The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus Part 5

Tiberius and Livia avoided appearing abroad: public lamentation they thought below their grandeur; or perhaps they apprehended that their countenances, examined by all eyes, might show deceitful hearts. That Antonia, mother to the deceased, bore any part in the funeral, I do not find either in the historians or in the city journals: though, besides Agrippina, and Drusus, and Claudius, his other relations are likewise there recorded by name: whether by sickness she was prevented; or whether her soul vanquished by sorrow, could not bear the representation of such a mighty calamity. I would rather believe her constrained by Tiberius and Livia, who left not the palace; and affecting equal affliction with her, would have it seem that, by the example of the mother, the grandmother too and uncle were detained.

The day his remains were reposited in the tomb of Augustus, various were the symptoms of public grief; now the vastness of silence; now the uproar of lamentation; the city in every quarter full of processions; the field of Mars on a blaze of torches: here the soldiers under arms, the magistrates without the insignia, the people by their tribes, all cried in concert that "the Commonwealth was fallen, and henceforth there was no remain of hope;" so openly and boldly that you would have believed they had forgot, who bore sway. But nothing pierced Tiberius more than the ardent affections of the people towards Agrippina, while such t.i.tles they gave her as "the ornament of her country, the only blood of Augustus, the single instance of ancient virtue;" and, while applying to heaven, they implored "the continuance of her issue, that they might survive the persecuting and malignant."

There were those who missed the pomp of a public funeral, and compared with this the superior honours and magnificence bestowed by Augustus on that of Drusus the father of Germanicus; "that he himself had travelled, in the sharpness of winter, as far as Pavia, and thence, continuing by the corpse, had with it entered the city; round his head were placed the images of the Claudii and Julii; he was mourned in the Forum; his encomium p.r.o.nounced in the Rostras; all sorts of honours, such as were the inventions of our ancestors, or the improvements of their posterity, were heaped upon him. But to Germanicus were denied the ordinary solemnities, and such as were due to every distinguished Roman. In a foreign country indeed, his corpse because of the long journey, was burnt without pomp; but afterwards, it was but just to have supplied the scantiness of the first ceremony by the solemnity of the last: his brother met him but one day's journey; his uncle not even at the gate. Where were those generous observations of the ancients; the effigies of the dead borne on a bed, hymns composed in memory of their virtue, with the oblations of praise and tears? Where at least were the ceremonies and even outside of sorrow?"

All this was known to Tiberius; and, to suppress the discourses of the populace, he published an edict, "that many ill.u.s.trious Romans had died for the Commonwealth, but none so vehemently lamented: this however was to the glory of himself and of all men, if a measure were observed. The same things which became private families and small states, became not Princes and an Imperial People: fresh grief indeed required vent and ease by lamentation; but it was now time to recover and fortify their minds. Thus the deified Julius, upon the loss of an only daughter; thus the deified Augustus, upon the hasty death of his grandsons, had both vanquished their sorrow. More ancient examples were unnecessary; how often the Roman People sustained with constancy the slaughter of their armies, the death of their generals, and entire destruction of their n.o.blest families: Princes were mortal; the Commonwealth was eternal: they should therefore resume their several vocations." And because the Megalesian games were at hand, he added, "that they should even apply to the usual festivities."

The vacation ended, public affairs were resumed; Drusus departed for the army in Illyric.u.m, and the minds of all men were bent upon seeing vengeance done upon Piso. They repeated their resentments, that while he wandered over the delightful countries of Asia and Greece, he was stifling, by contumacious and deceitful delays, the evidences of his crimes; for it was bruited abroad, that Martina, she who was famous for poisonings, and sent, as I have above related, by Cneius Sentius towards Rome, was suddenly dead at Brundusium; that poison lay concealed in a knot of her hair, but upon her body were found no symptoms of self-murder.

Piso, sending forward his son to Rome, with instructions how to soften the Emperor, proceeded himself to Drusus: him he hoped to find less rigid for the death of a brother, than favourable for the removal of a rival.

Tiberius, to make show of a spirit perfectly unbia.s.sed, received the young man graciously, and honoured him with the presents usually bestowed on young n.o.blemen. The answer of Drusus to Piso was, "That if the current rumours were true, he stood in the first place of grief and revenge; but he hoped they were false and chimerical, and that the death of Germanicus would be pernicious to none." This he declared in public, and avoided all privacy: nor was it doubted but the answer was dictated by Tiberius; when a youth, otherwise easy and unwary, practised thus the wiles and cunning of age.

Piso having crossed the sea of Dalmatia, and left his s.h.i.+ps at Ancona, took first the road of Picenum and then the Flaminian way, following the legion which was going from Pannonia to Rome, and thence to garrison in Africa. This too became the subject of popular censure, that he officiously mixed with the soldiers, and courted them in their march and quarters: he therefore, to avoid suspicion; or, because when men are in dread, their conduct wavers, did at Narni embark upon the Nar, and thence sailed into the Tiber. By landing at the burying-place of the Caesars, he heightened the wrath of the populace: besides, he and Plancina came ash.o.r.e, in open day, in the face of the city who were crowding the banks, and proceeded with gay countenances; he attended by a long band of clients, she by a train of ladies. There were yet other provocations to hatred; the situation of his house, proudly overlooking the Forum, and adorned and illuminated as for a festival; the banquet and rejoicings held in it, and all as public as the place.

The next day Fulcinius Trio arraigned Piso before the Consuls, but was opposed by Vitellius, Veranius, and others, who had accompanied Germanicus: they said, "that in this prosecution Trio had no part; nor did they themselves act as accusers, but only gathered materials, and, as witnesses, produced the last injunctions of Germanicus." Trio dropped that accusation; but got leave to call in question his former life: and now the Emperor was desired to undertake the trial; a request which the accused did not at all oppose, dreading the inclinations of the people and Senate: he knew Tiberius, on the contrary, resolute in despising popular rumours, and in guilt confederate with his mother: besides that truth and misrepresentations were easiest distinguished by a single judge, but in a.s.semblies odium and envy often prevailed. Tiberius was aware of the weight of the trial, and with what reproaches he was a.s.saulted. Admitting therefore a few confidants, he heard the charge of the accusers, as also the apology of the accused; and left the cause entire to the Senate.

Drusus returned the while from Illyric.u.m; and though the Senate had for the reduction of Maroboduus, and other his exploits the summer before, decreed him the triumph of ovation; he postponed the honour, and privately entered the city. Piso, for his advocates, desired t.i.tus Arruntius, Fulcinius, Asinius Gallus, Eserninus Marcellus, and s.e.xtus Pompeius: but they all framed different excuses; and he had, in their room, Marcus Lepidus, Lucius Piso and Liveneius Regulus. Now earnest were the expectations of all men, "how great would prove the fidelity of the friends of Germanicus; what the a.s.surance of the criminal, what the behaviour of Tiberius; whether he would sufficiently smother, or betray his sentiments." He never had a more anxious part; neither did the people ever indulge themselves in such secret murmurs against their Emperor, nor harbour in silence severer suspicions.

When the Senate met, Tiberius made a speech full of laboured moderation: "That Piso had been his father's lieutenant and friend; and lately appointed by himself, at the direction of the Senate, coadjutor to Germanicus in administering the affairs of the East: whether he had there by contumacy and opposition exasperated the young Prince, and exulted over his death, or wickedly procured it, they were then to judge with minds unprejudiced. For, if he who was the lieutenant of my son violated the limits of his commission, cast off obedience to his general, and even rejoiced at his decease and at my affliction; I will detest the man, I will banish him from my house, and for domestic injuries exert domestic revenge; not the revenge of an Emperor. But for you; if his guilt of any man's death whatsoever is discovered, show your just vengeance, and by it satisfy yourselves, satisfy the children of Germanicus, and us his father and grandmother. Consider too especially, whether he vitiated the discipline and promoted sedition in the army; whether he sought to debauch the affections of the soldiers, and to recover the province by arms: or whether these allegations are not published falsely and with aggravations by the accusers, with whose over-pa.s.sionate zeal, I am justly offended: for, whither tended the stripping the corpse and exposing it to the eyes and examination of the populace; with what view was it proclaimed even to foreign nations, that his death was the effect of poison; if all this was still doubtful, and remains yet to be tried? It is true I bewail my son, and shall ever bewail him: but neither do I hinder the accused to do what in him lies to manifest his innocence, even at the expense of Germanicus, if aught blamable was in him. From you I entreat the same impartiality: let not the connection of my sorrow with this cause, mislead you to take crimes for proved because they are imputed. For Piso; if the tenderness of kinsmen, if the faith of friends, has furnished him with patrons, let them aid him in his peril, show their utmost eloquence, and exert their best diligence. To the same pains, to the same firmness I exhort the accusers.

Thus much we will grant to the memory of Germanicus, that the inquest concerning his death, be held rather here than in the Forum, in the Senate than the common Tribunals. In all the rest, we will descend to the ordinary methods. Let no man in this cause consider Drusus's tears; let none regard my sorrow, no more than the probable fictions of calumny against us."

Two days were then appointed for maintaining the charge; six for preparing the defence, and three for making it. Fulcinius began with things stale and impertinent, about the ambition and rapine of Piso in his administration of Spain: things which, though proved, brought him under no penalty, if acquitted of the present charge; nor, though he had been cleared of former faults, could he escape the load of greater enormities.

After him Servaeus, Veranius, and Vitellius, all with equal zeal, but Vitellius with great eloquence urged "that Piso, in hatred to Germanicus, and pa.s.sionate for innovations, had by tolerating general licentiousness, and the oppression of the allies, corrupted the common soldiers to that degree, that by the most profligate he was styled _Father of the Legions_: he had, on the contrary, been outrageous to the best men, above all to the friends and companions of Germanicus; and, at last, by witchcraft and poison destroyed Germanicus himself: hence the infernal charms and immolations practised by him and Plancina: he had then attacked the Commonwealth with open arms; and, before he could be brought to be tried, they were forced to fight and defeat him."

In every article but one his defence was faltering. For, neither his dangerous intrigues in debauching the soldiery, nor his abandoning the province to the most profligate and rapacious, nor even his insults to Germanicus, were to be denied. He seemed only to wipe off the charge of poison; a charge which in truth was not sufficiently corroborated by the accusers, since they had only to allege, "that at an entertainment of Germanicus, Piso, while he sat above him, with his hands poisoned the meat." It appeared absurd that amongst so many attending slaves besides his own, in so great a presence, and under the eye of Germanicus, he would attempt it: he himself required that the waiters might be racked, and offered to the rack his own domestics: but the Judges were implacable, implacable from different motives; Tiberius for the war raised in the province; and the Senate could never be convinced that the death of Germanicus was not the effect of fraud. Some moved for the letters written to Piso from Rome; a motion opposed by Tiberius no less than by Piso. From without, at the same time, were heard the cries of the people, "that if he escaped the judgment of the Senate, they would with their own hands destroy him." They had already dragged his statues to the place from whence malefactors were precipitated, and there had broken them; but by the orders of Tiberius they were rescued and replaced. Piso was put into a litter and carried back by a tribune of a Praetorian cohort; an attendance variously understood, whether as a guard for his safety, or a minister of death.

Plancina was under equal public hatred, but had more secret favour: hence it was doubted how far Tiberius durst proceed against her. For herself; while her husband's hopes were yet plausible, she professed "she would accompany his fortune, whatever it were, and, if he fell, fall with him."

But when by the secret solicitations of Livia, she had secured her own pardon, she began by degrees to drop her husband, and to make a separate defence. After this fatal warning, he doubted whether he should make any further efforts; but, by the advice of his sons, fortifying his mind, he again entered the Senate: there he found the prosecution renewed, suffered the declared indignation of the Fathers, and saw all things cross and terrible; but nothing so much daunted him as to behold Tiberius, without mercy, without wrath, close, dark, unmovable, and bent against every access of tenderness. When he was brought home, as if he were preparing for his further defence the next day, he wrote somewhat, which he sealed and delivered to his freedman: he then washed and anointed, and took the usual care of his person. Late in the night, his wife leaving the chamber, he ordered the door to be shut; and was found, at break of day, with his throat cut, his sword lying by him.

I remember to have heard from ancient men, that in the hands of Piso was frequently seen a bundle of writings, which he did not expose, but which, as his friends constantly averred, "contained the letters of Tiberius and his cruel orders towards Germanicus: that he resolved to lay them before the Fathers and to charge the Emperor, but was deluded by the hollow promises of Seja.n.u.s: and that neither did Piso die by his own hands, but by those of an express and private executioner." I dare affirm neither; nor yet ought I to conceal the relations of such as still lived when I was a youth. Tiberius, with an a.s.sumed air of sadness, complained to the Senate, that Piso, by that sort of death, had aimed to load him with obloquy; and asked many questions how he had pa.s.sed his last day, how his last night? The freedman answered to most with prudence, to some in confusion. The Emperor then recited the letter sent him by Piso. It was conceived almost in these words: "Oppressed by a combination of my enemies and the imputation of false crimes; since no place is left here to truth and my innocence; to the Immortal G.o.ds I appeal, that towards you, Caesar, I have lived with sincere faith, nor towards your mother with less reverence. For my sons I implore her protection and yours: my son Cneius had no share in my late management whatever it were, since, all the while, he abode at Rome: and my son Marcus dissuaded me from returning to Syria.

Oh that, old as I am, I had yielded to him, rather than he, young as he is, to me! Hence more pa.s.sionately I pray that innocent as he is, he suffer not in the punishment of my guilt: by a series of services for five-and-forty years, I entreat you; by our former fellows.h.i.+p in the consuls.h.i.+p; by the memory of the deified Augustus, your father; by his friends.h.i.+p to me; by mine to you, I entreat you for the life and fortune of my unhappy son. It is the last request I shall ever make you." Of Plancina he said nothing.

Tiberius, upon this, cleared the young man of any crime as to the civil war: he alleged "the orders of his father, which a son could not disobey."

He likewise bewailed "that n.o.ble house, and even the grievous lot of Piso himself, however deserved," For Plancina he pleaded with shame and guilt, alleging the importunity of his mother; against whom more particularly the secret murmurs of the best people waxed bitter and poignant. "Was it then the tender part of a grandmother to admit to her sight the murderess of her grandson, to be intimate with her, and to s.n.a.t.c.h her from the vengeance of the Senate? To Germanicus alone was denied what by the laws was granted to every citizen. By Vitellius and Veranius, the cause of that prince was mourned and pleaded: by the Emperor and his mother, Plancina was defended and protected. Henceforth she might pursue her infernal arts so successfully tried, repeat her poisonings, and by her arts and poisons a.s.sail Agrippina and her children; and, with the blood of that most miserable house, satiate the worthy grandmother and uncle." In this mock trial two days were wasted; Tiberius, all the while, animating the sons of Piso to defend their mother: when the pleaders and witnesses had vigorously pushed the charge, and no reply was made, commiseration prevailed over hatred. The Consul Aurelius Cotta was first asked his opinion: for, when the Emperor collected the voices, the magistrates likewise voted. Cotta's sentence was, "that the name of Piso should be razed from the annals, part of his estate forfeited, part granted to his son Cneius, upon changing that name; his son Marcus be divested of his dignity, and content with fifty thousand great sestertia, [Footnote: 42,000.] be banished for ten years: and to Plancina, at the request of Livia, indemnity should be granted."

Much of this sentence was abated by the Emperor; particularly that of striking Piso's name out of the annals, when "that of Marc Anthony, who made war upon his country; that of Julius Antonius, who had by adultery violated the house of Augustus, continued still there." He also exempted Marcus Piso from the ignominy of degradation, and left him his whole paternal inheritance; for, as I have already often observed, he was to the temptations of money incorruptible, and from the shame of having acquitted Plancina, rendered then more than usually mild. He likewise withstood the motion of Valerius Messalinus, "for erecting a golden statue in the Temple of Mars the Avenger;" and that of Caecina Severus, "for founding an altar to revenge." "Such monuments as these," he argued, "were only fit to be raised upon foreign victories; domestic evils were to be buried in sadness." Messalinus had added, "that to Tiberius, Livia, Antonia, Agrippina and Drusus, public thanks were to be rendered for having revenged the death of Germanicus;" but had omitted to mention Claudius.

Messalinus was asked by Lucius Asprenas, in the presence of the Senate, "Whether by design he had omitted him?" and then at last the name of Claudius was subjoined. To me, the more I revolve the events of late or of old, the more of mockery and slipperiness appears in all human wisdom and the transactions of men: for, in popular fame, in the hopes, wishes and veneration of the public, all men were rather destined to the Empire, than he for whom fortune then reserved the sovereignty in the dark.

A few days after, Vitellius, Veranius and Servaeus, were by the Senate preferred to the honours of the Priesthood, at the motion of Tiberius. To Fulcinius he promised his interest and suffrage towards preferment, but advised him "not to embarra.s.s his eloquence by impetuosity." This was the end of revenging the death of Germanicus; an affair ambiguously related, not by those only who then lived and interested themselves in it, but likewise the following times: so dark and intricate are all the highest transactions; while some hold for certain facts, the most precarious hearsays; others turn facts into falsehood; and both are swallowed and improved by the credulity of posterity. Drusus went now without the city, there to renew the ceremony of the auspices, and presently re-entered in the triumph of _ovation_. A few days after died Vipsania his mother; of all the children of Agrippa, the only one who made a pacific end: the rest manifestly perished, or are believed to have perished, by the sword, poison, or famine.

The qualifying of the Law Papia Poppaea was afterwards proposed; a law which, to enforce those of Julius Caesar, Augustus had made when he was old, for punis.h.i.+ng celibacy and enriching the Exchequer. Nor even by this means had marriages and children multiplied, while a pa.s.sion to live single and childless prevailed: but, in the meantime, the numbers threatened and in danger by it increased daily, while by the glosses and chicane of the impleaders every family was undone. So that, as before the city laboured under the weight of crimes, so now under the pest of laws.

From this thought I am led backwards to the first rise of laws, and to open the steps and causes by which we are arrived to the present number and excess; a number infinite and perplexed.

The first race of men, free as yet from every depraved pa.s.sion, lived without guile and crimes, and therefore without chastis.e.m.e.nts or restraints; nor was there occasion for rewards, when of their own accord they pursued righteousness: and as they courted nothing contrary to justice, they were debarred from nothing by terrors. But, after they had abandoned their original equality, and from modesty and shame to do evil, proceeded to ambition and violence; lordly dominion was introduced and arbitrary rule, and in many nations grew perpetual. Some, either from the beginning, or after they were surfeited with kings, preferred the sovereignty of laws; which, agreeable to the artless minds of men, were at first short and simple. The laws in most renown were those framed for the Cretans by Minos; for the Spartans by Lycurgus; and afterwards such as Solon delivered to the Athenians, now greater in number and more exquisitely composed. To the Romans justice was administered by Romulus according to his pleasure: after him, Numa managed the people by religious devices and laws divine. Some inst.i.tutions were made by Tullus Hostilius, some by Ancus Martius; but above all our laws were those founded by Servius Tullius; they were such as even our kings were bound to obey.

Upon the expulsion of Tarquin; the people, for the security of their freedom against the encroachment and factions of the Senate, and for binding the public concord, prepared many ordinances: hence were created the Decemviri, and by them were composed the twelve tables, out of a collection of the most excellent inst.i.tutions found abroad. The period this of all upright and impartial laws. What laws followed, though sometimes made against crimes and offenders, were yet chiefly made by violence, through the animosity of the two Estates, and for seizing unjustly withholden offices or continuing unjustly in them, or for banis.h.i.+ng ill.u.s.trious patriots, and to other wicked ends. Hence the Gracchi and Saturnini, inflamers of the people; and hence Drusus vying, on behalf of the Senate, in popular concessions with these inflamers; and hence the corrupt promises made to our Italian allies, promises deceitfully made, or, by the interposition of some Tribune, defeated.

Neither during the war of Italy, nor during the civil war, was the making of regulations discontinued; many and contradictory were even then made.

At last Sylla the Dictator, changing or abolis.h.i.+ng the past, added many of his own, and procured some respite in this matter, but not long; for presently followed the turbulent pursuits and proposals of Lepidus, and soon after were the Tribunes restored to their licentious authority of throwing the people into combustions at pleasure. And now laws were not made for the public only, but for particular men particular laws; and corruption abounding in the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth abounded in laws.

Pompey was, now in his third Consuls.h.i.+p, chosen to correct the public enormities; and his remedies proved to the State more grievous than its distempers. He made laws such as suited his ambition, and broke them when they thwarted his will; and lost by arms the regulations which by arms he had procured. Henceforward for twenty years discord raged, and there was neither law nor settlement; the most wicked found impunity in the excess of their wickedness; and many virtuous men, in their uprightness met destruction. At length, Augustus Caesar in his sixth Consuls.h.i.+p, then confirmed in power without a rival, abolished the orders which during the Triumvirate he had established, and gave us laws proper for peace and a single ruler. These laws had sanctions severer than any heretofore known: as their guardians, informers were appointed, who by the Law Papia Poppaea were encouraged with rewards, to watch such as neglected the privileges annexed to marriage and fatherhood, and consequently could claim no legacy or inheritance, the same, as vacant, belonging to the Roman People, who were the public parent. But these informers struck much deeper: by them the whole city, all Italy, and the Roman citizens in every part of the Empire, were infested and persecuted: numbers were stripped of their entire fortunes, and terror had seized all; when Tiberius, for a check to this evil, chose twenty n.o.blemen, five who were formerly Consuls, five who were formerly Praetors, with ten other Senators, to review that law. By them many of its intricacies were explained, its strictness qualified; and hence some present alleviation was yielded.

Tiberius about this time, to the Senate recommended Nero, one of the sons of Germanicus, now seventeen years of age, and desired "that he might be exempted from executing the office of the Vigintivirate, [Footnote: Officers for distributing the public lands; for regulating the mint, the roads, and the execution of criminals.] and have leave to sue for the Quaestors.h.i.+p five years sooner than the laws directed." A piece of mockery, this request to all who heard it: but, Tiberius pretended "that the same concessions had been decreed to himself and his brother Drusus, at the request of Augustus." Nor do I doubt, but there were then such who secretly ridiculed that sort of pet.i.tions from Augustus: such policy was however natural to that Prince, while he was but yet laying the foundations of the Imperial power, and while the Republic and its late laws were still fresh in the minds of men: besides, the relation was lighter between Augustus and his wife's sons, than between a grandfather and his grandsons. To the grant of the Quaestors.h.i.+p was added a seat in the College of Pontiffs; and the first day he entered the Forum in his manly robe, a donative of corn and money was distributed to the populace, who exulted to behold a son of Germanicus now of age. Their joy was soon heightened by his marriage with Julia, the daughter of Drusus. But as these transactions were attended with public applauses; so the intended marriage of the daughter of Seja.n.u.s with the son of Claudius was received with popular indignation. By this alliance the n.o.bility of the Claudian house seemed stained; and by it Seja.n.u.s, already suspected of aspiring views, was lifted still higher.

At the end of this year died Lucius Volusius and Sall.u.s.tius Crispus; great and eminent men. The family of Volusius was ancient, but, in the exercise of public offices, rose never higher than the Praetors.h.i.+p; it was he, who honoured it with the Consuls.h.i.+p: he was likewise created Censor for modelling the cla.s.ses of the equestrian order; and first acc.u.mulated the wealth which gave that family such immense grandeur. Crispus was born of an equestrian house, great nephew by a sister to Caius Sall.u.s.tius, the renowned Roman historian, and by him adopted: the way to the great offices was open to him; but, in imitation of Maecenas, he lived without the dignity of Senator, yet outwent in power many who were distinguished with Consuls.h.i.+ps and triumphs: his manner of living, his dress and daintiness were different from the ways of antiquity; and, in expense and affluence, he bordered rather upon luxury. He possessed however a vigour of spirit equal to great affairs, and exerted the greater promptness for that he hid it in a show of indolence and sloth: he was therefore, in the time of Maecenas, the next in favour, afterwards chief confidant in all the secret counsels of Augustus and Tiberius, and privy and consenting to the order for slaying Agrippa Posthumus. In his old age he preserved with the Prince rather the outside than the vitals of authority: the same had happened to Maecenas. It is the fate of power, which is rarely perpetual; perhaps from satiety on both sides, when Princes have no more to grant, and Ministers no more to crave.

Next followed the Consuls.h.i.+p of Tiberius and Drusus; to Tiberius the fourth, to Drusus the second: a Consuls.h.i.+p remarkable, for that in it the father and son were colleagues. There was indeed the same fellows.h.i.+p between Tiberius and Germanicus, two years before; but besides the distastes of jealousy in the uncle, the ties of blood were not so near. In the beginning of the year, Tiberius, on pretence of his health, retired to Campania; either already meditating a long and perpetual retirement; or to leave to Drusus, in his father's absence, the honour of executing the Consuls.h.i.+p alone: and there happened a thing which, small in itself, yet as it produced mighty contestation, furnished the young Consul with matter of popular affection. Domitius Corbulo, formerly Praetor, complained to the Senate of Lucius Sylla, a n.o.ble youth, "that in the show of gladiators, Sylla would not yield him place." Age, domestic custom, and the ancient men were for Corbulo: on the other side, Mamercus Scaurus, Lucius Arruntius, and others laboured for their kinsman Sylla: warm speeches were made, and the examples of our ancestors were urged, "who by severe decrees had censured and restrained the irreverence of the youth."

Drusus interposed with arguments proper for calming animosities, and Corbulo had satisfaction made him by Scaurus, who was to Sylla both father-in-law and uncle, and the most copious orator of that age. The same Corbulo, exclaiming against "the condition of most of the roads through Italy, that through the fraud of the undertakers and negligence of the overseers, they were broken and unpa.s.sable;" undertook of his own accord the cure of that abuse; an undertaking which he executed not so much to the advantage of the public as to the ruin of many private men in their fortunes and reputation, by his violent mulcts and unjust judgments and forfeitures.

Upon this occasion Caecina Severus proposed, "that no magistrate should go into any province accompanied by his wife." He introduced this motion with a long preface, "that he lived with his own in perfect concord, by her he had six children; and what he offered to the public he had practised himself, having during forty years' service left her still behind him, confined to Italy. It was not indeed, without cause, established of old, that women should neither be carried by their husbands into confederate nations nor foreign. A train of women introduced luxury in peace, by their fears r.e.t.a.r.ded war, and made a Roman army resemble, in their march, a mixed host of barbarians. The s.e.x was not tender only and unfit for travel, but, if suffered, cruel, aspiring, and greedy of authority: they even marched amongst the soldiers, and were obeyed by the officers. A woman had lately presided at the exercises of the troops, and at the decursions of the legions. The Senate themselves might remember, that as often as any of the magistrates were charged with plundering the provinces, their wives were always engaged in the guilt. To the ladies, the most profligate in the province applied; by them all affairs were undertaken, by them transacted: at home two distinct courts were kept, and abroad the wife had her distinct train and attendance. The ladies, too, issued distinct orders, but more imperious and better obeyed. Such feminine excesses were formerly restrained by the Oppian, and other laws; but now these restraints were violated, women ruled all things, their families, the Forum, and even the armies."

This speech was heard by few with approbation, and many proclaimed their dissent; "for, that neither was that the point in debate, nor was Caecina considerable enough to censure so weighty an affair." He was presently answered by Valerius Messalinus, who was the son of Messala, and inherited a sparkling of his father's eloquence: "that many rigorous inst.i.tutions of the ancients were softened and changed for the better: for, neither was Rome now, as of old, beset with wars, nor Italy with hostile provinces; and a few concessions were made to the conveniences of women, who were so far from burdening the provinces, that to their own husbands there they were no burden. As to honours, attendance and expense, they enjoyed them in common with their husbands, who could receive no embarra.s.sment from their company in time of peace. To war indeed we must go equipped and unenc.u.mbered; but after the fatigues of war, what was more allowable than the consolations of a wife? But it seemed the wives of some magistrates had given a loose to ambition and avarice. And were the magistrates themselves free from these excesses? were not most of them governed by many exorbitant appet.i.tes? did we therefore send none into the provinces?

It was added, that the husbands were corrupted by their corrupt wives: and were therefore all single men uncorrupt? The Oppian Laws were once thought necessary, because the exigencies of the State required their severity: they were afterwards relaxed and mollified, because that too was expedient for the State. In vain we covered our own sloth with borrowed names: if the wife broke bounds, the husband ought to bear the blame. It was moreover unjustly judged, for the weak and uxorious spirit of one or a few, to bereave all others of the fellows.h.i.+p of their wives, the natural partners of their prosperity and distress. Besides, the s.e.x, weak by nature, would be left defenceless, exposed to the luxurious bent of their native pa.s.sions, and a prey to the allurements of adulterers: scarce under the eye and restraint of the husband was the marriage bed preserved inviolate: what must be the consequence, when by an absence of many years, the ties of marriage would be forgot, forgot as it were in a divorce? It became them, therefore, so to cure the evils abroad as not to forget the enormities at Rome." To this Drusus added somewhat concerning his own wedlock. "Princes," he said, "were frequently obliged to visit the remote parts of the Empire: how often did the deified Augustus travel to the East, how often to the West, still accompanied with Livia? He himself too had taken a progress to Illyric.u.m, and, if it were expedient, was ready to visit other nations; but not always with an easy spirit, if he were to be torn from his dear wife, her by whom he had so many children." Thus was Caecina's motion eluded.

When the Senate met next, they had a letter from Tiberius. In it he affected to chide the fathers, "that upon him they cast all public cares;"

and named them M. Lepidus and Junius Blesus, to choose either for Proconsul of Africa. They were then both heard as to this nomination: Lepidus excused himself with earnestness; he pleaded "his bodily frailty, the tender age of his children, and a daughter fit for marriage." There was another reason too, of which he said nothing; but it was easily understood: Blesus was uncle to Seja.n.u.s, and therefore had the prevailing interest. Blesus too made a show of refusing, but not with the like positiveness, and was heard with partiality by the flatterers of power.

The same year the cities of Gaul, stimulated by their excessive debts, began a rebellion. The most vehement incendiaries were Julius Florus and Julius Sacrovir; the first amongst those of Treves, the second amongst the Aeduans. They were both distinguished by their n.o.bility, and by the good services of their ancestors, who thence had acquired of old the right of Roman citizens; a privilege rare in those days, and then only the prize of virtue. When by secret meetings, they had gained those who were most prompt to rebel; with such as were desperate through indigence, or, from guilt of past crimes, forced to commit more; they agreed that Florus should begin the insurrection in Belgia; Sacrovir amongst the neighbouring Gauls. In order to this, they had many consultations and cabals, where they uttered seditious harangues; they urged "their tribute without end, their devouring usury, the pride and cruelty of their Governors: that they had now a glorious opportunity to recover their liberty; for that since the report of the murder of Germanicus, discord had seized the Roman soldiery: they need only consider their own strength and numbers; while Italy was poor and exhausted; the Roman populace weak and unwarlike, the Roman armies dest.i.tute of all vigour but that derived from foreigners."

Scarce one city remained untainted with the seeds of this rebellion; but it first broke at Angiers and Tours. The former were reduced by Acilius Aviola, a legate, with the a.s.sistance of a cohort drawn from the garrison at Lyons. Those of Tours were suppressed by the same Aviola, a.s.sisted with a detachment sent from the legions, by Visellius Varro, lieutenant- governor of lower Germany. Some of the chiefs of the Gauls had likewise joined him with succours, the better to disguise their defection, and to push it with more effect hereafter. Even Sacrovir was beheld engaged in fight for the Romans, with his head bare, a _demonstration_, he pretended, _of his bravery_; but the prisoners averred, that "he did it to be known to his countrymen, and to escape their darts."

An account of all this was laid before Tiberius, who slighted it, and by hesitation fostered the war. Florus the while pushed his designs, and tried to debauch a regiment of horse, levied at Treves, and kept under our pay and discipline: he would have engaged them to begin the war, by putting to the sword the Roman merchants; and some few were corrupted, but the body remained in their allegiance. A rabble however, of his own followers and desperate debtors, took arms and were making to the forest of Arden, when the legions sent from both armies by Visellius and Caius Silius, through different routes to intercept them, marred their march: and Julius Indus, one of the same country with Florus, at enmity with him, and therefore more eager to engage him, was despatched forward with a chosen band, and broke the ill-appointed mult.i.tude. Florus by lurking from place to place, frustrated the search of the conquerors: but at last, when he saw all the pa.s.ses beset with soldiers, he fell by his own hands. This was the issue of the insurrection at Treves.

Amongst the Aeduans the revolt was stronger, as much stronger as the state was more opulent; and the forces to suppress it were to be brought from afar. Augustodunum, [Footnote: Autun.] the capital of the nation, was seized by Sacrovir, and in it all the n.o.ble youth of Gaul, who were there instructed in the liberal arts. By securing these pledges he aimed to bind in his interest their parents and relations; and at the same time distributed to the young men the arms, which he had caused to be secretly made. He had forty thousand men, the fifth part armed like our legions, the rest with poles, hangers, and other weapons used by hunters. To the number were added such of the slaves as had been appointed to be gladiators; these were covered, after the fas.h.i.+on of the country, with a continued armour of iron; and styled _Crupellarii_; a sort of militia unwieldy at exercising their own weapons, and impenetrable by those of others. These forces were still increased by volunteers from the neighbouring cities, where, though the public body did not hitherto avow the revolt, yet the zeal of particulars was manifest: they had likewise leisure to increase from the contention of the two Roman generals; a contention for some time undecided, while each demanded the command in that war. At length Varro, old and infirm, yielded to the superior vigour of Silius.

Now at Rome, "not only the insurrection of Treves and of the Aeduans, but likewise, that threescore and four cities of Gaul had revolted; that the Germans had joined in the revolt, and that Spain fluctuated;" were reports all believed with the usual aggravations of fame. The best men grieved in sympathy for their country: many from hatred of the present government and thirst of change, rejoiced in their own perils: they inveighed against Tiberius, "that in such a mighty uproar of rebellion, he was only employed in perusing the informations of the State accusers." They asked, "did he mean to surrender Julius Sacrovir to the Senate, to try him for treason?"

They exulted, "that there were at last found men, who would with arms restrain his b.l.o.o.d.y orders for private murders." And declared "that even war was a happy change for a most wretched peace." So much the more for this, Tiberius affected to appear wrapped up in security and unconcern; he neither changed place nor countenance, but behaved himself at that time as at other times; whether from elevation of mind, or whether he had learned that the state of things was not alarming, and only heightened by vulgar representation.

Silius the while sending forward a band of auxiliaries, marched with two legions, and in his march ravaged the villages of the Sequanians, next neighbours to the Aeduans, and their a.s.sociates in arms. He then advanced towards Augustodunum; a hasty march, the standard-bearers mutually vying in expedition, and the common men breathing ardour and eagerness: they desired, "that no time might be wasted in the usual refreshments, none of their nights in sleep; let them only see and confront the foe: they wanted no more, to be victorious." Twelve miles from Augustodunum, Sacrovir appeared with his forces upon the plains: in the front he had placed the iron troop; his cohorts in the wings; the half-armed in the rear: he himself, upon a fine horse, attended by the other chiefs, addressed himself to them from rank to rank; he reminded them "of the glorious achievements of the ancient Gauls; of the victorious mischiefs they had brought upon the Romans; of the liberty and renown attending victory; of their redoubled and intolerable servitude, if once more vanquished."

A short speech; and an unattentive, and disheartened audience! For, the embattled legions approached; and the crowd of townsmen, ill appointed and novices in war, stood astonished, bereft of the present use of eyes and hearing. On the other side, Silius, though he presumed the victory, and thence might have spared exhortations, yet called to his men, "that they might be with reason ashamed that they, the conquerors of Germany, should be thus led against a rabble of Gauls as against an equal enemy: one cohort had newly defeated the rebels of Tours; one regiment of horse, those of Treves; a handful of this very army had routed the Sequanians: the present Aeduans, as they are more abounding in wealth, as they wallow more in voluptuousness, are by so much more soft and unwarlike: this is what you are now to prove, and your task to prevent their escape." His words were returned with a mighty cry. Instantly the horse surrounded the foe; the foot attacked their front, and the wings were presently routed: the iron band gave some short obstruction, as the bars of their coats withstood the strokes of sword and pike: but the soldiers had recourse to their hatchets and pick-axes; and, as if they had battered a wall, hewed their bodies and armour: others with clubs, and some with forks, beat down the helpless lumps, who as they lay stretched along, without one struggle to rise, were left for dead. Sacrovir fled first to Augustodunum; and thence, fearful of being surrendered, to a neighbouring town, accompanied by his most faithful adherents. There he slew himself; and the rest, one another: having first set the town on fire, by which they were all consumed.

Now at last Tiberius wrote to the Senate about this war, and at once acquainted them with its rise and conclusion, neither aggravating facts nor lessening them; but added "that it was conducted by the fidelity and bravery of his lieutenants, guided by his counsels." He likewise a.s.signed the reasons why neither he, nor Drusus, went to that war; "that the Empire was an immense body; and it became not the dignity of a Prince, upon the revolt of one or two towns, to desert the capital, whence motion was derived to the whole: but since the alarm was over, he would visit those nations and settle them." The Senate decreed vows and supplications for his return, with other customary honours. Only Cornelius Dolabella, while he strove to outdo others, fell into ridiculous sycophancy, and moved "that from Campania he should enter Rome in the triumph of ovation." This occasioned a letter from Tiberius: in it he declared, "he was not so dest.i.tute of glory, that after having in his youth subdued the fiercest nations, and enjoyed or slighted so many triumphs, he should now in his old age seek empty honours from a short progress about the suburbs of Rome."

Caius Sulpitius and Decimus Haterius were the following Consuls. Their year was exempt from disturbances abroad; but at home some severe blow was apprehended against luxury, which prevailed monstrously in all things that create a profusion of money. But as the more pernicious articles of expense were covered by concealing their prices; therefore from the excesses of the table, which were become the common subject of daily animadversion, apprehensions were raised of some rigid correction from a Prince, who observed himself the ancient parsimony. For, Caius Bibulus having begun the complaint, the other Aediles took it up, and argued "that the sumptuary laws were despised; the pomp and expense of plate and entertainments, in spite of restraints, increased daily, and by moderate penalties were not to be stopped." This grievance thus represented to the Senate, was by them referred entire to the Emperor. Tiberius having long weighed with himself whether such an abandoned propensity to prodigality could be stemmed; whether the stemming it would not bring heavier evils upon the public; how dishonourable it would be to attempt what could not be effected, or at least effected by the disgrace of the n.o.bility, and by the subjecting ill.u.s.trious men to infamous punishments; wrote at last to the Senate in this manner:

"In other matters, Conscript Fathers, perhaps it might be more expedient for you to consult me in the Senate; and for me to declare there, what I judge for the public weal: but in the debate of this affair, it was best that my eyes were withdrawn; lest, while you marked the countenances and terror of particulars charged with scandalous luxury, I too should have observed them, and, as it were, caught them in it. Had the vigilant Aediles first asked counsel of me, I know not whether I should not have advised them rather to have pa.s.sed by potent and inveterate corruptions, than only make it manifest, what enormities are an overmatch for us: but they in truth have done their duty, as I would have all other magistrates fulfil theirs. But for myself, it is neither commendable to be silent; nor does it belong to my station to speak out; since I neither bear the character of an Aedile, nor of a Praetor, nor of a Consul: something still greater and higher is required of a Prince. Every one is ready to a.s.sume to himself the credit of whatever is well done, while upon the Prince alone are thrown the miscarriages of all. But what is it, that I am first to prohibit, what excess retrench to the ancient standard? Am I to begin with that of our country seats, s.p.a.cious without bounds; and with the number of domestics, a number distributed into nations in private families? or with the quant.i.ty of plate, silver, and gold? or with the pictures, and works, and statues of bra.s.s, the wonders of art? or with the gorgeous vestments, promiscuously worn by men and women? or with what is peculiar to the women, those precious stones, for the purchase of which our corn is carried into foreign and hostile nations.

"I am not ignorant that at entertainments and in conversation, these excesses are censured, and a regulation is required: and yet if an equal law were made, if equal penalties were prescribed, these very censurers would loudly complain, _that the State was utterly overturned, that snares and destruction were prepared for every ill.u.s.trious house, that no men could be guiltless, and all men would be the prey of informers_. And yet bodily diseases grown inveterate and strengthened by time, cannot be checked but by medicines rigid and violent: it is the same with the soul: the sick and raging soul, itself corrupted and scattering its corruption, is not to be qualified but by remedies equally strong with its own flaming l.u.s.ts. So many laws made by our ancestors, so many added by the deified Augustus; the former being lost in oblivion, and (which is more heinous) the latter in contempt, have only served to render luxury more secure.

When we covet a thing yet unforbid, we are apt to fear that it may be forbid; but when once we can with impunity and defiance overleap prohibited bounds, there remains afterwards nor fear nor shame. How therefore did parsimony prevail of old? It was because, every one was a law to himself; it was because we were then only masters of one city: nor afterwards, while our dominion was confined only to Italy, had we found the same instigations to voluptuousness. By foreign conquests, we learned to waste the property of others; and in the Civil Wars, to consume our own. What a mighty matter is it that the Aediles remonstrate! how little to be weighed in the balance with others? It is wonderful that n.o.body represents, that Italy is in constant want of foreign supplies; that the lives of the Roman People are daily at the mercy of uncertain seas and of tempests: were it not for our supports from the provinces; supports, by which the masters, and their slaves, and their estates, are maintained; would our own groves and villas maintain us? This care therefore, Conscript Fathers, is the business of the Prince; and by the neglect of this care, the foundations of the State would be dissolved. The cure of other defects depends upon our own private spirits: some of us, shame will reclaim; necessity will mend the poor; satiety the rich. Or if any of the Magistrates, from a confidence of his own firmness and perseverance, will undertake to stem the progress of so great an evil; he has both my praises, and my acknowledgment, that he discharges me of part of my fatigues: but if such will only impeach corruptions, and when they have gained the glory, would leave upon me the indignation (indignation of their own raising); believe me, Conscript Fathers, I am not fond of bearing resentments: I already suffer many for the Commonwealth; many that are grievous and almost all unjust; and therefore with reason I intreat that I may not be loaded with such as are wantonly and vainly raised, and promise no advantage to you nor to me."

The Senate, upon reading the Emperor's letter, released the Aediles from this pursuit: and the luxury of the table which, from the battle of Actium till the revolution made by Galba, flowed, for the s.p.a.ce of an hundred years, in all profusion; at last gradually declined. The causes of this change are worth knowing. Formerly the great families, great in n.o.bility or abounding in riches, were carried away with a pa.s.sion for magnificence: for even then it was allowed to court the good graces of the Roman People, with the favour of kings, and confederate nations; and to be courted by them: so that each was distinguished by the l.u.s.tre of popularity and dependances, in proportion to his affluence, the splendour of his house, and the figure he made. But after Imperial fury had long raged in the slaughter of the Grandees, and the greatness of reputation was become the sure mark of destruction; the rest grew wiser: besides, new men frequently chosen Senators from the munic.i.p.al towns, from the colonies, and even from the provinces, brought into the Senate their own domestic parsimony; and though, by fortune or industry, many of them grew wealthy as they grew old, yet their former frugal spirit continued. But above all, Vespasian proved the promoter of thrifty living, being himself the pattern of ancient economy in his person and table: hence the compliance of the public with the manners of the Prince, and an emulation to practise them; an incitement more prevalent than the terrors of laws and all their penalties. Or perhaps all human things go a certain round; and, as in the revolutions of time, there are also vicissitudes in manners: nor indeed have our ancestors excelled us in all things; our own age has produced many excellences worthy of praise and the imitation of posterity. Let us still preserve this strife in virtue with our forefathers.

Tiberius having gained the fame of moderation; because, by rejecting the project for reforming luxury, he had disarmed the growing hopes of the accusers; wrote to the Senate, to desire the _Tribunitial Power_ for Drusus. Augustus had devised this t.i.tle, as best suiting the unbounded height of his views; while avoiding the odious name of _King_ or _Dictator_, he was yet obliged to use some particular appellation, under it to control all other powers in the State. He afterwards a.s.sumed Marcus Agrippa into a fellows.h.i.+p in it; and, upon his death, Tiberius; that none might doubt, who was to be his successor. By this means, he conceived, he should defeat the aspiring views of others: besides, he confided in the moderation of Tiberius, and in the mightiness of his own authority. By his example, Tiberius now advanced Drusus to the supreme Magistracy; whereas, while Germanicus yet lived, he acted without distinction towards both. In the beginning of his letter he besought the G.o.ds "that by his counsels the Republic might prosper," and then added a modest testimony concerning the qualities and behaviour of the young Prince, without aggravation or false embellishments; "that he had a wife and three children, and was of the same age with himself, when called by the deified Augustus to that office: that Drusus was not now by him adopted a partner in the toils of government, precipitately; but after eight years' experience made of his qualifications; after seditions suppressed, wars concluded, the honour of triumph, and two Consuls.h.i.+ps."

The Senators had foreseen this address; hence they received it with the more elaborate adulation. However, they could devise nothing to decree, but "statues to the two Princes, altars to the G.o.ds, arches," and other usual honours: only that Marcus Sila.n.u.s strove to honour the Princes by the disgrace of the Consuls.h.i.+p: he proposed "that all records public and private should, for their date, be inscribed no more with the names of the Consuls, but of those who exercised the Tribunitial power." But Haterius Agrippa, by moving to have "the decrees of that day engraved in letters of gold, and hung up in the Senate," became an object of derision; for that, as he was an ancient man, he could reap from his most abominable flattery no other fruit but that of infamy.

Tiberius, while he fortified the vitals of his own domination, afforded the Senate a shadow of their ancient jurisdiction; by referring to their examination pet.i.tions and claims from the provinces. For there had now prevailed amongst the Greek cities a lat.i.tude of inst.i.tuting sanctuaries at pleasure. Hence the temples were filled with the most profligate fugitive slaves: here debtors found protection against their creditors; and hither were admitted such as were pursued for capital crimes. Nor was any force of Magistracy or laws sufficient to bridle the mad zeal of the people, who confounding the sacred villainies of men with the wors.h.i.+p peculiar to the G.o.ds, seditiously defended these profane sanctuaries. It was therefore ordered that these cities should send deputies to represent their claims. Some of the cities voluntarily relinquished the nominal privileges, which they had arbitrarily a.s.sumed: many confided in their rights; a confidence grounded on the antiquity of their superst.i.tions, or on the merits of their kind offices to the Roman People. Glorious to the Senate was the appearance of that day, when the grants from our ancestors, the engagements of our confederates, the ordinances of kings, such kings who had reigned as yet independent of the Roman power; and when even the sacred wors.h.i.+p of the G.o.ds were now all subjected to their inspection, and their judgment free, as of old, to ratify or abolish with absolute power.

First of all the Ephesians applied. They alleged, that "Diana and Apollo were not, according to the credulity of the vulgar, born at Delos: in their territory flowed the river Cenchris; where also stood the Ortygian Grove: there the big-bellied Latona, leaning upon an olive tree, which even then remained, was delivered of these deities; and thence by their appointment the Grove became sacred. Thither Apollo himself, after his slaughter of the Cyclops, retired for a sanctuary from the wrath of Jupiter: soon after, the victorious Bacchus pardoned the suppliant Amazons, who sought refuge at the altar of Diana: by the concession of Hercules, when he reigned in Lydia, her temple was dignified with an augmentation of immunities; nor during the Persian monarchy were they abridged: they were next maintained by the Macedonians, and then by us."