The water would be
sprinkled
from the 'lucky' branches.
Tacitus
The German troops in particular were
terrified at their isolation, and felt they were being told off for
slaughter. They embraced their comrades and clung upon their necks,
asking for one last kiss, begging not to be left alone, crying out,
'Our cause is the same as yours, why should our fate be different? '
They appealed now to Mucianus, now to the absent emperor, and lastly
to the powers of Heaven, until Mucianus came to the rescue of their
imaginary terrors by calling them all 'sworn servants of one emperor',
for he found that the victorious army was joining in and seconding
their tears with cheering. On that day the matter ended there. A few
days later, when Domitian addressed them, they received him with
renewed confidence, refused his offer of lands, and begged for
enlistment and their pay instead. This was only a petition, but one
that could not be refused: so they were admitted to the Guards.
Subsequently, those who had grown old and completed the regular term
of service[359] were honourably discharged. Others were dismissed for
misbehaviour, but one by one at different times, which is always the
safest method of weakening any kind of conspiracy.
To return to the senate; a bill was now passed that a loan of 47
sixty million sesterces should be raised from private individuals and
administered by Pompeius Silvanus. This may have been a financial
necessity, or they may have wanted it to seem so. At any rate the
necessity soon ceased to exist, or else they gave up the pretence.
Domitian then carried a proposal that the consulships conferred by
Vitellius should be cancelled, and that a state funeral should be held
in honour of Flavius Sabinus. [360] Both proposals are striking
evidence of the fickleness of human fortune, which so often makes the
first last and the last first.
It was about this time that Lucius Piso,[361] the pro-consul of 48
Africa, was killed. To give a true explanation of this murder we must
go back and take a brief survey of certain matters which are closely
connected with the reasons for such crimes. Under the sainted Augustus
and Tiberius the pro-consul of Africa had in his command one legion
and some auxiliaries with which to guard the frontier of the
empire. [362] Caligula, who was restless by nature and harboured
suspicions of the then pro-consul, Marcus Silanus, withdrew the
legion from his command and put it under a legate whom he sent out for
the purpose. As each had an equal amount of patronage and their
functions overlapped, Caligula thus caused a state of friction which
was further aggravated by regrettable quarrels. The greater permanence
of his tenure[363] gradually strengthened the legate's position, and
perhaps an inferior is always anxious to vie with his betters. The
most eminent governors, on the other hand, were more careful of their
comfort than of their authority.
At the present time the legion in Africa was commanded by Valerius 49
Festus,[364] an extravagant young man, immoderately ambitious, whose
kinship with Vitellius had given him some anxiety. He had frequent
interviews with Piso, and it is impossible to tell whether he tempted
Piso to rebel or resisted Piso's temptations. No one was present at
their interviews, which were held in private, and after Piso's death
most people were inclined to sympathize with his murderer. Beyond
doubt the province and the garrison were unfavourable to Vespasian.
Besides, some of the Vitellian refugees from Rome pointed out to Piso
that the Gallic provinces were wavering. Germany was ready to rebel,
and he himself was in danger; 'and,' they added, 'if you earn
suspicion in peace your safest course is war. ' Meanwhile, Claudius
Sagitta, who commanded Petra's Horse,[365] made a good crossing and
outstripped the centurion Papirius, who had been sent out by Mucianus
and was commissioned, so Sagitta affirmed, to assassinate Piso.
Sagitta further stated that Galerianus,[366] Piso's cousin and
son-in-law, had already been murdered, and told him that while his one
hope lay in taking a bold step, there were two courses open to him: he
might either take up arms on the spot, or he might prefer to sail to
Gaul and offer to lead the Vitellian armies. This made no impression
on Piso. When the centurion whom Mucianus had sent arrived at the
gates of Carthage, he kept on shouting all sorts of congratulations to
Piso on becoming emperor. The people he met, who were astounded at
this unexpected miracle, were instructed to take up the cry. With a
crowd's usual credulity, they rushed into the forum calling on Piso to
appear, and as they had a passion for flattery and took no interest in
the truth, they proceeded to fill the whole place with a confused
noise of cheering. Piso, however, either at a hint from Sagitta, or
from his natural good sense, would not show himself in public or give
way to the excitement of the crowd. He examined the centurion, and
learnt that his object was to trump up a charge against him and then
kill him. [367] He accordingly had the man executed more from
indignation against the assassin than in any hope of saving his life;
for he found that the man had been one of the murderers of Clodius
Macer,[368] and after staining his hand in the blood of a military
officer was now proposing to turn it against a civil governor. Piso
then reprimanded the Carthaginians in an edict which clearly showed
his anxiety, and refrained from performing even the routine of his
office, shutting himself up in his house, for fear that he might by
accident provide some pretext for further demonstrations.
When the news of the popular excitement and the centurion's 50
execution reached the ears of Festus, considerably exaggerated and
with the usual admixture of falsehood, he at once sent off a party of
horsemen to murder Piso. Riding at full speed, they reached the
governor's house in the twilight of early dawn and broke in with drawn
swords. As Festus had mainly chosen Carthaginian auxiliaries and Moors
to do the murder, most of them did not know Piso by sight. However,
near his bedroom they happened on a slave and asked him where Piso was
and what he looked like. In answer the slave told them a heroic lie
and said he was Piso, whereupon they immediately cut him down.
However, Piso himself was killed very soon after, for there was one
man among them who knew him, and that was Baebius Massa, one of the
imperial agents in Africa, who was already a danger to all the best
men in Rome. His name will recur again and again in this narrative, as
one of the causes of the troubles which beset us later on. [369]
Festus had been waiting at Adrumetum[370] to see how things went, and
he now hastened to rejoin his legion. He had the camp-prefect,
Caetronius Pisanus, put in irons, alleging that he was one of Piso's
accomplices, though his real motive was personal dislike. He then
punished some of the soldiers and centurions and rewarded others; in
neither case for their deserts, but because he wanted it to be thought
that he had stamped out a war. His next task was to settle the
differences between Oea and Lepcis. [371] These had had a trivial
origin in thefts of fruit and cattle by the peasants, but they were
now trying to settle them in open warfare. Oea, being inferior in
numbers, had called in the aid of the Garamantes,[372] an invincible
tribe, who were always a fruitful source of damage to their
neighbours. Thus the people of Lepcis were in great straits. Their
fields had been wasted far and wide, and they had fled in terror under
shelter of their walls, when the Roman auxiliaries, both horse and
foot, arrived on the scene. They routed the Garamantes and recovered
all the booty, except what the nomads had already sold among the
inaccessible hut-settlements of the far interior.
After the battle of Cremona and the arrival of good news from 51
every quarter, Vespasian now heard of Vitellius' death. A large number
of people of all classes, who were as lucky as they were adventurous,
successfully braved the winter seas on purpose to bring him the
news. [373] There also arrived envoys from King Vologaesus offering the
services of forty thousand Parthian cavalry. [374] It was, indeed, a
proud and fortunate situation to be courted with such splendid offers
of assistance, and to need none of them. Vologaesus was duly thanked
and instructed to send his envoys to the senate and to understand that
peace had been made. Vespasian now devoted his attention to the
affairs of Italy and the Capitol, and received an unfavourable report
of Domitian, who seemed to be trespassing beyond the natural sphere of
an emperor's youthful son. He accordingly handed over the flower of
his army to Titus, who was to finish off the war with the Jews. [375]
It is said that before his departure Titus had a long talk with 52
his father and begged him not to be rash and lose his temper at these
incriminating reports, but to meet his son in a forgiving and
unprejudiced spirit, 'Neither legions nor fleets,' he is reported to
have said, 'are such sure bulwarks of the throne as a number of
children. Time, chance and often, too, ambition and misunderstanding
weaken, alienate or extinguish friendship: a man's own blood cannot be
severed from him; and above all is this the case with a sovereign,
for, while others enjoy his good fortune, his misfortunes only concern
his nearest kin. Nor again are brothers likely to remain good friends
unless their father sets them an example. ' These words had the effect
of making Vespasian rather delighted at Titus' goodness of heart than
inclined to forgive Domitian. 'You may ease your mind,' he said to
Titus, 'It is now your duty to increase the prestige of Rome on the
field: I will concern myself with peace at home. ' Though the weather
was still very rough, Vespasian at once launched his fastest
corn-ships with a full cargo. For the city was on the verge of
famine. [376] Indeed, there were not supplies for more than ten days in
the public granaries at the moment when Vespasian's convoy brought
relief.
The task of restoring the Capitol[377] was entrusted to Lucius 53
Vestinus, who, though only a knight, yet in reputation and influence
could rank with the highest. He summoned all the soothsayers,[378] and
they recommended that the ruins of the former temple should be carried
away to the marshes[379] and a new temple erected on the same site:
the gods were unwilling, they said, that the original form of the
building should be changed. On the 21st of June, a day of bright
sunshine, the whole consecrated area of the temple was decorated with
chaplets and garlands. In marched soldiers, all men with names of good
omen, carrying branches of lucky trees:[380] then came the Vestal
Virgins accompanied by boys and girls, each of whom had father and
mother alive,[381] and they cleansed it all by sprinkling fresh water
from a spring or river. [382] Next, while the high priest, Plautius
Aelianus, dictated the proper formulae, Helvidius Priscus, the
praetor, first consecrated the site by a solemn sacrifice[383] of a
pig, a sheep and an ox, and then duly offering the entrails on an
altar of turf, he prayed to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, as the
guardian deities of the empire, to prosper the enterprise, and by
divine grace to bring to completion this house of theirs which human
piety had here begun. He then took hold of the chaplets to which the
ropes holding the foundation-stone were attached. At the same moment
the other magistrates and the priests and senators and knights and
large numbers of the populace in joyous excitement with one great
effort dragged the huge stone into its place. On every side gifts of
gold and silver were flung into the foundations, and blocks of virgin
ore unscathed by any furnace, just as they had come from the womb of
the earth. For the soothsayers had given out that the building must
not be desecrated by the use of stone or gold that had been put to any
other purpose. The height of the roof was raised. This was the only
change that religious scruples would allow, and it was felt to be the
only point in which the former temple lacked grandeur.
FOOTNOTES:
[331] We now reach the year A. D. 70. Vespasian had already
been consul under Claudius in 51.
[332] In the absence of both consuls.
[333] i. e. Sohaemus, Antiochus, and Agrippa (cp. ii. 81).
[334] Cp. ii. 85.
[335] Cp. iii. 52.
[336] Vespasian's freedman (cp. iii. 12, 28. )
[337] The elder brother of Galba's adopted son Piso.
[338] See ii. 65. He must by now have ceased to be absentee
governor.
[339] It was to the command of this legion that Galba promoted
Antonius (see ii. 86).
[340] Varus had served under Corbulo in Syria.
[341] In his life of _Agricola_ Tacitus speaks of Domitian's
red face as 'his natural bulwark against shame'.
[342] See chap. 39.
[343] See chap. 10.
[344] i. e. Publius Celer. As this Demetrius was present with
Thrasea at the end, holding high philosophical discourse with
him (_Ann. _ xvi. 34), he seems to have been a Cynic in the
modern sense as well.
[345] Another Stoic malcontent, brother of the Arulenus
Rusticus mentioned in iii. 80.
[346] According to Dio they were two devoted and inseparable
brothers. They became governors, one of Upper and the other of
Lower Germany, and, being wealthy, were forced by Nero to
commit suicide.
[347] Cp. ii. 10.
[348] Cp. iii. 9.
[349] Cp. i. 48, note 79.
[350] Twenty-five.
[351] Piso was a brother of Regulus' victim. He was therefore
glad to see him incapable of reprisal.
[352] i. e. there was no property left to tempt Nero.
[353] i. e. the money and other rewards won by prosecuting
Crassus and Orfitus.
[354] Nero.
[355] He had recited some libellous verses on Nero and been
condemned for treason.
[356] Cp. ii. 67.
[357] i. e. those who had surrendered at Narnia and Bovillae,
as distinct from those who had been discharged after Galba's
death.
[358] Chap. 2.
[359] i. e. those who were either over fifty or had served in
the Guards sixteen or in a legion twenty years.
[360] See iii. 74.
[361] See chap. 38.
[362] Africa was peculiar in that the pro-consul, who governed
it for the senate, commanded an army. All the other provinces
demanding military protection were under imperial control.
Caligula, without withdrawing the province from the senate, in
some degree regularized the anomaly by transferring this
command to a 'legate' of his own, technically inferior to the
civil governor.
[363] Whereas the pro-consul's appointment was for one year
only, the emperor's legate retained his post at the emperor's
pleasure, and was usually given several years.
[364] Cp. ii. 98.
[365] See i. 70.
[366] See chap. 11.
[367] i. e. he hoped that Piso would accept the story with
alacrity and thus commit himself.
[368] Cp. i. 7.
[369] Under Domitian he became one of the most notorious and
dreaded of informers. His name doubtless recurred in the lost
books of the Histories. But the only other extant mention of
him by Tacitus is in the life of Agricola (chap. 45).
[370] On the coast between Carthage and Thapsus.
[371] Tripoli and Lebda.
[372] Further inland; probably the modern Fezzan.
[373] Vespasian was still at Alexandria.
[374] Cp. ii. 82, note 410.
[375] Cp. ii. 4 and Book V.
[376] It had been Vespasian's original plan to starve Rome out
by holding the granaries of Egypt and Africa. See iii. 48.
[377] Cp. iii. 71.
[378] Probably from Etruria, where certain families were
credited with the requisite knowledge and skill. Claudius had
established a College of Soothsayers in Rome. They ranked
lower than the Augurs.
[379] At Ostia.
[380] Their names would suggest prosperity and success, e. g.
Salvius, Victor, Valerius, and they would carry branches of
oak, laurel, myrtle, or beech.
[381] This too was 'lucky' and a common ritualistic
requirement.
[382] The 'holy water' must come from certain streams of
special sanctity, such as the Tiber or its tributary, the
Almo.
The water would be sprinkled from the 'lucky' branches.
[383] To the god Mars.
THE LOSS OF GERMANY
Meanwhile,[384] the news of Vitellius' death had spread through 54
Gaul and Germany and redoubled the vigour of the war. Civilis now
dropped all pretence and hurled himself upon the Roman Empire. The
Vitellian legions felt that even foreign slavery was preferable to
owning Vespasian's sovereignty. The Gauls too had taken heart. A
rumour had been spread that our winter camps in Moesia and Pannonia
were being blockaded by Sarmatians and Dacians:[385] similar stories
were fabricated about Britain: the Gauls began to think that the
fortune of the Roman arms was the same all the world over. But above
all, the burning of the Capitol led them to believe that the empire
was coming to an end. 'Once in old days the Gauls had captured Rome,
but her empire had stood firm since Jupiter's high-place was left
unscathed. But now, so the Druids[386] with superstitious folly kept
dinning into their ears, this fatal fire was a sign of Heaven's anger,
and meant that the Transalpine tribes were destined now to rule the
world. ' It was also persistently rumoured that the Gallic chieftains,
whom Otho had sent to work against Vitellius,[387] had agreed, before
they parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles in an
unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not fail the cause of the
Gallic freedom.
Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus[388] nothing had 55
leaked out to arouse suspicions of a conspiracy, but when he had been
assassinated, negotiations passed between Civilis and Classicus,[389]
who commanded the Treviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line and his stock was
famous both in peace and war. It was his boast that his family had
given Rome more enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran, the other a
Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed by Vitellius to watch the bank of
the Rhine. [390] Sabinus' natural vanity was further inflamed by
spurious pretensions of high birth, for he alleged that his
great-grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius Caesar
during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had committed adultery.
These four tested the temper of the rest in private interviews, and
having bound to the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they
held a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general feeling
in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs. A few of the Ubii
and Tungri, indeed, attended, but the Treviri and Lingonians were the
backbone of the conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that Rome was
distracted by internal quarrels; legions had been cut to pieces, Italy
devastated, the city was on the point of being taken, while all her
armies were occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when liberty had taken firm
root, they could discuss together what limit each tribe should set to
its exercise of power.
All this was no sooner spoken than applauded. About the remnant of 56
Vitellius' army they were in some doubt. Many held that they ought to
be killed as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained with the
blood of their generals. However, the idea of sparing them carried the
day. To destroy all hope of pardon would only steel their obstinacy:
it was much better to seduce them into alliance: only the generals
need be killed; a guilty conscience and the hope of pardon would soon
bring the rest flocking over to their flag. Such was the tenor of
their first meeting. Agitators were sent all over Gaul to stir up war.
The conspirators themselves feigned loyalty to Vocula, hoping to catch
him off his guard. [391] There were, indeed, traitors who reported all
this to Vocula, but he was not strong enough to crush the conspiracy,
his legions being short-handed and unreliable. Between suspected
troops on one side and secret enemies on the other, it seemed his best
course under the circumstances to dissemble, as they were doing, and
thus use their own weapons against them. So he marched down the river
to Cologne. There he found Claudius Labeo, who after being taken
prisoner, as described above,[392] and relegated to the Frisii, had
bribed his guards and escaped to Cologne. He promised that if Vocula
would provide him with troops, he would go to the Batavi and win back
the better part of their community to the Roman alliance. He was given
a small force of horse and foot. Without venturing any attempt upon
the Batavi, he attracted a few of the Nervii and Baetasii[393] to his
standard, and proceeded to harass the Canninefates and Marsaci[393]
more by stealth than open warfare.
Lured by the treachery of the Gauls, Vocula marched out against 57
his enemy. [394] Not far from Vetera, Classicus and Tutor rode
forward[395] on a pretext of scouting, and ratified their compact
with the German leaders. They were now for the first time separated
from the legions, and entrenched themselves in a camp of their own. At
this, Vocula loudly protested that Rome was not as yet so shattered by
civil war as to earn the contempt of tribes like the Treviri and
Lingones. She could still rely on loyal provinces and victorious
armies, on the good fortune of the empire and the avenging hand of
God. Thus it was that in former days Sacrovir and the Aedui,[396] more
lately Vindex and the Gallic provinces had each been crushed at a
single battle. Now, again, these treaty-breakers must expect to face
the same powers of Providence and Destiny. The sainted Julius and the
sainted Augustus had understood these people better: it was Galba's
reduction of the tribute[397] that had clothed them in enmity and
pride. 'They are our enemies to-day because their yoke is easy: when
they have been stripped and plundered they will be our friends. ' After
these spirited words, seeing that Classicus and Tutor still persisted
in their treachery, he turned back and retired to Novaesium, while the
Gauls encamped a couple of miles away. Thither the centurions and
soldiers flocked to sell their souls. This was, indeed, an unheard of
villainy that Roman soldiers should swear allegiance to a foreign
power, and offer as a pledge for this heinous crime either to kill or
imprison their generals. Though many urged Vocula to escape, he felt
that he must make a bold stand, so he summoned a meeting and spoke
somewhat as follows:--'Never before have I addressed you with such 58
feelings of anxiety for you, or with such indifference to my own fate.
That plans are being laid for my destruction I am glad enough to hear:
in such a parlous case as this I look for death as the end of all my
troubles. It is for you that I feel shame and pity. It is not that a
field of battle awaits you, for that would only accord with the laws
of warfare and the just rights of combatants, but because Classicus
hopes that with your hands he can make war upon the Roman people, and
flourishes before you an oath of allegiance to the Empire of All Gaul.
What though fortune and courage have deserted us for the moment, have
we not glorious examples in the past? How often have not Roman
soldiers chosen to die rather than be driven from their post? Often
have our allies endured the destruction of their cities and given
themselves and their wives and children to the flames, without any
other reward for such an end save the name of honourable men. At this
very moment Roman troops are enduring famine and siege at Vetera, and
neither threats nor promises can move them, while we, besides arms and
men and fine fortifications, have supplies enough to last through any
length of war. Money, too--the other day there was enough even for a
donative, and whether you choose to say that it was given you by
Vespasian or by Vitellius, at any rate you got it from a Roman
Emperor. After all the engagements you have won, after routing the
enemy at Gelduba, at Vetera, it would be shameful enough to shirk
battle, but you have your trenches and your walls, and there are ways
of gaining time until armies come flocking from the neighbouring
provinces to your rescue. Granted that you dislike me; well, there are
others to lead you, whether legate, tribune, centurion, and even
private soldier. But do not let this portent be trumpeted over the
whole world, that Civilis and Classicus are going to invade Italy with
you in their train. Suppose the Germans and Gauls lead the way to the
walls of Rome, will you turn your arms upon your fatherland? The mere
thought of such a crime is horrible. Will you stand sentry for the
Treviran Tutor? Shall a Batavian give you the signal for battle? Will
you swell the ranks of German hordes? And what will be the issue of
your crime, when the Roman legions take the field against you?
Desertion upon desertion, treachery upon treachery! You will be
drifting miserably between the old allegiance and the new, with the
curse of Heaven on your heads. Almighty Jupiter, whom we have
worshipped at triumph after triumph for eight hundred and twenty
years; and Quirinus, Father of our Rome, if it be not your pleasure
that under my command this camp be kept clean from the stain of
dishonour, grant at the least, I humbly beseech ye, that it never be
defiled with the pollution of a Tutor or a Classicus; and to these
soldiers of Rome give either innocence of heart or a speedy repentance
before the harm is done. '
The speech was variously received, with feelings fluctuating 59
between hope, fear, and shame. Vocula withdrew and began to prepare
for his end, but his freedmen and slaves prevented him from
forestalling by his own hand a dreadful death. As it was, Classicus
dispatched Aemilius Longinus, a deserter from the First legion, who
quickly murdered him. For Herennius and Numisius imprisonment was
thought sufficient. Classicus then assumed the uniform and insignia of
a Roman general, and thus entered the camp. Hardened though he was to
every kind of crime, words failed him,[398] and he could only read out
the oath. Those who were present swore allegiance to the Empire of All
Gaul. He then gave high promotion to Vocula's assassin, and rewarded
the others each according to the villainy of his service.
The command was now divided between Tutor and Classicus. Tutor at the
head of a strong force besieged Cologne and forced the inhabitants and
all the soldiers on the Upper Rhine to take the same oath of
allegiance. At Mainz he killed the officers and drove away the
camp-prefect, who had refused to swear. Classicus ordered all the
greatest scoundrels among the deserters to go to Vetera and offer
pardon to the besieged if they would yield to circumstances: otherwise
there was no hope for them: they should suffer famine and sword and
every extremity. The messengers further cited their own example.
Torn by a conflict of loyalty and hunger, the besieged vacillated 60
between honour and disgrace. While they hesitated, all their sources
of food, both usual and unusual, began to fail them. They had eaten
their mules and horses and all the other animals which, though foul
and unclean, their straits had forced into use. At last they took to
grubbing up the shrubs and roots and the grass that grew between the
stones, and became a very pattern of endurance in wretchedness, until
at last they soiled their glory by a shameful end. Envoys were sent to
Civilis begging him to save their lives. Even then he refused to
receive their petition until they had sworn allegiance to All Gaul. He
then negotiated for the plunder of the camp and sent guards, some to
secure the money, servants and baggage, and others to conduct the men
themselves out of the camp with empty hands. About five miles down the
road their line was surprised by an ambush of Germans. The bravest
fell on the spot; many were cut down in flight; the rest got back to
camp. Civilis, indeed, complained that the Germans had criminally
broken faith and rebuked them for it. There is no evidence to show
whether this was a pretence or whether he was really unable to
restrain his savage troops. The camp was plundered and burnt, and all
who had survived the battle were devoured by the flames.
When Civilis first took up arms against Rome he made a vow, such 61
as is common with barbarians, to let his ruddled hair[399] grow wild;
now that he had at last accomplished the destruction of the legions he
had it cut. It is said also that he put up some of the prisoners for
his little son to shoot in sport with javelins and arrows. However
that may be, he did not himself swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did
he force any of the Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose with the Gauls
about the empire, his fame would give him an advantage. Munius
Lupercus, one of the Roman commanding-officers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who wielded a
wide-spread authority. [400] It is an ancient custom in Germany to
credit a number of women with prophetic powers, and with the growth of
superstition these develop into goddesses. At this moment Veleda's
influence was at its height, for she had prophesied the success of the
Germans and the destruction of the Roman army. [401] However, Lupercus
was killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and officers who
had been born in Gaul were detained as a security for good faith. The
winter camps of the legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry
were all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of those at
Mainz and Vindonissa. [402]
The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who had surrendered 62
with it now received orders to migrate from their quarters at
Novaesium to Trier, and a date was fixed by which they had to leave
their camp. They spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties, the
cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the massacre at Vetera, the
better sort covered with shame at their disgrace. 'What sort of a
march would this be? Whom would they have to lead them? Everything
would be decided by the will of those into whose hands they had put
their lives. ' Others, again, were quite indifferent to the disgrace,
and simply stowed all their money and most cherished possessions about
their persons, while many got their armour ready and buckled on their
swords, as if for battle. While they were still busy with these
preparations the hour struck for their departure, and it proved more
bitter than they had expected. Inside the trenches their disgrace was
not so noticeable. The open country and the light of day revealed
their depth of shame. The emperors' medallions had been torn down[403]
and their standards desecrated, while Gallic ensigns glittered all
around them. They marched in silence, like a long funeral procession,
led by Claudius Sanctus,[404] a man whose sinister appearance--he had
lost one eye--was only surpassed by his weakness of intellect. Their
disgrace was doubled when they were joined by the First legion, who
had left their camp at Bonn. The famous news of their capture had
spread, and all the people who shortly before had trembled at the very
name of Rome, now came flocking out from fields and houses, and
scattered far and wide in transports of joy at this unwonted sight.
Their insulting glee was too much for 'The Picenum Horse'. [405]
Defying all Sanctus' threats and promises, they turned off to Mainz,
and coming by chance upon Longinus, the man who killed Vocula, they
slew him with a shower of javelins and thus made a beginning of future
amends. The legions, without changing their route, came and camped
before the walls of Trier.
Highly elated by their success, Civilis and Classicus debated 63
whether they should allow their troops to sack Cologne. Their natural
savagery and lust for plunder inclined them to destroy the town, but
policy forbade; and they felt that in inaugurating a new empire a
reputation for clemency would be an asset. Civilis was also moved by
the memory of a past service, for at the beginning of the outbreak his
son had been arrested in Cologne, and they had kept him in honourable
custody. However, the tribes across the Rhine were jealous of this
rich and rising community, and held that the war could only be ended
either by throwing the settlement open to all Germans without
distinction or by destroying it and thereby dispersing the Ubii 64
together with its other inhabitants. [406] Accordingly the
Tencteri,[407] their nearest neighbours across the Rhine, dispatched a
deputation to lay a message before a public meeting of the town. This
was delivered by the haughtiest of the delegates in some such terms as
these:--'We give thanks to the national gods of Germany and above all
others, to the god of war, that you are again incorporate in the
German nation and the German name, and we congratulate you that you
will now at last become free members of a free community. Until to-day
the Romans had closed to us the roads and rivers, and almost the very
air of heaven, to prevent all intercourse between us; or else they
offered a still fouler insult to born warriors, that we should meet
under supervision, unarmed and almost naked,[408] and should pay for
the privilege. Now, that our friendly alliance may be ratified for all
eternity, we demand of you that you pull down those bulwarks of
slavery, the walls of your town, for even wild beasts lose their
spirit if you keep them caged: that you put to the sword every Roman
on your soil, since tyrants are incompatible with freedom; that all
the property of those killed form a common stock and no one be
allowed to conceal anything or to secure any private advantage. It
must also be open both for us and for you to live on either
river-bank, as our forefathers could in earlier days. As daylight is
the natural heritage of all mankind, so the land of the world is free
to all brave men. Resume again the customs and manners of your own
country and throw off those luxurious habits which enslave Rome's
subjects far more effectively than Roman arms. Then, grown simple and
uncorrupt, you will forget your past slavery and either know none but
equals or hold empire over others. '
The townspeople took time to consider these proposals, and, 65
feeling that their apprehensions for the future forbade them to
assent, while their present circumstances forbade them to return a
plain negative, they answered as follows: 'We have seized our first
opportunity of freedom with more haste than prudence, because we
wanted to join hands with you and all our other German kinsmen. As for
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down. All the foreigners from Italy or the provinces who lived on our
soil have either perished in the war or fled to their own homes. As
for the original settlers[409], who are united to us by ties of
marriage, they and their offspring regard this as their home, and we
do not think you are so unreasonable as to ask us to kill our parents
and brothers and children. All taxes and commercial restrictions we
remit. We grant you free entry without supervision, but you must come
in daylight and unarmed, while these ties which are still strange and
new are growing into a long-established custom. As arbitrators we will
appoint Civilis and Veleda, and we will ratify our compact in their
presence. '
Thus the Tencteri were pacified. A deputation was sent with presents
to Civilis and Veleda, and obtained all that the people of Cologne
desired. They were not, however, allowed to approach and speak to
Veleda or even to see her, but were kept at a distance to inspire in
them the greater awe. She herself lived at the top of a high tower,
and one of her relatives was appointed to carry all the questions and
answers like a mediator between God and man.
Now that he had gained the accession of Cologne, Civilis 66
determined to win over the neighbouring communities or to declare war
in case of opposition. He reduced the Sunuci[410] and formed their
fighting strength into cohorts, but then found his advance barred by
Claudius Labeo[411] at the head of a hastily-recruited band of
Baetasii, Tungri, and Nervii. [411] He had secured the bridge over the
Maas and relied on the strength of his position. A skirmish in the
narrow defile proved indecisive, until the Germans swam across and
took Labeo in the rear. At this point Civilis by a bold move--or
possibly by arrangement--rode into the lines of the Tungri and called
out in a loud voice, 'Our object in taking up arms is not to secure
empire for the Batavi and Treviri over other tribes. We are far from
any such arrogance. Take us as allies. I am come to join you; whether
as general or as private it is for you to choose. ' This had a great
effect on the common soldiers, who began to sheathe their swords. Then
two of their chieftains, Campanus and Juvenalis, surrendered the
entire tribe. Labeo escaped before he was surrounded. Civilis also
received the allegiance of the Baetasii and Nervii, and added their
forces to his own. His power was now immense, for all the Gallic
communities were either terrified or ready to offer willing support.
In the meantime, Julius Sabinus,[412] who had destroyed every 67
memorial of the Roman alliance,[413] assumed the title of Caesar and
proceeded to hurry a large unwieldy horde of his tribesmen against the
Sequani,[414] a neighbouring community, faithful to Rome. The Sequani
accepted battle: the good cause prospered: the Lingones were routed.
Sabinus fled the field with the same rash haste with which he had
plunged into battle. Wishing to spread a rumour of his death, he took
refuge in a house and set fire to it, and was thus supposed to have
perished by his own act. We shall, however, relate in due course the
devices by which he lay in hiding and prolonged his life for nine
more years, and allude also to the loyalty of his friends and the
memorable example set by his wife Epponina. [415]
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Tacitus here resumes the thread of his narrative of the
rebellion on the Rhine, interrupted at the end of chap. 37,
and goes back from July to January, A. D. 70.
[385] Cp. iii. 46.
[386] The danger of Druidism was always before the eyes of the
emperors. Augustus had forbidden Roman citizens to adopt it.
Claudius had tried to stamp it out in Gaul and in Britain, yet
they appear again here to preach a fanatic nationalism.
However, this seems to be their last appearance as leaders of
revolt.
[387] Probably they were in Rome, and were sent back to their
homes to intrigue against Vitellius' rising power.
[388] See chap. 36.
[389] Cp. ii. 14.
[390] i. e. he was to prevent any incursions from Germany along
the frontier of his canton, between Bingen and Coblenz.
[391] At Mainz.
[392] Chap. 18.
[393] These tribes lived between the Maas and the Scheldt, and
the Marsaci were round the mouth of the Scheldt.
[394] Civilis, again besieging Vetera (chap. 36).
[395] i. e. from the rest of Vocula's force, which they had not
yet deserted.
[396] The Aedui, one of the most powerful of the Gallic
tribes, living between the Saône and the Loire had revolted in
A. D. 21, and held out for a short time at their chief town
(Autun).
[397] This had only been granted to a few tribes who had
helped in crushing Vindex (see i. 8 and 51). The Treviri and
Lingones had been punished. But it is a good rhetorical point.
[398] His presumption took away his breath.
[399] i.
terrified at their isolation, and felt they were being told off for
slaughter. They embraced their comrades and clung upon their necks,
asking for one last kiss, begging not to be left alone, crying out,
'Our cause is the same as yours, why should our fate be different? '
They appealed now to Mucianus, now to the absent emperor, and lastly
to the powers of Heaven, until Mucianus came to the rescue of their
imaginary terrors by calling them all 'sworn servants of one emperor',
for he found that the victorious army was joining in and seconding
their tears with cheering. On that day the matter ended there. A few
days later, when Domitian addressed them, they received him with
renewed confidence, refused his offer of lands, and begged for
enlistment and their pay instead. This was only a petition, but one
that could not be refused: so they were admitted to the Guards.
Subsequently, those who had grown old and completed the regular term
of service[359] were honourably discharged. Others were dismissed for
misbehaviour, but one by one at different times, which is always the
safest method of weakening any kind of conspiracy.
To return to the senate; a bill was now passed that a loan of 47
sixty million sesterces should be raised from private individuals and
administered by Pompeius Silvanus. This may have been a financial
necessity, or they may have wanted it to seem so. At any rate the
necessity soon ceased to exist, or else they gave up the pretence.
Domitian then carried a proposal that the consulships conferred by
Vitellius should be cancelled, and that a state funeral should be held
in honour of Flavius Sabinus. [360] Both proposals are striking
evidence of the fickleness of human fortune, which so often makes the
first last and the last first.
It was about this time that Lucius Piso,[361] the pro-consul of 48
Africa, was killed. To give a true explanation of this murder we must
go back and take a brief survey of certain matters which are closely
connected with the reasons for such crimes. Under the sainted Augustus
and Tiberius the pro-consul of Africa had in his command one legion
and some auxiliaries with which to guard the frontier of the
empire. [362] Caligula, who was restless by nature and harboured
suspicions of the then pro-consul, Marcus Silanus, withdrew the
legion from his command and put it under a legate whom he sent out for
the purpose. As each had an equal amount of patronage and their
functions overlapped, Caligula thus caused a state of friction which
was further aggravated by regrettable quarrels. The greater permanence
of his tenure[363] gradually strengthened the legate's position, and
perhaps an inferior is always anxious to vie with his betters. The
most eminent governors, on the other hand, were more careful of their
comfort than of their authority.
At the present time the legion in Africa was commanded by Valerius 49
Festus,[364] an extravagant young man, immoderately ambitious, whose
kinship with Vitellius had given him some anxiety. He had frequent
interviews with Piso, and it is impossible to tell whether he tempted
Piso to rebel or resisted Piso's temptations. No one was present at
their interviews, which were held in private, and after Piso's death
most people were inclined to sympathize with his murderer. Beyond
doubt the province and the garrison were unfavourable to Vespasian.
Besides, some of the Vitellian refugees from Rome pointed out to Piso
that the Gallic provinces were wavering. Germany was ready to rebel,
and he himself was in danger; 'and,' they added, 'if you earn
suspicion in peace your safest course is war. ' Meanwhile, Claudius
Sagitta, who commanded Petra's Horse,[365] made a good crossing and
outstripped the centurion Papirius, who had been sent out by Mucianus
and was commissioned, so Sagitta affirmed, to assassinate Piso.
Sagitta further stated that Galerianus,[366] Piso's cousin and
son-in-law, had already been murdered, and told him that while his one
hope lay in taking a bold step, there were two courses open to him: he
might either take up arms on the spot, or he might prefer to sail to
Gaul and offer to lead the Vitellian armies. This made no impression
on Piso. When the centurion whom Mucianus had sent arrived at the
gates of Carthage, he kept on shouting all sorts of congratulations to
Piso on becoming emperor. The people he met, who were astounded at
this unexpected miracle, were instructed to take up the cry. With a
crowd's usual credulity, they rushed into the forum calling on Piso to
appear, and as they had a passion for flattery and took no interest in
the truth, they proceeded to fill the whole place with a confused
noise of cheering. Piso, however, either at a hint from Sagitta, or
from his natural good sense, would not show himself in public or give
way to the excitement of the crowd. He examined the centurion, and
learnt that his object was to trump up a charge against him and then
kill him. [367] He accordingly had the man executed more from
indignation against the assassin than in any hope of saving his life;
for he found that the man had been one of the murderers of Clodius
Macer,[368] and after staining his hand in the blood of a military
officer was now proposing to turn it against a civil governor. Piso
then reprimanded the Carthaginians in an edict which clearly showed
his anxiety, and refrained from performing even the routine of his
office, shutting himself up in his house, for fear that he might by
accident provide some pretext for further demonstrations.
When the news of the popular excitement and the centurion's 50
execution reached the ears of Festus, considerably exaggerated and
with the usual admixture of falsehood, he at once sent off a party of
horsemen to murder Piso. Riding at full speed, they reached the
governor's house in the twilight of early dawn and broke in with drawn
swords. As Festus had mainly chosen Carthaginian auxiliaries and Moors
to do the murder, most of them did not know Piso by sight. However,
near his bedroom they happened on a slave and asked him where Piso was
and what he looked like. In answer the slave told them a heroic lie
and said he was Piso, whereupon they immediately cut him down.
However, Piso himself was killed very soon after, for there was one
man among them who knew him, and that was Baebius Massa, one of the
imperial agents in Africa, who was already a danger to all the best
men in Rome. His name will recur again and again in this narrative, as
one of the causes of the troubles which beset us later on. [369]
Festus had been waiting at Adrumetum[370] to see how things went, and
he now hastened to rejoin his legion. He had the camp-prefect,
Caetronius Pisanus, put in irons, alleging that he was one of Piso's
accomplices, though his real motive was personal dislike. He then
punished some of the soldiers and centurions and rewarded others; in
neither case for their deserts, but because he wanted it to be thought
that he had stamped out a war. His next task was to settle the
differences between Oea and Lepcis. [371] These had had a trivial
origin in thefts of fruit and cattle by the peasants, but they were
now trying to settle them in open warfare. Oea, being inferior in
numbers, had called in the aid of the Garamantes,[372] an invincible
tribe, who were always a fruitful source of damage to their
neighbours. Thus the people of Lepcis were in great straits. Their
fields had been wasted far and wide, and they had fled in terror under
shelter of their walls, when the Roman auxiliaries, both horse and
foot, arrived on the scene. They routed the Garamantes and recovered
all the booty, except what the nomads had already sold among the
inaccessible hut-settlements of the far interior.
After the battle of Cremona and the arrival of good news from 51
every quarter, Vespasian now heard of Vitellius' death. A large number
of people of all classes, who were as lucky as they were adventurous,
successfully braved the winter seas on purpose to bring him the
news. [373] There also arrived envoys from King Vologaesus offering the
services of forty thousand Parthian cavalry. [374] It was, indeed, a
proud and fortunate situation to be courted with such splendid offers
of assistance, and to need none of them. Vologaesus was duly thanked
and instructed to send his envoys to the senate and to understand that
peace had been made. Vespasian now devoted his attention to the
affairs of Italy and the Capitol, and received an unfavourable report
of Domitian, who seemed to be trespassing beyond the natural sphere of
an emperor's youthful son. He accordingly handed over the flower of
his army to Titus, who was to finish off the war with the Jews. [375]
It is said that before his departure Titus had a long talk with 52
his father and begged him not to be rash and lose his temper at these
incriminating reports, but to meet his son in a forgiving and
unprejudiced spirit, 'Neither legions nor fleets,' he is reported to
have said, 'are such sure bulwarks of the throne as a number of
children. Time, chance and often, too, ambition and misunderstanding
weaken, alienate or extinguish friendship: a man's own blood cannot be
severed from him; and above all is this the case with a sovereign,
for, while others enjoy his good fortune, his misfortunes only concern
his nearest kin. Nor again are brothers likely to remain good friends
unless their father sets them an example. ' These words had the effect
of making Vespasian rather delighted at Titus' goodness of heart than
inclined to forgive Domitian. 'You may ease your mind,' he said to
Titus, 'It is now your duty to increase the prestige of Rome on the
field: I will concern myself with peace at home. ' Though the weather
was still very rough, Vespasian at once launched his fastest
corn-ships with a full cargo. For the city was on the verge of
famine. [376] Indeed, there were not supplies for more than ten days in
the public granaries at the moment when Vespasian's convoy brought
relief.
The task of restoring the Capitol[377] was entrusted to Lucius 53
Vestinus, who, though only a knight, yet in reputation and influence
could rank with the highest. He summoned all the soothsayers,[378] and
they recommended that the ruins of the former temple should be carried
away to the marshes[379] and a new temple erected on the same site:
the gods were unwilling, they said, that the original form of the
building should be changed. On the 21st of June, a day of bright
sunshine, the whole consecrated area of the temple was decorated with
chaplets and garlands. In marched soldiers, all men with names of good
omen, carrying branches of lucky trees:[380] then came the Vestal
Virgins accompanied by boys and girls, each of whom had father and
mother alive,[381] and they cleansed it all by sprinkling fresh water
from a spring or river. [382] Next, while the high priest, Plautius
Aelianus, dictated the proper formulae, Helvidius Priscus, the
praetor, first consecrated the site by a solemn sacrifice[383] of a
pig, a sheep and an ox, and then duly offering the entrails on an
altar of turf, he prayed to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, as the
guardian deities of the empire, to prosper the enterprise, and by
divine grace to bring to completion this house of theirs which human
piety had here begun. He then took hold of the chaplets to which the
ropes holding the foundation-stone were attached. At the same moment
the other magistrates and the priests and senators and knights and
large numbers of the populace in joyous excitement with one great
effort dragged the huge stone into its place. On every side gifts of
gold and silver were flung into the foundations, and blocks of virgin
ore unscathed by any furnace, just as they had come from the womb of
the earth. For the soothsayers had given out that the building must
not be desecrated by the use of stone or gold that had been put to any
other purpose. The height of the roof was raised. This was the only
change that religious scruples would allow, and it was felt to be the
only point in which the former temple lacked grandeur.
FOOTNOTES:
[331] We now reach the year A. D. 70. Vespasian had already
been consul under Claudius in 51.
[332] In the absence of both consuls.
[333] i. e. Sohaemus, Antiochus, and Agrippa (cp. ii. 81).
[334] Cp. ii. 85.
[335] Cp. iii. 52.
[336] Vespasian's freedman (cp. iii. 12, 28. )
[337] The elder brother of Galba's adopted son Piso.
[338] See ii. 65. He must by now have ceased to be absentee
governor.
[339] It was to the command of this legion that Galba promoted
Antonius (see ii. 86).
[340] Varus had served under Corbulo in Syria.
[341] In his life of _Agricola_ Tacitus speaks of Domitian's
red face as 'his natural bulwark against shame'.
[342] See chap. 39.
[343] See chap. 10.
[344] i. e. Publius Celer. As this Demetrius was present with
Thrasea at the end, holding high philosophical discourse with
him (_Ann. _ xvi. 34), he seems to have been a Cynic in the
modern sense as well.
[345] Another Stoic malcontent, brother of the Arulenus
Rusticus mentioned in iii. 80.
[346] According to Dio they were two devoted and inseparable
brothers. They became governors, one of Upper and the other of
Lower Germany, and, being wealthy, were forced by Nero to
commit suicide.
[347] Cp. ii. 10.
[348] Cp. iii. 9.
[349] Cp. i. 48, note 79.
[350] Twenty-five.
[351] Piso was a brother of Regulus' victim. He was therefore
glad to see him incapable of reprisal.
[352] i. e. there was no property left to tempt Nero.
[353] i. e. the money and other rewards won by prosecuting
Crassus and Orfitus.
[354] Nero.
[355] He had recited some libellous verses on Nero and been
condemned for treason.
[356] Cp. ii. 67.
[357] i. e. those who had surrendered at Narnia and Bovillae,
as distinct from those who had been discharged after Galba's
death.
[358] Chap. 2.
[359] i. e. those who were either over fifty or had served in
the Guards sixteen or in a legion twenty years.
[360] See iii. 74.
[361] See chap. 38.
[362] Africa was peculiar in that the pro-consul, who governed
it for the senate, commanded an army. All the other provinces
demanding military protection were under imperial control.
Caligula, without withdrawing the province from the senate, in
some degree regularized the anomaly by transferring this
command to a 'legate' of his own, technically inferior to the
civil governor.
[363] Whereas the pro-consul's appointment was for one year
only, the emperor's legate retained his post at the emperor's
pleasure, and was usually given several years.
[364] Cp. ii. 98.
[365] See i. 70.
[366] See chap. 11.
[367] i. e. he hoped that Piso would accept the story with
alacrity and thus commit himself.
[368] Cp. i. 7.
[369] Under Domitian he became one of the most notorious and
dreaded of informers. His name doubtless recurred in the lost
books of the Histories. But the only other extant mention of
him by Tacitus is in the life of Agricola (chap. 45).
[370] On the coast between Carthage and Thapsus.
[371] Tripoli and Lebda.
[372] Further inland; probably the modern Fezzan.
[373] Vespasian was still at Alexandria.
[374] Cp. ii. 82, note 410.
[375] Cp. ii. 4 and Book V.
[376] It had been Vespasian's original plan to starve Rome out
by holding the granaries of Egypt and Africa. See iii. 48.
[377] Cp. iii. 71.
[378] Probably from Etruria, where certain families were
credited with the requisite knowledge and skill. Claudius had
established a College of Soothsayers in Rome. They ranked
lower than the Augurs.
[379] At Ostia.
[380] Their names would suggest prosperity and success, e. g.
Salvius, Victor, Valerius, and they would carry branches of
oak, laurel, myrtle, or beech.
[381] This too was 'lucky' and a common ritualistic
requirement.
[382] The 'holy water' must come from certain streams of
special sanctity, such as the Tiber or its tributary, the
Almo.
The water would be sprinkled from the 'lucky' branches.
[383] To the god Mars.
THE LOSS OF GERMANY
Meanwhile,[384] the news of Vitellius' death had spread through 54
Gaul and Germany and redoubled the vigour of the war. Civilis now
dropped all pretence and hurled himself upon the Roman Empire. The
Vitellian legions felt that even foreign slavery was preferable to
owning Vespasian's sovereignty. The Gauls too had taken heart. A
rumour had been spread that our winter camps in Moesia and Pannonia
were being blockaded by Sarmatians and Dacians:[385] similar stories
were fabricated about Britain: the Gauls began to think that the
fortune of the Roman arms was the same all the world over. But above
all, the burning of the Capitol led them to believe that the empire
was coming to an end. 'Once in old days the Gauls had captured Rome,
but her empire had stood firm since Jupiter's high-place was left
unscathed. But now, so the Druids[386] with superstitious folly kept
dinning into their ears, this fatal fire was a sign of Heaven's anger,
and meant that the Transalpine tribes were destined now to rule the
world. ' It was also persistently rumoured that the Gallic chieftains,
whom Otho had sent to work against Vitellius,[387] had agreed, before
they parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles in an
unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not fail the cause of the
Gallic freedom.
Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus[388] nothing had 55
leaked out to arouse suspicions of a conspiracy, but when he had been
assassinated, negotiations passed between Civilis and Classicus,[389]
who commanded the Treviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line and his stock was
famous both in peace and war. It was his boast that his family had
given Rome more enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran, the other a
Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed by Vitellius to watch the bank of
the Rhine. [390] Sabinus' natural vanity was further inflamed by
spurious pretensions of high birth, for he alleged that his
great-grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius Caesar
during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had committed adultery.
These four tested the temper of the rest in private interviews, and
having bound to the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they
held a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general feeling
in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs. A few of the Ubii
and Tungri, indeed, attended, but the Treviri and Lingonians were the
backbone of the conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that Rome was
distracted by internal quarrels; legions had been cut to pieces, Italy
devastated, the city was on the point of being taken, while all her
armies were occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when liberty had taken firm
root, they could discuss together what limit each tribe should set to
its exercise of power.
All this was no sooner spoken than applauded. About the remnant of 56
Vitellius' army they were in some doubt. Many held that they ought to
be killed as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained with the
blood of their generals. However, the idea of sparing them carried the
day. To destroy all hope of pardon would only steel their obstinacy:
it was much better to seduce them into alliance: only the generals
need be killed; a guilty conscience and the hope of pardon would soon
bring the rest flocking over to their flag. Such was the tenor of
their first meeting. Agitators were sent all over Gaul to stir up war.
The conspirators themselves feigned loyalty to Vocula, hoping to catch
him off his guard. [391] There were, indeed, traitors who reported all
this to Vocula, but he was not strong enough to crush the conspiracy,
his legions being short-handed and unreliable. Between suspected
troops on one side and secret enemies on the other, it seemed his best
course under the circumstances to dissemble, as they were doing, and
thus use their own weapons against them. So he marched down the river
to Cologne. There he found Claudius Labeo, who after being taken
prisoner, as described above,[392] and relegated to the Frisii, had
bribed his guards and escaped to Cologne. He promised that if Vocula
would provide him with troops, he would go to the Batavi and win back
the better part of their community to the Roman alliance. He was given
a small force of horse and foot. Without venturing any attempt upon
the Batavi, he attracted a few of the Nervii and Baetasii[393] to his
standard, and proceeded to harass the Canninefates and Marsaci[393]
more by stealth than open warfare.
Lured by the treachery of the Gauls, Vocula marched out against 57
his enemy. [394] Not far from Vetera, Classicus and Tutor rode
forward[395] on a pretext of scouting, and ratified their compact
with the German leaders. They were now for the first time separated
from the legions, and entrenched themselves in a camp of their own. At
this, Vocula loudly protested that Rome was not as yet so shattered by
civil war as to earn the contempt of tribes like the Treviri and
Lingones. She could still rely on loyal provinces and victorious
armies, on the good fortune of the empire and the avenging hand of
God. Thus it was that in former days Sacrovir and the Aedui,[396] more
lately Vindex and the Gallic provinces had each been crushed at a
single battle. Now, again, these treaty-breakers must expect to face
the same powers of Providence and Destiny. The sainted Julius and the
sainted Augustus had understood these people better: it was Galba's
reduction of the tribute[397] that had clothed them in enmity and
pride. 'They are our enemies to-day because their yoke is easy: when
they have been stripped and plundered they will be our friends. ' After
these spirited words, seeing that Classicus and Tutor still persisted
in their treachery, he turned back and retired to Novaesium, while the
Gauls encamped a couple of miles away. Thither the centurions and
soldiers flocked to sell their souls. This was, indeed, an unheard of
villainy that Roman soldiers should swear allegiance to a foreign
power, and offer as a pledge for this heinous crime either to kill or
imprison their generals. Though many urged Vocula to escape, he felt
that he must make a bold stand, so he summoned a meeting and spoke
somewhat as follows:--'Never before have I addressed you with such 58
feelings of anxiety for you, or with such indifference to my own fate.
That plans are being laid for my destruction I am glad enough to hear:
in such a parlous case as this I look for death as the end of all my
troubles. It is for you that I feel shame and pity. It is not that a
field of battle awaits you, for that would only accord with the laws
of warfare and the just rights of combatants, but because Classicus
hopes that with your hands he can make war upon the Roman people, and
flourishes before you an oath of allegiance to the Empire of All Gaul.
What though fortune and courage have deserted us for the moment, have
we not glorious examples in the past? How often have not Roman
soldiers chosen to die rather than be driven from their post? Often
have our allies endured the destruction of their cities and given
themselves and their wives and children to the flames, without any
other reward for such an end save the name of honourable men. At this
very moment Roman troops are enduring famine and siege at Vetera, and
neither threats nor promises can move them, while we, besides arms and
men and fine fortifications, have supplies enough to last through any
length of war. Money, too--the other day there was enough even for a
donative, and whether you choose to say that it was given you by
Vespasian or by Vitellius, at any rate you got it from a Roman
Emperor. After all the engagements you have won, after routing the
enemy at Gelduba, at Vetera, it would be shameful enough to shirk
battle, but you have your trenches and your walls, and there are ways
of gaining time until armies come flocking from the neighbouring
provinces to your rescue. Granted that you dislike me; well, there are
others to lead you, whether legate, tribune, centurion, and even
private soldier. But do not let this portent be trumpeted over the
whole world, that Civilis and Classicus are going to invade Italy with
you in their train. Suppose the Germans and Gauls lead the way to the
walls of Rome, will you turn your arms upon your fatherland? The mere
thought of such a crime is horrible. Will you stand sentry for the
Treviran Tutor? Shall a Batavian give you the signal for battle? Will
you swell the ranks of German hordes? And what will be the issue of
your crime, when the Roman legions take the field against you?
Desertion upon desertion, treachery upon treachery! You will be
drifting miserably between the old allegiance and the new, with the
curse of Heaven on your heads. Almighty Jupiter, whom we have
worshipped at triumph after triumph for eight hundred and twenty
years; and Quirinus, Father of our Rome, if it be not your pleasure
that under my command this camp be kept clean from the stain of
dishonour, grant at the least, I humbly beseech ye, that it never be
defiled with the pollution of a Tutor or a Classicus; and to these
soldiers of Rome give either innocence of heart or a speedy repentance
before the harm is done. '
The speech was variously received, with feelings fluctuating 59
between hope, fear, and shame. Vocula withdrew and began to prepare
for his end, but his freedmen and slaves prevented him from
forestalling by his own hand a dreadful death. As it was, Classicus
dispatched Aemilius Longinus, a deserter from the First legion, who
quickly murdered him. For Herennius and Numisius imprisonment was
thought sufficient. Classicus then assumed the uniform and insignia of
a Roman general, and thus entered the camp. Hardened though he was to
every kind of crime, words failed him,[398] and he could only read out
the oath. Those who were present swore allegiance to the Empire of All
Gaul. He then gave high promotion to Vocula's assassin, and rewarded
the others each according to the villainy of his service.
The command was now divided between Tutor and Classicus. Tutor at the
head of a strong force besieged Cologne and forced the inhabitants and
all the soldiers on the Upper Rhine to take the same oath of
allegiance. At Mainz he killed the officers and drove away the
camp-prefect, who had refused to swear. Classicus ordered all the
greatest scoundrels among the deserters to go to Vetera and offer
pardon to the besieged if they would yield to circumstances: otherwise
there was no hope for them: they should suffer famine and sword and
every extremity. The messengers further cited their own example.
Torn by a conflict of loyalty and hunger, the besieged vacillated 60
between honour and disgrace. While they hesitated, all their sources
of food, both usual and unusual, began to fail them. They had eaten
their mules and horses and all the other animals which, though foul
and unclean, their straits had forced into use. At last they took to
grubbing up the shrubs and roots and the grass that grew between the
stones, and became a very pattern of endurance in wretchedness, until
at last they soiled their glory by a shameful end. Envoys were sent to
Civilis begging him to save their lives. Even then he refused to
receive their petition until they had sworn allegiance to All Gaul. He
then negotiated for the plunder of the camp and sent guards, some to
secure the money, servants and baggage, and others to conduct the men
themselves out of the camp with empty hands. About five miles down the
road their line was surprised by an ambush of Germans. The bravest
fell on the spot; many were cut down in flight; the rest got back to
camp. Civilis, indeed, complained that the Germans had criminally
broken faith and rebuked them for it. There is no evidence to show
whether this was a pretence or whether he was really unable to
restrain his savage troops. The camp was plundered and burnt, and all
who had survived the battle were devoured by the flames.
When Civilis first took up arms against Rome he made a vow, such 61
as is common with barbarians, to let his ruddled hair[399] grow wild;
now that he had at last accomplished the destruction of the legions he
had it cut. It is said also that he put up some of the prisoners for
his little son to shoot in sport with javelins and arrows. However
that may be, he did not himself swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did
he force any of the Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose with the Gauls
about the empire, his fame would give him an advantage. Munius
Lupercus, one of the Roman commanding-officers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who wielded a
wide-spread authority. [400] It is an ancient custom in Germany to
credit a number of women with prophetic powers, and with the growth of
superstition these develop into goddesses. At this moment Veleda's
influence was at its height, for she had prophesied the success of the
Germans and the destruction of the Roman army. [401] However, Lupercus
was killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and officers who
had been born in Gaul were detained as a security for good faith. The
winter camps of the legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry
were all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of those at
Mainz and Vindonissa. [402]
The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who had surrendered 62
with it now received orders to migrate from their quarters at
Novaesium to Trier, and a date was fixed by which they had to leave
their camp. They spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties, the
cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the massacre at Vetera, the
better sort covered with shame at their disgrace. 'What sort of a
march would this be? Whom would they have to lead them? Everything
would be decided by the will of those into whose hands they had put
their lives. ' Others, again, were quite indifferent to the disgrace,
and simply stowed all their money and most cherished possessions about
their persons, while many got their armour ready and buckled on their
swords, as if for battle. While they were still busy with these
preparations the hour struck for their departure, and it proved more
bitter than they had expected. Inside the trenches their disgrace was
not so noticeable. The open country and the light of day revealed
their depth of shame. The emperors' medallions had been torn down[403]
and their standards desecrated, while Gallic ensigns glittered all
around them. They marched in silence, like a long funeral procession,
led by Claudius Sanctus,[404] a man whose sinister appearance--he had
lost one eye--was only surpassed by his weakness of intellect. Their
disgrace was doubled when they were joined by the First legion, who
had left their camp at Bonn. The famous news of their capture had
spread, and all the people who shortly before had trembled at the very
name of Rome, now came flocking out from fields and houses, and
scattered far and wide in transports of joy at this unwonted sight.
Their insulting glee was too much for 'The Picenum Horse'. [405]
Defying all Sanctus' threats and promises, they turned off to Mainz,
and coming by chance upon Longinus, the man who killed Vocula, they
slew him with a shower of javelins and thus made a beginning of future
amends. The legions, without changing their route, came and camped
before the walls of Trier.
Highly elated by their success, Civilis and Classicus debated 63
whether they should allow their troops to sack Cologne. Their natural
savagery and lust for plunder inclined them to destroy the town, but
policy forbade; and they felt that in inaugurating a new empire a
reputation for clemency would be an asset. Civilis was also moved by
the memory of a past service, for at the beginning of the outbreak his
son had been arrested in Cologne, and they had kept him in honourable
custody. However, the tribes across the Rhine were jealous of this
rich and rising community, and held that the war could only be ended
either by throwing the settlement open to all Germans without
distinction or by destroying it and thereby dispersing the Ubii 64
together with its other inhabitants. [406] Accordingly the
Tencteri,[407] their nearest neighbours across the Rhine, dispatched a
deputation to lay a message before a public meeting of the town. This
was delivered by the haughtiest of the delegates in some such terms as
these:--'We give thanks to the national gods of Germany and above all
others, to the god of war, that you are again incorporate in the
German nation and the German name, and we congratulate you that you
will now at last become free members of a free community. Until to-day
the Romans had closed to us the roads and rivers, and almost the very
air of heaven, to prevent all intercourse between us; or else they
offered a still fouler insult to born warriors, that we should meet
under supervision, unarmed and almost naked,[408] and should pay for
the privilege. Now, that our friendly alliance may be ratified for all
eternity, we demand of you that you pull down those bulwarks of
slavery, the walls of your town, for even wild beasts lose their
spirit if you keep them caged: that you put to the sword every Roman
on your soil, since tyrants are incompatible with freedom; that all
the property of those killed form a common stock and no one be
allowed to conceal anything or to secure any private advantage. It
must also be open both for us and for you to live on either
river-bank, as our forefathers could in earlier days. As daylight is
the natural heritage of all mankind, so the land of the world is free
to all brave men. Resume again the customs and manners of your own
country and throw off those luxurious habits which enslave Rome's
subjects far more effectively than Roman arms. Then, grown simple and
uncorrupt, you will forget your past slavery and either know none but
equals or hold empire over others. '
The townspeople took time to consider these proposals, and, 65
feeling that their apprehensions for the future forbade them to
assent, while their present circumstances forbade them to return a
plain negative, they answered as follows: 'We have seized our first
opportunity of freedom with more haste than prudence, because we
wanted to join hands with you and all our other German kinsmen. As for
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down. All the foreigners from Italy or the provinces who lived on our
soil have either perished in the war or fled to their own homes. As
for the original settlers[409], who are united to us by ties of
marriage, they and their offspring regard this as their home, and we
do not think you are so unreasonable as to ask us to kill our parents
and brothers and children. All taxes and commercial restrictions we
remit. We grant you free entry without supervision, but you must come
in daylight and unarmed, while these ties which are still strange and
new are growing into a long-established custom. As arbitrators we will
appoint Civilis and Veleda, and we will ratify our compact in their
presence. '
Thus the Tencteri were pacified. A deputation was sent with presents
to Civilis and Veleda, and obtained all that the people of Cologne
desired. They were not, however, allowed to approach and speak to
Veleda or even to see her, but were kept at a distance to inspire in
them the greater awe. She herself lived at the top of a high tower,
and one of her relatives was appointed to carry all the questions and
answers like a mediator between God and man.
Now that he had gained the accession of Cologne, Civilis 66
determined to win over the neighbouring communities or to declare war
in case of opposition. He reduced the Sunuci[410] and formed their
fighting strength into cohorts, but then found his advance barred by
Claudius Labeo[411] at the head of a hastily-recruited band of
Baetasii, Tungri, and Nervii. [411] He had secured the bridge over the
Maas and relied on the strength of his position. A skirmish in the
narrow defile proved indecisive, until the Germans swam across and
took Labeo in the rear. At this point Civilis by a bold move--or
possibly by arrangement--rode into the lines of the Tungri and called
out in a loud voice, 'Our object in taking up arms is not to secure
empire for the Batavi and Treviri over other tribes. We are far from
any such arrogance. Take us as allies. I am come to join you; whether
as general or as private it is for you to choose. ' This had a great
effect on the common soldiers, who began to sheathe their swords. Then
two of their chieftains, Campanus and Juvenalis, surrendered the
entire tribe. Labeo escaped before he was surrounded. Civilis also
received the allegiance of the Baetasii and Nervii, and added their
forces to his own. His power was now immense, for all the Gallic
communities were either terrified or ready to offer willing support.
In the meantime, Julius Sabinus,[412] who had destroyed every 67
memorial of the Roman alliance,[413] assumed the title of Caesar and
proceeded to hurry a large unwieldy horde of his tribesmen against the
Sequani,[414] a neighbouring community, faithful to Rome. The Sequani
accepted battle: the good cause prospered: the Lingones were routed.
Sabinus fled the field with the same rash haste with which he had
plunged into battle. Wishing to spread a rumour of his death, he took
refuge in a house and set fire to it, and was thus supposed to have
perished by his own act. We shall, however, relate in due course the
devices by which he lay in hiding and prolonged his life for nine
more years, and allude also to the loyalty of his friends and the
memorable example set by his wife Epponina. [415]
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Tacitus here resumes the thread of his narrative of the
rebellion on the Rhine, interrupted at the end of chap. 37,
and goes back from July to January, A. D. 70.
[385] Cp. iii. 46.
[386] The danger of Druidism was always before the eyes of the
emperors. Augustus had forbidden Roman citizens to adopt it.
Claudius had tried to stamp it out in Gaul and in Britain, yet
they appear again here to preach a fanatic nationalism.
However, this seems to be their last appearance as leaders of
revolt.
[387] Probably they were in Rome, and were sent back to their
homes to intrigue against Vitellius' rising power.
[388] See chap. 36.
[389] Cp. ii. 14.
[390] i. e. he was to prevent any incursions from Germany along
the frontier of his canton, between Bingen and Coblenz.
[391] At Mainz.
[392] Chap. 18.
[393] These tribes lived between the Maas and the Scheldt, and
the Marsaci were round the mouth of the Scheldt.
[394] Civilis, again besieging Vetera (chap. 36).
[395] i. e. from the rest of Vocula's force, which they had not
yet deserted.
[396] The Aedui, one of the most powerful of the Gallic
tribes, living between the Saône and the Loire had revolted in
A. D. 21, and held out for a short time at their chief town
(Autun).
[397] This had only been granted to a few tribes who had
helped in crushing Vindex (see i. 8 and 51). The Treviri and
Lingones had been punished. But it is a good rhetorical point.
[398] His presumption took away his breath.
[399] i.
