No More Learning

Aratus had a house and valuable effects at Corinth.
Cleomenes would not touch any thing that belonged to
him, but sent for his friends and agents, and charged
them to take the utmost care of his affairs, as remem-
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PLUTARCH.
bering that they must give an account to Aratus. To
Aratus himself he privately sent Tripylis, and after-
wards his father-in-law Megistonus, with great offers,
and among the rest a pension of twelve talents, which
was double the yearly allowance he had from Ptolemy:
for this, he desired to be appointed general of the
Achaeans, and to be joined with him in the care of the
citadel of Corinth. Aratus answered, 'That he did not
now govern affairs, but they governed him. ' As there
appeared an insincerity in this answer, Cleomenes
entered the territories of Sicyon, and committed great
devastations. He likewise blocked up the city for
three months together; all which time Aratus was de-
bating with himself whether he should surrender the
citadel to Antigonus; for he would not send him suc-
cors on any other condition.
Before he could take his resolution the Achaeans
met in council at jEgium, and called him to attend it.
As the town was invested by Cleomenes, it was danger-
ous to pass. The citizens intreated him not to go, and
declared they would not suffer him to expose himself
to an enemy who was watching for his prey. The ma-
trons and their children, too, hung on him, and wept
for him as for a common parent and protector. He
consoled them, however, as well as he could, and rode
down to the sea, taking with him ten of his friends,
and his son, who was now approaching to manhood.
Finding some vessels at anchor, he went on board, and
arrived safe at jEgium. There he held an assembly,
in which it was decreed that Antigonus should be
called in, and the citadel surrendered to him. Aratus
sent his own son amongst the other hostages; which
the Corinthians so much resented, that they plundered
his goods, and made a present of his house to Cleo-
menes.
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? ARATUS.
277
As Antigonus was now approaching with his army,
which consisted of twenty thousand foot, all Mace-
donians, and of fourteen hundred horse, Aratus went
with the Achaean magistrates by sea, and without being
discovered by the enemy, met him at Pegae; though
he placed no great confidence in Antigonus, and dis-
trusted the Macedonians: for he knew that his great-
ness had been owing to the mischiefs he had done
them, and that he had first risen to the direction of
affairs in consequence of his hatred to old Antigonus.
But seeing an indispensable necessity before him, such
an occasion as those who seemed to command are
forced to obey, he faced the danger. When Antigonus
was told that Aratus was come in person, he gave the
rest a common welcome, but received him in the most
honorable manner; and finding him on trial to be a
man of probity and prudence, took him into his most
intimate friendship: for Aratus was not only service-
able to the king in great affairs, but in the hours of
leisure his most agreeable companion. Antigonus,
therefore, though young, perceiving in him such a
temper, and such other qualities as fitted him for a
prince's friendship, preferred him not only to the rest
of the Achaeans, but even to the Macedonians that
were about him, and continued to employ him in every
affair of consequence. Thus the thing which the gods
announced by the entrails of one of the victims was
accomplished: for it is said, that when Aratus was
sacrificing not long before, there appeared in the liver
two gall-bladders inclosed in the same caul; on which,
the diviner declared, that two enemies, who appeared
the most irreconcileable, would soon be united in the
strictest friendship. Aratus then took little notice of
the saying, for he never put much faith in victims, nor
indeed in predictions from any thing else, but used to
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? 278
PIUTARCH.
depend on his reason. Seme time after, however,
when the war went on successfully, Antigonus made an
entertainment at Corinth, at which, though there was
a numerous company, he placed Aratus next above
him. They had not sat long before Antigonus called
for a cloak. At the same time he asked Aratus,
'Whether he did not think it very cold,' and he an-
swered, 'It was extremely cold. ' The king then de-
sired him to sit nearer, and the servants who brought
the cloak put it over the shoulders of both. This put-
ting Aratus in mind of the victim, he informed the
king both of the sign and the prediction: but this hap-
pened long after the time that we are on.
While they were at Pegae they took oaths of mu-
tual fidelity, and then marched against the enemy.
There were several actions under the walls of Corinth,
in which Cleomenes had fortified himself strongly,
and the Corinthians defended the place with great
vigor.
In the mean time Aristotle, a citizen of Argos, and
friend of Aratus, sent an agent to him privately, with
an offer of bringing that city to declare for him, if
he would go thither in person with some troops. Ara-
tus having acquainted Antigonus with this scheme,
embarked fifteen hundred men, and sailed immediately
with them from the Isthmus to Epidaurus. But the
people of Argos, without waiting for his arrival, had
attacked the troops of Cleomenes, and shut them up
in the citadel. Cleomenes having notice of this, and
fearing that the enemy, if they were in possession of
Argos, might cut off his retreat to Lacedaemon, left
his post before the citadel of Corinth the same night,
and marched to the succor of his men. He reached
it before Aratus, and gained some advantage over the
enemy; but Aratus arriving soon after, and the king
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? ARATUS.
279
appearing with bis army, Cleomenes retired to Man-
tinea.
On this, all the cities joined the Achaeans again.
Antigonus made himself master of the citadel of Co-
rinth; and the Argives having appointed Aratus their
general, he persuaded them to give Antigonus the
estates of the late tyrants and all the traitors. That
people put Aristomachus to the torture at Cencbreaa,
and afterwards drowned him in the sea. Aratus was
much censured on this occasion, for permitting a man
to suffer unjustly, who was not a bad character, with
whom he formerly had connexions, and who, at bis
persuasion, had abdicated the supreme power, and
brought Argos to unite itself to the Achaean league.
There were other charges against Aratus, namely,
that, at his instigation, the Achaeans had given the city
of Corinth to Antigonus, as if it had been no more
than an ordinary village; that they had suffered him
to pillage Orchomenus, and place in it a Macedonian
garrison; that they had made a decree that their com-
munity should not send a letter or an embassy to any
other king, without the consent of Antigonus; that
they were forced to maintain and pay the Macedo-
nians; and that they had sacrifices, libations, and
games, in honor of Antigonus; the fellow-citizens of
Aratus setting the example, and receiving Antigonus
into their oity, on which occasion Aratus entertained
him in his house: for all these things they blamed
Aratus, not considering that when he had once put the
reins in the hands of that prince, he was necessarily
carried along with the tide of regal power; no longer
master of any thing but his tongue, and it was dan-
gerous to use that with freedom: for he was visibly
concerned at many circumstances of the king's con-
duct, particularly with respect to the statues. Antigo-
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? PLUTARCH.
nus erected anew those of the tyrants which Aratug
had pulled down, and demolished those he had set up
in memory of the brave men that surprised the citadel
of Corinth. That of Aratus only was spared, not-
withstanding his intercession for the rest. In the affair
of Mantinea, too, the behavior of the Achaeans was not
so suitable to the Grecian humanity: for having con-
quered it by means of Antigonus, they put the prin-
cipal of the inhabitants to the sword; some of the rest
they sold, or sent in fetters to Macedonia; and they
made slaves of the women and children. Of the money
thus raised, they divided a third part amongst them-
selves, and gave the rest to the Macedonians. But
this had its excuse in the law of reprisals: for, how-
ever shocking it may appear for men to sacrifice to
their anger those of their own nation and kindred, yet
in necessity, as Simonides says, it seems rather a pro-
per alleviation, than a hardship, to give relief to a
mind inflamed and aching with resentment. But as to
what Aratus did afterwards with respect to Mantinea,
it is impossible to justify him on a plea either of pro-
priety or necessity: for Antigonus having made a pre-
sent of that city to the Argives, they resolved to re-
people it, and appointed Aratus to see it done; in
virtue of which commission, as well as that of general,
be decreed that it should no more be called Mantinea,
but Antigonea, which name it still bears. Thus, by
his means Mantinea, the amiable Mantinea, as Homer
calls it, was no more; and in the place of it we have a
city which took its name from the man who ruined its
inhabitants.
Some time after this, Cleomenes being overthrown
in a great battle near Sellasia, quitted Sparta, and
sailed to Egypt. As for Antigonus, after the kindest
and most honorable behavior to Aratus, he returned to
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? ARATUS.
281
Macedonia. In his sickness there, which happened
soon after his arrival, he sent Philip, then very young,
but already declared his successor, into Peloponnesus;
having first instructed him above all things to give at-
tention to Aratus, and through him to treat with the
cities, and make himself known to the Achaeans. Ara-
tus received him with great honor, and managed him
so well, that he returned to Macedonia full of senti-
ments of respect for his friend, and in the most favor-
able disposition for the interests of Greece.
After the death of Antigonus the . iEtolians despised
the inactivity of the Achaeans: for, accustomed to the
protection of foreign arms, and sheltering themselves
under the Macedonian power, they sunk into a state of
idleness and disorder. This gave the jEtolians room
to attempt a footing in Peloponnesus. By the way
they made some booty in the country about Patrae and
Dyme, and then proceeded to Messene, and laid waste
its territories. Aratus was incensed at this insolence,
but he perceived that Timoxenus, who was then gene-
ral, took slow and dilatory measures, because his year
was almost expired. Therefore, as be was to succeed
to the command, he anticipated his commission by five
days, for the sake of assisting the Messenians. He
assembled the Achaeans; but they had now neither ex-
ercise nor courage to enable them to maintain the com-
bat, and consequently he was beaten in a battle which
he fought at Caphyae. Being accused of having ven-
tured too much on this occasion, he became afterwards
so cold, and so far abandoned his hopes for the public,
as to neglect the opportunities which the _55tolians
gave him, and suffered them to roam about Pelopon-
nesus, in a bacchanalian manner, committing all the
excesses that insolence could suggest.
The Achaeans were now obliged to stretch out their
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? PLUTARCH,
hands again towards Macedonia, and brought Philip
to interfere in the affairs of Greece. They knew the
regard he had for Aratus, and the confidence he placed
in him, and hoped on that account to find him tract-
able and easy in all their affairs. But the king now
first began to listen to Apelles, Megalacus, and other
courtiers, who endeavored to darken the character of
Aratus, and prevailed on him to support the contrary
party, by which means Eperatus was elected general
of the Aclueans. Eperatus, however, soon fell into
the greatest contempt amongst them; and, as Aratus
would not give any attention to their concerns, nothing
went well. Philip, finding that he had committed a
capital error, turned again to Aratus, and gave himself
up intirely to his direction. As his affairs now pros-
pered, and bis power and reputation grew under the
culture of Aratus, he depended intirely on him for the
farther increase of both. Indeed it was evident to all
the world that Aratus had excellent talents, not only
for guiding a commonwealth, but a kingdom too; for
there appeared a tincture of his principles and manners
in all the conduct of this young prince. Thus the mo-
deration with which he treated the Spartans after they
had offended him, his engaging behavior to the Cre-
tans, by which he gained the whole island in a few
days, and the glorious success of his expedition against
the >? tolians, gained Philip the honor of knowing how
to follow good counsel, and Aratus that of being able
to give it.
On this account the courtiers envied him still more;
? nd as they found that their private engines of ca-
lumny availed nothing, they began to try open battery,
reviling and insulting him at table with the utmost
effrontery and lowest abuse. Nay, once they threw
stones at him, as he was retiring from supper to his
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? ARATUS.
tent. Philip, incensed at such outrage, fined them
twenty talents; and, on their proceeding to disturb
and embroil his affairs, pnt them to death.
But afterwards he was carried so high, by the flow
of prosperity, as to discover many disorderly passions.
The native badness of his disposition broke through
the veil be had put over it, and by degrees bis real
character appeared. In the first place, he greatly in-
jured young Aratus by corrupting bis wife; and th*
intercourse was a long time secret, because he lived
under his roof, where he had been received under the
sanction of hospitality. In the next place, he disco-
vered a strong aversion to commonwealths, and to th*
cities that were under that form of government. It was
easy to be seen, too, that he wanted to shake off Ara-
tus. The first suspicion of his intentions arose from
his behavior with respect to the Messenians. There
were two factions amongst them which had raised a
sedition in the city. Aratus went to reconcile them;
but Philip getting to the place a day before him, added
stings to their mutual resentments. On the one hand,
he called the magistrates privately, and asked tbem
whether they had not laws to restrain the rabble; and,
on the other, he asked the demagogues whether they
had not hands to defend them against tyrants. The
magistrates, thus encouraged, attacked the chiefs of
the people; and they, in their turn, came with supe-
rior numbers, and killed the magistrates, with near
two hundred more of their party.
After Philip had engaged in these detestable prac-
tices, which exasperated the Messenians still more
against each other, Aratus, when he arrived, made no
secret of his resentment, nor did he restrain his son in
the severe and disparaging things he said to Philip.
The young man had once a particular attachment to
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PLUTARCH.
Philip, which in those days they distinguished by the
name of love; but, on this occasion, he scrupled not
to tell him, 'that after such a base action, instead of
appearing agreeable, he was the most deformed of hu-
mankind. '
Philip made no answer, though anger evidently was
working in his bosom, and he often muttered to him-
self while the other was speaking. However, he pre-
tended to bear it with great calmness; and, affecting
to appear the man of subdued temper and refined man-
ners, gave the elder Aratus his hand, and took him
from the theatre to the castle of Ithome, under pre-
tence of sacrificing to Jupiter and visiting the place.
This fort, which is as strong as the citadel of Corinth,
were it garrisoned, would greatly annoy the neighbor-
ing country, and be almost impregnable. After Philip
had offered his sacrifice there, and the diviner came to
show him the entrails of the ox, he took them in both
hands, and showed them to Aratus and Demetrius of
Phariae; sometimes turning them to one, and some-
times to the other, and asking them 'what they saw in
the entrails of the victim ; whether they warned him to
keep this citadel, or to restore it to the Messenians? '
Demetrius smiled and said, 'If you have the soul of a
diviner, you will restore it; but, if that of a king, you
will hold the bull by both his horns. ' By which he
hinted that he must have Peloponnesus intirely in sub-
jection, if he added Ithome to the citadel of Corinth.
Aratus was a long time silent, but on Philip's pressing
him to declare his opinion, he said, 'There are many
mountains of great strength in Crete, many castles in
Bceotia and Phocis in lofty situations, and many im-
pregnable places in Acarnania, both on the coast and
within land. You have seized none of these, and yet
they all pay you a voluntary obedience. Robbers,
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? ARATUS.
indeed, take to rocks and precipices for security; but
for a king, there is no such fortress as honor and hu-
manity. These are the things that have opened to you
the Cretan sea; these have unbarred the gates of Pe-
loponnesus. In short, by these it is that, at so early
a period in life, you are become general of the one,
and sovereign of the other. ' Whilst he was yet speak-
ing, Philip returned the entrails to the diviner, and
taking Aratus by the hand, drew him along, and said,
'Come on then, let us go as we came ;' intimating that
he had overruled him, and deprived him of such an
acquisition as the city would have been.
From this time Aratus began to withdraw from court,
and by degrees to give up all correspondence with Phi-
lip. He refused also to accompany him in his expedi-
tion into Epirus, though applied to for that purpose;
choosing to stay at home, lest he should share in the
disrepute of his actions. But, after Philip had lost
his fleet with great disgrace in the Roman war, and
nothing succeeded to his wish, he returned to Pelo-
ponnesus, and tried once more what art could do to
impose on the Messenians. When he found that his
designs were discovered, he had recourse to open hos-
tilities, and ravaged their country. Aratus then, saw
all his meanness, and broke with him intirely. By
this time, too, he perceived that he had dishonored his
son's bed; but though the injury lay heavy on him,
he concealed it from his son, because be could only
inform him that he was abused, without being able
to help him to the means of revenge. There seemed
to be a great and unnatural change in Philip, who,
of a mild and sober young prince, became a cruel
tyrant; but, in fact, it was not a change of disposition,
it was only discovering, in a time of full security, the
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? 286 PLUTARCH.
vices which his fears had long concealed. That hie
regard for Aratus had originally a great mixture of
fear and Teverence, appeared even in the method he
took to destroy him: for though he was very desirous
of effecting that cruel purpose, hecause he neither
looked on himself as an absolute prince, or a king, or
even a freeman, while Aratus lived, yet he would not
attempt any thing against him in the way of open force;
but desired Phaurion, one of his friends and generals,
to take him off in a private manner, in his absence: at
the same time he recommended poison. That officer
accordingly, having formed an acquaintance with him,
gave him a dose, not of a sharp or violent kind, but
such a one as causes lingering heats and a slight cough,
and gradually brings the body to decay.
Aratus was
not ignorant of the cause of his disorder, but knowing
-that it availed nothing to discover it to the world, he
bore it quietly and in silence, as if it had been an ordi-
nary distemper. Indeed, when one of his friends came
-to visit him in his chamber, and expressed his surprise
ait seeing him spit blood, he said, 'Such, Cepbalon,
are the fruits of royal friendship. '
Thus died Aratus at jEgium, after he had been se-
venteen times general of the Achaeans. That people
-were desirous of having him buried there, and would
have thought it an honor to give him a magnificent fu-
neral, and a monument worthy of his life and charac-
ter. Bui the Sicyonians considered it as a misfortune
to have him interred any where but amongst them, and
therefore persuaded the Achaeans to leave the disposal
of the body intirely to them. As there was an ancient
law that had been observed with religious care, against
burying any person within their walls, and they were
afraid to transgress it on this occasion, they sent to
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? ARATUS.
inquire of the priestess of Apollo at Delphi; and she
returned this answer:
Seek yon what funeral honors you shall pay
To your departed prince, the small reward
For liberty restored, and glory won 1
Bid Sicyon, fearless, rear the sacred tomb.
For the vile tongue that dares with impious breath
Offend Aratus, blasts the face of nature,
Pours horror on the earth, and seas, and skies.
This oraole gave great joy to all the Achaeans, particu-
larly the people of Sicyon. They changed the day of
mourning into a festival; and, adorning themselves
with garlands and white robes, brought the corpse with
songs and dances from JEgium to Sicyon. There they
selected the most conspicuous ground, and interred
him as the founder and deliverer of their city. The
place is still called Aratium; and there they offer two
yearly sacrifices; the one on the fifth of the month
DiBsius, (the Athenians call it Authesterion,1) which was
the day he delivered the city from the yoke of tyrants,
and on which account they call the festival Soteria;
the other on his birthday. The first sacrifice was of-
fered by the priest of Jupiter the Preserver, and the
second by the son of Aratus, who, on that occasion,
wore a girdle, not intirely white, but half purple. The
music was sung to the harp by the choir that belonged
to the theatre. The procession was led up by the mas-
ter of the gymnasium, at the head of the boys and
young men; the senate followed, crowned with flow-
ers, and such of the other citizens as chose to attend.
Some small marks of the ceremonies observed on those
days still remain, but the greatest part is worn out by
time and other circumstances.
1 February.
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? 288
PLUTARCH.
'Such was the life and character that history has
given us of the elder Aratus. And as to the younger,
Philip, who was naturally wicked, and delighted to
add insolence to cruelty, gave him potions, not of the
deadly kind, but such as deprived him of his reason;
insomuch, that he took up inclinations that were shock-
ing and monstrous, and delighted in things that not
only dishonored but destroyed him. Death, there-
fore, which took him in the flower of his age, was con-
sidered, not as a misfortune, but a deliverance. The
vengeance however of Jupiter, the patron of hospitality
and friendship, visited Philip for his breach of both,
and pursued him through life: for he was beaten by
the Romans, and forced to yield himself to their dis-
cretion. In consequence of which, he was stripped of
all the provinces he had conquered, gave up all his
ships except five, obliged himself to pay a thousand
talents, and deliver his son as a hostage. He even
held Macedonia and its dependences only at the mercy
of the conquerors. Amidst all these misfortunes, he
was possessed only of one blessing, a son of superior
virtue, and him he put to death, in his envy and jea-
lousy of the honors the Romans paid him. He left his
crown to his other son Perseus, who was believed not
to be his, but a supposititious child, born of a semp-
stress named Gnathaenium. It was over him thatPau-
lus yEmilius triumphed, and in him ended the royal
race of Antigonus; whereas the posterity of Aratus
remained to our days, and still continues in Sicyon
and Pellene.
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? GALBA.
IpHicrates, the Athenian general, thought that a sol-
dier of fortune should have an attachment both to mo-
ney and pleasure, that his passions might put him on
fighting with more boldness for a supply. But most
others are of opinion that the main body of an army,
like the healtiiy natural body, should have no motion
of its own, but be intirely guided by the head. Hence
Paulus jEmilius, when he found his army in Macedo-
nia, talkative, busy, and ready to direct their general,
is said to have given orders 'that each;'should keep his
hand fit for action, and his sword sharp, and leave the
rest to him. ' And Plato perceiving that the best gene-
ral cannot undertake any thing with success, unless
his troops are sober, and perfectly united to support
him, concluded, that to know how to obey required as
generous a disposition, and as rational an education,
as to know how to command; for these advantages
would correct the violence and impetuosity of the sol-
dier with the mildness and humanity of the philoso-
pher. Amongst other fatal examples, what happened
amongst the Romans after the death of Nero, is suffi-
cient to show that nothing is more dreadful than an
undisciplined army actuated only by the impulse of
their own ferocity. Demades, seeing the wild and vio-
lent motions of the Macedonian army after the death
of Alexander, compared it to the Cyclops,1 after his
eye was put out. But the Roman empire more re-
sembled the extravagant passions and ravings of the
Titans, which the poets tell us of, when it was torn in
PLUT.
1 Polyphemus.
VoL. VII.
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? 290
PLUTARCH.
pieces by rebellion, and turned its arms against itself;
not so much through the ambition of the emperors, as
the avarice and licentiousness of the soldiers, who
drove out one emperor by another.
Dionysius the Sicilian, speaking of Alexander of
Phera, who reigned in Thessaly only ten months, and
then was slain, called him, in derision of the sudden
change, a theatrical tyrant: but the palace of the Ca? -
sars received four emperors in a less space of time, one
entering, and another making his exit, as if they had
only been acting a part on a stage. The Romans, in-
deed, had one consolation amidst their misfortunes,
that they needed no other revenge on the authors of
them, than to see them destroy each other; and with
the greatest justice of all fell the first, who corrupted
the army, and taught them to expect so much on the
change of an emperor; thus dishonoring a glorious ac-
tion by mercenary considerations, and turning the revolt
from Nero into treason: for Nymphidius Sabinus,
who, as we observed before,1 was joined in commission
with Tigellinus, as captain of the pretorian cohorts,
after Nero's affairs were in a desperate state, and it
was plain that he intended to retire into Egypt, per-
suaded the army, as if Nero had already abdicated, to
declare Galba emperor, promising every soldier of the
pretorian cohorts seven thousand five hundred drach-
mas, and the troops that were quartered in the pro-
vinces twelve hundred and fifty drachmas a man: a
sum which it was impossible to collect without doing
infinitely more mischief to the empire than Nero had
done in his whole reign. . '
This proved the immediate ruin of Nero, and soon
after destroyed Galba himself. They deserted Nerd
1 In the life of Nero, which is lost.
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? GALEA.
in hopes of receiving the money, and despatched Galba
because they did not receive it. Afterwards they
sought for another who might pay them that sum; but
they ruined themselves by their rebellions and trea-
sons, without gaining what they had been made to ex-
pect. To give a complete and exact account of the
affairs of those times belongs to the professed histo-
rian. It is however in my province to lay before the
reader the most remarkable circumstances in the lives
of the Caesars.
It is an acknowleged truth that Sulpitius Galba was
the richest private man that ever rose to the imperial
dignity: but though his extraction was of the noblest,
from the family of the Servii, yet he thought it a
greater honor to be related to Quintus Catulus Capito-
linus, who was the first man in his time for virtue and
reputation, though he voluntarily left to others the
pre-eminence in power. He was also related to Livia
the wife of Augustus, and it was by her interest that
he was raised from the office he had in the palace to the
dignity of consul. It is said that he acquitted himself
of his commission in Germany with honor; and that
he gained more reputation than most commanders,
during his proconsulate in Africa: but his simple par-
simonious way of living passed for avarice in an empe-
ror; and the pride he took in economy and strict tem-
perance was out of character.
He was sent governor into Spain by Nero, before
that emperor had learned to fear such of the citizens
as had great authority in Rome. Besides, the mildness
of his temper and his advanced time of life, promised
a cautious and prudent conduct. The emperor's re-
ceivers, a most abandoned set of men, harassed the
provinces in the most cruel manner. Galba could not
assist them against their persecutors, but his concern
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PLUTARCH.
for their misfortunes, which appeared not less than if
he had heen a sufferer himself, afforded them some
consolation, even while they were condemned and sold
for slaves. Many songs were made on Nero, and sung
every where; and as Galba did not endeavor to sup-
press them, or join the receivers of the revenues in their
resentment, that was a circumstance which endeared
him still more to the natives: for by this time he had
contracted a friendship with them, having long been
their governor. He had borne that commission eight
years, when Junius Vindex, who commanded in Gaul,
revolted against Nero. It is said that before this re-
bellion broke out Galba had intimations of it in let-
ters from Vindex; but he neither countenanced nor
discovered it, as the governors of other provinces did,
who sent the letters they had received to Nero, and by
that means ruined the project, as far as was in their
power. Yet those same governors afterwards joining
in the conspiracy against their prince, showed that they
could betray not only Vindex, but themselves.
But after Vindex had openly commenced hostilities,
he wrote to Galba, desiring him 'to accept the impe-
rial dignity, and give a head to the strong Gallic body,
which so much wanted one; which had no less than a
hundred thousand men in arms, and was able to raise a
much greater number. '
Galba then called a council of his friends. Some of
them advised him to wait and see what motions there
might be in Rome, or inclinations for a change: but Ti-
tus Viuius, captain of one of the pretorian cohorts,
said, 'What room is there, Galba, for deliberation?
To inquire whether we shall continue faithful to Nero,
is to have revolted already. There is no medium.
We must either accept the friendship of Vindex, as if
Nero were our declared enemy, or accuse and fight Vin-
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? GALBA.
293
dex, because he desires that the Romans should have
Galba for their emperor, rather than Nero for their
tyrant. ' On this, Galba, by an edict, fixed a day for
enfranchising all who should present themselves. The
report of this soon drew together a multitude of people
who were desirous of a change, and he had no sooner
mounted the tribunal, than with one voice they de-
clared him emperor. He did not immediately accept
the title, but accused Nero of great crimes, and la-
mented the fate of many Romans of great distinction,
whom he had barbarously slain: after which he de-
clared ' that he would serve his country with his best
abilities, not as Caesar or emperor, but as lieutenant to
the senate and people of Rome. '
That it was a just and rational scheme which Vindex
adopted in calling Galba to the empire, there needs no
better proof than Nero himself: for though he pre-
tended to look on the commotions in Gaul as nothing,
yet when he received the news of Galba's revolt,
which he happened to do just after he had bathed, and
had sat down to supper, in his madness he overturned
the table. However, when the senate had declared
Galba to be an enemy to his country, he affected to
despise the danger, and, attempting to be merry on it,
said to his friends, ' I have long wanted a pretence to
raise money, and this will furnish me with an excel-
lent one. The Gauls, when I have conquered them,
will be a fine booty, and, in the mean time, I will seize
the estate of Galba, since he is a declared enemy, and
dispose of it as I think fit. ' Accordingly he gave di-
rections that Galba's estate should be sold; which
Galba no sooner heard of, than he exposed to sale all
that belonged to Nero in Spain, and more readily
found purchasers.
The revolt from Nero soon became general; and the
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? PLUTARCH.
governors of provinces declared for Galba: only Clo-
dius Macer in Africa, and Virginius Rufus in Ger-
many, stood out and acted for themselves, but on dif-
ferent motives. Clodius being conscious to himself of
much rapine, and many murders, to which his avarice
and cruelty had prompted him, was in a fluctuating
state, and could not take his resolution either to as-
sume or reject the imperial title. And Virginius, who
commanded some of the best legions in the empire, and
had been often pressed by them to take the title of em-
peror, declared, ' that he would neither take it him-
self, nor suffer it to be given to any other, but the per-
son whom the senate should name. '
Galba was not a little alarmed at this at first: but
after the forces of Virginius and Vindex had over-
powered them, like charioteers no longer able to guide
the reins, and forced them to fight, Vindex lost twenty
thousand Gauls in the battle, and then despatched
himself. A report was then current that the victori-
ous army, in consequence of so great an advantage,
would insist that Virginius should accept the imperial
dignity, and that if he refused it, they would turn
again to Nero. This put Galba in p. great consterna-
tion, and he wrote letters to Virginius exhorting him
to act in concert with him, for preserving the empire
and liberty of the Romans. After which he retired
with his friends to Colonia, a city in Spain, and there
spent some time, rr. ther in repenting of what he had
done, and wishing for the life of ease and leisure, to
which he had so long been accustomed, than taking
any of the necessary steps for his promotion.
It was now the beginning of summer, when one even-
ing, a little before night, one of Galba's freedmen, a
native of Sicily, arrived in seven days from Rome,
BeiDg told that Galba had retired to rest, he ran up to
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? GALBA.
295
his chamber, and having opened it, in spite of the re-
sistance of the chamberlains, informed him, 'That as
JJero did not appear, though he was living at that time,
the army first, and then the people and senate of Rome,
had declared Galba emperor; and, not long after, news
was brought that Nero was dead. ' He added, that he
was not satisfied with the report, but went and saw the
dead body of the tyrant, before he would set out.
Galba was greatly elevated by this intelligence; and
he encouraged the multitudes that soon attended at the
door by communicating it to them, though the expedi-
tion with which it was brought appeared incredible.
But, two days after, Titus Vinius, with many others,
arrived from the camp, and brought an account of all
the proceedings of the senate. Vinius was promoted
to an honorable employment; while the freedman had
his name changed from Icelus to Marcianus, was ho-
nored with the privilege of wearing the gold ring, and
had more attention paid him than any of the other
freedmen.
Meantime, at Rome, Nymphidius Sabinus got the
administration into his hands, not by slow and insensi-
ble steps, but with the greatest celerity. He knew
that Galba, on account of his great age, being now se-
venty-three, was scarce able to make the journey to
Rome, though carried in a litter. Besides, the forces
there had long been inclined to serve him, and now
they depended on him only, considering him as their
benefactor on account of the large gratuity he had pro-
mised, and Galba as their debtor. He therefore im-
mediately commanded his colleague Tigellinus to give
up his sword. He made great entertainments, at which
he received persons of consular dignity, and such as
had commanded armies and provinces; yet he gave,
the invitation in the name of Galba. He likewise in-
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PLUTARCH.
structed many of the soldiers to suggest it to the pre-
torian cohorts, that they should send a message to
Galba, demanding that Nymphidius should be always
their captain, and without a colleague. The readiness
the senate expressed to add to his honor and authority,
in calling him their benefactor, in going daily to pay
their respects at his gate, and desiring that he would
take on him to propose and confirm every decree,
brought him to a much higher pitch of insolence; in-
somuch, that, in a little time, he became not only ob-
noxious, but formidable to the very persons that paid
their court to him. When the consuls had charged
the public messengers with the decrees to be carried
to the emperor, and had sealed the instruments with
their seal, in order that the magistrates of the towns
through which they were to pass, seeing their autho-
rity, might furnish them with carriages at every dif-
ferent stage for the great expedition, he resented it,
that they had not made use of his seal, and employed
his men to carry the dispatches. It is said that he
even had it under consideration whether he should not
punish the consuls; but on their apologising and beg-
ging pardon for the affront, he was appeased. To in-
gratiate himself with the people, he did not hinder
them from despatching by torture such of Nero's
creatures as fell into their hands. A gladiator, named
Spicillus, was put under the statues of Nero, and
dragged about with them in the forum till he died:
Aponius, one of the informers, was extended on the
ground, and waggons, loaded with stones, driven over
him: they tore many others in pieces, and some who
were intirely innocent.