Cassius Dio
Roman History
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Book LVII
The following is contained in the Fifty-seventh of Dio's Rome:—
1. About Tiberius (chap. 1 ff.).
2. How Cappadocia began to be governed by Romans (chap. 17).
3. How Germanicus Caesar died (chap. 18).
3. How Drusus Caesar died (chap. 22).
Duration of time, eleven years, in which there were the following
magistrates (consuls) here enumerated:—
A.D.
15
Drusus Caesar Tiberi f., C. Norbanus C. f. Flaccus.
16
T. Statilius T. f. Sisenna Taurus, L. Scribonius L.
f. Libo.
17
C. Caecilius C. f. Nepos or Rufus, L. Pomponius L.
f. Flaccus.
18
Ti. Augusti f. (III), Germanicus Caesar Ti. f. (II).
19
M. Iunius M. f. Silanus, C. Norbanus C. f. Flaccus
or Balbus.
20
M. Valerius M. f. Messalla, M. Aurelius M. f. Cotta.
21
Ti. Caesar Augusti f. (IV), Drusus Iulius Ti. f.
(II).
22
Decimus Haterius C. f. Agrippa, C. Sulpicius Serg.
f. Galba.
23
C. Asinius C. f. Pollio, C. Antistius C. f. Vetus.
24
Sergius Cornelius Sergi f. Cethegus, L. Visellius
Serg. f. Varro.
25
M. Asinius C. f. Agrippa, Cossus Cornelius Cossi f.
Lentulus.
Tiberius was a patrician of good education, but he had a most peculiar
nature. He never let what he desired appear in his conversation, and
what he said he wanted he usually did not desire at all. On the
contrary, his words indicated the exact opposite of his real purpose;
he denied all interest in what he longed for, and urged the claims of
whatever he hated. He would exhibit anger over matters that were very
far from arousing his wrath, and make a show of affability where he was
most vexed. He would pretend to pity those whom he severely punished,
and would retain a grudge against those whom he pardoned. Sometimes he
would regard his bitterest foe as if he were his most intimate
companion, and again he would treat his dearest friend like the veriest
stranger. In short, he thought it bad policy for the sovereign to
reveal his thoughts; this was often the cause, he said, of great
failures, whereas by the opposite course far more and greater successes
were attained. Now if he had merely followed this method quite
consistently, it would have been easy for those who had once come to
know him to be on their guard against him; for they would have taken
everything by exact contraries, regarding his seeming indifference to
anything as equivalent to his ardently desiring it, and his eagerness
for anything as equivalent to his not caring for it. But, as it was, he
became angry if anyone gave evidence of understanding him, and he put
many to death for no other offence than that of having comprehended
him. While it was a dangerous matter, then, to fail to understand him,—
for people often came to grief by approving what he said instead of
what he wished,— it was still more danger to understand him, since
people were then suspected of discovering his practice and consequently
of being displeased with it. Practically the only sort of man,
therefore, that could maintain himself,— and such persons were very
rare,— was one who neither misunderstood his nature nor exposed it to
others; for under these conditions men were neither deceived by
believing him nor hated for showing that they understood his motives.
He certainly gave people a vast amount of trouble whether they opposed
what he said or agreed with him; for inasmuch as he really wished one
thing to be done but wanted to appear to desire something different, he
was bound to find men opposing him from either point of view, and
therefore was hostile to the one class because of his real feelings,
and to the other for the sake of appearances.
It was due to this characteristic, that, as emperor, he immediately
sent a dispatch from Nola to all the legions and provinces, though he
did not claim to be emperor; for he would not accept this name, which
was voted to him along with the others, and though taking the
inheritance left him by Augustus, he would not adopt the title
"Augustus." At a time when he was already surrounded by the bodyguards,
he actually asked the senate to lend him assistance so that he might
not meet with any violence at the burial of the emperor; for he
pretended to be afraid that people might catch up the body and burn it
in the Forum, as they had done with that of Caesar. When somebody
thereupon facetiously proposed that he be given a guard, as if he had
none, he saw through the man's irony and answered: "The soldiers do not
belong to me, but to the State." Such was his action in this matter;
and similarly he was administering in reality all the business of the
empire while declaring that he did not want it at all. At first he kept
saying he would give up the rule entirely on account of his age (he was
fifty-six) and of his near-sightedness (for although he saw extremely
well in the dark, his sight was very poor in the daytime); but later he
asked for some associates and colleagues, though not with the intention
that they should jointly rule the whole empire, as in an oligarchy, but
rather dividing it into three parts, one of which he would retain
himself, while giving up the remaining two to others. One of these
portions consisted of Rome and the rest of Italy, the second of the
legions, and the third of the subject peoples outside. When now he
became very urgent, most of the senators still opposed his expressed
purpose, and begged him to govern the whole realm; but Asinius Gallus,
who always employed the blunt speech of his father more than was good
for him, replied: "Choose whichever portion you wish." Tiberius
rejoined: "How can the same man both make the division and choose?"
Gallus, then, perceiving into what a plight he had fallen, tried to
find words to please him and answered: "It was not with the idea that
you should have only a third, but rather to show the impossibility of
the empire's being divided, that I made this suggestion to you." As a
matter of fact, however, he did not mollify Tiberius, but after first
undergoing many dire sufferings he was at length murdered. For Gallus
had married the former wife of Tiberius and claimed Drusus as his son,
and he was consequently hated by the other even before this incident.
Tiberius acted in this way at that time, chiefly because it was his
nature to do so and because he had determined upon that policy, but
partly also because he was suspicious of both the Pannonian and
Germanic legions and feared Germanicus, then governor of the province
of Germany and beloved by them. For he had previously made sure of the
soldiers in Italy by means of the oaths of allegiance established by
Augustus; but as he was suspicious of the others, he was ready for
either alternative, intending to save himself by retiring to private
life in case the legions should revolt and prevail. For this reason he
often feigned illness and remained at home, so as not to be compelled
to say or do anything definite. I have even heard that when it began to
be said that Livia had secured the rule for him contrary to the will of
Augustus, he took steps to let it appear that he had not received it
from her, whom he cordially hated, but under compulsion from the
senators by reason of his surpassing them in excellence. Another story
I have heard is to the effect that when he saw that people were cool
toward him, he waited and delayed until he had become complete master
of the empire, lest in the hope of his voluntarily resigning it they
should rebel before he was ready for them. Still, I do not mean to
record these stories as giving the true causes of his behaviour, which
was due rather to his regular disposition and to the unrest among the
soldiers. Indeed, he immediately sent from Nola and caused Agrippa to
be put to death. He declared, to be sure, that this had not been done
by his orders and made threats against the perpetrator of the deed; yet
he did not punish them at all, but allowed men to invent their own
versions of the affair, some to the effect that Augustus had put
Agrippa out of the way just before his death, others that the centurion
who was guarding him had slain him on his own responsibility for some
revolutionary dealings, and still others that Livia instead of Tiberius
had ordered his death.
This rival, then, he got rid of at once, but of Germanicus he stood in
great fear. For the troops in Pannonia had mutinied as soon as they
learned of the death of Augustus, and coming together into one camp and
strengthening it, they committed many rebellious acts. Among other
things they attempted to kill their commander, Junius Blaesus, and
arrested and tortured his slaves. Their demands were, in brief, that
their term of service should be limited to sixteen years, that they
should be paid a denarius per day, and that they should receive their
prizes then and there in the camp; and they threatened, in case they
did not obtain these demands, to cause the province to revolt and then
to march upon Rome. However, they were at this time finally and with no
little difficulty won over by Blaesus, and sent envoys to Tiberius at
Rome in their behalf; for they hoped in connection with the change in
the government to gain all their desires, either by frightening
Tiberius or by giving the supreme power to another. Later, when Drusus
came against them with the Pretorians, they fell to rioting when no
definite answer was given them, and they wounded some of his followers
and placed a guard round about him in the night to prevent his escape.
But when the moon suffered eclipse, they took the omen to heart and
their spirit abated, so that they did no further harm to this
detachment and dispatched envoys again to Tiberius. Meanwhile a great
storm came up; and when in consequence all had retired to their own
quarters, the boldest spirits were put out of the way in one manner or
another, either by Drusus himself in his own tent, whither they had
been summoned as if for some other purpose, or else by his followers;
and the rest were reduced to submission, and even surrendered for
punishment some of their number whom they represented to have been
responsible for the mutiny.
These troops, then, were reduced to quiet in the manner described; but
the soldiers in the province of Germany, where many had been assembled
on account of the war, would not hear of moderation, since they saw
that Germanicus was at once a Caesar and far superior to Tiberius, but
putting forward the same demands as the others, they heaped abuse upon
Tiberius and saluted Germanicus as emperor. When the latter after much
pleading found himself unable to reduce them to order, he finally drew
his sword as if to slay himself; at this they jeeringly shouted their
approval, and one of them proffered his own sword, saying: "Take this;
this is sharper." Germanicus, accordingly, seeing to what lengths the
matter had gone, did not venture to kill himself, particularly as he
did not believe they would stop their disturbance in any case. Instead,
he composed a letter purporting to have been sent by Tiberius and then
gave them twice the amount of the gift bequeathed them by Augustus,
pretending it was the emperor who did this, and discharged those who
were beyond the military age; for most of them belonged to the city
troops that Augustus had enrolled as an extra force after the disaster
to Varus. As a result of this they ceased their seditious behaviour for
the time. Later on came senators as envoys from Tiberius, to whom he
had secretly communicated only so much as he wished Germanicus to know;
for he well understood that they would surely tell Germanicus all his
own plans, and he did not wish that either they or that leader should
busy themselves about anything beyond the instructions given, which
were supposed to comprise everything. Now when these men arrived and
the soldiers learned about the ruse of Germanicus, they suspected that
the senators had come to overthrow their leader's measures, and so they
fell to rioting once more. They almost killed some of the envoys and
became very insistent with Germanicus even seizing his wife Agrippina
and his son, both of whom had been sent away by him to some place of
refuge. Agrippina was the daughter of Agrippa and Julia, Augustus's
daughter; the boy Gaius was called by them Caligula, because, having
been reared largely in the camp, he wore military boots instead of the
sandals usual in the city. Then at Germanicus' request they released
Agrippina, who was pregnant, but retained Gaius. On this occasion,
also, as they accomplished nothing, they grew quiet after a time. In
fact, they experienced such a change of heart that of their own accord
they arrested the boldest of their number, putting some of them to
death privately and bringing the rest before an assembly, after which
they either slew them or released them in accordance with the wishes of
the majority. But Germanicus, being afraid even so that they would fall
to rioting again, invaded the enemy's country and tarried there, giving
the troops plenty of work and food in abundance at the expense of
aliens.
Thus, though Germanicus might have obtained the imperial power,— for he
had the good will of absolutely all the Romans as well as of their
subjects,— he refused it. For this Tiberius praised him and sent many
pleasing messages both to him and to Agrippina; and yet he was not
pleased with his conduct, but feared him all the more because he had
won the attachment of the legions. For he assumed, from his own
consciousness of saying one thing and doing another, that Germanicus'
real sentiments were not what they seemed, and hence he was suspicious
of Germanicus and suspicious likewise of his wife, who was possessed of
an ambition commensurate with her lofty lineage. Yet he displayed no
sign of irritation toward them, but delivered many eulogies of
Germanicus just as in the case of those of Drusus. Also he bestowed
upon the soldiers in Pannonia the same rewards as Germanicus had
granted to his troops. For the future, however, he refused to release
soldiers in the service outside of Italy until they had served the full
twenty years.
Now when no further news of any rebellious moves came and the whole
Roman world had acquiesced securely in his leadership, Tiberius
accepted the rule without further dissimulation, and exercised it, so
long as Germanicus lived, in the way I am about to describe. He did
little or nothing on his own responsibility, but brought all matters,
even the slightest, before the senate and communicated them to that
body. In the Forum a tribunal had been erected on which he sat in
public to dispense justice, and he always associated with himself
advisers, after the manner of Augustus; nor did he take any step of
consequence without making it known to the rest. After setting forth
his own opinion he not only granted everyone full liberty to speak
against it, but even when, as sometimes happened, others voted in
opposition to him, he submitted; for he often would cast a vote
himself. Drusus used to act just like the rest, now speaking first, and
again after some of the others. As for Tiberius, he would sometimes
remain silent and sometimes grave his opinion first, or after a few
others, or even last; in come cases he would speak his mind directly,
but generally, in order to avoid appearing to take away their freedom
of speech, he would say: "If I had been giving my views, I should have
proposed this or that." This method was just as effective as the other
and yet the rest were not thereby prevented from stating their views.
On the contrary, he would frequently express one opinion and those who
followed would prefer something different, and sometimes they actually
prevailed; yet for all that he harboured anger against no one. He held
court himself, as I have stated, but he also attended the courts
presided over by the magistrates, not alone when invited by them, but
also when not invited. He would allow them to sit in their regular
places, while he himself took his seat on the bench facing them and as
an assessor made any remarks that seemed good to him.
In all other matters, too, he behaved in this same way. Thus, he would
not allow himself to be called master by the freemen, nor imperator
except by the soldiers; the title of Father of his Country he rejected
absolutely; that of Augustus he did not assume,— in fact he never
permitted it to be even voted to him,— but he did not object to hearing
it spoken or to reading it when written, and whenever he sent messages
to kings, he would regularly include this title in his letters. In
general he was called Caesar, sometimes Germanicus (from the exploits
of Germanicus), and Chief of the Senate, — the last in accordance with
ancient usage and even by himself. He would often declare: "I am master
of the slaves, imperator of the soldiers, and chief of the rest." He
would pray, as often as occasion for praying arose, that he might live
and rule so long only as should be to the advantage of the State. And
he was so democratic in all circumstances alike, that he would not
permit any special observance to be made of his birthday and would not
allow people to swear by his Fortune, and if anybody after swearing by
it incurred the charge of perjury, he would not prosecute him. In
short, he would not afterwards even sanction the carrying out in his
own case of the custom which has regularly been followed on New Year's
day down to the present time, as a necessary observance in honour not
only of Augustus but of all the rulers likewise that have followed him
whom we reckon as of any account, and of such as hold the supreme power
at the time — I refer to the ratification under oath of their acts both
past, and, in the case of those living at the time, future as well. Yet
as regarded the acts of Augustus, he not only required all others to
take the oath but also took it himself; moreover, in order to do the
latter in a more conspicuous manner, he would let New Year's day go by
without entering the senate-house or showing himself at all in the city
on that day, but spending the time in some suburb, and then would come
in later and pledge himself separately. This was one reason why he
remained outside on New Year's day; but he also wished to avoid
disturbing any of the citizens while they were concerned with the new
officials and the festival, as well as to avoid taking money from them.
Indeed, he did not commend Augustus for his behaviour in this respect,
because it occasioned much embarrassment and great expense in order to
return such favours.
Not only in the ways just related were his actions democratic, but no
sacred precinct was set apart for him either by his own choice or in
any other way,— at that time, I mean,— now was anybody allowed to set
up an image of him; for he promptly and expressly forbade any city or
private citizen to do so. To this prohibition, it is true, he attached
the proviso, "unless I grant permission," but he added, "I will not
grant it." For he would not by any means have it appear that he had
been insulted or impiously treated by anybody (they were already
calling such conduct maiestas and were bringing many suits on that
ground), and he would not hear of any such indictment being grot on his
own account, though he paid tribute to the majesty of Augustus in this
matter also. At first, to be sure, he did not punish any of those,
even, that had incurred charges for their actions in regard to his
predecessor, and he actually released some against whom complaint was
made that they had perjured themselves after swearing by the Fortune of
Augustus; but as time went on, he put great numbers to death.
Not only did he magnify Augustus in the manner stated, but also when
completing the buildings which Augustus had begun without finishing
them he inscribed upon them the other's name; and in the case of the
statues and the shrines which were being erected to Augustus, whether
by communities or by private individuals, he either dedicated them
himself or instructed one of the pontifices to do so. This principle of
inscribing the original builder's name he carried out not only in the
case of the buildings erected by Augustus, but in the case of all alike
that needed any repairs; for, although he restored all the buildings
that had suffered injury (he erected no new ones whatsoever except the
temple of Augustus), yet he claimed none of them as his own, but
restored to all of them the names of the original builders. While
expending extremely little for himself, he laid out very large sums for
the common good, either rebuilding or adorning practically all the
public works and also generously assisting both cities and private
individuals. He enriched numerous senators who were poor and on that
account no longer wished to be members of the senate; yet he did not do
this indiscriminately, but actually expunged the names of some for
licentiousness and of others even for poverty when they could give no
satisfactory reason for it. All the money that he bestowed upon people
was counted out at once in his sight; for since under Augustus the
officials who paid over the money had been wont to deduct large sums
for themselves from such donatives, he took good care that this should
not happen in his reign. All these expenditures, moreover, he made from
the regular revenues; for he neither put anybody to death for his money
nor confiscated, at this time, anybody's property, nor did he even
resort to tricky methods of obtaining funds. In fact, when Aemilius
Rectus once sent him from Egypt, which he was governing, more money
than was stipulated, he sent back to him the message: "I want my sheep
shorn, not shaven."
He was, moreover, extremely easy to approach and easy to address. For
example, he bade the senators greet him in a body and thus avoid
jostling each other. In fine, he showed himself so considerate, that
once, when the magistrates of the Rhodians sent him some communication
and failed to write at the end of the letter the customary formula
about offering their prayers for his welfare, he summoned them in
haste, as if he intended to do them some harm, but on their arrival,
instead of doing anything serious to them, he caused them to supply the
missing words and then sent them away. He honoured the annual
magistrates as if he were living in a democracy, even rising in his
seat the approach of the consuls; and whenever he entertained them at
dinner, he would both receive them at the door when they entered and
escort them on their way when they departed. In case he was at any time
being carried anywhere in his litter, he would not even allow any one
of the knights who was prominent to accompany him, still less a
senator. On the occasion of festivals or as often as anything similar
was going to afford the multitude diversion, he would go the evening
before to the house of some one of the imperial freedmen who lived near
the place where the crowd was to gather, and would spend the night
there. His purpose in doing this was, that the people might meet him
with as little difficulty and trouble as possible. And he, too, would
often watch the equestrian contests from the house of a freedman. For
he attended the spectacles very frequently, in order not only to show
honour to those who gave them, but also to ensure the orderliness of
the multitude and to seem to be sharing in their holiday. As a matter
of fact, however, he never felt the slightest enthusiasm for anything
of the kind, nor had he the reputation of favouring any one of the
contestants. In all respects he was so fair and impartial that once,
when the populace wanted a certain actor manumitted, he would not
approve their demand until the man's master had given his consent and
had received payment for him. His relations with his companions were
such as he would maintain in private life: he stood by them when they
were involved in law-suits and joined them in offering sacrifice on
festal occasions; he visited them in their sickness, taking no guard
into the room with him; and in the case of at least one of them who
died he himself delivered the funeral oration.
Moreover, he bade his mother conduct herself in a similar manner, so
far as it was fitting for her to do so, partly that she might imitate
him and partly to prevent her from becoming over-proud. For she
occupied a very exalted station, far above all women of former days, so
that she could at any time receive the senate and such of the people as
wished to greet her in her house; and this fact was entered in the
public records. The letters of Tiberius bore for a time her name, also,
and communications were addressed to both alike. Except that she never
ventured to enter the senate-chamber or the camps or the public
assemblies, she undertook to manage everything as if she were sole
ruler. For in the time of Augustus she had possessed the greatest
influence and she always declared that it was she who had made Tiberius
emperor; consequently she was not satisfied to rule on equal terms with
him, but wished to take precedence over him. As a result, various
extraordinary measures were proposed, many persons expressing the
opinion that she should be called Mother of her Country, and many that
she should be called Parent. Still others proposed that Tiberius should
be named after her, so that, just as the Greeks were called by their
father's name, he should be called by that of his mother. All this
vexed him, and he would neither sanction the honours voted her, with a
very few exceptions, nor otherwise allow her any extravagance of
conduct. For instance, she had once dedicated in her house an image to
Augustus, and in honour of the event wished to give a banquet to the
senate and the knights together with their wives, but he would not
permit her to carry out any part of this programme until the senate had
so voted, and not even then to receive the men at dinner; instead, he
entertained the men and she the women. Finally he removed her entirely
from public affairs, but allowed her to direct matters at home; then,
as she was troublesome even in that capacity, he proceeded to absent
himself from the city and to avoid her in every way possible; indeed,
it was chiefly on her account that he removed to Capreae. Such are the
reports that have been handed down about Livia.
Tiberius, now, began to treat more harshly those who were accused of
any crime, and he became angry with his son Drusus, who was most
licentious and cruel (so cruel, in fact, that the sharpest swords were
called Drusian after him), and he often rebuked him both privately and
publicly. Once he said to him outright in the presence of many
witnesses: "While I am alive you shall commit no deed of violence or
insolence; and if you dare to try, not after I am dead, either." For
Tiberius lived a very temperate life for a time, and would not allow
any one else to indulge in licentiousness, but punished many for it.
And yet once, when the senators desired to have a penalty imposed by
law upon those who were guilty of lewd living, he would make no such
provision, explaining that it is better to correct them privately in
some way or other than to inflict any public punishment upon them. For
under existing conditions, he said, there was a chance that some of
them would restrain themselves through fear of disgrace, in the
endeavour to escape detection; but if the law should once be overcome
by human nature, no one would pay any heed to it. Not a few men, also,
were wearing a great deal of purple clothing, though this had formerly
been forbidden; yet he neither rebuked nor fined any of them, but when
a rain came up during a certain festival, he himself put on a dark
woollen cloak. After that none of them longer dared assume any
different kind of garb.
Such was Tiberius' behaviour in all matters as long as Germanicus
lived; but after his death he changed his course in many respects.
Perhaps he had been at heart from the first what he later showed
himself to be, and had been merely shamming while Germanicus was alive,
because he saw his rival lying in wait for the sovereignty; or perhaps
he was excellent by nature, but drifted into vice when deprived of his
rival. I will relate now in due order the various events of his reign
in so far as they are worthy of record.
In the consulship of Drusus, his son, and of Gaius Norbanus he paid
over to the people the bequests made by Augustus. But this was only
after someone had approached a corpse that was being borne out through
the Forum for burial and bending down had whispered something in its
ear; when the spectators had asked what he had said, he stated that he
had sent word to Augustus that they had not received anything yet.
Tiberius, now, put this fellow to death at once, in order, as he
jokingly remarked, that he might carry his own message to Augustus; but
it was not long afterwards that he discharged his debt to the rest,
distributing to them two hundred and sixty sesterces apiece. Some,
indeed, state that this payment was made in the previous year. At the
time in question some knights desired to fight in single combat in the
games which Drusus had arranged in his own name and in that of
Germanicus; but Tiberius did not witness their combat, and when one of
them was killed, he forbade the other to fight as a gladiator again.
There were also other contests in connexion with the Circensian games
given in honour of Augustus' birthday; and a few beasts, also, were
slain. This continued to be done for a number of years. At this time,
too, Crete, upon the death of its governor, was entrusted to the
quaestor and his assessor for the unexpired period. Since, also, many
of those to whom provinces had been allotted were accustomed linger a
long while in Rome and other parts of Italy, so that their predecessors
continued in office beyond the appointed time, Tiberius commanded that
they should take their departure by the first day of June. Meanwhile
his grandson by Drusus died, but he neglected none of his customary
duties; for he did not think it right in any case that one who was
governing others should neglect his care of the public interests
because of his private misfortunes, and moreover he was trying to
accustom the rest not to jeopardize the interests of the living on
account of the dead.
When now the river Tiber overflowed a large part of the city, so that
people went about in boats, most people regarded this, also, as an
omen, like the violent earthquakes which shook down a portion of the
city wall and like the frequent thunderbolts which caused wine to leak
even from vessels that were sound; the emperor, however, thinking the
it was due to the great over-abundance of surface water, appointed five
senators, chosen by lot, to constitute a permanent board to look after
the river, so that it should neither overflow in winter nor fail in
summer, but should maintain as even a flow as possible all the time.
While Tiberius was carrying out these measures, Drusus performed the
duties pertaining to the consulship equally with his colleague, just as
any ordinary citizen might have done; and when he was left heir to
someone's estate, he assisted in carrying out the body. Yet he was so
given to violent anger that he inflicted blows upon a distinguished
knight, and for this exploit received the nickname of Castor. And he
was becoming so heavy a drinker, that one night, when he was forced to
lend aid with the Pretorians to some people whose property was on fire
and they called for water, he gave the order: "Serve it to them hot."
He was so friendly with the actors, that this class raised a tumult and
could not be brought to order even by the laws that Tiberius had
introduced for regulating them. These were the events of that year.
In the consulship of Statilius Taurus and Lucius Libo, Tiberius forbade
any man to wear silk clothing and also forbade anyone to use golden
vessels except for sacred ceremonies. And when some were at a loss to
know whether they were also forbidden to possess silver vessels having
any inlaid work of gold, he wished to issue a decree about this, too,
but would not allow the word emblema, since it was a Greek term, to be
inserted in the decree, even though he could find no native word for
inlaid work. Such was the course he took in this matter. Similarly,
when a certain centurion wished to give some evidence before the senate
in Greek, he would not permit it, in spite of the fact that he was wont
to hear many cases tried and to examine many witnesses himself in that
language in that very place. This was one instance of inconsistency on
his part; another was seen in his treatment of Lucius Scribonius Libo,
a young noble suspected of revolutionary designs. So long as this man
was well, he did not bring him to trial, but when he became sick unto
death, he caused him to be brought into the senate in a covered litter,
such as the wives of the senators use; then, when there was a slight
delay and Libo committed suicide before his trial could come off, he
passed judgment upon him after his death, gave his money to his
accusers, and caused sacrifices to be offered to commemorate the man's
death, not only on his own account, but also on that of Augustus and of
the latter's father Julius, as had been decreed in past times. Though
he took such action in the case of Libo, he brought no charge at all
against Vibius Rufus, who was using the chair on which Caesar had
always been accustomed to sit and on which he had been slain. Indeed,
Rufus not only made a practice of doing this, but he also had Cicero's
wife as his consort, and prided himself on both these grounds,
evidently thinking that he should either become an orator because of
his wife or a Caesar because of the chair. And yet he received no
censure for this, but actually became consul.
Tiberius, moreover, was forever in the company of Thrasyllus and made
some use of the art of divination every day, becoming so proficient in
the subject himself, that when he was once bidden in a dream to give
money to a certain man, he realized that a spirit had been called up
before him by deceit, and so put the man to death. But as for all the
other astrologers and magicians and such as practised divination in any
other way whatsoever, he put to death those who were foreigners and
banished all the citizens that were accused of still employing the art
at this time after the previous decree by which it had been forbidden
to engage in any such business in the city; but to those that obeyed
immunity was granted. In fact, all the citizens would have been
acquitted even contrary to his wish, had not a certain tribune
prevented it. Here was a particularly good illustration of the
democratic form of government, inasmuch as the senate, agreeing with
the motion of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, overruled Drusus and Tiberius,
only to be thwarted in its turn by the tribune.
Besides the matters just related, some of the men who had been
quaestors the previous year were sent out to the provinces, since the
quaestors of the current year were too few in number to fill the
places. And this practice was also followed on other occasions, as
often as was found necessary. As many of the public records had either
perished completely or at least become illegible with the lapse of
time, three senators were elected to copy off those that were still
extant and to recover the text of the others. Assistance was rendered
to the victims of various conflagrations not only by Tiberius but also
by Livia.
The same year a certain Clemens, who had been a slave of Agrippa and
resembled him to a certain extent, pretended to be Agrippa himself. He
went to Gaul and won many to his cause there and many later in Italy,
and finally he marched upon Rome with the avowed intention of
recovering the dominion of his grandfather. The population of the city
became excited at this, and not a few joined his cause; but Tiberius
got him into his hands by a ruse with the aid of some persons who
pretended to sympathize with this upstart. He thereupon tortured him,
in order to learn something about his fellow-conspirators. Then, when
the other would not utter a word, he asked him: "How did you come to be
Agrippa?" And he replied: "In the same way as you came to be Caesar."
The following year Gaius Caecilius and Lucius Flaccus received the
title of consuls. And when some brought Tiberius money at the beginning
of the year, he would not accept it and published an edict regarding
this very practice, in which he used a word that was not Latin. After
thinking it over at night he sent for all who were experts in such
matters, for he was extremely anxious to have his diction
irreproachable. Thereupon one Ateius Capito declared: "Even if no one
has previously used this expression, yet now because of you we shall
all cite it as an example of classical usage." But a certain Marcellus
replied: "You, Caesar, can confer Roman citizenship upon men, but not
upon words." And the emperor did this man no harm for his remark, in
spite of its extreme frankness.
His anger was aroused, however, against Archelaus, the king of
Cappadocia, because this prince, after having once grovelled before him
in order to gain his assistance as advocate when accused by his
subjects in the time of Augustus, had afterwards slighted him on the
occasion of his visit to Rhodes, yet had paid court to Gaius when the
latter went to Asia. Therefore Tiberius now summoned him on the charge
of rebellious conduct and left his fate to the decision of the senate,
although the man was not only stricken in years, but also a great
sufferer from gout, and was furthermore believed to be demented. As a
matter of fact, he had once lost his mind to such an extent that a
guardian was appointed over his domain by Augustus; nevertheless, at
the time in question he was no longer weak-witted, but was merely
feigning, in the hope of saving himself by this expedient. And he would
now have been put to death, had not someone in testifying against him
stated that he had once said: "When I get back home, I will show him
what sort of sinews I possess." So great a shout of laughter went up at
this — for the man was not only unable to stand, but could not even sit
up — that Tiberius gave up his purpose of putting him to death. In
fact, the prince's condition was so serious that he was carried into
the senate in a covered litter (for it was customary even for men,
whenever one of them came there feeling ill, to be carried in
reclining, and even Tiberius sometimes did so), and he spoke a few
words leaning out of the litter. So it was that the life of Archelaus
was spared for the time being; but he died shortly afterward from some
other cause. After this Cappadocia fell to the Romans and was put in
charge of a knight as governor.
The cities in Asia which had been damaged by the earthquake were
assigned to an ex-praetor with five lictors; and large sums of money
were remitted from taxes and large sums were also given them by
Tiberius. For not only did he refrain scrupulously from the possessions
of others — so long, that is, as he practised any virtue at all — and
would not even accept the inheritances that were left to him by
testators who had relatives, but he actually contributed vast sums both
to cities and to private individuals, and would not accept any honour
or praise for these acts. When embassies came from cities or provinces,
he never dealt with them alone, but caused a number of others to
participate in the deliberations, especially men who had once governed
these peoples.
Germanicus, having acquire a reputation by his campaign against the
Germans, advanced as far as the ocean, inflicted an overwhelming defeat
upon the barbarians, collected and buried the bones of those who had
fallen with Varus, and won back the military standards.
Tiberius did not recall his wife Julia from the banishment to which her
father Augustus had condemned her for unchastity, but even put her
under lock and key until she perished from general debility and
starvation.
The senate urged upon Tiberius the request that the month of November,
on the sixteenth day of which he had been born, should be called
Tiberius: "What will you do, then, if there are thirteen Caesars?"
Later, when Marcus Junius and Lucius Norbanus assumed office, an omen
of no little importance occurred on the very first day of the year, and
it doubtless had a bearing on the fate of Germanicus. The consul
Norbanus, it seems, had always been devoted to the trumpet, and as he
practised on it assiduously, he wished to play the instrument on this
occasion, also, at dawn, when many persons were already near his house.
This proceeding startled them all alike, just as if the consul had
given them a signal for battle; and they were also alarmed by the
falling of the statue Janus. They were furthermore disturbed not a
little by an oracle, reputed to be an utterance of the Sibyl, which,
although it did not fit this period of the city's history at all, was
nevertheless applied to the situation then existing. It ran:
"When thrice three hundred revolving years have run their course,
Civil strife upon Rome destruction shall bring, and the folly, too,
Of Sybaris ..."
Tiberius, now, denounced these verses as spurious and made an
investigation of all the books that contained any prophecies, rejecting
some as worthless and retaining others as genuine.
As the Jews flocked to Rome in great numbers and were converting many
of the natives to their ways, he banished most of them.
At the death of Germanicus Tiberius and Livia were thoroughly pleased,
but everybody else was deeply grieved. He was a man of the most
striking physical beauty and likewise of the noblest spirit, and was
conspicuous alike for his culture and for his strength. Though the
bravest of men against the foe, he showed himself most gentle with his
countrymen; and though as a Caesar he had the greatest power, he kept
his ambitions on the same plane as weaker men. He never conducted
himself oppressively toward his subjects or with jealousy toward Drusus
or in any reprehensible way toward Tiberius. In a word, he was one of
the few men of all time who have neither sinned against the fortune
allotted to them nor been destroyed by it. Although on several
occasions he might have obtained the imperial power, with the free
consent not only of the soldiers but of the people and senate as well,
he refused to do so. His death occurred at Antioch as the result of a
plot formed by Piso and Plancina. For bones of men that had been buried
in the house where he dwelt and sheets of lead containing curses
together with his name were found while he was yet alive; and that
poison was the means of his carrying off was revealed by the condition
of his body, which was brought into the Forum and exhibited to all who
were present. Piso later returned to Rome and was brought before the
senate on the charge of murder by Tiberius himself, who thus
endeavoured to clear himself of the suspicion of having destroyed
Germanicus; but Piso secured a postponement of his trial and committed
suicide.
Germanicus at his death left three sons, whom Augustus in his will had
named Caesars. The eldest of these three, Nero, assumed the toga
virilis about this time.
Up to this time, as we have seen, Tiberius had done a great many
excellent things and had made but few errors; but now, when he no
longer had a rival biding his chance, he changed to precisely the
reverse of his previous conduct, which had included much that was good.
Among other ways in which his rule became cruel, he pushed to the
bitter end the trials for maiestas, in cases where complaint was made
against anyone for committing any improper act, or uttering any
improper speech, not only against Augustus but also against Tiberius
himself and against his mother.
And towards those who were suspected of plotting against him he was
inexorable.
Tiberius was stern in his chastisement of persons accused of any
offence. He used to remark: "Nobody willingly submits to being ruled,
but a man is driven to it against his will; for not only do subjects
delight in refusing obedience, but they also enjoy plotting against
their rulers." And he would accept accuser indiscriminately, whether it
was a slave denouncing his master of a son his father.
Indeed, by indicating to certain persons his desire for the death of
certain others, he brought about the destruction of the latter at the
hands of the former, and his part in these deaths was no secret.
Not only were slaves tortured to make them testify against their own
masters, but freemen and citizens as well. Those who had accused or
testified against persons divided by lot the property of the convicted
and received in addition both offices and honours. In the case of many,
he took care to ascertain the day and hour of their birth, and on the
basis of their character and fortune as thus disclosed would put them
to death; for if he discovered any unusual ability or promise of power
in anyone, he was sure to slay him. In fact, so thoroughly did he
investigate and understand the destiny in store for every one of the
more prominent me, that on meeting Galba (the later emperor), when the
latter had a wife betrothed to him, he remarked: "You also shall one
day taste of the sovereignty." He spared him, as I conjecture, because
this was settled as his fate, but, as he explained it himself, because
Galba would reign only in old age and long after his own death.
Tiberius also found some pretexts for murders; for the death of
Germanicus led to the destruction of many others, on the ground that
they were pleased at it.
He was most enthusiastically aided and abetted in all his undertakings
by Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the son of Strabo, and formerly a favourite
of Marcus Gabius Apicius — that Apicius who so far surpassed all
mankind in prodigality that, when he wished one day to know how much he
had already spent and how much he still had left, and learned that ten
millions still remained to him, became grief-stricken, feeling that he
was destined to die of hunger, and took his own life. This Sejanus,
now, had shared for a time his father's command of the Pretorians; but
when his father had been sent to Egypt and he had obtained sole command
over them, he strengthened his authority in many ways, especially by
bringing together into a single camp the various cohorts which had been
separate and distinct from one another like those of the night-watch.
In this way the entire force could receive its orders promptly, and
would inspire everybody with fear because all were together in one
camp. This was the man whom Tiberius, because of the similarity of
their characters, attached to himself, elevating him to the rank of
praetor, an honour that had never yet been accorded to one of like
station; and he made him his adviser and assistant in all matters.
In fine, Tiberius changed so much after the death of Germanicus that,
whereas previously he had been highly praised, he now caused even
greater amazement.
When Tiberius held the consulship with Drusus, men immediately began to
prophesy destruction for Drusus from this very circumstance. For not
one of the men what had every been consul with Tiberius failed to meet
a violent death; but in the first place there was Quintilius Varus, and
next Gnaeus Piso, and then Germanicus himself, all of whom died violent
and miserable deaths. Tiberius was evidently doomed to exert some fatal
influence throughout his life; at all events, not only Drusus, his
colleague at this time, but also Sejanus, who later shared the office
with him, came to destruction.
When Tiberius was out of town, Gaius Lutorius Priscus, a knight, who
took great pride in his poetic talents and had written a notable ode on
the occasion of Germanicus' death, for which he had received a
considerable sum of money, was charged with having composed a poem
about Drusus, also, during the latter's illness. For this he was tried
in the senate, condemned, and put to death. Tiberius was vexed at this,
not because the man had been executed, but because the senators had
inflicted the death penalty upon a person without his approval. He
therefore rebuked them, and ordered a decree to be issued to the effect
that no person condemned by them should be executed within ten days and
that the decree in such a person's case should not be made public
within that time. The purpose of this was to ensure his learning their
decisions in season, even while absent, and of reviewing them.
After this, when his consulship had expired, he came to Rome and
prevented the consuls from acting as advocates for some persons in
court, remarking: "If I were consul, I should not have done so." One of
the praetors was accused of having made some impious remark or of
having committed some offence against him, whereupon the man left the
senate and having taken off his robe of office returned, demanding as a
private citizen to have the complaint lodged at once; at this the
emperor was greatly grieved and molested him no further. He banished
the actors from Rome and would allow them no place in which to practise
their profession, because they kept debauching the women and stirring
up tumults. He honoured many men after their death with statues and
public funerals, but for Sejanus he erected a bronze statue in the
theatre during his lifetime. As a result, numerous images of Sejanus
were made by many different persons, and many eulogies emperor
delivered in his honour, both before the people and before the senate.
The leading citizens, including the consuls themselves, regularly
resorted to his house at dawn, and communicated to him not only all the
private requests that any of them wished to make of Tiberius, but also
the public business which required to be taken up. In a word, no
business of this sort was transacted henceforth without his knowledge.
About this time one of the largest porticos in Rome began to lean to
one side, and was set upright in a remarkable way by an architect whose
name no one knows, because Tiberius, jealous of his wonderful
achievement, would not permit it to be entered in the records. This
architect, then, whatever his name may have been, first strengthened
the foundations round about, so that they should not collapse, and
wrapped all the rest of the structure in fleeces and thick garments,
binding it firmly together on all sides by means of ropes; then with
the aid of many men and windlasses he raised it back to its original
position. At the time Tiberius both admired and envied him; for the
former reason he honoured him with a present of money, and for the
latter he expelled him from the city. Later the exile approached him to
crave pardon, and while doing so purposely let fall a crystal goblet;
and though it was bruised in some way or shattered, yet by passing his
hands over it he promptly exhibited it whole once more. For this he
hoped to obtain pardon, but instead the emperor put him to death.
Drusus, the son of Tiberius, perished by poison. It appears that
Sejanus, puffed up by his power and rank, in addition to his other
overweening behaviour, finally turned against Drusus and once struck
him a blow with his fist. As this gave him reason to fear both Drusus
and Tiberius, and as he felt sure at the same time that if he could
once get the young man out of the way, he could handle the other very
easily, he administered poison to the son through the agency of those
in attendance upon him and of Drusus' wife, whom some call Livilla; for
Sejanus was her paramour. The guilt was imputed to Tiberius, because he
altered none of his accustomed habits either during the illness of
Drusus or at his death, and would not allow others to alter theirs. But
the story is not credible. For this was his regular practice, as a
matter of principle, in every case alike, and besides he was greatly
attached to Drusus, the only legitimate son he had; furthermore, he
punished those who had compassed his death, some at once and some
later. At the time he entered the senate, delivered the appropriate
eulogy over his son, and returned home.
Thus perished Drusus. As for Tiberius, he went to the senate-house,
where he lamented him publicly and at the same time entrusted Nero and
Drusus, the sons of Germanicus, to the care of the senate. The body of
Drusus lay in state upon the rostra, and Nero, his son-in-law,
pronounced a eulogy over him. His death led to the death of many
others, who were accused of being pleased at his destruction. Among the
large number of people who thus lost their lives was Agrippina,
together with her sons, except the youngest. For Sejanus had incensed
Tiberius greatly against her, in the expectation that when she and her
sons had been disposed of he might marry Livia, the wife of Drusus, for
whom he entered a passion, and might gain the supreme power, since no
successor would then be found for Tiberius; for the emperor detested
his grandson as a bastard. Many others, also, he either banished or
destroyed for various reasons, most of them fictitious.
Tiberius forbade those who were debarred from fire and water to make
any will, a custom that is still observed. He brought Aelius Saturninus
before the senate for trial on the charge of having recited some
improper verses about him, and upon his conviction caused him to be
hurled down from the Capitol. And I might narrate many other such
occurrences, were I to go into everything in detail. Suffice it, then,
to state, briefly, that many were put to death by him for such
offences, and furthermore that while investigating carefully, case by
case, all the slighting remarks that any persons were accused of having
uttered about him, he was really called himself all the evil names that
men had invented. For even if a man made some remark secretly to a
single companion, he would publish this, too, by having it entered in
the public records; and often he falsely added, from his own
consciousness of his defects, what no one had ever said, as if it had
really been uttered, in order that he might appear to have every
justification for his anger. Consequently it came to pass that he
heaped upon himself all the abuse for which he was wont to punish
others on the charge of maiestas, and incurred ridicule besides. For,
when persons denied having uttered certain remarks, he, by insisting
and swearing that they had been uttered, was more truly wronging
himself. On this very account some suspected that he was bereft of his
senses. Yet he was not believed to be really insane because of this
behaviour, since he handled all other matters in a thoroughly competent
manner. For example, he appointed a guardian over a certain senator who
lived licentiously, as he would have done in the case of an orphan.
Again, he brought Capito, who had been procurator of Asia, before the
senate, and after charging him with employing soldiers and acting in
other ways as if he had held supreme command, he banished him. For in
those days officials administering the imperial funds were not allowed
to do anything more than to collect the customary revenues, and in case
of disputes, they must stand trial in the Forum and according to the
laws, on an equal footing with ordinary citizens.
So great was the contrast between Tiberius' various acts. When the ten
years of his rule had expired, he did not ask any vote for its renewal,
for he had no desire to receive it piecemeal, as Augustus had done;
nevertheless, the decennial festival was held.
Cremutius Cordus was forced to take his own life because he had come
into collision with Sejanus. He was on the threshold of old age and had
lived most irreproachably, so much so, in fact, that no serious charge
could be brought against him, and he was therefore tried for this
history of the achievements of Augustus which he had written long
before, and which Augustus himself had read. He was accused of having
praised Cassius and Brutus, and of having assailed the people and the
senate; as regarded Caesar and Augustus, while he had spoken no ill of
them, he had not, on the other hand, show any unusual respect for them.
This was the complaint made against him, and this it was that caused
his death as well as the burning of his writings; those found in the
city at the time were destroyed by the aediles, and those elsewhere by
the magistrates of each place. Later they were republished, for his
daughter Marcia as well as others had hidden some copies; and they
aroused much greater interest by very reason of Cordus; unhappy fate.
About this time Tiberius gave to the senators an exhibition of the
pretorian guard at drill, as if they were ignorant of the power of
these troops; his purpose was to make them more afraid of him, when
they saw his defenders to be so numerous and so strong. There were
other events, also, at this time worthy of a place in history. The
people of Cyzicus were once more deprived of their freedom, because
they had imprisoned some Romans and because they had not completed the
shrine to Augustus which they had begun to build. A man who had sold
the emperor's statue along with his house was brought to trial for
doing this, and would certainly have been put to death by Tiberius, had
not the consul called upon the emperor himself to give his vote first;
for in this way Tiberius, being ashamed to appear to be favouring
himself, cast his vote for acquittal. A senator, also, Lentulus, a man
of mild disposition and now far advanced in years, was accused of
having plotted against the emperor. Lentulus himself was present and
burst out laughing. At this the senate was in an uproar, and Tiberius
declared: "I am no longer worthy to live, if Lentulus, too, hates me."
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