Cassius Dio
Roman History
Return to www.BrainFly.Net
Book LVI
The following is contained in the Fifty-sixth of Dio's Rome:—
1. How Augustus addressed those who were fathers and afterwards the
childless and unmarried, and the recompenses that he established for
them (chaps. 1-10).
2. How Quintilius Varus was defeated by the Germans and perished
(chaps. 18-24).
3. How the temple of Concord was dedicated (chap. 25).
4. How the Portico of Livia was dedicated (chap. 27).
5. How Augustus passed away (chaps. 29-47).
Duration of time, six years, in which there were the following
magistrates (consuls) here enumerated:—
A.D.
9
Q. Sulpicius Q. f. Camerinus, C. Poppaeus Q. f.
Sabinus.
10
P. Cornelius P. f. Dolabella, C. Iunius C. f.
Silanus.
11
M. Aemilius Q. f. Lepidus, T. Statilius T. f. Taurus.
12
Germanicus Ti. Caesaris f. Caesar, C. Fonteius C. f.
Capito.
13
L. Munatius L. f. Plancus, C. Silius C. f. Caecina
Largus.
14
Sextus Pompeius Sexti f., Sextus Apuleius Sexti f.
While others were reducing these places, Tiberius returned to Rome
after the winter in which Quintus Sulpicius and Gaius Sabinus became
consuls. Even Augustus himself went out into the suburbs to meet him,
accompanied him to the Saepta, and there from a tribunal greeted the
people. Following this he performed all the ceremonies proper to such
occasions, and caused the consuls to give triumphal games. And when the
knights were very urgent, during the games, in seeking the repeal of
the law regarding the unmarried and the childless, he assembled in one
part of the Forum the unmarried men of their number, and in another
those who were married, including those who also had children. Then,
perceiving that the latter were much fewer in number than the former,
he was filled with grief and addressed them somewhat as follows:
"Though you are but few altogether, in comparison with the vast throng
that inhabits this city, and are far less numerous than the others, who
are unwilling to perform any of their duties, yet for this very reason
I for my part praise you the more, and am heartily grateful to you
because you have shown yourselves obedient than are helping to
replenish the fatherland. For it is by lives so conducted that Romans
of later days will become a mighty multitude. We were at first a mere
handful, you know, but when we had recourse to marriage and begot us
children, we came to surpass all mankind not only in the manliness of
our citizens but in the size of our population as well Bearing this in
mind, we must console the mortal side of our nature with an endless
succession of generations that shall be like the torch-bearers in a
race, so that through one another we may render immortal the one side
of our nature in which we fall short of divine bliss. It was for this
cause most of all that that first and greatest god, who fashioned us,
divided the race of mortals in twain, making one half of it male and
the other half female, and implanted in them love and compulsion to
mutual intercourse, making their association fruitful, that by the
young continually born he might in a way render even mortality
immortal. Indeed, even of the gods themselves some are accounted male
and others female; and the tradition prevails that some have begotten
others and some have been begotten of others. So even among those
beings, who need no such device, marriage and the begetting of children
have been approved as a noble thing.
"You have done right, therefore, to imitate the gods and right to
emulate your fathers, so that, just as they begot you, you also may
bring others into the world; that, just as you consider them and name
them ancestors, others also may regard you and address you in similar
fashion; that the works which they nobly achieved and handed down to
you with glory, you also may hand on to others; and that the
possessions which they acquired and left to you, you also may leave to
others sprung from your own loins. For is there anything better than a
wife who is chaste, domestic, a good house-keeper, a rearer of
children; one to gladden you in health, to rend you in sickness; to be
your partner in good fortune, to console you in misfortune; to restrain
the mad passion of youth and to temper the unseasonable harshness of
old age? And is it not a delight to acknowledge a child who shows the
endowments of both parents, to nurture and educate it, at once the
physical and the spiritual image of yourself, so that in its growth
another self lives again? Is it not blessed, on departing from life, to
leave behind as successor and heir to your blood and substance one that
is your own, sprung from your own loins, and to have only the human
part of you waste away, while you live in the child as your successor,
so that you need not fall into the hands of aliens, as in war, nor
perish utterly, as in a pestilence? These, now, are the private
advantages that accrue to those who marry and beget children; but for
the State, for whose sake we ought to do many things that are even
distasteful to us, how excellent and how necessary it is, if cities and
peoples are to exist, and if you are to rule others and all the world
is to obey you, that there should be a multitude of men, to till the
earth in time of peace, to make voyages, practise arts, and follow
handicrafts, and, in time of war, to protect what we already have with
all the greater zeal because of family ties and to replace those that
fall by others. Therefore, men,— for you alone may properly be called
men,— and fathers,— for you are as worthy of hold this title as I
myself,— I love you and praise you for this; and I not only bestow the
prizes I have already offered but will distinguish you still further by
other honours and offices, so that you may not only reap great benefits
yourselves but may also leave them to your children undiminished. I
will now go over to the other group, whose actions will bear no
comparison with yours and whose reward, therefore, will be directly the
opposite. You will thus learn not alone from my words, but even more
from my deeds, how far you excel them."
After this speech he made presents to some of them at once and promised
to make others; he then went over to the other crowd and spoke to them
as follows:
"A strange experience has been mine, O — what shall I call you? Men?
But you are not performing any of the offices of men. Citizens? But for
all that you are doing, the city is perishing. Romans? But you are
undertaking to blot out this name altogether. Well, at any rate,
whatever you are and by whatever name you delight to be called, mine
has been an astonishing experience; for though I am always doing
everything to promote an increase of pon among you and am now about to
rebuke you, I grieve to see that there are a great many of you. I could
rather have wished that those to whom I have just spoken were as
numerous as you prove to be, and that preferably you were ranged with
them, or otherwise did not exist ata. For you, heedless alike of the
providence of the gods and of the watchful care of your forefathers,
are bent upon annihilating our entire race and making it in truth
mortal, are bent upon destroying and bringing to an end the entire
Roman nation. For what seed of human beings would be left, if all the
rest of mankind should do what you are doing? For you have become their
leaders, and so would rightly bear the responsibility for the universal
destruction. And even if no others emulate you, would you not be justly
hated for the very reason that you overlook what no one else would
overlook, and neglect what no one else would neglect, introducing
customs and practices which, if imitated, would lead to the
extermination of all mankind, and, if abhorred, would end in your own
punishment? We do not spare murderers, you know, because not every man
commits murder, nor do we let temple-robbers go because not everyone
robs temples; but anybody who is convicted of committing a forbidden
act is pud for the very reason that he alone or in company with a few
others does something that no one else would do. Yet, if one were to
name over all the worst crimes, the others are as naught in comparison
with this one you are now committing, whether you consider them crime
for crime or even set all of them together over against this single
crime of yours. For you are committing murder in not begetting in the
first place those who ought to be your descendants; you are committing
sacrilege in putting an end to the names and honours of your ancestors;
and you are guilty of impiety in that you are abolishing your families,
which were instituted by the gods, and destroying the greatest of
offerings to them,— human life,— thus overthrowing their rites and
their temples. Moreover, you are destroying the State by disobeying its
laws, and you are betraying your country by rendering her barren and
childless; nay more, you are laying her even with the dust by making
her destitute of future inhabitants. For it is human beings that
constitute a city, we are told, not houses or porticos or market-places
empty of men.
"Bethink you, therefore, what wrath would justly seize the great
Romulus, the founder of our race, if he could reflect on the
circumstances of his own birth and then upon your conduct in refusing
to beget children even by lawful marriages! How wrathful would the
Romans who were his followers be, if they could realize that after they
themselves had even seized foreign girls, you are not satisfied even
with those of your own rac, and after they had got children even by
enemy wives, you will not beget them even of women who are citizens!
How angry would Curtius be, who was willing to die that the married men
might not be bereft of their wives! How indignant Hersilia, who
attended her daughter at her wedding and instituted for us all the
rites of marriage! Nay, our fathers even fought the Sabines to obtain
brides and made peace through the intercession of their wives and
children; they administered oaths and made sundry treaties for this
very purpose; but you are bringing all their efforts to naught. And
why? Do you desire to live apart from women always, even as the Vestal
Virgins live apart from men? Then you should also be punished as they
are if you are guilty of any lewdness.
"I know that I seem to you to speak bitterly and harshly. But reflect,
in the first place, that physicians, too, treat many patients by
cautery and surgery, when they cannot be cured in any other way; and,
in the second place, that it is not my wish or my pleasure to speak
thus. Hence I have this further reproach to bring against you, that you
have provoked me to this discourse. As for yourselves, if you do not
like what I say, do not continue this conduct for which you are being
and must ever be reproached. If my words do wound some of you, how much
more do your actions wound both me and all the rest of the Romans!
Accordingly, if you are vexed in very truth, change your course, so
that I may praise and recompense you; for that I am not harsh by nature
and that I have accomplished, subject to human limitations, everything
it was proper for a good law-giver to do, even you cannot fail to
realize.
"Indeed, it was never permitted to any man, even in olden times, to
neglect marriage and the begetting of children; but from the very
outset, when the government was first established, strict laws were
made regarding these matters, and subsequently many decrees were passed
by both the senate and the people, which it would be superfluous to
enumerate here. I, now, have increased the penalties for the
disobedient, in order that through fear of becoming liable to them you
might be brought to your senses; and to the obedient I have offered a
more numerous and greater prizes than are given for any other display
of excellence, in order that for this reason, if for no other, you
might be persuaded to marry and beget children. Yet you have not
striven for any of the recompenses nor feared any of the penalties, but
have shown contempt for all these measures and have trodden them all
underfoot, as if you were not living in a civilized community. You
talk, forsooth, about this 'free' and 'untrammelled' life that you have
adopted, without wives and without children; but you are not a whit
better than brigands or the most savage of beasts. For surly it is not
your delight in a solitary existence that leads you to live without
wives, nor is there one of you who either eats alone or sleeps alone;
no, what you want is of have full liberty for wantonness and
licentiousness. Yet I allowed you to pay your court to girls still of
tender years and not yet ripe for marriage, in order that, classed as
prospective bridegrooms, you might live as family men should; and I
permitted those not in the senatorial order to wed freedwomen, so that,
if anyone through love or intimacy of any sort should be disposed to
such a course, he might go about it lawfully. And I did not limit you
rigidly even to this, but at first gave you three whole years in which
to make your preparations, and later two. Yet not even so, by
threatening, or urging, or postponing, or entreating, have I
accomplished anything. For you see for yourselves how much more
numerous you are than the married men, when you ought by this time to
have provided us with as many children besides, or rather with several
times your number. How otherwise can families continue? How can the
State be preserved, if we neither marry nor have children? For surely
you are not expecting men to spring up from the ground to succeed to
your goods and to the public interests, as the myths describe! And yet
it is neither right nor creditable that our race should cease, and the
name of Romans be blotted out with us, and the city be given over to
foreigners — Greeks or even barbarians. Do we not free our slaves
chiefly for the express purpose of making out of them as many citizens
as possible? And do we not give our allies a share in the government in
order that our numbers may increase? And do you, then, who are Romans
from the beginning and claim as your ancestors the famous Marcii, the
Fabii, the Quintii, the Valerii, and the Julii, do you desire that your
families and names alike shall perish with you? Nay, I for my part am
ashamed that I have been forced even to mention such a thing. Have done
with your madness, then, and stop at last to reflect, that with many
dying all the time by disease and many in war it is impossible for the
city to maintain itself, unless its population is continually renewed
by those who are ever and anon to be born.
"And let none of you imagine that I fail to realize that there are
disagreeable and painful things incident to marriage and the begetting
of children. But bear this in mind, that we do not possess any other
good with which some unpleasantness is not mingled, and that in our
most abundant and greatest blessings there reside the most abundant and
greatest evils. Therefore, if you decline to accept the latter, do not
seek to obtain the former, either, since for practically everything
that has any genuine excellence or enjoyment one must strive
beforehand, strive at the time, and strive afterwards. But why should I
prolong my speech by going into all these details? Even if there are,
then, some unpleasant things incident to marriage and the begetting of
children, set over against them the advantages, and you will find these
to be at once more numerous and more compelling. For, in addition to
all the other blessings that naturally inhere in this state of life,
the prizes offered by the laws should induce each other to obey me; for
a very small part of these inspires many to undergo even death. And is
it not disgraceful that for rewards which lead others to sacrifice even
their lives you should be unwilling either to marry wives or to rear
children?
"Therefore, fellow-citizens, — for I believe that I have now persuaded
you both to hold fast to the name of citizens and to secure the title
of men and fathers as well,— I have administered this rebuke to you not
for my own pleasure but from necessity, and not as your enemy nor as
one who hates you but rather loving you and wishing to obtain many
others like you, in order that we may have lawful homes to dwell in and
houses full of descendants, so that we may approach the gods together
with our wives and our children, and in partnership with one another
may risk our all in equal measure and reap in like degree the hopes we
cherish in them. How, indeed, could I be a good ruler over you, if I
could endure to see you growing constantly fewer in number? How could I
any longer be right fully called father by you, if you rear no
children? Therefore, if you really hold me in affection, and
particularly if you have given me this title not out of flattery but as
an honour, be eager now to become both men and fathers, in order that
you may not only share this title yourselves but may also justify it as
applied to me."
Such were his words to the two groups at that time. Afterwards he
increased the rewards to those who had children and in the case of the
others made a distinction between the married men and the unmarried by
imposing different penalties; furthermore, he granted a year's time to
those who were remiss in either respect, in which to obey him and thus
escape the penalties. Contrary to the Lex Voconia, according to which
no woman could inherit property to the value of more than one hundred
thousand sesterces, he permitted some women to inherit larger amounts;
and he granted the Vestal Virgins all the privileges enjoyed by women
who had borne children. Later the Lex Papia Poppaea was framed by
Marcus Papius Mutilus and by Quintus Poppaeus Secundus, who were
consuls at the time for a part of they. Now it chanced that both of
them were not only childless but were not even married, and from this
very circumstance the need of the law was apparent. These were the
events in Rome.
Germanicus in the meantime captured Splonum among other places in
Dalmatia, in spite of the fact that it occupied a site well fortified
by nature, was well protected by walls, and had a vast number of
defenders. Consequently he had been unable to make any headway either
with engines or by assaults; but he took it as the result of the
following incident. Pusio, a German horseman, hurled a stone against
the wall and so shook the parapet that it immediately fell and dragged
down with it a man who was leaning against it. At this the rest became
alarmed and in their fear abandoned that part of the wall and ran up to
the citadel; and later they surrendered both the citadel and themselves.
From there the troops of Germanicus came to Raetinum, but did not fare
so well here. For the enemy, overwhelmed by their numbers and unable to
withstand them, set fire of their own accord to the encircling wall and
to the houses adjoining it, contriving, however, to keep it so far as
possible from blazing up at once and to make it go unnoticed for some
time; after doing this they retired to the citadel. The Romans,
ignorant of what they had done, rushed in after them, expecting to sack
the whole place without striking a blow; thus they got inside the
circle of fire, and, with their minds intent upon the enemy, saw
nothing of it until they were surrounded by it on all sides. Then they
found themselves in the direst peril, being pelted by the men from
above and injured by the fire from without. They could neither remain
where they were safely nor force their way out anywhere without danger.
For if they stood out of range of the missiles, they were scorched by
the fire, or, if they leaped back from the flames, they were destroyed
by the missiles; and some who got caught in a tight place perished from
both causes at once, being wounded on one side and burned on the other.
The majority of those who had rushed into the town met this fate; but
some few escaped by casting corpses into the flames and making a
passage for themselves by using the bodies as a bridge. The fire gained
such headway that even those on the citadel could not remain there, but
abandoned it in the night and hid themselves in subterranean chambers.
These were the operations at that point.
Seretium, which Tiberius had once besieged but had not captured, was
reduced, and after this some other places were more easily won. But
since in spite of these reverses the remainder of the Dalmatians rose
and the war kept dragging on and famine occurred in Italy, largely
because of the war, Augustus sent Tiberius once more into Dalmatia.
Tiberius saw that the soldiers were impatient of longer delay and were
eager to end the war in some way, even if it involved danger; and
fearing that if they all remained together they would mutiny, he made
three divisions of them: one he assigned to Silvanus and one to Marcus
Lepidus, and with the rest he marched with Germanicus against Bato. The
first two commanders easily overcame their opponents in battle; but
Tiberius had to wander over practically the whole country as Bato went
about from place to place, and finally, when the other took refuge in
Adetrium, a fortress erected only a short distance from Salonae itself,
he found himself in sore straits when he undertook to besiege him. For
the place was built upon a rocky height, well fortified and difficult
of access, and was encircled by deep ravine through which torrent
poured; and the enemy, moreover, had all the necessary provisions, part
of which they had previously stored there, while a part they were still
bringing from the mountains, which were in their hands. Besides this,
by means of ambuscades they interfered with the Romans' provision
trains. Hence Tiberius, though supposed to be besieging them, was
himself placed in the position of a besieged force.
He was accordingly at a loss what to do, and could not devise any plan
of action; for the siege was proving fruitless and dangerous and a
retreat seemed disgraceful. This led to a tumult on the part of the
soldiers, who raised an outcry so mighty and so prolonged that the
enemy, who were encamped at the foot of the fort, became terrified and
retreated. In consequence he was both angry and pleased, and calling
the troops together, he administered some rebukes and some admonitions.
He displayed no rashness nor did he withdraw, but remained quietly on
the spot until Bato, despairing of victory, sent a herald to him to ask
for terms. Bato was reduced to this necessity, because all but a few of
his possessions had been captured, and because the force that he had
was inferior to the one then opposing it; but he could not persuade the
rest to ask for a truce, and so abandoned them, nor did he again go to
the aid of anyone else, though he received many requests for aid.
Tiberius, accordingly, conceived a contempt for those still left in the
fortress; and thinking that he could conquer them without serious loss,
paid no further heed to the terrain, but advanced straight against the
stronghold. And since there was no level ground and the enemy would not
come down against them, he himself took his seat on a platform in full
view of all, in order not only to watch the struggle,— since this would
cause his men to fight more zealously,— but also to be able to render
opportune assistance, should there be any need of it. In fact he was
holding a part of the army in reserve for this very purpose, inasmuch
as he was vastly superior to the foe in point of numbers. The rest,
drawn up in a dense square, at first proceeded at a walk; but later
they were separated by the steepness and unevenness of the mountain,
which was full of gullies and at many points was cut up into ravines,
so that some ascended more rapidly and others more slowly.
The Dalmatians, when they observed this, arrayed themselves outside
their wall, at the top of the steep, and hurled down quantities of
stones upon them, throwing some from slings and rolling down others.
Some let loose wheels, others whole waggons full of rocks, and still
others circular chests constructed in a fashion peculiar to that
country and packed full of stones. All these objects rushing down at
once with great impetus kept striking here and there, as if discharged
from a sling, separating the Romans from one another even more than
before and crushing them. Others of the enemy were striking many of
them down with the missiles and spears that they hurled. Meanwhile
there was great rivalry on the part of the combatants, as the one side
endeavoured to ascend and conquer the heights, the other to repulse
them and hurl them back; and there was great rivalry also on the part
of the others, both those who were watching the action from the walls
and those with Tiberius. Each side, both individually and collectively,
was encouraging its own men, trying to hearten those who showed zeal
and chiding those who gave way at any point. Those whose voices could
be heard above the rest were also invoking the gods at the same time,
both sides praying for the safety of their warriors at the moment, and
one side begging for its freedom, the other for peace, in the future.
The Romans would certainly have risked their lives all to no purpose,
being obliged, as they were, to contend against two difficulties at
once,— the nature of the country and the lines of their opponents,— had
not Tiberius by repeated reinforcements prevented them from taking to
flight, and at the same time thrown the enemy into confusion by sending
a detachment of soldiers around to a point where by a wide circuit the
place could be ascended. As a result, the enemy were routed and could
not even get into the fortress, but were scattered up and down the
mountain sides, first having cast aside their armour, so as to be
unencumbered by its weight. Their pursuers followed them at every
point, for they emperor very eager to end the war once for all, and did
not want the foe to unite again and cause them further trouble. They
discovered most of them hiding in the forests and slew them as they
would so many wild beasts, after which they took over the men in the
fort, who had capitulated.
Tiberius was now engaged in arranging the affairs of the enemies who
had surrendered, and in carrying out the terms of their capitulation;
but Germanicus turned his attention to those who still offered
resistance, for many deserters who were with them prevented them from
making terms. He succeeded in subjugating a place called Arduba, but
could not accomplish it with his own force, though this was far greater
than his opponents' army. For the place itself had been strongly
fortified and a river with a swift current flows all around its base
except for a short distance. But the deserters fell into a dispute with
the inhabitants, because the latter were anxious for peace, and came to
blows with them. They were assisted by the women in the fort, for
these, contrary to the decision of the men, craved liberty and were
ready to suffer any fate whatever rather than servitude. Accordingly a
fierce struggle ensued, and the deserters were worsted and surrendered,
though some of them made their escape; but the women, catching up their
children, either threw themselves into the flames or hurled themselves
into the river below. Thus that fort also was taken, whereupon the
other places in its vicinity voluntarily made terms with Germanicus;
and he, after accomplishing this much, rejoined Tiberius, leaving
Postumius to complete the subjugation of the remaining districts. In
the meantime Bato sent his son Sceuas to Tiberius, promising to
surrender both himself and all his followers if he obtained pardon. And
when he later received a pledge, he came by night to Tiberius' camp and
on the following day was led before him as he sat on a tribunal. Bato
asked nothing for himself, even holding his head forward to await the
stroke, but in behalf of the others he made a long defence. Finally,
upon being asked by Tiberius why his people had taken it into their
heads to revolt and to war against the Romans so long, he replied: "You
Romans are to blame for this; for you send as guardians of your flocks,
not dogs or shepherds, but wolves."
In this way the war was ended after the loss of many men and immense
treasure; for ever so many legions were maintained for this campaign
and but very little booty was taken. On this occasion, also, Germanicus
announced the victory; and because of it Augustus and Tiberius were
permitted to add the title of imperator to their other titles and to
celebrate a triumph, and they received other honours, besides, notably
two triumphal arches in Pannonia; for these were the only distinctions
of the many voted to them that Augustus would accept. Germanicus
received the ornamenta triumphalia, a distinction which fell likewise
to the other commanders, and also the rank of a praetor, as well as the
privilege of giving his vote immediately after the ex-consuls and of
holding the consulship earlier than custom allowed. To Drusus, also,
the son of Tiberius, even though he had taken no part in the war, was
granted the privilege of attending the sittings of the senate before
becoming a member of that body and of voting ahead of the ex-praetors
as soon as he should become quaestor.
Scarcely had these decrees been passed, when terrible news that arrived
from the province of Germany prevented them from holding the festival.
I shall now relate the events which had taken place in Germany during
this period. The Romans were holding portions of it — not entire
regions, but merely such districts as happened to have been subdued, so
that no record has been made of the fact — and soldiers of theirs were
wintering there and cities were being founded. The barbarians were
adapting themselves to Roman ways, were becoming accustomed to hold
markets, and were meeting in peaceful assemblages. They had not,
however, forgotten their ancestral habits, their native manners, their
old life of independence, or the power derived from arms. Hence, so
long as they were unlearning these customs gradually and by the way, as
one may say, under careful watching, they were not disturbed by the
change in their manner of life, and were becoming different without
knowing it. But when Quintilius Varus became governor of the province
of Germany, and in the discharge of his official duties was
administering the affairs of these peoples also, he strove to change
them more rapidly. Besides issuing orders to them as if they were
actually slaves of the Romans, he exacted money as he would from
subject nations. To this they were in no mood to submit, for the
leaders longed for their former ascendancy and the masses preferred
their accustomed condition to foreign domination. Now they did not
openly revolt, since they saw that there were many Roman troops near
the Rhine and many within their own borders; instead, they received
Varus, pretending that they would do all he demanded of them, and thus
they drew him far away from the Rhine into the land of the Cherusci,
toward the Visurgis, and there by behaving in a most peaceful and
friendly manner led him to believe that they would live submissively
without the presence of soldiers.
Consequently he did not keep his legions together, as was proper in a
hostile country, but distributed many of the soldiers to helpless
communities, which asked for them for the alleged purpose of guarding
various points, arresting robbers, or escorting provision trains. Among
those deepest in the conspiracy and leaders of the plot and of the war
were Armenius and Segimerus, who were his constant companions and often
shared his mess. He accordingly became confident, and expecting no
harm, not only refused to believe all those who suspected what was
going on and advised him to be on his guard, but actually rebuked them
for being needlessly excited and slandering his friends. Then there
came an uprising, first on the part of those who lived at a distance
from him, deliberately so arranged, in order that Varus should march
against them and so be more easily overpowered while proceeding through
what was supposed to be friendly country, instead of putting himself on
his guard as he would do in case all became hostile to him at once. And
so it came to pass. They escorted him as he set out, and then begged to
be excused from further attendance, in order, as they claimed, to
assemble their allied forces, after which they would quietly come to
his aid. Then they took charge of their troops, which were already in
waiting somewhere, and after the men in each community had put to death
the detachments of soldiers for which they had previously asked, they
came upon Varus in the midst of forests by this time almost
impenetrable. And there, at the very moment of revealing themselves as
enemies instead of subjects, they wrought great and dire havoc.
The mountains had an uneven surface broken by ravines, and the trees
grew close together and very high. Hence the Romans, even before the
enemy assailed them, were having a hard time of it felling trees,
building roads, and bridging places that required it. They had with
them many waggons and many beasts of burden as in time of peace;
moreover, not a few women and children and a large retinue of servants
were following them — one more reason for their advancing in scattered
groups. Meanwhile a violent rain and wind came up that separated them
still further, while the ground, that had become slippery around the
roots and logs, made walking very treacherous for them, and the tops of
the trees kept breaking off and falling down, causing much confusion.
While the Romans were in such difficulties, the barbarians suddenly
surrounded them on all sides at once, coming through the densest
thickets, as they were acquainted with the paths. At first they hurled
their volleys from a distance; then, as no one defended himself and
many were wounded, they approached closer to them. For the Romans were
not proceeding in any regular order, but were mixed in helter-skelter
with the waggons and the unarmed, and so, being unable to form readily
anywhere in a body, and being fewer at every point than their
assailants, they suffered greatly and could offer no resistance at all.
Accordingly they encamped on the spot, after securing a suitable place,
so far as that was possible on a wooded mountain; and afterwards they
either burned or abandoned most of their waggons and everything else
that was not absolutely necessary to them. The next day they advanced
in a little better order, and even reached open country, though they
did not get off without loss. Upon setting out from there they plunged
into the woods again, where they defended themselves against their
assailants, but suffered their heaviest losses while doing so. For
since they had to form their lines in a narrow space, in order that the
cavalry and infantry together might run down the enemy, they collided
frequently with one another and with the trees. They were still
advancing when the fourth day dawned, and again a heavy downpour and
violent wind assailed them, preventing them from going forward and even
from standing securely, and moreover depriving them of the use of their
weapons. For they could not handle their bows or their javelins with
any success, nor, for that matter, their shields, which were thoroughly
soaked. Their opponents, on the other hand, being for the most part
lightly equipped, and able to approach and retire freely, suffered less
from the storm. Furthermore, the enemy's forces had greatly increased,
as many of those who had at first wavered joined them, largely in the
hope of plunder, and thus they could more easily encircle and strike
down the Romans, whose ranks were now thinned, many having perished in
the earlier fighting. Varus, therefore, and all the more prominent
officers, fearing that they should either be captured alive or be
killed by their bitterest foes (for they had already been wounded),
made bold to a thing that was terrible yet unavoidable: they took their
own lives.
When news of this had spread, none of the rest, even if he had any
strength left, defended himself any longer. Some imitated their leader,
and others, casting aside their arms, allowed anybody who pleased to
slay them; for to flee was impossible, however much one might desire to
do so. Every man, therefore, and every horse was cut down without fear
of resistance, and the ...
And the barbarians occupied all the strongholds save one, their delay
at which prevented them from either crossing the Rhine or invading
Gaul. Yet they found themselves unable to reduce this fort, because
they did not understand the conduct of sieges, and because the Romans
employed numerous archers, who repeatedly repulsed them and destroyed
large numbers of them.
Later they learned that the Romans had posted a guard at the Rhine, and
that Tiberius was approaching with an imposing army. Therefore most of
the barbarians retired from the ort, and even the detachment still left
there withdrew to a considerable distance, so as not to be injured by
sudden sallies on the part of the garrison, and then kept watch of the
roads, hoping to capture the garrison through the failure of their
provisions. The Romans inside, so long as they had plenty of food,
remained where they were, awaiting relief; but when no one came to
their assistance and they were also hard pressed by hunger, they waited
merely for a stormy night and then stole forth. Now the soldiers were
but few, the unarmed many. They succeeded in getting past the foe's
first and second outposts, but when they reached the third, they were
discovered, for the women and children, by reason of their fatigue and
fear as well as on account of the darkness and cold, kept calling to
the warriors to come back. And they would all have perished or been
captured, had the barbarians not been occupied in seizing the plunder.
This afforded an opportunity for the most hardy to get some distance
away, and the trumpeters with them by sounding the signal for a
double-quick march caused the enemy to think that they had been sent by
Asprenas. Therefore the foe ceased his pursuit, and Asprenas, upon
learning what was taking place, actually did render them assistance.
Some of the prisoners were afterwards ransomed by their relatives and
returned from captivity; for this was permitted on condition that the
men ransomed should remain outside of Italy. This, however, occurred
later.
Augustus, when he learned of the disaster to Varus, rent his garments,
as some report, and mourned greatly, not only because of the soldiers
who had been lost, but also because of his fear for the German and
Gallic provinces, and particularly because he expected that the enemy
would march against Italy and against Rome itself. For there were no
citizens of military age left worth mentioning, and the allied forces
that were of any value had suffered severely. Nevertheless, he made
preparations as best he could in view of the circumstances; and when no
men of military age showed a willingness to be enrolled, he made them
draw lots, depriving of his property and disfranchising every fifth man
of those still under thirty-five and every tenth man among those who
had passed that age. Finally, as a great many paid no heed to him even
then, he put some to death. He chose by lot as many as he could of
those who had already completed their term of service and of the
freedmen, and after enrolling them sent them in haste with Tiberius
into the province of Germany. And as there were in Rome a large number
of Gauls and Germans, some of them serving in the pretorian guard and
others sojourning there for various reasons, he feared they might begin
a rebellion; hence he sent away such as were in his body-guard to
certain islands and ordered those who were unarmed to leave the city.
This was the way he handled matters at that time; and none of the usual
business was carried on nor were the festivals celebrated. Later, when
he heard that some of the soldiers had been saved, that the Germanies
were garrisoned, and that the enemy did not venture to come even to the
Rhine, he ceased to be alarmed and paused to consider the matter. For a
catastrophe so great and sudden as this, it seemed to him, could have
been due to nothing else than the wrath of some divinity; moreover, by
reason of the portents which occurred both before the defeat and
afterwards, he was strongly inclined to suspect some superhuman agency.
For the temple of Mars in the field of the same name was struck by
lightning, and many locusts flew into the very city and were devoured
by swallows; the peaks of the Alps seemed to collapse upon one another
and to send up three columns of fire; the sky in many places seemed
ablaze and numerous comets appeared at one and the same time; spears
seemed to dart from the north and to fall in the direction of the Roman
camps; bees formed their combs about the altars in the camps; a statue
of Victory that was in the province of Germany and faced the enemy's
territory turned about to face Italy; and in one instance there was a
futile battle and conflict of the soldiers over the eagles in the
camps, the soldiers believing that the barbarians had fallen upon them.
For these reasons, then, and also because ...
Tiberius did not see fit to cross the Rhine, but kept quiet, watching
to see that the barbarians did not cross. And they, knowing him to be
there, did not venture to cross in their turn.
Germanicus was becoming endeared to the populace for many reasons, but
particularly because he acted as advocate for various persons, and this
quite as much before Augustus himself as before the other judges.
Accordingly, on one occasion when he was going to lend assistance in
this way to a quaestor who was charged with murder, his accuser became
alarmed lest he should in consequence of this lose his suit before the
judges who regularly heard such cases, and wished to have it tried
before Augustus. But his efforts were all in vain, for he did not win
the suit.
... holding it after his consulship. But the next year, in addition to
the events already described, the temple of Concord was dedicated by
Tiberius, and both his name and that of Drusus, his dead brother, were
inscribed upon it. In the consulship of Marcus Aemilius and Statilius
Taurus, Tiberius and Germanicus, the latter acting as proconsul,
invaded Germany and overran portions of it. They did not win any
battle, however, since no one came to close quarters with them, nor did
they reduce any tribe; for in their fear of falling victims to a fresh
disaster they did not advance very far beyond the Rhine, but after
remaining in that region until late autumn and celebrating the birthday
of Augustus, on which they held a horse-race under the direction of the
centurions, they returned.
At Rome Drusus Caesar, the son of Tiberius, became quaestor, and
sixteen praetors held office because that number were candidates for
the position and Augustus, in view of the difficulties in which he
found himself, was unwilling to offend any of them. The same did not
hold true, however, of the years immediately following, but the number
remained at twelve for a considerable period. Besides these events at
that time, the seers were forbidden to prophesy to any person alone or
to prophesy to any person alone or to prophesy regarding death even if
others should be present. Yet so far was Augustus from caring about
such matters in his own case that he set forth to all in an edict the
aspect of the stars at the time of his own birth. Nevertheless, he
forbade this practice. He also issued a proclamation to the subject
nations forbidding them to bestow any honours upon a person assigned to
govern them either during his term of office or within sixty days after
his departure; this was because some governors by arranging beforehand
for testimonials and eulogies from their subjects were causing much
mischief. Three senators, as before, transacted business with
embassies, and the knights — a fact which may cause surprise — were
allowed to fight as gladiators. The reason for this was that some were
making light of the disfranchisement imposed as the penalty for such
conduct. For inasmuch as there proved to be no use in forbidding it,
and the guilty seemed to require a greater punishment, or else because
it seemed possible that they might even be turned aside from this
course, they were granted permission to take part in such contests. In
this way they incurred death instead of disfranchisement; for they
fought just as much as ever, especially since their contests were
eagerly witnessed, so that even Augustus used to watch them in company
with the praetors who superintended the contests.
Germanicus soon afterwards received the office of consul, though he had
not even been praetor, and he held it throughout the whole year, not
because of his rank, but in the same way that certain others still held
the office at this time for the whole period. Germanicus himself did
nothing memorable, except that at this time, too, he acted as advocate
in law-suits, since his colleague, Gaius Capito, counted as a mere
figurehead. But Augustus, since he was growing old, wrote a letter
commending Germanicus to the senate and the latter to Tiberius; the
letter was not read by Augustus himself, for he was unable to make
himself heard, but by Germanicus, as usual. After this the emperor,
making the German war his excuse, asked the senators not to greet him
at his home or to feel hurt if he did not continue to join with them in
their public banquets. For it was their general practice, especially
whenever they were to have a meeting, to greet him not only in the
Forum but sometimes also in the senate-house itself, both when he
entered and again when he left; and it actually happened that when he
was sitting or sometimes even lying down in the palace not only the
senate but the knights and many of the populace as well came to greet
him.
In spite of all this, however, he continued to attend to his other
duties as before. He now allowed the knights to become candidates for
the tribuneship. And learning that some vituperative pamphlets were
being written concerning certain people, he ordered search to be made
for them; those that were found in the city he ordered to be burned by
the aediles, and those outside by the officials in each place, and he
punished some of the writers. As there were many exiles who were either
living outside of the districts to which they had been banished or
living too luxuriously in the proper places, he ordered that no one who
had been debarred from fire and water should live either on the
mainland or on any of the islands within fifty miles of it, except Cos,
Rhodes, Samos, and Lesbos; for he made an exception in the case of
these alone for some reason or other. Besides this, he enjoined upon
the exiles that they should not cross the sea to any other point, and
should not possess more than one ship of burden having a capacity of a
thousand amphorae and two ships driven by oars; that they should not
employ more than twenty slaves or freedmen, and should not possess
property to the value of more than half a million sesterces; and he
threatened to punish not only the exiles themselves but all others as
well who should in any way assist them in violating these commands.
These are the laws, as fully as is necessary for our history, that he
caused to be passed. A special festival was also held by the actors and
the horse-breeders. The Ludi Martiales, owing to the fact the Tiber had
overflowed the Circus, were held on this occasion in the Forum of
Augustus and were celebrated in a fashion by a horse-race and the
slaying of wild beasts. They were also given a second time, as custom
decreed, and Germanicus this time caused two hundred lions to be slain
in the Circus. The Porticus Iulia, as it was called, was built in
honour of Gaius and Lucius Caesar, and was now dedicated.
When Lucius Munatius and Gaius Silius had been installed as consuls,
Augustus with seeming reluctance accepted a fifth ten-year term as head
of the State. He again gave Tiberius the tribunician power, and
permitted Drusus, the latter's son, to stand for the consulship two
years later without ever having held the praetorship. He also asked for
twenty annual counsellors because of his age, which did not permit him
to go to the senate-house any longer except on rare occasions;
previously, it seems, he had associated with himself fifteen advisers
for six months at a time. It was also voted that any measure should be
valid, as being satisfactory to the whole senate, which should be
resolved upon by him in deliberation with Tiberius and with these
counsellors, as well as the consuls of the year and the consuls
designate, together with his grandchildren (the adopted ones, I mean)
and such others as he might at any time call on for advice. Having
gained by this decree these privileges, which in reality he had
possessed in any case, he continued to transact most of the public
business, though he sometimes reclined while doing so. When, now,
nearly all felt burdened by the five per cent. tax and an uprising
seemed likely, he sent a communication to the senate bidding its
members to seek some others sources of revenue. He did this, not with
the intention of abolishing the tax, but in order that when no other
method should seem to them better, they should ratify the measure,
reluctantly though it might be, without bringing any censure upon him.
He also ordered both Germanicus and Drusus not to make any statement
about it, for fear that if they expressed an opinion it should be
suspected that this had been done at his command, and the senate would
therefore choose that plan without further investigation. There was
much discussion and some proposals were submitted to Augustus in
writing. When he learned from these that the senators were ready to
submit to any form of tax rather than to the one in force, he changed
it to a levy upon fields and houses; and immediately, without stating
how great it would be or in what way imposed, he sent men out
everywhere to make a list of the property both of private individuals
and of cities. His object was that they should fear even greater losses
and so be content to pay the five per cent. tax; and this is what
actually happened. Thus Augustus handled these matters.
During a horse-race at the Augustalia, which were celebrated in honour
of his birthday, a madman seated himself in the chair which was
dedicated to Julius Caesar, and taking his crown, put it on. This
incident disturbed everybody, for it seemed to have some bearing upon
Augustus, as, indeed, proved true. For in the following year, when
Sextus Apuleius and Sextus Pompeius were consuls, Augustus set out for
Campania, and after superintending the games at Neapolis, passed away
shortly afterward at Nola. Indeed, not a few omens had appeared, and
these by no means difficult of interpretation, all pointing to this
fate for him. Thus, the sun suffered a total eclipse and most of the
sky seemed to be on fire; glowing embers appeared to be falling from it
and blood-red comets were seen. When a meeting of the senate had been
appointed on account of the emperor's illness, in order that they might
offer prayers, the senate-house was found closed and an owl sitting on
it hooted. A thunderbolt fell upon his statue that stood upon the
Capitol and blotted out the first letter of the name "Caesar." This led
the seers to declare that on the hundredth day after that he should
attain to some divine state.They deduced this from the fact that the
letter " C" signifies "one hundred" among the Latins, and the remainder
of the word means "god" among the Etruscans. Now these signs appeared
beforehand while he was still alive; but people of later days were
struck also by coincidences in the case of the consuls and of Servius
Sulpicius Galba. For the consuls then in office were in some way
related to Augustus; and Galba, who later came to the throne, assumed
the toga virilis at this time on the very first day of the year. Now
since he was the first of the Romans to become emperor after the family
of Augustus had passed away, it gave occasion to some to say that this
had not been a mere coincidence, but had been brought about by some
divine purpose.
So Augustus fell sick and died. Livia incurred some suspicion in
connexion with his death, in view of the fact that he had secretly
sailed over to the island to see Agrippa and seemed about to become
completely reconciled with him. For she was afraid, some say, that
Augustus would bring him back to make him sovereign, and so smeared
with poison some figs that were still on trees from which Augustus was
wont to gather the fruit with his own hands; then she ate those that
had not been smeared, offering the poisoned ones to him. At any rate,
from this or some other cause he became ill, and sending for his
associates, he told them all his wishes, adding finally: "I found Rome
of clay; I leave it to you of marble." He did not thereby refer
literally to the appearance of its buildings, but rather to the
strength of the empire. And by asking them for their applause, after
the manner of the comic actors, as if at the close of a mime, he
ridiculed most tellingly the whole life of man.
Thus on the nineteenth day of August, the day on which he had first
become consul, he passed away, having lived seventy-five years, ten
months, and twenty-six days (he had been born on the twenty-third of
September), and having been sole ruler, from the time of his victory at
Actium forty-four years lacking thirteen days. His death, however, was
not immediately made public; for Livia, fearing that as Tiberius was
still in Dalmatia there might be some uprising, concealed the fact
until he arrived. This, at any rate, is the statement made by most
writers, and the more trustworthy ones; but there are some who have
affirmed that Tiberius was present during the emperor's illness, and
received some injunctions for him. The body of Augustus was carried
from Nola by the foremost men of each city in succession. When it drew
near Rome, the knights took it in charge and conveyed it by night into
the city. On the following day there was a meeting of the senate, to
which the majority came wearing the equestrian costume, but the
magistrates the senatorial garb except for the purple-bordered toga.
Tiberius and his son Drusus wore dark clothing made for use in the
Forum. They, too, offered incense, but did not employ a flute-player.
Most of the members sat in their accustomed places, but the consuls sat
below, one on the praetors' bench and the other on that of the
tribunes. After this Tiberius was absolved for having touched the
corpse, a forbidden act, and for having escorted it on its journey,
although the ...
... his will Drusus took from the Vestal Virgins, with whom it had been
deposited, and carried it into the senate. Those who had witnessed the
document examined the seals, and then it was read in the hearing of the
senate.
... Polybius, an imperial freedman, read his will, as it was not proper
for a senator to pronounce anything of the sort. It showed that
two-thirds of the inheritance had been left to Tiberius and the
remainder to Livia; at least this is one report. For, in order that
she, too, should have some enjoyment of his estate, he had asked the
senate for permission to leave her so much, which was more than the
amount allowed by law. These two, then, were named as heirs. He also
directed that many articles and sums of money should be given to many
different persons, both relatives of his and others unrelated, not only
to senators and knights but also to kings; to the people he left forty
million sesterces; and as for the soldiers, one thousand sesterces
apiece to the Pretorians, half that amount to the city troops, and to
the rest of the citizen soldiery three hundred each. Moreover, in the
case of children of whose fathers he had been the heir while the
children were still small, he enjoined that the whole amount together
with interest should be paid back to them when they became men. This,
in fact, had been his practice even while living; for whenever he
inherited the estate of anyone who had offspring, he never failed to
restore it all to the man's children, immediately if they were already
grown up, and otherwise later. Nevertheless, though he took such an
attitude toward the children of others, he did not restore his own
daughter from exile, though he did hold her worthy to receive gifts;
and he commanded that she should not be buried in his own tomb. So much
was made clear by the will.
Four books were then brought in and Drusus read them. In the first were
written detailed instructions regarding his funeral; in the second were
recorded all the acts which he had performed, which he commanded also
to be inscribed upon bronze columns to be set up around his shrine; the
third contained an account of military matters, of the revenues, and of
the public expenditures, the amount of money in the treasuries, and
everything else of the sort that had a bearing upon the administration
of the empire; and the fourth had injunctions and commands for Tiberius
and for the public. Among these injunctions was one to the effect that
they should not free many slaves, lest they should fill the city with a
promiscuous rabble; also that they should not enrol large numbers as
citizens, in order that there should be a marked difference between
themselves and the subject nations. He exhorted them to entrust the
public business to all who had ability both to understand and to act,
and never to let it depend on any one person; in this way no one would
set his mind on a tyranny, nor would the State, on the other hand, go
to ruin if one man fell. He advised them to be satisfied with their
present possessions and under no conditions to wish to increase the
empire to any greater dimensions. It would be hard to guard, he said,
and this would lead to danger of their losing what was already theirs.
This principle he had really always followed himself not only in speech
but also in action; at any rate he might have made great acquisitions
from the barbarian world, but he had not wished to do so. These, then,
were his injunctions.
Then came his funeral. There was a couch made of ivory and gold and
adorned with coverings of purple and gold. In it his body was hidden,
in a coffin down below; but a wax image of him in triumphal garb was
visible. This image was borne from the palace by the officials elected
for the following year, and another of gold from the senate-house, and
still another upon a triumphal chariot. Behind these came the images of
his ancestors and of his deceased relatives (except that of Caesar,
because he had been numbered among the demigods) and those of other
Romans who had been prominent in any way, beginning with Romulus
himself. An image of Pompey the Great was also seen, and all the
nations he had acquired, each represented by a likeness which bore some
local characteristic, appeared in the procession. After these followed
all the other objects mentioned above. When the couch had been placed
in full view on the rostra of the orators, Drusus read something from
that place; and from the other rostra, that is the Julian, Tiberius
delivered the following public address over the deceased, in pursuance
of a decree:
"The words which required to be spoken in a private capacity by
relatives over the Deified Augustus, Drusus has spoken. But the senate
has wisely held him to be worthy of some kind of public eulogy as well;
and while I recognize that the speech was fittingly entrusted to me
(for to whom more justly than to me, his son and successor, could the
duty of praising him be entrusted?), still I cannot feel any confidence
that my abilities measure up in any wise either to your desires in the
matter or to his merits. Indeed, if I were going to speak in the
presence of strangers, I should be greatly concerned lest in following
my speech they should believe his deeds to be no better than my account
of them. But, as it is, I am encouraged by the thought that my words
will be addressed to you who are thoroughly acquainted with all his
achievements, who have known them all through personal experience, and
for that reason have held him to be worthy of these words of praise.
For you will judge of his excellence, not from what I may say, but from
what you yourselves know, and you will come to the aid of my discourse,
supplying what is deficient by your memory of the events. Hence, in
this respect also, his eulogy will be a public one, rendered by us all,
as I, like the leader of a chorus, merely give out the leading words,
while you join in and chant the rest. For of this I assuredly am not
afraid — either that you will find it a weakness in me that I am unable
to attain to your desires, or that you yourselves will be jealous of
one whose virtue so far surpassed your own. For who does not realize
that not all mankind assembled together could worthily sound his
praises, and that you all of your own free will yield to him his
triumphs, feeling no envy at the thought that not one of you could
equal him, but rather rejoicing in the very fact of his surpassing
greatness? For the greater he appears in comparison with you, the
greater will seem the benefits which you have enjoyed, so that rancour
will not be engendered in you because of your inferiority to him, but
rather pride because of the blessings you have received at his hands.
"I shall begin at the point where he began his public career, that is,
with his earliest manhood. For this, indeed, is one of the greatest
achievements of Augustus, that at the time when he had just emerged
from boyhood and was barely coming to man's estate, he devoted himself
to his education just so long as public affairs were well managed by
that demigod, Caesar, but when, after the conspiracy against Caesar,
the whole State was thrown into confusion, he at one and the same time
amply avenged his father and rendered much-needed assistance to you,
neither fearing the multitude of his enemies nor dreading the magnitude
of his responsibilities nor hesitating by reason of his own immaturity.
Yet what deed like this can be cited of Alexander of Macedon or of our
own Romulus, who perhaps above all others are thought to have performed
some notable exploit in youth? But these men I shall pass over, lest
from merely comparing them with him and using them as examples — and
that among you who know them as well as I — I may be thought to be
detracting from the virtues of Augustus. With Hercules alone and his
exploits I might compare him, and should be thought justified in so
doing, if that were all; but even so I should fall short of my purpose,
in so far as Hercules in childhood only dealt with serpents, and when a
man, with a stag or two and a boar which he killed,— oh yes, and a
lion, to be sure, albeit reluctantly and at somebody's behest; whereas
Augustus, not among beasts, but among men, of his own free will, by
waging war and enacting laws, literally saved the commonwealth and
gained splendid renown for himself. Therefore it was, that in
recognition of these services you chose him praetor and appointed him
consul at an age when some are unwilling to serve even as common
soldiers.
"This then was the beginning of Augustus' political life, and this is
likewise the beginning of my account of him. Soon afterwards, seeing
that the largest and best element of the people and of the senate was
in accord with him, but that Lepidus and Antony, Sextus, Brutus, and
Cassius were resorting to factious machinations, and fearing the city
might become involved in many wars at once, and civil wars too, and
thus be torn asunder and exhausted beyond all possibility of recovery,
he accordingly dealt with them with the greatest prudence and to the
greatest public good. For he first attached to himself the powerful
leaders who were menacing the very existence of the city, and with them
fought the others until he had made an end of them; and when these were
out of the way, he in turn freed us from the former. He chose, though
against his will, to surrender a few to their wrath so that he might
save the majority, and he chose to assume a friendly attitude towards
each of them in turn so as not to have to fight with them all at once.
From all this he derived no personal gain, but aided us all in a signal
manner. And yet why should one dwell on his exploits in the wars,
whether civil or foreign, especially when the former ought never to
have occurred at all, and the latter by the conquests gained show the
benefits they brought better than any words can tell? Moreover, since
these exploits depended largely upon chance and their success was due
to the aid of many citizens and many allies, he must share with them
the credit for them, and these achievements might possibly be compared
with the exploits of some other men. These, accordingly, I shall omit;
for they are described and depicted in many a book and painting, so
that you can both read and behold them. But of the dees which are in a
peculiar sense those of Augustus himself, deeds which have never been
performed by any other man, have not only caused our city to survive
after many dangers of every kind but have rendered it more prosperous
and powerful,— of these alone I shall speak. For the recounting of them
will not only confer upon him a unique glory, but will also afford the
older men among you a please unalloyed while giving the younger men
most excellent instruction in the character and constitution of our
government.
"This Augustus, then, whom you deemed worthy of this title for the very
reasons just cited, as soon as he had rid himself of the civil wars, in
which his actions and his fortunes were not such as he himself desired
but as Heaven decreed, first of all spared the lives of most of his
opponents who had survived the various battles, thus in no wise
imitating Sulla, who was called the Fortunate. Not to recount them all,
who does not know about Sosius, about Scaurus, the brother of Sextus,
and particularly about Lepidus, who lived so learning a time after his
defeat and continued to be high priest throughout his whole life?
Again, though he honoured his companions in arms with many great gifts,
he did not permit them to indulge in any arrogant or wanton behaviour.
But since you know full well the various men in this category,
especially Maecenas and Agrippa, so that in their case also I may omit
the enumeration. These two qualities Augustus possessed which were
never united in any other one man. There have, indeed, been conquerors,
I know, who have spared their enemies, and others who have not
permitted their companions to give way to license; but both virtues
combined have never before been consistently and uniformly found in one
and the same man. For example, Sulla and Marius cherished hatred toward
even the sons of those who had fought against them; and why need I
mention the minor instances? Pompey and Caesar refrained in general
from such hatred, and yet permitted their friends to do not a few
things that were contrary to their own principles. But this man so
combined and fused the two qualities, that to his adversaries he made
defeat seem victory, and to his comrades in arms proved that virtue is
blest by fortune.
"After these achievements, and when by kindness he had allayed all that
remained of factional discord and by generosity had moderated the
victorious soldiery, he might on the strength of this record and of the
weapons and money at his command have been indisputably the sole lord
of all, as, indeed, he had become by the very course of events.
Nevertheless, he refused; and like a good physician, who takes in hand
a disease-ridden body and heals it, he first restored to health and
then gave back to you the whole body politic. The significance of this
act you may judge best by recalling that our fathers praised Pompey and
the Metellus who flourished at that time because they voluntarily
disbanded the forces with which they had waged war; for it they, who
possessed only a small force gathered for the occasion, and, besides,
were confronted by rivals who would not allow them to do otherwise,
acted thus and received praise for doing so, how could one fittingly
characterize the magnanimity of Augustus? He possessed all your armies,
whose numbers you know; he was master of all your funds, so vast in
amount; he had and one to fear or suspect, but might have ruled alone
with the approval of all; yet he saw fit not to do this, but laid the
arms, the provinces, and the money at your feet.
"You, therefore, on your part acted well and prudently, when you
withheld your assent and did not permit him to retire to private life;
for you knew well that a democracy could never accommodate itself to
interests so ast, but that the leadership of one man would be most
likely to conserve them, and so refused to their turn to what was
nominally independence but really factional discord; and making choice
of him, whom you had tested by his actual deeds and approved, you
constrained him for a time at least to be your leader. And when you had
thus proved him far better than before, you compelled him for a second,
a third, a fourth, and a fifth time to continue in the management of
affairs. And this was but fitting; for who would not choose to be safe
without trouble, to be prosperous without danger, to enjoy without
stint the blessings of government while escaping the life of constant
anxiety for its maintenance?
"Who was there that could rule better than Augustus even his own house,
to say nothing of so many other human beings? He it was who undertook
as his own task to guard and preserve the provinces that were
troublesome and at war, restoring to you such as were peaceful and free
from danger; and though he supported so vast a number of soldiers as a
permanent force to fight in your behalf, he permitted them to annoy no
Roman citizen, but made them most formidable protectors against alien
races while being to the people at home unarmed and unwarlike.
"Furthermore, as regards the members of the senate, he did not take
away from them the right to cast lots for the governorship of
provinces, but even offered them additional prizes as a reward for
excellence; nor in connection with the senate's decrees did he do away
with their privilege of voting, but even added safeguards for their
freedom of speech. From the people he transferred matters difficult of
decision to the strict jurisdiction of the courts, but preserved to
them the dignity of the elections; and at these elections he inculcated
in the citizens the love of honour rather than the love of party
strife, and eliminating the element of greed from their office-seeking,
he put in its place the regard for reputation. His own wealth, which
enhanced by sober living, he spent for the public needs; with the
public funds he was as careful as if they were his own, but would not
touch them as belonging to others. He repaired all the public works
that had suffered injury, but deprived none of the original builders of
the glory of their founding. He also erected many new buildings, some
in his own name and some in others', or else permitted these others to
erect them, constantly having an eye to the public good, but grudging
no one the private fame attaching to these services.
"Wantonness on the part of his next of kin he followed up relentlessly,
but the offences of others he treated with human kindness. Those who
had traits of excellence he ungrudgingly allowed to approach his own
standard, but he did not try to censor those whose standards of life
were different. In fact, even in the case of such as conspired against
him, he punished only those whose lives would have been of no profit
even to themselves, while he treated the rest in such a way that for
years afterward they could find no pretext true or false for attacking
him. That he was, indeed, conspired against at times is not surprising,
for even the gods do not please all alike; but the excellence of good
rulers is discerned, not in the villainy of others, but in their own
good deeds.
"I have spoken, Quirites, only of his greatest and most striking
characteristics, and in a rather summary way; for if one wished to
enumerate all his qualities mainly one year one, he would require many
days. Furthermore, I know well that though you will have heard from me
only these few facts, yet they will lead you to recall in your own
minds all the rest, so that you will feel that I have in a manner
related those also. For neither I, in what I have said about him, have
been moved by a spirit of vain boasting, nor have you in listening;
rather my purpose has been that his many noble achievements should gain
the meed of everlasting glory in your souls. Yet how can one refrain
from mentioning his senators? Without giving offence he removed from
their number the scum that had come to the surface from the factions,
and by this very act exalted the remainder, magnified it by increasing
the property requirement, and enriched it by grants of money; he voted
on an equality with his colleagues and with them took part in a
division of the house; he always communicated to them all the greatest
and most important matters, either in the senate chamber or else at his
house, whither he summoned different members at different times because
of his age and bodily infirmity. How can one refrain from mentioning
the Roman people at large? For them he provided public works,
largesses, games, festivals, amnesty, food in abundance, and safety,
not only from the enemy and from evildoers, but even from the acts of
Heaven, both those that befall by day and those also that befall by
night. There are, again, the allies: for them he freed the liberty of
its dangers and their alliance of its costs. There are the subject
nations also: no one of them was ever treated with insolence or abuse.
How could one forget to mention a man who in private life was poor, in
public life rich; who with himself was frugal, but towards others
lavish of his means; who always endured every toil and danger himself
on your behalf, but would not inflict upon you the hardship of so much
as escorting him when he left the city or of meeting him when he
returned; who on holidays admitted even the populace to his house, but
on other days greeted even the senate only in its chamber? How could
one pass over the vast number of his laws and their precision? They
contained for the wronged an all-sufficient consolation, and for the
wrongdoers a not inhuman punishment. Or his rewards offered to those
who married and had children? Or the prizes given to the soldiers
without injury to anyone else? Or, again, shall I not tell how
satisfied he was with our possessions acquired once for all under the
compulsion of necessity, the refused to subjugate any additional
territory, the acquisition of which might, while seeming to give us a
wider sway, have entailed the loss of even what we had? Or how he
always shared the joys and sorrows, the jests and earnestness of his
intimate friends, and allowed all, in a word, who could make any useful
suggestion to speak their minds freely? Or how he praised those who
spoke the truth, but hated flatterers? Or how he bestowed upon many
people large sums from his own means, and how, when anything was
bequeathed to him by men who had children, he restored it all to the
children? Could a speaker's forgetfulness cause all these things to be
blotted out?
"It was for all this, therefore, that you, with good reason, made him
your leader and a father of the people, that you honoured him with many
marks of esteem and with ever so many consulships, and that you finally
made him a demigod and declared him to be immortal. Hence it is fitting
also that we should not mourn for him, but that, while we now at last
give his body back to Nature, we should glorify his spirit, as that of
a god, for ever."
Such was the eulogy read by Tiberius. Afterwards the same men as before
took up the couch and carried it through the triumphal gateway,
according to a decree of the senate. Present and taking part in the
funeral procession were the senate and the equestrian order, their
wives, the pretorian guard, and practically all the others who were in
the city at the time. When the body had been placed on the pyre in the
Campus Martius, all the priests marched round it first; and then the
knights, not only those belonging to the equestrian order but the
others as well, and the infantry from the garrison ran round it; and
they cast upon it all the triumphal decorations that any of them had
ever received from him for any deed of valour. Next the centurions took
torches, comformably to a decree of the senate, and lighted the pyre
from beneath. So it was consumed, and an eagle released from it flew
aloft, appearing to bear his spirit to heaven. When these ceremonies
had been performed, all the other people departed; but Livia remained
on the spot for five days in company with the most prominent knights,
and then gathered up his bones and placed them in his tomb.
The mourning required by law was observed only for a few days by the
men, but for a whole year by the women, in accordance with a decree.
Real grief was not in the hearts of many at the time, but later was
felt by all. For Augustus had been accessible to all alike and was
accustomed to aid many persons in the matter of money. He showed great
honour to his friends, and delighted exceedingly when they frankly
spoke their opinions. One instance, in addition to those already
related, occurred in the case of Athenodorus. This man was once brought
into his room in a covered litter, as if he were a woman, and leaping
from it sword in hand cried: "Aren't you afraid that someone may enter
in this way and kill you?" Augustus, far from being angry, thanked him
for his suggestion. Besides these traits of his, people also recalled
that he did not get blindly enraged at those who had injured him, and
that he kept faith even with those who were unworthy of it. For
instance, there was a robber named Corocotta, who flourished in Spain,
at whom he was so angry at first that he offered a million sesterces to
the man that should capture him alive; but later, when the robber came
to him of his own accord, he not did him no harm, but actually made him
richer by the amount of the reward.
Not alone for these reasons did the Romans greatly miss him, but also
because by combining monarchy with democracy he preserved their freedom
for them and at the same time established order and security, so that
they were free alike from the license of a democracy and from the
insolence of a tyranny, living at once in a liberty of moderation and
in a monarchy without terrors; they were subjects of royalty, yet not
slaves, and citizens of a democracy, yet without discord. If any of
them remembered his former deeds in the course of the civil wars, they
attributed them to the pressure of circumstances, and they thought it
fair to seek for his real disposition in what he did after he was in
undisputed possession of the supreme power; for this afforded in truth
a mighty contrast. Anybody who examines his acts in detail can
establish this fact; but summing them all up briefly, I may state that
he put an end to all the factional discord, transferred the government
in a way to give it the greatest power, and vastly strengthened it.
Therefore, even if an occasional deed of violence did occur, as is apt
to happen in extraordinary situations, one might more justly blame the
circumstances themselves than him.
Now not the least factor in his glory was the length of his reign. For
the majority as well as the more powerful of those who had lived under
the republic were now dead, and the later generation, knowing naught of
that form of government and having been reared entirely or largely
under existing conditions, were not only not displeased with them,
familiar as they now were, but actually took delight in them, since
they saw that their present state was better and more free from terror
than that of which they knew by tradition.
Though the people understood all this during his lifetime, they
nevertheless realized it more fully after he was gone; for human nature
is so constituted that in good fortune it does not so fully perceive
its happiness as it misses it when misfortune has come. This is what
happened at that time in the case of Augustus. For when they found his
successor Tiberius a different sort of man, they yearned for him who
was gone. Indeed, it was possible at once for people of any
intelligence to foresee the change in conditions. For the consul
Pompeius, upon going out to meet the men who were bearing the body of
Augustus, received a blow on the leg and had to be carried back on a
litter with the body; and an owl sat on the roof of the senate-house
again at the very first meeting of the senate after his death and
uttered many ill-omened cries. At all events, the two emperors differed
so completely from each other, that some suspected that Augustus, with
full knowledge of Tiberius' character, had purposely appointed him his
successor that his own glory might be enhanced thereby.
Now these rumours began to be current at a later date. At the time they
declared Augustus immortal, assigned to him priests and sacred rites,
and made Livia, who was already called Julia and Augusta, his
priestess; they also permitted her to employ a lictor when she
exercised her sacred office. On her part, she bestowed a million
sesterces upon a certain Numerius Atticus, a senator and ex-praetor,
because he swore that he had seen Augustus ascending to heaven after
the manner of which tradition tells concerning Proculus and Romulus. A
shrine voted by the senate and built by Livia and Tiberius was erected
to the dead emperor in Rome, and others in many different places, some
of the communities voluntarily building them and others unwillingly.
Also the house at Nola where he passed away was dedicated to him as a
precinct. While his shrine was being erected in Rome, they placed a
golden image of him on a couch in the temple of Mars, and to this they
paid all the honours that they were afterwards to give to his statue.
Other votes in regard to him were, that his image should not be borne
in procession at anybody's funeral, that the consuls should celebrate
his birthday with games like the Ludi Martiales, and that the tribunes,
as being sacrosanct, were to have charge of the Augustalia. These
officials conducted everything in the customary manner — even wearing
the triumphal garb at the horse-race — except that they did not ride in
the chariot. Besides this, Livia held a private festival in his honour
for three days in the palace, and this ceremony is still continued down
to the present day by whoever is emperor.
Such were the decrees passed in memory of Augustus, nominally by the
senate, but actually by Tiberius and Livia. For when some men proposed
one thing and some another, the senate decreed that Tiberius should
receive suggestions in writing from its members and then selected
whichever he chose. I have added the name of Livia because she, too,
took a share in the proceedings, as if she possessed full powers.
Meanwhile the populace fell to rioting, because at the Augustalia one
of the actors would not enter the theatre for the stipulated pay; and
they did not cease their disturbance, until the tribunes convened the
senate that very day and begged it to permit them to spend more than
the legal amount. Here ends my account of Augustus.
Return to www.BrainFly.Net