No More Learning

6 Cordus says that all the soldiers spoke of him as their son, that he was called son by the entire senate, and that all the people said Gordian was their darling. 7 And indeed Philip, after he had killed him, did not remove his portraits or throw down his statues or erase his name, but always called him divine, even among the soldiers with whom he had made his conspiracy, and worshipped him with a mixture of a serious spirit and the shrewdness of an alien.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 32 1 The house of the Gordians110 is still in existence. This was embellished by this Gordian very beautifully. 2 There is also a villa of theirs on the Praenestine Way,111 with two hundred columns in the inner court, fifty of them of Carystian marble,112 fifty of Claudian,113 fifty of Phrygian,114 and fifty of Numidian115 — p443 all of equal size. 3 In this same house there were three basilicas •one hundred feet long and other things suitable to such a building, and there were baths that could be equalled nowhere in the world save in the city as it was at that time.

4 The senate passed a decree for the family of Gordian to the effect that his descendants116 need never serve as guardians or on embassies or in public duties unless they wished.

5 There are no public works of Gordian now in existence in Rome save a few fountains and baths. And these baths were built for commoners and were therefore correspondingly equipped. 6 He had projected, however, a portico on the Campus Martius, just under the hill,117 •a thousand feet long, intending to erect another of equal length opposite to it with a space of •five hundred feet stretching evenly between. In this space there were to be pleasure-parks on both sides, filled with laurel, myrtle, and box-trees, and down the middle a mosaic walk a thousand feet long with short columns and statuettes placed on either side. This was to be a promenade, and at the end there was to be a basilica five hundred feet long. 7 Besides this, he had planned with Timesitheus to erect summer-baths, named after himself, behind the basilica, and to put winter-baths at the entrance to the porticos, in order that the pleasure-parks and porticos might not be without some practical use. 8 But all this is now occupied by the estates and gardens and dwellings of private persons.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 33 1 There were thirty-two elephants at Rome in the time of Gordian (of which he himself had sent twelve and Alexander ten), ten elk, ten tigers, sixty tame lions, thirty tame leopards, ten belbi or hyenas, p445 a thousand pairs of imperial gladiators, six hippopotami, one rhinoceros, ten wild lions, ten giraffes, twenty wild asses, forty wild horses, and various other animals of this nature without number. All of these Philip presented or slew at the secular games. 2 All these animals, wild, tame, and savage, Gordian intended for a Persian triumph; but his official vow proved of no avail, 3 ºfor Philip presented all of them at the secular games, consisting of both gladiatorial spectacles and races in the Circus, that were celebrated on the thousandth anniversary of the founding of the City,118 when he and his son were consuls.

4 Cordus writes that the same thing that is related of Gaius Caesar119 happened to Gordian. 5 For after the two Philips were slain, all who had fallen upon Gordian with the sword (there were nine of them, it is said) are said to have slain themselves with their own hands and swords, and those the same swords with which they had stricken him.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 34 1 This, then, was the life of the three Gordians, all of whom were named Augustus, two of whom perished in Africa, one within the confines of Persia. 2 The soldiers built Gordian a tomb near the camp at Circesium,120 which is in the territory of Persia, and added an inscription to the following effect in Greek, Latin, Persian, Hebrew, and Egyptian letters, so that all might read: 3 "To the deified Gordian, conqueror of the Persians, conqueror of the Goths, conqueror of p447 the Sarmatians, queller of mutinies at Rome, conqueror of the Germans, but no conqueror of Philippi. "121 4 This was added ostensibly because he had been beaten by the Alani in a disorderly battle on the plains of Philippi and forced to retreat; but at the same time it seemed to mean that he had been slain by the two Philips. 5 But Licinius,122 it is said, destroyed this inscription at the time when he seized the imperial power; for he desired to have it appear that he was descended from the two Philips. 6 All of this, great Constantine, I have investigated, in order that nothing might be lacking to your knowledge which seemed worth the knowing.

Maximus and Balbinus

1 1 [Legamen ad paginam Latinam] When the elder Gordian and his son were now slain in Africa and Maximinus came raging toward the city to take vengeance because the Gordians had been named Augusti,1 the senate, in great terror, came together in the Temple of Concord2 on the seventh day before the Ides of July3 — the time, that is, of the Apollinarian Games4 — to seek some safeguard against the fury of that evil man. 2 When, then, two men of consular rank, and of distinction too, Maximus and Balbinus5 (Maximus is not mentioned in many histories, the name of Pupienus being inserted in his place,6 but both Dexippus7 and Arrianus8 say that Maximus and Balbinus were chosen against Maximinus after the Gordians), the one noted for his goodness the other for his courage and firmness — when these two came into the Senate-house, showing plainly on their brows their terror at Maximinus' coming, and p451 the consul began to bring up other questions, he who gave the first opinion began thus: 3 "You are disturbed with petty things; while the world blazed we in the Senate-house are busied with an old woman's cares. 4 For what is the use of our discussing the restoration of temples, the embellishment of a basilica, and the Baths of Titus,9 or building the Amphitheatre,10 when Maximinus, whom you and I once declared a public enemy,11 is upon us, the two Gordians, in whom was our defence, are slain, and there is now no help whereby we can be relieved? 5 Come, then, Conscript Fathers, appoint emperors. Why do you delay? Do not be overcome while fearing each for himself and showing terror instead of courage. " 2 Upon this all were silent; but finally, when Maximus, who was older12 and more famous by reason of his merits, his courage, and his firmness, began to give his opinion, maintaining that two emperors should be appointed, Vettius Sabinus,13 one of the family of the Ulpii, asked the consul that he might be permitted to interrupt and speak, and thus began: 2 "I am well aware, Conscript Fathers, that in revolution we should be so well agreed that plans should not be sought but seized; indeed, we should refrain from lengthy words and opinions when events press. 3 Let each look to his own neck, let him think of his wife and children, of his father's and his father's father's goods; all of these Maximinus threatens, by nature passionate, fierce, and bloody, and now with just cause, so it seems to him, still fiercer. 4 In battle-order, with camps pitched everywhere, he is coming towards the city; and you with sitting and consulting waste away the p453 day. 5 There is no need for a long speech; we must make an emperor, nay we must make two princes, one to manage the affairs of state, one to manage the affairs of war; one to stay at home, and one to go out to meet these bandits with an army. 6 I, then, nominate for emperors — and do you confirm them, if it please you, or if not, show me better ones — 7 Maximus and Balbinus, of whom one is so great in war that he has concealed the lowness of his birth by the splendour of his valour, the other, as he is illustrious of birth, so he is dear to the state by reason of both of his gentle character and of his blameless life, which from his earliest years he has passed in study and letters. 8 Conscript Fathers, you have my opinion — one more perilous perchance to me than to you, but by no means safe for you unless you make these men or others emperors. " 9 Upon this they cried out with one accord:14 10 "It is right, it is just. We agree with the opinion of Sabinus, all of us. Maximus and Balbinus Augusti, may the gods keep you! The gods have made you emperors; may the gods keep you! Save the senate from the bandits; we entrust you with the war against the bandits. 11 May the public enemy Maximinus and his son perish! Hunt down the public enemy. You are happy in the judgment of the senate, the state is happy in your rule. 12 What the senate has given you, perform stoutly; what the senate has given you, take gladly. " 3 With these and other acclamations Maximus and Balbinus were made emperors.

2 Coming out from the senate, then, they first mounted up to the Capitol and made sacrifice, 3 and then summoned the people to the Rostra. But there, after they had delivered speeches about the senate's decision and their own election, the Roman people, p455 together with some soldiers who had by chance assembled, cried out, "We all ask Gordian for Caesar". 15 4 This was the grandson of Gordian by his daughter,16 being then, so most say, in his fourteenth year. 17 5 And so Gordian was hurried away, and by a new kind of senatorial decree, passed on that very same day, he was brought into the Senate-house and declared Caesar.

4 1 The first proposal, then, of the Emperors was that the two Gordians be entitled divine. 18 2 Some, indeed, think that only one, namely the elder, was so entitled; but I remember having read in the books which Junius Cordus wrote, of which there were plenty, that both were placed among the gods. 3 And truly the elder put an end to his life by hanging himself, whereas the younger was destroyed in war, and accordingly deserves greater respect because war took him. 4 At any rate, after these proposals were made, the city-prefecture was given to Sabinus,19 a serious man and suitable to one of Maximus' character, the prefecture of the guard to Pinarius Valens. 20

5 But before I speak of their acts it seems best to tell of their characters and birth — not in the way in which Junius Cordus sought eagerly after everything,21 but rather as Suetonius Tranquillus22 and Valerius Marcellinus did. For although Curius p457 Fortunatianus, who wrote the history of all this period, touched upon only a few things, Cordus wrote so much as to include a great mass of detail, some of which was not even decent.

5 1 The father of Maximus was also Maximus. He was one of the plebs,23 and according to some, a blacksmith, according to others, a carriage-maker. 2 He begot Maximus from a wife named Prima, together with four brothers and four sisters, all of whom died before the age of puberty. 3 At Maximus' birth an eagle, it is said, dropped a piece of beef — and a big one, too — into their dwelling where a narrow aperture lay open to the sky; and later, when it lay there, no one daring to touch it through superstitious fear, it picked it up again and carried it off to the nearest shrine, which was that of Jupiter Praestes. 24 4 At the time this did not seem anything of an omen; it was done, however, not without reason and showed his future rule.

5 All his childhood he passed in the house of his kinsman Pinarius, whom he promptly elevated, as soon as he was made emperor, to the prefecture of the guard. 6 He paid little attention to grammar and rhetoric, cultivating always a soldierly valour and sternness. 7 And at length he became military tribune and commander of many detachments; afterwards he served a praetorship, the expenses of which were borne by Pescennia Marcellina, who adopted and supported him as a son. 8 Thereafter he served as proconsul of Bithynia, then of Greece, and thirdly of Gallia Narbonensis. 25 9 Besides this, he was sent out as a special legate and crushed the Sarmatians in p459 Illyricum; from there he was transferred to the Rhine26 and conducted a campaign against the Germans with very happy results. 10 After this he proved himself a very sagacious, very able, and very unbending city-prefect. 27 11 And so, although he was a man of new family, nevertheless, as though he were of noble birth, the senate, though it was contrary to law, bestowed on him the sovereignty — for all confessed that at that time there was no man in the senate fitter to receive the title of prince.

6 1 And since many desire even less important details, he was fond of food, very sparing of wine, exceedingly continent in affairs of love, and both at home and abroad always so stern as even to get the name of gloomy. 2 He was extremely grave and even morose of countenance, tall of stature, very healthy of body, repellent in manner, but none the less just, and never, even to the end of his activities, either cruel or unmerciful. 3 When asked, he always granted pardon and never grew angry except when it was only proper to be angered. 4 He never lent himself to conspiracies; he clung to an opinion and did not trust others before himself. 5 For these reasons he was greatly beloved by the senate and held in awe by the people; indeed, the people were not unmindful of his rigid conduct as prefect and saw that this might even increase in vigour when he became emperor.

7 1 Balbinus was of very noble birth,28 twice consul,29 and the ruler of innumerable provinces. 2 Indeed, he had managed the civil administration of Asia, Africa, Bithynia, Galatia, Pontus, Thrace, and the p461 Gauls, and at times had commanded an army;30 he was less capable in military affairs, however, than in civil. Nevertheless, by his good, righteous, and modest life, he won himself great love. 3 He came of a very ancient family — or so he himself asserted, tracing his descent from Cornelius Balbus Theophanes,31 who became a citizen through the aid of Gnaeus Pompey; this Balbus was very noble in his own country and likewise a writer of history.

4 He was equally tall of stature, remarkable for the excellence of his body and excessive in his pleasures. In this he was encouraged by his abounding wealth; for he was rich by inheritance on the one hand, and had himself accumulated a great deal through legacies on the other. 5 He was renowned for eloquence and in poetry he ranked high among the poets of his time. 32 6 He was fond of wine, of eating, and of love, elegant in dress, nor was anything lacking to make him agreeable to the people. He was pleasing also to the senate.

7 This is what we have discovered about the lives of each. Some, indeed, have thought that these two should be compared in the fashion that Sallust compares Cato and Caesar33 — that the one was stern and the other genial, the one virtuous and the other steadfast, the one by no means munificent, the other rich p463 in all possessions. 8 So much for their characters and birth.

All the imperial titles and trappings having been decreed them, they assumed the tribunician power, the proconsular command,34 the office of Pontifex Maximus,35 and the name Father of his Country, and entered upon their rule. 2 But while they any at the Capitol making sacrifice the Roman people objected to the rule of Maximus. For the men of the crowd feared his strictness, which, they believed, was very welcome to the senate and very hostile to themselves. 3 And for this reason it came about, as we have related,36 that they demanded the youthful Gordian as their prince; and thus he was straightway entitled. Indeed Maximus and Balbinus were not suffered to go to the Palace with armed attendants until they had invested the grandson of Gordian with the name of Caesar. 37 4 And now, this being done, sacred rites were performed, stage-plays and sports in the Circus given, a gladiatorial show was presented,38 and Maximus, after assuming vows in the Capitol, set out with a mighty army to war against Maximinus. 39 The praetorian guard, however, remained at Rome.

5 Whence this custom arose, that emperors setting out to war gave an entertainment of gladiators and wild beasts, we must briefly discuss. 6 Many say that among the ancients this was a solemn ritual performed against the enemy in order that the blood of citizens being thus offered in sacrifice under the guise of p465 battle, Nemesis (that is a certain avenging power of Fortune) might be appeased. 40 7 Others have related in books, and this I believe is nearer the truth, that when about to go to war the Romans felt it necessary to behold fighting and wounds and steel and naked men contending among themselves, so that in war they might not fear armed enemies or shudder at wounds and blood.

9 1 Now when Maximus set out to the war the guard remained at Rome; 2 and between them and the populace such a rioting broke out that it led to a domestic war,41 to the burning of the greater part of Rome, the defiling of the temples, and the pollution of all the streets with blood — when Balbinus, a somewhat mild man, proved unable to quell the rioting. 3 For, going out in public, he stretched out his hands to this person and that and almost suffered a blow from a stone and, according to some, was actually hit with a club; 4 nor would he have finally quelled the disturbance had not the young Gordian, clothed in the purple, been perched on the neck of a very tall man and displayed to the people. When he was seen, however, the populace and soldiers were reconciled and through love of him returned to harmony. 5 No one in that age was ever so beloved; this was because of his grandfather and uncle, who had died for the Roman people in Africa opposing p467 Maximinus. 42 So powerful among the Romans is the memory of noble deeds.

10 1 And now, after Maximus had set out to the war, the senate sent men of the rank of consul, praetor, quaestor, aedile, and tribune throughout the districts in order that each and every town should prepare provisions, arms, defences, and walls so that Maximinus should be harassed at each city. 43 2 It was further ordered that all supplies should be gathered into the cities from the fields, in order that the public enemy might find nothing. 3 Couriers44 were sent out to all the provinces, moreover, with written orders that whosoever aided Maximinus should be placed in the number of public enemies.

4 At Rome, meanwhile, rioting between the populace and soldiers broke out a second time. 45 5 And after Balbinus had issued a thousand edicts to which no one listened, the veterans, together with the guard itself, betook themselves to the Praetorian Camp, where the populace besieged them. 6 Nor would amity have ever been restored had not the populace cut the water-pipes. 46 7 In the city, however, before it was announced that the soldiers were coming peacefully, tiles were cast down from the roofs and all the pots in the houses were thrown out, 8 so that thereby the greater part of the city was ruined and the possessions of many lost. For robbers mingled with the soldiers and plundered things that they knew where to find.

p469 11 While this was taking place at Rome, Maximus (or Pupienus) was at Ravenna47 making ready, with an enormous equipment, for war. He feared Maximinus mightily; very often, indeed, in referring to him he said that he was waging war against not a man but a Cyclops. 2 As it happened, however, Maximinus was beaten so badly at Aquileia that he was slain by his own men,48 and his head, with that of his son, was brought to Ravenna, whence it was despatched by Maximus to Rome. 3 We must not neglect to mention at this place the loyalty to the Romans displayed by the citizens of Aquileia, for it is said that they cut off their women's hair to make bow-strings to shoot their arrows. 49

4 Such was the joy of Balbinus, who was in even greater terror, that he sacrificed a hecatomb as soon as Maximinus' head was brought to him. 50 5 Now a hecatomb is sacrifice performed in the following manner: a hundred altars made of turf are erected at one place, and before them a hundred swine and a hundred sheep are slaughtered. 6 Furthermore, if it be an emperor's sacrifice, a hundred lions, a hundred eagles, and several hundreds of other animals of this kind are slain. 7 The Greeks, it is said, at one time used to do this when suffering from a pestilence, and it seems generally agreed that it was performed by many emperors.

12 1 When this sacrifice, then, had been performed, Balbinus began looking for Maximus with the greatest rejoicing as he returned from Ravenna with his untouched army and supplies. 2 For really Maximinus p471 was conquered by the townsfolk of Aquileia, together with a few soldiers who were there and the consulars Crispinus and Menophilus, who had been sent thither by the senate, 3 and Maximus had only gone up to Aquileia,51 in order to leave everything safe and undisturbed up to the Alps, and also, if there were any of the barbarians who had favoured Maximinus left, to suppress these. 4 Twenty representatives of the senate (their names are in Cordus), among whom were four of the rank of consul, eight of the rank of praetor, and eight of the rank of quaestor, were sent out to meet him with crowns and a decree of the senate in which equestrian statues of gold were decreed him. 5 At this, indeed, Balbinus was a little nettled, saying that Maximus had had less toil than he, since he had suppressed mighty wars at home, while Maximus had sat tranquilly at Ravenna. 6 But such was the power of wishing, that to Maximus, merely because he had set out against Maximinus, a victory was decreed which he did not know had been gained. 7 At any rate, having taken up Maximinus' army,52 Maximus came to the city with a tremendous train and multitude,53 while the soldiers grieved that they had lost the emperor whom they themselves had chosen and now had emperors selected by the senate. 54 8 Nor could they hide their grief, but showed it severally on their faces; and now they no longer refrained from speech, although, in fact, Maximus had previously often addressed the soldiers, p473 saying that there ought to be a general forgetting of the past, and had given them high pay and discharged the auxiliaries at whatever place they had chosen. But the minds of the soldiers, once they are infected with hate, cannot be restrained. And when they heard the acclamations of the senate which referred to them, they became even more bitter against Maximus and Balbinus and daily debated among themselves whom they ought to make emperor.

13 1 The decree of the senate by which they were aroused was of this nature:55 When Balbinus, Gordian, the senate, and the Roman people went out to meet Maximus as he entered the city, acclamations which referred to the soldiers were made publicly first. 2 Thereafter they went to the Senate-house, and there, after the ordinary acclamations which are usually made, they said: "So fare emperors wisely chosen, so perish emperors chosen by fools. " For it was understood that Maximinus had been made emperor by the soldiers, Maximus and Balbinus by the senators. 3 And when they heard this, the soldiers began to rage even more furiously — especially at the senate, which believed it was triumphing over the soldiers.

4 And now, to the great joy of the senate and Roman people, Balbinus and Maximus began governing the city, doing so with great moderation. They showed great respect for the senate; they instituted excellent laws, they heard lawsuits with justice, they planned the military policy of the state with great wisdom. 5 But when it was now arranged that Maximus should set out against the Parthians56 and Balbinus against the Germans,57 while the young Gordian remained at Rome, the soldiers, who were seeking an opportunity of killing the Emperors, and at first could not find p475 because Maximus and Balbinus were ever attended by a German guard,58 grew more menacing every day. 14 There was dissension, too, between Maximus and Balbinus59 — unspoken, however, and such as could be surmised rather than seen — for Balbinus scorned Maximus, as being humbly born, and Maximus despised Balbinus for a weakling. 2 And this fact gave the soldiers their opportunity, for they knew that emperors at variance could be slain easily. So finally, on the occasion of some scenic plays,60 when many of the soldiers and palace-attendants were busy, and the Emperors remained at the Palace alone with the German guard, they made a rush at them. 3 When the soldiers thus began to riot it was announced to Maximus that he could not escape from this disturbance and commotion unless he summoned the Germans, and they, as it happened, were in another part of the Palace with Balbinus. He sent to Balbinus, accordingly, asking him to send aid. 4 But Balbinus, suspecting that Maximus was asking for the guard to use against himself, since he believed that Maximus desired to rule alone, at first refused and finally began to wrangle over it. 5 And while they were engaged in this dispute the soldiers came upon them, and stripping them both of their royal robes and loading them with insults, they dragged them from the Palace. Thence, after handling them roughly, they started to hurry them through the centre of the city to the camp, 6 but when they p477 learned that the Germans were following to defend them, they slew them both and left them in the middle of the street. 7 In the meantime Gordian Caesar was lifted up by the soldiers and hailed emperor (that is, Augustus), there being no one else at hand; and then, jeering at the senate and people, the soldiers betook themselves immediately to the Camp. 8 As for the German guard, not wishing to fight needlessly now that their Emperors were slain, they betook themselves to their quarters outside the city.

15 1 This was the end of these good emperors, an end unworthy of their life and characters. For never was anyone braver than Maximus (or Pupienus) or more kindly than Balbinus, as one may see from the facts in the case. The senate did not choose unworthy men when it had the power. 2 And besides this, they were tested by many honours and offices, for the one was consul twice and prefect,61 the other consul and prefect, and they were advanced in years62 when they attained the sovereignty. They were beloved by the senate and even by the people, although the latter were slightly in awe of Maximus. 3 This is the information we have gathered concerning Maximus, chiefly from the Greek author Herodian.

4 Many, however, say that Maximinus was conquered at Aquileia, not by Maximus, but by the Emperor Pupienus, and that it was he, also, who was slain with Balbinus; they omit the name of Maximus altogether. 63 5 Such is the ignorance, moreover, or the usage of these disputing historians, that many desire to call Maximus p479 the same as Pupienus, although Herodian, who wrote of his own lifetime, speaks of Maximus, not of Pupienus, and Dexippus, the Greek author, says that Maximus and Balbinus were made emperors against Maximinus after the two Gordians, and that Maximinus was conquered by Maximus, not by Pupienus. 6 In addition to this, they show their ignorance by saying that the child Gordian was prefect of the guard,64 not knowing that he was often carried on a man's neck to be displayed to the soldiers. 65

7 Maximus and Balbinus reigned for one year,66 after Maximinus and his son had reigned for two years, according to some, for three according to others. 67

16 1 Balbinus' house is shown in Rome to this day in the Carinae,68 large and impressive and still in the possession of his family. 2 Maximus, who many think was Pupienus, was of slender substance, though of the most ample courage.

3 In their reign the Carpi69 waged war with the Moesians. The Scythian70 war began, and the p481 destruction of Istria71 or, as Dexippus calls it, the Istrian city, took place at the same time.

4 Dexippus praises Balbinus highly, and declares that he rushed at the soldiers with a gallant spirit and so died. He did not fear death, he says, being trained in all the philosophical disciplines. Maximus, he declares, was not the sort of man that most of the Greeks said he was. 5 He adds that such was the hatred of the citizens of Aquileia for Maximinus that they made strings for their bows from their women's hair, and thus shot their arrows. 72 6 Dexippus and Herodian, who investigated the history of these princes, say that Maximus and Balbinus were the princes selected by the senate to oppose Maximinus after the death of the two Gordians in Africa, and that the third Gordian, the child, was chosen with them. 7 In the majority of the Latin authors, however, I do not find the name of Maximus, and as emperor with Balbinus I discover Pupienus; indeed this same Pupienus is said to have fought against Maximinus at Aquileia, whereas, according to the testimony of the afore-mentioned writers, we are told that Maximus did not even fight against Maximinus but remained at Ravenna and there learned that the victory had been gained. And so it seems to me that Pupienus and he who is called Maximus are the same. 73

17 1 For this reason I have appended a congratulatory letter that was written about Maximus and Balbinus by a consul of their time. In it he p483 rejoices that they had restored the state after it had been in the hands of wicked bandits.

2 "Claudius Julianus74 to the Emperors Pupienus and Balbinus. When first I learned that by choice of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, of the immortal gods and of the senate, together with the agreement of all mankind, you had undertaken to preserve the state from the sins of that impious bandit and rule it in accordance with Roman law, my lords and most holy and unconquerable Augusti, when first I learned this, not yet from your own sacred proclamations but from the decree of the senate that my illustrious75 colleague Celsus Aelianus forwarded to me, I felicitated the city of Rome, that you had been chosen to preserve it; I felicitated the senate, that you, in returned for its choosing you, had restored to it its early dignity; I felicitated Italy, that you are defending it particularly from spoliation by the enemy; I felicitated the provinces, torn in pieces by the insatiable greed of tyrants, that you are restoring them to some hope of safety; I felicitated the legions, lastly, and the auxiliaries, which now worship your images everywhere, that they have thrust away their former disgrace and have now, in your name, a worthy symbol of the Roman principate. 3 No voice will ever be so strong, no speech will ever be so happy, no talent will ever be so fortunate, as ever adequately to express the state's felicity. 4 How great this felicity is, and of what sort, we can see at the very beginning of your reign. You have restored Roman laws, you have restored justice that was abolished, mercy that was non-existent, life, morality, p485 liberty, and the hope of heirs and successors. 5 It is difficult even to enumerate these things, 6 and much more to describe them with a fit dignity of speech. How shall I tell or describe how you have restored us our very lives, after that accursed bandit, sending the executioners everywhere throughout the provinces, had sought them to the point of openly confessing that he was enraged at our whole order, 7 especially when my insignificance cannot express even the personal rejoicing of my own mind, to say nothing of the public felicity, and when I behold as Augusti and lords of the human race those by the unwavering elegance of whose lives I would like my own conduct and sobriety to be approved as by the ancient censors? And though I might trust to have them approved by the attestation of former princes, 8 still I would glory in your judgment as a weightier one. May the gods preserve — and they will preserve — this felicity for the Roman world! For when I observe you, I can hope for nothing else than what the conqueror of Carthage76 is said to have implored of the gods, namely, that they preserve the state in the condition in which it was then, since no better one could be found. 9 And, therefore, I pray that they may preserve this state, that has tottered up to now, in the condition in which you have established it. "

18 1 This letter shows that 2 Pupienus and he whom most call Maximus were the same. Among the Greeks, indeed, Pupienus is not easily discovered in this period and among the Latins, Maximus; but what was done against Maximinus is sometimes related as done by Pupienus, sometimes as by Maximinus.

The Two Valerians1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 [Legamen ad paginam Latinam] . . . to Sapor, the King of Kings2 or, in fact, Sole King: "Did I but know for a certainty that the Romans could be wholly defeated, I should congratulate you on the victory of which you boast. 2 But inasmuch as that nation, either through Fate or its own prowess, is all-powerful, look to it lest the fact that you have taken prisoner an aged emperor, and that indeed by guile, may turn out ill for yourself and your descendants.
3 Consider what mighty nations the Romans have made their subjects instead of their enemies after they had often suffered defeat at their hands. 4 We have heard, in fact, how the Gauls conquered them and burned that great city of theirs; it is a fact that the Gauls are now servants to the Romans. What of the Africans? Did they not conquer the Romans? It is a fact that they serve p5 them now. 5 Examples more remote and perhaps less important I will not cite. Mithradates of Pontus held all of Asia; it is a fact that he was vanquished and Asia now belongs to the Romans. 6 If you ask my advice, make use of the opportunity for peace and give back Valerian to his people. I do indeed congratulate you on your good fortune, but only if you know how to use it aright. "

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 2 1 Velenus, King of the Cadusii,3 wrote as follows: "I have received with gratitude my forces returned to me safe and sound. Yet I cannot wholly congratulate you that Valerian, prince of princes, is captured; I should congratulate you more, were he given back to his people. For the Romans are never more dangerous than when they are defeated. 2 Act, therefore, as becomes a prudent man, and do not let Fortune, which has tricked many, kindle your pride. Valerian has an emperor for a son4 and a Caesar for a grandson, and what of the whole Roman world, which, to a man, will rise up against you? 3 Give back Valerian, therefore, and make peace with the Romans, a peace which will benefit us as well because of the tribes of Pontus. "

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 3 1 Artavasdes,5 King of the Armenians, sent the following letter to Sapor: "I have, indeed, a share in your glory, but I fear that you have not so much conquered as sown the seeds of war. 2 For Valerian is being sought back by his son, his grandson, and the generals of Rome, by all Gaul, all Africa, all Spain, all Italy, and by all the nations of Illyricum, the East, and Pontus, which are leagued with the p7 Romans or subject to them. 3 So, then, you have captured one old man but have made all the nations of the world your bitterest foes, and ours too, perhaps, for we have sent you aid, we are your neighbours, and we always suffer when you fight with each other. "

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 4 1 The Bactrians, the Hiberians,6 the Albanians,7 and the Tauroscythians8 refused to receive Sapor's letters and wrote to the Roman commanders, promising aid for the liberation of Valerian from his captivity.

2 Meanwhile, however, while Valerian was growing old in Persia, Odaenathus the Palmyrene9 gathered together an army and restored the Roman power almost to its pristine condition. 3 He captured the king's treasures and he captured, too, what the Parthian monarchs hold dearer than treasures, namely his concubines. 4 For this reason Sapor was now in greater dread of the Roman generals, and out of fear of Ballista10 and Odaenathus he withdrew more speedily to his kingdom. And this, for the time being, was the end of the war with the Persians.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 5 1 This is all that is worthy of being known about Valerian, whose life, praiseworthy for sixty years long, finally rose to such glory, that after holding all honours and offices with great distinction he was chosen emperor, not, as often happens, in a riotous assemblage of the people or by the shouting of soldiers, but solely by right of his services, and, as it were, by the single voice of the entire world. 2 In short, if all had been given the power of expressing their choice as to whom they desired as emperor, none other would have been chosen.

3 Now in order that you may know what power lay p9 in the public services of Valerian, I will cite the decrees of the senate,11 which will make it clear to all what judgement concerning him was always expressed by that most illustrious body.

4 In the consulship of the two Decii, on the sixth day before the Kalends of November, when, pursuant to an imperial mandate, the senate convened in the Temple of Castor and Pollux,12 and each senator was asked his opinion as to the man to whom the censorship13 should be offered (for this the Decii had left in the power of the most high senate), when the praetor had first announced the question, "What is your desire, Conscript Fathers, with regard to choosing a censor? " and then asked the opinion of him who was then the chief of the senate14 in the absence of Valerian (for at that time he was in military service with Decius), then all, breaking through the usual mode of giving the vote, cried out with one voice:15 "Valerian's life is a censorship. 5 Let him judge all, who is better than all. Let him judge the senate, who is free from guilt. Let him pronounce sentence on our lives, against whom no reproach can be brought. 6 From early childhood Valerian has been a censor. All his life long Valerian has been a censor. A wise senator, a modest senator, a respected senator. The friend of the good, the enemy of tyrants, the foe of crimes, the foe of vices. 7 He it is whom we all accept as censor, whom we all desire to imitate. Foremost p11 in family, noble in blood, free from stain in his life, famed for his learning, matchless in character, a sample of the olden times. " 8 When all this had been said repeatedly, they added, "All with one accord," and so they departed.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 6 1 When this decree of the senate was brought to Decius, he called all his courtiers together and gave orders that Valerian, too, should be summoned. Then, having read the decree before this assemblage of the foremost men, he said: 2 "Happy are you, Valerian, in this vote of the entire senate, or rather in the thoughts and the hearts of the whole world of men. Receive the censorship, which the Roman commonwealth has offered you and which you alone deserve, you who are now about to pass judgement on the character of all men, on the character of ourselves as well. 3 You shall decide who are worthy to remain in the Senate-house, you shall restore the equestrian order to its old-time condition, you shall determine the amount of our property, you shall safeguard, apportion and order our revenues, you shall conduct the census in our communities; 4 to you shall be given the power to write our laws, you shall judge concerning the rank of our soldiers, 5 and you shall have a care for their arms; 6 you shall pass judgement on our Palace, our judges and our most eminent prefects; in short, except for the prefect of the city of Rome, except for the regular consuls,16 the king of the sacrifices, and the senior Vestal Virgin (as long, that is, as she remains unpolluted), you shall pronounce sentence on all. Even those on whom you may not pass judgement will strive to win your approval. " 7 Thus Decius; but Valerian's reply was as follows: "Do not, I pray you, most venerated Emperor, fasten upon me the p13 necessity of passing judgement on the people, the soldiers, the senate, and all judges, tribunes and generals the whole world over. 8 It is for this that you have the name of Augustus. You it is on whom the office of censor devolves, for no commoner can duly fill it. 9 Therefore I ask to be excused from this office, to which my life is unequal, my courage unequal, and the times so unfavourable that human nature does not desire the office of censor. "

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 7 1 I could, indeed, cite many other senatorial decrees and imperial judgements concerning Valerian, were not most of them known to you, and did I not feel ashamed to extol too greatly a man who was vanquished by what seems a destined doom. Now let me turn to the younger Valerian.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 8 1 Valerian the younger,17 the son of a different mother from Gallienus, conspicuous for his beauty, admired for his modesty, distinguished in learning for one of his years, amiable in his manners, and holding aloof from the vicious ways of his brother, received from his father, when absent, the title of Caesar and from his brother, so says Caelestinus,18 that of Augustus. 2 His life contains nothing worthy of note, save that he was nobly born, excellently reared, and pitiably slain.

3 Now since I know that many are in error, who have read the inscription of Valerian the Emperor on a tomb, and believe that the body of that Valerian who was captured by the Persians was given back again, I have thought it my duty, that no error might creep in, to set down in writing that it was this younger Valerian who was buried near Milan and that by Claudius' order the inscription was added: "Valerian the Emperor. "

p15 4 Nothing further, I think, should be demanded concerning either older or younger Valerian. 5 And since I fear to exceed the proper limit of a volume, if I add to this book Valerian's son Gallienus, concerning whom we have already said much, and perchance too much, in the life of his father, or even Gallienus' son Saloninus,19 who is called in the history of his time both Saloninus and Gallienus, let us now pass, as we are bidden, to another volume. For, indeed, we have ever submitted to you and to Fame, to whom we can make no refusal.

The Two Gallieni

1 1 [Legamen ad paginam Latinam] When Valerian was captured (for where should we begin the biography of Gallienus,1 if not with that calamity which, above all, brought disgrace on his life? ), when the commonwealth was tottering, when Odaenathus had seized the rule of the East, and when Gallienus was rejoicing in the news of his father's captivity, the armies began to range about on all sides, the generals in all the provinces to murmur, and great was the grief of all men that Valerian, a Roman emperor, was held as a slave in Persia. But greater far was the grief of them all that now having received the imperial power, Gallienus, by his mode of life, as his father by his fate, brought ruin on the commonwealth. 2

p19 2 So then, when Gallienus and Volusianus were consuls, Macrianus and Ballista met together, called in the remains of the army, and, since the Roman power in the East was tottering, sought someone to appoint as emperor. 3 For Gallienus was showing himself so careless of public affairs that his name was not even mentioned to the soldiers. 3 It was then finally decided to choose Macrianus and his sons as emperors and to undertake the defence of the state. And so the imperial power was offered to Macrianus. 4 Now the reasons why Macrianus and his sons should be chosen to rule were these: First of all, no one of the generals of that time was held to be wiser, and none more suited to govern the state; in the second place, he was the richest, and could by his private fortune make good the public losses. 5 In addition to this, his sons, most valiant young men, rushed with all spirit into the war, ready to serve as an example to the legions in all the duties of soldiers.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 2 1 Accordingly, Macrianus sought reinforcements on every side and, in order to strengthen his power, took control of the party which he himself had formed. So well did he make ready for war that he was a match for all measures which could be devised against him. 2 He also chose Piso,4 one of the nobles and of the foremost men in the senate, as governor of Achaea, in order that he might crush Valens,5 who was administering that province with the authority of a proconsul. 3 Valens, however, learning that Piso was marching against him, assumed the imperial power. Piso, therefore, withdrew into Thessaly, 4 and there he, p21 together with many, was slain by the soldiers sent against him by Valens. Now Piso, too, was saluted as emperor with the surname Thessalicus.

5 Macrianus, moreover, now that the East was brought into subjection, left there one of his sons, and came first of all into Asia, and from there set out for Illyricum. 6 Here, having with him one of his sons and a force of thirty thousand soldiers, he engaged in battle with Domitianus,6 a general of Aureolus the emperor, who had assumed the imperial power in opposition to Gallienus. 7 7 He was, however, defeated, together with his son, Macrianus by name, and his whole army surrendered to the Emperor Aureolus.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 3 1 Meanwhile, when the commonwealth had been thrown into confusion throughout the entire world, Odaenathus,8 learning that Macrianus and his son had been slain, that Aureolus was ruling, and that Gallienus was administering the state with still greater slackness, hastened forward to seize the other son of Macrianus, together with his army, should Fortune so permit. 2 But those who were with Macrianus' son — whose name was Quietus — taking sides with Odaenathus, by the instigation of Ballista, Macrianus' prefect, killed the young man, and, casting his body over the wall, they all in large numbers surrendered to Odaenathus. 3 And so Odaenathus was made emperor over almost the whole East, while Aureolus held Illyricum and Gallienus Rome. 4 This same Ballista murdered, in addition to Quietus and the guardian of his treasures, many of the people of Emesa,9 to whom Macrianus' soldiers had fled, with the result that this city was nearly destroyed. 5 Odaenathus, meanwhile, as if p23 taking the side of Gallienus, caused all that had happened to be announced to him truthfully.

6 Gallienus, on the other hand, when he learned that Macrianus and his sons were slain, as though he were secure in his power and his father were now set free, surrendered himself to lust and pleasure. 10 7 He gave spectacles in the circus, spectacles in the theatre, gymnastic spectacles, hunting spectacles, and gladiatorial spectacles also, and he invited all the populace to merriment and applause, as though it were a day of victory. 8 And whereas most men mourned at his father's captivity, he, under the pretext of doing him honour — on the ground that his father had been caught through his zeal for valour — made merry beyond measure. 9 It was generally supposed, moreover, that he could not endure his father's censure and that it was his desire to feel no longer his father's authority bearing heavily upon his neck.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 4 1 During this same time Aemilianus11 in Egypt took the imperial power, and seizing the granaries he overcame many towns by the pressure of hunger. 2 However, Theodotus, Gallienus' general, after fighting a battle captured him, and stripping him of his emperor's trappings sent him alive to Gallienus. After this Egypt was assigned to Theodotus. As for Aemilianus, he was strangled in prison, while the soldiers of Thebes were cruelly punished and many were put to death.

3 Now while Gallienus, continuing in luxury and debauchery, gave himself up to amusements and revelling and administered the commonwealth like a boy who plays at holding power, the Gauls, by nature unable to endure princes who are frivolous and given over to luxury and have fallen below the standard of p25 Roman valour, called Postumus to the imperial power;12 and the armies, too, joined with them, for they complained of an emperor who was busied with his lusts. 4 Thereupon Gallienus himself led his army against him, and when he began to besiege the city in which Postumus was, the Gauls defended it bravely, and Gallienus, as he went around the walls, was struck by an arrow. 5 So for seven years13 Postumus held his power and with the greatest vigour protected the regions of Gaul from all the barbarians surging about. 6 Forced by this evil plight, Gallienus made peace with Aureolus14 in his desire to fight with Postumus, and, as the war dragged on to great length amid various sieges and battles, he conducted the campaign, now with good success and again with ill. 15 7 These evils had been further increased by the fact that the Scythians16 had invaded Bithynia and destroyed its cities. 8 Finally they set fire to Astacus, later called Nicomedia, and plundered it cruelly. 9 Last of all, when all parts of the Empire were thrown into commotion, as though by a conspiracy of the whole world, there arose in Sicily also a sort of slave-revolt, for bandits roved about and were put down only with great difficulty. Legamen ad paginam Latinam 5 1 All these things were done out of contempt for Gallienus, for there is nothing so quick to inspire evil men to daring and good men to the hope of good things as an evil emperor who is feared or a depraved one who is despised.

p27 2 In the consulship of Gallienus and Fausianus, amid so many calamities of war, there was also a terrible earthquake and a darkness for many days. 3 There was heard, besides, the sound of thunder, not like Jupiter thundering, but as though the earth were roaring. And by the earthquake many structures were swallowed up together with their inhabitants, and many men died of fright. This disaster, indeed, was worst in the cities of Asia; 4 but Rome, too, was shaken and Libya also was shaken. In many places the earth yawned open, and salt water appeared in the fissures. 5 Many cities were even overwhelmed by the sea. Therefore the favour of the gods was sought by consulting the Sibylline Books, and, according to their command, sacrifices were made to Jupiter Salutaris. 17 For so great a pestilence,18 too, had arisen in both Rome and the cities of Achaea that in one single day five thousand men died of the same disease.

6 While Fortune thus raged, and while here earthquakes, there clefts in the ground, and in divers places pestilence, devastated the Roman world, while Valerian was held in captivity and the provinces of Gaul were, for the most part, beset, while Odaenathus was threatening war, Aureolus pressing hard on Illyricum, and Aemilianus in possession of Egypt, a portion of the Goths . . . which name, as has previously been related, was given to the Goths, having seized Thrace and plundered Macedonia, laid siege to Thessalonica,19 and nowhere was hope of peace held out, p29 even to a slight degree. 7 All these things, as I have frequently said, were done out of contempt for Gallienus, a man given over to luxury and ever ready, did he feel free from danger, for any disgraceful deed.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 6 1 Against these same Goths a battle was fought in Achaea under the leadership of Marcianus,20 and being defeated they withdrew from there through the country of the Achaeans. 2 The Scythians — they are a portion of the Goths — devastated Asia and even plundered and burned the Temple of the Moon at Ephesus,21 the fame of which building is known through all nations. 3 I am ashamed to relate what Gallienus used often to say at this time, when such things were happening, as though jesting amid the ills of mankind. 4 For when he was told of the revolt of Egypt, he is said to have exclaimed "What! We cannot do without Egyptian linen! " 5 and when informed that Asia had been devastated both by the violence of nature and by the inroads of the Scythians, he said, "What! We cannot do without saltpetre! " 6 and when Gaul was lost, he is reported to have laughed and remarked, "Can the commonwealth be safe without Atrebatic22 cloaks? " 7 Thus, in short, with regard to all parts of the world, as he lost them, he would jest, as though seeming to have suffered the loss of some article of trifling service. 8 And finally, that no disaster might be lacking to his times, the city of Byzantium, famed for its naval wars and the key to the Pontus, was destroyed by the soldiers of Gallienus himself so completely, that not a single soul survived. 23 9 In fact, no ancient family can now be p31 found among the Byzantines, unless some member, engaged in travel or warfare, escaped to perpetuate the antiquity and noble descent of his stock.

7 1 Legamen ad paginam Latinam Gallienus, then, entered into war against Postumus,24 having with him Aureolus and the general Claudius, afterwards emperor and the head of the family of Constantius our Caesar. 25 And Postumus, too, with many auxiliary troops of Celts and Franks advanced to the fight, in company with Victorinus,26 with whom he had shared the imperial power. After several battles had been fought with varying outcome, the side of Gallienus was finally victorious. 2 In fact, Gallienus had the boldness of suddenly aroused valour, for at times he was violently stirred by affronts. Then finally he went forth to avenge the wrongs of the Byzantines. And whereas he had no expectation of being received within the walls, he was admitted next day, and then, after placing a ring of armed men around the disarmed soldiers, contrary to the agreement he had made he caused them all to be slain. 3 During this time, too, the Scythians in Asia were routed by the courage and skill of the Roman generals and retired to their own abode.

4 Now Gallienus, after the slaughter of the soldiers at Byzantium, as though he had performed some mighty feat, hastened to Rome in a rapid march, convened the senators, and celebrated a decennial festival with new kinds of spectacles, new varieties of parades, and the most elaborate sort of amusements. 27 Legamen ad paginam Latinam 8 1 First of all, he repaired to the Capitol with the senators and the equestrian order dressed in their togas and with the soldiers dressed all in white, and p33 with all the populace going ahead, while the slaves of almost all and the women preceded them, bearing waxen flambeaux and torches. 2 There preceded them, too, on each side one hundred white oxen, having their horns bound with golden cords and resplendent in many-coloured silken covers; 3 also two hundred lambs of glistening white went ahead on each side, besides ten elephants, which were then in Rome, and twelve hundred gladiators decked with all pomp, and matrons in golden cloaks, and two hundred tamed beasts of divers kinds, tricked out with the greatest splendour, and waggons bearing pantomimists and actors of every sort, and boxers who fought, not in genuine combat, but with the softer straps. 28 All the buffoons29 also acted a Cyclops-performance,30 giving exhibitions that were marvellous and astonishing. 4 So all the streets resounded with merry-making and shouts and applause, 5 and in the midst the Emperor himself, wearing the triumphal toga and the tunic embroidered with palms, and accompanied, as I have said, by the senators and with all the priests dressed in bordered togas, proceeded to the Capitol. 6 On each side of him were borne five hundred gilded spears and one hundred banners, besides those which belonged to the corporations, and the flags of auxiliaries and the statues from the sanctuaries31 and the standards of all the legions. 7 There marched, furthermore, men dressed to represent foreign nations, as p35 Goths and Sarmatians, Franks and Persians, and no fewer than two hundred paraded in a single group.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 9 1 By this procession the foolish man thought to delude the people of Rome; nevertheless — for such is the Romans' love of a jest — one man kept supporting Postumus, another Regalianus,32 another Aureolus or Aemilianus, and another Saturninus33 — for he, too, was now said to be ruling. 2 Amid all this there was loud lamentation for the father whom the son had left unavenged and for whom foreigners had tried, in one way or another, to exact a vengeance. 34 3 Gallienus, however, was moved to no such deed, for his heart was dulled by pleasure, but he merely kept asking of those about him, "Have we anything planned for luncheon? Have any amusements been arranged? What manner of play will there be to‑morrow and what manner of circus-games? " 4 So, having finished the procession, he offered hecatombs and returned to the royal residence, and then, the banquets and feastings having come to an end, he appointed further days for the public amusements. 5 One well-known instance of jesting, however, must not be omitted. As a band of Persians, supposed to be captives, was being led along in the procession (such an absurdity! ), certain wits mingled with them and most carefully scrutinized all, examining with open-mouthed astonishment the features of every one; 6 and when asked what they meant by that sagacious investigation, they replied, "We are searching for the Emperor's father. " 7 When this incident was reported to Gallienus, unmoved by shame or grief or filial affection, he ordered the wits to be burned alive — 8 a measure which angered the people more than anyone would suppose, but so grieved the soldiers that not much later they requited the deed.

p37 10 1 Legamen ad paginam Latinam In the consulship of Gallienus and Saturninus Odaenathus, king of the Palmyrenes, held the rule over the entire East35 — chiefly for the reason that by his brave deeds he had shown himself worthy of the insignia of such great majesty, whereas Gallienus was doing nothing at all or else only what was extravagant, or foolish and deserving of ridicule. 2 Now at once he proclaimed a war on the Persians to exact for Valerian the vengeance neglected by Valerian's son. He immediately occupied 3 Nisibis and Carrhae, the people of which surrendered, reviling Gallienus. 4 Nevertheless, Odaenathus showed no lack of respect toward Gallienus, for he sent him the satraps he captured — though, as it seemed, merely for the purpose of insulting him and displaying his own prowess. 36 5 After these had been brought to Rome, Gallienus held a triumph because of Odaenathus' victory;37 but he still made no mention of his father and did not even place him among the gods, when he heard he was dead, until compelled to do so38 — although in fact Valerian was still alive, for the news of his death was untrue. 6 Odaenathus, besides, besieged an army of Parthians at Ctesiphon and devastated all the country round about, killing men without number. 7 But when all the satraps from all the outlying regions flocked together to Ctesiphon for the purpose of common defence, there were long-lasting battles with varying results, but more long-lasting still was the success of the Romans. 8 Moreover, since Odaenathus' sole purpose was to set Valerian free, he daily pressed onward, but this best of commanders, now on a foreign soil, suffered greatly because of the difficult ground.

p39 Legamen ad paginam Latinam 11 1 While these events were happening among the Persians, the Scythians made their way into Cappadocia. 39 After capturing many cities there and waging war for a long time with varying success, they betook themselves to Bithynia. 2 Wherefore the soldiers again considered the choosing of a new emperor; but since he could not placate them or win their support, Gallienus, after his usual fashion, put all of them to death.

3 Just, however, when the soldiers were looking for a worthy prince, Gallienus was holding the office of archon — chief magistrate, that is — at Athens, showing that same vanity which also made him desire to be enrolled among its citizens and even take part in all its sacred rites — 4 which not even Hadrian had done at the height of his prosperity or Antoninus during a long-established peace,40 and these emperors, too, were schooled by so much study of Greek letters that in the judgement of great men they were scarcely inferior to the most learned scholars. 5 He desired, furthermore, to be included among the members of the Areopagus, almost as though he despised public affairs. 6 For indeed it cannot be denied that Gallienus won fame in oratory, poetry, and all the arts. 7 His, too, is the epithalamium which had the chief place among a hundred poets. For, when he was joining in marriage the children of his brothers, and all the poets, both Greek and Latin, had recited their epithalamia, and that for very many days, Gallienus, holding the hands of the bridal pair, p41 so it is reported, is said to have recited repeatedly the following verses:

8 "Come now, my children, grow heated together in deep-seated passion,
Never, indeed, may the doves outdo your billings and cooings,
Never the ivy your arms, or the clinging of sea-shells your kisses. "41
9 It would be too long a task to collect all his verses and speeches, which made him illustrious among both the poets and the rhetoricians of his own time. But it is one thing that is desired in an emperor, and another that is demanded of an orator or a poet.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 12 1 One excellent deed of his, to be sure, is mentioned with praise. For in the consulship of his brother Valerian and his kinsman Lucillus, when he learned that Odaenathus had ravaged the Persians, brought Nisibis and Carrhae under the sway of Rome, made all of Mesopotamia ours, and finally arrived at Ctesiphon, put the king to flight, captured the satraps and killed large numbers of Persians, he gave him a share in the imperial power, conferred on him the name Augustus,42 and ordered coins to be struck in his honour, which showed him haling the Persians into captivity. This measure the senate, the city, and men of every age received with approval.

2 Gallienus, furthermore, was exceedingly clever, and I wish to relate a few actions of his in order to show his wit. 3 Once, when a huge bull was led into the arena, and a huntsman came forth to fight him but was unable to slay the bull though it was brought out p43 ten times, he sent the huntsman a garland, 4 and when all the crowd wondered what it might mean that so foolish a fellow should be crowned with a garland, he bade a herald announce: "It is a difficult thing to miss a bull so many times. " 5 On another occasion, when a certain man sold his wife glass jewels instead of real, and she, discovering the fraud, wished the man to be punished, he ordered the seller to be haled off, as though to a lion, and then had them let out from the cage a capon, and when all were amazed at so absurd a proceeding, he bade the herald proclaim: "He practised deceit and then had it practised on him. " Then he let the dealer go home.

6 But while Odaenathus was busied with the war against the Persians and Gallienus was devoting himself to most foolish pursuits, as was his custom, the Scythians built ships and advanced upon Heraclea,43 and thence they returned with booty to their native land, although many were lost by shipwreck or defeated in a naval engagement.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 13 1 About this same time Odaenathus was treacherously slain by his cousin,44 and with him his son Herodes,45 whom he had also hailed as emperor. 2 Then Zenobia, his wife, since the sons who remained, Herennianus and Timolaus,46 were still very young, assumed the power herself 3 and ruled for a long time,47 not in feminine fashion or with the ways of a woman, but surpassing in courage and skill not merely Gallienus, than whom any girl could have ruled more successfully, but also many an emperor. 4 As for Gallienus, indeed, when he learned that Odaenathus was murdered, he made ready for war with the Persians — p45 an over-tardy vengeance for his father — and, gathering an army with the help of the general Heraclianus, he played the part of a skilful prince. 5 This Heraclianus, however, on setting out against the Persians, was defeated by the Palmyrenes and lost all the troops he had gathered,48 for Zenobia was ruling Palmyra and most of the East with the vigour of a man.

6 Meanwhile the Scythians sailed across the Black Sea and, entering the Danube, did much damage on Roman soil. 49 Learning of this, Gallienus deputed Cleodamus and Athenaeus the Byzantines to repair and fortify the cities, and a battle was fought near the Black Sea, in which the barbarians were conquered by the Byzantine leaders. 7 The Goths were also defeated in a naval battle by the general Venerianus, though Venerianus himself died a soldier's death. 8 Then the Goths ravaged Cyzicus and Asia and then all of Achaea, but were vanquished by the Athenians under the command of Dexippus, an historian of these times. 50 Driven thence, they roved through Epirus, Macedonia and Boeotia. 9 Gallienus, meanwhile, roused at last by the public ills, met the Goths as they roved about in Illyricum, and, as it chanced, killed a great number. Learning of this, the Scythians, after making a barricade of wagons, attempted to escape by way of Mount Gessaces. 51 10 Then Marcianus made war on all the Scythians with varying p47 success,52 . . . . . . which measures roused all the Scythians to rebellion.

Legamen ad paginam Latinam 14 1 Such, in fact, was the devotion of the general Heraclianus to the commonwealth. But being unable to endure further all the iniquities of Gallienus, Marcianus and Heraclianus formed a plan that one of them should take the imperial power. 53 . . . . . . 2 And Claudius, in fact, was chosen, the best man of all, as we shall narrate in the proper place. He had had no part in their plan, but was held by all in such respect that he seemed worthy of the imperial power, and justly so, as was proved by later events. 3 For he is that Claudius from whom Constantius, our most watchful Caesar, derives his descent. 54 4 These men had also as their comrade in seeking the power a certain Ceronius, or rather Cecropius, commander of the Dalmatians, who aided them with the greatest shrewdness and wisdom. 5 But being unable to seize the power while Gallienus was still alive, they decided to proceed against him by a plot of the following nature, purposing, now that the state was exhausted by disasters, to remove this most evil blot from the governance of the human race and to save the commonwealth, now given over to the theatre and circus, from going to destruction through the allurements of pleasure. 6 Now the nature of their plot was as follows: Gallienus was at enmity with Aureolus, who had seized upon the position of prince, and was daily expecting the coming of this usurping ruler — a serious and, indeed, an unendurable thing. 7 Being aware of this, Marcianus and p49 Cecropius suddenly caused word to be sent to Gallienus that Aureolus was now approaching.