who had been discharged by Vitellius[356] came together again in
support of Vespasian, and demanded re-admission. They were joined by
the selected legionaries who had also been led to hope for service in
the Guards, and they now demanded the pay they had been promised. Even
the Vitellians[357] alone could not have been dispersed without
serious bloodshed, but it would require immense sums of money to
retain the services of such a large number of men. Mucianus
accordingly entered the barracks to make a careful estimate of each
man's term of service. He formed up the victorious troops with their
own arms and distinctive decorations, each company a few paces from
the next. Then the Vitellians who had surrendered, as we have
described, at Bovillae,[358] and all the other soldiers who had been
hunted down in the city and its neighbourhood, were marched out almost
entirely without arms or uniforms. Mucianus then had them sorted out,
and drew up in separate corps the troops of the German army, of the
British army, and of any others that were in Rome. Their first glance
at the scene astounded them. Facing them they saw what looked like a
fighting front bristling with weapons, while they were caught in a
trap, defenceless and foul with dirt. As soon as they began to be
sorted out a panic seized them. The German troops in particular were
terrified at their isolation, and felt they were being told off for
slaughter. They embraced their comrades and clung upon their necks,
asking for one last kiss, begging not to be left alone, crying out,
'Our cause is the same as yours, why should our fate be different?'
They appealed now to Mucianus, now to the absent emperor, and lastly
to the powers of Heaven, until Mucianus came to the rescue of their
imaginary terrors by calling them all 'sworn servants of one emperor',
for he found that the victorious army was joining in and seconding
their tears with cheering. On that day the matter ended there. A few
days later, when Domitian addressed them, they received him with
renewed confidence, refused his offer of lands, and begged for
enlistment and their pay instead. This was only a petition, but one
that could not be refused: so they were admitted to the Guards.
Subsequently, those who had grown old and completed the regular term
of service[359] were honourably discharged. Others were dismissed for
misbehaviour, but one by one at different times, which is always the
safest method of weakening any kind of conspiracy.
To return to the senate; a bill was now passed that a loan of 47
sixty million sesterces should be raised from private individuals and
administered by Pompeius Silvanus. This may have been a financial
necessity, or they may have wanted it to seem so. At any rate the
necessity soon ceased to exist, or else they gave up the pretence.
Domitian then carried a proposal that the consulships conferred by
Vitellius should be cancelled, and that a state funeral should be held
in honour of Flavius Sabinus.[360] Both proposals are striking
evidence of the fickleness of human fortune, which so often makes the
first last and the last first.
It was about this time that Lucius Piso,[361] the pro-consul of 48
Africa, was killed. To give a true explanation of this murder we must
go back and take a brief survey of certain matters which are closely
connected with the reasons for such crimes. Under the sainted Augustus
and Tiberius the pro-consul of Africa had in his command one legion
and some auxiliaries with which to guard the frontier of the
empire.[362] Caligula, who was restless by nature and harboured
suspicions of the then pro-consul, Marcus Silanus, withdrew the
legion from his command and put it under a legate whom he sent out for
the purpose. As each had an equal amount of patronage and their
functions overlapped, Caligula thus caused a state of friction which
was further aggravated by regrettable quarrels. The greater permanence
of his tenure[363] gradually strengthened the legate's position, and
perhaps an inferior is always anxious to vie with his betters. The
most eminent governors, on the other hand, were more careful of their
comfort than of their authority.
At the present time the legion in Africa was commanded by Valerius 49
Festus,[364] an extravagant young man, immoderately ambitious, whose
kinship with Vitellius had given him some anxiety. He had frequent
interviews with Piso, and it is impossible to tell whether he tempted
Piso to rebel or resisted Piso's temptations. No one was present at
their interviews, which were held in private, and after Piso's death
most people were inclined to sympathize with his murderer. Beyond
doubt the province and the garrison were unfavourable to Vespasian.
Besides, some of the Vitellian refugees from Rome pointed out to Piso
that the Gallic provinces were wavering. Germany was ready to rebel,
and he himself was in danger; 'and,' they added, 'if you earn
suspicion in peace your safest course is war.' Meanwhile, Claudius
Sagitta, who commanded Petra's Horse,[365] made a good crossing and
outstripped the centurion Papirius, who had been sent out by Mucianus
and was commissioned, so Sagitta affirmed, to assassinate Piso.
Sagitta further stated that Galerianus,[366] Piso's cousin and
son-in-law, had already been murdered, and told him that while his one
hope lay in taking a bold step, there were two courses open to him: he
might either take up arms on the spot, or he might prefer to sail to
Gaul and offer to lead the Vitellian armies. This made no impression
on Piso. When the centurion whom Mucianus had sent arrived at the
gates of Carthage, he kept on shouting all sorts of congratulations to
Piso on becoming emperor. The people he met, who were astounded at
this unexpected miracle, were instructed to take up the cry. With a
crowd's usual credulity, they rushed into the forum calling on Piso to
appear, and as they had a passion for flattery and took no interest in
the truth, they proceeded to fill the whole place with a confused
noise of cheering. Piso, however, either at a hint from Sagitta, or
from his natural good sense, would not show himself in public or give
way to the excitement of the crowd. He examined the centurion, and
learnt that his object was to trump up a charge against him and then
kill him.[367] He accordingly had the man executed more from
indignation against the assassin than in any hope of saving his life;
for he found that the man had been one of the murderers of Clodius
Macer,[368] and after staining his hand in the blood of a military
officer was now proposing to turn it against a civil governor. Piso
then reprimanded the Carthaginians in an edict which clearly showed
his anxiety, and refrained from performing even the routine of his
office, shutting himself up in his house, for fear that he might by
accident provide some pretext for further demonstrations.
When the news of the popular excitement and the centurion's 50
execution reached the ears of Festus, considerably exaggerated and
with the usual admixture of falsehood, he at once sent off a party of
horsemen to murder Piso. Riding at full speed, they reached the
governor's house in the twilight of early dawn and broke in with drawn
swords. As Festus had mainly chosen Carthaginian auxiliaries and Moors
to do the murder, most of them did not know Piso by sight. However,
near his bedroom they happened on a slave and asked him where Piso was
and what he looked like. In answer the slave told them a heroic lie
and said he was Piso, whereupon they immediately cut him down.
However, Piso himself was killed very soon after, for there was one
man among them who knew him, and that was Baebius Massa, one of the
imperial agents in Africa, who was already a danger to all the best
men in Rome. His name will recur again and again in this narrative, as
one of the causes of the troubles which beset us later on.[369]
Festus had been waiting at Adrumetum[370] to see how things went, and
he now hastened to rejoin his legion. He had the camp-prefect,
Caetronius Pisanus, put in irons, alleging that he was one of Piso's
accomplices, though his real motive was personal dislike. He then
punished some of the soldiers and centurions and rewarded others; in
neither case for their deserts, but because he wanted it to be thought
that he had stamped out a war. His next task was to settle the
differences between Oea and Lepcis.[371] These had had a trivial
origin in thefts of fruit and cattle by the peasants, but they were
now trying to settle them in open warfare. Oea, being inferior in
numbers, had called in the aid of the Garamantes,[372] an invincible
tribe, who were always a fruitful source of damage to their
neighbours. Thus the people of Lepcis were in great straits. Their
fields had been wasted far and wide, and they had fled in terror under
shelter of their walls, when the Roman auxiliaries, both horse and
foot, arrived on the scene. They routed the Garamantes and recovered
all the booty, except what the nomads had already sold among the
inaccessible hut-settlements of the far interior.
After the battle of Cremona and the arrival of good news from 51
every quarter, Vespasian now heard of Vitellius' death. A large number
of people of all classes, who were as lucky as they were adventurous,
successfully braved the winter seas on purpose to bring him the
news.[373] There also arrived envoys from King Vologaesus offering the
services of forty thousand Parthian cavalry.[374] It was, indeed, a
proud and fortunate situation to be courted with such splendid offers
of assistance, and to need none of them. Vologaesus was duly thanked
and instructed to send his envoys to the senate and to understand that
peace had been made. Vespasian now devoted his attention to the
affairs of Italy and the Capitol, and received an unfavourable report
of Domitian, who seemed to be trespassing beyond the natural sphere of
an emperor's youthful son. He accordingly handed over the flower of
his army to Titus, who was to finish off the war with the Jews.[375]
It is said that before his departure Titus had a long talk with 52
his father and begged him not to be rash and lose his temper at these
incriminating reports, but to meet his son in a forgiving and
unprejudiced spirit, 'Neither legions nor fleets,' he is reported to
have said, 'are such sure bulwarks of the throne as a number of
children. Time, chance and often, too, ambition and misunderstanding
weaken, alienate or extinguish friendship: a man's own blood cannot be
severed from him; and above all is this the case with a sovereign,
for, while others enjoy his good fortune, his misfortunes only concern
his nearest kin. Nor again are brothers likely to remain good friends
unless their father sets them an example.' These words had the effect
of making Vespasian rather delighted at Titus' goodness of heart than
inclined to forgive Domitian. 'You may ease your mind,' he said to
Titus, 'It is now your duty to increase the prestige of Rome on the
field: I will concern myself with peace at home.' Though the weather
was still very rough, Vespasian at once launched his fastest
corn-ships with a full cargo. For the city was on the verge of
famine.[376] Indeed, there were not supplies for more than ten days in
the public granaries at the moment when Vespasian's convoy brought
relief.
The task of restoring the Capitol[377] was entrusted to Lucius 53
Vestinus, who, though only a knight, yet in reputation and influence
could rank with the highest. He summoned all the soothsayers,[378] and
they recommended that the ruins of the former temple should be carried
away to the marshes[379] and a new temple erected on the same site:
the gods were unwilling, they said, that the original form of the
building should be changed. On the 21st of June, a day of bright
sunshine, the whole consecrated area of the temple was decorated with
chaplets and garlands. In marched soldiers, all men with names of good
omen, carrying branches of lucky trees:[380] then came the Vestal
Virgins accompanied by boys and girls, each of whom had father and
mother alive,[381] and they cleansed it all by sprinkling fresh water
from a spring or river.[382] Next, while the high priest, Plautius
Aelianus, dictated the proper formulae, Helvidius Priscus, the
praetor, first consecrated the site by a solemn sacrifice[383] of a
pig, a sheep and an ox, and then duly offering the entrails on an
altar of turf, he prayed to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, as the
guardian deities of the empire, to prosper the enterprise, and by
divine grace to bring to completion this house of theirs which human
piety had here begun. He then took hold of the chaplets to which the
ropes holding the foundation-stone were attached. At the same moment
the other magistrates and the priests and senators and knights and
large numbers of the populace in joyous excitement with one great
effort dragged the huge stone into its place. On every side gifts of
gold and silver were flung into the foundations, and blocks of virgin
ore unscathed by any furnace, just as they had come from the womb of
the earth. For the soothsayers had given out that the building must
not be desecrated by the use of stone or gold that had been put to any
other purpose. The height of the roof was raised. This was the only
change that religious scruples would allow, and it was felt to be the
only point in which the former temple lacked grandeur.
FOOTNOTES:
[331] We now reach the year A.D. 70. Vespasian had already
been consul under Claudius in 51.
[332] In the absence of both consuls.
[333] i.e. Sohaemus, Antiochus, and Agrippa (cp. ii. 81).
[334] Cp. ii. 85.
[335] Cp. iii. 52.
[336] Vespasian's freedman (cp. iii. 12, 28.)
[337] The elder brother of Galba's adopted son Piso.
[338] See ii. 65. He must by now have ceased to be absentee
governor.
[339] It was to the command of this legion that Galba promoted
Antonius (see ii. 86).
[340] Varus had served under Corbulo in Syria.
[341] In his life of _Agricola_ Tacitus speaks of Domitian's
red face as 'his natural bulwark against shame'.
[342] See chap. 39.
[343] See chap. 10.
[344] i.e. Publius Celer. As this Demetrius was present with
Thrasea at the end, holding high philosophical discourse with
him (_Ann._ xvi. 34), he seems to have been a Cynic in the
modern sense as well.
[345] Another Stoic malcontent, brother of the Arulenus
Rusticus mentioned in iii. 80.
[346] According to Dio they were two devoted and inseparable
brothers. They became governors, one of Upper and the other of
Lower Germany, and, being wealthy, were forced by Nero to
commit suicide.
[347] Cp. ii. 10.
[348] Cp. iii. 9.
[349] Cp. i. 48, note 79.
[350] Twenty-five.
[351] Piso was a brother of Regulus' victim. He was therefore
glad to see him incapable of reprisal.
[352] i.e. there was no property left to tempt Nero.
[353] i.e. the money and other rewards won by prosecuting
Crassus and Orfitus.
[354] Nero.
[355] He had recited some libellous verses on Nero and been
condemned for treason.
[356] Cp. ii. 67.
[357] i.e. those who had surrendered at Narnia and Bovillae,
as distinct from those who had been discharged after Galba's
death.
[358] Chap. 2.
[359] i.e. those who were either over fifty or had served in
the Guards sixteen or in a legion twenty years.
[360] See iii. 74.
[361] See chap. 38.
[362] Africa was peculiar in that the pro-consul, who governed
it for the senate, commanded an army. All the other provinces
demanding military protection were under imperial control.
Caligula, without withdrawing the province from the senate, in
some degree regularized the anomaly by transferring this
command to a 'legate' of his own, technically inferior to the
civil governor.
[363] Whereas the pro-consul's appointment was for one year
only, the emperor's legate retained his post at the emperor's
pleasure, and was usually given several years.
[364] Cp. ii. 98.
[365] See i. 70.
[366] See chap. 11.
[367] i.e. he hoped that Piso would accept the story with
alacrity and thus commit himself.
[368] Cp. i. 7.
[369] Under Domitian he became one of the most notorious and
dreaded of informers. His name doubtless recurred in the lost
books of the Histories. But the only other extant mention of
him by Tacitus is in the life of Agricola (chap. 45).
[370] On the coast between Carthage and Thapsus.
[371] Tripoli and Lebda.
[372] Further inland; probably the modern Fezzan.
[373] Vespasian was still at Alexandria.
[374] Cp. ii. 82, note 410.
[375] Cp. ii. 4 and Book V.
[376] It had been Vespasian's original plan to starve Rome out
by holding the granaries of Egypt and Africa. See iii. 48.
[377] Cp. iii. 71.
[378] Probably from Etruria, where certain families were
credited with the requisite knowledge and skill. Claudius had
established a College of Soothsayers in Rome. They ranked
lower than the Augurs.
[379] At Ostia.
[380] Their names would suggest prosperity and success, e.g.
Salvius, Victor, Valerius, and they would carry branches of
oak, laurel, myrtle, or beech.
[381] This too was 'lucky' and a common ritualistic
requirement.
[382] The 'holy water' must come from certain streams of
special sanctity, such as the Tiber or its tributary, the
Almo. The water would be sprinkled from the 'lucky' branches.
[383] To the god Mars.
THE LOSS OF GERMANY
Meanwhile,[384] the news of Vitellius' death had spread through 54
Gaul and Germany and redoubled the vigour of the war. Civilis now
dropped all pretence and hurled himself upon the Roman Empire. The
Vitellian legions felt that even foreign slavery was preferable to
owning Vespasian's sovereignty. The Gauls too had taken heart. A
rumour had been spread that our winter camps in Moesia and Pannonia
were being blockaded by Sarmatians and Dacians:[385] similar stories
were fabricated about Britain: the Gauls began to think that the
fortune of the Roman arms was the same all the world over. But above
all, the burning of the Capitol led them to believe that the empire
was coming to an end. 'Once in old days the Gauls had captured Rome,
but her empire had stood firm since Jupiter's high-place was left
unscathed. But now, so the Druids[386] with superstitious folly kept
dinning into their ears, this fatal fire was a sign of Heaven's anger,
and meant that the Transalpine tribes were destined now to rule the
world.' It was also persistently rumoured that the Gallic chieftains,
whom Otho had sent to work against Vitellius,[387] had agreed, before
they parted, that if Rome sank under its internal troubles in an
unbroken sequence of civil wars, they would not fail the cause of the
Gallic freedom.
Previous to the murder of Hordeonius Flaccus[388] nothing had 55
leaked out to arouse suspicions of a conspiracy, but when he had been
assassinated, negotiations passed between Civilis and Classicus,[389]
who commanded the Treviran cavalry. Classicus was far above the rest
both in birth and in wealth. He came of royal line and his stock was
famous both in peace and war. It was his boast that his family had
given Rome more enemies than allies. These two were now joined by
Julius Tutor and Julius Sabinus, the one a Treviran, the other a
Lingonian. Tutor had been appointed by Vitellius to watch the bank of
the Rhine.[390] Sabinus' natural vanity was further inflamed by
spurious pretensions of high birth, for he alleged that his
great-grandmother's beauty had caught the fancy of Julius Caesar
during the campaign in Gaul, and that they had committed adultery.
These four tested the temper of the rest in private interviews, and
having bound to the conspiracy those who were considered fit, they
held a conference at Cologne in a private house, the general feeling
in the city being hostile to such plans as theirs. A few of the Ubii
and Tungri, indeed, attended, but the Treviri and Lingonians were the
backbone of the conspiracy. Nor would they tolerate deliberation or
delay. They vied with each other in protesting that Rome was
distracted by internal quarrels; legions had been cut to pieces, Italy
devastated, the city was on the point of being taken, while all her
armies were occupied with wars of their own in different quarters.
They need only garrison the Alps and then, when liberty had taken firm
root, they could discuss together what limit each tribe should set to
its exercise of power.
All this was no sooner spoken than applauded. About the remnant of 56
Vitellius' army they were in some doubt. Many held that they ought to
be killed as being treacherous and insubordinate and stained with the
blood of their generals. However, the idea of sparing them carried the
day. To destroy all hope of pardon would only steel their obstinacy:
it was much better to seduce them into alliance: only the generals
need be killed; a guilty conscience and the hope of pardon would soon
bring the rest flocking over to their flag. Such was the tenor of
their first meeting. Agitators were sent all over Gaul to stir up war.
The conspirators themselves feigned loyalty to Vocula, hoping to catch
him off his guard.[391] There were, indeed, traitors who reported all
this to Vocula, but he was not strong enough to crush the conspiracy,
his legions being short-handed and unreliable. Between suspected
troops on one side and secret enemies on the other, it seemed his best
course under the circumstances to dissemble, as they were doing, and
thus use their own weapons against them. So he marched down the river
to Cologne. There he found Claudius Labeo, who after being taken
prisoner, as described above,[392] and relegated to the Frisii, had
bribed his guards and escaped to Cologne. He promised that if Vocula
would provide him with troops, he would go to the Batavi and win back
the better part of their community to the Roman alliance. He was given
a small force of horse and foot. Without venturing any attempt upon
the Batavi, he attracted a few of the Nervii and Baetasii[393] to his
standard, and proceeded to harass the Canninefates and Marsaci[393]
more by stealth than open warfare.
Lured by the treachery of the Gauls, Vocula marched out against 57
his enemy.[394] Not far from Vetera, Classicus and Tutor rode
forward[395] on a pretext of scouting, and ratified their compact
with the German leaders. They were now for the first time separated
from the legions, and entrenched themselves in a camp of their own. At
this, Vocula loudly protested that Rome was not as yet so shattered by
civil war as to earn the contempt of tribes like the Treviri and
Lingones. She could still rely on loyal provinces and victorious
armies, on the good fortune of the empire and the avenging hand of
God. Thus it was that in former days Sacrovir and the Aedui,[396] more
lately Vindex and the Gallic provinces had each been crushed at a
single battle. Now, again, these treaty-breakers must expect to face
the same powers of Providence and Destiny. The sainted Julius and the
sainted Augustus had understood these people better: it was Galba's
reduction of the tribute[397] that had clothed them in enmity and
pride. 'They are our enemies to-day because their yoke is easy: when
they have been stripped and plundered they will be our friends.' After
these spirited words, seeing that Classicus and Tutor still persisted
in their treachery, he turned back and retired to Novaesium, while the
Gauls encamped a couple of miles away. Thither the centurions and
soldiers flocked to sell their souls. This was, indeed, an unheard of
villainy that Roman soldiers should swear allegiance to a foreign
power, and offer as a pledge for this heinous crime either to kill or
imprison their generals. Though many urged Vocula to escape, he felt
that he must make a bold stand, so he summoned a meeting and spoke
somewhat as follows:--'Never before have I addressed you with such 58
feelings of anxiety for you, or with such indifference to my own fate.
That plans are being laid for my destruction I am glad enough to hear:
in such a parlous case as this I look for death as the end of all my
troubles. It is for you that I feel shame and pity. It is not that a
field of battle awaits you, for that would only accord with the laws
of warfare and the just rights of combatants, but because Classicus
hopes that with your hands he can make war upon the Roman people, and
flourishes before you an oath of allegiance to the Empire of All Gaul.
What though fortune and courage have deserted us for the moment, have
we not glorious examples in the past? How often have not Roman
soldiers chosen to die rather than be driven from their post? Often
have our allies endured the destruction of their cities and given
themselves and their wives and children to the flames, without any
other reward for such an end save the name of honourable men. At this
very moment Roman troops are enduring famine and siege at Vetera, and
neither threats nor promises can move them, while we, besides arms and
men and fine fortifications, have supplies enough to last through any
length of war. Money, too--the other day there was enough even for a
donative, and whether you choose to say that it was given you by
Vespasian or by Vitellius, at any rate you got it from a Roman
Emperor. After all the engagements you have won, after routing the
enemy at Gelduba, at Vetera, it would be shameful enough to shirk
battle, but you have your trenches and your walls, and there are ways
of gaining time until armies come flocking from the neighbouring
provinces to your rescue. Granted that you dislike me; well, there are
others to lead you, whether legate, tribune, centurion, and even
private soldier. But do not let this portent be trumpeted over the
whole world, that Civilis and Classicus are going to invade Italy with
you in their train. Suppose the Germans and Gauls lead the way to the
walls of Rome, will you turn your arms upon your fatherland? The mere
thought of such a crime is horrible. Will you stand sentry for the
Treviran Tutor? Shall a Batavian give you the signal for battle? Will
you swell the ranks of German hordes? And what will be the issue of
your crime, when the Roman legions take the field against you?
Desertion upon desertion, treachery upon treachery! You will be
drifting miserably between the old allegiance and the new, with the
curse of Heaven on your heads. Almighty Jupiter, whom we have
worshipped at triumph after triumph for eight hundred and twenty
years; and Quirinus, Father of our Rome, if it be not your pleasure
that under my command this camp be kept clean from the stain of
dishonour, grant at the least, I humbly beseech ye, that it never be
defiled with the pollution of a Tutor or a Classicus; and to these
soldiers of Rome give either innocence of heart or a speedy repentance
before the harm is done.'
The speech was variously received, with feelings fluctuating 59
between hope, fear, and shame. Vocula withdrew and began to prepare
for his end, but his freedmen and slaves prevented him from
forestalling by his own hand a dreadful death. As it was, Classicus
dispatched Aemilius Longinus, a deserter from the First legion, who
quickly murdered him. For Herennius and Numisius imprisonment was
thought sufficient. Classicus then assumed the uniform and insignia of
a Roman general, and thus entered the camp. Hardened though he was to
every kind of crime, words failed him,[398] and he could only read out
the oath. Those who were present swore allegiance to the Empire of All
Gaul. He then gave high promotion to Vocula's assassin, and rewarded
the others each according to the villainy of his service.
The command was now divided between Tutor and Classicus. Tutor at the
head of a strong force besieged Cologne and forced the inhabitants and
all the soldiers on the Upper Rhine to take the same oath of
allegiance. At Mainz he killed the officers and drove away the
camp-prefect, who had refused to swear. Classicus ordered all the
greatest scoundrels among the deserters to go to Vetera and offer
pardon to the besieged if they would yield to circumstances: otherwise
there was no hope for them: they should suffer famine and sword and
every extremity. The messengers further cited their own example.
Torn by a conflict of loyalty and hunger, the besieged vacillated 60
between honour and disgrace. While they hesitated, all their sources
of food, both usual and unusual, began to fail them. They had eaten
their mules and horses and all the other animals which, though foul
and unclean, their straits had forced into use. At last they took to
grubbing up the shrubs and roots and the grass that grew between the
stones, and became a very pattern of endurance in wretchedness, until
at last they soiled their glory by a shameful end. Envoys were sent to
Civilis begging him to save their lives. Even then he refused to
receive their petition until they had sworn allegiance to All Gaul. He
then negotiated for the plunder of the camp and sent guards, some to
secure the money, servants and baggage, and others to conduct the men
themselves out of the camp with empty hands. About five miles down the
road their line was surprised by an ambush of Germans. The bravest
fell on the spot; many were cut down in flight; the rest got back to
camp. Civilis, indeed, complained that the Germans had criminally
broken faith and rebuked them for it. There is no evidence to show
whether this was a pretence or whether he was really unable to
restrain his savage troops. The camp was plundered and burnt, and all
who had survived the battle were devoured by the flames.
When Civilis first took up arms against Rome he made a vow, such 61
as is common with barbarians, to let his ruddled hair[399] grow wild;
now that he had at last accomplished the destruction of the legions he
had it cut. It is said also that he put up some of the prisoners for
his little son to shoot in sport with javelins and arrows. However
that may be, he did not himself swear allegiance to All Gaul, nor did
he force any of the Batavi to do so. He felt that he could rely on the
strength of the Germans, and that if any quarrel arose with the Gauls
about the empire, his fame would give him an advantage. Munius
Lupercus, one of the Roman commanding-officers, was sent among other
presents to Veleda, a virgin of the Bructeran tribe who wielded a
wide-spread authority.[400] It is an ancient custom in Germany to
credit a number of women with prophetic powers, and with the growth of
superstition these develop into goddesses. At this moment Veleda's
influence was at its height, for she had prophesied the success of the
Germans and the destruction of the Roman army.[401] However, Lupercus
was killed on the journey. A few of the centurions and officers who
had been born in Gaul were detained as a security for good faith. The
winter camps of the legions and of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry
were all dismantled and burnt, with the sole exception of those at
Mainz and Vindonissa.[402]
The Sixteenth legion and the auxiliary troops who had surrendered 62
with it now received orders to migrate from their quarters at
Novaesium to Trier, and a date was fixed by which they had to leave
their camp. They spent the meantime brooding on various anxieties, the
cowards all shuddering at the precedent of the massacre at Vetera, the
better sort covered with shame at their disgrace. 'What sort of a
march would this be? Whom would they have to lead them? Everything
would be decided by the will of those into whose hands they had put
their lives.' Others, again, were quite indifferent to the disgrace,
and simply stowed all their money and most cherished possessions about
their persons, while many got their armour ready and buckled on their
swords, as if for battle. While they were still busy with these
preparations the hour struck for their departure, and it proved more
bitter than they had expected. Inside the trenches their disgrace was
not so noticeable. The open country and the light of day revealed
their depth of shame. The emperors' medallions had been torn down[403]
and their standards desecrated, while Gallic ensigns glittered all
around them. They marched in silence, like a long funeral procession,
led by Claudius Sanctus,[404] a man whose sinister appearance--he had
lost one eye--was only surpassed by his weakness of intellect. Their
disgrace was doubled when they were joined by the First legion, who
had left their camp at Bonn. The famous news of their capture had
spread, and all the people who shortly before had trembled at the very
name of Rome, now came flocking out from fields and houses, and
scattered far and wide in transports of joy at this unwonted sight.
Their insulting glee was too much for 'The Picenum Horse'.[405]
Defying all Sanctus' threats and promises, they turned off to Mainz,
and coming by chance upon Longinus, the man who killed Vocula, they
slew him with a shower of javelins and thus made a beginning of future
amends. The legions, without changing their route, came and camped
before the walls of Trier.
Highly elated by their success, Civilis and Classicus debated 63
whether they should allow their troops to sack Cologne. Their natural
savagery and lust for plunder inclined them to destroy the town, but
policy forbade; and they felt that in inaugurating a new empire a
reputation for clemency would be an asset. Civilis was also moved by
the memory of a past service, for at the beginning of the outbreak his
son had been arrested in Cologne, and they had kept him in honourable
custody. However, the tribes across the Rhine were jealous of this
rich and rising community, and held that the war could only be ended
either by throwing the settlement open to all Germans without
distinction or by destroying it and thereby dispersing the Ubii 64
together with its other inhabitants.[406] Accordingly the
Tencteri,[407] their nearest neighbours across the Rhine, dispatched a
deputation to lay a message before a public meeting of the town. This
was delivered by the haughtiest of the delegates in some such terms as
these:--'We give thanks to the national gods of Germany and above all
others, to the god of war, that you are again incorporate in the
German nation and the German name, and we congratulate you that you
will now at last become free members of a free community. Until to-day
the Romans had closed to us the roads and rivers, and almost the very
air of heaven, to prevent all intercourse between us; or else they
offered a still fouler insult to born warriors, that we should meet
under supervision, unarmed and almost naked,[408] and should pay for
the privilege. Now, that our friendly alliance may be ratified for all
eternity, we demand of you that you pull down those bulwarks of
slavery, the walls of your town, for even wild beasts lose their
spirit if you keep them caged: that you put to the sword every Roman
on your soil, since tyrants are incompatible with freedom; that all
the property of those killed form a common stock and no one be
allowed to conceal anything or to secure any private advantage. It
must also be open both for us and for you to live on either
river-bank, as our forefathers could in earlier days. As daylight is
the natural heritage of all mankind, so the land of the world is free
to all brave men. Resume again the customs and manners of your own
country and throw off those luxurious habits which enslave Rome's
subjects far more effectively than Roman arms. Then, grown simple and
uncorrupt, you will forget your past slavery and either know none but
equals or hold empire over others.'
The townspeople took time to consider these proposals, and, 65
feeling that their apprehensions for the future forbade them to
assent, while their present circumstances forbade them to return a
plain negative, they answered as follows: 'We have seized our first
opportunity of freedom with more haste than prudence, because we
wanted to join hands with you and all our other German kinsmen. As for
our town-walls, seeing that the Roman armies are massing at this
moment, it would be safer for us to heighten them than to pull them
down. All the foreigners from Italy or the provinces who lived on our
soil have either perished in the war or fled to their own homes. As
for the original settlers[409], who are united to us by ties of
marriage, they and their offspring regard this as their home, and we
do not think you are so unreasonable as to ask us to kill our parents
and brothers and children. All taxes and commercial restrictions we
remit. We grant you free entry without supervision, but you must come
in daylight and unarmed, while these ties which are still strange and
new are growing into a long-established custom. As arbitrators we will
appoint Civilis and Veleda, and we will ratify our compact in their
presence.'
Thus the Tencteri were pacified. A deputation was sent with presents
to Civilis and Veleda, and obtained all that the people of Cologne
desired. They were not, however, allowed to approach and speak to
Veleda or even to see her, but were kept at a distance to inspire in
them the greater awe. She herself lived at the top of a high tower,
and one of her relatives was appointed to carry all the questions and
answers like a mediator between God and man.
Now that he had gained the accession of Cologne, Civilis 66
determined to win over the neighbouring communities or to declare war
in case of opposition. He reduced the Sunuci[410] and formed their
fighting strength into cohorts, but then found his advance barred by
Claudius Labeo[411] at the head of a hastily-recruited band of
Baetasii, Tungri, and Nervii.[411] He had secured the bridge over the
Maas and relied on the strength of his position. A skirmish in the
narrow defile proved indecisive, until the Germans swam across and
took Labeo in the rear. At this point Civilis by a bold move--or
possibly by arrangement--rode into the lines of the Tungri and called
out in a loud voice, 'Our object in taking up arms is not to secure
empire for the Batavi and Treviri over other tribes. We are far from
any such arrogance. Take us as allies. I am come to join you; whether
as general or as private it is for you to choose.' This had a great
effect on the common soldiers, who began to sheathe their swords. Then
two of their chieftains, Campanus and Juvenalis, surrendered the
entire tribe. Labeo escaped before he was surrounded. Civilis also
received the allegiance of the Baetasii and Nervii, and added their
forces to his own. His power was now immense, for all the Gallic
communities were either terrified or ready to offer willing support.
In the meantime, Julius Sabinus,[412] who had destroyed every 67
memorial of the Roman alliance,[413] assumed the title of Caesar and
proceeded to hurry a large unwieldy horde of his tribesmen against the
Sequani,[414] a neighbouring community, faithful to Rome. The Sequani
accepted battle: the good cause prospered: the Lingones were routed.
Sabinus fled the field with the same rash haste with which he had
plunged into battle. Wishing to spread a rumour of his death, he took
refuge in a house and set fire to it, and was thus supposed to have
perished by his own act. We shall, however, relate in due course the
devices by which he lay in hiding and prolonged his life for nine
more years, and allude also to the loyalty of his friends and the
memorable example set by his wife Epponina.[415]
FOOTNOTES:
[384] Tacitus here resumes the thread of his narrative of the
rebellion on the Rhine, interrupted at the end of chap. 37,
and goes back from July to January, A.D. 70.
[385] Cp. iii. 46.
[386] The danger of Druidism was always before the eyes of the
emperors. Augustus had forbidden Roman citizens to adopt it.
Claudius had tried to stamp it out in Gaul and in Britain, yet
they appear again here to preach a fanatic nationalism.
However, this seems to be their last appearance as leaders of
revolt.
[387] Probably they were in Rome, and were sent back to their
homes to intrigue against Vitellius' rising power.
[388] See chap. 36.
[389] Cp. ii. 14.
[390] i.e. he was to prevent any incursions from Germany along
the frontier of his canton, between Bingen and Coblenz.
[391] At Mainz.
[392] Chap. 18.
[393] These tribes lived between the Maas and the Scheldt, and
the Marsaci were round the mouth of the Scheldt.
[394] Civilis, again besieging Vetera (chap. 36).
[395] i.e. from the rest of Vocula's force, which they had not
yet deserted.
[396] The Aedui, one of the most powerful of the Gallic
tribes, living between the Saône and the Loire had revolted in
A.D. 21, and held out for a short time at their chief town
(Autun).
[397] This had only been granted to a few tribes who had
helped in crushing Vindex (see i. 8 and 51). The Treviri and
Lingones had been punished. But it is a good rhetorical point.
[398] His presumption took away his breath.
[399] i.e. artificially reddened according to a Gallic custom.
[400] Cp. chap. 69.
[401] Under Vespasian she inspired another rebellion and was
brought as a captive to Rome, where she aroused much polite
curiosity.
[402] Windisch.
[403] From the standards.
[404] Claudius the Holy; lucus a non lucendo.
[405] An auxiliary squadron of Italian horse, originally
raised, we may suppose, by a provincial governor who was a
native of Picenum.
[406] The Ubii were distrusted as having taken the name
Agrippinenses and become in some degree Romanized. The town
was strongly walled, and Germans from outside only admitted on
payment and under Roman supervision.
[407] See chap. 21.
[408] Not, of course, to be taken literally. 'The Germans do
no business public or private except in full armour,' says
Tacitus in the _Germania_. So to them 'unarmed' meant
'unclothed'.
[409] i.e. the veterans whom Agrippina had sent out to her
birthplace in A.D. 50.
[410] West of the Ubii, between the Roer and the Maas.
[411] See chap. 56.
[412] Cp. chap. 55.
[413] e.g. the inscriptions recording the terms of alliance
granted to the Lingones by Rome.
[414] Round Vesontio (Besançon).
[415] The story, which Tacitus presumably told in the lost
part of his _History_, dealing with the end of Vespasian's
reign, is mentioned both by Plutarch and Dio. Sabinus and his
wife lived for nine years in an underground cave, where two
sons were born to them. They were eventually discovered and
executed.
THE EBB-TIDE OF REVOLT
This success on the part of the Sequani checked the rising flood. The
Gallic communities gradually came to their senses and began to
remember their obligations as allies. In this movement the Remi[416]
took the lead. They circulated a notice throughout Gaul, summoning a
meeting of delegates to consider whether liberty or peace was the
preferable alternative. At Rome, however, all these disasters were 68
exaggerated, and Mucianus began to feel anxious. He had already
appointed Annius Gallus and Petilius Cerialis to the chief command,
and distinguished officers as they were, he was afraid the conduct of
such a war might be too much for them. Moreover, he could not leave
Rome without government, but he was afraid of Domitian's unbridled
passions, while, as we have already seen,[417] he suspected Antonius
Primus and Arrius Varus. Varus, as commanding the Guards, still had
the chief power and influence in his hands. Mucianus accordingly
displaced him, but, as a compensation, made him Director of the
Corn-supply. As he had also to placate Domitian, who was inclined to
support Varus, he appointed to the command of the Guards Arrecinus
Clemens, who was connected with Vespasian's family[418] and very
friendly with Domitian. He also impressed it upon Domitian that
Clemens' father had filled this command with great distinction under
Caligula: that his name and his character would both find favour with
the troops, and that, although he was a member of the senate,[419] he
was quite able to fill both positions. He then chose his staff, some
as being the most eminent men in the country, others as recommended by
private influence.
Thus both Domitian and Mucianus made ready to start, but with very
different feelings. Domitian was full of the sanguine haste of youth,
while Mucianus kept devising delays to check this enthusiasm. He was
afraid that if Domitian once seized control of an army, his youthful
self-assurance and his bad advisers would lead him into action
prejudicial both to peace and war. Three victorious legions, the
Eighth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth;[420] the Twenty-first--one of
Vitellius' legions--and the Second, which had been newly enrolled, all
started for the front, some by way of the Poenine and Cottian[421]
Alps, others over the Graian Alps.[422] The Fourteenth was also
summoned from Britain, and the Sixth and First from Spain.
The rumour that this force was on its way, combined with the present
temper of the Gauls, inclined them to adopt a sober policy. Their
delegates now met in the territory of the Remi, where they found the
representatives of the Treviri awaiting them. One of these, Julius
Valentinus, who was the keenest instigator of a hostile policy,
delivered a set speech, in which he heaped spiteful aspersions on the
Roman people, making all the charges which are usually brought against
great empires. He was a clever agitator, whose mad rhetoric made him
popular with the crowd. However, Julius Auspex, a chieftain of the 69
Remi, enlarged upon the power of Rome and the blessings of peace. 'Any
coward can begin a war,' he said, 'but it is the brave who run the
risks of its conduct: and here are the legions already upon us.' Thus
he restrained them, awakening a sense of duty in all the sager
breasts, and appealing to the fears of the younger men. So, while
applauding Valentinus' courage, they followed the advice of Auspex.
The fact that in Vindex's rising the Treviri and Lingones sided with
Verginius is known to have told against them in Gaul. Many, too, were
held back by tribal jealousy. They wanted to know where the
head-quarters of the war would be, to whom were they to look for
auspices and orders, and, if all went well, which town would be chosen
as the seat of government. Thus dissension preceded victory. They
angrily magnified, some their great connexions, others their wealth
and strength, others their antiquity, until they grew tired of
discussing the future and voted for the existing state of things.
Letters were written to the Treviri in the name of All Gaul, bidding
them cease hostilities, suggesting, however, that pardon might be
obtained, and that many were ready to plead their cause if they showed
repentance. Valentinus opposed this mandate and made his tribesmen
offer a deaf ear to it. He was always less anxious to organize a
campaign than to make speeches on every possible occasion.
The result was that neither the Treviri nor the Lingones nor the 70
other rebel tribes behaved as if aware of the serious risks they were
undertaking. Even the leaders did not act in concert. Civilis wandered
over the wilds of the Belgic country, trying to catch or expel
Claudius Labeo. Classicus ordinarily took his ease, apparently
enjoying the fruits of empire. Even Tutor seemed in no hurry to
garrison the Upper Rhine and block the Alpine passes. In the meantime,
the Twenty-first legion made its way down from Vindonissa, while
Sextilius Felix[423] advanced through Raetia with some auxiliary
cohorts. These were joined by the 'Picked Horse',[424] a force that
had been raised by Vitellius and then deserted to Vespasian. This was
commanded by Civilis' nephew, Julius Briganticus,[425] for uncle and
nephew hated each other with all the aggravated bitterness of near
relatives. Tutor swelled his force of Treviri with fresh levies from
the Vangiones, Triboci, and Caeracates,[426] and a stiffening of Roman
veterans, both horse and foot, who had either been bribed or
intimidated. These first cut up an auxiliary cohort sent forward by
Sextilius Felix, but on the advance of the Roman army with its
generals they loyally deserted to their old flag, and were followed by
the Triboci, Vangiones, and Caeracates. Tutor, followed by his
Treviri, avoided Mainz and fell back on Bingium,[427] relying on his
position there, as he had broken down the bridge over the river Nava.
However, Sextilius' cohorts followed him up; some traitor showed them
a ford; Tutor was routed. This disaster was a crushing blow to the
Treviri. The rank and file dropped their weapons and took to the
fields, while some of their chieftains, hoping it might be thought
that they had been the first to lay down arms, took refuge among
tribes who had never repudiated the Roman alliance. The legions which
had been moved, as we saw above,[428] from Novaesium and Bonn to
Trier, now administered to themselves the oath of allegiance to
Vespasian. This happened in Valentinus' absence. When he arrived in
furious excitement, ready to spread universal ruin and confusion, the
legions withdrew into the friendly territory of the Mediomatrici.[429]
Valentinus and Tutor then led the Treviri forcibly back into the
field, but first they killed the two Roman officers, Herennius and
Numisius.[430] By diminishing the hope of pardon they tried to cement
their bond of crime.
Such was the position when Petilius Cerialis reached Mainz. His 71
arrival roused high hopes. He was himself thirsting for battle, and
being always better at despising his enemy than at taking precautions,
he fired his men by delivering a spirited harangue, promising that
directly there was a chance of getting into touch with the enemy he
would engage without delay. He dismissed the Gallic recruits to their
homes with a message that the legions were enough for his task: the
allies could resume their peaceful occupations, feeling assured that
the war was practically ended, now that Roman troops had taken it in
hand. This action rendered the Gauls all the more tractable. They made
less difficulty about the war-tax, now that they had got their men
back again, while his disdain only sharpened their sense of duty. On
the other side, when Civilis and Classicus heard of Tutor's defeat,
the destruction of the Treviri, and the universal success of the Roman
arms, they fell into a panic, hastily mobilized their own scattered
forces, and kept sending messages to Valentinus not to risk a decisive
battle. This only hastened Cerialis' movements. He sent guides to the
legions stationed in the country of the Mediomatrici to lead them by
the shortest route on the enemy's rear. Then, assembling all the
troops to be found in Mainz[431] together with his own force, he
marched in three days to Rigodulum.[432] Here, on a spot protected by
the mountains on one side and the Moselle on the other, Valentinus had
already taken his stand with a large force of Treviri. His camp had
been strengthened with trenches and stone barricades, but these
fortifications had no terrors for the Roman general. He ordered the
infantry to force the position in front, while the cavalry were to
ascend the hill. Valentinus' hurriedly assembled forces filled him
with contempt, for he knew that whatever advantage their position
might give them, the superior morale of his men would outweigh it. A
short delay was necessary while the cavalry climbed the hill, exposed
to the enemy's fire. But when the fight began, the Treviri tumbled
headlong down the hill like a house falling. Some of our cavalry, who
had ridden round by an easier gradient, captured several Belgic
chieftains, including their general, Valentinus.
On the next day Cerialis entered Trier. The troops clamoured 72
greedily for its destruction. 'It was the native town of Classicus and
of Tutor: these were the men who had wickedly entrapped and
slaughtered the legions. Its guilt was far worse than that of Cremona,
which had been wiped off the face of Italy for causing the victors a
single night's delay. Was the chief seat of the rebellion to be left
standing untouched on the German frontier, glorying in the spoil of
Roman armies and the blood of Roman generals?[433] The plunder could
go to the Imperial Treasury. It would be enough for them to see the
rebel town in smoking ruins; that would be some compensation for the
destruction of so many camps.' Cerialis was afraid of soiling his
reputation if it was said that he gave his men a taste for cruelty and
riot, so he suppressed their indignation. They obeyed him, too, for
now that civil war was done with, there was less insubordination on
foreign service. Their thoughts were now distracted by the pitiful
plight of the legions who had been summoned from the country of the
Mediomatrici.[434] Miserably conscious of their guilt, they stood with
eyes rooted to the ground. When the armies met, they raised no cheer:
they had no answer for those who offered comfort and encouragement:
they skulked in their tents, shunning the light of day. It was not
fear of punishment so much as the shame of their disgrace which thus
overwhelmed them. Even the victorious army showed their bewilderment:
hardly venturing to make an audible petition, they craved pardon for
them with silent tears. At length Cerialis soothed their alarm. He
insisted that all disasters due to dissension between officers and
men, or to the enemy's guile, were to be regarded as 'acts of
destiny'. They were to count this as their first day of service and
sworn allegiance.[435] Neither he nor the emperor would remember past
misdeeds. He then gave them quarters in his own camp, and sent round
orders that no one in the heat of any quarrel should taunt a fellow
soldier with mutiny or defeat.
Cerialis next summoned the Treviri and Lingones, and addressed 73
them as follows: 'Unpractised as I am in public speaking, for it is
only on the field that I have asserted the superiority of Rome, yet
since words have so much weight with you, and since you distinguish
good and bad not by the light of facts but by what agitators tell you,
I have decided to make a few remarks, which, as the war is practically
over, are likely to be more profitable to the audience than to
ourselves. Roman generals and officers originally set foot in your
country and the rest of Gaul from no motives of ambition, but at the
call of your ancestors, who were worn almost to ruin by dissension.
The Germans whom one party summoned to their aid had forced the yoke
of slavery on allies and enemies alike. You know how often we fought
against the Cimbri and the Teutons, with what infinite pains and with
what striking success our armies have undertaken German wars. All that
is notorious. And to-day it is not to protect Italy that we have
occupied the Rhine, but to prevent some second Ariovistus making
himself master of All Gaul.[436] Do you imagine that Civilis and his
Batavi and the other tribes across the Rhine care any more about you
than their ancestors cared about your fathers and grandfathers? The
Germans have always had the same motives for trespassing into
Gaul--their greed for gain and their desire to change homes with you.
They wanted to leave their marshes and deserts, and to make themselves
masters of this magnificently fertile soil and of you who live on it.
Of course they use specious pretexts and talk about liberty. No one
has ever wanted to enslave others and play the tyrant without making
use of the very same phrases.
'Tyranny and warfare were always rife throughout the length and 74
breadth of Gaul, until you accepted Roman government. Often as we have
been provoked, we have never imposed upon you any burden by right of
conquest, except what was necessary to maintain peace. Tribes cannot
be kept quiet without troops. You cannot have troops without pay; and
you cannot raise pay without taxation. In every other respect you are
treated as our equals. You frequently command our legions yourselves:
you govern this and other provinces yourselves. We have no exclusive
privileges. Though you live so far away, you enjoy the blessings of a
good emperor no less than we do, whereas the tyrant only oppresses
his nearest neighbours. You must put up with luxury and greed in your
masters, just as you put up with bad crops or excessive rain, or any
other natural disaster. Vice will last as long as mankind. But these
evils are not continual. There are intervals of good government, which
make up for them. You cannot surely hope that the tyranny of Tutor and
Classicus would mean milder government, or that they will need less
taxation for the armies they will have to raise to keep the Germans
and Britons at bay. For if the Romans were driven out--which Heaven
forbid--what could ensue save a universal state of intertribal
warfare? During eight hundred years, by good fortune and good
organization, the structure of empire has been consolidated. It cannot
be pulled down without destroying those who do it. And it is you who
would run the greatest risk of all, since you have gold and rich
resources, which are the prime causes of war. You must learn, then, to
love and foster peace and the city of Rome in which you, the
vanquished, have the same rights as your conquerors. You have tried
both conditions. Take warning, then, that submission and safety are
better than rebellion and ruin.' By such words as these he quieted and
reassured his audience, who had been afraid of more rigorous measures.
While the victors were occupying Trier, Civilis and Classicus sent 75
a letter to Cerialis, the gist of which was that Vespasian was dead,
though the news was being suppressed: Rome and Italy were exhausted by
civil war: Mucianus and Domitian were mere names with no power behind
them: if Cerialis desired to be emperor of All Gaul, they would be
satisfied with their own territory: but if he should prefer battle,
that, too, they would not deny him. Cerialis made no answer to Civilis
and Classicus, but sent the letter and its bearer to Domitian.
The enemy now approached Trier from every quarter in detached bands,
and Cerialis was much criticized for allowing them to unite, when he
might have cut them off one by one. The Roman army now threw a trench
and rampart round their camp, for they had rashly settled in it
without seeing to the fortifications. In the German camp different 76
opinions were being keenly debated. Civilis contended that they should
wait for the tribes from across the Rhine, whose arrival would spread
a panic sufficient to crush the enfeebled forces of the Romans. The
Gauls, he urged, were simply a prey for the winning side and, as it
was, the Belgae, who were their sole strength, had declared for him or
were at least sympathetic. Tutor maintained that delay only
strengthened the Roman force, since their armies were converging from
every quarter. 'They have brought one legion across from Britain,
others have been summoned from Spain, or are on their way from
Italy.[437] Nor are they raw recruits, but experienced veterans, while
the Germans, on whose aid we rely, are subject to no discipline or
control, but do whatever they like. You can only bribe them with
presents of money, and the Romans have the advantage of us there:
besides, however keen to fight, a man always prefers peace to danger,
so long as the pay is the same. But if we engage them at once,
Cerialis has nothing but the remnants of the German army,[438] who
have sworn allegiance to the Gallic Empire. The very fact that they
have just won an unexpected victory over Valentinus' undisciplined
bands[439] serves to confirm them and their general in imprudence.
They will venture out again and will fall, not into the hands of an
inexperienced boy, who knows more about making speeches than war, but
into the hands of Civilis and Classicus, at the sight of whom they
will recall their fears and their flights and their famine, and
remember how often they have had to beg their lives from their
captors. Nor, again, is it any liking for the Romans that keeps back
the Treviri and Lingones: they will fly to arms again, when once their
fears are dispelled.' Classicus finally settled the difference of
opinion by declaring for Tutor's policy, and they promptly proceeded
to carry it out.
The Ubii and Lingones were placed in the centre, the Batavian 77
cohorts on the right, and on the left the Bructeri and Tencteri.
Advancing, some by the hills and some by the path between the road and
the river,[440] they took us completely by surprise. So sudden was
their onslaught that Cerialis, who had not spent the night in camp,
was still in bed when he heard almost simultaneously that the fighting
had begun and that the day was lost. He cursed the messengers for
their cowardice until he saw the whole extent of the disaster with his
own eyes. The camp had been forced, the cavalry routed, and the bridge
over the Moselle, leading to the outskirts of the town, which lay
between him and his army,[440] was held by the enemy. But confusion
had no terrors for Cerialis. Seizing hold on fugitives, flinging
himself without any armour into the thick of the fire, he succeeded by
his inspired imprudence and the assistance of the braver men in
retaking the bridge. Leaving a picked band to hold it, he hurried back
to the camp, where he found that the companies of the legions which
had surrendered at Bonn and Novaesium[441] were all broken up, few men
were left at their posts, and the eagles were all but surrounded by
the enemy. He turned on them in blazing anger, 'It is not Flaccus or
Vocula that you are deserting. There is no "treason" about me. I have
done nothing to be ashamed of, except that I was rash enough to
believe that you had forgotten your Gallic ties and awakened to the
memory of your Roman allegiance. Am I to be numbered with Numisius
and Herennius?[442] Then you can say that all your generals have
fallen either by your hands or the enemy's. Go and tell the news to
Vespasian, or rather, to Civilis and Classicus--they are nearer at
hand--that you have deserted your general on the field of battle.
There will yet come legions who will not leave me unavenged or you
unpunished.'
All he said was true, and the other officers heaped the same 78
reproaches on their heads. The men were drawn up in cohorts and
companies, since it was impossible to deploy with the enemy swarming
round them, and, the fight being inside the rampart, the tents and
baggage were a serious encumbrance. Tutor and Classicus and Civilis,
each at his post, were busy rallying their forces, appealing to the
Gauls to fight for freedom, the Batavians for glory, and the Germans
for plunder. Everything, indeed, went well for the enemy until the
Twenty-first legion, who had rallied in a clearer space than any of
the others, first sustained their charge and then repulsed them. Then,
by divine providence, on the very point of victory the enemy suddenly
lost their nerve and turned tail. They themselves attributed their
panic to the appearance of the Roman auxiliaries, who, after being
scattered by the first charge, formed again on the hill-tops and were
taken for fresh reinforcements. However, what really cost the Gauls
their victory was that they let their enemy alone and indulged in
ignoble squabbles over the spoil. Thus after Cerialis' carelessness
had almost caused disaster, his pluck now saved the day, and he
followed up his success by capturing the enemy's camp and destroying
it before nightfall.
Cerialis' troops were allowed short respite. Cologne was 79
clamouring for help and offering to surrender Civilis' wife and sister
and Classicus' daughter, who had been left behind there as pledges of
the alliance. In the meantime the inhabitants had massacred all the
stray Germans to be found in the town. They were now alarmed at this,
and had good reason to implore aid before the enemy should recover
their strength and bethink themselves of victory, or at any rate of
revenge. Indeed, Civilis already had designs on Cologne, and he was
still formidable, for the most warlike of his cohorts, composed of
Chauci and Frisii,[443] was still in full force at Tolbiacum,[444]
within the territory of Cologne. However, he changed his plans on
receiving the bitter news that this force had been entrapped and
destroyed by the inhabitants of Cologne. They had entertained them at
a lavish banquet, drugged them with wine, shut the doors upon them and
burned the place to the ground. At the same moment Cerialis came by
forced marches to the relief of Cologne. A further anxiety haunted
Civilis. He was afraid that the Fourteenth legion, in conjunction with
the fleet from Britain,[445] might harry the Batavian coast. However,
Fabius Priscus, who was in command, led his troops inland into the
country of the Nervii and Tungri, who surrendered to him. The
Canninefates[446] made an unprovoked attack upon the fleet and sank or
captured the greater number of the ships. They also defeated a band of
Nervian volunteers who had been recruited in the Roman interest.
Classicus secured a further success against an advance-guard of
cavalry which Cerialis had sent forward to Novaesium. These repeated
checks, though unimportant in themselves, served to dim the lustre of
the recent Roman victory.[447]
FOOTNOTES:
[416] Round Reims.
[417] Chap. 39.
[418] His sister was Titus's first wife.
[419] Augustus had made it a rule that the _praefectus
praetorio_ should come from the equestrian order.
[420] The text is here uncertain, and some historians maintain
that the third of these legions was not XIII Gemina but VII
Claudia (v. Henderson, _Civil War_, &c., p. 291).
[421] Great St. Bernard and Mt. Genèvre.
[422] Little St. Bernard.
[423] See iii. 5.
[424] i.e. not raised in any one locality.
[425] Cp. ii. 22.
[426] The Triboci were in Lower Alsace; the Vangiones north of
them in the district of Worms; the Caeracates probably to the
north again, in the district between Mainz and the Nahe
(Nava).
[427] Bingen.
[428] Chap. 62.
[429] Round Metz.
[430] See chap. 59.
[431] The other detachments of legions IV and XXII.
[432] Riol.
[433] Hordeonius Flaccus, Vocula, Herennius, and Numisius.
[434] Legions I and XVI.
[435] They had, as a matter of fact, changed their allegiance
no less than six times since the outbreak of the civil war.
[436] Ariovistus, king of the Suebi, summoned to aid one
Gallic confederacy against another, formed the ambition of
conquering Gaul, but was defeated by Julius Caesar near
Besançon (Vesontio) in 58 B.C.
[437] See chap. 68.
[438] Tutor erred. Cerialis had also the Twenty-first from
Vindonissa, Felix's auxiliary cohorts, and the troops he had
found at Mainz (see chaps. 70 and 71).
[439] He suppresses his own defeat at Bingen (chap. 70).
[440] The town lay on the right bank of the Moselle; the Roman
camp on the left bank between the river and the hills. There
was only one bridge.
[441] The Sixteenth had its permanent camp at Novaesium, the
First at Bonn. Both surrendered at Novaesium (cp. chap. 59).
[442] See chaps. 59 and 70.
[443] The Frisii occupied part of Friesland; the Chauci lay
east of them, between the Ems and Weser.
[444] Zülpich.
[445] A small flotilla on guard in the Channel. It probably
now transported the Fourteenth and landed them at Boulogne.
[446] Cp. chap. 15.
[447] The narrative is resumed from this point in v. 14.
EVENTS IN ROME AND IN THE EAST
It was about this time that Mucianus gave orders for the murder of 80
Vitellius' son,[448] on the plea that dissension would continue until
all the seeds of war were stamped out. He also refused to allow
Antonius Primus to go out on Domitian's staff, being alarmed at his
popularity among the troops and at the man's own vanity, which would
brook no equal, much less a superior. Antonius accordingly went to
join Vespasian, whose reception, though not hostile, proved a
disappointment. The emperor was drawn two ways. On the one side were
Antonius' services: it was undeniable that his generalship had ended
the war. In the other scale were Mucianus' letters. Besides which,
every one else seemed ready to rake up the scandals of his past life
and inveigh against his vanity and bad temper. Antonius himself did
his best to provoke hostility by expatiating to excess on his
services, decrying the other generals as incompetent cowards, and
stigmatizing Caecina as a prisoner who had surrendered. Thus without
any open breach of friendship he gradually declined lower and lower in
the emperor's favour.
During the months which Vespasian spent at Alexandria waiting for 81
the regular season of the summer winds[449] to ensure a safe voyage,
there occurred many miraculous events manifesting the goodwill of
Heaven and the special favour of Providence towards him. At Alexandria
a poor workman who was well known to have a disease of the eye, acting
on the advice of Serapis, whom this superstitious people worship as
their chief god, fell at Vespasian's feet demanding with sobs a cure
for his blindness, and imploring that the emperor would deign to
moisten his eyes and eyeballs with the spittle from his mouth. Another
man with a maimed hand, also inspired by Serapis, besought Vespasian
to imprint his footmark on it. At first Vespasian laughed at them and
refused. But they insisted. Half fearing to be thought a fool, half
stirred to hopes by their petition and by the flattery of his
courtiers, he eventually told the doctors to form an opinion whether
such cases of blindness and deformity could be remedied by human aid.
The doctors talked round the question, saying that in the one case the
power of sight was not extinct and would return, if certain
impediments were removed; in the other case the limbs were distorted
and could be set right again by the application of an effective
remedy: this might be the will of Heaven and the emperor had perhaps
been chosen as the divine instrument. They added that he would gain
all the credit, if the cure were successful, while, if it failed, the
ridicule would fall on the unfortunate patients. This convinced
Vespasian that there were no limits to his destiny: nothing now seemed
incredible. To the great excitement of the bystanders, he stepped
forward with a smile on his face and did as the men desired him.
Immediately the hand recovered its functions and daylight shone once
more in the blind man's eyes. Those who were present still attest both
miracles to-day,[450] when there is nothing to gain by lying.
This occurrence deepened Vespasian's desire to visit the 82
holy-place and consult Serapis about the fortunes of the empire. He
gave orders that no one else was to be allowed in the temple, and then
went in. While absorbed in his devotions, he suddenly saw behind him
an Egyptian noble, named Basilides, whom he knew to be lying ill
several days' journey from Alexandria. He inquired of the priests
whether Basilides had entered the temple that day. He inquired of
every one he met whether he had been seen in the city. Eventually he
sent some horsemen, who discovered that at the time Basilides was
eighty miles away. Vespasian therefore took what he had seen for a
divine apparition, and guessed the meaning of the oracle from the name
'Basilides'.[451]
The origins of the god Serapis are not given in any Roman 83
authorities. The high-priests of Egypt give the following account:
King Ptolemy, who was the first of the Macedonians to put the power of
Egypt on a firm footing,[452] was engaged in building walls and
temples, and instituting religious cults for his newly founded city of
Alexandria, when there appeared to him in his sleep a young man of
striking beauty and supernatural stature, who warned him to send his
most faithful friends to Pontus to fetch his image. After adding that
this would bring luck to the kingdom, and that its resting-place would
grow great and famous, he appeared to be taken up into heaven in a
sheet of flame. Impressed by this miraculous prophecy, Ptolemy
revealed his vision to the priests of Egypt, who are used to
interpreting such things. As they had but little knowledge of Pontus
or of foreign cults, he consulted an Athenian named Timotheus, a
member of the Eumolpid clan,[453] whom he had brought over from
Eleusis to be overseer of religious ceremonies, and asked him what
worship and what god could possibly be meant. Timotheus found some
people who had travelled in Pontus and learnt from them, that near a
town called Sinope there was a temple, which had long been famous in
the neighbourhood as the seat of Jupiter-Pluto,[454] and near it there
also stood a female figure, which was commonly called Proserpine.
Ptolemy was like most despots, easily terrified at first, but liable,
when his panic was over, to think more of his pleasures than of his
religious duties. The incident was gradually forgotten, and other
thoughts occupied his mind until the vision was repeated in a more
terrible and impressive form than before, and he was threatened with
death and the destruction of his kingdom if he failed to fulfil his
instructions. He at once gave orders that representatives should be
sent with presents to King Scydrothemis, who was then reigning at
Sinope, and on their departure he instructed them to consult the
oracle of Apollo at Delphi. They made a successful voyage and received
a clear answer from the oracle: they were to go and bring back the
image of Apollo's father but leave his sister's behind.
On their arrival at Sinope they laid their presents, their 84
petition, and their king's instructions before Scydrothemis. He was in
some perplexity. He was afraid of the god and yet alarmed by the
threats of his subjects, who opposed the project: then, again, he
often felt tempted by the envoys' presents and promises. Three years
passed. Ptolemy's zeal never abated for a moment. He persisted in his
petition, and kept sending more and more distinguished envoys, more
ships, more gold. Then a threatening vision appeared to Scydrothemis,
bidding him no longer thwart the god's design. When he still
hesitated, he was beset by every kind of disease and disaster: the
gods were plainly angry and their hand was heavier upon him every day.
He summoned an assembly and laid before it the divine commands, his
own and Ptolemy's visions, and the troubles with which they were
visited. The king found the people unfavourable. They were jealous of
Egypt and fearful of their own future. So they surged angrily round
the temple. The story now grows stranger still. The god himself, it
says, embarked unaided on one of the ships that lay beached on the
shore, and by a miracle accomplished the long sea-journey and landed
at Alexandria within three days. A temple worthy of so important a
city was then built in the quarter called Rhacotis, on the site of an
ancient temple of Serapis and Isis.[455] This is the most widely
accepted account of the god's origin and arrival. Some people, I am
well aware, maintain that the god was brought from the Syrian town of
Seleucia during the reign of Ptolemy, the third of that name.[456]
Others, again, say it was this same Ptolemy, but make the place of
origin the famous town of Memphis,[457] once the bulwark of ancient
Egypt. Many take the god for Aesculapius, because he cures disease:
others for Osiris, the oldest of the local gods; some, again, for
Jupiter, as being the sovereign lord of the world. But the majority of
people, either judging by what are clearly attributes of the god or by
an ingenious process of conjecture, identify him with Pluto.
Domitian and Mucianus were now on their way to the Alps.[458] 85
Before reaching the mountains they received the good news of the
victory over the Treviri, the truth of which was fully attested by the
presence of their leader Valentinus. His courage was in no way crushed
and his face still bore witness to the proud spirit he had shown. He
was allowed a hearing, merely to see what he was made of, and
condemned to death. At his execution some one cast it in his teeth
that his country was conquered, to which he replied, 'Then I am
reconciled to death.'
Mucianus now gave utterance to an idea which he had long cherished,
though he pretended it was a sudden inspiration. This was that, since
by Heaven's grace the forces of the enemy had been broken, it would
ill befit Domitian, now that the war was practically over, to stand
in the way of the other generals to whom the credit belonged. Were the
fortunes of the empire or the safety of Gaul at stake, it would be
right that a Caesar should take the field; the Canninefates and Batavi
might be left to minor generals. So Domitian was to stay at Lugdunum
and there show them the power and majesty of the throne at close
quarters. By abstaining from trifling risks he would be ready to cope
with any greater crisis.
The ruse was detected, but it could not be unmasked. That was part 86
of the courtier's policy.[459] Thus they proceeded to Lugdunum. From
there Domitian is supposed to have sent messengers to Cerialis to test
his loyalty, and to ask whether the general would transfer his army
and his allegiance to him, should he present himself in person.
Whether Domitian's idea was to plan war against his father or to
acquire support against his brother, cannot be decided, for Cerialis
parried his proposal with a salutary snub and treated it as a boy's
day-dream. Realizing that older men despised his youth, Domitian gave
up even those functions of government which he had hitherto performed.
Aping bashfulness and simple tastes, he hid his feelings under a cloak
of impenetrable reserve, professing literary tastes and a passion for
poetry. Thus he concealed his real self and withdrew from all rivalry
with his brother, whose gentler and altogether different nature he
perversely misconstrued.
FOOTNOTES:
[448] Cp. ii. 59.
[449] During June and July before the Etesian winds (cp. ii. 98)
began to blow from the north-west.
[450] Circa A.D. 108.
[451] Meaning 'king's son', and therefore portending sovereignty.
[452] i.e. Ptolemy Soter, who founded the dynasty of the
Lagidae, and reigned 306-283 B.C.
[453] They inherited the priesthood of Demeter at Eleusis and
supplied the hierophants who conducted the mysteries.
[454] i.e. the sovereign god of the underworld.
[455] It is evident from these words that the worship of
Serapis was ancient in Egypt. It seems to be suggested that
the arrival of this statue from Pontus did not originate but
invigorated the cult of Serapis. Pluto, Dis, Serapis, are all
names for a god of the underworld. Jupiter seems added vaguely
to give more power to the title. We cannot expect accurate
theology from an amateur antiquarian.
[456] Ptolemy Euergetes, 247-222 B.C.
[457] According to Eustathius there was a Mount Sinopium near
Memphis. This suggests an origin for the title Sinopitis,
applied to Serapis, and a cause for the invention of the
romantic story about Sinope in Pontus.
[458] Cp. chap. 68.
[459] i.e. Mucianus was too cunning to give Domitian any
excuse for declaring his suspicions.