius, in a letter to the senate, made the apology of Cotta : he stated the friendship, which had lon^' subsisted between them, and the obligations, by which he himself was bound. lie concluded with a req-uest, that words' casually spoken, and sallies of viva- city in the moments of convivial mirth, might not be converted into crimes. VI. The letter, sent by Tiberius on this occasion, is too remarkable to be here omit- ted. His words were as follov/s : " What to '' write f«^, conscript fathers ; in what terms " to express myself, or wliat to refrain from " writing, is a matter of such perplexity, VOL. II. z 38 THE ANNALS BOOK '' that if I know how to decide, may the just CC gods, and tlie goddesses of vengeance, doom * 785. '' me to die in panos, worse than those A. D. X c ^ 32. ''under which I hnger ev^ery day/' We liave here the features of the inward man. His crimes retahated upon him with the keenest retribution ; so true is the saying of the great philosopher (bj, the oracle of an- cient wisdom, that if the minds of tyrants were laid open to our view, wc should see them gashed and mangled with the whips and stings of horror and remorse. By blows and stripes the flesh is made to quiver, and in: like manner, cruelty, and inordinate pas- sions, malice and evil deeds, become internal executioners, and with unceasing torture goad and lacerate the heart. Of tins truth Tiberius is a melancholy instance. Neither the imperial dignity, nor the gloom of soli- tude, nor the rocks of Caprea?, could shield him from himself. He Hved on the rack of guilt, and his wounded spirit groaned in aj'onv. yil. CyEciLiANus, the scualor, had taken an active part in the prosecution of Messa- linus Cotta. For that offence Tiberius left liim to the discretion of the fathers, who^ OF TACITUS. 339 thought fit to inflict the pains and penalties, book which they had pronounced against Aruseius ^— -^w^ and Sancjuinius, the two informers ajiainst "?'-•' Lucius Arruntius. The decision was honour- ^" able to Cotta ; a man, it is true, of illus- trious birtii, but beggared by his vices, and for the profligacy of his manners universally abhorred. The redress, which he now ob- tained, placed him on a It^vel with the un- blemished excellence that distinouished the character of Arruntius. Quintus Servaeus and Minutius Thermus were, in the next place, both arraigned. The former was of pra3torlan rank, and had been the companion of Germanicus in all his expeditions ; the latter was a Roman knight, who had enjoyed the friendship of Sejanus, but with reserve and moderation. Their misfortunes excited compassion. Ti- brius declared aoainst them both. lie call- ed them the principal agents in that dark conspiracy, and, for proof of the fact, desir- ed that Cestius, a member of the senate, would give in evidence what he had written to the emperor. Cestius became their ac- cuser. z2 '340 THE ANNALS ^^!J^ Among the calamities of that black period, the most tryino- 2;rievance was the deo;enerate spirit, with which the iirst men in the senate submitted to the drudgery of common in- formers ; some without a blush, in the face of day; and others by clandestine artifices. The contagion was epidemic. Near rela- tions, aliens in blood, friends and strangers, known and unknown, were, without distinc- tion, all involved in one common dan<>'er. The fact recently committed, and the tale revived, were equall}^ destructive. Words alone were sufficient; whether spoken in the forum, or amidst the pleasures of the table, was imiT aterial. Whatever the occasion or the subject (a), eveiy thing was a construc- tive crime. Informers struoo'led, as it were in a rav c, who should be first to ruin his man ; .some to secure themselves ; the greater part infected by the general corruption of the times. ZVIinutius and Serya?us were both con- demned, but saved themselves by giving evi- dence against others. The}^ accused Julius Africanus, a nativ^e of Gaul, and Seius Qua- dratus, of whose origin no account remains. OF TACITUS. 341 Of the various danoers that threatened luim- book o — bers, and the execution of others, I am mware that no accurate account is to be found in the historians of tlie tune. Tlic writer sunk under the wei'^ht of iiis materials, and, feehng himself oppressed by the re- petition of tragic events, was unwilling to fatigue his readers v/ith tlie uniformity of blood and -horror. It has happened, hovr- ■ever, that, in the researches which I have made, several facts have come to lioht, un- touched, it is true, by the pen of others, yet not unworthv of beino- recorded. VIII. In tliat dangerous crisis, Avhen the creatures of Sejanus, denying their connec- tions, vrere making from the wreck, ^larcus Terentius, a Roman knight, liad tlie spirit to avoAv his friendship in a speech to thefol- loAving effect; " In my situation, conscript "'' fathers, I know tlie dano;er of owninir mv- *' self the friend of Sejanus; and I know that '* to disclaim him altogether would be the " best mode of defence. Be that as it may, '' I am willing to declare my sentiments. I " was the friend of that minister; I sought " his patronage, and I gloried in it. I saw '' jiiin associated with his father in the com" 342 THE ANNALS mand of the praetorian bands : I saw him afterwards, not only at the head of the mi^ htary department, but invested with the wliole civil authority. liis friends and re- lations rose to honours ; and to be in his good graces, was a sure road to the favour of the prince. On the other hand, all, on whom the minister frowned, were either crushed by the weight of power, or left to languish in obscurity. I forbear to men- tion names. Speaking in my own defence, I plead the cause of all who, like myself, were connected v/ith the favourite, and like myself, were unconscious of his last designs. " In paying court to Sejanus, it was not the Vulsinian citizen whom we endeavoured to conciliate ; it was a branch of the Clau- dian and the Julian families ; it was the son-in-law of Caesar ; it was his colleague in the consulship ; it was his vicegerent in the administration, to whom our homage was offered* Is it the pleasure of the em- peror to raise a favourite above his fellow citizens ? It is not for us to estimate the merit of the man, nor ours to weigh ilr^e motives that determined the choice. The supreme power is in the hands of the OF TACITUS. 345 *' prince ; committed to him by the gods : booic '* and submission is the virtue of every ci- ^--^^^-^ -' A. u. c. *' tizen. Of the mysteries of state we see '^^• •^ A. D. " no more than what he is wilHng to reveal ; ^-• " we see who is raised to dignities, and who '' has power to distribute the rewards and " the terrors of government. That the rays '' of majesty Avere collected, and fell on Se- '•' janus, no man will deny. The sentiments " of the prince are to us impenetrable. The *' secret springs of action it is not in our power "' to discover ; the attempt were dangerous, *' and may deceive the ablest statesman. " When I speak of Sejanus, conscript fa- '' thers, I do not speak of the minister, fallen *' from the height of power, undone and *' ruined. I speak of Sejanus, sixteen years " in the meridian of his glory. During that *' time, a Satrius Secundusand a Pomponius commanded our respect. And if his freed- men, or the porter at his gate, condescend- ^' ed to be «racious, we considered it as the *' highest honour. But to come to the point : " Shall this be the defence of all who followed *' the fortunes of of Sejanus ? By no means, ■♦•' cojiscript fathers ; draw the line yourselves ; 3 ( c i( 344 THE ANNALS BOOK '' let the enemies of the commonwealth, and VI. ^' the conspirators against the prince, be de- '' livered up to public justice ; but let the ^* offices of friendship remain inviolate; and '' let the principle., which justiiies the choice " of the prince, be at least an apology for the '' subject/' IX. The firmness of this speech, and the spirit of the man, who could boldly utter w^hat others only dared to think, made such an impression, that the prosecutors, for their former crimes added to their present malig- nity, were either driven into banishment, or condemned to death. Tiberius soon after sent an accusation against Sextus Vestilius, of prae- torian rank, and formerly high in favour with Drusus, the emperor's brother. Tiberius, for that reason, had received him witli open arms, and ranked him in the number of his intimate friends. The crime now laid to his charge was a satirical piece against Caligula, for which Vestilius, the real, or the supposed author, was excluded froni the emperor's table. In despair, he opened a vein, but with the trembiino- hand of aiie. The wound v.as slight, and he tied it up agaiii, in order OF TACITUS. 345 to try the effect of a petition. Having re- ^'^^^ ceiveci an obdurate answer, he once more )^S^_ made use of his weapon, and bled to death. a.^d. 32. The next prosecution was intended to make a sweep of a great number at once. Annius PoUio, Appius Silanus, ^lamercus Scaurus, cvrid Sabinus Calvisius, were grouped together in a charge of violated majesty. Vinicianus was added to his father Pollio. They v/ere all men of the fu'st rank, and some of them invested Aviih the highest civil honours. The senate was struck with terror. Few in that assembly stood detached, either in point of friendship or alliance, from the persons ac- cused. It. happened that the evidence of Celsus, a tribune of the city cohorts, and one of the prosecutors, acquitted Appius Silanus and Calvislus. The trial of Pollio, Viriicianus, and Scaurus, was put off, by order of Tibe- rius, till he iiimself should think proper to attend in person. In the mean time, some pointed expressions in his letter plainly shew- ed that Scaurus was the chief object of his resentment. X. Not even the softer sex could find a 346 THE ANNALS BOOK shelter from the calamity of the times. Wo- VI t^>^^^ men, it is true, could not be charged with 7S5. desi2:ns to overturn the government; but na- ?2 tural affection was made a crime, and the pa- rental tear was treason, Vitia, the mother of Fusfius Geminus, wept for her son, and for that offence, in an advanced age, she was put to death. Such were the horrible proceedings of the senate. Tiberius in his island was no less vindictive. By his order, Vescularius Flaccus and Julius Marinus, his two earliest friends, who had followed him to the isle of Khodes, and still adhered to him in the isle of Capreae, were hurried to execution. In the ruin of Libo, the first had been the active agent of the emperor ; and in the plot, by which Sejanus wrought the downfal of Cur- tius Atticus, Marinus was the principal actor. The public saw, with pleasure, that the au- thoi-s of destruction perished by their own pernicious arts. About this time Lucius Piso, the pri^fect of Rome foj, pj^id his debt to nature. He had lived his days with honour, and, what was rare in that black period, though high in rank and authority, he died by mere de- OF TACITUS. 347 cay. A man of principle, and never, of his book own motion, the author of harsh or violent measures ; he was able frequently to prevent or mitigate destructive counsels. Piso the censor, as already mentioned, was his father. The son lived to the age of fourscore. By his services in the wars of Thrace he obtained triumphal ornaments ; but his truest triumph, the glory of his character, arose from the wisdom with which he acted as governor of Rome, tempering, with vronderful address, the rigour of an office, odious on account of its novelty, and rendered, by its duration, a galling yoke to the people. XI. The origin of this institution may be traced in the early ages of Home. While the monarchy continued, and afterwards under the consular government, that the city might not be left, during the absence of the king or consuls, in a state of anarchy, a civil magis- trate was invested with the whole executive authority. By Romulus, we are told, Ro- mulius Denter was appointed ; Numa Mar- cius, by Tulhis Ilostilius ; and Spurius Lu- cretius (a J, by Tarquin the Proud. That precedent was followed by the consuls ; and, ^ven at this day, we find an image of the 34S TilE ANNALS «ooK custom in the temporary magistrate, who, durins; the Latin festivals, discharges the fmictions of the consul. In the time of the civil wars, Augustus delegated the supreme authority, both at Home and throughout Italy, to Cilnius ]VIa:;cenas,a Roman knight. When the success of his arms made him master of the empire, finding an unwieldy Cfovernment on his hands, and a slow and feeble remedy from the laws, he chose a per- son of consular rank, to restrain, by speedy justice, the slaves wthin due bounds, and to controul the licentious spirit of the citizens, ever turbulent, and, if not overawed, prone to innovation. The first that rose to this im- portant post was IMessala Corvinus, who found himself unequal to the task, and re- signed in a few days. Taurus Statilius suc- ceeded, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, acquitted himself with honour and abi- lity. Lucius Fiso was the next in office. Durino; a series of twenty vcars, he dis- charged the duties of tliat difficult station with such an even tenor, and such constant J without opposition. Tiberius, by letter, condemned the whole proceeding. The youth of Quinctiiianus, he admitted, might be an apology for his igno- rance of ancient customs ; but he observed, and not without asperity, that it ill became a man like Gall us, versed in the science of laws and religious ceremonies, to adopt the performance of an uncertain author, v/ith- out having first obtained the sanction of the quiudecemviral college, and without so much as reading it, as had been the practice, at a meeting of the pontiffs. Besides this, the vote was passed by surprise in a thin meet- ing of the senate. He added further, that since the world abounded with spurious pro- ductions, falsely ascribed to the venerable name of the ancient Sybil, it had been the wisdom of "Augustus (c) to fix a stated day, on or before which all papers of the kind were to be deposited with the pnctors, and 350 THE ANNALS BOOK none, after the limited time, to remain in VI. piivate hands. < For this regulation there was an ancient precedent. After the social war, when the Capitol was destroyed by iire, diligent search was made at Samos, at Ilium, at Erythrse, in Africa, Sicily, and all the Roman colonies, in order to collect the Sy- biliine verses, whether the production of a suigle prophetess, or of a greater number; and the sacerdotal order had directions, as far as human sasia'city could distinouish, to separate the fictitious from the genuine com- position. In consequence of this letter, the book in question was referred to the college of fifteen, called the Quindecimviri. XIII. During the same consulship, the distress, occasioned by a dearth of corn, well nioh excited a pooular insurrection. For O XL several days the clamour in the theatre was outrageous beyond all former example. Ti- berius wrote to the senate, and, in terms of keen reproach, censured the inactivity of the magistrates, who suffered the mutinous spirit of the populace to rage without controul ; he stated the quantity of grain imported an- nually by his orders, and the provinces from which he drew his supplies, far exceeding the OF TACITUS. 351 A. U. C- 7S5. A.D. importation formerly made by Augustus, book To restore the public tranquillity, the senate passed a decree in the style and spirit of the old republic. The consuls followed it with an edict of equal rigour. The emperor took no part in the business ; but his silence gained him no popularity : he flattered him- self with hopes that it would pass for the moderation of a republican prince ; but it was deemed the sullen pride of a tyrant. XIV. Towards the end of the year, three Roman knights, by name, Geminius, Celsus, and Pompeius, were charged with a conspi- racy, and condemned to suffer. Geminius had been a man of pleasure, and great pro- digality. His taste for expence and luxur\^ recommended him to the friendship of Se- janus, but a friendship merely convivial, leading to no serious connection. Junius I Celsus, at that time one of the tribunes, as he I lay fettered in prison, contrived to lengthen I out his chain, so as to wind it round his neck.. j and strangle himself. i I ' About the same time, Rubrius Fabatus, ; who had fled from the city, with intent to j seek amono; the Parthians a refu2;e from the 352 THE ANNALS BOOK disasters of the time, was apprehended by a VI. , . . , . . centurion, near the streights of Sicily, and brought back to Rome. Being questioned,, he was not able, with any colour of proba- bihty, to account for his sudden departure on so long a journey, lie escaped, however, though not by an act of clemency. He con- tinued to Uve in safetj^, not pardoned, but forgotten. A.u. c. XV. Servius Galea and Lucius Svlla 786. A. p. yxere the next consuls. Tiberius saw liis (a J 2rand"daui2;hters in the season of life, that made it proper to dispose of them in mar- riage. On that subject be liad deliberated for some time. His choice, at length, fixed on Lucius Cassius and ^Marcus Vinicius. Vinicius was born at a small municipal toAvni, knoY\m by the name of C ales. His father, and o;randfather were of consular rank ; but the family, before tlieir time, never rose hiii;her than the equestrian or^ler. Their descendant united to his amiable manners a vein of ])Seasing eloquence. Cassius was born at Home, of a plebeian, but re- spected family. He was educated under the strict tuition of liis father, but succeeded VI. OF TACITUS. hiore through happiness than care and Indus- book try. To tiiese two the daughters of Ger- manicus were given in marriage ; Drusilla to Cassius, and Julia to Vinicius. Tiberius in his letters to the senate made honourable men- tion of the young men, but in a style of re- serve. He touched on his Ion"' absence from the capital, and, after glossing it over with vague and frivolous reasons, talked in a more serious tone of the weight of government, and the animosities wdiich he was obliged to en- counter. He desired that ]VIacro, prasfect of the praetorian guards, with a small number of tribunes and centurions, might have direc- tions to guard his person, as often as he should attend the senate. A decree was passed in the amplest form, according to his desire,with- out limitation of rank or number. Tiberius, notvrithstandino', never appeared in the assem- ])ly of the fathers, nor even entered the w^alls of Rome. He made feigned approaches, still retreating through devious roads, suspecting the people, and Hying from his country* XVI. The practice of usury was a griev- ance that distressed the whole community, ,A.gainst such as sought to increase their wealth VOh. II, - A A 354 THE ANNALS BOOK by placing out money (a) at exorbitant in- terest, actions were commenced. The mo- ney-lenders were accused under a law enacted by Julius Ca:sar, whereby the terms of lend- ing on land-security, throughout Ital}^ were defined and settled ; a wise and salutary law, but fallen into disuse, the public good, as is too often the case, giving way to private advan- tage. Usury, it must be admitted, was an early canker of the commonwealth, the fre- quent cause of tumult and sedition. Laws were made to repress the mischief, while yet the nuumers were pure and uncorrupted. In the first ages of the commonwealth, interest of money was arbitrary, depending on the will and pleasure of the opulent ; but, by a law of the twelve tables, it was reduced to one for the hundred. \More M'as declared illegal. In process of time a new regulation, proposed by the tribunes, lowered it to one half ; and, finally, it was abolished altogether. It began however to revive, and, to suppress its growth, new sanctions were established by the autho-» rity of the people : but fraud found new ex- pedients, often checked, and as often re-ap- pearing in different shapes. In the reign of Tiberius, at the point of time now in question. OF TACITUS. 355 the complaint was brought before Gracchus boor , .VI. the pnistor, who was empowered, by virtue of h-is office, to hear and determine. That ma- gistrate, however, seeing numbers involved in the question, submitted the whole to the con- sideration of the senate. In that order few were exempt from the general vice. Alarmed for themselves, and wishino'to obtain a general immunit\% the fathers referred the business to the emperor. Tiberius complied with their re([uest. A year and six months were grant- ed, that men in that time might adjust and settle their accounts, according to law. XVII. The want ofcurrent money brought on a new scene of distress. Creditors pressed to have their accounts balanced, and judg- ment was sio;ned against such as stood in- debted. Their effects were sold, and all the specie was either carried to the pubhc trea- sury, or swallowed up in the coffers of the prince. To alleviate this inconvenience, the senate ordered, by a decree, that two-tiiirds of each man's debt should be secured on lands i'.i Italy. But still the creditors claimed the whole of their demand, and the debtor, by A A 2 3o6 THE ANNALS BOOK consequence, was reduced to the brink of v-^v^ ruin. He wished to save liis honour ; the ne- A. u. c. ]^^- cessity pressed ; meetings were held, suppU- ^^- cations were tried, but the law took its course. The tribunal of the praetor resounded with complaints, and noise, and lamentations. The project of obliging the debtor to sell his lands,. and the creditors to purchase, instead of heal- ing the mischief, made it worse. The usurers lay in wait to buy at a reduced price, and, fsjr that purpose, hoarded up their money. The value of lands sunk in proportion to the num- ber of estates on sale, and the debtor was left, w^ithout resource. Whole families were ruin- ed ; their credit was destroyed, and every pros- pect vanished. Tiberius interposed with sea- sonabU.' relief. He opened a fund of one hun- dred thousand great sesterces, as a public loan , for three years, free from interest, on condi- tion that the borrower, for the security of the state, should mort^a^e lands of doable the va- lue. B}^ this salutary aid public credit was revived. The money, which had lain in pri- vate hands, began to circulate ; and the order of the senate, directing tlic sale of land-pro- perty, fell into disuse. Like most plans of OF TACITUS. 357 reformation, it was embraced at first with ar- book VI. dour ; but the novelty ceased, and the scheme <^^v-^^ A. U. C ended in nothiu"'. "^sc. =^ A. D. as. X\ III. The rage of prosecutions, from wliich ]\ome had an interval of rest, broke out again with collected fury. The first that suffered was Confidius Proculus, on a charge of violated majesty. On his birth-day, while he was celebrating that aimual festival, he was seized, in the moment of joy, and conducted to the senate-house, vvhere he was tried, con- demned, and hurried awav to execution. His sister, Sancia, vras interdicted from fire and water. Tb.e prosecutor, v. lio appeared against her, wasQuintus Pomponius, a fierce and tur- bulent spirit. To curry favourwith the prince, and thereby save his brother, Pomponius Se- cundus, was the pretence with which this man endeavoured to palliate his iniquity. The se- nate proceeded next against Pumpeia I\Iacrina. She was condemned to banishment. Her husband, Argohcus, and Laco,her father-in- law, both of distinguished rank in Achaia^ had, before this time, fallen victims to thecru- eltv of Tiberius. Macrina's father, an illustri- ous Roman knight, and her brother, who was Q 5g THE ANNALS VI. BOOK of pnT^torlan rank, to avoid a similar sentence, put an end to their lives. The crime alleged against them was, that their ancestor, Theo- phanes, of Mitylene,had been the confidential friend ofPompey the Great; and that divine honours were paid to the memory of Theo- phanes by the flattering genius of the Greek nation. Sextus Mar 1 us, who held the largest possessions in Spain, was the next vic- tim. Incest with his own daughter was the imputed crime ; he was precipitated down the Tarpeian rock. That the avarice of Tiberius was the motive for this act of violence, was seen beyond the possibility of a doubt, when the gold-mines of the unfortunate Spaniard, which were forfeited to the public,werc known to be seized by the emperor for his own use. He was now so far plunged in blood, that exe- cutions served only to whet his cruelty. At one blow, he ordered all, who were detained in prison for their supposed connection with Sejanus, to be put to instant death. A dread- ful carna<2:e followed : neither sex nor age was spared; the noble and ignoble perished with- out distinction ; dead bodies in mangled heap. OF TACITUS. 359 or scattered up and down, presented a trao'ic book 11 .VI. spectacle. Neither friend, nor relation, dared to approach ; none were permitted to sooth the pano's of death, to weep over the deceased, or to bid the last farewell. Guards were sta- tioned to watch the looks of afflicted friends, and to catch intelligence from their tears, till, at length, the putrid bodies were throv/n into the Tiber, to drive at the mercy of the Avinds and Avaves, Some Avere carried aAvay by the current ; others were throAvn on shore, but to burn or bury them was alloAved to no man. All Avere struck Avith terror, and tlie last office of humanity Avas suppressed. Cruelty Avent on increasing, and e\^ery sentiment of the heart Avas smothered in silence. XX. About this time, Caligula, Avho paid close attendance on his grandfather in the isle of CaprciC, Avas married to Claudia fa J, the daughter of j\Iarcus Silanus. This young prince had the art to conceal, under a A'cil of modesty, the niost detestable of human cha- racters. Neither the condemnation of his mother, nor the banishment of his brother, could extort from him one Avord of compas- sion. He studied the humours of Tiberius; 3^0 THE ANNALS BOOK he vratclied the whim of the da}-, and set hii ^~ features ac{!ordin;n. To look into the seedsof tune was the early study of Tiberius. In the isle of Rhodes, judicial astrology was his favourite pursuit. In the acquisition of that science, he there em- ployed his leisure, under Tlu^asullus, wliose abilities he tried in the followinji manner : XXI. Whenever he ciiose to consult an astrologer, he retired with him to \\\(i top of the house, attended by a .single frecdman, se- lected for the purpose, ilhterate, but of great bodily stren2;lh. TJiis man conducted the OF TACITUS, ^ 351 sootlisavcr, whose talents were to be tried, book "V alon; led alon"* the precipice, he answered a ~ Oil' number of questions ; and not only promised imperial splendour to Tiberius,, but opened a scene of future events, in a manner that iilled liis imagination with astonishment. Tiberius desired to know, " whether he liad cast his *' own nativity? Could he foresee Avliat was to *' happen in the course of the year? nay, on *' that very day ?" Thrasullus consulted the position of the heavens, and the aspect of the planets : he was struck with fear ; he paused ; he hesitated ; he sunk into profound medita- tion ; terror and amazement shook his frame. Breaking silence at last," I perceive," he said, " the crisis of my fate ; this very moment may ^' be. my last." Tiberius clasped him in his arms, conii;ratulatirj^ him both on his know- ledge, and his escape from danger. From that ^iioment, he considered the predictions of 362 THE ANNALS BOOK Thrasullus as the oracles of truth, and the VI. astrolocfer was ranked in the number of the prince's confidential friends. XXII. When I reflect on this fact, and others of a similar nature, I find my judg- ment so much on the balance, that, whether human affairs are governed faj by fate and immutable necessit\', or left to the wild rota- tion of chance, I am not able to decide. Among the philosophers of antiquity, and the followers of their difterent sects amono; the mo- derns, two opposite opinions have prevailed. According to the system of one party, '' in *' all that relates to man, his formation, his *' progress, and his end, the gods have no con- *' cern ; and, by consequence, calamity is often ** the good man's portion, while vice enjoys *' the pleasures and advantages of the world." In opposition to this hypothesis, another school maintains, '' that the immutable law of *' fate is perfectly consistent with the events of '' the moral world ; that law, they tell us, does *' not depend on the course of wandering pla- ** nets, but is fixed in the first principles of *' things, supported and preserved by a chain *' of natural causes. Man, notwithstanding, OF TACITUS. rM *' h ieft at liberty to choose liis sphere of ac- eook VJ. ^ " tion ; but the choice once made, the coiise- " quences follow in a regular course, fixed, j " certain, and inevitable/' By this sect we are further taught, " that o'ood and evil are '' not always what vulgar error has so defined ; " on the contrary, many, wliom we see strug- " gling with adversity, are yet perfectly hap- '' py ; while others, in all the pride and af- " fluence of fortune, are truly wretched, '' The former, by their fortitude, tower above '' the ills of life ; and the latter, by their in-r '* discretion, poison their own felicity." Sublime as this theory may be, there is still a third opinion, which has taken root in the human mind, and cannot be eradicated . Ac- cording to this doctrine, the colour of our lives is fixed in the first moment of our existence; and, though what is foretold, and the events that follow, may often vary, the fallac}^ is not to be imputed to the art itself, but to the va- nity of pretenders to a science, respected b}- antiquity, and in modern times established by undoubted proof. In fact, the reign of Nero was foretold by the son of this very Thrasiil- lus : but this, to avoid a long digression, shall bp reserved for its proper place (bj. 564 THE ANNALS XXIII. During the same consulship, the death of AsidIus Galhis (a) became piibUcly known. That he died by famine, no man doubted ; but wliether through compulsion, or wilful abstinence, is uncertain. Applica- tion was made for leave to perform his funeral ol)sequies ; nor did Tiberius blush to grant as a favour, what was the common right of man. He regretted, however, that a criminal, before he could be convicted in his presence, had es- caped the hand of justice ; as if in three years, since the charge was laid, there was not suf- iicient time to proceed against a man of con- sular rank, and the father of consuls, The death of Drusus (b) followed. By or* der of Tiberius he was to be starved to death. By chewing the weeds that served for Ids bed, the unhappy prince lingered nine days in miserv. At the time when Macro received his orders to act with vigour against Sejanus, Tiberius, as some wTiters a^rsert, gave direc- tions, if that desperate minister had recourse to arms, that Drusus, then confined in the pa- lace, should be produced to the people, and proclaimed emperor. In consequence of this report, an opinion prevailed, that the prince was on the point of being reconciled to his A. U. C- 786. A.D. OF TACITUS. Sda iiraiicison and his daughter-in-law. But to book r* o VI. relent was not in the temper of Tiberius : he was supposed to be mercifully inclined, and he chose rather to display his cruelty. XXIV. The death of Drusus was not suf- ficient to satisfy the vengeance of Tiberius. lie persecuted the memory of the prince with iniextinguished hatred ; he imputed to him unnatural passions, and represented him as a pei'son who had not only lost all family affec- tion, but, being possessed ofan aspiring genius, was actually employed in concerting measures to overturn the government. lie ordered a day-book to be read before the fathers, in which the words and actions of Drusus were carefully recorded. In tlie aimals of historj- is there any thing to match this black, this hor- rible inquisition ? For a length of time spies of state were appointed to keep a register of words, to interpret looks, and note the groans that issued from the heart. That tlie grand- iather could countenance a plot so black and fletestable ; that lie could listen to the v/iiis- pered tale ; read a clandestine journal, and not only read it in secret, but produce it in the face of day, appears too atrocious to h(-^ 366 TilE A?iNALS VI. BOOK believed, if the fact were not aiulicnticated bjr the letters of Actius the centurion, and Didy- mus the freedman. In tlie narrative left by those men, we fmd the names of the slaves employed about the prince's person. One struck him, as lie came forth from his cham- ber ; another overpowered him with terror and dismay. The centurion, as if brutality were a merit, boasts of his savage expressions. lie relates the words of the prince, in the last ebb of life, spoken against Tiberius, at first, perhaps, in a feigned delirium, but when his end drew near, in a tone of solemn impreca.tion, imploring the gods, that he, who imbrued his hands in the blood of his daughter-in-law ; who murdered his nephew ; who destroyed his grand-chil- dren, and in his own family laid a scene of jence, and ordained, by a decree^ that the fifteenth be- fore the calends of November (the day on which Sejanus and Agrippina both expired) should be observed as a solemn festival, with annual offerings on the altar of Jupiter. XXVI. Soon after these transactions, Coc- ceius Nerva f rtj, the constant companion of the pYince, a man distinguished by his know- ledge of laws, both liuman and divine, pos- sessing a splen(hd fortune, and still in the ^'i- gour of health, grew weary of life, and formed OF TACITUS. 369 a resolution to lay the burthen down. Tibe- eook rius, on the first intelligence, paid him a ^{^ visit ; he entered into close conversation ; he J^^^; desired to know his motives ; he expostulat- '^^' ed, tried the force of entreaty, and declared, without reserve, that if a man, so high m fa- vour, without any apparent reason, put an end to his life, it would be a stab to the em- peror's peace of mind, and a stain indelible to his reputation. Nerva declined the sub- ject. He persisted in wilful abstinence, and shortly after closed his days. From those who best knew his character and way of thinking, we learn the reasons of his con- duct. He saw the cloud that was ready to burst on the commonwealth, and struck, at once, with fear and indignation, he resolved, while yet his honour was unblemished, to escape with glory from the horrors of the time. Extraordinary as it may seem, the death of Agrippina drew after it the ruin of Plancina. She was formerly the wife of Cneius Piso. The reader will remember the savage joy with which she heard of the death of Ger- manicus. When her husband perished, the VOL. II. s B 370 THE ANNALS ^^^^ infiuence of Livia, and, still more, tlie enmity ^ ^ ^ of Agrippina, skrcencd lier from the punish- ^"^- ment due to her crimes. But court-favour ^^' and private animosity were at an end, and justice took its course. Tiie charge against her was founded on facts of public notoriety. In despair she laid violent hands on herself, and suffered, at last, the slow, but just re- ward of a flagitious life. XXVII. Amidst the tragic events that covered the city of Rome with one general face of mournino- a new cause of discontent arose from the marriage of Juha (the daugh- ter of Drusus fa J, and lately the wife of Nero) with Rubellius Blandus, whose grand- father, a native of Tibur, and never of higher distinction than the equestrian rank, was . fresh in the memory of men still living. To- wards the end of the ^ear, the funeral of jILlius Lamia was celebrated with all tlie ho- nours of the censorian order. lie hc^d been for some time the nominal governor of Sy- ria, and having resigned that imaginary title, was made pra^fect of Rome. Illustrious by his l^irth, he lived to a vigorous old age ; and, not being suffered to proceed to the OF TACITUS. 371 province of Syria, he derived from that very book restraint additional dignity (bj. The death of Pomponius Flaccus (c), pro- pnrtor of Syria, which happened soon after the decease of Lamia, produced a letter from Tiberius to the senate, remonstratin«' tliat officers of rank, who by tl)eir talents were fit to be at the head of armies, declined the ser- vice ; and, by consequence, the emperor was reduced to the necessity of requesting, that the fathers would use their iniiuence, to in- duce men of consular rank to undertake the Oifice. .lie forgot, however, that ten years b(^fore, Arruntius was appointed to tlie go- vernment of Spain, but, during that whole time, never permitted to leave the city. In the course of this year died ManiusLe- pidus (dj, whose wisdom and moderation liave been already meritioned. To say any thing of the nobihty of his birth were super-' fluous, since it is v,^ell known, that the house of the iTimilii, from whom he derived his pe- digree, produced a race of eminerit citizens. If any of the family degenerated from the virtue of their ancestors, they continued, not- J3 B 2 '• i^-r- *^,v.; >r.*>;. ;:i-^ J S72 THE ANNALS BOOK withstandini:^, to support the splendour of VI. ^^-N — » an ancient and illustrious race. A. u. c. 78f?. ^^- XXVIII. Paulus Fabius and Lucius A. U. C. 787. A.D. 34. Vitellius (a) succeeded to the consulship. In the course of the year, the miraculous bird, known to the Avorld by the name of the phoenix (bj, after disappearing for a series of ages, revisited /Egypt. A phitnomenon so very extraordinary could not fail to produce abundance of curious speculation. The learn- ing of Egypt was displayed, and Greece ex- hausted her ingenuity. The facts, about which there seems to be a concurrence of opinions, with other circumstances, in their nature doubtful, yet worthy of notice, will not be mi welcome to the reader. That the phoenix is sacred to the sun, and differs from the rest of the feathered species, in the form of its head, and the tincture of its plumage, are points settled by the na- turahsts. Of its longevity, tlie accounts are various. The common persuasion is, tiiat it hves five hundred years, though by some writers the date is extended to fourteen hun- dred and sixty-one. The several ivras, wlien the phoenix has been seen, are dxed by tra^ OF TACITUS. 373 ditioii. The first, we are told, was in the ^oo^^ reii>ii of Sesostris fc) ; the second, in that ^^^^-^^ of Amasis ; and in the period when Pto- ^''*^- lemy, the third of the ^lacedonian race, ^'*' was seated on the throne of iEgypt, another phoenix directed its flight towards lieliopo- lis, attended by a groupe of various birds, all attracted by the novelty, and gazing with wonder at so l>eantifLd an appearance. For the truth of this account, we do not pre- sume to answer. The facts lie too remote, and, covered as they are with the mists of antiquity, all further argument is sus- pended. From the reign of Ptolemy to Tiberius, the intermediate space is not quite two hundred and fifty years. From that circumstance it has been inferred by many that the last phoenix was neither of the geruiine kind, nor came from the woods of Arabia. The in- stinctive qualities of the species were not observed to direct its motions. It is the genius, w^e are told, of the phoenix, when its course of years is finished, and the approach of death is felt, to build a nest in its native clime, and there deposit the principles of 37-i THE ANNALS BOOK life, from which a new progeny arises. Tlie wv-^ first care of the voun^" bird, as soon as fledo;- A. U. C. ' . . 787. ed, and able to trust to its win^s, is to per- 34. form the obsequies of his father. But this duty is not undertaken rashly. He collects a quantity of myrrh, and, to tr}' his strength, makes frequent excursions with a load on his back. When he has made his experi- ment through a long tract of air, and gains sufficient confidence in liis own viii-oiir, he takes up the body of his father, and flies with it to the altar of the sun, where he leaves it to be consumed in flames of fra- o'rance. Such is the account of this extraor- flinary bird. It has, no doubt, a mixture o** fable ; but that the phoenix, from tniie to time, appears in yEgypt, seems to be a fact sufficiently ascertained. XXIX. Rome continued to stream with the blood of eminent citizens. Pomponius Laheo, who had been, as already mentioned, governor of Mysia, opened his veins and bled to deatli. Ili.s wife Paxa^a had the spirit to follow his example. Suicide was the only refuge from the hand of the executioner. Those who waited for the sentence of the 4 OF TACITUS. 375 law incurred a forfeiture, and were, besides, ^^p^ deprived of the rites of sepulture ; while to such as died bv their own hand, funeral cere- monies were allowed, and their Avills were valid. Such was the reward of dispatch ! (a) Self-destruction was made the interest of mankind. One the subject of Labeo's death, Tiberius wrote to the senate, lie observed, " that in ancient times, when all ties of '* friendship were to be dissolved, it was the '' custom to give notice to the discarded " party, that his visits were no longer agree- " able. In that manner he had acted with *' Labeo : all connection w^asatan end. But *' that unhappy man, finding himself charg- *' ed with the iniquity of his government, '' and pressed by the weight of other crimes, *' made a shew of injured innocence, with '"' intent to throw the odium of his death on '' the emperor. The example was fatal to *' his wife. She took the alarm, and perish- " ed with her husband. She might have '' quelled her fears ; for, though her guilt was " manifest, she might have lived in safety." A new prosecution was connnenced against Mamercus Scaurus r^J^a distinguished sena- 376 THE ANNALS BOOK tor, famous as well for his eloquence as the *-f^~ nobility of his birth, but a libertine in his ^87^ conduct. He had been connected with Se- ^- janus, but on that account no danger threat- ened him. The enmity of Macro, who prac^ tised the wiles of Sejanus, but with deeper policy, was the cause of his ruin. A tragedy, written by Scaurus, was the ground of the charge. Some lines were cited from the piece, and, by a strained construction, said to point obliquely at Tiberius. But to make sure work, Servihus and Cornelius, two in- formers by profession, accused him of adul- tery with the younger Livia fcj, and of se- cret practices in the magic art. Scaurus, with a spirit worthy of the ancient ^Emihi, from whom he was descended, resolved not to linger for a public sentence. His wife Sexitia exhorted him to an act of bravery, and died herself, with the courage which she recommended. XXX. Amidst these acts of violence, the informers, in their turn, were abandoned to their fate. Servilius and Cornehus, who, by their conduct to Scaurus, had brouoht on themselves the public detestation, were OF TACITUS. 37 charged with taking a bribe, to compound book a prosecution commenced by tliemselves ai?;ainst Yarius Lio;ur. They were both in- terdicted from fire and water, and transport- ed to the islands. A similar fate attended Abudius Rufo. This man had discharged the office of a?dile, and also served, at the head of a legion, under Lentulus Ga?tulicus. Pie turned informer aoainst his commanding; of- ficer, alleging that he had projected a match between his daughter and one of the sons of Sejanus. He construed this into a crime, and for the attempt was banished from Rome. At the time when this prosecution was set on foot, GcCtuUcus commanded tlie legions in Upper Germany, Distinguished by his clemency, and without rigour maintaining military discipline, he was the idol of the sol- diers. By his interest with his fatlier-in-iaw, Lucius Apronius, he was also high in credit with the other army, which was stationed at a small distance. In this situation, it is said, not without probability, that he had tlie courage to dispatch a letter to Tiberius, to the following effect : " The proposed alliance '' with Stjanus did not originate with him- *'self: the emperor had reconnnended it. '■•' The meanest citizen is liable to error, no «f 378 THE ANNALS BOOK '^ less than the prince. To mistake with im- VI. ^ ^' pinut}^ cannot be the prerogative of the " emperor, and, at the same time, a crime in '' others. For himself, his lidehty remained '' inviolate, and, if no snare was laid for his *' ruin, nothing could shake his principles. '' Should a successor be sent to supersede *' him in the command, he should understand *Mt as the prologue to a sentence of con- " demnation. But there were conditions, on *' which something like a treaty between both *' parties might be settled : he desired to re- *' main unmolested in the government of the " province, and Tiberius might give the law *' to the rest of tlie Roman world." Incredi- ble as this anecdote may appear, it gains an air of authenticitv, Avhen it is considered, that, of all the favourites of Sejanus, Ga^tu- licus was the only person who had the secret to preserve his life, and live in the good graces of the prince. The truth is, Tiberius knew that he had incurred the public hatred. Worn out with asjje and infirmities, he was ^vise enou2;h to reflect, that fame and the opinion of mankind, rather than the exercise of power, must for the future be the pillari; of his government. OF TACITUS. 379 XX XT. In the consulsliip of Caius Ces- book tius (a) ainl ?vfarcus Serviliiis, a deputation from the Parthian nobihty, without tlie con- currence or privity of Artabanus, their king, arrived at Rome. While tlie arms of Ger- manicus filled the East with terror, that mo« narcli continued to adliere with good faith to the Romans, and to rule his own dominions with equity and moderation. He broke out afterwards with open violence ; to Rome, proud and arrogant ; to his people, fierce and unrelenting. The prosperous events of war Avith the neighbouring nations inspired him with the pride and insolence of victory. He saw Tiberius, in the decline of life, a feeble prince f />J, disarmed and powerless. Armenia was the object of liis ambition. Artaxias (^cj, king of the country, was no sooner dead, than lie placed his eldest son, Arsaces, on the va- cant throne. His arrogance did not stop there. By his ambassadors he demanded, in haughty and imperious terms, immediate restitution of the treasures left by Yonones (d) in Syria and Cilicia. He laid claim, besides, to all the territories, formerly belonging to the Persians and JNIacedonians. Ho added, in a style of vain glory, that whatever was possessed by Cyrus, and afterwards by Alexander, was his 380 THE ANNALS BOOK uiidoiiblcd riglit, and he was determined to recover the same by force of arms. The Parthians, in the mean time, by the advice of Sinnaces, a man of great opulence and noble birth, sent their secret embassy to Rome. The measure was supported by Ab- dus (e), the eunuch. In the eastern nations the loss of manhood is no dei^radation : on the contrary, it leads to power and prefer- ment. With those two leadinii chiefs the grandees of Parthia entered into a conspiracy. But still to wear the regal diadem, one only of the race of the Arsacides could be found. The greatest part of that family Avas cut off by Artabanus, and the survivors were too young to govern. Tiie Parthians, therefore, desired that Tiberius would send Phraates (fj, son of the king of that name, to mount the throne of his ancestors. That title and the sanction of Pome would be sufficient. Let a prince of the house of Arsaces," under the protection of Tiberius, shew himself on the banks of the Euphrates, and notlung more^was necessary ; a revolution would be the certain consequence. XXXII. The enterprise was agreeable OF TACITUS. 381 to the wishes of Tiberius. He dispatched book Phraates, enriched with presents, and every '^''^ mark of splendour suited to the royal dignity, ^'f^; Bat still it was his fixed plan not to depart ^^• from his former resolution to work by stra- tagem, and, if possible, to avoid a war. The secret transpired at the Parthian court, Ar- tabanus was thrown into a state of violent perplexity. Revenge and fear took possession of him bv turns. In the idea of an eastern monarch, indecision is the mark of a servile mind. Vigour and sudden enterprise are at- tributes of the royal character. In the pre- sent juncture, those notions gave way,andliis interest conquered prejudices. He invited Abdus to a banquet, and, by a slow poison, rendered him unfit for action. With Sinnaces he thought it best to dissemble. He loaded him with presents, and, by employing him in state affairs, left him no leisure for clandestine machinations. Meanwhile Phraates arrived in Syria. Willing to conform to the customs of the East, he threw off the dress and man- ners of the Romans. The transition, however^ w^as too violent ; and his constitution proving unequal to so sudden a change, he was carried oft" by a fit of illness. Tiberius was unwilling ^o relinquish a measure which he had once .332 THE ANNA Is BOOK approved. He named Tiridates, descended Y~X^ fr<^>^i ^^le same stock with Phraates, as a lit A^ U. C 788. I'ival to^ contend with Artabanus. A.D. 35. In order to recover the kinodom of Arme- nia, he entered into an alliance with Mith- ridates, a prince of the Iberian line, having beforehand contrived to reconcile him to his brother Pharasmanes, then the reianins: mo- narch of Iberia. An important scene was now open in the east. To conduct the whole, Tiberius gave the command to Lucius Vitel- lius fa J. The character of this officer is well known. He shewed himself in his true co- lours to the people of Rome, insomuch that his memory is held in detestation. In the East, however, his conduct v/as irreproach- able. He acted in the province with the inte- grity of an ancient Roman. After his return he renounced that character altogether, a ready apostate from every virtue. His dread of Caligula, and his intimacy with Claudius, transformed him into an abject slave. He is now remembered as a model of the vilest adulation. What was praise-worthy in the beginning of his days, changed to infamy in his riper years. Thq virtues of youth gave way to the vices of age. OF TACITUb\ 383 XXXIII. MiTHRiDATEs was the first of book Vl.i the petty kings of Asm, who took a decisive part. He drew his brother Pharasinanes into the league, and engaged tha.t monarch to employ both force and stratagem to promote the enterprise. By their agents they bribed the servants of Arsaces to end their master^s life by poison. The Iberians, in the mean time, entered Armenia with aimmerousarmy, and took possession of the city of Artaxata. On the first intelligence Artabanus dispatched his son Ox'odes, at the head of the Parthian forces, to oppose the enem}^ aiid, in the mean time, sent out his officers to negociate for a body of auxiliaries. Pharasmanes, on his part, spared no pains to reinforce his army. lie en2:aL>ed the Albanians in his service, lie listed tlie Sarmatians ; but a part of that people, called the Sceptucians, were willing, accordinij: to the custom of the nation, to be hired by any of the powers at war, the ready mercenaries in every quarrel. They were at that time actually engaged on both sides, and of course divided against themselves. The I ' Iberians, having; secured the defiles and nar- row passes of the country, poured down from the Caspian mountai;is a large bodjr' of their 384 'THE ANKALS ^^^^ Sarmatlan auxiliaries, and soon over-mn all Armenia. The Parthians were not able to advance. Tlie enemy was in force at every post, one only road excepted, and that, ex- tending between the Caspian sea and the mountains of Albania, was impassable in the summer months. In that season of the j'ear the Etesian faj winds blow constantly one way, and, driving the waves before them, lay the country under water. In the winter, the wind from the south rolls the flood back into the deep, and leaves the country a dry and naked shore. XXXIV. While Orodes saw his succours cut off, Pharasmanes with augmented num- bers advanced asfainst him. He offered bat- tie, but the enemy declined the conflict. Tlie Iberian rode up to the entrenchments ; he endeavoured to provoke the enemy ; he cut off their forage, and invested their camp. The Parthians, not used to brook dishonour, ga- thered in a body round the prince, and de- manded the decision of the sword. Their maiu strength consisted in their cavalry, Pharasmanes added to his horse a large body of infantry. His own subjects, and tlie forces t)F TACITUSi 385 from Albania, dwelling cbieflv^ in Avilcls and book forests, were inured, bv tbeir mode of life, to ':;^^''^ ' 'J ^ A. U. C. labour and fatigue. If we may believe the ^^^ account which they give of their origin, they ^^• are descended from the people of Thessaly, who folio vv^ed Jason when that adventurer, having issue by Medea, returned to Colchis, on the death of iEetes, to take possession of the vacant throne. Concernino- the Greek hero, and the oracle of Phr3^xus f^O^ various traditions are current amongst them. For the last their veneration is such, that in their sa- crifices a ram is never offered as a victim, the people conceiving that Phryxus vras convey- ed across the sea by an animal of that species, or in a ship with that figure at the head. The two armies were drawn out in order of battle. Orodes, to animate the valour of his men, called to their mind tlie glory of the eastern empire, andtheraceof the Arsacides. " They *' were now to cope with a band of merce- *' naries, led by an Iberian chief, of mean *' extraction, ignoble, and obscure." In the opposite army, Pharasmanes pressed every topic that could inflame the ardour of his troops. " They were men who never yielded " to the Parthian yoke : they fought now for VOL. II. C C 386 THE ANNALS BOOK <- conquest: the more bold the enterprize, ''^^^-' ^' the greater would be their olory. If they ^. U. C. ^ o v' ^ 788 cc o^ve ijround, or turned their backs on the AD. o I? ' '■^^' ^' enemy, shame and ruin would pursue them. '* Look round/' he said, '' and view botli '' armies. Behold on our side a dreadful " front of war ; on that of the enemy an un- ^^ warlike band of Medes, gay in their ap- " parel, and glittering with gold. Here we '^ have men and steel ; there cowards, and *' booty to reward our valour." XXXV. In the Sarmatian ranks it was not the general only that harangued the men. By mutual exhortations, according to their custom, they roused each other's valour. They resolved to reserve their darts, and rush on to a close enj:jas>;cment. The field of battle presented an attack in different forms. The Parthians, skilled alike in the onset and the retreat, endeavoured to open their ranks, in order to i^ain room for the discharije of their arrows. The Sarmatians threw their bows aside, determined with their swords and pikes to decide the fortune of the day. In one place was seen an engagement of the ca- valry ; they advanced to the cliarge ; they OP TACITUS. 387 wheeled about ; they changed with sudden book velocity. In another quarter the infantry fought hand to hand, and buckler to buckler. Tliey attacked, and were repulsed ; they wounded, and were wounded. The Iberians and Albanians grappled with the enemy ; they pulled them by main force from their horses ; they distracted them by two differ- ent modes of engaging. Their cavalry rush- ed on, and their infantry stood close embo- died. The two adverse generals, Orodes and Pharasmanes, exerted every effort. They rushed into the heat of the action : they en- couraged the brave ; they rallied the broken ranks, and signalised themselves in every part of the field. Conspicuous to all, at length they knew each other. At the sight, with instinctive fury, their horses at full speed, they rushed forward to the charge, bel- lowing revenge, and darting their javelins. Pharasmanes, with a well-directed weapon, pierced the helmet of Orodes ; but, hurried on by the fury of his horse, he was not able to pursue his advantage. Orodes was shel- tered by his Guards who flew to his assistance. A report that he w^as slain spread through the ranks. The spirit of the Parthians be- c c 2 588 THE ANNALS BOOK gaii to droop, and victory declared for the Iberians. XXXVI. Artabanus, to repair the loss, marched with the whole stren«;th of his kin<»- dom. The Iberians knew the course of the country, and by their valour gained a se^ cond victory. The Parthian, notwithstand- ing, kept tlie field till such time as Vitellius advanced with his leo;ions, intendino- as was industriously given out, to enter jMesopota- mia. To avoid a war with Rome, the Par- thian king abandoned Armenia, and returned to his own dominions. From that time his ruin may be dated. Vitellius carried on a correspondence with the leading men of Par- thia, and, to incite them to a revolt, repre- sented Artabanus as a king, cruel in time of peace, and in war disastrous to the whole nation. Sinnaces, at the head, as already mentioned, of a powerful faction, drew to his interest his father, Abdageses, and other malecontents, who were now, by the unpros- pei'ous events of war, determined to throw oft the mask. A great number through fear, and not from principle, hitherto inactive, went over to the disaffected. Artabanus found himself deserted on every side. lie 35. OF TACITUS. 389 had only one expedient left. He chose for booic his body-guard a band of mercenaries, men "^TTV void of honour, the outcast of their country, l^^ to good and evil, vice and virtue, alike in- different, and for their hire ready to perpe-* trate every crime. With these attendants the fugitive monarch souoht the frontiers of Scythia. His ruined cause, he still hoped, would tind support from the Carmanians, and the people of Hyrcania, with whom he was connected by ties of affinity. He relied, moreover, on the fickle temper of the Par- thians. A wavering and inconstant people, always disgusted with the reigning prince, and, after his expulsion, prone to repent, might act towards himself with the same versatility, and once more declare in his favour. XXXVII. The throne beino- in this man- ner vacant, and the Parthians, in their ra^ic for innovation, appearing ready to embrace a new master, Vitellius thought it time to fire the ambition of Tiridates, and to sup- port him in the enterprize, marched witii the auxiliaries, and the strenoth of his lesjions, to the banks of the Euphrates. In order to propitiate the river god faj, preparations were made for a solemn sacrifice. The Ko- 390 THE ANNALS BOOK man, accordiiisj to the rites of his country, VI. ^ o J ' offered a swine, a ram, and a bull ; a horse was the victim slain by Tiridates. While they were thus employed, the people of the country came in with an account that the Euphrates, without any fall of rain, swelled miraculously above its banks, and, the waves with a rapid motion turning round in cir- cling eddies, the foam on the surface pre- sented the form of a diadem. This was deem- ed a favourable omen. By others, who judged with more penetration, the prognostic was seen in a diiferent liglit. According to their interpretation, it promised success at first, and a speedy reverse of fortune. In support of this opinion it was observed, that the earth and heavens hold forth unerring sig- nals : but the omens, collected from the ap- pearance of rivers, were, like the element from which they spring, always uncertain. They appear and vanish in a moment. Abridge of boats being prepared, the whole army passed over the Euphrates. While they lay encamped, Ornospades, at the head of a large body of cavalry, amounting to several thousands, came in as an auxiliary. This man was a native of Parthia, formerly banished OF TACITUS. 391 from his country ; but for his services under book Tiberius, during the war in Dalmatia (bj, ad- mitted to the privileges of a Roman citizen. Beino- afterwards reconciled to his native prince, he rose to the first honours of the state, and was appointed governor of that whole region which hes between the Tigris and tlie Eupln-ates, for that reason called JMesopotamia (aj. Sinnaces, in a short time after, joined the army with a strong re- inforcement. Abdageses, the pillar of the party, delivered up the royal treasure, and the richest ornaments of the crown. Vitellius considered the business as finished. The Roman eagles appeared on the banks of the Euphrates, and more was unnecessary. He gave his best advice to Tiridates, and the authors of the revolution. Addressing him- self to the prince, " Remember," he said, '' that you are the grandson of Phraates, and *•' that you have been trained up by Tiberius : " let that reflection be ever present to your *' mind : it 'will animate you in the career of *' glory." lie exhorted the grandees of Par- tliia to pay obedience to their king, and due respect to the Roman name. By being faith- ful to both, they would at once fulfd their engagements, and maintain th.cir honour. 393 THE ANNALS VI. BOOK Havincf made this arrangement, he returned with his legions into Syria. XXXVIII. In relatinoj these transac« tions, I have thrown togetlier, in one con- nected series, the business of two campaigns ; in order, by a view of Asiatic aftairs, to re- lieve the attention of the reader, and give tlie mind some ixspite from domestic misery. From the death of Sejanus three years had elapsed, and yet neither time nor supplica- tions, nor even a deluge of blood, could soften the cruelty of Tiberius. Things that mitii2:ate the resentment of others, made no impression on that unforo;iving temper. Crimes of an ancient date were revived as recent facts, and charges without proof passed for demonstrations of guilt. The band of in- formers joined in a league against Fulcinius Trio CaJ- That citizen, knowing that his fate was determined, put an end to his life. In his will he spoke in the bitterest terms of Macro, and the emperor's freed men. Nor did he spare Tiberius. Ilis understanding, he said, was reduced by 3^ears an(l infninity to a state of dotage, and his long absence was no better than banishment from his country. These reflections the heirs of Trio OF TACITUS. _ 393 wisjied to suppress ; but Tiberius ordered book the Avili to be read in public ; perhaps to shew ' — > — » A. U. C. the world that he could allow full libert}'- of p^^ thinking, and despise the censure that point- "^• ed at himself; perhaps, having been for jnany years blind to the villainy of Sejanus, he chose, at last, that invectives of every sort should be brought to light, to the end that truth, always warped by flattery, might reach his ear, though undisguised, and at the expence of his reputation. About the same time died by his own hand Granius ]\Iartia~ nus, a member of the senate, who found him- self attacked by Caius Gracchus on the law of violated majesty. Tatius Granius, who had served the oiHce of praetor, was prose- cuted in like manner, and condemned to suffer death. XXXIX. The same fate attended Tre- bellienus Hufus (a J and Se?itius Paconianus ; the former dispatched himself, and the latter, for some sarcastic verses against the empe- ror, the production of his prison-hours, was strangled in the jail. Of all these tragic scenes Tiberius had the earliest intellioience ; not, as before, by messengers that crossed the sea to the isle of Caprea3 ; he heard the news in the 394 THE ANNALS BOOK very iieiglibourhoocl of Rome, hoverini^^ about the city at so small a distance, that often on the same day, or, at most, a single nio;ht intervening', the consuls received his answers to their dispatches, and his final or- ders for immediate vengeance. He placed himself in a situation so near the theatre of horror, that he could almost see the blood that streamed in every family, and hear the stroke of the executioner. Towards the end of the year died Pop- pa3us Sabinus (bj, a man of humble birth, but, by the partiality of two emperors, rais- ed to the consulship, and distinguished by triumphal honours. During a series of four- and-twenty years, the goverimient of consi- derable provinces ^vas committed to his care, not for any extraordinary talents, but be-^ cause he had a capacity of a level for busi- ness, and not above it. /.u. c. XL. The next consulship was that of A.D. QuintusPlautiiisand SextusPapinius. In the course -jf this year Lucius Aruseius and others died under the hand of the executioner : their fate, h>>wever cruel, passed unheeded among the common occurrences of the time. Scenes i>0. OF TACITUS. 395 of blood were <>towii familiar, and made no book impression. And yet the fate of Vibuleiius ^^'^ — » . . . A. u. a Agrippa was attended with cireumstances ^^J^ tliat struck a general panic. His trial came "'^' on before the senate. As soon as the pro- secutors closed their case, he swallowed a deadly poison, which he had concealed under his robe, and instantly expired. lie was seized, notwithstanding, and in that con- dition dragged to a dungeon, where the lictor fastened his cord fa J round the neck of a dead man. Even Tigranes (b), who had formerly swaj'cd the sceptre of Armenia, suffered without distinction. The title of royalty did not exempt him from the lot of a common citizen. Cains Galba (c), of consular rank, and the two Bla?si, embraced a volimtary death ; Gal- ba, because by letters from Tiberius, written in terms of acrimony, he was excluded from the usual mode of obtaining a proA^ince by lot ; and the Bla\si, because the order of priest- jiood, which had been promised in their day of prosperity, was, since they were no longer in favour, withheld from them, and to those vacant dignities others were appointed. A 596 THE ANNAUS «-'t/ cf BOOK step so decisive they considered as nothin VI. . ' ■ less than a siii;nal to die ; and they obeyed. iEmiha Lepida (d), -svhose marriage with Drusus has been mentioned, remained, during the Hfe of Lepidus her father, in perfect se- curity, but detested by th.e pubhc. Her pro- tector beins; now no more, the informers seized their opportunity, and accused her of adultery with a slave. Of her guilt no doubt was entertained. She made no defence, but executed justice on herself. XLI". About this time theCliteans, a peo- ple subject to Arclielaus, king of Cappa- docia, impatient of being taxed according to the system practised in the Roman provinces, made a secession to the heig^hts of mount Taurus. Being there possessed of the ad- vantage-ground, they were able to defend themselves against their sovereign, and his mi wad ike troops. To quell the insur- gents, Vitellius, governor of Syria, dispatch-^ ed Marcus Trebellius, at the head of four thousand legionary soldiers, and a select de- tachment of auxiliaries. The Barbarians ' had taken post on two hills ; the least was \ A. U. C 7SP. A. D. OF TACITUS. 397 called Cadra, and the other Davara. Tie- book bellius inclosed both with ihies of circumval- kiLioii. All who dared to sally out w'ere put '^- to the sword ; the restw^ere reduced by thirst ^^- and famine. IMeanwhile, Tiridates was well ni^h esta- blished on the throne of Parthia. The cities of Nicephoriiun, Autheniusia, and other places, originally settled by the ]\Ia~ cedonians, and from their founders deriviuir names of Greek termination, opened their gates to the new monarch. lialus and Ar- temita, two Parthian cities, followed the example ; the people every where vying with each other in demonstrations of joy. A re* volution, by wdiich Artabanus, a tyrant bred among the Scythians, was driven from the throne, oave universal satisfaction to the Parthians. They knew that Tiridates had been educated among the Romans, and, froin his arts of civilization, expected a mild and equitable government. XLII. The inhabitants of Seleucia (a) de- clared for the new king in a style of flattery that exceeded ail their neighbours. Seleucia is a fortiiicd city of con.^iderable strength. 398 THE ANNALS BOOK The barbarity of Parthian manners never iiaincd admission amongst tliem. Beino' a co- lony planted by Seleucus, they still retained the institutions of their Grecian founder. A bod}" of three lumdred, chosen for their v/ealth or superior wisdom, gave the form of a se- nate. The people have their share in the i>'overnnient. When both orders act with a. .spirit of union, they are too strong for the Par- thians. If they clash among themselves, and one faction looks abroad for support, the foreign prince, who arrives as the friend of a party, becomes the oppressor of all. In the reign of Artabanus this fatal consequence Avas actually felt. That monarch threw the whole weiglit into the scale of the nobles, and the people, by consequence, were sur- rendered as the slaves of a violent aristocracy. This form of 2;overnment was asfrecable to the ideas of eastern despotism. A regular democracy holds too much of civil liberty, while the domination of the few differs but little from absolute monarchy. The reception of Tiridates at Seleucia, was splend id beyond all example. To the homage which the practice of ages had established, new honours were added by the inventive OF TACITUS. 3.99 genius of flatteiy. Amidst tlic applause and book acclamations of the people, I'cproaches loud ^--^v — » A. U. C. and vehement were thrown out against Ar- '«9- " A.D. tabanus, a man related, by the maternal line •'^^• only, to the house of the Arsacida?, and, by his actions, a disgrace to the name. Tiridates sided with the people of Seleucia, and re- stored the democracy. A day for liis coro- nation was still to be fixed. While that bu- siness was in agitation, dispatches arrived from Iliero and Phraates, two leadijig men, and governors of extensive provinces. They desired that the ceremon\r mii>ht be deferred * for a few days. A request from men of their importance came witli weight, and was ac- cordingly followed. The court, in the mean time, removed to Ctesip/lion, the capital of the empire, and the seat of government. New delays were thro^v'n in tlie way by the two grandees, and the business of the coro- nation was protracted from time to time. At len2;th the re^'ent of the countrv, called tlie SuRENAf/>J, proceeded, according to the national custom, to solemnize tlie inaugura- tion of the king. In the presence of a nu- merous assembly, and amidst the shouts and acclamations of tiie people, he invested Ti- ridates with the re";al diadem. 400 THE ANNALS XLIII. If, after this ceremony, Tiri- dates had penetrated at once into the heart of the kingdom, and shewn himself to the interior provinces, by that decisive step the minds of such as wavered had been fixed, and the prince had mounted the throne with the consent of tlie nation. He staid imprudently to amuse himself with the siege of a castle, in w hich were lodged the concubines of Ar- tabanus, with all the royal treasure. The delay gave time for treachery and revolt, Phraates, Hiero, and others of the nobility, who were not present at the coronation, turned their thoughts, with their usual love of innovation, towards the deposed king. For this conduct their motives were various. Some acted from their fears, and others from their ill-will to Abdageses, who had gained the supreme authority at court, and the entire ascendant over the nev/ monarch. The malecontents went in quest of Artabanus. He was found in Ilyrcania, covered with wretchedness, and with his bow and arrow procuring his daily sustenance. On the first appearance of his friends, he was seized with terror, suspecting nothing less than treachery, and a design against his life. Being assured of their fidelity, and their resolution to OF TACITUS. 401 restore hiin to his dominions, he fdt his hopes book revived: and whence, he said, this sudden clianive no time either to the arts of his enemies, or the na- tural levity of his friends. The sordid habit in which he was fouiid, he still continued to wear; hoping, by his wretched appearance, to make an impression on the passions of the multitude, lie omitted nothing' that could serve his cause ; by fraud, by entreaty, by every artifice, he tried to allure the wavering, and to animate th<^ brave. By ri^pid marches VOL. II. D D 402 THE Ar^XALS' BOOK ;^^^^ he soon readied the neighbourhood of Seleu- A. U. C. 789. cia, at the head of a powerful army. A. D. 36. Tiridates, alarmed at the news of his ap- proach, and soon after terrified at his actual presence, began to deli})erate about the mea- sures in that exigence fittest to be pursued. Should he try the issue of a battle, or dra^v' the war into length ? In his councils there was nothing like decision. The officers of warlike spirit were for a sudden blow, while the rash levies of Artabanus, out of heart, fatigued by their march, and not yet united by principle, had as yet no affection for a king whom they had so lately deposed. Traitors yesterday, they were now no better than pre- tended friends. Abdageses was of a contrary ophiion. To retreat into ]\Iesopotamia was, ill his judgment, the safest measure. Plaving gained the opposite side of the river, Tiridates might there stand at bay, till tlie Armenians, the Ely m;rans, and other nations in their rear, had time to take the field. Succours miuht be expected from the Roman general. \\ hen their forces were all assembled, it would then be time to hazard a battle. This measure was adopted. Abdageses was iiigh in authority. OF TACITUS. 403 and the unwarlike oenius of Tiritlates shnmk book ~ VI. from danger. Their retreat had the appear- ^''^J^ ance of an army put to the rout. The con- ^^^ sequences were fatal. The Arabs were the ^^^ first to abandon Tiridates : a general defection followed. Some betook themselves to their native home, and others went over to the standard of Artabanus. Tiridates, with a handful of men, passed into Syria, and by his conduct made the apology of all who deserted his cause. None had reason to blush for be- traying a man, who betrayed himself. XLV. In the course of this year a dread- ful fire broke out at Rome, and laid mount Aventine, with part of the adjoining circus, in ashes. Tiberius had the address to turn this calamity to his own glory. He ordered the value of the houses and insulated man- sions (a J, which were destroyed, to be paid to the respective owners. The sum amounted to no less than one hundred thousand great sesterces. The munificence of the prince was the more applauded, as building for his own use was not his taste. The temple of Au- gustus, and Pompey's theatre, were his only public structures. When both were finished, D D 2 404 THE ANNALS BOOK he (lid not so miicli as think of dedicating" VI. , '^ them ; perhaps to shew his contempt oflame ; perhaps ])e(:aiise old age had smik his vigour. To estimate the damage sustaiiied by each in- dividual, his four sons-in-law were appointed, namely, Cneius Domitius, Cassius Longinus, ]\Iarcus Vinicius, and llubeilius Blandus. At the desire of tlie consuls, Publius Petronius was added to the commission. Public ho- nours were decreed to the emperor witli ail the variety that adulation could suggest. A'Yiiich were acceptable, and vrhicli rejected, is micertain; since he was then near liis end, and perhaps never declared his mind. Ol. A.u.c. In a short time after, Cneius Acerronius a\x and Cains Pontius entered on the consulship, and it was tlieir lot to ckjse the reign of Ti- berius. iMacro was, at this time, in tlie zenitli of his power. He had been assiduous in pay- inii his court to Calii>;ula ; and now, when he saw tiie emperor declining fast, his zeal for the young prince became evcjy day more conspicuous. In a short time after the death of Claudia fhj, who had been martkd to Caiii>ula, he made his ov.n wife, Ennia, throw out the lure for his afiections, tdl she obtained OF TACITUS. 404 a promise of marriage. In tliis she fDund no ^^^'^ (lifliciilty. Caligula v.'ished for notiiing so much as an opportunity to seize the sovereign power : and, to second his ambition, tliere vas no project which lie was not ready to em- brace. The ferocity of his nature left liim httle time for reflection, and the violence of h.is passions clouded Iiis vmderstandin^ : he had studied under his i^'randfather, and in that sciiool acquired the arts of dissimulation. XLVI. The character of Cali^'ula didnot escape the penetrating eye of Tiberius. lleiK'e his irresolution on the important point of nam- ing a successor (a). Ilis grandsons naturally were present to his mind. The heir of his son Drusus was the nearest in blood, and na- tural affection spoke in his favour : but the urince was still of tender vears. Caligula had attained {\\{^ prime of manhood ; but he was the son of Germanicus, and, for that reason, a favourite of the people ; both strong motives to excite the aversion of Tiberius. Claudius was not entirely overlooked. His time of life rendered him fit for that exalted station, and he had shewn a taste for tlie hbcral arts ; but he wanted vigour of mind : nature had given 406 THE ANNALS BOOK him talents, but withheld the power of using them with any solid advantage. In this per- plexity Tiberius weighed every circumstance, but still could form no resolution. To name a person who was not of the imperial family, were to degrade the memory of Augustus, and leave the liouse of Caesar exposed to the con- tempt of posterity. This, in all events, he was determined to avoid, not with a view to pre- sent fame, for that had long since ceased to be his passion, and yet he wished to preserve the glory of an illustrious line, and transmit it un- impaired to future ages. At length, fatigued with thinking, and growing every day weaker, he left to chance what he had not vigour to decide. He had, notwithstanding, some foreknowledge of wliat was to happen after him. From certain ex- pressions that fell from him this may be col- lected. His reproach to Macro, " that he " turned from the setting to the rising sun," was neither dark nor equivocal. He said to Caligula, who, on some occasion, treated the character of Sy 11a with contempt and ridicule, *' You will have the vices of that great man, ■ • without one of his virtues." In a sliort tmie OF TACITUS. 407 after, while with tears of affeetion he elasped book ill his arms the youngest (bj of liis grandsons, he observed the stern countenanee of Caliuula, and calndy told him, " You will kill this boy, " and fall yourself by some other hand.'' Ti- berius was now deelining fast, and yet, in that decay of nature, he abated nothing from his usual gratiiieations. Dissembling to the last, he endured every encroachment on his con- stitution with calm composure. Patience, he thought, would pass for vigour. To ridicule the practice of physic fcj, and make a jest of all who, after thirty, did not understand their own constitutions, had been loui^ the bent of his humour. XLVII. At Home, in the mean time, pro- secutions were set on foot to terminate in blood after the death of Tiberius. Acutia, formerly the wife of PubliusVitellius (a), was charged on the law of violated majesty by La^lius Balbus. She was condemned ; but the de- cree, by which the senate adjudged a recom- pence to the prosecutor, was suspended by the interposition of Junius Otho, the tribune of the people. From that moment Vitellius and Otho became open enemies. Fierce coa^ 408 THE ANNALS BOOK tcntions followed, and, at last, ended ia the VI. v-rf^^w banishment of Otho. Albucilla, a woman A. U C 790. ' famous for the variety of her intrin. Tlie anguish of a 412 THE ANNALS VI A. U. C 790. A. D. BOOK parent, she said, pierced her to tlie quick, and the weakness of her sex was unequal to such '9^- a load of misery. She omitted nothin<>; that 37- ' could touch the heart, and mitigate resent- ment ; but the fathers vrere inexorable. She was banished from Rome for ten years, that, in the mean time, her second son mig'lit pass the season of life, in which the young and ten- der mind is liable to seduction. L. Tiberius now drcAv near Ins end : his strength declined, his spirits sunk, and every thing failed, except his dissimulation. The same austerity still remained, the same energy and rio;our of mind. lie talked in a decisive tone ; he looked with eagerness ; and even, at times, affected an air of gaiety. Dissembling to the last, he hoped by false appearances to hide the decay of nature. Weary, restless, and impatient, he could not stay long in one place. After various changes, he stopt at a villa, formerly the propert}- fa J of Lucullus, near the promontory of JMisenum. It vras here first known that his dissolution was approach- ing fast. The discovery was made iii the following maimer. A physician, of the name of Charicles, highly eminent in his profession, OF TACITUS. 4.15 attended the train of Tiberius, not employed book to prescribe, but occasionally assisting with friendly advice. Pretending to have avoca- tions that required his attendance elsewhere, he approached the emperor to take his leave, and respectfully laying hold of liis hand, con- trived, in the act of saluting it, to feel iiis pulse. The artifice did not escape the notice of TU)erius. It probably gave him oftence, l)ut, for that reason, he smothered his resent- ment. With an air of cheerfulness, he ordered the banquet to be served, and, seemingly with intent to honour his departing friend, con- tinued at table beyond his usual time. Cha- ricles was not to be deceived. lie saw a ra- pid decline, and assured Alacro that two days, at most, would close the scene. For thatevent measures were immediately taken : councils were held in private, and dispatches were sent to the army, and the several commanders at their respective stations. On the seventeenth before the calends of April, Tiberius had a fainting iit : he lay for some time in a state of languor, speechless, Vvithout motion, and was thonght to be dead. A band of cour- tiers surrounded Caligula, eager to pay their court, and all congratulating the prince on 414 THE ANNALS BOOK his accession to the imperial dignity. Ca- ^-^/^w^ Hgula was actually going forth to be pro-* 79t>- claimed emperor, when word was brought, 37. that Tiberius was come to himself, and called for a cordial to revive his fainting spirits. The wholeparty was struck with terror: the crowd dispersed ; some with dejected looks, others with a cheerful mien, as if unconscious of what had happened. Caligula stood at gaze, asto- nished, and almost out of his senses. He had, but a moment before, one foot on the throne, and now was thrown from the summit of his ambition. He remained fixed in despair, as if awaiting the stroke of death. ^lacro alone was undismayed. With firmness and pre- sence of mind, he cleared the emperor*s room, and 2:ave orders that the remains of life should be smothered under a load of clothes. Such was the end of Tiberius, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. LI. He was the son of Tiberius Nero; by the paternal and maternal line of the house of Claudius, though his mother passed by adop- tion into the Livian, and afterwards into the Julian family. The beginning of his days was clouded with misfortunes, and exposed to 1 OF TACITUS. 415 various perils. In his infancy, he was torn eook away from Rome, and forced to wander with -^ — ' . , A. TT. C. Jiis father, then on the list of the proscribed. '•"'• ' i A. D. When a marriage took place between Livia "'• and Auo;ustus, he was introduced into tlie im- perial house, but had to contend with power- ful rivals, as long as Marcellus, Agrippa, and the two Caesars, Caius and Lucius, flourished at the court of Augustus. In the eves of the people, his brother Drusus overshadowed hini. By his marriage with Julia, his situation was rendered still more embarrassini;. ^Vliether he connived at her vices, or abandoned lier in resentment, the dilemma was, either way, full of difficultv. Beino- recalled from the isle of Rhodes, he found Augustus deprived of heirs, and from that time continued for twelve years, without a rival, the hope and pillar of the im- perial family, lie succeeded to the empire, and governed Rome near three-and-twenty years. His manners, like his fortune, liad their revolutions, and their distinctive periods ; amiable f^/J, while a private man ; and, in the highest emuloyments urider Augustus, esteemed and honoured. During the lives of Drusus and Germanicus, he played an arti- ficial character, concealino' his vices, and as- 416 THE ANNALS OF TACITUS. BOOK sumiiii^ the exteriors of virtue. After their VI. ^ decease, and while his mother hved, good and evil were equally blended in his conduct. De- tested for his cruelty, he had the art, while he loved or feared Sejanus, to throw a veil over his most depraved and vicious appetites. Ail restraint being at length removed, he broke out without fear or shame, and, during the re- mainder of his life, hurried away by his own unbridled passions, made his reign one scene of lust, and cruelty, and hr THE THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH BOOKS OF THE ANNALS. VOL. II. E £ NOTES ON THE THIRD BOOK OF THE AXNALS. Section I, (V/) r"¥^TIE two cliildren of Gennanlcns probably Avcve, A Caligula, who, according" to Suetonius, 'u-com- panied his father itito the East; anil Julia, who was born in the isle of Lesbos, See book ii, s, 54. Section II. {n) Tliese were Nero and Drnsus, Agrippina and Drusilla. But it is not probable that the two daughters Ment so far to meet their father's funeral. Section Til. (a) For the character of Antonia, sec Supplement to book V. s. 27 ; and see the Genealogical Table, No. 42. Section VI. (n) The Romans called themselves the masters of the world, and wherever their legions could penetrate, the nations owned their superiority. The ambasbadors E E 2 420 NOTES ON THE sent to Rome by Pyrrliiis bein^ asked, at their return^ ■what they thought of the Romans ? The city, tlvey paid, appeared to be a temple, and the senate a conven- tion of kint^s. Floras, lib. i. cap. IS. Cicero, in the Oration pro domo suh, calls the Roman people the masters of kings, the conquerors and commanders of all other nations, ///f , I'fe populus est domimis regzim, vic- tor a! que imperator omnium o^entiwoi. (b) Julia was the daughter of Julius Caesar by his wife Cornelia. See the Genealogical Table, No. 6. (() The Megalesian games were so called from ^fyaxn&ia, the great goddess, or magna mater. They were cclebraJed in the month of April, and lasted seven days. Germanicus died in the preceding month of November. The grief of the people at Rome was so violent, that even the Saturnalian games, which were towards the end of December, could not put a stop to the general sorrow. See Suet, in Calig. s. 6. Th« mourning, we find from Tacitus, continued to the montli of April following. Sectioti IX, (a) Now the Gulf of Yenice, Section X, (a) For an account of these suspicions, see Suetonius in Tib. s. 32. Section XIV. raj The Gemcnim ScalcE were a flight of steps at the bottom of the Capiti.line Hill, where the bodies of male- factors were exposed, and then draggrd by a hook fixed in the throat, and thrown into the Tiber., tlllRD BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 421 Section XVI. (a) Piso liail been joint consul with Auo:u!^tus, A. U. C. 731, and afterwards with Tiberius, A U. C. 747. Section xvn. {a) Tiberius was willini^ to make the apoloi^y of a young- man. He could not mean, in the latitude here laid down, that the son is bound in all cases to obey the father's orders. Quintiliah has well observed, that pa- rents are not to be obeyed in every thing. To receive benefits, he adds, would be highly dangerous, if by obligations men were bound to every kind of service. They would in tliat case be in the worst state of thral- dom. Non omnia prcbstanda parcnttbus. Alioquin nihil est pcrniciosius acceptis hcneficiis, si in omnem nos obli' gant serrit litem. See Grotius Dc Jure Belli ac Pacis^ lib. ii. cap. 26* (b) In the time of the republic, the consul, who pre- sided in the senate, put the question to the fathers in every debate ; but he neither called upon his colleague, nor the prafors, nor any of the acting magistrates. He addressed himself to the prince of the senate, the con- suls elect, and after them to the members of consular rank, and in regular succession to the rest of the senate^ The reason of this arrangement seems to have been an idea that the magistraes, if they took the lead, woidd have too much influence on I lie rest of the asseinbly. After the change of government, the same practice con- tinued, with this difference ; if the emperor attended the debates in the senate, he, of course, Avas the su[)reme ma- gistrate, and in that case it was his to collect tlie voices. He began with the consuls actuallj'^ in office, and pro- ceeded to the other magistrates according to their ranlw 422 NOTES OX THE Sec a Disserlaiion, entHlcd, " The Roman Emperor ire *' (ho Senate;" Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Leitres, vol. xxvii. 4to. edit. Scctio7i XVIII. (a) Julius Antonius was son to Antony the triumvir. He was found guilty of adultery with Julia the daughter of Augustus, and punished with death. Annals, book iv. s. 14. (b) It is unnecessary to repeat, that Claudius was brother to Gcrmanicus. He was at this time ncijlected and despised. See Suet, in Claud, s. 2 ; and see Sup- plement to book V. s. 24. Seclio?i XIX. (a) Slie was the daughter of Agrippa, married to Tiberius, and divorced from him. See Genealogical Table, No. 69. Sccfion XX. (a) See the Geograijhical Table. Seciion XXI. (a) Appius Claudius, consul A. U. C. 259, com- manded in the war against the Volsci. The soldiers, re- gardless of discipline and subordination, paid no respect to tlicir officers, and, in consequence of their contu- macy, suffered a defeat. As soon as they returned to their camp, Claudius pu!iished the ring-leaders with death, and decimated the rest of his army. Ccclera midtitrdn^ sorte dccimus quisque^ ad suppUc'mm Iccti. Livy, lib. «.^s.!59. See als Polybius, book vi. cap. 2. (^') A town 'in Nuraidia. Sec the Geogra^shical Table. THIRD BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 423 Section XXII. (a) Lcpida's ancestors were allied to the ^^milian fnmily. Faust us Sylla, son oFtlie dictator, was her fa- ther ; and Ponipeia, daughter of Pompey the Great, was her motiier. Suetonius says, Condemnatam et generO' sissimam foemwam^ Lepidnni, in graliam Quirini^ con' sularis prccdixilis et orbi, qui dimissam earn niatrimonio, post vigesiinum anmtm, xencni oUm in se coniparad ar- guehal. Life of Tiberius, s. 49. (h) There were at Rome four different ways of dz' taininj^ the accused in custody : . viz. the commoii jail ; commitment to a military guard ; commitment to tlie: care of the consuls or other magistrates in their o .a houses, which Sallust, in L'atilinaj sect, xlvii. calls li^ heras custodias ; and lastly, sureties for the person's ap- pearance, which is what Ave call heing out upon hail. Section XXII I. (a) The Theatre of Pompey, dedicated A. U. C. 699. For a further account of that magnificent structure, ca- pable, according to Pliny, lib. xxxv. s. 15, of holding* forty thousand persons, see Annals, book xiv. s. 20, Section XXIV". (a) Julia married to Agrippa, and their daughter Julia married to Lucius iEmilius Paulus. See the Ge- nealogicd Table, No. 46 and 52. (h) Julius Antonius, for his adulterous connexion with Julia the (laughter of Augustus, was put to death ; and Silanus, for the like offence widi Julia the grand- daughter, was condemned to banishment. For Julius Antonius, see Ajinals; book iv. s, 44- 424 NOTES ON THE Section XXV. {a) The laAV Papia Poppcra deiivecl its name from egibus, lib. iii. cap. 9. Tlie translation of what follows, it must be acknowledged, is not exact. The words are, The publie good Zlc/s 7io longer thought of: ?}czo eharac'crs appeared, and new statutes were enacted. The original says, Jamque nan niodo in commune, sedin singulos homines lalce qucestiones. The true meaning seems to be, Laws were made not for the public onlj^, but also widi a view to individuals. The last was against the spirit and positive institutions of the Roman republic. Laws respecting particular persons were called Prmlegium, from priva lex, a pri- vate law, which was forbidden, says Cicero, De Legibns, lib. iii. cap. 4, by the Twelve Tables ; Prixilegia ne irroganto ; and again, in the Oration pro JJomo sua, Vciant leges sacrafce, refant XII Tabulce leges privntis homlnibns irrogari; id est enim prhilegium. Cicero is more explicit and diffuse against particular laws in the case of individuals, in the Oration Pro Sisxtio, s. SO. They were not unlike the ex post facto laws, and bills of attainder, which have been heard of in this country, it is to be hoped, to revive no more. ' Section XXVIir. (ri) Pompey'^ third consulsliip was A. JJ. C. 702; before the Christian acra 52. One of his rules was, tl;at THIRD BOOK OF THE ANNAL*. 427 no maaistrate should be governor of a province, before the end of five years after tlie expiration of his office ; and then he took upon himself the government of Spaiu for the additional term of five years. Dio, lib. xl. (b) The twenty years of civil distraction are to be computed from the dcatii of Pompcy, A, U. C. 706. Augustus vas consul for the sixth lime, A. U. C. 72G ; before the Christian ajra 28. (c) Informers were encouragf^d, by the law of Papin Poppcca, to hold a strict watch over such as li.ed in a S-tatti of celibacy. Sectio/i XXIX. ■(a) Dio informs us, that while Augustus, after all his victories, was still absent from Rome, the senate, by a decree, established a new magistracy, consisting of twenty, to superintend the police and good government of the city. Their duty was divided into different de- partments : tiiree to sit in judgment ; three to direct tlie coinage ; four to superintend the public ways ; and ten to preside in such causes as were tried by the centum viri. The office was continued by Augustus, and became the previous step to the higher magistracies. The time for entering on the qusstorship was at the age of four-and- twenty ; consequenily Nero, the eldest son of Germa- nicus, might begin his career of honours v^hen turned of nineteen. (b) Dnious, the son of Tiberius. He married Xnia otherwise Lkilla., the daughter of Drusus, who was brother to Tiberius. See the Genealogical Table, No. 70 and 71. (c) Claudius, afterwards emperor, vtas brother lo Germanicus. He had a son named Drusus, who Axed 428 NOTES ON THEi very young. The intended marriage never took place. See the Genealogical Table, No. 102. Section XXX. (a) Salliistias Crispus^ ho made an irruption into Asia A. U. C. (i^2i. See Juslin, lib. xxxvi. s. 4. Publius Servilius, in the year of Rome 679, conquered the pirates of Cilicia, and, after reducing the principal cities of their country, stormed the citadel called Isalhos, and thence took the name of IsAURicus. Unde, conscius sibi magnilaboris , Isaurici co2:nomen adamatit. Florus, lib. iii. s. 6. (d) For king Acrias, see History, book ii. s. 3. Section LXIIL (fl) The Venus Slratonice was so called after Stra- ionice, grand-molher of Scleucus II. Avho mounted the throne of Syria A. U. C. 507. Whoever desires to know more about the worship paid to tliLs goddess, will find a particular account in Brotier^s Tacitus, vol. i. p. i\oy 4to. edit. ■ Section LXI7. (r/) All questions of war and peace, the suspensitwi ©f hostilities and treaties of alliance, were referred te> 3 THIRD BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 435 their decision. Fcodcruniy pads, belli, induciarum orw tores fericdes jiaUcesque sunto. Cicero, De Legibus, lib. ii. s. 9. Section LXVI. {(i) Tlic original says, Eliam pedarii sencdores : that is, the senators, \vho, when (he sense of the assembly ■\vas taken per discessionem, i. a. n:hen the house divided, ■\valkcd over to tlie side of those with whom they agreed. This was, according to Salliist in Catil. pedibus in sen' ieniiani ire. Hence the verse of Laberius the satirist : A head without a tongue, is a pedestrian opinion. Ca- put sine lijigua, pcdaria sententia est. Section LXVII. (rt) Scipio Africanus accused J^ucius Cotta A. U. C. 662. Cotta was acquitted, lest the weight and dignity of the prosecutor should be tliought to influence the judges. See Valerius Maximus, lib. \'iii. cap. 1. Galba had been governor of a province of Spain, and was im- peached by Cato the censor, A. U. C. 604. See Tal. Max. lib. viii. cap. 2 : and Cicero, De Claris Orat. s. 23. Rutilius was a candidate for the consulship against Marcus Scaurus, A. U. C. 645. Being disappointed of his election, he accused the successful candidate, and ■was, in his turn, prosecuted by Scaurus. Cicero, De Cla*. Orat. s. xxx. (6) Seneca mentions Otlio and Brutidius ; Contro* versiae, lib. ii. s. 9. Section LXVIII. (a) lie was, in the time of Augustus, proconsul of Asia J a man of inordinate pride, and a cruel disposition. r f2' 436 NOTES ON THE It is said that three hundred men were put to death by his order in one day. Seneca, de Ira, lib. ii. cap. 5. (b) See the Geographical Table. Seclion LXX. (a) For more of Ateius Capito, see this book, s. Ixxii. Section LXXI. (a) There had been at Rome a temple of the Eques- trian Fortune, built by Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, in memory of a signal victory obtained by him in Spain. Livy, lib. xl. s. 40; and lib. xlii. s. 10. {h) The objection made by Melellas, was debated with great warmth in the senate, and also before the people. See Livy, lib. xxxvii. s. 51. Section LXXII. (a) It was built by ^Emilius Paulus, who was consul A. U. C. 704. Cicero calls it a glorious structure. Ni' hil gratius illo vionumento^ nihil gloriosius. Ad Atti- cum, lib. iv. epist. 16. (J)) The public buildings erected by Taurus, Philip- pus, Balbus and otliers, are mentioned by V^elleius Pa- terculus, lib. ii. s. 89 ; and more particularly by Sueto- nius, in Aug. s. xxix. (c) Seneca says, with indignation, WJio could bear to see the statue of Sejanus placed over the ashes of Pompey? a base perfidious soldier among the monu- ments of a great commander ! Qiiis non rumperetur^ supra cineres Cneii Pompeii const ilui Scjanum^ ct in inonumentis maximi imperutoris consecrari perfidum mi' litem? De Consolat. cap. xxii. THIRD BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 437 Section LXXIII. (a) Sparfacus kindled up the servile war in Italy A. U. C. 681. He gained two important victories. Being- defeated in a battle v.ith Licinius Crassus, he died bravely sword in hand. See the account in Fiorus, lib. iii. cap. 20. (b) Sertoriuf-, and Mithridates king of Pontus, joined in a league against the Romans, A. U. C. 680. Floras, lib. iii. s. 5. Section LXXIV. (a) Sallust says, the Nuiiiidian huts, called Mapalia Ly ihe natives, were of an oblong form, with a curre ou each side, somewhat resembling a ship. De Bell. Jugurth. s. xviii. (/>) When titles of honour were suppressed, the in- centives of valour were extinguished, and military glory faded away. Section LXXV. (a) Asinius Saloninus was the son of Aslnius Gallus, who has been already mentioned, s. viii. by Vipsania Agrippina, who had been the wife of Tiberius, and was mother of his son Drusus ; of course he was grandson to Asinius Pollio, who for his victory over the Salouii, a people of Dalmatia, was called Saloninus. The grandson enjoyed the title of his grandfa'her. He was also grandson to Agrippa by his mother's side. See the Genealogical Table, No. 69. {h) Ateius Capito has been already mentioned in this lx>ok. s. Ixx. He was consul A. U. C. 759; of tlie Christian agra 5. He succeeded Marcus /Emilius Le- pidus and Lucius Arruntius for the remainder of their 438 NOTES ON THE year, and his name, therefore, docs not appear in the Fasti Consulares. (c) Antistius Labeo is mentioned witli lionour in several passages of the Digest. He was one of those men, whose singularities are forgiven on account of their talents and their virtues. His father, an ardent and zealous republican, resolved, afier the battle of Philippi, not to survive the loss of public liberty. He was dispatched by his own command, by one of his domestics, whom he enfranchised, tliat he might not die by the hand of a slave. Appian, lib. iv. Tlie son adopted the principles of his father. He tliought, spoke, and acted, upon all occasions, with a republican spirit. Augustus knew his character, and yet respected him. We are told by Pomponius, the civilian, Digest J , tit. ii. s. 47, that the consulship for part of the year was offered to him and rejected. It is probable, that per- ceiving the state-craft, by which the consular autho- rity was abridged, and, by consequence, impaired. La-; beo disdained to be the time-serving consul of the court. Aulus Gellius (lib. xiii. cap. ]!2) has preserved a frag- inent of a letter, in which Capito says of his rival, that Le was a man almost frantic with the love of liberty. jigitabat Jwminem liberlas qucedam mini a ct vecors. Noctes Atticae, lib. xiii. cap. 1^. The favouri(e at the court of Augustus might naturally enough pronounce that judgment. And yet lye fir'.d that the obsequious Capito could, in the reign of Tiberius, imitate the blunt freedom of his rival. Being told that a word, coined by Tiberius in one of his speeches, was legitimate Latinj or, if it was not, that it would soon become so : That, taid Capito, is false; for you, Cassar, can give the free- dom of thp city to men, but not to word^ Cerleja^'i THIRD BOOK OF THE ANXALS. 439 mentilur, inqidt Capita : Tu enim, Caesar, crcitatem dare potcs /lominibus, verbis non potes. Suetonius, De II- lustr. Grammat. cap. xxii. Section LXXVI. (a) Junia \>xis the daughter of Deciinus Junius Sila- nus by Servilia, the sister of Cato of Utica. Servilia was first married toM. Junius Brutus, and by him was the mother of Brutus, who stabbed Julius (>aBsar. Junia v/as, of course, niece to Cato, and half-sister to Brutus. She married Cassius, the frieud of Brutus ; and thus descended, and thus allied, the sister of one conspirator against Caesar, and the widow of another, she lived un« molested in the full enjoyment of wealth and honour, to an extreme old age. The battle of Philippi was fought A. U. C. 712. From that time to the year of Rome 775, a period of sixty-three years cxjmplete, Junia possessed splendid riches, and was buried at last with all the ho- nours of a public funeral. The moderation of Augustus protected her, and the cruelty of Tiberius was not yet unchained. (b) The constitution being, overturned, the assertors of public liberty were not displayed; but, as Tacitus elsewhere says, the honour which was denied increased their glory. Ncgatus honor gloriam intendit. Annals^, jbook iv. s. 26". { 441 ] NOTES ON THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. Section I. (<0 (i^EE tlie Geoj^raphical Table. ^ (/;) Velleiiis Paterculus the historian, who lack-* eyed at the feet of Sejanus, says that the father Avas the chjcf of the Roman knigh(s. Nothing more is known of him, (f) There were three famous epicures of the name of Apicius : one mentioned by Athenreus ; a second, in the time of Augustus and Tiberius ; and a third, in the reign of Trajan. The second is the person here intended. Seneca says of him. In that city, irom which the teach- ers of philosophy were banished, this man, professing^ the science of the kitchen, corrupted tlie manners of the age, by his skill in cookery. Apicius nostra me- morin xixit^ qvi in ed itrbe, ex qua pfiilosophi, vt cor- ruptores juventutis, abire jussi sunl, scicntiam jiopinas professus, disciplind sua sosculvm infecit. Seneca, De Coiisolatione. Finding himself, after a long course of profusion and gluttony, much involved in debt, and, after satisfying all demands, not worth more than what iivxy- be called IQOfiQQl. he fiaJi>licd his days by a dosa 442 KOTES ox THE of poison. Seneca in the place above quoted. For the stilic of an anecdote, perliaps little known, it may be proper to mention, that there is extant, in the Latin Jang'uage, a book, importing to be Apicius's Art of Cookery. La Blctterie relates as a certain fact, that Madame Dacier and lier husband were almost killed by this book. Tliey found in it a receipt for a particular ra!^-quf, and being both inclined to dine classically, they >vcrc almost poisoned by their learned bill of fare. (d) The iicrnicious consequences which attended the rise of Sejanus, "Nvill be seen in the sequel. His ruin was equally the cause of public calamity ; since Tacitus idh us, that Tiberius, Avhile he loved or feared this fa- vourite minister, restrained his passions, but afterwards broke out with unbounded fury. Annals, book vi. s. 51. (e) Assumed and well-acted virtues are often more "dangerous tliau the worst vices. Addison's Gato says of Julius Caesar, Curse ou his virtues ! they've undone his country. Section IL (a) The original says, inter princip'm legiomnn. The same expression often occurs in Tacitus, and requires an explanation. Between the tents of the legions and the tribunes, a space of a hundred feet in breadth was left, which formed a large street, called Puincipia, that ran across the whole camp, and divided it into two parts, the upper and the lower. Duncan's Cccsar, vol. i. The j[lonian Art of War. Section IIL (a) Drusus, and the three sons of Germanipus, Nero. Drususj and Caligula, foi:rth book of tije axnals. 443 (h) S!ie was sister to Gcrmanicus. See tlie Genea- logical Table, No. 71. {(■) Pliny (he elder gives a dark picture of the pliv- sicians of his time. They had their opportunities to administer poison, to make wills, and manage intrigues. Quid enim venenorum fcrtilms ? aid unde pliires testa- ment orv.m insidke ? Jam xero et adult eria in principzan domibusy lit Eudenu iji Lixid Drus'i Ctesaris. Lib. xxi:5it s. 8. Seciio/i VI. (a) He was then fourteen years of age. (b) In the time of Tiberius, Syene, a city strontrly garrisoned, at the farther extremity of Egypt, was ihc boundary of the Roman empire. Trajan enlarged the limits as far as the Red Sea. See book i. s. xi. note (/;); and book ii. s. bci, note (b). Section V, (a) The two seas v/ere, Mare Adriaticiim, the Adri- atic, now the Gulf of Venice; Mare Tyrrhenum, no'.y the Tuscan Sea. The former y.as also called Marc su-^ perum; the latter IMare infenmi. Virgil says, An mare quod supra mcraorcm, quodque alluit iufra, Miscnum, now Capo di jlliseno, was a promontory in the Tuscan sea ; Ravenna was a port in the Adriatic. See the Geographical Table. (h) In Upper and Lower Germany, according to the plan of Augustus. Sc-c the Manners of the Germans, s. i. note (a). (r) Juba's father was king of Numidia. He attached himself to Pompey's party, and took a decided part against Julius Cwsar, Even after the death of Pompcy^ 444 NOTES ON THE Ic siood at bay willi Cffisar, nnd, at length, received a total overthrow in tlie battle of Thapsa. Determined, however, not to fall into Ctesar's hands, he retired with Pctreiiis, his fellow sufferer, and, at the close of a ban- quet, fell a voluntary victim by the hand of a friend. His son Ju])a was led to Rome, to walk in Caesar's tri- umph. He was educated at tlie court of Augustus, and distinguished himself by his talents and his literature. Augustus gave him in marriage the young Cleopatra, daughler of tlie famous Cleopatra by Marc Antony, and sent him (Numidia being then a Roman province) to reign in Mauritania, A. U. C. 721. For IVJ^aurilania, sge the Geographical Table. (d) Annals, book ii. s. 67. (e) We are told by Dio, lib. Iv. tliat the establish- ment under Augustus was ten thousand prffitorians, di- vided into ten cohorts, and six thousand in the city cohorts. The number, therefore, was reduced by Ti- berius. (f) For Etruria, Umbria, and ancient Latiunij see the Geographical Table. (g) Besides their fleets for the sea service, the Romans bad always proper armaments on the Rhine and the Danube. Section VI. (a) The vile abuse of the law of violated majesty has Lcen mentioned, book iii. s. xxxviii. note (a). The first men in Rome were victims 'o it. In Shakespear's language. It was a net to emmesh them all. It will not be amiss to remark, that if we except, as Tacitus does, that single grievance, the descrij^tion of the nine first jears of Tiberius is a more juot aud better founded pa- V FOURTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 44.5 netryiic, than can be found in the glittering page of Vellcius Paterculus, or any other professed encomiast- And yet this is the historian whom certain critics have called a painter in dark colours, who loves to represent men worse than they are. . Section \ II. (a) Drusiis, the son of Tiberius, cut off by Sejanus, as will be seen iu the sequel. (h) The statue of Sejanus was placed in Pompey's theatre. See book iii. s. 72. His danghtcr was also to be married to Drnsus, the son of Claudius, afterwards emperor. For Drusus, see the Genealogical Table, JSo. 102. Scciiun Vill. (o)The discover^' was made by Lygdus A. U. C. 7S-i- See this book, s. xi ; and book v. supplement, s. 3'6. Section IX. (o) Attus Clausus, by birth a Sabine, wenl in the train of followers to settle at Rome, A. U. C. 250. He was well received, and from time called Appius Claudius, the founder of the Claudian race. Livy, lib. ii. s. 16. Annals, book xi. s. 2i. Section XI. (a) Thi§ passage affords a proof of the historian's in- tegrity. Section XII. (a) Seneca represents Tiberius with an inflexible countenance delivering a speech that melted the audi- ence into tears. He adds, by this firmness, so singular 446 NOTES ON THE on such an occasion, Tiberius proved to Sojanus, who stood at his elbow, that he could see unmoved the deso- lation of his family. Experiertdum se dedit Sejmw ad luiiis stanti, quam palienier posset suns perdereJ ConsoL ad Marciam, s. xv. About four or five months after the death of Drusus, deputies arrived from Ilium to condole w i'di Tiberius : And I, he said, condole with you for the loss of Hector. Suet, in Tib. s. liv. Sect 1071 XII I. (a) For C'ibf/ra and /Egiion, see the Geographical Table. (b) See Annals, book i. s. 53. For Cercina, see Gcogra ph ical Table. (() Lucius Apronius has been mentioned, book iii. s. 521. For /Eiius Lamia, see Annals, book vi. s. 27. Section XIV. (n) The assembly of the Ampldcti/ones was the strand council, or national convention of Greece. ^Yhctherit ■was founded by Ainphict^on (he son of Deucalion^ or by Acrisius^ according to Strabo's opinion, is a qiiesHon covered by the clouds that hang over remote ages. The confederate cities of Greece sent their representatives (o this general assembly, which, at different periods, un- derwent various changes, some cities renouncing, the league, and olhers being admitted. Pausanias^ who lived in Ibe time o^ Antoninus Pius, assures us, that the Amphictj/ons Avcre then entire, and that the number was tliirty, being delegated from the cities which he enu- merates. The assembly had every 3'ear two set meet- ings ; one in the spring at Delphos, and the other in the autumn at Thermopjjlx. See Potter's Antiquities, vol. i. FOURTH BOOK OF THE ANXALS. 447 page S9 ; and also the Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettrcs, vol. iii. and v. {b) Wliile ]lome was ir.ade a theatre of blood hj Maiius and S, lla, Mithridales, king of Pontiis, commit- ted a general massacre of tlie iloman citizeiis throris.;h- out Asia, A. U. C. G66 ; before the Cliristian a.'ra 88. (r) Tlie Oscnn Farce (.called also tlie Atellan Fable, from Atel/a, a to^vn in Camp;inia) was invented by the Osci, a people originally of J'ltruria, bnt finally settled in Campania. Livj-, lib-i vii. s. 2.' See also V'ossius. Scclion XV. (a) He was about four years old. See book ii. s. 84. See the Genealogical Table, No. 72 and 13. (b) The censorian funeral was the highest honour that could be paid to the deceased. The, purple robe, and other imigniay dsstinguished it from a public funeral. See Polybius, lib. vi, (c) He was mentioned, Annals, book iii. s. CG. Section XVI. (a) Three forms of. contracting marriage prevailed at Rome. 1. When a woman cohabited Avith one man for the space of a year. 3. When the marriage was a kind of bargain and sale bet v/oen the parties, which was called coe??7/>^/o. 3. When the chief pontiff, distribut- ing flour in the presence of ten witnesses, joined the bride and bridegroom. This v/as called marriaffc bv CoNFARREATioN. Other marriages were easily dis- solved; but that by confarreation required the same solemnities (Difarrcalio) to divorce the parties. See liiotier's Tacitus, vol. i. page 427, 448 NOTES ON THE Section XX. {a) What law this was is not agreed among the com* mcntators ; but as Tacitus says that Silius was tried on the Lex Majestalis^ Lipsius thinks that was the hiw cited on this occasion. (h) Manius Lepidus has been already mentioned, book i. s. 13; book iii. s. 50. For more of him, see Annals, book vi. s. 27. (c) The word immutable is inserted in the translation, pcrliaps improperly ; since Tacitus, Avho points out the safest course to steer, does not seem to admit an inevit- able fate. Section XXI. (a) Calpurnius Piso has been mentioned, much to his honour, book ii. s. 34. (b) Cassius Severus was an orator of eminence, and a virulent libeller of the first persons of both sexes. He was banished by Augustns. For more of him, see the Dialogue concerning Oratory, s. xix. note (a). (c) Seriphus, a small island in the /Egean sea. See the Geographical Table. Juvenal says, Et parva. tandem caruisse Seripho. Sat. vi. ver. 563. And in Satire x. Ut Gyari clausus scopulis, parvaque Seriplio^ Section XXIIf. (a) The three statues Avere, for Furius Camillus, book ji. s. 52; L. Apronius, book iii. s. 21 ; Junius Blaesus, book iii. s. 72. (b) Ptolemy was the son of Juba, who was made king FOURTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 449 ofMaurifania by Augustus. See this book, s. v. note(c). He was put io death by Calii^ula A. U. C. 792. Suet. in Calio;. s. 26. (c) See the Geographical Table. (d) In general, when Africa occurs, Tacitus intends the Roman province, now the kingdom of Tunis, Sectioji XXV. (fl) A castle in Numidia, now totally destroyed. Section XXVI. (fl) Dionj'sius of Halicarnassus mentions the same presents sent to Porsena by the Roman senate, A. U. C. 249. Painted robes occur frequently in Homer, and (according to Pliny, lib. viii. s. 48) were used after- wards as triumphal ornaments. Section XXVII. (fl) When Julius Ca?sar was joint consul with Marcus Blbulus, the patricians, with the approbation of Cato, agreed to assign the departments of smallest conse- quence, such as woods and roads (sj/kce callesque) to the care of the new consuls. Suet, in Jul. Caes. s. 19. {b) The slaves, increasing in consequence of luxury, began to out-number the free-born citizens. Section XXVIII. (fl) We have seen Vibius Serenns, the father, who had been proconsul in Spain, banished to the island of . Amergos. This book, s. xiii. Section XXIX. (cr) The populace threatened the Rohur, which wai the dark dungeon ; the Saxifm, or the Tarpeian Rock, VOL. 11. . G G 4,50 NOTES ON TliE from Avhicl) the malefactors were tirrowii lica(?]on2; tlar\vrr: and (he pains and ])riiaUie,s of parricides, described by Cicero in his Oration Pro Roscio Amerino, s. xxvi. {!)) For the iniquitous proceedings against Libo^ see book ii. s. 27. Seciiun ^ (a) When the person accused was found guilty, the fourth part of his estate and effects went to the prosc- cutorS ; but if he prevented judgment by a voluntary death, his property descended to his heirs; and, in tliat case, the emperor paid his harpies out of the fiscus, tlie imperial exchequer, that is, out of his own coffers. Ti- berius felt the burthen of so heavy an expeuce^^ and for tiiat reason opposed the motion. Section XXXI. (a) Suilliiis was accused by Semca In the reign of Nero. In return he declaimed with virulence against the ])hilosop]ier ; but, in the end, was baiiisiied to one of the Balearic inlands, and there ended Iiisda^s. An- nals, book xiii. s. 43. (b) Catus Firmius ptolfcd the ruin of Libo« See book li. s. 27. Sedhm XXXiri. (^0 This passage merits more consideration than can be comprciised into a no'e. Jt will not, however, be amiss to ofler a few remarks. It is admitted, that the three original forms of government, namclj^, Monahch y, Aristocuacy, and Di^.mocuacy, when taken sejju- rately, are all defective. Polybius assigns the reason. Monarcliy, he says, though conducted according to right reason, will in time degenerate into Diisi^oriSM. FOURTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 451 Ariilocracj, ■which mrnns a government of the best men, will be converted into an Or.iGAncHY, or the tyranny of a few. Democracy, in its original and purest sense, implies a system, under Avhich the people, trained to the ancient manners of their countrj-, pay due wor- ship to tlie eods, and obey the laws established by com- mon consent : but sucli a government is soon changed info tumult, rude force and anarchy. For zoheyi 07ice the people, accustomed to notions of equalitj/, "pay neither rent nor taxes, and commit depredations on their neigh- bours; if, at such a time, some desperate incendJarj/ should arise, zi^hose poverti/ has shut him out from alt the honours of the state ; tlien commences the government of the muU titude, who run together in tumultuous assemblies, and are hurried into everj/ kind of violence ; assassinations, banishments, and divisions of lands, till thej/ are reduced at last to a state of savage anarchy. See Hampton's Polybius, vol. ii. chnp. 1. And yet Tacilus saw, that the three original forms might be moulded into a beau- tiful system; but he despaired of ever seeing it eslab-* lished, and be gives his opinion, that it cannot last long. That opinion, liowever, has been long since re- futed. The government of Ki^ng, Lords, and Com- mons, has been the pride of Englishmen, and the won- der of all Europe, during' several centuries. Tacitus, witli his usual brevity, said less than he thought ; but the reason on ^vhich he founded his opinion, probably, was, because in all the popular governments then known in the world, the people ac(ed in their collective body ; and, wiih Polybius, Tacittis saw the fatal consequences. He had no idea of a peojde acting by representation o It h that circumi^tapcc, and the wise regulations of our gg2 152 NOTES ON THE .Tr" Ancestor*, (hat iiave maclc in this country the accord'm iimsic of a icell-mixed slate. ('') Tiie forms of (he republican government were still proerved ; the magistrates rctaiacd their ancient names ; eadem ma^istratKinn -oocahula; but the emperor presided ovcr the whole military departmenty and his tribanitian power gave him the ^ole direction of all civil business. Section XXXIV. (a) Suetonius soys, a poet -was prosecuted for verses a-gainst Agamemnon ; and an historian (meaning Cordus) for calling Brutus and Cassius the last of the Ro- wans, The authors Vrcre put to death, and iheir writiugs suppressed, though they had been read to Augustus, and approved by that emperor. Suet, in Tib. s. 61. Seneca, ia his Essay on Consolation, to Marcia, the daughter of Cremutius Cordus, snys, her father Avas not put to death for praising Brutus and Cassiu'^, but for his keen reflec- tions on Sejanus, and therefore fell a victim. De Con- solat. ad Marciara, cap. xxii. **' (/;) We are told by Plutarcl), that the Romans called Phitopicmenes the last of the Greeks, as if, afier his dea(h, that nation had produced no illustrious character. See the Life of Philopienienes. (c) Pnblius Valerius, afterwards styled Publicola, was the ar.thor of a law, by which any person whatever, who had the ambi(ion to aim at the supreme power, so lately abolished, should forfeit his head and all his elTccts. Livy, lib. ii. s. 8. Plutarch adds, in the Life of PuBLicoLA, that io kill the man who favoured royalty, was justifiable homicide, provided the guilt was ■dearly proved. And yci, notwithstanding tills lavvj FOUTITII BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 45S Ernti)s and Cassius Avere called murderers and pirri- cidcs. S«:tinn Xr.XV. (a) Seneca, de Conj;Glalione ad Marciam, c-ip. xx'A. o;ives a circimnstantiai account of his death. lie ^Yas Ihrcc days starvins^ himseif. (/.) S.Mieca says to Marcia,B*i'mns gave your father as a donative or a iariress to his crea'nre Sahius Sccun- das. Sc'jamis patretn titnm cUe-n'i s2/o Satrio Srarndo von^'iarium dcdit ; yet he was not able, wi'.h all liisin- terest at court, to suppress th>e uerks of Cordiis, thono^h he FDcured an order ta burn thembv the pu?)lico(r!cer. Sgneca praises Marcia for the filial piety th it preserved the -works of her filher, and brouks, which he, who suffered death, may be said to have wri ten in his blood. Jngaiium patth tiii, de quo sumptum crat sz'pplkiinn^ in umm hominum rcduxhli, et a xerd ilium xindicasii moite^ ac resliluisti in publica monumenla libron^ quos 'cir ille foriissimus sangmp.c sua scripserat. He adds, tlsat the memory of her father will live, as long as the Romans sliall wish to review the b.istory of their own afialrs ; as long as posterity shall desire to hv.ow the man, v>!kvc genius was unfettered, uliose S!;irit was unconqnered, and whose hand was ready to {leliver liimself from his enemies. Cujus viget xigclitque memoria, quamdiu fuerit in preflo Romana cogJiosci ; qvamdiu qitisqnam relil scire, q^id sit xir Romanus, indomitii?; iugenin^ animo, nKOiu liber. Seneca, ad Marciam, cap. i. See more on this j^ubjoct of burning books. Life of Agricola, s. ii. note (r). 454 NOTES ON THE Secfioji XXXVI. (a) The Latin festival was inslitutod b}' Tarquiiiiu? Superbiis, and celebraled every year in tlie beginning of May, on the Mount Albanus, near the ruins of tlie ci(y of Alba. Livy, lib. li. s. ]6. The consuls and other magistrates went forth in procession ; and, during their absence, a person of high rank was chosen to discliarge the functions of consul, and preserve the peace of the city. See Annals, vi. s. II . In conformity to this cus- tom, we find Drusus acling on this occasion. {!)) The son who accused his fatlier, this book, s. !?S, Section XXXVJII. (a) A sense of moral obligation is tlic true motive of Tirtr.e. Many who act from that principle do good by stealthy and blush to find it fame. This, however, is not a contempt of fame ; it is a wish not to have it thought the spring of virtuous actions. With others, the love of fame is the sole incentive. Some pursue it, regardless of the rectitude of their conduct, but sensible of the va- lue of a fair report in tlieir commerce with tjie world. Mulii famam., pauci conscieniiam xcrentur. Ot Iums con« sider fame as the reward of a Avell-acted lift*, and know no other motive. The cfKct, in (he last case, is finely described b^ Mr. Addi^in : Honour's a sacred tie, the law of kings; The noble mind's distinguishing perfection, Tliat aids and strengthens virtue, where it meets licr, And imitates her actions where she is not. 'Tis not to be sported with. From the man who does sport with it. who despises fame, and has great talents, witliout one virtue, what can b^ expected ? — Su-^picion, cruelty, hibt, and maisacre. FOURTJI BOOK OF THE AXXALS. 4,55 Scciion XXXIX* (a) She who conspired against lier busbantl, Dnisus. This book, s. iii. (i^) The custom was begun by Julius Caesar, and con-, firiucd by Augustus. Suetonius, in Aug. s. 81/ ((■) The daughter of Sej nius was to liave been married to ])rusus, (he sou of Claudius. Annuls, iii. s. 29, This bjok, s. 7. (d) Julia, the daughter of Augustus. Section XL. (a) Antonia was her mother, and T.ivin, (lie widow of Aiigustus, was her grandmother. See the Geneabgical Table. No. 7J. {h) Proculeius is mentioned to IiIs honour by Horace. Vivet extento Proculeius fevo, Notus in fratrcs animi paterni. ((■) Some of the commentators have been at great pains to unravel this mysterious passage. He wliosc curiosity is cjfcited by difticulty, and even sliarpened by- impossibility, may linvethe pleasure of (oiling through tn elaborate dissertation on this subject by La Blctterie. After all, the passage seems to l)e in (lie style which Tiberius loved and practised ; dark and impenetrable. Stu naturuy she adsiicfudinc, suspensa semper el obscura verba Annals, book i. s. 11. Perhaps he meant to as- sociate Sejanus with himself in the tribunitian power. Section XLir. (a) Montanus v.ns an eminent orator, but too co- pious, and often redundant. Not content "w iih a tliought happily expressed, he recurred to it again; and wanting 456 NOTES ON THE to place it in a new light, lie disfigured what v/as well said, and went on repeating and retouching the same thing, till he spoiled the whole. Scaurus called him the Ovid of orators : observing at the same time, tliat to know when to leave off is an essential part of oratory, not less than the choice of proper expression. Hahet hoc Montanu^ xitium : dum non est content us vnam rem semel bene dicer e, e fecit ut ne bene dixerit. Propter hoc solebat Montanuni Scaurus inter oralores Oiidium vocare. Aiehat Scaurus non minus magnam xirtutcm esse SCIRE desinere, quam scire dicere. Seneca, Cour trovers, iv. cap. §8. Montanus was also a poet. Ovid says of him, that he excelled in heroic metre, and the tender elegy : Quippe vel imparibus numeris. Montane, vel acquis SulTicis, et gemino carmine nomen habcs. {h) Eusebius, in his Chronicon, says, he was banished to the Balearic Islands, and there finished his days. Votienus Montanus, Narbonensis orator, in Balcaribus insulis moritur, illuc a Tiherio relegatus- (c) There were two modes of expulsion from the ri'y of Rome. One was rf/eg«^?o; i\\Q oihc.x exilium . The former was a mere order of removal to a certain dis- tance; but the person so punishf^d did not forfeit hs property, nor the freedom of the city. Banishment took away every right. Tiberius chose, on ^his occjision, to inflict the severest punishment. id) The Album Senaiorium was a register of the se- nators publislicd every year, according to a rcgulalion of Aiigustiis. Section XLIII. (o) Brpticr says, as far as can be collected from Pau- FOtRTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS, 457 saiiias, this temple was not far from the phice now called Zarmdn, near the Gulf of Cor 07i in the Morea. (b) An'io-ouus, king of Macedonia, cUolI in the 4ih year of the IjOth Olympiad, A. U. C. 5j3. (c) Lucius Miunmius, conqueror of Corinth, A. U. C, 608. {d) "When Greece was reduced to subjection, the Romans gave to the whole country the general name of Achn'ta. (e) A town in Sicily, now Castd a 3lare, in the vale of 3Ia~arn. The temple of Venus Ertjcina was after- wards rebuilt by Claudius Suet nius, Life of Claudius. {[) Publius ilutilius is called by Velleius Paterculus, the best man not only of iiis own time, but of any age whatever. He was baniblied, to the great grief of the city of llouic. Pubiium Rufiliuin, virum non sccculi sui^ sed cmnisy (£vi oplimum, interrogalum /ege repetimdannny viaximo cum gemitu chitatis, damnaveranl, V^dl. Paterc. lib. ii.'S. IS. See Seneca, epist. l.\xix. Section XLiY. (a) Lentulns was cori.^ul A. U. C. 740. For his victories over the Gaeiulians in Africa, he obtained triumphal ornaments. See Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii. s. IK). lie was sent with Drusus iulo Pant.onia, An- nals, i. s. 27. (/)) Ijucius Domitius iT.nobarbus. His son Cneius Domitius /l^noburbus married Agrippiun, the daughter of Germanicus, and by her was fat her of Nero. See the Gencah>gical Table, No. 33 and Xo. 24. (r) See the Memoirs of the House of Brandebourg, by the late king^of Prussia. It is there said, l)ut not on g; od authority, that the Romans never passed ihc Elbe. (d) Julius Anlouiusj the father of Luci'.is, has been 458 NOTES ox THE already menlioncd, Annals, iii. s. IS. Sec the Gcnealo- gical Table, No. ii9 and No. SO. Settiofi XLF. (a) See the Geographical Tabh?. Section XLVII. (a) See the Geographical Table. Section LI I. (a) Domitius Afer, nn orafor highly commended by Quinfiiian. See Dialogue concerning Oratory, s. xiii. note (d). (b) Sosia, tlie wife of Siliiis : this book, s. xix. and XX. (r) Snefonjus relates this, and snys Tibcrins never afterwards conversed ^vith Agripj^ina. IJberius quid-^ ^am ciucestam, manu apprehendit^ Gra'coque icrsu, Si NOjV DOMIXAUIS, inquit, IlI.iOLA, IXJURIAM TE AC- cjPERE ExisTiMAs. Ncc ifil'o 'posl sermone dignatus est. In Tib. s. 53. (d) Quintilian has said the same thing of Domitius iifer; see Dialogue concerning Eloquence, in the Sup- plement, s. 8, note (a). The great criiic advises all men of talents not to wait for the decays of age; but to sound a retreat in time, and anchor safely in port, before the vessel is disabled. Tlie consequence, he s^ys, will be, that the man of genius will enjoy a state of tran- quillity, removed from scenes of contention, out of the reach of calumny, and will have, while he is still alive, a foretaste of his posthumous fame, yintequam in /tas ceiaiis x^tniat insidias, rrccptui canel; ct in portuni inlcp;rd note perx^nict. Ac, cum jam sccreiits, liber iniJdid, FOURTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 459 procul a contentionibus, famam in tuto coUocaxit^ sentiet xivus earn, qncc post fata 'prcesiari magis solety •cenera- tioneniy ct quid apiid poslcros futurus sit videbit. Quiii- (iliau, lib. xii, cup. W. Section LIII. {(i) She -was ihe daiiglifcr of Gcrnianicus and Agrip- pi Da. Sec the Genealogical Table, No. 93. Pliiij the elder commends her Menjoirs, lib. vii. s. 8. Section hlY. (a) This is mentioned by Suetonius, in Tib. s. 53. Section LY, (a) The war -with Perseus, king of Maccdon, was A. U. C. 583. Aristonicns invaded Asia A. U. C. 623. From that lime, that part of Asia ^^as made a Roman province, and the vices of the East corrupted the Roman inanners. Jlsia Jionianonwi facia, cum opibus suis "diia quoqi/.e Romam transmisit. Jufctiu, lib. xxxvi. s. 4 : Piorus, lib. ii. s. 20. (h) For these several people, see the Geographical Table. ((■) For Fiium. sec the Gcogra]5hical Table. (^0 For Halycarnassus, see the Geographical Table. (r) Atys, the son of Hercules and Omphalc. Hero- dotus, lib. i. Section LVI. (a) S.i^c the Geographical Tabic. (b) Cato, called the Censor, was consul A. U. C. 559. (r) Cartilage was destroyed by Scipio, A. U. C. 608. 460 NOTES ON THE Section LVII. (a) Scjanus has been montioneci as (he cause of the emperor's retreat. This book,,s. 41. (b) Suetonius, section G8, descril)cs Tiberius large, robust, and of a stature above the usual size. Tnciius speaks of him when he \\s.b bent under the yveiglit of years. (c) Some plijsicians, have been of opinion that tliis was the venereal disease; bul it is ceriain, that Europe knew nothing of that disorder before the discovery of the New World. Fracastorius has written an elegant Latin poem on the subject. (d) Suetonius sajs, there was a current report, that Livia, incensed by the baui^hty carriage of her son, pro- duced the letters of Augustus, coniplainir.g of the pride a d arrogance of Tiberius. The produc'ion of '.hose papers, at such a distance of time, \\ as thought ical Table, No. 79 and 81. (c) Cicsar has described this species of cattle. The Uiii, he says, nearly equal the elephant in bulk, but in colour, shape,„and kind, resemble the bull. They are of uncommon strength and swiftness, and spare neither man nor beast that comes in their way. See Duncan's Caesar, book vi. s. 2G. Caesar, lib. vi. s. 28. Virgil haa^ Sylvestres Uri assidue, caprcaique scquaccs. Georgics, lib. ii. (d) Ft.evum castle was on the borders of the river Flevus, bnt no vestige of it remains at present. The river is swalU>.ved up by the great gulf, called Zu'ider- Zee. See the Geographical Table. Sect ion LXXIIf. (a) There were three diflcrcnt establishments of FOURTH BOOK. OF THE ANNALS. 465 fcavaliy in the Roman armies; namely, the troops of* horse belonging to each legion ; the cavalry that formed a separate corps, as Ala Pttriua, S/jllana, Scrihonia ; and tlie cavalry of the allies, as Ala Bafavurian, Tre- xerorum, &Ci For the Caninefatcs, see the Geographi- cal Table. (b) Brotier calls it the largest forest in the territory t)f the Frisians^ known at present by the nameofSi:vEM WoLhEN. Section LXXV. (a) Her father, Germanicus, being adopted by T ibe- tius, she, of course, was the emperor's grand-daughter. 8ee the Genealogical Table, No. 93. For her husband Doraitius i^^nobarbus, see ihe Table, No. 34c. It was said of him, if he had not been the father of Nero, he would have been the worst man of the age* tOL, II* H H NOTES ON THE FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANXALS. Section I, (f/)rj^ILLEMONT, in his History of iLe Emperors^ -*- iixes the passion of our Saviour in this jear. Lactantius and many of the fathers are of tiic same opi^ aion. The ^vriters of modern date place tliat great event four years later, in the xixth of Tiberius, instead of xvth, and their calculation is now generally adopted. See Brotier's Tacitus, vol. i. page 316', 4to edition. Taci- tus, incidentally, mentions Jegus Christ, and his sufter- ings under Pontius Pilate, Annals, xv. s. 41, (A) Augustus by his last will adopted lier into the Julian family, under the additional name of Augusta. Annals, book i. s. 8. 'i'acitus, after that time, calls her Julia, Juija Augusta, and frequently Augusta only. For the salvc of unitbrmity she is always called JJvia in tiie translation, and once or twice Empress MoUier^ though it must be acknowledged that the ap- pellation is premature. The Ronums had no title to correspond with K/ri press, Scf/alKcss, Sec. Sec an Essay ou the mime of Augustus, Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres, vol. x:x. 4lo edilioa. Julia died, ac"- n u 2 4(58 , NOTES ON TIIE^ cordins^lo J^l'my, lil>. xiv. s. G, at (be age of eighty-two. Her lather was of the ClaucUau family, and, being adopted into the house of Liviiis, took the natnc of Li- vius Drusns Chmdianiis. He fought on the side of li- berty at the battle of Philippi, and, seehig the day lost, died hy his own liand. For Livia, sec the Geneaogli- cal Table, No. 6(5. (() lie was also, as well as his wife, of the Claudian family. He appeared in arms against Octuvius (after- ivards Augustus), on the side of Lucius Antonius, whom lie considered as the last asscrlor of public liberty. An- tonius was besieged at Pcrusia by Augustus, A. U. C. 7'J4, and, after holding out till the garrison was reduced by ftunine, Avas obliged to capitulate. Tiberius Nero endeavoured to collect the scattered remains of the re- publican party ; but, hiscflbrts proving fruitless, hcwas obliged to tly to Sextus l*ompeius, tlien in possession of Sicily. His wife Livia attended liim in his fliijht, beinir at that time big with child ; and bearing in her arms her infant son Tiberius, who was about two years old. Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii. s. 75. The father after- wards made his peace with Augustus, and returned to Rome A. U. C. 71G: and liis wife Livia, yielding to the emperor's embraces, sealed his pardon. Livia was then six montlis gone with child. Augustus, before he married her, was obliged to obtain a dispensation from the Pon- tifical college. In three months afterwards Livia was delivered of her second son, Drusus. See the Genealo- gical Table, No* 79. Caligul;*, afterwards emperor, And great*grandson of Livia, used to say of her, that she Was another Ulysses in pctiicoals. lAziam Augtis- tarn, proaxiain suam^ iihtitidcm Ur>YssEM Stoj.atum fyppdluiis, Suctoniusj in Calig. s. 2J. FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. ' 469 (rf) Gcrmaniciis, the son of Driisus, -svas i^niiuUou to liivia : and Agrippiua, liis wifr, was ja:ranil-tlanglitocto Augustus. See tlie Genealogical Table, No. SI uud No. 51. (c) Tiberius, from the day of his accession to tlu- im- perial dignity, considered hi^ mother as a -woman of a politic and artificial character, prond, fierce, and over- bearing ; in appearance, ])lotting to aggrandize her son; in secret, wishing for nothing so much as to gratity lier own ambition. She lived three years after Tiberius re- tired to the i'de of<3aprea, and, during that lime, never had more than one short intervicAV. In lier last ilhiess Tiberius did not condescend to visit lier. He signified an inclination to attend the funeral ceremony •, but ha promihcd only to deceive, and delayed so long, that the body was in a state of putrefaction before it was commit- ted to the flames. Suet, in Tib. s. 51. ■Scclio/i If. (a) The apollieosis of Li via is still to be seen on an- cient medals ; but we learn from Suetonius, that divine honours were granted by tlie emperor Clniidius, and the medals were most probably struck ihiiing his reign. See Suet, in Claud, s. xi. Scclinn III, (a) Cotta Messnlinns was the son of Messala Cor? vlnus, the famous orator, wlio was higlily commended by Quintilian. See tlie Dialogue conc( ruing Orator}-, s. xii. note (c). The sen iidierited a portion of his fa- ther's eloquence, but none of iiis virtues. He Is again mentioned by 'i'acifus as the promoter of o])prcssioi^ aaJ crueltv, Anna.U, book vi. s. 5. He is recorded !iv iTO KOTES OK THE niny ihc clilor as a voluptuous epicurej nncl a great proficient in the art of caokerj. Jle invented a new ragout^ composed of the feet of geese and ihc combs of cocks. I relate this fact, says Pliny, to the end that Ibe men, ulio profess to study the pleasures of the table, may enjoy ail ihe praise due to their kitchens. Tribuetur €>nm a me citU)us aijusque palma cum fide. Pliny, lib. x. s. 22. Some of Ovid's Epistles, written in Lis exile, are acWrcssed t»3Icssaliua. Secfio)} IV. (a) Suetonius assures us, that Julius Cicsar ordcrec! acts of the senate, as well iis of (he p eo[)le, to be daily ommitted to ^^riting, and published, Aviiich had never hccn done before Iris tiim^. Sec in Jul. Cajs. s. 20. Augustus, a more timid, and, by c;)nsequence, a darker politician, o^idcrcd tl>e prrrceedings af the senate to he kept secret. Suet, in Aag, s. 36. Til)crius followed the same Tide, but, as it seems, had the caution to appoint a senator to execute the oilice. Dio says, that he also directed what should be inserted or omift<'d. These re- cords were, in tlu* mal>rase, the Jolrxaj.s op THE Horsn. In ihc early period of the commonAvealth, lu'forcijhe use of letters was genenilly known, the years were -registered by a number of naiJs driven into the gate of the temple of Jupiler. I/ivy, lit), vii.s. 3. But f ven in that mdc age, the chief pontitf committed to ^riling the transactions of each 3rar, and ]ie\)t the re- cord at his Iiouse, for the inspection of the people. Pontifex maximfis res omnes sin^iilonim nnnorum maii- dabat Uteris^ ejj'erebatque in Allium, it proponebat tabulam domi, polestas u( essct populo cognosceudi. C.'icero; Dc Orat. lib. ii. s. 12, This mode of keeping FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 471 the records continued in use till the death of Miicius Sca3Vola, A. U. C. 672. After that time, the motions in the senate, the debates, and resolutions of the fathers, occasioned a multiplicity of business, and, of course, the ancient simple form was found insufficient. Under the emperors, four different records grew into use : namely, the acts of the prince ; secondly, the proceedings of the senate; thirdly, the public transactions of the people; and fourthlj', the games, spectacles, births, marriages, deaths, and daily occurrences of the city, called the DiiiRNA. The last were sent into the provinces, and were there received as the Roman Gazette. SUPPLEMENT (^0- TO the great loss of the literary world, the evil fate that attended the works of Tacitus is felt in this place, at a point of time when an important scene is to be opened ; a scene in which Tiberius and Sejanus were the chief actors, each with the darkest policy contriving the other's ruin. The art of gradually unfolding the characters of men, in a course of action, was t!ie talent of Tacitus, beyond any historian of antiquity; but the rest of the transactions of the present year of Rome 782, all of 783, and the greatest part of 784, have perished in the confusion of barbarous times. It is to be lamented, that Sejanus has been snatched away from Tacitus, that is, from the hand of justice. The chasm can never be filled up : for what modern writer can hope to rival the energy of Tacitus ? All that remains, is to collcet the 472 NOTES ON THE facts from the most authentic historians, and relate theui here in a continued scries, ratliji^r than give the reader the trouble of finding them Avliere they lie scattered in various auth.ors. Section 2. (r/) Suetonius, in Tib. s. 51. (h) The name of this Roman knight is not mentioned by Suetonius, who relates the fact, in Tib. s. 51. (r) Seneca gives a picture of this dreadful period. .Ercipiehatur ebriorum sermo ; simplicilas jocantium. * Nihil erat tittimi: omnis scsviendi placebaf occQsio ; nee jam renrnm e.rspectahatur evefUiis, cum esset itnus. Dp Bcneficiis, lib. iii. cap. 26. Section 3. (a) For this profound tranquillity in all parts of the Roman empire, see Vellcius Paterculus, lib. ii. s. 126. Section 4. (a) The consuls for the year 783 were higli in fivour with Tiberius, and, accordingly, were afterwards mar- ried to two daughters ofGernianicus ; Drusilla, to Gus- sius Longinus ; Julia, to Vinicius. Seeboolc vi. s. 15. See also the Genealogical Table, No. ^35^ 97;nndi>9. (//) Tiberius had been, at this time, above three yearg in his recess at the ihlc of Caprea, indulging liiniself in every vice, and planning deeds of cruelty and liorror ; and yet Vclleius asks Vinjcius the consul, to whom he dedicates his work, what Til)erius had done to merit the worst agony of mind, and to be made miserable by his dunght<'r-in-Iaw and his grandson? Quautis hoc tvioi- niforr, M. Vinici, doJoribus hiceravit uniinum ejus ?■ FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 47S Quamdiu abstruso, quod miserrvmivi e^t., pectus rjm J'c'gravit incendio, qnod ex nuru<, quod ex tiepote dolere^ ^indigiiari, erubesceris coactu^ est ? Lit), ii. s. 130. Section 5. ^- « {n) Sadonius, in Tib. s. 64. (b) For IIcrculai)euiu, see the Geographical Table. Seneca sajsi, Caligula razed the castle to the ground, that no vestige might remain of the place, where his mother suffered so much barbarity, Dc Ira, lib. iii, s. 32. (c) This fact js related by Suetonius, in Tib. s. 53. (d) Suetonius, s. oo. (f) For instances of this savage cruelly, sec in this Supplement, s. 41. (f) See the account qf Agrippina's (death, book vi. s. 23. (g-) For Pontia, see the Geographical Tabic. Nero was put to dci^th on that isjaud by order pf Tiberius. Suet. s. 54. Section 6, (a) Tliis was Otho, afterwards emperor. Sqetonius says, heliad a daughter, whom he contracted to Drusus, son of Germanicus, before she >vas of ag(r to marry. Lffe of Otho, s. 1. (6) For her flagitious life, and an account of licr death, see book yi. s. 40. Sec the Genealogical Table, I^o, 84, Section 7. (a) Dio sa^'s that the consul became the agent of Se- janus. (b) Suctonias in Tib. s. 54. (V ) See book vi. s. 23 and 24. 474 NOTES ON THE Seel ion 8* (a) SiK-tonins says, it was more by cunnin£f and sly manaijcment, than bv l>is imperial authority, that h§ vas able to cut off S(;janus* In Tib. s. 63. (/;) These Memoirs were extant in Tacitus's time, Suetonius (in Tib. s. 61) refers to tlicm for the fact here asserted ; and in the Life of Domitian, that emperor, he says, laid aside the study of the liberal sciences, and read nothiniif but tlie commentaries of Tiberius. In Domit. f * 20. The Memoirs written by Tiberius, were, probably, the Manual of Tyranny. Section 9. (a) After all that Tacitus has hitherto disclosed of the character of Tiberius, one cannot read, without astonish- ment, the flattering account given by Vellcius Pater- culus(lib. ii. s. h26 and 127) of the justice, equity, mo- deration, and every virtue, which, according to that {ivcophant historian, distinguished the reign of Tiberius. The picture of a politic, dark, and cruel tyrant, is drawn in gracious colotirs. Pliny's Panegyric of Trajan is not more highly tiuished. Seclion 10. (n) The veneration paid to Sejanus is described at length by Dio, lib. Iviii. Sect ion 11. (a) This writer's work is dignified Avith the title of a Roman History ; but it is well observed by Lipsius and Vossius, that it deserves no such title, being, in truth, nothing more than a collection of the principal events, that happened in the world, from the Trojan war down to the xvith of Tiberius, A. U. G. 78?. It is not, says FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 475 J-i{)siii.s, a compendium or ;i1)ridgmcnt of history, Ihoiigh it must l)e allowed that tlie narrative proceeds in chronola"Mcal order. It contains an account of eminent ni(M), and characters well delineated; but the whole of ihe /irsl book is a niiscellaneous review of ancient times and foreign nations. The second book is a narrative of Roman affairs, written will) ease and elegance, but, when it treats of the Civssars, in a sljlc of adulation, in the conclusioTj. the Isisforian composes a ferveiit prayer, ■wliich must astonish all who are conversaiit in the his- tory of Tiberius. lie throws himself on his knees, and invokes the projection of Jupiter and Mors, and all the gods, to prolong ihe valtuible life of Tiberiu^, and late, very late, to give tu the Roman people a line of princes worthy of the succession to so great a prince. CuslodUcy scrvafc, protegite hunc statum, hanc pacem; elque funclo k)//s;issimd stalioue mortali destinate successores quain scrissiuios, Sec. See Yell. PatercuL in the conclusion. Section 12. (a) .Asliiins Callus, son of the famous Asinius Pollio, has been already mentioned, Annals, book i. s. Ix?. Sec. 1071 13. (a) For more of Giet ulieus, sec book vi. s. SO. Secfioti 14. (a) Crevier, in his History of the Roman Emperors, says, Asinius was deputed on some business, which c;:jinot now Fje known ; but the fact, as here stated, is cor.iirn'.cd by Dio, lib. 58. (b) Syriacus is mentioned by Seneca as an elegant oiator, multa diserte dixit. See Controversioe, lib. i'. s 9. 1 476 NOTES ON TJIE Seciior? 15. (fir) This mafcb was proposed l)v Scjamis, book iv^ s. S9, and rejected by Tiberius, s. 40. That be af(er- wards consented to give Livia in marriage to Sejunus, see book vi. s. 8, where Scjanus is expressly called, the son-in-law of the emperor. Section 18. (o) In this situation of things, Dio say*, Sejaniis was emperor of Rome ; and Tiberius, the lord of an island. Seel ion 10. (a) L. Piso was pra^ect of the city, and, in that of- fice, discharged his duly with great skill, and equal in- tegrit}'. Velleius Piiterculus says, no man was more Ibnd of indolence, and yet no man transacted business Avitii such ability. F?> qiiemqumn reperiri posse, qui avt otiinn volifiius diligr/t, aid faeilius sujjieial negotio. Lib. ii. s. 98. Seneca tells us, that he was always drunk, and never out of bed before ten in tlic forenoon ; and yet he contrived to execute his commission with uncommon diligence. He was the confidential maficistrate of Au- gustus; and Tiberius, when he retreated into Camj)ania, tnisted all his most secret directions to the care of Piso. Lucius Piso, urhis etfsfos, chriux, ex quo seniel fuctus fitii' ISIajorem partem voctis in eonxixio exigebat ; uS' que in horam scxtam fere iJorniiehat. Ofpeium tanioi suum, quo tuiela urbis contincbalur, diligeutissime adi/ii- jiistrercit. Iluic Divus Auoustus dcdit secretu mandalcu ct Tiberius, profuiseens in Cauipauiam, cum muftn in vrhe ct suspeeta t'eUnquerel, el iuiisri. Seneca, epist. S3. For an account of Piso's death, at fourscore years of age, sec Annals, book vi. s. 10. FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 477 Section 20. (^0 The fate of this eminent man, and Piisca his wife, is related by Dio, lib. j8. Scctioti 21. (a) This decree of the senate is mentioned by Dio, lib. Iviii. Section 23. (a) Dmlnc^ the time of the republic, the consular of- fice lasted for the year. Tht' emperors changed this rule. In order (o gratify the ambition of tlnur fa- vourites, they appointed a new succession at diiilacut times in Ihe year ; but the names of such consuls do not appear in the Fasti Consulares. Section 24. (a) See Suetonius, in Calig. s. 10. (b) Sue{onius has recorded what Antonia, tlie mother of Claudius, said of her son. Mater Antonia porteyitum eitm honiinis diet ah at ; nee absolution a naturd^ sed tan- turn inchoatuni; ac si quern soeordice argueret, stultiorem aiehatfiUo suo CUutdio. Sueton. in Claud, s. 3. Section 23- (a) See Dio, book Iviii. Section 26. (a) The particulars of this plot, and the delcGtion of it by Antoniu (for whom see the Genealogical Table^ No. 32), are related by Josephus. Section 27. (a) Satrius Secundus wa the accuser of Crcmutlus Cordus. Annals, iv. s. 34- Seneca, speaking of that t. 478 NOTES- ON THE transaction, DeConsolationcad Marciain, says, Scjann?, meaning to enrich his' creafures^ gave Cordus, licr fa- ther, as a largess to Satrius Socundus. Sejamis patrem tnum clienti suo SrJrio Secundo congiarium deilit. See Annals, book vi. s. 47, Avhere Satrius is mentioned as the informer against Sejanns. (h) Josephus, wlio was well informed in every thing that related to Tiberius, confirms what is here said. Ac- cording to him, Antonia employed Ca?nis, who was af- terwards the favourite mistress of Vespasian, to write the letters to Tiberius ; and Pallas, Avho became minister of state under Claudius, carried the dispatches to the isle of Caprea. Section !2S. (fir) See Suetonius, in Tib. s. Od. (b) Suetonius, in Tib. s. 65. Section 29. (a) The particulars of the fall of Sejanns, and the conduct of Macro, the principal actor in that business, are related at large by Dio, lib. Iviii. Section 3 1 . (a) The letter is no where set forth, but the substance is reported by Dio. Juvenal says, no direct charge was exhibited against Sejanus; no facts were stated; no witness was produced. A pompous letter arrived from Caprea, and that was sufficient : Sed quo cecidit sub crimine ? quisnam Delator? quibus indiciis? quo teste probavit ? ^il horum : verbosa et grandis epistola venit A Capreis, JcvENAL, sat. x. ver. 69. FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 479 (h) Tlic iKimcs of these two senators are no where mentioned. Sectio77 33. (a) The behaviour of the populace is well described Isy Juvenal : Descend unt statuce, restemque scquuntur. Ipsas deinde rotas bigurum impacta securis Casdit, et immeritis franguntur crura caballis. Jam stridunt ii^nes; jam follibus atque caminis Ardet adoratum populo caput, et crepat ii)gens Sejanus : deinde ex facie toto orbe secunda Fiunt urceoli, pelrcs, sartago, patclUe. l5>at. X. ver. 58. (b) Seneca differs from this account. lie savp, Se- janus was torn in pieces by the populace, and nothing remained for the executioner to throw into the river. Section 34. (a) Juvenal has described the humours of the mob: they sav.' Sejanus ruined, and they hated him. If for- tune had favoured his cause, they would liave been ready to hail their new emperor ;>i(li acclamations of joy- Sed quid Turb:i Remi ? scquitur fortunara, ut semjx'r, et odit Damnatos : idem populus, si Nurscia Tusco Favisset, si oppressa foret seciira senccfus Principis, liac ipsa Scjanum diccrel hora Augustum. Sat. X. ver. 72. 480 NOTES ON THE Section 35. (a) Dio gives an account of the honours voted on this occasion. Section 36. (a) The twelve viUas, which Tiberius occupied in. the isle of Caprea, have been already mentioned, book iv. s. 67. Sccf/o/t 37. (a) ^ejanus had repudiated his -wife some time before. Sec book iv. s. 3 ; and see ibidem y s. 11. Sectio?i 38* (a) For Eudcmus and Ljgdus, see book iv. s. tl, (i) Dio relates the fact. For Antonio, see this Sup- plement, s. 27 ; and see the Genealogical Table, No. «2. Section 39. (a) The name of the preceptor was Theodorus of Gadara. Suetonius, in Tib. s. 57. (i») The man, who, amidst the misfortunes of his fa- mily, zcanted the natural touch, might reason in this manner; but Priam tliought otherwise. It was said of him, that all he gained by a long life, was, that he wept oftener than his son Troilus. The sentiment of Tiberius is reported by Suetonius, in Tib. s. 62. (O Suetonius, in Calig. s. 11. Seciioji 43. (a) Suetonius, in Tib. s. 62. (6) Machiavel has not been able to devise a plan of more profound and barbarous policy. By consulting JPIFTII BOOK OP THE ANNALS. 481 tbeir opinion, he made tbem believe that his friendship was sincere, because it was interest; by keeping near his person, he cut them off at his will and pleasure ; and by setting them at variance among themselves, he made them the authors of their own destruction. See Sueto- nius, in Tib. s. 55. Section 4L (a) Suetonius, in Tib. s. 62. (h) The story is told by Suetonius, in Tib. s. 57*. (c) Suetonius, s. 60. (d) Suetonius, s. CI. Section 42. (a) Suetonius, in Tib. s. 56. (b) Suetonius, ibidem. (c) This account of malleable glass, and the fate of the manufacturer, are told by Dio, lib. Ivii. Pliny re- lates the same story, but seems to doubt thetrutii of if. Lib. xxxvi. s» 26» Petronius, whose romance, called Satyhicon, is a disguised and pleasant satire on the private life of Claudius and Nero, has put the history of this transaction into the mouth of Trinialcion, a ridicu- lous character, >\ho seems to be introduced to enliven the narrative, and divert the reader by his blunders. " Do not," saj'sTrimalcion, " take me for anlcNonA- ^^ Mus ; I know the origin of the Corinthian metal. At *' the sacking of Troy, Hannibal, that sly freebooter; *' having gathered into a heap all the gold and silver <' statues, with the bronze and other rarities, caused '^' them to be melted down into one enormous mass, "^ which was afterwards shivered to fragments, and by '• the arti?;(s converted into dishes, plates, and statues* 48iB NOTES c^^' the " That is your Corinlliian metal ; neitlier this, nor that ; *' but a mixture of all." Aflcr this pleasantry, %\ehave the anecdote of Tiberius and the glass-nianutacturer, which, whether true or false, is told with an air of ridi- cule, and, consequently, brought into disrepute. Section VI. (a) The Supplement being bronglit to the point, where it connects with the original, Tacitus goes on from this place to the end of tlie book. The reader will observe that he stopped at the end of Section v. The intermediate sections are marked with figures, instead of the Roman numeral letters. It is to be regretted, tliat the name of the person, who Rpeaks in the present section with such dignity of sentiment, cannot be traced in any historian of that age. The character of the man subsists, and will always claim respect. It is true, that this excellent man destroyed himself; but suicide, at that time, was the only relief from cruelty and op- pression. See what Tacitus says on this subject. An- nals, vi. s. 29. Secdon VII r. (fl) P. Vitellius was ;he faithful companion of Ger- manicus, in Germany and Asia. He afterwards prose- cuted Piso for the murder of his friend ; Annals, iii. s. 10 and 13. Suetonius relates, that he was seized among the accomplices of Sejanus ; and being delivered to the custody of his brother, he opened his veins, but, by the persuasion of his friends, suffered the wound to be bound up. He died soon after of a broken heart. Sueton. in Vitellio, s. 2. He was uncle to Vitellius, the emperor. See Velleius Pa'erculus, lib. ii. Pomjionius Secundus was of consular rank. Quintilian praises his FIFTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 483 dramatic sjcnius. See llic Dialogue concerning Ora- tory, s. xiii. note (r). Section IX. (a) The ori^^inal calls it the triumviral punishment, because (as nppears in the Digest i. tit. ii. s. 30) it was the duty of (lie triumvir to see execution done on such as were condemned to die. The men, who felt no com- pnssion for an innocent child, thought it riglit to be scrupulous about forms, in order to commit a legal murder. Snetonius relates the fact as slated by Tacitus. In Tib. s. 61. Section X. (o) Dio says, that the impostor was taken, and sent a prisoner to Tiberius. But Dio is at times either too credulous, or too much pleased with his own invention. Section XL (a) Trio has been mentioned, Annals, ii. s. 28, as a practised informer, a man of dangerous talents, and an infamous character. Celehrc inter accusatorts Trionis ingenium end, a'cidumqiic famot make. ii2 { 485 ) NOTES OS THE SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS, ' / Section I. (a) 'T^O^riTIUS, commonly called Domitius JEno- Ji ^ barhiis, is the person \Yhom v,c have seen mar- ried to AiTiippiiia, the daughter of Gerinanicus. An- nals, book iv. s. 75. See the Genealogical Table, No. 93. Suetonius draws his character in the blackest co- lours ; and adds, that he was so sensible of his own de- pravity, as to say, when he was told of Nero's birth, *' Nothing can spring from Agrippina and myself but a monster of vice, and scourge of human kind." When Tiberius died, he was contined in prison, charged, among other crimes, with an incestuous commerce with Lepida, his sister. lie Avas saved by the change of the times, and not long after died of a dropsy at tlie town of Pyrgi. Suetonius in Nero, s. 5 and 6. The other consul, Ca- millus Scril)onianns, is the same Avho ten years after, in the reign of Claudius, was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Dalmatia, and in a few days murdered by the soldiers. (/;) Suctoiiius explains the word Spintri.e, and adds 486 NOTES ON THE that tliore were cells in woods and groves, furnished with lascivious pictureis and statues, whence the word Sellaril^ la Tib. s. A3. Scclio7i II. (a) This isLivia, who conspired with Sejanus against Ihe lifr of I>riisus, her husbimd ; and suffered for that crime in the manner already mentiojied. See book v, in the SuppleTcnt, s. 38, (/;) It will not be amiss to repeat, that JErariuDi was the public treasury, and Fiscus the private treasury of the prince. (r) Suetonius, in Tlj). s. 65. (d) If Tiberius had seriously intended to enter the senate-house, he was a better politician than to be the dupe of a pi :)n proposed by Trogonius G dins. None were admitted into the senate but the fathers, and those to whom they occasionally give audience, or who wore cited to their bar. If Tiberius was in fear of the sena- tors, he knew better than to put arms in their hands. He would have desired to cater that asiciubly with a picked number of the prcetorian guards. Section III, («) Junius Gallic was the brollier of Seneca. See A-umls, XV. s. 73. (b) Uoscius Otho, tribune of the people, was the au- thor of a law, called J. ex Rosvia, A. U. C. 685; by which fourteen rows in the theatre, next to the patrici.ui order, ^\cre assigned to the Roman knights, with an ex- press provision, that no tVeedman, nor even the son of ' a freedman, should be admitted into the equestrian or- ^er. Horace describes a man, \^ho was gvown sudt SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 487 dcnlj rich, taking his seat in those rows of tlic theatre, in contempt of Otho and his law ; Sedibusque mao^nus in primis cqucs, Othonc contcmpto, sedef. Epod. iv. In the time of Anii^ustus this law was falling into disuse; but the subsequent emperors, in order to give a distin- guished preference to the freedmen whom they enriched, revived the Lex Roscia in all its force. Hence Juve- nal says, het the man who is not worth the sum by law required, rise from the equestrian cushion, and make fooni for pimps and the sons of pimps : ■ Exeat, inquit. Si pudor est, et de pulvino surgat equestri, Cujus res legi non sufficit, ct sedeant hie J.o was mentioned hy TacituF, is lost with other parts of ihe iifih book. Si»e the Supplement, s. 19, and note {a). Section XI. (o) Tie is mentioned by Livy in tlie character of pre- fect of the city. Imperium in urhe Lucretio, prffifectp urbis jam ante ab rege instituto, reliquit. Lib. i. s. j9. Section XII, («) The history of the Sibylline books, as much of it at least as can be condensed into a note, is as follows : A woman, supposed to be the Cnmaan Sibyl, presented to Tarquin the Proud three books, of which^ according to the account of Pliny \\\c elder, lib. xiii. cap. JiJ, tlireo were burned by her own direction. Other auiliors, sucli as Dionysius of Haiicarnassus, lib. iv. cvip. 62 ; and Aulus Gellius, lib. i. cap. 10, mention nine books, six of which, they say, were committed to the flames, and three preserved with care. Whatever the number was, it perished in tlio conflagration that destroyed the Ca- pitol, not during the social war, as said by mistake in the original, but in the civil war between Marius and Sylla, A. U. C. 67!. Those books had been always considered as a sirred deposit, containing prophetic accounts of the grandeur of Konie, and the certain pcans of propitiating the gods in the day of distress, u? 490 XOTES ON THE "when j;Oi(rnfs and prodigies gave notice of some irn* pendiiig calamity. Tarquin committed this invaluable frej, Deus, and U\-n. consUium. See the Delj)hinL Vjrgil, jil). vi. V. oG ; and see the fine description of the Sibyl in her pro; hetic ecstasy, v. 46, {b) The sc; ate had two ways of coming to a resolu- tion : it ihcre was no debate, the house decided pev SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 491 jdicessionem. Vv'licn there was an opposition, the fa« lliers wore called upon seriatim for their opinions. Sec ^ulns Gellius, lib. xiv. cap. 7. (c) Sec to the same eflect Suetonius, in Aug. s. 31. Section XY. As Gcrmanicns Avas adopted bj Tiberius, Annals, i, 8. S, his daui^h'ers were, consequently, the graud-chiU dren of Tiberius. Section XVr. (a) The grievances of the pe pie, labouring under the oppression of their creditors, occur so often in Livjr, that it is needless to ciie particuln- instances. The law of Julius Cassar, mentio;ied in this passage, is explained by Suetonius. It was expected, lie sajs, that all debts should be cancelled ; but Ciesar ordered, tliat all debtors should satisfy their creditors, according to a fair estimate of tlieir estates, at the rates al which they were pur-, chased before the commencement of the civil wars; deducting from t!ip principal the interest that had l)cc;i paid ; and by thase means about a fourth part of tiiG ^lebt was sunk. Suetonius, in Jul. Cass, s. 42. See also Caesar de Bell. Civ. iii. s. i. The late sir William Bl ickstone says, Many good a ul learned men perplexed themselves, and other people, by raising questions about the reward for the use of money, and by expressing iheir doubts about the legality of it in fow covscienfia'. A compensation for the loan of money is generally called interest^ by those who thiidi it lawful ; and nsurt/^ by those who thirds otherwise; for the enemies \o interest in general make no distinct ion between that and i(surj/y ^oldiijg any increase of money to be indefejisibly UbU-. 492 NOTES OX THE rious. The arc^umcnts in support of that opinion are refuted by sir 'William Blackstone, who proves that the taking of a moderate reward for the use of money is not vnly not mahan in se, but highly useful to society. See his Commentaries, vol. ii. p. 454 to 457. B»|>ticr slates the different rates of interest known at Rome, at diflerent times. Some of them were usurious on account of their excess, as may be seen in the following table : - C Semiunciarium, - Half per Coif. h cnus i i Unciariiim, - - One per Cent, -Quadrans, - - Three per Cent, Tricns, - - - Four per Cent, , Quincunx, - - Fhe per Cent, ^ J Semis, - . - . Six per Cent. . lies, - - - - Eight per Cent. Deunx, - - - - Eleven per Cent. Centcssima, - - Tzceke per Cent. LCcntessima Quaterna, Fort/y-eight per Cent. Anatocismus, - - - - Interest upon Interest. When the sum for the use of money is excessive, or what is now deemed usurious, Tacitus calls it reisura ; and so the word is used by Cicero. Salamifiii cum Homce VERSu R AM facere leltenf, non poterant ; quod lex Gahinia xetabaf. Ad Atlicum, lib. v. epist. 21. See an Kssay on the subject of Roman Usury, Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres, vol. xxviii. See alsQ Montesquieu, Spirit of Laws, book xxii. chap. 22, Section XX. (a) See the Genealogical Table, No. 87. Section XXII. (a) This whole passage about Fate and Chance shcM's, | .^IXTH BOOK OF TH,E ANNALS. 493 lifter all the philosophy of Plato and Cicero, that iiotliino- but Revelation could disperse the mist, in %vhich the best understandings were involved. Th« reasoning- of Tacitus calls to mind the passage in Mil- ton : Others apart sat on a hill rctir'd In thought more elevate, and reason'd high Of providence, fore-knowledge, will, and fatc# Fix'd fate, free-will, fore-knowledge absolute. And found no end, in wand'ring mazes lost. Section XXI IL (a) Asinius Callus was thrown into prison three years before. See book v. Supplement, s. 14. (b) Drusus, the son of German icus : Genealogical Table, No. S3. See an account of his imprisonment im the lower partof tlie palace, book v. Supplement, s. 7, Section XXV. {a) See Annals, book v. Supplement, s. 5. Section XXVI. (o) Cocceius Nervas has been mentioned* book ir. s. 58. Section XXVII. (a) Julia, llie daughter of Drusus and Livia, and grand-daughter to Tiberius. Genealogical Table, No. 74. (Z>) The name of this person was Cossus /Elius Lamia. He united in his character many excellent qualities, but was addicted to liquor, as we learn from Seneca, who ^ys, that Tiberius hayin*j experienced the good efleeti; 494 KOTES ON THE ofPis»*s administration, Aviiich succeeded notwitlistand- ing his love of liquor, see book v. Supplement, s. 19, and note (a), appointed Cossus to the office of pra?fcct of the city ; u man of wisdom and moderation, but fond of wine, and apt to drink deep, Cossum fecit urhis prcefectum, tirum gravem, inoderahtm, scd mersum sino ft madentem; puto quia bene cesserat Pisonis ehrietas. Seneca, epist. 83. He obtained the province of Syria, but was not suffered to proceed to his government. This, we are told by Tacitus, was a state of suspense ha- bitual to Tiberius. Sec book i. s. 80, where we are also told why the detention of Lamia added to his digniiyo Tiberius was afraid of eminent virtue : Ex optimis peri- culum. (r) Pomponius Flaccus was another of Tiberius's bottle-companions. Suetonius says, that the name of the emperor being, Tiler ins Claudius Nero, he was nicknamed Biberius Caldius Mrro ; and after he came to the empire, he passed a whole night and two daj s in a carousing party with Lucius Piso and Pom- ponius Flaccus. Sueton. in Tibcrio, s. 42. (d) Manius Lepidus has been mentioned, book i, 5. 13 J book iv. s. ^0. Scctio7i XXYIIL (rt) Lucius Vltellius, the new consul, was the father of Vitellius, Avho was afterwards emperor. See more of Lim, s. xxxii. (J)) The accounts given by the ancients of this won- derful bird, if collected together, would swell into a volume. Tacitus was aware of (he decora^lions of fable; but of the real existence of !^uch a bird, and its periodi- cal apx^earance in Egyp^ he entertiiincd no kind of I SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 4Q5 doubt. It has b(?cn objected by some critics, that he breaks the tliread of liis narrative for the sake of a trillinir diijrcsion; but it should be remembered, that •what is now known to I)e a Oibk", was formerly received as a certain trulh. it was, therefore, in the time of Tacitus, an interesting^ description, and even now cu- riosity is gratified with \\\C: particulars of so celeliratcd a fiction. La Blctterie observes, that, since the Chris- tian ccra, many learned and pious writers have been carried away by the torrent, and embraced the popular opinion. He says the word forv,? sigiiifying palma^ the palm-tree, as well as the bird in question, TertulHan was so ing-enious as to iim\ the phenix mentioned in scripture. The Latin translators have said, Justus aut pa/majlorebit; lie translates it, Justus ut phniix f.orehit. Pliny the naturalist seems to dwell with pleasure on the particulars of the birth, tiie age, the death, and revival of this wonderful bird. He says that a pretended phenix was brought to Rome from .''Egypt, A . U. C. SOO, and exhibited as a public spectacle in the Forum ; but the people considered it as an imposition* Quern fahum esse nemo diibitdxil. Pliny, lib. x. s. 2. Poinponius Mela has given an elegant description of the phenix. The substance of what lie says, is, when it has lived five liundred years, it expires on its own nest, and, being regenerated, carries the bones of its former frame to Ilelioj.olis, the city of the Sun, and there, on an altar covered with Arabian spices, perfc^rms a fragrant funeral. Melii, lib. iii. s. 9. Mariana, the Spanish hisiorian, wlu) wrote in modern times, may be added to the Christian writers who have mcutioued this bird with })ious credulity. lie considers tlie re-appearance of the phenix, towards the end »f Tiberius, as a prafjnjsitis *.^ 496 NOTES ON THE the resurrection, because it revives out of its own asties* See his History of Spain, lib. iv. cap. i. See also sir jolin Maudcvilie. Section XXiX. (g) Tacitus «cems here to make llie apology of sui- cide." It Avas fear of (he executioner that hurried men on self-destruction, Prompfas ejusmodi mortcs met us carnificis faciehat. A second reason was, the accused, tvho died before sentence of condemnation by their own tands> saved their effects for their relations, and were allowed the rites of sepulture. The idea of being strangled, and thrown into the Tiber, was shocking to the imagination. It is remarkable, that a law against suicide was unknown to the Ro?Tians in every period of their history*. The motives for embracing a voluntary death continued, as stated by Tacitus, till tlie reign of Antoninus . That emperor, A. U. C. 965, of the Chris- tian aera 212, confiscated the effects of all wlio ]Uit an end to iheir lives, to avoid final judgment. In other respects, suicide was not restrained; it was rather countenanced. If no prosecution was commenced, the estate of the person, who in a fit of insanity destroyed himself, pa;:sed by liis will, or descended to his heirs. So far was right : but the same rule was extended to those wiio were weary of life, and for that reason put an end to their days. Dolore aliqiio corporis^ aid tcedio vitce. Sec the Code, ix. tit. 50. De bonis eorum qui mortem sihi conscivcnint. It was a maxim of the stoic school, that tliere was nothing better in human life, than the poAver of ending it. JE'.i- omnibus bonisy qucB Jiomini trihuit nalura, nullum melius esse fempestivd mo lie ; idque in e.d oitimunij quod ilium sibi quisqus. SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 497 pixEstare poterit. Pliny, lib. xxviii. s. 1. The impious tenets of a dogmatical sect were able to silence the law of nature. Socrate^; was of a cliflerent opinion ; tliat best of philosophers says, in the Phffilo of Plato, that we are all placed by Providence in our proper stations, and no man has a right to desert his post. Aristotle calls suicide the act of a timid, not of a noMo mind. It was the maxim of Pytha2;oras, that \> itliuut leave from the commander in chief, that is from God, it is uiiLiwful to quit our post ; and Cicero, who records that excellent doctrine (De Senedule) says, in another place, that it is the duty of the good and pious, to keep the soul in its tenement of clay ; and, without the order of him who gave it, no one should rush out of this life, lest he incur the guilt of rejecting the gift of providence. Piis om- nibus retinendus est animus in custodid corporis; nee injussu ejusy a quo ilk est vobis datiis, ex hominam xild mi^ratidiwi est, ne munus huynamim assignalum a Deo dejugisse xideamini. Somnium Scipionis, s. vii. Since the law of nature, speaking in the human heart, was not attended to, no wonder that the voice of a few philo- sophers was not heard. The Pagans required the light of Revelation. (6) We have seen Mamercus Scaurus marked as a victim, this book s. ix. Seneca says he was designed by nature for a great orator, but he fell short, owing to his own neglect. Scire posses, non quantum oratoreni prcestaret Scaurus, sed quantum desereret. Controv. lib. V. in Praifalione. Dio informs us, that the tragedy for which he was accused, was founded on the story of Atreus ; and that Tiberius, thinking himself glanced at, said, Since he makes me another Atreus, I will make VOL. II, K K 498 KOTES on THE Lim an Ajax, meanina:, ^^^t lie -would force liim to de- stroy himself. Dio, lib. Iviii. ((■) The Avife of Driisn.s, the son of Tiberius. See (he Genealogical Table, No. 71. Seclion XXX 7. (n) La Bletterie in liis notr, at the openino^ of this year, says, Since Tacitus has sjiven the history of the phenix, he thinks an arconnt of the extraordinary crov/, that for a lon^ time amused the peoj le of Rome, will not be unacceptable to the reader. He gives the ^vholc detail from Pliny the elder. The crow, it seems, be- longed to a shoemaker, and was soon tanght to articu- late v.ords. It went every morning to the Rostrum, and tlicre distinctly pronounced. Good day, Tiberius! Good day, Germanicus ! Good day, Drusus ! This con- timied for several years. The bird was at last killed by another siioeraaker in the neighbourhood, who fell a s icrifice to the resentment of the populace. The bird Avas afterwards buried near the Aj;pian road with the greatest parade, and a long procession of Roman citi- zens. See Pliny, lib. x. cap. 43. (/;) Snetonius says, Tiberius was severely Inshed in a letter from Artabanus, king of the Parthians, upbraiding him witli parricide, murder, cowardice, and luxury ; «Tid advising him to expiate his guilt by a voluntary death. In Tib. s. 66. (c) Artaxias III. who was seated on the throne of Armenia by Germanicus. See book ii. s. 56 and 64. (,'0 Vonones was dejiosed by the Armenians, and obliged to take refuge at Pmnpeiopolis, a maritime city of Cilicia. Annals, book ii. s. 4 and 58, SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 499 (e) The custom of advancing eunuchs to the highest stations, has been, in all ages, a custom v»ith the prinues of the east. (/) He was the son of Phraates IV. and had been fent by his father as an hostage to Augustus. Aunals, book ii. s. I. Section XXXI r. (a) L. Vitellius was consul in the preceding year. See this book, s. 28, and note (a). In his administration of Syria, he conducted himself with integrity and wisdom; and on his return to Rome, he tliought it the best policy to atone for his virtues by the practice of every vice. He gave rise to the worshipping of Caligula as a God- He approached that emperor with liis face veiled, and fell prostrate at liis feet. Caligula received tiie impious homage, and forgave Viteliius all his merit in the east. He ranked him among his favourites. Caligula wished to have it thought that he was a lover of the Moon, and highly favoured by that goddess. He appealed to Viteliius as an eye-witness of his intrigue: " Sir, said *' the courtier, when you gods are in conjunction, you " are invisible to mortal eyes." In the following reiuri, to secure the favour of Claudius, who was the easy dupe of his wives, he requested it as tlie greatest favour of Messalina, that she would be graciously pleased to let him take off" her shoes. His petition was grante;'. Viteliius carried the shoes to his own house, and made it his constant practice to kiss them before company. He worbhipped the golden imi'.ges of Narcissus and Pallas, and ranked them with his household gods. When Claudius celebrated the secular games, which were to be ttt the end of every century (see book xi. s. II), he car- K K i!? 500 ^OTES ON THE liet] his adulation so far, as f o say to the emperor, ^' May *' you oficn pcrfoiin this ceremony!" Sccpe facias. It may be said of him, that he left his virtues in his pro- vince, and at Rome resumed his vices. Sec Suet, in Vitell. s. ii. Section XXXIII. (a) The Etesian wind, or the Norlh-east, begins in tlie beiz:inning of July, and blows during tlie dog-days. The Hihernus Ausler, the Soiflh-zi:est, continues during the winter. Section XXXIV. (a) Phrvxus was the first tliat sailed to Colchos in pursuit of riches. Jason went afterwards on the same errand, which was called the Golden Fleece. Section XXX VII. (a) Rivers were supposed to have their presiding deity, and were therefore w orshipped by the Persians and the Oriental nations as well as by the Romans. (b) Tiberius ended the Dalmatic war, A. U. C. 76.". (r) Sec the Geographical Table. Section XXXVIII. (a) A virulent prosecutor. Sec book ii. s. 28. lie •was consul with Memmius Regulus, fiom August to the end of the year 784. See book v. Supplement, s. 29. Section XXXIX. (.0 Trebellicnus Rufus was made guardian io the children of Cotys, the Thracian king. Book ii. s. 07. For P.-.conianus, see this book, s. 3 and 4. (b) Poppjeus Sabinus was consul in the time of Au- gustus, A. U.C.7G2. He commanded ijiMa:sia,Achaia, SIXTH BOOK OF I'HE ANNALS. 501 and Macedonia, and obtained triumphal lionoiirs. Book i. s. 80. Section XL. (a) Tbis was done, that, under colour of dying by the hands of tlie executioner, his goods might be conlis- cated. See in this book, s. 29. (b) Josephus mentions this fact. He says, Tigranes "was grandson (o Herod. (c) Caius Galba was brother to Galba, afterwards emperor. ((/) See the Genealogical Table, No. 83 and SL Section XLH. (a) See the Geographical Table. (h) The office of Surena was in point of dignity next to the prince. Section XLY. (f/) Houses, detached entirely, and contiguous to no other building, were called insulated houses. {h) See this book, s. 20. Suetonius says, she died in child-bed. Life of Calig. s. xii. The inirigue with Ennia is there related in a manner somewhat different. Section XL VI. (a) Hereditary succession was unknown to the Ro' mans. L'nder colour of preserving ancient forms, the senate was still supposed to be the depositary of the public mind, and, in case of a demise, the prince was elective. The legions soon usurped the right of naming a successor. TheCaesarean line, as long as ii lasted, was respected by the army. After the death of Nero, the last of the C^sars, wars fierce and bloody were the con- 4 -502 NOTES ON THE sequence. The states of Europe, during several cen- turies, experienced similar convulsions, till, in more en- lightened times, the nature of. civil government being better understood, heredilarv succession was established for the benefit of mankind. See more on this subject, ^Memoirs of the Academy of Belles Lettres, vol. xix. (b) This was the son of Drusus, Avho had been cut off by Sejanus. Book iv. s. 8. lie was afterwards put to death by Caligula ; see Suet, in Calig. s. 23. Caligula himself died by the assassin's dagger. Suet, in Calig. s. 58. (c) Plutarch, in his Tract on the Art of preserving Health, says, he himself heard Tiberius say, that the man who at sixty wanted the advice of a physician, must be absurd and ridiculous. Tacitus, with greater proba- bility, confines the maxim to the age of thirty ; and he is confirmed by Suetonius, in Tib. s. 68. Section XLVII. (fl) For Publius Vitcllius, see book v. s. 8. Tiie translator is sorry to find, that, by some inadvertence, a mistake has crept into the text. It is said, Vitcllius and Olho became open enemies ; but V^itellius was dead. It should be Bat>bus and Otho. Balbus was the accuser of Acutia, and he lost his reward by the intercession of the tribune. {b) Salrius Secundus had been the active agent of Sejanus ; see book iv. s. 3i. But he ruined his j)atrou in the end ; see book v. Supplemenl, s. 27 ; and book vi. s. 8. Section XLIX. Caj Brotier thinks he was one of the consuls for the preceding year : but as he is in this place said to be a SIXTH BOOK OF THE ANNALS. 505 young man, seduced by the arts of a wicked mother, it is not probable that he ever rose to the conbulship. Section L. (m) We are told by Plutarch, that this villa, formerly the property of Caius Marius, was purchased by Lu- cuUus at an immense price. Plutarch, Life of Marius. Jjrotier says, the ruins are still to be seen, near the pro- montory of Misenum. Section LI. (a) Vclleius Paterculus has said the same thing with great elegance and equal truth. Lib. ii. s. 103, 106, 1 14. It is in his account of the reign of Tiberius, that the adulation of that historian betrays a want of veracity. END OF THE SECOND VOLUME. T. Gillet, Pnatcr, Wild-court, LincolaVlua-Fieldv I UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. FEB 2 8 RFCtf MAR9 ^^ 1 i^mm 4tfe 0, • '♦!♦!♦ V> ♦ y. 3 4 ♦:♦>